The New Star: Interlude 18
The Lady Atropos, Chosen of Saturn, made her way silently down through the archives of the Forbidding Manse of Ivy. Down, below the commonly frequented levels, below the levels where only the archive-spirits visited (and that infrequently), to the levels where no-one now ever travelled. There was hidden an ancient door, which allowed her to enter and leave Yu-Shan in secret. Its existence was known only to her and her Sifu, who had concealed it here centuries past. She made her way silently, and in the darkness. She had no need for light.
There was movement ahead; she was not alone. Swiftly, she brought to mind the excuse for her presence, the one she had prepared decades ago, but hoped she would never need. It died in her mind the moment she recognised the other person down here with her, for she knew she would never fool him: Chejop Kejack, the oldest and most powerful Exalted in Heaven. He stepped out from the silent, dusty side-aisle and blocked her path.
Each was perfectly aware of the other’s position, though they confronted each other in total darkness. They called upon their essence to tell them the wisest choice to take. Neither liked the result, though both acted upon it.
“There have been three of our number killed this year so far, my lord. Would you make it four?”
“Indeed, yes, all our losses are tragic. This has been the worst time for the Bureau since the Storm of Roses incident, when we lost two noble servants of Destiny.”
Atropos’s reply was a fraction, just a fraction of a second too late. To Kejack, it spoke volumes; it told him all he needed to know.
“Two?”
He sighed. “You seek to take news to your former Sifu, the traitor Azrćl, that the late Resplendent Water Sutra was not The Key, only a decoy. I cannot allow you to do this. It seems to me that we are at an impasse, though I am, of course, open to suggestions as to an alternative course of action?”
“In all history, no Chosen of the Maidens has ever killed another,” insisted Atropos.
“No?” Kejack raised a single eyebrow, which insisted otherwise.
And with that, they fought.
*bzzt*
“Atropos (Chosen of Endings) is dead. Her Essence has passed on.”