Mood:
caffeinatedTopic: General
...
Ardashir gripped Kairos by the neck, like a mother cat would her kitten, and lowered him back into the chair.
“I mention Basincrest, dear boy, because it represents progress. Progress keeps us alive, and progress keeps us one step ahead of the desert wastes that surround us: the scorched earth that is just waiting to claim our civilization among its many, many casualties.” He leaned close. “Now,” he whispered, “we have the opportunity for progress aplenty, and all that stands in the way is one silly boy’s silly little story.” Ardashir drew a purposeful breath: “What did you see beneath the fault line, young Kairos?”
He didn’t want the truth, Kairos reasoned. He was looking for some other answer, something to justify his expedition into the fault, but Kairos knew that nobody should go near that place, not ever. What he had seen was as horrible as it was deadly. He couldn’t give the Elder the answer he wanted, so he repeated his assertion:
“My original words are true, Elder. I swear it.”
Ardashir’s countenance changed from warmth to iciness in an instant. He removed his hands from Kairos’ shoulders and snapped his fingers. A militiaman sprinted up the steps to the deck in short order.
“Away with this naughty louse.” The Elder demanded, waving a hand at Kairos. “For his disobedience in unauthorized spelunking he is under house confinement until further notice.”
The militiaman literally dragged Kairos down the stairs while the Elder gazed out across the town at Basincrest, with his back to the steps.
“And, my good militiaman, for the boy’s desertion of the Ogsand family this morning he has earned twelve lashes, vertiginous oils included, if you’d be so kind...”
...
--- "The Reign of Eden" draft, pages 25-26.
Proving once again that cruelty towards orphans can be FUN!...
