HARANYA part 2: Firran (eng) [COMPLETED]

Chapter 3: Mahadevi

As soon as she had stepped into Mahadevi's jungle, Fenglong's body was shaken with a shiver of fear that she could not suppress. She felt she did not belong here. The trees all around seemed to close in on her, making it impossible for her to retreat. The young Firran felt oppressed and suddenly missed her native plain. The large plateaus are where the Firrans feel at their best. In forests such as this one, there were too many possible places where an enemy could hide and ambush, it was easy to get lost, and on top of that, the wind was no longer blowing, blocked by the tall trees that stretched up to the sky. Windblow wasn't very serene either, he had smelled wild tigers nearby. Fenglong, who knew her lion by heart, had sensed his nervousness and told him to hurry up.

After long minutes of walking through the dense vegetation and many bursts of anxiety and surprise at every unknown or unidentified noise, Fenglong finally saw a camp. Guessing that it was the Poacher's Watch, the destination indicated the day before by Eltere, she asked Windblow to speed up again and quickly arrived on the spot. As they approached, the Firran could see that the tents which made up the camp were quite different from those used by her people on the Falcorth plains. Unlike the large, circular, beige and colourful tents used by the Firrans, these were fairly rectangular in shape and domed at the top, and immaculately white, often with blue edging. Despite her experience of camp life, which might have put her at ease in the present situation, Fenglong's anguish did not subside when she noticed that only Haranis seemed to live there. The men looked at her sideways, or made fun of her behind her back. One young man raised his head at the laughter of his comrades and then stood up to approach the Firran, walking over with a friendly smile.

"Hello!" said the Harani in a friendly voice. "It is not common to see Firrans around here. Are you looking for someone?"

- "Yes" replied Fenglong. "I'm looking for someone called Malahar, I've come from a friend."

- "You're looking at him!" exclaimed the young man.

- "Ah, good" said Fenglong, relieved that the only friendly Harani was the person she was looking for. "I have a package for you."

The Firran then handed the young man the package she was carrying from Tigerspine. Malahar laughed as he examined the thing.

"Ah! That's from Eltere, isn't it? That's just like her! I don't really know who saved whom the last time we got into trouble, but since then we've been getting mixed up in thanks. My friend's friends are my friends! What can I do for you?"

- "Eltere sent me for your help" Fenglong explained. "Do you know the Shadowhawks? Eltere and I are interested in this organisation and would like to learn more about them. Eltere told me that you know some of them."

- "Of course!" said the Harani. "Some members of the Shadowhawks are in the camp itself, so go and see the big tent over there, that's where they are staying."

After thanking Malahar warmly, Fenglong walked to the tent he had indicated. She advised several Haranis wearing a uniform of black and crimson leather with a piece of metal on the right shoulder representing the head of a bird of prey surrounded by arched wings. As she approached, she overheard the conversation between the men.

"It's already been an hour since he left and we still haven't heard from him" began the first, "it's not normal."

- "You know that he's always messing around on the way" said the second.

- "It doesn't even take that long to get there normally" argued a third man. "With the theft of the note this morning, I'm afraid the monks from Salphira who are camping in the area might have attacked him."

- "The monks of Salphira? What would they want with him?" said the second, mockingly. "The thieves were women, and were not part of the Shadowhawks. I don't see the connection."

As she listened to them discuss, an idea came into Fenglong's head. If she helped this probably distressed Shadowhawk, he would surely be more inclined to help her than his comrades, who would most certainly have asked her for something in return. The Firran then climbed on the back of her snowlion and left the Poacher's Watch to venture into the forest. Further on, near the river, she saw another camp almost blending in with the vegetation. A little aside, a man was tied up in the centre of a magic circle. Fenglong approached with extreme caution and in the silence familiar to felines. She stopped in the thickets where she set foot on the ground, telling Windblow to wait for her wisely as she crawled under the foliage to advance towards the unknown. Soon she could see that he was wearing the same equipment as the men she had heard talking. The man, on his knees, seemed downcast and kept his head down, his eyes half-closed, staring into the void. His hair was tousled and he had many cuts and bruises on his face, and probably had others all over his body judging by the pitiful state of his armour. The magic circle on the ground was slowly swirling around him, shimmering with a bluish light. Heavy chains hindered the poor man, preventing him from using his arms. Fenglong whispered to him, trying to get his attention. The man slowly raised his eyes to her and looked at her wearily.

"Who are you?" he mumbled. "My next torturer?"

- "Absolutely not" Fenglong reassured him. "I heard your Shadowhawk friends talking about you at the Poacher's Watch, and I came to see if the hypothesis of one of them was correct. And apparently it is!"

- "Praise the gods" sighed the man in a sigh of relief, "a friendly face! Tell me this is not a dream... Or even worse, the afterlife."

- "It's not a dream, not even the afterlife" reassured the Firran. "I am really here to rescue you. Do you need a key to remove these chains?"

- "The chains are not the problem, it is the magic circle that paralyses me. Well, except for my head. After all, they need me to be able to talk."

- "How can I help you in this case?"

- "I don't think you can do it yourself... Salphira's disciples are many here, and some of them are magicians, as you can deduce from the way I am held. The guys from the Poacher's Watch won't risk coming either, and they won't be able to do anything against the magic circle. No, we have to get reinforcements. Take the path north and head straight towards the City of Towers. It's a huge city, you won't be able to miss it. You should arrive directly on the Trade Plaza. There, another Shadowhawk is disguised as an antique dealer. Tell her what happened to me and she will send reinforcements."

After wishing the man good luck, Fenglong crouched onto all fours to retreat and climbed on Windblow before heading north as requested. After crossing a bridge over the river, the trees began to grow fewer and fewer, much to Fenglong's relief. The relief was short-lived, however, as she soon saw her destination, the City of Towers. She could not repress a grin of disgust at the sight of these high towers of carved stone shining in the late morning sun. The Firran shook her head in despair. How could the Haranis enjoy such cities? Fenglong saw them as prisons, no more and no less. Simple golden prisons that hindered the development of its inhabitants. To find a different landscape every morning when you opened your tent, to be able to admire the green meadows that stretched as far as the eye could see, to be able to roam the plains without having to pay attention to the curfew imposed by the guards... That was real life.

After a weary sigh, Fenglong decided to make Windblow move again. She could feel the anguish rising inside her as she advanced towards the City of Towers. She had seen very few cities in her life, but enough to know that she hated them. And this one, however big and beautiful it was, would be no exception. She had not yet set foot there but she already hated it. For Fenglong, the high towers of the city were like the trees of the jungle she had just crossed, too high and too numerous, they considerably reduced the field of vision and the possibilities of movement, and offered many hiding places for potential enemies. This city would be like a labyrinth in which she would risk getting lost. She even began to think about a strategy to get out alive if she ever found herself in an ambush. Her coat was irremediably ruffled on her spine as she approached the high ramparts of the City of Towers. At the foot of the walls, large canvases had been stretched out to protect stalls of merchandise. The merchants spoke loudly to attract the few people who strolled by. Fenglong understood that she had just arrived on the Trade Plaza. She still had to reluctantly leave Windblow to a stablehand. When this was done, she went between the stalls and looked for the fake antique dealer. She ended up finding a stand selling all sorts of old trinkets, run by a female Harani who spoke loudly to attract people. She addressed Fenglong when she saw her near her stall.

"Welcome, Firran! What are you looking for? Furniture or crockery from Delphinad? Weapons from Epherium? Books from Ayanad? Writing pens from the wings of Astras? Yes yes, I have some of that too!"

- "I'm looking for someone, actually" Fenglong confessed. "Are you a member of the Shadowhawks?"

- "The principle of a cover-up is not to be recognized" sighed the fake merchant, exasperated. "Fortunately, no one seems to have heard you. What do you want from me?"

- "One of yours was captured by disciples of Salphira, in their camp near the Poacher's Watch. He is stuck in a magic circle and thinks that the other Shadowhawks there can do nothing for him, so he sent me to the city for help."

- "Well, I would have heard about the cult of Salphira this morning! What's wrong with them all today?"

The fake saleswoman turned around to write a short letter and quickly went to give it to a post owl. The bird flew away at once, flying over the wall.

"Now my boss knows all about it and is going to send the right people to get our friend out of this mess. Thank you for your help. On behalf of the Shadowhawks, I am indebted to you. What would you like ?"

- "Well to tell you the truth, I would like to join the Shadowhawks. Can you get me into the organisation?"

- "I can't make you a Shadowhawk!" the Harani laughed. "You've done us a favour, but that's not what gets you instant membership. We have rules! You're joking, I suppose. You're joking, right? All right, I have no right to judge. But if you insist, find our base, at the foot of the North-East wall of the city. The boss may want to take you for a trial run, just to see."

The fake merchant then resumed her activities and gave no further indication to the Firran. Resolute, Fenglong entered the City of Towers and walked along the foot of the wall to the north to find the right gate. She observed the buildings carefully, having no idea what the base of the Shadowhawks might have looked like. As she walked along, she thought about what she might say to their leader when she arrived. What would she say if he asked her why she wanted to join them? She couldn't say it was to retrieve an artifact they had stolen. And what challenges would he set for her so that she could integrate them and gain their trust? And how long would the whole charade last? She risked losing the Souleye for good if she delayed too long. What would happen if she couldn't get it back? What were the Shadowhawks planning to do with this magic stone? The Firran shivered, thinking of all the undeads that were roaming the Falcorth plains. The dream she had had the night before came back to her mind, with more and more disgusting images. Fenglong shook her head to chase them away quickly, and said a silent prayer to Tahyang that all this would soon be over.

After a few minutes' walk, the Firran stopped in front of one of the tall buildings. Through the big door she had seen a huge blood-red banner on the opposite wall. She approached the banner in order to better distinguish the motif, painted black, it represented a curved dagger with a head of a bird of prey on its handle. While she was contemplating, a Harani walked towards her with a brisk pace, his face closed and his eyes dark.

"What are you doing here, you beast" he said to Fenglong.

- "Good morning" said the Firran, raising her head towards him with her most beautiful smile, insisting heavily on the words of politeness that the man seemed sorely lacking. "Have I reached the headquarters of the Shadowhawks? I am the one who delivered the message for your friend kidnapped by the disciples of Salphira, and I would like to see your leader."

- "Yeah" dropped the Harani, unconvinced. "The big boss isn't here. But the second is upstairs, in his office. But I'm warning you, watch where you put your paws, if you want to live."

Fenglong thanked him excessively and went up the stairs at the back of the room, which looked like a small restaurant. The few Shadowhawks sitting around the various tables watched her pass by in astonishment, probably because she was not wearing their crimson and black leather armour. She quickly climbed the stairs and found herself directly in the office. The floor was covered with carpets and hunting trophies were hung on the wall.

Beautiful furniture was strategically placed so as not to take up too much space. A young woman, a maidservant judging by the way she was dressed, was sorting potions on a shelf, and a man was working in the office. A large hole in the floor was directly opened to the dining room below. Fenglong looked again towards the space that had been set up. Was this the office that the man she had met earlier had told her about? Was the red-haired Harani in the office the second in command? The Firran was suddenly nervous and did not know how to approach him. It was the moment of truth now, she was surely in front of the man who would or would not agree to let her in to the Shadowhawks. She had no right to make a mistake.