A Forlorn Hope For Peace (Samheen 26) (closed)

[Andolin]

Of late, Demetrion was having trouble sleeping. Yet, by the fact that he was here in the Aether was evidence that he had succeeded. While some might think that he was having trouble sleeping because of his rapid rise as Regent of the entire Kingdom and now Cardinal of the Oneist Church. He had been spending his days in King's Court attempting to mend the rifts in the Church and to win the support of the Bishops.

Originally troubled by the crackdown on adhiels, he was now quite upset to learn that the armies of the kingdom were marching on his people, peaceloving people, rather than the orcs in the mountains ... or the pirates ... or the pagan Empire. He had prayed repeatedly to calm Dominicus' wrath against the people of Taquar.

It made no sense. Though the Divine moved in mysterious ways, it was illogical to start a campaign against pagans by attacking the friendliest of pagans first. The adhiels of the shadowy forests would likely be allies against the forces of darkness, or other pagans. Instead, the two kingdoms would spill their blood against each other, rather than against the orcs.

It was so illogical that it made the priest (being a logical creature) quite distressed. Seeing his people, the adhiels, slaughtered, did not set well with him either. Would it include his parents and family too? He had not spoken with them in many yahren, but he assumed they still lived. Since he had chosen to follow Dominicus, his family had been cool to him. It was a price he had accepted for spreading the word of the One.

Now, in the darkness of his dreams, Demetrion imagined himself walking the Halls of the Taquar palace. He was searching for the Queen. Convinced that he was the last and best hope for peace, he willed himself to seek her out. He had vivid memories of the palace, but it had been a long time since he had walked the corridors in the waking world. He had been little more than a child then really... not even being 50 yahren old.

[Yin Lorin]

The palace was silent, deathly silent. Everything was in disarray, paintings had fallen to the ground, cloth was laid out, as if it was all looted in a rush. Fine pots lay on the ground in pieces, furniture was tipped over, shelves of scrolls were emptied, and books all gone, as if they took only the things of most value to the adhiel, the gold and treasures of wealth were left behind, the books of knowledge and traditions were all gone.

The most striking change to the home he remembered was the ivy. Thick black cords of ivy that wrapped around everything, over grown and seeming to pull at everything around it, as if to suck light and life away. It was cold to be near it, and looked to be made of a more ethereal substance, almost as if a black smoke could be seen raising from it.

Out the windows he could see the city, and the forest, scarred by fire. Black spires that were once trees rose from the ground like towers of evil just outside the city. Parts of the city were grown back, but it was charred as well. No one walked the streets, dusty and dirty. He could see the source of the Ivy, choking at the Mother Tree. The whole city in her boughs was trapped with the black substance.

“What has brought you back?” The voice of the Queen came from behind him. She stepped next to him, looking out the window he was looking out. “It is a black time for our kind, is it not? We are at war, one I do not think will have any clear winner. The Avatar told me what happened at King’s Court.” She looked at him, her face unreadable, just calm, and collected. “It has been a long time, has it not?”

[Andolin]

OOC~ Yikes, I did not see you had posted a reply until today! *lol* Sorry.

IC~

It was like watching the aftermath of a loved one's rape. So much beauty was forever destroyed. Suspecting that he walked the Hall of Dreams, he could only hope that these were images of the worst that could come from the war -- not from what had already occurred.

The Queen's voice caused him to turn and face her. Somehow, he knew he would have to face her ... in the sleeping world, if not in the waking world. "I have come because my heart is troubled. My mind can not find the peace that it once knew," he confessed softly.

"How can a creature of logic and reason not be effected by destruction that might have been avoided? How can I sleep soundly knowing that peace-loving friends of the Kingdom are now at war while the darkness of orcish greed and nether power plague the land?" His eyes might look haunted even in this place.

"It is a sad chapter in time, Your Majesty. Though I serve the King and the One faithfully, I was born and raised here. Were I a man capable of more emotion, I would shed tears at the passing of what once was ... and what could have been." His voice was but a hoarse whisper.

"So I walk these halls this night, wondering what might be done, though I fear the hour is too late." Too late.

[Yin Lorin]

She smiled, and he was the boy who walked these halls, only coming to her hip now. “You can shed tears. The day you cannot Demetrion, is the day your soul stops being. That is something mournful to see.” She let out a long sigh and started to walk, taking his hand to lead him along. The walls moved as if they were walking faster then they really were, though the floor did not change, steady and even as their pace.

“Everything around us changes, but you feel that, it is the soil, the Mother who is there and unchanging. Even and steady is the beat of her heart.” She looked at him. “It must be very heard for you, torn between two worlds, between two places, and between two loves. I do not envy you, Demetrion, not at all. You became everything you could, you have risen to great power. What is it now you will do with your power?” She asks softly, looking him in the eye as she knelt down. “You have great power, see, even I kneel to you. What will you do with it now?”

They were in the throne room; the throne was next to them, empty. All around Demetrion could feel the sudden filling of the room with people. Turning his head to look about he would see them, ages and ages of adhiel who had past, Kings and Queens, heroes and artists. All of them stood in the room looking at him. “They have all come before you. It is their blood and flesh that has helped to make you and to give you breath. These are your kin and your blood, it is to them you will answer for your deeds when you come to join them. Your choice of god is always your own, and your service to him is your own place. I and no other king or queen has ever mandated that the Mother should be followed. We have always sought to follow truth and beauty. So what will your answer to them be? What will you do with your power, Demetrion?” She stood up her eyes were grave and deep, but the calming smile was on her face. She was not judging him, not that he could tell, she was waiting his answer. She was waiting to see what he would say and do.

[Andolin]

"I am not one seeking to be envied Your Majesty." There was a time that he wanted to be envied. There had been a time when he pondered the passions that beat in the heart of all men. But the gravity of the situation had changed things. Now, he was a man haunted -- a servant of a duty that had its distasteful elements. Wrapping himself in cold logic was his armor against sorrow. He served the Light. The One was the truest manifestation of the Light. If it was the will of the One, then it served the Light, even if the goals behind it were unfathomable.

"I would seek to use power for the purposes of the Light. I would be the vessel of Justice if I could. Sometimes justice requires the destruction of that which is beautiful. I wish it were not so. I would spare Taquar if I could, and unite with it against the darkness that threatens the children of the Light. But, it is not my decision. It is the One who is the Hand of Justice. I cannot say that a mortal such as I can ever fathom the thinking of the Divine. I can be only the faithful servant and trust that all will end well ... justifying the horrible cost." His tone was likewise soft, intended for the Queen, but was mindful of the horde of apparitions around him. He tried not to look at any of them. They must know that he owed his highest loyalty to the One. They had looked to the Mother for their salvation, and the adhiel race would pay dearly for that choice. Had they but embraced the One, this would never have happened.

[Maeve]

OOC: since nobody is covering this, I think I shall

The Queen sighed and nodded with the understanding a mother has of his child, regretting choices made but knowing that it was completely in character of their loved ones. Change it, and one destroys a cared for soul. With his choice Demetrion grew again, leaving childhood behind to come at the same level as the Queen and looking her in the eyes as he had not in real life. No longer was she the symbol of all that was right and strong. Instead she was just a woman, afraid, sad, lonely despite the crowd of silent ghosts surrounding them.

The black ivy was here too, wrapping itself firmly around the throne.There was a body at the bottom of that throne, strangled by the ivy. The horrible visage of its puffed face touched a memory of someone Demetrion had seen amongst the countless faces in the palace in Kings Court. It was a diplomat, the envoy that the King had send to T'aquar the day after the coronation, just like so many envoys of the West had been replaced all over the globe. The Light seemed so far away.

"Our fair capital is destroyed," the Queen whispered, forelorn, tears shimmering in those eyes "All its beauty has fled before the darkness. The armies of the One come too late and when they come they will destroy what last hope my people has. With the best of intentions one can create the greatest horrors." The pugnant smell of fire tickled Demetrions nose, coming from far away, carried on the breeze.