The Whisper of the Nightingale

Chapter 66: Determination to Catch Up

Javelin felt awkward in the silence that followed his and Raven's terse exchange. He felt the need to explain himself regarding Cara but he wasn't sure what it was he actually had to explain. Not knowing what to say, Javelin picked the easier route. "Did Bill have anything new to report? Did anything happen while we were gone?" he asked.

Raven removed the outer layer of her robes and flopped down on her own bed with a sigh - it was a relaxed and normally sloppy gesture, but in Javelin's eyes, Raven still managed to do it with grace. "There was nothing major," she said, staring up at the ceiling.

"That's a welcome change," said Javelin and in a way he was right. Ever since Raven had returned from her meeting with Sky Academy's headmaster three years ago, telling him about how the Talon's were likely attempting to start a war, there hadn't been many peaceful moments.

Every month there would be signs of ill deeds preformed by the Talons - or people associated with them - all with the goal of destabilizing the empire. It would be small things, things that could be attributed to simple bad luck, but when added together the consequences were potentially catastrophic. For example, about a year back, Sky Empire's already meager rice production took a great hit due to an unusually intense bug infestation.

Since the Sky Empire consists mostly of mountains, farming has never been a big food source and most such produce would be imported from the plains of the neighboring Earth Empire. Consequentially, one years failed crops wouldn't normally make such a big difference for the empire as a whole . . . had it not been for the centuries old conflict between the two main merchant guilds that trade across the border, bubbling up to the surface again - efficiently halting all trade between the two empires for months.

After further investigation, they had managed to learn that the Talons had played a part in bringing about both 'mishaps'.

'It's fortunate that at least the headmaster believes us,' thought Javelin. He and the twins had been happy to plot against the Talons for the sake of teaching Dunlin a lesson, but stopping a war was a bit beyond them. So since Headmaster Swan became involved, Javelin and the Griffin twins had mostly helped out by keeping their eyes and ears open, as well as discreetly spreading discontent with the Talon Clan in their own circles. The three of them had wanted to tell their parents about everything they had found out, but the headmaster had been afraid that do so before they knew why the Talon Clan was so brazen might not be a good thing. Who knew how deeply their dark vines had spread?

"I'm not so sure. . . ."

"Huh?" Raven's voice snapped Javelin out from his thinking, but he didn't understand what she was referring to.

"I'm not so sure that it is good news, Javelin. If our information is correct, the Talon Clan started off this little uprising with something as grand as framing the Empress for treason - even the Nightingale Clan's downfall might have been instigated by them - but since then, they've been much more discrete."

"You call starving an entire nation for half a year discrete?"

"Relatively, yes." Raven propped herself up on her bed and her eyes met Javelin's. Her gaze sent shivers down his spine, but not necessarily bad ones. "Think about it Javelin. Framing an Empress, possibly killing her as a result, is something a country would go to war over if the culprit was found. Hunger on the other hand is less direct. I'm not saying that people wouldn't go to war over food - it is done all the time - but usually it would only be an underlying cause. Where is the spark that will set it off?"

Javelin frowned. She had a point.

"Then what do we do?"

"There is not much we can do but wait - sooner or later they'll reveal what they're up to."