Night VI Excerpt | Weaver-Aligned Zealot

Here's an excerpt from Night VI. I'll be posting several Zealot excerpts this week. They'll be from the first half of Night VI, so as not to spoil all the fun and surprises in the second half. I'm currently around 20,000 words in and there's still a lot more to write but I'm working through it quickly. I don't want to give a release estimate until I'm almost done with the NSFW content, since that can sometimes take longer than I anticipate. This excerpt has a lot of parallels with the main Heretic Night VI route.

[Excerpt Context] Takes place shortly after the end of Night V when the aligned Zealot doesn't outright accept Valdricht's offer. You're currently being fitted for clothing.

Excerpt:

You puzzle over this as the women work their way down your body, measuring every nook and cranny. Valdricht's conversation with Oskari continues in the background, occasionally surfacing to the forefront of your awareness.

"...later and later each year," Oskari says in a sigh. "Lately, I've been thinking we might head north. How have the mountains been?"

"Infested with sithrak," says Valdricht. "They're repopulating faster than we can exterminate them."

"All the more reason for us to join forces, no?"

"A fair point. But for now, you are needed here."

✧ Continue listening.
✧ Ask about sithrak. (Inquisitive +2 required)

"What are the sithrak?" you ask, glancing over your shoulder at the men.

It's Serax who answers, "Fiends that used to live underground, until some miners cracked open their nest. They're blind and hunt by mimicking their prey. They don't kill you right away. They attach their faces to yours and then excrete a paralytic fluid into your mouth. It doesn’t actually numb you; it just makes it so you can't move..."

He trails off at the sight of Valdricht's glare.

Clearing his throat, Oskari says, "Ghastly creatures, they are. Though that venom of theirs is worth its weight in rubies."

You're about to ask why anyone would want a venom that paralyzes but doesn’t numb. Then, you think better of it.

Tone shifting, Oskari asks, "Surely you don’t intend to take this lovely creature eastward, na’Valdricht? Why not stay here in Meyrrvik? My estate is at your disposal."

Valdricht lifts a shoulder. "I will take your offer under consideration."

"Ma’háldra," murmurs one of the seamstresses as she gestures toward the nearby chair. You go without question. As soon as you’re seated, the seamstress kneels and takes the width and length of your foot, first with your socks on. Then, she moves to take them off.

✧ Help her.
✧ Don’t interfere.

As the seamstress removes one sock, you bend down to help pull off the second. Cheeks flushing, she casts you an imploring look. You pass her the sock.

"Thank you, ma’háldra," she whispers, lowering her head.

You consider telling her that she doesn’t have to call you that, but decide not to press the issue. Odds are, you’ll never see the woman again, so there’s no sense in educating her, even though the honorific unsettles you.

Upon finishing your measurements, the seamstress puts your socks back on and then confers with the tailor. He scribbles more notes on his pad and then goes to Valdricht. Valdricht casts it a perfunctory glance before waving the tailor on.

To Serax, he says, "Go with her."

Only once Serax is on his feet and gesturing for you to follow do you realize they’re referring to you.

"Go where?" you ask as you rise from the seat.

"To get you some provisional clothes," he informs you.

Since Valdricht’s proposition, you’d been too rattled to pay much mind to the dissonant energy in the air. It’s only once you set your hand on the side of Serax’s arm that it once more dampens, and you exhale.

✧ Follow.

You follow Serax out into the hall. There, you cast a glance back at Valdricht. He’s resumed his conversation with Oskari. Before you can orient yourself within it, Serax reaches over and pulls the door shut.

As the tailor and seamstresses head down the hall, you turn and whisper to Serax, "That man, Oskari, he feels wrong."

Serax holds up a finger to quiet you. He leads you down the hall, but you don’t follow the others. Instead, he opens the door of the adjacent room and guides you inside. This one is similar to the last, though instead of a fireplace, there’s a furnace in the back of the room. Two lanterns light the lavishly appointed space, and through some trick of positioning and mirrors, their light reflects, making the room bright.

After closing the door, Serax says, "Oskari is old and from a powerful line. He masks his presence, but he has a lot of songs. They have a way of making the air vibrate, especially if you aren’t used to being around other darksingers."

He walks past you to flop down onto the lounge chair, taking up much the same position as he had in the other room. Uncertain what to do with yourself, you go over to the seat across from him. You’re a bit disappointed to see that the table is empty, save for a few unlit candles.

"But you and Valdricht don’t feel like that," you point out as you smooth your skirts.

He holds up two fingers. "You’re accustomed to us. If you spent a night with Oskari, you’d get used to his presence as well. You’re also, technically speaking, a member of our sire line. You’ll naturally feel less friction around us."

"I see... So, that Oskari is very powerful, then? More powerful than you?"

He directs his pensive expression at the ceiling. "I could probably kill him."

"Oh." Odd place for his mind to go. "What about Valdricht?"

His lips quirk. "Valdricht is duv’sal. Born of a god, if you still believe in such things."

"Of course I believe in the gods. Does that mean I’m duv’sal, since we share the same maker?"

He rubs the bridge of his nose. "No, you were made with the blood of a god. Valdricht was born with it in his veins. When he speaks of his maker, he’s referring to his father."

"I don’t understand. I thought you said darksingers couldn’t sire children."

Serax casts you a heavy-lidded stare. "I could fill an ocean with the things you don’t yet understand. Valdricht will be taking you out later; why not ask him? He adores talking about his father."

You suppose that makes sense. Little else does, but none of this is what you really want to ask about.

✧ Did he know of Valdricht’s plan?
✧ Why did Serax tell you to accept Valdricht’s offer?

"Did you know? That Valdricht is planning to..."

To end his life... 

You were taught to believe that such an action was a grave sin that would plunge a soul into the depths of Modohar. You aren’t certain if you still believe in the underworld of your faith, but you know that the idea of Valdricht dying has your stomach in knots.

"Of course. It’s all he’s talked about for half a century," says Serax flatly. "I’m glad he’s finally getting it over with."

You lace your hands together. "You don’t want to stop him?"

He blinks slowly. "He’s tired, $name. Tired, and not himself. We’re immortal, but our minds aren’t built to last thousands of years. I don’t want him to die, but I’m not so selfish as to try to stop him."

Serax gives you a meaningful look. "When you accept—and we both know you will—don’t get too attached to him. When he dies, he’s going to pass his threvyna to me. It’s a darksinger’s final song. With it, I’ll be more powerful than any living darksinger. You can stay by my side as my progeny and I will care for you."

✧ Would that be safe?
✧ Why would he want you?
✧ What if you don’t want to wait? (Serax MF ★) (Bound Mode only)

Gameplay hint:

Hidden stat: Ladylike

In Heretic Night V you can choose to allow the servant to call you ma'háldra (my lady). In Zealot Night VI you can choose not to interfere with the servant's work. Both of these choices unlock the hidden ladylike stat, which will change how you interact with servants in future scenes. Valdricht will have a slight preference for ladylike MCs, while Serax will have a moderate preference for non-ladylike MCs. While it may seem like a derivative of the "proper" tendency, a ladylike character has some interesting nuances we'll explore later.

My thoughts:

A bit of sithrak lore, a dash of Serax's perspective, and some new mysteries to explore. Some multi-route readers already made the connection that the King Adonir Valdricht referred to in the unaligned Zealot route, the maker Adonir he referred to in the NSFW Heretic route, and his father the king referred to in the other routes were all one and the same. Valdricht will indeed explain all of this in a later scene, because, as we've learned, he adores talking about his father. There's still a lot to learn about the gods and darksingers!

The final set of choices will be your second lead-in to a Serax-exclusive relationship. It will only be available in this route if you don't accept Valdricht's Night V offer. I will be explaining how to unlock it in each route, but it'll be intuitive. Just don't express interest in Valdricht, express a preference for Serax, and you'll inevitably run into it in Night VI, assuming you're playing Bound mode. Remember, Unbound is MMF. While going full-chaos mode and letting your MC destroy Serax & Valdricht's relationship with toxic possessiveness sounds like an interesting challenge to write, it's not a priority for now.

We'll have more excerpts this week for Darksinger/Duskweaver members, as well as a new alternate POV scene this weekend. Thank you for all the MCs you've submitted here and on Tumblr. I have no words for how much I've loved hearing about your characters. I'm so happy this is an IF and not a novel!

-Mortish