04||THREE VIPER NESTS
PART ONE

A Few Days Ago

Heavy footfalls echoed through the mansion, the man making his way through several corridors, old wallpaper starting to slowly peel off behind the even older portraits that seemed to follow his every move. Several people made way for him as he glided through the hallways, some in reverence and others no doubt in fear. Finally, he stood in front of a door, simple carvings making their way up its length, with an ordinary brass doorknob, calling out to him to open it. With a sigh, his hand rested on the doorknob, twisting it before he opened the door with a swing, walking into the room with a faux sense of confidence.

"I was wondering when you'd show your face again." Baghra noted, rubbing her hands over her sore wrists as she sat on the floor, shooting her son an icy glare. "Well you know me mother, I can hardly stay away." Kirigan noted, her voice stern and sharp. "What is it that you want?" the old woman demanded. "What I always do. Freedom for our kind. To be treated better than any of us ever were." the older shadow summoner laughed bitterly, the irony of what her son was saying seemingly escaping him.

"I suppose that part this is my fault." she started, the general raising an eyebrow at her. "I'm the one that raised you. I'm the one that always told you that we were different, better, than they were. I'm the one that made you, that shaped you, into whatever it is you are now." she lamented, a snarl on her face. "There was a time, when you were young, that I would have done anything for you, killed for you, burned down villages for you." She turned her head away from him, staring out the window as her gray hair fell on her shoulders. "I am beginning to see the error of my ways." she muttered solemnly, something inherently broken hiding in her words.

"There are no mistakes, mother. Only lessons. I am rebuilding this country for our people, for the grisha." he stated, his voice almost pleading with her as if all he ever wanted was for his mother to stand by his side, only to watch him tear down entire civilizations. "We started this journey together." The younger shadow summoner's gaze was sharp when he spoke, his demeanor controlled, but Baghra could feel his voice wavering. "And now you're making me finish it alone." the old woman's head snapped up, her eyes on fire when she spoke, venom dripping from her words. "You say this as if there is anything to finish. Hundreds of years have passed and all you have done is brought us right back where we started." she hissed.

The darkling's onyx eyes hardened like stone, a sneer on his lips as he spoke. "This time, I will not stop at the palace. This time, I will not stop until this entire country, this entire continent if I have to, is mine, is ours." Perhaps when he had told those words to himself when he was younger, he thought they would come about a different way. He almost scoffed, thinking back to the way he used to be. More naive and gullible, less willing to sacrifice things and less hardened by grief. But those were different times and that was a different man. "And what about your saint?" The older shadow summoner asked. "What about your prodigy?" her voice was cold, distant. A muscle tensed in his jaw when he answered her. "I will find them, sooner or later. I will make sure of that mother."

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Somewhere in Ketterdam, in an undisclosed hideout of the dregs that Rotti brought them to, the crows sat dispersed in the room, eyeing the man that was tied to a chair. "What do you know?" It was the first thing Kaz demanded of the man that sat in front of him. "What do you mean?" He asked nervously, his hands shaking as he fiddled with them. The young barrel boss flipped his cane, the crow's head forcing the man, one of the lower members of the dregs Heleen had managed to turn somehow, to look at him. "I think you know what I'm talking about." He snarled viciously. "If you don't want to say anything, that's fine. But know that, whatever happens after, is the price of your unwillingness. And I would be very eager to help you find out what it is." The messenger's eyes widened in shock.

"Well?" Dirtyhands asked as he stood back up, straightening his back, his voice cold and sharp as his hand folded back over the familiar rest that was his cane. The man looked around the room with a eyes look, the tall gunslinger merely shrugging, the woman in red turning her head, the young man with the goggles shooting him a sympathetic look and the fourth one, the one with the knives, gone from sight. He let out a sigh because he knew there was no way to win this fight. Not if his opponent was someone of the likes of the bastard of the barrel . "You've sealed your own fate." The man stated, swinging back his cane over his shoulder as he prepared to strike, his blue, shark-like eyes hungry for something the others couldn't quite place. But Kaz knew what it was. And so did the man in front of him. It was revenge. The deadly kind.

"WAIT!" The messenger shouted, the young barrel boss' cane stopping less than an inch from his head. Jesper let out a low whistle. "Lucky man." He said. 'If there even is such a thing.' He thought to himself. He lowered his arms, his cane sliding through his hands before his palms folded over the crows head once more. Dirtyhands leaned in, his eye almost twitching, his hair disheveled as he spoke, hissing through his teeth. "What. Do. You. Know?" he whispered, the gravel in his voice only adding to his menacing tone, the messenger unconsciously trying to slip away from the monster. "She hijacked the young man's body, the one Dreesen shot, when it was on its way to a ship back to Ravka for burial. She somehow got an official to look the other way." he replied quickly, his voice wavering anxiously. "Please. That's all I know!" he cried out. Wylan shot Nina a glance out of worry, as if to ask her whether or not any of them should intervene.

He felt a hand resting on his shoulder, his head turning to Jesper. "Don't." he whispered. "It's best not to." the gunslinger added, earning an glance from the bastard of the barrel, with an eyebrow arched so high in annoyance that he thought it might just fly away. "Give. Me. A name." He demanded, his patience running thin as he pushed back his hair, jaw tensing. He turned around, towards a table, before tossing a small wad of kruge into the man's lap from a distance. "Maybe this...incentive will help you do just that. And if not, well." he swiveled around as quick as lightning, pulling a long, curved dagger from a hidden sheath, stopping it right in front of his eyes. "Then maybe this one will." he whispered darkly. "Please." the man cried desperately, tears and snot running down his face as the tip of the dagger tapped against his cheek. "Not the face." he whimpered. Kaz smiled, not like a content man would but more like a monster baring its teeth before it would eat you whole. "Don't worry." he stated, now utterly and completely calm, his voice cold, almost like death incarnate. "I'm not a fan of going for the face."

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The murmurs had risen from the streets of the barrel all the way to the top of the government district. A man, one with slashes on his bicep where there used to be a tattoo of a crow, dangled from one of the high spikes of the grand bell tower near the Menagerie, dead for all the world to see and the word 'TRAITOR' carved into his chest. It had come in the night, in the blink of an eye before anyone could have questioned who put it there and how. Before the stadswatch got the body down, it had managed to drive away many costumers of the surrounding brothels. Not just because they were disgusted and somehow thought they were above this place and this world but rather because they knew who had sent it and what it meant. If there was anything that was the opposite of raising a white flag in surrender, it had to be Dirtyhands dumping a dead body on tante Heleen's steps. It was a promise, a declaration, that if it came down to it, war would come to the barrel.

"So what are we going to do now?" Wylan asked nervously, fiddling with his fingers. "Well we got a name didn't we?" He replied, annoyance sharpening the tone of his voice before he turned to the wraith. "We know he's a stadswatch officer so don't we need to be cautious?" Nina remarked. Jesper chuckled. "That is true but a lot of them are also idiots." he started, receiving an arched eyebrow from his boss. "Not that that means we should not be careful." he added hastily. "The name we were given is Freek Brals. Why does it sounds so familiar..." the explosives expert wondered, his voice drifting off. "Oh! Oh! I remember! He's the son of a magistrate!" He finally exclaimed.

"Exactly. If father dearest is willing to pay for the indiscretions of his moronic offspring, than we might be able to turn it to our advantage." The bastard of the barrel noted, surveying the map of Ketterdam with an almost sinister gleam in his narrowed eyes. He looked up, straightening his face and turning his head towards one of the more secluded corners of the room. "Inej, are you up for the job?" Inej's jaw clenched, something shinning in her eyes as she nodded. For a minute, her mind reeled as her thoughts drifted back to the Menagerie. If Heleen found her, she'd force the wraith back under her contract, force her to do things she desperately wished she could forget. Shaking herself from her train of thoughts, she suppressed a shiver before merging with the shadows in which she disappeared. "You've all been told what to do to get cleared of these damned charges." Kaz said, turning towards the rest of the crows as they flocked closer to him. "So let's get to work."

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4 Days Ago

Her eyes were closed, the fading light of the evening shining through the windows, the bars of her cell casting vague shadows on her body. Her grey hair was coarse and rough, as if it hadn't been treated in a few days. Like the shackles that bounds her hands, it was annoying and unpleasant. But not as much as the company that was across the room. "What is it that you want now, boy?" Baghra asked her son. His feet had thundered into her room but a few moments ago, his chest heaving heavily, as if he carried the knowledge of something on his back. 'Other than his own mistakes and regrets.' the old woman mused. "They're back in Ravka." he whispered, his voice a mix of reverie and shock, making his mother open her eyes, her head snapping towards him. "But the fold is still there. Alina can't take it down on her own." Kirigan added, a sickeningly gleeful glint in his eyes. "Not yet at least." the older shadow summoner took a deep breath, her heart rattling against the cage of her ribs.

"But she may destroy all of it, all that we've been trying to create here." he rattled out "The grisha that have not yet chosen a side and left the little palace may come out of the woodwork to align with the two of them. Do not fool yourself into thinking that I don't know. Information has a way of reaching me, even in this cage that you put me in. Don't think I don't know what Anya did." Baghra responded, trying to lull him out of his daze with her sharpness. "An inferni doesn't cleave a ship without leaving scorch marks. She cut clean through." she added sternly, eyeing her son closely. "Something like this hasn't ever been witnessed. And it scares you." He turned to look out the window, clenching his jaw as he ignored the words she said. "A handful of our people will not make a difference. But one thing might." he surged forward, his hands grabbing onto the cell bars. "Tell me where the firebird is. It's the last of Morozova's amplifiers. She intends to go after it if she wants to stand a chance." he insisted.

Baghra scoffed, smiling cynically. "You think I know? Morozova was many things but sharing his secrets was not among them." she leaned forward, the chains of her shackles that kept her hands apart rattling as they shifted. "Which ever one of them claims it, it doesn't matter. They are a force to be reckoned with. If they offer protection, other grisha will be willing to follow them. And they will perhaps fear them as well. But you don't want that, do you?" she asked the general. "No, because you want them to fear you." A vein seemed to pop on his forehead when she leaned back to sit in her previous position, the darkling leaving her. "I will be back mother. And you'll talk soon enough. I'll make sure of it."

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Yesterday

"You might be wondering why I had all of you called here today." Nikolai started, leaning with his hands on the table. His eyes surveyed the room, the twins standing behind him against the wall, Anya, Alina and Mal in front of him as they stood around the table. "There are a few important points that I would like to go over." He stated, his demeanor calm but the raven-haired could see his nose flare slightly, his finger tips digging a little harder into the table. "Alina, you and Anya fought Kirigan on the True Sea, you saw him in Novyi Zem. What can you tell me?" The young Starkov woman stepped forward cautiously, her hands folded together infront of her. "He makes shadow creatures. But they aren't like the volcra in the fold." She explained, her eyes momentarily darting towards her friend who took over. "While the darkling controls shadow and created the volcra from it, these...nichevo'ya are different. They don't always obey him. And most of all, when he summons them, it hurts him. It costs him." The Oryalen woman finished.

"Merzost?" Tamar asked surprised, her brow furrowed as she clenched her jaw. Even for grisha, merzost was an abomination. "Good. Because if it didn't hurt him, he wouldn't hesitate to launch an army towards Os Alta." The fawn blond interrupted. "Troops have been hunting the Darkling and those that follow him, to no avail sadly. He has managed to evade capture so far. It has been brought to my attention that he intends to march on the capital." His words stung the young grisha woman like a cold dagger of ice lodging itself into her spine. "The mountains towards the East block us off, as does the fold towards the west." The younger Lantsov brother explained. "So his only option are north, through the permafrost of Fjerda or through the mountains range we share with Shu Han in the south." The tracker speculated. The others simply nodded at the his observation.

"We will gather more intel but in the mean time we need to prepare. The fold is growing every day in size and the people are becoming restless." Tolya intervened as he stepped towards the table. "My light is...acting strangely. And Anya has no control over her powers yet." The sun summoner countered, panick creeping up her neck. "It has only been a couple of days. We don't expect you to. But we will need to do something if we want to stand a chance." The all-too-clever fox replied once more. Silence returned to the room, the inferni's obsidian eyes peering to the Os Alta on the map. "What if it isn't enough?" She wondered outloud suddenly. "It will be. It won't be easy but we will find a way." Tamar assured her. "If he intends to march on us, we will need to meet him head on. It will be an all out war." She countered again.

"The second army is already depleted. If we want to do this right, we will need to start with preparations as soon as we arrive in the capital." She added, making the captain's eyes glint. "And what is it that you propose then?" Anya looked back at the map, eyes on the part that made out the True Sea before turning back towards the rest. "We will need to rebuild the second army. I know you intend to march along the Vy to get back home. We could use it as an opportunity to get grisha to return with us. Then we need to create special units consisting of both grisha and otkazatz'ya like on the Volkvolny." Her hands gestured along the map, the others following her intently. "It's not much but it's a start. Especially in such a short time." Her oldest friend replied with a grin. "You heard your old commander yesterday Nikolai. People are wary of grisha because of what the darkling did. Both sides are scared so how do you propose we do this?" The corporal asked him.

The privateer's face had grown darker for a split second as he looked at the others, something he could carefully conceal from most. An insincere smile returned to his face, soft and filled with disappointment in his eyes. The raven-haired could see it. "Then I have a proposal. One that will unify both grisha, otkazatz'ya, rally our people and shoves that Fjerdan bounty where the sun doesn't shine." Curiously, the group listened intently to his words, laced with the right amount of scepticism. After all, if something was too good to be true, it probably was. Nikolai turned to look at the Keramzin woman, straightening out his posture. "You become part of the royal family. You will be protected under the banner of my name and then we will have a real chance at change." Alina looked at him perplexed, as did everyone else. "Wait, are you asking me to marry you?" She asked loudly, still surprised.

The Oryalen woman's eyes had widened in shock, the Oretsev man seemingly trying to hold himself back from delivering an equal sucker punch to her friend. The fawn blond quickly gestured with his hands to diffuse the situation. "Yes but in name only!" He protested. "Besides, maybe, the matter of...an heir." He finished, his demeanor calm, determined and calculated, like the young grisha woman had always known him to be. "Saints." Mal cursed. "Wait, an heir?" She asked him once more when realisation dawned on her. "You want to make a bid for the throne? Take it from Vasily?" She demanded loudly. Her eyes were wide and angry, not because she thought he was unworthy of the throne but because it was dangerous and she thought he was an idiot. "Are you mad? You want to do this now?" She asked him incredulously. "Now is the best time for it! The country is in danger and having Vasily as its de facto head of state is not the solution. And if I wait until things calm down, we might be at risk of his position solidifying." He replied, his voice just as loud and commanding as her own.

"All I ask is that you think about it. Please." He asked them, eyeing Mal and the young Starkov woman especially. The latter seemed to mull his words over, lost in thought as her eyes strayed from the tracker to the younger Lantsov brother to the two heartrenders until they rested on the inferni. "Leave us. I wish to speak with his imperial highness." She said formally. Mal, Tolya and Tamar glanced at one another, before vacating the room, leaving the trio behind. "Anya. Please leave. Alina asked to discuss this between the two of us. I have to honor that." Her eldest friend uttered, almost regretting the question. Anya looked at him, her brow furrowed and her jaw clenched. "Of all the people you keep secrets from, Nik, I never thought I'd be one of them." She replied, feeling disappointed and betrayed before walking away.

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Hours had passed since the council had gathered and the all-too-clever-fox made his proposal. Hooves dented the soil of the ground as the horses grazed on the field, waiting for their rider's signal to start pulling the still empty carriage. "So." the raven-haired started, tying her hair back loosely before putting her dagger in its hidden sheath. "You seem nervous." she stated as her friend was pacing in her tent. "I somehow feel like that is a major understatement." the other grisha woman replied, her fingers nervously tapping against her palm. "I mean, last time didn't exactly go so great. What if they blame me? For what happened in the fold. And then I haven't even gotten started on Nikolai's insane idea!" She rambled, throwing up her hands. "Saints, Alina." the Oryalen woman replied with a sigh. "Everyone, or at least anyone with half a brain and a good set of eyes could have seen that you are not the bad guy here." she added, putting on her coat.

"Yes, but people tell lies. People believe propaganda. What if they don't believe a word we say?" the sun summoner continued. "Then why waste the energy? If you have any reason to think they will not believe you, why worry?" the young grisha woman asked her friend, earning a confused look. "If they are convinced you are a monster, don't waste your time trying to persuade them otherwise." she finished, a calm and neutral look on her face, but something in her eyes told the Keramzin woman that there was more to this story and her friend's philosophy. "See them for what they really are. Afraid." the dark haired woman looked at her friend, and for a second it was like someone else's face was staring back at her.

"Is there anything else that is going on in that whirlmind mind of yours? Perhaps something that has to do with the meeting from earlier?" the inferni asked, curiosity and a slight bitterness lacing her gaze. "It was quite a bold move on his part. Do you...plan on accepting it?" She asked cautiously, having witnessed what Alina and Mal meant to one another in Novyi Zem. Feelings like that were hard to get rid off and even harder to hide. "You'll see soon enough." She said with pursed lips, a small shine in her eyes that indicated a secret that would find its way to Anya soon. Silence hung in the air for a second, dispelling when the young Starkov woman swallowed and shook her head. "We should go. Nikolai's waiting." She explained, the two of them heading out of the tent as they started to walk for the grand envoy that was waiting for them near the road, a stone throw away from the military camp.

"There are my girls. So, are you two ready?" the captain's chipper voice sounded as he stood close to their ride. "It's a long and arduous journey back. We'll be making many stops along the Vy." he stated, motioning towards the carriage. The two women looked at each other, looking over the grand parade that was their envoy back to Os Alta. Kesh shifted uncomfortably in her saddle, Tamar giving her pointers on how to ride as Tolya mumbled the last lines of a poem he was reading before putting the book in his satchel. "As ready as we'll ever be, I suppose." the sun summoner replied with a nervous smile. Her cheeks darkened slightly when her eyes had wandered, quickly turning back to the matter at hand. "What about Mal?" she asked, her voice giving away a little more than it probably should. 'She still has a lot to learn.' the raven-haired thought when her and the privateer locked eyes, seemingly agreeing.

"He will be riding in the envoy. Volunteered to be your protector and all that." he replied. "He's quite noble, that tracker of yours." He added, giving her a sidelong glance, raising an eyebrow as he did so. "That he is." the other grisha woman replied carefully, narrowing her eyes as she eyed him, not entirely sure how to read him. It would probably take her years to gain that ability. "Well are we going or are we just going to dawdle?" Kesh's voice rang out from the distance, earning a smack on her arm from Tamar as the two grisha women and the prince laughed at her commentary. "What? Just because you turned out to be a prince doesn't mean that I'll stop messing with you!" she joked. He shook his head with a rare, genuine smile. "I don't expect you to!" he shouted back before the three of them finally stepped inside the carriage.

It was silent for a moment as the signal was given to the drivers and the horses started pulling forward, slowly but surely marching out of the camp. "She takes after you, you know. Almost as brazen as you were when we were young." Nikolai finally said, his head turning towards his best friend. "Oh that's funny, because her recklessness often reminds me of you as well." the Oryalen woman retorted, earning a small and exaggerated gasp from the fawn blond. She could see Alina trying to keep her laughing reigned in from the corner of her eye, her head turned towards the window as a hand covered her mouth, the lines near her dark eyes crinkling softly. Although she'd much rather be outside on her own horse right now, the young grisha woman took solace in knowing that her weary legs could finally rest from all the running she had been doing these past few months, for however long it would last.

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Present Day

Whispers and stories had tangled their way through the towns and cities that ran along the Vy like ivy. Of saints returning from the other side. Of their mysterious nature, hidden behind the doors of their carriage painted in pale Ravkan blue. That's what the group was told anyway. It had been several days since they left Kribirsk and even more since they burst through the fold. They had remained there for those first 3 days, partly to recover from what happened at sea and in the swath of darkness. And partly to help everyone else recover, making sure that as many cargo ship came through as possible.

Ever since they had made their escape all those months ago, the fold had only been growing, claiming many victims as it did so. The nearby towns were in shambles. New watch towers were erected every once in a while, when the previous one had been decimated by the unsea and its creatures. The inferni had started to notice that the very young and the very old outweighed those in between, with everyone that was able-bodied being enlisted in the first army. She clenched her jaw, nails digging into her palms. 'The next to suffer for Ravka's seemingly endless wars.' She thought sharply. Their graveyards had grown, with a size that could rival the homes of nobles, with a size that could perhaps even rival cities. It left a bitter, stinging taste in her mouth.

A few days passed, staying in dachas and houses that the people offered to the ones in the second son's retinue. They had spoken with local dignitaries, visited hospital wards, talked to veterans too wounded to return to battle. In those days, several people would flock to the procession, chanting their names, trying to catch a glimpse of those they had deemed worthy of their worship. They cried out their name, asking for their blessing, asking them to hold their child, to give them power or protect them from whatever was coming next. Anya wasn't sure if she could deliver on the last part. How could she put that same amount of faith and hope in herself as they did? "Are you okay? You zoned out for a minute." Kesh asked, putting down her fork to look at her mentor. They were currently having dinner at a military base, the one that housed the regiment the younger Lantsov brother was in. The raven-haired shook her head for a second, pulling herself from her daze. "It's nothing." She replied with a tight-lipped smile before finishing her dinner.

The Lord that governed the region was present as well, chatting up the all-too-clever-fox as he almost lent over him. The young  Starkov woman sat on his other side, then the Oryalen woman, then the brunette. "It is getting awfully chilly here, don't you say?" The lord complained, motioning for a servant to put another log on the fire. "Please, there in no need." The young grisha woman interjected, forming a ball with her hands before one of them made a smooth movement upwards, the fire in the hearth roaring back to life. The Lord was pleased, giving her his thanks, impressed and happy that it wasn't much of a fuss. Whether it was because of her power or her presence, she did not care. "Miss Oryalen." One of the other guest at the long table, a soldier that looked like the host, probably his son, started. "Is it true what they say? About you and the sun summoner?" He asked with a glint in his eyes. "I heard that there were events on the True Sea and in the fold that were truly admirable to witness." He added, earning an arched eyebrow from the privateer that seemed to make the Lord sweat in his seat.

"Well, you know how it goes with saintly stories. Often exaggerated." the inferni finally responded with a flair, seeing the man deflate slightly. "Didn't say this was one of such stories though." She responded calmly once more, fork pricking into her food as she remembered the prince's and her own call for forging new alliances. Curiosity seemed to grow, as did the attention on the two famed grisha women who uncomfortably locked eyes when no one was looking at them. The strenuous small talk that seemed to endlessly carry on during the diner was starting to weigh on Anya's patience, driving up the desperate need to somehow slip away unnoticed. A sudden, erratic knocking resonated through the dining room, halting the conversations in a split second. The local lord's face was starting to turn red, the present soldiers including the raven-haired and Nikolai bolting upright out of instinct as the double doors swung open.

A young man ran inside, halting abruptly as he started coughing, black soot dotting his face and clothes as he tried to stay upright. His words were mere mutters, unable to speak any louder. "For saint's sake, someone help the man!" the sun summoner  chastised before she walked towards him, helping him sit on a chair. As the young man sat down, the Oryalen woman saw the pleading look of desperation in his eyes as he spoke. "There's a fire." The young man coughed. "The village. It's burning." Without hesitation, the soldiers of the fawn blond's regiment stood upright and ran out the door, the group swiftly following them out. It didn't take long for her to smell the smoke, seeing the ashes as they fell down from the night sky into her hair, a torrent of people running and screaming as she ran towards the fire. Columns of flames shot into the air, spreading to other buildings like wildfire, trapping people inside and blocking the streets as pieces fell down. Everywhere she looked, she saw chaos. The intensity of the burning heat made everyone shrink back, the younger Lantsov brother's voice piercing through the air as he grabbed the attention of a nearby soldier.

"We need enough water to put it out!" he yelled over the chaos. "Where are your reserves?" the soldier swallowed deeply as he pointed towards the regiment's building in the distance. "We have water tons stored and there are wells all over town but the biggest body of water we have is the lake!" he replied swiftly. The young grisha woman turned towards him, determined and sure. "Bring as much as you can, form a line, have everyone help out." She looked to the Keramzin woman, Mal standing behind her. "You two, bring the surrounding people to safety. It's getting very dark out here." She turned to her friend, the other grisha woman's eyes concerned as they locked. "Light their way." she said, her voice commanding and unwavering, as she grabbed onto her arm. "What are you going to do?" the privateer demanded, standing ready to go help with the water supply. She turned around, coming eye to eye with the blazing inferno in front of her, eyes narrowing as she basked in its heat and glowing light. "I've got a fire to put out."

Step by step as she ran closer, the inferni snuffed out smaller fires with a mere wave of her hands. The scalding hot buildings weren't as daunting as they would have been to her years ago, flames bending to her will as she made her way through. In the distance, a little girl's form was sprawled out underneath the rubble, eyes wide when she saw the woman in front of her. "Sankta!" she shouted. 'You have come to save me?' was the question that she no doubt wanted to ask. Anya ran to her, sliding over the ground and under a fallen beam to reach her. Slabs of rubble were stacked on top of one another, covering the lower half of her body. The little girl's eyelids were drooping, both of them coughing as the raven-haired kneeled next to the girl.

"Stay with me. Stay with me." she encouraged her as she held her hand, her obsidian eyes scanning the debris. "B-bhashe..." the girl mumbled softly, thanking her in Suli. As the Oryalen woman stood up, she released the girl's hand, starting to drag fallen beams and parts of the ruined building. "Come on!" she hissed to herself. It seemed never ending, hauling piece after piece as the building creaked loudly, ashes scattering themselves around the two, other remnants of the building falling around her. She heaved the last heavy beam with all her might, gritting her teeth as she clenched her jaw, sleeves tearing as it pulled her arms taut.

When she saw the girl laying still on the ground, her fingers dug into the wood once more, throwing it aside to the ground where it shattered. The young grisha woman turned her around, checking her pulse before picking the little Suli girl up in her arms. She ran outside, putting her down on an open square between all the burning buildings. She groaned before a scream reached her ears, immediately spotting its source. A man dangled from the second floor of a partially destroyed house, half of it collapsed as the other half was about to be consumed in the fire. Scaling over the rubble, the inferni jumped from ledge to ledge until she was as close as she could be. "Take my hand!" she shouted loudly. The man was shivering as he held on, his eyes almost screaming in fear. "I'm scared!" he uttered.

He re-positioned his feet, his hands starting to slip. Anya breathed in, trying to get the man to calm down, flames simmering in the reflection of her eyes, shinning in their crisp white color. "It will be okay." she replied, extending her hand once more. Tentatively, he reached out and grabbed on before she pulled him towards her. She helped him down to the ground, where he stood with the girl in a safer patch of the streets in between the building. And then there was another scream, another yell, another person begging, hoping, praying to be saved. One after the other, the raven-haired darted in and out of the buildings, pulling out people with her until a sizeable crowd had formed.

With a face covered in soot, everyone coughing as the blaze roared around them, she turned towards the crowd. "Stay close! Stay down and avoid the fumes!" she stated, her voice commanding and carrying out over the scared murmurs. Her hands twisted in patterns, sweat breaking out on her forehead. The Oryalen woman's fingers itched forward, as if she was grabbing a hold of the buildings from a distance, parting the sea of flames in front of her. "Now!" She shouted, the crowd of people rushing through the passage way. Her chest heaved, her breathing ragged as exhaustion started to creep in. 'Keep the chasm open.' She kept telling herself. Suddenly part of a building creaked, wood tearing as the roof started to give in underneath its own weight. A loud crack resonated in the air, one of the long support beams tearing loose as it hurtled towards the ground, threatening to crush most of the crowd. "WATCH OUT!" the young grisha woman shouted, her feet launching her forward. There were so many, some even closing their eyes as they braced for the impact or shrinking and falling to the ground. But when the inpact never came, they opened their eyes, hearts beating wildly, and what stood before them was something that could only be describe as an image from the Istorii Sankt'ya.

The inferni stood there, palms clutching the support beam as fire grew in the background and the flames were consuming it. The crowd that had fallen scrambled out from underneath, huddled together as their only way out had been closed off. Muscles straining as she held the support beam up, Anya braced her legs as another one cracked and fell down from the side, flames licking at her fingertips and arms. As destruction wreaked around them, the raven-haired's head snapped up to look at them all. She shifted slightly, arms threatening to give in as she freed one hand. Her fingers wove through the fire once more, pointing the way home. "Go!" she shouted, her obsidian eyes having turned into a freezing white. On the other side, the prince, Alina, the tracker and the regiment soldiers waited to help, and watched as the fire parted, a lone figure standing in the distance, keeping the way open and the fire at bay as the villagers ran for their lives.

Her eyes closed for a split second as the weariness slipped in. Time slowed down, the drum of her own heart and blood rushing through her veins, drowning out any sound in her ears. A wince escaped the Oryalen woman's lips as she uncontrollably jerked her neck once, then twice, a tingling sensation rising up her spine, feeling like her body was set aflame as it spread to her fingertips, shattering the beams above her. Screams and yells echoed in the far distance, trying to lull her out of her trance. Her hair whipped back and forth as embers and ashes fell down from the burning fires that still remained. Her hold slipped, arms dropping to her side as the chasm closed in front of her. The tips of her fingers seemed to glow, not as if they radiated fire but as if they consumed it. Sharp stings tangled their way up, scales burrowing themselves in her skin higher and higher as they followed a path up her arms.

The young grisha woman's hands splayed onto the ground, not even having noticed that she fell to her knees in the first place. There was only silence, a cold creeping into her bones that was somehow familiar, ancient and forgotten. Her eyes closed, her mind searching for focus as she sensed the large body of water in the distance. The inferni's fingers dug into the fresh soil and started pulling. A thunderous sound echoed somewhere far away, water from the lake rushing towards her at her command. When she spoke, her voice was not just her own. It was old, older than Ravka and its wars, older than Fjerda and its drüskelle, older than whatever had torn apart grisha and caused so much suffering. "This is not the end of my story." Her fingertips were like a beacon, pulling the nearby flames even closer and draining them of their power. Its warmth flared up inside the pit of her stomach so when the water of the lake answered her call, bursting from between the trees in the forest, it did not deter her.

The heat of the fire was replaced by the cleansing breeze of the cold scathing past her and at the movement of her hands, swaths of fire were drowned out by the wild sea. Anya's gaze felt sharper, clearer than it had ever been as if a fog had been lifted from her mind. She raised one hand, the other sliding back up her arm to create a tidal wave that crashed against the buildings, going to the highest reaches of the highest floors. As much as she couldn't believe it, and perhaps as much as she didn't want to believe it, this foreign power that seemed so impossible to handle was her own. When the last of the flames had been doused, the water fell slack at her hands, most of it ebbing away slowly back towards the lake. Her soaking wet hair framed her face as she closed her eyes, tilting her head back to feel the falling water droplets cool down her skin. A shine of swear covered her forehead and despite being tired and exhausted, in this moment she felt invincible.

___________*ﾟ*★【🌓】★*ﾟ*__________

"Is everyone alright?" The young Starkov woman asked desperately at the people around her that were able to stand up. Some were lying on the ground, getting tended to by the few otkazatz'ya doctors that were at the base and in town, while others sat down on makeshift stools to catch their breath before hacking viciously. Children were riddled with burns while women huddled over their husbands asking her if it was okay to hold her hand as they prayed. A tightness found itself in her chest, a lump forming in her throat. She felt the warmth of the fire at her back, a pit growing in her stomach. Her thoughts couldn't help but drift to the raven-haired. After the large crowd of people had emerged from a pathway in the fire, she had tried her best to charge in and find her. And she would have, weren't if for the corporal holding her back, much to her own and Nikolai's dismay. "It's too dangerous for you." He said. "Me? What about Anya? She's still in there!" The sun summoner shouted angrily.

"And what is it exactly that you plan on doing about it?" The Oretsev man retorted with just as much ferocity. "It's too much for a single inferni to hold this off." His voice died off softly, something dark washing over his face as he spoke his next words. "And maybe it's even too much for her." The violent flames reflected themselves in the fawn blond's eyes as he walked forward, joining the Keramzin woman and Mal where they stood. "I have known her longer than any of you have." the younger Lantsov brother started. "And if there's anything that I know about Anya, she's nothing if not persistent." Ever the elusive and clever fox, even he couldn't show them the tinge of worry that wallowed inside him. "You just have to have faith in her."

They were torn from their thoughts as shouts spread through the people, their eyes pointed towards the horizon. Enormous waves were ripped from between the trees, rushing towards town's burning inferno. A violent whirlpool of water formed around itself, wave crashing into wave as the heat died down, rising higher and higher to douse all the flames. Tge privateer's eyes couldn't believe what he was seeing. He could feel the adrenaline thrumming through his veins as it did that faithful day on the True Sea, when the Oryalen woman stood on the head of the Sea Whip and cleaved the darkling's ship in two. No fire, no flame, no ember or smoking bit of ash was spared as the swiveling mass made its way through. The sea seemed to orbit around a single figure, barely visible in the dark of the night, pivoting left and right each and every time the figure's hand twisted. The water abruptly stopped, seemingly halting in its steps and ebbing away just as quickly as it came.

Some of the swirling water had come down from the sky, the last of it dribbling down from the sky, the smoldering embers of the town's buildings painting the background as smoke and ashes billowed through the air. Not all was burned. Not all was lost. Not yet anyway. All sounds that were made had suddenly stopped, a tense silence filling the air. The prince's nails dug into his palm, clenching his jaw with wide eyes as he found himself waiting. The lone figure emerged from in between the smoldering buildings and smoke, ashes wafting through the air as the rain kept pelting down. Slowly staggering forward, the young grisha woman's ears were ringing, her vision hazy and swaying as she walked.

Someone grabbed onto her and she could vaguely hear his muttering in the background. The inferni felt several tentative touches as she walked, their hands softly taking hers in their own or patting and even prodding her to see if she was real. The muttering around her grew, sounding repetitive as she passed. 'Were they praying?' she asked herself, confusion crossing her face. 'But for who?' All energy seemed to escape her, exhaustion dripping from her body as she was put down on a cot. 'This is real.' it dawned on her, just as sudden. 'I'm a tidemaker.' the realization left a strange taste in her mouth. The world around her was starting to sway even more before rocking her into an uncomfortable sleep.

___________*ﾟ*★【🌓】★*ﾟ*__________

The next day was an uncomfortable one, her entire body groaning at each crevice as she swung her legs over the edge of the cot. "Fucking hell." Anya whispered, rubbing at her forehead with a massive headache thrumming in her skull, as if the previous night she had drank herself under the table. "I had a feeling that one was going to hurt." A voice stated calmly. Looking up, the raven-haired spotted Tolya at a small desk in the tent, jotting down something that was his poetry, if she had to take a guess. "Good morning." She grumbled as she stood up, her legs carrying her surprisingly well. "Try noon." He retorted with a chuckle, closing his booklet as he stood. "Now come on. There are a lot of people there waiting for you." He opened the flap of the tent with a light smile, something shining in the giant's eyes that she couldn't quite place as he motioned her forward.

A large camp sprawled out in front if her eyes, having seemingly grown over night. The military base functioned as an axis to aid the townsmen recover, many first army soldiers and even a few other grisha that had found their way to their retinue. Her body felt hollow and tired, a warm sheen radiating of her skin. Apparently she didn't look as terrible as she felt, if the amount of people dropping to their knees, whispering about how her eyes or features looked sharp, was any indication. Tolya had taken to gently pushing off any people that came too close for his liking, or harshly pushed them aside if he deemed it necessary. The Oryalen woman arched an eyebrow, the corners of her lips slightly curving upwards. "You know I can protect myself, right big guy?" she remarked, teasing him slightly. "It is what one does for those they consider a friend." he replied stoically. "Ah so we are friends now, are we?" The young grisha woman retorted, making the man's eyes widen. "I am foolish for assuming such a thing sankta-" his frantic words were interrupted as she laughed loudly when they stopped at a large tent. "Relax Tolya, I was only messing with you." she explained. The tall man nodded somberly, trying to contain a smile of his own from growing too much. "You are too much like my sister." he groaned.

Her hand reached out to part the flap of the tent emblazoned with the Lantsov double eagle, a long table with maps and papers and the like sprawling in front of her. Before she could even get in a word, Kesh all but nearly tackled Anya to the floor as she engulfed the woman in a hug. "Oh thank the saints you are alright! And also, what were you thinking?" she spoke, her foot tapping the floor like an impatient little rabbit. "How to not die a fiery death while saving people perhaps?" The raven-haired retorted, sarcasm dripping from her words. "It was quite the show you gave there." Nikolai noted, grabbing a hold of one of her arms, the other clamping down on her shoulder as she returned the gesture. "You can say that again." Alina pipped up, squeezing her in a hug the split second they had parted. "I'd nearly jumped in after you." the young Starkov woman spoke with a panicked voice. "But here I am, as well as one can be in this situation." The Oryalen woman could feel the worry emanating of her friend, holding her just a moment longer in the hope that it would put her at ease. "Now, what's next?"

That night was when the first worshipers started to flock to their location, following their every move, a large procession of people right on their heels. Some were pelgrims so zealous that they donned sun symbols or a dragon's head tangled in streams of fire and water, embroidered on their shoulders and chests with threads more valuable than the clothes they were stitched on. She supposed that this would only aid in their reputation. Some part of the young grisha woman wondered if the fawn blond had planned for this, like he had so many times before when they were children.

She looked out the window of her room, onto the courtyard down below. Her hair had grown even longer these past few weeks, falling down her shoulders to the middle of her back. Her fingers tapped against her leg as she sat down on the windowsill, unable to sleep. Perhaps it was because they were ever so close to Os Alta or perhaps it was the lingering feeling of yet another war ahead of her. Her mind drifted to a conversation she had with the younger Lantsov brother a few days before, when more and more pilgrims had started to follow them.

___________*ﾟ*★【🌓】★*ﾟ*__________

"They are calling you a lot of things you know." The all-too-clever-fox chimed in, pulling his horse up to hers. After the second spectacle, he had proposed for her to ride on her own horse together with him and the sun summoner, which Anya did not reject. She did always prefer it to being cooped up in a stuffy carriage. She arched an eyebrow, eyeing the followers that kept their distance. "So I have heard." She replied curtly, looking ahead to the somber and cloudy horizon. "Not always bad ones. There are some even I am jealous of!" The raven-haired knew she shouldn't even ask him, because it would somehow stroke his ego, but she couldn't help herself. "Well then, Kolya, I know you have your favorites. Probably. So let's hear them." she replied, the corners of her lips sightly curling up."You know me so well, darling." He preened.

"Some say the obvious, like Drakon Sankt'ya. Then there are the more creative ones like the guiding hand, rebe Sankt'ya, hellbender, Anya of the burning city, or even realmwalker." He told, enunciating each word with one of his hands. "Cause you know, they reason that you crawled out of hell to enact justice." The privateer shrugged, making the Oryalen woman scoff loudly at his words. It felt...strange, to be both revered and feared. People being scared of her, or even disgusted by her, that was something she was used to. It was the love and devotion that they had started to show that unsettled her so. The prince must have sensed her discomfort when he spoke once more. "My personal favourites are Rebe Sankt'ya and Koroleva Drakon. Daughter of the saints and Queen of the dragons. Sounds very regal." He joked, poking her in the ribs with his elbow to make her chuckled. "If you say so."

The Keramzin woman slowly pulled up with her horse as well, tightening a new scarf around her neck and pulling her coat closer so she'd remain anonymous, even for a little while. "Ah Alina, good that you're here." Nikolai started once more, his face growing tenser. "There was something I needed to talk to you about." Alina only raised an eyebrow questioningly in response. "The matter of your kefta. You intend to go back to the second army, yes?" the question surprised Anya a little, her obsidian eyes widening. She realized she hadn't really thought about it herself, what she wanted in this life. Or if she even had any choice in it at all. The second army was all she had ever known her entire life. Or at least, almost her entire life.

"Yes." The young Starkov woman replied, the look on her face adamant about her return. "Then I think it's best for you to wear a black kefta. With the Darkling gone, they will search for someone to look up to." Her brow furrowed, deep in thought about his words. "No." her voice was cold and sharp, just like her words. "He always wore black. It's his color and I refuse to wear it and be associated with him because of it." The sun summoner reasoned. "I'll wear my usual blue." The raven-haired couldn't help but chuckle lightly. "In the end, it is just a color, no? So why should it be his?" she retorted, turning to her old friend. "Give it to me instead. Let me wear a black kefta. I don't see a reason as to why he should be the only one to wear it." she urged. The fawn blond clenched his jaw for a split second, unsure of what to say. "Fine then." he relented, something sparking in his eyes. "It's yours."

___________*ﾟ*★【🌓】★*ﾟ*__________

The Oryalen woman shook her head, pulling herself back from the daydream as her head leaned against the window pane, surveying the grand room she was in. Gold and silver and bronze tassels and accents everywhere, with the most vibrant and lively colors woven into the tapestry that hung on the wall. A room almost as imposing as one from the Grand Palace. Something shifted in the corner of her eye, downbelow, her head turning to see several servants hasting through the courtyard. It wasn't even a moment later when a strong knock resonated at her door. "Come in." The young grisha woman said curiously, standing up from her seat. one of the servants stood before her, waiting to get his breath back as he huffed and puffed. "G-grisha..." he coughed. "What?" Anya asked, confused. "My lady.." he started. "There are grisha at our doorstep. The second army is here."

°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°

This chapter was a bit
harder to write. I know
it has been 8 months since
I last updated but
I had a lot of personal
stuff going on.

I had an interview for
exchange and I first
wanted to go outside
of the EU, to Australia
specifically. I thought that
going to the interview
despite having a mad cold
and almost no voice at all
would show my resilience
and character. Spoiler alert,
it did not and they rejected
me from going. I still did the
interview for exchange
within EU though!

Very, very, long story short,
I got in as one of 3 to
my top choice (which is normally
only 2 but I guess speaking
a little Spanish helps)
but I sadly had to cancel
it which is also a very
long story that I have
had to explain a few times
too many, so let's leave
it at that. I can always try
again next year or when
I get a master's degree.

I sortof had to start
an internal procedure
because an asshat of
a teacher refused to
round up a 9.9/20.
Then the board agreed
with me, rounded it up,
and now i don't have
to add yet another year
to my studies.
(next year, my 4th year,
is the last for my bachelor's
degree and otherwise I
would have had
another year, a 5th.)

My grandma's were
both sick. One had
heart valve replacement
surgery and afterwards
was confused by the
anesthesia for a month.
It was a very tiring
and also sad time but
our family pushed through it.
My other grandna
had fallen down
very hard for a second
time, had bruises all
over her back.
But they are doing much
better now and we
are all very grateful.

I also just signed a new
contract for a new dorm
studio last Wednesday
(after which I got stung
by a wasp on the train
back home so my pointer
finger was all red and
swollen) and I moved
all my stuff from the old
one to the new one
on friday with the help
of my parents and
one of my sisters.

The only thing that remains
for that is to unpack when
the new academic year
starts. Well I intend to
do it like 2 days before.

Somewhere in this mess
I also turned 21 in June lol.
The restaurant we went
to was an absolute
dumpster fire but I
had fun with my family
in spite of it and
we went bowling.
Somehow my mom,
who hadn't played it
in years, fucking won lol.

Also rip to 8 years
of wattpad dms, you
will be missed.
No more numbered
reaction lists from
that one friend ;(.

My notes for this were
all over the place too.
Like with the last book
I had to take the first book,
the crows and the show
in mind and I could
just use most of my
notes for one chapter.

Now I have used
notes I made of
different episodes,
while incorporating
the original books
and my own ideas.
And shifting between
3 POVs this chapter
was not the easiest
thing I have done.
But I felt like it
was needed because
we hadn't seen the
crows in a while.

Anyway, I hope you guys
enjoyed this massive ass +/-
10k chapter. Like in
the early 5k stages,
I already moved
some bits and pieces I
had written out, as well
as plot points, to the
next chapter lol.

I still feel like it might
be way too long but
I also couldn't really
decide on a moment I wanted
to end it on seeing as
I wanted to wrap up the
campaign along the Vy
from the book in way
less chapters (non-book readers,
fyi, a lot thought that it
took to long in Siege and Storm
and that it was the most
boring book of the trilogy
but i actually quite liked it)
and still incorporate show
bits and my own stuff.
Anyway, the campaign will
wrap up somewhere
next chapter.

I also once joked about
how I never had to
write one of those
crazy Wattpad/A03
Author's notes where
they got into a car
accident and their house
got picked up by a
hurricane or some
shit but turns out
that A LOT can happen
in 8 months.

To wrap this extremely
long author's note,
here you have
some well deserved memes!
This time with a little
more variation in
format than usual!

Until next time!