TsuYa didn’t know why it was so cold in his room.
He piled the fire until it roared up in the cleft in the wall. But nothing TsuYa did brought warmth to his quarters.
The room had grown ice cold since SoYa had left. He had left to journey to the Host Gate to speak with Zemi Dreigiau face to face. There was little doubt that SoYa wanted nothing more than to give his sincere apology and ask for assistance on AsaHi’s behalf. There had always been something candid and earnest in his manner — deception and spitefulness were foreign concepts to SoYa’s way of thinking.
But it is also his weakness. He is a simple man with simple desires. His lack of ambition will never lead him to his birthright. If something doesn’t change, he will never be able to empower the School and hold it up the way Father did. The Council will take it first.
Despite his sharp manner with his brother, TsuYa had to admit his fondness for the smaller, timid man. SoYa was the one person that had shared so much with him - no one else in the world could claim to know him better. Then again, there were not many people who really wanted to get to know TsuYa at all.
I’m harsh with him… I know. But it’s for his own good! There’s so much at his fingertips… so much that he could claim that is rightfully his! But what does he do with it? Absolutely nothing! And we’ve seen all of Father’s dreams fade away at the hands of these political gamers who come in thinking they own everything!
TsuYa felt his teeth grind as they always did upon thinking about the Council. And how his brother never stood up to them.
If only he had a bit more resolve! If only he’d stand up for himself and for our rightful inheritance. It’s as if becoming the High Guide of Nefol doesn’t matter to him at all!
The chill in the room grew suddenly more pronounced. TsuYa pulled his cloak further over his shoulders in response. His eyes shifted towards the windows to make sure they were all latched and not the source of the frosty draft.
A whispering hiss shifted through the room. And he felt it again. A strange touch tickled the back of his mind. Everything within him recoiled from the sensation, a deep-seated queasiness striking him.
~TsssuYaa…~
The Apprentice gave a sharp gasp, turning his head. A voice had sounded right next to his ear. But there was no one there.
“Where… are you? What do you want?”
~To give you everything you could dream of… and more…~
This time the voice came from in front of him.
TsuYa jerked his head just in time to see the fire begin to swell. With an eerie and purposeful quiver, the golden light abruptly lost all color, bathing the room in a piercing white light. As all heat was drawn into the expanding vortex of flame, the chamber continued to grow more and more frigid. Stumbling back, the Apprentice lost his balance over a wayward footstool, sprawled upon the floor with a loud thump, his green eyes reflecting wide. A ghostly waver drifted up from the heart of the flame, two wings stretching from either side as the serpentine head erupted with a soul-shattering roar.
TsuYa shook violently as the image of a white Dragon grew distinct from the flame. Its red eyes turned upon him, head craning forward slowly.
~TsssuuuYaaa… now your time has come…~
It took a few moments before he managed to gather his voice. When he did finally speak, it was a meek and frightened tone, “Lord… Zemi? But how have you–”
~I am greatly displeased with the one that came before you.~
“You mean SoYa?” he shivered, mind reeling in attempt to make sense of things. Never before had he heard of Lord Zemi appearing to someone in the flames of their own room. But then again, who was he to question the power of the great Patron.
~Yes. His heart is weak… his spirit is of no use to me.~
“I am sure that even at this moment he has is coming to you to seek forgiveness for the disturbance at the Host Gate! Please don’t –”
His words melted in his throat as the heat of the flame backlashed in TsuYa’s face. A growing fury raged in the Dragon’s eyes.
~Worthless creature of wounded flesh! Do not order me in my way of thinking lest you desire the same condemnation as your other has earned!~
“N-no, Master! That was not my intent!” he choked, trying to keep his voice level and his knees from quivering.
~Steel your heart, servant. Tears and soulful longing win no power. It is his limp mind and devastating compassion that render him as nothing to me. Do not fall into the same trap of weakness.~
TsuYa bit down on his lip, still shuddering at the heat upon his face. Without warning, his body jerked back as a vast consciousness shifted around him, caressing his mind in warm, tingling strokes.
~He has forfeited his natural birthright through these limitations. The time has come for you to rise above him and take these matters in your own hands.~
“Rise above…?” his vision was fading, becoming blurry.
~He is not worthy of the position. He would allow the Council to come and destroy all that was built in your father’s name. He would stay his hand in frailty as Nefol comes crumbling down.~
“SoYa..?” the word came as a hoarse, broken whisper. “But I can’t… he is my brother. He is the one to be…”
~Should not the strongest rule? You were the one rightfully gifted with your father’s power and courage.~
“I…”
~Do you not think he holds envy in his heart towards you for this?~
A stricken expression flew across TsuYa’s face as he shook his head very slowly. “No, not SoYa…”
~Do you think he does not sit up in the dark hours of the night thinking of you with greed, hate and spite… because you grew to be the most powerful and of the strongest spirit. Do you think he does not see you as the threat that you are?~
The coil of whisper wound around and around his mind, nearly choking him as each word sliced through the last susceptible areas of his heart. One hand lifted in a terrible, tormented grope towards the Dragon spirit.
~Can you simply stand by and watch the heart of the School and the nation wither?~
“No…” TsuYa croaked, “No I cannot…”
~Then rise to your feet and fearlessly take up your Father’s legacy! No other in this world has the strength of purpose that has been passed to you. It is your rightful place. It is what you were born to become!~
“But what if SoYa objects? What if he fights me?”
~He will. And when he does, you must show no mercy or else all of Nefol will fall in ruin.~
With a final hiss, the fire shuddered, melting back down into a low, dwindling amber flame. The room had grown somehow darker, more foreboding.
~No mercy…~
TsuYa slumped forward, drooping with exhaustion as the presence faded away. The firelight glittered off the trails of grief-stricken tears that lined his face. “Brother…”
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