13

RC20

The body was wrapped in a black sheet. The embroidery covering it was to remind those who buried it of its accomplishments, the obstacles encountered and its countless victories. Intertwined curves represented the many paths he had taken. In places on the drapery, a red circle had been embroidered to symbolize his successes. The Grand Master had a multitude of them. He wore a hat decorated with three hundred teardrop gems for the number of disciples he left behind, and the Night Stone was placed on his forehead. The body was lying at the entrance to a mine, the crowd had dispersed, only the three high priests remained. By law, only they had the right to participate in the Grand Master's last moments.

They lifted him delicately then entered the mine. A murmur rose and turned into a melody, into a prayer. The sound echoed through the tunnels and for a few minutes they would seem haunted by the echo of chanting.

The three brothers descended into the depths without ever stopping their humming and with their only guide being a path formed by the crystals that dotted the walls of the necropolis.

Finally, they arrived in front of the statue of the High Priestess. She was seated on the edge of a pool, her hand stretched out towards the center of it, as if to invite the traveler to bask there. Yet the interior was black as coal, and gave the impression of sinking into a bottomless tunnel.

The priests gently placed the body in the basin and knelt in front of the statue to bid their last farewell to the only father they had known. They prayed for the priestess to guide him into the next life. Goran then took a piece of embroidered cloth and wrapped the Night Stone in it without touching it once.

Then they got up and started the ascent that would lead them to the exit. They left without looking back and without seeing the Grand Master's body slowly turn to stone and sink to the bottom of the basin to finally join that of the High Priestess.

“The RC will only give us 48 hours,” began Goran.

"They become extremely anxious without a High Priest, said Haïdar Has everything been prepared?" he continued

"They're expecting us in an hour. I know it's tradition, but what's the point. We already know who will be chosen" answered Axel while walking.

"That's the rule. You wouldn't want to see a tyrant at the head of the CR again," Haidar said.

"I think you still have some character traits that are quite reminiscent of a t…" said Goran

"Do you dare compare me to this monster? said Haidar coldly

"Let's calm down, you two. Only you doubt your success Haidar. The brotherhood and the stone will choose you. It's a certainty."

"I hope so Axel, I hope so, because we wouldn't want to see Goran in power..."

Axel met Goran's gaze and preferred to hurry up in order to escape a new argument.

His big brothers had always been like that. They never agreed and preferred to provoke each other. He had no doubt that even on their deathbed, they would still manage to argue.

An hour later, they entered the hemicycle. The room was full, the brothers assigned to the most distant planets had made the trip. Brother 35 had returned the day before, breaking off his retreat at RC116, the farthest RC planet. The population there was mostly urban, it was a planet-city welcoming adventurers who wanted to go beyond the borders of RC.

Outside the borders, there were no longer any rules. Trading companies sent scouts there in search of new wealth. Very few survived...

" We have delivered Grand Master Ethan into the hands of the High Priestess, may she be merciful to him and may she guide him into the afterlife" declared Haïdar solemnly.

With these words, the priests fell silent in order to collect themselves for a moment and pay homage one last time to the previous Grand Master of the Brotherhood.

"Now that we have watched over our protector and his last moments, it is time to select a successor. By tradition the Grand Master is elected by acclamation, before he is allowed to participate in the choice of the stone. Unfortunately, only a brother with a name can come forward for this choice. And there are only three of us. So we will present ourselves to you one by one, hoping that you will elect one of us."

Axel presented himself first before declaring " I renounce the election and give my vote to my brother Haïdar "

Goran came second before declaring " I give up the election, I'm far too busy to manage a brotherhood. I give my vote to my brother Haïdar who has many more virtues than me." He then gave his brother the piece of cloth that covered the night stone.

If he was surprised by what the two high priests had just done, Haïdar did not show it.

“I am grateful for the confidence my brothers have in me, and I now submit to your vote.

At that moment, the room exploded.

"Haidar! Haidar!

All the brothers chanted his name and the room vibrated with cries that didn't seem to let up.

Haidar raised his hand several times to obtain silence. It seemed to Axel that a heavy crown had just been placed on his big brother's head and that he had just realized the magnitude of the task that was about to be entrusted to him.

" Thank you very much for your support. Grandmaster Ethan is dead, but his teachings remain with us. I hope to become worthy of your trust and allow us to enter a new era.

But now...it's up to the Night Stone to decide. I swear to you that it was not taken by force, it was given to us. May she now wisely choose the one who will carry her to the end.

He presented the stone still wrapped in a cloth to the assembly.

He took it delicately to place it in his right hand and show it to the assembly. But instead of hearing the final cheers, there was soon only a long silence.

"Impossible…"

"It is a mistake…"

Whispers began to rise.

"He must try again!"

Haïdar at these words turned to his two brothers who were looking at the stone with terror.

She had turned red.

Seeing the color it had taken, Haidar turned pale, and the stone fell to the ground, retaining the red color that his touch had given it.

Goran seemed to be the first to come to his senses and rushed towards Haidar.

"Brothers, we know that the Night Stone is a complex artifact. It binds its essence to that of the person who wears it. But it is possible that the essence of the Grand Master has not dissipated, making the choice then impossible. Let the night pass, before proceeding again to the ceremony. You all know that High Priest Haidar is worthy of the stone. He never ceased to assist our brotherhood with bravery and to guide the less experienced among us in the way of the High Priestess. I would therefore ask you to grant him this time. Let those who accept raise their hands."

Soon many hands were raised, but among the crowd a few figures already stood out. They were mostly the older unnamed brothers. Some looked at Haidar with disdain, others seemed horrified.

"Since the majority of you have voted, we will resume the ceremony tomorrow at dawn."

Axel then went to the stone that had remained on the ground. It was blood red which intrigued him. It reminded him of the red petals of the Devil's Palm.

Forgetting the rules, he took it with his bare hands to examine it. He was disappointed to see her slowly returning to the dark color he was used to. He had never seen him so close. She was smooth to the touch, but the feel was not the same as with her own gem. Energy… That was what he felt with the night stone. A warm energy that numbed his fingers, then his hand gradually, but before it reached his arm, a hand ripped it off.

He caught the gaze of Goran who looked at him as one of the plants that fascinated him. Goran wrapped the stone again in a cloth. But in the hall, a few brothers had already risen. Others seemed to be staring at Axel angrily, like Brother 24. But Haidar remained impassive even though Axel could already see the displeasure appearing on his face.

"The stone seems to have returned to its original color. The essence of the Grand Master must have finally left it. We will let the stone choose again tomorrow" Goran said to break the tension that seemed to be mounting in the hemicycle. Haidar meanwhile took Axel's elbow and dragged him to the exit of the room.

"Brother, what's going on? Asked Axel

But Haidar continued to drag him through the corridors, as if he hadn't heard him. He stopped abruptly in front of a familiar door that Axel recognized as his bedroom.

“Shut up and don’t leave your room for any reason until the end of the ceremony tomorrow. I didn't think you could be so stupid Axel. began Haidar

"But…Brother…I don't understand…"

“The stone began to bind to your essence when you touched it. But the process was fortunately interrupted by Goran. Otherwise, a war would certainly have broken out in the Brotherhood. Tomorrow I must bind myself to the stone or the various factions of the brotherhood will split between you and me. You didn't just make friends, Axel, by positioning yourself in favor of the liberation of earthlings. Since that day Brother 24 has formed a faction that continues to grow. The stone will choose me tomorrow, but for now your safety is at stake. Stay here until I am announced as the new Grand Master.

"But Haïdar, why would the stone have linked itself to me and not to you from the start?" asked Axel, incredulous,

"I don't know. There's a good chance that the essence of the Grandmaster was always present in the stone. After all, we had just broken the connection. Everything will be settled tomorrow. I promise you. 'Please Brother, stay in your room' insisted Haidar in a desperate tone.

"I promise."

Axel entered his room and locked the door. What had become a sanctuary became a new prison.

He waited to hear his brother's footsteps move away before collapsing against the door. He knew what was coming, his body made him feel like he was going to have another panic attack.

It was then that the words his big brother had taught him during the first crisis came to his mind again.

"don't give up, don't run away, don't give up"

This sentence had become a mantra that he repeated to himself every day when the anxiety became too great. He knew the night was going to be long.