kaptain-writes

[kaptain-writes]

The Emperor and The Traveler

Premise: A powerful Emperor meets an unexpected visitor...

Author’s Note: I’m not particularly looking for criticism on this, as it’s more of something from the heart than anything I’m worried about being seen as perfect. It’s been years since I last wrote anything, but this felt like something I had to get out. It’s definitely not my best work, but maybe it’s a gateway to doing more. If you’re reading this, thanks for taking the time, and I hope it doesn’t disappoint.

The Emperor and The Traveler

     The Emperor sat in his gilded throne room. He was attended to by a great many handmaidens; guarded by a thousand men. He wore a golden mask in the visage of a dragon atop his head. It had been crafted in such a way that the Emperor could only ever look forward, never around him. His subjects loved him, hated him, sympathized with him, spoke against him, bled for him, and inevitably died for him. He wore his bright red robes as if he was a god of blood; his black armor as if he was the darkness of death itself.

     On this particular evening, the Emperor rested on his throne. His palace was silent, his guards unmoving in their vigil. His mask looked as if it hadn't moved in a century, though the man inside would be steeped in contemplation. How many had fallen for him to attain his position? What was his empire when he was just a man?

     In the midst of his reverie, the Emperor had not noticed the woman appear before him. She wore a black fedora on her long white hair. Her eyes were obscured by a pair of sunglasses; her face looked young but gaunt. She was dressed in a wool coat with a checkered scarf over a dress shirt and black suspenders. The woman's pants were formal, her shoes polished black. She held a cane in her black-gloved hand that had a cat's skull as the grip.

     The Emperor stood up, confused by the woman's presence in his court. "Guards!" he shouted. A clatter could be heard, as weapons were unsheathed and men in thick armor turned to face the intruder. "That will not be necessary, my Emperor." she grinned, before snapping her fingers. In an instant, the guards had vanished, leaving the two alone in the Emperor's throne room. "Where are they!? Where are my guards!?!" The Emperor snarled. "They are where we are not, my Emperor. They are perfectly safe." the woman said.

     The Emperor unsheathed his own blade, moving towards the woman. "How dare you intrude on my throne room! How dare you take my guards!" he spat, storming up to the unmoving woman, who only stood smiling. "My Emperor, I am not here to fight you. I am not here to harm you or challenge you. I am a mere traveler." she said. Her voice was smooth, but there was a spark behind it, like a madness ready to unfold. The Emperor placed his blade at her chin, the woman's grin not even fading as he pushed it as close to her throat without drawing blood. "You do not fear death? You mock me in front of my own throne!?" he growled. The woman simply laughed, instantly moving from the end of his sword to inches away from his face. The Emperor gazed through his mask into the black lenses but saw nothing. The woman continued to grin, staring into the golden mask, into the Emperor's own eyes.

     In the next moment, the Emperor found himself alone in the throne room. His guards were still missing, as he backed up to his seat. Falling into the embrace of the ornate throne, he dropped his sword. "My Emperor, I am but a mere traveler." a voice echoed in the empty chambers. It was suddenly right beside him. "I am humbled by what I've seen, and maddened by the enormity of it; emboldened by my right to share it this day." She leaped down from the arm of the throne, twirling her cane as she sidled up in front of him. "Come, my Emperor, I have a great gift for one so magnanimous as you." she laughed, holding her hand out to him.

     Confused, frustrated, and insulted, the Emperor chose to stand up and take the woman's hand. "I will have your head by the end of this." he contested. "By the end of what? By the end of our talk? By the end of your empire? By the end of your world? My dear Emperor, endings don't exist when time marches on without you or I." she said, pulling the Emperor off of the steps and to the floor.

With what could only be described as the shout of an angered lion, the Emperor fell on his back, sprawling on the marble floor. The woman stood at the top of her steps, both hands on the cat's skull of her cane. "Shall we begin then, my Emperor?" she held up one hand, snapping her fingers in a way that reverberated in the hall.

     As his vision adjusted, the Emperor could see a pitch black sky, before he sat up and noticed where they were. The woman stood in front of his palace, grinning as wide as ever as she pulled him to his feet. "This is your home, correct? Your empire, your domain?" the question was rhetorical of course, but he felt behooved to answer. "Yes. Of which you are trespassing." he spat. "Ah, trespassing, no my sweet Emperor, I am simply traveling. Your Empire, your throne room, just happened to be one of my stops," she explained. "What a beautiful empire it is too! One that worships a dragon emperor that never looks behind him for his future is all that he thirsts for; unaware of the famine he might leave in his wake." "How DARE you say such things! My people are fulfilled! My empire is strong, my armies powerful! I stand above all those that come before me!" he instinctively reached for his sword before realizing it was not there.

The woman turned around, gazing at the draconic flags that adorned the great structure. "Your people? My Emperor, since when were your people not just a means to an end? They benefit when you benefit, they fail when you fail, and they bleed when you bleed. What more could they be to you?" she asked with one hand outstretched. "Worthless cur! I will end yo-" the Emperor's response was cut off by another loud snap.

     Both figures now stood on a hill, overlooking an almost endless field of grass. "Do you know this place, my Emperor?" the woman asked. As he regained his composure, the Emperor stumbled to her side, choosing to look instead of an attempt to strike her. "I know not what trickery this is nor where you have brought us, but I will see it end now!" he spat. She just turned, her ever-present grin putting the brutish man off balance. "This is where the greatest battle you fought was conducted! The blood of a great many men shed nourishing the earth. What a terrifying and glorious day that was for you, right, my Emperor? When your army clashed against the neighboring empire's and was seen to its doom?" "Impossible! This land is filled with the remains of the dead from that day even now! Their weapons broken and strewn about! You lie to me, trick me more, vile woman!?" The woman took off her hat, holding it to her heart as she pointed the end of her cane to the distance.

     A rock sat in the middle of the field, with a skull resting at its base. The Emperor kneeled beside it. He gingerly pushed it aside, finding the remains of an insignia from one of his soldiers. "What...is this? Why are you showing me these things?" he asked, looking up at the grinning woman. "Why? Don't worry about why just yet, my Emperor. There is much to see." she said before snapping her fingers again.

     The Emperor found himself on a tall structure, lined with windows. There was thick smoke in the distance; dogs barking, bangs and pops, mechanical beasts roaring through gray strips of land. "Wh-where are..." he began, aghast at the alien nature of his surroundings. "This is what the world is. This is a place you never were, where nobody belongs, and everyone has found themselves in. A great city, where the only constants are decay and pain." she said. The Emperor struggled to keep his footing, as the woman calmly walked along the edge like a cat in the shape of a human. "This world you see around you knows only the self, where a great many humans try to avoid their inevitable fall." The Emperor looked over the edge, watching a man brandished an object made of metal at another man. A loud bang, followed by another, and his opponent was laying in a pool of red. "This world is a painful, lonely one." the woman continued, before snapping her fingers once more.

     Again they found themselves on the rooftops of more strange buildings, but this time it was different. The city below was clean, smooth, with men wearing outfits similar to the woman's walking to and fro. A young man stopped to give food to a beggar; while another gave his cab to an older man. "There is still kindness though. There is still gentleness, camaraderie. The ever-pressing contradiction of humanity's nature pressing in all around that pain and loneliness. Isn't it beautiful? To live in such a strange world?" the woman said, turning to the Emperor. "Humans are odd creatures, don't you agree, my Emperor?" He simply remained silent. His eyes moved back and forth in the mask before he closed them tightly in an attempt to...to wake up from this strange dream. Another snap.

     When he opened his eyes, the Emperor saw a quiet row of wheeled boxes. There was furniture and refuse littering yards. The same loud beasts but dormant and rusted laying amidst these places. Flashing lights could be seen inside, as he peered into the windows to see individuals and families watching a colored box, making food, playing and talking. "Simple, isn't it? Such poor accommodations and yet people manage to live out their lives in simplicity." the woman said, walking alongside the Emperor. "It's like...a wasteland...but with homes built in it." he gaped. "A wasteland is correct. These are not homes in many ways though. This is a wasteland of humanity." the woman said, before pointing to one of the homes. One of the metal beasts careened past, metal pointing out of the windows and clattering like the sounds of hell itself. In moments the home was full of holes, just before exploding in a ball of flame. The woman stood in front of the gout of flames. Snap.

     All around them, as far as the eye could see, was nothing but ash. Fires left burning, smoldering wreckage of the world they had just left, the remains of structures brought low around the two figures. The Emperor looked amazed. "Traveler...where is this?" he asked, walking slowly down the destroyed paths. "This is what humanity does, my Emperor. They self destruct. This is the remains of a world gone wrong." the Emperor looked around, horrified by the destruction he saw. "Why...why?" The woman just continued grinning as he fell to his knees in front of her. "Oh, my Emperor. There is so much more though," she said. Snap.

     They stood aboard a ship, swaying and pitching as a violent storm whipped around them. Men screamed at each other, pulling ropes and tying knots. "This is also what humanity does, my Emperor! They challenge nature, and persevere!" the woman shouted with shrill laughter. The Emperor clung to the side of the ship, watching the people scrabble about the decks; a man in ostentatious attire much like his own barked orders at the crew. "Humanity survives, in a world that deems them fit to die!" Snap.

     This time they stood on top of a great metal leviathan, surrounded by darkness. "Wha-" the Emperor stood in awe, looking at a great blue, white, and green giant. He was speechless at the silence and serenity of the image, with the stars twinkling around him. "This, my Emperor, is humanity's intelligence! They choose to go as far as they please, apathetic to those that tell them not to!" Snap.

     A woman standing in defiance of men who seek to silence her. "Humanity choosing what's right for itself!" Snap. A man being put to death as a traitor, where authoritative figures stood gathered, exchanging coffers of money. "Humanity choosing their end for the sake of those that come after! Humanity finding its own fortune the means to its own end!" Snap. A group of people surrounded by fire pushing against a smaller group with shields. "Humanity choosing to rise up against their own to allow themselves to live freely! Free men and women choosing to hold others under their own beliefs! This is humanity, my Emperor! Contradiction and perseverance!" Snap.

     They now both stood atop the Emperor's palace, overlooking his subjects going about their daily lives. People bartering with one another for bread; doctors moving to see patients, farmers carrying crops to the stalls, soldiers guarding diligently. "This is humanity. These are your people my Emperor. They are a means to your end as much as their own." the woman said, before one last snap.

     The Emperor found himself sitting in his throne. His guards surrounded him once again, although seemingly unaware of the woman's presence. She picked up his sword, handing it to him. He glared through his mask, taking the blade. "Why have you shown me these things, Traveler?" he demanded. She turned around, adjusting her fedora and clicking her cane on the steps as she began to walk away. "My Emperor, I show you these things for your own gain, as everything else in your life has been. I only ask that you remove your mask that excludes the world around you. For you have everything but have seen very little beyond what belongs to you. I, however, have nothing but have seen a great deal in my travels. I come tonight to give you a glimpse into what more and how much greater you could be." she turned her head to the side, removing her sunglasses finally. Two beautiful brown eyes, dyed in madness and bejeweled in history looked back at the Emperor. "Farewell my Emperor, and may you live to see the world through eyes that have traveled."