92: To Fight Fire With Fire (Book One Epilogue) (Patreon)

It was not Riyan’s hidden sanctuary that greeted Vir, but burning rubble, soot, and ash.

Nothing of the abode remained. Ceiling had collapsed in, leaving a blackened gouge in the hill's side where once the magnificent home had stood.

Vir had Bumpy stop a thousand paces away and scanned the horizon for any signs of life.

Prana Vision became blurry at such distances, but against the contrast of night on an open desert with no obstructions, it showed him that no one was around.

Whatever fire had burned the home down had burned itself out long ago, its perpetrators long gone. The site was empty.

Vir snapped his fingers, signaling Neel to accompany him. Together, they crossed the dunes to where Riyan’s front door used to be. Now, only blackened char remained.

What could have happened here?

The obvious conclusion was that Mina finally decided to settle her feud with Riyan. But the timing indicated that these events transpired before Vir’s assassination attempt on her life. Had she planned this all along? Or had she taken preemptive action? Kamna said someone had been tailing him since he’d entered the city, after all.

Vir’s boots sank into the soot. The house was unrecognizable. Not even a trace of their original rooms remained. Only an enormous yawning cavity that carved out half the dune. Only now did Vir realize just how enormous the home was.

And now it was gone, along with Riyan.

Vir had used every trick he knew to throw off any would-be pursuers, but there had been none. His disguise ensured it.

Looking back, he never should have confronted Princess Mina when he’d first arrived at Daha. She’d discovered him right away, leading to the events that resulted in his botched assassination.

If only I was a bit more careful, Vir lamented. Which was why coming back made him incredibly nervous.

He was taking an enormous risk returning, but a necessary one; he had to convey the results of his mission to Riyan. And yet, the man was nowhere to be found. Did he perish here with his home? Or had he fled to safety? Vir simply couldn’t imagine the man dying so easily.

He saw no signs of combat, but the dune winds erased all scars. Even now, a gentle breeze blew sand grains onto the wreckage, slowly restoring itself. A month from now, no evidence of Riyan’s home would remain. A great battle could have been fought here, and Vir would never know.

Neel patrolled the area, fruitlessly searching for familiarity, and yet the hopelessly lost look on his face said it all.

Vir kneeled to pick up a handful of ash, letting it filter through his gloved fingers. He could almost feel the memories in this place. Rudvik’s passing, and the gaping hole that left inside him. The stress he’d felt when he’d first arrived, wondering whether he could prove his worth to Riyan. The injuries he sustained from the obstacle course, and the grotto soaks with Maiya that wiped them all away…

He’d spent little more than half a year here, and yet it felt like he’d just lost something precious. It felt like his life had been a string of losses. First, Brij and his old life. Then Rudvik, Apramor, and Aliscia. And now, Riyan and his estate.

Vir shook himself out of his reverie. Now was neither the time nor the place to reminisce. There was nothing for him here, now. Whether dead or alive, Riyan was gone. If he had passed, Vir would mourn his passing, though he doubted the man would succumb so easily. If he was alive, Vir could only hope he caught wind of Mina’s assassination attempt, eventually.

Either way, Vir’s debt was fulfilled.

Returning to Bumpy, Vir rode south to the cave network, hopeful that Maiya might have left him some clues as to where she’d gone.

“Guard Bumpy,” Vir ordered, penetrating into the cave network alone. Uncovering the cache, he found it untouched. Some food, a blanket, forty coppers, a spare face paint kit, and nothing else. No note.

Maiya hasn’t been back at all…

Vir punched the rock wall. Every shred of his entire being wanted to find her. Without a hint, he had nothing to go on. She could’ve been halfway across the Known World! And she could be in disguise.

After stuffing the contents of the cache into his rucksack, he retrieved some charcoal and parchment and scribbled a hasty note.

Daha Brotherhood Sanctum. Ask for Apramor. Introduce yourself as Maiya. Mission failed. On the run, but safe. Want to find you. Riyan’s home burned to the ground. Riyan missing. Find me, Maiya. Miss you.

He couldn’t say if she’d ever come back, and he didn’t know where he was bound, but the least he could do was to leave a breadcrumb. He’d told the Daha Brotherhood to share everything about him, should a certain Red haired Maiya come calling.

Vir returned to the cave entrance and brought Bumpy and Neel inside a few paces. Just far enough to hide them. Neel had learned to deal with dark places by sticking close to Vir, but Bumpy was terrified of the dark.

He laid a blanket down beside his four-legged friends and munched on some dried food.

Searching blindly for Maiya was a fool’s errand. Rather than search for her, it was better to let her come to him. With the Brotherhood’s international presence and network, he merely had to check in at whatever branch he went to. They would relay his position back to Daha, which would allow Maiya to follow.

Trusting the Brotherhood came with its risks, especially for a fugitive like himself, but they had proven reliable thus far, and Vir was desperate to find Maiya.

The question was: where to go from here?

There was only one answer. For too long, Vir had ignored Shardul and Ekanai. For too long, he’d refused their pleas. But after meeting Janak’s avatar, he could hesitate no longer.

If he wanted to find out who he was, if he wanted to learn more about the voices in his head and the tattoo on his chest, he’d have to travel to the Ashen Realm.

Yet there was much he still did not know. How to survive in that blighted land, how best to enter it. What could he expect? He needed knowledge. Information that was beyond what was recorded in the books.

It just so happened that his objectives aligned. Vir had to flee Hiranya, regardless, and the Rani Queendom was the ideal choice.

South. To Rani. And south. To the Pagan Order.

With this revelation came a sense of purpose. A newfound identity. For sixteen years, Vir had lived as a villager of Brij, cloistered in his tiny microcosm of the world. That had all ended the day the knights arrived at Brij. Rudvik protected him, and Riyan had shown him a broader world. At Daha, Vir had stepped out into that world for the first time. On his own.

And now, he was someone else.

Gone was Ekavir of Godshollow. That book had been written.

But the saga of the Ashborn mercenary had only just begun.

— —

In the royal audience hall inside Daha’s palace, King Rayid met with his beloved daughter. They were joined by Kamna—Mina’s personal bodyguard—and a dozen of the royal knight guard.

“Father, please. How can you let this atrocity go unpunished? We must find the perpetrator! He could be out there right now, plotting my demise! How am I supposed to sleep at night? Look at me!” she screamed.

Her delicate, tanned right arm had become an unsightly stump, and her left leg was missing below the knee. “I’m hideous! A cripple for life!”

The castle’s Life mejai had done everything they could, but not even the best healing magic could regrow limbs. Mina would live the rest of her days with her injuries. A fact made more bitter by the outcome of her battle with Riyan.

Mina’s makeup had run, leaving dark trails under her eyes. Even without her missing arm, she looked as haggard as a traveler who had braved the desert sand for days.

King Rayid looked at his daughter with infinite tenderness.

“Mina, please. My blood boils as hotly as your own. The man who did this to my daughter…” Rayid roared, “shall be destroyed. We have every resource available hunting Riyan Savar down.”

Mina’s blood boiled. It wasn’t enough. It wasn’t nearly enough.

“Father, what message would it send to our allies if this were to become public knowledge? What of our alliance with the Altani? Would they come to our aid, knowing their ally cannot even hunt down the assassin who nearly murdered their princess? Hiding my injury will be… difficult enough as it is.”

Long gowns might make up for a peg leg. Makeup could hide her scar. Her arm… well, she’d think of something. She had to.

“I understa—”

“What of Kin’jal!? Will they not exploit this weakness? Father! This is no longer a matter of my life. It concerns our national security! Our very sovereignty is at risk!”

“That’s going a bit far, Mina. He’s just one injured man on the run. You even burned his home to the ground. He has few places left he can hide.”

“It’s not Savar I’m worried about!” Mina snapped. “Kamna and a squad of my elite knights pursue him even as we speak. Soon, he will be with me again. But he has discovered a way to bypass my Artifact's defenses. If his agent-that Ashborn-knows as well...“

“Then that puts you at great risk.“

“Have you forgotten, father? He infiltrated the castle. He possesses a strange Talent that allows him to move through shadows, making him exceedingly difficult to track. Furthermore, he killed Head Priest Harak! For that crime alone, we must pursue him. Father, did you know? No, of course you don’t. I only came across this information the other day.”

“What information?”

Mina feigned horror, placing a palm against her head. “The one after my life is none other than the one who set our Prana Swarm loose!”

“That’s… how do you know this?”

“The Ashborn said it himself when we met! He boasted of his feat, and with pride, he proclaimed that the lives of all Dahans sat in his palms,” Mina said, swooning.

“I… I see. This is grave news, Mina. I wish you'd told me earlier. But believe me when I say that our resources are fully deployed. Every available knight is hunting this man.”

“Savar has few places he can hide. I’ve no doubt your forces will find him before long. I want him alive, father. I want to savor the look on his face as I break him. But father, what of the Ashborn? I’m sure he’ll flee south. What then? How will you pursue him past our borders?”

“No doubt he will. Sai does not suffer Ashborn, and the Altani’s borders are closed. Kin’jal, then? Our sworn enemy?”

“Either Kin’jal or Rani. We have no power in either. If he flees there…”

“Then we’ll never capture him,” King Rayid said.

“You understand, don’t you, father? We must use every means at our disposal to eradicate this blight. What of the weapons we keep chained? What of that one? For sixteen years, he has sat unused, rotting away. If you truly care about my life, would you not send him too? He could pass borders with ease.”

“The four-armed giant?” King Rayid asked. “You cannot be serious. That demon is not a Hiranyan military asset. He is as likely to kill us as he is to hunt this Ashborn.”

Maiya smiled. Her father had taken the bait. “But father! That is precisely why. Should he be caught, none would suspect Hiranya.”

“That… is true.”

“Father, did you know? The foresters sometimes light a fire to burn against another. The best way to deal with one demon… is to send another.”

“No. It is too dangerous, Mina.”

“Demons love to run wild, father. They pillage, rampage, and slaughter. This one has had its urges repressed for a decade and a half. Tell me, if we were to offer his freedom in return for a hunt, do you not think he would accept? We’ll have our finest Mejai of Realms accompany him. To keep him in check. And of course, we shall continue binding him with an obedience collar. There is no risk to us, father! Please! I beg you!”

Mina fell to her knees, clasping her hands as if praying to her father.

Rayid did understand that his daughter was doing what she always did, pushing for a favor. But, given the circumstances and her injuries, he found it all but impossible to refuse her.

“Very well. Release the demon at once!” King Rayid ordered, standing from his throne.

“Thank you, father,” Mina wept, cradling her stump. “Thank you!”