Started: February 20, 2004
Finished: February 25, 2004
Revised: July 18, 2005
Chapter 4: The Exiled Soul
"Sir, the high bishops have reached their verdict."
He was not especially surprised that he had been handed the job of dealing with the accused; he had, in fact, dealt with him the longest and should have, by all rights, researched the strategist's background during the Second Fire Bringer War. Standing upon the dais, looking at the younger man, he could not feel any pity for the man that gazed back steadily.
"On the charge of conspiracy against the Holy Kingdom of Harmonia, you have been sentenced guilty."
Albert Silverberg had been a very questionable individual during the war, but he had been unable to pinpoint the exact moment when he begun to question the young man's advice. Only after connecting Albert to the black knight, Yuber, who was constantly seen in the company of Luc and Sarah, was he able to bring the issue up to the other bishops.
And now he had to condemn the most cunning strategist he had ever seen.
"Death, however, does not seem to be in the stars for you."
There were things worse than death.
"Under the laws created by His Holiness, Chief Bishop Hikusaak, you shall return to the land under Tabularasa."
Tabularasa. The permanent erasure of memory. The return to the blank slate; impressionable and innocent all over again. Some would consider it a blessing after the horrors they had seen in their lives, but to one such Albert Silverberg, who had his entire life before him and the knowledge and power to attain something great, the punishment was as devastating as a mortal blow.
"You will be exiled from the Holy Kingdom and restricted from ever entering again on pain of death."
Sasarai looked down upon the red-haired Silverberg standing at the bottom of the dais and flanked by several guards. The man, despite his harsh sentence, had not been stripped completely of his dignity as he stood there; he wore no manacles or exuded any auras of spells of binding, nor wore the clothing of a prisoner. There was no doubt in Sasarai's mind that the process of Tabularasa would strip Albert of everything - including the illusion of dignity that he held onto now.
However, he could not keep down his feelings as he condemned the man once more; the rage of knowing he had his hands on one of the four Destroyers that stole his True Rune and nearly wiped out several countries and could not kill him was a frustration in itself. Adding in the fact that this man was linked directly to the True Rune bearer that had torn his mind open with the truth of his existence made him even more bitter. His lips moved nearly subconsciously, and his words held a great deal of anger.
"May the souls of those you have trespassed upon never let you rest until your dying days."
Silverberg raised his gaze, leveling cold green eyes to the bearer of the True Earth Rune. There was no surprise or shock on his face as he coolly waited for his condemner to finish. Sasarai wanted to storm down the dais and hurt the young man, wanted to scream at him for ruining his life…
"Do you have anything you have to say for yourself?"
He wanted Silverberg to beg for his life, but he knew the family of strategists were far too proud to do such a thing. He wanted Silverberg to do something - something that would anger him and leave him enraged, fueled with the hatred for Luc and the Destroyers that turned everything upside down only a year ago.
Whatever he had wanted Albert to do, it certainly was not what he ended up doing.
Albert smiled thinly, arms spread and palms towards the Harmonian bishop in a mock form of surrender. "This is not the last time you will see me, Bishop Sasarai."
The audacity of Albert's statement enflamed Sasarai, and he shut his eyes and lifted a hand in chant. Three slow twists of his hand; a plea for inner strength, a prayer to the Circle Rune, and a call for the grace of Chief Hikusaak. A gesture towards the condemned man, who he could not see beyond his shut eyelids. Shutting his palm and reopening it, calling upon Chief Hikusaak's intervention - and then the summon of Tabularasa.
There was no visible or audible confirmation that the spell had worked save for Albert collapsing to his knees, and then his face, at the bottom of the dais while guards looked on, speechless. Sasarai could feel in his bones that the spell had taken effect, and he motioned the guards to take the prisoner away. When the redhead woke up next, he would not know his own name, let alone his words to Sasarai.
However, Sasarai found himself unable to hold onto his anger at Albert's final words, and he soon slipped into a perpetual state of weary numbness.
He awoke slowly, his mind slowly becoming aware of his surroundings as he shifted in his bed. Massaging his temples wearily, the Harmonian bishop sat up and recalled the vivid dream based on the happenings only three days ago. Albert Silverberg had been exiled from Harmonia after the spell of Tabularasa had been completed, and he would have been more than happy to leave the matter at that. However, the dream left him with more than a fair amount of doubt in his mind.
Was it possible that Albert had somehow managed to steal the Beast Rune?
If so, why? There was no way that he would be able to call upon it in his present state.
How had he managed to get the Beast Rune out of the One Temple?
What was he planning to do with it?
His excommunication matched up perfectly with the reports about the disappearance of the Beast Rune, and would also explain how the rune had managed to leave Crystal Valley so quickly. The strategist certainly had every motive to steal from Harmonia, but Sasarai had reason to doubt his power over the rune.
Perhaps he had underestimated Silverberg somehow.
As the questions began to build in his mind, Sasarai found himself struggling out from under the bedcovers and scrambling for a robe. He performed a silent prayer to the Circle Rune for such a clear vision, slipping his rings on and preparing to face the new day.
It was time to begin a manhunt for Albert Silverberg.
The stench of death clung to Chisha as the villagers tried to grasp the tragedy that had befallen their small community. The early-risers were the first to stumble upon the sight of over a dozen of brutally-slaughtered sheep, many of them alerting the rest of the village in their distress. Among them was Luca, who stared at the bloody carnage as shepherds wearily carried their killed livestock away.
"… An animal did this?" he inquired, looking at Sana as she stood next to him.
The old woman sighed, turning to offer to sympathy to the shepherds that had lost sheep before turning her attention to the young man. "They have only found one set of tracks around here; the tracks of a … large wolf."
Luca scratched the back of his neck, adjusting his dark blue coat and tilting his head. "You don't sound too convinced."
"I'm afraid to say that it was a wolf, because this is far too much for one wolf to do by itself." Sana shook her head sadly. "Thankfully, many of the sheep escaped before the wolf could attack them." She made a faint gesture to the men who were packing up to prepare searching for the remaining sheep.
The redhead nodded slowly, examining the splintered fencing in silent awe. He had not seen such a display of destruction before - at least, to his limited knowledge. His attention absorbed by the tragic and bloody scene, Luca did not react when he heard Sana turn around and greet someone else.
"I came over as soon as I heard… This is terrible!" Apple exclaimed after a greeting to the clan elder. "Is there anything that I can do?"
Sana raised her hands, shaking her head in declination to Apple's offers. "Please, Miss Apple, you're a guest here," she said with a thin smile. She paused, adjusting her shawl and looking at the man that had his back to them. "On second thought, perhaps you can do something… I noticed that young Caesar had red hair and green eyes. I was hoping that you could help the young man that wandered into our midst two days ago…"
Apple blinked in surprise at the strange request, her eyes focusing on the man that stood close to the remnants of the sheep pen. Her eyes widened considerably as the man turned, and she looked from the redhead to Sana and back again as he stopped by the old woman's side.
It can't be…
Sana immediately took notice of Apple's expression, smiling encouragingly as she touched Luca's gloved wrist. "Do you recognize Luca, Miss Apple?" she asked.
"Luca?" repeated Apple, still staring at Albert. Chisha would have to be the last place she would have ever imagined to see Albert again. Especially with a different name.
Luca looked at the bespectacled woman blankly. "Yes?" His eyes narrowed slightly as his mind churned, the sight of the woman helping him maintain the thoughts that would normally be stolen away. "Do I know you?"
Sana gestured, a broad smile appearing on her face. "Miss Apple, will you please help him? You're the first he's recognized."
"I- I suppose so…" She doesn't even realize who he is. What would she do if she knew who he was? Although she was not completely clear as to what Albert's agenda was during the last war, she did not condone his actions in the slightest; as a Silverberg, she had expected more from him than to aid someone that was bent on destroying the entire continent.
She resisted thinking too deeply about Luc and everything he stood for. It was hard to believe that, at one time, she would have considered that man to have been a companion - maybe even a friend, with his limited ways of expressing himself. Shaking her head slowly, Apple concentrated her attention on Albert, who was looking in confusion between her and Sana.
"I don't think I understand…" He trailed off, looking at Sana for an explanation.
"I think Miss Apple will be able to help you much more than I possibly could, Luca," Sana said quietly, nodding in acknowledgment to the other woman. "And maybe Sir Silverberg can help, too."
Apple watched Albert carefully as Sana spoke, looking for any sign of deception in the young man's features. "… It would probably be best if I go get Caesar; he should know about this."
Luca, although still confused, shook his head and reached out to the woman. He grasped Apple's wrist for all of a moment, then released it with a perplexed expression. I shouldn't be so familiar … but I think I know her…"May I go with you?"
Surprised by Albert's earnestness, Apple found herself hesitating. Sana urged her to accept, releasing the young man's wrist and nodding.
"Please, Miss Apple."
All the formality of a stranger. Once again, Apple found herself openly staring.
"Of course … Albert."
He felt like sleeping and, for once, felt absolutely lazy for thinking so.
Caesar stretched out in the bath, a yawn escaping him as he settled back. After skipping the bath in favor of immediately hitting bed, Caesar spent his waking hours crawling out of bed and staying in the bath for well over an hour. He was glad to be back in the midst of such peaceful people; as much as he had liked Brass Castle's atmosphere, there was something much more comforting about the small Grassland clans than the bustling of the Zexen cities.
He wanted to get back to Toran. As much as he enjoyed traveling with Apple, he was tired of the Grasslands and everything they reminded him of. As nonchalant as he had acted throughout the war, he had constantly hated being pitted against Albert. He was not especially fond of some of the people he had worked with, and he was certain his attitude had made him out to be more lazy than he actually was.
A knock on the door drew him out of his reverie. He had asked not to be disturbed by anyone, so he came to the conclusion that it had to be Apple. The woman had quite a way of bursting in on his privacy - not on purpose really, but she just had a strange knack of making herself known when he was happily relaxing.
"I'm taking a bath, Apple!" he called, eyes still shut as he shouted. Running a hand through his damp hair, the young strategist dragged a towel closer to his side just in case Apple decided to ignore him. He scowled as he heard the door open, sitting up a little straighter and drawing the towel over his shoulders. Although he was not especially surprised, he still felt the right to be annoyed as he opened his green eyes. "Geez, can't a guy get a moment alone now-"
He stopped as his vision focused on the figure standing at the door, nearly rising completely out of the bath in his shock. Emerald eyes widened in disbelief and, for once, Caesar found himself speechless.
"Caesar?"
No way in hell.
He's been haunting my thoughts for the last year.
I must've finally cracked.
"Um…"
Shaking away his initial surprise, Caesar stared at the other redhead for a long moment. Happiness, sadness, annoyance, anger, and other emotions fought for control, and he found himself wondering whether to embrace or punch his brother.
However, his mind froze as Albert spoke once again.
"Are you Caesar Silverberg?"