by Nyk Nova
“Nothing should be free,” Eran said from under his hood.
He held up one hand and waved it over the sensor attached to the door frame. His entire body shook at the sound of the door’s inner workings, turning to open the entrance. What if they didn’t work? What if he became trapped in a room full of items that could break down so easily? That was the only real risk, too much dependency on something that could malfunction when needed most. Magic would never do that, he thought. As long as there is life left in the user.
“Is that you Eran?” a smug voice asked. “I thought I smelled roots and cauldron oil.”
“Good evening, Sel. How is your— What do you call it—teleporter coming along?”
Sel snarled at the obvious insult but quickly recomposed himself. “Still working out the bugs. I feel the Administration Guild is still a year or two away from a fully functioning machine. But I’ve no doubt we will be able to transport people in an instantaneous fashion when it is complete.” The scientist had an air of superiority in not only his words but his image. His hair was neatly trimmed and his white and gold lab coat was buttoned all the way up to just beneath his chin.
“I see. It is too bad.” Eran waved his hand over himself and quickly vanished only to reappear on the other side of a table in the middle of the room. “You would only need three to six months to learn the same thing through magic.” Eran smiled, gleeful at being able to show the man of science up.
“Yes, well, some of us would rather keep our full spirits intact. Now, was there something you needed? I’m terribly busy at the moment.”
Eran glanced around the room, taking note of the many computer windows hanging in the air as if held up by the very light beams that had produced them. Sel was reading over the mathematical equations and data for whatever latest marvel he and the Administration Guild had come up with. It was another language, entirely, to Eran. And while he had no clue as to what he was reading, he could appreciate how similar it was to magic spells and incantations. It was obvious there was a formula to the technology. The numerical solutions represented ingredients and the steps to those solutions were as amounts for ingredients.
But that was where the similarities ended. Eran sighed, disheartened at his reasons for even being in the same vicinity as Sel in the first place. “I have need of one of your inventions.”
Sel slowly turned on his heel, intrigued by the inquiry. “Go on,” he said as though plotting something.
“I assume you’ve not heard the recent news, cooped up with your inventions as you are. It seems we are due for a passing of the Mantle.”
“So the young Pan will assume leadership. How wonderful for us. Having an Argus as Emperor has always proven most—“
“Not Pan,” Eran said.
“But an Argus has worn the crown for generations.”
“I am aware of the history. But our current Emperor, Dom Argus, has seen fit to abolish that tradition in favor of one more suited to the demands of the Mantle.”
“Who?” Eran asked, concerned.
“General Kade’Tor Lorenth.”
“The victor over Lugaz? What does he know of being an Emperor?”
“An answer I do not have. However I do have a certain Argus who is not, in the least, happy about the decision. And I do know that Kade is not one to allow certain…How do I put this?” Eran swiped at one of the computer windows, changing the screen. He stopped on a schematic of a helmet. “Control mechanisms to be established.”
“My Synaptic Override Helm?”
“The name still needs work,” Eran said, not letting the chance to jab at Sel go to waste. “As I understand, Dom Argus has never been too keen on the idea of such a device. If I recall correctly, you were quite angered by the lack of funds for it.”
“I’m not one to hold a grudge.”
“Of course not. But when ordered to delete all files of your helm, you— clearly— failed to do so.”
“Other matters have taken time away from such.”
“Indeed. But what if there was an Emperor who might allow for such an invention? One who might even allow for its widespread use? Perhaps even to the inventor himself?”
“What are you implying?”
“I believe the phrase is, two birds one stone. All I need from you is one of your works.”
“Which one?”
“Your latest and greatest.” Eran pulled a talisman from his pocket. The gem on top flickered in reaction to the electrical currents running through the room. “I believe you call it Miniaturization?”
Sel grabbed the talisman and looked it over as if studying a new piece of hardware. “This?”
“Far too complicated for your analytical mind. Spare yourself the study of magic tools and concepts. It is as far from you as the very items in this room are to me.”
“I have little interest in the workings of talismans. I meant, this is what you want molecularly changed? What for?”
“Worry only about shrinking it and restarting your work on the helm. We may yet need it, eventually. Beyond that, it is best you know nothing else.”
“What are you plotting, sorcerer?” Sel asked, suspicious but eager.
“Merely the path to get what we both want, scientist.” Eran made his way back to the door. “Have it returned to me before tomorrow’s passing.”
“Dom wants to step down that quickly?”
The door to the laboratory opened. “We live but to serve the Emperor of Osceria. And Sel,” Eran glanced over his shoulder. “Imperceptible.”
5
Cheers and hollering erupted from outside in the streets below. It was as if Osceria had won another war. The sound of the crowd was doused by Kade’s own pulse, threatening to burst for what he was getting himself into. Even the face-off with General Tare and the Siege Machine was not as terrifying as this.
“You seem nervous, my boy,” Dom said as he walked into the room.
Kade’s forced smile was the only response he could think to give. Individuals from the Sorcerer’s Guild and Administration Guild crowded around Kade, placing the necessary articles of their houses on his ceremonial robe. Talismans of protection from both spiritual and physical harm. Timers and schedule trackers for his immediate work once the Mantle was passed to him. Each Guild was speaking to him of the rules and laws he needed to maintain in his position as Emperor. How he must hear the complaints of the people and how to keep balance between the science and magic arts. There was some tutelage of Osceria and her history. Rapid fire speak of past Emperors. And more information, coming too heavy and too fast for Kade to possibly process.
“Oh, shush, all of you,” Dom said, relieving Kade of the oncoming headache. “The Administration Guild can simply stream all of this into your head once you’re Emperor. And if you had any interest in magic theory, you would have used it more often.”
The Guild members cleared the way for Dom to approach Kade. The older Emperor placed both hands on Kade’s shoulders. “It is all formality anyway. I don’t remember most of it and have never found need for any of it. All you need to know is that you must treat the people with fair governance and that an Emperor’s word is all that is needed.”
“How do you balance the two?” Kade asked, taking the words to heart.
Dom smiled. “General, when you discover the answer to that, perhaps you’ll invite me back to the palace.”
“I would hope the Argus’s would always be welcome back in the palace,” Pan said, walking into the room, carrying a tray with four drinks on it. Arista accompanied her brother and her eyes dropped to the floor as Kade glanced at her.
Pan noticed the exchange. “And just maybe, the Argus line will continue in some form next to the Mantle.”
Dom took note of Pan’s words and Arista’s reaction to Kade. A small smile formed on his face, a smile he quickly hid as Eran materialized into the room.
“All is in order, Emperor,” Eran said.
“Thank you.”
“Full pre
parations have been made?” Pan asked.
Eran bowed, “Of course. Osceria is ready for the new Emperor.”
“Then I will drink to that.” Dom lifted the glass nearest himself and held it high. Kade, Pan and Arista did the same. “From law officer, to General, to Emperor. May the Lorenth rule stand for years as it brings greater honor to our world. To you, Kade’Tor Lorenth.”
The four of them clinked their glasses together and downed the beverages inside.
Dom shook his head and cleared his throat, placing the glass back on the tray and putting a hand on Pan’s shoulder. “I see you can reach the top shelf now, my son. Well done. A perfect age to leave an era as we enter another.”
“The people await the passing, Emperor Dom Argus,” Eran said as he faded from their sight.
“Right. Are you ready, General?” Dom said.
Kade looked at Pan who bowed his head. There was a look in his eyes. Something different than Kade was accustomed to. He looked to Arista who smiled and nodded her head.
“Is it too late to change my mind?” he asked Dom.
“Emperor’s orders. You can change them during your rule.” He smiled at Kade then turned toward the balcony. “Now, as is customary when passing the Mantle, I’ll say some nice things and introduce you. Just follow my lead.” With that, Dom stepped toward the balcony to address the people.
Kade’s smile faded to one of sheer terror.
“You’ll be fine,” Arista assured him.
“And how different could it really be from leading an army?” Pan asked.
“There’s no weapons or anything to fight.” Kade said.
“That should make it easier,” Arista smiled.
“There will be plenty of fighting,” Pan added. “Just not the kind you’re used to.”
“Right.” Kade took a deep breath and turned his attention back to Dom who’s hands were held up to the cheers of the people.
“Citizens of Osceria, those at home and those with us today. What a momentous time we are living in. A time of victory from war. And a time for great change. It has been my honor and privilege to not only lead you but to serve you as Emperor. And now as we—“ A cough interrupted him. He cleared his throat and continued. “As we turn to a new era of change—“ Suddenly, Dom fell forward into the balcony railing in another coughing fit.
“Father?” Pan asked.
“Emperor!” Kade rushed to Dom’s side. He helped the older man back to his feet where he felt something odd at the Emperor’s side. Kade pulled the object, revealing a bloodied dagger. The General’s eyes went from the weapon to Dom’s look of pain and confusion.
Emperor Dom Argus dropped to the balcony floor as thousands of people below gasped in horror at the blade in Kade’s hand. The feed screens showed a close up image of the murderous weapon and the intense look on Kade’s face.
“Kade?” Arista whispered, her voice filled with disbelief.
“Guards!” Pan shouted.
Four armed guards rushed into the room, blowing past Pan and Arista. Her head buried into her brother, blinding her to the further grisly sight of her father’s murder.
Four more guards flew upward from the ground. Their hover packs sending magnetic waves downward as they pushed off the planet’s surface. Their guns trained directly at Kade’s head.
The General slowly backed away from the railing, the bloody weapon wavering in his shaky hand.
“Get on your knees!” the guards ordered.
“I didn’t do this,” Kade said, barely audible over the shouting of the guards and the gasps from below.
“I said, get down!” A guard slammed the stock of his gun into the backs of Kade’s knees.
The knife clanged on the floor as Kade looked at the unmoving Emperor Dom Argus. “I didn’t do this,” he said again. This time loud enough for Pan to hear.
Pan worked his way through the guards. “If I hadn’t seen it myself, there are an untold number of witnesses who saw the act, traitor.”
“Kade,” Arista said, “How could you?”
His eyes darted to her. The pain he saw was all too real. Not just at the sight of her murdered father but that Kade held the very weapon of his demise.
On instinct, he tried to rise. “Arista, I didn’t—“ A gunstock slammed into his gut, putting him back on the floor.
“Put him in a cell!” Pan ordered. “I would hear his reason for such a vile act!”
Two guards hoisted Kade to his feet and carried him away.
Pan turned his head to the rising voices outside, all crying the same words and growing louder with each chant.
“Assassin of Emperors!”
Pan Argus’s eyes narrowed and the corner of his mouth moved upward.
6
The cell door locked with a heavy thud. It was followed by three more locks, treating Kade as though he were the most dangerous prisoner the palace jail had ever housed. He looked up at the guards with more regret than rage. He was certain he’d not done as accused, but even he knew the dagger had been in his hands. And with so many watching and no answer for the act, his case seemed hopeless.
Pan paced back and forth outside of the cell door, shaking his head and trying to make sense of the scene that he and everyone else had witnessed. “How could you, Kade?”
“I don’t know what happened? But I didn’t kill him.”
“Maybe you didn’t like how he conducted things? How he ruled Osceria? If true, you never stated anything.”
Kade rushed to the door. “Pan, you have to believe me. I—” Another gunstock slammed into his gut from between the bars, putting him back on the floor of the cold cell.
Pan continued on as if the act hadn’t happened. “I admit, there were some decisions he’d made that I was not happy with, but I wouldn’t have killed him for them. I trusted father’s—our Emperors decrees. But what vexes me so is that you could have done that at any time. You always had father’s ear. Why today and for all to see? If you wanted the Mantle to yourself, you had it. It was yours.”
“I never wanted it. So there was no reason for me to—“
Pan rushed to the bars and stuck his face right between them, gritting his teeth. “Then why did you accept the offer?”
“Your honor,” one of the guards said.
A man in a hover chair glided up to the prison cell. “They’re calling for your head, you know,” the rotund man claimed. “I wonder if any associate of law would be willing to take your case.”
“Your Honor,” Pan said. “I would, of course, be willing to testify if my word is needed.”
“And your word would be needed if such a case were to be held. Sadly for you, Kade’Tor Lorenth, Assassin of Emperors, as you are being called, such an act witnessed by so many will not require a trial. We will move straight to sentencing. Please rise.”
Kade stayed on his knees, trying to come to grips with what was happening. He barely had any time to process the Mantle passing to him. And now he was in a cell, accused of murder. “Pan, you saw. I had no weapon in my hand. How could I have done this?”
“A skilled General and soldier such as yourself could have easily concealed the weapon that ended my father’s life.”
“I was dressed by the Guilds. They would have seen that.”
“I am no soldier, Kade. I do not pretend to know the tricks and tactics those in the military employ to carry out their duties.”
“Rise for sentencing,” the Judge repeated.
Kade stayed down.
“He said rise!” one of the guards shouted.
“What’s the point?” Kade asked, defeated. “As though I don’t know the verdict.”
“Then stay down like the same coward who would stab an Emperor in the back when he wasn’t looking,” Pan said.
“Kade’Tor Lorenth,” the Judge continued. “You agree that there will be no public trial and no one to stand for your defense. However, in light of your highly regarded service record both as an officer of the law and as
a soldier in defense of Osceria and her people, it is by my order that your sentencing shall not be made public either. As an officer of the law, I take pride in maintaining what little honor you may have left after such a heinous act. However, that is as far as my verdict may reach, given the circumstances.” The Judge turned to Pan, “As the eldest of the Argus children, it is to you, Pan Argus, to give final sentencing as your first act as Emperor Temporea. What say you?”
Pan turned back to Kade. The look in his eyes gave Kade the impression that this was something he’d been looking forward to.
“Why do you hate me?” Kade asked.
“I have only love for the father you killed in whatever twisted vision you’ve clearly had for years. And so, Kade’Tor Lorenth, I sentence you to death. Effective immediately—”
“Wait!” Arista pushed between the judge and her brother. “I need to know.” She stared into Kade’s eyes. They were filled with just as much hurt and confusion as her own. “Why, Kade?”
“Arista, I…”
Her eyes dropped to the floor, still in disbelief at his actions. “I know what I saw and yet,” she turned to her brother. “I still cannot believe it.”
“I share your sentiments, sister. But if we cannot believe our own eyes, what can we believe? Perhaps the story of Aurtune Argus stirred something in our former General. Perhaps war so thoroughly changed him.”
“Perhaps the responsibility of Emperor was too heavy and the boy simply snapped,” the judge said. “The reasons matter little. It is the action that is punishable. And so, Emperor…”
Pan’s head rose a little higher.
The judge continued. “You gave the sentence of death?”
