Nicolas Delort
Ozymandias
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A boy runs down a dark alleyway, scared. Steps are heard coming from the main street, knights in their shiny armor run in and out of the burning art store with people and paintings on their hands, depositing them away from the fire while others patrol around in search of something.
On times like this, Débora would have already send him instructions, but nothing had arrived since the fire started. The boy began to climb up the alley's walls, reaching the rooftops and running towards the waterfall as planned. The waning crescent moon completely outshined by the city's fire made it hard to follow the path, but the kid had experienced darker nights. Some knights began to chase him from below, trying their best to predict his movements, but it was in vain, he was faster.
The waterfall by that time was the home of Havenreach's underworld, hidden by the sound of the water, a small entry made way to a complex cave system inside the mountain in which it sat. Ludovic, the group's leader, had explained to the boy that those tunnels were carved by the Empire from another entrance, a mine of sorts that soon collapsed and was abandoned, but they forgot to check for more access points. Here, smugglers and hitmen made their way up and down the caverns, striking deals, committing crimes, completing jobs for others, the wheels of the crime industry turning. The boy, like many others, had learned to ignore the passersby and hide their things in their clothes or outerwear; he rolled the painting on itself and tucked it on his coat before entering the South path.
Minutes passed as he walked towards the eastern way and arrived at the location where he would meet with the others. It was a small cavern that served as an Evolist temple before it was raided during the Perrion war by some elven supporters, abandoned since in favor of another, deeper in the caverns.
Some hours passed and nobody appeared… silence reigned as the boy waited for anyone to arrive. The sun's light peered inside the temple, sending their warmth to the sleeping kid. The boy began his long walk towards the North path, a place he had called home for many years. It was the most peaceful part of the old mines, but –underground– peaceful meant something different than in the city. He made his way inside a secondary path before turning to another one and facing a wall, a hidden entrance.
The air inside the hideout felt heavy, as if something horrible had happened and the sins of it had accumulated on that spot. Then a shriek emerged. There was someone else. He put the painting on a table before walking towards the small meeting room, a knife on his right. In the darkness, a figure could be slightly spotted beside a chest as coins and jewels rattled on their hands.
– The miners forgot their light – He said to the figure which stood up quickly and looked at the boy.
– We shall bring them a new one… – She replied, a light appeared between the two, it was Débora. She then spoke, her eyes shinning as she saw the boy's face – You are alive… –
– Where are the others? – He asked, fearing for an answer.
– Victor… – She tried looking for words. – They…–
+ [SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: MEMORY ENDED BY USER]
+ [EXECUTING: MEMORY_SHOW_LIST.exe]
- Initializing Memory identificatory [SUCCESS]+ [SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: MEMORY SELECTED]
- Initializing Memory Selector [SUCCESS]
+ [ACCESS CODE VERIFIED: DEATH]
---------------Frontal node activation---------------
+ [SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: MEMORY LOADING, STANDBY]
-
A man stands in the altar of an underground aldurist temple, people gathered in both sides of the hall, some crying, some smiling, others are joyless, as if they feared of something, or someone. A bell sounded from somewhere inside the caverns and music started playing.
She appeared in the doorway, Ithrelle, dressed in a white dress, ornamented beautifully with golden patterns. The bride walked towards the altar, chuckling softly as she heard the comments of the guest, family of hers, friends of both. Victor's mind was blank, he could only –and can only– focus on her eyes, blue as the sea, and her hair, both the color and the scent were like a beautiful oak. He took her hand and muttered to her words that only the Ithrelle and the Luminar between the two of them would hear. – You look lovely, my dear –
– I know – She responded with a smirk, then the program continued.
The temple was located on the walls of the mountain, facing north, with great glass panels on the east for natural light to fill the space. Anyone inside at that time would feel the air charged with amazing amounts of magic, but even without the guests one could feel the difference between the outside and inside's magic.
The couple shared their first kiss as a marriage, people cheering from the seats as they stepped down and began walking towards the entrance, smiling happily while they began to walk towards the outside.
The reception was supposed to last all afternoon. An outdoors space was considered a luxury for some of the cavern's habitants, even more for such an event as this. A garden spread wide around a tall gazebo and the sight of farmlands stretched far to the horizon. The music was serene as couples demonstrated their footing on the dance floor, all around the new husband and wife. They kept exchanging mutters while the others watched, their eyes looking into each other's as they giggled from a conversation lost to time about a future, a family, dying together…
Then a shot was fired.
Guests began to run and hide as heavily armored knights and military dressed officials rushed in from every direction, declaring all the present under arrest for being enemies of the Emperor and Ithania. Those who got away were chased, while the ones trapped between them were fought against, the couple amongst them. Magic was cast as many drew their guns, and daggers, and axes, the garden, once green, was being stained as the battle continued. An opening was made through the knights and who could run was encouraged to do so.
Many were injured all around as Victor and Ithrelle kept running, far from the occupation. Tears dripping down the ithanian's face as his wife remained focused on escaping, she spotted a nearby farm. The two took refuge in the stall to calm down, but knights arrived and began searching, interrogating the farmers, and trying to lure anyone out with promises of freedom and honor if they betrayed their allies.
The elf had an idea, she began to prepare a horse as her husband untied the animals, letting them roam around the barn before provoking a harmless explosion on the side and riding away from the farm. The horses began to run away as they escaped towards a refuge. But some of the knights managed to catch the horses and took them to chase back, it was now a race for the mountains up North.
Soon enough, most horses couldn't handle the armor those knights wore and began to slow down until only one was able to give the couple chase into a forest. Ithrelle began to send bolts of darkness back to the knight, burning bright blue as they impacted on the ground and the trees –yet they didn't appear to burn for long–, the Galahad took out a longbow and began firing back. The exchange led them to a meadow in which it continued, neither side backing down.
An arrow flew towards the horse's leg, making it trip over and sending the couple to the ground. The knight stopped his horse before firing an arrow at the mage's heart, it could not be stopped as it flew through her chest, staining the white dress red.
–No… no... no, no, no! – Victor repeated out loud, horrified as his love began to bleed out, he went to her side, trying to act quickly before she lost too much blood. She looked at him with tears on her eyes before her gaze hardened as an arrow impacted on a flaming orb, saving Victor from it.
He turned and saw the knight, his eyes flickering with rage and vengeance as he drew two daggers out and charged at him. The knight fired back, twice, thrice as Victor avoided the arrows, but he got too close, the man took out a knife and tried to stab the ithanian's side with it. But he was quicker and attacked first…
The knight began to bleed out on the floor.
Victor kneeled beside Ithrelle, crying as she caressed his chin with a cold hand. –You were great– She spoke weakly.
–Please… don't go…– Victor cried…
+ [SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: MEMORY ENDED BY USER]
+ [EXECUTING: MEMORY_SHOW_LIST.exe]
- Initializing Memory identificatory [SUCCESS]+ [SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: MEMORY SELECTED]
- Initializing Memory Selector [SUCCESS]
+ [ACCESS CODE VERIFIED: FIRE]
---------------Frontal node activation---------------
+ [SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: MEMORY LOADING, STANDBY]
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–We have a deal, Fantôme – A man spoke before stretching his hand towards the gloved hand from the criminal. A sinister deal, one of the final pieces in an elaborate plan, but in his defense, it was either that or the other's dagger.
The Fantôme D'Ithania, renowned criminal, chuckled, entertained by how easy this had been, he shook the man's hand. –Marcus… it's good to know you are on my side again, is it not? – He asked under a white mask, both him and the facade smiling at the merchant.
–It… is. I hope we can meet again on… better terms– Marcus said before stepping slightly back towards the wall, his eyes not leaving the dark holes that functioned as eyes for the ithanian, he had experienced first handedly the madness Fantôme was capable of.
–Indeed. Safe travels, my friend – The mask spoke before exiting the room, followed by a woman armed with a rifle held on her back. The two were a part of the same organization, one that had existed for almost a decade at this point.
l'Ordre des Morts had been established in the following years after her death, of course, not a single member knew why Victor established it in truth, but it served a crucial function on the political and social background of Havenreach. In less than two years, the Order had already claimed the whole underworld, acting upon it with new rules and judgements that proved very effective in keeping the place almost as peaceful as the surface. Under the rule of Fantôme's iron fist as the second Overseer, other smaller organizations profited on the underground while having a higher, impartial, judge to solve disputes without too much bloodshed.
In truth, this regime was more interested in helping people than profiting from them, so many times over they ransacked and took hostage merchants like Marcus for their riches, only to use them to deliver some kind of message to their enemies in Ithania and the city. As such, most of those who knew Fantôme considered him an evil man, but he couldn't be traced back to any of the crimes his organization committed constantly in the city.
Victor took off his mask, as amusing as it was to see the people's reactions to a comedy mask staring with empty eyes at them, it was too hot inside to support having it all day long. He cleaned his face with a small pocket handkerchief before looking towards the farmland to the west. The scars he had accumulated over the year made his face almost unrecognizable from the one Ithrelle once saw, and due to his work in alchemical bodily modifications, his hair began to turn white almost three years ago.
–Back to the city? – The woman asked, completely stoic as she looked towards the same direction as him.
–Karine… can't you just appreciate the views for a bit? – He responded to the bodyguard before turning towards her. –Look, in the distance, what do you…– Victor spotted something abnormal above the city to the east, a dark line stretched high into the sky… –What is that? – He asked unconsciously.
Karine looked at it as well, her stoicism replaced by some justified worry as the line expanded around key points of the city. Then the sky fell.
Victor started to run towards a cliff to get a better view as a black dragon descended to the port, then, with a loud shriek it shattered the sky crystals all around the area. He had no chance against the shock wave it sent him back to the ground where he lost consciousness.
As he regained his sight, he could hear his hearth pulsating rapidly as a drop of blood ran down his face. He turned to Karine, still knocked out from the blast. And then he turned to the city. Were it once stood the main Palace there was now only rubble, the central Unionist temple was no more, and the Dusois's delta was dried up and destroyed. Nothing beside remained.
+ [SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: END OF MEMORY]
+ [EXECUTING: MEMORY_SHOW_LIST.exe]
- Initializing Memory identificatory [SUCCESS]+ [SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: MEMORY SELECTION STOPPED BY USER]
- Initializing Memory Selector [SUCCESS]
+ [SYSTEM PROTOCOL INICIATED: SHUTDOWN]
- Deactivating Frontal Node Operator [SUCCESS]---------------System shutdown initiated---------------
- Deactivating Occipital Controller Operator [SUCCESS]
- Deactivating Temporal Node Operator [SUCCESS]
+ [SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: MEMKEY SHUTTING DOWN, AU REVOIR]
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