Devotion

The Final Lesson

The dying light of another day scorched the sky in its death throws. The milling clouds coalesced heralding an approaching storm only exaggerated the canvas of fire even further. Soldiers, mercenaries, freebooters and sailors of every ilk looked to the sky with trepidation. The citizens of the Island town had been walking on eggshells with the approaching battle and had sheltered inside their homes if they hadn’t taken refuge in the old fortress at the peak. 

“Do you think the Gods are angry at us, Master?” Naut asked. 

Master Sebas did not answer his student immediately, nor even acknowledge him. He continued to stare out into the distance as he often did. Naut wondered now as he often did if his master saw the same world as everyone else. Master Sebas didn’t seem to be observing the sky nor the near abandoned town or the port that served it. His gaze was fixated on some distant vision beyond the perception of all but him. 

Sebas spoke, “The nature of my craft and my personal temperament prevent me from acknowledging the existence of the Gods. 

Master Sebas was an obnoxious man, he had purposely waited and spoken loudly for the moment a line of monks had passed behind them so they could hear his words. The youngest acolyte at the rear looked up from his ritual chanting but remembered his devotions and stayed in rhythm with his fellows. 

Naut was accustomed to his master’s predilections and animosity specific to the church. He folded his arms across his chest and stared out into the distance as well hoping to catch a glimpse of the master’s vision. 

“Far be it from me to say what does and does not exist having no proof one way or the other. I care not either way. If they don’t exist then we and others have done nothing but waste our time worrying over a sunset, one of countless number that has come before and countless more that will follow within the wake of our lifetime,” he continued. 

“And if they do exist?” Naut asked. 

“Then they share responsibility for all that has befallen us and seek to deter us in our dedication to upset the status quo. If that be it the case then to the Void with them,” Master Sebas responded. 

Only Master Sebas among all that inhabited the Island whether they were soldier, sailor, or civilian dared speak ill of the Gods, and only Master Sebas had the audacity and classless demeanor to do so within the newly constructed cathedral. The Watch of the Central Trinity was the term for the massive arches that opened up the ambulatory on the second floor. Appropriate that it would face away from the encroaching battle. 

“Speak your mind, child,” Master Sebas said. 

“You already know what I seek, Master,” Naut said. 

“Having taken my position as Head of the Council and Ozwald’s audiomancy aside, I have recently come to understand the necessity of giving sound to ideas, for there is power in the spoken word.” 

Naut braced himself, “Are we doing the right thing?” 

Master Sebas looked to his pupil for the first time since he had joined him in his vigil. Mathematicians were never known to have the most heroic of builds being the scholarly type, but Naut was a fine specimen of young man. He had taken the boy and five others under his wing before their span of years had reached double digits and now look at them. 

“In the six years that I’ve trained you, you were never the brightest but had always shown me that you were adequately clever. In all that time this is the first I’ve heard you utter something truly stupid,” Sebas replied. 

Naut turned to his master. Sebas encapsulated the mystique of mathematicians in having reached middle age he refused to age any further. He stands out amongst his peers by having the qualities of an albino while not actually being one. White hair draped over his robes against pale unblemished skin. 

“Walk with me,” Sebas commanded. 

They turned away from the burning sky and walked into the inner shadows of the cathedral. They marched the ambulatory counterclockwise. The hall was populated by monks conducting various rituals or running errands. Through the pillared arches overlooking the nave Naut could see the abbesses directing the other nuns leading groups of non-combatants. 

“Everyone here, on this Island is an outcast. We have no rights or self-determination. The only reason we are banished and not murdered is because some high-minded philosophical fools thought it inhumane. That somehow isolating us here without a shred of dignity only to be used when the need arises was somehow more virtuous.” 

Naut admired the stealth of the clergy. Their ability to traverse the grounds in silence while the thuds of his and his master’s boots thudded noisily between the master’s words. 

“Declaring independence has only given them an excuse for what they originally intended for us. Right and wrong play no part in their actions or ours. Success or failure matters not in this either. At some future date there will be some other philosophical twit that will lament the right and wrong of our actions, the same fools who spend their time silently clutching their pearls as these actions are being made.” 

They descended the great staircase. Naut had no experience with churches but often heard about them from Ozwald. His imagination of them being filled with paintings and statues and being ostensibly decorated was disappointed by the stucco white interior. He admitted though, that the flow of architecture soothed some inner part of him. Passing through the nave and catching the cold stares of the abbesses their path took them to the rear of the cathedral past the bay and through the transept. A door blended with the carvings of the wall gave way near one of the auxiliary altars and led out onto a porch in the open air. 

The rocky terrain of the island was flat and black, the sky above tried to mirror this with encroaching darkness. From the stepped rocky formations they traversed, Naut could easily see the bridge he had raised using elemental power at the behest of Master Sebas. Soldiers and mercenaries marched in formation from the rear of the fortress, down the path and took positions on the bridge. 

“Ask yourself the simple question my student. Why are you doing this? There will be plenty of people to impose imagined intentions upon you later. Ultimately, this is about us, the ones we should answer to, and our right to do so. Are you doing it for me, for you, for your fellow combat students that we trained?” Sebas asked, “Are you doing it for her?” 

Naut looked to the bridge and the assembled men. He looked at the various artillery in fortified positions. He imagined he could guess the ages of the various figures in uniforms and brigandine armor. 

Master Sebas said, “Ergh is fighting for food and the children, for any child of this island and any mathematician born hence that they may never know what we have. Justine fights for the same. Turei fights for Ergh and because she loves fighting.” 

“Ozwald has dedicated himself to the church,” Sebas spat, “And that harlot saint.” 

It was Naut’s turn to stare off into the distance at a vision only he could perceive. His thoughts and the words of Master Sebas intertwined with the roiling clouds. Smoke from campfires on the opposite end of the bridge trailed towards the sky. The mainland town of Egress had prospered much upon the completion of the bridge and its growth was visible. 

“And Cordy...” Master Sebas’ voice trailed off. 

Naut visibly stiffened at unspoken words. Cordy would follow Naut into the Void or the mouth of angry gods. He knew it, Master Sebas and the others did too. Naut was certain there were Fire and Stone Lords at the center of the world that knew it. 

“Why are the defenses on the bridge so light?” Naut asked. 

Master Sebas frowned, “It was Cordy’s idea. The bridge with even minimal defenses will be hard to take. The enemy will be forced to use unsavory means to ensure its fall. She’s baiting them with easy targets.” 

“And...?” Naut asked. 

Master Sebas gestured towards the bridge. Lampposts had been installed along the sides of the bridge and following the master’s gesture Naut observed soldiers using torches to light them giving an eerie glow to the bridge. Even more eerie were the corpses hung from the lampposts that were also being lit, Naut felt the bile in his stomach turning and his hair raising. It was Master Sebas that caught his arm. 

“They are already dead. There is nothing you can do. You are an accomplished fighter, but she is a soldier and a commander. This is her field of expertise, and she is making a point. If you want to lecture her about right and wrong, then do it after we have a country of our own with our own laws.” 

Sensing his student regain his temper Sebas released his grip. 

“Besides, I doubt she’ll object to you putting her in manacles,” Sebas quipped. 

Naut shot him a dirty look. 

“What will you do. If we win?” Naut asked. 

“I will retire. I will spend the rest of my years with my two wives and whatever spawn they happen to pop out and meditate on the exact nature of being a loaf of bread.” 

“I don’t know what I will do,” Naut admitted. 

“I suggest you decide quickly, child. There are a bunch of soldiers encroaching on Egress with the intent of killing us. If we succeed in this gambit, we’ll be made heroes and undoubtably you and the others will be elevated to positions of power.” 

Master Sebas had an acute sense of all things, not just related to the external power of the world and the flow of it but also the flow of actions, of people and the mechanics of it. This made him the foremost predictability machine. He waved his hand through the air allowing the flow of power to formulate mathematical sequences in bright circles causing a nearby branch to float in the air. 

“I don’t-,” Naut was cut off by a stick striking him in the forehead. 

“That is the point, child. If you are not deciding for yourself what you will do, there are a whole lot of people in this world lining up to tell you what to do.” 

He continued, “Advice of the experienced. Cordy is a woman. A good woman, I should know I raised her. There is nothing less attractive than an indecisive man. Whatever decision you make, stick with it, devote yourself to it, and finish what you start.” 

“Thank you, Master,” Naut said, lost in thought again. 

“It may be the last advice I give you, so I want it to be as profound as possible depending on which of us lives to repeat it.” 

“I’m heading to Egress, I’m going to discuss the commander’s tactics with her,” Naut declared. 

Sebas laughed, “A braver man than I you will always be. Just be careful, infected women tend to be...” 

Sebas’ words trailed off and his pale eyes grew wide. Like his pupil Master Sebas was a spectacular genius and their successes and failures were equally spectacular and usually done in the throes of egotism. Naut’s face had mirrored his master’s. A pause as the older realized he’d spilled the beans and the younger realizing what the rude and crass master had meant by infected woman. 

Naut took off down the rocky steppes utilizing the power around him to easily traverse the steep drops. Sebas called after his student as much in fear of his own safety as his student’s. He hoped to at least convince Naut not to mention who told him. Speed was not Sebas’ forte, he couldn’t catch Naut. Best to go find his wives at the brothel and give his goodbyes. He turned to the sky once more watching the darkness snuff out the clouds. 

“Gods above, for all my transgressions I will apologize on humbled knees if you would grant sanctuary to my children. All of them,” he whispered.