A Dream of Empire Ch. 023

No sex this chapter.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Tatiana 'Tanya' Vittori

Redstone, Imperial Kingdom of Tardia

25^th of Sun's Rest, 1282 D.f.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Far before the sun had risen, a sorceress-in-black scurried about her tower. Her mind was a whirlwind of dread and excitement, and her heart pounded proudly as she pondered what the day would bring. Oh darling, how I've missed you so!

She packed her clothes and makeup without barely a conscious thought but him. She spun about to find some reading material for the week - and nearly tripped over her kitty, who had clearly decided that the space between her feet was the right place to be.

Tanya giggled and knelt down, giving Dusk a good scratch behind the ear. "Today's the day, Dusk! Today's the day I ask Talos to take me in. I'll be his live-in mate, and shower him with all manner of affection."

Dusk gave her a pitiful meow, and stared at her with wide, sad eyes. "Aw! I'll miss you too," the sorceress pouted. "But I'll return for you, don't you worry. I just need to ensure that everything's fine on the opposite end. You, meanwhile, need to remain here so it appears as if I haven't left. Can you do that for me?"

He purred, and snuggled against her hand. "Superb," Tanya grinned as she got back to her feet. "You're so sweet, Dusk. Methinks I'll have Talos catch the biggest tuna in the South Sea, just for you."

Deceiving her family was, unfortunately, an important part of her plan. While Tanya's father had never required her to marry, he would certainly cut her off from the family's wealth had she decided to move in with another man. She had to be sure that the ground was stable on the other side of that chasm before burning the bridge for good.

But Tanya wouldn't be springing the question on Talos and Alanna in person. Instead, she'd gifted a Memory Crystal to Talos on his name day, a stone that allowed her man to relive five distinct memories of hers. Four of those thoughts were inconsequential memories of Tanya exploring her favorite outworld realms, which she was sure Talos would appreciate.

But the fifth memory, why, that one was significant. In that memory she'd recited a letter in a mirror, for him and him alone, where she laid her everything onto a platter and asked if he felt the same; if his heart ached every moment they were parted, and if every second together felt a blessing. Because all is magic when there is hope, and hope is all you bring me.

In the end, she couldn't finish the letter without breaking into tears, no matter how many times she tried. She hoped Talos wouldn't mind. Tanya only wished that he would say 'yes' as she stuffed several changes of clothes into her pack. She only prayed that he felt the same as she tossed a couple dozen books into her bag. Soon, her pack held a tenth of her library and a quarter of her wardrobe, yet only weighed a paltry half-stone. The marvels of modern magics! She scanned her tower one last time, ensuring nothing was amiss.

Well. Everything appeared settled besides her anxious thoughts, and only one man in the aetherius would ever remedy those. So she shut her eyes and dreamt, imagining a roaring fireplace flanked by ebony statuettes of lions, tigers, and bobcats, and cast her spell of teleportation.

-=-

Tanya rejoined the world a half-instant later, only to find her man standing on a cliff-side about thirty yards away. Six foot soldiers in red-and-gold holding crossbows, and one mounted, white-of-hair and familiar, had him cornered there. Imperials, Tanya knew. Here, in Solais!

"Lord Talos of Evora," the white-haired woman brusquely shouted, "you are under arrest for suspicions of treason, subversion, heresy, and assault on an Imperial officer. Drop your weapons and come with us quietly, else I've no choice but to extinguish your flame here and now." The woman had a bound-and-gagged man draped over her horse's flanks, who Tanya soon recognized as the bard Emmanuel.

Hiding was Tanya's only option. She hadn't the will to support Talos with magics right after a teleportation of such distance, and so she looked on the scene from behind a large boulder, and prayed that the coming moments wouldn't be Talos' last.

"As I hold Dawnbringer, Inquisitor Kaisa, I am invincible," Talos coldly declared. "Come and take it."

Talos' disdain for the Inquisitor's warning was readily apparent through his smirk. With no fear, he unsheathed his gleaming sword of fate and raised it towards the Imperials.

The Inquisitor raised a balled fist. "No man or sword is beyond the Emperor's reach! Loose!"

Talos spun through the incoming volley of crossbow bolts, parrying one, and drew his own crossbow and leveled it at the Inquisitor in turn. The white-haired witch slumped in her saddle when his bolt thumped into her chest.

The soldiers then dropped their crossbows and advanced on Talos with broadsword and shield. His position was precarious; if Talos remained where he was, the Imperials could very well just push him off the cliff and into the sea. Perhaps recognizing this, Talos hastily advanced towards one end of the line of legionnaires, shattered that soldier's blade with his a forceful swing from his own, then thrust his sword through a gap in the soldier's armor, felling him.

The swordmaster danced through the rest in a similar manner, never once allowing himself to be cornered. His swift footwork ensured that what should have been a six-on-one battle was instead turned into duel after hopeless duel, with an Imperial falling in agony every couple seconds. No one could ever hope to match his strikes. None could follow his movements. But to the Imperials' credit, they did still close in on him to meet their deaths honorably nonetheless.

The Inquisitor had barely regained her senses by the time Dawnbringer twisted through its final victim. Talos then pointed his sword at her, and crossed the distance between them with sure step.

"Moondust. That's why your magics are unresponsive," he calmly said. "Come now. Raise swords with me Inquisitor, and join your brethren with dignity."

"As if a traitor's words could ever pierce me. This isn't over, Talos of Evora," the Inquisitor choked out as she clutched her breast. She turned her horse about with a shrill cry, threw Emmanuel off the back, and galloped off towards the city.

Talos sheathed his sword and reloaded his crossbow, then leveled it with the now-distanced rider. She had to have been ninety yards away by now, making an additional ten every second as she threatened to transform into a speck on the horizon. He aimed, lifted his bow's trajectory about a foot into the sky, and squeezed the trigger.

He missed.

Talos never had a chance to hit his mark, and the bolt thumped into the dirt about thirty yards short. Tanya, looking about the bloodied battlefield, stumbled from behind her rock to rush towards her man.

"Talos! Pray tell you're alright?!" she cried.

"Tatiana..." he muttered as he turned about. "Hey. I'm fine."

Tanya shook her head as she clutched Talos' arms, scanning him with worried gaze. "No you are not! You're bleeding!"

"It's not mine," he coolly replied.

"No-no-no, Talos, you're in shock. Take off your cloak."

She didn't wait for him to follow her ask. Tanya instead unclasped his cloak herself, and helped guide him to the ground. She then pushed every bit of her remaining willpower into him; but a powerless restoration spell does not heal.

"Honey, my magics aren't enough... it's... too soon..."

"Hm - they did get me," Talos muttered when he saw his bloodied glove. "My pack, Tatiana. Canteen with a cross."

She found the pack not twenty feet away, and scrambled over Talos to grab it. Rather than searching through the bag herself, she took the entire thing back to him. Talos found the proper canteen and popped the cork, then poured a miniscule amount of its contents over the wound. He chugged the rest.

"Ah," he exhaled. "Gotta love rosemary. And alchemy."

Tanya gave him a worried smile. "Will you be alright?"

"Yeah. Glancing blow. Didn't hit anything important."

"Praise the gods. But, how did they find you here?"

Talos rolled his head towards the still-bound, dirt-bound Emmanuel. "Probably somethin' to do with him. Well, probably should have stuck to our pseudonyms, more like."

"I told you," Tanya pouted. "That career in the coliseum was far too public."

"Yeah. Joke's on me for believing the Empire would remain within their own borders, I guess. Help me up, honey. We gotta find Alanna and Talos, and get out of Solais as soon as we can. We'll make for the only soul who just might have the power to protect us."

"You don't mean...?"

"Mhm. Cass," he said.

Cass. What an extraordinary set of circumstances to finally send Talos that way. She rolled her head towards Emmanuel, who was still kicking and groaning as he laid bound in the dirt.

"What about him?" she asked. Talos trudged that way.

"Yeah... what about you, Em? It seems all you're good for of late is leading the Inquisition my way," Talos gruffly said, kneeling down before him. He removed the gag from Emmanuel's mouth.

"Puh, puh! I had nothing to do with it, Talos. I hardly said a word more than 'set me free', of that you must believe me," Emmanuel retorted, lifting his bound wrists. Talos shook his head as he cut through the rope, then helped lift the bard to his feet.

"I suppose it's all a coincidence, then? That they show whenever you do?"

"No. Not a coincidence," Tanya replied for him with a squint, studying the shaken bard. "He's a geomantic trace cast upon him. This would have allowed the Inquisitor to find him no matter where he went. Locating you after that is simple - just follow the string connecting you and him," she explained matter-of-factly.

"The fair lady speaks true! They captured me as I traveled through Santaria, right out of the blue," Emmanuel sang as he brushed himself off.

"Fine," Talos sighed, pointing off towards the horizon. "Well, you're free now, Em. Solais is that-a-way."

"But the geometry trace!" the bard cried.

"I can dispel the trace," Tanya exhaled, "in... a moment. By the time we return to the city, I'm sure."

Emmanuel almost acknowledged her, but instead immediately returned his arm-flailing attentions back towards Talos. "But Talos! You wouldn't leave me here undefended, surely?! You cannot say your altruism is for your lovers purely?!"

"It will be if you keep rhyming. Don't tell me you wanna tag along?" Talos groaned.

"To see Cass the lass? Why, of course I do. Better that than a solitary jaunt, a jaunt that would go askew."

Talos shook his head and glanced towards Tanya, who only shrugged her shoulders. Ultimately, she was ambivalent to his presence.

"Eh... fine," he acquiesced. "You can come with. But know this, Em; I haven't forgiven you for Pinkwater." Talos took a deep breath as he gazed off towards the city.

"Let's go."

-=-=-

The three of them made haste to the Castle of Solais. There, they found getting past the guards was a simpler task than expected, what with Talos' fame from his time in the arena. They barely questioned his bloodied armor, and certainly didn't ask for his sword. They even offered to escort Talos and Tanya to the council chambers, where Alanna and the Castellan of the castle were reviewing many a stack of papyrus between them, and the babe Talos was resting in a cradle nearby.

Tanya frowned upon seeing the sight, knowing Alanna had no idea of what had just transpired. No idea that she'd be torn away from her new life as a Court Sorceress for reasons beyond her control. Talos pulled her away from her work, and explained the situation with more thoughts than words. Tanya kept a respectable distance from them, and didn't hear the ensuing conversation; but the resigned sigh Alanna let out but two minutes later certainly broke her heart. Alanna then inhaled, nodded, and turned towards the Castellan.

"Bernard. There's no easy way to say this, but... I'm afraid I must resign," she quavered. "Talos and I must journey away from here post-haste."

Bernard put down the papyrus he was holding, giving her his full attention. "You know, you're allowed to a leave of absence, Alanna."

"It isn't that simple. Truthfully, I do not know when I'll return, or even if. There are dark forces hunting us for the most asinine reasons, Bernard. And they will not forget of us now."

Bernard folded his hands together and leaned over the table. "Should I ask? Should I know?"

Alanna swayed side-to-side in contemplation. "You recall the incident of Kianra and Talos? Well, they are lovers, Bernard, but we do not play to her side per say. And, she was once only mortal... or, so we thought. And we were friends. She lived in the Empire with us, as normal as any girl, and just for that the Imperials would have us hanged. But then she, um, accidentally provoked the Jade Moon event whilst in our company, which enlightened her to her true identity; and for that, they'd hunt us to the ends of the world. Even here apparently, inside a sovereign nation. My man was just attacked but twenty minutes ago, by Imperials in red-and-gold."

"I... see. It's been a long while since I've heard of the Imperials acting so brazen. They risk much by striking here. But Alanna, if it's only a matter of misunderstanding, we can open diplomatic channels. Alfred's on good terms with the Empire, you know."

"I know, but we cannot wait for that," Alanna pouted. "They've no respect for Solais' borders, Bernard. They ambushed my man within sight of the capital! We've no choice but to run, or hold the risk of the Inquisition's wrath every night we sleep."

"And we have guards, Alanna. We have armies."

"And none will stay the Emperor's fist, nor will I allow a single soul to fall protecting me. I'm sorry."

Bernard leaned back in his chair, sighing. "Alfred's going to lock me in the stocks for letting you go... yet, perhaps it's all the better that he isn't here," he said, snatching a loaded purse of gold from the table. He tossed it to Alanna. "Gods guide you, sorceress. It was a pleasure to work beside you, no matter how short-lived it was."

"Gratitude... but, what's this for?" Alanna perplexedly asked.

"Let's call it a severance. And I'll see what I can do regarding the Imperials. You just stay safe, alright?"

"Alright," she smiled. "Thank you, Bernard. For everything. You're a good man. Tell the others that I want to return once things are sorted, and, um, if the Empire inquires on our whereabouts-"

"Please, don't tell me a thing," he interjected with a raised hand. "I can hazard an educated guess, but it's better I don't know."

"You're right," Alanna murmured, turning away from the table to take her babe from his cradle. "Farewell, Bernard."

"Farewell, Alanna."

And just like that, the three of them walked away from the life they knew for only a season. Tanya thought it almost silly, how quickly such a good thing could come to an end. She wondered if Talos' journey on Mundus had always been like this; not that she'd complain if it was.

Alanna soon held them up in the entrance hall, tugging on Talos' sleeve. "Talos, wait. I need to say goodbye to someone. I'll be but a minute," she whispered, looking at one of the guardsmen by the door.

Talos glanced towards the guard, then took the babe from Alanna's arms. "Alright. We'll be outside."

Something about their terse exchange wasn't sitting right with Tanya. So, when she and Talos crossed under the Castle's main archway, she pointedly asked of him, "who was that?"

Talos shrugged his shoulders. "Doesn't really matter now; but, Alanna met him on the Solstice. She was gonna ask you today if she could, uh, pursue him."

"And why in all the hells would I agree to that?" she thinly questioned.

"Figured you wouldn't. Again, doesn't matter now."

"I certainly feel as if it does. Talos, why would that decision fall on my shoulders?"

"Because I'd've let her," he shrugged again.

"What?!"

Talos scanned the marble steps before them, his gaze thinned with lack of patience. "Tatiana, suppress that anger until we've a semblance of safety. That's an order. That Inquisitor or others could return at any moment, and the teleportation square here in Solais obviously isn't secured. We've more important fish to cook."

Tanya pursed her lips. "Yessir."

And with that, they remained silent for a time. Emmanuel decided to join them when he realized they wouldn't climb down the steps just yet, but he daren't speak a word either; he only whistled. A happy tune for that matter, one far too joyous for the occasion. Talos told him to quiet; he had to think.

Alanna rejoined them just two minutes later, tucking a loose lock of hair behind her ear.

"All set?" Talos asked of her, returning their babe to his mother's safe-keeping.

"Yeah, I am. I told him to forget about me, but instead he... offered to protect me," Alanna chuckled as she rocked her son. "Oh, the naivety of youth."

"Hm," Talos half-smiled. "I'm sorry for the sudden disunion, honey. But I need you to get to the horses, then go home and pack everything of import. We won't be returning. Tanya, go with her. There's a charged soulstone in the trunk at home that should allow you to port us out of here post-haste. Verify that. I myself am going to the bank - who knows how long the paperwork will take. We'll meet in Fulgrim's Plaza when our tasks are done, or two hours before noon if they're not."

"And for myself, Talos?" Emmanuel inquired.

"Leave, or go with Tatiana if you cannot. Just don't get in the way," Talos commanded.

-=-=-

The party reconvened in Fulgrim's Plaza about an hour later. As it turned out, packing up the house was a simple task. Besides the small keepsakes, the jewelry, the makeup, and a couple changes of clothes, Alanna and Talos hadn't purchased much else useful besides furniture.

Talos had picked the plaza as their meeting point for one obvious reason; it was where the teleportation square of Solais was located. And typically, when one saw a group of people snap out of existence right before their eyes, they got nervous. But disappearing atop a square, why, that was just what people did.

The party got close to one another and held hands for the port to the east. Tanya shut her eyes and thought of the closest location she knew to the Cinder Vale - ol' man Barnabas' cottage - and in an instant she, Alanna, Emmanuel, both Talos', and all their horses were there.

It seemed too early to wake the ol' man though, not to mention that none of them had the stomach to be dragged into another bout of hooch-drinking. They instead turned southwest, into the rolling hills and towards the straightened shore, with a calm, cool wind on their backs.

The party mostly rode in silence over the desolate plains of the Easterlands and through the burbling streams. Emmanuel, having no horse of his own, rode alone on Spirit, while Talos and Tanya rode together atop Tanya's black stallion Twilight. Talos held the reins, and, in front of him and between his arms was Tanya, trying her best to read a levitating tome. Alanna meanwhile rode upon her trusty mare, holding the babe Talos in her arms and by sling as she led the horse telepathically. She was the most distraught of all, and didn't speak a word to anyone but her son. It made sense. She had the most to lose through this whirlwind of misfortune, while the rest of the party - no matter if they were aware or not - were used to a life where the scenery changed swiftly.