#halcyone

The man was part of the Convocation of Fourteen now, the highest seat of office. It was as if the star heard all of his complaints about how the government was run and how he could do it better, and then decided that it would take that wager. Oh, Hythlodaeus had few qualms about how the man would do, Hades had always been like that. One could argue that Hades practically did his predecessor's job for moons at a time when the prior Emet-Selch was deep in his research.  And yet the nerve of the Convocation to come to Hythlodaeus first! Oh, to be sure, Hythlodaeus had the capabilities, but it was a slight to both him and the Convocation that anyone thought he had the motivation, the decisiveness, or the spellcraft. They might as well have asked a particularly gifted aether sniffing leonid to fill the seat! At any rate, Hythlodaeus thought it poor form that they would call on him specifically because of an inborn oddity of his rather than consider anything else first and foremost. Perhaps it was true that most of the other talents and necessities of the office were largely things that could be trained up after attaining the office or smoothed over with the right staff under him, but the effort.  The… unusually efficient manner with which they went through his consideration and immediately onto Hades’ consideration also stood out to him as odd. He wasn’t sure how exactly such a measure should have been taken, but it was almost as if they were going through the motions so that they could receive his explicit declination and nomination of another before moving on to Hades, their real candidate, less than a moon later. Again, the feeling couldn’t be shaken that it was an insult to all that were involved. …At the same time, he couldn't help but wonder. Though the Convocation was quite adamant about its impartiality and fairness in its judgments and actions, and it worked with the same total transparency as all other civil organizations, this wasn’t a matter of her was it?

Giving Hades the Seat of Emet-Selch surely wasn’t some sort of implicit or expected reining in of the latter of his better thirds, was it? Surely Hythlodaeus and Hades weren’t the top candidates under consideration simply because of the way that Halcyone operated the Seat of Azem, right? There was some wordplay for Hythlodaeus to noodle with regarding the Seat of Azem and the seat of her pants, but that was for a smug look to and a groan from Hades later, but that aside— Azem, Halcyone, was not one to genuflect to the other Seats of the Convocation. It was expected that Azem would not, that was partially their role. If Elidibus served in his role as emissary, adjudicator, and peace broker, Azem was in many ways his opposite, the loyal opposition. Hers was to present as many different perspectives and voices of the people as possible in front of the insular by nature Convocation. But Halcyone’s tenure as Azem was… contentious at best. Even more so than her predecessor, Venat, the current Azem did quite a bit to rankle those that saw themselves the power behind the Convocation, so to speak. Because after all, that was always how it worked, even in Amaurot. Even with all the transparency and the stated impartiality, if they wanted absolute impartiality and utterly unswayable judgment, they would have a Convocation of automatons, and even then, the question would become “Who designed the automations and who wound their clockwork?” Everyone wore black robes and white masks for the sake of equality and probity, but individuals were singled out to be lauded and censured all the time, did they not? Everyone simply identified one another by the color of their aether, did they not? The Convocation had all of the transparency of crystal glass, and yet if one were to stack enough panes upon one another, one could render all the transparency all together opaque, could one not? This was also partially what he wished to avoid by rejecting the offer of the Seat of Emet-Selch. There were duties and obligations yes, but then there were duties and obligations, and he already had enough trouble as is with people with powerful families demanding that their concepts be more readily considered, or considered again. At least as Chief of the Bureau of the Architect, his alleged indolence and ability to shrug off such demands were seen as troubling but tolerated. As Emet-Selch, he would receive not nearly as wide a berth or long a leash. Hades was much more apt at working with such confines and restrictions without chafing, but nevertheless, Hythlodaeus saw ample opportunity for people to use Hades to put a clamp upon Halcyone.

As it were, He didn’t sense any trouble upon Halcyone’s brow, for what it was worth. The past few moons, she had been gushingly supportive of both considerations. At the least, she must not have seen any threat, implicit or otherwise, to the consideration and nomination of her two significant others to the Seat of Emet-Selch. She was sitting next to Hythlodaeus, red mask catching the light just so, instead of at the central table to this banquet with the rest of the Convocation. Oh, she had sat in that stuffy high seat for a little while, and had wandered about the other tables as well, as was her wont, but returned to Hythlodaeus’s side as comfortably and casually as if they were unmasked and in private. She must have thought Hythlodaeus lonely. In many such similar occasions in the past, Hythlodaeus had Hades to share in the snark and make a running commentary with as Halcyone was stuck at the central table as Azem. And in truth, Hythlodaeus did feel a bit isolated with the other vertices to his triangle so far off, but that was nothing to share with Halcyone in this joyous occasion. “Things are going to be quite different nowadays, they not?” Halcyone said, off-handedly while looking over to Hades. It was an empty line to use as an excuse to grasp at Hythlodaeus’s hand, a hold that he gladly took. “Mayhaps, but I think we’ll look back at all of this in years to come with a certain nostalgic longing.” “But of course.” Hythlodaeus looked at her oddly, “That… I hadn’t meant that in a reassuring manner.” “But that’s how these things turn out, is it not? No matter the current strife, we shall look back at these days with a fondness, mayhap a wish to return to them.” He affixed a grin on his face, “Whatever could you mean?” “It’s just the nature of futurity, of stories, is it not?” She took a knife and drew a sinusoidal line in the sauce leftover on Hythlodaeus’s plate, each peak and dip greater than the last, “As the story goes on, each high needs to be higher, each low must be lower, each twist and turn must be more complicated. By the time you get to the next wax or wane, one looks back and decides that the past was simpler.” “But is that not because recollection makes fools of us all, that the passage of time compresses memories as details are forgotten?” “In part, yes, but that is with the assumption that our lives are not dictated by the fates, that there is no author, no weaver desperately attempting to correct the warp in the tapestry.” “...Are you speaking with the authority of Azem right now, or are you just Halcyone?”

Azem smiled back, finally. With the masks, it was difficult to tell whether or not smiles reached the eyes with genuine feeling, and many took full advantage of the fact, “My beloved, do you truly believe this peace and prosperity is to exist in perpetuity? That the Amaurot Experiment will continue into eternity without an inevitable crashing and burning? Surely you’re as aware as the rest of us how delicately we spin ourselves like tops suspended on strings. Even the most minute wobbles may, with enough overcorrection, topple us in the future.” Hythlodaeus tightened his entwined hold on Halcyone’s hand, “I must say, you scare me sometimes when you talk about this sort of philosophy. Is this because you’ve found a warp in your weave?” Azem shook her head, “Nothing that isn’t intended. I just… Perhaps I am feeling a little lonely too. Perhaps I regret sending Hades off to be Emet-Selch.” Hythlodaeus did not change his expression, “...But you took no part in selection, as you were declared too biased to be an impartial judge, were you not?”  She waved her free hand dismissively without setting the knife down, “It’s a figure of speech, this time at any rate.” She sighed, “Hythie, I know you avoid it, but it’s all so much.” Hythlodaeus brought his entwined hand up to his mouth to kiss Halcyone on the back of the hand, “Halcie, I’m here for you.” “I wanted to tell him not to do it. He would have listened too.” “But how could you? How could you be so self-serving as to keep the carbuncle of a gem that is Hades all to yourself?” “Even had I weaved it into the tapestry, the threads would surely undo themselves and rewrite fate so that Hades would become Emet-Selch anyway. The Seat was practically made for him, the cushion came pre-squashed in a form that would so very well fit his ample buttocks." They both chuckled over the idea.

“You know he only aspired to the Seat after Venat relinquished the Seat of Azem to you.” Hythlodaeus said, “But he would have rejected the candidacy with the same alacrity as I had, had you said anything.” “Aw, but you know how I am, Hythie, I can’t get in the way of a good story.” “All of our best days are yet to come, though we won’t recognize them as such until they have passed.” “‘Tis the tragedy of experiencing life, is it not? Our eyes see only the shadows cast into the past, for the light of the future is too brilliant to look upon directly.” “And that is why I suggest you enjoy as much of the present as you can.” But Hythlodaeus knew that she could not. That Hades, now Emet-Selch, could not either. This was why he had to act as the sanctuary they both could return to and rest their weary heads. “Hmmm perhaps we are misnamed. Perhaps you should be Halcyone, and I, Hythlodaeus.” “Come now, we both know Hades spouts more nonsense. He ought to be Hythlodaeus.” “Ack, but I don’t want to be Hades!”