The weight of the woman on your shoulders felt familiar in a way, invoking memories of having carried others in such a manner. It didn't suprise you that you would feel such familiarity with this as a life as long as your own was full of experiences both wonderful and terrible. You could literally say that you had been there and done that to everything, that you had experienced everything that the world had to offer and yet you still loved life. You loved the simple beauty of the world, you loved the good that was in the hearts of the most noble people, you loved everything that concept of utopia, of a world at peace with no war, no hate.
The world was far from that utopia, far from perfect. The world had once had its leaders at your feet begging for your blessings, its wise men deferring to your wisdom and its greatest minds asking for your input on their innovations. You had once been a great advisor to an empire, you had been a man of great importance and respect. You knew this deep down, even though the memories for it were lost, even though you couldn't quite recall what people, what nation.
You had been many things.
A father was not one of them, however.
Yet still you knew what it was like to chase around after children, to carry them on your shoulders, to guide them as you watched them grow. You had seen many people grow from their infancy under your guidance at one point, striving to be the best they could with your blessings. You had watched them grow old, you had visited them in their final hour, you had seen them smiling as they told you that their life was one that was filled with joy, that they had no regrets.
You had never fathered children, and yet you knew what it was like to be a father.
You had celebrated the passing of those who's lives had deserved to be remembered fondly.
The woman atop your shoulders swayed unsteadily as she swung her hand out, reaching for something in the air before her. You craned your neck as you sought to see what it was, as you caught a glimpse of a butterfly eluding her seeking hands before it fluttered off into the fields, while a huff escaped the woman. The manner in what she had huffed reminded you oddly of Anne, who would do so when things didn't quite go her way at times, when she was exasperated or simply tired.
"They're beautiful, but they would not fly again were you to catch them from the air in that manner, you know?" you laughed, light hearted as for a moment the shame of what you had done escaped your thoughts. "Still, I cannot fault you for trying," you added with a sigh, shifting as you sought to ensure that the woman was secured firmly on your shoulders once more, as you continued onward towards Oak's home.
The rest of the journey back up that dirt path was marked by various farm hands turning their head and staring at you and the woman, though you paid no heed to them as you continued onward. Oak and Anne were still at the gate, waiting for you as they gave you looks that were mixed with bewilderment and bemusement. You were not suprised, knowing that the sight of you returning with this woman on your shoulders was more than a little unexpected.
"So, I assume ye'ave an explanation fer this?" Oak asked as you approached, leaning against the gate as he raised an eyebrow.
"Oh please, Eurochkoles has an explanation for everything. He'd make a great politician if he was a little more selfish," Anne huffed, while Oak turned to give her a funny look.
"I rescued her from one of the mechanical men," you started, pausing briefly as you knelt down, slipping the woman from atop your shoulders as you did so. "I hate to ask this of you, but does your wife have an old dress or old clothes of any type that she would not object to donating?"
You turned to the woman as she stood there silently, almost motionlessly.
"Why'd she be attacked by one o'those things?" Oak asked, pausing for a moment as he stroked his chin, audiably scratching at the stubble on it. "Fer that matter, why'd one o'them come out o'the city?" He added, making it clear that this didn't add up in his eyes. You had no intent of using deception here though, no plans to lie to make this any easier for yourself or for him to swallow.
"She wasn't attacked by it, she was it. The Clockworkers put peoples brains inside them to control them," you sighed, wiping your brow with your forearm as you did so. "Yes, I said brains, before you try and point this inconsistancy out to me. They remove the brains from the Enlightened they capture and stick them inside the mechanical bodies they create."
A gasp escaped Anne as her hand went to her mouth.
"Yes Anne, this means that unless more of the order is out there to rescue them, then they're all going to gradually be converted into an army of these things," you sighed as you looked up at Oak, watching as he did his best to do this, knowing that he would inevitably come out with some awkward comment or question.
"I say it's f'the best if they're able t'use 'em to 'elp people. Jus'ow do ye know about all o'this, any'ow?"
"I know because I'm the one that told them how. You have no idea how wretched it makes me feel to remember how I was able to show them how to link them up to those walking bronze coffins, how to carry out an agonising process to allow them to supress and literally program their minds. The Enlightened are misguided, their leader is dead. Anne is an example of how away from their leaders influence that they can recover their humanity, that they're just as good or bad as anybody else."
Oak was silent though this, though the moment you paused, the moment he opened his mouth to speak you raised a finger, letting him know you were not yet done.
"It doesn't sit right with me. The fact that I had done something so sickening as that act had me call in favours from friends, it had me take steps to try and induce memory loss. I shared that knowledge with them soley because the city was under threat of being overwhelmed by that what went bump in the night, and I have regretted it since. Say what you will about the Enlightened, but do not make light of the horror of being put through that, do not make light of the thing that fills me with such shame."
"You... You are the reason some people never return," Anne swallowed as she stared at you in disbelief, trembling from what you could see was a mixture of horror and shock. You sighed, nodding as you turned to her, your expression betraying how heavily this weighed down on your conscience.
"And you inadvertantly turned the majority of your previous order over when you came to rescue me. It isn't your fault though. No, this is all on my hands, and I plan to find a way to make it right. It doesn't sit well with me knowing that I am responsible for the suffering they're going through. I'd understand if you wanted to wash your hands of me and leave now, I wouldn't blame you for doing so. With or without you, I plan to make right what I have done, starting with this woman. If that means I have to create a new form of automaton that is truely autonomous to combat that what goes bump in the night, then so be it."
Anne was silent for a moment as she stepped towards you, as she reached over the gate, hand raised. You made no effort to stop her as she slapped you forcefully. "That," she started, "is for being the most god damn stupid man I have ever met." She huffed, leaning back as she did so. "And no, I'm not abandoning you, you might be a genius but you're too bloody stupid to do this alone!"
You smiled slightly.
"I believe you when you say you'll find a way to make this right, and I plan to be there every step of the way," she stated, turning towards a bewildered looking Oak as she did so. "Well, go and get the poor woman some clothes!"
You watched Oak scamper off to find clothing, rubbing your temples as you did so. This entire situation was a mess, one that you'd likely have to approach via the right channels at first, to see if you could make a difference without making enemies. If it came down to it, that the only way to make this right was to show that you were unafraid to use force in the name of justice, then you would mourn the wasted lives of those that chose to oppose you.
You sat atop the low wall as you waited for Oak to return, figuring that you would fight on his behalf in some manner to put coin in his pocket to make up for this inconvenience. Until the night came however, you found yourself wondering if there was anything else that you immediately needed to take care of.Earth: 6 - (Resiliance)
Fire: 5 - (Marksman)
Air: 7 - (Tactics)
Water: 5 - (Reading People)
Powers:
0 - Ageless.
You have all of eternity to complete your tasks, forever in your prime.
1 (f) - Quickened Healing.
Seven fold is your natural recovery rate increased.
2 (fm) - Unkillable.
Death cannot claim you. Injury, poison, disease and the like still have their effects however, along with their associated downtime.
2 (fv) - Presence of the Immortal.
The presence of eternity can be an awe inspiring thing, yet you are able to inspire more than simple awe.
Points Pool: 0
Author
Topic: They told me I could be anything... (Read 79051 times)