The Burning Flowers

Chapter I

The solitary fortress of Ankalla was located in the northern foothills barely a day’s ride from the Great City of Harunhein and the border between Ijiria and Trovia. It was a massive black castle, rectangular in shape with spires at every corner and multiple beautiful courtyards scattered throughout it. During the Age of Destruction, Ankalla had been the home of a rather eccentric lord who despised city life and sought to instead live out the rest of his days in the middle of the countryside, where he couldn’t be bothered by the politics and the scheming of the southern cities. The closest village to Ankalla was on the smaller side and was roughly a half day’s ride away. The nearest town was even further, exactly as designed. That lord had ordered its construction himself, but since his children did not share in his solitary preferences, it was only inhabited for two generations after his death, upon which it was left empty and abandoned. By the time the Age of Prosperity dawned on the Empire, few even knew this fortress existed outside of the lord’s descendents, who still technically owned the land and would visit it on occasion either out of mild curiosity or to use as a vacation home during the heat waves of summer. To any wanderers who happened upon the fortress in the modern day, it would look exactly as the rumors described: an old castle forgotten by time.

But within the last decade, that had ceased to be the truth.

There was one descendent of that lord who suddenly found a use for this dark and gloomy place and that woman’s name was Tali Firrik. She saw value in Ankalla, for its lonely nature would make it the most ideal place for the cult of the Kosah-Rei to operate from. Massive illusion charms were cast to conceal its growing number of inhabitants, and in the six years that had passed since the Kosah-Rei debuted in the River City of Hiriech, the Ijirian government’s forces had been unable to find them. Unless the cult made a massive and foolish mistake, Ankalla would be far from the Citadel’s minds, if King Markreas was even aware it existed at all. Ankalla’s circumstances were one of the primary reasons the Kosah-Rei still thrived in its long war against the Ijirian elite.

All of this knowledge was only passed to him once he gained enough trust for them to bring him to Ankalla, and as Rickori Keskivaara gazed through the large glass window in the dimly lit, silent corridor he stood in, he couldn’t help but draw his lips tightly and clench his fists at his side. Beyond that window was a long stretch of rocks and curving hills that, during the wintertime, would sparkle white in the light of the full moon above. Currently, however, it was midsummer, but up there in the Ijirian north, even the summers could be chilly and depressing. Keskivaara hadn’t seen the sun in a couple of days, and he could feel the gloomy atmosphere taking a toll on his already deteriorating mental state. Even so, despite his distaste for this dreary setting, he found peace gazing out at the world as opposed to pacing the black stone hallways around him. He desperately missed the sight and smell of the sea that was a defining feature of his home, Stellareid, but he was long since banished from that place, and for good reason.

It had been three and half years since Keskivaara had joined hands with the Kosah-Rei in order to bring down Lord Eganno Cartigan and the Company Lords, but to the People’s Mind, it sometimes felt like just yesterday. Even after so much time had passed, Keskivaara didn’t know whether he made the correct decision or not, for even though he was well-aware that one attack wouldn’t be enough to save this country’s citizens from the oppression of the government, a part of him had hoped they would have made some progress by now. After all, the strides they took in Stellareid were huge. They succeeded in killing the Masters of Darkness and Light, as well as Lord Cartigan and his daughter, Ella. Every single Company Lord met their end at the hands of either the Teritus or Keskivaara’s followers, and though the city remained under Ijirian control, change had been made.

Keskivaara kept up with the state of Stellareid for a long time after his flight, and from what he gathered, things were beginning to look up. Many had assumed that Thea Cartigan, the new Lady of Stellareid, was too young and inexperienced to be able to effectively rule in her father’s stead. Her uncle, who had accompanied her from the nearby city of Jeysa, was fully expected to be the real ruler, but that was not what happened. What Keskivaara could deduce through an outsider’s perspective was that Thea realized the need for cooperation between the government and the citizens if they wanted to rebuild their Great City, especially with the Company Lords gone. She used reconstruction to not only fix Stellareid, but to make up for the mistakes of her father. The economy was slow to return, but he heard that Thea personally walked among the lower Rings and used her magic to help her people rebuild their homes.

In the ashes of one of the biggest tragedies in modern Ijirian history, Stellareid was becoming exactly what Keskivaara wanted it to be.

So was it all worth it? he asked himself once again. Was abandoning my oath of peace worth this result? Was shaking the hand of a devil and selling my soul worth it? I do not know… I don’t think I’ll ever know…

A part of Keskivaara hadn’t planned to survive the Battle of Stellareid, and when facing down Ilirianna Iiji in the streets of the Fifth Ring, he had believed his end to be nigh. For a brief second, when her blue fires engulfed him, he almost gave in—almost embraced what would be a fitting and fiery end to the vile murderer he had become—only to subconciously send nature mana surging through his body at the last second, barely protecting his vitals and weathering one of the Princess's most powerful spells.

I acted on instinct, knowing that I betrayed my country for the sake of bettering it. I could not make it better if I was dead, and I thought my skills would be needed in the fights to come. If I died, then what was the point of all that sacrifice?

Keskivaara let out a long sigh before turning away from the window and beginning to walk down the long corridor before him, lit only by the orange firelamps lining the right wall. In three and a half years, the Kosah-Rei had not made any moves quite like Stellareid, having fallen into more inconspicuous movements just like the time following Hiriech. Keskivaara remembered how he considered it odd that the cult made such a decisive strike against the Malloways and then vanished into the countryside, but now being among them, he finally understood what the reason for that was.

They obey Tali Firrik like she’s Rei herself. They anticipate her visions, which tell them where to attack and whether they’ll survive or not. The cultists aren’t biding their time or masterminding their next great assault, rather they simply twiddle their thumbs and grovel at Firrik’s feet while they beg for their goddess’s advice. It’s honestly pathetic, and if I hadn’t been a witness to some of her predictions, I’d accuse her of making everything up. Do I think Firrik’s visions are sent by the Goddess? Not even slightly. But if asked whether I think they’re real, I have to say I do, and it seems yet another one has finally made itself known.

One month ago, Tali had informed the higher-ups of the Kosah-Rei that she had finally been graced with their next major vision—one that centered around the Great City of Harunhein. It was located right on the northern border and had been heavily disputed territory ever since the Second Trovian War that brought an end to the Age of Destruction. Before that war, Harunhein was a Trovian city, but the treaty that concluded the conflict stated that it be conceded to Ijiria—a proposal that was highly unpopular among the Trovian people who lived there. In the decades that followed, despite it being declared the Sixth Great City and a noble Ijirian family being given control over it, the resident Trovians refused to accept their new identities as Ijirian. When the young prince who conceded Harunhein stepped down from the throne in favor of his niece, the capital city of Hellistoir changed its tune and suddenly pressed back against the loss of Harunhein. To this day, despite it being legally Ijirian territory, Harunhein was a powder keg of violence between the two countries—a situation that had only grown worse in recent years.

King Amund Halcrow wanted to be the leader who finally retook Harunehein, and after witnessing the Kosah-Rei’s success in Hiriech and Stellareid, he had been insistent on forming an alliance between Trovia and the cult—one that was about to be finalized within that very hour.

“Riko, there you are! I was looking for you!”

Keskivaara was pulled from his pondering by the sound of his husband, Velanor Kinrono, and when he raised his head, he found the man hurrying down a large staircase. He stood a couple inches shorter than Keskivaara, with curly blonde hair and deep green eyes that were always full of such intelligence. Velanor’s presence at his side had been the sole factor in keeping the People’s Mind sane during his time with the cult, especially given the loss of Nickalous and Haleah in Stellareid.

Keskivaara smiled warmly as he replied, “Is she here then?”

“She is, yes,” Velanor confirmed. “Vesh is personally escorting her to the common room in the northern tower as we speak. Shall we?”

“I do not think we have a choice. Let’s go…”

Taking Velanor’s hand gently into his, Keskivaara began making his way in the direction his husband had come from, knowing he would be in for a tongue-lashing should he be late to yet another meeting of the Kosah-Rei. That was especially true this time, for other than himself and Velanor, the only other ones permitted to attend were Vesh and Tali. This was at the personal request of their guest, who highly respected Keskivaara’s philosophy and was theorized by Quill to only be cooperating because the People’s Mind was among them. Keskivaara wasn’t sure of how true that theory was, but he supposed that if these negotiations relied on him, then he would have to give it his all. The Kosah-Rei were finally beginning to move again, and this time, there was a high chance that they would be able to not only wipe out high priority targets, but also wrench one of the six Great Cities right out of Ijiria’s hands.

God, what I would give to be in the room when King Markreas finds out that Harunhein has fallen to Trovia… That man would almost certainly be red in the face to take such a wound to his pride.

The momentary smirk that crossed his face vanished quite quickly as his thoughts shifted from the King to the woman the world still believed was his daughter. By Tali’s command, the Kosah-Rei did not expose the truth behind Ilirianna’s bastard birth, nor did it seem had the Princess opted to expose it herself. There was speculation among the leaders that she may destroy her claim to the Ijirian throne to save her skin and ruin Toranei Iiji and Nakoma Taurus, but as always, Tali made what felt like a baseless claim that she would never do such a thing.

“Liri’s entire life revolves around that throne, and much of what she’s done to us has been under the impression that she can change things peacefully once she’s in power. She wants to better Ijiria from its helm, so she will not destroy all of that just for petty revenge. No… Our sweet princess will try to have it all—to make her parents pay with the crown resting on her head. I have no doubt about that…”

Keskivaara grimaced as he and Velanor stepped onto the black disk that served as one of the many lifts in Ankalla, the other man casting Ortumo for him. Ilirianna Iiji… Firrik’s so confident she’ll join us one day, but she’s been fighting us for years now. Even with her true heritage being revealed to her, would she really turn her back on her country and join with Tali Firrik? I find it so hard to believe, but…

He still dreamt of his fight with her, for even though she did not have the innate power of the Iijis, she was still a monster of a mage. They were evenly matched, more or less, and had Vesh not been there to distract Ryokumo Caeli—to force Ilirianna’s hand and remove the wind mage from the fight, Keskivaara was certain he wouldn’t have had a say in his survival. The warrior in him desperately wanted to face her again given how rare it was to find someone who could keep up with him, but the scholar in him knew how stupid it was to seek out a foe that may be too much for him.

Though, at this point, a rematch seems inevitable… he added, recalling how many reports he’d read on Ilirianna’s personal involvement in fighting the Kosah-Rei’s hold on the north.

Though her royal team had mysteriously lost Abigail Reiner in the Battle of Stellareid, the remaining four were even more active in the northern towns and villages than they were before. They personally hunted down and executed pastors, priests, and the Teeth that defended them as if they were nothing. Dozens upon dozens of Kosah-Rei were felled by them, and though the team was disbanded upon the graduation of Nigreos Noctis, Album Luz, and Ryokumo Caeli from the Academy of Erika, that didn’t stop Ilirianna from continuing her own personal vendetta.

A future ally or ours, huh? Sure, Firrik… Sure…

When Keskivaara and Velanor arrived at the closed door of the common room, the People’s Mind released his hand and knocked to announce their arrival. When the voice that permitted them entry was Vesh’s, he knew they were the last to arrive and was unsurprised when they entered the circular room and found three people already awaiting them. On the right side from the door was a brown leather couch and a handful of chairs set around a black stone fireplace, the flames already lit and casting a dull orange over the room that mixed with the pale light of the moon entering in through the large western window. At the moment, all three chairs were filled, two of which were taken by the former Head Guard of Aquesen, Rotana Vesh, and the Voice of Rei, Tali Firrik. The third chair contained their esteemed guest and representative of Trovian King Amund, the Speaker of the Flame, Sarillia Martov.

Sarillia had the larger build common among Trovians and looked like she’d be nearing six feet tall should she be standing, her form draped in thick brown furs and animal hides. She had sharp features, a jutted chin, and intense green eyes, her head framed by black bangs and a long braid that fell to around her mid-back. She was an intimidating presence, something that was only made worse by the way she immediately began to analyze Keskivaara and Velanor. On top of that, he could sense the power she held, which shouldn’t have surprised him given that the Speakers in Trovia were the equivalent of the Masters in Ijiria, placing this woman’s skill in fire magic roughly on par with Nakoma Taurus.

“Speaker Martov,” Keskivaara began, bending forward in a customary bow that Velanor mimicked. “It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Rickori Keskivaara, and this is my husband, Velanor Kinrono.”

A slight smile turned her lips as she regarded them. “Keskivaara… So you really are fighting with the cult. I had little reason not to believe the rumors, but it’s still strange to see you here in person. Your reputation long precedes you.”

Rising back to full height, Keskivaara gave a soft nod. “I merely seek to help the people of my country and I believe the Kosah-Rei are the most effective means of doing so. As of now, I wholeheartedly believe this is true.”

Sarillia’s eyes barely flickered with curiosity, as if she somehow saw through his lie despite Keskivaara’s confidence in his performance, but thankfully, she didn’t press the matter before she motioned towards the couch. “Shall we begin then?”

“Yes, let's,” Vesh agreed, watching as Keskivaara and Velanor took their seats, fully prepared to start the discussion. “Now as I was saying, Speaker Martov, we have had plenty of communication with Hellistoir over this past year, so we already have some idea of what it is King Amund desires from us. You want Harunhein. No strings attached, no sharing of the territory, you simply want to reclaim your rightful ownership of the Great Northern City, and I can assure you the Kosah-Rei has no interest in keeping it from you. We are more than willing to turn Harunhein over to Trovia.”

The Speaker smirked with pleasure. “You are? Forgive me, Sir Vesh, but I was under the impression you wouldn’t part with such significant territory so easily. What’s your motivation for cooperating?”

“Well, as effective as the Kosah-Rei are, we heavily lack the means of actually keeping control of the Great Cities,” Tali chimed in. “Yes, eliminating the Malloways and the Cartigans were simple enough, but Hiriech and Stellareid are still Ijirian. An alliance with Trovia would enable us to permanently remove a Great City from Citadel control—a City that is uncomfortably close to our doorstep.”

“Exactly,” Vesh stated. “Since most of the Great Cities are located in Central Ijiria, the loss of Harunhein would strongly weaken Ijiria’s grasp on the north. In addition, since Stellaried’s economy is still far from recovered, the complete loss of Harunhein would also be another decisive strike to the Empire’s resources. With Stellareid and Harunhein both unable to provide adequate support and Krato too far away to effectively react to any emergencies, Noctalus and Erika suddenly become a hell of a lot more vulnerable than they ever were. It’s not Harunhein we need, it’s Harunhein’s freedom.”

Sarillia raised her eyebrows, making it clear how intrigued she was suddenly becoming. “I had been wondering, but you’re truly aiming for the Citadel? It’s one thing to make your moves against the Lords, but Erika and Noctalus are the ancient homes of magecraft. Do you really think you could replicate the events of Stellareid with all the Masters present? Or with the Noctis/Luz around every corner?”

“Well, that’s where you guys come in,” Tali told her. “I’m not sure what King Amund is thinking, but it’s not like Ijiria is just going to watch Harunhein fall to Trovia and forget about it. Counterattacks will be made, significant eyes will turn north, and King Markreas will be furiously trying to recover the city for the sake of his image. It would be a humiliating stain on his reign to be the King that lost Harunhein, right? So don’t you think a couple of Masters would be sent there to fight you? Don’t you think that in his desperate hubris, he would leave Erika vulnerable? If even two Masters are absent, that city becomes much easier to take.”

Keskivaara closely observed Sarillia’s expression, for he had been very curious as to what King Amund was planning to do once he had Harunhein. Tali was right, after all, that King Markreas would turn the full wrath of the Ijirian Empire upon Trovia in retaliation for what they were planning to do.

“I am not authorized to disclose King Amund’s plans,” Sarillia admitted after a few seconds of thought. “But of course, we’re well aware that keeping Harunhein is potentially far more trouble than actually taking it. Now, you’re saying that in exchange for this city, we simply have to fight a threat we would have to fight anyway?”

Tali smiled. “Yes. We don’t need any further actions taken by you. We conquer Harunhein, you distract Ijiria, and then the Kosah-Rei infiltrates Erika—something that would be very beneficial to you, for if the capital falls, any war between you and Ijiria would be rather short-lived, yes?”

“And Noctalus?” the Speaker pressed. “Noctalus is close enough to Erika to retaliate against you on its own. I thought you said you weren’t in a position to hold a city, so how do you intend to keep Erika under your control?”

The Voice of Rei giggled to herself, like a child barely holding in a secret. “Well, I can’t really disclose that, but let’s just say we wouldn’t be the ones holding it. I have some pieces in place that I’m relying on for this. And besides, Noctalus is far from the great power it once was. With Viiro, Acostav, and Eko all dead, the City is run by fools who weren’t prepared to run it, and the current Masters of Darkness and Light are fresh out of school! I’m not scared of them.”

“You’re not?” Sarillia muttered dubiously. “Who cares what their ages are? Nigreos Noctis and Album Luz have made it clear they’re not to be underestimated. They were on the royal team, Ms Firrik.”

Tali shrugged. “And I’m not afraid of them. Trust me, Speaker. I’ve got this handled.”

She’s relying on her visions, Keskivaara internally noted. She knows Ilirianna joins her eventually, so this plan to attack Erika isn’t for the Kosah-Rei to take over, rather she intends to properly install Ilirianna to the throne—to get rid of Markreas, Toranei, and any other Masters she needs removed. Noctalus won’t retaliate against Ilirianna… That’s her play…

It seemed Tali wasn’t going to reveal her visions to the Speaker of the Flame, so there was no wondering why Sarillia was suspicious. However, Tali’s confidence and matter-of-fact way of speaking was powerful in convincing people to trust her—something Keskivaara himself had once fallen prey to. She could make someone feel like everything was going to work out perfectly, and that she had their best interests at heart, so even if the person didn’t consider her the proxy of a goddess, it was easy to get swept up by her.

“Keskivaara.” Sarillia stated his name firmly as she turned her head and gazed directly at him. “You’re quiet.”

The People’s Mind straightened his posture and forced his own smile. “Apologies, but I don’t usually sit in on meetings such as these. Normally, I leave the planning to Firrik and Vesh, so I have very little to add.”

“Then I wish for you to speak your mind,” she said. “You’ve been working with these two since the Battle of Stellareid. You’ve not only seen the heart of their operations, but you’ve personally witnessed them pulling off the impossible. So be honest with me, do you think they can pull this off? Would the loss of Harunhein truly be the gateway to the fall of Erika?”

She didn’t want him to think about it. She wanted his raw response, one untainted by what he felt he was supposed to say. Luckily, he didn’t need to ponder it, for he would not be sitting in that room if he didn’t have faith in the Kosah-Rei’s ability to upend the status quo in Ijiria and overthrow the current Iiji regime.

“Eganno Cartigan,” he began, raising his pointer finger. “Ella Cartigan. Viiro Noctis. Acostav Luz. Eko Luz. Abigail Reiner.” Extending a finger for each name he listed, Keskivaara went on. “All of these highly powerful and influential individuals, felled by the Kosah-Rei. Meanwhile, Uma Miyon was intentionally captured and spent time in one of the highest security dungeons in the region. But how many casualties did we experience? How many of the six leaders were killed or unintentionally captured? Who did we sacrifice?”

A small smirk of understanding turned Sarillia’s lips as he laid it all out for her. “I see… That’s a very fair point. But while I trust you to take Harunhein, I still think Erika is another beast entirely.”

“I don’t disagree,” Keskivaara conceded. “And I’m not saying we’d take Erika as cleanly as we did Stellareid. We’d almost certainly have to make some sacrifices, but if Trovia serves its purpose as a distraction and lures, let's just say Masters Rana and Cartus, up to the border, that leaves only six Masters left to defend the Citadel, three of which were only appointed in the last few years and one a nature mage on death’s door. That would leave only Taurus and Rhitta, as well as the Iijis, as true threats. Again, certainly not easy, but doable—especially with combustion magic at our disposal. Find a way to curse a Master or two the way we did in Stellareid, and again, our chances of success exponentially increase.”

And if Ilirianna does as Firrik thinks she will, cursing them with the Teritus may be a simpler matter than it should be…

Sarillia leaned back in her seat and let out a laugh as she glanced between Vesh, Tali, Velanor, and Keskivaara. “King Amund will be pleased then. Very well, I’ll take these prepositions back to Hellistoir for more official confirmation, but I can say with a strong confidence that we will most likely do as you need. Both the royal family and the Speakers desperately want Harunhein, and I can promise you that if anyone disagrees, I will express my utmost support for this movement. Harunhein’s a tad personal for me, you see…so I have every reason to want to succeed.”

That’s right… Keskivaara thought, recalling information about this woman that he had once read. She was a Harunhein native… It’s her home…

The fire and determination burning in Sarillia’s eyes only furthered Keskivaara’s belief that she would be a vehement and useful ally for them in Hellistoir. If she could gain the allegiance of the other four Speakers, Trovia could send its most powerful mages to the border, which may lure more than just two or three Masters to Harunhein. If all five were on the front lines, Markreas would have no choice but to send more, or to even go there himself.

We could actually pull this off… We could make Erika more vulnerable than it’s ever been in the eternity of its existence, and perhaps after three and half long years of waiting, we could make one final move to end the oppression of the Empire once and for all…