WARBRINGERS: Revenge and Revolution

INTERLUDE: BURNING BOOKS

STILL FIFTEEN YEARS AGO

[SULIANA]

THE next morning, the soldiers visited every home in Cantata. Each of them was holding a blue porcelain vase with a lid. Every adult in every home had to vote whether they approve of King Doreoteo’s proposition to stop women from learning magic. The soldiers gave them a piece of paper and there, they have to write yes or no.

Suliana’s father voted “yes”, rolled the paper and let it fall inside the vase. The soldier closed the vase with the lid and smiled. “I hoped you voted for equality, my fellow Cantatan. Change is coming. We can only hope for brighter days from now on.”

Akir Thamos smiled and nodded. “I’m looking forward to that.”

The soldier left. That night, it was announced that most Cantatans agreed that women should stop learning magic. At the center of the market, the mirams were asked to burn all the magic books. Suliana went, because she wanted to see her Miram Julie.

She saw all the books in a big pile, the teachers surrounded the book with somber looks on their faces. Barry, the king’s announcer, hosted the event. He gleefully held the torch, the glow of the flame made his oily face glimmer. His grin made his face look like a mask.

“We honor your services, my dear mirams,” said Barry. “But today, you only have to teach math, literature, and history. Magic is now forbidden in the kingdom. This is because the king cares for you, all the women of Cantata. This is because what the king wants is equality.”

Barry dipped the torch, let the flame lick the paper of the books. The papers ignited with a whoop, the orange flame embraced the cover, consumed it. The flame crackled and danced and soon dark smoke rose on the air like souls.

Suliana could smell burning paper—it smelled like burnt vanilla. She looked at Barry’s sweaty grinning face and then turned to her Miram Julie. Her miram wasn’t looking at the burning books. She was looking at her.

Suliana shivered, though the warmth of the big flame was enough to make her sweat.

“This is a momentous occasion, Cantatans,” said Barry, still holding the torch. “You made the right decision of choosing King Doroteo. From now on, I promise you, he’d give us a thousand more momentous occasions.”

Most of the people clapped their hands and cheered. Barry bowed which meant the end of the ceremony. Soldiers went to assist him. Barry handed the torch to one soldier, waved to Cantatans as the soldiers led him to a carriage.

Most of the Cantatans talked to each other while walking back to their houses. Miram Julie stood there, now looking at the burning books. Suliana walked towards her and when her miram was just a breath away, she saw tears welling in her teacher’s eyes.

“Miram?”

Miram Julie wiped her cheeks then looked at her. “I guess I won’t see you anymore at school.”

“Why? Ahm, we will still study. We can still learn Math.”

“I’m bad at Math,” Miram Julie said.

“Who isn’t?” Suliana asked.

Miram Julie smiled then shook her head. “I only teach magic, amira.”

“Amira” is what a mother or a father will call their daughter. Her heart ached upon hearing the word from a woman’s lips.

“So… what will you do now?”

“I don’t know,” she said. Miram Julie’s attention was still on the books, Suliana could see flame’s reflection on her eyes. “My amir told me to just find a saklub.”

“But if you do the saklub… your magic will be gone forever.”

“Does it matter?” Miram Julie said. She paused, gave way to the sound of the night: the songs of the crow and the choir of crickets accompanied by the crackle of fire. “I am afraid for Cantata, amira.”

Suliana blinked. “Why?”

Miram Julie shifted her gaze to her. “Something wrong is happening. I still don’t understand why it’s happening, or how it’s happening. I am just sure that it is happening and I am scared.”

“I don’t get it.”

“I don’t get it too. I guess we just have to see. I think King Doroteo is full of horrible surprises.”

“What—”

“Be careful, amira. Be careful.” Miram Julie looked at the dark sky. “I think dark times are coming.”

***

A YEAR passed and Suliana realized that King Doroteo was inconsistent.

“Right?” said Camia. They sat under a shade of a big tree on the field. They were helping Gon extract the juice of a vermuna root because he was asked by his akir. They squeezed and squeezed the tube-like root until thick pink goo comes out which they catch on a jar. The sun above was hidden in thick fluffy clouds and the sky is bluer than the sea.

“He told us women should not practice magic,” said Suliana. Her hand ached but she kept squeezing the hard root. Because the sooner Gon finished his work, the sooner they can just stay in the woods to bond. “And then he realized shingku and those magnifying masks are made of magic so he soon made those an exception.”

“Soldiers like the king,” said Gon, his focus was on the root. He’s cute when he’s concentrating on something. Suliana wondered how would it feel if Gon would look at her the same way he’s looking at that root now.

Okay, no. That wouldn’t be cute, scratch that.

“Of course, soldiers like him,” said Camia while shaking her head. “Remember the last king’s priority? He prioritized the mirams. He prioritized education. The present king’s priority is the soldiers.”

“I guess,” said Gon. “He likes them because the soldiers are the ones hunting naseris.”

Camia snorted, then rolled her eyes. “Didn’t you hear the rumors?” said Camia. “They only kill the peddlers. Not those people who import those suckers from other kingdoms.”

Suliana wasn’t fond of talking about politics. In recent months, Camia kept on telling them about how awful the king is. And even though she wanted to talk more about love and a romance novel she just read, she wanted to participate in those conversations because she saw how impressed Gon was whenever Camia got passionate talking about politics. Gon would look at Camia with a smile on his lips, a smile that probably made his face ache.

Suliana had to admit, she was jealous. She wanted the attention Gon was giving to Camia. It was different from the attention he was giving her.

Maybe because he likes me. And he is so shy and cute and gentle that he couldn’t handle that. And that is why he is sweeter to Camia. Because he is afraid that I would notice his feelings.

That was what Suliana would say to herself before she let herself fall into slumber. She knew it was a lie, but every people lie to themselves before they fall asleep anyway.

“You know what, let’s change the topic,” said Camia, there was a sudden trace of mischief in her voice. “Do you know what’s the purpose of this vermuna root extract?” Camia looked at them back and forth. “Do you?”

Suliana and Gon looked at each other before shaking their heads.

“I heard from a krill cook that she uses it before she and her husband…” Camia grinned and then raised both of her eyebrows. “Get what I mean? Before they…”

“Pray?” asked Gon, his brows furrowed.

Camia scoffed then rolled her eyes. “Whooping wisdom, Gon! You’re a bit naïve, aren’t you? Before they f**k!”

Gon blushed while Suliana said “Sssh” while holding a finger near her lips.

“What?” said Camia, laughing. “C’mon.”

“I think we’re too young to…” Gon couldn’t even continue what he wanted to say, he just looked down at what he was doing, his entire face as red as a tomato.

“Gon you’re a sixteen-year-old man,” Camia said with a teasing smile on her face. “Don’t tell me you don’t think of…”

“No!” Gon said too fast his voice almost broke. “The elemental gods said that s*x should be done by married people—”

“Elemental gods don’t talk to people,” said Camia. “I am sure as hell they don’t talk to you.”

“What I mean is—”

“Anyway… going back to the vermuna root,” Camia said to dismiss Gon. She picked the jar half-filled with the essence of vermuna root. “They usually make virgin women drink this essence. They’d mix it with tea, like sugar. They say minutes after drinking the essence, a virgin woman will turn wild—”

“Like a grass pig?” said Gon.

“Haha, you’re so funny Gon,” said Camia, her sarcasm cannot be more obvious. “Wild in bed, if you know what that idiom means.”

“They howl?” said Gon.

Camia ignored him. “And you know what? Even getting pricked by the root’s thorn has an effect.”

Suliana didn’t expect that. Gon asked them to cut off the thorns before squeezing the root.

“They say that if you get pricked by the thorns…” Camia’s grin got wider. “Your hands would have a mind of its own. And would touch the most intimate part of your irog’s body.”

“What?” Gon and Suliana asked in chorus.

“Yes. So Gon, if you get pricked, you be careful. You won’t have control with your hands and just grab your crush’s…” Camia didn’t even finish that sentence, she just winked.

The color of Gon’s face got deeper, he let go of the root he was holding as if he got scared or something. Then he couldn’t say anything anymore and just pouted. “Stop teasing me,” he said.

Camia laughed and reached for Gon’s cheek and pinched it. “Okay, baby Gon. I’m sorry.”

Gon shook his head, but his lips slowly curved into a smile. Then he looked at Camia and Camia looked back, and Suliana suddenly felt as if she wasn’t there. As if she was as invisible as the wind.

Suliana knew she shouldn’t feel that way. Camia and Gon were long-time friends even before she came into their lives. They have more inside jokes and they have more memories together, some written beneath their smiles. She shouldn’t be jealous.

But she really was. She knew that when the night comes, as she lay on her bed, she’d lie to herself again. She’d lie that she didn’t see the way Gon would steal glances, the same way she’d still those from him. She’d lie to herself that she didn’t see the difference between the smile he gave to her and to Camia. The smiles he gave her were genuine of course, but she knew it took effort. The smiles he gave to Camia feels like it came from the heart, that it’s as inevitable as snow in an ice weeping.

Suliana would lie to herself later that night even if she knew, in the deepest part of her soul, that there is a real possibility that Gon likes Camia more than a friend.