"In any case, there are matters I must discuss with young Lady Ysevel. Duke Karthus, I hope he has met your expectations with his decisive blow?" she asked as if she already knew the answer, though her tone didn't suggest she was trying to rub it in his face.
"He has, Mediator," Karthus nodded, prompting her to turn to Ryfon next. "As promised, I will consider this duel as adequate punishment for his transgressions against the Eyes. As it is spoken, so let it be done," she said, unleashing a flood of mana in my direction that felt like my core had just taken a nice, warm bath.
What just happened? I wondered silently, putting a hand to my chest as I looked down at it.
"Ah, yes. If anyone ever tries to challenge the Eyes, they leave a mark on your core that serves as a sort of log regarding what you've done," Ryfon began, clearly showing his experience with this sort of occurrence.
"However, my dear sister is able to remove that mark, depending on how the wrongdoer's trial is carried out. Since no one knows you four are even in Polarion, I figured this was as good an opportunity as ever to get rid of it without a trial," he added, but there was no small amount of confusion written on all of our faces.
"They don't know we're here? I thought they could see everything in every realm," Mom said with a curled eyebrow. "They're not allowed to use their powers on Polarion. The one time they tried to, well… For brevity's sake, let us say that it did not go over well with the other dukes," Karthus added, giving Ryfon a nod.
Ah, so you're the one who put that rule in place, I mentally noted.
He knew what I was thinking, of course, given his wry smirk.
"In any case, there is one final thing I would like you to do today. If at all possible, I think you two should participate as well, since Ysevel has a lot to discuss with her great-aunt," Ryfon said with a gesture pointing at Mom and Bernar. "H-How would we do that? Wait, what are we even doing?" Bernar turned to ask me, but I could only shrug in response.
"Come. Sit with me for a little while. There is much we have to discuss as well," Ryfon said, giving Kanarin and Vauv a nod. "Do we need to hold hands for this? I think his left hand is still healing," Bernar said, looking down at my knuckles that were slowly recovering.
"No need for that, but it is important that you understand something before we begin," Ryfon said, sitting down on his heels, while his knees were perfectly in front of him, prompting us to follow his lead.
"What might that be?" Mom asked, mimicking his pose while Bernar and I did the same. "Essentia is no mere dragon. She is a Realmlord, one more powerful in the ways of Wraith mana than I could ever hope to be," he began, his words carrying a strange weight to them.
"While both Thoma and Ysevel have already received her blessings, I believe it would be important for you two to do the same. I have known her a long, long time, and with Thoma present to vouch for you two, we may succeed. No matter what happens, you must not falter. Do you understand?" he asked with a tone that suggested whatever we were about to do was far more difficult than he was letting on.
Mom and Bernar exchanged a single nod, determination in their eyes, and turned back to look at him. "We're in your hands… or talons, Ryfon," Bernar said, earning him a single chuckle. "It's not the first time. Now, close your eyes and focus on our connection to each other. Thoma, when you're ready, I would like you to call upon her," Ryfon said with a single nod.
Here we go, I thought, focusing my attention toward that single point once more and drawing mana toward it.
As the swirling stabilized, I could see the others beginning to appear in that strange void along with me. Ryfon's was almost impossibly more dense than any of ours, but it made sense, given he was a full-blooded dragon, and we were still mere dragonlings, according to Kanarin.
Then, without a word spoken between us, I could tell we were all prepared for what came next.
Essentia, can you hear me? I asked into the void, but as soon as I'd finished my question, I found myself in the same room I'd woken up in the first time I'd met her, the only difference being that there were three others there with me.
"My, my. It has been quite some time since you've come back. Welcome home, dear Thoma," Essentia said with the same familiar smile on her face. "It's good to see you again, Essentia. How have you been?" I asked, feeling a smile beginning to grow.
"Oh, lonely and not at the same time, but I suppose I have you and Ysevel to thank for that," she chuckled lightly. "Ah, and I see we have guests this time," she said, looking at the others who were still halfway between the Wraith realm and Polarion.
"Please be gentle with them. It's my mother and older brother, followed by an old friend of yours, or so I'm told," I said, almost pleadingly.
"An old friend, you say?" She raised an eyebrow questioningly before looking off into somewhere beyond my understanding. "Ah, I see now. Will you at least let me enjoy their first moments?" she frowned playfully. "Alright, alright," I raised my hands placatingly, prompting her already beautiful smile to shine even more brightly.
"Thank you. I will let them fully through now. Here, stand right here. Let's have some fun with this, shall we?" she said, grabbing my shoulders to move me into position beside a throne-like chair she created, while speaking in a tone that reminded me of Ysevel whenever she got excited about something.
As the others began to materialize before me, their forms remained translucent until their consciousnesses were fully drawn into the Wraith realm before us. Essentia had positioned us behind them as likely a key part of her little ruse, which I felt I needed to play along with to the best of my abilities.
While I couldn't physically see it happen, I could tell Ryfon was the first to open his eyes, closely followed by Mom and Bernar. "Whoa. So this is wha-… Wait a minute, where are we?" Bernar asked, glancing around the room.
"Why are we in Thoma's room? Did we mess up somehow?" he asked, leaning in toward Mom. "N-No, I don't think that's what's going on here. Thoma? Where are you?" she called out.
Go on, then, Essentia smirked.
"I'm right here," I said, lowering my tone of voice to sound more like Taegin or Ardrin. I could feel Essentia holding back a giggle, but her face hadn't contorted in the slightest.
The three of them turned around to find me standing with my arms crossed behind my back, chin held high, and shoulders pulled back, while Essentia sat with her legs crossed and leaning on her folded right hand. She held an almost bored expression, though I could tell she was anything but that.
Mom's eyes widened in a mixture of shock and confusion when she laid eyes on us, quickly nudging Bernar to turn and face the same direction.
"L-Lady Essentia," Mom said urgently, immediately dropping to her knees in a bow, which prompted Bernar and Ryfon, surprisingly, to do the same. "Indeed, I am. Who might you be?" she asked with excellently feigned ignorance.
"M-My name is Siraye Fayren, daughter of Taegin Pelantyr and mother to Thoma, who now stands beside you, my lady," she stammered, subtly nudging Bernar to go next.
"And I am Bernar Fayren, Thoma's older brother. It is an honor to meet you, my lady," he said in a well-practiced tone he'd likely learned from spending time with Leona. "I see," she said, matching her tone to her expression. The moment he finished his introduction, I noticed her curled eyebrow aimed in Ryfon's direction, prompting him to clear his throat.
"And you? No greetings for your supposed old friend?" she said with a hint of disappointment, which prompted him to sigh. "It's good to see you again, Essentia. Truly an honor to be in your presence once more," he said with an air of feigned humility that I picked up on immediately.
"After over a thousand years in isolation, this is how you greet me? My, my. How the mighty have fallen," she said tiredly and shook her head. "Essentia, please, you must understand my pos-..." he halted when she flicked her free hand dismissively.
"I know why you did it, but do you know how I felt when I learned what happened?" she asked, getting up from her seat and allowing mana to swirl around her violently.
"Abandoned. Left behind. Obviated from the fate of that realm," she said, accentuating each step with an additional flare of mana that even I had to admit was starting to bear down on me more than I could handle.