[center][u][h1]Belivahnn[/h1][/u][/center] [center]Part Six[/center] "My wings have grown physical, feathers and not fire. They feel whole, and I have no desire to feel anything but the calm and warmth they give. I teach the youth in school, and help scholars with their projects, while my creations create new ages with each one, I still enjoy the creativity of those around me even if they should fail, for they will rise and start a new. I have felt the stars staring at us for some time, one specifically I feel a voice calling to me, it knows my name though I do not know his. The Emperor, is what my dreams tell me, and all I see is fire. Not the fire which shines life upon a world, but one that burns civilizations to the ground. It is revolting, but at one point in time I saw it as nessessity. I may see it that way again. My Creator speaks to me, my dreams are like horrors to me now and I have not slept in a long time, and dread the moments when I do it to please others who worry for me. My dreams are why I do not sleep, for all that I love has turned to ashes." - Words of Feathers 1:1 [hr] It was almost a hundred years since he was born, the family he had known that had raised or been raised beside him had died. His brothers, children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren were all that were left in the world that were born to his name, except cousins scattered across the world and city; they are rarely seen by him. He stood atop the tower that he had talked to so many before with, His family, his mentor, priests, friends, the Eldari envoy. His eyes looked down at vast gardens he tended to with his family, and servants, these were the original plants given to him by they envoy, yet they had spread to the gardens of every cities rooftop. The tower he looked down upon from made the city look like a forest cut into sections by roads. It was beautiful to him, every single roof was covered by gardens, yet it was cold still, he enjoyed the cold, and although it had not snowed in close to forty years, he felt now that the residing anger in him had burned off, it may. It was that season once again, wyntr some had called it, it had almost gone out of vocabulary due to the lack of a cool season on the planet, yet, it was cool once again. He saw his breath in the air, and then he saw it, a speck that few could see but with his near godly body, he spotted it, a single flake of water frozen in a pattern drifted down through the air. He was sad that his garden might be ruined, but also he was joyous snow had returned. He called for blankets to be placed over all of the cities planters, and over trees and vines to mitigate the damage of the cold. He knew it would not kill the plants directly, but would rid only of the work of growth for the weaker kinds. Sometime later, he was in front of the palace, outside of the gates of the courtyard, as he looked up to where the speck would have fallen, yet no others had. He knew it was snow, he unlike many in the city knew what it looked like, few around would have been able to remember the last time it snowed, most were born after it, and those born before it were aging, some near the end of their lives. With the lack of a continuation he returned to his natural day, but he felt like his orders would come to fruition. The cold was a problem. [hr] Throughout the day, and night all he heard was rain, the temperature had dropped significantly, it was bonechilling to many, few had ever felt it get this cold, and while the rains were terrible, the wind that rushed through the city reached the bone. The clothing most wore was year round, it never got cooler than around fifty degrees Fahrenheit, this was dropping below freezing, and continuing to get cold faster, and faster. Frost, and ice had already began to form on the stone roadways, and rooftops creating frozen pool on rooftops where the drainage ports were frozen shut not allowing water to escape. It was a disaster, the sewage drains that ran underneath the roads, and portions of the buildings were overflowing, and beginning to freeze, the rivers had swelled and the canals were as well. Flooding was already an issue outside of the city, but when the river ran backwards with a black substance, the city was called to alarm. People braved the now flooding streets to try and make it to the palace, once known as the citadel. Most did as they used the upper walkways to arrive, or what was once the outer walls, which were now essentially walking highways for the city, but those who used the streets it was different, many who used the streets froze, or were drown in the icy water that flushed towards the outside of the city. Later he would learn almost two thousand people, mostly in the trading section of the city would have died due to the flooding. The citdael was build to house the entire city twice over, since it was build, the city was almost three times as big as it was originally made. The cellars, and even his bedroom were used to house people. Though his concern was not of the rain, it was of the water that crept forward from the black river. It was like the blight that had come before his birth, the one that created the formation of nomadic peoples that spread across the plains of the northern part of the planet. He stood near the gate, and had his guards pressed at every entrance; there were not enough guards, there was not a need for them, there were no invasions, there was little crime, and the biggest threat was a rabid animal on the streets, or a drunkard, which one of the twelve men in his guard could handle alone. There was no creatures of night anymore, no need for an army, those distant cousins allowed for peaceful interactions of the entire world, and their families spread through all of the other families until the ruling class felt some familial bond with him regardless of what part of the world they were on. But the thirteen of them were not enough, he called one of his nephews over, his brothers oldest son, a fine man in his late thirties. "Otto, get as many strong men, look for laborers and such and open the armories to them. Get at least ten men per main entrance, and have all of the others sealed off. The elden times have returned, the cursed land is back." The man would obey, but he stared out of the gate at what looked like a shadow. It stared back at him, he saw snow behind him in its pure form, and it fell gently, in front of him all he saw was the icy rain of a tempest storm. The creature in front of him mimmicced him, and took a form similar to his, winged and massive. There was a singular blue eye that awakened inside the head of the other shadow. "There are many things in the galaxy that will try to sway you, but I will be the only one to not lie, you will always live in servitude, but there is one path to freedom, but you must make it for yourself." the shadow said, "spare your people the destruction of the anathema, he will cloud your skies with industrial waste, and see your people enslaved in metal cities to fuel an endless war." He knew not to speak to the creature, he knew it was false to this world, that it was one of the creatures that he thought was long dead. He knew it was weak. Before he could do anything, the shadow had disappeared, and the rain had stopped for snow began to replace it. He felt it's presence, but he knew that it could not return, it was not strong enough, and he would make sure it could not. Priests were used to ward the city, runes were placed on every building, and every wall. The guard was rebuilt, and training began, he even started the roaming bands of knightly priests to travel the world, and that each settlement should have at least five men to protect the town, one of which should be a knight priest. He would make sure that this world was safe from the darkness once again. [hr] With winter once again upon the world, he smiled, and stared at the snow. The school yard near the palace was filled with laughter, and although he had been there the day prior, he was happy that the children could see snow once again. It had been three weeks since the snow had first fallen, although it had gotten warmer, it snowed once again, and people were not afraid of the cold anymore. The envoy had returned the night prior, Yrued had returned, and although the eldari were far more skittish than before, it was a good thing they had returned. He had mentioned something trying to tempt him, and he was given praise and insight, that it was one of the things in the dark, something of darkness, that it would come in many forms. He also when in private with Yrued mentioned his dreams, while she was not a farseer, she did not have much knowledge, but mentioned that some can see the future in their dreams. It was not precognition, or divination, but just memories of a far future that is unlikely to happen. He did find that he enjoyed the female eldari's company, while it was not because of her sex, compared to many of his own people, she had some intellect to her. He loved his people, and those who he walked among, but he did feel a disconnect, even from those whom had taken him in. This being from the outside gave him a sense of adventure, and hope to see the stars, it was a place he had not expected himself to enjoy, an outsider. She was an outsider, but she did have a mind that while it was still a fraction was comparable to most of his peers. When the envoys left again, he knew it would be for the last time, but his friend did stay this time to help guide him into a peaceful life in the future, though she stayed hidden away in the upper reaches of the tower unless she was well disguised.