DREAMS of a CLOUD
Peruse the many random ramblings of a writer-in-training as I build stories and develop my craft.
1 October 2022
When the priestess opened her eyes, they’d gone entirely white. The lights in the council room dimmed, and when the priestess spoke, the voice that came out was not the same as the one she’d used before.
“Be wary, fools of the Senate… No more will I watch silently… War will not wreck some distant land while you cower here, safe in your capital. No; my Children shall rise from these graves, and deliver it to your very doorsteps.”
She closed her eyes, and for several seconds no one spoke. Then the priestess bowed, the lights returned to normal, and she left. For the next several minutes, not one one of the Senators could muster up the courage to speak.
And yet, within the week, that priestess was executed for treason.
And here is part 2 of my Iphigenia story! Mostly just setting up pieces. Not that I know yet how it’ll go from here. I do feel sorry for that priestess…
I think I need to read/watch more zombie movies to get an idea of where to go next.
At the meeting of the Senate, nearly everyone present wore smiles that oozed with greed.
“How long before they submit?” asked the Minister of Finance, a tall, spindly man with a meticulous mustache.
“It won’t be much longer,” the Minister of the Esteemed answered. He was a fat, balding man, and even within the Senate few took his opinion seriously.
“I’ve heard they’re actually considering war.” The Minister of the Commonwealth was the youngest man in the room; he hadn’t yet reached 40, but had still been able to afford to buy a seat on the council.
The Minister of Defense, a robust woman with a few scars from her time in the military, scoffed. “More the fools that makes them, then. Even without considering the Children of Iphigenia, our force is so much greater than theirs, any battle would be like a stroll in a park.”
“Speaking of which,” the Minister of the Commonwealth asked. “Where is Horenza?”
“No doubt gorging herself on foreign delicacies,” the Minister of the Esteemed snorted. “You know how she is.”
“Well, you’re here, so someone has to keep them in business,” the Minister of Finance retorted. The Minister of the Esteemed shot him a glare.
At that point, the door to the council chambers opened, and a young woman stepped inside, dressed in the robes of Iphigenia’s clergy. “My apologies. High Priestess Horenza is currently indisposed; I have been sent to represent the Lady in her stead.”
The senators all looked amongst each other, until finally the Minister of Defense urged her, “Very well, child. What does Iphigenia have to say about the current situation?”
The priestess bowed her head, but when she opened her eyes, they’d gone entirely white. The lights in the council room dimmed, and when the priestess spoke, the voice that came out was not the same as the one she’d used before.
“Be wary, fools of the Senate, for I am not deceived. Long have you glutted yourselves on the sufferings of your neighbors, and how easily do you condemn those beyond your sight to starvation and slavery!
“No more will I watch silently. If you do not repent, retract your sanctions and your desires for conquest, war will not wreck some distant land while you cower here, safe in your capital. No; my Children shall rise from these graves, and deliver it to your very doorsteps. So repent, O fools, and hunger no more for power.”
She closed her eyes, and for several seconds no one spoke. Then the priestess bowed, the lights returned to normal, and she left. For the next several minutes, not one one of the Senators could muster up the courage to speak.
And yet, within the week, that priestess was executed for treason.