Chapter 404: House of Gale

…Several days ago…

The summer sun shined brightly as it began to sink beneath the horizon. Even now, the sting of the sunlight could leave terrible burns on a vampire if they stayed out too long without any proper protection. Thankfully, the ancient yew tree in the family’s gardens provided plenty of shade with its large gnarled branches.

The manor would have served better with its walls, but Gian thought it best to speak with his niece underneath the shade of the ancient tree. It was here that he had hidden from his teachers and the manor’s servants when he was a child. It was here where he had made a promise to meet his sister so many years ago.

Throughout the centuries Gian had always made his way back to this tree, it served as a refuge of sorts for him, a place to gather his thoughts and rest. The old tree and the gardens surrounding it gave him a sense of peace and even now, he held a small glimmer of hope that one day his sister might find her way back here to him.

He hoped the tree and the garden could provide some semblance of solace to his niece as well. Gale sat next to him underneath the yew’s branches, her back resting on the trunk. Her head was bowed, almost as if asleep, and her eyes were hollow. The whites of her eyes were almost as red as her irises. Her bright golden hair was covered in a dull sheen and disheveled from where she had pulled it and screamed until her voice was hoarse. Tears still flowed down her pale cheeks, but her voice was silent, save for the quiet whimpers as her shoulders shook uncontrollably.

The gods were cruel, Gian thought grimly.

They had taken young Clypeus only a year ago and now they had taken Gale’s father as well.

Gian didn’t want to be here, he didn’t want to be the one to tell Gale what had happened, but Gale’s mother had locked herself in her room and refused to see anyone ever since she had found out about the death of her husband.

So it fell upon Gian, the eldest of the House, to tell Gale what had happened in Dusk Valley to her father and the Veres army.

As he spoke of the terrible news he saw the light in Gale’s eyes die and the cracks beneath her mask break altogether. She had worked hard to be strong for her family after her brother’s death, but now it seemed as if she had reached her limit.

And yet now it once more fell upon Gian to push her harder than ever before.

The gods were cruel indeed.

After the sun had fallen below the horizon and darkness had claimed the skies and the tears in Gale’s eyes had dried, she finally spoke, in a voice barely above a whisper. “...What now?”

“I’m afraid things will only get more difficult,” Gian said reluctantly.

“What are you saying?”

“You are your father’s heir.” Gian got on one knee and bowed his head respectfully, “From this night on you are Lady Gale, eighth of her name, leader of House Gale, and the First and Last Shield of Veres.”

Gale stared at him mortified, “Please, uncle, don’t bow to me. I’m unworthy of such an honor from the Sword Paragon.”

No. It was for that very reason he bowed. As the new lord of the House, she needed to believe more than anyone that she deserved her place, and he would make sure that she did.

Gian bowed his head deeper, “I have served as a mentor to your father, and his mother, and her father before her, and more. I have served House Gale for the last three centuries and if you would have me, I’d be honored to serve by your side as well, my lady.”

Gale smiled weakly, “I don’t know what I would do without you, uncle. If you would stand by my side, the honor would be mine and mine alone. Please, rise. ”

“As you wish, my lady,” Gian nodded solemnly and sat back down next to her.

“When will the funerals be?” Gale whispered.

“As soon as we recuperate the bodies of the nobles safely. Many of the officers in the Veres army were sons and daughters of House Veres’ retainers. Dozens of minor Houses have lost their children, they deserve a proper burial.”

“And it would serve to ease the loss and worries of the Houses that serve the Veres family,” she guessed.

“Precisely. With all that in mind, I imagine the preparations will be finished quite soon. The funeral will most likely take place in the next 2 or 3 days. And you will be the one to lead it.”

“Me?” Gale frowned, shocked.

“Lady Elise has made it clear that she has no interest in attending the funeral.”

“But her father died! As did her sister!”

“And I believe Elise poisoned her other siblings, so family is clearly not something she values.”

Gale grimaced, “Yes, I suppose so…”

“As head of House Gale, you are the right-hand of Lady Veres. The nobles will look to you for guidance at the funeral.”

Gale’s hands trembled. She took shaky breaths and clenched her eyes shut to keep herself from crying. “I don’t think I can do this. I can’t go up in front of all those people, not like this, not now…”

“You will not be alone, my lady.” Gian placed a reassuring hand over her own. “You are the head of a Great House and rightfully so. You can do this. We will get through this together.”

“...How do you do it? Live through the pain of seeing a family member after family member die while you’re still here?” Gale whispered in a broken voice.

Gian smiled softly and wiped a tear from her eye. “You remember why you’re here, why you get up every morning, why you fight, no matter how endless the battle may seem. You don’t do it for yourself, you do it for the living around you, for the family you still have.”

Gale smiled, teary-eyed. “I’ll try, uncle.”

“That’s all any of us can do.”

“Heh, it’s harder than it sounds.”

“It always is.”

Gale stared up at the starry night sky between the branches of the tree. “I need a favor from you, uncle.”

“I’m here to serve, my lady.”

“I need you to help me kill Clypeus’ murderer.”

“Believe me, when Marek and his armies arrive at Hollow Shade I will meet him and his warriors with Primoria.” Gian gripped the hilt of his family’s ancestral sword.

“I believe you, but I was referring to the one who left Clypeus to die. I am going to kill Elohnoir Noir.”

“What?” Gian coughed in surprise.

“I’m assuming Lord Elzri won’t just stand by while I slice her neck from her body. His retribution would be swift. Which is why I need your help to stop him as well.”

Gian shook his head, “We’ve already gone over this. Elohnoir, Tauri, and Vayu did not purposely abandon Clypeus and the other students. There wasn’t some plot against us by those three Ruling Houses and their scions.”

“You’re right, there wasn’t a plot. But Stryg did not lead them to the wrong cliff that night. Elohnoir abandoned them and Vayu and Tauri knew it.”

Gian narrowed his eyes, “What are you saying?”

“I learned many things in Undergrowth. There’s a lot you don’t know, uncle…”

~~~

“...You WHAT!?” Gian yelled.

Gale leaned back uncertainly, “Why are you so angry?”

“Let me get this straight. Stryg is an Ebon Aspirant and you still let him go!?”

Gale frowned in confusion. “Wait, I thought you already knew he was an Ebon Aspirant, isn’t that why you asked me to watch over him?”

“Even if I knew, wouldn't that have just been more reason to not let him go?”

“At the time I thought it was the best course of action. Lady Thorn and her soldiers were searching for Stryg. If he stayed with us he would have been in more danger. By separating I was able to draw the enemy’s attention away from him and help him escape into Glimmer Grove forest. By now he’s in Vulture Woods, his home. It should be easy enough for him to get back to Hollow Shade from there after he’s finished whatever it is he set out to do.”

“You didn’t even ask why he left?”

“We were pressed on time. I trusted his judgment.”

Gian groaned. “Do you even know if he managed to make it out safely?”

“Uncle, Stryg is far more powerful than either of us gave him credit for. His victory at the tourney was not a fluke. He is already a powerful master, he can handle himself.”

“Even still…” Gian sighed.

“Why are you so bothered by this? Stryg will be fine.” Gale narrowed her eyes in suspicion, “Uncle… If you didn’t know Stryg was an Ebon Aspirant then why did you ask me to look after him? You told me before I left there was an important reason. What was it?”

Gian stared at her with indecision. He had hoped to not speak of this until the time was right, but now that Elise sat on the Veres Throne and Stryg was nowhere to be found, he was starting to believe such a time would never come.

Gian began his story reluctantly, “What do you know of the Blue Rose…?”

~~~

Gale rested her back on the yew tree’s wide trunk. She didn’t notice the rough bark pushing uncomfortably into her back. She was too numb to notice, too shocked to care. Her scarlet eyes slowly glanced at Gian’s uncertain smile and back at her own hands.

“So, your half-sister was the legendary Blue Rose, the great mage-warrior who disappeared with Krikolm?” Gale asked slowly.

“That’s right.”

“A blade whose name in the olden tongue means Bloodfang, a very similar name to Stryg’s Sylvan tribe, the Blood Fang?”

“Indeed.”

“And the Blue Rose’s name, which like so many things her House tried to bury, was Stryga Veres?”

“Correct.”

“And she just so happens to bear a striking resemblance to Stryg, the blue goblin?”

“Precisely.”

“So, what you are telling me is that Stryg, who like all goblins has slit pupils—”

“—But lilac irises.”

“The same feral goblin who oftentimes seemingly at random bite people—”

“—An instinct vampires suppress, but still an instinct we have nonetheless. We tend to bite when angered or feeling threatened.”

“I know, uncle, I know,” she said annoyedly. “That same goblin, you think is your sister’s child?”

“Odd, isn’t it?” Gian chuckled. “I suppose he could be a further down descendant, a grandchild perhaps? Stryga would be over 330 years old by now, after all.”

Gale’s eyes twitched. “Odd, doesn’t even begin to grasp the insane concept!”

“I can see you have doubts.”

“Doubts? Doubts? This goes way beyond doubts!”

“Stryg is of my sister’s blood, of that I’m certain,” Gian said with a resolute voice.

Gale faltered and her indignant anger withered away. She sighed, “How can you tell?”

“I could say it’s the blue skin, though his shade has a hint of green to it. I could say it’s his eyes, but her eyes were much darker, his are pale, like lilac. I could say it’s their hair, though his shines more brightly under the moonlight. But none of those things were what made me realize Stryg was hers.”

“Then what was it?”

“It was the nose, the same button nose, small, slightly upturned. You could see it in the way they smiled. A cheeky grin. Confident, but never cocky.” Gian looked at Gale with a calm gaze, “Stryga’s blood runs through him, I’m certain.”

She swallowed hard. “If that’s true, then Clypeus’s death wasn’t for nothing. He died defending a Veres.”

Gian nodded, “Clypeus died the way all of us hope to, protecting our friends. There could not be a nobler death.”

Gale sniffed and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Clypeus was the best of us.”

“And his sacrifice will never be forgotten,” Gian swore.

Gale suddenly looked up, worried. “If Stryg really is a Veres, then he’s in danger. We can’t let Elise know who he is.”

“We must, if he is to take the Veres Throne.”

“Wait, you want to make him the family leader!?”

“I was hoping to wait until he grew more into his own, but yes. It is his birthright.”

“You are letting your emotions get the better of you, uncle,” she said wryly. “Do you really think Stryg would be a better family leader than Elise?”

“Emotions? Elise is the most ambitious Veres I have seen since her grandfather, that is a fact, not an emotion.”

“You say it is as if ambition is a bad thing. Elise wishes for her House to rise in power, as does every lord on the Hollow Council.”

“No, Elise wishes to gain power for herself and she will not share. That kind of ambition makes her dangerous, not just to her enemies, but to herself and her allies. I saw her grandfather hold that same kind of ambition and greed, and to my regret, I did nothing to stop it.”

Gale furrowed her brow, “Lord Darian?”

Gian nodded grimly. “Lord Darian, Veres VIII, was a man driven by ambition and it almost led the Veres family to extinction. He was so afraid of losing power to his family, he pitted them against one another in the hopes that they’d all kill each other. Eldrin and his baby sister, Alice, were the only two who managed to survive the assassinations and murderous duels.”

“I didn’t know…”

“It’s not something I enjoy talking about. I should have stopped Darian when I had the chance, but I helped raise Darian since before he could walk, he was like a son to me… In the end, all I could do was watch. The deaths of his children are my fault,” Gale said bitterly.

“I’m sorry, uncle,” she whispered sympathetically.

Gian closed his eyes and took a deep long breath and Gale thought he looked tired, not from a long day of training, but from a lifetime of wounds.

“Alice fell to sickness many years ago and because of warlord Marek her children are all gone, save little Maeve,” Gian recounted quietly. “And now Eldrin, who tried to be different from his father, has fallen in battle. His daughter Elise did not waste a moment before seizing his throne. She killed her siblings, save for Callum who I helped whisk away from the city. The truth is however, Elise won’t give up until she finds him. Even Maeve isn’t safe, she is still a child of Veres. If we let Elise continue to rule it could be the end of the Veres line altogether.”

“Then why not have Callum rule in her stead?” she asked. “I know he’s only half vampire, but so was the Blue Rose.”

“Callum is not ready to lead a Ruling House and he never will be. Try as he might, that boy has a kind heart, a very rare trait in these times, and I would not take that away from him.”

“You’re saying Callum doesn’t have what it takes to make the hard decisions,” Gale said thoughtfully. “It must be his human half.”

“That’s debatable.”

“But I see your point nonetheless.” Gale looked up at him, a flicker of an idea in her eyes, “Then why don’t you rule?”

“What?”

“You’re the half-brother of the Blue Rose and therefore the son of Lady Veres VI,” Gale said, excitement growing in her voice. “You have a claim to the Veres Throne, more so than Elise. If you wanted, you could take the throne. She couldn’t stop you.”

Gian shook his head, “Gale, I can’t—”

“But who better to rule House Veres than the Sword Paragon, the wisest and most powerful of the vampires? I would rather serve you than Lady Elise for the rest of my life.”

“Gale… My sister wanted me to inherit Krikolm and to be the next leader of House Veres, but I didn’t want it. I still don’t and I never will. Please, do not ask it of me again.”

“But, I don’t understand. Why not?”

“Because it was my sister’s throne,” he whispered, pain clear in his voice.

If he took the throne, the last part of him that held hope for her return, that Stryga was still out there somewhere, would be gone.

“Okay…” Gale said softly. “If not you, then who? Stryg? Even if he carries the Blue Rose’s blood, he is no vampire, he doesn’t even know our ways. Do you think House Gale or any of House Veres’ retainers will accept him? We’d be better off trying to put Callum, a half-human, on the throne. At least the retainers would have a chance of accepting him.”

“It doesn’t matter what any of those Houses think. As you said, they are House Veres’ retainers and Stryg is their rightful lord. They will accept him whether they wish to or not.”

“And you don’t think that will cause inner toil among the Houses?” she asked exasperatedly. “The majority of vampire Houses in Hollow Shade and the Dusk Valley territories follow the Veres. How many of them do you think will stand by as a goblin sits on the Veres Throne?”

“What if it was an Ebon Lord on the throne? Stryg will be the first Ebon Lord in over two centuries. With him on the Veres throne, the family could rise to be Hollow Shade’s Royal House.” He reached out and grabbed Gale’s shoulder, “After the attack on our armies in Dusk Valley the Houses of Veres and Gale are the most vulnerable that they have been since the founding of this city. We need Stryg now more than ever.”

Gale bit her lip. “I don’t think Stryg is suited to rule House Veres.” She sighed deeply, “But I am with you, uncle. If you think this is the right path, I will walk it.”

“Thank you, my lady,” Gian bowed his head gratefully.

“Just promise me, when the time comes, you will help me kill Elohnoir and if necessary, put an end to House Noir altogether.”

Gian sighed reluctantly, “...I promise.”