The Ninth Prophecy

Over a fortnight had passed, and there was yet no trace of Yon. A rumor had it that he was spending days and nights in the Red Rock tunnel, hoping that his miners would break through. Some said that he founded a new order to supplement for the Illuminators, but none of it could be confirmed. Finally, after more than thirty nights, trumpets sounded the arrival of king Yon’s party to Nox. When the party came to the city gates, the gates would not open. The men waited there for around a minute before Faris appeared at the wall.

- “Hello, lord Faris. You brother misses you! He has sent us ahead to prepare his stay in Nox. Will you open the gates and let us in?” the unknown commander of the group spoke.

- “No, I will not,” came Faris’s resolute response.

- “You know, your brother, our righteous king Yon - thought that this could happen,” the commander spoke undisturbed. “This is why he has set up a camp nearby. He invites you to join him over dinner.”

- “That’s fine with me. Tell him I will come tonight.”

- “Will you now let us in? We will take you there. Otherwise, how will you find the camp?”

- “I already know where the camp is. Tell Yon I will come soon.”

- “As you say, my lord!” the commander said and saluted Faris. The party turned around. That evening Faris came to Yon, accompanied by Sheda, Hadera and Maedur. His guards carried the royal banner with Yon’s personal emblem on it. The soldiers in the camp were surprised to see that. He was led to his brother’s tent by two squires. Faris walked in, as the others were stopped at the entrance. The others were turned back to Nox with Faris’s blessing. Yon stood in the middle of the tent, dressed in full armor. He approached Faris wanting to hug him, but Faris just pushed him back, evading his brother’s grip.

- “Is that so, Faris?”

- “Do you want to impress me with the armor?”

- “Maybe. How have things been in Nox?”

- “Everything is fine. We are all a little edgy after the new king came to the throne. He seems to lack fondness for tradition and for other people’s lives.”

- “That is far from the truth! Lord Yon is the preserver of truth and tradition,” a chubby, mid-aged man spoke from behind Faris.

Faris just measured him from head to toe with a sharp glance. Yon thought that this would be the right moment for him to explain who the man was. “I have introduced the institution of Interpreters. I handpicked them myself. They will interpret all written word and uncovered knowledge to prevent future misuse of knowledge, like it has been done with interpretations of the prophecies, or with the use of the Illuminators - and all that in the name of The One.”

- “In the name of which one, yourself?”

- “Don’t push it brother!”

- “You are introducing clergy. That is blasphemy!”

- “It is not clergy.”

- “Yes, it is!”

The two started arguing loudly, Faris taking the initiative: “Your interpreters of knowledge are nothing more than your censurers.”

- “My lord, your brother’s words are blasphemy! They intend to pollute your pure intention in the eyes of your subjects,” the chubby man spoke to Yon.

- “And who is this funny dressed man who speaks?” Faris turned his attention to the man.

- “He is Wago, the head Interpreter.”

- “You can’t have interpreters of truth and knowledge! Knowledge is like earth. It has to be tended and nourished if it is to give proper fruits.”

- “Well, if knowledge is like earth then I shall harvest it and disseminate it as I see fit,” Yon hit back.

- “You can’t do that. Nobody can. Knowledge, like earth, is a shared good, which is to be employed and disseminated once mastered, not harnessed to serve someone’s desires!”

- “That is enough, Faris! I am the king here. I have listened to you long enough and what did I get?”

- “You got to be a king!”

- “Me being a king has to do with you as much as it does with all other councilors! You got Spero killed. Now you try to lecture me. You don’t let my sentries enter Nox when they come in peace. Is that what I deserve?”

- “Your idea of peace has become quite notorious. You did send to rest in peace many enough of the Karosians. What you did to Goras and the Dabors is unforgivable. The gates of Nox will be open for you once you come accompanied by Goras at your side.”

- “And what did you do to Aegor?!”

- “Aegor was punished in accordance with the Laws of Wars,” Faris responded pointing with his finger at Yon. Yon pulled his finger down and with his face only a breath away from Faris’s face he spoke back with a strange look in his eyes: “There you have it my brother! We do the same thing and we both call it justice, just as it is!”

- “No!” Faris stood firm as he pushed his brother back. “Justice is restoration of balance among the multiplicity of perspectives, not elimination of multiplicity itself. Balance is providing equal right to all to express their perspective, not imposing one as the absolute. Aegor was trialed for the same thing you should be - elimination of all that is different, not yours entirely!”

- “Don’t you compare me to that pitiful soul Aegor! I am nothing like him. No one can stop me.”

- “I can and I will,” Faris responded, he himself appearing surprised by what he had just said. - “How? Oh, my brother, I did expect some amusement in Nox in my honor, but you are offering me far more than I could expect! I have no interest in Nox! I am only interested in you, my blood. I’ll tell you what: I will let you rule over Nox. Once you blow the steam out and the accumulated anger you carry around, you will rethink your positions and then we shall talk again.”

- “I will not allow you to enter Nox. I will challenge you!”

- “I have some unsettled business in Karos. I will see you soon! Show him out,” Yon ordered his guards as he spoke to Faris in a patronizing tone. Then he stopped as if he remembered something. - “Oh, and justice is not some permanent state of being, bro. Just acts are random, occasional acts of making right decisions which balance out the two, the good and the bad. I just had to make a couple of such decisions…for the best. Justice can never be fully executed - only the balance between the rights and the wrongs can, both still being no less than equally relevant forces. Justice is not elimination of foulness - it is simply provision of fair arbitration when foulness occurs. I provided just that - fair arbitration and execution.”

Faris was too surprised by his brother’s words to react properly. He walked out, but managed to speak back at the last second: “Justice is blind, but you are not an embodiment of justice, you are an embodiment of blindness.” Just then, a personal guard of Yon’s rushed inside, passing by Faris as if he wasn’t there. Faris was intrigued by the man’s hasty arrival and he made sure to mount up his horse outside the tent slowly enough to overhear what the guard had to say to Yon. - “My lord, just as we suspected, lord Deniken has ordered his men to abandon their post at Devil’s Tooth! Now it is free for us to take. Deniken will remain aside. Whom should we send?”

Before Yon could respond, a sound of hooves leaving in gallop distracted him. He rushed out of the tent only to see his brother’s back already some one hundred lengths away. - “Quick! Mount your horses and head for the Convergence. Take all the men here. I will follow. You must get to Devil’s Tooth before Faris does. Send the word to our new allies. Have them join us at the Convergence!”

An hour later Faris was back in Nox. He came riding in like a messenger baring news of attack. All of his party gathered around him.

- “What is wrong, my lord?” Sheda asked in anticipation. Faris could barely catch his breath. Finally, he spoke: “Quickly…mount the horses…Maedur, you go to Baan Senicore and get Geren back here with all the men he can bring…Hadera, you and Sheda must stay here and run the city together with Raavi. Be cautious…Get the shadow people up on their feet and on their camels. We leave at once.”

- “Where to?” Sheda asked again.

- “To Devil’s Tooth!”

- “Don’t you make the same mistake twice,” Hadera grabbed Faris.

- “Don’t worry Hadera. There is no mistake in my logic now. All we have to do is get there first. The post is abandoned. Apparently, Deniken has yielded under Yon’s pressure and called off his guards. Yon just might have done us a favor. If we take over it first, it will show Yon that I am serious. That will get him to sit down and talk more reasonably and with more respect than today.”