Realm of Monsters

Tauri walked down the empty halls of the Katag villa in the late hours of the evening. She had spent the last few hours tossing and turning in bed. No matter how long she tried to lay still with closed eyes she was unable to fall asleep.

Eventually, she had decided to get up for a walk. As she strode through the halls, she spotted a lone figure sitting at the edge of the pool, their feet touching the water.

Elena? Tauri paused in her steps.

Elena’s small shoulders were slumped and her head hung low. She kicked the water softly, making small splashes.

Tauri frowned worriedly. She opened the window and jumped outside without a hint of hesitation. Tauri tucked her body in and landed in a roll with the nimbleness of a cat.

She stood up and dusted off her clothes with a small grin, Still got it.

She casually walked over to her little sister and nudged Elena’s thigh with the tip of her foot, “Oi, what are you still doing up?”

Elena looked up in surprise, but relaxed when she recognized who it was, “Tauri? I thought you’d already be knocked out after drinking all day.”

Tauri shrugged, “Meh, I didn’t drink much today.”

Elena’s eyes widened, “My sister? Not getting drunk at the Festival of the Gods? What has the world come to?”

“Yeah, whatever,” Tauri kicked off her shoes and pulled off her socks. “I wasn’t feeling a very festive mood is all.”

“Why not? After Sylvie’s last match, Hollow Shade is guaranteed to win the tournament. That sounds like a pretty good reason to celebrate if you ask me.”

“Sure, I guess. So why aren’t you out there drinking and dancing?” Tauri sat down next to her sister and dipped her feet into the water.

“I don’t like drinking.”

“Yeah, I know…”

Tauri glanced around the dark gardens that lay beyond the pool. She could barely make out the flowers in the cover of darkness. The light of the guards’ torches glowed a soft orange in the distance.

“We should really get more torches around here, you can barely see anything,” Tauri noted.

“No need, the guards can see just fine,” Elena said.

“Oh?” Tauri muttered. “So… You wanna tell me…?”

“Tell you what?” she said defensively.

“You hate pools more than you hate drinking, but here you are,” Tauri said matter-of-factly. “My guess is it’s because you really don’t want to be inside right now. So… wanna tell me why?”

Elena sighed and stared at her reflection in the dark water, “...I went on a date with the Ebon Aspirant today. Mom thought it was a good idea to strengthen our House’s bonds with the Ebon Aspirant today. She even told me… She told me I should try to get closer to him tonight. Like, really close. Like hip thrusting close. Like—”

“—Yeah, I get it,” Tauri said dryly. The thought of Stryg screwing her little sister was not an image she wanted in her head. “So, what happened? You didn’t go?”

Elena bit her lip and looked away.

Tauri wrapped her arm around her sister’s shoulder, “You don’t need to listen to Mom always. Especially for this. You’re gonna have enough ‘nightly duties’ when you’re married. Don’t worry about whatever mom told you. You don’t have to fulfill your duties for this House just yet.”

Elena clenched her fists in frustration, “That’s just it… I did go to the Aspirant’s room.”

“What?” Tauri stiffened. “So… you and Stryg…?”

Elena swallowed.

Tauri’s eyes widened, “Feli too? Gods, you had a three-way?”

Elena shook her head, “No… Feli wasn’t there. Neither was the Aspirant. Their bedroom was empty.” She laughed bitterly, “And you know what? I was relieved.”

“Elena…” Tauri said sympathetically. “You don’t want to marry him, do you?”

“It’s not like that,” Elena shrugged, “I mean, it was really sudden, sure, but he's really cute. And he’s a freaking Ebon Aspirant. But he’s distant and there’s this… endless depth to him.”

“Endless depth?” Tauri asked skeptically. “Stryg isn’t a complicated guy. He likes to eat, drink, and probably fuck. Plus, he can be a bit of a dick sometimes. Which basically describes most men. See? Not complicated at all.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Elena sighed. “I meant… Hm… how do I say this…? Okay, it’s like, the Aspirant is a dark chasm.”

“A chasm?” Tauri raised her eyebrow.

“Just listen. The Aspirant is a dark endless chasm. You creep to the edge and peer over, hoping to see what lies at the bottom, but no matter how much you try you can’t. But the chasm calls to you, you can’t help but be curious, be drawn to its call. So you jump down… The question is, where do you land?”

“That sounds ominous,” Tauri chuckled.

“I’m not joking,” Elena said seriously. “Stryg of Ebon Hollow is very dangerous and not because of his powers. There’s something off about him, I saw what he did during the attack on our home. He killed so many people that night, but he didn’t look angry. He didn’t even look happy, like a berserker. His eyes were cold, practically emotionless, almost as if he was in a trance. It’s like he didn’t care to kill them, he was just doing it out of efficiency. I’ve never seen anyone like that.”

Tauri recalled the way Stryg had ripped those savages limb from limb, blood spraying all over him, but not once did he react; not to the blood, nor their cries, or anything else.

Suddenly her little sister’s words carried a different sort of weight to them.

“If you’re so anxious about Stryg, why did you go to his room tonight?” Tauri asked worriedly.

Elena shrugged, “That’s just it. Despite all of that, Stryg is interesting. He’s got this innocence to him, like he’s seeing the whole world for the first time. You should have seen him when he tried cinnamon bread for the first time at the festival today. He was so happy, it was practically bubbling off him. I can’t help but want to know more about him.”

“So that’s why you went to his bedroom? Curiosity?”

“It helps that he’s super cute,” Elena said bashfully.

“Wait, but didn’t you say you were relieved he wasn’t in his room?”

“W-well, that’s because Feli said he likes to bite.”

“Huh?” Tauri frowned. She knew Stryg had a penchant for violence when it came to people who disrespected him, but she didn’t understand how that was relevant.

Elena glanced at herself sheepishly, “Feli told me that the Aspirant likes to bite during sex. Particularly a woman’s soft bits.”

“Is that all? Love bites are common enough,” Tauri shrugged.

“Yeah, but he bites hard, like ‘Oh shit, I’m bleeding!’ hard. Feli says he heals her with white magic after they’re done so there are no marks left.”

Tauri blinked, “Well, that’s terrifying.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Elena rubbed her arms. 

“Maybe Feli was just trying to scare you? Secondary wives are known to not be very big fans of the primary wife, aka, you.”

“Yeah, I know,” Elena sighed. “You’re probably right. Hopefully.”

“Hopefully.” 

“Hey, Tauri?” 

“Hm?”

“Could I ask you for a favor?”

“Does it involve money?”

“No.”

“Then yes.”

Elena chuckled, but quickly took on an earnest expression, “If I’m going to be married to the Aspirant someday then I’d like to know more about him. Could you give me some tips on how to talk to him? He’s not like the other aristocrats or students at school. He’s different and honestly I’m not sure how to get closer to him.”

Tauri winced, “I’m really not the best person for this. Stryg and I don’t have a very good relationship.”

“But you’re his teacher. Surely you have to know something about him.”

“He bites people. Maims them too.”

“Yeah, I got that,” Elena frowned. “Anything else?”

“I don’t know,” Tauri said in frustration. “Stryg can be infuriating sometimes, but other times he’s… I don’t know… he’s interesting? I guess? He’s like…”

“Like a dark chasm,” Elena said.

“Yeah… Yeah, I guess…” Tauri pulled her feet out of the pool and stood up, “I’m really not the person to give advice about Stryg.”

“Then who is?”

Tauri sighed begrudgingly, “Loh Noir.”

“Oh… I see…”

“You should get some sleep. Tomorrow morning will be the final duel of the tournament. I’m sure the Ebon Aspirant’s fiancé should be there to watch his battle.”

Elena nodded, “I’ll try. Goodnight.”

“Sleep well,” Tauri turned around and walked over to the gardens, hoping to clear her mind of darker thoughts.

As she strolled through the garden she found herself thinking of Stryg and their last few interactions. Ever since she had met him at the pool things had changed, her perspective had changed. She was aware of him in a way she hadn’t been before. She usually didn’t think about it, but every time his eyes met hers…

What am I even thinking!? Stryg is my student… he’s Loh’s apprentice… he’s my sister’s goddamn fiancé! The last person I should be wasting my time thinking about is that dumbass goblin.

She sighed in frustration, “…Stryg… huh?”

“Yeah?” a voice came from above.

“What the fuck!?” Tauri jumped back and looked up into the trees. 

A pair of lilac eyes peered down at her from the darkness of the branches.

~~~

Despite the arrival of summer, Dusk Valley’s green hills were still cold, especially in the evening when the cold breeze from the north blew down.

Nokti warmed herself next to the campfire as she set up the tent for the night. Vampires were nocturnal by nature, but Caligo insisted on traveling during the day, though he did not say why. 

Nokti had grown accustomed to sleeping in the night, as much as any vampire could. She had just taken a bath in a nearby stream, about a mile from their campsite. The walk back had been wet and cold, but it was nice to finally take a bath after almost a week and wash off the dragon’s blood that had stained her clothes and skin.

Caligo and Lin Lu were still at the stream washing off. Caligo was swimming and Lin Lu was mostly playing in the water when Nokti had left them. It was odd, they were both gods, yet they acted so carefreely in the stream, as if they hadn’t just both killed a dragon a few days ago.

Nokti shrugged, Then again, Caligo always acts nonchalantly. One minute you think he’s happy and everything is going fine and the next minute he’s killed everyone in the bar. You’d think after months of traveling together I’d get a better gauge on his emotions…

The wind suddenly picked up and a powerful gust blew through the camp, extinguishing the fire. Nokti squinted and shivered in the cold winds. She looked around, searching for a threat, but there was no one.

“Why!?” a voice boomed from above.

Nokti glanced up at the sky and felt her legs grow numb. A sapphire dragon larger than any she had seen flew high above the campground. 

The dragon goddess Zaviniti bared her fangs and roared, “Why do you carry the scent of dragon blood on your body!?”

Nokti swallowed the lump in her throat, “Gods help me.”