Years Since Creation: 3993
Location: Significance Plane, Space System, Firan
While he had expected one of the oldest and most prestigious families to have a massive house filled with dozens of priceless works of art, Darvon could admit that he was not prepared for every single piece he walked by on the way to the dining room to be as heavy with Impact as they were. Paragon level energy filled a vase covered in artwork of growling tigers, a painting of a massive temple filled with millions of undead dense, a sculpture of a winged Yifos, a set of dilapidated swords. Yet as amazing as all of the treasures that lined the hallways of the main house were, none compared to the massive sculpture of Qrumin leading a million Drak in battle against a dozens of different species carved directly above the dinner table. Especially since he recognized one of the species.
“I present Darvon Lunuen Zhaber, Doyen of his own path.” A voice rang out from the entrance of the doorway, where a gatekeeper holding a small list was repeatedly glancing at the frozen Darvon with increasing annoyance.
“Darvon move.” Maroc said from behind him, as he pushed him into the dining hall and snapped him out of his fugue state to finally take in the rest of the scenery.
The dining room was a massive place carved in the same white and black marble as the rest of the building, and in the center of it was a single large table where four ornately dressed figures were sitting. At the head of the table, sipping from a goblet while chuckling, was a beautiful bald woman with deep black skin which sharply contrasted eyes that shone a vibrant white. To her right was a man with the same complexion except with black hair and eerie green eyes who was staring at Darvon with the eyes of a ruler. Next to him was a young man with an eerily similar look to the man except with void like eyes, which were currently staring at Darvon in challenge. And excitedly next to the lot of powerful figures was a young girl with long purple dreadlocks tied behind her hair who was vibrating with energy which was only held back by the occasional glance from the head of the table.
“Nilys you know I dislike pointless courtesy.” Maroc said as he walked up to the table with casual confidence to sit on the opposite end before nodding to the green-eyed man. “Sol.”
“Maroc, I’m glad to hear you survived the attack. It was a close shave on our end.” Sol said with a slight chuckle as he leaned back to sip on his own goblet. “Only reason we managed to hold up is because they for some reason decided to attack our estate while I was here with Nilys, if either one of us was alone the sovereign might have gotten in.”
“We faired fine, though I did lose my compound.” Maroc said as Darvon walked up and smoothed his new grey robes to sit to the Scout’s right while Saria in her white and golden outfit sat to Maroc’s left.
“Are you a contestant as well?” The young man interrupted the conversation with fiery eyes while staring at Darvon who merely chuckled uncomfortably.
“Calm down Vadim, we will have plenty of time to talk about that later.” Nilys said before setting down her goblet and turning to Darvon and Saria. “Though I do feel introductions are in order.”
With that she started pointing around the table and introducing everyone.
“This is my son King Sol, Paragon on the path of Summoned Death and ruler of the continent Unaka in the Necro plane. Next to him is my grandson Vadim on the path of his own making, and on the opposite end is Aelad on the path of discovery.” She said with a calm smile before pointing towards herself. “And I am Nilys Azeta Zhaber, Paragon on the path of the Solvent Sun, and the current ruler of the Azeta family.”
Before Maroc could open his mouth to interrupt Saria nudged his shoulder and gave a polite smile at Nilys.
“Greetings, I am Saria, Darvon’s familiar as well as the inheritor of the God Brain.” She said with a perfect dip of her head and a clear voice which Darvon knew that any other person would have spent weeks practicing but likely took her a mere day perfect. He probably should get around to asking her for some diplomacy lessons sometime soon.
“And I am Darvon Lunuen Zhaber, Doyen on my own path. Though you already heard that.” Darvon said awkwardly as he tried and failed to escape the intense look the whole family was giving him. “And I’m sure you all already know Maroc.”
“You are Natlee and Yon’s son correct? The famed graduate of the Alchemy Academy in Aso who managed to reach Doyen in Material Alchemy within two years and publish his own research in three?” Nilys asked with a wide smile on her face, to which Darvon could only numbly nod, slightly overwhelmed that the woman knew so much about him. “We have heard so much about you!”
“Only good things I hope.” Darvon said with a forced chuckle as he awkwardly sipped from his wine.
“Stop lathering up the boy, he’s got enough of an ego as is.” Maroc interrupted from the side, before looking at the empty table in front of him. “Also, where’s the food? We’ve been going nonstop for the last day or so, and I’m starving.”
“I see you haven’t changed a bit Maroc.” Nilys said with a small smile before waving down a servant to have food brought over. As she did so Darvon found himself staring at the murals on the wall to see that they also depicted scenes of Qrumin and his battles with various other creatures, and even one that showed his enslavement to Sybil.
“Are these murals from Drak museums?” Darvon asked as he stared at the scene of a Drak spitting out a crystal spear which impaled a floating eye.
“Yes they are. You have a good eye. Most just assume they are some artwork leftover from before the plane was absorbed.” Nilys said with a calm voice as a stream of servants came in and brought a fragrant meal of red meat and pickled radish.
“Well, I did see one just a week ago, it was hard to get the image of the mural from my head.” Darvon said lightly while he started shoveling some food into his mouth. “Though the one I saw was from another race before the Drak had conquered the sybil plains.”
“You must have gone deep than.” Sol said with an interested voice. “Most don’t dare venture into the tunnels.”
“Well, I had planned for years leading up to my ascension, it seemed only appropriate to find the most significant place possible.” Darvon said with some pride.
“What power did you receive?” Vadim asked as he sawed at the steak in front of him. “I personally acquired the ability to destabilize any spatial teleports that happen near me.”
“That’s actually what we are here to talk about.” Maroc said before giving the open room filled with servants a raised eyebrow. “Though it might be best to wait till after dinner.”
“Nonsense.” Nilys said before waving her hand at the door guard who escorted all the servants out and shut the door behind him after pouring a sprinkling of power into a hole in the wall prompting Darvon to flinch a little as privacy wards filled the room around him. “Please tell us about your power Darvon.”
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Darvon glanced to his right to look at Maroc who nodded after having his eyes shine a deep red for a second. He turned back to the table where everyone was now staring at him with anticipation and cleared his throat before dropping the bomb.
“I can wield Quintessence.”
“WHAT!” Vadim yelled out, accompanied by a shriek from Aelad and a spat-out drink from Sol and Nilys.
“I see you know of it already.” Darvon said with some hesitation.
“Know it?! We have dedicated centuries to studying QE.” Nilys said as she ignored her stained shirt to stare at Darvon with her vibrant white third eye glowing. “Your Image, those trailing green lights, are they QE?!”
“Yes.” Darvon said, unnerved look at the insane look she was giving him. “It appeared like that after my ascension reshaped my Image entirely.”
“You must let us research this Darvon; this could finally be the breakthrough needed to break the curse on the Zhaber.” Sol said with a shaky voice as he too stared at Darvon’s Image. “With this we could at last produce a living Mythos, and shatter Qrumin’s hold on us.”
“Yes, yes! We have had so many ideas on how it works, to finally confirm it would be groundbreaking.” Nilys said as she stood from her seat to reach out to Darvon with a shaking hand prompting him to flinch backward from her rabid look.
“What exactly do you think you are doing Nilys?” Maroc snapped as Vortex appeared behind him to crush the room in a violent pressure, it’s very presence suffocating any thought Darvon could form and freezing the two Paragons in the middle of their actions.
The room was so silent that Darvon was sure he could hear a fly buzzing through the wall, as the four family members before him dropped their crazed look to instead carry an expression of deep embarrassment. Nilys especially had a face full of shame as she bowed in apology towards the group.
“I am deeply sorry Maroc, I don’t know what got over me.” Nilys said before sitting back in her seat, her glowing eyes still twitching to stare at Darvon ever second, who shrunk back and had Vigil reach out from his Elemental Binder to wrap around his mind.
“I also apologize, that was unbefitting of me.” King Sol said from the side and gave a deep bow to Maroc who with a humph pulled Vortex back into his body to the relieved sigh of the Doyens in the group.
“I accept your apology but know that we did not come here for Darvon to be treated as some sort of lab rat.” Maroc said as he placed a comforting hand on Darvon’s shoulder.
“What did you come here for?” Nilys asked, her demeanor snapping back to the centuries old Zhra that Darvon had seen when he entered, which shouldn’t have surprised him as much as it did.
“Aside from needing a place to keep Pyra safe and comfortable, I came to give these two some training in preparation for the competition that Darvon insists he wants to participate in.” Maroc said to shocked looks which Darvon merely smiled at, though he did see that Vadim snap towards him with a worried look at that.
“Why would you ever risk yourself in the competition when you have such a powerful ability?” Sol said as he stared in slight disbelief at Darvon.
“Well, it was Busari’s idea.” Darvon said to which the two Paragons exchanged a glance filled with deep meaning before turning to face the group again with worried looks.
“I see.” Nilys said before looking back at Maroc with a slight frown. “And what type of training were you thinking?”
At that Maroc glanced at Darvon and Saria, with the latter waving the former forward with a brief nod.
“Well, I was hoping that you could help me master one of the Old One branches and brainstorm some good ideas as to how to use that to conquer a plane.” Darvon said with a cough as he avoided looking at the angry Vadim to the side. “It is the one point that I feel I could use some help with in terms of the competition.”
“They would also both need tutoring in various aspects of conquering a plane. Urban Infiltration, Exterior Power Growth, State Control, Cultivation of Followers, etc.” Maroc said from the side.
Nilys nodded at that before turning to Sol while taking out a stone from her pocket. “Please give us a minute to discuss this.”
After everyone nodded she activated the stone and formed a privacy bubble around the two which blocked out any noise or light from exiting. The bubble held for a minute as the rest of the table awkwardly looked at each other with no one talking before Saria piped up.
“So, what made you decide to participate in the competition Vadim?”
“Because I want to become strong on my own right without having to rely on the family name.” Vadim said to which Darvon nodded to.
“I can empathize with that.” Darvon and Saria said at the same time before looking at each other with a chuckle. Before the conversation could continue the bubble popped with the two Paragons now looking a lot calmer and more confident than before.
“We would of course be willing to help Pyra and Darvon for completely free.” She said with a small smile before turning to Saria. “Saria on the other hand will require you a small favor from you Maroc.”
“What?”
“We want you to train Vadim.” Sol said with a smile. “He is also competing, and we feel it would be a little too unfair to pile up his main rival with advantages while giving him nothing.”
“But he is not studying an Elemental or Abyssal law?” Maroc asked in confusion as he stared at Vadim with glowing red eyes. “And acquiring a spatial elemental is impossible.”
“Well, we don’t want you to pass on your path, but instead teach him about combat and survival.” Sol said. “It is his main weakness.”
“I can do that.” Maroc said as he glanced at Vadim who was glowing red with anger.
“Father!” Vadim said with an annoyed look. “I never asked for this.”
“Well, you need it, and if you don’t agree to it than we won’t let you participate. You showed your weak spine during the attack, and we won’t let you waltz into another plane as you are now.” Sol said.
“But–“
“This conversation is over.” Sol barked out before turning back to Saria with a calmer smile. “As for you, we will be happy to help in any way we can, though I’m not sure that we can aid you in taking in that amount of knowledge so quickly.”
“I’m sure I’ll manage.” Saria said with a confident smile which Darvon rolled his eyes at.
“Excellent! Then we have a deal.” Nilys said before turning to the quiet Aelita who had been slowly chewing on her meal while being careful to interrupt. “As for you, why don’t you help these three with some knowledge of the local politics around here. If they are to stay for any length of time it could prove to be very important.”
“Ah, it’s finally my turn to speak?” Aelad said in a hyper voice as her eyes lit up. “Great! Well, my name is Aelad, which you already know, but it bears repeating. I’m the little spymaster of the family and got my fingers in all of the pies around here. So let me give you the rundown!”
Darvon winced at her loud voice and was tempted to turn on the nanite enhancer in order to keep up with her rapid stream of thought like speech, but stopped after realizing that with his poor control he would probably just slow it down further.
“In terms of the local politics there is much to learn about with dozens of different factions, but if you do have Quintessence than you should mainly focus on Ascension, the cult dedicated to trying to become like Qrumin or a Mythos like being. They are funded by Sovereign Tweldor Zhaber along with various Gos battle clans, all of which would definitely be very interested in kidnapping you to use as a lab rat for some twisted project. Aside from them there is Lilith Yin the Extranar paragon who was summoned here by accident, she is–”
“Tweldor is backing the cult of Ascension?” Maroc interrupted with a frown. “How directly are we talking here?”
“Oh, very directly, he has gone so far as to place an Acolyte who wields the entire Abyssal law as one of the leaders. He is very interested in trying to crack Qrumin’s law in order to boost Abyssal and since we, the main masters on the subject, are incorruptible as well as unwilling to follow the more extreme methods he insisted we use he turned to them.” Aelad said and went to continue her speech only to again be stopped by Maroc who raised his hand.
“You’re telling me he thinks he can reacquire new branches? How? He destroyed the plane when he brought it over.”
“I have no idea! I only learnt that from some guessing on my part, as well as flirting with this low-grade grunt from their team who had turned part of his hand into a tentacle. Useless in battle but not so bad in other areas if you catch my drift.” She said with a laugh that no one matched. “But yeah anyway, Saria you should definitely meet up with Lilith, she is a fascinating character who has totally been studying everything to do with other planes and would pay big money to talk to someone like you. Though she isn’t a familiar like you, she was teleported here from one of the passing shards above, which is a crazy story all on its own. Turns out she was in the middle of hooking up with–“
“Thank you Aelad, that should be good for now.” Nilys said with an exasperated tone before turning back to the three of them with a smile. “Is there anything else you need from us?”
“Well, I need a couple essences to restock some of my consumables, as well as some valuable materials in order to create new implants for me and Saria.” Darvon said as he listed off the essences needed. “I can pay you in command essence, though I’d prefer to trade in schematics. I am willing to offer the method I used to game the bargain with Qrumin, though I would need extra payment outside of what I listed.”
“No charge at all for something that simple.” Nilys said though her eyes did shine with some greed. “Though I would be more than happy to trade schematics later, I can even go so far as to give you free reign of our entire library in exchange.”
“Excellent.” Darvon said with a smile, already imagining the rare creations within their vault. Maybe he could even use a few of them to further refine his own plan for an Extranar weapon.
“Well with that sorted I think I will turn in and go check on Pyra.” Maroc said as he stood up with no shame at leaving the table mid conversation, which made sense considering he literally couldn’t feel embarrassment. “It’s been great, but I’m dead tired and have been craving a full sleep for ages.”
“Of course, that is no problem Maroc. We can reconvene tomorrow and better plan our training then.” Nilys said as she waved a couple servants to take away the plates and stood up herself. “Have a good night everyone.”
With that rather abrupt end to the conversation Darvon strolled out of the building towards the guesthouse with the intent to finally crack open the Old One tome that Busari had given him. It was time for some upgrades.