A/N (Aroihkin's Notes) / Chapter originally written on 03.10.2004. Re-polished on 01.12.2006 for the arowrites dot net archives.
Review-replies can be found now on arowrites dot net.
Formatting repaired on 04.13.2010 -- thanks, ffnet, for eating all my scene-dividers sometime in the last four years!
05.02.2010: All scene-dividers have been eaten, again, on all of my stories. I give up. Please just go read this story on arowrites dot net where it hasn't been made incoherent; I am unable to keep up with this site's stupidity.
---- ----: -x- :---- ----
Requiem for the Dream
( entry 02: the treasonist wench )
The cold atmosphere of the dark marble floor felt suiting, somehow, of the mood the young man was in. Ramirez walked calmly down the long stretch of corridor, intent simply on reaching his quarters by the longer and more time-consuming route of the palace. Each step he took clinked metallically against the stone, and his boots would have slid as badly as though on oil were it not for the strategically placed strips of traction melted carefully to the bottom of the steel paused, turning partially to regard a soldier running towards him, hurried steps echoing along the lengthy hall. The soldier slowed to a walk in the final few feet of his path before halting entirely and bowing low, right hand clenched to his left shoulder. Sighing mentally, Ramirez turned the rest of the way, resigned to having to put up with the bowing and other time-wasting formalities.
"Lord Ramirez...!"
"Yes?" he prompted after a moment, raising one impossibly-white eyebrow as he stared down at the soldier's back, his expression otherwise neutral. The Silvite did not care for being bowed to and called Lord, as to him those signs of respect belonged only to Lord Galcian... not to his servants. It drove home to the young man that he was the second most powerful in the world, in the current order of things, and he did not want to be even so close to Lord Galcian's rank.
It was uncomfortable to say the least, and not desired at all... especially at times like this when it mattered for naught but extra irritation.
"Lord Galcian wishes to speak to you in the throne room." the young soldier said, straightening quickly. This one had dealt with Ramirez enough over the last few years to know that doing anything more formal than what was strictly required by rank would earn only the pale man's annoyance. And that, naturally, wasn't an enjoyable thing to deal with by any stretch of the imagination.
The Silvite's only response to this announcement was a short nod, and then he immediately began walking again. Only this time he moved in the direction from which the soldier had ran, opposite to his original destination. This was life, these days, and Ramirez rarely ever left the Soltis Tower or the Palace additions. They were headquarters, they were... if not quite home, then as close as the young man had ever considered anything.
He preferred to stay at his Lord's side, should the need ever arise for him to do something, anything, whatever Lord Galcian asked of him. No price would ever be too high, not his freedom, not his dreams of exploration and adventure in his youth. He remained ready and at hand as a good weapon should. It was the least he could do to be useful in these times of... if not complete peace, then near enough to it to still make the pale tactician somewhat obsolete.
The new palace had been built--literally--around the old tower of Soltis, connected to the ancient Silvite building by five hallways extending out into the circular rings of new-palace. This building itself was a mere five stories in height, but hovered near the top of the tower. It was supported underneath by tall columns of pure white steel and further bolstered by Zelos itself. A strange construct, but fitting nonetheless.
Climbing a short flight of stairs at the end of one of those same connecting hallways, Ramirez silently pushed the single door open and entered the throne room. As usual, he took a bare moment to absorb the surroundings before walking in further... Zelos throbbing high above the altered chamber catching his attention immediately as it always did.
The Silvite's left hand ached dully to the rhythm that the mighty Gigas beat--vaguely matching his own pulse as the last living Silvite. It was in a state of slumber, however, awaiting its next command and floating passively... like some gigantic, faceless version of Fina's Cupil. The same technology and magic had been put into both, he knew, so the comparison was not very far off.
"Ramirez." the voice tore his attention from the Gigas as the Silvite dropped his gaze to the seated man who so often occupied his thoughts, but yet was almost always pushed aside by the Gigas whenever the Silvite laid eyes on it. Bowing even lower than the soldier had to him, his own right fist clenched to his left shoulder, Ramirez blushed faintly and mentally reprimanded himself. How could he allow the Gigas--not even awake--to distract him from his Lord so often?
"Come here, Ramirez, I have a job for you." Lord Galcian did not sound surprised nor angry, at least. He had some idea of how much the Gigas and Ramirez shared in link, and it was understandable if the younger man would once in a while drift off into thought while watching the ancient weapon of his race.
"Yes, Lord Galcian." the Silvite all but murmured, straightening to walk to his Lord's side, not so much as sparing a glance for the other occupants in the room. Not until he was standing in his customary spot by the older man's throne did he passingly note the others; two guards and an unknown woman. But he turned his full attention back where it rightfully belonged without further assessment.
The object of his loyalty and current gaze was watching the stranger fixedly, a calculating gleam shining clearly in his ice blue eyes.
"This is Lena." Lord Galcian said, finally, gesturing to the stranger with one dark-gloved hand without taking his powerful stare off of her. Ramirez took the cue, tearing his gaze from his Lord and turning it on the woman herself, now finally taking the time to look more closely. Light brown hair, cut as short as his own, framed an ordinary face with pale green eyes. Her clothing suggested she was from the region of the Red Moon, but only vaguely so. A traveler, perhaps, and yet the Silvite's suspicious side prickled at something he couldn't quite place.
"You will show her around the palace, and assess her... usefulness to me." said his Lord. The unspoken addition was that he would decide if she was to be trusted or not, which was interesting in its timing as he had just been wondering the same. Why she was here at all was unknown to him, but Ramirez did not question her presence if Lord Galcian saw no reason to inform him yet. The Silvite turned his gaze back to the older man, nodding once.
"Yes, a... tour of the premises, if you will. Go, then, and I expect a report immediately after." his Lord seemed at ease about this, at least, even if the command was a strange one.
"Yes, Lord Galcian." he stepped back from the throne, bowing low once again, before turning and heading for the woman with his usual deliberate pace. The throne room had not been altered much... the space between the dias and what had formerly only been a walkway had been bridged, for the most part.
The main thing of note was that the open area above Zelos had been left wide, allowing the round Gigas freedom for its nightly rise to soak in the silver moonlight. While the weapon itself did not derive any extra power or ability from moon-bathing, it seemed to... enjoy... simply floating in the beams of its parent moon. Lord Galcian was more than willing to allow it this small pleasure, albeit with a small patching spell in place to keep the weather out.
Realizing belatedly that he'd once again allowed the Gigas to overtake his thoughts, enough to make him pause entirely, Ramirez forced his attention back to the matter at hand. Lena, is what Lord Galcian had called the stranger. The Silvite approached her and the guards... gesturing that they should all follow him before he stepped past and left the room through one of its many doors.
Here was a stairway identical to the one he'd come up a few minutes before, and beyond that, a hall just like the one before. The same sort of marble, the same feel, he could only tell the difference between each hall himself from experience... having lived in this palace off and on since it had been built at the beginning of his Lord's reign.
"This is Yeligar Hall, top floor." Ramirez began, voice low and to the point, but he was cut off immediately.
"Yeligar?" Apparently the strange woman would not just follow and listen, but was going to make him repeat himself as well. The Silvite shot her a glance as they continued walking.
"...Yes," he continued after a second's pause, his tone gaining a thin layer of frost, "Yeligar Hall. Top floor. It is the North hall--pointing directly towards Valua." Ramirez waited a moment before continuing. "The names of the halls are the same on all five levels, and the paths beneath the palace itself. Bluheim points Northeast at Yafutoma, Recumen points East toward the kingdom of Nasr, Plergoth heads South toward Glacia, and Grendel points directly West toward Ixa'Taka. There are five levels to the palace, and from above it is a perfect circle around the top of the tower."
A long pause, during which the Admiral led the woman through the hall, the two guards trailing just out of earshot should he need to summon them. It was a small precaution, not really necessary with his abilities and the sword others whispered that he could draw out of thin air itself. But their presence worked to at least drive home to this woman that she would not be leaving before his assessment of her was through. And it would be a short one, if his initial instinct was correct.
"I... see." Lena murmured, following with some hesitance.
"They are named after the Gigas that each land created." Ramirez explained, encouraged by her lack of a question immediately following all the names and directions. He wished to be thorough with the tour he'd been told to give, until it was not needed anymore, and this unfortunately meant he'd answer her questions.
"What about the... Silver?" such as that one. Ramirez did not answer for a while, instead taking the moment to open the door at the end of the hall. Beyond was the wide ring of outer palace, marble and steel with large outward-pointing windows and comfortable wooden benches. The main living quarters were two levels down, this was more of a receiving floor than anything else. It had a dining room for guests, kitchens, the usual utilities, and a set of large gardens for morale.
He gestured her through, waited a moment, and then followed, allowing the door to slide shut. The guards would open it themselves when they reached it.
"You have already met the Silver Gigas, Zelos... all of the hallways point back towards it." said the Silvite, "It is the heart of Soltis."
Lena gaped at him openly, and he noted the stunned expression with some irritation from the corner of his eye. Obviously she had either not asked Lord Galcian about the massive silver orb hovering high in the throne room, or he had simply not told her. Most who dealt with Lord Galcian just assumed it was a decoration unless they had a sense for magic, and then they could rarely resist asking... however hesitantly, and however fearfully.
"If Lord Galcian did not tell you what it looks like, I have no reason to either." Ramirez said, cutting her off when she moved to speak, "Only know that you were, in fact, standing in the same room as the Gigas--and that Lord Galcian could have called it to crush you in a moment's notice."
Impatient though he may have been with those who didn't themselves feel the impact of the Silver Gigas' presence, he still knew that Zelos' appearances were quite deceiving. Ramirez understood, fully, that he only thought of the orb as truly massive because of its affect on him.
The Admiral was simply not one to allow any reoccurring thought to cross his mind without jumping upon it, pinning it down, and dissecting it to see what made it so. It hurt, certainly, sometimes more so than others, but there were worse things in life than pain. He considered ignorance to be one of those things, especially if your own mind was the subject.
His hand ached constantly to one degree or another, depending on how close he was to the Gigas at the time. He had grown accustomed to the dull throb of the Silver Crystal, but he knew that if Lord Galcian ever called Zelos closer while he was present, that he would be in agony... and if he ever -touched- it...
Well, so far as he knew, no one survived Zelos' touch. Silvite or not... just as no one survived Lord Galcian's ire.
"This is the dining area," Ramirez spoke, breaking the silence and pausing to gesture into an open set of double doors leading inwards back toward the tower. The room within was very large--it and the kitchen combined spanned the space between the Yeligar and Bluheim Halls, minus the wide gap between its inward-curved wall and the outside of the original tower.
His guest glanced in once and then looked up and down the empty hall around them. Ramirez waited for the burst of questions about Moons-knew-what, and was taken a little by surprise by what actually came out of her mouth in a sudden, urgent tone.
"Lord Ramirez, I'd like to talk to you about something other than the building." Lena said quietly, her tone pitched to not carry down the rounded halls. However, he ignored her entirely.
"The main kitchen is in here as well." the Silvite continued calmly as though she had not spoken at all.
"Ramirez--" this time he did pause, staring at her with irritation. Her clothing again struck him as suspiciously odd. The trousers were of a common cut from the Nasrean area, but the vest... looked altogether too uniform with its strange embroidery, laced over her tunic. Something about it specifically set him on alert, though he still couldn't quite place it.
Still, Lord Galcian had told him to give her a tour, and he intended to do just that. If she wished to interrupt him every other sentence this would be a long process indeed...
"I am," he said, tone as though he were discussing some of the kitchen's cooks, "the one that will be deciding if you leave this place alive. I would suggest not interrupting me further."
/ Let her grow frustrated, / he thought, remembering something the current Second Admiral had said to him once. / Let her build her own urgency, until she wants to grab me by the shoulders and scream whatever is on her mind. There will be no doubts... /
"Maybe that doesn't matter to me any more." came that quiet, serious voice from next to him, "There isn't much left to live for in this world..."
Ramirez started, narrowing his eyes at the woman, who was now peering into the dining room as though suddenly interested in the large wooden table and the smooth wooden chairs. Nothing much left to live for in this world? What sort of foolish talk was this? Ridiculous, the woman was simply being weak-hearted... or perhaps trying to garner his sympathy.
"Have it your way, then." he said, annoyed, "but the tour continues regardless. The main kitchen has four ovens and ventilation straight out the top of the palace--much like the hole in the throne room. Not much for a headquarters, compared to others in Arcadia, but we do not entertain many... guests... and the barracks has its own kitchen closer for convenience."
"Right--"
"Moving on." the Silvite interjected coldly before she could say more, leading her further along the wide, rounded corridor, "That is the entrance to the Bluheim Hall, there--which also leads straight back to the throne room."
"Wouldn't all of these inward-pointing corridors be bad, strategically?" finally, a relevant question.
"No, each hall is magically trapped--if an alarm is sprung, they will activate." at which point the only way in or out would be the old teleport pads within the tower, which very few knew about. But even if one knew about the way in... when one has a Gigas at their disposal, such means were worse than foolish. Many men and women had tried to kill Lord Galcian--trying to be 'heroes'...
They had all died, their lifeless bodies flung into deep sky. And just as well, it saved the Soltisian Armada from hunting them down. Chasing elusive threats was such a hassle--even these days--but old enemies were tracked down and eradicated regardless. The skies were at the new Armada's complete disposal--all transport was done by them, or those they authorized.
There were no merchants nor fishers, and no one had seen a single Air Pirate since Lord Galcian had asked Ramirez to... deal with the problem personally.
"On the other side of this wall is the top level of Lord Galcian's quarters, you cannot reach them from the palace." he gestured at the wall as they moved along, heading for the near Recumen Hall entrance and then past it. Ramirez had come full circle, now, as this was the hall from which he had been about to exit into the outer areas when the soldier had stopped him earlier.
Well, he hadn't been in a hurry to go sit in his quarters and wait anyway. Ramirez had actually been consciously taking the long route, rather than using the teleport pads inside Soltis Tower as he would normally. Not that it mattered, when his Lord called for him, he went straight to him without hesitation and did as he was asked without pause or regret.
He was like a machine, or perhaps more like a very well-trained pet. Even this fact did not make him bitter, so far into loyalty had the Silvite fallen over these long years.
"This is one of the two primary gardens." said the Admiral, pausing beside another set of double doors. These were closed, and Ramirez reached out to open them. It was ironic, in its own way, that one of the two main gardens was located in the span between the Recumen and Plergoth Halls... fire and ice. Still, despite the less than good omen for the plant life, the garden did quite well.
Lord Galcian, to be honest, had little use for gardens or irony-tinted Hall names... but he had allowed--asked even--for Ramirez to name these corridors for reference purposes and to do something with the areas that now grew with plant life. The Silvite had not been the one to design or plant the garden rooms, with their glass ceilings and inner wall, nor did he do anything in the way of their maintenance.
But he had been the one to ask for them when his Lord had told him to find some use for the area. At least his use was good for the morale of the other officers and stationed soldiers of the palace, as any could access them unhindered when off duty.
Wasted space was not to be tolerated in the palace, and while gardens were fairly wasteful in so far as basic practicality, they were still much better than empty floors. Ramirez had been assigned other areas of the palace as well, in lower levels, which he had in turn made into more functional rooms such as officer's quarters and drilling halls. Ramirez had not enjoyed any of this, as he had not and did not believe his use to his Lord was for any sort of ability with design... but Lord Galcian had seemed pleased regardless.
And that was all that mattered, wasn't it?
The Silvite sighed, lightly, and gestured Lena through the doors. There were benches in the garden, he'd finally have her say whatever it was she kept trying to force on him. After all, he was supposed to evaluate her loyalty, or lack thereof. Though he naturally did not question Lord Galcian's decision to allow her into the palace, he certainly held little trust in the stranger's trustworthiness. Instincts were something the Silvite warrior never ignored.
Lena, predictably, took a seat on one bench when he stopped walking. She watched her guide turn and send the following guards back out before dropping her gaze to the floor. Ramirez, on the other hand, remained standing... staring down at her with a somewhat sour cast to his pale features. The two went on like this for several long moments, Lena fidgeting under the Admiral's steady gaze, but keeping hers down. Finally, Ramirez decided to break the quiet entirely and get to the point.
"Well?" he asked, tone sharp.
"I..." and she faltered, frustratingly, to a stop. Ramirez resisted folding his arms in impatience, but only just so--and only because he knew it would simply delay her longer. If she turned out to be incredibly stupid, already, then there was no need to continue the tour... he'd have her figured and be back to the throne room to give a full report much sooner than expected.
The Silvite was thorough in all things his Lord asked him to do, but at the same time, he liked being ahead of schedule. Lord Galcian valued timeliness... and therefore so did he. His Lord's standards were higher than Ramirez could ever hope to accomplish, in his own eyes, but...
But... he would try, in all ways, regardless. Even though he would never catch up to the horizon--he had to continue flying in order to not sink into Deep Sky.
"How can you support that... that... -tyrant-!" it was unexpected, startling Ramirez out of his brooding thoughts and causing him to stare blankly at the woman. Had she just... did she have the nerve to... "How? Please tell me! How can you even be around such a man!" Lena continued her outburst, standing up and finally staring directly at him.
She was cut off, abruptly, by the Silvite's hand flashing across the space between them and grabbing her vest... jerking her forward with surprising strength and forcing her to look directly into his eyes. Jade green, glittering with malice and something akin to... protectiveness... bore into her vision. He knew just what it would look like, this very same look had made seasoned veterans pale.
You simply -never- insulted Lord Galcian to Ramirez's face, ever. And most especially if he already felt you were likely a treasonist!
"You haven't the -right- to say such things!" he hissed, furious, as he flung her away from himself. Ramirez fought for control as she caught herself against the bench and--miraculously--closed the distance again herself.
"Please, Ramirez, I just want to know why... why are you letting that barbarian destroy Arcadia? He's rotting the very world right in front of your eyes and--!"
She stopped, suddenly, and that halt was probably the wisest decision Lena had made during this entire event. Without a sound, without a single indication of where it had come from, the Admiral's jagged silver blade had appeared at her throat, the edge biting in until she backed away. And back away she did, until the backs of her legs hit the bench and she sat down abruptly, staring up the length of the sword kept trained on her. The tip mere inches from her nose.
Ramirez was clearly fighting himself, though his hand didn't so much as shake. His eyes were narrow with rage, his free hand was clenched as though something in it pained him. Every breath he took, Lena almost expected the weapon to lunge forward, plunge into her skull...
"Lock this woman up!" the Admiral yelled, suddenly, and the guards rushed in as he lowered his sword.
-- --: -x- :-- --
Skies of Arcadia Legends belongs to someone else.
All here that is not found in the canon... is mine.
Never steal if you value your spleen.