![]() And none are qualified to recognize the replacement I fashioned. The Avatar is on the other side of the world and in all this city's population there are a bare handful fit to even recognize what we have done, let alone to stop it. Those people are the ones who suffer the most from this societal corruption and decline. Its traditions have become weak and its people even weaker. "This city has been rotting for centuries Fire Nation, Earth King, and a thousand other factions in shifting stalemate. Each of those gleaming lights below represented a prize in this coming clash of powers. ![]() His master continued to stare out into the dark. Forgive me, but though this is a setback, is it a disaster? I was under the impression that what will happen next is now merely a matter of time." The subordinate paused delicately as he considered his next statement. But it is still in the city?" Within the cuffs of his robe, hands clenched and unclenched in an unconscious rhythm. "They let it be taken? The will of heaven places the key to remaking the soul of this city in our hands, and that same night it is snatched away again? I might almost think this city's guardian spirits had ironically roused themselves from their apathy inflicted stupor just to spite me. The man by the window was furious as he growled out into the dark. "The attack was quick and it seems the assailant was able to escape with their target." Even long service had not accustomed him to the uneasy feeling brought on by the particular decorations hanging in this room. The subordinate held a sheet of paper in his hand and he carefully stood away from the walls. This other figure was less richly dressed than the man who stood by the window and carried himself in a slightly hunched way that marked him as servant rather than master. There was another person in the room with him, standing in a corner near the lacquered wood staircase that descended steeply to the lower floors of the building. Under exquisite embroidered robes, his arms trembled with apprehension. The man should have been content, but he was not. A great change was coming to wash away the pervasive impurities that festered in every gutter and alley of the endless miles of the city. However tonight, as his own oil lamp shone out its happy flame from this private room in a tall tower, he should have had a smile on his lips. It was in his nature to regard any peaceful vista as suspicious. ![]() The man who looked out on this scene from his high window did not usually appreciate these nightly noises. Ten thousand subtle nighttime sounds merged together into the silent roar of life temporarily interrupted. Even in these early hours, before the farmers outside the towering city wall awoke to hitch up their beasts, the streets and alleys echoed. The air was still but this ancient metropolis of stone and brick was never truly quiet. They were the lantern-flames of the sleeping city. ![]() Outside in the dark, hundreds of oil-fed stars gleamed up from across the jumbled expanse of tiled roofs. It was late and the largest city in the world was asleep. “I have learned that ridiculous messes arise when there is more than one plotter and more than one plan.” -Eliezer Yudkowsky "Love is of source unknown,(.) The living may die of it, and by its power the dead may live again." -Tang Xianzu
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |