Click!
The guards opened the doors, and I went inside. It is huge, bigger than even Count’s, with the best view of the city.
“My lord,” I greeted the man in his late fifties. He is of medium height, but muscular. He has short, black hair and dark grey eyes. That seemed to pierce through the soul.
“You are really young,” he said after looking at me for a few seconds. I smiled, without saying anything.
He is Ralis Thorn, the governor of the Inam.
“Congratulations on gaining the legacy. Your contribution will be celebrated by the whole empire,” he congratulated.
“Thank you for the kind words, my lord,” I replied.
“It is quite unfortunate that Greltheaven is a small city, at the boundary of the empire. Legacies grow well in big cities, not to mention the whole wasteland is a green field for the undead, to harvest when it is ready,” he said, shaking his head.
I didn’t reply, not because I didn’t have an answer, but because it was true. He knows it; I know it.
“Well, you will be fine. Undead loves the legacies, even more than us, living,” he added, once again speaking the truth.
“Have you received the information about the guardian?” he asked, after a second of silence. “I was hoping you would shed some light on that for me, my lord,” I said, and a small smile appeared on his face.
“From what I know, it is not decided yet, but I could already guess a group of people from which the crown prince will select the guardian,” he said.
Till the day before yesterday, I was passingly aware of this information as it didn’t concern me, but now it does.
The crown prince had been changing, the guardians appointed by the emperor for the past year. Legacies produce the most valuable resource, and the crown prince would want his loyalists responsible for it.
The guardian of my legacy would also be a crown prince loyalist and it should worry the Count, but he seemed strangely unbothered by it, even seemed happy.
“The reason I had called you here is to tell you, that I am willing to buy any emotion essence you sell at above market price,” he said, and I am not surprised.
Everybody wants it.
“I have yet to extract a single drop, my lord,” I replied, to which he smiled.
“Remember, I will give you a better price than anyone and the transaction will be completely discreet,” he said, pressing the last word.
I understood the meaning. He is willing to buy emotional essence; it doesn’t matter if it is legal or illegal.
“I will remember it, milord,” I said, and the man smiled.
A minute later, I walked out of his office. Though, it took me an hour and a half before I was able to leave the city hall. There were some people who invited me, and I couldn’t refuse their invitation.
…
“Your chef is good,” I said, polishing up my plate. I am having dinner with Vanis and his great-granddaughter on the top floor of the tavern.
He had emptied the entire floor, with only four of here and the staff serving us.
“Yours isn’t bad as well. Adnis said he has real potential,” the old man replied with a smile before his expression turned serious.
“It is the same for every person you have brought,” he added, while casting a glance at Carla, sitting beside me.
“Thank you, Vanis,” I replied.
“You know, nearly every person who gained the legacy has the best people. It is our specialty; we are a magnet for them. It is after we gain the legacy that it becomes difficult.” He said mirthlessly.
I looked at him to explain, but he just smiled.
“Now that we have finished with dinner. It is time, I teach you, the thing those vermin want me to teach you.” He said, not caring about the glare from his great-granddaughter.
The old man really seemed to have gone insane; he had just called the crown prince and, by extension, Emperor, a vermin.
A common man would receive death for such an insult, but he would be restricted to his legacy. Not that they are going to know about it, even if they have skills related to it; as long as it is spoken in legacy, it will remain in it.
In the legacy, we are the Lords. Even emperor's skills will have a hard time breaching our little domain.
Once again, everything turned dark, and the blazing pillar appeared.
“There are nine grades of emotional essence. Grade 1 is lowest, which your legacy can produce, while Grade 9 is highest, that only three-titans are capable,”
“The emotion essence came from the core, and you only should harvest emotions on the surface, never go any deeper. Synod forbidden it and even the emperor couldn’t force you to do that,” he said.
“Does synod, is really powerful as they say?” I asked the old man and his expression turned serious.
“More. Even an emperor at his peak wouldn’t have dared to break the laws of synod openly,” the old man replied.
Synod is a loose union of legacies, nearly all the legacies are part of it. It is headed by three titans and eight spirits; the most powerful of the legacies in the world.
He said openly. This means a lot of things happen in the dark.
“To extract the essence, you will need control. More than, what Master of Legacy gives you,” he said and began to move his hand and the mist began to come out of the pillar.
“It takes months of practice. Some people take a year or more before they can harness the first drop,” he informed.
“How long did it take you?” I asked him and for the first time, I saw pride flash in his eyes. “Three months and two days; I had broken a record of eleven hundred years on the continent,” replied the old man with a prideful smile.
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The dense mist came from the pillar and formed a ball, which he shrank, till, it became as small as a pearl.
The colorful misty ball looks like a drop of liquid, but it is mist and looks beautiful.
“This is one drop of emotional essence,” he stated and brought it in front of me.
“As you can see, it is still misty and colorful. It is extremely hard for the host of the Grade 1 legacy to separate the mist by emotions. Grade 2 host of legacy could sort basic emotions and while Grade 3 hosts of legacies like me, could separate all,” he explained.
The emotion essence of a single emotion is more powerful and valuable than mixed emotions.
“The form of essence changes after, every three stages, right?” I asked, looking at the colorful ball.
“Yes, the emotion essence from Grade 1 to Grade 3 is misty. From Grade 4 to Grade 6, is liquid, and Grade 7 to Grade 9 is solid,” he replied, and a tiny bottle appeared in his hand.
He gently placed the tiny ball of dense mist into it and closed to the cap, before extending toward me.
“It is too precious,” I declined.
It is really precious; even those with money can’t get their hands on it unless they have some connections.
“Take it; it is a tradition, that we follow. My guide had given it to me, and I am now giving it to you,” he said strictly.
“Since it is tradition, then I will gladly accept it,” I said and accepted the small bottle.
Vanis hosted us in his home despite us booking a hotel, and the next morning, he started teaching me again. This time, minor things with a lot of information. Some shocked me to my soul.
It seemed like; the legacies are capable of far more than what everything thinks.
No wonder the emperor keeps them on a tight leash.
Click!
The old man opened the door, and I walked inside, while Carla and his great-granddaughter walked away as he asked, them to.
We took a seat, but the old man didn’t speak immediately.
Finally, the old man sighed and looked at me.
“I have many regrets in my life about my legacy, things I wish I could have done, and things that I shouldn’t have. If I used a little of my brain and wouldn’t have lost myself in the fame and wealth, my legacy would have been higher leveled,” he said with such regret that I wanted to look away.
“You still haven’t died. There is still a chance,” I replied, looking directly into his eyes, but he shook his head.
“I have swerved away, far too much to advance further. My greatest regret is that I won’t be able to pass this wonderful thing to my granddaughter. That precious girl would have taken it to a height that I could only dream.” He said with tears appearing in his eyes.
I opened my mouth but closed it; I don’t think anything I would say helped him in any way.
“There is one last thing, I have to tell you as your guide,” he said and looked directly into my eyes.
“Follow your path. That helped you birth the legacy. Don’t get distracted by fame or wealth and just walk on that path.” “It won’t be easy, but if you can do it, then you will easily be able to take your legacy further than I had,” he advised.
“Thank you for your advice. I will not forget it,” I replied, and the old man smiled.
“Now one last thing; with it, you will formally become a member of the synod,” he said and took out a wooden box.
An hour passed, and now I am standing in front of the tavern, with Vanis and his grand-granddaughter.
“Have a safe journey, young man,” said Vanis. “Thank you, for the guidance and hospitality Vanis. I will always, remember it fondly.” I said, and he smiled. This time without a hint of sadness.
I waved at the young girl, before sitting in the carriage with Carla and soon, it moved through the gate, toward the port, under the protection of the guards.
“Legacies are amazing things.” Said, Carla. “They are and we are going to make ours the best in the world,” I said, to that she smiled.
“It is quite a tall claim,” she challenged. “And I intend to make it true,” I replied, and the smile on her face brightened.
We didn’t talk much and watched the city pass by. I wanted to explore it, but couldn’t.
There is so much to learn about the legacy and if I had time, I would have stayed longer. One and a half days is far from enough, but unfortunately, it is all I could spare.
Still, the old man had been thorough and taught me what I needed to know. Now, I could see the path ahead of me clearer.
Soon, the carriage reached the port, and a few minutes later, it stopped in front of the yacht.
“You go ahead. I will come in a few minutes,” said Carla as we stepped out of the carriage.
She walked away, toward the guard, not far away, and he was not alone. Beside him is a young girl of around fifteen, looking around nervously.
When she saw Carla, the young girl's eyes widened in shock.
‘She is beautiful, like her mother,’ I thought and stepped into the yacht. A few minutes later, Carla followed, looking quite emotional.
“Little girl clearly missing her mother a lot, but that woman refusing to meet her,” said Carla angrily. “She must have her reasons,” I replied, to which she glared at me, but I smiled.
It is Margaux's personal business; I am not going to interfere with that.
A few minutes passed, and the yacht began to move away from the port in the night's sky. I watched it, till the city disappeared, before taking out my diary and started working on my plans.
There are going to be big changes in the establishment this month.