Chapter 347 - The Moonshadow Trading Company Short Stories: 4 - The Dominant (II) (2/2)
”You have the same scent as they do. Pure, uncorrupted, light. Though admittedly yours is far stronger. No doubt due to the fact that you are a Light Magician and not merely dealing in the presence of such magic. If I had to guess, I would say you come from the Holy Order, no?” asked Rassa.
She tilted her head a fraction before she sighed, ”You are indeed far more formidable than I expected. Had I come straight here rather than meeting the other you sired first, I likely would have been killed”.
Rassa frowned, ”You have seen Aegin”.
She nodded, pulling her scarf down to reveal her lips, ”My name is Devina Lightbringer. I am a Priestess of the Holy Order, and one of the twelve in line to become Head of the Holy Order. My mission, when I left the Holy Empire over a year ago, was to find the Lord of Night and kill him before his shadows could spread”.
Rassa's lips quirked in amus.e.m.e.nt, ”And here I thought the Holy Order was ignorant to the war of their ancestors…I sense it is no longer your mission”.
Devina shook her head, ”No. It has become clear to me that the Holy Order has been suppressing the shadows for thousands of years. But that suppressing them may not have been the best course of action”.
”And what would you do now? Heir to the throne of the Holy Empire? What could a remnant of Chaos possibly have that a fully established Paladin of Light could be interested in?” asked Rassa.
Devina seemed to hesitate a moment as she stared up at Rassa, then a resolve seemed to enter her eyes, ”A path forward. This world has stagnated too long. It needs to move forward, or it will resolve itself to one way of life for all eternity and that was not what it was designed for”.
”And Aegin showed you this?” asked Rassa.
Devina nodded, ”Not intentionally, but as a Priestess I am trained to see that which others do not”.
”And what would you ask of me, to come all this way?” asked Rassa.
Devina hesitated, then lifted up her wrist, exposing it to him, ”I wish to understand the path you walk on. The path I have determined can lead us forward. But I cannot do that in the state I am now”.
Rassa raised an eyebrow, ”I think for that, little Priestess, you are far too ignorant of what you ask for”.
Rassa turned and walked back towards the party.
”Please I-”
Rassa ignored her, entering the ballroom once more without so much as a glance back.
***
*Eldovian Era 1714, 7th day of the 12th month*
”Rassa, she's come every day since the night of the ball. Don't you think it's even a little bit concerning that she knows what you are? What we are?” asked Iah. She was pacing back and forth in Rassa's apartment as the Head of Moonshadow flipped through the book he was reading.
”I think we have better things to focus on,” Rassa replied.
”She's a Priestess of the Holy Order, Rassa. Probably the most literal threat we face as those on the path of Chaos. She even admitted that her initial mission was to kill you,” said Iah.
”Yes, and now she asks that I turn her. A Priestess of the Holy Order. What, does she think I'm stupid? Not only would that be practically suicidal, but it would also be asking the Holy Order to come knocking, I don't particularly feel like going up against an army of Light Magicians on my own. You know, seeing as my Sired have yet to be unsealed,” Rassa proclaimed.
”Well sorry for being so utterly useless!” snapped Iah.
Rassa scoffed, ”Don't try to argue with me, Iah, just ignore her. If Aegin happens to drop back in, I'd love to chat to him about why he thought it was a great idea to trust her with all this”.
”Aegin would not betray us,” came a new voice from the balcony. Rassa huffed as he turned to face Ebony and Mathius, who had clearly just arrived after their journey, ”And you know it”.
Ebony moved forward and leaned down to kiss Rassa's forehead lightly before taking a step back with a bowed head.
Rassa sighed, glancing at Mathius, the only one among them who hadn't met Aegin. There was something about him that seemed different to the last time Rassa had seen him. Rassa glanced back at Ebony, but there was no obvious change in her.
Rassa closed his book, ”Just leave her be. She will not say anything unnecessary if we do not provoke anything. How was your journey?”
”Boring without a view from above,” Ebony smiled, ”But now that we're here, what do you say that we go to the Trader's Ball to stir up some trouble? I have a bone to pick with a certain Southern Trader”.
Rassa stood, ”You'll leave Ishta alone, he's an important business partner”.
Ebony froze, turning to Rassa in surprise, ”We're in business with Ishta Alamone? The one who sent pirates after us and sold Aegin and I to the Slave Master? The one who ordered Kit and Olly killed? You've got to be kidding”.
Mathius seemed shocked too, though remained silent as his gaze flickered to Iah, the only one among the three not surprised. Though her expression was begrudging.
”Ishta owns 80% of the Evanine Mines in the South. Seeing as we decided that Falla was not going to be able to supply us with Evanine for the Southern Continent as well, I went to the next best option,” said Rassa.
”The next best option?” asked Ebony in shock, ”Who owns the other 20% to say that Ishta is the next best option?”
Rassa's eyes narrowed, ”Ebony, do not mix your emotions with business. He is a bastard, but he's also a businessman. More often than not they are bastards. I am on the verge of having this deal signed, don't ruin it for me”.
Ebony pouted in annoyance, ”This is a bad idea”.
”If you can come up with an alternative that could offer us the same or better growth potential than the cheap deal that I have with Ishta, please, propose it, otherwise, you'll just have to deal. Besides, Ishta will only be around another couple of decades anyway. The earlier we get in, the earlier we're able to influence the situation,” Rassa replied.
Ebony's expression softened somewhat. Eternity was hard to come to terms with when you had yet to really see its effects. The only reason that Rassa was better at it than the others was thanks to his experiences with the old Vampires during his training.
”Fine. But I will not smile at him, and if he makes a jab, I reserve the right to threaten him with my fangs,” Ebony bargained.
”So long as there's no biting,” Rassa replied with an amused smile, ”Now, go get ready, I need to bathe and change”.
Mathius and Iah turned to leave immediately, but Ebony hesitated, ”Can I…talk to you for a minute?”
Rassa nodded, and Mathius and Iah took that as their dismissal. After a moment when she was satisfied that Mathius and Iah were out of hearing range, Ebony followed Rassa into his room.
”What is it?” asked Rassa.
”It's Mathius…he…”
”Ah, so you felt it too,” Rassa nodded, ”I was unsure whether you would”.
”What is it?” asked Ebony.
”As you know, when a Vampire is turned, the majority of their abilities are sealed until they've proven themselves m.a.t.u.r.e enough,” said Rassa, ”It takes longer for a child because their physical bodies have to fully m.a.t.u.r.e before they can be unsealed as well, but as an a.d.u.l.t the time frame depends less on age and more on one's mental capacity”.
”So, Mathius is ready to be unsealed?” asked Ebony, ”He has only been a Vampire for a little over a year”.
”As I said, age and time have little impact on unsealing if you're being turned as an a.d.u.l.t,” said Rassa.
”But…I am his Sire, and I am not unsealed,” said Ebony.
”No,” said Rassa, ”It is somewhat strange, but your situation to begin with was not exactly normal either”.
Ebony sighed, ”So what does he have that Iah and I do not?”
Rassa chuckled, ”It is not simply something you can get. To become unsealed you must accept the burden, fully and irreversibly. That change does not happen overnight”.
”Apparently it doesn't happen over fifteen months either, exactly what is putting him so far ahead of us?” asked Ebony.
Rassa sighed as he turned to look at Ebony, ”Mathius has been around for far longer than you and Iah. He, over his years as a human, learned to adapt to situations quite quickly in order to survive them. In addition, he has quite a strong will for leadership”.
”Iah and I have proven on multiple occasions that we can adapt, and we have leadership skills,” stated Ebony.
”Yes, but both you and Iah are more timid,” stated Rassa. Ebony looked somewhat offended, ”It's not a bad thing. You both have kind and forgiving souls. That is something to be celebrated, but over the past year I'm sure you've become aware of how opposite your personalities are to the Hunger within yourselves. It will take longer for you to reach an equilibrium because of it”.
Ebony huffed, ”So I just have to become more ruthless?”
Rassa rolled his eyes, ”No…look, the process of becoming unsealed is unique for everyone. I can tell you what is required, but the path to reach it must be your own. Mathius just happens to have a shorter path”.
Ebony sighed, looking away in defeat, ”I just…it feels wrong that he should reach that point before me. I feel…”
”Responsible for him?” asked Rassa, ”Yes, it's likely the same feeling that I have for all of you. But just because he is unsealed sooner doesn't mean you will cease to be his sire. Besides, if you are to live for eternity you can't say that relationship will be the only one you rely on to interact with one another”.
Ebony nodded, and silence lapsed between them before she looked away, ”Is Aegin…Is he unsealed?”
Rassa hesitated a moment as he looked at Ebony, then he shook his head, ”No…not yet anyway”.
”Iah said that priestess came from the west…that she was with Aegin,” said Ebony.
Rassa paused, then came to stand before Ebony, placing his hands on her shoulders, ”If you want to go after him, I will make no protest against it. But if you do, make sure you are going for you, not for him. You will not try and influence his decision to remain away. It was his choice, he must be the one to choose to come back…if he ever does”.
Ebony closed her eyes painfully at the words, ”I miss him”.
”I know…I do too,” Rassa admitted, pulling Ebony in for a hug.