WARBRINGERS: Revenge and Revolution

INTERLUDE: THE JESTER

Still fifteen years ago

[SULIANA]

As soon as Jessnah was hit by a rock on her rotting front teeth, she didn’t have a choice but to run as fast as she can away from Suliana. Her friend left before her, screaming while holding her bloody cracked nose. It was a battle she would never win.

As soon as Jessnah was out of her sight, Suliana looked up at the young man and young woman sitting on arinillo branches. They laughed so hard and gave each other a high-five. Then they both looked at her.

Suliana looked at them too—well she looked at the young man, with a smile that she could compare to warm coffee on a rainy night and a thick blanket on a day where the sky weeps ice. She wanted to see that smile up close.

“Let’s go down,” the young woman said and with swift movements, managed to climb down the tree. The young man took a long time, trying to balance himself and make sure that the branch he would step on was sturdy enough to support his weight.

But Suliana just watched with awe and imagined him falling and landing right on top of her.

Which would probably hurt but… in her imagination, it was beautiful and it made sense.

Soon they were both on the ground and they walked towards her.

“Are you okay?” said the young woman. She smiled—no she smirked at her.

Suliana blinked before answering. “I’m…”

“Shaken,” the young woman said.

“Well someone just told her she’d carve her face, so…” said the young man.

Suliana thought his voice is as sweet as warm honey, and even more beautiful than the chirping of the birds. And for a silly moment, she wished the birds would just shut the hell up just so she could hear him clearly.

“Who’s that ugly broad who threatened you?” asked the young woman.

“Camia, no one is ugly,” said the young man. “Beauty is within.”

The young woman with the name Camia scoffed. “That’s what we tell ugly people so they won’t feel bad. Whooping wisdom, that chick is hideous.”

“I apologize,” said the young man as he looked at her. “My friend is just crass.”

Suliana managed to smile. “It’s okay. Jessnah is indeed ugly.”

“See?” Camia said to the young man, then rolled her eyes. She soon held her hand in front of her to shake. “Camia,” she said.

Suliana accepted the hand. Rough, calloused but warm. “I’m Suliana.”

“Nice to meet you.”

Suliana smiled. Then, she looked at the young man who didn’t extend his hand. She wanted to know his name. She wanted it to sit on her tongue, to come out of her mouth.

“C’mon, introduce yourself to her!” said Camia. Camia pushed the young man towards her and he tripped on a tree root that he lost balance. Good thing Suliana was quick to catch him, her arms instantly wrapped around his body. She gasped as she felt his cheek on her cheek and as the warmth of his body enveloped her like a coat. She also smelled him, he smelled like a tree, woody and sun-kissed. A warm sensation began on her chest, crawled up to her neck.

She felt his heart knocking on her chest and she almost hugged him tighter. But he slightly pushed her away, his cheeks as red as flowers.

“Baby Gon is blushing!” teased Camia, then laughed.

Gon’s eyebrows were furrowed. “You pushed me! And so… and so… I am mad, that’s why I’m blushing.”

Camia snorted. “Baby Gon is cute when he’s mad. He’s like a pouting kid,” said Camia.

Suliana couldn’t help but smile, too. She decided she’d be the one to offer her hand to him for a handshake. She extended his hand to him and she looked at it, uncertain.

“Hello. I’m Suliana,” she said.

Gon’s face was still beet-red as he wiped his hand on his brown trousers.

“C’mon, you hugged her already and you have to wipe your hand for a handshake?” asked Camia.

“I should,” Gon said. “I’m a krill and she might not—”

Before Gon could even finish the sentence, Suliana reached for his hand and squeezed it. He was stunned for a second and looked at her with those light-brown eyes of his.

“What?” Suliana said with a smile. “You hugged me already, right? I’m okay with shaking hands with you.”

Camia laughed heartily. Gon blushed even more, but a slight smile peeked from the corner of his lips and it was heaven. Romance novels told her that seeing the person you’re attracted to smile is similar to seeing a beautiful sunrise on a clear morning. Romance novelists were liars then. This is so much better, so much more.

***

Days later, a new king was elected and everyone was excited. There were rumors that this new king will rule Cantata the way it is supposed to be ruled. For decades, Cantata’s leaders were too loose, which resulted in rampant cases of crimes. Almost all of the people of Cantata said that King Doroteo would change that.

Suliana was oblivious to everything. King Doroteo announced that school was out for a month and she was grateful for that. She could spend some time with her new friends.

“Are you sure you to be seen hanging out with krills?” Camia asked her once, as the three of them walked to go to the market. Gon was between the two of them and Suliana liked that. She liked that she could let their arms brush against each other and pretend that it wasn’t intentional.

“I like the two of you,” she said.

“Gon likes you too,” Camia teased.

“I l-like everyone,” Gon said, the color painted by the sunset reflected on his cheeks.

“Well, I can’t argue with that,” said Camia. “Gon likes liking people.”

As they approached the market, they saw the crowds gathered there. They were all there to see the travelling jester. Once a year, a travelling jester will visit every kingdom and entertain the people for three nights. The jester would usually tell funny stories, but some can also play instruments or juggle. A visit from a travelling jester is usually a big event, almost like a festival. Every household will prepare food with the hopes that they could make the jester visit their home.

Camia pushed through the crowd so they can be in front and would see the jester up close. Suliana heard some people complain but was met with Camia’s cold stare which was terrifying, to be honest. But as they managed to arrive in front of the crowd, they saw that the platform at the center of the market grounds was not occupied by a jester. The new king stood there, smiling. There were soldiers standing behind him, holding swords.

“Is the new king a jester?” Gon asked.

“i***t!” someone said from behind them. “The king is about to announce something.”

“What?” said Camia. “But I came here for the jester.”

Before Camia could say more, the king held a shingku before his lips and spoke.

“Good evening my fellowmen, good evening,” said the king.

The sun already did bid temporary goodbye and now starts speckled the dark sky. Soldiers that were there with the crowd were holding torches high, illuminating the market with dancing shadows.

“As a newly elected king, I was told that I have the right to change laws of our land, provided that seventy per cent of the population of adult Cantatans will agree with me.”

Whispers were heard, ominous thoughts lurking in the dark.

“That’s why I’m here to explain to you the changes I want in this kingdom and why I want it to happen quickly,” said the king. “Let’s begin with equality between men and women.”

The whispers got louder. It seemed that the king heard because he gave time for the murmurs to die down, and just smiled, his face orange from the glow of the flame.

“Let us agree with one thing. In Cantata, men and women are not equal,” he said. “By the time a male Cantatan is born, he is deprived of magic a woman has. A man may seek wisdom, may study Math, and arts, and history, but he can never be equal to a woman. No, he can’t.” King Doroteo shook his head. “But you see, we need to stop that. As long as there is inequality, there will be chaos. So I want to propose to you the idea of stopping women from learning magic.”

Gasps were heard. Whispers came alive again, more ominous now than before, slowly inching out of the dark. Men talked to each other with animated gestures. King Doroteo’s smile went wider.

“You see with studying magic comes danger. Forty ice weepings ago, a woman was born with an innate obsession about magic,” said the king. “And that’s because her body is full of magic, her body craves… owns magic. My fellowmen, women can absorb magic from earth, water and sky. A woman can only absorb magic from one of them, not all. But this girl is an exception. She is what history called a Praktiri. A nature god. And this woman used her magic to oppress people. And do you want that, my fellowmen? Do you want that?”

“No!” was the response from most of the crowd--specifically from the men.

“We can avoid that, ah, we can avoid that,” said the king. He even raised his hand as if he wanted to calm the people down. “The solution is very simple. If we stop teaching young women magic now, they can’t pass their wisdom to the next generation of women. They wouldn’t learn how to use their magic. It will still be in them, like an inactive disease but it wouldn’t eat their body and soul.”

Suliana looked around her. Most of the men were nodding in agreement with the king, the women had an undecided looks on their faces. From the crowd, someone raised her hand.

“Can I ask a question, your highness?”

Suliana recognized that voice. Everybody turned their heads in the direction of the who spoke.

“I can’t see you, my dear. Come forward and ask. I’m sure I have the answer.”

The crowd gave way for the woman who wanted to ask the question. Suliana couldn’t see the woman but she knew who she is already. As the woman reached the edge of the platform, her suspicions were confirmed.

It was her miram--Miram Julie.

“I’m Julie, your highness. I am a miram, I belong to the earth faction.”

“Ah, a teacher,” said the king, tilted his head to one side. “I’m curious about what you have to say, what you’re about to ask.”

“I just have to say that magic is useful, your highness. It is used in one of the three ways of war. I don’t think we can stop learning magic because what if a war happen--”

“Do you want a war to happen, dear?”

“Your highness--”

The King interrupted her. “My fellowmen, there are three ways of war. Three ways.” The king raised three of his fingers. “War of magic, war of intellect, and war of strength.”

“You only need to win in two ways to succeed in a war,” the king continued. “And this is what I think: we will train scholars and we will train soldiers. They can win the war of intellect and the war of strength. We can back down on war of magic. This is so we can stop women from learning magic that may potentially destroy them and also our kingdom. This is also to promote equality!”

The crowd roared. Some of the women agreed now and applauded. Men threw their fists in the air. The stoic soldiers couldn’t help but smile

“Your highness, listen to me,” said Miram Julie. “Hangyan, the kingdom beside us, they have weak magic practitioners. They teach magic to only a few women. If ever we get on a war with Hangyan--”

“And why will we have a war with Hangyan?” said the king with a raised eyebrow.

“One island of our kingdom, the island of Shinhir, they claim that it’s theirs,” answered Miram Julie. “They claim that Shinhir is a part of Hangyan--”

“They can’t take what’s ours. If ever they do that, there’ll be no war. Before a war even begins, I’ll go there and slay their king! Slit his throat.” The king mimicked holding a dagger and slitting his throat from left to right while sticking out his tongue. “I have nothing to be afraid of!” said King Doroteo.

That was then that most of the crowd went ballistic. Men began to scream “Viva Akir Doroteo! Viva Akir Doroteo!” on the top of their lungs. Some women joined too. Suliana saw fear in Miram Julie’s eyes. She shook her head, but the king already diverted his attention to the manic crowd.

“I promise you my fellowmen, I promise you this… I am your akir. I am your father. And if you put your trust in me and my decisions, I will protect you from crimes, naseris, and even those filthy people of Hangyan.”

Everyone was clapping their hands now. And there was Suliana, together with the two krills, who couldn’t believe what was happening. Miram Julie was now lost in the crowd, Suliana can no longer see her

“He’s charismatic,” Suliana heard Camia say beside her.

Suliana looked around the crowd and then looked at her friend. “Yes, he is.”

“I have a feeling this is bad,” said Gon, who was still looking at the king. The king closed his eyes and enjoyed the attention, a creepy beatific smile hung on his lips. “I have a feeling everything will change from now on.”