Jackal Among Snakes

Argrave closed and opened his hand as he sat on the beach with Sophia. He wore temporary rags, his body barely responded to him, but there was no denying he was alive. There was nothing quite like losing it all to appreciate how much he had. Theorizing about the impermanence of his body’s death was all well and good, but truth be told, that had been one of the most harrowing experiences, and he’d surely remember it forevermore.

And not merely because of what’d been done to him—also because of what he’d learned.

He’d been given a glimpse of the purpose of the Hopeful truly was when his mind had been consumed by the thing. The master of the Shadowlands wasn’t a subordinate of the Heralds—he was an equal, perhaps something even beyond that. He certainly wasn’t a simple tool or slave, and nor were the Shadowlands something insignificant to the larger scheme of things. It might be said the Hopeful was at the crux of it all.

But the Heralds… their name was literal. They heralded something else—a massive change, a shift of the paradigm. The Hopeful actually knew what that change was, expected it… hoped for it, like nothing else. His anticipation of the ecstasy he’d experience in the coming change was so strong his face was permanently warped like that in voluntary enthusiasm. It was a disturbing show of faith.

Argrave had always suspected—been outright told, even—that this entire cycle was in service of something else. Confirming that suspicion did nothing to make him pause or arouse his curiosity.

With his thoughts slowing, he looked at Sophia. She looked totally exhausted. He put his hand on her head and she flinched, woken up from near-sleep.

“You did good, Sophia. You’re doing great.” He shakily rose to his feet. “Let’s get going.”

He trudged along up the sand, heading for the parliamentary hall where his sister and Anneliese would be struggling valiantly against what they were up against. Sophia tried to follow along, but she stumbled from fatigue a few times. Argrave picked her up and walked along.

“I can walk,” Sophia said quietly.

“You can,” he answered back, but didn’t put her down.

With that, nothing more needed to be said. Within Blackgard, the only evidence of the raging battle against Gerechtigkeit was the sight of it looming above in flashes of light. The city sounded serene, undisturbed. The Domain of Order Argrave had imposed using Law’s blessing still persisted, keeping the peace. Everyone was either inside their home, or had sought refuge in the various shelters they’d established.

At some point, Sophia fell asleep as Argrave steadily walked through the silent city. It was a steeling reminder to witness the beautiful city he’d helped flourished—a still image of one little picture comprising the larger one. When he finally arrived at the parliamentary hall, he saw Anneliese and Raven leaving.

“Argrave,” Anneliese called out, rushing up to greet him. “I was just about to come for you. You’re well? At least… well enough?”

“Stiff,” he said, then added, “I’m sure it’ll pass.”

“Law’s been holding his own against Gerechtigkeit, stalling,” she said in some small relief. “But it seems like nothing we do can cause significant damage to Gerechtigkeit. We’d intended to go to Hause, now.”

“Time for her to make good on her word,” Raven shook his head. “If she hadn’t been so foolishly cautious, all of this might’ve been avoided.”

“It might do nothing,” Anneliese countered.

“And it might do everything,” he answered back just as firmly.

Anneliese looked up. “Whatever the case, the situation has stabilized. The longer it stretches on, though, the more powerful he’ll get. We’re losing ground second by second. The Great Chu… I can’t even think about it.”

“No time to waste, then,” Argrave muttered beneath his breath. “Where are we going?”

“I’d intended to study you for insight on that wound.” Raven looked up to the sky—south toward Jast, where that great crack in reality persisted, visible even when one’s eyes were closed. “But you had to go and die, removing any trace it might’ve left on your body. Now you’re useless to me.”

“What, then?” Argrave pressed.

“We go to Hause,” Anneliese outlined. “We see what she can do for us. Raven, meanwhile…”

Raven ground his huge obsidian staff into the ground. “I’ve been considering taking the role I’d cast aside.”

serious. “You’re needed,” he said simply. “Not as you were, but as

him. “If what Hause gives us is insufficient, we will lose. The Smiling Raven may help us win. That sun you made—it harbors people’s souls. Potentiation may not even pose any risk to me anymore. Their minds may not overrun

as well—and if that’s true, potentiation poses no risk for them, either. We don’t need to risk losing

truly lives. After, though… unless I have confidence

“Raven…!” Argrave stepped forward.

decision,” he said. Then, he turned and walked away, fading

Argrave look at

“Yeah. I’ll… we’ll just make him look stupid, instead.

#####

much as Argrave would’ve liked to let her sleep as long as she liked, she might need to be

said, a swell of unease

potential fiddled with her hands as she looked between them. Even Argrave could tell there was a trace of guilt in the way she carried herself—like she expected reprimand from them, or perhaps she more simply knew the sheer scale of the devastation that’d been caused. Argrave was in no mood to cast the blame. This situation had been beyond

we

of my caution, but I won’t budge on this point. Argrave embodies judgment—and you, eternity.” Her face grew stern, and he clasped her hands together firmly. “It’s rare enough to find

possess a power akin to

unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of

a silent question. He deliberated for a time, then

who’s been beaten down by the world, made into something monstrous after being used and abused. He can’t claim the role of judge, no matter how much he proclaims it.” Argrave glanced at

you, Anneliese. Eternity is a frightening concept. You may become something that you cannot recognize—cannot conceive of. It may be as much a trap as

those debates she must’ve had with herself. “Nevertheless,

informed consent,

her eyes, and then took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for what was

protect all present from unpredictable

hands as if in prayer.

husk-like appearance that was rather jarring. This golden

saw it reach out toward Anneliese… and the moment the fingers of that spectral form met Anneliese’s body, Argrave could feel a shift in the air. With it came a

#####

though she, too, was divested of her body, and together they soared through a universe of endless possibilities. In brief flashes, she saw a myriad routes her life could’ve taken, and branching roads her life had yet to come to. It was impossible to comprehend, but it still fascinated her endlessly. She saw traces of people left unmet, friends left unmade, lovers

had no desire to live any

yet live. Those in the future were vague, in constant flux with every movement she made. Those of past choices were gray fragments, dead and discarded. She saw her own death in many, saw her leading hosts of Veidimen, saw her expressing affection for people she’d

whisper of similar phrases—all the things she could’ve said, from ‘we’re here,’

this?” Anneliese asked, hearing her own question rephrased in myriad ways throughout this

nor the vaguest hints of the future. It means the totality of what you can achieve is heavy. Do

into sight. With the [Truesight] bestowed by Yinther, her eyes began to shake and burn as she witnessed something of such power that the truth threatened to break her mind. She lowered her head

feared,” Hause said, kneeling beside Anneliese and consoling her. “What did

her heart wasn’t beating fast at all, or the sight had affected her so severely she broke out into a sweat. It all become

saw a power

words ‘equal’ and ‘superior’ danced out

one Sophia carries,” Anneliese said. “Yet… raw.

stung. “There’s no denying that it’s a force equal to that of creation and destruction. Forever. Infinity. Always. Never shrinking, always expanding.

decided to stop using [Truesight] altogether and looked upward toward where Hause looked. What she saw defied her preconceptions of reality—new colors, new dimensions, new sounds and new ways of being. It was everything all at once, existing forever and never existing in the same breath. Even if

Anneliese questioned. “Were they exposed to the