Several hours later, Eliza was walking down the hall, massaging her head in hopes of alleviating the painful headache that resulted from practicing her magic. Thankfully, that wasn’t all she had to show for her efforts as, by the end, she had managed to pull off walking around the room while rotating a sphere around her hand. A humming noise from her right side only worsened the pain.
She glared over at the offender walking alongside her with a spring in his step and his hands linked behind his head.
“Could you stop?”
Demitrus met her glare with a raised eyebrow and a small upturn in the corners of his lips while maintaining a steady tone. A challenge.
Eliza’s eye twitched, and she shoved him from the side. It wasn’t a hard shove but was strong enough to send Demitrus staggering a couple of steps nearer to the wall. Laughing all the way.
“Fine, fine, I’ll stop.” He said, chuckling as he straightened out.
“Do you always need to be so irritating?” Eliza asked as they continued walking down the hall.
“I’m afraid it comes with the package deal.”
“And what, pray tell, is that?”
“Hmm~” Demitrus tilted his head to the side as he thought, “-being a friend.” He finished, giving her a bright smile.
She met his smile with a deadpan expression. “I want a refund.”
“Afraid not. Any and all complaints can be directed to my personal relations representative.”
“We’re in a city of Demons. Who could that possibly be?”
“Good point, he said, furrowing his brows and pinching his pursed lips with his human fingers. Suddenly his eyes lit up with an excited gleam, and he looked back over at her, “Hey, I happen to have a position ope-”
“Dream on.” Eliza snorted.
“Take the next left, and you will arrive at your destination,” Isradine said with a sigh, cutting into the conversation. Her voice was soulless, the exercises seemingly having drained all of the energy out of her.
In truth, the humming hadn’t bothered Eliza that much. Rather, it was the fact that, after having trained their magic for hours, both she and Isradine were exhausted. Meanwhile, Demitrus, the scoundrel, seemed to be entirely unaffected, having only stopped practicing because they had been summoned, rather urgently, for a mid-afternoon meal.
It just didn’t seem fair.
Thinking about her hunger only made it worse and, when combined with having barely enough mana to sustain herself, she was afraid she would attack something again if it meant satiating the hunger tearing at her stomach.
Eliza pinched the bridge of her nose, suppressing the growing urge, and focused on talking to Demitrus, “What’s got you so happy in the first place? We’re not in the best of situations you know.”
“It’s quite simple, my dear friend,” he said, emphasizing the dear, ” You see, circumstances aside, I get to openly practice magic with little fear of some self-righteous ruffian wandering in and attempting to subject me to the good ol’ smite the heretic treatment.”
“Is that so? I can’t say I’m surprised. How often did it happen?” Eliza asked as they took the next left and began walking toward the entrance of a room. Unknown to her, her speed had increased due to her anticipation of eating.
“More than you would think. But not to worry, I mastered the art of defenestrating oneself to get out of the most unsavory situations. Would you perhaps be interested in learning? I can guarantee that it will be a lot of fun,” he stopped and tilted his head before adding, “At least for one of us.”
“Uh-huh,” Eliza said, sliding the door open. Almost immediately, her nose was assaulted by the smell of freshly cooked meat. She swallowed the saliva that flooded into her mouth and said to Demitrus, “Since you're so good at it, ill leave it to you, if you don't mind,” she said, stepping into the room and looking around. They had made their way to the dining room they had eaten in before. It happened to be occupied by Leo and, to Eliza’s surprise, Isradine’s grandfather. Further astonishing and a little bit relieving was the baby Rakna that was dragging in piece after piece of the meat on the table with her tentacles. She had somehow grown twice the size she had been in the time since Eliza had last seen her.
“Come in,” Isradine’s grandfather said without turning his head away from watching the baby Rakna. He was tapping a clawed finger on the table, seemingly deep in thought. Eliza and co. had entered through the back door and so had to walk around the table to seat themselves next to Leo. It took everything Eliza could to stop herself from immediately lunging to start eating.
“I take it Xalefore is back as well?” Eliza asked Leo.
“I guess you could say that,” Leo said, with a perceivable tightness in his voice.
“That is what we were discussing before you walked in.” Isradine’s grandfather said before taking a sip of his drink and placing it down on the table with a clack. “Simply put, the situation has become complicated.”
“How so?” Eliza asked. Unable to hold herself back, she automatically reached for some delicious-smelling meat. As if he understood what was happening, Isradine’s grandfather waited until Eliza and eaten a few pieces. Once the edge of her hunger had abated, and she felt like she could think again, Isradine’s grandfather answered.
“There are some who had issues with the fact that I had two unaffiliated strangers brought into my home, but that wasn’t a problem that I couldn’t deal with. However, A Steel Blood and a creation of the Beastial fabricators, “ he said, looking at the baby Rakna, “ on top of that has… let's say exasperated the issue, to put it mildly.” he finished before swirling his drink with a clawed finger.
“I don’t see the problem. I vaguely recall you saying that you were a patriarch and that they could deal with it.” Demitrus said, digging into his own portion of the food, nowhere near as voraciously as Eliza, which bothered her enough to slow her down in spite of her stomach protests. The more she ate, the more her diminished mana replenished and, in turn, the better she felt.
Isradine’s grandfather gave him a sour look. “Naturally, however, I expected only Potek, the second patriarch, to interfere, and it was so. However, Salendal caught wind of this one,” he said, looking down at the baby Rakna, “and the BloodSteel coming here. It’s safe to say that he reported that I was harboring Demons from other clans to the first Patriarch, Yiriya. I expect I’ll be visited within the next little bit to account for this.
“What options do we have?” Eliza asked.
“The simplest solution would be to have the lot of them contracted into the Shadow Weaver clan, but, as you could probably guess, that isn’t going so well with this Elf.” Isradine’s grandfather said, returning his gaze to Leo.
“As I said, even putting aside the issue of contracting with a Demon in the first place. I've seen enough in the last couple of days not to be stupid enough to make one with any random Demon.” Leo snarled.
“And that’s where we’re at.” Isradine’s grandfather said with a sigh, “Honestly, the biggest issue is the Steel Blood, I could easily buy time for the two unaffiliated elves, and the construct is still too young to make a contract. But with the enmity between the Shadow Weavers and the Steel Bloods, the imp has to be dealt with, now.”
“And I take it he’s refusing to make a contract as well?” Eliza asked with a bit of trepidation.
The answer relieved Eliza, “He is. Few Shadow Weavers near him in rank would be willing to contract with a Steel Blood, and it seems he has the same mindset. And, as I promised, I won’t kick any of your group without at least trying to help. However, if this keeps going on, I’ll be left with no choice but to take drastic actions.
“I see, I’ll talk to him. Where is he?” Eliza asked as she set down the now empty stick and stood up. Though she was still a little hungry, this was too good of an opportunity to pass up.
Isradine’s grandfather sighed, “Correll will take you to him. For you other two, you should return to your assignments until this blows over.” he said, taking another sip of his drink as the small familiar shadow formed behind him.
“Understood,” Eliza said and walked back around the table. Correll pushed open the door with a shadow tendril. But before Eliza could leave the room, Isradines grandfather said, “Whatever you decide to do, hurry. It seems like my guests have arrived.” He set his cup down, and almost as soon as his cup touched the table with a clack, the air of the room seemed to shift, the very walls appearing to move in the corners of Eliza’s eyes. Wherever she focused, the walls stopped moving, but they kept moving within her peripheral vision. At the same time, a heavy pressure settled over her. Glancing back at Isradine’s Grandfather, Eliza gave him a nod and followed Corell.
Corell basically flew down the hall, forcing Eliza to almost run to keep up with him. He led her down several different hallways and past the courtyard she had trained in until they came to a stop in front of a room. Opening the door with a shadowy tendril, Corell moved to the side, permitting access to Eliza. She stepped in and looked around the room, her eyes meeting the looks of many multi-eyed Demons.
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It was a standard rectangular room filled with a mix of the different Shadow Weavers she had seen up to this point. Scanning through the occupants, it didn’t take long for her to find Xalefore, and Leah. Leah was working in one corner of the room, actively being instructed in sewing techniques by one of the Demons. Xalefore, on the other hand, was in the other corner of the room, with a large space between him and the other occupants.
There was an air of unease in the room, most of the occupants having stopped weaving and were looking in the direction of t where the heavy pressure originated. Leah, for her part, seemed to be entirely unaffected, absorbed as she was weaving what had the appearance of a pair of pants with a wide set of cuffs. Xalefore was likewise working on something, but Eliza was unable to discern what it was.
Eliza made her way through the room, carefully stepping around clumped up Demons. Eventually, she managed to break away from the group of Demons and made the rest of her way over to the Xalefore.
“Hello,” She greeted as she sat down in front of him, “ I take it you’re aware of the situation we’re in, Xalefore.”
“Xalefore is,” he said, eyes intensely focused on his stitchwork.
“Then, first question, Do you think I am strong?”
Xalefores clawed hands froze. After a few moments of thought, he simply said, “Yes.”
“Then, would you be willing to make a contract with me?”
“...What Xalefore get, and what Xalefore need to do if Xalefore contract?” He asked, looking up from his work with a serious look in his eyes.
Eliza mulled over her options. At the very least, Xalefore wasn’t opposed to the idea, but that was expected. Considering what she had learned up to this point, her answer to this question was very important as it would establish the baseline for what it would mean to follow her. And beyond extending her lifespan, it was important for her to keep in mind the end goal of having enough strength to fight against her uncle, which most likely would mean going against the empire. She would need followers loyal enough… and strong enough to achieve that. This almost certainly would require her to nurture her army herself. Specifically for Xalefore, there were a couple of things she could think of offering him, namely helping him gain strength, or it was possible he wanted revenge of some sort. Either way, she was getting a little ahead of herself.
“...As for what you’ll get, what do you want?” Eliza asked.
Xalefore was silent for a few moments. Finally, he said, “Xalefore want safety, respect, and be provided resources to build things. Xalefore not good fighter and have no talent fighting.”
“For safety, being one of my followers will naturally mean being under my protection from any threats you cannot handle, and any who ignore that will have to answer to me. Respect from others will be earned through your own abilities, but when I gather enough power, I can provide ways for you to grow those abilities along with the resources you want. Will that suffice?” Eliza said.
“What Eliza want?” Xalefore asked.
What she needed was a strong army, but as Xalefore said, he wasn’t that suited to combat. But that wasn’t too much of a problem; an army was more than just a group of combatants. Much more. Someone needed to help create or provide the resources that said combatants would use. From what Eliza had observed of Xalefore so far, he seemed to be interested in building things as a hobby. Should he be provided the environment to develop that, there was a chance he could become a good craft master, which she could use once she started getting more followers. She would first just need to find a way for him to learn until then. Keeping that in mind, there was only one thing she really needed to ask for.
“If I have any requests of things for you to build, those will take priority over anything else. Otherwise, you’ll be free to do what you want so long as it doesn’t hurt me, you, or any of my other followers. To summarize, I’ll do what I can to ensure your safety and gather your resources; in return, I’ll have the right to request you to make what I need, and it’ll take priority. Is it a deal?
Xalefore was silent for a bit as he thought it over.
Suddenly the pressure exuding from the front of the building began to increase, presumably as whoever it was putting it out came in this direction. Time was running out. Anxiety began curling in her stomach, and it seemed like the sentiment was similar for all the Demons around the room. She wanted to push Xalefore to think faster, but she held herself back. This was an important decision for Xalefore and an important milestone for her. It was already far too heavily influenced by outside forces, and she didn’t want her followers to be compelled to follow her, even at the threat of a patriarch's ire.
She thought that, but internally she couldn’t help but plead for Xalefore to hurry up as the pressure got heavier and heavier.
Xalefore’s red eye’s looked deeply into her own for a few moments, gauging her. Finally, he raised his clawed hand, and a pale pinkish mana began to pool into it, “Xalefore accepts.” he said.
Internally, Eliza sighed in relief but did her best not to show any outward change of expression. Calling on her mana and causing it to pool into her hand like Xalefore did, Eliza tried to mimic what she had seen Isradine do with Demitrus, as she was unsure of what exactly was required of her. However, As soon as the mana collided, Eliza lost control as their manas began to circulate together. It felt like she wouldn’t have been able to stop it anymore, even if she had wanted to.
The manas mixed and eventually separated after Xalefores mana had been converted to a black with thin reddish lines running through it. Eliza’s was still much the same, other than having grown in size by about a third of what it had been before. As soon as the process had finished, Eliza regained control, and she drew her mana back within herself.
With it came a feeling that felt…good. it was as if a wave of vitality was washing over her. Her still lingering headache was gone at once, and any exhaustion she had felt disappeared. Her hands quivered from the excess energy running through her, and she felt like she could run for miles if she wanted to.
It was almost…addicting,
She didn’t have much time to marvel. As soon as her mana had returned to her, something barreled right through the sliding door behind her.
“See, what did I tell you? The direct proof that he’s harboring Steel Bloods is right there,” A guttural voice exclaimed.
Eliza took a deep breath to compose herself.
“Sorry to say,” Eliza said as she stood up and turned to look at the intruder, “ but he is a Shadow Weaver.”
Standing in the broken doorway were two figures, and Isradines grandfather, who was examining the damage done to the door with a deeply exasperated look in his eyes.
“And who in the hells are you?” One of the two figures demanded with a growl. He was a horned, eyeless Demon of the same species as Salendal and Io. Only he was much larger than the both of them. Dark shadowy tendrils seemed to constantly shift across the extravagant black with gold hems ceremonial robe that he wore. His visible skin was covered in pitch-black scaly armor, the crevices of which glowed a brown color that contrasted strikingly with his bone-white, sharp teeth.
Next to him stood a tall thin Demon with a female figure and eight spider legs protruding out of her back, with each leg adorned in different runic glyphs that Eliza didn’t know the purpose of. She had no mouth to speak of but had three sets of eyes, each glowing a light orange color that complemented the orange ornamental hairpins that held her platinum, curly hair up in a ponytail. The ceremonial robe she wore was light gray with black hems that had inlaid golden symbols sewn across them. What visible skin was a pale pastel purple in color. She was leaning with her shoulder against the frame of the doorway, a look of disinterest in her many eyes as she took in both Eliza and Xalefore.
“She’s Isradine’s primary direct follower, but I’m fairly sure you already know that, Potek.” Isradine’s grandfather said, eyes still affixed to the damage done to the door. Eliza couldn’t see it, but she was pretty certain there was a scowl on his face.
If the Demon exerting all the pressure was Potek, then Eliza could reason that the spider-lady was Yiriya, the first Patriarch. Despite the pressure that Potek had been intentionally exerting for a while now, Eliza’s instinctually felt warier of Yiriya. It wasn’t as overt, but Yiriya’s mere presence exerted a subtle pressure that was somehow greater than Poteks. A spark of interest lit up in Yiriya’s eyes after she heard Isradine’s Grandfather, and she examined Eliza anew. It was a little unnerving.
“Out of the way, human girl,” Potek growled threateningly, “Our business is with the Steel Blood imp, not you.” As he spoke, the pressure he was exuding seemed to increase on Eliza to the degree that it was difficult for her to even breathe. For a brief moment, her confidence began to waver, but she reassured herself with the fact that he was at least unable to directly take her life and, since she was Isradine’s follower, their relationship was already antagonistic from the get-go, so there wasn’t really a reason for her to hold herself back. She stood in front of Xalefore and folded her arms, looking directly at Potek with a raised eyebrow.
“Are you deaf? Didn’t you hear me say he’s a Shadow Weaver? He’s my follower, so if you have business with him, you have business with me.”
“And as I said, she is the direct follower of Isradine,” Isradine’s grandfather interrupted Potek before he could retaliate against Eliza in any way. He finally looked away from the door and stepped past him into the room, “Additionally, many of the Demons in this room bore witness to the contract's creation-” he said, indicating all the other Demons in the room with a wave of his clawed arm, each nodding in assent as his arm passed over them. He turned to look directly at Potek, “And, as she said, he is a Shadow Weaver. Thus your allegations have now been proven void."
“But when did this contract occur,” Potek growled, grinding his teeth.
“Before it mattered.” Isradine’s grandfather simply said.
A silence fell between the two patriarchs as they stared each other down. After a while, Isradine’s grandfather turned toward Yiriya
“Your determination First?” he asked.
“Seems reasonable enough. Do you have any other complaints that I need to spend my time on third?” Yiriya asked, looking at Potek lazily with a tilt of her head and folding her two human-like arms across her body.
Potek was silent for a bit but eventually said, in a much milder, diplomatic tone, an almost complete 180 from how he acted before, “It appears not, since the threat to the clan seems to be already handled.” He lightly tipped his head toward Yiriya, “Forgive me for wasting your valuable time, I simply intended to nip any brewing conspiracies in the bud before they came to fruition during these sensitive times.”
“Uh-huh,“ Yiriya unfolded her arms and stood up straight, “ Be sure of the source of your information next time.” Before looking at Isradine’s grandfather, she said, “And Second, be sure to do all this in the central spire next time. It’s there for a reason.”
Isradine’s Grandfather tilted his head toward her, “Of course, I assure you that this was only done this way due to extraordinary circumstances.
“I’ll take your word for it. This impromptu council is now brought to a close. Third, be sure to at least pay to fix Second’s door,” Yiriya said, as shadowy wisps began to snake up around her. Yiriya glanced at Eliza sizing her up one last time as the shadows completely covered her form. Eliza blinked, and by the time her eyes had opened, Yiriya was gone, the only evidence of her presence being the shadowy wisps that dispersed in the now empty space. With her disappearing, the building returned to normal, the space no longer shifting in Eliza’s peripheral vision.
“Your impertinence will not be forgotten, human,” Potek snarled with a last look at Eliza before he likewise disappeared into thin air, the shadows consuming his entire body before evaporating.
The two Patriarchs gone, the tension in the room noticeably decreased, with many of the Demons sighing in relief. Isradine’s grandfather sighed before looking back at Eliza and Xalefore, “Come with me, you two. The rest of you continue your work.” He said to the onlooking Demons. Then he started walking to the doorway.
Eliza glanced once back toward Leah, who gave her two little thumbs up before she followed after Isradine’s Grandfather, Xalefore in tow. They walked until Isradine’s Grandfather came to a stop in the middle of the courtyard. Eliza silently waited while Xalefore shifted nervously from foot to foot next to her. Eventually, Isradine’s grandfather spoke, “Thank you for handling that in a timely matter, It would’ve gone much worse if hadn’t succeeded.”
“Is Xalefore being here really that big of a deal? And if so, why even bring him here if it was that much trouble.”
“To your first question, yes. The enmity between the Shadow Weavers and Steel Bloods goes back centuries, starting with the two clan leaders. Simply put, bringing a Steel blood into clan territory without good reason could be considered borderline treasonous. However, since you made the contract and they had no way to verify when he had made the contract, Potek’s claim was then void.”
“As for your second question,” He continued, “Isradine shared how he helped in her escape. Thus, even as a Steel Blood, I was indebted to him. When my servants caught up to him, they found him actively being pursued by Potek's faction. The only way to ensure his safety and for my debt to be paid was to bring him here.”
“If it's that serious of an offense, why risk everything for a debt?” Eliza asked, a bit baffled.
“I pay back my debts, No exceptions,” he said.
“I… see,” Eliza said. While what he had done could be considered foolhardy, she had to admit that it was an admirable trait, especially for a Demon.
“With that said, what boon could I provide you for your aid?”
“...What? I already got my first follower out of this exchange. How could you be considered indebted to me?” Eliza asked, waving her hands in front of her.
Isradine’s grandfather looked down at her from the corners of his eyes, “Be more greedy. Passiveness like that will get you nowhere down here. A patriarch cannot give favor without some reason, no matter the relation they have with a Demon. So when one determines that there is reason enough, you would be best served not questioning it and taking advantage of it.”
It took a few moments for what he truly meant to click for Eliza. By rewarding Eliza, he was directly helping Isradine, who he couldn’t provide more help than he already was. In short, He was looking for excuses to help them.
“I…see,” Eliza said, Pinching her lip as she tried to think of something she needed at the moment. As it stood, she was already receiving training, food, and shelter. After making her first contract, she had some time to figure things out, so that wasn't an immediate concern that warranted a patriarch's involvement.
Xalefore shifted nervously next to her, and an idea immediately came to her mind.
“...How about an instructor for this guy, in particular, an instructor that’ll help him develop the basic abilities to craft the things he wants to?” Eliza asked.
“Any specialization?” Isradine’s grandfather asked.
Eliza looked down at Xalefore, prompting him to answer. Xalefore froze up under the gaze of the Patriarch. Eventually, he managed to stutter out in a quiet voice, “M-m-metalworking.”
Isradines Grandfather stroked the little bit of beard that poked out from underneath his mask, “Metalworking, huh, it’s not our Clans specialty, but we do have a few tricks of our own that he could learn. Very well, I’ll have an instructor prepared for him by tomorrow. Be warned, little one. The instructor I have in mind will work you to the bone. Once you start, there will be no going back. Are you still wishing to proceed?” He asked with a piercing gaze.
Xalefore audibly swallowed and shakily nodded his head before slinking behind Eliza and hiding himself using her leg.
A small chuckle escaped Isradine’s grandfather's lips,” That concludes our business. Best be getting about the assignment Io gave you. Your boy friend has already gotten quite the headstart on you.
Eliza froze, a slight heat flushing into her cheeks, “H-He’s not my boyfriend.” She stuttered out in shock, but her words fell on empty space because, in the blink of an eye, Isradine’s grandfather was gone, disappearing into the shadows, just as the other Patriarchs had done. Silence fell over the courtyard.
“Boyfriend? What is boyfriend?” Xalefore asked with a tilt of his head.
“Just… go back to doing what you were doing or get some rest. You have a busy day tomorrow.” Eliza said with a huff and walked off to start looking for the constructs.
Xalefore gave a little bow to her retreating figure and went back to the room.