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I’m imagining the words you said
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Posted on October 14, 2012 at 09:03:06 PM by a r t h u r



“I don’t know whether to be happy or concerned that your explanation made something akin to sense to me.” The King shook his head, the corner of his mouth perking upwards in a joking smile, “perhaps I am finally...what is the phrase? Going native?” The flicker of amusement faded slowly, as Arthur sighed and leaned forwards to rest his elbows on the edge of the desk. “I do not envy you many of your duties, Tsi, but at least you do not have to consider a way to keep your precocious ten year old out of a monster infested swamp.” The glittering of the grey eyes took any sting out of the words, a subtle indication of the still-light tone of the conversation, a tone that was, apparently, doomed to be rather short-lived. As Arthur listened to Tsi speak, his mouth formed instead a thin line, his brow furrowed as he considered the suggestion being put to him very thoroughly indeed. He did not make his reply as soon as the deity had finished speaking, allowing instead a thoughtful silence to stretch between the pair. He would be a fool indeed to run headlong into such an explanation.

“Before I say anything of any consequence in relation to this matter Tsi, I need you to understand a few things.” The statement wasn’t cold, but it was business-like, any softness his eyes had retained previously banished and consumed instead by a hardened steadfastness that teetered on the edge of appearing stubborn. “My first point is purely pragmatic, I was not yet born when Gwythr first came to Shaman in the guise of Mallos, so any account I could give you on that score would be, partly, a secondary one, not a primary. Nor did I participate in retrieving the real Mallos from beneath his palace in Spain, and thus, the same applies.” Arthur paused and took another sip from his goblet, his tongue clearing the traces of wine from his lips as he set the vessel back down upon the desk. “Of course, this may be a void concern, but from my experience on Earth, I believe you should be made aware, there, such matters are likely to call evidence into question.”

Outside the window a bird began to sing, perched amongst the ivy branches that hugged against the grey stonework of the castle its little high-pitched voice founds its way through the glass, filling the second pause. “Secondly, as you have already stated yourself, the worst case is if Gwythr were restored to his previous position, and Mallos robbed of any means to assist Shaman. Now, I am not naive, I do not imagine for a moment that Gwythr would return here showing a willingness to put the past behind him, and those of us who stood against him, whether here on Shaman, or in the courtroom, are not likely to escape some measure of his wrath. Therein lies my concern, I will gladly supply you with the information you need, I owe my people that, I must take steps to ensure their safety, and a successful trial is currently the best way we have to secure that. I want to level with you here though, Tsi, I know that Gwythr is guilty, I hope that you are certain of that much too, but I have one question for you. If this trial fails to deliver justice and safety to Shaman, what then can I do to ensure my people’s safety? In short, what I would like to work with you on is a contingency plan for if the worst should happen.”

Arthur scanned Tsi’s face for a moment, his own expression making it clear that he did not require an answer yet. Beneath the primary meaning of the words the King had spoken was the reaffirmation of an earlier message to the chairman, never given voice, but now quite clearly implied, Shaman is my priority. Arthur leaned back in his chair folding his arms loosely across his chest once so that he could tell the (rather long) story in relative comfort. “As you know, when Gwythr first arrived in Shaman he had disguised himself, I am told most effectively, as Mallos. His powers were reduced by the crossing into this world, and thus, he only had the power of a level one fairy. As I understand it he then tricked Aura, reversing their situation so that he was empowered and she was depowered, her familiar was also imprisoned. Establishing himself as the King, he then had the laws against murder and rape repealed, and, well...the children who resulted from this are related to Mallos, but were created by Gwythr, I am sure you construe my meaning. This, and his creation of a rip between Shaman and another world, triggered the rise of the fairy resistance. In this time Gwythr created a familiar, Lauma, using a portion of Mallos’ soul instead of his own, in order to maintain the charade, I would imagine. Unfortunate eventualities lead to the death of Aura, at the hands of Gwythr, still disguised as Mallos, using an ordinary fairy as his puppet.”

Arthur paused, his expression shifting subtly, silently communicating his reluctance to name any of the people still living in Shaman individually, a reluctance, the look said, that it would be difficult to cure him of. “That event in turn lead to Gwythr being imprisoned inside the Crystal Cave, and Shaman found itself without an original. The people of Shaman, lead by Aura’s re-born familiar, Annelise then worked to restore Aura to life. They revived her body, and Anneliese transferred the portion of Aura’s soul in her into that new body, thus returning Aura to us.” The King wetted his lips with the wine from his goblet once more as he inserted another break into the account, “Gwythr however, found a way to break what magic held him in the Crystal Caves, by using a series of enchanted rats, releasing seven curses upon Shaman in the process. Upon his escape he put Poppy into a coma, and when Mallos’ familiar joined sides with Aura the civil war, which has so recently ended, began. Aura created a fairy fort on Apeliotes Island and we, at that time, believed that Mallos re-activated his own dormant one in Shady Labyrinth. It was only when Poppy awoke two years later that we learned that the dormant fort in the Shady Labyrinth belonged to Gwythr, not to Mallos, and therefore, so I understand, the real Mallos would have been unable to activate it. It was not long after this that the charade ended. A mission to retrieve the real Mallos from Earth, and to alert you and the council was organised. Mallos came from Earth and set foot on Shaman for the first time during the battle of Apeliotes Island teleporting a number of women and children to safety, and here he stayed until very recently.” The King’s hands parted slightly, a small shrug raising his shoulders as if to say and there you have it. The small smile dropped almost instantly, the attentive look of seriousness returning to his features as he fixed his silver-grey eyes firmly onto Tsi’s brown ones.


photography and editing by merlin






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