by Nefarious
The Laeshi meekly followed, keeping his head down as he passed by other Cruorems on their way. He was led down and around, walking the maze of a castle with ease, eventually stopped in front of a towering set of wooden doors.
“Father will see you inside. Don’t bother keeping up any pretences you may have,” the muscular man said, pushing the door open for the Laeshi but staying outside.
The winged vampire figured it was a feast hall as he walked in. There was a large table with tens of chairs around it, selections of food and skull-sized mugs covering its top. The lanterns around were well-lit, giving the room a jovial mood. Or at least it would have had it not for the man sitting at the end of the table, the only person in the grand hall other than the Laeshi.
This man was smaller than the muscular Cruorem and looked to be middle-aged. He had a well-groomed beard and neatly combed hair, both the colour of thick smoke. Despite his comforting appearance, however, he somehow made the Laeshi feel little, like an ant to a Goliath.
“Bian Cruorem, she was always a troublesome one, you know?” the middle-aged Cruorem said, his voice pleasing to the ear.
Yet, the Laeshi gulped at this. As far as he knew, the Cruorems could not communicate through telepathy, and the muscular Cruorem hadn’t rushed ahead to update this man on the latest news. The most plausible explanation to the Laeshi, as mad as it seemed, was that the middle-aged man had heard. Despite the distance, despite the stone walls, this man had still heard.
“I did not know,” the Laeshi answered, deeply bowing.
“Mm, a good trade has to be equal. I’ve given you some information, now tell me what you have,”
“The Yhaoli had ordered me and my crew to go to Visgamar. We were meant to aid some human rabble take control from the Imperial forces, and while the rabble-leader was holding a meeting of some sort, I noticed a girl with a strong smell of blood, one ever so sweet. I immediately figured she was Bian,” the Laeshi explained, telling the details he had rehearsed during the trip here. “But I had to be sure so I followed her, and found her exactly so, a true Cruorem. She had three black talons across her neck and two arched horns,”
“Visgamar, eh? That’s quite far – she must have planned this escape better than any of us expected. But who was she fighting and how come she didn’t notice you?” the middle-aged Cruorem asked.
“I was in a tunnel, lord, watching her fight from a distance. I left the second she had won as I knew she would spot me. She was fighting some humans, I think friends of the rabble-leader. She fought alongside a Zakari,”
“A Zakari?” the middle-aged Cruorem asked, raising his eyebrows. “Are you certain?”
“He used Giah and had an uncanny mastery of ice. There is no doubt he was a Zakari,”
“Yes, no doubt indeed. Isn’t that interesting, she somehow met one of the last ones. Is it a coincidence, or?”
The Laeshi didn’t know if it was an open-question or not. Either way, he could tell the middle-aged Cruorem’s interest was falling – he had to strike while the iron was hot.
“Lord, I pledge to you I will travel as fast as I can to look after Bian and separate her from the Zakari,” he said.
“Mmmm,” the middle-aged man thought aloud. “Yes, Bian will need a guardian angel. You should leave now. As for the Zakari, leave him unharmed. She’s not one to be trifled with and I’d rather she didn’t turn her fangs towards us if possible. But if it’s looking too bad, kill him and bring Bian back at once – I’ll deal with her when the time comes,”
The Laeshi nodded his head and stood, brimming with joy.
“Oh, not you,” the middle-aged Cruorem pointed at the Laeshi, causing the winged vampire’s blood to freeze. He fell back into his chair, unable to move. “No, you’ve got a lot more purpose here than there. I think we’ve got a much longer chat ahead of us, especially about the monster king, your monster king, Yhaoli,”
*****
Leo looked at the four Seekers, feeling a sort of pride he hadn’t felt in forever. They had come in as garbage but now they were true Seekers. He had trained many recruits over the ages but these four were a different standard: they had a different mettle about them, similar to Kasib.
“You’ve all come a long way in these months,” Leo said, breaking into a genuine grin. “I’m sure deep inside you’re wondering why I worked you like dogs when some high-ranked Seekers like Jowler are fat fucks,”
The four in front of him didn’t respond but their eyes twinkled.
“It’s quite simple, really. None of you were born with gifts like the ability to use magic, or even better, to use Giah.” Leo said, winking at this, “And that’s what the Awakening helps you with; it gives you a gift you shouldn’t have, one your body can’t accept. But burn your body out, make it focus on healing and then intensify that until it can barely heal. Your body will shut down, and when your body is dead in all but name, we give you the gift. A rebirth in a sense, I guess,” he finished, leading them into the largest hut.
Jowler was already inside, shaking his head. “A fat fuck, am I now? I remember how much you used to respect me, Leo,”
The four Seekers followed him in like zombies, alive but not really. Their minds had been broken over the months – it had begun as a toughening but as time passed, the stress had grown too much for any of them to bear. Their bodies would have long been destroyed had it not been for the powerful drugs and meat they had been fed.
But now it was time for them to come back. Leo had been through the process – it was an unforgettable process, one that numbed you to your bones, but once it was over, their minds would slowly build up again.
“Which Elixirs did you chose for them by the way?” Leo asked.
“Djinn, Barghest, Einherz, and Siren,” Jowler said, his old age suddenly washing over him as he looked down, his expression pensive.
Leo turned to him in shock, before biting his teeth down as he realised what this meant. “It’s serious, isn’t it?”
“There’s no point in keeping around those Elixirs when Yhaoli is breaking the Empire apart. The Tribes have begun their invasion, you know? Soon, the Metoles will have to move, whether it be to the capital or the frontlines, I’m not sure. But it means the Horsemen will soon make their way here, destroying the forest,”
Leo wanted to argue against using those Elixirs but deep inside, he knew Jowler said the truth. While those potions had been hard fought for, there were no better subjects for them than the four in front of him. While some of them had lower potential, he knew with these potions that argument would become nought.
“It’s alright,” Jowler said, comforting Leo. “If all goes to plan, these four will kill some of those legendary shits and get us better Elixirs. If not—”
“Then we still gave it our best shot,” Leo finished.
“Damn right. But to be safe, you tell the others outside you made the choice to use these Elixirs, not me. Those ingrates respect you more nowadays,” Jowler scowled.
Leo smiled while shaking his head, before turning to the four Seekers. “Drink,”
41. Coming Home
* * *
Orion spied a Royal toucan hopping along a branch towards its nest, which was a large hole in a tree’s trunk. Just as it was about to enter, another Royal toucan with a smaller beak popped out of the nest and screeched. Knowing its place, the male toucan stepped back and began arguing, only for the female to start right back, their domestic argument a duet to Orion’s ears.
He still felt as if he was in a daze. It was similar to how he felt now looking down from the branch he was on, knowing he could jump at any moment and crack a series of bones, perhaps even die. He had felt a similar sensation ever since the Awakening, only this time there wasn’t a branch to get off and go back to feeling normal. Honestly, it unnerved him as much as it exhilarated him.
Sighing, he pushed himself off the branch anyway, diving through the air. Over his soon-to-be death-spot grew an ice slide, letting him land with a th
ud instead of a cry. Looking up, he saw his landing had frightened the toucans out of their argument, their beady eyes staring at him through the hole. He waved and left, treading towards the Seeker’s camp.
The trip was slow and calming, animals and monsters calling in the distance. He knew Kajan wouldn’t last; Jowler had informed everyone at the base the Tribes had already begun their invasion, and that the Metoles were rumoured to leave for the frontlines soon. If that was the case, the Horsemen would soon move into the Empire and make this rainforest another of their deserts.
Smirking at the thought, he carried on, eventually arriving at his destination. The Seeker’s camp was being packed up, the huts already taken down with overfilled bags clumped around the area. Orion nodded to some Seekers as they greeted him, although on the large he walked in silence – it seemed they had figured he was a weird one.
When he faced his own hut, one of the few still up, a myriad of emotions barrelled into him. It was mostly pain and exhaustion but deeper down he knew there was a large amount of pride. He quickly got to work, collapsing the building before packing his meagre belongings. When all was done with, he went and sat by a clump of bags, waiting for the other Seekers to finish.
“Lazing off already?” Leo called, his figure casting a shadow over Orion.
“Of course not, just a short rest,”
“Good. I’d kill myself of grief if my star pupil became the next Jowler,”
Orion chuckled. “Are you done with your packing then?”
“Yep, it’s all here,” Leo said, pointing to the rucksack in his hand and the bow slung over his shoulder.
“What? Just that? I thought you’ve been living here forever,”
Leo cuffed him on the head before taking a seat beside. “I’m not that old. But yeah, I’m not much the hoarder, more of a free spirit I guess. Reminds me, I never asked about your plans after this,”
“Hmm,” Orion realised he hadn’t thought much about it either. “I don’t know. Maybe I’ll carry on with Kora – she’s good, you know? I’ve got to tell her that sometime,”
“In that case why don’t you come with us? Most us are going to Petrosa,” Leo said.
“Naa, not the capital,”
“Oh yeah, I guess that’s too risky considering you’re a Zakari,” Leo said, the mood between them instantly chilling over.
“Yeah. How did you figure?” Orion eventually asked, giving up on any impulse of killing Leo to silence him. Orion had hidden for long enough; it was time for the world to know the Zakari still existed.
“Well, not by appearance. All you westerners look similar, and with that mark on your cheek, I certainly wouldn’t guess you’re a Zakari,”
Orion sighed. “It’s not a mark to—”
“To brand them, I know, it’s for their protection. A friend I trained with a long time ago told me that, you might know him: Kasib,” Leo said, getting a clear answer as Orion’s face lit up. “We met up some time ago, and he showed me some movements from your training. After watching you train your arse off for long enough, I realised you had the same quirks of movement as he had when demonstrating. And there’s no way in hell an ordinary westerner would be taught any Zakari arts,”
Orion nodded. “I guess you’re right,”
Leo continued, “Still, I wasn’t sure of your relationship with them so I asked Jowler. What a surprise that was, I mean I had my suspicions about Kora as well but to think I had been training two lordlings like you all this time. Pfft, I was shocked,”
“Yeah, it was… difficult when I figured she was a Cruorem,”
“You know she’s being hunted? Bian Cruorem, daughter of Caleb Cruorem, ran away from the House of Fullhorn. Every vampire, and I bet most monsters have heard about it,”
There was a pause as Orion pondered. “Bian, I didn’t know that was her name. It’s nice,”
“Oh, you’re not worried about them coming after her?” Leo asked, his eyebrows raised. “You’re a far cry from what you were before your Awakening but I doubt you can fight any of them,”
“You haven’t seen me use Szu,” Orion said proudly.
“You haven’t seen them use their Blood arts,” Leo countered, stroking his ginger beard.
Shrugging, Orion gave up on the argument. Just in time too as he felt a vice grip on his shoulder, one so strong he had no question of who it was. “Arghh, get off, Kora,”
She laughed, dropping him down. “What are you gentlemen talking about?”
“About this cute girl called Bian,” Orion said while rubbing his shoulder.
Leo immediately shook his head and stood up. “Right, I’ll see you two later,” His rushed steps made it obvious he didn’t want to be involved in any of their business.
Kora glared at Orion, her lips forming a thin line. “Mm, I don’t remember telling you any of that. Who did you hear that off? Leo?”
Orion shrugged as he rose, brushing off her daggers-drawn stare as he walked away.
****
The Seekers moved fast that night, leaving the camp they had held for years. The journey was a lot smoother than the one the four from Visgamar had undertaken before. This was because the group’s size scared off most monsters, and any that weren’t had swift deaths as they tried to fight through several Seekers. Along the way, a few of the Seekers left the group, leaving for settlements that needed different routes. Eventually, it was Orion’s and Kora’s turn:
Orion hugged Lilith. She had drunk the Siren’s Elixir and it showed as her curvaceous figure had taken an unrealistic turn. She was now lean and busty, her body catching many eyes as she moved. “We’ll meet again,” she said when they parted, to which he nodded.
He then clasped hands with Cyae, who grinned at him. She had drunk the Einherz’s Elixir, and while Lilith’s changes were enchanting, Cyae’s were straight up magical. She had also become a lot more comfortable to be around and chilled after her Awakening, although Orion really wasn’t in a position to make judgements about change. “Three months,” she said.
“Three months,” he repeated.
Next was Leo who gave him a nod and mouthed the words “Three months”
Last was Jowler, who stood by Joiroa. Over the period of their training, Orion had paid less and less attention to Joiroa until after his Awakening, when he realised the dark-skinned man had already learned the civilised tongue.
Jowler beckoned Kora and Orion towards himself, away from the other Seekers. “As I promised, you can have Joiroa back now,”
Orion smiled at the foreigner, who smiled back. Life had slowly been injected into his eyes, and now they gleamed red like blood. Orion had never noticed before but looking closer, he realised Joiroa was near Jowler’s age, wrinkles over his face even though his curly hair showed no signs of greying.
“He’s on a mission,” Jowler said, “And you’re on a mission,” he pointed at Orion, “And you’re on a mission,” he pointed at Kora. “And they’re all big, bad problems, so I reckon you can help each other out. Either way, my time’s coming to an end,” he said, tapping his belly, “so you’ll have to deal with each other’s messes sooner or later.
Turning around, he finished. “Remember, the Seeker’s Summit is at End’s edge in three months. If I don’t see you two there, Smith will be getting a stick up his arse,” he joked, laughing at his own sense of humour as he re-joined the other Seekers. “You two better hurry and become 5-star in that time,” he shouted, waving at them as the three Seekers left the group, heading towards Visgamar.
42. Revelation
* * *
Visgamar’s insignia, the boat amidst stormy seas, was the centrepiece of the gate, watching over tourists and criminals alike as they entered its walls. Since it had been half a year, the two Seekers felt strange coming back, now like tigers among mice, while Joiroa pensively followed, his face as passive as usual.
As they passed through the city, it became obvious the Imperial forces had been victorious due to the soldiers everywh
ere. The streets were still scarred by the battle, but it seemed the city dwellers had gotten used to this as they all walked on, ignoring the surrounding damage. When the trio got to the marketplace, they were pleasantly surprised to see it was thriving, stalls set up like before the riots. Orion noticed the that none of the stallkeepers shouted out their wares but this made sense considering the city’s current mood.
The closer they got to the centre of Visgamar, the less damage they saw on the buildings. In contrast, the inhabitants of these areas who had been haughty were now aware and sceptical, always on the lookout. The trio eventually arrived at the Guild buildings, perhaps the part of the city least affected by the riots, and they entered the Seeker’s guild.
Seeing the multitude of skulls decorating the inside, Orion calmed, even smiling as he spotted Maya engrossed in a book as always.
“Maya!” he called, striding up to the curved, marble table.
“Whytie!” she said on impulse, before knotting her brows as she peered at him. “Whytie? You’re no westerner with skin like that,” she said.
He flicked her forehead before she could react, sending a flush down her face. “Oh my, when did my innocent Whytie get so dominant?” she asked, regaining her composure.
He ignored her comment. “Is Smith in?”
When she nodded, the three of them went upstairs, leaving her open-mouthed about how different Orion was. Her Awakening had changed her in ways, but nothing compared to what had happened to him.
Knocking on Smith’s door, the three of them came to see him behind his desk cluttered with papers. He was wearing a dull-blue eyepatch with his greying hair combed to the side.
“Oh, you’re back, with a visitor as well. Is he the one you took with you?” Smith asked.
“Yeah, this is Joiroa,” Orion said, gesturing towards the foreigner.