Chapter 65

"I guess I may as well start at the beginning." Pandora thought aloud. "Legend has it that Western Mistral was colonized by Atlesians, either exiles or religious dissidents who willingly left. The first colonists found the land to be mountainous and difficult, but there was some fertile farmland. It was inhabited by small, uncivilized tribes, that were almost constantly at war with each other. After establishing a small settlement overlooking a bay rich with fish, named Sanctum, the colonists set about conquering the surrounding tribes.

"The colonists brought iron weapons from Atlas, and had no trouble defeating the tribes, who still relied on inferior bronze weapons and did not wear armor in combat." Pandora continued. "Instead of exterminating the natives or driving them out, the colonists integrated them into a new society, a fusion of peoples and cultures that produced the first proper Western Mistralis. It took around 200 years for them to spread over the whole of Western Mistral. They then came up against the united empire of Eastern Mistral.

"Eastern Mistral had been united in a single imperial state since long before the colonists' arrival. It boasted a powerful economy and large population. Their military was weak however, and the Westerners made large initial gains. Unfortunately for the West, the East was able to bring its wealth and numbers to bear, and the situation developed into a stalemate. Both sides could see it was pointless to continue, and treaties were signed to end the war, settling the boundary between East and West on the mountain chain that runs down the center of the continent. For centuries there was relative peace, but near constant skirmishing along the borders.

"Without a common enemy to fight, various cities and alliances of cities in the West began to fight amongst themselves. The once unified confederation fractured, leading to the darkest time in Western Mistral's history. It was a time of constant warfare and strife, of privation and suffering. It only got worse when the Atlesians arrived. There had been some contact between Mistral and Atlas over the centuries, characterized mostly by hostility. Eventually the King of Atlas, Wilhelm III, decided to claim his right to rule over Western Mistral. He argued that they were descended from Atlesians, and as ruler of all Atlesians, he should be ruler of them as well.

"Atlas landed an army and immediately succeeded in capturing several smaller cities. With the wounds of conflict still fresh, the others were reluctant to work together, and most of Western Mistral fell as the leaders argued. Finally Sanctum fielded an army just as large as the invading force, but it was defeated with terrible losses. The remnants of the army only just made it back to the safety of the city, which was virtually impregnable. After encircling Sanctum, most of the Atlesian army moved on, conquering the rest of Western Mistral almost unopposed, until only one other city of consequence remained.

"Maidens Peak was originally founded as a monastery, located on the mountaintop, where according to legend, the Maidens had first descended to the mortal realm. It was the holiest site in all of Mistral, East or West, located atop the tallest mountain on the border. It was a site so sacred that neither East nor West had ever dared to shed blood there. The monastery had grown into a large walled city as pilgrims and refugees settled on the plateau that surrounded the monastery. Now the Atlesian army marched on the holy site, hoping its capture would break what remained of Mistrali resistance."

Pandora paused, stepping up to the wooden structure in the middle of the clearing. "The city was shaped like an 'x' with gates at the end of each leg. Four roads led up the mountain to it, one heading in each of the cardinal directions." She made a sweeping gesture around the side of the shrine. "The Atlesian army first cut off travel by three of the roads, severing the city's ties to the West. Messengers were sent in the only direction left, into the empire of the East.

"After centuries of war, Eastern Mistral had been hesitant to aid the West against Atlas' invasion, but now that Maidens Peak was threatened, they could no longer ignore the conflict. It was winter, and the army was mostly disbanded, but a force of volunteers quickly rushed to the city before the Atlesian army cut it off entirely. Still, the defenders were woefully outnumbered, and Atlas' army had weapons far more advanced than anything seen before in Mistral. Their crossbows could hit targets the best Mistrali archers could not dream of reaching, and their steel blades could cleave through Mistrali armor with ease.

"At first it appeared a siege would be in the offing, but the Atlesian leaders never intended to starve the defenders out. They knew that the city, located far from any farmland, would have huge stores of food on hand just for normal circumstances. As the invading army approached, more supplies had been gathered, and the city had enough to hold out for months, if not years. There would be a battle."

Pandora stepped back from the shrine, walking a circle around it. She stopped and looked skyward. "It was the eve of the Solstice, and the defenders could see the Atlesian army preparing for an assault. The soldiers were gathered, fed a meal of traditional bread, and fortified with sacramental wine from the monastery. The defenders did not expect to survive, but they were willing to sacrifice their lives to protect that holy place from the invaders.

"The attack came at midday. Atlesian soldiers rushed up the roads leading to the city. Firing arrows and dropping stones, the defenders managed to keep them away from the walls for a time, but numbers eventually allowed the Atlesians to get close. The masonry fortifications were too strong for the Atlesian siege engines to crack, and the ladders their soldiers brought to scale the walls were thrown down as soon as they were erected.

"As the sun began to set, it seemed as though the city might withstand the assault. But then, out of the evening gloom, points of light appeared among the attackers. Hard to see at first, the defenders did not know what was coming until it was already on the way. The Atlesians fired flaming arrows at the city's massive wooden gates, setting them alight. The defenders tried to douse the flames, but it was in vain. Soon the gates were burning, and as the full moon rose to light the night, Atlesian attackers broke into the city.

"The fighting changed in character. What had once been a duel at range with arrows and bolts became a desperate hand-to-hand, street-to-street fight. As soldiers fought for their lives on the ground, civilians climbed to the rooftops to throw rocks and pottery down on the attackers. Fighting raged all through the night, both sides taking and losing the advantage, surging back and forth as the streets ran red with blood, and the screams of the wounded and dying filled the air.

"As the sun rose the next morning, the battle still raged. The defenders managed to collapse three of the four gates, and the attackers cut off nearby were forced to surrender or fight to the death. Still the Atlesians pressed the assault from the remaining gate, slowly grinding their way toward the monastery in the center of the city. The situation grew desperate, and even the monks were forced to take up arms to defend the holy place. The monastery was surrounded by a brick wall with only a single gate, but the Atlesians forced breaches at several points. All seemed lost. If the monastery fell there was no point in defending the rest of the city.

"Then the blare of trumpets rose up from atop the city walls. Soldiers still fighting there spotted an army on the horizon, and as it grew closer they could see the standards of Sanctum! What remained of Sanctum's army had broken through the ongoing Atlesian siege to come to the relief of Maidens Peak! They fell upon the rear of the Atlesian army, but fighting uphill they struggled, and soon were forced to fall back. Just as spirits inside the city were falling once more, another army appeared, this time from the East! A relief army sent by the empire had marched day and night to reach the city, and finally arrived to reinforce the defenders.

"Now suddenly outnumbered and surrounded, the Atlesians continued to fight desperately, mounting a withdrawal under fire. They nearly broke through Sanctum's army, but an arrow fired from the city struck the king in the neck. He fell from his horse, dead. Demoralized by the death of their leader, the Atlesian army collapsed. Most surrendered to save themselves, including the king's son and heir.

"After the battle, the surviving defenders gathered at the monastery, along with the armies that had come to their relief, and shared a great feast, eating the provisions the Atlesians had brought to celebrate their expected victory.

"With the death of the king and the capture of his son, the war was over. He was compelled to sign a peace treaty that called for the expulsion of all Atlesians from Mistral, leaving behind their arms and valuables. Humiliated, the new King of Atlas, Wilhelm IV, sailed back to Atlas with the few survivors who remained of his father's army. Never again would Atlesian troops set foot on Mistrali soil."

"Wow, that's so cool." Yang enthused. "I wish they taught us awesome stuff like this in school. No wonder you were always so bored in history class Pyr."

"Mother is certainly a better storyteller than Mr. Schwartz." Pyrrha smiled.

"It's so awesome that this holiday celebrates a battle." Yang continued. "Most holidays are so lame."

"It's not just about the battle, or even the war." Pandora noted. "Even more important is what the battle symbolized. It was the beginning of a unified Mistral. For the first time, East and West had come together in the face of a common threat. Never again would there be war between them. It would take centuries for a full unification, but with Battle of Maidens Peak was the catalyst that made it possible. Without it, Mistral might still be split today, or more likely, it would have fallen prey to opportunistic outsiders like King Wilhelm."

"Are there any other sweet stories from Mistrali history and legend?" Yang asked.

"There are." Pandora confirmed. "But now we should pray. There will be time for more stories afterward."

"Okay...um...I'm not really sure what to do." Yang admitted. "I've never really been that religious."

"Think of what you desire most, you deepest, most selfless desire, and pour your heart out to the Creator or the Maidens for their blessing." Pyrrha explained. "Think of what you're grateful for, what is most precious to you, and thank the Creator and the Maidens for their generosity."

"Uh...alright." Yang hesitated. Pyrrha and Pandora knelt on a wood plank, clasping their hands and closing their eyes. Yang knelt beside them and did the same. She struggled to think of something for which to pray. There were plenty of things she had to be thankful for though, her family, Winter, Pyrrha, so she started there. Once done she returned to her struggle to find a deep, selfless desire. Yang had no shortage of wants, but they were anything but selfless, and she found it almost sacrilege to pray for material gain. Finally she hit on something - pray for something a person she loved wanted. Ruby wanted nothing more than for her family to be whole once more. Yang wanted it too, mostly for Ruby's sake. There was nothing better than seeing her happy. Yang focused her mind a prayed for the reunion of the family.

When Yang was done, she opened her eyes and looked over to see Pandora and Pyrrha still deep in prayer. Clearly she was not quite getting it right. Yang sighed and slumped. Pandora opened an eye and looked over. "Struggling Yang?" She asked.

"A little bit." Yang replied. "I prayed for some stuff, but I guess I'm out of ideas. What are you two praying for?"

"I'm praying for my family...our family, to have a fresh, happy start." Pyrrha replied.

"That's not too different from what I was praying for." Yang noted.

"And I was praying for the same." Pandora added. "It seems we're all on the same wavelength. I was just going to move on to praying for Pyrrha's health, and your continuing recovery Yang."

"Thanks I...I prayed for that sort of thing already." Yang struggled. "I guess I'm just having trouble thinking of more things."

There was a long, uncomfortable silence as Pyrrha returned to praying and Pandora stared off into the night. Yang tried to come up with more ideas, but still had a tough go. Finally, Pandora spoke up. "For the longest time I prayed for a child." Her voice wobbled. "Theus and I...it was difficult. First, we could not conceive. The doctors told us nothing was wrong, that there was no reason we should be unable to have a child, but we went years without success." She raised a hand to brush away a tear.

"Mother, are you alright?" Pyrrha asked.

Pandora shook her head. "Then we successfully conceived. We were overjoyed, as were our parents. It was all so wonderful...until it wasn't. I had a miscarriage. It hit...very hard. I feared I might never be able to have a child of my own. Theus and I kept trying but...I was close to giving up. We'd tried doctors, medicines, everything we could. Then my mother suggested we examine ourselves, see if perhaps there was a reason the Creator might be punishing us. We had both been fairly...lax, in our observance of tradition and religion. We were desperate for anything that might work, so Theus and I tried leading a more pious life.

"I fell pregnant again. I was terrified I would lose that child too. I prayed everyday, for hours. Theus and I did everything we could to be good Mistralis, Mistralis who would be smiled upon by the Maidens. I successfully gave birth to you, Pyrrha, but the trouble was not over. Theus and I started to slip into our earlier laxity, and when you were about a year old, you became terribly ill. The doctors feared you wouldn't survive. We prayed and prayed, promising that we would never slip up again, and you recovered. We saw it as a sign. We had been given a blessing, and to keep that blessing, we had to remain pious.

"There were times when Theus and I wanted to raise you differently. It was particularly hard to stay the course when we moved here. So far from home, we were immersed in a new culture, and we could see the difficulties that would arise from continuing to raise you the Mistrali way. But we were too scared, too afraid to lose you. We kept to tradition. I never stopped praying for your health. I offered up my life to the Maidens, numerous times, if only they would keep you safe. But I was a fool. My fear blinded me to the pain we were inflicting. No more. Now I'm here to support you, to help you become whoever you want to be, to help you find happiness. Maybe that way I can atone for my sins."

"Mother, you have nothing to atone for." Pyrrha declared. She hugged her mother and the pair shared a tearful embrace.

"I think...I think I know what to pray for now." Yang declared.

Even with the help, Yang was done praying first. Pyrrha and her mother were still deep in contemplation, so Yang stood and walked around, examining the shrine and gazing up at the full moon and stars. It seemed an eternity before Pyrrha and Pandora stood, done with their prayers, but it was probably less than an hour from when they had started. There was still a lot of night left, and Yang had no clue what the rest of it it may have in store.

"Yang, are you cold?" Pandora asked.

Yang realized she had her arms crossed in front of her. "Oh, no, I'm just not sure what I should be doing now."

"Now we just relax and chat for the rest of the night." Pandora smiled. "I could try to teach you some traditional Mistrali songs, but I don't think anyone wants to hear my singing voice."

"It couldn't be that bad." Yang shrugged.

"Oh, it's that bad." Pandora chuckled. She crouched beside the shrine and opened a hidden cabinet in the side. From within she grabbed a trio of folding chairs, placing them on the ground beside her. She then moved to the next side, opened yet another compartment, and produced a bottle of wine. "What kind of holiday would it be if we didn't get to enjoy it?"