Interlude- Kazimierz

"As you requested Lord Savant, the eggs have been scattered throughout the Lakes and your agents have spread the news of their presence amongst the local villages. Zebreski reported that Baroness Lutsar has already captured a clutch of Drake eggs and one of the Green eggs." Kazimierz kept his head bowed, refusing to look into the yawning chasms that served as the Savant's eyes. He could have sensed his surroundings through his new gifts but it was difficult to get rid of his human nature so quickly, despite his time spent as a first stage Anima merged together with his colleagues. In a way it was a blessing.

Trying to perceive the Savant would drive him insane. He was a terrifying mass of energy. A singularity of souls tied to the world.

"Good work." The Savant sounded distracted and Kazimierz looked up, cursing himself at his sudden curiosity. Luckily, the Savant was peering out of a window with his hands behind his back. Wisps of black smoke rose from him occasionally, writhing in the air for a brief moment before they snapped back into his body. A sign he was thinking deeply. It happened to Kazimierz as well when his mind wandered.

It required conscious effort to appear human.

The Savant tapped the window frame a few times, his finger denting the wood ever so slightly with each impact.

"How goes your research?"

"While my attempts at merging a powerful inanimate soul are proceeding at pace, I'm hindered by a lack of raw materials." Kazimierz gestured and a rift opened up into his lab in the depths of the Savant's manor. A glowing blob sat ensconced in a massive glass jar, metal tubes and glass beakers tied to it from every side. Magical engines pumped furiously through the lab, streams of Mana being torn from the air to nourish the nascent soul he was cobbling together. "There's a threshold beyond which incremental increases just don't work. By my calculations one needs to add at least a thousand ordinary souls at a time for it to adhere."

"That won't be a concern for much longer." He shuddered at the apathy oozing from the Savant. It was a callous disregard for life, speaking of a thousand dead beings as if they were insignificant. The Savant turned to him and Kazimierz dropped his gaze. "Don't worry. I'm not going to destroy a few villages for your experiment. The Imperials will elect their Tribune and launch one of their foolish invasions soon. You'll find enough… materials… on their battlefields and Imperial souls should work far better than our petty human ones." There was a trace of disdain in his voice.

"Yes. The traces of Divinity in their blood should help me in the final step." He agreed.

"There's still ample time before you make the attempt. Nostrum's spell won't work?"

"No. Now that I have access to your notes and equipment, I ran the calculations again. Nostrum's spell does pierce the Shroud but it can't latch onto any Essence. I've tried combining it with some Azokarri spells, but they just won't mesh."

"Of course they won't. Nostrum's black Magic and Azokarri soul spells are antithetical by their very nature. What possessed you to make the attempt?"

Kazimierz shrugged. "Morales did something similar." He pointed at his chest and the shirt he wore unravelled to show veins of crimson and gold spiderwebbing across his torso.

"Your obsession with him is pointless in this case. Infusing Divinity into a spell is a completely different matter. No matter how contradictory they are, Divine laws bypass natural ones."

"I'm aware of the duality." Kazimierz couldn't control the dryness in his voice. "I just can't see why Demonic energy can't replace Divine."

The Savant looked at Kazimierz and sighed. "It's a question many people have asked. The answer unfortunately is far beyond your understanding."

"Don't treat me like a fool. I achieved my Mastership without training and under the scourge of thousands of dead beings."

"Your anger serves no purpose Kazimierz." The Savant pointed at the ceiling and then the ground. "Duality is what most Mages stumble upon in their research but the truth you learn when you reach the threshold of a Demigod is: there's a trinity. Divine, Demonic and Natural. Three sets of Laws operate on this land and they are what you must understand before you can become a Demigod. It's why there are so few of them now. Demonic influence is curtailed and their Magic is banished from these realms. Teleth's Shroud just adds another layer which makes it even harder to perceive these Laws."

Kazimierz gaped at the information. There wasn't a single hint of this anywhere even in the most ancient research he'd seen. "Impossible."

"Nothing's impossible. There's been a systematic suppression of this information since the Imperials ran from their Gods. The old witch in Avar huddles in her tower and sends her Crusaders to make sure no competition arises, while the Senroan Sages keep each other in check, too afraid someone will advance. The Illyri used to have the knowledge but their Unification war killed off their smartest Sages. Us humans might have a stable legacy but we're Aura users first, Mages second. As for the Imperials…" he chuckled. "What can a few hundred years of research count for? They're savages when it comes to Magic. Oh don't get me wrong, when it comes to Aura and Magic, Imperials are individually some of the most talented in existence, but talent can only take you so far and at the higher levels your heredity creates variations."

"That doesn't disprove my point." Kazimierz said, breathless at the Savant's casual tone. "If there's a Trinity my way should work."

"Once you become a Demigod," the Savant continued as if he hadn't heard his words. "You realise it's not just a Trinity. The world itself is… "

The world stopped.

Just for a fraction of a second everything froze.

It was a frozen moment which assailed Kazimierz's mind. His very soul was battered by the depths of eternity as time seemed to lose all meaning.

As quickly as it came, the sensation vanished and he found himself staring at the Savant's moving lips. The Savant was talking. He could hear him, but the words made no sense. His mind refused to understand, rejecting the very essence of his explanation.

The Savant sighed again and waved his hand in the air, saying something into the void. There was a dull click within Kazimierz and suddenly he could hear him again.

"This is why it's beyond your understanding."

Kazimierz took a shuddering breath even though he no longer needed air to survive.

"What was that?"

"Not something we can discuss." The Savant said with a wan smile.

He looked lonely.

Ancient.

"Well, let's forget this for now. As I was saying before. I'm not sure who's made this foolish attempt on Orlov's life but it benefits us more than anyone. Elya has confirmed Grand Duke Suzdal's support and Morales' mother will bring her allies to join. Morales may try to swing things in favour of the Third Princess but we have enough to stall him. The First Princess is an intriguing opponent but I believe we can tempt her to give up if we provide remuneration in the form of shares in the Blezak trading company. She's always wanted to gain a foothold in the Vezani glass trade. Things are moving along quite well but it's better to have assistance. I want you to send Zebreski and Rezkel into the Imperial Capital to assist my Coven. As for Brelax and Surtin, they're to head to the Senroan city of Ado. The Empress of Senro is making a tour of her holdings and the Warlords are preparing some hurdles for her. Parlour tricks to be sure, but I dislike losing control…"

Kazimierz noted down his requests dutifully, wondering why he didn't keep an assistant but most of his thoughts were focussed on the terrifying sensation he'd experienced earlier.