Chapter 545: Katag’s Dinner Party Part 3
A noblewoman noticed Plum dragging Stryg to the balcony by the edge of his cloak. She straightened her back and sauntered over with a sultry smile, “My Lord Aspirant, good evening—”
Lynette abruptly stepped in between the noblewoman and the balcony.
She frowned and stepped past the vampiress. “Excuse me, I was just speaking to the Aspirant.”
Lynette blocked her path once more. “The balcony is off-limits. I suggest you find somewhere else to dally.”
The woman glanced down at the blade hanging at Lynette’s hip and the sigil engraved on the sword’s pommel. She paled and smiled shakily, “R-Right. Goodbye.”
Lynette said nothing and only eyed her coldly as she scurried away.
Plum noticed the interaction from a distance. “Who is that?”
Stryg glanced back at the vampiress as they stepped out onto the balcony. The breath of fresh air helped him think a bit clearer. “She’s a Gale… I’ve seen her before.”
“Of course she is. You Veres never go anywhere without a Gale shadowing you, do you?” said Plum.
“She’s not my shadow…” his voice trailed off.
“Stryg…? Oi.” Plum snapped her fingers in front of his face, “You in there? Stryg? Snap out of it!”
“...I’m fine, I just…” He stumbled towards the balcony’s railing. “I just need some air.” He leaned on the handrail and looked out over the gardens. His body felt like it was burning and freezing from within at the same time.
Plum rubbed his back. “What’s going on with you, Stryg? You were looking at Krall’s wives like a dog in heat. I know they’re hot but I really don’t think you should be eyeing the wives of a berserker.”
“I wasn’t, I just— I don’t know.” He clenched his teeth, “I don’t know what’s going on with me!” The marble handrail cracked and crumbled underneath his grip.
Plum eyed the handrail. “Huh. That’s um, new.”
“It’s the chaos… It’s messing with my head.”
“Chaos? Like chaos mana?” Plum recalled the night at Shadow Lake a few weeks back. The lake had affected Stryg more strongly than others. “There’s chaos mana here? Where?”
“Within my heart,” he said between heavy breaths.
“Your heart? Stryg, mageborns can’t possess chaos.”
“I’m not a mageborn. I’m—” he hesitated, but as if he was holding his breath, he bowed his head and relaxed his shoulders. “I… Stjerne, he… He’s my father.”
Plum blinked and adjusted her glasses. “Stjerne?”
“...Yeah.”
“As in the Traveler?”
“Yeah.”
“The Ebon god?”
“Uh-huh.”
“The one who wears a mask of gold and black split down the middle? A smile on one side, a frown on the other? The god who abandoned my people in favor of humans? The capricious god? The god of stars? That Stjerne?”
“That’s the one,” he sighed.
Plum tapped her fingers over the handrail, deep in thought. “Huh… Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”
He frowned and looked up at her. “What?”
She gave him a deadpan look. “Are you serious? You’re not normal. You literally just shattered marble as if it was a ball of snow. I saw your body get crushed under a mountain of rocks and then I saw your wounds heal in a matter of hours. Plus, there’s the whole thing with Lunae; she talks to you. A literal goddess hangs out with you. Oh! And that whole thing about Sigte. When I tried to read your mind about him I couldn’t, your divine nature probably had something to do with that.”
“So you believe me…?”
“Well, yeah. I’ve read quite a few old books about godlings from different realms back in Undergrowth. My mentor, Gregor Sientia, had a lot of books about the topic in his study. There are a lot of different kinds of goldings or demigods, but they all had one thing in common.”
“And what was that?”
“People were drawn to them. Somehow. Even if they didn’t want it.”
Stryg looked up at the stars, they seemed somehow brighter than usual. “Did any of your books talk about a godling of the Stars?”
“No. I’m afraid not.”
“What about Death?”
“Death? No, well, not about godlings. Though there are three gods of death in the Aurous Realm.”
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“Three?”
Plum nodded. “The principal gods of the realm. There are many gods in the Aurous Realm, but the gods of death are the most sacred. The concept of death is seen differently in the Aurous realm. It is admired, worshiped, to die well is the greatest honor of their people. Or at least, that’s what the books I read say. They’re a couple of centuries old so I’m not really sure.”
“I see…”
“Why the question?”
He looked away. “It’s nothing.”
“Don’t do that.”
“Huh?”
“I know you, Stryg. Don’t push it away. Don’t try to ignore all of this. Don’t reject who you are.”
“What do you know of what I am?” he hissed.
She stared at him without batting an eye. Plum had never been shaken by his anger or afraid of his rage. “I don’t know a lot about your true nature, but I know you, Stryg, and there is no one more proud to be Sylvan than you.”
The anger drained from his face and a deep sadness took root in its place. “And what if I’m not?” he whispered.
“Whether you’re Sylvan or not isn’t really important right now.”
“What do you mean?”
“There are consequences to godlings that ignore their divine nature.”
He narrowed his lilac eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“In the stories I read there were godlings who didn’t want to be gods, they just wanted to be normal and in every single story their divine nature always got out and it was always violent.” Plum put a finger to her chin, “Maybe that’s what’s happening now? If you’re pushing away your nature then maybe your body is rejecting you?”
Stryg stared at his hand, there was a slight tremble to his fingers. “I did this?”
“Maybe. I’m not sure. All I know is that you can’t ignore this.”
He clenched his fist. “I’ll deal with this later.”
“Stryg—”
“We need to get through the night first.” Stryg turned around, opened the balcony doors, and walked back into the main hall.
Lynette stood a respectable distance from the balcony and followed him silently back to the table. Plum followed a few steps behind.
Krall eyed him as he sat back down. “Is everything alright?”
Stryg tried his best to hide his lightheadedness and spoke in a firm voice, “Yes, everything is fine.”
“Very good,” Krall nodded. “You know, when you walked in this morning as Lord Veres I was quite surprised, but when Lady Gale announced as the Ebon Prince, well, that’s when I understood the true extent of your plan. It was a very bold stroke, even for someone like me, but I’m eager to know about your plans.”
“My plans?”
Krall laughed. “Come now, don’t be modest. The age when the Ebon Lords ruled Hollow Shade has long passed, but none have forgotten. This city is a monument to their power. After the others fell, the last Ebon Lord, Atreus Thorn, proclaimed his family the Royal House and ruled as king over Hollow Shade.”
Evelyn placed her narrow fingers over her husband’s massive palm. “After Lord Atreus died, the current Ruling Houses rebelled and established the city council. And like my lord husband said, even though it's been over 200 years, none have forgotten the Ebon Lords.”
Stryg closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Why did any of this matter? What were they trying to get at? He didn’t know. All he wanted was to go back to the Gale manor and lay down in bed.
“The Ruling Houses will not be eager to share power,” said Krall. “But you already knew that, didn’t you? That’s why you accepted our offer to marry our daughter. If you wish to establish the Veres family as the Royal House of Hollow Shade you will need the support of other Ruling houses.” The giant orc grinned, “The alliance between our two families will be the cornerstone to your ascension, provided our House rises with your glory.”
“House Katag will become the right hand of the royal family,” said Evelyn.
King? Stryg furrowed his brow. Is that why Gale had introduced him as a prince? Did Gian and she plan to make him king? He hadn’t given Gale’s words much thought until now.
Of course, it had to be now of all times. He couldn’t be confronted with such political matters at any other time. He felt as if fate was toying with him.
“Of course,” Evelyn added, “A single Ruling House won’t be enough to help you ascend the city’s throne.” She smiled amusedly, “But you’ve been busy, haven’t you? You’ve already made friends with Lady Freya. It’s to be expected, I suppose, the Goldelms and Veres have always been close since the age of their founders. But I’ve heard rumors that even Lord Vayu had a hand in your training of the magical arts. Then of course, there is House Noir. I know Lord Noir was fond of you, and with his passing Lady Loh has taken his place and—”
“What did you say?” Stryg’s head snapped up. “Lord Elzri, is he…?”
“You haven’t heard?” Evelyn’s face softened, “I’m sorry. Lord Noir fell in battle atop the wall.”
“But not without a fight,” said Krall somberly. “He took two of those fucking monsters down with him.” He smiled bittersweetly, “The old man was never one to give up.”
Elzri… was gone? Everything else seemed to grow dull at the thought. He had noticed Loh was sitting on the Noir throne in the council meeting but he had just assumed Elzri had been busy. For a mage as powerful as Elzri to have fallen, it didn’t seem real.
Lord Noir had never treated Stryg particularly kind, but he was never cruel. He had pushed Stryg to his limits, often, and he expected him to rise to the challenge each time. It was all too similar to his Sylvan training. Elzri had been a stern but fair teacher. The thought that the archmage was gone pained him.
Whatever his problems with Loh were, Stryg felt an urge to go see her. She must have been hurting. He knew Elzri was the only family she cared about. Despite their problems, she had loved him. Stryg remembered the pain of seeing his mother lying in a pool of blood. Even now that pain reached deep into his chest and threatened to choke him.
“...ryg… Stryg…?”
“Huh?” Stryg looked up to see Evelyn eyeing him thoughtfully.
“Are you alright?” she asked.
“I… uh…” Stryg swallowed hard and tried to speak, but his voice caught in his throat.
“You look pale,” said Tauri worriedly.
“It’s just the nerves. Everyone gets a bit nervous before their wedding, my cousin is no exception,” interjected Elise. “Neither is your daughter, it seems.”
Evelyn glanced at Elena. There was something off about her daughter, but she wasn’t sure what it was, yet. Maybe I should take her away from here for a bit.
“I’m not the one who should be nervous,” muttered Elena.
“What was that?” asked Elise curiously.
Kall clicked his tongue, “What have I told you about all that muttering, Elena?”
Evelyn touched her husband’s shoulder, “Krall—”
But he pushed on, “You’ve hardly said a word all night and now you’re going to make our guests uncomfortable with all your muttering. Sit up and look people in the eye when you speak to them.” Krall turned to Stryg and Elise, “Apologies, she is usually much more sociable.”
“You want me to be more sociable?” snapped Elena. “I think Tauri has been sociable enough for the both of us.”
Krall wrinkled his brow, “What did you say?”
“Did I mutter, Father?”
Evelyn stared at the anger oozing out of Elena, then she glanced at Tauri’s guilt-ridden face, and Stryg’s consigned expression. “Tauri…?”
Her daughter stiffened at her name but she couldn’t meet her mother’s gaze.
“Gods, what have you done, child?” whispered Evelyn.