Three days after Eli Weiss' 'death,' I look over Sylvia's preparations for our new 'state' for humanity. Or, more specifically, I peer at how she will let the rest of humanity and those who live within its boundaries of the new reality.
A newspaper. A fucking newspaper.
"This cannot be the best way to do this. Are we really not going to show ourselves? Not a grand speech? A rallying to arms?"
Sylvia glances up at me from her focus as Earl nods alongside me. The three of us are the only ones in this room, as Tomas, Richard, and Elizabeth have been too busy communicating with Johnny and stabilizing the surroundings after the battles.
The woman's face is bewildered, as if she doesn't understand what I mean. No... it's as if she's asking why we'd do something so... pointless. Right... she sees the non-Estates as less than her. If she's human, they are less than that. How awful to think.
"Someone should say something like Marshall would for his men. I know you don't give a singular ounce of a shit for these people, but they will become important. No. They already are."
Earl bobs his head as he continues, detailing a wide variety of facts to Sylvia. The woman only listens to some before waving him off.
"Without the people, you'd starve. You'd have no weapons. You'd have no houses. You'd have to constantly fight even the lesser monsters, ghosts, and demons as they encroach on your territory. The benefits of a society to support you are—"
"Enough. I'm not dense. I see where you're coming from. Who will do it? Me? You? I don't want to do that shit, and you look like a kid. No one will take you seriously."
I sigh as I stare at the newspaper with grand words upon it. Eli Weiss is dead! The age of Primes is over! Such a title does not even closely cover what we want everyone to know. Plus, even if it's Onyx Gate, not everyone can read it.
There is a solution, though.
"We can have Tomas do it. As long as we stand alongside him, maybe we can even get Lennon to do so as well; we'll seem powerful. It's not just the humans who will be looking, remember? That trio is still here. I have no doubt others are watching, too."
Sylvia sinks her head in thought before nodding. She rolls up the newspaper and hands it to Earl, commanding him as she would a servant.
"That works. Send these off to get printed. Tomas' voice can't reach the other four Territories we still possess."
I glare at her, not letting the disrespect slide. She is, again, confused at first, but I let her know what the issue is as Earl simply tries to walk away, ignoring it all.
"Do not speak to him like that. He is just as if not more important than you, even with only four Sigils."
Sylvia's verdant eyes flip over to Earl as if appraising him. Her pupils linger on him momentarily as he closes the door, but only when he is gone does she apologize—that damn pride.
"I apologize. I do not wish to cause more... infighting. How soon until you leave?"
She immediately swaps the subject, too, preferring to focus on me. I consider pressing the issue but ignore it since she just said sorry. That's enough for me. At least Sylvia is trying. Aniwye was right. If this woman is this fucking prideful, I cannot imagine the older fellows of the Estates. In comparison, her 'partner' is nowhere near as bad.
But she wants an answer on when we'll leave for the Underworld. Truth be told, I wanted to already be gone, but all this shit has been far more complicated. Not that I'm not up for it.
Helping, leading, and protecting others feels right. It's just... there are things I need to do as well, or it risks it all. I remember when Maddox told me that I must become a leader, to not simply follow others.
I can see now what he meant by that. The weight, the pressure, it adds to a person. I've only been here for a few days, yet I already feel it. It's an invisible tension, a constant grating feeling that sinks the back and damages the knees. Yet, just as with any force, if you resist it and fight back, doing all you can, you improve.
The mental is even more vital than the physical. This is a fact I've only come to learn as I grow in strength. The powerful are mentally tough and stubborn, not because they are powerful.
They are powerful because they are stubborn—because they refuse to merely lie down and die, either for others or for themselves.
Sylvia, however, snaps her fingers in front of my face as I get lost in thought.
"Hey? Asked you a question."
Shaking my head, I apologize and give her an answer. The decision wasn't easy, but it can only be this way. Earl and Virgil argued for hours about who should go since there were only so many slots, but the shadow won. In the end, Earl trusts Virgil to keep everyone safe and find my father more than he does himself.
"Four days. There are five slots, not counting myself, and I'm taking Lennon, Bonfire, Virgil, Aniwye, and Kwakiteh. Silas will be coming, too, but he doesn't need the lantern."
Sylvia laughs sharply, tapping the wood of the table with her elongated nails. They remind me of her rapier and the one I used to wield myself.
"Great. Leaving me with Tomas, Richard, and Primrose. I suppose it could be worse. At least you're taking all the troublemakers, but that means much of our strength is leaving, too. Without Lennon's presence, Virgil's creeping threat, and you..."
I shrug, not knowing a better way to guarantee Weiss' death and to find my father. Abraham also needs to be located. There is so much to do in the Underworld, far more than the first time.
"How did you guys used to do this? Surely multiple Pillars left on missions together? Important tasks or whatever."
Sylvia twists her fingers as she rubs her nails on her skin. The woman stands and glances out the window of this tiny house we've been using for discussions. Earl's forge that he set up is just across the street, so the woman stares right at him.
"Things were never easy. We'd attempt to hide the fact anyone left as a first step. But... we're often found out. The only one an Augur could never touch was Vincent, so the uncertainness of his whereabouts kept us mostly safe. But before him... if we were found to be missing, the remainders simply had to fight their way out. Believe it or not, most human Angels die defending land, not any other cause or reason. The number that die of old age is... zero."
My mind immediately flickers to Canyon as she says the number, but we both know he is an exception. He should have died a long time ago, and because he stayed out of all conflicts, he gradually approached his demise.
I shake my head gradually as I can only admit we are weaker than we were before. Canyon's death hit hard. He was elderly and weakened, but he was still a genuine Virtue. The only human one left until his eternal rest, funnily enough. All others are either killed or have advanced.
"Okay. Let's get this show on the road. We can't give Eli too much time to settle into the Underworld."
Sylvia agrees wholeheartedly and steps out of the building first, heading northbound toward the Estates. She gives me a wave as she does so.
"I'll go try to get as many to come to the speech as possible. You go convince Tomas."
I release a chuckle from its confines as Lily joins me within my skull.
"She doesn't know him, does she?"
Walking toward the encampment where Tomas has been frantically recruiting new soldiers, rationing out food, and giving guidance to those whose houses have been ruined, I reply to the little girl.
"No. No, she does not. Tomas loves nothing more than to lead."
************************
"Yes. Give me... a day to prepare a speech. I'll have Irene set up a stage for me to speak. Who will be there?"
Tomas instantly agrees without hesitation, the man evidently seeing the benefits of doing such a thing. I answer his question to the best of my ability.
"I will. Virgil, Sylvia, and Bonfire for sure. I can drag Primrose here, too, but the other ones are iffy. Sylvia's dealing with them right now."
The soldier-turned-General smiles before shifting to his deputy. The musician still bears his guitar on his back, but I can see so much more weight has been added to his spine. The way he carries himself is heavier and more pronounced. I can only imagine what he sings about now.
"Send out the word, Richard. There will be a gathering. Food will be given, and so will news."
Rich salutes before leaving the tent, already in a rush to follow Tomas' commands. I give my friend a sly grin as I comment on it all.
"What's it like being Marshall? Are you holding up with all this? What about Rich? I know his old team died."
The Inhuman Wolf falls back to a rickety chair, definitely not made for his abnormal stature. The seat creaks and groans as the man meets my gaze.
"It's... uh... fulfilling, to say the least. Busy. All that. I don't know how he did it for so long. Nearly seventy years... phew... I think I'm doing alright, though. Richard, however... he's a quiet man. Quieter than even your shadow. Virgil at least has his moments. Richard only genuinely speaks through song. Solely Gluskab knows his true feelings, but Marshall raised us all tough. He won't break. I know that much."
I take a seat across from Tomas in a similarly poorly built chair as the man reaches to the side, pulling a bottle of whiskey from a long bag. In it, I can also see Maddox's Claymore, Ocean's Tempo. It is half-broken, shattered beyond belief, but a Lumen is still a Lumen. Not to mention such a powerful one. I reckon it'd still, with the two halves of the broken blade, would still be on par with any 6th Mark or Flamme. If we could repair it, though... That notion still gives it great value.
"You think Lennon won't fight you for that thing? He did kill him, after all."
Tomas shakes his head, assured, as he pours two half-fist-sized glasses with the sandy-colored liquid.
"That man has no need for weapons anymore. The one artifact he keeps is meant only to temper himself. Though, Ocean's Tempo doesn't really fit me, even if Earl can fix it. I'm not a saber kinda guy. I work far better with short swords and my claws. Do you have any ideas for someone who could use it adequately?"
I lean back, grasping the glass and sipping a small portion of the burning liquid as I wrack my mind in thought. I quickly churn through all the possibilities, but really, swords are not a common thing among my friends.
Blake, Abraham, and Johnny are really the only ones who use swords. The lattermost, however, already has a Lumen, while the missing one is just that, missing. Blake is the only remaining person who Ocean's Tempo could possibly fit.
Or...
Autumn.
I heard what she did from Earl. The madwoman betrayed Maddox when she was meant to deliver a lake's worth of water into the whole to help her father. In doing so, she killed close to a hundred bandits before running off. She also got her father killed, as without excess water, he was severely weakened, leading to his death at Lennon's hands.
I know what she did to me during the duel from Virgil, but so much time has passed that I don't really care. In the end, I won. I just don't have it in me to feel any anger toward her. I understand why she felt so frozen, so paralyzed in choice. Still, she didn't have to run away.
Tomas stays quiet as we both drink and think until I finally open my mouth.
"Autumn. Autumn Adkins. Find her. The Claymore will fit her just right. I know it will. She is... flaky, but she's worth getting on our side. Her father and twin were both Angels. Fair to say she can do it also."
My friend smiles as he writes the name down, adding the description I give him. Then, he pulls out another series of blank pages.
"Very well. I'll find her if she's alive. For now, let's get to writing. I can't come up with grand words on a whim like my father."
The last word hangs off Tomas' mouth with such weight that I fall silent momentarily. I miss him. Truly.
***********************
I stand nervously amidst a vast throng of people gathered to witness Tomas deliver a speech to the whole city that was recently scarred by the attack from Maddox. The multitude of bodies spans at least a hundred thousand, an ocean of faces as far as the eye can discern. Tomas towers before me, in front of Primrose, Virgil, Bonfire, Parker, Sylvia, and me. Lennon didn't want to show himself here, and neither did Kate, but Aniwye is also here, bearing an illusioned form.
Richard is beside Tomas, acting like the man's right-hand man.
Still, the whole scene is thunderous with countless voices. Many of them are worried, stressed, or downright terrified. Yet, they all came.
"Soooo many! I didn't know there were this many people in the world!"
Lily gushes about all the souls she can sense, but Blodwyn simply grunts at her.
"You knew."
I ignore the conversation between the two as Tomas stands straight or straighter as he always has perfect posture. Well, except when his Power is in motion. Like that, he's a hunched over Rougarou. Nonetheless, his shadow is proud, gazing down at the vast streets and missing buildings, now moved after the attack, which grants Tomas a platform to speak to thousands at once.
And the moment he begins, silence falls on the world as I can feel the Ether explode from his voice. Resonant and commanding, like a sword, he pierces through the air without the need for amplification. I listen from behind him with my arms behind my back, standing as equals with the others.
"Hello, Onyx Gate and the people of this city. As well as those who have recently migrated here. Hello. I am sure you have all heard of me from the past four days. I am Tomas: Tomas Travis, son of Marshall Travis. Four days ago, the regime that has kept the common man, or more accurately, anyone not born of an Estate, down has been shattered. Liberty will now fall unto you all. Those who are enslaved. Those who are forced into labor. Those of you who are forced to fight. No longer must you."
The city sprawls before us as a wave of shocked gasps and cries fills it all. My eyes glide over the ravaged landscape, taking in the scars inflicted upon the once-thriving metropolis. The remnants of homes and structures are now stood upon by the folk, their skeletal frames from hunger a surprise to me. This is Onyx Gate! I know it's been a few days of chaos, but... really? Were things not that much better here? The capital of humanity?
Tomas continues after only a meager break, uttering grand words to all who will listen.
"No longer will your birth dictate where you move in life. No longer will a man have to be so extraordinary that they come once in a thousand years to break through the restrictions placed upon them. Every man and woman will be given the chance for power—for wealth—for a grand life."
Cheers resound from the promise, but with my keen ears and eyes, I can tell that many are dubious of these promises. After all, many of those below possess their own Sigils, their own strengths, and they know nothing, not even food, comes free. They have been lied to enough, deceived enough, broken with enough false promises not to listen immediately.
"But it will not be easy. A dire time is falling on us. Gods are waking up to end us all. The Eleventh Prime has risen to kill them all, but he is not enough on his own. We must work together, grow stronger, and fend off assaults from within and without to stand tall against the tides. Many of you understand Sigils. Many of you do not. Those behind me are all of the 7th Sigil or greater, men and women who have surmounted all odds. You can join them with enough effort. Anyone can. It simply takes that. Effort."
Tomas steps forward, lining his feet to the edge of the raised platform we are upon. He waves his arms out, addressing all at once with a fever-pitched tone. The mob begins to listen, their head craning and their bodies moving to hear more, to soak in every little bit.
"We will not fall to the threats that surround us! Many of our brethren have died! Much of our lands have fallen! But! We are together as one! The Estates are no more! We can do this! You can do this! Starting today, I will be doing mass recruitments. Food will be provided as I have many under me who can grow massive amounts, plus the Estates have many years worth of grain stored that we are breaking open."
Cheers break out into the air as I can't help but smile. The people begin to chant Tomas' name, but he shouts over the noise, not letting them give him the credit.
"No! Do not treat me as you would a king or a Prime. I am but a man. Those behind me are just as I am, and together, we will lead you all. There shall not be any tyrants. Should anyone reach the Angelic Realm, they will join us. Even those below will not be ignored. An army, a true one, cannot exist with only its General. My father knew that, and he taught me well. Praise not me, praise not any man, but instead, praise humanity, and praise Liberty, the freedom to live as we desire."
Tomas retreats slightly as he nods to Richard. The fellow soldier retrieves the guitar from his back as the chants release resounding noise.
"LIBERTY! LIBERTY! LIBERTY!"
I watch as many of Tomas' men give out bread, blankets, and clothes to those in the open. At the same time, able-bodied men and any with Sigils are pulled aside and asked to join and help. Many do.
But as they do, Rich plays a chord on his instrument. It echoes throughout the whole city while filling me with a deep, profound melancholy. I grasp my heart as I watch just about every other person in my sight do the same. Yet, the force doesn't hurt. The melancholy spreads into warmth, filling my whole form with a meager strength.
Though the strength is meager to me, to any typical human, it would be doubling the might hidden in their form. I smile wider as I feel Rich continue, as the Ether does, too.
The words Rich lets out into the air hold no true meaning as they are merely noises inundated with emotion, but I feel them all the same. And to the common man, he delivers something they have never had in all their lives: power.