“Why?”
“Because nature does not serve the king’s will. If it did, Graylin would not have been murdered. There would be no need for extra stores. These are systems of men.”
“I want you to think of tomorrow.”
“I do not understand.”
“What do you think will happen tomorrow?”
“I do not understand.”
“Consider the Master of Inquiry. His actions produce a similar affect on a single person. He believes certain actions will produce the results he desires. Consider the city a person. If, and we are talking only in theory, the kingdom of the imagination, but if these are a king’s actions, will the city give him what he wants? Think of how the people look in the Master of Inquiry’s chamber when they are pushed to far.”
“I no longer go.”
“Why?”
“There is more joy in the city.”
Sections XII, XIII, and XIV have yet to be recovered.
XV.
My sovereigns have released me from duty. I await the Master of Inquiry, and this is my confession. It has been included with my notes as evidence for my trial for treason and regicide. And here, by the last flickers of my candle, I stand to account for my actions.
I am guilty of doing as my vocation demands, as my sovereigns requested, and no more. I have shown my charge the true nature of the city. Her whereabouts are unknown to me. The revolt may have claimed her in the poor quarters where she had spent so many nights, or not, for she became adept at walking among the people without a stir beyond the tapping of her hands.
You will soon hear a different tale from my broken lips: I have orchestrated the revolt. I have killed my charge. I will be made an enemy of the city I served. The evidence for these charges is rumor and deflection. I once heard a court elite of distinguished pedigree laugh into his cups that no matter what I did, my charge’s mirror would be broken. I believe he was wrong. The glorious city is broken. Only, no one could see it because they refused to see its true – — –
(The remaining part of section IX appears to have been torn from the document and has yet to be recovered.)
XVI.
I am free and safe from the unmaking of the city. The price of that freedom is that this shall be my final entry as mirror scribe for Thesa Auraballa Frasttu. We met in the high chamber, now called the Court of Permutations. She sat on her father’s throne, knuckles rolling like the automota of Farago.
“You were hurt.”
“So were you.”
“So were many. I stopped it. And with less suffering. Your work is complete. The mirror was broken. I am putting it back together.”
“And what of the missing pieces?”
“A reminder of what must be lost to save the face of the city.”
“And what of the cracks?”
“Evident for all to see, so that all can mend. For I can see them all. Every crack. Every sliver. Every mote of dust. And they can see me. My father was wrong. The City does not reflect its sovereign. We reflect each other. And I can hold it together.”
I walked, safe amidst death and carrion, until we reached the outer gates. She led the way, guarded by merchants and tradesmen wearing the purple vestments of the Order of Inquiry. Yet there was another smell amidst new death and old blood. Ovens. Smoke from the bread house. Hunger still pervaded the city/etc, but the sallow and rank void in the faces of the people had eased. Food had returned. All while her hands roved as if calculating all she could see.
“Your work is complete. Go. You will see your good works spread. The mirror will grow. We will see each other in it.”
“How big will your mirror be?”
The doors closed. She did smile. “I have no mirror. The world has a mirror. And it is full of joy.”
The mirror of Queen Thesa has not been discovered.
Gerus Ri, Chief Archiac of Selora Island Librarika Imperium
© Copyright 2019 Jason S. Ridler
Jason S Ridler - [BCS284 S01] - The Mirror Dialogues (html) Page 2
