Julius' fist came down hard against the wooden table. His outburst echoed through the stone chamber and down the halls. Stunned, everyone nearby fell to absolute silence.
He was angry—scratch that, he was downright murderous. The intensity in his voice made even me want to sink down as far as I could in my chair and hide.
"You are one of the most valuable assets we have! We can't afford to let you walk away. Not right now. Need I remind you, that you swore an oath to the Divisionals?"
The target of his rage glared at him from across the table. I was honestly worried that she'd loose a volley of arrows right at Julius if he said another word.
Mei looked like she would scorch your skin if you touched her.
"Don't make it out like I intend to abandon everyone here!"
"Is that not what you are doing?"
"No! We need allies. The threat of the Renaultians simply cannot be ignored!"
"Nobody here plans to ignore anything! If you leave then we are left with a gaping hole in our defenses. You're the most qualified ranger we have, worth more than a full party of waystriders."
"If I am successful then I will be bringing more than enough support to make up for any short-term disarray."
Mei huffed in her own anger-driven rage.
This discussion had been going on for half an hour. And it would likely continue for the remainder of the night if I didn't step in soon.
After the memorial service I met up with my party member's in the command room within the Citadel, with the intent to go over next steps and formulate a plan of action we could all follow…
What had occurred here was not my intention.
Mei believed that her people, the Aestori, would have fled to the forests of Ixia when the Empire fell to the demonic hordes during the Apocalypse.
While the elves who called those forests home were not allied to the Empire, they were on great terms with the Aestori.
The Sylvae Ixi, or Shadow Elves, had maintained friendly relations with the Empire for a long time. Due largely in part to the fact that they did not share any land borders. But with the elves of the Starfall Forest, the Ixi were beloved allies. They had fought together against the incursions of the Noblebourne centuries before humans roamed with world.
It wasn't unreasonable to think the Aestori would seek out assistance from the Ixi. To add more validity to her claim, there was some surviving literature that hinted at the existence of a complex magickal pathway between the two nations.
If the Aestori had a portal that led directly to Ixia, then they could have moved all of their civilian populations to safety before the armies of demons and monsters rampaged through the old Empire.
Mei wanted to travel northwest, deep into the heart of Ixia, to see if she could find evidence to support her beliefs.
And so, the battle raged on at the command table.
"—my people will honor the alliance they formed with the Empire. Give me permission to search for them. If I find no evidence within a fortnight I'll return and let the matter be settled. Certainly you'll be able to survive without me for such a short period of time, yes?"
Julius had fallen back into his chair and was pressing his thumbs firmly against his forehead.
"…"
It appeared that his fire had burnt out for now.
"Two weeks. Not a day more. If you take one of the scouting horses you can make it to the forest borders in less than two days. That'll give you ten whole days to poke around the woods."
"Thank you, Juli—Commander Adaemus."
Julius let out a loud exasperated breath and threw his hands out.
"Yeah, yeah. I trust you, Mei. And you're right, it would be one heck of a turn up for us if we could get the support of the Aestori in the fight against the Renaultians. But, damn woman… you're a handful to deal with."
I expected Mei to take another shot at Julius since she had seemingly won, but was surprised to see her leave it at a playful smirk and a wink.
"I will get ready and leave in the morning."
Hailey practically jumped out of her seat at Mei's declaration.
"So soon? Are you sure?"
"The sooner I leave, the sooner I return. We can't afford in delaying any attempts to secure assistance. No doubt the forces against us are moving as we speak."
Hailey sighed in resignation.
I shared in her concern. But I also agreed with Mei's point. When it came down to finding more allies, we need as many as possible, as fast as possible.
Hikita had left a warning. The Renaultians would keep coming after us. This war wouldn't end until either side was defeated in it's entirety.
Mei has the Aestori, and I have my own ally to secure.
"Hails, could you find time to go to the Church with me tomorrow morning?"
"Uhm…"
She riffled through a disheveled stack of papers on the table. Finding the right sheet, she frantically scribbled down something and handed it to an attendant.
"Please let the Minister know I'll need to push this meeting back to the afternoon."
Hailey turned back to me and nodded.
"I'm all yours!"
-✵-
The basilica church appeared rather modest from the outside. Great care had been given to trimming back the foliage that had been overgrown in the courtyard, but the long abandonment had taken a toll that couldn't be erased after three days of moderate care.
The stonework remained intact, and the slate-tiled roof seemed to have survived the weathering over the years.
Hailey, Rias, and I hurriedly walked through the church grounds, rushing out of the cold.
All three of us were dressed as warmly as we could be. I had borrowed more of Rias' clothes; a cotton sweater and a pair of fur-lined boots.
In return, I loaned her a divisional officer's long coat. It wasn't particularly thick, but it helped block out the cold a bit.
Hailey wore a matching coat over her outfit, though she stood out as she had her staff secured on her back.
I had insisted on her bringing it with this morning prompting a very puzzled expression, which remained unfazed after my attempts to assuage her.
We pushed the ornamental iron-wrought doors open and stepped into the main hall.
Two of the church's clergy jumped in surprise when the difference in air pressure caused the doors to slam closed as we stepped through.
"Whoa!"
"Wow!"
Both Rias and I exclaimed excitedly.
Beautiful marble columns ran the length of the church. They supported intricate vaulted arches down the center all the way to the main altar on the far side.
"Blessings of the Goddess upon you."
One of the priests approached us and offered prayers.
Hailey responded naturally in turn.
"May she enkindle in us the flames of righteousness."
"Ahh, it warms my heart to see another follower of the Light among us. I am Exarch Anathalo," the bishop bowed gently, "Please, come in. What brings you to the basilica this morning?"
It was fairly obvious the man either didn't recognize us, or was very much out of the loop with the divisional core. Civilians tended not to mingle too closely with the military, and most their interactions in the last few weeks had been through the ministers and magistrates rather than with Hailey or I.
"I was hoping to speak with Primarch Karina for a bit. She had asked me to stop by when I was able."
Anathalo looked a little surprised, but nodded and led us to the northern transept where an office space had been put together.
Rias tapped on my shoulder while the Exarch attempted to track down the Primarch.
"I'm gonna poke around a bit while we wait. This place is so pretty, I wanna check out the altar."
"Okay, we'll find you once we're ready to get started."
"Started?"
"You'll see. Don't fret about it for now."
"…If you say so."
Rias ran off in the direction of the chancel, intent to hunt down the altar as soon as she could.
"—Eep!"
Frigid hands pressed lightly against the back of my neck and I let out a shrill yelp. Whipping around I found the culprit, Hailey was barely stifling a snicker.
"Geez, Hails!"
"Are you gonna fill me in on your schemes today or keep me guessing all morning?"
"We're only an hour into our trip and you've already lost faith in me? I'm hurt."
I feigned a wound to my heart, being as dramatic as I could. My arm raced over my chest and I stumbled back two steps.
"Alas, my time has come. A mortal wound from one so close…"
Hailey crossed her arms and pouted fiercely.
"Hmph! You know I trust you. I just don't like feeling left out of the loop."
"Come on, won't it be more fun to experience things as they happen, rather than know about it beforehand? Let go of your stress for one day and live in the moment."
My attempt to goad her seemed successful as she relaxed her shoulders.
Convincing her to let go of her stress was pretty hypocritical of me, since I was the one responsible for it.
Before heading to bed last night, I flipped my coin on a whim to let fate decide if I would give Hailey and Rias all the details before we left. Heads I'd give them today's itinerary, tails I wouldn't.
I channeled my inner Julius…
But it came up tails.
And so now, against my own better judgment I was spurring the two of them on for the whole morning to trust in me and let things play out.
If I were to be honest with myself. I was kinda enjoying teasing the two of them a little too much.
"My apologies for the wait, My Lady. I hadn't expected you to come visit so soon, though do not worry as I am elated you've come. Good morning to the both of you."
"Good morning to you as well, Primarch. I was hoping you would have time to speak today."
"Yes, of course! And please, call me Karina. I can certainly make the time, Anathalo, dear, could you please cover for me while I speak with the Empress?"
"As you wish—did you say Empress?"
"Yes? This is Empress Airis Vanixi and her High-Commander, Hailey Brooks. Surely you knew that?"
"The—I… No. I was not aware of their identities."
Anathalo stammered his way through his response but eventually got a fully formed sentence out. The poor man looked as pale as the marbled pillars around us.
"He didn't say anything rude did he, My Lady?"
"The Exarch was very kind and welcomed us when we arrived. Also, there truly is no need to be overly cordial. We're here simply as visitors today."
I flashed a smile to Anathalo, hopefully easing his shock.
It wasn't my intention to cause a stir arriving unannounced. The current state of my sovereignty was new and hadn't really been made public knowledge beyond the military and high-standing civilians.
Exarch Anathalo bowed and mumbled something nervously about taking his leave to see to his duties.
With her attention undivided, Karina led Hailey and I into a room off the transept. Another makeshift office had been furnished, sleeping quarters included, judging by her familiarity this was Karina's personal space.
"I have a number of questions for you, if you'll entertain them, but I imagine there are some specifics you'd like to discuss as well?"
Hailey's cold stare sent chills through my body. The time for keeping my plans secret was over, lest I face her wrath in its entirety.
"There is one matter I would like to pick your brain on. You may be the only person qualified to ask about it. So I am hoping you've got some details for us."
"Something only I could answer? Hmm, well please do continue!"
"Are you familiar with the writings of Flameblaze and the Embers of Redemption?"
"Indeed, it's quite an older piece of literature from the Church—though I must say, it's veridicality in accordance with the Church's…" Karina trailed off and she rapped her fingers on her desk as she struggled to find the right word, "…doctrines—No, that's not quite right. Perhaps… foundations?"
Hailey was fidgeting in her seat as Karina spoke. She looked a little perturbed and jumped into the conversation.
"You're saying that the ideologies of the Church don't believe that the story about Flameblaze is true?"
"It is not so simple. Since taking the position as Primarch I have read almost every piece of literature available in the Axian Cathedral. With most of the prominent leaders of the faith being lost with the fall of the imperial capital, a lot of knowledge perished with them."
"What about any surviving books or notes on an Order of the Light?"
"That one I am familiar with, but it's only fragments, mostly. Slivers of the whole story. What was available amounted to making the story appear to be nothing more than a parable. A myth of ages long past."
Hailey was now beyond restless. She had practically leapt out of her chair and was looming over Karina's desk.
"What about priestesses? Do you know anything about a special group of priestesses that served under the Church? They would have had a unique staff in their possession, protected by the Order."
Karina furrowed her brow at the mention of a staff.
"There was something like that. Give me just a moment."
She cleared a wide array of clutter from an iron-bound chest in the corner of the room, rummaging through it until she found an ornate silver coated tome.
"This was one of the oddities I stashed away while doing my research. You're in luck, I'd been planning a missionary trip to the outlying villages in the Commonlands just before… Well, the whole incident in Axio. The few clergy members and I had a number of Church doctrine and literature packed up for the journey. This is one of the few texts that contains a detailed account of the Flameblaze mythos."
"May I—"
Before Hailey could finish her question, the gemstone in her staff's centerpiece flared. The radiance overwhelmed the dreary candlelight and flooded the room in light.
"I do not take kindly to being called a myth. I would ask that you refrain from saying so again."
The dazzling light and disembodied voice gave Karina a start. She'd nearly fallen out of her chair when the crystalline egg erupted through the room. Once Ignicorus had started speaking though, she jumped to her feet.
"Overseer of the Divine One's bastion, provide the Priestess of the Light with the tome. If you would be so kind."
Karina was frozen in place, clutching the silver tome against her chest.
"Y-you both hear that voice too, right?"
"Uhm. Yes. So, the reason we're asking about the Phoenix God is because…"
Hailey looked to me for help explaining.
"Because we're kinda carrying it's vessel around? And we have less than two weeks to perform a rebirthing ritual."
Karina's focus was glued to the pulsating gemstone, but passed the tome over to Hailey's outstretched hand.
Hailey looked over the cover then flipped it over to the back, and then flipped it back over once more and started shuffle through the first few pages.
"It's not titled?"
Karina shook her head slowly. "That was something I procured from the taboo collection within the cathedral's private library."
Now that most of the metaphorical cats were out of the bag, there was one last thing I wanted to get Karina's feedback on.
I produced the blood colored diamond-like shard I had been given by Virgo, via the proxy that was Capricorn.
"Ever read about something like this?"
I handed Karina the small shard and she inspected it closely.
"I am sorry, My Lady. I've never seen anything that looks even remotely close to a gemstone like this one. Where did you come about it? Perhaps that would give me a better idea of where to start."
"Technically it was given to me by the Goddess Capricorn. But she was delivering it at the request of the Goddess Virgo."
"…"
I am so sorry, Karina. I'm sure all of this is overwhelming.
"I've appraised it with a skill. It's called the SHARD OF REKINDLING. But I was not able to gleam anything else other than what the object is called."
"And you're sure this has something to do with this, ritual, of yours?"
"Certain of it. The Goddess herself said so."