The children were playing in the fountain again. With a sigh, Lord Dasan Nostralva reached over to pull a rope to summon a servant. His other hand set down the quill he had been holding and he rubbed his eyes. He tried to ignore the slight tremble in his fingers, the black spots that danced before his eyes. The headaches were getting worse. Soon, the beast would need to be fed. A young maid entered the chamber in answer to his summons.

  “How may I serve, Lord Chancellor?” she said.

  Dasan removed this hands from his eyes and regarded the maid. It was another new one. Excellent.

  Now, here is a pretty little thing.

  “There are some children splashing about in one of the fountains outside. Remove them.”

  “At once, Lord Chancellor.” The maid curtseyed.

  I wonder what this one’s name is? I’ll have to-

  Suddenly, Dasan felt as if his insides were being ripped apart. He gasped and fell forward, his inkwell spilling over his papers, ruining hours worth of work, but he didn’t care.

  “Lord Chancellor!” The maid rushed forward to aid him, but he snarled at her and she cringed away.

  “Get out! OUT!”

  Terrified, the maid ran from the room and Dasan staggered to a picture on the wall, a portrait of his mother, which he ripped from the wall to reveal a hidden safe.

  Deep breaths. Calm yourself!

  Dasan steadied his hand as he imputed the combination, a series of five runes and the safe clicked open. Reaching inside, Dasan quickly removed a Potion of Superior Healing, popped the cork and guzzled it down. Then, his back to his wall, he slid to the floor and sat staring at nothing for several minutes while his body recovered from…

  What happened? Have one of my enemies found a new way to attack me? Who could have orchestrated such an attack? I’ve eaten nothing today. I’ve drank only wine from my own decanter? The decanter! Did that new maid poison me? Who does she really work for? I’ll flay the skin from her body! I’ll have her begging me to end her life!

  “No! Calm yourself. It wasn’t poison. It couldn’t have been, I am protected. The Power protects me.”

  Dasan closed his eyes and focused upon Mana. He could visualize it, seething and roiling, the Wrath mana was a coiled serpent about his Mana Core as if protecting its own precious egg. With the aid of his Master, the Wrath Mana was tamed, but only as long as Dasan fulfilled his part of the bargain. For Dasan, managing his Corruption was no longer a battle, but a deadly partnership. Something had just now disturbed the snake.

  Something is different.

  Using a combination of Will and Focus, Dasan examined every part of his Mana Core. It was an ugly, red thing, pulsing with black veins. Yet, that wasn’t what bothered Dasan. When he found a small, greenish blister on his Core that was all that remained of a Sealing rune, he felt his world turn upside down.

  A curse of Abu-Sai Ashgur was…gone? How? There was a pounding of footsteps and a man and a woman burst into the room.

  “Lord Chancellor!” The man, his Head Butler Mauvril, quickly scanned the room for any sign of enemies, while his Head Maid Dama Selin knelt beside him and started pouring healing magic into his body.

  “I’m alright. Stand down, both of you.”

  “Lord, shall I send a runner to cancel your attendance at today’s High Council meeting?” Mauvril’s calm, emotionless voice was always a balm to Dasan’s nerves. His butler was used to handling sensitive matters and Dama Selin was an expert at keeping things quiet involving his more personal matters. He turned to her now.

  “That new maid is dismissed.” Dama Selin nodded, no trace of any emotion upon her face and Dasan put the matter of the maid from his mind. She was no longer a concern. A shame, really, but servants talked and Dasan had carefully cultivated his public image over the years and could allow nothing to interfere with that.

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  “I wouldn’t dream of missing so auspicious a Council meeting as today, Mauvril. A vote upon the funding for His Majesty’s Platinum Celebration, as well as the vote upon the new measure for the Awakened Raid Policy is today. Not to mention I must also meet with the Ambassador from Elasalia. Something is stirring those Elves up again. As the Emperor’s Minister of Foreign Affairs I have little choice but to listen to more complaints about tariffs, I would imagine.”

  “Understood, My Lord.”

  First, I need to figure out why I had such a violent reaction to one of my Cursed dying? It’s not the first time one of them finally succumbed? I wonder which one it was?

  “I will, however, make use of the carriage today instead of saddling Dawnmourn.”

  “I will have it prepared immediately, my Lord.” Mauvril left the room, his footsteps not leaving a single indentation upon the thick carpet. Dama Selin eyed him for a moment as if making sure one last time he was well. He proved her worry for naught when he climbed to his feet and straightened his jacket.

  “Was there anything else?” He calmly asked his Head Maid.

  “Shall I take her down to Sarpontez? He was asking for fresh blood again for his...work.” Dasan shrugged.

  “Fine. I don’t care. Tell him I will need to speak with him soon on another matter and I don’t want another pair of my boots ruined by walking through all that viscera.” A small smile tugged at the edges of Dama Selin’s then she bowed and left the room. Dasan sighed and stretched. It had been some time since he had felt pain like that. One of the more pleasant side effects of Corruption was the gradual dulling of one’s pain sensors to a degree and only the most egregious of damage would spark any complaint.

  I hope it was that old fool, Gregorim, who died. That Mage’s stubborn refusal to perish even after he felt the touch of Abaloth’s Cube always did perplex me. I still haven’t forgotten how loudly Moradale’s screams were when one of the Master’s flayed him alive for failing to assassinate Gregorim the first time! I just barely managed to appease them by Cursing a large chunk of the old bastard’s Will away.

  Dasan would have to use the Scrying Stone he kept hidden in his personal chambers. It was one of the items given to him by his Masters so that he might spy and gather information about certain individuals located across the expanse of the Withered Lands. His position as Minister of Foreign Affairs gave him the perfect cover. Of course, it was part of his duty to the Emperor to gather intel as well. He was neither the most powerful Chancellor, nor the most influential, but he used the gifts he had to further himself in the eyes of both the Emperor of the West and the Wrath Masters of the Void.

  Most people believed that Lord Dasan Nostralva only dabbled in magic. His Will was nothing impressive and though he was a Forged Mage, his Class wasn’t something people believed that he actively trained in anymore. Then, over a decade ago, he was given a choice. Power or obscurity. Dasan chose Power.

  Dasan made the quick trip from his study to his chambers alone. Besides himself, only Dama Selim and Mauvril were allowed in here and even they were forbidden from touching the spherical, black scrying stone. The stone rested upon a dais of obsidian etched with veins of glittering, red crystal. Using it always gave Dasan a headache, but its magic was potent and he had used it to pierce even the wards around the Emperor’s private study. Dasan had learned many interesting truths that way. Now, he would use it to track down one of the many dozens of souls that Abaloth’s Cube had touched with its Wrath Mana. A power that predated the Age of Heroes that stole attribute points for himself while weakening the enemies of the Masters.

  “Tazar’non, Repostis, Suffratis!” Dasan intoned, activating the Scrying Stone’s power. Though Dasan’s Class would appear to most with Inspect skills as a Forged Abjurer Mage, the reality was that he had long since become a Wrath Mage and obtained a level of power that in his mind set him above even most of the Awakened. Dasan smiled as the shadows within the stone swirled and thanks to his stolen points in Will and Focus, controlling the Wrath mana held within wasn’t a problem.

  Dasan focused upon the blister on his Mana Core. It still ached where the Sealing Rune had burst, scouring away the remnants of a Curse. It was impossible to identify who it had been except through magic. There were dozens of Sealing Runes etched into Dasan’s core. Too many, in fact. Yet, he had been warned long ago that power came with a price and he had ever been willing to pay it, especially if it weakened his and the Masters’ enemies. He reached out with his Will, focusing upon the destroyed seal in his Core and sent his consciousness to follow the faintest thread of mana that had once connected him to his victim.

  Dasan was moving North and East. That was strange. He hadn’t been to the Eastern Kingdoms in many years. Dasan hated the East and their backwater ways. Not that he kept track of those who bore one of his Curses. They could travel to the other side of the world for all he cared. There was no escaping Abaloth’s Cube.He was over mountains now and he saw a river winding its way to the Northern Ocean. Was he near Tyrol? He focused harder and saw a walled city just outside a mountain pass. Ah. He knew this place.

  Bruhle. A City-State once part of the Kingdom of Czakovey. Barbarians, Beast-Kin, Elves and…

  Something forced him back. That wasn’t supposed to happen. Something was actively blocking the Scrying Stone? Impossible! Back in his chambers, Dasan placed both hands upon the Stone and focused his Mana. Sweat beaded upon his forehead and he grit his teeth so hard he felt a tooth crack. In all his years, nothing had ever tried to block his scrying with such strength! Somewhere in the city of Bruhle was a dead Cursed and someone was trying to keep him from finding out whom it was!

  An Awakened. A powerful one! I cannot break the block. I’m still weak from the earlier damage to my Core!

  Dasan had to give up. His hands released the stone and they dropped lifeless to his sides. Dasan gasped and he dropped to his knees soon after. This had been the worst morning in recent memory! Had he known his scrying would meet such resistance, he would have better prepared!

  I should have told Dama to bring me that girl instead of sending her down to Sarpontez. I need to feel the whip in my hand! To see her blood on the walls!

  Bruhle. Dasan had never been there. Why would he? A Trade city connecting Czakovey, the Elves and Tyrol. Dasan frowned and he took a deep breath to collect his thoughts. Black spots danced before his eyes and the Corruption within him seethed. It would soon need an outlet. Dasan didn’t like mysteries, but despite being thousands of miles away from Bruhle, he still had ways he could reach there. Was this important enough to make the effort?

  I wonder if it was one of those foolish adventurers I ambushed outside that dungeon all those years ago. Ah, there’s a memory. I think some of them did end up surviving. Yes, this may not even be related to the scry block. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to find out how many Awakened are in Czakovey territory these days. I’m supposed to know these things anyway, aren’t I?

  Feeling a bit mollified after reasoning with himself, Dasan took a few minutes to change his sweat stained shirt and coat. Then, after smoothing his hair, he went to his carriage. He would have his driver take him on a leisurely path to the Parliament. No need to rush as the vote was not for several hours yet. Yes, there was nothing to really worry about. Everything was going according to the Masters’ plan. The strength of their coven was growing. He had contacts to other covens as well, some even in the East. He would reach out to them. Have them send someone to Bruhle. Yes. He need not bestir himself. Their numbers were growing and soon it would be the Awakened who were hiding in the shadows and the Hour of Wrath would finally come.