Truth of the Optikon (5 Sep 2002) Alice confronts "Lord April" ... with the Optikon's picture!

After a little further discussion, Alice, Nymuae, and Hannah opted to take the time to make an additional copy of their evidence, while Hannah left to track down Kuon. As it happened, Kuon was looking for them. The fight at the South Gate had been won, but Lord April was using "evidence" found on the invaders to implicate the Queen and Lord October in the attack. April had been citing the Queen's guard uniforms the invaders wore, and that they knew the Queen's password, when Kuon had left the South Gate to warn Alice, fearing the situation would quickly worsen.

With some difficulty, Alice persuaded the shapeshifting fey to take the negative of the revealing image from the Optikon, and protect it, rather than coming with them to the Gate. Though not without protest, Kuon ultimately accepted the role, leaving for a safe haven of his own with the evidence adhered discreetly to the inside of his dog collar. The other three hurried to the South Gate, Alice carrying one copy of the image, and Nymuae holding the second.

The South Gate
Though both the great bronze gates are closed, several bars on the left one have been warped, and they no longer close snugly together. The landscaped courtyard enclosed by the walls is war-torn, branches broken on the pine trees, shrubs destroyed, and the pristine carpet of new-fallen snow trampled and muddied, marked by pooled and splattered blood. That, as much as the wounded and fallen, stands in mute testimony to the recent struggle.

As the three emerge from the doors of the Palace into the South courtyard, the scent of blood and the residue of violence assaults their senses. Robed healers and makeshift helpers tend to the wounded, while the body of a single hobgoblin, pale-blue skinned and even more gruesome in death, splays near the closed gate, still wearing the tabard of the Queen's personal guard.

Almost more unsettling than the grisly scene is the tense, grim confrontation still in progress. A bloodied Lord April, the visor of his winged helmet thrown back, his left arm dangling useless at his side, locks gazes with his royal sister. A younger man, almost the copy of his lord, sits astride a white stallion, beside his Lord, while other soldiers and nobles range in a circle near him. To Alice's chagrin, Lord February stands among them, as do representatives of March, May, and August.

Near the Queen range her guards, and Lord November, his sword sheathed at his side. Men of December mill near her, as do some wearing the canine tabards of July. A fine Lady warrior wearing a raccoon tabard -- possibly Lady June, or her emissary at court -- stands with her contingent to one side of the two parties, as do the fey of House July and House September.

All this, the newcomers have but a moment to comprehend, as the voice of Lord April, strong and merciless, fills the courtyard. "Why would you defend him, except that he acted on your orders?" he challenges the Queen in anger. "Why are you indifferent to the land's suffering, except that you have caused it? The evidence is plain at hand -- I should never have let brotherly feeling blind me for so long! Sister -- " for an instant, his voice quavers, sorrow and pain tinting his words, " -- how could you betray us so?"

"Rafe -- I -- " the flustered Queen trembles, tries to regain her composure. "That's not true! None of what you say is true!"

"Then prove me wrong, sister," April pleads. "Allow me to ascend to the throne, for the good of Mirari."

"I cannot -- you -- "

The blond lord cuts her off before she can continue. "Your treacherous acts leave those who support Mirari little choice, false Queen," he begins, darkly.

Almost immediately the young blonde girl breaks from the castle door she and her friends had exited from and races across the courtyard to the defense of her mother. Under her right shoulder hangs her purse laden with the things she brought from mortal world packed tightly with the addition of hear healing supplies from the fey. Lady Hannah has been given the Optikon and the pictures from that all-important device rest in the hands of Lady Nymuae and the young blonde who follow her to the circle of nobles who gather about the confrontation. "Nay! You shall never have the crown, Lord Eoin, nor shall you continue to manipulate this court!" the girl declares in stark defiance to the tall and handsome imposter of her own uncle.

A murmur runs through the crowd, their attention briefly distracted by the curious sight, and the strange name she uses. "Lord Eoin?" the Lady with the raccoon tabard murmurs.

Lord April's eyes spare Alice only the briefest of glances, before his attention returns to the Queen. "More of your distractions, sister? Are you this desperate to deprive Mirari of any hope?"

The Queen places a hand on Alice's shoulder protectively, and she seems to draw a measure of strength from the gesture. "Not so desperate as you, imposter," she says, her voice cold and angry. "You are no brother of mine! Child -- show us what you have learned!"

Hannah hurries toward the crowd of nobles just in time to stand near Alice as the Queen speaks to her. She keeps one hand placed protectively over the Optikon, which is now attached to her belt by its carrying-case. The other she keeps on the hilt of her sword - just in case.

"The Optikon is known to reveal all truths of the soul," continues Alice at the behest of the Queen. She half-steps to the side and gestures to Hannah. "Though you tried to waylay us with your goblin minions and your warlockian magic your attempts to stop us and the truth have failed. The Optikon has survived and its pictures are developed. I will swear thrice to their veracity and to the falseness of this imposter. Lady Nymuae of the Lake and Golden Hawk Hannah will support our claims as I believe you will," she smiles reassuringly up at the Queen even as she hesitates in addressing her, "your Majesty."

The crowd roils as the accusations fly. "Imposter?" one July's people murmurs.

The blond noble mounted near Lord April lifts his sword. "Impossible!" he counters. "The court's own thaumaturge has verified my lord's identity. This is absurd!"

"This is truth," Nymuae calls in answer. She walks slowly to mask her limp, but with a certain dignity despite her torn and bloodied gown. She lifts her right hand to brandish the image from the Optikon. "And I hold it in my hand. This -- man -- is not Lord April."

Over the growing noise of those assembled, Lord April's voice rings out. "Are we to believe this demagoguery now, after all your lies, sister? Isn't it rather late now to claim I am not your kin? Do you expect everyone to believe that they are all so gullible -- that even you are so gullible -- that you could not see through an illusion? How long am I supposed to have been this impersonator? Since we were babes in arms?"

"It has often been that Lord Eoin has deceived, which be the true name of the 'Destroyer' -- the 'Lord of Year's End,' the 'Jack-of-Hearts' and others. Again he comes for his revenge now in the guise of Lord April. It is no shame to be deceived by him but it is to believe in his lies and remain stubborn rather than accept a mistake. Your Majesty, Lords and Ladies, retainers and soldiers of all Houses give us but a chance and we shall prove him false," the blonde girl beseeches the crowd. "I know that Mirari hurts, I know, but to give Lord Eoin the crown would be a doom worse than any eternal winter."

The man accused of being the Destroyer throws back his head and laughs. "Now I am a monster out of children's tales? Go back to your nursery, my girl," he says to Alice, not unkindly. "I am not the Destroyer, nor am I any other kind of villain. I am Lord April, and by all rights, I should be King of Mirari. Every moment we spend debating this nonsense costs Mirari dearly!"

Meanwhile, those nearest Nymuae crane their heads to see the picture she holds aloft. "No nursery rhyme, no children's fable," Nymuae says, her voice low and dangerous. "I remember thee, Lord Eoin, and thou art as real today as thou wast fifty Years ago, and as dangerous. We could do nothing that would be worse than crowning thee, Destroyer."

The hand with which Hannah grips the hilt of her rapier trembles nervously as she finally addresses the assembled, but neither her voice nor her expression wavers. "We do not lie -- this man before us is not Lord April. When I passed into the Palace by the West Gate, it was some time before the cry went up that the South Gate was being attacked. On my way through, I discovered this girl and the Lady Sorceress lying on the floor of one of the corridors, seemingly unconscious. Two creatures were hovering over the girl, trying to take something from her hands. They wore the colors of the Queen's Guard, but as I came closer to them, I could see that they were not her men at all. They were creatures such as these --" here she gestures to the single hobgoblin lying near the gate, "disguised as two of the Queen's Guard. When they could not pry the object out of the girl's hands, they started to pick her up to bear her away. I was able to fight against them until she and Lady Nymuae awakened and forced them to flee. Shortly after this, I discovered that the object they were trying to take from her was an Optikon -- the very same Optikon that took the image Lady Nymuae now holds."

The Queen looks horror-struck by Hannah's recounting of their danger, but she recovers her balance to interject, "Interesting. My Lord Eoin, do tell me -- if these monsters were doing my bidding, why would I send them to capture those who would bring me proof of your lies?"

The murmuring of the crowd swing against him, and the blond Lord loses some of his hard-won composure, looking increasingly trapped. "More lies!" he counters, almost petulant, but gaining strength as he speaks faster. "Don't you see, my Lords, Ladies, everything she has done to divide us, to keep us helpless? We cannot afford these manipulations and distractions any longer. For the good of Mirari, a new King must be crowned! Who stands with me?"

"Mirari ill needs civil war! This matter may be handled peacefully -- questions may be answered for those who would ask and know. But we do not need bloodshed. We do not need war when monsters threaten our boarders, while our people starve! It is the essence of his plans. A war, be he Lord Eoin -- and truly he is! -- will only weaken us. His armies will be untouched, we will be devastated -- and then it will not matter. You need not believe all that we claim now but I invite you to find the truth yourself as we help. To do so in peace for everyone," cries in Alice's response to Lord Eoin's own call for support. She too addresses the crowd turning away from her mother and looking to each Lord and Lady in turn. To every soldier half-frozen solider, every tired looking retainer as she is able.

Even April's own people are hesitant, reluctant to declare for him -- and by extension, against the Queen. "My lord," Sir Tristan says, his quiet words unheard by most in a fervent babbling of voices. "These are serious charges, and backed by sober witness. My lord -- you must answer them, and prove your innocence."

The challenge sends a chill up Alice's spine -- she cannot help but feel Lord Eoin to be running out of arguments. Perhaps wholly cornered. It has been one thing to challenge him politically -- it is quite another thing to come to stand against him physically. She dearly wishes she had her distant relative's mirror. Now she bites her lip and edges over to stand more fully before the Queen. Absently her free hand reaches for her mother's for support and comfort.

"Answer what charges?" April sneers, scowling at the faces around him. "This absurd accusation, backed by a slip of paper and a sharp-tongued babe? Will none of you see this ruse for what it is?"

"We all see you for what you are: the Year's End, the first warlock, the master of deception," the Lady Sorceress says, holding the Optikon's image before her like a shield as she advances, slowly, through the crowd. "Your plan is undone. You are unmasked. The game is over."

Hannah adds her voice to Nymuae's. "Do not believe that this man is truly Lord April! Our voices may be sharp, but they bear the truth!"

The blond lord glances from face to face, his pale cheeks flushed with frustration and fury. He narrows his eyes, then bows his head. The air over his hair ripples, and when he raises his head again, he bears a face that matches the photograph in Nymuae's hands. The rest of the crowd draws back a pace. Tristan gives a horrified cry, his horse snorting and stamping. "This round, perhaps," Lord Eoin says, his black eyes a window onto cruelty and hatred. "But the game is never over."

"Such rules may be changed, for those with the mind to," counters the blonde child. She remains steadfast in place. Her expression is a mix of resolution and frowning uncertainty as she keeps her eyes steadily on the man who is the Destroyer. Her hand squeezes the Queen's own and she gains ease from knowing she and her friends are near. A ease she does not think Lord Eoin shares. Briefly she wonders if he has any friends left at all anymore. Her frown deepens at the thought.

At the false Lord April's transformation, Hannah moves quickly to stand at the other side of Alice, to offer what support and protection she may. She loosens her sword in its scabbard, in case Eoin should make a move towards the blonde girl or the Queen.

"Indeed, little girl." Lord Eoin smiles at Alice. "And I have a mind to. My victory is nearer at hand than you can possibly imagine. Savor your success here. It will be your last."

The Queen finally gathers the presence of mind to order, "Seize him!" A handful of stunned guards start forward, but even as they close on him, he throws back his head and laughs. Winds whip around him in scything circles, and he vanishes.

"A Siege! How? Was it Wind?" The little girl takes a few steps forward and searches the ground where Lord Eoin stood. "He mustn't escape," she murmurs. Her brows narrow as she concentrates.

"Not a Siege ... he has gone elsewhere in Mirari, not to another world," Nymuae says. With the confrontation at an end, she looks ready to collapse. "I should have ... " She closes her eyes, wavering, the sentence incomplete.

Hannah springs forward to Nymuae's aid, now that the immediate danger that faced Alice and the Queen is gone. "Here, Lady Sorceress, place your hands on my shoulders for support," she murmurs to her, looking worried.

Nymuae leans against Hannah, not needing much encouragement. All around them, the others have erupted with a fury of questions, how, why, and wherefore. "Lady Sorceress," Sir Tristan's plaintive question cuts through the buzz, "If that was an imposter -- where is my lord?"

Alice stops a step away from the spot Lord Eoin vanished from. There she exhales, sighing, and all the certain defiance that had girded her expression earlier melts away. For a moment she simply looks very tired. Worn out in a way that Nymuae does not remember from when they were mere mortal girls, best of friends, in Ainigton. As the bustle of questions begins she seems to remember herself and so she draws herself up and turns to look amongst the crowd. Seeing that Lady Nymuae is in good hands brings her a smile and with this lightening her face she curtsies to the nobles trying to answer what questions she can that are not fielded by Lady Sorceress Nymuae.

The Lady Sorceress pauses for a moment, glancing at her hand where it rests on Hannah's shoulder. "That is an excellent question, sir. One which I hope, soon, to have a better answer to. But this is not the best place to discuss such matters. Even now, I am sure the Lord Eoin has spies among us, in one guise or another."

Hannah nods at Nymuae's words, looking thankful that such a sensitive topic will not be discussed amongst the company, out in the open. "I agree with the Lady Sorceress. It would be best to choose a more private place to speak about the Destroyer's movements."

An undercurrent of disbelief runs through the murmuring and questions. Even after seeing with their own eyes the transformation, many are reluctant to believe that the Year's End is more than a long-forgotten legend.

"And there is much else left to be done. We must hurry," the princess adds over the commotion of the crowd. Despite her small stature and unassuming appearance these last few days have given her a great deal of practice in all manner of confrontation, yelling, and generally trying to get a large group of adults to listen to a kid. "Lord Eoin is just a very real very bad man. He is not a fantasy -- we must believe in better things to come. Because they will. We can rebuild everything and make anew."

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