The judge of the trial ruffled my hair in such an obnoxiously paternal way that it made me want to stab him. We had concluded the court proceedings and were sitting down in an enclosed yard in the back of the courthouse, each of the three of us finding seats around a shaded table hidden in a grove of cherry blossom trees. A small ornamental waterfall trickled water into a pond and ghostly hummingbirds danced from flower to flower in vibrant garden beds.

“So you rule Poros then?” I said, referring to the island we were on.

Maximos Julion, the judge, laughed. He wore no crown or badge of office but his rings were littered with fat golden rings that were encrusted with polished rubies each the width of my thumbnail. Though his assigned career was to act as mediator and to pass judgments, I strongly suspected from what I had overheard today that he had far more power than that.

“No, no, dear Adrias. I merely administrate the Isle of Poros for the High Council. I am a steward, not a king.” Maximos said, downing a cup of the divine wine of Nectar. He had curly brown hair, a hefty stomach, and a perpetual smile.

“What’s the functional difference here?” I asked him.

“Well, for one, the words king and steward use different syllables when I say them.” He joked. “The main things are that when you call yourself a steward, you still have the same amount of power but the High Council on the capital island of Nixos don’t feel like they have a rival.”

Now that was something. I had originally been approaching this like our army of Brights from Asphodel were up against an impenetrable archipelago of islands filled with great warriors and heroes. That illusion was quickly being shattered every moment I spent with these people. The Blessed weren’t nearly as impressive as I feared and the more calculating of them were not only few and far between but they were divided and mistrustful of each other…

“I’m sorry to ask so many questions, but what exactly is the High Council? I was under the impression from what Callidas has told me that Elysium was run by a senate of people who worked a career.” I said.

“It is run by a senate, but the High Council on Nixos, the largest and most populated island, are the only ones that can bring a bill of legislation that one of us has drafted to the senate floor and if the six of them are unanimous, then they can veto any law proposal if they dislike the elements added to it by the senate. They also fulfill the role I have here on Poros on their own Isle of Nixos.” Maximos replied, popping a grape into his mouth.

“Sounds like tyranny that they can veto at will like that.” I commented.

“And that sounds like treason.” Maximos said wryly.

I smiled. “I’ll suppose you’ll have to report me then if you’re only the High Council’s humble servant.”

Maximos’s broad shoulders shook from his laughter.

“Fair play. Fair play indeed.” He chuckled and then turned to Callidas Aezion who was spearing little chunks of Ambrosia with a two-pronged fork and chewing them.

“You know, Aezion, when you came to me after today’s trial and told me you thought you had a new candidate for one of us esteemed individuals amongst the Blessed, I feared you were merely being hopeful. This is far more promising though, good eye on spotting this one’s potential.” Maximos said.

“I do have keen vision for these things.” Callidas said pridefully.

“I don’t think I have quite proven myself yet.” I said with false humility, carefully crafted to be the opposite of Callidas’s attitude.

“Nonsense, my boy.” Maximos said. “The fact you haven’t drunk a gallon of Nectar and devoured six plates of Ambrosia and then left already to forever dwell in bathhouses and on beaches speaks well enough of your character and resolve. We’ll get you a job yet, don’t worry.”

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“54!” Maximos snapped, his attitude totally changing from a jovial man to something far colder, a shift that unsettled me.

A male Larua, garbed in brown clothing and a beautiful mask as they all were, came to the table. I noted that they apparently went by numbers instead of whatever their names had been in life or instead of being given new ones by Elysium if they had forgotten them.

“Bring the List of Enrollment from my office.” Maximos said and the servant departed silently, his footsteps as quiet as his sewn together lips.

I supposed I shouldn’t be surprised that even those who seemed pleasant turned coldhearted when around the Laruas. The Blessed of Elysium clearly didn’t see those who served and worked for them to be people in any stretch of the word.

The Larua returned shortly later with a yellowed scroll of paper and handed it to me. When I cracked the wax seal, I was surprised to find it was empty of any ink.

I looked up and glanced from Maximos to Callidas.

“Is there supposed to be something here?” I said, wondering if this was some kind of joke.

“Give it a moment.” Callidas recommended. “It takes a minute to update. No point in having a list we have to constantly send messengers to all the islands every time we make a new person ascend to a role.”

Sure enough, like an invisible pen was scribbling in front of me, ink appeared, and lists of titles were scrawled before my very eyes.

“Scan the list, see if something jumps out at you.” Maximos recommended.

I looked eagerly, who knew what job I could take to exploit and damage Elysium’s defenses before our invasion?

Submaster of Coin

Beach Inspector Third Class

Streetsweeper Second Class

Carpenter’s Assistant

Mural Artisan

Vineyard Quality Control

Flower Trimmer at Ilvarel Gardens

Stonecarver Third Class

I stared at the list aghast. These jobs sucked! It went on and on, mediocre position after mediocre position.

“I really recommend you choose Carpenter’s Assistant,” Maximos said. “Avixia is a fantastic teacher and I’m sure she would love to have a new hand around. You would have to move to the Isle of Taeos, but you could always visit, of course.”

“Flower Trimmer is good if you would like a more relaxed pace.” Callidas added.

I tried to salvage whatever strategic advantage I could get and stopped reading part way through and went back to the first entry, the most promising one.

“What does Submaster of Coin do?” I asked, desperately trying to find something useful.

“Inspect newly minted currency for flaws or mistakes. Not terribly interesting, I’m afraid.” Maximos said apologetically.

I shoved down my annoyance and anxiety and kept on going but the options never improved. It should have been obvious, in a land full of immortals, all the good jobs were taken and all that were left were the ones they had just made up to give new Blessed something to do or something that none of them wanted to do in the first place. I kept scanning with a forlorn hope until something caught my eye.

Lord of Sutures

What was that? A medical position? Sutures were stitches that closed incisions, but our wounds closed themselves and we had no fear of infection. What need did the dead have for doctors and why was it named so oddly?

“What’s this one?” I said, tapping my index finger beside it.

Maximos grimaced and Callidas shook his head.

“You don’t want that one.” The judge said. “Honestly, we shouldn’t even have it open on this list, imagine giving it to a newcomer, Callidas, imagine that.”

Callidas gave a halfhearted laugh.

“But what is it?” I insisted, my interest growing every moment they didn’t reveal it.

Maximos looked at Callidas and the other Blessed coughed awkwardly.

“You see, Adrias,” Callidas said. “The Lord of Sutures is a role we give to the person in charge of creating, conditioning and maintaining our Larua workforce.”

I resisted the urge to give a vicious hunter’s smile. That was exactly the kind of job I wanted in Elysium.

“I want that one.” I said firmly.

“My dear boy, trust me, the role of Lord of Sutures is painfully dreadful and grim. Shut away on the Isle of Thaxos surrounded by nothing but Laruas… You don’t want that.” Maximos said, trying to persuade me.

Oh yes, I do want that. I thought to myself. Control over the servants that worked through all of Elysium and being isolated from any watchers to interfere with my plans. I desperately wanted that.

“I want that one.” I said again.

“We can’t let-“ Callidas said.

More ink appeared next to the title of Lord of Sutures.

Lord of Sutures: Confirmation- Y/N

The Y/N was fading in and out of focus and I got the sense it was like a touchscreen. I pressed a finger against it just as Callidas tried to grab my hand, but I got to it first.

I gasped as I felt what seemed like a hand of ice gripping my heart and as my vision warped and flickered. When I came to, I felt a sensation in the back of my mind like I was being watched by thousands of sets of eyes. It was only when I looked up to see 54, Maximos’s Larua assistant, silently staring at me that I realized I was sensing every Larua on Elysium.