“You want us to get in that?” asked Ebony.

Rassa sighed, “You and Mathius can hold on to the sides, Sel and Layton will have to climb in though. I apologise that it’s not larger. It is not as if I planned nor desired to carry so many”.

Ebony decided not to question him further. From his tone it was clear that Rassa felt this was not a valid use of his time, but he still had to do it because the rest of them didn’t have wings.

Sel did not question it, and after a dubious look from Layton, the kid climbed in. Ebony grabbed hold of the ropes on the side and Mathius moved forward to grab one on the other side. The looked fairly awkward in such a position in the middle of a field on Rouke as the sky continued to turn dark.

Rassa took hold of the ends of the ropes that Mathius and Ebony clung to, then his wings snapped out from his back.

“Alright, I mean it when I say hold tight. It’d be better if those in the basket crouched down until we’re stable,” Rassa replied.

He waited only a few seconds before he brought his wings up and leaped into the air, his wings giving a thunderous beat down. Once, twice, three times. With each wing beat the basket jostled and jerked. Ebony clung tightly to the rope as the ground beneath shrunk dizzyingly. Finally, though it was probably less than a minute after their sudden take off, the jerkiness of the trip calmed somewhat as Rassa glided out over the open water. The Islands beneath dark except for the glimpses of lights from settlements and the occasional lantern from a ship on the water.

“Well, if the jerking violence could be curbed, this wouldn’t be such a bad way to travel,” said Layton. Ebony noticed that he’d stood and was leaning over the side of the basket to glimpse what was below.

“It’s certainly faster,” said Mathius from his side of the basket, “We’re already nearly at the northern edge of the islands, that’d take a ship at least half a morning to accomplish”.

“Such lengthy transportation routes are a pain,” said Rassa, “If it was for leisure, I would not have a problem, but when something needs to be done I have not the patience to wait so long”.

Ebony looked up at him, “So you have a plan beyond this basket I assume?” asked Ebony.

Rassa smirked down at her, “Perhaps”.

The rest of the trip across the water was largely silent. When the ocean resembled the sky, reflecting the stars, it was hard to comment on anything else, hence, conversation died quickly.

Eventually, Sel, who had been silent the entire trip, perked up after an hour or so, “The Mainland is ahead”.

“I see it,” Rassa replied, “I’ll be gliding down closer to the cliffs. Ebony and Mathius, you’ll have to jump when we’re close”.

“Jump?” asked Ebony, bewildered.

“The fall won’t kill you if that’s what you’re worried about,” said Rassa, “And any injuries you incur will heal quite rapidly. Head for Varkevia. Hunt something on the way. We’ll be in the lone mansion on the Northern side of the City. I’ll see you both around dawn if not sooner”.

Ebony could hardly protest. Rassa was making them go together for two reasons. First, so that Ebony could teach Mathius how to properly hunt. And second, because he felt it useless to carry them if they could make good time on their own anyway.

Ebony sighed, “We’ll see you then”.

Rassa dipped towards the Mainland, and Ebony’s stomach flipped inside her for a moment before they stabilised again and Ebony realised that Rassa wasn’t going to lower the basket any further. They were still several hundred metres above the cliffs.

Ebony gritted her teeth as they passed over the edge of the Continent, then stepped back into open air and let gravity take her down. She plummeted towards the ground, the wind screeching in her ears as she stabilised her body in a position that was parallel to the ground, finding she had slightly more control of her descent in that position. She could see Mathius not far from her following her actions himself. There was slight fear in his eyes, but also a thrill of sorts.

Ebony had to admit that after the initial shock, the fall was quite exciting. Especially knowing that she would not die upon impact. Ah, what a far cry she was from that child who feared climbing to the top of a ship’s mast. It made her excited at the prospect of her own wings. Rassa had told her that she would earn them eventually. She still did not know exactly what that meant, but knowing Rassa, she was not supposed to know until the time was right.

Ebony spotted a group of large trees and streamlined her body as she made her way towards it. Now that it was approaching so rapidly, she realised that this would likely hurt regardless of how she wanted to control it.

As the tree came closer and closer, Ebony extended her arms out, catching on one of the thicker, outlying branches and swinging herself around it to slow her descent. The tree creaked and whined dangerously before Ebony flung herself forward into the open clearing before it. Her legs jarred as she landed, and she gasped at the pain in them before she rolled forward, her graceful landing become decidedly not so as she rolled for several metres before she slowed to a stop.

She groaned as she rolled over, spying Rassa’s dark shape with the basket high above. She cursed him as she heard a similar crash to her own nearby. She sat up slowly, her skin itching as it healed and the bones, muscles and ligaments in her legs and spine repaired themselves rapidly.

She paused for a few second before she pushed herself back into a standing position, stretching her limps out and dusting herself off before she turned her attention to where Mathius had crash landed.

She hurried over, finding him in a similar situation to herself, only he’d used the trees to quite literally break his fall. Ebony couldn’t help but spare a thought for the mangled and crushed silhouettes behind her that has stood tall and proud just moments before.

“You okay?” asked Ebony.

Mathius huffed as he slowly stood, several cuts on his face and neck healing, “He did not mention the pain”.

Ebony sighed, “Yes, no doubt so that we’d jump more readily. We might be a lot harder to damage, and heal far more rapidly than the humans we once were, but that does not mean we do not feel pain”.

Mathius sighed, “I do not wish to travel that way again if it means I must jump like that every time”.

Ebony turned to watch Rassa’s figure disappear into the distance, “Something tells me that despite our intention, we may not be able to avoid it forever. Come, let us run”.

“Run?” asked Mathius, “I have never found any pleasure in the activity”.

Ebony chuckled, “You will now”.

Then she turned and stepped forward, pushing her energy into her legs as she sped off towards the rough location of Varkevia. She’d never been before, but she knew where it was.

It took a few moments, but she sensed Mathius in pursuit soon enough. She slowed slightly to allow him to catch up.

“Perhaps there are perks to this Vampire thing,” Mathius admitted.

Ebony smiled, “Just a few”.

She sped up.

***

Understandably. Kit had been peeved when he had returned from a shopping spree with Olly the night before to find that Rassa had effectively abandoned them. Olly, with his foresight, had not reflected his anger. In fact, Olly’s reassurance that Rassa would be back had only served to peeve Kit off more.

If he was going to treat them like this, why, by the gods, had he brought them along in the first place?

Kit pushed the carrots around on his plate as Olly ate heartily opposite him, a smile on his face as he took in the atmosphere that surrounded them.

“Does it not bother you that he just left like that?” asked Kit, “At all?”

Olly paused, eyes wide and round, “He’s coming back”.

Kit sighed, “You say that, but he still abandoned us”.

“He’s coming back,” Olly repeated.

“Yes, but he abandoned us. He left without warning nor reason,” said Kit, “That’s the definition of abandonment”.

“But he’s-”

“Coming back? Yes, you mentioned that once or twice,” Kit grumbled, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms as his fork clanged onto the plate unceremoniously.

Olly frowned, “Are you angry at me, Kit?”

Kit turned to look at Olly, the young man’s eyes pleading like a kicked puppy.

Kit sighed, “No. I’m not angry at you. I just don’t understand you sometimes, Olly”.

Olly nodded, “Most people don’t…but Rassa does”.

Kit raised an eyebrow, “How are you so sure?”

“Because he knew I was an Oracle,” said Olly.

Kit frowned, “How did he know that? He also mentioned there hadn’t been an Oracle in centuries. Millennia even”.

“He knows the same way he knows about the charms. About Chaos,” said Olly, “He learned from something…someone…from a time very long ago. A time when Oracles and Vampires and Chaos were commonplace”.

“If such a time existed, why do we not know about it?” asked Kit, “Doesn’t it bother you that we don’t know?”

“But I do know,” said Olly, “At least I know what the Mist will tell me”.

Kit sighed, “Not what I meant”.

“I know,” Olly replied, shovelling the last mouthful of his food into his mouth, “Nobody knows because eventually, the coin had to finish flipping and land with one side up. When you only take one side, you become limited in the potential you can bring out into the world”.

“You’re not making any sense,” said Kit.

“I don’t think I’m allowed to…not yet anyway,” said Olly, then he pointed at Kit’s plate, “You should eat. Rassa will be back soon”.

Kit huffed in annoyance. That conversation had been practically useless. Still, he leaned forward to finish his meal.

When they were finished, they ventured back to the night market, looking at stalls that they hadn’t had the chance to the night before and generally trying to waste time before Olly dragged Kit from the market square and up towards the Pig’s Pint Inn.

“We don’t have a room,” said Kit, “Rassa only paid for one night”.

“We’re not going there,” said Olly, turning right when they reached the Inn to walk towards the north.

The streets grew far quieter the further they ventured from the main street, until the only sound that they could hear was their own feet as they travelled by the light of the lamps past quiet houses and lesser-known storefronts until even those faded away. They were left on an overgrown path that was quickly overwhelmed by the trees that hung over it, the light from the widely spaced lamps barely seen. Kit and Olly only knew they were still on the path from the sound of the cobblestones beneath their boots.

Eventually, they came to a cast iron gate that stood in the centre of a solid stone wall. An old insignia hung above the gate, the name ‘Bennett’ half worn off by time.

“What are we doing here?” asked Kit, “This place is clearly abandoned”.

“Not for much longer,” said Olly.

Right as he finished speaking. A familiar sound registered. A deep and repetitive thump from above.

Kit raised his gaze up, struggling to make out anything in the darkness as the sound got louder the closer it came.

“That’s-”

A thunderous beat echoed in front of them, beyond the gates in the courtyard, and Kit and Olly barely made out the shape of the basket that had carried them to Varkevia as it landed, and Rassa’s huge dark wings as the held him aloft before disappearing entirely. Rassa dropped into the courtyard, turning to face Kit and Olly.

“Sorry about leaving without saying anything. I had an emergency to take care of back on Rouke”. The shadows rose from the ground around the gate. Slicing at the undergrowth before they pulled the gates back. Olly stepped through without delay and Kit followed behind, noticed the two figures emerge from the basket.

He paused, they were unfamiliar to him.

The first to climb from the basket had an eager but deadly grin on his face. He was a boy perhaps a year or two older than Kit. Still, despite the closeness of their age, the uneasy feeling Kit felt upon meeting the boy’s gaze made him think it was unlikely the two would see eye-to-eye. The older boy’s skin was deeply tanned, and his eyes an icy blue whilst his honey blonde hair was chopped relatively short. His left eyebrow, nose, and both bottom and top lips as well as both of his ears were heavily pierced with metal ornaments such as balls and rods. It made him look even more scary. He stepped in a way that reminded Kit of Aegin a little, but even more precise and silent.

An Assassin.

The other figure appeared older than Rassa by nearly a decade, but the deference he showed was clear to see. He was bald, and his clothing looked similar to what Kit had seen Ishta wear. Clearly styles from the South.

“This is Layton and Sel, they came with Ebony and I from the South,” Rassa stated as he indicated to the boy and the bald man in turn, “Layton, Sel, this is Kit and Olly, the Charm Crafters of Moonshadow”.

Sel and Layton’s gazes both eased from hostility as they registered the role that Kit and Olly played for Rassa’s company. Sel even gave a slight bow of acknowledgement, “It is an honour to meet such skilled craftsman, I had no idea you were both so young”.

Olly tilted his head to the side as he appraised the two, “You desire to protect a man who frankly, doesn’t need your protection, what is your use?”

Layton’s gaze sharpened to a deadly point, but Olly didn’t so much as flinch. Kit sighed, “You’ll have to forgive him, he’s rather frank and has no filter, a side-effect on his constant communication with the Mist”.

Olly looked at Kit, somewhat offended, “I do have a filter, it was an honest question”.

“Then in answer,” Sel stated, “Among my people, when we choose a master, our lives are bound to them. We would do anything for them and to protect them, even if it meant sacrificing our own lives, and even if our masters were far more capable than ourselves”.

Olly thought for a moment, then nodded, then turned to Rassa as he acknowledged that Layton was not inclined to speak for himself, “You have bought this manor?”

Rassa nodded, then flicked the key over the Kit, “This will be Moonshadow’s Varkevia base. Do not damage the furniture within as it has an owner, but make yourselves comfortable. I will be back shortly, I need to hunt”.

With that, Rassa disappeared with a swift breeze. Kit turned towards where he knew the front door was thanks to his shadows, but the enclosed space of trees and the darkness of the night only afforded so much light to see by.

“Let us find some candles,” said Sel, “And perhaps set about clearing some of the overgrowth”.

Kit nodded and strolled for the door.

***

*Eldovian Era 1713, 8th Day of the 10th Month*

Sure that Mathius was still weary of his hunger, Ebony had taught him how to hunt when they passed a herd of deer. As she had expected, he picked it up rather quickly, though had expressed how boring the taste of animal blood was compared to human blood. Ebony had agreed, then had spent the rest of the run to Varkevia explaining how it was more efficient to hunt animals considering they could not talk if they were left alive.

Mathius expressed interest in the full abilities he would come into, and Ebony explained what she knew of them, as well as stopping occasionally to show him those abilities that he did have. Mathius seemed particularly impressed by the prospect of the allure, though Ebony could not fully explain it herself having never experienced using it.

Finally, they spied Varkevia on the horizon and made their way towards it, the streets lulled into silence in the early morning hours, it was not difficult to find the mansion that Rassa had spoken of, and the man himself waited leisurely in the front courtyard for them.

“I trust the run was refreshing?” asked Rassa.

“In a manner of speaking,” Ebony replied, “Though please drop lower next time”.

Rassa chuckled, “Well, seeing as you asked so nicely, I’ll consider it”.

In other words, ‘not likely’.

Mathius looked around at the manor, “You have purchased this place as the Charm Shop for Varkevia?”

Rassa nodded. The Manor was designed in an L shape, with the main house directly opposite the gate on the north side and the West wing overlooking the courtyard and the forest that rolled down the mountain. Rassa pointed to the Western Wing, “That part of the manor shall be the storefront, arranged similarly to the Ruin, but with a two-floor shop instead of one. The third floor shall be for private consultations. As for the main manor, the first floor shall be storage houses and record rooms, the second floor shall be offices and meeting rooms, and the third and fourth floors shall be dedicated to the staff’s living quarters”.

“The Manor will require some renovations then, considering it is likely not equipped as you imagine it,” Mathius stated.

“Most definitely,” Rassa replied, “The property shall have to be cleared as well, especially on the eastern side. I have plans for that space that requires ample room”.

“Plans?” asked Ebony with a raised eyebrow.

Rassa just smiled, “Aye, though not of priority right this instant. Perhaps in the next few years though”.

“And who will oversee all these renovations?” asked Mathius.

“Well, I have asked that Elsbeth select 7 others that she trusts, no doubt in consultation with Iah. They will be paired and spread to 4 of the five Eldovian locations to run them. But considering your exceptional ability, Mathius, I thought you might like to pick one location as well,” stated Rassa.

Mathius’s eyes widened, “You want me to run one of the branches?”

Rassa nodded, “With help from Ebony at first whilst you adjust to your Vampiric lifestyle, but eventually on your own. So, which city of Eldovia would you like to remain in?”

Mathius frowned in thought for a moment, looking around at the manor before looking at Rassa, “Would it be okay to survey the other locations before I decide?”

Rassa smiled, “If you think that will impact your decision, feel free to follow me around the continent for the next fortnight. For now, I need to rest, as do you both. We will stay another night after this, laying down initial plans, then leave for Toulle the following day”.

Rassa turned for the house as the sky began to lighten from the coming dawn, “Choose any room in the house to rest, but please do not damage any of the furniture, it does not belong to us”.