Jackal Among Snakes

“I won’t tolerate you being ungentle with Sophia.” Argrave crossed his arms as he stood before the Alchemist. “You need to be as kind as you know how before I ever bring her around here.”

Argrave and the Alchemist stood on the mountainside where he’d chosen to set up shop. It was far removed from any prying eyes, and the only people that hung around here were ostensibly the great big snake Vasquer and Onychinusa, the unsociable recluse.

The Alchemist looked down upon Argrave with his cold gray eyes, and Argrave suspected that if he had nostrils, they’d be flaring in annoyance. “If you were going to be so sentimental, why did you send Castro to perish instead of myself?”

Argrave felt like he’d taken a punch to the gut after hearing the truth laid out so plainly. “I don’t want to relive what was going through my head. Suffice it to say that it was an impossible situation to be put in, and I’m never going to forget what Castro did.”

The Alchemist turned away and started walking. “I’m sure he’d weep with joy.”

Argrave glared up at him. “Why are you making this more difficult than it is? Do you think I chose wrong, is that what you’re trying to convey? You think it’d be better for you to become the Smiling Raven?”

The Alchemist stopped walking and looked back, returning a question with one of his own. “Why do you think I offered?”

“You’re angry at me? I thought that was beyond you.” Argrave walked closer. “The simple fact is, we never would have gotten this far without you. And I don’t think we’ll get much further if you were some mindless abomination trapped in this gemstone.” Argrave held up the gleaming black Ravenstone, and it dangling from its chain.

“And yet you treat the thing we retrieved with undeniable ties to Gerechtigkeit like a princess, giving her a bed and a home, whispering sweet words, introducing her to your family, fabricating excuses as to why you should welcome her as family.” The Alchemist leaned down. “You cannot be pragmatic only when it suits your whimsy.”

Argrave grabbed his head. “I know. Damn you, I know. Hause claims… claims that I might’ve been changed by her. Sophia is one half of the cycle of judgment. She’s creation itself. I can’t explain why I like the kid beyond weak platitudes like ‘it’s the right thing to do,’ and ‘she’s just a little girl.’ It makes sense in my head, but… what if it doesn’t?”

The Alchemist studied Argrave intently in silence. Countless eyes opened all on his body to better survey him. “She is creation?”

“That’s right,” Argrave nodded.

The Alchemist looked up at the sky, and the thousand eyes faded. “That does make sense.”

Argrave raised his brows. “It does?”

“Yes, it does.” The Alchemist looked to be parsing through half a thousand thoughts, but then he refocused on Argrave. “This Sophia thing being unimaginably powerful and being a young girl are not mutually exclusive concepts. You managed to make the dwarves suffer you. If you cannot do the same for a seven-year-old child, that would be unimaginably disgraceful. So, I concede. I will not be ‘ungentle.’ But you need to harden yourself to something.”

“What’s that?” Argrave tilted his head.

“Hause claimed Sophia was one half of the cycle of judgment,” the Alchemist said.

“Correct.”

“Our goal is to end the cycle of judgment.”

Argrave held his arms out. “And?”

“Are you being deliberately obtuse?” The Alchemist walked closer, some annoyance on his tone, then paused. “Hmm… I don’t think you are.” Instead of making new eyes, the Alchemist leaned down until the solemn pupils on his face were just before Argrave’s.

“What I mean, Argrave, is that you should come to terms that she may need to be destroyed. If she is half of the whole, her death may be the only thing to bring about the cessation of the cycle of judgment. It’s far too early to say. Can something ever truly be destroyed if half of it remains?”

#####

Still rattled from the Alchemist’s claim that Sophia might need to perish, Argrave felt himself calming second by second as he sat with all of his most trusted companions. These were the people that he’d been honest to without reservations. Anneliese, Elenore, Galamon, Orion, Durran, and Melanie. These people were the core of the kingdom, now, without much exaggeration. There was no one else he would rather consult for advice.

This group sat in a small meeting chamber in the parliamentary hall. Here, they’d received dwarves in months past. Now it was only them, sitting around this table with a finished meal before them.

“What we’ve done… it’s changed the landscape of the fight going forth,” Argrave explained to them. “Gerechtigkeit will be so much greater than he was before, provided our opponent isn’t lying to us. We’ve opened up Pandora’s Box.”

“He means that we unleashed chaos that cannot be restrained, for those confused,” Anneliese explained the meaning of his reference, and Melanie nodded in agreement.

Argrave took her explanation in stride, continuing, “But it seems that greater challenges bring greater rewards. We’ve set on the path to untying the noose that’s been strangling this world for the countless years behind us. I felt as if we were amply prepared with the Blackgard Union, and the measures we’ve taken here in Vasquer. Now… now, I’m not so sure.

“The battle with the Qircassian Coalition is coming, as is the counter invasion of the Great Chu headed by you, Galaman.” Argrave looked at Galamon, and his somber friend only nodded. “Now, more than ever, it’s important our victory be decisive and beneficial. We cannot afford the internecine conflicts of cycles past. With the dwarves and the Veidimen as our allies and no serious internal problems plaguing this nation… we have the opportunity to jump off a springboard that leads to a global alliance. And given the magnitude of what we’re facing, I think that’s necessary.”

Melanie leaned into the table. “On that note, I’ve been giving some thought about Dario’s situation. He’s an artificer. We can employ him to—”

Argrave raised his hand. “Relax, Melanie. I’ve decided to let Dario be.”

Melanie blinked her green eyes a few times in surprise, but quickly said, “I was only speaking pragmatically. Imagine if all of our soldiers could be armed like him.”

“True. As for you being only pragmatic, well… Anneliese said some different things.” He looked to his side, and Anneliese affirmed it with a nod.

Melanie looked sorely aggrieved. “’Some different things?’ Did you honestly just say something that vague in front of everyone? Is she implying I want to shag that mummy without the bandages? That idiot with the vacant stare and the constant complaints about how it’s so hard to be a good person?” Melanie seemed to realize only belatedly the difference in their station, and appended, “Respectfully intended, Your Highness, of c—”

Elenore and Durran both hid her amusement like children laughing in class when they shouldn’t, while Anneliese assured, “I know. You feel pity and morbid curiosity. And you do raise a good point—he can still be made use of. If he can employ those metal frames he used on his own body without the help of a Herald, it could be wondrous indeed.”

Melanie finally relaxed in front of them, and even Argrave could tell something finally set in for her. She was welcome here, no matter what she said or asked for. And given all she’d done, he was glad of it.

“Mighty glad we set the record straight,” Melanie said, then joined Durran and Elenore in some mirth with a shake of her head.

Argrave waited until things had slowed somewhat, then said in a low voice, “We’ll have to inform the Order of the Gray Owl about Castro’s death, soon.”

Elenore looked at Argrave. “Have you a successor in mind? If so, I can pull some strings.”

“Castro did,” Argrave told her. “And I trust him.”

“I see.” Elenore nodded. “So—the war. That will consume the bulk of your attention. But I assume the arrival of this young girl has other implications.”

“Yes,” Argrave placed his elbows on the table, nodding. “Officially, she’ll be my niece. Unofficially, she is the most important person here moving forward. We have to make her walk a path of flowers while we try and figure out how she factors into everything. Chances are, her role won’t come to play until Gerechtigkeit surfaces.”

Orion broke his silence, asking, “Which will be in…?”

“One year, two months,” Elenore answered. “Isn’t that right?”

“Right again. But that’s only my memory, so we should be well prepared long before then in case the worst happens and our friend actually happens to arrive early. But people never actually arrive early, so we’re worrying over nothing,” Argrave waved his hand dismissively.

“It seems we have no time for repose.” Orion settled his arms on the table. “I had hoped for some time to visit with my mother. I believe her clarity is returning, day by day, as she wears that artifact we scavenged from Erlebnis’ vault.”

Argrave looked at him. “No time for repose, indeed. Orion—you’re going to teach me how to fight.”

Anneliese and Orion said simultaneously, “What?”

“You’ve seen me fight, haven’t you? I can swap places with my blood echoes using something I’ve named [Echo Step]. You’ve seen it, I assume. Regardless, it allows me to travel around the battlefield instantaneously. And that is an unprecedented advantage in a fight. I’m wearing all these divine armaments, but I don’t really know how to use the strength they give me. So, Orion—as a strong person who’s been trained to fight, I’m thinking you should teach me.” He pointed at Galamon. “I’d ask him, but he’s busy in the north.”

“I would be… immeasurably honored, Your Majesty.” Orion put a trembling hand to his chest.

“Good. It’s decided.” Looking around, Argrave could tell Anneliese had more to say later, but she didn’t voice these thoughts. “It’s going to be a long, long year, folks. Things are going to converge on us in ways you can’t imagine. And we have to be ready for it. I’m going to be asking a lot from each of you. But the reason why you’re all here is because I know you can, and will, handle it.

“We’re going beyond Berendar. We’re going beyond the world I knew. We’re going beyond the realm of possibilities I had conceived in my head when I set out along this path well over two years ago.” Argrave set his arms upon the table, and the plates clattered. “You’re family, all of you. And I’m a massive nepotist, apparently, so you guys will do great.”

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