Only watch
Tesheri, whom Rime favorably gave the opportunity to observe Deos, all this time, without moving and without blinking, looked at the man. His movements gave rise to a long, unfamiliar pleasure, which sometimes splashed her with a slight flash at the climax of the working scheme, when from one slight movement the living crumbled into myriads of sparks of life. Only now it was long and somehow even, and nothing needed to be done for this. Just stand and watch.
When Deos first disappeared from her eyes — Rime hid from her the acquaintance of Deos with Katana — she called «Rime! Rime! I understood!»
«What did you understand?»
«Understood what it means when you are not noticed!»
«And how is it?» the spider asked indifferently.
«Painfully.»
«And?»
«What is «And»?»
«Well, I understand, it hurts — and? So what?»
«You said you would let me go when the time is right and I understand. Let me go. I need it.»
Rime laughed.
«I said you would understand. And I’ll let go when the time comes. Why did you mix it up in your head?»
«What should I do?» — Tesheri asked in a matter-of-fact and unemotional manner.
«I don’t know. Think, probably. I would think if I were you.»
Tasheri thought. And then Deos appeared again and she decided to watch. And think about when he will disappear.
There is such work
Already almost at the castle, Kin saw how some kind of vampire pressed the tender golden girl against the wall and reprimanded something with fury. The vampire was from the lower ones, the girl from the higher ones. The former oppressed tried to take revenge. Kin go to there.
— In the new world there is equality of opinion. The girl doesn’t want you, — Kin said.
— In the new world no one orders me, — the vampire snorted. — That’s enough, we’ve heard enough of what others want.
— I didn’t admit it,- Kin chuckled.
— You better go out, girl, you look after your business,- the guy advised.
— It’s because of people like you Katana is considered a usurper,- Kin sighed.
— Listen, you don’t even mention his name, you all, smeared yourselves with gold, you didn’t know where to shove this gold! Go in a good way, I won’t listen to a woman!
— So, should I call Rime so that you listen? – blazed with a purple spidery look Kin.
— Kin? — the vampire recoiled, releasing the higher one, — sorry, lady, there was a mistake.
Kin sighed.
— You are a mistake, I shoul kill you indicatively, you understand? So what this one, — Kin nodded at the stunned and rude attack, and the same salvation of the Kandzirian, — told about how fair our ruler is.
— Well, if for his sake it is necessary … — the vampire stretched out in front of Kin.
— Nothing.
Kin ordered, and caught the crystal in her palm, which remained in the place of the vampire.
The Kandzirian screamed in horror. Kin smiled wryly at the girl.
— It won’t be long in our world. But the ruler will soon finish what he’d started. Please warn your friends, — Kin said in a singsong voice. — Need I help you somehow, do you want to go to the castle, sit, drink or eat sweets, call you a wave to bring you where you need to?
— No, no, than… … thanks, I … … I’ll go, — the girl did not move away from the horror of the murder in front of her eyes.
— Have a nice day, — nodded Kin and, tossing the crystal on her hand, went to the castle.
Good people gifts
— And mentors came to me today, Raes and another one, I saw him for the first time, Sherd. He is kind. He gave me this, — the young handed the kaleidoscope to Edos.
The man took the gift, looked into it, a beautiful mosaic swirled in front of him.
— Yes, it’s beautiful,- Edos grinned, reading the hidden orders in the folded patterns that only few should be trusted, and then the hieroglyphs indicated how to recognize those few, and changing them to the usual advice for children — that complete honesty protects, that lies never will lead to happiness that loneliness is unnatural, that the main value is a person.
The man handed the kaleidoscope to Alham. He twirled it and exhaled admiringly.
— Wow, what did you do? It seems to be getting brighter! — Alham shouted in a melodious voice.
Edos laughed.
— It’s just that the sun came out from behind a cloud, — he ruffled the boy’s golden hair.
— I have an exam in three days. It will be clear whether the wings will grow, — said Alham, — I’m not worried at all. Will you stop being friends with me if I grow wings?
— I won’t stop,- Edos chuckled.
Golden hearts
— Raes, you go with us. Treason.
Excitement, Raes sank into a clearing in some eastern village. The queen stood in front of a frightened family — a man, two women, a girl, the age of the concubines sold to robbers, and a young man, a little older than the girl. The father held the young man by the shoulders.
Between Laa and the family lay evidence of treason. Phoenix laid out with pebbles on the grass.
— I’m asking, who tried to call the Phoenix, bypassing the Order? — Laa asked.
— I just wanted … — … — the girl began, her father interrupted her:
— It’s me. Just asked for a harvest. Just like the grandfathers did. I didn’t know it was forbidden.
The woman covered her face with her hands and burst into tears. The other hugged her, trying to comfort her.
– Raes, was the call algorithm explained to them?
— Of course. The instructor chuckled.
— And why didn’t you apply to the Order? Laa asked.
— It is very expensive. — said the man.
— The Order is merciful, you could work out the conversion, lazybones.
— My wife is already working for the Order. But it is enough only to pay gratitude for the Phoenix’s mercy that he does not burn us.
— We could sell one of our puppies. -Raes chuckled.
The man didn’t answer, tightening his grip on his son’s shoulders. He was always trying to say something, but his father preemptively squeezed his shoulder.
— It’s all clear to me. But the rules are the same for everyone. For treason — death or you can redeem your life.
The man nodded and stepped towards the queen. The woman broke free from the woman’s embrace and rushed to the queen.
— No, don’t kill him! Take me!
— You? She looked at the peasant woman. — What’s the use of you? Death will be a lesson to others.
The young man was finally able to escape from his father’s fingers.
— Take me instead father.
Laa beckoned the young man to her.
— What is your name?
— Call it what you like. — the young man shrugged.It was the ancient rite of this village, as long as you don’t give your real name, there is no power over you. Therefore, the villagers had nicknames for others, giving names only to those close to them.Laa laughed, patted the young man on the head, turned to Wing.
— Well? Will we forgive them?
— The queen is merciful.
Raes grinned.
— We’re taking Kurd for your life,- Laa nodded.
— But we must punish you.
Raes unfolded his hand and the stones with which the Phoenix was laid out, shot up, fell on the man, he fell to the ground with a groan, women and daughter rushed to him with screams. Kurd also rushed to his father, but Raes pulled him towards him.
— No, you’re mine now.
Kan-Dzirians soared up, Raes pressed the young man to him, who tried to understand what was happening with his father. The mentor took possession of the prey in flight, gagging him in his mouth.
— Don’t yell, it’s indecent to yell in front of the queen.
Ito no longer believed the deceptive first moment, waiting for further developments. She silently wept when she saw the beautiful Azarta. How did it happen that two beautiful Gold Virgins turned out to be so cruel that they can equal the conqueror? Ito felt like her heart was turning inside out.
Family showdown
— I’ll burn a sign on you,- Katana hissed, hovering over the Golden Wing. — No one should come close to you. The privilege of a tyrant.
Edos stood against the wall of the throne room, in front of him, arms folded across his chest and smiling. He looked away, laughed, and shot a golden-green glare at Katana.
— So this is my job, remember? To approach me and restore order in the Order. Didn’t you call me for that, did you?
Katana looked up, then turned his black gaze back to Edos.
— At first this, right, but afterwards all everything became different.
— But this is different doesn’t cancel things to do, right? — Edos said somehow fabulously convincingly or restrainedly caustically, boldly leaning towards the Conqueror.
— Things should not interfere with life! There are always things to do! You can’t put your life on hold because of them! — Katana was outraged.
Edos sighed, shifted from foot to foot.
— It’s a normal part of life for you! Your life consists of deeds, but for normal people, for example, for me, life is separate, and deeds are separate. I do things to finish them, so that they won’t exist! And when they run out — I will not look for new ones! — Edos explained.
Katana thought.
— Don’t break him! — Kin called from the hammock. He, dark-haired, with shining violet eyes, now without wings, without gilding, definitely a young man, not a girl, played stones with Rime, phlegmatically listening to the skirmish between Katan and Edos. They took turns stacking stones on a plane, creating some kind of picture.
— He is strong, he can handle it, — Edos arched a little and stretched his neck to look out from behind the Katana and answer Kin.
— It’s not the reason! Let it be! I still don’t like that after your business you don’t come to me, but anywhere!
— Not anywhere! I just don’t have any «after», I do something, then I go and do something else, and then I do something. Well, when, finally, there is a respite, I then …
— Must come to me! — Katana whispered angrily.
— …And I see what else I need to do! — Edos said caustically and hysterically. — And then — I go and do it!
— You need to live here, — Katana said stubbornly.
— I live here, it’s just that we each have our own work. I can’t do mine in the throne room.
— I need to dissolve you in me, — Katana hissed.
— You can’t. Not yet,- Edos chuckled. The man flashed a smile and stroked Katana’s cheek. — You know everything, mine, what are you hissing about?
— He talks like that,- Rime explained.
Edos chuckled, looking fondly at Katana. The Conqueror caught the palm of his beloved Golden Wing and pulled it towards himself. Edos laughed and crumbled into gold and darted around the hall, the diamond darkness rushed after him, but suddenly stopped and began to grow, densely filling the hall. Gold sparkling, cheerfully stretched along the wall. Katana chuckled wryly, turning in his direction. Darkness continued to fill the room.
— I warned him that you’d be mad, — shouted Kin, and burying himself in Rime, stretched out his hands into the darkness behind him.
Soon darkness covered everyone in the hall. A dull golden groan caressed the ears of the Black Conqueror. Rime exhaled beautifully noisily, Kin groaned sweetly.
Master of Mirrors
Edos told some amazing stories, and Alham tried to repeat the advice from them later. According to such a fairy tale, he can learn to walk through mirrors. He remembered that it was dangerous, it was easy to get lost in them, but Edos said that there is Master of Mirrors, he can call him if he gets lost, and Master will lead him to where he were going or return him back.
— And if he doesn’t return me? If he doesn’t want to? — Alham asked.
— Why wouldn’t he want to?- Edos was surprised and smiled.
— Maybe he’s evil,- Alham shrugged.
Edos laughed.
— There are no evil ones, Alham. There are stupid ones. Stupid people do not know much, so they are afraid of much. And when people are afraid of many things, they believe that everyone around them is an enemy. And so they do evil deeds.
— That is, the angrier the person, the more intimidated they are?- Alham asked.
— Of course. And the more ignorant they are, the more intimidated they are. But the Master of Mirrors knows a lot, he sits in the hall of mirrors, and sees all the worlds in the mirrors. So if you ask him, he will take you out.
— Then why didn’t the others who got lost in the mirrors ask him?
— Because they don’t know about it. You see, again ignorance has brought trouble.
— Why didn’t you tell them?
— I told them,- Edos chuckled, -but they were already so intimidated that they didn’t believe me. And they decided the Master of Mirrors is evil.
— I was also told that he was evil. That you can’t walk on mirrors, because the Master of Mirrors can catch and leave forever in the mirror, like a picture.
— Of course, — Edos chuckled mockingly, — they’re all so beautiful that he needed it so much to look at them. Huh, pictures. It’s so doubtful pleasure to stare at them for eternity.
The piece of the new song
The resurrected army, not by people, but by swift streams, scattered around the world, opening the centers of conspiracies, evaluating, sorting out people, sometimes holding them, or, conversely, driving them somewhere, but not killing them, leaving them until the trial of Katana, which, as the resurrected people assured, will have time for everyone.
Umukur and Tumus joined the army, Kaderoy at first could not decide what to do, he did not want to just go over to the side of the winner, as he clearly understood, once in the tower, but when he saw the Phoenix, on the hand of Katana, the young man made a decision — he always wanted to serve the Phoenix, whoever was for him was right. Therefore, he and his detachment of magicians, which was supposed to be punitive for the supporters of the new government, went where the Phoenix called and pointed, hovering over the slaughter that the world had become.
The war went under the languid, lingering, love song of the Phoenix. Trees and flowers thought that a new spring was calling them and blossomed.
Sometimes the rain suddenly began to turn golden, washing away the bloody streams. It was not nature that reacted, but natural phenomena, as if individual spirits of the elements wanted to express their attitude to what was happening. The first to respond, as often in such cases, were the winds.
When there was no one left in the tower, and this happened rather quickly, Katana quickly flew around the capital, gathering in the form of a resident near everyone who was waiting for his trial.
The darkness carefully carried Ito into the throne room, where there was still an open gap with broken crystals, and an open working book of Katana’s plans on the table. The princess, like a deer, buckled her legs and she sank to the stone floor. A new song of the world thundered in her head, but at the same time she heard how the individual words disappeared. She didn’t need to see the blood to understand how much of it had spilled all over Kandziru. She raised her head, trying to keep herself in this world, and not go into the darkness, now she wouldn’t even need a punch in the face to do this, she was already on the verge. A little more understanding, a little more awareness, a sight of what is happening, a cry, a prayer, and for the sake of saving her own consciousness, she would fly into the void.
To save herself from the madness that seemed to be waiting for her with open arms, she pushed the body towards the opening. To give her brain another job, stop dying with every missing word, turn her attention to something else.She peered into the opening. She heard a quiet chime and carefully entered the abode of crystals. In another space, it seemed that the song of the world became quieter, but Ito did not stop feeling the pain of loss, so she could not completely ignore what was happening behind her back. She walked looking at the crystals, trying to figure out what they were. Carefully, in her usual manner, when only the tips of her fingers lightly touch something, she stroked one of the crystals, picked it up, looking at it. And she trembled with her whole body, throwing it away from her. From there came the song of her mother. Ito looked around more attentively, listened, and began to retreat towards the exit. There were lives waiting for a new death. She remembered how one of these crystals shattered under the foot of the conqueror, and panting again found herself on the floor of the throne room on all fours.
Spider toys
Rime got up, walked to the wall, as the werespider approached, a silver web with crystals appeared on the empty wall.
— There are children from different worlds.
Various creatures were locked in the crystals, along with their fears and pain. Someone fought from within, realizing in horror the boundaries of their cage, someone humbly waited for the executioner, trembling from some kind of hidden torment, someone fought with attacking nightmares with amazing naivety. Torn and untouched, mutilated and it seemed that they weren’t, but as soon as you take a closer look, it became clear that hidden injuries did not allow the creature to live fully. There were some, it seemed, out of place here, tender and cheerful, living in some kind of sweet flower-radiant world, not alone, with someone, with some girlfriends, young guys. The crystals reliably concealed any manifestations of life, not a sound came from there, the crystals themselves were motionless, the web did not tremble, but life was beating everywhere inside. When Rime looked at the web, those locked in their personal hell seemed to feel his approach and at the same time froze in fear. Even those who did not raise their heads, seemingly resigned, imperceptibly flinched or froze. Those locked in the lovely worlds also trembled, but did not seem to understand why.
— I understand, there is a lot of information, it is difficult to choose. I can suggest the same race if you want, Esvett is a muse, somewhere I had one. But I’d rather you take the time and choose for yourself. You can enter any toy, you can stay there unnoticed, you can talk and look at their past … games. To evaluate the behavior of the material. Broken and obedient on this branch, — Rime drew along the line of crystals on the threads of the web, and hot, restrained languor, like a wave of a thin, hot smell of desire, seemed to break through the walls of the crystals. It seemed. Movement inside caused such a sensation. Bitterly stifled fear and sweet anticipation made those locked in tremble or freeze, waiting. Someone looked up, smiling timidly, probably believing that Rime would see.
— A muse here, — Rime hit one crystal with his fingernail. The girl inside dropped her book, looked around, and carefully sat up in bed, probably frantically wondering if everything was all right. She was frightened and did not know what to expect, so she tried to somehow get together and meet everything that would come with dignity.
Phoenix Color
«Kan-Dziru had only two colors before, black and red. It was later, when the Phoenix arrived, she was so delighted that she added his color to her world,» Emonk said.
«Kan-Dziru is a he, they say,» Inshirakh corrected.
«They say,» Emonk waved his hand, «listen them more.
«Well, how can I not listen, Emonk, if you don’t listen to people, you can’t…»
– You can’t do your dirty things to them,» Inshirakh heard behind him.
He stared in front of himself, pretending to resign himself to his fate, and turned around with a wide grin.
‘Ladzoy, have you been executed yet for your deeds?» Inshirakh asked cooingly, the tempter’s silver eyes watching him affectionately, matching his voice.
«You won’t wait down it,» Ladzoi waved his head toward the tavern rooms and headed there first.
Inshirakh gracefully got off the wave-chair and sighed.
«I have to go, he is a new Overlord’s assassin after all,» the man said still as feignedly humble and looked out the window where Kan-Dziru shimmered gold.
Traitor
«I was at Josan’s,» Sherd leaned back against the wall.
The men settled down at a table in the corner, like a forgotten world. «Little Place» had plenty of those, giving the illusion of silence and privacy.
«Oh, well. Good,» Ladzoy seemed pleased at Sherd’s words. Kan’s attorney was cautiously surprised.
«He told me you were a traitor.»
Ladzoy smiled and redirected the smile to the wave that brought the order, though it was inanimated and mindless.
«Try it, it’s delicious,» Ladzoy placed the plate in front of Sherd and continued: – «A traitor, Sherd, is someone who was on one side and then switched sides. And I’ve always been on Katana’s side. So I’ve never betrayed my side.
What were you missing?
«You were underestimated by everyone»
«Well, to be fair, I did everything for that,» Ladzoy smiled.
«But what wasn’t enough fro you? What did you get in the new world that you couldn’t get under Kan?»
«The whole world»
Sherd looked at the man perplexedly.
«Be specific, without generalities»
«There’s nothing more specific. We’re building a safe world. A world that is home. A world where we don’t have to fear a knife in the back or a stab from around the corner. No need to know rituals and intrigue. I could go to any part of Kan-Dziru, to any planet of it, and feel at home there. That’s what I’ve always dreamed of. I was suffocated by your musty cages you called palaces and thrones.
«But you could be Kan’s lover, and just as safe…»
Ladzoy laughed intoxicatingly and contemptuously.
«Safe? You don’t know what safe means. I wanted to walk in a crowd without fearing that every person I met would stick a knife in me instead of saying hello, and without thinking that every smile was fake. You’re beggars, you’re all sitting in your cages, afraid to come out. Because you deserve to be torn apart for your filthiness. You’re all still alive because Katana won’t let the mob retaliate. Your magic and your guards wouldn’t help you. If you were in trouble, if you were to fall into the abyss, who would lend a hand to any of you? I don’t like squalor, Sherd. I’ve spent my life trying to avoid being pathetic. And that’s the only feeling you evoke.»
«It’s amazing. Such a shrewd, smart guy, and you believe in such naivety. Okay, well, do you at least have some sort of plan in case of… disappointment?»
Ladzoy grinned.
«Of course, Sherd, I can always work any of you, wretches, you know that,» the man said wryly.
The pulse of life
They were walking through the city, it was a long way to go, but for them now the very pulse of life was beating, this road did not seem like a road to them, as if they were living now, at last, passing by the stone barracks of the former poor laborers, those whose hands had created everything in the world, past the elegant, like lace houses of the former nobility, from which the nobles would be evicted, all the most beautiful houses would become public houses – theaters, schools, libraries…. and the old noble families, embittered at this injustice, stopped caring for them, and, once shining, these houses now looked dull and haggard, past the frozen parks, which were also no longer cared for. It was unfair, the nobles thought, to take away the houses they had not built and give them to those who had. There was a strange feeling about the world now, as if it were frozen, waiting, and yet the unusual liveliness of its inhabitants drove it on and on.
Vehenta walked and thought that without Katana in the throne room, she would not be walking through the capital like this, not getting drunk, as if from spring joy, from a simple conversation with a nice guy, with whom she was not even in love yet, because there would be nowhere to go for her, nothing to expect from a life in which there was only elbowing others, to climb up some hill, to fence herself off from life with a higher fence and be afraid for the multicolored glasses, so that someone else, who is younger and stronger, who is also pushing, doesn’t take them away, to climb up that hill, to throw you down from there. And even if you abandoned the capital, flew to the Islands, lived a simple quiet life and then you wouldn’t be left in peace, at any moment a bunch of nobles could fly in, have some fun, with a squad of Battle Wings, kill all the inhabitants and take one of the islands… and that had happened more than once. There was nothing to live for in this world. Before. Before Katana sat on the throne.
And now, Vehenta looked up at the red trees, frozen brightly in the darkness of the evening, like veins filled with blood, but in which the pulse of life was just beginning to beat. She thought that they, these veins and vessels, were beginning to be fed life by the Black Heart of the Overlord. Vehenta smiled, how could it be, what had changed so important that any simple action had become so full of meaning? What had he done, this Overlord with the diamond black gaze and the same black diamond heart.
– Let’s go and see the Heart of Kan-Dziru? – Vehenta said to Kore.
Heroes
«That’s why you’re a hero. You constantly confront Katana for people you don’t need.»
«I’m not doing it for those people, I’m doing it for him, because he needs those unnecessary people. So I’m not a hero,» Edos smiled, «heroes are those who have some bright goal they fight for. Ladzoy is a hero, he is building the world he wants to live in. If we disappear, he’ll keep doing what he’s been doing. Katana loves the world, the world learns to love him. You, me and Raim don’t have any goals. We do what we do, not because we need it, and not because people need it. And not even because the world itself needs it.
«Wait, but Katana is people-piece too, so we do it because one people-piece needs it. So that’s why it counts too!» Kin laughed.
«Yeah, it’s a lot of honor to do it for someone for whom anyone would do anything anyway. They just don’t have the knowledge and skills like we do. But look, everyone is doing their best.»
«Well, not everyone,» said Kin.
«Well, those are just very confused.»
«What’s up?» Raim appeared on the swing, and began to get comfortable, pushing Kin so that he was sitting behind her, facing Edos.
«We’re discussing what heroes we are,» Kin leaned back against Raim’s chest.
«Not bad, I think,» Raim smiled and kissed Kin’s hair.
«Another hero,» Edos grinned.
«Why not? I’m like this… underground revolutionary.»
«If Ladzoy did it, he’d be a hero, but when it’s done by an omnipotent being who could have done it at any time, it doesn’t count as heroic,» Edos said.
«And that’s how the whole conversation went, can you imagine?» Kin pretended to be indignant.
Offensive miracle
Did she believe in miracles? She really wanted to believe in them. Hiding with an indecently fairy-tale book in her hands, in which everyone was beautiful and happy, she wanted to believe that she would end up like that too and suddenly become just like everyone else. She would also be happy as enthusiastically, completely and amazingly as the heroes of fairy tales. Yes, she wanted to believe in that, but she knew too well that this would not happen. Her difference with these heroes was too obvious. They were beautiful, so that it was impossible to take your eyes off them, and she knew that she was not beautiful too well. She wasn’t ugly, but she was ordinary, if to take away her wings, among the golden-haired girls you won’t recognize her, she will get lost in the crowd like an ordinary gray mass.
She remembered well the only time when she cried indecently about this. She so wanted to dance, she so wanted to be liked. It was a big festival of Phoenix; for the first time she entered the hall not for children, but for adults. In this huge majestic hall, full of light, the creator’s love spilled out through the luminary. The first time when it seemed like the whole world was in front of her.
And it was then that she realized that she could be a princess even a hundred times, but they would prefer the Virgin to a lower title, because of her grace, beauty, and individuality. She understood this with all sincerity, after several dances, when all the debutantes already danced, more than one dance in a row, and she was still standing alone from below admiring the flights of the couples, then Rime approached her. Rime! Yes, the best man she knew, a bastion of security and tranquility, someone she could snuggle up to in hours of uncomfortable melancholy and always hear: «Everything is fine, sweetheart.» But it was like a father would come up to save his daughter. It was then that she realized how uninteresting she was, so even the title and possible blessings did not help her to be attractive in the eyes of the Wings.
If only she had ever plucked up the courage and asked Rime someday why he had approached then, even if it was to confirm her bitter thoughts, then the turnskin-spider would have answered, he thought that many would dance with her, even if many did that for her status, and when he saw that everyone was acting like a mouthful, and the princess wanted to dance, he approached her.
Rime was never guided by mercy or tact. He would have said that he would have invited her again, but Ito ran away immediately after the dance. But, of course, Ito never asked Rime about this.
If you want to win
«I want Rhyme to teach us how to be warriors, but he wants you to do it,» Sard snickered.
Ladzoy nodded.
«Rhyme is a better warrior than I, better to have him teach you.»
«But I’m worse as a teacher,» Rhyme twitched the corner of his lips.
«Don’t be cranky,» Edos smiled.
Rhyme didn’t smile back, but something sparkled in his black eyes.
«Well,» the skinturner waved his hand uncertainly, apparently inviting the youth to line up.
«The sense of righteousness must be complete,» Rhyme explained blankly, «a feeling, not an emotion. Righteous anger, for example, is a defeatist emotion. You can’t win in battle with it. To win in battle, you have to assess what’s going on at all times.»
«And if the opponent is also sure that he is right?» Senz asked.
«Whoever is more confident will win,» Rhyme shrugged, «none of this has anything to do with objective rightness. Because it’s not objectivity or idea that fights, it’s a person.
«So the wrong person can win?» Mehr asked.
«Yes, but only if the right one agrees with it,» Rhyme nodded.
Decision to come
«Did my mother oppress anyone? If she did, then so did I. Do I have only a week or two to live?» She asked.
«Don’t you know that?» Katana pulled Ito a little away from him to look at her. «Don’t you know about the village girls who were sold to the mountain settlements to prevent them from attacking the capital’s supplies? Don’t you know about her rejuvenation project for kan-dzirian women, that they had to wash with the tears of the healthiest girls, a series of that royal cosmetics called Crystal Tear? Don’t you know about her support for your father’s idea to build recreational parks for kan-zirians on fertile land, driving the zirians off to the lands where they couldn’t feed themselves? And, as part of her aid, did she suggest that the pretty children of the poor should go to the seraglio for guests? That she introduced the fashion of living servants instead of inanimate waves?»
The Conqueror spoke softly and calmly, as usual. Only his black eyes seemed to be covered with a shining cover of ice. In front of Katana’s eyes, lands lovingly cultivated by peasants were being fenced off, people were chased to nowhere. Gardens were no longer fruitful, but marvelous flowers grew everywhere, in parks for the rulers and the chosen ones. The royal family had nearly wiped out the swan totem tribe by selling several generations of children as concubines for the peace with the bandits living in the mountains. Outlaws who were the children of those impoverished peasants driven off their lands. The King and the Pleiad of the Phoenix tightly controlled magic and the Dzirovians, a nearly omnipotent life form, in terms of survival, were starving.