Archibald The Spy

The quiet night enveloped the world. Unbeknownst to the creatures enjoying the solace the world offered, is a man gazing at the moon. The tranquil expression on his regal face blended delightfully with his surroundings. Inside his royal chambers, he created a place for him to bask underneath the moonlight.

But underneath the relaxed façade is a torrent of emotions surging inside him. And soon the peace of his chambers vanished upon the appearance of a silhouette behind him. The silhouette appeared just like a ghost, silent, undetectable and without any hints. However, the man maintained his gaze on the moon despite his appearance.

"The battle's finally over." The voice of the silhouette contained traces of joy.

"Were you able to take a closer look?" The man replied.

"It's not a matter of being able to, your majesty. I am simply an insignificant speck of dust in the presence of those two." The silhouette humbly stated.

The calm countenance of them man gained a look of sympathy for his subject.

"That battle truly shocked the world. Thankfully, our kingdom was spared from any calamities. This must be the last remaining mercy of the world for us, the human race."

Once again, the place descended to its earlier stillness. Both the man and his companion found the silence to be soothing.

"He's gone now." The silhouette chose to break the silence.

But the man did not find it insulting in his part. He and the silhouette go all the way back.

"He said he'd come back right?"

"But when?" Worry evident in the silhouettes tone.

"That's the future generation should worry over. But for us, we need to keep on moving forward. We must protect and preserve this precious gift he gave us" The man placated the worry of his friend. And the silhouette immediately calmed down.

"So what are we going to do now?"

Silence once again reigned in the chambers as the man sank in deep contemplation but his eyes never left the moon.

After a while, the man spoke. "Isn't the moon wonderful?"

"...?"

For years, the silhouette has accompanied the man but he never saw him this eccentric. Suddenly asking about the moon. What the heck is a moon?

"Your Majesty, can you please enlighten this subject about this thing… called moon." The silhouette already has a vague hint regarding this "moon." But he decided to clarify it just to be sure.

The man did not look the least offended by the clueless remark of his servant. "The thing above. Illuminating this very world."

'I knew it.' The silhouette raised his head and examined the form of the moon. But there's something not right in this situation. "Who named it like that?"

"I did." The king replied. But the silhouette detected shameless bragging in his voice.

"But-"

"I named it. And it will be called like that."

The silhouette fearing for his life decided to ride along with the antics of his king. Knowing his stubbornness, his head might roll before he could speak any retort. "Yes, a very appropriate name for such a beautiful creation. I praise his majesty for coming up with such a title." The silhouette activated his maximum bootlicking skills. The last thing he wants is his salary docked by the shameless king, worse, executed. Even someone like him, the leader of the kingdom's secret service is susceptible to the whims of the king.

"Flattery will take you nowhere. But I appreciate it." The king replied without batting an eyelid.

"But your majesty, what does this moon have to do with the future of our kingdom?" The silhouette asked curiously.

"I'm writing a book." The king stated as a matter of fact.

If the man standing in front of him was not his boss, he would have strangled him to death. Put the future of the kingdom in a book? What does this book have to do with anything?! A book won't solve any problems. Did you bang your head somewhere, or you finally degraded to an idiot?

'This kingdom's finished.' He thought somberly. "Your majesty, I don't think a book will help the future of this kingdom. What we need is a solid plan-"

"Shush, shush." Interrupted the king, his index finger stuck to the silhouette's mouth. "I'm writing an epic legend here, Archibald. I would like every ounce of support I could get here. I've already had the epilogue constructed here." He said tapping at his temple.

The overwhelming emotions left the silhouette speechless. If his king is going to be this insistent, he might as well listen. Surviving up to this point in spite of all the carnage surrounding their kingdom is largely attributed to his majesty.

"It will be a legend about the hero and how she becomes the goddess of the moon." The silhouette remained silent.

"It will also be revolutionary. It will not follow those stupid poems or songs about legends. It will be written in a straightforward fashion. No fancy words or styles, just pure relay of information to the readers. And I'll call this style, prose." The king performed excessive hand gestures and flamboyant actions just to express his ideas as the silhouette listened to every word of the king.

"Then we'll distribute it to the populace slowly converting them. This will become the doctrine of a new religion. A religion worshipping the Goddess of the Moon." By now, the king's look resembled a zealot of a religion. The fanatical gaze almost alarmed the silhouette.

But there seems to be a very obvious problem at hand. And he wants to get at the bottom of it. "Your majesty, if I may be so presumptuous, form what I recall the hero is a male. Why are we making a legend about a goddess?"

"Nonsense!" The king said loudly. "Have you read those legends? Although grounded to reality, which of them were historically accurate? Also, having the main character male is old fashioned. As I have said, this is a revolution."

"But what about his exploits?"

"We edit then embellish it. That's rule number one in writing a legend." The fanaticism in the king's eyes is still obvious.

The silhouette found all of the ideas absurd. "So what does this legend have to do with the kingdom?"

"We'll expand our kingdom under the banner of the goddess."

"But what about the gods? People might be unenthusiastic about the idea of worshipping another god." A look of worry flashed on the silhouette's face.

"We have to remember that all major god worshipping kingdoms and empires are all gone. The Deicide Coalition? A bunch of jokes. It was all the hero's hard work if I remember. And even if some survived, they will be at their last legs. Easy pickings for us. As for the neutral kingdoms? Heh, cultural invasion should make them submit to us."

The explanation provided by the king is both simple and logical. As a kingdom mostly intact after the calamity, they could surely conquer others easily. If it was in the past they would not dare to think of the idea. But now? They might be the only major superpower left.

"So the book will provide a unified culture and instill a strict order among the people. It is not just a story but it will become the new core and foundation of this kingdom."

*clap clap clap* The king clapped his hands in joy. "You finally got it!"

Once again, the king has proven his ability. This strengthened his belief towards him even if sounded weird earlier.

"You truly are wise, your majesty." He said as he kneeled with respect.

"Now gather the army! We march in 7 days."

"But your majesty, I don't lead the army."

"Oh, right. Gather spies, in the name of the Goddess!"

The silhouette was about to leave the chambers when he was called.

"And don't forget to call me Holy Emperor."

"But why?"

"You're standing on a religious empire Archibald. You better watch your manners.

"Yes, Holy Emperor."

***

"The legend of the hero is the oldest and most well-preserved piece of literature in all of history. It is personally written by the first Holy Emperor and is the basis of all historians regarding the Age of Gods." Ai-chan explained in her class.

"And on top of that, The Moon Empire is the most powerful nation during the pre-Dark Age, they practically ruled the whole world at that time. As such their contribution like the unified measure of time, especially the month is all thanks to them. But universally, their most amazing contribution is none other than the legend. The epic of the hero, which to this day is still the best story of all time."

'If I ever found that First Emperor, I'm going to kill him again!' Ye Han thought grimly.