Ramesses 'Elthem': A Short Story
The halls of the palace may have been glamorous and opulent, but there wasn't a word grand enough to describe the throne room. Extraordinary gems gnarled in gold filigrees bedecked Emperor Leroy's trophies for the world to behold. Amongst the collection, Ramesses identified the standard of Elthem, the head of a unicorn and the sacred cloak of Zephyr.
A perfectly preserved dragon, last of its kind, stared down at Ramesses with reposeful eyes from atop of the emperor's metal throne.
Between the banners that represented the seven noble families of Tyné, Lyron and Gilbert knelt on one knee, heads dipped low. Desmond and a ghoulish-looking cardinal in red liturgical vestments stood on a raised platform that staged the throne. Emperor Leroy, whose …show more content…
presence matched his reputation, fixed his gaze at a spot above Aloysius's head when Ramesses and the two princes walked in.
Prince Cyrillus knelt and said, "Father."
"Your Majesty," said Aloysius. He knelt, but invited himself up before he finished his greeting.
Following Prince Cyrillus' lead, Ramesses curled his knees and bent forward until his forehead brushed against the ground. While walking down the corridors, Ramesses had wondered if Emperor Leroy would remember him, but the silver eyes, still fixed on a spot above Aloysius's head, revealed nothing. Gesturing for everyone to rise, Emperor Leroy said, "How kind of you to finally join us, my son."
"I didn't want to," said Aloysius. "Just so you know."
The tiny bells strung onto the cushion under the Emperor's arm chimed when his heavily ringed fingers clenched the embroidered velvet. The tension that'd gathered in the room diffused when the emperor, after exhaling through gritted teeth, said, "We are nonetheless glad you decided to join us. Gilbert was telling us about the bandit attack."
"I tried to interrogate one of them," said Gilbert, as Ramesses glanced around. The dragon rising over the throne seemed to have locked its crimson gaze on him, but Ramesses was sure that was how every person in the throne room felt. Though imperceptible to humans, Gilbert's voice fluttered when he said, "He had an Elthemian disease. A swollen left cheek "
"Why did your interrogation fail?" asked Emperor Leroy.
"Because I killed him for wasting everyone's time," said Aloysius, lifting a hand in front of him. Ramesses thought he would pretend to be fascinated by his nails again, but Aloysius toyed around with his signet ring, polishing the rearing griffin with a gold and white corner of his sleeves and looking everywhere except at his father. "Your Majesty commanded haste in my return."
"We didn't command your haste into a whorechamber," said Emperor Leroy. With more control, "The conspirator left a Command medallion."
"Was there one?" asked Aloysius. Turning to Ramesses, "Do you remember I did with the medallion, darling?"
"You," said Ramesses. The medallion that Desmond found in the bandit's camp was supposed to convict Prince Cyrillus of conspiring to kill his brother, Ramesses realized at the same time he realized why Aloysius killed the captive that'd been about to confess "Prince Cyrillus." Forcing himself to sound just as detached as Aloysius, Ramesses said, "Placed it in your pocket."
Aloysius pointed at the pocket underneath the embroidered griffin and directed his next question to Desmond, "This one?"
After Desmond's "Yes" Aloysius reached into the pocket and pulled out a medallion with a raised golden griffin. An expression of disapproval was back on Desmond's face while Prince Cyrillus looked shaken. Fixing the ghoulish-looking cardinal with a piercing look, Aloysius said, "Conspiring with bandits to murder myself would be treason, Your Majesty. I wouldn't do that."
"No, you wouldn't do anything damnable like treason," the cardinal rasped in a ligneous pitch that sounded like wood scraping on stone.
He'd spoken out of turn, but the emperor didn't mind and the Elthem accent caught Ramesses' attention. Searching beneath the scars and rotting flesh, Ramesses recognized the classic Elthem traits of aquiline nose and wide-set eyes. With a flash of insight, Ramesses recognized the "Disgrace of Elthem," the treasonist who unlocked the doors to the impregnable City of Walls and allowed Tyné to conquer Elthem thirty years ago.
The last prince of Elthem continued, "It's almost like selling your soul to a demon."
"We do not speak of such depravity here," said Emperor Leroy. Staring at a spot above Ramesses's head, he said, "Speaking of demons, what's this we hear about a demon pet?"
"I was bored," said Aloysius.
"Bored?" A weight hammered Emperor Leroy's inflection from to restrained exasperation to open anger. "When we were your age, we-"
"-Conquered half of Elthem, slew a dragon and penned a religion," said Aloysius. "May I return to the whorechamber?"
Emperor Leroy said, "We only have one son and he can't do a single thing that makes us proud."
"Your Majesty, you have two sons," said Aloysius.
"Just because you are sightless doesn't mean you must choose to be blind."
The bells on the cushion jangled when Emperor Leroy slammed a fist onto the armrest and Prince Cyrillus gave a strangled cry. Blossoming across his face was a welt, raw and angry under the glimmer of the emperor's golden magic. With eyes as sharp as a freshly-whetted blade, Aloysius held up his hand. Spirals of purple energy bristled against his skin, but the welt on Prince Cyrillus’ face began to blister and Aloysius bit down on his lips.
The purple glow withered away with Aloysius's glare and he said, “I was impolite. Father.”
"Our son will learn how to command soldiers into a basic military formation even if we must beat the knowledge into you," said Emperor Leroy. Any confusion Ramesses felt on Aloysius’s behalf, any indignation he felt on Prince Cyrillus's behalf, trickled away when the emperor turned his sightless eyes on the spot above Ramesses’ head and ordered, "Shackle up that demon pet and throw him into the labyrinth with the rats. Our son has no need of distractions until he deigns to read The Chronicle of Wars at least
once."
Though Ramesses was not afraid of shackles or rats, rage congested all his senses when Aloysius gave him a victorious smirk. Before Ramesses could make any ill-advised maneuvers, his collar warmed until a searing agony radiated from somewhere deeper than the bones of his body and Ramesses strained all his muscles to not collapse to the ground. Gnashing his teeth, Ramesses heard Aloysius drawl, "But I love him."
Moments before Emperor Leroy could decree a harsher punishment for Ramesses, Prince Cyrillus, with rivulets of blood trickling onto his robes, knelt and said, "Perhaps Father will instead allow the demon to stay with me?"
Ramesses glanced at the prince who’d done nothing except pretend he didn't exist. Knowing that Prince Cyrillus wasn't doing him a personal favor, Ramesses wondered why the magicless man would put himself in such a risky position. Aloysius and the cardinal looked concerned by the proposal, but Emperor Leroy grinned cruelly and said, "We approve."
"Thank you, Father," said Prince Cyrillus.
Speaking over his son, Emperor Leroy said, "We are tired. Council adjourned."
Dragging a expanse of velvet and pearls, the emperor stood from his throne and the ghoulish-looking cardinal stepped forward to guide the emperor to a chamber behind his throne. Gilbert started toward Aloysius while Lyron made his way toward Prince Cyrillus. Both were redirected to the exit when Desmond placed a hand on their shoulders and shook his head.
"I'm sorry," said Aloysius. He’d crouched beside his brother and purple magic flowed from his hand to the welt. "I hate returning to Alryne. Does it hurt a lot?"
By now, Ramesses' collar cooled to a level where he was able to move without pushing his body to its limit and most of his senses fully returned. Prince Cyrillus gave a gentle smile, one that crinkled up the corners of his eyes and made him look more like a boy than a man. After the bright red scarred into a dark brown, he murmured, "If you were the one injured, it would've hurt a lot."
Desmond had left the doors opened when he exited and Ramesses heard a susurration of gossip and questions as servants filed in to clean the room and guards took up their posts. One of the comments, whispered with conviction, was: "A son conceived with love is always more treasured than a son conceived through rape."
A perfectly preserved dragon, last of its kind, stared down at Ramesses with reposeful eyes from atop of the emperor's metal throne.
Between the banners that represented the seven noble families of Tyné, Lyron and Gilbert knelt on one knee, heads dipped low. Desmond and a ghoulish-looking cardinal in red liturgical vestments stood on a raised platform that staged the throne. Emperor Leroy, whose …show more content…
presence matched his reputation, fixed his gaze at a spot above Aloysius's head when Ramesses and the two princes walked in.
Prince Cyrillus knelt and said, "Father."
"Your Majesty," said Aloysius. He knelt, but invited himself up before he finished his greeting.
Following Prince Cyrillus' lead, Ramesses curled his knees and bent forward until his forehead brushed against the ground. While walking down the corridors, Ramesses had wondered if Emperor Leroy would remember him, but the silver eyes, still fixed on a spot above Aloysius's head, revealed nothing. Gesturing for everyone to rise, Emperor Leroy said, "How kind of you to finally join us, my son."
"I didn't want to," said Aloysius. "Just so you know."
The tiny bells strung onto the cushion under the Emperor's arm chimed when his heavily ringed fingers clenched the embroidered velvet. The tension that'd gathered in the room diffused when the emperor, after exhaling through gritted teeth, said, "We are nonetheless glad you decided to join us. Gilbert was telling us about the bandit attack."
"I tried to interrogate one of them," said Gilbert, as Ramesses glanced around. The dragon rising over the throne seemed to have locked its crimson gaze on him, but Ramesses was sure that was how every person in the throne room felt. Though imperceptible to humans, Gilbert's voice fluttered when he said, "He had an Elthemian disease. A swollen left cheek "
"Why did your interrogation fail?" asked Emperor Leroy.
"Because I killed him for wasting everyone's time," said Aloysius, lifting a hand in front of him. Ramesses thought he would pretend to be fascinated by his nails again, but Aloysius toyed around with his signet ring, polishing the rearing griffin with a gold and white corner of his sleeves and looking everywhere except at his father. "Your Majesty commanded haste in my return."
"We didn't command your haste into a whorechamber," said Emperor Leroy. With more control, "The conspirator left a Command medallion."
"Was there one?" asked Aloysius. Turning to Ramesses, "Do you remember I did with the medallion, darling?"
"You," said Ramesses. The medallion that Desmond found in the bandit's camp was supposed to convict Prince Cyrillus of conspiring to kill his brother, Ramesses realized at the same time he realized why Aloysius killed the captive that'd been about to confess "Prince Cyrillus." Forcing himself to sound just as detached as Aloysius, Ramesses said, "Placed it in your pocket."
Aloysius pointed at the pocket underneath the embroidered griffin and directed his next question to Desmond, "This one?"
After Desmond's "Yes" Aloysius reached into the pocket and pulled out a medallion with a raised golden griffin. An expression of disapproval was back on Desmond's face while Prince Cyrillus looked shaken. Fixing the ghoulish-looking cardinal with a piercing look, Aloysius said, "Conspiring with bandits to murder myself would be treason, Your Majesty. I wouldn't do that."
"No, you wouldn't do anything damnable like treason," the cardinal rasped in a ligneous pitch that sounded like wood scraping on stone.
He'd spoken out of turn, but the emperor didn't mind and the Elthem accent caught Ramesses' attention. Searching beneath the scars and rotting flesh, Ramesses recognized the classic Elthem traits of aquiline nose and wide-set eyes. With a flash of insight, Ramesses recognized the "Disgrace of Elthem," the treasonist who unlocked the doors to the impregnable City of Walls and allowed Tyné to conquer Elthem thirty years ago.
The last prince of Elthem continued, "It's almost like selling your soul to a demon."
"We do not speak of such depravity here," said Emperor Leroy. Staring at a spot above Ramesses's head, he said, "Speaking of demons, what's this we hear about a demon pet?"
"I was bored," said Aloysius.
"Bored?" A weight hammered Emperor Leroy's inflection from to restrained exasperation to open anger. "When we were your age, we-"
"-Conquered half of Elthem, slew a dragon and penned a religion," said Aloysius. "May I return to the whorechamber?"
Emperor Leroy said, "We only have one son and he can't do a single thing that makes us proud."
"Your Majesty, you have two sons," said Aloysius.
"Just because you are sightless doesn't mean you must choose to be blind."
The bells on the cushion jangled when Emperor Leroy slammed a fist onto the armrest and Prince Cyrillus gave a strangled cry. Blossoming across his face was a welt, raw and angry under the glimmer of the emperor's golden magic. With eyes as sharp as a freshly-whetted blade, Aloysius held up his hand. Spirals of purple energy bristled against his skin, but the welt on Prince Cyrillus’ face began to blister and Aloysius bit down on his lips.
The purple glow withered away with Aloysius's glare and he said, “I was impolite. Father.”
"Our son will learn how to command soldiers into a basic military formation even if we must beat the knowledge into you," said Emperor Leroy. Any confusion Ramesses felt on Aloysius’s behalf, any indignation he felt on Prince Cyrillus's behalf, trickled away when the emperor turned his sightless eyes on the spot above Ramesses’ head and ordered, "Shackle up that demon pet and throw him into the labyrinth with the rats. Our son has no need of distractions until he deigns to read The Chronicle of Wars at least
once."
Though Ramesses was not afraid of shackles or rats, rage congested all his senses when Aloysius gave him a victorious smirk. Before Ramesses could make any ill-advised maneuvers, his collar warmed until a searing agony radiated from somewhere deeper than the bones of his body and Ramesses strained all his muscles to not collapse to the ground. Gnashing his teeth, Ramesses heard Aloysius drawl, "But I love him."
Moments before Emperor Leroy could decree a harsher punishment for Ramesses, Prince Cyrillus, with rivulets of blood trickling onto his robes, knelt and said, "Perhaps Father will instead allow the demon to stay with me?"
Ramesses glanced at the prince who’d done nothing except pretend he didn't exist. Knowing that Prince Cyrillus wasn't doing him a personal favor, Ramesses wondered why the magicless man would put himself in such a risky position. Aloysius and the cardinal looked concerned by the proposal, but Emperor Leroy grinned cruelly and said, "We approve."
"Thank you, Father," said Prince Cyrillus.
Speaking over his son, Emperor Leroy said, "We are tired. Council adjourned."
Dragging a expanse of velvet and pearls, the emperor stood from his throne and the ghoulish-looking cardinal stepped forward to guide the emperor to a chamber behind his throne. Gilbert started toward Aloysius while Lyron made his way toward Prince Cyrillus. Both were redirected to the exit when Desmond placed a hand on their shoulders and shook his head.
"I'm sorry," said Aloysius. He’d crouched beside his brother and purple magic flowed from his hand to the welt. "I hate returning to Alryne. Does it hurt a lot?"
By now, Ramesses' collar cooled to a level where he was able to move without pushing his body to its limit and most of his senses fully returned. Prince Cyrillus gave a gentle smile, one that crinkled up the corners of his eyes and made him look more like a boy than a man. After the bright red scarred into a dark brown, he murmured, "If you were the one injured, it would've hurt a lot."
Desmond had left the doors opened when he exited and Ramesses heard a susurration of gossip and questions as servants filed in to clean the room and guards took up their posts. One of the comments, whispered with conviction, was: "A son conceived with love is always more treasured than a son conceived through rape."