Shadow Slave

“That old fool has lost his mind!”

Having parted with Arelen, Noctis and Shadow had returned to the inn. Noctis had not given the Altar Sage an answer, and the older Transcendent had not insisted on receiving one either — he simply implored the two of them to consider his request. Judging by how angry Noctis was, though, it did not seem like he was inclined to see Arelen’s offer in good light.

“Fighting over land? With Lady Irian, of all people?! What was he thinking, ordering his warriors to slaughter her people?!”

Noctis looked at Shadow, his eyes glinting fiercely.

“And what, the bastard has the gall to blame me for his misdeeds? Asking me to help him kill the Blade of Dawn? Bah! The Altar Sage was supposed to be an icon of wisdom and temperance. Where the hell were his wisdom and temperance when he provoked this war?!”

The young man cursed quietly, then uttered with a dark expression:

”If someone has to be killed for this war to stop, shouldn’t it be him instead of Lady Irian? He’s at fault, so if I were to kill someone, it’d be him!”

Snuggle, who had climbed out of Shadow’s pocket, jumped down to the table and sat down, using an overturned teacup as a chair.

Looking up at the rattled youth, she waved a hand.

”Calm down.”

Noctis threw a glare in her direction and scoffed.

”Whatever do you mean? I’m calm! So calm! I am the calmest person in this realm, no less!”

Shadow shook his head with a sigh and sat as well.

”Snuggle is right. You should calm down and think about things clearly. They might not be what they seem to be.”

Noctis remained silent for a few moments, breathing heavily, then cursed again and pulled back a chair. Crashing down on it, he pierced Shadow with a burning look and asked:

”How so?”

Shadow lingered for a bit, then shrugged.

”The Altar Sage, the Blade of Dawn... you know them better, but neither of them is simple. They are Transcendent rulers with centuries of experience, so do you really think that either one would have acted rashly and recklessly? Would Lady Irian have failed to account for the possibility of Lord Arelen’s violent response? Would Arelen have failed to foresee what his actions were certain to cause?”

Noctis stared at him silently, a hint of confusion finding its way into his gaze. Finally, he grimaced.

“What do you mean?”

Shadow shook his head.

”These two are shrewd and seasoned. One doesn’t survive long in your line of work without those qualities, definitely not for centuries. So, why do you think Irian claimed the land without even trying to negotiate with Arelen, and why did Arelen — who is supposed to be wise and patient — throw a bloody tantrum and ruthlessly wipe out her settlers?”

Noctis lingered for a moment or two, then scoffed.

”How should I know? Greed, ambition? Arelen certainly had a lot to say about his reasons, but I don’t buy any of it for a second. He seems to have gone mad!”

Shadow sighed and shook his head again, then looked at Snuggle.

”What do you think?”

Snuggle scratched her head, her small onyx eyes glinting darkly.

Eventually, she said:

“I guess what Arelen said was mostly true. But also a complete lie. It’s true that once these lands weren’t under threat anymore, with most powerful abominations gone, a conflict between two bordering kingdoms became all but inevitable. But it’s a lie that Noctis is the cause — he might have contributed a little, but both Arelen and Irian had to have been contemplating moving against each other for a long time.”

The little doll lowered her head and added dejectedly:

“All people want to live, after all. And once their lives are not in danger anymore, they always want to live well. But there’s never enough nice things for everyone, so someone ends up living better, while others end up looking up at them with envy.”

Shadow nodded.

“It seems like this war is the result of several unfortunate decisions and miscalculations, Arelen’s rash order to slaughter the settlers most of all. But in truth, both he and Irian knew what they were doing. Irian knew that claiming that land without even trying to negotiate would provoke Arelen — she was testing his patience. And Arelen showed her that he had no patience at all, knowing all too well what kind of response that would provoke.”

He smiled darkly.

“They both got what they wanted. Irian got a true justification to attack and conquer Arelen’s city...”

Noctis frowned.

“Wait, what do you mean the old fool knew what would happen? Even if you are right and the Blade of Dawn was hoping he would give her a reason to invade, what does Arelen get from having her attack his lands?”

Shadow shrugged.

”What does he get? Quite a valuable thing, actually. He gets the right to choose the battlefield. After all, Noctis, if you knew that a clash with a powerful adversary was inevitable, would you want to meet them in an open field, or under the walls of your city, which you have been fortifying for centuries?”

Noctis leaned back, a stunned expression on his face.

He remained silent for a long while, then glanced at Shadow and Snuggle somberly.

”I guess he is wise, after all. Just... deplorable.”

A bitter scoff escaped from his lips.

“No wonder that old fool believed he could rope me into his conflict with Lady Irian. He probably thought that a young fool like me would be easy to wrap around his finger... and the worst thing is, he wasn’t that wrong.”

Snuggle giggled.

”Actually, he probably never hoped to convince you to side with him.”

Noctis blinked a couple of times.

“What? Then why did he spend so much time trying to convince me?”

She shook her head and pointed at him with her chubby hand.

”Think about it, fool! A battle with another Transcendent is only a few days away, and suddenly, another Transcendent arrives in your city — purely by coincidence, he claims. Obviously, Arelen wanted to see if that Irian lady had already recruited you into helping her get rid of him. If you weren’t so easy to read and he was left with the smallest hint of doubt back there, he’d probably killed you already — well, perhaps not. Maybe he’d just give you a good beating and lock you up somewhere until this whole war was over. He does seem kind of nice, after all.”

Noctis scoffed.

”Nice... yes, sure.”

He fell silent, a dark expression on his face. After some time, Noctis laughed and shook his head in dismay.

“I just don’t get it! Why? Why do they have to do this? Alright, let’s say that there’s fertile land and marsh treasures to be had. Do they have to go to war for that? Why can’t they just... I don’t know... marry and solve their problems in the bedroom! Then, their child would inherit both kingdoms, and everyone can live in peace. The process would be much more enjoyable for all involved parties, needless to say!”

Hearing that, Snuggle couldn’t help but laugh.

Shadow smiled faintly, as well.

He did not say anything immediately, but then shrugged.

”I think killing each other is both simpler and more straightforward.”

Noctis gave him a dismayed look.

“Gods, who am I asking? You’re a Creature of Shadow! All you shadows ever think about is death.”

Shadow studied him for a moment, then sighed.

“Are you that different?”

Leaning forward, he picked up the kettle and poured himself some tea.

”Sure, we shadows are born from death. But don’t you heroes spend your entire lives slaughtering Creatures of Corruption? It doesn’t matter whether your cause is noble or not. After a lifetime of battles and bloodshed, it’s not that surprising that Arelen and Irian grew accustomed to seeing the world through the prism of violence. That is what they know best, after all.”

He lingered for a moment, then added:

”I have to give them some credit, though. They could have started a slow, exhausting conflict — one side biting a piece out of the other, the other responding in kind. There would have been endless skirmishes, slow escalation, more and more corpses on both sides. Until, one day, generations later, either Arelen or Irian finally won a significant advantage to wipe the other out.”

Shadow shook his head.

”But Arelen didn’t want that, so he went for the swiftest solution and ordered Irian’s settlement to be entirely destroyed — he wanted this war of theirs to start and end in the span of a single battle. That is something, at least.”

Noctis looked at him darkly.

”Oh, wow. How noble of him.”

Finally, he sighed and stood up, walking to the window to take in the vista of the city. After a while, Noctis asked:

“So what am I supposed to do?”

Shadow raised an eyebrow.

”What do you want to do?”

The young man laughed, his voice entirely devoid of joy.

“Would I be asking if I knew the answer?”

Shadow remained silent for a moment, then shrugged.

”Well, I’d say you have three options. You can either help Arelen kill Irian, help Irian kill Arelen, or do nothing.”

He scratched the back of his head and then added with a hint of enthusiasm in his voice:

“Actually, there’s a fourth option. You can kill both Arelen and Irian. That would be fair for everyone, wouldn’t it?”

Noctis stared at Shadow for a while. Eventually, he turned to look at Snuggle and shook his head.

”Do me a favor, Snuggle. Remind me never to ask that guy for advice again...”