Chapter Text
Cyno walked swiftly down the gleaming halls of the Akademiya, his brow furrowed more than usual which warded off any scholars within the vicinity. He tightened his grip on the empty gas canister in his hand as he made his way out the doors and into the courtyard. If someone was planning an attack on Sumeru, he would need someone he could trust at his side. Sumeru had been quiet since Azar and the other sages were ripped from power. Cyno knew, however, that peace was only a facade, a temporary and fragile state of being that could crumble at the slightest disturbance. No, Cyno knew all too well that underneath the mask of peace, was a monster ready to bare its fangs.
—
Cyno shuffled through the paperwork littering his desk, huffing at the sheer amount that had piled up after the false god situation. He felt like it would take him months before he finally managed to process it all. As a slight throbbing began to form behind his eyes, he was alerted by a stilted knocking at his door.
“Come in.” Cyno called out to the person on the other side of his office door. A young man with short brown hair, probably not much older than Cyno, shuffled in, holding his side, where blood had stained his uniform, and tightly gripping a small cylindrical item in his hand. Cyno leapt from his seat and rushed to support the matra in front of him.
“What happened?” He eyed the other man and took note that he was covered in dirt and blood that had congealed around his wounds. The matra shakily lifted the hand carrying the cylinder and pushed it towards Cyno. Cyno took the item and turned it over in his palm. It was an unassuming piece of equipment, no larger than a Casket of Tomes used in TCG.
“General Mahamatra, sir. We were attacked while on a routine patrol near the Dune of Carouses.” The man coughed, causing him to take short, brittle breaths. Cyno helped him to the couch in his office, thinking that he might just keel over at any moment. He rushed back to his door and looked around for, well, anyone. He spotted a scholar who looked to be having some issues balancing the scrolls on their books.
“You! Scholar.” And there went the scrolls. The scholar jumped and looked around to confirm that they were the one being called on. Their face morphed into a look of pure dread, a common occurrence with students who happened to be acknowledged by the General Mahamatra himself. It was no secret to Cyno the multiple rumors that surrounded him — that if you ended up on his bad side, you could kiss your career as a scholar and researcher goodbye. Some even believed that scholars would go missing, never to be heard from again. This wasn’t really the case, but Cyno found it amusing nonetheless.
“Go to the Bimarstan. Get Doctor Zakariya for me. Quickly.” He popped back into his office once he confirmed that the scholar was rushing on their way and looking like thay had just seen a ghost. Typically he would prefer to bring wounded to Tighnari, knowing they would receive the greatest care, but this matra didn’t look like he could make the trip to Gandharva Ville at the moment. He went to his cabinet and grabbed a small first aid kit, courtesy of said forest watcher (“Since you can’t seem to keep yourself out of trouble” he’d chastised.), and began to clean the dirt and dried blood around the wounds.
“What do you remember about the attack?” The matra winced and sucked in a sharp breath of air when Cyno pressed down too hard in a particular spot. His bedside care definitely left something to be desired.
“They looked to be Eremite mercenaries. Seven. Maybe eight. They didn’t seem to be the typical mercenaries we run into, though. They were dressed differently and wore mostly white, though they do still use those crimson silks to shield their eyes.” Another pained cough.
“They didn’t seem to be any stronger than the usual raff, but they fought with these.” He weakly tapped at the canister that Cyno had placed next to him on the couch. “They were filled with this gas that erupted upon impact. We thought they were regular smoke canisters, but then our men started coughing violently and crumbled to the ground after only a few seconds.” He began to shake violently, eyes screwing shut at the traumatic memory.
“I was far enough back that I was able to avoid the worst of it. I managed to escape their line of sight and waited until they were gone. I was such a coward.” At this point tears began to slip through and down his cheeks. Cyno stopped his attempts at cleaning and went to place his hand on the matra’s shoulder, hoping it was a reassuring gesture. He was never good at providing comfort to people.
“No. You did well. You were able to make it back to report to me, which was your top priority. Now, I can look into this matter personally. We will find the ones behind the attack.” He went to move back, but the matra gripped his arm, keeping him close. At this point, tears began to stream down his dirt stained cheeks.
“That’s not even the worst of it. Once the gas cleared, I went to check on the rest of the guys. I was trying to assess the damage when out of the blue, one of them attacked me. He had the most…wild look in his eyes, like he was scared of me. Two more had begun to come to, and they also had the same, crazed look. They grabbed their weapons and got a few good hits in.” He looked down at the wounds that were mostly clean by now, but still needed a doctor’s attention.
“I tried talking sense into them, but it was as if they couldn’t even hear me. So, I grabbed one of the canisters and ran, hoping that it could at least be of some use. They’re still out there. I don’t know where, but they are.” He let his head fall with a heavy shudder and a choked sob. Cyno stood up and eyed the canister on the couch. He picked it up and turned it over in his hand. A small, clear window allowed him to peek inside. He couldn’t see much, but did notice a few small drops of an eerily green substance rolling around inside. A substance that could somehow make a person go mad? It sounded an awful lot like forbidden knowledge to Cyno. Then, something familiar dawned on him.
Biological warfare. It was something he’d read about in old scrolls, but wasn’t quite something he’d ever experienced himself. The closest he’d seen was the aftermath of the use of forbidden knowledge capsules along with when the sages and the harbinger known as The Doctor took over the Akasha terminals not long ago.
“General Mahamatra, sir?” A small rap sounded at his door and he opened the door to find the same scholar standing timidly next to Zakariya. Perfect timing.
“I leave him in your hands.” Cyno said to the doctor, grabbing his satchel and cloak near the door and promptly heading out.
—
Once at the edge of the city, he placed the canister in his bag, picked up his pace and bounded towards the rainforest — towards the person he trusted most in this world. If anyone could help him with this, it was him.
—
Cyno loved the scenery of the rainforest. It was vastly different from the desert and the polished halls of the Akademiya. He listened to the calls of birds and took a deep breath of the air that signaled that it was supposed to rain again soon. What he didn’t love, though, was the mud that came with the rain and how the humidity made his hair stick to his skin in a way that was somehow more uncomfortable than the desert heat. That and how slick the roads could get when it rained. He ran carefully along the muddy road connecting Sumeru City to Gandharva Ville, going much slower than he would have preferred in order to avoid sliding around and landing on his ass. The last thing that he wanted was another lecture from Tighnari about how much he needed to invest in a good pair of shoes whenever he ventured into the rainforest.
He spotted the familiar huts that made up what was essentially Forest Watcher HQ. He tried to visit Gandharva Ville at least once a month under the pretense that he wanted to check up on Collei and how she was progressing after defeating her battle with eleazar. Whether or not he also got excited about seeing an old fox-eared friend — well, that was Cyno’s business.
He leapt onto the platform just outside Tighnari’s hut and peered inside. As expected, the Valuka Shuna-esque man was sat at his desk scribbling notes in his notebook while turning over a beautiful blue flower with pointed petals in his hand. His large ears twitched as Cyno went to take a step into his home.
“You better have wiped your feet, General.” He said dryly without turning around. Cyno froze in place and looked down at the mud that was beginning to dry on his nearly-bare feet. He took the edge of his cloak and dusted them off best he could as Tighnari closed his notebook and turned around to study him with a slight smirk, chin resting lightly on his knuckles.
“You know it freaks me out when you do that. I swear it’s like you have eyes in the back of your head.” Tighnari only snickers and gets up from his desk as Cyno discards his cloak and staff near the entrance.
“I heard you as soon as you entered Gandharva Ville. You’re one of the only people crazy enough to run around Sumeru without shoes.” He smiled at his companion fondly and placed his hands on his hips. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure of the great General Mahamatra’s presence? Collei is currently out on patrol with Nasrin.”
“Actually, I came to see you.” Cyno reached into his bag for the canister. “About this.” Tighnari’s ears twitched in interest as he gingerly took the canister from Cyno’s hands. He turned it over, studying it as Cyno explained.
“A matra brought it to me. Said it was used in an attack against some of my men. It releases a toxic gas that I believe might attack the body’s nervous system. From what I gather, it causes intense feelings of fear and possibly even hallucinations.” Tighnari walked over to his desk and set the piece down. He slowly unscrewed the top of the canister, being cautious of any fumes that might still linger inside. He peered into the dark tube and then turned the canister upside down, dispensing the few drops of green liquid into a nearby petri dish. He swirled it around a few times, coating the bottom and then sighed.
“Unfortunately this sample size is way too small for me to get any kind of reliable data on its composition. Ideally, we would need to find a full canister or the location of the source, itself.”
“Well, that’ll be a bit tricky. It’s not exactly as if we can go around asking people about it without raising any red flags.”
Tighnari brought a gloved hand to his chin and furrowed his brow, deep in thought. He glanced over at Cyno who was mirroring his expression. “Do you know exactly where your men were attacked?”
“Outside the Dune of Carouses. Why?”
“If we can investigate the area, I might be able to pick up on any traces they may have left behind. If we can find this group, we can probably find the source — or at the very least procure another canister.”
“Nari-” Cyno stood from the bed, ready to interject. Clearly Tighnari knows him a bit too well because he bolstered his opposition, placing his hands on his hips and cocking his brow at Cyno.
“I know what you’re going to say and I can handle myself. I’ve been working on this new cooling gel for my ears that’s supposed to simulate the same heat regulation that the Valuka Shuna utilized in the desert. It still won’t be very comfortable, but it should at least prevent me from passing out five minutes in.”
“That’s not-” Cyno sighed, knowing that Tighnari was every bit the stubborn man that he was. “I don’t want you putting yourself in danger for this. This is a matter for the matra.” Tighnari fixed him with an unimpressed look. Cyno knew he wasn’t going to win this argument…or any argument with the fox, for that matter.
“Well, General, it sounds to me like this is a matter of national security for Sumeru. If someone is utilizing biological warfare tactics, wouldn’t it be beneficial to have someone who happens to be fairly well-versed in biology on your side? Besides, I’m also going to make sure that you don’t get into any trouble. You have a knack for showing up on my doorstep on the brink of death without a care in the world.” He fixed Cyno with a glare, hoping that he wouldn’t see through his facade. Tighnari was more than aware of just how capable Cyno was in combat. His skills were leagues above Tighnari’s own. Hell, he was probably the strongest person he knew. He just couldn’t help but worry for his friend’s safety, just like he did every time Cyno had to head out on a mission.
Cyno sighed in defeat. Tighnari had a point and he knew this. When it came to biology and chemical compounds, there was no one in Sumeru who was as well-versed as he was. Also, since Tighnari was no longer associated with the Akademiya, Cyno had no authority over him. His only hope was to try and dissuade him as his friend and that had failed.
“Fine.” Cyno conceded. Tighnari straightened slightly but kept his expression straight. His tail, however, gave away how pleased he was with this result as it swished behind him. “On one condition.”
“Oh?” Tighnari smirked. “And what is that?”
“If things become too dicey, you are to come straight back and report to Alhaitham for me. I don’t want you to rush into combat or lose your head if I am to become incapacitated. I know how you get when it comes to the people you care about, Tighnari. You’re extremely compassionate and will do anything for those you love.” Love. Was love the right word? Love could be platonic or familial as well, so Cyno supposed it fit. “What I’m getting at is that I don’t want you to intentionally put yourself in harm’s way.” He continued, extending his hand towards Tighnari. “Deal?” Tighnari bristled at his proposition.
“So you just want me to leave you to-”
“Deal?” Tighnari slumped with a slight pout and looked at Cyno’s outstretched hand. He gripped it in his gloved one and let out an exasperated sigh. He was every bit the stubborn man he was.
“Deal.” Tighnari’s heart felt like lead. He had won, but at the same time it felt as if he had lost.
“Okay, we will leave from Caravan Ribat tomorrow morning at sunrise.” He turned and gathered his cloak and staff. He glanced back over his shoulder at his vulpine companion, anxiety gripping at his nerves.
“I’ll see you then.” Tighnari assured him. And then Cyno was off.