Lukas was in a foul mood as he finished preparations for his training this morning. He'd ensured William had awoken him early so he had enough time to prepare. However, after the late night with the closed council, Lukas had struggled to get out of bed, and William had to wake him up a second time before he left the comfort of his warm bed.

After finally gaining enough sense to prepare, Lukas quickly had a few slices of toast with cinnamon butter. Though he could not take his time to enjoy the food, he ate only enough to keep his hunger abetted. After Lukas had realized he was not prepared with proper clothes for the training, with everything else he had been doing, it had slipped his mind. Most of the clothes he owned were utterly unacceptable for any type of training or labor, those having been lost during the ambush.

In the end, he changed into the only clothes he had that would work: his riding pants and a simple white shirt. They were practical enough to withstand the wear and tear of the training he was going to undergo.

He finished lacing the final boot when William finally entered, knocking on the door before entering.

"Enter," Lukas said quickly, turning to the servant.

William bowed. "Sir, you have a visitor."

"Is Desmond or Reza here already?" Lukas glanced at the window, but there was no hint of light coming from outside; making him think that it might be a bit early.

William shook his head. "No, strangely, Alexander Tarimage is in the entryway. He said he might have found some information on your wraith."

Lukas smiled. "Really? I did not expect him to find any information so soon; we only left him yesterday."

Lukas walked past William, exiting his room. It finally crossed his mind that it was extremely early in the morning for Tarimage to bring the information, and Lukas wondered if the man had slept at all last night.

The house was tranquil, with probably most of the family still asleep and only a few in the hallways starting their work for the day. They passed through the house, moving past walls of paintings of every famous ancestor of the Sulli family. Marie had pointed out many of their names, but Lukas had forgotten almost all of them, with the extreme number of them in the hallway.

Tarimage was seated at a side table, where one of the black-dressed servants handed over a cup of something hot. The servant turned towards Lukas, who was walking over.

"Sir, would you like a tea? I brought a cup for you also." She indicated the second cup on the table.

"Thank you," Lukas grabbed the cup and took a small sip. The tea was strong, but the slightly bitter and roasted taste hit him with some energy. "Very well done, you may go now."

She bowed and left through a side door hastily.

Tarimage set his cup down and stood with his arm held out. "Lukas, it's good to see you. I hope this isn't too early. I found something late last night, and I only had a short time before other urgent matters took my day away from me, so I thought I’d better give you a report," he smiled easily.

"Not at all. My door is always open to you." Lukas shook his hand, motioning for him to retake his seat at the table before taking the second chair. "I hope it's nothing bad. I wouldn't want you to have been doing work for me when something else is of more importance."

"Oh, nothing to worry about; it's nothing I neglected while researching. The head librarian purchased some books from an estate, and I have to pick them up this morning before they leave the city. One of the noble families is moving to their estate in the north for the rest of the year. I'll spend several days adding them to our roll and finding a place in the library. It could take many days depending on how many were purchased." Tarimage shrugged as if it was of no importance. "I knew I was going to be in the district, so I thought I'd stop in before I picked up the books."

Days. Echoes, Lukas did not see the fun in such a chore. Days of moving books to add more seemed insane. But having seen the library, he could see why such a chore would take so long. Adding only a few books could force you to move whole sections up or down a floor of the mighty walls.

Thankfully, however, it was not something he had pulled Tarimage from, neglecting to find his information. While Lukas wanted as much knowledge as possible quickly, it was not required to start his training. It would only enhance his partnership with his wraith and allow them to begin the training on a better foot. The powers would ultimately decide how he would train to synergize his wraith power with the fighting style Reza and Desmond developed. Because of Elana's movement-based abilities, Reza fought with daggers and a sword, allowing him to strike quickly from any direction. Sabine had her focused through ranged attacks because they matched her wraith's powers.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Each developed its own style of fighting based on its Wraiths, specialized in its form of combat. Not all wraiths changed the way you fought; for example, a wraith that allowed you to grow flowers quicker did not necessarily change how you would fight. But many would have great synergy with certain ways of fighting, and thus, the more they knew soon, the more likely they would have success.

"Well then, I won't keep you here any longer than is needed. William said that you had some information." Lukas took another sip of the tea, waiting to hear the news.

Tarimage became animated. He pulled a book from his small bag and placed it on the table. "Yes, I went through the rest of the books. It was fascinating, and I want to continue looking into the wraiths. I think for something so essential to our society, we have done little research on understanding why it happens." He shuffled through the pages, looking for whatever he had found. "I've been looking for a focus for my research at the library, and I might have found my calling. Xyron, the head librarian, had already approved the preliminary research with some hesitation."

With good reason. A shiver moved down Lukas's back. Researching the wraiths, such an idea of looking into the origins of the city's power, seemed daunting and concerning. He had always been taught that it was a gift of the gods who died in defending the cities from their enemies, and their last gift was the ability to continue to help defend Arkhen even in death.

In many people's eyes, looking into such a holy topic seemed an easy way to have the wrath of the churches and the gods themselves come down on you. Lukas also worried about the reaction to such research from individuals in the city, especially the pious ones or the high Noble families. Last night's meeting showed the ruthlessness they would bring forward against such people who got in the way of keeping their power.

Lukas stayed silent, allowing Tarimage to find the page and continue to talk.

"Anyways, I need to think about where I will start my research, but I've gotten away from why I am here." Tarimage stopped on one page and turned the book around. "I think I found your wraith."

Lukas began to read. “Severin, know as the Lord of Scars."

"Quite the name, right? He has almost the exact description as your wraith. The same military uniform and the multitude of scars on his body. It even mentioned the massive scar across his neck. This was the only wraith I found close to his description that mentioned the neck."

Lukas continued to read, and every detail seemed perfect for his wraith. He grabbed onto the power and summoned the wraith next to him. He glowered down at the two of them. Lukas pointed at the name.

"Is this you? Severin?" He asked. The wraith looked down at him, keeping his eyes locked onto Lukas's. It lasted for a time, stretching as neither refused to drop their gaze until Severin nodded. So we finally found his name to see if they had anything else useful.

Lukas read on, but the description continued with only the mention of one pact with Severin some 900 years ago. But nothing concrete about his power, only suggestions that he had something to do with the cards he held. How did that help Lukas? He had no idea where to go with that.

"Well, it's wonderful to know his name. I wish it had more about how we could work together." Lukas looked up at Severin, and the wraith shrugged before leaning against the wall. He smiled, looking down at the book again. It seemed he liked something about what was in the book; maybe they didn't know about his powers. Lukas could only speculate.

"Yes, I'm sorry there wasn't more. But like you said, a name is very much important." Tarimage said. "I had thoughts of trying to do some research about the first pact holder. If there is a history of Jak Cython, it may give you more information. But I want to use your wraith as the first part of my research to see how far the web surrounding him is. However, before I start, I want to form a proper plan for the research."

The man was doing too much. "I will help you with that. It may be good to look into the man who held your pact." Lukas glanced over to Severin, who again shrugged before nodding. "Give me a few days, and I can help. Maybe after All Hallows Eve, we can take a day or two to research."

"I don't mind starting before that." He said, placing the book back into his bag.

Lukas shook his head. "No, out of the question, you did enough already. Use the time in between to worry about your other duties at the library, and we can start after the holiday next week. We have plenty of time; a few days won't change that." Lukas stood, and Tarimage followed.

"Very well, I will see you, let's say next Tuesday. Give a day or so rest after the Hallows Eve, and then we can research." Tarimage scratched his beard, looking thoughtful. "I'll at least put together a plan for how we will look into the man. It could be straightforward if there are books written about him."

I looked at him. "Do you think that likely? Seems unlikely, more likely impossible."

He shrugged. "I do not recognize the name, but that doesn't mean he isn't a famous historical figure or a known figure in the city's history. Otherwise, we go into city records, and then the long research begins. But don't you worry; I'll have a plan ready."

We walked out onto the front portico. Lukas held his hand out, and Tarimage shook it. "Thank you for the information. Knowing his name means a great deal."

"You're very…" Tarimage stopped talking, his attention drawn to a group of people hurriedly closing on him and Tarimage standing just outside the Manor's front door.

Lukas saw two Sulli guards holding somebody between them, dragging him along. As they closed, he saw deep red stains covering the unconscious man, almost soaking his shirt crimson. Running up to the group, Lukas recognized Reza, unconscious, with a great deal of blood covering his body. What in the echoes abyss had happened?