It was early afternoon by the time Lorelei, Corie, and I made it back to Sturm Manor. After spending another hour or so looking around Caldwell Hill, we decided to buy something from Corwin’s Scents special catalog after all. The employees were far more attentive and helpful after I showed them the card Elizabeth gave me. Lorelei and Corie bought one perfume bottle each, which cost them most of their money, while I bought a bottle of sandalwood oil for myself.
It occurred to me that I was better off making gifts for my loved ones instead of buying something. It required more effort and time on my part, but that was what made it so thoughtful. I settled on painting something for each of my family members, since artwork was always a good choice. While I wasn’t the best artist around, I’d say that I was decent.
On the plus side, observing my paintings might provide them with insights and advance their cultivation. It all depended on their comprehension, but I had faith in my family. I just needed to figure out what to paint for all of them.
The three of us went to a nearby paint shop, after leaving Corwin’s Scents, in order to buy all the supplies I needed. It took longer than I expected, since I only knew how to paint in the style of Spirit Earth which differed from the styles favored here on Lumina. Still, I persevered and succeeded in the end. I felt bad for the employees at the paint shop, since it hadn’t been easy finding any of the supplies that met my standards.
After that, we all packed ourselves into the House Sturm carriage and headed back home. To our surprise, when the carriage neared Sturm Manor, we saw a personal airship parked nearby. It appeared that we had visitors. Who could it be? My first guess was someone from the Church of the Sun, because of what happened last night. My second guess was either someone from House Solaria or the Sun Guard, because of what happened on the trip here.
My first guess was confirmed when the three of us entered Sturm Manor, and heard shouting coming from one of the first floor drawing rooms.
“What is going on?” I asked a nearby maid.
The maid curtsied, looking a little worried.
“A contingent from the Grand Temple arrived a little before you returned home, Lord Gabriel,” the maid said. “They asked to see Grand Priest Darius, and the shouting started shortly afterwards.”
My headache worsened even further. I wanted to just lie down and take a nap, but that wasn’t an option right now, which put me in a foul mood.
“Here,” I said, handing the boxes containing my painting supplies to Lorelei and Corie. “Please drop these off in my rooms, and then make yourselves scarce. You don’t want to get involved in whatever is happening.”
“You don’t need to tell me twice,” Corie muttered, before leaving with Lorelei.
I headed towards the drawing room. Sturm Manor had a few, but it wasn’t difficult finding the right one, since all I needed to do was head towards the shouting. The presence of two House Sturm retainers outside the door to said drawing room confirmed it. They bowed to me as I drew close, signaling for me to enter. It looked like I had expected.
The shouting grew louder the closer I came to the drawing room, to the point where I could clearly make out the words before I even opened the door.
“-any idea how worried I was?” a woman’s voice said. “How worried we all were?”
I opened the door, and the shouting hit me like a physical voice. It took some effort on my part to step into the drawing. We called it the Blue Dragon Room, since it had a blue and silver color scheme, and House Sturm was descended from a storm dragon. The walls had blue wallpaper decorated with silver filigree. The couches and seats were upholstered with blue fabric embroidered with silver thread. Even the carpets were blue with silver designs.
We reserved the Blue Dragon Room for important guests. That told me that whoever our new guests were, they were pretty high up on the Church of the Sun’s hierarchy. The reason why we didn’t meet with High Inquisitor Corvus here was because Father preferred the security of his study for that meeting.
Speaking of High Inquisitor Corvus, he sat off to the side drinking a cup of tea. His aide, Inquisitor Lewin, sat next to him. The former looked relaxed and unruffled, while the latter looked tense. The two of them wore their usual black robes and silver masks.
Father and Mother sat on a couch next to them, looking better than they should have been considering the fact that they stayed up all of last night. Hell, I looked worse than they did and I actually got some sleep. To be fair, I spent that time fighting off mental demons, but still. Father wore casual wear, like me, while Mother wore a beautiful red gown that matched her hair. Both of them had amused expressions on their faces.
Off to the side of the Blue Dragon Room, stood Grand Priest Darius. He wore shit-eating grin on his face while a woman wearing priestess robes berated him. The woman stood two feet shorter than Grand Priest Darius. She had a thin build and tanned skin, with the latter suggesting that she came from the Solarian Empire’s heartland. However, her short hair looked odd. It was white in the middle and black on the sides. I had never seen that before, in this life or the next. Had she dyed her hair?
Since this woman had the guts to berate a grand priest, she was either someone of equal or higher rank than him within the church’s hierarchy, or she was someone close to him. I assumed the latter, since she didn’t look like a grand priest, and the only person above a grand priest was the Voice of the Sun, the head of the entire church. The current Voice of the Sun was an old man.
Two figures, a man and woman, wearing silvery armor emblazoned with a stylized lightning bolt with a storm cloud in the background; this was one of the many symbols used to represent Master Tempest. While I couldn’t use my divine sense, I assumed that these two were paladins sworn in service to the Church of the Sun in general, and Master Tempest in particular. Like priests and priestesses, they used Holy magic but were closer to internal magic users. They both wore resigned expressions on their faces.
“You’re a grand priest!” the woman shouted. She had a loud voice for being such a tiny woman. “You have duties and responsibilities to attend to. You can’t go gallivanting off in the middle of the night without saying a word to anyone. We spent hours looking for you, only to find you lazing about here. What is wrong with you?”
While she berated Grand Priest Darius, I plopped myself on the couch next to my parents. A table stood in the middle of the drawing room, which held a tray with a pot of tea and a plate of cookies. I snagged one cookie and munched it down. It had been a long day, and I skipped lunch.
“Gabriel,” Mother said, a hint of censure in her voice. “There you are. Where have you been?”
I opened my mouth to answer, but yawned instead.
“I went out on some errands while everyone else was asleep, since I couldn’t go to sleep myself,” I said. “My mind was tired, but my body was rested. I figured I might as well get something done while I had the time.”
Mother frowned. I knew she was worried about me, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me from living my life.
“Tell me that you at least brought an escort,” she said.
“Of course,” I said, though I didn’t mention who my escorts had been.
Given the difference in power between me and my disciples, I would have been the one protecting them if something happened.
“How are you faring, Lord Gabriel?” High Inquisitor Corvus asked. “You went through a lot last night. I know I should have asked you this earlier, but it slipped my mind.”
I debated on whether or not to tell him about my headache, before deciding that there wasn’t any reason to keep it a secret.
“I have a mild headache,” I admitted. “It should go away with some rest.” I nodded towards the woman. “Though all of this noise isn’t helping me any. Who is she? And why is she shouting at Grand Priest Darius?”
“Priestess Kaya Deadman,” Father answered. “She’s Grand Priest Darius’ aide. It seems that the grand priest sneaked out last night without telling any of his people where he was going.”
As Father said that last part, he shot a look at the inquisitors.
“Don’t look at us,” High Inquisitor Corvus said. “We went through the proper channels when we requested his aid. We didn’t even know Grand Priest Darius sneaked out last night until Priestess Kaya arrived here.”
“Speaking of last night,” I said, leaning forward. “I have something to tell you.”
I told them about the memory Forgotten Memory dug up for me, or at least as much as I could. I told them about the room with the window, the scent of honeysuckle, the Dark wizard’s voice, and the feeling of Dark magic crawling into my mind.
Since Priestess Kaya continued to yell at Grand Priest Darius in the background, I had to speak up in order to get my voice across.
“I smelled honeysuckle while I was out in Sunheart today,” I said with a grimace. “And that’s what triggered this. I think the Dark wizard who cursed me must have erased my memory, but left some fragments behind.”
While it wasn’t the best lie, it was better than the alternative. Telling an inquisitor that I made a deal with a demon sounded like a poor idea.
High Inquisitor Corvus just looked at me. Despite the mask he wore, I felt the weight of his gaze. It was clear that he knew I had just lied to him. The question was, would he call me out on it? I returned his look with one of my own, not backing down.
“Should we interrupt them?” Inquisitor Lewin said, sounding worried. “The dignity of Grand Priest Darius is at stake here.”
High Inquisitor Corvus studied me for another second, before answering his aide.
“Leave them,” he said. “Grand Priest Darius can handle himself. If he truly minded, he would have stopped Priestess Kaya already.”
“If I don’t let her vent it out now,” Grand Priest Darius called out from across the room. “She’ll never let me hear the end of it.”
It seemed that he had been listening in on our conversation instead of paying attention to Priestess Kaya’s scolding. Unfortunately, that turned her attention towards us.
I caught my first good look at her face. She had eyes so dark, I had trouble telling the difference between her pupils and and her irises. Priestess Kaya was also cute, and her anger just exacerbated that cuteness, as condescending as that might sound. So much so, that I felt the inappropriate urge to pat her head. She looked to be around Kaylee’s age, but I didn’t buy it, given her status within the Church of the Sun.
“You!” she said, pointing a finger at High Inquisitor Corvus. “This is your fault!”
“Kaya, leave the inquisitors alone,” Grand Priest Darius said in a gentle voice. “They are not at fault here. I’m responsible for my own actions.”
She ignored him and marched forward until she stood in front of High Inquisitor Corvus. Priestess Kaya had guts, I gave her that much. There weren’t many people who would dare face down an inquisitor, let alone a high inquisitor.
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“If you hadn’t tempted Grand Priest Darius with whatever scheme you people concocted,” she said. “He would have never run off.”
The high inquisitor just sipped his tea, unruffled by Priestess Kaya’s anger. Inquisitor Lewin, on the other hand, shot to his feet.
“How dare you speak to my master like that?” he demanded. “Learn your place, you ill-mannered, ill-tempered beast!
Priestess Kaya made a sound that was somewhere between a pissed off rattlesnake and a snarling wolf. I blinked in surprise. That was not a human sound.
To his credit, Inquisitor Lewin stood his ground.
“Ha!” she said. “Big words coming from a spoiled brat playing inquisitor. Why don’t you run back to your House and let the adults handle this?”
I found that sentence amusing, since Priestess Kaya looked like someone’s younger sister.
“If you want to blame someone, you could always blame Lord Gabriel,” High Inquisitor Corvus said. “He is the one who demanded we ask for Grand Priest Darius’ aid.”
I gave the high inquisitor a betrayed look. Thank you, good sir, for throwing me under the bus like that.
Priestess Kaya whirled around to face me.
“Is this true?” she demanded.
Without waiting for my answer, she marched towards me. I gave my parents a pleading look. They just watched on, looking like they were watching an entertaining play. Traitors! I was surrounded by nothing but traitors!
Priestess Kaya slammed her hands on the back of the couch, caging my head in her arms. I was trapped. She would have been intimidating, except she barely stood taller than me even though I was sitting down.
This close up, I saw that Priestess Kaya’s canines were longer and sharper than a human’s. She also smelled somewhat of ozone.
“Who are you to make such a demand?” she snarled. “Grand Priest Darius is Lord Tempest’s representative here in the mortal world, and you’re nothing more than the disgraced heir of a failing House.” She snorted. “No, you’re not even the heir. I remember now. Your own father replaced you with your younger sister.”
I raised an eyebrow at her.
“You really don’t hold back, do you?” I asked.
I would have been more offended by her demeanor, except she acted this way with everyone. If she was willing to scold a grand priest to his face, then someone like me was nothing special in her eyes.
“Walking on eggshells to spare peoples’ feelings is a waste of time,” Priestess Kaya said. “I’d rather just say what I want to say and be done with it.”
As she spoke, I tried to figure out what she was. It was clear that Priestess Kaya wasn’t human, which meant that she was likely an intelligent magic beast of some kind, one that achieved a human form. Either she was born as one, or she gained human-level intelligence at some point.
Given the clues I picked up on, such as her smell and her hair color, I think I knew what she was.
“Thunder Badger?” I muttered out loud, looking right in Priestess Kaya’s eyes.
As their name suggested, Thunder Badgers were high-rank Fourth Circle magic beasts with an affinity for Lightning magic. Unlike most magic beasts at that level, they were quite small. While they were larger than mundane badgers, they weren’t that much bigger. This gave them something of an advantage, since their small size made them more difficult to hit when combined with their speed and strength. However, this meant that they were sometimes mistaken for mundane badgers by regular mortals, who did have spirit sense. This never ended well for the mortals.
Like honey badgers, Thunder Badgers were also tough and willing to take on creatures far larger and far stronger than themselves. Also like honey badgers, they were stubborn and vicious.
I remember reading somewhere that Lord Tempest favored Thunder Badgers, though not as much as Storm Dragons, because of their fearless attitude.
“Yeah, so what?” Priestess Kaya asked. “Are you one of those idiots who has a prejudice against intelligent magic beasts?”
“No,” I said. “Though I would appreciate it if you backed off. You’re far too close for comfort.”
Priestess Kaya leaned in closer.
“Oh yeah?” she asked. “And what are you going to do about it? I’m not moving until you answer my question.”
“Kaya!” Grand Priest Darius said in a sharp voice. “You will treat Lord Gabriel with the utmost respect. While I tolerate your behavior towards me, I will not allow you to act the same way towards him. Do you understand?”
Priestess Kaya whirled around and stared at Grand Priest Darius, her mouth agape. She wasn’t the only one. The two paladins of Tempest also stared at him in shock.
“But Grand Priest Darius, why?” Priestess Kaya asked.
“Did it ever occur to you to ask why I would drop everything and rush here to help a scion from a failing House, as you put it?” Grand Priest Darius said. “Use your head. I know it’s not just there for decoration.”
Priestess Kaya stared at him for several seconds, before facing me again with a speculative gleam in her eyes.
I stood up. While I didn’t like Priestess Kaya’s attitude, not by a long shot, I could tell that Grand Priest Darius’ disappearance last night really upset her. That gave her a small amount of leeway in my book. A very small amount.
“I think it’s best if I just show her,” I said. “Just to avoid any potential misunderstandings.”
Without further ado, I briefly manifested Master Tempest’s mark on my forehead, revealing my status as his Chosen. The two paladins gasped in surprise, before they both dropped to one knee.
“Greetings, Chosen of Tempest,” they intoned at the same time.
Priestess Kaya’s eyes widened, before she dropped to her knees with her head bowed. Inquisitor Lewin clasped his hands together and started praying. The only ones who remained calm were my parents, High Inquisitor Corvus, and Grand Priest Darius.
“Chosen,” Priestess Kaya said in a far more respectful tone this time around. “Please forgive me for my insolence. I will accept any punishment you deem fit.”
This complete about-face in her attitude surprised me somewhat, but I wasn’t going to complain.
“Get up,” I said. “All of you. I’m merely another one of Lord Tempest’s servants, like you. Don’t worship me. I neither want nor deserve it.”
A small lie, since I was more than a servant. However, they didn’t need to know that.
The two paladins stood up, though it was clear from the awed looks on their faces that my words hadn’t reached them. Priestess Kaya stood up as well, and looked at me with worshipful eyes.
“You are wrong, Chosen,” she said. “You are no mere servant. You are Lord Tempest’s Chosen, the one he favors most here in the mortal world. That sets you above most other mortal creatures. Only your fellow Chosen are your equals, and only Sol’s Chosen is your superior.”
Huh. Given her words earlier, I hadn’t expected Priestess Kaya to be this much of a zealot. I knew she had strong faith, given her status within the Church of the Sun, but not to this degree. While Grand Priest Darius treated me with respect, Priestess Kaya looked at me with devotion.
“To disrespect you is to disrespect Lord Tempest,” she said. “Please, punish me so that I might earn his forgiveness.”
I glanced at Grand Priest Darius.
“Go ahead,” he said. “Kaya won’t feel at ease until you do. She is rather passionate in her faith.”
Priestess Kaya nodded as he said this.
Oh, for fuck’s sake. This wasn’t what I wanted at all. I just wanted to show her that Grand Priest Darius had a good reason for what he did last night. My headache grew even worse.
I let out a weary sigh.
“Fine,” I said. “You owe me three favors. That will be your penance.”
A little uninspired, but I wasn’t in the right mental space to think of anything else. My head hurt, and I just wanted a lie down. The sooner all these people went away, the sooner I could go to bed.
“Very well, Chosen,” Priestess Kaya said with a nod. “I accept. Thank you for your generosity and mercy.”
A wicked idea came to mind. I knew it was a bad idea, and I should have resisted it, but I chose not to.
“The first favor is simple,” I said. “On demand head pats.”
Priestess Kaya stilled.
“Excuse me?” she asked. “What do you mean by ‘on demand head pats’, Chosen?”
“Oh, it’s simple,” I said. “I get to pat your head whenever I feel like, regardless of the circumstances. Time, place, it doesn’t matter.”
Priestess Kaya was so cute and adorable, I didn’t want to resist the urge to pat her head. Knowing that she was a Thunder Badger didn’t help matters.
“Not another one,” Priestess Kaya said, a resigned look on her face.
“Congratulations, Lord Gabriel,” Grand Priest Darius said with a chuckle. “You succeeded where most have failed.”
I gave him a quizzical look, but it was High Inquisitor Corvus who answered my unspoken question.
“Priestess Kaya is famous within the Grand Temple for her adorable looks, and nasty personality,” the high inquisitor said. “Like you, many have felt the urge to pat her on the head, but most are smart enough to refrain. Those that aren’t end up with multiple broken limbs.”
“Please pick something else,” Priestess Kaya pleaded. “It’s demeaning. I’m not some kind of pet.”
“That’s why it’s a punishment,” I pointed out.
Priestess Kaya heaved a sigh, a weary expression on her face.
“Fine,” she said. “I shall accept this punishment, Chosen. I shall allow you, and only you, to pat my head.”
I grinned, before patting Priestess Kaya’s head. Her hair wasn’t soft and fluffy. In fact, it was rather rough and coarse. However, something about patting her head soothed my soul like a balm. All was well with the world.
Priest Kaya flushed, though I couldn’t tell if it was out of anger or embarrassment and humiliation.
“Lord Gabriel,” Grand Priest Darius said. “I shall be merciful and rescue my aide from your clutches. I am needed back at the Grand Temple, and I am rather helpless without Kaya’s help.”
I sighed. While I wanted to keep patting Priestess Kaya’s head, I didn’t want to do so at Grand Priest Darius’ expense. I stopped. Priestess Kaya looked relieved, and…disappointed? The look disappeared from her face so fast that I couldn’t be sure.
High Inquisitor Corvus stood up, followed by Inquisitor Lewin.
“We need to return to the Grand Temple as well,” he said. “We learned much from studying the mark in Lord Gabriel, and we need to share it with the rest of the Inquisition.” He looked at Grand Priest Darius. “May we trouble you for a ride?”
“But of course, High Inquisitor.”
My parents stood up as well. They both looked thoroughly amused by how events turned out.
“Then let us escort you out,” Mother said. “It is the least we can do.”
“Thank you, Lady Sturm. You are most gracious.”
“Wait a minute,” I said before everyone could start filing out. “What did you find out? I don’t think you ever said.”
High Inquisitor Corvus nodded towards Father, who pulled out a stone token. At first I thought it was lapis lazuli, but then I realized that it was a memory stone. Memory stone was a high-grade magical material used to record knowledge, though this wasn’t just limited to memories, despite the name. Unlike recording crystals, which just recorded sight and sound, memory stones could be imprinted with the other senses, including spirit sense, as well as emotions.
Spirit Earth had something similar, called memory jade, which was used to record all kinds of high-level knowledge. Rare and powerful techniques, earth shaking revelations, and divine abilities that could cause the very heavens to tremble, were just a few examples.
Reading the knowledge contained within the memory stone required spirit sense at the Second Circle or at the Foundation Establishment stage. Unfortunately, since I couldn’t use divine sense at the moment, that token was useless to me.
“I recorded our findings in that memory stone token, which includes the aura of the Dark wizard who cursed you,” High Inquisitor Corvus said. “While useful, I’m sure that they have ways to hide their aura. We’ll need to do more digging in order to figure out their identity. Still, it’s only a matter of time before we find them.”
I should hope so. It wasn’t like they had a large pool of suspects. The Dark wizard who cursed me needed to have access to myself, as well as the other heirs. Not only that, but they were powerful enough to curse Second Circle wizards, and erase the memory of that from their minds. Combined with the information I gave them earlier, I had a feeling that the Inquisition would find this Dark wizard sooner rather than later.
“When you find whoever was responsible, let me know,” Father said, wearing a grim expression. “I want to be there when you apprehend them.”
I wanted to be there as well, but I kept my mouth shut. At the moment, I was too weak to contribute much. This was out of my league. If I got involved, I would just make it more difficult for everyone else. It was best to leave this to the others for now. Later on, when I grew more powerful, that wouldn’t be the case.
I hadn’t yet reached the point where I could punch above my weight class, at least to any meaningful degree. I could face off against anyone in the Second Circle or within the Foundation Establishment stage. Anything above that, however, and things grew dicey.
“I have these for you, Lord Gabriel,” High Inquisitor Corvus said.
He produced two more memory stone tokens from somewhere within his robe.
“As agreed, here is your payment,” he said. “Knowledge of how to combine Luminan alchemy with cultivation alchemy, as well as how to combine formations with magic circles.”
Forgetting my headache and my mental exhaustion, I snatched the two tokens out of his hand.
“Yes, finally!” I said, before letting out a cackle.
I wanted to read them right then and there, but refrained. Patience was key here. It was just a matter of time before my mind healed and I could continue with my studies.
As if to hammer home the point, Mother crossed her arms and gave me a hard look.
“Gabriel,” she said. “Remember what Grandfather said.”
“Yes, Mother,” I said with a sigh.
After that, the Inquisitors and Grand Priest Darius’ people headed out, escorted by my parents. I would have joined them, but my head throbbed with pain. My parents looked worried at this, but I assured them that I was fine. I just needed some rest.
Putting my words into action, I headed to my rooms to take a nap. I didn’t even bother changing clothes before I plopped onto my bed and fell asleep.