Shadow's end

Chapter 3: The sixth seat

If Rasocren thought his day could get any worse, he was quite wrong. Indeed, once he got back to the Council, they had not expressed any concern over his long absence. Instead, they were overly formal with him and when he tested the limits of what he could say, they were very lenient with him. He then decided to test the ultimate boundaries and say "What exactly was worth wasting my time to summon me here?". Immediately Drash'aa seemed very annoyed and said: "Why must you push the limits and spoil the surprise of your reward, Councilman Rasocren?". For a moment, Rasocren could say nothing. He laughed nervously and said, "I'm afraid I am weary and have not heard you correctly because it seems to me that you have said 'Councilman Rasocren' and not 'General' Rasocren". This time it was Drash'aa's turn to laugh as she said "You have heard me correctly my son. We have decided to promote you to Councilman for your devotion to our people and your efficiency when carrying out your tasks. Every single time we have asked something of you over these past two centuries, it has been completed swiftly and perfectly. For that, I hereby pronounce you, Rasocren, Councilman of Knowledge, to take the sixth and final seat on the council". Rasocren stood there for a moment, thinking over the implications of what his new promotion meant. He would have privileges and power beyond his wildest imaginings. Only one of them really mattered to him, however. The library!, he thought to himself. He could now have access to the library and learn to his heart's content without breaking the rules and wasting valuable time not being caught in places where he wasn't supposed to be. "I pronounce my thanks for this generous promotion. I have somewhere I would like to be, yet I would like to know if there is anything you would have me do before I take my leave" said Rasocren, visibly anxious. Amused to see her son this happy, Drash'aa simply said "Do not trouble yourself with such matters. Go where you wish. You will be summoned back when you are needed for your first duties". Rasocren grinned a large toothy grin and happily responded "Very well, you can expect me to answer the call as soon as you have uttered the words" and with such, he quickly turned to leave the Council chambers but before he could leave, Ash'aad, Councilwoman of Economy, said, "Before you leave, Rasocren, I would like to give you these" she descended from her high seat to walk up to the newly appointed councilman and give him his new robes. He took them with a respectful nod and observed his new apparel. It was a black robe with purple highlights on the sleeves' cuffs and on the left breast, there was the Shad'raa symbol in all of its glory in a deep shade of purple with intricate details on it. All considered it was a simple yet elegant garment that appealed to Rasocren. I am going to enjoy this, he thought to himself, delighted.

He had just finished fitting on his robe when Rasocren heard a knock on his door. He hurried to the door and, annoyed, he opened it exclaiming "What is it? I have important matters to attend to, so it had better be quick!" To his surprise and growing delight, there stood his old second in command and lifetime enemy, Necrosar, eyes wide and a look of surprised defeat. It was clear to Rasocren that, in all of his stupidity, Necrosar had not been informed of Rasocren's promotion and had been sent on an errand on the Council's behalf. Necrosar cleared his throat and said, "I... I have a package for you Rasocren, on behalf of Councilwoman Drash'aa". His amusement increasing at every moment of this little encounter, Rasocren jumped at the opportunity that had just presented itself to make use of his immense power as a Council member and yelled "I AM TO BE ADDRESSED AS COUNCILMAN RASOCREN, COMMANDER NECROSAR!!! I SHOULD HAVE YOU STRIPPED OF YOUR RANK FOR THIS INSOLENCE!!!" Knowing he had made a grave transgression, Necrosar stood at attention and tried as best as he could to stop himself from shaking. Relishing in the fear of his once untouchable enemy, Rasocren laughed and said "However, seeing as you were not aware of my new position, I will forgive your mistake just this once." visibly relieved, Necrosar was going to thank Rasocren for his mercy when Rasocren said his last piece before leaving "But if this occurs again, I will strip away everything you possess and hold dear. I will gladly do so if only to ruin you. So, maybe then, you will know that I have won and that you should tread very carefully around me from now on." And with that, he took the package designated for him and left. On his way to the library, he examined it with care. It was a small box made of onyx with beautiful carvings in the style of the Shadraic artisans. Rasocren opened it and found that, contained within, was a small stone slab with a single symbol on it. He scoffed in amusement. It was the official door rune to the library and, Rasocren noticed, it was of lesser complexity and intricacy than what Rasocren had deciphered as well as used when he had broken in. He put the rune away in the inner pockets of his robe as he approached the great library and entered. Once within he went straight to the Council's section of the library without even paying attention to the bookkeeper's greeting. Not even hesitating, Rasocren used his version of the rune and opened the door. Once he was inside was the moment he stopped and took everything in. It was still dark inside the massive room, as it had been when he last entered. The feeling of being inside the room, however, was quite different than the last time for, now he was allowed inside rather than forbidden and that gave him a sensation of great self-importance. After a few minutes, he delved in the satisfaction of his insatiable thirst for knowledge. For days on end, he read and read, book after book. Then, on the dawn of the sixth day, he suddenly remembered a certain book that had interested him greatly when he had broken in this section of the library. It had been entitled: R'odash the betrayer. He went out to look for it but was starting to have difficulty seeing as his eyes had become quite tired of straining themselves in the dark so Rasocren walked to the great doors where there were chandeliers hanging on either side of their great doorframe. He searched himself for matches and found that he had brought none. He cursed himself for his foolishness and was about to call for the bookkeeper to bring him some matches when suddenly he remembered something that he had learned in one of the books he had read on Shad'raa physiology. His kind were long-time pyrokinetics but they had abandoned that to follow the ways of the soul. He smiled and aloud he said, "Rasocren, my good man, you are splendidly genius!". He looked at one of the candles and concentrated intensely on lighting it on fire. Nothing happened, yet he kept trying. Still, nothing happened, not even a single spark. After hours of trying, Rasocren threw into a rage of utter frustration and let out a cry of pure fury that even struck terror within his own heart, for the voice that he had heard had not been his own but that of a twisted monster from the deepest reaches of the underworld and it had protruded from his mouth. While contemplating this, Rasocren noticed that the room was filled with a purple glow and saw that every single candle in the room had been lit with a purple flame. He looked on in astonishment, forgetting his terror and wondering if he had really done this himself. Then, as if to confirm his thoughts, he felt a strange warmth on his hands and as he looked down, he saw that his hands were engulfed in these flames. Surprised, he willed them to go away and, to deepen his shock, they did. As a test, he willed them back, and they came back. Rasocren started to test this newfound mastery of his flames with a growing grin on his face. He hadn't felt this happy since he had been a child and for a brief moment, he felt like one as well. Quickly, however (TOO quickly some would say), Rasocren's thoughts were back in order as he thought, Well that does it for my light and went to look for his much-wanted book. In but a few moments he found it and went to his table and started to read the first pages and what he read next, permanently changed him beyond redemption.