The second army of the Empire of Nydia, commanded by King Vash of Vjiskald, met the armies of Lin in the heartland of the Theocracy. The tip of Spire Lin could be seen in the west on a clear day, but the sky was cloudy and it was snowing lightly. The soldiers of the two armies fraternized at the border between the two camps. There was a circus, large tents converted into makeshift taverns, and many, many brothels.
Women stood on the sides of the pathways, wearing garments worthy of a queen with the exception that they did not cover the important body parts. Oculomancers stood at the door, checking men for diseases by looking for specific patterns in the vendark. Kiera continued down the main road between the two camps and tried to ignore the women. She needed to meet with the other Heritors.
King Vash sat on a massive throne constructed of bronze on a wooden platform. He had hair that was the same color as Annatiki, with matching eyes. His arms and legs were as thick as tree trunks, and his chest was covered in blood red tattoos.
A smaller throne sat on his right side, and in that throne sat Lucia Aden. Fiona stood near Lucia, and Sasha was talking to Claire nearby. In the center of the clearing in front of the thrones was a line of enemy prisoners. They were naked except for a pair of robust smallclothes in case they soiled themselves. There was a completely naked woman, tall and muscular, holding a sword near them. Her entire body was painted pale blue, except the area around her eyes which was painted a much darker blue. There were gaps in the paint creating an elaborate pattern.
Kiera winced as the woman beheaded one of the prisoners. The screams and cries for mercy began. Kiera turned away, standing behind Fiona. Lucia looked bored.
Once the final prisoner had died, the executioner approached Fiona. "You honor me, Great Mother, for painting me with the patterns of your tribe," she said with a bow.
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"You honor my tribe with your grace and skill," Fiona replied. Kiera thought the whole spectacle was barbaric, though apparently it was an important religious ceremony in Vjiskald meant to honor Father Winter.
An oculomancer sprinted into the clearing, panicked. "Fiona!" she said. "Urgent message for you on emergency channels!"
Fiona snapped her head toward Spire Lin. Kiera peered into the vendark and looked at the Spire herself. There was a large, flashing blue pulse. The communications oculomancer was burning ether in pulses according to a special language. Kiera still did not understand that language.
"Father Winter" Fiona hissed.
"What's wrong?" Kiera asked.
"I need to leave, NOW."
"Let me go with you," Kiera said.
"Walk with me, but remain at the festival," Fiona said. "We need to talk. I may need backup down here on the ground. Listen, Kiera. I need to tell you about the secret purpose of the Heritors. Heritors have large auras, and those auras contain enough sien that, when burned, the Elder Saint can become strong enough to kill witches that are stronger than her, without needing to consume one of her spikes."
Kiera nodded. "I understand, but why are you telling me this?"
"Look to the east in the vendark," Fiona said.
Kiera saw a bright golden light far to the east. It was moving fast, as if it was flying slowly.
"Mother summer," Kiera said. "A male witch, flying?!"
"This is an emergency, I need to handle it immediately," They arrived at a small field, and twin-propeller aircraft hissed by and slammed down. The engines roared, and the little airplane slowed down to a stop almost instantly. There were screams from the nearby prostitutes at seeing the airplane fly overhead, and even the soldiers were gathering to look. "I will try to keep him nearby. If I fail to kill him by myself or I judge that I need your help, I will try my best to put him on the ground. I command you to claim the sien in all the auras you can feel and burn it to reach and kill the target in that case."
She hopped into the plane.
"He may be developing very fast. Remember your training."
The little airplane took off in a short distance, then set out towards Spire Lin with an escort of dozens of fighter jets. The sky became a dull roar. Hundreds of fighter jets appeared in the clouds, they peppered the sky. The soldiers watched, fingers pointed at the sky in wonder.