High War - Chapter 20.2

The large hall has wooden slats and soft cloth covering the gray-stone walls at the front of the room, where a large stage stands before a sea of chairs. The corners of a blue curtain hang by ropes from a wooden frame above. On the stage is a single empty chair, outlined by the directed glow of five lamps.

The audience seating is half-full and growing. Men and women, rich and poor, alone and in groups; people of all kinds arrive and sit and wait. Some wield signs, with everything from, 'Go back home!' to 'We support the survivors' to 'The Phoenix Rises!' written on them.

Teal walks into the hall, followed by Rolf and Sorrow. The three walk down the side, with Teal glaring at the chair on the stage.

“Teal, honey!”

At the shout from the audience, Teal stops, the glare gone from her face. She turns, stares, and almost takes a step back. Her eyes go wide as other people in the audience yelp and cry out.

A wave of mud crashes against Teal, toppling her. Rolf jumps back, and Sorrow stops and blinks.

The earthen mixture had spread out, covering Teal like a sand dune, but now reverses and compresses into a statuesque woman with soil-brown skin. Her hair is ever-flowing silt, and she wears a red-clay dress with an intricate looping design. She remains atop Teal, crying muddy tears and hugging her.

“Teal, honey! Why do you have to worry me so? I heard the news and rushed here! Are you okay? Say something! Have you been eating enough? Take off that disgusting armor and let me look at you!”

The mud woman's hands melt into Teal's armor and separate all the clasps and buckles. She starts pulling the armor apart, while Teal tries to push her away.

“I'm fine! Stop! Get off! Let me stand!”

Several helms away, Rolf and Sorrow stare down at the two. A grizzled orc walks up beside them, wearing a flower pattern polo shirt and khaki pants. He crosses his arms with a snort.

“Olly, you're embarrassing the girl. Come on now, I told you she'd be fine.”

The mud woman melts away and forms up in a standing position, smoothing out her red-clay dress. Her eyes are smooth and metallic, two lumps of gleaming silver in her head.

Teal scrambles to her feet, her armor loose and off-kilter. She salutes the orc. “Sir!”

He nods. “At ease, soldier.” Then the orc smiles. “I'll never get used to it. At ease, paladin.”

Teal nods and releases a breath. She straightens her armor and starts fixing the straps and buckles. Rolf stares from her to the two newcomers, and Sorrow only blinks.

The mud woman sighs and stomps her foot. “Teal, honey! Why don't you write me anymore? The only reason I hear anything at all about you is that lovely lady who occasionally sends me lovely little handwritten notes. From now on, you are going to send me one spell message every week! Do you need geld for the spell?”

The grizzled orc snorts. “Olly, you're doing it again.”

She turns on him. “So what if I am? It's more important that I say this now while I'm only this much upset! Do you want me to explode?” Her mud fingers lace together, and then blast apart. “Boom! Do you think I won't? I need to hear from her, every once in a while!”

Teal, her armor back in place, takes a deep breath. “Rolf, Sorrow, please say hello to Olivia Neasta and Julius Cartwright. Mom, dad, this is Rolf and Sorrow.” She turns and glares at Olivia with gritted teeth. “Now what are you doing here?”

Sorrow nods and walks over to shake the orc's hand. “Hello, Mister Julius.” And to the mud woman, he nods his head. “Hello, Miss Olivia.”

Olivia presses a hand to her forehead and throws her head back. “Teal, honey! We heard about the trouble in Goldenburg! As a humanitarian I was very concerned! And then we heard about the Goldenburg survivors giving their accounts and I wished to hear one for myself!”

Julius nods, hands stuffed in the pockets of his khakis. “But they'd never be allowed in Brie-Cram. And with the capitol locked down, Riverside became the best choice to go hear the story. Like Kraggen said, 'Always wield a weapon in the first hand. The second is always a shield.'”

Sorrow shakes his head. “It is appropriate to wield a weapon in one's non-dominant hand, if one is properly trained. Father says a shield would slow me down.” He tilts his head to the side. “Though he has also spoken of a spiked shield as the perfect weapon.”

The orc grins. “I was speaking in metaphor.”

The gray-skinned teen blinks. “Ah. Thank you. I do not always catch those.”

“Teal, honey!” Olivia smiles, her teeth round like pebbles. “Your friends are amusing!” She glances at the silent Rolf, and then her silver eyes gleam at Sorrow. “What an adorable Shade! Do you need any armor or clothing made, dear? Something colorful for those drab skin tones.”

She advances on Sorrow, but he backs away. “Thank you, but no thank you. I have recently received a new piece of armor.” His hand drops down to hover over his black warpick. “And it would be improper for me to receive anything from an immortal. The Damned God has decreed all living things shall die.”

Olivia's teeth stretch out to the sides of her face. She looms over him, her silt hair flowing faster. “Yes, very amusing.” Her hand stretches down towards him, her fingers like claws.

Teal grabs Olivia by the shoulder and pulls her away from Sorrow. “Mom, stop it.” She pushes the mud woman back to her aisle of seats. “We'll talk, but you need to stop the scary act.”

“Teal, honey!” Olivia's head twists around, and her mud body flows to match. “I was only having a little fun with him.” She pushes against Teal's gauntlet-covered hands, but Teal stands firm against her. Olivia's thin black eyebrows raise. “You've gotten better, honey.”

“Mom … Sit. Please.” Teal gives her a nudge.

Olivia sighs. “If you insist, honey.” She turns around again and returns to her seat.

Julius smirks, nudges Rolf, and whispers, “I know what you're thinking. And you're right. Olivia wears the pants in our relationship.”

Teal turns around to face the orc. “Dad, I need to talk to you, too.”

He glances at the empty stage, and back to her. “We have a moment.” Julius grunts and crosses his arms. “What's the problem?”

She nods and reaches for her hip. The maul handle comes free of its holster and she holds the wooden weapon up for him. He inspects the handle, reaches out to take hold of the grip, and holds it up in the air.

“A soldier must take care of his tools.” Julius grins. “That said, it seems you've had some work done to it. Can't say I recognize the enchantments. You should ask your mother what she thinks of them.”

Teal nods, her gaze on the floor. “I'm sorry it wasn't reforged with steel.” She looks up at him. “Though with your permission, I'd like to keep it like that.”

“Granted.” Julius drops the handle back in her gauntlets. “My generation lived and died by our steel. I can only hope your generation uses less of the stuff.” He grins at her. “So, you thought of a name for it yet?”

She shakes her head, staring down at the weapon handle. “I cannot. It is your maul after all.”

The orc snorts. “Not anymore.” He pats her on the shoulder. “A soldier must take full responsibility for what a weapon does in his hands. The good, and the evil. Giving it a name will help you think of the weapon, and its actions, as yours.”

At the front of the room, the two outermost lights above the stage go out. A hush falls over the crowd, and anyone standing moves toward their seat. Julius glances at the stage, and then shrugs at Teal.

“We'll talk later.” He sidles into his row of seats, nodding and mumbling to the people he walks in front of.

Sorrow steps in front of Teal. “With your permission, Miss Teal, I will sit next to your father. He appears to know various things about weapons, and my second father says it is important I learn from any experts I meet.”

She nods, and the gray-skinned teen slips away, following Julius. They sit next to Olivia in the middle of the row. Teal sighs and stares after them. There are quite a few empty seats around Olivia, with the nearest people having moved away.

“Ye were adopted.” Rolf's voice is low. He stands at her shoulder, his hands through the straps of his backpack.

Teal nods. “Didn't I say I grew up at the Orphanarium?” She eyes an aisle seat a few rows back from the front, with another two empty seats beside it. “Olivia says I looked cute, ordering the other kids into line for lunch. And I was the only one she and Julius could agree on. He wanted a boy.”

“Ye were adopted by Olivia Neasta.” Rolf looks up at the ceiling. “This is ridiculous. My mother is obsessed with her fashion lines. I've heard stories of what she did in the Flame Wars, both as an Earth Guardian and an enchanter. She's the reason my mother became an enchanter.”

Walking for the open seats, Teal sighs. “I don't tell people.” Rolf follows her, and goes into the row first to sit beside Teal when she takes the aisle seat. “Whenever someone finds out, they tell me I must have lived like a princess.”

Rolf glances at her, one eyebrow raised. “Ye did not?” He pulls his backpack off and sets it down between his knees.

“I was raised in an underfunded orphanage.” Teal scowls, her arms crossed. “I know hunger. I have cleaned floors. I have slept in rough beds. Even if that changed after going to live with Olivia and Julius, I remember them well.” She growls, “I was not raised like a princess.”

Beside her, Rolf shrugs. “Olivia Neasta is well-known to be a resident of Brie-Cramm. Your life there must have been comfortable.”

Teal shakes her head. “Everyone is coddled there, from the children to the adults. Combat lessons with dad were the only time I was allowed to make mistakes and get hurt, so of course we had to keep them secret.” She sits up straighter in her seat, her gauntlets clenching the armrests of her seat. “I left as soon as the Army would take me and never went back.”

The next two lights above the stage go out, leaving only a single spotlight. The room is silent, save for a few whispers. With the only light pointed at the stage and the rest of the room dark, that spot becomes the whole world.

An old woman with gray hair walks onto the stage from behind the curtains. She gazes out over the crowd, bows her head to them, and sits in the lone chair.

“Hello.” Her gaze drops to the stage floor. “I am not used to speaking before crowds. I hope you all will forgive me.”

The crowd murmurs, some giving the old woman quiet affirmations and soft questions. She nods and smiles, still looking at the floor.

Teal stares at the old woman, her mouth half-open. Rolf notices her stare and whispers, “Not what you expected?”

Eyed wide and focused on the old woman, Teal shakes her head. “I know her. From somewhere. She is familiar to me. I do not know how.”

The old woman sighs, and begins. “You will know that the Phoenix Army made their challenge to the Count of Goldenburg at his meeting of Court. This news was spread far and wide by the Count calling for a mercenary army.”

The crowd mutters dark words at the mention of the Count. The old woman nods.

“Two days later, the Phoenix Army attacked. Their castle descended from above the clouds, floating in the sky, and their soldiers flew down on feathered capes. The Count's army had become pillagers and thugs, and with no order among them they were defeated by a force half their size. Goldenburg was destroyed in the battle, by the very mercenaries hired to protect it.”

The old woman's head rises, and she stares out over the silent crowd. “The Phoenix soldiers spared any citizen who did not fight to protect the Count. They gave us food and water for our journey here. But more than that, they gave us the truth. The Phoenix met with the Count before making their challenge. He tried to betray his kingdom. They attacked him for his arrogance.”

The whispers from the crowd grow to a sizable majority. The old woman sighs and stares down at the floor again.

“They met with him because they have a claim to this land.” The crowd becomes silent, and the old woman nods. “I did not believe it at first. But they have proof. They showed me the ancient compact between them and the people who built their flying castle.”

She stands, hands clenched at her sides. Her voice becomes a wispy shout. “This land belongs to the Phoenix! The Phoenix have returned to make true their claim! I support the Phoenix!”

Raucous laughter and jeers burst from the crowds. They shout at the old woman, “Fool!” and “You were taken in!” She blinks back tears and stares down at the floor. A few in the crowd cheer and shout, waving their signs of support for the Phoenix, but they are the clear minority.

“That is enough!” Teal's bellow cuts across the noise. When she stands, many in the crowd go silent. “Why do you laugh at this woman? Why do you call her names? Look at her! Have we reached an era where it is permissible to treat another person this way?”

Those with the signs supporting the Phoenix cheer. The rest of the crowd mumble and shake their heads. The old woman on the stage sniffs and wipes away her tears.

“Thank you, child.” She puts a hand to her heart and smiles at Teal. “But I know to expect this. I know my words are hard to believe.”

Teal turns on the old woman. “Your words are lies. I was at the battle for Goldenburg.”

She steps out of her row, marches down the aisle to the stage, and takes the five steps up with one heavy stomp on each. “The soldiers you speak of do not exist. The Phoenix Army used poisonous war vine, transformed beasts, and worse. No one was spared. Those who survived, escaped. I arrived with the survivors, and they have not entered this city.”

On the stage now, Teal points to the old woman. “Which begs the question. Who are you?”

The old woman smiles and clasps her hands in front of herself. “We found horses and rode most of the way here. Everyone must know as soon as possible. The Phoenix rises, child. Do you stand with them, or against them?”

Teal scowls. “They destroyed Burroughs.” She turns to the crowd and shouts, “The Phoenix Army destroyed Burroughs! Ask yourselves why!” Turning back to the old woman, Teal draws in a ragged breath. “Tell me who you are. Tell me!”

“I am only one thing, child. I am a mother. I have lived my life to support my child. And now I bring my account of the war to these people.” The old woman sighs and turns to face the crowd again. “The truth will be revealed when the Phoenix re-claim this land. Wait and you will see. The Phoenix will not harm anyone who stands aside in this war.”

The room is silent. The crowds stare down at Teal and the old woman, looking from one to the other and back again. The section with signs in support of the Phoenix mutter among themselves, and glare down at Teal. She stares at the old woman, her gauntlets clenched into fists.

“Who are you?”