* * *
Theosil
* * *
Arik appears in the workroom. I startle -- I didn't realize Arik even knew how to get here. He whirls around, wildly searching for something in the room, and finally sees the Emperor. He collapses at the feet of the Most High, sweaty and shaking.
"Father, please... something is..." He coughs violently, his head hitting the floor with the force of the spasm. He looks up, his face wet with tears and... snot? How undignified. My heart breaks a little more for him. Something's really, truly wrong if he's this unkept. "Something is after me!"
The Emperor looks at me, eyebrows raised, and places a hand on my brother's head. "Something is after you? What sort of something?"
Arik shudders, wrapping his arms around himself. "I don't know. It was chasing me, talking about how it was going to tear me apart..." He glances over at the door, his fingers tightening on his arms. "It stopped when I made it here. Father, I barely made it in..." His voice trails off, and he ducks his head.
The Emperor glances my way once more, and I shake my head. I haven't noticed anything about that shouldn't be here, Most High.
Nor have I, another voice chimes in. I had forgotten about young Mitheoni. He's standing there, trying so hard to look important and useful. It's... well, it's kind of cute, really. I'm not entirely sure how he'd recognize anything out of place without having yet formed a familiarity with the place...
Ah, right. That was contributed from me. It's written in his creation. I manage to avoid wondering why it wasn't just patterned off of Arik.
Before I can get distracted enough to start exploring what else our new Law might have come with, Mitheoni walks over to my brother and pats him on the shoulder. "I believe you," he says. I take a reflexive step backwards. Wouldn't do to get blood on my uniform and all.
Arik looks up at the blonde kneeling beside him, confused. "Who are you?"
"Mitheoni," he responds, and holds out his hand in greeting.
Arik looks at the offered palm like it's made of acid, then back up to Mitheoni's veiled blue eyes. "Ah." His voice fills the room like the first breath of a winter storm. "So, you're the one who replaces me." He hauls himself to his feet, fruitlessly swiping at the dirt on his sleeves. "I see now why it feels my own destruction is snarling at my heels."
The Emperor frowns, and for a wonder, Arik doesn't flinch before it. He glowers right back, his arms crossed over his chest. I shiver, half-expecting to see frost forming on my breath. They stand there, gazes locked.
I don't understand. I really just don't understand why Arik is still alive.
Mitheoni inches back, survival instinct apparently kicking in. He'll need better reaction time than that if he's going to last long as the Law of Chethar.
The Emperor raises a hand, then hesitates, holding it in front of Arik's face. My brother -- no, the Arch-- can I even call him that? ... Arik stands firm, refusing to flinch before the impending hand of judgement. The Emperor sighs and shakes his head, lowering his fingers to Arik's face. He collapses with a slight grunt and lies motionless.
"He's still alive," the Emperor assures me, a half-moment before it occurs to me to question that idea.
I have the oddest feeling that I know the answer to my next question, and that I have a fair idea of where's it's going to lead before I ask it, but my mouth takes off without me anyway. "What are you going to do now?"
Knowing the answer doesn't make my stomach clench any less.
"I don't know," the Emperor says. "I didn't quite expect this."
Anavar snorts, but it's the same half-panicked sound that's currently lodged in my throat.
The Emperor sighs, gathers up my brother, and lifts him over his shoulder. "Follow me, please."
Anavar and I glance at each other, then behind us. Mitheoni is coming along as well, but there's the unmistakable feeling that something even bigger is following behind him, deep in the shadows.
There's also the feeling of something coming to meet us, something waiting beyond the doors of the Emperor's suites.
The Emperor waves the doors open and stops abruptly. Anavar frowns, then steps to either side, trying to look past him. We're blocked by the Emperor swinging my brother down from his shoulder, nearly knocking Anavar upside the head with Arik's boots. I get a fantastic view of my brother's curls, and reflexively make sure his fall to the floor is as gentle as possible.
"My Lady, I..." the Emperor's voice stutters to a halt. He's radiating surprise, but no alarm. I glance up, and finally see the dark presence I've felt lurking behind us. Something inside is unsurprised that she is in actuality in front of me. For her, it makes a perfect sort of sense.
"It is a great surprise and pleasure to see you," I say, rising into an elaborate bow. Her laughter rings throughout the chambers, full and golden.
"I would accuse you of lying, Emperor's Song, if I did not know the absolute truth of what you have spoken." She tilts her head, golden hair sliding across her dark shoulders as she grins. "I am rather pleasant to behold, am I not?"
The Emperor clears his throat and nods a greeting. "Not that your presence is entirely unexpected, considering, but..."
I let her in.
My surprise at seeing the Lady Void in the Emperor's chambers had blinded me to a near-equal surprise presence. A dark, ghostly shadow of a dragon uncurls from behind the couch, its grand head and tail stretching and uncurling until it fills several rooms.
The Emperor acknowledges the dragon with a very slight tilt to his head. "[ ]. It is not your time yet. Why are you here?"
I replay the greeting several times in my head, but the sounds where the name should be always drift away, somewhere out of reach, out of comprehension. It's like nothing I've tried to write before. I feel the Emperor's reassurance brush my mind, and relax a little. Whatever this dragon-shaped being is, it does not pose an immediate danger to me.
It focuses on my brother, though, and the way it's great mouth curls up and bares its teeth makes me want to jump on top of Arik and shield him from its gaze.
"I thought I'd give him a chance to take a peek around. No harm done, of course, and he's behaving quite nicely, isn't he, my dear Theos?" The Void lifts herself from the couches, drapes of stars and black nothing curling and flowing around her. "Now, let's leave behind the idle chit-chat and take care of a little business. I have come to claim this broken little Archo from you." She smiles, all charm and friendliness. "Seeing as how he's calling to me and all."
I step forward as if to protect my brother. The dragon turns its great silver eyes upon me, and I freeze.
"He is not yet lost to us, Lady," the Emperor says. "I can still save him, find a place for him."
She waves her hand at him, gold flashing in the movement. "Don't be silly. We both know his purpose is better suited with me now, outside your rich and elegant structures." She manages to keep most of the sting out of her words with a quirk of a smile. "Give him to me, and I will give him an alternate answer, one he'd never know under your construction." This time, her smile is sadder, kinder. "Theos, you do your part admirably, but this Law is no longer suited for your kingdom. Give him to mine."
"Order? In your domain?" I wince at the Emperor's voice. I've never heard it so cutting.
"Thanks to the removal of his position, you have created in him a part of mine. What lies outside of Order, Theos?"
The Emperor sighs.
"I have use for that Void," she says gently. "He will bridge our kingdoms, in a fashion. Your Order remains in place. Let me have him." She smiles, this time at the prone form of my brother. "This Law can protect us all, rather than only your chosen few through your simple, narrow definitions." She kneels down, ignoring an outraged squeak from either the Emperor or Anavar. Possibly both. She brushes his hair aside, looking down and tracing the line of his jaw. She looks up at the Emperor. "It is your choice, of course."
The Most High's jaw clenches as he looks down at the quiet man at his feet. "He remains mine as well, subject above all to my Law."
The Lady laughs. "We shall see." She smiles and traces Arik's lips. "Perhaps..." She stands and walks back towards the couch, her hand stroking the dragon's neck as she moves. She looks back, her gold-star eyes smiling. "It's a deal, then?"
The Emperor nods. "As I will it, so shall it happen." He shifts his gaze to the dragon, eyes narrowing. "You shall return to your place at once."
Of course, Most High.
"And you will leave us, yes?" The Lady smiles, patting Arik's head. The Emperor frowns, then nods.
"Of course. Take your time."
* * *
Mitheoni
* * *
I am raising my fist to knock on the door and beg entrance when I feel something around me. It's dark and shadowy, and I can't quite make out the form of it. I can just tell it's curling around me, inspecting me from every angle. I see its eyes staring into me, great silver eyes, each as big as my hand, fingers spread wide. It's judging me.
So you are the new Law.
"Yes, I am. Who might you be?"
The shadow turns, still looking me over. I suppose I am of a new Law as well.
I swallow, even though I have nothing to fear from this creature. "Are you Arik?"
The shadow pauses, then ripples, the impression of laughter echoing in the back of my mind. Hardly. I am Judgement.
"I have no fear of judgement." I find myself trying so shrug the feeling of the shadow draping across my shoulders. Sharp points press into my back, not enough to damage my shirts, but enough to draw my full attention quite nicely. I freeze, not wanting to encourage any further provocation. My own judgement lies quiet. This is not something I should be battling, then?
Your response bespeaks your lie, creature that considers itself the Law.
My cheeks grow hot. "Who are you to call me a liar? What kind of Judgement are you, leveling accusations with no Law to back you up? Without your Law, you are nothing."
There's a long, tense pause before the points on my back withdraw, and the heavy weight of the shadows drop from my shoulders. I swipe at my arms, trying not to shiver. I like you, Gahalespbar-archo. I look forward to meeting you again.
I can't say the feeling is mutual, but whatever that was is already gone.
I blink a few times, then knock on the door. This time, the only thing to greet me is the very same people I'd been searching for, so I allow myself to relax a little and smile. "I'm sorry I fell behind. Did I miss anything interesting?"
Anavar looks at me like I've waltzed into the room naked. In fact, I check, but I am indeed still clothed, so I'm unsure as to why I'm being stared at in such a manner. It's not just the Chozeh -- Litheosil seems to have decided I'm an unusual new species, and even the Emperor looks a little surprised by my appearance.
It does quite a number on a man's confidence when greeted in such a manner.
"No, no..." The Emperor smiles, then laughs softly. "Did you notice anything unusual, Mitheoni?"
"As a matter of fact, yes." I clear my throat and assume what I figure is a good reporting pose. "When I approached the chambers, I was greeted by a shadow-dragon with silver eyes. We exchanged greetings... of a fashion, that is. He expressed interest in renewing our aquaintance at a later date, and vanished before I could return the pleasantry." I frown, thinking back on the conversation. "He accused me of lying, but I do believe he incorrectly interpreted my comment."
The Emperor, for some reason, looks like he is politely trying not to laugh. I suppose the situation is a little humorous, in retrospect. "What did you say that prompted his accusation?"
"Only that I do not have any fear of judgement."
"And neither should you, dear one." The Emperor smiles and beckons me to approach him. He claps my shoulder, gently guiding me towards one of the work chambers. "You were very correct in your response."
