Credits; Rea, Krell, Arcania,
Lunch was light, sandwiches and a bag of suspicous looking chips. Krell had nothing. He couldn't have if he'd tried though, Rea took longer filling plates than she did emptying them. Girl ate like there would never be another sandwich. Cyssie and Igor did eat a bit too, but Arcania just sat across from her sister and stared at her own reflection in the glass. Igor tried to start a few conversations, but his feeble attempts made it clear that the situation had been deadlocked for years. Arcania was ready to be forgiven, she'd apologized almost as soon as she'd arrived, but Cyssie couldn't bring herself to let go of the past. And she was normally unfathomably cheerful too, it made the room uncomfortable to be in.
Finally it was Rea who broke the silence and produced a small package from seemingly no where.
"Look what I have. I can't imagine who it's from." Everyone turned towards her as she pressed the corners on the top of the box and it came off. She set it down and took out a set of color changing headbands.
"For me? Why thank you Arcania; I just wish I had a varaibly colored dress to go with it."
He looked down and realized that he had somehow obtained, or more likely had forced into his hands by an inordinately fast assassin, a long flat box. He had the sneaking suspicion it contained a dress that would match the color of the headband. Judging by the boxes Igor and Cyssie were now reaizing they held, it came with shoes and a purse. At least now he didn't feel wierd about having not bought anyone anything for Junsrew; now he could feel wierd about giving people things they'd bought for themselves and forced into his hands without his knowing it. Rea opened each of her gifts in turn, he'd guessed right. It was a very nice dress too, and according to the label it had a neural interface capable of changing its color to any shade imaginable. For Rea, that was aparently just one shade of dark red. Igor pulled a small package out for Cyssie. It contained a set of wrenches. Cyssie instantly cheered up and showed him his present; a perfectly identical set of wrenches. The two laughed and Rea joined in. Arcania remained quiet and continued staring at her reflection. Krell laughed a little himself; but he still felt a bit to far outside of the group to properly join in. Rea gave each of them a present of her own, Cyssie got a set of lipstick and Igor got a book of recipes for the matter repurpposer. Krell found himself suddenly grateful he didn't need to eat. He should have guessed really; the Gravagan's didn't eat much anyways, so there wouldn't have been any crops or livestock around from which to make food. All of the food here was repurposed. He was navy, and he'd had some repurposed food over the years. It just wasn't the same.
Arcania finally picked up her head and took out a package of her own.
"This is for Cyssie and Igor. I had to look around a lot to find it."
Igor took it and opened it carefully. Considering who was giving it, Krell would have too. As the wrapping came off he realizwed what it was. It was a metal case, and when he oppened it he saw two halves of a wooden staff, and all the splinters from the middle section. Cyssie reached out and touched it, then began crying.
"I finally found it. I looked everywhere. I found it in an abbandoned vault on Cariol. I tracked down the Lych Ecthon had entrusted it to and found it by his body. I don't know how it broke, it was still intact when Ecthon killed her. It would have taken a very powerful mage to destroy it."
If Krell could have gone white he would have. He knew the staff, and he knew Cariol.
"I broke it."
Everyone but weeping Cyssie looked over at him. Rea seemed more proud than curious though, for reasons he wasn't sure he wanted to know.
"The Lych was called Xanadu. His plague was the one that destroyed the Empire. I was in command of the fleets that struck back. He killed a guardsman who had tracked him down so I went down to face him. I was alive then, and I was young. I found a sword on the field and I charged him. We fought for a while and then I felt something change in my grip as I was swinging it. The sword turned black and when it hit Xanadu's staff they both broke. He was thrown back when his weapon exploded, I thought he might already be dead when my spell ignited within his body, now I know he was. I think your Mother's staff killed him when it exploded."
Rea nodded as though she knew. He hadn't been paying attention at the time, maybe she had been there and he hadn't noticed. Considering everything else about her it didn't seem impossible. Arcania's eyebrow had raised when he'd mentioned the sword and it seemed that she knew what had happened.
"It did. There is a spell known to immortals who fought in that war. It breaks a Lych's immortality, killing them instantly. Someone," she coughed, "must have cast it on your sword so knowing that he had cast something on my mother's staff to break them both and giving him an advantageous spell battle to fight. But when your sword broke it released the spell and killed him. You blowing him up or whatever was just for kicks and giggles." She paused and studied him for a second. It was only as he watched her that he realized she had no pupils. She had such a pale face he had never noticed before, they'd always just blended in.
"Give me your hand." He extended a bony hand and he countenance fell. "Right. Who did this to you?"
"Holine, the former Empress of..."
"Oh. HER. That expalins alot. Rea, I want to see you in private after we're done here." She breathed in deeply for a moment before turning back to Cyssie and continuing. "Cyssie, I know you miss Mom. I was hoping to get this for you intact because I know she used it to record her will. She may have never said it much when she was alive, and she certainly never acted like it, but she was always proud of what you'd made of yourself."
Igor reached over to his wife and pulled her close. "Would you all excuse us for a moment; I think Cyssie just needs some time to herself."
Arcania didn't hesitate, she stood up and walked over to the door. Krell followed her over and saw Rea already waiting outside. Arcania's pet was the last to leave, darting across the table and circling Cyssie before following them. Rea closed the door and looked at Arcania with as much sternness as a fourteen year old girl in an increasingly pink dress is capable of displaying.
"Tears? Really? I thought you had more class than that."
"I needed tears, and they had to be hers. I already have mine and Koren's. All I need now is for you to take care of your quest and I can finish mine."
"You can't bring back the dead Arcania."
"She's not dead!" Arcania barked at the young assassin. The icy wyrm swelled in size and became a full fledged dragon perched on the wall behind her. It was almost as though it reflected her feelings. Krell couldn't help but wonder what she had felt when it had been a ferret.
Rea stepped back and shook her head. She was afraid, he could see her shaking and knew that it wasn't her running elsewhere. She hadn't been kidding when she'd said she couldn't beat Arcania then. Somehow though, she still kept the same determined face on through it all.
"Your mother is dead Arcania. Ecthon killed her in your palace in the midst of the war you started at his will. If you don't let go of it you'll lose what you have now. Just be happy with what remains."
"Or what?"
"Krell, the room is 489. Go ahead and go back to it, I'll be back shortly. I need to talk to Katherine Immersfeld, nickname Arcania, age six-thousand six-hundred and seventy-three, daughter of Hal and Thalia, birthplace Creator's Palace, Gravaga; alone and in private."
Krell keyed in the number, waited for the whirring to stop and quickly closed the door behind him.
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