Ophiuchus Flinched (Tales of Ciel Book 2) by Z. Bennett Lorimer

Author:Z. Bennett Lorimer [Lorimer, Z. Bennett]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: High Trestle Press
Published: 2026-02-03T00:00:00+00:00

24

VANNA & EFFIE

Bael:

Before the Shards darkened our shores, Toran was a land of culture and prosperity—the very pinnacle of civilization in the Doric Sky. It will be difficult for you to conceive of our country’s scale—a million souls spread across twenty city-states, each as vast as all your Zephyri settlements combined. And Kensha—ah, Kensha—Bhardic jewel of Hellicon. Kensha was the diamond set at the apex of Toran’s crown. A land of commerce and poetry; of science and philosophy; of wealth and equity in uncommon accord. In that Golden Age before the occupation, Kensha was ruled by an elected council of Merchant Mavens and Popular Tribunes. The city-state’s position on the eastern tip of the Hellicon Peninsula brought lucrative trade, and the council saw the city’s abundant wealth distributed among its citizens so that no Kenshan would live in poverty or squalor. The distributions allowed the great minds of that halcyon time to dedicate their lives to contemplation and innovation. Our people have never been as fecund with Gifts as you Zephyri. Those few Pugilists and Mentalists that did manifest enjoyed no elevated status or royal birthright. By tradition, Kensha’s Gifted committed their lives to service, prosecuting the interests of our great society with humility and deference.

I don’t mean to sound pollyannaish. The old times weren’t without their share of trials. Petty squabbles between the city-states were common enough. A few even came to blows. The cities argued over resources and trade routes. Blood was shed from time to time, but nothing on the scale visited by the Shards. Our greater foes were always without. You have to understand, the western skies are more crowded than the east. Great civilizations grow on top of one another, creating points of friction where they intersect. Deep sky pirates harried our trading vessels out of port, and raiders from the neighboring Isles of Vangulmark made seasonal landfall to pillage our settlements and steal our harvest.

For generations, we treated these threats as mere annoyances. Our land enjoyed such abundant wealth—if we lost a portion of our harvest to the Vangish, then that was simply the price of our prosperity. That all changed with the ascension of Jarl Cithric, a charismatic Reaver-King who united the Isles of Vangulmark under his banner.

Cithric came to Toran looking for conquest. His horde landed at the lees of Hellicon and made their intentions clear with a brutal sack of Aoknassus, a neighboring city-state to Kensha. Cithric’s army razed the city and put thousands of civilians to the sword.

Shockwaves from the attack reverberated across the continent. From the shoals of Kensha to the plains of Rydia—from the Steppes of Umar to Odenta-of-the-Inland-Sky—the Toranese peoples braced for war. Jarl Cithric sent embassies to each of the remaining city-states. His message was a simple one: pay tribute to the Jarl and acknowledge his regency or be destroyed. The Kenshan Council attempted to muster a collaborative resistance, but Toran was 200 years removed from any land war of scale. The walled cities of the Inland Skies retreated behind their fixed defenses.

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