Interrogation

Silver and yellow eyes meet for a while, the silence only broken by the crackle of the green flames above. Yoru stares forward without blinking, her throat drier than a desert, trying to keep herself from bouncing her leg under the table. The air is heavy in this room, and it sucks the energy from her like a hot summer day. However, it's cool in here, a bit chilly, even.

The heavy burden pressing upon Yoru's body only increases the longer those silver eyes meet her own. She isn't a Vas user like Kyro, she can't feel the presence of someone just because of an invisible substance inside of them. Yet the presence of the man across from her dampens her usual stoic composure, and he hasn't spoken even a word yet.

Who is this man?

"Um..." Yoru says nervously, fighting against the urge to look away from him, to find a distraction in something, "...i-is this about the Rage Stones?" she asks.

The man sits there, his arms locked across his chest, silent. If not for the slight flaring of his nostrils as he breathes, Yoru would mistake him for a statue. Finally, he leans forward and puts his elbows on the table, fingers laced under his chin, red-skinned face flat and emotionless, "No," he says, voice loud despite barely moving his lips, "Detor will handle that."

Yoru nods, "Okay..." she says slowly, "...Then why am I here?"

The man hums, then looks up at the lantern, the flickering green flames reflecting in his unblinking silver eyes, "Kyro is quite the fatherly type, isn't he? A noble trait, one that I shared long ago. It's been... nearly a millennium now, hasn't it?" he says, the last words taking on a melancholic tone.

Yoru furrows her brows, "What does my brother have to do with this?" she asks. The ex Head Scribe thinks for a moment, and she realizes something. Yoru's eyes widen, and she stifles a gasp, "The only people that have lived for a millennium on Raj are the Epochs. You are one of them?"

"The only one," The man says simply, meeting Yoru's bewildered gaze, "You will call me Ludan."

"The only..." Yoru pauses, mouth agape, "...The Trackers, the Control Orbs, the Spider-eyed Wolf. All of that..." She says shakily, the revelation nearly shattering her already cracked composure.

Ludan sighs, "Yes," he responds, "You at least should be intelligent enough to now understand why I do not leave this tower. My power is... unfathomable to most."

Yoru nods slowly, eyes bulging as she stares down at her distorted reflection on the metal table. She has read and even written Records about Anima users that are able to create several Control Orbs, however, those do not require a constant stream of Anima, only a recharge every few months. And when the Anima user recharges these Control Orbs, they are rendered powerless for a few days at least, needing to recharge their own Anima.

But this man, Ludan, has to constantly recharge the orbs for the Collector's vessels, over a hundred of them. While the Trackers do not require the same level of maintenance, a new one is created almost every day for new Collectors.

And to add to all of this, there is the Spider-eyed Wolf, which guards the gate to this tower day and night. Anima summons are not cheap either, they require a constant stream of Anima from their summoner to stay materialized. If all of this is true, especially

"But..." Yoru says, ripping her eyes from the table, "...You must be lying. An Anima user that is both a Conjurer and Imbuer should not exist. Even if they do, and you are one of them, you should have run dry of Anima long ago. You should be dead a thousand times over."

Ludan shrugs, "Believe what you will. I am still breathing, unfortunately," he says, waving a dismissive hand through the air, "But let us get back to the topic at hand. Your brother, he found a man shipwrecked in the branches on the trip back from his last visit to Kalar. Kyro, being the noble and kind man that he is, saved the man and brought him back here to Raj," he says mockingly, tapping his knuckle under his chin, "If my memory serves me right, then I believe that oh so helpless man's name is Cage."

Yoru stares at Ludan as he speaks, clenching her jaw and holding back a scowl, "That is true," she says, "Though I can see that you are not fond of my brother."

"I was. Both Ingen and Kyro were once the two most promising Rajin soldiers since Betor, but they disappointed me," Ludan says, a reminiscent tone to his words, "Rather than die with his honor intact and his weapon passed down through the generations, the boy now rots in the belly of some beast, his name forgotten by all but you and those failures."

Yoru gazes at Ludan, teeth grinding. She smiles after a moment, pushing the swelling anger down with all her might, "Forgive me, but I believe this... interrogation has a different subject, one that does not name my son," she says, struggling to keep the edge from her voice.

Ludan raises a brow, "A tough one, huh? I suppose that is a given with the things you have achieved," he says, "You are correct, Mavyl has nothing to do with this. I only wished to see if you are as reactionary as that brother of yours. I see now that you are not."

"I will cut to the chase," Ludan continues, laying his arms flat on the table, "You, your brother, and that brute Ingen are all lying about this man Cage. He does not belong in the Praesi, much less within the walls of Yellen. That much is obvious from the complete lack of Anima inside of him. I assume that he doesn't have Vas either, and as a user of that magic himself, Kyro knows this. You are his sister and the one that took Cage in, and that means you know as well."

Yoru raises a brow but says nothing.

Ludan smiles, "That tells me all that I need to know," He says, leaning back in the chair, "Do you know what Kyro told me the day he and Ingen came to this tower? He said that he could kill the massor. Now, had the circumstances been different, he and Ingen would both have lost their heads right there. I have no need for those with defective brains."

Yoru's lips part with surprise, but she snaps them closed a second later. It's getting harder to keep the confident look on her face, "...But you didn't," She responds.

Ludan nods approvingly, "How I got the information is not important, but I know that Cage was on Kalar, and more importantly, that he survived an encounter with the Massor there," he says, smile widening an unnatural amount, "Kyro and Ingen took him to Kalar, thinking that Cage will be able to Kill the Massor. I am quite interested in the result myself, for if he succeeds, there will never be a more useful tool for me."

Suddenly, Ludan furrows his brows, straightening in the chair. He stares past Yoru, seeming distracted by something far off, "Ah... the Trackers," he mutters, silver eyes returning to reality and looking at Yoru, "I suppose it was all in vain. Kyro and Ingen are dead. Cage has likely perished as well."

Yoru freezes, mouth ajar, eyes stuck bulging from her head. They are dead? After all they have done to one day escape this place? No, it can't be. Who will save her from execution? There is no one else.

Then she realizes it. The trackers. Did Cage finally do it? Did he finally rid Kyro and Ingen of the chains that have held them down for the last two years? He must have. Cage is a smart man, and is getting smarter every day. Removing the trackers on Kalar, leaving Ludan to think that the Massor killed them, then coming back to Raj to retrieve Yoru. That must be Cage's plan.

A clever plan. Yoru is impressed, and she wishes she could give the man a pat on the back.

Ludan stares at her, his expression suddenly flat again, "No tears? No wailing? No attempt on your own life because you just can't handle the loss? I see," he says, seeming to have given up on his facade of emotion, "Mother. Father. Son. Now brother and friends. It makes sense that you would be numb now. The losses pile up, eventually becoming a drop in the ocean. If only Kyro and Ingen had been the same, they might still be alive."

Yoru wants to burst, to laugh and call him a fool. After having her family and friends dogged right in front of her for so long, she would enjoy nothing more than to spit in Ludan's face and tell him that he's been tricked. The great and almighty Epoch has been duped by those that he despises most.

She does none of that, no matter how much the urge scratches at her mind. Yoru only sits there, silent, face frozen with feigned apathy. It's difficult, but she'll be damned if she's going to foil the plan. They are so close.

Ludan blows hard through his nose, "Well, I was going to keep you alive until your brother and friends return, but that is not the case anymore," His chair screeches across the stone as he rises from it. The Epoch turns and walks to the door, "Your execution will come after we find who decided to fight inside Yellen. A few days at most. The culprit will join you in a public beheading. We haven't had one of those in a long time, you should feel honored."

Yoru watches him disappear through the door, breathing deep. She dashes away the thoughts that she may be wrong, that her brother and friends are actually dead. It will not do her any good.

Detor calls for her, and Yoru follows the guard back through the hall to her cell. This is it, she thinks, either they are alive and will save me, or I will join them in death.