âAre all of you really sure that you want to do this?â Argrave asked, looking between the dead heroes of old.
âI can speak for myself alone, but I know that my time is running out,â Felipe I confirmed with a stoic nod of his head. âGarm could allot us only so much time. Itâs bound to run out eventually. At least in this manner, we live on, in a way. Better to give yourself up in service of something greater than to die ingloriously protecting temporary interests. Of course, itâd be best not to die at all⊠but itâs my fault for doing it the first time, so I canât complain.â
âWe were never really alive to begin with,â Bhaltair reminded them all. âWe are all but tools for an epoch beyond our own, of Argraveâs taming.â
As the Archchief of the Burnt Desert nodded in quiet agreement, an elven general chided, âA fitting attitude for a necromancer. But itâs not wrong. This is an excellent capstone to glorious service.â The elven warrior gave a salute. âItâs been an honor serving under you, commander. I never thought I could give honor to a human, besides the honor of dying at my hand. Youâve proven me wrong. Many of you have.â
âMmhmm. And considering so much rests in your hands, Argrave, some of the more calculating among us think to indebt you to them so youâll never dare violate that document we drafted together.â Emperor Balzat crossed his arms, scrutinizing some who didnât meet his gaze. âAs for myself, I hope only that youâll take care of my granddaughter.â
Constant agreement cameâa steady deluge of approval, one by one, without exception. These strong-willed men and women had long ago come to terms with what had been done to them, and what would happen to them once their time was up. Argrave questioned if he could so bravely accept an inevitable fate.
âThen itâs settled,â Argrave concluded. âLetâs take the offer to the scary woman. Be ready to pack your bags at a momentâs notice in case sheâs unreceptive.â
âThe empty shell can already replicate what Traugott could do,â Ghislain said. âHeâs rather good at learning. Weâll be ready.â
âI only hope thatâs not an ill omen,â Anneliese said with a sigh, then turned her amber eyes to Argrave. âIâm ready.â
Argrave clapped, already looking forward to being free of this place once and for all. âLetâs dance.â
The rebelling lieutenant studied the contrasting pair of lovers as they walked back to her. One with long white hair, the other with short black. One with eyes full of color, the other gray as the Shadowlands. There was a near palpable link between the two of them. The locust-bringer, who bled pain, was bad enough as an opponent⊠but with this woman alongside him, she could not recklessly attack. It was instinct alone telling her that these two could defeat her, but instinct had brought her far in the vicious Shadowlands.
They came to a stop a fair distance away from her. She waited for them to speak in silence.
âWeâre willing to help you with your dream of liberation,â the man named Argrave said. âBut there are conditions.â
âConditions for liberation defeats the purpose,â she spat back in an ugly rage. âFreedom of choice, with only one option. Freedom to walk, with only one path. Freedom to think, with only one subject. Is that what youâre offering?â
âBefore we offer anything, I hope youâll exercise your freedom to shut up and listen,â Argrave said in irritation. âToo many lives are at stake for us to just hand you the Manumitter, give you a pat on the back, and send you on your unmerry way. Youâve amply proved in fighting me that there are dangerous people here. But!â He raised a finger. âWe can offer you a compromise. Namely⊠we could create a permanent portal to your realm. There, youâd be able to baptize your Shadowlanders, so to speak, whenever you wanted. Same end result, one way or another, but itâs a place instead of a person.â
âThat would be a strategic burden,â she said, considering it.
âWell⊠so was Traugott, before my lovely wife so expertly showed him precisely how useless he was before real genius.â He gestured to the elven woman at his side. âDespite his noncompliance, you seemed to be managing fine. I think you could manage even better with a single place you need to dunk your fellows inside.â
âOnce the Hopeful learns how liberation works, he could strategize around it,â she argued.
âIt sounds like you need a wonderful leader,â Argrave said with a smile, placing his arms behind his back. âSomeone who could ensure that the Hopeful doesnât manage to learn anything. Someone that could take the odds, stacked against you as they are, and overturn them completely. Well⊠I have over two dozen of such figures. Two dozen of the best leaders in the world. That brings me to the second of my two conditions.â Argrave brought his hand up, and pointed at his eyes. âSupervision.â
âSupervision?â She repeated. âYou want to leave some of your allies here, in the Shadowlands? They wonât survive. Theyâll be eaten, like everything else.â
âTheyâre aware of that. Each and all of them are living on borrowed time, anyway.â Argrave put his hand up to his chin. âRather like you, the people that I brought with me are the greatest of their generation. Theyâre reincarnations of the greatest leaders our world has ever seen. Their leadership was perhaps the sole reason that I won here today.â He looked to Anneliese. âI think the both of us can attest to the fact that their expertise might give you victory.â
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She was taken aback. âSupervision is one thing⊠strategy is another. Weâre dead gods, lest youâve forgotten. That means weâre among the bestââ
âIt means less than you might think,â Anneliese interrupted. âDeities are merely those unlucky enough to be born in the period in which Gerechtigkeit descended. But these people? They were chosen from the annals of all history. Bluntly put⊠I have no doubt they are your equals, and perhaps your superiors. They can give you victory.â
âI donât see it.â She crossed her arms defiantly.
Argrave seemed disappointed as he said, âYou havenât caught on by now? If youâre that slow, then youâre definitely going to need the tremendous gift that Iâm offering. What you need is a great leaderâa destined leader that could fight back against the one that dictates all of your life and achieve a smashing victory. And weâre giving you leaders, plural.â
âYour people do this willingly?â She interrogated.
Argrave nodded. âNone of them protested. Not a one.â
She pressed, âThey know what theyâre getting into?â
âThey know of the hunger. They saw the Hopeful, and know youâre his enemy. Theyâre committed nonetheless.â
She flexed her hand uneasily, not quite sure what to make of this. âI fail to see what you get out of this.â
âThe Manumitter, as you know him, can close portals to the Shadowlands as easily as he can make them. Thatâs what I get by keeping himâprotection from your people. Beyond that, I merely want to do a good deed. I find that good deeds tend to be repaid in time. If theyâre not, so be it. But I believe my allies will make for a more than adequate boon to your fight.â
She ground her feet against the stone beneath. The logic in her head ate at her gut, telling her that it was fundamentally foolish to let the Manumitter slip out of her grasp. Heâd just said that the portal could close at any time, with him in their handsâŠ
âYou couldâve simply left,â she looked up. âBut you came back, despite not needing to. You offered conditions, even aid, despite not needing to. IâllâŠâ She hesitated, nearly swallowing the words. âIâll choose to trust you. All of my peers would mock me for that decision. I hope youâll prove them wrong. I hope youâll prove that what Iâm fighting for is not a lie.â
He smiled. âSee? I knew this could be amicable. Iâm pleased to know there is something bright in that head of yours.â
She inhaled deeply. âIâm going to be charitable and assume youâre speaking of my character rather than my intelligence. Now⊠shall we?â
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âWeâve been toying with the mind quite a lot, lately,â Argrave reminisced. All was done on their partânow, the former lieutenant would need to integrate her new volunteer troops. âIt does make me wonder what our research team found. If we come back having learned more about the mind than they did⊠good lord. Still, Iâd say this was a more-than-satisfactory conclusion. It was far better than I even hoped for. Thanks to you, largely.â
Anneliese nodded. âI⊠indulged some part of myself I find frightening, Argrave.â
âOkayâŠâ Argrave studied her. âAre you feeling an urge to go kill babies or something?â
âOf course not.â She straightened her back, almost offended.
âI donât see the problem, then.â Argrave shrugged. âI think itâs just this place, this⊠this muted melancholy. Youâll feel yourself againâand if you donât, Iâll drag it out of you. I miss your voice. I miss mine, too. I often miss my voice, but this past while itâs been especially strong.â
âYou mean⊠you miss your old voice, before you were Argrave?â She questioned seriously.
âNo, I just mean I like to hear myself talk,â he said, and Anneliese laughed with a shake of her head. She shouldâve known better.
âI do wonder if weâve seen the last of this place.â Anneliese looked around at the land of whites, blacks, and grays. At the border, the shadows closed in, inch by inch. âI feel our foray was incomplete, somehow.â
âIf we do see moreâŠâ Argrave looked upward. âWeâre about to put some of the brightest minds the worldâs ever seen to work, strengthening their loyalty to us. Hopefully theyâll be on our side. ThoughâŠâ
âThough?â Anneliese pressed.
âThat hungerâŠâ he closed his eyes. âThose hounds⊠theyâre quite the force, Anne. I think our friends can overcome them and lead this bunch to glory. But weâd best hope Traugâexcuse me, the Manumitter. Weâd better hope he doesnât feel them.â
âHoundsâŠâ Anneliese closed her eyes. âI saw them, then. Back when Castro gave his life to save ours. Back when he demonstrated [Arete].â
âI remember. You talked about it at that opera house in the Great Chu.â Argrave recalled his fight, feeling a chill even in this muted place. âI see why they haunted you, now.â
âAs to your concern, I donât think the Manumitter carries these hounds like the other Shadowlanders. Still, I canât shake the memory of them. I worry about our world, should they pass through.â
âWhen the time comes, we might be able to turn that hunger against Gerechtigkeit. Thatâs the hope, anyway.â Argrave looked at her. âBut if you have serious doubts, perhaps we couldâŠâ
âNo. I helped conceive this plan. I believe in it.â She clasped her hands together. âBut itâs frightening to believe, when you wish you could know.â She seemed to realize something, and laughed. âIâve always been a little afraid of not knowing something.â
âThatâs what the shadows are, Anneliese. Traugott tried to know everything.â Argrave shook his head. âBut letâs not get existential. Weâre at the end, and everything about me is ruined. These tatters canât be called clothes anymore.â He looked down at himself. âIâm ready to get out of here.â
âAs am IâŠâ Anneliese agreed quietly.