The Envoys Arrival

The escorts arrived the morning after Lord Dain returned to the fortress. The entirety of the margrave’s family was present to receive them dressed all in luxurious silks, even Yuji was provided with clothing at the level of the rest of the family.

The escorts passed into the great castle in a procession of luminous white robes and veils, a luxurious mix of the medieval and renaissance periods. Strange music playing on horns and drums accompanying them. The royal pennant was held high, waving in the first cool breeze of the summer. It was otherworldly, so much so that even with the great castle scrupulously prepared to receive them it still appeared only dross against their rich pure gold.

The margrave greeted the head of the escort party as if receiving the king, bowing low and humbly before him. He was the first real elf that Yuji had seen. Stunningly beautiful, with hair of such a pale blonde it was hard to say it possessed any pigment at all. He was tall and lean, with an imposing air and gilded eyes that were mutant and calculating. He smiled softly at the margrave as someone might have a child they were indulging, true interest absent from his expression.

“I don’t trust him.” Mirk whispered as the being’s eyes were drawn to them. “There is something rotten inside that creature.

“Is that an inferno beast?” The emissary’s voice rang out like music as he took note of Mirk.

“It is.” The margrave answered, taking the emissary’s lead in passing the margravine and his elder two sons to stand before Yuji, not even bothering to introduce them.

“I have not seen a creature of its like in over a thousand years. At that time, I was an ambassador to Eos, which is quite some distance from here.”

“My consort’s maternal side is from Eos. When they were notified of our son’s birth it was sent as a gift to accompany him through life.”

Yuji tried to stifle his annoyance over the margrave’s use of the word it to describe Mirk. He was neither prepared nor did he wish to attract the emissary’s attention and the margrave’s apparent need to explain everything while being passive was going to prove to be a problem.

“Are you bonded?”

“They are.” The margrave once again answered for Till. “I witnessed the event myself.”

“That is rare indeed, these creatures are notoriously difficult to tame. It must have taken a liking to you.”

“Please forgive me, your excellency for my impertinence.” Yuji took a step back to avoid the elf’s hand, perceiving Mirk’s wild aura, “But he doesn’t wish to be touched.”

The emissary chuckled lowering his offending appendage, as the margrave glared at Till poisonously.

“I see,” the elf proceeded, “so then what I’ve heard is true, he can communicate with you?”

“All animals have a way of communicating their feelings. He was communicating with you a moment ago. Only it is possible he was not quite displaying his emotions loudly enough for you to easily perceive them.”

“I see, it is a valid observation. Tell me, your bloodline being from Eos was your mother nobility?”

“She was indeed your excellency.” The margrave made sure Yuji couldn’t answer for himself, not knowing that he was completely unaware of that side of Lord Till’s history, and so if Yuji had intended it to be shared the margrave would have been indispensable to his not revealing this defect, but as he had no wish to in the first place the margrave’s interjection was simply annoying.

“So then do you have the gift of the nobility of Eos?”

“He does your excellency.” The margrave answered yet again.

Moron. Doesn’t he realize there is an advantage in not admitting everything to someone like him. Kings have lost their thrones with this way of talking, but maybe that’s just a my world thing… doubtful though that may seem.

“You and your inferno beast make quite a special pair. Your brothers must feel the shadow you cast. Tell me my lord, why have you not sent such a special child to the capital? I am sure the king would have taken interest and put him into his own service if you had.”

“My distaste for this elf grows. His words are coated in syrup, but there are knives in his eyes.” Mirk gave an annoyed flex of his nails.

Watching the emissary with the margrave is like watching a cat toying with it prey.

“I will have to be sure to inform his highness of him. It would be convenient to have a tester who is immune to poisons in his service.”

The conversation ended here. The emissary and the escort party went deeper into the fortress, led by the margrave.

“I am sorry, I should have permitted his touch.”

Yuji shook his head lightly so as not to garner attention, lagging behind. His attention shifting from the elf speaking with the margrave, to Lord Till’s middle brother Lord Dain who walked close behind them.

“This isn’t going to be easy.” Yuji whispered into his companion’s ear, glad Mirk had discovered the advantages of his shoulder.

“I don’t think he cares for you. Yet even if he were to detest you, he wouldn’t want to risk the life of the Centauri Seren.”

“What is so important about her anyway? Is there some kind of cult around her, is she worshiped?”

“No.”

“But they treat her with such reverence, and the way she spoke… it was like she suggested this wasn’t who she always was.”

“I cannot say I know much on the subject and even what is known about what happens to the Centauri Seren or her exact importance is not shared widely. The majority of what is known of the events or even of her true value is held by the elves and the main ruling family. However, I do know that she is associated with prosperity and that after the ceremony has occurred it is said that the lands of Eventide will experience an awakening.”

The emissary was speaking cordially to the margrave, behaving as if he were talking to an old friend, the callousness depleted from his persona.

“I should speak with Sir Reginalt and Sir Hildebald about the journey. We might be able to learn something about Lord Dain’s men.”

As if catching his last comment to Mirk, Lord Dain looked back at them. Gentian blue eyes stared through long dark lashes. They looked at him for only a moment before turning away the impression of their open hostility remaining.

Haruto and Mira had their problems, but he hadn’t hated growing up as their younger sibling. They always somehow managed to get along and their parents always intervened when things got too absurd. In all their years together, he had never felt they hated him and when they both left home the house had seemed empty without them. If Yuji had carried any hopes that Lord Till’s relationship with his middle sibling was different than his eldest Lord Dain had shattered that illusion in a single glance. There was no doubt in his mind now that the depths to which his loathing for Lord Till went far exceeded even his wildest estimations. The letter he had sent had truly been pointless.

If looks could kill, I’d be dead.

It was a long day. There was a reception feast in the great hall which had been transformed to suit the tastes of the capital. Entertainment had been fetched from all across the margrave’s territory and beyond, troops of musicians and dancers had been housed within the fortress for this very moment. There were some of the entertainers who had lived in the great castle for well over eight months waiting for the honor to perform for the escort party to the Centauri Seren. It was a marvelous chaos and to Yuji’s modern eye a strange smash of the Middle Ages and Rebirth period, the highlights of modernity adding an eccentric and pleasant familiarity.

The elves drank only specially imported golden wine and feasted on fresh fruits and vegetables cultivated by the margrave’s mages. They carefully avoided the thick venison and other meat dishes sprawled in sumptuous indulgence across the thick wooden trestle tables. Mirk ate several slices of meat, but Yuji found the food a bit too rich, thick, and heavy. He managed to consume some pheasant that would have been satisfying if only not lacking salt, and a few slices of chewy bread. He predominantly kept to the fruits and vegetables lavishly spread for all the guests, though there were a few that tasted different than what he might have thought, cuisine and botanicals between his own world and this one had been so similar to date that he would have expected them to have mirrored his own memory. It was almost as if the flavor was just a guess as opposed to being known.

During the meal he caught the envoy looking at him, molten eyes shifting and turning, the simper warming his cold and icy face in such an unperceivable emotion Yuji found he couldn’t, of his own will, look away. The envoy raised his glass, Yuji did the same and as he drank the pear wine’s fruity, mellow, sweetness the spell seemed to break. Looking back at the envoy he found him talking to the margrave, Lord Halius, and Lord Dain so absorbed in the conversation their cheers appeared a dream.

“Their magical creatures you know. They are not really like humans though they seem to be in appearance. You must be weary of them.” Mirk warned hours later when the party had disbanded. “They have means and ways of meddling with the human mind. Ways unperceivable to us after the Purge of Ages.”

“The Purge of Ages?” The question was spoken absent-mindedly.

“It was when much of Eventides magics were seen as dangerous and so were destroyed and removed from public attention. I imagine it was for the benefit of the throne. No ‘good crown’ wishes for an uprising to have the power to fight them, but that is just speculation. The events happened many hundreds of years ago, the exact reasons for its purpose have been lost to history.”

“I thought being in my world was difficult, hundreds of years of history is a lot to catch up on. But here I don’t even have what I should have learned in childhood.” Yuji sighed; grateful the day was coming to an end despite what he knew was waiting in tomorrow. “We’ll have to contact Sir Reginalt and Sir Hildebald first thing, I don’t think I have the energy to debrief them tonight.”

“It is the magic within the hall that’s exhausted you. As I told you before, the soul is what regulates magic and yours is not accustomed to its presence in such force.”

They entered the hall to his tower room stopping when a familiar form stood as a barrier between them and the door to his chambers. Sarkis smiled and bowed low, approaching when they stepped no further, stopping at an appropriate distance.

“Did you enjoy the banquet my lord? I hear it was quite sensuous. I don’t suppose you managed to speak with anyone present?”

“What do you want Sarkis?” The activity and required libations had put Yuji in a low, brooding mood.

“I see, pleasantries are not welcome. I understand completely. It must have been a strenuous day for you, my lord. So, in respect of your wishes allow me to convey my purpose without further delay. I’ve come on request of my master, Lord Dain. He received your letter and feels,” he took a long moment to find the word, “remorseful for not communicating with you before his arrival. As a consolatory gesture he would like to meet with you in his chamber tomorrow and discuss the concerns you have and what might be done between the two of you to mitigate them.”

“Bid me and I will make it so this rat cannot even crawl back to his master.” Mirk postured at Sarkis which stole the edge from the man’s pompous smile.

“When would he want to meet?”

“Are you agreeing to the meeting?”

“Answer the question.”

Sarkis took a moment to think glancing out the window at the courtyard. “His lordship has business that will occupy him in the morning.” Sarkis looked back at Yuji with acidity. “Would it be suitable for my master to send a servant to you sometime tomorrow afternoon, that way we can leave both of your schedules some fluidity?”

“Fine.”

“Wonderful, you are truly,” he searched for the word, “generous my lord. Now if you would excuse me, I have things to attend to and I would hate to keep you after such an arduous day.”

And with that he gave a mild obligatory bow and took his leave.

When they entered the room Mirk leapt from his shoulder searching the space in wild haste.

“What are you looking for?”

“Magic residue. Old magic like what was on that ornament is difficult to detect, but the fresher it is the easier it is for me to find.”

Yuji began to disrobe, visibly exhausted, going to the end of the bed to change into a different undershirt, modern habits not allowing him to go to bed in the one he had been wearing throughout the day. It was one of the only privileges he really felt he had received in the transfer, that nobility had the extravagance to have more than one set of clothes. Stopping just after changing he sat on the edge of the bed, reaching behind him he squeezed the strain that had built up in the back of his neck.

“What’s wrong?” Mirk stopped, sitting on the stone floor.

“I’m tired that’s all. I don’t think I truly appreciated how difficult it is to be assertive. It kind of compounds everything doesn’t it?”

“You should rest.”

“You’re right, I should.” He got under the comforter, body sinking into the mattress. “Are you going to traverse the castle again tonight?”

Mirk jumped onto the bed. “Now that Lord Dain has returned it would be best if I remained with you.”

Yuji couldn’t help but smile. “Would you mind if I pet you again? They say, where I come from, that it helps with stress.”

Mirk made himself comfortable on the bed. “If it would aid you then I will allow it.”