A Light in the Darkness

[IamLEAM1983]

Lucian smiled. "My dear, you've been preaching to the choir. The remainder of the Prelacy may, alas, prove to be far more difficult to convince. Not that I have not made my peace with this fact, however."

He then briefly focused on his palm, allowing himself to conjure a few bright embers into being. "As for my painstakingly grasped understanding of your arcane forces, it has not only proved to be difficult, but also fairly dangerous. Although, I remain convinced that if any one of my kind were to develop powers similar to those of an Archmage, they would all be quite eager to abandon their mistrust and extend praise at the lucky practitioner."

He scoffed. "Anything that can harm surface-dwellers is worthy of some praise, down here."

[TennyoCeres84]

Meris sighed. "At least we hae an initial plan designed tae bring some form o' hope tae this place," she mused with a little dismay.

[IamLEAM1983]

"One step at a time, hm?" offered Nereus, squeezing Meris' hand. "We'll all have a much clearer picture once we do stand in the thick of it."

This seemed to jog Lucian's memory, and he momentarily closed his notebook. "Speaking of being in the thick of it, I should very much like to understand how it is you came to share my convictions, Nereus. I must confess you are the last person I would have expected to truthfully fall in love."

In response to that, Nereus shrugged pensively. "Everything we do down here is conditioned. Taught. Ingrained. Some of us take to widespread hatred of those alien to us quicker or better than others, but we all have had days or hours that preceded our breaking point. Being the Augur's son, I was never beat or otherwise subjected to corporeal mortification. My natural ideals remained, but I saw the benefit of repressing them. In this case, the benefit would be survival."

[TennyoCeres84]

"Well," Meris began, "it started when I had tae tend tae his afflictions. When I was no' cleanin' his wounds or changin' bandages, I would tell him stories I had heard, or I sang fer him. It went frae there. Our respective barriers were taken down, an' we were allow tae move forward wi' our friendship an' mutual feelings."

[IamLEAM1983]

Nereus shrugged lightly. "I know none of this is fair from Meris' point of view. She'd much rather be with her clan and I'd much rather know she is truthfully happy. I guess we both try to make the most out of our respective predicaments. The sad part is even if her direct clan came to accept me, or even a larger number of Void Weavers, the species as a whole would not."

He chuckled, although that seemed to evoke frustration more than mirth. "There's nothing more maddening than knowing you have every power that Dalarath could possibly confer to a Prelate - except that of bestowing satisfaction on your followers or loved ones. Or, on another hand, fostering acceptance. I'd like to stand on her shores as I am but to do that, I'd have to risk physical perdition."

Lucian's aide frowned lightly. "Physical perdition? What do you mean?
- I mean that what allows me to be so... replete and somehow not consistently asleep or out of breath is Amaxi's favor. Without Her, I'd be locked in some sort of painfully laborious and unfulfilling cycle of exhaustion and forced rest. Physical perdition is what awaits any Prelate who abandons the Others. What is a symbol of my power could later become an effective set of shackles.
- Maybe you could lose weight and then travel to the surface," suggested the youth. Nereus had to smile at that.

"Amaxi wouldn't simply make a wheezing and snoring heap out of me, child - She would kill me. Prelates can defect all they want, Lords and Arbiters are under some pressure - but Oracles and Augurs cannot even dream of tossing the proverbial towel. Especially Augurs. If I lose weight, then I am rejecting Harrogath's mantle. If I reject His mantle, I slight Them all entirely. I've already been dragged into unconsciousness today, because Amaxi was growing concerned as to how genuine my feelings for Meris are..."

Lucian nodded with the look of someone who'd been there before. "So you spun a tale while locked in the depths of the Darkhallow, presented her with altered memories showing you dominating your consort into submission..."

Again, Nereus gripped Meris' hand. "Exactly," he said, looking to her. "This is why I went back under after seating myself in the throne room. I was pulled in, as They're wont to do when they grow suspicious. This is why that impromptu kip looked so uncomfortable."

Lucian nodded again. "It takes a particular kind of fortitude to lie to the face of dead gods or to spin tales they're eager to believe."

[TennyoCeres84]

Meris lightly squeezed Nereus' hand and smiled. "Ye're stronger than ye t'ink." She turned her head back to Lulroth. "Is there anyt'ing else ye'd like tae ken?" she inquired.

[IamLEAM1983]

Lucian nodded. "It would reassure me if I had concrete proof that you both grasp how wide-ranging our attempt at revolution shall be. Things will not change overnight."

Nereus could only opine. "Of course. Time is at least partially on our side, but what are our contingency plans, in the immediate?
- Hostile takeover, as this is the only action Dalarath understands," immediately replied Lucian with a harsh tone in his voice. "Our numbers are small, but we stand prepared to deal as much damage as possible in order to secure our reforms. Should this fail, we will soon be able to spirit Meris - and only Meris - out of the city."

That, understandably, seemed to cause concern for Nereus. "Is there no situation that would allow me to follow her?"

Lucian winced slightly. "Not at present, Nereus. The Augur cannot simply disappear, as much as it saddens me. The Augur would have to die, at least in appearance, and then leave incognito.
- Then we should attempt this as soon as possible!" replied the ruler in the heat of the moment, before something cooled his sudden burst of enthusiasm. Lucian looked at him gravely.

"Do this, my friend, and you damn us all. Your reign is what allows those of my ilk to exist and persist in our efforts. Your Chamberlain shows all signs of having a true despot's soul. You and Meris would be free - at the cost of millions of innocent lives forced to live under the boot of a demanding master."

[TennyoCeres84]

Meris' eyes met Nereus' own, frowning. "An' those on th' surface would suffer as well. Th' Chamberlain's inner appetite is voracious. If he were the Augur, I feel he, with his potential girth, would make ye look thin. He would demand more than th' world cin handle."

She stroked his cheek and rested her forehead against his. "I also sense life will want tae teach us patience, my love. It may take several lifetimes before we reach our ultimate goal."

[IamLEAM1983]

Nereus sighed, frustration adding some weight to his shoulders. "This is maddening," he said. "I've scarcely had to plan for myself in the past, and had no idea how... impotent the passage of time could make one feel."

Lucian didn't interrupt the pair as their foreheads touched. A few moments later, however, he spoke cautiously, his fingers threaded together upon the table. "Among all of us here, only my ward, here, is unlikely to live past his seventh decade, in this place. Time has never touched you before, Nereus, and you, Meris, are still young. If you'll allow an old man this simple piece of advice..."

He smiled softly. "Live one day at a time. We cannot plan for what comes ahead. We may face undesired catastrophes or find ourselves presented with great boons that would have remained unheard of, otherwise. All we can attain is a general understanding of what it is we desire. Trying to design contingencies for every potential failing will sap the life out of the both of you."

The older Squid chuckled softly, momentarily giving the pair a knowing glance. "Believe me, I've wasted enough nights either with Mary or deeper in the Darkhallow to understand that carting unconfirmed worries into the small hours of the morning is more destructive than any attempt to fool-proof one's ambitions. Until the Chamberlain does show signs of growing in power, assume he will never learn of what is to come. Give yourselves confidence.

A common misconception is that we Void Weavers are impervious to madness - but we are not. Anxiety eats away at any and all minds."

[TennyoCeres84]

Meris nodded. "O' course." She smiled with some effort to the three men. "One day at a time."

She scoffed lightly. "Now that we hae our immediate plans laid out, might we add some fun tae our discussion?" she inquired.