Dramaour City

𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲, 𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲...

The endless cosmos stirred silently as twelve immense energies collided at a single point in the Universe. Gathering on the surface of a barren moon, the gods of that world readied themselves to discuss a certain matter.

These gods are the Twelve.

Eleven of them gathered around the twelfth god, denoting his position as their leader. He was Amon, adorned in royal garb, a plumed crown, and a ram's head necklace.

"You all know why we are here."

The eleven gods nodded simultaneously, the image of a single young boy flashing in their minds.

"We have a decision to make. Ra and I have discussed it many times."

When Amon said this name, a heavily clothed figure perked up. This person's features were hard to describe, as they were in a constant state of shifting. They would appear to have youthful, healthy skin, then it would deteriorate and wrinkle, only to restore itself yet again. They held in their hand a crown, shaped like a solar disk, and adorning it was a glittering, golden asp. He was Ra.

The other gods looked between Ra and Amon and awaited their explanation.

"If we breach Heaven's Edict, we may very well lose our positions. In the worst case, we will lose our lives."

They all tensed upon hearing this, even Amon himself.

"However, without knowing the situation in Nether-Earth, we cannot blindly send 'the cursed one' back there. So we are faced with this choice: We either exert all our efforts to trap Gilgamesh on this world, then, with the time we have bought, travel to a higher Heaven and beg for their aid. Or, we do nothing and leave this world before he finds us."

Amon sighed. He could not believe that, as King of the Twelve Gods, this was the ultimatum he had to offer his subjects.

Then, one of the gods stepped forward, out of the circle. He was wrapped in a number of linen cloths, like a mummy, and appeared to be undead. In his few strands of sickly hair hung two ostrich feathers.

"What is it, Osiris?" Amon asked this not because he was curious, but because he was afraid.

"I believe I advised you, Great King, that we should have put an end to him the very day he was brought before us, before he had any presence in the world. The punishment then would have been far more bearable."

Amon's head fell, and his expression sunk. The other gods looked just the same. They had agreed with Amon back then; no one supported Osiris' decision.

"However, since that did not happen, I can only offer this one alternative."

As soon as they heard this, the gods all looked alive again. Even Amon was beginning to regain some lost hope.

"Gilgamesh's actions in the land suggest that he has plans to build his new family up. To do that, he will have to take action against the Kingdoms and our children of the Church. Though Heaven's Edict states that we cannot act against any mortal directly, it offers us leeway in this case."

Enlightenment slowly trickled into the minds of the gods. Eventually, they began to understand what Osiris was going to suggest.

"The Law states that, 'As one hopes to protect their world, in the face of measures taken against their world, a single chance is understandably granted to act in its preservation.' That is what we must do. Call on the power of the law, and use it to alter our world in such a way that we can preserve both it and ourselves."

"But that will not be enough! What one thing can we do that will indirectly result in Gilgamesh's end!?" Ra stepped forward, clearly frustrated that even Osiris' plan seemed to be doomed to fail.

Osiris shook his head, and the others then had a thought. Knowing Osiris, it was likely that he was about to suggest something absolutely underhanded.

No one cared though. Against Gilgamesh, no action was too underhanded.

"You forget that there are twelve of us. That means that there are twelve works we can each perform. Not every world is governed by one god, however the law is meant for all worlds. Therefore there is no reason why we cannot do this. It is, I dare say, a loophole in Heaven's Edict."

Excitement found its place on that barren moon. The gods, suddenly, had found hope again. The bleakness of the atmosphere had vanished. Now, there was only room for joyous planning.

Twelve acts needed to be performed. Twelve chances, offered to them by the law itself, to put an end to Gilgamesh. His spirit might be powerful enough to resist them, but could he resist the power of Heaven itself?

Could he resist an absolute power which would alter reality itself?

The Twelve would surely hope so...

𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗲 𝟮: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝘄𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻

____________________________

'This world has gone mad.'

'My own son attended the court, giving an all new proposition, and having the majority of the vote at his back already. His ire is directed toward the Church of the Twelve, as if he does not know they are a powerful enemy. He challenges the Cycle of Heirs, and champions the decision to remove Eusia's Eastern Province. Worse yet, none oppose him. How then can I?'

'I may be Pharaoh, but that position was given to me by the Church. If my people see the Church as their oppressor, then siding with the Church now may very well usher my son into an early succession.'

'Still, this does not perplex me as much as the recent news.'

'Not a week after the abolition of the Cycle of Heirs and the isolation of what was our 'Eastern Province,' the House Dramaour sent notice to us that they have now made themselves into an independent city-state, and will henceforth be recognized as 'Dramaour City.' My children seem amused by this.'

'Logan Dramaour is not an ambitious man. If he were, he would have offered some resistance when I first sent him to the East. His wife, Angelica Dramaour, is neither ambitious nor proud. So, I wonder then, where this all is coming from.'

'And what of their son?'

|Pharaoh-King Yehia's Thoughts As He Lays in Bed|

"Master Logan, Serkha Finnes and a party of five have arrived. Shall I send them in?"

"Yes, Lara. Send them in. Thank you."

Logan's hair had recently been cut, and his face was cleanly shaven. He was in his study, only the place looked quite different. In fact, the entire mansion had been renovated and refurbished.

Serkha Finnes, a man appointed landowner by House Dramaour, entered the room with five cloaked individuals. Below their cloaks, Logan could see that they were all dressed fancifully, like typical nobles would be.

"Milord Dramaour," Serkha Finnes bowed his head respectfully. The others followed.

"I won't take up too much of your time. I asked Mr. Finnes to bring you all here because I have something to discuss with you."

"I am told that your caravans frequent the Shafra Plains. Not only do you have information valuable to me, you also provide an opportunity for us to contact the Shafra. Right now Dramaour City needs manpower of the best quality available."

"I want the Shafra."

They all understood, now, why they had been called to Dramaour City.

One of the five hooded figures cleared her throat and removed her hood.

"Milord, Verra Earnes of the Shadowless Viper, at your service."

"Greetings, Ms. Earnes."

She looked at Logan with the blackest eyes he had ever seen, and tucked her brown hair behind her ears.

"It is my responsibility to transport weapons, books and foodstuffs to the Shafra People. I say this so you understand that not only do they know and trust me; they have learnt to rely on me and me alone. In this endeavor, I am most valuable to you."

Logan rose from his seat at the desk and walked over to the other side. He stood just before Verra and nodded. "What would you ask in return?"

Without wasting a single moment, Verra responded, "I would ask a Seat of Authority in Dramaour City, and the kingdom it shall soon become."

Her ask shocked all of them, Logan especially. Surely she wasn't that optimistic to believe that House Dramaour's future was set in stone.

"You do realize that, as far as the immediate future goes, you'd be offering us your service for free, don't you?"

Verra nodded enthusiastically, "Of course I do. I am not interested in a small, short-term reward. I wish for a future where the Shadowless Viper can stand side by side with a truly powerful force."

Logan nodded. After making arrangements for an advance party to be sent into the Shafra Plains, the meeting was over. Serkha, Verra, and the other four left the mansion.

Logan shut up his records and left the study, wanting to see his wife and son.

At this time of morning, she would likely be in the newly added wing of the mansion, where there were a number of large rooms. In one of them, Angelica was conducting a class with all the staff, landowners and workers that were attuned to Light.

For two days in every week, she helped them master the element of Light, but most importantly she was instructing them in something of Gilgamesh's design. Using Light magic, it was theoretically possible to commandeer a crop's growth.

Gilgamesh had used Angelica as a guinea pig, more or less, and together they found a way to make crops grow five times faster.

This was the main topic of these classes.

When Angelica saw Logan arrive, she was just wrapping up the first half of the day's class.

"Oh, Logan, I'm so glad you're here. I was just about to come looking for you."

Logan smiled and brought her in for a hug and kiss. "Have you seen Gilgamesh?"

Angelica shook her head, "I thought you'd have seen him. I have no idea where he's gone this time."

"Where does that boy go?" Logan sighed.

They shrugged after about half a minute of worrying, then left to have a snack together. It did not matter where Gilgamesh was, after all. He could go where he wished; they knew he would always come back and tell them what sort of mischief he had been up to.

Only, in his case, mischief was too much of an understatement.

At this very moment, Gilgamesh had run off on his own toward the Capital of Eusia. It did not take him long to get there, and once he arrived he headed straight for the palace.

Within the palace, a large number of nobles, servants of state, militants, business owners and the like had gathered under the supervision of Pharaoh, to discuss the matters at hand. Seated just below Pharaoh-King Yehia were his favorite children, Prince Heka and Princess Nailah.

They were attentively listening to the discussions being had, but waiting for the right moment to interject with their own opinions and solutions.

"When Eusia was founded, it had no direction. Our ancestors were free to choose for themselves how they would govern the land. However, once the forces from the Twelve-Head finished their punishment of the Shafra, we were brought under the Second Hand of the Twelve. She gave us direction- her direction. Now, we are nothing but servants to her; Seha Helal Barakat, Mother Superior." A scholar said these words in a loud voice, addressing his colleagues.

Another person spoke up after him. "Raim is right. The Church has dictated every advancement our society has made. Before we even realized it, we were worshipping blindly, having forgotten the ways of our ancestors."

"We do not need the Church to think for us," someone shouted.

"You are all fools," yelled a woman from the rightmost side of the court.

"Sister Ney speaks true," another woman, clearly of the Church by her dress, jumped in. "Without the Church, Eusia would not exist. We were saved from the rule of heathens, and our ancestors realized this. They did not resist, neither should we."

Her words sparked numerous voluminous protests, and the court was in disorder for quite some time.

King Yehia listened to all of this with a dark expression. His skin, though a dark color, seemed to pale as the talks continued. His eyes were surrounded by large masses of black, smeared onto them. His crown encased most of his head, and his facial hair was kept to the utmost standard of immaculateness.

Eventually, Prince Heka cleared his throat and stood up, extending his palm before him as he silenced the court and returned it to order.

"My friends, please. Let us not debase ourselves this way, hm?"

Over the course of six years, he had grown into a fetching, charming and capable young man, sporting an exceptional physique. His features had sharpened with age, and his mild resemblance to his father gave him a naturally majestic air.

All eyes landed on him, and all were silenced.

"The Twelve have, indeed, blessed our nation of Eusia. Whether or not the populace is thankful to Them is a matter we must deal with ourselves. It is not then blasphemous for us to renounce the Church and its ways. They may serve the Twelve, but they do not stand in Their place. We are free to worship Them our own way."

"I hear the words of the Sisters- of Ney and Faura- and I also hear the words of Lord Raim, Lord Nem, and Sir Tut. You all represent the ideologies of our people, and no opinion spoken here today will be ignored."

Prince Heka took a step forward, descending the staircase that led to the thrones.

"We shall renounce the Church, but we will honor its deeds. Without the Twelve-Head and The Second Hand of the Twelve, there would be no Eusia. However, we will no longer serve the Church. Our loyalty is only to the Twelve. None else."

Seeing that no one spoke up, he continued.

"I have been blessed with dreams. Dreams of our kingdoms future. I have seen just how grand Eusia can become. I thank Thoth of the Twelve for these visions." They all bowed in reverence after hearing one of the Twelve's names being spoken.

"We must set our sights afar. Look to the Northlands- to the Empire. Their people live directly under the Twelve-Head. The Mother Superior dwells in the palace of the Emperor and oversees his rule. We cannot be like this- we will not be like this."

The people of the court voiced their agreement, raising their voices in a combined cheer.

"So we must liberate ourselves. As long as we do not lose favor in the Eye of the Twelve, the Twelve-Head cannot act against us. Starting today, Eusia will be born anew and, one day, it shall stand at the forefront of this world-"

Prince Heka was interrupted by the sound of the doors being forcibly opened. As the light of day spilled into the room, the image of dozens of armored guards falling flat to the floor of the courtyard outside was revealed to them.

While everyone was fixated on the lifeless bodies of the guards, a young lad, no older than eleven, strode into the room with a placid expression. There was curiosity in his glistening silver eyes, and his arms were folded behind his back.

He eyed everyone with a look of utmost authority, making it clear that he looked down on every single one of them.

"Long time no see, Little Prince. I hope you remember me," Gilgamesh gave a smile that was not a smile to Prince Heka, and frostiness filled the entire court.