The Storm King

“Tell me, little Butterfly, what is your impression of this young man who brought in this card?”

The Tower Lord could easily see with his magic senses what was happening in the other room, how the young man was nervously pacing back and forth in the lounge as he waited for Elise to return.  His aura was strong and potent, the obvious result of years of effort and knowledge of what he was doing, rather than muddling his way through the magical tiers as most citizens of the Bull Kingdom were forced to do, let alone the northern barbarians that this young man so resembled in dress and style.

Elise paused as she contemplated her uncle’s question, her thoughts turning to the young man in the room just beyond the door in front of them.  The more she thought about him, the more intrigued her expression became, and a smile began to spread across her face.   “He seems to be the sort of man who hasn’t had to deal with many people, especially not those in the upper strata of society.  He’s quiet, unexpressive even when embarrassed, uncomfortable around other people, but innocent most of all.”

“Innocent?  Really?  He appears to be a third-tier mage to me, and even second-tier mages are rarely so innocent…”

“Third-tier, hmm?  Well, innocent when it comes to women.  I did sense a slight undercurrent of killing intent, so he’s most definitely killed before, and I’d say he’d be more than willing to do so again.”

“Sounds to me like you’re interested in him,” the Tower Lord replied, cocking an eyebrow at his niece.  “Don’t tell me it was love at first sight?”

“No, I don’t think that’s the case,” Elise replied, her cheeks reddening slightly.  “But I will concede that he’s far from the noble chaff that usually finds its way into our Tower.  Certainly not a pampered rich boy who hasn’t seen a single day of struggle—quite the opposite, I would guess.”

“If he is who I think he is, then there’s no way his father would’ve raised him somewhere peaceful.”

“Oh?  And who do you think he is?”  Elise stared at the Tower Lord, her uncle, her brilliant emerald eyes gleaming with curiosity and expectation.  The Tower Lord loved his family and was weak to such assaults, especially where Elise was concerned, but he couldn’t just say it without a promise from her, first.

“… You will not repeat a word of this to anyone.  We at Heaven’s Eye take as little part in political struggles as possible, and this is a very weighty situation we now have on our hands…”

Elise nodded eagerly.  She didn’t mind not speaking of this matter, and she couldn’t stand not knowing, especially where this intriguing young man was concerned—after all, he had the looks of a barbarian, but the power of a high noble and the gold card of Royalty.

“…  Good.  The card he came in with was for House Raime.  That blood test you just ran confirmed him as the grandson of Kyros Raime.”

“House Raime?”  Elise incredulously responded, almost shouting the question in shock.  It took a moment for her to process her uncle’s revelation, but when she did, she understood the need for secrecy.  “I thought they were all dead!”

“Which is what most people thought.  In fact, I’d say myself and a few of our senior blood mages at this branch were the only ones who knew differently.  Fifteen years ago, when Artorias Raime’s villa was destroyed, he managed to escape.  I heard that he had a son, but he never registered the boy with the Guild.”

“But how did you know he was still alive?  Did he visit this place?”

“He didn’t have to, we have his blood.  We could’ve even found him if we wanted, but that isn’t our way.”

Something occurred to Elise as they were talking, the reason this account had been locked in the first place.  “But if he survived, why was the account locked?”

The Tower Lord was silent for a moment, before answering in a quiet voice.  “He died last week.”

“…  Oh.”

“Well, the Guild’s rules must be followed, so I gave the order to lock the account for one hundred years.  If no one showed up to unlock it, the assets would have been seized by the bank.  I didn’t expect someone to arrive so quickly, though.  Now, then, I would like to meet this young man.”

Elise nodded, her demeanor swiftly shifting back into that of the role she’d been playing since Leon had entered the Tower—that of a confident businesswoman and a helpful and mildly suggestive attendant.  She then opened the door and strode in with the confidence of a woman who knew she practically owned the place.

The Tower Lord followed Elise inside, and when he saw Leon with his own eyes rather than the more esoteric perception of magic senses, any doubts as to his identity immediately vanished.  It was like he was looking two centuries back in time, and it so profoundly struck him that the Tower Lord could only stand and stare at the young man before him.  The same brown hair so dark it appeared almost black, the same prominent nose, the same strong features.  The only thing that was remarkably different was Leon’s eye color—bright gold rather than House Raime’s more traditional hues of dark brown.  If someone told the Tower Lord that Kyros had come back to life as a younger man and was now standing in front of him, he’d probably believe them.

Elise, meanwhile, took the opportunity to approach the young man and inform him of what was happening, but the Tower Lord was so overcome with sudden emotion that he failed to track the conversation.  He saw Elise smiling at the young man, nodding at what he was saying, lightly touching his arm.  The young man seemed nervous and embarrassed, but he was responding positively to Elise’s presence and attitude, speaking to her readily enough in a shaky, stuttering way.

“Incredible…  You really are Kyros’ grandson…” the Tower Lord muttered, unable to help himself despite his centuries of mastering himself.

He was a powerful man, and his voice carried even when spoken so softly; Leon heard him and froze for a split second.  Then, he threw himself back from Elise, his right hand dropping down to the hilt of the sword at his waist.  He was about to draw before the Tower Lord realized his mistake and waved his hand, freezing Leon in place with the weight of his magical aura alone.

“I’m terribly sorry, I shouldn’t have said something so careless.  Elise, are you all right?”  She nodded back to him while nervously smiling at the sudden turn in events.

“We… mean you no harm, Leon,” she whispered, any trace of seductiveness gone from her voice, replaced with nothing but an earnest entreatment to calm down.

Leon stood there, staring at the two of them, unmoving even as the Tower Lord withdrew his aura and released him.

“We’re not going to hurt you, young man, or spread word about your identity, so please calm yourself.”  The Tower Lord spoke with a quiet and measured voice, showing Leon nothing but trust and serenity.  And slowly, Leon released the hold he had on his blade, but he kept a good few steps away from both Elise and the Tower Lord.

The Tower Lord smiled, and gestured toward the chairs, taking one for himself.

After a few moments, Leon began to relax, but he kept his eye on both the Tower Lord and Elise.  The latter was still standing, her breathing not quite steady and her hands shaking.  She’d never seen someone switch so quickly from cordial conversation into a violent stance before—hells, she’d never even been in a violent situation before, so she’d been taken completely by surprise.

“I… uh, sorry about that…” Leon said a little bashfully, finding it difficult to look her in the eye.

After a few more seconds, Elise’s breathing started to slow, and she said, “It’s fine.  It’s fine.”

“Elise?”  The Tower Lord didn’t want to elaborate on his concern, not in front of a stranger, no matter who he appeared to be, but he needed to know that she was all right.

“I’m fine,” she replied, turning to him and smiling.  “Just a little more excitement than I’m used to is all.”

With that, she practically skipped forward and took Leon’s arm again.

“Please, Leon, we’re here to help.  We can be discreet.”

Under normal circumstances, Elise might have some seductive emphasis on the second part of her statement, but in this situation, she refrained.  Being straight-up with Leon was probably the best option to avoid more misunderstandings.

“Right.  Sorry,” Leon repeated.

“Don’t worry about it.  Let’s get back down to business, shall we?” she brightly said, steering Leon back toward the sofas where the Tower Lord was waiting.

Leon allowed her to do so.  He’d already decided to trust Heaven’s Eye, but hearing the Tower Lord suddenly say what he did had caught him off-guard and he acted purely on instinct.  He didn’t wish harm upon Elise or the old man she’d returned with.  He wasn’t even sure if he could hurt the Tower Lord if he tried, given how incomprehensible his aura was and how easily he’d immobilized Leon.

But Leon kept an eye on the man all the same.  He took a seat opposite the glass table, with Elise sitting next to him.  The intimacy she previously showed was gone, which made Leon even more regretful over his hasty actions, but replacing it was a sense of seriousness that had Leon not dwelling too long on her previous demeanor.

The Tower Lord spoke first, leaning back in his chair and smiling at Leon, trying to make it as clear as possible that they weren’t enemies.  “I’m glad to see you, ‘Leon’, was it?  My name is Ajax, and I’m the Lord of this branch of Heaven’s Eye.  As Elise told you, I’m sure, I’ve arranged for your vault to be transported directly to this room.”

“Thanks,” Leon replied.  “Was it… was it just that one vault?”

“Yes, everything else tied to that card you brought us was the property of the Archduchy of the Great Plateau rather than of House Raime, specifically, meaning that after the death of Archduke Kyros Raime and his heirs being either dead or missing, ownership all of those assets were transferred to the Bull King.

“I see…” Leon murmured.

“Now, just to get some things straight and to ensure that everything is on the up-and-up, you are the son of Artorias Raime?”  Leon didn’t answer him verbally this time, but the momentary tensing up of his body and spike in his aura told Ajax all he needed to know.  “I thought so.  Your grandfather, His Honored Grace, Kyros Raime, was a friend of mine.  You actually look so much like him when he was younger that I lost myself when I saw you, I apologize if you found that startling.”

Leon frowned and said nothing more than, “Ah, OK,” leaving Ajax feeling a little awkward.  He was used to dealing with long-winded nobles and merchants, so he had a habit of leaving the other party plenty of room to speak, but Leon wasn’t giving him much to work with.

“This is your first visit to a Heaven’s Eye Bank, correct?”  Again, Leon didn’t respond verbally, but he at least nodded to Ajax.  Ajax was thankful for that, as it gave him an excuse to talk about many of the procedures the Guild had implemented for its banks.  He told Leon all about their account system, how they verify IDs, the tightness of their security, how to lock an account in the case of a lost ID card, as well as how to get a new card in that event, throughout which Leon remained silent as stone.

It took a moment, but Ajax thought he knew why the young man was being so taciturn—Leon was quiet, to begin with, but Elise had been slowly sliding closer as he and Leon had been talking.  She didn’t quite come close enough to press her body against Leon, but she’d certainly slid close enough to rub her arm against his.  It seemed to Ajax that for however surprising it was to see Leon’s violent side, Elise wasn’t too bothered by it.

“Elise, do you think you can wait outside, please?  I would like to speak with Leon alone.”  Elise responded with a cute pouting face, but the Tower Lord insisted, so she reluctantly rose and moved to the door, but she didn’t forget to give Leon a few mournful looks as she did.

Leon watched her go with a look almost as regretful, and Ajax couldn’t help but notice the young man’s gaze wandering over Elise’s body.

The Tower Lord put on a teasing smile, and asked, “So, Leon.  How are you enjoying your time at Heaven’s Eye so far?  Has Elise been accommodating?  You seem to be a bit on edge, has there been any problems?”

Leon hurriedly shook his head.  “No, no problems yet.  Just… Elise is very nice, and I’m… not really used to that…”

“Well, if she makes you uncomfortable, don’t hesitate to say so, and we’ll find you a new attendant as soon as we can.”

Leon nodded in gratitude, but he refrained from taking the Tower Lord up on that offer.  As uncomfortable as Elise’s attentions could be, Leon couldn’t honestly say that he didn’t enjoy them.  “Are all your attendants so… friendly?  I noticed quite a few downstairs who were… very close… to the other people here…”

“Yes…  At this branch of Heaven’s Eye, our attendants get the opportunity to meet with many wealthy merchants and nobles, and they do tend to take advantage of that.  We don’t require such behavior out of our attendants, but it does keep our clients coming back, so we don’t discourage it.  Oftentimes, our clients will grow quite attached to their attendants, and will even take them as concubines or spouses.”

If they take an attendant into their household, then Heaven’s Eye will always see them.  Ajax left that part unsaid, but Leon was smart enough to infer that much, even if he was terrible at talking to people.

But the Tower Lord had never seen Elise act that way with a client before.  Usually, they would be fawning over her to the point she’d lose patience, rather than the other way around.  Elise was a woman who knew her status and didn’t have the time for those who thought too much of themselves and only spoke to her out of want for her body.

Ajax fully supported his niece when she kicked those kinds of people out of the Tower, and there’d been plenty who’d been given temporary bans when they refused to stop trying to court her.  So, Ajax was more than a little surprised and even a little gratified to finally see Elise taking an interest in someone.

But he pushed those thoughts out of his mind as the floor began to vibrate and he heard the clunking of something unspeakably heavy moving around beneath their feet.

“Ah, it sounds like they finally got your vault here.”  He rose from his seat and walked to the center of the waiting room, where the floor had begun to rise.  Leon eagerly followed and stood next to the Tower Lord, watching an enormous vault at least as large as Leon’s entire hut back in the Northern Vales made of dark blue enchanted steel rose from the floor.

“Your grandfather had this vault set up about one hundred and fifty years ago, as backup resources in case your family was ever in trouble.  As far as I’m aware, there are no other accounts in your family’s name still with Heaven’s Eye, so I’m afraid if you don’t find what you’re looking for in that vault, then there’s not much I can do to help you further without charging you for it.  Of course, just because this is all we have left doesn’t mean there isn’t more out there, but…”

“I understand,” Leon whispered.

Ajax was a little disappointed in Leon for not asking more about his family, but he could understand on some level.  Leon still didn’t quite trust him.  Besides, the vault rising from the floor was far more immediately compelling.  But Ajax still wanted to speak with the grandson of Kyros, the last Archduke and Ajax’s late friend, and hoped that Leon would be a bit more curious after he retrieved whatever he needed from the vault.

The vault was remarkable in its simplicity, as it appeared to only be a perfectly smooth metal box.  The edges were slightly rounded, and it had no seams, but other than that, there were no decorations or even visible methods to open it.  But this was a vault from Heaven’s Eye, there didn’t need to be any visible means of opening it.  A magical formation illuminated itself for less than a second, before disappearing again.  After that, an open doorway with a curtain of smoky black darkness appeared in front of Leon.  He was a little surprised, as the doorway had appeared just as he blinked, but a smile began to spread across his face.  Leon didn’t waste any more time and hurried into the vault, easily passing through the privacy curtain of darkness magic while Ajax waited outside.