NationStates Jolt Archive

The galaxy was laid out below them in all its splendor, almost as a prize, a gleaming invitation to those with the strength to conquer. For countless years wars had raged, concerning the right to rule, the right to dictate. Powers had warred eternal for the prize that was dominion, and would doubtlessly rage on.

A chessboard sits, high above creation. A simple thing mounted upon a simple table, hovering over the rich tapestry of existence. Two chairs sit at either side, each thing simple, each bent towards a single purpose. Fingers arrange the pieces, preparing the board for play as surely as generals ready troops for battle. Each is carved in it's own style. The black pieces are symbols of a deviant culture, bent towards madness and Chaos, their own sacred truth. The white pieces are simple symbols of devotion to an ideal, the tireless pursuit of light and wisdom.

Remiel De Drakan smiles lightly as he raises a hand to brush stray strands of hair from his eyes, bringing it down to drum lightly against the board, pondering the moves to come. He is clad in simple dark vestments, robes which seem to envelop his form, blending in with the endless void of space, the tireless progression of the universe.

"Shall we begin then?"

A callused hand, forged by war, moved a pawn forward. The hand was nearly hidden by brown, simple-looking sleeves. The sleeves were connected to robes that draped across powerful shoulders. On the shoulders was a head with a mop of dark brown hair and the eyes were a fierce brown color.

"Another page turns." The Jedi spoke. "Alliances shift and waver. But for all that's occurred so far, and though weakened, Coredia still stands. Coredia is still strong."

Daniel Masaki smiled. "And so am I."

"Still running though, aren't you Daniel? Friends deserting you. I almost feel like I should take your queen now, since you've gambled so recklessly with the real ones life." He tittered lightly, moving a pawn with a gentle ease. "I think perhaps Gaius' trial, or maybe Hallen's would have been more dignified than what you're putting your Empress through.

Honestly, Daniel, if this is how the Coredian Emperor treats his spouse, then I expect that you must be a terribly inhuman bastard to have as an enemy."

"Don't talk about my wife that way, Remiel." I glared sharply at him, moving a knight. "It was her decision alone that sent her there, not mine. She does wear the pants around the house, you know."

"Am I supposed to be impressed then, that you're so belittled in your own relationship? That the Emperor of a nation, who stands valiant against evil is whipped by his wife? I don't recall your mother being so forceful when she died. It was that which allowed for your sister to embrace the darkness was it not?

To see how unfit you were to lead, how weak you were..." Fingers closed around a bishop, pondering the next move, his tongue clucking against his cheek. "The universe will see her sacrifice as abandonment, see it as cowardice on the part of her husband.

The death penalty is such a harsh measure to level against the ones that you would claim to love. You're fast running out of family, Daniel. It would be such a shame to orphan the boy."

"Perhaps it would be a shame. Perhaps it is a curse that my line must be orphaned. Then again, I didn't fare too badly as an orphan, all things considered. With the people that surround him, I'm sure Travis would turn out well." I smiled, refusing to rise to the bait. "I am confident that somehow, some way, we'll get out of this. You know we have a knack of getting out of tight spots."

"trickery and deceit are the only coin the Masaki's have left. I wonder if it's enough, with the galaxy closing in about you, bereft of homeworlds, cast out by your allies." He chuckled, his hands drumming against the edge of the board but not yet committing to any move.

"The fates align against you, Daniel. The thread of life is taut, you feel it every day, one step closer to the grave. Closer to leaving them all. You feel fear tightening your chest, narrowing your breath, and you know what it means to be marked." Black laughter. "How long do you think you can stand against me, truly?"

"As long as I have to, Remiel. As long as I have to." I replied. "For if the fates align against me...one day they will also align against you. It is the way of things."

"Not so when one is blessed and favored by the glory of the Gods, by Fate itself. His mark blazes upon me as the other Great Three. I, favored of Chaos, I their Scion in this glorious conflict.

Each day marks something new, a new iteration of the same fundamental truth. A flawed and base humanity, crawling on its belly and mourning the cruel hand of judgement. Why should they toil for the false light when they could fall to their knees and embrace true power?" He chuckled, almost bemused.

"You keep them ignorant, like cattle, blinkered and dull, unknowing of the true power and inevitably victory of Chaos."