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Lessons of Dynasty Part 1: Abecedarian	By : JohnDoe Category: +A through F > Exalted RPG Views: 470 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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Chapter List
- 13
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- 15
Chapter 13 – Dangers of Demon Summoning

After class Reya splits from her friends and follows Darknife. Being apart from the group makes Reya feel vulnerable: with the first years split by ability, and class sizes only set to get smaller as the school year wears on, her ability to wield popularity as her armour and cudgel diminishes. With her gang of girls behind her, and Kinesi and Padar not too far away, Reya knows she’s untouchable. But wandering the school alone means wandering without protection. The Tepets have taken great pains to establish their moral superiority over the other Dynasts, bringing them into conflict with Reya’s gang. And although Darknife has kept her distance, the young Cynis spymaster dominates top-set weapons training – if it were to come down to murder on the school grounds, Reya is under no illusions and knows that Darknife could kill her (possessing both the martial skill and the rank psychopathy).

Because she feels vulnerable, she doesn’t call out to her class-mate, rather she follows Darknife, silently, stealthily, angling to get her alone in her room.

Darknife does not head for her room. Instead she heads down and out of the tower.

Reya hesitates to follow after her: the last time she left the tower without permission, she was nearly eaten by fogsharks (then expelled). A voice in her head comes to her clearly, “Follow her.”

Reya doesn’t wonder where this disembodied voice comes from. The Heptagram is full of spirits (demons cook their meals, elementals sweep the floors, and stranger things guard the grounds) and magic. More importantly, she wants to follow Darknife (both to shut Udi up and out of curiosity as to where she’s slipping off to), so she simply resolves not to get caught this time.

Seven great libraries make up the Heptagram. Students of the first year are confined to the central building: The Hall of Terrestrial Puissance, where the non-sorcerous subjects are taught above the school’s only lecture theatre, the bulk of the students dorm, and the dominie keeps his own offices (at the focal point of the school’s mystic energies). The six other libraries all specialise in a different aspect of magic, and are rich in books and laboratories, but want for traditional classrooms. A student must graduate from at least four different libraries to pass the Heptagram, students of the second year and above picking the libraries in which they wish to study and managing their course load at their own discretion. Smaller dormitories permit students to stay in the building where they wish to focus their studies. Only one of the six magical libraries is off-limits without specific approval – the Hall of Verdigris, the Heptagram’s library of demonology. Mystic wards seal forbidden sections of library buildings and, in theory, prevent unauthorised students from entering the Hall of Verdigris entirely.

Reya watches as Darknife crosses directly to the Hall of Verdigris. She does not enter by the front door, but rather she rounds the tower and strikes a brick set at eye-level as she speaks a single word in the mystic language of Old Realm, “Yield.” The wall shifts, ever so slightly, and Darknife squeezes through the gap between the stones before they resettle into an unbroken surface.

Reya follows after her. There are many stones, and Old Realm is the forbidden language of the gods, taught only to priests and scholars. Fortunately, neither of these inconveniant facts poses an obstacle to her. “Yield,” she repeats and the wall parts. Though Reya’s build is slight, being more top-heavy than Darknife means squeezing between the stones is significantly harder, but she manages it before the wall closes behind her.

The inside the forbidden library of the Hall of Verdigris is somewhat disappointing: it’s very similar to the inside of the Hall of Terrestrial Puissance. Whilst Reya expected dingy, smoke filled passages of writhing demon flesh, instead the Hall is brightly lit, polished stone. Oaken doors inscribed with warding seals dot the passages every ten yards or so: hidden laboratories, summoning circles, and highly compartmentalised libraries of forbidden lore, all locked carefully behind magical barriers, not easily unsealed.

An inhuman scream rings out down the hallway to Reya’s left, and she quickly heads in that direction. A door lies on the ground, ripped from its hinges by inhuman strength, sparks of magical power, every colour of the rainbow, spurt from the rent wood.

A chittering, insectoid voice, cows in triumph, “I am free!”

The sweep of an arm like a sledgehammer knocks Darknife backward out of the room, sending her sprawling on the ground. The young terrestrial’s anima blazes with power, a bright and verdant green, as she picks herself off the ground, clutching her sabre as she squares off against her much larger foe.

The form of an unbound demon comes charging through the wrecked doorway. A hazy swirl of vapour hides its body, but a maelstrom of a dozen whirling limbs lash out from the smoke, each wielding a different, wicked looking weapon. The demon blurs forward with inhuman speed.

Reya turns and runs, shouting for help at the top of her lungs.

****

“Really?” Professor Senex exclaims, “None of them? Not even Tepet Versi? Mnemon Padar?”

“I just don’t feel like it’s appropriate,” Ganan says testily.

“If they don’t learn from us who is going to teach them?” The professor pushes.

Mistress Ibelin laughs easily, “You’re talking to a stone wall, professor. I think the best-”

The unmistakable sound of a screaming student cuts Ibelin off short. It’s not a sound to take lightly anywhere in the Heptagram, but especially not in the Hall of Verdigris, the trio proceed to find a startled first year beating her fists futility against an invisible wall.

“Danireya?” Ganan says puzzled, as Senex dispels the invisible ward.

Reya points behind her frantically, “Unbound tomescu!”

Ibelin takes charge immediately running down the corridor, “Senex, the ward! Ganan, with me!”

Ganan tosses his cane and sprints after Ibelin, his face contorting to a grimace of pain. Professor Senex yanks Reya across to the other side of the invisible wall, and reinstates it with a gesture.

****

What happens next is a source of much conjecture and gossip over the next few days. What is known, is that the Shogunate History professor, Cynis Ganan, does not teach any classes for two days afterward. Demonology students report seeing him repairing numerous cracks and rends in the Hall of Verdigris: buckled walls and collapsed ceilings causing many parts of the library, normally open to them to be sealed off. Rumours abound of a dead student, not cremated, but buried in the Heptagram’s small cemetery, with a tree planted over the grave. Cynis Belar Darknife, does not return to class. Based on some gossip spread by a first year, some older students try striking a particular stone in the Hall of Verdigris and commanding it to yield in Old Realm. No secret passage opens, but such attempts are reprimanded by a frowning Mistress Ibelin.

****

All this, however, would become known to Reya later. Without delay, Reya is bussed from the Hall of Verdigris and escorted to the dominie’s office. Professor Senex does not need to drag her by the ear the entire way, but considers doing so a perk of his job, releasing her only to throw her at the ground in front of Ragara Bhagwei’s desk.

Professor Senex looks down on her sternly, before taking his place standing over the shoulder of the headmaster. Ragara Bhagwei doesn’t speak, so Reya takes a deep breath to compose herself, before rising smartly and performing a bow of introduction.

“May I sit, dominie?” She asks, gesturing at the empty chair facing his desk.

“I think you had better,” Bhagwei says levelly. He plucks a large emerald – as large as a baby’s head from his desk and passes it to Reya, “Hold this.”

As Reya takes the gem, it immediately drains of all colour turning clear as glass.

“Now,” The dominie continues, “Why has Professor Senex brought you here.”

“He caught me in the Hall of Verdigris: there’s an unbound demon! We need to-” The gem in her hand turns blue, not the rich blue of a sapphire, but a pale, sky-blue.

Ragara Bhagwei cuts her off with a wave of the hand, “You need not concern yourself – Mistress Ibelin and Instructor Ganan are more than up to the task of containing a single Clamorous Cloud Arsenal. Were you not spared expulsion, in your first week, for trespassing beyond the grounds of the Heptagram? Can you give a single reason why you should not be sent home in disgrace?”

“I realise that my conduct does not reflect… model behaviour, but I would argue that the circumstances of today’s events are meaningfully different.”

Bhagwei gestures for her to go on.

“Previously, I broke the school rules for my own glory. I wanted the other students to look at me with awe. Today I broke the rules because I was concerned for the safety of my classmate.”

The gem in her hands turns blood red. Agonising pain radiates from the stone into her arms. Reya’s breath catches in her throat as she fights to keep her body under control. Her fingers clench violently around the gem, squeezing harder than she’s ever squeezed anything before – her muscles don’t respond to her attempts to un-ball her fist.

Bhagwei raises a quizzical eyebrow, “Is there a problem, miss Danireya?”

“As I was saying,” Reya says, fighting to keep her voice level and not betray any signs of discomfort, even as her head swims and she fights the urge to black-out, “Last time I wanted everyone to know I snuck out and this time, I didn’t want anyone to know.”

The pain in her arms stops and the gem turns from red to blue again.

Bhagwei tents his fingers, “I believe you: you didn’t want anyone to know you broke the school rules. I don’t see why this ameliorates your misbehaviour.”

“Darknife is… an information broker. She knows… things about everyone and she sells that information. I wanted her to tell me secrets about… a faculty member-” The blue of the gem wavers and her fingers tingle as the pain threatens to resume, “Cynis Ganan!” She says quickly and the gem turns a solid blue again, “I mean… Instructor Ganan. She told me to see her alone and in private. So… I followed her when she snuck out. If I hadn’t followed her, there would have been no-one to raise the alarm when the demon got loose.”

Bhagwei seems to consider for a moment, “Am I to infer that you knew Darknife was going to loose a demon?”

Reya looks down at the gem in her hands, “I didn’t know what she was doing. But I wanted to find out. The demon was loose by the time I came upon her, but I didn’t know before hand where she was going or what she was doing.”

“To be clear: you wanted to break the schools rules in secret and had no idea that your actions would help contain a demon?”

Reya speaks very slowly, in a quiet voice, “If I had gone straight to a teacher and told that Darknife had left the Hall without permission, you wouldn’t have known where she went, or that a demon was loose. I wanted more information than that, so I followed her. And because I followed her, I was able to raise the alarm. That should count for something.”

Bhagwei rises to his feet, “It does. It exonerates you for culpability in Darknife’s crimes… and in her death.”

Reya winces at the grim pronouncement, having hoped that Ibelin and Ganan had arrived in time to save her.

“But in the matter of your continued study at the Heptagram, your outstanding academic achievement notwithstanding, I see only one possible-”

There’s an ear-splitting crash as a bronze fist smashes the door of the dominie’s office, ripping it part-way off the wall. “Dominie!” Instructor Ganan bellows as he charges into the room.

The three Dragon-Blooded turn and look at him. Tepet Senex stares in open-mouthed disbelief. Reya tries to keep her poker face – half-way between laughing and crying. Bhagwei seems completely unphased.

“Oh!” Ganan says, sheepishly turning and looking at the damaged door, “I’ll fix that too. That’ll buff right out.” He says absently as he surveys the damage. His eyes fall on Reya and the gem in her hands, “Danireya – did a member of faculty instruct you to follow Darknife?”

“No-” Reya says. The gem turns not red but bright, emerald green, and pain tears at her once more, “I heard a voice!” She screams, unable to maintain her composure in the face of the pain, which immediately subsides, though the gem stays green, “In my mind. I heard a voice… it was… that… scholar. From the test.”

Ganan throws Bhagwei an imploring look, “She means-”

Bhagwei holds up a hand, “I know who she means.” He slowly takes his seat, “If a member of my staff instructed you to enter a restricted area and as a result of your actions an unbound demonic threat was contained… then I suppose no blame can be attached to you.”

Reya blinks in disbelief. Tears, barely held in check up to this point, actually fall from her eyes, “Pardon?”

“He says he doesn’t blame you,” Ganan says with simple-minded bluntness.

Bhagwei waves her off, “You may go.”

In disbelief Reya rises and places the gem back on Bhagwei’s desk. As she leaves, she overhears Bhagwei address Ganan, “What exactly did you mean by ‘fix that too’?”

****

Reya goes back to her room and collapses on her bed. As evening rolls on the rumours of a dead student start to circulate, so that by the time Udi turns in for the night she already knows much of the story.

“Damn, guess it’s good to be a genius! Who’dya have to kill to get chucked out of this place?” Udi jokes.

Reya doesn’t react. Udi kicks off her shoes and climbs into her bed with her. She hugs her tightly from behind and lowers her voice.

“Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?”

Reya just sobs into her pillow and Udi holds her tighter.

****

The next day, Reya plays it cool. Yes, it is tragic that a student has died – but what can you expect when a loner has no friends and doesn’t follow the school rules? Involved in any way? I wouldn’t know about that, but it’s essential to report any unbound demons to the faculty.

Versi approaches her at lunch-time, “I think that you and I got off on the wrong foot. If we may start over, I am Tepet Versi. What happened with Cynis Darknife is a tragedy, no doubt, but I have long believed that the two of us should be firm friends. We are, after all, of a superior breed,” She extends a hand in friendship, “A fresh start perhaps? Our own small alliance between the two Greatest of Great Houses.”

Reya looks at Versi’s outstretched hand – more used to exchanging salutes or bows – and lets it hang there, knowing full well that Versi would like her to shake it.

“I don’t know why that goth bitch hated you so much,” Reya sneers with open derision in her voice, “But I don’t like you because you spend your time hanging with freaks and losers.” She gestures to Solu and Gerat. “And I’ve already forged an alliance between House Mnemon and House Cathak: I’m unclear as to where you think you come into things?”

Versi’s eye twitches and she withdraws her hand, “You need to think very carefully about what’s going to happen once we graduate.”

Reya smirks, “I said I didn’t know why she hated you. I never said we didn’t discuss your…” She trails off, shaking her head.

Versi turns bright red and scurries away without a word.

Udi laughs, “That was perfect! What is Versi’s big secret anyway? What did Darknife have on her?”

Reya shrugs, “No idea, I just didn’t want that B-list pretender bothering us anymore.”

Udi shakes her head in disbelief, “That is stone cold.”

“W-wouldn’t it be b-better if we did know, miss?” Ro asks cautiously.

Reya smiles sweetly at her, “If that’s your way of saying you do know, then share with the class. If it’s a criticism…” Reya allows her smile to fade.

“It’s not a criticism! It’s just… Versi went straight to her room last night. She must have been looking for Darknife’s… files?”

Reya nods slowly, “And we know she didn’t find them, or she’d be using them against us instead of running away. So… how do we find the ‘files’?”

“Umm…” Ro says uncertainly as she discretely elbows Hari.

“Arf?” Hari responds and she paws at Reya’s lap.

“Speak, Puppy.”

“Well… sometimes… when Udi says she’s sick of looking at me… I go spend time with Evede… who shares a room with Darknife, or, well, she did… and…”

“Evede might know something Versi doesn’t… that could be worth exploring.” Reya nods thoughtfully.

“It really isn’t!” Udi says sharply, “Evede is…” She makes a spiral-crazy hand motion.

“You’re just saying that because you’re embarrassed to be related to her.”

“We’re not related! She is crazy! She thinks she’s related to everyone!”

“Well…” Ro says, “If we count bonds of marriage… in a way… OUCH!”

“We are not related!”

****

Reya resolves to meet with Evede alone. Ro is able to tell her where she’s likely to find her – pointing out that technically the roof of the library isn’t out-of-bounds. Reya finds Evede on the roof, sitting at an easel painted as she looks over the rugged Isle of Voices. Reya makes the mistake of peering at Evede’s canvas – instead of the rocky outcropping and green hills of the Isle of Voices, Evede has painted a vast tract of featureless sandy desert under a green sky. She doesn’t acknowledge Reya’s approach.

“That’s quite the landscape.” Reya says, feigning admiration.

Evede doesn’t respond and instead takes measurements with her thumb of some feature that isn’t actually there as she works on her painting.

“I was hoping we might talk. About your room-mate. Darknife.”

Evede wipes her brush clean and turns to face Reya. She looks at her intently but still doesn’t say anything. It’s a little unnerving.

“Well… Darknife… knew a lot of things about her classmates. I was hoping that she might have… envelopes of information somewhere?”

Evede nods slowly, “She kept most of her dossiers up here,” She taps her temple, “But… she did keep a number of envelopes prepared for her customers.”

“Fantastic!” Reya says, appreciating the surprisingly helpful and straight-forward answer. “Where are they?”

Evede rises from her painting and walks round the edge of the roof. She points at something just outside of the grounds. Reya follows her and looks where she’s pointing. It’s a small sapling, growing in the cemetery just outside of the school.

“Our parents have left instructions as to what should be done with our remains if we… uh… pass whilst at school. Darknife is buried with her… extant files.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“Huh. That’s what Versi said.” Evede looks thoughtful, “Versi and I had a long conversation, but she seemed much happier when I told her the Darknife only keeps paper copies of files for clients. She doesn’t have anything written down for personal use. So… unless there was a client who wanted information on you… there’s probably nothing written about you buried there.”

Reya considers for a moment. She doesn’t know who Darknife’s outstanding clients are. But she does know that Darknife prepared a dossier on her for Ro, and that Udi is an outstanding client. What might Darknife have prepared for Udi? The cemetery is also in full view of at least three libraries and hooded guardians are visible even from this distance. Whatever secrets are buried there are likely to stay buried. Still…

“It’s a shame we can’t go and pay our final respects.” Reya says at last.

“Sure we can,” Evede shrugs, “You just need permission from a teacher to leave the building.”

****

Evede walks into the history classroom, her nose in a book. Ganan doesn’t look up from his marking. Evede takes a seat in front of Ganan’s desk and finishes her page. Ganan still doesn’t look up from his marking.

“Uncle Ganan,” Evede begins.

“Instructor Ganan,” Ganan responds tersely, not looking up.

“Instructor Uncle Ganan?” Evede says again.

Ganan sighs and looks up from his marking, “What is it Evede?”

“One of my classmates and I would like your permission to visit the cemetery and pay our last respects to Darknife.”

“Evey, you know I can neither confirm nor deny the death of Cynis Darknife, nor that of any other student at the Heptagram.”

“So… can we have your permission to-”

“Why aren’t you asking Aunt Ibelin?” Ganan asks suspiciously, “Evey, who’s the other student?”

“It’s me,” Reya says as she walks into the room from listening in at the doorway, “I want to go to… get some closure. But given my… uh… history. I thought that… it might be difficult to get permission. But then, ‘Evey’ suggested that…” She trails off.

“Uh-huh…” Ganan considers, “Well… Darknife was your room-mate, Evede. And you, Reya,… were there… when… So I suppose it wouldn’t be… that is to say that… I could see the value in your… paying of respects.” He stands and grabs his cane, “Very well, let’s go.”

“Oh, you’re coming with us?” Reya says as Ganan strides out of the room. Evede shrugs, picks up her book and follows after, “That’s fine too…”

****

It’s a cool spring evening. The Heptagram’s cemetery is small. Most of those interred have been cremated, their ashes spread around a statue representing the five Elemental Dragons. Hooded stone gargoyles watch over the remains: their cowled features hidden, but unmistakably watching. The gates to the cemetery are locked, Ganan undoes them with a series of mystical hand-gestures and ushers the girls inside.

“It does not do to linger overly much on those who have departed. A departed soul must begin it’s journey in the next life; and the living must concern themselves with the travails of life. However it is important that we honour the dead and reach peace with their passing. You may have as much time as you need… within reason to reach that peace.”

Reya heads slowly towards the freshly planted sapling and kneels down to touch the earth. As she rakes her fingers through the earth, one of the stone statues growls menacingly at her. She stands smartly back up.

“I know we were never the best of friends. But… we got along okay? I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.”

“Tell her I said ‘hi’,” Evede says from behind her book.

“And Evey says ‘hi’.”

“Hi!”

“Alright, that’s enough. Let’s go back,” Reya takes a last look around, satisfied that the security of the cemetery is sufficient to guard whatever secrets Darknife has taken to the grave. “Udi was right, we should have called in those favours when we had the chance.”
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Lessons of Dynasty Part 1: Abecedarian