The Soul Engine Ch. 40 (Original Fantasy) (Patreon)

A/N: Mikael, Avina, and Bula are introduced to the Truth Above All. Thayla has reservations.

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“Father, are you sure about this?”

After rising from his chair and dropping his solemn declaration on them all, Knight-Superior Dawnguard had led them out of his office and into another section of the Citadel. Along the way, Mikael, Avina, and Bula had received an explanation of exactly WHAT the ‘Truth Above All’ actually was. Apparently, it was the Order of the Rose’s most prized artifact.

Coming in the appearance of a mirror, its rippling surface gave away its enchanted nature. Put simply, as Thayla’s father had explained it, it was a portal into one’s very self. It wasn’t dangerous, supposedly. In fact, every single Knight of the Rose had to go through it during their training, to make sure that there was no great darkness or evil lurking in their hearts.

Standing before the magic mirror-like portal now, staring at his reflection, Mikael won’t lie… he’s not exactly feeling excited about this. And Thayla’s recalcitrance isn’t making him feel any better either.

Looking to his daughter, Timothal sighs.

“I am. But please, outline your concerns, daughter.”

Straightening up, Thayla looks between the Truth Above All and her friends for a long moment before making her case.

“They are not Knights, Father. They have not had our training, they have not sworn our oaths, nor have they chosen to abide by our ways. Holding them to the same rigorous standards as our Order would be unfair to them. After all, we do not demand the same of our other allies, do we?”

The Knight-Superior nods in agreement with his daughter, as intense and serious as ever.

“You are correct, we do not. Though an argument could be made that perhaps we should start. After all, Foss Sangrey is numbered among those allies and if I am to believe you and your friends, he never should have been. In point of fact, if we had demanded he submit to the Truth Above All a long time ago, then maybe his true nature would be known to me, and all of this would not be necessary.”

… That wasn’t a bad point. It sounded to Mikael as though this artifact could really get to the heart of certain matters. Forcing Foss Sangrey to use it, or forcing him to reject it… either way would have let Timothal know that the other man wasn’t to be trusted. Of course, Thayla wasn’t willing to just leave it at that.

“But father! Have I not already passed this test? I stand before you as Dame Dawnguard, a Knight of the Rose! I have subjected myself to the Truth Above All and it has not found me wanting! Does my word not count for anything?”

Also a fair point. Though Thayla’s father doesn’t seem to agree. The Knight-Superior shakes his head.

“You are not in question, Thayla. The new Supreme King was quite careful with his letter. He accused you of no crimes. Instead, he was careful to make it seem as though you have been misled. A distinct possibility, given what you yourself admitted happened back in Alether. If you could be misled by Zadicus Quinn… who is to say you cannot have been misled by Avina Reyalis?”

Thayla flinches at that, but Avina stays quiet. Mikael is a little surprised that she hasn’t spoken up, but when he looks over at her, it’s to find that his Soul Mechanic is actually looking surprisingly contemplative. Almost as if she’d actually considering acquiescing to Knight-Superior Dawnguard’s request.

To be honest, Mikael thinks he might be willing to do it as well, even if he’s a little nervous. However, he does have one question he thinks they deserve answered before they decide anything.

“Knight-Superior. You claim the Truth Above All will separate fact from fiction and falsehood from lie.”

Turning to him, Timothal gives a simple, sharp nod.

“Yes.”

Letting out an explosive breath, Mikael fixes the other man with a look.

“Is this because YOU will see everything about us? Will you be watching whatever happens while we subject ourselves to this mirror?”

Looking a little disgruntled at that, the Order’s Grandmaster straightens up to his full height.

“The Truth Above All is not a simple mirror. It is a portal to the heart of one’s true nature. But… no. While is it true that stepping into the Truth Above All will result in you being tested, observers do not see the specifics of those tests on the outside. Rather, all we see is the Truth. Fundamentally, who you are as a person is laid bare, making it clear whether you are worthy of the joining the Order of the Rose… or not.”

Mikael can’t help himself. He raises a single eyebrow and casts his gaze back the way they’ve come, towards the courtyard where they entered the Citadel.

“… And someone like Nathaniel Ironshield proved worthy in your eyes, did he?”

Thayla blushes at Mikael’s dry tone, but its Timothal’s reaction that truly surprises him. For the first time since they’ve met, the Knight-Superior actually laughs. It’s only a quick bark of course, but it still catches him and everyone else in the room off guard. Including the man’s own daughter.

“Hah! Chevalier Ironshield is not a perfect man, I’ll grant you that, Hero. But he is also not an evil man.”

Mikael’s doubt must show on his face, because Timothal just shakes his head as he explains further.

“Nathaniel can be reckless and arrogant at times, but everything he does, he believes that he does for the good of the Order and the people under our protection. The Order of the Rose does not demand perfection. If it did, we would not have an Order of the Rose in the first place. Nathaniel would not be a knight, its true… but neither would I. Neither would Thayla.”

Clasping his hands in front of him, his bearded chin thrust out, the Knight-Superior looks Mikael directly in the eye.

“As none of you are actually attempting to join the Order of the Rose, the standards by which I will judge your Truths will be even lower than usual. In the end, I do not truly believe any of you will fail. But… my hands are tied. The Truth Above All will tell me whether you can be trusted or not in fact… and if you refuse to do this, then you have made it clear that you can NOT be trusted. And I will be forced to act accordingly.”

Despite the threat inherent in his final words if not readily apparent in his tone, Mikael’s opinion of Thayla’s father actually goes up several notches at his words. The man was not just stalwart in his convictions, but also willing to take his lumps both where he and his order were concerned. Mikael could appreciate that. And he could even appreciate the man’s position.

That said… he wasn’t going to be the first to agree to use the damn mirror. He didn’t want to pressure either of the other two into-

“I’ll do it.”

Mikael blinks at that, looking at Avina in surprise. He really hadn’t expected her to agree so readily, but when she looks at him, he sees the determination in her eyes. She wants to do this. Rather, she’ll do anything to help them stop Foss Sangrey. The bastard has taken too much from her already.

To be fair, the fact that the Knight-Superior had labeled Avina a True Necromancer and was still willing to give them this chance to prove themselves was another point in the man’s favor, Mikael supposed. Whatever prejudice and discrimination a necromancer of Foss’ variety could expect from the Order of the Rose, it didn’t SEEM to extend to someone like Avina. Which was weird, but Mikael wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

… Where had that phrase even come from? He grimaces as he realizes it’s yet another idiom from Earth that he doesn’t really remember the origins of. Only that it feels vaguely appropriate to his mind. And that… that’s a little scary to think about, isn’t it? If he goes into the damn mirror, what’s he going to find? What’s going to come out the other side?

“Hmph. If it’ll get us to the next fight faster, then fine. I’ll go in.”

And there was Bula. Mikael grimaces, even if the half-orc’s casual agreement makes sense. Still… it leaves him as the last holdout. And by all accounts, he should have the least reason to be worried. After all, isn’t he an innocent in all of this? The Truth of Mikael is that he was torn from his world and forced to do everything he’d done to survive. But that was just it. The things he’d done… what if he’d become something more than a victim? What if the mirror recognized him as a monster?

He’s afraid. There’s no denying that. But with everyone looking at him, waiting for his answer, Mikael realizes he has no real choice. One look at Thayla’s father and it’s obviously an all or nothing deal. The man will accept nothing less. And while Mikael is confident that he could get them all out of here alive if Timothal Dawnguard turned hostile, it’s not just about that. They need an army. They need the Order of the Rose’s backing, and maybe the Zuverian Empire on top of it.

With a roll of his shoulders, Mikael clenches his jaw and nods. He doesn’t speak… doesn’t trust himself to, frankly. He just nods his agreement and thankfully that’s enough. Perhaps sensing his recalcitrance but approving of his courage, Timothal returns the nod with one of his own before stepping to the side and gesturing to the mirror.

“You will enter the Truth Above All one at a time. You will not see each other within whatever test you find yourselves undertaking. You will also exit the other side separately. Stay true to yourselves, stay strong… and you will be fine.”

See, staying true to himself might be a problem. Because Mikael didn’t exactly know who he WAS anymore. But he doesn’t voice that concern. Instead, he watches as first Avina and then Bula step into the magic mirror’s rippling surface, disappearing into whatever their tests might entail. Then, with Thayla and her father both watching him, Mikael lets out a harsh sigh… and steps on through as well.

-x-X-x-

“Mikael! Mikael, wake up! It’s time for school!”

Blinking open his eyes, Mikael stares at the ceiling for a long moment before slowly sitting up in his bed. Looking around at his old bedroom… he finds himself staring at a mess. Not the sort of mess that a young man would have in their childhood bedroom. No, the sort of mess that resulted in some things literally not having proper shapes to them. The sort of mess where some of the walls have blank white spots on them where posters should probably be.

… He thinks he was supposed to be taken in by all of this. Supposed to actually be convinced that he was back in the past for a moment. But instead, he’s stuck staring at the ruins of his own mind made manifest. His childhood room with strips torn out of it because he couldn’t remember some of his favorite things, couldn’t recall some of his favorite hobbies.

“Mikael!”

Ah… but that was his mother’s voice. He could… he could see her again. Scrambling out of his bed and to the door of his room, Mikael steps out into a hallway just as... decayed as his bedroom was. He nevertheless manages to get downstairs, to the kitchen where his mother and father are waiting for him. His mother gives him a bright smile as she hands him a plate of piping hot breakfast food. He smiles back at her, soaking in the details of her face.

“There you are, Mikael. Eat up! You have school today!”

“… Yes Mama.”

As he drinks in her face, he realizes he doesn’t remember her name. Even now, even in this surreal vision of the past, he can’t remember what Zadicus took from him. But… seeing her face is still pretty good. Seeing her smile at him with such loving affection in her eyes.

Mikael finds himself buoyed all the way to his seat at the table. Just as he’s settling down however, things take a turn for the worse. MUCH worse.

“Took you a while to come downstairs Mikael. Don’t make your mother ask so many times in the future, alright?”

His father’s gentle chiding is nice… until the man pulls down his newspaper and doesn’t have a face. Blank cream-toned flesh stares at Mikael, his father’s voice coming from a mouth that doesn’t exist as he looks at Mikael with eyes that aren’t there.

With a shout of surprise, Mikael kicks back from the table, his chair falling to the ground as he stumbles away.

“Mikael? Are you alright?”

“What’s gotten into you, my boy?”

Both his parents sound so concerned, but between his mother who’s name he can’t remember and his father who doesn’t even have a face… Mikael can’t stay. He turns and he runs, sprinting out of the front door.

Only to find himself on a battlefield instead.

“GET IT TOGETHER, MEN! CHARGE!”

Suddenly, he’s a lot older. Older even than he had ever actually been as far as he was aware. Mikael looks at hands weathered with age, knuckles white as he grips tightly at the spear in his grasp. Around him, the others all let out shouts in response to the voice, charging forward while he stands still.

“Oi! Soldier! I said charge! Stay in formation or I’ll run you through myself!”

There’s a clap on his back, forcing him to stumble forward. And before he knows it he’s running. Charging alongside a bunch of other soldiers on a battlefield he can’t even name. Funny that this memory actually seems to be intact even though… even though it’s obviously not his. Unlike his room, home, and parents, there are not strips torn out of this memory. It’s the full deal. It’s also just dreadfully short.

Mikael finds himself shouting as he engages the enemy. His spear flashes out and catches one man in the throat, sending his opponent into the mud with a dying gurgle. He fights and so do his fellow soldiers, and together, staying in formation, they win the day.

Or at least, he thinks they win the day. The memory is too fleeting. It ends in mere minutes, whereas Mikael suspects he could have stayed in the childhood memory for hours if he hadn’t been so… cowardly.

Still, one thing is for sure. This is the test. This is the Truth Above All fucking with him. And he’s already sick of it. As that memory of battle comes to a close, Mikael finds himself on another battlefield… and shakes his head.

“No. That’s enough.”

He could have kept going, sure. Lived through every moment of his real memories. And every moment of his fake memories. But he had no desire to revisit either for longer than he has to.

Instead, at his declaration something else happens. Everything… turns white. And he finds himself face to face with two other people. Two other versions… of himself.

-x-X-x-

A/N: Next week we start off with the classic 'coming to terms with yourself' scene. Hopefully people enjoy my take on it~

Wonder what Avina and Bula are experiencing right now. Might find out later in the story, fufufu!

Leave a Like if you enjoyed please and be sure to toss me a comment if you have the time!

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A/N: Also I find myself coming hat in hand to once again ask for help concerning Royal Road. 

Specifically, if you have not already done so, please consider going over to the RR version of this story and dropping me a 5 Star Rating. I'm currently engaged in a tiny bit of a shadow war with the  invisible trolls of that website who have been dropping 0.5/1 Star Ratings on the story ever since it made it to Rising Stars.

I've had to watch as The Soul Engine's overall rating on RR has steadily dropped bit by bit over the past few weeks. Last week, for instance, it was at a solid 4.3 Stars. As of this posting, its at 4.05 Stars. 

Needless to say, I would prefer to keep it above 4 Stars if at all possible, and it seems the only way I can do that is by asking for your guys' aid and trying to create a bulwark of as many 5 Star Ratings as possible in order to defend against the inevitable 0.5 Star Ratings.

Link: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/74638/the-soul-engine-isekaifantasy