We were sitting right at the foot of the Mountain.
"Alastia..." I began heavily, not looking up. "I... I'm a bad person. You really will be better off..."
She suddenly laughed, clearly and sincerely. This laugh cut through the tense night silence so unexpectedly that I broke off.
"First you make my head spin, and now you ask
to leave you?" she asked cheerfully. "No way. Now we simply have to get married. Let's have the wedding in a month and a half."
My heart skipped a beat and stopped dully in my chest. A wedding? In a month and a half?
Alastia took a step back. In the moonlight, her eyes shone with absolute, genuine happiness.
"And until then, we are not allowed to talk!" she tossed back with a sly smile, turned around, and with a light step headed towards the path leading up.
I was left standing in the fog all alone.
WHAT AN IDIOT I AM.
What am I doing, you stupid blockhead? My legs gave way, and I sank heavily right onto the cold ground. All I had done today was lie to her. I feigned the right emotions, recited morized poems written by others, played at romance by made-up rules, trying to be soone I'm not.
The heart in my chest was tearing apart from an unbearable, sharp pain. I touched my cheek and felt moisture. Tears? Again... But why, damn it, why does everything inside
feel so empty then?
All my words, all my gestures now seed entirely fake to , a pathetic acting performance. Should I have acted this way? Deceiving the one who trusted
completely? How awful I am. I can't even understand: did I really fall in love with her, or was I just desperately trying to cling to soone else's warmth so as not to go crazy from boredom and loneliness?
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to calm the trembling, brought two fingers to my lips, and let out a piercing, sharp whistle that flew far into the darkness.
For about ten minutes I sat motionless, eaten alive by my own conscience. Finally, a shadow flashed in the night sky. A large mountain eagle glided silently down and landed heavily on my offered arm. Its sharp claws dug into the fabric of my sleeve.
"Find Mira," I ordered the bird in a hollow, broken voice. "Tell her that I am marrying Alastia."
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I swallowed the lump that had risen in my throat.
"And tell her... let her gather and bring those things I need. Please."
I leaned forward and pressed my forehead against the eagle's cool, stiff feathers, putting my magical will and my ssage into this touch.
"Forgive , Mira..."
The bird gave a hoarse cry, flapped its powerful wings, and dissolved into the night sky, carrying away my order. I remained kneeling at the foot of the Mountain, my head in my hands.
What am I doing?
I sat and thought intently about what to do next... I have to wait for Mira. How good it is that she's here. Who knows where I would be now and what I would be doing if it weren't for her.
I was slowly walking up the stone path to Mount Slick, and with every step, I realized a terrible thing: the symptoms were rapidly worsening. Now it wasn't just about the text in books. The whole surrounding world began to swim. Rocks, trees, steps—everything blurred and doubled, overlapping with a second's delay. I stretched my hand forward, desperately trying to focus my sight on my own fingers, but they trembled and separated into layers in space.
The symptoms are worsening, I thought to myself with dood emptiness.
I passed through the massive gates into the Mountain. Zorgh ca out to et . Casting an attentive glance over , he bowed his head:
"Master, I am glad to see you in good health. You... have grown."
"Yes, it's temporary," I brushed it off, not wanting to go into details. "Zorgh, listen to
carefully. I am getting married in a month and a half. So prepare to receive guests. Although I don't even know who among my acquaintances is still alive."
It was as if a small cobblestone had flown right into my temple.
A sharp, blinding flash of pain pierced my temples. For a fraction of a second, an unfamiliar, blurred silhouette appeared before my eyes. Elvindor... I staggered. Forgive ... I didn't make it in ti. I promised... The thought slashed through my consciousness, leaving behind only a bitter, suffocating aftertaste of guilt towards soone whose face I couldn't even rember anymore. Another ghost from my...
Zorgh pretended not to notice my weakness.
"I sincerely congratulate you on such a great event, Master," he said evenly. "But before we begin the preparations... I would like to speak with you about sothing. In private."
We went into his private study. Zorgh lowered himself heavily, with a creak, into his chair. Now, by the light of the lamps, I could clearly see how much he had aged. He truly looked like an old and tired man.
"Master, who knows how much longer I have to live. I am but a pitiful mortal, and my ti is running out," he began, looking
straight in the eyes. "I, Zorgh, am going to do a terrible thing for Mount Slick. I will pass a law. A terrible, unjust law that absolutely no one will like. It must offend the feelings of every single person. And then... then a rebellion must rise."
I frowned, trying to see his face through the trembling, splitting image.
"But what for? Why do you need this?"
Zorgh interlaced his wrinkled fingers.
"I want to strengthen a true sense of freedom in our people. So that they understand that they shouldn't wait for saviors. That they are capable of restoring justice and winning back their rights themselves. A nation is born in struggle. But for them to unite against tyranny... soone must beco that very tyrant. Soone must sacrifice themselves. That soone will be ."
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