'The Villainous Cause' #5 -- Spiyn & the Flames of Desire

First I need to tell you that I'm ruined. Ruined beyond the aggrieved body I inhabit. Ruined beyond the emotions that course thrillingly through me. Ruined beyond the tender attempts of those who would have settled their score with me at my torturous execution. Ruined beyond the veil of bleak aftermath.

Yet here I am, returned.

To return is to mean that once I was here before. In that time of Red Ascenscion, I was a noble Geli'Qys. My kind unfurl their wings from lofty vantage and descend unto the lands of the mortal races. It was to dispense wisdom and acts that cause wisdom to sprout within mortal-kind, that we were meant for. As a type of greater being, a Geli'Qys must never become too attached to mortals. This leads only to heartbreak for the mortals and severity for the Geli'Qys. Wise words yet in that Red past time, I did not acknowledge them. It is my pride you see displayed, when you look at that time and my place in it. I learned from that time to this that my pride is my coat of arms and my coat as well. A garment that I will not doff. An emblem I will polish until it gleams so bright that none will wonder at all but will be certain that I stand for myself.

I took many with me on my ascension in that time before. Even as I was a Geli'Qys, I still allowed other greater ones to accompany me, if they so wished. There were some of the Monstrous that sided with me. These greater beings are all differently apportioned -- unique and bizarre to my eye -- yet kindred spirits with each other. Each of these calls themselves, Monster, with a measure of a surety that I found likable. Monsters, like Geli'Qys are greater than the mortals. If they wished to gain wisdom as I dispensed it, I was happy enough to allow them to venture alongside me. Yes, I gained some strength in their adding to my own. I did not suffer from blindness then. Now I do. My present lack of sight is reserved for those that brought me to an end. Upon those, I turn my blind eyes toward and past, seeing through them to a rime, cold and foreboding, when they are vanquished and broken. It is the most I can do, with what they have left to me.

Of the other aspect of greater beings I had nothing but knowledge of the impersonal kind. These were called the Chaerin and strange to me these beings seemed. They were unlike the Monstrous or my own kind, yet they were grouped with us. I do not know and cannot say why. I say this as the Geli'Qys are granted the power of the sky and the Air upon it. The Monstrous could likewise ask and receive from the land and the Earth within it. The Chaerin did not make the same call to the seas or the Water coursing there. Indeed, it is my considerable opinion that there remains a void to be filled by a greater group, that has so far not made their presence felt. As for the Chaerin, as they do not use the seas in any way, I consider them mere placeholders, if not usurpers, of this unseen group. Chaerin are meek and only mildly apportioned as we are. In localised concentration, they are capable of holding a pose of power but this is merely a show, this and nothing more. In my Red Ascension they were few. I am told the Chaerin are more numerous in the present, though their numbers remain small. I will allow them to convince me of my wrongness of opinion, should they be able.

It is good to know that the tales of my previous time have not been all but forgotten. Instead I am given to understand that the tales of Solember continue to be told. This mighty imperial nation of Baym was still referenced to compare the great nations of this present day, to their better. Solember remains, broken perhaps, as the paragon to which all nations must aspire. It fills me with substance to know it. It was after all in no small portion, my doing that the empire rose to prominence. I take all that goes along with this admission as I did at the end of the emperor's line and the breaking of the nation. A tragedy, not a victory.

It was the Profane who made things go badly. If they had secured their spirit resolutely, we might have won through. They chose to be politicians. The word, negotiation, should be expunged from all tongues, mortal and immortal. There was one who gave no quarter, he was a most proud and singularly assured Profane. I had not met his like before. His knowledge was extensive, both in this realm and the old realms prior. His name was, Deignghaul. He came to me on a night of humid stillness as I sat high on a tower-top in the city of fair Iskm. He stood almost easily on the steep turret rooftop, apparently comfortable despite the possibility of the tiled slates, slipping away from his boot soles. A caster's trick to manage but I knew he expended no Colour to manage this. No ability nor sense was required to do so. He was Grey. That meant that to enact even some simple casting this one would need to spill his own natural self's-blood. He did not. I gave him a bow at this, as he could certainly topple off if he were not careful -- or if shoved... I unfurled my wings. This was a politeness that he would know what he was dealing with, as well as a threat in that I could send him from the roof with a gust as much as with a push. Not once did he show the slightest trepidation. A being who has no concern for their well-being is worth speaking with. So we spoke. Or rather, he spoke. When he was done, I agreed with him in most respects, which was a rare thing and if he was not impressed, I was.

This Deignghaul was a Profane of outward view. He did not enjoy the current cause of the Thale Duocracy. His leaders were too timid. He sought greater gifts from the realm than they seemed prepared to take. He told me that he was in a position to make a break from the Thale. This was interesting and I agreed that if he had the means, it would be admirable. He laughed at that. He told me that he had already discovered a new Foundation on the Greyplane. With this secure, he could lay equal claim to the throne of the Greyplane. He damned the Thale in words that night. As he uttered this, I awaited to see if his Profane masters might cause him to at least lose his balance at the roof's edge. Nothing happened as he swore his hateful words at those who should have been his betters. I took this at face value. The Thale were harsh at all times. Unforgiving and cruel, with little regard for any but themselves. Caution was something they applied conservatively and only when absolutely necessary. Otherwise, they were abrupt and heavy-handed, unleashing their fiends whenever and wherever a mood struck them.
Deignghaul grew in stature to me as he stood on the roof. I knew greatness when I saw it. I asked how I might aid him and he outlined a plan. First he asked me to swear to aid him. I did so, as it was clear that Destiny's dry lips had kissed this one's brow and I would witness where her affection's caress would lead him. His plan was simple and completely shocking. He wanted for mortals to gain perpetual longevity. Immortality once achieved, would bring the races into conflict with the Profane and Powers alike. He sought to grant this gift to only the most select of the Races and thought this might be found in Solember. I concurred with his reasoning. Was the imperial family unworthy of this consideration? Certainly it was not from my vantage. I told Deignghaul that he had chosen wisely. He asked if perhaps the gift could not go instead to the Houselands and their Ennorren Overkings. I smiled at this and told him to throw himself off the tower. He laughed at my words, getting my meaning. To waste the gift of immortality on such would mean his plan had failed before it had begun. In reality, I had only some small knowledge of the Coasethi kings of High Seat. I see that they are no more in this new time. I suppose I was right in my off-hand summation of their potential. Deignghaul then revealed that he had asked about this alternative only because he planned a patrimony on the continent of Coaseth. This struck me as odd and an unknown thing for Profane to seek. He agreed to this statement and added that this was the reason for it. I knew then that this Profane was like no other. I wished to add my motifs to his design.

Deignghaul was the potent liqueur and I was the crystalline decanter that poured into the empty glass that was the emperor. I filled his head with the heady spirit of the gift until it took him over. Intoxicated with the idea of immortality, the ruler of the empire sought all mortal avenues to make it happen. I glided among his family and coerced them gently to drink of the same spirit. Male and female, elder and youngster, it did not matter to me, all were offered a taste of what ever-lasting life might be. I whispered and the old were filled with vigor. I whistled and the babes learned secrets beyond any school days' teachings. Royal princess saw what men can only know of life, while the emperor and his male offspring, learned of the secrets of maiden and matron. That they were all amazed and in want for these things to be made permanent was no lie. I had done my best to make Deignghaul's appearance to the royal family, one that would be welcomed happily.

Deignghaul proved even more astute and subtle than I had thought that a Profane could be. His was the way of the secondment. Instead of a bold apparition at court, a caster grand or a noble inquisitor from a far off land with secrets to his name, Deignghaul chose to appear not at all... Instead he took himself to an institution of the city of Kasken, the Order of the Seynse Or'Rahn. These were the ancient and clever order of healers that had lived within this city for many generations. They had the emperors' sealed proclamation to their name. The Seynse Or'Rahn had tended to the empire's health for all their time. Solember had profited with many lives being made more appreciable and pleasant as a result of the Order's ministry. Deignghaul suborned the order's leadership in sufficient numbers to make them over. This was no small thing but it was not a surprise that a Profane might make this happen. In this he needed certain agents. Chief among these was one called, Ceriestrident. I learned of this one only after he had become Deignghaul's man but I grew to revile him as no other. He was a faceless actor in the play that Deignghaul and I had composed. All I can say for him and his actions to follow is that he served with some level of wisdom. That he also cheated us of our deserved victory cannot be denied. His nefarious and two-faced manner has not been forgotten by me and it does me some satisfaction that I know that he still lives. How he has done this would seem to indicate that he did learn the gift's secret. The Nine winds grant me that I teach him that being immortal gives no certainty of life ever-lasting!

Ceriestrident's betrayal of his betters was yet to come. Deighnghaul and I were deep in the plotting of our story. The emperor's ancient uncle needed to be removed from contentiousness. He was proving to be problem in his new interest in trying to introduce freedoms to the empire's citizens. This was a result of the secrets I had shown him but in this case the old fool had taken things the wrong way. He caused some unrest and Deignghaul preferred to see it quashed. We sought a simple two-pronged approach; a division of the new freedom movement's leadership and a simultaneous accidental fall for the old man. All went exceedingly well. Both aspects were achieved seamlessly. I took the ears of the movement's leaders. Gave them thoughts of jealousy and treachery of their fellows... I caused a strong gust that threw 'uncle' off of the balcony that he often liked to walk along. Most unfortunate for the royal family to lose him in this simple way. The emperor's sadness played into this well and I was able to suggest that if only the gift had been already unlocked, he might still be alive. The ruler asked his followers to re-double their efforts. Deignghaul and I were delighted. All was going as written.

Then Deignghaul had to absent himself. I protested this and he grew wrathful. I stood against him, wings about me, as I might a storm buffeting me. When this bluster had diminished, I asked why he would leave when the story was all but done and all that was left was the epilogue. His response was that a new Profane matter was at hand. One that he must attend to. I learned later that a third form of Profane had arrived upon the Greyplane. It was left to me to manage the affairs of the Solember state. To accomplish everything I needed to do, I had to have help. That created Ceriestrident's opportunity. That he took this chance and spurned me is only the truth of the matter. At the time of his accomplishing his counter-plot, I was in no position to defend myself or Deignghaul's. That I was preoccupied with another of the Triumverat is why I had no chance to stop Ceriestrident's plan. This other is called, Digitalis, the Thale of the slender fingers. A caster of great skill and opposed to the gift being given. I struck at him at the outset. A vain effort to dissuade him from becoming involved. I need not have tried. Digitalis was certain of his desire. He said my name as "Spine", which is not the correct pronunciation and he knew this. The insult was multiplied as he said it publicly and these mortal witnesses took it to be the right way to address me. I curse his name then and now. I call him, "Foxglove", as I know it is not his name and that it irks him to be addressed as this. I curse this sobriquet as well for good measure.

As to the particulars of the breaking of the Empire of Solember, these are things too well-planned and then lost, to mention. All of the careful thoughts were washed away in the fires of the breaking. Those flames rose higher than any vulcan source has thrown fire. Vented cracks gave rise to the heats of molten Earthen ire. Wrack and ruin, a drink of Water was not seen. The Air closed to lung and wing alike. The flames sought all in equal and dispassionate census. All were accounted for and few were left unaudited. I flew as I could but it was impossible to avoid the fires and the seekers all at once. Damned may Ceriestrident's greed be. Damned too can dreary Foxglove be. Let them both feel the weight of time on their bodies. I will see them both rot foully long and long before I finish their lives in a manner most unusual. My new Colour has come unto me from the coiling one. I care not the source of my reappearance. I will claim the victory wreath this time. Those that want to, can claim a chance against me and still I will move onward. Onward until the coming of the bleakness that stands just around the corner for every being regardless of rank. My Colour is Black, for present purposes. Black for the unknown. Unknown!. . . Unknown to all save myself. Do I not bear the Halonic mark? But of course I do. It gives me the ultimate foresight. When time's arrow perfectly strikes the central Black, then will others learn what I already have seen.

I welcome their despair on that night that will see no day.

Spiyn Blackwing, the Disembodied