User blog:JeielYozama/Beyond Emerald Lines (A Story From The Background)

From the farthest reaches of Oz, sitting in a glass throne, lies a king of fallacies.



A King born merely as a mirror to the one who lives as the true ruler. A fake.









But the life he lives is real.





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“Why do you continue to watch him, husband?”





The particular drone of a low, but seductive voice bounced on the walls of the palace known only as Il Diabolico. From the outside, it posed as an unforgiving spire of jutting black crystal, trying to ascend into the heavens as if it were cast down by the holy plane of existence. Inside it were halls of reflective glass, pocketing light that shone brilliantly into the forlorn nights there.

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<p class="MsoNormal">Le’ej Amazoi, the obsidian ruler of Obsidian City, moves his hands against a crystal ball, to which it surface gleamed upon contact. He watched on as scenes began to play, flashing against his sordid gaze. Watching him complacently was a Mamono whose body seemed to melt in blackened, earthen gell. A Dorome.

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<p class="MsoNormal">“Husband?”

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<p class="MsoNormal">Le’ej does not respond. His gaze is fixated on ball. Vivid events glinted into view.

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<p class="MsoNormal">The King of NeoOz, Jeiel Yozama, locked in deadly combat.

<p class="MsoNormal">The opposing side? A warrior clad in armor, his titanic breath steaming out of the gaps of his helmet.

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<p class="MsoNormal">It was rainy, as the scene played out. The fields of the land Whitemarch. A spat between friends? How inconvenient. Jeiel was begging for reach some kind of understanding, but he was not heeded. The armored titan turned his back on him.

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<p class="MsoNormal">And out of frustration, a battle erupted between them.

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<p class="MsoNormal">Jeiel stumbles. Rain pours on to him. He screams. And then… there was..

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<p class="MsoNormal">“Hmm?”

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<p class="MsoNormal">An unknown power… he sees it. Biting into the crestfallen Jeiel – and eating away at his soul.

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<p class="MsoNormal">He watches as he changes… is changed into something monstrous…

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<p class="MsoNormal">“He’s lost himself.” He mutters.

<p class="MsoNormal">The transformed Jeiel wastes no time. Splitting the titan in two. Betrayal, so it seems.

<p class="MsoNormal">Jeiel realizes his mistake and rips the entity’s hold out of his body. He is saved. For now.

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<p class="MsoNormal">As the boy is overcome by grief, he leaves in fear that the wrath of the resurging titan may fall upon him.

<p class="MsoNormal">“So the man is still alive?”  Le’ej raises an eyebrow, saying this.

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<p class="MsoNormal">Jeiel is in tears. But then he runs faster.

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<p class="MsoNormal">He watches Jeiel break into a sprint. Towards home. Bearing a plan he had seemed to stake out everything.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I’ll change it,” so the King declares.

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<p class="MsoNormal">Change what?

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<p class="MsoNormal">A hand taps at the top of the crystal ball. The played-out scenes flicker and die. Le’ej raises his head. It was the Dorome. Dima Dimaculai. His wife.

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<p class="MsoNormal">“Why watch him still, husband?” She asks plainly. She seemed unnerved by her husband’s inability to listen. Le’ej turns to look at the distant gloom. “You are aware that seeing him reminds you of your role in existing, do you not?” She continues.

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<p class="MsoNormal">“Yes.”

<p class="MsoNormal">His reply was short. He is a man of a few words.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I know.”

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<p class="MsoNormal">“Then why? I do not see the point.”

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<p class="MsoNormal">Le’ej stands from his throne, his ornate cloak of sewn crystal thread flapping soundlessly behind him. ”His actions… intrigue me.”

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<p class="MsoNormal">“In what manner?” Dima trails after him as the man walks towards the open balcony. Below sprawled the rest of Obsidian City – black crystals that housed a myriad of mimicked life, corresponding to that of the vibrant Emerald City.

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<p class="MsoNormal">All, clones of the original. But all, living out their lives as they desire it.

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<p class="MsoNormal">“He.. seeks nothing but the joy of others. Himself, last.” Le’ej utters in a condescending tone. “And those inside him.. scream in contest. They desire he choose a side.”

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<p class="MsoNormal">“Then.. what side do you believe he is most befitting?” Dima asks. Le’ej taps at the balcony rails, contemplating. He shakes his head.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I cannot say.”

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<p class="MsoNormal">“Husband… you say the strangest things.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“It must be how Oz made me.”

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<p class="MsoNormal">“I have seen your original, Dima.” Le’ej says, eliciting the Dorome’s interest. “Ho~? Is it the Draco-Slime Sebyl Sheena you are referring to?”

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<p class="MsoNormal">Le’ej mumbles  a ‘yes’. “She.. is worse than you.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Surely you must be jesting, dear husband.”

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<p class="MsoNormal">“I rarely joke. Haven’t we established that?”

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<p class="MsoNormal">Dima laughs shrilly, the mud in her body quivering. “Even in that state of yours, you never fail to amuse me, Le’ej. Sebyl Sheena is… ” She lowers her gaze, thinking of something. “She .. is someone beyond my reach. “

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<p class="MsoNormal">“She is herself, and you are you.” Le’ej passes his hand on her cheek. The Dorome responds by kissing it deeply. “We may have been born as an accident, or Oz made us as a living reminder to the people we resemble.. but while we live, we live as how we make it. “

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<p class="MsoNormal">Dima sucks gently on Le’ej’s finger, pushing its tip in and out of her mouth before pulling it out with a small pop. “The way you speak right now… it turns me on.”

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<p class="MsoNormal">Le’ej lands a deep kiss on his wife. They stay that way for a time, before his lips part and he trails his hands from her cheeks while walking away. “We shall continue elsewhere.”

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<p class="MsoNormal">“Husband?” Dima calls after him.

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<p class="MsoNormal">The glass-king stops. His left hand shifts into a gilded lance, glowing in unearthly black. “Summon the Mavens.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“The rest of the wives? As you wish. “ She bows her head. “To where?”

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<p class="MsoNormal">Le’ej remembers the scenes he had watched from the crystal memoir. The King of NeoOz was in utter desperation, last he saw it.

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<p class="MsoNormal">“Can you indeed, push to change what had come to pass, Jeiel Yozama ? Or will you sink in your despair?”

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<p class="MsoNormal">“Husband?”

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<p class="MsoNormal">Le’ej sauntered off, his conviction clear.

<p class="MsoNormal">“To Emerald City. To the King.”

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<p class="MsoNormal">(Just a prologue. You guys be the judge....)