A Lantern in the Dark

Zuigrii follows Kumara and together they gather enough chairs for everyone and sets them out in a half circle around the room with one reserved for Jade when she is finished with her work. After that he steps next to the door and waits to see if anything else is needed from him. 

Some time passes and the door to the ritual room swings open. Lady Katalina sweeps into the room in her usual floor length purple dress, her hair in a tight bun on her head to show off the purple Elders symbol on her neck. While beside her, with a hand resting cautiously on the pommel of his sword, is Roman in his usual Seshtau attire with his black hair swept to the side.

Katalina's eyes sweep the room and she quickly takes in the scene of the injured and terrified Haltija gathered. She nods her head. "Roman, heal who you can."

Roman nods in response. "Yes, my Lady!" And rushes over to the woman with the blood dripping from her sleeve."May I?" He asks before touching her.

Lady Katalina walks directly up to Zuiigri and looks from the Beastman to the lump in his arms. She reaches out to hover a hand over the man and darkness gathers in her palm. She mutters an incantation and the darkness spreads across his body. As the magic begins to work, her eyes snap up to Zuiigri's. She says nothing and instead turns her head to speak over her shoulder, loud enough for the room to hear.

"My Haltija kin, you are welcomed and safe in this place. My name is Lady Katalina Mesen'ke. I am the Elder representative in these lands. We will tend to your wounded and-" She looks to Jade briefly. "In Seshtau we have a sanctuary for our people. You are welcome to seek asylum with us and I will personally see to your safety."

 

As Lady Katalina’s declaration echos through the chamber, a ripple of tension seemed to ease among the gathered Haltija. The elderly woman sags into her seat, whispering quiet reassurances to the small girl clinging to her. The younger man, still bracing the old woman, sat stiffly, glancing around the room like a man waiting for a new threat to emerge. The bloodied woman clutches her son tighter, but allows Roman to gently tend to her wounds, her eyes never quite losing their haunted gleam.

As Jade, Katalina, and Roman work swiftly to stabilize the wounded, Maximilian remains still at the edge of the gathering. His purple gaze stayed locked—not on the living—but on the dead.

Silent as a falling blade, the Half-Fiend crosses the room, his keen violet gaze fixed not on the survivors, but on the corpse lying still upon the stone, the magics not quite stirring the man from death. Kneeling beside the body, he reaches out with one clawed hand and gently brushes aside the torn folds of the man’s robes, exposing the purple symbol on the bruised skin of his neck.

For a heartbeat, Maximilian’s expression tightenes.

Without hesitation, Maximilian draws out a small, multifaceted crystal orb, swirling with darkness within its core.

"Hold him steady," he orders, his voice deep and resonant, brooking no argument.

Without waiting for a response, Maximilian smashes the orb against the floor at the foot of the fallen Haltija.

The crystal shatters with a sharp crack, and immediately, black smoke erupts from the shards, writhing through the air like living tendrils. Maximilian’s voice drops into a deep, resonant incantation—old words, heavy with the weight of ancient contracts and necromantic power.

The smoke coils with a mind of its own, snaking down, down into the still body of the elder Haltija. It sinks into his mouth, his nostrils, the cracks in his skin. The corpse shudders once—violently—then falls still again.

The Haltija refugees gasp.

The younger man half-rises from his seat, but the elderly woman catches his arm, her weathered voice hissing, "Wait. Let it be."

The little girl whimpers and presses herself harder against her grandmother’s side, peeking through her fingers.

Maximilian does not move, his clawed hand hovering just above the old man's chest, as if feeling for something unseen.

A long, terrible moment stretches out.

And then—the faintest flicker of breath stirs in the old man's chest. Shallow. Fragile. But unmistakably alive.

Maximilian slowly exhales, his expression softening as his eyes roll back in his head and his eyelids flutter. He slumps to the ground, the gentle sounds of snoring escaping his lips.

Jade finishes stabilizing the wounded and steps back as Roman heals them. She walks around to find a rag to wipe the blood off her hands. She is taken by surprise when the orb is thrown and shattered and jumps a little. After the man starts to breathe again Jade looks around the room trying to figure out what just happened.

"I am going to need some details because none of this is making much sense. "

Katalina watches Maximilian as he works and then sighs as he begins to snooze quietly, a hint of a smile tugging at her lips. "Alexander, carefully return Maximilian to his chambers."

As she speaks, the air behind her seemed to stir and fracture. Two eyes, smoldering like coals stoked by an unseen hand, pierced through the dark — cold, unblinking, and ancient. The shadows at her back writhed, coalescing into a dense, churning mist that twisted and clawed at the edges of the light.From the swirling mass, a figure emerged, tall and unnervingly graceful. His form was wreathed in blackness, the lines between fabric and living shadow impossible to discern. His clothing — if such it could be called — shifted with the darkness itself, as though woven from the void between worlds. Long, straight black hair cascaded over his shoulders, framing a face of razor-edged features: angular cheekbones, a pointed jaw, and lips pressed into a thin, unreadable line. 

He moved without sound, without breath, a ghost among the living. He drew near to the slumbering Half-Fiend and bent with an effortless grace to scoop the man into his arms as though he weighed nothing. Then without a word- without so much as a shift in the darkness clinging to him- he glided out of the ritual room.Once Alexander leaves, the room seems to breathe once more. Katalina turns her attention to the eldest among the refugees.

"I wish to hear your story. I can only assume who attacked you and I am hoping they did not follow you but perhaps you can fill in some blanks." Katalina says as she walks over to a vacant chair and takes her seat.

The elderly woman nods her head and speaks softly, her voice shaking. "We are the Velhaari family. The man you saved is the Lantern Keeper. We know him as Uncle Hek." 

Roman continues to patch the remaining Haltija up as the elderly woman tells their tale.

"I am Eilvani. This is my son, Thalor, and his wife Mireal. The boy in her arms is Vaelen and this-" She gestures to the little girl. "Is Serith."

Katalina nods. Be welcome, Velhaari family." 

Eilvani continues. "We were in hiding in a family friends basement. Uncle Hek had been to see us a few times with provisions when he arrived today with a young man. They barred the door and bade us to prepare to leave. Before we knew it, the door was breaking and those... Those monsters forced their way inside. The boy and Uncle Hek fought them off to protect us and as soon as they could, Uncle Hek began casting. He opened the portal that lead us here and the boy told us to seek sanctuary with Baroness Eclipse. Do you know her?"

Katalina nods her head. "Indeed, I do. And who was this boy who directed you to the Baroness?"

Eilvani taps her chin and shakes her head. "I do not recall his name." She looks to Thalor and Mireal who both shake their heads. "I believe he was a close friend of Uncle Hek's. Perhaps when he wakes he can tell you the boys name."

Roman opens his mouth to speak but quickly snaps his mouth closed once more.

"Baroness, have you any questions for them?" Katalina looks to Jade.

 

Jade looks a little worried when refered to by her title.

"They were sent here to see baronesse Eclipse. I was hoping to tell them at a better time, but my Lady is correct. I am new new baronesse of Seshtau. I regret to inform you that who you seek is no longer walking with the living, as I was able to help her find the eternal rest she yearned for."

Jade clears her throat and stands from where she was administering first aid.

"I may not be Eclipse but I am the baronesse and haltijan. You are safe in my lands and safe with the people in this room. We will help you as best as we can but we will need information in order to do so. Please tell us the events that have lead to this."