Geinn sat patiently listening to another Senior Examiner complaining that Bueres was pulling too many resources from the field.
"My task is to investigate possible breaches of the Law by nobles. I can't possibly do my job if every skilled Examiner I have is tied up with searching a bunch of old records for who knows what! I am short at least ten Examiners now! How many does Bueres need? Surely some can be spared to me?"
Geinn waited a full ten seconds before answering. In that space of time, he could visibly see the Senior Examiner start to shrink before his eyes. "None can be spared. More may be required. This is a critically time sensitive work that I have ordered. As for your task, it is whatever I decide it is and your resources are whatever I decide they are." Geinn paused, then stood up and looked at the Senior Examiner eye to eye. Speaking firmly but quietly, he said, "and if you ever speak to me in that tone again, I will have your tongue ripped from your mouth and nailed to your forehead. Is that clear enough for you?"
The Senior Examiner paled. Grovelling, he apologized for wasting the Chief Examiner's time and hastily beat a retreat out of the office. Geinn sighed. I know we are shorting ourselves elsewhere. This is the most critical time in our history and if we are not careful, we may fail in our hour of testing.
Geinn said to his assistant, standing silently at the door, "No more for now. I will be back." He left his office and walked past those in the outer room that needed to see him, all on critical (to them, at least, Geinn mused) business. Within a few minutes, he walked into the archives where Bueres was conducting the search. Normally the archives were quiet and locked. Only those with dispensation from the Chief Examiner would have access to the stored materials that the Examiners secretly kept in their main hall.
Today it looked busier than the capital city's market at noon! Over a hundred Examiners, from all quadrants of the Western Kingdom, had been pulled into the project by Bueres. Every document was being systematically examined and then re-examined to search for any reference to words like Queen or She, where she referred to something more than just the subject of a sentence. If any reference was found, the document was referred to Bueres and the other two Senior Examiners who were expert in ancient tongues for confirmation or dismissal.
Geinn could see Bueres was buried in a document now. Curious, he walked over and watched the old man study the paper. Bueres was mumbling to himself, his brow furrowed as he ran his finger along a line of text. Then he shook his head, rolled up the paper and tossed it to one side.
"What was that?" Geinn asked.
"Sorry, Chief Examiner. I didn't notice you there. That was an etching of some writing found a hundred years ago at a ruin up north. There was a 'She' mentioned but on deeper examination it was about some ancient goddess who the author had dedicated a temple too. We have lots of those kinds of writings, with dedications to various gods but they are not relevant to the search." Bueres explained.
"Have you found anything yet?" Geinn hoped so. He hoped this wasn't a wild goose chase.
"Actually, yes. Let me show you." Bueres said. He reached down to his left and pulled a parchment out that was tied with a red ribbon. Opening it carefully, Bueres laid it out across the desk.
"See this line here?" the old man ran his finger across a line of text. Geinn nodded. "Well, it contains a phrase that has helped us clarify a little better who the Queen is that is written on the stone. according to this, which is a copy of a much older text, the Queen is ruler of the world. That is, she is the rightful heir to the throne of what was once a worldwide empire. Now we know that no such thing has existed in known history so the original text was clearly referring to that time before known history."
"Does that help us?" Geinn looked confused.
"Not by itself, but we have found a few of our manuscripts that seem to either be from very ancient times or refer to texts that predate ancient times. We have thousands of papers, etchings and scrolls that the Guild has acquired over the centuries. Some are so old that if we touch them, they fall apart. Sadly, them could contain vital information and we would never know!"
"How many have you gone through so far?" Geinn asked.
"Only about four hundred. I am sorry, but this cannot be rushed in that sense. Each time we take a hold of a document, we need to insure it can be opened safely. Then it needs to be carefully examined word by word. As this gets tiring, I have a second Examiner review the first Examiner's work. If anything stands out, I or one of the other Senior Examiners repeat the word by word review to insure we understand the context and content. If there is anything interesting it comes to me for a final review." Bueres explained. "Meanwhile, we have protocols for eating, for cleaning our hands before we work and for putting irrelevant documents back into place so they are as undamaged as possible. All of this takes time."
Geinn nodded. "And what do we know today that we didn't know a week ago?"
"A few things. It appears that the "she" referred to may not be a woman. She may be some kind of deity or demon, although what we have found isn't clear. You understand these may be legends and half-truths? The survivors of the cataclysm made records of some sort but these are long gone. All we have are the kind of tales that a grandfather relates to a grandson. These get twisted in the telling."
"Of course I know this," Geinn said impatiently, "but surely you can shift through the sands and find me something useful?"
"Sorry, Chief Examiner. I have been too long with students." Bueres said, chagrined. "Useful? Well, I don't know how useful this is. One ancient carving that we found suggests that this 'she' was able to impart supernatural powers and perhaps eternal life to the one who allied with her. I believe that to be allegorical, else that one would still be living, no? In any case, it seemed a symbiotic relationship, as if the one needed the other."
Bueres sighed, "We don't have much more than that yet. Truthfully, it all seems fantastic and not practical at all. I will keep at it."
Geinn nodded at the old Examiner and left. Symbiotic? Perhaps parasitical? If this evil one requires adherents, she must need something from them to act. Not much, not yet. Geinn hoped that the search would be more fruitful. Queen of the World. An arrogant title if not true, but Geinn had seen much arrogance in rulers. Time would tell.
