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The weather was getting a bit colder as autumm was progressing, but the middle of the day was still sunny and warm, so Quiet liked to have the windows open then. Even though Teeriel’s mension was in a rather quiet part of the city, the buzzing of Weztmarch still reached him better this way. His papa had told him that during autumm trees and plants grew very colorful with reds and yellows and browns as they prepared to sleep during the winter. Quiet was curious to see how that would all look, it sounded very nice!
But first, he had homework to do, unfortunately.
And a very annoying guest to take care of.
- You are a very ugly lizard.
The very ugly lizard frowned up at Quiet from the table, but it was true. Its scales had the same shine and shape as what bugs had on their bodies, its head was flat and it had two very long whiskers on either side of its pointy nose.
The lizard had snuck in through the open window while Quiet was alone in his room with a book opened on his desk. The angel was perched atop a chair that was tall enough for him to comfortably read.
Child, I must speak with you, it hissed in Quiet’s head, ignoring his remark.
- I’m learning to read, can’t this wait? – he whined, staring down at the pages.
He had to read twenty whole pages and then he had to tell Teeriel what it was all about. And the big man knew this book, he would know if Quiet was bluffing about the content.
Yes, Quiet already tried that once.
… Okay, twice.
- Do not be ridiculous, brat. This is far more important than some letters – the lizard spoke up, finally changing back to the tall pale man, Linaarian.
…Or was it Raaathma? Whichever.
The newcomer stood aside from the desk, he had to duck his head as not the bonk it into the white painted ceiling. He glanced around uncomfortably as if he was afraid the entire house would suddenly fall on top of him.
- Letters and reading are important, Linaarian. Teeriel and papa said so – Quiet stared up at his visitor, fully unimpressed. – And I saw it in the big library, too. I want to be clever, unlike you.
Linaarian’s mouth twitched at this.
- I will not take long, your book can wait – he said then.
- If you are here to cause trouble, my papa can see the future and he will kick your butt, you know – Quiet innocently reminded the tall man.
- I’m not here to cause trouble, for Trag’Oul’s sake – Linaarian rolled his eyes, which was a bit hard to tell because they were entirely black and beady.
- Then?
-…
- Ah, you are here to be annoying, yes – Quiet made the observation.
Teeriel told him it was very important to always look at the signs and think things through based on those.
- No, you midget, I—! I just want to talk to Inarius! – Linaarian barked, sounding very annoyed.
… And a bit worried, maybe?
Quiet tilted his head to the side.
- Why?
- That doesn’t concern you, child.
- You want to talk to Inarius, and I am kinda Inarius, so it concerns me, yes.
-… You are so adamant about not being Inarius, but only when it is convenient.
- Hey, you are trying to get into my head! – Quiet frowned at the tall man. – And you don’t like Inarius! You will start something bad in there and I will get hurt! And then my papa will really kick your butt out of this world!
Linaarian grumbled something under his nose before speaking up louder:
- I understand Teeriel was able to speak with Inarius not long ago. I want to do the same, about matters connected to his past specifically. I am not seeking trouble, like I’ve said. And I would be a fool to raise a hand against the Worldstone’s might so brazenly.
Big stupid words aside, Quiet kind of understood what the tall man was saying.
- Alright. Then what’s the magic word? – he finally asked after a bit of a pause.
The glare he got in return made him chuckle.
- Brat…
- First, what is my name? Second, what is the magic word? – Quiet hopped off his chair and placed his hands on his hips. – Papa and Teeriel taught me the magic word! You can ask them for help if you don’t know it yet.
Linaarian looked like he thought about plucking him up and throwing him out the window, but Quiet was not even the least bit worried. His papa was in the house, he would come to help if things got ugly. But they wouldn’t get ugly, Linaarian was on their side. He was just a very grumpy and annoying part of the team, admittedly.
The tall pale man pressed his lips together, took a sharp breath through his nose, then finally spoke up very slowly:
-… Quiet. May I… speak to Inarius… please?
- See? You do know the magic word! – the child nodded, content with his small victory.
He offered his hand to Linaarian who took it into his own much larger palm after a moment of hesitation.
- Don’t be mean now – Quiet warned him one final time before he brought his guest deep into his mind.
oooOOOooo
- Well, this is a surprise. What do you seek, Linarian?
The bundle of light hovered at eye level in front of Rathma, within it Inarius was sitting on seemingly nothing, blinking slowly and almost groggily at his son. His left hand was still holding onto the barely recognizable red silhouette inside the other half of the light. Out of the two of them, Rathma was definitely the more anxious one, despite being four times bigger than his father’s current form. The nephalem stood with his arms crossed and a defiant expression on his features as if he was bracing for the biggest argument of his entire life.
- First, you need to get my name right – Rathma grumbled.
- That second name was given to you by Sanctuary’s Serpent.
- He is called Trag’Oul.
- I shall call you by your birth name, with which I and Lilith had welcomed you into this world.
- He was— is more of a parent than either of you ever were.
- If that is how you remember it, there is little point in me trying to argue – Inarius shrugged before his glare got a little harsher. – However, if you have only come to debate your name, then I suggest you leave me to my peace. Or I shall enlist the Worldstone’s help to remove you.
Rathma returned the glare with equal force. Tense silence settled on them for a moment.
- I’m… not here for my name. I do have one question – he admitted finally, glancing away.
- “Why can I not die”? – Inarius guessed, mellowing quickly.
-… Fair, but no. I always assumed that was just insane luck.
- I would not call spending millennia in isolation, then being the prisoner of Mephisto for equally as long “luck”.
Rathma let out a long breath through his nose before asking:
- My question is… What fate had you decided for us?
Inarius blinked up at him slowly like an owl:
- During the Sin War?
- You know damn well what I mean – Rathma scowled at him. – I meant originally. Right after Lilith’s Purge, when you’d emerged from your hiding place. What had your original plans been for my kind? Be honest.
Inarius blinked again but remained quiet. Rathma waited for a few minutes.
- Your silence is already the answer – he angrily noted then, waving dismissively and moving to turn away.
- I had wanted to spare you all.
That gave the nephalem a pause.
-… You are just saying that – he hissed, slowly turning back to his father.
- You asked for my honesty. If you do not wish to accept it, that is on you, Linarian.
Rathma snorted dismissively, crossing his arms.
- I am speaking the truth – Inarius said softly. – Your kind’s potential was terrifying, absolutely… yet we loved you. So many of my family had spent so much time during meetings, praising and boasting about their sons and daughters, how fast you all were growing, how sweet and clever and strong you all were. I’d done so too, perhaps as one of the loudest in the bunch.
-… Now you are definitely lying.
Inarius chuckled bitterly.
- I wonder whether you had gotten your stubbornness from me or from Lilith – he shook his head before continuing. – Whether you wish to believe me or not, I had been proud of you, how you acted as an older brother to every other nephalem, keeping them out of trouble for the most part, watching over them. All that, and I barely had to ask you to take that role up.
- You’d never told me any of that. Forgive me if I’m being skeptical.
- I hadn’t known… still do not know how to raise an offspring. I was afraid it might get to your head. And I am an angel, Linarian. Among us, fulfilling our duty properly within the system is the expectation, not a deed worthy of celebration.
- You’d spat in the face of everything the Angelic Host stands for. You’d constantly praised the Renegades for their work.
- Because we were carving out a new life, a new norm together. We were pioneers, we needed to support and lean on each other without question, if we were to survive. You cannot fathom what it took to bring Sanctuary into being: over two centuries of nigh-constant ideas, work and spell-weaving from hundreds of creative minds. You’d already been born into the established system, thus in my eyes you had duties to fulfill. Despite all my rebellion, I have never fully abandoned my born nature.
The corner of Rathma’s mouth twitched but credit goes to the nephalem, he regained control before he could snarl.
- You just have the perfect excuse for everything, don’t you? – still, the venom was palpable in his voice.
- I recognize that might have made me a bad father. Were I given a chance to redo, knowing all I know now, I would do a lot differently. Your birth might have never occurred, considering how I wouldn’t have tolerated Lilith’s presence in my life then – Inarius frowned at him, his wings rising slightly.
- Many a time I’d wished that had been the case – Rathma grumbled under his nose, glancing away from his father.
Either Inarius didn’t catch it, or he didn’t care as he shook himself slightly and got back on track:
- Regardless, to answer your question: I had been conflicted greatly during my meditation, yet I eventually realized, without a shadow of a doubt, that your kind needed to be spared. You were the result of our striving for a new life, much like Sanctuary had been. You were part of our world, and we loved you. So I spent more time trying to come up with a solution to keep Sanctuary safe, yet I had no answer for that. I had emerged with the intent to pull my family together just like in the old days, and figure out a way to keep our home hidden while allowing you to bloom into your own… But I had found them all dead – Inarius’ voice grew frail at the last sentence, his wings drooped.
Rathma almost felt something upon hearing the grief, but it was quickly snuffed out by rising anger.
- Yet in your “pride and love” you found it best to gravely weaken our children! Sentencing our future generations to short lives full of hardships when you had no damned right to make that decision! Do you see why I do not believe a word you are saying?! – he lashed out.
- That had been a decision of desperation and grief. I couldn’t come up with a better solution, and you were all too young and shaken by Lilith’s massacre still to consult.
- Oh of course, you have every right to grieve, you have every right to ruin the lives of countless generations in your sorrow! But when we rose and tried to defend our children, you slaughtered us all!
- I was defending myself, as I had every right to. Your very first action was to call for violence against me! It had never occurred to you to even try to talk first!
- You wanted me to talk after watching our children and grandchildren be born weak and sickly?! You hadn’t even told me of your solution, I had to track the unseen magic myself back to its origin! You stabbed us in the back! – Rathma roared, claws flared out, eyes open and gleaming dangerously.
- You pursued me endlessly when I tried to flee! What else was there for me to do except stand my ground and protect myself?! – Inarius answered in equal volume, wings spread wide and challenging.
A flash of pain raced across the mind around them, catching both of them off guard. Next to Inarius, the Worldstone’s half was fidgeting anxiously, trying to pull the angel back into its embrace. Inarius withstood the pull but he gazed at it with sorrow, his slack hold growing tighter again around it.
- And here I am… still failing our unity, where Eye had succeeded on his part – he mumbled crestfallen.
Turning back to the silent but fuming Rathma, Inarius glared at him.
- Linarian. When you saw your children weaken, was your decision to send your brothers and sisters against me made with full clarity and cold logic? When you witnessed them dying because of your call, were you calm and rational?!
-…
- Am I the only being not allowed to make terrible mistakes at my lowest point? Had your decisions not been over the future of others as well?
Rathma’s glare would have set him on fire if that had been an ability of his. The nephalem stood rigid, arms pressed against his side, fists shaking.
- You are a mistake of Anu – he pressed the words out of himself, voice hoarse from suppressed rage. – And I hate—I loath you and how you cornered me now to defend you against my bitch of a mother… You won this round, you freak.
-… I never planned any of this and this was never a game, Linarian.
- MY NAME—IS— RATHMA!
Another flash of pain around them, this time from the nephalem’s outburst. Rathma was knocked out of his blind rage, glancing around with worry. Inarius remained motionless, staring at his son with unreadable eyes, but his wings hung low. He then moved, slowly turning back to the Worldstone and reaching to embrace it.
- I am sorry for weakening your kind with the Worldstone, Rathma – he said softly.
Then he was gone, melting back into the light, leaving the nephalem to his raging thoughts. Before Rathma could do anything in response, the dark void lurched around him and he was all but thrown back into his own body. He staggered back slightly, shaking his head to regain his bearings.
Quiet was stumbling away from him, whining and clutching his head. He sat down hard on his bed by the far wall and curled into himself. For a brief moment, his shaking body became see-through… but then it quickly solidified again, thankfully.
- You—are so sssssstoopid! – the child hissed through clenched teeth.
Rathma needed a minute to find his footing again and somehow regain control over himself. He stared blankly at the floor, thoughts racing too fast and roaring too loud for him to make any kind of sense of them. It was safe to say this is not how he’d intended the talk to go… but that final sentence really knocked him off course.
The room was silent safe for Quiet’s muffled “ow ow”s and mumbled words that could have been curses. Eventually, Rathma took the deepest breath he could muster and straightened out… promptly smacking his head into the cursedly low ceiling. Suddenly once again keenly aware of the dimensions of the space around him, the nephalem screwed his face up and bit down on his tongue before he would blurt out a necromancer curse that would have absolutely had an effect on something.
- I… Bloody hells, I apologize – he finally said uncomfortably as he opened his eyes.
The anger completely evaporated from him, leaving Rathma with a feeling of emptiness… and Trag’Oul only knew what else. It felt terrible tearing up again all those ancient wounds that had never quite healed, he now realized. Yet he also couldn’t truly place Inarius’ final words, nor could he decide how to feel about it. On one hand, a simple “sorry” felt hollow after everything Rathma had witnessed or gone through because of the angel.
… On the other hand, this was the first time either of them had ever uttered an apology to the other. And it was Inarius who broke the habit.
Rathma felt a bitter taste in his mouth he couldn’t explain.
- I told you not to be mean! I told you not to start trouble! But my head hurts now because of you! – Quiet exploded at him, glaring daggers.
- That was not my intention, I swear…
- You will not talk to Inarius again, stoopid pale man!
- Hopefully I will never have to – the nephalem let out a loud breath, slightly easing up his pose. – Again, I’m sorry… Quiet. And thank you for the opportunity.
Quiet angrily grunted, sitting up properly on the bed.
- Now I’ll have to read with my ouchy head. Thanks, Raaathma – he grumbled, glancing at the wide open book on his desk.
He already hated the idea of having to remember the letters and then tell Tyrael what he read.
Rathma stared at him with unreadable black eyes. Quiet stared back, wondering what he had said wrong just now. But then the pale man just turned away and transformed into the small ugly lizard perched on the desk.
If I have an idea for building out that “information web” in Kehjistan, I will let your… father know, it hissed telepathically.
- Yeah, okay. Whatever – Quiet huffed, walking up to his chair and climbing on it.
And good luck with your homework, child.
- You sure didn’t help with that! – Quiet sent a deadly glare at the lizard.
It stuck its tongue out for a second, then it scurried outside into the slowly chilling air. Quiet closed the window behind his guest. He looked back at the wide open book with many many words in it and let out a resigned sigh.
He hoped his headache would pass soon.