Sad Saiya [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczMxf_e3RHD15lHZbWMWPlhF3IH-aEmwlPv2p3B-GcT-0-hfE5rheXAbYjxr_D0uE4aGN1oeM5FTVucHoL-ojKs_7_6knhaOVn9vaGP4C1-XtrJFrc4USfEGTl3z-VXfFN3h0ZX47Uo1aM0aE6mX7m_q=w639-h958-s-no-gm?authuser=0]
Sometimes, Saiya cursed her empathic perception ability. Other times, it was almost like a drug to her with how much euphoria it could cause. Now, it was both at once.
After Patricia managed to convince Phoenix to not go running off on her own to portal in random people from all over the city, the politician still utilized the Astromancer’s ability to send other people through them to inform and bring back family members. Monk Nemor had been the one to assist their group with removing their Chains of Silence, and Saiya was beyond grateful to be rid of it.
The wave of emotions that quickly replaced the silencing effects, however, left her feeling pulled in opposite directions. The swirl of sheer joy from being reunited with a loved one thought dead mixed with the tragic sorrow of others who learned that, after an impossible rescue, their family wouldn’t be able to see them after their own deaths at the hands of war.
Watching Madam Malik fall to her knees as she clung to her son was bittersweet as the obvious grief and disbelief were slowly being replaced with relief and an impossible happiness. She wondered if this would be how her friends would react when Paul awoke.
Saiya glanced at a small group of unclaimed victims, their despair growing with every passing minute, and no news of their loved ones. She felt more aligned with them currently, knowing that she would never be reunited with Snowbelle.
Being around Phoenix had given her a brief respite from the normally immovable weight of death. She was reminded now that despite Phoenix’s immortality and gods stepping in to waylay the end for her Kindred Spirit, the rest of them were not as safe from an inevitable demise.
She knew Phoenix would become Obsidian eventually, likely some of the others too, but she wasn’t sure she would be so lucky. When would it be her turn to become the victim of the dangers surrounding her friend? How long would she last as a Saint’s Healer?
“Lady Saiya?” a warm voice said from beside her to accompany the strong hand that intertwined itself within her furred one. She glanced over to look at her party leader, who asked, “Are you alright?”
“What do you mean? I never got injured.”
Dazien lifted his other hand to wipe away the wetness on her cheek, “You seem a little overwhelmed, is all. Should we take our leave and go back to the estate? We can be available for any questions that way. We don’t need to be here.”
She glanced towards the other victims, “But they—”
“Are safe now and will be fine without us,” he pointed out. His concerned gaze never left her face as he added, “I’m more worried about keeping us safe at the moment. That includes your heart.”
Saiya found herself smiling at the words and replied with a soft chuckle, “That sounds very poetic for a Warrior King.”
Dazien returned her smile, “I have my moments.” He glanced around as well before adding mournfully, “Sometimes pretty words aren’t enough to mend all these wrongs, though. I think I forgot the lesson I had learned long ago, that words are meaningless without the resolve to support them with action.”
She gave the Defender a curious look at the anger she felt ripple through his aura and asked, “Are you alright, Dazien?”
He gave her a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes or match the emotions she felt as he answered, “I believe I will be eventually.”
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Dazien was surprisingly feeling impatient at the moment. Letting Knight Thevaris handle dealing with the cultists was the smart move, but it made him feel… unsatisfied. He wanted to fight. To prove to them that he was strong enough to protect his party and not be confined. That others couldn’t just take control of his fate away from him.
He had managed to convince Patricia to let them all return to the family’s estate in Tulimeir. The building’s own enchantments provided plenty of protection for the group unless a random Obsidian Caster showed up, which he honestly couldn’t even discount as a possibility anymore.
Once the Silencer had been removed, he had made sure to reestablish his [Noble Subjects] communication ability with the others and simply kept his party connected all the time now. He didn’t want to risk anyone getting caught without it.
Passive Ability: Noble Subjects
Type: Utility (magical, covenant)
Current Caste: Sapphire 1
Crystal Effect: You can designate willing allies as a [Subject]. Allies with [Subject] can communicate telepathically.
Sapphire Effect: You can assign a hierarchy to your allies with [Subject], which they can inherently sense. Allies with [Subject] gain increased benefits from your Boons and the Boons of other allies with [Subject].
* Subject (boon, magical, covenant, tracking): You have been claimed as a noble subject. Your general status is known by the Caster. Other abilities that affect a [Subject] can only affect you if triggered by the Caster.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
This made it harder for him to extricate himself from the others, however. There were things he needed to follow up on, and he couldn’t shake the desire to do it alone despite his better judgment telling him that none of them should be alone in the city.
As the group tried to relax from their traumatic event in the rooftop garden, Phoenix provided some food and drink from her collection; Camilla surprised him by making her way over to sit near him.
He didn’t push her, understanding better now that she didn’t handle social situations the same way most people did. Once in a while they had an orphan come through that Priestess Anna had told him didn’t think like the rest of the other kids and that they needed to be reassured with quiet patience more than his charismatic words. That had been difficult for him at the time.
“I got the d-death certificate for your mother,” the researcher began to say to him.
“I know what happened,” he replied flatly, shoving those confusing emotions even further down, “We found her remains. I assume my father met a similar fate.”
“N-no,” Camilla stammered, “He— he d-didn’t have a report from the Undertaker. He is s-still missing.”
Dazien fell silent, uncertain of the best way to answer. He couldn’t allow himself to hope anymore. Didn’t want to chase after a possibility only to find another set of amethyst bones. Yet he knew the question would nag at him. Cursing his curious nature, he asked, “Traded to the DOD, like some of us were going to be, seems most likely at this point. Do you have any other ideas on where he might have gone, though?”
She shook her head. He gave a heavy sigh, which caused her to jump slightly and stutter, “I— I’m s-sorry! I didn’t mean to—”
He held up a hand, “Sorry, I’m not sighing at you. I’m just frustrated with the situation. Thank you for all of your help in this, Miss Saren. Despite the unfortunate events of our capture, I would have never found out the truth about my mother without your help. For that alone, I am eternally grateful to you.”
The older woman nodded awkwardly and looked like she was about to leave again when she paused and asked, “D-do I need to make an Oathbond?”
“What?”
“About Phoenix? Her talent—” Camilla fidgeted as she whispered to him, “Teleports don’t heal daggers to the heart…”
He grimaced but said firmly, “No. I’m sure you understand just how dangerous Oathbonds can be. I trust you to keep your silence on that unless your life depends on it. Her secret isn’t worth you getting punished over. Besides, the presence of the bond might cause more questions in the first place.”
She nodded again in understanding before leaving him to rejoin Phoenix, who seemed to be occupying herself by fussing over the refreshments. He heard the shy researcher give a stuttering farewell to Phoenix as she explained that she needed to go check in with Lord Teras before departing from the rooftop. He made a mental note to himself to check in on her later and talk to Patricia about getting her a bodyguard after being targeted herself.
Dazien’s mind kept racing over everything that had happened. The mistakes he had made. The trust he had misplaced in an organization. The pain he had inflicted against his partner by ordering him the way he had. The price they had paid in lives.
He glanced over at the quiet voxen huddled in her sister’s arms. Saiya was by far the kindest of them, and it had pained him to see her agonize over both her own loss and the loss of others. It felt like all of his years of training and pretty words failed him in the moments that mattered the most.
Somehow, they always managed to survive, victorious over their enemies and tribulations, but it was never without cost.
Now, he wanted to make their enemies be the ones to pay that price.
Pay for the death of his friend’s Familiar. Pay for the fear and sorrow all of the victims had felt. Pay for the evil actions they had committed, for the lives they had ruined, for the life they had stolen from him sixteen years ago when his parents never came home.
He noticed Saiya’s gaze lock onto him the moment before he found himself standing, his anger fueling his need for action. He took a steadying breath as he realized what he had done and that everyone else was now looking at him.
“Daze?” Phoenix asked with a raised brow, “Is something wrong?”
“No,” he replied, “Nothing’s wrong. I just remembered that I have things I need to get done,” he explained, then added, “And reports to fill out.”
Uriel made to stand, but he held up a hand to stall him, “No, Senesh. You stay here with the others.”
“You’re not going anywhere alone,” his partner said with a concerned look.
Dazien glanced around the group again, trying to order his thoughts better and formulate a tentative plan. He didn’t want Uriel anywhere near the AOA after what they had been through. After realizing that they couldn’t trust them with their lives or secrets and that the AOA’s director at least was very aware that Uriel was a Chosen of the Destroyer. Had she or someone she confided in been planning on taking two Chosen out at once?
He needed answers before he would risk either Uriel or Phoenix going there again.
His gaze landed on his Striker, and he said, “Rayna will come with me. She’s the best protection at the moment if I run into any trouble at the AOA.”
“You’re expecting trouble?” the Shatter Bard asked, seeming to perk up at the idea of getting to fight something.
“I’m just planning to ask some questions and fill out some papers,” he clarified, then added before her ears could droop too much, “But I’m not discounting trouble.”
Rayna grinned at him and hopped up from her seat, displacing her sister momentarily before shoving Phoenix in the seat to take her place as the bard ordered, “Here. Let Sai hug you, and you can pet her tails. It helps calm her.”
“I’m not some helpless kit, Ray,” Saiya huffed but still hugged Phoenix tightly around the arm and wrapped the glowing body in fluffy tails.
“Never said you were,” the bard replied before turning back to him, “Lead the way, King.”
He merely glanced at Phoenix who understood the silent question and opened a portal to the AOA for them. Before he could walk through it, however, Uriel stopped him with a hand on his shoulder and asked, “Are you sure you can’t wait, King? Perhaps Knight Thevaris would be better—”
“Time is of the essence right now, Senesh,” he interrupted, “We don’t know how long it will take them to finish clearing out the Maniac’s sanctuary, and I want to ask questions before the rest of the AOA learn about what has happened. We know there’s at least one person there connected to the cult.”
“Exactly,” Uriel hissed, “What if they attack you?”
He raised an eyebrow, “With all the other Adventurers there? I doubt they’d risk instant retribution. I don’t believe everyone was in on their plots and would idly stand by.”
Dazien squeezed his partner’s hand as he removed it from his shoulder, “Rayna and I will be fine there. We’ll return later, hopefully with more information about how we got sent there in the first place.”
Uriel grimaced but finally bowed his head in acquiescence and stepped back to let him leave. He thought about hugging him and giving his partner a parting kiss just in case something did happen, but he knew Uriel’s discomfort with that, so he held himself back. Instead, he simply turned and led Rayna through the portal.
As the pair of them stood in front of the tall building near the center of the Martial District, Rayna turned to him after the portal closed behind them and asked, “Are we really just asking questions and filling out papers?”
“I said that’s all I had planned,” he stated dryly, then offered her a small smile as he added, “Plans change all the time, though. Depending on the answers we get, we may need to adapt those plans.”
The voxen gave a vulpine grin as she said, “Excellent. I’m really hoping those future plans include punching whoever gave us that mission.”
“The ‘who’ is exactly what I intend to find out.”