16.

A conversation with Alomira Alobast

Neither Dominic nor Aster had ever traveled far in Hesia, so Thelo, still busy and tied down to the castle, sent them with a butler to guide them to the gate. It was a monumental, door-like structure at the edge of the city that glowed blue with mana, and although Aster had at least seen a few before, Dominic had never known anything like it in Vaine. It was so large that even cargo could be hauled through to the destination on the other side. They could only connect two fixed locations, but in comparison to Vaine, where warp magic was extremely limited, such an invention was beyond all his expectations.

“This will take you all the way to the border,” the butler explained. They had already been given their travel passes, VIP status courtesy of Thelo. “You’ll have to cross the border on foot and present your IDs to enter Alobast, and then after that, you can take another gate to the capital.”

The butler glanced between the two of them warily. They both must’ve looked like country bumpkins who had never traveled in their lives.

“If anything goes awry on the way there…” he began.

“Don’t worry,” Dominic said. “I’ll take care of it.”

The butler forced a smile, clearly still doubtful, but didn’t argue.

“Of course,” he replied. “Be careful, sirs. I wish you both a safe trip.”

He bowed smoothly. Dominic and Aster stepped away, walking up to the gate. The mage manning it recognized the seal of Helwin on their passes immediately and let them cut the line.

“Are you traveling together?” the mage, a woman with ram’s horns, asked.

“Yes,” Dominic answered.

“Have you ever traveled with us before?”

“No.”

She nodded.

“Okay. I’m going to have to ask you to enter the gate one by one, and if you are carrying anything, make sure that it is secured or held tight.”

Dominic glanced over at Aster, who had brought a backpack.

“Is this okay?” Aster asked, pointing at his bag.

The mage nodded.

“As long as you are wearing it, there won’t be any problems,” she replied. “I’ll collect your passes now.”

They both handed over the stamped paper slips the butler had given them.

She stepped back and smiled.

“Have a safe trip!”

Dominic went in first, and he understood quickly why she had requested all items be secured. He felt like he was being pushed through space at breakneck speed for a split second, before coming to a stop that was just as abrupt on the other side. His foot landed on stone as he emerged from the connecting gate, sunlight falling back on his eyes. Aster followed quickly behind.

“Woah,” the boy said. “That’s it? That was fast.”

Dominic glanced around, spotting something like an outpost nearby, with a long line leading up to it. The border checkpoint.

They continued towards it, getting quietly into line. It moved quickly, as the guards only seemed to be noting down basic identification. When it came to be their turn, Dominic dug the letter he’d received out of his inner pocket and showed it to them. The duchess’s seal was stamped clearly on the paper.

The guard seemed to jump a little at it.

“Uh, your name, please?” he said, wary.

“Dominic.”

“And is this one with you?”

“Yes. This is Aster.”

He scribbled them down diligently.

“Thank you,” he said. “Will you be headed to the capital?”

“Yes.”

“Then we can send you there from here.”

“Is there a gate here?” Dominic asked. He hadn’t spotted anything around but the outpost and trees.

“Yes, there is one not open for public use inside,” the guard replied. “Your invitation is more than enough to grant access. I’ll have someone guide you to it.”

“Thank you.”

“Have a safe trip.”

They passed the border check, another guard receiving them and leading them into the outpost itself. They wound through the halls and arrived at a room with a much smaller gate pulsing on the far wall, only about the size of a door.

The mana smelled clean, like water. The second guard spoke more languidly, gesturing to the gate with a hand.

“This will take you to the castle terminal,” he said.

“Do you require anything from me?” Dominic asked.

“No,” the guard answered. “You have clearance. Go ahead.”

Dominic moved inside. He felt the same forceful tug as before, and the scenery that met him when he emerged was different than what he’d expected.

Something that looked like an office full of people at work spread out before him, their gazes fixed on Dominic in surprise. Even the workers sitting behind what he assumed to be a reception desk didn’t look like they’d been expecting anybody, one with a spoon raised halfway to their mouth as they ate their lunch.

Aster stumbled out of the gate behind him, then glanced up and froze. Surprised by the sudden onslaught of stares, he transformed into a crow out of sheer nervousness, his form popping back into a bird’s midair without even thinking. Dominic quickly stretched out his hands and caught him before he could fall.

“…Have I come to the wrong place?” Dominic asked tentatively.

The woman he assumed to be a secretary at the front desk unfroze, glancing between him and Aster.

“Do you have an invitation?” she asked.

“Yes.”

He walked over calmly and extended the letter he’d received. She took it and glanced over it swiftly, her eyes widening.

“Oh my,” she murmured, putting a hand over her mouth in surprise. “Oh, so you’re the one.”

She gave the letter back to Dominic, smiling apologetically.

“I’m sorry, we were told you almost definitely wouldn’t be coming,” the woman explained. “I apologize for our earlier behavior.”

She flipped through a few pages of a logbook, looking for his name.

“Ah, here you are,” she said. “Alright, I’ll let the lord know you’ve arrived. You can wait for her in the South Gallery. However, only ‘Dominic’ was included in the invitation. I’m assuming that’s you?”

“That’s correct.”

She glanced at Aster, still a crow in his arms.

“The lord is very particular about these things,” she said, “so we can’t allow anyone else to meet her.”

Dominic looked down at Aster. The crow shuffled around, regaining his balance and hopping onto the reception desk.

“It’s okay, brother,” he said. “I’ll wait.”

The woman smiled warmly.

“He can stay with us here while you meet,” she offered. “Don’t worry and go ahead. The circle to the South Gallery is right here behind us. Ligan—”

She turned around, shouting for someone who was busy eating lunch across the room.

“—We have a guest. Come warp him.”

A demon with short, sharp horns looked up from his lunch, looking Dominic up and down.

“Where to?” he asked.

“South Gallery.”

“Alright.”

He got up, moving towards a wide space in the back of the office where the floor was cleared. Dominic followed. Under his feet appeared a series of circles, inscribed with complex characters and symbols. They glowed white. The mage that had been called up motioned him towards one in particular.

“Items secured?” he asked simply.

Dominic nodded.

“Alright. I’ll zap you there snappity quick.”

He had a feeling the man was more focused on getting back to eating than anything else. The circle under his feet activated, a curtain of white shooting up and covering his vision. It faded away just as quickly, and when he looked up, he found himself in an immense, indescribably intricate room.

The structure itself was simple—a wide, octagonal area almost large enough to be called a court. Dominic had been warped right into the middle of it, surrounded by a circle of crimson velvet couches, the only furniture there was. And around him rose unbelievably grand walls.

Every single inch was covered in art. One giant mural stretched across the entire room and up to the ceiling. At a single glance it looked like a war, demons and humans of all shapes and sizes rushing into battle, flames erupting and the earth itself being torn, but it stretched further across the walls, and the scene changed. The flames of destruction turned into warm bonfires, stories being told into the night with companions. The cracked earth turned into great cliffs off which the ocean surged and rushed, a band of daring ships making its way in the distance. The warriors fought, mourned, became vengeful, became wise—became heroes. It was like somebody had condensed the entire world into one painting. It was like somebody had tried to turn every single story into one.

There was no mana at all that Dominic could feel in the walls. There was no magic to explain this. This was purely paint and the sheer skill of whoever had been here.

The sound of footsteps broke the silence that had fallen on the room. Dominic looked over and was greeted by the sight of a tall, thin woman approaching, her skin strikingly dark. It was a deep purple, and Dominic would’ve mistaken it for pure black if it weren’t for the little bit of natural sunlight that was filtering in from the skylights above. Two huge, straight horns shot out of the top of her head, her neatly combed hair, tied back in a bun, only accentuating how impressive they were.

“Welcome,” she said, meeting Dominic’s eyes as she approached. “I see you’re enjoying the scenery.”

Her voice was deep and raspy, filled with undisputed authority. As she came closer, it became apparent that she was far older than her posture and gait revealed, her face decorated with deep wrinkles around the corners of her lips and eyes. She gestured to the couches with a smile.

“Please, sit.”

Dominic nodded and took a seat. She did as well, crossing her legs and clasping her hands over her knee across from him.

“I take it that you are the duchess?” Dominic said.

“That is correct.”

“If it’s not too impertinent of me to ask,” he continued, “I’d like to know why I was invited here.”

She chuckled lightly.

“In all honesty, I had fully expected you to balk,” she replied. That explained why the people at the front desk had been so surprised. “But I suppose things have changed. I’d like to know more about you, Dominic. You’re not from Helwin, are you?”

“I have not lived there for long,” Dominic answered, careful not to reveal too much.

“Where were you before that?”

“I did some mercenary work and traveled around.”

“Which territory were you in last?”

“I was on the west coast.”

“Hm.”

She studied him for a moment, then smiled dryly.

“You keep dodging my questions, Dominic.”

He bowed his head slightly.

“I apologize, Your Grace.”

“No need to say things you don’t mean.”

Their eyes met as he looked back up again.

“I will ask you bluntly then,” she said. “Are you from the lighthouse?”

Dominic felt himself tense at that. The duchess knew of it.

“…I am not,” he replied.

“But you know what I am talking about,” she pointed out. “You must have been there, or at least seen it.”

“I won’t deny that.”

“Can you explain it?”

“No.”

She narrowed her eyes, observing him, looking for lies. There were none.

“How peculiar,” she remarked.

Her mana, deep and reverberating like a well, rippled as if a fish at the bottom had flicked its tail.

“Do you know Kali?”

Dominic raised an eyebrow.

“Kali?” he asked.

“To think you haven’t even heard of her. Perhaps you’ve been residing under a rock for the past 1500 years?”

The duchess laughed dryly at her own joke. She rubbed the tip of her thumb and index finger together, her nails making a clicking sound, and slowly the amusement that had once been there melted completely off her face.

“Kali was the archmage, the owner of the lighthouse,” she explained, her expression darkening as she recalled the memories. “But she’s unmistakably dead now.”

The duchess looked Dominic up and down.

“It’s a shame you’re not her.”

“I’m sorry to disappoint you.”

“I don’t need apologies,” the duchess said. “When were you last at the lighthouse?”

“It’s only been a few days.”

“It must have been a husk of a place.”

For the first time, the duchess had erred in her judgement. The lighthouse had been full of life. He thought it would be simple to correct her, but Dominic paused, suddenly reluctant to say anything about Midi or Caspar. Neither had told him to keep their existence a secret—if anything, Caspar wanted to meet more people—but it was just a feeling. Shush. Don’t tell.

He didn’t respond. The duchess leaned forward, intrigued at his silence.

“It wasn’t?” she said.

“I won’t say.”

“I think I deserve to know.”

“I won’t say, duchess.”

All of Thelo and Aster’s warnings to tread carefully around her had gone from his head. He had no desire to bend. She narrowed her eyes, her previous cordiality gone.

“I’ve waited a thousand years for this, and you don’t think I deserve to be told?” she said coldly.

“Waiting is not a reason,” Dominic replied.

He was sure Midi and Caspar had waited just as long to find their happiness, trapped alone on that shore. Their existence wasn’t some spectacle to be spread around, some topic to be made a political debating point. And more than anything, he was starting to think that the feeling holding him back was a type of unreasonable greed. You had a thousand years to find them. This secret is mine now.

“Is that all you called me here for?” Dominic said, blatantly changing the subject.

She laughed dryly.

“Ha. You say ‘Is that all?’ as if the lighthouse is a trivial topic.”

She leaned back, a sigh of exasperation leaving her lips.

“I should never have invited you here,” she said. “I was rash.”

“It seems that my presence only brings you distress,” Dominic remarked.

“No,” the duchess replied. “It is different than that. It is more than that. You are a variable I should never have tangled myself with.”

“You speak as if I’m an omen of bad luck.”

“Child, you are. Don’t you see yourself?”

She chuckled as if laughing at her own mistake.

“You are like a walking disaster,” she said. “When I first saw you, I almost thought you were Kali.”