Page 44 of The Last of the Dark Lords

What could I say to that? It was true. Not intentionally, perhaps, but through misplaced trust and naiveté, I had broken my vows to Cyrus.

"Yes. I didn’t intend to, but I did."

A handlike appendage emerged from the thing, glowing and throwing off an unbearable heat. It touched my cheek, and a burning agony spread throughout my body, as if my very bones were on fire. I fought to stay on my feet.

If you wear the crown, all people who worship me will become yours to steward.

"What do you mean?"

Look.

With that we were flying high above the plains of Fyr at a dizzying speed. The dry cracked lands passed quickly underneath us as we went, hills becoming tiny bumps and valleys becoming divots as we observed from that great height.

We slowed as we floated over towns and villages. People toiled in the fields in vain, doing their best to coax sprouts out of dust and clay. Elsewhere, we passed ponds and rivers with the barest trace of water left in them. Desperate communities fighting each other over land and food. On the seashore to the east, fishermen returned to their starving families with their nets empty. Finally, we arrived at the foothills. The gates of Greatfalls.

All are your responsibility. If you bear the crown, you also bear that burden. Any that walk on the surface of Fyr must be safeguarded and under your care.

The enormity of it hit me. Is this what Cyrus carried with him? The responsibility to caretake an entire nation? Not only the weight of his birthright, but the weight of a god’s expectations.

“I…”

I couldn’t say no. The lives of both my new husband and myself depended on it. But I desperately wanted for there to be another way.

Why do you not want to lead?

The god’s voice echoed in my mind. I breathed in the possibilities, imagining myself as Lord of Ashfuror. Having anation that relied on me. Having to sacrifice my own integrity for the sake of my subjects.

"I will not play the game of lies. I will not taint my every human interaction with dishonesty. When leading a city, or a nation, there’s always an angle or a deceit. It’s one thing to withhold information. Effective rulers go beyond that. They manipulate every situation to the benefit of their people. Even now, the lies of the past reverberate and shape this meeting. The goal may be noble, but I will not lose my soul to it.”

The god did not answer. I continued.

“Even you encouraged them to lie to me, to mislead me, to leave out important truths. If I had known it would kill Cyrus, I wouldn’t have severed his link to the crown. But you wanted to observe me, like an alchemist putting the heat to his newest experiment, waiting to see the result. Even if the materials burned up in the process.”

The creature of fire and ash shifted and transformed, a living inferno, its every movement giving off wisps of smoke. Was there a trace of regret there?

You are not one of mine. Your motivations were hidden from me, and perhaps I chose…unwisely. But the crown will not force a change in you. It gives you the power to act as you see fit, and complements your own abilities. You may forge a path of your own, if you wish, leaving behind deception.

I stared at the creature. Was that even possible? Grandmother worked hard to get people to do what she wanted them to do. She wore a mask, and when she removed it, another was revealed. I hated it.

But maybe Grandmother wasn’t the person I should take as my model of leadership.

"I do not want to lie."

Then do not.

The words of the god reverberated in my mind as we hovered over the green forests of Greatfalls, then over the reservoir, then over the mountain itself.

You cannot place these over the others. All must flourish.

"I know." And I did. I would not abandon my people, but I would not privilege them.

Once again, everything changed. The earth below faded away. It was replaced with an intricate network of amber strands and nodes. At each node there was a faint movement, like a baby bird straining against its egg.

"What are these?"

This is the web of possibility. The future is not set, but some events are more likely to occur than others.

The god gestured to one of the larger nodes, and moving images flickered on its surface.

---