When the mountain capital had been destroyed, Nadia had lived together with her family on the outskirts of the empire. But since being forced into the position of concubine, she had been made to live a life of imprisonment. Though she was allowed complete freedom within the palace itself, she was banned from visiting any of the imperial capital’s other districts. Nadia was considered a special catch among the emperor’s collection of concubines and was thus treated like a priceless jewel locked away in a safe. He made her value explicitly clear to all by putting any who harmed her to death without question.
Nadia was the only wife among the emperor’s harem who was allowed a house of her own. Even the empress seemed to take pity on her, and for that reason Nadia lived in relative peace. She was given a generous allowance and almost anything she asked for. This made her a source of jealousy among many of the other concubines, but Nadia herself was not interested in material wealth or riches.
“I care little for lavish jewelry and gorgeous dresses,” she said. “All I want is a small plot of land somewhere in a corner of the empire, where I can live in peace with my mother and the people I love.”
This life of ease was one she had tasted before she was moved to the imperial capital. The mountain capital’s royal family had been driven away from their home, but they were able to live fairly well, albeit frugally. Nadia had friends and even a lover. The royal family had fallen to the empire, and their former glory was little more than a distant memory. All they hoped for was to continue their family line and live happily. These hopes were shattered, however, when Karl murdered Nadia’s father before her own eyes, then took her lover’s life next. Nadia’s mother and Nadia herself were next, but Nadia’s mother begged with everything she had to see her daughter’s life spared. The two were allowed their lives but made to live apart, and Nadia was moved to the imperial capital.
“You agreed to the arrangement?” I asked.
“I had no other choice. It was the only way to ensure my mother was not killed like the others, and she herself told me to live. To go on. I was meant to go alone, but my mother was able to negotiate, and Sandra was allowed to accompany me.”
Nadia had not seen her mother since. The only thing connecting them were the letters they sent and received once every few months.
“People say that I am treasured, but Karl does not give me this life out of love. Sandra and I are allowed our lives apart as a means to keep us from getting close to others.”
Nadia was imprisoned, but even then there were those who made contact. People who bore a hatred for the empire, and above all the emperor himself. It was a group made of people who had lost their homes to Arrendle, and among the most passionate were those who had called the mountain capital home.
Nadia resolved to aid and save these people, and with help from Sandra and others, she was able to offer them support. Her support was limited, trapped as she was, and so the group grew smaller with time. It was then, as Nadia struggled with how to proceed, that Reinald came to her aid. He had somehow learned of her connection to the world outside of the palace and approached her.
“I know I’m speaking of events already passed, but were you sure of your decision? Sir Reinald is...”
“He is the son of the man I hate, yes. But if it means that man’s death, I will do what I must.”
Reinald’s involvement in the rebel movement was known only by Nadia, and her involvement was known only by Reinald and the rebel leader. As such, her secret had remained undiscovered. And it was a secret that had to remain that way at all costs. The rebel movement was not just made up of those who had lost their homes, but also those who simply despised the empire’s rule. Their ongoing existence relied on support from Nadia and Reinald, and there was always the danger it might collapse from within.
The roses I’d brought with me were, as I’m sure you’ve already guessed, a message from Reinald. They spoke of the rebels’ current circumstances. This was the first time for Nadia to voice her intentions, and she could only do so because she had ensured a safe and secure environment in which to do so.
When I’d heard everything, I felt all the energy go out of me, and I sank back against my chair. From the very moment we’d met, Nadia and I had been on entirely different wavelengths. When I had asked her for time to talk about the mountain capital, she’d assumed that I wanted to talk about the rebel movement.
“The prince has never shown an interest in my home,” said Nadia. “But it isn’t just him—the young in particular are largely disinterested. That’s why I assumed you were the same, and your motives different.”
“Is there really so little interest? I feel that at least historians and scholars would be curious...”
“No talk of my home is permitted. Those who show a public interest in the topic are exiled to distant lands, and very few dare to even approach me. But I can speak to you without fear of such reprisal—you have achieved great things for the empire, and the prince himself entrusted you with that bouquet.”
Now, finally, we could actually start talking about the mountain capital. As expected, it was very different from other nations in this world. I’ll just come right out and say it—the mountain capital had developed by calling upon the knowledge and wisdom of people from other worlds. And by “other worlds,” I mean the earth I’d previously called home.
Naturally, however, it wasn’t spoken of as “reincarnation from another world.” Nadia herself had, in fact, been born after the fall of her home. To her, the culture of the mountain capital was not unlike the stuff of fairy tales. But what she told me of it—the things she had heard from her mother—fit neatly into what I knew of reincarnation.
“The mountain capital is said to have originated with the heralds and the spirits,” Nadia said. “People were drawn to them, gathered around them, and a nation was founded. It flourished. The heralds who arrived from the heavens made an agreement with my ancestors, one passed down through the generations.”
Nadia was only too happy to talk of her culture, perhaps owing to the fact that she had been so long starved of the opportunity. She spoke in far greater depth than Six, unsurprisingly, and she shared more than enough for me to start putting together some theories.
“I heard that the souls of the heralds made their home in the bodies of select children,” I said. “Is that true?”
“Oh my, you weren’t speaking in mere jest when you said you were interested. Yes, it’s true. But the heralds who were our forefathers differ from simply invoking the gods.”
“Differ in what way...?”
“An invocation is the summoning of a soul, but the first heralds were special. They descended from the realm of the gods.”
As she went on explaining, smiling all the while, she hit on a particular point, one that left me staggered.
“The first heralds came from a world different from our own, but they loved and cared for our people, and for that reason, they did not seek a way back home. Our invocations were a means for accessing the wisdom of the heralds, but also a way to ease their spirits. It was believed that the souls of the heralds swirl throughout this world, and that they would be reborn to bless us with their presence.”
“That is...rather epic,” I stammered.
If what Nadia said was true, then the first “heralds” had not intentionally transmigrated so much as they had accidentally ended up here by way of reincarnation. I felt myself growing pale as the blood drained from my face, but Nadia was so caught up in things that she didn’t notice.
To hear Nadia explain it, the mountain capital held invocation ceremonies through which the heralds were called to take root in the bodies of select children. The heralds (read as “the reborn”) then shared their divine revelations (read as “otherworldly knowledge”) to lead the nation into prosperity.
The heralds were an important part of the mountain capital’s growth. For a time, it was thought the capital would grow into a superpower, but as spirits declined, things became more difficult. The invocation ceremonies became little more than cultural performances, and the last one Nadia was aware of was one conducted by her great-grandparents.
It was at that point that Nadia looked a little awkward and embarrassed. Mere moments later, she dropped the following bombshell.
“I can admit this now, given the passing of time, but actually...I myself have tried to conduct an invocation ceremony.”
“But... Is that even something you could do on your own?” I asked.
“It wasn’t easy. With all our past records incinerated and my own memories of it all fragmented at best, I relied on Sandra for much of it.”
“Sandra?”
“She is my servant now, but if the mountain capital still existed, she would have been a priestess. She says it is enough for her that she is my aide, but I daresay nobody feels more strongly about our former home than her.”
At the time of the mountain capital’s destruction, a few priests and priestesses were able to conceal their positions and survive. Sandra was the descendant of such people, and because the invocation ceremony was passed down through the generations, she remembered it.
“I hope you don’t mind if I ask, but why did you think of conducting a ceremony long considered nothing more than a performance?”
“I don’t mind... The truth is, I’m used to Karl now, but in the past I couldn’t stand the mere sight of him. I was desperate for help, and to be honest, I didn’t care where it came from. I needed some kind of hope to cling to, any kind of hope, I suppose. At the time, I thought maybe I might receive that hope from a herald.”
“And so you held a ceremony.”
“If only it had been that simple,” sighed Nadia. “It did not go nearly so smoothly.”