by Yi Zhu
Respectfully, Manus nodded. There were times when it slipped Manus’s mind that Cynthia was also an Elite Alchemist of the highest caliber. Had she not chosen to marry his brother, the empress would have been a strong contender for Emelia's seat.
A moment ago he had considered arguing with his brother against exposing Darius to potential danger, but hearing this new piece of information put his mind at ease.
You are a fool, Manus. I am a fool.
A loud slamming of Emelia’s fist almost made Manus fall out of his chair. The general was reaching the end of her speech.
“Once the Elite forces wipe out the organized rebels in their own base, the army will converge on this zone.” She pointed to a zone to the north of a large black dot on the map. “The air there will be almost completely pure, given the proximity to the Rift. People there have grown bold, and will most likely put up a fight, even without the rebel leadership.” With that, she looked around the room and opened the floor up for questions.
The people in the zone will be harmless protesters, Manus thought. But should the incident turn violent, the casualties could be incalculable. Without specific orders to the contrary, the army would return fire on the civilians as per protocol. Manus desperately wanted to raise this concern, but right before this briefing, his brother had strictly forbidden him to speak on behalf of the South.
“They will be unarmed, the civilians, I mean?” Cynthia's voice shattered the silence. Everyone in the room quickly turned to look at her, some with suppressed annoyance, a few with appreciative smiles. In an instant, Manus knew who to watch out for in the future.
“Most likely,” Emelia replied, as if closing the discussion.
The young prince coincidentally lost interest in his toy, and began grabbing for his mother's cheeks. Casually, the empress handed Darius off to her husband, and met the general's eyes. “We shall behave in a manner proper for our enlightened society?”
“Of course, my lady,” Emelia replied with a deep bow. “We shall keep casualties to a minimum.” And as an afterthought, she added, “For both sides.” When she straightened up from her bow, she stared right toward Manus.
She thinks it was my idea, thought the Shadow. Not much to do about that; someone had to say it.
Meanwhile, Triton struggled to keep his son from wiggling out of his grasp. After several kisses and a gentle squeeze of the arm, the young prince finally settled down. “Time to mobilize your troops,” the emperor decreed.
The room exploded into a flurry of activities as all the officers gathered their belongings, and each left the room after a respectful bow toward the royal family. Emelia walked out after them with her head held high, and refused to acknowledge Manus's presence as she passed.
The royal couple followed suit shortly after, handing the prince off to the servants. On the way out, Triton turned to his brother. “I know you miss your wife, Brother, but the Shadow must not present any weakness in a time like this.”
“I know.”
“Don't worry, Brother, the rebellion will be put down soon.”
Manus leaned back in his chair, and rubbed his temple in frustration.
It pained Triton to see his brother so unhappy, but sorrow was part of war. “You'll see her again before you know it,” he promised.
I always hate it when you are right, Brother.
Chapter 12: Fruition
The big day finally arrived for Zed. He stood next to Sawyn in front of the Northern Embassy as his heart beat fast with anticipation. Seeing the gigantic fortress invoked mixed feelings in his heart. Large, unassailable walls surrounded a three-story golden structure shaped like half of an egg. Wildly different from the surrounding architecture, Zed’s destination was a peculiar sight. The only way in was through a large mechanical gate powered by Fye and past dozens of vigilant, well-armed Northern soldiers.
Zed had come here today with a single goal in mind: To change the path chosen for him. Over the span of the past few months, he had managed to fulfill one of his dreams by creating a device powered by springs. And with this new invention, he planned to reshape his destiny.
The parts for the contraption were easy to find as the scrapyards were full of undesirable metals. But the processing of the materials had proved a lot trickier.
At first, the boy had almost given up after days of rejection from the metalsmith. Luckily, his sister had remedied the situation by shedding some tactical tears in front of the large, harsh man. Flustered and embarrassed, the artisan had caved to the siblings' requests. Though the man wasn't willing to partake directly in Zed's dangerous hobby, he did agree to “misplace” his spare keys in order to avoid Sawyn's watery eyes.
Zed let out a sigh of contentment. Ever since he had met Sawyn, the boy's life had taken a turn for the better. The room had ended up even more cluttered than before, but someone now supported all of his endeavors.
One night, after hours of laborious crafting, he sat and looked at Sawyn's exhausted, sleeping form and realized that he was happy for the first time in years. For hours that night he simply smiled to himself, and felt his loneliness fade away.
Zed was really glad she didn't wake up during the night, as he must have looked creepy, staring at her and not saying a word. He wouldn't have known how to deal with the awkwardness.
That same night, he considered giving up on challenging his given profession and trying to find contentment with living a farmer's life with his new family. Sadly, that thought proved to be short-lived, as the moment he fell asleep, the memories of his parents once again visited his dreams. The phantoms told him to seek happiness and forget the past. Part of him yearned to accept their wisdom, but seeing his parents' faces reminded him of all he had lost, and stoked the flame of his vengeance.
I wish she had stayed in the safety of our home.
Zed tried to talk Sawyn out of coming with him that very morning. After all, should his invention be perceived as a threat to the Northern supremacy, his life would be forfeited. Whatever the risk, he had intended to bear them by himself.
I gave her a hundred reasons why this was a one-man mission. Did she listen? Nope.
At the crack of dawn, he had tried to sneak out of the hut while she slept, then sprinted full speed toward the embassy. All the while, he made sure there was no one following him. Three hours later, he drew near his destination, and took pleasure in the fact that he had finally outsmarted his sister.
Needless to say, Zed felt an intense disappointment as he turned the corner to find Sawyn staring at him with her arms crossed. With her claiming the moral high ground, he had no choice but to throw in the towel. If there was one thing about Sawyn that he both loved and hated, it was her tenacity.
The guards at the gate examined Zed’s audience permit, acquired after hundreds of tedious forms, then, after much deliberation, gave him the green light. Slowly, the gigantic gates opened, and the main building came into view. For over a thousand years this building had stood, weathering the test of time and sabotage, and emerged seemingly without a scratch. Realistically, it had been repaired multiple times, all damages patched, and surfaces diligently polished. Now that he finally had a better look, the dome-like structure and the seeming lack of windows made more sense to Zed, as the design made infiltration into this place extremely difficult.
From across the courtyard, a large man approached, walking at a casual pace. A large, extravagant crimson robe made from impossibly light material fluttered in the breeze, and heavy combat boots thudded with every step he took. When he got closer, the guards saluted, pointing their right hand, palm flat, toward their head.
“Hello, children, you may call me Neal, and I speak with the authority of the ambassador,” the man began, and pointed at Zed. “You are the one who requested a meeting?”
Zed replied with an innocent smile and a deep bow. Part of him was secretly surprised to interact with someone above the rank of basic clerk.
Neal seemed pleased by the display of manners,
and turned to Sawyn.
She looked at the man and forced a smile, despite the unsettling presence of all the heavily armed guards around them. Hang in there, Sis, Zed thought.
With a shrug, Neal turned and beckoned for them for follow.
The children looked at one another, then fell in behind the lumbering Northerner. Everyone they passed in the courtyard greeted the man with a respectful salute, followed by suspicious glances at the two little guests. I guess they don't usually see children here.
When they got closer to the entrance, a strange metal door opened. Zed had never seen a door that split open in the middle before, and for a second he thought it was broken. But since Neal didn’t comment, Zed figured the door functioned that way by design. Then, the three walked on into the building to see a second door, identical to the first. That seems awfully redundant, Zed thought as the outermost door shut behind them.
The man turned around and held up two fingers. “First of all, do not wander off. Secondly, don't touch anything,” he instructed, and spared an extra suspicious glance toward Sawyn, who returned the gesture with an indignant pout. “The guards inside are quite touchy, and they won't go easy on you just because you are children.”
Once the orphans nodded to show that they understood, Neal pushed a button on the side, and the inner door parted.
Zed was immediately hit with an overwhelming metallic stench. Reflexively, he put a hand to his nose, hoping the smell would pass. He turned to Sawyn to see that she wasn't faring any better. So this must be what Fye smells like, he realized. While he was experimenting with the chemical, he avoided direct exposure to it, but he distinctly recalled the familiar scent. The fact that the smell was so stifling was a sign of higher concentration.
Neal's reaction to the chemical was the exact opposite. “Ah, much better,” he exclaimed after a deep, deliberate breath. A sudden realization struck him, and he reached into his soft robe and took out two filtered face masks. Turning back, he distributed them to the children, who accepted them gratefully.
While the masks didn’t solve the problem completely, Zed could finally divert some attention from trying not to throw up and actually listen to the man before them.
“It's quite all right, children,” Neal began. “You'll adjust to it quickly.” The man scratched his stomach patiently as he waited for his two guests to settle down. “If it's any comfort, I felt the same way about the air in the South when I first came here,” he added, apologetically.
Within minutes, the wave of nausea passed, and Zed's mind began to clear. By the time he managed to breathe without the mask, Sawyn had already adjusted, and was looking around with curiosity.
Once Neal was satisfied that the little ones wouldn’t vomit all over the floor, the three resumed their walk, which led them down a hall and up a large spiral staircase. While keeping pace, Zed managed to catch a glimpse of the second floor. The guards here all wielded cone-shaped alchemical weapons, unholstered and ready to fire. Although there were no signs of a visible fuel source, Zed knew those weapons drew their power from the Fye in the air. After making a mental note, he dismissed those designs as inferior to his own.
The third floor of the embassy was much smaller and quieter. There was no one in the halls, save a single guard. Unlike her counterpart on the lower levels, this woman wielded no visible weapons, yet radiated an aura of confidence and lethality. Considering the increase in security during their ascent, Zed concluded that this woman was likely an alchemist. A small leather-bound volume poked a corner out from her side pocket. She had likely tucked it away in haste when she heard footsteps coming from the stairs.
“This way,” Neal said as he exited the stairway, and the trio soon found themselves in front of a large golden door at the very end of the hall. Without pause, the man pushed the door open, and Zed let out an audible gasp.
The desk on the other side of the room was the biggest piece of furniture Zed had ever seen. Standing at a height almost as tall as he was, the whole thing appeared to be carved from a single piece of red wood. Shelves lined all the open spaces in the walls, each packed to the brim with books. Sadly, there wasn’t enough light for him to make out any other details.
The man turned to Sawyn. “I'm afraid you have to wait here. Protocol,” he apologized.
Sawyn walked up and gave Zed a hug. He started coughing, causing her to let go.
“Wow, Saw, calm down, that was way too tight,” Zed said, while trying to catch his breath. The force of the squeeze was tremendous, but he attributed it to Sawyn’s nervousness. With a reassuring smile, he leaned in next to her ear. “Hey, if you get a chance, steal something nice for yourself, and get something for me too. That guard looks scary, but she shouldn't be paying much attention. There hasn't been a war for years, and people get bored.”
He leaned back to find Sawyn regarding him with concern. Much to his relief, she gave him a mischievous wink a second later and sat down in the corner, outside of the hallway guard's vision.
The man then led Zed into the room, shutting the door behind them. Zed felt a stab of guilt as Sawyn disappeared from his sight, as there was something he couldn't tell her. Even if his plan succeeded, there was a strong chance he wasn't going to return home.
Neal put his hand to the wall, and a strong jolt of electricity shot out from his palm and disappeared into the wall. The ceiling lit up a moment later, illuminating the whole room. Now, with better lighting, Zed could make out the titles of the volumes and recognized several names among the collections. Whoever Neal was, he was definitely a well-educated man.
Neal walked around the desk and sat down on his chair with a satisfied grunt. Slowly, he picked a shiny object up off the desk and pinned it to his chest.
The Ivy Sigil marked this man as an Elite alchemist. Perfect, Zed thought, this is a person who can appreciate my intelligence. Knowing that fate had stacked the odds in his favor, the boy gathered his courage and walked forward until he was a foot from the desk.
The large man cleared his throat, and began. “Let us make this official. I am High Ambassador Neal Shevat, the highest-ranking official currently residing in the Southern Province of the Glorious Empire. You may begin.”
Sawyn's nose was finally adjusting to the smell of the air. At least she thought that's what was happening, considering she no longer noticed the taint. Leaning a little forward, she saw that Zed was right; the guard had already resumed her reading, likely assuming all three of them had gone into the room.
Slowly, Sawyn pushed against the floor, and got up by sliding herself along the wall. Her movements felt exceptionally effortless, as if her body had become lighter somehow. Maybe it's just the adrenaline pumping through my body, this being a dangerous place and all.
Carefully, she hugged the wall closest to the guard and began moving toward the next door at a snail's pace. After a painfully slow trek, she reached the first door. But when she tested the handle, the door was locked somehow. What a strange place, she thought to herself. There weren't even any keyholes.
Undeterred, Sawyn maintained her stealth as she continued on toward the next door. Luckily, she found it slightly ajar. Excited by this development, she almost went right in. But common sense prevailed, and she pressed her ear against the door to listen.
After a minute, satisfied there was no one present, Sawyn opened the door very slowly and stepped inside. A large conference table sat in middle of the room, with an enormous chandelier providing ample illumination. All along the walls were portraits and bookshelves, and hundreds of volumes filled up the space. Two extravagant coats had been left on the table; the owners had likely stepped out to take care of other business.
I wish I could steal those, Sawyn thought and shook her head. For all of Zed's genius, he rarely made anything practical.
Instead, there were plenty of overly complicated systems of devices that performed simple tasks in their room. If Zed slapped a button next to the straw mattress, a rope would pull aside a stopp
er, causing a metal ball to fall into a bowl. The bowl was counterbalanced against a switch, and once that was activated, a device would pull on another rope, causing a container on the ceiling to tilt. After all that work, the only thing it accomplished was to splash water on his face and jolt him awake. That hardly seemed worth it. Why wouldn't he just keep the water within arm’s reach and skip most of the steps?
Sawyn heaved a long sigh as she continued to look around, but a rhythmic clicking noise caused her to freeze up in alarm. Footsteps! Briskly, Sawyn moved to the door to push it shut, and heard the lock click. With any luck, the people would pass right by and … To her horror, the footsteps stopped just outside of the door.
“You locked the door again?” a female voice complained.
“No, you were the last one out,” the male voice retorted, indignant.
“Why is it you always blame me?”
“No matter, just open the door.”
NO! Sawyn thought in panic. Though the room was large, there were no decent hiding spots. Without any better options, Sawyn leaned against the door and prayed for a miracle. Her mind went frantic as it ran through various scenarios of what was to come; she would be found and pegged for a spy. Shortly after, she would be killed, along with Zed, who had nothing to do with this. Well, he did encourage me to do it, but I was going to look around this place anyway.
While doing her best to keep from hyperventilating, she heard a sizzling noise from the other side, followed by a curse.
“Embarrassing, can’t get it to work?” the female voice mocked.
“Must be broken again.”
A flicker of hope entered Sawyn's mind.
“Maybe you're not putting enough power into it.”
Again there was a sizzle.
The male voice sighed.
“Step aside,” the woman grunted impatiently.
Another sizzling sound came, louder this time. Once again, it fizzled out after a few seconds. A snicker quickly followed.