Chapter 15

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Existing in a hostile environment has its positive aspects. There are more negative aspects, which is why every rational (and irrational too) creature strives to provide itself with as much comfort as possible. However, the undoubted advantage of the constant threat to life is the obvious need to evolve. Vampires did not need to be persuaded to grow stronger - they understood that there was no other way to continue their post-death existence. Those who stopped, frozen in their greatness, would inevitably be found by the priests someday.

And kill.

They did not want to leave to meet their adored Patron; as a consequence, the vast majority of vampires sought to develop their strengths and cover up their weaknesses. The upper echelons of society, led by the Mistress, welcomed such intentions: learning was encouraged, the exchange of knowledge flourished, and the elders, engaged in the education of the risen youth, enjoyed high status and many benefits. The founding of the School of Paths was a natural progression of the process.

In the documents of the Department of Finance, the school went under the abbreviation FHEI CN, that is, "the first higher educational institution of the children of the night". Celesta suspected that the name was a kind of revenge financier to mages in general and Vador in particular, appointed director of this FHEI. At the initial stage of its existence, the School required serious investments - for teaching aids, for research, and creating a network of underground classrooms and lecture halls. Vador's estimates were approved without complaint, and Gardoman's staff made no attempt to argue with her, so they chose to express their dissatisfaction in this way.

The teaching process was organized simply. The following paths were constantly taught: blood magic, ritualism, animalism, strengthening, and mentalism, and there were both beginner and advanced groups. If there were those who wanted to study something else, for example, often asked about healing or shapeshifting, the directorate collected applications, and when there were more than three potential students, organized courses. There were always teachers for the courses, if only for the reason that Celesta did not shy away from pressuring relatives who avoided sharing their knowledge without a good reason. She herself taught mentalistic to those who surpassed the level of the advanced group, and she monitored the situation around the School.

There have been mishaps. There were times when mentors, for personal reasons, refused to teach a particular student. Sometimes the older students knew as much about the subject as the instructor, and then the lessons turned into a kind of experience-sharing seminar. The directorate received applications that had little more than nothing to do with the post-vampire lifestyle. Why did three heads of communities in Lanaka wish to learn a lost version of the hieroglyphic writing of a vanished tribe on the edge of the Oikumene? Well, they wish to, and they did. The scouts found an old human specialist especially for the three of them, worked him over, looked for an approach, persuaded him... Convinced him.

Most newbies were not admitted to the School. Young risen continued to be attached to their personal tutors, and it was up to their parents to raise their chicks. It was the older vampires who became students, most of them seniors who had moved up to the second level. They were busy and experienced personalities, who knew exactly what they wanted; they valued their personal time highly, and so they came to Taleya for a short time. And not only and not so much for the sake of studying. Though, of course, it was an important factor. For example, if a vampire from a small town on the border with the Land of Blueness went to the Capital, to the School, the head of the community instructed him to negotiate the terms of orders for controlled companies, to persuade Maitre Hastin to issue artifacts out of turn or send someone more experienced to the local branch of the Dark Guild, to ask the scouts for dirt on officials recently appointed from the capital, and so on. In general, the vampires who came to Taleya usually stayed there for a long time.

The contingent in the provincial communities ranged from outright slag to vampires who were talented, unconventional, only incapable of living within the rigid limits set by Celesta. As long as the actions of local heads had no effect on the common cause, the Mistress turned a blind eye to minor violations of the law, wisely allowing her subjects to indulge in the illusion of autonomy. But when someone's stupidity turned to trouble, they were in no hurry to help: you made a mess of it, you fix it. The established rules of the game suited everyone, no one wanted to change them.

Valquerius, head of the community of Rassegai, ruled his city long and successfully. An old risen, he might have been among the ranks of the elders had it not been for two qualities that prevented a successful career. Valquerius was lazy and misanthropic, and the latter applied not only to mortals but to his kin as well. Otherwise, he was a near-perfect head. Strong, law-abiding, and his intellect worked perfectly. The small community of Rassegai was happy with their lord, who carefully minimized any attempts to communicate with them.

As for laziness, only Celesta, who had found the right way to communicate, was occasionally able to overcome it. When she needed something from Valqueríus, she would summon him to her office and, after annoying him with some trifle, intimidate him. Then came the offer, the "last chance" to rehabilitate himself in the eyes of his superiors. Frightened by the prospect of leaving the quiet cozy town, where everything went on as usual and where no one bothered him, Valquerius mobilized, brilliantly performed the mission entrusted to him, and then with a deep relief ran far away from the cruel Mistress, who forced him to work. For the next twenty years, he was untouched.

This time Valquerius came on his own. There were too many issues that forced him to get out of his seat.

First of all, he was inquisitive and took a keen interest in the work of the School. In fact, Vador was one of the few individuals with whom the head of Rassegai maintained a friendly relationship and whose presence did not annoy him. They often discussed the discoveries made by the Path masters, considered ways to improve the learning process, and together berated the herd of gray philistines around them. As the strongest adept of the Path of Illusions, Valquerius tried to gather knowledge concerning his favorite subject from everywhere. As a consequence, the appearance in the School of new information on the necessary subject could move him to the hard decision, i.e. - to travel.

Second, now he hoped to dispatch some of his wards to Celesta. The fact that there were fewer risen rising with each passing century did not mean that there were always fewer of them. The theory of probability had not been abandoned. This year, four young vampires had appeared in Rasegae, and it was difficult to train them at once. There weren't enough mentors in town. So Valquerius expected to send at least three of them to Taleya, under the strong wing of the Mistress, as soon as the "newborns" grew stronger and loosened their ties to their homeland. The arrangement had to be made in advance.

Third, for the first time in a long time, he had difficulty interacting with people. With the city's top leadership, to be more precise.

"Mistress, words can't tell you how tired I am of him!" The vampire complained, raising his hands. "He was chasing me around the city, waving his sword and wanting to do the deed! If it hadn't been for the guards, he would have broken his own neck. And I can not kill him. He is the Count's heir, his Dad would be offended. I ended up putting him on a libido stimulator, and now he's stuck in brothels all the time. But it's not forever! He'll be cleansed at the next feast in the temple!"

"How does he know where you live?"

"I accept petitioners in the cemetery on the last Monday of the month," Valquerius brushed it off. "What? Mistress, that's very convenient. One night you suffer, and the rest of the month you're free. All the newcomers, instead of disturbed people asking questions, know where to find me. Well, the old clients interact with my deputies and don't cause any trouble."

"You dumped the work on the deputies," Celesta said affirmatively.

"Just divided the zones of responsibility," the guest agreed without shame. "It's very convenient. Everyone knows exactly who does what, and they don't bother me for a trifle."

"But since you're here, it's not a trifle that happened, is it?"

"Exactly, Mistress. Petty Countess, it's not a problem. We have a conflict with the local monastery of the Triad of Righteousness. They're stealing the meadows from our merchants."

The rest of the story revealed the following. The local dynasty of merchants, who had been loyal supporters of the vampires for generations, owned several tracts of land in the city's outskirts, the most valuable of which was the flood meadows. The medicinal herbs that grew in the meadows brought in a good profit, which is why the land was repeatedly tried to be bought or taken away. Until recently, attempts were successfully repulsed. Unfortunately, the meadows were now under the eye of a "heavyweight" - it was said that the monastery had the patronage of a prince - and the bribed officials from the local administration were either unable or afraid to help.

"I'll find dirt on the monks," Valquerius explained. "The very usual - failure to pay taxes, seizure of land, dubious sorcery in the name of a loyal subject, and all that sort of thing. There are no first-degree felonies, so the investigation will fall apart. But while it's going on, the priests will get away from the merchants. The problem is that if the monastery does have the support of someone from the dynasty, then the interference of the administration of the fief, or even the capital is not ruled out, which would not be desirable."

"The princes have no time for trivialities," said Celesta quietly. "The branches are preparing for a fight between them. We provided some information to the special Cabinet of the Guardian the other day and their leader was happy to return the favor, hinting that the Son of the Sea has no great affection for his kin. So go ahead. If there are any instructions from high places about you, we'll hold them to that."

"Thank you, Mistress," bowed Valquerius.

"For the next, five to ten years, consider that any action to degrade the reputation of the three largest cults in the country will have my approval and support," the ruler finished without changing her tone.

"Any?"

"Any. Knowing you, I'm sure you'll know when to stop."

In giving out a kind of carte blanche, Celesta had no doubts. Valquerius was not the kind of vampire to abuse her trust - he would rather lie on the couch surrounded by books and do nothing at all.

So she intended to spur him on.

"As for your new recruits, bring two. Another one you will choose a mentor from among your deputies, and you will train the last one yourself."

"Mistress!" Valquerius howled in a natural voice. "For what!"

"For a reason." Celesta smiled meekly, not deceiving Valquerius in the least, for he shut up immediately. "So you don't get moldy in your hole. Tell me, when was the last time you did something new? Not to improve the skills you've already mastered, but to learn something you didn't know how to do before. You can't? You have nothing to say, Valquerius, because you don't remember when you stopped developing yourself. You don't do anything, you don't try to change anything, you just lie in your den, and little by little you start to degrade! I'm not satisfied with what's going on with you, I don't want to see you slowly sliding downhill. So I take you out of your comfort zone. Remember that term? That's great. And mind you, I chose to be gentle, taking into account your past wishes."

"Which ones, Mistress?" Valquerius marveled.

"You complained that you are surrounded by dullards and mediocrities. Here's almost a clean slate for you - take it, bring it up as you see fit. The psyche of the young risens is shaken by the new state, and the suggestibility is high, so in this case, the student will become what the teacher will make him. Everything is in your hands."

"As it pleases the Mistress," sighed the sloth.

"If you want, you can go to Zonna, Medea needs a resident in the Sultanate. Or we're planning an expansion of the guard, and you're not a bad fighter, I remember," the subject shook his head in horror at her alternatives. "No? We'll stick with the ward, then."

"Keep in mind, I'm not going to be lazy and personally check what he's learned. And if I'm disappointed with the result... It's going to be difficult for you to rest in your next position."

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"Have you ever thought that the life of a ruler is a series of small, or not small, betrayals of himself?"

"Why are you suddenly so interested in philosophy?" Medea's mental voice was full of surprise.

"Vantal visited the house of an official, Matalest, and found evidence of life-transfer rituals there. The remnants of my morality demand that I personally intervene and execute Matalest and his accomplices, not just kill them, but think of something special. But I know I will not. I will sell the dirt to the Son of the Sea, who will probably offer the official a deal. It is even possible that he will turn a blind eye to the crimes because blackmailing the Chancellor's closest associate will allow him to throw the latter out and appoint his own man to replace Darth. The child killer will not be punished. I feel like I'm breaking myself - for the umpteenth time."

"I remember. You told me that in your world, children are untouchable. Honestly, it's hard for me to imagine that society."

"Well, not that they're untouchable... Violence against them is treated much more harshly than here. I seem to be used to the local order and put up with it, but some concepts are the basis of my personality, they cannot be changed. They come out at the most unexpected moments. And when they come out, you have to break them - with a crunch, feeling how you break yourself. It's not a pleasant feeling."

"If the matter is so important to you, don't say anything to the king," the connection brought with it emotions of sympathy, desire for support, and slight perplexity coming from my sister. "You are Mistress. No one can question your decision."

"I can't. There is too much tied up in the king's position. It has recently emerged that people have been clever with the information they received from Zervan, and have learned more about us than we thought. It takes time to get rid of disclosed structures, and Valier can give it. Besides, don't forget - it depends on him whether the campaign to the Seven Rivers will take place. His vote is decisive."

"I thought you were counting more on Lash?"

"The Duke is certainly important, but the monks will not lift a finger without the Son of the Sea's permission."

"You still haven't told me the final plan, by the way," Medea remarked from afar. "Everything I know about the Sacred Crusade was told when you were staying with me. I mean, the merchants go to Lash, Lash goes to the King, and the King grants his permission. The Orders and cults gather together and go to fight the Seven Rivers. It's a bit vague, don't you think?"

"I don't have a detailed plan," her sister said with a laugh. "I don't have one, and I can't have one. There are only the control points you listed, and that's what I secure. You know yourself - too complicated intrigues inevitably fail."

"Well, that's true..."

"So it makes no sense to make concrete plans, we need to work immediately on the final goal. You see: the question of merchants is easily solvable, although just in case we should enlist the support of the priests of Lucal, here I do not foresee difficulties. The Duke's consent, on the whole, is also assured. He speaks of the impossibility of trade with the West with evident regret. Further difficulties arise. How to convince the King to declare war on an unknowable enemy, a good cause, pleasing to the gods?"

There are three most influential cults in the country and a dozen minor ones. We don't take the latter into account: there are many fanatics who are bruised in the head and the authorities would be happy to get rid of them. But it's more complicated with the major ones. The Saints of the Flame, if they lose fighters on the march, will increase their reputation among the bulk of the nobility, which the Son of the Sea doesn't need. That's because they'll recruit new fighters quickly enough. Consequently, the Saints should not increase their reputation but restore it.

Valier would be only too happy to weaken the Triad of Rightness, but the princes will be a united front against him. Does he need more tension with his kin? Not anytime soon, definitely not. So, the princes either have to agree to participate from the start, or they must not be able to object. The latter is undesirable because too strong a power of the king is not beneficial to us.

And, finally, there remains the Celestial Purity. They have few "holy warriors," and if necessary, they use state security forces, from the army to the guards. It would seem that the "lawmen" should not object to the campaign, but! They realize that if they succeed, the main benefit will accrue to Lascaris, with whose master they are traditionally at knives. Their objections are sure to be heeded by the king.

I have a rough idea of what to do with the Saints. They got screwed in the excavation story, we have dirt on their leadership, and besides, after the current chancellor is removed, the cult's capabilities will be weakened, so it will be relatively easy to get it back on track. The other two are difficult. Actions against Purity will cause displeasure to the Son of the Sea if revealed, the hierarchs in the Triad are watching each other closely and it is unclear how to put pressure on the top. We must also remember that some of the princes are not so much benevolent as hostile to us. We wouldn't want to hurt their proxies.

"There! Now you know how I feel!" Medea exclaimed exaggeratedly and pathetically. "That's how we live in Zonna! We live like rabid squirrels in a wheel. You can't ruin an enemy's life, because you can't hurt an ally's. You should know how many terrific chances we've missed... It's easy for you, diplomats behave themselves in Taleya. The Sultanate is looming over us, and it's such a serious factor that it can't be ignored. Southerners interfere in politics all the time."

"It's good that you reminded me. Any progress in Azar?"

"How, Celesta?! You were the one who demanded that relations between Blueness and the Sultanate deteriorate. It's one or the other. And we can't act as mediators - the niche is tightly occupied by the Principality of Raganza. Those neutrals are well set up, sitting in the mountains and not letting anyone in their plots. I don't want to quarrel with them."

"Pity. I wouldn't want to build a route to Birat via Deep Harbor right now. Just because we found leaks doesn't mean there aren't others. Hastin was quite right when he said that magic wasn't the problem."

"Who would have thought it, Hastin was right!" Celesta saw her sister's lips curl up in an annoyed grimace as for real. Then, after a short silence, there was a feignedly nonchalant question. "How are they? Has poor Cache recovered at all?"

"She looks cheerful, although it will take her a long time to recover. She's become more composed. It's not nice of me to say this, but it seems this incident has done her good."

"Maybe she should come to us. We have better healers."

"Preferably with a mentor?"

"No, that's one I'm not ready to see yet!"

"I like that "yet." I'll be sure to please Hustin with it."

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