It was over.
The final battle had been fought.
And now the Arx was burning. Firemane's headquarters had been sacked. Factories, shops, and residential areas were being looted. Those who had endured the lash, hunger and hardship so that those who dwelt in the 'sky-city' could profit took their revenge. It was only just. The streets ran red with blood. Firemane lackeys - and of those who had been branded as such - had been strung up. Bodies were piling up. The Tyrant had, alas, escaped justice. Alpsas did not know whether to be angry or laugh. Siobhan Kerrigan had not fallen in glorious battle. Her end had come when some unknown med tech pulled a plug. It was absurd. It was pathetic.
But even as her grotesque statues were being demolished with hammers, one small part of her still remained. Thus Alpsas' path led her here, deep inside the vault of the former 'Order of Fire'. Siobhan's holocron was hexagonal in shape. Intricate arcane symbols had been carved into the device, and it bristled with dark power. Without hesitation, she took her dagger and made a precise slice into the open palm of her flesh hand. A drop of blood fell upon the holocron.
The gatekeeper wore an elaborate scarlet uniform, covered in medals and gold braids. Not that Alpsas could actually see any of that. But what caught her attention was the dark presence she felt. The gatekeeper regarded her haughtily. "Elpsis," she said dismissively.
"It's Alpsas, actually. Or Alpsal."
"The Xio transliteration of your name. How original. Will you also apply some charchoal and white dye to fit in? Perhaps have some work done to extend your ears? You were always ready to throw yourself at whoever gave you a pat on the head and told you you're a good girl. Always following those stronger than you around like a lost puppy."
Alpsas' jaw tightened. "And you...you're slaver scum. All those Qadiri and Xio calling themselves Saobana and Karrigan, you loved how it stroked your bloated ego. And all you did was squeeze the life blood out of them." The gatekeeper shrugged dismissively. "There's a natural hierarchy. I uplifted them from the dreadful barbarity they used to subsist in. It's only proper that they honour me."
"Got news for you," Alpsas placed her robotic hand on the holocron, "that grand 'empire' of yours? How grand it was indeed, built on the backs of people far weaker than you without any fancy tech. It's finished. Ashes. The 'barbarians' and me - we destroyed it."
The gatekeeper's eyes narrowed. "You lie," she hissed.
"Seen any lackeys of yours around lately? When was the last time someone came here to seek out your 'wisdom'? There's a part of you - the real, disgusting you - inside there. Reach out through the Force, probe my feelings, and you'll know it's true."
For a moment whatever ember of Siobhan dwelt in the holocron seemed to concentrate. The gatekeeper's features contorted into an expression of anger. "Backstabbers, ingrates, fools," she snarled hatefully, before suddenly calming. "I always knew the board was full of lesser minds. Without me, they're as vulnerable as a litter of blind kittens. I did not fail. They failed me. If they'd awakened me, everything would've been different."
"Want to hear how you died, mother? Some random pulled a plug, and nobody cared. The Daughters, the Saobanas, no one gave a fuck. We threw a party when we heard. Across the planet, people are burning you in effigies, tearing down your stupid statues-"
"Enough!" the gatekeeper thundered and for a moment the air around them seemed to twist in strange shapes. Lightning crackled around the holocron.
"Touched a nerve, mother?"
"So you rallied the rabble. Congratulations, daughter! What will you do now, I wonder? Take my place, sit upon the throne? We both know you don't have what it takes. You're just a soldier, a blunt instrument. You were never trained to lead, just to follow orders from whoever held your leash. Those little knife-ears will wrap you around their finger, and dispose of you when you're not needed any longer. After all," at that she smirked, "the only reason they followed you was because you bear my name. I-"
Alpsas slammed her burning mechanical fist into the holocron, causing it to fall off the pedestal and land on the floor. Yet the impact left only a minor dent. The holocron caught fire, but remained undamaged. A storm of lightning slammed into Alpsas with such force it knocked her across the room.
"Always thinking with your fists. I made you, Elpsis," the gatekeeper declared. "You were nothing before I raised you from the muck. A mere rube, a drifter, aimless, purposeless - and that is all you shall be now. Even your birth mother couldn't be bothered to put up with you. She tossed you aside the moment you were born. Only I."
Steam sizzled from Alpsas as she rose to her feet, her white eyes flaring. "From the moment you adopted me, I fought your battles, bled for your cursed family, lost my limbs, tainted my soul. And you could do nothing but put me down, call me unworthy. For years I asked myself, what is it about me that you hate so much? I know the answer now. I'm better than you. I'm not a leech, not like you."
"How droll," the gatekeeper remarked.
More forking arcs of lightning surged towards Alpsas from all sides. Her face was twisted in pain, her body shook, but she moved towards the holocron, inexorably. Her mechanical arm glowed with arcane power. "How does it feel to be no one, mother?" she snarled, her voice full of hatred, grabbing the holocron.
"Not the queen, not the Karishzar, not the Lady Protector, the Phoenix and whatever the fuck you called yourself to make yourself feel like you were on top of the world and not just a parasite! How does it feel to be the scared kid?! We beat you, my sisters and brothers beat you, and now we're free!" Wildfire surged through her body.
The burning cracks etched into her face glowed. So intense that it was painful. That it felt all-devouring. And she threw all her pain, all her burning anger at the holocron, at Siobhan. Blazing heat poured into it. The room temperature rose rapidly and black smoke rose into the air.
The holocron struck back with all its might. Lightning scorched her, and it felt like sharp knives were slicing into a flesh. With a howl, she threw it all back and smote the holocron with burning wrath. The chamber was filled by a blinding, burning light. There was a flash, and the flickering gatekeeper spoke, "Perhaps you are worthy of me...when you can focus."
"I don't want or need to be worthy of you," Alpsas spat, "just myself."
There was a loud crack, and the holocron sundered in twain. Alpsas dropped to her knees, panting. Sweat dripped down her face. She looked up at the detritus of the holocron, where the crystal had been shattered.
"That's all what's left of your legacy, mother. You have no legacy, no legend, no dynasty. And from the ashes of your world, we'll build a better one." Alpsal picked up the broken artefact. Whatever power it had once possessed was gone. Maybe it would serve as a paperweight. It was done. She was free.
xxx
She arrived in the courtyard just in time to see a gilded Siobhan statue that was as grandiose as it was grotesque being pulled from its plinth by myriad ropes. The moment the statue slammed into the ground, Tygaran soldiers rushed towards it, stomping on it, peeling the gilding off. The face was covered by the flag of the Tygaran-Arkasian Liberation Army. Alpsas allowed herself a small smile. Suquan soldiers fired their guns into the air, chanting "Praise be to Kashara!" while Xio declared 'the spirits guide our blade!" One could also hear chants of "Anhala, Anhala!" The Qadiri word for 'freedom'.
Just as Alpsas was looking around, she suddenly heard an exuberant voice loudly shout, "Sister!" Turning, she saw Karrigan'Xalda rush towards her. Like Alpsas, she wore battered, blood-stained armour. Her white hair was tousled and matted with sweat. Her fellow Karrigan pulled her into an exuberant. Alpsas returned it with her flesh and blood arm, kissing the Xioquo on the cheek. Xalda returned the kiss, then took a step back and scrutinised her. "You're hurt," she said accusingly.
"It's no big deal," Alpsas brushed it off. "I had some...unfinished business to attend to," she took a deep breath. "It's over, it's all over. Can't quite believe it."
Xalda nodded because for all her oddness, she just got it. She took Alpsas' flesh hand into hers. Her own hands were just as scarred and calloused. "We're unbound by her shackles. Sister, we are free."
Alpsas noticed that Xalda seemed to be carrying a heavy backpack, and then there was a rattling sound. She frowned, looking down at Xalda's arm.
Xalda held it up, showing off several watches strapped to her arm. "They are gold. I shall sell them and give the coin to my Lady. She is most excellent at managing coin," she explained knowingly.
"Sounds sensible," Alpsas remarked dryly.
"I have collected seventeen right ears, would you like to see them, sister? I have arranged them by species! If preserved well, ears are the best trophy. They are light and can easily be stored by threading them with a string," Xalda declared earnestly.
"I'll take your word on that, sis. Congrats. Anything else you got?"
"Oh, oh, I have!" Xalda excitedly pulled off her backpack and unzipped it, "you must see it...well, feel," she amended, "a gift for my Lady. She shall cherish it, I hope." Alpsas had to clamp down on the urge to laugh.
As Xalda spoke, she pulled out a neatly folded dress. "Here." Alpsas pressed her flesh hand to the dress, and felt decadently soft silk. No doubt the dress was worth thousands of credits.
"I seized it in a merchant store! The 'Queen Emporium'! The sort whose owner would never serve 'my kind'. Now they have no choice in the matter," Xalda declared, then suddenly looked alarmed. "Oh, no."
"What's wrong, sis?"
"There is a hole. Look here," she showed her. The hole was in the chest area, just above where the breast would be. "Bullet?" Alpsas asked.
"I would assume. There was a sniper, I remember now. They did not get me...but they got my trophy!"
Alpsas could not resist and burst out laughing. "This is no laughing matter, sis!" Xalda told her crossly. Alpsas patted her on the shoulder. "Hey, look at it this way, it's an authentic battle trophy now, earned on the battlefield. Sidhe will love it."
Xalda considered this, then brightened. "You speak truth. I shall humbly present it to her!" She carefully folded the dress again and carefully stashed it away.
Xioquo and Qadiri soldiers were lining up shoulder to shoulder and lacing their fingers together. The lead dancer set the rhythm twirling a scarf. Xalda nudged Alpsas. "Dance with us," she ordered. The refusal was on Alpsas' lips, but she found she didn't have the heart. "Okay." And so within moments she was dancing in the line upon the ashes of a cursed legacy, feeling heady...and free.
The final battle had been fought.
And now the Arx was burning. Firemane's headquarters had been sacked. Factories, shops, and residential areas were being looted. Those who had endured the lash, hunger and hardship so that those who dwelt in the 'sky-city' could profit took their revenge. It was only just. The streets ran red with blood. Firemane lackeys - and of those who had been branded as such - had been strung up. Bodies were piling up. The Tyrant had, alas, escaped justice. Alpsas did not know whether to be angry or laugh. Siobhan Kerrigan had not fallen in glorious battle. Her end had come when some unknown med tech pulled a plug. It was absurd. It was pathetic.
But even as her grotesque statues were being demolished with hammers, one small part of her still remained. Thus Alpsas' path led her here, deep inside the vault of the former 'Order of Fire'. Siobhan's holocron was hexagonal in shape. Intricate arcane symbols had been carved into the device, and it bristled with dark power. Without hesitation, she took her dagger and made a precise slice into the open palm of her flesh hand. A drop of blood fell upon the holocron.
The gatekeeper wore an elaborate scarlet uniform, covered in medals and gold braids. Not that Alpsas could actually see any of that. But what caught her attention was the dark presence she felt. The gatekeeper regarded her haughtily. "Elpsis," she said dismissively.
"It's Alpsas, actually. Or Alpsal."
"The Xio transliteration of your name. How original. Will you also apply some charchoal and white dye to fit in? Perhaps have some work done to extend your ears? You were always ready to throw yourself at whoever gave you a pat on the head and told you you're a good girl. Always following those stronger than you around like a lost puppy."
Alpsas' jaw tightened. "And you...you're slaver scum. All those Qadiri and Xio calling themselves Saobana and Karrigan, you loved how it stroked your bloated ego. And all you did was squeeze the life blood out of them." The gatekeeper shrugged dismissively. "There's a natural hierarchy. I uplifted them from the dreadful barbarity they used to subsist in. It's only proper that they honour me."
"Got news for you," Alpsas placed her robotic hand on the holocron, "that grand 'empire' of yours? How grand it was indeed, built on the backs of people far weaker than you without any fancy tech. It's finished. Ashes. The 'barbarians' and me - we destroyed it."
The gatekeeper's eyes narrowed. "You lie," she hissed.
"Seen any lackeys of yours around lately? When was the last time someone came here to seek out your 'wisdom'? There's a part of you - the real, disgusting you - inside there. Reach out through the Force, probe my feelings, and you'll know it's true."
For a moment whatever ember of Siobhan dwelt in the holocron seemed to concentrate. The gatekeeper's features contorted into an expression of anger. "Backstabbers, ingrates, fools," she snarled hatefully, before suddenly calming. "I always knew the board was full of lesser minds. Without me, they're as vulnerable as a litter of blind kittens. I did not fail. They failed me. If they'd awakened me, everything would've been different."
"Want to hear how you died, mother? Some random pulled a plug, and nobody cared. The Daughters, the Saobanas, no one gave a fuck. We threw a party when we heard. Across the planet, people are burning you in effigies, tearing down your stupid statues-"
"Enough!" the gatekeeper thundered and for a moment the air around them seemed to twist in strange shapes. Lightning crackled around the holocron.
"Touched a nerve, mother?"
"So you rallied the rabble. Congratulations, daughter! What will you do now, I wonder? Take my place, sit upon the throne? We both know you don't have what it takes. You're just a soldier, a blunt instrument. You were never trained to lead, just to follow orders from whoever held your leash. Those little knife-ears will wrap you around their finger, and dispose of you when you're not needed any longer. After all," at that she smirked, "the only reason they followed you was because you bear my name. I-"
Alpsas slammed her burning mechanical fist into the holocron, causing it to fall off the pedestal and land on the floor. Yet the impact left only a minor dent. The holocron caught fire, but remained undamaged. A storm of lightning slammed into Alpsas with such force it knocked her across the room.
"Always thinking with your fists. I made you, Elpsis," the gatekeeper declared. "You were nothing before I raised you from the muck. A mere rube, a drifter, aimless, purposeless - and that is all you shall be now. Even your birth mother couldn't be bothered to put up with you. She tossed you aside the moment you were born. Only I."
Steam sizzled from Alpsas as she rose to her feet, her white eyes flaring. "From the moment you adopted me, I fought your battles, bled for your cursed family, lost my limbs, tainted my soul. And you could do nothing but put me down, call me unworthy. For years I asked myself, what is it about me that you hate so much? I know the answer now. I'm better than you. I'm not a leech, not like you."
"How droll," the gatekeeper remarked.
More forking arcs of lightning surged towards Alpsas from all sides. Her face was twisted in pain, her body shook, but she moved towards the holocron, inexorably. Her mechanical arm glowed with arcane power. "How does it feel to be no one, mother?" she snarled, her voice full of hatred, grabbing the holocron.
"Not the queen, not the Karishzar, not the Lady Protector, the Phoenix and whatever the fuck you called yourself to make yourself feel like you were on top of the world and not just a parasite! How does it feel to be the scared kid?! We beat you, my sisters and brothers beat you, and now we're free!" Wildfire surged through her body.
The burning cracks etched into her face glowed. So intense that it was painful. That it felt all-devouring. And she threw all her pain, all her burning anger at the holocron, at Siobhan. Blazing heat poured into it. The room temperature rose rapidly and black smoke rose into the air.
The holocron struck back with all its might. Lightning scorched her, and it felt like sharp knives were slicing into a flesh. With a howl, she threw it all back and smote the holocron with burning wrath. The chamber was filled by a blinding, burning light. There was a flash, and the flickering gatekeeper spoke, "Perhaps you are worthy of me...when you can focus."
"I don't want or need to be worthy of you," Alpsas spat, "just myself."
There was a loud crack, and the holocron sundered in twain. Alpsas dropped to her knees, panting. Sweat dripped down her face. She looked up at the detritus of the holocron, where the crystal had been shattered.
"That's all what's left of your legacy, mother. You have no legacy, no legend, no dynasty. And from the ashes of your world, we'll build a better one." Alpsal picked up the broken artefact. Whatever power it had once possessed was gone. Maybe it would serve as a paperweight. It was done. She was free.
xxx
She arrived in the courtyard just in time to see a gilded Siobhan statue that was as grandiose as it was grotesque being pulled from its plinth by myriad ropes. The moment the statue slammed into the ground, Tygaran soldiers rushed towards it, stomping on it, peeling the gilding off. The face was covered by the flag of the Tygaran-Arkasian Liberation Army. Alpsas allowed herself a small smile. Suquan soldiers fired their guns into the air, chanting "Praise be to Kashara!" while Xio declared 'the spirits guide our blade!" One could also hear chants of "Anhala, Anhala!" The Qadiri word for 'freedom'.
Just as Alpsas was looking around, she suddenly heard an exuberant voice loudly shout, "Sister!" Turning, she saw Karrigan'Xalda rush towards her. Like Alpsas, she wore battered, blood-stained armour. Her white hair was tousled and matted with sweat. Her fellow Karrigan pulled her into an exuberant. Alpsas returned it with her flesh and blood arm, kissing the Xioquo on the cheek. Xalda returned the kiss, then took a step back and scrutinised her. "You're hurt," she said accusingly.
"It's no big deal," Alpsas brushed it off. "I had some...unfinished business to attend to," she took a deep breath. "It's over, it's all over. Can't quite believe it."
Xalda nodded because for all her oddness, she just got it. She took Alpsas' flesh hand into hers. Her own hands were just as scarred and calloused. "We're unbound by her shackles. Sister, we are free."
Alpsas noticed that Xalda seemed to be carrying a heavy backpack, and then there was a rattling sound. She frowned, looking down at Xalda's arm.
Xalda held it up, showing off several watches strapped to her arm. "They are gold. I shall sell them and give the coin to my Lady. She is most excellent at managing coin," she explained knowingly.
"Sounds sensible," Alpsas remarked dryly.
"I have collected seventeen right ears, would you like to see them, sister? I have arranged them by species! If preserved well, ears are the best trophy. They are light and can easily be stored by threading them with a string," Xalda declared earnestly.
"I'll take your word on that, sis. Congrats. Anything else you got?"
"Oh, oh, I have!" Xalda excitedly pulled off her backpack and unzipped it, "you must see it...well, feel," she amended, "a gift for my Lady. She shall cherish it, I hope." Alpsas had to clamp down on the urge to laugh.
As Xalda spoke, she pulled out a neatly folded dress. "Here." Alpsas pressed her flesh hand to the dress, and felt decadently soft silk. No doubt the dress was worth thousands of credits.
"I seized it in a merchant store! The 'Queen Emporium'! The sort whose owner would never serve 'my kind'. Now they have no choice in the matter," Xalda declared, then suddenly looked alarmed. "Oh, no."
"What's wrong, sis?"
"There is a hole. Look here," she showed her. The hole was in the chest area, just above where the breast would be. "Bullet?" Alpsas asked.
"I would assume. There was a sniper, I remember now. They did not get me...but they got my trophy!"
Alpsas could not resist and burst out laughing. "This is no laughing matter, sis!" Xalda told her crossly. Alpsas patted her on the shoulder. "Hey, look at it this way, it's an authentic battle trophy now, earned on the battlefield. Sidhe will love it."
Xalda considered this, then brightened. "You speak truth. I shall humbly present it to her!" She carefully folded the dress again and carefully stashed it away.
Xioquo and Qadiri soldiers were lining up shoulder to shoulder and lacing their fingers together. The lead dancer set the rhythm twirling a scarf. Xalda nudged Alpsas. "Dance with us," she ordered. The refusal was on Alpsas' lips, but she found she didn't have the heart. "Okay." And so within moments she was dancing in the line upon the ashes of a cursed legacy, feeling heady...and free.
