01.20 - The Old Worlds Shadows

Almost two weeks had passed since Lily had given birth to Ann on Arcana Maiora, the capital planet of the Arcane Empire.

Somewhere, far away from any wandering star, hidden in a subpocket of hyperspace, away from all major trade and travel routes, lay a large, secret station. Its shape resembled a hollow cylinder, built half inside what must have once been a large asteroid, or maybe even a very small moon.

A tiny vessel uncloaked itself as it neared the station. It was guided into the hollow center and docked there after a short while.

The gears of history turned within. Unbeknownst to Luc, his family, the great houses, the governments, factions, and possibly even the heavens themselves, up to the Lord on High. The latter was up for debate by philosophers, theologians, or maybe even theo-mechanists.

Within the station, inside a multi-story tall library filled with ancient tomes and modern consoles alike, surrounded by artifacts but cut off from the wired, sat Samael, an ancient man on an even older-looking chair, writing notes and inspecting a pile of reports towering on a desk before him.

He went through a couple of documents, occasionally opening a translucent screen or two, and only pausing once every blue moon to drink a sip of water or two.

After following this routine for an hour, he finally sighed.

“Boy, you may be good at playing hide-and-seek, but you can’t fool me, nor could you ever fool your mother.”

A feline figure with sleek ebony fur appeared from the shadows beside him. His white horn and crimson eyes focused on Samael, black wings retracted, while six tails flicked lazily behind him. He jumped on a free corner of Samael’s desk.

Samael went along with his charade and scratched the feline's neck.

He purred.

“So, tell me, Azazel, did you see your baby sister?”

“Yes,” Azazel smiled. “You should have seen her. She was so cute!” His elated voice echoed through Samael’s mind.

“Did anyone notice you? Besides your mother.”

“I… don’t know. The girl seemed to feel watched, but aside from that…”

“If even the girl noticed you, so did her mother.” Samael groaned. ”Please tell me you at least got the samples.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I got that covered. Even finished the final analysis.”

“And?” Samael asked.

“We were right.”

“About all of the kids?”

“About all of the kids,” Azazel confirmed.

“So much for the stellar record of House Stellaris.” Samael exhaled. “And I almost believed Ophiuchus and his spawn were the odd one out. Guess they are no different from the other houses. Damn all thirteen apostles and those seven hypocrites.”

“But I do have some good news.”

“I am all ears.”

“We’ve established eleven additional sleeper cells. Everything is going according to plan with operation ‘Daybreak’.”

“Good. And the new lures?”

“We’ve tested the ones we got from the Arachne separatists; they seem to work like the old ones. So do our replicas. Some of our associates plan to use them to disrupt this year's hunter exam. They will certainly cause some additional troubles for the guild when ‘Daybreak’ comes around.”

“Great. I assume you will return to oversee the operation?”

“That’s the plan. Did anything of note happen while I was away?” Azazel asked.

“A fair bit,” said Samael as he opened a translucent screen. “The tensions between the Cat Sith and some of the more extremist Jadih clans are at an all-time high; forget the occasional border skirmish, this could turn into an all-out war. It might soon spread as far as Avalon II.”

“I doubt even those dogs of war would be foolish enough to siege the gates of heaven. They would turn all factions against them, let alone heaven itself. Their initiative is great, but we should stay away from them. No need to rush our own demise.”

“As for their neighbors, the Prime Theocracy is still trying to improve the relations between the Silva and Noblesse. All three of them are potential allies or enemies, depending on who comes out ahead.”

“You don’t think they’ll try to ally with the empire, do you?” Azazel asked.

“That’s unlikely. The Theocracy’s doctrines are just too alien. And the Silva and Noblesse have always been a bit isolationist. As for the rest, our allies in The Web are planning to interfere with Cocoon’s next coming-of-age ritual. As for the Collective and the Barbearians…”

“Are the anti-royalists still at large?” Azazel asked.

“We did hear of plans for an attempt on the queen mother’s life. Whether the Ursa or Avi are involved is still unclear. As for The Swarm and Elytron, no real news on either since our last meeting.”

“So our focus remains on the Arcane Empire for now?” Azazel tilted his head.

Samael nodded, then patted Azazel's head. “Yes. Operation ‘Daybreak’ might not be able to turn the tables, but shedding some light on the houses' misdeeds and corruption might wake up some of the citizens and aid our cause. Or so I hope.”

“So do I, but I have seen the people. A small number of the populace has bought into the state propaganda; many more seem to have silently resigned to the status quo. But not all hope is lost; there are still enough willing and able to take up arms.”

“But unorganized violence will only lead to suppression and the incarceration of the protestors, or worse. So please, stick to the plan, even if you have to look the other way until the day we can finally intervene.”

“I am not a kid anymore. I won’t do anything stupid. I promise.”

Samael laughed out loud. “I remember the last time you said that. We had to intercept a whole fleet in hyperspace, or they would have imprisoned you in Ultima Thule. Not even I could have busted you out without sacrificing all of our forces thrice over.”

“But that was ages ago!”

“A few decades at best.” Samael’s face softened for a brief moment. “To me, you are still a kid.”