“Talk about more than walls, by God!” Ididirchi made as if to strike Iri, then thought better of it, stalking to the back of the room. “Someone get it to talk about more than the wall.”

A smile crept its way over Railoxhe’s face despite his best attempt to frown. “It’s still great news, my lord. In all honesty, I was completely expecting Siqxhe to fail completely. The fact that he’s managed to wake it- her at all is astonishing.” The room felt almost wrong with how bright it was. Siqxhe was used to working in the dim, almost darkness-

While the others talked, he only watched her. There was an almost mesmerizing quality to her speech, a quiet cadence that pierced the other conversations. “White- snow. Flowers…” It felt strange. Compared to how the sibilant had spoken before, the quiet whisper was almost… strange. It felt childish- but he was sure that she wasn’t mad.

At least, not yet-

Ididirchi stepped back closer to Iri, remaining just out of reach of her arms. She was still at the moment, but Siqxhe had said about how quickly she’d been able to grab him had put him on edge… “Polarity Iridescence. I’ve saved you. Will you, in turn, serve me?” It was a decently reasonable request, but something about her actions before, that conviction… it made Siqxhe feel like it wouldn’t go as Ididirchi had planned.

Iri, however, didn’t respond at all. Only murmuring more about white things, walls and barriers and all manner of words he didn’t understand in that soft language he’d heard before…

After a few more seconds spent trying to get Iri to respond, Ididirchi turned to face Siqxhe. “Doctor… I’m grateful for the services you’ve rendered to me. You will-” He frowned as the advisor leaned in close, whispering something below hearing. Laeo stood stiffer, eyes focusing away from the sibilant and onto Ididirchi as he nodded softly. “The eidolon- Iri is not yet… ready. I need you to wake it.” A second of silence- “Until then, you will stay in the palace.”

“I’ve-” He stopped himself against the glares of Railoxhe and Laeo and most of Ididirchi, his dark eyes which stared into him and promised death for disobedience. He was of two minds about it himself- both relieved that he’d get to stay in Laytaihishu and stay with Iri, but also fearful he’d never be able to get back to Nolabo. There were so many things back home he’d left behind, and so long had already passed…

Railoxhe stayed after Ididirchi swept out of the room, the whole place suddenly feeling a lot emptier and so much more peaceful. “His obsession has… interesting consequences for us. He saw the… Iri, and he saw a potential asset. There are legends about men of steel in the history of our people. No doubt he saw those and thought of their loyalty, their power…” Railoxhe sighed, rubbing his forehead in an all too human gesture. “I don’t want to force you to stay here, but if his dream doesn't come into fruition there’s no distance that’ll guarantee your safety.”

Beside him Laeo waved a hand, grinning softly. “It’s fine… the journey back would take ages anyways. There’s not much harm in staying a bit longer anyways.” Railoxhe relaxed visibly at the words, smiling and slipping out of the door. Leaving Siqxhe and Laeo alone with Iri and her gently spoken words of bright things, illumination-

Siqxhe crossed his arms, leveling his best glare at Laeo. “Why’d you say that? You’ve assured-”

“That we’re safe, yes.” Laeo smiled the same smile, just… exhausted. “So long as Railoxhe likes us, then we’ll be much safer in Ididirchi’s court.”

“Still, there’s things back in… we would have left Ididirchi’s court. We would have been in Ilaial, or Abōeo, or somewhere far away where Ididirchi can’t reach us.” Still, Railoxhe’s words of warning rang in his head, an impression that wouldn’t fade. Ididirchi was ambitious… the grudges he made now might last.

Laeo shook his head softly. “We wouldn’t have left Ididirchi’s court. We’re as much of an asset to him as… Iri is.” He looked at the imposing sibilant, the creature of metal and light who was currently murmuring something about lilies and ocean waves reflecting the light of the sun. “He won’t let us go. Not for a long time.”

“Not until we fulfill what he wants us to fulfill, completely and fully…” Siqxhe nodded. He understood that well enough- the clergy back in Nolabo was a little like that, hoarding doctors and scientists and all sorts of people in their courts and acting like they own them. “So we’re stuck.”

“Well, we’ve known that from the start…” Laeo laughed, but it was a dark laugh. A laugh that was both hopelessness and something else, something that Siqxhe couldn’t quite parse… “I’m tired, Siqxhe. I’m going to go back to the rooms, but don’t let that stop you… figure out how Iri works. Fix her.” He laughed again, that same, quiet laugh. “You managed to wake her. Who knows? Maybe you’ll do the impossible again.” Laeo glanced at Iri one last time before he drew a deep breath, and slipped out of the warmth of the room and into the warmth of foreign arms.

………

Siqxhe brushed a hand across Iri’s arm, causing her to shift slightly as she spoke of whitewashed walls and pale paints. “Can you hear me?” Iri shifted slightly in response as he spoke so he jotted down a note- she could hear him. It was subtle, but the signs were there. She reacted to his voice more times than not.

“White stone… white stone over seas. Endless-”

Siqxhe slowly set down his paper, holding Iri’s hand in his own. “You’ll be alright. Don’t worry…” He tried to comfort her whenever she spoke of darkness, or Polarity Light, or otherwise- it seemed to help, because after a moment or two her murmuring fell back to insanity. Just not that particular insanity…

He didn’t know how to bring her fully into wakefulness. The shard of metal didn’t seem to do anything other than upset her, and he didn’t want to do that, so for the most part the last few days had been a string of just… waiting and ministering. She wouldn’t take blankets- eventually they’d always end up on the floor, or ripped… she had a strength that defied itself.

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Darkness… deep in this silence, he wondered what Iri saw. What caused her such pain… perhaps, if he figured it out, the door creaked out before him. Siqxhe didn’t even look back at first, not until a servant timidly tapped him on the shoulder… “Someone is hurt, doctor? Please- come?”

He’d grabbed his kit and was running before she even finished his sentence.

They sprinted through the hallways of Laytaihishu, running past guards and servants and causing a general clamor in their wake, but he didn’t stop. Didn’t slow. They needed to have been there a minute ago- seconds slipping, tumbling, running through tall halls and doors of stone, wooden hopes, pressing time. Second, falling, one after the other as they bounded up stairs, throwing the doors open to a garden filled with all manner of servants and guards standing over something.

They stepped aside as he rushed into the room, kneeling beside the injured person. Not injured- dead. Siqxhe felt a dull dread, a fear and a frustration that he’d been unable to get there in time. Then he saw the blood, and knew that it wouldn’t have mattered anyways-

This was the scene of a man who’d been thoroughly, intentionally and purposely killed. Siqxhe stood, stumbling back despite the blood, terrified. Someone was killed. It wasn’t only the porter… god… at least this wasn’t beneath the very eyes of God. At least it was, in some small way, hidden. “Go- grab Ididirchi. Tell him someone’s been killed…'' It was a mark of the pervasive sense of shock that had infiltrated everyone in the room that the servant didn’t even argue, rather slippin quietly out of the hall.

Siqxhe looked at the body, the subtle cast of its shape, fresh. It almost looked asleep- but the blood denied that. Denied the rest of… his eyes opened wide, and dull hearing became nothing. Just blackness- blackness, eyes, just for one single body lying peacefully on the floor.

Sosheytay stared, unseeing, into the final realm of death, the blood of his body running into the white stone and coating it reddish dark, falling beneath the boughs of the plants he’d cared for.

The door slammed fully open and Ididirchi’s guard rushed in, pushing everyone away from the body and expelling the servants from the room. Siqxhe was allowed to stay, if barely, but he still hadn’t recovered from the shock of it. This was someone he knew- poorly, but he’d seen the man. Seen him alive, angry, happy, caring-

Here he was, dead on a floor of brightness, so quiet. Still-

Ididirchi himself swept into the room, followed closely by Railoxhe and Laeo, who looked worse for wear. “What happened…” The voice of the lord over all the shadow of god hitched as he saw the corpse, and for a long moment he stood there, stunned into quietude. “No- no… no.” He rushed forward, pushing guards out of his way and dropping to his knees beside the body. “Not you- not… it can’t be… it can’t be.” Ididirchi muttered denials to himself as he gently picked up the body, holding it close to himself even as the blood soaked through his fine clothes, even as so many watched.

Ididirchi cried.

Beneath Siqxhe’s gaze, beneath the gaze of God- Ididirchi sobbed quietly holding the body close to himself for a minute longer than speech, as long as the silence seemed to stretch out. An eternity- finally, he let the body lay on the cold stone, the white bones of Laytaihishu as he stood. “Who did this?” His gaze swept across the room, passing over bewildered guards and horrified onlookers and Laeo’s cold, cold gaze. “I’ll kill you!” His voice was cold, laced with all the harshness of ice and hatred. “Whoever did this, I’ll rip you to shreds and hang you in front of all of god-”

Railoxhe took a step forward, hand out as if to comfort Ididirchi, but Ididirchi spun on him. Eyes of wrath, dark anger seething- “You- did you do this? Did you and your Ilyaochi killers murder Soshyetay?” Railoxhe shook his head, mute against the sudden furocity with which Ididirchi advanced on him. “Speak! Tell me why you did it-”

“I- I didn’t. Soshyetay may have disliked me, but I know how important he was to Laytaishu and you. I won’t sully his memory by suggesting anything less.” Railoxhe bowed his head in sorrow, and when he rose, his eyes were warm. “We’ll make this right.” A step forward, fearless, he stood beside Ididirchi and grasped the lord’s quivering arm.”

“I… I need justice.” Ididirchi sighed, all the less because of it. He seemed exhausted. The whole of existence seemed exhausted- the guards were scared, Laeo was tired, Siqxhe was tired. “I will not be denied justice. Tell me which of your killers murdered Soshyetay.” The last few words were a whisper, quiet but fierce enough that Siqxhe could hear them a few feet away.

“My lord… I swear on the voice of the Brother. I haven’t had Soshyetay killed. We will find out-”

“The guard is incompetent!” Siqxhe flinched back at the sudden ferocity of the words, stepping back. Some of the guards shifted uncomfortably- even Railoxhe blinked at that. Only Laeo, too exhausted or too inured, didn’t react at all. “They didn’t find the last murderer. They won’t find this one.”

“Don’t worry, Ididirchi. We’ll figure it out… Siqxhe!” He’d been standing off to the side so long that he’d almost forgotten he was the closest to the body beside Ididirchi and Railoxhe. “You were able to tell us something about the dead last time. Can you do that here?”

“I should…” He was already stepping up to the body, all too eminently aware of Ididirchi’s furious glare on his back. Gently, almost timidly, he checked the body for the wound, the fountain of blood and darkness, the mark of the killer. Skin, warm, but not as warm as it should have been.

He found it on the same place as the last murder, but… different. While the last murder had been clean, efficient, this one was jagged. Several bones in the neck had been broken, giving Sosyetay a strange look in death… he scanned over the rest of the body quickly, then another time, slower. Something wasn’t right. Not physical, but… “The buttons on his shirt were stolen. So were some other things…”

“Is it the same person?” Ididirchi had stepped up to stand right beside him, an authoritative pose. A pose over Siqxhe’s right to live- “Is it the same murderer?”

“It’s… maybe?” He cringed back as Ididirchi clenched a fist. “I mean- it’s possible that its the same person. It was a strike to the neck, much the same as the last person… but it was a strange weapon for that. The wound is… gaping. Something much more blunt was used this time.”

“What type of weapon?”

Siqxhe frowned, not quite willing to pry at the still raw flesh of someone who should have been living. “I’m… I’m not sure. It’s not like anything I’ve seen before.”

“Scrap.” Laeo’s voice cut through the sudden silence, answering questions unanswered. Ididirchi and Siqxhe and Railoxhe all looked up at him- he’d been so exhausted that they almost forgotten about him. “Scrap- it’s the only sort of thing that would make so jagged a wound, break bones, and do so cleanly.”

“If it’s scrap, then…” Ididirchi looked up, toward the village and the people who toiled beneath his forces. “It was Ilyaochi. Conduct your investigation, Railoxhe, but find me your killer.”