* * *
Theosil
* * *
Peace settles over my mind like a warm, soaking bath. As I follow the new Law and the Emperor back through the chambers, I relish this sudden feeling of things possibly becoming right again.
Except... except it's not. I worry about my brother, in the company of the Void, and I have no way of helping him. Arik wasn't made for the Void, and I don't understand how being made a part of it could possibly save him, give him some grand purpose, or anything at all. The Void is the antithesis of everything I've ever understood the Law to be. It is chaos, it is disorganization on a grand, celebratory scale, and my brother is literally made of rules and codes.
But the Emperor is so calm about it. Was it a loophole? He did promise not to destroy Arik. The Void isn't technically destruction...
"Sit here," the Emperor says, guiding Mitheoni to a seat in the workroom. I hadn't even noted our arrival. He looks at me a moment, studying me, then smiles and motions for me to take my customary place.
I try not to ponder why that smile seemed so... final. I have a job to do now.
"Are you comfortable?" he asks, glancing at Mitheoni. The boy nods, giving a small wave. The Emperor then turns his attention to the tome in front of him, running his fingers over the ancient leather as if reading the contents through it's bumps and fissures. A final pause, and then he opens it, the spine groaning under the weight of the parchment within.
Let us work backwards this time, Litheosil, he murmurs, and we begin.
My quill flies as the images flow, and I find the dragon that was draped about the Lady Void. It sees me, then smiles its slow smile. Has my time finally come?
It has, the Emperor says. Are you willing to become this task?
The dragon's smile grows, revealing endless rows of teeth. I exist for this. There is no will. There is only the Law, and I will destroy all that is not of the Law.
And what is the Law?
The dragon curls about itself, watching the Emperor through its great silver eyes. The sheer weight of its thoughts threatens to force me to my knees, and I find myself shaking in awe. Runes and sigils chase across its flesh as it moves, the images and scripts remarkably similar to the ones I've seen in the Emperor's tome. The dragon finally sighs, his breath filling the air with the scent of burning smoke and the acrid sharpness of forged metal.
The Balance.
I'm hardly done with him yet! the Lady says from somewhere in the Void, from across what seems like years. Oh, ok. Now I'm finished. She chortles, and I catch a quick flash of her gold nails parting a perfect black curtain. I rather doubt he will ever fully understand anything, much less himself, but... "Oh, have you given yourself a name yet?"
The dragon stares at the Lady, nonplussed, but with the slightest air of one trying to maintain poise in the face of the ultimate insult. I have no need for names.
The Lady covers her mouth with one hand, hiding a smile. "My pardon, I hadn't realized when we were. Do you need a moment?"
The dragon sighs once more, the long-suffering sigh of a mentor with an unteachable student, and curls upon himself. His great silver eyes close, and I find myself holding my breath, waiting.
Then, without sound or fanfare of any sort, he vanishes.
The Lady smiles down at Arik, then grins at the Emperor. "You may have your little problem back now, dear brother." She looks down at Arik once more, smiling fondly. "You might want to take him outside, though. This is going to get a bit messy."
The Emperor's shoulders tense. "What have you done?"
"Me?" The Lady's eyes widen. "This is your doing, darling. As much as any of this could be either of our doing." She shrugs, then gathers her robes around her and turns, wrapping herself into the Void and vanishing. He's just too stubborn to learn things the easy way.
"Well," The Emperor says, "if she thinks we should take him outside, we'd better take him outside. Tia is not above letting things get messy, but a warning from her..." He tilts his head, then shudders. "Let's just move him."
* * *
Arik
* * *
I feel myself being dragged through the halls and out into the courtyard, but show no sign that I'm aware I'm being moved. Something in me twists and ripples, restless. The dark hunter is approaching once more, but I know by now I will never outrun it. I must face this thing head on, and I must conquer it.
I don't feel so good, though. I can't hold back a shudder. The air is too cold on my skin, and I'm so aware of the many ways things could go wrong for me in the near future. I hardly know myself anymore, I know nothing of this enemy I must face... I know nothing useful at all.
On that, at least, we agree. I feel its hot breath against my neck, but nobody around me reacts. They can't see it, so whatever I'm dealing with is not outside of me.
I struggle to build some wards around my mind, but they're torn down before I can even begin to properly shape them. Too weak. This is all you are?
Fire rakes down my legs, and I shriek. My eyes fly open, and yes -- they're shredded, white flashes of bone showing through the raw meat. I thought this wasn't physical!
You assume too much, and you are an idiot. My hands are impaled, and I feel my bowels twist, then rip through my skin. You are nothing before me. You are nothing at all. No purpose, no form, just a whining, wretched, misbegotten lump of flesh. I feel the creature pause, regarding me, and I almost think I catch a flash of silver. It chuckles, the low grating of metal on stone, and I feel as if one of my arms is slowly being torn away from my body. I lie there, white-hot and silent in agony as it feeds on me. You do have one redeeming factor, maggot. You are quite delicious.
What did I do to deserve this?
Deserve? The chuckle falls into an absolute cold regard. I will remind you, meat.
* * *
Theosil
* * *
The Emperor hauls me back by my robes and a fair chunk of my hair as I rush forward. "Don't," he whispers, his voice rough. He's snow white, his eyes wide. The hand at my neck is trembling so hard his nails are scratching my neck. I look back at Arik, and immediately wish I hadn't. He seems to explode from within, his back arching from the force, jaw wide in a silent scream. I can almost hear a low laughter in the air, and long gashes appear on his left arm.
"What's going on? Why are we just watching?" I make another faint attempt to pull away, but this time Mitheoni has one of my arms. I know I am not strong enough to break away, but the urge is so strong I sway on my feet.
The Emperor swallows. "I'm not sure. Tia said..." He shakes his head, then looks at me. "Tell me, Litheosil. What is going on?"
I open my mouth to protest, then close it and force myself to look at Arik, past the blood and the flashes of shadow about him. There is something at play here, a new force, a new order fighting to--
-- to take place. The structure of the old Law must adapt to the flexibility of the Balance, must be able to survive, anticipate, and enact changes that preserve not only the Law, but to ensure the Law preserves those subject to it. Without the Balance, this new order will not stand, and the world around it will fall.
The Emperor releases his grasp on my shirt. I fall to my knees, eyes averted, so I do not have to see the words scribed across my robe in Arik's blood. "I... I thank you, Litheosil." He folds his hands into the sleeves of his robes. Beside him, Mitheoni shifts his weight, his face growing paler by the second.
"Mitheoni?" My voice sounds strangely harsh in my own ears.
"He's going to die." His eyes are wide, and he's trembling. "This isn't right. He's going to die."
I frown, regretting my quick glance at the mess my brother is becoming. "That's not cer--"
But Mitheoni isn't there.
* * *
Arik
* * *
I have nothing left to use in my defense. This thing, this Judgement has fallen on me, and there is nothing left I can say. I look up and see it above me, a giant silver mist. It shifts and coalesces into a trident. Something in me stirs at the sight of it, some deep recognition.
Then you accept?
Yes. It feels right, this verdict. I feel a sort of relief, knowing that everything will be over the moment those tines pierce me and drive me into the Void. I failed. Now I can rest. Tia does not disturb the Judged.
The trident falls.
