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ARCHIVAL RECORDS OF YEAR 98 OF THE IMPERIUM documented by SCHOLAR QUINTA IN THE YEAR 321.
Valedara Amadeus Caesar foresaw his defeat. The decade-long war of attrition drained his faction and resources more quickly than he had anticipated. Solarin and his forces were close. The war had taught him that unrelenting strength does not make a great leader.
The reason for the rift between him and Solarin was unknown; lingering theories dictate that the conflict emerged during the Trinitas treaty. The Trinitas churches backing Solarin's campaign reinforced those claims.
Even seemingly wrong, Valedara was the people's champion then, but now the world only remembers him as the Greatest enemy. A Daemon.
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Aether buzzed with a gentle hum.
The past week brought a shocking discovery: the garden of Laelia was self-regenerative. Delighted, Quintus and I tested its limits every evening.
Quintus's aether rippled in calm waves, with each ripple stronger than the last. I drew my aether to match his. I had been learning how to fight like a noble by wielding my virtue as well as any blade.
Years of habitual instincts pushed towards Quintus, my aether pulsing coldly within my veins. My virtue was now activated, and I readied my defence.
Quintus's aether felt like the garden itself. Calm and serene. A vine sprouted beside him as his virtue came to life. It shot towards me with uncanny speed.
'Blitz,' I commanded mentally.
A boost of speed pushed me to the right, dodging the vine. I planted my feet and then launched myself towards Quintus.
'Blitz'
The command compounded my speed; I moved twice as fast. Quintus, having anticipated my attack, sprouted new vines; he weaved them into a shield, but I was on him.
My feet planted, I balled my fist.
I channelled my aether towards the shield.
"BREAK!"
My virtue responded.
The vine shield snapped, and a small hole caved at its centre. I could not help but smile.
'Strength'
'Blitz'
The dual commands were focused on my fist. The blow snaked through the hole, landing on Quintus's stomach.
He was thrown backwards. In the air, he raised a wall of vines, escaping behind them. I channelled aether to my feet.
'BLITZ'
The gap between me and the wall closed in the blink of an eye.
'JUMP'
More aether pumped into my legs, and then I leaped. Floating in the air, I was going over the wall. My descent was as fast as my jump. As I fell, I tucked into a roll, cushioning my fall.
I spread my aether to locate the elusive Quintus. I felt a presence; it was closing in fast. I rolled to my left. The shockwave of a whipping vine striking where I was rocked me enough to disorient me. I turned only to see the vine whipping towards me, panic struck me first, then the vine, which sent me flying.
I slammed into the wall right by the entrance. I didn't have time to rest. My body screamed in pain, and adrenaline battled with my burgeoning fear. Resurfacing instincts pulled me back to my way of combat.
My muscles twitched. Revelation had been triggered. My thoughts vanished only to be replaced with cold efficiency. I became who I feared.
The Stranger.
My vision tainted by shades of grey and black, I scanned for Quintus. Silver strings burst out of Quintus's form. His aether spiked. We were ready.
'Blitz'
'Blitz'
'Blitz'
My muscles flooded with aether; they strung up like a spring, and I was on the attack. Quintus never saw me coming; his aether faltered from panic; the gap between us had been closed in an instant, and he was not ready. I settled into a boxing-like stance.
He pulled his arms up into a frail crossguard. I lined up a fast hook to his side. It struck him, then he ate a jab and its follow-up cross. His head reeled backwards.
I slid into a new stance, my feet planted a little wider. I palm-fisted his unguarded chest, sending him flying.
Quintus's aether spiked, flooding instead of channelling as he had taught me. He did not crash into the wall on the other side of the garden; a web of vines caught him, then enclosed, trapping Quintus in a cocoon.
The cocoon then sank into the ground. Vanishing along with Quintus.
As his aether frittered away, my vision slowly returned to normal. My senses came back flooding; I was no longer a guest within my skin. Pain followed straining any train of thought. My muscles were burned, the excess aether punished my incapable body. I crashed into one knee, waiting for the pain to go away.
I hoped Quintus survived. He surely did.
*_ _ _ _ _*
The moon was full and in its place high in the sky. Its luminescence graced the garden as I lay on the grass. I tried not to move much; dull pain still hammered through me, slowly luring me to sleep. I did not find comfort in sleep. Its semblance to death made me crave sleep only when it was necessary. From the dull ache, I found an anchor to fight through pain as I always have.
The ground shook. Its slight tremble did not force me up, I only rolled to my stomach to check out what was happening. The cocoon resurfaced. Its vines carefully unravelled to reveal a balled-up Quintus. The vines slowly stretched towards me and then set Quintus right beside me. I rolled to lie on my back, and silence caught the garden in a tight chokehold.
We let the silence simmer. My thoughts were shaping into words and the words into a question.
"Am I learning?"
Quintus chuckled, then stopped as he winced in pain.
"You are."
"It must be nice to have such a great student," I said.
Quintus shakes his head, "Your attempts at humour are mediocre and frightening."
" I am still learning."
"It's great to know you are bad at something," Quintus said.
The silence resets.
I took in the comfort. It was healing. The garden reworked itself with whispers and seemingly silent crunches. The wind was gentle and cool. The grass was soft and fluffy, and the air crisp and refreshing. The little things that made life almost worth living. However, that was not a luxury I could afford.
" Look into the boys. And girl…..Find out who is worth keeping or who isn't."
" Okay, Dominus."
I weighed my words, then said, " I believe one day we might stand shoulder to shoulder but now you are my subordinate."
I paused.
"And subordinates are tools for achieving a higher purpose just like power but unlike power, subordinates are expendable."
We turn to each other. Our eyes locked together, I continued.
"Do not betray my trust."
Quintus did not answer first. He stood, grimacing with each movement. I stood too, ignoring my aches. He bowed, then shot upright into a sharp salute. I accepted it with a broad smile.
We remained standing.
"Now, on with the questions," I told Quintus.
Without hesitation," What happened back there?"
"I lost control."
"It did not seem like that. Your aether flowed smoother and sharper than normal. It was as if you were in control. It is feels enigmatic."
'He is an enigma,' I thought to myself.
"It's a conundrum. Do not think too hard about it. If you hadn't escaped, you would be…"
"Dead," Quintus interrupted.
"It explains a lot about your reputation and your lack of control over it," Quintus said.
"I hear Reputation is akin to smell."
"Your cryptic words of speech are getting worse as we go on,"
"I hear a lot."
"Maybe it's enough hearing and learning….For now," Quintus brought forth.
"On the fence with the learning part, we have to push forward till we start the wars."
"Okay, Dominus. Same intensity as today?" He asked.
"Yes. You just escape to the ground when it gets tough."
Quintus just nodded his response.
"One thing. I don't trust Nona, and I am thinking of doing something about it. The exact what is still up in the air."
" Elimination is the only viable option."
"Let me think about it. Who will do it?"
"Panos?"
'Food for thought'
*_ _ _ _*
There were no showers in the Imperium, only large baths poured with the right amount of heated water. The steam soaked my bathroom, the air heavy but still refreshing to take in.
The water burned away my enervation into only embers of weariness that could be pushed through without any recovery(sleep). I got out of the bath and into my main room.
Minutes later, I was all dried up, and I lay on my bed. My hair slightly wet the pillow, but I could not care less, I was not trying to sleep. The room was mostly quiet, save for the water clock. I still could not tell time accurately, but I attributed that to the clock's accuracy being inconsistent. And as the night warned, I heard its water flow with a rhythmic cadence that drew me in. Slowly luring me into the bed's somnolence that I greatly did not desire, so I moved to the study tables where the dossiers were.
The dossiers were bundled up on the tables, myriads of information waiting to be put to good use. I had not gone through all of them, just a few that I prioritized.
Rhetor Felix had a single-paged file still with redacted lines due to his past as an Arcarii( Custodes Aeternae) that tied into his place as my father's right-hand man before an early retirement with reasons not alluded to within the page.
Other files were heavy, laden with useful information. Funny enough, Lucius had presented a dossier about himself. Possibly a play at trust, and to his credit, it was working.
Now, I held Nona's dossier, and I had to rummage through them to find it, as I had scrambled the alphabetical order in which the dossiers came in. The file was two pages.
I skimmed through the backstory, trusting my memory to catch the important things, all my efforts focused on the meat of the issue. A few minutes flew by, I heard a knock. I stood, went by the door, twisted the knob. The door opened to reveal Nona. She let her hand lean on the door frame, carrying the weight of her lissom body.
I stared. She let me.
"Are you not going to let me in?" Nona asked, her words dripping with honey.
"I am thinking about it ."
"I have more to offer, things besides what you are seeing," She said convincingly. I took a step forward. Her smile grew into a grin; what it hid I was yet to uncover.
"I highly doubt that," I answered, then asked," What brings you here?"
"Thought you might need some company,"
"I have no need for it."
Nona inched closer, the hand that leaned on the door frame now nimbled across my bare chest. Her fingers danced with graceful, gentle touches that forced nothing out of me.
"Maybe you need someone to talk to?"
"But you seem more eager to sleep with me,"
"Can't a girl hope to get lucky," Nona said, her fingers still loose on my chest.
"How unfortunate," I said as I smiled. My smile killed hers," I'm glad your delusions brought you here. Enter, I have questions for you."
I welcomed her in. I pointed at the only seat(the one by my study desk). Her demeanour had recovered, her smile glued back to her face. Nona slid into the seat, allowing her body to settle in a way that accentuated her features. It was eye-catching to say the least.
"Comfortable?" I asked.
"Yes. Very comfortable at that."
"Let's begin then," I barred the door with my body, ready for the interrogation." Are you from the Dornathi Steppes?"
I felt Revelation triggered.
"Yes. Halen's Spur to be exact."
Shafts of gray light invaded my world of sight, with black spots gathering as I focused on Nona. I had another question lined up.
"My file over there,'' I pointed at the dossier," It gives me reason to believe you have ties to both Serenya and Darsius through their subordinates: Brutus and Aelia, respectively. How will you explain that?"
Nona reached for the dossier. She skimmed through it, her smile fading in the process. Revelation had been fully activated. When I looked at Nona, she was the first person not fogged with the black smoke; however, the red streaks on her were a dark, intense red.
'She was worth keeping,' I thought.
Nona smiled once more, her confidence brimming,
"It may seem I'm trying to play all sides, but that's not the case. I'm merely exploring options; seeing where to align myself to eternity.''
"How would you explain your relationship with Panos?"
"There isn't one. And if there is one, we could be archenemies. If you ever need him gone, I will do it for free," Nona leaned close, her head resting on her arms. Her breasts perked out.
"He told me the same," I lied.
Nona did not react. Instead, she asked a question of her own," Is it working?"
"Not even close," I said.
"Aren't I beautiful?" Nona asked.
"You are,"
"Then let's cut the chase and move to the good part,"
Nona stood from the seat; her heeled shoes clunked on the floor as she stepped towards me. Her body swayed with a seductive swagger, and my eyes couldn't help but follow. We were face-to-face, her arms snaked around my neck, and she pulled me close. Our faces were too close.
I nudged my head even closer; my breath reddened her ears as I whispered,
"Earn my trust, and that will be your reward. Stop hiding behind veiled actions and words, show me I should want you. Convince me that I should not kill as I was planning. Show me what you are really worth."
I pulled my head backwards. Her facade had faded and was replaced with lingering venom in her eyes.
"So, tell me what is your dream?"