The Curse of the Brand von Aylatha ================================================================================ Kapitel 46: Tower of Memories ----------------------------- They entered the tower. It was almost dark in here, just a faint blue glow lit the inte­riour. Yune hadn't been exaggerating, the inside really was huge. The pillars and doors were decorated with beautiful carvings. "It's – so quiet. Is the goddess really here?", Ike asked Yune. "U-huh. She's at the top. Be careful, everyone. This is Ashera's home territory. She's certain to have her most powerful troops waiting up ahead. We must proceed with the utmost caution." They moved towards the flight of stairs leading to the next door. Maian had left her steed at her manor. Since she no longer had to hide them, she would fight using her own wings. The next moment, Yune felt another mind drifting into hers and the world was swallowed by a whirl of images and colours... "What's happening?", Micaiah asked. "I don't know...", Yune replied. A man and a woman were standing on a balcony, looking down at the sleeping city of Sienne. Yune gasped. "This – this is a memory! Pay attention, this might be useful." "So, you were the companion of Altina, the first empress", the woman said. "I am honored that you have chosen to speak with me." "You would trust in the word of a stranger?", the man asked. Yune decided to call him "the narrator", since it was his memory they were watching. "Yes. I can look into your soul. I know you are speaking the truth." "Is it possible? Do you share some aspect of my power?" "I do, as did my mother. Generation after generation, each apostle has been blessed to hear the voice of the goddess. We know of impending disasters, how crops will fare... All revelations intended originally for you..." "The children of my union with Altina... I had no idea..." "Please, have a look at this." The woman held out her right hand. It was covered by a black mark. Micaiah let out a shout of surprise, but Yune was too busy trying to figure out who this memory belonged to, so she paid no attention to her. "This mark..." "Every apostle has borne this mark. It is our greatest secret – the senators must never know. Because of this mark, I thought that I had been born of some great sin. It plagued me always... Guilt tore at me every single day as I hid it from my people, deceiving them constantly about my true nature." "Oh, child... how can I apologize to you?" "And yet, now that I have met you, I understand. There is no shame in my heritage, none at all. I will reveal to the world that I am one of the branded. They must see that there is no shame in who I am." "No! You must not do that... You know not the danger you would be placing yourself in..." "Oh, but I do. The senators will do their utmost to rally the people of Begnion against me, as when I wanted to free the laguz from slavery. But I will not be deter­red. If I am to lead this nation, I cannot allow it to be corrupted by prejudice and hatred. I can put the life the goddess has given me to no greater good than this." "Such determination... your eyes... they very much resemble Altina's." "I will stand before my people and proudly proclaim the truth. And then I will guide them to a just and honest future. This is my promise to you." He took a step forwards and took her hand into his. http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff292/AliceAurion/43.png "Thank you. Your strength of will, the truth that guides your life... you have shown me the way back to myself! I shall return to Goldoa and tell my friends about you and your deeds. I will tell them that laguz and beorc may once again live together in peace. I will tell them that there is hope." "Thank you, father of my mothers. I will strive to be worthy of the gift of the life you have granted me." Again, the world was swallowed and they found themselves back in the present. "Strange",Yune muttered. "I need to think about this... Micaiah, you take over." They passed through the door to find the enemy waiting for them. Lekain and Het­zel were standing right in front of their men. "Well, well... "Apostle" Sanaki. What a surprise seeing you here", Lekain said. "Frankly, I am amazed that you dare to set foot inside the most sacred Tower of Guidance." Micaiah stepped forward. "Lekain... we have been looking for you for a long time. You bound Daein to your awful pact, hounded noble King Pelleas and stole countless lives in your appalling war. You are – beyond redemption!" "Beyond redemption? My, that does sound dreadful. Whatever will you do with me? Oh, and let me remind you, the Blood Contract is still in effect. You would to well to remember that. I think you know what will happen to the people of Daein if you dare oppose me." "Enough. We fear your threats no more. No more will be bow down to your every whim!", she replied angrily. "Now that we have found you, we will exact justice upon you, then destroy the Blood Pact itself, ending its power over us!" "So you figured it out, eh? Heh heh... it matters not. This changes nothing, do you hear me? Here is the scroll you have been searching for so diligently. Right here in my hand." Micaiah gasped. "And yet, none of you will ever lay one grimy little finger upon it. I have been bles­sed by the goddess herself. Her protection will not allow you fleas to even approach me!" "Lekain, cease this travesty of virtue at once!", Sanaki demanded. "What have we here? Oh, the apostle. Excuse me, child, but I had completely for­gotten you were here. And somehow, despite the plans of great men, you are still standing here before my very eyes." "If Sephiran and I hadn't been freed... You were just waiting for a chance to kill us? Just as you wanted to kill Maian – just as you killed my grandmother." "Out of respect for the imminently deceased, I will be completely honest. Yes, you assume correctly. Your assassination, and the plot to once again frame the herons for it, was entirely my idea." "Yes... I thought as much." "Impressive, Sanaki. When you were crowned, you would cry your little eyes out. You have grown, slightly. You know, you were such a difficult child. You were always crying, there was just one person who could calm you: the new prime minister. You would stop crying as soon as he was near you, you even smiled. We thought the two of you would be the perfect pair. The handsome, young prime minister and you, easy to manipulate. But then you started thinking on your own and became a threat to us... a child-empress and the youngest prime minister ever..." Maian snorted. They all looked at her, surprised. "What is the matter, Senator Maian?", Lekain asked, sounding annoyed. "Do you wish to criticize me, young lady?" "Please, stop calling me "young" already. We are past that – after all, I am almost forty years old by now." "Are you? I always tend to forget your age... You still appear so young, so - " "Do you want to know my secret? I would not mind telling you, since everyone else already knows... I killed the soldiers that were with Valtome using a galdr – the Galdr of Death, which I wrote ten years ago. I can use these powers because of the laguz blood running through my veins. That is also what keeps me from aging." Maian smiled sweetly. "You – you are heron-blooded?!" "Yes, as a matter of fact. My mother was one of the Serenes Tribe – she died be­cause of you and your evil schemes. Now, finally, I shall have revenge. Prepare to die!" "Hah! Do you think that you, with your cursed blood, can stand against me – Ashera's chosen champion?" "The "cursed blood", as you call it, is a blessing. It makes us a lot stronger than the average beorc or laguz... Even blessed by the goddess, you cannot possibly ima­gine the power we wield." Soren and Micaiah stepped forward and the three of them faced Lekain. "Th-three of you?! Abominations!" "Silence!", Sanaki shouted. "How dare you talk to my companions like that! Lekain, Duke of Gaddos! Before the 37th Empress of Begnion – prepare to be judged!" "An amusing game, child, truly. But you must know that there is nothing you can do against me! I am the greatest servant of the all-knowing, almighty Ashera! And you, Sanaki, are a pathetic wretch, mewling behind her pack of daein curs! Ashera's judgement is upon you! You will not live to be turned to stone – you will die here as flesh and blood!" The two senators warped away and the disciples charged. Ike gave orders to reta­liate. Both Maian and Micaiah had acquired new spells – Rexaura and Valaura. Pelleas had mastered the dark spell Balberith. And several people wished to see Lekain dead. Caineghis and Renning were a nice addition to their troops. Slowly, they advanced on the two senators, slaying enemies left and right. Nailah growled as she advanced on Hetzel. "P-please wait! I used to be Rafiel's friend!" "But now you are his enemy. I cannot spare you – except if you were willing to join us." "Join you? And betray the vize-minister? N-no, I can't do that..." "Then die." Hetzel tried to strike her down with magic, but the wolf queen was simply too fast. Meanwhile, Sanaki advanced on Lekain. "This will be your end!" "Ha, you are just a servant of the tainted dark god! What do you hope to accom­plish?" "Yune is not a dark god!", Micaiah shouted. "You, on the other hand – I can look right into your dark, twisted soul! You are the monster here!" "I agree", Sanaki said. "Burn, traitor!" Her magic surrounded his shield and then the flames burned right through it. Lekain let out a terrible scream as he collapsed. Sanaki stood there, breathing hard and trying to get ahold of herself. Around them, the others finished off the remaining soldiers. Sothe quickly bent down and pried something from Lekain's dead fingers. "Micaiah! This is it! The actual Blood Pact!" "At long last... We finally found it. All the misery Daein has suffered because of this wretched parchment..." "I know. But with this, we can finally free Daein from the curse. C'mon, Micaiah. You know what to do." "Of course..." Micaiah took the contract from Sothe's hands and ripped it in two. http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff292/AliceAurion/33.png There was a flash of light and the parchment burned away in a blue flame. Nothing was left of it. "That's it", Micaiah said. "What a relief. No-one else has to die now", Sothe replied. "Thank goodness..." Suddenly, Sothe noticed something strange. "Hey! There's another pact here! Lekain was carrying two of them. What's going on?!" "Oh! That one is mine!", Naesala said, sounding very happy. He took the contract and ripped it to pieces. "Kilvas as well?", Sothe asked. "It would make sense that he would carry both with him. All the betrayal, all the lies... death's too good for you, Lekain." "So that's why you betrayed us?", Tibarn asked. "They were blackmailing you?" "Yeah. One of my ancestors foolishly enough signed it and then – the curse killed most of our people, including my family... That's why I became next in line to the throne. Tibarn, I'm really, really sorry. But the alternative was sacrificing my people... I couldn't have done that." "See? See? I told you – Naesala was... suffering", Leanne said, punching Skrimir. "Well, in that case, I guess I forgive you", Tibarn said, extending a hand. "Since you didn't do it for money or power this time." Naesala grinned, taking the offered hand. "It's over now. Daein and Kilvas are finally free." "Free... such a sweet word", Micaiah replied. "Yes it is, but if we can't save our petrified countrymen, it's a pretty hollow freedom." "You're right", Sothe said. "The job's only half done. The goddess is still ahead." Sanaki sat down on the steps and closed her eyes. "Lekain... to think that the warped dreams of one man could corrupt an entire nation..." "Apostle? Are you well?", Ike asked. She looked up. "So you still insist on calling me "apostle"? I think we're past that, Ike." "So what should I call you? Miss Sanaki?" "How rude! You have no right to address me with such familiarity. Please call me "empress"." "Got it, empress." "You don't have to say it like that. Loosen up a bit." "Oh, give me a break...", Ike moaned. Sanaki smiled, got to her feet and joined Maian, who was standing a few feet away. Micaiah appeared next to Ike. One glance at her eyes told him that Yune had taken control again. "You creatures are made of some tough meat. I don't think this girl even needs to hear the divine word, do you?" "Yune, you're a bit of a mystery yourself. It almost sounds as if you're happy to see that people don't necessarily need you." "The one constant truth about people, Ike, is that no-one can keep them from changing. People sometimes do things even the highest divinities couldn't imagine. That makes me sad. But it also makes me very happy. That is why I love people so much." "There are some changes even goddesses can't even predict nor control. Maybe Ashera resented that." "I don't know... But I do know that Ashera loved people. I'm sure of it..." Just as they were about to leave that room, another memory burst into Yune's and Micaiah's minds. The narrator was walking along a street near the harbour of Sienne, when several people caught up with him. "My lord sage! Have you heard? The apostle – she has been murdered!" "What? How – how could that happen?!" "The senators claim it has been the work of the Serenes herons!" "That is not possible. The herons would never harm anyone!" "Why not? They're just a bunch of filthy sub-humans! We can't possibly expect them to think like us!" "Yeah, they probably enjoyed it!" "I wish we could do something about this..." "But you can. Grab a weapon, a torch, whatever. We'll go to Serenes Forest and avenge the apostle!" "Wait! You mustn't... the herons are innocent! No... aaaargh!" "Wh-what's that?! Wings – wings from his back! He's one of them – one of those cursed sub-humans!" "How dare you pretend to be one of us!" The faces of the angry beorc faded away and were replaced by a forest, ablaze in the dead of night. The ground was strewn with corpses – men, women and children. The narrator was standing next to the altar that overlooked the town where the he­rons had lived. Tears where streaming down his cheeks. "Why... why did it have to come to this? My children – all of them – are dead... why? WHY?!" A flash of blue light caught his attention. The Fire Emblem was lying on the altar, blue flames surrounding it. "No... the medallion... I have to calm it... The goddess must not wake..." He reached out to touch it, but immediately pulled his hand back, howling with pain. "No... too much chaos... too much pain... but she must not wake... or else – the world will be destroyed... destroyed..." "Another memory of that person?", Micaiah asked. "Yes... but – I don't think this is meant to help us... I'm so confused... when did this happen?" Hosted by Animexx e.V. (http://www.animexx.de)