The Sound of Stones and Satisfaction
They tell me the gods guide fate through stars and omens. But I prefer something simpler:
The roll of stone against stone.
When we cast the pur — the lots — it felt sacred to the scribes. They bowed their heads, whispered prayers, watched the dice as if waiting for a sign from the heavens.
I watched, too. Not for guidance.
For timing.
And when the stones settled on the twelfth month — Adar — I smiled.
It was perfect.
Nearly a year away.
Plenty of time for fear to grow, for hope to decay.
Plenty of time for them to feel the weight of inevitability.
Not Just a Decree — A Message
We didn’t just write an edict.
We wrote a lesson.
“This is what happens when you defy order.
This is what happens when you stand when told to bow.
This is what happens when you forget who holds the seal.”
The Jews…
They’ve always hidden behind their scriptures, their strange festivals, their unseen God.
They fast when they should fight.
They pray when they should bow.
But not this time.
Not under my watch.
The King Who Doesn’t Care
Xerxes never even asked what people I meant.
He didn’t care.
That’s the luxury of power — you only need to know what you want to hear.
“There is a people…” I said. That was enough.
And to his credit, he didn’t flinch when I mentioned execution.
He didn’t bat an eye when I offered silver for the costs.
He didn’t hesitate to hand over his signet ring.
He wanted peace, and I gave him the illusion of it.
Let him sip wine.
Let me shape the empire.
Their Silence Was My Victory
When the decree went out, I expected noise.
Panic. Protests. Resistance.
But Susa stayed quiet.
No Jewish uprisings. No weeping in the courts.
Not even Mordecai came to plead for mercy.
Good.
It meant they knew.
It meant they understood.
They would not be spared this time.
Not by their piety. Not by their past. Not by their invisible Protector.
Their silence tasted like surrender.
The Gallows in My Mind
I began to see it already.
The gallows rising.
The streets cleared.
The wealth of the exiles redistributed.
My name whispered not just in fear, but in awe.
This was the legacy I deserved.
Not a footnote like my forefather.
Not a name buried by a Hebrew prophet.I would become a new ruler of fate.
One who cast the pur and watched heaven obey.
