The Hermit in the Capital
Maian sat at the edge of the fountain and watched the water rising into the air and falling down into the basin, only to rise again. She breathed the air, which was filled with the scent of the flowers from her garden. It was spring, and Maian had only recently celebrated her 16th birthday.
Her father had given her the garden on the second floor and the surrounding rooms for her exclusive use. Maian had her own bathing house, a bedroom, a living room and another one for guests. Not that anyone ever came to stay there. There were some very specific rules concerning Maian's little realm. No-one was permitted to enter without permission from Tiloki, Liane or Maian herself, except her family and the Millers. This was yet another measure to protect Maian.
Maian had very soon understood that she was different. As a toddler, she had grown wings with beautiful grey feathers – just like her mother's. Her bones were hollow, like bird's bones. Because of that, Maian was able to fly. She had always been able to sense the emotions of the people surrounding her and she was also able to sense the flow of their thoughts. If she concentrated hard, she could understand what they were thinking.
The door leading to the other parts of the house was opened and Liane entered. Maian's face brightened at the sight of her beloved sister.
"Good morning, Maian. How are you feeling today?"
"Very well, thank you. But I am getting bored... there is nothing for me to do. Can you not try to persuade father to let me out again? I have seen hardly anything of Sienne yet."
"I will try, but I do not know whether I will be successful. But – Empress Misaha's birthday is coming up and all the senators are supposed to attend with their families. I doubt he will pretend that you are ill again."
"The apostle's birthday! Wonderful! I only vaguely remember the last time... there was a huge parade, I think..."
"That was five years ago..."
"He really should let me go out more often, not only three times a year", Maian complained.
"You know this is to keep you safe", Liane said sternly. "You do not age at normal speed, and while you were young, you kept spreading your wings whenever you felt like it."
"I know... I understand... but it surely does not help things."
Liane smiled sympathetically. "I will go and talk to father."
"Thank you."
Maian watched her sister leave. Whenever someone saw the two of them together, no-one ever guessed they could be sisters. Liane had black wavy hair and brown eyes, she was like a mirror image of her father. Maian had curly golden hair and a very pale skin – the only thing the three Idras had in common were their eyes. But Maian's eyes were not always brown. Sometimes, they changed to green, which made her look even more like a heron. Maian had no idea what exactly caused this, but she knew it was related to her emotions.
I clearly take after my mother. I wonder what kind of person she is? I would love to meet her, but father would never allow me to travel all the way to Serenes Forest... All I know about her is her name, nothing more...
Maian greatly enjoyed the parade that was held to celebrate the empress' birthday. She enjoyed the sunlight and being among people. Her father introduced her to some nobles she hadn't met before.
But what she didn't enjoy was the fact that every young man around her kept staring at her. Maian knew that as the beautiful daughter of a duke and senator she was a very desirable bride. Even though her father had kept her carefully hidden from public, word of her astonishing beauty had spread like wildfire through Sienne. Maian had only been 13 years old when a young aristocrat had proposed to her. But because of her "special condition" she had been forced to refuse him – and all the others that came after.
Maian watched Empress Misaha pass, followed by her three sons. One of them was carrying a newborn child – the future Empress of Begnion. Like everyone else, Maian waved and cheered.
"Maian! I have good news for you."
She gave her father an expectant look.
"Let me hear them, then."
"I finally managed to persuade the empress into signing the Emancipation Law. With that, laguz slavery finally is a thing of the past. I found an unexpected ally – the new prime minister."
"That is good news indeed! I never thought much of one race enslaving another. We are all children of the goddess, after all."
"It will take some time for this new law to take effect, but it is a step into the right direction. Everything is going to change now."
A week had passed since the introduction of the new law. Maian and Liane were sitting in the garden, watching the birds fly and relaxing in the gentle sunlight. Suddenly, Maian sensed a disturbance. The doors leading to the garden were thrown open and Mrs. Miller dashed in, her face pale and tears streaming down her cheeks.
"E-empress Misaha – she is – she is dead!"
"Impossible!", Liane exclaimed. "She was not ill, and not that old!"
"No, you don't understand, my lady. The empress – has been murdered."
Maian drained of what little colour had been in her face. Liane let out a scream of rage and disbelief.
"How could that be?", Maian whispered. "Who would murder the apostle – Ashera's chosen?"
"That is not all", Mrs. Miller replied hoarsely. "The princess has been killed, as well."
"Who would murder a newborn child?!", Liane exclaimed. "Only a monster could do something like that!"
"The senate is already investigating", Mrs. Miller replied. "They will find the culprit and punish him, that is for sure."
"There is no successor to the throne now", Maian said quietly. "Who is going to rule Begnion, until the next daughter is born?"
The entire nation was in shock. People had gathered in the streets of Sienne, demanding the punishment of the assassin, who was still unknown. Maian was deeply worried about this. The assassination had occurred shortly after the Emancipation Act. Was there someone who did not want the laguz to be equal to the beorc? And if yes, was that reason enough to kill?
"It is much more economical to keep slaves instead of employing servants", Liane had explained. "You just buy a slave, but pay him no money for the work he does."
"That is unbelievable! I am so glad our family has not kept slaves for several generations."
"Yes, our fathers and mothers wanted to demonstrate that they were wealthy enough to pay their servants."
Maian's head snapped up.
What was that just now? A daydream? No, rather a nightmare... but how can one have a nightmare, when one is not asleep?
Maian was trembling. The images she had just seen were terrible.
Maybe – I have heard that there are people who see things. Am I one of them? Did I just have a vision? If yes, then I should do something about it... But was it really a vision?
Maian concentrated on the pictures she had seen and tried to recall what she had felt and sensed.
There was searing heat, burning through flesh and feathers. Cries of agony and despair, along with the emotions. A forest, burning in the dead of the night...
Maian jumped to her feet and ran to her father's study.
"Father! Father! You have to help them! Hurry, or it will be too late!"
"Maian!" He rose from his chair. "What is the matter? Did you have a nightmare?"
"No, I had a vision – I am certain of it. Serenes Forest is going to burn and the herons with it – unless someone prevents it from happening."
Tiloki stared at her as if he was seeing a ghost. Maian seized his arms.
"Father, please, I beg of you! Save them!"
He nodded. "Liane!", he barked. "Take your sister to her rooms and calm her. Stay with her until I return."
Tiloki strode out of the room, shouting orders. Maian hurried to one of the windows to look outside into the courtyard. Dusk was settling over the city and the sky to the west glowed red – like blood.
Soldiers clad in armour came running into the courtyard, while the grooms saddled horses, pegasi and wyverns. Since Tiloki and his men had to cover a great distance at high speed, they could only take mounted units.
Seeing her father wearing an armour and carrying a powerful lance was kind of a shock. Maian grabbed the window sill.
"I just hope they will not have to fight", she whispered.
"They will be fine", Liane reassured her. "It is the herons we should worry about – they are unable to defend themselves and unaware of the danger they are in. Come, let us go into the garden."
Liane and the Millers tried their best to calm Maian, but to no avail. She kept pacing the garden, only slowing down to accept a cup of tea every now and then. She could not eat anything.
Thanks to her fine senses Maian heard the sounds of hooves and the flapping of wings before anyone else. It was shortly before dawn and the long wait had made Maian weary, but she could not think about sleep.
As her father entered, Maian immediately sensed something had gone wrong. Her body tensed in anticipation of the bad news.
"We were too late", Tiloki said quietly. "It was just like you told me."
"No", Maian whispered hoarsely.
"We were unable to save a single heron."
Maian's right hand grasped the thread woven from her mother's hair. She had worn it all her life like a talisman underneath her clothes.
"No! NOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Maian's cry of agony echoed through the manor. She took a few steps into her father's direction, then everything went black.
Three days later, Maian slowly drifted back into life. The pain had almost killed her and Liane, who was sitting by her side, was very relieved to see her awaken.
"Liane? Where is father?"
"When he realised there was nothing he could do for you, he returned to the forest. They have been burying the Serenes."
"So the forest, which was once full of life, will become a graveyard."
Liane nodded sadly.
"I want to go there."
"Of course. As soon as you are feeling better, father will take you to visit your mother."
Tears welled up in Maian's eyes.
"Mother... I will never see her, never hear her voice or know what kind of person she was... and that all thanks to those cursed humans!"
She spat out the last word.
"Maian! Hush! Some of the servants might hear you!"
"I do not care. I do not care about anything! Because nothing matters anymore..."
Maian placed a bunch of flowers in front of the stone that marked her mother's grave. It was a desolate place – surrounded by dead trees, lifeless grass and muddy soil. Many other grave-markers gleamed in the sunlight, but only few of them had names engraved upon them: Maian's mother Sybille, the late Queen of Serenes, one of her daughters and some others.
Maian knew that some of the bodies had been burned beyond any hope of recognition, and only few people could identify those that were not.
After some minutes had passed, Tiloki and Maian turned away and walked back to the edge of the forest, where their guards waited.
