6. The Realm Of Ascendancy
Summary: While Zael, Dagran and Mirania look for the Realm of Ascendancy, Arganan realizes that he has an opportunity to learn more about the other mercs and their shared history…
Zael accepted the offer and swore fealty, and so did Dagran, much to Arganan's relief. Now that he officially had both men working so closely with him, that meant that his further plans to take down the Gurak could continue. And one of those plans involved activating this island as a floating fortress.
Arganan knew what powers the Outsider had in regards to this island – at least enough to know that it could help stop the war they were currently in. But he couldn't do anything with Zael to activate the island as a fortress, and to do that, well…
"The Realm of Ascendancy lies at the end of a passage guarded by dark spirits, who will only be revealed by those that can use the Outsider's power. They can't be seen by anyone else otherwise." Arganan explained, looking towards Zael. "You have to make sure to use it to get past your foes. Once you make it to the end, you should be able to do what's needed."
"I see." He watched Zael suck in a breath, before glancing briefly towards all his other friends. Arganan recognized Mirania, Syrenne, Lowell, and Yurick, since he'd interacted with them at least once already before.
"Of course, I will request that most of your companions stay back here with me. Not that I expect you to betray me, but...you know." Arganan managed, looking between them and trying to suppres a frown. Regardless of whether he looked upon them favorably or not, he knew he had to be careful either way. Even if these mercenaries were fairly loyal so far, Arganan knew that they turned on him in the end and only worked with him up until his death because he manipulated them into helping him one last time during the last Gurak invasion.
Better to keep an eye on them early on. As reasonably as I can.
"I'll go with Zael." Dagran managed, "If that's alright with you, Count."
Arganan offered the mercenary leader a light smile. "I trust that you'll be of help to him."
He heard someone clear their throat, and he looked to his right to see Mirania speak up. "I-is it alright if I come with the two of you, as well?"
Zael looked towards Mirania, frowning. "Are you sure?"
"She can help you and Dagran heal up. Neither of you have magic, anyway." Syrenne managed with a wave of her hand. "You'll be fine!"
"She has a point." Zael mused, looking towards Dagran. "I can only use the Outsider's power to revive other people if they're already out."
"Got it. It'll be the three of us, then." Dagran looked towards Mirania with a nod, then Zael. "Ready?"
The other two nodded, before the trio went into the Realm of Ascendancy. Arganan hoped that the three of them got back soon.
So…what do I do now?
Arganan wasn't sure how long Zael, Dagran, and Mirania would take to get through the Realm of Ascendancy, so he was stuck here waiting for them to come back, along with Syrenne, Lowell, and Yurick.
I don't know any of these three well. And I wasn't exactly nice to them in the other timeline, either…but casually striking up conversation could be difficult. They wouldn't expect that of me considering my position as Count, and it's not like they're knights-in-training yet now, either.
But they're also Zael and Dagran's friends. Maybe if I asked about information pertaining to them, they wouldn't find it too strange or out of place…?
Might as well try now, right? "Out of curiosity, how did the rest of you meet Zael and Dagran?"
"You talkin' to us?" Syrenne raised a brow, looking towards him. "Out of curiosity?"
"We might as well get to know each other slightly more, considering that we're working together for the rest of this war." Arganan managed quickly. He supposed that most employers probably didn't engage in small talk with the mercenaries, but he did want to get on their nice side. "And as Zael and Dagran's comrades, I would like to know more about how you met them. They might be knights-in-training now, but I could potentially extend that opportunity to the rest of you, depending on how you perform during this war."
It wasn't a lie – and this group had been nothing but reliable so far. It would help, Arganan figured, to keep them close if he could.
"You know," Lowell managed with a slight chuckle, "It's not often we have our employers asking more of our history. Or being so considerate, really."
"I'm not like most employers." Arganan muttered, but he noticed Yurick frown.
"Mirania and I more-recently joined compared to the others, but I know that we've lost people before."
Lost people? "Did they die during past missions?" Mercenaries had hard lives – balancing their livelihoods on the edges of knives, of dangerous missions. Arganan knew that the Reptid extermination mission he sent them on previously could easily be dangerous to anyone.
"Yeah." Lowell scratched the back of his head lightly, and Arganan noticed Syrenne's brows twisting in disgust. "We've lost a couple people before. I almost went completely down when we were working with our last employer. They wouldn't give us any medical treatment after I got roughed up, and Mirania hadn't joined us yet at the time, so we were lucky to find a doctor in the next town."
That explained a lot – and Arganan knew that they were lucky. It was more likely for them to end up dead, considering the reputations of most mercenaries. He knew he would never be able to comprehend their stresses, though he hoped that he could least alleviate that as well as he could, while they were still under his employment – especially with this ongoing war. "Did Dagran always lead your group, or was there someone beforehand?"
"Always was Dagran." Yurick managed with a light shrug. "He did all the negotiating. He and Zael have been part of it all since the beginning. The rest of us came later."
Oh. That suddenly explained a lot now – that conversation Dagran had with him the other day, with Dagran commenting about him being such a generous employer. I suppose most of their past employers haven't been nearly as pleasant – and the fact that I offered Dagran and Zael the opportunities to be knights in training must have really surprised them, especially with how soon it was!
No wonder Dagran reacted the way he did – He probably wasn't expecting much kindness. Though it makes me wonder why he got a tad flirty at the end…unless that's how he treats employers that treat him nicely? For extra favor if possible?
Was he going to try to manipulate any potential feelings I might have towards him?
"You look lost in thought." Lowell noted, and Arganan blinked once. "Something on your mind, Count?"
"Just a few things. But they're unnecessary for your own knowledge." He managed quickly, shaking his head. "Though I do think I understand a few more things about Zael and Dagran, so…thank you for that."
Before anyone else could say a thing, the whole island shook. "What the…!?" Syrenne's eyes widened.
Arganan, however, knew what this meant – Zael did it. He reached the Realm of Ascendancy...
Mirania, Zael, and Dagran emerged from the corridor shortly afterward and Arganan looked towards them. "I presume you completed your mission?"
"We did, sir." Zael managed.
That meant one thing – Zael could use his power to properly turn this island into the floating fortress.
The memory of Arganan slapping Calista came to his mind, and he frowned. Would I have done that if I just let the power involved in all of this overwhelm me?
But he was different now. He wouldn't do that. And he knew that he had to be careful – balancing this war, all the new advances in power that Lazulis would make because of this war and because of Zael assisting them with the power of the Outsider.
Turning the island into a fortress with Zael's power of the Outsider was surprisingly easier than Arganan thought it would be. All Zael had to do was just use his power to 'activate' the island, and the island itself did the rest of the work. Now, they were heading towards the Gurak Continent, and Arganan knew he had to make sure everything was prepared. He'd spoken with all the knight captains to ready their troops and sharpen their swords and other weapons. The mages were honing their abilities as needed, and archers were getting restocked on arrows as needed.
It was exhausting, dealing with a war, and Arganan knew that once they got close enough to the Gurak Continent, they would be stuck in a terrible battle. Who knows how it will go?
The Gurak invaded two more times during this war, he recalled. The first invasion, during the ball, was the start of the war. The second resulted in them stealing technology, which they used for their third invasion – to power their own island fortress. Because they have the other half of the Outsider, we risk having their Continent and our island up against each other and shooting each other down.
If we're able to prevent them from taking technology…would it be harder for them to execute the third invasion?
Arganan made a mental note to himself to tell his guards and knights to be wary of any potential thievery happening in the castle. That might be something to be careful of, for sure.
Another thing that concerned him was the Outsider itself. Zael might have control over its power, but Arganan still could picture his own demise – the light consuming him, the
Learning more about the Outsider would probably help him survive encountering it later on. And so, he made a trip to the library.
He wasn't the only one there, however – he noticed none other than Mirania, one of the mercenaries, and General Asthar both in deep discussion.
"That's what happened there?" Asthar asked, brows furrowing as he faced the healer. "In the Realm of Ascendancy?"
"Yes." Mirania nodded quickly. Arganan decided it might be key to listen in on this conversation – especially if it involved talking about what happened recently. He hid behind the closest bookshelf he could as he continued listening to her speak. "I heard them saying words like 'Liberate us,' and 'We can endure no more,' General." Mirania shuddered, and Arganan watched Asthar frown as Mirania kept speaking. "It's like…the Outsider was trapped here."
"I noticed the island's land itself shifting outside as it turned into the fortress it's supposed to be, too." Asthar managed. "And those white flecks you told me being a sign of the land's decay – more of those emerged, too. There has to be a connection between this Outsider and the land's decay – I'm sure of it. We just have to figure out exactly how."
Arganan frowned. He knew what it meant. But these two didn't.
The Outsider…that's the thing that led to my demise. But if we can find the link between it and the land's decay, maybe…
Could he trust them?
Asthar is trustworthy. And I don't know Mirania well other than her healing magic and reputation for a huge appetite, but I think I have to take a chance. They could be the key to me staying alive at the end of this all.
Arganan took a deep breath, stepped out from behind the bookshelf, and cleared his throat to catch their attention. "What's going on here?"
"Count Arganan," Mirania breathed, immediately turning to face him as she bowed. Asthar did the same. "We were just talking, that's all."
"About the Outsider, I presume?"
Both of them exchanged glances with each other, but Arganan let out a soft sigh. "If this is about the Outsider and the land's decay, as I overheard you both talking about as I was passing through, I also have my concerns about it."
"You do?" Asthar seemed particularly intrigued, brows furrowing. "Do you know exactly how they're linked?"
"Not entirely, but I am aware that it could lead to eventual ruin if we're not careful. Though it has its uses in our current war with the Gurak, its presence in this world could be…dangerous, in the long run, if not already. I know my past ancestor had writings about it, but I never found them."
He wished he'd looked into the Outsider a bit earlier – but it was too late now. He'd busied himself previously with attending to the regular duties of ruling Lazulis, making sure his niece was ready to take over when or if the time came – but he regretted not looking into the Outsider.
"I can do what I can to help your research," Arganan managed. "I'll even give both of you full access to the library, if that will be of use."
"Really?" Mirania gasped, eyes widening. "Y-you truly mean this, Count?"
"Of course. In exchange, though, I'd like for both of you to keep me updated on anything new you learn." That was only way he was going to survive, after all. Ignorance wouldn't help him here. "I'll do what I can to look into the Outsider as well, but I can't guarantee that I can find much."
"Considering how you're handling the current war at hand, I understand." Asthar looked towards him, and Arganan saw a light smile playing on his lips. "But I do appreciate your assistance."
"I think I'll appreciate it just as much." The Count managed, smiling right back at him. "And all of Lazulis will, too."
