Private Tales Piercing the Veil

[Noel]

It had started with a single letter. Then, that letter had become two. Noel hadn't kept track enough to know there was a third, fourth, or even fifth letter.

What she knew for certain was that this 'Lumen' initiate was desperate for a mentor. They'd been at the academy at the same time, although due to the age gap Noel was only tangentially familiar with the younger girl. Still, based on what she remembered from her own time as an initiate, plus what the proctors had told her, Lumen seemed capable enough.

An initiate that wouldn't be total waste of her time.

Which was a good thing because after what had gone down with Mieri the idea of mentoring someone else was... well, terrifying. Regardless, Noel waited by the loose ramparts outside of the city of Vel Lacazi for her charge to arrive. The missive had been quite clear for both of them although Noel had the added information of what they were doing in Vel Lacazi.

The stacks of homes within the squat little villas were an odd sight within Anirian territory but it had been a hallmark of the city. Densely populated, limited space, a true engineering masterpiece of the Anirians.

And Noel was more than prepared to debrief her new pupil as to what they were doing here. It was the sort of task the Black Guard often engage in, the sort of task that might open the young initiate's mind as to what life post-graduation could be.

Noel just hoped she could keep the girl safer than she managed with Mieri

Lumen

 

[Lumen]

And Lumen kept every single one of those letters in a small box hidden beneath a floor board beneath her bed.

But that was neither here nor there. She only kept one letter on her now. Directions and a time and date on where to meet one of the older classmen she'd idolized the most. Fricken Noel Schwartz. Now a full on dreadlord and rising star among dreadlords in general. Rumors had it the metal lord had her eyes set firmly on becoming an archon.

And while the journey getting there always felt like it took longer, Lumen soon arrived to Vel Lacazi's gates. Circular shield strapped to her back, as always. Sword at her hip. Tawny-eyes swept the ramparts in the low-light catching a glint of metal on a skirt. Lumen wondered if she had to pinch herself or if it really was Noel in-person.

As she drew nearer, she swung one of her legs over her horse and dismounted, taking her horse by the reins as she walked closer to the dreadlord. "Noel? It's me, Lumen."

 

[Noel]

"Initiate Lumen," Noel nodded in the direction of the younger girl. Full platinum armor on display, ornate designs affixed to her back that could easily be molded into a spear or shield if necessary. She looked the initiate over, sizing her up.

She'd gone too soft with Mieri on their mission. She wouldn't make the same mistake twice with Lumen.

"I assume you're familiar with Vel Lacazi."

Noel didn't await a response as she turned and walked closer towards the city that towered before them. Despite how densely populated it was the city itself wasn't all that big. Just stacks and stacks of construction on top of one another. Even the population was relatively small compared to a more spread out metropolis like Vel Anir or Vel Luin.

A turn of her shoulder as she smiled in Lumen's direction, "it's fine if you're not, it's a bit off the beaten path."

In fact, the city was on the edge of Anirian territory and the Aberesai Savannah. The strange place had originally emerged as a location for refugees for a conflict lost to Anirian histories. "We're here to figure out if a construction mishap involved one of Gilram's exiles." Her words were firm and unwavering, as if it was just a typical Tuesday.

 

[Lumen]

I assume youre familiar with Vel Lacazi.

"No," she admitted quietly. "Other than reports coming out of this town of occasionally seeing cat-like beasts with wings and riders on them." They were called gryph, if Lumen was remembering some correctly from her classes on the outskirt towns of Vel Anir.

Lumen hurried to catch up to the Iron Maiden's side. Which was quite the task. But she handled it, trying not to look like she was trying to keep up. That part was probably 50/50 success. She'd blame leading the horse. Honestly, how did Noel make something as mundane as walking look cool? Lumen tried to blink away the stars in her eyes.

"Gilram," Lumen's lips thinned. "I ran into some of his at Vel Draza awhile back." A shiver as she thought of the one named Erodin. The others. And Edric offering nothing but betrayal.

"You saw him, right? What...what was he like?"

 

[Noel]

Noel strode forward, a small grin tugged at her features as Lumen mentioned the gryph though she tried to hide it. "Yes, lots of reports of gryph here lately. They're sort of important to what we're investigating, actually."

They walked a few more paces when the blonde initiate mentioned him. And asked Noel a question she'd only answered once before.

Everyone who'd been there had avoided what had happened. The only ones she'd spoken to about her encounter with Gilram had been the Guard when they were conducting interviews and confirming stories. She'd been commended for her bravery but also told that what she'd done was, "reckless and idiotic."

"Gilram is a serpent. He knows nothing but lies." Noel stopped in her tracks and turned to face Lumen, "If you ever encounter him, run. If he offers you anything, refuse. Do you understand me?"

Regardless of how Lumen answered Noel continued on towards Vel Lacazi. "I wanted to fight him, but a classmate stopped me. Probably saved my life." Noel shook her head, still bitter about what Meredith had done on that day. "Anyway, the task at hand... as you can probably already see, Vel Lacazi is dense."

The stacks of homes and pieced together buildings already visible.

 

[Lumen]

Lumen hesitated before responding. Not because she’d follow Gilram or ever trust anything he offered but because she couldn’t stop thinking about her ultimate worry. What if it happened again? What if they took her friends away? Or worse?

“I understand,” she spoke quietly and scurried to catch up to one of her idols. “How can we hope to stop him? His own? They seem like they’re always a few steps ahead.”

She didn’t speak further about her worries of her own classmates.

Finding a place to tie off her horse, she dropped a few coins into the stable boy’s hands. “And yeah,” head tilted upwards, looking at the small structures stacked upon each other. “Lots to cover. Where was the construction blunder?”

Lumen wondered if it was for housing or another project.

 

[Noel]

"We keep fighting," she said without hesitation as Lumen inquired about how to stop Gilram. "Luckily we don't have to worry about how many steps ahead or behind our foe is. Trust me, the Guard is all over it."

From what Noel had gathered the opposite was actually true. But, well, initiates didn't need to concern themselves about a shadowy conflict that was slow going. "Eventually Gilram's luck will run out. It's a rebellion made up of traitors, the Guard is just giving them enough rope to hang themselves." She knew from briefings with the Black Guard that her second statement was somewhat true.

While the state of Vel Anir continued to hunt for the exiled Dreadlords the endeavor wasn't as high priority as one might suspect. They knew Gilram was plotting something but they also knew that several of his followers were only loyal for as long as they suspected Gilram could benefit them. Or for as long as they expected Gilram to be capable of killing them.

"The construction of a temple in Vel Lacazi," the first since the laws around religion in Vel Anir had been reformed, "it turns out the contractors who were hired to build it hid something in the central dome."

Noel pointed towards the large, domed, temple that was half constructed. "You can't see it from here but there's a giant arbalest inside. Apparently it was going to be used to shoot gryphs and their riders out of the sky." Noel glanced back at the young pupil following her and shot a smile. "We're going to find out why."

 

[Lumen]

"Yeah that doesn't make sense. If our lessons are to be believed, the gryph and riders stay near their borders in the plains. I think their kingdom is called Marrakoosh." It was rumored to be mighty in its own right. A place known where many healers traveled to refine and learn their craft. A kingdom able to keep its independence from the Empire and all the others around it.

But if some did come here it begged the question as to why.

And even so, why shoot them down?

Marrakoosh was rumored to keep to themselves. She couldn't see them challenging a powerhouse like Vel Anir. Unless it was all a set-up?

Too many questions and not enough answers.

"So we start with talking to the contractors first?" Tawny-eyes looked hopefully at the Iron Maiden.

 

[Noel]

"Precisely," she nodded and looked down at Lumen with a smile. "Truthfully we have no idea why anyone would want to shoot at the gryphs or their riders."

There were theories, of course. Parts of Vel Lacazi housed some criminal elements, it was possible they merely wanted to capture a gryph. It was also possible they saw the gryphs as stepping on their turf. Then there was the fringe theory that it had something to do with Gilram's forces.

Though a slim possibility it was the entire reason Noel had volunteered for the job. There was a possible link between a Gilram affiliate and the contractors who'd done the initial work. Perhaps they were trying to spark a small scale conflict?

"We interview the contractors first, then we follow the leads from there." The raven haired girl nodded thoughtfully before proceeding. "Our first point of contact is the foreman who was in charge of the operation."

The pair found themselves in front of a large apartment building, several stories tall and wide enough to house a dozen dwellings.

 

[Lumen]

"Okay," Lumen nodded in agreement trying to act cool the entire time or at least, trying to act normal. It was hard to be around someone she looked up to without worrying about coming off as a complete dweeb or not cool enough.

Keep it together Adagio.


"Mister Snicklesnatch, right?" If Lumen remembered from the report, which she'd stayed up all night going over and memorizing prior to the mission. Because if anything, Lumen liked to come prepared. It's probably why Leander thought of her as a goody-two-shoes.

Walking into the door of the building, she walked over to what appeared to be a directory on the wall, her finger running down the list. Lu hadn't seen a building like this in a long time. And while a major city, the capital of Vel Anir was not quite this compact.

"Looks like he's in 3A."

 

[Noel]

"Yes," Noel confirmed, "Rudolphus Snicklesnatch."

The metalmancer was a relatively keen observer but she wasn't sure she'd ever seen an initiate who seemed as tense as Lumen. Quietly she wondered if the younger girl was bullied or punished often and expected the same thing from Noel? It was one of those weird positions where Noel couldn't just blurt out, 'hey, I'm not going to hit you,' but she really wanted to say something to make the girl relax.

"Apartment 3A, masterful work Initiate Adaigo!" Normally more formal she tried her best to sound as enthusiastic as possible, though it very well could've come off as sarcastic.

The pair bounded towards their intended target, the building clearly in disarray. Rats scurrying from place-to-place, children running around and obviously up to no good. This was not an ideal place to raise a family. Even the door to apartment 3A was covered in scratches and graffiti.

Noel took a deep breath before looking at her charge. "Ready?" Without waiting for a response she knocked on the door and a few seconds later it swung open to reveal a man with a pencil thin mustache and a cattle thick gut.

"Yea? Whadda ya want?"