"You! You won't see me fall apart."
-Atlas
II. Sundarians
Dinos grabbed the handle of the door and pulled it open. The light from the outside flooded the dusky candlelit room. Three pairs of solemn eyes bolted onto the Rare Men and Dinos as they all entered.
The Rare Men filled in the seats beside Gelasius, while an anxious Dinos slowly shut the door.
They exchanged eye contact with Alareiks and the prelate. Alareiks was unamused.
Mors began the conversation very respectfully, "Pleased to finally speak before you, Emperor Alareiks."
Their individual glows gave the dusky room a conspicuous appeal. The glows which surrounded each Rare Man continued moving in undisturbed flows, giving off a wavy luster to the room's walls and ceilings, clashing with the warmer colors of the room.
The tension in the room slowly began growing after a swift silence had passed after Mors's warm introduction.
Mors inhaled deeply and prepared his words after much thought, "Emperor Menhara, we heard many things of you. Similarly, you've heard much about us, I am sure. But now you finally have the opportunity to speak and judge us with your own eyes."
Grunting to himself, the emperor said, "Oh, yes...you and your friends' meddling with my country in the past decades has grown me weary. I want you to put a swift end to this uprising by your followers."
"Followers?" Mors said, looking around at his fellow Rare Men. "Why, Emperor...the Confessors act as their own entity. It seems that they have grown weary as well. The poor treatment of the underclass for the better part of the century has caused this. Not us. This is something that has been coming for a very long time and the people are speaking their minds. The riots and the mayhem in the north by the Confessors are out of our control," Mors relayed calmly.
"Out of your control?" The Emperor fumed. "They rally in your names. and you wish to stand before me and spew lies to my face!"
Mors, quiet, looked around at his brethren beside him. With an odd look on his face, he said, "Why, Emperor, we are all sitting."
"You believe yourself quite humorous, do you...Mors the Pale Reaper." Alareiks eyed him from the paleness of his face down to the immaculate white of his clothing.
"And what of you, Pontus the Confessor? Do you deny that the Confessors had not originated from the Rare Nations over a century ago?" Alareiks said, with his eyes now abruptly fixed on the other Rare Man, Pontus. "Do you believe this matter is out of control as your brethren here would have me so foolishly believe? They rally behind your name more than the others, so what say you?"
Pontus, with a relaxed face and spine slumped against the back of his chair, spoke calmly, "You are not wrong, Emperor. What you have said is true. But what my brother says is true as well and the incident we heard happened in Legridian was truly heartbreaking and one we did not wish upon any country but our involvement is as he said. Now the Confessors have started a movement, and now they stand for something much greater than ourselves, much greater than anyone in this room."
"Movement? They have forced their ways upon Solaris, they have imposed their ways upon Edelaviel, Aeryngrave, and even parts of Corinth and now my empire is embroidered with turmoil and now we are all on the brink of war— country against country, neighbor against neighbor! They wish to topple over our government and you lot have presented them with a platform to do it upon!" The Emperor was outraged. He found his breath and began to calm down. "Enough of this...what do you five want from me? The brothers here tell me you wish to speak to me and if I were not so pressed, I would have outright had you all arrested and then who would your followers have?"
"Again, your grace—" Mors tried saying.
"Do...not...call me that," he said angrily.
"Again, Alareiks Menhara, we truly have little to do with this Confessor uprising. Perhaps in the past, but it has grown into a matter beyond even ourselves. The people of your country are angry, and they have been for a very long time, and now this is the result."
Not acquiescing to Mors's answer, Alareiks Menhara responded, "I will ask once and once last! Why have you lot sullied my home with your presence?"
"We came to have a civilized discussion with the man who has hated us nearly all of his life," Mors said.
"All of my life, yes. And my hatred for you all shall remain long into my afterlife or have you forgotten...it was this very Confessor insurrection that caused my father's death thirty-nine years ago or have you forgotten? I have not forgotten that day. What was that foolish saying you Rare Men always say...oh yes, 'A Rare Men never forgets'. Such rubbish."
"We have not forgotten and we are contrite over what happened to your father. Truly, that was irredeemable. All five of us have reached that consensus long ago and we have not looked back since and that is partly why we wished to speak to you. We want to ease the tension between us."
More words were spoken between the Rare Men and the Emperor with the Sundarians talking occasionally. They conversed a bit longer, no more than ten minutes or so. The conversation came to a brief pause after Mors requested that both Dinos and Gelasius exit the room.
The brothers complied with Mors's request and exited the room, shutting the door behind them. They were posted as if they were guards. From within the chamber, they listened in on the indistinct voices, some of which could be discerned.
Gelasius looked in Dinos's direction, their eyes meeting soon after. Dinos's brother looked unhinged.
"London...dead? How is this shit happening?" Gelasius, leaning towards Dinos, shook nervously as he spoke.
"Do you think he was found out?" Gelasius released a frustrated groan and a crazed expression after muttering into his brother's ear.
"Shit. This can't be happening, not to London. Of all of us, why London?" Gelasius sobbed, drops of his salty tears plunging onto the polished floor in unending continuations. Gelasius struck the floor with his bottom and sat there wounded, his confident facade unraveling.
Outwardly, the two brothers were alike in appearance. However, upon the subject of their characters, they could not be any different. Gelasius, ever since his early childhood, had been one to uphold honor and dignity.
His brother, Dinos, was unlike in that way. He had always been more objective and cunning, a seeker of ends rather than means. He was fifteen years of age, and his brother was three years his senior. Some time had now eclipsed, but to the brothers it felt like ages. Gelasius sat miserably by the wall underneath the window sill.
Still possessed by curiosity, Dinos pressed his ear against the door every now and again. He sometimes made out what they were saying. There was now silence from the other side of the door. Briefly after, he recognized the shuffling of feet. Dinos, assuming someone was walking towards the door from inside the room, calmly walked away and sat near his brother who lied there drained from the crying.
Both double doors were propelled outwardly and came the Rare Men. Their familiar purple glow lit the room. Dinos, who wore a look of relief, tapped his drained brother on the shoulder and soon helped him to his feet.
"Hide your tears, brother. You should not let them see you crying."
Gelasius, still torn up, willed himself to walk. His pale appearance was flushed light red. His hairs were scattered and messy. His ears and face were hot.
Pontus closed the door behind them but before he could close it fully. Dinos could sense those cold eyes of the prelate locking on him.
"Have you been crying?" Erebus asked while looking in the direction of Gelasius. "And before you try to lie to me, I can sense it on you." His voice was low, almost a whisper.
"I hadn't been well rested lately. I'm merely tired, Erebus." Gelasius quickly responded with his back now facing them.
Desperate to avert the attention off of his currently exhausted brother, Dinos asked when the Rare Men were leaving to Solaris. Dinos did not know too much about what the Rare Men were planning to do in Solaris or if they were truly actually going.
"The meeting was dragged on a bit but we should be away from that miserable capital by today. Now, assuming Atlas's theory will work out, I cannot wait to find out," Pontus leaned towards Dinos so only he could hear. Dinos noticed a creaking at the door behind them. Encouraged by a morbid curiosity, he glanced backward.
Just as quickly as he looked to the back of him, he turned away but now he walked with a looser pace and a pumping heart.
Even at their sizable distance, Dinos still made out the prelate's frightening figure. He was taller than he thought he would be. His height towered above the Emperor, who was of a very distinguished height himself. His hair was straight and darker than black, a long flowing and murky waterfall which washed down to his back. His face was smooth and his features were thin and straight. But, what Dinos found to be the strangest of his eerie features was his bare feet and his clothes which were rather thin for the north, unbefitting of northern attire. He was dressed in a simple brown shirt and worn pants that did not even reach his ankles.
Dinos, knowingly against his best judgment, stole one more glance, as to reaffirm that the distance between him and those two men was comfortably vast. Sneaking yet another glance, Dinos noticed that the prelate was seemingly confined in a state of stillness whereas the Emperor was still walking ahead.
Alareiks had not noticed, for he was just slightly ahead and with no obvious attempt at communicating with him nor anyone else.
To Dinos, the prelate was stuck in a mid-walk motion. He had one leg slightly raised above the floor but he did not move, even his expression was paused as if he were frozen in time. Dinos did not understand what he was seeing. His primary focus was now to get past the two doors that lie ahead. Just those eyes alone were enough to interrogate and pull out that dormant and primal fear that Dinos had tried suppressing his entire life and to escape those two perilous eyes represented freedom to him.
Erebus slowed down until Dinos was to his left side and he then whispered to Dinos, "Don't fret kiddo, they're just as afraid. We know who they truly are and in time they will be exposed as will all else."
And just like that, Dinos heard the sound he had been longing to hear; the present sound of the double doors being pressed apart from one another. The whole experience, which in reality had only endured for some seconds, seemed to last Dinos days. But now he felt liberated.
His pace had even relaxed more. To Dinos, perhaps it was from the murky shadows to the glory of the light. As long as he was far away from that man, he did not care. Gelasius was holding the door.
After ensuring the entire group walked through the door, Gelasius released his shaky grip off the door and used his hand to clear the snot that oozed out of his red nose. He inhaled and exhaled heavily, sniffing in between, before he pursued the group.
The Rare Men along with both of the two brothers were now all down the steps and on the leveled floor. In anticipation of the emperor's arrival, the group made idle conversation. Alastor, the red violet-haired Rare Man, who many saw as the leader, was talking to the emperor's guards.
All stared above as a lurking presence walked into the throne room. It was the emperor. The prelate was not in sight. He had a frustrated yet stern expression that concealed an ambiguous smirk.
He forced a yell that vigorously resonated across the hall, "Peter, take these seven gentlemen to the special boat."
Mors extended his hand to Peter, as to say "lead the way".
Peter motioned for another man to accompany him. The Rare Men, along with the brothers, slowly turned about, all except for Alastor who retained his gaze on the emperor's face. Mockingly, Alastor spoke loudly enough for Alareiks to hear. "Long live the king," he said.
Alastor whirled out into the stormy outside, leaving the door opened just wide enough for Alareiks to catch a glimpse of his backside.
The group, with Alastor trailing, was outside. The brothers and Rare Men stopped on the main step just beyond the door. they were looking down and conversing with a young woman who sat on the stone tread.
The girl was dripping wet but did not seem to mind it. Her face was captivated by a joy and optimism whilst speaking with the group. She appeared so excited with a countenance that was struck by an eternal ecstasy which could not be extinguished. She possessed a head of hair that was as white as the two brothers.
She attempted to stand while extending her hands towards Dinos. His face lit up almost immediately. He clasped his fingers around hers and pulled her up from off the wet steps and hugged her tightly.
Once they embraced one another, Dinos's face radiated. He smiled so endearingly. Something about her melted away that icy interior of his and did away with part of that melancholy he felt earlier. The woman seemed astonished by his raw emotions.
Both of their faces reddened and became hot. Infatuated by her presence, Dinos placed a smothering kiss on her forehead and hugged her tighter. There was a light emission of steam that arose their bodies as they embraced one another.
They stood there for nearly a minute in each other's embrace while Alastor and Mors talked with the two men who were sent to assist them. Gelasius frowned as he spectated the stormy environment.
With his attention averted towards the monument of the sun god in the distance. He squeezed his eyelids in an attempt to clarify his vision and shut out some of the rain. While squinting, his eyes came across a small and faint purple glow on the shoulder of the monument.
Slightly captivated by this, Gelasius's heart pumped at a swifter rate after making out what he viewed to be a human figure standing near the ominous purple gleam. He felt befuddled for not perceiving the figure immediately, for it now stood out so plainly to him. It was facing Gelasius's direction and even moving. Other than that, because of the vast distance placed between it and Gelasius, even the presence of the early day could not make the character out to be anything other than a gray silhouette. He was very far, therefore, it was not simple to see beyond the minute details like the large muscles and bald head. He was confused as to what it was. But, he could not help but notice that the strange figure looked similar to the monument. His heart jerked.
Just what the hell am I seeing, he thought painstakingly. How is this thing standing on top of the monument?
It walked toward the nearby purple light. It then suddenly, beyond any conceivable knowledge that Gelasius possessed, disappeared after walking directly into the light which appeared rounded in design. Gelasius was going to call one of the Rare Men, for their eyes were far better than that of an ordinary human's but he was already gone.
Gelasius's eyes widened and his throat contracted tightly. He scanned around the distant effigy with his distressed eyes. The whole experience was quite brief but it left a distinctive memory for Gelasius. Gelasius looked back at the group, curious whether they saw what he had. They had not. They were still going on with their conversations just as he last remembered.
A small hand landed on Gelasius's back and caressed around his stomach. Gelasius turned around. The hand belonged to the young girl with white hair. She was as pasty as the two brothers. Her eye color was a dark brown tone just as theirs.
She gazed into his eyes and unveiled a smirk. Gelasius allowed his self to sink in between her thin white arms. Nearly one foot taller than her, Gelasius lowered his head, almost in a bowed manner, and let her kiss his chin which was covered by his long dripping hair. Gelasius, not saying a word, locked his eyes on hers and then soon shut them underneath his faint red eyelids.
He reopened his eyes and smiled before placing both of his hands on her soft shoulders.
Attempting to maintain his appearance, Gelasius solidified his voice and averted his gaze whenever he felt his emotions beginning to overwhelm him.
Olympia looked at Gelasius and frowned her face as she studied his sour expression.
"You've been crying again haven't you, Gely."
Looking around first, Gelasius could not hold back his tears any longer and suddenly broke down. Hot tears ran down from out of his tired sockets. He found himself wrapped, once again, in her thin arms. His face was buried just above her small white breasts. He cried sullenly.
Gelasius responded to Olympia, whimpering while he spoke, "I hate you seeing me like this."
The comfort he found in Olympia made his storm of grief weather down slightly, but it was just enough. He began to embrace her tightly the sadder he felt.
Olympia, after the prolonged embrace, stretched her arms out and brushed Gelasius away, slightly. She reached and grabbed his hands, every finger but the thumb, and stared at him. What she was seeing was a fragile boy held captive inside a fierce man's figure.
"Gelasius, cry if you need to. In this life, I would be afraid if you did not. Your tears are our tears, our tears are yours."
Olympia stopped and smiled.
"But, Olympia, London's dead!" Gelasius whined, with his face now shaky and far buried in her chest, and he grabbed her frail pail shoulders. His words were consistently interrupted by tense sniffing and whimpering.
After a brief silence since saying aloud London's fate, Gelasius's focus was centered on Olympia's quietude. Overwhelmed by the silence, he gradually reared his eyes at Olympia and he was shaken upon glancing at her face.
She too was shaky, her lips were trembling, and her snow-white hair was in tangles around her rosy cheeks. Tears leaked down her bright red face. She seemed to just suddenly break down and, as she did so, she grabbed onto Gelasius very tightly.
The Rare Men unexpectedly stopped walking, along with Peter and his partner.
The other three Rare Men—Pontus, Erebus, and Chaos, went a different direction.
Mors and Alastor remained alongside the two guards. They were headed for the crescent shore which was north of the citadel, just below the cliff that the Opal Castle resided upon. They would need to walk the long steps which lead to the crescent shore just where the Hephaestus Sea.
Whilst crying, the two siblings, Olympia and Gelasius were maintaining the distance between the three Rare Men. They relied on each other to stride forward through the force of the unloving rain.