The Curse of the Brand   von Aylatha
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                         Kapitel 49: The Puppet Master
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Nasir and Gareth both had received a blessing from Yune. Ike was glad to have
two more dragons on their side. That surely would help fighting Ashera.
Ike had no idea how strong the goddess would be, but their enemies had become
stronger the further they had climbed.
I wonder who our next opponent will be... and where Sephiran is... and that
Lehran...
They moved into another vast room. The ceiling was so high up, Ike couldn't even
see it.
Suddenly, Maian let out a terribly cry of agony.
"Nooooooohhhhhh!"
Startled, her companions gathered around her.
"Maian! What's wrong?"
"Have you seen something?"
"Tell us!"
Maian looked at them, her eyes wide with fear.
"I – I do not know... I do not know!"
"What do you mean?", Micaiah asked. "You don't know what you've seen? I had that
once, it was because of exhaustion..."
"No, it is not that... I know something is going to happen. Something
terrible... But not what. Oh, what a useless gift this is..."
She covered her face in her hands.
"An enemy?", Ike asked. "No matter who it is, we'll move on. No-one can stop us.
Come on, let's go."
"No... no... please, do not make me go on... I do not want to... I cannot...
please..."
Seeing that she was about to collapse, Ike turned to the herons.
"Calm her! I don't care what you do, but you have to make her go on! We need
her."
"Can't we just leave the senator here, if she is so much against going on?",
Elincia asked.
"No, Elincia, that wouldn't be very chivalrous of us, leaving a lady here all by
her­self", Geoffrey replied.
"I agree", Renning said. "Suppose an enemy comes by? She would be in danger...
Besides, no knight would leave behind a lady in distress."
"And splitting our forces up is definitely not an option", Ike added. "We'll
need everyone."
"I'm sorry", Elincia muttered.
The herons and Micaiah gathered around Maian and started talking to her
soothingly in low, murmuring voices. Leanne used the Ancient Tongue again.
Suddenly, Micaiah looked up into the looming darkness.
"I have a feeling... that someone is watching us."
"Friend or foe?", Sothe asked.
"I can't say for sure."
"Hm. I bet we'll find out soon."



Slowly, carefully, he moved closer to the edge of the platform he was standing
on. Below, the little army had stopped again and he could see the cause of
that.
Four people stood in a circle around a fifth person, apparently trying to
comfort her. Four of them with long golden hair, three of those had white wings.
And the fifth – her hair was silver.
So this is Yune's vessel – the Silver-Haired Maiden.
As if she had felt his glance, the girl looked up, scanning the darkness with
her eyes. He quickly retreated into the shadows.
Did she see me? No. Impossible. I can only see them because I am so much higher
up and because I know they are here.
Looking down again, he could see that they were moving again. But the
grey-winged golden-haired girl was still trembling.
I wonder what they were talking about... Soon, they will reach this place. I
never wanted it to come to this... There is no hope of avoiding a fight now.



"They're getting stronger and stronger",Yune said. "Whose memories are they? I
know him."
They had climbed another long flight of steps and reached a larger platform. A
huge pair of doors blocked their path.
"Everyone, Ashera is nearby. Just beyond those doors... that's where we'll find
her."
"We made it", Ike said. "Finally..."
"You should know, Ashera may have changed since before her slumber. Order and
chaos are meant to naturally balance each other out. If you take one away,
balance is lost. I don't expect Ashera to have the merest shred of compassion.
Talking to her will likely do no good."
"We don't have much of a choice. If talking won't work, we'll have to use force.
Otherwise, this has all been for nothing."
They moved across the platform, towards the door. Remembering Maian's cryptic
vision, Ike eyed their surroundings suspiciously. But no-one started a vicious
ambush out of the darkness...
"What about you?", he asked Yune. "Are you completely chaotic? Are you out of
balance? As far as I can tell, you don't lean too far in either direction."
"Ashera and I see things a little differently... During my long sleep, I was
wrapped in sweet, gentle music."
"Heron galdrar?"
"Yes, but more importantly than the song itself, I was never alone. There was
al­ways someone there, singing comfort to me. Ashera shouldn't have isolated
her­self... she became lonely and bitter, and lost touch with her people..."
Ike tried the door. Nothing. He tried the handle again, then he leaned against
it with his full weight.
"Hold on... This thing won't budge."
"What's wrong with it?"
"Those doors cannot be opened", a calm voice from behind them spoke.
They turned around to see Sephiran striding towards them.
"They have been sealed with powerful magic."
"Sephiran!", Sanaki exclaimed. "You are all right... I'm so relieved to see
you!"
Sephiran bowed.
"I am sorry to have been a cause for concern, apostle. Forgive me."
"Sephiran... there's something I need to tell you. I am not a true apostle. I am
sorry to have abused your trust."
"I've known that for some time, Sanaki. Don't forget that I was almost a father
to you. It honestly doesn't make any difference to me whether or not you can
hear the goddess."
"S-sephiran... Thank you... for having always been there for me."
"Empress... shouldn't you tell him about General Zelgius?", Ike suggested,
putting a hand on her shoulder and gently pushing her forwards.
"Yes... I suppose I should. Sephiran... Zelgius is dead... I know you put a lot
of trust in him, but he was also closely allied to Daein... I'm sure you have
heard of Daein's so-called Black Knight? Sephiran, the Black Knight was
Zelgius."
"But that's probably no news to you, isn't it?", Ike asked. "After all, it was
you he was taking orders from."
"Wha – Ike? What are you saying?!"
"A man like Zelgius could never serve conflicting interests. Never. Everything
he did, he did for one master. Isn't that so, Sephiran?"
"I think I understand!", Sanaki said, turning back to Sephiran, who had watched
their argument with mild interest. "You wanted to monitor events within Daein.
You sent Zelgius as a spy!"
"Precisely. I felt it important to observe King Ashnard carefully... that was my
goal. At the time, it was relatively easy to get an outsider close to the king.
Ashnard was famous for employing powerful men with no regards to their
background or social status."
"Obviously, he would need no convincing after he saw the bladework of General
Zelgius", Ike added. "The Black Knight tried to take the medallion from my
father and killed him... Tell me, Sephiran, whose plan was that?! Ashnard's –
or yours?!"
"Calm down, Ike!", Sanaki called. "Sephiran? Would you please explain?"
"Sir Ike, I'm afraid your father's death was an unfortunate result of Zelgius'
own personal agenda. I did not order Sir Gawain killed."
He closed his eyes for a second.
"However, I must admit that I asked him to seize the medallion and hand it over
to King Ashnard. The goddess was to be freed – and all living creatures
destroyed."
Sanaki stared at him. "Come again?!"
"You're insane!", Ike shouted.
"I could not be more sane, Sir Ike. Attend and learn... My aim has always been
to wake Ashera so that she might pass judgement on all the people of this world.
What I needed was a war that would spread all over the continent. How could I
achieve this? My attention turned to the young daein prince... I could use the
fiery Ashnard for my purposes. He was ambitious, a fierce warrior, and more than
any­thing, he had an earnest desire to change the world. When I allowed him to
learn of the goddess sealed within the medallion – the so-called "dark god"
– he became determined to set her free – believing he could harness her
power. We could use heron galdrar, or a massive, continent-spanning war to throw
the world into chaos."
"Sephiran, what are you saying? Are you saying you wanted this? You can't be
serious...", Sanaki begged to know.
"Sanaki, my long life has shown me that the people of this world only deserve
destruction. The selfishness, the brutality... The disregard for others, the
endless quarrelling laguz and beorc. We have been given many chances to correct
our be­haviour and ourselves, and we have squandered them all. The only hope
for a peaceful, ordered world is for Ashera to wipe us all out and begin anew.
To fulfill my ambition of destroying all beings, I had to use you. I had to
betray you."
"This is some kind of monstrous joke...", Sanaki said, closing her eyes.
She almost collapsed. Ike grabbed her arm and beckoned Titania to take her.
"So, you have been pulling the strings all along?", Ike asked Sephiran.
"Correct."
"Beyond just Empress Sanaki, you were trusted by a lot of people. Sephiran, I
need to understand. Did you really betray all of those people?"
"I did."
"I don't need to hear anything else, then", Ike said, drawing Ragnell and
pointing it at Sephiran. "I'm going to make your death as painful as I know
how!"
"This can't be happening!", Sanaki shouted. "I won't fight you, Sephiran. I
can't!"
"Poor Sanaki... you'll have no choice but to fight. The doors leading to Ashera
are sealed by my very own magic. Killing me is your only way – for I will not
undo the seal for you."
"Sephiran!"
"So it was you?", Yune said. "All those memories penetrating my mind were
yours... Since we entered this tower, I've been seeing what you've been
thinking, Lehran. Give it up."
That hit them like a slap in the face.
"You?!", Reyson exclaimed. "You are Lehran?! But – but Maian said - "
"She never actually pretended to have learned from two masters", Tibarn
replied.
"How could you!", Reyson exclaimed. "How could you do this – a member of the
heron clan! How could you do this to our cousin!"
He placed his hands on Sanaki's shoulders, who now really looked as if she was
about to faint. Apparently, she had envisioned meeting her ancestor somewhat
different.
"I do not understand", Rafiel said quietly. "Why?"
"You are too young to understand", Lehran replied. "Once you have lived as long
as I have – seen the things I have seen... then, perhaps, you will understand.
All I want now... is the end of all that is. Please don't stop me. But why are
you here? Go back to your forest. The light of judgement will do you no harm."
"No, I'm surely not going to abandon my friends!", Reyson shouted, losing his
composure.
"I – um, I fight for friends – my friends! Yes!", Leanne added.
"I agree", Rafiel said. "Since you, a heron, caused this whole mess, it is only
right that we take responsibility for it."
"We're even related, what makes it worse", Reyson said gloomily.
"But I am as well", Sanaki muttered.
"Never mind that. You already took responsibility for the Serenes Massacre. It's
our turn now."
Pelleas rushed forward.
"Who am I? Tell me, who am I really?!"
Lehran's glance softened a little.
"I am afraid I do not know. The senators centered around Lekain just wanted
Izuka to find someone they could use as a king, so he never investigated. And I
only knew about the whole affair because I read it from their minds..."
"You knew about the Blood Contract as well?"
"I did. I was the one who initiated the Mad King's War, but there was no need
for me to do anything this time. Letting them use the Blood Pact could prove
useful later, so I did nothing about it. I knew that the Daein Liberation War
was very unlikely going to get any other nations involved, but the murder Lekain
and the others committed sparked the war between Begnion and the Laguz Alliance.
I had some help from Maian, as well... she warned the remaining laguz envoys and
made it possible for them to escape... Maian, of course, had no idea she was
helping me with my plans – I had kept them carefully hidden from her."
Pelleas gasped. "You – you monster! How could you... I'm at a loss for
words!"
"King Naesala, it seems that everything went well with the Blood Pact", Lehran
said, ignoring Pelleas.
"Yes, for which I am thankful. It yoked Kilvas to your country's control... But
we no longer suffer the curse for opposing the edicts of your tyrannical,
bloated senators. Present company excepted, of course."
"I am quite glad to hear it."
"You shouldn't be. You're not like the other senators, but your crazy agenda has
turned my nation to stone! Freedom means nothing to a statue."
"My goal was simply to save Sanaki. With your help, she is safe. The mutual
benefit to your country was a happy accident, so do not feel indebted to me."
"So you won't object when I tear out your lungs here and now?"
"By all means. Be my guest."
"You will have to fight him", Yune said quietly. "Even if I don't like it...
Micaiah, you take over."
The red faded from her eyes and they turned yellow again. Micaiah slumped
slightly.
"Micaiah!", Sothe called.
"I'm fine... Yune... she's upset... She – she doesn't want Lehran to die..."
"You are running out of time", Lehran said. "At this rate, I wouldn't count on
being able to face the goddess. I would hate to see you denied after coming all
this way."
"Listen closely, Sephiran, or Lehran, or whatever you're called", Ike replied.
"Lekain couldn't stop us, Zelgius couldn't stop us, and neither could the
legendary dragon king, Deghinsea! And you won't stop us, either. We've come too
far already."
"Well, now you know who brought you here and why... I suppose that only leaves
our fight to the death to take care of."
"You don't even have to ask!", Sothe shouted furiously, drawing his throwing
knives and hurling them at the prime minister.
Lehran neatly sidestepped them and they fell harmlessly to the ground.
"Not a bad attack, lad, but too slow. I have an advantage, you must know... I
can read your intentions from your mind. You could call it unfair, I
suppose..."
Lehran smiled kindly. It gave Ike the creeps.
"Farewell."
The gem on the top of his staff started to glow and light flowed into his right
hand. Ike had no idea about magic, but he could see that this spell was going to
be very unpleasant.
"Impossible", Reyson hissed, backing away. "How could a heron obtain such
powers?!"
Lehran's hand darted forward, his fingers outstretched, pointing at Sothe.
"Creiddylad!"
Multiple rays of light shot from his hand, spreading out and then closing in on
the target. Sothe stood there, as if paralyzed, unable to move.
Something red and silver streaked past Ike. Micaiah had no time to create a
shield and the rays hit her in the back as she threw herself in front of Sothe
to protect him.
"Aaahh!"
"Micaiah!"
Sothe caught her and managed to keep his balance. To Ike's greatest surprise,
Lehran immediately stopped his attack.
Micaiah carefully removed Sothe's hands from her arms and turned to face Lehran.
She swayed and Sothe had to support her.
Lehran's face suddenly was full of pain.
"I am sorry... if I had known you were still alive, I would have never..."
"What's the matter with you?", Micaiah managed in a low whisper, trying to hide
the pain.
"Never mind me. I am just overly sensitive..."
"Why did you send the Black Knight – General Zelgius – to get me? And why
just me?"
"But you already know the answer, do you not? I know you have seen what Yune has
seen. Those memories – my memories."
Micaiah stared at him, then her legs gave in.
"Micaiah!"
"Mist, Elincia, take care of her!", Ike ordered. "The other magicians – take
him down!"
"Form a line", Soren said calmly, stopping next to Sanaki. "Blend shields."
"An excellent idea, young master Soren", Bastian observed.
"Shut up. We have no time for your silly games now."
The shields flashed into existence, each of them a round bubble made out of
light that strongly resembled glass – you could see it was there, but look
right through it.
Sothe carefully lowered Micaiah to the ground, while Elincia and Mist bent over
her.
Ike could see the movement as the magicians stretched their shields so they
could blend them together. The magicians at the end of the line moved towards
Lehran, so they formed the shape of a crescent moon halfway around him.
"It's no use trying to trick him, what with him being able to read our minds.
Just go for the easy kill... we all attack at the same time, take down his
shield and smash him", Soren said in his usual, emotionless voice.
The others nodded in agreement.
Ike suddenly had a feeling that something was wrong. But he couldn't find out
what it was...
Soren's Rexcalibur hit, at the same time as Bastian's Tornado, Calill's
Rexflame, Ilyana's Rexbolt, Pelleas' Balberith, Tormod's Bolganone and Rhys'
Shine. Ike held his breath as the spells smashed into Lehran's shield – and
rebounded.
Ike could see the slight change in the combined shield as the magicians adjusted
it for this barrage. Rhys, whose magic was weakest, couldn't hold his shield up
any longer. He collapsed and Soren and Calill had to quickly extend their part
of the shield to protect him.
Sanaki hadn't attacked, she was just shielding, and Micaiah couldn't attack,
since she was barely conscious. And Ike suddenly realized that Maian had been
standing behind him all the time, without saying a word or doing anything.
"Dammit, he's strong", Soren panted. "He outmatches even me... just how are we
supposed to defeat him?!"
Ike had an idea. He spun round.
"Maian! Use that galdr of yours on him!"
The same moment as he looked at her, he knew what was wrong.
"Oh no... your "vision"... this is what you were afraid of, isn't it?"
Maian didn't reply. Her face was even paler than usual and she was staring at
Lehran as if her worst nightmare had just become reality.
Suddenly, it was very quiet. Everyone, including the magicians, turned to look
at her. The only audible sound was Maian's breathing, which was accelerating
rapidly.
Is she going to hyperventilate now or what?
Maian turned on her heel, her long cloak billowing behind her, and made a dash
for the door leading to Ashera.
"Maian, wait!"
Lehran sounded alarmed. He took a step forwards, his right hand outstretched, as
if he wanted to pull her back.
"What are you planning to do?!"
Maian skidded to a halt in front of the door and placed her hands against it. A
circu­lar pattern made of white light appeared on the door.
"No! Have you lost your mind?! You cannot possibly undo the seal!"
Ike threw a quick glance in Lehran's direction, who seemed to be really worried,
then he looked back at Maian. Part of the seal suddenly changed colour, from
white to blue. The next moment, it faded back to white and another part now
started glowing purple.
"What's going on now?", Ike shouted at Lehran. "What exactly is your problem?
Explain!"
Lehran nodded curtly. "I have, of course, taught her to create and undo seals,
but only on a simple level. Seals and spells that are strong enough to keep out
non-magicians and the average mage – or slow him down, but nothing like that
– this seal would last beyond the combined powers of your sages and laguz,
since, naturally, I do not want you to open these doors. I do not think Maian
will be able to undo the seal."
"Why not?"
"The adjustments to the magical fabric use up too much strength - "
"Wait, slow down! Explain it so that non-magicians can keep up, if you would!"
The ghost of a smile crossed Lehran's face.
"Hm, how to explain? I believe it is similar to trying to open a lock without a
key, just that you cannot use picks or force your way in. You need to create a
key for your use – in other words, you need to understand how the seal works,
before you can start removing it. That is what Maian is doing right now. See the
different parts of the seal flashing?"
Ike nodded. Maian just dropped a green part and made another one glow red. This
time, she stayed there and he could see the pattern change.
"Deciphering the magical texture takes a considerable amount of strength, so by
the time she will start to actually unlock the door, she will be rather
exhausted."
"I get what you mean", Soren said. "So, there are three possible endings for
this. First, against your expectations, she manages to break the seal. For us,
the best result by far, but very unlikely to happen. You have taught her, so I
trust you will be able to gauge her abilities better than any other. Second: she
manages to break the seal, but dies in the process. Sad, but that, too, would
get us where we want. Third: she fails and dies even before the door is open.
Worst-case-scenario."
"Then we'd better stop her", Ike said. "There's no reason to endanger her
life."
But as he started to walk towards her, a shield flashed into existence around
her.
"Great! Now what! Soren, any ideas?"
Since Lehran apparently had no intention of continuing their "fight to the
death", Soren left the line and appeared by Ike's side.
"No. If we attack the shield, we'd risk hurting her. Plus, it would only make
her using her powers up faster."
And she already made it clear that she would sacrifice her life in order to save
the world...
"Dammit! So what can we do?"
"There is nothing we can do, Ike. We have to wait and see..."
"Soren, are you serious?! Are you really okay with her putting her life at
risk?"
"No, of course not! She's like an older sister to me – the sister I never had.
I don't want her do die, but we can't stop her... and she's the only one who
could probably undo that seal."
Suddenly, Ike realized how very simple the solution was.
"We can't stop her, but I know someone who can."
He turned back to Lehran.
"Well, that's how it is: Are you prepared to watch the woman who loves you –
and whom you love, no doubt about that – sacrifice her life in order to save
the world? The choice is yours. What will it be? Can your really do that? Is
your heart that cold?"
"Please", Micaiah whispered. "I know how you feel about her – do those
feelings really mean nothing? Isn't love a reason to try again – to believe in
the good in this world?"
Maian had deactivated her shield again, but Ike knew she could have it back up
within seconds.
Lehran seemed to be torn between his own wishes and his feelings for Maian. With
a clattering noise, his staff fell to the ground and Lehran spread a pair of
black wings. The next moment he soared across the room, to where Maian was.
"So he really is a heron", Tibarn said. "An ancient, black heron. Fancy that."
Lehran folded his wings and placed his hands over Maian's, supporting her body
with his.
"You can stop now. I will unlock the door... there is no need for you to push
yourself any further."
Maian didn't reply.
"Stop it already!", Soren shouted at her. "Or do you want do die that badly?!"
"What's going on?", Ike asked.
"She's still using her powers on the door, even though Lehran started to take
over. He's started to quicken the flow of his magic, to stop her from fully
exhausting herself... it's like a mad race, about who is going to break the seal
first. And she's gambling with her life."
"She is determined to do this by herself", Rafiel said quietly. "She doesn't
want his help."
"Childish, if you ask me", Ike replied.
The colours and parts of the seal changed more rapidly now.
"Looks like Lehran's winning the mad race", Soren muttered.
The whole seal turned into a bright, warm yellow and then splittered into tiny
golden sparks. Maian collapsed.
Lehran caught her and gently eased her to the ground, holding her body in his
arms. His head was bowed and they could see his pointed ears.
Ike and Soren both darted forwards.
"Well?", Ike snapped at Lehran.
"She fainted. She never knows when to stop... The exhaustion is severe, but she
should not be permanently damaged."
He carefully brushed a strand of her golden hair out of her face.
A low growl made the three of them look up. Nala was hovering over them,
apparently struggling to keep her temper in check.
"Hand her over, now!", she demanded.
Lehran didn't object. Nala carefully lifted Maian into her arms, then she
continued to glare at him.
"I would gladly tear you to pieces, you are lucky I am not the one who has the
right to judge you. Funny, really, that the senators' lie about you committing
treason is actually true. Good luck with that."
Ike turned to Sanaki.
"Well? What are we going to do with him now?"
Lehran just stayed where he was, as if he didn't care any more.
"Well, I - "
"Please, wait!", Yune called. "Don't kill Lehran! He saved my life, I owe him!"
Everyone looked at the two of them in surprise.
"He did?", Ike asked.
"Yes. Ashera wished for my destruction, it was Lehran who came up with the idea
of imprisoning me instead... Please. I want him to live."
"I will consider that", Sanaki replied. "I have a few questions, and until I get
the answers, I will not make a decision. Is that acceptable, Goddess Yune?"
"Yes, it is. Thank you."
"Well, as long as he doesn't get into my way again, I have no objections", Ike
said. "Besides, I owe him as well... he sealed away the memory I had about my
mother's death..."
Lehran looked up.
"You regained it?"
"Yeah. When Zelgius died..."
"I see."
"Ashera is waiting. It's time for the final confrontation with her. You can come
– if you want to."
"You – you are asking me to turn my back on Goddess Ashera?"
"If you really want the total extinction of the laguz and beorc, you can just
sit here like a lump. If not, this is your last chance to start rectifying your
mistakes. Think hard on that."
Ike turned away and started towards the door. This time, he could open it. He
stood aside to let the others start climbing the stairs that led to their final
destination.
"Lehran... I'll be waiting for you", Yune said.
With that, they left the room.

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