Fanning the Flames

[Nasir]

Nasir couldn't help but feel a little paranoid. Sure it was still probably too early for his face to be recognized by the Ilian Army, but now that his Bern Liberation Army was starting to gain legitimacy he couldn't help but feel like every Ilian foot soldier he passed was staring him down, waiting to pounce. He and Tomas were walking through the streets of Larguz, searching for his cousin's shop and Nasir felt as if every eye was upon him. He drew the hood of his cloak a little closer around his face and tried to get a tactical assessment of the town.

The Wyvern Knight Academy was even larger than he had imagined. The towers of the castle seemed to reach about a hundred feet in the air, with little specks in the air floating around them that Nasir knew was probably Wyvern Knights flying patrols around the towers. It looked heavily fortified, built sturdy enough to withhold heavy bombardment for weeks. Lucky for them, they had a much craftier plan than a simple head-on assault.

The streets were crowded with people, and there was a foul mood that seemed contagious. There were a few Ilian Knights patrolling the streets that seemed to leer over the passer-by with that all too familiar Ilian superiority. Nasir wondered if word of the situation in Linz had reached this far yet. It was odd to consider the far-reaching effects of his actions, he had never considered that he could have such an impact on the world around him.

They reached Tomas's cousin's general store, and when they entered they saw a man in his early forties who appeared to be very tired and who looked vaguely similar to Tomas. Upon seeing the two of them the man began to go into the motions that most shopkeepers went into upon seeing potential customers. The man then recognized his cousin however and his eyes darted from his cousin's face, to his missing arm, to Nasir's face, and back to Tomas' face. Tomas preempted his inevitable questions by saying, "Toby it has been far too long, dear cousin."

Toby's concern for his cousin was soon replaced with joy to see him once again. "Cousin good to see you again. What happened to your arm? And who is this?"

Tomas replied, "This is my friend Nasir, and the two of us have quite a bit to tell you, but it's the sort of story that's far better to hear with a pint of ale. Why don't we continue this at the tavern? My treat."

- - -

Toby wasn't sure what to make of their story, his expression was a combination of excitement, concern, and nervousness all rolled into one. He took a big swig of the mead his cousin had bought him before replying in a hushed tone, "Well you're definitely right. Like I've been telling you, things are getting out of hand here. And people are looking for someone to turn to. The Viceroy has become insufferable lately, and the people of this town are tired of being poked and prodded."

Nasir scanned the tavern, seeing the frustration in the townspeople's faces, and he felt a nagging presence. That weird prickling feeling when someone is watching you. He took a sip of his drink, and tried to figure out who, if anyone, was watching him.

[Sasuke]

Sasuke sat in front of a large map of Bern, with locations of rebel locations. He couldn't tell out of each of the groups where a leader would be, were they all keeping in contact or were they different groups with the same goal in mind. With in his small tribe he was able to setting feuds but a country? It was far out of his abilities to do so.

Illia has been trying to pressure him into sending in some of their pegi riders to put the rebels in their place, he kept insisting they didn't need outside help for the soldiers flying their flag in Bern had it under control. There had been a line drawn on the map on the bottom left corner, equaling about a quarter of the country. He had tried submitting to Illia a propitiation of turning that part over to the rebels and allow them to rule the land as they see fit, each time it was denied. He had grown tired of trying to see the rebels as people of Bern.

He called his herald over. "I need you to make an announcement and for it to spread from border to border. If you take up arms and fight against Illia's flag you are no longer a citizen of Bern, there will be no prisoner or wounded just death. If you do anything to impede Illia or the people of Bern you will be labeled a traitor and suffer the same fate as the rebels." He waved for him to make the announcement.

A few days later he was talking to a royal messenger from Illia on the status of the rebellion. As he was being told if he refused to report once again Illia would step in a man came running into the room to be stopped by gaurds. "Please let me speak to him, I came all the way from Larguz." 'We don't care, out with you child' one of the guards shouted as he started push him out of the room. Sasuke looked at the map for Larguz, it had a marker showing it was a school for wyvrn soldiers. "Let the boy speak, if there's something wrong there I would like to know."

They were happy about letting the kid in but they did. The royal messenger had started to tell him that matter could wait when he was told to silence. "The viceroy has changed lately. Now we have a curfew, the soldiers live in our house and they eat all of our food and take our beds. Momma and Papa were able to pay him before but now we are scolded for not treating his men right with small meals. He hasn't been to happy about the little they do pay him too."

"He's harming the people of Bern, that is punishable by death. I will see to that myself." He had called over the head of his personal guard, he had ordered him to round up the best 3 archers, two spell casters, and his personal guards.

They rode as quickly as they could to make it to Larguz, Sasuke wasn't sure if the Viceroy would become hostile towards him and how many people were loyal to him. Once they made it to the town his head gaurd, Garth, started to do all the talking.

"By the order of the Envoy of Ilia Sasuke I am here to speak to the viceroy. I demand to see him along with any captions and high rank fliers." People in the streets had began to stop and stare, has their prayers been answered?