Tick…
Tock…
Louise stared at him, sitting against a wall.
The Musician stared right back, the darker-than-dark holes in his face gleaming.
Tick…
Tock…
The grandfather clock's pendulum swung, producing an oddly calming sound.
Tick…
Tock…
"I knew it," she said with a rough voice. "I knew you could do it. But I didn't know…"
"What it would be like? How glorious and terrible it could truly be?"
"Glorious." She whimpered. "There was no glory. Just carnage."
"Mm…" Her familiar's head tilted to the side. "Your Founder would've found this glorious. He wanted this exact thing."
"For the elves! Not among ourselves!"
"Do you really think the elves deserve such a thing?" Musican chuckled lightly, and she wanted nothing more than to slap him. "They live differently. They have different goals and views, certainly. But so do commoners in your own society, no?"
"Commoners…?"
"They have no magic and make do without. So they do not share your struggles, nor do they share your understandings. Born different, raised different. If your Founder had told you it was right to kill them, would you?"
Her mind was assailed by images from the 'Storm of Newcastle,' as others called it. This had happened several times during the past hours. Only this time, the soldiers wore Siesta's face. "F… Fuck you!"
His smile became understanding. "And if I hadn't had Siesta live with you? If you weren't so familiar with a commoner? Couldn't see her work hard and show kindness every day?"
Tick…
Tock…
"And your Founder would be proud of you even beyond that. For his Heir to extinguish the blasphemers? He would be overjoyed."
Her blood froze. "Heir…?"
Violins rose and fell. Primal drums struck. "I'm sure you remember the summoning. I told you that a call came from across the Void between realms. The same Void that consumes all, that forever sings to me. Who else but a Void Mage could have summoned me, the Void's chosen?"
"It can't… you can't…"
"I hear it in you, my lady. The music. So beautiful. So wonderful!"
He had said that once, in the pit. Was this what he truly meant? She was horrified.
"And now you know. You've seen it. We can wipe this world clean together."
"No…"
He leaned forwards, intent. "And then move onto the next. And the next. So many worlds. Some where all peoples are mages. Some where there are no mages at all. Some filled with lesser gods and some controlled by a single overdeity. None can withstand us! All will be erased by the Void."
"NO!" He paused, looking at her with an inscrutable expression. She was on her feet. "No more destruction! No more madness! You think I'll hurt more people? You think this is what I want? These… atrocities? NO! I am the master, you will listen to me, and you WILL STOP THAT GODDAMNED MUSIC RIGHT NOW!"
Tick…
Tock…
Ti-
Silence.
True silence for the first time since she summoned him.
Not even a hint that the silence was but another part of the music, a rest.
Just blessed silence.
…
…
…
She stared at him. He stared back.
He smiled. "Good."
"Good?"
"I did not lie. You are a Void Mage."
"…"
"The Founder's 'heir.' The one who is supposed to commit genocide for no other goal than to own some desert land that no one in their right mind should care about."
"This… was a test?"
Musician shook his head, taking a new pair of darkened spectacles from his pants pocket and putting them on. "It was a demonstration. I did not lie. A thousand years ago, the Void chose me as its vessel, and it whispers constantly to me. A little voice in the back of my head telling me to bring everything to nothingness. To revel in the destruction of all things."
Her stare became sharper. "Are you going to?"
Another shake. "Ever since you summoned me, I've been able to… put it aside. I am forever grateful… And Louise,you are beautiful, entirely unrelated to the Void in you. But I wanted to show you what it was like. The fanaticism. The cruelty. The sheer insanity. What happens when you have no freedom, when your own desires are subsumed, and you only listen to someone or… something else."
Louise pondered. "…Brimir's teachings. The church."
He shrugged. "Or the decrees of royalty. Or the Void itself. One should listen to that voice in themselves that says this is wrong, and be able to act on it."
And suddenly, she realized... that was what the question meant. "What do you want to do?"
He nodded, pleased. "Because when you're as powerful as you and I, nothing is more important. So," he said with a grin. "What do you want to do?"
Again, the images of slaughter played in her head. A slaughter made by her own choice, perhaps, but one influenced by her own faith. Her emphasis on the importance of royal blood, of the continuity of Albion. Her anger at the "heretics," provoked by Wardes' last words. Even if acting had been necessary, what she had done wasn't the answer. If she had power enough to kill them all, perhaps she had power enough to do something else.
But it was too late. They were all dead; she couldn't bring them back.
But perhaps… she could repent. And remember.
"Let's go out. We'll… help gather the dead. Give them last rites." It's the least we can do.
Days passed. Louise helped burn thousands of corpses. She wanted to memorize every name, every face, but there were so many. At her side, Musician helped. And surprisingly, or perhaps not so surprisingly, Wales was there as well.
She and the prince exchanged looks, and an understanding passed between them. Traitors or not, these were still citizens of Albion, fighting for what they believed was right. Louise was taking responsibility for the sins she committed through her familiar, and Wales was taking responsibility for the sins of his family that provoked so many to wrath.
In the end, Wales simply handed her Henrietta's letter without ceremony. Reconquista might be gone, but the political weight of the letter might cause other problems later. For all that her mission was a success, Louise certainly didn't feel successful. But she resolved then and there that she would never forget the lessons she learned. If she was to be Brimir's Heir, she would set aside his wrath and show mercy instead.
"Hm." King Joseph read through the report carefully. "Looks like someone else is here."
"Someone?"
"Someone."
The woman giggled girlishly. "Ooooh this is going to be so much fun. So what'd they do?"
"They destroyed Reconquista. My agents survived, but the army was eliminated in a violent storm. And a… song?" His eyebrows rose.
"The Musician! Oh, he's certainly something." Her hands sparked with red lightning. "But if he's here, that means…"
"There's another Void Mage." Joseph smiled. It was an empty gesture, perhaps, but it was the closest to what he would've felt, if he could feel.
"It's gonna be so much fun tearing her down! Oh, oh, your Majesty, can I go play?" asked the Mjöðvitnir, the Mind of God.
"Soon, your Majesty. Soon."
"I can't wait!" The Queen of Midnight danced around, sickly energy following her wake.
