“Hello Leo. As I’m sure you’re aware, if my messenger has done his job properly, which I assume he has (he’s rather talented), I am the demon of the east. I’ve been watching your group since the destruction of Aria, keeping a close eye on the events surrounding you. After all, it’s my job to know about the happenings in the world, even if they do not fall within my jurisdiction. Now, I presume you’re wondering why I’ve sent you this message, why I would bother to support or aid you when you are so far away. There’s a couple answers I could give to this question, but two come to mind as the most important. Firstly, the demon of the south who presides over Verulik happens to be a rather passive individual. I’m certain he is watching you now, but I doubt he will make any move towards or against you. So, to this end, I find it absurd to leave you stranded without aid simply because you do not travel within my domain. Allies need not be close. And the second, frankly more important reason, is that you fascinate me. Your father, Lorgain the Golden, was quite a prolific figure before his death a decade ago. Surprised? You shouldn’t be. My gaze stretches quite far. Were you aware that he was the right hand of the old king of Verulik? He even served over the Conqueror, who himself was just a general before his rise to the throne. When I heard that Lorgain the Golden, a bearer of one of the 6 fundamental aspects, had a kid, I was interested to say the least. Then when I heard that this kid was starting his own journey, suddenly thrown into the middle of a war he had no idea was even starting, I was captivated. I’ve been watching the world for many years, and I’d say confidently there’s never been as many pieces moving as there are right now. The veil coming out of hiding, the guardians slowly moving to intercept, the two other groups in the north you’re unaware of, and finally, a boy at the center of it all, who doesn’t even know his own name, and the heir to the legendary Fairfelt name. Wouldn’t you be interested, too? Now, all this is to say that under any other circumstance you would’ve been dead a month ago. With so many many strong enemies at your heels, you two hardly have the wherewithal to guard against them. However, you happen to have quite the array of allies on your side, whether you realize it or not. I myself would love to see you come out on top, but we must take this one step at a time. As for what I’m doing to help, I think it’d only be right to say that I’m doing what I do best. Your enemies are all moving towards your position like moths to a glorious beacon, so I’m nudging your allies in the right direction that they might reach your side first. Who do you think sent the missive to Dasellium about Aria’s destruction? Don’t say I never did anything for you. I’ll be seeing you, one way or another, soon. Well, soonish.”
Leo pulled his eyes away from the letter, folding it up and stuffing it back into the envelope with shaking hands. To speak so boldly of his father. He had no idea. He had no right. Leo looked over at Trenton, who was still reading his own letter, his eyes wide, his face white, and his whole body trembling. Trenton folded his letter, tears bursting from his eyes.
“Trenton, are you alright? What did he say?” Leo asked, moving over to comfort Trenton.
But before he could reach him, Trenton had already stumbled out of his bed, numbly tumbling over himself to get to the door. Leo tried to reach out to him, but he was too slow. Trenton threw the door open and ran, disappearing before Leo could even make it to the doorway. Shit. Should he let Trenton wander the building alone in a mad delirium, or wait for him to calm down and come back? Leo sat there for a moment, hesitating on what to do, before finally deciding that Trenton was a sensible person, and no matter how disturbing the news, he would ground himself eventually. Still though, what the hell could’ve been in the letter to make him react like this? The last time Leo remembered Trenton this upset was when they read Kolas’s suicide note. That wasn’t a pretty sight for either of them.
Leo sat back down on his bed, stowing away his own letter for later. Trenton took his letter with him, so there’d be no way to read it even if Leo wanted to. He would ask Trenton when he'd put himself back together. Although, Leo wasn’t too fond of the idea of sharing his letter either. His father was a sore subject, and he’d never talked about it to anyone before, even Trenton. Maybe some things were best left unsaid.
Leo looked over at Millie, suddenly remembering that she was still there. She was sitting shaking on her bed, covers drawn tight around her. Poor girl. A sudden stranger showed up and both he and Trenton freaked out over their letters. That must be tough for someone her age, especially when she seemed so excited to room with them. Trenton was usually better with this stuff, but since he was gone, it looked like Leo had to step up. He was the adult here, well almost an adult. His 17th birthday was actually only two months ago, but that was still pretty close.
Leo walked over, side saddling Millie’s bed and pulling her into a warm embrace. She seemed to melt into him, her tears or naturally watery body dampening Leo’s shirt. They sat there for a while, Leo rocking her gently and whispering comforting words to the little girl. Eventually, Leo felt her breathing and heart beat slow. She was asleep. He gingerly placed her down onto her bed, pulling the covers up over her, before retreating to his own bed. She was young and needed the comfort, but she was still a stranger. Leo felt awkward sleeping in the same bed as her no matter how sweet the intentions.
Leo laid back down on his bed, staring up at the dark ceiling and thinking. This past month, he’s had more time to just sit and think than ever before. In Aria, he always had some obligation, or some activity he could be doing. But now, if he wasn’t eating, sleeping, or traveling, he had nothing to be doing. Even then, they didn’t talk much while traveling. A lot of the time was dead silence that Leo had to fill somehow. Some days he was able to fill the monotony by just flowing with the movement, engrossing himself in the work, but most days he was left with a swirling mess of darkness that he couldn’t pull away from. He found, now, more and more often he just felt absolutely miserable. The comfort of Rema’s home was wonderful, but it was a small bandage on a much larger problem. Often he would find himself wondering if there would ever be a day again when he would just feel happy, no cares, no worries, no death around every corner, just happy. He hoped so. He really hoped so. But, he wasn’t optimistic. At some point Trenton came back into the room, his movements slow and sluggish, his eyes red and puffy. He’d clearly been crying.
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“Are you feeling alright?” Leo called out softly as to not wake Millie, who was still sleeping peacefully off to his left.
“Fine,” Trenton replied, his voice hoarse.
Damn. Not only had he been bawling, but he must have been screaming too. What could have been in that letter? What could the demon of the east have known that upset Trenton so much? Sure he clearly had an impressive intelligence network, but it wasn’t like their situation could be any worse than it already is. It’s not like he learned someone he loved died. Everyone was already dead. In anycase, it was definitely best to let it lie. Trying to poke around such a sore subject would only heighten Trenton’s misery. He would talk about it when he was ready. It’s not like Leo was the type to push him on something that was uncomfortable with, anyway.
Trenton flopped onto his bed, his quivering form still barely visible to Leo in the dim moonlight. It hurt Leo to see Trenton so disconsolate, but what could he do? He didn’t even know what Trenton was upset over. Whatever it was he was going through, it was far beyond the point of simple contact or comforting words. He looked like his entire world was being torn apart in front of him…again. Walibeld. Leo would talk to Walibeld in the morning. He would do something. He had to.
Somewhere in the next couple of hours, Leo managed to slip into a fitful sleep, his dreams consisting of a lot of blood and gore, much like most most nights. When he woke, the stale light of a morning sun filtering in past the blinds, he felt horrible. His poor sleep didn’t couple well with his tattered body. Off to his left, Millie’s bed was clearly empty, probably having been vacated for whatever duties she had here, but Trenton’s still had a sizable lump in its center, not surprising. He probably pulled the blankets over his head to block the light of the sun. Leo slowly got to his feet, slipping on his shoes at the door and entering the elevator shaft. There was a servant waiting there. It looked like he was waiting to take Leo to wherever he wanted to go, if he could even figure it out. Just as he was wondering where he should start looking, Leo noticed a note was taped to outside of their door.
I’m on the 14th floor
-Walibeld Uravil-
Huh. Leo had never heard Walibeld’s last name before. Interesting. Leo walked over to the hole where the elevator should’ve been. It must’ve been on a different floor. He looked over at the servant. Its featureless face made it difficult to read, but it wasn’t moving, so it had to be waiting for something.
“Can you take me to the 14th floor?” Leo asked.
It didn’t speak, instead nodding its head, moving over to the empty shaft and pressing a small button on the ground. After about 10 seconds the elevator appeared from somewhere below them. Leo stepped on with the servant, the elevator lurching to life to take him down to the 14th floor. This floor, similar to the 1st floor, consisted entirely of one sprawling domed room. However, unlike the first room, this one was entirely dedicated to books, a large circular mezzanine hugging close to the wall, and easily tens of thousands of books sitting in large bookshelves all around him.
Leo looked around for a while, scanning the ground for any sign of Walibeld, but he was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he was on the mezzanine? He really should have been more specific than just the 14th floor. Leo walked over to a large staircase curving with the wall, weaving in between the servants so as not to disturb their work. They were bustling all around, moving and sorting through the many books to some unknowable end. At the top of the staircase, Leo entered onto a large wooden floor with dozens of tables strewn about where different servants sat hunched over books. And, at one of these tables, sat Walibeld calmly reading a book of his own.
Leo sat down at the table quietly, deciding to wait for Walibeld to speak rather than engage the conversation himself. They had a lot to discuss, but Leo didn’t even know where to begin. For a time, they sat there quietly, Walibeld reading that one book about Gasal that Leo recalled Trenton was reading before Aria was destroyed. He himself had always wanted to read it, but copies were really hard to come across for some reason. Trenton had to wait years before he got his hands on the copy he was reading, and he was going to lend it to Leo when he was done. But, that kind of fell through when everything they knew and loved was burned to cinders in front of them.
“We need to talk,” Walibeld said, closing the book and putting down on the table facing Leo.
“What about?”
“Trenton.”