A Sinister Proposal

„And you truly think that it would be best to banish him for good?“

Sirgil crossed his arms in front of his chest. He had his beige-grey moth wings folded behind his back. The fluff around his neck puffed up as he tried to wrap his mind around the news. Yes, the culprit had attacked one of theirs a few centuries prior, but banish him for the rest of his life? The culprit had been blinded by rage, and justifiably so!

„I do think so, yes.“ Sudro faced the mothman head on. His avian eyes pierced through his gaze. „Heketoro used our belief in him - our trust - to assault Adrianos and if it weren‘t for our interference, our friend would be dead.“

„And I still don‘t know how he did it,“ Aeva added, rubbing her chin. The goddess with the hair of starlight wandered from one end of the table to the other, her toes barely touching the floor, as if she was hovering rather than walking. She nibbled on the inside of her bottom lip, lost in thought. „Noone has ever hurt a God before,“ she continued, „I was sure that none of you would come to harm when I invited you up here. It was my first wish when I created this realm.“

„He must have found a loophole.“ The Scholar chimed in, looking out of the high-arched windows of their advisor‘s hall. He adjusted the monocle that rested on his left cheek. It glistened as the sunlight hit the polished gold of its frame. „He spent three centuries in his prison and was smart enough to manipulate the mortals that found his cave. To be honest, I am curious how he convinced them to do his bidding. For someone so incredibly vain, he certainly knows how to lead people.“

„He is charismatic,“ Sudro responded. He crossed the arms behind his back, resting on his folded wings. „Heketoro always knew his way with words, Artemis. That‘s why so many of us didn‘t question him when he arose“ Sudro reminded him. He followed Artemis‘ gaze to the plaza outside.

The sun shone as usual, its light breaking between the perfectly cut trees in the front yard. Aevans sunbathed in their togas and dresses, closing their eyes with smiles on their faces. He knew that Heketoro would find a way to take their realm if it only meant to disturb their peace. Sudro knew how much he hated the divine after they banished him to the woods of the Wilderness. It was only a matter of time until he would be freed by an unsuspecting mortal and then, he would gather forces to complete his revenge.

„We need to strike as long as we can“ Sudro finally proclaimed, as he turned around to his fellows. „Once Heketoro meets a person that is powerful enough to destroy our chains, he will leave the cavern and reclaim the powers that were taken from him. He will drench the mortal realm in blood and all of Aeva and Aradeia will be in danger. I will not sit and watch as our people burn. This time, there is no place for misplaced mercy.“

His gaze bore into Sirgil’s. The mothman tightened his jaw, unhappy with Sudro’s drastic choice of words. „Don‘t start, Goldbeak. Don‘t you dare say that I do not care about our people! If not for me, there would be no children in Lorla! Don‘t you forget that -“

„Please, love.“ Jaelle intervened. The young lightling woman whose skin and curls shimmered golden reached for Sirgil‘s arm and pulled him back. She caressed his shoulder to calm him down, then turned towards the Stoic.

„Maybe we can talk to him,“ she offered, trying to soften the mood. „Heketoro attacked Adrianos out of love, didn’t he? Because Adrianos broke his lover’s heart?“

„He did,“ Aeva agreed, „but I doubt that that is his main concern these days. Grief can persist, but memories change over time, Jaelle. It‘s been too long to keep his wife’s memory that fresh. Gods grow bitter after some time. I learned that the hard way.“ She sighed. „I mean…you‘ve heard what happened to The Artist after we had our little dispute. He completely fell apart when we banished him to the mortal realm downstairs. Started kidnapping all those people, made them face a fate worse than death and such. Back in the day, I thought that banishing him as well was the way to go, but some mythbusters swarm to him like a moth to a flame“ - she turned to Sirgil and lifted both hands with an awkward grin - „No offence.“

„None taken, cherie.“ Sirgil smirked and lay a hand on Aeva‘s shoulder. He used the opportunity to pass her and face Sudro head on. „If you choose to strike him, we will never know peace. This is our last chance to talk to him. We should not act prematurely.“ Sudro narrowed his eyes.

„I have thought this through, Sirgil. More times than you can count. He is too dangerous not to be taken seriously. His hatred towards us and the immortal races is immeasurable. If we don‘t take action now, we will lose the ability to do so.“ As they stepped towards each other, Sirgil clenching his fist, a warm presence suddenly interrupted them.

The two men halted as they faced a young curvy woman with hair, voluminous and flowy. She wore her silvery armour, as she mostly did. She rarely relaxed, never stopping, never relaxing to fulfil her duty. „Pa‘axi. “ Sudro gave her a nod. She responded with a slight bow. „I apologize for interrupting you two, but I have a proposal to make. Let me send my agent after him. He has killed tyrants before… He knows how to handle dire situations and I trust him with my life.“

„Do you refer to the King of the Wilderness? What was his name…?“

„Iomer, the Jester King . He followed my directions, back when I was still walking on mortal feet. Let me talk to him. I am sure, once he becomes a part of this, Heketoro will be dealt with.“

Sudro closed his eyes as his colleagues held their breath. In his mind, all possibilities began to waver, weaving and separating and merging, then pulling apart again to form new dimensions, new ideas.

„Allow me, Peachy.“ Sirgil addressed The Peacemaker directly. She waited for his approach. „I assume that your little… elf… isn‘t simply a killer, is he? I mean, if you send him after Heketoro and he tries to stab him, we will be in more trouble than we are now.“

„He will know what to do, Sirgil“ she said through her teeth. „Iomer is smart, experienced and older than most of us. He faced undying monsters before, so why shouldn‘t I trust him?“

„Because he‘s irrational“ Sudro replied. „I have seen your friend work before and, yes, he has defeated the Bloodthirst King using his wits… But he didn‘t do it out of the kindness of his heart. He did it, because his own people were in danger.“

„And that is why I need to talk to him. He will know that a war with Aeva will be a danger to the entirety of Aradeia, not just to us. He isn‘t stupid enough to ignore something so blatantly dangerous.“

„You never know…“ Artemis, the Scholar, said, a sinister smirk on his face. „Elves have their own minds, after all. What if he decides to help Heketoro instead of us?“

„He wouldn‘t dare!“ Pa‘axi raised her voice. „Iomer might not be the easiest to understand, but he is wiser and more thoughtful than people perceive! I can lead him through this mission and grant us some extra time. Yes, it will be difficult. Yes, we will have to work with him and trust him with our lives, but… I know that we can trust him. He is on our side!“

„Alright!“ The Council fell silent as Aeva called out. „Let him do it!“ She walked right up to Pa‘axi. Even though she was about a head smaller than most of them, her presence was overwhelming. Her eyes that shimmered with the light of a thousand moons pierced through her. „If Iomer proves himself worthy, I will let him stay alive. If he doesn‘t… well…“ She shrugged. „If my people die because of him, I will make sure he will never bother us again.“ With a giggle that made them shiver, Aeva clapped into her hands.

„Well, then! Tell him that he can kill Heketoro, if he must, and… greet our Chosen from me. I want everyone to be ready if a grounding happens. We need all the helping hands that we can get.“