The manse felt particularly cold
today. Wind from the North swept through the cracks in the stone, whistling as
it chilled the inhabitants of the great citadel. The servants immediately
became a blur of motion, carrying heavy blankets of finest wool and silk to the
topmost room. A serving girl tripped on the steps while juggling a pale of hot
water and three towels. Scalding hot water sprayed across the stairway, and an
audible 'hiss' echoed throughout, a precursor to her scream. A butler turned
from giving his orders to the girl and snapped at her.
“Stand
up and clean up this mess quickly!” he scolded. “Master will have all of our
heads if she sees this.”
The
girl stood, red burn marks starting to form on her otherwise pale body. She
quickly gathered the bucket, and through tears, ran to the hot spring to draw
more water. The butler shook his head and went back to barking orders.
Scamp
watched all of it transpire over just a few minutes. Master was indeed getting
impatient as of late. It had been truly difficult seeing her grapple with this
darkness that has crept into her manner. Yet, he serves her all the same. One
day, he thought, I am certain I will see the glorious being of light once more.
He squeaked out a noise that almost sounded like the word “hope,” and ran to
the hole in the wall. As he entered the darkness, the tiny golden mark on his furry
brow lit up, illuminating the dark mouse hole. His legs pushed against the
stone ramp that his master had carved for him. Scamp ran quicker than any
normal mouse could, eager to get to his master. Finally, he stopped at the exit
in the tallest room in the citadel. He saw giant feet move just passed him,
nearly knocking him against the stone wall. His little cheeks puffed out in
joking aggravation, and he skittered up the reclining seat in which lay Azure
Falcon, master of the citadel and she of the Solar Exalted. He felt her mind
with his, and spoke directly through the bond they shared.
“Master,
how does the day find you?” It was his customary greeting.
“Ah,
Scamp, I was wondering when you would get here.” Even her mental voice was
filled with anger. “These mortals grow more and more forgetful of their place.”
Falcon
waved her hand, and the servants attending her took one step back in near
unison and bowed their heads. The Solar Exalt was the picture of physical might
and health. Her tan skin caught the rays of the sun and gleamed, while her dark
hair moved perfectly as the wind rustled it. Her eyes were fierce and powerful,
as if just a single look could make a peasant a king, or cause the halest of
laborers to die of fright. She was named for those eyes, in fact. Nothing
escaped her deep blue gaze.
“So,
little friend,” Azure intoned with her mind, “what shall we do to instruct them
on how to serve a demonslayer?”
Scamp
swallowed hard. What should he say, that might save the poor mortals who attend
her?
“W-well,
Master...” Scamp hesitated, “perhaps just a stern speech would fix it?”
Azure
Falcon scoffed at this, out loud for all to hear. She shook her head slowly.
She then spoke aloud, turning to face her attendants, their heads still bowed.
“I
think not, little one. I have no interest in long speeches. My father is the
Sun, and his children speak through their actions. As such, I will teach this
rabble how to properly run my citadel, in the manner befitting one of my
station.”
She
snapped her fingers twice in quick succession, and the butler, who Scamp knew
as Toran Farfield, moved to Azure's side. He had served for most of his life,
brought up from a simple waiter to head of the house through years of faithful
obedience. Scamp watched as Falcon reached out and touched his cheek, smiling
ruefully.
“Ah
Toran,” she said calmly. “Have I not been good to you over the years? Have I
not treated your family well?”
She
let the question hang in the air, and Toran stood there wordless. He clasped
his hands together, and Scamp saw them tense in fear. Finally, he broke the
choking silence.
“Yes...
of course, my lady.” His voice was filled with trepidation.
“Then
why would you betray me? Why would you let this band of ingrates continue to
make mistake after mistake? Do you know what my peers in the Deliberative have
been saying?”
Her
last question sounded more like a threat, and the words cut like orichalcum
blades through the silence. The butler shook with fear as she approached him.
Every step she took forward was a promise of violence, Scamp knew. He saw this
gait when she slew Auroch, her Lunar Mate who she accused of high treason to
Creation. He witnessed her fierceness as she slaughtered the Menacing Eight, a
group of Terrestrial Exalted who sought to claim power in one of the cities
beneath her watchful eyes. The small mouse watched as the lithe, powerful woman
took one final stride towards her manservant. She raised her hand up high, palm
open and fingers outstretched. A small cry escaped the lips of the young
serving girl who had fallen earlier, as a shimmer of Essence appeared and took
shape, finally coalescing into a golden Daiklave. She grasped the hilt tightly,
and spoke again to the mortal before her.
“I
can feel the others... the other Sun-blessed. I see their eyes watching me...
judging me. Why do you cause me such pain, Toran? Why can't you just be a good
boy?” She shook her head decisively. “Get on your knees!”
Scamp
began to move towards his master, but jumped back as a droplet of salt water
hit the floor, just in front of Azure's feet. The small mouse looked up, and
saw that she was crying. Streams of tears ran down her perfect cheekbones. They
came together at her chin, joining together just before falling.
Azure
Falcon wept as she brought the blade down upon the man kneeling before her.
Blood sprayed across the polished stone in a long streak. A few crimson
droplets landed on the furry cheeks of the Solar Exalted's small companion.
Scamp's tiny hands scrubbed and scrubbed, but it would not come out. Instead,
he covered his eyes, shutting out the light so that all was dark, and he could
only hear the multitude of servants dying around the bedchamber. The screams
penetrated the thick stone, and joined with the sounds of the wind passing
through the cracks. Soon, all that was left was an echo, and the soft sobs of
the woman who once championed virtue, as she sat in the corner. Azure Falcon
felt her little friend's tiny feet on her shoulder, and she turned to look at
him.
“Oh,
Scamp...” she said through choked sobs. “Why has the Sun forsaken me?”
The
little mouse nuzzled his blood splattered cheek against his master's chin. She
could almost hear the tiny familiar sigh, as he spoke in her mind.
“No,
master,” he intoned, “it is you who have forsaken Him.”
Azure
felt a sharp bite on her cheek, marring her perfect features with a tiny mark.
Scamp leaped off of her and ran for his hole. The Solar sat in silence. She
knew what this meant, for she had seen Scamp administer this same bite to the
various enemies of Creation, and watched them suffer a terrible disease as the
light of the Unconquered Sun turned from them. She knew even her mighty
physique could not fend off this contagion, for it was a disease of the soul.
Almost instantly, the streaks of sunlight coming through the window began to
cause her discomfort, and she drew upon herself the nearby bloody tatters of
the servants she had slain.
The
Lieutenant and his cadre found her like this, one full day later. Azure Falcon
was enshrouded in brown rags, the festering corpses of her victims still laying
about the room. They called out to her, asked her what had happened, demanded
an explanation. She said nothing. The Chosen only stood, raising her head to
reveal a shadowed, haunted visage. She leaped upon them like a wild animal,
thrashing about with her mighty arms and her heaven forged blade. It took the
whole cadre to bring her down, to knock the Daiklave from her grasp and put her
at spear point as she lay beaten upon the crimson stone.
The
tiny mouse listened from his hole as his master spoke again, her voice
trembling.
“Oh
father, please forgive this child of yours. For while my soul is passed
redemption, let others who come after me remain on your sunlit path.”
At
that, she grabbed the jade spear the lieutenant held at her throat and pulled
it down into her flesh, and deeper still. The fierce blue of her eyes faded
then, becoming a soft gray as the last rays of sunlight left the chamber.
A
small mouse crawled from its hole at that moment. He strode slowly, mournfully
towards his old friend. As he lay down upon her chest, nuzzled against her
neck, he wept. And this is first and only time a rodent has ever cried.
Or,
at least, that's how the legend goes.
