Его не звали, но он приперся / They never called, yet he is here: Интерлюдия третья: "Прощение"

Interlude three: "Forgiveness."

Camrad_RIP 10.09.23 в 20:40

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Camrad_RIP 10.09.23 в 20:40

Any stationary protection, when reaching and overcoming a certain level of quality, begins to turn the sheltered area into a separate lacuna with its laws of reality. Of course, most of these changes are very imperceptible, almost cosmetic, even when it comes to really good barriers and fields. It's rather an amusing scientific phenomenon, so interesting to all sorts of researchers or theorists, than something that can be used to one's advantage. In order to really come close to creating a separate reality with your defense, you need to exceed the threshold of legendary. And mythical defenses are mythical because they are only found in myths. This is also a common truth, which is not interesting to anyone but theorists and is difficult to apply for all barrier masters without exception.

Camrad_RIP 10.09.23 в 22:25

Almost without exception.

Camrad_RIP 10.09.23 в 22:25

Among the preserved, obtained, developed, simply stolen, or taken away by force, the knowledge the Eternal Dynasty kept in its power, there were many things the rest of the world had not suspected. And even if they suspected or even knew, they still had no idea how the result they had seen had been achieved. Games with the inalienable Right sleeping in the blood, putting any of them above the Law, do not lend themselves to normal magical theory. That's it.

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 05:59

This was not entirely true, for be that as it may, it was not only Time alone that the Eternals were strong, nor was it only by playing with the constants of reality that they could surprise and defeat. If so, sooner or later, their opponents would have found ways to counteract them, and their dynasty would never have ascended the throne, let alone held it so firmly and for so long, even by the standards of long-lived races. It was to these tricks, stolen or conquered, not directly related to their blood, that the wide circles of spies and analysts attributed the ability to work with protective fields at a height unattainable by ordinary mages.

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 06:07

In some ways, these assumptions were true, but each of the blood-bearing rulers of the Empire of Ages knew that only in some way. Direct manipulation of the Time offered an advantage in Barrier Magic. That is to say, powerful protective mysteries were present in their arsenal, regularly used and time after time, saving the lives of their users, but they belonged to the power of the Dynasty, not classical magic.

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 06:32

The defenses of this estate, poetically named Lone Bird, were not among the Dynasty's power, remaining uncharacteristically strong, powerful, monolithic, and unshakable. Not enough to jump up a grade at once, no, but noticeably better than standard and non-standard types of defense. Some of this was a credit to the more sophisticated crafting techniques, the reagents expended to install the dome of negation, the regular reinforcing and renewing rituals, a whole plethora of combined amulet selections, and a variety of other things. But the basis that made the already excellent armor even stronger was still the power of the Dynasty, just not directly.

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 06:34

The barely perceptible influence that had once been exerted by an ancestor who had long since gone to Eternity had left no trace behind, and even if all the experts were blown away, they would not see any games with the Law. Just at the moment when the foundation of the estate - a small palace, if not to be modest - was laid, a stranger's will managed to make all the petals of the future creation unfold simultaneously. They would be activated as synchronously as possible, but there would always be invisible, barely distinguishable gaps - the very nature of the magical rituals that underpinned the protection made it impossible to achieve absolute synchrony.

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 06:35

The Will of Eternity was able to level these tiny "discrepancies" and completely extinguish them, creating not just a masterpiece of magical protection but a true work of art. The Dynasty did not demonstrate any more such successes simply because there was no need for it. Pure mysteries on the power of blood still gave more output, required less effort, and did not require the initiation of outsiders into the family secrets. The Imperial Palace was locked up more tightly, more elegantly, and, most importantly, more securely, while the Lonely Bird remained a monument to a long-ago experiment of one of the ancestors. Successful, but no longer needed. The Dynasty liked to keep the fruits of such deeds. Largely because they often became useful when they were put to new uses, often not in the way the creator had envisioned.

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 06:47

Now, the estate's unique defense system made it possible to ignore the madness going on in the Eternal. There, behind the deceptively thin barriers, which had manifested into reality from an overly concentrated energy storm, a real war was raging, the likes of which the capital of the Empire of Ages had not seen for centuries. Inside the building, there was only silence and tranquility, as if nothing dangerous was going on. Clean floors, silk curtains, parquet of enchanted wood, snow-white walls, and columns of the rarest marble.

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 06:50

She had never liked the latter, for Valzea preferred slightly darker, pastel colors. The gaudy whiteness of the Lone Bird's interior was irritating, and she had no doubt that was why she'd been granted the estate. By the Ruler's will, of course, but she guessed who had wrested that will from her Father. Even the fact that her brother would not be able to demand anything from anyone now was not much consolation. First of all, he was still a kinsman of the same blood and flesh as Valzea herself, so she couldn't physically hate him, nor vice versa. Secondly, she was lucky enough to have another exchange of barbs with the Second Prince on that unfortunate day, so she didn't go for a walk in the park.

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 06:53

To ignore the need to regularly walk over ancient ruins hidden beneath a layer of stone and earth... is not the smartest thing for someone with Time frozen in their veins. The cunning clan title required regular maintenance, and even a few missed walks wouldn't do much, but to suddenly lose so many useful attributes and a separate ability would be a shame. But she was hurt, angry, and irritated that day. In such a state, trying to meditate, to reach into the essence of something hidden in the ancient stones, could bring more trouble than just missing a walk.

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 06:55

She had missed the meditation. Despite the blood in her veins, she had to answer to the Emperor himself, who listened to her very attentively. Various versions were being worked out, and, Gods be praised, even she would have suspected, if not direct betrayal of the relative who had renounced her blood, then an imperceptible influence on her mind. To subdue someone of their breed is almost unreal, to influence them imperceptibly is extremely difficult, and to exert a one-time influence requires a feat, but... She is the weakest of their generation. She has the worst power over the Law, even inferior to some bastards or representatives of non-hereditary sidelines!

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 06:57

Her mother's blood is too strong in her, not water either, of course, but not Eternity. She had not been conceived in a legal marriage without the proper rituals, and even though at the time of her birth, her mother had already been one of the legal wives, accepted according to all the rules, she knew that Time was so incredibly difficult to turn back. Foreign blood, strong but unnecessary.

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 07:01

Useless.
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Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 06:58

"So this is where the Andorian vase collection, if I'm not mistaken, with sixteen centuries of history, is located, correct?" Her interlocutor asked in a melodious and ingratiating voice, breaking Valzea out of her gloomy thoughts. "I remember when they were buried, the embalmed hearts of the most faithful of the lord's servants were placed in them to bind their lives to the lives of their masters."

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 07:03

As soon as the first traces of the attack appeared, the commander of the estate's guards immediately activated the artifact entrusted to him, luckily having asked Valzea for the right to use it. Trapped in a bubble of stopped time, the mansion and the surrounding area had stubbornly resisted all attempts by the devils to poke their way inside the defenses. And would continue to do so for a very long time, at least for those trapped inside for a long time. The world outside the mansion hadn't frozen, of course, but it had slowed down considerably, allowing one minute outside to be exchanged for two or three minutes inside.

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 07:05

"Yes, umm, undoubtedly, yes..." Valzea had long since didn't listen to the words of her interlocutor, the son of the head of the Golden Feather Guild, by the way. "Totally agree."

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 07:07

Ever since the moment (hours before the emergency) when he had offered her a bet, a deal to tell her more about each of the relics that were kept in this house than she knew, Princess Eternal had almost stopped following his speeches. It wasn't even about the cataclysm that had happened. It was just that she didn't boast much in the way of knowledge about 'her' collection. But a peculiar excursion through long-familiar corridors allowed her to calm her beating heart and gather her thoughts.

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 07:09

This place was actually used as a kind of repository for things expensive, status, and rare but not carrying true power. Collecting had never been a passion of their kind, but having the means, it was foolish not to spend it on unlocking the possibilities. As foolish as it may seem to try to collect old, almost useless, in terms of effects artifacts of dead and not-so-dead civilizations, many of them were paid for not even in money but in political weight. The High Sects within the Empire of the Arms, for example, were very fond of such things, which to them meant the same status, only much more necessary for the foreigners. In the Eternal, it was possible to boast of having a genuine collection of wooden masks of the Manyno unless at a gala, in front of other collectors. But for the Anointed Monkeys, it was sometimes impossible to get promoted without having enough evidence of antiquity.

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 07:13

The main thing was not to give away something much more valuable, something that held, if not the power, then the key to obtaining it. But that was what the Three of the Library and their never-closing-eye altar, not to mention the hundreds of private filing cabinets and archives, needed to find the real gems hidden among the precious trash.

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 07:20

"And these tablets!" The guy, who turned out to be such a history buff that it was time to give him a degree, so full of knowledge and uncharacteristic for, in fact, a potential supreme accountant at the magic guild, continued talking. "They may seem like nothing, but believe me, if you know that the signs depicted on them will become clear only if you can decipher other messages, left not in the tombs of the highest aristocracy of Anrianon but in the base of the cornerstones that stand on the ruins of the firstborn of each dynasty... Oh, these stone pieces will at once raise their price, if not to their full weight in gold, then to half that amount! Wouldn't you like to know what's really hidden here, almost in plain sight? As a gift from one of the learned of those other writings?"

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 07:23

The young man in whose company she had been so calm, so confident that she did not even want to think about what was going on outside the manor, was now offering Valzea something of real value since such a secret had not been made known before, and only for the right to be in her company. The gift was undoubtedly nice, and as a child of the blood of the Eternal, she accepted such a thing as the absolute norm. But to completely ignore the beautiful gesture would be a bit misguided because he was not just the fifth son of one of the counts but, in fact, the heir to the guild of the first ten, albeit at the bottom of the list.

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 07:25

"To leave such, such, such a gift unanswered..." Valzea tried to find the right words, but the patterns of speech and behavior learned and practiced three hundred times at numerous parties as if did not want to tell her the right manners, the right role, a set of formal and informal signs, denoting easy approval and gratitude. "It will be bad, wrong."

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 07:28

Was it even worth bringing it up? She was kind of building her collection, so she should have... should know most of what he was saying, right? But if she did, why didn't she recognize a word the boy said? And his manners, which at first seemed excessively coarse... He's a bookkeeper, even if he's a very high-ranking one, and in the future, he'll be the second person in Golden Feather. He was a personage enough to be introduced to her and for her to agree to talk to him, but he had never been taught to present himself. Or rather, there had been some lessons, but they had been given late, not allowing him to absorb the realization of his position with milk, so he behaved frankly, not at the level of a conversation with her, the daughter of the Eternal. He confused words, repeated himself, could not form sentences properly, and even allowed the appearance of parasitic words!

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 07:30

Just like her...

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 07:31

Valzea did not press and did not humiliate her interlocutor without reason, though, in another situation, she would have verbally assaulted him so that he would not even look in her direction. In another situation, she would have had to do it so as not to damage her credibility by the very fact she tolerated such eloquence around her. But since today he was a guest, passing some important documents through her (important enough for the donor to be honored to give them to one of the Dynasty, but not valuable enough to allow him to enter the reception room of the Emperor himself), she limited herself only to those jabs, which the interlocutor could not understand due to the lack of those very instincts of social dueling.

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 07:33

The lad, realizing his own eloquence, even made one of the bargains, exchanging historical references for her manners, i.e. lesson of good manners, i.e. why can't she remember, can't she keep track of the conversation, unravel the verbal lace and weave her own into several layers? She can, she used to, she could.....

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 07:35

"'Only the right to call your name, my dear, will be a pleasure to my lips." The attempt to understand was interrupted by her interlocutor's answer, so measured and methodical, like a stream of spring wind in the morning. "Do you agree to such a bargain?"

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 07:37

"Of cou... I mean, yes, I agree." Machinally, Valz.. Az...she shook her head as if trying to catch the feather of a flying bird to catch up with her thought. "Go on, tell me more."

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 07:41

"In these tablets is hidden a part of the so-called free key of inheritance.'" The princess listened attentively, catching every word, but somehow, understanding less and less. "Among the An'Liiith, or rather, among a certain part of their aristocracy, it was customary to leave such things behind to pass on some of their promises, paying for them with a portion of one's inheritance. Having deciphered the tablets, having performed the necessary rituals first on the foundation stone of the family nest and then on the burial place (it is desirable to choose the one where the last of the family is buried, but it is possible to use the family crypt) you take upon yourself a part of the unfulfilled contracts of the fallen house. In return, the one who has tried and passed the test of the ritual will receive a few titles, some of which will be upgraded or even added to if the commitments made are fulfilled."

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 08:09

"This... is that, uh. very helpful?" Hesitantly, the princess tried to get a word in. "I guess?"

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 08:10

"Not so much, but the point is quite different, dearie." Interrupting her babble was a rather smiling young man. "Most of these contracts are either automatically deemed unenforceable due to the centuries that have passed or just as automatically have been long since fulfilled. If one chooses the right ones to accept, one can rise to prominence with almost no risk or effort."

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 08:11

"А... I see." Her words seemed almost a whisper by now, and her body caressed against her will at the caressing hands, the warm touch, the palms slipping under her dress. "I see. Yes."

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 08:12

"Oh, my dear." The interlocutor seemed to brighten even more. "It will be my true pleasure to describe to you the heritage hidden in these tablets. Ah, if I knew a little more about this house, this stronghold, your estate. Would you agree to trade my story for a few of yours?"

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 08:13

She agreed, a boon even in a mind so clouded she had enough of other people's secrets. Her Dynasty's estate was filled to the brim with them. So full, in fact, that it would be easy to find a dozen such stories that could be exchanged for something far more tangible than a few old legends of no direct use. If it weren't for her eloquence, the stiffness that made her shy and stiff in every situation.....

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 08:18

"Uh-huh..." With a slurred tongue and no longer understanding what she had agreed to, the girl confirmed the arrangement.

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 07:37

And then the next one.

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 07:38

And the one that followed it.

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 07:38

And once more.

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 07:38

Deal after deal, where each time she had to pay with something strange, slipping from her memory at once. Like her name had slipped away, like her honed skills had gone, like the knowledge of all-all-all her secrets had evaporated, like the ability to decide, to express one's own will, like the understanding of a written text and the ability to write it had dissolved into a cozy fog, as the ability to walk on two legs had expired with a piercing heat.

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 08:19

Contract by contract.

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 07:39

Deal bu deal.

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 07:39

Toward the end, she didn't understand a word of what was said, only nodding, agreeing, simply because she had forgotten everything else. She had forgotten how to do anything other than agree. A string of saliva flowed from the mouth that opened in an attempt to make a sound. The uncomfortable and stiff clothing was gone, and someone's hands were already wrapping a dainty necklace around her naked neck that looked like a fine collar.

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 08:21

"Well, that's it." The words make no sense, but from the tone of the speaker, she -who is she? - caught contentment and a slight weariness which, if she could have thought of it, could easily have been mistaken for pleasure at the fact of having accomplished a difficult task. "It is even a pity, Vazi, a great pity that you will not understand further. I would give you back some of the benefits, but you are now anyway useless."

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 08:23

Useless.

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 07:27

Useless.

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 07:27

For some reason, this particular set of sounds seemed familiar, somehow prickly and unpleasant, like her bare buttocks touching cold marble. She shuffled her feet and hands, crawling after the unhurried figure, saliva and her juices staining the floor as she continued to replay the silly sounds in her head.

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 08:24

Useless.

Camrad_RIP 11.09.23 в 07:27