The Curse of the Brand   von Aylatha
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                        Kapitel 31: Green Forest Haven
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"Here we are. I trust you will be able to find your way back to Gallia from here
on", Ena said.
"Yes, thank you", Skrimir replied.
"Good. We will be heading back now - "
"Wait, can't you stick around and talk to us a little longer?", Ike asked. "We
haven't seen each other in a long time."
Ena gave him a puzzled look. "But we just saw each other two years ago!"
Nasir laughed. "You forget that beorc measure time differently than we do."
"Oh, I see."
"I'm sorry, Ike, but we have to go. We are actually not even allowed to talk to
you."
"Why not?"
"That is very complicated. But know this: we follow the king's orders out of our
own free will."
"I see. Will we meet again?"
"I certainly hope so."
"Good luck with the war, Sir Ike", Ena added.



"Rafiel! Rafiel! They are coming! Reyson's back!"
Rafiel looked up as his sister came running into his room.
"What a relief. I was worried about him."
"Come! We have to greet them! King Caineghis is already on his way!"
She seized his hand and tried to pull him towards the door.
"Leanne, could you try to act a little more like a heron?"
She looked at him, surprised. "Why?"
"Ah, never mind."
Ever since Rafiel had heard that Leanne wanted to learn the Modern Tongue, he
had practised with her. Though Leanne was quick on the uptake, she still had
troubles phrasing what she wanted to say properly and therefore preferred the
An­cient Tongue.
Rafiel and Leanne joined Caineghis, his shadow Giffca and Nailah in the
courtyard. As the vanguard of the gallian army appeared, the birds came swooping
down, followed by a couple of wyverns.
"Why are there so many beorc with them?", Rafiel asked.
"They are the Greil Mercenaries", Leanne explained. "They are friends."
"I know them. But what about those draco-knights?"
Leanne frowned. "I don't know who they are."
"Everyone, tend to your steeds and then take a rest, you deserve it! You have
all done well and knowing our lady, I think a salary rise is in for all of us!",
a lilac-haired draco-knight called.
Her men cheered.
A couple of birds and beasts had gathered around one of the carriages the
alliance used to transport the badly injured people. A dragon was just lifting
an unconscious girl off one.
"She needs a hot bath", a cat said.
"I know", the dragon replied. "Don't worry, I'll take care of that."
Tibarn, Reyson and Skrimir came over, along with Ike, the leader of the
mercena­ries.
"Welcome back!", Caineghis said.
"I am sorry to have disappointed you, my lord", Skrimir replied.
"No. You returned to me alive and from the reports Ranulf sent me I take it that
you have learned a lot during this war. Therefore, it was not a wasted effort.
And Ike – thank you very much for your help."
"I'm sorry we couldn't do more", the beorc replied.
"Stop being so modest", Skrimir said. "Without you and your little strategist we
wouldn't have come far."
"You brought some guests", Caineghis said to his nephew.
"Yes. Senator Maian from the Begnion Empire. She's on the run and joined us."
"Interesting. I should talk to her..."
"That won't be possible, she's gone out cold", Ike replied.
Rafiel and Leanne embraced their brother as the lilac-haired beorc and the
dragon approached. The beorc bowed. The dragon couldn't do that, because she was
still carrying the unconscious girl.
"I am Cynthia of House Darren, Commander of Senator Maian's guard, and this is
my deputy, Captain Nala."
"Is she – your mistress?", Caineghis asked, nodding towards the girl Nala was
carrying.
"Yes."
"What is the matter with her?"
"Oh, she's just exhausted", Nala replied. "What with fleeing her hometown,
leaving her closest friends in mortal danger, not to mention that she had to
fight for the first time in her life... I just hope she'll recover from all
that."
"Of course, you all must be tired. I will have rooms prepared for you
immediately."



Maian had retreated to the gardens of Castle Gallia. She needed some time to
her­self before she could meet with King Caineghis and the others.
She was sitting on a bench, enjoying the warm sunlight, when she heard the sound
of footsteps. She opened her eyes to find Soren standing a few paces away.
"I found you at last. You said you wanted to tell me something."
"Yes. Please, take a seat."
She could sense his tension, stemming from a mixture of dread and hope.
Maian created a Wall of Silence around them. Soren had noticed it, but said
nothing.
"What I am going to tell you now is most likely going to make you very angry,
but I feel that you have to know the truth. When we first talked, you said that
we were cursed... that is only partially true. No goddess ever cursed us, that
was the doing of the laguz and beorc. As it is, I consider the mixed blood a
blessing – most of the time."
"What do you mean?"
"Because of the mixed blood you and I are stronger than the average beorc mage.
Only arch sages who devoted their lives to the use of magic can outmatch us. But
more importantly, what I wanted you to know is that our existence is not a
crime. I know that you have visited the library of Mainal Cathedral and that you
read the old records about our race, but they are a lie. Or rather, the scholars
who wrote them had been misinformed – on purpose."
"Sorry, but I can't keep up."
"Those records say that the Goddess Ashera forbade laguz and beorc to marry and
by doing so marked every child of a mixed couple as an outcast. According to
those records, the laguz parent loses his or her powers as a divine punishment
and the child is marked with the Brand. That is all a lie."
"What?! But then – if it's not a punishment - "
"No-one knows why we bear a mark, or why one of our parents loses part of his
self. But this has nothing to do with Ashera. She never knew of our kind before
she went to sleep."
"Are you absolutely certain that your information is correct?"
"Yes. My source is very reliable and has been absolutely honest with me. I have
no doubts about that."
"So that means I had to suffer so much because of a lie?"
"Yes. Just like me and everyone else. Because of a lie, countless innocent
people like us had to suffer. But we do not know who is to blame for that."
Soren clenched his fist. Maian could sense his anger, burning like a blaze. She
clo­sed her eyes and concentrated on his feelings, willing him to calm down.
"Would you tell me your story?"
"Don't you know already?"
"It is considered ill-mannered and rude to just read another's mind. I only do
so if I believe it is necessary – or more convenient than asking a lot of
questions. In your case, however – if you do not want to talk, that is fine
with me. I understand how you feel, after all."
"I don't mind telling you, after all, I told my story to Ike as well...
I don't know who my parents are, or what they are, or where I was born. I was
raised by an old woman who lived in Gallia. From my early childhood on I
under­stood that she considered me a burden. She would often say things like
"Why me?" and "Life isn't fair", but I never understood why she disliked me so
much. She never loved me, she just cared for me out of some sense of duty she
didn't really possess.
Then, one day, a wandering sage came past. He noticed the mark on my forehead
and thought me to be a Spirit Charmer."
"Yes, I have heard that this happens quite often. They just cannot tell the
difference."
"The sage offered to take me in. The old hag was delighted – I had never seen
her that happy. She would have readily given me away even without accepting the
sage's money."
How cruel.
"The sage was old and knew he would die soon, so all he was interested in was
passing on his knowledge to a successor. He, too, never cared about me. I was
just the apprentice. When the sage died, I knew much about magic, but had no
idea what to do. I stayed until I had eaten all the food, then I took everything
that was valuable and left. I didn't know where I was going, only that I
couldn't stay where I was. That was when I first met gallians. I had never seen
them before and so I was terrified, but they never attempted to harm me. On the
contrary, they would only growl and then turn away, as if I didn't exist. It was
worse than open hatred."
"Most laguz react that way to our kind, if they can sense what we are. You were
lucky you did not encounter those who would kill us."
"Heh, I suppose so. But that doesn't really make me feel any better.
After travelling for days, I reached a small beorc settlement. I tried to get
some food from them – anything edible would have been fine – but I couldn't
speak."
"You – what?!", Maian asked, shocked.
"I could use magic spells, alright. But neither with the woman nor the sage I
had needed to talk. They would just hurl words at me, not even proper
sentences... I don't know what the villagers thought of me, but they didn't let
me near their hou­ses. They chased me away with stones and sticks... I
collapsed under a tree near the village, unable to go any further. When I
regained consciousness, a boy was sitting next to me. I was scared, but he just
smiled. Then he offered me some food. I thought he just wanted to taunt me, that
he would chase me off like the others had, but he encouraged me to eat. I was so
starved, I would have eaten anything..."
"That boy – was Ike, correct?"
"Yes. He was the first person who was ever kind to me. He promised me to be back
later, with more food. At first, I thought he wouldn't come, but in the end, I
returned to that tree..."
"What happened?", Maian asked softly.
"He didn't come. At first, I thought he had just not felt like it, but then I
noticed that the village was quiet. Too quiet. After waiting for a while, I went
to have a look." He closed his eyes. "It was terrible. The entire village was
strewn with corpses. I sear­ched them, but Ike wasn't among them. So I figured
he'd still be alive, somewhere. I packed all the food and valuables I could find
and went looking for him. Eventually, I crossed into Crimea and came to an
abbey. The priests mistook me for a Spirit Charmer and after I had demonstrated
my skills they took me in to teach me. I lear­ned how to speak, read and write
and for the first time in my life I was treated like a normal person... After I
had learned everything they could teach me, I set out again and eventually met
the Greil Mercenaries. I was shocked when Ike said he didn't re­member me.
Greil explained to me that Ike had no memories of one day, the day his mother
died... I think someone meddled with Ike's mind. Is that possible?"
"A strong sage could do that. But that means that one had to be in a small beorc
settlement in Gallia exactly the day Ike's mother died – and that would be a
very strange coincidence."
"What if it wasn't a coincidence at all?"
"That would be a possibility, but we have no means of proving either.
So, is that when you joined the mercenaries?"
"Yes. Ike persuaded Greil to take me. He was my first and only friend, I never
got close to any of the others. I still had no idea what I really was, I just
knew that something about me made people dislike me. It was only during our
visit to Sienne that I found out the truth – or rather, part of the truth."
"Yours is truly a sad story – it makes me realise how fortunate I was –
having parents who cared for me, as best as they could."
"I still can't believe it... because of a lie... all that suffering, hiding,
lying... all the fear and distrust... Why? Why did this happen?! Who made
parents reject their own children and cast them out?!"
Soren started to cry. Maian had known for a while that he was just acting tough
while deep down inside despair and sadness were lurking. But he still tried to
hold back his tears.
Maian laid a hand on his shoulder.
"It is alright. Just let it out. It will help, trust me. I have been through
just the same."
It was as if she had broken a dam. The pain Soren was feeling – and that Maian
had to feel as well – was almost unbearable. She nevertheless let him cry for
a while before she started singing a galdr to ease his agony.
She could feel the pain fading away. Soren calmed down, she could feel him
relax.
"Thank you", he said once she had stopped singing, "for everything."
"Not at all. I am glad I was able to help you."
"So, you can even use galdrar. Interesting."
"Yes, that can come in handy, but using them is risky. If I did that in front of
anyone who had heard a galdr before, I would give myself away. I could risk it
now because no-one was there to hear or see me."
"Well, I surely don't want you to risk discover just to help me. I will be fine
from now on – now that I now the truth. It's a relief, actually."
Maian smiled. "I had hoped it would be."



"Come on, you two!", Reyson called.
"What is it, brother?", Rafiel asked.
"I want to introduce you to the senator."
"I am not sure whether I want to be introduced to her."
"Oh, come off it! She's a really nice person, we got along pretty well, and she
told me a few things about Begnion I never understood. Besides, she's on our
side! And her father is the one who buried our people."
Rafiel frowned. "Reyson, do you like her?"
"No, it's not like that. I just get a very strange feeling whenever I'm near
her, but I can't decide whether it's a good or a bad feeling. Besides, she's
already in love with someone else."
"Who?", Leanne asked curiously.
"The prime minister of Begnion."
"What kind of person is he?", Rafiel asked.
"Well, we never met him in person, but the people of the empire really like him.
And he's pro-laguz. So, I think he's a good person."
"Well, I want to meet her", Leanne said. "And you're coming, too!"
Rafiel gave in and the three of them started looking for the senator. After a
while, they met Ike.
"Hello, Ike! Have you seen Senator Maian?"
"Yeah, she's in the strategy room along with Soren. They chased me out earlier,
saying they needed to work..."
"Oh dear." Reyson grinned. "Thanks."
The door leading to the strategy room was open and they could see the two sages
bending over a large table covered with maps.
"The central army must be around – here", Maian said, pointing at one of the
maps. "Or maybe here – this is bad. We have four maps of that region, and they
are all different. How on earth are we going to work with that?!"
"That's a good question." Soren looked up to see the herons standing in the
door. "Senator, we got company."
Maian looked up.
"Ah."
"We don't mean to disturb you", Reyson said.
"Not at all", Soren replied. "We should take a break, actually, or someone is
bound to faint again."
"I start wishing you would not have found me that night", Maian said sourly.
"But we can't have you pass out all the time. You are a strong magician, and you
know more about the empire than anyone else. So, we're taking a break."
"Oh, very well."
"Did you want to see the senator?", Soren asked the siblings.
"Yes, how - "
"Then I'll be waiting outside."
Soren strode past them and disappeared.
"Did I say something wrong?", Reyson asked.
"No. He just guessed you wanted to see me. Soren – is not as cold and
indifferent as he makes people believe. He is quite sensitive, actually. But
please do not tell him I said that."
Reyson grinned. "No need to worry. He seems to like you, and according to Ike,
he normally doesn't like people."
"Yes, I did notice. The poor boy..."
"Anyway, I wanted you to meet my siblings, Rafiel and Leanne."
"Honored to meet you", Maian said, inclining her head.
Leanne suddenly rushed forward and seized her hand.
"I think I know what my brother meant! I like you, too!"
Maian looked taken aback. Reyson was about to translate Leanne's words, when
Maian replied – using the Ancient Tongue.
"Thank you, Your Highness..."
"You speak the Old Tongue! That's just great!" Leanne was overjoyed. "I won't
need a translator that way!"
Maian smiled, apparently amused by Leanne's enthusiasm.
"I have no troubles understanding you, but speaking is difficult for me... I
have been learning for only ten years..."
"For that, you are very fluent", Rafiel said, unable to hide his surprise. "The
Ancient Tongue is much more difficult than the Modern Tongue and if you do not
learn to speak it as a child, it must be even harder..."
"Thank you for complimenting me on my skills, Prince Rafiel."
"Might I ask why you are learning it in the first place? Beorc do not use the
Ancient Tongue, after all."
"True, only magicians use it for spells. But my teacher – the prime minister
– is fluent and he suggested I could learn it as well. Not only to speak, but
also to write and read it."
"Impressive", Reyson said.
"Oh, it is not that difficult. It gets easier the more you learn. Just like
magic – you only have to get used to it."
"Well, for us, using the Ancient Tongue is the most normal thing in the world."
"Yes, but you are the only laguz tribe apart from the dragons who still uses it,
correct?"
"No, the wolves of Hatary use it as well", Rafiel replied.
"I see. Hatary... I know nothing of this land. I think I should have a long talk
with Queen Nailah..."
"I could introduce you to her, if you like", Rafiel offered.
"I would like that, but work goes first. We have a war to win. After that, I
will have enough time to learn everything about Hatary."
Rafiel nodded. Just like Reyson, he had misjudged her. She was not at all what
he had expected her to be...



Caineghis, Skrimir, Ranulf, Nailah, the herons, Tibarn, Ike, Soren and Maian had
gathered to decide what to do now. Of course, Nala had come, too. The two sages
had worked on the maps until they had drawn one that was – most likely – up
to date.
"So, what now?", Tibarn asked.
"We'll have to face the central army again, no doubt about that", Ike said
darkly.
"The central army has reached the crimean border by now", Maian said. "That
means Valtome will petition the queen not only for permission to cross through
Crimea, but also for supplies and additional troops. This will put Queen Elincia
in a terrible situation..."
"What do you mean?", Skrimir asked.
"Well, Crimea and Gallia are allies, so allowing Begnion to cross in order to
launch an attack on Gallia would mean breaking the treaty. However, she cannot
simply ignore the senate's request, either... that said, Queen Elincia has to
choose bet­ween bad and worse... The poor child."
"Ya know, it's kinda funny, hearing you say things like that", Tibarn said.
Maian smiled. "I always get that kind of reaction when I say something like
that. Queen Elincia is the same age Commander Ike is, correct? I could be their
mother."
Everyone stared at her. To her left, Soren moved uneasily. Maian instantly
regretted what she had said. It was one thing to fool beorc, but laguz...
"How old are you, if I might ask?", Queen Nailah said.
It is already too late. I might as well tell them.
"I will celebrate my 40th birthday in about half a year's time – that is, if I
live through this war."
"I wouldn't have guessed", Ranulf said. "But I never understand the way you
beorc age."
The others agreed. Ike grinned, while Soren relaxed a little. Maian prayed that
none of the herons would want to take a peek at their thoughts right now.
"Alright, everyone, back to the topic, please!", Tibarn called. "If we are to
fight the Begnion Central Army again, we will have to deal with Zelgius."
"Leave him to me", Maian said.
"I don't mean to doubt your abilities, but he was too much for Skrimir and me to
handle. And you think you would stand a chance?"
"I am a magician, we fight differently than you do. I guess that if Soren had
fought Zelgius in General Skrimir's stead, you would have won that day."
"Well, it's a pity swordsmen don't duel with mages", Skrimir growled.
"I doubt Zelgius would last long against my magic", Maian continued. "Besides,
who said that I will have to fight him? Since I am a member of the senate,
Zelgius has to follow my orders. And I have a higher rank than Valtome – only
the vize-minister and the prime minister are above me. And the apostle, of
course. On top of that, Zelgius is Sephiran's right-hand man and he would rather
die than harm me. So, there is no need to worry."
"But won't Valtome do anything against you taking over?"
"Oh, I am pretty certain the senators have already spread rumours about me –
how I betrayed the empire, joined forces with the enemy and now I am plotting to
destroy them all. The average soldier might believe such lies, but Zelgius is
too clever to fall for that. I just need to get a chance to talk to him."
"We'll make sure you get your chance", Ike promised.
"Good. I suggest we use the time we have left to recover and muster more
soldiers, for we will have to attack the central army head-on."
"I agree", Caineghis said. "Until we hear what kind of decision the queen made,
we cannot do anything. It would not be right of us to turn her country into a
battlefield."
"But will she defy the senate?", Skrimir asked doubtfully.
"You bet she will", Ranulf said.
"Have faith in her, Skrimir", Caineghis added.
"Please enlighten us, who is that beorc queen who warrants so much trust and
praise?", Nailah asked.
"Her late father and I forged an alliance between our nations", Caineghis
explained. "During the war, two of my soldiers travelled with them to Begnion
and they learned to better understand one another. In the end, we joined forces
to defeat Ashnard. After the war ended, Queen Elincia and I tried our utmost to
strengthen the bonds between our nations. I sent workers to Crimea to help with
the reconstruction works and trade and connections between the two nations
finally intensified."
"I see. It would appear she is a fine woman."
"She's the best", Ike said. "She basically knew nothing about ruling a country
when she became queen, but she's still doing an awesome job."
"Well, then let us hope she will not get caught up in this conflict."

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