Day Two
تخت جمشید ، امپراتوری هخامنشی, c.465 BC
"More water, my King?"
The soft-spoken female adjusted her balance, shifting the weight of the clay pitcher in her arms; beads of crystal-clear water managed to escape, dashing through the air triumphantly before colliding with upon the stone ground with an audible crash which turned the head of the entire court.
The servant mouthed a series of apologies for her indiscretion, but there was no acknowledgement at all from the despondent man perched upon the edge of a marble throne, his bearded visage buried in his hands; two guards quickly appeared at her side and directed her out of the room, all eyes watching them leave before turning their attention back to their monarch.
There was complete silence for a while, broken only by the occasional cough, until the figure upon the throne finally raised his head and looked around the room; his eyes were bloodshot, the skin around them tinged red. He had obviously been weeping, a rare show of emotion from the usually stern monarch.
"Treachery is abound in Persepolis"
Xerxes had whispered these words as gently as a light summer breeze, and yet everyone present in the hall of the Apadana heard them as though they had been shouted at the highest of pitches; when the God-King of the might Achaemenid Empire spoke, men would be wise to listen.
"There is little news that does not reach these ears", he continued in the same soft tone, all in attendance remaining rapt with attention;
"and there is less news still that I share with the entire court".
Xerxes rose from his throne, adjusting his scarlet robes before walking calmly into the centre of the hall and looking around the room from this better perspective. His firm gaze seemed to fix upon each man present; some shuddered, others struggled to keep eye contact, yet each found themselves enraptured by his voice.
"I address you as a whole because the traitors sit among you".
Initially, there were gasps of disbelief, but these were quickly replaced by a flurry of accusations, several protestations of innocence and the stamping of feet in anger; the traitors must be fearless to sit before the God-King while harbouring thoughts of treason!
Xerxes sighed as the noise escalated, before removing a small sphere from the inside of his long robes; it was comprised entirely of gold, with a series of grooves running around the entire orb, and he held it with both the upmost care and pride. Holding the sphere aloft in his right hand, he closed his eyes and squeezed it slightly... and there was silence.
He opened his eyes to see that the entire court had been frozen still, their statuesque bodies flickering with an almost-ethereal golden glow; he had seen this happen before, but it did not fascinate him any less for every subsequent occasion that he used the orb, and it gave him the perfect opportunity to complete his speech.
"The traitors must be dealt with harshly, of course", the King smiled benignly, yet his voice had taken on a harsh tone that his face did not show;
"let it never be said that I am unfair, however, as I will allow the court to vote among themselves to determine the guilty party".
Xerxes squeezed the golden sphere once more before concealing it beneath his robes; the members of the court returned to normality, and despite the many questions they now held, they knew better than to question Xerxes and so they promptly sat down and began to discuss the treacherous scum that hid among them.
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03:00 GMT, 03/03/11
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Re: Visions of the Animus [Reference Material]
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