Azul followed Grandmaster Janshari down a few flight of stairs, a twist, and a turn until they stood in a large basement. The basement was bare, nothing like the exquisitely furnished rooms of the mansion. Inside the room was a few scattered barrels with some sort of dark liquid inside them, made even darker by the dimly lit setting coming from the lanterns which hung from the walls.
That, and the only other thing that was noteworthy was a suspicious, black metal door that most likely led to a deeper level below. The door was suspicious, for its entirely smooth surface almost seemed as if it was absorbing the dim light of the basement. There was no handle, knob, or mechanism to suggest that the door could be opened from mundane means.
"This basement, granted by Duke Azalea, is for my personal use," the old man explained, extending a hand out from the folds of his deep blue robe. He then touched a glowing hand to the door, causing a soft white light to envelop the black metal surface. "Each individual holds a unique esotheric signature. And this door can only be opened with mine."
As the white glow fully enveloped the metal surface, the door creaked with a haunting groan before turning transparent. And to Azul's wonder, Grandmaster Janshari simply walked through the metal door as if the door had not even existed in the first place.
It was quite fascinating to watch. Slowly, Azul walked through the transparent door in the same fashion as the grandmaster had done so, his entire body tensed at the slightest sign of danger.
No danger came forth. There was simply a set of stairs that led deeper underground into a stone hallway with multiple rooms. The stone hallway was dimly lit, not by lanterns or other such natural light. Instead, the hallway was lit with glowing stones affixed onto wooden torch holders. And even if the hallway was not lit, Azul could easily see in the darkness. He was comfortable in the darkness, that is to say.
"Interesting, aren't they?" the grandmaster chuckled to himself. "They are called solaris stones, one of the more useful materials found inside oddities. Adventurers, miners, and all sorts of different walks of life can obtain them from certain oddities. These esotheric materials are then sold for a few pretty gold standards."
"Are there other uses?" Azul asked, the curiosity plain to hear in his tone.
"Yes. Esotheric armor and weaponry is a big trade among the kingdoms. Certain materials give extra durability or is more conducive to channeling the Esotherial, and can even have unnatural effects." He stopped before the plain wooden door at the end of the hallway. "We have arrived."
Azul gave the door a cursory inspection but could not find anything out of the ordinary. It was a simple, wooden door, its edges splintered and frayed from age. Its only purpose was to open and close. Even a simple wooden door had its purpose.
What was his? Then again, the general humans he had seen seemed to have no purpose to call their own. Or at least none that seemed special. Life, Azul was beginning to think, was aimless. One was merely drifting from one place to another.
But surely he had a purpose to his accidental awakening by two human adventurers who merely wanted to strike it rich. Else why would he have been in such a long slumber?
A slight creak as the door opened. "Come in," Janshari softly said.
Azul followed the grandmaster inside. He looked around the place. It was a small room with only two furnishings. A simple cot on a wooden frame that acted as the bed and an unused chamber pot.
What interested Azul, however, was the woman on the bed. She, the witch, was the cause of the favor he was to undertake, Azul supposed.
The woman was, by human standards and perhaps to a lesser extent, his standards, beautiful. Or at least her skin was. She had fair skin with barely a blemish, a pale white color that was unlike the tanned skin of the people here.
Azul could not see her face which was framed by long ebony hair that reached all the way to her waist. Her slim arms were wrapped around her legs and her head nestled inside the gap between her knees.
To Azul, the sitting position she had situated herself into screamed out one word--vulnerability.
It delighted the inner beast inside him.
Easy prey. Easy taking.
And this delight was only enhanced by the wounds that could be seen running down her shoulders, made bare by the nature of the simple white dress she wore. Her wounds had stopped bleeding and scabbed over, but Azul could still sense a faint smell of blood and with it, the warmth of her body. It was a faint but delicious smell that tickled his nose and loosened his self-control.
He shook himself free of his blood reverie.
On a closer look, he could see black appendages extending outward from the underside of her bared shoulders. They looked strangely similar to the wings of the flying creatures he had seen. But what should have been appendages that extended outward into wings were merely stubs. Her wings had been mutilated, her ability to soar forever crippled.
A bird without wings. Easy prey.
"Is she the favor you ask of?" Azul asked.
"Yes," Grandmaster Janshari said. "For not saving her family in time…a regret I will never outlive. A tragedy she has gone through, but that is her story to tell." A soft sigh escaped his lips.
Azul could see a mixture of sadness and pity in the gray eyes of the old man as they stood a purposeful distance away from the witch. They stood by the door, as far away as they could get without interrupting the silent, sad reverie of the witch. And while he himself could not understand such sadness, he could understand pity, though to the disagreement of his inner beast.
"What do I need to do?" Azul noticed that despite their conversation, the subject of the discussion never once looked up from her silent reverie.
The old man continued gazing at the witch, never once looking toward Azul. "In Meifolon Kingdom," he started, "there is an esotheric ritual called the blood covenant. The term is a misnomer, however, caused by misunderstandings. It is more of a spell of the branch of soul esotheric, soul magic, that is, rather than true blood magic. It bonds two individuals together into a nigh unbreakable relationship. A servant and master relationship."
"Seems dangerous. And I am to undergo this?"
Janshari shook his head slightly. "No such dangers. The spell, or rather ritual, you will use is something different. It is a true blood covenant, and one of a master and familiar relationship."
A silence as Janshari let his words sink in. "He continued after a few seconds. "I have read extensively on the subject of esotheric Blood and one of the most used ancient ritual of the branch is a blood covenant. It shares power between the master and familiar. Servantors, an ancient and alien but long gone race, were skilled in the manipulation of esotheric Blood and extensively used this ritual to further their powers."
Another soft sigh escaped from Grandmaster Janshari who was still softly gazing at the witch. "The tragedy and the destruction of her previous covenant has deeply affected both her mind and soul. And while I am not skilled in the matters of the soul, I do believe a blood covenant can stabilize her…" His voice trailed off then.
Hesitation entered the mind of Azul. The ritual seemed to be filled with uncertain elements and danger always came from uncertainty. And Azul was not fond of the unknown, especially when it concerned himself. He was fond of unknown creatures or new sceneries but this…this was an entirely different matter. Perhaps it was his self-preservation instinct influencing his mind. Or his inner beast howling with anger inside his mind.
He could always kill and absorb the grandmaster's blood and with it, his memories. But something told him that it would be a fight with an uncertain outcome. Victory or defeat would be uncertain. And could he really get away afterward? Who knew what kind of esotheric spells the grandmaster could use, and what kind of pursuit he would have to escape from.
But the old man was standing so close to him. So very close.
And Azul was fast. Abnormally fast. Far faster than humans. Perhaps Azul could kill the old man before he reacted.
Once more, Azul shook himself out of his blood reverie.
He had a choice to make. To fight or to accept the ritual. Both had uncertain outcomes. The former, however, seemed much more dangerous. And he trusted his instincts, which told him that the unassuming old man was formidable. Made more so especially after he saw the display of water and fire esotheric.
Azul decided on the reasonable choice. He was in a city full of uncountable humans. And he was alone in the entire kingdom, perhaps even in the world.
"Very well," Azul carefully said.
"I can tell you are worried, but do believe me when I say she is dear to me. I would not hurt her," Janshari comforted. The old man then straightened himself and stood before Azul, almost eye-level. He was tall for an old man. "Now, before you can even undergo a blood covenant, your seat of power must be awakened. And your seat of power has not been awakened, judging from my Sight and from your story. Thus, do permit me to awaken your seat of power."
Azul nodded. He did not trust himself to speak.
Janshari slowly extended his arm outward, reaching for Azul's face. The grandmaster did so ever slowly, knowing that he could not make any quick actions lest it be taken as provocation. Two fingers, the middle and index fingers, extended further outward while the other three digits furled into the palm. The two fingers glowed with a soft, eerie white light.
"Each has a different reaction and a unique seat of power. Some are harder to unlock and others simply unlock themselves after an impactful incident, childhood, or perhaps even before. Now, this may or may not hurt."
Like kindling added into a silent fire, the light grew in intensity. And at the moment the two fingers touched his forehead, the light exploded outward, blinding Azul until all he could see was the white light.
The last image he saw was the old man's gray eyes which glowed with a ghost blue light.
Then darkness fell.
-----
When Azul opened his eyes, he found himself surrounded entirely by darkness. A deep, midnight-black darkness tinged with hues of red.
To his surprise, he found that he could barely see in this all consuming darkness. His vision was limited to only a few feet around himself. The liquid-like darkness was thick to the feel and obstructed his pathway. It was as if he was wading through a lake of darkness which threatened to swallow, or rather, consume him. And the tinges of red to the darkness felt suspiciously like blood. But Azul was uncertain, for his sense of smell did not seem to be functioning.
Not having the first clue as to where he was, Azul could only choose a random direction. He began making his way through the lake of darkness, wading through the liquid darkness for what seemed to be minutes, but felt like hours.
The darkness was unrelenting, never seeming to decrease in volume.
He waded through some more.
Then.
Like a coldness running down and up his spine, Azul could feel a dark presence nearby.
"Show yourself," Azul calmly said.
No sounds came forth, however.
Only a darkness gathered a few feet in front of him in reply. The darkness grew. Slowly, but surely, the darkness gathered itself into a small mound, steadily and steadily growing. It began to shape itself.
A blurry outline of what seemed to be limbs--the legs of a human--formed. Then the torso. Then the arms. Then appendages that looked suspiciously like wings. And finally the head.
Save for the wings, the blurry, shadowy figure looked entirely similar to Azul. It was similar in height and had the general outline of his body.
Having manifested itself, Azul could fully feel its presence. It was a strangely familiar presence. A moment passed, perhaps a few seconds' worth. Then it hit him. The presence was the inner beast. His inner self, perhaps. But what was with its wings.
"You are my inner beast?" Azul asked.
The shadow smiled, the gaping hole where its mouth was supposed to be located at widening into a curve. "No mere beast…but predator, hunter…host," the shadow said, its voice so distorted that it was grating to the ears in an alien way. It spoke to him in the ancient language none but Azul knew.
"Host? What do you mean? I thought you were a part of me," Azul responded in a likewise fashion. He had not saw fit to mention this inner beast when telling his story to the humans, for he was unsure of their reactions, especially when said beast wanted to eat them.
A slight shrug of its shoulders. "Memories lost…fragment left one...host you…power I am." Then it titled its head in such an exaggerated fashion, making it look as if it had broken its neck. "But…still you."
It made no sense to Azul.
"So you are still me?"
The shadow nodded.
Azul questioned, "What is with the wings then?"
"Make wings griffon…I like…" Its crimson eyes widened innocently. "Witch smell…blood tasty…but old man…strong prey...on her feed."
Azul sighed in slight annoyance. "So you know nothing of the past then, of myself, ourselves?"
It shook its head.
"What do I call you?"
"Hunter…call me."
"Very well, Hunter. What is this place then? And should I do the blood covenant?" Azul presumed the dark place was his seat of power, but he was not sure.
"Power…Blood," Hunter confirmed. "Unlocked…old man free…connected now." Hunter paused a few seconds, thinking perhaps upon the witch. "Yes…witch tasty…do so."
Azul could not decide if Hunter's explanation and agreement regarding the witch was a good thing or not. Did it mean he would become more bloodthirsty now that Hunter and himself was connected? Connected far more than he ever realized. Azul was not sure he could trust Hunter, but was Hunter not himself?
Hunter grinned once more, the gaping darkness of its--no, his--mouth curving upward, far more than what should have been reasonably allowed. "Blood…Hunter desires…live blood…griffons…human too," His grin extended even further outward in a threatening arc until it covered the entirety of his face.
"What happens if I don't?" Azul left the words unsaid.
A grin still plastered onto his face, Hunter tilted his head in a questioning gesture. "You…not like?"
"It is not that I do not like it, but rather it will be hard to do so in a human city."
"Matters…not."
A long pause as the sea of darkness trembled beneath Azul, almost as if in fear of Hunter.
"Take…or I take," Hunter merely said.
Then the sea of darkness erupted from all around Azul. Faster than a blink of an eye, Azul was trapped within the sea of darkness which formed a bubble around him, and he could see it clearly now--blood was undoubtedly mixed in with the darkness.
Soon, all Azul could see was the encompassing darkness.
Once more, darkness fell.