Chapter 661 (2/2)
The Crimson Dawn. Aylwind’s face turned stony. The man who had held the office of Leader of the Spearman Style before he was betrayed and driven North to the wilderness. A man that Aylwind never hoped to see again.
He grunted, looking at the table. “...it cannot be left to chance…”
Then he looked sharply up at his aide. “Send a missive to Niergem immediately. Have them retreat to the Central Domain. Convey that this is not a request- no, send Sazzeratta. She will compel them well enough.”
After the aide left, Aylwind Sky began to tremble. The old Masters were moving. Those that lived through the legendary life of the Spearman himself. But what was confusing was that they were at each other’s throats. Even now, Aylwind’s contacts informed him that Ophelia Vade and Versault Ignis were meeting. No expedition to recover the Spearsource seemed to be forthcoming. It was baffling.
What exactly was their goal…?
There was another knock at the door. Aylwind’s aide poked her head in and said. “Oh, also. We are nearing the deadline for the end of the tournament. Will you be appearing to greet those that survived the first part of the Inter-School Tournament? Based on what we know, we uncovered some talented youths this time. This will likely be a Tournament to remember.”
Aylwind nodded blandly and then stared at the door the aide departed from. He felt sorry for the girl. She was born and raised in the Central Domain. Although many talked about the attacks of the Wights on the South and West portions of the Spearman School, it hadn’t yet reached the capital, not truly.
Those spoiled brats, the ones that Aylwind was shocked to find himself surrounded by, thought this was just another storm that would inevitably blow over… Their stints on the front line were carefully pruned to expose them to just the right amount of danger.
Aylwind pressed his eyes together. They didn’t remember the precursor to the Inter-School competition, the Five-Way War. Even Aylwind was only a kid when that was shaking the world. Even now, the echoes of that war were waiting, right below the surface. But this next generation… they didn’t recognize any of it.
They didn’t even know that there were originally five Schools.
A new knock at his door distracted Aylwind. The hand that knocked this time was much more forceful than his aide. Someone who wanted a meeting? He had made no agreements that he could remember, and his people weren’t so jelly-spined that they would allow someone without merit to pass through to see him…
Straightening, Aylwind carefully schooled his face. Then he coughed lightly and said, “Come in.”
The door opened, revealing two individuals. The first he recognized. Aiden Darke was a snake of a man that had recently been promoted to the representative of the Engraving Guild in the Central Domain. All the people that Aylwind met complimented the young man for his passion and drive for the art of Engraving.
To Aylwind’s knowledge, this dark haired, pale skinned man’s only passion was torturing those unfortunate enough to be caught practicing Engraving outside of the Guilds.
But when Aiden Darke’s promotion came to his attention three months ago, Aylwind did nothing to stop it; they were losing the war and needed all the Engraved weaponry they could get their hands on. Failing to plumb deeper on the Darke boy turned out to be a grand mistake. The night he was sworn into office a large scale raid was launched upon the C Corp location in the city. Simultaneously, hundreds of soldiers were taken into custody, charged with possession of contraband Engraved weaponry.
As far as Aylwind could piece together, a rogue Engraver was prolifically active in the Northern Domain a couple years ago and had sold off a huge inventory of the equipment in the last several months. This sting was a passion project of Aiden, who had been chasing the Engraver for months, unable to locate a lead.
Aylwind couldn’t deny he was amused when it was clear that the Engraver was long gone, and the C Corp had already sold out their entire stock and the leadership has escaped with the money.
“Ah, Mr. Darke,” Aylwind said slowly. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”
“Leader Sky, I am glad you were able to meet me on such short notice. May I first introduce my assistant, Selfia? She will be joining me in working on this case.”
Aiden indicated the girl, who bowed politely to Aylwind. He scanned her with disinterest. She was one of those rare people with a third eye in her forehead, but her skin was pale; not a talented spear user then.
“As to business…” Aiden Darke’s face twisted in a horrible grin as he looked Aylwind. “Does the name... Randidly Ghosthound ring any bells?”