Jeremy Laszlo - The Choosing

It was a suffocating feeling, being tangled in the web of a Goddess. Seth felt like the world literally rested on his shoulders. No matter which direction he chose there would be consequences. He decided then that whichever direction he did choose it would be for the betterment of man, not for a god. He looked to Sara, the one person who shared this knowledge with him, and vowed once again to himself to do all he could to protect her. He would do what was right to make the world his angel lived in a better place.

Seth sat silently for a long time thinking to himself about the predicament he was in. He wanted nothing to do with the gods, though now he knew he had no choice. He tried to imagine how his future would play out. In Seth’s mind he imagined the world as a scale. The scale weighed dozens of different armies, different outcomes. Seth stood at the center of that scale. A movement in any direction would cause an unbalance in the strained equilibrium that now existed. If what he believed and what he felt was the truth, then how could he choose who the winners and losers would be? Thousands or perhaps tens of thousands would die in a drawn out war among the gods. Seth was not familiar with all the other races of men, but he knew it was not right to condemn them to death. No matter which choices might lay before him, none of them were the right choice. None of them were true and just. Each and every outcome Seth could think of led to bloodshed. Each of them evil. Seth tumbled within the darkness of his mind. Consumed by the grief growing within him he was lost for a moment. Lost to the world, lost to his senses, lost to himself. It was only when Sara had risen and come to his side, wrapping her arms around his neck that Seth sought to free himself from the dark thoughts. Returning his mind to the physical world Seth had come to a final decision. He knew well that each and every choice would be one he would regret. However he decided to forever choose the quickest, less costly path to an end. This he hoped might spare lives, and in turn not make him the monster the Goddess planned him to be.

Focusing on Sara to keep his mind from wandering to darker thoughts Seth rose to his feet. Sara rose with him and the two stood for a long moment in each other’s arms.

“I think it is time to adjust your mood.” Sara said, her teasing smile appearing on her lips.

“Is that so?” Seth asked innocently, his dark thoughts fading as he looked to her angelic face.

“Yes let’s go to bed.” Sara replied as she turned and strode across the room exaggerating her hip’s twist as she went.

“To sleep?” Seth asked already knowing the answer.

“Perhaps at some point my love.” Sara said over her shoulder still walking away.

Seth too crossed the room to his side of the bed and began to undress. Unbuttoning his tunic he revealed the small leather bound tome that was his gift from the Goddess. Not wanting to dwell upon his bleak future yet again he tossed the book upon the floor, and using his foot slid it beneath the bed. Undressing quickly Seth crawled into their bed and pulled the covers over himself. Seth had settled into bed just in time to watch Sara pulling the silky top over her shoulders. She faced away from him and he took a moment to admire her beautifully shaped body. Sara turned to face him, once again revealing her barely disguised figure. Seth smiled as Sara crawled into the bed like a graceful feline. Sara too slid beneath the covers and inched her way the remaining distance to Seth’s side. Rolling to her side Sara wrapped one leg loosely over him and laid her head upon his bare chest. Feeling her small warm body pressed once again against his own Seth fought his body’s urges. As Seth tried to sway his changing blood flow Sara slid her hand up his side and began to dance her fingertips across his bare skin. With a loud sigh of defeat Seth let go of his inhibitions and in spite of himself he grinned as Sara watched his face quietly giggling.

The night passed for Seth and Sara much like the previous night. For long hours they experimented pleasurably with one another’s bodies, finally finding sleep when their eyes could remain open no longer.

Late into the night Garret and Ashton stumbled back into the front door of The King’s Herald. Garret swayed this way and that uncontrollably as Ashton attempted to guide and support his larger friend. They precariously made their way through the building and up the stairs to their floor. Guiding Garret through the door to the room they shared Ashton strained as he led his friend through the room. Bringing the large man to his bed Ashton let him fall heavily upon it. Within mere seconds Garret had begun snoring and Ashton too undressed and climbed into his own bed.

The intoxicating effect of ale and rum was not enough to spare Garret from what sought him this night. Deep in a drunken slumber Garret dreamed lazily about the things he had done and seen previously in the evening. He watched once again as beautiful women swayed and twirled before him in perfect rhythm, dancing to the music of a nearby group of minstrels. Garret’s dream again changed focus as he again visited a booth in the street with his friend. The booth was filled with carved wooden puppets each unique in their design. A small man stood inside the booth smiling, revealing several missing teeth. Again Garret’s dream shifted focus and he stood outside the magnificent temple of Gorandor looking up at its intricately carved walls. Stepping forward Garret began towards the temple’s entrance. He walked through the door that stood open into the evening air and paused to let his eyes adjust to the light within. Garret waited patiently as his eyes adjusted to the new light, and he looked around the temple as it came into focus. The temple’s rows and rows of pews stood unattended as Garret walked between them towards the far end of the room. As he walked he noticed a man kneeling before a statue of Gorandor at the altar across the room from him. As he neared, the man stood and turned to face him. He was a tall man, taller than Garret by a head. He too was thickly muscled with bulging limbs and a thick neck. He had a strong jaw and was clean shaven. His hair was black as night and curled loosely upon his head. Atop his head amongst the black curls sat a shimmering crown of gold studded nearly to entirety with Gems. The man stood facing Garret with a welcoming smile as Garret closed the distance between them. The man looked familiar to Garret yet he could not recall the name of the man nor where they had met. The man began to speak then. At least it looked as if he were speaking. The man formed words with his lips only Garret could not hear them, and thinking the man whispering Garret leaned ever closer in an attempt to decipher the man’s words. No matter how near Garret got, no word escaped the man’s moving lips. As Garret tried in vain to hear the soundless conversation the world again heaved and the temple and the man vanished.

Darkness swirled around Garret for a moment and his stomach turned awkwardly. Fighting back the bile that rose in his throat Garret commanded the whirling nothingness to retreat, and as if obeying his command it did. When the misty blackness subsided Garret once again stood upon a battlefield. This time was much like a previous dream he had had. Looking across the body littered field Garret watched as black masses coagulated across the field from him like pools of aging blood. Realizing he had seen this scene before Garret then turned his attention to the men beside and around him. To each side of him were men dressed in the armor of the knights of Valdadore. Behind him more knights formed rows, and as he met their gazes each nodded to him. Garret then extended the sweep of his eyes to include those further away than the knights. Behind the knights, and to either side of them thousands of men in various types of armor stood ready for battle. Garret could not distinguish any familiar faces, so he turned his gaze elsewhere. Seeking out something familiar Garret looked through the front lines of the massive force until his gaze fell upon a face he had seen every day since his birth. Seth stood mere yards away, facing the enemy across the field. He was easy to recognize though his face had changed tremendously. He looked tired, wore out, a withered image of himself. His clothing too was different. Instead of a tunic and leggings as was usual for him to wear, Seth wore a long robe made from a black fabric trimmed in a deep red color. He did not notice Garrets gaze, he stood focused across the field as if concentrating. Confused and concerned Garret tore his eyes from his brother and again tried to scan those around his brother. He quickly located what he sought. Sara stood beside Seth, opposite of Garret. He could not see much of her, his view obscured by his brother, but she was there at Seth’s side, refusing even in the threat of battle to leave the man she loved. Garret nodded his approval silently to himself as he noticed the mood of the men around him change. As he turned to seek out the cause of this change he noticed Seth pulling up his sleeves and extending his hands as if to point toward something across the field. Following his brother’s motion Garret turned his gaze to where the enemy faced them, only now the enemy rushed across the field as bolts of blue lightning began to rain down among them. Garret faced his coming enemy and began to mutter words he himself could not distinguish as his body began to shimmer. Everything went black, and the intoxicating effect of all the liquor he had consumed earlier in the evening returned, and refused to let him awaken. Garret snored heavily, sleeping uneasily until morning when he woke with a pounding head and uneasy stomach.