Chapter 02: A Preposition (Revised Version)
Author's Note: In the revised The Ilmarians, Kejuta and the others decided that Shintra won't be called an Ilmarian until Alethea decided that he has proven himself. The following scene had been modified because of it.
“So how did it go, Kej?” Aundra asked as soon as the Ilmarian of Fate arrived back at Welvaria. Out of all of the Ilmarians, only ten were there waiting for her so they could start the meeting. Her children were busy with their tasks while Alethea was currently on a mission.
“They have agreed to the job though they are still reluctant about killing the Lashival,” she informed them.
The Ilmarian of Magic arched her eyebrows. “And you didn’t use your powers to convince them otherwise?”
She shook her head. “No, because that was the best option I have. Besides it would seem too obvious that something was off if their leader suddenly became more agreeable to my demands.”
“I don’t see why you should worry about those mortals’ opinions,” Shintra mocked as he waved his hand indifferently. “Once you use your powers, there is nothing they can do about it anyway.”
Kejuta grinded her teeth and decided to ignore his snide remark. Instead she continued, “I have already sent them on their mission and I need you all to help out if possible. However, please don’t provide them with every fact about the Lashival. I don’t want them to be fully aware of who they are dealing with. Otherwise, they might panic and be unwilling to do the job.”
Her colleagues nodded. “Sounds good to me,” Lanskas said. “Hopefully your plan will work.”
“I hope so too,” she agreed. She took a deep breath and turned her attention to Shintra. “Now in other news, you have proven yourself to be trustworthy after several centuries of observation. You were repentant about your past actions and worked to redeem yourself. According to Aundra, she noticed that you have been using your powers properly. Therefore, we have decided that you can go freely around the world without any supervision. Congratulations."
She nodded at Marika, who then walked over and handed the Duermon his own needle ring. “Thank you,” Shintra said graciously and gave her an enquiringly look. “Does that mean the restriction on my power has been lessened?”
“Yes, but if you decide to abuse your power again, we will seal it away and this time, it will be permanent,” Kejuta warned him. For the past two centuries, Aundra had lessened the limitation on his power so he could use it though not at its full potential.
“Rest assured, Kejuta, I won’t,” he promised and glanced around the room. “I notice that Res- I mean, Alethea isn’t here to celebrate this momentous occasion.”
“She is currently working on an assignment and besides, you know that she wouldn’t come anyway,” she said dryly.
“What a pity. I was hoping to see her so I could apologize to her for what I did to her. Oh well, perhaps another time. Since you haven’t given me my title, I assume that she hasn’t forgiven me for what I did to her?”
“And your assumption would be correct,” she confirmed.
“I guess that’s understandable though I wish she wouldn’t be so begrudging,” he sighed. “By the way, is she investigating the Velscendus cult? Surely she doesn’t still believe I’m involved with that crazy religion!”
The Ilmarian of Fate looked at him reproachfully. “That is none of your concern and you know that we determined that you weren’t involved since you were with us when the cult became prominent. If we didn’t trust you, we wouldn’t have given you your needle ring and title.” The other Ilmarians mumbled their assent though some still seemed unhappy that Shintra was free to do whatever he wanted.
“I’m relieved that you believe in me then.” For some reason, she sensed that he was taunting her.
“Do you have any more questions?” He shook his head so she declared, “Meeting is adjourned.”
Everyone immediately stood up and walked over to congratulate Shintra. Some were genuine with their congratulations while others were terse but polite. Walking over to Aundra and Marika, Kejuta muttered, “So far, so good.”
The two women nodded. “Hopefully everything will go according to plan,” the Ilmarian of Worlds said as she eyed the Duermon, who seemed to be enjoying the attention from the others, cautiously.
“When does that ever happen?” Aundra retorted. Kejuta hated to admit it, but the Ilmarian of Magic did have a point. They have to make sure everything will turn out the way they wanted. If not, they had to make adjustments as quickly as possible. Just to make sure, she touched the Chains of Destiny and checked for any signs of trouble. “Well? Did you see something, Kejuta?”
“A little bit,” she said with a grimace. “It seemed like that cult is going to cause Talic and the others trouble later in the future so their safety will have to be my top priority.”
“Any words from Alethea?” Marika asked. The Ilmarian of Fate shook her head.
“Unfortunately no. The last I’ve heard from her, she has arrived at her location and she would inform me if she notices anything to confirm our suspicions.”
Aundra gave them a reassuring look. “I’m sure she will be fine. She’s a big girl after all and she knows how to take care of herself. Now then, we should join the celebration; we don’t want to look like we’re party poopers, right?”
Kejuta and Marika just shook their heads but followed the Ilmarian of Magic as they went to congratulate Shintra for his progress in slowly becoming a member of the team.
“They have agreed to the job though they are still reluctant about killing the Lashival,” she informed them.
The Ilmarian of Magic arched her eyebrows. “And you didn’t use your powers to convince them otherwise?”
She shook her head. “No, because that was the best option I have. Besides it would seem too obvious that something was off if their leader suddenly became more agreeable to my demands.”
“I don’t see why you should worry about those mortals’ opinions,” Shintra mocked as he waved his hand indifferently. “Once you use your powers, there is nothing they can do about it anyway.”
Kejuta grinded her teeth and decided to ignore his snide remark. Instead she continued, “I have already sent them on their mission and I need you all to help out if possible. However, please don’t provide them with every fact about the Lashival. I don’t want them to be fully aware of who they are dealing with. Otherwise, they might panic and be unwilling to do the job.”
Her colleagues nodded. “Sounds good to me,” Lanskas said. “Hopefully your plan will work.”
“I hope so too,” she agreed. She took a deep breath and turned her attention to Shintra. “Now in other news, you have proven yourself to be trustworthy after several centuries of observation. You were repentant about your past actions and worked to redeem yourself. According to Aundra, she noticed that you have been using your powers properly. Therefore, we have decided that you can go freely around the world without any supervision. Congratulations."
She nodded at Marika, who then walked over and handed the Duermon his own needle ring. “Thank you,” Shintra said graciously and gave her an enquiringly look. “Does that mean the restriction on my power has been lessened?”
“Yes, but if you decide to abuse your power again, we will seal it away and this time, it will be permanent,” Kejuta warned him. For the past two centuries, Aundra had lessened the limitation on his power so he could use it though not at its full potential.
“Rest assured, Kejuta, I won’t,” he promised and glanced around the room. “I notice that Res- I mean, Alethea isn’t here to celebrate this momentous occasion.”
“She is currently working on an assignment and besides, you know that she wouldn’t come anyway,” she said dryly.
“What a pity. I was hoping to see her so I could apologize to her for what I did to her. Oh well, perhaps another time. Since you haven’t given me my title, I assume that she hasn’t forgiven me for what I did to her?”
“And your assumption would be correct,” she confirmed.
“I guess that’s understandable though I wish she wouldn’t be so begrudging,” he sighed. “By the way, is she investigating the Velscendus cult? Surely she doesn’t still believe I’m involved with that crazy religion!”
The Ilmarian of Fate looked at him reproachfully. “That is none of your concern and you know that we determined that you weren’t involved since you were with us when the cult became prominent. If we didn’t trust you, we wouldn’t have given you your needle ring and title.” The other Ilmarians mumbled their assent though some still seemed unhappy that Shintra was free to do whatever he wanted.
“I’m relieved that you believe in me then.” For some reason, she sensed that he was taunting her.
“Do you have any more questions?” He shook his head so she declared, “Meeting is adjourned.”
Everyone immediately stood up and walked over to congratulate Shintra. Some were genuine with their congratulations while others were terse but polite. Walking over to Aundra and Marika, Kejuta muttered, “So far, so good.”
The two women nodded. “Hopefully everything will go according to plan,” the Ilmarian of Worlds said as she eyed the Duermon, who seemed to be enjoying the attention from the others, cautiously.
“When does that ever happen?” Aundra retorted. Kejuta hated to admit it, but the Ilmarian of Magic did have a point. They have to make sure everything will turn out the way they wanted. If not, they had to make adjustments as quickly as possible. Just to make sure, she touched the Chains of Destiny and checked for any signs of trouble. “Well? Did you see something, Kejuta?”
“A little bit,” she said with a grimace. “It seemed like that cult is going to cause Talic and the others trouble later in the future so their safety will have to be my top priority.”
“Any words from Alethea?” Marika asked. The Ilmarian of Fate shook her head.
“Unfortunately no. The last I’ve heard from her, she has arrived at her location and she would inform me if she notices anything to confirm our suspicions.”
Aundra gave them a reassuring look. “I’m sure she will be fine. She’s a big girl after all and she knows how to take care of herself. Now then, we should join the celebration; we don’t want to look like we’re party poopers, right?”
Kejuta and Marika just shook their heads but followed the Ilmarian of Magic as they went to congratulate Shintra for his progress in slowly becoming a member of the team.