A Whisper of Night

6.3 || MAJAEYRA ❄️

No Third Hall awaited her.

Jae stood atop a snow-covered plateau. Wisps of clouds circled the mountain, clinging like silk scarves to the icy rocks below. I'm at the summit, she realized, shivering. Her breath billowed in white puffs from her mouth. She glanced around, squinting against the blinding glare of the sun.

The Priest stood by edge of the mountain, head bent in prayer.

Majaeyra stepped into the snow.

Coldness seized her body, and she gasped. Her gown had vanished. She was naked, her skin as bare as it'd been the day she'd entered the world. And she was freezing.

Wordlessly, blinking back tears of pain, she approached the Priest. The cold seemed to burn through her, to sear through her skin and eyes and ears. The feathery snow cut through her numbed feet with every step.

"Majaeyra Skaenhet," said the Priest. She turned, revealing a wrinkled face and a pair of steely eyes.

"Enlightened One." She knelt before her, her knees freezing upon the ground. "Thank you for inviting me to your abode."

"This is no one's abode. This is a pillar of earth and water, of fire and ice, of shadow and light. This is where we seek the Truth."

"Indeed," she murmured. "This is a testimony to our impermanence, a blade to our arrogance, a monument to our humility." She had rehearsed the words half a million times in the last week, but all the recital in the world couldn't have prepared her for this moment.

"Know that from this moment forth, any untruth you speak shall cost you your life. Do you acknowledge and accept this?" 

Jae swallowed and nodded.  "I do."

"Do you, Majaeyra, wish to be crowned as queen for the good of your men, and only the good of your men?"

"I do," she said.

"And do you pledge to always seek the Truth as you lead? Do you pledge to take justice's blind eyes, duty's steadfast hands, and compassion's wise heart as your own?"

"I do," she said.

"Do you pledge to take all you meet as your teachers, to take all you see as your lessons?"

"I do."

The Priest approached, holding a box of crystal in her hands. She could've held it easily in one palm, yet she cupped it reverently with both. Atop the lid rested a crown, carved of silver and crystal and sapphire.

The box was a Ydaerign, a puzzle box of twelve hidden truths that each king and queen of Svanvald received upon their coronation. Never had a good ruler reigned without their truths...although it was said that each truth was more terrible than the last.

"I bring to you the gift of the Glass Faith," the Priest said, placing the box in Majaeyra's hand. It was curiously warm, as though it harbored a life of its own. "Twelve truths this Ydaerign holds, each one foreseen and written by a Priest of the Glass Faith, each to be read at a time of need. Do you accept these truths as your fate and vow to uncover them for the good of your men and yourself?"

She swallowed. "I do."

The Priest stepped forwards. In her hands was a circlet of silver and crystal, glittering blindingly beneath the sun. She placed it carefully upon Majaeyra's head, and Jae flinched – the crown was as cold as the Ydaerign was warm, heavy as it was cold.

"Then rise as Queen Majaeyra Skaenhet, Ruler of the Kingdom of Svanvald, Liege Lady of the Provinces of Farwatch, Tumblestone, and Vaelda, Lady Commander of the Armies of Svanvald, Protector of the Glass Faith and all other faiths of Svanvald, first of your name. May the gods bless you with a reign both long and true."

Jae stood unsteadily. She could feel the Priest's eyes boring into her as the crown swayed atop her brow.

"Now kiss the box," the Priest said, "and glimpse the first truth of your reign."

Clumsily, Jae pressed her lips to the lid.

The top slid open as smoothly as silk, revealing an intricate set of ice-blue gears. A slip of paper rested the box, barely the size of her thumb.

Jae braced the Ydaerign against her knee and unfolded the paper. The words were written in black, scrawled in a hasty scribble.

Beware the twin knives.

She looked up, confused.

Suddenly, the Priest looked like an entirely different woman, no longer as distant and beautiful as she had just a few moments before.

"Listen to me, Your Majesty," she said. Her voice had lost its mystical, wandering notes; now it cut as cleanly and cruelly as a knife. "Your brothers mean to kill you. They have planned an ambush for you on the way back."

Jae's eyes widened. "No," she said. "That can't be possible. What do you mean?" She looked down at the Ydaerign, then yelped in shock: she was now wearing a plain brown cloak, a gown of warm wool.

"What I mean," the Priest said, "is that there is a boat waiting for you below the mountain. Guards will take you to Dellia's River and from there, you'll sail from Dellia's Wrath to Scorvald."

"No," Jae said. "No, I can't leave! My people need me! And the Fire Kingdom – "

"You cannot save your people by staying here, not when your brothers threaten your hold on the throne. What you can do, however, is return a girl to her mother...and save your kingdom from war."

Princess Brennia. "But - how - will we go together?"

"Yes. Two of our Priests have smuggled the princess from the castle. One of them will take you to Scorvald."

How do you know this? she wanted to demand, but the Priests knew everything. They were sworn to truth.

And...why would they lie to her?

Her mouth opened, closed, opened again. Her heart was pounding. So many questions roiled at the back of her throat, yet she could only manage one.

"What do I do?"

"That much is simple," the Priest said. "You run."

~~

So will Jae make it out? Will she manage to get Brennia back to Queen Lleona? And what will Tristaen and Verradaen do?

As usual, please vote and comment! Next up...Astna!