The Aeterna Empire

Chapter 15 - Reasoning with a god

Caius sat alone in his office, his chair in the middle of the room and leaned back as far as it would go until its gears strained. The room was filled with orchestral music pouring in from the audience chamber and his left hand waved to the flow of the horns and the strum of the strings while his right hand was completely still, holding a clear glass filled with dirt. Empty vials of potent drugs lay scattered and broken across the floor. While his hand moved of its own will, his eyes, his mind, his focus was on his painting going from floor to ceiling depicting the destruction of his palace.

He went back to that moment, that second of clarity where the hidden things were washed away and a new world was born from its truth. He considered it, imagined it, but it was fleeting and past. The present could not bring him back no matter how far he drowned it out. The only thing that could come close was this aesthetic piece that he saw in it, that was inspired by it as a scribe might write or a reenactor might portray.

Still, just as the music reached its crescendo and his hand moved with blazing speed and lifted high and the brightness of the sun came over his painting of the same light coming down in a cycle of glory and destruction and he felt himself coming close to revelation, a group of boots entered the room with all the appeal of shattered glass.

"We have a guest for you, boss. He said you are expecting him."

The music concluded. Clouds covered the sun's rays. His left hand collapsed like its strings were cut off the edge of the chair and his right hand fell to his lap. The glass of dirt soiled his shirt in dirt and worms. Caius sighed, and admitted defeat.

"Your timing is perfect." He whispered.

"Excellent. We worried we might be interrupting." His workers smiled in good nature.

Caius eyed them from the side, pondering dark thoughts with fleeting curiosity, before concluding it simply wasn't worth the energy to bother. He waved them off and his guest was left standing in the door alone.

"Welcome to the Empire, Fereren." Caius motioned around tiredly. "Not bad for only a year, wouldn't you say?"

"Where is my son?" The man demanded gruffly.

Caius rolled his eyes and in a burst of energy jumped up out of the chair. It folded in on itself and clattered to the floor.

"You and my brother are the damn same! No sense of manners, just straight down to business like that is all there is between us."

"Last time I saw you, you tried to kill us."

"Pft."

"After starving us."

"Details."

"After staging a coup."

"First of all," Caius waved a finger. "Semantics. Secondly,-"

"If this was under any other circumstances, I'd have already crushed your throat between my fingers. I am here because you said you know where my son is, where Val'Spear is, and can do something about the Emperor. We have a temporary alignment of interests. So, let's take this in order and try again. Where is my son?"

As he spoke, Fereren grew ominously closer until he was towering over Caius and stared down at him with wide eyes. His arms shook with restraint.

Caius sighed, "Fine. I will arrange a meeting."

"Today."

"Pushy pushy. I can only promise to extend the invitation. Don't expect too much, I am doing this for free after all. If we are going to be partners against the Empire, I will need a little something from you to keep this mutual. Otherwise I have little incentive to keep helping you."