Chapter 75- Servants (Part 2)
Savage Lands- Cave of Wonders- 4- Nov. – 2008 (11:30 am Local time)
Master Keacilius Anker-
Keacilius’ mind wanted so much to just focus on his upcoming reunion with his wife, but he also knew that there were other things that needed to be decided. So he looked over his nine present disciples and asked. “How are we going to decide who also goes today?"
His gathered disciples looked at each other; many of them knew each other’s stories and how much pain they went through to get here. So none really want to step on the dreams of the others, and yet before anyone could come up with an idea someone else butted in.
“Who says you guys are getting it? We are here too you know?” The younger of the two blonde women Ortani brought with him butted in.
“Wasn’t it you who didn’t have someone to bind?” Hugh reminded everyone of the woman’s earlier question.
"What if I got myself bonded to my sister, magic users is one of the csses isn't it?" The older blonde asked Nath'aniel.
“Indeed, Caster is one of the basic combat csses. And the thesis was intended to be used on the living rather than the dead.” The mage answered the older sibling’s question.
“And why should it go to you two and not us, there are far more of us than you?” His disciple Katrina asked the sisters.
The younger one pointed at Lucian and his sister and then at him while saying. “Disciple and master.” Then she pointed at the back cave adding. “Master,” and then at herself, “disciple. It’s better to keep everything fair don’t you think?”
Some of his other disciples were about to continue the argument, but Keacilius raised his hand to stall them. “Master Nath’aniel, do you think the y line will handle all of the bindings we want to do today?”
The mage nodded as he said. "I am keeping an eye on it, but after two bindings I see no change in the flow of mystical energy so far."
“You can see when the spell goes off?” Seamus, one of Keacilius’ quieter disciples asked surprised.
"I can," Nath'aniel admitted.
The rogue master looked over at the two sisters and nodded before stating his compromise. “You may test your sister and receive the st set we have here today, with the understanding that going forward any others that are obtained will go to those who have already committed to the twenty-year service. Before going to your fellow disciples that were uncertain."
“Agreed.” The younger sister said with a toothy smile. Then she gestured towards her sister to move towards the spirit bed.
The slightly bigger sister moved with a spring in her step. Halfway there she was stopped by Psylocke, who asked. “Name?”
"Grace Mercy." The older sister identified herself, before climbing onto the metal bed. The bed scanned her like it had Lucian's tin and Ortani’s wine bottle.
Keacilius hadn’t tested his thermos yet, because he too was worried that his loving wife who was never more than a caretaker for their home wouldn’t qualify. Yet all of his disciples had to suppress a chuckle when they heard the girl’s results.
"You qualify for Saber and Berserker," Nath'aniel announced to the room.
‘A Magic student who doesn’t qualify for Caster, oh the shame of it.’ The rogue master thought, while he watched the woman in question was all smiles as she pondered her two choices. ‘Either she doesn’t care, or she knows her talent for magic was in question, and thus chose to become a Servant to hide her weakness. Clever.’
"Which one is stronger?" Grace asked the mage.
"It varies. Berserkers sacrifice their sanity for additional strength. Meanwhile, Sabers are more reliable and tend to st longer in battle than the other csses. Besides of course Shielder or Gate Keeper.” The mage answered ftly.
‘Gate Keeper, I don’t recall reading that css in the manuscripts back in Kamar-Taj.’ Keacilius thought. Yet his thoughts were quickly rattled as he heard what Nath’aniel said next.
"Well, the two of you can discuss your options, since Keacilius is next." The mage told the young woman.
As the rogue master retrieved his thermos and walked over the two blondes huddled into a corner to talk amongst themselves. "The moment of truth," Keacilius muttered before pcing his wife’s vessel onto the bed. He tapped his foot nervously while the bed did its thing.
And when the hologram appeared with the results his heart almost broke again. The left screen was bnk, and only two csses were listed on the right. ‘Gardener and Broodmother.’ The rogue master read to himself mentally.
He didn’t even notice that Psylocke and walked up to stand beside him until she spoke. “You still sure you can handle being Archmaster of the order? Nath’aniel was pretty sure that the position would need a Servant with a combat css.”
The rogue master stood a little straighter before answering her. “Design any test you think acceptable and I will pass it… it does not matter that Adria cannot fight like I can, I will complete the tasks assigned to me.”
"Wise words," Magneto said from his pce in the chamber, drawing the sorcerer’s attention.
He then looked over towards the mage before asking. “What exactly is a ‘brood-mother’?”
"One of the greater challenges for us mages has been conceiving the next generation, so it came as no surprise to me that among the non-combat csses had one to help facilitate this problem," Nath'aniel expined in his even honest tone.
That solved it for Keacilius, so he nodded in acceptance. “Adria was so broken up over the loss of our son. We always said that when she got healthier we would try again, and I think I am in a state that I would like to try again as well. I know what css she would want. I am ready.”
After retrieving his wife, the rogue master followed Nath’aniel into the operating suite, and without instructions he did as his disciple setting aside the thermos and removing his upper robes.
“Name and css?” Nath’aniel’s disciple asked.
“Adria Anker and css Broodmother.” Keacilius answer. It had been a long time since he even thought of his family name. Then he y down on the bed and waited.
Instead of focusing on what was being done to him, the rogue master let his mind drift to the face of his wife. Not just when she was sick, but when they met, when he got the promotion, and they learned she was pregnant. Even the look of sadness on her face, when the hospital's doctor told them that their son had died in the nursery.
A slight surge of heat in his arm and back warned him that the mage was done. “How did it go?” He asked Nath’aniel.
“Fine, but you were pretty non-responsive. Are you ok?” The mage answered and asked him.
"Sorry, just nervous I guess," Keacilius admitted, before he looked at the tattoo on his forearm, oddly it was a blue plump face, instead of the red bow or dagger that Lucian or Ortani had. So he felt compiled to ask. “Why is it blue?”
"Because yours is a non-combat css," Nath’aniel answered ftly.
The rogue master nodded in understanding but as he raised his palm to absorb the energy that the other man was going to feed him to activate the tools inside of him, he further pointed out. "But yours are neither red nor blue.”
“Mine were made by the sarcophagus." The mage said matter of fatly. Yet from his time as a policeman and all the years under the Ancient One, he knew that wasn't the only reason, and that Nath'aniel was leaving something out in his answer.
However, as he felt the stabilizer awaken and warm up in his chest Keacilius realized that he didn’t care. Not if he could see and hold Adria again. So as soon as the ball of energy was absorbed he got up and moved to get dressed, and while he knew he wasn't, he felt younger for some reason.
“You got it from here?” Nath’aniel asked as the two of them moved to return to the main chamber. He nodded that he was, but the mage wasn’t done and asked. “Are you really fine with the sisters taking the st set?”
Keacilius thought for a moment before saying. “They made a valid point, and besides we are supposed to be allies going forward. And so long as they agree that those of us who are already on board for the long haul are given priority going forward, I don’t see my disciples getting overly upset over it.”
The mage nodded in understanding, before pointing towards the thin tunnel in the back, before saying. “Very well, the binding circle is all the way to the back.”
He didn't know why he did it, but before everyone, the rogue master saluted the mage like he used to when he was still a policeman to his captain. Three fingers to his temple and his soft-heeled boots snapped together, before about facing and heading to the next beginning in his life.
When the tunnel got too dark he conjured a ball of light, which followed him. And he was so gd he did so, when saw what caused the darkness. Two men leaving the tunnel, they certainly looked like father and son, save that the son looked twice the age of his father.
“Ortani.” He greeted the other man.
“Father, this is Keacilius, the other branch’s leader.” The professor introduced him to his old man.
The younger Indian man offered his hand to shake, as he said. “A pleasure to meet you, I am Andrin Ortani.”
"Already recovered, huh, well a pleasure to meet you too," Keacilius said as he shook the other man’s hand.
“What do you mean recovered?” The newly bound Servant asked confused.
The rogue master noticed that while Nath’aniel’s Servants had tattoos, Ortani’s father instead had a pin in his pel simirly shaped to Psylocke's marking. Still, he answered the man. "The other Servant that was bound before you was so shaken up from being revived that her Servant side had to take over."
“Some sort of mind control mechanic?” Andrin asked his tone not upset, but rather intrigued.
"Not mind control, Dad, it's only if your mind can't handle the stress or the trauma, then the magic takes over as your mind retreats so that you can still serve." The professor crified.
The rogue master noted that neither himself nor the other sorcerer brought up the control spells inscribed onto the backs of their hands, not yet at least. Still, Keacilius added, "While what we set out to do was revive our loved ones, the true purpose of the spells we're casting today was to create a bodyguard or assistant." Then he moved passed them.
“Your turn?” Ortani asked as he did.
“Yep.” He admitted.
"Who's the fourth one going to?" The professor asked before he could get too far.
"One of the blondes that you brought with you," Keacilius answered, wanting nothing more than to see how well Adria would handle being brought back.
Still, Ortani wasn’t done with him and asked. “Who is she binding?”
“Her sister.” The rogue master answered before breaking into a slight jog. He was again thankful for the light spell when he noticed the low ceiling before almost running into it.
“And you agreed?” Oratni shouted out concerned.
Keacilius nodded, before adding. "With the understanding that those already informed and have agreed to serve the twenty years receive higher priority getting the next Servants, over those that sat out the demonstration." The rogue master briefly saw the professor nodding in agreement and ducked under the low ceiling before pressing on. If the other men said anything else he didn't notice, as half of his attention was on the thermos in his left hand, and the rest was making it to the end of the tunnel.
When he made it to the final chamber, he rubbed his hand over the thermos's lip, muttering. "Soon dear, soon we will be together again." Then he looked over the rune work and the slightly glowing circles before him. He ran the gestures and theory work that he had practiced and researched with Takeda all those years ago in his head.
With a final deep breath to settle his nerves, he moved and was about to pce her down in the center of the circle, but he waited to pce a kiss on the top of it before actually parting from her. Then he back and away began the ritual. The energy moved smother than he expected, but he credited that to this not being the first time the spell was cast inside the chamber today.
When he felt her call to him, the words came. “Mother not just to children, but to a House, we shall create a legacy that will st longer than what came before us. Together we will make history. Prepare yourself, my Broodmother.”
He felt confusion and then joy in the back of his mind, just before the off crimson sparkles of light joined to form his long-lost wife. Adria looked better than she had in a long time. The cancer and the chemo had her body pay a hefty price; instead, her body was firm and full. Her brown hair was long wavy and healthy, like when they first met. And she was dressed in something he would never have seen her in before, a red silky crimson top, and matching airy pants, and sandals instead of shoes.
They stared at each other for a long time before her voice woke him up. “Keal is that you? And where are we? This doesn’t look like my hospital room.”
He answered her backward. "We aren't in Denmark anymore, and yes, yes it's me. God, you look good."
She looked first at her hands, and then at herself. “These clothes… I feel like an am Persian princess."
He knew he was staring, and that he should be expining things to her, but Keacilius couldn't help himself. Instead, he took a step, and then another, and when she looked back at him, they embraced.
"Gods I missed you, Ady.” He admitted.
“Gods? As in plural, you’d always correct me whenever I said that.” His wife compined.
He chuckled at that, and then realized he was about to make her day. “You were right you know.”
“Mmm?” She hummed into his chest as she rubbed her head back and forth against his body.
“The old gods are real.” The rogue master admitted.
She stopped rubbing up against him and muttered. “What?”
“Magic, the gods, you were right, it’s all real. It’s how I brought you back, I learned magic and brought you back from the dead.” Keacilius repeated.
She pushed him away at that. He was surprised by how strong she was now but had little time to think about that as he slid back and fell onto his backside. "And what did bringing me back cost you?" Adria asked, not really angry, but more concern was all over her face. Before he could answer, she frowned and asked. “Wait, how did I do that? I was never that strong before.”
“You remember the story of Captain America, they pumped him full of science and he came out a super soldier?” The rogue master asked her as he stood up, when she nodded only then did he add. "I did something simir, but with magic, not science."
“I have a lot of catching up to do don’t I Keal?” She asked him with that grin that captured his heart in the first pce.
"Yes, you do." Keacilius happily admitted. "And we have plenty of time to do it."
