Spider-King III
Yeah, yeah. You're probably bored stiff by now.
The next day I busied myself about the ship, which i was able to do since I did not strictly speaking belong among the dignitaries.
The Lover chided me for being unadventurous, which is admittedly unlike me.
That night however, we were all invited to a formal function directly under the watchful eye of Hierodalch himself. That night is what I have tried to gather the proper words to describe, and I believe that it will stay with me as long as I live.
After a while, the mechanical dancers stopped one by one and stood stiff-frozen in mid-dance. A silence fell upon the assembly. I looked around for Albrich or the Lover or indeed the Captain, but their faces held no clue as to what would come next.
Hierodalch the Aesthete spoke.
When a Spider-King speaks you do not hear it, or rather you do not sense it with your ears alone. It is as though your bones have started to speak in a deep and powerful hissing voice. All things shake and everything is shaken loose in the body and in the world. Every word is an imperative, a certainty too large to fully contain. You feel as though you merely orbit a vastly greater will.
”I SALUTE YOU, ALBRICH” Hierodalch said ”AND I GREAT EVERYONE IN YOUR ENTOURAGE”.
There followed a silence which seemed deafening and much longer than it probably was.
”IT AMUSES ME TO SEE AN UNBORN FULFILLING THE WISHES OF ONE DEAD”.
I remembering giggling although I cannot say that was very amused. I did however feel like a stranger in my own head. Around me I saw pained smiles, similar to the one on my own face.
”ENJOY YOURSELVES, VALUED GUESTS.”
The voice of our host fell silent, and slowly the party returned to some semblance of normalcy. People drank more, laughed harder, and danced more vigorously as though they were relieved that weight of our host's scrutiny had left them.
I was later told that each of the Spider-King's eyes had a balcony such as the one we were standing on that night. Here guests would be presented, amusing plays would be performed, and the King would consult and connive with his advisors. Undoubtedly Hierodalch had left us in favor of some other diversion.
The next day I busied myself about the ship, which i was able to do since I did not strictly speaking belong among the dignitaries.
The Lover chided me for being unadventurous, which is admittedly unlike me.
That night however, we were all invited to a formal function directly under the watchful eye of Hierodalch himself. That night is what I have tried to gather the proper words to describe, and I believe that it will stay with me as long as I live.
After a while, the mechanical dancers stopped one by one and stood stiff-frozen in mid-dance. A silence fell upon the assembly. I looked around for Albrich or the Lover or indeed the Captain, but their faces held no clue as to what would come next.
Hierodalch the Aesthete spoke.
When a Spider-King speaks you do not hear it, or rather you do not sense it with your ears alone. It is as though your bones have started to speak in a deep and powerful hissing voice. All things shake and everything is shaken loose in the body and in the world. Every word is an imperative, a certainty too large to fully contain. You feel as though you merely orbit a vastly greater will.
”I SALUTE YOU, ALBRICH” Hierodalch said ”AND I GREAT EVERYONE IN YOUR ENTOURAGE”.
There followed a silence which seemed deafening and much longer than it probably was.
”IT AMUSES ME TO SEE AN UNBORN FULFILLING THE WISHES OF ONE DEAD”.
I remembering giggling although I cannot say that was very amused. I did however feel like a stranger in my own head. Around me I saw pained smiles, similar to the one on my own face.
”ENJOY YOURSELVES, VALUED GUESTS.”
The voice of our host fell silent, and slowly the party returned to some semblance of normalcy. People drank more, laughed harder, and danced more vigorously as though they were relieved that weight of our host's scrutiny had left them.
I was later told that each of the Spider-King's eyes had a balcony such as the one we were standing on that night. Here guests would be presented, amusing plays would be performed, and the King would consult and connive with his advisors. Undoubtedly Hierodalch had left us in favor of some other diversion.