Emissary from Shayeris




Knock at the door. Man beyond, pale and drawn. description

"Can I help you?"

"Pardon...is this...the home of the Titan called Tempest? Garth of 
Shayeris?" His thick accent was immediately recognizable as 
Atlantean. 

Dick turned to call Garth and saw him already emerging from the 
bedroom. "Who's-- Sett!"

"Your majesty." The man started to bow, staggered, and nearly fell. 
Dick grabbed him reflexively, pulling him inside before the neighbors 
got curious. He registered the heavy density of the man's muscles and 
shifted for a better grip. 

Garth came over to help, taking the man's weight easily. 
"Sett, what are you doing here? And-- never mind, you're 
nearly dehydrated!" Garth picked the man up and carried 
him back toward the bedroom. Dick heard the shower start 
and chose to wait in the living room. 


Came out, looking grim. "He'll be all right, but it was a near 
thing."

Minutes ago, he and Garth had been ready to settle in for 
the night. Now they had an Atlantean in their shower and--
judging from Garth's tight expression--some kind of 
Situation on their hands. The "their" was presumptious 
since the man had obviously come seeking Garth, but Dick 
was determined to help if he could. If for no other reason 
than to wipe that look off of Garth's face.

"So," Dick prompted gently, "he's someone you know? 
From home?"

"From Shayeris." 

"Oh."  *There.* Dick frowned. Garth's birth-city, where his 
father had been murdered, and whose citizens had exiled his 
pregnant mother for fear of her child's potential powers. 
"What does he want?"

"I'm not sure. I suspect--" Garth paused, shook his head. 
"I'm sure he'll tell us when he's refreshed. Sett took a 
terrible risk, coming here."

Dick flashed on the gray tone of their visitor's skin and his 
haggard look. "He could have died."

Garth sighed. "I'm certain he knows that, and came anyway 
to prove a point. Whatever message he carries won't be 
deterred."


Sett came out of the back, moving slowly, dressed in what 
Dick recognized as Garth's clothing. It hung on him, 
making him seem even more bedraggled than before.

"I apologize...for my weakness. It is not so far from the 
water, but I became lost along the way." Dick thought of 
the mazelike warren of the Bludhaven streets, and 
understood. 

Better now?

Yes, thank you.


Sett glanced at Dick sideways. "Perhaps we should speak 
privately?"

Garth made a sharp gesture. "This is my partner, Richard. 
Anything you have to say to me you may freely say in front 
of him." Sett still looked dubious. Garth hesitated, then 
spoke in a quick stream of liquid Atlantean, too fast for 
Dick to decipher. Sett's eyes widened and he glanced at 
Dick again, this time with considerably more consideration.

"I see." Whatever Garth had said seemed to settle the 
matter. "Then here is the crux of it: The council of 
Shayeris, and your people, wish you to come home."

"I am home." Garth replied with no hesitation at all.



I would not have come...if you had answered us by other 
means.

Garth's face was oddly still. "I sent official word through 
channels."

"Not enough. Your majesty," Sett said pointedly, and Garth 
winced.

"I'm not--"

"You are Thar's son, and the only legal heir to the throne of 
Shayeris."

"And I 'legally' informed you that I wasn't interested, and that you 
should find another ruler. Which you did."

Sett raised his chin. "We selected a *regent.* To rule in your stead until 
such time as you came to claim your throne."

"So I heard." Garth's voice was too even, hiding-- something. Dick 
wasn't sure what.

Sett paused. "Is our choice unacceptable? You wished for someone 
else? We heard no objection...."

"I raised none. The choice was best made by those who would be most 
affected by it." Garth smiled thinly. "I hardly knew enough of Shayeris 
to make the decision, don't you think?"

Sett opened his mouth, closed it, and looked away. When he spoke 
again, his voice was full of regret. "We cannot erase the sins of our 
past. We can only hope to atone for them."

The reply came quick and sharp-edged. "I don't want your atonement." 

"No. You don't want anything to do with us. And yet...the costume you 
adopted is our flag. Your heritage. We are part of you, no matter how 
you deny it."

Garth sighed. "What do you want of me, Sett."

Sett shrugged. "The next best thing. We were fairly certain you 
wouldn't come back to Shayeris in any case. And I see that you have 
made your home here." He nodded toward Dick. "I...understand why 
you will not leave. But we still require your presence, in some 
capacity."

"Why? I abdicated, as it were."

Dick kept his face still, but something about Garth's tone struck 
him...wrong. He'd never known Garth to avoid responsibility.

"We must have a stronger presence in the Atlantean councils. Recent 
events...have proven that our policy of isolation cannot stand. Much of 
that is due to your own actions," Sett continued with emphasis. "And 
you were correct. Shayeris cannot survive as a lone state. It must be 
reintegrated into the whole."

"I see." 



He doesn't owe you anything!

His blood and the responsibilities inherent say otherwise

Should have thought of that before you exiled Berra. You didn't want 
anything to do with him, then. Why now?




What was that about?

His lover Thoran was killed in the battle against Slizzath. One of many.




Garth, what's-- you never mentioned anything about this. 

"Berra. They chose Berra as regent."