Realm of Monsters

The room’s white walls were round, there were no corners, no recesses for shadows to hide, or for Stryg to hide for that matter. Large glass panels stretched across the walls, giving an almost perfect panorama view of the coliseum and the city below. The Herald’s Tower was larger and far taller than Stryg had guessed.

The tower spanned higher into the sky than the ebon walls of Hollow Shade. It occurred to Stryg that he had never been so high up before. Well, except for when he leaped into the sky and knocked out Heather Navis during the 2nd Challenge. The memory of Heather’s scream as her prideful expression turned into a mixture of fear and shock brought a small reprieve to Stryg’s dour mood.

He honestly didn’t want to be here, on this large white leather couch sitting next to Tauri. He also didn’t want to be sitting across from the black leather couch where the Stemme Heralds sat excitedly. And he especially didn’t want that small woman with the large round glasses, sitting in the corner, to keep staring at him with the little blue book in her hands.

How Lady Evelyn Katag convinced Maeve to convince him to do this interview, Stryg did not know. It was something about solidifying the relationship between House Katag and him in the eyes of the public. Which was why Tauri had accompanied him to the Herald’s Tower. Or something like that. Stryg hadn’t really listened to the details. He had spent the time grumbling under his breath while Maeve explained the situation.

The final match of the day had finished a mere hour ago. He should have been out with his friends celebrating Freya’s victory. Instead, he was stuck here in this tower with an orc, two much too eager drows, and another drow who could not stop staring at him.

Stryg finally had enough and hissed at the bespectacled drow. The small woman flinched and gasped in fear; her chair tilted back and she almost fell off.

“Stryg, relax. You’re scaring her,” Tauri whispered.

“She’s the one eyeing me up and down for weaknesses,” Stryg said through bared teeth.

“Ah, um, there seems to be a misunderstanding,” Mark said abashedly. “That terrified woman is just our assistant and occasional scribe. She’s only here to record our conversations during the interview, nothing more. She is not a threat. Please, pretend she isn’t even here.”

“See that, Stryg? No need to go all fang and claw on her,” Tauri jested with a nudge.

“Hmm…” Stryg slowly leaned back, but his eyes stayed on the scribe cowering near the window.

“We really are grateful for taking the time to speak with us,” Jane said with a quick series of smiles and head bobs. “Believe me, this is truly an interview for the history books.”

“Mm,” Stryg grumbled.

“Right, I think we should start, hm?” Tauri smiled forcefully.

“Oh! Yes, of course,” Jane nodded and glanced at her assistant.

The scribe nodded back and quickly pulled out her feather pen.

Mark made sure the scribe was ready before he cleared his throat and spoke in a clear voice, “I am Mark of the House of Stemme.”

“And I am his sister, Jane of the House of Stemme.”

“And together we serve as the Heralds of the beautiful Great City of Undergrowth,” Mark said.

“With us today we have the talk of every tavern and noble’s parlor, the Ebon Aspirant himself, Stryg of Ebon Hollow,”  Jane said, a trace of awe and giddiness in her voice. “We also have the honor of speaking to the Aspirant’s teacher herself, Miss Tauri of the Great House of Katag.”

Tauri smiled, “Thank you for inviting us, I’m grateful to have a chance to visit the illustrious Herald’s Tower. The view of the city is exquisite from up here.” 

“And we’re happy you accepted our invitation,” Mark said happily. “Now, I understand you are short on time. So please, allow us to get right into the nitty and gritty with the little time we have.”

“Fire away,” Tauri said easily.

“After Freya Goldelm’s victory today the 3rd Challenge’s preliminary matches are officially over,” Jane said. “After a one-day break, the next series of matches will begin. How do you both feel about the outcomes of the prelims and the upcoming matches as a whole?”

“I think my students performed remarkably in every single one of their matches,” Tauri said. “Three of them won their duels and will advance to the next matches; that’s more than any of the other three teams. Not to mention that despite the decision to let Kalliste continue, Callum managed to end his match in a draw, and that was against a Lilith, particularly the younger sister of last year’s champion.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Mark glanced at Stryg, “Any thoughts on the matter?”

“Callum should have won. Kalliste should have lost,” Stryg said curtly.

“Ah, yes, well…” Mark laughed tensely, “Looking at the brackets, it seems that you will get a chance to personally give Kalliste Lilith that loss in your next duel.”

“How do you feel about your upcoming match against Kalliste? Worried? Anxious? Excited?” Jane asked.

“...Angry,” Stryg said.

“Do you usually feel anger towards your opponents? Or is this perhaps a vendetta towards the vampiress who defeated your teammate?” Jane asked.

“...No,” Stryg said coldly.

“No? No you don’t feel anger? Or no you aren’t bothered that Kalliste beat up your teammate, Callum Veres?”

“...Yes.”

Jane furrowed her brow pitifully, “Uh… What?”

Mark clapped his hands, “Why don’t we move on to the next questions, hm? Mister Stryg, while you are here in this tourney representing Hollow Shade, I have been told the City of Shades is not your birthplace. Where do you hail from originally?”

“And what exactly is Ebon Hollow?” Jane chimed in.

Stryg sighed, “I was born to the Sylvan tribe, Blood Fang in Vulture Woods.”

“So the rumors of your Sylvan origins are true then?” Mark asked, surprised. “You really are a half-goblin?”

“I told you so!” Jane said triumphantly. “It’s the pupils. Those sharp slit pupils are unmistakable. Sylvan blood runs through his veins.”

Stryg blinked, unsure of what to say. He felt… happy? He didn’t realize how nice it was for someone to recognize him for what he was.

“Although the ears are a bit of a conundrum,” Mark rubbed his chin. “Drow ears point upwards, while a goblin’s point outwards horizontally. But the Aspirant’s droop downwards.”

Stryg suddenly felt very uncomfortable. He wasn’t used to having people examine his every feature so closely.

Tauri noticed his discomfort and nudged his shoulder, “Why don’t you tell them about Ebon Hollow?”

“Ah, yes! We’d love to hear about it,” Jane nodded eagerly.

“...Uh, Ebon Hollow is the Sylvan tribe I founded with my wife.”

“You’re married!? Is it perhaps to the Amethyst Mistress?” Mark asked.

“Amethyst Mistress?” Stryg frowned.

“The purple-haired beauty that’s been rumored to be seen with you on multiple occasions. The common folk have begun calling her the Amethyst Mistress because of her lustrous hair and her apparent romantic relation to you,” Mark said.

“...I didn’t know,” Stryg mumbled.

“We have nothing to say on that matter,” Tauri said defensively. “It’s best if you don’t try to pry into the Aspirant’s personal affairs.”

“Oh, well, please don’t blame us for trying,” Mark winked.

“So, which do you feel is your home, Hollow Shade or Vulture Woods?” Jane asked.

Stryg glanced out the windows overlooking the city in deep thought, “That’s…”

“Any other questions?” Tauri raised her eyebrow.

Jane took the cue and nodded, “What do you think of our beautiful city? Hollow Shade has very few trees, whereas Undergrowth is filled with them. Does our city remind you more of your birthplace? I’d be happy to give you a tour of the city, if you’d like.”

“...In a way this place reminds me a lot of Vulture Woods,” Stryg muttered. “The scents of trees and leaves in the air, the smallest bits of light filtering down over us, but Glimmer Grove is not Vulture Woods… And every day I’m here reminds me of that.”

“I see… I personally have never been to the Scarlet Forest, but few ever do,” Jane said softly.

“Here’s a question that many a noble and commoner have been dying to know,” Mark pointed at the blade hanging from Stryg’s hip. “What is the name of your sword?”

“You want to know the name of my sword?” Stryg wrinkled his brow.

“Are you kidding? The sword of the soon-to-be first Ebon Lord in the last 200 years? I guarantee you that every single tavern in this city tonight will be talking about your sword at one point or another.”

Jane nodded, “Legends and myths have always been built around the weapons of the great ladies and lords of the past. I have personally heard stories of your sword from several noble women at a recent gala this last weekend. They say your blade can cut into a person’s life force without even touching them. They say that’s why Beatrix dai-Morrigan suddenly collapsed during your duel.”

“What?” Stryg cocked his head to the side in confusion.

“His sword was forged by one of the greatest blacksmiths in all of Hollow Shade,” Tauri said proudly. “I heard that the enchantress whispered secret Gale and Veres spells into the liquid metal as she forged the blade.”

Huh? Stryg had never heard that last bit before. Was Tauri lying? Or did she know something he didn’t?

“Fascinating,” Mark said, wide-eyed. “So, what’s it called?”

“Nameless,” Stryg said.

“It doesn’t have a name yet?” Mark asked.

Tauri shook her head, “No, his sword’s name is ‘Nameless.’ A bit… different, I know. But what Ebon Lord has ever been ordinary?”

“Well put, Miss Tauri,” Mark bowed his head. “I think I can speak for most of Undergrowth when I say, we look forward to seeing Nameless in action once more.”

Stryg couldn’t help but smile, if only a tad.

Jane cleared her throat, “I’d like to ask the question I think everyone has been wondering since they saw the Aspirant move into the Katag’s villa. What is the relationship between the Ebon Aspirant and House Katag?”

“I’m marrying her sister,” Stryg pointed a thumb at Tauri.

“Ahem, the Great House of Katag has formed an alliance with the Ebon Aspirant, and it will be solidified through the marriage of my younger sister Elena Katag,” Tauri said. “Stryg staying at the villa is just one of the many examples of his closeness with my family.”

Jane smirked, “I can imagine there are many young noble women who will be jealous of your sister as soon as they hear the news. Anything to say about that?”

Tauri glanced at Stryg and recalled his strange mannerisms. She shrugged stiffly, “What can I say? My sister is a lucky girl.”

“And how do you feel about Miss Elena Katag?” Mark asked Stryg.

“I don’t know,” Stryg shrugged easily, “I haven’t met her.”

~~~

The carriage shook occasionally as the wheels’ rolled over the roots of the trees all around them. The sun was beginning to set over the Ebon Realm and Glimmer Grove’s trees were beginning to come to life with fluorescent light.

Elena leaned her head out of the carriage’s window and stared at the glowing spots on the canopy above. The wind tickled her face and the scent of the woods filled her nostrils. She sighed in contentment. It had been too long since she had visited the forest.

Classes had just finished and she had finally completed her 2nd year at the academy. While the plan had always been to join her father and mother at Undergrowth for the tourney after her studies were over, she found it odd that her parents hadn’t sent a letter of summons. In fact, she hadn’t heard from them ever since that ridiculous rumor of an ‘Ebon Aspirant’ reached Hollow Shade.

The whole thing was very odd, but soon she’d be back with her parents and sister, and all these rumors would be put to rest.

Elena looked forward at the empty road ahead and smiled happily, “Just a little longer.”