Darian slammed his hands on the table.
"YOU'RE A WHAT?"
"I'm part of the Refinement Department of the High Council."
Darian had to physically press a hand over his mouth to suppress a gasp.
"But how? You're just... Well, you're just you, Kae—" He cleared his throat. "You're just you, Valerian."
Kael shrugged and picked up his second cup of coffee that day.
"One thing led to another, I suppose."
Darian wanted to punch him, but he controlled himself.
"How are things on your end?" Kael tilted his head. "Did you manage to expand the Claymore banks to the southern continent?"
"How do you even remember that?" Darian had a million questions for Kael but chose to answer anyway. "Yes. I just got the deal through, and I'm on my way home now."
He puffed air into his cheeks as he thought.
"I heard things got messy there."
"You could say that. But it's a good thing, for you at least. Your family now has full control over Farkath and Velthoria."
"Great. More land I need to care for." Darian said, humourless.
"So how was the southern continent?"
Darian looked up, happy the conversation had turned to something lighter.
"It was great! Well, almost. No human should lay eyes on the insects that roam those lands." He shivered. "But otherwise, great. The people were friendly and... normal? I know it sounds strange, but you hear so many things about Luminaires from other continents that they start to feel almost mythical, until you actually meet them. They're just like us! Normal Luminaires."
Kael flicked a fly away from his cup.
"It's understandable." He started. "The same goes for almost anything. Philosophers, for example. We read their achievements and their most impressive thoughts, and never their flaws. Without noticing, we build an image that goes far beyond what they really were."
"I know. But it still felt strange."
"How about the food? Anything I should try in the future?"
Darian stretched and looked at the ceiling.
"It's outrageous. But they cook tiger wolf, and it's surprisingly tasty. Then there's pitherel fillet. Now that is something worth trying. They hunt this strange snake-like beast and smoke it over willow." He pointed at Kael. "The willow part is important. They treat it like something sacred. Don't you dare smoke it over anything else and call it southern. They'll skin you alive."
Kael smiled and leaned back in his chair.
"Let them try."
Darian raised an eyebrow. "You don't have a single humble bone in your body, do you?"
"Nope. None."
The two spent the rest of the evening catching up. Kael picked up some useful information about the south, and Darian... well, Darian was just glad to see Kael again.
"So what now? You're just supposed to attend High Council meetings and help make decisions that affect billions upon billions of people across the western continent?"
"Sounds about right."
"But you don't have ANY, and I mean ANY, political experience. No offence, but you were born in Farkath. It might as well have been nowhere."
It was Kael's turn to raise an eyebrow.
"Is that a hint of jealousy I hear?"
"Fuck you."
The streets were almost empty when they stepped out of the café. Kael reached into the air and pulled a key from the Stone Coffin knowing Darian couldn't care less.
"Give me your hand."
Darian did as he said, and Kael let the key fall into his palm.
"And this is...?"
"The key to your apartment."
It took a moment to click. When it did, Darian's hands flew up and grabbed his hair.
"Right! I gave you the key to my apartment. How could I forget?!"
Kael gave an affirming nod.
"It might be a bit of a mess, but you can live in it."
"What. The. Hell. Is that supposed to mean?"
"There was a war, remember?"
"Right."
The war had contributed maybe a tenth of the damage Kael had done to that apartment.
"So when are you going back?"
"Tomorrow." A small silence. "However, I'm supposed to expand our banks to Sole too, and now, with some inside connections... heh heh." He rubbed his hands together with a grin.
"Don't even think about it." Kael said flatly.
"What, why not?" Darian rolled his eyes in an exaggerated manner.
"I haven't even attended my first High Council meeting yet, and you think I can convince them you're a good idea?"
"Am I really that unappealing?"
"Undoubtedly."
Darian wanted to see the things Kael had created, so he followed him down the stone road to the first layer.
"Why a clinic, though?" He asked, bewildered.
"Quite a strange question to ask someone as benevolent as me."
Darian shook his head, already knowing Kael wouldn't elaborate.
"Mm. Right. I forgot about that."
There wasn't particularly much interest in the clinic, so they soon made their way to the mote shop, where Darian offered some helpful views on how to increase sales, along with a few personal ones. When they finally sat down, Lumi glided through the door and landed on the table in front of them.
"Who's this?"
"Lumi. She's a Dreadborne."
Darian flinched. "WHY is it always something with you? Is she friendly, at least?"
Kael picked her up and placed her on Darian's lap.
"She's as friendly as she is a mystery."
"How so?" Darian asked, a little stiff.
"You're a rank three now, right?"
"I am. Why?"
"Is your inner realm producing sound?"
Darian took his time, carefully examining Lumi.
"It is. Aren't you a rank three too? I can't tell, you're suppressing your rank."
"I am." Kael crossed his arms. "But why is it producing sound?"
Darian almost lit up, having finally found a subject he could beat Kael at.
"Because you're advancing!"
Kael's interest piqued instantly.
"That's why people call rank three to four a quality change. It doesn't really change your physical capabilities, but your inner realm quite literally changes, which is what matters for Luminaires." Darian raised a hand. "Even my information is scarce on the subject, but I know a little. First, what does it mean to advance?"
Kael leaned his head against his fist as his mind turned.
"To gain a deeper understanding of your pathway."
"Which in other terms means?"
"A deeper understanding of the world?" Kael said, a little uncertain.
"Exactly." Darian smiled. "Motes are the essence of the world. But what does that really mean? That they're made of Soul, Will and Thoughts, all things from this world. But wouldn't that make us the essence of the world too? There are some quality differences I don't fully know or understand, but yes, it does! It's only the potency of those elements that separates us from, say, motes and beasts."
Kael thought about it for a moment, starting to see where he was going.
"And when you advance, all three become stronger, which makes you more one with the heavens. The essence of the world."
"So why does sound start to appear?"
"Because rank three to four doesn't work the same as rank one to two, or two to three. You advance gradually, as you learn more about your pathway. Look at it this way. We're from this world, and everything in this world could be called the heavens. When we advance, we can't gain a stronger river from nothing, so we borrow from the heavens. Because of that, our inner realm gets influenced by the real world. For most people the sound appears first, and then maybe the river changes, or perhaps the Soul? No one can really say because it's completely individual what changes for whom."
Kael sat in silence, Darian blurring out entirely beneath his own thoughts.
His theory hadn't been far off. It was almost exactly what Darian described, but with the new information the why became clearer.
"And if you actually advance? How does your inner realm change?"
Darian clicked his tongue. "That I don't know yet. But if your inner realm is becoming more alive, it's a good thing. You're doing something right."
They discussed it for a while longer, but the deeper into the evening they went, the more obvious the gaps in their knowledge became. Eventually the topic changed completely.
"So how are you getting back to Velthoria?"
"I'm not going back." He waited for a reaction from Kael, but Kael sat there like a blank page. With a sigh he continued. "I'm allowed to take some time off, so I might as well spend it here in Sole. That way I can distance myself from family politics, at least for a while."
For some reason, the people who actually had to deal with politics never seemed to enjoy it.