10 Years Before Plegian War II

Pheros had never been in such a big city.

She'd thought living on a ship was strange, but now that they had finally reached Ylisstol life was even stranger. There was no order to the chaos. Citizens scurried through the streets in every direction, holding all kinds of things: bread baskets, cakes, parcels, clothes, and prayer books. Most of them seemed happy. They were friendlier with the people around them than the folk of Valm Harbour were. They did not even know the foreigners by name, yet several had cheerily pointed Pheros and her companions in the right direction.

Pheros wondered if the people in her own capital were as welcoming towards visitors. She had never been to it, but she imagined not. Certainly not with King Walhart in charge.

When they'd first crossed the long sea and arrived in Regna Ferox, there had been no news or gossip about Walhart. Barely anyone knew who he was. It had been the same story as soon as they had crossed the border into Ylisse, and Pheros envied them. This continent was in a carefree world of its own.

They hadn't stopped any of the peaceful Ylisseans for a while now because they were so close to their destination that it was easy to see its location. The exalt gave her speeches from the royal balcony of Castle Ylisse, which towered over the city centre on a steep hill.

That hill was the only reminder Pheros had of home. As they started to ascend it and the others puffed, panted, and complained, she pushed herself ahead of them. She couldn't get much right as a priestess, but no one could tell her that she wasn't working hard when she was exercising. The racing of her heart, the shortness of her breath, and the sweat at the back of her neck would prove it. In the rare event that she had a day off at the temple, she liked to walk up and down the streets of Valm Harbour for nothing but the exercise. Sometimes, when no one was looking, she even ran.

It was an enjoyable climb, but all too quickly it was over. Ahead, hundreds of Ylisseans and foreign pilgrims alike were streaming around the side of the castle to the balcony. Pheros watched them, wishing that she could just be one of the crowd. If she wasn't careful, she'd end up being swept along with them.

She glanced behind her again. The others were still quite some way off: Hierarch Briathos and Priestess Hosannah were going so slowly that they were holding almost everyone up.

She had plenty of time to vanish. They would believe that she'd been carried along by the tide of Ylisseans and found herself unable to break free. It was exactly the sort of thing useless Pheros would do. They would make fun of her for it, but then they always found something to use as a weapon to chip away her heart. One day, they would break her completely.

She didn't want it to be today. She wanted to enjoy Exalt Emmeryn's speech alone.

She pushed on again, walking quickly at first as she wove between the people. Then, paranoid that the others would reach the top of the hill and see her, she broke into a run.

She heard a few startled gasps as she darted between the citizens towards the crowd by the balcony, but she was careful not to push anyone. She just wriggled between the gaps, there a second and gone once more.

When she reached the fringes of the growing crowd around the balcony, she paused to look up. No one was outside yet, but just admiring the beautiful architecture of the castle filled her with excitement. If she tipped her head back as far as she could, the tip of the highest turret was just about visible. She was amazed that the clouds did not obscure it.

Someone jostled her, and she realised that she needed to start moving again. She slipped through the gaps, careful not to create a disturbance. The last thing she needed was to draw attention.

She was in the middle of the crowd when she glanced over her shoulder and caught a glimpse of Lilah's bright hair. She almost ducked, but she stopped herself at the last moment. Ducking down was not normal.

"Pheros!" Hosannah shrieked. "Pheros!"

Pheros pushed through the crowd faster, her heart racing in her ears. She hadn't expected them to call for her. Someone would see the way she was hurrying and know that she was the woman they wanted. It would be over.

But no one paid her any notice. Plenty of others were also trying to move further towards the front to see the exalt up close. Pheros kept on moving until she was almost underneath the balcony and the people were packed together too tightly for her to go any further. She tilted her head back and looked up again.

As if she had commanded it, the doors to the balcony flew open.

Silence spread over them like a spell. It started with the sudden quietness of the people at the very front of the crowd and then crept from person to person until it reached the rear. By the time someone stepped onto the balcony, there was no breath being taken that was louder than a whisper.

A man came out at first in full ceremonial armour and stood with his back against the left-hand wall. Commander Harvey. Pheros knew who held all the positions of power in Ylisse better than the politics of Valm. She knew that the woman who stepped out after him was Commander Phila, a pegasus knight not much older than herself with ice blue hair and a cool expression to match. Her reputation had risen with almost as much rapidity as Exalt Emmeryn's, and though she had never spoken a motivational word to the public, rumour had it that she was every pegasus knight's idol as well as their leader.

After Phila had positioned herself with her back to the right-hand wall, there was a long pause. No one moved a muscle, yet anticipation still rose through the crowd. The next person to walk through those doors would be Exalt Emmeryn.

It was her staff that Pheros saw first. It looked like it was made from gold, and the head had been shaped into a crescent moon. Inside it sat a pale blue healing gem. Pheros knew that Emmeryn had been training as a healer since she'd been young and that she had been fully-qualified for quite some time. She occasionally tended to patients in the castle's medical ward if there was no other healer as strong as her around.

To bring her staff to her own speech seemed unnecessary. Pheros wondered if she was being cautious. Perhaps she always brought it in case one of her attendants suddenly collapsed. But no, that seemed excessive. There were probably healers waiting in the wings. Besides, this was a woman who put a lot of thought behind every word and action. So the staff was surely meant as a symbol.

The rest of the exalt came into view. Pheros had seen many paintings of Emmeryn, although she had to admit that the girl looked much younger in real life. She also looked kinder. Just one glance at her serene expression made the muscles in Pheros' shoulders relax.

Emmeryn walked to the very edge of the balcony while a few other plainly-dressed attendants fanned out along the walls beside her bodyguards. She looked down at her people and waved.

They waved back, the noise levels rising again. A few children clambered on the shoulders of their fathers to see properly, and Pheros let her gaze wander to them with a smile. Some were lucky enough to have the exalt's wave directed at them, and the way they squealed warmed her heart. She had not seen happiness so carefree and untroubled for years.

When she looked back up at the exalt, she gasped in surprise. She could have sworn Emmeryn was smiling right at her.

The doors were shut, and the exalt stepped back. The spell was broken. Pheros shook her head. They were so far down that it was impossible for Emmeryn to have truly been looking at her. She had only been smiling in her general direction at all the people in that area of the crowd.

Emmeryn raised her hands, and silence fell again. "Good afternoon, everyone. I know that some of you have travelled a very long way to see me. Welcome to Ylisse. I hope that she will be accommodating. She has been at peace for almost five years."

Some people cheered.

"It is peace that I would like to talk to you about today," Emmeryn continued. "We are lucky to have it in Ylisse. Naga wishes for us all to experience peace, as there is no way of knowing happiness if we are hurting each other. You may not rule a country, but you each rule yourselves. To find peace within yourself and to create a deeper connection with Naga is the path to a happy life. Remember to think of each other no matter what has happened, and to forgive no matter what has come between you. Remember to follow the example of your god and your country when you can, and to forgive yourselves when you cannot. Anyone can be redeemed of their sins and their mistakes. We all make them.

"My father made mistakes. Five years ago, he started a war that no Ylissean will ever forget. He fought in the name of peace and convinced his followers that he was doing as Naga willed. But how can you create peace with war? The answer is that you cannot. We were at peace until that war, and we are at peace now. We must all remember what that feels like, in preparation for the day when Naga tests each one of us to see if our resolve will be broken.

"Peace is obtained through patience, love, and selflessness. Words can be poison, or they can be a blessing. They can sway us to believe in things we would never have considered before. My father wounded his people with his words, and it took many years for those wounds. Know that I will never tell you what you must do - only that this is what I think and believe in. This is what I believe Naga wills. So when we pray to her now, I will not put words into your mouths. Ask of her what you would like. But know that I hope you will ask for peace."

Everyone bowed their heads and clasped their hands together as if they had been given some sort of signal. Pheros hurriedly did the same. She did not have the elegant words that Emmeryn had used, so she prayed for only one thing.

She prayed for peace in Valm.

***

The remainder of Emmeryn's speech passed far too quickly, and Pheros found that she could not escape from her colleagues forever. Afterwards, when she was descending the hill, they managed to locate her.

Maro called her a useless whore while Hosannah and Hierarch Briathos were lagging behind. She realised that Hierarch Briathos never seemed to be within earshot when she wished he was. He was starting to turn a blind eye to all the teasing he did hear, too. Had even he accepted her as the temple's scapegoat now?

Exalt Emmeryn had told her not to be angry, and her words were so powerful that they were still ringing in her ears. But it was hard. Maro, Geoffroi, and Hosannah made her feel like she was worse than the dirt they were walking on. Then there was Lilah, who did not hold the kind of selflessness that Emmeryn admired. Pheros was starting to wonder how real her sympathy was.

She knew that she was not worthy of much, but Emmeryn's words had reminded her that she was at least worthy of something. The exalt had been ten when she had called the soldiers home and tried to soothe her angry kingdom. So was it really that hard for a group of adults to treat someone with respect?

She took a deep breath and tried to relax. The same person who had inspired her to be angry had also told her not to be. Naga willed peace, and so she had to hold onto her faith and believe in it.

She followed the others down to the city temple, where a smaller crowd of people were going in to pray. She found that it was easier to control herself when they had entered. She could not shout at anyone in the holy house of Naga.

And she would not want to, for she was too fascinated by how beautiful this one was. The ceilings arced high above them, engraved with swirling pictures of war. She stopped and stared up in wonder. Why did the old architects decorate all the ancient buildings of Ylisse with images like this if they were supposed to believe in peace?

She supposed it was a warning not to go to war. Yes, that must be it. When she stared at them harder, some of the pictures looked horrifying.

"Pheros!" Hosannah hissed.

Pheros startled and scuttled after the others again. Had they truly come to walk in, pray, and walk out again?

Apparently so. They found a quiet spot in the temple and knelt on the prayer cushions, clasping their hands and bowing their heads. Pheros glared at them all for a moment before doing the same.

She tried to just pray for peace again. Not about the others. Not about herself. Not about a happy life.

But she couldn't help it.

Naga, please, if you can hear me...take me away from these people.