Part I: Hospitality
The sun was settling in to the west by the time the two Death Knights reached the front of the Serynzheri Estate. By that point in time, it seemed most of the residents of Sunswalk had either returned home, or were out walking. Flecks of light literally poured in from the cracks in the cloud cover, turning every surface they hit into a gold-spangled jumble of colors. The clouds banking on the horizon were an ethereal purple which made the outlines blend into one another.
The front of the Serynzheri estate was simple: a smooth white marble polished to a faint sheen by either time or work. It rose around the estate proper, high enough to be imposing, and block out unwanted distractions. The Serynzheri crest was carved on the archway above the doors. So, too, with the crystal pine of the house's name. Taiga dismounted from her Hawkstrider before the front gates of the estate and looked up to the walls, smiling slightly.
"Lovely, is it not? The stone is the only thing they left untouched." She walked along the side until she reached a small, stylized crystal baton set into the door, pulling it free and using it to ring the chime in the center. She replaced it there and waited with arms folded in her robe. "I remember it relatively well. Of course, having to be kept hidden wasn't exactly helpful." Eris examined the gates as she dismounted and moved for Taiga's side.
"Pleasing to the eye, and no doubt functional." she looked over to the other Death Knight. "Naturally. I'd think someone with a vague map more useful than one without." she smiled for a brief moment, before her hands slipped into the sleeves of her robe, mirroring Taiga's gesture. The gates creaked open slowly, revealing gardens beyond. It was like stepping into a greenhouse: the walls blocked out sound and kept in a certain amount of humidity. The Serynzheri servant waiting on the cobbles bowed to them. His livery was the red and gold of the Blood Elves, with the insignia of the House embroidered onto one shoulder in gold thread. The doors remained open as he strode over.
"Misses Eris, Taiga. Welcome to the Serynzheri estate. An escort will be here for you shortly." Indeed, shortly thereafter, another one of the liveried servants arrived for them. This one bore the crest on the front of his tunic. "Please follow me," he told them. "The family's expecting you in the smaller reception hall."
Taiga smirked back at Eris once she got the chance. As they strolled through the front gardens - full of riotous blooms, pagodas, and small fountains - her attention went to one thing in the center: a crystalline reflecting pool, perfectly still. The land sloped up gently towards their destination.
"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask for your weapons before entering," One of the guards flanking the doorway to the building told them, tone far from uncertain. "Our circumstances and setting require it."
"A Death Knight's runeblades..." Eris shook her head slowly, more out of disbelief than refusal. She unclipped the sheaths of her swords them from her belt, holding them both up in one hand. "...Can be maddening for mortal minds to hold." she let the weapons go, and they simply stood there, floating in mid-air. Taiga offered her runeblades without ceremony.
"We've prepared accordingly for that. Taldeimos Serynzheri is of the Ebon Blade." The guard moved back, allowing someone else through. The new guard took the blades and bowed to Eris and Taiga, then opened the doors to admit them. Inside was brighter than outside, all gold and white and red. The ceiling above was painted with a brilliant-blue sky which shifted slowly as they watched it "That wasn't here before," she remarked very quietly to Eris. "It must be new." The guard led them through a series of elegantly arched corridors and rooms, into a circular room with stairs on either side, and a balcony set above. Dragonhawks and phoenixes filled the mural of autumn sky above their heads.
"Good evening, cousins. Welcome to the Serynzheri estate. I am Artairis Serynzheri." Someone spoke to them from not far away. The people of the family had obviously been waiting for them in that room. One, by far the tallest, wearing the crest on his blood-colored robes gave them a polite bow, his golden braid flicking over his shoulder. His face bore an uncanny resemblance to Taiga's: something about their eyes, cheekbones, and the set of their mouths.
The one standing next to him - a woman with an intense gaze, and golden hair flowing down to mingle with the color of her robe - looked up to the two Death Knights and curtseyed. The younger boy behind the two watched them both carefully, then mimicked the House leader's bow. The last - silver-haired and almost impish - inclined her head, eyes not leaving theirs. She had an almost challenging expression.
"Good to find you well, Artairis," Taiga replied after giving her cousin a brief once-over, curtseying before the family alongside Eris. "And good evening," Eris added, voice soft.
"I wish the same of both to you. And those are, in order, Cyielra Haelsyth-" the intense blonde woman nodded, "-Kaei'tos Haelsyth-" the boy between them looked up at Eris and Taiga, wide-eyed "-and Cieldrim Orisamitore. I.. apologize for the unfortunate absence of my uncle. He prefers the solitude of a smaller estate." He paused for a moment, then continued, tone precise and polite. "Our cooks have, of course, prepared an appropriate repast for us. As my guests, you have the option of a brief tour of the house, or going directly to the evening meal." He raised an eyebrow at Taiga. "So. I hear you've both traveled for quite some time to get here."
"A pleasure." Eris inclined her head briefly, then straightened. Her voice was bordering on reverent. "A brief tour would be quite enjoyable," she added.
"It's been a long time."
The corridors through which they walked grew larger. Unlike most Thalassian households and palaces, those had few enough decorations to be elegant rather than overdone. A few red velvet-cushioned chairs in an alcove here, a statue of a Serynzheri ancestor there. The light was ambient: coming in through the windows and the painted sky overhead in silvery motes to make it seem like they were standing in full daylight. Several of the largest windows were draped with curtains which had no color of their own. They diffused the light, showing a blur of green, white and red instead of the gardens behind it.
"The estate has been in our family for at least a thousand years," Artairis told them as they walked. "Since the House is reliant on the artisans it produces and contracts to others, it's only natural that we've taken an interest in the arts themselves." The room they entered eventually was filled with works of glass, both large and small. Even the furniture was made of a fine, filigreed glass so delicate that it could have been braided out of spider's web. The silver-and-white spirals of the higher levels were visible from the window. "Personally, I'm fond of combat as an art form. But we have our differences. What interests you?"
"Very fine." Eris said, referring to the blown-glass sculpture she was examining. She turned away from the shelf and looked back to Artairis, a smile creeping over her face. "Combat as an art form sounds quite like my choice, though I must admit that the process often involves the odd side-effects. Such as scars and the like - And that is precisely the reason for which I would be more interested by painting than fighting. The house makes wonderful enchanted paintings, correct?"
"Yes. They're one of the favorites of Silvermoon. Elruimar Frostwhisper is our resident master of painting." Artairis spoke over his shoulder. The other family members had dispersed through the room: Cyielra by one of the tables in the center, busy re-shaping a delicate blown-glass swan with magic. Cieldrim walked along the sides, admiring the way the way the glass was set neatly into the stone floor like mosaics.
"I'm curious. Did you two travel recently from Northrend?" Cieldrim asked, looking up at the two Death Knights attentively.
"I'd have to say I've not," Eris said. She had been watching the re-shaping of the swan, before turning to smile at Cieldrim. She kept on examining each piece of glass after that, walking alongside the tables with Taiga.
Artairis waited until they'd finished examining the glass room before suggesting another. He led them next into larger halls: ones with immense tapestries, alcoves with Thalassian statuary, and once, a corridor with a clear panel of glass laid against wall and ceiling. Water rushed behind the glass like an enclosed waterfall. A perfect translucent blue, entirely fishless. Eris stopped to watch its flow.
"Beautiful,"
The place where they ended up was one of the larger halls arrayed with paintings. "This one's popular with the visitors," Artairis explained to his charges. "They're painted over first with pigments, then with magic. Elruimar is currently working on a series of fantasy landscapes: ones you probably wouldn't see in Azeroth or Outland."
"Fantasy serves to stimulate imagination. And often, imagination is what defines a person's creative abilities." Eris said as she walked along the hall to admire them.
"You and he would enjoy talking, I think. He likes getting commissions from people, and then debating the nuances of the piece for hours." Artairis grinned. Cieldrim, who had been examining a painting of the Hinterlands and a bucolic elven lodge therein, looked over to Artairis, raising one silver eyebrow. Apparently his happiness was contagious - she began to smile as well.
"I think his creative ability mostly comes from what he's seen in his travels, to be honest." Cieldrim turned around and gazed back down the hall, at the blue flickering lights the water cast on everything. "If you're interested, I recall we have a guest-room with a water theme. Silent, of course."
Eris nodded once. "I'd very much enjoy meeting him some day.I see little fault in him painting what he has seen. As for a water theme, I would appreciate it. I find the ebb and flow of water a very beautiful, calming sight." she glanced back towards Taiga. "But only if you wish for it as well, naturally."
"Of course I would." Taiga walked for a painting: a vast panorama of Dragonblight, with Titan ruins leaning jaggedly across it. Wymrest glowed a vibrant bronze in the distance, as did the Red Dragonshrine. The Aurora Borealis in the starry sky shifted and moved, bathing the snow in the light of the cosmos. The colors of it were so vibrant, and the painting so detailed that although it was a painting, it could just as easily have been a window.
"And neither do I," Cieldrim said, sounding amused. "There's so much to the world. That continent in particular is under-appreciated."
"I prefer the Sholazar series, but ice and snow do have a certain beauty."
Cyielra, meanwhile, was speaking to one of the servants farther down the hall. "-No use? I
truly doubt that. We could always use a reliable courier. If she's proven to be one, then it doesn't matter-"
"Agreed. I wonder whether or not an Icecrown painting exists, of a certain place, somewhere beneath the Citadel there. One filled with crystals, ice and the like - A vault of refracting and reflecting light." Eris said to Cieldrim. She watched the courier out of the corners of her eyes. One ear moved back to catch the sound of their speech reflected down the halls. "..
Courier?" She mouthed to herself very quietly.
"Interesting. Isn't that a rather.. important place?" Cieldrim asked. Eris nodded slightly in confirmation, and Cieldrim looked away to Artairis next.
"I'll have to ask him to visit Northrend again for inspiration. Now, you mentioned combat practice as an art form. We have a private practice field for bodyguards and family members. Should you wish to use it, you're free to do so." Artairis started walking again, headed for the far side of the hall. Cyielra finished giving the servant orders, and returned to walk along with the small group, calm and polite-looking as ever.
"I doubt we will, but it will be useful nonetheless. Thank you." Eris said.
They left the building some time later, headed for the gardens. This time they passed through several of the white-and-gold pagodas over which climbing vines draped themselves and bloomed crimson. From the center of the garden, they could see to the other outbuildings, all of which were spread across the estate in some sort of pattern. Another servant rushed over to Cyielra as they near the end of the path.
"Lady Haelsyth, we've just received another guest. This one.. well, it's very last-minute, but she said it was something very important." Taiga, Eris, and Artairis all looked back to Cyielra, listening in. "Who
is this?" Artairis asked impatiently. He looked back to Taiga and Eris. "If you don't mind? I'd like to get this straightened out. May we?"
"Of course. If it's important, then the tour can wait." Eris said.
"Thank you." With a gesture, he directed the servant to lead them. The small group filed in behind the person, walking to another one of the white marble buildings on the outskirts of the garden. This one bore several spires atop it, one of them seemingly made of glass. Light glanced off the bright colors and metal, making it twinkle in the sun. "Our artist's house," Artairis said with a faint sigh. "
What possessed you to let an unknown guest in, then show them to
here, of all places?"
Cieldrim, who had lagging in back, picked up the pace to speak to them. "You should ask them first. I don't think they'd want to risk being fired over if if they didn't have to be." She glanced up to Taiga and Eris. "Is this other guest one of yours?" She asked. Eris watched one of the spires, before she looked back to Cieldrim and shook her head.
"Not that we know of, no."
The inside of the servant's and artisan's quarters was larger than expected, and remarkably bright: magelights illuminated some places, while the golden light of the evening outside came in through the windows. The rooms were decorated almost like a standard Thalassian estate: gold and red everywhere.
And in many of them, one could see people working away. The group walked past Elruimar, who sat on an artist's stool, hard at work with a crystal tree: literally sculpting the crystal with his hands like clay. He smiled over at them as they walked past. A room on the second floor was their destination, wherein an elven woman was sitting on a slightly overplush-looking sofa, waiting for them. She nodded politely.
"Greetings. I'm sorry to give you such late warning, but it couldn't be helped."
"-Shevai?" Cieldrim asked incredulously. "
Really?" Artairis looked amazed as well. Eris quirked an eyebrow at the woman, and mouthed the name again, just loudly enough for Taiga to hear. Shevai looked up at the two Death Knights, and back to Artairis.
"I guess they wouldn't know me," she replied, smiling. "Let me introduce myself: I'm Shevai Crimsonstar. I'm kind of.. let's say, a family friend? Nothing more." Shevai folded her legs against the side of the sofa. "I'm a mage. I left the estate in.. well.. urgent circumstances, so I was hoping I could repay my presence here with some saleable art." Artairis frowned down at her, very faintly.
"What sort of urgent circumstances?' Cieldrim asked.
"I had to travel to Silvermoon for a local emergency." She kept looking up at them, an innocent expression on her face. "I'll have to consider it," Artairis said calmly.
"A pleasure to meet you. "An emergency would beget such a quick.. departure, I suppose." Eris said.
Artairis put his hands in his pockets, suddenly very casual. "Now, my question is, what manner of idiot would take that story at face value. Not
one of us did, Shevai."
His tone grew more pleasant. His eyes focused intently on Shevai. Her outline wavered and grew dark; something twining around inside it like black snakes inside a jar. Something in the air crackled, giving it the faintest scent of ozone. The room returned to its previous bright state once the spell had been consumed.
"Can't they even be bothered to try anymore?" Artairis asked his company rhetorically. "We've been getting curses for
years, and none so obvious as that one."
"I'm quite fond of attributing often undeserved intelligence and complexity to everything. Maybe it was some sort of distraction. Maybe it had some greater purpose - and was intentionally so dumb." Eris shrugged. "Then again, that's just my way of rationalizing things."
"I'll bear that in mind, cousin.
So. Cyielra, you're the mage here. Why didn't you sense it?"
His aunt, who was still looking at the sofa, blinked a few times and looked up. "It wasn't necessary. This one was properly controlled." Cieldrim's gaze flitted from one to the other, slightly worried.
"You two. I think our guests are probably quite hungry by now. Can't we continue to the larger halls to eat?" She said.
"..You're right, Cieldrim. Let's go."
From there, they went down several halls and ascended a long staircase to a higher building: this one bearing the spiraling walkways and misty enchantments they had seen floating over the gardens and estate earlier. Several of the pagodas were even in midair. "You teleport to them," Artairis explained. "It used to be by Dragonhawk, but I prefer this new way." They entered the hall. It seemed normal enough for a few feet, although decorated lavishly.
But beyond that, the walls were inset with a couple of crystal pillars, with carved vines arcing up them. The doors of the gate were translucent: etched in some places with designs from some mysterious Serynzeri past, and pierced through to show the way the light shifted through the crystal. A great pine was carved over all the rest, its branches growing into the ceiling. Artairis, almost oblivious to the majesty of the piece, put one hand gently to the door to swing it open. He motioned them in.
"The Bright Forest," he said, rather unnecessarily. Indeed, it was almost like Crystalsong: each tree glowed with an inner light, and was rooted directly into the snowy-looking ground. The ceiling had the colors of a Northrend midnight: a perfect, still blue flecked with distant stars, with the Aurora shining in front of them like a veil. Even the walls had been painted with snowy mountains and plains.
"The Aurora... Incandescent stardust, caught from the depths of the Great Dark Beyond." Eris murmured, after a great deal of silence on the viewers' part. "Most impressive." she exhaled, gaze lingering on a painting.
"It's got no equivalent in Crystalsong. Nor anywhere, really. The ancestors of the Serynzheris loved Silverpine, from whence comes part of the name." Artairis looked back at them, explaining the entire while. Cyielra had already ventured over to one of the corners, to where a small glade of trees had 'grown' around a carved crystal table.
"Perhaps we should eat here for the time being," she remarked. "I think our guests would enjoy it more." She beckoned them over. "Kianna will be finished by now."
"Certainly. That would be very pleasant." Eris said in Cyielra's direction. She couldn't help but glance off to the walls, and the crystalline trees, before looking back to the others. Taiga moved for the table, settling down into one of the available seats. Eris followed, glancing around to examine the small glade. A flicker of magic on the table, and it was set neatly with several plates and sets of silverware per person. A plate with an assortment of croissants rested in the center; presumably for the having.
"Since it's a
family gathering, Cyielra felt it should be a little less formal. After all, if you came here to stay temporarily, then comfort's rather important." Artairis sat down at the 'head' chair. A chime pealed through the room and he looked up. "Oh no... not
another person." He followed this with "you may enter," spoken more loudly. The courier girl - Aesu - walked into the room rather uncomfortable-seeming in her livery. She bowed to them.
"I apologize for interfering at such a bad time, but you've received a letter from Master Taldeimos. Would you prefer it now, or after your meal?" She glanced Eris's and Taiga's way, looking rather nervous.
"I'll hear it later. If he does us the discourtesy of interrupting us during a meal, then having to wait a short time is hardly improper." At his gesture, Cieldrim cleared her throat politely and began a short, rather poetic prayer of thanks, spoken in very formal Thalassian. All of the others bowed their heads as well. By the time it was finished and they had raised their heads again, other dishes had appeared: a salad platter of marinated Frostcap mushrooms, a small bowl of blush-pink peaches, and a winter leek soup. Each goblet contained a faintly-glittering colorless juice.
"I told Kianna that Northrend-style food would be more appropriate," Artairis said very simply. "Please, cousins. Enjoy."
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Part II: Hostility
It had been a while since their tour of the spires and marble walkways of the higher floors. Long enough for the sun to have been down for several hours, and the rest of the people of the estate to have gone to bed. Taiga spent a moment or two eying the room as she entered. The bed was a typical Thalassian one; circular, but the sheets, cushions, and translucent curtain all in an aquatic blue. And the rest of the room, to judge from the murals on the walls and the aquatic insets, was completely submerged.
"Mm... Beautiful." Eris lay on the bed, eyes half-closed and dreamy-looking. "I think we're going to enjoy sleeping there, don't you?" she glanced sidelong to Taiga. Taiga blinked back rather slowly, as if she was a pleased cat. Eventually, though, Eris looked away to scrutinize the room with a certain degree of suspicion.
"Is something wrong with the room?" Taiga inquired. She strolled around it, admiring the furnishings. Hung in the corner was a large oval mirror, rippled with wave patterns. She looked at it a moment; probably admiring herself. "I don't think my cousin would take the time to rig it. Oh - do you think we should ask to eat again in the Bright Forest tomorrow?" She fell silent very quickly. At the words 'bright forest', her reflection in the mirror had out to be replaced by a glimpse of the Bright Forest from above. She stared at the sight, a grin spreading over her face. "An activated scrying mirror? This wasn't here last time I was here.."
"I... would not know. It's in my nature to be suspicious, my most cherished one." Eris said, sounding quite happy. She wandered over and blinked as the mirror shifted. She raised her hand to set it lightly on Taiga's shoulder. "That is strange. Do you think the others work the same?... Do you think we could be watched?... Moreover, is it merely an image, or could we use it to watch, in turn?" Towards the end, she sounded almost mischievous. Taiga 's ears perked up, and a truly wicked grin spread over her face
"Lunar Walkway," Taiga announced with an imperious gesture. The image of the Lunar Walkway outside flickered into view - calm and bleached-silver by the moonlight, which shone through the glass. "I'm not sure if I want to use it to watch them," she said to Eris under her breath. "It could, just as easily, be a test."
Eris nodded slowly. "Mm." she kept watching the mirror as she spoke quietly. "Or it could be a tool for us to use in some greater test. Try watching our own room." her tone then raised to its normal level - "I think the Forest will be fine as our next dining locus."
"Water Suite," Taiga said to the mirror after clearing her throat. Briefly, the view of the walkway showed something blurry before turning into the regular mirror's-face again. "...Well, that didn't work. I wonder how far its reach is." She was still looking at herself in the mirror. She brushed a strand of hair back and spoke again. "Eastern Estate Border." The view changed to be just above the border, not far at all from a very large balcony. There was the sound of a very quiet voice, talking just inside.
Eris blinked. She tipped her head to the side. "Sounds like someone's... talking. That suite is probably protected as well. I wonder if there's any way to hear it better." she said quietly, moving a little closer to the mirror, ears perking up to try picking up fragments of conversation.
"-not-" The conversation became just the slightest bit louder. The person inside must have been getting closer to the door to the balcony. Taiga's ears perked up as well.
"-out of the question."
The voice was Artairis's.
Talking to himself.
Eris blinked a couple of times. "Strange. Very much so." she said quietly, looking to Taiga. "Perhaps there is another there speaking very lowly?... Or maybe he's using some long-distance communication spell."
Taiga looked from Eris back to the mirror. In the light from the lamps inside, Artairis's outline could be distinguished. It looks like he was leaning up against the wall very casually: hair unbraided, and clad in sleeping robes.
"No. There's no way I'd believe something so easily," he said, voice growing slightly heated.
"....-can't make you swear it. How do I -know-?"
"Mm... A nightly argument right before bed. Interesting... Something about belief. Uncertainty. I wonder who he is speaking to.." Eris's voice was quiet, insidious.
"-Have any idea of the devastation it could cause? And you want me to just go ahead and-" "-danger?" There was a long silence. Artairis could be seen nodding.
"Quieter? All right." He lowered his voice. Whatever was being said then couldn't be distinguished.
"Danger, hmm?.." Eris asked before she crouched down in front of the mirror, bringing her ear just a little closer. She looked over to Taiga. "Please, excuse the posture. Curiosity is getting... the better of me."
There was further silence. Until he started speaking again, very quietly.
"No. I refuse to let you command me so easily. And what about the House? Elruimar would refuse to continue working for us." There was another long pause, and the sigh of wind rushing through the towers.
"-no reason otherwise. It'd be unnecessarily cruel."
And the inside of the room went dark.
"Well. Whatever it was, that was interesting."
Eris nodded. She looked over to Taiga. "Yes, it was. It seems the good Artairis is being manipulated. Or someone is attempting to manipulate him in a very unfavorable manner both to him, and to the House." She stood back up to straighten the creases in her robe. "Moreover, this could bring about danger. I would not suggest a confrontation, though..."
"I suppose the best thing would be to see how it plays out. If it's unfavorable to them, we have all evidence on our side that we did nothing. And if not, then there's always another day." She reached up, running a hand through the blue curtain. The silk of it rippled through her hand like water. "Don't worry. The estate has been protected from hostile spells, most scrying, and all teleportation for years. Nobody can hear us. ....And nobody else can hear
him, either."