The wall was over two meters (7′) high and twenty meters (66′) long, entirely made of obsidian. The stone formed a black frame around what seemed to be a uniform coat of silvery paint at the center of the wall.
Once the Divine Beast got close enough, they realized the truth.
There was no paint, just thousands of closely spaced names. Names engraved with enchanted silver to resist the passing of time with the same strength as the stone they rested upon.
“Great Mother almighty.” Protheus spoke out loud in surprise. “Did Verhen really kill so many people?”
‘No. You did.’ Faluel replied and all eyes moved from the wall to her. ‘Look at the plaque.’
It read:
“These are the names of some of those who have disappeared under the rule of Thrud Griffon. Most will remain lost because we’ve never bothered asking their names. We’ve never looked at their faces. We didn’t consider them humans so when Thrud took them away, we rejoiced.
“Their fate is unknown. No corpse has ever been retrieved but we’ll never stop looking. Their deaths are on our hands and we’ll never forget the price of our foolishness.”
Under the plaque, there was a small booklet, a quill, and an inkwell. The booklet carried the signature of those who visited the wall and took responsibility for the massacre of the less fortunate of Zeska.
‘How? When? Why?’ Protheus started to weep. The thought that the woman they considered as a mother could have done such a thing tore their gelatinous body apart.
One more person crying in front of the wall was like one more drop of water in the ocean. No one bothered the Doppelganger if not for patting their shoulder and offering their condolences.
‘I don’t know. Nobody does.’ Faluel shrugged. ‘Most likely Thrud had the Forgotten do the dirty work while you were busy fighting on the frontlines. Even the why is a mystery. She might have used those people to fuel the Golden Griffon.
‘Or maybe she harvested their life forces. Or maybe she turned them into food rations to feed her soldiers and gain the upper hand during the famine. Nobody knows.’ Those words made seven bodies and dozens of gelatinous masses churn.
‘What I know for sure, is that there is a wall like this in every city you occupied. That by getting rid of the poor, the homeless, and the destitute, Thrud got to save lots of her resources and funnel them into her war efforts.
‘I’m not blaming you because she manipulated you like everyone else, but this is what would have happened if the Mad Queen won the war. We’d have walls like this in every city of the Kingdom instead of just half of it.
‘Knowing her, the plaque would have praised the sacrifice of Thrud’s victims and claimed it was all for the greater good instead of taking accountability for their deaths.’
Thrud’s former vassals stood there in silence for a few minutes. Not in respect for the fallen but because it was hard for them to accept that so many people had died under their watch yet they hadn’t noticed.
Divine Beasts and Doppelgangers all stared at the ground, frozen, while the revelation slowly sunk in.
‘Can we please go to another city?’ Leari asked. ‘We can get back here and talk with the people of Zeska later. I need to know if you are telling the truth!’
‘Pick a city. Any city.’ Faluel echoed Leegaain’s words with a wry smile on her face.
Each one of the generals chose the fortress they had been administered the longest while the Doppelgangers the places they had infiltrated. They always found a wall.
Their size differed, the names differed, the materials differed, but there was always a wall carrying too many names to read in a single day.
The shock destroyed the morale to the point that they spent several days locked in hotels, leaving their respective rooms only to eat and then Warp back to Leegaain’s lair for the real meal.
There was no way human servings could sate a Divine Beast and the amount of food seven of them consumed would have raised more flags than a Royal Parade.
They had just emerged from the numbness caused by the revelation and had started to work rebuilding Zeska when Faluel received Friya’s call.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are about to have a guest. I expect you to be on your best behavior.” The Hydra said. “Mean words are bound to fly if not even fists thrown and you are going to take it all without reacting.
“Friya Ernas is my friend, disciple and, more importantly, she’s one of your victims. One wrong move and I’ll banish you to Grandfather’s lair until the day maggots feast on your corpses.”
Both Divine Beasts and Doppelgangers didn’t like being threatened but they just nodded in silence.
‘So far we had it easy.’ All of them thought, each using slightly different words. ‘Anonymity protected us but, in the future, people are going to react badly the moment we show our true forms.’
Thrud’s former generals and spies were all eager to learn if they truly felt remorseful for their actions or just regretted getting caught in the aftermath. Friya Ernas would be a good testing ground.
All of them but one.
Ufyl had only one head in his human form yet he managed to swallow as many times as if he still had seven.
‘Friya Ernas? Phloria’s sister? Gods, Phloria told me a lot about her. What should I do? Can I offer Friya my condolences? To me, Phloria was a friend but to Friya, I’m just the bastard who carried her sister around after Thrud enslaved Phloria.’
Faluel brought everyone outside Zeska, far away enough from the city to not draw attention and speak with Friya privately.
“Master Faluel.” Friya’s eyes burned with Life Vision and her violet aura flared in fury as she recognized the Divine Beasts from their energy signatures. “I knew you were educating this trash but I hoped we could talk alone.”
“Has something happened to Lith or Solus?” The Hydra asked.
Friya had told her nothing via the amulet and as far as Faluel knew, aside from the tower there was nothing they couldn’t discuss openly.
“No, thank the gods.” Friya shook her head. “This is about my parents.”
She looked around, her eyes lingering on the Doppelgangers the longest.
‘I could kill them all myself, but I doubt Faluel is going to let me.’ Friya thought.
There was a nagging feeling in the back of her head, the awareness that she could exploit Thrud’s vassals and convert them to her cause. Yet her rage made it impossible for her to think beyond ripping their traitorous hearts out of their chests.
‘I wish I was as cunning as Mom or as cold-hearted as Lith. How could he vouch for them without beating them an inch from death first?’ She clenched her fists so hard that they turned white.
“If your parents are having marital problems, I’m the wrong person for advice.” The Hydra sighed. “You should ask Surtr or Rethia. How their marriage has lasted for so long is beyond me.”
“Not that!” Friya snapped. “They have put themselves into danger and…”
