Greyashe chapter 332 is entitled 'The necessity of walls.'

Previous chapter 331: Universe of everything.

Next chapter 333: Priorities.

Summary page

-Short summary-

At a place far away the newly appointed Kaiser mage appoints her right hand to go on an unlikely mission of apparent pride, while the parallels between a villain and hero become apparent.

-Long summary-

The top news in Aerhaart even weeks later is the death of Niels Aschner and Langston Hydon, and the apparent inability of the new Kaiser mage to do anything about it. Considering that this is the platform she ran and was elected on it’s not surprising that the emotions run the gambit of confusion to outright rage. In their eyes she had abandoned them when she had promised them safety from the ‘recall’. Whether this is the truth or not soon becomes irrelevant as emotion becomes the spokesperson of the people. Fortunately Azha remains cool headed and doesn’t outright rebuke the allegations of abandonment. Unfortunately this only raises ire towards her more, as now results are expected and a formal investigation essentially required. Truly the reason why she hesitates to act is perhaps only known to the Kaiser mage herself, which is mostly if not wholly the reason for the backlash against her.

Leah explains this to Delaney as he and Aicha walk down the hall of the Kaiser mage’s manor after being summoned by executive orders. She had been Acheron’s confidant for a time too long to be considered recent, but too short to be considered a veteran of these affairs, but she confesses to being utterly confused by Azha’s methods. It is as if she wants all of this negative attention…surely if she were to go address the people directly and confirm that she is indeed investigating the death of Hydon they’d understand and give her at least a modicum of leniency right?

Aicha confesses that she’s not too sure if any of that would matter now. She can’t say for sure –far be it from her to understand what is in people’s hearts. She’s still boggling over becoming a war hero when she feels like all she did during the WITCH war was to mourn Peter’s death and allow her agape to run wild, but she thinks that words at this point will fall on deaf ears. What the people want now is action, pure and noticeable. They had found that Acheron had been able to effectively rule on the mere notion of taking action, but now that the secret is somewhat out (somewhat, since the revelation was made in a room of magicians who were later  made to sign nondisclosure agreements), but with Hydon’s death neutralizing their effectiveness it wouldn’t be long until the whole world knows that Acheron was no more than a powerless man with a powerful cabinet known as the Kaiser mage elect who –thanks to Butcher are now effectively powerless as well. Azha would have big shoes to fill, and they only seem to get bigger the more she seems to sit and do nothing.

Delaney thinks to himself that they’re both right to some extent, but wrong in one fundamental matter. Azha holds the cards and she’s playing close to the chest. No one –even the enemy knows what she’s got planned and that is a form of strength. On that note he does agree that she’ll have to play a card eventually as even he is growing impatient with her inaction. His siblings are also affected by the recall, and while they have been able to tune their agape so that less of it is being recirculated into their bodies which is then replaced by Butcher’s ‘bad love’,  eventually they would completely succumb to its effects and become his playthings. Surely she could do something about this with her knowledge of the farseer’s secret of where one can fight off the effects of agape. Though on the contrary he realizes the importance of playing the right card on the first try in a situation like this, and knows that she is in an unbelievably tight spot for someone who’s got to lead a nation with next to no experience. Despite himself he still expects to hear something important at this meeting or he may have to question his decision to follow her ---although it’s more like he’s being forced to do so anyway…

This expectation all but dissolves when the trio enters the room and find the Kaiser mage in a seat at the end of a long hallway with her bare feet in the air and a bowl of candies at her side as she idly reads a newspaper. Leah and Aicha simply stand dumbfounded while Delaney’s rising ire leaves his body in the form of a shout of ‘What the hell are you doing!?’ The girls all eye him for a moment and he adds ‘Ma’am’, to his earlier outburst. Azha smirks and comments on the ‘nice save.’ If Hydon were here he probably would have been executed on the spot for being so brusque. Leah starts to complain about talking of the dead in such a way but the young Kaiser mage ‘nice saves’ herself by apologizing and commenting that she shouldn’t joke about such matters. Leah nods and Azha then answers Delaney’s question ---she has to keep up with what information is being distributed by the public to the public. Never know what kind of things Butcher might have the people say after all. So far it’s all the same thing ‘Kaiser mage staying silent’ this, and ‘Wrong decision to induct into office?’ that. Maybe it’s her youth speaking, but it’s all so boring.

Leah frowns. She understands that Azha and Acheron are obviously two very different individuals so their methods of dealing with issues like these will be different, but is being lax both in action and…attire really the best thing to do? Azha pops a candy out of its wrapper and plops it in her mouth, replying that she’s got to be comfortable in various ways right? What will being something she’s not do for anyone other than add a burden to the burden? Besides she’s not meeting with anyone right now, and even if she were she doubts that they’d be concerned with what she has on. Aicha smiles sheepishly and adds to Leah’s sentiment that they might not at first, but in this situation everything goes a long way.

The Kaiser mage is in a tank top that reveals her midriff and shorts that only go up to slightly above her knees. She has a blue bow in her pink hair which unlike her previous appearances is poofy and frizzy instead of straight.  Azha frowns and handwaves her concern, stating once again that comfortably is her highest priority. The three share a brief thought that she’s being a brat, which Azha smirks at and they realize that as a farseer she can figure out what they’re thinking to a highly accurate degree.  Delaney clears his throat and asks what was so important that she sent an executive order to have them come by?

Azha sighs and sits upright before descending from the chair which was obviously made for Acheron who was a tall and stocky man, as she literally has to climb down due to her petite stature.  Delaney can’t help but allow his thoughts to drift to how cute it must have been to watch her attempt to sit on the chair in the first place. The Kaiser mage then paces for a moment as if what she has on her mind is difficult to say. Finally she turns to them ---Delaney and Aicha in particular and asks them to find Hydon’s killer.

Aicha asks what she means, as they already know who he is. A boy named Van Raleigh right? Azha nods but adds that they don’t know his current whereabouts. So by ‘find his killer’ she means to actually ‘find out where he is’. Delaney’s eyes narrow as he asks what they’ll do after that?

Azha gives him a weak smile and replies that she knows she has to do something to keep public confidence, but this isn’t so much for her sake but for the sake of those suffering from the ‘recall’  and those who are put in harm’s way by its continued existence.  The more they grow concerned and afraid, the more likely it is they’ll fall to it’s effects. She’s not worried of what people think about her as her means of dress would evidence, but she doesn’t want to see anyone else get hurt. So it is her executive order to find Van Raleigh. Delaney as her right hand man would carry this out to the best of his ability, and report back to her once he does locate Van.

Delaney closes his eyes and nods. He swears by her that he will find Van and report to her immediately. He then nods in Aicha’s direction and asks if it’s okay that she accompanies him? Azha grants permission for this and Aicha swears to complete the mission given as well. They bow to one knee as Azha approaches them and she places a hand on both of their shoulders wishing them good luck. The two stand and Delaney asks if she will take care of ‘them’ for him while he’s gone? Azha places a hand on her chest and swears on her title as a Kaiser mage that no harm will fall on them while she is alive. Delaney then gestures to Aicha and the two exit leaving Leah and Azha alone.

Leah turns to her boss who seems for a moment to be lost in a world far from their own. Azha then smacks her cheeks and shakes her head. She then turns to Leah and asks her to convene a meeting of the press and magicians who are in the city. She intends to inform them of her decision to act on finding Hydon’s killer, as well as her plans. Leah doesn’t hide her surprise and despite herself blurts out her question, asking what had spurred her sudden change of heart? Azha walks past her and responds that her inaction was both a part of a bigger calculated strategy, and that she was assessing the situation to find the most effective and efficient means of dealing with this. While she can rely on her eyes to read people, she they’re only half as effective as reading abstract problems such as this, and of course rely on her having the mental fortitude to make a choice after gathering information.

Leah and Azha walk as she explains that she wanted to be sure that she was acting on the most complete account of the current state of affairs before doing anything. A knee jerk reaction might have the benefit of immediacy, but what about the moments afterward? Could she keep hoping to make the correct decision as a problem comes up? Case in point is the ongoing struggle against the ‘recall’ even now what they know about it is very little, which is why she hasn’t gone forward to attack it head on. More than that is understanding the ‘players’ in this ‘game’, and what the nature of the game is. The problem with all the players before now is that they were playing the game according to the rules they understand and not so much the rules that lead to victory.

Leah nods and asks if she has a complete understanding of the ‘rules’? Azha shakes her head and explains that there’s no way to ever have a ‘complete’ understanding as time playing the game is inversely equal to when one realizes they are playing and what they are able to grasp upon this epiphany. This ‘game’ is cruel and changes as often as time permits it to, and is handed down through the ages. She more or less gets some of the important details for the game currently being played ‘now’, which is good enough.

Yes…this ‘game’ called ‘life’.

What are people taught from a young age? Way before they realize that they are players in the game?

That is ---in most if not all situations that relying on others and diversity is the easiest way to solve problems. While there are walls between people of different cultures and classes, they can with time be overcome with patience, understanding and effort. As such the walls built in this game ages ago are ones that can be taken down.

However what if said walls are safeguards and by thoughtlessly opening them we are only inviting ‘disaster’? Disaster is a word often uttered to describe things outside our own understanding, but it can be so often applied to things we understand all too well. There might be something to taking down the walls built by society, but has one ever thought that perhaps these walls are an important facet of society’s continued existence? What if these walls are not just keeping disaster at bay but holding up the very society that people hold dear? The ‘game’ is played masterfully not by those who remove these walls, but understand their significance and act in accordance to this understanding. However this doesn’t make for interesting history, and it is the ones who break down these walls and invite disaster in who are remembered.

Azha stops and glances back at Leah who is trailing her. She reveals that she found through sources that Van Raleigh despite being a ‘farseer’ is able to use ‘agape’. Leah gasps and asks how he’d be able to do that? Agape and magic do not trust a farseer’s eyes so they should be unable to utilize it but he’s able to…?! Azha admits that she doesn’t know, but the moment he did this he became like another…

Butcher.

Delaney and Aicha stop by a holding cell, and the latter hangs back while the former sticks his hand into the cell and with a warm expression betraying his normal personality asks if the inhabitant of the cell if they’re doing okay? He knows the journey here had tired ‘them’ out, and apologizes for breaking the promise that they’d stay together but…he has work to do.

Delaney’s sister Aithne looks at him with empty eyes and murmurs that she can’t see him, and then asks for her mother. Delaney’s lip quivers slightly as he explains that she’s not here, but he’ll take care of her in her stead. Aicha looks pained too, as Delaney explains that when Aithne was born she was blind for a majority for her childhood….despite this their father was too busy fooling the people into thinking he was a powerful Kaiser mage to check on the daughter born out of a one night fling with a courtesan. The ‘recall’ must be causing her to relive that nightmarish childhood again….

He then goes to the holding cell next to hers and asks his brother to stay strong.

The large in stature Willard is curled into a fetal position in his cell as lightening sparks dance from his fingertips. He covers his face with his hand as the oni mask he normally wears is shattered in a corner of his cell, burned from an apparent inability to keep his power –his agape from leaking out. Delaney comments that his brother was born with a disfigured face and was only respected and feared by people when he studied agape to become a fierce warrior. Maybe Acheron just didn’t know of his existence, but the poor man only sought to find the father who never acknowledged him.

The middle child Delaney promises his older brother and younger sister revenge.

Azha and Leah are still in the hallway as Leah processes what Azha is telling her….this Van Raleigh is the same as their sworn enemy Butcher? Azha explains that maybe their overall raison d etre might be different, but their modus operandi isn’t. They are both taking the walls that are necessary for society to exist and ripping them apart. Butcher being magic in humanoid shape, taking with him all the human emotions such as hatred, vengeance and fear, and Van Raleigh being a farseer who has adopted magic to some unseen end. She can tell with her eyes that their meeting will open a Pandora box that could –will cause unequivocal change to their world,  and she with the responsibilities of Kaiser mage cannot allow that to happen without having some say in the matter. The walls they have torn down are not theirs to control, nor are the fates of the people who rely on that society to exist. So now that she is sure that these ‘walls’ must continue to exist to guarantee the safety of the people she is in service to she can now act.

Azha strides forward and asks Leah to gather the people she requested as she will make an official statement. Leah nods, unable to find a voice for her turbulent thoughts.

In essence, she is concluding that the world should be seen as it is and not as it should be. Is this truly what the leader of the people should advocate?