664 10/12 4:18 (Autumn, Day, Midrar's Capital, Guild)
"Right, right. Sorry for the distraction. You are correct, the mage became the Advisor. But I need to go a little bit further back to properly explain everything." Bellemire nodded, relaxing back in her chair.
"He was not merely the king's companion and friend, but also his lover. Yet, the ruler of a nation must have a blood-related descendant and the Artifacts that allow such a thing are only a relatively recent creation. The only way for a couple of the same sex to have a biological child at the time was through either Angelic, Demonic or Divine assistance.
"A king must have an heir that is their direct flesh and blood. Royal Decree is too important to risk losing. In addition, while Divine assistance in the conception is accepted, as no God would ever accept being rejected, a ruler must not be born through the influence of either Angels or Demons."
Sarn continued their story, giving his wife time to breathe. "Yet they were now forced to participate in a war to defend their home. A surprise attack was launched on the king, the mage blocking it with his own body to protect his beloved and being left on the brink of death. Most damning, however, was the curse filling the attack, causing his blood to continuously vanish from within his veins.
"If this was an isolated attack, the mage could have allowed himself to die, glad to have shielded his king. However, not only were they in the middle of a war, but his blood was constantly being drained away to an unknown destination and his enemies were Vampires. He couldn't risk dying or he could have been turned into a pawn of the enemy. Yet, neither could he risk this connection be used to possibly harm his beloved, either directly or indirectly.
"So, he found himself in a conundrum. He couldn't die yet neither could he live so long as the connection remained. As you can imagine, the compromise he arrived to, was Undeath. We don't know the method he used to become a Lich or how he learned to, even if we can now guess it." And here Sarn launched a brief glance to Amber.
Taking advantage of his brief pause, Sabel moved back to join in narrating their history. "The king saw his lover, transformed by his own hand into a Monstrous existence, a threat to Humanity, an Undead Monster identical in appearance to a Human, a High Lich.
"Yet what he saw was still just his beloved, embracing and accepting him despite his new nature. And the mage responded to his love and lack of fear by using his newfound abilities to their upmost for the conflict. Using his restless nature, he researched and guarded day and night without pause.
"He used his knowledge of the arcane combined with his new Skills to not only significantly increase his personal combative power but also refine various Spells to better support an army. This is the reason that Midrar even now officially judges anyone possessing their own Unique Skill to be a Person.
"Unfortunately, however, before the war could end..." And here Sabel stopped, opening her mouth and then closing it a couple of times before burrowing into Luna.
"Upon the precipice of the end of the war. " Bellemire continued, her lips twisting sympathetically at her daughter's action. "The then king of Midrar died, killed while the Lich was on the frontline. All because of a general that, terrified, hid that they were cursed similarly to how he was. As you can imagine, the mage was, to minimize, very enraged.
"Filling himself with hatred, he tripled the intensity and brutality of his attacks. Combined with their already grave situations, the war soon reached its end in favour of the coalition of Midrar, Lowrar and a rebellion flaring under the shadow of Nigrar itself.
"However, even after the end of the war, the mage now having completed even the task of avenging his lover, had no longer a purpose. And as time passed, his grasp on his own sanity softened. He recognized it almost immediately. The night of the king's official funeral, he prepared to depart this World before his future actions could bring any harm to his beloved's subjects.
"His last Spell being one he himself invented to kill Vampires, a stake combining Holy-, Light-, Air-, Fire- and even the Lightning Attributes, aimed on impaling his Undead body."
"He was stopped at the last moment, right before the stake would fall." Sabel's muffled voice sounded out, the Human burrowing deeper into Luna's arms. "The thing that stopped him was the voice of the prince, his lover's child that at the tender age of thirteen now found himself permanently without a father after seven years with the latter in war.
"It's not known what exactly was said between the two, but at seeing the child of his beloved, lost and now having to rise to the throne despite his age and grief, let him burn away the resentment for Humanity growing in his Soul. In its place, rapidly bloomed newfound resolve. The mage found a new purpose, one that stabilized him fully. Since then, the High Lich taught, protected and looked after his beloved's children. Even until now, four hundred years later, in his role as Advisor."
Luna gently caressed her little Human's head, helping her calm down her emotions stirred by the story. "Isn't she cute? Every time she hears or tells the story, she reacts the same way." Sabel's mother let out, her eyes narrowing happily at the sight of her daughter being comforted.
"She is super cute." Mafel nodded, silent laughter clear in her golden eyes, her purple pupils focused entirely on the black-haired one. "But turning to the story, there are quite a few questions I have. From where did the young prince come from? What about the rest of the coalition? Or the sudden rebellion? Or the previous royal family of Higrar, how exactly did they end up? Or-"
"Wait, wait, a question at a time please! And I remind you that this is mostly a romanticized version! Even if the facts are real, it still has the primary purpose of moving the listener's emotions! And we are not exactly bards so, you know, please hold back!" Sarn interrupted her, breathing heavily a couple of times.
"Starting from the first question... The king needed an heir so, despite his disinterest, he was part of a political marriage and had a son. Neither of the two was really interested in the other, cutting off most of the unnecessary contact once the prince was born.
"Second, the main point was the story of the Lich, neither the coalition nor the underground resistance in Higrar was exactly a central matter. And most of Higrar's royal family was murdered in the coup.
"The only survivor being a bastard child of the king and a maid that later became the king, mostly a figurehead to be honest, for the nation. Finally, before you ask, the king upon seeing his beloved turn into a Lich, hurriedly changed the condition one is considered a Person to be "the ownership of one's own Unique Skill", making sure to push that definition onto Lowrar in exchange for various concessions.
"Act that Higrar later imitated to show their goodwill towards the nations responsible for their liberation. And to eliminate as many casus belli as possible considering their much weakened, almost destroyed, military."
Sarn leaned back in his chair, breathing out and stretching now that his story was done.
Bellemire, seeing her exhausted husband, merely sent him an amused gaze, before turning back to her daughter. "Before you ask, while most Gods are against letting Undeads roam freely, either because they reject them directly or because they want them to rejoin the Sea of Souls. Thankfully, if this could be said to be fortunate, they were in war and the Lady of War does not particularly care about such matters. She is fair like that.
"It's why She is one of the most widely worshipped Goddess. Even if She has her favourites, She doesn't particularly care about one's identity, only their abilities. And a High Lich with a Unique Skill, centuries of experience and still able to use the Holy-Attribute is valuable indeed." Stilling after watching her interlocutors, the grown woman couldn't help but pout.
"Sabel, couldn't you have at least one girlfriend properly interested in Deities?" She lamented sadly, gently kicking the ground beneath her feet.
At her words, Mafel and Amber could only look away, aware of their lack of interest in the Entities while Luna merely blinked at her a couple of times. "I am interested in them?" She corrected only to receive a soft elbow-strike from Sabel.
"She meant academically or theologically, not... well, as opponents or meals." The Human softly corrected, trying to explain to her Mate without her parents hearing, trying and failing at that if the concerned gaze from them was any sign.
Luna merely blinked at her, causing Sabel to sigh and hide her face into the white-haired one's chest, trying to evade the gazes of her parents. "Returning to the central matter, I would suggest for Luna to always remain in the presence of either my daughter or one of us, just to be on the safe side."
At Sarn's words Luna sighed, her arms encircling her Mates and pulling them further against herself, boredom already clear in what she felt. "Are there any Monsters nearby to kill?" She asked, earning only a raised eyebrow.
"Outside of the nearby Dungeons, no." At Bellemire's words, the Vampiric one groaned.
"And I suppose entering in one of them would need permission and time." She sighed, perking up only once she saw Sarn's proud expression.
"I remind you that I am a Guildmaster for a reason. Give me a couple of days and I will find some openings. In the meantime, darling, why don't you accompany them home? I am sure you all would need some privacy." Sarn gently ordered his daughter, he and his wife exchanging a glance too brief yet full of meaning for the four to read.
---
Thanks for reading, comment if you have any thoughts about this chapter and story in general or any suggestion at all.
If you want to read chapters in advance of this and my other story, I have a P@treon.
( [email protected]/White_Chaos )