On Authroc's Wing
I
Demands
(Shard II)
(Shard II)
“You are well-aware of the rules of our Order, the words set down by Vhaltenesh over a millennia ago, correct?” Leiros waited for Gwain to give a nod and an impatient flourish of his arm for the young man to continue. “Well, you would then be aware of one of the core tenets concerning the use of telepathy in our order. Specifically, that any member of rank shall not actively probe another’s thoughts.”
Gwain snarled and rolled his eyes at Leiros’ words. Obviously, the importance of one of the core laws of the Authrakallin didn’t matter much to him both in practice and in theory. He quickly tied up his folder with twine and leaned on the front of his desk with his hip while looking up at Leiros with as much condescension as he could muster.
“Poor boy, you’re still living in the dust of the past.” Gwain smirked openly as he lifted an upturned hand in mock supplication to Leiros and then quickly snatched it away. “Toulam has filled your head up with all that nonsense about Vhaltenesh but has never told you about the lessons of life. We don’t live a millennia ago, boy, we live in the world right now.” Gwain lowered his face to stare up through his brow at Leiros with that same smirk upon his lips. “Our Order is growing and moving in a new direction. The majority of Masters here have agreed that part of that growth involves embracing our powers of telepathy. Vhaltenesh existed in a time of fear of the unknown when the powers of Haeth were just being rediscovered. He was a narrow-minded fool who might have been necessary for his time, but not for this time.”
Leiros remained quiet with his arms still crossed over his chest. He took a small step away from Gwain’s desk but kept his posture commanding and his shoulders square. He had earlier feelings that the Masters were going against the teachings of their founder, but now hearing the words come directly from one of their mouths filled him with bittersweet satisfaction. He would remember every heretical word that would fall from Gwain’s corrupted mouth hoping to use it against him later.
“It is my job as a Master of this Order to use my abilities of telepathy to uncover the secrets that others store in their mind. We must guide others to proper paths and the best way to do that is to catch bad behavior before it starts. A proper oracle can’t have improper thoughts.” Gwain continued his idealistic monologue while leaning further upon his desk. He let that same arm he reached out towards Leiros earlier begin to snake in the air like he was conducting a symphony of moral supremacy. “It is a Master’s job to guide the Initiates of our Order. It is the Initiate’s job to guide the Neophytes. Ultimately, it is the Authrakallin’s job to guide all of Hoelatha society toward a better future. We must put away with all this savagery, and guide everyone to pure and harmonious thoughts.” Gwain let his snaking arm stop and then leveled an accusing finger toward Leiros. “No one should have to fear what we uncover, boy. That is unless they have something to hide.”
Leiros held his tongue and watched Gwain carefully as the older man continued to hold him beneath his accusing finger. The words he spoke were enough to send him into a blind rage for the ideological folly they represented, but he understood that irrationality wouldn’t work in this situation. People like Gwain only thought of the world in stark shades of power; either one had it or one had to submit to it. Gwain thought of himself has holding the power in this situation, if not all others. Leiros didn’t need the powers of Haeth to look into Gwain’s soul to see that it was filled to the brim with rot and narcissistic madness. The only way he could extricate himself from this situation without having the older Oracle constantly accusing him was to make his own power of self-defense known in a plain way.
“Surely, you and the other Masters aren’t planning to dispense with all of Vhaltenesh’s teachings, are you?” Leiros took back the step he had given and softened his features. He let his arms fall to his sides and leaned his head to the side to reveal his neck slightly. “If you want to usher in a new society, we have to keep what worked from the old. Would not the Lex Talionis that Vhaltenesh put down be upheld?”
Gwain gave a snort and gripped the far edge of his desk. “Of course, boy. I know that Toulam mutters his delusions into your ear and spins your morals right around, but we aren’t idiots. Propriety comes from the law, after all. We aren’t here to usurp the laws, we are only here to make sure they are enacted properly. We must make our Order dominant in society once more. What our society lacks is guidance, so we must provide that. We will always uphold the Lex Talionis set down by our ancestors.”
“Good.” Leiros closed in on Gwain’s desk while holding both of his hands out with the palms upturned. He lowered his stature slightly and let his shoulders slump as he neared the older man. “I’m glad to know that we can still speak a similar language in these changing times.” Leiros let his hands fall as he pressed the edge of his thigh against the desk and leaned slightly over the desk at Gwain. The older man remained nodding his approval at Leiros’ words.
With deft quickness, Leiros snatched the older man by the collar of his robes and pulled up upward and over the extent of his desk. Gwain tried to give himself leverage by grabbing at the wood of the desk but his hands slid easily over the surface. He soon found himself half over the desk, with only the tips of his toes touching the floor.
“By the laws set down by our founder, Vhaltenesh, in the Lex Talionis-” Leiros pulled the older man closer to his face by an inch and smiled. “If you ever so much as try to peer into my thoughts once more, I will challenge you to a formal certamen.” He lifted his free hand into a fist, raising it to Gwain’s eye level where the old man saw it and his eyes went wide with fear. “I promise you I will end your life in that duel. I won’t stop until I rip your fetid soul from its rotten moorings. I won’t stop there either, as I will shred your ephemeral existence until nothing is left; casting you into the void.”
Leiros let go of the older man’s collar, causing him to fall onto his belly on his desk. He stepped away and took a swipe with his leg at the chair he had sat on earlier. He cast the chair tumbling across the room to strike a nearby set of shelves. Several books fell and a crystalline orb tottered from its display to shatter upon the ground. He kept his hands clenched into fists at his sides as he took several more steps and then whipped around to level his own accusing finger back at Gwain.
“You would do well to keep yourself in check, Gwain. I know you’ll contact the other Masters sympathetic to your heretical views; go right ahead.” He took a sharp breath and raised his chin upwards in defiance. “You may think I’m some upstart, but I know my place in this Order. I am a Master who has earned his place of esteem here. I was selected by the Grandmaster who follows in our founder’s footsteps. I follow the laws and the wisdom set down by Vhaltenesh. I stand for the Hoelatha people, but I know that it is not my place to usurp their futures from them.” He felt adrenaline flow through his veins as electricity began to flow over his flesh. He could feel the powers of Haeth roaring within him, desperately wanting to break free. “I am sworn to the Hoelatha people’s defense as a gods-damned warrior-oracle! I am here not to guide them, not to lord over them, but to reveal the future for them and allow them to make their own decisions for what that future will be! My powers of Haeth are to give them a future and the strength of my staff is to defend them so that future comes to pass. Remember your place, Master Gwain, because you forget it.”
Leiros turned his back on the older man and marched out of the room. Each of his footsteps felt vindicated, but as each was taken a sense of dread began to gnaw at the back of his mind. He had made his allegiance and views known to someone who would undoubtedly use them against him. If he wasn’t already held in contempt by many of the other Masters, he would be held with hatred from now on. Life would be getting a lot harder for him with each passing day.
“Leiros, it is you who forgets.” Gwain’s voice was more of a groan as he lifted himself from his desk and began to preen at his robes. Leiros turned on his heels as he reached the doorway and looked back at the older man who was putting the folder and baubles on his desk back in order.
“What’s that, Master Gwain?” Leiros crossed his arms over his chest and leaned in the doorway. He used the toe of his boot to snag the edge of the wooden door and was preparing to slam it behind him.
“It is only the entire reason I summoned you here, boy.” Gwain lowered himself satisfactorily into his chair once more and tented his fingers over his desk. “Master Illena has mentioned to me that you’ve been neglecting your duties as Master of this Order. As such, I have decided to increase your workload today and henceforth. Master Olkva has been called to the Athim Glaciers for the next few months.” Gwain let his fingers fall to the surface of his desk and leaned back in his chair. He lifted one of his legs up over the arm as if languishing in his power. “You know that Olkva replaced Bhergom as the one who trained the Neophytes with their Authrocs, correct? Now that duty falls to you.”
Leiros let confusion overtake his features for a moment. It fell to Master Olkva to find a replacement among the Initiates of the Order if he was to be called away for a long period of time. Each Master of the Order was given a set responsibility of duties and Leiros’ was that of lore-keeping. He wasn’t aware of whatever lesson-plans that Olkva had in store for the students. He also hated being around the younger members of the Order as they always gawked at him for being so close to their age.
“I would remind you that this comes from Master Illena.” Gwain beamed under the words he ushered forth like a commanding invocation. “She is responsible for your further studies and is second in line to Grandmaster Toulam, isn’t that correct?” Gwain chuckled as he lifted his fingers up and began to examine the contents beneath his nails. “You are to report to the top of the Mesa immediately. Starting at Noon you will be giving the final examination in authvokan to the Neophytes. You best handle it well, their lives are in your hands.”
Leiros notched up his toe and brought Gwain’s door to his outstretched hand. He turned in a flurry of his robes and slammed the door shut behind him. He could hear the wood buckle and one of the hinges snap as he did so. It was now obvious that Illena had declared war on Leiros for daring to become a Master and being closer to Toulam than herself. It was equally obvious now that the Masters of the Order were committing to a war against everything Toulam stood for. If these wars were to begin, he would gladly meet it.
“As you say, Master Gwain. It’ll be done.”
Gwain snarled and rolled his eyes at Leiros’ words. Obviously, the importance of one of the core laws of the Authrakallin didn’t matter much to him both in practice and in theory. He quickly tied up his folder with twine and leaned on the front of his desk with his hip while looking up at Leiros with as much condescension as he could muster.
“Poor boy, you’re still living in the dust of the past.” Gwain smirked openly as he lifted an upturned hand in mock supplication to Leiros and then quickly snatched it away. “Toulam has filled your head up with all that nonsense about Vhaltenesh but has never told you about the lessons of life. We don’t live a millennia ago, boy, we live in the world right now.” Gwain lowered his face to stare up through his brow at Leiros with that same smirk upon his lips. “Our Order is growing and moving in a new direction. The majority of Masters here have agreed that part of that growth involves embracing our powers of telepathy. Vhaltenesh existed in a time of fear of the unknown when the powers of Haeth were just being rediscovered. He was a narrow-minded fool who might have been necessary for his time, but not for this time.”
Leiros remained quiet with his arms still crossed over his chest. He took a small step away from Gwain’s desk but kept his posture commanding and his shoulders square. He had earlier feelings that the Masters were going against the teachings of their founder, but now hearing the words come directly from one of their mouths filled him with bittersweet satisfaction. He would remember every heretical word that would fall from Gwain’s corrupted mouth hoping to use it against him later.
“It is my job as a Master of this Order to use my abilities of telepathy to uncover the secrets that others store in their mind. We must guide others to proper paths and the best way to do that is to catch bad behavior before it starts. A proper oracle can’t have improper thoughts.” Gwain continued his idealistic monologue while leaning further upon his desk. He let that same arm he reached out towards Leiros earlier begin to snake in the air like he was conducting a symphony of moral supremacy. “It is a Master’s job to guide the Initiates of our Order. It is the Initiate’s job to guide the Neophytes. Ultimately, it is the Authrakallin’s job to guide all of Hoelatha society toward a better future. We must put away with all this savagery, and guide everyone to pure and harmonious thoughts.” Gwain let his snaking arm stop and then leveled an accusing finger toward Leiros. “No one should have to fear what we uncover, boy. That is unless they have something to hide.”
Leiros held his tongue and watched Gwain carefully as the older man continued to hold him beneath his accusing finger. The words he spoke were enough to send him into a blind rage for the ideological folly they represented, but he understood that irrationality wouldn’t work in this situation. People like Gwain only thought of the world in stark shades of power; either one had it or one had to submit to it. Gwain thought of himself has holding the power in this situation, if not all others. Leiros didn’t need the powers of Haeth to look into Gwain’s soul to see that it was filled to the brim with rot and narcissistic madness. The only way he could extricate himself from this situation without having the older Oracle constantly accusing him was to make his own power of self-defense known in a plain way.
“Surely, you and the other Masters aren’t planning to dispense with all of Vhaltenesh’s teachings, are you?” Leiros took back the step he had given and softened his features. He let his arms fall to his sides and leaned his head to the side to reveal his neck slightly. “If you want to usher in a new society, we have to keep what worked from the old. Would not the Lex Talionis that Vhaltenesh put down be upheld?”
Gwain gave a snort and gripped the far edge of his desk. “Of course, boy. I know that Toulam mutters his delusions into your ear and spins your morals right around, but we aren’t idiots. Propriety comes from the law, after all. We aren’t here to usurp the laws, we are only here to make sure they are enacted properly. We must make our Order dominant in society once more. What our society lacks is guidance, so we must provide that. We will always uphold the Lex Talionis set down by our ancestors.”
“Good.” Leiros closed in on Gwain’s desk while holding both of his hands out with the palms upturned. He lowered his stature slightly and let his shoulders slump as he neared the older man. “I’m glad to know that we can still speak a similar language in these changing times.” Leiros let his hands fall as he pressed the edge of his thigh against the desk and leaned slightly over the desk at Gwain. The older man remained nodding his approval at Leiros’ words.
With deft quickness, Leiros snatched the older man by the collar of his robes and pulled up upward and over the extent of his desk. Gwain tried to give himself leverage by grabbing at the wood of the desk but his hands slid easily over the surface. He soon found himself half over the desk, with only the tips of his toes touching the floor.
“By the laws set down by our founder, Vhaltenesh, in the Lex Talionis-” Leiros pulled the older man closer to his face by an inch and smiled. “If you ever so much as try to peer into my thoughts once more, I will challenge you to a formal certamen.” He lifted his free hand into a fist, raising it to Gwain’s eye level where the old man saw it and his eyes went wide with fear. “I promise you I will end your life in that duel. I won’t stop until I rip your fetid soul from its rotten moorings. I won’t stop there either, as I will shred your ephemeral existence until nothing is left; casting you into the void.”
Leiros let go of the older man’s collar, causing him to fall onto his belly on his desk. He stepped away and took a swipe with his leg at the chair he had sat on earlier. He cast the chair tumbling across the room to strike a nearby set of shelves. Several books fell and a crystalline orb tottered from its display to shatter upon the ground. He kept his hands clenched into fists at his sides as he took several more steps and then whipped around to level his own accusing finger back at Gwain.
“You would do well to keep yourself in check, Gwain. I know you’ll contact the other Masters sympathetic to your heretical views; go right ahead.” He took a sharp breath and raised his chin upwards in defiance. “You may think I’m some upstart, but I know my place in this Order. I am a Master who has earned his place of esteem here. I was selected by the Grandmaster who follows in our founder’s footsteps. I follow the laws and the wisdom set down by Vhaltenesh. I stand for the Hoelatha people, but I know that it is not my place to usurp their futures from them.” He felt adrenaline flow through his veins as electricity began to flow over his flesh. He could feel the powers of Haeth roaring within him, desperately wanting to break free. “I am sworn to the Hoelatha people’s defense as a gods-damned warrior-oracle! I am here not to guide them, not to lord over them, but to reveal the future for them and allow them to make their own decisions for what that future will be! My powers of Haeth are to give them a future and the strength of my staff is to defend them so that future comes to pass. Remember your place, Master Gwain, because you forget it.”
Leiros turned his back on the older man and marched out of the room. Each of his footsteps felt vindicated, but as each was taken a sense of dread began to gnaw at the back of his mind. He had made his allegiance and views known to someone who would undoubtedly use them against him. If he wasn’t already held in contempt by many of the other Masters, he would be held with hatred from now on. Life would be getting a lot harder for him with each passing day.
“Leiros, it is you who forgets.” Gwain’s voice was more of a groan as he lifted himself from his desk and began to preen at his robes. Leiros turned on his heels as he reached the doorway and looked back at the older man who was putting the folder and baubles on his desk back in order.
“What’s that, Master Gwain?” Leiros crossed his arms over his chest and leaned in the doorway. He used the toe of his boot to snag the edge of the wooden door and was preparing to slam it behind him.
“It is only the entire reason I summoned you here, boy.” Gwain lowered himself satisfactorily into his chair once more and tented his fingers over his desk. “Master Illena has mentioned to me that you’ve been neglecting your duties as Master of this Order. As such, I have decided to increase your workload today and henceforth. Master Olkva has been called to the Athim Glaciers for the next few months.” Gwain let his fingers fall to the surface of his desk and leaned back in his chair. He lifted one of his legs up over the arm as if languishing in his power. “You know that Olkva replaced Bhergom as the one who trained the Neophytes with their Authrocs, correct? Now that duty falls to you.”
Leiros let confusion overtake his features for a moment. It fell to Master Olkva to find a replacement among the Initiates of the Order if he was to be called away for a long period of time. Each Master of the Order was given a set responsibility of duties and Leiros’ was that of lore-keeping. He wasn’t aware of whatever lesson-plans that Olkva had in store for the students. He also hated being around the younger members of the Order as they always gawked at him for being so close to their age.
“I would remind you that this comes from Master Illena.” Gwain beamed under the words he ushered forth like a commanding invocation. “She is responsible for your further studies and is second in line to Grandmaster Toulam, isn’t that correct?” Gwain chuckled as he lifted his fingers up and began to examine the contents beneath his nails. “You are to report to the top of the Mesa immediately. Starting at Noon you will be giving the final examination in authvokan to the Neophytes. You best handle it well, their lives are in your hands.”
Leiros notched up his toe and brought Gwain’s door to his outstretched hand. He turned in a flurry of his robes and slammed the door shut behind him. He could hear the wood buckle and one of the hinges snap as he did so. It was now obvious that Illena had declared war on Leiros for daring to become a Master and being closer to Toulam than herself. It was equally obvious now that the Masters of the Order were committing to a war against everything Toulam stood for. If these wars were to begin, he would gladly meet it.
“As you say, Master Gwain. It’ll be done.”
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