"What a day."
I sprawl on the soft sheets of my bed; it is so warm and comfortable that I almost let myself drift away in blissful sleep. But no, not right now, I still have something to do. I reluctantly get up from bed and reach for the bag I placed on the small table in the middle of the bedroom. Inside are materials that mister Owono bought for me from the shop.
Next to bag on the table is a single earring bought in a jewellery store close to Laark's Curious Trinkets.
To the naked eye it appears completely normal, just an ordinary golden hoop earring. Its design is also quite simple, so it is not even that eye-catching from an aesthetic point of view. But if someone were to look more closely at it, specifically the inner side of the earring, they would notice two distinct runes engraved there.
One is a glamour to mask my eyes. The other is a Compulsion spell which will make my presence a little less memorable by others, it is a very weak form of mind magic since it only works on people who do not know me or have never directly interacted with me, and its effects can be easily shrugged off with a bit of concentration.
I don't know if there are as heavy restrictions on the use of Mind spells here as there was in the Empire, still this one should be alright since it does not involve actively reading and altering someone's mind…
Eh.
It's not like I am harming anyone anyway.
I open the bag and slowly lay its content on the floor, one at a time. I had not been completely honest with mister Owono, I only needed the earring to make my Talisman, the rests are for a... different reason.
The materials he bought from the store are the equipment needed to make potions and catalysts for rituals. I could not be sure if mister Owono would realize that I wanted to perform a ritual and would not risk him identifying which type of ritual from the materials I chose. All what I truly need are carefully stored in my Subspace anyway.
Without further ado I work on the preparation of the ritual. I retrieve everything I need from my Subspace, then grind the ingredients into fine Powders.
I move the furniture to the corner of the room, then use the Powders to draw a ritual Matrix on the floor. When it is done, I also make sure to have sufficiently warded it from detection.
Namely, mister Owono.
It did not escape me that Kayin's uncle seemed to have unusually potent mystical senses. I do not know the range of his Vision, but he appears to not be able to see through techniques of concealment… that or the ones currently known are not as formidable compared to what is used in Nchāre.
I move to the edge of the room to check that I have correctly drawn the Matrix.
"This should be enough…" I mumble.
A Ritual is a very dangerous art. It not only requires a deep knowledge on the subject but also patience, dedication and precision. After all, a single mistake in the preparation of the ingredients or when drawing the Array could result in terrible consequences. Especially when it involves Voodoo rituals like the one I am about to perform, I could very well have my soul sucked out of my body, merged with the one I summon. At least. Souls are indestructible, but if anything happened to mine during the Ritual I would still die.
Nonetheless if I can have any information on what caused the fall of the empire, the slightest clue that could help me find answers, then the risks are worth it.
I take a deep breath and move to the very centre of the Matrix. Normally to contact a deceased's soul, which in this case is Teacher's soul, I would need something that had belonged to him in his lifetime—preferably something that held an emotional attachment, a Vessel—to summon him to the realm of the living, but with so many centuries having passed… well, it complicates things.
That is why I have no choice but to use a living Vessel as replacement. Which is doubly more dangerous than executing the ritual, and thrice as much when acting as the Vessel and executing it.
But Beggars can't be choosers… and I am somewhat confident in what I am doing.
I retrieve my staff, close my eyes and focus on the flow of my essence, slowly feeding it into the Array, all the while chanting to summon the soul I want to meet.
I do wonder how he will first react when he sees me. Will he be surprised, or will he have expected it? Will he be annoyed that I disturbed his eternal rest, or maybe be happy to see me?
I just hope he doesn't nag me too much.
When I'm done with the chant I wait for the connection to be made.
Nothing happens.
I wait a few more seconds—maybe the ritual needs more time to take place or Teacher's soul has not yet responded to my call—I take another deep breath and attempt to feel for any fluctuations.
Nothing.
My uneasiness increases as the seconds goes by, the sinking feeling in my guts becoming harder to ignore.
What is going on?
I stop the ritual and inspect once more the Matrix, but everything is as it should, I did not misspeak when chanting either and I have a strong enough bond with Teacher for his soul to be drawn to the living realm.
Then why? Why is it not working? Even if I made an error somewhere something should have happened, anything.
I perform the ritual again. This time however I attempt to call for the souls of other people I had known—which is not much—between my peers still sleeping in the capsules and the professors I had worked under, there are not many with whom I was intimately close with. Still, of the few souls I have tried to establish a connection with none had answered.
I step out of the Array and collapse on the bed, passing a trembling had through my hair.
After having almost completely exhausted my essence, I now know for a fact that the ritual works perfectly well, the problem lies with the souls… none are responding to my summons.
"Something is very wrong."
I can accept that my relationship with my other mentors and colleagues might not be as deep as I thought it was. But Teacher? Of all of them he should have answered. Did something happen to them?
If I have to make an educated guess, either their souls have been bound somewhere, hindering their crossover from the Spiritual realm, or…
Or they are still alive.
Why would their soul be bound and who did it? And if they are alive, why did they not attempt to wake everyone up, are they are in the inability to do so?
"Why has this become so much complicated?" I whine.
I had hoped that with this ritual I would find clues to answer my questions but instead ended up with more questions than answers. With how this is going my only option will be the library, but what if there is nothing there too? Will I have to turn toward the… non-human sources?
A deep sigh escapes my lips.
I should sleep, a rested mind is imperative for problem solving.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
I wake up at dawn, calm and well rested.
Having cleaned the mess I made last night, I quickly leave my room, hoping to meet Kayin. Since I don't know where his room is I had hoped that, with some luck, I would run into him in the corridors… and it looks like I am not, again. I also opted against asking the servants, with how busy they seem to be.
Kayin might not be awake given how busy he has been since we came to the city, and it will be rude to disturb him this early in the morning. Mister Owono said he would show me the library tomorrow, so I don't have anything to do for the day.
Perhaps I could pay Ewa a visit, I think I still remember in which inn she stayed at.
I was about to do just that when I heard unusually loud whispers across the corridors. I would have not normally minded it, were it not for the fact that I was the subject of the whispers. Turning toward the source of the noise, I make eye contact with five pair of eyes—Kids—I realize immediately, three boys and two girls. They are hiding behind a wall on the other side of the hall across the garden.
They freeze in surprise, leading to a strange staring contest of several seconds long, they soon snap out of their daze and shrink back out of sight. Another second later a little girl tries to take another peek at me, but she is yanked back behind the wall.
Hmm… Visiting Ewa will have to wait for the time being.
I curiously walk to their hiding spot. There they are, crouching in a circle, whispering among themselves.
"Great! Now she spotted us." Says one of the girls, about twelve years of age. She has her hair held in a bun at the top of her head and wears a colourful piece of fabric around her shoulders to her ankles. The other girl next to her is a bit younger—perhaps seven or eight—she has big brown eyes, her dress is similar to that of the eldest in addition of flower patterns etched on it, and her hair are plaited with multicoloured bids in it.
"I told guys to pipe down, now look what happened. Ugh! I knew we shouldn't have let you guys follow us." The grumbling boy must be the eldest but not much older than the girl who spoke before. He has bronze skin, his hair is completely shaved, and he wears a plaid shirt and cotton trouser. The other boys are all similarly dressed.
He angrily stares at the two youngest of their group.
"That's not fair! Ebako started it, he wouldn't stop shouting at me."
"Because you kept pushing!" The boy, Ebako, indignantly replies. He must be her brother because their resemblance is uncanny. In fact, they must all be siblings.
"I just wanted to have a better view! And… maybe she didn't actually see us… maybe, maybe she was looking at something else, and it happened to be in our direction."
The eldest girl rolls her eyes, "Oh she saw us alright, there is no doubt about it."
"Whatever, but let's get out of here. Pa told us not to bother her, he will be mad if he—" The third boy, who is about the same age as the first one, abruptly falls silent as his gaze strays to mine. The others, sensing his distraction, turns to me as well. And freeze. Again.
"Hello there."
Except for the gasp let out by the little girl, I am answered with silence. My smile broaden, they look so surprised to have been caught.
"Ahem… If you are so curious about me you could have just come to me. No need to be shy."
They exchange glances then look back at me.
"My name is Vyswe'eyaga by the way, you are?"
The eldest boy seems to awaken from his daze. He stands up, quickly followed by his peers. "Umm… Hi. I am Kembe." He walks up to me, "…it's very nice to meet you. These are my siblings, Onana, Tatchou, Yenge and Ebako."
They all greet me somewhat awkwardly, except for Yenge—
"Woah! Your voice sounds so pretty, it is like you are singing and talking at the same time. Are you a foreigner? You are the guest brought by cousin Kayin, right? Does it mean that you are a scholar too? Why is he and Dad hiding you like that?"
She… sure is energetic.
"What do you think you are doing?" Rebukes Onana, "Don't ask questions like that, its rude."
Ebako comments quietly, "She's always like that, always running her mouth like an idiot."
Both Onana and Yenge look at him, the former gives him a warning glare while the latter is indignant.
"It's alright. You see, there are many things that I want to know, when I met your cousin he proposed to introduce me to his knowledgeable uncle, and he kindly accepted to teach me for the time being."
Yenge vigorously nods her head. "You made the right choice. Dad is very smart; he knows lots of stuff."
"If you are going to be Dad's student, does that mean you are a sorceress too?" Asks Ebako.
"Ha. Now who is running his mouth like an idiot?" She pauses for a second, "Are you?"
The others do not say anything, but I feel their expectant gaze on me. "I'm not. Sorry to disappoint." They all visibly deflate, clearly disappointed.
"It's okay, not everybody gets to have the gift anyway."
"Then, if I may ask." Tatchou chimes in, "What will you be learning with our father?"
"Well, I am very interested in history so that is what I will be studying. I will also be working as your father's assistant too."
"Boring stuff, then" Groans Ebako.
"Oh, oh, I have another question. If you are close to our cousin, then are the two of your in love with each other? I mean he has never brought a girl with him, so—"
"—No. No. We don't have that kind of relationship."
"Well, well, well. Look at what we have here?"
We all turn our heads. Standing a few meters away is a mature-aged woman with a shiny bronze skin, full lips and a generous figure. She wears a long-sleeved green dress which reaches to her ankles, adorned with intricate black embroider along the edges on the cuffs, hemline, and down the front opening of the dress. Her hairs are arranged into neat cornrows on both sides of her head and go back towards the crown forming a voluminous bun that sits elegantly atop.
She disapprovingly looks at the kids, her hands on her hips. "I was wondering where the lot of you had disappeared to…" They visibly shrink under her piercing gaze, Yenge even tries to discreetly hide behind me, "Is there not a class you five are supposed to attend, hmm?"
"Ma…" Kembe tries, "I can explain—"
She raises her hand with a harsh noise, and the words die in his mouth. "You are already late as it is, just hurry back. We will… discuss your punishment later with your father."
They anxiously swallow at her statement, but do not argue and leave. Yenge and Ebako wave me goodbye when they are out of their mother's sight which I return with a small smile. I feel a little bit bad for them—and guilty too—the severe expression on their mother's face tells me their punishment is not going to be pleasant.
Now that they are gone, I have become the subject of her undivided attention. I don't know why, but this suddenly makes me feel a bit self-conscious, as if I did something bad and I am about to be scolded for it, which is strange since she must not be that much older than me, maybe a decade or so older.
Is it because she is already a mother?
"Vyswe'eyaga right? I believe I did not present myself; my name is Kemfak. Pleasure to finally meet you."
"Greetings, madam."
She gives me surprised look, then her previously strict demeanour softens, and an amused smile spread on her lips.
"I must not have given you the best of first impressions if you are so tense, please relax."
"It is not like that. I just… I hope the kids are not in too much trouble, they didn't do anything bad."
She frowns a bit, "Assaulting a guest with questions is rude, and certainly not the way they were raised. And if that wasn't bad enough they are late for their respective lectures."
"Oh."
"I heard from my husband that you will be working as his assistant for a while."
"That is true…"
She silently observes me for a second, "Tell me… They didn't pull you in some shady business, did they?"
Huh?
"I know my nephew," she continues, "Kayin is a decent, intelligent young man… but that does not mean he is not foolish sometimes. I know that he brought you here a few days ago, I just hope he did not force you into it, men can be quite stupid when they are smitten, you see."
I can't help but sigh.
Why are they all thinking like that?
"We—It's not like that; I came here out of my own volition… but thank you for worrying."
"Oh? Are you sure?"
I nod.
"I see. Well then, I will not take any more of your time—Ah! Before that, I would love to have you over for a meal, in the near future... to get to know each other better."
"I will look forward to it."