Monitor

Brin gasped as the balaclava was taken off her head.

She could see that she was in the same location that she'd been about ten minutes ago. When she and her group of Sentinels had entered the ruins – Dominion forces had been sighted there. The ruins were close to Antium. The Sentinels had responded, entering those ruins with the intention of forcing the Dominion to retreat, or better yet, capturing some of their number. To discover why they were pressing south, and find a way to avert a war that many in Antium feared not only was inevitable, but one that they'd lose. Up to the moment they entered the ruins, that plan had been going pretty well.

After that, the plan had gone more sideways than a malfunctioning Javelin. And as her eyes adjusted to the gloom…

"Sweet Helena."

She could see how it had gone so sideways that the world itself felt shifted.

She tried to get up, but one of the Dominion soldiers brought his (or her, it was hard to tell) rifle into her back, causing her to grunt and bend over. Within the gloom, Dominion troopers dragged the bodies of her Sentinels into the depths, leaving trails of blood behind them. She tried to get up again, but on her shoulders, she felt a pair of hands grab her. She yelled. She screamed. She wept. Mainly for those beside her. Partly for herself. In part, for Antium – the Dominion was here. The Dominion was coming. Still struggling to get up, she turned her head around to one of the thugs, only for their rifle to hit her square in the face.

"Enough."

She sagged over, blood dripping out of her mouth, pooling on the cold stone floor.

"I need one of them alive."

She kept her face down as the footsteps approached her. As she felt the hands of the troopers release her. If her hands weren't bound behind her back like some common criminal, she'd get up now, throw a punch at the one before her, damn the consequences.

"Are you the leader of this cadre?"

She kept her face down. Her hands were bound. But her eyes were her own.

"Well?" the one before her asked.

She said nothing.

"Fine."

She still said nothing. Then screamed as energy tore into her – it looked like lightning. Felt like lightning, or at least what she imagined lighting to be – the sense and smell of being burnt alive. She screamed, she wept…until it stopped.

"Answer me," the interrogator said again.

She said nothing – she gasped for air as smoke rose from her body.

"Do you wish to taste the Anthem again?"

She raised her gaze slightly – not enough to see the interrogator's face, but enough to see his body. "What…do you mean?"

"The Anthem. It sings, and I am its conductor. Creation, destruction, pain, joy. If you do not wish your song to end, sing yourself."

She said nothing.

"As you wish."

She heard the crackle of the lightning. Thunder pounded within her heart. Her hair stood on end, like trees awaiting the rain of storm as the lightning neared and-

"I'm Brin!"

The lightning stopped. The thunder died down. From her eyes, the rain continued to flow.

"I'm Brin," she whispered. "My name is Brin."

There weren't any real procedures for Sentinels being captured by the Dominion – the Dominion had existed for centuries, getting into border skirmishes with the Freelancers that the Sentinels cared little about, but only in recent months had the Dominion become an existential threat. Brin doubted that the future of Fort Tarsis rested on whether the Dominion knew her name or not, and yet…they had it. They'd wanted it. And in her weakness, she'd given it to them.

"Brin," the interrogator said, kneeling down. "A simple name."

She glared at him. Glowing eyes from behind a helmet glared back at her.

"But then, what are the people of Antium but simple?"

"We…we aren't murderers."

"Are you not? How many Scars or outlaws would claim otherwise?"

"We-"

The interrogator grabbed her by the throat. "How many of my people have you slain?"

Brin tried to say something – something along the lines of "go jump off a cliff." Unfortunately, she couldn't manage it. Being choked had that effect on people. Even if it was only for a few seconds, she was left gasping for breath.

"Death," said the interrogator, standing up again, "is the nature of the world. And I will never make peace with that." He nodded to the troopers behind her. "Go."

Brin heard the footsteps. Taking a quick glance around, she realized how many Dominion soldiers there actually were. Most of them were troopers. Some of them wore Javelins. A few wore cloaks and armour similar to the one before her, like some kind of royal guard. Like the Sentinels were meant to be, but no longer were. Even if she tried to convince herself otherwise.

Royal guard wouldn't have stumbled into a firefight like this. Royal guard wouldn't have their bodies be dragged away.

"Have you made peace with it?" the interrogator asked. "That death is the nature of things?"

Brin spat at him, a globule of blood landing on his boot.

"Answer me."

She scowled. "You're a monster."

The man remained silent for a moment. She saw him clutch his right fist and look at it, as if searching for blood on his hands. Blood that she couldn't see, but knew had been there.

"I'm not a monster," he whispered eventually. He knelt down again. "Monsters are the creatures outside our walls, Sentinel. Antium and Stralheim both."

"The ones behind the walls of Stralheim are monsters!"

"Are they?" He sighed. "I have known many monsters over the centuries, child of Antium. I am not one of them."

"You're part of the Dominion. You killed my Sentinels."

"My men killed the Sentinels. And I am not part of the Dominion." He rose to his feet again. "I am the Dominion."

"What?" Brin whispered.

"I have gone by many names over the centuries, my lady. But the one I have always kept is that of Monitor."

Brin felt like pissing herself. Scratch that, she was pissing herself.

The Monitor. The leader of the Dominion. The monster that ruled from Stralheim, treating his own people little better than he treated his foes. In an instant, she knew that she'd never leave this place. Her Sentinels were dead. Soon, she'd be dead. But only after being given a death far worse than what those under her command had endured.

"You look frightened," the Monitor said.

Brin said nothing.

"You are frightened."

She shook her head, closing her eyes.

"Have your leaders really made you so afraid?" he whispered.

"You…" She whispered, raising her eyes to meet his. "You…are the source of our fear."

"No. I'm not."

"You're a murderer!"

"I am. What of it? The blood on my hands pales in comparison to the blood that has been spilt over this world's history."

"Are you trying to justify your actions?"

"My actions are justified by the world."

"You-"

"Look around you Sentinel," the Monitor whispered. "Can you tell me where we are?"

Brin, despite her fear and anger, did so. Stone walls. Stone carvings. Once, people had lived here.

"A temple?" she asked.

"A refuge," the Monitor said. "A place built by the Srinigara over a thousand years ago."

"And how would you know that?"

"Because I saw them. Observed them. Monitored them."

Brin shook her head. The man was a liar or a madman. Maybe both.

"They, like you, hid behind their walls as chaos closed in on them." He clicked his fingers, sparks of energy flickering from them. "The Anthem reached its end. The creatures of the world closed in. Major turned to minor, their society entered syncopation, and like the music, they died." He gestured around. "Again, and again, and again. The same cycle. The same pattern. The Anthem was used to create our world. But always, it brings ruin to those in it."

"And you saw this," Brin said, incredulous.

"More times than you can count," the Monitor said. She watched as he began to pace around. "I wasn't there at the beginning. I wasn't even there right after it. But the song kept repeating. Chaos kept returning. The works of Man were laid low, and the children of the world were scattered."

Brin scoffed and he looked at her. "Does it surprise you?" he asked. "You've seen the ruins of the world, Sentinel Brin. Ruins of those long gone, unmistakably human in design. Is it so far-fetched to believe that others came before you?"

"Of course people came before us," Brin said. "But Helena Tarsis-"

"Was a visionary, and a hero," the Monitor said. "But her vision did not extend beyond the walls of the city that bears her namesake. Like every hero, she only went so far." He chuckled. "Humanity has always needed leaders Brin. Some deny it. Some fight it. But throughout our history, the many always follow the one. It's in our nature. We're pack animals, and the alpha leads us."

"And you're that alpha," she said.

"With the Dominion, I finally am. I've gathered enough dissidents from Antium and other kingdoms over the centuries, and finally, I can bring this madness to an end." She watched his hand flatten. Watched as a ball of purple energy form. "Radiant energy of the Anthem. No tricks, no technology, just mastery of the power of creation." He snuffed the energy out and looked down at her. "Imagine it – the world for us to shape. The world at our fingertips. We can complete the work of the Shapers. Improve it. Save ourselves."

"Destroy ourselves," Brin whispered.

"Look around you Sentinel. Humanity is already being destroyed. The world destroys us. The Scars slaughter us. We hide behind our walls and tell ourselves that they'll never fall." He knelt down again. "You're a Sentinel, child. Your namesake tells you to watch. Standing on the walls of Antium, tell me…what do you see?"

Brin looked away.

"What. Do you. See?"

She knew the answer – jungle. Endless jungle. A jungle with dangerous creatures that could tear apart the unprotected in a heartbeat. A world of strife. Conflict. Calamity.

"Well?"

She looked back at the Monitor. "Right now, I'm seeing someone who's making the world far more dangerous than it once was."

The Monitor didn't say anything. He didn't even summon the energy of the Anthem. What he did summon was a knife, through a motion as mundane as taking it out of his belt. A knife that he pressed against her neck.

Please don't.

Brin found herself trembling. She closed her eyes – she didn't want to die. Dying was a risk, she understood that as all Sentinels did, but still, life was life. Death was death. Some believed that life came after death, but none had proven it. If the Monitor was right about anything, it was that death was indeed the constant of the world.

"Perhaps I should kill you," the Monitor whispered. "That would make the world less dangerous, would it not?"

Brin still said nothing. She just kept her eyes closed. Trembling. Praying.

"I've seen mankind deny the inevitable again and again. Why else do your people fear control of the Anthem? They think the risks of control outweigh the risks of our own destruction." He pressed the knife against her flesh, cutting it. "The music remains as loud with each cycle. The audience ever shrinks. Perhaps to save what's left, I should cut out the one that would spread disharmony." He pressed the knife even closer. Blood began to seep out of the wound.

"Have you anything to say?"

Brin said nothing. She dared not speak. Dared not shake her head lest the knife cut too deep.

"Very well."

She waited for the end. She wasn't ready. But she could face it with dignity.

…or feel her binds be cut.

What?

She opened her eyes. She saw the Monitor run a hand over the blade. Sparks flew from the hand, and when he took it away, the blood on the knife had gone.

"Run back to Antium," the Monitor said. "Tell them that I'm coming. Tell them that I can save them."

Brin got to her feet. She staggered as she struggled to find her footing.

"Tell them that the Dominion lays claim to Antium. That the Anthem of Creation shall be ours to control. Tell them that they can join the orchestra, or leave the hall."

Brin said nothing.

"Tell them!"

Brin still said nothing.

Then she ran.

A/N

So, based on what we've seen of trailers, is it just me, or is the Monitor basically Saren 2.0? As in, Saren leaves the Council, the Dominion is confirmed to be formed from Antium dissidents. Saren learns of the Reapers' cycle of extinction, the Monitor claims that the Anthem has laid waste to numerous civilizations. Saren wants to ally with the Reapers, the Monitor wants to control the Anthem. Cue conflict with the protagonist.

Not that this is inherently bad of course, but either way, drabbled this up.