Lorne leaned forward clasping his hands together on the table. "What would you say if I told you we already have a cure? That we believe it was delivered unto us by the Southern Sun because we are the chosen Vesnians?"
"I would say that discussions and arguments as to which of us is the chosen race is better left to the likes of religious scholars such as you and Charvold," said Duvold calmly in the face of Lorne's continued arrogance. "Who the chosen race is matters little at the present time. Also, even though you haven't blatantly admitted it, I believe you do not have a cure."
Lorne smirked at Duvold's assumption. "What makes you so certain we haven't discovered a cure? You have no evidence one way or the other."
Duvold leaned forward and extended his hand, pointing accusingly at Lorne from across the table. "You are my proof. You being here shows that the Red Empire is in the exact same predicament as the United Tribes."
"I'm confused Duvold," said Lorne quizzically, "how am I proof that the Red Empire doesn't have a cure?"
Duvold shook his head in frustration at the continued stubbornness of the high commander. "Your arrogance is all the proof that is necessary. If you had a cure we wouldn't be having this meeting, you would be too busy delivering it to your own people and ignoring us. You are here because you are desperate for an answer. You personally may not be worried because your faith girds you, but your empire - the Red Empire, needs the cure."
Lorne smiled in response to Duvold's statement and leaned back in his chair. "You say we are the ones who disdain you? You claim that we are the ones who insult you? Yet here you are alluding that we are pompous and arrogant. Here you are making detestable claims that, if we had a cure, we would knowingly and willingly let our brothers to the north die. You need to step back and look in the mirror Duvold; I think you may be surprised at what you see."
Duvold jabbed his index finger into the desk with force. He didn't know what else to do at this point as Lorne refused to meet him halfway on the issue. "What do you want Lorne? What can I say or do that will allow you to begin to work with us? I am quickly losing hope that this momentous meeting will accomplish anything besides the trading of insults and jabs across the aisle; and honestly if you simply came here to swap derogatory comments, it would have been better for you to stay in Aun City as I could have just as easily done that with Corvul."
"Don't bring Corvul into this," quickly responded the high commander, "he is a non-factor and does not speak for the Red Empire. In this room I am the Red Empire."
Duvold scoffed at Lorne's continued arrogance. "Speaking on behalf of the Red Empire seems to be something you've become accustomed to since Mielor voluntarily lost her voice."
Lorne slammed his fist on the table; simultaneously across the back wall, the hands of all the Phlebos soldiers went to the hilts of their blades in reaction. "Enough! You think I will sit here and let you openly mock the light of eternal lights in such a manner? Need I remind you that you came to us! You need our help, not the other way around!"
Duvold stood up and leaned on the table towards Lorne with one arm while gesturing towards the door with the other. "There's the exit Lorne, if you don't need our help then by all means walk out."
A heavy silence fell over the room as Lorne and Duvold stared at each other. Duvold had the high commander, he knew it and Lorne knew it. Duvold could imagine the panic running through Lorne's mind, trying to think of something to say in order to save face; otherwise he would be admitting that the Phlebos didn't have superior footing. Lorne's flesh shifted from yellow to bright red and Duvold wondered if it was just happenstance or if the deep red reflected Lorne's panic and embarrassment at not knowing what to do. The seconds were ticking away and with each passing moment Lorne looked weaker and weaker. It had been a hard and grueling duel; Duvold didn't want to play the most incendiary card available to him, that of a walk out, but he had no choice. Lorne was too stubborn and obstinate; he had to go all in. Duvold fully realized his play may still backfire on him; it was a distinct possibility that Lorne was so righteous and arrogant in his beliefs that he would rather doom their races than lose face.
A voice, one that was higher pitched than Lorne's and full of cautious hope echoed out across the still of the room. "We have a possible cure."
Collectively, every head in the room turned to the source of the voice. Sielan shifted a bit where she stood, a little uncomfortable at suddenly becoming the center of the tense room.
Duvold, as if not believing what he had just heard, asked his question in an incredulous tone. "What?"
Lorne let out a low, almost inaudible sigh, and faintly nodded his head. "What Sielan says is true. She uncovered a potential cure just last night, but we don't know whether it would even work or not."
Duvold was ecstatic, a broad smile spread across his face. He couldn't tell if he was happier about the news of a possible cure or the fact that for the first time today he believed Lorne was being open, honest and frank with him. "What is the cure? Whatever materials you need for it, the United Tribes will supply them. What sort of components do you need to make the medicine?"
Sielan glanced towards Lorne for approval. The high commander looked over his shoulder and gave the historian a look full of gratitude, but also sadness. She could tell by the expression on his face that it was all over, he had lost the game to Duvold. Sielan stepped forward and stood at the table next to Lorne. She placed a large tome on the table facing Duvold.
"I'm afraid it's not that simple Emperor Duvold," began the female Phlebos. "When I say cure, I unfortunately don't mean it as you envision. What I've uncovered is basically more of a clue, whether it will help us I don't know. Our other attempts at finding out the cause, source, or solution to the plight have all been fruitless. This book, while I'm sure you don't recognize it, it was written by you almost two thousand years ago, several decades after our Father’s fall. It was given to the Red Empire as a gift at the celebration marking the opening of Armistan. The book details the fall of, and subsequent aftermath of, Juxon's death."
Sielan gently pushed the book over to Duvold. The emperor sat back down in his seat and rubbed his hand over the cover. Duvold had written an untold number of books throughout his lives and most were obviously just lost memories. He gently opened the cover and began delicately leafing through the pages. As he glanced through the book Sielan cleared her throat and continued.
"As you can see, I've marked a page in the book. The tome is important because as far as I can tell, it is probably the first book ever written concerning Juxon's demise. Some of the facts detailed in the book have long been lost to our people for reasons that bring shame to both of our people. Thunvold gave the book to the Red Empire because, Three bless his soul, he was not very interested in literature and thus saw the book as an acceptable loss in the name of political gain. The book was then forgotten amongst our people due to our bigotry concerning anything from the Tormos. If you turn to the marked page, you will see the image and chapter that I believe is the last best hope for our people. The drawing, made by you I imagine, depicts the Heaven's Light - the blade our Father crafted using Aun's very essence in order to commit suicide. As Juxon fell backwards in his death throes the Heaven's Light dropped from his hand. The Phlebos have always believed that the Heaven's Light was lost to us as it was flung from his hand, landing out in the ocean beyond the Hollow Winds. If I'm not mistake, the Tormos though have long believed the blade shattered upon landing, the shards then being flung to parts unknown."
Vuurbin spoke up from behind Duvold, his voice calm and collected with a touch of respect at a Phlebos being so knowledgeable. "You are partly correct my dear. Tormos scholars have long debated the fate of the Heaven's Light. Some believe as you mentioned that the whereabouts of the blade are unknowable. A select minority believes that upon touching the mortal plane, the blade disintegrated, its essence returned to the heavens. An even smaller minority believes in your radical idea that the remnants of the Heaven's Light a
re still with us, lost to time and beyond reach deep beneath Vesnia’s crust in the cavernous depths."
"What do you believe happened to the Heaven's Light Vuurbin?" Duvold asked the question as he ran his hand along the picture of the shattered blade resting in the Dallion Forest.
Vuurbin stepped forward slightly, breaking rank with his fellow Tormos. "Charvold would vehemently argue against this but - I have always believed in the radical possibility that the Heaven's Light is still here. I of course have no direct evidence to support such a belief, but the reason I think there is some credence to the legendary dagger being in the cavernous depths is due to the undead. It's a commonly accepted notion that Juxon's death also breathed life into the husks of the human corpses, however I'm not too sold on that idea. Juxon was a being of pure love and devotion, the thought that his purity could cause such filth and evil is disturbing to me. The Heaven's Light, while it was made from part of Aun's essence, was also made from materials here on Vesnia, and as we know, the mortal plane is not beyond corruption. I believe the blade over time became tainted by this mortal world and that evil seeped into the land animating the dead."
"That same corruption might have also infested the Dallion Tribe and caused them to go mad." The Phlebos historian interjected while smiling from across at the table at Vuurbin.
The priest of the flesh had a smirk crawl across his face. "Yes, that is a very real possibility as well. I've also long held suspect as to what caused the Dallion Tribe to turn their back on their brethren."
"So, let's say your unorthodox beliefs are in actuality fact," interrupted Duvold closing the book and leaning back in his chair. "Why would that possibly help us? The Heaven's Light, the only known weapon crafted by a God, which is broken by the way, has now become corrupted by the mortal plane and its vileness has caused both the undead human plague and the madness of the Dallions. Why would we want to recover this shattered blade?"
"While I don't know for certain," began Sielan, "I do have two running theories. The first is that perhaps the Heaven's Light is what is causing our current plight. If we can retrieve the pieces, we can either try to purify them somehow, or at the very least, transport them elsewhere, far out to sea maybe near the Hollow Winds and hope, if nothing else, such a great distance from land buys us time to find a more permanent solution if we can't purge the corruption. The other theory is we could study it and see if we can use it to craft an actual cure. After all, it is the only remaining physical remnant of the Three on this mortal plane besides us and a part of Aun himself is imbued in the fragments."
"Who would purify the blade?" Lorne asked. "Who amongst us would have the power to control and cleanse a weapon forged by a God?"
An uneasy silence hovered over the room until Duvold spoke with certainty. "Tulinda could do it. If anyone could control and purify the Heaven's Light it would be her."
The eyes of the room shifted to the small figure hidden in the voluminous robes that signified her as a geomancer. Her face was hidden in the shadows of her hood and she made no movement despite the sudden attention on her.
"What makes you think your apprentice could do the job?" Lorne asked the question in a tone that, while not outright hostile, was dripping with derision. "If anyone could purify the blade it would have to be Thelais, she is after all a pyromancer. By the flames and heat of our deceased Father she could purge the blade of its corruption."
Duvold had a grin spread over his face at the continued arrogance of the high commander. "Tulinda is far from my apprentice anymore. Trust me Lorne, your wife is a powerful spell caster, but Tulinda is beyond any of us. Just ask Thelais, she can sense the power that is hidden in Tulinda's misleading form."
Lorne glanced over his shoulder at his wife who stood directly behind him. Her jaw clenched as she looked into her loving husband's eyes. The expression on Lorne's face begged Thelais to back him up on his belief that the Tormos were inferior. "It's true," said Thelais quietly. "The power that she exudes is so strong I can almost feel it. I've never encountered anything like it before."
Lorne turned back around in defeat. The meeting, an event in which he had planned to cement the upper hand of the Phlebos, was quickly slipping through his fingers. The Tormos were in possession of the only known potential cure for the affliction as well as the only person who could potentially purify the artifact. He had to do something to save face; he couldn't go back to Mielor in total defeat. "I will lead an expedition into the cavernous depths with my army and Tulinda. We will recover the Heaven's Light if it is there."
Laughter from the Tormos side echoed through the hall due Lorne's preposterous idea. Even Duvold chuckled a little at the audaciousness of the high commander. "Do you really think that is going to happen Lorne? Would you allow one of our champions to lead the Tormos militia onto Phlebos soil with Thelais in our custody? Surely you realize that will never happen. We don't even know if this scheme will work. To go into the cavernous depths is a suicide mission; no one ever has fully explored the maze that is beneath the Dallion Forest. On top of that, you are going into an uncharted labyrinth full of enemies in search of items that may not even be there. As silly as this is though, we have no other real options it seems. All traditional cures or solutions have failed and every day more Tormos and Phlebos die. As I see it, we don't have much of a choice, as such, Gowinda will lead an army of our militia into the caverns with Tulinda. If they are able to find and recover the shards we will immediately inform you."
"You cannot cut us out of the process completely!" With every passing moment the Red Empire was becoming weaker and weaker. Lorne had to fight to keep control of the situation. "Do you really believe I will allow the fate of the Red Empire to rest solely in the hands of the Tormos?"
Sielan quickly interrupted, speaking up from her position next to Lorne at the table. "Can I offer a logical solution gentleman?"
"Of course, state your proposition," said Duvold.
"Lorne has a point that you cannot remove us completely from this plan. Not only are we the ones who brought this knowledge and idea to you, but you are also the one that came to us seeking peace and unity in finding a solution. On the other hand, I also agree with you that you obviously cannot let the Red Army freely traipse across your lands. In addition to this, I believe both of your plans of leading an army into the cavernous depths is reckless folly. The depths are an unknown length of caves and tunnels leading deep into the bowls of Vesnia. To lead an army into such confined quarters would be madness. Additionally, regarding dealing with the undead, the Tormos adopted the opposite strategy of the Phlebos. While we actively seek out the undead to purge them from the land, you have opted to merely lock them away deep beneath the crust, due to this; you are facing a potentially endless horde of undead in your path. If you lead thousands of men into such a scenario it will take you forever to get anywhere or accomplish anything, and odds are the Vesnian race may be near extinction by the time you ever uncover anything."
Duvold nodded in agreement. "These are all valid points and I see where you are going with this."
"What I propose," continued Sielan, "is a small team to infiltrate the depths. Their mission would be one of speed, urgency and stealth. They will avoid the enemy, go unnoticed and explore the depths thoroughly and hastily in search of any signs of the Heaven's Light. This team would be composed of half Phlebos and half Tormos in a display of unity. As we are all in this thing together, if the expedition fails, neither the Phlebos nor the Tormos can take full responsibility for dooming our race."
Duvold thought for a moment while rapping his fingers on the table. He let out a long sigh and nodded to the historian. "You've made a compelling argument and I will agree. How many members shall make up this unified expedition?"
"Well," Sielan thought for a minute, her brow furrowing as she tried to come up with the right number. "How about we send a meaningful number? The book states that the Heaven's Light shattered into eight pieces, so how about eight heroes?"
Each individual who was named either stood silent or nodded in understanding. Whether or not they wanted to go was unknown to Duvold, but he knew none would decline the honor of representing the Tormos in their most fateful hour.
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