Селеста / Сelesta: Глава 14

Chapter 14

Camrad_RIP 19.09.22 в 20:10

"I can't get used to this silence," complained Hustin. "It's completely unnatural."

Camrad_RIP 02.10.22 в 07:52

"It's as if the rest here is natural," the Mistress looked at the gray, lifeless landscape with a completely unreadable expression on her face. "At least it's safe near the border."

Camrad_RIP 02.10.22 в 07:52

"The mortals say you have a palace in the center."

Camrad_RIP 02.10.22 в 08:42

"They say a lot of things," Celesta twitched the corner of her lips dismissively. "I've heard their tales. They say I have a throne, continuous orgies with sacrifices, demon acolytes, and young boys in transparent pants. Hustin, the matter is still disintegrating in the center. Not as actively as a hundred years ago, but still!"

Camrad_RIP 02.10.22 в 08:44

"What are you telling me? As if I haven't seen it myself," the mage grimaced. "The last time we went deep was about eight months ago, testing a new version of the defense. It was a failure. Remember, Cache? Does it feel the same, or has something changed?"

Camrad_RIP 02.10.22 в 08:44

Standing beside him with a dejected look, the chick listened to herself and shook her head.

Camrad_RIP 02.10.22 в 08:53

"It's almost the same, Master. The sensation of expiring energy, only with an added fiery component. A phantom feeling of heat inside, though there were no burns." She raised her naked hand in proof. "Perhaps not enough time had passed?"

Camrad_RIP 02.10.22 в 08:59

"I don't think anything will change," Celesta replied. "Well, let's wait. We'll sit on the ruins over there, Hustin, get the blanket."

Camrad_RIP 02.10.22 в 09:07

Maître dragged a large piece of cloth from his shoulder bag, voicing his thoughts in passing:

Camrad_RIP 02.10.22 в 09:12

"Not a good place for a picnic."

Camrad_RIP 02.10.22 в 09:13

"In every sense of the word," the Mistress pushed the human skull away with the toe of her sandal. The rest of the skeleton bones had long since crumbled to dust. "At one time bandits used to throw living people in here. It was an execution for their people who had done something wrong. Just think about it, Cache, when you've just balanced the Seal and have plenty of other things to do, and suddenly you have a full-fledged victim, and a sapient one! I can't count how many of these freaks I had to kill before the rest of them remembered not to feed the Abyss."

Camrad_RIP 02.10.22 в 09:21

"I remember you said there are still some smart asses left, don't you?"

Camrad_RIP 02.10.22 в 09:23

"Hustin, there are far fewer of them now, and the Seal is firmly in place. It's not like it used to be."

Camrad_RIP 02.10.22 в 09:25

The first twenty years of independence in Celesta's memory merged into an incessant nightmare. The constant skirmishes with the fanatics of the temple bands - then, after the Curse, there were unusually many of them. The pressure of the authorities, even in the difficult years of civil war, sought ways to interfere with the risens. The separatism of individual communities that wanted autonomy. The deaths of trustees, the broken structure of government. Time was constantly in short supply, and the need to monitor the integrity of the seal made me want to grit my fangs and curse myself for the deal she had made.

Camrad_RIP 02.10.22 в 10:40

On the other hand, did she have a choice? What would the true priests of Morvan have done if they had heard the refusal? And the price they had paid... There was no telling how many mistakes she and Hastin would have made in creating the ritual of turning a mortal into a Child, if not for the knowledge the true ones had passed on. In fact, all blood magic came from them.

Camrad_RIP 02.10.22 в 10:58

Another positive aspect of the agreement was the possibility of blackmail. It was never voiced out loud, but Celesta knew it was always taken into account by those in power when making decisions. They didn't immediately believe that the vampire ruler controlled the spread of the Tyranus Curse, but once they did, they became much more cooperative. They had to be told, however, about the inner workings of the perfectly black orb, which killed every living thing that entered it. Had the royal mages benefited much from this information? Well, they know now that exactly in the center of the curse is gradually shrinking failure in the Abyss and surrounds it completely empty area of a hundred meters radius, where there is not even the dust. What's next?

Camrad_RIP 02.10.22 в 11:00

"How long do you think it will last?"

Camrad_RIP 02.10.22 в 11:01

"If the rate of shutdown doesn't change, three hundred years," Celesta answered without hesitation. She had long ago calculated how much longer it would take to finally close the gap. "The last year seems to be recovering faster, so I hope it's less."

Camrad_RIP 02.10.22 в 11:05

"When you were in Zonna, did you have an unmotivated desire to return? It is not clear to me whether the distance to the Seal in its current form makes a difference."

Camrad_RIP 02.10.22 в 15:02

"No. That call that used to turn me back when I tried to leave Taleya is gone. So either Zonna isn't far enough away, or the distance doesn't matter. Rather, I had the urge to stay away for a long time."

Camrad_RIP 02.10.22 в 15:27

Celesta felt she could open up and speak frankly in Caché's presence. The younger vampiress, for one thing, was a chick of her close friend, an associate, meaning she was growing up before her eyes. Not a daughter, but, in a sense, a niece. Secondly, the warlock proved by deed that, despite a certain flightiness, is far from stupid and knows how to be silent.

Camrad_RIP 02.10.22 в 15:28

If she were a little less enthusiastic, she'd be priceless. However, both of Hastin's descendants are such fanatics of the magical arts. Just like their ancestor. Sometimes that fascination comes back to bite them in the ass, like now. Caché sat grimly, hunched over, wearing a light dress that looked out of place in the gray gloom of Cursed Zone. Here energy left bodies very quickly, relatively long inside could only older and those of the younger vampires who had mastered the practices of power control at a high level. But even mages, even Celesta, could not avoid the bone-chilling cold.

Camrad_RIP 02.10.22 в 16:24

"Caché." The girl raised her head in silence. She had been almost constantly silent lately, limiting herself to answering questions. "Maybe that's enough?"

Camrad_RIP 02.10.22 в 16:24

The magician smiled miserably and shook her head.

Camrad_RIP 03.10.22 в 09:30

"If we may wait a little longer, Mistress."

Camrad_RIP 03.10.22 в 09:30

Celesta moved closer to her, looked into her eyes, and gently took her icy palms.

Camrad_RIP 03.10.22 в 09:34

"Darling, no matter how long you've been sitting here, you can't completely eradicate the power of the spirit. Such gifts remain forever. Don't object - exactly gifts!" she raised her voice. "You'll understand that when you learn to use yours. For now, just accept it. Or are you afraid you won't be able to enchant anymore?"

Camrad_RIP 03.10.22 в 09:35

Judging by the changed expression in her eyes and the trembling aura, she guessed correctly.

Camrad_RIP 03.10.22 в 10:01

"Of course, you could. Your master faced the same problem in his time. He and his mentor had to find new ways to use his inner energy because it changed so much after he became a risen. But they got through it, and pretty quickly. It's going to be the same for you. Provided you don't run away from the problem and start solving it. Right now. Go ahead, start."

Camrad_RIP 03.10.22 в 10:03

At first, she just made her straighten up. It took a while, but with her back straightened she didn't look like a beaten dog. Then came the simplest of exercises, which she didn't get to do right the first time, but after a few successful attempts, her face seemed to lighten. She didn't seem to believe she could do anything. Hastin, who was monitoring her condition, slightly complicated the tasks, changing them depending on the reaction of the chick's body, looked at the result and with satisfaction commanded:

Camrad_RIP 03.10.22 в 12:37

"That's enough for now. You have almost no energy left. We'll continue at home when you're fed."

Camrad_RIP 04.10.22 в 06:31

"Аh? Yes, Master!" It was as if the mage had come to her senses, not at all like the wise vampiress whose age was over a century old. The prospect of losing her powers seemed to have terrified her.

Camrad_RIP 04.10.22 в 06:31

"We've been sitting for an hour," Celesta determined, guided by her feelings. "That's a good result. Did she get more strength?"

Camrad_RIP 04.10.22 в 06:33

"It's more likely that Caché's energy is more "viscous" now, it leaches out of his body more slowly," Hustin thought to himself. "We'll take that into account while training."

Camrad_RIP 04.10.22 в 06:34

"You should know better. Are we all set? Then let's go."

Camrad_RIP 03.10.22 в 17:15

The return journey did not take long. On the surface, the Sphere of the Curse was surrounded by a high wall, and work began almost the day after its appearance. At first, people were simply afraid that the death zone will grow, and leave the Capital, and a few responsible officials bombarded the higher-ups with letters and posted on the main approaches guards. The bolder ones. Then, convinced that the sphere was stable and not expanding, the palace decided to demolish all buildings within ten meters and build a wall as high as possible. Plans were thwarted by the outbreak of war, construction was slow and did not end until fifteen years after it began. The vampires treated the wall as an element of scenery and nothing more - there were enough passages under the ground that led inside the sphere and were not at all affected by it.

Camrad_RIP 04.10.22 в 06:50

Already at home, near the lab door, having sent the chick away and surrounded them with a sphere of silence, Hustin thanked quietly:

Camrad_RIP 04.10.22 в 06:51

"Thank you."

Camrad_RIP 04.10.22 в 06:54

"Don't thank me," Celesta refused. "Cache is no stranger to me. You should get her in shape and make sure she doesn't make any more mistakes like that. You magicians are playing with such powers that you can't be careless."

Camrad_RIP 04.10.22 в 06:58

"I'm sure she's learned her lesson well," grinned the maître d' sternly.

Camrad_RIP 04.10.22 в 09:33

"Let's hope so. She's had enough adventures, and I don't like surprises, even if they're nice."

Camrad_RIP 04.10.22 в 09:35

"All's well that ends well. Caché survived, became more experienced, and, hopefully, wiser. In a way, I'm even grateful to the priests - if they hadn't dug up that temple, the girl might have considered herself invulnerable for a long time."

Camrad_RIP 04.10.22 в 09:38

"The girl? You've been guarding her too much. I hope you don't swing the other way now, and try something like this with the other students," Celesta joked. "Who else out there likes digging through old ruins? Triad or Purity?"

Camrad_RIP 04.10.22 в 09:38

"Both of them. Strange, because they have access to the archives of the ruling dynasty."

Camrad_RIP 04.10.22 в 09:42

"Greed and unwillingness to give an advantage to the competition. Such a pity they hate us so much more."
* * *

Camrad_RIP 04.10.22 в 09:54

Vantal did not like working outside the city walls.

Camrad_RIP 04.10.22 в 09:54

It's not that, as some morons whispered, there aren't his favorite rats in the countryside. There are, and lots of them. And rats are not his favorite, he had the best feeling about hamsters. The attachment remained from his childhood, when his mother, whose face he had long forgotten, but well remembered the warm hands and the feeling of safety in the soft embrace, gave him a cage with a funny little beast. Well, he didn't like villages for another reason.

Camrad_RIP 04.10.22 в 10:08

He has long been one of the best masters of his chosen path of the Beast. It is rather amusing: the right (or left, as the case may be) hand of the Guard Commander and the first Blade of the Mistress walks a path whose unspoken head is considered to be Lord Latham's worst enemy. He used to be considered. Vantal's unusual and, in some ways, the unique ability has led to him often being sent to steal documents, eavesdrop on important conversations, plant something in the master of the house just before a search, or perform other, similar tasks. And while in most cases there were no surprises with city houses, it was impossible to predict in advance what to expect from country estates.

Camrad_RIP 04.10.22 в 10:11

The fact is that in the estates the magicians were not restrained. In the cities, they had to take into account government decrees, local ordinances, and numerous regulations and standards, but in the villages, their activities were much less controlled. If the estates stood secluded, the Son of the Sea's commands could be ignored as well, putting up defenses as the creative itch dictated. Of course, the general basis was preserved, ritual is ritual, but the same power signs or northern rune chains could be made in very different ways.

Camrad_RIP 04.10.22 в 10:17