Chapter 43: Lineage Of Sin

 Heavy rain, muffled thunder and the occasional crack of lightning leaked into the hidden storage room from an open hatch in the room behind us. With each rumble of the crashing clouds the stone foundation above us shook off another layer of dust, and caused Rider's tail to twitch.

 I wanted to ask her if she knew what was happening right now, and if the one armed Nyx told me to come here.

 Did they do it for me?

 "Conquest, may I?"

 "Go for it, I know you ain't gonna try nothin'"

 Rider seemed more concerned about the storm than the strangers request or the fact she used her true name as one of the four horsemen. 

 "Have me figured out already?"

 Finishing off her food, she stood up and revealed her face as four other near identical girls emerged from the shadows to do the same.

 "Who'd you think yer talkin' too?"

 "Touché"

 They revealed their faces one by one, each almost identical to the last. Differing hairstyles and eye color made it easy enough to distinguish themselves. They reminded me of tales of a rare monster with multiple heads that was easy to defeat if you could sow distrust between them, but a deadly foe if they worked together.

 "Hydra.."

 The word slipped out of my mouth before I could begin to contemplate how something so absurd could even be possible.

 She stared at me with her lifeless xanadu eyes as her followers looked me over without getting too close, each focusing on a different part of my body. A gust of heat washed over my arms, legs and chest, matching their sight. 

 "I see why you don't resemble either of them, a seal must have been placed on you when you were a child. Whoever did it was exceptionally skilled if it lasted this long. Tell me, how old are you?"

 "I turned sixteen last Harvest. Uh, did you know them?"

 She nodded in silence before walking back to her seat, entourage in tow.

 "I met her when she was pregnant, with you. That was roughly thirty years ago"

 "Scuse' me? What you talkin' bout?"

 "She's both dragon and human. For us, fourteen years before we hatch is normal, she simply spent that time carrying him inside"

 "Fuuuckin' hell. Mammals are weird"

 "She spent eight years with us, visit every House, talking about her travels and dreams of joining civilization. We saw your mother and father as a sign of unity, the first step that could unite us and lead us out of hiding.

 -It was like a fairy tale, a human and a half-breed falling in love would be a story to be told throughout the ages... When she died it was devastating. Your father could barely take it. He was an honest man, one of the strongest around. If he wanted, he could have slaughtered us where he stood.

 -Instead, he left. I still remember his face. Disappointment filled his eyes as he left, walking straight into the eternal blizzard that surrounds Chronox, carrying the limp body of the woman he loved. Infighting started soon after and we found ourselves struggling to survive between a harsh winter and civil war"

 "Why would a civil war start over something like that?"

 "Because who she was, more than just a title. She brought hope to us at a time we thought we would simply die and fade from history thanks to the mistakes of a madman that followed his visions. Of course that was her aim all along, to befriend everyone, and die to no one. I need you to understand-

-there was no culprit to her death, only clues pointing in every single direction. She left each House with enough ammunition to justify another's downfall, some of it real, the rest of it fake. Enough for anyone to look into it and assume the rest to be true"

 "Well shit, she's pretty smart if she set all that up"

 "I'm sure she could for fill your role within the Horsemen, given the chance"

 "Now you got me interested. Why'd she do it? Gotta be a reason, raght?"

 "I can only speculate. Probably for her mother, or maybe how she was first treated. My half-sister went through the same troubles, so to that, I could understand"

 Rider blew her hair and crossed her arms in dismissal.

 "Get bullied ani't what I'd call justification"

 "How about watching your mothers intestines get spilled across the street and being forced to place her head on a pike as a lesson? That seem like enough?"

 With the click of her tongue, I got the feeling she had left another message within what she said, and that Rider had picked up on it. That topic would be left on an awkward spot as the conversation shifted back to me.

 "Do you know General Soarheart?"

 "We're kinda similar, right?"

 "The General started her career as an average farm hand, tending to domesticated monsters before joining the military. She rose through the ranks unlike anybody before. Even if she benefited greatly from her genes, anyone as dedicated as her could achieve something great.

 -Each House within the Rookery passes down a bloodline trait to their children. I inherited eyes that pierce the flesh of others, a sturdy body and regeneration from the House of the Primordial Hydra. 

 -You inherited the ability to perceive the true intent and emotions of others through both sight and touch, that much I know for sure. Anything else, I'm afraid, is a mystery to me"

 "Hey Touji, what am I feelin'?"

 Rider held my arm between her large Drake-like hands to test my abilities. A sensation hit my gut, one I was all too familiar with, one I would be happy if I never felt again.

 "You're hungry?"

 "Yeeeerp. Imma grab some food, you two try not to do anything stupid"

 "Wait- Is that okay? What if-"

 "Relax, she ain't gonna try nothin'. Sides', you could probably take 'er"

 "..."

 Rider chuckled as she walked back through the hidden doorway and back upstairs. 

 The last three times I'd been told I could take someone it ended in a draw, every time. I still lacked an edge I could truly call my own. 

 If I can nail that heat-beat thing...

 "Touji, so that's your name"

 "Didn't she tell you?"

 "We discussed many things, she gave me what I was after, in return, I offered to answer any questions you have, to the best of my abilities"

 "Did you help Ritsu?"

 Rapist turned Overlord, his escape still pissed me off. Sure we hunted him down, even if we didn't know who it was at the time. Even so, he escaped custody and fled the city almost completely unseen, with the help of her half-sister.

 Not only that, she told him how to sell his soul for enough power that could have easily overwhelmed Dragons Mort.

 Thankfully he was to stupid to put it to good use and we were able to stop him before he could amass an army of undead to do his bidding.

 "I met a Kitsune that asked me a similar question not too long ago. Although I may not have aided his escape through the tunnels, I do know what my half-sister received in return. Clues to a 'Titans Garden' hidden within a family heirloom. Conquest was all too keen to get her claws on that information"

 Through the tunnels? That probably means the hidden passageways connected to the tower must go all over the city, and out of it

 "Does that answer appease you?"

 "Appease? Uh, no, not really. They all do their own thing, I just wanted to know if it was personal. But you knew my mom right? What was she like?"

 "If you had asked me that before I found out she was alive my answer would have been entirely different. She convinced my sister to look me in the eyes and call me crazy for thinking she was alive, all the while giving her orders. Cyra might as well be a silver tongued devil, the way she twists people against each other"

 I felt her rising frustration and regret with each word. 

 "Your mother is an outcast, an exile, a coward and a traitor. If you saw what happened after her fake death- to Chronox- the streets full of-"

 Her voice trembled as she tried to recompose herself before continuing. 

 "It doesn't surprise me in the least she abandoned you. Cyra's the kind of woman who will only to show up when she can get something out of you"

 Feelings of genuine hatred infused her words with deep seated regret. It was a lot to process. The possible implication that what she said to be true was overwhelming.

 It made me want to confront her and ask her face to face.

 "What is she planning?"

 "She wants to create another Pillar, like Yggdrasil, and control it. Do you have any idea what that means? It means she'd kill every single living person in the city for a fraction of power. She's insane"

 Pillar like Yggdrasil? Irmin is a splinter of something like that- no. If it destroys an entire city it's not worth it. Is there even any point to make another pillar?

 "If she ever approaches you, know this. You aren't Royalty, she burned that throne and all but declared war on the few remaining Houses. I urge you not to follow her"

 "Why are you telling me all this?"

 "At first I was simply curious. I wanted to know what you would be like. Now I see the people you know, the relic you hold... it's enough proof that fate has chosen you to be something greater than what you are now. I don't know what the future holds, so at least I can warn you about her"

 She leaned back in her rusty chair and tilted her head back to stare at the concrete foundation supported by wood beams above us.

 "I didn't tell the Rookery about you. I can't promise my sister or Cyra will do the same"

 "What about my dad? Does he know about this?"

 "No, he sits comfortably on the other side of the world in Thornsworth, preaching the value of peace and signing trade agreements. I doubt Nayvadius is even aware that his son was born, or maybe he does? The way he delt with Cyra's death, I think he truly believed she died"

 Thornsworth. Pretty sure that's where Rider is from, I should ask her about it later

 "Enda shares our goal to stop her. She won the trust of the leaders of each house, and given the fact she never told you about any of us? You may find her way of lies and deceit unsavory... I can assure you there is nobody else we would trust in this world to keep a secret"

 "All the Elder Dragons really trust her?"

 "Trust is the hardest thing to come by in this world. We are being culled, Touji. You, me, all the Elder Dragons. If the Inquisition knew we hid in plain sight it would be the witch hunts all over again. Even if you don't have his visions, you'd still be seen as the ultimate prize"

 "His?"

 "Your grandfather, our last King, The Destroyer"