Shadow of the Abyss

A month. So many things had dropped by his table in such a short time that Altair felt less of a human but more of a palatine through and through.

He had taken over the Dutchy with permission of the Dutchess, albeit all documents had to go through her still; she wasn't much of an obstacle but a pair of eyes he deemed acceptable, foreseeing issues or the men's of hearts he could not read. A useful tool. Read latest chapters at empire

The Duchess had a head on her, Altair had decided. She wasn't a simple woman, though a bit too cowed in his opinion. As much as she tried to hide it, fear curdled in her eyes. Even the plebians might have noticed if they dared raise their heads in passing.

Her fear was rather interesting to the Young Emperor. It seemed natural. Yet why didn't she flee? The dutchess, The lady, Corsant Delmur, was of the old blood, dating back far to the first king of Almore, said to have entangled themselves in the Ironbloods. She certainly had the power to survive on her own. So why stay?

Was it love? Hope. Greed. The woman was a hard one. Altair could see it plain as day when he was not in her presence, reviewing the time stream through his omniscience.

She accepted failure without a change of expression and victory without so much of as a smile. She never allowed outsiders to see her true face, though against him, it seemed different.

"Why am I so different?" he had not realized he had spoken until the Duchess said, "Excuse me?"

Altair glanced at the woman in a simple white blouse peeking through the velvet coat she wore over. Despite being nearly a thousand years old, possibly older, Corsant appeared no older than he did, possibly a bit older, though that was her doing rather than cultivations.

"It's nothing… mindless thoughts carrying out," Altair said, carrying on with his work. Truthfully, he had completed it hours ago and had been working on the various holograms Aurora had sent him via his Neurolink. Every so often, he often flared his omniscience to grasp the various moving parts of his kingdom. In a way, he knew it better than Aurora, though he didn't dare tell her that.

Fidgeting through a report, the dutchess finger paused at one. "You're spreading rumors; why?"

"I'm not spreading rumors; it's more like bolstering them." Altair gently said, finishing up a document about a prisoner transfer. Strange how such a thing had to through him. "You will be surprised at the stories a man can make up on his own. I simply picked out a few and allowed them to spread."

"To what end?" Altair lifted an eye toward her. The woman wasn't going to let it go. "If it were simply rumors, I wouldn't have cared, but most is about Raven. What are you scheming?"

Altair made his smile as innocent as a devil. "Mother, please, you're embarrassing me. What will the Maids think if you say things like that?" He ignored the fact that there wasn't a single maid in the study.

White knuckles popped along the dutchess palm, crumbling the paper she held, then seamlessly, her anger faded. "What are you trying to do to Raven? There are quite a few nasty rumors about the girl. Some I fear would make even the devil blush."

Altair doubted the last bit. "I need a monster. A name that needs to be entangled by fear that children ought to explode into fits of terror at the mention of her name. Raven will be such a character for me."

Yes, he needed a monster. Raven was certainly strong enough; all she lacked was a debut. He would give her one. Both on Terra and on Almore. Hidden beneath that, however, lay something else. A trap.

A scheme to anyone seeking his life.

The Dutchess gave a start, but a knock at the door cut her off as Tasha strutted in. A minuscule shutter ran across the lady's shoulders. Altair might have missed it if his domain had not been up.

"Your Grace," she directed to Altair and "my lady" to Corsant. "The Valeguard have prepped a carriage for your departure. One of you and your Master."

The time must have gotten ahead of Altair, for he had to double-check the time along his neurolink HUD.

"Are you truly marching to Vastroph?" Corsant demanded. "The dutchy still needs your firm hand, you know."

"Hardly, when Mother is here to govern," Altair said, forcing himself to stand. "Though you can come if you'd like. It would be nothing to take a detour to visit little Noctis."

The dutchess's eyes practically glowed; she was simply too obvious to anything concerning her son. There was a love there that no one could come between.

"If you think it wise… then…What? What is with that look?" Her eyes were icy again. "Can the dutchess not visit her son? Don't think I don't know this is one of your schemes again."

Altair shrugged. He couldn't be bothered to explain what he had in mind. For all the power the woman had, she was a double-sided blade, rather hard to handle whenever she thought Altair wasn't looking. Many times, he had caught her trying to invade his study to snatch documents, though she had no idea he knew. Iliana had been teaching him about Wards and how to better utilize them outside combat.

Surprisingly, they had worked better than he had suspected. Despite being a Transcendent, not once had the Dutchess been able to sense one. The moment she tried to reach for the documents inside his desk, the wardings would feed her false information. Information he wanted her to know but couldn't quite tell her.

Iliana had told him his understanding, in general, had reached the level of Transcendent. And it made sense since his body couldn't keep up. All he needed was adequate information, information she was more than willing to offer since they couldn't quite train their bodies.

"Tasha sees that the Dutchess has a carriage for herself." He blinked and suddenly smiled. "And see if the old duke would also like to come. With no one here to govern, I'm sure Father will be forced to come out of seclusion." A little taken back by the way Corsant nodded in agreement, he chuckled. "And do make sure you've taken enough food. It'll take six months to reach Vastroph."

The Lilm gestured a graceful bow that made even Corsant's courtmen look like fools. "By your command, your grace," and she was out the door.

Altair followed after her, two Forsaken shadowing after him until he broke away to his chamber to grab a few things. He paused short of his bed.

[DING]

[Mission Sequence Available: Clear away the Infestation within Vastroph!]

Description: A Vampire Spawn has been born within the Ancient City of Vastroph. Each bite from a spawn can create another spawn, all subservient to the Vampire Lord commanding them. Kill the Vampire Spawns before Sanguine Hunger consumes Vastroph.

Failure: The Loss of Your Identity as Nox De Nier

Success: ???

Time Limit: Two Years

Altair blinked, then frowned. "It's playing like a story. If it continues like this, I'll have to kill a vampire lord." he stroked his hairless chin before strapping his saber to his sword belt. "It matters not. I've six months until I reach Vastroph. Enough time to finish my training."

Out the door onto the lawn where his Forsaken awaited him, huddled around three carriages, he glanced at Raven reigning Cloud in and approached. "I'll be with Master. Act as a decoy in my carriage."

Raven nodded like a solemn veteran, and Altair tried not to cringe. He hated the girl like this. She used to be so cheerful. Now was as strict as a soldier and as icy as winter. He sighed.

He found Iliana in her carriage with a bottle of wine that he quickly snatched from her. "Oh, hell no! You're not drinking until you black out again!"

"I did not blackout last time!"

"Like hell, you didn't! I have a picture!"

Iliana blinked in scandalous disbelief. "You would take a picture of your master blacked out drunk! How un—"

"I lied. I just wanted you to admit it."

Iliana coughed into her palm. 'Very good disciple. Very Good. You've learned so much." Though her eyes never left the bottle, she added, "What else would you like to learn today?"

"Everything my body will allow me. There are Nine Circles of Magic, each grade doubling in power based on one's Mana attribute. I want to finish my Arcane lessens. Yesterday, I tried flying. A Third Circle spell and was able to do so without issue. If I had mastered such a spell long ago, I would have had fewer problems back in Yarwin."

Iliana, half frown, told him he was wrong."Flying is easy. Any idiot can do so, even in this refined world. What you need to do is learn to fuse flying and your elemental abilities. Right now, you possess a high enough comprehension of Infernal lightning to do so. The Arcanes are the building blocks of reality. When I move, I use the concept of destruction to erase space.

That way, I can be anywhere I want instantly."

"Doesn't that interfere with… I don't know reality. Law and Order?"

"Who cares? Leave it to Zariel to handle. That's his job, anyway. He'll fix it. Be a little selfish, disciple. Stop thinking of others.

Now. Shall we start? Today, we are learning about the School of Evocation. And how to make it your bitch."