The Fire Within

[DoS Archive]

Date: 1/4/98 10:38 AM Pacific Daylight Time
From: Duke UzieI


Maleoch sat across from Adonai, they both sharing a bottle of old burgundy as the general's eyes bored into his lord, knowing from Adonai's pensiveness that something was afoot. Adonai paced, his feet pounding across the flagstones of the tower's upper room, occasionally looking at stray papers he had left sitting out, and checking on projects he had left to sit centuries ago, all in a flagging attempt to not dwell on the thoughts his mind was showing to him. " My lord......please sit. " Maleoch said, placing his wine on the the table and looking up to Adonai in concern. " Something eats at your mind and this pacing will not solve it." Adonai sighed, running a hand through his hair and sinking down into the the large leather chair behind the table, picking up the dagger he used as a letter opener and tapping it idly on the table top. " Sorry Maleoch....I just have alot on my mind as of late. " Adonai said, reaching out and taking his goblet of wine and killing about half of it in one drink. " Aye Lord....your concern over the traitor Huma's ring and the political manuevering of your former lord Valmion...I am well aware of this. " Adonai shook his head and killed the rest of his wine. " Maleoch? Let me ask you a hypothetical question. " " Surely my lord...go right ahead." Adonai scratched his chin and thought a moment...the dagger tapping away at the top of the table as he looked at his friend and then spoke. "Lets say this.......I am your Lord....you are loyal to me and you have stood with me and set me upon the throne...you have always defended me to others and have never questioned me in things concerning whats best for the realm." Maleoch nodded and absorbed this, sipping at his wine and watching Adonai think his way through the problem. " But then, " Adonai said. " You start to notice things.....and you feel that your loyalty has been misplaced...you try and stay with me...but you notice more and more that you no longer believe in me..or what I stand for. " Adonai then grimaced and slammed the dagger point first into the table. His face almost haggard and tired with the strain of these thoughts. " What do you do? " He said...watching Maleoch carefully as the wind blew in through the open tower window and scattered some parchment from the nearby bookcase. Maleoch mused momentarily, reserved as always in his thoughts, a finger tracing a line over his lips as he formulated a response. " Lord Adonai, " He said..sitting forward in the chair and looking at his lord. " My loyalty to you is never a question..as you are the First and holder of the power of our Father...but as I suspect your problem is not of that nature..then I would tell you that if I was you...and I believed as ferverently as you do in what is right...and your thoughts no longer agreed with the one that you once were loyal to...then if it wasI...I would remove the one in question. " Adonai sighed and slumped slightly, hearing in Maleoch's words the images his mind had shown him. " I take it then my lord....that yourself and the others of House Retribution are going to take down King Valmion and his House? " Adonai shook his head, a chill going through him as he finally set in stone a decision he had, until now, been avoiding. " No Maleoch...Questrion will come in time..the others of the House have that well in hand. " Adonai looked around and shook his head again. " This is worse.....much worse. " The Dragon Lord of RhyDin then poured another goblet of burgundy...his eyes becoming distant as plans and pledges of loyalty warred within him.((TBC))