Omnira whistled as loud as she could then yelled at the top of her lungs, "HEY! Everybody SHUT UP!" Trench Town was in full panic mode. Everyone was in an uproar. The entire town was gathered in the square shouting questions and demanding answers, all at the same time. Omnira and Raeni had been standing in front of the crowd trying to keep everyone calm for the past fifteen minutes but no one would listen. It was like a city wide panic attack. Not long prior, a soldier had arrived with a royal decree. Lastirk was dead, Greyson was King, a new worksite was to be built, and twenty people were going to be chosen as "test subjects". On top of that, the decree threatened "dire consequences" if production from the four original worksites fell more than five percent. Omnira was just as shocked as everyone else. It was clear that Greyson was going to be way worse than his mother.
"Listen," she began, unsure of what she could say to calm their fears. "I know you are all scared and confused. So am I. To be honest, I don't know any more about any of this than any of you. I will try to reach out to our sisters that live in the palace, maybe we can get some more detail from them. In the meantime, we know we have some time before the fifth site is up and running, for us that means two things. First, the construction team is going to have to stall as long as possible without being suspicious. I have a bad feeling about this whole 'test subject' thing. Second, we are going to have to adapt our training schedule. We need to navigate this carefully. We all know how volatile Greyson is, we need to avoid incurring his wrath as much as we can."
"Why?" yelled a young man from the middle of the crowd. "How long are we going to keep bending over for these invaders?" He pushed his way to the front so he could look Omnira in the face. "This is our planet, our home! When are we gonna fight for it? We are strong and there's so many of us there is no way they can take all of us. Forget worrying about incurring his wrath! If we all rush the palace together there is no way they can stop all of us!"
Omnira's eyes flashed with anger but just before she could tear into the young man, she felt a soft hand on her shoulder. Raeni stepped forward meeting the you man's gaze with her own gentle but firm one.
"Young man," she began gently. " How old are you?
"I'm fifteen," he said with a defiant look on his face.
"So you weren't even born when they first invaded. Where were you when Greyson stormed the village?
Working, in the mines, my mother won't talk about it "He answered, face softening.
Reani nodded, "Did you hear about what happened to the city to the south?" referring to the city Greyson leveled some months prior.
"I thought that was just a rumor, it seems impossible"
"I know, but through my connection with Azaacar, I felt it as all those lives were snuffed out." Raeni's eyes were fierce but misty with the memory. "Son, our enemy is powerful, their army is vast, and they wield terrible weapons that can cause unbelievable amounts of destruction. Do you really want to take on a foe like that head on, with no weapons, with no plan?"
The boy's shoulders drooped and his eyes searched the ground. "I just…we need to do something." His pain was more audible than his voice.
Omnira put a hand on the boy's shoulder until he met her gaze. "We are doing something." loud enough for everyone to hear. "We are not sitting idle are we?" she looked around at the crowd as she got a few tentative no's in response. "We're not standing still!" she got a stronger response this time. "We are lying in wait! We are bidding our time! We're gathering information! We're coiling ready like a kuflo waiting for the perfect time to strike! And when that time comes, we will take back what is ours! We will drive the invaders from our planet and we will be free once again!" as she spoke she became more and more impassioned, and so did the crowd. Each statement she made was answered by a louder, stronger response. She climbed on a stack of crates so she could see the crowd, each one had a fist in the air and a look of determination on their face. When she finished they all erupted in a deafening cheer and began to chant while pumping their fists. AZAACAR! AZAACAR!
Raeni could see from where she stood a faint blue glow surrounding everyone in attendance as their passion ignited. She smiled to herself and quietly recited a quote from an old prophecy, almost forgotten.
"She will reignite and fan the flames of her people."
Raeni felt a tug on her sleeve and turned to see a woman looking at her with fear etched all over her face. Concerned, she put her arm around the frightened woman and led her to her tent, away from the raucous crowd. "What's wrong girl? You look like you've seen a ghost." she trembled visibly, voice shaky, on the edge of tears. "I… don't know what I saw, no, I heard, maybe felt it…I just don't know" Raeni handed the woman a cup of calming tea and sat her down. She took a seat across from her at a small table. "Take a deep breath. Clear your mind. Just tell me what happened." The woman was small by anyone's standard. She was short and thin, obviously under fed. One would mistake her for a child if not for the frown line that accented her face. Raeni thought a strong breeze would carry this woman away like a flower petal if she wasn't careful. The woman closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she held her tea in both hands.
"High Priestess, there is something dark and terrible happening in the palace. I could get in a lot of trouble for leaving, but I had to come here and warn you. My name is Rahtona, I serve the royal family in the palace, making sure they have food and wine wherever they are throughout the day. For the last few days I have been seeing King Greyson pacing and talking to himself a lot more than usual. At first, I didn't think anything about it. He's been scheming and plotting all year, talking to people in the shadows and such. But today, I went to carry him some wine and I found him kneeling in the middle of the room as if in reverence to someone unseen." When she saw the thoughtful look on Raeni's face she quickly waved a hand. "Before you ask, no, his com-link wasn't even on." she shuddered again and continued. "While he was kneeling there I felt a presence. Something ancient and dark. It felt like death but worse. It was so cold, it chilled me to my core. I just had to get out of there. I couldn't hear what was said to him but, by the way the king was responding, it looked like it was giving him guidance. Priestess, there are dark forces at work here."
Raeni nodded solemnly as she vaguely remembered something in the old text about something similar. She thanked the woman for the information and gave her as much food as she could before urging her to hurry back to the palace.
When Omnira returned to her mother's tent she found pouring over ancient texts. Raeni was the most knowledgeable person around when it came to the histories and lore concerning Azaacar. Omnira knew all of that came from diligence and study, but it had been years since she had seen her mother do so. She looked from her reading as Omnira approached with a worried look on her face. "I think we may have a problem." Omnira furrowed her brow as she sat down, unable to imagine what could be worse than their current state of affairs. Raeni repeated to her the story she had just heard then showed her the text she was reading. It told of the ancient enemy of Azaacar, and how though sealed in the ice, it could still influence the minds of evil men. It said that it fed on their wickedness and if it were to ever escape it confines, it swore to destroy all life on the planet. Omnira looked at her mother wide-eyed when she finished reading. "As if we don't have enough to worry about."