Jackal Among Snakes

“I’m fine!” came Sophia’s voice, insistent and panicked. He didn’t need Anneliese to tell him that she wasn’t.

Internally, Argrave’s heart was in turmoil. He looked at the two knights by the door and said, “Give us some space.”

The knights left the door, ensuring that no one came near as Argrave and Anneliese did what they intended to. Meanwhile, Anneliese cut the lock with magic. Together, they pushed open the door. They saw an old man in gray robes sitting on Sophia’s bed, and at once prepared to defend her. But when he turned his head to look at them, Argrave felt his heart sink and his stomach churn.

“Hello. I’m Tower Master Castro,” he said.

With the name given, the image of a man Argrave had once called friend began to overlap with this uncanny and grotesque imitation. He was bald, true enough, but his face was nothing like Argrave remembered. There were moles were there ought not to have been. His eyes weren’t quite the right color. His face was wrinkled, yet his hands were not. His gray robes lacked the owl sewn onto the shoulders. And above all, not a twinkle of magic emanated from him.

“I have a robust succession plan, Argrave,” ‘Castro’ said, sparking a memory in Argrave’s head. The next words were all-too familiar. “My position in the Order has basically already been delegated to those who will take my place. And I assure you, they are as steadfastly loyal to you as I am.”

Argrave slowly turned his horrified expression away to look at Sophia. She was curled up in the corner of the room, surrounded by all the dolls she’d brought to life in the past days.

“Sophia,” Argrave said, doing his best to keep his voice even. “What did you do?”

Sophia trembled at the sound of his voice, but did not lift her head up.

“Maybe I want it,” ‘Castro’ mused. “I am many things, but famous? I think not. Over three hundred years of living, and I can still walk through the streets of any city without so much as a widened eye in recognition. Make sure the historians write about me, maybe hire a minstrel or two… and this old man can breathe his last.”

“Sophia,” Argrave repeated, louder.

“I t-tried to bring him back,” Sophia said, voice muffled and trembling. “I wanted h-him to be here again. To help you. To be your friend.”

“Why?!” Argrave demanded, louder than he’d intended to.

“I-I heard p-people talking about Castro… about how important h-he was. A-about how he was good friends with you, an-and that he was one of the best spellcasters in the w-world.” She lifted her head, revealing her dark and puffy eyes. She started sobbing uncontrollably. “I j-just… just wanted to help. I wanted you to… wanted you to…” her tears overcame her speech, face twisted in abject guilt and misery.

Argrave walked up to Sophia as ‘Castro’ said, “I will punch a hole through the Shadowlanders and the golems both. And through that hole, you all shall leave.”

As Argrave stood above Sophia, the chef toy offered to cook Sophia a meal. The two Mr. Knights stood guard against Argrave. The seamstress was sewing a thread into Sophia’s green dress. Their chatter was low, yet present, but even still he saw only Sophia.

“…please don’t make me leave,” Sophia pleaded as he kneeled. “I wanna stay. Please don’t send me back.” Her trembling intensified. “I’ll d-do anything. Please. I’ll punish myself, o-or you can…”

Argrave took hold of Sophia and pulled her in. Her sobbing and intense trembling persisted in his arms, but he endured it silently as he stared at the wall trying his best not to join her in tears.

“…please don’t send me back,” he heard her faintly.

Argrave stroked her hair, trying to find words for the situation. But what could be said? This was precisely the sort of nightmare he’d been hoping to avoid. He should’ve objected, should’ve done something before things spiraled out of control like this. But then… it had been only days, and already things progressed to this.

“I’m Tower Master Castro,” the living doll said.

Argrave closed his eyes, swallowed the sadness in his throat, and said to her, “You’ll be okay, Sophia.”

It was the only thing he could promise, after this.

#####

After an incredibly trying morning, Argrave finally managed to get Sophia to go to sleep. Rather than keep her in the same room she’d been staying in, Argrave separated her from all her dolls and ‘Castro,’ instead leaving her in Argrave and Anneliese’s room that she might have some comfort without the memories of what she’d done. She’d promised not to use her power until they’d talked about it again, and despite everything, he trusted her to keep that promise.

After, they quietly moved the shallow imitation of the tower master to some place far removed from everyone else. It would be a disaster of the highest magnitude if his existence was revealed. It was already a blessing that no one besides Anneliese and Argrave had seen anything. The Alchemist insisted on seeing ‘Castro.’

“Hmm. It’s much more disappointing than I thought,” ruminated the Alchemist, studying the faux-human as it babbled on the few phrases Sophia had once heard Castro say. “Nothing more than a big doll, created from her shallow memory of the man. It’s even worse than those toys she brought to life. If she could recreate S-rank spellcasters, that might prove useful. This one can’t hold any memories and is utterly fragile. In a word—useless.”

Argrave’s temper flared at the Alchemist’s callousness even now, but he checked himself lest he do something stupid.

“…what do we do with him?” Anneliese’s voice was quiet.

“He’s an invalid,” the Alchemist said. “He can probably eat food, drink water, and do the bare minimum to keep himself alive. Aging, things like that—only time will tell if he suffers from such afflictions. Still, best to kill him. Sophia can make something better that we can do further studies on.”

Argrave looked at the Alchemist in disbelief. “She makes… this, yet you want to keep pressing?”

The Alchemist looked down upon Argrave with his cold gray eyes, and said one simple phrase. “What’s changed?”

Argrave inhaled deeply once again to tame his anger. Only once he was calm did he open his mouth and say, “My mind has changed, that’s what.”

“Need I remind you what’s at stake?” The Alchemist looked at Castro. “Did this rattle you so easily? That thing is basically the same as most people wandering the lands—mindlessly repeating what they’ve always done, until they die without having added anything of value to the world. Does it upset you it came from her will instead of a womb? Ridiculous. The only difference between the two is the time needed to create it. At worst, Sophia is guilty of efficiency.”

Argrave stood agape, disbelieving the words he was hearing. “You yourself were most worried about Sophia becoming something monstrous. How can she value life if she can create it at whim? How do you value something that’s infinite?”

“Mortal lives have always been a renewable resource. Copulate, and our kind spring forth just as any other animal. You shed no tears for the cattle you rear for slaughter, nor the game you end in your hunts.” the Alchemist shook his head. “You’re speaking to one who’s made human chimeras, lest you forget. You met Pawn. You met one I made in your own image.”

“Sophia’s a child. Unlike you, she didn’t realize what she was doing before she was confronted with it, and she’s definitely going to have a warped mentality if we keep poking and prodding without stopping to contemplate as you intend to,” Argrave pointed. “No more of this, Raven.”

The Alchemist stepped forward. “The dam has been burst. The seal has been removed. We set upon this path, Argrave, and we must be the ones to see it through. Stop being foolish.”

“We will see it through,” Argrave nodded. “But not like this. Because the last thing I’d want, Raven, is for Sophia to become like you.”

Argrave turned and left, listening to no more guidance. His conviction was unswayable. They had shown Sophia her power—now, it was Argrave’s duty to ensure that the world would be made a better place because of it. He passed by ‘Castro,’ still repeating the few lines that Sophia remembered him saying, and felt a pang of distress. Everything about the man screamed that something was wrong, here.

But could it even be fixed?

#####

Despite the gravity of the situation with Sophia, the world and its cold realities continued to move onward. That was made abundantly clear when Elenore contacted Argrave, informing him that the gods voyaging across the sea had an important message to impart. Two more days, and they’d encounter the first bit of resistance in their long voyage across the sea.

The Great Chu was amply prepared for this coastal assault. The roles had been reversed. Argrave himself had seen the tremendous disadvantage the attackers had in these sorts of battles, and soon enough, it would be his turn to assault. Many of the gods in his Blackgard Union would be at his back, just as those of Qircassian Coalition would be at his front. He had hoped to avoid involving himself in fights of this scale. Now, however, it seemed a necessity.

The Qircassian Coalition and Erlebnis waited on the shores of this new continent. Sataistador and Ji Meng both were allies with knives behind their backs, waiting for weakness. In a matter of days, it would be time to dive into that all. But Sophia and her abilities stayed on Argrave’s mind, haunting him.