“We have matters to discuss, then,” Ard’Nara said.  “Of those who came before you, and their fates…”

“Mari’Kha has already spoken to me of your expedition,” Leon said with a friendly nod sent to the Ulta suit, which the suit’s head mirrored in recognition, “though I’m also quite sure you have context to share that she couldn’t.”

“Did she?  You and your father were known to me, Mari’Kha; your father was known to be a great master, and his loss devalues the universe entire.”

“You flatter me, Eminent Star,” Mari replied, her tone audibly shaking.

Ard’Nara spared her a brief nod before asking Leon, “As the guest upon this plane, why don’t you tell me what you know so far, and I’ll fill in the gaps you’ve undoubtedly accumulated.”

Leon agreed, and did just that, taking several minutes to give a brief accounting of all he’d learned of Arkhnavi’s fall so far.  However, it seemed that as he spoke, Ard’Nara found Tiraeses to be the most interesting part of the story, even though Leon hardly mentioned the man.

When Leon finished, Ard’Nara was fully staring at Tiraeses, his mismatched eyes staring holes into the man.  Tiraeses himself seemed completely at ease under such scrutiny, though.

“Judging by your story,” Ard’Nara said, “you came to my plane far to the west, beyond the Mandian Lands.”

“Yes,” Leon confirmed.

“And you, Tiraeses, you are from the west?”

A crack finally appeared in Tiraeses’ demeanor, and he seemed to war with himself for a second.  He took just long enough to respond that Mari started first, forcing him to cut her off.

“He’s usi—”

“I am from the Kingdom of the Blue Sky originally,” Tiraeses said, his voice remaining steady, but after pausing a moment, his voice hitched.  “I-I left for making many mistakes and committing many crimes.”

Ard’Nara nodded, then waved his hand.  “I shall deal with you in a moment.  Do not attempt to leave, else my Cloud Piercer shall pierce you, as well.”  To emphasize the threat, the Azurian Prince leveled his magnificent spear at Tiraeses for a moment.

Tiraeses bowed slightly in acknowledgment.  He wasn’t going to run away; Leon was certain of that.

“Now,” Ard’Nara continued as he relaxed and turned back to Leon, “I will start by confirming the deaths of Queen Larkoina and Alle Kon Harae.  All doubt as to their fates is to be banished; they are dead.”

“I thought as much,” Leon replied.  “Mari’Kha indicated that your last battle went quite poorly for everyone involved.”

Ard’Nara paused, frowned, then nodded slowly.  “It… was a hard-fought battle, and one we did not end up winning.  The Red-Eyed One had much work to do that day.  If I fail in my task, then she shall have much more work ahead of her.”

“How did you escape that battle?” Leon asked instead.  He watched the Azurian Prince carefully, looking for any sign of deceit, but he only saw a stone-faced Prince who answered quickly and readily.

“The battle turned quickly,” Nara explained.  “My uncle, The Majestic Star, commanded the army well, but… there were traitors amongst us, though not, I think, by choice.”

“The Devil’s power?” Leon wondered as he subtly brushed his hand against his armor right above the spell protecting him from the darkness magic in the environment.

“Yes,” Nara confirmed.  “Paranoia and madness were afflictions we all combated throughout the campaign, but in a moment, the pressures intensified, and brother slaughtered brother.  My uncle was killed by his own best friend.  With our head so cleanly removed, no place we could retreat to with the cities we’d liberated falling back into devilish hands… the hordes descended upon us, and we were torn apart.”

Leon listened intently, the Prince’s story lining up with what Mari had told him thus far.

“I was in the thick of the fighting,” Nara continued.  “No other place for a Prince, and my Cloud Piercer carved a great many devilish monstrosities to pieces that day.  But I could not win the day alone, and my friends and bodyguards fell around me.  Even our best Ultian pilots were laid low—though I will say that to see you, Mari’Kha, alive and well, is a blessing.  That the gods show even this small favor is proof enough that we are not forsaken.”

“Thank you, Eminent Star,” Mari replied, her voice wobbling enough that Leon could almost see her blushing.

“When it was clear that the battle was lost, my retainers gave their lives to buy my escape,” Nara narrated.  “They… without the armies of the Red Sky, we wouldn’t have gotten as far as we did, and we only had the Red Sky’s support because I married the Scarlet Princess.  My wife remained behind, thank the gods, and I’d hoped to return to her, to claim my throne and aid my people in surviving this calamity.  What I wasn’t expecting was to be approached several weeks after my escape by a strange-looking mage with tenth-tier power and not even a spark of the gods within him—a man hoping to use me to investigate the Mandian Lands.”

Leon wordlessly conjured the images of the ten mages sent ahead of him, with Larkoina and Alle Kon Harae dimmer than the others.  Nara scanned the remaining eight images and raised Cloud Piercer at one image showing a heavily tattooed man with purple eyes, silver skin, and long blue hair.

“Iluva, Chosen of the Lords Three,” Leon identified.  “Sent from Numith.”

“Iluva; such was his name,” Nara confirmed.  “He appeared from the dark and demanded my aid.  Given the situation and the need to solve the Blue Sky’s crisis, and reasoning that two men can move faster and more stealthily than an army, I rendered that aid.  I escorted Iluva westward, for he’d desired to see the place where the first ritual had taken place.”

“Why would he come here?” Leon asked.  “Did he say why?  Why not go straight for Tell Kirin?”

Leon suspected that the reasons were the same for why he’d come to this city, but he only suggested it because Naxor Amis was essentially on the way to Tell Kirin.  For someone from the east to come here instead of the seat of Qo Weylekh was strange to him, despite the potential boons that could’ve been found.

“I asked him that myself,” Nara confessed.  “He nearly took my head for it.  I did not ask him again, and simply continued to act as the godless man’s guide.”

“You hardly sound like his biggest fan,” Leon observed.

His statement must not have translated as well as he’d hoped as Nara stared at him in confusion for a moment before blinking and moving on.  “I… I did not scream for him, but our goals seemed to align, so my expertise was lent.”

“Where is this man now, Eminent Star?” Tiraeses asked.

Nara scowled deeply.  “Vanished into the dark as we made our final approach.  Left me without a word.  I know not what he did with himself, though I believe the man’s gone ruby shopping.”

Knowledge of idioms wasn’t perfect through the Rumble Stone, but in this case, Leon thought he could parse it—‘ruby shopping’ was something of a euphemism for death.

“How long ago?” Leon asked, his golden eyes turning toward the city of Naxor Amis just across the plain.

“A few turns of the sun,” Nara answered.

“A lot of ground can be covered in a few days,” Leon said.  “Did you have any way to track him, or were you just hoping to run into him in the outskirts?”

“He disappeared like dew in the afternoon.  I could not find him; I only knew where he was going.”

“Why did you follow?  Why not just go home?”

“I followed for the good of the Azurian people.  If the planar neighbor thought Naxor Amis was worth investigating, then I will investigate it.”

“And while doing that, you found us?”

“I sensed the confluence of devilish power around you and investigated.”

Leon nodded again.  He caused the other images to vanish, but Iluva’s remained up.

“Why come here…?” he wondered aloud.

“If we find him, we can ask,” Tiraeses whispered.  “No one comes to this cursed city without cause.”

“Or an invitation,” Leon growled.  “How many has that cultist convinced to side with him and accept the Primal Devil?”

“Even one would be too many,” the old monk stated.

“In that, we agree…”  Leon sighed and turned again to survey the city.  Much of it was hidden behind tall buildings and dark clouds, but the bright purple light in the city’s heart was still visible.  It seemed straightforward enough to Leon that if Iluva was going anywhere, it would be there, same as him.  Any answers to be found in the city would be there, after all, for nothing else save broken stone and brick remained otherwise.

“I intend to lead us into the heart of Naxor Amis,” Leon said to Nara.  “You may feel free to join us in that endeavor; I figure that’s where Iluva might be.”

“I agree with this assumption,” Nara responded.  “But before we do that, there is something I must clear up first.”  He turned to sternly regard Tiraeses.  “Acknowledge before me here and now the supremacy of the Blue Sky.”

Tiraeses stared at him for only a moment before falling to his knees in a deep bow.  “The Blue Sky is above us all,” he said as he laid his right hand over his heart and his left hand over his right.  “It is supreme, the domain of the gods.  The Royal Family is their representative upon this plane.”

Nara assumed an imperious stance before Tiraeses, and the old monk lowered himself even further.  Leon’s eyes widened in surprise as Tiraeses brought himself so low that he was able to kiss Nara’s feet, after which he lay face-down in the dirt.  Leon could only stare as Nara, who himself seemed minutely shocked at how much Tiraeses was prostrating himself, then lifted his boot and laid it upon the back of Tiraeses’ neck in a display of dominance.

This display didn’t even last two seconds before Nara withdrew his foot and motioned for Tiraeses to rise, which the old monk then did, though only so far as a kneeling position.

“Good,” Nara said aloud, his voice sounding much steadier than his slightly widened eyes and uncertain body language.  “Your humility does you credit.”

“Humility is one of the cornerstones of virtue, Eminent Star,” Tiraeses replied.  “I strive for virtue, and though I fear I will never achieve it, neither will I ever give it up.”

“Only those truly desperate ever seek virtue so zealously,” Nara opined.

“Though I hesitate to criticize the Eminent Star,” Tiraeses responded, “I might posit to anyone else who made that statement that paranoia and projection of one’s beliefs onto others is not virtuous.”

“A Prince must take the world as it is; for a King, that goes at least double,” Nara declared.  “There will always be those willing to introduce us to the Red-Eyed One, and if that Prince or King is not careful, then they may meet the gods sooner than hoped.”

“And if one is too paranoid and allows that attitude to affect their subordinates, then they may just create enemies where friends once existed.”

“If they turned traitor over such petty matters, then they were unworthy of serving a Prince.”

“Wise Farangeun counsels us to place trust in the goodness of man.”

“Strong Ashagon tells us to never turn our backs on an enemy.”

“You’re both right,” Leon somberly interjected.  “To various degrees, anyway.”

“What is your opinion, King Leon?” Tiraeses asked.

“My opinion’s irrelevant.  Or, this argument is, at any rate.  Right now, we need to focus on getting into Naxor Amis, not on political strategies.”

Tiraeses opened his mouth to argue but seemed to think better of it.  “Wise Farangeun speaks through you, Leon Raime.”

“If he does, then let him speak your true name,” Nara said as he glared down at Tiraeses.  “You have acknowledged the supremacy of the Blue Sky.  As Crown Prince, and soon to be King of the Kingdom of the Blue Sky, I order you to give me your real name.”

Tiraeses’ surprised eyes turned to Nara, and his mouth opened and shut like a fish.  “Eminent…” he whispered, unable to finish whatever it was he was going to say.

“It would take the gods themselves intervening to save you from this question,” Nara said, subtly assuming an aggressive posture.  Leon even noticed Mari slowly circling around to try and cut off any escape routes that Tiraeses might’ve had.  “Your real name, ‘Tiraeses’.  Now.”

Tiraeses closed his eyes and mouth in thought, his face wracked with indecision.  The moment stretched to an almost uncomfortable length before he opened his eyes again, resignation carving deep furrows in his cheeks and brow.

“Tir’Anu,” he said, his tone somber, his shoulders hunched, his head lowered.

A mortal could’ve heard a pin drop in the moment after Tiraeses spoke.  Even the plane of Arkhnavi seemed to take a break as the wind stopped blowing and the darkness seemed to recede slightly.

And then Ard’Nara and Mari’Kha brought the hells to the physical world.

“YOU!” Nara roared as he walked forward and took Tiraeses by the throat, dragging him to his feet.  “YOU, EXILED IN PERPETUITY, DARE TO RETURN!  THAT YOU DRAW BREATH AND MAK’ULI DOES NOT!  HAR’TUN AND JOM’BAN!”  Nara grimaced and halted his castigation, but Mari was all too willing to take it up.

“You’re Tir’Anu?” she asked in disbelief and disgust.  “The same one who purged half the nobility in the Blue Sky?  Who plunged the Kingdom into fifty years of darkness and terror?  That Tir’Anu?”

“I should kill you right now,” Nara growled.

Tiraeses didn’t move.  Even with Nara’s fingers tightening around his throat, he stared back at the other two, shame and acceptance in his eyes.

Leon, however, wasn’t quite so accepting.  He reached out with his power and forced Tiraeses and Nara apart, though the darkness in the environment didn’t make it easy.

“What are you doing?!” Nara demanded as he spun to face Leon, his eyes alight with fury.

“Keeping you from killing him,” Leon said with a nod to Tiraeses.  “We don’t have the luxury to do that right now.  We have a certain Iluva to find and a city to investigate.  Killing Tiraeses—or Tir’Anu, I suppose—will not avail us of anything.”

“He’s a criminal who deserves nothing but death!” Mari shrilly insisted.  “He killed most of my family!”

Leon cocked an eyebrow.  Mari was young enough that she would never have met most of those Tiraeses had killed since the monk had been absent from the Blue Sky for centuries.  Still, he’d never met his mother before, but he wanted to find her with a quiet ferocity that put the matter into a more understandable perspective.

His golden eyes fell upon Tiraeses himself, who had fallen back to his knees after Nara was forced to unhand him.  Acceptance was writ large upon his face, his eyes promising no resistance or judgment for Mari or Nara’s actions against him.

“I deserve death,” the monk said, confirming Leon’s impression.  “I could spend ten thousand years attempting to become a virtuous man, and I would fail.  Kill me; I will not resist.”

Nara glared down at him, a look of revulsion passing over his face.  “My father told me stories about you.  They kept me up at night in my youth, prayers to Valiant Ashatar never far from my lips.  I saw your enforcers in every shadow, in every corner…  The suffering you wrought in the Blue Sky is incalculable.”

“Why?!” Mari demanded.  “What were you hoping to gain?!”

Tiraeses quietly smiled and chuckled self-deprecatingly.  “That hardly matters now.  Do what you will.  I have failed to become a virtuous man, despite my long years of study and effort to change my ways.  Leon Raime, I thank you for your words, but please don’t interfere again.  This is a matter for the Blue Sky, and its King.  I submit myself to his judgment.”

Leon sighed and did as requested.  If Tiraeses wanted to die, then he wasn’t going to stand in the monk’s way, even if meant one less pair of hands working to save Arkhnavi.

Fortunately, it seemed Nara had other plans.  The Crown Prince surged forward and slammed his fist into Tiraeses’ face, sending the monk flying across the hill.  Nara pursued, beating the hells out of Tiraeses—and never, Leon noticed, used any kind of weapon or elemental magic.  It was an old-fashioned beatdown, and one that was over almost as quickly as it started.

After a few good blows, Tiraeses—who, true to his word, didn’t defend himself at all—was left bloody and battered, but still strong enough to remain upright when kneeling.

“Our… circumstances are dire,” Nara finally said as he cleaned Tiraeses’ blood from his knuckles.  “That is the only reason you yet draw breath.  Thank the gods for that.”

“By the Mothers Above and Below, I thank you for your mercy, Eminent Star,” Tiraeses managed to croak out.

Turning to Leon, a furious Nara said, “We have a mage to find and a city to clear.  Let’s get on with it.”

Leon gave him a skeptical look, but as Mari fell in beside him, he decided he didn’t need to spend too much time dwelling on this.  Besides, some time spent clearing a city ought to help get the violence out of their system.

He hoped.  Regardless, it seemed he’d have to deal with this drama before the day was out.

‘Finding Iluva and killing these cultists is going to be the easy part of my day, won’t it?’

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