It was only after Colwyn left that Azel realised the knight never asked how he paid for the lenses, let alone offer to cover for them. But the zombie was to tired to chase after him now that he had already left.
Well, not tired, Azel found himself seemingly never exhausted due to having his biology closer to a mana beast than a human. But somehow holding a conversation with Colwyn took all of the strength Azel could muster.
Climbing the ladder into the "attic" of his one room hut, Azel was pleasantly surprised to see a mattress and a bedside table. Silently tallying the number of furniture in his house to 'three' the zombie let himself fall onto the soft bed.
Technically Azel could sleep, but it was more of a way to conserve mana by limiting body functions - there wasn't a genuine need for it that humans had. A more efficient way he could spend his time would be refining his mana control.
And so he begun forming a dagger again. Unlike before when he had been waiting for Colwyn, Azel found himself in a controlled space without any distractions, so almost instantly was he able to establish a translucent blade.
Not noticing the sweat trickling down his brow, Azel began to pour more mana into the blade. Letting it fill up ever so slowly he found himself smiling. The dagger was practically solid now, its internal connections were weak, naturally making it fragile and unreliable...
But it would still serve well as a surprise attack.
Suddenly the peaceful silence was disturbed by a rustling above him. Flinching slightly in response Azel's concentration faltered and the Dagger flickered out of existence.
The zombie frowned upon noticing the first major problem with incorporating this technique in battle. It was far to difficult to maintain even when he had full concentration on it, even worse, the only way to get around this would be extreme levels of practise.
Sighing in disappointment Azel looked up to one of the support beams above him, watching silently was a dirty stray cat. It was so covered in mud in fact that Azel wasn't exactly sure what colour its fur was supposed to be. Maybe it was a Siamese?
Choosing to ignore his newly found room mate Azel begun practising his dagger formation again. At least he would have some form of company in his humble abode that Colwyn had given him before running off in a hurry.
<---o--->
"So the undead will be apart of your plan, then?" Asked Gryphon slowly. He was aware of his friends nature, and that despite his foolish appearance, the 'whims' he had were hardly ever just that.
Lyra responded for her mentor, "The Archivists have been researching the declining undead population for a few years now, We will supply them with Azel in exchange for a few political favours."
Not even glancing in Lyra's direction, Gryphon stared at Colwyn with a silent intensity that he had rarely shown since retiring. The gaze made Colwyn shiver slightly as he remembered previous arguments with his friend.
"That was the original plan, Lyra, but I've made a few adjustments... I've decided not to hand him over just yet," Colwyn said, his tone casual, but there was a calculated sharpness to his words that made Gryphon's eyes narrow.
"He will join an initiate class for the seeker division under my recommendation."
Gryphon remained silent, but Colwyn was certain that Gryphon was slowly piecing together what exactly he had in mind. "And what makes you think you can control him?" he finally asked, his voice low but heavy with meaning. "Undead or not, if he senses you're manipulating him, you'll lose any advantage you think you have."
Colwyn chuckled, his smile never wavering. "Azel's a bit too... new to this world to fully grasp the complexities at play. I've watched him since he woke up, and he's still adjusting. He's powerful, yes, but he's also inexperienced. He's learning how to survive, how to interact. As long as I offer stability, he'll stick around."
Lyra stood up quickly, getting the two older men's attention, "You can't expect me to allow this, Sir! I kept quite because I thought you were just bringing him in peacefully for once, but now you're saying that you intend on letting a Fiend-rank beast run around the capital!"
Her intentions seemed pure, but Colwyn knew the truth. By keeping the real nature of Azel between the three of them it would become harder to expose Colwyn and have him executed.
"He's no where near that level yet, Lyra, besides I have no intention of letting my dear squire worry about such things." Said Colwyn matter of factly, shooting a glance at Gryphon through his helmet.
Lyra kept quite, Colwyn was in fact still a knight, she had no realistic way of influencing him. Regardless, She felt the best thing to do would be to report to Templar Rio anyway.
Colwyn was famed for his skill at such a young age, being able to rival the templars, because of this in combination for his reckless personality all strange decisions made by him were reported by Lyra.
Despite seemingly not knowing about this, Colwyn had found out within a few weeks of Lyra being assigned to him. He had first suspected something when she was uncharacteristically stoic for a seeker. Usually those types were scooped up by the guardian division...
When a bit of digging revealed that she was actually adopted by templar Rio at a young age the knight quickly put two and two together.
Lyra didn't respond to his remark, but her stiff posture told Colwyn all he needed to know. She would report him, and the higher-ups would keep a closer eye on Azel—and on him. Unacceptable.
Releasing his aura Colwyn flew across the room at inconceivable speeds, unable to react as his hand locked around her throat, Lyra could only widen her eyes in disbelief at her mentor's rash movements.
In just over ten seconds her body relaxed and she lost consciousness. Slowly lowering to the ground Colwyn sighed aloud. "This is why I hate dealing with internal affairs..."
"you have no right to complain, I'm retired and still covering for you." said Gryphon with a cold expression. "Are you even aware how taxing memory magic can be, let alone that its forbidden."
"If you were someone to obey the laws you wouldn't of sent Azel out to get the Dragon's breath." Responded the knight briefly in response, before pausing and saying with a bit more seriousness, "You saw that right? The way Lyra was more aggressive than her usual self... Rio is already making moves,"
Gryphon crossed his arms, watching Colwyn's every move with a weary sigh. "You're walking a tightrope, Colwyn. Do you even know what you're trying to achieve here? Letting an undead like Azel run loose, keeping the Sunchaser's in the dark- this won't end well. For you or for him."
Colwyn's smile returned under his helm, but it was sharper this time, tinged with a hint of something dangerous. "I have a plan. And Azel... he's the key to something bigger. Something that goes beyond the Archivists' obsession with the undead. You don't have to worry, Gryphon. I'm not going to let this get out of control."
"Not worried for you," Gryphon muttered, turning his gaze to the unconscious Lyra. "I'm worried about what happens if you're wrong. Azel's more than just some experiment. If you push him too far—"
"I won't," Colwyn interrupted, his voice hardening. "Trust me."
Gryphons face lost its cold hardness for a small moment, "Every time I see you I'm reminded of how much you've changed. She wouldn't have wanted this for you, Colwyn..."
"I'll pick Lyra up tomorrow morning, make sure she forgets all information about Azel's true race." said the knight, ignoring his friends comment. "And see if Rio left any traces this time, I know its unlikely considering she used her regalia, but..."
It went without saying. Templar Rio was a meticulous schemer and an even more dangerous combatant. However unlikely it was to find information or something to hold against her, it would be invaluable.
"I'll look, but don't expect anything." Gryphon nodded, before adding, "Take care of yourself, Colwyn."