1 — Threshold
The doors opened. There were many gathered beyond.
Daelus lingered in the threshold for just a moment, observing carefully. The assembly hall was luxurious, but cramped. The low ceiling made the space feel like the building was pushing down on everyone within, dominating them, like the belly of a leviathan.
The room
felt
small and yet seemed somehow to go on forever, with hidden corners vanishing into hidden corners. The dim gas–powered lighting and scattered table candelabras with real candlesticks added to the effect, making the shadows feel somehow more real than than everything that was visible.
The lighting rendered a ghostly quality to the people who sat on couches and lounge chairs, loitered around tables, and haunted the dark corners.
Most were chatting in small groups. All were dressed in the finest materials, undoubtedly tailored to perfection. As Daelus’ attention lingered he realized that the styles and accessories gave an antiquated feel to the affair. Some of these outfits would not feel misplaced in a museum display.
They were the delegation; his new peers. Daelus' presence here was his reward for a lifetime of service to the Benefactors. He was to work alongside his fellow delegates to ensure the stability and longevity of humankind. These were the most intelligent, the most assertive and courageous, and the most accomplished people in the entire world, and he stood proudly among them.
Then, something occurred to him — why were there no
women
here?
“Johnathan.
A
pleasure,” came a voice to his left. It arrived with the sudden sensation of a person standing far too close.
Daelus was only taken aback for a moment. “Daelus Thresh,” he replied, quickly.
Before him, alarmingly close, was a kindly face. It belonged to a man in his mid-30s — a half-dozen years Daelus' senior — and bore a ginger, curled mustache and pince-nez. A second later Daelus realized that there was an outstretched, open hand in the all-too-small gap between their bodies.
Daelus acquiesced. They shook hands.
“
Thresh
? Named for your ancestral agricultural background? Farmhands were they?” His tone was slightly teasing but felt backed by a genuine curiosity.
“Architects.” Daelus said with the first smile he had managed in hours. It was small. “We hailed from an isolated hold in the old land.”
“That…” Johnathan began to reply but then paused, trying to figure out why what he was hearing sounded peculiar.
“Was entirely made up.” Daelus' smile had grown and a twinkle emerged.
“Ah–ha! Thresh, from the
hold
. Very clever. Is this why you're still standing in one?”
Daelus involuntarily glanced about, showing that it clearly hadn't occurred to him to actually enter the room. He promptly did so with a hitch of embarrassment in his step.
Johnathan, in a gesture that felt it had been rehearsed, found them both a nearby table and began to pour drinks in crystal flutes from the generous supply of sparkling beverages clustered at the center of the table.
“So, not architects?” Johnathan said with a muted chuckle, repeating Daelus' story quietly over to himself as if working out how to improve the joke delivery.
“Oh, actually that part was true, I mean,
I
was one; an architect. First of my family in the profession, actually. But… I shouldn't speak of such things. What about yourself, mister
?”
“Just Johnathan. Every syllable, every time. I don't abide by
John
”.
“So,
Johnathan
,” Daelus began, “what form does your service to the Benefactors take?’
Johnathan laughed gently and patted Daelus' hand. “We'll discuss business in due time. You've just crossed over. Are you really that anxious to dive into work? Take a moment to relax. Let it sink in. This is your first night in the new world!”
“Yes, yes I'm afraid you're right. I'm very sorry.” Daelus replied, feeling immediately embarrassed.
“Goodness, what for? I'll have none of that. But I'm sure you have questions, all the same. None of this is at all like how I expected before I crossed over.”
“Actually, I was surprised by one thing.” Daelus’ eyes searched the other guests all around him. “Are there no women delegates?”
Johnathan seemed surprised by the question, as if the thought hadn't occurred to him. With a furrowed brow he glanced about. “Oh no definitely there are. Three, I believe? Look, over there by Phaeros, that's Emmah, and yes there, by the fire, I'm sure that's Kaite.
“They're both spoken for if that's where your mind is. At least Emmah is — who can tell with Kaite. She has a reputation for promiscuity… but maybe that's exactly what you're after?” Johnathan gave a wink and nudged Daelus, in a fashion that was almost expected following such comments.
Daelus' eyes followed the directions Johnathan indicated, now far too distracted to follow what was being said. He was searching for the third.
Still, merely three, out of how many dozens? Finally, Daelus replied, “No, I was just curious. I suppose I expected things to be more balanced, is all. I seem to remember it being that way when I was… you know. Don't you? The Benefactors seek a diversity of talents and backgrounds; of lived experience. I always liked that. It seems valuable for what we're supposed to be doing here. So I'm a little surprised that—”
“Well, I'm sure our Benefactors took all of that into account with this fine selection. Just as I'm sure you're a worthy addition to our ranks.” Johnathan’s demeanor remained merry, but something had changed in his eyes, as if the topic set off an itch in his mind. Quickly, it passed. “That is why we're here, after all.”
“Beg pardon?” Daelus replied with a start. He was still trying to get a good look at Kaite, who in spite of her impressive stature, seemed to be trying to shrink into the flickering shadows sculpted by the small fire. At least, Daelus thought, he wasn't the only one here who wasn't enjoying the atmosphere.
“This gathering is to celebrate
your
arrival.”
Daelus felt taken aback. “I had assumed it was just a sort of holiday gathering or… if the party is for me then why—?”
“Why is everyone ignoring you?
You're
expected to make the first move. Dive in. Show them who you are. Impress them with your presence and charisma! Be bold!”
Daelus' tone went cold. The thought made his chest feel tight and shoulders shrink. “And if I'd rather not?”
“Then they'll decide you're not someone worth knowing.”
Daelus grew distant, his mind retreating into itself. He was a delegate now. It was the future — a future that seemed to resemble the past, but the future all the same. He had spent his youth preparing — being prepared — to serve the Benefactors. Now he was really doing it. Yet, something about this situation didn’t quite fit in his head. This didn't fit at all with what he had been told to expect.
He banished the thought. Expectations or no, he was exactly where he needed to be — where he was
supposed
to be. With that resolved, he took a sip from the glass he'd been holding for the last minute. “Yes, all according to my grand plan to remain anonymous,” he finally said, masking his anxiety.
“Goodness, a plan you’ve already failed!” Johnathan remarked with a kindly chuckle.
“Ah, but you broke the rules,” Daelus replied with a laugh of his own.
“Not at all. You made an impression on me and I acted accordingly.”
“Did I? By hesitating awkwardly in a doorway?”
“I can't give away the metric by which I evaluate a man's worthiness to be approached.” Johnathan said with a wink.
A man's worthiness.
Something about that phrase made Daelus' mind twitch with discomfort. He wasn’t quite sure why.
“So, you know everyone here?” Daelus finally said to banish the odd sensation.
“Oh yes, quite. It's sort of my business to. Very well, I'll tell you — I deal in information. Investigations. Gossip. I have
spies
. In fact I may be the only member of the delegation who doesn't have a forward facing role.” He hesitated for a moment, as if remembering someone else, but then decided to keep his laurels in place. “I deal strictly with and work strictly to support the delegation and the Will of our Benefactors.”
“Information…” Daelus said, as if the word itself was more satisfying than the drink he had barely touched. “So you'd know. Is everyone here a…
person
?”
“You mean, are there any
entourage
here?”