After the Garrison Leader was summoned back to their little impromptu meeting room, the Wayfinders were quickly guided out, The Director electing to follow Silas out as well, leaving only the Officials and Richard in the room.
When the Director closed the door behind him, Silas quickly embraced him in a tight hug, nearly forcing the man off his feet. Gideon could only chuckle, leaning his cane against the wall and returning the hug in full. Silas never really committed to thinking about how they were doing, afraid it wouldn’t be a good answer.
A few moments passed and Silas finally broke away, quickly rubbing his tears dry and standing straight. The Director picked up his cane again and leaned lazily against it, smiling gently. Silas could see his hair had turned an even lighter shade of gray with little black left. A small part of him knew he was the reason, welling up with guilt.
“I’m sorry.”
“What you did was reckless.”
“I know.”
“I’m proud of you.”
“I know, it was stupid- what?”
“You’re a good man, Silas. I couldn’t be happier to have been the one to raise you.” The Director sighed, tapping him lightly on the head with the cane. “I’m proud of you, the Empyrean you’ll be one day.”
“You’re supposed to say it was stupid.” Silas replied, still half frozen in place. He didn’t know how to respond to the praise, just feeling a deep warmth. How lucky he was. “Stupid and dangerous.”
“It was both of those things.” The Director laughed, walking down the hall and leaving the other Wayfinders behind. Silas saw Hector get led off by another Guardsmen while Glass silently followed behind the Director. Lilith remained at the door, presumably waiting for her father.
As Silas followed behind The Director with Glass, he noticed a few bandages hidden by the man’s clothes, some of which still dark with blood. Even so, his presence still felt like a monolith, calming Silas immensely. They talked casually as they walked, Silas recounting again just what he went through during the past few weeks.
The mention of the Wolfdog earned a raise of the brow, Amus’ breakthrough yet another, and the increasingly varied uses of the Ascension Lotus finally earning a small surprise. At the mention of the Twelfth Gate and the Atlas Gate, his look turned stern.
“I only knew of them as rumours. It’s said that one can see the extra three gates with some special circumstances, like a full moon’s light or a flame from the sun. All rumours. The Atlas Gate is much the same, except it’s always been known to be in the same place.”
“The Atlas Gate sits at the base of the skull and your spine. It’s said that you must be in a dream state to open it, as otherwise your blood energy will run rampant and destroy your brain. That’s why I never said anything to you.”
Definitely not rumours. How powerful would the Twelfth Gate make you? The Atlas Gate? Why did a Nightweaver naturally reach the equivalent of Twelve Gates, yet every other Pathway appears to make it seem like an ‘extra’ step?
And should he try?
He won’t settle for less than Nine Gates as The Director hadn’t, but is the extra power worth the risk? Silas had been getting lucky with the last few breakthroughs but eventually the danger will catch up to him. He already had the advantage from two Pathways.
Silas’ train of thought finally ended when they reached a secluded Villa near the edge of Ironside, right next to and above the violent sea. The Nightmare Seed twitched as he smelled the salt in the air, the Eye growing violent. So much fear poured out from within the house, it made Silas’ heart ache.
The three stepped inside and Silas saw the kids all strewn about the first floor, from reading to playing to drawing on the walls. At first they just saw the Director but one they saw Silas, the room filled with noise. A certain figure practically flew through the air as it leaped into Silas’ chest, forcing the man to step back and catch him with a laugh.
“Silas!”
Caisus latched onto him like a bug, rubbing his face into his chest. Silas didn’t have the heart to rip him off, hugging the boy gently with a sigh. He reminded him of Sebastian when they were younger, always sticking to his side.
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When the other kids finally reached him, they grabbed onto every piece of him they could. Some grabbed onto his hands, his shirt, his jacket, eventually being forced to stop when Silas noticed a boy grab his holster, which brought about a very calm chiding.
They quickly got about to making dinner, The Director taking it as a chance to slack off while all the kids tried doing their best to help. Over a dozen kids were in the kitchen each trying to do something different, leading Silas to thank the gods that his senses were enhanced enough to prevent an accident. At least two kids almost cut off a finger.
Once the beef and onion stew was ready, Silas placed it on the stove to simmer. Wiping his hands off and looking down at Caisus who was still latched onto him, he asked “Where are the others? We’re missing like, six of you.”
“The mutes? They’re upstairs.” Caisus grumbled, slowly sliding off of him until he was standing. “They never want to play anymore. They’re no fun.”
“Be nice.” Silas knocked him on the head and tossed the cloth onto the counter. “They’ve been through a lot, they’re just dealing with it how they can.”
Silas went upstairs briefly and attempted using the Nightmare Seed to help the kids and while they seemed a little more energetic, it made no real progress. It did however earn him a few more Cracks on the Seed after refining their nightmares. A little more than just the eye was now revealed, showing parts of the scales around it.
Back downstairs, they had their dinner and saved some for the kids upstairs. Caisus left Silas’ side only to deliver their food up to them, giving the Director another chance to speak with Silas and Glass alone once the rest of the kids went to bed.
“What are your plans, boys?”
“What do you mean?” Silas leaned back in his chair, putting his feet up on the table. He was just thinking about how nice a bed would feel. “Like, tonight? Cause I just want to sleep for twenty four hours.”
“No, no, after all this. Once we leave.”
“Find Sebastian. What about you, Glass?”
“I’m.. not sure. Ironside’s all I’ve known. I’m a guardsman, but not because I wanted to be.” Glass sighed, resting his head within his arms on the table. “I can’t do anything else, but I only chose this for you guys.”
The Director nodded, closing his eyes and sipping on a cup of tea that just appeared in his hand at some point. “I will be bringing the kids to the Provincial Capital when we get out. Settle down there. I’m sure I can make it work.”
“Sounds like you know where you’re going then, eh Glass? Following the old man off to Kairel. They’ll probably make you a guard there, too.” Silas yawned. “I’ll bring Sebastian back from wherever the hell he is, we can have a little reunion.”
“Silas.”
“Hm? Director?”
“If anything happens to me, please take care of the children.”
“What?” Silas planted both feet on the ground, nearly toppling his chair. “What are you saying all that for?”
“Just do it.” The Director glared at him, tapping his cane into the ground with some force. “They can’t be left alone, and there are no guarantees in life.”
Silas continued to ask the what or why but The Director simply didn’t take no for an answer, shutting down every single argument he had with a simple glare or a knock on the head with the cane. Glass just laughed the entire time, not daring to butt in.
After a few hours and a few drinks, the trio finally went to bed, Silas getting stuck with the sofa. As he drifted off into sleep, he silently promised The Director he’d take care of them if that’s what he wanted. He didn’t know why, but he could honour that.
When he awoke the next day, he had to pry a clingy Caisus off of him, the boy’s hands practically clawing into his face in a desperate bid to stay attached to him. Silas only convinced him to let go when he said he could follow him around during the day, which is why he ended up walking around in the fog with a child on his shoulders, shining with blood energy.
Asking a few passing guardsmen, Silas managed to figure out both where Lilith was and where a small smithy was, deciding to go to the former first. He arrived at a Villa not too different from his own, being slightly bigger and also slightly older. Lilith was already waiting on the porch outside in a rocking chair.
She motioned for him to sit down right away, in another chair next to her, a table set up in between them. A bag of supplies and several empty cups of what seemed like coffee made it clear she had been waiting a while for him, and he didn’t want to make her wait any more than she already had.
Silas sat down, placing his left hand on the table with the palm facing the sky. The tattoo had to make a solid ring that encompassed the palm and the back of the hand, not to mention being extremely fine tuned with little margin for error.
More than once Lilith had to grab him by the wrist and force his hand or arm to turn the way she wanted it, clearly not believing in just telling him what to do. Silas couldn’t complain with her methods though as nearly four hours later, a complete string of runes looped around his hand like artwork. He immediately felt a newfound connection to.. something, he couldn’t quite tell what.
It was like someone tied a rope to him, but the rope faded out of existence mid-air. When he focused on his palm, the rune tattoo lit up with a spectacular blue glow much like the one from his innate talent. Silas immediately felt as if something was draining away from him and he cut off his focus, turning the tattoo dull again.
“Thanks for the help.” Silas smiled, moving his hand around in various ways to get a better look. “I was skeptical, but you really pulled through. Thank you.”
“Mm”
“I want one, I want one!” Caisus bounced up and down against the table, staring holes through Silas’ tattooed hand. Lilith tilted her head at the boy, offering a small smile before reaching into her bag of supplies and coating her needle in a different bottle of ink.
She looked at Silas as if asking for permission and the Nightweaver just nodded. Lilith looked back down at the boy, crouching slightly to be more level with him. “What would you like?”
“Snake!”
“Just a snake?”
“Can you make it wrap around my finger? I’ve always wanted a pet snake to carry around.” Caisus beamed, standing on the tips of his toes just to maintain eye contact with her. Lilith giggled softly, reaching down for the boy's hand and spending another hour patiently giving him what he wanted. When Silas asked, she insisted it was only a temporary one.
Silas put Caisus back up on his shoulders and waved behind him as he left the Villa, silently pouring blood energy into his hand. He had to ensure the tattoo stuck properly after all for his next plan of the day- forging his rune chisels.