Vultures by Luke Tarzian

Author:Luke Tarzian [Tarzian, Luke]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780998720579
Published: 2019-05-30T22:00:00+00:00

“Mirkúr.”

“Illum. It has been a long time,” Faro said. Before him stood a figure of…well, illum.

“You say that as if my absence was self-imposed,” Illum said, crossing his arms. “So many years of repression, of being subdued by your bloodlust and madness—why seek me now?”

Faro narrowed his eyes. “You know why.”

“Balance,” Illum said. “We suffered the loss of our parents, our brother, and our wife. Now our sister, too, it seems. So why now, after all this time, after all this pain you caused us?”

“Because,” Faro said, “the world is going mad. I can sense that, and I am quite sure you can too. Something is horribly amiss whether our waking self cares to admit so or not.”

“Why not do as you always do, then, hmm?” Illum snapped. “Reap. Annihilate.”

“I would not have to if you were here to temper my insanity,” Faro hissed, mirkúr blades forming in his hands. “Without law, chaos, or had you forgotten?”

A brilliant longsword took shape in Illum’s hand. “I would be able to temper your insanity if you had not banished me in the first place!”

“I AM DEPRESSION!” Faro lunged and swung. Illum danced out of reach. “BANISHING YOU IS WHAT I AM MEANT TO DO, YOU FOOL!”

Illum extended his blade, threads of luminescence shooting forth and encapsulating Faro. “This is true, yes.” Illum flicked his wrist and the encapsulation shrunk, reducing Faro to a shrieking orb of smoke. “But I am Euphoria, and I am meant to banish you.” Illum extended his free hand, palm upturned, and drew the orb in. “Your time is at its end.”

“BALANCE!” Faro raged. “BALANCE!”

Illum shook his head, then crushed the orb. Balance simply would not do. Balance meant that chaos always had a chance to supersede. If things were as mad as mirkúr claimed them to be then law and only law could rule this fragile husk of what had once been a happy man.

Illum dismissed his blade and held his arms out wide, allowing himself to dissolve, his brilliant essence beginning to permeate the blackness of this thing that was Theailys’ mind.

I will see this world absolved of darkness. I will see myself absolved of fury and despair. The outside world blinked in and out. Theailys An was starting to wake. I will do what must be done.

Another blink, and Illum was blinded by the brilliance of the waking world.

* * *

They called the Seraph’s chamber the Seat of Divinity. Before Theailys stood an effigy perhaps a hundred feet tall. Embedded in the massive statue were seven podiums and seats: one for each upturned palm; one for each of the four unfurled wings; and one for the faceless hood. At each podium stood a figure shrouded in white and wearing a helm with an eyeless visor; fixed atop each helm was a circlet.

Theailys bowed his head to these figures, waiting to be addressed. His gaze wandered, admiring the architecture and design of the Seat. The white of the floors bled into the walls, ascending in threads that gradually faded to shades of gray the closer toward the ceiling they grew.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.