Book of The Dead

Time passed in a blur for Merigold. With someone of such esteemed rank in close proximity, she could barely bring herself to breathe, lest she make an error and doom her family for ten generations. High Lady Lofis, for her part, tried to engage her in conversation, but very little came of it, Merigold able to offer little more than squeaked one-word answers.

All too soon, shockingly soon, it seemed to her, she was swarmed by attendants, draped in robes of such dizzying quality that she dreaded sweating on them, sprayed with perfume and shoved into a litter, the small window promptly slammed shut in her face. Joining her within, Lady Lofis smiled encouragingly.

“Don’t worry, child,” she said. “You aren’t going to be harmed, far from it. This will be a day you never forget.”

As much as she meant this to be encouraging, Merigold didn’t quite see it the same way. She tried to smile and nod, but her jaw felt as if it were locked in place. Her face hurt and she was sweating. Blessed ancestor, please don’t let her ruin the fabrics. What were these made from, clouds?!

Her mind was a complete mess of worst-case-scenarios, it was all she could do not to disgrace herself and burst into tears. If Honoured Stennis were here, she might feel a little more comfortable, have a little more courage, but he was gone, leaving her to fend for herself.

Of course, it wasn’t that she felt like she was in immediate danger. With the Lady Lofis present, she may as well have been covered in ten layers of armour. This woman was the highest ranking of all those descended from the Goddess Lofis. Not just the head of a family, but the head of all families that descended from that divine progenitor.

Before she managed to gather anything resembling composure, the litter was set down, so gently she didn’t even notice until the door swung open, letting in the light. Merigold shrank away from it like an undead fiend.

“We must not keep them waiting,” Lady Lofis said as she rose with unspeakable grace, her glamour once more in place and concealing her features.

Following after the esteemed Noble, Merigold felt all the more out of place, like a peasant treading behind royalty. Considering the difference in their ranks, she may as well have been!

When she finally realised where they were, climbing the bridge to enter the Palace of Ancension, what little courage she had managed to gather slipped out her grasp once more.She’d known that this was their destination, but physically being there was a different matter. Given no time to collect herself, Merigold was ushered upward and onward, through the great doors and into the palace itself.

On previous occasions, she had entered the grand foyer alongside well over a thousand other minor officials and members of the bureaucracy. Instead, only herself, Lady Lofis and an honour guard of dazzling Soldiers in ornate, glowing armour were here now. What normally felt like a large, spacious chamber instead felt cavernous, the vast space oppressive and suffocating.

Even worse, she saw that every seat at the grand table atop the dais was filled, the High Nobles of the Imperial Court in place, staring at her, a mix of expressions upon their faces. Some were staring intently, others looked bored, while some were glaring with open hostility. Normally, she would be hidden, a faceless individual standing amidst hundreds of others. Now, she felt unspeakably exposed.

Had she been the same person as she was before going to the west, she might have broken down in tears on the spot. But after enduring what she had gone through, and seeing what she had seen, she would not wilt so easily. Trembling, she clenched her hands into fists, her fingernails digging into the flesh of her palms. The pain brought a tiny measure of clarity, just enough that she was able to maintain her composure. She may have hunched her shoulders and trembled like a small rodent under the eyes of a barnful of owls, but she held her ground.

Which became a lot harder a few moments later when the Emperor arrived and took his seat. Blessed by Selene, the holiest and most powerful of the goddess’s children, his presence alone produced a weight that pushed her down into a deep bow, protocol or not.

He did not speak, but merely settled in place. To her left, the Chosen of the Gods arrived, overseeing the proceedings, their expressions nothing but blank masks.

“Begin.”

A single word from the Emperor, spoken with all the weight of heaven behind it. Merigold’s eyes rolled back in her head for a brief moment, and even those upon the dais were unable to conceal how it affected them.

An uncomfortable silence followed as many of the High-Blood Nobles looked to each other, as if wondering who would be the first to speak.

Ultimately, it was a dignified, older gentleman with a snow-white beard and a circlet of shimmering crystal on his brow who was prepared to raise his voice. Merigold recognised him as High Lord Eshwin Dale, a very senior-ranking member of the High Blood.

“This matter is highly unusual,” he began after a brief hesitation. “A closed session of the court? Without the members of the administration present? I am to understand Your Majesty the Emperor has received a visitation from the goddess, a wondrous event only possible thanks to his devout heart, without equal in the land, and his faithful service to the Empire. Since that declaration, there have been, several changes, here in the court, changes that do not sit well with the Houses. Has your majesty the Emperor brought us here to enact yet more unusual reform?”

High Lady Lofis, her glamour in place, had once again returned to her usual position, below the Emperor but above the dais, along with the others who ranked high enough to live and work within the Palace itself. She strode with inhuman grace and confidence to stand below the Emperor’s seat and turned to address those seated at the table below.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“I am Bealyn Lofis,” she declared, “Pure of Lineage, and I will speak on behalf of the Emperor.”

At least they wouldn’t be subjected to the Emperor’s voice directly. That was a relief.

“If you would argue with the words of the Goddess Selene, raise your hand.”

Naturally, nobody was eager to have their head removed, so all hands remained down.

“The Emperor has informed the court of the goddess’s words, which have been verified by the Oracles of the Grand Cathedral. Naturally, he is confused by the hesitation and questioning of his court.”

“Forgive me, Your Majesty,” High Lord Dale said, bowing low, “I am perhaps too old and unused to change.”

“Get used to it.”

This time, the Emperor himself spoke, and his words hit all present like a hammer blow. Merigold reeled.

She would get used to it, absolutely! Disobedience was simply unthinkable. She may as well have tried to fly.

“Heed the words of the Emperor,” Lady Lofis declared. “The special administration for the rebellion is hereby empowered to coordinate the response of the Empire to the rising threat. It will be granted authority over every other administration in the court, including the military administration.”

She pointedly stared at a few individuals who shifted uncomfortably in their seats as she specifically emphasised the administration she had most struggled with.

“This administration has the Emperor’s blessing to operate in every province of the Empire and his authority to overrule all local authorities.”

Such a thing… was simply unthinkable! That level of authority was unheard of within the court, who fought and bickered over every scrap and morsel of power to the bitter end. The special administration was now the single most powerful entity in the entire bureaucracy. There were only three people working there!

Merigold, standing alone and abandoned on the floor of the cavernous room, felt her head start to spin.

As long as she could get out of this room with her head still attached, she would be satisfied, she told herself. Asking for more than that at this point seemed like wishful thinking.

Whoever was appointed to run the administration after she was dismissed would find themselves with unprecedented power. Able to overrule provincial rulers within the entire Empire? Many of the Nobles at the table would kill, not just once or twice, to get a hold of such authority.

“The full might of the Empire is to be marshalled for this effort,” Lady Loris went on, her voice ringing in the air, her words heavy with power and gravitas. “The Divines themselves are prepared to exert their power and influence to ensure the protection and sanctity of their children. Are you less committed than your own gods?”

An uncomfortable question, to be sure. To most, their ancestors were a point of pride and powerful entities to be obeyed, but they weren’t usually this active. Nobody knew what the Divines were up to within the heavens, but it seemed to occupy them almost all of the time. Actual intervention usually came through visitations to the Oracles. The presence of the gods was something most Nobles would never feel in their lifetime.

Being told they were going to directly participate in conflict was… unsettling. Comforting, but also unsettling.

“Your Majesty, there has been much change to the court already, your reforms have done much to smooth the passage of legislation and put down many of the squabbles that have plagued the administration of late.”

High Lord Dale sounded pleased for the Emperor and sorrowful that so many had gotten in the way of the smooth governance of the Empire, as if he himself hadn’t been an ardent player of the court’s games in that time.

“Yet, for so much power to be given to a single individual is a decision that bears so much risk. Who can possibly be trusted to operate with the best intentions of the Empire in their heart at all times? Who possesses the wisdom to use this authority correctly, at the right times and in the right places?”

Around the table, there was a general rumbling, a shifting of seats, several Lords and Ladies turning their eyes towards the High Lord as he continued to speak. Their concerns were transparent, even to Merigold.

Is he putting himself forward for the post?

As soon as the thought struck them, they each began to scheme and plot in their own minds. A new prize had been dangled before their eyes, the most powerful role in the court besides that of the Emperor himself! In such a position, they could crush their rivals, grind down their family’s enemies and cement their legacy for a thousand years, securing plumb roles for their children and grandchildren, burrowing their influence deep into the court for generations.

Merigold wished them all the best, so long as they actually did the job and put down the rebellion. She thought of the cold eyes and burning hatred that consumed Tyron Steelarm and compared him to those at the table. It was a comparison that didn’t flatter the Lords and Ladies.

“Why do you speak as if the role were not already filled?” Lady Lofis said.

Her words fell into the room like a knife, slicing through the thoughts of everyone present, cutting off their plots and schemes before they could fully develop. For a moment, a brief moment, all eyes flicked towards Merigold, who froze in place, icy fear running through her veins.

Please, she silently begged, please no. Perhaps she had misheard, perhaps she had misinterpreted. They couldn’t possibly mean what she thought they meant.

“Your Majesty,” another Noble said, rising from her seat to address the Emperor, “are you suggesting you wish to leave this… incompetent traitor in place? Her misjudgment led to the death of five thousand of your finest Soldiers. I had thought she had been summoned so that you might pass judgement upon her.”

Me too, Merigold thought desperately.

“My judgement is this,” the Emperor said personally, rocking the room once more with the force of his Divine Authority. “Since this crisis began, Merigold Herimar is the only person in my court who has sought to bring resolution without thought of personal gain or glory. She has been hampered at every turn in her efforts by the jealous and incompetent. I will tolerate this interference no longer.”

He was looking at her. She couldn’t look at him directly, but she didn’t need to. His gaze seared her with heat and light, as if she were suddenly standing near an open fire. Only, this flame brought her no comfort.

“Merigold Herimar is hereby promoted four ranks.”

That was it, her legs would no longer hold her up. Four ranks? At once? Had she just jumped over a mountain? Before she could fully collapse, a presence was at her side, a hand catching her under the arm and supporting her.

“Not yet,” Honoured Stennis whispered so softly only she could hear him.

Dressed in his full Imperial Regalia, he looked like a different person. More powerful, more certain of himself, more… solid.

“We will be watching you closely,” Lady Lofis stated, “all of you. The gods themselves have their eyes upon us. Failure will not be tolerated.”