Anime/Manga » Sailor Moon » Age of Heroes (Arthurian Saga)
Author: Firefly-shy
Rated: T - English - Adventure/Fantasy - Reviews: 7 - Published: 12-31-12 - Updated: 07-05-13
id:8859517
Age of Heroes
The Oracle
"Are you certain?"
The voice rang out clearly through the crowded audience chamber of the present commander of the Western Roman territory, Lucius Adamantus. His steely blue eyes, a clear reminder of his natural coldness, flashed dangerously.
"I'm certain, my lord."
The man who addressed him could have been his twin. Their features were very similar, high cheekbones and sloping jaws gave them the appearance of men who'd been carved from granite, though the younger man's eyes were a clear gray and his nearly white hair cut short in a military fashion. He still wore his armor and the dust from the road clung to his cloak. The grime of travel only served to emphasize the sharp lines of his face, making him appear older than he was, older than his leader.
"If this is true, and the Vortigern has really failed so miserably to hold back the barbarians, we do not have much choice."
Caius continued to watch his commander in a stony silence. He didn't particularly relish being the bearer of bad news, but the gods tended to withhold mercy rather whimsically, he reflected.
He cleared his throat.
"What orders, my lord?"
Lucius sat down on the large, ornamental seat, carefully crafted from bronze, and regarded his younger brother with thinly-disguised frustration.
"There is nothing else we can do, Caius," he said, "But leave them to their fate."
Caius's face flinched, but he gave no other sign of his emotions at hearing this.
"My lord, there are several large Briton towns close to our northern borders. They are farmers and villagers. They can't defend themselves."
Lucius's face didn't change at all.
"They will have to depend on the protection of their British king."
"He is dead, my lord," Caius reminded his brother.
"Yes. So what part of my orders have you failed to understand?"
Caius lowered his eyes and bowed his head, pulling his arm to his chest in a brief salute.
Lucius turned from his brother and toward the arrival of his priest.
"Ah, at last, some news I wish to hear," he said with a smile.
"My lord, there is news," the priest answered. He was wearing the robes of a worshiper of Apollo, one of the few remaining brotherhoods in the west with the advent of Christianity and the recent religious tolerance practiced by the Emperor.
"The child has been found, the moon child."
Caius frowned, raising his head. His eyes trained sharply on his brother's suddenly ecstatic face.
"Yes, where?" Lucius eagerly breathed.
"My lord, we found the child on an island off the west coast of Albion. We believe that the gods may have brought her there and raised her themselves for there was no one else on the island."
Lucius' brows snapped together.
"Her?" he murmured to himself.
"But, are you telling me you've brought her with you? You actually have the moon child? Where is she?!"
The priest took a step back from the eager ruler.
"She is resting. The journey by sea was tiring for her, and she is young -"
Lucius waved his words aside.
"I want to see her as soon as possible. Arrange for her to appear before me tonight."
The priest opened his mouth to protest, but another look at Lucius' face convinced him to close it and bow instead. He exited the audience hall and Lucius' sharp command ensured that all the others, except his own personal guard, left as well.
"Stay, brother."
Caius halted at the door and turned, careful to keep his features cool and respectful.
Give nothing away, he chanted to himself. It was a strategy that had helped him survive.
"Come here, Caius, and sit. You must be weary."
Lucius gestured to the table beside him with a long wooden bench. He snapped his fingers and one of the guards instructed a serving woman to bring food and drink.
"I'm sorry I had to be so forthright with you, Caius," Lucius began, seating himself beside his brother.
"You understand how these things are, I know. It is a pity that I must not show favoritism even to a brother I greatly admire."
Caius allowed himself a small smile for Lucius' sake.
"What was all that talk just now?" he ventured, "What is this 'moon child'?"
A strange look stole over Lucius' face and he drew a hand through his shaggy white-blonde hair. The faint birthmark, like and upside down crescent moon, briefly appeared before he self-consciously scraped his hair in front of it again.
"While you were in the North, a woman came to me with some...interesting news. A prophecy, if you will."
Caius' eyes narrowed.
"Now, now," Lucius tsked, "I know what you're thinking. But this was something different from the ordinary legerdemain those street magicians peddle. This woman had heard of a prophecy among the Sassanids, a rumor, of a very powerful being."
"What do you mean?"
"They seem to think this...child I've managed to dredge up is some sort of half-deity. They call her 'moon child.' Now, don't ask me why. Do I look like I understand any of that? That's why we have priests. Still, I think there is something in it."
"And what do you want with a moon child? Or a half-god? If such a thing exists?"
"I want her because, according to the Sassanids, she's a very important person."
Caius blinked.
"That's it?" he asked. "She's important?"
"Well," Lucius laughed, "Who cares if she's real or just some half-wild witless girl, if the Persian Empire wants her so badly, as I've been led to believe according to my sources, then Rome certainly needs to keep her."
Caius' grey eyes widened, taking on a silver glint.
"The Persian empire wants this girl you've found?" He repeated, "But why? They can't really believe that such things exist."
"Careful, brother," Lucius said, wryly, "You're beginning to sound like an atheist yourself."
Caius shrugged his shoulders, a smile twisting at his lips.
"I believe in the old gods," he said, quietly, "As do you. But I've never seen a human that was anything more than mortal. These barbarians we fight against, many of them have beliefs that their leaders are animal spirits, or spirits of the earth and the sky, but they bleed and die all the same."
"Incurably pragmatic, Caius. You lack imagination. What does it matter what the Sassanids believe? If they want the girl, then I want her too."
Lucius stood, but motioned to Caius to remain sitting. The serving woman brought the food and put it before Caius, filling his cup with wine, and then timidly retreated.
"I've got to send your message on to the Emperor. He won't be pleased that we've lost the British territories, but perhaps he will decide to send another legion to take back the lands from the invaders. Perhaps, if you lead such an expedition, he'll make you king, eh?"
Since Lucius had his back to him, Caius frowned, wiping his hands with the wet cloth provided and proceeding to taste a grape.
He heard Lucius chuckle on his way out the door.
"Yes, you'd make a fine King of the Britons."
Caius tried to swallow the wine, but it was bitter.
