The Lord was aware that something unprecedented was happening. Lately, he had grown to feel that there was a rift forming in the communication between nobles. For the most part, they had just always done their own thing…which was fine, up until a certain point. However, because of that lack of communication, he did not actually know anything about them. Not their true selves, their dreams and ambitions; they had them, certainly. Not just hobbies to pass the time with, but true goals to aspire after and work toward. All living things needed that 'light of hope', in order to make time palatable.
Otherwise, eternity would become a burden and they would eventually go insane.
He had always had his wit to fall back on. Despite Gejutel's nagging, he liked to keep things light and airy. There was no need to be serious all the time, and that grave decorum that had seemingly become a 'rule', was not a noble's true dignity. Had they really lost their ability to laugh gayly and play? To just cast off that rigidity and act like idiots from time to time? He thought that, sadly, the noble race was becoming boring.
He had one goal, and he did not care how long it took him to accomplish it. He wanted to have all the nobles around him, laughing and chatting; he wanted to see them so exciting about something, so distracted and happy, that they forgot all about their self-imposed 'dignity'. Of course, a huge amount of his mind was taken up with worry over his child; he had a daughter, and she was a very serious type of person, very much like her mother. He did not have that, but he respected that she liked quiet and routine. On the other hand, if she never left her house, then she would eventually be entirely unable to communicate with even her own kind, and he wanted more for her than that. This was why, from time to time, he would ask her to go on 'missions' for him…
Lately, he had begun to worry that she was actually not thinking about him like a father at all, though, and only as the Lord. Did most children say; 'I hear and obey' to their own fathers? He did not think so. He was the Lord, and he did not mind it that she maintained those protocols, but…it was also very lonely, hearing her say that.
"It may be time for me to start thinking about stepping aside." The Lord said to himself, softly, as he looked over the messy parlour he was in. His private living quarters were messy. He liked clutter about him. Because, the throne room, where he spent far too much of his time as it was, was an empty stone room. There were no pictures on the walls. There was nothing to really look at. The stone chair was damn uncomfortable, too. Were they trying to ruin his butt as well as his mind?!
He had talked things over the Ragar, before the Assembly; it was the night before and he was a tad nervous about dragging everything out into the open. Assuredly, feelings would be hurt, and there were going to be tedious things to talk about. He wanted to inform everyone at once that he was extending his hand of friendship to Muzaka, and his child. He could not even tolerate the idea of someone shooting his daughter with an arrow! To think that Ashly was only a young girl, not even to her Womaning, made him ready to whip out Ragnarok and go into battle just on the moral aspects of the issue.
There was Cadis Etrama Di Raizel, too. For the Noblesse to make a move, was very important. The Lord knew that that child should have died. Although half werewolf, if she had not awakened on her own, she should have passed into Eternal Sleep. Muzaka did not have the power to call people's minds back from that precipice, so, it only made sense that Raizel-nim had awakened the child.
That also explained his condition.
Letting out a sigh, the Lord was in the middle of stretching when he heard a turmoil at his door and turned quickly. He was never troubled while in his private quarters; he could not even remember the last time anything had been so urgent. So, he was truly astonished to have Ragar burst in on him.
In the next moment, The Lord had rushed to his side, because both Ragar and some other person, had collapsed upon the floor. Ragar was on one knee, panting somewhat, and there was blood running freely from his cheek, his shoulder, and his abdomen. The other person, whom The Lord realized the Urokai Agvain, was laying there sweating profusely and loosing copious amounts of blood.
"What on earth happened to you?!" The Lord asked, putting a hand on Ragar's shoulder. He could use a little of his Blood Field to circulate the blood inside another person's body. It was not precisely 'healing', but it could limit the flow of blood, or it could speed it up. In this case, Ragar's wounds were made to stop bleeding, and he let out a sigh of relief. "Ragar Kertia?!"
"I hear you Lord." He said, softly. "Urokai asked me to escort him to you, and I do think he is in a very bad way. I am not sure of the details, though. Only that he has been in a high fever since I arrived at his estate. Indeed, he believed he would be attacked if he attempted to come alone, so I journeyed with him. And we were attacked at a middle-distance tween here and his estate." He quickly gave the high points of the attack itself, but then moved on without a change in his tone or expression. "Their target was undoubtedly Urokai, Lord, and they wounded him in this way."
Having turned Urokai onto his back, the Lord could see for himself how terrible a condition the Clan Leader was in. Moving aside his clothes, the Lord looked at the wound. It had not healed even a little, as it should have. "What kind of weapon made this wound?" He asked, softly.
"I am not so certain it is the weapon, Lord, as he was in this condition from the beginning." Ragar said, having gained his feet now. "It appeared to me to be a soul weapon, but I confess, I was hard pressed to pay attention to him; if I did not know better myself, I would say I was fighting Gradeus. Indeed, had I not learned much on surprise attacks recently, I would have been more seriously injured by him."
"What?!" The Lord looked at him, frowning steeply. "Why would one Clan Leader attack another in earnest?"
"That is something only Urokai can tell you, Lord." Ragar replied, closing his eyes. "We…may have neglected him more than we ought. As you know, Urokai is alone now. And, if I am correct, it is likely due to his eyes that he is this way."
"His eye?" The Lord frowned, but comprehending had already come to him. Looking at Urokai, who was young enough to be a child to him, the Lord put a hand over the eyepatch he wore. Certainly, it was sealing something. He could feel some 'thing' slithering around in there, seeking an outlet, and this had to be extremely exhausting and painful. It also did not need to be said on what precisely that power was, or where it had come from. "This is very grave." The Lord took a deep breath and let it out, moving his hand to Urokai's chest area; he gently eased the flow of blood to a stop, and bound the wound to his abdomen. Even with this, it was not mending itself. "His regeneration has been affected. He had told me that he had decided to reform himself, and I was pleased, for I thought he had seen for himself how near to a fall he was. Even I failed to see the severity of his wounds."
Because it was likely another Clan Leader had been involved in the attack on Urokai, the Lord did not summon any of the servants. Instead, together with Ragar, he tended to Urokai and put him to bed there in his own quarters. They sat next to the bed, watching over him as he struggled against his fever. When he woke, he was clearly groggy and disoriented. Which degenerated into depression and even despair. "Ragar…" He said, softly, as if he could not even muster up the energy to be frightened or sad any longer. "Lord."
Worried about him, the Lord looked down. "It seems you have something to say to me. I will hear all of it, Urokai. So please rest your mind against that, at the very least, I will not turn a deaf ear or a blind eye upon you." He sighed a little, rubbing his face.
"I…betrayed you." Urokai said. It was a statement with no emotional attachment in it. "Not just me, though. There are others. They probably already left, though." Urokai replied, in a hoarse tone. "I made my bed and I'll lie it in. I don't even remember precisely how it started. Well, Ragus came up with a plan…and we, there are six of us, decided to follow along. It failed though." He shut his eye, swallowing thickly. "To murder the Noblesse."
Ragar actually blanched. "How…how…can you…say it like that?!" He asked, in an undertone. He was mortified, of course. For him, who had often taken the time to chat with Urokai, it must have seemed all the worse.
A foggy red eye moved toward him, and Urokai chuckled. "Right? It's ridiculous. Just the thought inspires outrage and disgust. I…always admired Raizel-nim. Not that he ever stirred a step for our sakes; no, he only cares about humans. And I'm not sure he even thinks. He just stands there. He did at least drink the tea we brought him, but I'm pretty sure that was only to make us hurry up and leave as quickly as possible." He sighed. "Why does the Noblesse exist in the first place? I don't know. And, actually, I don't care. But, I do care about my own life." He gritted his teeth. "If you think about it, it's easy to see what happened. Wouldn't it just be easier to do away with him?"
"Why?" The Lord asked, trying to control himself. He knew Urokai was in pain, and he seemed to have some mental affects as well. Nevertheless, his words were hard to hear. Normally, he would have smacked anyone who voiced such words, but in this instance, he felt that it was only right to lance the poison. "Speaking this way about such a revered person, it must speak to your heart even a little, Urokai; that murdering anyone is wrong."
"'Murdering anyone is wrong'." Urokai repeated. "But not if the one doing the murdering is the Noblesse, right? If I don't agree, and I don't want to obey, then what?" He fiddled with the coverlet over him, not speaking in a very passionate voice, but clearly and distinctly. "I think. I have a lot of things to think about. I'm not allowed to say that, though. Right now, I have a pretty good idea of the condition of my body. But that's something I walked myself into. I screwed up. I lost. And I'm bitter about it. But, that's just something that can happen in battle, right? That isn't the same as murder. And murder is always done in secret, plotted out, because it's 'wrong'. There isn't 'some other way'. To do it out in the open, all honest and what not, because that person is 'above the law' or 'stronger'. He can; the Noblesse can do it. If I just don't agree and the Noblesse passed judgement on me, isn't that murder?"
The Lord, astonished, actually sat back. This was far more complicated than he had expected. If it had been a moment of insanity, that would be one thing. And he knew that the nobles were changing. His values had not undergone any great evolution, in several thousand years. He was…the Lord. However, what he had just heard spoken out loud, was rejection. Rejection of those values. Rejection of their caste system. Rejection of the authority of the Lord and the Noblesse.
To ask that question, one had to first see the Lord and the Noblesse was superior. And then to point the figure of why they were superior. He could understand that, if unjust, their authority was frightening. Because as the Lord, he was stronger than all the Clan Leaders combined. Ragnarok alone was strong enough to split the world into two halves. How could anyone deny him or question him, when quaking in his shadow? But, he had never thought that his innate values, would be questioned right at the root of his authority.
What, or who, gave him the right to 'Lord' over others?
"Km. Well, it amounts to that for me, but there are other reasons." Urokai said, after a moment's still. "I did not drag my carcass all the way over here just to talk about that. Lord, I'm tired. And I've made up my mind to throw myself on what little mercy you'll give me, because I do not want to end up in one of Ragus' mixing bowls." He involuntarily shuddered. "It goes back to how I lost my eye. You can imagine how shocked we all were; a human did this to me? Really? Then, if a human is that strong, what would happen to a noble if you did the same thing to them?"
Frowning, the Lord thought about this. "I'm not sure I follow. You mean that, upon seeing Frankenstein's abilities, Ragus because enamoured of his power and wishes to steal it?"
"No. Why steal something you can just make for yourself?" Urokai asked, smiling a little. A nasty, bitter smile. "Not sure how he goes about it; I've been rusticating in my house for the last few years. He visits from time to time. But I do know he's going to the human countries more and more often. And I do know that those countries have huge numbers of casualties; wars, epidemics, that kind of thing. He was always interested in that kind of thing, but he found out about Frankenstein from the humans. Ragus gave me that pendant that set him off…" He coughed a little, breathing heavily. "…I got set up, you see? That was just testing him to see what would happen, and maybe, hopefully, give us a reason to kill him off."
Reeling, The Lord licked his lips. "Ragus…" He frowned, looking down at his hands. He had so much power, but at that moment, he felt very small and rather weak. "…km. Then, this recent incident was also through your collective efforts?"
"Hmm? Yeah. Ragus said that if the Noblesse fought hard enough, he would burn up his life force." Urokai whispered, dropping his voice. It seemed that, even though he was being adamant of his own part in things, he still felt enough guilt over it, to speak shyly and whisper when it came to those details. "And it worked, I mean, he did fight with the werewolf…but he came back. I heard from Ragus; he came to see me and told me to just keep my mouth shut. Hmpf, I can tell what he was thinking. Because I'm like this and all. That's not a warning, that's a threat."
Worried about him, as he grew rather too still, the Lord chewed his lip. The things that Urokai was saying, were not easily solved. Just forcing him into Eternal Sleep, would not right the wrong. And, Urokai himself did not seem to be aware of just where he had gone wrong. Punishing someone without allowing them to fully comprehend their own wrong-doing, was not wise or just. It only prevented them from further humiliating themselves…and causing any further casualties.
"Even though you are in so much pain, you did not ask for help even once?" The Lord asked, looking at Urokai as he tried to hide it. He felt old and tired now, and he took a deep breath. "You know, Urokai, these rules and edicts are there for a good reason; however, I have never said that you Clan Leaders are not allowed to speak. If you have come to believe that silence is mandatory, or that I will not even consider your perspective, then that is a sad fate indeed. As Lord, I do rule the noble race, but I, myself, am just a single entity. It may shock you to hear this, but I am also imperfect. That is also true of the Noblesse, naturally. No matter what, I am the highest in authority, and the Noblesse is the strongest. That being said, I think that you present a new condition for us, and this is because you have learned to question authority."
Ragar shifted somewhat, looking at him in awe. "Lord, do you mean to say that you will not punish Urokai for his transgression?"
"Well, I think that something needs to be done!" The Lord said, with a gestured. "Look at the state he is in?! And through whose fault and mismanagement? Mine. It is my fault. I am the Lord, and I should have seen this coming. So, that is my mistake. The Clan Leaders are not there to act as my servants, Ragar. You, Gejutel, Urokai, and even Ragus…all of you are, essentially, exist so that I do not have to try to run thirteen families at the same time." Folding his arms, the Lord sat back, sucking his front teeth. "All this, it boils down to a lack of communication, in the end."
Urokai coughed, but it might have been a laugh.
"As for treason…" The Lord said, looking at Urokai. "…I will impose mandatory treatment onto you, Urokai. As well as placing a guard over you, until you can fight back. I will also place a proper seal over you; you cannot bring out your Soul Weapon right now." He shook his head. "Those are the restraints you have earned, and no because you have questioned me or my authority, but because you did not speak to me about these matters when you had the chance."
Urokai's unruined eye was very wide. The bitter expression on his face had smoothed out, and his lip trembled a little. He seemed younger. "How…" He started, tears welling up in his eye, and falling over his cheek. "…how is Raizel-nim?"
"He is tired, but not seriously harmed." The Lord replied, petting Urokai's arm. "You do like him, don't you? I like him too. If you would like, I will pass along a message to him."
"I…am relieved." Urokai said, through his crying. "That…he is…all right. Even though I plotted, and even though he never looked at me. At least he is all right."