It was late in the evening, and the sun disappeared behind the city walls. Lucullus and Aela agreed to find an inn for the night. Aela led the way, given that she had far greater knowledge of the city, and brought them to an inn she was familiar with. The keeper saluted her as she entered; evidently, the two knew each other quite well. The curious eyes of several patrons were on Lucullus and Aela; Lucullus was more than used to it, but Aela had not traveled to the city for some time, and was uncomfortable with everyone watching what she was doing.

Aela conversed with the keeper while he poured her a mug of mead. The two talked and joked like old friends do, or so Lucullus gathered by their tone toward each other. He sat by the bar with Aela, and waited for the conversation to finish. At a certain point he heard his name mentioned, and soon after Aela was handing some silver to the keeper, and motioning for Lucullus to follow her.

The two scurried off to one of the rooms, and relaxed after closing the door. They laid their things down, and sat for a while in silence, enjoying the relative peace and quiet of a nice inn.

After some time, Aela began to form burning questions in her mind which begged asking more with each passing minute. “I’ve been wondering something, Lucullus.”

Lucullus looked up from his sword sharpening. “What is it?”

“Well, I’ve actually been wondering about a lot of things. I realized that I know so little about you. How did you come to be in Cicero’s service? Why is Cicero so concerned with the Princess of Lucium?”

He chuckled a little to himself as he continued to sharpen his blade. “The answer to your second question isn’t one I have the answer to; I can only assume the official answer. The answer to your first question, however, is a long story.”

She sat forward on her bed, with an eager look on her face. “We have plenty of time, Lucullus. I’ve always wondered about Lucium.”

He put down his sword. “I get the point.” He sighed. “If you insist, I’ll tell you a bit about it.”

She eagerly nodded, and listened intently.

Lucullus started with the death of Decimus, struggling to hold back his anger as he recalled Tullius. With each detail, he was careful with his phrasing and with what he revealed.

“Did Decimus believe in the Savra?”

Lucullus shrugged. “Of all his work, his investigation of the Chaodites was one thing he never shared anything about with me. At the time, I wondered why he wasn’t as open to me about the nature of his business trips as he was in the past. Now, I finally understand.”

“You think Tullius was the one who gave the orders for your arrest?”

Lucullus’s expression went sour, and he felt a great anger come over him for a moment. “I have no doubt that Tullius, that treacherous snake, ordered it.” He quickly moved on to the next event, not wishing to spend a second longer thinking of Tullius. He recalled his time in the Avarus Wall, though he spent a short time in it.

“I never would have guessed that Cicero would find a prisoner to do his work. Can I assume that you accepted his offer in order to get out of prison?”

“A good guess. You’re not far off, but I was out of prison a while before I met him.”

“If you didn’t meet Cicero before you got out, then when?”

He took a deep breath. “When I said I was out of prison long before I met him, it was true, but it wasn’t the only time I was arrested. It was also not the only time I was in a cell; it’s just when I was arrested the second time, I was put in the royal palace’s dungeon.”

With every new detail, her curiosity grew. “I’m guessing that time is when he offered you freedom from the cell.”

“Correct. Indeed, it was when I was locked up in the royal dungeon, and not when I was in prison. But, all the same, I was offered a chance at freedom; though it was actually not Cicero who first extended the offer, but rather King Titus who visited my lonely cell.”

“This is getting more fascinating by the second.”

He nodded. “It’s about to be even more fascinating.” He took a deep breath. “The reason I gave as many details as I have is because I would like your help in figuring out some riddles.”

She furrowed her brow, struggling to find an adequate response. “Okay…”

“Each time I was in a cell, I was visited by a spirit of sorts.”

Aela said nothing with her words, but her expression said all that was needed.

“I know it seems strange, but it really happened. The first visit, the spirit seemed to chastise me for having hollow prayers, and gave me a forewarning of future trials. The second visit was quite similar to the first, only that time… it also instructed me to say a particular prayer: O Hikma, source of all grace, protect me from the snares of my enemies, and lead me always on the path of Thy holy light…”

She flinched as the prayer sounded in her ears. Hikma. “And you say the spirit instructed you to say it?”

He nodded.

“What else did it say?”

“Well, it made many predictions, and gave me a lot of guidance during each of its visits. It told me that the king would offer me freedom, and to accept his terms. I think it said something about not burning the olive tree when it extended its branch to me. In all three of its visits, it has yet to have a single wrong prediction. The only problem is that it only spoke in riddles, and that’s why I need your help. I figured you might be able to solve these riddles; you seem quite well-versed in these ancient mysteries.”

She made quick notes on one of her rolls of parchment. “Never have any of the Mystics, nor anyone else in all of Emporikos been visited by such a spirit. It has been hundreds of years since any reports like yours have come to light. False apparitions have come and gone, but even those haven’t happened in a long time. I can try to decipher its messages, but the prophecies of the spirits are often not meant to be fully understood until after they are fulfilled.”

He sighed. “Not what I was hoping to hear, but nevertheless, I still wish for you to help me make some sense of them.”

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

“I will try, but I make no promises.” She readied her materials for taking further notes. “I shall also like to write down the words of this spirit, according to your testimony.”

He nodded. “I suppose I should start with the first one it ever gave to me. I don’t think I could ever forget that first encounter. It said I was to be scourged by the world three times; one had already happened, and two hadn’t yet. The first time was supposed to be by the hands of men, but no more would men scourge me. This being, of whom it would not outright name, was to withdraw his warmth from me. And my final trial was to be a trial by fire to purify me… All the waters of the seas would do nothing for my seed because it is in darkness.”

She eagerly wrote down each word Lucullus said with great speed. “I’m most curious about that last thing you said.”

“It probably phrased it like that because I’m a farmer, or rather, I was. Anyone who has farmed at all knows that no seeds grow without light; it doesn’t matter how much water you give it if you deprive of it of light.”

“But, according to you, it said ‘your seed’. I was thinking it was referring to your sons and daughters.”

“I don’t have any children.”

“Perhaps it was referring to your future descendants. I’ve never known the spirits to care that much about a man’s crops. Though, it could be hinting at a lack of faith on your end.”

“That would make sense. At the time, I thought the problems happening in Lucium were caused by people like you.”

She looked up from her notes.

“I’m aware of how that sounds, but those sentiments are quite strong among many in Lucium because of the lies they are fed. I count myself lucky for having found the truth of the matter.”

She returned her gaze to her notes. “Was this scourging by the hands of men related to your arrest?”

“Actually, I was whipped and beaten by the guards in my cell before my trial. I suspect a man any less hardy than I would’ve succumbed to such injuries, but even I was struggling to stand long after it was over.”

She stared for a while at her notes. “Sounds like you had a very brutal scourging, then. I would say that must’ve been your first trial.”

“Next would be when this mysterious being would withdraw his warmth from me; something about understanding the ‘desolate life’ I have lived.”

Both of them pondered the mystery for a while in an awkward silence.

“I did nearly freeze to death during my escape from the Avarus Wall.”

“How have you managed to make it this far?”

He shrugged and chuckled. “Just as I was escaping with two of my friends, the exit bridge collapsed on me, and I was separated from them until we all reached the nearest inn. The blizzard was intense, and the frigid winds seemed to hurt more than fire. I thought all hope was lost; but then I remembered that prayer. I must’ve said it fifty or a hundred times; suddenly, the blizzard was gone, and I could see my way to shelter, and came upon that inn.”

“That must’ve been your second trial, then. Only by a divine act do such things happen. Perhaps it was to teach you reliance on prayer rather than your own will. I have learned that lesson on a few occasions as well.”

“There certainly seemed to be quite the withdrawal of warmth. I had never been so cold in my life… But what is this third trial?”

She took a moment to read over what she wrote. “If it is a trial to purify you, then my guess would be some kind of special ceremony.”

“But it said I would have to face a trial by fire. Do you know of any ceremonies that involve me being burned alive?”

“None that we practice. I’ve written nearly everything you’ve said thus far, and nothing seems to fit this description. It’s quite possible that this trial is still to come.”

“But what does it mean?”

She shrugged. “I’m out of ideas. But, like I said before, these prophecies are often not meant to be fully understood until they have come to pass. That is why this last trial is a mystery, but the other two are known.”

Lucullus stood up and stretched. “There were some things it mentioned, related to those trials, during its second appearance…”

The sun began to set, and its fading light streamed through the window behind Aela. “Does any of it help in understanding the last mystery?”

He paused to think. “It was something about a ‘spiritual desert’.”

The Count felt his strength leave him as Sabina approached. “What brings my liege to my humble court?”

Sabina ascended the steps to where the Count was seated, and began to pace around his chair. “I’ve come with a proposition for you. You can think of it as a chance for untold glory, and for the liberation of Lucium from her chains.”

“Do tell of this offer.”

She smiled with great satisfaction. “Titus has been uncompromising in his desire to do nothing for quite some time now; I think we all have surely seen it.” She halted her pacing just in front of the Count. “But, it doesn’t have to continue that way.”

“What exactly are you proposing? That we threaten to put him to the sword if he doesn’t solve the border invasions?”

She laughed, then turned to face him. “A grand idea, but no. He has proven to be an immovable object for a long time, and no threats or sweet words will make him go to the left, nor to the right. It is not possible to fix him. That is why I propose a change in leadership.”

“Since I know you don’t plan to ask him nicely to abdicate, I must ask: how do you plan to do this?”

She resumed her pacing. “As astute as ever, Felix. I don’t plan to ask him for anything. But I must also clarify that I don’t intend to march on Multa in an open battle either.”

“Then, before Mors takes me, what do you plan to do?”

“Fitting that you should mention her name.”

He began rubbing his temples. “What? Has Titus already died?”

“Of course not. Though, I suspect his time is soon upon him. What I intend to do is wait for the right moment to strike, or rather, to claim the throne. His support is shrinking by the day. It is only because of the imperial army that I dare not challenge him directly. But, what I want from you is an oath of absolute loyalty to me, and only to me.”

He gripped the arms of his chair. “You expect me to renounce my loyalty to King Titus? If your little plan fails, then I would go down with you; and I don’t see any evidence of it working.”

She stopped just behind the chair, and grabbed his shoulders. She leaned in close to his ear and whispered, “I don’t want you to publicly renounce him immediately. That is something that must be done at a more appropriate time. I’m thinking along the lines of a council in the royal palace.” She released his shoulders, and stood up straight. “You only stand to gain from this alliance, Felix.”

He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. “And if I should refuse your offer?”

She chuckled deviously, and once more leaned in. “My dear Felix, it’s not an offer… It is my decree.”

“Then why go through all of these niceties and explanations? Why convince me?”

“O dear Felix, you always ask the most peculiar questions. I simply want all my allies to be of one mind, of one goal. It does me no good if my allies’ hearts are not in it.” She gripped his shoulders. “Besides, I like to have my allies all willingly pledge themselves, if possible. It shows that they know their place.” She squeezed his shoulders harder. “You know your place. Don’t you?”

The pain going through his shoulders was becoming more unbearable by the second. His knuckles and fingers were pure white with splotches of red from the grip he had on his chair’s arms. “You have nothing to threaten me with. Your plan only destroys Lucium’s unity even further than it already has been.”

“Is that so?” She let go of his shoulders, and gained a small satisfaction from hearing his groan of pain as she released her grip. “Perhaps some of your attendants could talk some sense into you.” She moved around in front, and looked at him with a devious smile. “You do know that everyone else in your court is loyal to me, don’t you? Why else do you think I do what I do in your court so openly?” She backhanded him across the face.

He glared at her.

“I know you won’t try anything. I am your liege. I control your court. I decide if you keep your power or not.” She turned and pointed to Felix’s fearful servants. “Do you think any of them would dare do anything if I had the mind to tear your heart out and put it in my trophy chamber?”

“You’re a witch!”

She began to cackle maniacally. “And you’re pathetic. Of course, I don’t mind forcing your will, if that’s what it comes to.”

After a moment in angry contemplation, he stood up from his chair, and fell upon his face. “I see I am beat. I will pledge my absolute loyalty to you,” he declared with great reluctance.

She turned, and began to walk out of the Count’s court. “Good.”