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Lucy had her arms wrapped around Kalebs waist as they stood in the livingroom of the Pradesh home. Everyone was there, everyone had made it safely there...except Vander, Yukino and Zen...they were still waiting for them...and it had been nearly an hour. Vander should have easily beaten them here, there was no reason...that was a good one...for him being this late.
Lucy was pressed into him, her hand idly moving lightly over the place where the long dagger had pierced his chest...his heart and by doing so...hers, her very soul had screamed in that moment, she'd not been able to be more than a few feet away from him since, had to be touching him somehow, reassuring herself he was ok, she hadn't lost him. Deep inside her though, anger burned, fury toward Sorrano, for Kaleb, for Yukino, for Zen and Cristoff. Hestor and Sorrano were to blame for all of this, all of it fell directly on them, the love of her life, her rock, the very beat of her heart had nearly been taken from her because of their greed...their disgusting power hungry greed and she wanted to personally see Sorrano feel HER pain.
Kaleb caught her thoughts though and winced Lucy...please, don't hate Hestor, he carries dark keys...keys that he's struggled with most of his life, that attack his mind and try to twist him because the set is incomplete and finding them all has been...a tremendous ordeal. He IS a good person and...he was my responsibility...I watched over him, had to take care...if I caught him slipping he had to go to the Academe Celestine, spend time there, there were even times he had to go to the Citadel and be placed inside the Divine Crystal of Immaculate light to handle the darkness, the madness that pushed at him. Him being in this? It's probably because he slipped Lucy, and if he did...that is MY fault for not being there for him like I told him I always would be. His voice in her head made Lucy blink up at him and his pleading eyes had her burying her face in his chest.
Then we help him if we can, save him if he can be saved, just like we'll save Farron. She said firmly and Kaleb smiled, kissed her forehead and went back to work.
Kaleb was casting for Vander, he knew his youngest brother had plucked Zen and Yukino out of Sorranos grasp, preventing Zen from being kidnapped yet again, but so far...Vander hadn't surfaced. Cobra was pacing, reaching himself for his mate, he'd gone from mildly amused that Vander was taking his time to more worried than anyone else, he knew how badly Vander had been hurt, Cristoff was standing there, Cobra demanding he not move until Vander was back, he wanted the Dragon Slayer, overflowing with his magic, to finish what Xally had started and restore his mate to full health. A weakened aching unhappy Vander tore his heart apart.
Kaleb kept reaching, spreading his magic, but he'd never been able to speak to Vander in the voids unless he was with him, still...Vander never spent this much time in them either, not that he couldn't, just that he preferred to keep his forays into them brief….and Vander was still weaker than usual from the explosion, honestly, if he was ever not in a good place to linger in the voids, it was now.
When Vanders voice finally came to him it shook him hard, ragged, utterly miserable…
Kaleb...Kaleb I'm so sorry...I'll go back...I lost him...they grabbed him...I fought but they wanted both of them...him more though, they kicked the girl into me to rip him lose and...I'll go back..I had to tell you...Take the fucking girl...I have to go find Zen….Came Vanders voice a moment before Yukino suddenly dropped from a shadow and rolled out onto the floor at Lucys feet.
"Yukino!" Lucy gasped, releasing Kaleb and falling to her knees over the frost covered woman. Cristoff was frowning, he moved though, bending over the woman and channeling his magic to check her over, aside from being unconscious and in the early stages of hypothermia from being in the voids too long...she was fine.
"VAN!" Erik shouted but the Shadowquip was already back out of reach faster than anyone could move and the family froze...unsure what to do.
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Hestor sipped the hot scotch in his hands, giving his cousin a wary look. He was clean, not entirely happy that he was now dressed in robes of Anubis but...it was better than sitting there naked he supposed.
Manuke sat quietly, watching Hestor, "So...you're swimming in dark waters now...even your soul is dimming cousin."
Hestor glared at the other man "I am AWARE of the challenges before me, Manuke." he sneered.
"I need Ma'at...and Sydelle has him...if I don't get him...this balance will tip all the way and I...will go down the path the others did. who the temple...culled." he spat.
"The Hall can not form in darkness cousin, you know this. It's why you always should have been HERE instead of out there where this could happen." His cousin said firmly but in a soft calm voice.
"Oh...fuck you...really and Fuck the temple and fuck Hishoko and…" Hestor started to rant but froze when Corvus appeared, ravens swirling suddenly before the two men until they vanished and left the tall thin man standing looking at them.
"Doin a lot of Fucking lately my Keyholder." Corvus observed
Hestor pursed his lips and rolled his eyes "Yes...well…"
"Aint here to enjoy the show though, your friend, the Evening Star? He's free floating in the Voids right now under attack by void shades. Seems his little brother saved him and Yukino from getting teleported wherever Sorrano was going but the shades attacked the presence of Celestial magic...hungry to consume it...and the Shadowquip lost his hold on the Evening Star. Poor things gonna kill himself trying to find and recover him.." Corvus said and Manuke stood, eyes wide
"We must help…" He said firmly
Corvus smiled "I can go in there..get him, might need a bit of help, shades aren't a joke...but Hishiko knows, so does Xiao,,,they're running around screaming and yelling sending mages crashing into each other scrambling to try and rescue him themselves…" Corvus smiled "Unless Set himself intervenes? They won't be able to…"
Abraxis appeared and Manuke almost stopped breathing in the presence of the former Demon General as the man grinned darkly.
"We can recover him...dump him in the Temple of Set where the priests there can drive the shades back and heal his injuries." Abraxis offered.
"No...bring him here, you two and Kek-T can drive back the shades with Manuke and the healers here can handle any injuries...Go!" Hestor corrected and Abraxis bowed his head, smirking "As you wish." he said and Corvus snorted a moment before hundreds of ravens flew in and swirled around the pair until they vanished.
Hestor stood looking at Manuke who drew a slow breath and headed for the doors "Come along then Cousin...we can't have the Evening Star arriving in a storage room...I need to prepare the temple…" Manuke said, hands folding before him as he headed out and Hestor pursed his lips, running a hand down his face and following.
This was not what he had planned, so far from it his head was swimming. Presca was supposed to be on assignment in Seven, so they should have been harder to track but he had a feeling Kaleb had pulled the man in, there was a reason he was the top tracker for the Bloodhunters of Bosco. The man had cultivated his magic, worked at it so he could identify and find any magic/life energy signature, no matter where it went...he could find it and track it down.
But Presca was on an important assignment in Seven assisting their King in helping with the rehabilitation of the armies of shifters his mother had created so they could lead normal lives. The assignment should have kept him away, was expected to last at least a year...If the Energy mage came into play, Hestor was going to have trouble keeping things moving where they needed to go.
He grit his teeth as they walked, his naked messy state making it hard for him to walk with real dignity as gardeners looked up at stared as they passed. It was clear who he was, his silver hair gave it away, but Manuke gave people withering warning looks and they looked away.
Healers were summoned, combat ready Seith mages prepared to handle void shades, none of them happy about it. A void shade was the...top of the food chain for souls, as nasty as it got, some had been human once, most though...had never been, were beings of the dark comprised of malignant hostile energy that had gained sentience, few mages could even fight them, Seiths were one type of mage that could.
Hestor could, his spirits well capable of engaging the beings, Manuke was a holder Seith, using a scythe and a book of the dead for his magic. His other cousin, Tenshi, a mage of Holy Light very much could fight the shades and Hestor almost wished Tenshi was here...for that and because it would give him a second bargaining chip with Joya he was certain he was going to need.
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Zen had gone from near mindless passion and heat to...freezing cold blackness and a battle he had not expected. The things around him were the stuff of nightmares, black creatures with long hooked claws and flowing bodies, vacant gaping eyes and maws and a freezing evil aura that chilled even Zen.
The attack had been sudden and violent, Yukinos screams finally giving out only when the woman fainted in fear and Vander...battered and weak still, had been unable to protect the woman and Zen, and the shades, once they were there, decided they wanted Zen more than Yukino and had ripped him away from Vander, sweeping him deeper and farther into the voids with blinding speed.
He knew he was in serious trouble, he was tired, battered, naked and his only weapons were his wings, which were, honestly, very effective, but there were SO MANY shades!
Their claws kept reaching him, tearing his skin, and it wasn't for a while he managed to remember his requip, the magic still not a "go to" like he knew it was supposed to be, glaives made of metal Vander had crafted for him came into his hands, and armor covered his body, he was already bleeding plenty from all the times claws had managed to catch him, but now...they sparked off matte black armor or were cut away by whirling 6 foot glaives or Zens wings.
He held his own for a while, but there were just...too many and they were endless, the swarm of them getting thicker as Zen grew angry and his magic pulsed in his wings, acting like a beacon instead of a deterrent, drawing more and more...bigger...nastier things starting to gome, one with a head larger than any building Zen had ever seen peered at him, circling looking for an opening…
Hestor...Zen grit his teeth...Gods where was his friend? Why was this happening? What had he done and why was Hestor doing this? He had to have a reason? There was no way his friend had just...cast him aside, he didn't believe it, Hestor couldn't lie around him, nobody could...too many times the Celestial Mage had promised him no harm, that he would protect him...so how could this happen?!
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Farron arched on the bed he was now chained to, mind a swirl of pain and overwhelming agonizing need, his body driven to stamina beyond his farthest limits, the first orgasm nearly pleasant, the second about the same, the third wasn't good, the fourth was just pain, by the seventh woman straddling him he was lost in agony and the only thing that kept his mind from shattering was the soft promise…
Hestor's promise he would get him back...that this would end with him returned to the man he loved. The last weeks had been some of the hardest of his life, the almost shy, secretive and sharp witted Celestial Mage he had fallen in love with...so obviously slipping and there was nothing Farron could do, he couldn't help enough...had no idea how to even manage it and Kaleb...so consumed by his newfound love and magic...was too distant to pull in to help and Farron hadn't even wanted to reach out to him, not wanting him to know what he'd unknowingly done, wanting to spare Kaleb that if he could...trying so hard to make up for it, to be the one Hestor needed, to love the man enough he would not fall from the light…
He'd failed, hadn't been enough and that cut deep, hurt more than he'd imagined anything could...but he wasn't giving up, it wasn't in him to give up..not when Hestor kept coming to him, kept stepping into his arms, and those icy eyes melted sometimes, grew soft on his...the touches could be kind...gentle...the lovemaking warm, not always rough and near violent.
It was there...Hestor had that soft golden heart under all that ice...Farron just had to reach it, had to endure whatever this all was...and he would. As he groaned under another woman's hands, hissed as another needle was plunged into his arm...he just had to wait for Hestor to get him back…believe in that, cling to it because it was all that was left.
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The Celestial mage paced, glaring at the floor of the ceremony chamber. Healers sat waiting...Seiths prepared to do battle, Holy mages ready to take on shades...Abraxis and Corvus would return to Hestor with Zen when they found him...and they had to find him...Hestor had faith in his spirits...they would find him…
Manuke watched Hestor pacing, his cousin had told him...bits and pieces of why he was suddenly there...but Manuke could see there was much much more happening than what Hestor had told him. His cousins soul was a mess, lanced through by his keys, his emotions dulled, suppressed by one, his aggression, hostility...fed by others. It was a miracle the man wasn't completely dark already...but...as bad as he was...he was holding on...there was a golden fiery thread holding onto him...that was another soul somewhere that Hestors held like a lifeline.
He had to find the person that thread belonged to. Bring that person to his cousin...and help Hestor get himself back...the world could ill afford to lose another Celestial Mage...especially not the way it was losing this one.
"Calm cousin...have faith." Manuke said softly and Hestor spun, glaring at the man but he said nothing, just returned to his pacing.
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Zen only noticed the change a little at first, the shades started retreating...even the massive thing...moved off...small shades that were...birds? Ravens...they were flying in around him, driving the bigger shades back with sheer numbers, and then he saw weapons moving, saw two forms cutting through the shades making their way to him and he knew in an instant...they were Celestial spirits…
"Abraxis…" he hissed, recognizing the massive sword that was swinging before the spirit swinging it.
"Zen." Abraxis called and the man didn't wait, struggling to reach the two spirits and the moment he did, the dark one grabbed him, ravens swirling around them all and he was finally free of the icey blackness, falling several feet to hard marble in a clatter of weapons and armor, blood seeping from the seams of his armor and spattering on the pale marble floor.
"Zen!" a familiar voice called and he groaned, pushing himself up but his arms were shaky and he nearly collapsed again but someone caught him "Gods...this armor...you know I think you went too far with it, i know we've discussed the choice before but it really is too much…"
Zen growled and twisted, shoving Hestor away from him with a snarl "What the HELL are you doing?! Why? Why was this done?!" He demanded, staggering to his feet and wavering there glaring at the wide eyed Celestial Mage.
Hestor drew a breath and stood up straight, cool eyes narrowing on the blood spreading on the floor "I refuse to discuss this until you are out of that armor getting healing you need." he said firmly.
Zen stared at him and ripped his helm off and threw it at Hestor who yelped and side stepped it, dodging the breastplate next. "Well...at least you have the strength to be ridiculous!" he hissed and Zen glowered at him.
"Me?! What the fuck are you doing Hes?! You...kidnapped me! I...think...pretty sure that's what happened...I admit my memory is hazy as hell but I remember chains...Cristoff...Farron...where are they Hestor?!" Zen demanded and Hestor stood tall.
"Safe, all of them are safe. Cristoff back with your family and Farron...is with people I know." Hestor replied.
Zen glared at him, barely glancing over as a pair of healers rushed to him, gently peeling away the remainder of his armor and Manuke stood staring at the whole scene in amazement.
"Where am I? You have to tell Vander I'm safe Hes...he had me and then those...things...attacked us." Zen hissed almost reacting badly when he realized there were hands touching him until he saw they were healing the deep plentiful claw marks all over his body.
"Stella...the Temple of Anubis…" Hestor looked to Corvus and the raven bowed and vanished to deliver the message that Zen was safe.
Zen glared at him a little less, but then the big man staggered again and collapsed, Hestors eyes flying wide "What did you do!?" He demanded of the healers and Manuke just barely caught Hestor as Abraxis surged forward with the Seiths and Holy priests as shades crawled out of Zens wings where they had been hiding, the room went dark, and Hestor went rigid in the face of eternal dark and the creatures that called the voids home.
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Cobra was pacing, absolutely riddled with fear and worry, he could FEEL Vanders strength draining, could feel his mates misery, the soul wrenching guilt...and there was nothing he could do, he couldn't follow him into the voids he travelled...all he could do was reach for his mate and push his desperate need for him into the bond.
Deep in the Voids Vander was flying from point to point, fighting off shades that could see him weakening, seeking the Golden light that he knew Zen would appear as here until a dark man appeared "Go home Shadowquip...you'll die soon if you keep diving. The Evening Star is safe, rescued, and he'll come home soon unharmed." The man said firmly and Vander stared at him, there was no mistaking the shimmering golden edges to the mans aura, he was a celestial spirit, Vander shook, jerking to the side when thousands of Ravens rushed by, driving away shades and also throwing him up from the depths, tossing him toward the surface and he reached for Erik...rushed from the darkness toward the light that was his mate.
Kaleb stilled "He's here…" he said a moment before Cobra was bowled over, a frost covered Vander on top of him, shivering and panting and Cobra let out a strangled sound, wrapping himself around Vander immediately.
"I...there was a celestial spirit in the voids...it told me Zen was safe...he's been rescued and will be home soon…" Vander rasped, voice shaking.
He turned haggard red eyes to their father "I'm so sorry dad...I'll go back as soon as I'm strong enough...I'll make sure…"
Arman shook his head, "No...no...you'll rest, Kaleb?" Arman looked to Kaleb who was casting again and smiled faintly, Zens mental presence was there "I feel him...he's ok...out cold, probably exhausted...but he's alive.."
"And Farron?" Arman asked and Kaleb frowned faintly, shaking his head. Farron none of them had seen, Emzadi had told them he was there and so far...nobody had been able to find him. They weren't even sure how long he had been missing beyond they had all seen him about a week ago at home, happy and healthy and talking about his next assignment to northern Minstrel.
It drove home the fact most of them didn't pay close attention to their eldest brother. Farron worked so much, was gone travelling so much, they had all just...assumed he had left for Minstrel and his ship had, the Saberfox had gone to Minstrel on schedule, the crew believing Farron was aboard...there was a memory make mage involved in that, Presca had confirmed it and now all of them were...reeling.
First, Hestors actions had hit them all hard, taking Zen and Cristoff, putting them through what he had put them through...the presence of Joyans… Bosco was not at war with Joya but to say relations with that country were strained would be an understatement. Joya had an active slave trade, and made no secret that they allowed their slave hunters to hunt in Bosco, Stella, Bellum, Iceburg and Minstrel.
Were Bellum not so heavily occupied defending its borders from Pergrand, they'd have attacked Joya by now, the royal family of Bellum far past sick of having Joyan slave hunters stealing their citizens. They were a lesser threat though than Pergrand and their berserkers.
One of their princes, Metaj, had even been travelling recently trying to get the other countries that were losing people to Joya to come together and force Joya to cut back their slave raids, if possible force them to stop them altogether.
Farron was due in Minstrel to meet Prince Metaj and the Princes of Minstrel to discuss these matters...and now...he was missing. Kaleb slid his arms around Lucy who was watching Cobra showering Vander with kisses before dragging him toward the stairs "Bed...we're going to bed...and your not leaving the bed any time soon you shadowy fuck…" Cobra said in a voice rough with emotion.
Cris was also heading for the family bath house, unable to stand his own smell anymore and Cana sat on the couch by Xally watching him go then staring at her hands. Lucy's heart went out to her, it did...but there was nothing that could be done now, the bond had been broken, Cristoffs dragon soul was dead silent...even recoiled around Cana now, that opportunity...was gone.
Now Cristoff and Cana had to pick up the pieces and...move on...because Cristoff would have another potential mate show up eventually, and they couldn't stay together...because his dragon wouldn't allow it. "I...I'm gonna go...get a drink." Cana said rising and heading to the wet bar in the living room and Arman stood "I'll join you." The man said, his sympathy and compassion for what Cana and his son were going through evident in the pale jade eyes.
Lucy hugged Kaleb, pressing her cheek against his chest. In the middle of all of this...for once...she had stability. Kalebs love for her was strong, warm, and she wrapped herself in it like a blanket, as pained as she was by all her friends were going through, she had him to lean on, and it was bittersweet, wonderful in that she had that support for the first time in her life since her mother had died...terrible because now she knew what what her friends were missing...what they truly deserved,,,
"They'll heal...Cana is strong...resolved to get through this...she's learning from this, keeps thinking she'll never make this sort of mistake ever again...and Cris...well...he's been through this sort of thing before, fallen in love and had to let the person go." Kaleb said quietly.
Lucy looked up at Kaleb, a hand sliding along his cheek. "I think you need to tell me about Hestor, Kaleb...because right now? I don't see why your family is ready to rally around him...even your father has said we need to help him...he HURT this family, committed...horrible crimes against you all...I need to understand because as a Celestial Mage? I don't get how he could do this."
Kaleb drew a breath "It's a long story…" He said and Lucy eyed him "We have time."
Kaleb smiled wistfully "Alright…" He said and pulled her to sit down across from Xally who had tucked her legs up under her and was leaning on the armrest of the couch listening to them as Kaleb began to explain his long relationship with Hestor Kedanza, how the man had come into his life when an 11 year old, in White Sea City to sell pearls for the first time, from a village called Eventide Bay to the south east of White Sea City near the border with Stella.
"Even then...I felt a connection with him, and even then, he was dark. The Hall of Two Truths...it's made up of.." Kaleb was saying.
"Ten spirits." Lucy interrupted "The sisters of Ammit and the Brothers of Ma'at, together summoned all at once they form the Hall of Two Truths, a platform of ultimate judgement where even Gods themselves can be brought to judgement, ended, unmade by the Makers if the Hall finds them guilty of enough wrong doing. The sisters devour souls, destroy existence, the brothers enforce judgements...it's….one of the darkest key sets in the history of keys." Lucy said
Kaleb nodded "The holders have been from the Takida bloodline for centuries now, and Stella keeps whoever it is, locked away as the High Priest of Anubis, guarded by a small army of Seith and Holy mages to keep the darkness at bay until the set is completed, and then...keeping the Hall contained. Thing was...Hestors mother...Ming...was out on a ship with her brothers and sisters for a ceremony and the ship went down, it was...mysterious...what happened there, but all of the Takida except for Ming..died that day. Ming, washed up on the Boscan shore in Eventide Bay and was found by a clam diver...they fell in love...and he hid her...protected her...and they had a child...Hestor." Kaleb said
Lucy drew a breath "I...there's a High Priest of Anubis…" She said and Kaleb nodded "Hestors cousin, Manuke, he's not a Celestial Summoner though, he's a holder type Seith mage, very very strong, and capable, but, the position has always been held by Celestial Summoners, Hestor is supposed to be there, and Stella tried HARD to take him, to push him into that position but he didn't want it, never has wanted it. He joined White Sea when he was 11, got the guild sponsorship to attend the Academe Celestine, and pursued being a Guild Mage, staying free. He's a scientist...a researcher...has a degree in Marine Biology, even is keeping his own captive reef as a research project...built it in his Guild Apartment…" Kaleb chuckled, shaking his head.
"Through the years, we've been there, watched him struggle, hell I've taken my team out to rescue him from kidnappers more than once...something that seems to go along with you Celestial Mages…" Kaleb said then frowned slightly "Him more than even you Lucy...I mean...Bickslow has told us how many times you've been taken...Hestor...even more so...and they are brutal with him when they take him...these dark guilds...I've been there, seen it...helped him recover, I've gone with him to seek out keys, attended his graduation from the University, we're...close friends Lucy...very close...I...honestly...I've always been a little surprised I didn't just...fall in love with him, there were times I wanted to...all the failed relationships I've had but.." He trailed off, gentle fingers sliding through her golden hair.
"You are mine." She smiled faintly and Kaleb nodded "I'm yours….your "One" and your mate...Farron maybe...I don't know...Farron has always been interested in Hestor...I know the two have slept together a lot over the years just...Hestor never took the step closer and Farron has always hovered, not wanting to push him because he's struggled so much with the Hall."
Lucy nodded "I understand, but...if you've all been so close, why...how...could Hestor do this?"
"The Hall isn't complete...He has all of the sisters now I think...he doesn't tell me which keys he has...just that the set isn't complete, I was hoping, praying, he was getting another of the brothers...Ma'at would be ideal, he above the others balances a lot of the dark pull of the sisters...I know he has Abraxis, I've seen Abraxis...sparred against him...he's one of Hestors primary combat spirits, but Abraxis is harsh, cruel even. No balance against the sisters unless Ma'at is present." Kaleb said unhappily.
"You see...Hestor has fought the darkness of that set, it's dragged other mages to insanity in the past, we've all heard it, Hishoko makes no secret, uses the threat of the Hall driving Hestor mad as her primary argument for us needing to hand him over, allow Stella to place him in the Temple of Anubis where he will be safe…" Xally said and Kaleb nodded.
"What's so terrible about the temple...the position of High Priest...isn't that an honor?" Lucy asked.
"You want to be locked in a temple for the rest of your life, required by duty to have sex with concubines to produce precious bloodline children for your country each week, live in a gilded cage and never go anywhere outside of it ever again?" Kaleb asked her with a faint bitter smile.
Lucy cringed "Gods...no...ok...I ran away from home so I didn;t have to marry a man...that sounds...worse." She admitted and Kaleb nodded.
"That's what the High Priest of Anubis faces. What Hestors two cousins deal with. Manuke in the Temple of Anubis has over 300 concubines...Tenshi, at the temple of the Three Gods of the Heavens? Has just as many he is to look after...sleep with. They have to sleep with different women several nights a week...oversee ceremonies, promote the work of Stella to uphold the Celestial bloodlines and increase the population of Celestial Magic users for the greater good of the world at large." Arman recited shaking his head as he sat down with a brandy.
Lucy cringed shaking her head "I...I mean I get it...Celestial Magic users are painfully rare now...I saw that in stark reality at the Academe Celestine while I was there...but that seems so...harsh."
"Stella does what it feels it must to preserve the magics deemed precious for the ongoing balance of our world." Arman sighed. "And Lady Hishiko is a…" He pursed his lips "Bitch about it."
Kaleb laughed in spite of himself at hearing his father grate out a cuss word.
"The Mother Seer of Stella…" Lucy smiled at Arman who shrugged "I've dealt with the woman for decades, I know her probably...too well." he said
"The bottom line is...years ago when they were all still children...our family embraced Hestor and we...made a sort of silent pledge...in Kalebs case...it wasn't silent though...that we would watch over Hestor, help him all we could to complete the Hall set, keep him safe. Hishiko grudgingly agreed that, since Kaleb held Immaculate light in his veins, and most of us are very light based mages...Hestor could be successful in White Sea, and his mother Ming took Hishiko on headfirst to keep Hestor free...all of us agreeing, we would do that for as long as it took to see Hestor stable and able to enjoy his life." Arman said.
Kaleb drew a breath "But I've been...busy..so many things have been happening the last few months I...I haven't watched him...I've all but ignored him...and somehow...the..closeness I've always had with him...it's gone...and...he's obviously slipped...lost his grip." He looked at Lucy seriously "You understand though...how important it is that I fix this? That we...pull him back and not let the darkness take him?"
Lucy frowned, eyes softening. She'd had no idea another Celestial Summoner was dealing with things so much like what she had...in some ways Hestor had had it easier, he had an education, a guild that supported him and always would...friends that...through a horrific time...were standing by him even when he hurt them...but then, his challenges were so hard. The Golden Zodiac were bright spirits, in fact...all of Lucy's spirits were bright, light...they maybe made her scatterbrained sometimes with their craziness, but...they were all good, they all loved her and appreciated her, none of them wanted her to...fall from the light.
She knew from reading that keys could do that...they could corrupt a summoner, turn them evil...drive them mad. Pavo the Peacock was a legendary dark key, one that had killed holders for being weak or asking the wrong things of her. The Royals...Cassiopeia, Andromeda...that set was known for leading mages astray. Hestor held a powerful set...and incomplete...it drove mages into a dark madness...and that was where he was now...somehow his will had been weakened enough...the keys were driving him to do terrible things. She could...understand...her own keys had gone dark once...and it had been horrific...her battle with them...she'd have died if her friends hadn't stepped in to help her...and now Hestor was where she had been...but his friends...hadn't been there for him at that turning point…
"We have to help him." Lucy said firmly then, tears in her eyes as it all finally really hit home...she did understand...she had almost been where Hestor was now...and she wouldn't let another summoner fall…She had, absolutely without meaning to...pulled Kaleb away, and in doing so...had left Hestor without what had saved her when her keys had gone dark...the love and support of his friends, in particular...his best friend and Guild Master. No...this couldn't stand...she wouldn't let it...they would pull Hestor back to the light...because everybody deserved that…
It could have been her...it almost had been...she'd felt that terrible darkness when her keys had turned..tears ran down her face and she pressed into Kaleb for comfort.
"We will." Kaleb said firmly.
