The Oasis Sought

"The Oasis Sought"

Isme began to read the first scroll that caught her eyes.

“I know many things.  I know of The Fall and the nihilistic power plays that followed in the Dark City.  I know of the Overlord’s rise to power and all those utterly crushed beneath him.  But more than any of these I know the art of patience.  By watching the failings of lesser archons, I learned that one cannot become a lord of a worthwhile kabal if one fails to prepare.
 
“I watched and waited for the moment.  I carefully built alliances over the course of decades.  Oh I could taste the power waiting for me to devour.  But I waited.  Impatiently I waited.  I felt parched as if I had crawled through the scorched obsidian sands of Aquairis, only to find the water of the oasis tainted and undrinkable.

“The time drew near.  Witch cults and kabalite warriors had secretly pledged their allegiance to me.  My cadre was poised to fight if any resistance was met.  I could close my eyes and see myself upon the throne of bone and flayed flesh.  I would be the one to raise the kabal to upper tiers, no longer content to sell flesh and trinkets obtained through raids.

“I smiled when my venom blade slid slowly and sweetly under the ribs of my wretched, pathetic ‘master.’  I basked in the twisting emotions upon his face as he slid to the floor.  There were no contenders for the throne, so complete was my plan.  

“Only then did I realize the thirst that had consumed me.  Power.  Absolute power.  So quenching, so life giving.  I ruled thousands and I would not relinquish that.  

“There are two kinds of alliances in the city of darkness.  This den of thieves, and murderers, and destroyers.  There are the alliances brokered.  There are the alliances earned.  I was a fool and that was the lesson I did not learn.  I was a student that did not learn from her master, as I had already decided I was the better.

“I know not why they came.  They appeared from nowhere.  A flash of light and the throne room, my throne room, exploded in violence.  The Rillietann were everywhere and nowhere at once.  Fragmented prismatic after images leapt around the room.  When those brightly hued fragments coalesced into form, a harlequin stood and ruthlessly dispatched one of my true born guards.  The hissing sound their kisses made was followed quickly by screams of agony as the kabalites fell.

“Quickly I fled to my inner sanctum to write these, my last words.  My end is here.

“To those who might read these words know this:  knowledge, power, prowess matter not.  The thirst will never be slaked.  And the water sought to quench that undying thirst will always be poisonous.  There is no absolute control.  It is all fleeting.”

Isme rubbed her eyes with a thumb and forefinger as she crumpled the scroll.  And paranoia began its hold…

A nice story about the pitfalls of hubris!

Well, that's the catch with oases. Sometimes they turn out to be mirages. Or even to have mirage launchers.

Cool story!

Surgeongeneral wrote:

"The Oasis Sought"

Isme began to read the first scroll that caught her eyes.

“I know many things.  I know of The Fall and the nihilistic power plays that followed in the Dark City.  I know of the Overlord’s rise to power and all those utterly crushed beneath him.  But more than any of these I know the art of patience.  By watching the failings of lesser archons, I learned that one cannot become a lord of a worthwhile kabal if one fails to prepare.
 
“I watched and waited for the moment.  I carefully built alliances over the course of decades.  Oh, I could taste the power waiting for me to devour.  But I waited.  Impatiently I waited.  I felt parched as if I had crawled through the scorched obsidian sands of Aquairis, only to find the water of the oasis tainted and undrinkable.

“The time drew near.  WitchWych cults and kabalite warriors had secretly pledged their allegiance to me.  My cadre was poised to fight if any resistance was met.  I could close my eyes and see myself upon the throne of bone and flayed flesh.  I would be the one to raise the kabal to upper tiers, no longer content to sell flesh and trinkets obtained through raids.

“I smiled when my venom blade slid slowly and sweetly under the ribs of my wretched, pathetic ‘master.’  I basked in the twisting emotions upon his face as he slid to the floor.  There were no contenders for the throne, so complete was my plan.  

“Only then did I realize the thirst that had consumed me.  Power.  Absolute power.  So quenching, so life giving.  I ruled thousands and I would not relinquish that.  

“There are two kinds of alliances in the city of darkness.  This den of thieves, and murderers, and destroyers.  There are the alliances brokered.  There are the alliances earned.  I was a fool and that was the lesson I did not learn.  I was a student that did not learn from her master, as I had already decided I was the better.

“I know not why they came.  They appeared from nowhere.  A flash of light and the throne room, my throne, room throne room, exploded in violence.  The Rillietann were everywhere and nowhere at once.  Fragmented prismatic after images leapt around the room.  When those brightly hued fragments coalesced into form, a harlequin stood and ruthlessly dispatched one of my true born guards.  The hissing sound their kisses made was followed quickly by screams of agony as the kabalites fell.

“Quickly I fled to my inner sanctum to write these, my last words.  My end is here.

“To those who might read these words know this:  knowledge, power, prowess matter not.  The thirst will never be slaked.  And the water sought to quench that undying thirst will always be poisonous.  There is no absolute control.  It is all fleeting.”

Isme rubbed her eyes with a thumb and forefinger as she crumpled the scroll.  And paranoia began its hold…

Hmm. An interesting take on the rise-and-fall story arc. It's very tricky to get a full story in only 500 words. Good work.

Thank you Darkness and Jimsolo!

I was trying to write from the perspective of someone with just minutes to live. I hope I was able to capture that frantic last testament without it sounding forced or TOO stream of thought.

It seemed a teeny bit altruistic for a Dark Eldar, but that's what artistic license is for!