Welcome to The Heart Pyre. This is episode 33, Out at sea.

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[SFX ocean sounds, boat creaking, noise of people in the background]

[SFX steps coming closer]

FINN: Rena, can I confess something?

RENA: (light chuckle) Sure. What’s bothering you, Finn?

FINN: I’m getting quite tired of eating this damned salted eel with every meal.

RENA: (light laugh) Well, I’m certainly not gonna fight you on that.

FINN: I never liked it from the start. It’s so chewy, and it leaves that strange taste on your tongue for the rest of the day. [Small pause] [sigh; muttered under breath] What I wouldn’t give for just a regular grape.

RENA: It’s not that bad, all in all considered. We don’t have to pay for the meals, so I’m trying not to be too picky about it. Especially not out at sea.

FINN (grumbling): They’re making us work for it; that isn’t the same as getting it for free.

RENA: You always have to work for your food, silly.

It had been a few weeks since their escape from the Crow’s monastery in Baedan, although Rena wasn’t too sure how much time had really passed. If she had to guess from the weather changes, she’d say more than two months, but she wasn’t sure if her birthday had already passed or not. They had spent most of that time on a ship, but not any regular ship. It was part of a cluster of ships—some big, some small—that had been tied together to form a sort of city inhabitants called Neshavim. Rena had been confused about the arrangement at first, but then had quickly seen it as another form of city of outlaws like Rancor was, and hadn’t wondered about it much further. She had been too exhausted and worried for their safety to think about it much when Kalani had brought them there, and once those feelings had ebbed, she’d already gotten used to it.

Kalani’s hope for hiding them on one of these ships was that those who were after them wouldn’t know to find them there, and even if they did, wouldn’t be able to get to them. The sea around the ships was monitored at all hours of the day so that no one could simply sneak up on the city. And even if the Royal Council tried to rush Neshavim with the force of the military—which was quite unlikely as that would engender other consequences—Rena and her companions would be able to hide within one of the ships as the city broke apart and escape in the ensuing chaos.

Coming to Neshavim had almost seemed like their only choice. They had been lucky enough to escape the burning monastery without any of the Crow or even Finn’s sister or Silac following them, but that didn’t mean that they wouldn’t have been followed the days and weeks after. Going back to what was left of Rancor had been a temporary solution to bandage Logan’s reopened wound and make sure he would survive any further travels, but they’d all known deep down that they wouldn’t be able to stay there, not if they didn’t want to put Cass and any remaining inhabitants in further danger. They’d debated for hours and hours about any places where they could lay low and not be found, a discussion Rena quickly realized she could not contribute to in the slightest. It tore at her heart that there was nothing she could do to help, the thoughts clutching tightly around her lungs, clawing at her mind day and night. She had to lay her and her sister’s lives in the hands of people she had only met two weeks prior and simply hope they would know how to keep them safe. As much as she had learned to trust Kalani and the others, there was something deeply upsetting about not being the one to decide where the future might take her.

[SFX slow footsteps]

LOGAN: Hey hey hey, what’s going on here? Are you scheming without me again?

Logan walked up to them with careful steps, one hand around his midriff, until he stood to Rena’s right. As astonishing as his recovery was, it hadn’t been a miracle either. He perpetually looked exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes and droplets of sweat running down his temples whenever he exerted himself even slightly. The fact he hadn’t been able to shave the last few weeks didn’t help either. But he was finally able to walk on his own again—even if just for short bursts—and there was no better sight to Rena than that.

RENA: We wouldn’t dare scheme without you. Finn was just telling me about the fresh fruits he misses.

LOGAN: Ah, of course his majesty has extra requests about the food.

Logan held on to the railing as he slid down to sit, before leaning his head back and closing his eyes.

FINN: I did not request anything, I was simply voicing an opinion. I hadn’t realized that wasn’t allowed anymore.

A soft smile split through the pain on Logan’s face.

LOGAN (strained): Opinions are a dangerous thing, my dear. Better keep them quiet before someone takes them too seriously and rows through the night to find something that might please your palate.

RENA (softly): Logan, did you have any tea for the pain yet? I can go make you some, if you want.

Logan waved her off, as he usually did. As difficult as she found it, Rena didn’t argue with him. He was more stubborn than Maya—especially while in pain—and she had learned long ago not to argue with her sister. Instead, she looked back out over the ocean.

The water was calm, and a light breeze flowed through her unbraided hair. They were too far from land for Rena to recognize which province might be closest. When they’d gotten to Neshavim, the ships had been in the bay to the kingdom’s east, just below the Kano-Raeki Federation, but it was hard to tell if that’s where they still were. For the last few days, Rena had kept her gaze on some dots on the horizon, wondering if they had drifted south and were now close to the small islands making up the north of the Maevian archipelago.

If Asha or Kalani had still been with them, she would have asked them, but they’d left for the mainland almost three weeks ago and hadn’t returned yet. Rena forced herself not to worry. The two women had had to go back to Rancor to lend a hand with dismantling what remained of Rancor. Ocassian had decided that it was time to disband the city of outlaws—at least until the unrest in the region had died down—and had needed help relocating some of the more vulnerable inhabitants.

Suddenly Logan tugged at the hem of Rena’s skirt.

LOGAN: Is your sister still sleeping?

RENA: No, she’s bothering one the sailors again. She’s somehow obsessed with knots this week.

LOGAN: [light chuckle] She told you to leave her alone, didn’t she?

RENA: [sigh] Yeah. But Rodrick’s with her, so it’s fine, I guess.

LOGAN: I’m astonished she isn’t tired of his lectures yet.

RENA: Hmm. She likes learning.

LOGAN: Yeah, I just didn’t think a fifteen-year-old girl would end up being interested in his ramblings.

FINN: A lot of what he talks about is quite fascinating, actually. If only he knew how to get to the point.

RENA: Oh come on, the both of you are being too mean. Rodrick is a delightful companion, and I’m happy Maya has someone to talk to to distract her from everything else going on.

LOGAN: You’re right, you’re right. I’m just teasing. There isn’t much else to do around here.

FINN: I’m sure if you asked around you would find work that has to be done, even in your condition. I doubt that sitting down to sew up some torn garments would take up too much energy.

LOGAN: I don’t see you working, Finn.

FINN: I’ve already done my part, long before you woke up. And so did Rena.

Something glinted on the horizon and caught Rena’s attention. She squinted and unconsciously leaned forward.

RENA [hushed voice]: I think… there’s a boat coming closer.

Finn turned his gaze to where Rena was looking, while Logan glanced up at them, waiting to hear their verdict.

FINN: Kalani?

RENA: I hope so.

[small pause]

FINN [in deep thought]: It wouldn’t make sense for the Crow to approach us in broad daylight, especially if it’s just one small boat. Wouldn’t make much sense for it to be the military either, for the same reasons. But I suppose it depends on how close the boat will get. It might simply be here to assess the situation and see if it can spot us… It might of course also be completely unrelated to us.

[small pause]

RENA: Should we… go below deck? … Just in case? So no one spots us.

[small pause]

FINN: I believe that would be wise, yes.

LOGAN: [heavy sigh, mutter] Stars, I hate being below deck. [louder, with some effort] But fine, fine, let’s get back to our oh so dearly beloved stale, stinking safety.

RENA: I’ll go warn Maya and Rodrick. I’ll meet you downstairs.

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[SFX waves hitting against the ship’s hull]

Soon after, they were all huddled in the belly of the ship, in the corner that had been assigned to them, next to the crates of dried figs and chickpeas. For the first few minutes they’d naturally gravitated towards silence, as they focused on listening to life happening above and around them, but they soon realized that there was no real reason not to talk. If Neshavim did end up being attacked, they would notice it through any arising commotion long before anyone had the chance to get close enough to notice them.

Maya snuck away to find an old rope and came back to show her sister all the new sailing knots she’d learned that morning. They were all sitting in a circle on the floor, listened to Maya explain and demonstrate, what she’d called, a doubled cook’s knot on Rena’s arms when footsteps approached.

[SFX footsteps climbing down ladder & getting closer]

They all stiffened, their eyes meeting in silent inquiry, until Kalani and Asha emerged from behind some hammocks.

Rena jumped up, the robe sliding off her arms, and ran over to hug both women. Vincent joined, sniffing both of them thoroughly before he let them get close to the rest of the group. Logan slid to the side, waving for the others to make some space in their circle, before patting the floor next to him.

LOGAN: So, what’s the real world like? Is it all on fire? Has the Royal Council been overthrown?

Asha unbuckled her scabbard and sat down next to Logan, laying the sword in her lap. Kalani and Rena followed suit, closing their circle once more.

ASHA: Regretfully, not yet.

KALANI: Shush, Asha. No, nothing like that, just a lot of whispers and rumours.

RENA: How’s Cass doing? How’s Rancor?

KALANI: Cass is doing fine, thank you Rena. We managed to get everyone from the city safely to other locations, so as sad as it is to see Rancor disband, it couldn’t have gone any better.

RENA: And your uncle, Asha?

ASHA: Oh, he’s doing perfectly. He’s a tough, old bastard, a little moving around isn’t going to bother him. And we all know he’s secretly happy to have something new to complain about.

KALANI: I also worked on getting us some updates on the Crow and all those, even if it wasn’t all that easy. Finn, it appears like your sister is still looking for you.

FINN: I wouldn’t have expected anything else.

KALANI: I think it is safe to assume that with her influence and connections, she might have figure out that we’re hiding out here.

ASHA (muttering): We really could have done without this.

KALANI: Yes, Asha, we know. But we have to acknowledge that at some point or other the Royal Council would have sent someone after us anyway. If only to keep us silent about what has been happening.

ASHA: But it wouldn’t have happened so early, or with such passion.

LOGAN: Oh, I’m sure they would have found the passion to hunt us down from somewhere.

Finn ignored Asha and Logan’s commentary and leaned forward to address Kalani.

FINN: Have you heard anything about where Nara is now?

KALANI: As far as we could find out, she went back up north for a while and is now on the north-western coast, probably staying near the capital.

FINN (mumble): The closest she could be to us without leaving the mainland. [louder] Is captain Silac still with her?

KALANI: I don’t think so, at least he hasn’t been spotted in any of the northern regions, but he also didn’t go back to Hollowtooth. The Historical Academy is scrambling to explain away his absence. They’re trying to spin it as a sudden illness, but I don’t know how many people actually believe it, not that that really matters with them. In the meantime, they’ve appointed someone from the military academy as a provisional captain of the guard, probably to intimidate anyone away from asking too many questions.

ASHA: Wouldn’t astonish me if they declared Silac dead soon.

KALANI: I don’t know about that, Asha. It’s too risky to declare him dead when he could very well show up again in the next few weeks.

Logan shifted and stretched his legs towards the centre of their circle, leaned back on his hands and letting his head fall back.

LOGAN: He’s probably with the Crow, right?

KALANI: That’s what I’ve been thinking, yes.

LOGAN: So, the big question… what have they been up to?

KALANI: [heavy sigh] It’s hard to tell. They’ve retreated for now, but we didn’t want to get too close to them so I’m not entirely sure where. There’s rumours that they’ve been spotted in Kefo’s Pike but also in Red Hill and I just haven’t figured out yet if they actively have a presence in both provinces or if some of the things we’ve heard just aren’t true.

MAYA: And their god?

Rena glanced over at her sister who seemed enraptured by the conversation. She would have preferred they hadn’t discussed these things in front of Maya, not with how it had been impossible to get any information about what had happened at the Crow’s monastery out of her. She claimed she couldn’t remember, that the two weeks between the fire and the rescue were all a blur, and Rena wasn’t all too eager to make her sister remember them.

KALANI: Tavuu’Moda? I’m not sure actually, I haven’t heard anything specific about a glowing body or anything similar that might allude to his presence, but if the Crow is retreating, they probably wouldn’t want to draw any attention to him.

MAYA: Do you think, he’s still alive?

To Maya’s right, Rodrick shifted, a pensive tilt to his head as he ran his hands through Vincent’s fur.

RODRICK: I’m not sure we can know one way or another if he’s still alive—whatever that might mean for a creature such as him—without understanding how their ritual works. We can’t even really know to what degree the bonfire he fell into could hurt him. [careful] As far as I can tell, they’d planned on transferring his essence into you, Maya, which clearly did not work, as we can all see, but we don’t know if there exist no other methods to get him into a new vessel. I doubt he has been transferred from one vessel to another for hundreds of years, so they had to have found a method to summon him in the first place. It wouldn’t be an impossibility that that method might work a second time.

Kalani ran a hand through her thin braids, then pulled them forward so they’d fall over her right shoulder.

KALANI: Anyway, I wouldn’t worry about it too much. We’re keeping an ear open for any whispers that might come our way about him. If he resurfaces, we’ll hear about it.

LOGAN: You mentioned something about the Crow being spotted in Red Hill or Kefo’s Pike? What exactly did you hear?

KALANI: Right. It has been a bit of a headache. We used to have a better flow of information to the central regions, but that has soured.

LOGAN: What about Rosiana? Doesn’t she have contacts?

ASHA: That’s the thing that soured, Logan. Kalani thought it wise to sell her out to Konrad.

LOGAN: To Konrad?! Wait, when we were in Hrevim? Why?

KALANI: Because we needed information out of him, and fast. I don’t know if you remember but we were kind of in a rush to leave the city, Logan.

LOGAN: Yeah, but…

KALANI [butting in]: Our relations to Rosiana were never great. We don’t need her to figure out what’s going on in the central provinces, but that’s not what we were discussing anyway. The chatter about the Crow in Kefo’s Pike points towards the mountains in the north-west, which would make sense, as barely anyone lives there. If I wanted to find a place somewhere to dissapear but still stay central to anything happening in the kingdom, those mountains would be perfect. And what I heard about Red Hill is linked to the surge of mining operations that have cropped up in the province.

LOGAN: Because of the rail network?

KALANI: Yes, but what the Crow has to do with it, I don’t know. There haven’t been any major events that could be linked to them that could tell us what they’re planning.

LOGAN: So no burning villages?

KALANI: Not that I’ve heard of, no, or maybe the Historical Academy has done a phenomenal job covering them up.

The usual anxiety had crept it’s way through Rena’s body but she pushed any thoughts of calamity down that popped into her head. They needed to come up with a plan on what to do next, and Rena was tired of just letting everyone else decide what that’d be. She still wasn’t sure what the seven of them could do to stop such an organisation as the Crow—especially if the Royal Council was more keen on turning a blind eye to it—but that didn’t mean they should simply hide away and not do anything. Their first step had to be to find out where the Crow had retreated to, that was clear to her, but how to do that without putting themselves in too much danger?

RENA [hesitant]: Would the Historical Academy keep track of these things? Of the fires they’re covering up? And anything else linked to the Crow?

KALANI: Probably, yes. Although they would keep it tightly under wraps.

LOGAN: Well, we already weaseled our way into one archive, I’m sure we could manage it a second time.

KALANI: Logan, I highly doubt it’s comparable to getting into Vellashta’s archives. No offence, Finn, but getting information out of that place is laughably easy.

RODRICK: Kalani is right. The Historical Academy doesn’t usually let any outsiders get close to their documents. You need to have a very valid reason that is ratified by the chief court historian before they let you near any of their records, and, of course, never on your own. Believe me, I have tried often enough over the years.

LOGAN: We’re not getting in with that attitude. With the collection of exceptionally brilliant minds we have, I’m sure we can come up with something. Especially with the princeling on our side.

FINN: I don’t have any kind of authority in Napahrit, Logan. And especially not with the Historical Academy.

LOGAN: Oh come on, not even with that last name of yours?

FINN: Have you forgotten the part where my sister is looking for me and me flaunting my name around to get into places I have no reason for being in might alarm her quite quickly?

LOGAN: We would be in and out of the academy before she’d ever have the chance to hear about it. The only possibility that would truly be a problem, would be if she’s already in the academy when we try to get in, and we would have to be exceptionally unlucky for that to be the case.

ASHA: Can we figure any of this out when I’m not starving?

Asha got up, which signalled to everyone else to do the same, and their conversation shifted to telling Kalani and Asha about even the most minute of gossip they’d heard on the upper decks as they all found their way to the nearest dining hall.

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[SFX calm sea]

Rena wandered the upper decks on her own, the full moon illuminating the sea around her. She let her fingers brush over the wood of the railing as her mind parsed through everything Kalani had told them earlier. She knew too little about the Historical Academy to figure out a real plan on her own, but if Rodrick had already been there multiple times, perhaps they could utilize that. He would have to tell them all about his previous experiences and maybe combined with the others’ knowledge of the region, they would be able to formulate something that would not put them in any further danger.

But was going to the Historical Academy even the right path or would that just make them waste time? They could also try to go directly to Kefo’s Pike or Red Hill, but would that be smart if they didn’t know what would await them there?

[FOX]: Rena

She turned around, her head swivelling frantically from side to side. It couldn’t be, the fox couldn’t be there, not on Neshavim, not so far away from any solid ground. She scanned any part of the ship around her, but even with the light of the full moon she couldn’t spot anything out of the ordinary. Her hand gripped the railing hard, afraid what it could mean if the fox could even find her on the floating city. How would an animal have safely managed to travel across the sea? It certainly wouldn’t have been able to swim all the way. But then again, the fox had never been a regular animal.

Her gaze travelled across the water, thinking that maybe the fox would be waiting for her somewhere out there, until she spotted something that caught the moon’s light. She squinted, trying to make sense of what it could be. It took her a while to realize that it was a boat, not bigger than a rowboat, bobbing slowly towards Neshavim.

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Three paths lay in front of us this week:

• On the first path, Rena and her companions head to the Historical Academy on the south-western coast of the kingdom.
• On the second path, Rena and her companions head to the central province, Kefo’s Pike.
• On the third path, Rena and her companions head to the western province, Red Hill.

To ensure a timeline that will hopefully make it possible for me to release episodes without too many delays, I’ve decided to only have a poll every second episode, so the next chance to vote will be in the third episode of the season.

You can cast your vote by going to the show’s twitter page, the tumblr page, or on theheartpyre.com. You have until November 11th to cast your vote.

If you are interested in the novelisations of the previous season, I’ve got something for you! I am running a giveaway for the first book on the Storygraph where you could win an ebook or paperback. It will run until November 18th and I’ve added a link to it in the episode description.

As always, if you like this podcast, consider leaving a review or supporting it on Ko-Fi or Patreon. You can also get the novelization of the first and second seasons as an ebook and paperback from most major retailers.

You can find transcripts for each episode, character art, and a map of the kingdom on theheartpyre.com.

The intro music is Lonely Dusty Trail by Jon Presstone.

The Heart Pyre is written and produced by me, Audrey Martin.

Thank you for listening.

Welcome back to the Heart Pyre! Season 3 starts a few months after the end of season 2, on Neshavim, a floating city made up of tied-together ships.

To hopefully guarantee no more delays in the release of episodes, I have decided to limit the polls to only every second episode to give me more time to write and prepare the episodes. I’m really sorry it had to come to this change, but as episodes grew in length by the end of season 2, it made it quite difficult for me to finish writing and editing them in the short window between the polls ending and the release date.

As a little celebration for the release of the new season, I am running a giveaway of the novelisation of the first season on TheStorygraph! Sign up until November 18^th to win either an ebook or paperback copy of A Searing Faith (ebook open internationally, paperback only to Europe).

Head over to: https://app.thestorygraph.com/giveaways/260b1b4f-ab90-45dc-9001-6c2d36232132

Find A Searing Faith, the novelisation of season 1, and A Blazing Bond, the novelisation of season 2, on your favourite platforms:

https://audreymartinbooks.com/novels/

Voting is open until November 18th.

Intro music: Lonely Dusty Trail by Jon Presstone

Logo Design: Mars Lauderbaugh

– coming soon –

– coming soon –

Welcome to the Heart Pyre. This is a recap of the story so far.

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Our story began when Rena found herself the sole known survivor of the fire that destroyed her hometown, Oceansthrow. Searching the ruins for other survivors, she discovered her sister Maya’s ring in the mud, with drag marks leading towards the town centre. As she followed the trail, she noticed carved bird figurines arranged in a circle around the old church. Desperate for answers, Rena left the ruins and met Rodrick, a scribe of the land, and his dog, Vincent. Together, they teamed up with Logan and Asha to investigate the fire and uncover what had happened to Oceansthrow.

Rodrick revealed that similar fires had destroyed other towns across the kingdom of Kal-Hemma, yet the Royal Council had done little to find out the truth. Fearing Oceansthrow might suffer the same fate, the companions sought answers in the province’s archives. With help from Asha’s uncle, they obtained forged decrees granting them access to restricted documents, but redacted records obstructed their research, leading Rodrick to devise a riskier plan: stealing the necessary papers from a scholar from the Historical Academy. Despite Rena’s reservations, they succeeded in gaining access to the archives’ restricted sections where they discovered information about Miller’s Knee, another town destroyed by fire years prior where the same carved bird figurines had been found. Letters revealed that the authorities had chosen to erase all memory of the town rather than pursue those responsible.

Before they could investigate further, guards entered the room looking for Rena and her companions. As Asha fought them off, Logan led Rena away and through the connecting ventilation shafts to find their way to an empty room so they could escape. Their route was, however, intercepted by the captain of the guard, Finn, who surprised them by offering assistance instead of arresting them. Suspicious of the kingdom’s activities himself, he helped them escape and arranged to meet the group later.

Despite their doubts about Finn, the companions travelled together to Miller’s Knee. Little remained of the town beyond a forest clearing where the outlines of buildings were barely visible. They discovered gravestones bearing a symbol of two interlocked triangles crossed by a line and dot. Rodrick recognised it as a local variation of a symbol associated with Tavuu’Moda, the old god of chance and perseverance. Yet, before they could investigate further, the group was forced to flee.

Returning to Halvint, the companions split up. While Asha and Rodrick went back to Rancor, Rena, Logan, and Finn returned to Oceansthrow to see what remained of the town. Most of the ruins had already been cleared away by the guards, leaving only the remains of the old church. Sneaking their way into the building, the three discovered the same triangular symbol carved into the church wall, but their investigation was once more interrupted by arriving reinforcements, forcing them to flee into the forest and become separated.

Lost among the trees, Rena was unexpectedly guided to safety by a fox she had previously spotted near the archives. Back in Halvint, she followed a strangely dressed figure to a house on the town’s outskirts, where she reunited with Logan. Through a window, they spotted an makeshift altar made of red and orange fabric, displaying one of the carved bird figurines.

The pair broke into the house and discovered parchment rolls covered in a language neither could read with unusual illustrations. Their search was interrupted by a woman carrying laundry, whom Logan subdued. Among the clothes, Rena recognised a dress Maya had worn on the day of the fire but as she frantically looked through the building for her sister, a group of acolytes returned, led by a woman named Inkra.

A fight erupted, and Asha, Rodrick, and Kalani arrived to help. The companions captured Inkra, locking her in the building’s basement, and interrogated another acolyte, Michael, who agreed to show them where the mysterious organisation known as the Crow could be keeping Maya in the neighbouring province, Baedan.

But as they attempted to leave Halvint, guards attacked, accompanied by Inkra. The companions were separated once again: Rena and Asha escaped with an injured Logan, as Rodrick and Kalani being captured, still not knowing where Finn could be.

Season Two began with Rena and Asha nursing Logan back to health, whose stomach had been slashed during the attack. Darian, Halvint’s innkeeper, and his wife sheltered them before secretly transporting them to Hollowtooth, where they suspected Rodrick and Kalani were being held. During the attack, the guards had mentioned Captain Silac, the head of the guard responsible for the coastal city.

Rena managed to confirm that Rodrick and Kalani were imprisoned in Hollowtooth’s guard station but as she was about to leave, she spotted Finn, accompanied by Captain Silac and several guards. Unwilling to believe Finn had betrayed them, she followed him and arranged to meet him away from prying eyes.

Finn explained how he had ended up in Hollowtooth and that he was suspicious of Silac and his methods of running the city. He also revealed that Rodrick and Kalani were due to be transferred to the military academy the following morning. If they were to be rescued, they had to act quickly.

Despite Asha’s distrust of Finn, the companions accepted his plan. Using his position, Finn arranged for Rena, Asha, and Logan to disguise themselves as guards and together they commandeered the prisoners’ transport. During the escape, they discovered Finn’s full name and his family connection to the Royal Council, giving Asha even more reason to question his motives.

The rescue succeeded, and the companions reunited near the wreckage of Rodrick’s caravan, where Vincent had faithfully waited. Their reunion was short-lived, however, as Captain Silac appeared, they discovered his terrifying ability: he could control their bodies with his words. After a vicious fight, the companions managed to subdue him and escape.

Shaken by the discovery that such things were real, the companions crossed into Baedan and headed for Hrevim, a major maritim city, hoping to learn more about the Crow, Tavuu’Moda, and the mysterious fires.

In Hrevim, Rena accompanied Rodrick to the library to research the Crow’s motives. Soon after, she encountered Jesper, a friend of her father and another survivor of Oceansthrow, accompanied by a scholar from the Historical Academy and Deacon, a man searching for Logan after a disagreement. Jesper had believed the Academy’s claim that the fire was a tragic accident and Rena reluctantly agreed to follow them to a different location so she could secretly try to warn Jesper of the truth. At the café, the scholar attempted to recruit Rena, while Deacon pressed her for information about her companion’s whereabouts.

Returning to Rodrick, they reunited with Asha near the docks, until Rena spotted the mysterious fox once more. This time, she could hear it speaking directly into her mind. Following it through the streets, she felt as though she had crossed into another world, only to emerge in a different part of Hrevim. There, she reunited with Rodrick and Asha and encountered Kalani. To their alarm, Captain Silac and Michael were also in the city, forcing them to move cautiously.

Eventually, the companions reunited with Logan and Finn, who had visited the palace and encountered Finn’s sister, her presence clearly unsettling him. Hoping to avoid further trouble, the group attempted to leave Hrevim but ran into Deacon, who meant to confront Logan. They managed to escape and continued towards the Crow’s suspected hideout: an old monastery somewhere in the inner hills of Baedan.

Stopping overnight in a small town, Kalani, Asha, and Finn went into the surrounding hills to search for the monastery. Unable to bear the thought of being so close to Maya without reaching her, Rena convinced Logan to follow them together. The pair soon became lost, but then saw the fox again. Rena initially refused to trust it, remembering how reality had shifted when she had followed it in Hrevim, yet they eventually found their way to the monastery, where the fox revealed a hidden entrance into the ruins.

Inside, they discovered a gathering of people praying around a massive bonfire in the monastery’s courtyard. Rena and Logan reunited with their companions, and together they searched the ruins for Maya.

At last, they found her in a room beside a strange body that glowed from within. Rena and Maya were finally reunited, but their relief was short-lived: the glowing figure suddenly awoke, forcing the companions to flee as the Crow’s acolytes attacked.

They discovered that the figure was a reincarnation of Tavuu’Moda, possessing powers similar to those of Silac. After a chaotic battle, the group found themselves back at the bonfire, where Tavuu’Moda attempted to drag Maya into the flames to make her his new vessel, yet Rena and the others managed to pull her free before he could succeed.

But the danger was far from over. Rodrick arrived at the monastery with Michael, followed closely by Silac and Finn’s sister, who intended to take Finn back to the Royal Council. Amid the ensuing chaos, the monastery caught fire, giving the companions an opportunity to escape and finally get away from the Crow.

Yet even as they fled the burning ruins, their victory began to unravel. Logan’s wound reopened, and he collapsed, unable to continue on his own. Forced to carry him to safety, Rena and her companions found themselves unsure how to continue from there.

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The Heart Pyre continues with season 3, starting October 28th.

As always, if you like this podcast, consider leaving a review or supporting it on Ko-Fi or Patreon. You can also get the novelization of the first and second seasons as an ebook and paperback from most major retailers.

You can find transcripts for each episode, character art, and a map of the kingdom on theheartpyre.com.

The intro music is Lonely Dusty Trail by Jon Presstone.

The Heart Pyre is written and produced by me, Audrey Martin.

Thank you for listening.

Ahead of the start of season 3 on October 28th, I’ve posted a recap episode so everyone can remember what has happened, who all these people are, and who is looking for whom.

Find A Searing Faith, the novelisation of season 1, and A Blazing Bond, the novelisation of season 2, on your favourite platform:

https://audreymartinbooks.com/the-heart-pyre-english/

Intro music: Lonely Dusty Trail by Jon Presstone

Logo Design: Mars Lauderbaugh

With 60 percent of the votes, our story continues on the second path.

We have finally reached the end of season two. Rena and her companions have reached their goal and now they just need to find a way out of the monastery safely, but how? Everything seems to be devolving into chaos.

CW: fighting, aggressive dog barking and growling, dog attack, a lot of fire, abusive sibling relationship, mind control

Find A Searing Faith, the novelisation of season 1, on your favourite platform:
https://books2read.com/A-Searing-Faith

Intro music: Lonely Dusty Trail by Jon Presstone

Logo Design: Mars Lauderbaugh

Welcome to The Heart Pyre. This is episode 32, A Blazing Bond.

As a content warning, there will also be fighting in this episode which includes aggressive dog noises and fire. For a more detailed list of warnings, please read the episode description.

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TAVUU’MODA: [rattling breathing throughout the scene]

MAYA: Rena?

Rena whirled around, her heart racing instantly. In a corner behind her sat a small figure, legs pulled close to the body.

[SFX few quick steps forward]

RENA: Oh my stars, Maya! Are you hurt? What did they do to you? Did they treat you right? Did they feed you?

[SFX clothes rustling, quick kissing sounds]

MAYA (mumbling): Stop it! I’m fine. I’m fine, Rena! You can let go of me now.

RENA: I’ll never let go of you ever again!

MAYA (pleading, giggling): Please.

RENA: Oh, I’m so relieved, Maya. I’m so incredibly relieved. I was so scared, Maya. I thought I’d never see you again. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been here. If they’d hurt you.

MAYA (giggling): Rena, I’m fine. You can stop kissing me.

[SFX kissing sounds & clothes rustling stops]

[small pause]

RENA (hesitant): [shaky breath] What happened? What did they do to you?

MAYA: [sigh] I don’t know. It’s weird. Not much, if I’m being honest. I-I’ll tell you later. [pause] Who are those guys?

RENA: Oh, uhm. They, uhm, helped me find you.

[SFX steps coming closer]

KALANI (warmly): Hello, Maya. My name’s Kalani. This is Asha, Logan and Finn. We are friends of your sister’s and we’re here to get you back to freedom.

[pause]

MAYA: Okay… Then let’s go.

Rena backed off and gave Maya enough room to stand up. The Crow had dressed her in their typical uniform. An unreasonable rage overtook Rena; she wanted to rip them off her sister’s body, to wash away any traces of the Crow, but first they had to get her back to safety. Then Rena could finally give Maya back her dress.

And thankfully, Maya didn’t seem in bad shape. Her hair was messy and her face and hands were dirty but Rena couldn’t see any wounds, at least on the parts the clothes didn’t cover.

MAYA (mistrustful): You’re all here for me?

KALANI (calmly): You were our main focus, yes.

MAYA: But not the only.

KALANI: Well, we’re also trying to figure out what the Crow is planning.

MAYA: Is that what they call themselves? The Crow? That’s stupid.

KALANI: (light chuckle): I don’t think they’re known for their creativity. But did they… take anyone else from Oceansthrow?

MAYA: Yeah, but I haven’t seen them since we got here.

RENA (concerned): Who did they take?

MAYA: Túlio and Luisa.

RENA (shocked mumble): They’re so young.

LOGAN: Can we maybe address the unconscious body lying in bed that’s glowing?

Logan waved his hand vaguely in the direction of the bed and all of them turned to look at the body. A strange shadow fell over Maya’s face as she stared at him, her shoulders growing tense.

The expression made Rena want to tear reality apart so none of this could have ever happened. If the fox could play around with it, why couldn’t she? Why couldn’t she make the pain in her sister’s heart go away?

MAYA (struggling, unsure): He’s… strange. I don’t know how to explain it.

LOGAN: Is he… alive?

MAYA: I think so. Sometimes he’s awake and talking.

[small pause]

LOGAN: Why did they lock you in here with him?

[small pause]

MAYA (small voice): I don’t know… They didn’t tell me anything about what they’re doing. I thought maybe I was meant to be his personal servant or something like that but they didn’t give me any orders and there’s constantly someone coming in to look after him so I don’t think that’s the case. They treat him like the highest royalty but, honestly, he’s just a jerk when he’s awake.

Rena’s eyes met Kalani’s before looking back at the glowing body.

RENA (barely audible): Tavuu’Moda.

LOGAN (confused): They just keep him in a random room like this?

MAYA (confused): You know him?

RENA (hesitant): He’s, uhm, a, uh, God, or something like that.

[pause]

MAYA: What?

RENA: I-It’s complicated. We can talk about it once we’re out of here. I don’t know if I understand it myself. The Crow is trying to bring him back, o-or keep him alive, I guess. We don’t know that much about it.

MAYA: Why?

RENA: That’s kind of what we’re trying to find out.

[pause]

LOGAN: Soooo, what do we do with him? … I mean, there’s six of us and one of him.

KALANI (exhausted): Logan [sigh] … I don’t think we should touch him.

LOGAN: You don’t think it would potentially save us a lot of trouble in the future?

KALANI: We don’t know what will happen if we do touch him. Or if it’s even possible to kill him.

LOGAN: Can’t know without trying.

KALANI: We need to focus on getting back to Paemehri safely and drawing the attention of everyone in the monastery to us is kind of counterintuitive, don’t you think?

LOGAN: Yeah but you don’t know what’ll happen either. Maya, what’s he like when he’s awake?

[small pause]

MAYA (hesitant, uncomfortable): He’s weird. He mostly stays in bed and sleeps but sometimes he wakes up and then he tells me all these stories. Most of them don’t make sense and he talks about people I don’t even know. His family, I think, but he mentions so many different names that I just stop listening halfway through. And then he gets angry when I don’t remember all the stupid names and how they’re related to him. Like I’m in school and I’m supposed to memorize it all. I didn’t even care about these things when I was in actual school… Sometimes he leaves the room though, but I don’t know where he goes. Not that I really care.

KALANI (thinking): Maybe to one of the other kids they took.

RENA: Shouldn’t we… try to-

KALANI (interrupting): Don’t say it, Rena…. This is why I didn’t want to do this tonight. It’s a miracle we got here without injury, it’s going to be another one if we also get out unharmed. We can’t spend another hour trying to find out where they’re keeping these other kids, not knowing if they’re even still here, and we can’t stab a God hoping it has no immediate consequences either, no matter how badly his body seems to be doing.

RENA: But-

KALANI (angry): You can’t save the entire world at once, Rena! You’ll be dead in a second if you try, and then what? You think I like this? You think I like knowing that they’re holding children captive and doing the stars know what to them? Of course not! But I know that we’re unprepared and I know what our odds are and they don’t look good! We got your sister, now it’s time we got out!

[small pause]

ASHA: If they notice we took Maya, they might not stay here for much longer.

KALANI: Don’t start, Asha. [shaky breaths] I’m just trying to get us out of here alive. We don’t know how much power Tavuu’Moda has in this form or even what he could do. What if he’s like Silac just a hundred times worse? A million times worse? Do you really want to bet on those odds? The quicker we get out, the safer we’ll be, and then we can decide how to save the other kids later. We can’t do that if we’re dead.

Horror washed over Rena, the realisation settling in that she’d condemned the others to a much worse fate. Her hand came to hold her sister’s, a deep need for connection overtaking her, as if she would never let go of her ever again. She couldn’t let despair over what she’d done overtake her, not after finally reuniting with Maya. The fox had said they were running out of time, who knew what would have happened to her sister if they’d waited even just one more night? They might have returned to the monastery in a day and found Maya with a burning body lying in front of them.

Rena knew she’d feel differently in a day, or week, or month, but right then, every decision that had led to her holding her sister’s hand once more had been worth it.

TAVUU’MODA: [beathing gets heavier and raspier]

LOGAN (under his breath): What the absolute fuck?

The room was suddenly doused in a bright orange light as the body sat up in bed and turned to look at them. He opened his eyes and Rena’s body froze, transfixed by the red and orange fire dancing around in them, but before her mind could step any closer to the fire, Maya had grabbed her wrist and had darted towards the door.

[SFX running footsteps, chanting & bonfire noises appear in the background]

MAYA: Which way to get out? (panting)

RENA: The stairs! Go up the stairs! (panting)

[SFX people start shouting in background]

They all ran up the stairs, three steps at a time, until they’d reached the second floor. Doors flung open from the corridors around them and Rena thanked the stars that the fox had shown them a way out so far away from where any of the Crow was sleeping. Asha and Kalani ran ahead, much faster than the rest of them.

[SFX footsteps slow down, some stop]

LOGAN (under breath, in pain): (panting in pain) Fuck!

RENA: Logan?

LOGAN: Go! Don’t worry about me, just get your sister out of here.

RENA: But, your shirt! You’re bleeding again.

LOGAN: It’s okay, I’m fine, just keep running.

RENA: I-

MAYA: Let’s go, Rena!

FINN: I’ve got him.

[SFX running footsteps resume]

Finn wrapped one arm around Logan’s waist, pulling Logan’s arm over his shoulder, and hoisted him up. He dragged him ahead, Logan stumbling along, not able to mask the pain on his face anymore.

A red glow appeared behind them, growing ever brighter until the body appeared at the end of the corridor. He was limping but it didn’t seem to slow him down much. Rena looked ahead again but a flock of acolytes had appeared with torches.

[SFX sword being drawn]

Asha and Kalani stopped, bracing for what was ahead, Asha’s sword glinting in the light of the torches as she swung it at the oncoming crowd.

Rena’s hand slipped into her dress pocket where the knife Logan had given her in Paemehri was. She held it so tightly that her fingers hurt, not sure how to correctly use it in a fight, but there was no time to think about that. She would just have to wildly swing it around and hope she didn’t hurt herself.

Maya came to a stop, dashing from side to side to see if she could slip past the fight, but the corridor was simply too small. Five people had come their way and had drawn various weapons – from daggers to wooden poles to shovels. They barely looked ready for a fight but that didn’t matter.

[SFX metal hitting on metal as people fight]

They attacked erratically, Asha barely managing to block their attacks and control the cramped space they were in. Kalani managed to wrestle the wooden pole out of its owners hands and pushed them back but that only freed up space for the next attacker to approach.

Rena spun around, ready to run back from where they’d come from, but more people had caught up to them from behind and Finn had drawn his rapier to fend them off. Logan leaned against the wall, one hand wrapped around his bleeding stomach, the other clutching the knife as if there was any possibility he might join the fight.

Maya tried to drag Rena into one of the empty rooms to get away from the fight but Rena stopped her, realising right away that they’d be stuck with no way out. Instead, she tried to run past Asha and Kalani in hopes of reaching the crack in the wall, swinging her knife frantically at anybody in front of her. Hands tried to grab her, yank the knife out of her hand, but Maya pulled her in the other direction just in time.

They slipped past Finn, desperate to find any way out of the fight but the body was waiting for them, the light coming from inside its core glowing brighter than it had done before. Rena stopped, twisting and turning around, her mind racing to find a solution that simply wasn’t there. She eyed the distance down to the ground, wondering if they could hang from a vine or one of the strings holding the bird figurines and land on their feet unharmed, but she quickly dismissed the idea. She looked back and in that moment Maya slipped out of her grasp and bolted ahead, slamming into the glowing body before he could react.

He stumbled back, dropping to the floor to save himself from falling over the ballustrade.

MAYA: Come! … Rena, move! We have to get out of here!

Rena looked at the body in horror, knowing who he was, knowing what he was. She’d never been religious, never believed in any of the gods, but she felt that all of this was deeply wrong. Not just what Maya had just done, also what the Crow had done to this being that was supposedly above them all. That this is what they had reduce him to; a decaying, burning body that could barely hold itself up on its own.

MAYA: Rena! I’m leaving without you if you don’t move now!

RENA: Y-yes… Yes! I-I’m coming.

Maya ran ahead and Rena struggled to catch up. She wanted to look back at her companions, feeling horrible at leaving them behind, but she was scared that if she took her eyes off Maya she’d lose her again.

Maya stopped abruptly as someone rounded the corner in front of them. It took Rena a moment to recognise the person in the dim light, then she saw Inkra’s wild, brown hair, her furious green eyes, the scar running across her face.

INKRA (angry): You little disrespectful brat. We should have you hanged for what you did to the Vöshirem.

Maya dropped low and tried to dash past Inkra, barely giving her time to finish her sentence, but Inkra was faster and grabbed her shirt, stopping her instantly. A blinding rage overtook Rena and with a roar she’d never emited before she swung the knife at Inkra.

Inkra raised her free arm but the knife slid through her clothing into her flesh. The knife hadn’t cut very deep but it was enough for Inkra to lose her grip on Maya. Rena didn’t give Inkra much time to regain her composure as she swung the knife a second time. She managed to cut Inkra’s hand but Inkra ignored her injuries and simply slapped the knife out of Rena’s grasp, her fist swinging around to hit Rena in the temple before Rena had the time to regain her stance.

[SFX knife falling to the ground, impact of hit]

Rena stumbled back, her vision momentarily going bright and blurry.

TAVUU’MODA (raspy): You think, you can just steal what is rightfully mine.

RENA: (deep breath in)

She turned around, the glowing body approaching her slowly, the one Inkra had called Vöshirem, the one Rena was convinced was Tavuu’Moda. She stared into his eyes, the sight making her body stop instantly. It was as if an inferno danced behind his eyes, as if it held the memories of Oceansthrow’s destruction.

[SFX sounds fade into the background, roaring fire overtaking it]

All sound faded away, all of Rena’s thoughts and worries vanished, as if all that was left was her and the fire. The fire that was overtaking everything, not caring about anything but itself, feeding on anything in its path, growing, growing, growing.

TAVUU’MODA: I will not let you be the end of me.

MAYA: Rena! Don’t look at him!

INKRA (between gritted teeth): Shut up.

MAYA (in background): (cry of pain) No! Stop! Let go of me! Stop it! Please! Let me go!

Rena stopped existing, became one with the fire, feeding herself to it so it could spread further and further and further.

[SFX fire dies down, fighting noises from before return]

Then a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her away, severing her connection to the fire.

RENA: (deep breath in)

Her mind snapped back to her body, a cold shiver running through her. Her eyes snapped to Logan’s eyes, their green and brown looking so dull in comparison.

LOGAN: Where’s your sister?

RENA (confused, then panicked): I-I don’t know. I… She… She was with Inkra. I-I think she took her. But I don’t know where. They were here just a second ago, I don’t know what happened. Oh stars, I-I lost her again.

LOGAN: Calm down, they can’t have gone far. They’re probably downstairs. I would have seen them if they’d gone the other way.

RENA: W-Where’s Tavuu’Moda?

LOGAN: What?

RENA: The body. Where did it go?

LOGAN: Fuck… I-I don’t know. I didn’t see him leave.

RENA (dismayed): How could he have left without us noticing?

LOGAN: I… I don’t… It doesn’t matter, we have to find your sister. Let’s go!

[SFX footsteps running]

Logan pulled her along back to where they’d come from, an arm still wrapped around his stomach as blood dripped to the ground, running down the stairs quicker than was safe.

[SFX bonfire and chanting grow louder, faster; sounds of wood being carved]

They reached the inner court, the light of the bonfire illuminating four acolytes knelt before it, incessantly carving figurines that littered the ground and hung all around them from up high. The intertwined triangles had even been carved into the floor’s stones but the grooves had been filled with the bonfire’s ashes.

[SFX footsteps stop]

LOGAN (desperate): Where are they?

RENA: I don’t know. M-maybe the other side of the bonfire?

RENA: There! Oh stars, no!

Inkra was standing behind Maya, holding her arms tight, as Tavuu’Moda placed a hand on Maya’s face. She was thrashing around, whipping her head from side to side, but the glowing body gripped her face tightly. He stepped backwards into the fire, the ash crackling under his feet, Inkra advancing with him, pushing Maya ahead. Soon the fire engulfed Tavuu’Moda, threatening to do the same to Maya.

RENA: Stop it!

[SFX fast footsteps]

LOGAN: Rena, wait! Oh, fuck, urgh. (pained groaning)

[SFX impact]

Rena tackled Inkra with all her might. It wasn’t enough to make her lose her footing but it gave Maya the opportunity to lean back and drive her feet into Tavuu’Moda’s chest, making him lose his grip on her and fall backwards into the fire.

[SFX fire roars]

INKRA: No! Vöshirem!

Inkra threw Maya to the side and lunged towards the fire, grabbing a hold of Tavuu’Moda’s foot to drag him back to safety. The flames latched onto her hair and clothes but she didn’t seem to care as long while her God was still in danger.

RENA: Maya! Are you alright? Are you hurt?

MAYA: Yes, yes, I ‘m fine! We need to go!

RENA (dismayed): Your face.

MAYA: We need to go, Rena!

TAVUU’MODA: You cannot escape me. This is inevitable. I am and will always be, no matter how time advances.

RENA: Oh stars, we-we need to… we need to leave! Now! We need to leave now! L-Logan, can you-

LOGAN: Go! I’ll get out on my own!

RENA: But-

LOGAN: Go!

MAYA: Now, Rena!

FINN: I’ve got him, Rena.

RENA: Finn.

[SFX swords clashing]

INKRA: I will kill you all! Let the fire eat you alive until you can’t scream anymore! Your pea of a brain can’t even comprehend what we’re doing here! That this is the only way they will ever show us the respect we deserve!

RENA (confused): What… what are you talking about?

INKRA: But what would you know about respect? You arrogant brats have never dealt with a single hardship in your lives. You only ever think of your own comfort.

FINN: Oh, shut up.

[SFX swords clashing]

MAYA (urgent) : Rena, let’s go!

RENA: Yeah, yeah, let’s go, let’s… yeah.

[SFX running footsteps away from the fire]

[SFX horses ride in, the stops, neighs]

[SFX footsteps stop]

RODRICK: Rena!

[SFX dog barking]

RENA: Rodrick? … Michael??

MICHAEL: Oh my stars, what happened? Vöshirem, what did they do to you?

[SFX someone jumps down a horse, then runs away]

MICHAEL (getting quieter as he runs away): Inkra, what happened? Your hair!

INKRA (in background): You fucking traitor!

RENA: W-what’s going on?

RODRICK: Rena, are you alright? Did they hurt you?

RENA: No, no, I’m fine, but we have to help Logan! I think his wound opened up again.

[SFX horses neighing nervously before running away]

RODRICK: No! Wait! Oh…

MAYA: Rena, come on! They’ll be alright. Trust them! We need to leave!

RODRICK: I’ll go help Logan, you run back to Paemehri! We’ll find our way back together later.

RENA: O-okay.

[SFX footsteps running again]

TAVUU’MODA (otherworldly, echo-y): You cannot escape. I will always exist, there is no avoiding it.

Maya faltered, tripping over her own feet and fell to the ground. She looked back, a look of absolute terror on her face, the bonfire reflecting bright orange in her eyes. For a moment it knocked the air out of Rena’s lungs. They almost looked like Tavuu’Moda’s had, but it was only a reflection, nothing more.

RENA: Get up!

[SFX horses run past them]

Two riders rode past them, stopping in the middle of the inner court, one turning around to look at them. Silac was staring at them with a pale face and blood shot eyes, the veins having spread all over his skin, even to his hands. He slid down, holding on tightly to his saddle, but all energy had clearly left his body as he didn’t managed to do so without landing on his ass.

Rena knew she had to get away as quickly as possible before he could regain his footing. She grabbed Maya’s wrist and dragged her up, turning away from Silac and towards the wide open gates at the end of the inner court.

SILAC (echo-y, otherworldly voice): Get back here!

Before her mind had registered what he had said, Rena’s body had already swiweled around and was running back towards the fire.

[SFX aggressive dog barking]

SILAC: Oh for fuck’s sake. (cry of pain)

Vincent jumped up at Silac, biting into an arm that was already bloody. It was enough to sever the control Silac had on Rena and she slid to a stop, dragging Maya down to the ground with her.

The second rider, a woman with chin-length blonde hair, got off her horse and drew her rapier in almost the same motion, darting towards Inkra and Finn.

[SFX swords clashing]

NARA: Don’t you fucking touch him!

Her rapier grazed Inkra’s throat, making her back off Finn who had fallen to the ground.

INKRA: Ugh, what the fuck. Who even are you?

NARA: None of your concern.

FINN: Nara? …. W-why are you here, Nara?

NARA (derisive): I’m here to save your sorry ass… It was an order, Finn. Don’t start believing I’m here out of the goodness of my heart. If it were for me I’d let these savages tear you apart.

An acolyte lunged at her from behind but Nara stepped out of the way and in one swift motion pierced her rapier through their throat. She used the attacker’s momentum to let the body stumble to the ground and slide her blade out of the wound, swinging it once to shake the blood off.

Rena couldn’t take her eyes off the woman. She instinctively knew that she had to be Finn’s sister but she couldn’t believe just how different they were.

NARA: Get up so I can drag your sorry ass back home.

Rena expected Finn to say anything, to defend himself against her, but he just stared at her with wide, panicked eyes, letting his sister drag him up to his feet by his lapel.

NARA: You’re so fucking useless.

His whole body was rigid as he stood up, his hands balled into tight fists.

From the side, Logan swung at her, his fist hitting her square in the jaw. He’d put so much force into the punch that they both stumbled to the ground. Nara cursed at him, fumbling to get back up to get to her rapier that had skittered to the side, but Logan whirled around and tripped her. Nara hit the floor hard, her face smacking against the cold floor. It gave Logan enough time to push himself back up and dash to her rapier, picking it up before she could. Nara tried to get up again but Inkra tackled her from the side, making her tumble to the ground once more.

[SFX fire roars louder]

Tavuu’Moda’s glowing body was standing to the side, observing the fight, motionless. The fire had burst out of his chest, melting his skin, and it was falling to the ground in disgusting dollops. Rena stared at him in horror, bile rising up her throat, but then she noticed that the bonfire was spreading, the flames lapping at the wood of the balustrade, spreading over the lichen that covered the old structure, engulfing the figurines that were hanging around the court.

Rena dragged her eyes away from the fire, its light still branded into her vision. Before she had time to get back on her feet, Logan had already grabbed Finn’s arm and was running past them. The front of his shirt was wet and dark red and the blood had even run down his pants, and still he managed to rush across the inner court at a speed Rena didn’t think was good for his condition.

A tight knot formed itself in the pit of Rena’s stomach as they ran away from the bonfire, away from Tavuu’Moda’s melting form, away from Nara and Inkra fighting, past Silac who was on the ground, weakly trying to get Vincent off him. Once they were out of danger and the energy had left their body, the consequences of the night would come back to haunt Logan. If they’d taken a break and let him rest properly, he might have healed from his wound without complications, but like this? With the amount of blood he had lost and the fighting? They would need to find someone who could properly close the wound, but Rena was painfully aware of how far away they were from anyone who would be able to help.

Dread crept over Rena as the monastery errupted into chaos. People were running every which way, overtaking Rena and her companions to get out of the burning place, only a few of the acolytes still trying to grab at them. Others were running back to the bonfire, to help Inkra or save Tavuu’Moda.

Rena and Maya weaved their way through the chaos until they felt grass underneath their feet once more.

ASHA: Rena, this way!

RENA: Asha?

ASHA: We need to get back to Rancor!

RENA: Logan’s hurt!

ASHA: Yes, I’m aware! That’s why we need to get out!

LOGAN: Rancor’s too far away.

ASHA: You don’t get a say in this, Logan. We need to get you to someone who can keep you from dying.

LOGAN: We don’t even know where the city is right now.

ASHA: Kalani knows!

KALANI: The both of you, stop arguing! Now’s not the time! We’ll go to Paemehri, then Hrevim, then Rancor! We’ll patch Logan up on the way.

ASHA: Kalani, getting back to Hrevim is just a waste of time.

KALANI: Not if it saves his life!

Before Asha had time to snap back, Logan collapsed, his body hitting the ground hard.

ASHA: For fuck’s sake, not again.

Finn didn’t hesitate to pull his own shirt over his head and rip it apart, pushing Logan’s shirt up and wrapping the torn fabric tightly around his waist. They hoisted Logan’s unconscious body up on Asha’s back while Kalani pushed the few acolytes away who still tried to get to Maya.

[SFX fire and chaos fading into the background]

The fire had created such a chaos that they managed to get away without anyone following them. They stumbled their way back to Paemehri, the light of the burning monastery illuminating their path. They walked as quickly as possible, hoping that they’d find the town quicker than they’d found the monastery.

Rena held her sister’s hand tightly, probably so tightly that it hurt, but she didn’t dare let go of her anymore. She blocked all thoughts of Logan’s condition from her mind, only thinking about finally, finally having her sister back. She knew that if she thought of anything else she’d break apart, and there was no time for that.

[SFX chaos fades into the back as they walk away, replaced by a calm night]

Somehow they reached Paemehri but Rena couldn’t tell how long it had taken them, her mind barely aware of her surroundings. They found the window to their previous room and smashed it to get to their belongings, then stole a merchant’s cart and horse from the shed.

They laid Logan flat in the middle of the cart, and sat around him next to the barrels the merchant had been transporting, no one speaking much as they rode into the sunrise.

Rena’s eyes were fixed on Logan’s unmoving body. They didn’t have any water to clean his wound and she didn’t dare patch it up with a dirty needle. They’d bandaged the wound as tightly as they could but no matter what, it would take a lot of time and a lot of luck for him to get back on his feet. She felt like she should be crying for him but her body was numb from all that had happened and what her eyes could perceive barely felt real anymore.

MAYA (anxious): Rena?

RENA (distracted): Hmm?

She looked over at her sister, the rising sun revealing the marks Tavuu’Moda had left on Maya’s face, like his touch had burned her skin. Rena’s eyes traced them one by one, wondering if she was just imagining them or if the others could also see them.

MAYA: Where are we going?

RENA: It’s a place called the city of Rancor. A city that moves around when there’s danger. Kalani, Asha and Logan live there so hopefully we can find someone who can actually help Logan. And us.

[small pause]

MAYA: And then?

RENA (hesitant): … I don’t know. Maybe we can stay there until we know it’s safe.

MAYA (hesitant, scared): What about mom and dad?

[pause]

RENA: It’s just us now, Maya.

[pause]

MAYA (small voice): Okay.

RENA: But I’ll take care of you, don’t worry. I won’t let them get to you, I promise. I won’t ever let you out of my sight ever again. They can try and take you away from me again, but they won’t. Not ever. We’ll stay together from here on out.

---

Thank you for listening to the second season of The Heart Pyre. I wanted to apologize again for the delay between episodes. I didn’t intend for the season to take so long to fully release but since this is a solo project I’ve been a bit overwhelmed with how much work it has been. I’ll need to change a few things for the third season but I first want to focus on editing this season into a book like I did for the first season. I’ve already seen the first sketches of the second books cover and I’m so excited for its release later this year! I’m also currently working on a german translation for the first book and that should also be out by the end of the year.

As always, you can find transcripts for each episode, character art, and a map of the kingdom on theheartpyre.com and you can get the novelization of the first season as an ebook and paperback from most major retailers.

The intro music is Lonely Dusty Trail by Jon Presstone.

The Heart Pyre is written and produced by me, Audrey Martin.

Thank you for listening.

Welcome to The Heart Pyre. This is episode 31, Back As One.

As a content warning, there will be fighting in this episode which includes agressive dog noises and some violence against dogs but don’t worry, the dog will be fine.

---

[SFX calm nightly nature sounds, very faint voices in background]

Rena stared at the fox, both of them unmoving. She wanted to argue, to tell it she didn’t want to follow until she knew what it wanted, but she felt that strange pull again. She stepped forward, unvoluntarily, then tensed her body so she wouldn’t walk any further.

Logan came to stand next to her, his body swaying lightly.

LOGAN (confused, distressed): Rena, I don’t think I like your fox very much. Something feels wrong.

RENA (murmur) I know.

LOGAN (distracted murmur): Almost like when Silac did his trick.

Rena grabbed his arm to make sure he wouldn’t run ahead and leave her behind but her grasp soon loosened. The fox’s pull felt warm, safe, as if nothing bad would happen if they followed it.

Last time, the fox had brought her exactly where she’d needed to go, even if it had been through strange means. Who knows when they would have found Kalani if it hadn’t been for the fox? Captain Silac had been right there when Kalani had walked onto the street, if Rena hadn’t called her over, would he have noticed her? Would he have captured her a second time? How could she mistrust it, if it had helped her so often.

Rena stepped forward, her gaze always fixed on the fox’s glowing eyes.

RENA (whisper): Please bring me to Kalani again.

The fox slowly stood up and turned around. For once it didn’t dash away, but simply jumped off its stone and walked away at a pace Rena could easily follow.

LOGAN (whisper): You think it knows where to go?

RENA (breathy): Yeah.

The fox lead them through the dark, past one of the crumbling walls of the monastery, until they’d reached a crack in it. The wall had split right in the middle of Tavuu’Moda’s symbol, the same one they’d seen in Miller’s Knee and Oceansthrow. The symbol had clearly been carved into the wall a long time ago as moss had formed in the grooves of the triangle. Back in the day, it must have been almost Rena’s size, but now the lower triangle was missing and the dot in the middle was barely more than a speck. Fresher symbols had been carved all around it, much smaller and with much less precision, as if someone had carved it over and over by hand.

The fox slipped through the crack and Logan right after, letting go of Rena as if he barely remembered she was there. Rena approached the crack but then her body lurched back, the memories of the shrinking passage in Hrevim flooding back to her. She stared at the crack, at the darkness beyond it where the moon couldn’t reach, and she could feel the walls closing in on her again, could feel her lungs struggle to breathe.

RENA (call out anxiously) “Logan? Logan?”

[Pause]

The fox’s warmth was still pulling at her, telling her to follow it through the crack, that nothing bad would happen to her, that Logan was safe on the other side and she should join him, so she closed her eyes and squeezed herself through the crack.

[Pause]

RENA: [deep breath in]

[SFX very far away fire and chanting]

[SFX clothes rustling]

Her eyes needed a moment to adjust but she wasn’t in complete darkness. She appeared to be in a small empty room and a faint trickle of light came in from an open door in front of her.

[SFX far away hum a bit louder and clearer]

She slowly advanced, holding her hands out to not trip over anything in the dark. She reached the entrance and instantly recoiled. A motionless figure stood in the dark corridor but she soon realised that it was just Logan.

RENA (whisper): Where did the fox go?

LOGAN (confused, as if just woken up): I… I don’t know.

The strange pull was gone and Rena could feel the cold of the night settle on her skin.

LOGAN (confused, distressed whisper): I really don’t like this fox. It shouldn’t be able to do that.

Logan had a strange look of fear on his face, one Rena hadn’t even seen on him after their encounter with Silac.

Rena wrapped her arms tight around her chest, her eyes still wandering from side to side as if she hoped the fox would come back for them. They were in a sparsely decorated hallway that looked down upon an inner court. Rena carefully stepped forward and finally saw where the faint light had come from. At the other end of the monastery, where the building had been carved into the rock, was a giant bonfire. A shudder ran down her back, her muscles tensing up and her body automatically turned away from it.

[SFX chanting and fire gets louder]

Logan stepped closer and slowly Rena turned back to the inner court, glancing at the fire from the corner of her eye.

LOGAN (whisper): So there’s definitely someone here. Can’t really tell what they’re doing though. [Small pause] (baffled) Are they chanting?

[Pause]

RENA (whisper, incredulous): The ritual.

Something strange twisted in her belly, pulling at her heart and lungs, as her mind imagined the million things that could be happening near that bonfire, the million things the Crow could be doing to her sister.

She wanted to run to it, to make sure they weren’t hurting Maya, to make sure she could save her sister before it was too late. The fox had warned them, maybe this was truly it?

She stepped to the side but before she could walk away Logan grabbed her arm.

LOGAN (whisper): Let’s be careful, okay?

[Small pause]

RENA (whisper): Yeah. [small pause the deep breath]

He was right. Rushing forward wouldn’t help them at all. It might only put Maya in more danger.

They walked down the corridor, careful that their steps didn’t reverberate too much, but no one seemed to inhabi these parts of the monastery. Rena wasn’t sure why that was. She’d expected more people to be there after all they’d gone through and after all they’d learned about the Crow. She remembered the tracks she’d seen near Oceansthrow before stumbling upon the fire, how she’d thought an army had ridden through their region. All this time, she’d assumed the Crow to be massive, that even if only parts of them were staying in this monastery, they would at least be a hundred people, but she couldn’t feel the presence of any of them.

She briefly considered that the people might simply be asleep, seeing as it was the middle of the night, but she quickly dismissed the thought. Most rooms they passed were empty, with no door in the doorframes, dust and lichen having taken over the stone floors.

At least she couldn’t fault the fox for having led them towards danger but she was also starting to fear they’d reached the wrong hideout. She didn’t want to entertain those thoughts, didn’t want to consider that her sister had never been there. She had to cling onto the hope that they hadn’t just wasted yet more time chasing after the wrong thing.

They rounded a corner, following the corridor along the inner court. They were getting closer to the bonfire and slowly Rena could feel its heat. She tried to understand what the people were chanting but she wasn’t sure that it was in any language she knew. In all likelihood it was something in Mohrishim, the language of the bird figurine’s inscription.

On the other side of the monastery, in the dark shadows beyond the inner court, stood three figures. Rena froze, afraid they’d been spotted, but then a burst of relief flooded through her at the recognition. Kalani looked at her and, even though there were several meters between them, Rena could still see how Kalani’s eyes grew wide in shock which quickly turned to anger.

Rena tried to smile at her but it was a pitiful one.

LOGAN (whisper): She’s gonna rip our heads off when she gets to us.

RENA (with false confidence): She will understand.

To either side of Kalani stood Asha and Finn, both with looks of confusion, although Asha looked angrier.

Kalani gestured to the side, her movements quick and harsh, and Rena understood that she wanted them to meet up somewhere safer. If she understood the monastery’s layout correctly, the corridor wrapped around the inner court so that it would be easy for the two groups to meet in the middle.

LOGAN: At least we know they’re safe and sound, right?

Logan winked at her and put a hand on her shoulder to guide her back the way they’d come from.

He was right, they looked unhurt and that was the most important at that moment. She sighed, something deep inside her unwinding. Even if she still didn’t understand what the Crow was doing or what the fox wanted from her, at least she didn’t have to worry about her companions anymore.

They found their way back, crouching and sneaking until they found themselves in front of the empty room the fox had led them through with an angry Kalani hurrying towards them from the other side.

KALANI (hissing, angry): What are you doing here?

Logan stepped back and pointed towards Rena and she couldn’t believe he would rat her out that quickly.

RENA (pleading) I was worried! I felt like I was suffocating just waiting in that room!

Asha came up to Kalani’s left.

ASHA: You didn’t try to stop her, Logan?

LOGAN: I couldn’t have even if I’d tried to! She’d have left with or without me!

KALANI (angry, bewildered): I really don’t understand what got into you, Rena!

RENA: Kalani, it was never fair of you to demand I stay behind! You don’t know what it felt like, I was about to burst out of my skin!

KALANI: You couldn’t have waited just a few hours for us to get back?!

RENA (getting angry and frustrated): No! [small pause] (continuing on quiter) I can’t stand the thought of not knowing if everyone’s safe or not! And being so close to Maya and not going to look for her?! That’s torture, Kalani.

Kalani stared at her, her jaw clenching as if she wanted to reply, but then she whirled around and ran a hand over her face.

KALANI (under breath, muffled): For fuck’s sake. (louder) This was such a stupid and dangerous decision. [small pause](less angry) But I get why you did it.

Finn stood to Kalani’s other side, the only one of the three where concern had replaced his confusion.

FINN (whisper): How’s your injury, Logan? I thought we’d agreed you should rest.

A look of surprise washed over Logan, quickly replaced with a bold grin.

LOGAN (surprised, cocky): Didn’t expect you to worry about me. But I’m fine, there’s really nothing to worry about.

RENA (under breath): You were complaining the whole way here.

KALANI (reproachful): Then maybe you shouldn’t have dragged an injured man along with you.

RENA (small voice): I’m sorry, Kalani.

LOGAN (dismissive): I’m doing fine. There’s really nothing to worry about.

ASHA: You better be. I’m not dragging your unconscious ass back to safety a second time. Getting you back to Halvint was enough of a pain in my ass.

LOGAN (dismissive): Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Kalani looked around, a look of concern on her face.

KALANI: Where’s Rodrick?

RENA: Still in Paemehri.

KALANI: At least one of you morons with some sense.

LOGAN (apologetic): He was out with Vincent when we left. But we wrote him a note.

Logan grimaced apologetically and Kalani ran a hand over her exhausted face.

KALANI (mutter, exhausted): Of course you did.

RENA (anxious): Have you found my sister?

KALANI (annoyed): No, but that’s not what we came here for. I told you we can’t save her tonight. We need to know what awaits us first.

RENA (small voice, then growing anxious): I know… I just thought you might have seen her. A-and there really doesn’t seem to be that much going on here, anyway.

Kalani sighed and looked away, her gaze fixed on the bonfire at the other end of the inner court.

KALANI (pensive): There really isn’t.

RENA: Isn’t that strange? … I always thought there would be more of them.

[small pause]

KALANI (pensive): Michael did mention there was more than one base.

LOGAN: Did you find anything out?

KALANI: Not yet. It took us a while to find the place.

LOGAN: Yeah, us too.

KALANI: I have to be honest. I also expected there to be more people here.

LOGAN: But that’s good though, right? If we’re here to save Maya.

[pause]

KALANI (pensive, quiet): If she is here.

RENA (scared): You don’t think she is?

KALANI: I don’t know. [pause] But I hope she is.

LOGAN: So… we should probably go look for her then, right? Just so we don’t waste our time by coming back a second time.

RENA (pleading): Please.

[pause]

KALANI (reluctantly): We should.

RENA (relieved): Thank you.

Finn looked at them with deep concern, his hand resting on the pommel of his rapier at his hip.

FINN (careful): It might not be easy to find her though. Without drawing any attention to us, I mean. Even if it feels like there’s barely anyone here, as long as we don’t know what’s going on, we should be really careful. It’s not going to help anyone if they notice we’re here.

Asha nodded towards the bonfire and all their gazes wandered over to it.

ASHA: There’s no one back here in these decrepit parts, that’s for sure. The party’s happening over there.

[SFX bonfire and chanting fade out]

---

When Rodrick came back from Vincent’s much needed walk, the room they’d rented was dark and empty. He didn’t think much of it at first, imagining that Rena and Logan had also needed to move their aching bodies.

[SFX rumaging, making fire with flint, paper rustle]

He dug his tinder box out of the depths of their burlap sack and lit the crooked candle on their nightstand. He grumbled at the low light the candle provided but it was enough to spread his notebook and the documents he had borrowed from the library out on the bed. As a good measure, he also unfurled the scrolls Logan and Rena had found at the Crow’s hideout, the ones with the depiction of the creation of the world by Hama’Voshi. He regarded the documents for a while, squinting at them in the dim light, and tried to tie the world creation myth to all the other information they’d gathered. He supposed it all came back to this idea that world was made of an ever-lasting energy. According to these legends, Hama’Voshi had simply gathered it all and given it form and now the Crow was convinced this was proof of reincarnation and that they could therefore bring Tavuu’Moda back.

Rodrick didn’t know much about Hama’Voshi, he simply knew she’d been a real person a long time ago – before the kingdom had united into its current form – and that she and her two companions had quickly amassed an ever growing mass of followers before the religion had started to die down again about a hundred or so years ago. But that was about the extent of his knowledge. He had never been that interested in ancient history, especially when it came to religion. He’d spent most of his years in Mak-Hemma focusing his energy on new inventions and innovations. Only once he had left the capital had he found time for anything else, and by that point he’d found the lived experience of their kingdom’s population much more intriguing.

Rena and Logan were taking longer than he’d expected but he still did not worry. He felt the exhaustion of the day course through his bones and decided to rest until they came back. He ran a hand through Vincent’s fur before lying down on the bed next to the documents and quickly fell asleep.

He awoke to a still silent room, the candle having surrendered half of its life. That was when he started to worry. He wasn’t sure what to do next, how to find out where Rena and Logan had gone. The room didn’t look disheveled so it couldn’t have been a forced entry, but that didn’t mean someone couldn’t have taken them. But if that was the case, how was he supposed to react? Would he need to find Kalani, Asha and Finn on his own? They would need to be informed, he would certainly not know how to get Rena and Logan back alone.

He first went to the tavern to see if Rena and Logan had simply lost track of time over a drink, but the only people still present looked somber and melancholic in their solitude. He then stepped out into the night and searched the inn’s vicinity but his eyes had seen better days and he barely knew what he was supposed to look for. Defeated, he went back to their room and decided to search it thoroughly, even though it held barely any furniture. He slowly knelt down to look under the bed Vincent had been peacefully sleeping next to and finally found something. In his elation, he stood back up too quickly and a jolt of pain shot through his back. He stood for a moment, motionless, eyes wide open, until the pain had subsided and he could breath again. Only then did he look down at the small, folded up piece of paper, angling it towards the candle so he could read it.

RODRICK: What do you think this is, my dear boy?

[SFX dog huffs, paper unfolding]

He frowned as he saw the handwriting, then squinted and brought the paper closer to his eyes. He angled it towards the flame but still couldn’t read it well. Whoever had written the note had terrible writing and it took him a while to decipher what it said.

LOGAN (distant): Rodrick, do not panic, we’ve gone to find Kalani and the others. Just stay put and we’ll be back in no time.

He looked up, bewildered, as if Logan and Rena were still in the room somewhere.

RODRICK (upset): Why did they leave this under the bed? I should have read this an hour ago!

His eyes fell on the burlap sack he’d riffled through after his return. He realised his mistake with a startle, heat creeping into his cheeks in embarassement. Logan and Rena had probably left the note on the bag and it had fallen under the bed because of him. He thanked the stars that only Vincent had been in the room to hear his earlier question.

RODRICK (pensive): Why would they just leave? Do they think my age makes me so incompetent? But Logan saw no problem with making this journey while injured? I have to say, dear Vincent, that I am quite vexed by this message.

He stood up, Vincent looking up at him, listening closely to every word he said.

RODRICK: But what should we do now?

[SFX dog huffs]

RODRICK: Do we simply wait, my boy? I’m unsure if going out to search for them would be smart. Especially as I have no idea where they went or even when they left. I’m afraid I would just get lost in the dark. But waiting doesn’t feel right either. [pause] This is a complicated situation, isn’t it, my boy?

[SFX dog huffs]

[SFX a handful of horses approaching getting louder until they stop]

RODRICK (murmur): What’s that?

Rodrick walked over to the window. A group of four riders had arrived at the inn and were dismounting from their horses. One of them fell into the mud but instead of rushing to help them, the other three simply ignored the rider’s plight as they led their horses to the small shed next to the inn. The fallen rider pushed themselves up with some difficult and followed the rest of the group before they all came back towards the inn. As the group got closer, the dim light of the latern finally hit their faces and Rodrick recoiled.

RODRICK (murmur, panicked): Oh stars, please no.

How had Silac already found them? The one who had fallen off the horse had to be Michael. There was one guard with them that Rodrick didn’t recognise and a woman in immaculate rider’s garb that he didn’t recognise either but that, even in the dim light, bore a terrible resemblance to Finn.

Rodrick turned in circles, not sure what to do. He had to warn the others, but how? He didn’t even know where they’d gone, how was he supposed to find them? He wondered for a moment if he could fight Silac to keep him from reaching the others, but he’d never been good at fighting and four against one was a difficult matchup for anyone.

But he needed to do something, incapacitate them or distract them to give his companions time to get to safety. But they wouldn’t know they were in danger until he told them so. In all likelihood, they would return to town and walk right into Silac’s arms.

There was no way around it, he’d need to find them somehow, and hopefully before Silac did.

He breathed in deeply, trying to steel himself, then slowly opened the door. He peeked out into the hallway and when he saw no one he slipped out of the room.

RODRICK (whispering): Quietly, boy.

[SFX slow footsteps, then fast footsteps coming closer from other side]

RODRICK (whispering, hurried): Back, Vincent, back. They’re coming this way.

Rodrick turned around and tried to open a door to his left, but it didn’t budge.

Rodrick tried a second door, but the people behind it shouted at him when he tried to open it.

He had to go back to their room, there was no other choice. He hissed at Vincent to run back inside and closed the door behind them but then what? He turned around, looking for an exit. His eyes landed on the window but he knew without trying that he wouldn’t fit through. He swung their bags underneath one of the beds and was about to slide underneath too before he thought better of it. If anyone found him there he would have no way of defending himself. He whirled around, trying to find something he could protect himself with, the footsteps coming ever closer. His eyes landed on the candle holder. He took it and dashed behind the door, the candle and wax falling to the ground, but he couldn’t care about that anymore. Vincent dashed around nervously, unsure why his master was so scared.

RODRICK (sharp whisper): Come here.

[SFX dog low whine]

He opened the door as far as it would go, hoping that anyone who’d enter wouldn’t see them behind it. He stood as straight as possible as the footsteps came closer, pressing his back to the wall, the door only a few centimeters from his face.

Three people stepped into the room – Silac, Michael, and the woman Rodrick suspected was Finn’s sister.

NARA (growling): They’re not here.

SILAC: I told you they’d probably already headed up the hills.

Rodrick could only see them from the corner of his eye but that was enough to see that Silac was not doing well. He wiped a trickle of blood from his nose, his breathing laboured.

NARA (angry): Don’t you fucking patronize me. You’re the idiot who lost my brother. You better fucking find him again if you want to keep your head on your shoulders.

SILAC (resentful): Yes, Captain Sanarid.

NARA: And don’t you try your stupid little trick on me again. It might work on morons, but not on me.

SILAC: I wouldn’t dream of it, captain Sanarid.

NARA (mutter): All for that arrogant brat.

Rodrick couldn’t thank the stars enough that the three of them were facing the other direction but he was under no illusion that they wouldn’t notice him soon. He considered sneaking past them but his chances of that suceeded were extremely slim. He had to make the first move, he was sure of it, even if he didn’t like the idea.

He pushed the door away from him, very slowly so it wouldn’t creak, then rushed towards Silac, candle holder held high.

[SFX fast footsteps]

But before he could reach him, Silac whiped around, shock written all over his fatigued face.

SILAC (echoing, supernatural voice): Stop!”

The yellowish-green veins rushing over Silac’s face again but where last time the surge had been clean and even, this time the veins pulsed uncontrollably as if they were loosing focus. That didn’t seem to matter much, however, as Rodrick stopped just the same as the day before. But something was different. The force felt weaker as Rodrick retained his ability to breathe. He thought that someone stronger, someone like Asha or Logan, would probably have been able to fight against Silac’s restraint.

[SFX dog growling and barking]

Vincent leapt up, latching onto Silac’s arm, biting into him so tight that blood dripped to the ground.

SILAC (in bachground): Ah! Get off! Get off me! Fucking mongrel!

[SFX general sounds of alteration]

Silac tried to shake the dog off but Vincent refused to let go. The attack had broken Silac’s concentration enough that Rodrick regained full control of his body, stumbling forward as his movement finished but he quickly regained his composure and swung the candle holder at Silac a second time.

To his right, Finn’s sister slid her rapier out of its scabbard and swung at Rodrick but he stumbled out of its way, falling hard on his ass. Michael stood a few steps away from them, backing away from the chaos until his back hit the wall. From the outside, the fourth in their party rushed in, sword ready, and instantly leapt forward to help Silac.

Rodrick tried to push himself up again, sliding away from Captain Sanarid who was approaching, a look of rage on her face, her blonde hair falling into her face. Silac managed to throw the dog off, Vincent sliding across the room and hitting the wall but getting up right away again.

[SFX dog whining]

SILAC (yell, echo-y voice]: Stop!”

The feeling overtook Rodrick again but only for a very short moment.

Silac buckled in on himself, a knee hitting the ground hard, blood dripping out of his eyes.

NARA (mutter): Fucking useless.

[SFX dog growling and barking]

Vincent leapt up at Silac again, ramming his entire body into Silac’s side, making him tumble to the ground. The guard tried to kick at the dog but Vincent jumped out of the way, trying to bite at the foot.

Sanarid turned back to Rodrick, fire in her eyes. He scrambled up, using the doorframe to pull himself up, his eyes darting to the candle holder on the ground that he’d lost hold of. That instance, Sanarid leapt forward, her blade piercing the meat of Rodrick’s arm.

RODRICK (cry of pain)

He stumbled backwards, his back hitting the other side of the doorframe but he didn’t have much time to wallow in his pain as Finn’s sister had already readjusted for a new swing. He ducked out just in time but her movements were too quick to evade and he didn’t have much time to think of retaliation. He saw her blade rush towards him, his body frozen in fear, but then the blade veered from its trajectory as Michael threw a blanket over the woman.

NARA (muffled): What the fuck?!

She struggled to free herself, her blade flailing wildly.

MICHAEL: Run!

[SFX quick footsteps]

Michael grabbed Rodrick’s arm and pulled him out of the room.

RODRICK: Vincent!

With three quick jumps Vincent was out of the guard’s reach and was following Rodrick and Micheal down the hallway.

MICHAEL: We need to get to the horses! Please tell me you know how to ride.

RODRICK: Yes, yes, of course.

Michael led them through the tavern where a catatonic inn keeper stood behind the bar, eyes unfocused, barely aware that Michael and Rodrick were rushing past them. Michael didn’t waste any time and brought them right to the still-saddled horses.

[SFX horses neighing nervously]

They made quick work of the knots holding all four horses to the bar, then Michael shood two of them away, keeping the other two for themselves.

MICHAEL: Follow me!

Micheal mounted his horse and steered it out of the shed, Rodrick following close behind.

As they rode out, Finn’s sister rushed out the tavern, just in time to see them gallop away.

[SFX horse gallop]

She screamed in frustration, then rushed after the other two horses, calling for them to come back to her.

As Rodrick rode away from the inn – Vincent running besides the horses – he saw how Silac and the guard stumbled out of the building, the guard having to hold Silac up so he wouldn’t collapse.

---

[SFX bonfire and chanting slowly getting louder but still distant]

Rena and the others carefully walked down the corridor towards the fire, stopping every once in a while to listen if tghey were truly alone. Rena couldn’t hear much besides her companions quiet footsteps and the distant chanting but as Finn had mentioned, that didn’t have to mean much.

As they approached the bonfire, Rena could finally see the handful of people kneeling before it. Kalani stopped, and so did the others. The corridor they were in was at least two storeys higher than the inner court, which gave them the perfect view of the fire with minimal risk of being spotted. Rena counted about six people, but she was sure the fire was conceiling at least three more from her view. They were hunched over something, a repetitive motion accompanying the words they were chanting.

She carefully stepped forward until she was at the balustrade. The people seemed to be carving something and she had the suspicion that it was the same bird figurines she’d seen in Oceansthrow, the same ones that hung in droves outside the monastery and around the inner court. She squinted and noticed that they weren’t just carving the birds themselves, they were also carving the words into the birds, over and over and over again while murmuring. She vaguely remembered Rodrick mentioning something about carving as an act of prayer, as if the act of doing it repeatedly would reinforce whatever they were praying for.

One of the people finished their carving, holding the bird up high for a moment, before throwing it into the bonfire. Only then did Rena notice that the base of the fire was filled with these birds. Ash spilled out below it, as if the fire had been going for a very long time, and Rena wondered how many of these figurines had been carved and thrown into the fire for it to roar so high.

She suddenly caught a whiff of the fire and she gagged, instantly having to whirl around or she might have puked. She could feel the taste of it at the back of her throat, like the day of the fire, when she’d had to approach Oceansthrow and the air had been a torture to breathe.

ASHA: Rena, are you alright?

Asha stepped closer, her hand resting lightly on Rena’s elbow.

Rena nodded. She squeezed her eyes shut and forced herself to take deep breaths before she turned back around.

Logan’s gaze wandered over the scene below, his eyebrows slightly knit together in concern.

LOGAN (whisper): What does your sister look like?

RENA (trembling voice): She’s fifteen, a bit shorter than me, with hair that looks like mine, but it’s cut below her chin. Our faces look quite similar.

LOGAN: I don’t think I see her down there.

RENA: I didn’t see her either.

Rena carefully stepped closer again, her eyes fixed on the people so she didn’t have to look at the fire.

Kalani came to stand to her left.

KALANI: It’s unlikely she’s with this group. They’re probably not the only people here, even if most of the rooms are empty. It’s only logical that they’ve got a rotation of people doing this prayer work, so some must be sleeping somewhere. If Maya’s with them, she must be in one of the rooms below. Probably somewhere guarded. We can take the stairs down but the closer we get to the fire, the more careful we have to be.

They moved slowly as a group, making sure their steps made as little noise as possible. Some of the rooms on the first floor had closed doors but none of them had someone standing guard in front. They didn’t walk the entire length of the corridor, thinking that if someone was staying in the rooms, they were probably close to the bonfire. They could hear people still awake behind some of the doors. Rena’s body tensed with every step, imagining what they might do if any of them decided to exit their room just as Rena and her companions passed the door. But to their luck, they managed to walk down to the ground floor with no incident and even when they found the room with the guard in front of, the guard didn’t spot them before they could hide behind a corner.

To Rena’s relief, whoever had been tasked with surveillance didn’t look like they were part of the actual guards corps. Instead, they wore the same clothes as Inkra and the other members of the Crow they’d run into in Halvint – black, knee-length trousers with tights underneath and a thick, fur cape that reached their waist. They were leaning against the wall, hands in their pockets, eyes half closed as they stared into nothingness.

Logan set out to round the corner and sneak up on the guard but then Asha grabbed his arm and stopped him.

ASHA (whisper): You stay here.

She yanked him back, then crouched and did what he had intended to.

Her hand wrapped around her sword as she carefully stepped closer and she’d almost managed to get close to the guard but they turned to look at her in the last moment. The acolyte was about to cry out when Asha’s arm whipped up and she hit them square in the face with the pommel of her sword, the alarm the guard was about to raise dying in their throat. Asha didn’t give them any time to recover as she whipped around to their other side and hit them in the back of the head. The acolyte fell forward, their body going limp, but Asha caught them and carefully lowered them to the ground.

LOGAN (mumble): I could have done that so much cleaner.

The group advanced to join Asha but Rena instantly rushed to the door, leaning her ear against it but she couldn’t hear much besides the chanting from the inner court.

RENA (whisper): I really hope Maya’s here.

Rena leaned down to look through the keyhole. The room beyond wasn’t fully dark, as a light glow – probably from a candle – illuminated it, but all Rena could see beyond the keyhole was the stone wall and the edge of a bed. She stood back up and carefully laid a hand on the doorhandle, the other hand on the space between door and frame, and pushed down as slowly as she could. When the handle was fully down she carefully pushed the door but it didn’t budge.

She sighed and turned around to her companions, shaking her head in disappointment. Asha knelt down besides the unconscious guard to rifle through their pockets. It didn’t take her long to locate the key which she then threw to Rena, who caught it between both hands.

If Rena was lucky, her sister was right behind that door. She breathed in deeply and turned around, sliding the key into the lock as quietly as she could. She turned it, whincing at the noisethe bolt made as it unlatched. She pushed the handle down carefully again and this time the door opened.

She’d never opened a door so slowly before but she desperately wanted to avoid it creaking as she opened it. She could feel everyone’s eyes on her, how all of them held their breaths. Rena’s heart was hammering wildly in her chest as the door opened wide enough for her to see inside, but it soon dropped again. She frowned, a deep confusion settling over her. In the bed to her right lay a person that was not Maya, their breaths heavy and laboured.

[SFX rattling breaths]

The light that illuminated the room that Rena thought must have been a candle emanated from the person, which Rena’s mind didn’t want to comprehend. Something glowed underneath the person’s clothes, as if there was fire underneath their skin, but none of that made sense to Rena.

She stepped into the room as if in a daze, transfixed by the person in front of her.

Her companions slowly spilled into the room after her, staring at the glowing person who didn’t seem conscious enough to have noticed their entry.

MAYA (unsure, in background): Rena? Is that you?

Rena whipped around to the small figure cowering in the corner of the room.

---

Three paths lay in front of us, on which the story could continue.

• On the first path, the companions try to find out more about what the Crow is doing in the monastery
• On the second path, the companions try to figure out what the glowing body is
• On the third path, the companions take Maya and leave as fast as possible

You can cast your vote by going to the show’s twitter page, the tumblr page, or on theheartpyre.com. You have until April 6th to cast your vote.

As always, if you like this podcast, consider leaving a review or supporting it on Ko-Fi or Patreon. You can also get the novelization of the first season as an ebook and paperback from most major retailers.

You can find transcripts for each episode, character art, and a map of the kingdom on theheartpyre.com.

The intro music is Lonely Dusty Trail by Jon Presstone.

The Heart Pyre is written and produced by me, Audrey Martin.

Thank you for listening.

With 95 percent of the votes, our story continues on the first path.

In the penultimate episode of season 2, Rena and her companions have finally found the Crow’s hideout but what will they find inside and will Maya be there?

CW: fighting, aggressive dog barking and growling, dog attack, violence against dog (the dog will not be seriously hurt)

If you want to skip the dog fight, it is between 23:30 and 26:10.

By the end of the episode, three choices will be presented to you. Voting is open until April 22nd. 

Find A Searing Faith, the novelisation of season 1, on your favourite platform:
https://books2read.com/A-Searing-Faith

Intro music: Lonely Dusty Trail by Jon Presstone

Logo Design: Mars Lauderbaugh