Ekological Chimera
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Chapter 4 - The Handmaiden’s Mistake
🕑 Added 2024-09-18 19:14:48 +0000 UTCThe Custodian of Eigos sat upon a slab of marble, staring at her handmaiden lying on the floor, deep in thought.
The room she was in was small, made from the same white stone as the rest of the Temple. The only furnishing was the stone bed on which Serana sat. It had no windows and the door was reinforced with metal, making escape from the prison cell quite difficult. With Knight Commander Aisac Ferrier standing outside, it was perhaps impossible.
Not that her handmaiden would be doing any escaping.
Serana had failed to consider the impact the Terran’s technology would have on her people, though perhaps it would be more accurate to say that she had forgotten. After all, it would hardly be the first time someone’s confidence was falsely inflated by an outside factor. Though it was the first time the “outside” was so literal.
As she thought, her hand was unconsciously playing with the handmaiden’s severed head, leaving crimson stains on the white stone as she rolled it around.
What was her name? Rose? Petal? Something flower themed, certainly. She couldn’t really remember what kingdom she was from either.
Not that it really mattered.
“Knight Commander,” Serana called, still idly playing with the decapitated head.
A second later the man entered the cell. He was a tall man in his late thirties, with a steely gaze and short black hair. He was dressed in silver plate armour, much of it covered in engravings of eyes. He held his helmet cradled under one of his arms and had a sword on his hip.
He glanced at the grey-robed corpse for a moment before speaking, “Yes, Lady Custodian?”
“Did you catch the rider?” She inquired.
Aisac grimaced before responding, “No. He made it to the city before we could catch up. We’ve notified the garrison, but there is not much they can do without a proper description.”
Although he kept his voice mostly even, the slight accusation in his tone was obvious to Serana. As it would likely be to anyone who had known the knight since his childhood.
The reason for it was apparent enough. She could have caught the rider quite easily and Aisac knew it. Maybe she could even find him in the city. Not that she would bother.
This was ultimately a trivial matter to her. If whatever the kingdom her handmaiden hailed from decided to rebel, then she’d just deal with it. Whether they rebelled now or in a generation did not matter to her in the slightest.
Besides, there was something much more interesting to occupy her time with.
She doubted Aisac would be satisfied with an answer like that, however.
“She was not a heretic. I have little reason to waste the power of Eternity on her.” Serana explained.
A partial truth. Serana’s power was her own, even if it came from Eternity. Yet the reason she was entrusted with it was to uphold the Eternal Laws, which her handmaiden had not broken.
The commander frowned, “Was she not killed for trying to steer her kingdom away from Eternity’s light, my Lady?”
“No. I killed her for undermining the influence of the Temple, Aisac. She had to choose between her family and me. She picked her family.” Serana caressed her handmaiden’s cheek, looking into her vacant eyes, “Can you truly blame her for such a choice?”
Commander Aisac looked distinctly uncomfortable, stealing glances at the bloody head, which sat in stark contrast to the Custodian's pristine white robes. He also seemed confused by her words, prompting more from Serana.
“You are conflating me and the Temple with Eternity, Aisac.” She sighed. “Did we not already have this conversation?”
The commander blinked, “No, I do not believe so, Lady Custodian.” Aisac said.
“I suppose it must have been your predecessor then,” Serana responded, her voice distant.
How many Knight Commanders did that make? She did not remember.
“Perhaps, Lady Custodian,” Aisac said.
“It is quite simple. I exist to enforce the Eternal Laws and the temples exist to aid me in this task. You have memorized the Laws, yes?” Serana lectured.
“Of course, Lady Custodian.” Aisac promptly replied.
“Then tell me, do any of them forbid the people from opposing me?” The Custodian asked.
The Knight Commander looked puzzled for a moment before understanding dawned on his face.
“You understand, then,” Serana said.
It truly was simple. The Laws had nothing to say about those who enforced them, so opposing Serana did not break them, making her handmaiden a simple fool, instead of a heretic.
“I understand, but won’t it encourage the Kirslevs to turn away even further from Eternity? Especially considering the third princess…” He trailed off awkwardly, glancing at the corpse.
Third princess of the Kirslev family. It sounded familiar to Serana, but she still couldn’t remember her first name.
“Eternity does not demand worship, Aisac. Only obedience.” Serana said.
Nothing but following the Laws mattered. Humans seemed to struggle with understanding that, often attributing more worth to meaningless worship.
Aisac did not look convinced, which amused Serana quite a bit. Was she not the living link between Eigos and Divinity?
“Surely they will be more likely to break the Laws should they turn away from Eternity, Lady Custodian?” The Knight Commander asked.
Serana smiled sadly, “Yes. But if this is enough for their faith to waver, then it would have happened eventually anyway.” She turned her gaze to the severed head, “This way they can be returned to the correct path sooner.”
The Knight Commander paled, understanding the implication. He had been raised right here, in the First Temple of Eternity, so his education was not lacking. He knew very well what would make the would-be heretics go back to the “correct path”. After all, there was a historical precedent.
Divine punishment, meted out by her hand.
Seeing that Aisac did not seem to have any further questions, Serana stood up and carefully set her handmaiden’s head next to the body.
“Have someone bury the body in the cemetery and send a letter to notify her family,” Serana spoke. “Write that she died doing what she believed was right.”
She wondered whether her family would take it as an insult or the kind gesture it truly was.
It was not as if she hated the girl. The princess had served her well for a decade or two, after all. Unfortunately, betrayals had to be punished. Nothing good ever came from letting rot fester.
Her business concluded, she started walking towards the door, until she was interrupted by Aisac’s voice, “There is still something I do not understand, Lady Custodian.”
Hearing his voice, Serana paused, glancing at him, “Let us walk, Aisac.”
With the enormous size of the Temple, they would have quite a while to talk before reaching the occupied parts above-ground.
She then continued walking into the underground corridor of the temple, the Knight Commander trailing behind her.
“You wish to ask why she threw away her life?” Serana guessed, moving towards the far-away stairway through the white corridor, occasionally passing reinforced doors of other cells.
“Yes, Lady Custodian,” Aisac replied, long used to the Custodian’s uncanny insight into his mind.
They walked in silence for a few moments, their footsteps the only sound audible in the well-lit and empty corridor.
“She didn’t, not truly,” Serana finally said. “She simply did not think that her punishment would be so severe.”
The Custodian couldn’t see Aisac’s face, but she could imagine the dubious expression he likely wore. His slight irreverence was one of the reasons why she chose him for his position, after all.
Having your every word treated as gospel got old very quickly, though it had its perks.
Passing another empty prison cell of the lifeless dungeon, Serana spoke again, “You have learned much in your life, but your upbringing blinds you in certain ways, not unlike the girl.”
A moment passed, before a sigh quickly masked by a cough was heard.
“Violet Kirslev, of the Kerania kingdom, Lady Custodian,” Aisac spoke, the barest hint of disapproval in his voice.
“Of course,” Serana replied without pause. The Knight Commander might have guessed correctly, but she wasn’t about to admit it out loud.
“As I’ve said, her upbringing blinded her. She had only written a letter of her recent experiences to her family, after all. Even readily admitted to doing so,” The Custodian continued. “Obviously the punishment would be light, if any, especially for a royal.”
As they reached the stairwell, the Knight Commander passed her, letting her spot the grimace adorning his face.
To a man raised in the strict military organization of the Temple Knights, the handmaiden’s foolishness was glaringly obvious.
Reaching the top of the stairwell, Aisac quickly moved to open the door for her, letting her continue without stopping and enter the temple proper.
Unlike the dungeon, the room that greeted her was spacious and well-lit by the sun through many crystal-clear glass windows. The stone was still pale white, but much of it was covered in vibrant green plants and vines, seemingly nourished by the stone itself. The greenery was carefully maintained and added some much-needed colour to the white building.
The room was also not empty, with two knights standing guard over the newly emptied dungeon. They saluted as she passed, putting their hands over their hearts.
Knight Commander Aisac quickly relayed her instructions regarding the corpse to one of them, before hurrying after her.
“Do you understand now, Aisac?” Serana asked when he caught up.
Aisac simply nodded, matching the Custodian’s pace again.
While the temple was not empty, it was still silent, barring the distant sound of flowing water, and the occasional footsteps. The knights standing guard or patrolling around usually did not have a problem with the silence, but the servants often struggled with it.
Even so, the temple housed a fraction of the people it could, so most of the time it was silent
Just as she preferred.
It made the Knight Commander’s words especially noticeable, even turning the heads of some of the sentries, “Will you be joining us for noon devotions, Lady Custodian?”
Serana gave his question some thought. The noon devotions were a rather curious practice, for she had little to do with starting it.
The Custodian usually sequestered herself at noon and at midnight to commune with Eternity and the people around her had mimicked the practice, although only at noon, spreading it across Eigos over the centuries. There was little point in it for them, but anything that strengthened the people’s faith was ultimately beneficial, so she had not intervened.
When Eternity slumbered Serana sometimes joined them, but usually she still preferred to be alone. Habits were hard to break, especially since she had little desire to do so.
“Not this time. I’ll be retiring to the tower.” Serana responded.
With nothing more to say, the pair continued walking in silence, heading for the centre of the temple, where both the tower’s entrance and the great hall lay.
The sound of running water was gradually becoming louder as they neared the hall, but before they could reach it, the pair was intercepted.
They were approached by a timid-looking woman, Serana’s second and now only handmaiden, eliciting a sigh from the Knight Commander.
She was around fifteen years old, with black hair, green eyes and short stature. She wore the customary grey robes of a Temple servant and seemed somewhat unsure of her approach.
“You may speak,” Serana said, understanding the reason for her hesitance. It was not for nothing that many called her home the Silent Temple. If her memory served, the girl had joined only recently and so was likely yet unused to the somewhat strange rules.
Serana did not mind her people speaking to her, should they have a reason to do so, but she disliked unnecessary noise. Combined with her position, it made any new faces hesitant to speak at all in her presence.
At least they were trying to be polite. The thought reminded her of the colonel’s casually asking to break the Ritual of Invocation, making her brow furrow slightly and the girl squeak in fright.
Serana gave her a look.
Probably misunderstanding her intention, the girl began speaking, “Um, I’m really sorry, My Lady, I’ve been looking for Commander Ferrier…” Her eyes kept glancing from her to Aisac, before settling on Serana, “Lady Kirslev is missing, I’ve asked so many people and no one knows where she is, so I wanted to tell the Knight Commander?”
Noticing the Custodian’s indifference, Asiac replied instead, “Unfortunately, Lady Kirslev passed away earlier today, there will be an announcement later,”
At his words, the girl’s eyes became wide, perhaps in disbelief.
Aisac looked at the girl with pity, “Will you accompany me to the great hall, Lady Winterstar? It is almost noon.”
The girl squeaked out a yes and joined their walk.
It did not take them long to reach their destination.
