Ravens of Eternity

The sanctuary was large and spacious, and was set among grassy hills and rolling fields. Scattered around were a couple of ponds and fountains, an open-air amphitheater, and a tranquil picnic area that sat alongside a grove of majestic trees.

Birdsong filled the air as fuzzy marsupials lazily nibbled on the grass.

All around were numerous cozy habs, each one large enough to house a handful of people. Like most of the buildings within the city, they were slightly curved and wind-swept, and were clad in numerous plants and vines.

They seemed to perfectly fit the beautiful area that surrounded them.

There was a large sandstone pathway that circled around and connected the habs to each other. Some snaked out from the circle and reached out to the habs further out.

In the very center of it all was a large circular courtyard that was also paved with blocks of sandstone. Thin poles along its edges held up a light and airy awning, which provided shade for everyone underneath.

Inside, there were groups of people clustered here and there. Seated on the sandstone itself, Claire chatted happily with a dozen or so people around her. They all seemed to be in a rather engaging discussion, and were all too happy to regale her with everything they knew about the Hegemony.

.....

Beyond the conversation, they seemed to be picnicking lightly. Numerous bowls and plates filled with a delicious variety of food were scattered all around them. Many reached over and grabbed plump fruits or fluffy breads and snacked gaily while the others talked.

Scattered among the food were various decanters and tumblers with the various liquors that the Ravens had accrued throughout their travels. Many in the group were completely astounded by the variety of intoxicants.

On the other end of the circle from Claire’s relaxing picnic, an equal amount of people were busy doing calisthenic exercises with Xylo. And despite appearing ridiculously frail physiques, they did their best to keep up with Xylo’s movements.

Although she was rather animated with her exercises, she certainly made sure to keep a relatively low pace. She certainly wasn’t cruel enough to drive them all to exhaustion.

One of them collapsed on his hands and knees, and panted heavily from exertion.

“I don’t think I can keep going, miss Xylo,” he breathed out. “I’m spent!”

“You’ve got it in you, I promise,” she replied. “Take it as slowly as you need, but do your best to keep up, alright? After everything you’ve all gone through, the best thing to do is build your strength back up. Now, come on! Call on everything you’ve got inside, and push on through!”

The exhausted man breathed in and out a few more times, then pushed himself back up on his feet. Although he wavered as he attempted to maintain his balance, he ultimately kept himself standing.

Then, he continued to follow Xylo’s routine, albeit a little slower than everyone else.

The others cheered him on as he did so, which helped build him up and refocus his resolve.

“That’s more like it!” Xylo told him. “Keep it up! We Ravens never quit, alright?! Not ever! Ingrain it into your bones, into your muscles, into everything you do!”

In a small clinic just outside the courtyard, Amal tended to numerous people inside. There were a dozen or so beds lined up in small rows, each with one of her patients sitting or laying on it. She went from bed to bed and checked up on each and every one of them.

They were all in various degrees of ill health – many were malnourished and were practically skin and bone. Others suffered from various ailments, from fevers to infections. One or two seemed somewhat catatonic, as though they had gone through some incredible trauma and hardly made a peep.

A few others were scattered around on benches along the walls. They too waited for Amal’s care, though their situations were far less dire than those on the beds.

Amal herself walked up to one of the more severely malnourished people and scanned him with her medgun. He looked so weak and frail that she could have mistaken him for a corpse, if not for the rising and falling of his chest as he breathed.

She injected him with one of her superstims, and watched as his pale face began to fill with a little more color. He attempted to sit up in bed as the infusion of energy and strength filled his body, but she held him down. Firmly, but stoically.

“Rest,” she told him. “Build up your strength for a few cycles first, then we can see about you getting up, alright?”

He opened his mouth to respond, but was only able to gurgle out a couple of strained words.

“Thank you,” he said.

She patted him on his shoulder and gave him a kind smile.

Just inside the clinic’s doorway, Minister Mathilde gazed across all of Amal’s patients. Most seemed incredibly sick and weak, but she wasn’t too disheartened. She was rather glad that the Ravens were doing what they could for these people.

She ducked back out and rejoined Eva, who was waiting by the sandstone pathway. The two then continued as they walked in a circle around the courtyard.

“How are your people doing, by the way?” asked Eva. “The ones we saved from the Illuminated, I mean. They looked pretty awful when we pulled them out of their grasp.”

“Better than if they were still there, I can tell you that much,” Mathilde replied. “I’m forever grateful, I hope you know that. The others you saved are doing well, too. Some we sent back to their original Houses. And if I recall, you took in a few as well.”

“Yeah, some said they had nowhere else to go, so we welcomed ’em in. Azrael has been trying to restore their memories... but she tells me it’s really tough. She would need access to the Illuminated databanks to do a full restoration.”

“It’s maddening what happened to them. To all these people.”

Eva looked around at the people Amal, Claire, and Xylo were looking after. There were dozens and dozens of them, each one left over from their various rescue operations with the de Jardins.

“Way too many had nowhere else to go,” Eva replied. “We offered lots a place by our side. And they agreed happily. The Ravens couldn’t turn anyone away, honestly. Just look at some of these people – they’ve been abused for half their lives... Literally everything was taken from them.”

“Well, what you’re doing is admirable,” Mathilde said. “Most went back to their original houses, some stayed with the de Jardins. But none are getting as much care as you’re giving. Which honestly humbles me greatly.”

“We do what we can.”

“That’s definitely a great attitude to have, especially if you’re building a nation. What you’re doing will definitely drive the de Jardin vote to solidify our sponsorship.”

Eva turned to the Minister quizzically. She understood that the work they were doing for her helped guarantee a sponsorship, but couldn’t quite believe it. They were a small team, doing very small things for a very large House.

She could hardly see how their actions helped in any significant way.

“Honestly speaking, Minister,” she said. “I’m not sure how we’re possibly relevant. It’s like the Matriarch said – we’d be a tiny nation. Whatever we contribute to Hegemony would be equally tiny. We saved people, yes, but only a few thousand at most. That’s what, less than a millionth of a percent of the de Jardin population?”

“It’s less than that,” the minister replied. “But despite those numbers, you’re doing so much more than you realize. There are a handful of people in those few thousand that are worth a great deal to the de Jardins. And not just to us, but to many of our allies.”

“Sure, but the de Jardins get the credit. It’s not as though people know that we Ravens were involved. I mean, not that we’re complaining. We know what it means to perform a clandestine op.”

“You’re wrong there. While your names are delisted and obscured in our reports, the people you saved know. I know. The Matriarch knows. And a few key people in our allied Houses know. You removed cancers from their societies and liberated their people.

“That’s a level of influence you can’t simply stumble into, and I suggest you continue developing those connections, even as your nation grows.”

Eva nodded as she grasped what the Minister was trying to tell her. They had been performing special operations for a number of powerful people behind the scenes, unbeknownst to them.

It dawned on her that this was how actual power flowed. It wasn’t through some code etched on some stones somewhere. It was through the connections that bound people together.

“From your glowing praise, I imagine we’re getting your recommendation soon,” Eva said after a while.

“I already submitted it,” Mathilde replied. “A few cycles ago, to be exact. It’s gone around to the de Jardin council, and we’ll be voting on your sponsorship at our next meeting. It should be in roughly one month.”

“We’re grateful, Minister. Thank you, so very, very much.”

“I’m equally grateful for all the Ravens have done.”

“Since there’s so much time between now and then, what should we do? Do you have a few more ops for us to do? Or do we take etiquette classes or something?”

The minister laughed lightly at Eva’s half-joke.

“You could perhaps take lessons on diplomatic etiquette,” she replied. “But you’re all operators. There’s no need for you to take that role on. Recruit a diplomat or two instead, so you can keep focusing on your specialty.

“While I do have a few more jobs you could take, in my opinion, you should use the time to learn more about the Hegemony and the de Jardins. See how the different Houses interplay with each other, and how we manage to coexist. Learn from that.

“And remember – although your actions are small, they result in noticeable shifts in power among the Houses. If you can accomplish that with just seven of you, imagine what you could accomplish with thousands of you.

“Play to that strength, and become the best operators in Hegemony space. You’ll find friends aplenty among the Houses.”

“Enemies, too,” Eva replied.

“That’s the price of governance.”