Chapter 4: The Man In The Chair

I sat at my laptop, the desktop appearing before my eyes yet again. I was startled by it but remained in my seat this time. I scrolled through my email a bit, not seeing any old emails I should have taken notice of. I scrolled back up to the top to see an email which was bordered red. Now, that wasn't the case with the laptop, as hard as it was to see. I guess that it's a feature of my augmentations.

Opening the email provided me with a wall of text that I struggled to comprehend for a moment. This email was at least five hundred words long so I'll save you the torment. In summary, it went like this. I have been "volunteered" for a job change by a group of people who call themselves "The Ascended" which... is something of a legend in Requiem. It's been long speculated that below The Elder, there are a group of people who enforce his will in a more bureaucratic way, unlike the police.

Now, the assistance of these... people is debated as they would have to be able to live as long as the Elder, who has been guiding Requiem for at least two hundred years. Or they get replaced every so often.

Back to the email. My change in occupation has been endorsed by the state and my new position is something called a "Justiciar" which I have little idea what is. I am to begin my position in two days, on the fourth. I guess they give me that time to get used to my new body.

I'd best figure out what I can do... I have no idea what they've done to my body. Wait, that actually makes me wonder, do I still look the same? I looked around for something to look at my reflection with, patting my pockets for my phone.

I couldn't find it so I resorted to looking at my reflection in the window. I still had my black hair, good. My facial structure was still the same. My eyes have changed colour, from the grey I had to a bright blue... mostly due to the lights they shoved in them I guess. My mouth was still the same aside from a scar on my lower lip.

My cheeks had the same scars as Juno, just more extensive. same with my neck. I can only imagine what my torso looks like, but I'm not willing to strip in front of the city to find out.

I elected to look around The Recluse, find out what's going on in here. I took off down the corridor to my left, looking at all the rooms. They all seemed... unoccupied. The beds are all made, the clothes stowed away with not a single set missing, no personal items at all, and the laptops were all closed. Now, this happening for a percentage of the rooms is normal, but all of them? Not so normal.

I eventually got to an elevator, which I entered. It was really fancy, red carpet, gold trimmings on a white wall with a bright yellow light coming from the... would you call the top of an elevator a ceiling? Anyway, looking at the buttons I had available to me, there were sixty-three floors, that I am aware of. Which one to go to? Which one am I on?

Looking up I saw a number over the door, forty-seven. Good to know. Well... the best place to start would be the ground floor. So, I pressed the "G" button. It took a couple of minutes to get there, the elevator never stoping to pick someone else up.

The ground floor itself was much like a lobby. It reminded me of the precinct a bit, though I think that's just me looking for similarities. There was a front desk that I hadn't been privy to prior, with a young woman sitting at in, looking at a monitor. The lobby itself was massive. Giant marble columns reaching the ceiling, itself intricately designed with various pieces of art depicting the glory of Requiem and The Elder.

Electing to talk to the woman at the front desk rather than stare at the ceiling all day, I made my way to the front desk, where I caught her attention. She looked up at me before speaking with a smile on her face. "Hello sir, welcome to the Recluse. May I have your name?"

Seeing no reason to lie to this woman, I answered honestly. "Elias Windsor". She nodded and pressed a few buttons on her PC before talking to me, keeping her gaze on her monitor. "Uh... sir, it seems you have an appointment with Daniel Raz. It says here you can see him whenever you so desire."

I... don't know a 'Daniel Raz' or anyone with the surname Raz. "Right... where would I find him?" I thought it best not to pester this woman with so many questions. She got up and pointed me to an elevator at the back of the lobby which was somehow grander and more illustrious than the rest of the lobby. I nodded and thanked her before making my way to the elevator, briefly considering if I should wear something more appropriate, but I decided that I didn't want to waste the time.

Getting in the elevator I saw only a few buttons, the open and close door, alarm, ground floor and one simply labelled DR, standing for Daniel Raz I assume. Pressing the button I began my wait to get to Daniel's office.

It took an excruciatingly long time for me to get there... which would probably be about seven minutes. The door opened up soon enough, however. Stepping out of it I entered into a room that was much darker than the rest of The Recluse. Instead of the white marble of the lobby, or the cream walls of my room and the corridor, I found myself looking at some... black rock making the pillars and walls of this room, with a red velvet type thing running around the room at about hip level, which itself was bordered gold.

Straight ahead of me was a large circular window, which I assumed would be where the logo of the regime would be placed on these pyramids. The window was the source for most, if not all in some areas, of the light in the room, making the silhouette of a chair and large desk all the more obvious to me.

Taking steps forwards I looked around the room more to see it mostly... empty. Nothing was there aside from, next to the window, a shelf containing many liquids placed in glass bottles, most I had never seen before. The only exception to that being water.

My footsteps, with a distinctive metallic clank, echoed through the otherwise silent room. Once I was close enough, I stopped dead and stumbled on my words. I know nothing about this man... wait no, I do know things about him. His name, age and occupation came up with a Whiteline pointed to him. Huh... his occupation is 'unknown' and he's sixty-seven.

"Mr Raz." He had his back turned to me. He didn't turn his chair around when I called his name, so I tried again but slightly louder. This time he turned around, taking a pair of earpieces out of his ears, from which I could hear the faint sound of... something rhythmic and calm. Like if there was a noise to soothe your soul. "Ah! Elias! Sorry, I was listening to music and looking at this truly... breathtaking view. Could I interest you in something to drink?"

He got up, turning on a desk light as he did so but quickly turning his back to me again, going to the shelf full of those glass bottles. The man had short grey hair and his hands were wrinkled, which matched the age I had been given by my eyes... I assume it was my eyes. "Music sir?" That caught me off guard... what was this music?

"Music, my dear boy, is something of a lost art. It's created when one or more people use instruments to create pleasing sounds. Say... does scotch sound good?" What, in the name of The Elder, was he talking about? "Scotch, sir?" He picked up a bottle and inspected it. "No... you look more like you'd enjoy... brandy."

I have no idea what he is saying. "Um... what is brandy?" He sighed, picking up one of the glass bottles and two smaller glasses. Placing them on his desk. "It is a true shame. The masses are all so... uncultured. But it is as The Elder desires." He seemed genuinely upset by this fact. "I remember the old days when music and alcohol weren't restricted to the privileged few."

"Sir, as far as I'm aware, this has been the case ever since The Elder created Requiem." He looked at me with an inquisitive glare before replying. "We privileged few have access to records from before Requiem."

Makes sense. "May I ask what you wanted me here for?" Daniel was now pouring the strange... bronze-like liquid into the two small glasses. Once they had been filled about halfway, he slid one over to me and took a sip of his own, I followed suit. The drink burnt the back of my throat, why anyone would drink this is beyond me. Daniel was now looking out the window yet again, the silence of the room only interrupted by his 'music' that was still playing.

"Well, Elias, I wanted to talk about your new position. A Justiciar, as they are so-called. Do you know what that is?" I shook my head in response. "It is The Elder's personal... detectives in a strange way. You work to enforce his will where he specifically asks it to be done, often through the Ascended."

I nodded along. I mean... I guess it makes sense. "If I may. Why was I chosen?" Daniel chuckled at this, returning to his chair. "Well, the Millington's used to rule a position of land beyond Requiem, so when The Elder took them in, he chose to make a set of augmentations that only Windsors can have to server his will."

Well, that is a bombshell and a half. He quickly continued, preventing me from asking more questions. "There are only ever three of these Justiciars at one time, and they seldom work together. It's all very exciting. You will be further updated on your position via email, but I like to get the basics done in person, it instils a sense of... loyalty, or so I chose to believe."

I thanked him for his time, leaving that room with just as many questions as answers. I'd be taking orders from the Ascended and The Elder? I'm descendent of rulers?

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