by Petra Landon
As the others chewed on Sienna’s hypothesis, Elisabetta piped up tartly. “I like Sienna’s version much better. And I guarantee Faoladh will too. He’s much more likely to ally with the First Wizard than the murderous one.”
“There are other hints that point to the First Wizard” Sienna pressed her point. “If the rainmaker is meant to influence us to take a stand, I could be persuaded by Aunt Minnie but never her twin. Also, if the custodian is guided by her heart to do the right thing, that is not Lady Bethesda. She passed that point a long time ago.”
Jason sighed. “I hope Sienna is correct, because I want this much more than the alternative. Faoladh is already an ally on the Council and after her experience with the Guardians, I could see the First Wizard as a crusader against Chosen tribalism and status quo.”
“I don’t know, Jason, pinpointing the custodian is tricky business” Duncan mulled aloud. “Tasia called it correctly before — the rainmaker is the heart of The Prophecy, not the sisters. The Oracle lays that out clearly in the document. If she controls the strings, she’s the most powerful entity of the five. It means we can’t afford to get her wrong.”
Raoul refocused them on a different player from The Prophecy. “What about the champion?”
“He’s Wyr” Elisabetta restated confidently. “I don’t see what else he could be.”
“I agree” Luis seconded her.
“But do we believe it is Faoladh?” Hawk pressed.
“Prominent Chosen, feared by all Magicks, with a reputation for more power than his kind” Atsá murmured.
“Screams Faoladh to me” Roman declared.
“Add me to the list” Jason added.
“Duncan?” the Alpha asked the man he trusted the most.
“It fits, Raoul. But if Lady Bethesda is the rainmaker, I see no path forward where Faoladh supports her or lobbies the Chosen to forgive her for the past. He set the ball rolling on the investigation into her. Before him, there was no check on her. She had the Wizards running in circles every time they went up against her.”
“The champion will defend the custodian and the sisters from powerful detractors who support the status quo they threaten” Elisabetta quoted. “Nowhere does the Seer imply that anyone will be shielded from past crimes.”
“A fair point, Elisabetta” Duncan acknowledged. “The accusations against Lady Bethesda are very serious. It is hard to see how Faoladh or anyone else, for that matter, can convince the Chosen that she deserves to walk away scot free, prophecy or not.”
“If she believes that Faoladh will shield her when the time comes” Roman pointed out astutely. “It might work to our favor.”
“How?” Jason asked baldly.
Before Roman could answer, Elisabetta jumped in. “Lady Bethesda regarding Faoladh as her ally is good for us. Let her chase after Faoladh to persuade him to her side. Once she’s out in the open, he will crush her under his feet like a bug. Problem solved; I say.”
“Overly optimistic, Elisabetta. But yes, if Lady B believes that Faoladh’s protection gives her immunity from her crimes, she’ll make mistakes” Roman advocated. “Maybe, even break cover.”
Raoul said nothing for a moment. Faoladh had not asked him to keep the contact with Lady Bethesda under wraps.
“She’s already broken cover with Faoladh” he stated.
The statement had all eyes flashing to him.
Jason’s expression hardened and Sienna went blank-faced. “What does she want?” the Wizard asked.
“My guess — she’s frustrated by what she sees as his stubborn refusal to back her” the Alpha said. “Instead, Faoladh is the public face of the investigation into her.”
He shot Sienna a pointed glance.
“You’ll have the chance to ask Faoladh for the details when he rendezvouses with us.”
Against the backdrop of a rustic cottage, nestled between olive groves and teeming with orange and kumquat trees, their host greeted them. The First One, his face weathered by age and the elements, invited Roman into his home in the Ancient tongue. Inside, at the table in the sunlit kitchen, they were offered the kumquat liquor Corfu was famous for.
“This is Raoul Merceau” Roman introduced the Alpha.
“He is Setik?” inquired their host.
“No, he is Wyr.”
Their host looked visibly astonished by the introduction. His eyes widened, to wander the Alpha’s face as if searching for something.
Deducing that the Ancient was leery of discussing Setik matters before outsiders, Roman hastened to reassure him. “You may speak freely before him, Andreas Lykaios.”
Raoul did a silent double take at the remark. Though the archaic language of the First Ones was as unfamiliar to him as most Chosen, it was their host’s last name that caught his attention. The name was a derivative of the Greek word Lykos. It was how many Chosen had once referred to the Wyrs in the vernacular. Only after the discovery of the New World, had the Shape-shifter appellation become popular among Chosen.
“As you wish, Eitirok’TorElnor” their host acquiesced graciously.
Since Roman had not adopted a Magick Façade yet, Lykaios referred to him as heir of TorElnor. The careful dance to avoid using Durovic’s name was a sign of respect to TorElnor who had anointed Roman to lead the Setik in North America.
“Has there been news of Spiro?” their Ancient host asked, setting glasses of the pale liquor before his guests. ElDarZin, like many of Corfu’s men of a certain generation, had been named after the island’s patron saint, St Spyridon.
“No.” “Roman shook his head, switching to English. “However, some new information about him has come to light.”
Lykaios nodded, his weather-beaten face stoic.
“When was the last time you saw him, Kyrie?” Roman began.
“The night he left Kerkyra, about twenty-seven years ago” Lykaios answered in rusty but fluent English with a strong accent.
Raoul, aware that Kerkyra was the ancient Greek name for the island, listened intently. He’d agreed that Durovic would direct this conversation.
Roman pressed their host. “You’ve had no contact with him since?”
“A few letters in the early years, but since then, there has been nothing.”
The Greek hesitated. “He was more than my friend, Eitirok” he said quietly. “He was my brother. If Spiro was alive, he would reach out to me.”
Roman contemplated the older Chosen. “Why did he leave, Kyrie?”
Their host sighed softly. “Spiro was a dreamer — a very good man but sometimes, he had his head in the clouds. When we were children, this did not matter. But Spiro carried the legacy of old magic in him. As we became older, I tried to warn him to be careful with his powers.”
“The Elders scrutinized his experiments and cleared him” Roman interjected. ElDarZin had never hidden his ambitions from his brethren. And the Elders had not taken their eyes off a Mage descended from a long line of powerful First Ones with a legacy of mystical magic.
“Yes” their host agreed. “But the Elders looked into his ability to create the Grail. I was concerned about a different matter, Eitirok.”
Both the Alpha and his comrade-in-arms waited patiently as the Greek First One seemed to search for words. It was clear the issue still weighed heavily on their host’s mind.
“Kerkyra has very old historical ties to Venice that go back centuries” Lykaios explained. “As a result, the Chosen also have many familial connections. When Spiro was first approached by a Venetian Chosen, I cautioned him.”
Bequeathed with a colorful history, the island of Corfu had been a colony of the Republic of Venice until the late eighteenth century. Part of the Domini da Màr — Venice’s maritime possessions — the heavily fortified island had been successfully used by the Venetians as a bulwark against the Ottomans who mounted multiple sieges of Corfu.
“The Lombardi Blutsaugers” Roman murmured softly.
Lykaios inclined his head in affirmation. “At
first, it was only the Master’s intermediaries. But soon, Spiro was invited to Venice to meet him. All Spiro talked about was undoing the past to fix a grave mistake the First Ones had committed. He threw himself into his work, tinkering with the artifact he was building.”
Roman chose his words carefully. “This mistake he spoke of — was it about the Blutsaugers?”
“Like the rest of us, Spiro recognized it as ancient history — done and dusted. But then, the Master put it into his head that Spiro could change history. I told him that this was too dangerous to play with and that he would get his fingers burnt. The Elders had made the call a long time ago. Irrespective of what he thought of their decision, he should let it rest. But he was an idealist and the Master instigated him. Spiro believed he’d make the First Ones proud, regardless of the Blutsaugers’ motives.”
Puzzled by their host’s remarks, Raoul was nevertheless relieved that finally, they were getting some answers about ElDarZin’s motivations for throwing his lot in with the Clan.
“When did the Blutsaugers first approach ElDarZin?” Roman asked Lykaios.
“A few years before he left for Venice.”
“To join the Lombardis?” an astonished Durovic exclaimed.
“In effect yes, but Spiro didn’t see it that way.”
Roman, better versed with First Ones matters and historical divisions, was also puzzled by ElDarZin’s baffling actions. It was one thing to work with the Clan, it was another to join a Nest and throw his lot in publicly with the Vampires.
He tried to make sense of it. “What convinced him to go to Venice, Kyrie?”
The Greek answered readily. “He’d made a breakthrough in his work and wanted to test it on the Blutsaugers. In his letters from Venice, he said that he was making progress, though it was slower than he’d anticipated. He also wrote about meeting another Chosen, a kindred spirit who held the same views regarding the Elders’ long-ago mistake. He sounded happy and excited about the future and the possibilities. I was glad that his efforts were bearing fruit and that my apprehensions about the Undead had been unwarranted. Then, his letters ceased altogether. Eventually, I alerted SirekVin that all communication from Spiro had halted. He made inquiries and reached out to Venice. The Lombardis claimed that Spiro had left them. But there was no trace of him. It was if Spiro had vanished into thin air. Since then, there has been nothing.”
SirekVin, the Setik leader in southern Europe, had a reputation as a pragmatic and capable First One. Roman was confident that SirekVin had done a thorough job of tracking down his missing Ancient. It would be pointless to look for ElDarZin now. All these years later, the trail had gone cold. He was also inclined to believe that ElDarZin was dead. Andreas Lykaios believed his old friend would get in touch if he was still alive and Roman agreed with the Greek Chosen. Plus, the Clan would never dare to lie to SirekVin while holding one of his Setik captive. That would cross red lines the Elders had drawn for the Vampires at their birth. The consequences for the Clan, if such a lie were discovered, would be catastrophic.
However, there was a clue in Lykaios’ answer that drew Roman’s attention. “The Chosen ElDarZin met in Venice — do you know who it is?” he asked.
“I think it was a woman, Eitirok” their host answered. “From the way he wrote about her, Spiro seemed enamored of her.”
This time, Roman did not hide his rising elation. Here was the first hint that Lady Bethesda’s path might have crossed with ElDarZin. The Wizard and the First One were both connected to each other through their association with the Lombardi Nest. He shot a glance at his silent companion. In the depths of the Shifter’s impassive eyes, Roman noted the excitement. But there was also a question in them. Though he believed he knew the answer to it, Roman asked their host just the same.
“Why did ElDarZin believe the Elders had made a mistake?” he inquired. They were now venturing deep into a fraught issue that marked a dark period in the First Ones’ history, a tortured decision that had ruptured the self-proclaimed gatekeepers of the Chosen.
The Greek Ancient did not balk at the question. “Spiro said the Blutsaugers were First Ones and should be embraced as our brothers, Eitirok. They’d come from the loins of First Ones and it was our blood that flowed through their veins. Yet, the Elders had excommunicated the Blutsaugers, treating them as lesser.”
For a moment, Durovic stared mutely at his host. He wasn’t unaware that some First Ones held the same views on the Clan as ElDarZin, but he was taken aback by Lykaios’ simple and inartful stating of his friend’s opinion.
“Did he always believe so, Kyrie?”
Andreas Lykaios shook his head. “Kerkyra has a strong First Ones presence. And growing up, such attitudes were anathema. We have always supported the Elders’ authority. But when Spiro was called to the mat about his experiments with magic, he felt insulted. I tried to tell him that the Elders were merely doing their duty. Spiro had been open about his desire to create an artifact and questions would be raised by other First Ones if the Elders did not look into his experiments. His animosity about this would eventually have died down if the Blutsaugers had not reached out to him. He was vulnerable and they fanned the flames. Spiro was convinced that if the Elders could make a mistake with him, they might be wrong about the past too.”
“What about SirekVin?” Roman felt compelled to ask. The Chosen who led the Setik in southern Europe would never be in the dark about one of his more powerful First Ones. And from what he knew of SirekVin, the First One would have been proactive in handling ElDarZin’s views on the Elders.
“Like me, SirekVin thought it was a phase. He left Spiro alone, believing that he would come to his senses soon. Dreamer he might be, but Spiro was descended from illustrious Forebearer magic — he would never trample on his proud legacy. When he left for Venice, I was relieved. I thought living with the Blutsaugers would disillusion Spiro. And that he’d let go of this idea that the Undead had been treated unfairly.”
As the two men contemplated him, the Greek Chosen looked resigned. “But it was not to be. When I got your message, Eitirok, I hoped that there was news about Spiro after all this time.”
The quiet grief and sadness under the old man’s stoic demeanor compelled Roman to assure him. “We’re investigating a separate matter, Kyrie. But if there is any news of your friend, I will let you know.”
The Greek nodded. As the conversation drifted to common acquaintances of the two Setik, Raoul ruminated on what he’d learned. To say that he was surprised was to put it mildly. There had been no hint in all these years that some First Ones held views like ElDarZin. Though, like all Chosen, he was aware that the Elders’ decision about the original Vampires had been controversial and had divided the Ancients, just as it had caused consternation in the other Magicks.
When they stood up to take their leave, Lykaios addressed Raoul for the first time. “When I was a child, my pappoú told me a story I have never forgotten. He said that one of our ancestors had a dream. In it, the Forebearers came to him and told him that his family would one day assist the Wyrs with a matter pertaining to the past. My ancestor believed in the message so strongly that he changed the family name as a reminder to his descendants of what was communicated to him in the dream. Today, a Wyr is at the door of a Lykaios to ask about the past. This cannot be a coincidence. The Forebearers have spoken. You will find what you are searching for, Wyr Lord.”
“I thank you, Andreas of the Lykaios” the Alpha acknowledged courteously. “For your hospitality and for assisting us with our inquiries.”
Later, on their way back to the hotel, Raoul allowed his curiosity free rein. “Are there others who feel as ElDarZin did — that the Elders made a mistake a thousand years ago?”
Though many Magicks looked askance at the Clan and did not consider them Chosen, they were less vocal after the Vampires had won representation on the Council of Chosen. But even before the Council, the First Ones had been more circumspect about the leeches, less public ab
out their opinion than the other Chosen. Now, Raoul realized that perhaps, the Ancients had been less vocal on this matter because it would signify disagreement with a decision their Elders had made for all Chosen.
“It is a hugely divisive topic, Merceau” Roman admitted. “Probably, the most contentious decision in our illustrious history. Even all these years later, words are not enough to explain how it fractured us. The Elders were damned either way — once the first Vampires had been birthed, no matter what decision they made, there was bound to be controversy. First Ones have kept their mouths shut about it because we don’t want our divisions to be laid bare before the others. But a sizeable number disagree with that decision. Many believe that we went too far by throwing the mantle of Chosen over the Undead, while others think that the Elders did not go far enough to support the Blutsaugers. The latter camp is a minority but evidently, ElDarZin belongs to it.”
Raoul had never considered that there were Chosen who believed the Clan had not been aided enough. “How were your Elders to support the leeches?” he asked.
“Recognize them as First Ones, for one” Roman said promptly. “Like Lykaios said, they are descended from us. There are First Ones who believe that once the Elders made the decision to grant life to the new mutated Magicks, they should have brought them under the umbrella.”
Durovic shot a look at the Alpha’s face. Not a man given to showing emotion, Raoul was deeply astonished by such views amongst the Ancients, minority or not.
“When ElBlodMagin created the first Blutsaugers, it changed all Chosen forever” Roman divulged soberly. “But for the First Ones, it felt worse. It almost tore us apart. Not only because we were responsible for what had happened as well as the decision on what to do with this new kind of Chosen, but also because we were shamed by what one of ours had done. No Magick must use his powers to create life — this is a directive handed down by the Forebearers all First Ones live by. It’s not the Supreme Edict but might as well be. The Forebearers’ legacy was never to be tampered with. It is what makes us Chosen. To have to admit before other Magicks that a First One had broken this important tenet, against the Forebearers’ wishes, disgraced us. The gatekeepers of old magic and the custodians of the Chosen could not even police one of their own. So, we closed ranks and threw our collective weight behind the Elders’ decision. And have kept our opinions about it to ourselves since.”
