The Blood Of Vampire: Chapter 15 - The First Whispers of Sedition
They stopped in the ruins of a collapsed trade depot—a former Seditionist hub that Ryn knew well. She began sifting through encrypted communication debris, trying to find out where Hendry had moved the remaining military geomantic assets.
Ryn explained the true nature of Hendry's Sedition—the whispers that had cost her her life in the capital.
"Hendry's endgame isn't Vaelanar domination," Ryn explained, pulling out a charred data crystal. "The Vaelanar Elders believe in Order. Hendry believes in Control. He needs the Shadow-Blood chaos to stabilize his own power structure."
She showed Jatex encrypted geomantic readings: Hendry was systematically increasing the stress on the Wards, trying to force a reaction from the Chaos they contained.
"He wants The Sleeper's chaotic energy to bleed into the world," Ryn said, her voice dropping. "Not enough to destroy Syldavia, but enough to make the populace need his iron-fisted control. The Vaelanar Elders are just the useful, ancient shield."
Jatex absorbed the data with cold precision. Hendry was the ultimate villain—the man who would weaponize cosmic horror for political power.
"My sister," Jatex whispered, the clarity of Aeliana's Scars informing his thoughts. "Her spiritual collapse—it wasn't just a rejection of the Oath. It was a reaction to the Sedition she saw coming. She knew the Elders' Law would be used by a greater evil."
Ryn nodded solemnly. "She was trying to break the system from the inside out. And you, Jatex, are the catastrophic Echo of her failure. If you complete the Wards for Hendry, her sacrifice means nothing."
The burden of Aeliana's Legacy now fully rested on Jatex. He was no longer just running from his trauma; he was in a race against the most powerful man in Syldavia to prevent the ultimate political-spiritual catastrophe.