Yun kept his head down and boarded the transit line. He barely registered any activity around him.
Once at the Stone District, a carriage picked him up at the town square and left him a kilometer away from the compound.
The path to the Morrigan Clan was exactly as Yun expected. A smooth, dark-red brick road laid in a smooth pattern that cut through a grove of old trees. Well, maybe not exactly as he expected.
The grove closed around the road on both sides, dense enough that the Stone District's ambient light couldn't fully reach the path beneath. The trees were tall and deliberate, their canopies woven together overhead like the fingers of clasped hands.
The transition to this from the unmitigated overgrowth of the Hollows made Yun dizzy. He'd barely recovered from the sight he'd witnessed on his way up here. Planted all throughout this neighbourhood of the Stone District were the houses and estates of most of the Descendant Clans.
All Clans were not made equal, and it showed. Among the ordinary Clans, the smallest of them resided in modest villas, and the more powerful of them could afford a mansion or two. And from what Yun had heard, the High Clans held compounds the size of small villages.
Yun gulped in anticipation. After walking for a while, the silence was beginning to get to him. It also didn't help that the grove path seemed to be descending further into seclusion as he went.
Soon, the compound gate appeared with little fanfare.
It was tall, not ostentatiously so, but tall still. Made with dark iron, set between two columns of stone, each carved with confusing symbols that seemed to punish any extended gaze directed at the grounds.
Two figures stood on either side of it. They wore dark robes serving as armour-type Vestiges, each bearing a triskele mark, the clan crest. On the left was a wall of a woman, clearly born to just stand in front of things.
Yun himself could use an extra inch or two, but even this was too much. But then again, who decided when something became 'too much'?
Tch. Some thirst, while others drown.
On the right, a male Divine leaned against a gigantic greatsword stabbed into the ground. This one was younger, probably closer to Yun in age. Although with Divines it was always harder to tell. It wasn't crazy for him to turn out to be the older one.
Yun kept his pace even. He stopped at what he judged to be a safe conversational distance — outside the range of that greatsword swing.
Then the wall said, "State your business, Hollower."
Yun chuckled.
"Apologies, is it that obvious? Heh heh."
The young Divine maintained a neutral, somewhat bored expression, not sparing Yun even a glance. The wall grunted.
"State your business."
How accommodating.
"I'm here to see someone."
The wall seemed to suppress a sneer.
"Name?"
"Adelaide."
A pause. From the corner of his eye, Yun saw Mr. Greatsword raise a single eyebrow, though he still wasn't looking his way. Good.
The two guards exchanged a look. The wall stared; Mr. Greatsword shrugged in response.
"There's no one here by that name."
Yun held her gaze for a moment. He let his eyes drift to the right, where a small dark fixture was mounted above the left gate column.
It was a security camera. For some reason, it felt really out of place there.
"My name is Yun Morrigan, the younger brother of Keeva Morrigan and Adelaide Morrigan's son."
He smiled.
"Her Tainted son, specifically, in case there's any confusion about which one."
The grove moved slightly around them as the wind blew past. Mr. Greatsword gripped the hilt of his weapon as he gave Yun an icy stare. Yun met the gaze with one of his own. An eerie silence settled on the surrounding area.
Then, Yun heard the faint click of an earpiece.
The wall placed her hand on Mr. Greatsword's shoulders, then she stepped to the side.
"Wait here," she said to Yun. And then, almost imperceptibly quieter, he heard, "Let him through."
The wall returned, eyeing Yun down like he was the reason she was born a lightning beacon. She banged on the gate.
"You heard the Housekeeper. Let the mutt in."
The gate opened inward, slow and smooth, revealing the full grandeur of a High Clan's estate.
The grounds opened up past the gate in a way the grove had not prepared him for.
Yun stopped walking for exactly one second, which was all he allowed himself. The compound stretched ahead in every direction, with a central path of the same dark brick flanked by manicured grass and old-looking trees. It continued towards the main manor and smaller paths branched off toward outbuildings: a training ground, and a greenhouse of considerable size running along the eastern perimeter.
Descendant and human grounds people tended to the yard, each regarding Yun with confused stares.
He turned to them with a soft grin. "Excuse me, you see something you like?"
Footsteps approached from inside.
The woman who came to meet him was not what Yun expected, though he hadn't been sure what he'd expected. Someone officious, perhaps. She had a relaxed but straight posture and an unhurried gait.
Given that she was a domestic worker, even a high-ranking one, it was safe to assume she was one of the many Descendants who never awakened Severin's Curse and remained mundane.
She stopped a few paces away and extended her hand.
"My name is Maeve; I manage the household here."
The proper etiquette when greeting another Descendant was to avoid direct eye contact and physical contact. Yun had a Descendant mother and sister, after all.
Also, a proper introduction would sound more like, "I am Maeve of High Clan Morrigan, humanity's servant under the Law of the Divine."
Yet, despite sounding polite, the Housekeeper had just stared Yun dead in the face and offered a handshake. Was this some kind of test or a sign of disrespect?
Yun wasn't a fan of only one of those.
He gripped her hand and gave her a firm handshake, looking her directly in the eye. "Call me Yun."
Maeve's face knotted slightly.
I was never a good test-taker, anyway.
She extended a hand towards the manor, the grand building from which she came out.
"Please follow me."
Maeve showed Yun in, and together they entered a finely decorated reception space.
They walked past a spiralling staircase and into a spacious passage. Ironic, given how suffocated Yun felt already.
Maeve silently led him down a hallway with high ceilings and dark wood panelling, past doors that were all closed. The floors were stone, covered in places by long rugs that absorbed their footsteps. Portraits lined the walls at intervals, but Yun didn't look at them for long.
The main manor's interior was quieter than the grounds. A few members of the clan walked past, each of them regarding Yun with confused expressions. It was times like these that Yun was grateful he wasn't a mind reader.
Just then, Yun felt an unnerving sensation. He looked down to see his shadow bend like it was being pulled somewhere.
"Huh?"
The dark corners of the hall stirred, suffocating what little light came in through the windows. The hall grew deeper as they went.
They rounded a corner, nearly walking into a man coming the other way.
He was quite tall and handsome, which was a repetitive statement given that he was a Descendant. Underneath an open jacket, he wore a dark bodysuit with what looked like a military badge depicting the silhouette of a three-winged figure.
He's a Power…
For a split second, Yun pictured himself with a badge of his own, but awakening the Curse meant an early grave for someone like him.
He'd always imagined the cause of his death to be a stabbing by some disgruntled fey head or a deal gone wrong; his body would be stashed in the industrial maze that is the city's outer ring.
But now, he'd been spared from such a grim ending — instead, some creature's maw was waiting for him in some random corner of a ruined magical world. O, how bountiful Severin's blessings are!
Anyway…
Maeve took a step back and bowed. "I was not made aware of your return, Power Branwyn."
The man raised an open palm and shook his head.
"Oh, please, Housekeeper. I came home to escape the suffocating formalities. Drop the title."
Keeping her head down, Maeve replied, "Very well. Welcome home, Branwyn. How goes the Horde Season purge?"
"As good as it can get, I guess. I otherwise wouldn't be permitted to return home now, would I?"
"Indeed. It's always a pleasure to have you back. These halls turn lonely when a Vision Cycle approaches."
After exchanging a few more words with Maeve, Branwyn shifted his attention to Yun.
His eyes were like deep wells of black water that might have been intimidating to others, but strangely brought Yun solace.
"And who's the vagrant looking fella? We aren't short-staffed, are we?"
Maeve shot a quick glance at Yun, who had been quietly listening to their conversation. The Housekeeper's posture loosened just a tad as she remained silent.
Branwyn's head tilted.
"Well?"
Maeve straightened. "Ahem. The boy claims to be Lady Adelaide's son… Tainted son."
The Housekeeper's words hung suspended in the air, making Branwyn's smile freeze in place. Slowly, it morphed into a flat expression Yun couldn't decipher.
But why was that? Mother was a Descendant, one that never awakened the Curse—she couldn't have had much value to the Clan. That was the entire reason Yun felt comfortable enough to come to the compound.
He swallowed some heavy saliva.
Something weird's going on.
Branwyn broke his silence with a deep exhale. "Is that so?"
Maeve raised her head, meeting Branwyn's gaze for the first time in their conversation.
"Yes, but rest assured. I'll be taking him down to the lounge now."
Branwyn's eyes widened and restored themselves in a fraction of a second. If he wasn't staring at him so intently, Yun would have completely missed it.
"Okay then."
With that, Maeve signalled to Yun, and they continued forward, bidding Branwyn farewell.
Feeling unsatisfied, Yun turned around to see Branwyn's abyss-like gaze still focused on him. He shuddered, feeling as if the shadows in the room were watching him.
Maybe coming here wasn't such a good idea after all.