Artemis stood at the edge of a clocktower, the brass hands sounding out each second, a resounding clack causing his head to spin and his ears to pop. The churning shadows that had coated his countenance gradually faded, black wisps eeking away from his body like bands of smoke. This was the Spirit Bond of Lark. Although he had practiced using it his entire life, there weren't very many opportunities where he could use it in very flashy or excessive ways, mostly standing still or walking around within the confines of the outdoor study at the Starke's estate in the Lirae District.
While traversing the rooftops of the tall buildings in Henem proved a greater challenge than he had first anticipated, the thick, stocky legs of the shadow-wolf form were able to catch his fall. His strides, magnificent in height, bounced from each tiled roof to the next. He was sure that whatever onlookers remained on the streets at such a late hour had been given a fright, he felt slightly ashamed for his actions, but felt as if the euphoria from his movement eased his guilt a bit.
At the end of it all, perhaps he really was just a dog.
He pulled the collar of his coat close to his cheek, reddened by the bite of the night-time air. This was certainly something he had needed. It was the time when he was alone within the darkness of the evening hours that he could truly think. There was no obligation, no time-limit on his life, not until the morning came did he have to continue being Artemis Starke.
Dark things may threaten life here. Should I console myself with the idea that 'the Light' will protect us? If I am to marry him, perhaps I should rely on him... but I wonder if I'm satisfied with the idea of everything being out of my control, of having no hand in things... then again, this is all I've done throughout my life. What is a recluse if not a person who grasps control of their own personal matters at the cost of experiencing or influencing the world around them?
Of course, I've already determined that I can't life that sort of lifestyle anymore. It was built on the premise of all responsibilities being handled by my father, that I might live in such a childish way until I couldn't anymore. Maybe even taking his final wish seriously was my way of trying to pay him back posthumously. I didn't even cry when he died...
So what can I, a promised Consort, do myself? Demand he take me with him when they venture into that strange dungeon they had discussed? What kind of man would take his lover into danger? Then again, does this truly constitute love? If August isn't the sort of man who can fall in love, as Isolde said, then perhaps he won't place too much value on me in that way.
Although, he might consider public perception, won't he? What kind of King would allow his Consort to run head-first into danger? Then again, he's the sort of person who tries to diminish control over public perception, even trying to eliminate the Hunt's influence on free-speech.
"I should really just ask him if I can accompany him..."
"Ask who?" A sultry voice chimed out from behind him.
Artemis turned around, frowning. "When did you arrive?"
"Only a few moments ago. Tracking you wasn't too difficult, considering you left the indents of massive footprints in the tiles of the rooftops you ran across."
Ah... I should apologise to the building owners for that...
"So, who do you want to ask to accompany? Have you made friends already?" August smiled devilishly. "I might get jealous if it's 'that' sort of friendship."
Artemis shook his head. "Don't twist my words in your head. You'll only embarrass yourself. I wished to ask to accompany you into the dungeon, Shadowhaunt, on your next expedition."
"Absolutely not." His answer was immediate, his tone free of any sense of teasing or joking.
"Why not? I'm a capable fighter, you've seen that much." He tried to argue his point, but it didn't seem as if it was coming across.
August pondered for a moment, glancing up at the man much taller than him before seriously inquiring.
"You want to be of use to me, don't you? Do you imagine you still owe me something?"
Artemis nodded his head slightly.
August chuckled. He really has a strong sense to repay debts. Although I feel as if there's nothing to repay here, and I would rather him not accompany us into a place fraught with danger, I can't deny him this. Whether it hurts his heart or his character, it might not even stop him completely from seeking out ways to please me in exchange. He's like a little puppy, and he can certainly be trained...
"There are things you can do even if you don't accompany me and the others into Shadowhaunt." August reached his hand out, grasping at Artemis's collar as he pulled him in close.
"Are there?" Artemis seemed to perk up at the mention of this.
August leaned in, his breaths hot on Artemis's neck as he grinned mischievously. "Have you ever been in the bed of a King?"
Artemis's face flushed slightly, but he didn't grimace or exclaim as he had before. He had tempered himself, his expectations for August's teasing, it was all in preparation for his life ahead. These were the characteristics of the man he had declared his love for, and in order to keep up his amiable, calm, stoic persona, this much preparation was necessary.
"Alright, if that's what you wish." Artemis nodded his head slightly, keeping a still expression.
August's face paled. He released his grip on Artemis's collar, leaning against the wall of the clocktower as he slumped to the ground in a defeated manner.
No reaction? You really deprive these things of any fun, my little dog...
He turned his head away, placing it against his knees as he sighed.
But... it doesn't seem like it will be as hard to fall in love with a man as it was with Isolde... is this a good sign, or just my willing expectations? Perhaps I only hope that it will be easy. I'm tired of the fear that my time will be wasted, that I won't be able to progress this power...
Artemis leaned his head on his hand as he sat beside him, pondering as he glanced down at the sulking August.
He's... kind of cute when he's like this...
The two sat beside each other for a time in silence, neither trying to move closer or farther apart, as if their proximity was perfect, and they didn't want for anything else but company.
"Have you ever heard of an 'Aspect', Arte?" August suddenly spoke out.
Artemis shook his head, "no, I haven't. What is it?"
The Witch-King chuckled. "That's good. It's a matter of law that anyone with the knowledge of an Aspect or what it pertains to has to be executed to preserve national security."
The Black-wolf's face paled. Ah, was he just teasing me again...? This wasn't something I was expected to know...
"Still," August continued, "what I'll tell you now is, needless to say, something that can never be shared with anyone else. This information is something that has only ever been known to the two most powerful Archknights of the Witch-King, which as of this generation, is Lysia and Gwennaude. Not even Adeline, Isolde, or Ms. Eunice know of it..."
"Why tell it to me if it's so important?"
"You're not just going to be a Consort. You'll be the Crown Consort. This is a decision I've already made. I'm placing all of my bets on you. There's not really any time left for me. If I can't complete my goal in the next year, there may not be any hope of me achieving my plans in this lifetime."
His mood seemed sullen as he spoke of this. It stirred Artemis's heart, who reached out a hand as he touched upon August's cheek softly, drawing his gaze towards his own.
"Then, don't think of things like that. Just tell me what you want me to know."
Whether it was to serve a distraction to August, or to make him get to the point quicker, Artemis wasn't sure. All he knew was that his cheeks had grown warm, and his stomach had begun to churn, not in an unpleasant way, but in a fluttering manner.
August's face had turned a bright red, and he quickly grasped at Artemis's wrist, not to move it, but as if to hold it steady. He glanced away, embarrassed, as he continued, "an Aspect is the source of the Witch-King's power. Where it originally derived from, I'm uncertain. But it's definitely something we're born with. My father, Jehellius, once spoke of the ritual by which the sons of the Witch-King are conceived, on a single night within the Blackbaast's movement cycle, when Naasis is positioned perfectly in a certain area..."
"...the Palace was originally built to reach that point, a root-like plant that sprouts from the cavern ceiling. For whatever reason, when a child is conceived under this root, on the single night where it aligns itself with Naasis, that child is born a son, with an inheritance of incredible power."
"Is the power that grand?" Artemis questioned, curious. Of course, he knew how intense August's power could be, he had seen it first-hand. Not to mention, almost every fable or legend that pertained to the Witch-Kings of the past were focused on their immense strength and power.
"It was the sole reason why the Lightseeker faction sought to overthrow my House, Lunastre."
Artemis's eyes widened suddenly, his gaze flitting over to the mark on his wrist. This event, this war of division- it was really over power? The general reason that had been assumed was that it was because the Noble families of the Lightseeker faction only wanted to place another Noble family, House Lightbringer, on the throne of Naasis. But in reality, it had been over an inheritance of magical abilities?
He felt as if his entire perception of history had been warped in only a few sentences...
"This power... this 'Aspect' of the Witch-King... it's like a virus that grows inside me. Overuse of my abilities results in infestation of my body, immense pain and decay of myself. In that way, my predecessors have referred to the increments of power as 'Stages', as if it were really a sickness. A newborn would start at Stage 13, and every adaptation they made to increase their power would lower that Stage, bringing about physical changes and granting new abilities to that child..."
August glanced at his hand with contempt, grimacing. "Each of these 'Stages' has a requirement, some grand event or condition which must be met in order to advance to the next Stage."
Artemis pondered this for a moment, suddenly coming to a conclusion. "Like the tradition of spreading a new Genus of flower throughout the Blackbaast?"
August nodded his head. "That's the advancement condition of Stage 11, Bloomweaver, in order to advance to Stage 10, Prince of Illusion."
"These Stages seem to have particularly grand names."
"Unfortunately, that's always the case." August laughed in a suppressed manner. "The beginning Stage, Stage 13, is named 'Witch-King'. I assume this is where my title was initially derived from. Each name and its corresponding abilities and changes are unconsciously imbibed into my psyche with each advancement, so it might have been the case that my predecessor built this entire Kingdom off of that very premise."
So this 'Aspect' is the reason why flora flourishes in the Blackbaast... I wonder if the corresponding advancement conditions have anything to do with other parts of the landscape...
"In fact, the entire reason I went out to sea was in order to seek out the next advancement condition. The advancement condition pertaining to Stage 7, Sea Wisp, entitled me to wandering the Obsidian Sea in search of enlightenment for the sake of others."
"That seems... quite broad."
August nodded his head. "But I came to my own conclusions, my own terms. Sometimes, these advancement conditions are quite open-ended, and it becomes a matter of realising the details on my own. The problem pertains to my current Stage, Stage 6 - Anti-Polaris."
"It's not open-ended?"
He chuckled. "No, not at all. I was aware of this advancement condition from the moment I was apprised of the Aspect by my father. He told me of this condition, although he warned me to abide by tradition, and that I would never see it. When one achieves the advancement condition for Stage 9 and is about to become a Stage 8 of the Aspect, they're offered a choice on which path they want to take. For me and my predecessors, it has been a choice between a path of light, or darkness. It has always been tradition to take this darker path, which manifests as a need for control, of iron-fisted rule, of fear and conquest of the people of the Blackbaast... this was how my father, my grand-father, and all of my ancestors had ruled. They had never tried the path of light, of hope and of kindness."
"But you did. This is why they call you 'the Light', and your father, 'the Lightless'..."
"Indeed. If I were to have chosen the path of darkness, the advancement condition to reach Stage 5 would have been to extinguish the entirety of a flora species throughout the Blackbaast, killing off all specimen. This would have been somewhat difficult, but achievable. However, because I chose the path of light, this advancement condition..."
He paused for a moment, glancing back over at Artemis as he smiled sheepishly.
"...it was to fall in love."