Among the Clouds

[Reika]

Among the Clouds

2nd of Ash, Year 122 of the Age of Steel

The cold wind immediately greeted her as soon as she stepped out of the lift. Reika felt almost disappointed when she had to step onto the path that would lead her into the Palace of the First Wind. The view of the city as they rose through the clouds had been breathtaking. It was impossible to believe that they had been at war just a little while ago and she was sad to see it go. And also the fact that she dreaded what awaited her in the palace.

Trailing behind her were a dozen of Dahshida maidservants and guards, all following her in silence - well, except for one.

“You’re in big trouble aren’t you?” Mai asked as they both looked up to stare at the sprawling palace. It was a beautiful and majestic piece of architecture, fitting for the royal family - so different from the subdued Yorunorei.

“Probably… Definitely,” the young Dahshida answered with a laugh. Frankly, she wasn’t sure why else she was summoned to this place. An abrupt invitation to the Novalys’s residence after she publicly questioned their family. Once they had returned from the assembly, Reika tried to ask her father but all she got from him was silence. Well, whatever the case may be, she had hastily prepared an apology should the need arise. “Let’s just pray that I don’t have to get on my knees and beg for forgiveness for insulting the shinsei and his brother.”

The handmaiden shrugged as she turned. She reached out to straighten the Dahshida’s silver hairpin. “At least you’d look stunning while doing it. You can thank me later.”

Between her training and eventual induction into the shadowguard, the young Dahshida had few chances to dress up. So both of them were quite thrilled that such an opportunity came. Nonetheless, Reika had suspicions that the handmaiden was certainly excited for the chance to dress her up more than her. Mai had roused her early in the morning and made her sit as the servants prepped her.

“I’ll make sure our efforts this morning did not go to waste,” Reika replied lightly. Despite her supposed nonchalance, she fidgeted with the lavender fabric of her dress. It was quite the magnificent fabric, glistening silver in some lights. In the corner of her eyes, she could spot the palace staff starting to head their way. “Let’s do this then.”

[Paragon]

P A R A G O N

“Lady Dahshida. You are most welcome in these halls. His Highness is expecting you.” Approaching her was a grey robed palace official who bowed low upon greeting her. He was accompanied by two palace guards. The Avialae observed the collection of House Dahshida servants and guardsmen, their eyes traveling over each individual carefully. After a moment, one of them gave a nod and the palace official smiled.

“This way please.” The official took them not toward the palace but toward an area on the grounds. As they moved through the compound there was a strange sight to behold. Many officials and what appeared to be members of various guilds were overseeing crates being loaded with what appeared to be supplies. Dry foods, cloth, dragonshards, all of them were being loaded up into crates and assembled.

“House Novalys does not turn a blind eye to the needs of its people. These supplies are being sent to the townships and villages in our country in need of them.” The palace official answered the unspoken question. The official guided them to a quieter area of the palace and entered into the building. As would be expected, the palace was a quiet hive of activity as not only palace staff was present. There were members of the royal family discussing matters of importance with various city officials. There were members of the nobility who were being tended to, perhaps waiting for an audience with the Queen-Regent or the Kon-Daizoku. The palace official guided them toward the center of the palace until they stepped into an open garden. It was then that the palace guards stepped forth.

“Only the Lady Dahshida and one other are permitted beyond this point.” Behind them, there were at least a dozen more palace guards standing watch in the corridor. In the garden itself, seated at the center of a tranquil garden, was the Prince Rien. He appeared to be in quiet meditation. Once Reika had chosen her accompanying partner, she and that person were escorted into the garden by the palace official. The palace guards stayed behind. Coming to a stop several paces away from the meditating prince, the official bowed low.

“Thank you, Yshta.” Rien opened his eyes. Unfolding his legs he rose from his meditative pose. He wore simple cloth garments of white linen accented with a black sash around his waist. A silver pendant holding a single white gemstone hung around his neck. He briefly spread his golden-brown eagle wings and relaxed them as he stepped forward. Of the sons of House Novalys, Rien was known to be the more socially present of the eldest two. The owner and benefactor of not just his own tavern and inn, but also several reputable establishments across the territory, he was a shrewd businessman. Where Talon was known to be the warrior and the man groomed to be inheritor of House and Kingdom, Rien had fostered a reputation for being a man well connected to the various guilds and organizations across the country.

“Thank you for coming, Lady Dahshida.” He offered her a slight bow at the waist. The palace official quietly exited their presence.

“Time is of the essence so I will be direct.” He looked at her companion. “Do you trust this person?”

[Reika]

“I’ll go with Mai,” she decided instantly when they were told only one person may accompany her.

Reika could see her guards' wings ruffled in disagreement when she made her choice, but they bowed and took a step back. She wasn’t worried about her well-being, but she would be lying if she said she wasn’t getting more nervous as they walked deeper and deeper into the palace. Which was why she would rather have Mai by her side.

While the young woman had visited the palace a dozen times before, she had certainly never seen this part of it. They walked past the dozen nobles loitering around, some curious eyes darted toward her as she was led past them. As they walked, Reika memorized every room and every turn, anything she could during the brief moments as they passed - a habit hammered into her during her training. Frankly, it was also useful as a distraction to stop her from fretting over the current situation.

Only when they finally stopped in an enchanting garden in what must be the heart of the palace that she finally let the thoughts flood in. Her summons here… it must be related to her house’s support, but what did that really mean? Why did the prince want her to come all the way here for a private meeting? Reika was a nobody in the circle of nobility. Was it something that she said? It didn’t seem like he was here to reprimand her for what she asked during the assembly.

Reika gave Rien a formal bow, pulling on the knowledge of every etiquette lesson she had attended. “It is an honor to be here.”

“Do you trust this person?”

“With my life,” Reika answered without missing a beat. The two had been nearly inseparable since childhood, ever since the handmaiden was picked to serve the unruly Dahshida girl. Still, Mai bowed and took a few steps back - a gesture to show that she was giving them privacy even if in actuality she would probably hear the conversation.

“May I ask what this is about, my prince?” the Dahshida asked as she looked up at the avialae. He towered over her, just like most men of the nobility did. She had replayed their conversation over and over again last night, trying to scrutinize every word that left their mouths. And then there were secretive words he shared with her grandfather. It took all her strength not to ask him that right that moment.

[Paragon]

P A R A G O N

“Good.” Rien’s eyes examined Mai for a moment. There was nothing lecherous in his gaze. His was a calculating appraisal, much like that of his mother’s. Raising a hand, he made a dismissive gesture. Immediately the guards and attendants in the garden began leaving their company with the exception of one of them. A dark-skinned elven woman dressed in the attire of a Royal Guard Captain. Her eyes remained fixed on their group, even as her expression was passive. When the others had quit their company, Rien lowered his hand. The elven woman snapped her fingers and a pulse of magic rippled outward from her body. Runic symbols shimmered into existence around them forming a circle that was ten meters in diameter. A dome formed around them, becoming opaque so as to blur their forms from the outside. It became quieter within the boundary.

“This is about you, Lady Reika. More specifically, it is about your skills and the skills of your family.” Rien nodded to her.

“The Black Wedding. Outwardly, my family has been sending signals that the blame has been placed squarely on Zaichaer and the Imperium for it. Internally, we have been investigating what has been revealed to be a conspiracy against House Novalys.” He let that sink in for a moment. While it was no secret that House Novalys no longer commanded quite the amount of respect and reverence it once did, some of that regard had been restored following the ascension of its First Son.

“Ministers and officials have been removed. Quickly. Quietly. Some nobles have been…” He searched for the more delicate word. “...detained.”

There had been changes in the Royal Court. New officials had been appointed by his mother. Many had merely seen it as her attempt to consolidate power and further steal the throne.

“You must forgive my hostility in the Assembly chambers. We have evidence that implicates members of the Shadow Guard in the assassination of my father and the abduction of my brother. I do not, however, believe that you and His Excellency are aware of such a thing.” Before she could protest, he continued.

“All of this is to say, the tragedy at my brother’s wedding was not merely an attack from the empire or Zaichaer. Someone in Kalzasi helped them. My brother’s wedding was heavily guarded. Someone helped the attackers navigate our defenses. Someone powerful. Someone well connected and with an intimate knowledge of our infrastructure.”

[Reika]

When a guard came in to place a magical barrier around them, it dawned on Reika what the gravity of their conversation might be. Her heart thundered as she turned to look at Mai, who met her gaze and shrugged nervously. It seemed like having to beg for forgiveness might not be the worst thing that could have happened.

As the Dahshida listened to Rien’s explanation, she pressed her lips together. There had always been conspiracies against the royal house - the shadowguards knew this well. They were Kalzasi’s ruler and many coveted that title. But this time, one succeeded in murdering the shokaze and whisking away his son. It was an immeasurable blow to the family.

“It made sense that the attackers had inside help,” Reika acknowledged. Everyone - the shadowguards, the skyguards - had spared no expense to ensure the safety of the wedding. Security had been painfully tight. For such an attack to transpire… indeed an inside job was the most likely explanation.

Reika knew that some sort of investigation into what happened was done, but she wasn’t even remotely involved in it. Ever since the black wedding, her father had barred her from anything that relate to the war - much to her frustration. She didn’t even know if the investigation was still underway or had found its conclusion.

“You are sure the evidence points to someone in the shadowguard?” the young woman questioned as she looked straight at the prince. It did explain his words during the assembly, how it sounded like he blamed them for everything that happened. “What is this evidence, if I may ask?”

The young shadowguard folded her arms in front of her chest as she spiraled deep into her own thoughts. Unbeknownst to most, her family did lead a small army of spies and assassins, so distrust was not something she was foreign with. Still, for the betrayal to have come from these people she interacted with nearly every day… it was unthinkable. “And I’m guessing you summoned me here to start investigating my own friends and families.”

[Paragon]

P A R A G O N

“There was a survivor at the skyship junction. Several, in fact. The Sky Guards there managed to fight off several of their attackers. One of those captured had several interesting things to say to the Arbiter we consulted to interrogate him. His interrogation was not what I want to show you, however.” An Arbiter was not a common thing in Karnor. However, the disciples of Raxen, the Demigod of Truth, were known for their tenacity in the pursuit of it. Rien held out his hand. The armored woman tossed a crystal to him. He caught it, bringing it up to examine it for a moment before he extended it to Reika. It was easy to recognize it for what it was, a lorestone record. It was common practice for important events, records and information to be recorded through the memory stones.

“This one is.” Activating the lorestone would cause the aether in it to stir. Misty forms took shape as the crystal projected its record into the area in front of them. Within the warded area, the illusory projection of a room with a single man bound to a chair took shape. Seated across from him was an Orkhan woman dressed in cloth and leather. A slimmer male Orkhan could be seen in a meditative pose on the floor near her. Two Avialae royal guards stood behind the bound man.

Off Topic

“We can begin.” The Orkhan woman spoke. Her voice held a distinct accent that was not native to the region of Karnor.

“I am Gralla. Paladin of the Truthspeaker. Guardian to Nystok. Today we shall speak Truth.” The Orkhan woman folded her hands in her lap. On the back of one of her hands was a stark white marking. She closed her hand into a fist and it glowed softly.

“You will speak your name.” There was a pause. The bound man tensed. His jaw tightened and it looked as though he was putting up some sort of resistance to a compulsion. Gralla folded her arms over her chest and leaned back in her chair. She stared at the man patiently. After about a minute where the man’s neck muscles bulged and he looked to be straining mightily against whatever force was at work, he gasped.

“Hu Seung-Hoon.” His chest heaved. He looked up at Gralla. His face was immediately recognizable. The Shadowguard was a tight-knit organization. A network of intelligence gatherers, there were members who were required to regularly correspond with and report to the leaders of the Shadowguard. This man, while not being of exceptionally high rank, was of suitable rank where he would have been positioned to infiltrate the wedding. He held enough rank to where he often reported directly to leaders higher than him. Leaders who would have trusted him to see to aspects of the security.

“Thank you, Hu Seung-Hoon.” Gralla inclined her head. “Did you assist in the murder of King Savien? You will answer truthfully.”

Again, there was a pause as Hu Seung-Hoon resisted the compulsion of the Orkhan Arbiter. Again, she remained patient as she waited.

“I…” The human grit his teeth. Sweat broke out on his brow as he strained to resist the compulsion. Finally, he gasped again. “Yes.”

“Thank you.” Gralla inclined her head again. “Did you assist in the imprisonment of Prince Talon? You will answer truthfully.”

The human groaned and squirmed in his bindings as he fought to resist the Arbiter’s power. He rocked back and forth as he struggled against her compulsion. Gralla remained unmoved, simply staring at him steadily.

“Y-yes.” The human’s chest heaved and he sagged slightly in his chair. Gralla nodded her head.

“We are making excellent progress toward the Truth, Hu Seung-Hoon. Thank you for speaking it. Let us continue.”

Did he help the raiders infiltrate Kalzasi? Yes.

Did he kill members of the Shadowguard and Sky Guard? Yes.

Did he assist the Zaichaeri envoy in weakening Kalzasi’s defenses? Yes.

Did he help the Imperium in its plans to abduct and imprison Prince Talon? Yes.

Did he act alone? No.

The questions continued. By the end of it, Hu Seung-Hoon was sweating, exhausted from his attempts to resist the Arbiter’s truthspeaking compulsion and on the verge of collapse.

“One last question for today.” Gralla, throughout the whole ordeal, never once lost her calm composure. She remained relaxed and steady in her line of questioning. The human swallowed, his face having gone from defiant to fearful as he stared at the Orkhan woman with exhausted eyes.

“Did you betray Kalzasi?” There was no pause this time.

“No.” That made the Arbiter cant her head slightly.

The projection dissipated. Rien remained impassive as he allowed Reika to take in everything that she had seen.

“To answer you, no. It is not your family and friends we want you to spy on. We have been following leads to try and tace those responsible for this matter. Our efforts have led us to the Midden. The trail goes cold there. We are close, very close to uncovering the ringleaders behind my father’s murder and my brother’s abduction. We need someone they won’t be likely to recognize.”