Chapter 488: A Great Gathering

Chapter 488: A Great Gathering

ARTHUR LEYWIN

It was Lord Eccleiah who met us inside the entrance to Indrath Castle, not Kezess. Although I wasn’t surprised by his presence, I was pretty damned surprised to be there at all, regardless of which asuran lord stood in front of me. I had expected Kezess to shut down Veruhn’s idea—that I should be recognized as a new branch of the asuran race—immediately. Instead, he had agreed to hear the other great lords out, then he and Myre had left.

Now, barely a day after he threatened to murder me, he would be presiding over a meeting where his peers discussed the possibility of my becoming one of them...

“Lord Arthur, Lady Sylvie, so good to see you both again,” Veruhn said, smiling like he meant it and waving us forward excitedly, the skin around his milky white eyes wrinkling.

I peered into those eyes, wondering just what kind of machinations hid behind the cloudy film.

“Hey, I’m here too,” Regis said. My companion was in the form of a large shadow wolf, his back coming up above my hip. Purple flames shimmered around his neck and along his tail, and his bright eyes flicked from face to face, marking each guard and Veruhn himself, vigilant despite his flippantness.

“Well of course you are. You three make up a special kind of trinity, don’t you?” The old leviathan sighed, his thoughts seeming to turn elsewhere. After a long moment, he gestured for us to follow, turned on his heel, and marched quickly along the entrance hall.

There was little time to look around or consider where I was. My mind was occupied with the many potential ways this meeting could go wrong. Since the effects of King’s Gambit, even powered only partially, allowed me to follow several of these threads at once, it also enhanced my ability to delve into the undercurrent of worry.

Veruhn greeted several of the dragons we passed by as he led us deeper into the castle. Although they were respectful to him, most eyes lingered on Sylvie instead. Servants and guards bowed deeply, and a few asuras who might have been Indraths or courtiers from other clans seemed to barely constrain themselves from rushing up to meet her.

I sometimes forget that you’re such a stranger to your own people, I thought as an asura with radiant blond hair and lilac eyes tripped over his own feet as he tried to bow but forgot to stop walking first.

Sylvie gave the young man an empathetic smile as we walked past. ‘I can’t help but wonder if that otherness was on purpose. My grandfather didn’t know who I was, really, or what I would become. Keeping me at arms length—a curiosity rather than a member of the family—created a buffer to ensure I didn’t negatively impact the Indrath clan or Epheotus.’

Padding quietly beside me, Regis looked up at Sylvie. ‘The dude’s scared of what you represent. Change, an alternative path, an existence outside his little bubble.’ His tongue lolled out of the side of his mouth as he grinned. ‘He’s right to be. The prodigal princess returned.’ Regis snorted. ‘Two princesses, in fact.’

As Veruhn led us, he kept up a steady stream of small talk, providing facts about the other inhabitants of the castle, the portraits we passed, and the history of Clan Indrath and Kezess. I listened with one branch of my thoughts, but my main focus remained on preparing for the following meeting.

‘You know, Regis, you could be a princess too, if you wanted,’ Sylvie thought back to our companion. ‘If Arthur becomes Lord Leywin, and you are born directly to him, then you become a princess.’

‘Excuse me, but I am a magnificent weapon of untold destruction!’ With a snort, Regis padded ahead, moving to walk beside Veruhn.

‘That’s no reason why you can’t wear a tiara.’ She glanced at me. ‘Especially if you choose one that matches Arthur’s.’

I caught Sylvie’s eye, and we both smiled. Some of the tension eased.

Veruhn led us out onto a balcony that overlooked the cliffside. Although blue skies stretched away in every direction, a carpet of white-gray clouds hid the distant ground. “We’ll take a shortcut, I think.” He lifted up from the ground and drifted like a wisp of cloud, moving slowly upward.

Regis became incorporeal and moved into my core before Sylvie and I followed. Despite his claims of taking a shortcut, Veruhn’s flight was unhurried, like mist on a gentle wind. He pointed out windows and turrets, statues and engravings, and even stopped to admire the nest of a small bird with shimmering black and red feathers.

“Mountain Wings,” Veruhn explained with a look of pure, childish fascination as his milky eyes stared at the bird. “Also called the stonecunning swallow or cliff swallow. They only live here, although they usually do not nest this high, preferring the cliffs of Mount Geolus below.” He turned his head toward Sylvie. “They were a favorite of your mother’s.”

Sylvie raised a hand toward the bird in its nest, hesitated, and pulled back. It watched her warily with beetle-black eyes. “It’s lovely.”

Veruhn drifted onward, leading us toward a high balcony in one of the many towers. He landed lightly as a feather, then turned his face up toward the sun as he waited for us to land as well. “Ah. A beautiful day for politics.” One brow raised, he faced me. “Are you ready, Arthur?”

I considered everything I knew—and the vast ocean of what I didn’t—and gave the old leviathan a tight-lipped smile. “I suppose we will know soon enough.”

The balcony doors, made of glass or crystal framed in ornate coiling vines of silver, opened as Veruhn approached. The mana and aether were so thick in the air that it nearly hid the powerful signatures of those present within the chamber beyond.

It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the light as I stepped into the tower behind Veruhn. In that twilight moment where it felt like I moved between worlds, the hair on the back of my neck stood and my skin roughened with goosebumps as I felt the hungry eyes of predators following me.

The airy chamber clarified.

Within, elegant white arches wrapped around the circular chamber, each one carefully carved and molded to look like the branches of thin trees. These opened to similarly arched windows and balconies identical to the one I’d just stepped in from. The light of these many windows and glass doors reflected around the room, making it almost as bright within the chamber as without.

A large charwood table in the shape of a near-full moon dominated the space. Its darkness was in stark contrast to the brightness of the walls and ceiling. Seven ornate, high-backed chairs sat equidistant along the rounded side of the table, while a silver and gold throne with gleaming gemstones floated several inches off the floor at the flat side.

We were not the first to arrive.

An asura with dusky skin and smoky orange hair pulled back in a bun stood from the nearest chair. He wore a flowing sort of robe reminiscent of the kimonos of Earth, expertly embroidered in shimmering thread that looked like true flame against the silky black fabric. His gray eyes seemed to take all of me in within a breath, and then he turned and gave a shallow bow to Lord Eccleiah: the gesture of an equal.

“Lord Novis of Clan Avignis,” I said, addressing the phoenix member of the Great Eight with a bow that was only slightly deeper than that shared by Veruhn and this phoenix. I hadn’t been named an asura—or the lord of an entire clan or race—just yet. It was important not to come across as too presumptuous, but I also couldn’t afford to be seen as weak or timorous, either.

“Arthur Leywin, a pleasure to—”

“Hello!” a sharp, airy voice cut across Lord Avignis’s words.

The speaker was a small woman with light blue skin that seemed to...move, almost as if she weren’t quite corporeal. She had drifted out of her chair and was floating across the massive black table, bobbing around like an apple in a shallow stream. Her youthful face was split by a wide grin, revealing brilliantly white teeth that came to points. Her misty blue-gray eyes sparkled with enthusiasm as she did a kind of midair curtsey. Her dress, which seemed like nothing so much as a sort of windy mist that she’d wrapped herself in, fluttered at the motion.

One small hand brushed through white hair that similarly floated around her head like a cloud. “I’m Lady Aerind, but as a soon-to-be member of the Great Eight—or Nine, but that doesn’t work quite the same—you can call me Nephele!”

Before I could respond, the sylph did a flip in the air, flew to the room’s third occupant, and wrapped her arm around the extremely tall woman’s shoulder. “And this is Mads!”

Morwenna returned her look stone-faced and gave a small shrug.

Ademir sat, his arms crossed. “We’ve all heard by now the tale of Lady Sylvie’s sacrifice and the physical rebirth of both their bodies. Perhaps she gave him some asuran aspect, but how does that match up against the eons of evolution and empowerment that each of our races has gone through?”

Lord Grandus leaned forward, his elbows on the table and his hands folded into his thick beard. “If we look at this boy’s actions, then we are forced to consider how these actions were performed. The actions themselves aren’t the reason we’re here, only the catalyst for the discussion.” His deep voice rumbled through the air so that I felt it in my chest. “My clan has long made it our business to study the advancement of life, and even to mold that advancement. There is no reason, through the application of powerful enough mana or aether arts, that a human couldn’t become something more. And in that event, even if they did not evolve alongside the rest of the asura, a case could also be made for folding them into our culture for a variety of reasons. We should resist the urge to jump to a decision and instead take time to study Arthur further.”

“While study is warranted...” Rai of the basilisk clan, Kothan, had raised a finger into the air as he started speaking. He hesitated in the middle of his sentence, shooting a furtive look to Kezess, who nodded very slightly. “While study is warranted,” he began again, “we shouldn’t overlook the current situation.”

He stood, pressed his palms into the top of the table, and leaned forward. “Agrona Vritra has been a danger to us for many hundreds of years, and his occupation of our motherland—the very soil that birthed Epheotus—has been an insult and a threat. We have been shut off from the growth of the lesser world for too long because of Agrona, and it has blinded us to their progress. Arthur Leywin is standing here as proof of their evolution, and his service in defeating the Vritra clan should be rewarded appropriately.”

“The name asura isn’t merely a title to be traded for political good will!” Ademir snapped.

The meeting dissolved into arguing and bickering. It only ended when Kezess sent out a pulse of King’s Force that drew all attention back to himself.

“We’ve heard base emotional reactions, but none of you have presented any proof, only suggested we find it.” Kezess’s focus shifted to Veruhn. “I was told that this conversation had already begun, encouraging me to bring it into a more formal environment. But I find myself...unconvinced by what I’ve heard here today. Only Lord Thyestes seems to be making sense.”

I noticed Ademir’s jaw tighten and his lips go white as Kezess mentioned him. There was a stony look in his eye that almost might have been hostility. I considered what I had learned about Aldir’s flight from Epheotus and realized that Ademir still harbored some anger about Kezess’s treatment of his clanmate.

Lord Avignis cleared his throat. “Forgive me, Lord Indrath, but I don’t think you’re being fair to Rai. His words bring many questions to my mind. Questions that, I think, would be best answered by Arthur himself.”

The phoenix turned to look at me, his gray eyes smoldering with flame-orange sparks. “We have all been made aware of certain facts, Arthur. You nearly died while channeling the will of a powerful dragon, Sylvia Indrath, but you were saved by your bond with her daughter, Lady Sylvie. The result was that your body became something closer to asura than human. You have a core, but it is made of and manipulates aether instead of mana, empowering your body directly with aether, unlike even the dragons. And you channel certain...aether arts. Such as the ability you used to interrogate the Vritra criminal, Oludari.

“It remains unclear, however, exactly how you disabled Agrona Vritra.” The sparks in his eyes flared, even though the rest of his expression remained passive. “What power did you use?”

The hamadryad, Morwenna of Clan Mapellia, hummed in irritation. “How does this question help us in our consideration of Arthur’s asuran state?”

It was Radix who answered, leaning forward over the table now so that his chest practically rested on top of it. “Of course, Novis! It was necessary for us to take on new forms to contain our growing power, even back before our ancestors forged Epheotus from the soil of the lesser world. In doing so, we branded our mana arts with our own specific strengths. While Arthur’s use of aether is interesting, it is also rather obvious. He was granted the will of a dragon in addition to being bonded to Lady Sylvie here. That alone proves nothing. But this power that captured Agrona...” His steely gaze hammered into me like he was trying to unearth the truth from me with a pickaxe. “What was this power? Is it some lesser ability, or a product of your exposure to the dragons?”

All eyes were on me, so no one else aside from my own companions saw the glare Kezess gave me. The warning was obvious.

Regis, who had sat down and was now scratching his ear with one hind paw, sent me a mental roll of his eyes. ‘Oh screw him. I say tell them. You’re Arthur Leywin, Master of Fate! Cue evil laughter.’

Sylvie shifted beside me. ‘Not to use his language, but Regis may be right. If Kezess has kept the revelation of Fate from the rest of the asura, revealing it may swing things in our favor.’

I thought back to my conversation with Kezess over the fields of lava. Maybe, but we also don’t quite see the whole picture yet.

“All of my magic is aetheric in nature,” I said in answer to the questions that had been posed by Lords Grandus and Avignis. “As I gain insight, I am able to tap into magic held within the conscious aether itself, forming what I’ve called godrunes—pieces of powerful magic that are branded directly into my flesh.”

“Oh, how fascinating!” Nephele said, floating over the table toward me. “Can we see?”

Before I could answer, Veruhn coughed against the back of his hand then stood slowly. Nephele bit her cheek and drifted back to her seat.

Verun’s back straightened segment by segment, giving the impression that he was even older than he looked. His smile as he gazed blindly around the chamber was tremulous. In human terms, he seemed to have aged fifty years between our arrival and now, but I couldn’t tell if it was a show or somehow the result of the conversation itself.

“It is deeply correct that everyone currently gathered at this table is passionate about this conversation,” he said, speaking slowly and enunciating each word carefully. “Never before has such a thing been considered. We asura are slow to grow, slow to change. It is not in our nature. And so we have remained as only eight races since the failure of the wraiths. Even the intermingling of our races has never resulted in a new branch of our long and storied family tree.”

Veruhn paused to collect himself and catch his breath. His milky white eyes seemed to focus above the heads of all those seated at the table. “But we cannot deny what fate has placed right in front of us. For this evolution to happen now, as the situation with Agrona seemed to be building to a full out war, is certainly no mere chance. Arthur’s growth, his transformation, was necessary for both our cultures to survive. Now we have an opportunity that we have never had before: to change and grow as a people, together with the lessers whom we have for so long been apart. Let Clan Leywin speak on their behalf, be their voice. We cannot afford to let their world fester and spawn another Agrona.”

The other asuras regarded Veruhn thoughtful as he struggled to sit back down. I could see how his words had settled over them, changing the direction of the conversation in mere moments.

‘They do not all respect each other, but they do him,’ Sylvie noted. ‘I can’t help but wonder if we’re not being put in the middle of a building power struggle between the asuran clans.’

I traced back the threads of each encounter with Veruhn. Why did he give me the mourning pearls? I wondered yet again. Out loud, I said, “Thank you, Lord Eccleiah. I appreciate your vote of confidence.” After pausing to ensure I had everyone’s attention, I continued, “When I was first told about this...offer, I’ll admit I myself wasn’t entirely sure it was right, or that I even wanted it.”

Ademir’s brows pinched together in a frown, while Morwenna turned her nose up slightly.

“I have a home to return to, and people who rely on me that are probably suffering as we speak. Dicathen and Alacrya need me, not Epheotus.” I let these words sink in.

Kezess was listening politely, his expression otherwise carefully blank. Beside him, Novis whispered something to Rai.

“But listening to you all speak here today, I’ve come to understand something.” At my mental command, Sylvie and Regis took half steps closer to me so that we were almost touching. “Those people do need me to be here. They need me to protect them, and that means having a voice among the asura.”

Nephele had sunk down into her seat properly and had her arms crossed on the table, her chin resting on her forearms. It was difficult to tell if she was enraptured or thinking about something else entirely.

“I may not have been born among the asura, but I have been entwined with your people since before I was even born,” I said firmly. “I have bonded to you, been trained among you, fought beside you and against you. And, like a crucible, the presence of the asura in my life has molded me into something other, something new.”

I looked directly at Radix, who had eased back into his seat bit by bit as I spoke. He was running his fingers through his beard, deep in thought. “Not only have I gained great power and evolved beyond the limitations of my humanity, I, like the asura, have transformed to contain this power.”

Releasing a sudden rush of aether, I fully activated both Realmheart and King’s Gambit. Vibrant aetheric runes burned along my skin and beneath my eyes. My hair lifted up to drift around the crown of light floating above my head. Aether condensed in my channels until it shined through my skin in glowing veins.

My voice resonated as I spoke, the words pieced together from a dozen parallel lines of thought.

“You have asked, and I will answer. The power that I wield is Fate itself.”