Dawn of the Immortalis: Volumes 1-3

Chap. 15: Courtroom of Creation

Talis had awoke with the sensation of his feet dragging behind him. His lackadaisical eyelids opened with much concentration. There was a man on his left, a woman, so he supposed, on his right, both clad in the uniform metallic armour of the workers. They were dragging him down a dim lit tunnel. He was being dragged towards a light, a light at the end of the tunnel, fitting.

It was but a minute later when they reached the said light. As he was brought through the entrance, he was blinded. Ever so slowly his vision returned, his eyes adjusting to the stark, bright light. The dragging had stopped, he was placed upright in a chair before the judge's bench. It was a fine room, adorned in wood, with the typical havings of a courtroom. In the far right corner, Talis notice movement in the shadows.

Sitting in the seat of the judge was a monstrous thing. Made of rock in the form of a man, with plants growing on the scattered piles of dirt upon its shoulders. Vines and creepers hung from its head and chin as hair. It raised its head to look down upon Talis, loose dirt tumbling to the rough carpeted ground.

"Talis Thrund," it said, dust billowing out as it spoke, speaking, that is, in a hardy, authoritative voice. "Do you know why you sit before your creator, the Creator?"

"Um... No, well yes, maybe," Talis shuttered, realizing whom he was speaking to.

"Think before you speak boy, it is not wise to waste my time with your utterings and mutterings. You're on trial for murder, murder of one very important."

"He was going to kill a child, I could not let him do that."

"Yes, I know, but sacrifices must be made. The life of a mere child is petty in comparison to the horrors he will now commit because of you."

"You of all people should know the value of every life, for, after all, you claim to have created it."

"Watch your tongue, speak not in that matter."

"I will speak the way I wish!" said Talis, voice raised in rage. "You say I am here on account of murder whereas you would condone the killing of an innocent child? Am I the only one that see the hypocrisy in it? If you would truly do that, then your title is worthless as the dust under my feet."

At that, the Creator stood up. Its rocky body grinded as he rose, sand fluttered downwards, shimmering as it caught the rays of light coming from the cracks above. It slammed its fist onto its bench, wood splintered this way and that.

"What right do you have to judge the one most high? I beseech you to tell me why you shouldn't be done away with and forever forgotten," thundered the Creator.

"I'd rather stay dead than live under the rule of a killer. If you wish to right the world - universe - whatever you call it, then you must first right yourself. You must right this idea of comparing life. You must right this idea of belittling others. You must-"

"Perfect," the Creator interrupted, "exactly what I'm looking for." He, for based off of his appearance the Creator is a he, sat down, causing the sound of crunching rock again.

"What? Perfect, what do you mean?" Talis asked, baffled.

"Now that Talontongue is dead, of whom I cared not for, for the same reasons as you, I am in search of a new Immortalis. You seem perfect for the job, after all, your first name is the same as the first Immortalis, Talis Immor; the role was named after him. You didn't cower before me which shows that you will uphold what is right. You are not afraid of authority yet you are still respectful, before, that is, you see their error. I am in agreement with you Talis, I did not mean what I said before, I was simply testing your resolve to see if you are as good as the Taleweaver says you are."

"The Taleweaver?" Talis asked, astounded at the turn of the conversation, and rather relieved for he feared the results of enraging a being of infinite power.

"Ah come on now Taleweaver, show yourself," urged the Creator.

I, the Taleweaver, stepped out of the shadows, donned in grayish cloth material, looking like an old, ragged man.

"We meet at last, Talis," I said.

"Hello," Talis replied, unsure really of what to say.

"I hear you are to be the new Immortalis, how fun. We best be going, there are many things to attend to."

"Hold, have you not forgotten something?" the Creator asked, eying me.

"Alas, how could I forget," replied I, "you must still inform him."

The Creator nodded then gestured for Talis to draw near. Talis, now realizing he could rise from his seat, obeyed and stepped forward. The Creator rested one of his massive stony hands atop Talis' head. If the Creator were to let his hand fall, there would be no Talis left, there is no doubt. He felt a rushing sensation within his head, as if the waters of knowledge poured from the hand into the cavern that was his head. Although he still felt as the same person, his mind had been filled to the extremity. He knew why things were the way they were, he understood every world yet at the same time he understood nothing. For lack of a more elegant way to put it, he just knew.

"What... did you just do?" he asked.

The Creator replied, "I have shared but a portion of my knowledge, so that you may feel more at place as you traverse the various worlds."

"Come now Talis," I bayed in an authoritative voice, "there are many matters to attend to, standing around is of no use. Time waits for no man."

Talis agreed and followed me. As we neared the entrance to the tunnel, Talis looked back. Within the middle of the room, there appeared to be a slit through the fabric of reality itself. I tugged at Talis' arm, urging him to move forward. As his eyes unwilling left the thing, it was gone from his mind, as if torn out. We walked down the dark tunnel, away from the light.