Journey to the Forgotten Island

Chapter 36 - Liberation

Governor Adelmo could not sleep. His mansion was quiet without the sounds of Ximena making merry, ordering the attendants and arranging banquets and meetings. But the silence seemed to make way for a more troubling sound from the depths of his mind. After returning from Dini's office, he supped on cold soup and leftovers, refusing the servants' offers of warm food. In his big room, with his bed large enough to sleep ten people, Toma sat by the large window, feeling the cold night leach the heat from around him. Tomorrow he would commit the boldest act of his life - he would revolt.

He looked up at the dark sky and saw that snow had begun to fall. There was never snow on the Duro mainland. Only in the far northern reaches of Solapailtea, once the jungles became mountainous lands still free from the Duro Empire, did snow fall. And perhaps too in the far southern empires – places so far that only the wealthiest merchants and Duro delegations could afford to travel there. Toma had expected to feel wonder at the snow – the way it floated and danced then melted. But he felt no astonishment, no awe. He simply wondered how the Sola and native rebels were fairing in the sudden harsh cold. He worried that he, Ami and Dini had forgotten something for their revolution – that a crucial element of their plan had been miscalculated.

He sipped his rice wine and felt the sharp tang on the back of his tongue. His tooth burned ferociously. After the revolution was over, he would need to ask a healer to pull it out, he knew. The rot had set in after all.

He sat for so long at the window that he could no longer feels his hands or feet and eventually he spied first light on the horizon. If all went smoothly today, he would soon be the ruler of an independent Magoa. He remembered the discussions with Dini and Ami about how to rule, about the different kingdoms and governments during Old Vetusta. Dini had said that at some moments there had been no government, no ruler, at all. But complete freedom was too much for men. They needed order, surely. How could a world without a ruler function? No, he would have to remain Governor. Ami and Dini would advise him as they had done so far. Perhaps, eventually, he would allow the people to choose their ruler – but he would have to think carefully about who could choose. Dini had said that if you allowed all the common folk to choose their ruler they would simply choose one of their own and banish all the merchants and nobles, stealing their wealth. As Dini said, things could not be rushed. Stability was the most important consideration for a ruler.

He had planned to join Dini at the bank after breakfast, when the day had already begun and the merchants were setting up their market stalls. During this time, the Captain would be consulting with his officers – Stefano and Valino. It would be easiest to arrest the Captain with Stefano and Valino behind him. But Toma was growing impatient - he could not wait any longer. Dini would surely also be awake. The sooner they finished their work, the sooner they could begin building their new nation.

Toma changed into his military silks and called a servant to bring his carriage. Before he left, he looked at his sword, sheathed and hanging on his chair. He was a soldier at heart and might feel lost without it. But it was a bloodless revolution; he should have no need of a sword. If he left it behind, perhaps this would allow him to finally leave his peasant, soldier life behind him and embrace his new status as a noble Governor. Soon, when Silvia, Casi and his mother arrived, he would have no need of swords and shields – he would rule from his office, in his estate, and live a quiet and peaceful life.

And yet, there was something that felt deeply and inexplicably wrong about leaving his weapon behind - like charging into battle on the back of a goat instead of a battle horse. He shook his head and took the sword.

It was a still morning. The snow was falling but did not stick on the cobbled stones, which glistened in the dawn light. As his carriage arrived at the bank, the guards on post nodded solemnly. Dini had no doubt notified them of today's events – they would be hoping that Adelmo, Ami and Dini prevailed.