Chapter 16, Pulling Strings

-10 MONTHS REMAIN-

The party had hardly spoken to each other the following morning. Aurora and Miryam worked together to heal everyone’s wounds, but no words were exchanged. They moved quickly but carefully. Constantly glancing to the sides, always looking over their shoulders. When will he show up again? How long will it take? Will they be ready? Will they be prepared? They couldn’t steel their nerves. They were anxious and jumpy. A bird starting to sing or a deer bounding across the path made them flinch. They had never felt a greater relief than waking up and realizing they were all still alive, but the constant tension they experienced made them wish they never woke up at all.

“Miryam.” Aurora said to break the silence, and to distract herself. The girl shuddered hearing her name. “How did you learn such a strong spell?” She asked. The shield that Miryam had conjured was the one thing that guaranteed their survival. Cassius was able to effortlessly toss the party around like they were nothing, but couldn’t put a dent in Miryam’s shield spell. It was like nothing Aurora or Ulric had ever seen. How did a young girl like Miryam possess enough strength and skill to rival even the best clerics?

“Father wanted me to become the greatest cleric. He pushed me every day to be the best I could possibly be. After mother died he pushed me even harder.” She said quietly. “That is why my magic is at a higher level than most, Auro- Miss Vale.” It was if she almost let something slip, hastily correcting herself as to not get punished. Aurora frowned.

“What’s with the formalities? You can call Ulric and me by our first names.” Miryam looked uneasy.

“Father said I should always refer to people by their surnames. It’s respectful. And a lady like me always needs to show respect.” Aurora looked at her concerned. She turned towards Ulric.

“I’m starting to think her dad dying was the best thing to happen to her.” She said somewhat softly, but still loud enough for everyone to hear. Ulric shot her a look. He was ready to scold her, but Miryam spoke before he could.

“My father was a… complicated man. But I still love him.”

“Why?” Aurora asked bluntly. Ulric was about ready to finish what Cassius started.

“Well…” Miryam started. She glanced around as if searching for a reason. “Because he is my father. I only have the one and I should love him no matter what, right?” Aurora chose not to respond, feeling Ulric’s judgment beating down on her.

“What about your mother? You don’t mention her much. What was she like?” Ulric asked. Aurora gave him a similarly judgmental look.

“I don’t have many memories of mother. She died when I was young, about ten years ago. I do remember her being very sweet to me, even when father wasn’t.” For the first time in seemingly awhile, Miryam smiled. “People say that I look a lot like her. They joke that I look nothing like father and get all my looks from her.” Her smile was short lived. “I don’t think father liked those jokes very much. He would get rough with mother or with me after hearing them.”

“Maybe you’re right.” Ulric whispered to Aurora. She just rolled her eyes. But a devilish thought did occur to her. She would of course need more evidence to prove such an idea, but some things did already seem to align. Aurora shook the thought from her head. The conversation petered out, but it didn’t take long for something else to spark interest. A cluster of voices could be heard off in the distance. Chanting and cheering with one voice in particular dominating the rest. The three continued down the path until they stumbled upon the source of the noise. Off to the side there was a crowd of people surrounding a stage. The crowd was made up of people of all different kinds, but Aurora and Ulric could tell that they had one thing in common. They were all nocturnals. The various, so called, ghouls and monsters that contributed to a small portion of Solstya’s population. They all seemed to be listening and rallying behind a man atop the stage. He was a bit shorter than average height, slender, and always moved with a certain bounce to his step. He was dressed like a jester except the costume was completely monochrome. Everything was black and white. The utter lack of color felt so jarring that he didn’t seem real, like he was penciled into reality. Every inch of his body was covered with the costume. None of his skin was exposed. Even his face was concealed; a white crescent moon mask on one half and a shadowy aura on the other. Little bells jingled as he walked and talked, and Aurora wondered how anyone took him seriously. The three approached the rally.

“Too long has your people been oppressed by the current Soltyan regime! They label you crooks, creatures of the night, monsters! And for what? For being different! For being unique! For having the audacity to merely exist in their presence!” The crowd booed. “Well I say no longer! We have an opportunity, the chance of a lifetime! We have the ability to flip the script and change your lives for the better! Are we going to waste it?”

“No!” The crowd all shouted in unison.

“All I ask of you is your support! Your words, your thoughts, your feelings! I ask that when the time comes you act!” The party fidgeted nervously. The reality of the situation had started to set in for them. This gathering was to rally support for Hawthorn and it was all being orchestrated by the man on stage. While he was dressed as a fool, he certainly didn’t act like one. He carefully chose his words and the way to speak those words in order to riot the emotions of the crowd. He played off of their fear and their resentment. None of what he said was false. The government had been oppressing the nocturnal population for years. They weren’t allowed inside the capital city and only just recently did Elysios let them within city borders. Nocturnals were regularly barred from businesses and guards typically looked the other way when they were mistreated. Not to mention they had been officially at war for decades and had been slaughtered for much longer than that. They weren’t human, and to most that also meant they weren’t people. So it’s no wonder the nocturnal people would slip into backing such an extreme solution. Feelings over this injustice had been brewing for a while, and now someone has come by to let that rage explode. As the only diurnals, the party started to feel uneasy. The man on stage continued to riot the crowd’s emotions, this time by asking for their individual experiences.

“They force me to stay awake and work in their cities!” A golem shouted, his voice a low grumble but still carried loudly over the crowd. Golems were creatures with the most structure sleep schedule, physically activating and deactivating at certain times. They couldn’t help it or change it, it’s just how they were. So a golem forced to stay awake and activated when he was supposed to be asleep couldn’t simply just sleep at a different time to regain the hours lost. “I’m exhausted and don’t have the energy for anything!”

“I can’t compete with other diurnal businesses!” A skeleton yelled. He dressed in extravagant clothing and stuck out like a sore thumb. “I’m not allowed in the capital city! I can’t perform or sell any goods there! I’m losing out to the diurnals who can!” He had apparently taken on being both a bard and a merchant to make ends meet. Both people oriented professions. Both would certainly struggle if one wasn’t allowed inside such a beacon of commerce.

“Humans are allowed to act on instinct and impulse all the time! But can my kind do the same? Nooooo! No there’s a problem if we do! We’re labeled monsters!” A small girl shouted. She looked to be no older than Aurora, possibly closer to Miryam’s age. Aurora couldn’t really tell. She couldn’t even tell what species she was. But as she stared at the girl she noticed something else. The man from the tavern she and Ulric visited.

“Come on Agnes.” Zeth whispered to an arachne woman standing next to him. She was like a polar opposite to the undead man. She stood straight while he slouched. She looked calm while he looked riled up. She was very much prim, proper, and regal while he was unkempt. “The others are making their voices heard. Speak up. You. Your story. It’s a much greater call for revolution than theirs!”

“Things will be unveiled in time, Zeth. But now is not that time.” She said softly and sweetly, not looking down at Zeth however. “I’m afraid my background will spoil their hunger for change. Despair isn’t as good a motivator as anger.”

“It’d still bring outrage.” Zeth growled. Agnes giggled at his defeat.

“Now, my friends, I know what those kind hearted souls out there are thinking.” The man began again. “Isn’t this a bit much? Isn’t a world without a sun a tad extreme? Shouldn’t we strive for equality? Equity? Shouldn’t we stray away from making decisions that would make us no better than them?” There was some murmurs in the crowd. “And to that I say this. If the roles were reversed, if the moon was being taken away instead, would they think the same?” He let the question linger. Aurora knew the answer, and so did the crowd. No they wouldn’t. The crowd erupted again. “They expect us to sit back and do nothing! They want us complacent, accepting, and satisfied! But tell me, are you satisfied?”

“No!” The crowd roared.

“They intend to keep you down! They want you to stay underneath their heel! And so they’ll try to fix this little problem of theirs just to make sure you suffer! But hear my words! My intentions are to keep that from happening! I want to stand up to the King and tear down the Solstyan regime! Who will stand with me!?” The man saluted, and to Auroras horror some of the people saluted back. “Now, my friends, gaze upon the tools of your oppression!” Suddenly an invisible force took over the party. They jumped out into the center of the crowd, moving as if their bodies weren’t their own. The three looked around them in a panic, Miryam especially going pale. “Are we really willing to let the fate of our future rest in these diurnal hands?” The man jumped down to meet the party. He moved so quickly and gracefully. It was uncanny.

“Now hold on wait a minute!” Ulric tried to protest. The man flicked his wrist and Ulric shut his mouth on command.

“Let’s see here.” He said strolling up to Miryam. He somehow popped up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. “We have an orphaned child who’s supposed to be some great champion cleric of light, but is so pathetic and spineless I hesitate to classify her a fellow vertebrate.” Miryam looked like she was on the verge of tears. The man left her for Ulric, running his finger along the soldier’s body. “A disabled home wrecker stuck in the past who’s got about as good of a grip on reality as his depth perception. Not only that but he’s very wishy washy on his own morality. He has no qualms contributing to the nocturnal slaughter but he can’t bear to face the consequences of his actions and selfishly abandons his post.” The man pushed Ulric back before pointing at Aurora. “And the worst of the bunch! An overweight junkie who, despite her many flaws, thinks she’s better than everyone else because she’s royalty.” He turned to address the whole crowd. “She’s a princess, a member of the most powerful family in the kingdom! Yet she refuses to use her influence to actually help the people! Instead she wastes her time with these other failures and complains that she had to live her life like the rest of us!” He turned back to her. “You disgust me, Helson! Have you anything to say for yourself?”

“I’m… sorry…” Aurora choked on her words. The man was taken aback slightly, like he was thrown off script. She didn’t know why she responded that way. The things he said were either petty or just plain not true. He was just trying to get underneath their skin and to paint them in a worse light. But Aurora still couldn’t help but feel bad. These people are hurt, and it was her family that hurt them. She knows that she has to stop Hawthorn, but she also knows that won’t make things better. Just more of the same. The man tsked, trying to get back on track.

“Well sorry isn’t going to cut it. It’s too late for that now. Why don’t you take your little gang somewhere else, and be thankful that we’re letting you leave here intact.” The crowd began to boo and hiss. Ulric took Miryam’s hand and escorted her away. Aurora followed with her head hung in shame. The man watched as the party was forced into leaving. He smirked. “Drag your names through the mud enough and soon no one will stand with you.” He whispered to himself. “I’ll keep you on your toes so long they’ll break under the pressure.”