so long. The translation didn't really tell me much other than the fact that we're probably looking for a fraternity if we want to find Archanos, and that was something we already suspected. I wanted to try and figure out who the hell 'I am there' in the translation referred to. That took longer. At first I thought it referred to a person, but then I found this."
Swann turned his laptop around and came to take a seat next to me. My eyes scanned a Wikipedia page that he had opened, "Et in Arcadia Ego." I read the title, "A painting by Nicolas Poussin."
"Right. Look at this." Jimmy highlighted a line of text with his mousepad to draw my attention to it.
I read aloud, "The literal word-for-word translation of the phrase is 'And in Arcadia I am there,' 'I' being death, and 'Arcadia' being understood as a utopian land." I stared down the words, thinking aloud, "So 'I' in the murderer's message can be taken to mean death as well. Brotherhood… Emily Albright was in a sorority, a sisterhood, obviously not a coincidence."
"Nope," Swann cross his arms and leaned back in his seat, "I also have been thinking, brotherhood was the replaced for Arcadia in the translation… maybe they're both supposed to represent utopian land. The perfect place, the perfect society."
I got what he was trying to say, "Even in the Archanos society, a perfect society, there is death."
Jimmy nodded gravely, "Utopia can only be reclaimed when imperfections are removed… so death is necessary."
"You mean murder." I replied bluntly, angered, "So Emily Albright died because she didn't agree with Archanos for some reason that we still don't know."
"More than that," Jimmy disagreed, "Her death wasn't quietly done, it was left in the open with a magical message meant to spread to others- others like her. Dissenters; this will be you."
"That's sick." I said in disgust, "And we're going to join these people?"
With a sigh, James rose to move back to his seat, "What other choice do we have? That's why we're here. Covens… you know the rumors, they aren't nice a lot of the times. To survive, you can't show weakness. Dissent among the ranks… it's dealt with, harshly."
"You want to expose Nishi to these people?"
He was visibly angered by that barb, something I hadn't seen from him before.
"Look," Swann replied harshly, "Sometimes you have choices in life and that's great. Other times- you don't, and that sucks but you have to move forward anyways. Nishi understands that more than anyone, Stratus." Jimmy looked visibly pained by the notion, and I wondered if I struck a nerve, "I should have just kept quiet about this. You want to find the guy who did this, don't you?"
"Of course." I replied without pause, "You don't want to? He killed someone who didn't deserve to die."
"How do you know she didn't?" Jimmy demanded, arms crossed.
I could recall her wide grin; arms linked with two friends, caught in a moment of joy captured forever in a photo- the likes of it never to be seen again. Not in this world. How many times had I stared at it in the past week, wondering why anyone would want to destroy such happiness? The malicious intent I had felt behind the taunting magical warning left behind had been pungent, noticeable in its malevolence even when I had no idea what the words meant.
"She didn't deserve it." My instincts insisted, "I'm sure of it."
Swann gave me one long, hard look, before groaning into the palms of his hands, "I can't believe it. You're in love with a dead girl. You're going to risk everything to go up against people who have years of experiences over you. Well I don't want any part of it, you hear me? If you go down, I wasn't in on this stupidity."
I gave him smile that wasn't so nice. "Yeah, I hear you." Then I looked down at my book again as if nothing had happened at all.
Something had happened, though. Jimmy may have very well been the best friend I had here, but he wasn't going to stick his neck out for me, and definitely not for
Swann turned his laptop around and came to take a seat next to me. My eyes scanned a Wikipedia page that he had opened, "Et in Arcadia Ego." I read the title, "A painting by Nicolas Poussin."
"Right. Look at this." Jimmy highlighted a line of text with his mousepad to draw my attention to it.
I read aloud, "The literal word-for-word translation of the phrase is 'And in Arcadia I am there,' 'I' being death, and 'Arcadia' being understood as a utopian land." I stared down the words, thinking aloud, "So 'I' in the murderer's message can be taken to mean death as well. Brotherhood… Emily Albright was in a sorority, a sisterhood, obviously not a coincidence."
"Nope," Swann cross his arms and leaned back in his seat, "I also have been thinking, brotherhood was the replaced for Arcadia in the translation… maybe they're both supposed to represent utopian land. The perfect place, the perfect society."
I got what he was trying to say, "Even in the Archanos society, a perfect society, there is death."
Jimmy nodded gravely, "Utopia can only be reclaimed when imperfections are removed… so death is necessary."
"You mean murder." I replied bluntly, angered, "So Emily Albright died because she didn't agree with Archanos for some reason that we still don't know."
"More than that," Jimmy disagreed, "Her death wasn't quietly done, it was left in the open with a magical message meant to spread to others- others like her. Dissenters; this will be you."
"That's sick." I said in disgust, "And we're going to join these people?"
With a sigh, James rose to move back to his seat, "What other choice do we have? That's why we're here. Covens… you know the rumors, they aren't nice a lot of the times. To survive, you can't show weakness. Dissent among the ranks… it's dealt with, harshly."
"You want to expose Nishi to these people?"
He was visibly angered by that barb, something I hadn't seen from him before.
"Look," Swann replied harshly, "Sometimes you have choices in life and that's great. Other times- you don't, and that sucks but you have to move forward anyways. Nishi understands that more than anyone, Stratus." Jimmy looked visibly pained by the notion, and I wondered if I struck a nerve, "I should have just kept quiet about this. You want to find the guy who did this, don't you?"
"Of course." I replied without pause, "You don't want to? He killed someone who didn't deserve to die."
"How do you know she didn't?" Jimmy demanded, arms crossed.
I could recall her wide grin; arms linked with two friends, caught in a moment of joy captured forever in a photo- the likes of it never to be seen again. Not in this world. How many times had I stared at it in the past week, wondering why anyone would want to destroy such happiness? The malicious intent I had felt behind the taunting magical warning left behind had been pungent, noticeable in its malevolence even when I had no idea what the words meant.
"She didn't deserve it." My instincts insisted, "I'm sure of it."
Swann gave me one long, hard look, before groaning into the palms of his hands, "I can't believe it. You're in love with a dead girl. You're going to risk everything to go up against people who have years of experiences over you. Well I don't want any part of it, you hear me? If you go down, I wasn't in on this stupidity."
I gave him smile that wasn't so nice. "Yeah, I hear you." Then I looked down at my book again as if nothing had happened at all.
Something had happened, though. Jimmy may have very well been the best friend I had here, but he wasn't going to stick his neck out for me, and definitely not for
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