Following the return of the Guardian and the message he gave to the Prisoner, it was long time before the three survivors – the Chairman, Kia and Zai – could find it in themselves to venture out into the city again. The last thing they wanted was company. The Chairman locked himself away in his room and fasted from dawn until dusk. He refused all company save the young General, who was instructed to provide him with meals at either end of the day. His behaviour seemed strange even then, and the General would often call it to mind in later years, to explain or justify what was to come. His father started the days sitting quietly on the floor for hours on end, a look of distant detachment on his face. Then he would become restless and excited. He would rock back and forth, or leap to his feet and begin to pace around the room, whispering, swearing and shouting wildly at the bed, at the door, at himself. The General could make little sense of these outbursts, though he guessed they were mostly about the olden days. Sometimes the Chairman would become defensive, as though accused of some grievous crime, and he would rally against these silent allegations with indignation enough to cause any mortal judge to cower beneath his chair, waving his wig in surrender. After a while, he would go quiet, as if struck by some wonderful idea, and give off only the occasional giggle or two. But mostly he would cry, finding himself at the edge of whatever rationalizations his illustrious mind could conjure, seeing it had done him no good. His friend was gone. He finally emerged from his solitude vowing to never speak of the Prisoner’s parents. The General’s father was now the sole ruler of Lemuriana. He created the Council to help him govern civil affairs, and developed the guard extensively. His rule was sterner without the gentler nature of his friend to temper it, and certainly more ambitious.
