Endless Tears
“And
Death asked Life, 'Why do people hate me, but love you?' And Life
responded: 'I am a beautiful lie...you are an ugly truth...”
From the
Compendium of Knowledge, in the Yaoguai City of Shi-ki, Mona
Continent, Haze.
“My love
for you transcends the bounds of life and death...for we were meant
to be in the previous world, and now this...I gave in again, I
guess...my bastard heart...I couldn't keep refusing you any longer,
your rights and mine stood as equals in the eyes of God, Mona and the
Universe, so I gave him my heart, bared and true, but the sins are
stained on your hands. So, to care, or plead utter silence, my weak,
feeble hands can barely scrape my broken, wasted heart off the cold,
somber ground...I came close enough, but you went too far...it won't
change your empty stare when you look upon my crying eyes, or dry my
empty tears. But, I can't seem to end these images parading through
my tortured mind like an exhibition of macabre, disfigured beings
crying out for the ones they love, knowing that they will never come
back...they bear a haunting resemblance to the depictions of
Hell...so take what is yours and I'll go on my way, just don't leave
anything that might make me remember us, and all we used to be...I am
but the shell of the Duchess I once was...a fallen angel, a broken
dream...my crown has been shattered, shattered by the cruel touch of
an unfaithful hand...so I must enter the foreign, face all my shame
and hatred for myself, and may the past find its its grave at the
foot of his bed and mine...for separating the divine from the worldly
is what all Blue Aurelian Pantheon followers must do...and I am only
mortal, not a God...so, care if you must, but I plead silence. I am
the true Duchess of Li, a Sovereign of the Mona Empire, and
commander of an armada that rules the known Universe from my throne
on Haze...let my weak hands piece together my broken heart and make
it whole again, for I have no need to be wed. My only loyalty is to
my people and my Empire. They shall never betray me. Power shall
never betray me...unlike the weak, soulless hearts of men. Now, let
us end this catastrophic scene, for I am a stronger woman and ruler
because of it...onward and upward, ad infinitum. Awaken and
inhale...for I don't care.”
Journal of
Duchess Rika Fuuro, on love.
- Coronation
In
the week before their departure for Wolfe, the House of Li was abuzz
with the coming of age of Miss Rika Fuuro, Duchess of Shi-ki, one of
the richest noble cities of Haze, the planet of the dead. Those in
the living realm referred to this planet as the Afterlife, but in
reality, death was but a phase change in a human body, just as the
Big Bang was a phase change in the universe. Human souls, whether
virtuous or sinful, all came to live on Haze, where they simply lived
a second life, but in an improved form. Rika Fuuro, a beautiful young
woman who had been a model and an actress in her previous existence
on Earth, according to her Death I.D., had been born into the
rarefied world of the nobility on Haze, in the breathtaking Northern
Empire of Mona. This Empire, the size of the Russian Empire on
Earth, was controlled by the various nobility houses, each based in a
grand Noble City hundreds of miles across. The Noble Cities were all
unique, and each city made up a constituent Kingdom of the Empire,
ruled from the capital Noble City, Wolfe. The Kingdom of Shi-ki,
famous for its unique Nox Arcana architecture,
was dominated by the Yaoguai-Myryrklos Sky Wraiths, these were
beautiful, 10-foot tall, ethereal creatures with the ectomorph bodies
of young humans, but elaborate, regal outfits that transformed into
huge, white-feathered wings with crimson red plumes on their flight
feathers. They lived for 1,000 years, soaring around on the winds of
the Northern Plains of Mona, and were very shrewd politicians, they
looked down upon all other races, both literally and figuratively,
and never told anyone any more than they wanted them to know. Miss
Fuuro was the 180-year old Duchess of Shi-ki, and she was approaching
the age where she'd be considered full-grown. For her entire life,
she had been taught by the best teachers in Mona, trained to fight by
the best instructors, and raised to be the next Duchess of Shi-Ki,
representing their Kingdom and the House of Li in the Imperial
Pantheon. Her father, Duke Li Fuuro, was of middle-age, but very,
very powerful and commanded respect with his deep, mighty voice, it
was heard coming from down the hallway in Sylpheed Palace, the home
of Duke Fuuro and his family as Rika brushed her huge, billowing head
of black hair, she placed the usual ribbon in it, tied in a bow. The
Rampus buzzed in the trees outside her window, the small, social
thorn-bugs whose spines contained a powerful toxin called Een-ja,
which was used to tip the blades of Hallucination Nano-Swords, the
weapons of choice for Sky Wraith warriors, a weapon that Rika had
trained with all her life. These swords, semi-sentient weapons made
of trillions of nano-Animas, became one with the user by literally
becoming a part of the wielder's body, were incredible feats of
engineering...the art of fighting with one revolved around releasing
one's inhibitions, and letting one's mind run wild. “Rika...”
Duke Li walked into his daughter's bedroom and addressed her
cordially, a content look on his face. “The Mother of Holy Radiance
will see you now.” Rika's face suddenly grew nervous. The Radiant
Mother was someone you did not want to keep waiting, but Rika had to
look her absolute best for a member of the Monese Imperial clergy.
She was dressed in her formal outfit, which looked like the ornate
robes of a Qing Dynasty empress, the Yaoguai-Myryrklos royal robes,
called Clow-Zhu, were
the most elaborate formal costumes on Haze, along with the Empire of
Baronia-Felix's Jungsturm-Nordsterne imperial
robes, looking like a cross between Teutonic Order regalia and
Clow-Zhu, with
elements of Elegant Gothic Lolita-Elegant Gothic Aristocrat and
ancient runic styles mixed in, and
the Moonlight Sunbeam Consortium's Etherea Aeternum
outfits, which were impressive,
very intimidating outfits that were never what they appeared to be,
or always more than they seemed. Rika finished brushing her hair and
places the ribbon in it, over top of her headdress, and put the
finishing touches on her makeup. It was time. Rika strode over to her
father, as he escorted his daughter down the hallway, lined with
sculptures and paintings of scenes from the Blue Aurelian Bible, one
of the many holy books contained within the Compendium of Knowledge.
Rika had three guards surrounding her, all armed with quad-shot
slugthrowers, these were rapid-fire, cog-fired shotguns with four
barrels, arranged in a horizontal pattern. Duke Li insisted on having
Rika with guards everywhere, even though Master Ling Chao Xi, a Sky
Wraith Weapon Master, had taught her as well as any other Weapon
Master, Watchman, or Tao Master on Haze. He was a very protective
father, to be certain, but no amount of protection would keep her
from this day...the same ritual that all young Sky Wraiths must
undergo to be considered adults: the Holy Writ of Yami. This ritual
was administered by a clergyman with the family and all retainers,
lords, magnates and officials in the given Noble City in attendance.
Rika was nervous, no doubt, but she had trained for this day her
whole life...180 years of studying the Blue Aurelian Bible, training,
learning and becoming the woman she'd be for the rest of her
life...now it was time to prove to the Radiant Mother that she really
was ready. The doors to the main Council Chamber in Sylpheed Palace
opened, and Rika walked into the room alone, her guards and her
father were not permitted to enter the room. The doors shut behind
her, leaving her standing in the center of the Council Chamber that
she had been spending time in since birth, with hundreds of highborn
citizens of the Mona Empire and elsewhere of multiple races; two
diplomats from the Baronia-Felix Reich of Mankind were in attendance;
Baron Olaf von Heckolocker and his 23-year old daughter, Helena, both
wearing extraordinarily elaborate Jungsturm-Nordsterne
imperial outfits, covered in
hundreds of pagan rune drawings, with various sigils, signs, staves
and runes granting them powers beyond even a sorcerer's
comprehension, carrying pointed, Tyr Cross swords as scepters, with
Helena's long, silky blonde hair let down to its full length, rather
than its usual pigtails, stood and looked on, for it was customary in
Yaoguai-Myryrklos culture to let one's hair down in the presence of a
Clergy, except for the initiate in just such a situation as now,
several Arch-Sages from the sorcerer Empire, the Tempelritter
Order of Sorcery, led by Sage Lusankaya The Weird, a huge, animated
purple, black and blue robe with a blue cape, and a 6-foot tall
yellow pointed hat, with two glowing blue eyes peeking out from
between the robe and the hat, two of the Vatrian Strigoi Cossacks
from the Illusory Empire of Vatria, their massive, vampire-like forms
occupying the darkest corner of the room to avoid direct sunlight,
and three Sea Goddesses in their amazingly detailed, extremely
elaborate, wire-framed ballroom gowns, called Hydromedusa
style, they looked like EGA-EGL jellyfish ballroom-dresses. They came
from the Empire of Oceanus, where they traveled around the seas of
Haze, as graceful 2-D images gliding across the surface of the sea,
like a neon sign, but could turn 3-D when on land, and always
radiated an ethereal glow from their bodies. They were elegant,
politically shrewd and beautiful, but occasionally really, really
scary, as they were generally very short-tempered and had little
patience for incompetence. With all of these eyes watching her, in
addition to many of her own attendants and teachers, there was
considerable pressure to get this initiation exactly right,
especially for the Baronian diplomats; Olaf would be recording all of
Rika's writs and recitations to present to the Blue Aurelian Church,
under Supreme Pontifex Irtas Wyndroth, for evaluation, and Baronians
were notoriously difficult to please, not to mention, their language
sounded extremely sharp, declarative and aggressive, they could say
that they loved you, and it would still sound like they were yelling
at you. The Human Race was the dominant race in Baronia-Felix, and
men were some of the greatest soldiers on Haze. Using their runic
powers and more than 45 different weapons in the Baronian military,
along with huge, nuclear-powered airships, fighters and bombers, as
well as aircraft carriers, battleships and submarines at sea, the
Reich of Baronia-Felix was feared and respected in equal measure.
Their most recent triumph was on the Elohim Archipelago, a beautiful,
tropical island chain that was held by the Empire of Oceanus and was
occupied by the Siglyph Anarchists for a time, using Vatrian Strigoi
weaponry; the Anarchists locked down the main island of Elohim
Paradise, killing hundreds of the super-rich, upper-class civilians.
Elohim Paradise was a very large, extensive, and extraordinarily
rarefied, exotic culture, famous for their unique outfits and
swimsuits worn by the super-rich young people that lived there, and
they were often seen as arrogant, very attractive with very loose
morals, and detached and snobbish, but the Anarchists had gone WAY
too far in their Bolshevik-style uprising. The Sea Goddesses, having
no military but vast magic powers over the ocean, tried to intervene
with their katanas and ocean magic, but it wasn't enough, the Strigoi
shield weaponry made the Siglyph Anarchists immune to the Sea Goddess
magic. They sent a request for assistance from Baronia-Felix, who,
under the direct orders of Kaiser Ludwig III, sent a fleet consisting
of an aircraft carrier, two airships and their respective bomber
squadrons, two attack submarines armed with SLCMs, three destroyers
and 3,000 Reich Marines to Elohim Paradise, restoring law and order
and ending the Siglyph Uprising after 72 days of war. One Sea
Goddess, a stunning, red-haired beauty in a battle dress as beautiful
as the clearest summer night in the Big Sky Country of the north,
named Otohime Marunae, was inducted into the Oceanus Hall of Heroes
as Sama-Otohime after
assuming command of the Reich Marines for the operation, and having
her own stained-glass window in the majestic Temple of the Sea, the
Grand Palace of Oceanus, home of the Sea Goddesses and their Imperial
headquarters. Olaf was also seen as a hero to the vast Reich of
Mankind, it would take a lot to impress him, he wore the Order of St.
Rudolph with pride. The Radiant Mother, an older Sky Wraith, her hair
graying, but her aging face hiding the wisdom of 650 years of life,
bowed before Rika, and Rika responded in kind, bowing a full five
inches lower than the Radiant Mother, every detail counted. The
traditional greeting was extremely important in Sky Wraith culture,
as first impressions counted for everything for the nobility.
“Welcome, young initiate, to the Initiation of Grand Palace of
Mona, now, recite the Writ of Enlightenment, in its entirety.” the
Radiant Mother commanded, getting straight to the event.
“Just as the
Great God Athos presented fire to the Prophet Lao Chi, we grant
knowledge to the unenlightened, and likewise, Him to me. In the days
of yore, the days of three, we stood in ignorance, like an innocent
child betwixt the trees. Athos granted fire, the Holy Light to the
Sky Wraith Race, and with His might, we spread our wings, like birds
taking flight, chasing along the Bird's-Road at a torrid pace, we
showed the world our majesty and light, from the Sea Goddesses to the
Human Race. No mountain is too high, no valley is too low, no river
is too wide, for our race to cross, we fight for the experience of
battle, win or loss. There is no victory, unless in knowledge.”
“Very
good. Flawless, actually.” the Radiant Mother said. “Now, recite
the 5 Pitfalls of Life.”
“The first
Pitfall is that we exist to fulfill a prophecy. The Blue Aurelian
Bible states that only chaos is certain.”
“Excellent,
can you tell me why this belief is dangerous?” The Radiant Mother
asked.
“In an era
where everything is growing stronger, every generation assumes that
it is the last one on Haze. There is no God, there is no Devil, there
is only Haze.”
“Perfect.
Second Pitfall, please.”
“The Second
Pitfall is that there is a true essence. We are what we are, there is
no absolute purity, and the reason for this is that the minds of men
and other races alike are too afraid to face the truth, like a liar
who continually justifies his lies, or a drunkard who blames his
domestic violence on the alcohol, we believe that whatever we do does
not touch our separate, inner purity. No such entity exists. There is
no Ghost in the Machine, we are what we are.”
“Again,
perfect...you seemed to know the question I was going to ask you
before I even asked it, you told me why the belief was dangerous in
your own words before I even asked you to. Very commendable.” Even
the Radiant Mother was impressed by Rika so far. Rika could see Olaf
writing fervently in his book about her performance, and he looked
just as impressed as the Mother was. “Third Pitfall, please.”
“The
third Pitfall is that evil can be destroyed by violence. Violence
doesn't solve problems, it creates them. Far too often we think that
if violence isn't solving problems, we just aren't using enough of it
or we aren't killing the right people. Crime cannot be solved by more
crime, evil is not a problem that can be solved by bullets and bombs,
and an enemy that can only be destroyed by killing is a very weak,
simple enemy indeed. Mankind needs these enemies to feel secure, the
Blue Aurelian Bible describes this as a masochistic society, people
like to be scared, because it gives them an excuse to be violent. The
only real way to conquer evil is to stop the root of the problem, and
not allow evil to develop in the first place through education and
care for those in need. Proactive, not reactive justice should be
made the order of the day.”
“The
Initiate Rika is right, Oh Court of Monese Nobility and Diplomats!”
The Radiant Mother stood, raising her blue, glowing orb-scepter into
the air. “What gave the Kaiser the authority to intervene in the
Siglyph Uprising!? To what authority was he answering to? The Third
Pitfall! Evil only breeds greater evil! It cannot solve the larger
problem!” “And what did you expect our Reich to do?! Sit there
and twiddle our thumbs while hundreds of innocents were slaughtered
by the Anarchists, armed with Strigoi weaponry stolen from an
armory?! Are you suggesting that you don't believe in evil?! That all
the foul, rotten creatures of this world need is a stein of beer and
someone to talk to?! That is pure fantasy, like those pointless
comics about 'The Immortal Retard' and 'Misogynistic Man,' the two
politically incorrect superheroes that my daughter's classmates used
to draw!! They shoot, we shoot!!” Baron Olaf von Heckolocker
roared. “And you fall under the Egoist Crown once again, Baron, as
does your entire Empire. The power of its military cannot protect you
from the weight of its own egotism and selfish desires to exterminate
evil. You are not justice. You are a group of violence-crazed
mass-murderers!” Baron Olaf glared frighteningly at the Radiant
Mother as if to scream with rage, but at his daughter's insistence,
he calmed down. “Fine...if you doubt the power of the Reich's
military, than do not expect any assistance from us if you befall the
same fate as Elohim Paradise. We will, as you say, turn the other
cheek.” Everyone in the room broke into quiet side conversations.
Rika looked around the room, very confused and startled by Baron
Olaf's outburst. “Indeed you are powerful, Rika. Your words have
succeeded in deeply offending Baron Olaf, but he had it due to him.
You have proven yourself wiser than any Baronian already. Now,
continue with the Fourth Pitfall.
“The
Fourth Pitfall is that most people are not people. We are all equal
in ideals, and in birth. It is our actions that decide who we are. We
tend to think in insular terms, that one race is better than another
one, or that the rich are inherently superior to the poor, or that
one person's needs are somehow superior to another person's needs. No
such distinction exists. It is purely artificial, fabrications of
society that are placed on a pedestal because of individual
insularity, it is very difficult to see beyond the needs of our
families and our own bodies. Everyone has an equal voice in the
world.
“Perfect,
once again. You have proven your worth so far to our Empire and the
Blue Aurelian faith. Now, the final Pitfall?”
“The
final Pitfall is that being intelligent means being faithless. This
is the most dangerous belief of all, as it leads directly into the
Egoist Crown Philosophy, which dooms all societies that have ever
existed, on Earth or on Haze. Belief need not come from religion to
be valid, it can come from anything that gives a person faith and
happiness, and therefore is valid to them. When faithlessness is
allowed to permeate the world's Ideology Fields, there is pain,
misery and suffering, when there is belief, there is hope...it is a
society's choice, whether it wants to fail or succeed, based on its
own actions...for that is the only way to salvation...And so, like
the Light of Athos, we are all like stars that shine up from the
depths...”
“Congratualtions...that was perhaps the most fantastic recitation
of the Pitfalls that I have ever heard, regardless of outside
opinions. Listen to Initiate Rika's wisdom, Council of Nobility! Not
since the Scramble for the Colonies have such wiser words been said!”
The Radiant Mother spoke loudly, once again, this time, with two
fearsome Yaoguai-Myryrklos warriors, with the Blue Aurelian Bevin
Cross, the Imperial insignia of Mona, emblazoned proudly on their war
uniforms, brandishing Skoadewhips, Time-Shields and Hallucination
Nano-Swords, their huge wings folded behind their backs, standing in
attendance. Her speech made reference to the five Great Powers
dividing up the the rest of Haze to their liking, without any consent
from the lesser nations. The Scramble left Wolfe and the Empire of
Mona in charge of the principalities Arion, and Raul, and made the
noble Kingdom of the Shining Lanterns a permanent protectorate under
the Treaty of Sanctity, along with the Monese Royal Navy conquering
the Kiakaddashweep Islands and bringing the Chivalric Knights of
Wyndren under Monese control, whereas the Empire of Baronia-Felix
made up for its “small” home territory, large by any standard at
990,000 square miles, but tiny compared to Mona, with a vast colonial
Empire, with more than 68 colonial holdings on every one of Haze's 9
continents. The Vatrian Strigoi Empire had a similar amount of
territory, with 53 colonies and deployed colonial forces as often as
it did native Strigoi forces, the Tempelritters with 22
colonies, including the resource-rich Verda River Basin, and the
Empire of Oceanus with 15 major island colonies and close to 400
smaller ones, as well as vast underwater cities. Rika's initiation
was not done yet, however, but, as Rika and the Radiant Mother were
discussing, there were forces on Haze that one could not control, and
one of them was about to appear unannounced in Sylpheed Palace. Just
then, a sinister presence entered the room, and took its full, 8' 3”
form. She had long, black and burgundy hair, as fair as black silk,
and a very pale face with a few freckles near her eyes, her eyes were
dark green, as sharp and green as a Wodan Pine's laser-sharp,
venomous needles, with a beautifully sinister, calm face, black and
red kohl makeup decorated her cheeks and eyes, topped off by
blood-red lipstick. Here eyelashes were black and seductive, and her
eyebrows complemented her tranquil facial expressions perfectly.
“Hello, my dearest barons, gentry and nobility...how goes it?”
The woman spoke in her strong Slavic accent, hovering forward because
her immensely-elaborate Maleficent Crown robes, cape, veil and
dress were too large, complicated and elaborate for her to walk in.
One could see her stilletto-style EGA-EGL platform shoes and her
black and white striped stockings as she hovered forward, her
hundreds of red rubies and black pearls on her dress glinting in the
sunlight beaming into the room through the skylights, and the purple
static orb on her scepter glowed eerily. Her imperial Krone, or
crown, shone in the lights, a virtual sculpture behind her head. The
two Strigoi diplomats walked forward and kneeled in respect. “Tsarina
Erzevet Lucifera, I don't know what to make of you, you enter the
ceremony unannounced. To what do we owe this interruption?” The
Radiant Mother said, annoyed at the second interruption in the
ceremony thus far. “There are not many that can comprehend my
powers...I can be your best friend or your worst nightmare, depending
on what you want me to be. I was listening to this young woman speak,
and her wisdom is great, far beyond her years...but, my race and my
Empire, Vatria, are of a different breed altogether. I am the Goddess
of the Mind, all things and ideals within the Haze Realm and Earthly
zeitgeist, I have control over. I agree with Rika on most things but
disagree with one critical aspect of her philosophy, and all of Blue
Aurelianism: the nature of society. Society is notoriously judgmental
and cannot see past the lies it has created for itself. One of them
being the lie of 'free will.' Allow me to demonstrate...Ehh, sey
aaz grell nachi muno Kashka!!” Lucifera pointed her scepter at
the Radiant Mother, and chanted an ancient Vatrian spell.
Immediately, the wise, noble, ancient Radiant Mother dropped to the
floor and began flopping around like a fish, gasping and choking, as
the rest of the room looked on in horror. All except the Strigoi
diplomats, who watched ominously. The two Strigoi walked menacingly
towards their Tsarina, and spoke in Vatrian. “S nami Bogu, Miz
Tsaritsaya. Krasnoi pash voi ter'aa?” “Noku shaka paka. Kiichi
kuun, tresh noin, si sapesh.” After the brief dialogue between
the two diplomats, also clad in Maleficent Crown outfits, and
Tsarina Lucifera, Lucifera lifted the spell on the Radiant Mother,
who stood up, her wings soiled and in need of preening, and her
immensely complex Clow-Zhu outfit somewhat scattered, but the
Radiant Mother quickly recovered, and angrily drew her spellcasting
scepter, with the Monese guards drawing their Hallucination
Nano-Swords and Skoadewhips. The Radiant Mother ruffled her feathers
a bit, bringing them back to perfect form, and, without a word,
advanced towards Tsarina Lucifera and her diplomats, who drew their
Paganblut Reaper swords, which more resembled chainsaws with
sword hilts than blades for battle. Tsarina Lucifera hissed loudly,
her fangs flaring like a snake ready to strike, as she drew her
spellcasting scepter. The six warriors stared each other down,
weapons drawn, as Duke Li and his guards ran to assist the Radiant
Mother. “Like I said, I can be your best friend, or your worst
nightmare...do you know what I do to people that make the mistake of
believing that they have free will? I've done things you couldn't
even dream about in your worst nightmares...things you can't even
see. Dreams are an expression of willpower, and a nightmare is a
hideous homuculus of shattered dreams, putting themselves back
together with a mind of their own. Nightmares are the Ghost in
the Machine, and I am the Goddess of the Mind. I use nightmares, both
real and imagined to accomplish my will. It appears that you are
forgetting your place, people of Haze.” Lucifera raised her scepter
and slammed the handle against the ground...a bizarre wave of
distortion engulfed the room, making everyone dizzy, lose their
balance and fall over, and then allowed Lucifera's thoughts to enter
their shattered mental walls, broken by the distortion wave. She
projected images of the things she had done to her enemies and images
her own thoughts, such as forcing two children to watch their father
be forced into a slow-motion “Blood Orgy,” at the climax of
which, the man's penis was hit with a sledgehammer and masturbated
until it ejaculated blood and semen, then severed with a saw blade
and given to the two starving children to eat, after that, all the
orgy participants, captured enemies, were sacrificed by the Strigoi
in their blood-rituals, images of a necrophiliac autopsy surgeon
having sex in the autopsy room after hours at a hospital on Earth, a
fisherman cutting up his murder victims' bodies and using them for
bait, images of slowly cooking a pregnant woman over a fire to cook
her unborn fetus for a cannibal Strigoi Thanksgiving, performing
forced abortions on pregnant women by forcing them to eat a berry
that caused them to miscarry, and delivering the stillborn baby in a
dark, pagan ceremony with the Strigoi high priests chanting as the
baby was taken out from the mother by C-section on Yule, the pagan
equivalent of Christmas for a human sacrifice, the story of a
nymphomaniac-necromanitc and how she found out how to give a corpse
an erection, and also how she had sex with 100 bodies, and collected
their penises as souvenirs, a place known as the “Land of the
Spooks,” with distorted monsters wandering everywhere and looking
for blood, images of people dying from illnesses such as Ebola,
images of rape, sodomy, sexual torture and just torture in general,
hideously distorted, anguished faces and everything that could
possibly fit under the phrase “disturbing.” The aristocrats
writhed on the floor in torment as these images haunted their minds.
Just as soon as the intense psychological torture test began, it
ended. Only the Radiant Mother and Rika were unaffected by the spell,
something that Lucifera found...rather surprising. “You see, my
dearest gentry, that the walls protecting your mind, the walls known
as “free will,” are easily shattered. This, I hope, states the
one fatal flaw that I see in Blue Aurelianism and the Aurelian
Pantheon Doctrine in general. Free will does not exist, only the will
of the powerful. That is the pitfall of your beliefs.” The three
Strigoi transformed into amorphous shadows again, and exited the room
with a whisper. As the group of aristocrats came to, Rika stood in
front of the Radiant Mother, and recited the last part of the ritual.
“The Four Pillars of the Aurelian Pantheon Doctrine are the
Paradox of Self-Sufficiency, represented by a serpent consuming its
own tail, the Ignorance Complex, for that nothing is certain thanks
to the laws of chaos, the Seven Doctrines of Absurdity, for the
definitions of sentience, and the Ideology Fields, everything is
influenced by everything else, and the whole of the Zeitgeist is
formed from the ideas' interactions with each other. Thus, Blue
Aurelianism explains the world in all aspects...”
The
Radiant Mother looked at Rika, and bowed honorably. Rika responded in
kind. “Dear Rika, do you know why Tsarina Lucifera interrupted our
ritual? The Radiant Mother asked, rather unexpectedly. Rika didn't
know what to say. She had not been prepared for a question like this,
because she did not expect the Tsarina of Vatria to interrupt the
ritual so unexpectedly. How was she to know why Lucifera had suddenly
chosen to appear...but then, she remembered what her father had told
her, and her teachers' words, preparing her for this day her whole
life. “Evil only exists to intimidate and control through fear.
Do not fear evil, confront it head-on. Give it no quarter, and it
will always shrink back to the shadows from whence it came.” “It
is because Lucifera wants to control us. She feels that if she
intimidates us with her immense powers, we will bow to her will and
do whatever she wants us to. Evil only exists to intimidate and
control through fear. If we do not fear it, it cannot control
us...and thus, evil is rendered powerless.” “Excellent,
excellent work, Rika. That was my final test...incredible...I sense
such enishi radiating from you, more than I have ever sensed
from any initiate in my entire existence on Haze...you are a truly
gifted individual, and have done your Royal House pride today. Go
forth into the world, Rika, for you are now a full-blooded member of
the Blue Aurelian Pantheon. With our blessing, you will accomplish
truly astounding things. The other aristocrats, all standing and
observing the triumphant initiation of the young Duchess, applauded
her success as the radiant blue Talisman of Weylan was placed around
Rika's neck, to signify an exceptionally gifted member of the Blue
Aurelian Pantheon...this was her token to keep forever, and would
bring eternal honor and prestige to the House of Li. Rika's wisdom
and knowledge reflected great credit upon herself, her father and the
entire Empire of Mona. She truly was one of the finest kind.
It
wasn't long until her father, Duke Li of the House of Shi-ki, walked
in with his two guards to congratulate his daughter on her stunning
success. “Come, Duchess of Shi-ki, my glorious and honored
Daughter of the Blue Aurelian Pantheon, it is time for the Imperial
Confirmation...you will join our place in Heaven, Earth and Haze as
the Heir to the House of Li, the mightiest of the Monese Royal
Houses. Come, the rest of the Sky Wraith nobility awaits you in the
Hall of Sanctity, at the center of Sylpheed Palace, surrounding the
Throne of Heaven's Bliss.” The nobility from each and every
other Empire bowed in reverence to the young Duchess, her dress
billowing into wings as she absorbed what this day meant. She was no
longer a mere child, an initiate. She was full-fledged royal, and one
that would play a prominent role in shaping the future of the Empire.
She raised her hand high in the air, giving the Monese imperial
salute, embracing her new role as a leader in the grandest Empire on
Haze. “ALL HAIL GRAND DUCHESS RIKA FUURO, HOUSE OF LI, OF THE
LORDLY EMPIRE OF MONA! LET IT BE HEARD IN HEAVEN, HELL, EARTH AND
HAZE, THE RISE OF A TRUE DAUGHTER OF THE COSMOS!!! HAIL!! HAIL!!!
HAIL!!!!!” Baron Heckolocker roared, acknowledging the rise of the
new Sovereign. The remainder of the nobility did the same. Rika
turned and faced her father, now as an equal, and announced her
intentions.
“Father,
take me to my throne. All embrace me, it's my time to rule at last.
180 years have I waited for this day, the day that I finally embrace
my destiny as a leader of this Empire and this House. No allegiance,
I swear no oath, drawn by God, not by the Church, for my power is
divine.” Duke Li could only beam with delight, his long black,
shoulder-length hair glinting in the sunlight, like all Sky Wraiths'
perfectly-combed hair did. “Come, my daughter, my Duchess and my
life...I shall grant you your request.” Li and Rika marched
down the hallway to the Hall of Sanctity with the authority of true
rulers, the way they carried themselves was nothing short of divine
radiance. Down the Corridor of Heroes they walked, adorned with
heraldry of all kinds, war trophies and statues of Rika's ancestors,
the former leaders of the House of Li and bearers of a grand
tradition that Rika was now inheriting. As father and daughter
approached the huge, carved, wooden doors, the two Sky Wraith guards
saluted to their new leader, as she walked in alone. The Radiant
Mother was there, as were the rest of the Sky Wraith clergy and High
Priest, Arteil Fyurine, one of Duke Li's closest advisors and like a
second father to Rika. The denizens of Haze did not just rule over
one planet, but were the maintainers of a Type-II society, a society
that had truly trans-universal reach, but all maintained a fierce
nationalistic loyalty to Haze, their homeworld, their paradise, their
Heaven. Each of them had been a denizen of Earth in their past life,
and only after one lifetime did they truly start living. The enormous
congregation of Sky Wraith nobility all stood silently, all eyes were
on Rika as she slowly approached her throne, walking slowly, her
Clow-Tzu empress outfit glinting in the sunlight beaming in
through the stained-glass windows...all in utter silence. Rika strode
toward the gleaming white, marble Throne of Heaven's Bliss,
illuminated by a radiant beam of sunlight, as if God Himself was
showing Rika to her destiny. Rika sat upon her throne...it was at
that moment that the choir began to sing. The Sky Wraith Imperial
Voices, as it was known, quietly began to sing the Empire of Mona's
Imperial Anthem, quietly at first, but then louder and louder, until
an entire orchestra began a plagal tone of triumph and rejoicing in a
new dawn. The nobility turned to face Rika, and bowed in reverence as
the Radiant Mother took the Crystal Crown from its Sanctuary and
carried it to Rika, anxiously awaiting the moment when she would give
her coronation speech, which she had been rehearsing for the past 3
weeks in private. As the Choir finished the National Anthem, the
Radiant Mother gave the invocation, holding the huge Crystal Crown
over Rika's head. “Today, we celebrate the coming of age of a
true Daughter of the Cosmos, and a Mistress of the Stars. Grand
Duchess Rika Fuuro of the House of Li, Daughter of Duke Li, Sovereign
of All Her Dominion and Light of Haze, is now, in the Eyes of God and
Haze, a true Duchess. May she lead us to a brighter future for as
long as she may live. All bask in the glory of the Days of the
Sovereign...may they be blessed.” The Radiant Mother slowly
placed the huge Crystal Crown, carved in the shape of a three-headed
dancing crane, upon Rika's head, completing her extraordinarily
elaborate coronation outfit.
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