Chapter 235

The bloodsilk nest Athela had created had been converted into a multitude of hammocks in anticipation of Jarla’s group to meet them before nightfall, with the previous idea of throwing a victory party being soured after having found numerous local groups to be slaughtered through the dungeon on the way down. Ones that’d been caught by the invaders on their trek through the dungeon.

Still, everyone else insisted that they should drink it off later that night - and who was Riven to tell them otherwise?

“You’re still not going to tell me what that letter was about huh?” Riven asked again, eyebrow raised while he used a mallet and chisel to chip away at a stone while going over schematics for another attempt at runecrafting when the last three totems had utterly failed. He leaned over the bench outside of the cabin Tanya’s family used and was intent on getting this one right.

Genua shook her head, the new priestess attire already on and fitting her nicely. Red metal headdress, black hood, red gloves and a formfitting black-silk robe with two crescent moons surrounding a full moon on the front; and golden runes in an ancient language written along the sides. It was certainly stylish, if Riven had anything to say about it, and matched the style of her newly acquired tattoos and bright red eyes.

“I’m afraid that letter was not even meant for me.” Genua said with a frown. “All I know is that when I opened the letter and it vaporized, I got the sensation that I should not talk about it again and that it was meant for someone else. I’m sorry.”

Riven tisked, then pleasantly smiled at Len who was watching him intently - kicking her small legs back and forth while he worked. “That’s alright. Hey Len, did you ever end up beating Azmoth in that arm wrestling contest?”

He began chipping away at the stone again, making sure to carve the rune just right with microscopic adjustments.

Len beamed and then began to giggle, holding up a small hand to her face while her mother warmly started fixing her hair. “Yes! He had to use all four arms and even then he couldn’t beat me! I’m super strong for a girl you know!”

She flexed, and Riven chuckled with a shake of his head. “Yes, you’re quite intimidating Len. You’d probably beat me up too.”

Len looked like she was going to retort with something feisty, but got a curious look about her and quieted down with her eyes downcast.

“How’s the discussion going?” Riven asked, wincing when sunlight through the pine trees overhead hit him directly in the left eyeball with a backlash of discomfort. “Ugh, sometimes I wonder why I’m up and about during the day.”

Genua’s lips tugged upwards at the comment before she replied. “Yes, well you are a vampire after all. As for the discussion, I assume you’re talking about the others and your proposition to turn them as well?”

“Yes, Hakim’s group.”

“They’re not sure yet. It’s a big decision to make, but I’m certain they’re more than willing to join your guild.”

Riven nodded, wiped sweat off his forehead and moved some papers around to better look at what he needed to do next. Taking some odd looking yellow herbs and crushing them in a mortar and pestle, he began grinding them into a fine powder that he then stuffed into the runes he’d just carved - using a glue-like paste to seal it in. Then, placing the rock inside a recently acquired human skull - he used crimson ice to seal it all together, and finally dipped the skull into a pool of black gunk on his left.

The tiny voice of Len caught him off guard only a second later. “Are you and mommy having a baby?”

He choked and nearly fell over at the words. Quickly reorienting himself and blinking rapidly, he took a deep breath and put on a crooked smile while looking back at the little girl across the table from him. She had her arms folded, and she looked half accusing, and half worried, with her little blonde pigtails up to either side now that her mother had fixed her hair just a second ago.

“Uh… Uhm… Who told you that, exactly?” Riven asked curiously, raising an eyebrow Genua’s way.

The priestess, his thrall, just sat there unblinking and unphased.

“Mommy did.” Len replied somewhat hesitantly, looking between the two adults and then huffing loudly when Riven didn’t reply. “Are you or are you not? Mommy said if I wanted to know more I needed to ask you, so I’m asking you now. But she says she’s pregnant and that I’m going to be a big sister! Is that true?”

Riven saw Athela and Fay turn the corner just as Len repeated the question, and both of them quickly turned right around and headed off elsewhere after seeing the pleading look for help Riven gave them. He saw Fay mouth ‘Good Luck’, and Athela just laughed.

Curse them to the depths of hell.

“Well…” Riven scratched the back of his head, feeling much less at ease right now than he’d been numerous times before with his life on the line in battle. “I… Uh… I suppose your mom is right. Genua and I…”

He trailed off, looking to Genua for support.

He got none.

A mix of emotions overcame Len’s features, many of which he couldn’t pinpoint, but they settled on genuine curiosity when she leaned forward. “So… Do you and mommy love each other now?”

Ugh.

“I’ll let Genua answer that one.” Riven replied sheepishly.

“Hmm.” Len scratched her head in thought, staring at the table. “Are you going to be my daddy then?”

Riven paused at this, again getting no support from Genua, and set down his crafting materials to give his full attention to the little girl in front of him with his hands clasped. “Why do you ask?”

Len hesitated, then avoided his gaze - shrugging as she did. “I don’t know.”

“Aren’t you afraid of me?” Riven asked curiously. “You seemed afraid of me in the dungeon not long ago.”

Len thought about it, then shook her head. “I wasn’t afraid of you. I was just afraid. But I… I think Ethel would like it if you were my new daddy. Farrod wasn’t very nice to us back then, and I’ve always wondered what a nice daddy would be like.”

Len shuffled awkwardly, briefly casting him a glance, and then twiddling her thumbs while Genua’s lips became pursed on the sideline.

Meanwhile, Riven’s heart sank. “I… I don’t think Ethel liked me that much, Len.”

“Yes she did.” Len replied with a hesitant smile. “I know she was supposed to hurt you, but that wasn’t her choice. She just did what she was told, and before she died she wasn’t sure if vampires were even bad anymore. At least that’s what she told me.”

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Riven’s heart sank further, and he felt a lump forming in his throat. “Uhm… You know she was supposed to hurt me then?”

Len nodded sadly. “Yeah.”

“And if I may ask, who told her to hurt me?”

Len glanced up at Genua, who nodded encouragingly.

“Daddy. Farrod.” Len replied solemnly. “Mommy didn’t tell me what happened exactly, and I know I’m a kid. But I’m a smart kid, and I know something happened between all of you when they tried to hurt you. That’s when Ethel and daddy died.”

The little girl yet again shot him a wary glance before avoiding eye contact yet again. “So if you and mommy are having another kid, could I ask you a question?”

Riven rigidly nodded. “Of course you can, Len. Anything.”

Len took in a deep breath, steeled herself, and looked at him straight in the eye while her lips began to tremble. “Was it on purpose when Ethel died? Or was it an accident?”

Silence.

Silence reigned.

Riven didn’t know how to respond to that without shattering this little girl’s world. It was his turn to avoid eye contact, and he stared down at the bench in front of him while reliving those memories - experiencing that guild one more time in a far worse way than he had ever before.

But god damn it, if this little girl had the courage to ask him that kind of question - he wasn’t going to pussy out now and not answer it. Slowly, he nodded his head and closed his eyes. “What else has your mom told you about what happened?”

Tears were beginning to trickle down Len’s face, dripping off her quivering lips and chin onto the ground while glaring at him. “She won’t tell me.”

Another pause, and Riven deeply inhaled. “I did it on purpose. It is my fault they died.”

Silence.

Silence once again reigned.

Len’s eyes narrowed and the tears started flowing more freely now, with snot beginning to run down her flushed face with those tiny pigtails blowing in the wind behind her. She nodded, wiping away the snot with one arm but maintaining a gaze braver than he could muster. “Now that you’ and mommy are having another kid, are you going to make me go away too?”

“LEN!” Genua said, astounded and shocked that her daughter would ask such a question. She put her arms around her daughter, and hugged the upset little girl close. “Len, that would never happen! Why would you even ask that!?”

The question jolted Riven to his core, and he abruptly looked up to meet her eyes. “No! Len, I would never hurt you!”

“Then why did you hurt Ethel?” Len asked, beginning to quietly sob with her small chest heaving up and down in contractions. “Why did you kill my big sister? Even if she was told to hurt you, you were stronger. You were so strong! You could have run away or something!”

And what, just what, was Riven supposed to say to that?

The truth was that Ethel had been collateral damage. He wouldn’t have blown that bomb Azmoth had carried into Greenstalk Village if everyone else hadn’t been there, even despite her own damning actions in an attempt to set him up and kill him. He remembered the way she’d come down on the person she’d thought was Riven, but even so - he may have just walked away if Prophet and the village elders hadn’t been there.

Or perhaps, he’d just been angry. Angry that he’d been used, and wanted revenge for the absolute betrayal of Ethel and the others. A revenge that he now felt a supreme guilt for after essentially ruining Len’s life.

But he’d thought Ethel was a friend.

How wrong he had been.

“Can you tell me the truth please?” Len asked in a whisper, wiping more tears off her face by using her mother’s silk outfit. “Please? I want to understand.”

That made up his mind.

And so, Riven told her everything. By the end of it all, Len merely got up - staring at the ground - and walked away into the forest. Genua shortly followed her, leaving Riven alone at his table with all of his supplies in what now seemed like a very inconsequential task he’d set out for himself.

Some king of the necropolis he was.

***

Lahn sat in his old wheelchair, on the back porch of his manor under a sunny sky sipping tea just like he’d used to do when his body had been crippled by that parasite. Now it was his soul that was shattered after having used the angelic possession.

It seemed ages ago now. Though in large part that was because he’d done nothing but recover, as soul damage afflicted the body in various ways too - it just manifested differently. The frequent visit from his loving girlfriend Allie and the beaming presence of his mother Shovi were the two bright lights in his otherwise dark world.

But at least now he had two, instead of just once like it’d been in the past.

Unfortunately for him, he was also now a central piece of gossip amongst his mother’s inner circle and they were very aggressive with their probing questions.

Questions about the videos circulating around the Thane Empire concerning him and his fight with a vampire at The Blood Moon Requiem’s estate. Though those videos were all captured by outsiders and didn’t show explicit details concerning what happened within the compound, the very fact that he’d even been there had started a wildfire of rumors that were circulating rapidly as one of the hot-topics of the kingdom right now.

These middle aged women sitting around the table beside him sipping their tea with his mother didn’t necessarily know he was dating Allie Thane, Queen of the Thane Empire - or Thane Necropolis as some people called it - but they had suspicions about who he was connected to concerning the actions of recent events.

And with the drastic change in very abrupt, respectful behavior from his sister, brother, and father who almost outright avoided him now - it made things all the more obvious that something was amiss.

“So young man…” One of his mother’s peers stated slightly, tipping her feathered hat down and putting her teacup on a porcelain plate while steepling her fingers. “When do you think our city will be receiving another shipment of supplies from Brightsville? Mandon is very much in need of more manpower too, and though the undead have been rather tireless in their efforts to help - we could always use more. I mean, just look at this place.”

The blonde woman waved at the city down the hill from their estate, where nearly half of the top-most level of Mandon - previous capital of Dawn - was an absolute wreck.

Lahn tried not to groan at the question, as it was yet another probe concerning things he honestly didn’t know. “And what, my Lady Rutair, makes you think that I’d know such a thing?”

The snarky woman grinned as many of the other well-dressed women of the court chuckled. “Well after that rather dashing set of heroics we saw you make on the forums, it only begs the fact that you’re rather well connected with someone high up enough in the Thane government to warrant a visit to the vampiric compound. Even my husband, who is friends with Dawn’s king - if you can call him a king anymore despite the Thanes allowing him to keep his title - hasn’t been able to get an invitation to Brightsville’s important meetings or inner circles. The Blood Moon Requiem is supposed to be some kind of off-planet empire the Thanes are royalty of, and their trading commune is already selective enough as it is concerning who they let in. But you were inside, and it begs the question of why. So, I just assumed since you were so well connected that you’d be able to tell us is all!”

“Oh stop it!” Shovi scolded her friend, getting another round of laughs from the cougars surrounding him as yet another woman laid a hand on Lahn’s arm.

“You know, my daughter has always found you quite dashing.” the redheaded woman in a satin dress winked Lahn’s way with an almost predatory smile. “Perhaps at the upcoming ball at the academy, I could introduce you to her. Would you like that?”

Shovi huffed, cutting off whatever Lahn was about to say with a loud clink of her glass on a porcelain plate of her own. “Marcela! I told you, Lahn already has someone that he’s courting and she’s very pretty!”

“But does she have good standing in the court?” the woman named Marcela refuted with a raised eyebrow. “I’d heard that ‘Wraithtide’ girl, whoever she is, was a country bumpkin. A talented one from the rumors, but still a bumpkin. Surely you wouldn’t let your son marry a nobody like that, especially now that he has standing.”

The women continued to bicker and gossip, and Lahn could only grimace and bear it. None of these people, nor their daughters, would have had any inkling of an interest in him before that video happened to appear on the feeds. No, the only one who had been interested was Allie…

God he loved that girl. He hadn’t told her yet, and he’d probably hold off on it so he wouldn’t scare her away, but that’s definitely how he felt. He was absolutely smitten, and a small smile crept along his lips while he overlooked the city and off into the blue horizon.

She’d sent word that she may be back late after dealing with some ratkin uprisings, and it bothered him a bit to think that she might be in danger, but she was ‘The Butcher of Carnis’ after all. She struck fear into the hearts of many, far more often than even Riven did despite Riven being the stronger of the two. So perhaps it was silly of him to worry.

He just hoped that she really would be back in time for the ball, because his mother had already picked out a couple of dresses for her to try and the relationship between the two women he loved most - his girlfriend and his mother - was drastically improving each and every day they spent together. It was quite funny to him how excited his mom got on girl’s nights out with Allie, and made him feel warm inside when they did do so.

He just hoped his soul would eventually recover. Given the amount of rare dao treasures that Allie had piled up in his room to help him heal, there was a chance - even if it was a slim one, and it was actually about time to use yet another in an attempt to regain some of what he’d lost.

After all, he didn’t want to be deadweight to her like he had been in the past.

Not after having come so far, and having just been handed another chance at the life that’d been stolen from him.

He would persevere.