While the Blood Mage is Away…

[Vivian]

50th of Glade

Vivian napped on the couch, yawning as sunlight streamed through the windows and warmed his skin. He was still digesting a glorious breakfast of poached eggs and toast, and several mugs of tea. The chef had tried to get on him about dishes, but Vivian had shut him up expertly. Getting on his knees got him out of a lot of chores, so he could focus on magic and studying how to read. He was learning he liked reading, and had a book on basic machines on the coffee table next to the couch. Degare had gone to Lorien on business, which meant Vivian’s tasks were to sharpen his skills and start crafting ways to initiate Degare.

His own initiation had been like a butterfly. For Degare, he was imagining something just as elegant but something to suit the man, something of blood and gore. A book of zoology was resting on his chest where he’d laid it to nap. Hm, maybe he’d get a better idea of how to do it sucking the chef off again. He always had his best thinking moments with a prick in his mouth.

“Get up!”

He sat up with a snort as one of the maids lobbed a throw pillow at him. “Master Socorro is coming this morning and you can’t be laying around! I need to clean and air out rooms.” She snapped at him.

“Degare’s back?” Vivian perked up, and got another pillow to the face.

“No! A relative. You keep a civil tongue in your head and you’ll keep your legs closed.” The maid growled at him. “No breakfast naps, no breaking the plumbing, no masturbating in random bedrooms and I swear to all that is holy if you…” she pointed a choice finger at him. “…if you don’t keep that mule quiet…”

“Alright, alright!” Vivian ran his fingers through his hair and tugged his pants a bit higher on his hips. He got up so she could fluff the cushions, and got the books viciously thrust into his arms. “Related to Degare, eh? Is he cute?”

“You stay away from him.”

“What’s the benefit of having a house whore if you can’t take advantage? Better than getting the servant girls pregnant.” Vivian pointed out. “Not that I would either! Strictly dickly.”

“You’re disgusting. Out of my way. Go sweep, or help hang laundry. Gods know you spend more time around her out of your clothes than in them.” The maid groused.

Vivian shrugged and wandered away. He yawned, ruffling his hair and thumbing through the zoology book. Ichneumonidae. Perfect.

[Cain]

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A busy man, this Veir was. He'd only heard whispers from staff about the goings on of his house's Lord Regent, but what he had heard gave him cause for concern. This was part of the reason he'd come to Amoren; he'd finally found a hole in his schedule to spend here and look through the Sil'Norai's things. Echoes of Blood magic, a strange affair with a monster, his human Necrodoctor's strange injuries immediately preceding his departure…had the elf gone mad? Much as Cain had become somewhat soft for Degare, if something were to happen to him, he wanted to make sure he was on top of things to snatch the other's title in the wake of his…unfortunate loss.

The Lord Regent's Valran back in Boghadar were only so useful. His left hand, Lucia, was tight lipped as ever. He was well aware that the woman possessed a pool of knowledge that rivaled the elder Veir's but prying anything out of her was like trying to squeeze blood from a rock. Impossible. Frustrating. The only thing he'd managed to learn from her is that he did go to Lorien with the little Necrodoctor and that he covets the younger man nearly as much as he did his late husband. Might not sound like much, but knowing Degare, this actually was rather useful. To Cain, it meant that his more official reason for traveling was a farce– whatever it actually was had to have been at the behest of the other man. But for what purpose?

Within one of the more lavish rooms in the estate's east wing sat a lovely blue crystal about the size of a fist. It began to ring and pulse with ether as a portal rapidly started to form from it, and from that portal emerged a man: Cain.

The room in question was his and this was his preferred method of travel. It always made his ears ring, but such was preferable to the several days worth of travel he would otherwise have to endure. Once he got his bearings, he cast a veil of Kinesthesia around his frame— the vibrations of this Resonance skill would allow him to better perceive the world around him, especially given his remarkably poor eyesight.

Everything in the room appeared to be in order…and then he heard some sort of commotion. Yelling? A female voice. Sounded like the Valran that headed the cleaning staff…must be on the other side of the house given he can't parse out the words. Is this something he should care about? Probably not. Cain, however, was somewhat nosy. Who had pissed her off today? As far as he could remember, she was a fairly relaxed woman. That is…unless somebody got in her way or wasn't doing their job correctly.

By the time these thoughts had passed through the Resoner's head, he'd already started walking in the direction of the woman's voice. He heard another speak. Male? Somebody he didn't recognize. The conversation sounded like nonsense. Was he hearing things?

Once he neared the grand staircase in the middle of the house that separated the two floors and the two wings, he detected the figure of the head maid storming off and into another room. She was quite upset. Perhaps a troubling new staff member? But that didn't make sense. Typically, his house only hired people properly trained…and those with etiquette. This meant that if the other individual was staff…he also had an alternative purpose here. But what was it?

The Veir kept moving, using Sonar to briefly warp his Kinesthesia into a sharper, louder sound that would allow him to perceive farther, if only for a few moments. He detected another figure in the hallway, a body he did not recognize as any of the usual staff. This must be whomever she was yelling at.

He approached the stranger in his home, having left about five or so feet of space between the two. Crossing his arms before he spoke, "Do go ahead and introduce yourself, will you? I'm familiar with all of my staff, but I do not recognize you. Remedy this." Though the man's voice was notably soft, something akin to suede, he spoke with a tone devoid of emotion and remarkably cold.

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'Thoughts'
"Common Tongue/Speech"
"Vithmi Tongue/Speech"
"Raillen Tongue/Speech"

[Vivian]

Gods, what an unholy bitch.

Vivian rolled his eyes and thumbed through the book a little more. His brow furrowed in concentration, his lips mouthing out the words. He still had a lot of trouble reading, and had to read sentences several times over to get their meaning. This species would be perfect for the Veir’s initiation. It was sensuous, and came into the world slick with blood and with deadly intention. He couldn’t think of anything more perfect. A misunderstood killing machine.

He looked up when he heard footsteps and practically dropped the book. He didn’t even hear the man enter the house! Then again, this was the Veir they were talking about. He probably had other means of getting into the house he would divulge to family members. Of course. He cleared his throat and snapped the book shut with a grin, his eyes raking up and down the other man.

Beautiful, with a voice carefully guarded and devoid of emotion. Cold eyes, no nonsense, a decent bulge between his legs.

Well, well.

Some things were familial after all.

“Vivian Kreine. I’m studying under Veir Socorro.” He purred, tucking his books under his arm and offering his hand. Maybe showing this man around would get him out of laundry duty. “And what brings you here…?” He trailed off, leaving the other a space for introduction.

He could practically feel the valran’s eyes burning into his spine. Okay, maybe not.

[Cain]

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In his own estate, he’d opted not to bother with covering his eyes; they’d be visible, although the beautiful blue they were in the past was obscured by a misty fog that would make him appear either blind or very nearly blind. Might as well be true– his natural eyesight is objectively poor and he’d been relying on a combination of resonance and his other senses for a while now.

From what information he could gather from all of his combined senses, the man before him was pale, thin and had the colors of a Sil’Norai…but he was shorter than Cain so he must be…half? Ears weren’t quite as long as other fullbloods, either.

Always soft on other elves, Degare was. ‘Studying under,’ and what exactly did that mean? Really, it could be anything. The silver elf was as capricious as Cain in many ways, though he did have a much softer heart. Coin flip on whether or not he’d kill or help somebody…and Vivian here appears to have hit the luckier side of that coin.

“Studying under…ah, tall Sil’norai man? There’s a couple Veiren at our house…but he’s the Lord Regent and likely the only one with the authority to just…abstractly take somebody in like that.” How much does this young protege even know about House Socorro?

As for the next question…Cain did have some official business as an excuse to be in Amoren, but realistically, he was there to find information. Perhaps Vivian, ignorant to Candor, would be willing to share whatever he’s learned about the Lord? “Let’s make it simple. Just call me Cain– though I am Veir as well. Could you be more specific about exactly why the Lord Regent is keeping you around…?” His tone hasn’t warmed at all, the delivery of his words is still quite cold although his curiosity is now more obviously present.

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'Thoughts'
"Common Tongue/Speech"
"Vithmi Tongue/Speech"
"Raillen Tongue/Speech"

[Vivian]

Vivian took a moment to study the man in front of him. His eyes were cloudy, a soft blue like the iridescent flesh between beetle armor. He had a beautiful face even if it was in a chilly mask. He was almost certainly a mage; Vivian didn’t benefit anything from lying to him. He did sense a certain undercurrent of distaste when it came to Degare; was he truly here to check in the estate or was he making a power play?

Vivian was still learning the ways of the Entente, but it seemed a very underhanded group. A bandit would stab you in the spine in an alleyway and that was ten times as honest as the games Degare’s kind would play. His first instinct was to defend his would-be initiate…Degare was so much more delicate than he looked at first glance. He still had a soul left. He still had emotions left. Malformation would help those emotions grow and hopefully spark true empathy. Then again, why was he defending the Veir? Degare had almost certainly killed his kind before; the poor and downtrodden. He’d been very close to killing Vivian when he’d smelled the mark.

“Degare.” Vivian clarified, tilting his head experimentally. Could this man see? At all? Clearly he could see a bit.
“He was kind enough to take me in and teach me magic.” It wasn’t untrue, but Vivian was guarding his words a bit. He didn’t know what Cain’s reaction would be to learning Degare wanted to take Malformation or that Vivian would be initiating him.

“Uh….I didn’t want to be rude, but how did you get into the house? Magic? I didn’t see a carriage outside.” Vivian’s tone was sparked with interest. “Is there portal magic?” Besides his own interests, he did truly want to see if he could throw Cain off the scent.

Vivian smiled and nodded to the study. “I was just about to put this book away, and grab some paper. Did you want to come with me? It’s better talking there than in the hallway.” He hoped that Cain wouldn’t mess with Bara. Arkash had less than amiable sims for the mule when they had first met, and Vivian had to correct him. For some reason the mule was a popular target. Speaking of…did Cain know of Arkash? The necromancer was an odd duck but Vivian found himself thinking fondly of him and Degare.

He took his relationship with Arkash to mean that he hadn’t truly been lost to the evils of the Entente.

[Cain]

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In the few moments of silence before the young man in front of him managed to respond, Cain could tell he was choosing his words carefully. Vivian was, in all likelihood, an outsider to the Entente and if he were smart, that kind of forethought in terms of choosing his words could only benefit him in the long run.

Then, with his answer, the Resoner tilted his head in thought. Realistically, Degare wouldn’t do something like that out of the kindness of his heart. Or at least, Cain didn’t think that he would. He’d even heard that the Necromancer he fancied had given him something of interest, something he coveted, though what that was wasn’t actually known. Closely guarded secret between the two– and likely Lucia, that one was. The Rathor’s only guess was that it had to be related to the arcane because the older Sil’Norai had interest in very little else as of late. But what was it that caused for such secrecy? Forbidden relics? Blood magic?

In the time it took him to mull this over, Vivian asked another question. This time it was related to how exactly he’d managed to enter the estate. He blinked…how young was this man? This told him that the other definitely had no affiliation with the Entente or else he’d know the capabilities of Resonance. “Oh, that. I have a mark of Resonance– those of us skilled enough with it can craft crystals called ‘shard resonators’ which let you warp to any other shard resonator you’ve created or are attuned to,” his voice was impatient in tone and quick with the delivery of his words. While he spoke, he pulled out a small, resonating crystal of clear blue from the inner pockets of his jacket and held it out in front of him for just a few moments before replacing it into his clothing. “Really quite useful, that ability is."

After that, Vivian voiced an offer to follow along with whatever errand he was doing. Much as doing this didn’t actually interest him, he figured there’d be at least some opportunity to learn something about the goings on of his family members in this half-elf’s company. “I did come early enough that I have the time…so why not? I’ll go along. Tell me, though, do you know anything about the Necromancer my dearest Lord Regent was so attached to? I wanted to see if he could help me with something, but by the time my schedule opened up the two of them had departed. Truly unfortunate he and I never got to meet,” the soft timbre of his voice is still quite cool and devoid of any emotion outside of curiosity and mild impatience.

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'Thoughts'
"Common Tongue/Speech"
"Vithmi Tongue/Speech"
"Raillen Tongue/Speech"

[Vivian]

Vivian listened in fascination. A resonance crystal. It was like a waypoint then. A man carrying a crystal could travel to that crystal’s brother, just like stepping from one room to another. Did that mean he was here with Degare’s blessing? Degare hadn’t said anything to Vivian, but then again the man was incredibly secretive. He didn’t want Vivian divulging his relationship with Degare, nor did he probably want this one knowing he sought the Mark of Malformation. Luckily for Vivian his mark wasn’t easily seen without his clothes off. Damn. Hopefully that didn’t take Cain out of the running.

Vivian’s eyes locked onto the shard. Oh. Oh he had been so good so far in Degare’s household. He hadn’t stolen a blessed thing. He’d even returned the food he’d stolen from their first meeting, albeit half digested and in a vase.
But that crystal completely fascinated him. His fingers itched to hold it and he paid very close attention as to which pocket Cain slid it into. It had to have a brother somewhere, didn’t it? Surely Degare wouldn’t begrudge him a little curiosity? A little study? He chewed his lip. It would be a slight breach of trust.

He smiled winningly and led the way to the study, listening with a slight cock of his head. “Necromancer?” He asked. “I’m not sure I’ve seen one around. Degare is a very private man. He likes his secrets.” He turned around, walking backwards playfully so he could face Cain. “Why? What did you need help with? I’m no Necromancer but I’m becoming quite familiar with biology. We could play a little doctor.” He grinned.

Vivian wondered how Cain could navigate. Was it Vivian’s voice? Did he just know the estate that well with those blind eyes of his? “If you don’t mind me saying so, you walk around very independently for being blind.” He mentioned, opening the door to Degare’s study and slotting the book back on the shelf. He went to Degare’s desk and picked up a few sheaves of paper and a pen, grabbing his dictionary. He wanted to work on his letters a bit, and perhaps sketch some ideas for Degare’s invitation. He needed to do it flawlessly. He didn’t want the first man he initiated to die.

Vivian perched on the desk. “So since the Necromancer you’re looking for isn’t here….you’re not leaving are you?”

[Cain]

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The resonance crystal was objectively a beautiful thing. Cain had a couple mounted permanently into pedestals across Daravin– one here, in his room, one in his Boghadar chambers, one in his Sundering workshop, and a couple others in more mysterious locations for…questionable purposes. He could safely leave these where they sat without much worry about people using his Shard Resonators largely because one had to be a fairly skilled Resoner to even use them in the first place. If somehow somebody of lower skill even was able to activate the Shards, they’d probably die trying to create the portal. That, and without knowing the location of where you wanted to go, casting a portal from one to another would teleport you at random through the linked shards.

When the half-elf opted to answer his question, he spoke…as if he were ignorant. Cain didn’t believe this on the surface. There was no way that this man had been staying here studying under the Lord Regent and managed to miss the Necrodoctor he’d been nearly attached at the hip to. It was also very much doubtful that he wouldn’t have noticed that the two left together for Lorien…or wherever their true destination was.

With a quirk of his brow, “Really? You’ve not seen him? Are you sure…? I learned from talk around the house that he’d hired on the man and the two of them were not often seen apart. I was told he looked young for his supposed skill, unassuming…about your height, Human, darker complexion. You’ve not seen anybody like that around here before Degare left on his business in Lorien?” His vocal tone was quite curious, still cold, but almost playful in his disbelief of what he thought was a lie. At the other comment, Cain scoffed with an expression that almost looked amused. “Hmm…interesting proposition, but I don’t think you’re capable of crafting new eyes, are you? My condition is fairly unique. I figured if Degare trusted this Necromancer he’d not only be of consummate skill...but that I, too, could trust him enough to divulge such sensitive information.” He’s intentionally vague here for a couple of reasons. One, outright admitting to being a botchling was an utterly terrible idea. Two, he wanted to give just the smallest amount of breadcrumbs to entice curiosity in the younger elf, hoping that in an attempt to learn his secret, Vivian would be willing to share more of his own knowledge. Three, he wanted to imply there was some degree of strong trust between him and the Lord Regent in that the man was aware of whatever was wrong with Cain’s eyes.

As the half-elf guided him through the house to the study and sat on a desk within, Cain followed at a reasonable, relaxed pace. The information being fed to him by his Kinesthesia was enough to navigate the halls of his own home with ease. While they walked, another question was posed. “Oh, I use Resonance for that. Also, after a while…one’s senses do begin to overcompensate for the loss of another. My hearing is very keen by itself, but I otherwise use a combination of Kinesthesia and Sonar to navigate. The information I receive from both is actually quite accurate compared to one’s vision…it’s just missing color. Fortunately, I’m not completely blind and therefore am not robbed of that aspect.” He explained this matter-of-factly without much emotion. Cain also completely glossed over the fact that he had an additional sensory organ that helped in some scenarios along with the other boons provided by his status as a Rathor. He was pretending to be Human, after all.

After Vivian began writing…whatever he was writing, he floated another query across to the Resoner. “Mmm…my chambers here are nice enough, I planned on staying for at least a couple days because I need to meet with somebody. A fellow scholar and I finally found an opening in our schedules to discuss our findings, see? Either way, I can travel back and forth from Boghadar and Amoren with ease.” Much as he usually didn't care to share his comings and goings with near strangers, he figured that attempting to be more 'open' would make him come across as just a little more trustworthy.

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'Thoughts'
"Common Tongue/Speech"
"Vithmi Tongue/Speech"
"Raillen Tongue/Speech"

[Vivian]

Well, this one absolutely wasn’t stupid. Vivian had been able to pull one over on the Necromancer that Degare had employed, tricking him into doing absolutely silly things to Bara under the disguise of being a veterinarian. It had been quite amusing to watch a man who had clearly never been around horses tell him he needed to brush the mule’s teeth. Cain, however, was a different animal. He was as direct as the thrust of a knife, and clearly had no problem calling Vivian out on an obvious lie…as politely as possible. Alright, Vivian had to give him some credit. That didn’t mean he was ready to give up the ruse, however. He wanted to know more about what Cain wanted first.

He grinned crookedly. “I’ve seen quite a few men around, but none that wore the vocation of Necromancer quite so openly on their sleeves. Besides, I thought it better for my health to keep my mouth occupied with something other than rumor where Degare is concerned.” He said sweetly. It wasn’t entirely a lie; Caro wasn’t obvious about his Necromancy and had even tried to hide it from him at first. Moreover, he did quite enjoy getting on his knees around Degare instead of prying into the man’s secrets. Vivian and Degare were alike in that they were using each other for magic education. Vivian had no interest in Degare’s political power, and if he wanted his blood to remain in his body he’d keep it that way.

The other comment, sadly, sailed right over Cain’s head. A pity. Maybe he’d have to be more obvious.

“I can’t fix your eyes, sadly.” Vivian admitted. “Nor can I craft you new ones. My own magic can only make eyes in the way that you’d be grafting them onto your own body from some other creature, like a copy. It’s fascinating how you navigate. Much like a bat or insect. It’s very unique, rather beautiful in a way. I like adaptability.”

The last tidbit did catch his attention, and he put down the pen to regard Cain. “Another scholar? You study something?” He asked. “I’d be curious to see your chambers…I’ve been warned to stay near the servants’ areas but if you and Degare are so close…he’d not mind me tumbling around in a richer bed tonight.” He cocked an eyebrow, making the invitation clear. He wanted a peek at that research…and maybe that crystal.