Estelle
I left Anathema's well before Munno or Genji, but I didn't go back to our rooms at The Wild Rover. If we were going to be meeting with the rulers of Nexus in the morning, I needed more information about them. Since all of the Solars seemed to be gathering in Harlotry for a "birthday party", I had the perfect opportunity to poke around their homes. The one I was most anxious to avoid was the Twilight Caste and his Paradox-creating construct. Fortunately, without Genji in tow, I didn't need to be stingy about using my Charms.
It wasn't difficult to find out where the Solars were living. Apparently, the five of them had taken up residence inside the palatial White Gold Tower, located in the center of what used to be the Firewander District. It surprised me that they were sharing accommodations when there were so many other First Age estates all around the city they might have easily claimed. I suspected they were paranoid. Old habits died hard, and while some ambitious Dragonbloods might try taking out a single Solar, there weren't many folks in Heaven or Creation that would be a match for a whole Circle of them.
I donned a Resplendent Destiny under the constellation of The Lovers that I hadn't used in some time, expecting to run into at least a few guards as I made my approach. To my surprise, there was no one loitering around the tower at all except for a single drunk whore passed out on the front steps. Still, it seemed silly to walk right inside, so I slipped around back and let myself in through a ground floor window instead.
I couldn't imagine what it must have been like to go from the hunted "enemies of Creation" to being rulers of a city, but if the five Solars of Nexus were holed up together because they were afraid, why was it so easy to sneak into their fortress?
White Gold Tower was as impressive inside as it was from the street. The marble corridors reminded me of the public reception area which surrounded the Jade Pleasure Dome in Yu-Shan. The place was huge and labyrinthine. It was also suspiciously quiet.
I made my way through a courtyard garden that would have made any botanist or apothecary green with envy. Climbing roses and beautiful flowering plum trees surrounded a perfectly blue reflecting pool. When I looked up at the stars overhead, I was surprised to see that an Essence-powered grid recorded their positions and made calculations. It was a tool designed for Sidereal Astrology which shouldn't have been helpful to the Solars... unless they knew far more than they were ever meant to.
I noticed that the device was meticulously following the constellation of The Mask. It was moving at an alarming speed, which meant that whatever mess Oversight had thrown me into was quickly escalating. The Mask had been shattered more than a thousand years ago during the Usurpation when Heaven had decided to conceal its agents from Creation. If the parts of The Mask were returning to their original positions, as the Solar's device seemed to be anticipating they would, what did that mean?
Was it possible that the whole world would once again know about the existence of Sidereals?
I found the control mechanism for the device and gave it a series of commands to throw it off track. The meticulously plotted lines tracking the movement of The Mask immediately devolved into a mess of scribbles. I was sure that the Twilight Caste would suspect Sidereal meddling, but the last thing I needed was one of the Solars figuring out what was going on before I did.
I headed out of the garden and up the stairs of the tower itself. All of the walls were covered with maps and notes made in Old Realm by someone whose penmanship was far worse than my own. A fairly substantial library filled three of the rooms on the second floor of the tower. The fourth room was virtually empty except for a bed that looked as if it were never slept in, a small chest of tools, an old kerosene lantern, and two unopened crates of explosives. A single ripe peach sat on the windowsill. As I picked it up to have a look at it, I caught a distinct whiff of firewand ammunition. I thought I saw the reflection of someone sneaking up behind me in the window, but when I turned, there was no one there.
I went up the stairs again. The layout on the third floor was identical to the second floor, four small rooms arranged in a circle around the central staircase. One of the rooms was completely empty except for a suit of battered lamellar armor and an old sword which hung on the wall in a place of honor. There was a bed, a desk with nothing of interest inside of it, and a chest of drawers. Evidentially, the resident of the space had a habit of ordering take-away from local restaurants because there were dozens of boxes piled in the trash but no wasted food. I found an orange silk sash under the bed saturated with a woman's perfume, but all of the clothing in the room seemed to belong to a man. Once again, there was nothing remotely interesting on the premises, not even when I tested for hidden doors with Charms.
The fourth floor was completely empty, and all of the walls were singed with black. Evidently, there'd been a big fire and things had only just been cleaned up.
If the Solars were actually living inside White Gold tower, they certainly weren't living extravagantly... or at least that was what I though before I made it up to the fifth floor. There were clothes everywhere, empty bottles of wine on the stairs, and a bed big enough for lots of company. Little artifacts were scattered throughout the mess and one room was absolutely filled with weapons, including what appeared to be half of a disassembled warstrider. A small space near the largest window was cleared of clutter and there was a simple wooden bench sitting there, positioned perfectly to observe the eastern horizon.
I went up to the sixth floor. The space was illuminated with blue light. All of the walls and ceilings were inlaid with complex patterns of orichalcum and moonsilver which showed the positions of the sun, the moon, and the stars. The floor was a huge prayer wheel made of marble and the energy that filled the space pulsed like a heartbeat.
The room appeared to be completely empty with the exception of a round stone table surrounded by five chairs. The table was burned black in some places and crumbling like an ancient ruin. I realized almost immediately that I was looking at what was left of the Well of Udr, the devastating reality-bending device that had formerly imprisoned the Primordial known as The Weeping Maiden. Though without a Primordial inside, it couldn't terraform large portions of Creation again, the residual power that flowed through the artifact was clearly enough that the Solars felt compelled to keep it close by.
Someone tapped my shoulder and I jumped right out of my skin. The woman behind me smirked. Dressed entirely in black with a piece of First Age shroud cloth wrapped around her head, she was almost invisible even when I looked directly at her. It occurred to me belatedly that she was the same drunk whore I'd seen earlier. Of course, she was not at all drunk. Evaluating her firewands and the dagger in her boot, I suspected that she was actually the Night Caste of the infamous Nexus Circle... which certainly explained how she'd snuck up on me so easily.
"Looking for something?" The Solar teased.
I decided to take full advantage of my Resplendent Destiny. The role I was playing under The Lovers required that I act sweet and somewhat stupid, which was very easy for me. "Um, well, I heard there was supposed to be a party? So, like... where is it?"
"The party is downtown." She replied. "But if you were really looking for the festivities, you would have knocked on the front door, not climbed in the back window!"
"All right, you caught me!" I sighed in defeat. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to see what this place looked like inside. Because it's super mysterious, you know?" It was the truth, more or less, and the Solar seemed to believe me.
"You could have just asked. A lot of people are curious. We give tours all the time." She laughed.
"Really?" I didn't have to pretend to be surprised.
"Well, it helps our reputations." The Solar explained. "As I'm sure you've noticed, there isn't very much to see. Bedrooms are up here, the kitchen's downstairs."
"So... like... where's all your treasure and weapons and stuff?" I pressed.
"Treasure? Well, I hate to burst your bubble, sweetie, but I don't actually have any treasure. I'm sure there's a bit still buried somewhere under this city, but I haven't found it yet. Honestly, it's not like we're hiding some kind of massive arsenal!" The Solar rolled her eyes.
That was a boldfaced lie, but I didn't call her on it. Before the mess with the Well of Udr, I'd been inside Veritas Ilumio's factory cathedral myself. The Nexus Solars had a lot more than a few lightning ballista stashed away. Of course, if anyone knew that they had multiple First Age airships and a massive flying fortress at their disposal, Lookshy and The Realm would both start moving forward with their invasion plans.
"Oh." I tried to sound disappointed.
The Solar laughed. "I tell ya, sometimes I think people would be happier if we really were demons trying to conquer all of Creation. I'm sorry that you're not impressed. But I hope you'll sleep better at night." She gave me a pat on the back and walked with me all the way down the stairs and out the front door.
I stared up at White Gold Tower for a long while. As I'd suspected from the beginning, the Solars were using the ancient fortress as a cover. Whatever they were really up to was well-hidden, and probably with good reason. I didn't know what could be worse than setting a Primordial loose in a heavily populated city, but I had the sneaking suspicion that I would soon find out.
When I made it back to The Wild Rover, my mailbox was waiting for me. A set of orders from my Division head warned me to stay out of White Gold Tower, and a set of orders from Oversight told me to continue investigating the Solars while keeping an eye on both Genji and Munno. Of course, orders from Oversight always took precedence, but I didn't like the idea of running afoul of Yaogin. He was pretty reasonable most of the time, but it was hard to ignore the fact that he had been the Maiden of Serenity's favorite plaything for thousands of years. Most people underestimate the kind of power that a concubine can truly wield over his or her master or mistress. Of course, around the Cerulean Lute knowing who was sleeping with whom was the best way to get personal favors from higher-ranking Division members.
I was about to settle into bed myself when a knock came at my door. It was Munno. He was dressed just as he had been when I'd left him at Anathema's, except he'd apparently won one of the honors of the evening, a gold paper crown. He also still had paint on his face.
"I thought you would be asleep by now." Munno smiled slightly, observing my new orders and the star chart I'd been marking on my bedside table.
"My Division likes to keep me busy." I replied, attempting to sound much more cheerful than I felt. "Where's Genji?"
"Asleep. You know, I didn't think Wood-Aspects could get drunk, but apparently that Emerald Viper brews some dangerous ale." He rolled his eyes.
"Lunar Brew is nasty stuff. You didn't drink any of it, did you?" I asked.
"No, I had two glasses of very nice wine. I'm in my right mind." Munno sighed. He sat down in the chair across from my bed. I noticed that he had retrieved the Heaven-Sent Sword from its hiding place and was carrying it strapped to his back.
"Where are you going?" I wondered, sensing that he was up to something.
"Nowhere. Not far anyway. It's just that I can't sleep and I don't want this sword out of my sight." He admitted. "There's something going on in this city. Nothing is what it appears to be."
"Well, it virtually never is." I nodded. "Did you think about what you're going to say to Genji?"
"Actually, I already spoke to him. After you left. Before he got drunk." Munno replied.
"And?" I pressed.
"And then he got drunk." Munno sighed.
"You did the right thing. He deserves the truth. He just needs time." I paused.
"Time." Munno echoed. That was something we were running out of, and I knew it as well as Munno did. We sat in silence for a little while.
"What will you do when we complete our mission?" Munno wondered.
"The same thing I always do." I admitted. "Wait for my next mission."
"What would you do if Heaven had no more use for you?" He asked.
"Oh, that'll never happen!" I sighed heavily.
"But if it did?" He pressed.
"I don't know." I considered the question. "I don't think any Sidereal could answer that question. We're kind of made for our jobs."
"I suppose I should be glad I'm not an Exalt." Munno said.
"Well, with great power comes great responsibility." I replied.
"Yes, and this hero business is very tiring." He admitted.
"You still have paint on you." I informed him, and he squinted to have a look at his reflection in the window. I sighed and wiped the gold off of his face with the sleeve of my shirt. He stopped my hand and held it. I could have pulled away if I'd chosen to, but Munno was very strong. More importantly, he wasn't holding me to be rude, but because he needed to hold onto something. I knew what he was struggling with. He'd accepted a mission that he knew would cost his life and was trying to use the time he had left to make up for twenty years of hiding from the world.
"I want you to know how much I... appreciate everything you've done. I don't think I ever would have left my mountain if you hadn't come for me." He admitted.
I bit my tongue so that I wouldn't say what I was thinking, because I knew Munno wouldn't like it. So many Exalts I'd met over the years subscribed to the philosophy that the Incarnae were incapable of making mistakes and that everything they did was for a good reason. But as I thought about some of my peers who were up for Audit, I felt a surge of anger and frustration.
Munno wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary, but what he did best was nothing at all. It was completely unfair that anyone could be so wholly good without trying. Why did someone like him have to count the days that he had left while arrogant Dragonbloods, insane Solars, barbaric Lunars, and crooked Sidereals wasted hundreds or even thousands of years.
Maybe the Incarnae did make mistakes. Or worse still... maybe they didn't care?
I started shaking despite myself. Munno steadied me as the strength went out of my body and I held onto his hand, even tighter as I started to cry. I hadn't cried in a very long time. It wasn't like me to be weak when there was work to be done, but following orders had never felt so personal before. The more instructions I was given, the less I wanted to obey them. So far, my superiors hadn't mentioned anything about Munno's impending death. That could only mean that they didn't think I needed to know.
Despite being the best man I had ever known, Munno wasn't important enough for Heaven.
It was completely unfair! Everything about the situation that Oversight had forced me into was being to feel like one of The Green Lord's horrible games. I could almost feel the fae's soulless eyes on me, all of them waiting in eager anticipation. Was the "Plain" child prettier than the "Shaped" one? Which one would be destroyed? Neither of us were significant enough to care about. The Green Lord didn't even know our names, and yet he'd already decided that one of us had to die!
I remembered my twin sister's last moment with clarity. The memory cut like a knife. I thought I'd put it behind me, but I realized then that I hadn't. I'd just kept myself from getting too close to anyone so that I wouldn't have to feel that hurt again. It was hard enough to lose a friend on the battlefield. It was much worse to know that someone was going to be killed without being able to do anything about it.
"Don't cry. There's no reason to cry. This is the way it is. It's okay." Munno said, though I wasn't sure what he meant by that. I didn't think he knew what kind of thoughts were whirling through my head, but he usually surprised me by being a lot sharper than I gave him credit for.
"Heaven isn't perfect, Munno." I told him. "It's a mess. And sometimes... I don't even know if what I'm doing is right at all."
"What? Killing the demon? Saving the world? How could that not be right?" He demanded.
"It isn't fair that it has to be you." I protested. "Why not one of those Solars or someone..."
I didn't finish what I'd started to say. It seemed cruel to remind Munno that he didn't stand a chance. He could barely lift the Heaven-Sent sword. Even Genji, who was more of an artist and savant than a warrior, would have been a better match for the demon.
"Who else could it be? It's my legend, isn't it? Only appropriate that I should have to live up to it. Estelle, I know you're only doing what Heaven wants you to, but... I did not realize how much I needed this." Munno paused. "To... prove that I can still do something. That... one does not have to be Chosen by Heaven to make good in this world."
I couldn't find words to say anything useful, and Munno obviously didn't expect me to respond. It felt very nice just resting my head on his shoulder. The way he'd looked at Rhapsody had made me extremely jealous, and though I was still not sure how I felt about Munno being Genji's father, I still wanted to be close to him.
He rubbed some of the tension out of my shoulders. "These knots in your back are unbelievable. It's a wonder you can walk at all." He informed me. "You shouldn't carry around so much stress. It'll make you old before your time."
"I'm already four times older than you." I reminded him.
"Yes, but usually you don't look it!" He teased, brushing my hair out of my face. I stopped his wandering fingertips and bit down hard on my lip. What I wanted to do was kiss him, but I didn't know how he would react.
"I think we should both get some sleep." I decided.
"That's probably best." Munno nodded. He kissed the top of my head very softly, slowly stood up, and held my hand for a long time before letting go. I watched him as he left. As the door closed between us, I sighed heavily, drawing my knees up to my chest. Hugging myself didn't help. If anything, it made me feel even more lonely. I thought about Munno in his own room and wondered if I had the courage to change my mind. I hadn't been specifically ordered to stay away from him, and though getting romantically involved with people you were assigned to watch was considered bad form, most Chosen of Serenity were rather notorious for getting their charges out of their clothes and into bed.
The trouble was, I knew that I was already incapable of accepting Munno's Fate. How much worse did really I want to make it for myself?
I took one more long look at the stars and then felt the blood freeze in my veins as I caught sight of a familiar shadow running down the street in the direction of the harbor.
It was Genji.
Where was he going drunk in the middle of the night?
Or was he drunk at all? Maybe he'd only pretended to be inebriated to get rid of Munno.
I hesitated. Though part of me wanted to grab Munno first, I couldn't shake the conversation we'd just had. If I didn't want to do something unforgivably stupid like defy the will of Heaven, I had to put some distance between us before we came to face Iyutha. Seizing my swords from under my bed, I leapt out the window and raced after Genji.
It had already been a very long night and I had a sinking feeling that I would still be on my feet by the time the sun cleared the horizon.
Genji obviously didn't notice that anyone was following him. He made a line straight for the Temple District and paused on the steps outside of a palatial building dedicated to the Dragon of Wood. It was surprising to see that the Immaculate Order had maintained any sort of foothold in Nexus, but apparently part of the reason that the Solars had been so successful in their takeover was that they had legalized the worship of all Gods, not only their own patron.
Keeping a safe distance from Genji, I noticed new shrines dedicated to a dozen little Gods including the God of Mercenaries, who was a good friend of mine. Before following Genji inside the Temple of Sextes Jylis, I composed myself and invoked a Charm so that I would hopefully escape his notice. I blinked in surprise as I suddenly caught sight of the symbol for Venus on a beautiful white marble structure across from the Temple of the Unconquered Sun. If I was feeling short on Serenity, maybe I should ask for some help? Of course, Venus wasn't likely to notice me at all, but I wouldn't lose anything by sending her a prayer.
Taking care not to make a nuisance of myself, I slipped past the young Immaculate monk who was nearly asleep inside the temple's entrance. Genji had gone straight to the main chamber and was on his knees in a bed of climbing ivy and night-blooming white flowers. As befitted the Dragon of Wood, the interior of the temple was filled with green. An idol of Sextes Jylis shaped from two living sandlewood trees surveyed the room with a quiet, calculating expression. Genji was a perfect choice for the Dragon. He was smart and inquisitive, but as Munno had observed, he had the heart of a poet.
"What am I supposed to do?" Genji demanded, as if expected the Dragon to answer him. "The only person who ever gave a damn about me, and she's a traitor to the realm! Working for the Anathema! And my father..." He paused for a moment. "He said to me when I left for The Heptagram, 'Damnit Genji, why can't you be more like my son?" It was strange, I thought he misspoke, but... he knew, didn't he? And he lied to me all this time." He stared up at the Dragon. "Give me something to believe in!" He demanded.
Of course, there was no response.
"It doesn't work that way." I interrupted, stepping out of my hiding place.
"Estelle?" Genji blinked in surprise. "You followed me?"
"Faith doesn't work that way." I continued. "You have to believe even when it isn't easy, even when you have no reason to. If you were so weak that you needed the Dragons to make your life easy, you never would have been Chosen."
"I need answers!" He shook his head heavily. "I'm a scholar, I have to ask questions! I can't help it! I went looking because I wanted to know, but now I wish I had never left home because everything I thought was true about the world is all wrong and now I don't know anything at all!" He buried his head in his hands.
"You know that it's all wrong." I reminded him. "So now the question is... do you want to make it better?"
He looked up, staring at me incredulously, and then started to smile slightly. It was a bitter smile, but something in his face also seemed victorious. "You want me to turn traitor? You're with those Anathema, aren't you? I should have guessed it."
"Actually, no." I replied. "I'm honestly not a big fan of Solars. They're all crazy and they can be unbelievably dangerous... but they're not what the Immaculate Order says they are. They're not demons."
"I know. And that's part of what's killing me right now. When we went to see The Smiths of Round-Top Mountain, there was such power in that place! No sorcerer could have ignored it! And I've summoned demons before. I had to, to complete my training at The Heptagram. But what I felt there when they were making that sword... I can't even describe it."
"Heaven." I supplied. "They invoked the will of Heaven."
Genji nodded.
"And this city..." He trailed off into silence. "It's so much more than anything I'd ever imagined possible! I want to find the dark side of all this. I want to see the ugliness under the gilded skin! I want to believe that this place is wrong, and that the Anathema are monsters but I..."
"I can't hate him!" Genji sighed in defeat.
Of course, I knew that he was talking about The Faeslayer. The Dawn Caste was singularly unforgettable and even knowing what I knew about how dangerous he and his Circlemates were, I couldn't deny that they had done a very impressive job of cleaning up what had formerly been one of the worst cities in Creation. Though I was sure my sifu would strangle me for even suggesting such a thing, I was beginning to wonder if there wasn't some merit to the Gold Faction's position. Maybe our predecessors had been wrong to destroy the work of the Incarnae and imprison all of the Solars. The movement of The Mask certainly felt ominous at any rate, and it was getting progressively harder for me to have any faith in what my superiors were telling me, especially since they considered Munno to be disposable. Perhaps Genji and I were not so different after all. Maybe I didn't really know anything either.
"So don't hate him." I offered Genji my hand. "Don't make any decisions yet. Stay with me and Munno, and we'll figure out things as we go."
He sighed heavily and slowly rose to his feet. "That helps, somehow. You know, I think I can see why he likes you. All of this madness with the sword and the Anathema and everything that's happened so far? I'm tearing my hair out and somehow you're perfectly calm!"
"Oh, I wouldn't say that! If you want the truth, this whole business terrifies me. But there's no use in fighting when you don't have a target in sight." I laughed slightly. "The trick is to be like a duck." I explained. "Appear calm on the surface, but keep paddling like hell. Don't give up. But don't let anyone see you sweat. Can you do that?"
"Of course I can. I'm a Prince of the Earth, aren't I?" He smiled slightly.
"So did you actually drink that Lunar Brew at Anathema's?" I pressed as we left the temple and began walking back to The Wild Rover.
"Wood-Aspect." He replied. "Immune to poison."
"Munno was convinced that you were drunk." I informed him.
"He was worried about me?" Genji wondered.
"He seemed to think you'd sleep it off." I admitted. "But he's a good man. He worries about everyone."
"Do you think he can do it? Slay the demon?" Genji pressed.
"I know he can do it." I replied.
The horizon was beginning to glow faintly purple. Sunrise wasn't far off. Genji squinted at the light and groaned. "I suppose this means we won't actually be getting any sleep."
"That's okay, we'll just get coffee." I replied.
"Coffee?" Genji echoed. "What's that?"
"You've never had coffee before?" I laughed. Coming from Yu-Shan, it was sometimes easy to forget that even the busiest travelers in Creation didn't cover as much ground as I did. Places like The Imperial City, Nexus, and Great Forks were very cosmopolitan, but things like chocolate and curry weren't always easy to come by. "Coffee is a kind of drink. Well, I guess you might be immune to it, being a Wood-Aspect. But you'll have to try it anyway. Nexus is a big city. We should be able to find some."
When we made it back to The Wild Rover, Munno was waiting for us in the common room. He looked like he hadn't slept either, and the proprietor of the inn was brewing something on his stove that I recognized immediately.
Genji stared as the innkeeper poured us each a cup.
"Ah, coffee! Nectar of the Gods, elixir of life!" I proclaimed.
"If you say so." Genji wrinkled his nose and took a hesitant sip. His eyes widened immediately.
"So you're not immune?" I laughed. "You know what this means, right? Someone up there loves you and wants you to be happy!"
"It's amazing! I'm... I'm completely awake!" He stammered. "Is there... more?
Ohthankyou! Thankyousomuch, this is really absolutely wonderful!" Genji nearly fell off his stool as the innkeeper reached out to refill his cup.
"I think that's enough for now." Munno sighed. "We do have a breakfast invitation, and it's probably best if you can still hold your chopsticks when we get there."
"Do you.. do you think they'll have coffee?" Genji pressed.
I rolled my eyes. Munno laughed.
A familiar chime rang out, loud and clear. The innkeeper swore incoherently in Rivertongue and dropped his coffee, shattering his clay mug on the floor. I turned around very slowly and stared in disbelief at my mailbox which had just appeared in full view of Genji, Munno, the innkeeper and at least a dozen other patrons of The Wild Rover who were not supposed to know about the existence of Sidereals.
"What is that?" Genji demanded.
"My mailbox." I replied, fighting the chill that raced down my spine.
"It just appeared! Out of nowhere!" Genji protested. "You're not... you're not Anathema, are you?"
He drew away from me as if he'd just been struck by a snake.
"No. Estelle works for Heaven." Munno whispered.
Genji blinked in disbelief. "What?" He hissed. "What is this about?"
"I don't know yet. Let me find out." I slowly opened the box and withdrew a single piece of paper stamped with Oversight's black seal. I opened the paper very carefully.
Get out.
"Get out." I read. Then, before my eyes, another word appeared on the paper.
Now.
"Everyone, get out of here now!" I shouted. With a sound like a thunderclap, the roof came crashing down on us. Wooden beams and rubble fell from the ceiling and The Wild Rover's patrons screamed and ran for the exits.
Munno grabbed me by the arm and Genji dove out the front door just ahead of us, right before the whole building collapsed. As the cloud of dust began to clear and we struggled to free ourselves from the rubble, a sharp, sulphurous smell caught my nose. I squinted at the huge black shadow silhouetted in the rising sun. At first glance, it looked like a dragon, but Genji wasn't fooled. He immediately reached for his daiklave and Munno's hand came to rest on the hilt of the Heaven-Sent sword.
"What is that?" Someone demanded.
"Iyutha." Munno replied with certainty. "The demon's found us."