14. Show Yourself
Show Yourself
Earlier…
R halyf walked towards the Eryas Palace after he left Finley and Gemma.
Hands crossed at the wrists behind his back.
Boots scuffing through the grass. Whistling as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
He was in a good mood. A very good mood actually.
Being with the two humans had been invigorating.
Their delight in his magic and interest in the Kindreth had been something he’d not known he was missing.
Had he been a little free with the information he’d given Finley about the Night Elves and, especially, about Vex?
Maybe. But Finley would learn what Declan was eventually.
Maybe sooner rather than later. He didn’t see Declan keeping this type of secret from his best friend and found brother forever.
Besides, if Declan really was as ignorant of his past as he seemed, he’d need someone to confide in and count on.
Finley was it. And Finley appeared a good choice especially since he seemed to have a refreshing admiration for some parts of Kindreth society.
He wouldn’t turn away from Declan like how so many others would for a Night Elf.
Like Aquilan might… Like he would .
Rhalyf quashed down that flicker of hope that sometimes flared up in his chest that he could confide in Aquilan the truth about who he was, what his past had been like and all the conflicting feelings he had about it.
When he allowed himself to think about it at all.
Perhaps it was talking about Vex and the Kindreth that had turned his path from the palace to the forest where Seith and Leisha had died.
But, for certain, his original intention was to go to the palace, find out what room he had been assigned and then change it to something much, much better.
If he knew Vesslan’s pettiness–and there was no bottom to it–it likely meant he had been put in the basement with no windows.
Which, as a Kindreth, was actually preferable, but what was powerful was something altogether different.
He would have a room on the east side of the palace with full views of the rising of the Sun just below where Aquilan’s rooms would, undoubtedly, be.
Would it be uncomfortable at times? Yes.
His Adiva protected him, but his nature was darkness and he couldn’t completely fight that attraction or need for the cool embrace of the night.
Yet as he had walked opposite the place where Seith and Leisha had been killed, his steps slowed and then his direction changed.
Beyond speaking of Vex, there were other reasons that encouraged him to go there now.
He had thought to go late that night and perform the spells necessary to determine as much as possible about the killer, but now that he had agreed to help Finley with his game that would eat into that time.
There would likely be drinking and partying afterwards, which he would be ill graced to leave and his own nature would make it almost impossible to.
His mother had always said he was too indulgent and that his delight in pleasure would be the end of him.
While he– tried –to forget most of what she had said to him, he hadn’t forgotten this.
It was his weakness. So he was going to split the difference.
He would go to the woods now and party later .
No need to have to fight himself to leave a good time.
He veered towards the woods and started to pull power from all around him.
A little from the grass. A little from the air.
A little from the flowers. Even a little from the dome that immediately adjusted to fuel itself back up, unlike the poor flowers which wilted or the grass that became yellow or the chill that caused the air to crackle with frost. Aravae drew magic completely from their own immortal life source, but Kindreth supplemented their power from the environment and other people.
Normally, people who were bled or fully outright sacrificed.
He had never resorted to bleeding or killing.
He thought it was weak and showed a lack of imagination.
One of the most important things he had ever learned–and leaned heavily upon to this day–was using magic efficiently.
He wasted nothing. He wove his spells with tight, thin lines of power that made sure every single bit of them worked towards his end goal.
Nothing flashy. Nothing unnecessary. The impact of the spell was the end result, hence, Gran who not only looked like an old human woman, but felt like one and smelled like one.
This was what allowed him to do many elaborate spells that others could not and do them one after another after another.
It was what would allow him to perform a divining spell after that transformation spell that had turned him into Gran and that was after he had enchanted Declan’s Adiva . All in one day.
He wasn’t tired from it at all and he wouldn’t be even after he was done, because of his diligence and discipline.
Something his mother had never had. She splashed power about as if that was the point and not the spell.
How many had she killed to create her greatest magics?
Well, there was that one time she’d literally emptied their estate of prisoners and servants.
After that, he made an effort not to get to know anyone that worked for his family for they might be taken at a moment’s notice from him.
And if he cared for them then he might have to act against his parents and older sister.
He hadn’t been ready for that. Not even by the time he’d fled.
He reached the tree line and the boughs curled over him almost like a protective embrace.
He looked up at the dark green leaves that rustled in the wind.
There was still a good amount of daylight left as it was only mid-afternoon.
But the canopy was thick and blocked out much of the sunlight.
The divining spell should work. He might have to use a bit more power than otherwise, but he was confident he would determine what–or who –was responsible for Seith and Leisha’s untimely demise.
He allowed his senses to spread out ahead and around him.
He already knew that Commander Sevren and his group of Protectors were gone from the area as, though there were more Protectors patrolling the edge of the dome around Tyrael, the Commander himself was nowhere to be seen and he wouldn’t have left a crime scene early.
His senses confirmed that there were no Aravae present.
In fact, there wasn’t a whole lot of life present here at all, which was strange in and of itself.
There should have been insects churring and clicking, the rustling of small animals as they nosed their way through the underbrush, the louder snapping and cracking as larger creatures lumbered between the trees, but there was nothing. It was eerily silent.
A Kindreth has been here.
That thought came unbidden into his mind and stuck there as if cemented.
He was trying to keep an open mind. Not allow his fear to get the better of him.
It wasn’t that he was afraid of this unknown Kindreth–if they existed at all–but what their presence could threaten, especially if, as seemed obvious, they weren’t fitting into Aravae society quite as well as they should.
Declan’s ignorance was one thing, but the boy was keeping a relatively low profile.
But killing Aravae right outside the dome and cutting out their tongues? What are they thinking?!
It was sloppy! It was careless! It was practically begging the Aravae to actually remember their history and figure out that a Night Elf was fluttering around out here. He could not abide that. Again, once one Kindreth was found, there would be a witch hunt for others.
People already suspected him of having Kindreth blood. The Neres would crack under pressure if questioned, he was certain of that. In order to save themselves, they would out him. And where would he go if that happened? His life was here now with Aquilan and all the rest.
It wasn’t just that it was comfortable and agreeable to him, but, if he were honest, it was the one place he felt semi-safe from Vex. Aquilan was powerful. The Sun Elves were the natural enemies of the Night Elves. Vex would be risking a war coming for him here. He was hiding in Aquilan’s shadow.
Is this Kindreth doing the same thing? Hiding amongst the Aravae to escape the purge? But unable to control themselves?
That didn’t sit right with him. And he never allowed himself to think just one way and not explore all the other possibilities. So he forced himself to put aside the idea of sloppiness and lack of control to consider the exact opposite.
What if this Kindreth was in control? What if they understood exactly what they were risking, but did it anyway?
That would mean that they were… powerful.
So powerful that they weren’t worried at all about being found out.
Or maybe that they even intended to be found out.That would more likely explain how they had avoided his notice the night before.
No, that just can’t be. The only people that powerful are family. And, besides myself, none made it out. Vex made sure of that and Aquilan and I slaughtered Vulre and others.
It was how he had known to flee. The first death.
The first whisper of a coup. He still did not understand why Lady Ashryn Zinsadoral decided to go against Vex.
They’d had a relationship that had soured, yes.
But they’d been on again and off again for millennia.
Why had she been determined to kill Vex when his power seemed so unassailable? Had been unassailable?