Realm of Monsters

Evelyn smiled, “Well, Stryg of Ebon Hollow, now that we’ve agreed upon supporting one another, we need to discuss your engagement to my youngest, Elena.”

Stryg blinked numbly, “Say what now?”

“Your marriage to House Katag through your engagement to my youngest daughter, Elena, obviously. You look confused. Is something the matter?”

Stryg shot a panicked glance at Maeve, “What’s she talking about?”

“You’re going to marry Elena Katag,” Maeve said matter-of-factly.

“I thought the whole purpose of coming here was to avoid getting married,” Stryg whispered.

“To Lady Thorn, yes, but an alliance with a Great House requires a marriage,” Maeve whispered.

“Is there a problem?” Evelyn asked.

Maeve forcefully smiled, “Not at al–”

“Yes,” Stryg interrupted. “Why do I have to marry your daughter?”

“Do you think my daughter isn’t good enough for you?” Lord Krall Katag glared at him.

“Honey, it’s fine,” Evelyn shook her head. “It’s a valid question, after all, you’re a hybrid, yes, Stryg?”

“Yes?” he answered suspiciously.

Evelyn nodded with a sigh, “The purpose of an aristocratic marriage is to bind the two families through the birth of a child, a common shared interest, love. There is no greater bond than the love a parent has for their child.”

Evelyn crossed her legs and clasped her hands together, “Unfortunately, Stryg, your hybrid nature prevents you from having children. A bond between child and parent will never exist between you and our family. So instead we’ll focus on the relationship between you and my daughter.”

“So you want me to form a bond with your daughter… Elena?” Stryg asked carefully.

Evelyn nodded, “Marriage has always been a bond, a partner to share your life with. Elena just finished her 2nd year at Hollow Shade’s magic academy. She is 19, almost your age, and a perfect partner to share your life with.”

“But… she’s an orc and I’m a goblin,” Stryg said.

“Goblins do have a shorter lifespan than orcs, yes, but your drow blood should balance that out. You’ll probably outlive Elena by a few years,” Evelyn said.

Stryg frowned, “That’s not what I meant–”

“What he means is that he’s nervous is all,” Maeve laughed awkwardly.

“Marriage can be nerve-wracking, but I’m confident an Ebon Aspirant such as yourself will be just fine,” Evelyn smiled.

“I’m not afraid of marriage, I already handle it just fine,” Stryg said defensively.

“Wait, you’re already married?” Evelyn said indignantly. “To whom? Which Great House?”

“Her name’s Feli,” Stryg crossed his arms.

“She’s a commoner,” Maeve added.

“Oh, is that all?” Evelyn visibly relaxed. “I suppose I should have expected you to have a lesser wife. Well, I’m sure this… Feli and Elena will get along splendidly.”

“I don’t know, Feli already hates it when I’m with Maeve,” Stryg said.

“You and Lady Mora are married?!” Evelyn’s eyes widened.

“NO!” Maeve sat up from the sofa. “We’re friends, just friends. I have no interest in marrying anyone. My House is my own to lead and I need no outside parties trying to influence that.”

Stryg nodded, “Maeve and I are friends, but she is also part of my tribe, so I guess you could say she is part of my family.”

“For the love of Bellum, please stay quiet,” Maeve whispered frustratedly.

Ismene couldn’t help but chuckle and almost spilled her hot tea over her legs.

“...I see,” Evelyn nodded knowingly. “Let me be blunt if only for a moment, Aspirant. I do not care who you share your bed with, so long as you are only married to one Great House and my daughter is made the primary wife without question. Can we agree upon that?”

Stryg glanced at Maeve questioningly. She nodded subtly.

Stryg sighed, “...Okay, I’ll meet with Elena at least.”

“Wonderful,” Evelyn clapped her hands. She’ll be ecstatic to meet you when she arrives.”

“When she arrives?” Stryg asked.

“Elena just finished her classes, she is still at Hollow Shade,” Evelyn said. “This is all short notice, but I already sent a crow to the city. Elena will read my letter and come to Undergrowth with haste. She’ll be here in a week at best. A few days before the tournament has ended.”

“So you want me to marry someone I haven’t even met?” Stryg frowned.

“You’ll have plenty of time to get to know each other after the tournament,” Evelyn smiled. 

Stryg glanced at Maeve, “You want me to marry someone I don’t know so that I can form an alliance with a House I also don’t know? Are you sure this is a good idea?”

Maeve nodded steadily. “It’s the best option we’ve got. Trust me,” she whispered.

Evelyn cleared her throat, “I understand your desire to get to know our family is important to you. How could it not be? We are bonding our House and Tribe together for life.” She grabbed a bell and rang it three times. “We’d also like to get to know you and your tribe.”

A maid walked into the room and bowed her head, “My Lord and Lady, you called?”

“Yes, bring Tauri, quickly,” Evelyn waved her hand.

The maid bowed once more and left without a word.

“Professor Tauri’s here?” Stryg asked. 

“Why wouldn’t she be? She is a Katag,” Krall said.

Stryg supposed it made sense. He hadn’t seen Tauri since the truth of Aizel came to light. Tauri had simply left the tavern their team was staying at, no one had seen her since. He had guessed she had already left Undergrowth, but as the maid came back into the room Tauri walked in behind her.

Stryg met her eyes for a brief moment, surprise and discomfort were all that was reflected in their gaze.

Tauri glanced at her mother with a frown, “What is Stryg doing here? Why is Ismene here? And who is this petite vampire?”

Evelyn’s eye twitched, but she quickly smothered her look of annoyance and smiled brightly, “Tauri, dear, this is Lady Maeve of the Great House of Mora.”

Maeve waved her hand awkwardly, “Hi, nice to meet you.”

“Charmed,” Tauri said in a deadpan voice. “Mom, why are they here?”

“We were just brokering an alliance between our House and the Ebon Aspirant,” Evelyn said. “Tauri, I’d like you to officially meet your future brother-in-law, Stryg of Ebon Hollow.”

“What!?” Tauri yelled. “Who is he marrying? Don’t tell me you’re marrying him off to little Elena?!”

“Elena is no longer a child nor little, she is an adult who has blossomed into a beautiful young woman. And last I checked, you do not make the decisions for the future of our family, do you?” Evelyn said icily.

Tauri bowed her head. “No, mother. I’m sorry, mother,” she said attentively.

Evelyn nodded in satisfaction. “Stryg knows as much about our family as we do of him, which if you haven’t noticed is very little.” She glanced at Stryg, “I’d like Tauri to act as a mediator of sorts between our family and your tribe.”

“What does that mean?” Stryg asked skeptically.

“Neither of us knows each other very well,” Evelyn said. “But Tauri can show you the values of my family and our way of life. That way, by the time Elena arrives, you will have a clear understanding of who the Katags are.”

“I don’t like Tauri,” Stryg said curtly.

“And I never liked your arrogant and rude personality,” Tauri glared at him.

“Then thank the gods you two aren’t getting married,” Evelyn rolled her eyes. “I assure you, Aspirant, Elena is nothing like Tauri. Where Tauri is rash and conceited, Elena is meek and calm, she will serve as a wonderful wife for you.”

Krall nodded, “Elena has a kind soul, which is why if you hurt her I’ll-”

Evelyn pinched Krall’s arm, “What my husband means to say, is that we have several children. My husband has even more children with his other wives. Yet out of all the children in our House, Elena is undoubtedly the best.”

“Gee, mom, thanks for making that so crystal clear,” Tauri muttered with a sigh.

“This is your first time in Undergrowth, is it not, Aspirant?” Evelyn asked without missing a beat.

“Uh, yes?” Stryg said.

“Perfect,” Evelyn said. “My family visits the city every so often to relax and enjoy ourselves. Why don’t my family and I take you around the city and show you some of the best sites Undergrowth has to offer.”

“Why? I need to train and prepare for my duels in the 3rd Challenge,” Stryg furrowed his brow.

“For publicity,” Ismene guessed. “If people see you with the Katags they will assume that such a public display means you trust that you have a good relationship with House Katag in general.”

“Perception is everything in the politics of the Houses,” Evelyn smirked. “As for training and preparing for your duels, Tauri and my husband are more than capable of helping you with that. Tauri can train you in some of the public training courtyards too. Simply put, the more time you are seen spending time with my family in public the stronger our alliance seems. Once Elena comes, we will announce the engagement.”

“And in the meantime, your family will provide protection for Stryg and his allies?” Maeve asked.

“Yes, of course, we are family now after all,” Evelyn smiled.

“Very well.” Maeve curtsied, “Thank you for your time. If you’ll excuse us, we must get back to the coliseum for the next duel.”

“I understand. Thank you for the visit, it has been most productive,” Evelyn bowed.

“Yeah, sure,” Stryg grumbled. “Let’s get going, guys. If we hurry we might still catch a bit of the frost giant’s duel.”

“Doubtful,” Ismene stared pointedly at her cane.

“Farewell, and may the gods bless you in your duels,” Evelyn waved.

“Good luck,” Krall said politely.

~~~

Tauri watched Stryg and the two women leave with an air of annoyance. As the door closed behind them, Tauri walked next to the door and activated the enchantment above the door frame. Brown sigils flared to life around the walls until the entire room’s walls were covered in a ring of enchantments.

“That’s better,” Tauri sighed loudly.

“Why did you activate the room’s protection spells?” Krall stood to his feet. “Are you worried about a potential attack?”

“No, but Stryg has an incredible hearing,” Tauri said. “I didn’t want him to hear what I had to say next.”

“And what’s that, darling?” Evelyn raised an eyebrow.

“Are you both fucking crazy!?” Tauri screamed. “In what world do you think it’s a good idea to have a Sylvan goblin marry Elena!”

“I taught you better than to have prejudice against goblins. Such ignorance only hurts you in the long run,” Evelyn said.

“I don’t have anything against goblins, I have something against Sylvan folk, because their fucking crazy! And by that I mean Stryg is fucking crazy!” Tauri yelled. “You don’t know that kid like I do. He’s not normal, mom. He’s dangerous and has a severe lack of control. Loh told me that he’s killed people for the smallest of grievances, it’s a part of his culture. Why would you make an alliance with someone like him?”

“Because he is the only Ebon Aspirant in the realm and someday he will be the first Ebon Lord in the last 200 years,” Evelyn said calmly.

“That’s even more reason not to ally ourselves with him. If he starts a war, we’ll be dragged into it,” Tauri said.

“Darling, we are already at war,” Evelyn said. “You may have spent the last few years dawdling about playing teacher, but the world has only grown more dangerous. Undergrowth has only become more hostile in the last few years and Hollow Shades armies are already preoccupied defending against the Valley Tribes.”

Krall nodded in agreement, “We need an Ebon Lord on our side. That boy is more than just a prime mage. He is a symbol of what Hollow Shade once was and what it could be, powerful. We need the fear that such power incites if we are to survive the wars to come.”

Tauri shook her head, “But Stryg doesn’t even like orcs, I’ve heard him talk about it before. He doesn’t want to marry into our family.”

“Do you think me blind, child?” Evelyn clicked her tongue. “I am not an idiot. The Aspirant’s opinion does not change our necessity. We must join forces. But the Aspirant is a hybrid, which means we cannot rely on potential children to keep our alliance strong. So we need this marriage to work.”

“Marriage is a bond that ties families together,” Krall added.

“And ideally marriage is an expression of love,” Evelyn said. “Or at least in Elena’s and the Aspirant’s case, it must be. Their marriage will be the only thing keeping our alliance strong. So you will do everything in your power to help make this marriage a success, do you understand Tauri?”

“I don’t want to have anything to do with this,” she said angrily. “You two can play matchmaker with my sister all on your own, leave me out of it.”

“The Aspirant knows you had a part to play with the death of the Gale boy,” Evelyn said quietly. “A large reason as to why he hates orcs is because of you, Tauri. You need to fix this.”

Evelyn pointed an accusing finger at Tauri, “You want to wallow in tears over your dead fiancé for another decade? Sure. You want to play professor and go to parties instead of serving in our House’s armies like your other siblings? Sure. I’ll let you waste away your life if that’s what you want. But I will not let you ruin this family’s future. You will fix this. And if that means playing matchmaker for your sister and the Ebon Aspirant, then that is exactly what you will do.”

Tauri bit her lip in shame and turned to her father for help, but he ignored her and sipped his tea.

Tauri sighed with apprehension, “...I will fix this.”