24. Chapter Twenty-Four

A week or so had passed since I took the Little Conduit to see the Mural of Creation, and yet as I was lazing about in bed on my day off, I found that my mind would still wander back there, seeking quiet pleasure from the memory of that day, and the one that followed.

I was a lucky bastard.

It wasn’t until after we’d arrived at the museum that I realized our first little adventure could have been very easily misconstrued. It was my way of saying fuck it, let’s be friends—but I was so accustomed to keeping people at arm’s length that I didn’t even realize that I had taken her on the equivalent of a date. Again.

And yet she was the one to set the boundary for us, with total transparency. It would seem that like me, Arken didn’t do relationships, which essentially made her the perfect companion.

A companion…

My connection with her was different from the ones I had with Jeremiah and Hans. I had a good rapport with my cadre, and I trusted those two with my life, but she was just… something else.

It was the look in her eyes as she beheld the mural that had truly struck me. If it wasn’t for that, I probably could have written off that trip as a one-time thing. I could have gone back to avoiding her. But that sense of awe, the way she absorbed the weight of every brush stroke, every detail woven into that grand picture…

I’d had a feeling she might enjoy it, but I hadn’t realized that she would see the mural the exact same way that I had, the first time I encountered it. Looking beyond the surface, finding the most intricate details to admire and appreciate. It was the same way that she looked at the sky, too. And sometimes, it was the same way she looked at me.

Gods, the way that woman made me feel seen sometimes was downright terrifying. And yet it was also invigorating. I had kept to my Shadows for so long. And I couldn’t lie to myself—I still wanted her. Carnally. But I could get over that. And when I couldn’t… Well, I had my left hand and an active imagination.

I was about ready to put that active imagination to work when I heard an aggressive tap at my bedroom window.

An owl that looked like it had been carved out of stone sat on the windowsill with a stiff envelope in its beak. It had a black wax seal embossed with Commander Ka’s emblem, which meant it was important. I gave the sprite a gentle pat on the head in thanks as I retrieved the letter. They weren’t truly sentient, but it still felt like a nice gesture.

Well, there goes my day off.

The missive was a summoning for all officers of the Elder Guard to report to headquarters at once.

High General Demitrovic had returned.

The air was thick with tense, anxious energy as the upper ranks of the Elder Guard began to convene in the large meeting hall, taking their seats one by one and murmuring amongst themselves.

It wasn’t often that we were all called together at once for a formal meeting with the High General, who was the pinnacle of leadership among us. General Demitrovic answered only to the Elders themselves.

Actually, outside of our annual ceremonies and reviews, I wasn’t sure I could even recall the last time I’d been summoned to this sort of off-the-cuff conference. I scanned the room while walking over towards where I’d spotted Jeremiah and Hans, but Demitrovic had yet to arrive. Commander Ka stood at the dais, looking worse for the wear. Troubled, even. That was… unusual.

What was going on here?

“Do either of you know what this is for?” I murmured quietly to my lieutenants as I took a seat beside them.

They both shook their heads.

“Rorick mentioned he’d heard a rumor that the reason Demitrovic went to Ithreac to meet with the House of Clay himself was because there was a high-risk lead on the disappearances, though. Not just to make nice with the Courts.”

That could very well be true. In fact, it seemed the most plausible reason to gather us all here. If that were the case, he must’ve found something worthwhile.

Finally.

The tension in the room grew taut like a bowstring as the clock struck noon, and High General Jin Demitrovic made his entrance.

He cut an imposing figure as he stepped into the room, the towering white-haired man still wearing the more official garb of the guard—the type of armor and leathers we wore when going into a known fight. His silver pauldrons were shined to perfection, but they still bore the dents and slashes of a man who had seen combat. Who had actually gone to war, unlike a majority of us who served in the guard today.

I took note of the fact that he still wore his traveling cloak as well, a dusty gold shade indicative of being a representative of Sophrosyne. Clearly, the man had not taken even a moment’s pause since his return, which meant…

A deep, grizzled voice filled the room, authority ringing through his tone clear as day.

“Guards, take note that what you are about to be briefed on is highly confidential. This information is not to be dispersed amongst your regiments without an explicit directive from your commanders. Is that understood?”

The replies were immediate, and in unison. “Yes, sir.”

“As you are all aware, in the last several months, forces across the entirety of the continent have reported an uptick in kidnappings. At first, there seemed to be no common thread between them, save the fact that none of those missing had yet to be found. The Atlassian Courts, however, have been leaning on us for guidance and strategy, and with the help of our scouting units,” the general paused, offering me the slightest dip of his chin.

My chest swelled with pride at the subtle recognition as the man continued on.

“We started to piece together similarities between each case. Every missing person was a child or young adult, connected to the noblesse in some way. We assumed this meant there were political motives at play here, and yet we have not received any demands of ransom or signs of extortion. It was also noted that every missing person thus far has either been a known Conduit, or a highly skilled Resonant.”

While I knew all of this, a majority of the other branches wouldn’t have had access to this information yet, and so the room started buzzing with hushed whispers.

“With no signs of blackmail, we’d been investigating the potential involvement of the flesh trade, blood cultists, or even a threat from overseas. We looked into movements in Irros, Novos and Exxem—all to no avail. Though we have not fully ruled out the possibility of foul play from beyond the continent.”

This was news even to me. While I had been involved in some of those more external investigations, it was mostly just due diligence. We had no reason to believe that any of the other nations of Aemos would be hostile. Save the Deadlands of Exxem where people lived a more nomadic, tribe-based lifestyle, trade was open and thriving between all continents. This realm had known peace for several ages.

“However, the reason you have been gathered today is not to recap what we already knew. I am here to share what we learned while I was in briefings with the House of Clay. I must warn you, the news is… disturbing, to say the least. I will remind you that this information is confidential, not only within our ranks, but when interfacing with those of the Atlassian Courts.”

“Yes, sir,” the room echoed again.

“We have reason to believe that there is unrest brewing across the continent. Namely, amongst mortals who are neither noble nor Resonant—those who consider themselves to be the least privileged members of Atlasssian society.”

Those who considered themselves the least privileged? Come on now, Demitrovic.

I held our general in the highest esteem, but took issue with his wording and tone. It was a simple, empirical fact that non-Resonant humans without wealth or power had access to the least amount of resources in this world.

“This is nothing new,” the general rumbled. “However, it would appear that the beginnings of a network are being built across the territories. As accusations against certain members of the Courts rise, as does a feeling of solidarity between the common folk of Samhaven, Vindyrst, Ithreac, and even Pyrhhas. The Isles of Luxtos and Stygos are not immune, though they are less likely to succumb to the same… pressures.”

That’s because there were no nobles in Luxtos amp; Stygos outside of the Lord of Shadows and the Lady of Light, as the isles were too small to need additional magistrates. Markus Makari and Theia Frey were good leaders, kind and generous to their people. I would be shocked to see the Isles involved in this anytime soon… but there had to be more to this story.

“During my time in Ithreac, one of the missing children was discovered dead. Strung up from the tallest tree in the Red Valley, considered to be a sacred space to the House of Clay. The child was… mutilated. With a note nailed,” Demitrovic paused for a moment, visibly upset. He swallowed thickly before continuing. “The note was nailed to the child’s forehead. A note that read, ‘Blood is thicker than Aether.’”

I felt sick to my stomach.

“Upon investigation, the Ithreacian clerics declared that the child had only been dead for several hours. They had kept him alive up until some predetermined moment—whether it had to do with my arrival or something else entirely, I do not yet know. But it is because of this most grievous offense that we have convened with the Elders. The Nineteen have approved that we call for a defensive alliance between the territories.”

Holy shit.

“While we were previously operating on an honor system between the other forces of Atlas, we will now be seeking more official lines of communication, and working alongside the Atlassian Courts to keep tabs on the growth of this unrest, to prevent any unnecessary violence, and hopefully, any further losses.”

It was a big deal that the Elders would allow us to get involved in such an official capacity, considering how firm they were on their stance of neutrality in the conflicts of mankind. The Aetherborne had been directly involved in establishing that new order of mortal leadership across Atlas, and the elemental houses had maintained said power and territories ever since with minimal influence from these Elders, or so we were told.

The Aetherborne established two caveats when the Houses began their rule over the continent. The first was that Sophrosyne would remain its own independent entity, existing under the temporal and diplomatic jurisdiction of the Nineteen.

The second caveat was that the city-state of Sophrosyne would remain neutral in the face of any future mortal conflicts. They would train Resonant mortals in the art of their arcana if they were deemed worthy, they would offer counsel to the mortal leaders when it was sought, but they would not step between mankind and its own destruction. Not again. That said, if there was one thing the gods valued more than their neutrality, it was peace. At the end of the day, we were their peace-keepers, after all.

As Demitrovic ran the room through more details—and some of the upcoming summits we would be expected to attend as a result of these alliances—I couldn’t help but wonder if all of this shit could have been avoided if the Atlassian Courts would just do their fucking jobs.

I supposed it wasn’t my place to throw stones from a glass house, considering my own privileges, but gods.

The Elders were not infallible, and I feared they might have made a mistake when they established the ruling families of each House to be highly Resonant bloodlines. As a result, generation after generation, it was Conduits who led our people. Less than five percent of the population, making decisions that impacted the majority of non-Resonant humans.

It was easy to forget that though arcana was a beautiful, powerful thing, it was becoming increasingly rare as time went on. If the Houses didn’t start taking better care of their people, we could soon find ourselves entirely overrun, chased out of power by the common folk.

Despite my loyalty to Sophrosyne, I couldn’t quite say I’d blame them for it. Not when there were people out there who were starved for resources, who were just trying to survive, while the politicians of Atlas lined their pockets and amassed power just for show and ego in their idiotic internal squabbles.

Though part of me was relieved just to have some form of a lead or explanation behind the mysterious disappearances, a much larger part of me was preparing for things to get much, much worse.

By the time I made it home that night, I was so beyond exhausted that I was about ready to collapse at the door of my townhouse. But at least I hadn’t fallen asleep at my desk again. Hanjae would be proud.

My mood had taken a turn for the pessimistic and foul as I found it hard to shake the image from my mind. Righteous, valid anger or not, there was never an excuse to mutilate a fucking child. I didn’t drink often, but found myself craving the harder stuff.

If only I wasn’t so godsdamn tired.

As I reached for my keys, I realized that there was something glowing on my porch. What in the actual fuck was—

Oh.

It was a fox.

Not a real fox, but one that appeared to be made of Light aether. It looked as if it were molded out of the starry constellations of the night sky, and it was… sleeping? With a small scroll of parchment in its mouth. It was sort of adorable.

This had to be Arken’s mail sprite.

Stepping over the glowing, semi-corporeal canine and into my townhouse, I unraveled the scroll to confirm my suspicions.

My turn to harass you, Captain. Hope you had a decent day off.

She’d kept it short and sweet, clearly just looking to show off her latest skill in complex arcana. And to be fair, I was impressed. Mail sprites weren’t particularly easy to summon, or maintain for however long the fox had been waiting for me.

I started boiling water for tea before scribbling back.

Well, well. Look who learned something new in class today. It wasn’t much of a day off, unfortunately.

The fox is cute.

I didn’t have the energy to think of much else, but still found myself smiling despite the day I’d had as I sent my sprite back to her. Let her little friend take a break for the evening.

Isn’t he precious?? His name is Bluebell.

I shook my head as I poured myself a cup of tea, still deliberating on the idea of finding something stiffer at the bar down the road. Instead, I wrote back to Arken.

Of course it is. Apologies in advance if I fall asleep on you, Little Conduit. It’s been a long day. I am quite impressed that you’re summoning mail sprites within a day of learning how, though.

I could hear the teasing tone as I read her quick response, absently wondering what she was doing up so late. It had to be nearly two in the morning.

What, is it supposed to be hard or something? I haven’t quite figured out how to make him look real, like your raven. How in the Hel do you do that?

She would notice something like that.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that patience isn’t your strong suit. I think Bluebell looks very pretty as is, but I’ll teach you, if you like.

Her response was immediate.

Yes, please!

I chuckled softly, fairly certain that she just wanted an excuse to show off to her peers or the scholars.

I’m free after four tomorrow. Swing by the guard headquarters in the admin district, and we’ll put young Bluebell to work.

Yawning, I began to stretch and shrug out of the uniform I’d put on in haste earlier this afternoon.

Excellent... I’ll stop pestering you now that my ulterior motives have been met.

Rest well, Captain.

I fell asleep before I could even reply to her, quill still in hand, hoping that her dreams were as sweet as this newfound, unexpected friendship of ours.