24 Scathing

Shimerac, Aether’s Creater - I don’t want to live on in memory or as legend. I want to be rembered like the sun. Eternal, and a force of nature.

The man finished shaking my hand before laughing with an awkward smile before he said, “Well it’s good that I am surrounded by two titans, but how about we discuss this elsewhere besides my personal chambers.”

Solomon sighed as he said, “Fine. Wherever you wish to go, we will follow.”

I ripped my words like chewing briars, “Blind and obedient, like two mindless golems.”

A bead of sweat rolled down the man’s forehead as he said, “Neither of you are blind. You walk with Gaia’s guidance, as do I. The unpleasantness here...I know it's a hard medicine to swallow, but it is a necessary evil.”

He walked between us as he said, “We fight against the death of our God. Never has such a power come against humanity. Never has there been a greater cause for unity. Every empire agreed to the ceasefire. Peace and prosperity has proliferated as nations turn their weapons towards the dark demon roaming all of Alta.”

He placed a hand on both our shoulders as he said, “Both of you shall be pivotal in the upcoming battle. The Immortal Saint and Bastion’s own juggernaut. You both must become the elements of oblivion. We must stand together against that monster. We must stand against the Darkened One.”

Solomon’s posture relaxed after the speech, but my hostile aura intensified as I hissed in a cold calm, “Tell me, who is it that’s standing together?”

The man frowned before he said, “Our world against a cascade of darkness.”

I continued, “Who are the people you use for your experiments?”

The man squinted his eyes as an edge creeped in his voice as he said, “They are not truly people per say, more so beasts who give way to mutation far more easily than the citizens of Nelastra.”

I turned towards Solomon and said, “Are those who huddle around Nelastra so subhuman that they deserve this fate?”

Solomon frowned as he placed a hand on my shoulder as he said, “I understand your ire. I deeply regret this path, but our direction is dictated by the oracle’s prophecy -

Broken in white bones, the wake of a demon comes.

Crushing as calamity, it breaths blackfire from black lungs.

With Jehovah’s end, we break. We bend.

At her last breath, darkness will descend.”

The brilliant blue of the man’s eyes dimmed as he said, “I understand your pain, child. Let me tell you a story.”

He walked over and said, “There was once a boy named Abraham Elseyary. In his childhood, he saw the most evil aspects of the church during the worst plague of all time, The Rot of Death. Corpses piled on streets, corpses piled on carriages, corpses piled on graves he saw them all. Even now, the sight’s carved into his eyes and his dreams and his thoughts.”

He reached up and placed a hand on my shoulder as he said, his eyes translucent as glass, “That man grew until he led the very organization that killed his parents. He replaced the ruler, not because of seniority or talent, but because they knew Abraham would never forget their past. They knew he would lead them with clear eyes and a clear mind.”

I leaned towards him and said, “Then why would Abraham enact orders for reviving the same methods used for the plague?”

Abraham lowered his hand as he said, “Because he understood why. He studied the maps detailing the spread of the infection, and he learned of how the palisade prevented many deaths by purging specific points where the plague was most virulent.”

I frowned as I hissed, “The palisade saved many by purging entire cities?”

Abraham winced before saying, “It pains me to say so, but yes. The plague infected like a series of chains that grew outward. By cutting those chains midway, they cut off the source of the infection, preventing Bastion’s downfall along with Trilel’s.

I stepped back as Abraham continued, “You see, Abraham realized the path most virtuous is cast in a series of shades, often varying hues of gray. We took the one that seemed darkest, yet held the greatest light at its end.”

I sighed as I said, “He sounds rather persuasive.”

Smiling with dark circles that aged his face by a decade, Abraham said, “He just knows how to tell a good story is all.”

Solomon patted us across our shoulders as he said, “I see you’ve both warmed up to each other, so how about telling him his new tasks, aye Abraham?”

Abraham nodded his head before saying, “Ah yes, I had forgotten all about it.Well, one of our scouts went missing the other day, and our surveillance teams found tunnels being dug all around the city. We’d like you to figure out and stop whatever’s causing these problems.”

With a knowing grin, I replied, “It will be done.”

Abraham continued, “Of course, we’ll need the help of your comrades as well. I overheard a rumor that your friend, Sophia I believe, was an extraordinary alchemist. We’ve a dire need for talent here. The quicker we can finish our project, the quicker we can end it you see.”

I nodded as my jaw set with anxiety. Solomon nudged me as he said, “At least Joan hasn’t been taken from you.”

I frowned as I said, “Instead Sophia will work on these twisted experiments until her mind melts.”

Abraham shook his hands back and forth as he said, “No no no, she will be assisting a rather obscure project we call the obelisk program. Some scientists were trying to harness the power of the user's soul instead of using an external power source. Many of our experiments have resulted in less than stable conduits, but since sophia’s created many advancements with golems already, her expertise should help tremendously.”

My frown deepened as I said, “And she’ll be used for creating abominations as well. Perfect.”

Abraham returned my frown as he said, “She will craft the creations we need for fighting the darkened one. Do you want the demon to put this world into darkness?”

A grinding sound radiated through the room as I grit my teeth before I gazed with a glowering glare and said, “No, Elseyary.”

“Good. Then let your actions align with your words.” Abraham turned towards solomon as he said, “I’ll be placing Joan under your care. She needs the guidance of someone wise, so you should more than suffice.”

Solomon nodded before Abraham turned towards me and said, “Remember, Gaia’s newfound helper, you are a tool of the church, nothing more nor less. I tried being civil, but you forced my hand. I hope you harness that hatred of yours against our enemies instead of towards friends.”

I bore a solemn stare through him as I said with a hint of sarcasm, “Of course Abraham. May Gaia’s guidance keep you just, and may she forgive your sins.”

Abraham replied, “Good luck on your tasks. I pray for your success.”

Solomon nodded before grabbing my arm and pulling me from the room with a quick jerk of my arm. After fumbling past a few hallways, Solomon bellowed,

“Who taught you to speak that way? Was your mother a whore and your father a bastard?”

The sharp shock of his words froze me before anger erupted from my chest, melting that cold as I snapped,

“They were the light of my life. Do not sully their names.”

Like a slap across the face, Solomon shouted, “I’ve done no such thing. You spoke like a brute to Abraham. Would your parents be proud of such animosity? Did they raise you that way?”

I stepped back before standing for a minute, without words nor reasoning. The gears in my head turned as I my guts turned to water. After milking the moment, Solomon leaned his head onto one of his gauntlets as he said,

“I forget that you’re so young at times. You speak like a scarred veteran from border at times, yet you lash out like a spoiled child at others. Bah, I shouldn’t be so harsh with you.”

He lifted his face before saying, “Excuse my statement earlier. It was uncall-”

“No, it was just what I needed. After learning what they’ve been doing...it just...Fuck.”

I grabbed the edges of my hair as pulled and growled my words like a wolf speaking human words, “It’s like a beast builds in my blood and belly and bones. If I don’t oppress this malicious monster, it will creep out and crush everything around me.”

Solomon laid a hand on my shoulder before saying with a cooling calm, “That is the burden of power. Every inkling of strength you gain, the greater control you must use. I was already an old man when I first became a saint. You’re not so fortunate.”

He pounded his chest with his fist before saying, “It’s part of growing. That wild rage will die down as you age, just be patient.”

I glanced at the ground and said, “Patience was never one of my strong suits.”

He patted my shoulder as he said, “Ah, then allow me to use a different wording. Tell me, are you willing to endure?”

I raised an eyebrow as I said, “What? That isn’t patience.”

Solomon let his hand lower as he said, “It indeed is, but people often mistake its meaning.”

I frowned as I ground the gears of my mind. If I dissected what patience implied, it indeed meant the willingness to endure. The frown turned into a confident grin as I met Solomon’s eye and said,

“I am relentless and rampant and roaring. Nothing may stop me, not even myself.”

“Hah, good. Let’s tell the others the good news. I’m sure there simmering with anticipation.”

I rolled my eyes as I said, “Of course they are. Sophia will be elated. I’ll just walk up and say, ‘You’re gonna love this. All you have to do is deform a couple souls. Nothing noteworthy.”

Solomon my back, pushing me forward as he said, “I’m sure glad you're as excited as I am to tell them.”

With that, we left the palisade’s headquarters as muffled screams and the squishy slipping of metal on flesh grated my ears. At least I had a few thoughts swirling like a storm in my mind. It assuaged my ire and anger as I dwelt on Solomon’s words.

The way he worded the ideal of patience had a profound impact on me from that point onwards. Instead of viewing patience as the ideal of men who lived to sing no songs, I saw the core and cardinal virtue of my life. I may not be the quickest, strongest, or smartest, yet I could bear any burden. I could hold any hardship. At the end of all, I’d stand as a survivor. I’d stand and linger and laugh loudly, whether I wallowed on a pile of corpses or surrounded myself with loved ones.

I’d prefer the latter over the former, but I rarely proved so lucky despite the efficacy of my own efforts. Like a curse at birth, that never changed.

Still, Solomon and I stood tall and towering as we crossed back over towards our earthly dwelling. Those thoughts withered and wasted away as we opened up the door with the warm glow of fire opals reminding me of campfires.

Everyone’s sat beside a fire at night. The flames sooth the soul and cool the fiery cold of night, all while giving a bit of light in a pool dark. Like beacons of safety, they ward off animals and silence the screaming nightmares that haunt dreams. To a traveler, fire’s are as close to a shelter as you get while on the road. They are bite sized pieces of home in the wide wild world.

That homeliness permeated every aspect of Solomon’s house, and before I’d realized it, the place soothed my shoulders and eased the aching of my feet. Sophia and Joan laughed on a fured Sofa while leaning over a polished table. Surrounded by the hum of Nelastra’s street, there existed a singing silence here. The quiet boomed in my ears, refreshing as wintry water under a sweltering sun. This new place was home.

With a reluctant grimace, I smashed that serenity as I said, “So Sophia, how does helping the palisade sound?”