Chapter 32 - The Constellations

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Several Months Later...

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The Sun twirled a Crown of Control on his finger while flipping through the pages of a thick tome. It was titled Fall of Flames. A history book of his own creation, narrating the timely demise of House Zz'tai. Narrating as many details as he could uncover regarding their corruption and their secret plots to give rise to a new Tortured Throne. The journey in collecting such details had taken many years. "Many lifetimes," The Sun grumbled, glancing at the slight wrinkles on the skin of his hands.

A subtle knock on the open door to his office room stole his attention. He turned around, lazily looking at the out of breath maid that had climbed the tower. She wore a bright yellow dress, half-sleeved, that reached down to her ankles. One of The Sun's personal maids. The other servants of the citadel wore black with spotted white.

He clicked his tongue. "Yes?" he asked. Her cheeks were caved in and her arms slender. Too slender. She hardly ate by the looks. It was no wonder climbing the tower had exhausted her so. She would need to be replaced.

"Your Brilliance, the Constellations are here," the maid finally said.

The Sun couldn't tell how old she was with those drained features. She could easily pass for a girl in her teens as well as a starved middle aged woman. "So you say, but only two have probably returned no? Well, what does it matter? There's only four left anyway. The rest died of the aging disease."

The maid nodded. "Only two. Judge Lacerta and Judge Orion."

The Sun turned back to his table. He greedily eyed the small Gate Stones set in one corner. It would be so convenient to just use them to travel to the meeting chamber. But then he would have to make more, paying a portion of his own lifespan to create and use the object. He grunted. He wasn't in any particular hurry. Not anymore now that he'd obtained many useful Artifacts. He could play the patient game and take his time in bringing Xenaria to its knees.

He grabbed the stones and cast them into the drawers of his table. They skipped over a few loose pages. Plans that he'd devised over the last few months. He took them out and then headed out the door. The maid closed and locked the door behind him, using every fibre of her existence to pull the heavy thing shut. She then followed him down the flight of stairs.

The Sun closed his eyes, letting air clash with his face as his feet swiftly carried him along. Not a single strand of his ash colored hair moved. It had been combed back and held firm with gel, the lowest of its length sticking to the back of his neck. He had no fear of falling. No fear of bumping into something. Or someone. He'd lived in the citadel for a long time. He knew exactly how many steps the tower had. Exactly how many steps it took him to reach the meeting chamber. No one would dare to bump into him either.

He had nearly reached the bottom of his tower when he heard the clacking footsteps of his maid's shoes finally catching up to him. She was out of breath again. He hadn't given her any explicit orders to follow him, yet she followed regardless, thinking it expected.

It wasn't.

She would most definitely be replaced. He hardly let his footfalls make a sound as he carried on through the wide halls of the Thousand Sun City's citadel, white robes billowing with his strides. Smooth and polished floors showed blurred reflections of everything above. Every hall was lit with orange luminite, the least expensive of luminite stones. Replacing them with the purity of white luminite would be ideal, but Tarmia's merchants charged enough to buy small mansions. Funds were better spent on the city's defenses.

The Sun arrived at the meeting chamber, a half circle gate standing in his path. Two guards in full plated suits and wearing star cloaks stood on either side. They opened the gate with quick efficiency and put a hand to their chests, lowering their heads as he passed by. He entered the dimly lit chamber, the gates colliding shut behind him, their sounds echoing through the mostly empty room. The Sun thought he'd heard the slight high pitched voice of his maid as the doors were closed before she could enter. Now why would that silly thing believe she were welcome in a meeting with the holy judges and myself.

Lesser peoples were so strange at times. Or just stupid. Probably the latter, he thought. He was, after all, a great scholar. Expecting others to be as wise and accomplished as himself was irrational. Then perhaps teaching the maid of her proper duties would be more efficient rather than replacing her. "Yes. That would be best," he breathed. No use throwing her away or using her for Chronary experiments when she was so thin.

The sun approached the round table at the center of the vast chamber. Two men stood waiting by their designated seats. They bowed their heads, waiting for their master to first take his seat before they took their own. The one to his right was a man with emerald colored eyes and a fair complexion. Judge Orion he was called, and his charge was hunting the last of the Flame Bearers.

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The man to the left was wiry but tall. He had a plain face and hair the color of rust. Judge Lacerta. He had a fidgety personality and wasn't always careful, but he carried his tasks out well and was good at manipulating others.

The other two remaining Judges hadn't returned. The Sun thought to increase the number of Constellations. There were a few others that he had in mind that were qualified to have a seat amongst the rulers of the Thousand Sun City. His eyes looked over the papers in his hands. He squinted to catch a better look, dim lighting of the chamber making reading a nuisance. There no longer was a need for more Constellations. Just a few more years out of the many he'd patiently waited. Just a few more and all of his plans would bear fruition.

"Speak. Lacerta, what news from the desert?" The Sun asked.

"There is little news, brilliance. The Illeyan Alliance remains the same as it's always been. Weak by Xenarian or Tarmian standards, but the lands are mostly barren and hot. Few have the desire to conquer such lands."

"Speak of what is new. Not of what is known," The Sun hissed.

"I believe I may have found a few Shieda. Two actually. I used a Gate Stone to return here. I will need another to get back to the desert."

The Sun raised an eyebrow. The Shieda were an ancient clan of faceless people who could traverse through shadows. They were shunned by society and lived in isolation. Few still remained in the world. "Two Shadow Walkers? Do you want to use the Thousand Sun Sword?" To steal the ability of traversing shadows with the Sun Sword would be a heavenly blessing.

"Not yet. If they can be used, I can bring the Alliance to its knees. Once they've run their usefulness, I'll borrow the sword and kill them."

The Sun nodded. Lacerta. Often annoying. But worthy of being a Constellation regardless. The Shieda race were the perfect assassins. They were darkspawn. But sometimes, using a darkspawn was necessary. Especially for the Illeyan Alliance. Most people living in the southern deserts were pagans. They needed to be oppressed before Goddess Trillia was introduced to them. A weakened people would more readily accept a new faith. "Have you made contact?"

"No, brilliance," Lacerta said honestly. "Can't afford to frighten them away. They're hated by the average person after all. I'm taking my time. Which reminds me, has anyone heard from Judge Cass?"

"Judge Cassiopeia is still in Eurale's Eye, serving as an advisor to King Agram," Orion said, his voice carrying a deep commanding air. Lacerta nodded thoughtfully.

"And you, Orion? What news do you have?"

"First, I would like to voice my opinion against the use of Shadow Walkers. There is no need to use darkspawn. I'd much rather hire the Wickar if dirty work needs doing."

"Wickar who are said to be half-blood descendants of Shadow Walkers?" The Sun asked.

"That isn't a confirmed truth. It's only mentioned as a rumor in certain texts. Of course, the will of Your Brilliance is absolute. You are the scholar amongst us. If those texts are deemed credible by you, I will abide by your decisions."

The Sun nodded. Truth, after all, was a weapon. Put to a grinder to chip away at the dull edges and it becomes a sword as sharp as any. Dear Orion. The man was a complete zealot. His loyalty was not in his leader, but rather in the Union's cause. He devoted every fibre of his being to eradicating darkspawn. That also came with its own set of problems. He often asked too many questions. But so long as Orion was convinced on a matter, he carried out his tasks no matter how vicious the methods needed to be.

"If I may, brilliance, amongst the forest witches that were killed, were there not children? And was one not—"

"Orion!" The Sun cried, fist banging against the table. "Your actions aren't matching your words. Is this what you call abiding?"

"Forgive me, Your Brilliance," Orion said, keeping his head low.

"What news do you have for me of your quarry?" The Sun asked.

"Balihann Barcid Zz'tai is dead. Not by my own hand, unfortunately. The problem is, while the face certainly looked akin to his, I have lingering doubts. I'd been chasing him for much of my youth. By Your Brilliance's kindness, I was promoted to the position of a Constellation Judge for having kept up with him for so long. Now that my task has ended… My doubts do not stem from my feelings of emptiness, Lord Sun. I'm simply unconvinced a Flame Bearer that has eluded me for so long died at the hands of mere thieves."

"But you did confirm the face?"

"Yes, Your Brilliance. It was undoubtedly his. Body structure seemed slightly off though."

"If you confirmed his face, then move on. Balihann had a daughter, no?"

"Yes. Lera Ignis Zz'tai. He'd abandoned her long ago. She should be in her early to mid-twenties I believe."

"Do you have a drop of Balihann's blood by any chance?" The Sun asked. Orion shook his head in response. "Mm. A shame." The Lineage Mirror Artifact could have been used to locate her if her father's blood had been available. "The Flame Bearers receive their Flames at the age of twenty-one. Balihann was already a handful. Do you have a location on this girl?"

"No, brilliance. I don't know where they parted ways. But I swear to use everything at my disposal to hunt her down."

"She should be the last of High House Zz'tai. Be wary, Orion. An abandoned girl has little ways to survive on her own. One of those ways can quickly lead to the creation of more offspring. We cannot have any more Flame Bearers. Their legacy must be erased." The Sun passed along the papers in his hands. "Designs for conquering Xenaria. What do you make of this?"

"…A careful design…" Lacerta commented. "Has Judge Vulpecula been shown this?"

The Sun's flinched. The matter had left his mind. Judge Vul hadn't been recalled yet. He'd been tasked with fanning flames between Tarmia and Xenaria. On the offhand chance that he failed, it could lead to an alliance between the two great nations. The last thing the Thousand Sun City wanted. "One of you, I don't care who, send an immediate message to Judge Vul. Have him return immed—"

The gates to the chamber slammed open. One of the star cloaked guards rushed in. In his hands were a sealed envelope titled 'urgent'. The red seal was that of a three pointed star. They were seals given to only the Constellation Judges. The Sun tore open the envelope. In it was news, neither good nor bad. Vulpecula had drawn the two nations into a struggle again, and through crude means at that….

Whether the flames would grow to a full blown war had yet to be seen. The Sun let out a sigh. He didn’t have control of the situation. He hated that. He always had control. That was how the Thousand Sun City had grown to become the power that it was. What worried him was Vulpecula's ambitions and oft lacking caution. Both Kazir and Kalin weren't fool enough to have not noticed something amiss. Ashes. Must I now wait for the results?