The Transcenders

Chapter 58 - Obscure Guild (13)

Isaac enveloped Gabriella in his arms as she leaned onto him, seeking comfort and releasing her sorrows.

"Gab..."

"I'm sorry." Ejiro brushed his forehead and looked down at Gabriella. He took a deep breath.

"We shouldn't have used you, Gabriella. Abducting you was wrong, even if you're a vampire who's killed thousands of people. I realize I can't hold it against you. Your parents were the ones at fault, and I killed them both."

Gabriella looked at him, unsure if she should be directing hate or forgiving him. 'Can I even forgive myself? With all I've done in my 14 years, I'm not any better than my parents,' she thought.

Ejiro breathed in again. "But, while we could have been more moral, I don't regret killing your father. He was a bad guy. You can resent me and my master, but at the end of the day, it isn't the how that matters; it's the what. We accomplished something great today."

Gabriella sighed. She needed time to let what had happened over the past few months sink in. While the Vampiric Queen had lost her parents, she gained two new friends and possibly a place to belong in the West DA.

Ejiro knew what he said wouldn't earn Gabriella's forgiveness, nor Isaac and Aaron's. He figured this type of thing needed time.

Seth Rayn gently tapped his staff to the ground with a stern expression.

"My disciple is correct," he told Gabriella. "I originally wanted to kill you- don't take it personally- the vampires are the Dark Faction's pawns, but perhaps you could join the DA and do some good.

"Although we brought you here, we didn't put any restraints on you, and you could have easily escaped at Tech-Think, but you didn't. Maybe it was foolishness, but- I think, deep down, as you had left the Obscure Guild for a while and came back, it felt different than you remembered, foreign.

"There isn't any place for this cruel guild in the continent. I mean, do you know how it was founded?"

Gabriella contemplated. Of course, she knew the answer. It was during her father's youth. He had just become a vampire and follower of the Dark Faction. But she knew the master-rank magician was trying to tell her something else.

Aaron sat down next to Gabriella and Isaac. "During the Second War, Orbarium fell, and it became the Obscure Guild."

"You're correct," Seth nodded. "But there are topics your history books avoid."

He proceeded to explain the past as if he had lived through it. Orbarium, the place of orbs, was the largest regrouping of natives. At the time, there were about a billion citizens spread all over the South. Their territory occupied nearly a third of the West Continent. Apart from the Central Continent, Orbarium had one of the biggest economies, constantly ranking in the top 10 wealthiest countries.

The big cities were full of magical objects, light, and pointy towers. To the capital, in the centre of the Obscure Guild, there was a giant stadium. Mages would fight in grand tournaments and obtain luxurious prices. People from all over came to spectate or to compete, and the Western Continent's natives proved they could live just fine without being colonized.

What allowed this luxurious lifestyle was a prospering trade-oriented economy. Half a decade back, the residents had found large magical fishes in their waters. Previously, these fishes had only gotten found and bred in the South Continent.

A gold rush came: the fishermen and breeders jumped into the ocean, and the new industrial sector prospered. The guild followed the South Continent's example and started trading the orbs with the central guilds. Money flowed into everyone's wallets, and the residents voted to change the Guild's name to Orbarium.