On the day of the Growing Day, Friend and Sky are at Court for the ceremony. It is Friend's first visit to the Imperial Palace, and he is excited. The impressive stone complex, stands behind the School. It is a harmonious whole, of courtyards, gardens and avenues; all long which, the many buildings that constitute the Imperial Palace wind. The two friends reach the ceremonial square. The rite begins. First, the Emperor divest himself of his winter woollen mantle. Then he purifies the ground, with water and fire, and the virgins perform the Winter's End Dance. The Emperor throws the Thousand Seeds, and the warriors perform the Life Strength Dance. The priests divine the propitious days for the spring sowing of the various plants, and dictate the new year calendar. Then, they burned the eight essences. The Emperor clothes himself with the Spring feathers mantle and starts the games and celebrations. He personally begins the ritual game of wrist-band ball. Friend looks in awe, at all the rites.
After starting the games, the Emperor withdraw to the audience hall, where he receives homage from all the family heads, in order of importance. Friend is playing a game of hand ball, when Sky approaches him.
"Give your place to somebody else."
"Yes?"
"Come with me."
"Where?"
"The Emperor asked for you, He wants to see you."
"Me? The Emperor asked for me?" Friend asks, his eyes wide open.
"Yes, when my father went to pay homage to Him. He awaits you, in the private, small hall. An informal audience, an honour and a delicate attention to detail. He doesn't want to make you feel uneasy, in front of the Court, since you haven't had time to master the etiquette required."
Sky guides him through the maze of halls, to the private quarters of the Emperor, crossing several check points, to a door where he says to the guards:
"This is Last-Friend-Of-The-Moon, he is expected."
"Yes, he may pass." a soldier says, and opens the door for Friend.
Friend enters, and is in front of the Emperor, who wears just a plain green skirt. Immediately, Friend prostrates on the floor.
"No, Friend, stand up. Here, there is just the two of us, we can do without the rules."
"You are my God and Emperor, You are my Sun."
"Friend! Stand up!" the Emperor says, with a slightly frowned smile.
Friend promptly obeys, and quivers: how beautiful He is! His fine, intelligent, smiling face, His powerful pectorals, lightly rising with the rhythm of His breathing, His wide shoulders, His hollow stomach, His narrow waist, His powerful arms and legs, just slightly astride. Everything is an indescribable beauty.
"Looked at me enough?" the man asks with a smile.
Friend blushes. The Emperor waves him toward a stool and sits on a chair.
"Friend... Last-Friend-Of-The-Moon... a curious name. Do you, perhaps, know its origin?"
"Yes, I am not really the son of my parents. They had decided not have any more children. But one moon night, they heard a meowing at their door. They went outside and found me in a basket, the basket of abandoned children. They picked me up, the meowing was my crying. The man, who was to become my father, said to me: 'Little friend! Why do you cry? Look, what a nice moon!' and, they say, I stopped crying and smiled. Then he said: 'Let's take him, as our last son, do you want him?' he asked his wife. 'Sure.' she said. 'Well, then we will call him The-Last-Friend-Of-The-Moon.' And this is the reason for my name."
"Interesting. They gained a wonderful son, with you. And they have raised an intelligent, gifted son; and beautiful, really beautiful." Friend again blushes, and the Emperor smiles: "When you blush, you become even more beautiful. I like you Friend. I met you when you were still an unripe boy, but already pleasing. Now I have you here, ripe, well shaped, more than pleasing. You are nineteen now, right?"
"Yes."
"After your journey, you will be twenty, the right age. When you return, you will come here, to my Court. I want you near me. I've heard that you are skilled in reading the divinatory calendar, I want you to be my personal divination expert. Show this paper, when you are back at the Palace Gate, and you will be brought directly into my presence."
"I am unworthy. I still am so young."
"It is not true, you are worthy. And as I said, twenty years of age is just right. Eight years younger than I will be. You know the meaning of the number eight, no?"
"Yes, eight represents the two spaces of life, the physical and the spiritual one. The sensual one and the non sensual one. And eight, are the four heavenly couples, of the four different ages. The eight is the hand, that is five, giving life to the being, and to the primigenial equilibrium, that is three. Eight are the two lovers, united to the six senses. And finally, eight is the sun and the moon, who are one and the seven, who are one quarter of the lunation."
"Right. I, the sun, and you, the moon. And the twenty, are four hands, my hands and yours. Or the couple, and the empty shell giving power. Do you see, everything is perfect. I will wait for you, Friend. Blessed be the day, when your parents welcomed you into their home." The Emperor says, and stands up, dismissing him.
Friend leaves, his head in a turmoil. He will live at the side of the Emperor! What he didn't even dare dream, is becoming real! And the long message, he gave him; when he asked him the meaning of the number eight. What did it really mean? And that added explanation, of the four hands, of the powerful lovers... His head spins, it is too much.
Sky is waiting for him. Sees his expression, and says: "Friend, come down to earth. He desires you, but beware: He is everything, you are nothing. Beware, He will burn you."
"Sky, my dear friend, will it not be beautiful to die, burned by the Sun?"
"No, because you will not die, you will burn forever. The Sun doesn't kill, He burns till deep inside the heart. And there is no water, which can soothe it's burning."
"After the journey, He wants me as his personal divination expert."
"As a diviner? If it was just that!" Sky prophetically says, without adding a word more.
Friend, while preparing for his journey, thinks that during the visits to the different parts of the Empire, he will describe everything he sees in a poem. He will then offer it to the Emperor when he returns. So he includes writing sheets and colours in his luggage. Sky gives Friend slaves to accompany him, and to transport his luggage. Carrying his Imperial Letter, the little convoy leaves the Capital. He goes to the north. From here, he will go to the extreme south, so he can visit all the Empire's territories. Friend will also pass through his native village, to see his family. So he brings gifts, for his parents, brothers and for Rock.
In the north-east, Friend is struck by the wide forest, that, it is said, covers an immense area. Only a small part, the Governor explains, is controlled by the Emperor. In the hinterlands, live several small savage tribes, incredibly ferocious. The forest is splendid, luxuriant, tangled, and filled with multicoloured flowers and birds. Friend wants to enter it, so the local Nome, gives him a squad of soldiers as an escort. They camp on the banks of a wide river, flowing towards the east. The soldiers hang hammocks, so everyone can rest around a bonfire.
During the night, while Friends is asleep, a loud uproar awakens him. The soldiers have captured a young savage, that they say, was trying to steal into the encampment. He is slender; his skin slightly darker than normal. He is completely naked, except for a very thin belt at his waist, and a kind of necklace. He is beautiful. Friend tries to speak to him, but in vain. The young man speaks a language, totally incomprehensible to him. The soldiers have tied the young man's wrists behind his back, and his ankles. The youth looks scared at the soldiers' weapons, and visibly trembles. Friend orders the soldiers to leave them alone.
To calm the youth down, and make him understand that he has no reason to be scared, Friend starts to speak to him with gentleness, and to caress his cheek, his chest. The young man, little by little, seems to relax, and says something. Friend continues to caress him, and to talk to him in a low voice, smiling at him. The youth answers, with a hesitant smile, and his eyes are dark, deep, luminous. Friend, unconsciously, start to caress the young man in a more intimate way, and the prisoner is soon aroused, and smiles again. When Friend notices the youth's hard on, he lowers his hand to caress it, and is aroused in turn. The youth seems to appreciate these caresses, and lowly moans his pleasure.
Friend is aware, that from a distance, the soldiers are watching them. But he doesn't feel embarrassed at all, on the contrary, he feels safe. So he unties the wrists and ankles of the young savage. Who smiles, and starts to caress Friend's body, while he unties his own loincloth. The prisoner, moaning, gently grasps Friend's hard rod, and lowers himself, to suck it, with evident pleasure.
The young savage silently, with sparkling eyes, offers himself, when he is aware that Friend is fully aroused, and guides him inside his hole. Friend takes him with great pleasure, and thinks, the savage, to know and appreciate the joys of sex, that way, must not be much of a savage. While he takes the youth, he caresses him, and gently talks to him, in a low voice. The other smiles in silence, and caresses Friend's body; making him feel how much he likes being taken. They make love for a long time. It is the first time that Friend penetrates someone. He finds it very pleasurable, especially since the other one is doing his best to please him.
He bends to kiss him on the mouth. At first, the other seems stupefied, and Friend understands that he has never been kissed before. But after a short while, the young prisoner is reciprocating kisses and moaning with pleasure, enraptured. Friend thinks the youth is extremely exciting. Soon he reaches an acme of pleasure and unloads deep inside the young man, who, in turn, reaches his orgasm. Friend relaxes atop the strong, fresh body, caressing and kissing it. The young man caresses and kisses Friend, cheerfully looking at him.
When Friend puts his loincloth on again, the youth takes the ropes and hands them to Friend, making him understand he has to tie him again.
"Do you want to be my slave?" Friend asks, amazed, taking the ropes.
The other, almost if he understood, stretches out his untied wrists, serenely looking at him. Friend put down the ropes and says:
"No, if you want to remain, you can stay, and if you want to go, you can leave."
The youth not understanding, again picks up the ropes from the ground, and gives them back to Friend. He again puts the ropes on the ground, shaking his head. Then, the young man, sits on the ground, ties his own ankles, and tries to tie up his wrists, helping himself with his teeth. Finally, he lies down, smiling to Friend, who caresses his hair and says:
"All right, I will take you with me. And I will call you Gift-Of-The-Night-On-The-Great-Forest. You Gift, I Friend. You Gift, I Friend." he repeats several times pointing at the youth and then at himself.
The youth repeats: "You Gift, I Friend."
"No, I Friend..." he says amused, then makes a gesture for the other one to go to sleep, and he lies on his hammock.
The following morning, when Friend awakes, Gift is already awake, and is lying near the hammock and looking at Friend, with a gentle and quiet smile.
"Friend, what we have to do with him? Should we kill him?" a soldier asks him.
"No, I like him, I'll take him with me, as my slave. Just give him a loincloth and a part of the load to carry." Friend answers, then, addressing the chief of his slaves, he says: "And you, teach him to speak our language. His name is Gift."
They leave the forest, and return to the town.
The Nome, when sees Gift, shows a great amazement: "These savages, when we win then in war, try to commit suicide, they are incredibly proud. How did you tame him?"
Friend considers that he possibly will learn the truth from the soldiers anyway, so he tells him the truth: "After your soldiers captured him, and tied him up, I took delight in him. He gave himself to me, for my pleasure, without any problems and afterwards, he made me understand, that he wanted to be my prisoner."
"Very good, so he is your slave. Do you want us to brand him with your mark?"
"No, he gave himself to me freely. If he wants to leave, he is free to do so. So, there is no use to brand him."
"But if he has no mark, anybody else can claim him as his slave, since it is obvious that he is not one of our peoples."
"Then make him an armband, with my symbol, so everybody knows he is protected by me." Friend says.
The Nome shakes his head, but does as Friend asks him.
Friend, with his five slaves, takes the road towards the south. The following night, Gift approaches Friend, and makes him understand, he is ready to have sex. Friend welcomes him, with pleasure and spends the night with him. Gift has a great sweetness, besides strength and intelligence. He rapidly starts to use the flowery language. Just one month after they had met, Gift can start to communicate with Friend. He explains, half with words, half with gestures, that he is the youngest son of his tribe's chief. Since his childhood, he desired to meet the powerful men living outside the forest. He also tells him, he prefers the love of a man, to that of a woman, and what had attracted him to approach their encampment, was the fact that he saw Friend, and wanted to see him up closer, but he was caught. He thought he would have been killed. He is grateful to Friend to have instead taken him, and made him his slave.
"You my chief." the youth says to Friend, proudly.
Friend takes notes of everything he sees, what happens. During their stops, he writes it down again in elegant verses. They travel further south, passing in the hinterlands of the Capital, called also The Great, The Beautiful, The World Navel, travelling in the Imperial road in the mountains, and continues to go south. It is summer, and only at night, is it cool, because of the altitude. At times, they have to descend the sides of steep valleys and climb the opposite side. But at times, they can cross narrow and deep valleys, using the long rope bridges hanging over empty space. The first time they use one of them, Gift is terror stricken. When he sees Friend and the other slaves cross it in full tranquillity, he regains his courage and passes across it. Before crossing, Friend had his load taken by the other slaves, so that Gift could use both his hands and feel more confident.
When he reaches the other side, the youth is radiant: "Gift passed bridge! Gift can do it, now!" he says to Friend, happy as a kid. He takes back his load, and walks with the others, now more proud and erect than before.
In Autumn, they reach Resonant, Friend's village. When the inhabitants see the small group of men approaching, someone recognizes Friend. They precede them to the village, announcing his arrival. The priest, the village chief and all the people in Friend's family line in the first row, to welcome him with great joy. Friend tells everybody the success he's had, then gives his presents to his family.
Rock approaches him: "I'm so happy to see you again, Friend. You've become even more handsome, and stronger, and now you are also important, as I foresaw."
"I too, am very happy to meet you again, Rock."
"Can I introduce to you my new friend?"
"Your lover?" Friend asks, with a smile.
"Yes, one year after you left. It is your cousin Tall; you remember him, no?"
"Tall? But he was just a kid..."
"He is just two years younger than you, and he has become a handsome youth... Moreover, he reminds me of you, he has your hair, your same smile..."
"Are you happy together?"
"Yes, very much. I married his sister, and he will marry my sister next year. We decided to build a house together. Didn't you marry?"
"No, and I don't intend to."
"Ah, in the city, you can that. Here in the village, you know how it is, we can make love with whom we want, but we all have to marry around twenty years old. Do you have a lover?"
"I'm in love with somebody, at the Capital, but we are not lovers. Gift, here, keeps me company at night, for some time now."
"He is a very handsome youth. I'm happy for you. Can you come to eat at my place, tonight? Tall will also be with us. And if you want, you can bring Gift with you."
Rock's wife serves them food, while Rock and Friend merrily chat.
"How do you manage with your wife and Tall?" Friend suddenly asks him, "Aren't they jealous of each other?"
"No, we follow the moon. The full and new moons with Tall, and the other two moons with my wife."
"Clever. And does it work?"
"Yes, right Tall?"
"Yes, even if in truth, I would like the moon to never be rising or setting." the youth says with a sly smile.
They resume their journey, and now it is winter. They are in the deep south, so it is really cold. They wear thick wool clothes of the people of these lands. At night, under the multicoloured blankets, Gift, with his body, warms his master's body. On the way back, around the end of winter, they stop in a small town that has a spa. Here, while they bathe, young slaves massage their bodies. It is the usual, erotic massages done in the spas, but here is lot more erotic. Friend notices that Gift is incredibly aroused and is looking at him, with some embarrassment.
"Do you like your boy, Gift?"
"Yes, master."
"Enjoy him then, that's what he is here for."
"Really, can I?"
"Certainly."
"Thank you, master." Gift says, and starts to have sex with the boy, who promptly offers himself to the young man.
The couple is incredibly excited, and it is a pleasure to watch them making love with such transport and passion. Also, the boy doesn't seem to be acting. Friend thinks about buying the boy and giving him to Gift.
"But, I am your slave. How can I have a slave, master?" Gift asks, surprised.
"No, you are my servant, not my slave. So he can be your slave, and also your lover."
"I belong to you. And I like you."
"When we are back in the Capital, it will be difficult for you and me to have sex. So, when I saw how much you liked each other, I wanted you to have your boy."
"You are a good master," Gift says, "And anyway, I belong to you."
So the convoy, now composed of seven people, resumes its way back north, towards the Capital. The slave of Gift is sixteen years old, and his name is Noon. He is an available boy, sensual, gentle. Friend sees that Gift is very fond of the boy.
"Master, do you want me and Noon to come to your bed, tonight?"
"No, enjoy your boy, don't worry about me."
"But, you will be alone."
"I can handle that. Don't worry, really."
"We will be more than happy, to give you pleasure. I belong to you, so he also, belongs to you. Allow us to give you pleasure, I beg you..."
Friend smiles, and surrenders. The couple gives him a night of intense pleasure, both doing everything they can, until Friend is fully satisfied, and falls asleep between the two warm, naked bodies.
They return to the Capital two days before the festival of the Growing Day. Sky welcomes him with pleasure then accompanies him and his servants to the Imperial Palace. Friend is received by the Emperor and gives Him the manuscript of his journey. Friend, his servant Gift and his slave Noon join the inhabitants of the Imperial palace; and the Emperor in order to have him nearby, has a small quarters assigned to Friend inside the enclosure of the private residence.
The Court astrologer, Lake, seeing that he is losing a part of his role, doesn't welcome Friend. Even if he remains the official Court astrologer, and has a rank superior to that Friend; the fact that he lives in the private enclosure of the Emperor, and from now on, he prepares the personal divinations, eats him up.
A few weeks after Friend has been living in the Palace, one evening an Emperor's personal slave comes to his quarters:
"Our Master and Sovereign ordered me to have your servants remain in their room, and to prepare you for His visit."
"The Emperor will come here? To meet me?" Friend asks, stupefied.
"Yes, sure. Now, come, I will give you a balsamic bath, then you will wait for him in your bed room."
"In my... bed room?"
"Sure, don't you understand why, our Lord comes to visit you, and doesn't want others around? You obtained grace in his eyes. He wants to enjoy your company, tonight."
Friend looks at him, unbelieving, moved. The Emperor in his place, revealing to him, his desires! It really seems unbelievable. With the slave he goes to the bath, lets the man wash his body, massage it with precious and refined ointments, then enters his own bedroom.
"Make Him find you ready, lay on your bed."
"What do I have to do?" Friend worried asks.
"What Our Lord will tell you to do." the slave says and leaves.
Friend trembles from head to toe, waiting.
After awhile, the door opens. In the lantern's light, Friend sees the Emperor entering, alone, wearing just a skirt. Friend looks at him in silence, holding his breath.
"Here you are, at last. Come here, Friend, come pull off my skirt." The Emperor says, with a smile.
Friends gets off his bed, kneels in front of Him and unties the beautiful gilded skirt: under it, the young man wears nothing and Friend is now in front of His beautiful erection.
"My Lord..." Friend murmurs with emotion, feeling a strong desire to caress, kiss it, but unable to move.
"Stand up. You are beautiful, Friend. I desire you."
"I am yours, Lord."
"I am not your Lord, now. I am a man, filled with desire for you."
"Lord..."
"When I was a child, they called me Powerful. Call me so, Friend. I want you to be my lover."
"I, your lover? But I am your slave."
"No, you are a man like me. And I'm happy to see that you feel the same desires that I do."
"I love you, Powerful, I love you."
"Show it to me, treat me as a lover, and not as your Emperor: this is the only thing I ask you."
"But you are my God!"
"God? I? No, I'm just a man, full of desire for you. The others call me God, but I am just a man. Really a poor God, in fact, feeling hungry and thirsty, who gets tired and needs to rest, who can be imprisoned or stabbed in his sleep or at war. No, I am just a man. And this man desires this splendid young man. And asks him to give him his love, to show him his love, making him feel alive, do you understand? Love me, Friend. I'm here for that." Powerful says caressing the youth's body.
Friend quivers, aroused, and shyly raises his hands, and starts to caress the splendid body standing in front of him. Powerful embraces him tight, feeling him with desire, and kisses him in the mouth, deeply. Friend answers the kiss with passion, and little by little, he forgets he is in the Emperor's arms. He sees, feels the other, just as a man filled with desire. The most splendid man he ever met. The heat of the other's body excites him, and with his own body, he searches it. Their hard manhood search each other, brush against each other, firm and strong.
"Come..." Friend murmurs, taking his hand, and leads him towards his bed.
"Do you desire me?" the Emperor asks.
"Yes, from the day I first saw you. But I never could have dreamed that this moment could really come."
"I too, desire you, Friend." Powerful says, gently pushing him on the bed and lying on him.
They caress each other intimately, for a long while. Their eyes are united in a sweet smile, full of promises.
"Do you really love me, Friend?"
"Yes."
"What does it means, that you love me."
"That I am putty in your hands, that you can do with me anything you want to."
"Because I am your Emperor?"
"Because I love you, Powerful."
"Never forget to tell me so, I need it."
"You need? But you have everything you want."
"If I have you, yes, I have everything I want. I like you, Friend. Not only your body is beautiful, but you are beautiful inside. You are quite pure."
"I'm yours."
"Yes, you are mine, but I want to be yours too."
"But you are..."
"Shush! Not here, not now. Here and now, I am just a man in need of love, your love. Here, there will never be Emperor and subject, but just two men desiring each other. Tell me, what do you want from me, Friend? I will do anything I am able to do for you."
"What do I want? To make you happy, nothing else."
"I too, want to make you happy." the man murmurs, and lowers himself to kiss the entire youth's body, full of desire.
Friend, little by little, lets himself go, and soon they are united in a passionate sixty nine, caressing each other, madly in love.
"I want you inside me, Friend." Powerful sighs, quivering.
"I, in you?"
"Sure."
"As you wish, but I too, want you in me."
"Yes, with pleasure. But now, take me."
"Here I am, Powerful." Friend whispers, preparing himself to do what the other asked him.
While he inserts his rod inside the man, he reads in his eyes a deep joy.
"Oh, yes... sooo.... so, Friend... do you love me?"
"I adore you."
"Are you happy?"
"More, would be impossible."
"Good, me too. It is so great feeling you inside me. You are tender, and strong... How much do I like it. Oh, at last..."
"I love you."
"Yes... kiss me..."
Powerful caresses his back, kisses him, gives himself to the youth with enthusiasm; while Friend takes him, sucking his turgid nipples, caressing his firm belly, his quivering hard member. And again they kiss, suckling each other tongue with eager pleasure.
"Oh, Friend, it is wonderful, really wonderful!"
"Do you like it?"
"Yes... and you, my sweet beloved one?"
Beloved! He called him beloved! Friend feels the pleasure he is experiencing is not just physical, but much more: total, deep, beautiful and intense. The strong body under him is welcoming him with evident pleasure.
"It is too beautiful!" Friend murmurs.
"Oh, yes." Powerful whispers, in answer, pushing himself against his lover.
When he feels that Friend is too near his peak of pleasure, Powerful stops him:
"Now, I want to take you. I don't want everything to end so soon. We will meet the dawn, united. Do you want me inside you?"
"Oh, yes, please!"
"Then..." Powerful says, with a smile full of greed but gentle, keeping the youth tight to him; he rolls over so that now Friend is under him.
The youth, longing to receive his man inside himself, prepares himself. He feels the strong rod conquering him, little by little, slipping inside him, filling him, and he feels he is in paradise.
"Oh, that's wonderful!" he moans, savouring the sensations, while the man starts to dance inside him.
"Yes."
"I love you."
"Me too. You are mine, finally. And I'm yours. Isn't it perfect?"
"And splendid." Friend whispers.
Powerful continues to hammer inside him with a steady, strong, virile rhythm, full of tenderness. They swap positions several times, uniting again and again with growing pleasure. They kiss, caress each other, in an unceasing dance of deep love. The radiant smile of Powerful, is the most precious gift Friend can receive: it is he giving this joy to his man. When at last they surrender to the fullness of their pleasure, the sky is dyed pink by the dawn. They hold each other tight.
"You are my lover, Friend!"
"Yes, Powerful, yours and yours only."
"I'm sorry, I have to divide myself between you and my wives. I would like to spend every night with you."
"You cannot forget your duties for me."
"My duties... The Court Astrologer drew up a calendar of the propitious day for the unions with my wives. I want you to recalculate it. In one year, I want at least 222 nights with you, that is three times the number of lovers."
"I will calculate it, as you wish."
"Remember, Friend," the Emperor says, covering his nudity with his skirt, "when I am here with you, I will be just your lover, not your sovereign."
"As you wish."
"Good. I'm happy."
"I am too, Powerful."
"Make the new calendar today."
"Sure. I will see the most propitious 222 days for us, then those for your first wife, then for the other wives."
"I love you, Friend."
"I love you, Powerful."
When Friend is alone again, an enormous happiness, full of warmth, wraps him like a precious mantle; he has become the lover of his god, even if Powerful denies to be so. Life is kind to him. More than kind, it is friendly.
Friend is moved and happy. He shows the new calendar to Powerful, who appreciates it. When Powerful comes to visit Friend, the young man prepares himself, helped by Gift and Noon, then the two disappear until they hear the Emperor leaving. To Friend the nights he can spend with Powerful are the most sweet, beautiful, full moments of his life. Their love evolves and deepens, night after night. But during the day, Powerful sometimes likes to take Friend aside and have long talks. Involuntarily, Friend becomes the confidant and the counsellor of the Emperor; and that rouses envy in the Court.
Sky, one day, tells him: "Friend, you know that I really love you: I am worried for you. I am not talking out of jealousy, believe me. I want you to be happy, but I see black clouds gathering upon you."
"You are worrying to much, Sky."
"No. You being the lover of the Emperor; well, you are not the first. The Court has no problems with that. But that you have become his confidant and counsellor, is not liked. The other lovers, before you, were just his night companions, nothing more. You acquired a power, that makes the others feel menaced."
"But I don't want power. I just want the Emperor to be happy. Nothing else interests me."
"I believe you, because I understand you. But the others?" Sky says, worriedly.