15th of Moon’s Twilight, first month of the year 984:
What the recently arrived caravan saw when it reached the castle was an unprecedented sight. A dozen people were waiting in front of the renovated doors of the castle after having been alerted by the gate’s guards. A new maid, a few butlers and eight new state workers together with Andras stood in a line and promptly kneeled in the direction of Soral..
Once Soral got off the carriage and the convoy guards grouped around her, Andras walked towards her.
With relief visible in his eyes, he started, “Lady Soral, it is a pleasure to see you in good health. How was the celebration?”
Half smiling, she answered, “Plenty productive if I say so myself. I see the new workers, are they worthy?”
“That’s something I will judge.” Said Noct as he marched towards them and inspected the line of new workers. Silently trotting in front of them, he looked them in the eyes as he advanced. Arriving at the 4th person, a female maid, he saw through the magical disguise of Eve but only gave her a cold stare. Returning to his earlier position as he meditated, “Kal managed to completely mask her grey mana. That won’t save her from being dispelled, is she crazy enough to come to work on the surface?!”. Drunk on that tension, he didn’t realise the trembling in one of the pockets of Andras and how he turned pale for no reason at all as he passed near him.
“Finished your lordly bullying session? You do tire me out.” Sighing, she added, “I will go….”
“You will go nowhere before you put those people to work.”
“What?”
“Your birthday comes in three months. You should start permanently managing the affairs of the barony now. It would be inefficient for the new bureaucracy to act as I want when they will have to readapt to how you will do things. High Commander Andras, escort her.” Not bothering to stay any longer, Noct turned and left the castle.
Soral, feeling nervous, looked towards Andras before arming herself.
“Well, I think you all know who I am, but a proper introduction is in place. I am Soral of the Ashen, future Baroness of these lands. As I guess you already know, you know work directly for the barony, so expect it to be a hard job. For the new servants, Miss Mulia will teach you the basics; the rest, follow me.
As they started to move, she looked back to Noct. The guards, together with Sorak, were following him, letting her know what they were going to do. Trying to further her hate, the haggard figure of her brother only made him feel more defeated, a man who had given up and who was anchored in the past, his sins too heavy for his shoulders. Looking back to the castle, and under the watchful shadow of Andras, she turned towards her future.
……………….
Silence enveloping their little convoy as they walked along the busy city, the sounds of normalcy only exacerbated the formality of their task. Exiting the outer ring, they left the city aiming for the cemetery. While the formalities had already been carried out, they hadn’t had the hearts to leave their bodies to rot in the wilderness.
Entering the cemetery, they aimed towards the new areas. Reaching the last tombs, Noct inched towards the unused ground and moved his shadow to cover ground enough for three bodies. From it, 3 tombstones rose and Noct, already crouched, almost started to carve before Likos asked.
“Don’t we have to inform their families?”
“They had no families that I know.” Coldly said Noct, flashbacks of that ambush rekindling his anger.
“I see.” Whispered Likos.
Once he finished, he fished from his shadows enough shovels for everyone, including Lia, who pestered him until he shoved her a shovel.
They solemnly dig the graves and let their old comrades rest on sacred grounds. After a few minutes of silence, they dispersed. Sorak was the last one to leave, as she finished her quick prayer and left, leaving Noct who chose to remain. After a while, he decided to take a walk, revisiting the place he had built out of guilt.
……………………..
“Great work, Lady Soral.” Felicitated Andras
Soral, who laid in her bed, discarded his words, “They are competent enough to have understood my orders in spite of my unease, thank the Gods.”
Smiling, Andras consoled her, “Inexperience goes away with age, Lady Soral. Do not fret, you are capable enough, and you only need to grow to get better at this.”
Cringing at the resurfacing memory of her dropping all the documents about last year’s harvest she cursed the tardiness which she was growing up. Looking around, she asked,
“Do you know where Sorak is?”
Shrugging, Andras answered with another question, “Didn’t she go with Noct?”
“They should have come back already!” Sorak poutted
“That I cannot know.”
“Fine! I will take a nap then!”
Andras took the hint and, nodding, he left her room. Closing the door, he rubbed his temples. “She really doesn’t know how to deal with people. Well, it’s only natural. She was left almost completely alone, imprisoned in the castle where her parents died. I should get Samil to befriend her.”
His trail of thoughts returning to the pressing matters, he passed by one of the new maids. A completely normal human to mortal eyes, but his cube thought different, trembling ever so slightly. Not that it mattered to Andras, as its reaction was too small to be noticed.
“I have to talk with Albestus. Now.”
Leaving the castle, he saw a tired Sorak cross the gates. Inwardly cursing, he engaged in the normal protocol. He had to maintain what he knew a secret, and the truth-sayer had just come back.
“Already back, High Paladin Sorak?”
“I need to ask you a question, Andras.” Bluntly said Sorak, dismissing protocol already. Before Andras could finish gulping, Sorak asked, “Did Regent Noct always have green eyes?”
That question gave Andras pause and made him think. “Now that I remember….It really has been long since we met, huh?” Trying to focus on the past, he found the answer.
“I believe he did not. Maybe he wanted to change his style a bit? Why the sudden question?”
Sorak started to frown. “A random question. Another one would be if you know what ‘grey mana corruption’ is?”
Andras scratched the back of his head and said, exasperated, “I am getting tired of learning magic these last days but I do now. It’s a phenomenon that happens to a mage who dabbles in necrom….” Sudden realisation coming to him, “She already knows?! What happened in those cursed weeks?!”
The gaze of Sorak now piercing him, she asked, “Hypothetically speaking, if our Lord Noct had, Gods protect him for such a theoretical fate, turned to necromancy, wouldn’t he know the proper measures to not get corrupted?”
Cold sweat drenching his back, he pried from his past. He knew better than to evade or lie to Sorak, no matter how much he wanted to stop talking. “Well, he was originally a fire mage who took magic binding as his second speciality. Taking that he could only have completed the three first years of magic training, and how the University closes the knowledge it doesn’t want others to see, he ought to not have kn….” Cold understanding coming to him, he clenched his first. The information he had searched to ease the mind of the old baron, who was too much of a worrywart of things that mattered to his children, came back to bite him.
“I see. On an unrelated note….”
“Stop tiptoeing around the subject, Paladin!” Cut her off, as he knew that not approaching the subject could turn dangerous. “We both know I now know he is infected. I need to ask Albestus if there is a cure, if you do not have anything more to discuss, I must get going!” Before he walked two hasty steps after colliding shoulders with Sorak, a hand gripped his right arm.
“He is a necromancer, High Commander Andras.” Apathy filled her voice, her iron grip not letting him go. “You know the law. He is an heretic. You must know the punishment already, right?”
Turning to look at her, his hand instinctively grabbed the hilt of his sword, “You can’t be sure, Sorak. For all we know maybe he just did something foolish. We have to focus on the things we can do!”
“Andras, I am a paladin of Elenia first, a citizen of Alpin second. You know what we do with warlocks.” A bit of guilt coming to her voice, she followed with, “You know what I have to do.”
Killing intent and desperation came to his voice, and, rising his voice as his anger was starting to overflow, said, “What you have to do now is let go of my arm, Sorak. I have enough authority to detain you so, I repeat, let, go.”
Sorak’s discomfort coming to light, she let go of his arm and sighed. ‘What am I doing? I know he does not deserve this. Does wanting to change absolve him of his sins? With this I can force the church to finally move!...Gods be damned!’ Not knowing why, she answered,’ “You are right, I have no real proof. I will accompany you.”
Relief coming to Andras, they travelled to the Druid Guild. ‘One excuse, give me another excuse and I will gladly do my job, Noct.’ Vowed Sorak.
……….
Albestus almost let go of his ink bottle as Andras smashed through his open door and rushed to his table. Before he could digest the sight and speak out his surprise, Sorak spoke from the door, butting in before Andras could get a word out.
“Did you know that Noct has grey poisoning?”
Almost forgetting Andras and definitely forgetting his poor table, the quill in Albestus’ right hand fell to the ground.
If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
“He has what? Preposterous! Lord Noct doesn’t have any grey mana.”
A cube dented his table, as it was unceremoniously put down, and Andras spoke, “Your tool reacted to him.”
Albestus quickly snatched the object and tinkered with it. Opening the cube, an illusion started to display with the dates, time and place of the measurements. Only two anomalies had been detected by the tool, with only one having enough reaction force to not have been a fluke. ‘Never thought I would see the day when my tools fail me.’
“Eclair be damned.” After taking a few seconds to let it sink in and make sense, he continued, “To humour you both, Andras, do you remember when I felt familiarity with the spell from the forest? It has a similar structure akin to Noct’s spells, but it is not one of his. ” Looking back at them, he started to shake her head, his academic integrity coming back in full strength, “And even if you both weren’t drunk out of you asses right now, it could never make sense!! I do not detect grey mana from him! Nor have I ever detected an undead or sacrifices in this town! And not one paladin would have stayed quiet if he was a necromancer. Sorak, did you detect any corruption in him at any point?” She shook her head. ”See? I would sooner believe you two are the lost children of the Empress!”
“But Noct usually pushes a corrupted aura when he is in the throne room, doesn’t he?” Pressed on Sorak.
“It’s not the same! I can also do that! Masking blue mana for grey mana is surprisingly easy and a good way to throw off other mages, as it distorts the visibility of the flow of mana near the caster! He still uses normal spell circles! Utilising grey mana is not a simple matter of just casting a normal spell.” He swiftly replicated the aura to such quality Sorak reached for her sword without a second thought by pure muscle memory.
“I will reforge the magic tool. I should have messed something up….”
Starting to think they were wrong, or desiring to be wrong, she pressed on, “His wounds reacted against my faith, Albestus. I do not lie. You can see it for yourself.”
Getting fired up, he argued, “You are speaking madness and you know it. Is this another plot to overthrow him?! Do not try to fool me, I have eyes. This city is already yours, what need do you have to send Noct to the cursed Inquisition? Is it the need to repair your wounded pride, high paladin?! You know what? who wouldn’t react against that type of faith, zealot?! I am sure Elenia herself ha”
A dangerous glint coming to Sorak’s eyes, she warned, “Another word, mage, and I will…..”
“Silence!! I do not care for your ideological differences!” Turning to look at Sorak, he asked coldly, “What injury?”
Ashamed by his anger, she toned herself down, “...A deep stab in the flank. Once I started to heal the wound worsened and fizzled. His eyes also started to bleed.”
“And there you have it! If he had been infected with grey mana he would have turned to dust or catched fire! As I was….” His voice toned down to a non hearable volume, as the gaze of Andras could have murdered him.
“Albestus, can you not do the same you did with that paladin?”
“He is my Lord, Andr….”
“Can you?” A punch made another dent in the table.
“Yes, yes I can!! Karax be praised, would it murder you to not destroy my table?”
“Calm down?! Noct is dying.”
“And I kept telling you both it is theoretically impossible!”
“I will make Noct come as quickly as I can.” Agreed Sorak, refusing to discuss any further, as she left the office.
Looking as if he had caught and eaten a bug, he advised, “Tell him I need help with a magic spell. And, have care. If you two really do tell the truth, there’s a second undead in the castle.”
…………………….
Kneeling in front of the monument to all the unburied unknowns, Noct remained in silence. It was a great but simple pillar of stone in the middle of the cemetery. Dyed black, it represented all those who could not be afforded a proper burial, a straightforward way of praying for those very souls..
Noct didn’t believe he could pray, for he knew he would add to its list of unburied people soon in the future. He knew that regret would revive nothing, nor would his sadness, and never would do the self satisfying act of lessening his guilt by praying to those he killed. Approaching the monument with his hand, he changed his mind and retreated. Raising from the ground, he dusted his clothes and looked one last time at it. If the Gods had been listening, they would have heard the silent prayer he muttered. ‘Let my body be burnt, for I do not deserve to rest in the same sacred grounds as them.’
After a few seconds, he quietly left, as the people he had seen enter before were having their own ceremony.
Returning to the castle, the sights of the bettering city did little to calm him down. The anxiety that Eve being on the surface produced was nerve wracking and little could he think if not about the things that could go wrong. Determined to address this issue as soon as he reached the castle, he crossed the gates of the castle and breathed in.
The new castle that he found himself in was so strange he thought he had teleported to another city.
The hallways had been cleaned. Simple and cheap furniture and decorations made it feel more habitable, and the sound of several people going on with their business were the new noise he found himself hearing. “Noct, don’t run in the hallways, you could get….” Almost growling, he dispersed that stray thought. His mood already at rock bottom, he searched for Eve.
Turning a corner, he almost collided with Mulia, who had finished teaching the new maid and the two butlers for the day.
“Welcome back, Lord Noct.” Smiled Mulia
“Where’s the new maid?” Coldly asked Noct. He didn’t have in him to engage Mulia. Her image of hope had already turned into an illusion that seemed too keen in mocking him with its unreachableness.
“Uh, she went to her room to unpack. Did you know each other?” Mulia tried again, detecting his bad mood and tried to help it with small talk.
“Yes.” Not waiting to waste a second, he questioned, “What room?”
A bit taken aback by his hasty temperament, she answered, “The old servants room. I do not know which one, they hadn’t chosen one before I left them…..”
Not staying for more than necessary, Noct was already on the way before she finished.
“Wait!” A dry scream made him stop. Turning to her, he waited for her to talk, not daring to ignore the slight desperation in that word.
Fidgeting, she went for it, “What you said before, about you not wanting me to give you hope….Have you…given up?”
Noct turned his back on her and resumed his trot, not answering her question.
………….
Eve was humming while unpacking in its room. With the last sunshine of the day entering from the window, it almost wanted to dance from happiness. ‘I never understood the obsession of Kal with the surface but I think I am starting to. It really is beautiful.’ Meditated while caressing a ring in its middle finger, one who had made Noct for it when he had turned it into a vampire to protect it from the sun. Taking a heavy breath, it extended its arms to the side, as if to hug the air it was breathing. Its happiness did nothing but grow when it heard the distinct steps of its beloved one.
Cleaning its maid attire, it turned to the door, desiring to see his face again as soon as possible. Its stomach sounding its slight hunger, it licked its lips.
The door opened with little to no tranquillity and it curtsied.
“It’s an honour to meet you this late, Lord Noct of the Ashen.” It was delighted upon seeing his reaction. Trying to contain a smile as his unease melted down, he calmed down and silently closed the door.
“Eve, I am sorry for not being able to show you my house, but I still welcome you.” Scanning it, something that increased a bit more its hunger, he said, “Those clothes really do not favour you at all.” Trying to contain a mocking smirk, he almost forgot why he had come, a thing Eve tried to maintain that way.
“Really? Do they misfit me?” Pocked Eve, faking a dejected look.
“No, no, not necessarily.” Scratching his head, he answered after a bit, “They just do not fit your personality.”
“So you are saying your clothes would fit me?” It stalked closer, hunger and obsessed love mixing.
“Well, noble clothes do wonders for your fig…. No more idle talk.” It stealthily clicked its tongue as it stopped to deal with the true issue. Noct, shaking his head, continued. “Tell me, why have you come here?”
Dropping its playful atmosphere, it talked in a serious tone. “Remember the investigation job you gave me? I have some leads, but I need more time. Phasing from the underground to the surface every time I need to investigate is also too much of a time drain. I needed an operations base on the surface. Does your castle not qualify?”
His eyes turning icy, he asked, “What leads?”
Taking that for a yes, it sat down on a nearby chair and casted an illusion spell with the list of possible suspects and their portraits.
“A few barons and knights, a lot of ‘hands’, a dozen merchants. You name it, they were in it. These aren’t all of them of course, only those I know without a shred of doubt.”
“I see.” Killing intent setting in his voice, he continued, “Feel free to work here. I will start culling that list.”
“Should I not help you?” Reading the room, it realised it could not play its games today, resorting to address the issue with discipline. “Maybe Lantraz could mobilice a few elite skeletons for your use.”
“No need.” His hand going to his sword, he almost grabbed it before Eve quickly rushed to him and stopped his hand. Realising what he was doing, he let it stop him.
“Didn’t you promise me you would not wield that sword again?” Accused Eve, it's cold heart strongly beating now in fear.
“It will prove necessary.” Weakly defended.
“Then forget about the list.” Shrugged Eve.
“You will do as I tell you!” Spiked Noct. Surprised by his sudden outburst, he paled a bit.
“No, I do not think I will, no.” Its eyes meeting Noct’s. It alway loved it when he put on a strong front, now it tried to comfort him. It knew it had been a desperate cry, a need of grasp a bit of control of his situation for himself. Eve whispered, “Did you wield it again already?” Shaking its head, it accused, “I can feel your turmoil,”
Laughing a bit, it continued, “You are way angrier than usual too.”
Looking ashamed, he whispered back, “It was an order, nothing I could do about it.”
“From who?” The simple and calm tone the question was asked in could have murdered the culprit if it found it.
“Who knows?” Tried to disarm the situation. “I cannot keep running from the past forever. It is my weapon after all. Nor is it cursed. The sapients it killed were sentenced by my own hand.”
“I do not care. You are not yourself when you use it, and I hate how pained you look.” Slightly squeezing his hand, it added, “I know how it pains you to do it. You use it to bring out the worst in you. And everytime you do I fear you fall in that abyss and never turn back. You carry enough, Noct. You do not deserve more pain.”
“The families I left broken didn’t either.“
“You did what you had to and you know it. Stop searching for excuses to hurt yourself more. They harm the people that love you.” Getting closer to him, it muttered, “And I am one of….”
Before it could end that last sentence, the door opened and Sorak strolled in, before stopping for a few seconds after seeing the new maid courting Noct. Coughing a bit, she asked, ignoring the scene.
“Lord Noct, pardon the interruption but I have a matter of importance.”
“Then start talking, High Paladin Sorak.” Spat Noct. He did not realise Eve was still grabbing his hand and was a few centimetres short of hugging him, as he was too accustomed to the clingy vampire. It sank its eyes in the new intruder and closed in on Noct, ‘Paladin….’ it cursed.
“Emm, wouldn't it be better for the maid to leave?” Tried to hint Sorak. The warning of Albestus making her hand inch toward her blade, something the vampire did not miss.
“We are in her quarters right now, she should be the one to dictate if we talk here or not.”
“I take no offence, Lord Noct!” Acted scared, Eve. Noct almost panicked thinking it was scared for real before putting himself together.
“Would you at least stop touching up the maid?” As she ended that question, she felt her back neck’s hairs stand up. Grabbing the hilt of her sword by muscle memory, she reacted against the sudden killing intent that had surfaced as quickly as it disappeared.
Noct, noticing how they were, was too busy separating himself to notice the sudden outburst from Eve, not that he would ever take note, as it would never be able to terrify him.
“Right. You can go on, High Paladin.” Stood alone now Noct, with fairly less hubris than before.
Eyeing the maid, she continued, “Albestus has requested your help with a spell circle. If you could go any day of this week, he would be grateful.”
Noct nodded. “Anything more?”
“None.”
……………..