The
old man looks down at the lump of statue in his hand, and sets it down upon the
table. A tired old voice emerges from the old man, who has walked these halls
for some 40 years. "I accept your challenge, given in the name of the
Crown Princess. I ask for three things, after my many years walking this
chamber and these halls. I hope that you will see fit to grant these three
requests of a dying man."
Ruby
theatrically turns his head to the Crown Princess, passing the judgment on to
her.
Faust
elaborates, "The first, I would ask an hour, perhaps two. And a pen and
ink, with which to write certain letters I did not think I would need
today."
"Denied,"
pronounces the Crown Princess. "It seems you have forgotten that a noble
may be called upon to surrender his life for honor or duty at any moment."
"Not
forgotten, Crown Princess. Never forgotten." Faust pauses. "The
second, I would ask that my children be brought to this chamber, so that I
might say goodbye to them, and so they might never doubt that I love
them."
"Denied,"
pronounces the Crown Princess. "If you have been a good father, then
doubtless they already know that."
"My
daughter's name is Mercy, Highness. I had some hope you might remember your
childhood and consider that your grudge against me is not against my children.
It seems I am mistaken in this." Faust pauses again. "And the third,
I ask that my remains be disposed of by my wishes, returned to Alban and bathed
in my wife's fountains there before I am cremated. And I would ask that my son,
once the sun rises and sets properly again, take what remains of me to
Darkridge, there to see the light of the sunset. And then to be returned to
Alban where I may rest in the familial crypt there."
The
Crown Princess nods her head in assent. "Granted. Is that all?"
Ruby
adds, "If your requests are complete, Your Grace, please choose a weapon
so we may commence."
Faust
speaks aloud then, and for as many times as he has spoken in bellowing tones in
the chamber of the Royal Council, he has arguably saved the most memorable of
his orations for the last. It is with melancholy that he speaks, his words
recorded for history by the scribes of the Council.
"Forty
years and more, I have served Komaru from these halls. I remember the Interregnum.
I remember how many died for all of the mistakes made. The Yuasa were misled
into dissent, and then first to the banners of Alessandro, the Crown Princess'
departed father, a hero of the realm."
"I
paid for that mistake with a son at Shiro Bridge. We all paid for it. Everyone
lost."
"I
have ever fought for what I believed in as necessary for Komaru. It is the duty
of every one of us. It was that duty which brought the death of our Crown
Princess' father. And it was duty which made my hand the one to forge the sword
he used in his sacrifice. I lost merely my first wife."
The
old man closes his eyes for a moment before he continues, the strength slowly
leaving his voice, "I have lived a long life in the service of Komaru. If
the Crown Princess requires my death as the reward for loyal service in war and
peace, then so be it."
With
an arm to either side of the table, he pushes himself from an age-worn chair,
"I am sorry, my children, that you cannot be here to see the Crown
Princess' justice meted out today. I am sorry that her father was taken from
her for the good of the realm, and I am sorry that yours will be taken from you
for the same reasons."
At
those words, the iron man of the Yuasa looks up, walking to the open area that
is to be the dueling ground. And there for all to see, are tears upon the old
man's cheeks. Not for him. But for his children. And Faust then speaks what he
believes to be his last words as he chooses a blade for the duel, "You
cannot defeat me, Champion. All you can do is kill me." And his voice
never wavers in this last act of defiance.
Ruby
replies calmly, "You're right. But I don't need to defeat someone so ready
to defeat himself."
Faust
stands then, his blade not even at the ready, point down into the floor. And he
nods awaiting fate's decision. For an instant, his eyes go to the Regent, and
he mouths a single word, but she has no response for him.
When
Faust nods, Ruby's katana lashes out. There is a jarring clang of steel, and
the sword's blade is at Faust's throat. Ruby stands stock-still, the razor edge
of his weapon drawing a line of blood. "So," says Ruby, his body
coiled like a spring, "I suppose you're deriving some sort of
self-righteous pleasure from refusing to defend yourself. You have no intention
of defending yourself, do you?"
At
the edge of the clear space in the heart of the Royal Council Hall, Shiro
Minamet laughs coldly. "Pathetic Yuasa." The words carry through the
silent hall.
Hearing
Shiro's words, Midoko Komaru, newest Royal Council member, adds, "He is as
much of a coward as my husband said." In their seats, the other Yuasa look
on in stone-faced calculation.
"Well?"
asks Ruby, one final time.
Faust's
only reply is a mocking smile.
Ruby
tilts his head for the Crown Princess's decision, but the blade at Faust's
throat never wavers.
The
Crown Princess's expression burns with hatred. "Not for the first time,
Yuasa, you seem to feel that your decisions are above the judgment of the
Crown. You are wrong. Komaru has no need for self-righteous martyrs."
She
pronounces her judgment. "Kill him, my champion."
Ruby
kicks at Faust's kneecap to shatter it and grabs at his head. It is to be an
execution.
Faust
groans as his kneecap is shattered, but his eyes remain wide open as he awaits
his death. Blood flecks spatter the ground from his throat as his head is
jerked into place.
"Hold!"
cries an impassioned voice from the galleries. Laurent Yuasa, youngest of his
family on the Royal Council, rises from his seat. "I accept your challenge
on behalf of the Yuasa family, Your Royal Highness. You question our family's
courage? I will prove it if you will lend me a blade."
Very
harshly strained words issue forth through the rictus of Faust's pains.
"This fight is mine, Laurent. I have accepted this duel and will bring it
to its logical conclusion. My life for service. My death in service."
Laurent ignores Faust completely as he waits for the Crown's response.
The
Royal Champion steps away from the Duke of Alban. The Crown Princess rises to
consider the man, and inclines her head. "You are a worthy champion for
your family's reputation, Your Excellency. Guards, provide him a blade."
Given
no choice, his words unheeded, Faust nearly collapses from his own weight on a
leg unwilling to support him any longer.
In
a moment, Laurent stands on the Royal Council floor, blade in hand. He snaps a
salute to the Royal Crown, to the Royal Champion, and to the eldest Yuasa left
in the galleries, Morika. Although he does not turn to face Faust, his words to
him carry clearly through the hall: "You are through here, Faust. Go see
your children and write your memoirs. Engarde!"
Laurent
lunges at the Royal Champion.
Faust
struggles to leave the field of the duel and collapses before he clears the
dueling ground, unconscious, the last of his strength leaving him and his will
gone as well. Denied the one last gesture that was supposed to be his, that was
supposed to bind his family behind him as he stood and accepted the Crown
Princess' justice.
On
the field of honor, Laurent Yuasa locks blades with Ruby Touraine. In a matter
of minutes, he joins Faust Yuasa on the floor.
Both
the Regent and a lightly-built member of the Royal Guard move towards Laurent's
corpse. The Royal Guard arrives first, pulls a strip of paper from his sleeve,
and incinerates it with a gesture. A golden nimbus surrounds both men, and the
Regent exchanges a brief word with the guardsman and Laurent Yuasa before
servants are brought in to wipe away the blood and drag the unconscious Duke of
Alban from the room.
-//-
Despite
the darkness, Tsuichi Shinozuka can still feel the heat of the desert sands
through his armor. Though the sun vanished an hour past, its warmth still
permeates the black stone that provides him his only shelter. He presses
against it for comfort and safety, his eyes straining through the darkness as
he watches the scene below.
The
sullen flames that burn in the ruins of the little town are both a blessing and
a curse to him. Only days ago, it was a tiny piece of Komaru, nestled in a
fertile finger of land across the great desert. Now, though, he finds it a
hellish scene, an echo of a dozen others across the green-swathed valley.
Swarthy men roam through the streets, stopping now and then to raise their
voices in ghastly howls. More dart in and out of the burning houses, and as he
watches, three pull a blacked form from a fallen tavern. They drag it only out
of reach of the flames before dropping it and crouching around it. There is a
quick struggle, and then the Easterners establish their hierarchy: he watches
the strongest dip its knife into the corpse's gut, slash, and then pull forth
its contents and raise them to its mouth. Around the pack leader, the others
yip and howl hungrily as they await their turns to feed.
In
a way, the corpse is fortunate. Shinozuka reflects that the Church of Inner
Light teaches that the body is dross once the spirit leaves it, free from all
further pain. The small knot of Komaran women, tied together and dressed in
little more than rags, lack that solace. An hour ago, the dog-headed Child that
led the Easterners' assault on the settlement dragged the second of their
number into the gutted remains of the largest stone building in the town. Her
screams did not last as long as the first. Again, he curses the fact that he is
but one man, and there is nothing he can do to spare these victims the horrors
to come.
The
Child of the Aten emerges from Its lair, and in the moonlight Shinozuka can see
glistening blood smeared across Its torso. It points at another of the
captives, and Its servants drag her howling to her feet, while the others
around her wail in terror. It is too much for him, and he turns away. There is
nothing left for him to learn here. He makes a silent vow to himself as the
woman's screams begin in earnest, and takes his first step back towards the
desert.
Only
then does he see it: the great emerald bird perched atop the rock he had
huddled against, its beak as sharp as a scythe and its eyes lambent gold.
Suddenly, he realizes that he is falling into them, engulfed in whirling pools
of searing, annihilating gold–
There,
as always, comes the wall of memory, surrendered on the side of a rocky
mountain cliff to a towering pillar of water wearing the shape of the captive
girl. He remembers remembering the memory before that: the sense of some
profound decision made, some choice that reforged him, giving an
eighty-year-old man back what age stole from him. But of that, now he possesses
only the echo of memory, and the jade sword that shares space with his heart.
It bears the name Annikhaton. Somehow, that name seems wrong.
He
shakes his head to clear it. In the distance, he can hear howling.
The
Pharaoh has come.
He
walks to where Ruriko Minamet stands behind her signal corps, surveying the
advance of the Easterner army. She inclines her head to him, and says,
"They are little more than an undisciplined horde. I will be leading our
charge myself."
Shinozuka
says, "Then I will be with you in the front."
She
meets his gaze, searching his eyes. "I have seen Pharaohs before, and they
are terrors that can unmake a man with a thought. You need not be the one to
bear your sword, Brother Tsuichi."
He
shakes his head. "None other than I can bear it. I will do it."
She
sighs, and inclines her head in acceptance. He is not the first stubborn man
she has had this discussion with.
Ruriko's
aide calls to her, "I see the Pharaoh's Children. They lead, and their
slaves follow."
Grimly,
Ruriko answers, "Then let us go to meet them."
The
battle is brief. Stories of Sokar's War promised a creature of incredible cunning,
but Shinozuka and the other Veiled Guard see at once that this Pharaoh is
different. When the vanguard of the Aten horde collides with the Royal Guard
under Ruriko's command, the Pharaoh materializes instantaneously in their
midst. For a few minutes, He slays with impunity, but by then the Veiled Guard
behind their ranks have had the chance to advance, cutting down His Children
and encircling Him in a ring of geomantic steel.
As
he watches, he gets his first good look at the Pharaoh. Nine feet tall, He has
the face of a great white jackal, and a mane of fur that flows across His back
and arms. He wears nothing except blood, and Shinozuka's memories of the
screaming captives flood back to him even as the Pharaoh's claws tear through
one of his Veiled Guard sisters. Where Shinozuka expected unholy majesty, he
sees only mindless fury.
A
man in black robes and ancient armor appears beside him. "It is
time."
Ruriko
starts, and then bows quickly. "Master." Tsuichi bows as well, and
then pulls the tiny brass flask from beneath his armor.
The
master asks, "Are you certain you wish to do this, Brother Tsuichi?"
Shinozuka
nods. "It is the only way to reclaim what I have lost." He is pleased
that the master knows his name.
The
master bows his head, accepting the elder brother's decision. Shinozuka drains
the flask in one swallow.
As
Ruriko chants, Shinozuka feels the memory again, fleetingly, distantly, dancing
at the very edge of his consciousness. The golden eyes haunt him, and he feels
the brush of gentle feathers across his lips and closed eyelids–
Ruriko
passes him the jade sword, and draws her own. Beside them, the Veiled Guard
master slides a shimmering arc of night out of his cloak.
Ruriko
raises her sword, and the air blurs around the three Veiled Guard.
"In
the end, every Pharaoh claims two lives," says the Veiled Guard master,
over the corpses that lie in the sand before him.
Ruriko
bows her head, wipes the blood from her blade, and then bends to do the same
for the fallen man's. When she rises, it is to the sound of beating wings. She
draws her sword again as the great emerald bird, its beak as sharp as a scythe,
its eyes like lambent gold, settles on the ground beside Tsuichi Shinozuka's
body. Angry, she raises it to drive the beast away.
The
master catches her arm and checks her blade. "No, my dear, It too has the
right to mourn."
For
the first time, Ruriko sees the pearly tears that spill from Its shining eyes.