I note that at this point in my address, many of this bodys mbers have suffered a deficit in their attention. I can hear conversation, see wandering eyes as I look out over the floor of this dignified house.
I would ask you gentlen, and you know who you are - do you not recognize the import of what is happening to this country? Does its significance fail to register with you on so level? It is perhaps my failure as a speaker that I have not conveyed it properly, but I will attempt to do so.
Ardalt desires power. This is not an evil in and of itself, no, for all nations require so modicum of power to survive. But what troubles , and what has beco increasingly apparent as these long years unfold, is that Ardalt desires power as its own end. Not to protect its people or to safeguard its well-being, but to accrue like a miser hoarding coin.
Power cannot be an end unto itself, gentlen. We have sacrificed what we should not in our pursuit of strength and security. I urge caution, here at the precipice; there are things we must not do if we are to remain n. Lines we must not cross. I fear an Ardalt of ravening beasts, having burned our trust and brotherhood to fuel the engine of our progress.
- Stanzas Complaint to the Assembly (excerpt), 671.
They sat in the airships observation area in silence. It was only Michael and Sobriquet, quietly watching the ndiko base disassemble itself around them. The army was a massive, complex construct of n and machinery, but it moved with a singular will.
Not long now before were on the move again, Michael observed. To Is.
Sobriquet nodded. Is, she repeated quietly. It seems unreal. Just a month ago I thought this day would be years in the making.
Michael squeezed her hand, but said nothing in reply. The door behind them swung open; they heard quick footsteps.
This is not a good ti, Antolin said. Were scouting along our advance route; my soul is crucial for guiding their movents. I cant stay for long.
Thats fine, Michael said, rising to face the grand marshal. We wanted to let you know the results of our inquiry into Galens abduction and death.
Antolin raised an eyebrow. Oh? he asked. Quick work. What did you find?
That they infiltrated the base through the north gate by posing as a supply convoy, he said. They disguised their tracks by manipulating the gate guard with their souls - a dediscator to wipe the mans mory, and a Shine to drive him towards suicide should anyone co looking too closely.
The expression on Antolins face grew steadily darker as Michael spoke, and by the end he looked ready to spit upon the decking. Barbarity, he said. Were you able to learn anything about the perpetrators before he killed himself?
Oh, Michael stopped him, Sobriquet said, rising from her own seat. And healed him. Thats how he was able to find out that the n who attacked the base werent Ardan or Safid. She paused, watching the anger on Antolins face shift to consternation.
They were ndiko, Michael said. Dispatched here from Estu shortly after Galens capture, aboard one of Lekubarris trucks.
Silence returned to the room. Antolins face had gone expressionless after Michaels first sentence, but beneath his quiet mien Michael felt the storm raging - anger, sorrow, loss. He remained silent and let it play out, even as the noise of another door opening heralded Leires entry into her enclosure.
Her eyes found the three of them, narrowing as she sat in her chair. You had sothing for ? she asked.
A question, Sobriquet asked. Have you communicated, directly or indirectly, with batzarkidea Lekubarri since the battle for Leik?
Antolin slowly turned to face her. He said nothing, but Leires eyes lingered on his face for long, quiet monts. Eventually, she looked back to Sobriquet.
You hold a terrifying amount of power for soone so young, she said. Both of you. It may be just as well that my ti is ending. She leaned back in her chair, then gave a small nod. I arranged for Galens death, via interdiaries.
Michael blinked, taken aback despite the flare of anger her words provoked. Words warred within him unsaid; when he finally spoke his voice was low and rasping.
Why? he asked.
You know why, she said. We all saw your death pass rather too close for comfort during the battle. Considering the stakes, I decided that it would be best to obtain a asure of surety. She folded her hands in her lap. You said yourself that you had determined to kill the man, in the mont. It was-
I had to watch him die, Michael said. I had to excise what was left of Galen from my mind and cast him into the void. He took a step closer to Leire. Do you have any idea what that felt like?
Leire pursed her lips. Not pleasant, Im sure, she said. I told you that you would have to grow accustod to that; his was hardly the only soul you will receive through affinity born of hatred. She nodded towards the window, and the soldiers packing their gear. I daresay it may be the norm before this campaign is through.
And you think this justifies everything? Michael demanded. Necessity above all?
Survival above all, Leire retorted. Your survival, and ndians. I told you before that it was all that matters. I dont care a whit about your opinion of . You may damn or revile as you wish; every breath you draw to curse my na is one that I have now secured for you.
There was a long silence after she spoke. Michael did not trust himself to speak amid the rising anger within him. It was only when Antolin stepped forward that he realized not all of that rage was his own.
He stood ramrod-straight before Leires seat, his shoulders square and his head high. Does the Star of ndian have a preference as to what I should tell the families of the five n who died when the prisoner was abducted? he asked. His voice was cool, his eyes looking directly ahead at the foot of Leires seat.
Michael looked higher, and saw the flicker in Leires radiant soul. It was only for an instant, the briefest of interruptions in that blazing, deadly halo. Sothing shattered, keened - and then was gone, masked behind the light once more. Her face betrayed no sign of what had transpired save for a tightness around her eyes.
I do not, she said quietly. I trust my grand marshal in this matter.
And I am your grand marshal, Your Radiance, Antolin said. He raised his head at last, looking her in the eye. No less - and no more. He held her gaze, saluted, and walked from the room with a asured pace.
Eventually, Leire turned back to Michael. I hope that as the years pass and you grow in power, you rember what it was to be limited, she murmured, her voice thick and hoarse. To content yourself with unpleasant solutions because you could find no better path forward. To be - less than perfect, even as perfection is demanded.
Michael took another step closer. Are you asking for my forgiveness? he asked.
Your understanding, she said. I am on your side, whether you want my aid or not. I have placed all my hopes in you.
There was another pause; Michael nodded. I do understand you, he said. I understand your fear. He walked to stand up against the wall of her enclosure, his own face reflecting back dimly from its surface; he looked through it to et Leires eyes.
There are things worse than death, he said quietly. That is the truth that gave my soul, that I was forced to rember when you pressed Galens soul upon . To exist in ways that twist and warp what you are ant to be is only torture, so I want you to listen very closely to what I am about to say.
He looked her in the eye. I imagine we have affinity between us by now, enough that you will pass to when you die - your soul, and what remains of you along with it. If that remnant of you is the sa woman who betrayed , who murdered those n under guise of help, who lied to my face about it-
Leire half-rose from her seat, frowning. Michael-
If that is still you, on that day, he said, speaking over her, then there will be no way to reconcile with that remnant. I will not accept those things within . That conflict, that division, will burn between us until I am forced to cast you into the abyss - just like the man you murdered.
He walked forward until he could stand no closer to the glass, the barrier lting away in his vision and leaving only Leire. Sofia once told that only an inford choice is a choice, he said. She was right about that. So choose, soti before you die. Decide if you aspire to sothing better than bare survival no matter the cost, or if the concept is so foreign to you that you would rather cease to exist entirely.
Michael took a step back, then turned towards the door; Sobriquet had not moved, watching him with an inscrutable stew of emotion that he could not pick apart. She t his gaze with a small nod, though, and moved towards the exit to the room.
They walked out arm in arm. Behind them, Leire said nothing as the heavy bulkhead door yawned wide, then slamd shut once more.
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