Halari heard them outside. The main body of her people were definitely crowded around the entrance, all talking, questioning, wondering why they were being summoned. She foresaw two possibilities with all the truths that were about to be unleashed: either they really would panic and burn the whole place down, thereby validating her betrayal, or they’d see Callan as a real option to follow and come together so that they could protect their home, making her feel all the worse for lying to them.

She desperately wanted to feel awful about it if it meant her people found some kind of hope.

“Remember,” Halari said, turning to Callan. He looked at ease facing public speaking, almost happy even, as if addressing a large crowd was something he’d missed doing for centuries. He stood straighter; hands clasped behind his back with his chin slightly upward. Regal, almost. “Old Bear is the one you need to convince. He’s never taken an actual leadership chair, but he’s widely considered the voice of the people. If he falls in line, most of the others will.”

“And he won’t know about them?” Callan asked. “The gildgrown?”

Halari shivered at the word. Kelot had divulged that little secret when prompted, and now she knew that name of her enemy. Their enemy. The people needed two things: the truth and a way forward.

“He won’t,” she said, shaking her head. “And he’ll probably be pissed at first. But if you can convince him that you are really here to help, the people will come.”

“And the other thing?” Callan asked, arching a brow at her. “How do you think they’ll take it”

“It should help,” Halari said with a light frown, “but that’s if they don’t set the Temple on fire in revenge as soon as you tell them.” Callan chuckled softly at that, then turned back to the door.

His regal posture fractured for a moment, just an instance of slouching before he recovered, and Halari saw a dash of worry in his expression.

“You ready?” Halari asked, moving towards the door. “We don’t have to do this today if you want to take some more time. It hasn’t even been a week yet, so I get it if you need a few more days.”

“No, it’s fine,” Callan said, waving a hand in dismissal. “If I want to regain my abilites, maybe the first step is getting back to my purpose.”

“Which is?” Halari asked.

“Leading,” Callan said. “Gathering people together to fulfill the Great Mission of Melokon.”

“And what’s that exactly?” Halari grew more curious about the man’s actual motivations. What was his purpose here? The Book of Jomen told of how he came to think that free will was hindering his goals, but everything in that book seemed to be a dirty pot of bullshit.

So what’s the actual truth? she wondered.

“I will tell you all about it later,” Callan said. He grinned tightly and nodded towards the main gate. “But first…”

She nodded and opened the door. “Let’s do this.”

A massive crowd of Stargazer citizens stood before the steps of the Temple, larger than she had seen in quite some time. At least not since the first time a food scare had come up last year.

“Betrayer’s damnation,” she breathed, stunned by the insane attendance. Callan gave her a sidelong look and something between a frown and a smirk. “Oh, sorry. Betrayer’s… salvation?”

“That doesn’t work either, I think,” Callan whispered, just smirking now. “Now, after you.”

Halari walked out onto landing of the front steps before the door, Callan following close behind her.

The crowd hushed immediately, all murmurs and voices gone in an instant. They knew she was at the center of all this somehow, that her actions in the Vault had changed something, that every little whisper about the strange man with the inhuman eyes standing before them stemmed from the choices she made.

Halari saw her sister standing with both of her parents and waved to them, trying her best to put on a reassuring smile for their sake. They waved back, looking more perplexed than worried, which made sense as she hadn’t had a chance to clue them in to the contents of this gathering. Old Bear stood with his usual crew near the center of the crowd.

She didn’t spot Telero though.

The crowd waited for her to speak. Some really waiting for the actual answers she had already promised them.

“Hey, everyone,” Halari said loudly. “I know a lot has been going on the past few days and some of you have seen some… weird things. Today, you’ll get all the answers and then some, I promise!” She turned to Callan, who grinned softly and nodded that he was ok to take the lead. “This is Callan, the man I found in the Melokide’s Vault. He’s here to help.”

Callan stepped forward and faced her people, standing strong before their curiosity and scrutiny. For the first time since she’d found him, Halari thought he looked entirely in the right place.

“People of the Quarry,” Callan began, voice strong and resonating over the crowd, “I am Callan, former King of this once great Northern Dominion of the Obsidian Empire and the First Blessed Flame of Melokon.”

Halari saw the words set in. The crowd began to mutter amongst themselves, some shaking their heads, others looking totally dismissive and unbelieving. Others, definitely the more pious individuals, made the connection and backed away in fear.

“Show us proof!” a voice called over the soft murmurs. Others joined in with his calls, demanding evidence to this boldest of claims. “Have the Flames really returned?”

Exactly as I hoped, Halari thought.

Callan smiled, eyes glowing, then raised both of his hands out to his shoulders, palms facing the sky. He shot lightning into the silver sky, flashing the Quarry’s people with red and violet illumination in bursts of electricity and crackles of discharge.

The people shuffled away en masse and gawked the light show, stupefied into complete silence. Callan lowered his hands after a few seconds and spoke again, this time to a more enraptured crowd.

“Some you already know me,” he continued, “according to the Book of your patron, the Visionary, as the Tyrannical Betrayer. A fallen ruler who was cast down when he turned against his people. I stand before you now, alive, to say that it is all false!”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Halari stifled a smirk at his dramatic pause at this part; it had been her idea, a way for her people to react as needed.

“Liar!” some called.

“Are you going to hurt us!” yelled others.

“What do you want?” came the loudest voice. No anger, no fear, just a need to be heard above the terrified clamor. Old Bear stepped through the throng of people easily as they moved aside for him, like sand being pushed aside by a dragging foot.

The rest of the people quieted when Bear raised a hand. Halari smiled fondly at the big man. He might not be an official leader, but the respect he held in the eyes of the people was something she always admired.

“I am not here to hurt you,” Callan declared, staring down at Old Bear with an amicable, but firm expression. “I want to give you what belongs to you if you’ll let me. The Flames have not returned… and they never will!”

This caused the loudest uproar yet, bringing more accusations of lies and even some shouts calling of heresy. Callan took it all in with an easy air, not showing any sign of being disturbed nor worried.

Halari found herself impressed by his resolve. She didn’t know is she had the same spine for talking to a crowd that pushed against what they were hearing.

“As Halari said,” he continued, “I am here to help! I am here to save this place, to guide you into the future you deserve and take you away from this hell in which you’ve been deserted.”

“Do you have any proof?” Old Bear asked. Just like she thought he would. Bear was a man of material and proof and hard facts. Halari knew he definitely bought Callan was a Flame, but the rest, the horrible honesty about their world, he’d need to see that for himself.

Callan turned to her. ‘Are you sure?’ he asked with a glance. Halari gave him a small nod.

“By my authority,” Callan declared, “the Melokide are opening their doors to you for the first time in what I’ve been told is centuries, if ever. They will show you the truths that they showed me: the failures of my kin during my absence.” He lowered his head to Bear. “All the evidence you need will be yours. Then, I will ask you to accept my help in your fights to come.”

“What does that mean?” Bear asked. “What fights?”

Callan looked back over the people. Halari tensed, worry gnawing at her heart.

No, this is right, she assured herself. I will not be a liar anymore.

“Your home, this Quarry,” he said heavily, “is under threat. The whispers you have spoken of the Melokide are true. They do have the biofoam that you seek.”

This was the other thing they learned. Halari flushed, still embarrassed from Kelot pointing out that it wasn’t their fault that she’d just followed the big blinking lights and assumed she’d find exactly what she wanted.

‘You can’t blame us for your lack of thoroughness,’ he’d said with a self-satisfied, shit-eating grin. She’d wanted to shoot him. Then, the religious bastard had shown them the stores, canister on canister of foam surrounding a big bed of planted ashbud seed and she’d wanted to hug him.

Old Bear was not so inclined.

“What!” he bellowed, fists curling at his sides. Others followed suit at the proclamation, forgetting for a moment the unnatural situation they were already dealing with.

Halari was wrong, these were the loudest cries of outrage yet.

Callan raised a hand and waited for the crowd to die down. It took a moment, and a barking shout from Bear for them to shut up before their composure returned.

“They’ve had the foam this whole time?” Bear pressed. “Why did they keep it from us?”

“For the last year your Quarry has been under threat,” Callan explained to the people. That really shut them up. “They are called the gildgrown. And they demanded tribute from your leaders, or they would bring ruin to your home. The priests have been using their stores to pay off this extortion and kept it hidden from you. But now, it will be released for your crops.”

The crowd’s tone shifted from outrage into appreciation. This was a big step in getting their trust and beginning to remove the tarnish of his religious reputation.

And manage their fear as well.

“Where do they come from?” somebody asked.

“We are not sure, but you will suffer them no longer,” Callan said. “But you can’t protect your home if you don’t fight, and you cannot fight without food. All of the foam will be available to you once the presentation is complete.” He gestured to the Temple and stood to the side. “All you need to do is walk in. There are no more words I can tell you to convince you.”

Old Bear stared past him at the door and Halari was amazed to see that he looked scared. She’d been excited, but it was stupid to bet that everybody might have a hunger for the past like she did.

“What will we see in there?” the big man asked.

“The waking moment of a nightmare,” Callan said. “It will not be pleasant, but Halari and I will be waiting here for you when it is over. I will not leave you behind, I promise.”

Bear turned to the people and gazed at them for a long moment, then, without another word, walked into the Center. Others followed him.

Many others.

“Still no fires,” Halari said, a small corner of her mouth curling up. “I think they’re probably taking it pretty well.”

“Your plan was good,” Callan said. “You’re a natural leader, Halari. That will be a good skill to hone for the days to come.”

“Oh… uh…” Her cheeks heated up like a welding torch at the compliment, and in that moment, she was very glad that he was staring down and fiddling with his ring instead of looking at her. “Um, Old Bear, he’s really more of the leader type. I just kind of make trouble.”

“And I’m sure he’ll be helpful in the new order,” Callan said, now actually looking at her. “But he’s not at the center of this changing world.”

His eyes are very intense, Halari thought. She tried not to blush further under his stare, which of course just made her face redden even more. If he saw, he didn’t seem to care at least, so that was a comfort.

“Your people know what you did for them,” he continued. “They know that you freed me, a demigod ruler from the past. They know that you acted when others wouldn’t. Halari, they know that their changing world is because of you.”

The weight of his words dropped on her like heavy rain.

He’s right, she realized, bones freezing in her muscles as the chill took effect. I put myself right into the whirlwind’s eye.

Callan grinned sadly, as if he knew the turmoil swirling in her head. “So, they will come to you. They will come with concerns, they will come with their dreams and fears, with questions about the future.

“So, the real question is…” he fixed her with a pointed look. “Can you handle the distinction? Can you handle being apart from them?”

“I don’t… think…” It was a lot, almost too much weight on her back. “I’m not sure.”

“I think you can, for what it counts,” Callan said. “Or you’ll learn very fast.”

“Callan, I’m don't thi—” Any protests or insecurities she wanted to voice were cut off when the main gate of the Temple groaned open. It had been about an hour since Bear and his large group of followers went inside; the others waited with them outside and chatted amongst themselves.

Everybody stopped speaking when Old Bear stepped out into the open.

I bet I looked about the same. Halari felt bad for the large man, but the look of empty wrath on his face said it all. He believed everything. The crowd following him looked about the same, haunted and forsaken. She watched sadly as Bear walked past her and faced the crowd.

“It’s true,” he said gruffly, but loud enough for all to hear. “All of it is true. There’s a recording of… of the Visionary himself. He abandoned us all.”

Then, Bear turned back to Callan and Halari.

And knelt.

“Great Flame,” he said, “we are honored to have your guidance in these dark times.” Many of the others did the same and bowed their heads. Others went back to their families or friends and hugged them or prompted them to follow suit.

“DO NOT KNEEL BEFORE THIS DEVIL!” a loud voice yelled from the back of the crowd. Halari snapped her gaze up to find its source.

Telero and a few of his friends she recognized pushed their way to the front of the crowd and settled in front of the rising Bear.

Halari grimaced uncomfortably.

Her brother looked pissed.