And with this Heaven, I divorce us from the atrocities of the past and wed us to the future we are to become. I hope that through the promise of this Ark we all form new bridges, new communities, and from our joining bear the seeds of unity to grow beyond the soil of our discord.


    Don’t give up on hate. Not even I can overlook the breeding torment of our past. But where we old and scarred will falter, our children and the ones after will be unburdened—to be and love and live unfettered. To experience a world of bliss and prosperity we should have always given them.


    The future is uncertain. Veiled with vaster challenges than I could ever fathom, but we do not stand alone. Our long-lost ancestors have found us at the end of a star-spanning odyssey across eons of harsh suffering.


    To my family in the void, I bid you a formal welcome to Idheim. See us unblemished, shaped by past horrors, slaves to cruel gods, butchers of shared ancestry, and beyond. See us more than what we could be, but who our children could be.


    The Age of the Pantheons has branded us indelibly in sinew and spirit, but from these ashes rise humanity—gods no more! Let us take from their powers but shed no more blood, entrapped in their prisons of eternal continuum. Let us use their designs to let life flourish. And let us gaze upon this Heaven again, and see it as our dowry to existence.


    For too long we have hurt each other. For too long we have bred ourselves like cattle and farmed our foes for sacrifices. From today forth I give choice to all in Idheim–the choice to love unfettered as you will and to sire based only on the conception of virtue and reciprocity.


    This is my final desire–my ultimate dream–that we can rise and mend fractures of existence as people and not cold gods! Humans, with human hearts and human minds directing ascendant administrators devoid of any addiction to worship save that which is offered in necessity and wisdom.


    To be clad in matrimony beneath these towers of rising virtue, building with the canons of change!


    -Jaus Avandaer, The Arks Arisen


    13-10


    The Shattered Dream (I)


    Avo caught the ghosts carrying Kae’s words before they could flow out from his mind and spill into D’Rongo.


    +I was trying to fix its canons! To stabilize it–+ The rage flowed from the Agnos as D’Rongo spoke in the backdrop, twin lines of dialogue clashing as Avo directed his focus to deal with Kae first.


    +I know. Believe you–+


    +It’s not about fucking believing me, it’s about you!+ Kae seethed. +You and her and your… cultist… false-fucking-god worshipping stupid… half-strand of a father! This was for you! All for you! My mind–Dawton’s life–the rash! My team and all the people who were with us! All ruined to make… a fucking ghoul!+


    The beast screeched a request for him to shred her mind clean from his for this disrespect. He thought of merely breaking her focus using that which he gained from Abrel.


    D’Rongo’s following words removed the necessity of such an action.+...for the sake of winning the war.+ Kae’s perception slipped from him, slashing past to peer at the Elder. +I didn’t believe you about the Agnos. Kae Kusanade. A daughter of Clan Yinga; an orphan failed by her clan and Guild both, swearing her life to the Agnosi; a much-praised pupil and a bright mind even among her peers.+


    The Elder''s voice tightened with discomfort. +It wasn’t until you showed me what she was making with those… Imitators that I turned from my heart.+ Discomfort morphed into hatred–the sheer scorn of the emotion burning like a kindred flame to Kae’s. +I despise you, priest. I despise you for reminding me of this transgression–my crime against the Articles, against a daughter of the Ori.+ A beat passed. The hatred turned inward. +And I hate you for being truthful.+


    The revelation of D’Rongo’s unwitting deed did not move Kae from her anger, but the fires of her rage were caged by returning control, and silence took her as her ghosts shook like a vessel rocking on waves of tumult.


    D’Rongo continued. +The Imitators… I could have never imagined such a thing with my own mind. It is… beyond us. A sign of the voiders’ higher knowledge.+ The praise was accompanied by a sneer. +And our weakness. With something that could change the Heavens to suit the needs of our greatest enemy… such a thing could not be allowed.+


    +There were non-affiliated observers,+ Kae said, as Denton’s ghosts drifted close. +The… the Paladins. The Exorcists. Voidwatch too. They would have never allowed my creation to be weaponized. It was only something meant to mend…+


    +You didn’t trust Voidwatch?+ Avo cast a thought out to D’Rongo. +Didn’t think they could ensure commission parameters per the agreements between the Guilds?+


    The woman’s face settled into a cold glare. +How could they, seeing that they engineered these “Imitators” specifically for our pacification?+


    Her words captured the totality of his attention, and within him, a burgeoning curiosity began to burn.


    +Poor helpless voiders,+ D’Rongo spoke in a mocking whine. +To be so powerful yet hapless against the existence-shifting touch of the Heavens—to live at the mercy we, their downtrodden, ignorant, savage cousins bestow.+


    She drew near, the ghosts conveying the closeness of her scorn. +But I’ve seen the lives they live, their days filled with succulence and wanton salaciousness while we, the beacon of their salvation, wither and bleed and offer death upon death to ensure their protections. And yet, here they are, kingmakers unable to embody their role, spectators to a war trapped in a deadlock.+


    A soft laugh rife with dismay followed. +Or so we believed. Do you know what I uncovered with my Incubi after you revealed the existence of the Imitators to me? After you caught sight of their existence through those Fallwalkers? How much effort it took? I created a specialized cell of experts capable of diving beneath the mind of one of their machine consciousnesses without revealing themselves. Oh, it took aid from Omnitech, and the favors I had to trade with those capricious cultists were almost too severe.+


    Denton let out a verbalization of surprise that was almost a curse. +Aegis is not going to like this. I didn’t think this was real…+ He felt something pulse in the back of her mind. Something was happening within the confines of her Meta.


    His ghosts tight-linked to the Glaive alone. +You didn’t know.+


    +No,+ Denton said. +Keep guiding her. This conversation has already paid significant dividends, but she knows more.+


    Unaware of the second conversation happening alongside her own, the Elder spoke on, her ghost-channeled perception boring down upon Avo like a glaring spotlight. +Voidwatch themselves didn’t create these “Imitators?” No. They engineered it. Did you know this, priest? It is a fascinating thing–an organism even that baffles their sciences almost as much as it does our thaumaturgy. Even their god-machines could be mirrored. And to find it drifting so close to us–and taken by a cadre of poor organized Fallwalkers… makes me curious if this was by design.+


    Her words bore insinuations unspoken, but the weight of her mind leaned against him. It was clear she thought Walton had to do with the arrangements behind the theft of the Imitators itself–and such a thing could very well be true.


    An evolution manifested within Avo, altering the posthumorous relationship he had with his father. Gratitude and confusion were now joined with building annoyance.


    The former High Priest of Noloth might have left much in the way of power and resources behind for his son, but with that came old debts and new grudges.


    Family was an ugly thing.


    +Now, now,+ Avo said, fighting to keep the awkwardness out of his ghosts as he tuned their voices to bear a steady tone. +You can accuse me directly. I can take it.+


    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    D’Rongo coughed a disbelieving laugh. +Oh, yes, priest, I am surely concerned with hurting your feelings. No. I will not give you this credit. I don’t think even you are this capable–seeing how impenetrable the voiders are to us without our more… misguided allies.+


    She was withholding proper due from Walton out of spite, and to Avo’s rising ire, he felt the denial of his father’s rightful praise a gnawing disrespect.


    +So, you believe the Imitators were going to be used by Voidwatch to make us more… agreeable to them. What about the stuff that happened afterward. What about Project Godshaper, and the point behind setting Kae Kusanade’s mind on fire?+


    The insides of the Elder’s mind tightened with outrage. +You know why we burned her mind, you fork-tongued creature. Because of you! You used the lives of my Glaives–massacred cells of Incubi–all so we could deliver your prize to you. Had us open the way to your schemes as we engaged with Highflame.+ She laughed humorlessly. +I must ask: were you expecting it, then? Our Incubi taking hold of her mind and having her eliminate Paladin Morrow using the organism she was trying to culture?+


    A choked whimper of anguish came from Kae, emotions tearing through her like a saw. Self-loathing, hate, shame, violation, horror. Yet, at the end of it all, what drove her emotions to a sudden halt was a memory–a realized inconsistency. +I… I didn’t want to do it? I didn’t know…+


    Again, choice denied carved pain deep into the bedrock of one’s ego. Even now, after her first resurrection, Kae still clung to the hurt, the torment clinging to her still even in her “optimal reversion.”


    She wanted this on some level, but the wants of being were caprious and shaped by feedback.


    It hurt to remember, but it would cost too much to forget.


    Whoever Morrow was, she continued to choose the grief of what she was forced to inflict upon him in place of his absence in her memories.


    With peace of mind came minimal pain, but sometimes people preferred substance despite the sting.


    +You know the rest,+ D’Rongo sighed. +The attack was foiled. Fortuitously. Almost like it was fated to happen–guided by unseen hands.+ A spite-filled silence followed. As they departed another golem, Avo felt the Elder’s resentment soften. +You have asked me many questions today. Can I ask you one of my own?+


    A second passed. Avo cast his ghosts at Denton, seeking proper advice.


    +Let her,+ Denton responded. +I’m curious about what she wants to know.+


    +Yes,+ Avo answered, filtering the uncertainty he felt as he delivered his message.


    The elder acknowledged his agreement with a wry note of suspicion. +Why are you pretending to be the priest?+


    His insides emptied out. A yawning chasm stretched through him as Avo felt Denton push her ghosts closer to his.


    +Tear her near-term memories out of her,+ Denton said. +We can do this again–+


    +It’s the citrus,+ D’Rongo interrupted. +The smell. Your ghosts are sending mem-data bearing a facsimile to the real thing but… this is not how it would taste to me. Or any other human for that matter.+


    Back in the real, Avo hissed a low note of displeasure.


    Of course. The fault was in a detail. The smallest, most inconsequential detail. He was a ghoul, and thus, where his olfactory senses were sharper, so too did he experience the taste of things differently.


    What he used to spoof his disguise was similar enough. But closeness didn’t not beget proper symmetry.


    This was his mistake–his failing.


    One he would learn to correct shortly.


    Avo made to dive into D’Rongo’s recent memories before she spoke again. +It’s the only reason why I told you so much. Curiosity. I thought you were him when you first intruded, but now that I had my time with you… you’re very much like him, but not quite. There is a… coldness to your ghosts. Something missing in the facets that he had. Less vulnerable. Less humane. You will not tell me who you are, but I would like to continue our bargain.+


    +No,+ Avo said. +No bargain.+ He cast out his ghosts–


    +Are you the one who attacked the Greatling girl, then? Part of the chaos in the Warrens today?+ Again, the tension inside him twisted hard. He felt a smile spread across her face. +It’s so nice to properly meet you, Acolyte of Defiance. I’m curious, is Aedon Chambers your real name.+


    And the spring of tension slipped, releasing a surfeit of surprise.


    +What?+ Denton said.


    +I–yes,+ Avo said, his use of Chambers more instinct than rationale. The moment was so absurd, so unexpect that he found his thoughts slippery, unwilling to linger long enough for him to decide on a proper course of action. +How… did you know?+


    She suddenly felt very pleased with herself. Part of Avo wanted to reveal the truth, if only to drive her deeper into the throes of bitterness. He kept up the new charade despite himself as she oozed smugness. +We both have our means. You really should have kept yourself out of the limelight. As much as your master disgusts me, he was wise enough to keep himself from attention.+


    +I…+ Avo trailed off. He turned to Denton for advice, but found himself offered the mental equivalent of a shrug.


    +What’s even happening,+ Kae muttered, her turmoil temporarily interrupted.


    +So,+ D’Rongo said. +You must also be the one that stole Project Dichotomy before Highflame could finally auction the Frame off to another one of their butchers?+


    A line of text ran through his cog-feed as a Ghostlink request from Chambers filled his mind. With an acknowledgment, the ex-enforcer tumbled in, mind reeling like a whirlwind of chaos. +Why the fuck does she think I’m involved with this? What did you do, Avo?+


    +I… don’t know.+ And that was the honest truth of it.


    There were certainly witnesses that placed Chambers and Essus on the scene, but if that was…


    Avo paused. Avo thought back to an earlier point, back when they were trying to kill Mirrorhead. He had used Chambers’ mind as a access point. The Incubi knew that as a certain truth.


    Could they have assumed Chambers was a disciple of sorts to Walton? Or the Low Masters as a whole?


    The insanity of such a prospect made him chuckle. Then laugh. It was the type of amusement one got from witnessing a colossally wrong deduction assumed to be truth–an accidental conspiracy theory used in place of a stranger fiction.


    +Alright,+ Avo said, too bemused not to continue playing along. He could resequence D’Rongo’s mind later if this all went south. With Chambers present, perhaps they could continue extracting the details they needed after all. +You got me.+


    +There’s no shame in this,+ D’Rongo said. +Though I will see you dead for the lives of my guards.+


    He grunted. +Doubt you have the traumas needed to settle me.+


    Chambers blanched. +Stop! What are you doing–+


    +So,+ D’Rongo said. +Using me to glean all these details… your master never told them to you?+


    +No,+ Avo said. +He was always a…+ He knew what he had to say. He had the words, he just needed to speak them. +...A half-strand.+


    +Ah,+ D’Rongo said. +Already, I like you more. Tell me: Do you know where he took the Agnos? Her life is valuable. We just want her back to fix our mistake. If you arrange for her return, I can even see to your induction into our ranks. You have the skills–think of what you can achieve if you could jack with every need met–all the phantasmics you want. And ghosts. No lag. A FATE-Skein as well.+


    +Wait, hold on,+ Chambers said, the sensation of him licking his lips bleeding over. +That’s a pretty good deal. I think we should take this. I can be your inside man for Ori-Thaum.+


    +Already have Denton,+ Avo said.


    +She’s… not a man?+


    +I suppose that is true,+ Denton deadpanned. +As long as I don’t get any new mods.+


    +Nonetheless,+ D’Rongo said, +You must be desperate to attempt such a play. Releasing the information–having the Paladin arrest me just to arrange this talk… Well played, but we both know I do not fear the end. And though you might have the Agnos, she will be no use to either of us if she doesn’t finish her work.+


    +And what’s that?+


    +Restoring the Heaven of Love and turning it against our foes.+ Her voice fell low. +And turning the Arks against our enemies.+