Snow felt lightly on a back alley in Ravenhold Proper as Aerendyl paced, blood roaring in his ears. He seemed oblivious to the way snow dusted his hair, his wings, his shoulders. Blonde curls spilled messy around his shoulders as he continued his pacing.
"Sorry, but I'm not sure on who I could send you to, and I'm currently handling prisoners of war," Aurum had stated.
"That's far out of my scope, sir, and I apologize, but I won't be able to help," His private doctor, Jones, had lamented.
"My colleagues back in Alcantore have not discerned anything zat I have not," Jabari had spoken softly, disappointedly.
"Come on, you have to have something," He'd pleaded with Alice, the prestigious heiress of a pharmaceutical giant, but even she'd clucked her tongue.
"Sorry, but after looking over what Jabari sent me, I've got nothing. I'm a scientist, but I specialize in robotics and the like, not viruses. I'll ask around," She'd added reasonably, "-but don't get your hopes up."
So lost was Aerendyl in his thoughts as he shoved across a street, midnight's lantern-light shining off his hair, that he didn't notice the crunch of boots on snow behind him as he stepped into another alleyway until a voice accompanied them.
"Hey, little godling- I hear you've got a problem," The voice chuckled, and Aerendyl turned around, angling his head to the side a bit too far, unable to measure his motions anymore; behind his eyes played a constant tapestry of Aurelia's hollow eyes, Eileen's swaying and Fox's bleeding ears.
"Who are you?" The angel snapped, narrowing his eyes; before him stood a man who seemed… average. He was neither tall nor short, fat nor skinny, fit nor unhealthy. His hair might have been brown or blonde, and was graying at the roots… and the suit this man wore, top hat and all, was neither cheap nor luxury. In every way, he was… just a man.
"You don't remember me?" The businessman smiled, neither warmly nor coldly. "My name is Casmilus, god of trade- we spoke, once. I was human, then, so I suppose you wouldn't remember me."
"What?" Aerendyl shook his head, knees bending instinctively. "What are you on about?"
"I believed in equality more than anything," Casmilus chuckled warmly, now, smiling as he inspected his fingernails. "Always have- tit for tat, eye for an eye- however you want to word it. You don't remember me at all, I assume?"
"I don't," Aerendyl shook his head, scowling.
"Then allow me to paint you a picture, angel," Casmilus narrowed his eyes. "Several heroes have been summoned from another world- or, they were meant to be heroes. A foul, false king sends his men to hunt them down- and here you come, punching holes through helicopters, juggling them, killing INDISCRIMINATELY." He raised his voice, but did not quite shout, as if speaking to the deaf. "Where was the chance to surrender, oh great and wise Aerendyl?" He added in a whisper, angling his head in a mockery of Aerendyl's initial curiosity.
"I don't understand-"
"Of course you don't- did you ever think that maybe we were just following orders? That maybe, we would have brought them in instead of killing them? Maybe we would have even said we couldn't find them, and backed off?" Casmilus paced closer now, and Aerendyl snapped, grabbing the man's throat and lifting him off the ground- and then, his world spun.
When Aerendyl came to, and his vision cleared up well enough to see straight, he was on the ground, golden blood smeared across his eyes.
"I told you I was a god," Casmilus laughed, planting a dress shoe on the side of Aerendyl's skull; the archangel shuddered but held still this time, snow soaking his cheek, his side. "Foolish to try and grab me- listen, Aerendyl… I begged you to let me live. I said that I'd do anything- and I never would have touched down, I'd have said I couldn't find them, or couldn't find room to touch down," He chuckled, and Aerendyl's eyes widened as he remembered ripping the blades from a helicopter.
"Ah, there we go," Casmilus whispered. "You do remember. Good. After you threw me, even though I never wanted to hurt anyone… even though, I would have truly done anything to live…" He shook his head, laughing. "I would have given ANYTHING, and you could only TAKE, you're not an angel, and you're not a hero- but hey," He chuckled, stepping back now, plastering on a pleasant smile. "I'm a forgiving god. I'll save your friends- would you like that?"
"God of trade, right," Aerendyl snapped. "What do you want in return?"
"Not even an apology," Casmilus chuckled again, shaking his head wistfully. "You haven't changed."
"There's no way for me to know if you really would have stopped- I did what I had to do," He, Aerendyl, snapped in kind. "I saved them-"
"You saved no lives, net," Casmilus shrugged. "Saved ten, killed more. That's what you do though, isn't it?"
"I-!" Aerendyl snapped, and again, his world spun- behind him, a car crunched, glass flying as he slammed into it- Casmilus was grinning in an alley across the way, and before Aerendyl could straighten, the god was there, grabbing his throat, pulling…
Casmilus moved to throw Aerendyl, and somewhere between the start and the end, they'd moved to an empty barn gods-knew where- Aerendyl bounced across the floor, crying out as his shoulder dislocated, hitting a rotting wall and cracking it, but stopping.
"Ugh…"
"This feels good, I have to admit- fair though I may be, I'm actually doing myself an injustice; fair would be to kill you," Casmilus hummed as he approached, seeming quite pleased with himself. "Do try to fly away, I dare you," He added as Aerendyl's wings ruffled.
"What do you want?! I'm sorry I-"
"An apology," Casmilus laughed, once again planting a foot on Aerendyl, this time his chest, and shoving the angel down, smiling. "-It means nothing if it must be coerced, and is not given freely. You're not sorry, Aerendyl."
"When I died," The extraordinary and yet normal-looking man continued. "I refused; so burned and so genuinely enraged was I at the lack of fairness that I came back with the powers to grant any wish, any desire- so long as I deem it fair. How hilarious that the definition of fair, in any given case, comes solely from me, though. Contracted Arms saw me as a risk, tried to have me put down- so, I've been hiding."
"Why are you here now?!" Aerendyl snapped. "If you're going to kill me, do it!"
"I would love to," Casmilus sighed, pushing his foot down, and Aerendyl yelped, grabbing the ankle holding him down as his ribcage cracked, pushing… but he was helpless, like a small child fighting an adult. "However… then I'd be like you," Casmilus finished, scowling. "I will save your friends Aerendyl- because if I help you, then you will have to live with that. So yes, what would I want in exchange- everything."
"My life?!"
"No… I'd take your wings," Casmilus nodded. "That- and your safety. Emotional, of course."
"Emotional… safety?"
"I'll remove that nagging fear that stops people from telling you the truth," Casmilus whispered. "And I'll strip away your wings because you're not a fucking angel- who knows, maybe that'll kill you."
"Like hell I'd give up my wings," Aerendyl snapped, shaking his head. "There'll be another way."
"Sure," Casmilus nodded, finally stepping back and letting Aerendyl breathe. "See how that works out. If you change your mind, just scream my name," he added, and the next time Aerendyl blinked, he was gone. The angel lay there, for a time; alone, unsettled, and overwhelmed as he slowly winced, popping his shoulder back into place. His sternum had cracked, but it was healing… even so, his heart ached with labor, and Aerendyl closed his eyes, letting the pain win over and falling deeply, inescapably unconscious.
-
"William," a voice called down the dusty hallway, and the man in question jerked, slowly opening his eyes- he'd passed out, at some point, and by now, he could hardly remember the last time he'd eaten or drank. Still, he managed to stand from his cot, staggering to the bars of his cell and looking out- there were footsteps approaching, but nobody visible yet.
"Yes? Who's there? Mark?"
"Not Mark- the others are asleep for now- sleeping well, of course. The least I can do, if I wish to knock them out, is offer a true respite," The voice chuckled, approaching William's cell. "My name," He added, stepping into view, "-is Casmilus."
"Great to meet you Casmilus," William rolled his eyes exhaustedly. "What do you want?"
"I want to offer you a chance to get out of here," He smiled. "Should be fairly easy- all of the guards are asleep. Sadly, I can't just… you know, help you. Open the door. It's not how the rules work- I could unlock your cell and let you run, sure, but you'd just be shot."
"What…?"
"Call me a genie," Casmilus shrugged, smiling. "So I'll make you a deal, William, and it won't be the prettiest one but it'll be real. I'll take your normalcy- you'll never be a nobody again. You'll always have power that's sought after… and in exchange, I will put you on the path to making a difference. That's what you want, right?" Casmilus trailed off, a small smirk tugging at his lips, even as he looked away as if ashamed of the gesture.
"You sound, insane," William laughed, leaning on the bar and closing his eyes. "You make me a hero, and I spend the rest of my days as one? What's the downside?"
"Loneliness, mostly. Responsibility." Casmilus's voice softened, turning sagely. "Would you accept? If it was real- if I really could."
"I would. Without hesitation," William added, laughing. There was no reply, for a time… and when Casmilus opened his eyes, the bars he'd leaned on dissolved- there was no man to be seen save for himself and the corpse rotting in the cell across from him.
On the wall, painted in shimmering, silvery letters, sat two words; 'Good luck'.
"What the hell…?" Shaking his head, William hurried down the hall and stumbled, leaning on another set of bars… Gods, I need to go slow… how long have I been down here…?
In another moment, he managed to reach Mark's cell, and leaned on those bars, too, looking down at the man where he slept on the cot… part of him wanted to wake the man, but then what would he do? If he managed to break Mark out…
Anybody associated with my escape would be killed… better they know nothing.I hope you get out of here, Mark- maybe I can come back here. I can… what?
I can rally people- Starria must fall.
Setting his jaw, the young man shoved a mess of his dark hair out of his eyes and continued on, shoving through a door at the end of the hall labeled simply as 'rest'. Inside, a guard room; two armed soldiers snored loudly on the floor, blissfully asleep as William stepped around them, headed for the locker room, marked clearly a few paces away.
Inside… showers.
The Gods do love me, after all, I should think.
Ten minutes later, William emerged from the guard's room, leaving two snoring soldiers behind as he began to ascend the stairs. There was, on his tongue, the taste of the granola bar and snack cakes he'd found, and he'd drank from the shower- now, his gait was confident and unbothered, and he clutched a rifle to his chest as he went.
William wasn't sure what he'd emerge to find- but he wasn't shocked to see another generic prison hallway at the top of the stairs; more sleeping guards and soldiers alike.
"Casmilus! Why did you free me?" He called, somehow certain nobody would wake- there was no vocal reply, no motion… but as he went, another set of shimmering lettering appeared on a wall to his left.
'Because isn't it just so unfair, what Starria does to people?'
"Yeah," William nodded, pressing ahead. "What am I to do, though?!"
A final message appeared as he reached another door- this one with a glass window, leading to a lobby and an exit door.
'Refuse.'
William glanced around; on the wall, a ring of keys.
A smile broke across his face, for the first time in what might have been days, weeks, or months as he ripped it off the wall.