The 12th Day of Resplendent Wood, 602 in the Year of Our Empress.
Being part of House Mnemon had its privileges and its obligations. For one of the bloodline, the obligations often outweighed the privileges, unless you saw eye to eye with the House founder. When you were the only child of Mnemon herself who hadn't Exalted before the age of 14, the all-consuming pressure to show his Blood outweighed all other considerations.
Mnemon Matthias was almost 17 and he felt every day of it like a stone, one piled on top of the other until a would-be Dragon-Blooded was crushed beneath the burden. Most mornings, he awoke out of breath from terrible nightmares. By most afternoons, he was exhausted by his personal regimen coupled with his extensive duties. Most evenings, it was all he could do to keep his eyes open but still he studied and practiced. When he slept at all, it was with fear of what he'd see in his dreams, a fear born out of another day's failure to Exalt.
It was early evening, just before dinner, and Matthias was just finishing cataloguing a recent acquisition of books to round out someone's collection in the House. His calligraphic High Realm filled several pages with his small, straight script. It lacked the ornamentation most students acquired but it was undeniably clear. He was a straightforward adolescent in all things, which was why he was trying to avoid thinking about his future.
Matthias was going to be married off. He didn't know that for certain, of course. The fact was, most of the people in his household didn't like him and didn't spare a word they didn't need to. No one had told him anything about what was to happen to him but Mnemon, if no one else, would eventually put him to use doing more than these odd jobs around the House.
It was only logical. He'd graduated from the Adamantium Coals of Ezerha, his Primary School, at the top of his class, beating out even the Dragon-Blooded students. He was one of Mnemon's own children, a grandson of the Scarlet Empress. Matthias might have failed his family already but he was still a resource for his mother.
"You're looking even more sour than usual, Matthias." The woman's voice turned his head and he looked down at his visitor. Of course, he tended to look down on everyone. He was the tallest man in his House and he was not even 17 yet.
"I didn't ask for your opinion," he said, with a dismissive lift of his eyebrows. His niece, Cora, was just a little younger than he was but her skin had already turned a light blue only a few years after her Exaltation. Great things were no doubt being planned for her but they, and she, had nothing to do with him.
"You don't need to bite my head off, just because you're sulking," she said, sounding sulky herself. "Grow up. It's not like you're going to be put out on the street."
"My future isn't any concern of yours," Matthias said sharply. "I'm busy. Go play with your latest boyfriend, whoever he is now." One of the burdens of living in a large House was the lack of privacy. Even in the library, he could count on being interrupted by an idle Dragon-Blooded his own age.
"I am. He's passed out though so I'm bored."
"Already?" Matthias glanced at the waterclock in the corner of the room and furrowed his brow disapprovingly. "It's not quite dinner time. You've picked another keeper, I see." His sarcasm was not lost on her and she planted her fists on her hips, fixing him with a glare that chilled his skin. Or maybe that was just the cold radiating from his incensed niece.
"He's a Cynis, what do you expect? At least he's got a future. Did you know Alaraj is being groomed to take over his grandfather's vineyards? It's an excellent asset to their House!"
"You're...dating Cynis Alaraj?"
Matthias' astonishment blackened at once into an utter loathing. Of all his classmates at the Adamantium Coals, no one offended him more than Alaraj. The oaf seemed to be interested in nothing but his own self-gratifying pleasure. Among the bottom of the class in every subject, Matthias would have had nothing to do with him if he hadn't roomed with him.
But then Alaraj had Exalted.
He still remembered coming home to his dormitory room, only to find Alaraj downing as much smuggled alcohol as he could to the cheers of other students. It had been some kind of wager. Already very, very drunk, it had been a miracle the Cynis hadn't poisoned himself with that much liquor. Matthias had tried to sleep in his corner bed until the shouts went up.
Never would he forget the hazy but visible lines of yellow diamonds that wreathed the oaf's body. Never would he forget the empty, vacant look in his eyes changing into the briefest moment of Exalted awareness. Never would he forget his absolute contempt when the first act of his roommate's new Dragon-Blooded life had been to finish the last bottle.
"He's handsome, gets drinks you wouldn't believe!" Cora giggled. "He's fun and talks. Completely unlike someone I know."
"Tell me, Cora...enlighten this stupid mortal." Matthias bared his anger and contempt, for he had nothing to gain by hiding it and little to risk losing. "How does someone like Alaraj represent spiritual perfection? Explain it to me. Am I supposed to...respect and obey someone whose only idea of leadership in the Realm is to drink more than anyone else?"
"Alaraj has depths you can't even imagine," Cora said nastily. "Obviously he does or the Dragons wouldn't have Chosen him. Obviously you don't or they would have Chosen you."
Mnemon Matthias went white as the cruel words hit home but his face was a mask of composure and control. He made fists with his hands. Then he managed a passably civil tone.
"I'm sorry, Cora. That was out of turn. I apologize."
"It's not to me you should be apologizing, Matthias," she snickered harshly. "I'll go rouse Alaraj and you can tell him yourself."
She sauntered out the door and Matthias turned his back, leaning heavily against the table. He was so tired. Martial Arts every morning, House work every day and further study into mathematics, history and the Immaculate Texts every night were taking their toll. And now humiliation would be heaped on top of him. Leaning on his hands, Matthias realized his arms were shaking and he couldn't stop them.
There was only so much a mortal body could withstand, no matter how jade-like the mind and will were.
He took a deep breath, then another, and then another as he realized he couldn't breathe. Matthias clenched his eyes shut tightly, trying to concentrate on keeping air in his lungs, but then dizziness seized him and he fell back, almost missing the chair behind him. He lay in the upholstery, gasping like a fish out of water, and trying not to waste what little air he could find by screaming.
He was so weak. How could he be so weak? He couldn't be found like this. Not by the one teenager he hated the most. Not by his ex-roommate, Cynis Alaraj.
"Drink this, it will help."
A cup of something hot was pressed to his lips and he drank it without looking. It wasn't that he was naive enough to innocently trust a cup pushed his way. Rather, he was too unimportant to kill off, Mnemon's son or not.
The bitter liquid squeezed his throat shut...and then it went down. He gagged, almost retched at the taste...but slowly he could breathe more easily. A leaf was pressed into his hand and Matthias opened his eyes to see his benefactor.
"Chew this. It's good for those with lungs like yours."
The woman before him was beautiful. She was veiled in a creamy leaf-green veil and her robes were just a shade lighter but he could still see beneath her garments that she was lovely. A cloak of raiton feathers hung from her shoulders, not at all fashionable in the Realm. Only someone with her looks could make it look anything other than bizarre.
"My lungs are fine. It's just...something that's been happening to me lately. This is a kind of mint, isn't it?" Matthias asked as he chewed slowly on the leaf. It was helping, or maybe it was that foul brew she'd passed him.
"A kind, yes." Her eyes were a gorgeous green. An unusual pattern of black specks crisscrossed her irises like latticework. And she was looking right at him, not ignoring him like all the others did.
"My name's Matthias. Honored to make your acquaintance, my Lady," he added hastily, remembering his manners. He pulled his shirt down, smoothing any wrinkles that might be on it. "Are you visiting House Mnemon?"
"Actually, I came to visit you."
Matthias, infatuated as he was, still had a mind. The corners of his eyelids creased as he took in the import of her words. Taking a deep breath, he stood back up. His legs were still a little shaky but the fit was passing. They always did ever since they started happening last year.
"I'm honored, my Lady, but I'm not certain why a visitor of your station would waste their time on an unExalted Dynast like myself. How can I be of service?"
"You're well mannered," the woman in green said, smiling in approval. "Intelligent. Quite pretty in your own way. Tall too, and you're not done growing, are you? You'll be a very tall man when you're full grown."
"Thank you, my Lady." Matthias folded his hands together to keep them from betraying his nervousness, for he still didn't know why she was even noticing him.
"You're a remarkable young man, whether your blood is awake or not." She moved at last, pulling a chair up before the one he stood before. Sitting, she leaned forward, close enough that he could touch her face with his fingers if he wanted to. "You're not like the others, are you? You're not a politician or a dilettante. You want Exaltation so you can use your gifts to better the Realm. Tell me the truth. What is that you really want?"
"More than anything?" he asked, wincing at how stupid he sounded. Mother had always told him that people who repeated themselves or others only diminished the importance of their every word. "I would join the Immaculate Order, my Lady."
"Would you now?" Her eyes seemed to glow in the soft candlelight, a green and black smudge of color just noticeably unnatural, if he'd had the presence of mind to notice. Right now, he didn't for she was suddenly the most irresistibly appealing woman he'd ever seen. Teenage crushes and fantasies fell aside as obsession claimed his mind, a driving need to have her transcending all other things. Almost.
"Yes," he gasped, despite how hard he was. "I want to make...the Realm better. The Dragon-Blooded better. The people are not faithful...not enough, even in my own House." He didn't know why he was telling a complete stranger this nor did he understand how he was able to profess his dreams even as he desperately wanted to do things with her that no Immaculate Monk would ever be permitted.
"Very good," she said, smiling just like a Professor who had seen a student pass a difficult test. Matthias took an easier breath as his lust faded, though it did not subside entirely. She was, after all, a very beautiful woman...but she'd used a Charm on him! She had to have! How...how could he have resisted her?
"My Lady, what's your name?"
"I don't have one anymore," she said distantly, as if remembering something from very long ago. "Nor will I ever again. I do bear title but it is not for you to know now. If you must have a name...why not Ya'moire? I was never her but I liked her name, a very long time ago."
"Why are you here?" It was bold but Matthias had had enough. He knew when he was out of his depth. Arrogance and intelligence had carried him far but he wasn't a match for a mystery like this one and he didn't want to wind up dead or disappeared...because right now he had the strange notion that she was part of the All-Seeing Eye and people who brushed up against them were never seen again.
"I'm here to see you, Matthias. I'm here to give you this."