Chapter: 667 Bonus - Ripples of Effect

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Sanguis sat, rubbing his temples, reluctant to open his eyes and have to face… again… the mountain of papers spread on his desk. It was rather his fault for a few reasons.

First, he tended to put off doing such work to only a day per week. As it so happened, that was this day.

Second, he kept all the previous papers he suspected would be needed going forward, including missives, which a large majority of these were, covering days of back and forth exchanges that he’d even broken his rule about ‘one day a week’ for paperwork to be responding to.

Third, those that were not standard nearly all had to do with sensitive or incredibly weighty matters surrounding the Black Legion, the gated humans up north, and the newly returned Eskau.

The whole city seemed to have collectively decided that the House of Blood was on the rise. They’d been well regarded in Platoiri before, but now?

Sanguis was genuinely concerned that the City Lord would see them as a rival. No House was allowed to gain supremacy within a city, the other Houses and City Lord were meant to keep them in check, but the other Houses were falling like chaff, bending and scraping before the House of Blood.

Eskau Tala had shown both overwhelming power and judicious restraint in her dealings with the House of the Frost Lance. He’d been concerned that a less-than-firm hand—imagine leaving servants and administrators alive?—would encourage other Houses to oppose them.

To the contrary, her utter supremacy over the Eskau and Pillars who stood before her in the hold left no doubt that those who lived did so solely at her benevolence. It wasn’t a lack of capacity that had allowed the survival of the majority of the House in Platoiri.

That was in Platoiri. He opened his eyes and picked up one letter in particular. They left as soon as she allowed them to depart, down to the last servant.

The letter he lifted up was a missive from the Head of the Frost Lance House. Sanguis shook his head as he read it again.

The woman was thanking him for the return of her people, promising recompense and seeking an improved relationship across all their various branches. Toward that end, she requested a formal introduction to the House Head of the House of Blood.

Now, under many circumstances, Sanguis would suspect that she wanted such a meeting in order to strike at the heart of the House of Blood in retaliation. Even her request that Eskau Tala be present could be seen as the Frost Lance Matriarch desiring to remove her at the same time, but what Sanguis knew about the House made that unlikely.

The Eskau and Pillars who had been in Platoiri hadn’t been their strongest, but they had been powerful hue-folk, on the rise. The idea that the Head of House could see memories of Eskau Tala’s… display and think to include her in a ‘decisive strike’ would be silly.

He’d already responded to this message, and he had received the reply with almost startling rapidity. The woman would be coming to Croi in a month’s time with one Eskau and a squad of guards.

The very statement of that added to Sanguis’s impression of sincereity. She could have brought any number of Eskau and Pillars. Now, if she showed up with more than one, her intentions would be clear.

It seemed too good to be true, but so much around his House’s most powerful Eskau often was.

Eskau Pallaun’s never mentioned connection with the City Lord was likely a large reason that that terrifying man hadn’t stepped up to suppress the House of Blood directly, even with all the cause the City Lord genuinely had. Eskau Meallain’s prowess was known across all the southern cities, and no one wanted to oppose her directly if it could be avoided. Eskau Tala was simply the third such exceptional Eskau to have graced the House of Blood.

Sanguis smiled. The Founders would be proud. Each Eskau was of a different race, and all had been welcomed within the House even before their greatness had been fully recognized.  The Founders had foreseen a unity and equality that didn’t fit in their time, and they’d set up the structures and tipped the scales of House culture this direction. Only now was the promise they made, the beautiful dream they foresaw, on the verge of becoming a reality.

It was both shame and irony that the last scion of those Founders both brought in the instrument of final change and died before seeing it come to fulfillment.

Pillar Be-thric was both a visionary and a fool… Those traits are all too often combined. Even without the line of the Founders, the House of Blood will endure. They would realize the promise made so long ago.

Sanguis’s smile faltered, and he sighed. I just wish that they were still around to help with all this paperwork…

*

Dominous, Honored of the Blue, thwacked his son’s head again, using more of his power this time. “Once again, your actions almost got both of us killed. Even without anything else, you know the baker doesn’t tolerate such things in his shop. What were you thinking!”

Dracus flinched away from the strike, but he had no chance of blocking or dodging. “I’m sorry! I’ll do better. Just stop. It’s been days. Let me go back out.”

Dominous narrowed his eyes, not liking what he heard in his son’s tone. “What have you learned?”

“Don’t pick fights with the chaff?”

His eye twitched, and he thwacked his son harder. “Idiot boy. I know you can’t see power difference, but you aren’t mentally deficient. You should be able to grasp what the issue was.”

Dracus huddled down in a sulk, glowering at his father. “She should have been groveling before you, why didn’t you fight her?”

Dominous just slowly shook his head. “Because I would have lost.”

Dracus opened his mouth to protest, but Dominous cut across him.

“My status, my power, has somehow led you to believe that you are strong, above reproach, untouchable.”

Dracus continued to flap his mouth, but Dominous cut across him again.

“NO. Foolish boy. I left you be when your antics were just youthful folly, but you are no longer a Child. You are a cripple, and you should know that makes you the lowest of the low. You will never rise above Mature. I have sheltered you for the love I hold for your mother, but we have other children now on the cusp of Maturity, and they are learning their place. They aren’t a constant headache. Fix your attitude, learn respect or face the consequences.”

Dracus sneered. “Who would dare to—”

Dominous cut across him a final time. “I have publicly withdrawn my protection of you, boy. If you act out of turn, you will fight your own battles. I had no issue cleaning up after you these past years, but when your actions threaten our family, threaten me? It ends. I beseech the stars that you acquire the wisdom I failed to impart. I will welcome you with open arms as a wiser man or mourn your passing as a fool.”

He stood and strode from the room, leaving his spluttering son in his wake.

Dominous might have felt some regret, but he happened to know that others, all over the city, were withdrawing their blanket protection from the misguided members of their families or Houses. No one, no one wanted to be on the hook if their charges insulted the House of Blood, their new allies, or their returned Eskau.

A new day was dawning in Platoiri, and whether he liked the changes or not, Dominous was going to be alive to see it.

*

Lyn was in a fever dream of logistics and the connection of disparate needs and potential solutions.

She loved it.

Her husband was driving the Talons hard to train with the assistance of Eskau Meallain, and the elf was obviously grateful for the distraction. That woman was hiding it well, but Lyn had gotten to know her over the last years, and the elf was hurt by being so close to her home, to all that she loved, to all that she’d devoted her life to, and yet being unable to cross that last little bit of distance.

So, she threw herself into training the Talons. It was what she’d been doing all along, but she had a renewed fervor to it, that seemed to be echoed in the Talons themselves. They knew that they’d only have one chance to make a first impression with the arcanes, and they would do Tala and their fellows proud when that happened.

Ron wouldn’t admit it directly, but Lyn could see the fierce pride and desire to succeed in his eyes. He stoked that within his men and women as well. Truly, the Talons would throw everything into chaos when they were finally shown to the arcane world.

There was a practically tangible sense of disappointment in each squad as they came off ‘ready duty’, when Tala hadn’t called on them during that span.

Lyn smiled to herself as ehe shifted data around on her large archive slates, her job never easier. Still, she’d never had more to do as part of the job.

With the human merchants still confined, and arcanes barred from Ironhold until Tala’s position was confirmed, the logistics of information gathering and trading had to be handled remotely.

The House of Blood adjuncts and administrators were doing great work, helping arrange various trades and in gathering information—and Lyn had even been able to go out once or twice for short trips once her medallion was delivered, confirming that they weren’t distorting what they passed on or skimming off the top—to the point that the waves of petitions to ‘go forth and trade’ had slowed to a trickle.

Lyn had no doubt that they’d be allowed out sooner rather than later. After all, at the moment, Tala had to deliver goods and pick up others herself, and despite Lyn’s best efforts, that did require a bit of traveling around.

As such, Lyn knew that Tala would be expediting the opening of the hold as soon as possible.

Her thoughts were interupted as the door opened behind her, and she turned, frowning.

Ron came in, causing a smile to blossom across Lyn’s lips even as she stood in confusion. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your early return?”

He caught her up, kissing her even as he frowned. “Early? What are you talking about, love?”

Lyn glanced toward the window and grimaced when she saw that it was full dark outside.

That didn’t actually mean it was night—Tala and Ron had conspired to mess with her a time or two by altering the local apparent time, though that hadn’t happened since Ron had become her husband—but she didn’t really doubt that that much time had passed. 

“Well, I’m glad to have you home then.” Her eyes narrowed. “Why are you so late?”

Ron chuckled. “A few things, culminating in consoling the ‘night shift’ that they likely won’t get the call.”

“Oh?”

He nodded. “Mistress Tala’s in the sanctum for the night. We can watch over the superficial, but that’s about it.”

“Ahh. So, Rane’s fight went well?”

Ron grinned. “Oh, absolutely.” He started tugging her toward the kitchen. “Come on, let’s make food.” He then glanced at all the work on her desk. “Or I can go get something for us? Either way, I can tell you about it while we eat.”

Lyn looked back and forth between her husband and the work. Then, she shrugged. “It’ll still be there tomorrow. Come on, let’s go cook.” She gave him a playful swat. “I’m still mad at you for tricking me into learning.”

He laughed, his smile growing. “It was a fair bet, and you love it now that you know how. Soon you’ll be better than me, and I’ll have it made.”

She pushed him toward the door. “Don’t get too content with yourself, mister. I expect you to help me.”

He leaned back to kiss her even as they continued. “Now and always.”

*

Tod Segler felt enormous pride as he waited on an audience with the leaders of his Pack. A lesser beast-kin—let alone a hue-folk—might have felt shame, anger, or even a desire for revenge after suffering such a defeat, but not Tod.

In the same way, he didn’t regret his challenge of the powerful human. The man had been acting out of proper decorum, and Tod was right to challenge him as he had.

Now, though? Power was the real authority, and the strong set the rules. Tod was willing to accept at least that human acting as he wished. To do otherwise would be the height of folly.

It was interesting that the human… Rane, was so young. His mate was seemingly the same age, yet she was operating within the structures. A human Eskau was… odd, but Eskau had a place in society. Still, the two, so young yet already so powerful?

No wonder the Alphas took time to meet with them.

As always, Tod felt the slight call to turn north. He knew that all he would need to do is take a knee, and he would grow in power, part of another Pack.

From what he understood, all wolf-kin felt the same subtle call, some of his pack-mates had even accepted, remaining a part of the Segler pack while also serving the Northern.

Tod had not, and he did not think he would. That would be the easy path. Going to a powerful master and accepting largess? That was the path of the dog.

Still, he didn’t begrudge his fellows their choice. Not every member of the pack was the same, and that was good. Too much homogeneity led to stagnation and death.

A smile tugged at his lupine lips. So does a lack of good sparring partners. I will have to enquire to see if Rane Sappherrous will consent to some practice matches. His fighting style is… fascinating.

Finally, the great doors beside which he had been waiting cracked open, and a smaller wolf-kin stepped out and bowed toward him.

Tod rose from his haunches and acknowledged the bow and summons.

It was with utter confidence that he strode into the hall of alphas, dipping his head before tilting it to the side to expose his throat in respect before straightening and lifting his voice to address the five within. “I come with a proposal that we open negotiations with the House of Blood and the gated human savages to the north.”

There was a moment of silence before the five exploded with growls and words of confusion.

Tod settled in for a fight of a different kind, his smile growing at the coming challenge.

*

Troval couldn’t believe it.

In fact, until he had heard it through official channels with his own ears, he hadn’t believed it.

Rumors had been circulating for days, and that fat bit of trash Garalosh—may her crocodilian scales break and shatter—had been right.

Troval still was having trouble wrapping his mind around the idea of the Black Legions’ return… and the fact that he now owed that crocodile-kin a night of drinks….

Ridiculous.

But the pronouncement had come from the City Lord’s own criers, and the news was confirmed by the official city distributions. What’s more, with the information spread so far and wide, he’d heard open conversations on the way home about various Houses, Packs, Clutches, and other groups sending representatives to some sort of summit with the gated savages to the north?

Madness!

It was almost enough for him to lose hold on his internal power, but publicly venting magic and rendering himself barely more than a Child wouldn’t do. He’d only just managed to get his intake and compression to maintain moderate Mature density with almost no conscious effort on his part. His thoughts could still mess it up though.

He went around to the alley and entered the living quarters behind his master’s shop. He didn’t have a key, but the smallest flexing of his magic allowed him to distort the door and trip the mechanism to let himself in.

He’d spent several cold nights outside until he was able to make that work. Things like that were harsh, but effective, motivation for his progression.

Troval was still glad that he’d secured one of the few slots as apprentice to one of the best woodworkers in the city, even four years later. The woman only took on one new apprentice a year, following a strict regime to turn them into masters of the craft in just ten years time.

Unheard of elsewhere.

He shook his head. That didn’t matter right now. He had to tell his master what he’d learned.

The Black Legion—the nightmares evoked to teach children about the dangers of hubris and pride—were coming back.

The warriors of Platoiri were going to need so many shields, and if their shop hoped to take advantage of those orders, they needed to start building up a stock right now. That didn’t even consider all the other things that would be needed, which he and this shop could provide.

There was a lot of work to do, and Troval suspected that all of the southern cities would be feeling the ripples of this news for years to come.

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