“You all know why we are here,” Reva proclaimed, and the empty walls of the warehouse echoed her words back to her. “We are here to free Phyreios from the tyranny of the Seven Ascended. The festival has given us a chance to act. I need to know that all of you are with me.”
I stood with the others in a half-circle facing her: Aysulu at my right and Khalim at my left, with Garvesh on his other side and the disciples of the Dragon Temple lined up across from us. Between our team and theirs stood Lord Ihsad of House Darela and his son and heir, Jahan. A bodyguard stood just behind them, though he had left his spear and short sword by the door at Reva’s request. With a quick embrace of reunion and reassurances that she had not been harmed, Roshani had left our group and gone to stand by her brother.
Lord Ihsad was advanced in years, his beard gone all to soft white like carded wool, but his back was straight and his eyes were clear. It was obvious that he had once been a warrior, and his son followed in his footsteps—as did his daughter, who was both a poet and a mage.
“I first wish to thank you for keeping Roshani safe,” he said. “I am glad to have her returned to me. It is a great risk we are taking, to pledge our house to your cause, but it is one we have been forced into. I know not when our estate will be attacked, but that day is coming. Whatever aid you need, let me promise it to you now.”
Reva nodded, solemn. “I am sorry that it has come to this, but I am more grateful for your help than I can say. And to you, Jin, and your companions: this fight is not yours, but you have pledged yourselves anyway. May your names be remembered in ages to come.”
Jin bowed. “It is our charge to combat injustice wherever we may find it.”
“The Cerean Festival has given us an opportunity,” Reva continued, addressing all of us assembled, “and our plan is already in motion. We shall first obtain the Sword of Heaven. Between the three teams represented here, there is a fair chance that we can win it fairly. In any case, the final ceremony will occupy the city and give us the chance to prepare for the fight to come. We will raid the armory and the granary and gather the supplies we need.
“From there, we will assemble at a place I have been preparing in the mountains. It will be a difficult exodus from the city, but if we act quickly and use the ceremony as cover, we should be able to escape with many of our people. After that, it will be a matter of staying hidden and conducting expeditions back into the city to get more people out and to find where the Ascended are planning their ritual.”
She turned on her heel and paced the length of the half-circle we formed. “We do not have unlimited time. A true god has sent Khalim a vision, and we know that soon the Seven will summon a great beast of the ancient world: a worm more powerful than even they, that will overcome their bonds and destroy the city. We need to find their secret chamber where they prepare the summoning, and put a stop to it.”
All eyes fell on Khalim, and I felt him shift beside me in his discomfort. Though he had done well in the contest of magic, he was still unaccustomed to being at the center of everyone’s attention. He ducked his head and tucked his hands inside his loose sleeves.
“This will not be easy,” Reva continued, calling the attention of the group back. “I know I ask much of you. Please believe that I would not be asking if it were not a matter of life and death for all Phyreios, both within and outside of the walls.”
Lord Ihsad stroked his beard, his fingers the color and texture of an oak tree. “I understand. House Darela is at your disposal, on one condition.”
“And what might that be?” Reva asked.
“Our family is old, from before even the time of the Ascended. We are well-loved by the citizens, even if the other houses have abandoned us. If we are to succeed together in bringing down the Seven, and I believe that this is possible, I desire that my line takes the throne of Phyreios.”
Reva stopped her pacing and faced him, crossing her arms over her chest. “Yes, I think the people would follow you,” she said. “But can you promise me that if I agree, I will not simply exchange one tyrant for another?”
“You have my solemn vow,” said Lord Ihsad. “Should we succeed, I shall grant you a high position in the court, so you may see our rule for yourself and have a say in how the city is governed. I will not live for many more years, and I have raised my son to love justice, to cherish mercy, and to lead fairly and well.”
Reva was silent for some time, with a face as still and expressionless as if it were carved of stone. Not one of us dared utter a word. Lord Ihsad’s request, that we would exchange a cruel chieftain for a better one, seemed fair to me. She may have had other plans.
Finally, she spoke. “I will agree to your conditions. It will be a tremendous work to create the rule of Phyreios again, once the Ascended are removed, but when it is done you and your descendants will be at the place of highest import, whatever that may be.”
Lord Ihsad bowed, as did his children. “You do my family a great honor,” he said. “Now, here is what I can grant you. The Darela estate will be a safe haven to you and all your allies for as long as we can hold it, though it is likely being watched. I can grant fifty men for the raid on the armory and the granary. If I am successful in persuading my old ally to join us, House Kaburh will give fifty more. After that, if all goes as planned, we will abandon our estate for the time being and commit all our strength to your mountain fortress for the days to come.”
“Very good,” said Reva. “Return now to your homes to rest. You must not travel alone, any of you, especially at night. Be on your guard, and win the sword for the people of Phyreios. The fate of the city now rests with you.”
The circle broke, and Aysulu turned to Jin. “I am sorry for the lie I told, yesterday. I wasn’t aware that you were an ally against the Ascended.”
Jin nodded. “I understand. This has been…a recent development. I am glad we can be honest with one another now.”
“Do you still intend to win the sword and take it back to your temple?” asked Aysulu.
He shared a glance with Yanlong, whose expression remained stoic. “That is a question for the future, I think,” Jin said. “For now, we should focus on the tournament itself, and keeping our plans a secret.”
My companions and I bade farewell to the others and made our way back past the forge to the safe house. Weariness weighed down our steps, and our pace was slow. It was late, past midnight, and the sky was black as the ink in Garvesh’s books.
The addition of the warriors from the Dragon Temple and the forces of House Darela to our cause did not much change my part in what was to come. My focus was the tournament. After that, I knew not what I would do. Aysulu would not want to move on yet, with the reavers she had been chasing for so long here within her reach, and she was not going to betray the agreements of the festival and challenge them before the tournament had concluded. I was under no obligation to stay with her; my path had always been my own, though I did not look forward to parting ways and continuing on alone. I felt also that having begun the fight against the Ascended, it was my duty to finish it, and to see it through to the end, whether it was to fight in the final battle of the struggle or to bear witness to the city’s fall beneath the coils of the great worm. And, perhaps, there were other reasons for me to stay.
Khalim lingered in the common room while the others went to their beds. I was about to retire as well when he called my name.
I turned. He stood by the fire pit, hands folded and fidgeting restlessly.
“It’s just that you haven’t said so much as a word to me since this morning,” he said. “Have I said something that angered you? Please, forgive me. I did not intend—”
I stopped him with a shake of my head. “You’ve done nothing wrong. I had not realized what I was doing. I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right,” he said, but he looked no less distracted.
It came to me then that I had been avoiding any contact with him for most of the day, since he had emerged from his room with the dream filling his vision and his mouth. I was afraid—for him, mostly, but to some small extent, I was afraid of him, and the god that he carried, and their part together in all that was soon to take place. I had seen how the revelation had affected him, and I had seen the extent of his power in the arena the previous night. It was all far beyond my grasp, and because I could not understand it, I was certain I would not be able to protect him, and he would become one more lost companion in the sad tale of my journeys. I would once again be alone.
I had been trying to hide all these worries from him, but he did not deserve secrecy and lies. I needed to tell him the truth that had been so heavy for me to carry.
“You have been chosen by the gods,” I said. “For you, there is a great and terrible purpose; there are blessings beyond number, I’m sure, and there is also danger that I can’t imagine. I wish to protect you, but I fear that I cannot. I was…unable to save another whom I loved.”
He thought on that for a quiet moment. I had said too much, I thought. Now it was my turn to fret that I had done some offense.
At last, he smiled. “Your presence makes me feel safe. I fear no harm as long as you’re with me.”
It was comforting to hear, as much as I was sure that his trust was not well-placed. I bade him good night, and hoped that he rested better than he had the evening before. For me, it was a long time until morning, as I lay awake and watched the stars through my narrow window tracing their path across the sky, sleeping only as the faint glow of morning rose behind the resting forge.
Forgive me. The tale grows more difficult to tell as it moves toward its end, as all tales must. There is still much now to recount, so let me turn now to the next day of the tournament. No games took place on that day, only the ceremony for the naming of the champions. Seven teams would be appointed to continue on and compete with one another for the Sword of Heaven, while the rest were eliminated. Many competitors did not expect to be named, and participated only for the joy of it, but there were many that tallied their points with intense anticipation. With our steady lead, I had no doubt that the Iron Mountain would continue to the end of the tournament. There was only the question of who would be trying to take the sword from us.
Aysulu rose early, and she left with Khalim to take her horse to the custody of House Darela’s stables. We did not know who was responsible for the poisoning, but we were not about to risk a second one. When they returned, I cooked a passable breakfast over the fire, and the four of us set out once more for the arena.
We arrived to see the arena decorated for the pageantry of the day. Performers would reenact the Seven’s ascension over the course of the ceremonies: the battle against the army of demons that had threatened to overrun the land and the appointment of the Seven as rulers over the realm they had saved. As I watched, I saw that the one who gave them their rule over Phyreios and the empire that was did not appear. No blue-clad performer in a wide ceramic mask represented the hero who was the Ascended’s predecessor, though the ones playing the Ascended themselves bowed in obeisance to an empty stretch of the platform before climbing up to their mock thrones, and the spectators applauded politely.
It was also a day of gambling, though I had no money myself with which to participate. The placing of bets was a solemn affair, and it was strange to my eyes. I had imagined a day of raucous celebration, with shouting as money exchanged hands, and plenty of food and drink. The latter was there, but the arena was more quiet than it had been in many days.
It was then that the champions were named: those who would compete in the final two days of the tournament, and have a chance at winning the coveted Sword of Heaven. A speaker for the Ascended, draped in robes of fine blue silk, called out the names of the Hounds of Malang from House Kaburh, the Sunspear of House Darela, the Dragon Disciples, and the Iron Mountain. Also named were the Golden Road, the Divine Champions, and the Tribe of the Lion and Wolf, for a total of seven. I looked across the arena toward those who would be my opponents, and my resolve was as strong as the mountain for which my team had been named.
On this, the most holy day of the tournament, a great white bull was sacrificed to the Ascended. Attendants in the same sky blue led the beast into the center of the colosseum, and it followed, tranquil as still water, its bulk rippling under the ritual markings painted on its skin in blue and silver. It was a fine animal, healthy and strong. I knew not if it had been drugged, or raised by hand for this purpose. The attendants took it by the horns and lowered it to its knees, and a crescent knife shone in the sunlight before drawing a vivid red line across the bull’s throat.
Blood gushed crimson down the white chest of the bull and onto the sands of the arena. I heard Khalim’s sharp breath beside me, and remembered: blood on the altar. This sacrifice, and many others, were feeding the Ascended, giving them the power to destroy their worshippers and the rebels alike. For the first time in myli fe, fear and disgust stirred in me at the sight of blood.
Evening fell, and candles around the arena flickered to life in unison, and we joined the procession filing out into the city.
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