Chapter 351 - The Moonshadow Trading Company Short Stories: 5 - The Birth of Moonshadow Coven (II) (2/2)
Devina looked away.
”Is this all you have come for?” asked Rassa.
”Your sh.i.p.s…you're preparing for an extended journey, south, I assume? And soon,” said Devina.
”Yes,” Rassa admitted, ”It is time Moonshadow expanded”.
”Even if it falls right into the Holy Order's territory?” asked Devina.
Rassa chuckled, ”The Holy Order are a bunch of fools who can't see past the end of their own noses, or they would have detected the remnants of Chaos in their own backyard a long time ago”.
”Remnants?” asked Devina.
Rassa waved his hand dismissively at her question, ”Is that your only concern?”
Devina sighed, ”I can help you”.
Rassa smiled, ”I doubt that, but perhaps you can amuse me one last time before I dismiss you. How do you plan to offer help?”
”I can get the deeds to Ishta Alamone's Evanine Mines,” said Devina.
Rassa's smile stilled, ”That's not a light claim to make. Such things are left in the broken hands of his company that has been struggling to hold itself together since his untimely demise”.
”And you were planning to scrounge them up and buy them, were you not?” asked Devina.
Rassa tilted his head, ”You've intrigued me, but that doesn't explain why you want to help. You are a Light Magician, aiding me should be repulsive to you by instinct”.
Devina's gaze faltered slightly as she turned away, ”I…I'm doing it for Aegin, we were only together a short time but…how he spoke of the balance he-”
Rassa caught her chin, turning her to face him, ”Stay still, do not fight what I do or it will hurt”.
Rassa did not wait before he delved into her mind, past her conscious thoughts and deep into her memory. There, he found what he was looking for. He closed his eyes and released her, an amused smile on his lips.
”Well, that is unexpected,” said Rassa.
Devina breathed deeply, taken aback by the sudden invasion and then just as sudden disappearance of another, overwhelming presence in her mind.
”He made you a Sanguine,” said Rassa, ”Unintentionally, but still, I'd be proud if I wasn't so pissed that he continued to think so low of me”.
”What's a…Sanguine?” asked Devina.
”It is the term for the humans that bond with Vampires as their dedicated feeders. The Sanguine can sense when the Vampire is hungry and feels obligated to feed them just as they are obedient in doing what is asked. At least for the most part, your Magician abilities likely fought against the bond. In return for ready access to blood, the Vampire provides sustenance to the human and protection from harm for the period of the contract. Yours with Aegin was two months. Your journey on the Mariner,” said Rassa.
Devina frowned, ”So? Like you said, it's over now”.
”And when he refused to let you go with him, you came after his Sire. Perhaps it was in part because of what you learned, but the reason you're so insistent on having someone sink their fangs into you is because you were irrevocably changed from the experience. You liked it, even despite the Chaos it let in. And in your mission to seek it out, you even recruited more for the same purpose”.
Rassa waved his hand at those behind her. Devina looked away in shame.
”There is no need to be embarrassed. A long time ago it was an honour to serve as a Sanguine for a Coven. But it is a life of servitude, not one for a priestess, no matter where her allegiance lies,” said Rassa.
Devina clearly looked upset at being laid open like that. But Rassa seemed non-committal as he looked at the others.
”If you truly seek this fate, then I'm sure when I return from the South that I will be willing to consider it, but not now. I have not the time nor the patience for it, those of you who will consider such a life of servitude, you may take residence in the town below for now so long as you are useful, the rest of you, you may stay the night only,” said Rassa, ”Now leave me”.
Devina turned to Rassa, ”And my offer to help with acquiring the Deeds?”
Rassa looked over his shoulder at her in contemplation, ”How confident are you?”
Devina did not look away from his gaze this time, ”90%”.
Rassa raised an eyebrow, ”Very well then, if you can join the Moonshadow fleet in Levron before the fortnight is out you may come. But if you prove useless, you will receive no benefits nor sympathy from me, nor my company. Understood?”
Devina looked annoyed for a moment before she nodded, ”Understood”.
Rassa waved a hand to dismiss them and he listened to the group's footsteps fade. He sighed as he looked down at the half-finished rune stone he'd been working on. He'd let a moth into his coven of spiders. This was sure to go well.
***
*Eldovian Era 1715, 15th day of the 8th month*
Layton's competitive spirit was tiring for some, but on a run such as this, where the four newly turned Vampires had their first opportunity to really let loose, it was contagious.
Even Neva, who had at first simply been trying to keep pace, raced with them as she tried to stay one step ahead.
Rassa watched from the side as they raced across the rolling fields. He'd told them to just keep going no matter if Rassa paused or not. It would not be a great difficulty for Rassa to catch up to them. Still, after the third time Rassa had stopped and let them pass by, Sel had grown curious.
”What are you doing?” asked Sel.
Rassa's eyes seemed to carve a path through the landscape before he took a runestone from his pocket and threw it to Sel. Sel caught it, eyes widening as he saw the symbol.
”A new rune?”
Rassa nodded, ”Waiting weeks for things to be transported between our stores is a pain, but I would not put the burden on any of our shoulders to carry stock back and forth. That would be a pain too, so, a happy medium must be reached”.
Sel read the rune carefully, his eyes still a little untrained.
”Acceleration? No…Speed?”
Rassa nodded again, ”Good. The idea is that a rune like this that is attached to some form of transport will make that machinery move faster than before”.
”I can't imagine a horse drawn carriage will be useful here,” said Sel, ”Unless one were to use it on the horses”.
Rassa chuckled, ”No, not on the horses, and I'm not thinking of using carriages. At such high speeds, it will be dangerous to attempt to attached any animal to it, and it will be dangerous to attempt to drive it on uneven or sharply curving terrain”.
”So, it can only be used on flat lands?” asked Sel.
”Or, perhaps with the right touch, the carriage could be placed on a specially made road or track,” said Rassa.
Sel looked to only have half of Rassa's idea mapped out in his head. Rassa pointed along the landscape, ”Imagine a long metal track that was specially designed to carve through the landscape. Along this track would come the specially designed carriages built for transportation of goods, perhaps even people. The carriages themselves accelerating by the power of these runes alone”.
”How fast would they go?” asked Sel.
Rassa sighed, ”I suppose one would have to find an appropriate speed, perhaps place a limit on the charms so that they did not exceed a safe and sustainable pace. After all, if you reached a high speed, you'd only have short bursts of power before the charm would need to be charged, and there would be no guarantee of the safety of those within. Humans weren't built to reach those kinds of speeds so precautions would have to be put in place. Perhaps the tracks could pass through a few villages along the way, stops so that passengers could rest and that the crystal could recharge. In all though, I think I could efficiently make a month long journey into one that took anywhere from 3 days to a week depending on the amount of cargo the initial car was pulling”.
Sel frowned, ”Sounds like a complex undertaking”.
He passed the charm back to Rassa who just shrugged, ”Nothing about Moonshadow is simple. Having the will to make something new, to reach new heights and improve quality of life should be one of it's primary goals. Otherwise, the business will eventually stagnate, and it's commodity will cease to be. Other companies can copy our runes, they probably are not far off finding out the secret by now. But it will be quite a surprise if any of them are able to create a new rune”.
”The Master is wise and has dedicated much thought to the longevity of his people,” said Sel, ”Thank you”.
Rassa smiled, ”Well, doesn't something that lasts as long as we will seem so much more exciting, Sel?”
”Perhaps ask me in a few years, Master,” Sel nodded respectfully.
Rassa nodded, ”Fair enough, come on, Layton looks to be starting a fight with Talo again”.