Chapter Eighteen #3
Slowly, the rest of the Eternal’s trickled into the hall, each of them in varying clothes, some opting for a more laid-back look, some in dresses similar to Kyra’s, and some still in their armour.
One in particular who’d opted for the latter was a female warrior, with braided hair as white as the snow that covered the floating mountains, interwoven tightly against her head, striking against the canvas of silky black wings at her back, and a bronzed face that looked as though it had not smiled in some time.
Paying no mind to anything or anyone, she breezed into the room beside Mankar, taking a seat at Maida’s side and poured herself a goblet of wine. Though unlike Kyra, she left hers untouched, glaring unseeing at the dense ruby liquid inside.
When every Eternal was seated at the table, Naal stood, bringing her goblet with her. Without a word, she lifted it and drank, every single one of them following suit. Kyra drank with them, and could have sworn Naal gave her a small wink as she did.
‘I am proud,’ Naal announced, ‘to stand before you all once more. To look upon the faces of those who did not hesitate when faced with such an evil. It is because of you that there were any survivors at all. Phaenon City and its people will thrive again. This I promise you.’
She bowed her head for a moment, and when she looked back up, there was pain in her blue-grey eyes.
‘The Eternals know death. We do not fear it, for we know that to die in this life is to live in another.’ She lifted her goblet high.
‘Tonight, we remember the fallen. May the wind guide them to a new plain.’ Everyone drank in complete silence.
‘No matter what this war will bring, Nythanor will remain free. In their honour, Nythanor will remain free.’
There were a few murmurs of agreement then.
Some even wiped their faces of glistening tears.
Naal placed her goblet down, then clasped her hands together.
‘There is another I must acknowledge. One of our own.’ Her eyes found Mankar and the female next to him.
The latter did not look up from the goblet gripped in her hand, whilst Mankar kept Naal’s gaze, back straight and proud.
Naal’s throat bobbed, and for a moment, Kyra was unsure if the Air Warden would be able to speak.
When she did, her voice was thick with grief.
‘Orro Myrso was truly the best of us. His loyalty never faltered. He was the first warrior to become Eternal, the first to pledge his life to this order. A friend. A father. We will feel the loss of him for many years to come. Tonight, we eat and drink in his memory.’ She paused. ‘Now his soul is eternally free.’
A chorus of voices repeated the sacred words.
The female, who Kyra had concluded was Mankar’s sister, did not say the words, but drank for longer than the rest, her fingers gripping tightly to the goblet as though she were afraid to let go.
‘In light of Orro’s death, I find myself without a Second.
In all my years as Air Warden, I have had no need to name another.
’ Naal turned her attention to her left, where Maida sat patiently waiting.
‘My friend, you are the wisest of us all. Your council is one I have never undervalued, and I will continue to listen with attentive ears. From this day, I name you from Third to Second in command.’
Maida bowed her head in appreciation, her eyes twinkling. From the unsurprised looks on everyone’s faces, Kyra had the feeling most had anticipated this outcome.
‘This, of course, leaves me without a Third,’ Naal addressed the rest of them once more. Zuriel sat up a little straighter. ‘Nysari Myrso.’
Mankar’s sister lifted her gaze from the goblet and found Naal, her face impassive.
‘I name you Third in command.’
To Kyra’s right, Zuriel froze.
This announcement, apparently, had not been expected. From the exchange of glances between many of them, -confused, surprised, doubting- it seemed that Nysari was not particularly popular in the order.
Only Mankar appeared to be happy about it, jubilant even, as he grasped his sister’s hand, and thumped his other fist on the table with triumph.
Nysari didn’t celebrate. Nor did a smile crack her lips, but her expression was somewhat softer as she said in a quiet voice, ‘You honour me, pramah.’
‘You accept?’ Naal asked softly.
‘I do.’
‘Your father would be proud, girl,’ Maida said approvingly. Nysari gave a demure smile.
‘A new era begins with this shift. Let what is gone continue to live on in all of us. I think I have spoken enough for one night.’ Laughter answered her, and Naal smiled warmly around the table. ‘Please, eat and drink in memory of those we have lost.’
So Kyra did. She was the first to fill her plate with the salted whale meat, which, though it was an entirely new sensation in her mouth, she thoroughly enjoyed.
She ate and drank until her stomach was bursting the front seams of her dress, and though the evening was a far cry from the countless gluttonous, wine-fuelled nights she’d shared with Rosary, it was pleasant.
Not all stayed to drink after the food had been demolished, many returning to their posts, Kyra presumed.
Maida was one of the first to leave, shooting Mankar a reprimanding ‘behave’ as she did, to which he laughed and threw his arm around her shoulders and kissed her on the cheek, his own face rosy from wine.
Kyra liked him the most. His laugh was infectious, his smile wide and kind. There was nothing about his cheerful spirit that matched the threatening look about him, for he was huge. It was a wonder his dark-grey wings could carry him.
It was clear he was admired in the order. There was no denying his beauty, either, even if he could probably crush a human skull with his bare hands.
His twin, Nysari, had not wasted her time in staying. Some of the others congratulated her for the ascension to Third, to which she did not verbally reply, choosing instead to give a curt nod. Every single time. As though she were bored. Or just cold-hearted. Kyra couldn’t tell which.
At some point before the end of the evening, Kyra watched Zuriel disappear through the crack in the door, the too-happy, forced smile she had adopted vanishing the second she thought no one was looking.
But Kyra didn’t miss it. Nor did she miss the concerned sadness that befell Naal’s face as her daughter departed.