Situated to the south of Araya and east of Drugar, the autumnal land of Ahsara was the trade entryway of the northern continent. And as such was naturally inhabited by both man and beings of nature.

The outer city, bordering the ocean and surrounded by the Augus river was home to passing travellers and merfolk. And  often times Nimyi too would  linger here during cold winters.

But now, as they gazed at the land below, war banners of the Drugan battalion stretched over the desolate Ahsaran borders.  The river folk and forest Nimyi  had fled north to Araya and the lanterns along the river paths had been extinguished, shrouding the wilderness in a deathly darkness.

The perfumery was built on the outer district, a street away from the inner city wall. And Lilia was good and honest about her business, they were a perfumery and not a brothel. But in the night where the margins of the boundary wall blurred, names and good nature served little purpose to remind those who were intent on chasing wild carnal desires. 

As they reached the perfumery, the phoenix’s glow dimmed. A thick fog rolled over the evergreen forests and fields of grain shimmered silver under the clear moon light. Lilia looked up, so it is the night of the blue moon. . .  

Yesterday there had been a great feast in a general’s mansion the next village over. To which hundreds if not thousands of concoctions were to be delivered. And so the night business of the perfumery had been halted. Inevitably the ordeal had gone awry, the general had returned in the night, drunken and dazed trying to sneak his filthy hands onto Lilia and Sarel. And it was to avoid the hunting wolves of the general’s mansion that they had taken the obsolete forest path.

Lilia was quite proud of Sarel for trying to break the general’s arm. But naturally she did not express it. But the lashings and scolding Sarel had anticipated did not come and instead they stumbled across this fallen siren. 

The front gardens blooming with wisteria and silene were vacant. Those who remained within the perfumery were resting early or brewing the next morning’s batches of perfumes. A faint scent was always to be found emanating from the gardens of the establishment no matter the time of the day.

They touched down behind some overgrown vines and neglected bushes of the backyard.  Lilia carried Asael in her arms as the bird shrunk and scattered to the wind, returning to the box where it once more remained a pile of soot.

Behind her Sarel and Ara dropped to their feet. They looked around to see whether anyone had seen them and the strange bird that had disappeared. But it did not seem so. A few streets away the night life of Ahsara was in full swing, but all around the perfumery the decorative banners and the lamps had been covered. There were a few customers swaying about the streets disgruntled that they could not come in to harass those who dwelt within. But they were wasted drunk and could not tell left from right, so it was going to be alright. 

“ Now be quiet” Lilia whispered, “ We do not want to rouse the others”

There were three houses in the perfumery. The first, adorned with a garden and courtyard entertained guests .The second held the brewery and the third was where the workers lived and ate. Lilia’s chambers were at the top of the third house. And thus avoiding the waking workers was not quite as easy. Yet the hardest part was carrying the injured merfolk up the stairs with their weary bodies. 

Once they arrived in Lilia’s room, she spread a set of thick blankets on the bed. But as soon as  Sarel and Ara laid the patient down, the layers of cloth were instantly soaked with blood.  Lilia sighed, and wiped her brow, it could not be helped.


“ Will he be alright?” Ara inquired fearfully, “ There is so much blood”


Lilia did not know, and she did not want to give futile answers. So instead she instructed the two to bring basins of hot water and fresh towels. After sending them away she sat by the bed and uncovered a resting fire opal brazier in the middle of the room. She began to undo the tattered robes. Even with light it was difficult to see whether she was peeling back layers of cloth or flesh and skin. And the extent of injuries were far severe than she had realised. 

She wondered whether the lunatic they had encountered in the forest had inflicted these wounds. Yet. . . how was it possible for a single person to disarm a merfolk and cause this much injury? 

Sarel and Ara soon arrived with basins of hot water and sat down, eager to help. But she took a look at their disheveled and tattered faces and ordered, “ First you go take a bath and discard these bloody clothes. Or you will be mistaken for walking corpses”

It was then that Sarel and Ara looked at their bodies and clothes. It was a surprise that the kitchen lady did not question them. Even if lady Lilia was known to bring injured and destitute folk into the perfumery never had they been drenched like this before. It was as if they had gotten caught in a corpse rain. Sarel gently tugged Ara’s clothes and dragged her towards the baths.

 “We look horrifying” he reasoned, “ It would frighten the merfolk if they wake up and see us in this state”

Ara opened her mouth to object but withdrew her words dejectedly. Behind them the door closed without sound. 

On the horizon the sky began to lighten. Lilia pulled back her dress sleeves, soaked a towel in warm water and began to wipe away at the bruised body. She gently held a broken arm and cleaned the grime away. There was coagulated blood under the finger nails and the tips of the fingers were punctured by numerous small wooden splinters. They did not seem to be poison needles but rather pieces of arrow stem and fletching. 

The glassy face of the siren bore a horrible purple bruise and clear marks of finger prints. The bones of the shoulders had been shattered and the hands she held were broken at the wrist. There were horrifying nail marks dragged along his arms and around the core cavity.

Though the fingerprints marring the skin so clearly belonged to a person it did not seem to be the work of one, it was like they had been mauled to death by a wild animal. Whoever had done this did not intend to leave them alive. 

Ara and Sarel returned, freshly dressed and carrying more hot water and towels.  They eagerly kept watch of the patient while Lilia went to bathe. Even after she returned her disciples did not want to leave and she did not hurry to chase them away. After all, the henchmen of the general’s mansion were found to be prowling around the perfumery looking for trouble. It wouldn’t hurt to have them hide for awhile.


So the three sat around the bed and conversed lightly as Lilia began  picking out the wooden splinters off the wounds.

“ Lady Lilia may I ask a question” Sarel mumbled.

“ Hmm?” Lilia hummed, not looking up. She knew what the question was about and she had no qualms about answering them. The only reason she had not told anyone about it was because there had been no one to tell.


“ That bird” .. he tottered closer… “ Was it not a phoenix?”


“ You could say that” Lilia smiled. Sarel had a good eye and spent much of his time reading fairytales. It was only natural for him to recognise the creature. 

“ Then” Ara scooted closer, “ Where did it come from? Is the lady a magician?” 

“ Well once upon a time when I was a small child, I saved a bird’s life”


The disciples drew closer, “ And then?” 

“ In exchange for healing it, it gave me its egg and it grew into a phoenix”



“ I have never heard of phoenixes living in boxes, but I suppose it does happen” Sarel mumbled to himself and looked at her curiously.


Lilia shrugged and ignored the conversation between Ara and Sarel. Her justification had not been entirely false. She was half Nimyen although she looked more human than the other. And during her childhood when the land of Araya and Drugar was at peace she grew up in the deep mountain monasteries of Ahsara.

One day as she was harvesting herbs by Araya she had come across a Nimyi child. The little one stood up to her shoulders and cried, blood gushing from her chest. When she brought the child  back to the monastery with her. Her master, just had she had done tonight, imbued the essence of a phoenix’s tear into the child’s chest. And saved her life. 

Phoenixes still dwell hidden in the forests of Wengen. Though it was not easy to gain one’s favour. And her master who travelled around the world had acquired a phoenix’s tear during the war of Wengen and Sogol. And tonight it had saved another person’s life. If her master was still alive she would have been rather proud of her.

 Lilia gently caressed Asael’s head. She hoped he would heal soon.