The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
The Second Coming, William Butler Yeats
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( Six ) A Whiter Shade of Pale
The words remained unformed and defective at the back of her throat.
Eriol had paused his sullen narrative to allow for Tomoyo and Chantal to settle into the room. He was sitting in an oversized rosewood chair. Its surface was soft and lustrous under the light from the ceiling with a tall back of fine swirling carvings. He was sitting in a careless manner, almost translucent and artless. The moonlight streaming in from the open window made his dark hair glow.
His right arm was propped up upon the armrest and he leaned sideways with his head inclined against his closed fist. His face was controlled and callous, as it always was, but his eyes were hollow as though they have lost all meaning. His lips were pursed into a tight line and he almost frowned.
Tomoyo was subtlety alarmed by Eriol's saturnine countenance. She drew in a heavy breath for she knew of what to come. The double doors behind her slammed shut. She flinched at the sound.
Eriol seemed to be unperturbed by the sudden uneasiness in the air. "It was late April," he finally said. His voice was collected and resonant. "It was late April when Cecilia arrived in England with Thor. Clow met them at the main London port. It was a beautiful day; the sky was so blue that it ached; and uncommonly warm for the English weather. And there she was, standing upon the pier in a magnificent sundress of yellow organza."
He paused as if to search for better words. "Cecilia was a beautiful woman. It was not a surprise that Thor loved her. It was not a surprise, either, that Clow fell in love with her as well."
"You see, Thor and Clow never did see eye to eye, but Thor did care deeply for his brother. Despite his disputes with their parents, Thor had always kept in touch with Clow. In fact, Clow was the first one to know about Thor's relationship with Cecilia. Clow knew that Thor had devoted himself completely to her and that they were to marry soon. Knowing this, he kept his distance."
Eriol's sapphire eyes seemed to be concentrating at a spot on the floor near Syaoran. "But some things were inevitable, and there was no escaping this," he paused yet again. "I think Cecilia always knew, deep down, that Thor had a darker side. Perhaps it was due to a volatile mix of Eastern and Western magic, or maybe because of his ambitious and passionate nature. From an early age, Thor was very, shall I say, interested in matters surrounding Armageddon; the final judgement day. As he grew older, his hobby became an obsession."
"At some point, Thor came to his own conclusions about the end of the world. He believed that Armageddon was the final stage leading to The Rebirth. In the end, good and evil will ultimately destroy each other; neutralize and cancel each other out. The Rebirth is the prelude to a universe where good and evil are irrelevant. The New World Order he called it. Where day and night are seamless; hot and cold, big, small; soft, hard; everything will intertwine and seep into one."
"Symmetry was extraneous, like a circle. Perfect and flawless, equilibrium and balance were utterly shattered and rendered useless. And Thor dedicate the rest of his life in search of his New World Order."
"It was his philosophy which created a rift between him and the family. The entire basis of the lives of the Reeds were based on the only constant --- the perpetual clash between good and evil --- and Thor's logic defeated the family's purpose completely. He thought that Napoleon had the power to unite the entire world. He thought that Bonaparte's campaign will surely bring upon a bloody worldwide war leading to Armageddon and The Rebirth."
"But then love happened. Cecilia saved him from his own obsessions; it was as simple as that."
Eriol stood up then, in one swift practiced motion. He pushed his right hand through his dark hair. The light showering down from the ceiling captured him in one transient moment. His sapphire eyes had suddenly taken on a nigrescent hue.
Tomoyo almost shuddered at the tactic despair brimming in his gaze. She could not remember seeing his eyes so hollow and somber that nothing seemed to matter anymore.
Eriol inhaled --- or perhaps exhaled, Tomoyo couldn't quite tell --- heavily. He moved to stand beside Syaoran in front of the open window. He did not look at him and stared blankly ahead to the gray night sky.
He began once more, "Then on the night before her wedding, Cecilia had a premonition."
"She saw a lush green meadow engulfed in flames. It was a great conflagration and it burned until nothing was left but scorches in a wasteland. From the ashes raised two thunderbirds. As they flew, one bird shed its black feathers into a breast of lovely white brilliance. When the transformation was done, the black bird dove into the another. There was so much blood, from both birds."
"The entire charred meadow was covered in scarlet blood. Until the white feathers were crimson and the black bird was moribund. And the duel was not yet done."
"Cecilia did not see their conclusion but she made a prophecy that night."
Eriol hesitated. "The next morning, Cecilia contacted Clow. She knew that the prophecy related to Thor and Clow was the only one who had the power to help. When Cecilia told Clow of her dream, Clow immediately knew that it referred to The Rebirth. But Cecilia never knew of Thor's theory until Clow reluctantly imparted to her. Cecilia was appalled by the New World Order and she knew that Thor had the ability to bring upon Armageddon."
"Despite her initial denial, Cecilia soon realized the cataclysmic bearing of her prophecy. She knew she needed to choose between aiding Thor to his eventual destruction of the world or to help Clow stop him."
"Cecilia was a women of reason and logic. She was particularly well educated for a female of her time. But she believed in redemption, not a total renaissance. She did not resent the world like Thor. She knew she could never be able to murder and destroy. Alas, in the end, she backed out of the wedding and left London with Clow."
Words were utterly lost upon Eriol, now. His voice started to break, yet he continued regardless. "Thor was furious. He had gone mad with rage. Cecilia had meant everything to him yet she had betrayed him. The only two people Thor had ever loved and trusted him, the both of them had forsaken him."
Total silence enveloped the chamber. The uncanny stillness seemed to almost echo the irony in Eriol's words. Eriol closed his eyes and looked away. His breathing slowed.
Sakura had stood up too, from the other end of the room. She appeared at his side immediately. She placed a comforting hand upon his shoulder. "I'm sorry," she murmured softly.
Syaoran shifted on his feet. The hardness seemed to have washed away from his face. He was frowning now, in an almost tender and sympathetic manner. The question lingered at the back of his throat. "What is this prophecy you spoke of?" he finally asked quietly.
Eriol did not offer a reply. Instead it was Chantal who spoke for him: "A star shall fall to undo all wishes. / Fate judged and now relinquished. / Then two thunderbirds shall fly to eternity. / And chase and seek for immortality. / Forever beguiled thee and now forgiveth."
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Author's Notes: I liked this. The little prophecy rhyme thing took me about two days to get to where it is now. Trying to rhyme in blank verse is not easy, you know! After a while I sort of just gave up on it. Read it out loud for me, does it actually flow smoothly?
This chapter took me a very long time to put together. I've actually started the chapter while I was writing the last chapter and well, here it is: the entire backdrop of Forsaken. Look for more details between Clow, Cecilia and Thor as the story progresses.
Rebirth vs. Redemption will become a very important theme, so be on the lookout for more references on that from the later chapters.
Eriol got a little emotional at the end of his narrative, don't know if you picked up on that. I made up at part with The Rebirth and New World Order, I don't think it is from any current religions. However, redemption/rebirth is a huge theme in many religions, although this fic is not suppose to be religious I can't help to throw in some allusion to the bible (its just all too common in literature).
The epigram at the beginning of this chapter (the excerpt of the poem) was from The Second Coming by Yeats (one of the greatest poets of the twentieth century --- I can't help but be a bit bias), if you know the poem, its quite famous actually. Anyhow, the poem is about Armageddon, the Final Judgement, etc. It has a lot to do with Thor's philosophy... if you are really desperate to find out more (which I'm so very sure you are --- oh, please excuse my sardonic humor) about it, then I would suggest you to look up the poem.
Please review before you leave.