Nyxara
After driving for 10 minutes, we arrived outside of a residence covered in flowering vines whose blossoms released faint trails of amber and sweet spice. Stepping off the hover cart, I looked around and could see in the distance the main branch residence, so I had a pretty good suspicion of whose residence this was.
The residence was smaller, but there were protective runes intricately carved into the wood and stone. Crystal lanterns placed at the gates, doorways and throughout the courtyard glowed, lighting up the inner garden and pathways. Quietly, I counted the aesthetically pleasing garden ponds that were placed in a pattern that made me wonder if they were anchoring a major essence array. While we did not set foot on the actual residence grounds, my nose could pick up the scent of a variety of tea bushes and rare herbs from the large greenhouses set up in the backyard of the residence.
"This is where the Ajei Kin-Branch lives," Rakesh informed. "As the head of our Ajei Sanctum division, Branch Crown Cornelius does a three-month tour yearly to inspect all the branches. He is also a licensed surgeon and hematologist, so he does enjoy handling any unique medical cases he comes across during the tour." We walked slowly around the residence courtyard as Rakesh gave me insight into my other family members.
"Your aunt, Branch Madam Zira, is a highly sought-after healer practitioner, so she too goes on tour when Cornelius goes. During the tours, she will host seminars at our branch training institutes, and audit the healing programs to make sure we continue to be one of—if not the best—healer programs on the West Continent."
Wow, I will have to really look Uncle Cornelius and Aunt Zira up later if they are really such big-shots in the medical community. I bet Aspen would know where to find some good information on them.
"Your other uncle, Branch Consort Hael, is the captain of the THESH'KARIS unit that provides protection for Cornelius and Zira while they travel to our clinics and institutes we have established on both the West and East Continents." THESH'KARIS is the third division of our Paramilitary. One of their functions is for tactical escort—but does that mean guards from Division VI: RHAZIN aren't included in the unit?
I make a mental note to ask Keir about the true composition of the unit Uncle Hael leads the next time I see him. Based on what I've studied, the unit should be made of RHAZIN guards—not THESH'KARIS.
Realizing everyone else was waiting for me to come back from my thoughts, I blushed and then asked, "What about my cousins? I have two younger cousins, if I remember correctly."
"Ah yes, your cousins Taen and Rhodri. They are currently on the tour with their parents since the last month of the tour coincided with their month-long fall break. To refresh your memory about them, Taen is 9 years old and was born a vampire. He has already presented as an Alpha and is currently being trained by his father in learning basic vampire skills and how to manage his Alpha instincts." Rakesh explains. We have made a complete circuit of the premises and now stand on a path that I believe will lead up to the central plaza gardens.
"If both Uncle Cornelius and Uncle Hael are vampires, are Aunt Zira and Rhodri vampires as well?" I make eye contact with Líma, and she nods, confirming that she is making note of everything and will have it transcribed for me later. I smile, and she gives me a wink.
"No, Madam Zira and Branch Lady Rhodri are omega shifters. Both of them have the shifter form of a sea serpent. Lady Rhodri is 12 years old and has begun her ascent and is currently Seed tier 2." Mrs. June is the one to explain. It is a relief that she appears to no longer be wary of me.
I could sense she had been watching and probing me since we met today, but I hadn't realized until Rakesh held time that she held serious doubts about me. I would not interfere in the discipline protocol Rakesh mentioned. I also would not hold her suspicions against her. I don't pretend to not be different from Grey. Also, our enclave is dealing with the aftermath of the Dillards' schemes and Grey's intervention.
I will, however, have a talk with my parents to get a better understanding of Rakesh and Mrs. June's full roles in the enclave. I was not wrong that they are more than just house staff. What does it mean that they are first-line auxiliary members?
"Since I see your maid, Líma, taking notes for you, I will give you some insight about the Kin-Branch and ascension. First insight about the Kin-Branch: Cornelius is an alpha vampire, and Hael is a beta vampire. The Ajei Kin-Branch is composed of two vampires, one beta vampire, and two omega sea serpent shifters." Mrs. June continued speaking, and I put my previous musings aside.
Interesting, I wonder if this is a typical family configuration or if an unusual one. It feels well-balanced, but I won't be able to confirm if my instincts are correct until I meet them.
Mrs. June paused under the shade of a large tree, turning to meet my gaze with a curious expression. "This next bit of insight is both Kin-Branch and ascension-related." Her gaze was watchful as she relayed her next insight.
"You may have noticed that I said Master Taen had already awakened as an alpha early. Typically, when both race and designation are revealed, a person would begin ascending the tiers. Yet, Master Taen has not been granted permission to begin his ascent. Can you guess why?"
I thought about it; glanced at Líma, Zen, and Rakesh for clues, but not one of them gave me even a hint. Not knowing enough to even make an educated guess, I gave the only response I could: "I don't remember or know enough to guess. So why is my cousin only learning basic skills but not cultivating?"
"Young Master Taen will be given consent when he is either 12 or 13. By then, his body will be primed for ascension, and he will be less likely to stagnate." Zen answered, bringing all eyes to her, which made her blush, but she appeared to be able to hold onto her aura and scent this time.
"Well said, Ms. Zen. That is correct. While Young Master Taen may be completely awakened, his essence system is not fully formed yet. If he tried to begin his ascension now, he could damage his fragile system.
So instead, he is building a stable foundation by learning racial skills from his parents. His lessons now will be a boon for him later when the time comes to ascend." Rakesh praised with pride, that actually made me feel a bit jealous.
Everyone around me is pushing forward. They are either meeting or exceeding expectations. I sigh, take a deep breath, then release what I can of the negative feelings accumulating. I fiddle with the charm necklace from Korran to help myself regulate. I will let myself have these feelings for a few more minutes before I release them and move on. I can't change the past; all I can affect is today and try to shape my future.
"Thank you for explaining and sharing, everyone. I appreciate all of this." I gave them all a heart hand sign, then moved on to my next question. "So, where to next, and where did the hover cart go?" I noticed it wasn't where we'd left it earlier in our circuit, but I was getting the impression we would not be using it for this next leg of the tour from the fact Rakesh and Mrs. June were walking towards the Pavilion.
"For the next two locations, we will be walking. Build up an appetite for dinner. Next is the Solvarin Pavilion and the Guest Quarters. Our most public buildings and the ones considered part of the outer palace grounds." Mrs. June spoke as she typed on her phone and wordlessly directed some kitchen hands to pick certain vegetables and herbs from the massive gardens as we walked through them.
"Why does it feel like these gardens are bigger than they seemed when I walked through them with Nimra?" I couldn't help noticing that while I do remember seeing herb gardens before, I don't recall vegetable gardens nor the garden courtyard being so big, even if we were walking a different path.
"Spatial essencecrafting and intent. I wanted to check on the gardens after I got a message that we were short some ingredients for the dinner party being held later. So, we've slipped into the dimension fold of the kitchen gardens. You will learn to better sense subtle transitions like this soon, I suspect." When we turned down another path, I focused, noticing I could sense a ripple of the spell at work, but I couldn't see it.
What I could see was the fountain courtyard I saw my first day here. We had come out of the fold and were back on the path to enter the Pavilion's rear main doors.
"How about we start on the 2nd floor, then work our way down?" I suggested. It would also keep us out of the way of what is obviously the set-up for the aforementioned dinner party.
"That is exactly what I was going to suggest. We can quickly survey the administrative offices and long-term guest quarters, then head down for a quick look around at the public and ceremonial spaces on the main floor. We can take a quick peek into the short-term guest quarter residence before heading to the lower level for our operations and support offices." Rakesh gave me a pleased smile, which almost put me in a daze, but I turned my eyes away before I got caught.
I completely ignored any soft chuckles I may have heard.