Селеста / Сelesta: Глава 2

Chapter 2

Camrad_RIP 18.07.22 в 16:10

Zonna, the capital of the Land of Blueness. A city of contrasts.

Camrad_RIP 18.07.22 в 16:14

The lush greenery and stone slabs of squares. The poor shacks of the peasants and the lace spires of the palaces soaring high. Dozens of temples, guardians of divine wisdom, and hundreds of establishments known for their easygoing nature, from theaters to "tea houses" with cheerful staff always ready to have fun. The state cult of the Keeper of the Waters, Derkana the Fickle, and the austere, black monolith of the cathedral of the Lord of Darkness Morvan, patron of wizards and sorcerers.

Camrad_RIP 20.07.22 в 08:46

It is to Derkana that the city owes its current appearance.

Camrad_RIP 20.07.22 в 08:47

When Prince Kono, who took the throne name Konir the Second, declared his nephew bereft of grace and deposed, not everyone supported him. Despite the monstrous sacrifices of the Tyran Curse, and despite the severe loss of reputation, a significant portion of the army remained loyal to Irrhan. A civil war broke out, rifts rippling through all slices of society. Fighting took place in all provinces, with no silent corners left at all, and the hegemon's weakened neighbors took advantage of the momentum. The bloody meat grinder, in which there were no winners, lasted nine years and ended with the signing of the "Treaty of the Two Flowers". The parties mutually recognized each other and divided the formerly single state into two roughly equal parts - north and east went to Taleya. South and west now belonged to the newly created Land of the Blueness, with its capital in Zonna.

Camrad_RIP 20.07.22 в 08:50

Throughout the struggle, Konyr positioned himself as a conservative, a follower of the old laws and customs. In particular, he never forgot to recall that the divine patron of the dynasty was Derkana the Fickle, whose cult also traditionally occupied a peculiar place among the other temple trends. The servants of the Keeper of the Waters were considered "officials of religion"; in other words, no official event took place without their participation, they necessarily participated in commissions related to church squabbles, issued certificates of trustworthiness to representatives of new religions, and in general were more like a government department than a group of clergymen.

Camrad_RIP 20.07.22 в 08:53

It is only natural that in the new place, creating the structure of government, the king copied the old scheme. Why change something that works well?

Camrad_RIP 20.07.22 в 08:53

In Zonna, the servants of Derkana, and consequently their royal lord, had a little problem of an ideological nature. The city was situated in a valley with a river that was not the most full-flowing, and there were no other sources of water nearby. To the south, the steppe flowed into the desert; to the north, too, the steppe gradually turned into forests. There were difficulties with the administration of services, and people simply began to laugh. And there was nothing to be done about it - this was not the seaside town of Taleya, there were not even any lakes of decent size here.

Camrad_RIP 20.07.22 в 08:56

At other times, they would have limited themselves to changing the ritual component and forget about it. At that time, during the war, it was a question of the legitimacy of power.

Camrad_RIP 20.07.22 в 08:57

To smooth over the rumors, in addition to the obligatory beheading, Konir started building. First, he ordered to dig a large lake, in the center of which he erected a temple of Derkana, and obliged the priests to hold daily services there. The priests didn't object - it was a usual and well-paid job. Secondly, Konir surrounded his palace, a large structure, with a wide moat, declaring that thus the energy of the element of water worked to his advantage and allowed him to better hear the voice of his ancestor. What exactly he heard is unknown, but the moat worked well as a defensive structure, stopping the first, most furious onslaught during the city's only assault by loyalist troops.

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 17:38

After watching the lord's actions, his retinue followed suit. It became the custom to surround the estates with wide ditches, wider than the streets, filled with water. The nobles competed with each other over the richness of the embankments, lined sections of their banks with painted marble slabs, and considered those who confined themselves to ordinary building stones as beggars. As a result, by now Zonna consisted of two parts: the Old Town, with its suburbs and simple houses, similar to dozens of other towns, and the New Town, where boats sailed in the streets and no horses were seen at all.

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 17:41

As time passed, there was not enough water. The Itir River, flowing through the valley, was never full and could not adequately fill the artificially created floodplain. Some of the canals began to shallow. By order of the next ruler, upstream irrigation works were carried out and the channels of several other smaller rivers were changed, resulting in a minor ecological disaster. It broke out in the southern parts of the country and partially affected the territories of the Azar Sultanate, causing another war. However, that is another story.

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 17:42

Medea's estate was on the border of the Old Town and the New Town. That is, it had its pier and the obligatory boat shed, but the main exit and the front gate were located on the ground, leading to a street paved with wild stone. The quirks of the golden-haired lover of poetry and theater were understood by high society - it is well known that the undead does not like flowing water.

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 17:43

"In my opinion, you're taking a risk by openly showing your nature. People will never be able to forget that there is a predator near them."

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 17:43

Celesta hoped that her arrival in the city had gone unnoticed. Or at least the house-watchers hadn't realized who exactly was visiting the leader of the local undead community. Medea's entourage is large, and it's easy to get lost in it. Latham, of course, was unhappy - he, the guardsmen, and most of the mortals who had accompanied his Mistress on her journey had to be housed in the city, in inns and houses belonging to the cultists. But if the appearance of one new vampire, who looked harmless at first glance, would not cause alarm, then the news of the arrival of a dozen elder risens would stir the imagination of those concerned.

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 17:48

Latham, the cunning Medea, would not let him into her house either. She intended to have a little privacy with her friend.

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 17:48

"If a predator looks safe, they won't kill him, they'll put him in a cage and start admiring him," Medea muttered without opening her eyes. "The main thing is to successfully pretend that you are harmless. And you sit in a cage."

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 17:49

She liked to lie like that, snuggled up against Celesta's side, covered with the same light blanket. It was a habit from the days when the two of them hid in the sewers, not knowing if they would survive the next day. Perhaps nowhere else did she feel as safe as with her sister. Medea, the Sweet-voiced, the Warlock, the Beautiful One, walked through her not-life with a smile, trying not to remember her fears - but that didn't mean she was rid of them altogether.

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 17:51

"Besides, only five out of the whole community live openly," she went on to defend her chosen way of life. After-life. "The other thirty-eight are still in the shadows."

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 17:51

Many people sincerely believe that bureaucracy is evil. Much of the population of the kingdoms thought the same of Celeste. Their alliance was inevitable. The statistical department organized in the office counted one thousand six hundred and twenty-two vampires, of whom only eight lived in seclusion. The largest of the communities was Taleya, both for historical reasons and because of a long tradition of sending young people to the court of the Mistress. The Capital was also home to the School of Paths, extremely popular in the last hundred years, the Great Archives, and the Hall of Mysteries, where every cultist dreamed of being admitted. Other congregations boasted far fewer accomplishments, though Medea was justifiably proud of her city's temple to the Lord of Darkness. Her closest aide, Egard, served as its Abbot.

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 17:54

"You'll have to do your best to repair the damage to your reputation," the little risen remarked. "Rumors of the Zurvan horde's outrages must have reached here by now, no matter that it's another kingdom."

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:09

Medea turned slightly, looking up at the angular teenage profile from below.

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:09

"Did you find out why he betrayed us?"

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:09

"He wanted impunity," Celesta answered reluctantly. "He wasn't satisfied with the restrictions I imposed. There have been preconditions for disruption before, but we - I preferred to ignore them. The Paths of the Beast have a natural tendency toward simple solutions, natural cruelty to which I attributed incidents."

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:11

"The immediate impetus was an acquaintance with that fugitive from the Seven Rivers. Do you remember the expedition we were organizing?"

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:11

"Of course. I've been hearing all about it!"

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:12

"It's not going to happen, I canceled the preparations. There's no one to send now. It was originally supposed to be made up of the risens the least influenced by the Sun. They had a long march across the steppe, and there was no telling how their circumstances would play out. The local vampires are unlikely to react calmly to the appearance of two dozen strong outsiders. Who is the most light-tolerant of all? Zervan and his entourage. They were."

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:13

Kalderan handed over all the materials he had collected on the Seven Rivers to Zervan, and in addition, Sattar had a trespasser caught in Lascaris in prison. About once every five to ten years, rebels come from the west, behaving as they are used to at home. They are usually either destroyed on the spot or if they have not done anything serious, sent to Taleya. Our chief scout decided that this Gurban-ogoon might be useful as a source of information, and gave him to Zervan.

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:18

"Kalderan's clever, of course, but he's very..." Medea snapped her fingers, trying to find a way to phrase it. "Too sly at times. Doesn't always see the obvious things in time."

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:18

"Yes, he has that disadvantage. The specifics of his chosen occupation," Celesta agreed dryly. "Anyway, Gurban-ogoon told Zervan about the Seven Rivers, answered his questions, and told him how the risens lived there. At some point, Zervan realized that he liked those customs and wanted to live the same way. To walk among the people without hiding. To kill anyone who didn't like it. To accept sacrifices from babies and young girls who dropped blood for the first time. Openly rule tribes, not just cultists. To go camping, to amuse themselves by torturing enemies. Or just mortals encountered along the way."

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:20

"You know, back in my world," Celesta shook her head vaguely, "there was such a concept as 'temptation'. Demons were thought to push people into sin so that when they died, they could get their souls."

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:21

"Pushing?" Medea wondered. "It's a strange concept."

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:21

"Any faith is illogical. Well, I would say that the Zervan did not withstand the temptation. Too much of what he heard coincided with his inner dreams."

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:22

Celesta tried not to remember her past life before she was born into the undead. It had been, and it had been, so why should she trouble herself? She just used the knowledge. For her part, Medea did not often ask her sister about the past either, though she was always eager to catch a glimpse of a world without magic, where they did not believe in gods. The singer feared that Celesta might one day want to go back there - and she would.

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:25

"It's not your fault," she said quietly, trying to comfort. "Everyone chooses for themselves, remember?"

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:26

"I missed the situation, didn't notice when he changed. I should have controlled him more tightly. And if the seal hadn't finally settled six months ago, what would we have done? Quite possibly the Guardsmen would have lost a quarter of their ranks. Or if Zervan had been smarter and figured out to cut off the link to me? We could have searched for decades."

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:27

"His greed wouldn't have let him," Medea snorted. "Anyway, it happened the way it happened, and stop worrying. It's all over now."

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:28

"Nothing's over," there was a clang of metal in Celesta's voice that made her sister stiffen in surprise. "We've got to get rid of the Seven Rivers. We don't need a pustule in our backyard."

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:29

"What can we do about it? He lies beyond the steppe, we can't reach him with our strength."

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:29

"I don't know yet," agreed the little mistress. "I will think about it. But I firmly believe that the existence of a risens culture, built on principles opposed to our own, is a serious threat. They must be destroyed for our own safety."

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:30

"Not right now, I hope?" Medea stretched out in a capricious tone. "I have a production at the Royal Opera House, and I don't want to be distracted."

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:30

"I'll wait until you're finished," Celesta finally smiled.

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:31

During the journey to Zonna she returned to her usual balanced state and reconciled herself to what had happened. Especially since things were not as bad as the mistress initially thought. Zervan's actions, judging from the spy reports, had not affected the loyalty of the cultists, something she feared most. The loss of much of the control of the criminal gangs is unpleasant, but not fatal. Of course, they bring in a lot of money, but they cause more headaches. Kalderan will pick up the most useful pieces of information, but the smugglers have long been under the thumb of Gardomann's structures. In addition to the elders, there are still some of Zervan's former associates who did not go with him - out of fear or loyalty, we must see. The oldest among them seems to be Alat, so he will take care of the gradual "streamlining" of the social bottom.

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:43

For the great, no joke, magician Hustin, the destruction of the Taleya Academy, the flight of the staff to Zonna, and the transition to an illegal regime had one unmistakable advantage. He could now do whatever he wanted and determine his research topics. As a vampire, before he was "under the hood" of the secret services, from which even the intercession of his mentor could not save him, and the topics of his research had to be coordinated with various authorities, including religious ones.

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:44

The top of the risens community had long sought ways to improve their own abilities, and Hustin was no exception in this matter. Thanks to Celesta's support, he interviewed all vampires over a hundred years old in a relatively short time, processed the material, and formulated the concept of Paths, linking magic, physiology, and psychology. In short: a risens abilities are related to what he is interested in, and what path he prefers to follow. Or, to quote the lofty language, your skills are your essence.

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:46

The Paths of the Warrior assumes high speed, above-average body strength, improved coordination, and direct magical skills. Fire, shield, skin strengthening, and the like. The Paths of Art deal more with social skills and focus on communicating with people, understanding their psychology, and indirectly controlling them. The Paths of the Beast appeal more to the darker sides of human nature, not evil, but savage, primitive. Those who follow the Paths of the Beast are always very strong physically, have great resistance to any external influences, but easily succumb to thirst and experience serious difficulties with self-control. They die more often than others and become elders less often.

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:47

The proportions are about equal; in the youngest age, before the transition to the second step, on average, three of the ten vampires belong to each of the main groups. The remainder, that is, one out of ten follows an unconventional Path. The path of Magic, like Hustin himself, Spirit, like Celeste, or Mysticism, like Merck, the Mistress's assistant in charge of working with cultists. And then there was Egard. Egard, whom the Elder and Mage disliked because he ruined his conception.

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:48

The only risen without any distinctive abilities. Equally good at everything. In other words, just above average.

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:49

Once it was Egard who Celesta had sent to Zonna with Medea, and she had never regretted that decision. She was well aware of her friend's erratic nature, so she chose her "nursemaid" meticulously. Egard did not fail, although at times he complained and asked to the hermitage, to the desert - anywhere, as long as far away from the direct superiors. The Night Mistress calmed him down, gave his little sister a scolding, and everything was back to normal.

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:51

Without seeming to show it, Medea appreciated the helper. Otherwise, she wouldn't have gone to the trouble of spending an insane amount of resources to make him the Abbot of the Temple of the Lord of Darkness.

Camrad_RIP 21.07.22 в 18:51