Stone Silence

Kagamikurai sat on his throne. He rested his helmeted head on his gauntleted hand and watched the magma bubble under the narrow stone bridge that led from the entrance to his throne room to his throne.

There weren't very many people in this world that could understand what it was like to be a dark lord, and while that was good, as the more people who understood that, the more likely a threat would arise to unseat him for some upstart of a dark lordling, it still left him feeling lonely at times.

The gremlins and river demons just didn't get it. So, he spent most of his time sitting on his throne, watching magma bubble. There really was only one other person who even began to know what it was like, only one person whose conversations actually felt bilateral, and not just like he was talking to some pet. “Who's a good boy? You're a good boy! Now, go pillage that settlement, and I'll give you a treat!”

He sighed, and it echoed within his helm of darkness. He wanted to talk to Egonoki, but he didn't want to come off as desperate. Besides, what would they talk about? “Oh, I cast a meteor onto a village of cat people. What about you?” Then that would come off as bragging, or maybe make him look like the sort of dark lord who was overcompensating for something. He rapped his hand on the armrest of his obsidian throne. They never said that being a dark lord was so boring, just sitting around, waiting for your army of unspeakable terrors to do some unspeakable atrocity, then sit there while they talk about it. Even thinking about it made him want to yawn. Then there was the ever-present damoclean sword of the People of the Light getting together and finally overthrowing him. Sure, he made it difficult to do so without triggering a few of his traps. He was particularly pleased with the Aka-oni no Yami that guarded the Mirror Sword, the sword in which he had placed a key part of his essence. Without that sword reunited with its bearer, he was effectively immortal, and nobody would be fool enough to release the Aka-oni no Yami onto the world. He laughed. It echoed.

Some movement across the bridge caught his attention. He turned his helmet to see who approached. It was one of the gremlins. It stopped when it saw that he was looking directly at it. The expression on its face looked as if it was thinking if it had gotten all its affairs in order, because it might very well die if it said something that upset the great and powerful Kagamikurai.

“Approach,” he said. His voice echoed both within his armor and throughout the throne room.

“My dark lord,” said the gremlin in a nasally voice. “I bring news.”

Kagamikurai sat up straighter. This could be interesting. “News of what?” he said, his voice not betraying his inner excitement.

“News of Egonoki. There is word that he plans to raise an ogre army!”

Kagamikurai rested his fist under his chin, striking an imposing form. “The fool dances on the edge of madness,” he said, trying to make his words ominous and threatening. “Does he dare usurp me, the most powerful dark lord of the age?”

“That I do not know, my lord,” said the gremlin.

Finally, a reason to contact Egonoki. He tried to not let it show to his underling. He reminded himself to be cool. “I must see to this personally,” he said, rising from his throne. He did not run, but walked quickly down the stone bridge, accidentally bumping the gremlin into the magma below as he passed.

He went to the Speaking Stone room. A strange bird thing guarded the door. It stood aside as it saw him approach. He stepped into the room. He looked back. There was no door. Why hadn't he put a door on this room? Sure, most woods would rot from the ambient decay of darkness or burst into flames from the heat. Maybe metal would conduct the heat too much, and stone would be too heavy. Still, seeing the bird thing just standing outside the door made him feel like he couldn't be himself on the call to Egonoki. He had to be performing the role of the dark lord, otherwise the bird thing would go down the break room and casually let slip that the dark lord wasn't seeming so dark just now, and then the other miserable creatures would get to thinking, and soon, the entire dark empire would be second guessing him, and then when Egonoki waltzed in with his ogre army, they'd all be thinking, “about time a real dark lord came in to show us how it's done.” And then roll out the red carpet for him. He'd sit on the throne, then say in his deep voice (and oh, how Kagamikurai envied that voice! The true voice of a dark lord. Not some echo-y thing like his) “Put that miserable excuse for a dark lord in a cage, and I shall poke him with a stick whenever I get bored.”

He looked at the bird thing in the hall. He couldn't dismiss him. Could he? No. He just picked up the stone and walked deeper into the room, around the corner, trailing the magic tether behind him.

Feeling like he had some level of privacy, he began the ritual of calling Egonoki. The Speaking Stone hummed and hummed and hummed before someone answered. It sounded like one of those weaselly people Egonoki kept around. “Oh, sorry, the Silver One and Dr. Itachi are at the Angelus right now. Shall I take a message?”

“No!” said Kagamikurai. “Thank you,” he said. He glanced around the corner at the bird thing guarding the door. It stood stock still.

He did another ritual, calling the Angelus. It hummed for a few times before some ethereal being answered it. “May I speak with Egonoki?” Kagamikurai said.

“May I ask who's calling?” said the voice.

“It's rather an emergency,” said Kagamikurai.

“Is this Kagamikurai?” said the voice.

“Yes. Please, could you just get me Egonoki?”

“Why are you trying to contact him?” said the voice.

“That's none of your concern,” said Kagamikurai. “Please, just get him. I have urgent matters to discuss with him.”

The voice on the other end sighed, and Kagamikurai heard the eye-roll. “One moment please,” said the voice.

Kagamikurai waited for an agonizing moment. As he waited, a group of soldiers marched down his hallway, their plate armor clanging, and their gruff voices going “hup, hup, hup.”

Finally the voice returned. “I'm terribly sorry, but I could not locate Egonoki. Shall I take a message?”

“No!” said Kagamikurai. “Thank you,” he said. This was getting frustrating. He thought about just trying again later, or sending a bat or something to check on Egonoki's ogre army, but he didn't want to leave the Speaking Stone room without actually doing something, otherwise, when that bird thing guarding the door would look at him when he left, he might just show with his body language that he didn't get anywhere, and then the bird thing would tell the others, and one thing would lead to another, and he'd end up in a cage getting poked with a stick!

He decided to just listen in on the other Speaking Stones in the world. Then he might overhear some plot from the People of the Light that he could broodingly contemplate on his throne or something. At least then this whole trip to the Speaking Stone room wouldn't have been a waste.

He focused, bringing forth all the open threads of communication of the Speaking Stones scattered about the world. Nothing. It was just silence. Not even two kings exchanging insults. What a waste!

He carried the Stone back to the pedestal and placed it there, giving it a little adjustment. “Insolent fool!” he muttered as he left, trying to mask his frustration theatrically for the sake of the bird thing. He made his way back down to the throne room and wandered across the stone bridge. He sat on his throne and sighed. And for some reason, he wanted to have barbecue for lunch.