The Referee

There was something of an art form to choosing when to duel Johan. Irregularity was more his enemy than myself, and fear had brought upon severe sleep deprivation upon the man. While it was illegal for me to fight the man outside of the agreed times, there was no rule against making a slight sound to wake him up in the middle of the night. This did not happen often, but it was enough that the man’s already fragile sleep cycle was easily disturbed.

Right at that moment, however, it was not yet the time to duel him.

“Where is the prisoner?” Johan demanded. Heavy bags under his eyes and a raspy voice made him near unrecognizable from the beautiful, gallant picture of perfection he had not long ago been. “Tell me!”

“She’s in the dungeons, my lord.” Roger’s tone was devoid of mockery, but his words were enough. “As she has been since you ordered her arrest.”

Johan smiled at this. “Good. She cannot be allowed…she cannot be allowed outside. Not when she witnessed those…unfortunate events.”

This was demonstrably untrue, for Johan had used Nameless to alter the memories of every other official and had them in the castle without much concern. Sofia, however, remained chained up alone, under orders most cruel. It was here that I observed something quite interesting—the limits of obedience.

Johan appeared downright chipper when walking down the long set of steps toward the lowest level in the dungeon. He hadn’t been able to torture her personally yet, though he had given Roger ample instructions to do so. While his true reason was that it took him a while to feel confident enough in his own mental faculties, what he told himself was that he wanted to allow her to feel a measure of fear—to be worried about what he would do once he got to her. This was true, to an extent.

There were no windows down there. It was a large set of jail cells and adjacent rooms, meant more for storage than solitary confinement—but such areas had to be adjusted for Johan’s tastes. There simply wasn’t enough room in the upstairs dungeons, and thus this single floor was relegated to people Johan did not want the world to know existed. Guards were not even allowed there, but rather posted on the floor above with the instructions to kill any escapees.

“Now, now,” Johan began, “what do we have here?”

Under the dim candlelight, Sofia, the daughter of the Majestic Theater administrator appeared to be on the verge of losing consciousness. Her hair was messy, her eyes were closed, and she was held up by two cuffs that chained her to the ceiling. She was not above ground, but she had to stand on her toes to prevent it from happening—and not doing so would result in grave damage over a long period of time.

She had been there for a week now.

“Who…who is there?” she called out weakly.

Johan’s mad grin widened. “Ah…have you forgotten already? About Emperor Johan, the only man who can keep beasts away in this new world? About Johan the New God?” His hand shot forward and he caressed her cheeks lightly. “About the man who you laughed at in his lowest moment?”

“Forgive me,” she muttered. “My lord…forgive me.”

“No,” he told her coldly. “The others I forgave. They can merely lose their memories. I want you to remember why you are suffering the way you are. To remember, in your last moments, that this is your fault.” He leaned forward and raised her chin. “I had hoped you would become unkind towards your family. Seeing as you are that close to them, however…mayhap torturing them is in order?” Johan could not keep a chuckle out of his voice. “Ah! Mayhap seeing a finger or eye from your loved ones every day until you die? How would that make you feel?”

“My lord…that…” Sofia began weakly. Her voice was weak and her eyes were closed, as if the candlelight hurt them. Then, suddenly, with strength, she said, “Go ahead and try, fucking idiot.”

Johan retreated back as if her words were an attack. He looked at her as if only familiarizing himself with the woman for the first time. Sofia was not as weakened as she had appeared to be. “I hid them before coming here,” she said. “Good luck finding them aboard the Arcship. Maybe I moved them somewhere else…and even if I didn’t, just try to find someone aboard a floating city. Not like your spies can get there that easily.”

There was a sound of outrage, followed by a quick glance at Roger, who bowed his head respectfully. “We have not been able to locate Lady Sofia’s family, my lord. Forgive me.”

Here, the Emperor of Nothing bit his lip in anger. “Fine,” he muttered, “if we can’t find them…that’s that. You played the game well, Lady Sofia.” He grinned as he turned to her once more. “Do you wish to see sunlight again, my lady? To be able to bathe? To eat? Well, I have a proposal for you.”

“Speak.”

“You may see sunlight. But you must first wrap this,” Johan said, producing a cloth from his pocket, “around your mouth. Then, you may head up to the castle, clothed in the same manner I was that night. Do so and you will be allowed a day a week outside your confinement. Of course, you will not be allowed to speak of your predicament, and the official story shall be that you unfortunately lost your wits. Our best healers will be working on bringing your mind back, of course.”

It was Johan’s choice of punishment, as always, to give his enemies choices. He would not force anything on them, for then they would hate what he did to them. Johan needed them to feel that it was their own decision, even if he had forced it upon them. More efficient way of breaking them, he claimed.

And here Sofia laughed.

Oh, how she laughed!

It was as if she wasn’t chained up in a dungeon, as if she wasn’t in a position where the man could kill her at any moment. At that moment, she appeared more a ruler than he. “Johan,” she said, and the lack of title hung heavy in the air, “you have been sending Master Roger here to educate me about Clara—I believe you want me to act like a puppet of your dead ‘friend’? Let me tell you, I have been doing my homework. Do you know what I found out?” Sofia leaned forward, as much as the chains allowed.

“You’re fucking pathetic, Johan.”

Silence and stillness ruled the world then. Only the flickering of fire dared to speak for a moment. Johan studied her, outraged she would direct such words at him, yet feeling unhurt, as if they were a type of weapon wholly incompatible with his kind of armor. “I’m the Emperor of this world—the God—!” His tone was derisive, almost amused. “And you speak of someone else being pathetic, woman in chains?”

“Oh, but I do. Because I heard a lot about your former life. So let me tell you what you already know—you know how much of a lowly bastard you are. You have always known that.” It was Sofia’s turn to sound amused. “Deep in the dark of night, when you tried to fall asleep…there would be a voice in your head telling you that you were worthless. And you knew it was right, so you tried to find every bit of external validation you could…prizes, fame, fortune…but you settled on people in the end. It confused me at first, you know? Why a bastard like you…would have worked so hard to allow others to live for free in your home. But then I realized…it wasn’t really for free, was it?

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

“You wanted them to think of you as their savior. That was the price you asked.

“Jack, Katherine, Clara…poor bastard, you think they all loved you, don’t you? That they couldn’t help but fall in love with you. They praised you, they adored you, but only because you sought the people who most needed help and tried to turn their thankfulness into adoration. You refused to accept payment for your kindness, but only because their adoration was their payment. It made you feel like less of a pathetic sack of shit.

“Ah, but then Carr came along.

“Carr, who was everything you wanted to be. Strong. Kind. Loved by his friends. And he didn’t need you. You needed him, and this started to eat at you. This wasn’t someone you could trick into adoring you. He loved you as a friend, as an equal, but that wasn’t enough for you, was it, Johan? You never wanted your ‘friends’ to be your equals. You wanted them to see you as their savior. As their ‘Emperor.’ And Carr’s wild streak and lack of need for coin made him a poor match for your usual schemes. He liked you, but he didn’t worship you.

“So he left.

“And you realized how fucking useless you were.

“Ah, and that’s my favorite part! The brother you so tirelessly worked for—gaining more praise from others—had started to heal. He would no longer need you. One day, he would be your equal. Worse, with your injuries, he would one day become your ‘superior’ according to your twisted view of the world. But that wasn’t even the worst of it, was it? Oh no, not by a long shot!”

Sofia’s laughter echoed through that cold dungeon.

“Then, you saw that your brother started taking a liking to Carr. The one person who you couldn’t make feel like they were in your debt. It just drove you crazy, eh? So you took drastic measures.” Sofia smiled mockingly at him. “That’s why I say you’re pathetic, Johan. You always want to feel superior to people because you know how worthless you are. Not a single person in either world has liked you without feeling indebted to you. No one has ever loved you unconditionally.”

“That—that's not—CARR LOVED ME!” Johan snapped. It was a visceral sound from deep within his gut, as if a blade had ripped it open and summoned the beautiful music of his suffering to the world. “You stupid, irrational woman, do you even listen to yourself? As you said, I never gave him anything, and he loved me! I am his brother! I—”

“Carr hates you now,” Sofia said, smirking. “Does he not?”

Johan struck her in the face. “You talk too much,” he said. “Forget this not, woman: the ability of speech is a gift that I can take away at any moment. Steel separates your tongue with but a single movement.”

“Power,” Sofia repeated, unconcerned, “is the only thing that makes you feel in control. Threats, control…it’s why the Referee made you feel so weak last time, no? You want me to lose control, to feel more powerless than you did…just so you can regain a measure of pride. That’s why you haven’t erased my memory like you did with the others. You don’t want me to forget, you want me to suffer. You said it yourself. My suffering is the only thing that will appease you. So I know you won’t kill me. Because so long as I don’t bend my will to you, my existence will haunt you. If I die before I grovel at your feet…well, you will be in danger, will you not? Might never recover.” She laughed again. “Oh, please, try. I’m not as uncomfortable with my body as you are with yours, Johan—and for a good reason. If you want to take off those rags off my body, go ahead. But then you’ll just feel worse as you realize that even then I’ll be laughing at you. Ah, if you are worried about it, I must confirm it—yes, you looked mightily unimpressive that day.”

Johan’s hand fell on his sword, Godslayer. “Careful, woman,” he muttered. He was no longer erratic. His eyes were focused on her and he produced nary a single movement. “One more word…one more word…”

She leaned forward and stared Johan in the eye. She opened her mouth and Johan’s hand tightened his grip around his sword. At this action, she hesitated, and closed her mouth. Good, Johan thought, smiling mockingly at her. You know your limits. And I will teach you that they are much lower than they are. “You know what?” Johan started, as if suddenly thinking of something. “When I find your family—mayhap I should make your younger sister go through with the false threat I invented last time. We do have some troublesome local pirates, you see, and—”

Sofia spat on Johan. “You’re pathetic,” she repeated, flatly.

YOU’RE DEAD. Johan withdrew his sword and made a split second decision. He wouldn’t kill her, but he would cut off her arm. She was right that he couldn’t kill her, but he could torture her. ARMS. LEGS. I will maul your body until you beg for death, I will—

This could not stand.

My blade parried Johan’s. “You have ten seconds to prepare yourself,” I told him.

Johan wasted those precious ten seconds staring at me in confusion, and when recognition dawned it was too late. This cannot be a simple duel. I shall exhaust him so he cannot harm this young lady after its conclusion. My plan was a simple matter—our blades clashed, footwork was engaged, and I refused to score easy points for the sake of prolonging the duel for as long as the Rules allowed me. It was blessed that there were preciously few limitations regarding that matter. At the end of our duel, Johan collapsed in exhaustion, and Roger saw to it that he was taken to the Emperor’s quarters.

Most curious, however, was the exchange that took place after Johan fell unconscious. It was something I had suspected, but witnessing it was something else entirely. Even with the gift of reading minds, one needed to be present when such thoughts were had. It was only then that everything was confirmed to me.

I observed the limits of obedience. Johan had ordered that Roger treat the prisoner poorly, but he had disobeyed him. He was instructed to only feed her once every two days, chained up to a wall, and tortured. The man did not do any of it.

Ah, he claimed it to Johan, of course! Truth was different, however: while he only brought her food and water once every two days he made sure she had enough for three generous meals those days. He also did not keep her chained to the wall. “This is meant for solitary confinement, so it will take quite a while for us to make our way here,” Roger had told her, when she was first brought to the dungeons. “You will have plenty of time to act after hearing us coming down the long, spiral staircase down to you. When you do, chain yourself to the wall—the cuffs click. There will be no guards watching over you.

“Ah, of course, there is a side room for a bath and other basic needs. You may keep the cell key—just lock the cell and hide the key somewhere. There should also be a few books to pass the time. Forgive me, it is all I could manage in this short time. Act the part of a sickly prisoner.”

This much, however, I was already certain of. It was what followed that truly surprised me. How impressive, I thought, with a certain amount of respect. It’s not easy to fool the Almighty Referee. Well done.

It had occurred to me that simple lessons at the Academy, though given by Roger himself, were hardly enough to offer such raw insight into Johan’s psyche. Those words cut too deep not to have been sharpened for years, and yet not a creature had witnessed Johan enough to wield their verbal weapons in such a manner. Even Carr had not been present around the man for long enough while his unhinged nature was on display to truly understand what drove the depths of that madness.

There was but one creature.

“You did very well,” Roger said, unlocking the cuffs. “Fear not—your family is safe and I would have intervened had the Referee not done so. Continue to push him. Do not break.”

“I won’t,” Sofia said, drawing a deep breath. “It was cathartic to tell him those things, but I was a little scared he was going to kill me. It feels like mocking a dragon.”

“Not much difference from it. But we have a measure of this dragon, Lady Sofia. It is about to choke in its own flames.”

“I don’t understand…I’m glad you’re doing this, but haven’t you done a lot to get him on the throne? What’s the point of doing this?” Sofia was mildly distrusting, but the two had committed enough treason together for there to be some trust. It was Roger who had first informed her of Johan’s plans to break her family apart, after all. “Are you…regretful of what you have done?”

“Not at all.” Roger tapped at his sword absently. “I have done much that counts as terrible, yes. And it weighs heavily on my conscience. It shall haunt me until my dying day. But the Emperor wasn’t the man to rule the Empire, and there was nary a single candidate who would have ruled it well either.”

“But Johan is not a good Emperor either!”

“No,” Roger replied, smiling and tapping at his sword absently once more, “he is not. But the monster needs not sit on the throne, only the man. Let the name Johan sit on the throne, for the name itself is without sin. Let my ability create the rightful ruler of this Empire.”