"Well, that was quite unfortunate," Saint Jest was not speaking out loud. Instead, he was communicating telepathically with the other Saints of Valor using a Memory.
"What on earth is that ring? The sparks…that thing was forged. Yet its quality is not at all lesser than my brothers." Madoc's dark tone came through even with the telepathic speech. "The red sparks from our Valor smiths indicate our specific crafting technique, so black and purple must indicate something else. Though I have no idea what it could be."
"Well, such sorcery was never your strong suit. Just report it back to the King and don't try to think too hard on it," Jest teased and smiled warmly as he applauded the kissing couple. However, inside he was deeply concerned and more than a little annoyed.
In the Jade Palace, the Saints of Valor were at – quite literally – a supreme disadvantage. Their advantage lies in the sheer quantity and type of guest that had been invited. With many Awakened from both the Government and the House of Night here, neither side could make a direct move.
This meant that there was a chance that the three Saints, as well as the five Knights made it out of here alive.
However, Valor was bound for that very same reason. The vast majority of espionage was off the table. If they tried to do something and were caught, Valor may very well be doomed.
That was, if they weren't already doomed.
Jest had to admit things were looking pretty sticky. Now that the guy was a Transcendent, his power had grown beyond what even they had projected. They thought he would be someone even more terrifying than Beastmaster, Whispering Blade, and Jest himself. They thought he would be the strongest Saint ever.
The reality was, it was hard to even call the abomination a Saint. He was simply that tyrannical. Now he was going to receive the Divine Lineage of the Beast God. Though there was a sliver of hope that the blood would reject and kill him, nobody was holding out for that outcome.
Gehrman had made too many impossible things happen, and now it seemed like the only thing that would be able to deal with him was something incredibly drastic.
Tonight, they were not going to do that drastic thing.
However, they did need to accomplish something.
As terrifying as the "Red Judge" was, there was still another massive problem. Even if they managed to take him off the board before the war began in earnest, the evil, false spawn of Valor was developing into a threat that could bring only slightly less calamity.
He was only a Master at this point, but with him receiving direct aid from Gehrman, things could quickly spiral out of control.
So that was the main goal of tonight. They needed to lure out Mordret, and capture him once again.
This would be incredibly difficult, even for the party they had brought. The fiend was more elusive than anyone else, after all.
Therefore, Anvil had bestowed upon them a second objective. A bit of espionage that would work and could not be confirmed.
That was for Jest to use his Aspect at specific points during the night.
The abilities of Saint Jest were among the most deplorable in all humanity, perhaps being even more terrifying than Beastmaster.
His physical capabilities, incredible battle IQ, and great experience aside, his true power lie in mind attacks.
Jest could turn a person's emotions into his very own plaything. He could heighten certain emotions and dampen others. He could switch his own emotions, or another person's emotions, with any person he so wished.
This may seem to be rather mundane, but in practice it was deadly. A fierce opponent might suddenly have their will to fight nullified and their dread and fear amplified. In a space with multiple people, Jest could shuffle around people's emotions in a way that (even though they logically understood Jest was an enemy) would end up with them fighting on his side.
Many times human foes surrounded him, only to end up killing each other before Jest even lifted a finger.
This was the horror of the executioner of Valor.
Of course, if Jest chose to turn this beautiful wedding into a bloody massacre he could do so. It wouldn't be hard to draw up the deep seated anger or old resentments in the hearts of those around him and lead them to brutal violence.
However, they were under the eye of Ki Song.
That woman knew exactly what his powers were, and if things looked like they were getting too out of hand, she would step in and end him.
Jest had proposed this very scenario himself, actually.
If someone suddenly picked a fight with him, and then violence broke out, he could pretend to be the victim. Ki Song, knowing the truth, would smite him. However, to all present it would seem as if the Queen of Ravenheart had turned mad, and then the forces of the Government and the House of Night would join Valor in taking her down.
Anvil had considered it, but ultimately came to the conclusion that this simply wouldn't work. If that event were to occur Ki Song could do a few things to ruin it. She could spin the story, revealing Jests Aspect and forcing all others to agree to denounce Valor and claim that they had made the first move, thus starting the war early.
She could blame it on a Nightmare Creature, while lazy, it was impossible to disprove. Plus, the Queen had more than enough Titanic corpses to put on a show of it being an abomination's fault.
Finally, the real and true reason Anvil did not want to go as far as turn the wedding into a pit of death was because of Gehrman.
That man was a true and utter wild card, and was also ridiculously powerful. In that council meeting, Anvil had asked Tyris if he thought that Madoc, Jest, and Her could take down Gehrman if they worked together.
She responded that even if all three of them fought with all the Saints of Song to suddenly try to take down the Red Judge, they would fail. Such a scenario would include approximately 15 Saints, including the Song Princesses (Tyris clarified) and all the Masters. Even still, the outcome would be the same.
Gehrman wouldn't just win, he would slaughter them.
With power like that, it wasn't hard to imagine that if violence broke out, the Saint could just use his power to halt everyone in the room and peacefully end things without a drop of blood being shed.
Both Jest and Madoc had found it dubious, but Anvil had placed his trust in the sharp eyes of Tyris.
The King was right, of course, the second they laid eyes on him all the way up on a balcony in the Jade Palace the both of them could feel it.
The old men exchanged glances and agreed that this was something truly absurd.
So, that left Jest with very limited options. Still, there were little nudges he could give. Slightly raising the ire of representatives of the House of Night and Government, for example, at being forced to come to this display.
Subtly increasing the boisterous attitude and pride of those of Song to make them seem less gracious hosts. It was such small adjustments that no one would ever notice, not even the Queen of Worms.
Then the ceremony started. This was a prime opportunity, in fact the main opportunity to complete the second objective.
Jest was told to – in whatever manner – disrupt the order of the wedding. This did not mean destroy the ceremony, but instead make it seem less put together, prepared, and most importantly, less genuine.
The mission was to give the impression that this whole thing was a sham. That Song was nothing more than power hungry fiends.
Then the ceremony began. Jest was in tune with all emotions, so he instantly knew…that this wouldn't work either.
"Madoc, we appear to have a problem," Jest had told him.
"What do you mean?"
"They appear to be genuinely infatuated with each other."
Saint Madoc, the Whispering Blade, had more experience than most at keeping his cool under pressure. He was old and adaptable. The only one better in this regard was perhaps Jest, or the Government Saint, Wake of Ruin.
"There is no disdain in the Song Princess's heart? No regrets to dredge up?"
"Not that I kind find. It's quite deplorable really. Who would have thought that she would be attracted to young men. If anything, we can use that as something that is untowards. The Princess seduces a promising young man for her own gratification! Could that work?"
"That depends, how does Gehrman feel?"
"...I don't know."
Madoc's fist tightened slightly. It was completely imperceptible to everyone, but a sign that he had grown quite stressed.
"What do you mean 'you don't know'? He is not Supreme. Even if he is strong, his might comes with physical prowess. As you are the same Rank, it shouldn't be possible for him to shut you out."
"Well, that would ordinarily be true. First of all, the man is insane. Feeling the emotions of such a creature would undoubtedly be dangerous. Delving deep may even have consequences for me. However, that isn't even an option. I only feel silence from him. He must have a truly extraordinary Memory, one of the Supreme Rank."
"This is not time for your jokes, old man."
"Come now, I have been terribly serious this whole time, haven't I? Truthfully, it is starting to drain me a good bit. Though I have to admit that this turn is significantly worse for my mental state."
Madoc unclenched his fist, entering a state of detachment in order to not give anything away.
"Then let's do the opposite. It may be crude to play up the angle of the Princess being an aggressor or predator, but if you can stoke her desires and make her act untoward, we might be able to use that."
"Quite fiendish of you Madoc. Alright then, I'll start small and work my way up."
Jest's Aspect, at least this application of it, required Essence. Normally one would be able to sense it, Ki Song especially since this was her Domain. However, Jest's ability was unique in that it was practically invisible and inevitable.
However, even that had a limit. If things were too drastic, Ki Song would notice the fluctuation. Whether she would act on it would depend on how long it lasted and what the consequences were.
Jest seamlessly attached the connection. At that moment, Seishan would not notice a thing, no one would.
It was then that they finished their vows, and Gehrman produced the ring.
Instantly, Jest's warm demeanor stalled.
"Is that the Supreme Memory he was using? Its aura is unnaturally potent. It must be of a high Tier," Madoc spoke quickly in his mind, the only indication he was beginning to lose himself a bit.
Jest moved to enhance Madoc's calm and logistical emotions, steadying the man.
"It's a separate one, I'm still blocked out from Gehrman. However, I would say your judgment on its Rank and Tier is accurate."
Then, Gehrman slipped the ring on her finger, the Memory bonded to her, and when it reapered Jest's pupils dilated a bit.
"Ah, well, it seems we are not accomplishing anything. That Memory must also provide an incredibly high resistance to Mind Attacks. I think because she is a mere Master I can still feel an inkling of her emotions, but the actual manipulation has been neutralized."
The only reason Madoc didn't respond was because Jest was using his ability to stabilize the man.
This was truly some of the most absurd series of events that either of the most experienced Saints had ever encountered. The casual nature of a Supreme Memory being handed out as a gift was utterly ridiculous.
Such a thing would have been a treasure that was of a quality that was supposed to be only accessible to Supremes. However, it was now bonded to an Ascended.
The couple shared a passionate kiss then. Instead of Seishan appearing the aggressor, the both of them seemed deeply in love. So much so that it stunned Jest enough that he thought of his own wife back at his Citadel.
Other than Tyris and her husband and Jest and his own wife, he had scarcely seen a couple in a Legacy Clan that seemed so genuinely attracted to each other.
That bothered him more than it should have.
He checked himself, and soon he was clapping with the rest of the folk there.
"Enough of this. Connect the others. We need to focus on making a move on the abomination. This night won't be a total failure if we manage that."
Indeed, the telepathic link granted by the Memory was only established between Jest and Madoc at the moment. Saint Tyris was a Vassal, after all. Not only that, she seemed to have an actual fondness of Gehrman. Despite the fact she would fight to the death against him if (or rather when) Madoc gave the order, it still felt prudent to leave her out of this.
The other Knights were also much too low in standing to be included in such things. They didn't even know about the secondary mission. They were only briefed on the Prince of Nothing, and what would happen next.
…
The events that occurred after the actual wedding were much more loosely defined. As it turned out, it turned into something not too dissimilar from the Ceremonial Ball. Extravagant meals were provided and dancing was performed.
All the while Jest and two of the Knights went to work on scanning the crowd. It was entirely possible that Mordret was in a mirror somewhere else, but Madoc was fairly certain his nephew would taunt them by appearing in the form of a stolen body.
After the boy's 2nd Nightmare, he had undergone some sort of change. Whether it was gaining an Attribute, an application of his Aspect, or even advanced Sorcery none could be sure. However, Mordret had effectively become immune to any form of prophecy or scrying Aspects.
So they had to resort to more direct measures.
Jest could feel the emotions of all those there. Mordret may have somehow concealed himself from seers, but he could not hide his psychopathic emotions in a crowd.
At least, that was the idea.
However, Mordret had yet to be picked out from those gathered, which suggested he was able to hide, or at least fake emotions enough to trick Jest's Aspect.
If this was the case, it would make the abomination even more difficult to handle. Luring him was a lot easier when he was in an unbalanced state.
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted. A voice and a sudden presence appeared behind him.
"It's a shame, despite the festivities you still seem a bit dour, Madoc."
Whispering Blade turned to see the man of the hour, Gehrman, nursing a glass of wine and looking downright blissful.
Madoc thought for a while on how to respond, then remembered he was dealing with a madman.
"I am still on edge, a murderous evil is loose in the castle, after all."
Gehrman grinned at the response.
"Not playing coy? I appreciate that. In return, I will offer the same courtesy."
The young man took a sip from his glass. For all intents and purposes he seemed a most refined and normal newlywed, which only made the man more unnerving in Madoc's eyes.
"I want to clarify something, since I fear you may have the wrong idea. I am not a fan of that guy's murderous tendencies. I am a butcher and a madman, but above all else I am a Hunter. I only kill beasts, and I hold others to the same principals. So long as man performs an act fitting of a beast, they are not to be killed. Unfortunately, rather recently I have learned that most men have committed such acts, or worse. To save me the trouble of becoming a true furious agent of justice I have come up with a new policy for killing humans. I will only do so when they have done bestial actions to me, or have done so to many, many people."
Madoc's eyes narrowed.
"You say this, yet you still let that thing live?"
"I do, because as far as I can tell, he actually hasn't been the true beast in any of those slaughterings. Besides the actions in that Nightmare – which I personally don't count – he has only ever killed his jailors, and a few folks of the old Valor guard who treated the young boy poorly enough that he tried to use powers he didn't understand to protect himself."
"You really are a madman," Madoc snarled. How can you not see the evil in him? The lack of humanity? He is no better than a Nightmare Creature, no, he is even worse."
"He was a kid who was only treated with disadan, taken away by someone who clearly traumatized him, and then the second he returned he was met with even more fear and cruelty. You're his uncle, and you say such things. It is no wonder he turned out so twisted."
"You admit it then, you see it."
Gehrman met Madoc's eyes with a chilling gaze. It was not scornful, angry, sad, or pitiable, instead it was detachment and logic.
"He has Borderline Personality Border, or at least heavily presents that way, I'm not a psychiatrist so I won't diagnose. From the way you all instantly hated him I'm sure that it was something he was born with. However, just because his emotional processing is different, doesn't mean he is someone to shun. He is your family, for gods sake. If you don't want a psychopath to act like a psychopath then maybe you shouldn't have given him so many damn reasons to do so."
Madoc was silent for a while. Gehrman's argument made him uncomfortable, however, in no part of his soul or mind did he reconsider his stance.
Mordret would, and always would be, nothing more than an abomination.
Only then did Gehrman give him a look of pity.
"Of course, you can't accept that. Since if you did, it would mean a very small amount of blame could be placed on the rest of your family."
"What is your point, boy?" Madoc snapped.
"First of all, I'm older–" Gehrman stopped and then shook his head. "Forget it, I'm not gonna do that bullshit today. My point is that I'm not gonna let Mordy go all murder-psycho during this upcoming conflict. He'll kill, but I'll do my best to keep it from being the sort of thing he gets sadistic pleasure out of."
Madoc's eye twitched at the nickname of 'Mordy' but otherwise didn't respond.
"Why do you feel the need to say such a thing?" he asked.
Gehrman shrugged at the question.
"Personal preference, I guess. I'm trying to do more stuff based on my own inclinations lately. It keeps me grounded."
"Is that why you have chosen the side of Song? Because your inclinations led you to a woman?"
To Madoc's surprise, Gehrman actually chuckled at his barb.
"No, actually. My…infatuation, at least as it is now, is a more recent thing. The real reason is much simpler. I needed a Divine Lineage, Song could give me one. From what I can tell the House of Night has something weird going on with their Lineage too, but my affinities are much closer to that of the Beast God, so it's a no brainer."
Madoc blinked. For a moment, he was confused.
"You're saying if the only thing that changed in this war were the Lineages of the two sides, you would have joined Valor? Why do you desire a Divine Lineage that badly? Your power already far exceeds the normal level."
"Lots of questions," Gehrman teased. However, then his expression turned serious. "Yes, it really just comes down to the Lineages. Right now I prefer Song, but that's probably just because I've only heard their side of the story. I'm sure both are equally terrible. If the Beast God was of Valor, then that is where I would be. As for why…"
Madoc felt a chill as for the first time that night, the signature glow appeared around the Red Judge's eyes, and the essence of Madness leaked from him.
"It's to keep me, all of me, in check."
Madoc's body involuntarily tensed as invisible blades started to form in the air. At the same time though, he felt the pressure on him start to rapidly increase.
Whispering Blade dismissed the blades. The pressure was not from Gehrman, but from something far greater. Ki Song had almost just killed him for the partial deployment of his Aspect.
"Apologies," Madoc muttered. "Force of habit."
If Gehrman could see Madoc's Aspect, he made no indication of it. That being said, for some reason he doubted the madman had no means of doing so.
"No problem, it's my fault. I had an unpleasant thought," Gehrman apologized. "Also, you should know, since this is my wedding you have my protection.
Madoc raised an eyebrow, then looked upward, indicating the Jade Palace (and its Sovereign) as a whole.
"Right, obviously not total protection. So long as you don't make a move on any of us, we won't do anything to you. That being said, we did agree on an exception. If Mordy makes a move on you, neither of us will intervene. That goes both ways though. He can attack you, and you can attack him. He pissed me off with the stunt at my bachelor party, so this is my revenge on him."
Madoc was stunned for a moment, quickly relaying this new development to the rest of the Valor contingent. Of course, he knew not to trust any word of Song. However, everything he knew about Gehrman knew he was a man of his word.
There was no way that they could stop Ki Song. However, if the Red Judge got in the way, they might have a chance to flee.
In other words, their chance to take the Prince of Nothing off the playing board was still within reach.
Madoc shook his head.
"I don't understand. You just went on a rant about treating him poorly, and now you allow three Saints and five Masters to take him on? How is that any worse than condemning him?"
"Well, the idea is he sees the three Saints and five Masters and uses his brain to think 'hmm, maybe I better not attack these guys.' If he manages the incredible feat of having cognitive faculties, then everything's good. If he doesn't then it's a tough lesson, but one he needs to learn."
Whispering Blades eyes changed then. They entered the state of focus that true warriors entered in the heat of battle. All things became data and thoughts disappeared, there was only movement and instinct.
"You may regret this," the old Saint whispered.
The older Saint in the body of the young man looked back up at him with a wry smile. "Possibly, but I seriously doubt you'll manage any condemning."