Record of Ashes War

Chapter 19 - Ordain

"Richter," Azurus answered when asked for his name.

"Just Richter?" Odain questioned.

"I'm an orphan. I was born in Exaltryon and have no parents so far as I can remember. I did as I had to for food and shelter, running errands for mere copper bits. Fate showed me favor when Sir Radis Draumen, a member of her majesty's guard, found me and decided to raise me. And so I find myself here now, as a butler in training for Sir Draumen's sister."

"Hmm," Odain mused, walking with his hands still clasped behind his back. The dust like silver of his hair shown well under orange luminite embedded in walls of arched passages. The floor itself was of a smooth white marble. Vague reflections could be made out on its surface. "That's quite a fascinating tale. I do wonder…" Odain drifted off. He paused before a gold framed painting. A marvelous piece of work depicting Trillia floating amongst clouds, her bright hair radiant like a noonday sun, hands cupped and held down before her, raining down petals of trillium flowers upon mankind below as if she were showering her blessings. A white luminite stone was pressed into the frame to highlight the artwork. "I do wonder if it really was good fortune, or the innate virtue in your heart that led you to stand before me here today."

Azurus frowned. "By which you mean…?"

Odain cast a sidelong glance, eye twitching. Was that annoyance? Or intrigue? They'd passed several clergymen, all of whom greeted Odain with either a 'Your Holiness', or a 'Your Brilliance'. Azurus suspected the Vicegerent to desire a more respectful address than 'you'.

"Orphans have little guidance, young Richter. The vast majority end up in street guilds with low life expectancy. You, as an orphan, turned to working rather than thievery to survive. Working as in helping others. You have virtue in your heart. That distinguished you from all the rest. Perhaps also why Sir Draumen took you in, wouldn't you say?"

"I guess so?" Azurus recalled living in a rundown orphanage early in his life. At around six or seven years old, the aged owner had passed and he had turned to thievery. Only, he'd one day tried robbing Sir Aegis, who just happened to be walking by. That incident had somehow led to his beginning as a knight in training.

"It seems you're modest as well. You showed virtue also when defending Ophelia."

"Plausible. But anyone would rush to aid a child being treated as such. Is a virtuous act the same as a normal one?"

"Anyone," Odain echoed. "I think a normal act can be defined as a virtuous act, yes."

"Then why label it virtuous at all? Why not just call it an 'act', considering it's normal?"

Odain laughed softly. "Perhaps you are right. I am of the belief that everyone harbors kindness inside. Some just find difficulty expressing it due to their circumstances. Though, even if anyone would want to rush to a child's aid, not everyone would have the courage to do so. Not when doing so meant facing multiple foes who seem adept at brawls. Courage was your virtue there."

Azurus crossed his arms. "I disagree. I acted 'normally'. And the driving factor was confidence. I was trained by Sir Aeg, I mean Sir Draumen. I had confidence enough to win. I could argue that courage was not a variable at all."

Odain raised an eyebrow. "Trained?"

"Well, when I wasn't doing his errands, he taught me some things," Azurus quickly said. Contrary to gleaning any information, he'd almost let slip too much. "And I may have swung around a wooden sword I found in his quarters once or twice…"

"I see. I imagine competent butlers have some martial skill. Well, do you truly believe that your actions had nothing to do with virtue, or are you merely doing this to spite me, young Richter?"

Azurus didn't respond. Odain smiled. Despite his young face, it seemed so aged an expression. His deep voice and mannerisms did not match his appearance at all. And the way he said 'young Richter' while barely seeming about ten years older than Azurus was too off putting.

"I know you may have gotten a terrible first impression of the faith, but bad apples can exist anywhere. It is hard to teach someone when they do not want to be taught. Come along, I've more I'd like to show you and talk about. I hope you'll be a bit more open minded now," Odain said, continuing down the hall.

If the Vicegerent really was the Lord Sun, his authority was no less than a king's. Deep calluses marred his palms. He'd either trained extensively, or had lengthy combat experience himself. A man with his reputation would never do the latter. Would never risk his life alongside his subjects. Azurus folded his arms but followed still. Odain had to slip up. He would give a hint to his true colors soon enough. Or perhaps not. I need to be patient. Maybe he'll reveal more if I pretend to agree with him and he begins trusting me.

Taking it slow would be smarter. Azurus had already showed distaste for the Trillians. It was genuine distaste. But this could work in his favor. Odain had no reason to suspect anything. He might even be used to such behaviour. He was the leader of a faith trying to gain a new convert. Take it slow, Azurus. Be cautious and watch him carefully.

"I have to say, Sir Draumen, was it? He really taught you well," the Vicegerent said. "You're strong as well as have good mannerisms and speech. Asinine though it may have been, you're debate skills weren't novice levels either. I'm sure you'll do well as a butler."

"Thank you," Azurus replied.

"I do wonder if your talents would be wasted on such a minor House though."

"Minor in wealth perhaps, though most certainly not in name. I mean to be an example of the reputation they hold."

"Mm, yes," Odain said. "I meant no disrespect. I just thought that perhaps there may not be much for you to do at the Draumen manor." He waved his hand as he turned a corner. "Ah forget it." Odain went through a door and entered a circular room. A beautiful tapestry covered the length of the surrounding wall. The floor tiles here were checkered marble. At the center was a life sized statue of the Goddess made from a pristine white stone, her arms and chest adorned with jewellery and a crown of sparkling gemstone flowers atop her head. From the ceiling hung a chandelier, bathing the statue in light.

"I wonder how many mouths that could feed," Azurus mused, fully expecting a logical rebuke.

"Pardon?" Odain apparently had been more focused on the tapestry than the idol.

"The jewellery I mean. I said I wonder how many mouths that could feed."

"Ah, being the ever well-mannered critic again. Truthfully, I haven't been to this room in a while. This one is reserved for a more private worship. Some people prefer to pray in silence."

"You mean people who pay. I imagine nobility or wealthy are the only ones with access to this room?"

"Disappointed, young Richter?"

"Not exactly. It's in their right to choose how they spend their wealth, asinine though it may be. I don't see how it makes a difference which idol of the same deity one prays to."

"My thoughts exactly!" Odain exclaimed, smiling wide.

Azurus was taken aback. He's agreeing with me?

"This is where useful lies come in," Odain explained. "Or, virtuous lies, if you will. But how can a lie be virtuous, your expression says. Well, you see the poor more readily part with their money, believing their donations will be repaid twice or even thrice fold by the Goddess. Which it will, of course. They part with their wealth because they are more troubled due to issues of wealth. The wealthy, on the other hand, typically have a hoarding nature. Many show the common traits of a miser. Now, in order to get them to donate, we give them exclusivity. Something the poor can't have but they can."

"Private worship?"

"Yes. It seems a con, but in the end, if they donate, it only benefits their soul. And as well as the poor. You see, now we return to your original point on feeding mouths. With the donations received from the wealthy, we can aid others. If they wish to spend extra to adorn their idol of which they get exclusive access to, why should I stop them?"

Azurus thought for a moment. It was rather clever. Odain also had a good understanding of human nature. Nothing he did or said indicated mal intent. This man was the supposed tyrant? Perhaps he wasn't the Lord Sun. Perhaps the information had been wrong.

Odain turned back to the tapestry. It depicted a battle between mankind and strange horned creatures of varying skin colors with holes in their chests. Trillia was there also, a radiant figure amongst the common soldiers, mosaic wings at her back and silver hair. A very different depiction of Trillia than the idols.

"Tell me, Richter, how much do you know about Illusterra's history?"

Azurus examined the tapestry. "Not much," he admitted. "Just that this seems to be a depiction of the War of Ashes." He'd heard of the war before. Everyone had. A great battle between mankind and the Tortured King's hordes.

"You would be correct," Odain said. He continued down another corridor, eventually turning to a spiralling staircase leading higher up. "The monsters you saw in the tapestry. What if I told you they were people once?"

Azurus narrowed his eyes, though his host couldn't see. He wondered what Odain was trying to say. "I would ask for evidence, assuming I cared. And I'd only care if you proved to me that such monsters still exist and are a threat to those close to me."

Odain chuckled. "A sharp answer. If you must know, those monsters are called Heartless. History books state that they were people once. The Tortured King exploited their negative emotions and burnt their hearts away, turning them into mindless beasts that desired naught but destruction. It is what I… well, what many philosophers explained as the concept of Free Slaves. And I happen to agree. The monsters in theory are free to do as they please. But they are slaves to their desires for destruction. And slaves to the will of their creator, the Tortured King. He doesn't control them. Not directly. He simply gives them a direction in which to go, and they wreak havoc, unknowingly doing his bidding."

Odain sighed like an exhausted elder after having conquered a set of stairs. He went down a narrow passage and stopped before an open doorway leading to what seemed an office room with a shelf of books and a desk by a circular window. A little idol of Trillia sat at the desk's corner alongside a flowerpot with a white flower that had closed petals.

"Are you going to elaborate on this concept of Free Slaves?" Azurus asked, not sure where the conversation was supposed to go.

"Ah, yes. I was wondering if you were paying attention. Free Slaves, you see, isn't all bad as in the example I gave. Men of faith can also be considered a Free Slave. Myself included. We bow our heads to a deity we’ve never seen, obeying laws passed down from many generations prior. Yet we do it of our free will. And, seeing as how faith is oft equated with good morals and virtue, being a Free Slave in this case is the highest point man can achieve. Or so I'd believe."

"Mhm," Azurus said thoughtfully. Free Slave. By that logic, he was a slave to the queen. To Emeria as well. Anyone in love, then, is also a slave. But then what was the distinction between loyalty and slavery? Was loyalty just a bind and not an embodiment of freedom? That would make it a form of slavery. But not Free Slavery. It was headache inducing. But somehow also made sense in a bizarre way. Philosophers were strange people.

Odain sat down and fished out a smooth rock from within the drawers of his mahogany desk. There was a strange glyph marked down on it. "Have you heard of the term Chronary, young Richter?"

Azurus scratched his head. He then shook it. "Sounds like something numerical. I've never had much of a taste for mathematics."

"Ha ha, well, I suppose there is some numerical attachments to the term. Chronary is magic." Odain paused, glancing up as if expecting a reaction.

Azurus crossed his arms. "And you have proof of this?"

The Vicegerent smiled. "I figured you would ask that. Step back a little," he said, motioning with his hands. He snapped in half the stone in his hand and threw it to the floor. A second later, a pale blue circle of light appeared, growing in size until it was larger than the doorway. Azurus gasped. Odain motioned with his hand again, telling Azurus to follow. The Vicegerent entered into the circle and disappeared.

Azurus blinked, shocked. Curious also, he decided to walk through the circle of light. He came out the other side in the same circular room with the Trillian statue and tapestry walls. "How…?"

"How indeed," Odain responded. He disappeared back inside the circle.

Azurus followed after and once again found himself inside the office room. "I've never heard of anything like this in my life. Is it the power of an Artifact?" He swallowed, realizing that he was acting like a child. At least his question was legitimate. If Odain had an Artifact, Queen Dahlia needed to know.

"Not quite. Chronary is more primitive. Something from way far back in history. Little remains of its record. How it works is simple. Chronary is a language. You write a sentence or word, whatever it is that you need. The phrasing has to be extremely specific to avoid contradictions or double meanings that might cause malfunctions. And then you breathe your life into your words, bringing to life what you phrased. What you just saw was a Gatestone. It opens a gate to some place in your memory, tearing apart the very existence of space itself to connect two locations. Where you create a gate is important, because creating one on top of a person may wound or even kill them. Aside from that, quite useful, see? Interested in learning?"

Azurus stared with mouth agape. He was at a loss for words. Something so… convenient and amazing existed? A Gatestone. If he had those, then he could see Emeria whenever he wanted. But the mission. What was Odain's game here? Was he teaching others to use this? If this magic could be used to transport armies to a city's gates… "For what reason would you teach me this?"

Odain shrugged. "Call it intuition. I think I'm a good judge of character. I believe you wouldn't abuse this power. I have much learning to do myself. I've only recently discovered a text on the subject. I've tried other things. Such as transferring the life force of a weakening plant to a Healthier one. Hasn't… quite worked how I planned," Odain said, glancing at the flowerpot on his desk. "But imagine the advancements in agriculture if something like this could truly work!"

Advancements in agriculture and food production. The elimination of famine. That would benefit the realm greatly. And, if Azurus was to research with Odain, he would have a convenient excuse to stay close to the man. He could be a curious student and have opportunities to ask all manner of questions. It would make his mission that much simpler. Though, he was starting to doubt the Vicegerent had ill intent to begin with.

"This assuming your duties as a butler in training do not take up a lot of your time," Odain said. "I hope it won't. House Draumen is rather minor after all. I told you, I never meant it as an insult. Just gauging a prospective student's conditions."

"I-Yes. I think I would like to learn this," Azurus said, still feigning shock and excitement at the same time. Well, he was excited. This wasn't an Artifact, and thus not quite worthy of being reported. Odain himself claimed ineptitude in his understanding of Chronary. If Azurus could study this together with the man, he'd be learning just as much as Odain, and would know if something dangerous worth reporting was discovered.

But how would he keep this from Lady Draumen? If this magic was as wondrous as Odain claimed, then Azurus couldn't trust sharing its secrets with anyone other than himself. Should I just tell her that Odain's taken a liking to me and had offered to teach me about the religion?

Religion. That had to be Odain's goal in the matter. There was no way he'd teach Azurus for free. He was still trying to attain a new convert.

"Wonderful! Should we work out a schedule then?" the Vicegerent asked with a smile.

***

Odain slumped back in a chair and sighed. He rubbed his temples, a subtle smirk on his lips. He looked out the window of his room and watched Richter walk down the front steps of the great temple as fires of an evening sun touched his dark brown hair. Another thread to be weaved into the forming tapestry.

Of course, I did err slightly in its creation. A minor error by the name Sar'tara, one of Ny'Danis' daughters. She'd somehow slipped past his gaze during the burning of the Papillion Forest. One stray would have never mattered in the grand scheme of things, but how fortunate that she'd been placed under the Decade's Curse and put out of commission for good, further weakening another pillar of Xenaria that was Kalin Serene at the same time. And her own progeny was nothing in comparison. The chances of Princess Elizia ever coming to realize the full potential of her blood were slim to none without proper guidance or instigation. And even if she did, she was just another stray.

Odain let out a sigh. He pulled open his drawers and opened a folded letter he'd already read. A letter written by an aide of the First Chancellor of Xenaria.

Your Brilliance,

Progress has been made faster than I intended. I have agreed to the queen's requests to support a war with the Empire. She in turn has agreed to announce our engagement. I will provide further updates soon.

Elsewise, the crown princess is in Duke Serene's garrison again. Sharp, that one. Much sharper than her mother. She doesn't like me very much, and I get the feeling this has nothing to do with my relationship with the queen. Ah, and her appointed knight has been stripped of that position after rumors surrounding an illicit relation with the princess. Strange though. He's disappeared entirely. I've found no information regarding where he's gone. I suspect Dahlia may have had the boy killed. Though, he was rumored to have been extremely talented at the blade. I don't know if the captain of the guard would have sanctioned that decision. That is all I have for now.

Regards,

Adrian Rinz, Loyal Servant of the everlasting and merciful Trillia.

"Hmm." Perhaps things were going too fast. Or perhaps not. A talented young knight who just up and disappeared. Azurus was his name, Odain recalled. Tall with fair skin, pale blue eyes, and wavy dark brown hair. Odain's brows shot up. He looked out the window again and his smirk grew wider. "Dahlia, Dahlia, Dahlia, you're making this too easy."

Well, he could hardly blame her. Compared to Flame Bearers, who were said to possess memories of their ancestors, Dahlia was just an average human. She was less than a child compared to him. He still would investigate Richter. No harm in being sure. But the boy's mannerisms had been a bit too formal to not be suspicious. And his slips of the tongue were there also. He half suspected a spy. But if it was truly the princess's former knight, then…

The smirk turned into a wicked grin. Another Heartless candidate. Or maybe there could be a different use for him? Ny'Danis' other daughter who was still held in the dungeons of the Thousand Sun City was primed for a Chronary experiment. She was an adult now and had her mind completely broken. Unfortunately, Odain had yet to figure out the proper Chronary phrase to create a powerful Heartless. Still though, the woman was a powerful asset without being turned into a mindless machine of ruination.

Everything was falling into place smoothly. People were so easy to manipulate. He could hardly blame them. No one was as experienced as him. No one was as knowledgeable. As wise.

Odain hated his past. Hated being constantly hunted. But he had a certain longing for those times. At least back then, there were people capable of matching his wit. But in the end, he had emerged victorious. And now, there was no one left to play with.

He looked into an ornate mirror sitting on an empty spot between the tomes on his bookshelf. He examined every feature of his face. Nothing had changed. It had been so long and he still looked the same as he did during his adolescence. "I've waited so long for this. No. We've waited so long for this. So many years have gone by. I hope you'll forgive me for taking this long. A few more years. I'll come wake you in a few more years. What's a few compared to many lifetimes? I just need to be patient. I just need to play this game a little longer. This time, we will win. Completely. I've made sure of it."

He squinted against the fiery light of a setting sun, staring at the shrinking back of Richter as he continued down the street and at last turned a corner, disappearing from sight. If he was truly Azurus, then he would be around nineteen. Still a child. A child enamored by simple magic. Drawn to it like a moth to a flame.

And eventually, twisted and corrupted by its promise of power.

It could be a problem if he reported Chronary to Dahlia and the term was investigated. But Odain was confident that the boy would do no such thing. Such was the nature of power. People wanted to gather it and keep it to themselves as misers hoard wealth. Richter. Or more likely, Azurus. I think I've thought of the perfect use for you.

The Sun looked down at his palms. He curled them to form fists. Odain. How long had it been since he'd last used his current name? He was certain that no record of it remained. The name granted to him by his most beloved friend and teacher. "Xenaria will fall, for I have ordained it as such."