Rather than the abyss or the cave that she had grown used to, the flood of light of the real world filled her vision. "Lady Lyssara, your presence is requested in Master Jarren's room." A servant mused with hesitation lacing her words. Lyssara didn't seemed bothered as she rose to her feet.
No words escaped to dismiss the servant, her frame making it down the halls before coming to her destination led by the maidservant. A knock filled her ears before the doors were opened. Stepping to the side, Lyssara made her entrance and the cause of her presence made her figure shiver.
It was out of acknowledgement as she saw the pair. However this time it wasn't the blind folded miss that she was used two but rather something far more dangerous lacking Callista's playful air. It was Clomere who coddled Jarren on her laps, her fingers combing through his hair.
Her entrance made the ongoing conversation wither away before the attention was placed on her. "So this is her, huh?" Clomere posed, her eyes narrowing with skeptism that made Lyssara's scalp tingle. There was no smile tugging Clomere's lips that made her terrifying presence even more hostile.
"Callista wasn't sane at the moment." Jarren chuckled with a smile crossing his lips. Lyssara felt her body stared down by two predators that eyed her movements like scientists hoping to know what made her tick. Still no trace of worry or fear graced her face as she clenched her fists.
Clomere raised her index at Lyssara in an accusatory manner before tilting her head slightly. "This won't suffice." Her words cold followed with a chuckle from Jarren who felt more like a passer-by rather than involved in the conversation. "I'm sure that she could be of some use maybe not to you but to Callista. She wouldn't choose her regardless."
Still Clomere didn't lower her finger before a faint streak of jade filled Lyssara's eyes. The beam shot at the person next to her, the servant that had guided her falling limply to the floor. Her body dissolving into fungi and ash. Blooms of mycelium growing at a visible pace that made Lyssara's breathe hitch.
'Another monster than lurks with this man.' She wondered what Jarren truly was however the ladies that swirled around him were anything but ordinary. The first dismissive of the world around her, smiling it all off however the malice that lurked beneath Callista's charming teeth didn't elude Lyssara.
And now here she was facing another. "Looks like I will have to tell Callista that she needs to up her game. Not everyone can be my toy so casually." Her words dripping with disgust. 'So I was meant for her?' Lyssara concluded as she would often hear about Clomere as her intended toy and now here she was.
Jarren raised his hands to form a frame with Lyssara right in the middle of it all as a smile played around his lips. "I'm sure that we could use her to help alleviate your needs. After all you're no different from Callista." Clomere clicked her tongue in defiance, her index finally dropping.
"I'm not as psychotic as Callista. Sure I can be a little cold sometimes but never as deranged as that woman." Her words eliciting a laugh to Jarren. "Really then what did you have in mind for your toy? Callista already has her sights on Guinevere." Clomere's face portrayed her momentary shock.
"Will she not make it past this chapter? Truly a shame for such a gem like her to be lost to the clutches of such a monster." Jarren found it absurd with how Clomere saw Callista as a heartless monster as if she was any different. Clomere glanced at the man on her laps, his smile making her mind wonder what ran through his head before her gaze landed back on Lyssara.
Her gaze narrowed once more, her jade beads for eyes burning through Lyssara who felt her body grow tense with each second Clomere's gaze lasted on her body. It felt as if she was being passed from one horror to another. "The Abyss's Reminiscent?" Her muse intrigued as she glanced back at Jarren.
"Cold and unreadable, huh? I doubt it given your theatrics with Callista and the trivial king Tharan." Lyssara was still in the dark with the meeting however she knew that Jarren wasn't a simple man and with the presence of such powerful ladies circling him this narrative only grew stronger.
"Lyssara, looks like I'm forced not to end your life right now but who knows what the future has in store for you." Clomere finally stated as her hands reached for the nearest pair of scissors. Jarren watched her movements, his smile persisting. "With the deluded champions, you should make the perfect candidate for me."
Her fingers carefully holding Jarren's bun and undoing it letting his hair fall freely. With the scissors she cut a part of his hair to which she ordered Lyssara to come closer. With a gesture Lyssara grabbed his hair and put it to the bin however she didn't bother walk out so casually this time. Clomere glanced back at Jarren.
"However for Callista's goal, it would be better to have another addition. This time not tainted with the game of the larger structure but something that I can use once and forget. Sentimence isn't something that I hand out so casually." She clicked her tongue as she combed through his hair. His response was nothing more than a shrug.
"Whatever you wish however don't you think that it would be best to hold a gathering for all. After all I'm sure we've deserved it. The idea played in her mind before finally flashing a smile. "I'll entertain it, because it doesn't sound that bad but should it be less then I'll move onto the next world." Her words more of a threat than a joke and yet Jarren chuckled through them.
"More like Callista if anything." Rather than another protest, a pout escaped Clomere's lips as her bloated up. "I'll have to agree that we do have some similarity but not as much as you claim." With a giggle, Jarren got off her supple laps and out of thin air manifested a mirror to inspect his hair. Rather than the usual bun that he was used to, this time his hair was split into two trailing to his back.
A great look for him. "Not bad, after all I expect nothing less from my maid." She narrowed her eyes gauging the intent of his words before shooting her remark. "It's as expected of my master to be pleased with my work. After all what would that mean for me?" Her words lacking the sing song playfulness that Callista's words had.
This time more of a threat he welcomed. His eyes drifted to the girl who had been background noise until now. "Do you have any dreams? Any goals that you would wish to fulfill?" Clomere watched from the side, her gaze turning wolfish. Lyssara hesitated, her breathe constantly hitching despite her efforts of calming down.
"No." She managed to say that seem to disappoint Clomere. "Well I'm sure that you're aware of the gods that watch over this pebble of a world and their hands. Clomere wants you to be her hand. To take charge against the gods champions. However at the rate of your growth it will take far too long for that." His words suggesting that he already had a solution in mind.
But he didn't divulge as his smile grew. "We'll make sure that you're up to the task at the time." His gaze drifting back to Clomere who seemed lost in her own world. "Why not make her powerful now? After all I don't want to spend that much time here." Silence filled the air, Lyssara's heartbeat audible however none bothered with a remark.
"Eternity is a long time my dear so what is a few months if not less to you?" She paused , clicking her tongue as she rose to her feet. "I have a wager on the horizon with Callista and you are the prize my dear." He gave a knowing hum followed with his usual serpentine smile. "Now I see. No wonder Callista is so fixated with ending Guinevere as quickly as possible."
Still rather than intervening, a duel between the two ladies sparked interest in his muses. "Just don't lose yourself with he games you play. After all who knows what you might find yourself attaching to." She narrowed her eyes as if in shock at his words. "Well said, who know whether It's genuine or another case of hopeless romance."
He didn't fight back but rather admire her stance before glancing back at Lyssara who would fade away into the background like a painting once admired now turned into babble. "We could make our way to Reuthar, after all I do have some unfinished business. Would you care to join me?" Lyssara had no choice to accept, with her life thrown on the line like air, she was sure that refusal meant death.
'Why do I care so much about my life right now? Never once had I ever been fazed should my life end and now this grip refuses to let me go. No doubt they are behind this.' She couldn't help but curse at her circumstance as she gave a faint nod. Jarren didn't need to ask Clomere as the two communicated through their minds.
'I'm busy for now, after all I have to talk with Callista.' Her figure turned into ash before it was blown into the wind by a breeze that didn't exist in the room. Now alone with Jarren, Lyssara couldn't help but wonder what games he would play with her and this world. 'The way he speaks about this world, as if he's above it and now nothing more than a visitor watching it all come to ruin.'
'Why does such a monster like him exist?' Jarren flashed a smile as if to answer at her question before making his way to the hall of closet. A myriad of choices laid out for him. "Head back to your room and pack, we should be going for a small trip to Reuthar." His tone apathetic of what she did. However for her it was a cue to leave the room that had managed to get a firm strangle of her neck.
Her breathe hitching and her fists constantly clutched now loosened as she escaped to the halls. Jarren didn't bother looking back at her crumbling figure, aware that this was the tip of what was to come to her. 'Callista and Clomere, I wonder what kind of game the two of you have engineered?'
A game where he was the prize, only a select few had dared to make him the prey or the prize, all meeting their end or becoming nothing more than trinkets on his shelf. 'As for you Seryn, what am I going to do with you?' The choice of letting Redfall eclipse Caerthalas was his first option however this would take too long. Not to mention with the two locked up, he wouldn't get to poke and prod as he or Callista had initially wished.
'Looks like I'll have to use more pawns for this.' As a being that chose how long the game would last, how may steps would be on the board or what piece would move, a waterfall of ideas pooled in his mind before finally settling for something more intriguing. 'I guess that it's time to introduce the other pawn onto the game.'His sigh alluding his anticipation of the game to unfurl.
...
"It's confirmed, Jarren and the demon girl that Callista had bought have left the kingdom." The words failing to ease Tharan who remained lounged on his throne. The three months given to the two meant to be face he had for the two and now with the two now gone, he had no other reason to hold back with Redfall.
"As for the two goblins that we managed to catch attempting to flee Caerthalas have admitted their relations with the pair." Unlike prior where the Crimson Project was done without much precaution, this time Tharan made sure to have it covert. The two specimen brought questions that deeply disturbed him.
'If the two are capable of giving goblins sentience then what other feats are they capable of? Are they gods toying with mortals? If so then why would they come out now?' He muttered beneath his breathe with no answer in sight.