Leo and Solomon entered the palace. Black and White stripes lined the ceiling. Instead of the grand statues seen in Ahab"s palace, intricate words were painted on the walls.Knowledge. Understanding. Discernment.
These three words hung in the mind of Leo as he read them over and over from the walls. The walls repeated these three words. Over and over again.
Solomon rambled, but his words were so few and so heavy at times that Leo couldn"t completely ignore them.
Solomon said, "How do suppose the words of a wise man fare? Can they save a city from destruction?"
"I"d like to think so," Leo said.
"Yes, the words of a wise man will save a city, but no one will remember him."
Leo was silent.
"But still," Solomon said, "The city is worth saving. But what do you suppose a city is really?"
"People?"
"The essence of a city is the people, so yes that answer is satisfactory. But what about the heart of the city? What do the inhabitants of the city hold dear to their souls?"
"I don"t know," Leo said.
"Well I"ll tell you," Solomon said, "It"s the future of their children. If you save the children, you"ve saved the soul of the city. But... that"s just my opinion."
"I think it"s a wonderful answer," said Leo.
"But what of the adults?"
"What of the adults?"
Solomon stopped in front of a stair case and said, "I still haven"t figured out how to save the adults. When the catastrophe comes, I need to know how to save the adults."
"What do you mean?" Leo said.
"A man of understanding such as yourself should understand by now what I mean, but don"t let it get to you. Not everyone can be as wise as me. Once I get you to my level of wisdom, or close enough, you can help me figure out how to save the adults."
Leo felt slight offense from Solomon"s statement, but he couldn"t refute the validity of his previous statement. Leo followed Solomon up the staircase; and upon reaching the top, Solomon pulled Leo by wrist down the hall and into a room with thousands of books, a small desk, servants dusting, and twenty book shelves ten meters high, with ladders at each bookshelf.
"Sit here," Solomon said.
So, Leo sat.
Solomon moved about his private library with ease. Servants scuttled within the large library, that doubled as Solomon"s reading room.
The ceiling.
Long stripes of Black and White painted the ceiling. I knew not how to interpret the stripes. Did they represent Solomon"s psyche? Or did they represent something more sinister? Leo sat at the desk while Solomon lay a long piece of parchment on the ground.
Leo said, "What"s that?"
"Turn your chair and see," Solomon said.
Solomon commanded the servants cleaning, to leave and gave orders to the last servant for no one to come in the room or even come close to it. He closed the curtains, snuffed the lights and cast a mix of fire and void magic upon the ceiling.
A green spark created a flame. The flame didn"t illuminate the room, but it resonated with the parchment lying on the floor.
The green flame spread to the parchment and created a fiery image. The image was of a city being destroyed by a great fairy. Green light filled the entire room, and Solomon with a grave face said, "Who told you those words?"
Leo was silent. The subsequent events stunned Leo, and he knew not how to answer the question posed by Solomon.
Solomon sighed.
He said, "Actually, it might be more appropriate to say, "Who drove you to say those words? Who put you in this state?""
"I, I don"t know what you mean," Leo said.
"You still haven"t figured it out?" Solomon said, "It was me, your old friend Solomon!"
Leo"s eyes opened wide when he realized that The Solomon before him morphed into the familiar old man from Little Vicious Village.
"It"s been a while," the old man said.
"Wait, if you"re here, then, The dream is your doing? Wait, I"m confused."
"Relax, This is all just a projection I created to communicate with you. Actually it"s a message."
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Leo said, "But, your response the response of the town, you couldn"t predict that right, you couldn"t predict my actions. I have my own free will!"
"But you see," Solomon said, "That"s a little taste of what wisdom is. I merely predicted how you would react based on your experiences."
"What!?"
"I. I sent you to experience the city. I sent you to bond with the children. I sent you to experience the city, to see the demons, to see the bones, to get a taste of the horror present in this city. Make no
Mistake. This city will be destroyed on the fifth day, but I won"t be there to save the children. You will save them."
"Save them? You won"t be there? I"m so confused."
"The demon eats at Ahab"s psyche. It wants to kill me, so I don"t get in the way of its plans."
"But you won"t die... right?" Leo said.
"Oh, but I must," Solomon said, "It"s the only way to save the children."
"Why is it the only way? Why have you brought me to my death!?"
Leo ran through the flames and grabbed at Solomon"s robes. He lifted Solomon off the ground and threatened Solomon.
"Foolish boy," Solomon said softly, "Do you still not see the hand of destiny?"
"What!" Leo roared and shook Solomon, "Destiny? It"s you that"s been controlling my destiny, not destiny controlling me!"
"Was the concern you showed for the dying girl we saw on the side of the road a sham? I hope it wasn"t. The children of this city need you."
Leo dropped Solomon on his feet.
Leo turned away and said, "What do I need to do? Actually, are the children even alive, at all?"
"Oh, they"re alive. Their bones still have life energy attached to them. All you need to do is wish for the Great Fairy to revive them."
"How?"
"Do you remember the wind pillars?"
"Yes," Leo said.
"They"re actually the wrath of the Supreme fairy. It"s supreme magic, the kind that utilizes the natural laws of this world."
"So."
"Listen, Leo! Escape the city. Wait outside of the city for the wind pillar to descend. The magic circle I implanted inside of you will call the Supreme Fairy to you. That"s when you make your wish for the children to be saved."
"How do you know this will work? For some reason, the wind pillar hasn"t descended despite the ma.s.sive amounts of demons in Ahab"s city. The wind pillar isn"t guaranteed."
Solomon sighed, "We Don"t have much time left. But, all I can say is that my death will attract the Supreme Fairy. It will come back for my wisdom."
The surroundings started to blur. Leo noticed that the room was fading and so was the figure of Solomon. The green fire was snuffed. Darkness crept around the two.
Leo said, "Wait! When will I see you again!?"
"Oh child," Solomon said, "This is the last time. Now please, honor my last wish. Let me die, so I can summon the Supreme Fairy. The soul of this city needs to be saved. The children need to be saved, once and for all..."
Leo woke up.
He saw that he was still in Raynark"s inn. He didn"t see Raynark while he rubbed his eyes and looked to the left and right of him.
He remembered Raynark"s words. He needed to leave the city. He had awoken on the morning of the fifth day.
"What about Raynark?" Leo thought, but then he read a note in front of him.
The note said:
"Leo, when you wake up, I will be gone. I was only able to survive as long as I did due to others sacrificing their souls to prolong my life. The children. This city. We were mere projections to deceive those who pa.s.sed through. Did you not see the hollow eyes of the Adults!? The demons used dark magic to project us. They used our bones as the catalyst.
The major powers of the plains didn"t want to waste resources to save us. No one would save us. Solomon traveled far and wide in search of a king that would aide him, but alas, when he came back and decided to destroy the city, I knew the souls of the adults were not able to be saved.
But the children! If only the children could be saved. Their light still shines. The adults offered their souls to the demons first, in hopes that the children may retain theirs, despite being bones...
Solomon"s last and final plan! With his death, the children will be saved. With your wish, the children will be saved..."
Leo clutched the letter. He shed a few hot tears, and then ran out the door. He felt the hot rain trickle down his face, as he ran towards the city gate, while the trial of Solomon was about to begin.
Dark clouds tumbled, rumbled as the thunder shook the sky. Lightning flashed, and the city was still, silent as if in mourning, waiting for the execution of Solomon.