Semet/What I Want

In-universe date: Era Nova, October-November, Year 2

Real-world date: 2026-08-22
Author: Semet

“What is it that you want?”

Percival froze for a moment. His eyes were fixed on his maps, his fingers grazing them, toying with the corner of one, shifting them about, or rearranging them with a growing agitation as his mind was searching deep within for an answer. Finally, he calmed down, relaxed into his seat, and rested is palm atop of his mechanical arm.Maybe I should have held back my curiosity… He seems to know the answer, but will he want to share it with me?

“What I have always wanted… was knowledge. Discovering places, cultures, pantheons, rulers, cities, peoples, seas and mountains, plains and deserts. Every last one of them. I wanted to know, learn and understand it all,” he explained, continuing to tinker with the mechanisms at his elbow. “And yet…”

The ruler of Koperdam glanced at one of the largest maps on the wall, the one tracing every journey he had made to discover the world. Thousands upon thousands of kilometers traveled…

“...Alone. I shared all those distances only with my mode of transportation and my own wind, with which I certainly had plenty of time to converse. The fact is, I do have a burning desire to document everything and share it.”

Percival turned, squaring himself to face me directly.

“But for that to have any meaning, I need someone to share it with,” he added, letting out a soft chuckle. “Traveling is fine, but loneliness quickly takes hold when the only ones you can talk to are yourself, a horse, or a boat.”

I noticed that, for the past few minutes, the man I was speaking to had been avoiding my gaze a little more. He added, however:

“Of course, I have no intention of giving up on exploration. That isn’t what I mean. It’s just… it would be nice not to have to go through all this… alone.”

I rose slowly from my chair. Before me was a man of influence, certainly, but above all, a man deeply troubled by his own solitude.Ib-Deben. This time, I do not call upon your help as a Queen, but as a mere citizen of Kedet. Guide my voice and my acts.

I stepped closer, while the Chief Artificer remained silent and withdrawn. Percival did not look up as I came to stand just a step before him. Gently, I knelt down to his level. Once eye contact was re-established, I smiled warmly at him.

“We both bear the burden of leadership. We are loved and respected, yet also isolated. We carry the weight of the world on our shoulders. Together, that burden will surely be lighter.”

I placed my hand on his shoulder. As I touched him, I could sense a wave of sadness - his own - swirling within him after so many months of relentless toil, with no friend by his side to offer support…

“What you want - what we want - is already within our grasp. So let us rise. The world awaits us.”

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