"What she says is true, although I didn't come to her aid on a whim," she began, prompting the rest of us to look at her with mild confusion.
"In fact, it was because of you, Thoma," she said, dipping her head in my direction. "Me?" I asked with visible disbelief, earning me a nod of confirmation.
"You see, I had been following Mideia's trail for quite some time in the years before you were born. There were only minute traces of his influence, often hidden by factors far beyond my control, but there was one mistake he'd made," she said, folding her hands across her lap.
"When Siraye became pregnant with you, your father, Kain, was already under his influence. Granted, the amount of Mideia's influence at the time was all but unnoticeable to anyone other than someone who would be actively looking for it, but it was enough to take over him during your formative months," she continued, making me lean forward.
"That influence left an imprint on you, one he could use to control you once you were born," she said gravely, prompting Ryfon to clench his fist. "What?" he asked coldly through gritted teeth.
"It's true. I suspect he was trying to create some sort of replacement, an heir to his madness of sorts, though I have not been able to confirm that," she said, making me sigh heavily with the weight of the information.
That filthy fucking bastard, I thought, doing my best not to let my emotions get out of control.
"However despicable his mistake, it did lead me to you, in the end. A tiny, fragile little thing on the verge of being consumed by a curse you had nothing to do with, and whose fate was teetering on the edge between life and death," she continued, staring blankly at the table as she recalled the events.
She paused for a brief moment, and I could feel she was choosing her words carefully for whatever came next.
"There was only one way to get rid of it. One extreme measure I had to take to prevent that bastard's plan from coming to fruition. It was a gamble, but it was the only option I could think of," she began, giving Mom a worried look as her expression shifted from one of sadness into pure shock.
"Y-You killed Thoma?" Mom asked breathlessly. "No, but I did know that if I had interfered with Thoma's core at that time, Mideia would have known I had done so and found a way to kill him regardless; putting you at risk, since it would have meant his plan had been thwarted, rather than simply failed," Essentia shook her head, giving the rest of us a serious look.
"Your mother might have had her instincts tell her you had died, but I had to bear witness as the small amount of mana in your core flickered, and your presence drifted away," she said, her expression dropping beneath the weight of her words, but I slowly began to understand her reasoning.
"So, you needed me to fail against Mideia's imprint on my own, so that when I died, for lack of a better word, you could interfere?" I asked uncertainly, feeling that I might have missed something important. "Yes," she replied with a solemn nod.
"As your core was nearly emptied, I noticed the imprint he'd left had all but gone away, leaving only a minuscule fraction behind," she began, but that was when something had clicked.
The reason I coughed up blood when the Mouth used the Word on me, I suddenly realized, earning me a brief nod of agreement from Essentia and Ryfon.
"However, in the final moments before you'd fully crossed into the afterlife, I heard you. A soft, voiceless cry for help as your core flickered one final time," she said, her expression and the feeling I received from my connection to her flooding with emotions I struggled to parse.
It was a mixture of sadness, anger, and pain, but there was also hope and joy beginning to overtake those negative emotions.
"It was then that I knew I could step in without him noticing. Even he would have mistaken your core for being lifeless, in a sense," she said after a moment's pause. "As a last resort, I gave you the only thing I could in that moment: my blessing, and with it the Authority," she continued, giving me a knowing nod.
It took me a few seconds to fully comprehend what she'd just told me. Ever since I'd first heard of the Autarchica Primaria from Mom, then its true name from Erumon years later, the final missing pieces of my life had finally shown themselves.
I felt myself begin to chuckle, not out of amusement by any sense of the word, but from relief, as the realization of why he'd been after me all those years finally clicked into place.
"Ah, Mideia. You ruthless, relentless son of a wyrm," I said, pinching the bridge of my nose as I shook my head. "It all makes sense now; why he asked me what I could see just before he put the seal on my core; why he tried to get me to side with him in Narin, and why he was so visibly angered by my attaining the fifth stage during our fight," I began, prompting the others to look at me with confusion.
Well, everyone except Essentia, of course.
"He wanted to use my Authority; your Authority to gain control over the Wraith realm, too. It's the only one that would pose any bit of a challenge for his plans, as we've come to know with his slaughtering of the Hegraphenes who could wield it," I said, shocking Mom and Bernar more than it did the others.
That's when my stomach dropped.
"You knew," I acknowledged, earning me a pair of nods from them. "We did, yes. During that time, the other Realmwalkers and I were all but forced to bring them to another realm and save their species," he began, though his brow began to furrow in frustration.
"What we didn't realize back then was that Mideia had already influenced some of our closest allies, ones who secretly brought the Alternates along with them to Vareluth," he continued with a sigh that helped to relieve some of his anger.
"Kalia… Sabura," Mom said almost guiltily, recalling the mural we saw in the depths near Narin. "Indeed. Those two were the last Wraithborn to survive amongst their species. A devastating loss to both our kinds," Essentia added gravely, allowing us a few moments to absorb all the information.
"Then what do we do now? You said that his influence had reached other members of Polarion, but do we know who?" Bernar asked, prompting Ryfon to sigh. "That's what Karthus and I have been trying to uncover, but it seems the answers we have uncovered are much worse than what we'd assumed they were," he replied, prompting Essentia to raise an eyebrow.
"We believe there are members of the Eyes that have fallen victim to his machinations, though we have yet to confirm who specifically, and whether there are others that might be involved," he said, prompting the rest of us to look at him in shock.
Although taking everything I'd come to learn about them, no matter how limited, it made sense why he was being so cautious.
"In any case, the only option we have left is to make sure you're ready for whenever Mideia decides to make his move," Ryfon suggested, interlocking his fingers as he rested his forearms on the table. "We need you to get stronger, not for our sake, but for the lives of those you care about," he continued, but I knew exactly what he'd meant by that, leaving me with a sense of worry I couldn't ignore.
"Fear not, Thoma. I will give Ysevel my blessing when she is done speaking with her aunt. Given her heritage, I suspect she might even outgrow you," Essentia said with a warm smile. "If she hasn't already," I added, returning the smile.
"As for you two," she began again, looking at Mom and Bernar. "You have my blessing, and with that, I hope you know that I will always be by your side to help guide you along the Path of the Wraithborn," she said, giving them a nod.
"Thank you, Lady Essentia. For everything," Mom said, offering her a lower dip of her head. "Nonsense. It was the very least I could do for the ones Thoma holds most dear," she said with a bright smile.
"Speaking of which: did you really have Rennyr Virie make more tinctures to give to the newest members of Nightfall's Blade?" she asked, though I could tell she already knew the answer. "I might have," I shrugged, prompting her to chuckle and sigh.
"Very well, then. I shall give them my blessing as well. Besides, there are things I would like to discuss with Kalia that I am sure she would be interested in," she said, getting up from her seat, prompting the rest of us to do the same.
"Thank you for your hospitality, old friend," Ryfon said, offering her a bow, but she shook her head with a chuckle. "You four, rather five with Ysevel, are welcome any time, as I would enjoy the company," she said with a smile that almost hid the loneliness in her tone.
"We'll be back, don't worry. Who else is going to tell me secrets that take other dragons in the Academy decades to learn?" I asked with a wry smile, prompting Ryfon to give her a momentary look of confusion. "Quite right. Run along, now. I will speak with Ysevel and the others soon," she said, completely disregarding Ryfon's stare.
"Typical," he muttered under his breath.
After bidding her farewell, we returned to the dome together with a much deeper sense of purpose. Mom, Bernar, and I shared a glance, but I could tell Mom still felt a tinge of guilt for not telling me sooner.
"Thoma," she began, but I held up a hand. "It doesn't matter. I'm alive and here with you. Whatever he caused wasn't your fault, and you don't have to blame yourself for hiding something like that from me. I probably would have done the same if I were in your position," I said with an understanding smile.
Tears threatened to well in her eyes, but before they could fully manifest, I stood up and held out a hand to her. "Come on. You once told me the best way to get through a hard time was to train, didn't you?" I said with a wink that made her shake her head and smile. "You're absolutely right. I'm sorry for that moment of weakness," she said, taking my hand.
"Never apologize for that again," I said, shaking my head. "If there's one thing I've learned from Ysevel, it's that a moment of weakness should be just that: a moment. You're allowed more than a few, but you can't afford to stay buried beneath them, can you?" I asked with a wink, prompting Bernar to chuckle and sigh.
"He's right, you know?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Come on, Kanarin's waiting for us," he said, jutting his thumb in her direction. Mom sniffled once and gave us both a nod. "I really couldn't have asked for better sons. Thank you. Both of you," she said with a warm smile, drawing us into a hug.
It was the first time we'd ever done a group hug like that.
Does this mean I get a chance to fight Mediator now? Bernar asked. Good luck if she agrees to it, I mentally chuckled. Shut the fuck up and enjoy the hug, Mom added, making the three of us burst into laughter.