Disclaimer: Dismally not mine.
A/N: Written for Challenge #006 – 'ocean' – at ygodrabble.
Recruitment
© Scribbler, June 2010.
Dartz breathed the incense. It was useful for concentration when entering a trance state; in and out, push and pull, the steady flow of air to his lungs eventually becoming a different ebb and flow, as his mind emptied and his senses shut off.
He had never pretended to understand the Orichalcos. He loved and served it, respected its power and was awed by its ultimate authority, but understand? Never. He was just a man. Its power and knowledge were beyond mortal comprehension.
He felt its presence rippling along his skin like dragonfly wings, caterpillar feet, the silky brush of his wife's hair as she turned over in her sleep. Green fire edged the recesses of his mind as his consciousness left his body and flew to where it was needed. The Orichalcos had something to show him. What else could he do but obey, as he had for the last ten thousand years?
Dartz had recruited many soldiers – as a king in Atlantis, setting them to guards his daughter's chambers; and in the war again evil since then. In Atlantis he'd used his own judgement, but that had proved foolish. He hadn't seen the darkness oozing from people's hearts and so had allowed his empire to rot from the inside out. He was human; his judgement was flawed. The Orichalcos, however, was infinite and wise. It wasn'thuman – wasn't anything close to human. The Orichalcos didn't suffer from the imperfections of humanity.
He moved through undulating mist until shapes took form around him: green and blue, overlaid with shifting black. His thoughts drifted, dragged like flotsam on a current. He sensed life and movement, shoals of darting silver. A memory returned, briefly, of a bracelet given to his daughter so long ago: seashells he had searched out, gilded and threaded himself. He had presented it as a gift for the Celebration of the Whales, her favourite festival in the calendar. He recalled the cacophony of high-pitched jingling on her wrist as she laughed and ran across the courtyard towards him, calling "Father! Father! They're here! The pod is back! Father, come quickly and see!"
But that was a long time ago. She was also all too human. Everything was different now. Everything was clearer now. He knew better than to believe she was as innocent as she'd seemed back then. Even childish laughter held the seeds of evil promises when you knew how to listen for them.
Dartz rose through the depths, pushing past turtles, squid, dolphins and, finally, up to the huge shadow on the surface. His spirit continued to rise, through the bottom and into the hold, past more evidence of human selfishness and greed. So much luggage! Humans always wanted to possess things. The world couldn't be owned. If there was one universal truth, it was that everything ultimately belonged to the Orichalcos.
The one he had been brought to see was also in love with things – gifts, clothes, the people around him. He glowed with a corona of green fire only Dartz could perceive. It set him apart as the Orichalcos's chosen. Once, Dartz might've hesitated. The boy was a child, he might've argued, but he had spent millennia learning he was wrong and the Orichalcos was right. He didn't question its judgement. Ever.
He left the ship and spread his consciousness into the waves, ancient magic buoying his spirit with the natural playground of the Atlantean people. He churned the water, calling it up and up. Green flames no water could quench gave him extra strength. The sea answered his call and surged towards the unsuspecting cruise ship, hitting with enough force to split it in two. Hundreds of lives vanished in seconds. Dartz felt their lights go out.
Far away, his body sneezed. The action brought him out of his trance – back to his frail, puny, human body. He opened his eyes and stared into the shadows of the empty chamber. The brazier had gone out and was smoking. The only light came from his pendant, which bathed his blank, unremorseful face in an unearthly green glow.
Fin.
.