Palace of Temelesi

“From the All-Master we came, to the All-Master we return. Hold onto our hearts so that we shall not burn. Until our duties are done, we live as one, intertwined is our death with the Earth.”

We in the Circle recite this every morning and every night, in families of five around each campfire. No two circles are the same on any given day, because it does not matter, we are all one. The world is one. The All-Master decides who my four family members will be tomorrow, and the day after that too, and I love them all dearly because, we are all one. I praise him every day.

I complete every given task: I sow seeds when I must, I feed the young hearts when I must and I cull the young heartless when I must, no task brings me any more joy than the last, but no two tasks are alike. When I receive my new post each day, it is as if I have been reborn and a new awakening has occurred, every morning without fail, and I rejoice. I love the All-Master, I have shown you this with every day of my life, and I love every family member equall-

“But it was not equal, was it?”

…Close, to equal. Believe me, I follow every loving Word the All-Master bestows upon me, this is my life, I do not want to anger anyone.

“But you left your task today, did you not?”

I just wanted to see her one more time…I wished every morning to be a ferryman for the departing, but every morning I was found wanting. And today is her 49th day, it was my last chance.

“What would you need to see #90645 today for, #87001? If you know every Word, as you claim, then you know to abandon your task is an abomination!”

And I am sorry, I will repent, look at me, I am on my knees right now, I will submit to the All-Master again, but please, it is the last day. Her soul returns today, and I wish to see her in this Skin before her next. If I could speak to the All-Master myself, I can expla-

“You wish to speak to the All-Master yourself!? And why would I risk my own locket for such an absurd request? #87001 you are but a fool in this land, a mortal that does not grasp the gravity of his own thoughts and words. You have never earned the right to be a ferryman once in this Skin, you have barely succeeded in any Skin you have worn, yet you believe you should speak to the All-Master!” Cardinal #8 had worked diligently to become one of the ten Cardinals, serving the All-Master directly. An accomplishment few in the One-Hundred ever achieve, and one Cardinal #8 is desperate to hold on to. #87001 is not worth the trouble.

Well, I made it this far into the crypts without being noticed…does that count for nothing?

#87001 receives a fiery slap across the face from Cardinal #8, his eyes glow an orange hue. The 7-foot Cardinal towers over the captured and cowering Skin, who could never hope to break out of his bondage. His forearms are raw from the chains wrapped tightly around his wrists.

“It shows the Circle remains loving and trusting of all. Just as the All-Master designed.”

Cardinal #8 kneels to #87001, inspecting his face. They slide their hand down his shirt, bringing his heart-shaped locket to the surface.

“Hmph, a heart-shape. You do not realise the blessings that the All-Master had already given you. Brethren! Take this Skin into the crypts, he can return to the earth earlier than planned. I will explain to the All-Master himself.”

Dismayed, #87001 is carried by today’s ferrymen into the depths. The crypts below the Palace of Temelesi are dark, with a river of sand flowing in the middle, Skins bobbing up and down in the dunes. The bedrock above is illuminated with the flickering of light where the passing Skin’s lockets once lay. The river of sand carried the Skins gradually towards the abyss at the end of the crypt. #87001 could not see, but he knew #90645 was at the other end of this chamber, near where it was the darkest, in the 49th day. He stood with his back to the river and faced the ferrymen. The flickers on the stone above allowed him to see the faces of his brothers, #888 and #1984 stood before him. They were close once, many cycles ago, #87001 remembers but knows they would not.

“#87001, you have committed another transgression against the All-Master, and must hereby return to the Earth. Are you ready to recite the sacred lines and begin your repentance?”

The darkness concealed #87001’s panic, his wide eyes. His heart-shaped locket bounces off his chest with the power of his racing heartbeat.

N-no, not yet, please. If the All-Master could just hear my words, heed my call, what my heart cries for, he would understand. The All-Master knows much, but if he knew what I knew, we could bring prosperity to this land once more.

“Know much? I know ALL!” The stone above rumbled and cracked. Behind the ferrymen another figure approached the river. The ferrymen drop to their knees in shock, awe, and respect with the figure’s presence.

“Cardinal #8 informed me of yet another transgression, my son. He informed me you were desperate to share words with me, #87001… So here I am.”

Th-Thank you All-Master, it is an honour to be in your presence!

The All-Master, gestures to the dumb-stricken ferrymen to leave, wishing to be alone with #87001 by the river. The two ferrymen scurry back up towards the surface.

The pair share a lengthy silence, sharing eye-contact. One bound, one free. The powerless and the all-powerful.

“You wished to speak, so speak.”

Well, All-Master. I see you did not listen to my previous suggesti- #87001 is met with a thunderous strike into the abdomen, bringing him to his knees, coughing bile mixed with blood onto the sand.

“Speak, respectfully. You are no longer King of this land, #87001. You know I will act as I must to quell dissent among the One-Hundred.”

#87001 with arms still bound behind him, stumbles to his feet.

All-Master, I plead with you. Let the people return to this land. All the people and their minds. Our brothers and sisters are trapped in this catacomb forever more. 100,000 is simply not enough, please. We need more than 100,000 souls to exist above. Every moment I spend above is filled with anguish, serving the few with the tasks of the many. You make me cull the heartless Skins every 7th day, I must kill my children, but you keep thousands of heart-shaped lockets in the Palace, along with many other shapes. You know, it does not have to be this way… And then… You put the Queen into my morning Circle… between any of the 100,000, you put the Queen into my morning Circle. And each time I know that will be the last time I see her in that Skin… There is no end to this torment, does none of this bring you pain? Guilt? Is there not a flicker of the old you in your locket somewhere?

All-Master slithers towards #87001’s face, hissing as he speaks.

“No, never! I feel nothing for the pain you endure, #87001. You wish for your life to return as it was when you were King. But I will never make the mistake that you made. In your frivolousness, your naivety, you expended all the lockets. You brought life to so, many, souls, all at once! ‘Too many Skins, too many problems’ I told you. They grew hungry for food, for answers, for power, for war. And if it was up to you, they could have had it all! The Skins will never rise above the One-Hundred.” All-Master glides his fingers along #87001’s chain, twirling his locket with his index finger.

“Rules are rules, #87001. The One-Hundred would have killed you and killed me for being your Cardinal. But I saved us, I saved us all from ruin. I saved us from you, the soul who thinks nobility means everyone being equal. I regret nothing of what I have done to you, and I feel nothing for your torment, #87001...”

If not for my torment, but what of the torment of all my people, our people? I see it in every Circle. They blindly worship you by the fire, but beneath their love is nothing, a vast expanse of blackness. And that emptiness is why we continue to wither. Without real love, love between one another, the land will remain as barren as it was the day you snatched my heart-shaped locket for the first time. Cardinal #3 you kno-

“Don’t you EVER call me that again, #87001! Have you not learned your place after all this time!?” All-Master yells, after another two strikes to #87001’s abdomen.

“And I will snatch your locket again, #87001. I will take your life every single time, until you learn, until you kneel. You will soon fall out of the 100,000 chosen souls if you do not play by my rules, I am sure you know. If you wish to spend the rest of your life in the void, I can grant you your wish.

Your Queen, #96045 has made her choice, she will not be among us for much longer. You and she are of the same ilk, speaking of real love. She is even worse than you, with naïve ideals. But what will you do? If I give you another Skin, will you fall back in line with my wishes…”

…What did you say of my Queen? It has been so long since we could share an unrestrained moment with one another.

“This is her 49th day, now. Her soul is ready for another Skin, but she has reached a dangerous level in the cycle, and I cannot guarantee her return anymore.”

Dismayed like the last time he stood on this exact shoreline, and the time before that, #87001 contorts his face, as though he would shed a tear onto the sand if he could.

“Remember, #87001. You, and that wretch both caused this, together. If you listened to me instead of her, I could have stopped you, but now you both will live with this pain over, and over, and over again.” All-Master grips the heart-shaped locket on #87001’s chest. His tight grip constricts #87001’s life itself, and he gasps for another dust-filled breath. He looks down at his locket, before looking back into the eyes of the All-Master, his dark heart feeding off of #87001’s despair.

“And I hope your Queen returns, for your sake and mine. I would hate for our little game to end so soon… You seem to be lost for words, so I will help you.”

The All-Master closes his eyes with a deep, satisfying inhale, before reciting his own sacred words.

“From the All-Master we came, to the All-Master we return. Hold onto our hearts so that we shall not burn. Until our duties are done, we live as one, intertwined is our death with the earth.”

With a violent pull, All-Master pulls #87001’s heart-shaped locket from his Skin. His body freezes, with his dry eyes still wide open. His Skin crashes into the slow-moving river of sand, lifelessly bobbing along with the rest of today’s returns.

“Until next time, you naïve fool… The Palace of Temelesi will always remain in my control” All-Master whispers to himself. He returns from the crypts with #87001’s heart-shaped locket in his hand, and hands it to Cardinal #8.

“Put this with the rest of them. Just a few more cycles until he is finished. The remains of a by-gone era will finally cease to exist. Then we will all finally know peace.”