Beyond the Void

Chapter 50, Ilander Sool is a man

of Shattering 179 - The Draig'yar assault the Human Kingdoms without warning, raiding New Gaea and stealing precious secrets of the Bloodied Arts.

An excerpt from the diary of Pia...

KELDIN

Two moons and four tens since the Mark of the Other One blossomed.

"Are you out of your mind, my dearest son? First you desecrate the building in which the rule of this Empire is carried out and then you hide yourself from the world for four damned tens!" The Emperor roared.

"I did not hide you knew exactly where I was!" Keldin did not back down. It was time to face his problems head on. His voice shouted even louder than his father's.

"You hid like a coward!" His father's response was savage.

"I sat down with the candidates who would be my ministers and advisors to pen our vision for the future of this Empire! As is tradition."

"Ministers and advisors! Your play friends and weaklings! There are countless accomplished warriors, mages, talented healers, lawyers and gifted researchers and you choose nine outcasts. You told the entire court they are trash!"

"Yes, I did! Trash that have bought and bribed their place in a system that is failing! Sloths who rest on laurels from bygone Ages. I took initiative because I found the strength to rule! Succession has never been the job of the one about to give up rule! I found the strength and showed everyone!" Keldin declared.

"You trampled on tradition!" His father slammed a fist on his table.

"Actions speak louder than words! No one would have listened to my words! No one would have seen me as someone fit to rule if I would have quietly appeared from behind your and my brother's back."

"You needed to do what was sensible, not break loose a piece of your soul, by the Six Makers have you even any clue what you have done to yourself!" Saying that, an expression of horror passed over his father's face.

"I know more than you ever bothered to read about our bloodline's history! I have my own methods, as you had yours. This is the way I intend to rule!" Keldin drawled with an icy voice.

"With blood and void! Two of the worst faces of the Empire. Faces of shame and horror."

"The traditions surrounding those two faces were more than the violent pursuit of arcane power! You only remember what was bad, no one ever remembers what our ancestors did correctly. Even a tyrant knows how to rule."

"You have found a way with words I will give you that but you have found no shred of common sense and decency!"

"And you still cannot see further than the other side of this lavish wooden desk! You are blind to the cracks..." Keldin stopped for only a moment before carrying on. "Gaping canyons that run through your rule! Senators are plotting a coup and you hide yourself behind the vain facade of Ebonveil rule that supposedly has never faltered!"

"Lord Ilander Sool is not plotting anything. The only thing he did was give a know-it-all boy with wet ears a good scare!" The Emperor growled.

"Three warlords and a senator have died since the new year!" Keldin retorted.

"All of them old as dirt, I was surprised they took the time to linger and waste precious breath!"

"I am here to present you with a copy of my vision for the future of the Empire, as witnessed by relatives of the bloodline, my candidates for ministers and advisors, the current ruling Greater Conclave, representatives of the Grand Council and impartial witnesses! Are you going to read it as is tradition?" Keldin growled through gritted teeth.