The World is Waiting

[Pharaoh]

S H A E O T H

Shaeoth tilted his head, perplexed at the sudden puzzlement expressed by his counterpart. In his prior tirade, he'd seemed so very sure of the Dark One's intentions- even found them derivative enough to dismiss as a reiteration of the very cycle he sought to upend. A turbulent part of him wanted to drown the other in darkness for his presumptions. A more placid part was indifferent to the pettiness of personal pride and any wounds dealt it. Another still sympathised... perhaps even pitied him. The latter two silenced the first, and he stayed his tongue from elaborating upon his 'nothing'... After all, nothing was not an insignificant factor in all this.

He hung there in still silence as Arcas considered the question posed. The feline familiar, glanced from Shaeoth to Arcas and back, then stalked around and behind the former- receding into the ostensible oblivion that surrounded them.

"Hope." He repeated Arcas' answer flatly. That impetuous part of him that had been provoked before rose to the fore.

"You tell me you hope for hope, and I am the one who imparts 'nothing'? Hope is an inevitable thing for the conscious mind. Even those we call hopeless hope. The starving man hopes to be fed. The man who has given up on life hopes for the relief that lies in death..." It seemed very clear that Arcas was hoping for some sort of relief or release as well...

Shaeoth paused at length, again of three minds. One which would have been glad to dismiss Arcas' pointed question summarily, one which would have been cagey and the other candid. It was candour that won out.

"What I seek... what I hope for is a true and a lasting change. One final climax to upend the foundations of this world. If I seem vague in so saying and offer you 'nothing', that is because I truly do not care how that change presents itself as long as it is different from what has been. As long as the wheel is broken. I wish to fundamentally alter the paradigms of Ransera. And then, Arcas, I want to be done. With all of this. Because, whether or not you or the world are willing to be altered, I am changed." There was gravity to that statement that echoed even through the void around them.

"I would leave the affairs of mortals in the hands of those who are still concerned with their fates or amused by their folly, for I am not. If that answer seemed vague or cryptic, it is because my choice for how to proceed hinges upon this encounter. So many others, mortal and divine, are trapped in the orbit of our termless duel. It needs to end. Not to intermiss, but to end. Which means one of us must win, one of us must forfeit, or both of us must reconcile. How would you have it?"

[Talon]

A R C A S

“D-do you remember nothing of why I fought across all these lifetimes?” He was genuinely shocked. Even the previous incarnations of the Dark One had possessed moments of clarity where pieces of Seon shone through. The forceful possession that his brother had always bitterly tried to free himself of had been the sole guiding reason why Arcas had confronted him time and again. Yes, he was weary of it but…the person in front of him made his struggle, their struggle seem as though it was something utterly meaningless.

It had been why he had hunted down and fought the many fragments of It. The pieces of the Crooked Man that had been scattered across the world. He had thought that by defeating pieces, one by one, he would be able to weaken Its hold on Seon. To give his brother just enough room to finally break free. At every confrontation that they had found themselves in across every life, there had been moments that he could see Seon trying to free himself and at every turn, he had given everything to give his brother that chance. More and more he had seen Seon shine through at each crossing.

Nevermind the legends. Nevermind the climactic battles. Nevermind the mythology that had been spun around the two of them. Every effort he had made had been toward the solitary goal of releasing Seon from the possession that had gripped him so tightly. But the being in front of him, the man he was faced with, seemed…utterly apathetic to all of that. It was jarring. It was stunning. The part of him that had sacrificed so much and left so much behind to accomplish that single goal was left speechless.

“Do you think I cared that you became Darkness Incarnate? Do you think I cared that you took up Vengeance or Fear? What is Darkness but my equal and my balance? What is Vengeance but Justice taken into one’s own hands? What is Fear but a path toward finding Hope? In another time, that would have been me. But you gave up everything to spare me from that. You saved me. How could I not spend every waking moment trying to do the same for you?” He stepped closer, peering into this man’s eyes, searching, still searching for something he recognized.

“Seon. Brother. I never wanted war with you. I swore only that I would never rest until you have the freedom to be you. I did not fight this long to live in a world without you.” His mouth hung open slightly as he searched the face of the man across from him.

“Now, after so many lifetimes, after everything, at this final crossroads…I am at a loss.” Tentatively, hesitantly, he reached up with trembling hands to cup the Dark One’s face.

“Did I finally lose you? Was it all for nothing?”

[Pharaoh]

S E O N

Darkness sighed all around them.

"I remember so much more..." He rasped, "...so much further." And it was burdensome. All of it, except for that first, primal peace. This world was rife with unwelcome reminders of his personal fault and folly. So much of it was unavoidable, but enough of it bore the mark of his own hand that he couldn't dismiss it altogether.

"But yes, you fought valiantly..." There was more of regret than adulation in his tone. He extended his arms, faint, pallid outlines barely visible before the black backdrop. "And, after a fashion, you won. But surely you did not anticipate a reunion with the brother you knew in antiquity. It has been too many turns of the wheel for that..." And then Arcas spoke of Seon's sacrifice. That actually elicited a faint, weary smile.

"Ever was I better built to walk this path..." He contemplated the Hope that dwelt yet within his heart. That which drove Arcas ever back to him. The hope he bore was, inevitably, darker. But oh, it churned mightily in his heart.

"..until now." The blackness laxened, and Arcas' light was granted leave to occupy space in the void once more.

"I only wish to cut my losses. I am sorry this is not the homecoming you must have dreamt of. To be clear, I do not covet oblivion. The hope I bear is for release and renewal." He drew closer, "Just not the sort to which we've grown accustomed. Not out there..." He looked behind Arcas, as if indicating the world outside this microcosmic void. After a moment, his eyes met Arcas', softening as he lifted a hand to cup his brother's jaw.

"This need not be your loss. Not if you would consent to join me and jettison the old ballast we've accrued over the millennia that weighs us down. Let us ascend to new and greater heights. We might be demiurges, ourselves... architects to whole new realities. If you believe, as you said, that this world is broken, then what anchors you to it?" And what, he asked without asking, should anchor Seon?

[Talon]

A R C A S

“Of course I did not expect it to be…to be easy.” He swallowed. Seeing his brother’s face soften, seeing the regret, the pain, the suffering that was present there. And then a thought struck him. A thought that had never occurred to him before. A solution he had never considered. It was a path that had never been open to him before because, until this moment, it had never been possible.

“I never expected you would be the same. Not after everything you have suffered. That we have suffered. I would ask only that you give this tired world one more chance. A new kind of renewal. A new kind of release.” He stared into Seon’s eyes and saw the spark of Hope burning there in his heart. There was a yearning that was as powerful as his own. A want for something different. A want for change.

“That is the problem with this world now, brother. One, I could never have seen until this very moment. This world is Suffering.” He dropped one hand and moved to entwine their fingers together. Turning he extended a hand, calling upon everything that was inside of him. He reached not just for his own power, but he reached for Talon. He reached for the Aspect of Hope that was inside of his brother and through him, he sought to forge a Bond that they might draw closer in understanding. It was a hand being offered in invitation, it would be up to Seon to take it. There in the heart of the Void, Arcas cast off the veil of his mortality entirely. He shed it. He let it fall away completely that the Light of his divinity shine with the greatest purity it had ever had. He reached out to the Void and urged the Darkness not to flee from his Light but to join it. To hold hands with it, to make the brightness of its harshness less sharp. To make the heat of his fire less scorching. To balance him.

Looking through eyes that were fully divine, he beheld the one thing he was searching for; the Veil.

Had not Ilixidor the Betrayer turned his back on ancient Sol’Valen because of the deal made with Malgar? Was it not that very legend that they had fought against in those ancient times? Malgar, the God of Suffering had entered a pact with the elves of the Old Kingdom. To create a Veil that would shield the world from the full horrors of the Mists in exchange for their immortality. The bargain had been struck. The deal had been made. The Veil had been created.

But who had stopped to ask what kind of Veil it was?

“I stay for this world because there are people I love in it. I stay because I wish to build something in this world that is better for them.” He turned and cupped Seon’s face again, bringing their brows together.

“For you. I stayed, I fought, I Suffered, for you. Because I love you, brother. We need not cast aside this place. You need not turn your back on it. I do not ask you to change who you are or who you have become. I only ask that you stay with me and build something better. It is just you and I. Have you not enshrouded the world from the others already? This is our chance, brother. This is the chance to break the wheel as you said, and to take things in a new direction.” He looked into Seon’s eyes.

“Tear down the Veil and help me build a new one. Together. Not a Veil of Suffering. This world began as a place of Darkness and Light. Let us return it to that place. A place where Suffering does not rule but must find its place, just as all things should be able to find their place. A world that is free to make its own choices, for good or for ill. For Darkness, for Light or for neither.”

[Pharaoh]

S E O N

For the Dark One, the microcycle of their conversation revolved back around to where it had begun. But, appropriately, now it was his counterpart who pitched the notion of breaking the world as it stood, and invited him to join the endeavour. He his faint smile waxed warmer. This was a welcome turn of the wheel.

He had never sought to quit this world without another thought. As he'd stated from the beginning, he wanted to alter it in a lasting way first- Merely leaving it would not be a satisfactory culmination to the overlong arc of their personal story. He closed his fingers around Arcas'.

This was why he'd welcomed him. To help him home in on what sort of change it should be that served as Seon's swan song. As he'd told his counterpart, he was ambivalent about what sort of shift was fitting, and so he was amenable to the notion presented. It might not be enough to seduce Seon into remaining, but perhaps his mind would change in the doing. He'd changed before, and would again whether hither or yon.

He parted his lips, prepared to commit to this course until, in the final moments of his pitch, Arcas highlighted the philosophical division that still existed between them.

"Oh..." The light he had begun to allow in began to fade. His hand gingerly slid down his brother's face, and fell to his side. The other hand released Arcas'.

For how complicated he'd become, Seon had grown to appreciate simplicity so much more. That had been what changed in him most since his ascension. Though he felt a bit further from the Light, he yet cared little for the mortals of this world, so there was no reason for him to highlight what he took to be misguided.

"In tribute to you I will toil toward this task." He began to turn away, and create a physical distance to match the philosophical. "I cannot promise that I will remain to see how the world fares once it's been executed, but I can do you this final favour."

[Talon]

A R C A S

“That is all I ask, brother.” He would not press Seon. It was clear that he was not the only one who had been changed by ordeals as of late. There was an air of detached solemnity about his brother that had never been there before. He did not know what Seon had remembered or uncovered but what he did know was that whatever hold the Crooked Man once had on him, it was gone. Maybe not completely, being enthralled to such a dark primeval force would leave its mark for the rest of time but this man seemed more present. More himself. He could see that now. At least he thought he did.

“What of this Eclipse, brother? I have noticed that there has appeared a new Cardinal Rune in the world. Is all of this a result of that?” He would not ask whether or not Seon would undo it. He had never seen the awakening of a new Rune of Magic before but if the stories of Negation’s creation were to be believed, this seemed to be to scale. He could only imagine what it would take in order to correct the presence of the Rune of Darkness. An act of power centered on the elemental forces of Light? Not as a philosophical counter but as a cosmic balance. That was a thought but it would require the use of magic beyond what the vast majority of mages in the world were independently capable of.

As he mused, he felt a stirring again. A calling that pulled at the hollow ache in his chest. He was reminded of one of the reasons of why he came to seek out his brother in the first place. That calling had been on the edge of his thoughts for some time. It had only grown stronger the closer he had come to this sanctum of darkness. This close to the missing piece of himself he could still vaguely feel that open invitation that was being left to Seon. While he could not make out the thoughts of his missing half, he wanted to. Talon was Hope Incarnate. Perhaps being with Seon had shown him something that he could not yet see. Perhaps there was even more going on here than he would have imagined. He would not know until that part of himself was returned.

“On another note, I believe you have a piece of me with you. I can feel him. He is what drew me here. He is the piece of me that I have been without for--for too long. Ever since…” He trailed off. He remembered the blade that had been shoved into his chest. The scream that was not his own but that of his brother’s. He remembered vaguely seeing clarity and horror in his brother’s eyes as he had a lucid moment before death took him that first time. It would be ages before he realized that a piece of himself had broken away in that fight. That piece had been born as Talon. It was the greatest reason why Arcas and Talon were nearly identical in physical appearance, even so many millennia apart. Ignoring the fact that Talon was an Avialae, of course.

"Will you return him to me?"

[Pharaoh]

S E O N

Though the offer posed had not been lost to his ears, Seon was not prepared to accept it, as yet.

"We are bound already in so many ways, even though we have long been sundered in others. The task you propose will not be a blithe nor a simple one. Let us reacclimate. You are still adjusting in aftermath of donning that afflicted armour... It is almost a pity to see you without it, when it did look so very fetching on you." Whether it was a wry jest or an earnest sentiment, there was a grim gravity in that statement.

"The eclipse..." Seon gazed off behind Arcas, over his shoulder and above his wing. "It is of my making, yes, but not born of my design. You are correct in your supposition that it is connected to the birth of the Rune of Nyx out of the womb of the Emblem of Obtenebration... but whether by happenstance or the hand of some higher power than you or I, it must run its course, brother. It is not ours to remedy." An appropriately dark smirk crossed his shadow-cast lips.

"If your beloved mortals are ever going to be weaned from your celestial teat, they must learn to fend for themselves. While we focus our energies upon the Veil, let them tend to the spires."

At that tender, vulnerable request he had to cluck his tongue.

"I was waiting for that request, though almost, heh... hoping it would never come." He held a hand to his chest, just over his heart. "It's been rather soothing to hold onto something so fragile and pure as the first spark of thought that awoke in the void. Alas..." An uncharacteristic glow surged forth from the shadowy figure as he drew the silver sliver of Hope from the depths of his black heart and held it forth, to examine it adoringly for a few moments before extending his arm and allowing Hope to float home.

"You'll have great need of this in the days to come."

[Talon]

T A L O N

“I did look rather impressive in it.” He gave a grim smirk, choosing to share in wry humor. “I am glad to be rid of it. It was turning me into something, into someone, I could not recognize. I have learned from the experience. I have no desire to repeat it.”

So he was right, the eclipse was tied to the Rune of Nyx. Giving the rune a name sent some measure of understanding of it to him. It was a difficult thing to realize that he needed to agree with his brother about this matter. For millennia he was accustomed to being focused on fighting the threats that arose as the people around him demanded that he do. He was the God of Justice. He was the Divine of Light. Who but him was supposed to face the terrible monstrosities that rose from the depths of the most wretched places in the cosmos? But as he stared at Seon, he knew that his brother was right. It was time to step aside and let others be the heroes that the world needed. He had other things he needed to focus on. He had other obligations and he could not meet them if he were off trying to solve every single dilemma that arose in the world while he was working.

“You are right.” He sighed. “To the work of the Veil.”

It would be an immense task but it was one that could be done. When Seon withdrew the Aspect of Hope from himself, his eyes softened. The silver light blossomed and from it formed the translucent ghostly form of Talon. Talon looked at Seon and his expression was one of genuine compassion. It was not pity. It was true empathy. He had been within the heart of Seon and had, to a degree, seen what had transpired to him and been part of the process that elevated him to his current status. Talon stepped forward and raised a hand to place upon Seon’s shoulder.

“When you have need of me, you need only ask.” He left it at that before turning to face Arcas.

The two of them looked at each other and a welling of emotion passed between them. Talon stepped forward. Arcas outstretched his arms. The two of them embraced tightly. A silver-white glow began to emanate from the both of them as the sundered souls were once again brought together. The light grew brighter and brighter. It was an aura that was suffused not just with the power of Light and Justice, but it became a beacon of Hope. The searing fury of the Divine Avenger that had gripped Arcas mind for months, was soothed. The overwhelming need to drag all things out of the Darkness was assuaged with an inner peace to bring it into balance.

Hope had returned to him.

Talon opened his eyes and stood within the Void looking at Seon with a soft smile. The full expanse of his divine aura shone within the pitch blackness. His nimbus, which had been fractured, was now whole and even more potent than before. Terrible as the experience had been, scarring as it was, they had grown.

He had grown. He felt the strength of his Bond return in full. He felt Rickter. He felt Aoren. He felt a welling of tears in his eyes as he was finally, blessedly, complete. He wrapped his arms around himself and gave himself a tight squeeze. He squeezed his eyes shut and just breathed. When he opened his eyes again, he felt like he was seeing clearly for the first time in a lifetime.

“Thank you.”

[Pharaoh]

S E O N

A grim snigger followed Arcas' description of his experience being altered inwardly and bound against his will by an alien force.

"Oh really? You'll have to tell me what that was like some time. I simply couldn't fathom it myself." The sarcasm was more dry than biting. In truth it was rather balming to be able to laugh at their mutual anguish after all this time.

He nodded at the easy acquiescence to his informed suggestion that they focus their energies on the Veil. The issues were not in direct correlation, but the one certainly impacted the other.

"One with such stunning wings must surely know that there comes a point when the fledglings must make a leap if they are ever to learn to mount the skies." He offered.

It was an odd thing, the sensation of losing Hope to its natural home. He'd thought it might have been more unpleasant than it turned out to be. Perhaps there was something residual of its light yet dwelling within his dark heart. He turned his face askance of the burgeoning lustre that intruded upon the void, and permitted a semblance of privacy for the reunification of Talon-Arcas and his reemergence as a force in the broken world he sought to mend.

Perhaps it was that he missed the presence he'd just plumbed from his own heart... perhaps it was the quantum entanglement of that residue of hope that remained within him, longing to be closer to its parent energy. Perhaps it was merely fraternal affection, but whatever the case Seon answered Arcas' expression of gratitude with an embrace and around them the void went from pitch black to translucent grey. When they opened their eyes, they would see the faint outline of the crumbling Zaichaeri skyline outside the orb in which they lingered. Shadowspawned wraiths and other fell beasts still hovered in the orbit of the orb, as if awaiting something as yet undone.

As they parted their embrace the orb faded completely out of existence and the brothers remained aloft in a sky darkened by forces not wholly his own, though not unrelated. Still, the creatures of shadow regarded him with dark deference. He glanced down at the snarling maws of the writhing Mistborn beasts that assailed the streets below them.

"Exterminate them." He commanded, glancing to Arcas. "Darkness need not act as kin to chaos." And, all around them amidst the ruins of the Zaichaeri Presidium, the Shadowspawn waged war upon the Mistborn.

[Talon]

T A L O N

The sudden hug from his brother was a surprising one but it was a surprise he welcomed. He wrapped his arms around the shadow god and squeezed tightly. Too many emotions to count passed through him. This moment, a moment he had dreamed of for thousands of years, had finally come. It was a strange sort of contentedness to be complete in a way that allowed him to remember who he was before this life but also who he was in the current one. He could not help the welling of emotion that surged through him and caused his aura to shine brighter. Talon looked around to see the world beyond the void waiting for them. At the command that Seon issued, he blinked.

“Thank you, brother.” He watched as the shadowspawn tore into the mistborn creatures. It was a brutal display of primal savagery. As he watched, he willed his aura to fade and contract so that it hung more tightly around him.

“There will be much to do. However, I think…” He considered the small pantheon of demigods that he was aware of. There were Avaerys and Varvara. Surprisingly, he knew on some level that the two of them would want to provide some semblance of order to the chaotic mess that was in front of them. It was a depth of understanding that he had previously lacked. There was Florian but at the mere thought of the demigod of Rebellion he felt his hackles rise. He doubted Florian would be cooperative in an effort that involved that level of coordination with three divines whom he had expressed contempt for.

“I may know others that will help us.” Fully restored, he could see the edge of the Aetherium. The path there was also shrouded in the darkness of the Void that had become ascendant in this current situation. He could see clearly into the Highest Realm. Something told him that was not the case for the other gods. Whether that was a product of his primacy over Light or his unique relationship with the newly ascended God of the Void, he did not know.

“Give me some time to get acclimated. Then? The remaking of our world can begin.” It was clear to him that the both of them needed time to adapt to this new life. He needed time to continue recovering and sorting through his recent battles. Seon might have cared little for the mortals of the world but there were people he wanted to be with, loved ones he wanted to be surrounded by. He had a feeling that this journey to tearing down and rebuilding the Veil would be one of the most exhausting and challenging of his entire existence. He wanted time to simply be before he embarked upon that road. He looked to Seon and gave him a nod. Though he was hesitant to depart, he felt it was time for them both to sort themselves out. He spread his wings and drifted away from his brother. With a small smile, he then turned and began soaring through the skies of Zaichaer, following the restored Bond in order to find Aoren.