House Ravenin - The Folded Path Pt. 02

I quickly ran the implications through my head, sharp thoughts bombarding me about what could and should be done. These items changed everything, quickly and completely. They were the missing pieces I'd been looking for.

"Xia, summon Lenu quickly," I hummed with authority, setting firm blue eyes on her. They were not scared or forced, but very intense and filled with purpose. "Meet me in the atrium. She has to see this."

"Right away, Master," Xia said, hustling out the door. I gathered up the tabard and the helmet, choked down a few gulps of air, then rushed to the atrium.

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When Xia arrived at the atrium with Lenu the black tabard spackled with blood was spread out across the top of the table, the helmet placed squarely at the neckline. I stepped aside as they entered, letting Lenu catch them full in her gaze.

Lenu's white-gold eyes snapped open in disbelief, the look on her face filling with horrid revelation. She sharply looked up at me like a worse fear had been realized, then back at the tabard as though it was calling to her.

A conversation flashed through Lenu's mind, the one she and I'd shared in the exercise yard down below this very room. It was a grim reminder of where we had left it that day, the exposure of a lie and a bad choice that had sent her twirling off the Path she wanted to be on. Now, back upon the Path of her choosing, this one item of clothing threatened to send her careening off once more.

Had she grown since that day? Has so much changed? Where did she stand now? What did she want her life to be?

A gasp left Lenu's lips. It spoke of a whispered desire, a true and honest wonder innocently echoing in her mind. Who am I, now?

"Lenu, do you know this symbol?" I softly asked, my voice firm and even.

Lenu took a step forward and slightly raised her nose, looking down upon the tabard to make sure it was what she thought, then nodded once.

"I do, Master," Lenu gently offered, lifting her eyes to me. "I know what this means."

I nodded and let out a small breath, Xia back a step and to Lenu's right doing the same.

"Lenu, would you be willing to share its meaning with me?" I asked, not taking my gaze off of her eyes. "I'm well aware of what it represents. The tabard and symbol are from the mercenary group that attacked Crissone, the port town where you were captured and then sold as a slave in Kadatan. This group is also responsible for many other border skirmishes and incitements. In truth, I would go out on a limb and surmise that they are a driving force behind the entire conflict."

"By giving me the identification of this symbol we can stop the war, skirmishes, destruction, and the deaths all in one swoop," I said, still closely watching Lenu. "If you help me we can protect everyone, human and elf, from further disaster."

Lenu took a deep breath, steeling herself as she willed the answer of where she stood forward. She searched deep into the corners of her heart and mind, divining the true answer of what this meant to her. Where she had come from, where she was now, and where she wanted to be.

This was the definitive step that would define Lenu's legacy. This, was her moment.

Father, I will make you proud of me, came the heart-touched promise drifting through Lenu's thoughts. I will be a daughter worth telling tales about, the kind that fills your smile with the happiness you deserve in your life. I was wrong before, Father, but I won't be today. Not now, not ever again. I swear it to you.

"Master Ravenin, there is something important I need to tell you," Lenu softly started, taking a step toward me. "I have been on an undesirable Path for a while now. The one before I met you was destructive, unthinking, and reckless. Since that time I have found a new Path, this one kind, honorable, and truthful. I would like to stay upon this new Path for as long as I can, however by revealing what this symbol means I would be reverting back to my old ways. The knowledge would start another blaze that will burn without a foreseeable end, one bathed in the ashes from the fire this very knowledge would put out."

"So I ask you this, Master Ravenin. How do I give you what you need to protect this house, these people, and those of both human and elven lives that have and will be touched by this decision, without causing more mayhem and carnage that will come by the telling?" Lenu asked, honest and curious. "I will do whatever I can to protect you and these people, my people and my home, but I cannot in good conscience reveal the answer to you, or anyone, until I am certain it can be handled properly and with as little collateral damage as possible."

I must of had a stunned look on my face. It reflected back at me from Xia, giving me a confused, yet impressed, look from back behind Lenu. If I correctly took her meaning then this revelation would set fire to some very dry kindling, just waiting for a spark to light it. It meant this incursion went deeper than just a mercenary group gathering weapons, pining for old times and ready to start a war.

Sonnaju was just an extension of the mercenary group, a bogeyman that had been used to incite further distrust and disagreement. It all went along with Masters attacking Masters, The Nenis and Ignia, slaves being sold that were gathering information...

It was all a multi-pronged, layered scheme that went farther, higher, and deeper with this one symbol at its center. No wonder Lenu didn't want to say anything, or why she's hidden it away for this long. She knew deep down what all of it meant, and now for the first time she knew how it affected not just her but everyone else that it touched. This answer wasn't a blunt instrument to be wielded, it was a scalpel and had to be precisely used. Any other way invited disaster.

Lenu saw this, leaving me impressed and honored in the wake of her keen perception, so I decided to give her the chance she'd been hoping for.

"I don't know, Lenu," I answered, drawing a quick blink of surprise from Lenu. "What would you do?"

Wide, white-gold eyes studied me with such disbelieving intensity, blazing hot and beautiful like the glow of a horizon. Whatever stunned look I had earlier was now showing directly back from Lenu. She didn't think I'd give her this chance, not really. Yet here that opportunity was, bright and gorgeous, telling a story she could see. She could read its implications, saw the threads and how they tugged on each other, along with the far-reaches and consequences.

I didn't have a clue what it all represented. Well, that's partly true. I saw the tapestry and implications, without a doubt, but she had been raised all her life to see just this sort of thing. It also meant that maybe, just maybe, she'd listened to her father more than she ever thought she did.

Maybe this is where I'm supposed to be, doing what I'm supposed to be doing, came the soft thought, a gentle smile coming to Lenu's lips afterward. If it is then I know exactly where I want to be, and how I want to do it. My Path is clear.

"Master, with all due respect, I need to borrow Xia's and Alasia's presence for the rest of the evening," Lenu firmly declared. She quickly walked up to the table and precisely folded the tabard, taking it into her hands. "I need you to forget that you saw this. Its existence in your life will only cause problems. Whatever I could tell you about this you'd be honor-bound to leap upon and act, both as a Master of House Ravenin and a Master of Keys serving the Folded Path."

"Understand that I take this from your sight and authority not to hide or conceal it, but to act decisively and perfectly upon its revelation," continued Lenu. "You have my word as a Lady of House Ravenin, my bond with the people of this house and my love for you, that I will serve the best and greatest good of all if you allow me this chance."

Lenu's voice dropped as her gaze turned pure and clear. "Please, Master Ravenin. Let me show you how much this Path means to me. I will prove to you, without a shadow of doubt cast in any direction, that I can do this."

I nodded to Lenu, looked up to Xia who nodded back once in agreement, then back to Lenu's waiting gaze. "If you feel that strongly about this issue, Lady Lenu, then I leave it and whatever resources you require in your perfect, capable hands."

A wide, perfect smile broke out across Lenu's face. Like the sun itself had just burst free from the clouds, long marred from seeing it so clearly, she flared in awe-inspiring confidence. This was her moment. She was not going to waste a single second.

"Thank you, Master!" Lenu blurted, bowing deeply then quickly rising. The brilliant smile was still plastered on her face as she grabbed Xia's arm, half-dragging her out of the atrium. "We will be in the den! Leave us be until we are finished, please?"

A ferocious clatter of chatter began tumbling out of Lenu's lips as she marched Xia down the hallway to the den. The sound quickly faded away, leaving me alone in the growing silence of the atrium. I shrugged and sighed, sitting down and propping my head up on my arm in humorous acknowledgment. I'd had worse things done to me.

One of the more brazen Widdowveils, a red one who was burbling hungrily, meandered across the furnishings and onto the table by my elbow. The round little bird rubbed against my skin, emitting a string of little burps and widdles that made it sound like a ill-tuned horn and a deflating balloon fighting for the same air. I knew how it felt.

"Well, little one, dinner for two?" I asked, offering my palm to the bird. It happily climbed in my hand and snuggled up against the place where my fingers met my palm, perfectly content as I stood up and stretched.

"I suppose we'll have to get our own dinner tonight," I stated to the Widdowveil. The little bird seemed to nod in agreeance, continuing to burble and hum in my hand. "You're right, we should leave a tray of food for the ladies outside the den. Good odds they'll be at it a while."

Good for you, Lenu, hummed my thoughts, the Widdowveil content to ride through the house as we walked quickly and quietly to the kitchen. You found your Path, finally. Your father would be proud.

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The rest of the afternoon and evening passed without incident or further excitement. When I checked on the plate of food I left outside the den for the ladies, just to make sure it didn't spoil, I found that it had already been taken inside. I didn't stay to pry out what they were working on, accepting that it was enough that all three of them had been in there for a few hours now.

That they'd stopped for food was a good sign. It meant that the important work was getting done. Had I found the door open or the tray still there, then the right steps hadn't being taken.

Each step was filled with symbols and patterns, every one of them. They worked well and justly, taking care of one another. The ladies were no exception. Their's was the best kind of project, no matter what they accomplished. As long as it was done together it would succeed, without a shred of doubt or worry.

Well, maybe a little worry. I was Master of House Ravenin, after all. Everything required a bit of my observation and understanding. Thankfully, this responsibility had been given and received by the best and brightest House Ravenin had to offer. There was no reason to force myself into the fray if the entire purpose was to keep me out of it, a reason that Lenu was adamant about.

We'd all talk later, that was a sure thing. Until then, it was my duty to let the Path serve the people. I had done my part, and now it was their turn. It was going to be a story to tell, one way or another.

When nightfall finally came I dropped off the freshly fed Widdowveil back in the atrium, the little red bird fast asleep as I placed him on the bushy branch. As soon as I set it on the soft nest of leaves it changed colors, flawlessly shifting from a deep red to a dark midnight blue.

Sleeping soundly, the bird hardly noticed my elation. Nonetheless I smiled and bowed at the tender discovery, its true nature coming forth in the calm peacefulness of belonging.

A group of Widdowveils was vividly singing outside my bedroom window as I entered the foyer, filling the night time air with their rolling notes of high and low. I slowly undressed and eased into bed, drifting off to sleep as the Pillars inside me glowed and hummed beautifully.