Xilanada - Pursuit Of Regretted Truths/Part 4

The sight of the Destroyer flying overhead filled the sparse crowd with fear, that much was obvious from their terrified murmurs and pointing. For Tepet Sen, a very different emotion welled up from among the shards of his heart. If it didn't hurt so much, he would have sworn it was love.

Away she flew, that flaming golden dress the length of a Scale's marching formation snapping behind her like a pennant in the wind. Why did it look like the dress he'd given her? Out of all the things made senseless in the last hour, the dress was the one element he couldn't dismiss.

Xilanada was one of the Unclean. Worse, she had been all along. She had beguiled him, bewildered his senses, consumed him with this love as thoroughly as any Deceiver could. There was no other explanation for the intense fascination she held for him and still held over him. Hesiesh, she was the Destroyer of Grayfalls!

Yet...that dress.

Of all the stories of the Devil Anathema, many included accounts of the magnificent Essence-wrought armor the Forsaken boasted in battle. Investigations of the Wyld Hunt, both before and after the Anathema's death, had always shown a deep personal connection between the fallen lords of the First Age and the armor and weapons they could forge from their power. As recently as twenty years ago, he'd heard tale of a Forsaken from Lookshy whose mail looked like 7th Legion Ashigaru armor!

Final Starry Night had been known to wear great golden armor, reputedly modeled after the First Age articulated plate of the Anathema. Xilanada had admitted to being that man. Could someone change so much, though? Was the gift of a single deceived Terrestrial so important to her to have replaced that fear-inspiring mail?

"By the Dragons!" he swore viciously. The few merchants and laborers around, already staying away from the glowering Dragon-Blooded, stopped pretending to be unaware of him and just got out of his way.

What was she doing at the Six Poses of Lightning School, for that matter? It was a worthy institution, already the best magic school in Nexus in just 7 years. He was rightly proud of its accomplishments and what his sister had done to manage the place. They had assembled hundreds of students and enrollment next year was projected to pass a thousand!

How could it be worth the Destroyer's attention? She had annihilated an army, publicly struck at the Council of Entities' own Tower and survived any retribution, and could probably seize rulership of the city if she wanted it, just as Final Starry Night had conquered three countries.

So why wasn't she doing that?

Damnit it all, if he didn't still love her too. For all that it had hurt to know the truth, for all his heart had roared in rage at seeing that wedding band on her hand, he still loved her. Sen remembered then, as he walked, that it had never been his choice in the first place. From the moment he laid eyes on her, invisible as he'd been, he had loved her.

Sen knew he'd not been compelled into love. Perhaps it was possible to hide your Anima after all...but if a Goddess of Love in one of the greater temples of the city couldn't find magical influence in your mind, then it just wasn't there. The alternative, of course, was that Xilanada wielded more power than Heaven Itself in which case he was already damned. It didn't do any good to think like that.

"Lord Tepet, would you have a moment?"

Sen turned at the mention of his name and blinked in surprise. An Immaculate Monk had caught up to him, of all people. Not that he'd been trying very hard to outdistance anyone but this wasn't an ordinary monk either. His skin was the deep red of coals and his eyes burned like two lanterns, unmistakable Aspect-markings of high breeding. More, he wore the robes of a scholar, not a missionary. What was a Dragon-Blooded Monk of that sort doing in Nexus of all places?

"Of course, Master," Sen said, quickly noting the velvet cord around the Immaculate's waist, knowing that some as high at the Fourth Coil wore such fabric. "How may I help you?"

"Just a bit of direction would do. I'm new to Nexus and I simply wanted to pay my respects to the shrine of Hesiesh here before continuing my travels back to the Blessed Isle. Could you point me to it? I seem to have gotten quite lost here."

"Of course, Master. ...actually, why don't I just take you to it? It would be my pleasure to help an Immaculate!"

Of course, the truth was that Sen wanted desperately to unburden his heart upon the one kind of person who could truly help. If anyone could sort through his confusion and return his clarity to him, it would be a monk, especially one devoted to his own Dragon. He gestured the way and the monk gave him a reserved smile as he fell into step beside him.

"I'm well aware of our missionary efforts in the Threshold," Sen said hesitantly. "But I'm surprised to find one of your station coming here at all, even if you're heading home to the Realm. May I ask your business?"

"I'm returning a recently discovered Immaculate text found in an old ruin nearby to the Palace Sublime, one of my many duties in this region. I investigate old books. Those that pass my scrutiny, I return for due consideration, though I imagine this text will not be well received."

"But if...if it's Immaculate Scripture, how could it not be?" Sen asked, feeling slightly out of his league. He'd never been particularly interested in the Philosophy, though he was devout enough to Hesiesh in a personal sort of way. The monk chuckled quietly and patted his shoulder.

"In this case, it comes down to a difference of opinion on scripture. There are many books that say many things, and all proponents of our faith have different theological camps they fall into."

"I know what that's like," Sen said dryly, well remembering the often heated arguments over theories of Essence manipulation and Sorcery back at the Heptagram. Sides were often chosen over a thing as small.

"Sometimes the Order decides in its wisdom to condemn a particular volume of the Immaculate text, only recently found, as false. Such will be its opinion in this case, I believe." Reverently, the monk slowed and carefully pulled an ancient leather-bound volume from his pack. The soft worship on the man's face made it obvious that this was that lost text.

"You're here because of this?" Sen asked cautiously. He glanced at the title. Studies in Sin and Redemption. It sounded boring.

"Because of what it contains, yes. Most of the beautiful, thoughtful scripture is completely in agreement with the bulk of the Immaculate texts. It presents, as it were, a series of case studies of men and women of all stages of enlightenment and how they succeeded or failed spiritually."

"So what will the Order find objectionable?" Sen said.

"The second to last case study. You see, Lord Tepet, it concerns a Deceiver."

"Really?" Sen asked, suddenly interested. It was rare to hear of the Anathema mentioned at any length, beyond the strictly condemnatory. An entire study in the scriptures just on one Deceiver would be a mildly more appealing read.

"Yes. You see, it concerns a Shajew Kywasa who fell in love with this Anathema, and he with her. Interestingly, she was a most devout worshipper of the Immaculate Philosophy, having studied at an ancient temple during the Age of the Shogunate. In the study, the prophet draws upon Kywasa's own interviewed experiences and writings to show a remarkable conclusion. Before the Deceiver died, saving her life, she had redeemed him."

"...wait, what?" Sen stopped in his footsteps and tried not to gawk at the Fire-Aspected Immaculate. The Dragon-Blooded only nodded solemnly and tapped the bound text.

"Were I not absolutely convinced of its authenticity, Lord Tepet, I would surely not sully my hands and possibly my reputation by returning it to the Palace Sublime. This book shows something remarkable. Through the case of Ledaal Kywasa, and drawing in inference upon a hundred other books, the prophet who wrote Studies in Sin and Redemption shows that it is possible to save the soul of an Anathema while they still live."

"What a coincidence that you should happen to meet me," Sen smirked bitterly. "I've been having my own trouble with an Anathema." Thoughts of being manipulated again bothered him but, then again, who would use an Immaculate? The Anathema preferred to do their own dirty work in person, as Xilanada had proven, and E'lial...well, it was enough to say that a monk would be the last thing he'd expect from the worldly old teacher.

"What kind of trouble?" the monk asked, his face suddenly very grave.

"I fell in love with an Unclean." Though he still suspected a trick, he saw no reason to conceal what had happened. Sen's bitter smile grew at the deep concern and growing wariness in every feature of the Fire-Aspected Immaculate. "I didn't know what she was but she...I thought she loved me. I only found out today what she was, Master, and I've turned her away."

"Too strong to go down, eh?" The monk rubbed his chin. "Or was it something else?"

The monk's hand suddenly caught his shoulder and the other gripped him around the windpipe, as fast as Sen could blink. The iron-like grip warned him at once that the Immaculate might be able to crush his throat in an instant if he resisted. The monk's smoldering eyes bored into his, pitilessly searching for any weakness, any fatal flaw. Sen couldn't help but feel relief that at last his fate was in the hands of someone it belonged in. If anyone could tell him the extent of her damage to him, if anyone could tell him how to repair his heart and get his old life back, it would be this monk.

"I confess to you, Master, I love her still. It broke my heart to leave her and its still breaking every time I think of her. Gods have told me I'm free from influence but... surely she must have Charmed me. Can you tell? Can you search my soul, find the taint, and purify me of it?"

"Yes," the Immaculate said in a tone that harbored no doubt whatsoever. Still, his eyes seemed to search Sen's and still that tremendously strong hand held Sen captive. At last, the monk released him and gave him a slight bow. "But there is no need."

"No need? How can there be no need?" Sen cried. "I'm obsessed with her! She must have stolen some part of me, influenced my mind, done something to me to make me feel this way! I am sick with heartache!"

"Your sickness is common to all men," the monk said regretfully, his stern face relenting with compassion. "Has she influence over you? Yes, but nothing more than that power women hold over men. Anathema she may but her Charms have never touched you."

"Because she didn't need to," Sen said bitterly. He turned and led the way again, struggling to control himself, to regain that amused aloofness that so suited him in the past. "I've been a fool, Master."

"Then take this."

The Fire-Aspected Immaculate pulled a glittery white jade ring from his finger and pressed it into Sen's palm, closing Sen's fingers around it. The monk gave him a small smile and patted him on the shoulder again. Sen opened his hand and looked at the artifact lying in his hand. It was of a design and make that looked...marginally familiar. A pity he hadn't paid more attention in Artifact Design.

"What is it?" Sen asked, suddenly remembering that this encounter could still be a setup.

"The Burnished Mind of the Vigilant is a potent tool," the monk said as he began to walk. Sen fell into step beside him, remembering that he was supposed to be taking the Dragon-Blooded to the shrine of Hesiesh. "Wear it and it will ward all Anathema magics used against your mind. Be warned. They can still kill your body or flay your soul if you are not wary but, with this, the Wyld Hunt perseveres against the strongest Blasphemer."

"Why give it to me? You don't need it?" Sen asked, even as he began attuning to it. It could still be a trap but there was no trace of any Essence designs beyond its own. Attunement gradually seeped the ring's properties into his mind and it did as the monk had said.

"No, I have my own training," the Dragon-Blooded monk said. "And the one who wore it before no longer needs it, may her next life be spent in union with Mela as she wished."

The two walked in silence the rest of the way to the temple.

Sen paused on the steps, pleased with the familiar sight of his favorite temple yet knowing he had obligations to be about this morning that prevented him from making a trip inside. The Immaculate took several strides up and paused, turning to regard him. A slow smile crossed the monk's face.

"Just remember this, Lord Tepet. Even with the ring, be careful of listening to this Anathema of yours, should you find her again. It will block their magic but not their nefarious reasoning. Your mind may still be bent by persuasive logic like any man's, false or not. Hold fast to your Exalted enlightenment, remember the Philosophy and be strong. I will send word that the Wyld Hunt is needed here and you will have help soon."

"Thank you, Master," Sen said with a low bow. "This helps more than I can say."