The Flame Horse Exile

The Ahfal Oma’s dispossession, agricultural conflict, and remembered retaliation create a political history entangled with the disease investigation.

increasingBearing stren­gth in each eventdecreasing

The Plains Are Taken

Losing the Horse Country A changed landscape The Zolians take over the Yukata Plains, claim the fire-horse breeding grounds, and establish sheep pasture and immigrant farms. A people displaced The Ahfal Oma lose their homeland and must adapt to unfamiliar work and settlement. Their removal becomes a continuing source of grief and resentment.

Toxic Grain and Retaliation

A Crop Becomes a Weapon A disputed cause Hybrid grain, formed when rye crosses with local wheat, kills fire horses and sheep. The settlers and Ahfal Oma blame one another for the losses. Violence and punishment The Ahfal Oma attack an immigrant village, and imperial authorities respond by driving them from the plains. The conflict leaves both sides with opposing memories of injury and blame.

Suspicion Returns

An Old Grievance Reopened Disease cases near settlements The earliest reported illness appears near a former settlement zone, renewing suspicion of the displaced Ahfal Oma and their hunting dogs. Justice is uncertain Hohsalle recognizes that correlation cannot establish guilt. The inquiry risks turning an unresolved history of dispossession into a new accusation against people already harmed by conquest.

After Zol’s conquest of Aquafa

Years before the present investigation

During Hohsalle’s winter inquiry