Monsters and legends, p.61
Monsters and Legends, page 61
part #1 of Infinite Realm Series
He understood what she meant by what she had said. Her law would not allow him or the wardens to touch Ryun unless he broke a law harsh enough to warrant such a response. But what she had just shown him meant that if he did want to punish Ryun, he just needed to become strong enough to make his own laws, or to be powerful enough that he could disregard them.
“I understand,” Zach said.
The Warden Commander Yirrel Annsi nodded her head. “Then, I welcome you to the Wardens.”
CHAPTER 84 – PRESENT – Reyla
Slave
Reyla Ornn looked at the city in the distance. It was nestled at the base of a mountain, and even from the distance she could see some buildings built on the plateaus in the mountainside. It wasn’t the biggest one she had ever seen, not by a long shot, but it was large enough to hold at least ten thousand people. Her small group was being led to it by the Black Viper Sect’s warriors, who had waited for them at the edge of this territory.
The escort was unnecessary, of course, but Reyla knew that sects had peculiar customs, and she was not at all familiar with those of this sect. She still didn’t know all the details of her new assignment, and wouldn’t until they arrived and she could take command. She glanced around, seeing her sister Nayra sitting on top of her mount and looking at the city in the distance. The two of them had barely spoken in the last few months. Next to her was Dergobor, who had been assigned to them as well, which was no surprise. He might’ve been in the order, but he was in the service of her family, there only to protect the two of them. If he hadn’t been ordered to go with them, he would’ve just left the order and come on his own.
Nayra was the reason why they were being punished, sent away from the order and to this backwater. Her sister had always had trouble accepting blame, and though Reyla knew that it was partly her fault for not reining her in, there was nothing that she could do now.
This was their punishment for failure, and she knew if they weren’t who they were, the punishment would’ve been much worse. Reyla and Nayra were children of two of the Great Empire’s most powerful High Rankers. Her family held much influence in the Empire, and just their name was enough to open doors.
Sometimes, she wondered if the Ornn name was a curse. Reyla and Nayra were the thirty first and second born to their parents, and it had been a long time since their parents last had children. Most of her siblings were all far older and far stronger than she and Nayra, and they didn’t really have anything in common with them. Their parents had rarely spent time with them, even when they had been young. The two of them had been raised by servants and caretakers. She didn’t resent them that, their parents were busy people and they had provided them with nearly everything that they could wish.
Some families would raise their children’s power quickly, but the Ornn family did things differently. They were trained, prepared, since the moment they could walk. Their leveling had been carefully planned, but they were the ones that earned their levels. Yes, they had resources to call upon, but they hadn’t been given Essence to advance. Her parents believed that power given was not power at all.
She knew that they were disappointed in them, as was clear from the last message sent from their estate: just a simple message informing her that they were expected to fulfill their duties without making noise. Not that Reyla would’ve ever tried to use her family name to get out of an assignment, but Nayra had suggested it.
Finally, they reached the city, Ven’oran, the seat of the Black Viper Sect. As they headed through the streets, she looked around, studying the people and the city.
The architecture was a classical sect design, as was the layout. Wide streets, with low buildings of at most two floors; wooden construction, with tiled, triangular roofs. The road was cobbled stone, the buildings painted in dark greens and black: the colors of the Black Viper Sect. The area they were passing through was residential, and she saw people from the sect walking around, some stopping to look at them as they passed.
Most of them were Demasi and human, with a few Kreacean tossed in. The Kreacean surprised her a bit; from what she knew of sects and their usual composition, those of their kind rarely joined them. The people were dressed in simple clothes, black or green robes with little variety. She could see that most of the clothes were made in the same manner, suggesting that they didn’t have much resources for variety. The sect wasn’t poor, but from what she could see, neither was it rich. It would explain why they agreed to make a deal with an unknown faction.
The sect didn’t know that Reyla’s people were from the Great Empire. They believed them to be a small Mercenary Guild that was attempting to grab a territory beyond the frontier and were paying the sect to use their territory as a resting and gathering post. Few would allow another group to bring their people into their main territory, but she figured that the deal was just too good—the Great Empire could pay well when it wanted to.
They left the residential area behind and entered a wealthier district. All around her were walls, shielding smaller estates from sight. Their escort led them through the streets until they reached a wall and a gate near the base of the mountain. Two guards stood in front of the gate, both Ravzor wearing simple armor with no identifiable markings. Seeing them approach they came to attention, looking at the Black Viper Warriors and then toward Reyla and the others. They had probably been expecting someone from the Great Empire to arrive.
They saluted, and their escorts excused themselves, leaving them with their own people. If they had been anywhere else she would’ve been insulted by their manners, but she knew from her studies that the sects worked differently. They operated based on a strange system of honor, obligation, and appearance. Their hosts would send for someone to take them to the sect leaders later, choosing to meet them in their seat of power.
The two guards opened the gate, one of them rushing ahead to announce their arrival. As they entered the estate, they were met with a cut grass lawn flanking an ornamental paved pathway. Garden flowers were arranged in circular formations in the middle of the lawn and flowers grew on the walls that surrounded the estate. The building in front of them was nice looking. A wooden mansion that had only a single floor. As they walked closer, she looked around, and then up at the mountain that loomed over them. Some way up the mountain’s side she saw a large mansion, rising up behind walls with towers at the corners built on a large plateau.
The sect leader’s home. It was perfectly positioned to watch over the city, and they could see inside the estate assigned to them easily. She grimaced at that, but she knew that sects weren’t known for their trusting nature.
“Welcome to Ven’oran, my Lady,” a voice said and she turned to see an older man, human, looking at her. “I am emissary Ento Eist, at your service.”
“Thank you, Emissary,” Reyla returned. “I am Reyla Ornn. I have orders to take over this operation.”
Ento’s eyes flickered at her name, but then he bowed. “Of course. We have been expecting someone to come and take over for a while now. We’d almost thought that we had been forgotten by our superiors.”
Reyla grimaced—she knew that this operation was a low-priority one. She gestured at the two behind her. “This is my sister Nayra, and our attendant Dergobor.” Having Dergobor pose as a simple attendant even to their own people would allow him to do his work with less risk. “I will need to be brought up to speed on everything regarding this mission. I’ve been given only broad strokes regarding our plans here.”
If the man was surprised at that, he didn’t comment, but instead inclined his head at Nayra, ignoring Dergobor. “Of course, Lady Ornn. I believe that we will have some time before the sect leaders call on us. It is already close to night, and I don’t expect them to call until tomorrow morning.”
Reyla tilted her head. “I know only a bit about sect operations. Is that unusual?”
The man shrugged. “It is somewhat disrespectful. They are making sure that we understand that they don’t need us, although the truth might not agree. Still, it is no great insult, and I believe that they have other concerns on their mind.”
“Anything that we should be worried about?” Reyla asked as the man gestured for them to come inside the building.
“One of their expeditions has failed to report in. I believe that they will reinforce their supply caravan in case something has gone wrong,” the man answered.
Reyla nodded. She knew that the wild was dangerous. Their trip had been filled with monster attacks, enough of them that Reyla had even gotten enough Essence to level twice.
They entered the building and the man led them to their rooms to settle in.
***
The invitation for them to visit with one of the sect leaders came at dawn, and was really more of a demand. But Reyla had already expected that as, from what she had learned, sect leaders were often arrogant. Reyla had decided on bringing Ento and Dergobor along to the meeting, leaving Nayra in charge of their estate. She knew that her sister saw that as a slight, but Reyla couldn’t risk her acting impulsive with the sect leaders. Nayra had always thought that their family name made them more important than others.
As they were climbing the mountain on their way to the compound that held the inner family of the sect, Reyla reflected on what she learned the night before. The Black Viper Sect was insignificant, a weak sect that held only three territories and were trying to claim one more: a sect that was settled far away from the core of the Claimed Territories, as they called their gathering of different factions. The factions weren’t united at all, not like the Great Empire was. They warred amongst one another constantly, but they were powerful for it. Reyla knew that the Claimed Territories outnumbered the Great Empire by a large margin; they held more territory, and had more High Rankers, but their division was a weakness that the Great Empire intended to exploit. In service of that goal, they had been preparing for many years, infiltrating other factions, sowing discord and fostering animosity between their most powerful.
The Black Viper Sect wasn’t important. They had been approached because they were isolated and desperate. Most of their members came from another sect, one of the middling level sects in the Claimed Territories. Their Sect Head had been a member of a branch family of the Onyx Fang Sect. When he had split from his family and gone to the frontier, intending to create a new sect and gain power on his own, things hadn’t gone according to plan—the frontier was wild, and claiming territories not at all easy.
The information that Emissary Ento managed to secure so far told a story of a sect on the decline, and the deal that they had made with the Great Empire bought them time. The sect allowed them to cross their territory and use it as a resting spot, and in return the Five Orders were sending people through here often, and the Black Viper Sect didn’t ask questions. They had to suspect that their cover of being a Mercenary Guild was false, but with the payments that they were getting she suspected that it didn’t matter to them all that much. The Great Empire was supplying them with weapons and armor of high quality.
She was actually really interested in reading about the sects and their ways of surviving. Such organizations didn’t exist in the Great Empire, as there weren’t many Cultivators left in the Empire. The exodus had been hard, and the weakest perished on the way. Cultivation was not a quick way to power. Most, therefore, used the Cultivation paths only as a supplement for their Class.
They reached their destination, and were escorted inside. Immediately, she saw the massive mansion, several floors and buildings around the estate connecting to one another. Ponds filled with colorful fish flanked the pathways they walked as they were led into one of the main buildings. They passed through a corridor, and exited out into a garden grown around a crystal clear pond in the shadow of a tall tree. Reyla was surprised to see so much nature in the city. The cities of the Empire were rarely so colorful, built out of dark stone and always made for utility. There was no comfort in the Empire; they hadn’t had the luxury of it for a long time.
Their escorts left them in the garden, telling them that their master would see them shortly. Ento had informed her that they would be forced to wait, so she had been expecting it. She didn’t see the point of such games, but she could play along.
As they were left alone, she took the opportunity to look around. The garden was large, but it was mostly covered in shade. The tree stretched high above them, surrounded by buildings and rooftops, covering the pond with its shadow. The tree’s leaves were a strange pink color, and tiny flower buds of deep blue could be seen just beginning to bloom. She had never seen a tree like it before, but then, there were many strange things in the Infinite Realm. She walked around, looking at the strange flowers around the edges of the garden. The pond itself was crystal clear, and she could see the white stones placed at its bottom as if there was no water at all.
As she walked around the tree trunk, she stopped, seeing a person kneeling on the grass with their back turned to her. She hadn’t noticed them before, as they were obscured by the tree. She didn’t want to intrude, but before she could move back, the person spoke.
“Ah, a new visitor. I wonder who it could be?” came a woman’s voice, and then she stood up, turning around.
Reyla nearly gasped, but she managed to contain herself. The woman was Demasi, her horns were white and curving back, framing her midnight black hair—but the reason why Reyla was shocked was because the woman’s face was a mangled mess. Her eyes were gone, leaving behind only empty sockets. The burns covered the entirety of her upper face, trailed down her right side, mangling her cheek and then that side of the neck, disappearing beneath her robes.
Reyla had never seen such injuries before. In fact, she believed them to be impossible. With healing potions or even just a high enough vitality, any injury could be healed given time. Then she saw the black slave collar around the woman’s neck. She studied the slave for a long moment; she could feel power from her, incredible power, but there was also something wrong. Something broken.
Reyla was certain that the woman was a Cultivator, but she couldn’t feel any Qi emanating from her.
“So,” the woman drawled. “Who are you?”
Reyla remembered that the woman had asked a question. She grimaced, Ento had told her some about how to act with a sect leader, but he hadn’t told her how to act with a slave. She hadn’t even known that sects held slaves. They were a common occurrence in the Great Empire, convicts were usually collared for the duration of their sentence, and there were those who sold themselves into such service for a period of time. But she knew that such practices were not common in the factions of the Claimed Territories, and especially not in the sects. The sect politics were something completely foreign and insane to her. For all she knew, the slave was someone important.
In the end she fell back to Ento’s advice to be respectful to anyone they met in the main estate. Only those who were trusted and high up in the sect were allowed there.
Reyla bowed as Ento taught her, even though the woman couldn’t see. “I apologize for interrupting you.” She paused as she tried to remember the right way to call her. “Honored sister. I am Reyla Ornn, a visitor to your city.”
“Oh, what is this? It’s been a long time since anyone showed me such respect. I guess you are not from around here, then,” the woman said and then laughed. Reyla paused, wondering if she had made a blunder. But then the woman calmed and inclined her head. “I suppose respect deserves respect. I am Anatalien Far Solla, Ruler of the Empty Sky, at your service.”
The woman then exploded into laughter, as if what she had said was incredibly amusing. Reyla frowned. It seemed like the woman wasn’t all there in the head. The name sounded familiar to her, probably from the files Ento had her go over last night, but that’s all she could recall.
Reyla shook her head and spoke again. “As I’ve said, I didn’t mean to interrupt. I am here to speak with your sect leaders.”
The woman snorted. “No sect leaders of mine. And you didn’t interrupt me. I do take a cycling pose from time to time, but it is not as if it matters anymore. You interrupted nothing.”
Reyla didn’t know how to respond to that, or what it even meant. The woman seemed powerful to her senses, but she was getting a strange sensation from her skill. Her |Power Sense| was telling her that the woman before her was incredibly powerful, far more than Reyla herself was, but somehow also not. She had never felt anything like that before. Perhaps her skill level was just too low for her to be able to tell.
She felt someone approach, and turned to see Ento coming over and a sect warrior standing next to Dergobor on the other side of the garden.
“It looks like my meeting is about to start,” Reyla said.
The woman tilted her head and smiled. “Go away, then. Don’t want to keep the trash waiting.”
Reyla didn’t really know how to react, so she just walked away. Ento met her, then frowned at the slave.
“Do you know who that is?” Reyla asked.
Ento shook his head. “I’ve never seen someone collared here, nor did I hear anything about any slaves.”
Reyla frowned. “She said that her name is Anatalien Far Solla, Ruler of the Empty Sky. Does that mean anything to you?”
“No, it does not, Lady,” Ento said.
Reyla was still sure that she had heard the name before. She kept repeating it in her head, trying to remember where she heard it. She glanced back, seeing the woman’s face still turned in her direction, as if she was following her with those empty sockets.
And then Reyla remembered where she heard the name. She froze, and felt the blood leave her face.
“My Lady, what is wrong?” Ento asked.
But Reyla couldn’t respond. She looked at the woman, and saw the woman’s lips curve upward. A moment later the crippled woman turned and walked away, but Reyla couldn’t do anything but stare at her back. She remembered the stories she heard from her siblings when she was young, the records she read in her family vault. Records of their enemies: the High Rankers of the First and the Second Iteration.
