The Great Noble Houses of the Arcelian Empire:

Due to its position as an Empire, a conglomeration of past Kingdoms conquered and annexed, the Arcelian Empire possesses the largest landmass of the four nations of the continent. Likewise, it possesses a great many Noble Houses, with each claiming ancestry to the great heroes of yore, passing wealth, prestige, and the Blessings down their respective lines. However, among these Houses, some possess power eclipsing that of their fellow Houses. These are the Great Houses; the House Derenial, second only to the Imperial Family in power; the House Fadriel; the House Illyndra; the House Paran; the House Verity; the House Tenrael; the House Kellan; and the House Joran. Occasionally mentioned in the same breath as these are the Young Houses. These upstart Houses include House Graken and House Elunel. Lacking in the great history found in the Great Houses, they nevertheless possess a large amount of wealth, which they then have used to introduce those with Blessings into their line through marriage and children. While the Great Houses often scorn these young Houses who lack their lineages, House Graken and Elunel have taken to naming themselves to be members of the Great Houses by right of this massive wealth.

“You never saw fit to tell me that your suitor had finally been decided? Since when did we keep secrets from one another?” Sevrath spoke angrily as he trudged ahead of Katrine for the hundredth time that week, refusing to give her opportunity to explain herself or to apologize.

“Look, we are best friends. Goddess, I am your only friend.” Hearing this, Sevrath stopped and turned to her in annoyance.

“I am your only friend,” she continued, “and you are my only friend. Yes, I should have told you when my father agreed to Daryn’s proposal. But it was hard enough for me to handle on my own. I just wanted to pretend - to pretend that none of it was happening and just be with you, like we always have. I felt like if I told you, things would invariably begin change between us, and we would become distant. Like things are now.” She finished in a small, quivering voice.

Sevrath turned, gazing deeply at the horizon, seemingly unable to look at her. “I just - I.”

He took a deep breath before forcing a smile and looking at Katrine. She seemed so vulnerable right now, so lost. The afternoon breeze swept her chestnut locks across her face, framing her face. On any other day, that face would have a beaming smile and laughing eyes. Today it did not. She was only fourteen, the same age as Sevrath. However, her life had already been decided for her and it was far from the one she wished. “I just never expected you were really a girl, given your complete disregard for delicacy. I guess it is proven now.” Sevrath joked, shaking his head resignedly before forcing a grin on his face and running away from the demon that he knew would soon give chase. Shrieks could be heard behind him as he dashed down the hillside, laughing. At least this meant things would not change between them. That was all that mattered.

So why did the world seem so much darker?

-\o/-

Things did not calm down completely between the two friends for quite some time after. Eventually, however, they found themselves returning to their old routines, the future merely a whisper in the back of their minds, attempting to disrupt their numbered days even further. On the surface all seemed well, but neither of the two could hide the fleeting glimpses of sadness which would flash in their eyes when they thought the other was not looking. Sevrath would often see his best friends face contort into momentary sorrow, before once again returning to her usual, bright smile.

These short glimpses had been enough for Sevrath to come to terms with the changes occurring in his life, despite how little he cared for them. For him, Katrine’s engagement seemed as if it would be the beginnings of the end of their friendship; he could not help but think selfishly that perhaps with her upcoming marriage and her increase in rank, she would no longer feel the need to be there for him, and he with her. But for her, it was an end to her childhood, a time where she was free to do as she pleased, with whom she pleased. The shackles of nobility were already beginning to wind inevitably about her limbs, chaining her to a future she did not care for, to people she did not know, and forever separating her from those she did.

Sevrath knew that his own misgivings and anger at Katrine for her secrecy in the matter of her engagement were misguided; frankly, he just felt abandoned. Lost. Other than his adoptive parents, Katrine had been his only friend in life. Since they were little, they had gone on adventures in the nearby forests, weaving fantastical tales and imaginings into a world of wonder as they explored. He had learned to read from her; many commoners lacked the resources or need to ever learn. Instead, Sevrath, though at the time unwillingly, had delved into studies more fit for a noble child along with his friend. As they grew older, they found each other to be willing and able confidants, stating their woes and worries, their hopes and dreams.

His entire being had been shaped by his friendship with Katrine, and he could not help but feel lost now that this link was being forcibly disrupted. He, however, knew that despite how he felt, it was selfish to only focus on himself in these moments. He might be losing a friend, but Katrine would be facing much worse. All at once, she would lose her friend, her home, and find herself bound to a boy she hardly knew and cared little for, with the sole fate of bearing powerful children.

It would be cruel, indecent, and frankly undeserving of Katrine’s friendship were he to focus on himself while ignoring Katrine in this matter. So Sevrath plastered on a smile to hide the pain he felt; he made her smile like the sun, he made her cry tears of laughter. Most of all, he made her happy.

While his actions were solely devoted to masking his own sadness and healing his friend’s, Sevrath failed to notice the stormclouds roiling just out of sight.

-\o/-

“Recently, there has been an increase in bandit sightings in the area. Make sure that you do not stray too far when you go outside.” Sevrath’s mother warned him as he left their small home at the outskirts of town.

He could only roll his eyes at his mother’s constant worrying. “Mom, I will be fine. I won’t be going into the forest today, and that’s as far from home as I ever get. Besides, while there have been sightings of bandits in the past, the town has never once been raided.

Hearing that he would not be wandering afar, his mother ceased her chidings. “You cannot blame a mother for worrying about her child.” She pestered to him with fake indignance. “So if you aren’t going into the forest today, where exactly are you headed to?”

“Katrine wanted me to meet her at the manor today. Recently she has been having more and more difficulty trying to leave with all of the marriage preparations taking up her time.

Sevrath sighed at the thought of having to go into the manor itself. He generally avoided the manor, and even the town itself, as he was always pointedly reminded by both that he was not wanted, whether it be by the towns folks suspicious glares, or the manor resident’s haughty gazes. Today however, he decided to make an exception, as he wanted to spend as much time with his friend as he could manage. He could deal with their contemptuous looks for a day.

Sidling up alongside the manor walls, he approached the guarded gates. Keeping his head down, he attempted to be unobtrusive as he tried to pass through the gates, all the while praying that today would lack the normal aggressive confrontation his presence normal created.

Seeings a large crowd of workers walking in and out of the gate, busy with carting in decorations, silks, and the like for the wedding, he attempted to follow the crowd into the manor. Sadly, his features were too identifiably different than that of those around him, and he soon found himself stopped by the gate guards.

“Where do you think you are going?” One of the gate guards sneered at Sevrath, likely using his presence as an excuse to alleviate his boredom.

Sevrath groaned as soon as he heard the voice. He hardly had to look up to know that it was directed at him. There was a particular mixture of loathing, contempt, and fear that was only present when the people of Carthal were speaking about or to him. One would think that after nearly fourteen years of unfounded rumors and zero evidence of any sort of demonic nature, people would begin to tire of constantly looking over their shoulders in fear of the supposed “demon” lurking in their midst.

Sadly, however, Carthal was much too far removed from the rest of civilization to have much else to gossip about it, and far too close to the Desolate Lands to not be fearful and superstitious of the unknown. Luckily for Sevrath, despite all of Lord Carthal’s flaws, he did not share this viewpoint of his people, as he spent much of his time in the more prosperous cities of Arcelia and lacked their sense of superstition. It was doubtful he even traveled far enough west to even see the Desolate lands, despite its nearness.

So, despite the fears of the people, there was little they could do to Sevrath without the backing of their Lord. Even so, many of them seemed to view it as their duty to harass him whenever possible, which was why he rarely ever even entered into the town itself.

“Katrine asked me to come visit her today.” Sevrath spoke softly while continuing to look downwards, not wanting to provoke the guard unnecessarily.

“Did she now? First I’m ‘earing of it.” The guard spoke derisively while picking at his ear with his little finger.

Despite his attempts to stay calm, Sevrath was starting to become annoyed by the guard’s attitude. Everybody in town knew that he was often seen in the presence of Katrine since they had been small, so it was not as if he had no prior relation to her. Alongside this, Katrine hardly needed to inform the guard of her every little decision and yet he did not even bother to confirm the accuracy of his words.

“I don’t know what kind of magic you used to get so close to her Ladyship, but don’t think that I will let you do as you please.”

Sevrath rolled his eyes at the guard. “The only real magic in the world is that of the Luminescents. While, I am flattered you think me to be so powerful, I am ashamed to admit that I lack those capabilities. However, since I am obviously such an enigma in your eyes due to my ability to interact with the opposite sex, I would gladly teach you about what you yourself lack.

He knew that it would do little good to anger the guard, but having to deal with the constant contempt from those like him all of his life had made Sevrath easily irritated despite himself. Sure enough, as soon as the words left his mouth, the guards face underwent a change, shifting from its normal contemptuous sneer into a snarl as he reached forward to grab Sevrath.

“Sevrath, what are you doing by the gate? Are you going to come in or not?” He heard Katrine’s melodic voice sing out into the courtyard. The guards face spasmed as he retracted his hand quickly. However he might feel about Sevrath, Katrine was still a noble, while he was a mere guard.

Sevrath glared at the guard for a moment before nonchalantly walking past him to meet with Katrine. Seeming to have remembered something, he paused for a moment. “It was nice meeting you. I hope your luck with women will become better in the future, though it is doubtful. As an aside, have you heard the rumor that demons from the Desolate Lands can even curse men with impotency. Silly thought, I know. But still, makes you wonder.” He smiled in satisfaction as he saw the guard’s face blanch before he turned around.

That satisfaction was short lived however, as he then saw the expression on Katrine’s face.

“You need to stop responding to them like that. It hardly helps your reputation with those idiots when you lie about stuff like that. In their minds, it will just cement their superstitions in their minds, causing them to blame every little hardship they have on you.” She chided angrily to her friend.

Sevrath just frowned. “It doesn’t matter anyway.” He kicked at the ground, uprooting a loose stone. “They have made it clear throughout my life that I will never be welcome here, for nothing more than the fact that they are ignorant and want someone to blame for their fears. I just happen to be an easy target.”

The duo continued on in silence.

-\o/-

“Thank Goddess I finally have some time for myself,” Katrine sighed as they walked down the corridor to the training room that was currently unoccupied. Normally it would be filled with the clatter of wooden practice swords banging together, accompanied by the groans of their wielders as they fought to and fro. Today, however, with the large influx of visitors in the manor walls, all of the guardsmen seemed to be on duty, so the room was blessedly empty.

Entering the room, Sevrath was greeted by the sight of bare wooden walls set in a militaristic style, with racks of training weapons aligned alongside the wall and a center platform dedicated to sparring, surrounded by other similar features.

“So what were you so excited to show me?” Sevrath questioned her after they had closed the door to the practice room.

“Katrine?” She didn’t answer. Confused, he slowly walked up behind her. “Katrine, what’s wrong?” Sevrath was starting to get concerned that she might be relapsing into her previous state of sadness, so he tried to comfort her. “Are you okay?” He asked softly. His hand reached out to touch her shoulder, only to have it phase through.

“Alright, you want to play with me? Let’s play then.” Sevrath grinned as he walked forward to the wooden wall and grabbed one of the training swords from the weapon rack. He hefted the wooden sword in his hands, testing its balance.

Turning around, he heard his sword clatter to the ground as his grip loosened due to shock. Rather than the sparse wooden practice room he had seen before. He was now surrounded on nearly all sides by a sunlit forest. Lush evergreens spread out before him, with the sunlight streaming through the gaps in their branches. The rustling sound of wildlife scampering over dried leaves crackled in the air, and the sweet calls of birds tweeted in his ears. He could feel the wind blowing through his hair and smell the scent of pine. Sevrath stepped forward in wonder, rubbing his hand softly alongside the rough bark of a tree. He felt his his hand scrape from its uneven texture.

A change occurred in the air. The leaves of the surrounding forest seemed to lose their great vibrancy, fading with each passing second. The shrill sound of the birds happily chirping among the treetops quieted to a mellow whistle. The previously comforting breeze died, leaving with it a sense of loss and the absence of smell. The sunlight lastly faded to a dull glow, and the scene died.

Looking around in consternation, he found Katrine sitting down on the floor, breathing hard and wreathed in sweat. Obviously exhausted, she still found it in herself to grin happily at Sevrath who was staring at her with eyes wide and mouth agape.

“So, are you amazed by me, or what?” She questioned excitedly, seeming to forget her earlier exhaustion.

“Since when have you been able to do something like that? For a short time there, it seemed as if what I was seeing was real. I could hear the sound of wildlife and the crunching of leaves. The bark of the tree felt real. Goddess, there was even the feeling of wind blowing against me, despite us being in a room.” Is it really possible for Weaver’s to manipulate perception to such an extent?

She grinned up at him, finally catching her breath. “I have been practicing with little details during the times I am forced to play the part of the noble lady-to-be. You should have seen when I learned to manipulate tactile sensation. The guards were going crazy, thinking that there was a spirit wandering the halls.” Katrine giggled loudly, proud of her mischief. “Sadly, what I just showed you was the limit of my capabilities. The more I try to manipulate in the environment with my illusions, the more it takes out of me. Just providing a sense of touch to my illusions exhausts me extremely quickly, let alone something to the extent of what I just showed you. Honestly, I just wanted to show off a little bit.” She finished with a shrug, followed by a wince as she grabbed her head. “Now remind me to never do that again. I feel like somebody took an axe to my skull, then minced my brain.”

Sevrath grimaced in sympathy upon seeing the recoil her actions had created. “Does anybody else know about how much you are capable of now?” He was curious, as he knew that most of those around the manor had not seemed to change their apparent view of her. Currently, it seemed as if most of those in House Elunel’s party still saw her as property that was being bartered away at a price, and useful only for showcasing as a demonstration of status and a means to propagate.

He assumed that if they knew the speed at which she was improving in regards to her abilities, they would possess some fear of her in spite of themselves. Sevrath himself did not feel that way, but he could see how others who did not know her nature and limitations might, as he had never even heard of Weaver’s being able to recreate a sense of touch in their illusions. Sight, always, sound and smell, maybe. But touch? Never, in all of the legends of Luminescents - of which there were a great many - had he heard of Weavers being able to even create a perception of touch for their targets.

“No, I have not told anyone about practicing my Weaving.” Her lips upturned and her words became bitter. “Were I to allow others to know, it would hardly do me good. They already consider me purchased. The only thing that would occur from allowing others to know of my capabilities would be the wedding date being rushed so that I could be with child even sooner. It is bad enough already when they believe my abilities to be average at best.”

He could understand why she believed House Elunel would act in such a way were they to find out about her capabilities. With each successive generation, the Luminescents were slightly weaker than their predecessors, so families with strong Luminescents were seen as extremely important. With how obsessed House Elunel seemed to be with increasing their status to match that of the Great Houses, Sevrath knew that they would try to take possession of Katrine as soon as possible if they knew.

“Well, I would ask you to spar, but clearly that is not an option now.” Sevrath said, trying to change the subject. “Come with me, let’s find somewhere for you to lie down that is more comfortable than this floor.” He helped her stand and allowed her to support her weight on him.

Leaving the training room and beginning to walk down the corridors in search of somewhere she could rest, he found Daryn blocking the hallway, speaking with some of his guards. Seeing Sevrath with Katrine, his brows narrowed and he began to speak angrily about Sevrath’s presence, but sputtered to a stop as he was pointedly ignored by the pair.

As Sevrath walked by, he could feel a piercing glare filled with hatred aimed at his back.