Yet Amidst Ashes, Hope Stirs

(3:1:6)

“You do know they have a point, don’t you?” Firalk’s scowl could have made the statue across the garden square cower, trimmed trees and poles wreathed with twinkling light strands glowing merrily in spite of his stare.

The people beneath them weren’t so blissfully unaware. Seih sipped at his glass, reflecting that his alcohol tolerance had probably gone up with all these wild celebrations being thrown while the Loh Unity was “winning”. As if they could buoy up the forces struggling to maintain the small ground they’d gained by dancing the night away to the tune of flutes.

He could see the desperation in the eyes of the ordinary citizens beneath their overly-bright smiles. It was a stark contrast to those richer and with emptier heads who seemed totally oblivious.

“I thought you agreed to this because nothing else was working,” he finally responded to the other Domini’s question.

“I agreed to it because Tambo, of all people, switching to side with Hafest and his purist mantra is not a place I want to be,” Firalk corrected. “Their having this much sway over the Hand is not good for Firemount. And with the arrest of the Constructors going public like this, we risk creating rifts in the populace.”

“Tambo wants to have the public’s approval, and the people he’s after only want comfort.” He gestured casually out towards the crowd enjoying the free food and drink. “The rest of them have enough intelligence to start questioning why people like the Constructors are being trampled on. It should be in the Ripple’s best interests to free them.”

“Wise-tongue, aren’t you?” The other’s steel-blue gaze turned to pierce him. “You’re forgetting these are criminals. Letting them go free would be condoning a crime.”

“It’s not a crime if we create an environment where they don’t have to steal or create constructs secretly.”

“Which brings me to my first point.” The man’s finger stabbed out at him around his own glass. “What if Arathnea or Petrah decides to turn our own aid against us? It’s not only Darkness we have to worry about.”

Seih swirled his drink mutely, watching the dark liquid glint under the lights. “You’re assuming that our constructs will turn the battle enough to send them running. I don’t believe Petrah or Arathnea are nearly enough of a threat compared to Darkness. Not even with Coletti banding together on their side. If anything, our constructs will be the one grain that might begin to tip the weights in our favour.”

“And if, once those weights are tipped, they turn on us?”

“Better to be assimilated into Light than Darkness.” He took a sip, the wine sour on his tongue. “We only have several bad options to pick from. Would you really pick the worst?”

Firalk grunted. “I’m not Hafest.”

“Good, because he still doesn’t believe it even is Darkness.” He sighed. “Besides, Petrah and Arathnea turning on us is a worst-case scenario stoked by people like Hafest to support doing absolutely nothing. There’s nothing to indicate they plan to create some joint empire and go conquer the rest of the globe.”

“So said Hafest about Darkness. No indication beyond rumour, no reason for it to be some ancient evil returned from the core’s void.”

He made a face. “The difference is that the Light Scale gave us a prophecy, and barely a month later we had Dark-kind in Loh.”

“Which could be a coincidence. The Scale never said our destruction would come from Darkness, but it did say we would be destroyed ‘by our own hands’.”

...He does have a point. Mulling that over, he had to admit that Dragon’s Crown and the Dark-kind appearing was an incredible coincidence, but still could be just coincidence. The Light Scale had never mentioned it in its prophecy. A prophecy which had quietly been accepted as fact by now, even if no one could agree on the exact method of their demise.

Yet... to think it wasn’t Darkness with so many souls falling to its creeping approach, with his own dreams prowling at the corners of his mind, dark things looming in the shadows....

“Even if they will turn on us, we still have only those two choices,” he said quietly, meeting Firalk’s eyes. “I know which one I’d choose.”

The man gave a long sigh. “And unfortunately, I must stand with you on that one. We will push this through if I have to call in every favour I possess.”

(3:0:5)

“The Hand therefore declares pardon for those of the self-labelled ‘Constructor’ group, as well as the freedom and resources to create constructs if they adhere to the following terms: They will not create weapons-grade constructs, only defensive and medical-grade. They will utilise official supply lines instead of inviting Arachnids into our lands. They will—”

The sweet sound of a victory, at long last, rang from column to column, and the weight on Seih’s shoulders lifted. Across the Ripple, Firalk met his eyes with a nod.

And for the first time in what felt like months, Seih smiled.

(3:0:4)

“Dais!”

Seih nearly laughed as Brei pounced like a fluffwing finding its prey and wrapped the startled teenager in a fierce hug, his brown eyes wide as saucers.

The rest of those who’d been released milled around in the new space provided for their operations, workbenches and proper tools set up in a warehouse larger than the one Brei’s tutorship used. Chatter babbled and smiles graced worn faces, lifting the weariness from their eyes. It was good to see.

He smiled as he greeted Gedahr and Lefei, the leaders of the group, once Brei had finished fussing over everyone and introduced him. “You’ll have to keep the terms to stay up and running, but I’m sure you can manage that.”

“Of course, Domini,” Ged said gravely, the faintest ghost of a smile playing on his stubbled face. “Now that we have official approval, we’ll keep in line.”

“Good.” He winked. “And don’t forget to be nice to your Divination overseers.”

“Oh, we won’t.”

They might have been running out of time, but things were finally working out. Watching the group mill around, Dais and his brother chatting excitedly over the shiny tools and workspaces, he slipped his arm around Brei’s shoulders, her smile all he needed to see.

They had absolutely no intention of following the rules they’d been given, but now it would be much easier to get what they needed made and shipped out.

Maybe, just maybe, it could make a difference.