Chapter 527: Family is Complicated
…A century before the Schism…
The halls of the Viridian Keep stood tall, the limestone pillars reached two dozen meters high. Cold light filtered from the high glass-stained windows depicting heroic acts of Paragons of old. The Keep had been built not only as the greatest stronghold of the knight’s order but as a symbol of their power.
Every knight who walked down the grey halls would feel like a child in the halls of giants. Each of them would look up at the Paragons of past ages and dream of one day earning the right to stand among their legends.
Melantha had forgotten how many times she had passed by these halls and dreamt the same dream. And yet now, as she walked past, she couldn’t help but feel as if the walls of the Keep no longer felt grand nor daunting. They felt— small.
She reached the end of the hall and took a brief moment to gaze at the giant marble statues in front of her; saints standing proud in all their glory. Sighing to herself, she took a sharp turn down another hall, without bothering to offer a small prayer to the saints as was customary.
Her secretary stood pacing anxiously around outside her office quarters, an empty sheath in his hands. Melantha raised her eyebrow. “What are you doing in front of my door?”
“My Lady, you’re back!”
“Yes, the council’s meeting finished early. Now, what are you doing?”
“Oh. Uh, you have a visitor.”
“Where are they?”
He averted his eyes. “She’s already inside your office…”
“Kaelen, what have I said about letting the princess into my quarters without my presence? You can’t keep letting her go wherever she pleases.”
“It wasn’t the princess,” he said with a shaky smile.
“What? Then who—?”
“A traveler.”
“Her name, Kaelen.”
“A-Ah, she didn’t say… Um, I tried to stop her, really I did. But she took my sword and, well…”
Melantha groaned to herself. “Right. Step aside, I’ll deal with this.”
Kaelen scurried away without another word.
Melantha slammed her door open and walked into the chamber. “Who are you and what are you doing in my chambers?”
A young woman with bright brown curls and olive skin sat on the windowsill, staring at the verdant courtyard below. She wore the green cloak of the knight’s order, but it wasn’t Kaelen’s.
“Where did you get that cloak?” Melantha growled.
The woman glanced away from the window and looked her up and down with warm brown eyes. She smiled casually. “So, you’re Nel the Blue, Knight Paragon of the Viridian Keep, Slayer of Archmages, Protector of the Commonfolk, etcetera, etcetera. You know, you’re much shorter than I imagined. I’d thought you’d be as tall as a giant from the stories people sing about you.”
She glared at the smiling woman. “It’s Mel. And it’s Melantha to you. Where did you get that cloak?”
The stranger shrugged. “Nel, Mel, what difference does it make? Neither is your true name.”
“Melantha is the only name I have.” She grabbed the hilt of her sword and unsheathed it an inch. “Where did you get that cloak? I won’t ask again.”
“Calm yourself, Paragon. I got it off a lad patrolling the halls. He was very insistent I wasn’t allowed in the castle. So I took the cloak after I bonked him on the head,” she laughed.
“You dare—!”
“Don’t worry, he’ll be fine. Just sleeping it off.”
“Who are you and what do you want?” she growled.
“What do I want or what am I doing here?”
“Let’s start with your name,” Melantha drew her blade a little more.
The woman eyed the sword with a smirk. “Do all knights attack their guests before even offering them a drink? Not very chivalrous of you. I have traveled a long way.”
“You are no guest of mine.”
“Hm, fair. I suppose introductions are in order first then.” She hopped off the windowsill and bowed with a grand flourish, “I have many names and many titles; Holo, Yara, Nereida—”
“The Sea Nymph?”
“Oh, you’re a religious knight? Or have you been to the Azure Realm?”
“Once or twice,” she answered cautiously. “And I’d say I’m more well-read than religious. Though I doubt there is any knight who’d not recognize the name. It’s not every day you meet a crazy woman claiming to be the beautiful Azure goddess.”
“If it makes it any easier for you, the folks on the Azure islands know me as a demigoddess,” she added lightly.
“A goddess all the same.” Melantha sheathed her blade and sized her up and down with a skeptical look, “And for a goddess, you hardly seem like the divine beauty of the stories, Nereida.”
The woman smiled softly. “Seren, please. My true name— is Seren. You deserve to know that. It’s customary among us.”
“I’m honored,” she replied sarcastically. “Why are you here, Seren?”
“I’ve answered your question.” She raised her empty hand, “How about you offer me a drink first before I answer anymore? My throat is parched.”
“Can’t you conjure yourself up a glass of water, o’ goddess?”
“I can.” And as if to prove her point, a bubble of water manifested around her hand, hopping from one finger to another in a playful gesture. “But not wine, I’m afraid.”
Melantha stiffened and her hand immediately went back to her sword.
Seren narrowed her eyes and smirked. “What’s the matter? You’ve never seen a bit of water magic before?”
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“You didn’t use chromatic blue mana… nor elemental water…”
“Ah, I almost forgot, you’re a True Blue, right? Have you been watching me with your Clarity magic this entire time? Tell me, what do you see within me?”
“...Chromatic orange mana.”
“What else? Just now. What did you see?”
“...Something different, for a moment. I’ve never seen it before, except…” her voice trailed off.
“Except within yourself.”
Melantha’s eyes widened in surprise. “How did you—?”
“Before, you asked me what I came here for. I’m here for you, Nel. Your recent exploits have caught your father’s attention. He sent me to fetch you.”
“My father?”
“Yes, your real father, not the peasant couple who adopted you after your human mother died.”
“What are you talking about? My father and mother are my true blood parents,” Melantha said with an edge to her voice.
“Oh, little sister, we both know that isn’t true.” Seren’s brown eyes shifted into a pale glowing lilac. She gestured to the door, “You may hide what you are in front of all of them, but you cannot hide from me. Those freckles and rosy white skin may as well be makeup.”
Melantha took a shaky step back and swallowed hard. “You— You’re like me?”
“That is what tends to happen amongst family.”
“You’re really my sister…?”
“Half-sister, but yes. We share the same father. And he wishes to meet you.”
“A father who never once deigned to visit me my entire life wants to meet me now? After all these years?” Tears welled up in the corners of her blue eyes. “He’s alive then…? Did he know I existed?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't he write? He could have told me I wasn't an orphan! That I wasn’t alone!”
“...I know, it’s hard. But don’t take it personally. It’s Father’s way. Happens to most of us.”
Melantha blinked her tears away. “Most of us?”
“Yes. My mother was a northern drow from the Ebon Realm. Fortunately, she was still alive while I was growing up, but I didn’t know of Father’s existence until I was a teenager.”
“I’m already 21 and at least you had your mother.”
“Point taken. But did you not have mortal parents who took you in?”
“It’s not the same. I had— questions.”
“Like why your skin is blue? Yes. Many of us went through the same thing. Not me, of course. Northern drows have natural blue complexions.”
“Does your father have blue skin?”
“Our father. And yes, as dark blue as the midnight sky and as bright blue as the sky at noon.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“His complexion changes based on the time of day.”
Melantha frowned. “That— still doesn’t make sense.”
“Don’t worry, he prefers to use a false appearance for everyday occasions, much like you. But for different reasons.”
“Like what?”
“People find his true appearance— distracting.”
“Distracting? Doesn’t sound like a very different reason than mine.”
“Mm, debatable.”
“What, is he disfigured or something?”
“Quite the opposite. I suppose you could say he is the most beautiful of the gods.” She smirked, “A fact that many goddesses envy.”
“Wait. What?” Melantha shook her head.
Seren shrugged, “What? Have you never heard? Death is beautiful.”
“Death? As in the three Aurum gods of death?”
“You catch on quick,” she nodded. “And yes. In the Aurous realm he is known as the Eldest Death.”
“...Death is my father?”
“Our father.”
“Our father is a god!?”
“I did say I was Nereida, did I not?” Seren yawned, “Look, this is all getting a bit tedious. Everything will be explained to you once we reach the Mortem Sanctum.”
Melantha frowned. “The Mortem Sanctum? You mean the castle owned by the notoriously dangerous Mortem Order?”
“You ask a lot of questions. The Sanctum is the Order’s headquarters. It lies in the Scarlet Realm. And it’s not dangerous, at least, not for us. The castle is similar enough to your ‘Viridian Keep,’ except far larger and far more grand. Imagine a castle the size of a small city. A place not just for knights, but for scholars, mages, scientists, engineers, and so much more.”
“I heard the stories, rumors really. I never thought…” Melantha’s voice trailed off.
“The Sanctum was built by Father for the single goal of consolidating and growing the knowledge of the Realms. And as his children we have access to all of it. Imagine, the greatest treasure trove of knowledge in all the Null Realms at your fingertips. You had questions? The Sanctum has all the answers and more.”
“And you can take me there?”
“That is why I’m here.” She offered her hand, “So, are you coming, Nel?”
Melantha stared at Seren’s hand uncertainly, but after a moment she grasped it. “It’s Mel.”
“Yea, sure thing. Now, where is my drink?”
~~~
…Present Day… Hollow Shade… Gale Manor…
Melantha sat on a tree branch outside the manor. She watched Stryg through the window, sitting at the bedside of his mother. Melantha had returned to her human form and wore a green cloak so as to not draw attention.
“How’s the weather up there, Nel?”
Melantha glanced at her sister standing below the tree. “Why don’t you tell me? You’re the one who inherited Father’s Aspect of the Navigator.”
“Fair enough.” Holo Flickered up next to her and sat on the branch casually. “Hmm, it’s going to rain tomorrow. Not much, but enough to slow down the city’s restoration process.”
“Charming.”
“All things considered, it could have been worse.”
“Worse than losing Selyndra’s Key and releasing a vengeful immortal titan back into the world? Which by the way, what the fuck were you thinking sealing the Titan of the Sun inside a prison of leylines?”
“Not my finest hour,” Holo admitted. “I didn’t really have an option. We had barely stopped Solis, but Lunae refused to let her brother die and Bellum wasn’t going to kill her father either.”
“And now that he’s free he might just end up killing both of them.”
“Maybe. Family is complicated.”
“Speaking of family, how is your son?”
“Atlas is fine, a bit scathed, nothing more.”
“And your granddaughter?”
“Her orichalcum weapon took its toll on her, but Unalla is strong. She’ll be alright after some rest and several strong healing sessions.”
“She should refrain from using such a weapon. Even if she carries titan blood, it's thin. Unalla is mortal, it’s dangerous to meddle with titan magic.”
“It seems Ananta took Votum with her anyway. I doubt Unalla will be getting it back.”
“Mm,” Melantha grunted.
Holo rested her head on her sister’s shoulder, “...Thank you for answering when I needed you. I don’t think any of us would have survived without your help.”
“I promised, didn’t I? Besides, there is someone quite interesting here,” Melantha spoke as she stared at Stryg from a distance. “I’m surprised Father hasn’t sent one of our siblings to find him.”
“There are very few of us left.”
“Even still. Our Aurum sister and brother have always been loyal to him. They would have happily done it.”
“...Truth be told, I’m not sure Father even knows about Stryg.”
Melantha frowned, “What? How could he not?”
“When I first met Stryg we traveled together for a while and I spoke to him at length about his childhood. He grew up normal, well, as normal as one of us can. He didn’t exhibit any of a titan’s abilities.”
“What are you saying? He was a failure?”
“Yes.”
“And now he’s not?”
“Yes.”
“How is that possible?”
Holo sighed, “I have a working theory, but I need Stryg present and a little more time to confirm it.”
“Time is a luxury we may have little of. Word will reach Father’s ears sooner rather than later, even with the Ebon Realm’s chrome gates shattered. It’s not every day people witness the Astral Light obliterating dragons and dragonbanes right above their city.”
Holo closed her eyes and tried to forget the scene. “In any case, we need to speak to Stryg about his predicament.”
Melantha raised her eyebrow. “Like the way you spoke to me all those years ago?”
“Something like that.”
“Careful. He must feel very lost right now.”
“Yes,” Holo whispered.
“...I’ve made up my mind. I'm going to stay in this realm for a while.”
Holo smirked. “How very unlike you.”
Melantha tilted her head up and stared at the stars in the night sky. “I suppose so.”