The Starflowers

The Starflowers

There was an ancient saying among our people that the holier a city was, the lousier its guards were. Azunipet, however, had always been an exception. It was the most sacred city in our world, also the richest. It was located in a green valley at the confluence of two rivers. Even before you entered the city, you would see beautiful, imposing buildings, each painted a unique shade of blue that towered over the city wall. Exquisite sculptures lined the few paths that lead to the gates. As you draw closer however, you would see an ugly outer timber palisade, painted an eye burning bright blue and behind it, the original stone wall of the city. Grim faced guards in blue cloaks were always patrolling these walls. There were only two gates, and every person who entered or left was questioned by the guards, so the traffic was nothing short of terrible even on a good day.

This timber palisade I mentioned was one of the more prominent eyesores in the area, but no one dared say so out loud. It had been recently constructed by the Kirimush family that now ruled the city. The general consensus had been that the family had done nothing of value ever since the first Lord Kirimush besieged the city decades ago, laid waste to it and appointed himself king. The rest of the family found it hard to live up to live up to such a legacy, and perhaps, in recognition of this fact, consoled themselves by erecting a large ugly wall around the city with their faces painted on it. Citizens would stare at the wall in bemusement, anger and finally chuckle in resignation. Not too loudly, however. One never knew if a guard was lurking in the shadows.

I wrapped my cloak tightly around myself and shivered. It was not a particularly cold morning, but a surge of nervousness was coursing through my veins. Today was the day I would finally leave this city and never return. I tried to choke back the many emotions that were threatening to overwhelm me – fear, sorrow, excitement. I kicked a stone in my path irritably. I would never make it till dark. I hugged my cloak even tighter and stared balefully around me. A guard was approaching, so I hastily slid into a small alley that led on to the main city square.

All around me, the city was starting to spring to life. I could hear the roars of the crowd at the gates, waiting to be let in. For today was the Awakening, one of the holiest days in the calendar. Our planet revolved around twin stars (a large blue one and a smaller red one), called Azunil and Larusa by most us. This was that time of the revolution when we were exactly in line with both these stars. A thoroughly unremarkable experience if you ask me. But of course, most of the residents of this city would not see it like that. A few nearly fainted away and wailed about blasphemy when I said so. According to the devout, this was the time when we all were Twice Blessed in everything we did, being located between both these Stars who were really gods. A load of bunk, but there was no arguing with them. To be fair, they had a point, because after all, that was the belief that led to the founding of this city and its wealth. Wealth that was the envy of all the world. Wealth that had first caught the attention of Lord Kirimush the First.

Azunipet, as you may have guessed by now, is named after the star Azunil and means City of the Blue Lord or something like that. I don’t know when this city was founded or by whom, but the legend goes that one of the founders discovered beautiful, unusual flowers that were shaped like a five-pointed star. These flowers were a brilliant blue, and were tinged with a deep red at its heart. Naturally the founders decided that this was conclusive proof that this land was blessed by their God Azunil and his sister Larusa. They named these flowers jagranthias and built the city around it.

When word got around, tourists thronged to this city, hoping to buy these flowers. They weren’t just beautiful to look at, they were discovered to be of tremendous value in medicines and perfumes. A roaring trade in jagranthia blossoms and seeds began, catapulting Azunipet to the status of the wealthiest city of its time. Being a gardener was a highly respectable position. Even owning a few plants would ensure that you never needed to worry about money again.

Of course, this meant that a class of Azunil’s high Priests and Priestesses soon cropped up, who would meet worshippers and tourists during the Awakening. (Jagranthias burst into bloom around the Awakening.) They would advise worshippers on almost everything from health to education and even resolve disputes. Other priests would sell the latest potions and concoctions made from this flower, insisting that particular formulation was the best.

Naturally other cities had tried their hardest to grow these flowers too, but despite their attempts had only managed to produce vastly inferior blooms. No one knew if Azunipet had developed better cultivation techniques or if there was something about the soil of the city, or if the city was truly blessed by Azunil, but the fact remained that Azunipet enjoyed a virtual monopoly in the trade of jagranthia blooms.

There were many attempts by outsiders to take over the city ever since its founding, but most attacks were quickly repulsed by the armed Elite Guard that was formed by the citizens. Lord Kirimush, a man of few scruples, managed to succeed where others had not, due to a unique combination of brutality, treachery and bribery. After a short and vicious siege, he eliminated most of the high ranked city officials and became the undisputed leader of the Azunipet and all its vast resources.

I wandered around the city square nervously, glancing idly the at the tourists now pouring into the city. People were flocking to stalls exhibiting the latest variety of jagranthia flowers. People were buying tokens to meet the High Priests and Priestesses who sat haughtily in grand blue thrones. Salesmen flitted by selling bottled drinks made of jagranthia nectar. I had to dodge a most persistent salesman who insisted that I buy clothes dyed in colours extracted from jagranthias. I hastily retreated into the small alley and watched the crowd.

It struck me as I watched that the crowds were thinner than usual. The Awakening always brought a virtual flood of tourists, leading to traffic pileups that lasted for hours. People would camp outside the city, all night, hoping to be let in at dawn. Tourists would pay good money to simply enter the gardens of these blooms. But of late, there were uneasy murmurs that the city, though still wealthy, was losing its soul and its money along with it. Every Awakening saw fewer and fewer people. Disgruntled citizens grumbled that this had been so ever since the fall of the city. Where the traditional Twelve (six priests and six priestesses) of Azunil had been beloved, the new ones were feared. These new Twelve were appointed by the family Kirimush, while the traditional order was selected after passing rigorous examinations. No one knew where the old priests and priestesses were, they had disappeared after the sack of Azunipet. With them, much of the knowledge of jagranthia cultivation had disappeared and the quality of the blooms began to fall. Studies of older techniques were not successful, because the famous public library was the first building the invaders had destroyed and one of the very few they hadn’t restored.

Angered by the loss of revenue, the family Kirimush turned on the citizens of Azunipet. They demanded that everyone work their hardest to restore the blooms to their former glory. The Elite City Guard that once defended the citizens and kept outsiders at bay was now employed to keep the citizens in. No one could leave the city, without the approval of the royal family, and even they could only do so for twenty four hours at a time. Search parties with dogs were sent out to capture people who did not feel like returning. The tyranny of the family was matched only by the utter implacability of the City Guards who would brook no disobedience of any kind. A few citizens managed to flee the city during Awakenings under the guise of tourists. This so outraged the Kirimush family that they forced the City Guard to profile the citizens of Azunipet, so most of them were caught when they tried to escape. If caught, they were thrown into dungeons and were never heard from again.

Tourists were still allowed in the city during the Awakening, but they were permitted to buy no more than five flowers. They were searched upon leaving the city and were asked to produce royal receipts for their purchases. The sale of all seeds to tourists was banned. Only the royal family or their sycophants who bore their royal seal (a golden star with a large “K” emblazoned on it) could possess and sell them. Naturally, this meant that there was an illegal trade in seeds and flowers, but since this was so dangerous, only a few dared to attempt it.

I tried to stem a rising tide of panic. Don’t think of being caught, I told myself. Stick to the plan. Think of how it will feel when you are free of this prison city. My breaths were coming faster, somehow I was unable to calm down. In desperation, I thought of the old abandoned library building. Very few people went there, even though there was a beautiful garden of jagranthia not far from there. The burnt and slashed building was too disturbing. Lost in thought, I stumbled in the direction of the ruined building and collided headlong into someone.

I heard a squeal and a thud, as the stranger dropped a badly wrapped package, that burst open on when they touched the ground. With a sense of shock, I saw no fewer than twenty flowers, with a small assortment of seeds. Yes, seeds. I stared at the strange woman with dawning comprehension. “You are steal-“ I began. She stared back at me, her brown eyes widening in horror. Quick as a flash she darted over and covered my mouth with her hand. “Please don’t!” she pleaded. I was too surprised to respond, but I must have appeared non-threatening, because she backed away, her dark hair partially covering her face.

“Who are you?” I asked. She hesitated. “I won’t tell,” I assured her. “ I want to leave this city too.”

Her eyes narrowed and she scrutinized me with such ferocity that I was rather alarmed.

“You don’t look like a local. I’ve never seen you before” I concluded. “A tourist, then?” She said nothing. “How did you know this place? Very few tourists come here.”

“I am not a tourist,” she snapped. “I used to live in this city as a child. My parents were exiled during the sack of the city”

“Exiled?” I said sharply. She looked at me warily, and then at the sky. It would not be long now before the City Gates closed and the tourists had to leave. She seemed to come to a decision

“I am Vareni,” she said. “My parents were the High Priest and Priestess of Azunil before the Fall. We used to tend to the jagranthia flowers in this city”

“And why are you here now, stealing?” I demanded, rather self-righteously.

Her eyes flashed. “I am NOT stealing! I am taking back what belongs to us! Our family discovered this flower. We spend aeons studying it, tending for it and learning how to use it for good. And now this beastly family, these library destroyers, these criminals will not even let us buy back seeds of our own flowers! They have passed a law that former residents of Azunipet are not eligible to buy anything.”

“Please do keep your voice down!” I hissed. Out of sheer habit, I glanced over my shoulder uneasily.

Her cheeks were flushed. “Why do you care so much?” I asked curiously. Lord Azunil isn’t real. They are just stars, just blobs of hot gas. And the city is still prosperous, even though the family has taken over everything. Perhaps if you plead, they will allow you to come back to the city and tend to the flowers again. They want nothing better than to recreate the old glory of the jagranthias.”

She shook her head in derision. “Obviously they are tyrannical family, or YOU would not be trying to run away, assuming you are telling the truth! Besides, I am not asking you to believe in Lord Azunil or in anything. We just want to be left alone in peace with our flowers, our libraries without the Kirimush family controlling everything. The city of Azunipet was so famous in the days of old because the City Guard did not interfere with us, nor we with them. We worked well together. We cooperated. That is a concept the Kirimush do not understand.”

I looked away. I could not argue with that. “And how were you planning to escape?” I demanded. “Did you not know that you would be searched when you leave the gates? You would have been thrown into the dungeons!”

She looked at me defiantly. “I had to try,” she insisted. “I wanted to take the flowers and seeds to my parents. We can never come back to Azunipet, not as long as the Kirimush have such tyrannical leaders. We knew the secrets of cultivation of jagranthias. Perhaps we can make them bloom again, as powerfully as they did in this holy city.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “But we have no choice. We cannot come back here. So we will have to go on elsewhere. Regroup and rebuild. And then again and again. Are you going to turn me in?”

All of a sudden, a sense of calm descended upon me. I knew what I had to do. I stared directly into her eyes.

“You are correct, the only way for things to change at Azunipet is for there to be better Kirimush leadership. Perhaps one day you and your family can come back to Azunipet in peace and live here in safety. But until then, we can only go on. So no, I am not going to turn you in. Take the royal seal and leave, that will buy you twenty-four hours, that is the best anyone can do here”

I held out my hand. Her eyes widened with comprehension as she saw the tiny golden star clasped in it

“I was going to use this to escape,” I admitted. “But I choose to give this to you and remain here. Perhaps I will be of more use here.”

“Who are you? And how did you get this?” she whispered

I smiled. “I am Asmi Kirimuch. Great-grandson of Lord Kirimuch the First.”