71 Uncovering Truths (1/2)

Neither grandfather nor grandson had spoken a word, even after the door to the grand court had closed with a bang. Corco turned to walk towards the throne, still in no hurry to speak. In the end, it was on Caelestis to break the silence. Eager to explain himself, he walked towards Corco, his arms spread wide.

”Laqhis, is this about the gossip in the city? You wouldn't believe those ridiculous rumors from the commoners, would you? Personally, I am appalled by their audacity! Believe me, there is no way Pacha would-”

”Stop.”

The grandson hadn't spoken before, but his firm, indifferent tone muted the grandfather's attempt at an excuse. Corco had stopped three steps short of the throne. He was not his second brother, so he took a seat on the stair which led up onto the dais before he continued.

”The spy you saw three nights ago was one of mine.”

”...”

With the old man's voice taken by the revelation, Corco gestured at the carpet towards his front.

”Have a seat.”

Apprehensive, Caelestis moved up and sat down in front of the dais to face his grandson, Corco in between himself and the throne. The one stair of height difference was already enough to force the elder to look up to his descendant. He waited for Corco to speak up, but the prince had begun ignoring his elder again. Instead, he looked down onto the fingerprints he had collected earlier, lost in thought. The elder could feel sweat form on his upper lip. Finally he broke the oppressive silence with a shaky voice.

”Laqhis, you wouldn't believe the words of some simple warrior, would you? Please don't do anything rash that would hurt the family later. I know your values mirror mine. We all want the same: For House Pluritac to prosper. Is that not the truth? So please, do not ruin our reputation any further and make sure those rumors stop. If you have any problem with Pacha we can solve them between ourselves, without the involvement of outsiders.”

At last Corco stopped playing with the paper in his hand and looked up. His eyes were dull and his voice was flat, bereft of any emotion.

”You think this is about Pachacutec? I don't care about my new uncle, or about your own... infidelities. There's much bigger issues for me to worry about.”

He held the prints out towards his grandfather.

”You know what this is?”

”...it is the paper with Amautu's fingerprints, is it not?”

”That's right. It has yours too, by the way. This whole fingerprint thing didn't just fall out of the sky, you know? I learned this method long ago, long before I returned to Medala.”

The ancestor's eyes opened wide in realization, but Corco ignored his elder's struggles and continued on.

”Before the Pachayawna took the body back, I've taken samples off of dad's... father's corpse. In fact, I have the samples with me.”

To prove his words, Corco pulled out another piece of paper from his deep pocket sleeves.

”When I found father in the wax, I took fingerprints from the entire surface. This is a copy of the original. Anyone who touched the wax would have seen his state. They knew what happened to the emperor and didn't say a thing... and now I have your fingerprints to compare.”

”Laqhis...”

”Honestly, I'm surprised Chaupic didn't tell you about the fingerprint issue. He was there when I took them, after all. It seems even his word is worth more than yours.”

”Laqhis, you don't understand! Please listen to me!”

In a panic, the old man tried to defend himself. He scooched back and forth in his uncomfortable, cross-legged seat. Corco remained dead quiet. This time he made no attempt to interrupt the elder's plea for forgiveness.

”Titu worked all his life to unite the empire, to return it to peace and prosperity. He was a good emperor as well, achieving all he set out to do. Yet as he neared his end, he saw an entire life's work fall apart before his eyes. When Titu died... the empire was in chaos. The foreigners stretched out their claws to take what was ours, both from the east and from the west. The Ichilias were making trouble for us, again. Then there was that prophecy from the priests, which only made matters even worse. A good part of the houses are still focused on their prayers alone. They have yet to come to the capital for the assemblies. Instead, they merely sit at home and wait for the end.”

The old man rubbed his eyes with a heavy sigh, weary from the burden placed on his shoulders.

”Not to mention, he had always hated his choice to send you off all those years ago. He had always wanted to meet his son again, to apologize. I just... couldn't let him go like that. So I preserved the body after death, to delay his journey. So he would stay with us for longer. So I could... fix things. Show him that he did well. Show him that his life mattered.”

A flustered Caelestis ran his fingers through his hair and grabbed onto his scalp.

”He was my son! The least I could do was let him start his journey in good spirit! Once the new emperor was crowned and the empire was at peace, I would have broken the wax casing myself! But I could not tell you. I could not tell a soul. How could you understand my pain? In your position, I would have failed to understand as well... but it was my duty as a father. To me, there was no other way.”

As the body of Caelestis crumpled into a heap, Corco straightened his spine. His eyes still dull, he looked back down onto his own clothing and retrieved something else from his sleeve: A green glass vial filled with a viscous liquid. The prince opened the vial to pour its contents onto the carpet to his front. Caelestis followed his grandson's hands with his eyes, as his body rocked back and forth, in a futile attempt to seek comfort in front of the throne. Finally, the silvery liquid had escaped its confines and formed a drop on the floor between the two men.

”Quicksilver?”

”That's right. It's the blood of the earth. The holy metal. Quicksilver... or mercury. Depends on who you ask, really. We use this stuff all the time. Though when I say 'we', it's mostly the Medala priests. Most priests don't get very old, especially the seers at the sites of pilgrimage. You wanna know why that is? It's because mercury is toxic. Getting just small amounts in your bloodstream is gonna kill you.

”But mercury is heavy, and in pure form won't easily absorb through the skin. If you only ingest a tiny amount, you can actually survive it. Still, you're not gonna end up unscathed. Do you wanna know the symptoms for quicksilver poisoning? I bet you already have an idea. I couldn't check my father's physical symptoms, not with the state I found him in, but one of the more frightening symptoms is a loss in mental capability. Memory loss, confusion, insomnia... all things my father suffered from, according to everyone I asked. Surprising, right?”