Reborn From the Cosmos

Arc 8-19

Arc 8-19

“Good morning, my summoner.”

For the past few days, I’ve been avoiding my elven in-laws, fed up with their prodding and poking of my mind. Though truthfully, it’s less that I’m avoiding them and more that they’re allowing me a reprieve; saints know either one of them could make their presence felt if they desired. However, they’re respecting my wish for time to process their craziness. And with that time, I’m slowly coming around to the idea that it might not be craziness. They see something in me and, while we don’t agree on what that is, there’s no denying it’s there. That I need to face it. Face…myself.

However, avoiding them doesn’t mean I’ve abandoned the habits I’ve picked up. Namely, waking up early and taking time for myself, away from the hustle and bustle of the house. It’s not that I prefer solitude over sleeping in surrounded by my lovers. The first day I ventured off by myself, it didn’t last a quarter as long as Orum’s usual meandering walks. But, I still found myself going out the next day.

Starting the day cooped up between four walls makes me…something less than comfortable. I don’t know what brought on the sudden change. Or if it wasn’t a change and I’d only started paying better attention to myself. Doesn’t matter. Like I told those annoying elves, everything doesn’t need an explanation. If a walk makes me feel better, then I’ll walk.

It’s while I’m picking my way through a road littered with debris that Geneva finds me, emerging from the shadows with the natural grace of a leaf falling from a tree, the action so smooth it seems a natural consequence of the world, making it easy for eyes to slip off her. Her usual harmless persona, complimented by wide-eyed looks and flowy dresses, has been discarded for a more ominous appearance. Her gray skin combined with her dark, practical clothing and the black cloak with a hood that hides her face, reminds me of tales my father used to tell of wraiths, the living dead that prowled the night in search of disobedient young women that liked to sneak out of their rooms in the evening. She sidles up to me, matching my pace.

“You’ve been gone a while.”

“As you’ve ordered.”

“Sure you’re not taking liberties with those orders?” I ask, only half-joking. Never know with this creature.

“Of course not, my summoner. I don’t have the luxury.”

“Don’t tell me a bunch of little humans are proving a challenge for the great Geneva.”

Her tail whips in amusement. “You jest but it is my most difficult assignment. Minds are so much harder to manipulate when they’re aware something is trying to deceive them.”

I acknowledge her point with a hum. The hunters are very much aware of her and have the means to block mental intrusion. They’re also incredibly paranoid when it comes to the Authority, paranoid and protective. I can understand this job taking a while. “Well? If you’re back in the middle of the afternoon, that means you’ve made progress, right?”

“Indeed. There’s been an interesting development. I shouldn’t be surprised given the lack of judgment they’ve already demonstrated, but in a startling display of either stupidity or confidence, they’ve decided to remain in the city.”

“They want another fight?!” I asked, aghast and disbelieving.

“No, they aren’t completely idiotic. You’re the crown’s problem in their eyes.”

“They think the king will oust me?”

“That, or place restrictions on you, preventing another rampage. Either way, their main concern is maintaining control over the city. Specifically, over the hunters. The Authority is a collection of powerful artifacts and components, an armory essentially. Useless without an army to wield it.”

I wince but quickly force the expression off my face. “Did I kill that many?”

“Not among the hunters. I believe your wife claimed more lives amongst the combatants. Once they realized that you were not targeting them, they simply ran away. Even the most zealous defenders pelted you with magic from a safe distance and retreated once their cores were exhausted. The problem is not one of numbers, but ideology. You shattered their confidence, Lou. In themselves, in the guilds, in their traditions, and in the kingdom. They were divided before and their defeat has only made it worse.”

“So…I’m assuming they want to use the Authority to convince the others to come back to them?”

“Yes, and they’re starting with the second largest group.”

“Why not the largest?”

“Those would be the hunters deathly afraid of you and who are looking for a way to escape Quest.”

“Ah.”

“The second largest group are the rebels who have been causing a ruckus. They believe that if they cause enough civil strife, no one will want anything to do with Quest.”

“Wait. Their grand plan to take back the city is to make it too miserable for anyone else to stay?”

“That’s the gist of it.”

“And what about all the lives they’re ruining in the meantime?”

“The way they see it, anyone that isn’t willing to fight for Quest, or to suffer for it, doesn't belong.”

Those saints damned idiots! Are you kidding me? The hunters are supposed to be these people’s heroes. Forget nebulous ideas of do-gooding. They outright claimed to be the defenders of the people. And those people believed in them. Believed in them so much that they ignored my blatant warnings to get out of my way, sure that their heroes would shield them from harm. Those bastards have the audacity to abandon them? To claim they haven’t suffered enough?!

“Please tell me the Authority faction is going to convince the Idiot Faction by smacking them upside the head,” I hiss through grit teeth.

“Something of the sort. Their hope is to subsume them but failing that, they plan to go to the Hall and curry favor with Dunwayne by restoring order to the city.” Geneva chuckles.

“What’s so funny?”

“It always amuses me the way logical creatures prefer to ignore the evidence in front of them in favor of believing in ideal futures. They have a priceless treasure in their hands, one that would allow them to live privileged lives anywhere in the kingdom or beyond and yet they insist on staying in the one place where that treasure can do absolutely nothing for them. Ah, well. Better for us.”

“Yay,” I mutter half-heartedly.

“Your enthusiasm is overwhelming. Shall I send you all the information I’ve obtained?”

She reaches out a hand, but I shy away from it. “I’ll do it when I get back to the estate.” Maybe it’s a bit ridiculous but I don’t want my walk interrupted. Also, I have to make sure I draft the proper orders. I still remember the horrifying conversation we had in the north when I realized just how much Geneva could manipulate events despite her limitations. From now on, I will do nothing on a whim when it comes to the succubi. “You should return ahead of me.”

“Alright. But don’t take too long, my summoner. We don’t have long if we want to take advantage of the opportunity ahead of us.”

She disappears as smoothly as she appeared, ducking into an alley, the leaf-tip of her tail almost beckoning me to follow her into the shadows. I wonder how she feels about my suspicion. Is she annoyed by having to work harder? Amused? Overjoyed at the thought of a greater challenge? That’s not hard to imagine.

But the response of these hunters is. The more I think about it, the more it stokes that cold anger that hasn’t quite left me since I came home to find my loved ones replaced by a threatening note. I translate the anger into energy as I sprint down the road, kicking up debris as I pass. I can be callous, petty, and outright mean, but I’d never make people suffer for such a stupid reason. Especially not people I claim to care about.

But what really pisses me off, what turns my sprint into a full-out run, turning me into a blur as I speed through the city, is the nagging thought that I’m to blame. I destroyed the guilds. I may have nothing to do with these fractured groups but I’m the driving force behind their different beliefs. It’s all me.

And…and it bothers me!

Saints damn it all! You happy, you stupid elves?! IT BOTHERS ME!

Maybe I could have handled the mess with the guilds and the March better, but I could put that behind me. People making the situation worse and blaming me for it? I can’t stand it. The people threw away my mercy when I offered it. They made themselves complicit when they blindly followed the guilds. But they’ve paid enough. They’ve been hurt enough. I can’t forgive someone making their punishment worse and using me or what I did as their justification.

Like I confided to Kierra and Alana, I want someone to care about the powerless. Not to save them, heroes don’t really exist, but to give them a second thought. To get offended on their behalf. To care. And, maybe, every once in a while, lend a helping hand.

“But that doesn’t make me a hero!” I shout to no one in particular as I launch myself into the air, soaring high enough that I can see the full scope of my rampage. The evidence is right there.