It was a typical late winter day, partly cloudy with a light breeze, perfect for training. In the courtyard, the soldiers exercised by running around the perimeter, the swordsmen honed their skills on the crossbars and the archers decorated the wooden men with feathers. From my window, I watched each group carefully, looking for any irregularities, and if I found any, I made a note of them so that I could later give the lieutenants the appropriate instructions. But the truth was that I was just procrastinating to keep my morale up for my daily battle: the piles of paperwork containing all sorts of bureaucratic documents. It had been four years since my promotion, but I couldn't get used to spending my days in meetings, inspecting warehouses or sitting behind a desk analysing contracts, reports and so on. It wasn't that I was negligent, far from it, I did everything I could to keep order in my barracks, but if I could, I would have been with the troops. The increase in pay that came with my new rank brought with it new responsibilities, and everything has its price.
My room was the old storeroom, the largest interior room in the fort, apart from the storehouses and stables. Despite this, it always seemed small and cluttered, crammed with shelves of books, files and other junk, so that the only place with more than a metre of passage was in the entrance, where I received visitors, the table, its four chairs and the large window overlooking the atrium. The furniture was rustic but sturdy, made of rough dark wood.
The muffled sound of footsteps on the floor announced Sergeant Demone, a plain, overweight fellow who had been transferred from a barracks in the coastal town of Ateal. It was about some land his wife had inherited from third-degree relatives in the town, something like that. He didn't usually pay much attention to gossip, nor did he encourage the sergeant to deviate from his activities, which he was already doing so sloppily without anyone wasting his time. It wasn't long before Demone's round, red silhouette appeared in the doorway, panting. My quarters were on the fourth floor, and the building was a high-ceilinged fortress, so it took a lot of stairs to get there, not that it was particularly strenuous for someone in good shape, but I couldn't say that my External Relations Assistant (a nice name to describe what a secretary in charge of reception did) seemed to have it.
"Captain, there's a well-dressed elderly man here to see you. A rather eccentric fellow, if you don't mind my saying so." He had the odd habit of asking permission to speak and then speaking before waiting for an answer.
"What was his name?" Judging by the chubby man's startled expression, he had either forgotten to ask or thought it unnecessary.
"I'm sorry, Captain, I'm still not used to this role, you know, I'm new to it..."
"I don't have anything planned for today. Tell him to leave it for another day." If I let him explain, I'd spend hours winding him up and coming up with excuses, one more nonsensical than the next. " But if he's just another merchant trying to get favours for a relative in the Imperial Guard, put him on the eternal waiting list." It was incredibly common for relatives of Guard members to use their influence with me to gain benefits for their protégés. It usually didn't work with me. Only a nobleman from an important house could make me bend, and I'd rather leave my post than commit an unethical act.
"As you wish, Commander." With a grimace of disappointment at having gone up in vain, the Sergeant took a deep breath and tried to make his way back down to the second floor.
I had returned to the swings when I remembered that I was waiting for a Master from the University who was due to arrive sometime this week. There was a chance that the well-dressed, eccentric man was a researcher, it was said that they weren't very conventional. With that in mind, I went down to the gate and...
"Did you tell him who I was?" asked the old man, with his strong voice already showing traces of irritation.
"If I may ask, who are you?" Demone asked arrogantly.
"I didn't know I was so unpopular that the secretary of the Imperial Guard didn't recognise me."
"Sir, I'm not the secretary..."
"Demone! This is the High Priest! The most important person in the city and a close friend of mine." Now I really should have a serious talk with this lazy sailor. Two months in the town and he hasn't even been to the temple or checked out the local personalities.
"Sorry, Captain! You see, I just moved here and..."
"Without further ado, help our High Priest up these stairs, it may not seem like it, but he's lived a lot longer than your grandfather."
High Priest Humos, perhaps the oldest man in the Eastern Empire, one hundred and five years old and about to add another one to his tally, still had a strong presence. Slim, with full hair and beard, dyed red and yellow. He wore a long blood cloak with gold embroidery and buttons. Gold was also present in the carvings on his silver shoulder pads and in the details of the large conical hat with mythical figures of a phoenix. And the good-for-nothing didn't recognise him as an important person...
The high priest smiled wickedly as he looked at the sergeant's embarrassed red face, satisfied with the situation. He nodded and leaned on Demone to climb the stairs, the command room being on the fourth floor. When he arrived, he sat down in one of the empty chairs and dismissed the sergeant with a brusque gesture towards the door. He turned to me, straightened his hat and stared at me, studying my face with a shrewd eye. After a long period of silence, he raised his eyebrows and spoke:
"Have you forgotten your manners since you became commander, Pietro?"
"Sorry! Commander of the Imperial Guard of Davlaso, Pietro Jaehar at your service, High Priest of the Phoenix. I tried to find excuses to get out of our meeting, but you still remain authoritative, perhaps even more so now. You don't even resemble the ragged underground priest who helped deliver my wife's baby seventeen years ago."
"The scars of the rebellion have healed over time, and today our religion has been legalised again with the revocation of the sanction given to us by the former Emperor. Seventeen years ago, you were a private in the Imperial Army, scarred by the actions of your family in another generation... By divine order, who knows, you were in the right battle, at the right time, in the right position to save the Crown Prince and absolve the Jaehar clan of their crimes against the Empire".
Armed with a small smile, Humos attacked me with his characteristic shrewd gaze, overflowing with respect. No matter who faced him, his words were always heard and pondered, as he was a rare man of immeasurable experience.
"If you wish to escape our meeting, I believe you know the reason for my visit."
"I don't think it's too difficult to guess... but this year I have to break an old tradition of cooperation between our institutions."
"Could you tell me why? I really need the help of your staff... Even more so this year, three classes are graduating. If you can't give up the usual two-thirds for a few weeks, let it be just one, since the women and older children are already sleeping in the temple to help with the preparations."
"It's really not possible, I need everyone on duty... There's a lot of work to do."
"There's always work to do. And it's not just the temple that's breaking a tradition, but the city of Phoenix as a whole. Alexos, your firstborn is also graduating this year."
"I cannot compromise my official decisions for private matters. As a father myself, I would like to help, but as Captain and Commander of Davlaso's Imperial Guard, I must refuse."
The priest's lips tightened and he closed his face in silence, staring at me with that expression for what seemed like an eternity. When I was about to waver in my resolve, he softened his expression a little and spoke, though still seriously.
"What's going on that I don't know about, Pietro?"
I still found it strange to be called only by my name. Priest Humos was the only one who had done this in public, apart from Elmienda, since I had assumed the actual title. Not because of his position in society, but because of the history we had together. After the Jaehars organized the uprising against the Empire and were defeated, with all the members executed with the exception of me, who, according to the sacred laws, no young child could be guilty of any crime, I became a little orphan with no possessions and "cursed". I probably wouldn't have been so successful if I hadn't been adopted by him.
"Rumours of piracy in the regions near Davlaso, goblin raids on the Taurines in the north-east, close to the border. A possible revolt in Felda, and minor conflicts between the Empire and the Black Stone on the high seas. The bastards seem to be capturing our merchant ships, and the Navy is having trouble controlling them. The Stone says it's not responsible for the ships carrying out the attacks when the League of Nations calls for action. Everything is hanging by a thread, and I must prepare my men for the worst. Besides, the reports from the forts along the Davlaso are five days overdue and I still haven't received any doves. I'm worried, it wouldn't be the first time this has happened, but if I don't hear from them in two days, I'd better send an expedition down the river, given the scenario we're in."
"You're right Pietro, I wouldn't do it differently myself, I should be able to manage where the festival is concerned. But that wasn't the main reason for coming here in person. I'd like to meet you alone in the temple at star time, preferably without anyone knowing.
"We're in private at the moment, there's no one listening to our conversation."
"It's not just about talking, it's also about seeing. I have something to show you."
The high priest became nervous overnight, looking around as if to make sure no one was lurking to eavesdrop. I'd never seen him like that before, not even when my primary school friends and I would let the horses out of the stables at the Dons' gathering. He was one of the bravest men I'd ever met, and if he was sweating for fear of speaking out, I should believe him and follow his lead.
"All right, I'll be there."
We exchanged a few more words on various subjects and I accompanied Humos to the exit of the garrison, but at no moment did he become light again, he seemed to be carrying a weight on his back...
*****
The streets of Phoenix were well lit, even late at night, with red and yellow coloured lamps and banners on every visible building. The city was in a festive mood as the Festival of Ashes, another annual cycle, came to an end and a generation of young people came of age in society, receiving the document of Citizen of the Human Empire of the East, which allowed them to buy property and marry. Although they lost the rebellion, most of their demands were met after the main leaders were executed. Phoenix became an autonomous city, with its own court, police, mayor and council, who could make laws and authorise the formation or entry of trade guilds. The city paid its taxes directly to the Emperor, without a noble as an intermediary. Thanks to this freedom and the good joint management of the pillars of the community, they were able to organise numerous private businesses. The most important were timber, furniture, medicines and perfumes. The Phoenix forest contained species that only grew in this area, and with this in mind, a university campus was to be created this year, in partnership with the town council, to study the flora, with all the knowledge generated there to be shared with the headquarters and the population for commercial exploitation. Prosperity was visible, my family's sacrifice had finally paid off. The inhabitants of this place were mostly descendants of an ancient civilisation that predated the Human and Haller Empires, and much of their culture had survived the domination of various foreign nations.
The Temple was an ancient circular building in the centre of the city. It had three storeys and was divided into four wings, one for each season, and was decorated with marble sculptures and paintings. Each wing had an entrance with a large carved wooden gate, which was only open during a particular season and locked for the rest of the year. On entering, visitors would find themselves in a worship hall with several benches in front of an altar with a large circular symbol representing the phase of each season for the Phoenix: Rebirth (Spring), Youth (Summer), Maturity (Autumn) and Death (Winter). If you entered through the Death Gate, which was only open in winter, the hall had no windows to the outside and little lighting, as well as tapestries depicting the phase, while at the Youth Gate even the ceiling was made of coloured crystals that reflected the sunlight. Behind each altar there was a passage to the centre of the building, where the administrative offices, dormitories, library, storeroom, archive and the high priest's room were located on the second floor at the most central point, where I was heading.
On the way into the shrine I found only the assistant priest and two housewives who were there to help with the preparations for the festival, both too tired to pay any more attention to me than they would to a fly, for which I was grateful. The door to the central hall leaned slightly against the wall, the flickering light coming through the cracks. Without thinking too much, I walked in and the High Priest almost jumped out of his chair with a scowl on his face, but when he saw me he gave me a half-smile, a mixture of concern and relief.
"Did you think it would be someone else?"
"You're on time, but I've already had to shoo the housekeeper away three times, the woman even takes care of my bedtime! She doesn't care about my beard, she treats me like a little fragile child".
"Perhaps your great survival is due to her care, eh? So the secret is out, nappies!"
The High Priest raised an eyebrow, but soon laughed and patted the table to my relief, and soon we were both joking and talking about the tricks that women liked to play on us men.
"Do me a favour, move the table and remove the rug while I lock the door so we won't be disturbed."
The table was a century-old piece of black wood, polished with silver trim. It must have weighed twice as much as I did, or more, judging by the difficulty I had pushing it into the corner. The intriguing thing was that when I started to roll up the carpet, an iron trap door appeared with a rust coloured projection.
"Is this what you wanted to show me?"
Without answering, Humos bent down beside me and took a chain with an iron phoenix on it from around his neck, adjusted it to the opening and turned it a little to the left with a click. The High Priest removed the key and there were some metallic sounds, which ceased as the lid opened inwards, revealing a narrow tunnel bathed in darkness.
"What I want you to see is down there. Pick up the two lanterns on the shelf, light them and give me one. We need light so we don't trip and break our necks."
With torches in hand, we set off down the stairs. I tried to offer help, but the older man immediately refused, muttering something about how we would both roll to our deaths. We didn't exchange many words the rest of the way, both clearly worried, each for their own reasons.
When I reached the end of the stairs, I found a cave with a large rectangular structure in the centre. The stone it was made of seemed to give off a red light of its own, illuminating most of the room. On its surface were many inscriptions in some kind of script with sharp strokes that I didn't recognise.
"This ancient monument is called the Tomb of the Phoenix, and the key to this chamber has been passed down from high priest to high priest for thousands of years. The assistant priests also know about this place, in case something happens to the leader and he can't pass on the knowledge.
"I am speechless... Why is this kept secret?"
"To maintain security, what do you think the Imperials would do if they discovered a secret chamber underground with a rock detailed with exotic writing and glowing violet? I'm already breaking all protocols by bringing you here, you may be the first person without the Vows to set foot here in hundreds of years.
"They would probably have taken the relic for study or even display to boost the ego of some noble house elsewhere."
Humos nodded at me, sniffed and began to speak quietly.
"When I became High Priest, I acquired the right to a quota of mana sent by the Empire to spend in the name of my deity and the local community. I studied magic in the capital for a while, and when I returned I decided to investigate this structure. At first I was only frustrated, I spent years unable to understand the pattern, but I persisted and just when I was about to give up after a decade, I finally managed to penetrate the core of the relic. It's been three months... You see, Pietro, this thing has its own energy flow, a source that survived the legacy of Plattos, but whatever it is, it's not mana and it doesn't seem to be convertible into mana. It's something hot, a force that burns and corrodes you if you can't control it. None of my predecessors seem to have noticed, they would have considered it a sin to desecrate the tomb with magic. Anyway, when I'm connected to it, I can access some memories of other priests from long ago, from other eras. In one of them, I found a way to enter what seems to be some kind of consciousness of the stone, or engraved in it, but the only way is through the blood of a Tajin-to, a noble lineage of the ancient civilisation from which we descend. It seems that the Jaehar have some kind of connection, for as long as we can remember they have been an important family and have always been involved in our culture."
"You want my blood?" I asked incredulously, I didn't know much about cults and religion, and although I was faithful to the Phoenix Divinity, I hadn't delved too deeply into the subject either. Some said that certain rituals required the sacrifice of people or animals. Which I was sure wasn't the case, almost...
"I don't literally need the blood, just put your hand in the appropriate pattern... Oplarfoço o fichladéro!"
Before I could ask what drawing or what he was talking about, I felt a shiver run down my spine and the writing began to snake and slide across the surface, forming a figure of five lines and a circle in front of Humos. Suddenly I noticed that his eyes were red and he looked tired. When I said it was late and we could do it another time, he just pointed and told me to put my hand there. As I touched the stone, I felt a pull forward and everything went dark.
*****
Everything was in total darkness, I couldn't see anything, not even my own body. It seemed that all my senses were absent, I wasn't sure if I was moving, I was in a state of total stupor. I wasn't alone, at least I had a feeling, the darkness wasn't a void, there was me and something else.
"I expected more from a tajin-to, there's no sign of the power in you although your blood is correct." The deep, singsong voice seemed to have been transmitted directly into my mind. "I am the tenth fragment of a specter of the Phoenix Beast" said the voice responding to my thoughts, could it be reading my mind or was I speaking my mind? "We are in a connection, we are one and at the same time two, but let's not waste time with your ignorance, I need to channel all the effort myself."
A whirlpool or the sensation of being pulled into one enveloped me and I was sure I was spinning right, left, front, back and even up, down...
I opened my eyes and saw a weeping woman kneeling on a large rectangular stone, an altar at that. She wasn't just anyone, somehow I had strong feelings towards her, I loved her, my wife. Even though I knew it wasn't Elmienda, or that I was really who I was, but somehow I was, I just watched as if in a dream. Her name was Jahma, the mother of my children.
"Gazak, u pudin demand fui galamr nielda, xukai u juna." By custom, we sacrifice this Bravia soul to you, our master. - A humanoid creature with black skin and yellow eyes, pointed ears like those of an elf, but no mouth... It held a black staff with an opaque silver orb at the tip, which began to flicker with Jahma's panicked screams. I knew what was going to happen. Tears streamed down my face. Her energy would be absorbed, used as fuel for this disgusting race to wage their wars. My love, you were a great warrior and woman, my life was worth it just to have had the chance to meet you.
We were a brave race, which meant that we had naturally evolved to a level of intelligence and complexity, an affront to the Fates, beings created by the Gods. Everything we had achieved was due to our efforts, these hideous creatures were designed and almost everything they possessed in the way of knowledge also came from the superiors.
We fought for many years, alongside other civilisations and even species. The invaders came from a portal, a dungeon, another dimension. When they arrived, they nearly wiped us out, but we united and managed to regain much of our territory, at least until the second wave of demons. They hadn't expected to meet so much resistance, let alone the diversity of races and levels of biological development, but the truth was that the mighty army of the first wave were only scouts.
The screams stopped and where Jahma had been there was a pile of ashes, scattered by the wind. She was gone. Sadness gave way to rage. I was next, clenching my fists and stepping forward with all the dignity I could muster, striding strong and facing all the conquerors defiantly. I lost the war, but I didn't surrender. I knelt down with my back to the executioner and my eyes on the rest of the prisoners.
"gazak, u pudin dema... "Time seemed strangely to pass in slow motion and a warm, terrible and at the same time wonderful and full of life, powerful presence filled me. "Brave being, I, the Phoenix Beast, offer you life and vengeance." The deep, soft voice was both feminine and masculine, I couldn't decide. "In exchange, you and your people will be like my children, my Fates, and you will follow as I command." Without thinking twice I agreed, there was nothing left to lose and the thirst for revenge contaminated this feeling of vitality.
Still, I felt my body disintegrate, becoming nothing. Or almost nothing, ashes, absurdly aware that I really was a pile of ashes, just like Jahma. No, I wasn't ashes, Jahma. Jahma was. In my anger I turned into fire, and from the ashes I burned. At first it was just small flames, but soon I became an uncontrollable storm. I easily engulfed the executioner and the nearby soldiers, who were all annihilated by me, became fuel for my fury. My glow was a bright yellow-red, it was unnatural, it even disintegrated rocks at my touch, and that's how I finished off all the Conquerors in this place. But I knew it wasn't enough, there were many more, they would all pay, they would all be consumed. I set out to expand, to burn everything. But I didn't go any further, something stopped me... A child's cry? More than one, actually. Jahma left. Jahma. My children!
As I regained consciousness, the energy dissipated and what was left focused and I was once again in the flesh. The group of humans in the room looked at me with fear and admiration. They had seen me absorbed, turned to ash, but also transformed into crimson flames that destroyed everything around me, and then reborn. Reborn from the ashes.
Under my leadership, the people present that day became the Akenis - the civilisation of the Phoenix - and took their vows to the Phoenix. With our new power, we rescued the rest of our people from the ruins and marched under the red and yellow banner against the conquerors.
It was five years of fighting, five years until the day we fought the last battle, which has never been named, so bitter is the memory of it. Undoubtedly the bloodiest since. All the native species, now under the command of the Akenis, attacked the last stronghold of the conquerors. It was on the Great Island, the place they had come from. Three days of uninterrupted fighting, with many soldiers dying of exhaustion rather than from an enemy weapon, such was the ferocity of the battle. When the last enemy fell, we didn't celebrate or retreat, it wasn't over yet, at the top of the Fire Mountain in the centre of this place was the portal.
Gathered together with many other leaders, wise men and mighty warriors of all races, we combined our powers and knowledge to seal the vile passage forever. It took ten more days to finally declare the end. A thousand were sacrificed in the act, their energy drained, consumed as the portal was sealed.
We, the Akenis, returned to our homeland and prospered for many years, becoming the superior civilisation of the continent and, at our height, populating half of it. The Akenis came to be known as Tajins - those who worship the ashes - and I and my descendants as Tajins-to - those who are reborn from the ashes - because we were endowed with greater power than the others. Our people greatly increased their life expectancy, yet I cremated five generations, somehow I didn't age, this effect only occurred in me.
After a few centuries, the day finally came when the Phoenix manifested to us again, and this time to all the Tajins. She told us to leave this land, to travel through a passage she had opened to another world, to follow her designs. That was the day of departure, and millions of Akenis crossed the red porticoes towards their destiny and the fulfilment of their vows. But not all went, the very young babies could not travel, they would die. So the elders were left to care for the new generation, preparing them to follow the path of the others in the future.
As soon as I arrived at the new location, I had to fight a battle with the creatures we found there. As soon as we settled in, our deity explained that there was a great war going on between all the beings in the universe. The beings rarely faced each other directly, they were too powerful and could cause the destruction of entire worlds, so they fought from soldiers, mortal races that followed them or were created by them.
We were under pressure in the early years, but we managed to overcome our rivals and conquer this dungeon for the Phoenix. But there was a price to pay, and before we could be defeated once and for all, the Titan Kaoes, in a final touch with this world, closed our portal and my life ended. My life force was bound to the place where I was reborn. I died. I disappeared.
*****
"I'm not dead! I'm alive!" I cried, frightened and dizzy. I was standing again with my hand against the Tomb of the Phoenix, the large rectangular stone.
"What happened? Are you all right?" Humos looked as if he hadn't moved a muscle the last time I saw him before the journey. The same exhausted expression, the same red eyes...
"How long was I in there?"
"In there? You haven't moved, in fact it's only been a few seconds since you put your hand on the relic. You nearly scared me to death with your screaming. I'm past the age where I enjoy that kind of banter." The High Priest said indignantly, but with a hint of relief.
I took a deep breath and began to tell him everything that had happened, from the ghost's voice to the day I supposedly died. Not me, Fernis, that was his name, the first Akenis and Tajin-to. Throughout the conversation, Humos' jaw was slack and his piercing eyes were wide with surprise.
"The times I've gone through the memories of the priests before me, time seemed to flow naturally. Once, when I returned, it had been more than six hours and the sun was already rising. You seemed to have seen many years in seconds, probably our origins as a people. It gives me a lot to think about.
"I don't know how else to describe it, the experience was terrifying. I died twice, I saw the love of my life killed in front of me, I had too many negative feelings... "I was in a cold sweat, my extremities still numb from the shock of being back in reality, in the present, alive.
"In a way I understand you, Pietro. There seems to be a price to pay for using this relic. It drains my energy, even though I use mana, and something goes into me at the end. Even during the day, far away from here, it's still there, some remnants sticking to my core so strongly that I can't get it out, not even with magic. It contaminates me and even affects my thoughts, sometimes I get tired out of nowhere, sometimes a word or two comes out of my mouth, or my mood suddenly changes".
"Everything has its price.
Humos accompanied me to the exit of the temple, we chatted about the discoveries and their relation to our customs, he already had a parchment with him, making notes to write a possible book about my "journey" under the name "The Origins of the Phoenix People". Of course, leaving out the part about the existence of the relic and how all this information came to us, the Imperial wizards would try to get their hands on it for ten percent of what it really was. Halfway there we met Arminda Nael, the housekeeper, with a scowl on her face, ready to put the High Priest to sleep by beating him to a pulp. It took a lot of wit not to go that far, but she quietly followed us a short distance back to make sure we'd split up and put him to bed.
Gaia had already left the top of the sky, it was late at night and it was still a good drive to my house, which was a few kilometres from the city. If the housekeeper was in that state with the High Priest, who was in his "residence", my situation of arriving late, which was not my custom, was hopeless.
Perhaps dreaming of Akenis, Tajin-to, conquerors, dungeons and wars asleep on the veranda was an encouraging prospect, almost.