Beacons in The Dark

Chapter 18 - The Betrayers

"One hand with one knife, that's all you need to take a life." - Garathien children's nursery rhyme

The amantium ziggurat of the Loreseeker's Guildhouse glimmered in the moonlight, not like a giant beetle as it seemed during the day - but a predator ready to strike, all black with silver streaks illuminating pieces of the impressive building.

Around the ziggurats perimeter was a hazy pinkish field of energy, newly erected since Blue's Death, to keep any unwanted atomic or plasmoid weapons to be hurled on them. 

At the very top of the thousand floored building were a gathering of the five councillors, Ezekiel Tylux, Mori Bast, Jennete Bank, Ezra Ex, and Fortimus Yedno.

They were in a large chamber, black amantium columns rising from floor to high ceiling, statues of past Loremasters decorating the halls, each of them carrying a small likeness of Blue.

They sat at a Weirwood table made from the sentient trees of far Echelon; it was said that sometimes these tables could impart thoughts to ones who were specially attuned to them. Each sat on a comfortable gunmetal gray grav chair, hovering smoothing around the large table, with one grav chair empty - that of the Loremaster.

Bank was the first to speak, she was thin and short with a shock of brown and orange hair, an upturned nose, and fiery orange eyes to match her hair. She wore a polymesh bodysuit which doubled as armor but also showed off her curves as well; vain woman as she was.

"So, we have disposed of the Zek and now we can run this guild the way we see fit, expand our profit margins, stop with the humanitarian aid and concentrate fully on making ourselves the most wealthy creatures in the Imperium. With our historians, we could have been kings, queens, and emperors ourselves, but the Zeks never wanted that, especially the last of them, Blue. Too kind hearted that one, so glad to see him go."

Everyone nodded in agreement, but then the voice of Bast rang out like a bass drum, "How was the body disposed of?" Always practical and thinking, even though his stoic demeanor would make him seem otherwise.

Ezra Ex, a Maruthian; slightly insectlike with a protruding mouth and antennae that swept around his multifaceted eyes added, "No body found, the Zek nor his assistant."

Bast's face drew into a frown, but Tylux interjected, "There is good reason to believe that they were incinerated by the slowbeam blasts, even though the mercenaries, to a one, were butchered by that wild Trowan friend of Zeks, it is possible that after mortally inflicting a wound upon one of our men that he had the final willpower to blast that damned lightman to dust."

Fortimus, partly cyborg, looking like a patchwork quilt of chromium and flesh said in his modulated voice. "Let us hope so. If this Jhiva is what the initial reports indicate, then it could be harnessed to overthrow the Autonomous Emperor himself; and this Imperium could be all ours."

He said 'ours' but all eyes flexed quickly from side to side; one of them was going to grab for ultimate power, of course, and they all knew it.