T. A. Star
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47 - Not Enough
🕑 Added 2024-07-24 00:00:03 +0000 UTC
Knight Veldrix Thevaris was displeased by the turn of events that had interrupted their fairly pleasant evening. They managed to destroy the monsters easily enough –none of them beyond Sapphire Caste– but the knight hadn’t been able to determine who in the city had managed to use the Soul Reaper’s rituals to force the spawn of a monster. Five of them at once, no less.
It meant there were at least five traitors to the world within this metropolis but Veldrix had no idea where to even begin searching for suspects. They didn’t know the local powers well enough. Didn’t know who might have access to the resources or the capabilities needed to accomplish such a task.
While Veldrix might not be a member of the duchy’s guards per se, they had a duty to protect the citizens of the nation that encompassed Tulim, so the people of Tulimeir were their people as well.
Unfortunately, this meant dessert with the cute colorful voxen would be more business than pleasure.
“I know House Ruwena and the other Houses that sided with them were all investigated after the events of Tulisuda, but how much farther did that investigation go?” Veldrix asked while taking a bite of the sweet fruit in their frozen cream.
“Not as far as I would have liked, but the Duke did make a point that we were and still are a bit overwhelmed at the moment with the blood moon and Soul Reapers to try and root out the loose ends,” the Avatar said, taking a spoonful of the matching treat.
“The city is lucky that an Emerald didn’t spawn, and I was still in the city, unlike Paladin Fairweather.”
“We have enough Emeralds, I think, to have handled one, but you’re right that they’re lucky. There would have been more casualties without you or her to respond more definitively. Is she still handling that Emerald to the south?”
“Last I heard this morning,” Veldrix replied with a shrug, “We’ve agreed to try keeping one of us in Tulimeir until this sabotage issue is resolved, the blood moon ends, or she finishes her mission here. I believe the first will align with the last now, though.”
“Hard to argue that the blackouts aren’t the work of Soul Reaper allies at this point when the saboteurs are using their rituals,” Everin agreed with a nod.
“They either got the knowledge from the Soul Reapers directly… or perhaps they somehow deciphered something found in the wreckage?”
“My bets on the former,” the voxen said, picking up one of the fruit pieces with a pair of tiny gold claws, “These events were happening before the Soul Reapers tried to directly assault the city. I believe it was to serve mostly as a diversionary tactic. Make us focus on finding the grain of rice on the beach while the tsunami grew in the distance.”
“Why would they reveal the connection, though?” they asked thoughtfully, “We might not have realized they were forcing the monster spawns at all if they hadn’t done five at once like that. That’s been bothering me the most about this.”
Everin shrugged, “Hoped to cause more chaos? Distract us again with the spies among us rather than incoming forces? There could be many reasons to risk it. Besides, what real benefit was there in keeping it from us?”
“Knowledge is power, and they gave some of that up. It had to have been for a good reason other than random chaos and the hope of killing a few before we intervened…”
“Perhaps they were counting on that?” The voxen suggested, “Maybe it was to keep us occupied while something else was happening?”
“I guess it’s time to start looking into what other nefarious deeds were committed at the same time then and see if there’s a connection somewhere.”
Veldrix smiled at a tangent thought and said, “I’d wager an Emerald Bit that Regent Wayland is somehow connected.”
“While that’s highly doubtful,” Everin replied with a laugh, “I’m not going to take that bet. I’ve already come to the same conclusion that Wayfarers attract trouble.”
“It’s a wonder that any of them survive beyond Crystal,” the knight agreed with a grin, “When my parents talked about some of the crazy things they did when my father arrived in this world, I thought they must have been exaggerating. Now I’m starting to reevaluate that belief.”
“Wait, your father was a Wayfarer?” the Avatar asked incredulously, those odd eyes going wide.
“Well, one of my fathers. Do you know the story of how gemites were first introduced to the world?”
Everin nodded, “Dazien recounted the tale to Phoenix while I was around but I wasn’t positive how accurate it was. He said a Wayfarer, a Draconid, and a Faeforged birthed the first gemites. I assume using one of the more complex fertility rituals.”
The knight nodded, “That’s right. You’re looking at one of those first gemites,” they admitted, then added a bit wistfully, “That was a very long time ago, though. Much has happened since then to both me and my parents.”
“I’d be interested in hearing both tales,” the rainbow voxen said before licking the messy dessert from a finger.
Veldrix gave a smirk and teased, “I might be able to be convinced to share them with the proper motivation.”
“Was the dessert not enough?”
The gemite took another bite of the fruit and cream, “It’s a start.”
“I still don’t think this is going to get you what you’re wanting, Princess,” Dazien told her as they approached the temple doors.
“We won’t know for sure ‘till we ask,” Phoenix replied stubbornly.
It had been almost a week since the monsters had spawned in the city without triggering the alarms, and rumors, along with fear, were spreading like wildfire throughout the city. This was their first day off since then, and she had decided to visit the temple district, too, while everyone else was there for various reasons.
“Everin is an Avatar of the Scholar,” the Defender argued, “If he wasn’t able to glean any information about these blackouts, then what makes you think Scholar will give it to you instead?”
“‘Cause I’m Chosen?”
“I don’t think that makes much of a difference in this case.”
“Again, it doesn’t hurt to ask. Plus, I have a few other questions,” she admitted as she pushed open the door and quietly made her way toward the librarian she remembered Dazien leading them to the last time. At least, she thought she was until she finally paused among the aisles of books and looked back to see a smirking gemite watching her with amusement, his lips pursed to hold in a laugh.
She glared at him, realizing that he knew she had become lost, and refused to ask him as she turned her back and conjured her [Guide Book] to assist her by providing a map. She had mostly used the map function the Traveler had given it on the rare occasions she was alone in the city or if their party was wandering the wilds to monster hunt.
When she finally managed to reach the desk where the librarian was, they pointed towards the nearby lift and said, “Seventh floor” before she could even ask. The Wayfarer gave a polite bow of gratitude and made her way to the lift where she glared at her brother again.
“You could have just asked,” he said with a knowing grin, “You know I like leading.”
Phoenix gave an annoyed huff, “I should have been able to remember the way. Does it move around or something?”
The Defender chuckled, “No, Princess. I think the scholars here would riot if the books moved around on them even more than they naturally do.”
She looked at him with wide eyes, “Are they sentient or something?”
Dazien couldn’t hold back the laughter that time as he explained, “Not that I’m aware of, but people have a bad habit of moving books around. They’ll borrow them off shelves then forget where they got them from by the time they’re done.”
“You sound like you’ve either been the victim or the culprit,” she pointed out.
He laughed again, “Guilty on both accounts.”
“Do you visit often?” she asked curiously.
“Not as much since getting my Aspects,” he admitted, “I was finally able to absorb them when I was seventeen, and most of my focus was split between my training with Warrior and on those abilities instead.”
“You mentioned training with him when you were fifteen?”
“Yeah, I had gone to his temple with Uriel to see if there was some way we could enter their training programs without having the funds or a sponsor,” he gave a small smile as he added, “Like you, I figured it couldn’t hurt to ask.”
The Defender crossed his arms over his chest as he continued, “Anyway, before all that, I used to spend a lot of free time here. Learning what I could. The wards of the Parent are allowed to venture outside the temple, but we’re not allowed to leave the district. The temples are all we have left to explore and fill our time with after finishing our chores.”
“I can’t believe I haven’t asked this yet, but are there schools here?” the Wayfarer asked.
“Yes. They’re actually run by the Mentor, one of the minor goddesses under Scholar. There’s one in her temple next to this one, along with one in each of the other districts and the inner city to serve the children that reside in each.”
“That explains why there doesn’t seem to be many issues with reading here.”
He chuckled, “Most children make it through the first few years. Enough to learn their numbers and letters, magic and religions, and basic life skills. Nobody’s required to attend more than five years and the ages can vary slightly. Parents normally decide when to enroll their kids but the latest allowed is eleven in order to finish those five years before they turn sixteen and are expected to care for themselves.”
“How old were you?”
“I was enrolled when I was six. High Priestess Deserin thought it best I start early and that’s the youngest allowed. I continued for a few more years than required as well. I didn’t have parents wanting me to help out with the family business, after all,” he added with a smirk.
“So, what was your favorite subject? Did they have ‘Speech and Debate’ classes? Or a Nobility 101?”
Dazien laughed and shook his head, “While they had certain advanced classes you could attend for things that a noble might need, like etiquette, law, and management, my favorite was actually history.”
“I guess in a world full of magic, history is basically just a collection of fantasy stories,” she muttered, “Probably way more exciting here than what I had to read about endless wars and mass genocides.”
“Oh, our history has plenty of that, too,” he said, then gestured towards the lift doors, “You’ve been here less than a year and have already fought in a war yourself and learned of the Renseres trying to wipe out all non-human Vauva. We’re literally making history right now.”
As Phoenix was contemplating that revelation, the lift doors opened and they exited onto a floor that seemed to have fewer bookshelves and more tables spread around than the lower floor. Glancing around she was surprised to find Everin waiting for them.
“We weren’t expecting to find you here,” Dazien said first, “I thought you’d be assisting the Duke and AOA with the investigations.”
“I was but Scholar asked me to be here for this,” the Avatar replied, “Said it would cost less to tell us together here for some reason.”
“Tell us what?” she asked.
“The answers to certain questions,” a young voice said from a few meters away. Scholar still looked like the child version of Phoenix for some reason and gestured for them to follow her deeper into the maze of bookshelves and tables.
“Are you actually going to answer all of them?” the curious gemite asked in disbelief.
“Not all of them,” the Scholar replied sadly, “I’m bound by divine laws in certain matters. Otherwise, you would already know a lot more. I can answer some of them, however.”
“I’m assuming clues to the sabotaging of the alarms are off the table?” Everin asked as he sat at the table the goddess gestured towards, taking a seat at the head of it.
“Correct,” she replied simply, “I’m already needing to ration my Aetherius more than I like. Avatars and Chosen Ones are not cheap, I’ll have you know, and that’s in addition to helping people everywhere else in the world. Next question.”
“Can we trust the Fae and the Starfall voxen?” Phoenix asked, taking her own seat at the table across from Everin as Dazien sat beside her.
“They don’t plan to harm you or your family if that’s what you’re actually asking. Trust is more nuanced than a simple yes or no. I would think, after everything you’ve had to deal with concerning who you can trust and who can trust you, that this would be something you understand better by now.”
“Fair point,” Phoenix replied with a sigh then asked, “Can you tell me if anyone is targeting me or Uriel for assassination.”
“I cannot say,” the goddess replied, much to Phoenix’s frustration.
“Who all knows about Uriel’s secret,” she asked instead.
“Not this one, but you might as well tell him at this point,” the deity said with a smirk as she gestured towards Everin, who was eyeing her curiously.
“Is there something I should know that would make you worry about him being assassinated for?” the voxen inquired.
“You know, maybe I shouldn’t have let Uriel tell me these kinds of things. I’m terrible at this talking without actually revealing stuff thing,” she grumbled to her brother, who chuckled.
“I’ll talk to Uriel later about letting you know,” Dazien told Everin before turning to Scholar to ask, “Can we trust Patricia to not betray us like that again?”
“Betrayal is a bit strong of a word,” the Scholar replied, “She sees you as almost her own children now. Like a concerned parent, she tried to chase off a threat, though her methods might not have been the best.”
“It still broke the trust I had in her,” Dazien replied bitterly.
“Then I hope it mends with enough time,” the goddess replied before refocusing on Phoenix, “Now then, ask me less about other people’s secrets that I can’t answer one way or another and more of the actual question you’ve been afraid to ask me.”
She frowned at that, having been hoping to get answers for some of the other questions first before working her way up to this last one, “I’ve been thinking about it for a while now, and what I’ve been told so far isn’t enough to explain what exactly went wrong with the ritual that saved Paul. What were you expecting to happen by using that Soul Cage? Or did you know he’d be trapped waiting for me?”
