The grand chamber of the Blackwater castle echoed with silence and the occasional flicker of a lit chandelier as King Acrisios El Valtiere sat at the head of a long, ornate table. The room exuded an aura of power and authority, its walls adorned with tapestries depicting the kingdom's glorious history. Seated beside him was Theodos, the king's trusted right hand.
"Call them in!" Ordered Acrisos, and the door that led into this chamber was opened without a sound. Although this meeting chamber may seem ordinary at first, only a fool would believe this. All around the room, between the tapestries and drawings, runes were carved into the walls, isolating this space from the rest of the castle.
Three more people entered the meeting chamber and sat down without waiting for the king's approval. Lowering their heads, they greeted their liege, who waved aside their salutations.
"You all know why I have called you here." The king started while studying the newcomers.
King Acrisios, his flame-red hair gleaming under the warm glow of chandeliers, leaned forward with a solemn expression on his face.
"Your seals are breaking faster with every use." Acrisios began, his voice resonating with authority. "I pour rivers of coin into your little experiments, and this is the best you can do?" He slammed his fist onto the table, shaking the whole room, yet the fragile-looking wood remained strong.
The leaders of the Maorun family exchanged glances, their faces etched with concern and fear. Lady Seraphia Maorun, the matriarch, her silver hair cascading elegantly down her shoulders, spoke up first. Although she wore a concerned look, her voice remained steady. "Your Majesty, we understand the gravity of the Remembrance's capabilities. That is precisely why we have dedicated ourselves to the task of creating the seals that can control this volatile force."
Her words carried a weight of responsibility, sounding full of Maorun family's dedication to their duty. The other Maorun leaders nodded in agreement, their expressions a mixture of determination and caution.
King Acrisios bought none of that, leaned back in his chair, his gaze scanning each member of the Maorun family gathered before him. "Then why are the seals failing? You talk about your determination and how difficult a job this is, yet the Maorun family fails to provide any real results, even after all the money I spent on you. Why?"
Theodos suddenly interjected, his voice laced with a calculated urgency. "We must proceed with caution, Your Majesty. The Remembrance is a double-edged sword. While it holds the ability to banish even the mightiest of adversaries, it also possesses an indiscriminate nature. It must be handled with utmost care."
Acrisios nodded, acknowledging the truth in Theodos' words. "Hmm, that is true, yet to fail to even create seals that would hold the Remembrance in place. It is too much."
Seraphia Maorun, her eyes shining with offense, spoke on behalf of her family. "Your Majesty, we have dedicated our knowledge and resources to this cause. We poured tears and blood to create the seals, but the power of the Remembrance is still too overwhelming. It is ancient magic, maybe even older, Your Majesty. Whatever seals we try to place on it, they are almost immediately banished."
Another Maorun elder spoke up, his old face wrinkling as if unused to having his mouth move. He was Lady Seraphia's grandfather, Ovas Maorun. "Sire, you must understand that we're running blind right now. Despite all our efforts, the seals continue to be banished by the Remembrance's power..."
Unable to hear any more of this nonsense, Acrisior slammed his fist onto the table. "Then how did this power remain sealed underneath the castle for eons? Not bothering anyone until we unearthed it ourselves?"
Ovas leaned back in his padded chair, unable to respond. Or he didn't want to. Finally, he opened his mouth and resumed his speech. "If only we had access to the Grand Library of Novezim. Then, maybe, we could work something out."
Acrisios leaned back into his chair, breathing deeply to calm his nerves. He understood restraining a power so old it couldn't even be dated was hard, but what he didn't understand was why the Maoruns couldn't recreate the seals already present in the Remembrance's tomb. Yet, despite having seals they could study and eventually copy, the Maoruns wanted an unlimited budget plus access to the greatest library on the continent.
'If that library was mine and not Eredar's, it would've been fine.' Acririos lamented, but outwardly he said. "And what do you want to exchange with Eredar for rights of entrance in Novezim?"
All the Maoruns fell silent.
"Nothing, as I can see." Acrisios tapped a finger on the table and continued. "So, you want me to trade something with one of the most powerful Empires on the continent so you can have access to their knowledge. Do you take me for a fool?" Acrisios roared, shaking the whole chamber.
The Maoruns trembled slightly from the power behind that roared but dared not raise their heads.
"Don't you know Eredar plans on using our country to eradicate the Northern Empire? Don't you know they want to make our kingdom a vassal state?"
Acrisios snapped his mouth with an audible click, swallowing whatever words he planned on verbalizing. Although furious, he couldn't show his rage for too long, lest these monkeys would believe he was easily influenced, thus easy to control.
"My liege," Theodos suddenly interjected, planning on steering the conversation away from Maorun's inability, to something more productive. "May I share what we plan on doing with the Remembrance?"
Acrisios frowned and took a moment to think about his advisor's words. Eventually, he nodded, making the leaders of Maorun prick their ears.
"Through several tests, I and a select few members of the Silver Division have delved deeper into the Remembrance's abilities."
"Oh? What more have you found out, Sir Theodos?" Ovas asked as he leaned his weight on his elbows.
Taking another glance at the king, Theodos finally opened his mouth to share the news. "The Remembrance... is able to banish concepts as well."
The room fell into an anticipatory silence as Theodos' words hung in the air. Acrisios' gaze remained placid, watching over the changing expressions of the other leaders.
"Banish concepts?" Ovas repeated, his voice barely above a whisper. The wrinkled lines on his face deepened as he forced his mind to wrap around this information.
Theodos nodded, his tone measured and steady. "Yes, our own experiments have revealed that the Remembrance possesses a unique ability to banish not only physical beings but also abstract concepts."
Seraphia leaned forward, her gaze fixed on Theodos. "Give me an example."
Theodos paused, gathering his thoughts before continuing. "For instance, we conducted an experiment where we channeled the Remembrance's power toward a magic spell created by a knight of the Silver Division..."
Hearing Theodos' words, Ovas sprung to his feet and shouted in shock and anger. "You used the Remembrance? And you dare blame us because our seals fail?"
Acrisios raised a hand and stopped the elder's rampage. "Sit down, Ovas. This experiment happened long before you were tasked with providing seals."
Reluctantly, the elder sat down and started thinking about the implications of such knowledge.
Theodos bowed toward the king, thanking him before continuing his words. "After we used the Remembrance, that knight was simply unable to cast his spell any longer. No matter how much mana he poured in, the spell simply refused to cast."
Lady Seraphia's eyes sparkled, a glimmer of curiosity dancing within them. "So, if we can wield the Remembrance's power, we could potentially banish other detrimental concepts that hinder our progress and growth, such as fear, perhaps?"
Theodos shook his head. "It doesn't work like you presume it does, Lady Seraphia. While that knight was unable to cast his own spell, the rest of us were able to do it. Moreover, I am unsure whether the Remembrance can banish fear from people."
Lady Seraphia sighed and regained her bearing, nodding after a moment of thought.
In the following silence, Ovas spoke up, sharing everyone's thoughts. "That is a pretty steep drawback. What about the mana used to banish that man's ability to cast his own spell?"
"Minimal," Theodos answered promptly, and Ovas nodded.
Acrisios took the floor and stood up. "This is where the Maorun Family comes in. I need you to somehow create a link between the Remembrance and whoever I want to mark."
As he let his words trail off, Acrisios stepped toward the door, marking the meeting's end.
In his wake, Seraphia's answer reached his ears. "We'll do our best, Your Majesty."