Serania was definitely the most promising port for an alliance in the sphere; named "the free city" it's ruler, Nightstar, was a half sylvan half angel. First one of those I've encountered to be honest, but I wasn't too concerned. Everything I was able to learn from the locals indicated she was fairly reclusive and left the day to day management of the city to her appointed representatives. Being from the empire this was an arrangement I was very comfortable with.
Of course, I would have to negotiate with her directly if I wanted any kind of actionable alliance. Instead of dismissing me out of hand or agreeing, she had told me I needed to speak with someone else before a decision could be made. I guess I was a bit too heavy handed when I asked if someone else needed to be consulted then the "free city" wasn't really all in her control. She frowned and said that I would understand later, after the meeting.
I don't know what I was expecting, but whatever it was it was not what I found. I was shown to a room on the second floor of the tower, and in it was nothing but a stone chair with a woman, who looked Dahron, sitting on it. She was dressed in a simple white gown and had no obvious weapons or anything of the sort on or near her. The only adornment on her was a ring made of orichalcum that looked to be of two intertwined snakes. I tried looking with Spinsight but I didn't see anything magical on her; not even the ring had an aura. I'm pretty good at seeing through illusions but despite my skill she appeared as non magical as a lump of non magical clay.
"I am Captain Rayfolk" I introduced myself since she didn't speak first. "I was told I needed to speak with you."
"Yes." She answered. Her voice had a gravity that I couldn't quite place. It was a high baritone, nothing specific I could mention about it but it nagged at my mind in a way that made the words impossible to ignore. "You are Warleader Rayfolk, pledged to the 3rd house, Duchess Katilinae is the one who sponsored you" At first when she called me 'Warleader' I was a bit annoyed, at myself really. I had tried to keep a low profile and not reveal more than necessary about my origins or true mission in these systems. But when she followed it up with that information I knew that she at least had been back home, to the Imperium; no one else would know those terms or associations. But I had to think quickly; I had to deduce whether she understood the implication of the words she said or if she had merely overheard them or gleaned them from someone's mind, maybe one of my crew. Such things, mind reading, were certainly possible; I myself had, and have, protections in place, but it's prohibitive to do that for every member of my crew. I knew I had to respond, though.
"Yes." I stated simply. "That is correct. You seem to know much about me but I don't even know what to call you." I almost slipped and said I don't know your name, but names are closely guarded in many cultures, especially in the Imperium.
"I am known as Emerald the Self Forged." She responded. Can't say the name rang a bell, it seemed oddly familiar though; like maybe something I should have known; but maybe it was just how she said, well everything she said. When I first saw her, I thought perhaps she was a Sylvan, a magical creature from another dimension that lived in magical forests. But at this point I was getting the sinking suspicion I knew exactly what she was. In the Imperium the only real citizens are Immortal Ones, an ancient race that kills their hosts and "turns" them into creatures like themselves. Now the younger ones are called 'vampires' but once they reach about 2000 years old, I don't know the exact number, they become citizens and "True Immortal Ones." Call one of them a 'vampire' and it's likely to be the last thing you ever do. They grow in power as they age, and by the time they become citizens have had ample time to study and perfect magic and other disciplines as well.
"I do beg your pardon, M'lady" I figured erring on the side of respect was usually a good bet. "But you seem to be more familiar with myself and my providence than I am with yours, are you perchance known by other titles?"
"I like you, Warleader Rayfolk" she said. "You have a way of being direct while also a knack for self preservation." The look in her eye when she said that last part is what convinced me. This was an Immortal One, probably one of the more powerful and titled ones. "I am sometimes known as the Princess of Blood, Handmaiden of the River of Blood, I am the Eldest of the first house, Princess of the first house in absentia." Oh faze, I thought! This is not good. Everyone in the Imperium knows that everything is run by The Queen of Blood. But no one, at least not any of us 'cattle' ever see her. Even my sponsor, Katilinae has never, not once in her many centuries of life, even met someone who met the Queen of Blood. She's more like a deity than an actual person. But the rules, which have been in place for tens of thousands of years, are very strictly enforced. The heads of the four major houses were Prince or Princess, depending on gender which may or may not change from decade to decade for the same individual. But no one, no one, could call themselves 'Prince of Blood' or 'Princess of Blood' To do so meant either that the individual was directly sired by The Queen of Blood herself, or was claiming to be. Those who claimed such things improperly always had a way of disappearing, usually very violently and publicly. But if she was the eldest of the first house that alone meant that she was older and more powerful than any Immortal that I had ever encountered. So I did the only thing that I could; I fell to my knees, dropping my halberd in the process.
"Forgive me, your Imperial Highness" I used the address for the leaders of the four houses, absentia be damned at this point I figured. "I did not recognize you."
"I did not come here to be recognized." she stated. "You will stand now, and retrieve your weapon." It wasn't so much an order as it was a statement of fact. "You have done an admirable job of keeping your true identity a secret in these spheres; whether by order of your sponsor Katilinae or your own instincts for self preservation, it is to be commended." I won't sugar coat it, I was scared. If what this woman, this creature, in front of me was saying was true then she could legally kill me and drink my blood and my heirs, of which there are none, would have no recourse. In the Imperium, all soldiers are considered property of one of the houses. Some living middle races were 'free-laborers' but most were little more than slaves, property of one of the Immortal citizens of the Imperium. Technically all property was owned by one of the houses or by individual citizens, but much of it was 'leased' to free-laborers; even most planets had a 'governor' that was not a citizen. "For reasons of my own, I too wish to keep my identity a secret; I must now ask for your word that you will refer to me only as Emerald the Self Forged or Self Forged"
"You have my word, Self Forged" I replied. My sponsor says I'm not much smarter than the average Dahron, but as the Self Forged herself noted I do have a knack for self preservation.
"Now tell me" she continued. "What is a warleader pledged to the third house doing so far from the Imperium?" Well biowaste. I knew I had to answer carefully.
"I don't mean to offend you by delaying an answer, Self Forged" I started. "But in order to not waste your time, it would improve my answer if I understood how much you know about the current situation in these systems." Now she could have just drank my blood, not enough to kill me but even a few drops would allow her to access my memories up to this point in my life. For whatever reasons of her own, she did not.
"I do like you, Warleader" she responded. "Because I find you so likeable, I will tell you a secret." This was not good. Secrets are not good things, in my experience. But I could hardly object at this point. "Before I do, why don't you tell me where you were when the temple at Yeryst fell to the Giant Lords' fleet." It wasn't really a question. But it confirmed that she did know about the fleet from Path that attacked the outer planet in Tzyeselja. They managed to destroy a temple to the Queen of Blood before an effective counter attack was made.
"I was in Roddani in the house of my sponsor, Self Forged" I answered truthfully.
"I see" she replied. "I will tell you where I was, though perhaps you won't believe me. I was at the side of Our Queen, The Queen of Blood. I heard her scream with the holes in my head. I personally bore witness to her oath of vengeance against Lothar and all who serve him" This was very bad. In my almost ten decades of service in the army of the Imperium, The Queen of Blood worked as a impersonal figure or force. Some of the priests at the temples claimed to receive visions form her; but that was as close as anyone got, even the citizens of the four houses. Emerald's emphasis on the word personal was unsettling in this context.
I told her all I had been told of my mission; which was to visit spheres beyond Path, which had already fallen to the Giant Lords, and make an assessment of which spheres had likely allies and opposition to the Giant Lords. My sponsor told me that a multisystem war was on the horizon and that I had been selected to command our forces in the spheres surrounding Path. I was to conduct reconnaissance and formulate a battle plan.
"And now, Rayfolk" I noticed she dropped the title. "I must request that you consider the Free City of Serania as off limits for your campaign. It is not to be attacked or embargoed and ships in it's port are to be given safe passage." That was a pretty tall ask. Maybe my curiosity got the better of me. I'd like to think I was just doing my due diligence as a soldier of the Imperium pledged to the third house.
"Again pardon my dullness, Self Forged, but do you ask this under your authority as the eldest of the first house or-" As soon as the words left my lips, I felt pain in my mind. Now a curious thing happens when a living sentient, for example a Dahron like myself, drinks the blood of an Immortal. Even just a drop or two and their mind becomes a part of your mind; it's called a 'blood bond' and it lasts your whole life. Even across spheres they can hear your thoughts and they can speak to you if they choose. As a Warleader I was required to bond myself to my sponsor, Katilinae. And at that moment she was screaming and it felt like stabbing me in my brain. For the first time since I entered the room, Emerald stood from the chair; she walked towards me. Maybe it was fear, but I'd like to say protocol is what kept me firmly standing in place.
"I really was starting to like you" she commented as she approached me. "I do not like leaning on borrowed authority, Warleader Rayfolk" She touched my chin with the index finger of her right hand. "I will answer your question on what authority I ask this presently, so do not stop listening before I am finished speaking." She removed her finger from my chin and swiveled back to face the chair, turning her back to me. I still had the halberd in my hand as I had when I entered. The gesture was unmistakable, she turned her back on me because she had absolutely nothing to fear from me. She resumed facing me and sat in the chair, but swung one leg over the arm of the chair so she was sideways in the chair. "Katilinae!" she called in a voice that spoke to my ears but also echoed through my mind in a weird type of telepathy that the Immortals can do. She was not speaking to me, but to my sponsor who was linked to my mind. Like I said, Immortals can listen to the thoughts of anyone they are bonded to, but this could be literally hundreds of individuals for one Immortal. Rarely are they actively listening.
"I hear you, Self Forged" I spoke with a voice and words that were not my own.
"Perhaps the cow would like to know what happened to your sire?" she raised her voice as if it were a question, but it definitely wasn't. 'Cow' is a term the Immortals use for living middle ones like myself, implying that we are just food for them. It's not a nice term, but this wasn't turning out to be a nice conversation. "I murdered him didn't I, Katilinae?" Even before the answer formed words inside my head I knew the answer. This was not a nice conversation at all. In the Imperium the Immortals can do pretty much whatever they want; but killing each other is one of the few absolute rules. This might explain why Emerald was here outside the Imperium. "I murdered him and drank his blood and I made you watch it, didn't I child?" I shuddered but it was the thousands of years old blood drinker inside my head that shuddered with me. "I murdered him because he and his sire arranged for one of the cows to assassinate my sister. My eldest sister, Ayisseath, the Blood Queen's Chosen One. You and the miserable wretches of your house had her killed. I killed every last child of your grand sire Kimath. And even then you couldn't get the Grand Court to sanction me, could you? Oh I forget, you were just a vampire then." 'vampire' is a term the Immortal Citizens use for their children that have not reached the age they consider full Immortal; again it's not a very nice word to them but we couldn't even see nice at this point in the conversation.
"I stopped because my sire asked me to, Katilinae." Emerald the Self Forged continued. "Ayisseath was the best of my sisters. She should be leading the first house now, and your stupid sire and her stupid fazing chattel took her from all of us; from all of us but also from me. I didn't abdicate because Our Queen demanded it of me, she did no such thing. I left because I know I am no replacement for my eldest sister, my beloved. But Malik is my child, his thoughts are my thoughts, my words are on his lips and my blood flows in his heart. I am the Handmaiden of Blood, the last of the four keepers of the river of blood. Where Malik listens to the blood that flows in his vassals so I hear the river. You know this, don't you Katilinae?"
"Yes, Handmaiden" Again the words came out of my mouth but they were neither spoken by me nor to me.
"You will not cross me on this, Katilinae of the blood of Lisimst of the third house. You will not cross me on this and you will tell the others that Nightstar and the Free City of Serania are under my personal protection" Emerald's words echoed inside my skull even as the sound faded from the room.
"Yes, Handmaiden" For the last time that day Katilinae spoke through my body.
"Warleader Rayfolk" My sponsors voice was gone from my mind, at least for the moment. "As eldest of the first house, sire of Malik Prince of the first house, I order that the Free City of Serania is under the protection of Emerald the Self Forged. You will not attack the city or the port in your campaign. Ships in port are considered neutral and are to be given safe passage for a distance of 1 days travel by spin engine from the port. Your ships may dock here and receive repairs at market rate, and will be afforded the same protections. Do I make myself clear?"
"As glass, Self Forged" I responded the only way I could.
