Pre-Planning The Gala

[Mandaz]

My lord is a masterpiece. Shaped by the hands of a powerful, unfathomable force, and given life on this land to that he might inspire those to live. I took my job as his body guard, not out of duty to my country, or loyalty to the governing system, though those were both factors. The real reason I stand and watch over him as he swims through his sheets at night was for the pure and selfish desire of looking upon him form. To stand in the presence of a perfect being such as he is the greatest joy I have found in life. Truthfully, I am unneeded; a body such as mine cannot even hope to accomplish the things that he can. If on some rare occasion any threat were to come to his beloved life, I’d imagine he’d be the one protecting mine. My real job is to be a heartbeat, a set of lungs, a voice for his ears to fall asleep to. I was told on the first day of duty that the Lord hated being alone. He constantly needed a living presence near him. I was told if left alone, he would likely be swallowed by his own beautifully terrifying thoughts. The very thoughts that constructed the floor I stood upon and the ground beneath that.

I watched over him, inhaling the sweet air that floated about his room. He always burned a special incense by his bed to soothe him, to keep his thoughts in order…or in disorder, from what I’m told. He seemed to have drifted to sleep hours ago, face buried in the down pillows that lined his upper bed. I watched his bare shoulders softy heave up and down with each measured breath he took. The angelic marks on his shoulder blades shifted from under the sheet as he yawned, mimicking the noise of a dove.

“I’m worried”

Shocked as I was to find that he was still in the waking world with me, it was exactly what he said that caught my attention. I hadn’t known my King for more than a month, but in that time I was nearly convinced that he was a being incapable of feeling any sort of negative emotion. Out of concern, and almost a little too hastily, I asked him why.

“About the world.”

His voice rang out to me, thick with sadness and regret. Perhaps I should have continued talking to him even after I assumed he had fallen asleep. Such emotion was in his few words that I could feel them weighing upon my own soul. I couldn’t imagine how much his heart must have been hurting. I thought back to my time before Persistencia. Loosing everything I had to the shadow that blanketed the world. That darkness that swallowed my life, and threatened to take me with it, until I was saved by his most divine light. The light of my lord and master. I tried to put his mind at ease. To tell him that the End was over and the world was in the process of picking up its ruined pieces.

“I know, but people. They’re all so sad. Can you feel it? I could, before I came here. During the End. A lot of them died. A lot of things were destroyed. It was really very sad. But now that it’s over, I want the living to feel happy again.”

As he spoke to me he turned to face me, and once again I found myself entranced by his features. I almost wanted to step down from my post to console him, to reach out and touch the flesh of the holy, but the dwindling side of my responsible mind held me in my place by his door. For once I said nothing to him, it seemed he wasn’t finished ranting to me, anyway.

“The world is in such a beautiful condition, though! All that opportunity to rise up from tragedy! Every human is a phoenix now! I hate to feel all this sadness. I wish I could bring joy to the people of the struggling new world. Not just to Persistencia. This island wants company. And its people want to inspire.”

He slid to the side of his bed, draping his bare feet over the edge as he sat up, stretching each outlined muscle in his torso. I could count his ribs; nearly see the sinew of his muscles hidden behind his spotted skin.

“Ah! I know! I know!”

The master’s mood quickly shot up, releasing me from that terrible sadness and giving me something to smile about. He bounced off of his bed onto the floor below, making sure to hide his more sinful features by swaddling himself in his sheets. A tease, I selfishly thought to myself, before regaining my composure to hear his words.

“The girl! She’s well, yes? All put together and walking around. How exciting! And what better way to celebrate life than with a reminder of how beautiful it is! Ahh take this down! This is the best idea; I can’t wait to tell everyone!”

The girl in question was indeed well, and practically a celebrity on our island already. Thanks to the blessings of the King and his brilliant mind along with support from the community, she was the gem of the island. I had yet to meet her, but the gossip I had picked up spoke of a delightful child whom our lord was very fond of. He shoved a pen and paper into my hand as he fluttered about his room, spilling out words and ideas faster than I could jot them down. It wasn’t verbatim, as I had a difficult time following most of his ideas, but the end result was what I believe to be a rather effective invitation.

“The Angel of Lucidity: Edric, King of The Rift hereby invites every interested creature to attend a once in a lifetime event. A celebration of life in all its glory and grandeur for one evening only. Each guest will be honored and provided with delicacies, entertainment, and excitement fit for royalty. Upon receiving the invitation, the only RSVP required is desire. Each beloved guest will know the directions in their heart afterwards. Though it is not required it is suggested each guest bring a small gift for a young girl, reasons for this will be revealed upon arrival.”

I looked over my notes and smiled as the idea finally hit me. Our king was a brilliant mind, after all, and when I fully comprehended what he was trying to do I felt almost as excited as he did.

“Haha! Now send out the most adventurous of the community in a different direction. Have them herald the news across’d the blank canvas of a countryside! In one week we’ll have a grand celebration and everyone is invited!”

I nodded and folded the rough draft into my pocket to be reworked, copied, and distributed upon his orders. The night carried on without him sleeping once, but rather us discussing ideas for preparing the celebration. The entire island would have to take part in readying the castle for such a grand event, but our lord was worshipped by the denizens of Persistencia. I was thrilled to see him in such high spirits; I only hopped that the visitors would love him as much as the rest of his loyal subjects.


~~~


They marched off, about twenty per continent, and one or two for the smaller islands and archipelagos. Each carrying flyers blessed by their king and a song in their hearts. They would cover as much ground as they could within the week, telling everyone and everything they came across the wonders of their secluded island. They would even help the less able guests travel there. Those without legs would be carried; those without ships would be ferried, those without any means at all would still find themselves drawn to the island. Filled with the desire to see Persistencia, it would be as if their hearts were tied to it. They would ache and push them towards the island and the longing would not subside until they reached the destination and met with the lord of the strange realm.