Excerpt: The Broken Worlds II: Origins

Emperor Hydali was tired. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting them rest. It was getting late. The lit torches burned brightly about him, eagerly blazing and casting their light into every corner of the room. They taunted him. If they burned so easily this late at night, he felt like he should feel more alert and have more energy. They were inanimate objects, and they seemingly were more lively than him at this point.
The captain of the city’s guard was saying something to him. He wasn’t listening. He was tired of listening to the captain’s voice. The man was too talkative, had too many opinions. He would have to be removed from office once things settled down.
“Trall, your voice is beginning to bother me. Please. Shut up.” The emperor groaned. “Does anybody have any news worth reporting to me?” He looked around at his closest advisors. They had been dealing with the fallout from the strange, recent cosmological events. The after-effects were wide reacing. People believed the end of the world was coming. For all the emperor knew, they might be right. But they had started hoarding things. Grain, and other crops. Saving them for whatever evil days might lie ahead. Hydali understood their concern, but as emperor, he needed them to sell their produce to others, so the rest of the people in his empire could eat for the next few months. Or until the world ended. Whichever came first.
The economic fallout was not the only issue he was trying to deal with. A few small pockets of rebellion had broken out. Some people thinking that a great religious leader was about to appear. They were revolting against the empire, saying that their leader would declare independence from the empire, and lead them into a utopian society. It was fine that they had those beliefs, as far as Hydali was concerned. He just didn’t need a few misled people misleading many more. Times were tough. The people needed stability in the government.