There was just the slightest crack in the wall, a fault in the foundation through which there was set a thin image of the rotted houses and the churches collapsing inwards at the roofs. Elara could make out the very edge of the Tom Stemme Palace, the former centre of the Haemonine government in the former capitol of the Haemonine realm. She'd read that it used to have gold engravings that wound all the way up the onyx walls, which had been stripped by scavengers long ago, leaving it with pale empty patterns contrasting harshly with the black stone. She could just make some of these out through the mist. It was a dead city now, believed by the oft-superstitious Haemonine people to be thoroughly cursed.

  It looked cursed through the crack in the wall, heavy with a history of death and dishonour. But this also made it uniquely beneficial. Tom Stemme was still a sprawling metropolis, greater in size even than Attekant, the city that replaced Tom Stemme as the Haemonine capitol all those years ago. And yet, perhaps only a handful of people still resided there, such was the fear of the supposed hex that lies upon it. Elara liked looking through this narrow gap in the wall, it was the only view of the outside world she'd seen in months. Living without windows was necessary though, it was part of the reason the New Becoming had continued their work for so long without capture.

  The old door swung open behind Elara without warning, its creaking hinges loud enough to make her jump, snapping her away from her peaceful city-gazing. Grand Duke Thanborn entered in on his crutches, his leg knocking heavily and hollowly on the flagstone floor. Elara had never been quite bold or perhaps stupid enough to ask why he'd only procured and fitted the one wooden leg when both his legs were missing below the knee. She did, however, hear tale as to how he lost them in the first place. A Haemonine soldier had taken Indigo Tulip, a designation 3 arcane flora type, and experienced the power-madness and hallucinations sometimes experienced by those who consume it. He'd then subsequently picked up and dangled the then-fifteen year old Thanborn by the legs, and gripped them so tight that the knees buckled and were crushed into thin strips of flesh held attached by bloodied ligaments alone. At a later hearing, the soldier informed the judges that, in his psychotic state, he'd thought the young teenager's legs were the bars of a jail cell, trapping him in a cage for all time. Because of his statement of devotion to the Haemonine people, and the God Haemonie himself, the soldier was only sentenced to two years in prison.

  'He should have been marched over the Hul Sjel line by swordpoint.' Thanborn had said after he told Elara the story. 'That day, I learned two truths that have set me on this gracious pursuit, and which I have used as my epithets: We must respect and believe in the power of arcane flora, and we must dismantle the injustice caused by our nationalistic realms.'

  'Is that the two-aross ajer on the table there?' said Thanborn as he walked further into the room. Elara moved away from the crack in the wall to stand before the yellow flower with the black crosses. It seemed to illuminate the room just as much as the gaslamp standing next to it. 'Yes Grand Duke,' she replied, 'stemmed and pulled this morning. I made sure to remove the two seeds carefully and wore gloves when-'

  'I don't need to hear about how you nursed it out of the ground.' Grand Duke Thanborn Said sharply. 'Stick to brevity. We're not chums discussing hobbies.'

  Elara was mostly used to his terse bitterness, but it meant these meetings were never enjoyable. Plus he always seemed to save his harshest barbs for her.

  'Yes. Okay.' She responded, trying to remove any frustration from her response.

  'I assume you have heard the news about the discovery of our patch in Collosea?' Said Thanborn.

  'Yes, I heard Duke Eaves and the other knights there were slain. I lit a candle for them.'

  'A pointless process but if that's your prerogative then so be it. Anyway it can be seen as good news, dead lips hold their secrets, and they died nobly for the cause. We weren't anticipating their discovery so soon, but we've already heard rumour that the Colloseans are fixing a distrustful eye on the Haemonines. It's a shame none of the ajers in that patch were harvested either, but at least we have our own right before us.'

  They both studied the lone flower on the table. In the dim room, it was so bright that Elara almost needed to look away.

  'Did you bring in a potted plant like I instructed?' Asked Thanborn, in a tone that indicated he'd expected her to forget this simple task.

  'Yes Grand Duke.' Elara lifted a plantpot containing a small mound of soft loam, out of which stood a juvenile lilac-and-brown geranium plant.

  'You can come in now, Knight Recruit.' Yelled Thanborn.

  A weedy man in his early twenties walked in with a false bravado to his step. His freckled face was a mask of stoutness covering a clear degree of fear.

  'Knight Recruit Pax has kindly offered to test the arcane flora.' Said Thanborn to Elara.

  'What? I don't think-'

  'Quiet, Knight Valkueda. I didn't ask you to offer your opinion. You're just here to make sure Pax consumes it properly, and to make notes of the effect.'

  Despite her shy uncertainty, Elara really had to bite her lip now. There was little that enraged her more than being addressed by her family name, and Thanborn new this, the callous bastard.

  'It wouldn't be safe to take it here, in such a small room.' Said Elara.

  'You informed me before that the negative effects of this particular genus of arcane flora would only impact the user if they were to arise.'

  'Correct but-'

  'Then instruct the recruit as necessary. Pax here personally volunteered, he is willing to test his mettle to the cause.' Thanborn looked proudly at the thin, ginger haired man, who himself was transfixed by the ajer on the table. 'It seems you may not share his devotion, Knight Valkueda?'

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Elara was searching for other reasons - any possible excuse - to deny the order, but she could tell Thanborn had made up his mind.

  'You remove the head, folding the leaves over the ovary- the centre of the bud, and then swallow without chewing. I must emphasise this last part.' The young recruit was visibly quivering just a little. 'You will feel a jolt, which should quickly subside, then the... abilities should take effect quickly. You should then be able to communicate and even move the flower. But, you should know, this is entirely theoretical.' Elara noticed the rather confused, vacant look on the recruit's face. 'That is, I've only read about this, never seen it.'

  Pax nodded and then, after a quick glance to Thanborn, who was leaning forward attentively on his crutches, he reached out his bony hands to carefully separate the flower head. The petals glowing in his palms, and at the removal, a smell of burning woodchips swept upwards. He swallowed the flower.

  A few seconds passed, and then, suddenly, the recruit spasmed backwards, arms flailing as he tried to maintain his balance. The hairs on his bare forearms grew the same marigold-yellow as the two-cross ajers, and a pale radiance beamed from his open mouth. He steadied himself, and, after about 15 seconds the visual effects began to settle.

  'The accounts I'd read were accurate at least.' Thought Elara as she breathed rapidly. 'Are you okay?' she said to the recruit while scribbling some notes in a paper pad she'd pulled from her front pocket.

  'Yes I think so.' He replied. 'This feels weird, like excitement. I feel a bit numb in my hands.'

  'Try focusing on the purple flower on the table.' Said Thanborn. 'Can you hear anything?'

  The recruit stepped forward to the table again. Elara sensed the burning smell again. Stronger this time - like smoky whiskey.

  'I can't hear anything I don't think.' Said the recruit. 'A buzzing sound, maybe?'

  'Try thinking about moving it.' said Elara, who couldn't control her scientific curiosity, in spite of the dangers placed on this innocent young man. 'Think of it as an extension of yourself, like moving your hand.'

  Pax heeded her, and focused more intently on the geranium. Beads of vivid yellow liquid began to wet his ginger hair, and trickled down his forehead like scurrying insects. Suddenly, the lilac geranium head slowly turned to look at Elara in a smooth, creeping motion. The three of them gasped and instinctively jumped. Thanborn's pegleg and crutches scraped on the stone.

  'Excellent work.' Thanborn said to Pax and Pax alone. Elara was too engrossed to care. She'd only seen an arcane flora in use a handful of times, even for an expert in them. Such was the strictness of laws around their use. Then, something happened that caught the breath in her lungs. The geranium was growing, expanding. For the first few seconds it moved only in millimetres, but it quickly accelerated. Clover-shaped leaves flourished and spread. New heads sprouted from growths in the corners of the stems. In no time the initial flower head was at eyesight.

  'What are you doing?! Stop! You need to take it slow, if the arcane energy grows too strong-' Cried Elara.

  'No! carry on!' Ordered Thanborn, who was glaring fiercely at Elara.

  'I was just thinking about flowers. How they grow. This feels good, it feels part of me like you said.' Said Pax. His face was a swirl of expressions. Fear, excitement, joy, and a touch of menace - the type seen in those experiencing unyielding power. The Geranium was now human-sized. The plant pot had shattered, and thick beige roots were rising upward like extending legs. One of the roots reached out lazily towards Pax and touched his cheek, as a curious animal would.

  Pax smiled dreamily. The root then began to lace itself through the buckle rings lining the front of his leather jerkin. He looked down, a little addlepated, before the roots contracted, and, in a flash, slammed his face down onto the table.

  The force of the blow knocked the gaslamp on it's side, flashing the room with fleeting shadows. At the same time, the geranium ceased its growth and instead drooped and wilted sadly, collapsing in on itself.

  'Shit!' Yelped Thanborn.

  Elara didn't know how to react at first. They both just stood there, gawping. Then, she shuffled around the table, leaving a wide berth between herself and the monstrous sinking geranium. The smoke smell had now been replaced with a scent of cut grass and compost. On the floor facing upwards lay Pax. His thin arms were propped up and twitching, fingers grasping in reflex at the air. In the dimmed light, Elara could see immediately that his nose had been caved in by the impact, and the upper bone of his jaw had been wedged backwards. Into his mouth streamed dark red blood. Elara dropped to the floor and rolled Pax to his side, trying to prevent the blood from pooling in his mouth and choking him.

  'I told you...' She said to Thanborn. 'I told you we should be careful. Look at him, he might not live! We need to get a physician.'

  Thanborn was transfixed on the rotting flower. He reached out a crutch and poked it, the end sinking into the floral flesh. He then turned to Elara. 'This was beyond our expectations. Beyond your predictions.' He said wondrously. He hobbled to the door and called to a knight out of sight of Elara to fetch a physician, before returning to Elara's side to study the struggling Knight Recruit. 'He knew of the risks.' Said Thanborn. 'Besides, I thought you selected the two-cross ajer as it was one of the less-volatile of the designation-one arcane flora?'

  'It IS one of the less volatile.' Elara said laconically.

  'Halt your tone!' snapped Thanborn.

  Elara glared defiantly but lowered her voice a touch. 'But that doesn't mean it shouldn't be treated with the greatest care.' She sighed. 'Besides, it was picked largely out of availability. There were no other arcane flora seeds in my Grandfather's collection other than the ajers.'

  Thanborn gave her a rare look of understanding. 'Yes. I'm aware. Listen, stand up Elara, he'll be okay. A little scarred perhaps, but okay.'

  Elara hesitated, then took off her coat and laid it under Pax's bloodied head. Some of the yellow liquid touched her hands and she nervously

  wiped it on the bottom of her trousers. She then stood and walked over to Thanborn, who was now leaning next to the crack in the wall.

  'We should discuss our next steps.' He said. 'The Aarch Royal and Grand Dukes have been discussing the procurement of more arcane flora types. We've concluded that the next move in our plans is to break into the Seed Vault at the Institute of Military Phytology in Attekant. Due to your expertise, we'll need you to join the raid party, I presume you're happy to do this... for the cause?'

  Elara was too stunned to answer.

  'Good. Now, before the physician arrives, let's make sure to tell him that poor Pax here slipped after becoming too distracted by the powers. Some of the other Grand Dukes are uncertain about the arcane flora plan and we don't want to give fuel to their doubts.'

  Elara cursed Thanborn a hundred times in her head, but she knew it was pointless challenging him. She was already distrusted by some of the other New Becoming members due to her family name, and it would be easy for him to get them to turn on her.

  But of all the Grand Dukes, why did she have to be watched over by that cretin? Most of the others had been nothing but welcoming and understanding when she joined. 'What if it was a foolish idea to join them.' She thought, before quickly quashing the ridiculous notion and instead reached with her fingers to feel the diminutive brand below her collarbone.

  'En Holistis, Glory.' She read with her fingertip.