Epilogue

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"...The unfortunate fugitive kneels before the might of the noble ruler and begs to be allowed to remain in the city."

"Strange to see you here, Messena Medea," the prince said with a chuckle. "I thought your position at the usurper's court was more than stable."

"No one can be sure of his future on the side that opposes the will of Sovereign Kono," the risen smiled sweetly. "In fear of the imminent arrival of the rightful sovereign's troops, the impostor's flatterers and criminals had finally lost their heads, eager to enjoy the last days of vicious permissiveness. It was too dangerous to stay in Taleya. So I left the Capital, hoping to find warm hospitality and companionship here."

She was generally welcomed in Zonna. The descendants of noble families who had fled the Academy had told their kinsmen to whom they owed their salvation, so the aristocrats felt indebted. All the more so since many knew Medea personally and had no animosity towards her. An audience with the Royal Rebel she got quickly, in just a measly three weeks. And that time was well spent - she talked to every member of her not insignificant community, re-established lost ties with officers she knew, and ensured that her servants received some extremely lucrative contracts for food and metalwork for the army. But mostly, of course, she communicated with the nobility.

She liked to shine in high society, she was able and loved to talk to people knowledgeable in the art, ancient poetry, and the language of gestures and hints, in which the aristocracy communicated, was familiar to her. The routine and the economic affairs she had in good conscience left to Egard, who was assigned to her by her sister for this purpose. She was well aware of Medea's strengths and weaknesses and found it necessary to prop her up with a deputy with strong nerves.

"I heard you had some difficulties with your family? Have you lost a close friend?"

He doesn't know yet, thought Medea. They haven't heard? It can't be. Rather, he wants to hear the details.

"Praise Morvan, my sister is alive. Our ancient enemy has indeed risen from oblivion, only this time to be finally put to rest." The risen one couldn't stand it and lowered her face, hiding her expression. It took her a few moments to suppress the flood of memories. "But the victory was costly. And our allies among the so-called "servants of the throne," on whose help we relied, refused to support us at the critical moment, leaving us to perish. But we survived and have not forgotten the black ingratitude! Henceforth Celesta refuses to deal with the dastardly traitors."

The man was quiet, looking at the petitioner, and then he slowly clarified: "Do your words mean that she is ready to swear an oath to me?"

A subtle moment. Be careful.

"Alas, my Lord," the beauty breathed out with sincere regret. "Such a move would destroy the risens. Chancellor Rakawa will not tolerate the presence of forces hostile to his interests in the center of his domain. After the events mentioned, we are weak and unable to hide from his minions for long. Now my sister and mistress are feverishly rushing about, gathering supporters scattered by the troubles of life and trying in vain to somehow resurrect crumbs of the former influence. And I... I, not having her mental strength, ran to you."

Medea quickly calculated her options and considered it possible to complain at the same time. With tears in her voice, she moaned reverently:

"Believe it or not, I had to travel in the company of a coachman and a maid, without an escort. We were twice tried to be robbed by some horrible men! Oh, my lord, what horrors I had to endure..."

"And what was it like for the aggressor," the prince muttered faintly under his breath.

Medea pretended not to hear.

"Nevertheless, the Noble Lord and Sovereign of the armored thousands can be sure of our sincere sympathy and count on the risens as the most loyal of servants. His orders alone would be enough to bring him news from Taleya faster than the wind."

Kono covered his eyes, pondering. The vampiress was proposing an alliance. Well, why not? The presence of the Children of the Night in his retinue, hired by Dinir himself, would strengthen his power in the eyes of the nobility and add weight to his claim to the throne. Not to mention the extra bit of information coming from Taleya. After all, the risens might actually learn something useful. So perhaps he need not insist on an oath of allegiance now. They will revisit the matter later when he ascends the Azure Throne, but for now, there is no need to rush into it.

"Perhaps I will honor your request, Messena Medea. In memory of my long service to the rulers of Taleya, I ask you to be my guest."

* * *

"Young man," Hustin was used to treating students in a certain way, and he wasn't going to change his habit, "as such, your magical abilities are zero. It's not surprising - at the moment, only two of the risens are able to enchant in the conventional sense of the word, that is, to create spells."

Honestly, Vador wasn't upset. It's interesting to watch witchcraft stuff from the outside, but it's creepy to get involved. He's not a mistress. He could be hunted down by demons in a heartbeat. It's a shame, though, because Maestro Hustin has told and shown him things he'd never dreamt of or even known before. What will he have to do now? Master Egard has left for Zonna, and the rest of the younger risens will not be returned to Taleya. They're waiting for the fighting to die down. Most likely, they'll be assigned to someone to serve as an apprentice, to do all sorts of giving and take.

However, the warlock had his ideas about the fate of the apprentice.

"Nevertheless, your studies will continue with me. More precisely, it will be combined with a research project that I have not had time to complete."

The kid's eyes almost doubled in size.

"What kind of research, maestro?"

"Nothing complicated, a simple survey," Hustin waved his hand nonchalantly. "It's about time we figured out our powers."

The warlock got up from his chair and walked around the room. Walking made it easier for him to think, the wording came out chiseled, short, so that Vador already knew - in such moments do not disturb him.

"In addition to the well-known sections of energy work, such as spirit magic or its subdivision Necromancy or Ritualism, the risens possess a number of abilities unique to them. To us. In particular, these individual traits, developed through long training, include the relatively common sensorics, telepathy, partial body modification, cryomancy, and the rare pyrokinesis or voice work." At the last words, Hastin became confused, grimaced, and rubbed his right ear for some reason. "This could also include the ability to enter a trance state, stretching personal time, or summon animals to one's aid. Personally, I think all of the above is a consequence of our non-living nature, but the assumption needs to be tested."

No one had ever tried to delve deeply into the process of the risens' appearance and development of special skills before. They were taken as a given - there is and there is. This is the wrong position! We see a phenomenon that is interesting in itself and, at the same time, can be of considerable benefit in the future. Individual talents are shown to be possessed by every risen, the differences being only in the level of development and specialization. For obvious reasons, the abilities of the older ones are clearer and more developed.

The goal of the forthcoming research, in my opinion, is to create a methodology for developing each ability. To be more precise, a set of techniques is suitable for any risens. This is what you and I are going to do.

"Master..." The apprentice, satisfied that the warlock had no intention of continuing, dared to voice the doubts that plagued him. "It's very difficult. I don't even know where to start."

In response to the mournful bleat, Hustin shrugged:

"With classification. What else!"

* * *

Abrupt changes are not for him. He was tired of them during his lifetime.

In the Capital, the Gardomann had to stay a bit longer. Despite the rapidly gathering pendulum of civil war and the rapid flight of capital to neighboring countries, Taleya continued to be the largest financial and commercial center of the Good Sea. Abandoning the local market meant voluntarily weakening its position on several fronts at once. In addition, the impending outbreak of hostilities meant an increase in purchases of weapons, leather, forage, and other army necessities, something the Dark One himself told them to take advantage of. The quartermasters were tearing the goods right out of their hands, even without the customary "facilitation fee".

Mistress was pleased with the report she received through the mirror on the situation in Bardi. The local rebels, after a few minor excesses, recognized her sovereignty. A ruler loyal to the Children of the Night was placed on the throne, and his enemies were either dead or on the run. Intervention from neighboring Lanaka is unlikely in the coming years, so the community can develop calmly, without serious external threats. So Gardoman returned to Taleнa in good humor (that is, grouchy a little less than usual) and was not anxious until he came upon a group of refugees at the inn. The colorful description of the curse caused by the doomed wizards blew him out of his usual optimism, and the financier traveled the rest of the way, full of grim forebodings.

The uncomfortable feeling grew a lush bouquet at the sight of the giant dark dome that covered nearly half of Taleya's Golden Quarter. There was an impression of sadness and despair among the citizens, and the streets were unusually crowded with uniformed men, walking by the dozens, escorted by priests. It was said that the population of the city had dwindled by a third. Panic was heightened by rumors of family quarrels and imminent war, while in the market food prices doubled and continued to rise. Gardaumean's worst fears were coming true.

However, the kinsmen he met did not give the impression of creatures who had had an unfortunate argument with fate. On the contrary. They scurried about the catacombs, bossing their servants around with confidence, and looking victorious. Merk, who had recently become something of a secretary to Mistress, informed the Elder that Celesta was engaged in some exceedingly important experiment of Maestro Hustin's, and dashed off with a wave of news. Unexpectedly pleasant.

It turned out that things weren't so bad. The humans were indeed fighting among themselves, and it was the attack on the Taleya mages' stronghold that was the cue for the strife to begin. The result is plain for all to see. The mortal has not returned from the dome, and Mistress has forbidden the undead to enter the cursed earth. Mortals now have many problems of their own, they do not touch the risens, and they, in turn, do not be impudent, and slowly restore the failed network of agents. Recruit only the poor so far, to work among the merchants or the higher classes will begin after the outbreak of hostilities, that is, soon. Medea two days ago went to Zonna, Zervan, on the contrary, returned to the Capital, cleansed the communities that had stuttered about independence, and at the moment actively intimidates the relaxed leaders of the bandit. Latham is stuck in Lascaris.

He was originally sent there to negotiate with the blessed Yuinariq, but an unforeseen factor intervened. Once again a vampire appeared from the Steppe. An intelligent, hungry vampire who thought humans were natural prey. They put it to rest quickly, literally on the second night, but the prince expressed his displeasure at the trend, and Mistress supported him. So Latham was now engaged in an activity untypical of him, preparing a reconnaissance expedition to the other side of the steppe to see what was happening there. Was there a redistribution of power among the vampires there, or was there some other reason they were suddenly headed East?

"It's okay," Merk admitted with a kind of childlike surprise. "Of course, officially people catch us, but no one actually touches the risens. Maybe later... We seem to have averted suspicion from the servants, the cultists are worshipping Mistress Celesta as never before, and the most hostile temples to the Children of the Night are licking their wounds. The curse of Tyran has been very fortunate. Of course, I believe we could have won our freedom without it, but not with such small losses. They say," the younger vampire lowered his voice, "that the Dark One himself intervened. He condescended to the Mistress's request."

"It's just a coincidence."

"I'll listen to what you have to say after you talk to the Mistress," Merk sulked.

It was impossible to find out what he meant exactly, and the old man didn't ask the others. He naively thought he was ready for any surprises. It turned out not quite.

Celesta was... mesmerizing. Her way of talking didn't change, she didn't try to show her superiority or demonstrate her power, no. But both Gardoman and the others who interacted with her sensed a current of energy from her, an echo of another world. It was as if she did not fully belong to this reality and therefore saw, felt, and knew a little more than the others.

She had guessed the unspoken thoughts of her interlocutor before or made him doubt his opinion with a few well-placed words, but now she didn't even need words. A slight shake of the head, a skeptical smile, or some other equally inconspicuous gesture was enough. Charisma? A mental power spike? Yes, perhaps. And a willingness to look at the world from all angles at once, noticing big and small details. The detachment from the hustle and bustle common to saints and celestials. She thought in terms of the centuries, laying the immediate plans in the fabric of a path that stretched into the future, imposing her style of thinking with ease and frightening the grandeur of her intentions. This delighted and frightened me more than her changed appearance.

Before, Gardoman had never met anyone who evoked the same feelings in him.

It seems that the risens really did have a Queen.

* * *

Excerpt from "Creatures of the Night that Mages Meet" by Master of Necromancy Zul Pollitz

(Original, property of the Zonna Academy of Magic)

But know, oh seeker, of all the demons sent by the Lord of Darkness Morvan to earth, the most dangerous of all are the vampires, also the Children of the Night, or the Bloody Kin named. For, many of the weaknesses they have, like the human form, as well as the mind, cunning and full of guile, have. Their lairs are in the cities. They gather in communities, sometimes five, sometimes ten, and sometimes even more vampires who live in one place for many years, surrounded by spellbound people. The people believe that they have sold their souls to the Dark Lord and serve their masters faithfully.

And the children of the night are ruled by Celesta, who is called Mistress of Taleya. No one knows how far her power extends, but they say that in both Lanak and Azar Sultanate vampires recognize her power. Her power is great. They say that Morvan himself gave her a piece of his power, giving her power over his cursed offspring, and thus Celesta can open the gates to Hell and the servants of the Dark in our world to call. Others believe she knows the future and reads the unfulfilled as if she were reading a phrase from a leaf. Others believe she is the gatekeeper, who releases damned souls from the Darkness and puts them into dead human bodies at her master's will, though I don't believe it myself.

It is known only that Celesta does not leave Taleya. She sits on a throne in the depths of the spoiled lands, cursed by Tyran, and when she has a need, she sends her servants to do her will in other lands. But this is seldom the case.

For few of those who do un-live on the shores of the Good Sea dare to contradict her...

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