Tale of Four

”Young princeling.” Tristan paused, hearing a friendly voice he was all too familiar with. Spinning on his heels, he rested a hand on his chest and bowed towards William.

”Lord Fox. A pleasure.” William waved a hand in dismissal and urged Tristan to follow him. Doing so, he quickly realised where William was leading him. It was a quick walk, and before the grand double doors to the throne room, he finally asked, ”Are there matters you wish to discuss with me, Lord Fox. After all, I don’t believe there is any need for you to seek me out.”

”I heard you had a fun night with the Princess. It is good to see you are not hung over, Princeling.” William said, making Tristan roll his eyes. It wasn’t a surprise William had heard already. ”Of course, I am sure it was in celebration of the Princess’s marriage.”

”Well, next time I shall invite you so you can hear. Or maybe I will invite your informants.” From above, Annabell flew down, landing atop Tristan’s head, staring at William. Looking up, the man thinly smiled and nodded to her.

”There is no need. I am not the type to ruin a celebration.” Emphasising the last word, Tristan shook his head and looked at the throne.

”What is it you wish to discuss? I know well enough that we didn’t coincidentally bump into each other, Lord Fox.” William followed Tristan’s gaze and stared at the ivory throne, basking in its glory. For a moment he imagined himself sat atop it but quickly brushed that thought aside, realising he was in the perfect place already.

”I wonder if you gave what we discussed some thought?” William asked, placing his hands behind his back, grabbing his wrists.

”I did, and then I realised that you didn’t explain anything to me. Now I would be more than willing to help the crown bring a swift end to this war, but what you said was a bunch of nothing when we last spoke.” Tristan looked up above the throne at the Cosmaton banner, ”And then there is the issue of the Magi. I understand that the more political aspects of the Magi would happily see a dwarfing of church power, but what else do they want?”

”You are correct to fear the Magi, after all; even if they claim that all they wish to do is study the world’s secrets, the fact that they have a place on the King’s councils proves otherwise. Sure, they may say it is to ensure that the Church doesn’t bring back reformers that saw the Magi executed as heretics, but we both know it is more than that. They need money, power and connections to do what they do, and some much prefer a brothel than a workshop.” William smoothly spoke and laughed to himself, ”But the Magi’s freedom is their greatest enemy. Like court, there are different factions within the Magi.”

”Conservatives, reformists, the politicians and scholars. They can’t even agree on what counts as forbidden knowledge, let alone how to influence the realm.” He paused and turned back to Tristan. ”Your fear is justified. They wield the arcane, but in time it can be solved. In Oros, there are those who wield the arcane and serve kings and emperors, not themselves.”

Tristan quickly caught on to what William meant and grabbed his chin, lowering his head in thought. ”Scorcers. Truthfully, I do believe the crown needs its own form of mystical capability besides the Cosmaton bloodline and the Magi representatives, but enforcing such reforms will require immense investment and a willingness to face backlash from the Mad House.”

”Things will be solved in time, so do not worry about the Magi. They are my ally, but it is purely transactional between us. I shall never trust them, especially in matters regarding faith.” Annabel said nothing, and Tristan nodded, understanding it was the truth. ”And that brings me to my next point.” William turned back to the throne. ”What is faith to you?”

”A belief in God. Rather obvious.” William smirked and shook his head.

”Of course, but isn’t it so much more? Faith is everything this great kingdom is built upon. The faith that a king’s rule is just. Faith that harvest will come. Faith for short winters and long summers. Faith in God’s mercy.” William reached under his tunic, pulling out a necklace, one of the burning sun of Helios. ”I learnt a lot with Lady Death’s heresy. Faith is so fragile. When times are bad, people search for something new to give them hope. When the living world seems to have failed, they cling to a belief that promises a better life in death. Of course, the Lord of Creation does this, but men and women must be morally sound people to achieve this, and even then will worry that they failed. All Lady Death requires is faith in her, and you shall be gifted.”

”Yet within Everlight, there have been no reports of mass suicide. If they truly believed in this, they would slit their throats to quicken their arrival to a better life.” Tristan replied, making William nod.

”Exactly, becuase it is not true faith they have in her, but the promise of what she brings. The dregs of this city seem to not understand that crucial point. I don’t blame them. They cannot read and are only told what is said. If they could, they would understand that death in service of her is the truest form of worship. And I fear, once they realise this, they will storm this Palace and tear down the dynasty to proclaim her the only god, or die trying.” William said with a low voice, ”But it is also becuase they don’t worship her out of love, but fear. Fear of an uncertain world they live in.”

Looking back at the throne, William played with the necklace between his fingers, the chain looping between his fingers until it was tangled. Holding it up to his eyes, he let it dangle before the throne. ”They worship Gods becuase of their promises, even when they cannot know it is true. But kings.” William paused. ”Kings are real. They are the ones who feed and protect them. Yet they are not worshipped; rather, everyone believes themselves better.”

”And yet we are at war, with two men claiming to be kings.”

”Men.” William’s hand clenched around the necklace, forming a fist. ”It is funny. Everyone wishes to be a King, but no one a God. Why is that?” Tristan narrowed his eyes, finally realising where William was going. ”Because none can dream of what it means to be God. A king can be understood, but a God must be inferred.”

”This is a very dangerous conversation, Lord Fox,” Tristan said in a low tone. It clicked in his mind at that moment. The War of the Creator. A reform centuries in the waiting. What William wanted and what had started that old war: ”A war was fought because of this. Am I wrong?”

”A war that ended with a kinslayer. But the thing is, was it wrong? Why shouldn’t a king be treated as better than others?”

”This isn’t a matter of being treated better; they already are. What you are saying is to separate what makes Kings the same as the people they rule.” Tristan covered his mouth and shook his head. ”Madness. It’s madness.”

”Yet they are not the same. Because of who you are, you are able to summon a beautiful little dove. Because of who our king is, he can summon a spider. You and the other Cosmatons are not the same as normal people; you are better becuase of your mere existence. No amount of training. No amount of knowledge or prayer could allow a commonfolk to summon what the Cosmatons can.” Tristan took a step back.

”We are not better becuase of it. And by your logic, what of the great Lords? I have seen lord Raven manifest in a man whilst sat behind the divide. I have seen the Clovers leave behind healthy land where they stepped. Must I talk of the rest?” William nodded in agreement.

”And they are not the same either, above all men.” William smiled, ”But they all bent to one family.” William pointed a finger into the sky, ”The Stars look down upon all. You may gaze at them all you want, and you can never comprehend them. You can reach as high as you want and never touch them. Why should the stars that live in the human world be any different? No one can comprehend what your summons are; no one can understand the burden and responsibility your family has carried. They can reach out and try to claim the throne your ancestor founded, but no one has ever been able to unite Veston but them.”

Tristan took everything in and looked at William, only able to think one thing. ’Insanity. Is he really proposing such a deluded thing?’ Everything Tristan could do to argue felt meaningless; William was clear about what he wanted, but there was one question he could ask.

Petting Annabell atop his head, Tristan looked deep into William’s eyes and met his sly gaze. ”Then tell me.” Tristan said with a deep voice, ”Do you wholeheartedly believe in what you preach? Do you hold this belief in your heart and worship it? Can you honestly look upon my family and me and claim us to be what you want them to be, and not see us for what we really are?”

William was silent for a moment. Just when he thought he caught William in his hypocrisy, the man placed a hand on his chest, crossed a leg behind the other, and bowed deeper than he had ever before, ”Of course. Because it is not a matter of faith for me, but the truth I already know.”

Tristan stared at him. There was no falsehood on his face, and touching Annabell to see if he was being tricked, he froze, realising she saw complete truth in his statement. ”You... you honestly believe.” Wiping his face, Tristan had to stop himself from laughing at the absurdity of what William believed. ”You believe that we are Gods?” He couldn’t hold it anymore and laughed. ”That is outrageous. You can see and touch me. You can see the flaws we all have that are so clearly human and can still believe this.” His laugh grew, echoing across the empty throne room.

William took no offence and rose, standing tall. ”As I said, I know the truth. It is funny you laugh; after all, all those who see the truth first are mocked and ridiculed.” Tristan stopped his laughter and closed his mouth.

”This is insanity. I won’t do anything to hinder your plans, because they are destined to fail, but I don’t want any part in them.”

”A shame.” William said and sighed, ”But I do know someone who would.” His lips mischievously curled. ”May our dear Prince Regent be well.” Saying that, he spun and departed. Tristan looked at his back and couldn’t help but tense, understanding what he meant. If it was Elias, a man who was already crumbling and being consumed before his eyes by his summon, who looked at nearly everyone like dirt, he was sure that William could spill his poison.

”Annabell.” Tristan called out to her, ”I need to know. How was his faith not a lie?”

”It is simple, Tristan.” Annabell siad with a voice, ”He earnestly believes what he said as a matter of fact. There is some deeper meaning in his words, but it doesn’t change anything. I can’t see what it was, but I already have a guess.”

”What is it?” Tristan asked. Annabell huffed and shook her head.

”It is better if you do not know. In time, when you can handle it, I will tell you.” Tristan nodded but frowned.

”If I can’t handle it, then how is he able to?” Annabell thought for a moment before speaking.

”I don’t know. Maybe he braved forbidden knowledge and survived, or maybe he found a way to bypass the suppression. Maybe he knows enough of the world’s secrets that he can withstand it. I just don’t know.”