The Aftermath of the Labyrinth (2)

The next day had come, night having turned to morning like the slow rolling of a ball. Unlike the illusionary world of the Labyrinth, the sky moved in accordance with the passing of time although those who had slept underneath the ground would not have noticed such an occurrence.

The current scene was not one of the underground rooms but of a grandiose room made up of warm brown tones that calmed the heart and mind. The smell of aged but finely taken care of wood wafted about, while the sounds of a fire crackling and popping could be heard with the ears. Sitting upon two antique wooden chairs were none other than the now masked-Cyrus and the usual Cornelius, sitting across from Xerxes Glacies Headmaster of Glacies Academy.

Sitting in a relaxed posture, Xerxes sipped on his cup of tea as he faced an impressive glass window behind him admiring the view that could be seen through it. Finishing his tea he sat the cup down and slowly turned around, finally putting his attention to the two in his office.

"You as the respective leader of your groups have been brought here to discuss the happenings in the Labyrinth. The truth behind the matter, you will learn in due time so long as you remain steadfast and do not disappoint in regards to your ever improving abilities" began Xerxes in an authoritative voice

Finally laying his eyes upon the two sitting across his mahogany desk, full of neatly ordered writing stations and parchment, he rubbed his beard for a moment in contemplation before continuing.

"The Academy has shielded you two from the usual visit to the Empires more…hidden entities following your exposure to the beings that you were. Ordinarily we would not do so as the interested groups are quite powerful and old, whom would prefer to go about the old way of snuffing out anything that so much as looks like corruption…" said Xerxes with a sigh, his mind elsewhere for a moment.

"This was only done because you two are in special circumstances and so we have decided to shoulder all responsibility. A member of the Unity Coven and a Grandmasters Disciple, two qualifications which just so happen to allow you protection even in the face of learning some well kept secrets" ended Xerxes as he produced two stacks of letters from out of thin air.

"A high-ranking member of the Venators was sent here in the middle of the night, with letters in tow. Quite shocking they were, who would have thought two such high profile students would come here…and at such a time" said Xerxes as he handed each of the now opened letters to their respective parties.

"However…" began Xerxes, a power arising from him that was reminiscent of Archmage Glacies himself.

"Know that even though you are being afforded protection, that you have nothing more than that. In fact if anything this makes it so that you two will need to be even more careful in the future, having such a high profile before you are even out of the Academy. If you make a mistake, the punishment will be twice fold in intensity. While when you earn merit the reward will be the same as all else…. Any questions?" ended Xerxes with a question.

Perhaps someone else in Cyrus' shoes would choose to remain silent, especially when confronted with the aura of a powerful member of the previous generation. Yet…

"Am I correct in assuming that the protection extends to those under us?" asked Cyrus.

"Correct. They are now your responsibility, unless of course you wish to forsake them. The choice is yours, but as a smart man I doubt you have not realized some of the goals of the Academy. How you interact with such goals is up to you, but as one who wishes to see all under me succeed I can only advice you to choose the correct path in the end" replied Xerxes plainly.

"So if one of them were to let something slip I would be brought down along with them…how annoying. Perhaps-" thought Cyrus, his mind being assailed by his more kindhearted half the moment he began to go down such a line of thought.

"Fine fine, calm down. Both of them have their uses, and one is somewhat interesting I will admit…"

After that brief moment of thought, Cyrus responded to Xerxes adopting a similar plain tone to what had been used on him.

"I have no issues with taking them under my wing"

Xerxes nodded in approval before casting a questioning gaze towards Cornelius who responded by saying,

"I also have no issues with such a path, for it is the right path to take. That, and I am most grateful for your aid."

"Good. It will be announced later that the next two days will be rest days as most of the other students were humbled quite harshly in the Labyrinth. Classes will begin at the start of this up and coming week, so be sure to rest well and prepare until then" said Xerxes as he waved the two away, having finished what he had to say.

Cyrus and Cornelius stood up, one bowing in reverence and the other nodding in acknowledgement after having thought for a split second and exited the room.

From their backs Xerxes said to them as they left,

"The Fidem directives you left in the Labyrinth were recovered and will be delivered soon Quintus, a service by the Academy for your trouble."

With such words barely making it to the ears of the two, the door to the office closed shut sealing off any sound or sight from within making it out.

"It seems that the Academy, or rather the Eye of Babel, has noticed some of the parties involved with myself and has decided to try to get a stake of their own. On the surface it seems they shielded us even possibly losing out, but did so because we had value…yet this is at best a retroactive move made as the Inquisitor clearly said that we were already shielded even before these letters were delivered" thought Cyrus as he looked at the letters he was holding, three in total.

One was from a Venator Fauve addressed to Cyrus, unopened. One was the one that was opened by Xerxes, it was penned in with no name but only a title; Grandmaster Applicant of the Tower. The final one was penned by a Lily Venandi which was also addressed to Cyrus and was also unopened.

"The actions of the Academy were noticed by the broader Empire to a certain degree… The most likely scenario is that the Umbral Order was alerted, which by extension alerted Lily Venandi which allowed Fauve to be in the know" mused Cyrus as he opened the letters one by one and read their contents.

----

"And that was what happened" said Cyrus, finishing his recounting of his meeting with the Headmaster.

Currently Cyrus was sitting in the familiar resting area in his underground room, to his side and across from him was Minerva and Imran as always.

"So we are now your charges? How unsettling" thought Minerva aloud.

"Specifically, it means that if one of us falls then they drag all the rest with the other. Creating another layer of protection for the Empire's secrets, do not step out of line lest you doom your allies" analyzed Imran.

"Correct" began Cyrus, as he tapped the opened letter on the table in front of him, "Whatever we witnessed that night is not too important, just the fact that the Empire appears to be fighting a secret war hidden from the public for one reason or another. To that I say: who cares, wars happen all the time so what if one is hidden from sight. What is most important, however, is the fact that us three are now being watched carefully by three of the most powerful factions in the entire Empire. The first being of course the Tower itself, the one who is guaranteeing us currently. The second being the Inquisition, although their true motives and goals are mostly unknown I do know for a fact that they enjoy eliminating any threat to the Empire whenever they see fit. The third being the Umbral Order, who was most likely sent to silence us in one way or another if not for the Tower guaranteeing us."

Such shocking revelations no doubt raised an eyebrow or two, with burning gazes that requested further explanation. Having expected this, Cyrus handed one of his three letters to Minerva.

Reading it quickly Minerva had a look of muted surprise on her face, a rarity indeed.

"From the Guild Master of the southern branch of the Venators, it seems you know people in high up places" remarked Minerva, as she passed the letter to Imran.

"I get around, as I had mentioned before one of my goals is to learn more about the Empire at large which requires me to have a hand in as many different areas as possible. The Venators are no exception to this, being an integral part of the state" replied Cyrus offhandedly.

"Still, the word of such an individual is not to be taken lightly. If Lily Venandi says that Umbra is watching us then I do not doubt it, especially giving their infamous stance against one another. Oh, and you must introduce me some time Cyrus…such a contact would be most invaluable if used correctly…" said Imran, his eyes glowing as he thought of a possible exclusive contract with the guild.

"I do not know her well enough to introduce you, I was merely introduced through a mutual friend. As to her I am nothing more than a passing interest. The letter was most likely written at the behest of said mutual friend, a courtesy at the least and at best possibly securing future good relations with an up and coming individual" said Cyrus, putting a damper on Imran's mercantile fervor.

"Oh then how about introducing me to this mutual friend of yours? They must be quite important to be able to get such a letter written in your name" inquired Imran, not wanting to give up.

"Perhaps, for the right price of course" said Cyrus after weighting the risks and benefits of having the two meet.

A glint lit in Imran's eyes as he too calculated the possible cost of such an individual before saying definitively,

"I can afford it."

"Good, we can discuss the details at a later date. Just know that I am mainly interested in information, to have a hand in the world of merchants. For now such talk is pointless as we are on house arrest…or rather Academy arrest for a few days. After that we have classes to worry about which will no doubt take a massive amount of time, so it will be awhile before any of us will be able to interact with the outside world outside of exchanging letters."

"So many tasks at hand, so little time" thought Cyrus as he took back the letter from Imran.

"The Academy has recovered our Directives intact, which will be delivered shortly. We will be able to exchange them for Fidem soon, then we can all make excellent use of the equipment downstairs and be able to make great progress with our magical prowess…." said Cyrus, a tinge of excitement in his voice as he thought of finally taking a real look at the undead.

"Thus, I will be making adequate usage of the two day break we now have as I am sure the both of you will as well. You can find me in the lower level." ended Cyrus as he stood up and began walking down the steps to the true depths of his room eager to begin experimenting with what he could for now.