Alive again

"He who sits here owns the world"

Reliquitur seemed happy to announce we'd left the "industrial belt". It was more of a smoke ring, I thought. Another wall of artificial smoke, a thick cloud of death. 

Anyway, the landscape was green again and I didn't dislike seeing the sun again. Lieutenant seemed just as happy, wagging her tail here and there and tickling my neck in the process. But Saráh can't be above forever, and night fell once more. After the camp was set for the night, Reliquitur asked me if I slept. I shrugged, honestly, no idea. I hadn't needed it in the last weeks, so perhaps I could just be able to prescind from it.

I denied with my head and made signals to make him understand I wanted to give him a fencing lesson. He obliged me and I taught him techniques a level above him. He stood in shock, his helmet on as always, lightly shaking in mute respect and thrill.

-Not even the Grandmaster of the Paladins knows those moves, they don't appear in any book! You truly are a godsend, my lord!

And he kept praying in tears, salutating and swearing to Stärk-eh. He really was having hyped feelings for a medium-level parry. I indicated him it was his turn.

So sollemnly one could have thought he was mocking me, he repeated every movement perfectly. I was surprised, he had to be a natural. He understood my "re-stabbing" as the end of the lesson (as intended) and went to sleep. And damn. The place.

I had already forgotten that that night we were supposed to get to the castle, Aetria's jewel among jewel, the palace of Soll-Omóh.

Called this way to appeal the god of governments Soll-Omóh was, it was the largest ever built. From there, Aetria's king ruled most of the known world back in the day. I checked the map once more. We had to be practically in front of the palace!

But everything around us was just undergrowth and ruins. 

Wait. 

I turned back.

There was a lightspot on the ground. I panicked in silence and looked towards the biggest pile of debris and sprinted towards it. It couldn't be.

It couldn't be.

The pile of debris turned out to be a huge staircase, marble once white as snow. I ran to the top and discovered more ruins. This once was a huge parlor, but now only a few collumns remained, trying to reach a roof that wasn't there in a futile effort. There were signs of fight in the remains of the floor and the walls. my sight focused on a mound like a hundred meters from me.

It couldn't be.

I ran like someone who's seen something falling and tries to grab it, but knows way too well they won't be able to grab it. Just like that, past was already written.

It was.

A golden wall twice my size with a seat on it still held gently the last person who sat on it. "IS QUI IN REGNO SEDET, ORBEM HABET", Now extremely worn off, the legendary chestplate of Ulrich the Eccentric still protected its last carrier. A skull covedred in moss, proudly sealed to its crown. I immediatly recognised him and kneeled,  in horror and respect. My fist hit the sky and I thought as loudly as possible: "All hail the king, Kaegu the first of Aetria, our lord and friend! Such lion amidst us dogs! May his body rest in peace, and his spirit and name live on!"

I noticed the many spears and holes in his chest. He'd been murdered, brutally assasinated by the back and the front. Such unchievalrous behaviour, and such an undeserved death. Whoever did this, truly got what they wanted.

And after the rage and the cold thirst of vengeance, the overwhelming dampness and heat of grief.

I felt empty. I had failed to protect who I swore to. My other leg fell. Even the air felt heavy. My head did barrel rolls, trying to process this... But the only thing within it was darkness. Lacking organs is a bummer when trying to show sadness. I rolled into fetal position as the reality kicked in again, as the gods spat in my brain and numbed my thoughts. The king was long gone, and his bloodline too if I had to guess.

The silence then got heavy. Every animal around seemed to have stopped to make a sound, as if they didn't dare to interrupt my breakdown or as if they meant to share my sorrow.

And the silence sang the saddest song ever sung, in a sort of feeling within my chest. And every note hurt more than the previous, in such a way that the last one killed me again.