Monsters and legends, p.91
Monsters and Legends, page 91
part #1 of Infinite Realm Series
She still couldn’t wrap her head around that. She had met with Eerv Ji Van, and he had not struck her as a man who would surrender so easily. But then she remembered the strange Monarch, his burned face, and the death that he left behind himself.
And now she had been invited to speak with the Sect Head of the newly named Twilight Melody Sect. None of Ento’s records indicated a sect with that name existed before they’d learned of it, which meant that the man had created a new sect. If he had been backed by someone from the core, he wouldn’t have done that—which only served to make this entire situation even more confusing.
She didn’t know what to think, or even what to do. Her task was in jeopardy, and she needed to gather information about the situation if she was to make a decision. The problem was that the few people who Ento had as his informants actually knew anything of worth. She had to piece together things from what they could find out from the general population, and that did not paint the whole picture. Now, she had been invited to meet with the new Sect Head, alone. A part of her worried about going, and Nayra’s suggestion that they run away did not help her in the least. Reyla didn’t want to fail again.
And then there was the matter of Anatalien Far Solla, the Ruler of the Empty Sky. Everyone in the city was talking about her, about the slave who most hadn’t even known existed having been freed by their new Sect Head. Reyla didn’t know what to make of it. Was he somehow related to the Ruler of the Empty Sky? A former apprentice? She didn’t know, but the fact that the High Ranker was now free complicated things even further. Her idea of rescuing her was no longer viable—she couldn’t offer the High Ranker freedom when she already had it.
For now, she needed to focus on the meeting in front of her. She needed to evaluate the state of the sect and see if their remaining here was still viable. She didn’t know how many things would change with new leadership, but she needed to gather as much information as possible.
She arrived at the gates of the main house, and was escorted inside by two Demasi warriors. She followed silently, doing her best to keep her nerves in check. She was led into the same room where she had met with Eerv Ji Van—only this time, the occupants were different.
Eerv Ji Van was there, but instead of sitting in the center of the platform, he was standing in front of it and to the side, next to a red-skinned human woman. Reyla let her eyes linger on the unknown woman for a second, taking her appearance in. She wore simple but well-made clothes, and Reyla couldn’t see any high-quality equipment, but the woman’s body told her that she was at least in the Mid Lord Realm. A powerful warrior, on par with Reyla herself, potentially stronger. Class levels and Cultivation Realms didn’t equate to each other equally, but she could make an educated guess nonetheless. The third person in the room was a surprise to her, as it was a contracted monster: a silver-furred wolf-hybrid with black streaks through his coat, crouching on the edge of the platform. She saw his brown eyes take her in, and nearly shivered. Quickly, she looked to the last person in the room.
It was the man who she had watched slaughter almost a hundred warriors in an instant. The top half of his face remained scarred, but she could see signs of healing. His sockets were beginning to fill up. It would take weeks, but he would eventually heal, although he would remain scarred, she knew. Unless he used a powerful potion or healing power. He was the most intense of the four, for all that he was sitting at the edge of the platform with his legs dangling down. He wore simple clothes, with only two rings on his fingers and no other weapon visible.
Even without eyes, she could tell that he was focused on her, that he could somehow see her. She had surmised that he had to have a power that allowed him to monitor his surroundings after watching him fight. But a power that could provide as much as he seemed to get from it was hard to come by, and harder to master.
She bowed the same way she had when she met with Eerv, holding the position for the full three seconds before straightening up. The man in front of her tilted his head, and then spoke.
“Reyla Ornn, we meet again,” the new Sect Head said. His voice was playful, as if he was completely at ease. Reyla glanced at Eerv Ji Van in to the side, seeing him seemingly at ease as well. She wondered how they could even be in the same room. If someone was to kill Nayra, she knew that she wouldn’t be able to be in the presence of their murderer. But, she understood that sects had different values, and that they were raised differently, especially those who came from powerful parents.
“You summoned me, Honored Master Nacht.” Reyla inclined her head.
The man’s smile froze at her words, and she shivered, wondering what she had said.
“Please,” the Sect Head said. “Do not call me ‘master.’ And since you are not a part of this sect, Ryun will suffice.”
Reyla blinked. She had yet to encounter someone in a position of power who would allow someone weaker to call them by their name. But she couldn’t refuse—she was a guest.
“As you say…Ryun.” Reyla felt uncomfortable saying it, but the man’s smile widened.
“Now, I hear that you are here as an emissary of a Guild?” Ryun said.
“Yes, I was sent by the Mercenary Guild—Last Return. We are attempting to claim a few territories beyond the frontier. Master Ji Van had been gracious enough to agree to our proposition,” Reyla said, bringing up the deal with the former Sect Head immediately. She didn’t know the details of the transfer of power, but if they could stand in the same room, perhaps she could get the deal to remain standing as it is.
Ryun tilted his head. “Ah, is that so?”
Reyla fought the urge to swallow. There was something about the man that reminded her of her older siblings, of the way they got when they knew that she had done something wrong but didn’t want to let her know that they knew.
“Yes. We are of course hoping that we will be able to continue this working relationship with you and your faction,” Reyla said, trying to see if he would slip anything about his backing.
“My faction is myself only, I am afraid. But I do think we can work something out,” Ryun said. “The deal you had with the Black Viper Sect will hold. But I am very much interested in hearing more about your faction, your Guild. I’ve been told that you are mainly a Classer, and I would love to hear your perspective on it. If you would do me the courtesy of indulging me in conversation, I would appreciate it immensely.”
Reyla was startled, thinking furiously of a way to politely decline. The more she spoke, the more risk there would be of her saying something that she shouldn’t. But on the other hand, it would be a good opportunity for her to gather information on him, and in the end she decided that the risk was worth it. “I would be honored…Ryun.”
“Good. I will call on you when I have the time. I look forward to getting to know you better.” He smiled at her again, which looked entirely too sinister without the upper half of his face.
A while later, Reyla sat in the meeting room on their compound. As soon as she returned from the meeting with the new Sect Head, she had been dragged there by her sister. Dergobor and Ento were already inside and waiting. She took in the looks on their faces and frowned.
“What happened?” she asked.
Ento walked up to her and offered her a small golden orb. Reyla blinked at the item, recognizing it immediately. She met Ento’s eyes questioningly, she hadn’t known that they had that here.
Ento saw the question and shook his head. “A runner came from the Guild. A priority delivery.”
The orbs were not only extremely rare and expensive, they were a risk. There were people who could track their links, and she knew that the Order wouldn’t risk sending one if it wasn’t of utmost importance. She took hold of the Far-link Orb and activated it. She felt the connection get established, and then a few moments later an unfamiliar voice spoke through it and directly into her head.
“Knight Ornn, this is a priority-one message for you and your team. A monster swarm is headed in your direction. You are to evaluate the danger to our operation and make a field decision on your action.”
“A monster swarm? Is the return starting already?” Reyla asked hurriedly. It wasn’t supposed to come for a while yet.
“No, the monster swarm in question is a naturally formed one. The great swarm is still being built on. This monster swarm is rated as a category three. Evaluate the state of the frontier sects and their chances of survival. If there is risk to your lives, abandon your mission and return to the Tower of Five Orders.”
The link snapped, and Reyla blinked. She looked around the room, seeing the expectant looks on the others faces. She sighed and let them know what was happening.
“A category three isn’t that bad,” Nayra said. “I mean, you remember the one that attacked back home, when we were what? Thirteen? It got taken care of in a couple of hours.”
Reyla shook her head. “That was a monster swarm that attacked the home of High Rankers. Enra and Viren were there, remember?” Reyla said, reminding Nayra of their older brother and sister. “You can’t compare their power to that of the sects here on the frontier. They do not have people as powerful as they are.”
Dergobor leaned in. “So, what are we going to do? A category three isn’t a death sentence, but if the monsters breach the city, they could threaten us as well.”
Reyla closed her eyes to think. She felt like there were more things to gain here, like she was at the edge of something great that could help her people. Something that would redeem her in the eyes of the Order.
“I’ve just been invited to…speak with the new Sect Head. There are so many things surrounding him that we don’t know, and I think that I have a good chance of learning something that could help us.”
Nayra tilted her head. “You think he is from some important faction? That you can turn him to our side?”
There were many lower power individuals that had been bought by the Empire. Very few knew who exactly they were working for, but for all intents and purposes they were on the Great Empire’s side. Reyla didn’t know if she could turn Ryun Nacht; the man didn’t seem like he was someone to follow others.
“I still know too little about him, but perhaps there is something to be gained. I have a strange feeling about him,” Reyla added.
“Strange how?” Nayra asked.
Reyla opened her mouth, but didn’t say anything. She couldn’t exactly put it into words, but something about the man intrigued her—and frightened her. A category-three monster swarm might be dangerous, but… She would need to try and gauge the power that the new Sect Head wielded, to evaluate their chances of survival. A monster swarm was a slow-moving threat. There was time for her to think about it.
For now, she would focus on Ryun Nacht.
INTERLUDE – Kri I
Kri Kesh sat on the roof of the ruler’s mansion in the Wolf’s Grove town. Her mother and Ryun had been away for a while now, more than a month, but she hadn’t paid that much attention to the passage of time. She had finally gained access to Essence, she could finally advance. It was supposed to be a great moment for her, a time when everything would change. And yet, it didn’t feel that way. Her mother had given her gifts: a Path Stone, a consumable item that would teach her the basics of her mother’s path. She had told Kri that she had recorded her latest understanding of her Path of the Sword, with all of her upgraded techniques. Along with that path, she had also given Kri an Aspect Sphere, one with a tier-6 aspect—Absolute Cold.
Kri hadn’t know that her mother had such a thing. She knew about her previous aspect, and when she asked how she obtained this new one, she learned that Ryun had helped her mother gain something far more powerful than she possessed before. That didn’t surprise Kri. She had always liked Ryun. He was like someone out of the stories she used to love when she was young: a master who took a hero at the start of their journey in and taught them what he knew, who gave them secrets of Cultivation, showed them how to defeat the villain. She didn’t know why her mother was so reserved around him.
Then, just after Kri received the gifts, her mother left along with Ryun, leaving her alone in the town filled with people she didn’t care for. She was supposed to help Kri advance for the first time, teach her how to do so properly, but she wasn’t there. Kri understood that there were issues that her mother had to deal with, but she still felt bad. She didn’t want to use her mother’s path without her, but also…she had been dreaming about asking Ryun to teach her his path. It seemed so great and powerful, like a path out of the stories. She had dreams of being powerful and wiping out her enemies. It seemed far more interesting than just fighting with a sword.
On the other hand, she didn’t want to disappoint her mother, not after everything that she had been through. Everything that she lost. Kri felt that rejecting her mother’s path might hurt her, and she didn’t want to do that. But…she also couldn’t help but think that her mother would want for Kri to be as strong as she possibly could, and she was certain that Ryun’s path was stronger.
But as time passed, she felt more and more anxious to begin her journey.
So she sat on the roof and looked down at the Path Stone, like she did most days. The sun was slowly turning into a moon, and she again debated using it. Her mother’s path wasn’t bad; it was more than most people got. But Kri, while still young, understood differences in power. She didn’t want to be like everybody else. She wanted to be more than the others, to be powerful like Ryun.
She had heard the news that he had taken over the Black Viper Sect, and that only made her want to wait and try to convince him to share his path with her. She knew that she didn’t really have any right to ask, that she wasn’t related to him. A powerful path was usually something that was reserved for a bloodline, and she knew that he was likely to refuse her. Yet she couldn’t help but dream about it, what she could be.
But then reality seeped back in, and she realized that it was unlikely to happen. She looked at the Path Stone in her hands and prepared to use it.
“You seem troubled.”
Kri was so startled that she nearly fell from the roof. She managed to catch herself at the last moment and turn around to glare at the intruder. Her curses died on her lips as she saw a man without his eyes standing there. She was about to scream when she recognized him.
“Ryun?” Kri asked.
The man smiled and nodded his head. “I apologize. I did not mean to startle you.”
Kri blinked as she looked at Ryun, realizing that he had managed to sneak up on her without her noticing anything at all. He is just so cool, she thought to herself as she smiled back at him. “You’re back! Where is mother?”
“She’ll be here soon. I came ahead. The caravan was too…slow for my taste,” Ryun told her.
Kri couldn’t help but stare at his eyes, or where they should be. “What happened to your eyes?”
Ryun tilted his head and answered, “They were burned out.”
Kri liked that about him the most—that he would answer almost any of her questions, that he didn’t seem offended by something that others would be. She had no idea how other people lived their lives when they couldn’t speak about certain things, but Ryun would always give her an answer. He might say something that she couldn’t understand, sure, but he rarely just refused to answer.
Before she could ask a follow-up question, his lips quirked upward and he continued. “I was captured and had my eyes burned. But as you can see, I escaped! And now I rule a sect, even more territory than I had before. It is…annoying, to say the least.”
Kri blinked. She didn’t remember hearing him speak more than a few words in a single sentence beyond perhaps a few occasions. He seemed…much more cheerful than his usual cold self. He was even smiling.
“Isn’t that great, though? You are a true Sect Head now! I mean, a lot of people would give everything to be in your position.”
“Those people are fools who do not understand what it means to lead. To lead, one needs to be responsible for others.”
“And are you? Responsible for everyone, I mean?” Kri asked.
“Hmm… I don’t know yet. Some have accepted me quickly, others are unsure. The remainder are downright rebellious. Leading people has never been my strength. I always let others do it for me.”
Kri knew that already. Her mother had been the leader of the town in all but name. “So, why are you here, then, and not in Ven’oran?”
“The sect is in dire needs of resources. It is failing, and according to Eerv Ji Van there is a dungeon here that can help us deal with that problem.”
This was exactly why Kri liked Ryun so much. Kri smiled at his response. He didn’t speak with her like she was a child, like she wasn’t capable of understanding things. He talked to her like she was an equal, and he trusted her enough to tell her the truth.
“A dungeon?” she asked excitedly. “Oh, can I come?”
Ryun chuckled, and she blinked. She didn’t think that she had ever hear him make that sound. There really was something strange about him now; he seemed somehow more relaxed.
“You’ve only just started on your path. I doubt that you could survive a single monster in there,” Ryun told her.
Kri felt her face heat up. Of course she couldn’t go with them—she’d just gotten so excited about a dungeon. They were supposed to hold incredible treasures, especially for people who cleared it first. For a moment, she was glad that he couldn’t see her face and her embarrassment.
“About that…” Kri started, feeling a bit self-conscious. “I didn’t actually use the Path Stone yet. I was going to wait for Mother.”
