Coda: A Melody for the Nameless
I heard story after story, each time drawing closer to the colored smoke beyond the portal. But the more I heard, the more my heart grew bitter and heavy.
Before me was the entirety of the universe, collected into a single beautiful intelligence. And it obeyed me.
“Tell me about the Song of Asar,” I commanded as I sat on my knees before the nameless. My joints began to sting from this position. I felt the pain of old age run up my spine, but I did not want to return to sit on my throne. I watched the colors and shapes weave the old familiar tale of Ankari and his betrayal of the Song of Nazua. The Nameless ended the tale, the final lines crashing down on me with a force I’d never felt before.
“They had lost their eternal purpose
Alone and out of harmony with Nazua’s symphony
Left to endlessly repeat the cycle of birth and rebirth
Prisoners to their flesh
Subject to the very elements they had claimed to rule in life
That would be the curse of the children of Asar
The melody they crafted was and still is, a wonder of Asar
But never greater
For while Nazua’s symphony continues to swell in every corner of her creation
A song of Asar, can only ever serve Asar.”
As the Nameless concluded, I reached into the inside of my robe with tears in my eyes. My trembling fingers wrapped around the amulet. I held it before me, turning the shining multi-pointed star in the light of the Nameless to observe its beauty. The craftsmanship of the metalwork was impressive. I let my eyes run across the almost imperceptible designs etched into the metal.
A well of emotions built up inside of me and I began to cry. I wept uncontrollably. Then I stood and covered my mouth with both of my hands, the tips of my fingers against my lips, and bowed. It was an old gesture in the citadel used to show indescribable love and respect. It was a way to say, “I have no words that can communicate the greatness of what I feel for you.”
I tore the amulet from my neck and tossed it into the portal. I watched as the smoke wrapped around it and then something very strange happened. The smoke beyond the portal twisted and began to define itself into a shape. I had seen this shape before, but where? It was the most familiar thing, like an image burned into my earliest memory. The coiling arms of it, the pulsing center, the radiating delicate wisps of smoke that left an iridescent wake behind them as they slid across my vision. Then, I heard a beautiful melody.