Responsibility and Authority
There were many things that Serrakeen loved about the Plum Blossom Retreat. Though his home was in the Flame-bond Forge, he rarely traveled there except during those rare moments when he felt an aesthetic drive toward solitude, for the comforts of that most expansive manse were undeniably… comforting. He loved to while away his afternoons painting while his children and grandchildren tugged at his sleeves, to spend the misty mornings walking down the mazelike trails and paths of the upper tier, and to do his business through an orderly and efficient bureaucracy. He especially enjoyed his long breakfasts beneath the spreading oak trees that flanked the great hall, sipping fresh milk and dining on sausages, cheese, tomatoes, and plums.
He never, never conducted business during his breakfasts except in the most dire of emergencies. Unfortunately, Open Skies Above hadn’t seemed to catch on to this fact.
“Where is Choshu Ishi? I need to speak to him immediately regarding his troops’ conduct in town last night.”
“Ishi?” Serrakeen paused to meditatively chew a bite of fruit, emphasizing with both his actions and tone of voice that her request could be nothing more than idle curiosity since she had, after all, proposed it while he was eating breakfast. “I think he was leading a patrol somewhere in the east. I haven’t the foggiest, really. Quite the impulsive boy, isn’t he?”
The Night caste ground her teeth in frustration. “Well, someone has to keep these tigers in line.”
“Why not yourself? You’re a member of the circle now, and you certainly have been invested with the authority.”
She turned away, and the hood of her deep purple cloak hid her features. “They won’t listen to me.”
“I find that hard to believe, since I know for a fact that you can be very persuasive…”
“I really don’t want to use my charms to compel them.” Serrakeen tried to sneak in another sausage while her back was turned, but found that the conversation had taken his appetite. Exactly why one did not conduct business before noon! “It’s not just the soldiers… I went to discuss with the minister of finance the imbalanced deployment of our resources, but I couldn’t say a word when I recognized him. I was the one that assassinated his clan head, over a year ago, and impersonated him to spy on you.”
The ifrit cleared his throat. “Well, that’s behind us all now…”
“And he’s not the only one…” She looked back at him, and he lowered his eyes to his plate. “Everywhere I look here, I see His influence, and more often than not, it was by my hand.”
“Listen, have a seat and I’ll have one of the servants bring you something to eat.” Serrakeen gave up on his morning and decided that it was time for him to play a role he was all too familiar with. “You’re obviously quite upset, my girl. Why don’t…”
She walked away from him, striding across the grounds toward the stables. The elemental watched her leave and shook his head sadly (only partially because of his growing sense of indigestion). “Ah yes, she’s a solar now… just like Nameless Ravine and Rivers Between Us. It’s a good thing we can still rely on Storm of Amber, at least. I hope. If he ever returns.”
As Rivers entered the gate, leading Under Bridges at a walk, he was met by Open Skies. She stopped a pace away from him and whispered, low enough that the gate guards might not hear.
“Rivers, we need to talk about something.”
