Heretic Spellblade 6 - Ch24

Chapter 24

Crowds massed in the streets of Soreaux by day, while fires burned in the night. The extravagant waterfront shops filled with private soldiers deployed by nobles and carriages moved in convoys. Skirmishes broke out in the wealthier districts, as looting mixed with opportunistic assassination attempts of political rivals.

Day by day, the situation worsened. At first, the grand plazas filled with believers praying in response to the display from the dueling prophets earlier that week. As the effects of the cascade continued with no respite, anger bubbled over. Demagogues took to podiums and the political screeds began. Armed soldiers protected them, bearing no noble emblems.

The Inquisition did nothing. Watchhouses lay abandoned or limited their protection to churches. An entire army of black-clad soldiers loomed ominously from the towering walls of the citadel that watched over the city.

That left the spies and political factions to make their moves.

When Nathan had visited months ago, Soreaux had been split in three. The Inquisition represented the status quo. The Populists wanted to reduce or remove the Inquisition’s power and grant it to the people—or, realistically, the nobles and merchants supplying the power to the faction. Both of these factions wooed Fyre for their own reasons.

But a third faction had risen due to Charlotte. They had split from the Populists out of frustration, but also greed. Many of the nobles backing the Populists didn’t care about returning power to the people or the fact countless merchants supported Trafaumh without representation. They simply wanted to be the ones in charge.

Charlotte had happily offered them that chance if they rebelled against the Inquisition. While almost all of those nobles came from western Trafaumh and were currently in open civil war, many more hid themselves in Soreaux itself or had allies there. Wealth possessed a voice of its own, and many suspected they’d come out on top if they supported Charlotte.

This faction finally revealed itself. The Monarchists, because they desired to anoint Charlotte as their God-Queen.

Ironic that a nation that had seceded from the Empire because it vested all its power in one person now had a major political faction that desired to bring them back to that state.

With the Inquisition refusing to act, the Populists and Monarchists battled it out on the streets. Sometimes openly. Sometimes through fiery speeches that might turn into brawls. Often through assaults in the night, as assassins disguised as looters raided the homes and businesses of merchants and nobles.

The streets of Soreaux bathed in the blood of its wealthy.

And yet, the Inquisition simply watched.

Nathan had watched these scenes over the past few days from the control room in his mental fortress, using Reine’s scrying. They enabled him to keep tabs on the state of Soreaux and whether he needed to throw caution to the wind and rush the city.

“Are you sure you can still wait?” Alice asked him on the evening of the fifth day.

He’d been flitting back and forth between camp and the palace. Both because he needed to use Reine’s spy monitor but also to support Alice. Today, they curled up on a couch in her bedroom as she basked in the aftermath of some early afternoon sex while wearing little more than some negligee.

As Nathan called on more soldiers and armies massed at the borders, the nobles tensed. More and more of them poured into Aleich. The gateways remained operational across much of the country, allowing the members of the Diet and wealthy merchants to petition Alice directly.

While the declaration from the Princes College had calmed matters initially, the effects of the cascade were beginning to wane. The wireless returned. With it, many began to learn of how truly horrific the cascade had been. Not to mention how many soldiers were being deployed by Otto.

Even some of the Nationalist Bastions had returned to Aleich, if only in secret. Reine’s agents kept an eye on them. Nathan doubted they had any plans to act against Alice.

Rather, Nathan suspected they wanted to know when war was declared against Falmir. Tharban and his remaining Nationalist “rebels” remained camped in the Torrovium Fields, waiting to stop an impending invasion by Falmir’s main army. If the Diet declared war, they could potentially strike first with impunity or at least have a heads up that battle was imminent.

“Falmir is still bogged down in western Trafaumh. Even with the amount of rebel support they received, it was insanity to think they could claim half a country within days. Their soldiers are exhausted and Martel is avoiding battle, which often slows them down if their allies are struggling against the Inquisition,” he explained.

Reine had also been keeping an eye on Falmir’s armies. Despite how terrifying their entrance into the conflict had been, they mostly posed a future threat.

Adam Martel knew how to command an army, but that didn’t allow him to snap his fingers and make the Inquisition vanish across tens of thousands of square miles. Let alone make his army march at an inhuman rate without dying of exhaustion.

Yet he still tried. Charlotte drove her troops as though she believed they were automatons. Or toys, perhaps.

Due to Charlotte’s ability to interfere with Reine’s scrying, Nathan lacked a clear view of how Adam and Charlotte interacted. But Reine had caught Adam calling Charlotte more than her fair share of awful things.

He’d always suspected that his old man would hate the new Charlotte and that turned out to be very true. Only his deep loyalty to Falmir kept him going. Or perhaps that was some duty of care toward Oliver, who seemed utterly lost.

Although Nathan knew nothing about Oliver’s fighting capabilities. Somehow, Charlotte had extended her anti-scrying wards to Oliver.

“It’s not the armies I’m worried about,” Alice said. “Soreaux is burning, Nathan.”

“Not as badly as it looks. It’s mostly a lot of sound and fury.”

“Really? You call entire streets smashed in, manors ablaze, and nobles assassinated in the night ‘sound and fury?’” She gripped his wrist a little too tightly.

“I’ve seen open rebellion and riots more times than I care to recount, and heard stories of it.” His voice drained of emotion. “The survivors of Arcadia spoke of mobs walking through the streets parading corpses as they hunted down every faerie or elf they could find. Desperate, starving people would overrun the guards in the Federation to get food from fleeing merchants. And Falmir was a disaster and a half. Right now, Trafaumh keeps the peace with tiny bands of untrained guards. Things can get much worse.”

She bit her lip and leaned against him. This happened a lot when he recounted his history and the things he’d encountered.

“What about the nobles and merchants that might support us? That did support us when we visited?” she asked in a small voice.

“Reine’s been deploying agents using her new gateway ability. We’re not leaving potential allies out to rot. Especially not if Falmir has filled the city with its own soldiers and likely has its own Champions there.”

“But you’re still waiting.”

“I’m preparing,” he stressed. “There’s a good chance that the moment I enter the city, all hell breaks loose. Falmir will try to kill Fyre, or the Inquisition might make a move. We don’t even know why they’re holed up in the citadel or how Dominic handled his Messenger invasion.”

Well, they knew that Dominic hadn’t died or allowed a breach. The half-dozen binding stones that Dominic controlled around Soreaux remained active, although the Champions present there had left once they defeated the invasions. Fyre had visited them to find them devoid of all but a skeleton crew of soldiers, who knew nothing about what was going on.

“How many more days?” Alice asked.

He fell silent.

This had been troubling him. By now, he’d pulled back most of his soldiers from the breaches. The bulk of the demons had been defeated and it was now Trafaumh’s responsibility to handle them.

His priority was pulling in soldiers from his own fortresses, while ensuring Otto remained reinforced. Nathan wanted enough soldiers on hand to seize and hold the citadel if Baudelaire made a rash decision.

“Two or three more, I hope,” he finally said. “By then, I think I can pull away most non-vital knights and enough soldiers. I’ll also have all the reinforcements from the Populists that support us. If we need to act against the Inquisition or Falmir teleports in an army, we’ll be ready.”

“Teleports…” Alice sighed. “It’s still difficult to handle that this is a conflict where entire armies can simply be blinked into place instantly. You say that Falmir can’t get close to Soreaux, but they can.”

“Taking the city is another matter. That’s why I think Charlotte wants to seize the citadel first. If she can deploy her army directly into it, Soreaux is hers.”

“Then why not teleport into it now?”

Nathan shot her a look. “I thought I told you. We’ve learned that the citadel has some sort of anti-teleportation spell protecting the primary structures. Spatial wards, likely from relics beneath it or embedded into the foundations. I haven’t seen anything like this before. The Twins mentioned that it’s standard, though. The Imperial Palace, Soreaux’s citadel, the Spires, and Falmir’s palace all have built-in spatial wards from the time of the goddess.”

Which made a lot of sense. Several Messengers could simply teleport around, so without protections on the most important buildings, it would be trivial to decapitate governments. Omria had protected the most important buildings.

Although, given how little Nathan knew about the palace in Fertheim and its odd location, he still wondered how and why it was connected to Omria. Soreaux, the Imperial Palace, and the Spires had been built by her. The Pearlescent Canyon was a demonstration of power to the faeries. If the two sites in Arcadia were connected to her, it was for similar reasons.

But when had she done anything in Fertheim? Its connection to her was weak, as the city had been built following the subjugation of the beastkin tribes in the area. Maybe Tarako knew something.

Once Nathan finished relaxing with Alice, he handled some business with Kara and grabbed a late lunch. Or, really, did both at the same time as the Royal Knights noticed he hadn’t eaten and forced some food on him while he was with Kara.

While finishing the last few bites of his sandwich, he spotted Vala lingering in the door of his elaborate office. He rarely spent much time here, so he genuinely wondered how she’d found him here.

“You can come in,” he said. “I have an open door policy.”

Vala waved her hand through the open archway that led into his office. “That’s a terrible pun. How often do you use it?”

“Almost never. I’m never in here and I had to install a door in my office at Gharrick Pass due to how often my Champions, uh…”

“Pulled your dick out for fun?” She raised an eyebrow. “I’m a country gal, Nathan. Sex is pretty normal for me and the palace is loaded with it. Goddess, the Royal Knights talk about their dream orgies with you all the time. When winter rolls around they’re going to come up with all sorts of schemes to get pregnant.”

Vala crossed the room with a quick nod at Ciana, who was reading one of Tarako’s many fictional tomes. Nathan was pretty sure this one was very smutty, as she’d stared at him for a solid minute when he’d suggested they could read it together.

Also, he didn’t recognize it, which almost certainly meant it fell into the smut or romance category. Nathan used to have a pretty extensive collection of the adventure novels about Tarako, which he fortunately had not reproduced in this world.

The fox would never have let him live it down if he had.

“I’m here to report that my unit is encamped along with everyone else,” Vala said, now leaning against the far side of his desk. “Still not sure how much of a difference they’ll make given how many knights you have.”

“Time will tell, and I’d rather be ready. Reine is certain that Falmir has a unit of its own royal knights deployed in Soreaux.”

“Well, I’m certain that we can carve them up.” She grinned. “I sparred with them all the time. Even if the booby princess splashes out and gives them fancy equipment, they’re still terrible in combat. And you’ve been real nice and given us really nice stuff.”

Although Nathan had stopped crafting equipment for his regular knights some time ago, he made an exception for Vala’s knight-killers. At least the first unit.

“You’re leading the elite unit that sets the example. I can’t have you fail because of poor weapons and armor.” Nathan stood behind his desk. “Did you have anything else? I doubt you came here to tell me that you’re ready to march, given I’d see you in camp tonight.”

In fact, he’d spotted Vala from afar last night. This report was entirely superfluous.

She shifted her weight from foot to foot while biting her lip. Seconds passed as he waited for her to build up her courage.

“I…” Her fingers passed over her diamond. “I wasn’t there when you gemmed everyone the other day, but I heard…” Her courage failed her and she abruptly turned.

Nathan’s hand slammed down on her shoulder. “Wait.”

“No, I shouldn’t be asking for a second gem. It’s just wrong,” she said, bitterness coating her voice. “I just…”

“Wanted to be stronger? Catch up with the others?”

Ciana pretended to hear and see nothing, still buried in her book. Slowly, Vala turned back to face him. Her face remained downturned.

“Yes. To both. More than that, it’s frustrating to be around Champions that are younger and less experienced than me, but they are duogems. Or…”

“Trigems? Like Fei?”

“I’m basically the same age as her.” Fury built in Vala’s eyes, but Nathan knew that it was directly inward. “Same with Choe. I know she’s been a Champion since forever, despite only being a little older than me. It just… I feel like a failure to still be a monogem.”

While Nathan could go with logic and explain how many Champions never became a duogem, that wasn’t what he needed to say here.

For one thing, that didn’t even matter. He could slam a second gem into Vala at any moment now as it had been long enough since he’d swapped her to her diamond. Second, that would effectively be consoling her and saying that she’d never become stronger.

“It does take time to get extra gems,” he said. “And you asked to exchange your garnet for a diamond.”

“I mean…” Vala looked up at him, confusion writ across her face. “What?”

“I’m saying you can have a second gem. It slipped my mind with everything happening. I probably would have remembered before we marched.” He scratched his face. “Probably.”

“Uh… Right, you did gem a bunch of Champions the morning you went to Trafaumh.” A strange giggle escaped Vala. “Choe even said she became a trigem right before she had to fight a Messenger. You do this a lot, don’t you?”

“Managing politics, wars, logistics, Fei’s food budget, and half the binding stones in the Empire is distracting.”

“Plus all the sex. I thought Gareth was a lech with how much he got up to with Beth and Erica compared to Oliver, but I genuinely think you have time travel magic to handle so many women.” Vala grinned at him, her eyes glittering with mischief.

The teasing shocked him enough that he didn’t respond at first. She hadn’t been so bold until now, even if she could be crude.

Also, the Vala in his world had taken years of being pressured by his beastkin Champions to become like this.

For some reason, Vala’s eyes clouded over.

“So, will it be a second diamond?” she asked, voice surprisingly flat compared to her excitement from earlier.

“That depends on what you want. I assume you want to maintain a physical focus?”

“… I really can choose, can’t I?” Vala gulped. “It’s hard to believe, you know. Sure, I’ve seen it before. Heard about it from Choe. But being able to legitimately choose both my next gem and powers is… You really know how to excite a girl, Nathan.”

Choe this. Choe that. When had Sunstorm and Vala become so close?

“You can’t pick anything. I’ll rule out rubies, as I don’t think you have a good plan for one,” he said. “And if you want a sapphire, I’d need you to come up with a very solid gem ability.”

She nodded, her eyes off in another world.

This seemed like as good a time as any to head to his mental fortress and collect the gem. Vala could dream up her power as they walked.

Ciana snapped her book shut the moment Nathan made his decision, her horn glowing black. Nathan tapped into her emotions for a brief instant, then stopped.

He’d expected jealousy, but instead got lewd thoughts.

Plus a tinge of despair. While Ciana worried less about her arm after her performance against the dominion, it still picked at her. Especially in little ways, such as trying to keep her balance in bed or when she automatically tried to use her missing limb.

Vala spouted out various ideas as they walked, testing what Nathan thought she could or couldn’t do. Some were genuinely insane, such as an amethyst that would let her cause earthquakes or the sapphire that could summon a sword that fired magical beams.

“I’m not sure huge beams of energy suit you very well,” he said.

“Why not? I can fight close-up, then just vaporize my enemy when they least expect it.”

“In my experience, limited attacks like that are often less effective.”

“What about Tarako? Her Nine Tail Slash can literally destroy armies and kill Messengers in one swing.”

It was also granted to her by a literal dimension hopping god of some sort. Nathan was no such thing.

“Stick to something more reasonable.”

Vala grumbled, and eventually settled on an amethyst power he hadn’t expected.

“So, I’ve been talking to Choe. About a certain battle.” Her eyes fixed on him. “I won’t go into it, but she said you often grant us gem abilities taken from Messengers, right?”

Nathan didn’t like where this was going.

“You fought one that was so strong all of you combined couldn’t handle her. Choe said she had two abilities that an amethyst could handle. I want one of them.”

Of course. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair while looking away. “They would suit you. Especially with your diamond’s ability. The duogem equivalent is a psychokinetic slash that projects your strength dozens of feet away—I can probably enhance both the power and distance. The trigem is a burst skill that makes you temporarily as strong as even the strongest Messenger.”

Well, formerly. Nathan had always compared Jafeila to the Messengers he used to fight. But Artemis had eclipsed all of them.

But if he crafted an amethyst again with that skill, it might match Artemis’s.

“That matches what Choe told me. Um, how does that work with my diamond?” Vala frowned.

“Because you’re tough as nails now and you can combine the offensive blast you have with the trigem ability,” he said. “And a psychokinetic slash would work well with your strength enhancement. Unlike the spatial slash that Choe uses, it relies on your strength.”

“Is that what psychokinesis means?”

“You’ve seen Astra hit things? That’s psychokinesis.”

“Oh. Oh! So you mean I’m just hitting things with my axe from really far away?” Vala nodded. “Okay. I… Shit. Can I choose either one?”

Nathan nearly said no. Then realized he might be able to give her the trigem ability anyway.

After all, he’d been giving his Champions ridiculously powerful abilities anyway. Why wouldn’t he be able to use his old trigem abilities as duogems?

“Maybe,” he admitted. “I don’t know if the trigem one will work as a duogem properly. You might regret it.”

“I…” Vala raised a hand and clenched it into a fist. “I want to be strong. If I don’t take risks, will that happen? I took the biggest one by accepting your offer. Wouldn’t I be an idiot to stop now?”

She wanted to be strong, huh?

Nathan grabbed an amethyst from the chest inside the control room, then went to the courtyard.

But once there, he stopped before beginning the gemming ceremony.

Truthfully, he worried about going ahead with this. Not because of Vala’s readiness or affinities or any nonsense like that.

No, he simply worried about his feelings toward Vala. She’d always been somewhat distant from him since he recruited her. Even her statement about becoming strong concerned him.

How did Vala view their relationship?

On the other hand, he had plenty of Champions that wanted nothing more than to battle and protect Doumahr. He didn’t keep them all close to him. Almost all of those that had joined him after Leopold’s death were disinterested in him romantically. He still granted them extra gems when he felt they were ready.

Nathan simply needed to know where Vala stood. Before he wasted too much time chasing a ghost.

“I have a question before I gem you,” he said. “This won’t affect whether you get your amethyst or what power you get. It’s more to help me as your Bastion.”

“Bastion, huh?” Vala met his gaze with an unreadable expression. “It’s still sometimes a little weird to think that you’re my Bastion, after years under Oliver. At times, I feel deeply comfortable, as though nothing changed. Other times, I wonder how I ended up dedicating the rest of my life to you.”

His breath caught in his throat at the casual way Vala said that last sentence. “Technically, you could change Bastions again?”

“To who? Literally who is going to have the continent-sized balls to try to steal me from you, let alone have a chance of convincing me?” Vala choked back laughter and shook her head at him. “Ask away, Nathan.”

“Why do you fight? Why are you fighting as a Champion under me?” he asked her.

Her mirth disintegrated. Vala’s face turned to stone as she stared at him. Her eyes locked onto the amethyst in her hand.

Sure, he’d told her that it wasn’t at risk, but who would believe him.

She licked her lips. “Do you want the honest answer?”

“Would I have asked if I don’t?”

“People don’t usually like honesty. They pretend they do, but what they really to hear is the answer that makes them happy and confirms their bullshit preconceptions.”

“Do you think I’m that way?”

Vala’s gaze returned to his eyes. “I don’t think you’ll like my answer.”

“I don’t like a lot of things I hear.”

“Yeah, I’ve realized that. It’s part of what makes you…” She bit her lip. “Fine. I’ll tell you.”

Nathan waited patiently for her answer. Leaves rustled nearby in the wind as she once again built up her courage.

“I’m fighting for myself. For glory, to become strong, to prove myself. Whatever you want to call it,” she said. “Not for Doumahr, or the goddess, or even you or Oliver. I definitely haven’t fought for Oliver.”

Ciana hid a frown at the answer, but Vala ignored the unicorn knight.

“That sounds like you don’t care what others think,” Nathan said diplomatically.

Vala snorted and a bitter laugh escaped her. “Like hell it does. I care a lot about what others think. But not because I want to rub it in people’s faces. But…” She paused and her eyes glazed over in thought. “When you first captured me, both you and Choe told me that I could be like you. Amazing. Legendary. Somebody who mattered. I have never been somebody who mattered. I’m some country girl who ended up way over her head, and you took my hand and offered me a future I literally dreamed about. I care so much about what you think.”

“Ah.”

“Yeah. I don’t fight for you, Nathan. But I sure as hell fight for your approval. Even if I don’t understand a damn thing about you or even why you offered me this chance in the first place. You’re frustrating as hell.”

The bitterness in that last comment deflated the hope that had been building up in Nathan’s heart.

Which led him to ask one more question. One that he probably shouldn’t.

“I see. Then let me ask you another question. What do you think of me? In fact, what do you think I think of you?”

Vala looked at him in surprise. “Now I know you don’t want me to be honest.”

Ouch. He’d kind of expected something like that, but it still hurt.

“Sorry, but…” She scratched the back of her head. “You are going to hate this answer. I’m happy to just remain your Champion, Nathan. We can just… stay as is.”

“No, I don’t think we can,” he said, willing his voice to remain calm and steady. “It’s my role as Bastion to ensure that I understand our relationship, whatever it is. I think we’ve both been confused about this.”

Perhaps him more than anyone else.

Vala gulped and stared at the ground for more than a minute.

When she spoke, it was while looking down. “You don’t think of me at all. Not as me. When you look at me, it’s like you’re staring past me. At something just behind me. A ghost. Tell me, Nathan, have you lost someone?”

Those words pierced his heart and a shuddering breath escaped him before he caught it. He closed his eyes.

“’Course I fucking have,” he muttered.

“Yeah, I figured.” Sadness filled Vala’s voice. “You have that look in your eye like the old widowers in my village and some of the old soldiers I’ve met. They’d talk about their wives and just stare at something that wasn’t there. You look at me the same way. I…” Vala swallowed her words. “I’m not stupid. I understand enough about your past. About how you’re from some shithole future where everyone died.”

“I see.” He really did suck at keeping secrets. Not that he’d tried that hard.

“Choe got really drunk with me one night. Bitched me out hard, then apologized and told me more than she probably should. Didn’t understand half of it, but I know that… Well, you’re looking for someone who doesn’t exist anymore, right? Someone that isn’t me, but is?” Vala’s entire face was stone. “I don’t get this stuff at all. But I know who I am. I’m not some living legend. I’m just a girl who is desperately grasping the hand you offered me, while wondering why you chose me at all.”

Nathan wanted to say something, but he wasn’t sure if there was something he could say that wouldn’t hurt more.

More than anything else, he probably should have been honest from the start. But then, would Vala have ever agreed to join him? Deception had stung him hard here, but she was still fighting for him.

Then Vala took a deep breath and looked up at him. “I hate you for that. I can’t even express how much I do. Especially because you look at everyone else for who they are.” Her eyes filled with unshed tears. “But more than that, I hate the fact I still like you and want your approval, even though you don’t look at me for me. Not because of everything you gave me. But because you believe in me. Even when I keep falling short of that legendary woman in your mind, you keep supporting me. Nobody else has ever felt that way about me. I just… wish you’d see me for me. Love… me for me. Not as a ghost, but as Vala.”

She hiccupped and wiped at her face.

“Told you that you’d hate the answer,” she muttered.

Every instinct of Nathan told him to wrap her in a hug and kiss her.

But his mind held him back. Because no matter how much Vala had tugged at his heartstrings, he needed to prove to her that he saw this Vala as her own person.

Because she was right. Unlike everyone else, he’d never seen her as her own person. Even though he’d ignored the Twins’ attempts to convince him to make Vala love him, his heart had been caught up on a Vala that no longer existed.

“I’m sorry,” Nathan said. “And I don’t hate that answer, because I needed to hear it.”

“Sorry?” Vala mumbled.

“You’re Vala. The only Vala. And I’ll promise to see you as that, starting with this gem,” he promised.

Another hiccup escaped her. “I’ll hold you to that, bastard. You made me cry. I haven’t cried in fucking years.”

They took a short break while Vala recomposed herself and Ciana gave her a handkerchief to clean herself up. Once done, Nathan granted her a second gem.

Vala’s iron will ensured she easily accepted what he’d previously thought to be a trigem ability. She was easily as powerful as a trigem from his old world.

He even told her as much.

Vala stared at him. “Didn’t I just tell you not to compare me to my old self?”

“I’m not. This power isn’t from you. It’s from Jafeila—Fei’s alternate self.”

“I… What? But Choe convinced me that you fought the evil version of me at Prophet’s Hope! That’s why I couldn’t come along. What the fuck! I’m going to kick her fucking ass.” Vala raged and kicked a small crater into the courtyard, which Nathan automatically repaired. “That bitch.”

Then she paused. “Wait, you fought an evil Fei and she whooped all your asses?”

“It’s complicated.”

“Remind me not to annoy the titty kitty.”

At least Vala had cheered up after the display of emotion.

Before they parted, she grasped his hand. He turned to say something to her and found her lips pressed against his.

Then she leaned back. Given her height, her eyes were almost level with his. Redness filled her face.

“Haven’t done that before. Hope you’re happy and that it helps you fulfill your promise.”

Then she stalked off. Ciana’s horn glowed black again.

“I think you need a distraction, Ciana,” Nathan said idly.

“That sounds like a nice way to spend the afternoon.”

It was.

Unfortunately, he was given a rude awakening overnight. Nathan’s plans shattered as Baudelaire finally forced his hand. The time to move on Soreaux had finally come.

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Commentary: Vala be spitting facts. Also, I gave the Monarchists a name but I don't really use it, because they're backed by Falmir (and there are already too many political factions in the series). I might get rid of it in the final version.