Chapter 363 - The Moonshadow Trading Company Short Stories: 8 - The Coven City of Lyserna (II) (1/2)
Rassa could not help the lazy smile that adorned his face. Nothing had changed, his quarters kept clean for whenever he decided to drop in. He took off his coat, ready to rest after a day of travel, not to mention the stops he had made on the way to his other coven members. Mathius in Barday, Ebony, Kit and Olly in Moonshadow and Neva in Lovolon. He had to let them all know in person. He had to tell them that he had found it. He had found a place for them to call home.
Talo, he'd been told, was currently in the south, but he'd be back within a fortnight.
Rassa turned to find Layton just inside the entrance of his balcony, down on one knee with his head bowed.
”Welcome back, Master”.
Rassa tilted his head as he looked at Layton, something was different. He smelled like…like baked sweets. The corners of Rassa's lips turned up.
”We have found a home, Layton. It will take time to build it of course, but from this place, we will never have to run,” Rassa stated.
Layton looked up, his icy eyes shining, ”Then I can come this time?”
Rassa could not help the chuckle that escaped his lips, ”Layton, I admire your loyalty and your commitment, but have you not found something you d.e.s.i.r.e for yourself in the few months I have been away?”
Layton frowned, ”I…nothing worth pursuing, Master”.
Rassa raised an eyebrow, but sighed as he turned away, ”If you want it, Layton, take it. We may live forever, but that does not make the existences around us any less unique. Though, I concede that it is not my place to pry into your personal affairs. I think I will rest now, Layton, it was quite a long journey. Coordinate as best you can with Ebony, Mathius and Neva in making the preparations”.
”Of course, Master”.
Rassa closed his bedroom doors behind him as Layton slowly stood once more, eyeing the doors a moment longer before he turned away and walked back to the balcony, his expression suddenly not as thrilled.
Was he excited as the prospect of his Master's return and the news he brought? Of course! Rassa had always said that the ultimate goal was for their Coven to build their own home, away from human influence and without the restrictions of Order's Laws. A dream that had quickly become that of the rest of his Coven, and even those within Moonshadow who knew of the true nature of their leaders. But now that Rassa had brought it up…now that he was facing the prospect of returning in perhaps a decade or two from now when Allyra had grown far older…the thought made him frown.
Was he…did he like her company that much? Not just a human, but a human who had never witnessed the slaughter nor depravity he had grown up facing. She had grown up noble for the gods' sake. Noble and cherished and meek. Everything Layton had not been, and would never be. Had she changed in her exile? Of course. Heck, she was cooking with blood for him. Blood!
Layton shook his head with a scoff. What an utterly ridiculous thought that had just come to him. So what if she aged? That's what humans did. And in forty, fifty or perhaps even sixty years if she was particularly lucky, she would die and leave this world forever. But a whisper in his eternal existence. One he had no need to pay attention to, nor care for.
Layton jumped from Rassa's balcony to the street below, intent on hunting before turning in like his master.
***
*Eldovian Era 1722, 4th day of the 12th month*
”So, you're saying that not only do we need the resources and populace to support an entire city in a climate that for most of the year is frozen, but we'll also need to build rail tracks that span the same distance from Toulle to a day's travel further than our base on the Southern Continent, plus several resupply points that will likely become towns in the future?” asked Ebony.
Rassa nodded.
The holograms around him all looked understandably shocked.
”Rassa, that's more resources than we've managed to collect and build since Moonshadow's opening twelve years ago,” Ebony stated.
The others voiced their agreement, with Logan, the head of his Fountain Ridge base since it's inception speaking up, ”And to do it in just a year?”
”Rassa, you've proposed many unbelievable and impossible plans but this…we simply don't have the manpower even if all of us Evanine Badges work together,” Mathius reasoned. The others nodded in agreement.
”I admit it's probably one of my more ambitious plans, but you all d.e.s.i.r.e a home away from watchful eyes, do you not?” asked Rassa.
The others, especially the coven members among them, gave several indications of agreement.
”Then I suggest we develop a way to move this plan forward together,” said Rassa, leaning forward and clasping his hands on the table before him, ”I am open to suggestions”.
After a moment of silence, Ebony sighed, ”We can all continue our individual preparations and draw up a few ideas each. We'll meet again at the same time tomorrow with the goal of drawing up a detailed plan, agreed?”
The others turned to Rassa who nodded at the proposal. They quickly disappeared, all except for Neva.
Rassa raised an eyebrow, ”Yes?”
”I travelled to the Capital, as you requested,” Neva reported. It had been something Rassa had proposed on a whim before he'd left. Regularly the company had been getting requests for co-operations from the Imperial Family, and Rassa had ignored them for some time much to everyone's confusion. Eventually though, Ebony had convinced him that even if he had no plans to ever bow to them, and that they were going to leave anyway, for the present he should at least hear what they had to say. Rassa wasn't going there though. Neva had volunteered seeing as she was taking a break anyway.
Rassa sighed, ”Yes?”
”You are aware, aren't you?” asked Neva. Rassa continued to stare at her, waiting for her to say it, ”About that…thing in the Palace posing as the Crown Prince?”
”Crown Prince, huh?” Rassa chuckled, ”I suppose the Capital is rather bloody”.
Neva's eyes narrowed, ”Why haven't you dealt with it? You've clearly told us before how those…Dhampir…are uncontrollable”.
She spat the name. Disgusted by it's very existence.
Rassa looked away, ”Call me spiteful, Neva, but I did not participate in it's making willingly, and even now I feel that those who forced me should reap what they sowed. I will deal with it once it has dealt with them. It should not be long now”.
Neva was quiet for a long time before she spoke, ”It wants to meet you”.
Rassa turned back to look at her, meeting her eyes for a long moment before he stood, ”It expects me to call it son, does it?”
Neva sighed, ”I…the whole Capital felt…just wrong, Rassa. Like a storm cloud was descending upon it but never releasing it's wrath. Just biding it's time. As if the city is just amusing it for the time being until it gets what it wants. The Chaos there was so pure but so…hungry”.
Rassa said nothing more on the topic, ”Thank you for going in my place, Neva”.
Sensing that her Master was closing himself off once more and leaving the Capital to it's doomed fate, Neva too pulled her emotions back, ”Of course, Lord Moonshadow. In regards to the company and the Imperial family, my understanding was that they wanted shares in Moonshadow or they would close the railways to the capital”.
”Let them,” Rassa waved his hand dismissively.
”I too thought that move idiotic,” Neva agreed, ”Do they not know that the capital and surrounding towns are probably the only ones they still control absolutely? The other cities only listen when they feel like it. Besides with the track that bypasses the Capital to go straight from Fountain Ridge to Toulle, it should not pose any problems for our business, just those that frequently use the Capital Route. Should we prepare alerts of this?”
”Wait for the Imperial Family to respond first. The last thing we need is for them to think I'm making a play for the throne,” said Rassa.