In the eternal maelstrom,

Of the empty wind,

Blows without end,

No home,

Only wind,

Year of tear,

Time of void.

Great plague of the year fifty-four, Janis the White.

“I see.” Hyn was standing straight in her seat. She seemed to have aged a bit since the last time the two Jewels had seen her. Nay knew that the ex-Imperatrix had many Firante enchantments scattered all over herself, many more than the simple ones hiding her true eye color, or the one letting her see if someone was Touched or not. But not counting those two, the other enchantments were empty of power, which begged the question: why wasn’t she recharging them? The Legio knew that Firante enchantments were different than the normal miraculous runes or the Carradin tattoos, but that was pretty much the entire thing the Leïn had accepted to teach her. “Better for this magic to dissolve through time like the calcareous rocks of the Unbroken Ones.” Had said the most beautiful woman in the Empire on the subject.

Nay and Trinne had finished their report. The new room of the ex-Imperatrix had a nice window illuminating the place and giving a beautiful view to Leïn, it was spacious and had magnificent furniture. A large painting was taking an entire wall, and represented a forest of pine trees in snow, like a mirror to another world. Nonetheless, the room wasn’t close to as beautiful as the one now belonging to the Emperor, even if only because of the lack of the impossible Imperial balcony.

The most powerful woman in the Empire had an unreadable Rreico. Nay and Trinne were standing in front of her, but she hadn’t said anything for a few minutes now. She was glancing at the written report that Trinne had put on her desk before the Jewel had started retracing the events in the jungle.

“Tarrin was not up to the task, then? Would a better chief of operations make things faster?” Hyn finally asked. She was clearly beginning with the least important part of the report.

The young redhead shook her head left and right. “No. Maybe slightly, but it won’t solve all the complex issues pertaining to the work in the jungle. I left a large list of things that could have been improved, but even if all of those succeeded, I would not expect anything more than twenty, thirty per cent faster work.”

“That would be something but, if it doesn’t accelerate things, why remove Tarrin?”

“For the cost-efficiency. We may not fundamentally improve the rate of work, but I found many aspects that could optimize our resources invested. We weren’t even bringing back the cut trees to the capital. They could not be used in the railroad work, certainly, the trunks being not straight enough, but just leaving them there to rot was a complete waste.”

“…I see.” Hyn put the report back on the table. She raised her eyes at Nay. “I asked for your power to stay discreet. I heard rumours that strange things happened when you came back from the jungle…”

“I wasn’t discovered. Priest Valassian had doubts, but did not care about my secrets.”

“It was close though. And I will keep an eye on our new chief of operations, just in case.” Hyn paused to stare a Trinne, her piercing glance as if trying to stab her repeatedly, then she brought her focus back on Nay. “Let us talk about the tertia in the room…do you have any idea what you did to…share? Your magic.”

“Yes godmother.” Nay answered.

“So?”

“In regard to my mental and physical health, I believe I should keep this a secret.”

“Uh uh, obviously, so?”

“That’s it.”

Hyn blinked repeatedly. Then she started laughing. “Very well. I do forget you are Marke daughter’s some of the time. But can I expect more Touched around you soon? Am I personally going to summon ghosts of my past enemies around me in the future?”

“I very much doubt it.” Nay grimaced.

“Good. But Trinne, you obviously understand that rumours of your newfound gift have reached the Cathedral’s ears. Archbishop Defin is waiting for you there. You may go, a very clean report, and good work as well, even if it is disappointing to know that the railway won’t be finished by the end of this year.”

Trinne gave a glance towards Nay, before finally bowing. “I bid you farewell, oh mother of us all.”

Hyn waved her hand towards her in an annoyed gesture. “Yeah yeah. I’m not going to lock up your friend away, go resolve the mess you’re now personally involved in…ah. Before you go, I need to tell you something, I do not know if we’ll have the time to discuss it later.”

Trinne, already on the verge of leaving, stopped to look up at the ex-Imperatrix.

“Do you know why I put in place the rule that forces God-Touched to be stuck in the Cathedral and spend most of their life in Leïn?”

Neither Nay nor Trinne was ready for that.

“What!? You’re not the one who made that…” Trinne began.

Hyn rolled her eyes to sky. “Please. Sage Garnemon twenty years after the war, in an effort to assemble the gods and exorcise the remnants of Firante evil, continuing to influence those gifted in making them overuse and lose control over their sacred gifts. Bunch of nonsense. You had to realize such a decision could not have been taken without my support.”

“But…you don’t involve yourself in clerical matters…” Trinne countered. She believed what the Imperatrix was saying, Nay sensed it in her Rreico, but the redhead’s question was more to understand where she had gone wrong. Why had the two Jewels believed that the Imperatrix wasn’t involved in the locking up of the God-Touched apprentices?

“That is correct in the present day, things were much different in the past. But you have gone and tried to resolve an issue, to help our young Touched. Which is honourable of you, but you have to understand that their imprisonment is not simply to protect them from their phantom miracles.”

“You wanted to control them?” Trinne guessed.

Hyn made a displeased face. “That is a very negative way of presenting it. I would say I did it to protect those without powers. You see, Touched have nothing divine in them, they are women and men, and like anyone else they are easy to enrage, break, and corrupt…the last thing I wanted was to build a society where Touched dominated everyone else. After all, if left with no rules, they are simply advantaged compared to ‘normal’ people. I had to find a way to make them humble. One of Rö’s books helped me with that, a story of another world. I needed to make them meet as much ‘normal’ as possible, and force them to realize that they weren’t different. This is why a lot of priests in the Cathedral have no power, that a Touched, whatever his or her God, always works in pair with those without magic. A Patrex priest will spend half his time in the capital garrison or work in the military academy. A Sage-Brother will work with scientists and doctors, a Lebe priest will spend many years in hospitals or prisons.”

Trinne was listening attentively, but Nay couldn’t see the Imperatrix’s point, how were any of those things related to imprisoning kids in a room? How was that helping with their insertion into the Empire?

“The current system is what I found was best, at the time. Clearly, limitations have arisen over the years. Nonetheless, the reasons for why this, let’s call it barbaric, tradition exists are still present. If you break it without thought, you will create as many, if not more problems down the line.”

Trinne glared at the raven-haired woman. “Why not tell me this earlier?”

“I wasn’t exactly believing in your success. There are numerous priests like Defin who want to keep this rule, not for the reasons I mentioned, but because they are traditions-loving extremists. But, as it seems, your influence has managed to change things. I cannot involve myself in this issue, of course, I am not the Imperatrix anymore, and Jarl will not help you more than he already did with his almost official approval. And why should he? You took the responsibility to help our Touched, you will be responsible for their good insertion as well.”

Trinne had a serious expression. “Do I need to consider this as my second mission?”

“What? No! You are a God-Touched apprentice, nothing matters more than that! But, knowing you, you’ll be so gifted that you’ll have plenty of free time. And from what I understood talking with Defin, you will still be allowed to live in my Chambers, giving you even more free reign.”

Trinne started laughing with no joy.

“Oh, and please, don’t go anywhere on your own. I do not want to hear rumours about one of my Jewels using her power to act like a vulgar assassin.” Hyn added.

This time, Trinne’s laugh was openly mocking.

Hyn raised an eyebrow. “What was that?”

The redhead wasn’t impressed by the ex-sovereign’s menacing tone.

“You’re really saying that just before giving Nay’s second mission?”

Hyn looked surprised all of a sudden. “You know? How…Trayx told you, then?” The most powerful woman in the Empire looked at Nay. “Well then, you may stay, Trinne, if you’re already in the know.” Her voice was slightly less confident, and it seemed as if true shame wrote itself on her face as she sighed deeply. Her eyes fixed the cloudy ones of the Legio. “It may sound contradictory, I know, but…know that I promised your mother never to ask you what I asked Marke. My determination in making the Empire a better place ultimately cost me one of my best soldiers, and also a man I personally liked a lot. I do not desire to make this mistake with you once again.”

Nay could not feel any deception in her godmother’s Rreico, but she knew better than to trust her sixth sense entirely when it came to Hyn.

“But yes, in truth, I need to ask you to kill…to say someone would not be correct…”

“The Devourer?” Trinne cut her off.

Hyn sat down on her cushioned chair a bit more comfortably. For once, she was wearing jewelry, albeit a simple pendant of the same colour as her hair. What she was wearing was a bit unusual as well, and now that Nay was seeing it better, she recognized the outfit as one that would not have been off on waitresses in Leïn’s taverns. A shirt with a blouse, simple, and a long brown skirt. But even dressed as modestly as that, Hyn still looked like the Imperatrix. Her charisma was crushing the simple look.

“Yes. I suppose it is no secret that for a few years now, I and Nephrite have been trying to bring back Pierre to be judged for his crimes but…honestly, if it wasn’t that dangerous, I would have asked Jarl to intervene, as he asked.”

Nay had a vague memory about Nephrite, although it was one of the Imperatrix’ jewels that she had never met…ah! The Legio’s face lit up. She had met her, but it wasn’t in Leïn. Nephrite was the woman with the horribly scarred face that had questioned her in the devastated village in Striavie.

“Who’s Pierre?” She asked.

“The God-Touched I want you to kill. Or well, it was his name. There isn’t much to recognize in him, and he certainly doesn’t look like the gifted boy using his powers to make people relax. We didn’t know he was the Devourer right away, it took a lot of time, even. Another Touched that knew Pierre saw him, but did not recognize him, so we thought that our culprit was someone else but…Nephrite’s observations leave little doubt about his true identity. And so yes, for your second mission Nay, I would like you to kill the Devourer, previously known as Pierre, son of a farmer that lived in a village near Mov.”

Mov was one of the three large cities around the Boiling sea, south of Leïn. It took between six to seven days to get there.

“Why me? Why can’t I just capture him?” The Legio was already guessing the answer, but she had to ask it anyway.

Hyn picked up her glass of grive wine, but didn’t drink it, she simply turned it around, making the liquid inside twirl.

“It is too dangerous considering his phantom miracle. It is, to say it crudely, sending yaedas to slaughter.”

“He’s the reason why Jormun miracles have been forbidden, right?” Trinne noted.

“That is correct. Which is a shame for you, because a miracle like yours will definitely be linked to Jormun.”

Nay grimaced. It was true that, without a miracle translator, the Touched that transformed phantom miracles in psalms, chances to perfectly control your power were slim. If Trinne’s power was classified as Jormun’s, she would never be given a psalm, and probably never be able to use her power when she wanted, only able to prevent it from running amok.

“I’ll manage without.” Trinne responded with no hesitation. “Because it was banned though, I didn’t manage to get much information about it. Something about controlling others?”

Hyn stopped twirling her glass. She looked at the ceiling. “Mhhh, more or less. At first, it was a power that gave you some influence over others’ emotions. The psalm was translated, and when other Touched, not linked with Jormun, used it, they managed to bring anger or sadness in others. A simple emotion only, for a short duration. We do not know how, but when the devourer uses it himself, he enslaves his victim entirely. As he is quite powerful and it is his phantom miracle, he isn’t really limited in numbers, and has shown to be able to control dozens of people at the same time.”

“What’s the limit to his control?” Trinne asked with a sombre tone.

“There are no limits, to our knowledge. Nay saw what he forced his victims to do to themselves after he was…satisfied? Bored? Nephrite has been following and tracking his movements for a year now, and his behaviour is increasingly…animalistic. To find reasoning behind his actions, other than the satisfaction of his lowest instincts, is a waste of time. I cannot send the army, guards, or even assassins. He has surrounded himself with professionals and guards, some Touched as well, that would not hesitate for a moment to kill themselves to protect him. If he spots those I send, he’ll just add them to his collection, making him even more difficult to kill. For now, he is a simple criminal, the worst kind maybe, but nothing more than that. But I fear that a man like him will grow ambitious soon. The more he uses his power, the more powerful he becomes. He has a retinue…” She said that as if it brought a bad taste to her tongue. “…of slaves. And it is only growing. As of now, he is staying in his village of birth, which gives us the occasion to act. That is why you’ll depart tomorrow.”

Nay blinked wildly. “Tomorrow? But…I just came back!?”

“And your first mission should have taken at least one more month, but you found the calm sea, and you can always flee there if something problematic occurs. We cannot ignore the opportunity to eliminate Pierre before he becomes too big of an issue. Once your mission is completed, you’ll be going to the Ja church in Mov to use the miracle of the Door, and come back here.”

“I will be on my own?” Nay put her hand on Trinne’s back. She had asked that while looking at her friend, sensing her inner boiling rage. It was obvious the redhead would not be accompanying her friend, and she clearly didn’t like it, seeing her expression and sensing her Rreico.

“You will. Nephrite will wait for you at the rendezvous point, but you will go to the village alone. You understand that he cannot influence you with his power, and that, despite his many guards and soldiers, they are just masses of flesh he uses to slow his attackers down, his only strategy relies on his phantom miracle. I do believe that the risks to your life are minimal. Do remember to use the miracle of the Door in the church, and not anywhere else. We would not want to invite Angels on our territory by mistake right now.”

Nay supposed that there was one of the accursed boxes hiding magic in Mov. She wasn’t anticipating feeling the evil energy again at all.

“…Why not warn me about the spirits in the jungle wanting to harm me?” Nay changed subjects completely.

But the ex-Imperatrix did not let her. “Wait, you accept?”

The Legio grimaced. “I agree to go to the place and meet the Devourer myself. If what you say is right, and that I can save people at the same time…”

Hyn lowered her gaze.

“You won’t be saving anyone.” Trinne had spoken with her teeth clenched.

“What?”

“All the victims of the Devourer that have been rescued have died days after. I read this in a newspaper clip from two years ago. Also, if Hyn could turn the mission into a rescue mission instead of an assassination one, she wouldn’t have asked Trayx to convince you.”

Nay turned back to look at the Imperatrix.

Who answered sadly: “Trinne is right, of course. You won’t be saving anyone. I did not speak of rescue deliberately. Only an assassination. Or maybe deliverance? You don’t say murder when you kill a rabid dog.”

The Legio’s eyebrows scrunched up. If that was true, the ex-Imperatrix would not have spoken about the poor innocents under the devourer’s control in so many details.

“But in some way, you would be rescuing his future victims.” Hyn added.

Nay had a severe expression. “Fine. I’ll go see for myself. Now. Why send me to the jungle if you knew that spirits would target me because I am a Leïn? An ex-general sent banshees to kill me.”

Hyn sighed with relief. “Thank you, Nay.” She then gave a big smile. “And I spoke quite a lot about every danger of the jungle, but it is true I did not mention spirits. But that’s because they are not dangerous. They scream, well, according to Vestigio and Marke, and then they make you cold, which is nice in the jungle. I knew that sometimes they could influence the monsters of the Hymere but…honestly, I wasn’t really worried about that. A falling branch of the upper-jungle or you slipping and falling on a toxic plant, those were my main qualms about sending you there. I may have under-estimated Hort’s hatred, but with Green Tree as your guide…danger was minimal. I saw Vestigio…well more like heard Vestigio kill a Banshee bare-handed, and Marke killed two of the creatures during our trips to the calm sea. Legios are quite apt at getting rid of those. And you came back without a scratch, didn’t you?”

Nay answered with a bit of annoyance. “Sure but…why not tell me all this before…”

“I wanted you to be focused and ready! Last thing I wanted you to be was overconfident. And see? You were perfectly safe in the end. Well, now that this has been resolved, you may leave. I would understand if you take this day to meet your family Nay, and Trinne, I am repeating myself but you are being awaited by Defin. We’ll see each other soon but as for Nay, we’ll see each other next week.”

The two Jewels bowed deeply. “Goodbye, oh mother of us all.”

The ex-Imperatrix waved them away in annoyance, and the two women left the room.