by Eric Vall
“Obviously,” Nikolaus replied and stood up, “you can tell a lot about a person from their fighting style. And I can see you’ll be a fine prince. There’s a lot of honesty in you, and I’ll be honored to fight alongside you against the coming darkness.”
I couldn’t help but laugh loudly as I sat in the dirt. It was a deep, belly laugh that coursed through every fiber of my being. This was definitely someone I could get along with.
Nikolaus walked to me and offered me his hand.
“And I’ll be honored to have you as a comrade and a friend,” I replied as I took his hand with a grin. “There’s food inside, follow me and we can all talk while we eat.”
The younger man helped me to my feet, and we both went in search of our Swords.
Our two groups had merged into one during our fight, and Nikolaus’ entourage fell into place behind my parents. Nikolaus walked beside Alyona and me, and he excitedly commented on our fight to the priestess. Somehow, it was easy to talk to him, especially since he wasn’t as serious as he first appeared to be. I guess I was right when I pegged him to be younger than I was.
When we reached the temporary palace and settled around a table ladened with food, I launched right into the meat of the matter and started on the topic of the miasma. While it hadn’t outright attacked us lately, it was still a dangerous threat that lurked on the edges, especially with how deeply interwoven it was with Asher and the prisoners.
“My theory is that the miasma is either intelligent,” I explained as I leaned forward to rest my hands on the table, “or it’s being controlled by someone else.”
Varying masks of confusion and terror covered the faces of the new arrivals, all save for Nikolaus and Nadezdha, the disciple of Leyte’s Sage. My fellow Noble of the Sword looked to be deep in thought at my words, but Nadezdha leaned forward with curiosity shining in her eyes.
“Truly?” Nadezdha asked as she tapped her fingers against the goblet of water in front of her. “That’s a terrifying theory, even if it doesn’t turn out to be entirely accurate. We’d have to strenuously test it, but how would we even experiment on such a thing … ” She trailed off and shook her head. “My apologies, I was getting distracted by my thoughts. What brought you to this realization?”
“The attacks on Hatra were too directed,” I sighed. “It was like they were purposefully attempting to eradicate any signs of life in the city, even after it had been toppled by the demons. So, I started thinking, why would something like the miasma keep targeting a fallen city, and why were the attacks escalating? And why didn’t it leave to attack somewhere with a higher population?”
“And what conclusion did you come to?” Nikolaus asked and lifted the goblet in front of him so he could drink from it. “We’ve never been able to find any pattern to the miasma’s attacks, they’ve always been random.”
“There was something in Hatra the miasma was after,” Julia chimed in as she snapped her fan open and closed her eyes. “We found the underground archives, completely untouched and sealed for the better part of a millennia. And that’s when the escalation of the attacks became even higher.”
“What happened?” Nikolaus set his goblet down as he frowned. “Did the miasma completely encircle the city?”
“It wasn’t just the miasma,” Ruslan muttered with more than a hint of bitterness in his voice. “A man entered Hatra claiming to be a traveling scholar and opened up a magical array above the city. An almost endless amount of Corrupted Corpses fell through and attacked us. There were some of the living in the mass that attacked us, too, and they were just barely holding on to their lives.”
“At the same moment that happened,” Alyona added as she poked at her food with a fork, “the miasma attacked me and managed to force me into deviation.”
There was a sudden silence at the table as the new arrivals stared at her with wide eyes. Even Nikolaus seemed to be set on edge by her confession.
“That’s unsettling,” the scholar Seryozha murmured and folded her hands underneath her chin as she stared at Alyona. “You’re the Divine Maiden of the White Jade Sect, miasma shouldn’t be able to even reach your body. But for it to be able to force you, someone who has a divine body, into deviation? We’ve never even considered something like that being possible, let alone it actually happening.”
“And yet it did,” I sighed as I leaned back in my chair to look up at the ceiling, “not to mention, the Asuran village was attacked by demons. The attack happened just before Hatra was nearly overrun by the Corrupted Corpses.”
“I beg your pardon?” Nadezdha coughed into her goblet and glanced at me with wide eyes. “The Asuras were attacked?”
“And killed,” I added somberly. “We were only able to save the children of their lord and a handful of others.”
None of our guests had expected any of the facts we’d dumped on them, which made me think the king hadn’t told them nearly as much as I’d hoped. Perhaps he was trying to limit the amount of people the information was spread to? I’d have to ask him the next time we managed to speak.
“This is verging on insanity.” Aleksey rubbed his forehead as he leaned back in his chair with a groan. “You’re right in that this couldn’t be possible if the miasma was mindless as we’ve always believed it to be.”
“What else happened?” Nikolaus stared right at me as he folded his arms over his chest. “I heard rumors of an army on Hatra’s doorstep, claiming that a dragon had kidnapped the princess. The rumors were silenced quickly by the White Jade Sect, but the damage was done.”
“There was an army,” I admitted as I thought back to the battle, “it belonged to the Green Glass Sect. We were able to rout them and take prisoner a good majority of their warriors and mages.”
Nikolaus frowned at my words, and I could see how he focused on the sect name. One of his fingers began to tap on his arm rapidly.
“My lords and ladies, if I may,” Nadezdha spoke up, “I would like to study the miasma according to Lord Evan’s theories. There may be something I can discover within the archives, and I believe this is how I may be able to best serve Hatra.”
“That would be perfect.” Alyona glanced at the disciple with a soft smile on her face. “We actually managed to trap some of the miasma inside one of my barriers.”
“Truly?” Nadezdha’s face lit up with excitement, and she sat up straight in her chair. “That’s incredible, Your Highness. No one’s ever been able to study a sample. How did you manage to trap it in a barrier without purifying it?”
Alyona launched into an explanation of how, once again, I had come up with an idea of isolating the miasma without touching it. With the idea in mind, she’d been able to create a barrier around the miasma and essentially turned it into a deadly snow globe.
“Quite a lot has happened to this city of yours.” Nikolaus shook his head as he glanced back at me. “Anyone would say the city was truly cursed by perhaps even the gods themselves.”
“You have no idea,” I muttered before I stood up to stand by the window. “I wouldn’t be surprised if that was actually what happened.”
I still remembered how Alyona had told me the city had been founded by a princess from the moon. And after she’d brought together the tribes in the area and gave them a thriving city, they killed her lover.
If I were her, I didn’t know if I would be able to continue protecting the city I’d made. I might have even destroyed it.
“Then, what’s the first order of business?” Nikolaus stood and walked over to me. “How can we help in the reconstruction of Hatra?”
“We’re in the perfect place for that,” I murmured back as I let my power seep into my hand. “We just need a few more people before we start.”
A glimmering dragon formed in my hands, and it was tiny and delicate as it caught the light of the sun. Anyone would have thought it were made from crystal or even diamond, it was so multifaceted and beautiful.
The dragon leapt from my hand and flew out of the
room, and with it went my message to the rest of the council and the pages who served my family.
Before, we’d been doing our best to rebuild Hatra with what understanding we combined from the underground library and my knowledge from Earth. However, there were things I didn’t know about architecture and only so much I could do with my control over stone. Also, there was only so much we could learn from the books in the library. There were too many possible errors that could result in lives lost.
But now?
I had exactly the tools I needed to finish rebuilding my city.
Chapter 8
I caught the nobles and architects up on the plans that had been discussed during the town hall meeting a few days before their arrival. Afterward, I mentioned the idea of building a fortification near the orichalcum mine, and there was a moment of shock amongst the nobles, save for Nikolaus, when I mentioned the mine.
“I never thought I’d be so close to the origin of orichalcum.” Nadezdha’s eyes glittered with curiosity and excitement, and she was almost vibrating in her seat. “That mine is definitely a national treasure.”
“And something else that needs protecting,” I sighed as I rubbed the bridge of my nose.
“If possible, I would love to see the mine as well,” Nadezdha added. “I would settle for a piece of orichalcum to study, though. It wouldn’t have to be much, just a tiny piece so we can see how the miasma would react to it under observation.”
“Talk to Natalya and ask her for some pieces of it,” I replied. “She is one of the Asuras who survived the attack on the village. She resides in Hatra now as one of our blacksmiths. She’ll give you what you need for your experiments.”
“What happened?” Nikolaus asked. “You said the mine is also in need of protection, yes?”
“Demonized harpies attacked the mine,” I explained with a frown. “They weren’t exactly like Corrupted Corpses, but they were frighteningly similar. It was obvious their minds weren’t their own.”
“Demonized harpies?” Nadezdha stood suddenly, and her chair fell on the floor behind her. “How is that even possible?”
“I have no idea,” I admitted to the disciple, “none of us even knew such a thing could exist.”
“Their souls cried out for salvation,” Alyona murmured gently, “and it was clear to me they’d been forced into something similar to deviation, but not quite that. Their spiritual seas weren’t on fire, but it was like something had tainted them. It was just like the stories of the old days.”
“Old days?” I glanced over at my princess and frowned at her serious face. “What kind of stories are you talking about?”
“When the demons would drag mortals down to the depths of hell,” Nikolaus added as he stood and righted Nadezdha’s chair. “That is what you’re talking about, am I correct?”
“Yes,” Alyona replied as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, “we’ve all thought they were just impossible stories. Apparently, we were wrong. What happened to the harpies was some twisted form of necromancy, corrupting the art into the most wicked form possible. I’m searching in the library for any clues as to what happened.”
“That reminds me,” Nikolaus pulled out a silver ring from his pocket and tossed it at Alyona, “His Eminence entrusted this to me. He said you would have need of it.”
“My library!” Alyona’s amethyst eyes shone like stars with her excitement. “There may be something here that could lead me to an answer. If you’ll excuse me, my lords and ladies.”
The newcomers from Leyte immediately stood at those words and inclined their heads respectfully.
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see my father blink in surprise at their actions.
“If I may be so bold, may I accompany you in order to study this event?” Nadezdha asked as she took a step toward Alyona.
“And I as well,” Seryozha the scholar added quickly. “My talents would be better served under your command, Your Highness.”
“Of course,” Alyona replied with a smile. “I would greatly welcome the help in my research.”
“Don’t spend all night in the library again,” I reminded my princess as she stepped toward the door. “There’s no point in overworking yourself.”
Her only response was to send a blinding smile my way as she stepped through the door, followed by Nadezdha and Seryozha.
“I doubt she will take your advice,” Julia murmured from behind her fan. “She’s quite the stubborn one, after all.”
“Yeah,” I sighed as I shook my head fondly, “she’s going to be there all night again.” I tore my eyes away from the door and turned my attention back to the matter at hand. “We have more pressing things to attend to, though. Lord Nikolaus, I was under the impression there would be a caravan of supplies and workers arriving with your entourage.”
“You are correct,” Nikolaus replied as he sat back down. “We were the vanguard, you could say. The proper caravan will be arriving in a few days, laden with all of the supplies His Eminence promised, and more.”
I could tell there was a hidden undertone to his words, and I wondered if his early arrival was supposed to be a deterrent against any attack on Hatra by the demons or the Green Glass Sect.
A king as wise as Rodion wouldn’t make a move without considering every possibility, Miraya whispered to me from my spiritual sea. This Lord of Leyte is quite powerful, he would be a worthy ally.
I didn’t respond to the Spirit Sword. Talking to Miraya in front of everyone at the table wasn’t something I was entirely comfortable with. I didn’t know what was going on, but given what Asher had told me about a traitor in the White Jade Sect, my instincts screamed that there was a serpent at the table. Considering there was quite the variety of newcomers, I wasn’t sure who had triggered my inner alarm, but I quietly studied them nonetheless.
“We’ll make sure to have quarters prepared for them when they arrive,” I promised Nikolaus before I launched into the long list of work that needed to be done. “Since we have some time before your workers arrive, let’s use that to go over my plans. You’ve seen that a good majority of the city is rebuilt, and the walls are up once more. We still have most of the defensive structures left to rebuild, though, mainly the lookout towers and military barracks. There’s also still the farm expansion, the defensive structures for the orichalcum mine, the fallen temples, as well as the central palace and government offices.”
“Obviously, the palace should be reconstructed first,” Aleksey scoffed and waved his hand in the air. “There’s no doubt that should be the first order of business.”
“Excuse me?” I gritted my teeth as I told myself to be patient with this newcomer. “What’s your reasoning behind rebuilding the palace first?”
“You can’t have a city without a palace.” Aleksey shook his head, as if his logic was perfectly sound. “The ruling family can’t be living in the streets with the common folk, let alone make Her Highness live outside of a palace.”
Beside him, the excitable silver haired boy from earlier sighed heavily as he rubbed his temples. Then one of the women in the group, quite delicate looking and with curly blue hair, groaned into her hands.
“So,” I sighed as I crossed my arms over my chest, “your logic is that Hatra needs a symbol? And the House of Hatra el Shamash can’t live alongside the people they rule?”
“A ruler is a living symbol, Lord Evan.” Aleksey glanced over at my adoptive parents for a moment. “They have to be untouchable and without reproach. If that means living apart from the masses, then so be it.”
It seemed like I was going to have to make something clear to this foreign noble.
“Yeah, you see,” I began coldly as I leaned back in my chair, “that’s not going to fly with me or in Hatra at all. I don’t mean the Lunar Palace will never be rebuilt. I already promised my people I’d rebuild it for them, but that’s not a priority right now. The priority is making sure my people are safe, no matter what happens. So, no, I’m not goin
g to waste time on a palace no one needs to live in yet when there’s so much more outside of the city walls that needs to be done first.”
There was a moment of silence and tension as Aleksey frowned, and his fists clenched tightly around the armrests of his chair. For a moment, I thought there was going to be more arguments from him, but he just nodded sullenly and slumped back into his chair.
I smirked in triumph. I wasn’t about to be bossed around in my own city, and now these nobles knew it.
Suddenly, I could hear two pairs of footsteps outside of the room, and I knew the two people I’d sent for had finally arrived.
“We’ve brought the plans, my lord!” Leon exclaimed as he walked into the room, and his arms were full of scrolls and books.
“All of them!” Dagen added cheerfully, just as burdened as Leon was. “And we brought unused parchment and scrolls as well.”
“Perfect, just spread them out here on the table.” I pointed at the empty spaces between the plates of refreshments. “The two of you can take a seat in case we need any explanations on your plans.”
A blue haired man with eyes the color of an amber sunset was the first one to grab onto the paperwork brought in, and he began to scan through the various sketches Leon had made. A woman with brilliant, crimson hair leaned over his shoulder as her brow furrowed in thought, and her dark brown eyes darted to and fro over the parchment. They murmured quietly to each other, and I caught some of their whispered words.
“What about terraces?” the blue haired man asked as he glanced over his shoulder at the woman. “Terraces could work between the walls and create additional farming areas. We could divide them according to crops.”
“It depends on the height of the inner walls compared to the outer walls,” she responded confidently. “Look at the schematics for the aqueducts. What do you think about connecting them to the underground system?”
“Excuse me for interrupting your thought process,” I spoke up with a slight grin and leaned forward, “but I don’t think I quite caught your names.”