Author's Note: Hi everybody! Look, I broke the pattern and now you have a new POV character. Scary. Let me know what ya think. :D
It was exactly twenty paces from one end of the corridor to the other. Timing his steps perfectly, he could see a patrolling Cybit every fourth time he reached the far end. Far off, he could hear the beeps and hums from the machines that kept the Tower of Salvation running and, beyond that, the silence of the stars that seemed to lie behind everything in its cold glory.
Julius hated the cold.
Sarcastic comments from young Lucien aside, it wasn't a matter of elemental affinity for fire that made him hate the cold. Cold meant winter and winter meant sleeping in the streets again and that meant catching pneumonia like his mother and dying, leaving her children alone in a world that hated them. Cold meant the looks from the well-to-do of Syback and Ozette, too caught up in their own problems to let a half-elf try and look after his only brother so they wouldn't be forced into thievery just to survive. Cold meant the waters of Ymir Forest when the village of Heimdall was blocked off to those of "mixed blood" and a father who wouldn't acknowledge his own half-breed children.
Cold meant the eyes of a man barely out of childhood seduced by promises of an Age of Half-Elves and slaughtering a human caravan, laughing as they burned.
And now they want that child to lead them! Never mind that it had been nearly a hundred years since then. Magnius was still his little brother. You were supposed to look after your little brother. That's why older brothers are born first: to look after the little ones. Not to let them turn into sadistic jerks who hate humans.
Because if they hated people just for being human, how did that make them any different from the humans who hated them just because they were half-elves?
Julius didn't hate humans. He'd known good humans, just as he'd known evil half-elves. He'd known humans just as poor as he had been, once, who had given what they couldn't afford to help people out. Sure, he felt disgust with human society often enough, but that didn't mean he wanted to kill them all. Did Magnius really think that eliminating humans would solve the world's problems?
He couldn't know without speaking to Magnius in person, but Julius was reluctant. Not afraid that he would give away Lord Yuan and the other Renegades, not that, but afraid that his brother hadn't changed, or, worse, that Magnius had lost whatever shards of kindness and, well, humanity that had been left to him.
Julius sighed. On the other hand, if he didn't go speak to Magnius soon, he probably wouldn't get another chance. It takes a rare person to see a painful truth and accept it for what it is, Yuan had said, and a brave person to accept the truth and try to change it. It was his responsibility, now, to see if his brother would really take a commanding position in the ranks of the Grand Cardinals.
His mind now made up, Julius stopped pacing and headed for the nearest transporter. Though it was very late at night (or early morning, depending on where you were coming from), he knew where Magnius would be if he was awake. And if he wasn't, well, that was why Lord Yuan had given them all high-level security access codes, wasn't it?
His first guess proved to be correct, however. Magnius was in one of the solitary training rooms. Julius watched silently from behind one of the clear glasslike windows for a few moments as he gathered his courage. Magnius had bulked up considerably over the years and he had a new scar across the bridge of his nose, but his hair was that familiar, impossible shade of red that Julius shared. He was making some dangerous-looking maneuvers with a large axe and Julius smiled in spite of himself, watching the power and grace of the form. He'd never been good with weapons himself, but Magnius had a special gift for combat.
Julius took a deep breath and approached the door to the training room. To his mild surprise, it was unlocked. Magnius nodded tersely to acknowledge the sound and finished his sweeping motion, bringing the giant axe to rest on the ground and leaning on it as one might lean on a desk. "Can I help you?" he said, eyebrows rising.
Belatedly, Julius realized he was still wearing the face-concealing Desian helmet. Thinking quickly, he decided to use this to his advantage. "Excuse me, sir, but I heard a rumor that you might be taking over Lady Pronyma's legion."
Magnius barked a short laugh. "It's not bloody likely. Lady Pronyma will be taking over the First Legion as commander of the Grand Cardinals, and damned if I'm going to let her into that snake's nest alone. Let Jacob take over the Fourth Legion. They'll tear him apart, sure enough, but by that time Lady Pronyma will be secure in her own position." He grinned, looking truly ferocious with that new scar. "And then we shall see if I become one of the Grand Cardinals."
Julius nodded. "Glad to hear it, sir. We were…concerned that the rank might not go to the right man." Though I'm not entirely certain you're the right man, in any case. He was actually relieved to hear a tone of genuine concern when Magnius spoke about Pronyma – perhaps his brother hadn't lost all compassion.
"No need to worry, soldier. It's all mostly ceremonial until we're allowed to go down into the declining world and let loose on those vermin that are keeping us from claiming the world as our own."
Ah, so that's how it is. Sighing inwardly, Julius did his best to imitate an irritated sniff. "True enough. I've been reassigned three times already." Well, he hadn't – he would have to really be a Desian to be ordered around like that – but he'd overheard someone complaining about how they had.
Looking intensely at Julius as if he could see right through the visor, Magnius said, "When I become a commander in my own right, request to be transferred to my legion. I could easily find a use for someone who knows where his true loyalties lie."
Julius barely caught himself in time to prevent himself from shaking his head. My true loyalties lie with the ones you despise, brother. Lord Yuan understand that – why can't you? Instead, he bowed formally. "As you say, Lord Magnius." He couldn't help the little bit of bitterness that crept into his tone, but his brother seemed not to notice.
"Lord Magnius, is it? I like the sound of that." Magnius was grinning. "Dismissed."
Bowing again, Julius left the little training room and rested for a moment against the wall outside. It was odd, in a way. He had expected this – exactly this – but it still hurt. He took off the helmet and wiped his eyes, looking up at the ceiling as if it had answers for him. In a perverse way, he was proud of Magnius for having the strength to lead others and the loyalty he demonstrated to Pronyma, but he could never reconcile himself to the choice his brother had made. Don't you understand, Magnius? You can't live apart from the world like this, not if you want to prevent what happened to us. Although, to be entirely fair, Julius himself had abandoned the world to live in Exire for many years before joining the Renegades.
He smiled at that and turned to leave, and as he did he noticed Magnius looking at him through the training room's windows with an expression of utter disbelief on his face.
Muttering a curse, he bolted for the nearest transporter.
