“Multiple attacks were reported all across the nation today as Durinveii natives planted themselves as suicide-bombers near both obscure locations and important government facilities. Casualties reported as great as the attacks on Korist ministers and law enforcement congregant members just weeks ago. The Emperor has released a statement from the throne this morning with an important message:”
“Durinveii has launched an attack on our very soils this day. We will not delay in an equally effective counter-attack against them. I know my citizens well. I know you all agree when I say that an attack against one of us is an attack against us all. Our forces will be divided and will advance on our new enemies with the same zeal and ferocity we have engaged in against those dogs of Songriveii. Lend a hand as best as you are all willing and able, and we will defend this land of sovereignty as the beacon of civility and society that it is. As it was written in the Alldweii, for you faithful among us; “The tiers of war have ascended among us. It is our responsibility to seeks its end, and bring peace to all under the control of R?k.”
“…Wow. What do you think of that inspiring speech from the Emperor, Kadens?”
“I have to say, our emperor truly knows how to rally his people, even in the midst of this crisis where we now face a war on two fronts. There you have it, viewers; the three biggest super-powers in the modern age going head-to-head in a war bigger than any fought before. We-”
Asher shut the television off and tossed the remote onto the couch while the rest of them contemplated everything they’d just heard. “There we have it, darklings,” he began. “The confirmation of everything we just read. A conspiracy of our government unravelling right before our eyes like a scene out of a film. We couldn’t have seen any more terrifying a truth; this Emperor and his officials seek to rule the modern world… For what? Power? Glory? Money? To be the wealthiest ruler, or to be the one who said ‘I did it!’ to those that came before him? We have the chance to stop one of the stealthiest, most charismatic oppressors from seating himself to a position of power that he doesn’t belong. And Ayela, for him to quote a text so precious to you, I know that burns in your heart like a raging fire that can’t be quenched. Will you sit by while this shitty leader continues to abuse your god and your faith?”
She wasn’t hiding it. Her brow was furrowed. Anger twisted her expression, and she wanted to march to the capital and rip his ivory tower apart with every ounce of divine logic in her being. Her senses were heightened, and her hands robotically curled into fists.
“Kamille and Thillan, your lives have been lived in paranoia, always looking over your shoulders. Will you sit by while others like you have their voices silences, unable to stand up for themselves against the empire?” He pressed on.
Thillan cleared his throat. “We’ve been in this from the start, Asher. You don’t need to remind us why we’re doing this. It’ll only make us angrier.”
“That’s the point, my friend. I want you all to be angry. That rage means you won’t back down when they threaten you. It means you won’t forget what they did to you when they beg you for mercy. We don’t have to take their lives to hit them where it hurts – we just have to make sure we don’t miss.”
She heard what Asher said, but she couldn’t find it within herself to agree with him. He wanted to use their rage and their hurt as weapons. She wanted to be free of it all. If she was hurting, She would accomplish nothing in her actions but hurt more people. “You don’t need to do that to us,” she said. “We’re plenty angry. We don’t need more of it. We just need to act. We need to stop the empire before they do more harm. We have something in our corner that can do some real damage; let’s use it before it’s too late.”
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“I agree with her,” Kamille said as she stood up. “What are we doing while we’re sitting around here, pissing ourselves off at what the empire’s done? Let’s start off with a plan. Ayela and Kacyn, you two go back through and divvy up the data between two groups. We talked about Asher leaving for other cities and towns with information? So let’s give him the bulkier data cluster. As for us, we’ll take the other bit for the Capital like we planned. Let’s try to get ahead of them and release any other plans they haven’t acted on while it’s still fresh.”
Asher smirked and nodded. “Solid plan. Let’s get to work. Divide the data, and we’ll leave for Shamol tonight.”
They spent the rest of the day hard at work. Two harddrives were loaded with projects and leaks. One was given to Asher, as planned, while the other was given to Kamille. Ayela refused when she revealed the drive she had in her pocket, and insisted her friend take it since it was her plan to begin with.
Before she began to pack her things, though, Ayela stumbled across another project that caught her undying attention, titled ‘Project: Gathering.’ Opening it, she found information on three pyramids that were discovered; one in the north pole, one in the south, and the final in the center of the mountain ranges in the Desert of R?k. The reports described them radiating with the same strange energy often detected when aethrils and divine logicians appear, and confirmed that they weren’t built by remans…
They have existed since before elves ever evolved into being.
She furrowed her brow as she scrutinized the data, deeply analyzing every sentence. Three temples since the dawn of the world. One was home to the gods of the first elves, one was to the daethrils – the fallen gods – as old as the first, and the final was described as a temple impassable by any without the permission of the highest creator-god.
Whoever wrote the report believed the pyramid was constructed in an alternate universe, one far older than the one they existed in, and was fused with thaerv upon its formation. The title was what unsettled her the most; ‘The Temple of R?k.’ It wasn’t the strange nature of the pyramids described in the project that frightened her, nor that the temples appeared to have been constructed before the dawn of time. No, it was that the empire knew about these things, and still willingly attacked faithful adherents to her religion.
Perhaps those who were attacked had a darker part of their lives outside of everyone’s knowledge. Perhaps they were involved in something more nefarious than they led on to believe. She couldn’t believe she was questioning those she relied on, but she didn’t know who she could truly trust anymore. At this point in her life, was it really worth it to be involved in secret organizations and movements? Was that the point of her life, to cling to the shadows and strike like a serpent, always hiding and waiting for her prey to stumble and for herself to move in?
She had to believe that there was more to what she was doing than a petty quarrel with a political entity that didn’t exist two or three hundred years ago. Empires rise and fall, that was the nature of things. She was fully aware of that, but what she stumbled upon there in front of her was something greater than cults and secret societies; it was a celestial playground that wanted to include her world in the mess its children made.
Kacyn placed a hand on her arm, as gentle as she’d always done, and smiled warmly. “It’s the right decision, Majjai,” she said calmly while no one else was paying attention. Ayela took a deep breath and copied the file onto her thumbdrive, and then shut the device down.
“We’re ready,” she declared, standing to her feet and quickly rushing over to her luggage. It took her no time to pack, and when she was done, everyone was waiting to leave.
“Let’s move. We’ll pick up new phones in Hes’Lierre on the way to Shamol. I have a contact waiting to pick us up at the edge of Cassum,” Kamille said. Ayela took a deep breath and looked down at her thumbdrive, and then followed the others out of the room.
…What are you trying to tell me, Hashem?
