Ch13-3: Calm Before the Storm

His mouth posed in a constant downward turn as if simply breathing the air within the room was an irritation.

Light knows, I hate Assemblies.

TsuYa sat at the far end of the table, a forced position that he was given in accordance to his place in the Ya family line. His mouth posed in a constant downward turn as if simply breathing the air within the room was an irritation.

It’s all a bunch of crazy creations derived straight from the mind of the Dreigiau…

Everything within the big Assembly Room felt alien. The white walls seemed to slope and descend in strange optical illusions, their faces imprinted with long drapes, colorful banners and flowering vines. There was a huge ornate skylight in the center of the room that always kept the chamber illuminated, even after darkness had fallen.

Zemi’s always gotta be a show off.

His eyes fixed on his folded hands that sat upon the table’s burnished surface. All of the furniture was crafted in strange interlocking loops, built of an unusual light-colored wood. The table had been polished to an impossible shine that never seemed to fade nor scuff no matter how many agitated fists should slam on it during heated Assembly times. The chairs sported backs open around the shoulders so that those with wings could comfortably hang them through specially placed supports.

Not that his sisters are much different. The Trine is the Trine. And they’re all a bunch of crazy Arweinydd if you ask me.

It wasn’t just the room that set him on edge, however. It was the concept of so many people gathered all in one place under focused intentions. TsuYa knew that important meetings had always been a regular part of his father’s life. And part of him would have been seriously pissed off if he had been left out of the Inner Circle of the Assemblies. Yet…

I still hate these things. Too many people. Too much noise. Nothing but bickering and bad news. When does anything ever get done?

TsuYa handled it by keeping to himself. He rarely spoke unless he was asked to give input on a situation, which seemed very rare. Zemi and Father held the most talk-time out of anyone in all the Assembly history.

They can talk all they want to, but it doesn’t change the situation much, anyhow.

People were starting to file into the room. TsuYa was early, as he always was. He liked to be able to gauge the state of mind of people as they walked through the doors. He wasn’t always the best judge of those sorts of things.

But it never hurts to see who is grouchy or who is being far too cheerful for their own good. Keeps me out of potential trouble.

A sudden tingle rushed over his body, freezing his breath within his lungs. He knew without looking who had just entered the room.

Aur…

As if the thought only served to intensify the feeling, the tingling spread out over his limbs. Finally, it condensed right around the amulet that was fastened tight around his throat. Though it was hidden from the view of all others, hanging underneath his shirt, it was hands-down the most important thing that TsuYa had ever owned.

He could feel its cooling surface pressed against his skin. And though it tingled in response to Aur’s presence, it was a small price to pay for the protection it gave. The enchantment on the amulet had become his only defense against the groping will of Zeromus that reached for him. And it held the power that could halt the progression of Marked-ness that had begun to threaten him over a year ago.

So far… it’s worked. The grey patch of skin is still there but it hasn’t spread. I haven’t had any more dreams. And even when I’ve left the Islands, I haven’t felt compelled by Zeromus at all.

TsuYa twisted the chain between his fingers at the place where it met the nape of his neck — a newer habit of his, done in idle times. At this moment, it was just done to relieve himself of the tingling that tickled his skin. Afterall, it wouldn’t be very stately to start laughing out loud for reasons totally unknown.

It’s just reacting to its maker.

Or that’s what Zemi told him the first time he had felt it.

The chain was crafted of what had been TsuYa’s long, white hair, woven and bonded through Aur’s own essence into a light-weight white metal. The amulet itself was a deep blue stone, set into a ring of the same white metal.

At the time, it had grieved him to be forced to alter his appearance so much. His hair had been the one thing that made TsuYa resemble his father the most, even after his father had disappeared. But he knew that it was a sacrifice that was too petty to complain about, considering the gravity of the situation.

Even the tingling wasn’t really much of an issue. TsuYa was rarely in the same room as Aur for very long, usually only seeing him face to face in Assemblies such as this.

Especially since he’s been sent to oversee all of the Spiral.

Aur had been the one chosen to go back to reestablish the civilization that had been brought to its knees by the removal of the Armsmaster and the Speaker. In some ways, it made a lot of sense. After all, the people of the Spiral knew of Aur as the Golden Lion and he had some authority over the population. Because of that, he had far more of a chance to succeed the position in the eyes of the people than any of the white-haired northern-clan people would have had.

Aur’s supposed to be pretty good at what he does, too. Level headed. Decisive. Gets the job done. I guess there’s not much else to ask for.

Kudako had also returned to the Spiral as aid to Aur’s rule there. Between the Dragon, the Creature and the Dreigiau, they had all been hard at work at attempting to find a means of removing the effects of the Implants from the Spiral people. And so far, they had been relatively successful.

If it wasn’t for the air-raids on Ceiswyr, they probably would have found a cure by now.

TsuYa cast a stray glance over at Aur. The sandy-haired man was taking a seat on the other end of the table, along with Kudako. Despite his origins and alleged knowledge, Aur rarely owned up to his position there among the people of the Assembly. And though he probably belonged somewhere up at the head of the table with Zemi and father, Aur was always content to put himself wherever space dictated.

The room remained silent between them since none of the three were much for talking amongst themselves. That was, until Father burst into the room. As always, he greeted everyone in the room with a huge muster of cheerful banter and warm welcome. After giving a wave towards where TsuYa sat, he managed to get the usually silent Kudako and the placid Aur both to respond in some semblance of conversation.

Let the chatter begin…

As much at TsuYa respected his father, he just couldn’t see how one so highly revered among everyone could chitchat so much… and about what seemed to be so trivial things.

I mean, we’ve got a war going on. Can we talk about the weather later?

-You’re a real stick in the mud, TsuYa,- a familiar voice rose within his mind.

He responded in a deep, inadvertent groan, “Zazo…”

-Shhh… they don’t know I’m here,- the voice chided, though no form enveloped it. -I’m not supposed to upstage Zemi by coming earlier than he does. You know what an impossible ham he is.-

“So why are you here?” TsuYa murmured under his breath, knowing she could hear the tiniest whisper he made.

-Why… for the Assembly of the Trine, of course.-

The Assembly of the Trine… it was the full name of the meetings, presided over by the three Arweinydd: Zemi and his sisters Zazo and Zeni. Ever since the coming of Zeromus, the three had been working together to suppress the forces of the Marked and to shepherd the people who remained living upon the ground to safety. The three had chosen to give themselves the name of “Trine”, though in TsuYa’s opinion, it was probably a fancy embellishment that Zemi had chosen.

“I mean, why are you coming early?” he restated the question.

-To annoy you, for one?-

TsuYa huffed. “Mission accomplished. Now, what else?”

-To see the fun, of course.-

“Fun?” he frowned. “Since when has anything that’s happened in here been fun?”

-Since the day that Zemi’s decided to allow the Sygnus to sit in on the Inner Circle,- came the bold reply.

TsuYa nearly choked on himself, voice becoming strangled and far louder than he meant for it to be, “Whaaaaaaaat?”

The group of talking men on the other side of the room paused and glanced at him curiously. Father gave him an eyebrow, “Tsu… are you okay?”

“Uh… yeah…” he slumped away from the trio of peering eyes, a pair of gold and one of green. “Sorry.”

After a moment, they went back to their talk, shrugging it off as if it had never happened. TsuYa was known for his strange, sudden outbursts ever since the Marked thing. Not to mention that he was now pestered from time to time by the voice of the Arweinydd Zazo… which was something that TsuYa soon discovered only he could hear.

Though I have no idea what she wants from me…

His dark green eyes flickered to the front of the room, digesting the Arweinydd’s last statement. He could feel a tinge of amusement in the air. Zazo was enjoying his discomfort at the news.

“Are you certain?” TsuYa finally asked.

-Wait and see for yourself,- the cheery reply filled his mind. And then, just like that, Zazo was gone.

He gave a deep sigh, “Crazy Arweinydd…”

At that moment, the doors to the room swung wide, admitting a group of people. TsuYa felt his jaw drop a bit. For as his brother, SoYa, made his way up to the table of the Inner Circle, it was easy to make out the tall, lanky form of the silver-haired boy that walked beside him. A pulse of pure aversion rushed over TsuYa’s body, his hands tightening inadvertently into fists, gripping his knees.

LuShi….