From the Ashes

“First off, I would like to thank the King and his council, as well as the high priest and his top sages for agreeing to meet with me today, it is an honor,” Tremere said as he stood at the podium in front of the large half moon shaped courtroom.

“Please state the need for calling such a meeting,” the King said.

“Of course. My name is Tremere Lacroix and as you may or may not know, I am a direct descendant of one of the original founders of the Aura Guild. It is my passion to bring back the original intent of the guild to the kingdom with the permission of his majesty,” Tremere said. Up until this point, he had had his head lowered in respect to the throne and had just now lifted his gaze onto the king and high priest; what he saw in that moment did not look promising.

“You wish to bring back the Aura Guild? The same Aura Guild that almost brought the downfall to my family centuries ago?” The King stated.

“No your majesty, I wish to bring back the skill and intent of the original Guild, one free of corruption and miss guided ideas.”

“Do you believe the Church to be doing an inadequate job Mr. Tremere?” the high priest asked. Tremere may not be a politician himself, but he knew how to speak the language.

“Quite the opposite. I believe it to be yet another stain on the Guild to have to have the church, which I can only imagine is busy enough doing the Lord's work to have to step in and handle such a menial task such as this,” Tremere responded.

“If it is such a menial task, then why not let the high priest and his church continue to handle it as they have for over a decade?” the King asked.

“It is menial to the church for the simple fact that they have much more important work to do for the community. In addition, it would mean much to me to have the opportunity to right the wrongs of the previous guild and bring its good name back into the modern era.” Tremere could feel this conversation going south for him in a hurry and he had to do everything he could to try and convince the King to grant him this chance. He had heard the rumors of the high priest having the young King's ear, and he had to find out for himself whether or not it was true. Unfortunately, it looked like it was. The room was silent for a moment as the high priest confided with the King over whispers. Tremere could tell by the occasional nodding from the King that whatever the high priest was suggesting, the King was willing to agree with.

“It is honorable that you would come before us seeking approval to move forward with such an ambitious goal. The church is midway through this season's training on auras and I’m sure you are aware that any training comparable to the church’s must have either a celestial or a phantom aura user to oversee the training,” the King said.

“I am very much aware of that and already have that covered,” Tremere said. The look from the high priest's eyes could have cut the tension of the room like a knife through butter had it been real.

“You realize that we have aura sensing personnel here, and they do not sense any aura on you at all,'' the high priest said. Tremere wanted to laugh, but he held his reactions in check.

“I expected nothing less.” Once again, the high priest and the King were conversing in whispered voices, only this time the King had plenty to say back. He was pretty confident that he would not be outright denied his request since that would not be very diplomatic to a person of his stature in the community. This was also not his first time in this room with much of the same audience.

“For the time being, we would like to give the church the opportunity to finish out this season of training. Also, we would like to reconvene at least one more time before then to see further your plans on returning the Aura Guild to its former glory. Is that agreeable with you, Mr. Lacroix?” the King asked.

“Yes your majesty, it is.”

“Very well, we shall reconvene in two weeks to further discuss this matter, and please Mr. Lacroix, do bring with you the master you plan to put in charge of your students.” the King said.

“As you wish,” Tremere said as he bowed before the King one last time before turning from the room and exiting. He knew exactly how this interaction was going to go and had not been disappointed. He also fully expected to be outright denied at the last possible moment and was fully prepared for that as well. He was also fully aware of the danger he had just put himself in for the foreseeable future. Knowing all of this gave him a sense of pride, after all, it had been quite a while since he had successfully hidden his aura from another high level aura user. Now he just had to find this boy the church was so interested in before they got their hands on him again.

*****

The high priest was furious as he left the council chambers and headed back to the church. The young King had done most of what he had convinced him to do, and yet, he seemed willing to give this man a chance. He did not like the independence this new King was suddenly showing. The Tremere fellow also bothered him. He had only met him once before, and he showed no signs of having an aura ability then either, yet he claimed to be a direct descendant of the original Aura Guild? Either he was telling the truth or he had an aura that allowed him to hide his aura. Only two types of aura users had this ability as far as he was aware, and both seemed like a threat to him. He pondered the options he had as he entered the main doors of the church.