Asherons Call: March Teaser - A Perfect Paradox

A Perfect Paradox

Queen Elysa Strathelar listened to the latest reports of guards reporting from the western Direlands. Celdiseth scowled and Ciandra sat quietly as the report dragged on. Lord Kresovus knelt at Asheron's right and Aun Hareltah at his left. Antius, the latest addition to this council, sat beside Elysa. Nuhmudira seemed thoughtful, her attention focused on the newcomer. Perhaps, she pondered, his inclusion was more for personal reasons.

When the guards had finished, Elysa looked toward Asheron. Seeing that he remained embroiled in his own thoughts, she dismissed the guards and addressed the gathering. "Lord Kresovus, you said that the Raiders have begun to move camps from around Linvak?"

Kresovus cleared his throat and stood. "Yes. We have been following their movements. Muldaveus, the commander who betrayed us and named himself Lord of the Raiders, has gone into hiding, leaving his commanders to hold the siege of Linvak Tukal. Whatever his reasons may be, the Raiders have abandoned their siege and have declared war upon all Dereth. They have been spotted near the housing settlements that your Arcanum established-"

"I... established the settlements," Nuhmudira interjected. Her eyes hardened, meeting the gray giant's gaze with no sign of fear.

"Nuhmudira, please let Lord Kresovus continue." Elysa did her best to chide the woman gently. Since her ordeal in the previous year, Nuhmudira had become even more the curmudgeon than Celdiseth.

But Celdiseth added salt to the wound. "Well then, that puts you in your place doesn't it now?"

"Celdiseth!" the Queen snapped. The brusque archmage recoiled from Elysa's glare. Nuhmudira noted this spark of strength and leadership. Asheron sat silently, seeming to ignore the outburst.

"I will not see this meeting devolve," Elysa continued. "We are here to ascertain the cause of these migrations and the fluctuations in the mana streams." She motioned to Kresovus to continue.

Kresovus looked ready to relieve Nuhmudira and Celdiseth of their heads. "Thank you. The raiders have spread like a plague through a battle-weakened force." He knelt.

Elysa nodded to Aun Hareltah to speak next. "Wharu is moving," he said. "Atua ngamaru's servants, the Hea, also move, but these are not efforts in unison." He fell silent.

"I've recently come from the Vesayen Isles," Antius began. "Kryst has seen hordes of Mosswarts crossing through the surf carrying round stones and ritual implements, pursued or aided by Moarsmen." He paused. "The Undead are also stirring. The emanations beneath Yanshi reveal that the Harbinger still bides within the earth, but its incomplete summoning has left it weakened. Something else is altering the flow of power throughout Dereth, affecting even the innate power of every living thing, including us. Some creatures are gaining strength, while others are weakening."

Noticing her discomfort during Antius's report, Elysa prompted, "Ciandra?"

The younger woman responded, "Asheron visited the temples in the north and south. He explained that his people had used these temples as places to rejuvenate themselves." She paused. "But the source of that healing power was always unknown."

Murmurs of reaction to this news quickly swelled into shouting until even Elysa could not silence it. Suddenly, Asheron separated his hands. A subtle magic filled the room, causing it to fall silent. All eyes, save Nuhmudira's, turned to him.

Asheron spoke. "I also said that your people would start to feel changes, benevolent changes. This has come to pass. I did wonder what the price of this benevolence would be. There is something out there, something that I cannot discern. Bickering will not help. You are all children on this world, called here by my will. You have always shown remarkable resilience in the things you've accomplished, thriving on adversity and strife. Change is inevitable. Without it you have only stagnation. Stagnation leads to apathy; and apathy is a void into which evil creeps." He paused. "Magic has not been altered, but I do feel a void. Do not turn upon one another now. Resolve your problems. None of you here is worthy of judging the others." He cast a pointed glance toward Nuhmudira.

A hushed silence filled the room as Nuhmudira rose and departed.

******

"Director."

"Yes?"

"Are you prepared to receive your enlightenment?"

"Yes."

Puppet slid the slab forward. A sound of steel grating on slate filled the cavity near the energy source. Moments passed, then the observer emerged, changed. As it floated toward Aerbax, a black energy coruscated through the eyes of the mask.

"Do you feel enlightened?" Aerbax inquired as he floated closer to the Director.

"Harmoniously discordant," the modified Director replied.

"My perfect paradox," Aerbax said, as he lightly runningan his sickle along the mask of the Director.