After the End: Serenity

“Who is he to tell us what we can and can’t do? Who is he to have the right to pass judgment? We are the Memories, the heirs to Mimir’s vision! Who is he to tell us we can’t interfere in a war? So what if that causes a few deaths! Are we supposed to get the approval of an unknown first?” Eternus spat the words, clearly offended at an upstart’s interference.

At least, Neal was fairly certain that was the effect Eternus wanted. Eternus was good at that; he could reframe almost any issue so that he was in the right. Even Neal was affected a little; maybe Eternus truly was offended by the idea of someone else limiting their choices instead of because he had plans to actually kill that many people. It didn’t make sense that he would; there was no reason Neal could think of to try for something like that. It would never succeed in the first place.

Which also made it clear that Eternus hadn’t thought it through. Wouldn’t it be simpler to simply meet with the man, agree to not kill his wife, and give him the concession that they wouldn’t kill everyone in the universe? It would make him go away and that was a vague enough promise that it could easily be evaded, sort of in the opposite way to what Eternus was using its vagueness now. Neal hadn’t missed that “have most of the people in the universe killed” changed to “interfere in a war” almost immediately.

Of course, he wasn’t Eternus’s true target. Eternus knew Neal would keep his head down if he wanted to survive. No, his true target was the other two Memories; Revna, who still thought she had some power or she wouldn’t have accepted such a petition, and Dinatha. It was probably mostly aimed at Dinatha even though Eternus was ranting at Revna. Dinatha would believe anything Eternus said; it was truly sad.

If only she were more like Revna. Of course, Neal knew that Dinatha was the Memory of Light partly because of her infatuation with Eternus; she was an excellent seer and she cared about her people, but she’d never have become Memory without the death of the previous Memory, an accident Neal was certain he knew the hand behind even if he didn’t know the method.

“That is not what he asked.” Revna sounded offended. “He asked for his wife and his people to be left alone and that we not attack everyone. It’s not a hard question. Why did you attempt to have his wife killed, anyway?”

Neal wanted to take her aside and remind her of the reality of the situation, that you didn’t directly offend the most powerful person in the room when you had no supporters and you especially didn’t directly question him. This was especially true if the most powerful person in the room was Eternus, who was a master at taking a situation and turning it to his own benefit. There was no chance for that now, and even if there had been it wouldn’t have helped; he’d tried to teach her better in the past but it never quite seemed to click for her.

Eternus snorted. “Why do you think that was even true? Did you just accept his word for it, the word of someone you’ve never met before who wants something for an action he can’t even prove?”

Eternus’s question didn’t answer the question and it certainly jumped straight from unknown to assuming deception, but it worked well for the reason he intended it: it put Revna on the back foot.

Revna frowned. “Well, he was angry and seemed righteous; he made it to the top-”

“No reason at all, then?” Eternus cut Revna off before she actually mentioned the Trial of Steps. He clearly had his own source of information; if Neal didn’t already know what he did, he might also have been convinced by Eternus’s posturing. “No, we will not entertain this foolish petition. I will not abide some outsider telling me what I can and cannot do and you should not either.”

Neal suppressed his snort at the contradiction inherent in Eternus’s words, commanding Revna to ignore commands that came from anyone other than Eternus. It was not a good idea to show humor right now.

Revna’s frown grew deeper. “But he said they’d issue a challenge if we just ignored him. I couldn’t get a good read on his Tier, but he’s dangerous. Really dangerous. I think he might be able to win.”

Eternus laughed. “If that’s all you’re worried about, set your heart at ease. Only a follower of Mimir’s Legacy can challenge for one of the Thrones of Memory. There is no way he can challenge us. Ignore him and he will go away.”

Neal knew that Eternus’s statement was partially true; it was correct that an outsider couldn’t challenge for the Thrones of Memory. An outsider could, however, challenge for two other reasons: Eadsyt’s Sovereignty, which Eternus held, or the Rite of Recompense.

The Rite was almost never used, since it required the permission of Eadsyt’s Sovereign and Eternus wouldn’t give that permission unless he was certain the outcome would be the one he wanted. That was probably the method the outsider planned to use, and it was hopeless.

The only way to challenge for Sovereignty would require the challenger to be a Voice-recognized Sovereign of at least one other world, and that seemed very unlikely. Eternus was probably correct in his conclusion, even if his reasoning was weak.

“Is that the shadow on the future, then?” Dinatha turned the conversation back to her vision. “If we reject him, does he call on dragons and fleets of ships to attack us?”

Eternus snorted. “Don’t confuse a small current surprise with something that might happen in the far future simply because we learned about them on the same day. We’re all going to have to look at the future to see what we can learn about this threat. Well, those of us that can look.”

Neal heard the venom in the voice and made very certain that he was paying attention to his meal. There might be only four people that mattered in the room and he might be one of them, but there was really only one person whose opinion ruled. Eternus was not in a good mood.

Neal kind of pitied Revna, even if she had brought Eternus’s wrath down on herself through her choices. The Memory of Blood was rarely fair and never forgiving of slights.

Which was, of course, why he needed to be removed from his position. Neal wouldn’t mind taking over as the Sovereign, but in the end he would be fine if Revna took the spot. Yes, they clashed over who belonged to them, but that was at least half theater to keep Eternus safely convinced that they were no threat to him. If these two strangers could do something, Neal meant to provide them with the opportunity. The trick would be to figure out how to do it without Revna’s help; she was not nearly sneaky enough.

A message left for Blaze half an hour after the conclusion of the lunch meeting of the Memories. Collected by Blaze the morning of the following day.

Blaze,

I have been unable to reach an agreement with the other Memories to address your friend’s petition; our time is currently being spent attempting to determine the details of a far larger threat the Memory of Light has foreseen. In any case, I do not believe that the Memory of Blood is receptive to any suggestion I may make on the topic.

I do not have a next step for you.

Memory of Breath

A message left for Blaze three hours later. Collected by Blaze at the same time as the previous message.

Blaze,

You do not know me, but I believe we have a common goal in mind. Meet me at the west end of the dyers’ building behind the dye vats at sunset so that we can discuss possibilities.

A possible ally

A message delivered to Serenity through the Messenger’s Guild while Blaze was visiting the Mound to talk to people and check for messages. Transit time: 17 days.

Lord Serenity,

Are you still certain you do not wish me to mention the assault on you to my grandfather? I know that you said you’d rather handle it yourself, but I’m certain Grandfather would be happy to demonstrate what happens if you attack someone in his Empire, especially a foreign Sovereign. I know you said you didn’t want a fleet, but he could destroy the people who ordered the attack himself.

I expect he’d even be happy about it. I can’t go into details, but I’ve asked around about the Mimir and they are a thorn in the side of the Empire; never important enough to destroy given how far away they are but continually interfering. I know that he is unhappy about their interference with the World Eaters, but that is not enough for him to act. Adding an assault on someone in his capitol city, however, would be exactly what he needs.

You would not owe him a favor, if that is your fear. You would simply be the reason he can take action he already wished to take.

As for your question about phoenixes, no, there are no phoenixes in the Empire, at least not ones that are known as such. Phoenix-blooded people are known, but uncommon. I cannot speak of what I found in the priesthood’s archives; you would require permission from one far higher than I to learn of it. All I can say is that I see no reason to encourage you to gain that permission.

I have attached letters from both Blackthorn and Haleth. I know that you were only thinking of Blackthorn, but the Emperor’s recommendation was enough to bypass the requirements of Haleth. Grandfather believes that both the students and the faculty at Haleth would learn something if you were to attend; indeed, he is so interested that he has offered to cover all of your costs should you decide to attend, even if neither of us is quite certain what you feel you would gain.

I wish you the best of fortune with your vengeance.

Lord Cymryn

A message sent by Serenity through the Messenger’s Guild immediately after receipt of the previous message.

Lord Cymryn,

Please don’t. You know as well as I do that calling in your grandfather while he is angry would simply result in devastation. If I wanted to simply destroy the area, I could do that; the Death’s Wings is armed and they seem to depend on the power of their oracles to avoid attack rather than on any sort of fixed defense.

Blaze has a plan to flush out the people who caused the attack. If it doesn’t succeed, he has another plan. For now, I’m happy to follow his plan. If that changes, I will let you know.

I am surprised that even the Emperor’s recommendation was enough to bypass the fact that Haleth is the Academy for Imperial nobles’ children and only admits humans. I will have to think about whether the amusement is worth the hassle; I think it mostly depends on whether or not the teachers can put aside their prejudices enough to actually teach what I want to learn. Perhaps I need to visit.

As for why I wish to attend as a student, no one knows everything. I have found out just how little I know about many things over the past few years.

Serenity