Yuer tapped his hand against the arm of his chair, “Your Holiness’s management of the Helisari is inefficient but this is no fault of yours. The blame lies on the very first Tewekaga who saw it fit to agree on a treaty that would allow his own direct armed force but not joined rule. The Empire’s rulership should have been an official and legalized coalition of both the Reznali clan and the Temple.”

Yuer snorted, “The first Tewekaga was truly a shortsighted man. When two different factions of one empire are given their own independent arms, it would only be a matter of time before they tear each other’s throat. This is common sense, how did it escape him? He should have understood that not every Semani that walks the earth is an incarnation of Zaradate. We are mortals; we can’t all be selfless, pacifistic and genial. The Reznali clan, which was but one single ambitious tribe, managed to conquer its neighboring tribes then states and later kingdoms all thanks to the followers of the first Tewekaga, who were the most powerful Echo Listeners the world had ever seen. Instead of putting down his foot and securing what he had scarified his fellow companions to achieve, he let the Reznali take all the glory, rising up a lizard to be a Nak’e, which would only swallow what he built whole some generations later. What an utter idiot.”

The Tewekaga stared blankly at Yuer for a while before conveniently coughing, “I cannot disagree with that.”

“Good. You mustn’t be another idiot, Your Holiness. To someone who is drowning, the end would always justify any of the means. You must grapple at anything that could lift your head a little higher above the water. Because if you don’t, you will simply sink and die. That precious breathe you must cling to is the Helisari and to keep the Helisari around, you must look for pillars on which you can lean if worse comes to worst.”

Yuer pointed a finger at himself, “I can be that pillar for you; a pillar which can bring other pillars against which you and the entire Zaradate Temple can safely lean. I’m soon to bond into the Reznali clan. If my chosen Reznal happens to become the next Rezas and I happen to become the next Rezna. I can assure you in all faith that you shall never have to worry about the safety of the Temple again.” Yuer paused a bit before cracking a smile, “You must think it is a bit too presumptuous of a sixteen-summers old little boy, isn’t?”

The Tewekaga didn’t respond for a while. He kept looking at Yuer. Yuer met his deep and searching green gaze unflinchingly. Few moments passed before the elderly man broke his silence, “My advanced age must be afflicting my senses because I find myself genuinely believing that you might be truly capable of all what you mentioned. You are no mere, simple boy, Yuer Ayaseen. So, what is your condition?”

Yuer brushed his finger against the ends of his sash before saying, “complete control of the Temple, and by that I mean utmost authority. No one needs to know of that however. You will maintain your position as the public head of the faith but every decision you take must pass through me first.”

The Tewekaga’s eyebrows furrowed in a mixture of displeasure and veiled anger.

Yuer pressed on before the elderly man could say anything, “Do not ask me how I know of this but by the Solis year of 1558, the Zaradate Temple will be no more. By then, your Holiness would be long dead and the Helisari order would be as if it never existed.”

The Tewekaga’s eyes snapped toward Yuer. “How did you…? Is it her holy glory, the Mahatir? Did she come to you in your dreams? Did she talk to you?”

Yuer thought for a bit before nodding, “You can think of it as so. But, it doesn’t need a divine vision to see that with the way things stand at the moment, there is no other conclusion for the Temple. Your Holiness has no support apart from the Helisari and the common people. The former is already on the road to annihilation, and the latter is quite easy to manipulate by the Reznali. You have no allies among the Dasra. Apart from ceremonial fares, they avoid the Temple like the plague. After all, the Dasra have long allied themselves with the Rezas. On the other hand, I am a twice-blessed child of the Mahatir herself. I hold no attachment to the Reznali and my first loyalty shall always rest with her holy glory, the All Mother.” Yuer’s voice took an indignant and scornful tone as he added, “So, how can I standby and allow those red-eyed ingrates to destroy her last standing pillar in this land?!”

The displeasure that appeared on the Tewekaga’s face melted away at Yuer’s strong display of feverous and blatant piety.

The elderly man lowered his head and proceeded to take his time thinking over what he would say. He didn’t notice Yuer’s face as it abruptly smoothed itself back at an impassive and cold expression. Sakina noticed but kept it to herself.

“Will you allow me to think it over for a while? I shall send you my reply as soon as I come to a decision.”

Yuer nodded and stood, “I understand that this is not an easy decision to make but you must remember your Holiness. The sand of the hourglass is trickling. You mustn’t waste time.”

The Tewekaga nodded and moved to accompany Yuer and Sakina back to the hall. He turned to Yuer, “I will keep it mind. We shall meet again some other day.”

Yuer smiled, “of course, your Holiness. Please, don’t forget to take good care of your health. No amount of Light Echo healing could measure up to a good night rest, well-balanced diet and sufficient exercise. I bid you farewell.”

Yuer offered one last bow before walking out of the middle tower with his servant. Sakina hesitated a bit before whispering, “What do you truly think of his Holiness, esteemed young master?”

Yuer glanced back at her. His blue eyes appeared especially deep under the shadow of his heavy hood, “just a dying tree to gather some shade for us until the sizzling hot summer passes.”

Sakina gazed at her young master for a while and wondered to herself, since when did her honest and openhearted master become such a stellar actor?

Half way across the busy plaza, another hooded figure, albeit taller and much broader, strode its way into the Temple. They bypassed Yuer and the thick fabric of their heavy dark cloak brushed against his. The next thing Yuer knew, the skin of his Alikana-mark blazed as if put on fire. The nerves throbbed madly almost as they were trying to claw their way out of his flesh. Yuer involuntarily hissed in pain. The noise attracted whoever was underneath the cloak. They looked down at the same time Yuer coincidentally looked up.

Although the hood was bulky, Yuer was shorter so he was able to glimpse one silver eye and a patch of tortured skin. The other party’s expressionlessly held his gaze for mere instances before continuing on their way. The further they walked, the quicker the fire burning across Yuer’s mark died. Yuer didn’t move. Sakina moved closer to his side, wondering what it was that made her young master stop so abruptly.

A storm raged inside Yuer’s mind. That was the second Reznal, Ivak of Kersa. Yuer had met him before in his previous lifetime during the harem Selection Banquet. His visage stuck with Yuer for a while because of how shocking it was to the then sheltered and dainty him. The entirety of the older boy’s right face was etched in rough, dark and tormented skin. The burn marks looked twisted and angry, raised in some spots and depressed in others.

Due to his rare public appearance, he became an open subject of gossip for the Dasra. Such gossips claimed that his scars stretched far beyond his face and covered the entire right side of his body, including some parts of his neck, his arm and his torso. Yuer didn't care for any of that. What cared about was what was Ivak of Kersa doing in the Zaradate Temple? Why was he in disguise ? If he wanted to pray, he didn't need to conceal his presence. Did that mean he come to meet the Tewekaga? Did they have some sort of connection that Yuer had overlooked in his past life? This unforeseeable incident unsettled him. It had the potential to spoil all of his plans to make use of the Temple. 

He couldn't be left in the dark. He couldn't afford to be in the dark. No, not this time around.