In the crowded streets of Troday Yithi, a man clad in robes that used to be yellow walks. People who see him shy away, as if he was surrounded by an invisible aura: All those nearby feel cold, and those who look at him avoid his gaze, awed or afraid.
The man doesn't mind the crowd.
He could walk unnoticed, but it is no longer time for that. This is no longer the time for subterfuge. Therefore, he walks straight up to the Council, purposeful...
Councilors don't seem to notice him at first, as they are busy having an argument.
"We need this food, says one Grigori elder. The farms barely give enough for us to survive. If the winter is bad, all of us will be starving to death within a year time. We should fund more farms, and send the refugees to the fields and fisheries.
-What do you mean, send us? We are not yours to move around as you like!"
The man who answers is a man missing a hand. Rumours have it he had the arm bit by a zombie, so he smashed the monster's skull with his axe and then cut off his own arm before the disease could infect him.
"We didn't flee Renthai Yithi to become slaves here. We are still Grigori. We will perform whatever jobs we want to. You won't force me or my sons to farm a land if I don't want to. We won't obey your whims.
-Calm down, Yishmael, started another elder, you...
-Oh, you shut up, the mess in Renthai happened because you couldn't move your butt and decide what to do.
-Ah yes? And what did YOU do Yishmael? If I remember correctly, you asked the first refugees to pay a toll to use your ferry. How many died because of YOUR greed?"
The maimed man would have replied, but that is the time when the newly arrived speaks.
He doesn't speak loudly, but his voice is heard by all. It is a strange voice. Both deep and hollow. It feels remote even though the speaker is in the room. It feels unearthly even though the speaker is on this soil. It feels inhuman and disembodied, even though it is uttered by a human body. Or is it? It feels... gelatinous? Can it even be described?*
"My name is Yeotiel, son of Parthenel. You should remember me. I was the commander-in-second of the Fists of Balance when we were killed by traitors after beating Grak's legions."
The argument between the councilors has stopped. No noise can be heard inside the council now, but Yeotiel's voice.
"Not all of us died this day, although I did. One of us survived. There's always a survivor to tell the tale of fallen heroes. Tuan, the youngest of us all, survived. He had been the first to scale Grak's walls, and he had been among the first to fall after landing on the other side of the palisade. We had thought him dead, but he wasn't. He had been knocked unconscious by a blow to the head. He came back to his senses only in time to see us be slaughtered by our 'comrades'."
The councilors shudder as the ghostly voice utter more hatred in this single word than they ever heard.
"He feigned death. He survived, and decided that the Fists should not die. The Grigori shouldn't be left without defense. We shouldn't be beaten by a coalition of liars. So he studied, and studied arcane ways for years. He endured pains even I cannot imagine, and he managed to bring us back. Today the Grigori need us more than ever. And the Fists of Balance will not fail you.
Do not trust the Bannor. They are Junil's slaves and even Junil is unhappy with them. They could have stopped these mindless beings years ago but did nothing. You were their vassals and they didn't protect you.
Do not trust the Hippus. They struck us, they struck the Clan. They are bloodthirsty bastards, worshippers of Camulos who can't be talked to or trusted.
Do not trust the Amurites. They destroyed an entropy node but did they use that power to quell the Dove Yellow? No, they learnt mind magicks, the magics of liars and tricksters, of worshippers of Mammon who would sell their souls for a shiny coin.
The elves, Kuriotates and Kappa are afraid, and will perform a ritual to get rid of our enemies, but will they succeed? Will they receive paiment? You can bet the Bannor gold will be unavailable, because so much of it melted in their towers. You can bet the Hippus will build up their military again instead of helping with the ritual. You can bet the Amurites will do something sneaky yet again.
The only ones you can trust are your own people. It is time for you to request help from those who were your best. We braved Death itself to come back today. We died once, and we understand the dead much better than you do. We are not mindless like those Dove Yellow, and we know what they are and how to defeat them. You haven't been able to fight the zombies, but we can. We know how to, and I, Yeotiel, son of Parthenel, commander-in-second of the Fists of Balance, swear it to you: We can save the Grigori."
The man stops, and takes off the hood from his head. His face is handsome, that of a man in his early thirties.
"You will tell me your answer. I don't ask anything from you but that you become the proud nation you once were. Stop shivering and begging your neighbours. Tell me you accept our help, tell me you are ready to be proud again, and you will be saved."
Yeotiel turns away, and walks out of the council. As he does so, a sunbeam pierces the clouds, and for a moment, his handsome face looks grim. From where he looks, Yishmael-of-the-single-hand sees an empty eyesocket in Yeotiel's face, and his chin looked broken.
Yeotiel puts back his hood upon his head, a hood which used to be yellow a century ago, and, his handsome or broken face hidden in darkness, walks back into the streets.
*(with apologies to H.P. Lovecraft)