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"Sumeru Akademiya's Scribe Alhaitham, one of the most prodigious of the school of Haravatat, was found dead outside his home on April 15, 2025, following an explosive encounter with a school rival. The Matra, and General Mahamatra personally, are currently investigating the cause of death. They currently believe that foul play was at hand. "
Guards were stationed all around the house, blocking anyone from entering or leaving. The entire city was put on lockdown. The assassination was all that was heard throughout Sumeru, and some rumors even spread to other nations.
The first indication that Kaveh had that something was horribly wrong was the number of guards stationed around the house. The second was that both Cyno and Tighnari were there, but not Collei. The third was when he approached a guard to ask what was going on, only to have six spears pointed at him in response.
"The hell is this about? I live here!". Kaveh protests.
Cyno heard him and turned to face him. "And that's exactly the problem. You do live here Kaveh. And that means you were the last person to have seen Alhaitham before he died. You need to come with us."
Kaveh just stared at him. "Alhaitham is fine Cyno, I just saw him yesterday."
"Kaveh."
Kaveh flinched at his sudden sharp tone.
"You're coming with us. Do not try to resist."
Kaveh sighed. So much for my morning.
The architect was taken to the Mahamatra headquarters and seated in a blank room. Cyno sat down across from him and rested his chin on folded hands , putting his elbows on the table. His sharp eyes continued to bore holes into the increasingly anxious architect. Kaveh couldn't help but shudder at the countless scholars across Sumeru who had come face to face with the general's wrath.
"I’m going to ask you to cooperate with me one more time, and once more only," the general growled. "If we're going to bring the Scribe's death to justice, then we must know everything we can learn."
Kaveh sighed. "Cyno... you're pulling my leg. or fucking with me. or whatever. There's no way he's dead. You really expect me that Mr. 'Feeble Scholar', the same guy who knocks out Eremites for breakfast and is a constant thorn in my side, was taken out by some street pleb?"
"Couldn't be closer to the truth if you tried." Cyno leaned back and picked up a newspaper, practically tossing it in his face. Kaveh fumbled to catch it and read the page. As his eyes scanned the page they changed from utter disbelief to doubt.
"Now, i will ask one last time. Where were you last night?"
Kaveh sighed. *Seems there's no way out of this one.* "I was at Lambad's."
"and what were you doing at Lambad's?"
Kavhe shrugged. "What i usually do. drinking my sorrows away."
"and was Alhaitham with you?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"We had a fight."
Cyno raised a brow. "Again? that's the third- ... never mind. What was it about?"
"i don't really think that matters," Kaveh muttered.
Cyno slammed his fist onto the table, startling Kaveh. "What. Was. It. About?"
Kaveh shrank back from Cyno shivering. "It was about finances" he finally blurted. He continued on, "and he called me poor, and i told him..." Kaveh suddenly paled as some sort of realization dawned on him.
"What did you tell him?" Cyno prodded.
"I told him to drop dead..." Kaveh mumbled, then quickly added, "We argue all the time, it was just an especially bad one."
"Must have been one hell of a diss track," Cyno tried to joke, but then sighed. "I see... well, Kaveh, I can't let you go yet. Since you're currently a suspect in this murder case." He stood up. "we'll have to keep you here."
Kaveh grumbled. "It's not like i had anything else to do today..." he sighed aloud, but Cyno was already gone.
And so there Kaveh sat from early that morning to about 11 o clock in the morning. Whereupon a matra suddenly walked into the room and turned to Kaveh. "We're letting you go."
Kaveh eyed him suspiciously. "really? why's that?"
"We got the biopsy back from the eggheads at Bimarstan. Alhaitham's death has been ruled a suicide. you're free to go."
*A suicide...?* Kaveh gulped and nodded, standing up and picking up Mehrak off the floor. "Right, thank you officer." he side shuffle around the matra and bolted out the door.
~~
"That fucking bastard," Kaveh grumbled the moment he walked out of the Matra's headquarters. "Fucks up my day and doesn't even compensate me for it?? What happened to "Oh I'm sorry, here's compensation for your time?" I've got shit to do!"
Kaveh stomped and grumbled the whole way back to his house. anyone who happened to be in his way got a nasty grousing from him or a stern beeping from Mehrak, and soon people scattered, not wanting to tangle with someone in such a foul mood.
"I'm gonna show that fucking prankster what for," Kaveh growled as he set sights on his Alhaitham's home. He stepped right up to the door to stick his keys in --
And then realized he forgot his key again.
*Fuck.*
Well then. All he had to do was wait for Alhaitham. Again. Like every damn time that Scribe swiped his keys. And so Kaveh plopped himself on the doorstep of the house and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
The sun crawled lazily across the sky as the city bustled below him. It was barely two in the afternoon. Kaveh knew Alhaitham disappeared at lunch time, it was likely he would be coming by any moment to pick up something he forgot and would find Kaveh sitting there. Waiting.
Waiting.
Waiting.
Mehrak floated off around four or five in the afternoon to find Kaveh some water, as he was parched. Sumeru heat did not mess around, even in the rainforest. (it was hell in the desert.) She came straight back levitating a glass and a pitcher of water.
"Thanks girl" Kaveh said as he drank a glass. Mehrak beeped happily.
*Well, I missed him at lunch. But no matter, I'll catch him eventually. He has to come home at some point. Hell, maybe he's looking for me,* Kaveh thought to himself. Best not to leave his spot then, since it would be less likely they would run into each other if both parties kept moving.
And so he waited some more. He was getting bored sitting there, so he had Mehrak pull his sketchbook out of herself and a pencil so he could doodle or write. And so he did.
For five droning hours.
The sun was long gone now. The pitcher of water was empty and all the stalls were closing for the night. Still no sign of Alhaitham. When was he coming home? Kaveh sighed, glaring at the lightpost that only flickered in response to his silent question. There was still one more place that Alhaitham could be at this hour, and that was going into/out of Lambad's, which he could see from there if he scooted to the edge of the pathway of his neighbor's, rounded the curve, and peered to the right. That man lived such a predictable life that Kaveh knew everything he did, right down to the very minute where Alhaitham would be next. Well, except when he was doing something for the Matra but that was beside the point.
9 o'clock. 10 o'clock. 11 o'clock. Midnight.
Alhaitham never showed up. Kaveh never heard his footsteps. and Mehrak didn't pick up on his voice, which she definitely should have heard three hours ago. It finally started to sink in to Kaveh's mind.
Alhaitham wasn't coming home.
"Kaveh? " A voice finally asked about one in the morning.
Kaveh jumped to his feet. "Alhaitham? Where the hell were you?? I've been waiting all afternoon and all--"
He stopped himself. That man standing in front of him and holding their house key was not Alhaitham. It was some other Matra.
"Sir... Alhaitham doesn't live here anymore.." the matra sighed. "The General informed me that you were living here and so I was sent here to let you in and return your keys.". He unlocked the door and pushed it open.
Kaveh stood in place, staring into the living room through the door. The matra turned back and looked at Kaveh quizzically, then seemed to think something over. "It's alright if you don't want to stay here tonight. I understand."
Kaveh huffed and pushed past him into the house. Everything was just too quiet now. Mehrak floated over to her usual corner in the room to recharge, and Kaveh grabbed the keys away from the Matra before shutting the door.
Kaveh set the newspaper down and tore out the picture of Alhaitham plastered on the front page. As he turned to find a place to frame it, he started to realize something. He turned around, opening drawers, cabinets, workspaces, the study, and even tried to pry open Mehrak, much to her protesting. The entire house was dumped on its head. Kaveh stood in the wreckage completely stumped, then said aloud, to no one in particular,
"... why the FUCK did alhaitham have absolutely zero pictures of himself in the house?!"
The entire house was completely devoid of pictures of Alhaitham, aside from two that rested on his desk. The first being a Kamara picture of him way back in the early Akademiya days, back when he was much shorter than Kaveh, and rather cute. The second was a current picture, after he had graduated Haravatat and eventually made his way into the position of the Scribe. Both of which he acted like he wanted to be anywhere that wasn't getting his picture taken.
"I see no point in this, senior," Alhaitham had said to him once, on the day of the first picture. "does the Akademiya really have nothing better to do than take pictures of their students?"
"It IS important," Kaveh had argued, "not just so you remember your time at school, but also so that the Akademiya can keep records of who enrolled where, and what years."
after which, Alhaitham didn't complain about the photos, at least for a little while.
Everything in between then and now, however, was erased. Kaveh figured that it had been from their first big fight. He sighed, setting the pictures down on the desk again.
"Well Mehrak," Kaveh said aloud to his mechanical companion, "if we don't have ample pictures of Alhaitham, we'll make one."
Mehrak beeped thoughtfully and floated after him as he started to pick up sketchpaper and pencils. Kaveh sat down in front of his own drafting table and cleared off the excess tools and equipment, taking care to set them on the side so they wouldn't be broken.
That done, he simply sat and stared at his sketchpaper in dumb silence. Thinking about drawing? Hell, that was the easy part. Kaveh just had to think up the most extravagant thing imaginable and it would look like a photograph in his mind. However, putting said thoughts to paper... Well, where was one to start?
Kaveh set the newspaper photo next to the sketch paper and stared at that as well. The cold hardened eyes of Alhaitham stared back at him. Everything about him was hard. His jaw, the corners of his eyes, and even the thin line of his lips as he gave his everyday thousand yard stare. Even his clothes were stiff in the photo, as if perfectly ironed and meticulous.
"Boop?". Mehrak asked him, after about ten minutes of silence, with only her occasional chirping noises to break the silence.
"No i don't know where to start. You may as well try to ask me to draw a genuine Padisarah from god knows how many millennia ago.". Kaveh sighed again, tapping the end of his pencil to his chin.
Finally deciding on a starting point, Kaveh touched his pencil to the paper and started to draw the first curves. Drawing him like drawing a draft for a client seemed to be the way to go, yet every time a line was set on the paper Kaveh could not help but frown. Something didn't feel right about how he looked in the picture.
*There was no way that Alhaitham was that cold all the time, right?*
Kaveh sighed and kept drawing and erasing. He tried to smooth out some of the sharp edges on Alhaithams face and clothes, and rounded out the eyes a little. Mehrak hovered next to him watching curiously.
After about half an hour Kaveh stepped back from his drafting table and took a good look at the sketch again. While nothing more than just a sketch, the image of Alhaitham as Kaveh remembered him was still very clearly in his mind, and now, on his paper. Kaveh reached forward and touched the sketch's cheek with a finger lightly, and he couldn't help but smile at it.
"Hey, Alhaitham, come take a look at this, doesn't it look so much like you?". Kaveh started to ask as he stood up and peeled the paper off the drafting table and turned to the study's main desk. He stopped short. The cold and lifeless eyes of the newspaper photo stared back at him in cold silence.
Ah... Right. Alhaitham is no longer here anymore.
And a single tear started to roll down Kaveh's face.
it splattered down onto the sketch paper, leaving a wet mark, and kaveh hurried to try to blot it off. he wiped his eyes trying not to get any more onto the paper.
His tears were interrupted by another knock at the door. Kaveh sighed and stepped over to open it. He started to say, "No thank you i don't want any well wishers today!" but stopped when he noticed that it was not Alhaitham, but rather Cyno.
"I didn't expect to see you still up tonight," Cyno said as he stepped into the living room.
"Well I wasn't expecting to see the General Mahatmatra twice in one day. I must be breaking a record," Kaveh groused at him.
"Hm. Just came to check on you."
Kaveh huffed. "How thoughtful."
"Also i came to drop this off with you," Cyno added, setting down a set of papers on the table. "I was gonna do it while you were asleep, but since you're up, I bed-rest my case."
Kaveh just stared at him unamused.
"... Ah well. I'll be off then. Have a good night." Cyno shut the door behind him as he left.
Kaveh stared at the papers for a long time, wondering what was so important that the General Mahatmatra himself had to show up and give them to him. Surely it wasn't lawsuit papers or something like that, he hadn't done anything wrong. Curiosity got the better of him and he opened the stack and rifled through the pages. It didn't take long for him to see that it was a will. Kaveh slowed down to read it and his eyes widened.
It was Alhaitham's will.
Kaveh read through the pages and stared at the subclauses of possessions that Alhaitham had left behind for him.
"All my possessions go to Kaveh, and my money and survivor's salary will go to paying off his debt, Kaveh (and Mehrak) will keep anything that remains. Should neither be surviving then Cyno will take over the distribution of my property and my reading materials donated to Aaru village."
Kaveh sat on the couch, completely stunned, staring down at the will, the words staring back at him, unflinching like the sketch. Mehrak booped curiously by his head.
"Yeah girl... everything... he left everything to us."
Kaveh could not keep the tears back that night.
~~
"I cant just ignore this, Tighnari." Cyno sighed. "Alhaitham's too smart to allow himself to get murked. For someone to outsmart him means that there must be something big going on."
Tighnari flattened his ears to brush them out. "Even if there is... This is Alhaitham we're talking about."
"Think about it though. Alhaitham is found dead in his own office, no signs of a struggle, no sign that anything else was wrong. Kaveh claims he's not fond of him but he has no actual reason to have killed him. And besides he has an alibi."
"And that alibi could be a cover that he's the murderer" Tighnari said flicking his ears in annoyance. "Look Cyno, I get you have nothing against Kaveh but that doesn't mean you can rule him out of this investigation. You're gonna have to keep an eye on him."
Cyno crossed his arms. " I'm more worried that there may be an impostor in our midst."
Tighnari gave him a deadpan expression. "You didn't listen to a word I said. Making mountains out of molehills, just how much are you willing to throw away for that architect?"
"Whatever's enough to turn this molehill into a Mole-tain would work for me," Cyno snarked.
... Yeah that wasn't his best joke in the world.
Tighnari shoved him. "Just figure it out and quit pestering me about the biopsy. You already know what i told you."
Cyno shrugged and left their home.
Returning to the scene of the crime Cyno's eyes scanned the now empty room. It didn't make any sense, anyone who came up to the grand sage's office had to go through Panah first, and there was no other route up. And had it really been a suicide like his colleagues had been suggesting, there should have been blood all over the floor and the desk and books. It was too clean, too perfect, too ... staged.
Cyno sighed and pried the old book out of the dead hands. It too was too clean. As Cyno brushed off the open page with his hand he noticed that a sentence written on the margins of the book, simply stating "The truth is in the margins."
This in and of itself was not entirely unusual for the scholars of Sumeru. textbooks were always annotated, commented, debated, and revisions requested within the margins of the books. New editions of those books were always being printed with said commentary and revised as needed. being a nation of wisdom and debate, textbooks were always in demand, while the novels were not altered nearly as much.
That said, this book was clean as a whistle. Cyno guessed it must be either a brand new book not yet commentated, or a book that Alhaitham would pretend to read to piss off Kaveh. as Cyno flipped through the pages he noticed that some of the words within were circled. Those words, notably, were "conspirator", "Network", and "Doctor."
Cyno frowned, trying to figure out in his head what it meant. Separately (and quite frankly, together as well), it didn't make any sense on its own. When he looked again at the book he saw it was actually a report on an incursion concerning Alhaitham's last rival, Siraj.
Siraj had been a pain in the Matra's ass for some time since the beginning of his school years. Ever since Alhaitham had rejected his thesis one time Siraj made it his personal vendetta to wipe out the Scribe for good and turn the Akasha back on.
A fool that man was. It was honestly a good thing that he was now behind bars.
Cyno checked the desk again, as Alhaitham pretty much never left that chair unless strictly necessary, and found an additional report, this being a funding request from the Darshan of Kshahrewar. Said request appeared to be for Kaveh to help build a library in Aaru village for the children.
Cyno sighed, finding an untouched pen and starting to write out his report. Kusanali needed to know about this, and hopefully she wasn't one of those who believed the first thing she heard.
Cyno all but rushed from the office, through the streets, up the winding ramps, and up to the Sanctuary of Surasthana to Kusanali. For her part the Dendro Archon was surprised to see him but let him in anyway. "General Mahamatra? what brings you all the way up here?"
"Kusanali. I need you to confirm something for me."
"Of course general, how can I help you?"
"Did Alhaitham get murdered?"
Nahida gave him the same deadpan expression that Tighnari had given him earlier. "You know the answer to that question."
Cyno shrugged. “I figured you would say that. I just needed confirmation of the fact.”
Nahida hummed, sitting across from him. “I want to ask you then, general, what brings you to think that this is not a suicide?”
“the scene was too clean. there was no sign of anything other than Alhaitham’s machete on the floor and even that was too clean. someone cleaned it off after killing him to cover up the fact that it was a murder.”
“And then?”
“the words he wrote in his book. ‘The truth is in the margins’. he had “Conspirator”, “network”, and “doctor” circled in the book he was poring over.”
Nahida pursed her lips. “Conspirator… that sounds familiar. Was that report the same one as the one involving Siraj that we just busted a month or so ago?”
“It seemed to be a similar report yes.”
“So then why did Alhaitham have it? It was solved. Closed even.”
“Maybe he believed that something else as happening.”
“Hmm… You know, Cyno, you reported that there were thirty six scholars involved in the hive mind controlled by Siraj?"
"Yes?" Cyno aanswered with a raised brow.
"And how many did you arrest?"
"Thirty six."
"Includint Siraj?"
Cyno frowned. "yes, why do you ask?"
"I read the report, and i checked all the names against the registered names that were in the terminal that Siraj had set up. It turns out, something didn't match." she handed him the piece of knowledge in question. The capsule showed that the name for position number two, simply dubbed Athnan, did not match any name in either Siraj's altered terminal orthe official Akasha system.
"That is odd," Cyno wondered aloud. "Who then?"
"I'm afraid i can't help you with that one," Nahida said. "but do keep Siraj in mind."
"i will. Thank you Lord Kusanali."
~~
The next suspect to be interrogated was Faruzan, one of the few professors who knew Alhaitham aside from his own professor, Rajkumar. as short tempered as she was and could be, she was surprisingly easy to work with. Alas that she could give them nothing to go off of.
"As much as i am willing to help you close the case on this, there really isnt much I know," Faruzan admitted shaking her head. "I only really started working extensively with Alhaitham after he became Acting Grand Sage, so i only know what the general public knows."
"I see. Thank you anyway Faruzan."
"That's Madam Faruzan to you."
Cyno rolled his eyes. "Madame Faruzan, like wine you are better with age, but that would be General Mahamatra to you."
Cynos attention then turned to Rajkumar and he tracked him down one evening after the Akademiya had closed for the night. As expected of a disgruntled professor, Rajkumar had plenty of choice words concerning Alhaitham.
"He was an arrogant bastard and the absolute worst of my class, IF he attended at all. I'm glad he's gone."
Cyno raised his brow at the profsesor, boring holes into him. "is that so?"
"It's about time his hubris caught up to him. Pride and prejudice don't go very well together anyhow."
"I see. Thanks for you time," Cyno sighed. *And i better get a Matra to tail you.*
~~
"And why did i have to be dragged into this?" Hat Guy snapped. "I was perfectly fine minding my own business."
"Because you're probably the shadiest person around given your track record," Cyno warned him. "Your shady record can't just be the result of your hat, so if you don't want said track record getting public you better do your damndest to give me something that will exonerate you."
The Wanderer went silent for several long moments. Cyno glared daggers into him expectantly. "I had nothing to do with it, I barely know the guy. Though, you know someone who would have something to do with him?"
When Cyno didn't respond, Hat Guy sighed. "I shouldn't have to spell it out for you. Wherever he's involved, there's bound to be trouble that even someone like the Grand Sage can't solve."
~~
Kaveh was completley beside himself in his grief. days had now passed since the news report, and then the subsequent one that had exonerated him. As Tighnari was put in charged of planning the funeral, he needed the most help. Collei and Tighnari exchanged glances with each other with concern as Kaveh spent nearly all his days at Ghandara ville. He had become completely listless, something Tighnari never thought he would ever see in such a lively man as Kaveh.
There was much work to be done. Alhaithams body had to be cleaned, preserved and prepared for burial, a plot had to be reserved in the cemetery outside sumeru city, a funeral had to be organized.
Kaveh participated in all of it. Personally.
He had tried to convince himself that he was okay, that he didn't really like Alhaitham all that much, that he was only helping Tighnari prepare for the funeral because he was living in the same house.
Well, at least he had tried.
It was required that someone close to the deceased to be the one to clean them, so Tighnari instructed Kaveh what to do and left him to perform the deed in private. Kaveh stood in silence for a long time, staring down at the body, noting all the battle scars across his body over the years.
Hell, he could name every incident that had given Alhaitham a new scar. the first one on his leg where he had fallen off a high branch and broke his leg, the wound there had never healed. the scars across his arms from punching Eremites. that one deep one on his face from being attacked by Cyno not that long ago, that one was still fairly fresh. And of course, the fresh red mark just under his ribs where he had driven his own machete through his heart.
Kaveh reached with his fingers and gingerly touched the wound, the dead flesh already stiff and heavy under his touch. the thoughts of the last words Kaveh had said to him still echoed in his mind, burnt like a brand into his memory.
*"I wish you would just drop dead."*
It is said that whenever you are upset someone that you must never let your last words be something that you will regret, and the same coul not be further from the truth for Kaveh. He wished he had never said what he said. He wished that his life could just go back to thew ay it was, with him arguing with Alhaitham over the schedule of the day, or that ugly piece of furniture Alhaitham had bought at some quack at Port Ormos.
He wished that nothing had changed at all.
He brushed his thoughts aside and cleaned the body as Tighnari had instructed him, then set the preservative in before covering alhaitham with a white sheet. He turned to leave and cast one last look back at the sheet, as if Alhaitham would just suddenly sit up and shake his head and throw off the sheet as though nothing had happened. He still believed that it had to be an elaborate prank. It had to be. There was just no other options.
When the body did not budge, Kaveh sighed and rested alhaitham's grayed vision upon his chest and left the enclosed room. "Alright, he's done as you instructed."
"Thanks Kaveh." Tighnari reached and put a hand on his shoulder. "Look. it isn't your fault."
"But it IS, Tighnari," Kaveh protested. "He died, and i told him to drop dead. He clearly took it to heart."
"Kaveh, think about it. when is the last time that he has ever taken one of your threats seriously?"
"Erm... i told him he could go fuck himself?"
Tighnari's ears flattened. "Seriously?"
"Yes."
"And... what happened?"
"He did not, in fact. He bought me a case of wine."
"i see. Kaveh my point is i don't actually think he killed himself after your snapping at him. Cyno thinks that it was a murder."
Kaveh was silent for a long moment, staring at Tighnari. "A ... murder...?"
"You really thought he committed suicide?"
"Yes. No. ... i don't know."
Tighnari sighed , tossing him a report from Cyno to the Archon. "Here, read this report."
To Kusanali.
April 17, XXXX
Archon:
After careful investigation of the crime scene and biopsy of the body, I Do not currently believe that the cause of deat was suicide, contrary to the judgment of my coworkers. the marks are too clean, too organized. Even Alhaitham himself cannot make a cut that clean, and i've seen a multitude of suicide cases. It also was too small to be his machete or sword, but too big to be something less obvious such as a lethal injection. we had detected no signs of drug use in the death, and so i believe that something else isat play here.
I will keep you updated, and await any suggestions you have.
General Mahamatra.
Kaveh skimmed the report carefully and frowned. "and your thoughts?"
"I'm inclined to agree with him." Tighnari rested a hand on his shoulder. "Kaveh, I think you need a cup of something warm. Feeling guil-tea about something that's already in the past will get us nowhere."
Kaveh thought it over, glared at Tighnari for a moment, then nodded and picked up Mehrak. "I'm going to Lambad's. Let me know if you need me." he stepped out the door.
~~
In the heart of the house of Daena was old records and archives that were filed away, a form of memory for sumeru for their history. Destruction of archives was strictly prohibited and so much material that scholars didnt want getting out often ended up down in the basement floor as well.
Upon rereading the report about Siraj's arrest Cyno noticed that some pages were missing as well, so the most logical place to look was actually in that basement, as no one bothered to look there anyway, always chasing after the obvious clues or going on goose chases with red herrings. So down he descended into the darkness and the unlit bookshelves where god himself dared not tread for fear of disturbing all the dust within.
"Siraj, Siraj, Siraj," Cyno muttered, flipping through book after book and scroll after school. Why the hell was none of this organized?? Siraj had barely been arrested a month ago. Maybe there really WAS a mole in the Matra...
His thoughts were interrupted when he finally found the report in the general section that covered the grand sages. *Of course it would be lumped with Azar.* Cyno then paused. Azar... Of course. There was all sorts of corruption at his level, the lengths he went to to keep his power and Kusanali imprisoned. Perhaps that old man hadn't changed his ways after all...
As he checked the records Cyno noticed that there was one person on the record who had somehow escaped it: Matam. He remembered seeing the name before, one of Siraj's smartest in his miniature Hive that he had created, and judging by the fact that he was number two, it had to be the guy.
Is what he would say if he could find any leads on someone named Matam.
Every scholar he talked to said the same thing.
"Who?"
Cyno was getting frustrated. There was no way that there could not be someone. Maybe it was a name change, an appearance change , something along those lines. It was quite common among the scholars trying to get away with something to change their names and appearances as well, but this Matam was a no show even as a previous name. Cyno was starting to lose his mind again.
He finally lucked out with an elderly lady who always stayed up after dark and seemed to be the city's know-it-all, aside from Kusanali herself. he supposed he could have asked Kusanali himself, but he would rather not bother her. She was the archon after all, not some vending machine of knowledge. She seemed to prefer that her subjects solve their problems on their own when possible anyway.
"Well, I don't know everything in this city, but there was a nice young man who offered to take me home," the elderly woman rambled. "And when he did, well, bless his heart, but i just couldn't help but notice something peculiar."
"And what would that be?" Cyno sighed.
"well I saw a suspicious looking scholar sneak out of the city, thinking he wasn't gonna get caught. now i didn't follow him far, my old legs can't get me very far, but I'm quite certain he was headed for Port Ormos."
"I see. thank you miss."
Upon reaching port ormos he realized he felt eyes on him. He had to be careful, any wrong move could alert the suspects to his presence. He also saw that there was an increased amount of Fatui in the port.
*Huh, weren't they all banned? why are they back now...?*
A meaty hand reached out of an alley and yanked Cyno into an alley before he could react. Cyno reached for his spear, only for a voice to whisper to him to hush. "I knew you'd come looking" the voice whispered to him.
"Huh? who are you?"
"it matters not who i am, but who i work for."
Cyno looked at the man and noticed the fatui clothing and frowned. "You? why would you be interested in telling information to the matra? usually we have to coerce information from you."
"That is true, yes. But if you help me escape the Fatui, then i'll help you stop Dottore's plan."
Cyno stared at him in disbelief. "Dottore..?"
It started to click in his mind.
the three words that Alhaitham had written in the margins of his book.
"Conspirator." "Network." "Doctor."
"Dottore's turning on the Akasha terminal again??" he yelled aloud.
The Fatuus slapped a hand over the general's mouth. "Shush!" he peeked out of the alleyway to see if anyone had heard the outburst, then turned back to Cyno. "And yes. So if you want your precious archon to not get locked in a cell again you need to help me leave. I promise i'll go quietly."
Cyno frowned. "alright. then let's take you to Kusanali and discuss a plan."
~~
The tavern was bustling like always , the band in the corner playing a quiet tune so that people could focus on their conversations and their drinking. Kaveh slipped through the doors and sat down at the counter and waited while Lambad served some other customers. He just couldn't help it. The mere thought of Alhaitham was more than what he could take.
"Kaveh?" he heard Lambad's voice before he saw him walking over. "You're awfully early tonight." There was concern in his voice. Kaveh hadn't been eating enough since Alhaitham passed.
"Lambad..." Kaveh groaned, leaning forward and resting his head on the counter, "I need to forget him."
"You mean Alhaitham?"
"He's gone Lambad... i keep expecting him to get back up out of that funeral casket and reveal that this is all a cruel prank. I ... I almost WANT him to, Lambad. I don't want to be home alone," Kaveh added with a final whimper.
Lambad sat on the stool beside him and rested a hand on his shoulder. "I'm no therapist, but do you want to talk to me about it? I promise I'll find as much time to listen as i can between orders."
"I'm fine," Kaveh mumbled, not bothering to look up from the counter.
Lambad studied his slumped form for a long moment until a customer walked over to him to place an order. "Yes, I'll be right there." Lambad assured them then turned back to Kaveh briefly. "Let me know if you change your mind." He stood up again an left to serve the other customers.
Kaveh raised his head and glanced around the tavern, watching customers drink and eat, and the band play their tunes. As time wore on Kaveh noticed himself with his eyes glued to the door, watching every person that walked in and wondering if he would see that familiar face. His eyes jumped to every flicker in the corners of his eyes, his heart would skip a beat has he swore he heard someone call his name, he started to feel the brush of fingers on his shoulders and their strong arms that would slide under his back and knees to pick him up and carry him home.
Kaveh's thoughts wandered to Alhaitham and he sighed dejectedly. How long had it really been since they had spoken without some sort of disagreement? Kaveh couldn't remember. There were so many times they didn't talk, and when they did it would descend into some heated argument. The main one was always the cluttered books on every shelf and raised place to put books, to the point that Kaveh was putting books back into their proper places every day. There was always the coffee too, and too many outbursts kaveh had over that coffee that Alhaitham insisted on adding sugar and cream until it was barely coffee anymore. There was the damn stew that Alhaitham someone managed to turn into a fucking pie, there was the ugly doll or decor or furniture or really anything that Alhaitham brought home just to piss him off. There was the constant nagging about rent and not eating "junk food". The list could go on and on, about everything that ALhaitham did to aggravate him, whether intentionally or not.
But realistically speaking, the more Kaveh thought about it, the more he realized that he was the instigator of about 90% of those arguments. the argument about the books? Kaveh was the one to make a fuss about it. the coffee? Kaveh had criticized him. same for the stew. every time Alhaitham brought something home, Kaveh was the one to complain about it. This was bad, that was bad, everything Alhaitham did was wrong.
He wished he could take it all back. He wished that Alhaitham would walk through that door right now, carry him home, and they could go back to the life they were living. He wished that he hadn't been so hard on his husband Roommate. if he hadn't, maybe Alhaitham would still be alive.
Kaveh looked back at the counter and noticed that Lambad had left a glass of his favorite wine for him. he took the cup and gulped down the wine. It didn't take long for him to get drunk and carefree.
The band moved to the next song and started playing something a little more lively, and a number of scholars stepped out onto the open floor to dance. Other bar patrons gathered around to watch the dancers and cheer them on. Kaveh sighed watching them. Some of the dancers danced with a partner as well. Time seemed to slow as the night wore on, and the scholars drank and danced their worries away. Kaveh decided that this may not be a bad idea and stepped over to the floor. A scholar had just finished a jig and staggered back to the crowd, and somehow Kaveh found himself pushed to the center. All eyes trained on him as they waited for him to move.
Kaveh huffed, already regretting his decision. Nonetheless he shut his eyes...
And he heard Alhaithans voice. Kaveh opened his eyes again and looked up in shock. There he was, bright as day, expressionless as ever. As if nothing had changed at all.
"Why are you down here again Kaveh?" Alhaitham asked him. "You know drinking's bad for your health, right?"
"Yeah yeah, i know," Kaveh huffed rolling his eyes. "so annoying..."
Strong hands grasped his own, and Kaveh glanced back at him. "Come on, Kaveh. shall we dance?"
He knew it was a dream. it had to be. Alhaitham would never ask him so outright. He never did, it was always the most backhanded way possible. But kaveh would take it. He'd take anything. Just to have his roommate husband back in his arms, back in his life. "Please," Kaveh finally choked out.
Alhaitham pulled him a little closer, one arm wrapped around his waist and another entangling fingers in Kaveh's hair. Kaveh reached up and wrapped his own two arms around Alhaitham's back the best he could. Alhaitham was always broader than him, his arms couldn't quite fully envelope him in a hug. And yet it was enough. Kaveh tried to blink back his tears as the band started up on a somber song. The two circled each other slowly to the rhythm of the music as one of the band members sung its melody.
Just dancin' with my eyes closed
'Cause everywhere I look, I still see you
And time is movin' so slow
And I don't know what else that I can do
So I'll keep dancin' with my
Eye-eye-eye-eyes
Eye-eye-eye-eyes closed
Eye-eye-eye-eyes
So I'll keep dancin' with my
Kaveh looked up again at Alhaitham, those shining starstruck eyes gazing down on him with a kind of softness Kaveh didn't even think him capable of. "When are you coming home?"
"Soon, Kaveh, soon. but for right now it's only you in this room."
"I just... you're so faded..."
even the vision on his shoulder was gray. even as Kaveh looked at Alhaitham again he had already lost his color and became monochromatic. Kavhe's hands dug into his annoyance's husband's shoulders and he buried his face in his chest, leaning forward into him as if trying to convince himself that alhaitham was really there. "I miss you."
"You weren't ready were you."
"I just ... pictured us differently." Kaveh clung tighter to him.
Everything changes, nothing's the same, except the truth is now you're gone
And life just goes on.
"Kaveh?" Alhaitham asked, but Kaveh only pressed himself into alhaitham, trying desperately to hold on to him, even as he faded further.
"Don't leave me alone, Alhaitham. Please. I'll do anything. Please..."
"Kaveh?" Lambad's voice cut through to Kaveh's mind, jolting him to whirl around and face the tavern owner.
They're shutting the bar, they're cleanin' the floor
And everyone is already home
But I'm on my own...
And Alhaitham was once more no longer there.
"It's time to go home, Kaveh," Lambad told him. "It's closing time for me."
"Home...? Go home to what?". Kabeh protested. " There's nothing to go back to. Alhaitham isnt there waiting for me, there's no hot soup sitting on the table for dinner, even Mehrak doesn't want to go.".
Mehrak beeped sadly, her screen showing sad eyes.
Lambad sighs. "I suppose you could stay in the upper room so you're not alone..."
"Actually, Mr. Lambad, I need him for something," a young girl's voice stated behind Kaveh.
The two men turned and saw that Nahida had entered the tavern looking for Kaveh. "Ah, Lord Kusanali," Lambad greeted her. "Yes, go ahead."
Kaveh studied her quizzically. "What do you need?"
"Come with me, ill explain at the sanctuary."
~~
Kaveh followed the little archon to the Sanctuary of Surasthana, where Cyno and (to his surprise) a Fatui soldier were waiting for her. Kaveh eyed the Fatuus with suspicion and glanced at Cyno. "Does he have to be here?"
"Kusanali said he does. Besides, you cant really be present when you're only half here."
Kaveh just frowned at him. "That doesn't even make any sense."
"Now boys," Nahida interrupted before Cyno could make more jokes, "we know who we're up against, and we know that Dottore isnt going to be easy to take down."
"We need to focus on the one he's employed as well," the Fatuus mentioned. "Matam is bent on taking over not just the hive that Siraj had but also the whole akasha itself."
"That's nothing new" Nahida commented while thinking. "There was another who tried to make a hivemind."
"All of these people that are wanting to start hiveminds, you would think that they were queen bees." Cyno joked. "And I'm gonna get hives from enough of these cases."
The others stared at Cyno with a deadpan expression. Cyno glanced back at them. "What?"
"Let's hold off on your jokes until all is said and done," Nahida sighed. "We're gonna need a plan. I'm not certain how serious Dottore is with following through with his plan, but we need to prepare for the possibility that he is.". Nahida holds up one of the decommissioned terminals. "I will have to turn this back on."
"Us that... Safe?". Kaveh asked. "I mean, is someone going to get trapped if we do this wrong?". Am I gonna lose another like I lost Alhaitham to this madnan?
"Don't worry Kaveh, I've got a plan. I just need you guys to go along with it."
Guess we don't have a lot of choice. "Alright, Lord Kusanali. We trust you."
~~
The House of Daena was completely silent. Too silent. No shouting from Kaveh, no arguments in the office of the Grand Sage over funding for projects, nothing. Death still hung heavy in the air, and the House itself seemed to be holding its breath in anticipation for what was to come. The scholars dared not tread inside, for the silence was stifling.
Dottore immediately knew that he was walking into a trap. What other option could it be? If his subordinates didn't have an escape plan in place for him he wouldn't even be here taking the bait with this idiot that he called Matam, preferring instead to have the pompous man to take the fall all on his own. Hell, why WAS he taking the bait anyway, escape plan or not?
He supposed he was curious how badly Matam would fail, just like his last project in Sumeru with the Shouki no Kami.
Matam marched into the office and picked up the akasha terminal laying on the desk. Dottore noted that it was larger than he remembered. "This one here is Azar's terminal. Or I suppose I should say WAS. And with this it controlled the entire Akasha system."
"You don't need to remind ne," Dottore rolled his eyes impatiently.
"With this I'll finally get my revenge on Siraj, and finish my revenge on the Scribe that stood in my way!"
"Just put it on and get it over with," Dottore snapped, already bored with his melodramatic speeches.
Matam shrugged and picked up the terminal and put it on. A quick touch to the earpiece was enough to reactivate it and the system started clicking to life as other terminals also activated.
"Stop right there!". They head the voice of a matra shout. Matam glanced over and saw one of the members of the Corps of Thirty standing there holding their contact by the arm. "We found your little mole. Surrender now while you still have the chance."
"Oh i don't think so," Matam sneered. "we got what we want.". "We wont have any need of Siraj, or the Scribe, the sages, or of Lord Kusanali. We did just fine without her for five hundred years, what's a few hundred more?"
"That won't work anymore, by the way," Nahida declared as she arrived on the lift into the office. "The terminals are on a closed system."
"Hah! I'll believe it when i see it!". Matam tapped the terminal, causing the one Nahida was wearing to flicker and turn red. But that's all it would do. It would only switch from red to green, and that was it.
"Unfortunately for you, Matam," Nahida stated as the scholar started to panic, "the terminals don't actually work anymore. I had Alhaitham alter them to become decorative before he died."
"you-!" Matam charged at Nahida, but Cyno blocked him with his spear and threw him into the wall. Kaveh summoned his claymore and approached the scholar, the thousand yard stare in his eyes and his heart burning with rage.
"So you're the one who murdered my Alhiatham," Kaveh hissed through clenched teeth, his own terminal glowing as red as his eyes. "you're the one who ruined our life, wrecked my home, took away my future. I could have had a future with Alhaitham, hell, he had me as my husband on his goddamn will! You have no idea what you've taken away from me."
Matam sneered at Kaveh. "And what do you think you are, his little guard dog? Heh, some bitch you are. Scholars are all the same: their bark is worse than their bite."
Kaveh leaned in as Mehrak swung the claymore back and turned the blade to point at Matam. "Worse for you. I'm the face you'll take to hell."
Mehrak charged forward at full speed, ramming the claymore through Matam's heart. The scholar wheezed, now pinned to the wall and his breath knocked out of him, coughed up blood, before slumping dead. Kaveh turned to face Dottore but noticed that he had slipped away while they were focused on Matam. Kaveh cursed, but Cyno put a hand on his shoulder. "Kaveh. Leave it be. I don't think he'll be back anyway."
"How can you be so sure?". Kaveh questioned him.
"He didn't have any interest in coming back. He was only here to watch Matam fail."
Nahida nods. "And now that Matamir is dead, I'll be shutting off the terminals for good. No more conspiracies, no more people trying to imprison me or make their own hive mind. I'll make it so that this can't ever happen again."
Kaveh blinked and stared at Nahida. "Wait... This idiot named himself 'Conspirator'??"
Cyno facepalms. "I shoulda known. the devil's always in the details. Well, I guess he was the Matam-dor of his own demise."
Nahida sighed shaking her head.
Kaveh said nothing more, staring down at the lifeless body of Matam. everything around him felt heavy, and he felt the guilt in his heart rise in him again. Alhaitham had been avenged. they had won.
So why did he feel so empty?
Nahida interrupted his thoughts by holding his hand. "Kaveh, we've done it. We got all of Siraj's lackeys. we've gotten rid of anyone who had beef with Alhaitham. I'd say this is a good cause for celebration, no?"
Kaveh studied her face frowning. how could she be so positive when everything he had was gone? didn't she know that his Alhaitham, his love that he had taken for granted, was gone forever?
"Not for me," Kaveh finally answered her. "Not yet." he couldn't bear to look at her face anymore.
"Kaveh..." Nahida tried to insist, pulling on his sleeve a little. "It would do you some good."
"What would dome some good," Kaveh interrupted, "would be for you to write a eulogy for Alhaitham."
Nahida said nothing at first, only staring at Kaveh in silence. Kaveh shook his head. "We did this for Alhaitham. i don't want his death to be in vain. i want him to endure after death."
Nahida gazed into his eyes for a little too long, before finally letting out a resigned sigh. "Very well. I will make sure it is befitting of your love."
"Thank you. I'm sorry." He would be okay. He would move on. He would find another love.
he would be okay.
he would be
he would be
he would be okay
he wasn't okay. not in the slightest.
"I know what he meant to you,"Nahida reassured him. "I only wish he could have seen this."
~~
it was truly a terrible day for rain. the funeral could not be pushed off as the body had to be buried for health reasons, and so it had to be this day. all who knew and didn't know Alhaitham had gathered. even Rajkumar was silent, for his worst pupil was now gone, and he had neither good nor ill to say.
Nahida stood in front of the group scanning the crowd. Cyno was in the front row, wearing his headdress over his face, presumably to hide the tears. Tighnari stood with Collei holding her hand. Collei herself was teary-eyed, grieving for one of few mentors who understood her troubles and helped her through them. Dehya and Candace were somewhere in the back. Being only work friends, they had no reason to be in the front with close family and friends. In the far back Nahida saw a familiar hat as well.
Kaveh stood in the front, unmoving. his eyes twitched and his lips quivered, and he couldn't bring himself to look at the casket.
No words could do Alhaitham justice, and so a long silence passed as those gathered stared silently at the casket and Nahida. The little Archon cleared her throat and started to speak. "Friends, scholars, people of Sumeru, we are gathered to honor a man who changed the course of Sumeru itself." her eyes scanned the crowd and she gauged their reactions as she spoke. "Many of us would remember him only for his abrasiveness and arrogance, but he was obviously more than that. He was a man who cared about those he chose to, and for those people he willingly gave everything to them. I am saddened that he is now gone, and that it took just death to eliminate all of his remaining personal rivals, but let us therefore not let his bells toll in vain for his sacrifice. Let us carry his ideals with us, even into the mundanity of our lives. For we are all Alhaitham in how we question reality and challenge the normalcy f our lives. Without questions, without challenges, how can we learn to grow ourselves? It would seem that Alhaitham figured out the secret to life long ago."
A long silence once more fell upon those present, no one daring to break it even through their tears.
Nahida kept the ceremony short and simple. Alhaitham would have wanted it that way anyway. His body was carried to the cemetery outside the city and buried. Nahida placed the tombstone once the dirt was filled in. Kaveh couldn't bring himself to look at the engraving.
"Alhaitham - Stalwart Scribe. February 11, XXXX - "
Perhaps if he had, he would have seen the truth.
Those who were not close to him were the first to leave the cemetery and return to their lives. For what was Alhaitham to them but a thorn in their backside? It mattered not to them that another arrogant bastard with to much time and money to burn would eventually be humbled.
Candace and Dehya left some comforting words for Kaveh before they too left for the desert. What reason did they have to stay? Alhaithan was merely an acquaintance to them, and at best a work friend. Nonetheless they knew it had affected Kaveh, and so they tried to comfort him the best they could. However they too left.
Faruzan lingered the longest out of the Haravatat scholars, Rajkumar the first to leave. The ancient lady shook her head in quiet sympathy, resting her hand on Kavehs shoulder. "I'm so sorry for you, Kaveh. I only wish that all of this hadn't happened."
"Thank you Faruzan..." Kaveh sighed.
Cyno, Tighnari, and Collei lingered the longest of all, sharing in grief with Kaveh. Of all the people of Sumeru, they and Nahida alone knew the truth about Alhaitham's meaning to Kaveh. And even then only Nahida knew the truth. She debated upon telling Kaveh, but then decided against it. She too turned away and followed the others as they returned to their lives, leaving Kaveh all alone in front of the grave.
Kaveh knelt and placed his hand upon the stone, the rain pouring down on him and mixing with his tears. Time seemed to stand still as he lingered, his head bowed and resting against it. His chest felt tight with agony, and he couldn't hold back the choked sobs that tore from his heart, tearing him apart from the inside. How he missed Alhaitham. He wished that alhaitham didn't have to die for the conspirators to finally be quashed. He wished that he had done more than put up with Alhaitham's constant nagging, and the vice versa of Alhaitham putting up with Kaveh's own complaints.
"I wish I could have told you I loved you," Kaveh finally choked out between heaves, before finally breaking down into broken sobs.
The grave lay unmoving, standing stalwart and silent in the gently falling rain. Kaveh leaned in just a little closer and pressed his lips to the etched stone, letting its roughness graze his lips. Kaveh stayed like that a good while, the silence only broken by the pattering of rain and tinkling as it bounced off of Mehrak, who sat solemnly by his side during the whole funeral. Kaveh couldn't help but start to sob again. "I loved you," he cried out over and over again, as if the stars themselves would hear his please. "I loved you..."
And I will swallow my pride
You're the one that I love
And I'm saying goodbye
If only he had it to do over again. If only he could have spoken those words to him before he lost his chance forever. "Say your piece or forever hold your tongue," it is said in weddings, but the same could not have been truer for the funeral. If only he had said he loved him. And now he was taking it to his grave.
He was lost. There was nothing left without Alhaitham. Everywhere he looked he saw him, and yet he was not there either. What else was there but this? Was there any meaning to his life without his husband?
Time seemed slower still and he drew a knife out of his pocket and held it turning it over in his hands. He shut his eyes again and imagined the maw of the earth opening its jaws to swallow him , to join his husband in death and live on the other side with him. Here, he would end his agony and sorrow, for life was meaningless without him.
"You know, you could tell me that yourself."
That voice...
The all too familiar voice almost didn't register in his ears, but it sent a jolt through his heart and spread through his body all the same. Kaveh froze, eyes wide in disbelief. *No, i have to be dreaming. there is no way.*
"... ... Kaveh?"
He wasn't dreaming.
Kaveh backed up and whirled around, almost slipping in the now muddy ground and falling on his rear. He stared up at that all too snarky familiar face right into those eyes gazing back at him in curiosity, and gasped out a very quiet "What the fuuuuuuuuuuck??"
His mind was reeling and racing at the same time, trying to comprehend the impossible, the hope unreachable filling the cracks in his jolting heart. He stared at Alhaitham, his eyes refusing to blink for the fear that his husband would disappear again and he was awoken from a cruel dream that Nahida had trapped him in.
"... Alhaitham?" Kaveh croaked out hoarsely. "How...?"
Alhaitham gazed down at him, frowning, before stepping forward to gently pull the knife from his hands. "Come. I'll explain on the way."
~~
The hive's terminal crackled and sparked with pyro and electro, threatening to boil over and blow up, destroying everything and everyone in its wake. Siraj stared in disbelief at the offending machete stuck in said terminal, then turned in a rage to Alhaitham. "What have you done?!" he screamed at the Scribe.
The Traveler pointed their sword at Siraj, but Alhaitham pressed his palm upon the blade, making them lower it. "Calm down, Siraj. Don't you have an easy way to figure this out?"
Siraj searched his terminal frantically, looking for any way to fix the uprising, finally seeing the memory of Alhaitham speaking to one of the lower members in the Hive, Ilyas. "What you said to him has become a memory of the Hive... I see it now! You channeled and amplified their desires and are trying to destroy my Hife from the inside out!"
Alhaitham shrugged. "Humans are not infinitely pliable, and many have been stretched to the limit. with your authority waning they will snap back."
The voices of the hive buzzed louder than any swarm of bees could ever hope to recreate, and the members started to fight back against Siraj's control. Siraj desperately tried to find a way to quell them, but in his panic he slipped and fell off of the main platform and fell into the well of voices. Duly frightened, he promtply passed out on the ground. Alhaitham held out his hand, and the machete dislodged itself and flew back into his hand. Just like that , the standoff was over. The Matra came quickly, and Cyno stopped to talk to Alhaitham.
"Everything went as you predicted. we'll take it from here." Cyno reported.
"Good. Well, the fun stuff is done. I'm heading home. See you." Alhaitham turned and left Paimon and the Traveler standing there, much to Paimon's annoyance. Cyno turned his attention back to the associates of Siraj, and they arrested all that were present.
... only that not everyone was arrested. in fact, one got away.
Matam. a member of the Hive subjected to the control of Siraj as the Overmind. He watched as Alhaitham challenged him, threw his dendro machete at the Hive's control terminal, shutting everything down. he hid away in the brush while the Matra came and arrested all who were present. No one thought he was missing, rather Cyno had believed that everyone was accounted for. He watched with a sense of catharsis as Siraj was led away.
"Now, Siraj, I will do what you could not. i will reestablish the Akasha network, without a god, and certainly without you."
If Alhaitham was not the center of his attention before, he certainly was now.
But as small as Matam was, and as big and bulky as Alhaitham was, there was no way he would be able to take this man head on. Even in an intellectual sense, Alhaitham would outsmart all of his competition. So, Matam had to turn to the one person who could outsmart even the God of Wisdom.
~~
in the dead of night, when Matam was sure no one was watching, he sneaked his way down into Port Ormos looking for the Second Harbinger. As he had never really left, he was bound to be somewhere hiding, and after ~~nagging~~ politely asking a Fatui to take him to the Harbinger, the soldier reluctantly agreed after some significant bribing.
"You know, those who deal with Dottore are said to never return," the soldier warned Matam.
"I'll do whatever it takes to get rid of that highfalutin Scribe" Matam scoffed.
The soldier sighed and brought Matam to the hideout. Matam let out a yelp of protest when he was shoved to his knees, but immediately quieted when the Doctor stepped out from a corner.
The Doctor barely spared him a glance, looking straight past him to the soldier. "What is so important you had to bother me now? I'm busy."
"Someone wished to speak with you, Lord Harbinger," the soldier replied bowing low.
"And? So do all these aspiring people. what's so special about this one?"
"I'm someone who the Scribe never ousted," Matam introduced himself. "And I want what is rightfully mine, and he is now in my way as the Grand Sage?"
Dottore rolled his eyes. "What would you have me do then, scholar? March up to the Dendro Archon and tell her that I wish to take over Sumeru? In case you geniuses forgot, we have been banned from Sumeru and I was forced to destroy most of my clones in exchange for her gnosis. Without a solid foolproof plan, and i have yet to devise one, the fatui won't have a foothold anymore."
"I've got a plan."
Matam couldn't see anything under the Doctor's mask but he could tell there was a hint of curiosity, and so he pressed on, "We'll target what matters most to him and make him do something irrational."
Dottore raised a brow. "and why would that work?"
"Because the scribe considers himself the most rational man of Sumeru. But he won't be so rational when his emotions are not in check."
Dottore cast a glance at the soldier, who just stood in silence listening to the conversation. He turned his attention back to Matam. "very well. We will attempt your little idea."
"Thank you, Dottore. I owe you one."
"You'll owe me your life should this fail."
"ah ah y y yes, of course."
"Now go spy on the scribe and tell me what you see."
Matam scurried off once he was sure he could.
Dottore sighed and turned to the solder. "And you," he groused, "better prepare me an escape route for when the shit hits the fan."
"Yes Lord Harbinger."
~~
Matam's first encounter with Alhaitham was far less than successful. He had found the Scribe in Port Ormos standing at the market stalls debating over the furniture they had in stock. Matam approached him in disguise as a student. "Excuse me, mister Scribe, do you have a moment?"
"No."
"I'm sorry?"
"If you need my business you can wait for me to come to you. If it's an academic question you'll need to come in during open hours at the Akademiya."
"But it's important! Surely you could spare a moment to"
Alhaitham didnt let him finish, instead turning away once his purchase was complete and started to walk away.
"Hey, wait, Mister scribe!"
Alhaitham paid him no notice. Matam chased after him but slowed down once outside the port. He shook his head. *That bastard*, he grumbled to himself.
Subsequent encounters were about as successful. Every time Matam would try to reach Alhaitham, Alhaitham would not even give him the time of day. Even during business hours he wasn't much better.
"You don't seem like you actually want my help. You just seem to want the answers to your problems."
"But i"
Alhaitham cut him off again. "If you think you are going to just cheat on your next exam do what you want, but remember that you will be responsible should you be caught by the Matra, and especially by General Mahamatra."
Matam sighed and sulked out of the office. Nothing had worked so far. he was about to call it quits when he noticed a blond man storm past him and up into the office. The resounding cry of "ALHAITHAAAAAM" echoed through the House of Daena, and every young student , including Matam himself, jumped in surprise at the volume. Judging by the lack of reaction from the older students, however, it seemed that this was a regular occurrence.
"So they ARE back together..." Matam mused to himself. "What a fascinating development."
He hurried out of the Akademiya when he was sure no one was looking and returned to the hideout and to Dottore.
"And what did you notice about Alhaitham that we can use against him?" The Doctor asked Matam
"He has a VERY loud roommate."
Dottore raised an eyebrow again.
"His name is Kaveh."
"the one they call the Light of Kshahrewar? I've heard of him."
"He's living with Alhaitham. And we can use that."
Dottore sighed. "Very well, what exactly is your plan?"
~~
Alhaitham stared down at his desk, the threat letter splayed out upon it. The provocative words glared back at him. The fool who dared to put such a fiery threat in front of Alhaitham!
"Step down from the Acting Grand Sage position now, or you won't be the only one to fall. We know who you live with."
Alhaitham frowned, his eyes constantly darting back to the mention of Kaveh. Just that alone was enough to make his blood boil. How dare this buffoon threaten Kaveh! How dare he try to make his life hell, after everything that he had been through! If this one was so bold as to target the Light of Kshahrewar, then he could go against more important figures, such as --
Alhaitham shook his head. No, he had to be smarter than that. He could not let a fool rile him up so easily, for he suspected that that was exactly what the intent of the message was. No, he had to be smarter than this.
For what it was worth, he had been expecting such a letter to appear sooner or later. The suspicious scholar had been tailing him, no, stalking him, at every turn for the last month , thinking that he was oblivious to the fact that it was the same person every time. Alhaitham did wonder whether the stalker would make his move sooner or later, but a quick search into Siraj's now inactive akasha terminal did provide him one name: Matam.
On his own, Matam didn't seem all that smart, but it was clear he was working with someone. And so Alhaitham turned to the Sanctuary of Surasthana and entered into Kusanalis quarters after Matam had made himself scarce for once.
Kusanali welcomed him in with a cheery smile as always. "What brings the great Scribe to me? I had wondered if you deemed it worth the time."
"For the record, i don't despise you. I just have better things to do than report to the archon all the time."
Nahida took a seat in her dendro swing gazing at him. "So what does bring you here?"
"There's someone who has been stalking me ever since Siraj and his lackeys were arrested." Alhaitham sat across from her. " and i have reason to believe that he's got help. There's no way he's truly acting of his own accord."
"I see..." Kusanali pursed her lips in thought. "Did you have a plan to stop this man?"
"He clearly wants me dead and for his aid to take over sumeru. So I'll give him what he wants."
Kusanali was shocked that the casual reveal of his plan was spoken so nonchalantly. She frowned keeping eye contact with Alhaitham. "I mean...". She hesitated, trying to stall him and think of something better, " if we're to draw out the conspirator no one else has to know, and they have to believe that they won."
"That is the case yes. So not even Cyno can know that I'm not actually dead."
"And what about Kaveh?" Kusanali pressed. "He will likely be the most affected by the whole ordeal."
Alhaitham paused, bringing a hand to his chin as he considered her question.
*ah there it was,* Kusanali thought to herself. *the topic he will not discuss.*
"Kaveh... " Alhaitham sighed aloud. "there will no doubt be plenty of grief."
"and?" Kusanali pressed further.
"He can't know either."
"Huh?" Kusanali jumped in confusion. "But he's living with you. you can't just not tell him what's going on!"
"And risk him ratting everything to the one who wants us dead?" Alhaitham shook his head. "I'm sorry Archon, but that is the one thing that i cannot agree to. if all of this fails because he refuses to keep his mouth shut and argue with me on every detail, then I may as well be truly dead before we ever get a chance to smoke out the conspirator. "he stood up. "I know what must be done, and as few factors must be involved as possible to make it seem that i am well and truly dead."
~~
"Alhaitham, Kaveh's here to see you," His assistant Panah told him. "Something about his latest client."
*Perfect.* "let him in."
Kaveh stormed in moments later, grousing about said client. "Ugh, can you BELIEVE the fucking nerve of that guy?! Thinks its okay to just tell me to redraw the draft for the umpteenth time?? Who does he think i am, god?"
Alhaitham leaned back in his chair, his eyes never leaving Kaveh. "And you decided to make it my problem why exactly?"
"Ha! And to think you'd understand how it feels!". Kaveh flopped down in a chair opposite him. "Truth is, i need a break from these annoying clients."
Alhaitham hummed, flipping through a folder on his desk, then pushed a submission to him. "Why don't you have a look at this. Your darshan was just approved for funding for a library to be built in Aaru village. It would require you to travel there, and take a look at what would look best where. It may also require travelling back to the various ruins in the desert for inspiration."
Kaveh looked genuinely surprised. "Wait. ... Wait wait wait. So that means that that proposal that *i* sent in weeks ago finally got approved?? BY YOU of all people?!"
"I never said that *i* was the one to approve it, Kaveh."
"You and your semantics. It's not like its bad enough that i have to live with you."
Alhaitham shrugged. "Well, are you going to accept it or not?"
"You- ugh, fine!". He snatched the file and tucked it into a slot in Mehrak, who booped happily beside him. "And don't i don't plan on coming back any time soon you know! In fact the longer it takes the better, anything to be away from you!"
"What's so bad about living where all you have to do is keep the house clean and pay the rent?"
"because i have to put up with YOU!"
Alhaitham could only laugh. "If you hate it that much then i suppose you could always move out."
"I'll tell you one better, i wish you would just drop dead. Then i wouldn't have to put up with your shit anymore." Kaveh turned on his heel and stomped out of the room, Mehrak trailing behind him beeping quickly.
Alhaitham hummed, flipping through his book to where he had left off. if he was right about this, then the hired killer that Matam had sent would be sneaking in past Panah or bribing him while Kaveh was out in the desert and oblivious to everything. He stepped to the other side of the grand office and pulled out the articulating wax figure he had managed to sneak into the office in the dead of night and placed it sitting at his desk, before slipping packs of tomato sauce under the shirt under the ribs and at its back, figuring that the assassin would strike both places.
A simple removal of his headphones and placing it on the figure, and placing in eye contacts and swapping out some pieces of clothing, and ALhaitham looked like a completely different person, and it looked like "Alhaitham" was actually doing his duties for once.
Then, in the dead of night, Alhaitham left in complete silence, leaving nothing behind but a note to the Sanctuary and the house key, stating "give to Kaveh once the blowout settles."
It was easy enough to hide out in the desert disguised as an Eremite. Few dared to bother him, and those who dared were swiftly chased off by his fighting prowess. Still, as he sat by a campfire listening to gossip from the Eremites, he couldn't help but feel pangs of guilt whenever Kaveh was mentioned.
"I heard his husband was really harsh to him, and drove him to offing himself," he heard one say on the day "he" was found dead. "Some bitch of a guy huh?"
"I've heard of worse abuse stories" another grumbled sipping out of his waterskin. "This ain't nothing."
Alhaitham could only sigh inwardly and listen. To reveal himself now would jeopardize the entire plan. Only when it was clear he was dead and those who meant him and Kaveh harm arrested or dead could he come out and reveal the truth.
But every time he heard that kaveh was spiraling further and further out of control, he felt the jolt of panic in his heart. If he were able, he would march home right then and there, reveal himself to Kaveh, and buy him wine as an apology for scaring him so bad.
But he couldn't.
And then the dread started to set in.
What if he didn't get back in time? What if this matam proved to actually be really crafty and he miscalculated the possibilities? What if Dottore was actually interested in the conspiracy? What if Kaveh --
He couldn't afford to think about it. But it was so hard to not give away the game especially when he heard about Kaveh's state every day. He wanted to run home right there and comfort him.
So when he found Kaveh knelt in front of the grave, he froze. He feared the worst. That he was too late.
Thank the fucking stars he was not.
~~
Another newspaper circulated around the streets of Sumeru. "the Akasha is down for good! Alhaitham is resurrected from the grave!" its headlines cried. Dottore, alas , had escaped once more, probably to cause problems in another nation. But it was their problem now, not Sumeru's. Nahida shook her head and turned back to the stack of papers she held. with new safeguards written in the proposals, Nahida hoped that such rampant corruption would finally be weeded out, and that it would stay minimal going forward.
Cyno frowned at her, reading through the reports, and reread the headlines. "You knew all along, didn't you?"
Nahida nodded solemnly. "I couldn't tell Kaveh myself, he wouldn't have believed me. It was better for him to see the truth himself."
Kaveh held the newest article in hand and unlocked the door to his home. He had remembered his keys for once in his goddamn life, it was a miracle. He padded inside, noticing Alhaitham sitting at the couch as always, face buried in his book. Kaveh shook his head fondly and set his stuff down and returned to his workstation for a while, only to stop after about an hour and return to Alhaitham, sitting down on the divan and leaning sideways and laying his head in Alhaitham's lap.
Alhaitham didn't seem to move, but Kaveh could feel the quizzical look he was shot, before it softened to a rare fondness. Alhaitham reached with his free hand and worked his fingers gently through Kaveh's hair, and the two sat this way in a comfortable silence. Mehrak beeped once, but a hush from Kaveh convinced her to wait for a while, and so she hovered above them, snapping a photo with her interface to save the memory.
Kaveh could not help but regard Alhaitham with the same fondness that he was returned, musing only in his head just how close he had been to losing everything, and he was sure that Alhaitham felt the same way. even if he didn't outwardly show it.
Alhaitham's eyes shifted upwards and glanced at the new sketch sitting on Kaveh's draft table, noticing that Kaveh had added himself to the original with the gleaming radiance of the sun to complement the soft demure of his moon. "Decided i wasn't so insufferable after all, did you?" he commented.
Kaveh rolled his eyes, reaching his arm to slap Alhaitham's. "You're still insufferable. Don't ever die on me again, you hear me?"
"Actually statistically speaking, that is impossible."
"Fucking idiot," Kaveh groused shaking his head.
But this time, he smiled.