#tcow

Hermie is a dead student haunting the school, but nobody remembers them... Except for Normal, who swears on his life that his school is haunted, but nobody believes him.

5 chapters, 66k words, oakworthy, ghost hermie au, angst, enemies to lovers, normal pov

the LONGEST siren solo fic is now here!! the idea for this one has been a year in the making, and i am so excited to finally share it w u guys!

Tags for the usual suspects: @saturn-sends-hugs @inkstainedhandswithrings @the-bi-space-ace @floundrickthewayfarer

I was hoping to get the second chapter of The Cost of War out already, but I promise it's almost there! Hopefully in the next couple of days :D

In the meantime, here's some breadcrumbs for an entirely separate chapter that has yet to be written apart from a random convo that came to me just now between Hunter and my OC Dixon

“How much has he told you about Fives?”

“Not much. He was Echo's batchmate. He died.” Hunter shrugged. “That's about it.”

“Seems about right. Echo never was one to share much about his personal life, especially when it came to things he'd rather keep buried.” Dixon turned to face Hunter. “Fives wasn't just Echo’s batchmate. He was his twin.” Hunter faltered slightly at the revelation. Dixon continued. “It's not my place to tell you much more than that. That's Echo's story to tell you and his alone. But let me tell you one thing.” Dixon voice softened slightly, a hint of sadness reflected in his eyes.

“Fives losing Echo. Echo losing Fives. It's the worst thing either of them have ever had to go through. It's one thing to lose a brother. It's another to lose a batchmate. And it's something else entirely to lose a twin.

“Those two were thick as theives. They never should have been separated, especially not like this."

Hunter swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded. Echo has a twin. Had a twin.

“You're a good man, Hunter. And a good sergeant. I can see that.” He gazed at Hunter’s face for a brief second. “I can also see you've never lost one of your own men.”

The smirk that played on Dixon’s lips told Hunter that his surprise was painted across his face in bold colours.

“How did you know?” Hunter asked.

“The way you hold yourself. The way you act around your brothers. You're protective, scared to lose them, but not in a way that says that you already have. The loss of a batchmate wears itself like a scar on one's face and some men bear more scars than others. Your face tells me you've yet to go through that. And I hope you never will.” Dixon reached out and put a hand on Hunter's shoulder. “Neither of us will ever truly understand what Echo is going through right now. Just look out for him where you can, until he comes back around."

It all began some time before Lily moved to the fairy realm. Back when West Moonwing Island was still ruled by president Īsi.

One day two fairies met in a cafe at the outskirts of the capital. At the first glance it was nothing out of the ordinary. However if one knew the shape of the criminal underworld of West Moonwing Island they would easily guess that the guests at the cafe were two fairy mafia bosses, Hiša Omiāk and Khoti Nišfanat. And that if they meet in one place that can't mean anything good.

Indeed that day was one of such occasions.

«Welcome, my friend Hiša,» Nišfanat greeted his partner.

«Wonderful day we have, don't we?» said Omiāk.

«Alright, alright. I know you well. I know that we haven't come here to talk about what a wonderful day it is,» said Nišfanat.

«My man,» said Omiāk. «Indeed, I have a very interesting plan. And I would like you to help me.»

«Your very interesting seems to be my crazy. But sure, please, share the details,» said Nišfanat.

Omiāk got into a conspiratorial tone. «I want to snatch the rule from president Īsi. And I don't mean democracy. I mean brute force.»

«I was not mistaken that it's going to be crazy,» said Nišfanat. «How in all the worlds do you want to do it?»

«Easy, my friend. I have an army and you have an army. Alone we shall be crushed. But together we can crush Īsi. Need I say more?» said Omiāk.

Nišfanat still looked not that convinced. «And what will I get from helping you in your little coup?»

«Don't worry, my friend. I thought about mutual benefit,» said Omiāk and pulled out two maps.

One of the maps was a map of West Moonwing Island. It was crossed through the middle in a way that divided the island in two halves. Not equal however, because the line was drawn through the capital that was a little bit to the North from the centre. The other map was a map of the capital. This time divided in perfect halves.

«Here's my idea. If the coup is successful, we'll divide the country between us,» said Omiāk. «What do you think?»

Nišfanat saw some potential in Omiāk's plan. His men could provide some firepower. But was it really as foolproof as Omiāk claimed.

«I'm not saying no yet, but I'll have to think it over,» said Nišfanat. «How about we continue this talk over a phone?»

«Of course, take as long as you need. I'll be glad if you make sure you want to help me,» Omiāk seemed satisfied. «I can't wait to hear back from you.»

Just after that Lily was saying goodbye to her sister and getting ready to cross the barrier between the realms. She has become a fairy was just about to move to the fairy realm. She has waited for this moment ever since she learned she could become a fairy. And her dream was just about to become true.

She of course had no idea what was going on in West Moonwing Island at the time.

Next day Khoti Nišfanat phoned Hiša Omiāk about his plans for the coup. He liked the idea more and more, but he wanted to go over some details.

«So what you suggest is that we mobilise our armies and strike the President Office?» said Nišfanat.

«Precisely,» said Omiāk. «Have you trained your men for fights in buildings?»

«Yes, we care about close quarter combat a lot,» said Nišfanat.

«Then we'll make it through,» said Omiāk.

«When do we attack?» asked Nišfanat.

«This Fire Day Īsi will hold a citizenship ceremony. My people have analysed the formation they used to defend them. I suggest we strike that day,» said Omiāk.

«Are you sure?» asked Nišfanat. «President Īsi has very competent security officers.»

«Don't worry. With my experts' analysis, strategic planning and a bit of training will make us unstoppable,» said Omiāk. «So what do you say, my friend? Would you like to rule a half of our beautiful country?»

Nišfanat liked the plan more and more. He was convinced that he should support Omiāk. He just took one last glance at the map.

«Sounds wonderful. I'll take the South.»

The next week was unusual in that there was next to no mafia activity. Sure, smaller gangs were doing business as usual. But nothing was heard from the greatest players. Omiāk and Nišfanat seemed to have disappeared.

The truth however was that they were training their armies for the greatest operation in fairy mafia history. And they had all the reason to train them. Overthrowing the government is not an easy task.

While the streets were happy about their silence there was a lot of noise coming from the mafia headquarters. Training commands were the only thing interrupting the shots of training weapons.

And soon the operation day came.

President Īsi was finishing reciting the ceremonial speech and giving Lily her citizenship. When suddenly there came shots. There was more and more of them and they were getting closer and closer. There was security service present, but its officers seemed helpless. The building was taken over by panic and chaos.

Suddenly the shooters entered the ceremony room. Shots were fired. Lily closed her eyes. Shots stopped. And when Lily opened her eyes she saw president Īsi dead at her feet.

Omiāk stepped forward and laughed at Īsi's body. His plan of destroying the government of West Moonwing Island was fulfilled. Nothing stood in his way to take over the country.

«Get the transmission ready,» said Omiāk to his men.

As they scattered to look for transmission equipment Omiāk noticed Lily. She had to be the one undergoing the ceremony. He thought he might use her as well.

Lily noticed the murderer walking to her and smiling.

"Pinto li ti?" Omiāk asked Lily.

Lily had no idea why the murderer of the president would want to know where she is from. But she wasn't trying to ask. «From England.»

«The human realm?» Omiāk asked.

«Yes.»

«Wonderful. You will be my translator.»

«Kanimfelli Omiāk, you're live,» said a fairy soldier with a camera.

Omiāk turned around. He smiled into the camera's lens and gave a speech.

«People of West Moonwing Island. As you might soon notice there was a small change of rule. President Īsi is currently incapable of fulfilling his duties.» The camera showed Īsi's body. «Therefore the country shall now be divided into two zones with the border going through our capital. The ruler of the South zone will be Khoti Nišfanat. And I, Hiša Omiāk, will rule the North zone. I am certain that we have now entered a brave new era in our history.»

The whole nation was shook to its core. Uncertain times have come.

The events of that evening became known as the Iron Coup.

As anybody could have predicted, the mafia's rule made the nation a dangerous place.

It started quiet. Small mafias have been suspended. Their members were given a simple choice. Either they would join the armies of Omiāk and Nišfanat or they would get imprisoned. Their leaders have been given a similar choice, but instead of prison there was death. Some people liked that the problems with the mafias got solved. But only for a moment.

Soon taxation skyrocketed. And the methods of enforcing taxes were even more brutal then before. The ruling mafias were unpunished. And they showed it in how the citizens were treated.

Then military aid came from East Moonwing Island. The soldiers were supposed to free the nation from mafia. But they were completely decimated after a long and draining battle. After that loss and protests from citizens East Moowning Island stopped trying to free the West and its fate was once again looking dark.

For a while nothing new was happening. But total control corrupts. And both Omiāk and Nišfanat came to want to control the entire country. Soon it was sure that a civil war will erupt between the North and the South.

It started with both armies performing espionage on each other. Then a high barbed fence was built through the country. The ultimate symbol of division of the country. Not only of land, but of people, friends and families. The country ultimately fell into despair. But of course it was not the end of escalation of tension.

The final proof of a coming war was the beginning of an arms race. Both armies wanted to have unstoppable weapons. They were building more and more destructive machines. And there was no doubt that they wanted to use them. It was not a matter of if, but rather a matter of when and what.

The culmination came when Omiāk's army built a powerful cannon that could turn the enemies' magic against them. Truly an opus magnum of their arms industry. It was named Kalinimjā Anpesn - Sunset of the Gods.

It was however just as much a symbol of terror as it was a symbol of hope. Sunset of the Gods had a flaw. If it was overloaded it risked blowing up as soon as the trigger was pulled. The engineers hid this flaw. They hoped that it could bring the end to the rule of the mafia. They risked it would be another tool of control. But they knew there was always a chance that it will bring calm times again. It was not guaranteed, but after long debates the engineers decided it was a risk worth taking.

They didn't lose hope even when Sunset of the Gods was stolen by Nišfanat's army. For them it made no difference who would pull the unlucky trigger.

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A fragment of The City of Witches - Chapter 36 - The Iron Coup

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"I want alan to beat nightmind to death with a big stick"

The Confidence of Wildflowers headers