“I fear brother Arden is currently undisposed.” said the old member of the Oder of the Flame that was in front of them. A short and completely white beard that donned his tired face could be seen from under the blood red robe he was tightly wearing, perhaps to take shelter from the cool gusts of wind that were hitting the capital that morning. “You might want to came back in a couple of days.”

Ah, damn it. That was not certainly what he had hoped to hear.

“I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I have to insist.” said Nyle, trying to act calm. “I’m here on official business, and as I’m sure you know, Arden is a key witness to a gruesome case the Ministry of Surveillance is working on. It is imperative I question him now.”

The old man scoffed, clearly unhappy. “Be it as it may be, but the fact remains the same. Brother Arden is currently in no condition to help you right now. I cannot let you pass.”

Nyle walked a couple of paces away to calm down, while Avron tried uselessly to reason with that stubborn old man. There, near the flight of stone stairs that led them to the entrance of the imposing tower that housed the vastest bastion of the Order of the Flame, his eyes scanned the entire scenery as the wind was making his long raven hair and black hooded cape flutter gently. The sun, who was right behind him, was half hidden by the black tower that spiralled for many floors up in the sky, creating a shadow that seemed to engulf dozens of nearby buildings.

Even if he tried to empty his mind from all the negativity and stress he had been subjected in the last few days, the back and forth those two were having right behind him proved to be a bit too much for him to handle. Couldn’t they just argue in a less infuriating way? Did they really had to get on his nerves? He didn’t know the answer to those questions, but he sure as hell knew what he was going to do if they didn’t shut the hell up soon.

Ohhh, just thinking about being able to finally vent out all that tension made him ecstatic. It was such a simple motion that it was soooo tempting. First, he would punch them right in the-

A man’s voice, different from what Nyle had heard before, spoke from within the tower, behind the old man’s frame. “Let them pass.”

Nyle turned around, only to see that old man’s face contort with anger and disbelief. But all of that didn’t last long, for colour quickly drained from his face. “G-Great Bearer! What are you doing here? Is ever-”

“I said to let them pass, brother.” the man repeated, looking at the older man with firm conviction.

“Oh! Yes! Yes, I heard you. But, Great Bearer, I was given the order to not let anyone pass. Most Revered will-”

“Understand my reasoning. Right now, allowing those gentlemen to conduct their business is in the best interests for the Order. Or are doubting my decision? Is that it?”

The old man quickly affirmed that wasn’t the case, shaking his head back and forth. “O-Of course not. I would never-”

“Good. Then, as I’ve just said, let them pass. If anyone comes asking, tell them I was the one gave you the order. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

The old man, who up to that point had been just unfriendly and totally reluctant to any idea that wasn’t the same as his own, now looked gentle and completely different than before. Nyle looked over him, trying to peer into the darkness that hiding that mysterious man who clearly held much authority. Who was him?

“Now, friends of the Ministry of Surveillance, I hope you can look past this little incident. He was just doing what was instructed to him. Though I acknowledge he can quite…vexing to deal with.” said the man who evidently held the title Great Bearer, whatever that the hell that was.

“It’s no problem. Everything is good.” said Avron in his charming smile before Nyle could have responded.

Avron was lucky he wasn’t like the other Inquisitors, Captains, or whatever officer there was in the hierarchy. If he had been, new he would have punished him for insubordination. But Nyle couldn’t care less about any of that. To him, that whole insubordination thing was just a sorry ass excuse that power drunk assholes used to be bossy. Screw all that. It was much better to concentrate on the end result, instead of wasting time on such pointless demonstrations of dominance.

Nyle smirked. He guessed that was also one of the reasons why he still held the rank of Inquisitor, instead of something higher.

As they came inside, crossing the threshold of the door that had seemed so impassable just moments ago, their eyes slowly adjusted to the dim light that was coming from the few torches that were illuminating the circular room, creating an atmosphere that wouldn’t have looked bad in one of those plays that were so popular amongst the wealthier figures. Or at least that was what Nyle imagined. After all, he nor the ways nor the will to verify the truth behind those rumours.

“Welcome inside our humble home.” said the Great Bearer. Now that they could look at him, Nyle noticed the short greying hair that were poking out from under the comfortable hooded cape he was wearing comfortably over his head. A short beard, perfectly trimmed, was donning his oval face. “I’m Great Bearer Nikolaus Seril. I suspect you have questions…”

Nyle and Avron shared a look. Of course they had questions. It was the only reason that made them came there to begin with.

“Well, as we have told your fellow member, we have to question Arden about some details that-”

“That was obvious.” interrupted him. “It would be utterly strange, if not outright improbable, if that wasn’t the case. The Order strongly prefer to stick to our duties then mingle with all the chaos that is rampaging outside. It was a sad coincidence that brother Arden was there at that time. But rest assured. Once involved, we will not shy away from any burden that has been entrusted to us. You have my word.”

Nyle smiled. It was a fake smile, of course. How could he know if that man was being sincere or not? He couldn’t. But, if he had no way of knowing, the very best thing to do was maintain a friendly appearance. “You have our thanks, Great Beare-”

“Nikolaus is fine.” he said. “You don’t have to stand on cer-”

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

“Great Bearer!” said the old man, who had remained silent till now. His face was now contorted with anger and disbelief. “You cannot allow that! Never, not even once, has an outsider addressed the senior ranks in such an informal addressing! This cannot be allowed. It’s a such a breach of protocol! The dogmas that the founders have handed down t-”

“Are old, pointless, and completely outdated.” said Nikolaus firmly. “If the Order has to remain alive and keep its holy mission as the only principle worth pursuing, then we must shed some of our traditions. The world is changing. And if we don’t change with it, we’ll be swallowed by the time’s tide.”

“B-but we-”

“That’s all, dean. You’re dismissed.”

Ah. So that was the rank that old man had. Nyle took mental note of that and looked at him, half expecting a sharp came back by the way he was staring at Nikolaus. However, nothing of the sort happened. He just stayed there unmoving, throwing mental daggers at him.

If any of that bothered Nikolus, he certainly didn’t show it on his face, who remained completely unfazed. Only when he looked at Nyle and Avron then did the hard mask fall off.

Nikolaus sighed heavily. “…Sorry about that. He’s not a bad person. It’s just that…he’s still anchored to the old ways. I cannot blame him. He has joined our order when he was only little more than a teenager, back at a time where things where much different.”

Nikolaus then murmured something.

Then he turned around and made sign for them to follow.

//////

“Wooooow.” said Avron with his eyes wide open. The sheer incredulity of what he was seeing in front of him was evident on his face. A sentiment that, unbelievably, was shared by Nyle.

“Ah! I’m so accustomed to seeing it every day that I’ve forgotten how imposing and majestic that is. It’s a thing to behold, isn’t it?”

“I dare say it’s way more than a simple thing.” said Avron, his eyes as if glued to that spectacle. “What is…that?”

An enormous black marble spire, which went up in the towers till it reached the summit, or at least that was the impression from down there, was right in the middle of the spacious hall they had just entered. Flames surrounded its very base, surrounding it in a hot and fiery embrace that made the white veining shine beautifully. To Nyle, those veining resembled lightning bolts from the common storm during summer solstice. He had never seen something like that.

“That, my friends, is our most precious, but most of all sacred, of the monuments in our care. We have no clear indication of its origin, but the stone dates back to a very ancient time. The first records in our possession aren’t very clear on the subject, but it’s widely regarded as coming from beyond the continent. Now, to achieve that trans ocean crossing, especially at that time, would have required a vast array of skill and knowledge that was very rare to find. It’s just makes me wonder who did they acclo-” he stopped. The lost gazes that Nyle and Avron still had on their faces made him chuckle loudly. “You’ve to excuse me. I tend to lose myself when I speak about this subject.”

“Yeah.” said Nyle. “…”

“Anyway, skipping the history lesson. This is the Altar of Remembrance. There is nothing more sacred than this in our Order beliefs. At least, that’s my opinion. You see, everyone is free to hold something else more dearly as long as they respect the first dogma.”

“Oh…” said Avron, looking back at the giant spire. “And what does it-”

“It’s a memorial.” interrupted Nyle.

Avron immediately looked at him as if wanting to ask how the hell he knew that. Nikolaus instead simply smirked, perhaps amused by that dry, confident answer.

“Uhmmm.” he said. “Please, amuse me. What does makes you say this?”

Nyle sighed. Hadn’t they come here to question, and perhaps even check on Elros? So why the hell were they asking him pointless questions? It’s not like he wanted to lecture anyone to begin with. However, he resigned himself pretty quickly to what he considered impossible to avoid. If he wanted to leave that tower behind, and face the busy schedule they had ahead of them, he just had to humour them. “If you look behind the flames that surround the very base of this megalithic column, you’ll quickly notice the infinite series of names that had been chiselled on the polished surface. Also, note that it’s not exclusive to just the base. If you look up you’ll surely notice that such treatment has been reserved for the entirety of the surface. Or at least, that’s what I believe. After all, it’s not like my eyes can see beyond a certain threshold. I have no way no way of knowing if the top has received the same treatment as what we’re seeing right in front of our eyes.”

He briefly stopped talking, taking a well-deserved breath as his eyes moved to Nikolaus. “…Though I suspect that’s indeed the case. Am I wrong?”

Three slow, annoyingly long claps, were the first answer that Nikolaus deigned to give him.

Then, as Nyle was becoming more and more aggravated, he moved in front of everybody, ignoring the other members of the Order that were silently and dutifully walking inside that hall, tending to whatever task they had to carry out. “Impressive, Inquisitor Nyle. Truly a job well done. It seems that you’re not as…simple as you as I thought. That’ll teach me to be less judgemental.”

S-simple? Did he really just call him like that? The insult! How dared him? Now, Nyle wasn’t the smartest, or the wisest man in the city. He knew that very well. But from there to plainly calling him dumb was a long way to go! Maybe he had to punch him, after all.

“Ah!” he exclaimed loudly. He must have realized, by the way Nyle was furiously looking at him, of the damage he had done.

“I apologize.” he said sincerely. Or at least that was the impression Nyle was having.

“…It’s alright.” Nyle said clicking his tongue against his teeth. “I suppose part of the fault is mine.”

“No. That is entirely my fault. It’s an old habit that I’ve never been able to shake off.”

“A habit? What habit? Of being an asshole?”

Nikolaus busted out laughing. “You don’t mince around words, do you?”

“Life’s too short for that.”

“I imagine that’s not a very popular opinion.”

“No.” said Avron. “No, it’s not.”

“No matter. I sort of deserved that, didn’t I?”

The wall of silence that greeted him the moment he asked that question gave him all the answer he was looking for. “Anyway, you’re only half right.”

His gaze turned towards the gigantic column that seemed to hold a special place in the hearths of all the members. The deferential behaviour that Nyle and Avron had observed during that brief stop from every single man dressed in that characteristic red robe, had been a loud and clear sign that hadn’t ignored. Nor that could, for that matter. If they did, it would have been better if they just resigned instead of trying to solve that murder by searched far and wide for help and clues.

By pointing towards the base, Nikolaus explained with a rich vocabulary that seemed almost out of place the function of that symbol of stone. First, he explained that, just as Nyle had guessed, the main function of it was remembrance and tribute. Almost every single name etched in the stone’s firm embrace for all eternity, none excluded, belonged to a soldier who died valiantly on duty. The only exceptions granted to that rule were made for special civilians who had died protected others. Of that category, Nikolaus explained, there were only one percent, maybe even less than that. It was an honour rarely bestowed.

The flames, on the other hand, as Nyle already knew, were the fulcrum on which the order’s beliefs were based.

To a member of the Order, the flames were everything. Literally everything. It wouldn’t have been an exaggeration saying that they lived their lives dedicating every waking hour to them, sometimes neglecting tasks of greater importance and urgency. So Nyle could only image what the punishment would for those who failed to do so. Just like Ardan had done.

Just thinking about it was making him shiver.

Although that lesson could have gone on and on for hours, a cough from Nyle made it suddenly stop, making that assorted man glance around in confusion.

“Ah.” said Nikolaus as he glanced towards the giant clock that was hanging over the biggest entrance, the one that was rarely used. Only on special occasions, like the festivities held on the day that marked the anniversary of the Imperium’s founding, such door, which was completely made out of a reddish metallic alloy, was slowly opened wide. “I see I’ve rambled on for quite some time. To tell you the truth there is much more that could be said about the Order…”

Nyle deadpanned him, making him chuckle. “But I think that’s a matter for another time. Follow me. I’ll take you to Arden.”

Finally!