The storms over Oceanside pelted the city until the following morning, but once dawn broke, the light of the sun shimmered off the remaining puddles, giving the city an otherworldly glow. Duke Mardu was out in the palatial gardens. An earthy, petrichoric scent filled the air, and thin leather boots tapped quietly as he made his way across paved paths towards an overlook…where Latheroux was waiting for him.
The overlook was capped with a large gazebo, staring into the distant and glittering horizon. The sky was like a watercolor painting; the darkness of night – and the storm-front that it carried south-eastward - was ominous, and it gradually gave way to darker, then lighter blues, and finally the gold and orange surrounding the sun in the low western sky. Mardu crept closer, until he could join the masked man on one of the benches in the middle of the platform, “…Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice. I know it’s early…”
“You know you can call on me anytime.” Latheroux answered, and gave a bow of his head, “Your Grace.”
“I won’t preface what I’m about to say with pitiable well-wishing or pleading to the potential of my wife’s better nature… I fear that her madness has rooted itself far deeper than I ever realized.”
Latheroux gave a suspicious glance, “You sound rather spooked.”
Mardu pointed out at the rising sun, “Out there…she’s developing a weapon, unlike anything I’ve ever seen or heard of. She calls it the Vindicator. To describe it plainly…it’s a colony ship, repurposed to bring death and devastation, instead of life and potential.”
“…She told you this? Maybe she’s embellishing.”
“I wish I could put this off as simple fear-mongering and exaggeration…but she took me there. Myself and four of the Conclave were invited to see it with our own eyes…” Mardu lowered his arm and shook his head in disbelief, “I could hardly process what I was seeing. It’s…massive; more than any one of us could see in those depths. And the crew…” His hands trembled to think of it, “She’s holding them hostage…forcing them to do her bidding under threat of sacrificing the sleeping passengers…”
Latheroux’s expression sunk; that one eye went from the Duke to the rising sun, “…An entire colony ship…with its original cargo? All these years later…” He managed quietly, and pushed to stand up, “I don’t think the Duchess realizes what will happen if Rylen or Xanarken find out about this.”
“…Oh, she does. She’s counting on it.” Mardu countered, “It’s 75,000 reasons for neither of them to lash-out against her. Once she raises that behemoth from the sea…she’s going to make certain the Eidolon know the stakes.”
“Surely she wouldn’t use those innocent lives as a cudgel just to keep the Council out of Kitez. They already rarely incur within these borders…and on the rare occasion that they do, it’s by invitation, or by personal necessity that involves no one here.” Latheroux said, though by his tone, even he had his doubts about whether it was true, “What could she possibly hope to achieve by adding this fuel to the fire?”
“As I said…madness…” The Duke cupped his face in his hands, “I think she wants to force an acknowledgement out of the Council…and if not them, then from the Hadiran Accord. My gut tells me she has designs on Sargon as well…if not to liberate them, then to punish them for acquiescing to the Eidolon as they have. We had been allies for so long…so many of our people are blended together… We get reports of unrest and unhappiness with how things have turned.”
“The Accord would sooner call her a terrorist than a nation’s leader if she brings a hostage situation to them.” Latheroux retorted warily, starting to pace, “And the Conclave supports this?”
“She hasn’t told most of them.” Mardu answered, “She’s kept this project secret from all but her most ardent, proven supporters, for more than 15 years…even from me… I think this was her last attempt at convincing me to take her side and keep the faith. I…I feigned approval…but I can’t abide by all this…which is why I called for you.”
“What do you want me to do about it? I’m merely a friend of the Duchy. There’s nothing I could do.”
Mardu shook his head, and approached the man cautiously, “I don’t believe there’s anything that can be done about the Vindicator. I need you to plead my case to Iresha.”
“Your…what?” Latheroux mentally staggered, and took a step back, “What power do you think I have over there? I may have ways of knowing what’s going on, but I decidedly lack a direct line of contact to the Emperor…”
“There must be something that can be done… Some way to reach him…”
“What would you even have me say if I could?”
“Plead for asylum.” Mardu answered easily, “For the both of us.”
“You can’t do anything for your people if you leave!”
“There’s no way she’ll let me walk free when she finds out I lied! And I can’t do anything for my people if I’m dead or imprisoned either!” Mardu retorted; they were at a stalemate then. Mardu could feel a nervous sweat beading on the back of his neck, “Aamin is here in Kitez. Regulus captured him a few days ago, and has been holding him in secret until Far’nah can figure out what to do with him. If Iresha finds out his brother is in custody…”
“And you plan to be the one to tell him?” Latheroux looked on at the Duke incredulously, “…What do you think that will achieve? You and Aamin are two men against the lives of tens of thousands.”
“Then what should I do? Sit back and do nothing while Far’nah welcomes the ire of the world?” Mardu pleaded, “I have to get to Sargon. Even if Iresha can’t do anything, I’d at least be safe, and then I could reach out to the Eidolon… Maybe they can do something before Far’nah can manufacture tragedy.”
Latheroux looked away, hands on his hips in frustrated contemplation, “…It’s absolute insanity…all of it…” He said, mostly to himself. After a few moments of pacing, he lifted his head, long black hair swaying in a sea-swept breeze, “…Maybe there is a way I can help.”
“Tell me.”
“The Eidolon of the Fourth has notified the Council that he intends to expand leadership. Given his attempt in the past to raise Gabriel Lugios up, I imagine he means to do so again, but in a more…legitimate capacity.” Latheroux started, “Creating a rank that was inexplicably superior to the Captains rubbed a lot of them the wrong way, but I suspect this planned announcement will create what the High Negotiator state could not. Lugios will be the key to what you want to do. Aside from Xanarken himself, Gabriel is the highest-level mediator in the Council…and he’s close with the Emperor.”
“You would involve the Council at this stage? I fear that may reveal things to soon…it would throw my plea for sanctuary right out the window. Why not go directly to Iresha?”
“Because I don’t want your friend to be in the line of fire, if he isn’t already.” Latheroux explained plainly, and stepped closer to put a gentle arm around the Duke’s shoulders. He turned them both to face the rising sun, “Gabriel would be far easier to contact, and it would put all of the Duchess’ misplaced rancor onto the Council instead of the Empire.”
“I see…”
Latheroux set his free hand onto the man’s left shoulder, and pet it reassuringly, “Fear not, old friend. Just continue your ruse for now. I will do what I can to help you…however, when the time comes, you must do exactly as I say.”
“You once told me I should strive to be the leader I have the power to be. If saving Kitez from my wife is my first act…then so be it. I will not allow her to bring ruin to this place.”
The masked man nodded, “Stay strong, your Grace…and tell me everything you possibly can about this Vindicator project.”
.
With the first members of staff finally arriving to start the day, Kourin waited patiently for the doors to open. Her eyes were heavy with fatigue, and the world swam around her, but she shook her head and continued that afflictive cloaking effect. Five people…six, seven…then finally someone swung the door far enough that she could slip out before it closed or someone else got in the way. Kourin quickly made her way down the winding path that led from the front of the facility to the staff drop-off lot; nearby, the storm-front that had already passed over Oceanside was starting to rumble its thunderhead.
A half-hour later, she was finally home, and as she passed below the final decorative archway between the public road and the inner halls of the apartment building, she finally released her Limitless, and heaved a breath. She pulled her glasses away, rubbed her puffy eyes as she waited for the elevator to come down, and before she could blink, she was face-down in her bed.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
She wasn’t sure if she fell asleep immediately or if she’s just closed her eyes for a second, but she was awoken by a hand grabbing her shoulder, and she turned over with a start, “Who’s there!?” She barked, eyes flaring menacingly. They widened in surprise and fizzled to normal as she realized it was Latheroux there, and she calmed her palpitating heart just as the gentle tapping of raindrops began to flit against her nearby window, “What…why are you here?”
He gestured over at the second of Seth’s original nanotech containment-pods, “When you summoned me with the other, I was connected to both, and you couldn’t help but bring your work home with you.” He explained, and he turned to sit at the foot of her bed.
Kourin rubbed her face as she flipped over, “…I forgot… It’s been such a long time since I messed with nanotech stuff…”
“Is it done?”
“Yeah. I don’t like the price it’s asked though.”
“…What do you mean?”
Thunder grumbled overhead, and the soft patter of rain grew into a fast-paced deluge. She sucked in a long breath before pushing to sit as well, and grabbed one of her big pillows to hug over her lap, “Scyrexian isn’t strong enough to wake-up our friend without switching bodies. Apparently, there are rules in place for what it can do under any given conditions…” She started, and pressed her cheek into the fluff. Pale hair tumbled around it, and she hugged the pillow closer as she tilted her gaze towards the masked man beside her, “Right now - even though appropriating the body of a fully-trained Fafnir Knight - it’s the weakest it could possibly be. It can’t access even a fraction of its own strength in a body that it describes as ‘blind.’ You know about the Aegis mission this week?”
“I do. It just crossed back into Sargon about two hours ago. There’s already chatter. …Not about the mission, but about the thing I came to talk to you about. In any case, please, continue.”cloak
Kourin blinked slowly in her exhaustion, but she nodded, “Scyrexian is connected to the Magi that the Fafnir encountered out there. One mind, three bodies…that’s why it struggled to fight and hold a thought at the same time. Given the resistance that its host, Ianori, posed while it was trying to fight said Fafnir, it gave up, ceding to the strikes delivered by one of the Knights that it lost track of during the brawl.”
“Where is this going, Kourin?”
“I’ve been up all damn night. If I ramble, deal with it.” She snarled tiredly, “The point I’m trying to make is that Rylen has taken custody of those Magi, and is bringing them north aboard one of the Inquisition ships that went south with the Aegis. Scyrexian believes it can use them to gain some of its strength back.”
“And that will be enough?”
“No. It explicitly stated it needs Lugios to achieve our – and its own – ends. But since it can’t find Lugios, it intends to lure him instead. So, the deal I made with it…is that I’ll set it free, and it’ll enact a plan that will ultimately lead to it acquiring Lugios as a host. Since it already controls the bodies of the Magi, it can use them to pull its essence out of Ianori’s ‘blind’ carcass…”
“So they’re not actually dead, despite what the Fafnir believe.”
She stared quietly, “…Right. No, they’re dead – they’ve been dead - but Scyrexian puppets them around. Since the Magi were afflicted in life, they’re still able to do much more for it, deceased though they may be now. Anyway…apparently, it’s been frustrated at Ianori’s influence on its actions, and feels like its time is being wasted…so it’s already been plotting a way to get back at the Fafnir, and get Lugios for itself, since that fight happened.”
“I see…”
“All told, me letting the damn thing out of that stupid box is the only leverage I had in the whole situation. But…it’s agreed either way. As long as I’m okay with knowing that it’s going to massacre the Fafnir once it gets to the Magi. One life…for all of theirs.”
Latheroux looked on with deep furrows in his brow, “…Why would it need to kill all of them? What’s its endgame?”
“It wants to have fun, of all things.” She explained, and closed her eyes, “It believes that is can use Lugios’ relationship to one of those Fafnir Knights to draw him there, then use her life as a bargaining chip to force Lugios to invite it in. But…before it comes back to me to carry out its side of the agreement, it wants to destroy the Knights, and make Ianori watch. The last thing those eyes would see before dying would be Scyrexian killing everyone he loves.”
“…Vicious little creature, isn’t it.” Latheroux said, “I…”
Kourin opened her eyes again just in time to see the masked man buckle sightly, bent over his knees with his hands clutched around his head. She let go of the pillow long enough to set her hand on the man’s back, “I…know you don’t have it in you to allow that to happen. That’s why I made the deal without bringing you into it beforehand. All you need to do is keep it together long enough to let the pieces fall into place…then we’ll all be out of here.”
In spite of his agony, Latheroux nodded, “…Right… I…need to find Tallus, then. Get back to Oceanside…”
“Not before you tell me what you came to say.” She grumbled, “You scared me half awake by showing up here unannounced. At least make it worth my while, so I can salvage what little is left of my day off.”
“…Yes…right…” Latheroux rubbed his head, trying to shake the overwhelming pain despite it being useless to soothe a mantle, “I…was just approached this morning by the Duke. He wants out. If Tallus was able to help him find his spine, it’s manifesting in a way I didn’t anticipate. He…wants sanctuary in Sargon, with the Emperor. He’s asked me to help him get it.”
“That’s great news. If Mardu is in Sargon then Far’nah would be less likely to poke the bear. Him and the Emperor were boyhood friends; they could greatly influence one another to a brighter future in both nations.”
“That would have been my thought as well, if he hadn’t come to that conclusion because of a new weapon Far’nah has been developing. She found an intact colony ship, submerged off the coast…fully functional, and repurposed with Kitezan technology. She’s going to use the lives of every person aboard as collateral against the Council.”
Kourin sat fully upright, “…The implications of that are extreme. Have you told anyone else yet?”
“No. I came to you as soon as I got everything Mardu could give to me about what he’d seen and been told about it.” Latheroux turned, and lifted a knee up onto the edge of the mattress so he could look at the woman directly, “I honestly don’t know what to do about that. The only thing I can do is get Mardu under the Emperor’s protection. Maybe that’ll buy some time… Rylen will go absolutely mad when he finds out what Far’nah has, and what she’s done with it.”
“Mad enough to invade?”
“…Potentially. We have to act fast. Our window is closing.” Latheroux bent his head down, hands clasped around his upturned calf, “Cut Scyrexianori loose tonight, after the majority of the staff are gone. If we’re going to be killing a lot of people, let’s not do so indiscriminately.”
Kourin stared for a moment, but then gave a single nod, “…If everything goes the way we want, we’ll be gone before the end of the week. After all this time, it’s hard to fathom that we’re finally in the last hours. I was starting to think we’d be stuck here forever…”
Latheroux reached his right hand forward, and pulled the small woman closer, touching their brows together, “Get some rest. I’ll make sure everything comes together, and get you kids to safety.”
“And you, too. We’re not leaving you behind.” Kourin corrected, just as she felt those nanotech lips set a gentle kiss to her brow as well, “It’ll be nice to have you around in the flesh again. You can quit being so grim and serious all the time, and you can finally stop wearing that mask.”
“If everything goes to plan…” He agreed, and lifted up to stand on his own two feet again, “I’ll make sure Tallus knows things are working-out on this side.”
Kourin watched quietly as the mantle dissolved, and the faint cloud of it was siphoned back inside the containment sphere. With an exhale, she took her pillow down, and kicked her shoes off, “Tonight, then…”
Back at Oceanside, Latheroux closed the doors to a small walk-in closet, and made his way through the room he’d been given by the Duke, towards the night-stand beside a large, untouched bed. He grabbed for a FlexiGlas tablet standing idle on that wooden top, and sought for the Magistrate’s name on its contact list. When the image of the list changed over to ‘Calling…’ and then over to show Tallus’ face, Latheroux looked on at it stiffly, “I need to meet with you in person. Please come to my chambers as soon as you’re able.”
Tallus’ groggy morning-face changed over to intrigue, and he smiled, “I’ll be there right away.”
The connection was severed, and Latheroux waited quietly, all-but staring at the face of a clock on the wall as the minutes went by. When he heard the knock though, he went to the door to open it, and Tallus stepped through. The panel clicked shut, and the two faced one another, “We’ve got it; Scyrexianori has agreed to lend us its strength. Kourin will let the beast loose after the site is locked-down for the evening. In a few days, it’ll have what it needs, and so will we.”
“Things are coming together at lightning speed all of a sudden.” Tallus commented, “Has anyone been able to apprise Phexides of what’s going on? He’d probably want to know.”
“Once Kourin is in the clear, she’ll be heading that way and let him know on arrival. The Council and Kitez will likely be too busy with one another to notice, and we’ll be long-gone before they ever do.”
“How exciting!” Tallus lifted his hands through the white wrapping of his uniform-cloak, and clapped them together lightly, “Truly a marvel that everything we need has come together in such a fortuitous moment. Any longer and we might not be able to stop these cogs from turning, and we’d be caught-up in the middle of the fighting.”
“…Indeed.”
The Magistrate paused his cooing, and tilted his head at the masked figure, “Why do you sound so doubtful all of a sudden?”
“The price of Scyrexianori’s aid is higher than I can stand.” He answered, “I…” He shook his head in frustration, “While I’m sure that I am dedicated enough to this cause to get through it, I could use a little help of my own. The Aegis will be docking in Trazad later today, and I need to be able reach Gabriel for something unrelated. I will…need to be able to slip through the Fafnir without faltering.”
“Ah… The price is them, I take it.” Tallus understood easily, and tilted his head up as his eyes began to manifest that ethereal light, “You’ve been a steady friend to us while toeing the line of your unwavering loyalty to the Council. I swear…sometimes, using this power on you feels like giving drugs to a parent. Pleading for another hit after we were sure you no longer had need of it…”
“If the Fafnir weren’t going to be there, it wouldn’t be an issue. But…keeping this knowledge secret while looking them in the eyes, knowing many – if not all of them – are going to die…” Latheroux said, only to stagger again where he stood, clutching at his head, “Please…it’s too much…”
“It’s okay.” Tallus reached his hands forward to set them firmly on the man’s shoulders, and pushed him back upright, “Just relax…be at ease…” The glow wafted forward like guided smoke, and entered into Latheroux’s solitary visible eye, “You are doing the greatest good you possibly can, with the smallest amount of collateral damage. For me…keep what you know to yourself for a little while longer. There will be no more need for secrets once we’re gone.”
Latheroux looked transfixed, entranced…and almost sleepy, “…Anything…for…you…” He spoke in a quiet haze.
“Now…tell me why you need Lugios all of a sudden.”