The next day, John took a speeder to the Elven Embassy, using the auto function as he was unfamiliar with the city. Was it day? John looked up at the dark sky and couldn’t make out if there was sunlight or not. The clouds obstructed everything. He wondered how the planet was growing its agriculture without sunlight. Maybe the Empress was importing food, or maybe crops were being grown with artificial light. It must have been depressing to look up at the sky everyday and not see a trace of blue. He wondered what the suicide rate was like in the Imperial capital. Sor Al had said Relar and Sariel would not mind staying on this planet for a few years, but he knew she was just trying to comfort him. Who would want to stay here when they could live on a paradise planet like Kumra?

He looked below and saw a large marble structure, with arches and columns. The exterior was carved with statues of the Sleeping Goddess. He could distinguish her face from anywhere, no matter the distance. What was a temple of Inashta doing on a human planet? He felt such immense fear all of a sudden that he nearly jumped out of the speeder. What was happening to him? He took deep breaths and calmed himself down.

John’s speeder soon landed in front of a white building. The building had a front lawn. John’s guess had been right. There was artificial sunlight spread over the grass and its surroundings, beamed by hoverlights flying at each corner of the embassy. There were two guards standing at the gate. When they saw John their faces became impassive. Was he going to encounter Elven discrimination on a human world as well?

“Name?” one of the guards asked him.

“John.”

“Purpose of visit?”

“To meet Sor Al, the ambassador.”

“She is not yet the ambassador.” His eyes became green as he communicated with Sor Al. “You may enter. She is in the Rainbow Hall. Follow the path and turn left at the first crossroad.”

“Thank you.” John followed the path. The embassy was quite large. The whole complex was awash with artificial sunlight. Those hoverlights sure were powerful. Though the elves and humans disliked each other, it seemed that their diplomats were treated well. He turned left at the crossroads and saw Relar waiting for him outside the first building he came to.

“Jehun,” he shouted and waved his hands in the air.

“I see you,” John shouted back, and quickened his pace towards Relar.

“What brings you here? We weren’t expecting you for a few days yet.”

“I wanted to discuss things with Sor Al,” John said.

“You could have used your chip.”

John preferred seeing people face to face. Using avatars to communicate on the root way seemed too distanced and unreal. Besides, he was paranoid about his chip being tapped by the Empress. Was tapped the correct term? They tapped phones so he supposed it could be used for chips as well.

They walked into the hall. John instantly understood that there was a good reason for calling it the Rainbow Hall. Lights of all colors filled the hall. Some areas were lit in green, some in red, blue, orange and yellow.

“The different colors have different conditions,” Relar explained. The red areas are hotter than the other ones, and the oxygen and gravity level is different. The blue areas are the reverse. You get the idea. The conditions can be adjusted.”

“Why?” Was this just to show off their technology? It seemed a big waste of money. Then again, the elves loved to waste their money. They were filthy rich, so they could afford to do so.

“Different people from different planets are used to different physical conditions,” said Relar. “This hall tries to make everyone comfortable.”

There was even a black area, and that was where Relar led John to. Sor Al was within, though he couldn’t see her.

“You can’t see or hear a thing from outside,” explained Relar. “This is perfect for secret talks.”

“What about the temperature, gravity and oxygen level?”

“Usually, the same as the outside.”

That was good to know. He wouldn’t suddenly be stepping into a place with weird gravity and make a fool of himself. As soon as he entered the darkness a light shone from within. It wasn’t like the sunlight from outside. It was white and much brighter. It was strange how he couldn’t see the light from the outside. It was so strong. Sor Al sat on a chair in front of a holoconsole. She looked tired, with dark circles under her eyes. John had never before seen an elf look like this.

“Jehun,” she gestured for John to take a seat. “What news?”

The Empress was right. Sor Al was always straight to the point, leaving little aside for small talk.

“You were there when the Empress made me a baron,” he said, “After that she said she wanted me to be her ‘executioner in the dark’ and made me swear fealty to her.”

“She would have to make you swear fealty if she made you a noble of her empire,” Sor Al said. “I expected that. As for being her assassin, she had no right to ask it of you. How binding is your oath?”

“I don’t know. It was only verbal and not witnessed by anyone.”

“She would have recorded it. She will not let you out of her grasp easily. I should have expected this. There’s no other reason she’s want to have you. How do you feel about being her assassin? I know you dislike killing.”

“I have been trained to kill by you and Karamen. That’s what being a warrior is about. I don’t like doing it, but if it’s soldiers fighting against me, or someone who’s trying to take my life, I will kill without remorse. Now that I’ve sworn to her, I suppose the Empress’ enemies are my own. They’re trying to kill her, and I have to kill them to protect her. I don’t know how to feel about it.”

“You seem very confused.”

Duh! Of course he was confused. He’d never been put in such a situation before. The moral quandary had been eating him up.

“It’s best to do as Empress Ana says. She will have ways to make you comply. She always has her ways. As for the people she’ll ask you to target, I do not think they will be innocent. With even the slightest slip her enemies will pounce upon her with drawn blades and cut her into pieces. This is a game of survival, just like it was on your planet. Now that you’ve thrown in your lot with hers it’s about your survival as well. It’s known that you’re on her side so they will target you as well. It doesn’t matter how old you are to them. A potential threat is best removed before it has grown.”

“So...I’m assassinating people out of self defense?” This seemed like a skewed way to think of things.

“That’s the best way to think of it. This is a game of murder and extortion masked by politics and dinner parties. Rahl knows I’ve got enough invitations to fill a room since coming here.”

“Are you on the Empress’ side?” If he had Sor Al to back him up things would be easier.

“I wish her well, but I cannot take sides.”

John sighed. “Why is there a temple of Inashta here? She is an elven goddess after all.”

“Some humans worship her as well. They’re mostly from the nobility. They might hate elves but they enjoy her rituals. Human priestesses have distorted an already distorted religion. It is both funny and sad.”

“Why does the Empress allow a foreign cult in her capital?”

“I suspect that most of the priestesses are her spies. Her information network is formidable. Why are you so concerned about Inashta?” She looked at John curiously, trying to discern any clues from his face.

“I felt something when I looked at her temple. I think that she’s going to awaken soon and that it will result in a blood bath.”

“I trust your instincts. I will ask the seers to investigate.”

Once their conversation came to an end Relar and Sariel approached.

“How’s Sher Khan?” Sariel asked. Her heart had been taken captive by the little tiger cub.

“He’s fine. He’s back in my room, ruining the furniture.”

“He’s so cute,” Relar chuckled.

“This is very different from Kumra,” said John. “How are you two going to manage?”

“We’ve been in worse places than this when we followed teacher,” said Relar. “She is always moving about and we following her, so we’re used to it. It was a pity she did not allow us to accompany her on the Swift Retribution,” Relar sighed heavily and then smiled. “We think of Kumra more as a vacation spot than a home.”

“That’s a nice way to put it,” said Sariel.

“It must be a hassle to live in a busy embassy,” said John.

“Not at all. We appreciate the company,” said Sariel. “The people of Kumra are too isolated from one another. There’s something missing within their hearts. The elves here have more life in them. They might be loud and boisterous, even a little rude sometimes but they’re lively and quick to make new friends.”

“They sound like fun.”

John bade farewell to everyone and went back to the palace. His attendant Luten was informed as soon as he entered the palace and met him en route to his room, asking him if there was anything he needed. John shook his head. She then asked him how his visit to the embassy was. It seemed that the palace was very interested in John’s movements. Had Luten asked this question just to show John that they were always watching him? He would be her executioner in the dark but she’d always have her torch shining on him.

John fed Sher Khan in his room. The tiger cub was growing restless from being locked inside all day. He took it for a walk in the palace’s garden scaring most of the passers-by. He’d have to get some sort of leash when he took Sher Khan for his next walk. The cub was too playful, running after people and butting them with its head. After the walk John went back to his room and slept. He dreamed of the Sleeping Goddess. He could see her, a beauty dressed in white, sleeping soundly on what looked like a bed of water. Her hairstyle and clothing changed every twenty seconds, but she never stirred. He saw her only for a few minutes. He was then whisked away to his lonely planet where he had more normal dreams of elephants and dinosaurs.