Requiem

past | 20- another birdcage

He was almost always never home. If home could be described as the majestic walls of the Arseni estate. It felt like she traded one birdcage for another.

But then the grappling for power had been more than before. It seemed as if, thankfully Tristan was on Marco's faction.

"You'll meet with Marco wouldn't you?" She asked the young Duke Alarie, who was sipping tea in front of her. Clement Alarie was like a younger brother to her, and also Tristan's ally and a partner in the mine exploration. Mine exploration was probably a disguise for revolution. He visited the estate once in a while. In times when Tristan was busy for a bit, Dhalia invites him for tea, and they developed an amicable friendship.

If she wanted to talk to Marco, Clement Alarie is the only way.

And for her, this would be her first step.

"Please tell him, if he ever wanted to summon the guardians— he could always ask me."

He furrowed his brows. "You can't summon." It was a well know fact.

Dhalia wasn't sure if she could share that she in fact could, but that could endanger Tristan as well. "In theory! Even I know how to summon in theory. Marco was never educated about it before he's thrown in the academy."

.....

"Look, look Dhalia, I can summon Meltune now!" Marco grinned brightly, as the spirit in its fish version,  began circling him.

Marco had the makings of a benevolent and fair leader. Who had a big heart and was loved by the people. It also helps that he was strongly supported by his childhood friend Clement Alarie.

Clement huh. He always seemed so troubled and angry. He wonders how he even became friends with Marco, but from Marco's stories—Clement was the brother he could lean on during their Academy days. Those two had history. Clement could be out there, in his quest to exorcise the demon who stole his family's riel, who stole his brother's body, but he was here supporting Marco's revolution.

With kids like these, she's sure Seoris is in for a bright future.

She only heard bits and pieces of the downfall of the great Alarie family. When Caelus, a criminal feared from all sides of the continent, tried to steal their family's power— the riel. The Alarie Family's riel had always been a mystery to her. If the Di Carita could track the jewels of gods and summon familiars, the Alarie in turn could use their riel, mainly to kill. It was described as an aura so lethal it could cause hallucinations or outright death. The riel was just pure evil, those who had encountered it say.

In contrast, the Arseni had this uncanny ability to communicate with the departed, and open and close the gates of the dead. The gates of the dead is a relic that the gods left, connecting two planes of existence. The land of the living and the land of the dead. Crazy, huh.

There are really lots of families with weird abilities in Seoris. Lores all unanimously say that everything started in Seoris. It was the cradle of gods, so the people had a plethora of unique abilities.

Meltune, an octopus familiar, floated around them carefully with its beady eyes. In lores it was described as a sea monster but Marco could only summon it in its passive form.

It seemed that whatever magic they had is wanning.

And the gods seem to be turning their backs on them.