Chapter Text
A dim glow filled the library, making the presence of any and every dust particle known. Like stars scattered across the sky they danced along the shelves of the mansion's archive. The books' back covers had sunlight shining down upon them. The sunrays ran through the grand two story windows and illuminated hundreds of volumes with an almost magical glow. That light seemed to beckon anyone willing to enter the book heaven at such an ungodly hour to stop by and give one of the works a read.
However, Edmond had no interest in leisurely perusing the pages of those books which had their covers embossed with gold. The knight still felt a deep sense of respect for whoever planned out the arrangement of the shelves. Limited edition publications of Klein's most famous authors weren't put closest to the entrance accidentally after all. On the contrary, it was all planned out so that every person who would step their foot inside the library walls immediately felt impressed by the owner's taste and wealth. Although the Vice-Captain of the Knights had seen those gorgeous volumes before, having had the opportunity to gain access to the Royal library, he had to give credit to the guileful vampire, credulous hardworking incubus and that original Grand Sorcerer. There were some books that even the royalty had a hard time finding.
His fascination was quickly replaced by exasperation as Edmond had to pass a plethora of erotica which was stored in a multitude of shelves down the hall, just a bit further away from the main area. He felt an urge to look away from those filthy books as he passed them. He had no desire to look through the titles. No curiosity eating away at him to see if he could recognise any of the author's names. No. None. Frankly speaking, he had no time to spare at all. He was on a mission, one he had to deal with sooner rather than later. His schedule simply couldn't fit another fifteen minutes of pacing in front of the shelves as he would attempt to justify his own nefarious interest in the niche genre. He still needed to confront the fact that he had it in the first place which was a colossal task in itself. Especially for six in the morning.
Finally, the knight reached the far end of the library hall, the one that was out of the rising sun's reach. The covers of the books there lacked the lavishness of those presented at the front of the archive. The manuscripts which were dusting in the back of the archive could have been even be called ancient, some of them didn't even have a name on the cover, some lacked a cover to begin with and were simply a bunch of papers which were tied up together with some rope. It almost seemed as if they were only intended to be read by the one who wrote them in the first place. The former Grand Sorcerer.
Edmond stood across the unvarnished volumes with his hands on his hips and a frown slowly forming along his features. That's where his first problem arose. He had no clue where to begin. He knew the basics of magic, the theoretical side of things. As humorous as it was to call myths and fairytales about elemental spirits "theory of magic", Edmond hadn't had an opportunity to find anything more informative or more trustworthy on the topic before. He could only hope that the Grand Sorcerer wouldn't simply retell old stories that the knight had heard as a child. After all, learning about magic never failed to make him roll his eyes with how obscure, uncertain and, more often than not, impractical every piece of information was.
"Obscure" was the perfect word to describe magic and essence as Edmond saw it. One could feel it, one could have it take over their body and mind. Essence cannot be truly measured, cannot really be seen. Everyone knew that. Edmond knew that way too well. He knew of his essence, felt it flowing through him in waves and even saw it change his body in the form of a large ever-changing sapphire which adorned his left hand. What he didn't have a clue about was how to take control of that energy over and use it. The other clan members were much more attuned to the call of that ancient force, a fact that only became more apparent as time went on. Edmond felt deaf compared to them as the call never seemed to reach him properly. It wasn't a huge source of inferiority or even frustration for him before. Edmond was quite content with his rejection of using magic for most of his life after all.
A big factor in him realizing just how much of a disadvantage his lack of essence control really was turned out to be the addition of Blade to the clan. The e-droid was running on pure essence with a huge rock crystal serving as his heart. Blade had outstanding abilities in both magic and swordplay, he was an extremely skilled assassin. Edmond wished that they would never have to go against the e-droid in a fight as he couldn't imagine it ending without any casualties. Hopefully, Blade was a huge sweetheart first and a heartless assassin second. After they've grown closer Edmond realized just how much Blade could teach him. It was a bit embarrassing having to learn more about expressing emotions and feelings, especially from someone who had also mostly learnt about the subject from books. It was decidedly uncomfortable to discover just how much Edmond had yet to learn. Good thing was that the shame was most negated by the pride which came from being able to help Blade grow and improve too. In any case, the more time the two spent near each other the easier it was to discern that being able to use essence efficiently could become absolutely crucial. After all, if Blade was sent to kill Huey but even he ultimately failed in the end due to a spell from that Sorcerer then who was to say that Edmond could stand a chance against a similar foe? The odds of finding an opponent on the level of Huey's weren't all that high, of course, but the odds of winning against one were even lower. That prospect was the major force which pushed Edmond to give learning about essence another try and invite himself to the sorcerer's private library.
Another person who had shown Edmond just how far behind he actually was turned out to be Solaria's ruler. Dante had the signifiers of his bond with the spirits tattooed all over his skin as well as a tourmaline gem which hid in plain sight in one of his eyes. If it wasn't for him in that desert they could have simply lost Eiden to the cursed, enchanted beasts and their creepy puppeteer. Edmond simply had to do everything in his power to prevent that from ever happening again. Even if he had learned how to find common ground with Dante and they had actually discovered that they had a fair but in common, the knight would much rather not have to rely on the other so much if they were to be targeted by a powerful magic user again. Another small but undeniable contributor to the Vice-Captain's newly found determination to change his approach when it came to magic was their mostly friendly rivalry with the Sun Lord. While their physical strength, dexterity and accuracy were more or less on the same level the same definitely couldn't have been said about the two's essence. Edmond did silently look forward to the moment where they'd be able to fight as equals with their magic too.
Ultimately, the knight could go on for far longer about how being around the Grand Sorcerer opened his eyes to the sheer amount of aspects of himself that he had yet to improve. Of course, not all of them were magic-related but he could work on the rest some other day. He had to keep his focus on the task at hand, at his most prominent weakness. Edmond was surrounded by those who were not only gifted with essence in terms of its quantity but also used that energy as easily and as efficiently as one used air while breathing. From a powerful descendant of an ancient legend to an immortal forest guardian, all of them were capable of casting powerful magic just from their fingertips. Edmond simply couldn't keep falling behind. As much as he disrelished magic, as much as it confused him, he still had to give it a try, he had to at least attempt learning more about it again.
Besides, if he would be able to take hold of those abilities, perhaps, he'd be able to become Eiden's teacher in that regard too, seeing as they both had similar difficulties in mastering how to use essence properly. It wasn't like the knight desired to dedicate even more of his time to one fraudulent successor to the Grand Sorcerer after their emergency etiquette classes. He didn't need even more distractions from his duties as the Vice-Captain. He really didn't. And yet he couldn't help but look forward to sharing his findings if this search was to be deemed in any way successful. Besides, knowing that someone else in the mansion had the same struggles as him when it comes to essence felt quite grounding. Not like he'd ever admit to that outloud. After all, only the books of the dim library could see his expression soften at the thought.
Edmond reached out for a book with a cover littered with so many cracks it seemed like a single touch would be enough to turn it into dust. Before his hand could reach the ancient relic a sudden sound caused him to tense up and stop in his tracks. It was quite an unusual one to hear at a library at cockcrow.
A groan echoed through the archive's walls. The groggy sound was followed by some rustling. All of that activity called for Edmond's hand to rush to his sword, ready to defend the residents of the mansion. Perhaps, even defend himself too while he was at it.
However, the one who produced so much noise turned out to pose danger. A familiar incubus decided to reveal himself from behind one of the shelves situated just a bit further down away from the knight. Morway stretched his arms up with a loud yawn. Edmond couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh and throw a glance to the place that the familiar had emerged from. Even with the subdued lighting of that part of the library the knight managed to catch a glimpse of a semi-naked figure in the shadows behind Morvay. The Vice-Captain's expression slowly soured as he put the two and two together. At least the incubus himself was clothed. Well, if one could call that miniscule amount of fabric an outfit. It fit the slightly tanned man but it really was a far cry from anything that Edmond was used to calling appropriate attire. Then again, who was he to judge an incubus who had at least fifty years worth of life experience over Edmond?
The knight cleared his throat and put his left hand on his hip feigning nonchalance.
"Good morning, Morvay. Enjoyed your dinner and subsequent breakfast, I presume?”
The sarcastic tone either went over the incubus' head or was plain ignored as the familiar stifled another yawn and started answering without even looking in Edmond's direction.
"Yeah, I thought his essence was pretty good at the time but I'm still so hungry now!" His sleepy look was gone, replaced by that of played up sorrow as Morvay stretched the last syllable. The only thing missing was a comical rumble of the incubus' stomach.
Edmond's eyebrow twitched up as he tilted his head slightly.
"Your dinner definitely wasn't one of my soldiers that I brought here to ensure the mansion's security, was it?”
Morvay's eyes widened. It seemed that his barely awake brain finally caught up to reality and realized just how unfortunate of a situation he was in. The familiar's eyes dashed from Edmond to his out-of-commision victim and back. His mind was way too busy with thinking of a way to escape the knight's wrath to consider questioning the Vice-Captain's choice of wording. Or, perhaps, it was already obvious to them both that "ensuring the mansion's safety" was just a roundabout way of saying "protecting Eiden". All of the clan members were more than capable of defending themselves and the mansion itself was surrounded by a garden full of sentient flora which was quite hostile towards unwanted visitors. Also, Aster's little "pets" were more than capable of ripping someone to shreds.
Morvay slapped his hands together. An apology was quick to form on his tongue:
"I'm so so sorry, Sir Knight! Please don't tell the shitty vampire about this! He'll make me do even more useless tasks or write, like, a hundred more reports or get me a muzzle or—" It seemed like the possibilities were endless but the knight was quick to interrupt the familiar before the demon could continue his list.
"Stop! Stop! I don't want to know!"
Now it was Edmond's turn to feel flustered. The knight rubbed his temples as if the massage could help him forget what he had seen and heard. He had to change the subject quickly. Honestly, he just had to come back to his search.
Frankly speaking, he wouldn't mind some help with that, seeing as he had already spent around five minutes blankly staring at the shelves. If only there was someone who was more familiar with both Huey's works and essence itself. But before that he still had to bring his soldier back. Somehow.
Edmond cleared his throat again and continued after a moment of weighing his options, "Let's go about it this way: I won't tell Aster of your misdeeds but you have to get," Edmond took another quick look behind the shelf that the familiar has emerged from, "Chester back to his feet by tomorrow morning. Also, he better get one of the best beds in the mansion while he is recovering. I need him well-rested and fully healed by dawn.”
Edmond would definitely scold the knight for falling victim to the incubus' temptations later but for the time being the Vice-Captain just needed his knight to revert back to being a human being rather than a squeezed out lemon.
"Your command is my command, sir!" Morvay quickly nodded as he looked back at the figure. "I'll get some help from the servants to carry him but you might as well call that task dealt with!”
The incubus decidedly ignored the costliness of the potion which would be needed for such a quick recovery. He also didn't stop to consider just how hard it would be to justify ordering one to Aster. It was all problems of Future Morvay, not the current one. The current Morvay got off scot-free and thus had no intentions of being burdened with any more challenging decisions. All of them could be left for later.
Edmond shook his head as he felt the beginning of a headache creep up on him. So much for a morning studying session.
"I would actually like to ask you for another favor. I won't inform on you despite what your decision turns out to be but I'd really appreciate your assistance with that one."
Edmond wanted to take advantage of the absurd situation that he had found himself in but taking advantage of Morvay himself was sure to leave a vile taste in his mouth.
"Me? Help you with something?" being free from the stress of having Aster order him around put the incubus in a cheerful mood fairly quickly. Even the demon's tail started swishing behind him, "What do you need me for? A book recommendation?"
Precisely. Although, Morvay was probably thinking of a vastly different book genre than Edmond.
"I wanted," the knight cleared his throat again. Saying that the books were for his personal use didn't feel like too great of an idea. Not for his ego and definitely not for his conscience. The knight had to frame the request some other way, "to see if I can help Eiden." Which, to be honest, wasn't a total lie. The notion was probably even more truthful than Edmond himself thought or cared to acknowledge, "I would like to know if there is something that could be done about those who're not gifted in terms of using essence to summon magic. I was about to start here and then look around the royal library. Would you be knowledgeable as to which books could be of help in this regard?”
Morvay's eyebrows furrowed as he listened to the knight's request. It didn't seem like he was on board for that plan. The second Edmond finished his question the incubus slumped forward as he let out a loud groan:
"It's no use! We tried teaching Master Eiden already. You can bet we tried our best there too. The shitty vampire said that it was just impossible! It was something along the lines of," Morvay pitched his voice higher as he parodied Aster's cutesy facial expressions and gestures," 'If Master didn't get it right away then it's unlikely that he'll ever get it later. What a bummer!' ".
The knight felt a bit of a sting in his chest at the notion. What was that supposed to mean? Was he also hopeless just because he couldn't perform magic on his first try or even his tenth try? Now that was completely absurd. Or, rather, Edmond was way too stubborn to even consider that possibility and quit after he had made up his mind to give essence manipulation a try again. Thus, the knight continued, trying desperately not to show his disappointment.
"Well, Eiden has been here for quite some time now, hasn't he?" he asked, keeping his tone level and calm. "Perhaps, his abilities could have developed as he grew more accustomed to our world.”
Edmond didn't like the way the corners of Morvay's mouth quirked up and his eyes gained a playful glimmer:
"You really want to help Master, don't you? Who could have thought that you are so very caring, Sir Edmond!" the demon taunted as his lips stretched in a mocking smile.
"I—!" the knight felt his muscles tense and stiffen. His cheeks started to heat up as he objected, "This is simply to ease up the security! If I can be sure that he is capable of some basic level of self-defense then—" the Vice-Captain couldn't even finish.
"You'll be more at ease?” the incubus' tail swished back and forth as he grinned at the knight.
"Then I'll have more time for my other duties as I won't have to teach him fencing anymore!" Edmond instinctively moved forward, his hair falling from his ponytail and into his face. "Eiden's existing skills combined with basic magic use would be sufficient in keeping him from harm's way! That's just the most efficient and logical approach! Anyone would have done the same. What I feel and don't feel holds no value when it comes to the task at hand. A task given to me by the King, mind you. It is my duty as a knight, a duty that oughtn't be and won't be swayed by my emotions!"
The longer the Vice-Captain's explanation continued the more blasé Morvay's reaction seemed. A pout was quick to form on the demon's face paired with a single raised eyebrow and a head tilt.
"Do you even believe that yourself?”
Edmond glared at the incubus, his hand subconsciously creeping towards the blade on his hip when he asked: "Are you willing to help me or are you itching to write those dozens of reports?”
Even though the threat had been established as empty by the knight's prior promise it still made Morvay step back a bit and throw his hands up defensively:
"Okay, okay! Sorry! No need to be so cruel!" he saw Edmond wave away his apologetic words with a long exhale. The fear of more paperwork had subsided so the demon continued, just with less teasing, "But really, what's so bad about you worrying for Master Eiden? I just don't get you is all.”
Edmond's words came out as barely a whisper: "I don't get any of it either."
It was that other weakness that he had discovered while living inside the Grand Sorcerer's mansion. He still didn't have a plan for combating it. In the end, it wasn't any less obscure or easy to understand than magic and, thus, the knight also hoped that his journey of learning the intricacies of essence could somehow implicitly help him with understanding what he felt too. Just maybe.
The knight shook his head before continuing in a louder, much more discernible voice.
"Forget about it. Just," Edmond had to look away again as he exhaled through his nose, his hand dropping down to the sword again, "allow me to take my time. You can go back to doing your tasks. I'm sure Aster is already looking for you."
That quiet entreaty made the incubus' eyes widen as he stepped forward towards the knight.
"Hey, come on! I didn't mean to make you sad! Or mad. Or mad and then sad. Ah, you get it! Damn, let me make it up to you somehow. Um," the demon wasn't used to not knowing if skinship was fine. Probably due to the fact that he rarely needed to console someone like Edmond. After a bit of fumbling and mumbling Morvay placed his hands on the other's shoulders. Suddenly, the familiar's face brightened as an idea hit him harder than a slap from an annoyed vampire, "I know! You can go eat breakfast, get something sweet, something nice that you like and I'll find all the best reads for starting out with magic and then send them to your room! I'm almost the best at navigating Master Huey's works after all. I even helped him with sorting them out, believe it or not. So, anyway, does that sound like a good plan?”
Well. While Edmond had his own eyes widen in surprise at the demon's outburst, the proposition did sound perfect. Although, the knight had a feeling like he had, for all intents and purposes, manipulated the incubus to give him what he wanted. Then again, the guilt didn't torture him for too long as, one, the other's teasing was unnecessary and, thus, Morway had to repay him for the damages one way or another and, two, Edmond was in dire need of help with those books.
So, he looked back at the incubus with the corners of his lips lifted up slightly.
"Much appreciated, Morvay," an earnest thanks and smile that could make a heart melt. The rare precious sight made even a demon feel touched!
So Morvay beamed right back at the knight, "Aw, of course! I'm always happy to help when it doesn't involve reports!”
"You still need to get my knight that potion. And you cannot, absolutely cannot feed from him or any of my men again.”
"Ah, shit, right, I forgot about that.”