The Royal Subject, Part 4
[X] "Nothing may ever set my mind at ease, for such a thing would mean that I would have stopped considering the situation. Still, your identity will do for a start, since you have me at a disadvantage."
"I am Inspiration and Secrets, I am Dreams," the bronzed man says. His voice is an enchanting baritone, rich and warm like a campfire. Everything he says seems to carry a grin and a wink. "I am known by the arrowhead, the key, and the candle." He sits at the table and gestures you to the other side. "I am Orudern."
You freeze halfway through taking your seat. "Are you ... Teuvian?" you ask, a frisson of terror ripping up your spine. The man's mention of your aunt has you staying your hand for now. That and you have an insistent feeling that this man is very powerful.
Orudern laughs at your words. "Teuvian? By your reckoning, maybe, maybe not. I am the string out of tune, the epiphany that lights the way, the bodkin in the quiver of practice shafts." He chuckles to himself and draws his elbows up on the table, grinning at you. "What I am not is your enemy."
"Then what the fuck are you!?" you blurt, tossing your hands up.
"Someone who saw the world as more than a source of worshippers and spoils," replies the man before you with a shrug.
Silence falls over the table as it becomes clear he will explain no further. You grit your teeth and reply, "So how do you know my aunt?"
"Your aunt is a Symphony," is all Orudern says.
It feels like your eyes will bug out of their sockets as you parse his reply. Only five words, but they carry an import that rocks you back in your seat. He meets all the Symphonies? What is this?
As you struggle to come to terms, Orudern coughs into his hand. From the mists forms a map of Sartier, just above the tabletop. The province of Arbalen is picked out in red. "So I have to make a confession. I have been rather content to sleep in my woods of late, and have come only lately to the knowledge that my brothers and sisters have become busy."
"Just hold up," you say, before he can continue. "I think I need a drink. Okay, look, if you're here to tell me there's a revolt going on in Arbalen, you're too late, I already know."
"So I am told," says Orudern with a brief nod. "But this is just the opening gambit. Teuv wants more than Sartier - they want the Sartierans. They wish worse than your death; your servitude."
That sends another bolt of fear along your back. Your fists clench up as you look over the table. "Because our Songweavers and Spellswords defeated them last time?"
"The very reason," says Orudern. "I've been told that you are your House's chief weapon, the one they send when something simply must get done. So I want to pass this warning out to you. Teuv is capable of deals and reason but when it comes to Sartier, your goals cannot be reconciled."
"What is Teuv planning?" you ask.
"Their grand plan? I have only recently woken from my slumber, and am behind the curve, but as I learn more, I will share it," says Orudern. "I can tell you about their operations in Arbalen, though, though I am running out of time; there's only so long that I can keep this link up..."
"This link?"
"I'm not actually here, Evelyn," says Orudern with a broad grin. "In fact, I'm quite far away and actually very comfortable," he replies. "Everything you see is an illusion, a Lucid Dream."
"You say that like it should mean something special to me...," you say hesitantly.
"All of us were made differently, unique," he explains, spreading his hands before you as a dazzling flurry of bright shapes flew between them. "So we all have our own powers. I'm using one to talk with you now."
"So you are a god," you whisper. You clench and unclench your fists. Your eyes flick between his light display and his green-on-green eyes. Somewhere deep inside you get an appreciation for what it meant to even wound a god back during Teuv's invasion. The powerful truth is all around you. "You said you could help?"
"I have knowledge to share about Arbalen that can help you," he says. "I'm not sure what you already know, so ask me, and I'll do my best to answer. Or ask about Teuv in general."
(Pick 3 Questions to Ask)
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