{"id":96,"date":"2025-07-29T21:31:25","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T21:31:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/manifested.one\/?page_id=96"},"modified":"2026-04-10T19:35:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T19:35:43","slug":"tssc-test-page","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/manifested.one\/?page_id=96","title":{"rendered":"Prologue"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Monarch<\/span><\/strong><\/h1>\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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\u201cI see you,\u201d whispered Khorial. Crimson light reached through the lens of his telescope. Scalding fingers squeezed his spine. As the burning light filled his eye, he tore himself away. But he could see it now with his naked eye: a faint red flicker among the stars. It saw him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

A book lay spread on Khorial\u2019s lap. Crimson covers enclosed dead black pages as he slid the book back into its hiding place. He stood, inhaling deeply, filling his lungs with the stench of burnt blood.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Down the spiral stairs and through the door, a Guardsman stood watch at the base of the observatory. The man bowed as Khorial emerged from the base of the tower, striding into the open, beginning his journey back along the rampart, which connected the observatory to the looming behemoth of the Blackfort.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wind caught in the Guardsman\u2019s blue cape, causing it to flap incessantly. He clenched it closer, trying to still himself as Khorial approached.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSuperior! I trust all is well.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t look down,\u201d said Khorial. \u201cWhat have you seen tonight?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI have nothing at all to report.\u201d The Guardsman stiffened as Khorial stopped before him.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re sure you saw nothing unusual?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The guardsman\u2019s eyes flickered up to Khorial\u2019s. Head shaking, the eyes danced down, repelled by Khorial\u2019s owlish stare.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnswer again,\u201d Khorial beckoned. \u201cWhat have you seen?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNothing!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad.\u201d Khorial placed a hand over the man\u2019s plated shoulder. \u201cYour shift is over. Come.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, Superior,\u201d the Guardsman said. Khorial felt him shivering through the armour.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

It is a pity, <\/span><\/i>Khorial thought. <\/span>The Guardsman wants no part in this. I\u2019m sure he\u2019d cast these memories off if he could. Yet against his own will, his mind now holds some of my last vulnerabilities.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cStop walking,\u201d Khorial ordered. His Guardsman dutifully obeyed. Hand outstretched, Khorial held the plated shoulder firm, and hung his head. He saw hard dark stone, noticed the wobbling knee his man could not control. Khorial took a heavy breath, and held it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m weaving a great tapestry, and this man, regretfully, is a loose thread. If this thread gets pulled, it could unravel everything.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Khorial lunged, picking the Guardsman up off his feet. Caught in the vice grip of Khorial\u2019s arms, the armoured body tensed. Fingers tried to pry apart Khorial\u2019s locked hands. In two swift strides, Khorial heaved his man up against the parapet, and hurled him over. He saw a flash of wide white eyes and a gasping mouth moaning fear. Soft fingertips scrabbled on unrelenting stone. A falling wail. Stopped by a thud.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

He looked back at the observatory tower. Craning his neck up, trying to find the window he\u2019d left open. In there was a lightless room. Invisible. Surely the window lay open still, releasing into the night air the horrid stenches of his sacrifices. Merciful wind. But it could not dispel his blackest secret, tucked in the tower, in his hiding place. He needed to find a new hiding place soon.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

He started toward the parapet, going to check the spot below where his Guardsman had thudded down. But stopped midway. For it was nothing but a compulsion. Pointless.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

This was not murder. By the time he\u2019s found, I\u2019ll be incapable of it. So let them discover his smashed dead body. Let them speak the excuses, and know my silent meaning. I fear only one thing.<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

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Monarch \u00a0 \u201cI see you,\u201d whispered Khorial. Crimson light reached through the lens of his telescope. Scalding fingers squeezed his spine. As the burning light filled his eye, he tore himself away. But he could see it now with his naked eye: a faint red flicker among the stars. It saw him.\u00a0 \u00a0 A book […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-96","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/manifested.one\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/96","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/manifested.one\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/manifested.one\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/manifested.one\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/manifested.one\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=96"}],"version-history":[{"count":33,"href":"https:\/\/manifested.one\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/96\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":746,"href":"https:\/\/manifested.one\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/96\/revisions\/746"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/manifested.one\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=96"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}