Millennial Mage

Tala waited to see what would be said about Lisa, covering the smile that came unbidden to her lips with another drink of her laced coffee.

Noc had literally barked a laugh at her request, covering his mouth and chuckling for a moment or two afterward. “Forgive my outburst, but that was unexpected. Did you truly come simply to ask us about… Lisa?”

Tala shrugged, noticing the pause before Lisa’s name, which gave her an idea. “Among other things, yes. You don’t follow the House convention of addressing people by title or advancement, why is that?”

Noc grinned, motioning toward Blan who gave him a glass mug, containing a drink that was an active swirl between black and sparkling green liquids that seemed unable to truly mix. “I’ll not pry as to how you know the custom of the House lands, but I am curious what you would guess our reason is.”

She shrugged again, enjoying a bit more of her own beverage. “Even among the Houses, it’s basically just an ego stroking custom.”

Noc hitched, almost choking on his drink, his mirth apparent. He kept it together, however, and swallowed before raising an eyebrow. “Care to explain?”

She grinned. “Most people of power keep themselves veiled, so what those who matter display is hardly ever the proper advancement they hold. For those it is the proper advancement of, most of those have a false sense of pride, being addressed by the same honorific as those who are really far above them. As to the titles? Those are simply that. I see the utility as most titles hold real importance regardless of the advancement of the individual who holds them. I would assume that the titles you hold would be self-granted, and not very informative to me or other outsiders. Your advancement is expertly hidden—just as Lisa’s is, even when he shows some aura that seems to match one advancement or other—and thus, it would be counter-productive to use such as an honorific, or it would be a means of slighting you. To do so, the one addressing you would be pointing out that they’ve seen through your veil and other defenses.” Tala’s smile grew, and she gave a third shrug. “But that’s just my guess.”

Noc took up his glass again and downed nearly a third of it in one go. As the vessel clunked down on the hard-wood counter, the fox gave another vulpine grin. “I can see why Lisa likes you. You’re… interesting, especially for one so young. I expect we will hear much of you in the coming centuries, or a great deal about you for the next decade or so before your passing.”

Tala grunted a laugh and took a deep pull of her drink. This really is enjoyable.

-Should we see if we can acquire some of the toxin?-That is an excellent idea.

-I exist to think. I hope that the quality of my ideas reflect that reality.-

They… do? Tala put a purposeful hesitancy on the ‘admission.’

-You’re a jerk sometimes.-

Love you, Alat.

-Love thyself first, Tala.- Her voice had a sparkle of humor in it, matching the tone of their quick exchange.

Exactly. Love you a lot, Alat.

Alat just sent back a feeling of mirth, allowing Tala to return her attention to Noc as she set her own mug down. “Thank you for the assessment, I suppose. Now, about the good Lisa?”

Noc sighed, turning his head in a way that caused it to become a simple fur-covered sphere atop his neck.

Tala’s threefold sight revealed that beneath the shown fur was skin, bone, part of a brain, and all the other things required therein. It even showed that his head extended off in a fourth dimension. Though, she couldn’t actually parse how it worked or what it actually looked like.

That, however, clued her into something that she had perceived from the beginning. Noc had more to him in the fourth dimension than any of the other fox-kin. She’d thought what she sensed was other layers of this construct—and undoubtedly most of it was—but some was ‘other’ dimensionality of Noc.

Her heartbeat quickened even as muscles flexed and Noc’s head returned to a normal appearance to her mundane sight.

“Lisa is watching and listening even now, so I won’t say much.” The fox-kin chuckled, and it had a dark undertone. “First though, I will say that I like your theory. I will give a single correction, but it is to what you said afterward. I do have a title which was given by others, even if it likely won’t have meaning to you, just as you suspected. I am a Primacy of the Fox-kin. Therefore, my proper address would be Primacy Noc Lek Marac.” His teeth showed, and there were far, far too many of them as dozens of sets intruded from surrounding dimensionality. A weight of authority swirled around him that didn’t match Anatalis in magnitude, but did have a different sort of power behind it, a different flavor. Then, his lips covered his fangs once more, and he gave a slight smile. “But you may address me as Primacy Noc if you’re feeling formal, or simply Noc at any other time. You aren’t one of my kits, after all.”

Tala noticed then that Blan and the others in the space had dropped to their knees to bow under the exposed authority. The harpist had both arms extended, forehead pressed to the floor.

After a moment, the customers returned to their seats, shaking slightly, and the musician retook her seat, taking a moment or two to breathe and calm herself before starting to strum once again.

Blan stood behind the counter, eyes downcast. Primacy Noc frowned then. “My apologies, Blan. I’ve given your customers a fright. Please refresh their drinks on the house.”

Blan bowed and left to do so without saying a word.

Primacy Noc turned his attention back to Tala. “I will say only that Lisa is one of our kin to cause… strong feelings. He has advocated the integrating into your cycling human cities, and many have followed his lead in one form or another.” Primacy Noc chuckled. “That is the purpose of a Primacy, after all, to lead our kind by example.” Ȑ𝙖ℕo͍ꞖÊ𝙎

Tala found herself nodding. “Your power isn’t combat focused, is it? Though, I imagine that you can use it thus, in a pinch.”

Noc nodded, head flickering away for a moment before returning with a half grin in place. “This is true. We are not meant to be titans of bloodshed. Now, Primacy Lisa is already annoyed with me, and we don’t need a spat of dens in this age. What else brings you to my domain?”

She considered, then gave a slow nod. “Primacy Lisa has informed me that some of his kin will be joining us sooner rather than later. I wished to meet some of you besides him before that occurred.”

A merry light danced behind Primacy Noc’s eyes. “Blan, what was the name of the human in the missive?”

Blan shrugged, then pulled out a piece of paper, reading it over. “There’s no name mentioned. It simply says that Primacy Lisa…” Blan cleared her throat. “And others testify to the validity of an offer of haven and citizenship within Irondale.”

Primacy Noc looked Tala’s way, a shadow of a smile tugging at his lips. “A traveling hold called Ironhold just linked up with Astraya yesterday. I see that our mutual acquaintance is with that hold, but I cannot see anything specific.” He paused, but when she said nothing he decided to prompt her, “Do you know if there is any relation?”

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Tala nodded, finally smiling “Irondale is the primary town within Ironhold. The gates open into Irondale directly, and the rest of the hold is only accessible by passing through that town.”

“And what is that hold to you?” He leaned a little closer, awaiting the answer, though he seemingly already knew the answer.

Her smile blossomed into a grin then, letting her teeth show in an expression that was purposely predatory. “That is my hold, befriended, bound, and defended. That is my domain, Primacy Noc.”

Blan had stepped back once again, her eyes flicking to the laced drink beside Tala, seemingly horrified by her earlier actions. But that might have been Tala reading too much into things.

Primacy Noc, for his part, burst out laughing, clearly delighted. “Wonderful! It is good that you have announced this openly. Welcome, welcome, Den Mother Tala.”

Tala grimaced, and the fox-kin noticed.

“My apologies. It is the title for a female in charge of a complex such as this.” He gestured around. “I am technically a Den Father, but my Primacy…” He grinned widely. “has primacy.”

That got a chuckle from Tala, lowering her guard just a bit. It was time to posture a bit—as well as return the courtesy of deeper, truer names—and she readied her will, her authority, before she spoke. “As you have shown me some of your true nature, let me return the favor and reveal some of mine. I am Maternal Iron.”

As she uttered the final two words, she felt her soul resonate. More than that, she felt every bit and fleck of iron in her current layer of existence resonate along with her. Even that within the bodies of the fox-kin resonated, asking if she wanted to claim it.

She doubted that she could if she were being honest, but it was still an intoxicating sensation. Regardless, she continued, infusing her speech with intent, power and authority once again, “If you wish to be on less than friendly terms, you may think of me as the Ravenous Jealous Devourer.”

Again, the iron around her resonated, this time in a manner that was almost a petition for carnage. But, unlike before, more than the just iron resonated with her soul. The very dimensionality of this slice of existence shuddered as Kit—a massive presence hovering just stoneward of the fox-kin complex—resonated with her.

Primacy Noc had not retreated, nor blanched as Blan had.

Still, he was obviously braced against her expressions of authority, his own was woven outward into and through this complex, his domain, holding it fast like a man might cling to his wife in the face of potential invaders.

Tala smiled. “But it is unfair for me to force you to choose. Therefore, I will accept Iron Matriarch.”

Her soul felt like it was singing as her role as an Eskau of the House of Blood was as much a part of that title as her others were, but the fox didn’t need to be told that.

She was not planning on truly baring her soul to him.

Primacy Noc gave a slow nod. “Welcome, Iron Matriarch, to my domain. I look forward to speaking with you further, and I believe that many of my kin would enjoy living within Ironhold, whether in Irondale or the surrounding expanse.”

She gave a mischievous smile. “At the moment, save Primacy Lisa’s complex, my domain is essentially only three dimensional in nature. There is lots of room.”

Primacy Noc chuckled but shook his head. “I’ll not move my complex, Iron Matriarch. I’m needed here.”

Tala gave a slight bow of her head. “I expected as much… If I may, how many Primacies are there?”

“Of the fox-kin?” He considered. “Unless more have passed on, there should be seven of us left.”

She let her smile fall from her face as she turned away from the counter, shoulders fully squared toward him. “And the snakes?”

Primacy Noc turned to fully face her, meeting her eyes with a level gaze. “You are not ready for them. No gated human is, not even those I’ve ever even heard myths about.”

She frowned, surprised by what he revealed as his nonanswer. “Oh?”

“We are to train in the art of binding words, and the importance of such in general. They are to flay the fat from the authority of the sapient races.”

Her frown turned confused. “What now?”

“They…” He shuddered. “Their power, their authority, is perpendicular to all other sapient creatures that I’ve heard tell of. They literally slither through gaps in your power that you can’t perceive. I don’t know how to better convey the reality of it. A well known—but essentially never trodden—path to Sovereignty is to spend a week in one of their holds. If you come out alive, it is because your authority is so complete and undeniable that Sovereignty is at hand.” He gave a dark chuckle. “But if you could survive a week in one of their holds, you would already have been on par with any Sovereign to ever reign.”

“I don’t think I understand…” When he opened his mouth to speak, she shook her head, attempting to clarify what she meant. “It’s not that I don’t know how that would work, I literally don’t understand what you could mean.”

Primacy Noc’s nose scrunched in a grimace. “I’ll give one example, but I won’t explain it. Even that will risk being more harm than help.”

Tala grunted, waiting.

He sighed, before nodding. “Imagine that a pouch is stolen from you, and you find the thief and take it back. You would think that the pouch is yours by all rights, correct?”

She gave a slow nod.

“Yet, in the land you are passing through, all stolen goods are the property of the local guard, by dint of high decree and law passed down from the Sovereign who rules all that region. It is further reinforced by generations of tradition. So, the pouch now belongs to the local guard.”

Tala scrunched her face before sighing and giving a slow nod. “Okay… I think I—”

He cut across her. “I’m not done yet. So, you understand the situation then?”

She gave him an irritated look. “I was just about to tell you that, yes. I think I understand the situation you put forward.”

He nodded. “So, to understand the snake-kin, you must realize that in that analogy, they are the mimic disguised as your belt.”

Tala blinked a few times, something in her mind feeling like it was breaking. “What now? How does that… What?”

Alat groaned within her mind. -That doesn’t make any sense. Your belt has no authority. If anything… oh!-

Do you actually understand?

-Well… maybe? It’s your belt that allowed the pouch to be stolen, thus leading to it being lost to your authority forever… I think? But the belt is yours still… It has placed itself in your authority… So, they belong to us? No, that doesn’t make sense.-

I think I get where you’re going. Tala rubbed her temples. “So, they are that which should be mine, that which betrays me and allows my authority to be subverted?”

Primacy Noc gave her an odd look. “That’s what you took from it?”

She glowered internally even as she grimaced again.

-Hey, it was a guess.-

Tala sighed. “I think so?”

The fox-kin grunted. “That’s an interesting interpretation. As I said, though, I will not explain it to you. Others prefer an analogy of gardens and fruit, but that one never made sense to me. It works for them though…” He shrugged. “Not that I will ever be Sovereign, so have that understanding alongside what I have said.”

Tala grunted. “Yet more myths and legends to sort through.”

Primacy Noc chuckled. “That’s about the extent of it, yes. But there is one takeaway you shouldn’t forget.”

“Oh? And what is that, my good Primacy.”

He grinned her way, seemingly fully back to his earlier, jovial self. “Never believe the snakes or let them in. They can ruin even paradise, and they never make good on their promises in ways that you would want. You think we twist words? They’ll have you slaving for a generation because you promised them a ‘good morning’ in greeting.”

She grunted again. “I will definitely keep that in mind.”

He gave a sharp nod. “Now, I want to ask you about your travels. How did you end up here?”

“Do you mean what route I took on the map? Or were you hoping for a life story?”

He laughed at that. “I’d appreciate as much of your story as you’re willing to tell.”

“That isn’t a quick tale, and it is mine…” Tala considered for a long moment. “I think I’d tell a good portion of it for a few vials of that paralytic?”

Primacy Noc laughed deeply at that. “For the portions of your story that you willingly share? You may have a whole case.”

So, Tala told him. She played the part of a heroic adventurer, conveying her deeds and travels with exaggerated features.

She left out any mention of the House of Blood or her position with it, but otherwise recounted her life since the Academy in broad strokes.

The fox-kin was a consummate listener, giving good emotional feedback with his facial expressions and equations, and in the end, Tala found that she actually enjoyed the retelling, even though they both knew that it was only adjacent to the real tale.

In the end, Blan presented her with a padded wooden case filled with small vials of the toxin that Tala had seemingly enjoyed.

Having no further business with them, Tala left the fox-kin’s complex, willing herself straight into her sanctum.

It wasn’t even noon yet, and it had already been a rather full day.