Do I have the next chapter, no. But I do have a bonus scene with Zhe’ārani and Saafeera set earlier in the book :)
content notices for severe (recent) past abuse and grief
Zhe’ārani stayed in bed for a long time. A world without Qatriong wasn’t worth getting up for.
One of Rovian’s mothers came to see her at some point. The one with the darker skin. Zhe’ārani was staying in her home but she couldn’t process things properly right now and didn’t remember her name.
Zhe’ārani contemplated rolling over to face away from her, but she didn’t have the energy.
“You have a lot of blood on you,” Rovian’s mother signed, and Zhe’ārani became very aware of how true that was.
It was a very, very bad feeling on her skin, and it was worse when she remembered who it belonged to.
“Do you want a shower?” Rovian’s mother asked. “Or a bath?”
Zhe’ārani stared.
She didn’t like showers because standing on the hard bottom made her back especially sore. She didn’t like baths because she was sitting in her own filth and the stagnant water felt bad on her skin.
In her mind, she conveyed this to Rovian’s mother, but in real life her hands just kind of twitched meaninglessly.
“Shower?” Rovian’s mother asked, seeming to recognize that Zhe’ārani couldn’t talk right now. “Nod for yes or shake your head for no.”
Effortfully, Zhe’ārani nodded.
“Okay. Would you like me to help you?”
Zhe’ārani nodded again. She couldn’t do very many things herself right now.
“Okay. Up you get.”
Rovian’s mother brought her to the bathroom and found a stool to help her step over the edge of the tub.
She helped Zhe’ārani take off her dirty, hated Temple robes and underclothes. “Maidallis picked up some clothes for you yesterday,” she signed. “I had to guess at your size. When you’re feeling well enough, you can tell us what you like and we can get some more.”
Zhe’ārani didn’t remember the last time she’d gotten to choose her own clothes. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to handle it.
Rovian’s mother turned on the water. “Put your hand under the tap and let me know when it’s warm enough, and I’ll turn the shower head on.”
Zhe’ārani put her hand under and let the water pour over her skin and between her fingers.
Rovian’s mother didn’t stop her, so she only nodded when it was almost hot enough to burn. She hadn’t had a hot shower in a long time. The Temple thought cold showers were healthier and more efficient.
She flinched when the spray first hit her, but then- then it was nice, the warmth enveloping her.
Her hips hurt. She kept shifting, but she couldn’t find any position that didn’t.
Stand up straight.
She hugged herself. Even Guodei had known that with her lordosis, Zhe’ārani’s posture was a lost cause. She would only ever give her a subtle pinch in reminder unless their superiors noticed and ordered her to chain Zhe’ārani up for slouching.
“You can sit down, if you want,” Rovian’s mother signed.
Zhe’ārani didn’t have it in her to figure out if it was a trap. Or to keep standing. She sat, bending forwards around her knees.
In the corner of her vision, Rovian’s mother paused while reaching for a washcloth.
Zhe’ārani’s wings closed over her back. She’d forgotten about the scars. She didn’t want Rovian’s mother to ask, because then she would have to explain what she’d done.
Rovian’s mother didn’t say anything about the scars, just reached questioningly for one of Zhe’ārani’s hands, and when she nodded, scrubbed off the spots of blood that had somehow gotten in the wrinkles of her skin, rust red giving way to walnut brown.
Rovian’s mother set down the washcloth and made sure Zhe’ārani was watching her hands. “Ši Arroakhai Kjú.”
Zhe’ārani nodded listlessly.
“I want you to know that we will never hurt you. I’m making you a promise, okay? We will never hurt you.”
Empires Always Fall Chapter Forty-nine: Halek: Blow It All Up
content notices: discussion of recreational drug use, technically they’re doing domestic terrorism I think but nobody dies, bomb/explosion
"You ready?"
Misa nodded, patting his shoulder bag firmly.
"Misa and I are going out!" Halek called. "We'll probably be back late. Don't worry or wait up!"
Officially they were going to a free concert on the Twsogh Ðíúntdhà, which was on the way to the Industrial Quarter, so they would be seen travelling in the right direction.
Ailít, having just given birth, was not coming with them. Nor was Juni; ze would be too obvious a suspect. Just the two of them and Saafeera.
Halek and Misa both had priority seating cards for the train, so people shuffled around or stood up and made space for them on the accessible benches, but they were both fat enough and the benches crowded enough that it was a very tight fit. The other three people on their bench were someone who was visibly pregnant, a kid with a broken foot, and an elderly person with a priority seating card of their own visible on a lanyard around their neck, so Halek obviously wasn't going to ask any of them to move. He just tucked himself awkwardly between Misa and the guardrail at the end of the bench and hoped the trip would go by quickly.
Misa worried at the strap of his bag with one hand, the other laid protectively over the bag of carefully packed chemicals resting on his lap.
He rested his head on Halek's shoulder, putting his mouth right next to Halek's hearing aid. "I hope I gave Saafeera the right instructions for the chloroform. I did my best with the average body mass of adults in Moghrlai Gurodstadit and then added a bit extra on the assumption that nighttime security guards in a military-owned facility would be big enough to effectively deter any casual thieves and hold their own in a brawl, but if I messed something up- or if she comes across someone a lot smaller- or anything else goes wrong- I could end up having killed someone."
Halek patted Misa's arm, which he hoped was comforting and not just weird. The way they were squeezed into the space made it hard to move and he was sure the angle and force distribution of the reassuring pat had been really awkward.
Misa had barely stopped talking when he started again. "I can't seem too sober when I get home. It's a huge outdoor concert. They're definitely going to be selling stuff. I'm old enough to buy the legal stuff and people selling the illegal stuff won't care enough to check my ID as long as I don't look twelve. Everyone knows you don't do that stuff anymore but that's even more reason I would, having a guaranteed sober friend to look out for me. There will be smoke everywhere even if I didn't. I hope no one will be awake when I get home but I need to smell like something and seem hungover in the morning."
"We'll go to a cannabis store on the way back and you can smoke a bit to get the smell in your clothes," said Halek. A lot of those were open all hours of the day. "We'll get some glow sticks at a dollar store."
He wished they actually were going to the concert. He wouldn't consider himself a fan of any of the bands playing, but he liked them well enough when their songs came on the radio, and his friend Neesa was a big fan of one of them. He wished he'd been able to say yes when she'd asked if he wanted to go together. It would have been so much simpler. The kind of thing a normal teenager would do.
But he had a job to do, and there was no way he was letting Misa do it without him. There would be other concerts, and other times to see Neesa, but if Halek wasn't there to look after him and things went wrong, there wouldn't be another Misa.
They got off at just before the river crossing, at the same stop they would if they were actually going to the concert. Most of the other people on their train got off there too. At this time of day, trains that went through the Industrial Quarter were infrequent and wouldn't be crowded enough to blend in on, so they would be walking the rest of the way. Halek had thought about taking the carpet but decided against it; it was best to be seen travelling to the concert and it would have been too awkward and noticeable to lug it along with them on the train.
In the crummy train station bathroom, they changed clothes. Misa and Halek were close to the same size, so Misa's spare janitors' coveralls fit with only minimal discomfort. The uniforms would hardly be visible under all their winter gear anyway, but it was best to be thorough and look like they had reason to be in the Industrial Quarter after hours.
They crossed the river on the pedestrian side of the long bridge. "Are you sure of your plan?" Halek asked.
Misa nodded. "I have a nice long fuse so we can get good and far away before it starts. I'm hoping once my smaller explosion gets going, it will cause a chain reaction with all the gunpowder and flammable airship gases and engine fuel in there. Even if it doesn't all blow, it'll be very on fire. Saafeera will find us to confirm the immediate surrounding area is cleared, and then as soon as I light it, we start running."
Even after-hours, the district was practically swarming with police cars. Halek had expected that, but it still made a deep uneasiness settle in his gut.
He pushed it away, pulling freezing breaths in through his mouth. Misa needed him to navigate across the district, so he had to stay calm and attentive.
Even though the streetlights made it harder to be stealthy, Halek was glad of their presence. There had been a noticeable decline in his ability to see in the dark recently. He was starting to worry about cataracts.
He linked his free arm through Misa's, quietly leading him through the near-empty streets.
He almost seized up when they had to creep right past one of the stationary cars, but the cop inside never looked up from the magazine they were reading.
They finally made it to the military airship hangar.
"Keep watch while I set up," Misa said in a low voice.
The Industrial District was unnervingly quiet in the off hours. Halek flinched at every sound, certain he would turn around and that would be the end- of this mission, of his career as a revolutionary, of his freedom, maybe of his life.
Hypervigilance, he thought. He was always on edge.
But he needed to be hypervigilant, doing this. Missing anything could doom Misa and himself and their operation.
He almost screamed when snow crunched nearby, slapping his arm over his mouth to muffle the yelp, but it was just Saafeera.
"Clear?" he whispered.
She nodded. "Clear."
Misa started walking backwards, unspooling a long fuse. Halek and Saafeera followed him. It had to be three metres long at least.
"Start running for the nearest bridge out of the district as soon as I light this," said Misa. "Fast as you can."
"I'll light it," said Halek. A few more seconds for Misa to get away from the explosion. "It'll be easier for me, since I can see it better."
It was a weak argument. Misa would be able to see the burning brightness of a flame in the dark. They both knew that.
"No." Saafeera took the lighter. "I will light it, because I'm the adult here, and a faster runner. We'll want to split up as soon as possible anyway, and the two of you will need each other's support to get out. Misa, put the fuse on the ground, then the two of you start running."
"Okay." Misa set the end of the fuse down and Saafeera clicked the lighter on.
Halek and Misa linked arms and took off running. A second later Saafeera was behind them.
Halek navigated, and Misa let Halek lean on him to run faster and hurt his knee less. They were nearly to the Ðíúnttwsogh when the first explosion went off.
Every bone in Halek's body wanted to throw himself and Misa to the ground and take cover, but he forced himself to keep running. It was best they be completely gone by the time all those police cars converged on the hangar.
By the time they'd crossed the bridge, Misa's chain reaction hopes had paid off.
This side of the rivers, while legally still Moghrlai Gurodstadit, wasn't really part of the city. It was a lot of forest, with the Gharan commune somewhere in the woods closer to the Ðíúntmoghr and Kulainestainer even further downriver, and beyond that the municipal garbage dump and the prisons.
Easy terrain to disappear into, but not really anywhere to go. The nearest train stop outside of the Industrial Quarter was in Kulainestainer, as was the nearest bridge back into the city proper. A boat down the river was out of the question if they wanted to be hard to trace.
The Gharan commune. Zhe'ārani might let them in for a bit, and no one there would be talking to the police. It was still a walk, but not as far as to Kulainestainer, and Halek needed to rest his legs for a while after that run. It would be a good place to take a break- if they could find it.
He hoped they would come across it eventually if they just followed the river. It was secluded, but it wasn't meant to be impossible to find, just away enough from the city to be left alone.
It was very late when he finally got home. He tried to be as quiet as possible as he closed and locked the front door. He didn't want to wake anyone up.
"Halek."
Halek stifled a scream.
"Shh. It's only me." Juni sat in an armchair in the dim halo of a small lamp. "I wanted to make sure you got home safely. Did you have fun at the concert?"
Did everything go according to plan?
Halek nodded. "Yeah," he said, trying to keep his voice down.
"Good. Nobody got hurt?"
"Nobody got hurt," Halek confirmed. "I strained my knee a bit, but we were fine other than that. I kept an eye on Misa and no one started any fights near us."
"You're going to have nightmares tonight," Juni said. It wasn't a question.
Halek's face flushed uncomfortably. Juni understood his nightmares the best out of anyone. It made him feel exposed. "Yeah. Probably."
"You can stay in my room with me if you need to," ze said.
"No," said Halek. "Thank you, but I'll be okay." It was irrational, but having other people witness the direct aftermath of his nightmares made him feel like they could see right through him and know everything in his mind. He preferred to handle them privately.
Zhe'ārani drew a triangle- like the Temple's pyramid. Even the most basic of shapes was ruined for her now.
At the top she wrote Gētnyx. Underneath, Mēshat. Then Logē and Fēram. Guodei. Then Kaelía, Līsandyr, Qatriong, Abhaonai, Nesyue, Retmiq, Kjotar, Zhe'ārani.
"It's like this," she signed. "The hierarchy."
Tamri nodded. "I read about that in the book."
"These-" Zhe'ārani touched each name before she signed them so Tamri would know which written name went with which sign name- "Qatriong, Kaelía, Līsandyr. These are my friends." She felt another round of tears pricking at her eyes. "Were my friends. Qatriong- Qatriong's dead now, and Kaelía hates me for leaving…"
-
look:
"Should we split up? One of us stay here in case ze tries to get on the train?"
Kaelía paused. "No. I promised to look after you. We stay together."
Zhe'ārani nodded. It might have been smarter to split up, but she didn't want to be alone in a strange place, so she was glad Kaelía also wanted to stick together.
-
Zhe'ārani looked around and spotted a door where the warping was different from the rest of the infinitely long alley they stood in.
She pointed, then took Réswn's hand.
Zhe'ārani and Réswn opened the tall, patchwork wooden door and went in.
Maidallis sat on a couch, Touch-Talking with someone who was-
Someone who was Zhe'ārani's father, except much younger, and who held a baby with Rovian's big birthmark on her face.
-
"Where are you going?"
Zhe'ārani froze. Saafeera stood by the door, and while it was unlikely she had ill intent, Zhe'ārani still felt like she was breaking some rule.
"I'm going to do some painting downtown," she signed, which was technically true.
"Do you want someone to come with you?"
Zhe'ārani shook her head quickly. "No. I might go pray afterwards. In a Gharan Senki place." If she could work up the nerve to do that, what with all the heresy she had committed in serving the Temple.
find the word: happy new year! jumping on @oh-no-another-idea 's open tag
champagne, celebration, new, and kiss
for 'champagne' I'm going to change it to 'wine' because I decided to just call it sparkling wine due to the lack of France...
On hir way across the dance floor, ze snatched a flute of sparkling wine from one of the trays the waitstaff were carrying. Jue was not really a fan of sparkling wine, but it gave hir something to do with hir hands and mouth, and it would hopefully make hir a little less awkward and scared.
-
"I think you should come home," said Saafeera. "We should be together at a time like this. Her remains will be returned and we'll hold a funeral as soon as we have her body back. The baby is due in fifteen days. At least come home until the funeral and birth celebration are over."
-
Jue had not realized that the Nsole keeping themselves away from the rest of the world meant they did not have things like glasses. How much else that was so ordinary to Jue was new and strange to Mkera? O-mē must be so very overwhelmed.
-
"You are favoured by Alteyr," ze said. "You are the most powerful Divine Scribe in centuries, perhaps longer. Never before, as far as I am aware, has one performed such a miracle as Resurrection. Divine Scribes burn fast, but you, Daanah, you will burn ever so bright." Ze kissed her hand and rose. "I am truly blessed to be here to see that."
Empires Always Fall Chapter Forty: Halek: Stronger Action
content notices: character death (off-page), mention of potential pregnancy loss
"Let's make this quick," Saafeera said. "Rovian needs her mother and her friends."
Halek nodded.
"We haven’t been doing enough,” said Saafeera. “This war is going to destroy us all long before we ever bring the empire down. We’re not having enough impact.”
Part of Halek wanted to feel vindicated, to yell See? When it’s your family harmed you want to do more, but he couldn’t bring himself to find any joy in Fiyavu Ozast’s death. He’d grown up with her, been friends for a while, been neighbour and nearly family always, and she was Rovian's sister.
"They haven't even noticed us," Ailít signed, red-eyed. "My baby will never meet eir mother because of them and they haven't even noticed us."
Halek opened his mouth to protest. Juni beat him to it.
"They've noticed us," ze signed. "The empire have always noticed us, and felt threatened by us. I have lived the life I have because they notice us."
"Not threatened enough," said Saafeera.
"I want to blow something up," signed Ailít. Her hands slashed violently through the air. "I want to hurt them."
"We cannot allow anger to dictate our actions," said Juni.
"My daughter is dead," said Saafeera. Halek got the feeling she was glaring daggers at Juni behind her mourning veil.
"I have been fighting the empire since before you were born," Juni said. "Do you think I do not know the pain of loss? That I have never known a martyr, or lost a loved one? Acting in anger makes people reckless. Do not do the empire's job for them."
"Anger can't dictate our actions," said Misa, speaking up of his own accord for the first time. "What about strategy? There’s a big shipment of weapons going out from the Military Cargo Hangar in nine days."
“If we can find a time where the hangar and the area around it are mostly or totally unoccupied, we can take out the whole hangar,” said Saafeera. "With minimal harm to civilians. Is that too reckless for you, Juni?"
Halek winced at Saafeera's use of Juni's proper, unadorned name. Ze was Saafeera's elder by far.
Misa raised a cautious finger. "Saafeera-lws, taking out an entire airship hangar requires an explosion orders of magnitude bigger than anything I have ever done before."
"I thought you liked blowing things up," Ailít signed. "Isn't that your whole purpose?"
"Hey," signed Halek one-handedly.
"I also know better than any of you how dangerous it can be," signed Misa sharply. "What, do you think I just spontaneously went blind at the same time the cleaning chemicals blew up, just by coincidence? Go become a corporate lawyer for unsafe workplaces or something. Look at my face and tell me it's totally fine to scale up a little explosion into a really big explosion, no worries, I can totally do that in less than a tenday."
"You'll do it," Ailít told him.
Misa pursed his lips. "Yes."
"Not if you can't do it safely," said Halek. "Fiyavu Ozast is lost. You aren't." Yet, he added silently.
"My math will be perfect," Misa signed. "I am nothing if not a chemist. But you-" He pointed in Ailít's general direction. "-you won't be there. I'm good, but I will not be responsible for you losing that child if anyting goes wrong."
Ailít acquiesed. "Even if everything goes right, I don't want the shockwave causing me to go into labour."
"Hey, wait, we haven't actually made a decision about this," Halek said.
"I vote yes," said Saafeera.
"We have fallen off recently in terms of sabotage," said Juni. "We certainly need to interfere more. I also vote yes."
Everyone turned to Halek. All actions the unit took should be unanimously agreed upon.
"Sú-kogh, it will prevent far more harm than it has the potential to cause," Misa said. "You're almost a pre-med student- if I were to get hurt, you could help me."
Halek sighed and didn't say that 'almost a pre-med student' basically meant 'kid with an interest and no special training.' "Okay. But if the time comes and you're not sure-"
"Nothing happens unless I'm sure."
"Okay. Fine."
Juni nodded curly. "Good."
"You said martyrs," said Halek.
"Yes," said Juni.
"I'm going to ask Zhe'ārani to paint pictures of people Moghrlai Gurodstadit has lost to Rāmian imperialism on walls around the city," said Halek, remembering what she'd done for Qatriong. "Raise awareness, build common support. Maybe a lot of other people will see them as martyrs too."
Halek kneaded bread on the countertop in the middle of Rovian's starhouse. She really liked the savoury bread he made, and he hoped it could at least bring her some measure of comfort.
Rovian wrapped her arms around him from behind. "Kéchawaedrii-Orl is a piece of shit."
Halek's hand and nub were of a stickiness not appropriate for Touch-Talk, so he made a gesture that hopefully indicated for her to elaborate.
"'Rovian, ze's the Balance.' I don't care. Ze'll 'have Daanah home in five days or so.' She could be home now, but ze wants to make another couple stops on this fucking tour, trot her out and show her off, since it's just on the way."
Halek covered the bread and washed his hands. "That's not fair of hir. Ze can't expect her to perform when she's just lost her sister."
"Ze says she's special," Rovian Touch-Talked. "We've always known she was special. Of course she's special. I don't need the very voice of order and chaos telling me that so ze can take her away, and frankly neither does she. I try to be happy for her but in not too many years I will have neither sister left and I want her with me while she still can be!"
"I know."
"I want Daanah to come back now." Rovian burried her face in his shoulder. "Fiyavu Ozast is never coming back."
Empires Always Fall Chapter Thirty-nine: This Is How It Happened
content notices: execution (off-page)
Appropriately, Daanah slept terribly and woke up grouchy. It was a travel day today.
When Saafeera called, face grave, and said "Daanah, thuchaa, we need to talk," it only cemented the tone of the day.
"We received a communication just now," said Saafeera. "It's from the military. Fiyavu Ozast… Fiyavu Ozast has been executed for desertion."
"Oh," said Daanah, the words hitting a wall somewhere inside her brain and bouncing off. She should feel devastated, or… or something, but she didn't really feel anything in reaction to the news that Fiyavu Ozast was dead. She must be a terrible sister.
"Ailít's pregnancy is nearly at full term," said Saafeera. "We think… We think Fiyavu Ozast was trying to come home to be there for the birth."
"Oh."
"I think you should come home," said Saafeera. "We should be together at a time like this. Her remains will be returned and we'll hold a funeral as soon as we have her body back. The baby is due in fifteen days. At least come home until the funeral and birth celebration are over."
Daanah nodded wordlessly. Her family needed her right now more than Kéchawaedrii-Orl and their mission did.
"Are you okay, thuchaa? I can stay on the call with you as long as you need."
"No," said Daanah. "No, I can… I have to tell them I'm coming home. Then I think I need to be alone for a bit."
"Okay. One of us will call you again this evening." Saafeera made the sign for "I love you."
"I love you too," Daanah replied rotely, and turned off the portal.
After a moment, she turned it back on, setting it to access the public database made up of connected libraries and archives. "I need to know what happens when the Rāmian military executes someone for desertion."
She didn't know why she was doing this. For most people, knowing all the details of precisely how the death had occurred would probably make them feel worse, but facts stabilized and reassured Daanah and helped her process things.
"What happens when you're shot in the back of the head?" was her next question.
There was a knock on the door of her hotel room, interrupting her reading of the forensic pathology book the portal had given her, and what felt like every extra eye she'd ever had popped open.
"What?" she snapped.
"Kéchawaedrii-Orl just wanted me to remind you that we're leaving in less than an hour," came Miwaanii-Shémelús's timid voice.
Daanah groaned. "I know."
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Too fine.
"Okay-"
"Just come in already," Daanah huffed. "It's not barred. Just use your key."
Miwaanii-Shémelús cautiously entered the room. Daanah's vision was shattered and confused from all the extra eyes, but she could hear his tentative footsteps just fine.
"My sister's dead," Daanah said, not turning to face him. Some of her extra eyes tracked his approach.
"Oh," he said in a strangled-sounding voice.
She'd made him uncomfortable. "Sorry."
"What happened?" he asked.
"Her partner is nearly four and a half cycles pregnant," said Daanah. "She was conscripted and she tried to come home and she was killed. Bullets travel through brains faster than brain tissue tears."
"I'm sorry," Miwaanii-Shémelús said. "You must be really sad."
Daanah shrugged. She wasn't, and that was worse.
"I lost my sister when I was little," Miwaanii-Shémelús said. "She's not dead, but… Things were bad. My father had died a year or so earlier. My mother was desperate trying to look after the five of us- Aischa wasn't born yet- and she turned to the Temples for help, and the Temple of Corysecli helped us but in exchange for my twin as an Initiate. It's not the same- I know she's still alive- but it's the first major loss I can really remember."
"Is that how you were tricked into that contract?" Daanah asked. "Something to do with your sister?"
"Yeah." Miwaanii-Shémelús sat down heavily on the bed. "The Divine Soldiers, and then the Vessel, promised I'd see Kaelía- that wasn't her name when we were little but she changed it- again and I was too naive to realize that 'see' and 'talk to' aren't the same words at all." He laughed bitterly under his breath. "Of course, nothing I see is very clear, so I couldn't even see the picture well."
"How old did you say you were? Ten?" Daanah said. "That's so predatory."
Fiyavu Ozast was already gone. Daanah had no way to protect her now and hadn't been able to protect her from dying. She would protect Miwaanii-Shémelús- she had to. She would be a good woman and keep her promise and protect her comrade and at least protect someone.
"Do you want to tell me about your sister?" Miwaanii-Shémelús asked.
"She was five years older than me," Daanah said. "She was teaching me how to shave my face. I- I don't want to talk about it right now."
Referring to Fiyavu Ozast in the past tense was too much. She wasn't ready to acknowledge her sister's lack of a future.
"Okay."
"I need to go home," said Daanah. "Her funeral, and the baby-"
"Yeah, of course," said Miwaanii-Shémelús.
"Can you help me talk to Kéchawaedrii-Orl?" Daanah asked. "I don't want to- I have to say it all again-"
Chapter Thirty-five: Halek: 'Spreading Libelous Untruths About the Empire' Is Our Favourite Hobby
content notices: friendship, family relationships, discussion of eating, secrets, homelessness, suicide mention
Halek heard it on the radio over breakfast, not from Rovian, which scared him.
Soralij's restaurant had been raided and they'd found the print shop in the back. Soralij and a number of unnamed people had been taken into custody for 'spreading libelous untruths about the empire and undermining the war effort.' Rovian could be one of those unnamed people, because Halek had connected her to it.
Halek didn't bother to get dressed properly, just pulled on a coat and boots over his pyjamas before speed-walking out the door and across the Bridge to Kulainestainer.
This was why he had to keep those high walls between different parts of his life. This was why he hadn't wanted to let them mix, hadn't wanted Rebel Halek to overlap with Rovian's Best Friend Halek, because getting people involved meant getting people hurt and he'd gotten too many people hurt already. Rebels had to be pragmatic and get things done but friends didn't put friends in danger and he never should have tried to be both at once.
He thumped on Saafeera's door hard enough to bruise his wrist. If Rovian had been arrested he needed to know right now so he could formulate a plan right now and get her out right now-
"Paamiya, kiddo, what's wrong?" Saafeera was still affixing her revaap- a Gathiya Na Theenan headscarf- when she opened the door.
"Rovian," Halek said breathlessly.
"I'm pretty sure she's still asleep. That CanSkate show yesterday took a lot out of her."
"The print shop was raided and-"
"Oh." Saafeera took off her glasses and cleaned them on her shirt. "That's going to be a problem… Rovian wasn't there, though. You were worried she was?"
Halek nodded.
"You make sure she's ready if she ever does get caught in something like that," said Saafeera.
"I guess she still doesn't know about you," said Halek. Rovian was surrounded by liars.
Saafeera made an ambiguous gesture. "Now that she's involved, maybe she should, but it's against the rules and you know Juni wouldn't like it."
That was very true. Everyone knew about as few other people as possible, and Juni was very strict about operational security. Telling hir that Talí had found out about Halek had not been a pleasant conversation.
Rovian would, eventually, figure it out herself, and be upset with them all.
"Have you eaten?" Saafeera asked.
"Half my breakfast is now room-temperature and soggy on the meal blanket," Halek grumbled, coming to that unpleasant realization. Usually the household all ate together in the mornings, but Halek had woken up early and hungry and made himself something, and now probably everyone else had come to eat and found his abandoned breakfast. "Oh, man. I have to recalculate for my insulin now because I didn't eat as much as I planned and I won't be eating the rest of that."
"Are you still hungry?" asked Saafeera. "You can come into the common room and eat something else before you go back home."
"Yeah. Okay. Thanks."
"I'll make sure it all has the information for you," she said. "Take off your boots, it's wet out."
"What happens now?" Rovian asked.
"We'll have to find somewhere new," Halek Touch-Talked. "We need to keep spreading our information and ideas, now more than ever. I'll talk to some people… I'm delivering some vegetables from the garden later so I'll talk to some of the people I know then to see if they have space."
"I'll come," Rovian Touch-Talked.
Halek sighed. He was tired of keeping Rovian out of things and Rovian was tired of being kept out. "Yeah. Okay. What time are you done work today?"
"Midafternoon. I'll come over to your house when I finish up." Rovian pulled her coat on. "I'll walk you home now and get on the train near you."
"Okay." Halek almost protested- he didn't want to make her late- but with all this rebellion stuff… he really missed her. He missed just spending time together, casually, as Rovian-and-Halek, as friends, without the weight of grief and stress and war and secrets.
Halek's family had the fortune of a big back yard, which had been almost entirely converted into a vegetable garden for most of Halek's life. For a long time, when it produced enough, they'd been distributing some of the output throughout the neighbourhood as part of the Moghrlai Gurodstadit Neighbourhood Assistance program; this tenday it was Halek's turn.
Right now, with the time of year, there were a lot of tubers in about five different varieties in the boxes his uncle Chiishé-Faindh and Aedrii-Nú were helping him load into the wagon.
"Can I come?" Aedrii-Nú signed.
Halek wavered. "Rovian's coming with me today."
She made a pleading face.
Chiishé-Faindh tilted his head. It would probably be helpful for Halek to take her to get some energy out and give Chiishé-Faindh a bit of time to rest before he had to go to his job sorting recycling.
Halek sighed. "Okay."
Aedrii-Nú flapped her hands in delight. Her tracheostomy tube burbled with her squeal of happiness.
"Rovian and I are going to walk today- well, I'll probably take my wheelchair if Rovian doesn't mind pulling the wagon," said Halek. Usually he hooked the wagon up to his adult trike, which gave him the balance he lacked on a regular bike and had been modified to be gentler on his knee, but Rovian had never been much of a cyclist and had stopped biking entirely as her vision declined. "You can walk with us or get your bike, but there's no space in the wagon to pull you too."
Aedrii-Nú tugged at Chiishé-Faindh's sleeve. "Daddy, help me get my bike."
Chiishé-Faindh lifted the last box into the wagon and nodded, letting Aedrii-Nú lead him to their bicycle shed.
Rovian arrived shortly after.
"Aedrii-Nú's going to come too," Halek told her.
"Okay," Rovian Touch-Talked.
"Are you okay to pull the wagon part of the way?" Halek asked. "I know your arms hurt. Let me know if it's too much."
"I can pull," Rovian Touch-Talked. "We can trade on and off so I don't hurt my arms too much and you don't hurt your knee too much."
"Sounds good."
Aedrii-Nú greeted Rovian shyly as Chiishé-Faindh helped her buckle her helmet.
"Did you learn anything new about dinosaurs recently?" Rovian signed.
Aedrii-Nú flapped her hands again and began signing excitedly. Before long, she was showing off the little knitted triceratops Roo had made her that she always carried around and currently had in her bike basket.
Halek smiled. Aedrii-Nú didn't like to talk to people outside of the family all that much, but she would talk to anyone if it was about dinosaurs. It had been a little while since she'd seen Rovian last, and Rovian had said the exact right thing to put her at ease.
Side by side, Aedrii-Nú wobbling on her training wheels ahead of them, Halek and Rovian set off down the street.
"Our first stop is really close," Halek Touch-Talked, then called to Aedrii-Nú, "Stop when you see Amadi!"
Amadi lived in a park along the bank of the Ðíúntmoghr, just north of Halek's house and the Bridge.
"They only speak Beri," Halek Touch-Talked. "They won't understand your signs."
Rovian nodded.
Amadi waved upon spotting them.
"I brought some hot soup in the thermos," said Halek as Rovian helped him unload one of the boxes. "Everything else is cold, some cooked stuff and some fresh vegetables, like usual."
Amadi took the box and set it in their cart.
"How are the birds?" Halek asked, leaning forward in his wheelchair. Amadi always fed them seeds.
Amadi pressed a button on the cracked screen of their speech device. "Good. Many nests are made."
"That's good," said Halek.
"Birds are dinosaurs," said Aedrii-Nú.
"It's getting cold," Halek said. "Will you be coming to the shelter?"
Aedrii-Nú wandered over to watch a couple ducks as Halek waited for Amadi to finish typing.
"Amadi does not know," Amadi said. "Cold, but… Halek knows… Other people and Amadi do not mix well."
"Yeah," said Halek. The MGNA program did their best to make the shelter accessible, but there was only so much they could do with the little space and resources they had. "Well, you're always welcome there if you decide to go. Is there anything else I can help you with right now?"
"No," said Amadi. "Halek should come more often. It has been a long time since Amadi has seen Halek."
"Yeah," said Halek. Yet another friendship he'd let fall by the wayside. "I'm sorry. I've been unwell for a while."
That was his default excuse for not being around much, since he couldn't tell people he was in Wend-Ki. It was vague enough to cover a lot.
"No more jumping off the Bridge, Amadi hopes," Amadi said, and pointed a stern finger at Halek.
"No," said Halek. It was pretty common for people to assume he meant things were bad again with his bipolar and post-trauma stuff like in his mid-teens when he said he'd been unwell. "None of that. I have people looking out for me at home. Don't worry."
He wasn't even sure why he'd jumped off the Bridge in the first place, whether it had been a suicide attempt or if he'd been seeking a thrill and convinced of his own indestructibility or what; he didn't remember jumping, only waking up in the hospital. He didn't remember a lot of that year.
"Good," said Amadi.
"I have to go deliver the rest of this, but I'll see you on my way back," said Halek. "I'll try to come see you more. I'm doing a bit better right now."
Everyone was pretty tired by the time they reached Uoliveg's house, the last on the list. Halek was taking a turn pulling the wagon, his right wrist hooked awkwardly under the handle so his left hand was free to use his cane, and he had given in to Aedrii-Nú's pleas to pull her too now that there was space.
"Mostly tubers this time," Halek told Uoliveg.
"My kid loves mash," Uoliveg said. "This is great. It's been exactly the same kind of potatoes for far too long. Maybe I can get a bit of variety into his diet with these." Ze laughed. "I guess you know what that's like, with your family."
"Oh, for sure," said Halek. Everyone in his household was autistic except for himself and his grandmother and grandfather. "If you want to talk with my grandparents or parents about getting enough nutrients into the things he'll eat, just give them a call. They have lifetimes of experience."
"I might take you up on that," said Uoliveg.
"Speaking of my family…" Halek began. "My Isohi was wondering if, with your books, you know anyone who would be willing to lend or rent out an industrial printer." Juni was widely understood within the community to be involved with the resistance in some capacity, so it was less revealing to say Juni was looking for a printer than for Halek to be looking for one.
"Sudden need?" said Uoliveg, probably referring to today's news about the raid.
Halek nodded. "It would have to be confidential."
"I'll see what I can do," said Uoliveg. Ze shifted the box in hir arms. "Wait here and I'll get the book I fixed for your sibling. The spine is as good as new now. Let me know if there's any more problems with pages falling out or the cover peeling, but the glue and stitches should hold."
"Thanks," said Halek.
Uoliveg disappeared briefly, then came back with a newly-restored book. Halek was pretty sure Talí had gotten it from the library clearing-out sale, so it had been in rough shape.
Uoliveg handed the book to Aedrii-Nú in the wagon. "It's good to see you out of the house again, Halek. I'll ask around about the printer."
Empires Always Fall Chapter Fourteen: Daanah: It's The Law
Content notices: conscription, threat of deportation, familial relationships
In Rāmia, two years of military service was mandatory for any person considered abled enough upon entering adulthood at twenty. People who had not served in the military were not full citizens regardless of birth, and it was a felony to not present oneself at the nearest garrison to be deemed suitable or not.
Daanah's sister Fiyavu Ozast had been twenty for a good couple season-cycles now. She had lost her sense of smell to PNIV as a child, but other than that she was entirely mentally and physically able, and they knew anosmia wouldn't exempt her.
They had been sucessfully keeping it quiet, but now…
Now there were soldiers at the door.
"We have to let them in," said Fiyavu Ozast, her voice shaking. It was only her and Daanah and baby Eleyk home.
"But-"
"They will come in either way, Daanah." Fiyavu Ozast set Eleyk down in the crib.
"I can stop them." Daanah reached for a pen, a marker, anything she could use to channel her magic.
"We knew this couldn't last forever," said Fiyavu Ozast. "I don't want it to fall on the rest of you if they can't get me."
She opened the door.
"Fiyavu Ozast Leykin Riwazee," one of the soldiers read out. "As an able, adult resident of Rāmia, you are required to present yourself for military duty. As you are not Rāmian-born, refusal may result in deportation."
Like Saafeera, Fiyavu Ozast had been born in Gathiya Na Theena. If one wanted to be especially pedantic about it, she and Daanah were technically cousins, but really they were sisters and always had been. After all, Daanah was adopted too, and with no blood relation to either Maidallis or Saafeera at all.
Daanah was not going to lose her sister.
"She's having a baby," Daanah said desperately. Ailít was very pregnant. It would most likely be less than a cycle before the baby was born.
"Are you pregnant?" the soldier asked Fiyavu Ozast.
"My partner is," she replied. Daanah wished she'd lied, but it would have been a very easy thing to disprove, especially considering that like Daanah, Fiyavu Ozast didn't have the right body parts for pregnancy.
"Then you are fit to serve."
"No!" Daanah said.
Fiyavu Ozast reached out a hand. "Daanah. It's okay."
"No! It's not fair! I found the Younger Emperor!" Daanah shouted. "No one could find hir and I did! Doesn't that count for anything?"
"What is she talking about?" another soldier muttered.
The third shrugged. "Divine magic. It does things to the mind."
Daanah screamed. She was Alteyr's Favoured and she would not lose her sister she would not she WOULD NOT LOSE HER SISTER-
The first soldier reached over to grab Fiyavu Ozast, and Daanah bit.
In times of stress, the magic in her body acted up. She had a lot of teeth.
The soldier yelped, and then Daanah was in a headlock, and Eleyk was wailing, and Fiyavu Ozast had her hands up and was trying to placate the soldiers with words Daanah couldn't hear over the blood rushing in her ears.
Fiyavu Ozast leaned over and kissed Daanah on the head. "I have to go now. I love you."
"Oza!" Daanah cried as she turned away.
"I'll come home," Fiyavu Ozast said. "I promise."
"That snake." Rovian's signs were sharp and angry. "I should never have let them in! Everyone knows the Temple of Corysecli is all buddy-buddy with the military and the empire. I was so careless."
"I couldn't stop them," Daanah signed dejectedly. "I should have stopped them."
"How coincidental that right after two Initiates of Corysecli come by, the military suddenly knows they're missing Fiyavu Ozast."
"What good am I if I can't even protect my own family?" Daanah pulled at the roots of one of her locs.
"I am so naive and reckless-"
"Stop blaming yourselves," Saafeera cut in. "This is neither of your fault. This is the fault of the Rāmian Empire and its imperialism. There are a lot of people and things that contribute to that, but neither of you are one of them."
"You shouldn't have come to Rāmia," Daanah mumbled. "You and Fiyavu Ozast should have gone somewhere else, where this wouldn't happen."
"No." Saafeera squeezed Daanah's shoulder. "I can never say that, because coming here brought me the two of you, and I wouldn't trade you for anything. We will get Fiyavu Ozast back, and we will change the world, and by the time her and Ailít's baby is grown up there will be no conscription. There will be no empire."
