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9: The Usurper
"She is a beautiful creature, is she not, Yeshin." Deun stared up at the work of art that decorated the far wall of the throne room.
"Of course, Sire." said the regent, feeling a bit strange commenting on the appearance of the Iscandarian woman Deun was looking at. It felt disrespectful somehow, even though she wasn't physically standing before him.
To Yeshin's relief, the young Leader-to-be didn't say anything else for a while, giving him time to think. "What a fool he is. He doesn't even know how much power he has tried to harness in the Spirit of Guardiana. If only the Malha were here now to put this brat in his place.
"What will we do without you, Malha? How will we continue on?" Yeshin studied Deun with disgust. "You don't even know what you are, whelp." he sneered behind the teenager's back, "If you did, you would at least understand."
"At least that disgrace, Talonka Guardiana, was put down before she could do any more damage. Taking another Spirit* in stead of Guardiana indeed!" he mentally tsked at her choice and an evil grin spread across his face. "But at least we have –"
"Yeshin."
The grin immediately disappeared to be replaced by the regent's usual, servile expression, "Yes, Sire?"
"I want to talk to the Iscandari king – Alexander, I believe is his name." said Deun, still staring up at the piece of art.
"Yes, Sir." said Yeshin.
The regent turned to do Deun's bidding, a well-hidden look of disgust beginning to resurface on his face.
The call went through in a matter of moments.
"Leader... Deun," said the Iscandari King, "may I be of service to you in some way?"
The King's holographic form stood much taller than Deun.
"Sit please, Alexander." the teenager bade the king, without deigning to face him.
The king nodded and did so, his chosen seat appearing in the hologram with him. "So what is it that you wish to talk about?" Alexander asked, ignoring the Leader-to-be's use of his name sans his title.
The grounds more even now, Deun faced the king, "Quite a sight, is it not?" he referred to the work of art.
"It is, indeed, Leader Deun." the king nodded, "We have one identical to it here in the palace."
"Yes, I know." said Deun, smiling strangely, "I find it remarkably coincidental that the woman depicted in it so closely resembles your daughter – Starsha I believe is her name – and that the man so closely resembles me. Don't you think so?"
Alexander's face went completely blank for a moment and Deun chuckled to himself, knowing that he had just thrown the Iscandari off balance.
"Yes, Sire. Perhaps so, but you may have noticed that the woman also bears a stunning resemblance to both my wife, and my daughter Astra – not just Starsha."
"True enough." replied Deun. He had expected such an answer from the man. "This piece has always symbolized our two worlds' union in the form of the Alliance we forged one hundred years ago. That Alliance has stood through the Cometine siege, a number of Bolar insurgences, Rea Atid, and the Marad. It would seem that our ties to one another are rather... unbreakable. There have even been a few Gamilons who have dared cross the racial lines and intermarry with the Iscandarians – one Treinel Trefus comes to mind, among others."
"Our ties are indeed forged well, yes." the king agreed. "It would take a catastrophe such as our galaxy has never known before to break that bond.
"Indeed." Deun said dismissively, "But don't you think it wise that we should strengthen the bonds between our worlds even further – in the event of just such a... mishap?"
"Perhaps..." Alexander said carefully. "What do you suggest, Leader?"
"I propose, not only the union of our worlds, but the union of our houses," Deun said.
Alexander's eyes narrowed just the slightest bit.
"In the form of a marriage – between myself and your daughter Starsha." Deun looked very satisfied with himself and he casually gestured back to the mural, "After all, it would seem that such a match is fitting."
The Iscandari stared into the face of Deun, trying to determine his intentions. The young man kept his face carefully blank, which frustrated the king, just as Deun wanted.
"I do not think that such a pairing is appropriate at this time, Leader." said Alexander. "Both of you are much too young to be contemplating such a thing at this juncture."
Deun shrugged as though he didn't care, "Perhaps."
"Do you believe in Yahweh, Sire?" Alexander ventured.
Deun hid a smirk, "I believe that a God such as Adonai – if He truly exists at all – is almost worthless to me, Majesty." the young man let a skeptical look come over his face, "And a God that requires so much of his followers is of no interest to me whatsoever."
The King's gaze rose past Deun, as though he was looking at the picture on the far wall – that was impossible, of course, but the look of confidence that suddenly came over Alexander of Iscandar almost unnerved him, and what was worse was that Deun didn't know why such a little thing had so much power over him.
"Leader Deun." said the King, "Unless there comes a time when you believe otherwise about Yahweh, I am afraid that I can grant no marriage proposals – to any of my daughters."
Deun's composure began to slip, "So just because I don't adhere to your religion, you won't grant my request. My father did not share my mother's religious tendencies. It did them no harm."
"None that you saw, Leader. I know of a certainty that it brought your mother much pain to know that your father did not believe as she did." replied the Iscandarian.
"That is but one example, Alexander." Deun said, his anger beginning to rise in his voice, "I must insist that you grant my proposal."
"I am sorry, Leader Deun, but I cannot do that." the king replied with a sure calm, "It would be wrong, and very unfair to you both."
Deun's jaw clenched visibly, "Fairness is for children!" he bit back, "I can give her just as much power as her sister will one day have! Is that not important to you – to her?!"
"No, Deun. It isn't."
That simple answer made the young man freeze and look at Alexander in angry skepticism, "You expect me to believe that?"
"It is the truth, Sire." Alexander replied, unphased by Deun's rash display.
"Then you are a fool!" Deun shot an accusing finger out towards the king's translucent face.
"Better a fool in this world, than a fool in the next." Alexander said.
"Is there nothing that will convince you to give me your daughter's hand in marriage?!" Deun said, a bit of his calm temporarily regained.
"Only what I have already said," replied the King, "Only your conversion would grant that possibility to you."
"Then I will come and take her." said Deun coldly.
"I would hate to see such a thing happen between our two worlds, Deun, but if it comes to that, I must tell you that my wife and I would die before we allowed such a thing to happen."
Deun motioned for Yeshin to cut the call off. The holographic King immediately disappeared.
"Perhaps your condition can be met, Alexander..." Deun said under his breath, then to Yeshin he said, "Find me the geneticist – Lieutenant Garen Krenshaw; I have a job for him."
"Bahn, spread the word to Silesia and Adrianna. We must keep Starsha in sight as often as possible." King Alexander said to his Jeshurunian friend, "If I have read Deun correctly, my rejection won't stop him from trying to take what he wants, and that sudden cutoff means that he's thinking about it at this very moment."
"Yes, my king." the plant replied, his leaves whispering in alarm. "He seems a most dangerous young man, the new Leader."
"Indeed." said Alexander. "But just how dangerous remains to be seen... That is why we must keep a watch on my daughter."
"I will tell Silesia and Adrianna what has happened and your instructions."
"And I will tell my wife..." Alexander sighed, "I knew that painting would spark something one day... But I had hoped it would be good and not ill will..."
"What of Starsha, Majesty? Who will tell her what has happened...?" asked Bahn.
The King looked thoughtfully at the Jeshurunian, who had become his good friend through the years of his residence on Iscandar, "I will tell her..." he nodded, "As her father, it's my responsibility to protect her from men like Deun... I only wish I could have prevented this from happening. Perhaps if I hadn't let her and her sister take that call I –"
"My king," Bahn interrupted gently, "there is nothing you could have done. Deun has made his own choice in this. You cannot make up a man's mind for him... Do not blame yourself for what you cannot control."
"Yes..." the king sighed again, "Of course, you're right...But I must find my wife and tell her..."
"Tell me what?" Kara's voice drifted over to the King and Bahn. She had just come through the door as Alexander was speaking. When she saw the look on her husband's face she said, "What is it, Alexander...? Is something wrong?" She went over to him.
"Kara," he reached out and took his wife's hand, "something has happened that you need to know about..."
Starsha sat stunned. "He... He said that...? Leader Deun said he would take me if you didn't accept his proposal...?"
"Yes..." her father replied, sitting down heavily in the chair across from his middle daughter.
"But – but how can he do that?! He doesn't have the authority." the girl's shock exuded from her entire being, "I never thought that... he would ever take what he said just a few days ago this far...? Why am I so important to him? Why?" And with that she began to cry. "I don't understand!"
"Oh Starsha..." sighed Alexander, "Do we really know why men choose to follow their own desires instead of the will of Yahweh...? Why did A'dam choose to sin when time had only just begun? Why did Yehudah* choose to betray Yeshua? I do not know the answer, my child." he said gently, "Men make their own choices. Our free will is a gift from Yahweh... but men have abused that gift, as they have all gifts from Heaven.
"All we can do is what we know is right. Beyond that... it is in the hands of Yahweh – as it always has been."
Through her tears, Starsha could see the look on her father's face, a mix of sorrow and determination.
"If they come for you, you know I'd die before I let them take you."
Starsha nodded and said, "I know, aba." she suddenly threw her arms around the king's neck, "Thank you..."
"Whatever happens, always remember, that I love you." said Alexander, hugging his daughter.
"I love you too, aba."
Putting his hands on Starsha's shoulders, he pushed her away so that he could see her face once again, "Adrianna will be looking out for you now. Take her with you wherever you go. She will be our eyes and ears. Through her and Bahn, your mother and I will know if you're ever in trouble."
The princess stared at her father, "They – they can do that...?"
Alexander smiled, "They can. We have just never had the need to ask them to do it before – though I am sure that they have been doing it all along."
"What do you mean, 'he can't be found'?!" bellowed Deun. "Are you so stupid that you can't even find one man? WHERE IS GAREN KRENSHAW!"
"We – we do not know, Sire." stuttered Yeshin – for the first time truly afraid of the young man. The fury that had begun to simmer in his eyes when King Alexander had rejected him was now an all-consuming fire that blazed openly, not only in Deun's eyes, but in his whole being. The Leader-to-be was a terrifying sight to behold in his rage.
"Then find out." Deun's tone dropped to a menacing hiss.
"We cannot, Sire. All records involving him or his whereabouts..." he paused, dreading the news he had to bring, "They've been... sealed, Leader."
"By whom...?" the icy tone nearly made the Regent shiver it was so cold.
"I don't know, Sire... We are unable to trace the one who did it. We've sent our best to track them – even the time-delvers have been dispatched."
Deun glared at Yeshin, "If it is so very difficult for you to find Krenshaw, then get me another man – just find me someone who can do what I want!"
"Yes, Sire. It shall be done."
"Good."
"Admiral Talan, I thank you for taking my call." Alexander looked back at the face of one of the few men on Gamilon whom he knew without a doubt that he could trust.
"There is no need for such formality, Alexander. Call me Raymond – as you always have." said the man, "What is it that brings you to me, my friend?"
Alexander took a deep breath before jumping into the story of what had happened a few hours before, "Leader Deun asked for my daughter Starsha's hand in marriage... I refused him. Now he's threatening to come and take her by force."
Raymond said nothing for a few moments, gathering his thoughts.
"This is serious..." the Admiral finally said. "Very serious... Deun... is not used to having his whims denied him. Even if it means destroying those in his way..."
For a moment, the two men's gazes met, then Raymond continued, "I understand that you have been visited by another good friend of mine, Israel Kotlar."
"Yes." said the King.
"Then you know how Deun... acquired... his throne."
Alexander's eyes narrowed, "Not exactly… though I have heard rumors."
"He is dangerous, Alexander. If he truly wants your daughter for himself, he will stop at nothing to make her his." Raymond looked away from the Iscandari king for a moment, then continued, "His father's passing was… not natural as he would have everyone believe."
Alexander steeled himself for whatever answer he was about to receive, "Then how did the Leader pass?"
"I have it from the most reliable of sources that he was poisoned." Raymond replied frankly. "And I have no doubt that if you try to stop him from taking your daughter that he will kill you too – without a thought."
The king's face fell, "As I had feared." he took a breath and let it out, "But this is no time for fear." he shoved his rising dread down and instead let his love for his daughter replace it. "This is one thing Deun will just have to do without. Will you help me, Raymond? Is there anything you can do there on Gamilon?"
"I will do the best I can." said the Admiral. "And if I hear anything, you'll be the first to know. I have more influence than our new Leader has ever suspected, and if he knew the truth – if he knew about my son and his charge... I pray every day that Adonai keeps the knowledge of Masterson and Desslok's whereabouts out of the hands of Deun."
"Masterson and who?"
A triumphant smile spread across Raymond's face, "Desslok – Deun's brother."
"So that is his name." Alexander thought to himself, then to Raymond he said, "My wife told me of his existence, and that few know of him."
"Before his death, the Leader appointed Desslok – not Deun – Leader in his stead. This… false Leader is both a murderer and a usurper. And if he were ever to find his brother…"
Raymond's words left Alexander speechless as one hopeful thought began to rise in his mind, "We must put this brother on the throne immediately – that will unseat all of Deun's plans, including the one to take my daughter."
Raymond's face fell and he looked away, "It is not so simple as that, I am afraid..."
"What? But why?" Alexander's hopes began to crumble.
"Because of the zealots... The followers of Guardiana are also heavily involved here. There are things going on that even I do not know about – things that could mean the end of our world as we know it. Simply unseating Deun will not fix those problems."
"But what could a cult do that would be so earth-shaking?" asked the King.
"That is the question we all asked – until Rea Atid. Then we asked it again, and the Marad came. Many fear what may happen if we dare to ask it a third time..." the soldier finally met the king's gaze again, "Adonai is in control – this I know. But I also know that I cannot ask my people to go up against an ancient evil so powerful as the Guardiana followers when so many of them would go into battle spiritually unarmed.
"The secrets of the Guardiana's origins are still unknown to me, but I have reason to believe that my son may have uncovered them before he and Desslok left the palace a few days ago." Raymond summoned the hope that had been lying dormant in him for these three days now, "My own son now carries with him the promise of Gamilon's future – our new Leader, and the history of the Malha Guardiana herself."
"Then she isn't just a myth."
"Not at all." Raymond shook his head, darkness coming over his face as he continued, "She is very real, though her title has been passed down from generation to generation. The last Malha was Aurelia Guardiana... the mother of Talonka, our dear Queen..."
Alexander froze. "Queen Talonka was to be the next Malha Guardiana?"
Raymond nodded, "She was. But something interfered with that plan. Adonai saw to it that Talonka had the chance to choose between Him and the shêd that calls itself the 'Spirit of Guardiana.' The Queen chose Adonai."
"I never knew..." Alexander whispered.
"Very few do. I am one of those blessed few. Adonai dealt the shêd-wielders – and Abaddon himself a terrible blow the day Talonka chose Him instead of the shêd. Do not give up hope, my friend. If there is a way to stop Deun, we will find it, by Chesed Elohim.*"
"Thank you, Raymond... You don't know how grateful I am."
"I too am a father, Alexander, and my son has been in peril of his very life more times than I can count. If I could guarantee his safety, I would gladly pay whatever price was required of me... But I cannot, so I entrust him to the keeping of Adonai. After all, the universe is His, and He made it with the word of his mouth. The heart of the king is in the hand of Adonai, and He turns it, wherever He will. Not even Deun can escape Adonai, my friend. Take comfort in that."
* Taking another spirit – Talonka received the Spirit of Adonai when she chose to accept the salvation offered by Yeshua
* Yehudah – Judas
* Chesed Elohim – "the grace of God"