Chapter 4 - The Binding Offer

After the previous night's festivities, Veil struggled against her own body to wake up the next morning. Her excitement fought with her fatigue as she lay on her cot, seconds passing like hours in her mind. In time, she was able to drag herself away from the siren call of slumber, and she got up to start a new day.

Shaking the remaining tiredness out of her body with a quick round of stretching, she headed to the nearest shrine to Serapis for her morning prayer. Even though she spent the six minutes of prayer down to the second, her devoted words to the Goddess were practically rushed through. Much like she had the night before, Veil thanked Serapis for Her support in her first fight, prayed for Claw's soul, and finished her prayer with a request that She find favor with her desire to become a Servant.

With her prayer done, Veil made her way to Nuha's hut. All the while, her mind rushed as she thought of what her tutor would reveal to her. As she burst through the flap over the door, Nuha was only just rousing from her own slumber. That fact hardly had time to register to Veil as she started speaking.

"Nuha! Have you found anything yet?"

"Mmh… Veil? I just woke up, can't really look through the scrolls while I'm sleeping…"

Veil paused as reality finally started to occur to her. "Oh, r-right. Sorry about that, I've just been so excited for today!"

"Hey, it's alright, I get that you're excited. 'Time well spent,' right?"

"Exactly! Whatever I can do to become a Servant, I want to do it right away!"

"Well, you're in luck then. Turns out, I was thinking about that last night, and I remembered a good place to start."

Nuha rose from her cot, took a few groggy steps toward one of her scroll shelves, and pulled an older looking scroll out from among them.

"It's a story about an arena fighter. If I remember right, the fighter started out as a slave, but proved himself in the arena and became a Servant over the course of his career."

"That sounds perfect, Nuha! Let's start looking right away!"

"Okay, okay, slow down there! I'm still trying to wake up, after all!"

Nuha let out a short laugh before unfurling the scroll and settling it down on the ground between her and Veil. Once both of them sat down to look through it, she started examining its ancient script. Veil, for what little she could do, focused on the pictures that accompanied the story, checking for any changes to the tattoos depicted on the slave's arms.

After a while, Nuha smiled and spoke up. "Veil, I think I found it! Right here, I'll read it for you!"

Veil perked up as Nuha directed her attention to the passage in question.

"And so, with the fall of his hundredth opponent, the Slave's Binding Offer was fulfilled. His devotion to Serapis and his House was thus rewarded, and he was marked as a Servant, in accord with the pact his Mistress had agreed upon."

Nuha rolled the scroll out a little further, and Veil saw an illustration of the story's hero standing victorious. Unlike all his previous depictions, this latest image showed him with two marks on each arm - the House insignia on the hands as was usual, as well as the same marks on his wrists.

"There it is, just like you said! You mentioned a Binding Offer, was that how he did it?"

"Yeah," Nuha nodded, "it was mentioned a lot earlier on, but I wanted to make sure that was what he did."

"So, a Binding Offer then… What exactly does that mean?"

"Basically, it's a deal between a lower caste member and their mistress or master. Apparently it has to be a pretty big achievement. In this case, the Binding Offer was for him to defeat a hundred opponents in the arena."

"A hundred, though? How long did that end up taking him?"

"Years, from what the scroll says. That's… probably not the answer you were hoping for, was it?"

"Yeah, I don't think I could handle years of waiting. Maybe there's a faster way?"

"Hm, I think… Maybe you could ask Master Sef? Since you'll have to ask Mistress Adelin about it, he might know about a faster Offer she'd agree to."

Veil sat in thought for a moment. With a smile, she quickly lunged and grabbed Nuha in a hug, sending both of them to the ground.

"That's perfect! Thanks, Nuha, you're the best!"

"Heh heh, thanks, but maybe you should save that energy for when this actually pays off!"

"Ah, you're right! I'm gonna go talk to Master Sef right away!"

Veil quickly helped Nuha get up and took off through the door before Nuha was able to say anything else. With nothing else to do, Nuha started refurling the scroll, talking to herself as she did.

"Veil's really excited about this, isn't she? I just hope she's ready for it…"

—

Out in his usual training grounds some distance away from House Tenebri's estate, Master Sef stood surrounded by a small group of young men - Walkers and Servants for the most part - equipped with simple leather armor and spears. Each one had been hand-chosen by him from among the House's men for the role of guarding the estate, and today's lesson would be yet another step in preparing them for that duty. With a flash of his power activating, the lesson began.

Without showing any of his intentions, the Master began using his power to blink in and out around the group of guards in training. When he appeared before any given one of them, he would either strike or guard, prompting the opposite reaction from whoever he faced. All the while, he spoke, delivering a lesson to his students while making them keep track of both his words and actions.

"Every one of you will be expected to perform at your best for the good of House Tenebri. What little we have, you will defend with your lives. And not just from threats within Serapeum. Wild beasts and nightmares roam the desert, and you will need to-"

"Master Sef!"

Only partway into the lesson, a familiar yet unexpected voice called out from the direction of the estate. A few of the guards turned to look, including one whom Master Sef had just appeared in front of. He quickly paid for the lapse in attention with a quick punch knocking him to the ground.

"O-ow…"

Master Sef lifted the guard to his feet, then looked over at the source of the voice. "Tenebri Veil. I hadn't been expecting you until this afternoon."

"Oh, was I interrupting something? I'm sorry, Master!"

"Raise your head. Your arrival, while unexpected, showed me that I will need to review the importance of diligence with my other students. But I suppose you have a reason for being here so early?"

Veil nodded. "Oh, of course, Master! I wanted to talk to you about something. I guess I should have waited though…"

"Indeed. I will forgive it this time, provided it does not happen again. But since you're already here…"

The Master turned to face the guards, who had gathered behind him.

"You all, train amongst yourselves for now. We'll resume our lesson later."

The guards responded with a chorus of "Yes, Master," and set to work sparring with each other. With that settled, Master Sef turned back towards Veil and started walking back to the estate, urging her to follow.

"Now then, what did you want to talk about?"

"Oh! Well, I heard it's possible to advance in caste by completing something called a Binding Offer."

Master Sef paused in his tracks for a moment, nearly causing Veil to collide with him.

"A Binding… I see."

"I wanted to know what sort of thing the Mistress would want done for one of those. The faster it is to do, the better."

"This is about what happened yesterday between you and Walker Priya, isn't it?"

"I… Y-yes, Master. Yesterday opened my eyes to a lot of things. I can't stand the way people like her treat their slaves, but if I speak up as a slave myself, it'll just cause more problems for the House. So if I can get promoted, I-"

"That's enough, Tenebri Veil, you don't need to explain yourself any more. I can understand why this is important to you, and I am willing to help. But you should know how serious a Binding Offer is before actually getting yourself wrapped up in one."

He turned to look Veil in the eyes. She nodded and waited for him to continue speaking.

"A Binding Offer is exactly what it sounds like. Once the terms are agreed upon, it is the Offerer's responsibility to see it through to the end. Any slacking or rescinding of the Offer is considered to be deeply shameful. You should approach a deal like that as though your very life is on the line."

"Yes Master."

"There is another thing you need to consider. A Binding Offer must be to do something worthy of promotion from one caste to another. An Offer to accomplish something quick and easy will not be seen favorably in the public eye, and Adelin will outright refuse a trivial Offer besides that. So if you truly want something quick, it will be hard. Is that clear?"

Veil nodded emphatically. "Yes, Master. I wouldn't want to waste the Mistress's time anyway."

"Very good. Now, as for the sort of thing that Adelin would like to see done…"

Master Sef began outlining potential Binding Offers for Veil to consider. In time, the two of them came to a conclusion, and headed back to the estate to present the Offer to the Mistress.

—

Veil and Master Sef returned to the estate's statue of Serapis to find Mistress Adelin standing before a number of her Hands. She gave simple instructions to each one regarding their daily managerial duties to the House. Each Hand who had been given a task bowed and left.

The Mistress paused briefly once she noticed her husband and Veil were standing there. Speaking quickly to the remaining Hands, she delegated the rest of their tasks to them before turning to address her unexpected company.

"Sef, Tenebri Veil. What brings you here? I'm sure you both have duties of your own to attend to."

"Forgive me, Adelin. I don't mean to interrupt you, but Tenebri Veil has something she'd like to say."

Master Sef turned to Veil and nodded. Veil looked up at the Mistress, and trembled for a moment before speaking up.

"M-mistress, I'd like to present a Binding Offer to you."

The Mistress blinked. "I see. I do hope you know what you are suggesting, Tenebri Veil."

"Master Sef explained it to me, I know what I'm doing. My Offer is to defeat a champion in an arena match. One from a much more renowned House. I've been told that would be a task worthy of becoming a Servant, is that right?"

"Hm, that is quite the Offer; claiming a victory like that would bring House Tenebri considerable glory. But I do worry that such a feat would be difficult for you to accomplish with what little experience you have."

"I'll train as hard as I can to prepare for it, Mistress! Whatever I need to do, I'm prepared to do it!"

"So you say. I admit, Veil, I would like nothing more than for you to advance to a caste more suited to your spirit. And this Offer would certainly be worthy of your advancement to the Servant caste, should it be completed."

Mistress Adelin extended a wing to Veil. "As the head of House Tenebri, and as a Daughter of Serapis, I accept your Binding Offer. May Serapis smile on your endeavor."

Veil reached out and took her Mistress's wing in her hand. As they shook on the deal, her face lit up, and her frills rose slightly. "Really? I-I mean… Thank you, Mistress! I won't let you down!"

"I don't imagine you will, Veil. But for now, I would advise you to focus on preparing for the match. I will of course need time to find a House willing to send a champion to face you, so until then, I expect you to hold to your word and train as hard as you can."

"Of course, Mistress."

Master Sef nodded. "I will make sure Tenebri Veil is well trained for her upcoming match. On that note, I believe we should both return to the training grounds. There is much work to be done to prepare you, Veil."

"Of course, Master, and thank you too!"

With a quick bow to both her Mistress and Master, Veil followed behind Master Sef, and the two of them returned to the training grounds. Mistress Adelin watched on as they departed, and let out a sigh once they were out of sight.

Tenebri Veil… You're certainly proving to be full of surprises. Not even a full day after your first match and you're already attempting a Binding Offer…

Well, given the circumstances, I suppose it couldn't be helped. I only hope you will be able to handle an experienced champion as well as you believe you can…

Putting those thoughts behind her, Mistress Adelin nodded and departed for her study. Tenebri Veil would require a capable opponent to be worthy of becoming a Servant after all, and Adelin would likely need to spend days finding a renowned House willing to face House Tenebri in the arena.

—

Over the next few days, Veil poured everything she had into training. Her lessons with Nuha were approached with even more voracity for knowledge, and her training sessions with Master Sef increased in intensity to the point that even he was ending up winded by the end of them.

Nuha was more than happy to provide Veil with greater education. Nothing was off the table in terms of what she was willing to teach. When she was sure no one else was around to see it, she would even go over some of the basics of reading with her pupil.

"If you're going to be a Servant anyway," she said when Veil asked about it, "I'm sure Serapis wouldn't mind if you learned some of this ahead of time!"

With the need for greater training, Master Sef started a new regimen for the House as a whole. Veil would join the estate guards in their training sessions, using her power to handle them attacking her all at once while at the same time defending herself from the Master's unexpected teleporting attacks. Though this new method of training would often leave her run ragged, Veil was confident that she was improving bit by bit.

One day, during one of her sparring sessions, a Servant approached with a message for Veil to return to the estate. Her heart soared as she considered the implications of the summons. Once she arrived at the door of the modest yet elegant dwelling of House Tenebri's leading couple, she was pleased to see Mistress Adelin waiting for her with a smile on her face.

"Mistress Adelin!" Veil said with a quick bow, "have you found an opponent for me?"

"Indeed I have," the Mistress responded with a nod. "Or, rather, she found us. I'm sure you remember your first match had a small audience. Well, as it turns out, one of those audience members was a member of House Safak."

"House Safak?"

"A House whose primary concern is arena battles. Their members are encouraged to scout out arena fights and find promising opponents, and it seems your first match caught their attention."

"And they really want to send a champion against me for my Binding Offer?"

"Well, once it was clear that that was the intention, one of their career fighters in particular took an interest in being your opponent. I… Strange, I was sure she was standing right next to me…"

"So, you're Tenebri Veil, huh?"

A third voice came from out of nowhere, startling Veil. Suddenly, just to her side, a young woman appeared, causing her to stumble to the ground.

"Name's Zahra! I'm the one who agreed to be your opponent! Nice to meet ya!"

Veil stared up at Zahra, still trying to process what just happened. She was a painted dog who appeared to be around her mid 20s, with a fair bit of muscle on her. She wore a simple two-piece cloth outfit with a form-fitting top and a rope-belted skirt that was frayed along the edges.

Along her arms were three tattoos each. The ones on her hands were different from the ones on her wrists and forearms, a pair of crescents overlapping at their center as opposed to the others being an elongated trapezoid over a pair of parallel rectangles.

Zahra reached out to help Veil to her feet. "Sorry for scaring you like that, couldn't really resist!"

"That explains it… Walker Zahra, I would ask that you refrain from using your power like that while on my estate. It's hard enough keeping track of everything around here as it is."

"Oh, ah, sorry Mistress Tenebri. Won't happen again."

"Right then," the Mistress said, holding back a sigh and turning to Veil. "Well, as Walker Zahra said, she'll be your opponent for your Binding Offer."

"I know a bit about Binding Offers myself, and once I heard you were interested in doing one, and about that killer power of yours, I just knew I had to face you!"

Veil gave Zahra a quick bow. "Ah, t-thank you, ma'am! I plan to do my best in our match!"

"Serapis yes, that's the spirit I've been looking for in an opponent! Just don't expect me to hold back, now! Wouldn't be very good for your Binding Offer if I just let you win, after all!"

"R-right. It, it won't be another death match, will it?"

Zahra blinked. "And risk our Houses losing one of us? Nah, just an exhibition, nothing to lose but your pride! More fun that way!"

"Phew, good. I don't think I could handle two of those in a row…"

"Yeah, take it from me, that can be pretty rough! Lucky for both of us, it won't be a problem though! And with that said, I should be headed out now. Our match'll be in a few days, Veil! Can't wait to see how you fight in person!"

"Ah, thank you! It was nice to meet you, ma'am!"

"Hey, you can just call me Zahra! And it was good to meet you too, Veil!"

With a smile and a nod, Zahra took Veil's hand and shook it heartily. In the next instant, Veil was left with her hand outstretched, wondering just where her future opponent went.

"Where did she…" Mistress Adelin began, then sighed as the realization struck her. "Serapis, she did it again. I swear, that girl must really enjoy annoying her superiors with that power."

Veil smiled. "Well, besides that, she seemed pretty nice! I think I'm going to like having her as an opponent!"

"Well, I suppose if you're happy with it, the least we could do is give Walker Zahra a fight worthy of her standing. You may return to the training grounds now. Keep up your training, Tenebri Veil. Remember what you stand to gain once your Binding Offer is fulfilled."

"Of course, Mistress!"

Veil nodded, bowed, and began her return to the training grounds, eager to resume training. Zahra would be an excellent opponent, one she'd have to put her full effort into taking down.

—

As the days passed, Veil threw herself into her training completely. She pushed herself to and far beyond her limits, ending up completely exhausted day after day until the day of the match. Once it finally arrived, she wavered as she made her way through the streets of Serapeum's capital, tired but confident in her abilities. House Tenebri's leading couple led the way in front of her, and a good number of other members of the House followed on the way to the arena.

With her mind in a haze as she considered the upcoming match, Veil hardly noticed as the bustling streets full of merchant stands and Serapeans of all castes going about their daily business were eventually replaced with pale stone corridors - the arena's halls. The process of signing in for her match passed by just as quickly in her mind, and Veil soon enough found herself in the arena pit, with Zahra waving to her from the other side.

The capital's arena was much more what Veil had in mind when she thought of an arena compared to the venue of her first fight. Stone walls rose up to just above her line of sight, and above those walls, rings of seating were arranged to accommodate far more audience members than were actually present.

On her side of the arena, the other members of House Tenebri had all taken their seats, and on the other side, members of House Safak had done the same, eager to see Zahra emerge victorious. Among the remaining seats, small groups of casual arena-goers had gathered, ready to bear witness to the upcoming fight.

Upon hearing the voice of the mistress of ceremonies, Veil focused her attention back on Zahra. As she spoke, the two fighters approached each other.

"Good people of Serapeum, welcome to today's special exhibition match! For all you regulars, today's gonna be a little different - Today, we've got a match for a slave's Binding Offer! Introducing, for her debut in our lovely arena, Slave, or rather Servant if she can pull this unlikely win off, Tenebri Veil!"

Cheering came mostly from Veil's side of the arena, with only a few of the other arena-goers joining in.

"This newcomer from House Tenebri is going to be facing off against one of House Safak's career champions! You know her, you love her, she's House Safak's own Obscured Star, give it up for Walker Zahra!"

The arena burst into cheers that doubled the volume of the ones made for Veil. Zahra shrugged and gave Veil a knowing smile.

"Sorry about that, newcomers don't tend to get a lot of fanfare. Ah, besides that, you're looking kind of tired there, Veil. You sure you're up for this?"

Veil nodded. "Just a little sleepy, I'll be fine. I'm ready to take you on!"

"Okay, if you're really sure about it… Let's have a great match, then!"

Once the cheering died down, the mistress of ceremonies resumed her speech. "Okay! Let's get this fight going! May Serapis smile on whoever comes out on top! Fighters, get ready… and…

"Begin!"

Veil's frills rose as she activated her power, but something was already off. Zahra had disappeared completely. Confused murmuring from the audience mirrored the thoughts in Veil's head as she looked around.

Suddenly, Veil felt pressure around her head. Her frills were being pushed back against her head, leaving only a sliver of space just over her forehead to let her power out from. On top of that, she felt a strange tightness around her neck, making it hard to breathe.

With only a blind hunch to go off of, Veil focused on using her power. A fairly small plasma ball made its way out of the crack of exposed frill and started hovering around Veil's neck.

"Ow!"

Once the plasma ball had moved to a point close to where Veil was feeling tightness on her neck, Zahra let out a cry of pain right behind her head. Veil turned quickly to see her opponent standing just behind her. A dark gray halo was fading away over her head and she was nursing a minor burn on her right bicep.

"Okay, not trying that again…"

Veil gasped. "Th-that was your power… You almost had me there!"

With her frills rising again and a quick flash of her own halo, Veil shot a few more plasma balls out at Zahra. In that instant, she lost all awareness of why she bothered attacking there.

Veil suddenly felt a flash of pain in her gut, and bent over. Instinctively, she had her plasma balls start orbiting her.

"This is, hah, more than just some kind of invisibility power, isn't it?"

Zahra appeared again, a few paces away from Veil. An attempt at firing another plasma ball at her quickly turned into a moment of confusion, but Veil kept her remaining plasma balls orbiting around herself.

"Hey, sounds like you're catching on at least! Takes most of my other opponents a while to really figure it out!"

Veil felt her legs buckle under her, and she canceled out a plasma ball she was just about to topple on to before hitting the ground.

"Not gonna spoil it for you, but you're on the right track. I'm thinking I should probably end this quickly, though…"

Veil immediately lost track of where Zahra's voice had just come from. Before she could even summon more plasma balls, she felt surges of pain in her back and tail - areas of her body that didn't have any plasma balls currently around them.

With a grunt of pain, Veil fired out a huge volley of plasma balls and started having them orbit around herself. Can't let a single attack get through, even if I have no idea where Zahra even is…

Veil peeked through the gaps of the cocoon of plasma she created around herself. The glare of the dozens of miniature stars strained at her eyes, but for the briefest moment, she could have sworn she saw Zahra standing a few feet away with a puzzled expression on her face.

"Hm, how to deal with that now…"

Veil tried in vain once more to fire a plasma ball off, only to forget why she had yet again aimed at an empty space in the arena pit.

Okay, I take back what I said a few days ago, Zahra's power, whatever it is, is making this a real pain!

Veil frowned as Zahra continued to blink in and out of her awareness. After enough weak attempts at getting an attack in, she simply stopped attacking.

Have to think this through…

As Zahra continued to do whatever she was doing with her power, Veil started wavering in place again. Around her, the glare of her shield of plasma balls made her head ache, and above her, her halo was beginning to waver just as much as she was.

"Hey, Veil, are you sure you're feeling okay?"

Zahra stood just in front of Veil, her halo doused and showing no apparent sign that she was about to disappear again.

"I… I can…"

Veil pushed for one of her plasma balls to head for her opponent, only for it to fade away before it could even touch Zahra. Along with that failed attack, her other plasma balls and halo faded away, leaving her completely exposed.

"Whoa, Veil! Hang…!"

Veil only heard half of what Zahra was saying before passing out.

—

When Veil woke up, she was in a room in the arena's underworks, staring up at an unfamiliar dreamkeeper. A green halo glowed over the mystery woman's head, and Veil could feel energy slowly returning to her body.

"Looks like she's coming to," the woman said to someone else in the room.

Veil glanced over, and saw a small group of familiar faces. Mistress Adelin, Master Sef, and…

An immediate sense of failure washed over her as she saw Zahra staring at her with a look of concern on her face.

"Veil! Thank Serapis, you're awake!"

"I… I lost…"

The realization hit Veil harder than any of the attacks she endured in the fight.

"I couldn't do it… I was…"

"Whoa, hey, Veil! Settle down! You did pretty good up until you passed out! I didn't know how I was gonna get through your defenses, but…"

Zahra turned to face the members of Veil's House.

"Just how tired did you let her get, anyway?

Mistress Adelin spoke up. "I, well, she was just so insistent on fighting. I urged her to take more breaks while training, but she wouldn't-"

"That is when you're supposed to make her rest! I'll admit, I don't know a lot about how you do things in House Tenebri, but letting anyone push themselves that far is just plain neglect!"

"I… You're right, Walker. As much as I hate to admit it, as much as I'd rather say you're out of line talking to me like that, you're absolutely right. What Veil needed, I failed to provide, and for that I am truly sorry."

"I also deserve some of the blame," Master Sef said with his head low. "I told Tenebri Veil to take her Binding Offer much more seriously than was healthy. It was a mistake, and I apologize for that as well."

"Okay, I guess if you're really sorry… More importantly, Veil, why'd you end up doing that to yourself? Was winning this fight really that big of a thing for you? So big that you had to push yourself way too far?"

"Y-ye-" Veil paused, giving the question a little more thought. "You're right, I wasn't thinking. What I was doing to myself… All just to beat you, to become a Servant… After a while, completing my Binding Offer became all I could think about. But, maybe Serapis didn't want that for me after all…"

Zahra rested a hand on Veil's shoulder. "Hey, don't start thinking like that. I meant what I said, you did good even though you pushed yourself too far! And besides that, it's not like the Binding Offer is over just because you failed once!"

"Walker Zahra is right, Veil," Mistress Adelin said, heading over to her side. "You may not have managed it this time, but your Binding Offer is still valid. I don't mean to discourage you, but I never expected you to accomplish it in a single match anyway. I had imagined this would be more of a trial run, to see where you stand compared to a professional."

"I… I get it. That actually makes sense."

Zahra smiled. "Yeah, don't feel too down about it! Trust me, Binding Offers are supposed to be hard! Getting past them means you're strong enough to carry out Serapis's will! Oh, and Veil?"

"Y-yeah?"

"Sometime later, when you're better? I'd like to have a proper match with you. One where we can fight for real, and you can really earn that promotion."

Veil smiled. "I… I think I'd like that too."

Zahra flashed Veil one more smile, then left the room. As she watched her new rival walk off, Veil felt her determination rising yet again. Someday, she would manage to beat Zahra. She would prove that she was worthy of becoming a Servant. But as for right now?

Veil looked over at her Mistress and Master. Then, for the first time in days, she closed her eyes and let herself get some much needed rest.