Chapter 21: Feast of Ashes
He walked down scorched palace steps Wind slapped cold ash against his cheek Shadows slithered at his feet silent rivers swallowing shattered helms and broken spears Lightning flickered inside rotting clouds illuminating his hollow eyes and old scars carved into pale skin
He closed his eyes
A memory flickered
He was five hiding under the butcher's stall Rats chewed at dead pigs above him Their squeaks loud in darkness He lay still pressing his hands over ears trying not to cry The butcher found him kicked him out into the rain Mud splashed across his face Cold soaked his torn shirt He slept on stone steps that night Shivering
He opened his eyes Shadows pulsed around him whispering silent curses into rising winds
Breather
He inhaled slow tasting ash blood rot Heartbeat steady beneath bruised ribs Pulse like iron chains rattling in forgotten dungeons
Trivia detail
At his feet lay a tarnished copper earring shaped like a coiled snake Its fangs chipped Its chain twisted with old blood
He remembered
He stole a copper snake earring once Sold it for a rotten apple Ate it core seeds and all
Ahead rose the Temple of Dawn carved from white marble crowned with golden domes Flames flickered within shattered windows Smoke curled into dawn sky carrying the smell of burning silk and scorched parchment
He stepped through collapsed gates Shadows curling around fallen priests Robes black with ash Eyes boiled away in sunken sockets
Inside incense smoke mixed with the stink of burned flesh Statues of radiant gods lay shattered across cracked tiles Golden offerings spilled across marble floors Coins gems silks all soaked in pooled blood
At the altar stood the High Oracle draped in robes of woven gold etched with sapphire prayers Face hidden behind a dawn mask carved from ivory Hands raised clutching a staff crowned with burning opal
Her voice trembled
Shadow King Why Why bring such ruin
Ruvan tilted his head Shadows rippled across silent tiles
Because mercy is just another lie
She lowered her gaze Tears fell upon golden robes
Then end this
He raised his hand Shadows surged forward Wrapping around woven gold Crushing fragile bones Blood sprayed across cracked altar Sapphire prayers shredded into drifting ash Burning opal shattered into molten shards splattering silent walls
He turned away Shadows flowing after him devouring golden banners and radiant icons Ash drifted down across silent halls covering lifeless corpses in grey oblivion
Breather
He paused before a shattered statue of the Dawn God Its face split in half Sapphire eyes cracked Fingers broken off at the knuckles
He remembered
His mother's voice whispering prayers to that statue each morning Asking for bread Asking for warmth Asking for him to live
Prayers never came true
He stepped away Shadows rising behind him like endless mountains of darkness
He walked down temple steps Shadows slithering across bloodstained stone Dawn winds blew cold across silent plains Fires burned beyond fractured walls Rivers ran black with blood Fields lay wasted crops turned to ash
Trivia detail
By the temple gates lay a child's doll half burned Stuffed cotton spilling from torn seams One glass eye cracked The other missing
He remembered
When he was six he found a doll in the gutter missing an eye Hugged it to sleep for three nights until rats chewed its legs away
He looked up
Beyond the plains rose the Fortress of Light carved from white granite crowned with diamond spires Flames burned within shattered towers Smoke curled into dawn sky carrying the scent of charred flesh and melted gold
He walked on Shadows rippled after him swallowing broken arrows cracked shields shattered spears Silent winds carried the faint cries of dying men Echoes fading into dead air
He closed his eyes
Today I burned your gods Today I erased your prayers Today I slaughtered your kings Today I devoured your hope
Tomorrow I will consume your dreams
Beyond dreams I will teach you despair carved into dying bones
Beyond despair I will teach you oblivion
And beyond oblivion I will teach you the silence of the eternal abyss
He opened his eyes
Dawn burned pale across silent mountains Shadows rose behind him like endless walls of darkness The empire lay upon broken knees Echoes of silent screams carried upon dead winds
And they would teach the world the truth of unending nothingness