The Immortal One

Chapter Twelve - Destiny

Thirteen days later...

It had been quite some time since Säyä had visited a large city in broad daylight. Her training had taken her to remote and dangerous areas devoid of the hustle and bustle of day-to-day city life and she had almost forgotten what it felt like to be in the presence of so many people. Keliingport was one of the hubs of trade between Teldiir and Lekäriiä and over the past two decades it had nearly tripled in size and influence. Saekän's rapid expansion was largely responsible for their influx of good fortune and the townsfolk had few qualms about doing business with the nation at the core of the slave trade. That being said, the transactions being enacted here were not centered around human lives, at least not openly. Mostly they dealt in silk and spices, as well as raw materials and herbs that were not native to Teldiir. Saekän adored its luxuries, and Keliingport profited greatly on account of their indulgences. Ätäluviiä was also a coastal city but their trade was primarily done by land with Avinós and Saekän. The journey from Ätäluviiä (Which was situated on the Eastern coast of Teldiir) to Lekäriiä was far greater than a trip from Saekän (Situated near the Western coast) across the sea. It was more trouble than it was worth to invest their considerable navy in such a distant trade venture. It served them far better closer to home where the threat of Silvä Gädón was always a looming concern. Therefore Saekän quickly monopolized the sea trade, and it benefitted all the more as a result of their ambition.
The smell of salt water mixed with the aromas of the bakeries as they prepared the day's breads and pastries for public consumption. The bells down at the docks rang often, and the people were hard at work with the morning's tasks.
Säyä saw the city as a living being in and of itself. Each person was like a cell in the body of an individual. They all came together to form a cohesive entity. She and her master had not come to enjoy the change of atmosphere. They had traveled across the sea with a purpose, though she was unaware of the nature of his reasonings.
"I have some business to take care of," Aetós informed her. "Explore the city as you will, but meet me back at the inn by sundown, no later."
"I understand master. It will be as you say."
With that, he departed from her company.

Aimlessly, Säyä wandered the streets of Keliingport. She took in the sights and savored the experience. It was not a particularly special city, but she enjoyed it nevertheless. In the back of her mind however, her lessons were bubbling to the surface. Deep down, she knew that all of these people might as well have been already dead. Even though they were alive, what were their lives worth? She eyed one of the shops and watched the bakers going about their daily business. They woke up, baked bread, sold it, cleaned and closed up shop, only to wake again and do the same. She thought back to the insect that she had crushed just after Märkis' death. She remembered how disgusted she had been at the pointlessness of its existence. Yet now, standing in the midst of her fellow humans, a similar feeling was welling up from within her. What was their purpose? She had asked herself the same thing many times, and had never discovered an answer. Many people are born and die without ever knowing true purpose. Was it necessary, in order for Life to have meaning?
She felt separate from them all - like a man might feel separate from the animals in a zoo. Without even realizing it, she had begun to look down on them and their repetitive lives and simplistic motivations. Säyä's smile faded as the joy of being in a city diminished under the weight of her surfacing emotions. She no longer belonged among them.

"Greetings there, little one." The voice that called out to her was familiar; one that she had not heard for quite some time. Säyä turned on her heels and her eyes widened at the sight of the person standing just inside of an alleyway.
"Wiseman!" He smiled at the sound of the title that she had given him. He was dressed in robes as he often was. These however were not old and ragged, they were made of silk and colored purple and gold. Colorful spirals danced about the elegant folds. He motioned for her to follow and walked deeper between the two buildings. Without hesitation she ran after him.
"What are you doing here?" She asked incredulously. "I never expected to see you again."
"I am here for you, of course. How has life been since we spoke last? Have your adventures been everything that you imagined them to be?"
Her excitement vanished upon remembering her master's words. She did not know where Aetós had gone and could therefore do nothing to bring the Wiseman before him. The least that she could do was understand his intentions.
"Why did you tell me where he would be, Void-Shadow?"
The Wiseman chuckled. "You say that name with recognition. The Immortal One told you of me, did he?"
"Yes. He told me of the others too. There are six of you, and you are my master's enemy. Why did you send me to his side knowing that I would join him? Why would you help your sworn adversary?"
Void-Shadow leaned closely so that they were face to face. The cataracts fell away from his eyes like dust that had been swept from a shelf. In them, she saw spirals that pulled on her with an inexplicable magnetism that threatened to draw her into the realms contained within him. With great effort she pried away and averted her gaze.
"What makes you assume that I helped him?" He said coldly. "What makes you so certain that you will be a positive influence so far as he is concerned? Perhaps I sent you to join the Order of Gul so that another soul might not, there can only be seven after all - perhaps you will make a mistake in the future that will serve my plans well. What do you truly know of the fate that you are about to bind yourself to? Surely he told you what the Order's plans are. You would let the world die for your selfish desires and dreams."
"No!" She protested. Pain struck her heart as he voiced the very thoughts that she had refused to face. "You oppose the natural order. Death is necessary so that new things can be born. Even worlds must die eventually. What you seek is stagnation!"
"Then why do you seek immortality? You would stagnate yourself? What hypocrisy. How can the Immortal Ones be servants of the natural order when they themselves are a perversion of it? It is easy to condemn a world to death when you know that death cannot touch you. When was the last time that Aetós Älder felt true fear? He has divorced himself from reality, from the lives of human beings. You have felt it too, have you not? The two of you are connected, surely you are beginning to understand his feelings. They see people as insects, as ghosts. In their eyes the world is already dead so killing it is just a formality. They no longer understand the meaning of the suffering of mortals - and they will never again experience the beauty of life.
What do you know of the war that we fight? Do you think that you can understand what we believe and fight for just because of the few scraps of biased information that your master has thrown you?
This is the Long Game - where the entire world is the board and a single turn can take a thousand years. Civilizations are just pawns and we watch as dozens upon dozens of them rise and fall; and we guide and manipulate them all for the sake of the Plan. People are so insignificant that they barely register as worthy of note. This is the dance of Gods and Devils, little girl, and you cannot imagine the gravity of the choice that lies before you."
"Then why!?" She screamed. "Why would you send me to him?! Why put me in this situation and then abandon me to my fate? I asked you to teach me and you refused!"
"I sent you to him for the same reason that I manipulate the actions of Kings and kill those that are a threat to the future that we envision...because it suits our agenda, because the future of the nine realms depends upon it. This is the design of Anomaly and the six shadows, and we act for the sake of all Life. Will you still join him, knowing that you will almost certainly hinder the success of his mission? How selfish you must be."
Säyä was taken aback. She had no words to counter him, and a familiar feeling arose from within her. I have come too far to turn back now.
"Do you want to know why you will still go through with it?" Void-Shadow continued. "Even knowing the horrors that you will be ordered to inflict upon countless lifeforms - even knowing that you will one day be a burden to your Order and aid your enemy....
Because you are afraid to be nothing. You are afraid of being abandoned, like your parents when they gave you up and the guardians that died and left you alone. You are scared that you will be condemned to live like the baker who you secretly despise. You fear a meaningless and lonely existence."
She dropped to her knees, felled by the truth of his words. "Why...why are you doing this to me?"
"I want you to know what drives you. I want you to see your selfishness and the pointless fears that drive you. You must see the hypocrisy of your Order and the so-called 'Dark God' who created it - because you will have a choice to make some day, and I hope that when the moment of truth comes you will have just enough Humanity left in your jaded and hollow shell of a soul to make the right one."
He waved his hand and a rift opened in space before her very eyes. "The next time that you and I meet, Säyä Shiinósukä, we will be enemies...Welcome to the game."
Void-Shadow stepped through into the black abyss that lie beyond, and vanished.

'"You were supposed to be here at sunset." Aetós was clearly displeased with her tardiness. The moons were already high in the night sky by the time that she found herself standing in front of the inn.
"I am sorry master...there is no excuse."
His heart fluttered with a strange feeling and he knew that something had taken place, something was wrong.
"What happened?"
She had not thought of what to tell her master. She had hardly thought of anything as she wandered through the city all day. Her will had been broken when her doubts had been turned into weapons to be used against her. Part of her wanted to lie, to cast aside his question and fall into a bed and sleep forever.
"The Void-Shadow appeared before me," was what she said instead. Aetós was surprised, it was not an expression that she often saw upon his face. "He came to cast doubt on my decision to join the Order. He taunted me, and my reasons for wanting to become like you. I think that he wanted to break my Will."
Her master composed himself quickly enough and turned his attention inward to his own heart and the bond that they shared. By feeling his emotions, he perceived hers as well.
"Did he succeed?"
The question struck her. Instead of doubt or self-loathing, anger began to boil inside of her. It gushed forth and filled the empty wound that the Wiseman's words had carved in her. Her gaze sharpened with the force of her resolution.
"No. I will join you, and the next time we meet I will destroy him. I will become the most powerful of all of the Immortal Ones and I shall bring Anomaly to their knees. I will not be left behind. I will not be a burden. This world means nothing to me. The people of this city and all the other cities mean nothing to me. Their lives are empty and pointless just like mine was. If Gul can give me a purpose and the power to accomplish it - then I will fight by your side."
He felt the heat of her rage, and it surprised him. Something had changed inside of her. She was transforming before his eyes.
"Tomorrow we make for the Ruins of Älesändriiä, and there you will meet your destiny."