the room.
Imelda requested time off to visit her home village before taking up her deserved role as the third viceroy. Adrian wasn’t an option after he wisely pointed out how heavily the Divinity Wars documentary featured him. You’re not sure if he was trying to be equitable or if he just dreaded being back onstage. And that left you as the only option.
“Whatever. Let’s do it.”
All three of them laugh as you shed the dark backstage for the bright lights. A man named Whittaker Best waits onstage for you. He spent his entire life in the city working for Ashlord theaters and production companies. His status as a Dividian kept him from hosting prime-time entertainment, but he got plenty of practice on their other programs. He has a well-trimmed beard, a neat suit, and an inviting smile. You cross to center stage as he speaks.
“We’re back and we are live from the capital! I am your host, Whittaker Best. Tonight is must-see viewing. We are welcoming Viceroy Pippa to the stage.”
There’s no automated applause. You squint through the brightness to take in the faces of actual, present citizens. The mannequins were removed after the Striving’s death. It took several weeks to sequester all that technology and refit the old theater seats.
You wave to the crowd, but there’s only light applause from a few corners of the room. That has you taking another breath as Whittaker gestures for you to sit across from him.
“Welcome,” he says. “Thank you for taking the time to be with us tonight. We’re going to keep things simple. I know you have a statement you want to read on behalf of the Third Empire. We’ll start with that before opening up time for questions. It was our hope that this new government’s leadership could connect directly with the wider viewership. How does that sound?”
You nod. “That’s perfect.”
“Well, start us off,” Whittaker encourages you. “Let’s hear the official statement.”
And the nervousness washes over you again. You think it’s a good thing that it feels different this time. All your other interviews were about you and your brand. Now that changes.
You unfold the letter.
“Good evening. I am honored to speak tonight with the voice of all three viceroys. We spent a great deal of time preparing these words, and it is our hope to cast a new vision.”
Take a deep breath. Take another. Let go of the masks. Drop the act. Speak with your own voice. Be yourself. No more pretending. No more acting. Speak.
“I was once asked by someone why our phoenixes must die. She had never seen the horses before and did not understand their nature.”
I cast a glance to the wings, knowing Quinn is there with a smile.
“My answer to her was simple. The phoenixes die so that they might become something more. We have begun the same process. Over the past few weeks, we have killed an empire. There will be different reactions to its death. Some of you will celebrate. This empire was not kind to you. Others will fear what comes next. And a few will whisper that it never should have changed.
“But the truth is that the world we knew was built on a lie. A group of hungry gods taught us war. They made our world a brutal place, and we were fool enough to believe them….”
I read them quotes from the Curiosity’s own journals and walk them through what Adrian and I learned in that dark tower she called a home. How they found our world and slowly stripped our ancestors of their power. The clever deceits and tactics that carved our people out of their deity and into servitude.
“And now that Empire is dead. The world the gods built with our hands is no more. As it dies, something else is born in its place. Something new has come. Something that we hope will rise with tomorrow’s sun and burn brighter than all that came before it. The Third Empire is a fledgling creature. Much like a freshly summoned phoenix. A little wild. A little frightened. But with a quiet word and a steady hand, we hope to set the proper course. A land where all are equal. An empire in which everyone stands undivided. And we are honored to help with those first steps.”
I blink at the empty page, take another steadying breath, and sit down again. I was not sure what their reaction would be, but applause comes. Thunderous and real and not