Chapter 22: Velena Ilagron

Lukas stumbled out of the portal with a splash, coughing up pond water and blinking rain out of his eyes. The downpour was intense, sheets of icy water slammed down from a sky so dark it might as well have been mourning the death of the sun. 

The portal shimmered for a second above the rippling surface, then vanished with an anticlimactic pop, leaving nothing behind but the ridiculous fact that the mighty, dramatic exit from Linemall had landed them square in someone's backwater koi pond in the middle of a thunderstorm.

So much for fucking aura farming. 

Lukas wiped the rain from his face and saw that Katrina, Jesse and his property had all passed out.

Had they been attacked? Were they fucking dead?! 

Panic lanced through Lukas' chest as he knelt beside them, pressing two fingers to Katrina's neck and then to Jesse's. After making sure that they were still alive, he turned to see where the Kraken had floated off to. As he did so, he stumbled forward before collapsing to his knees. 

The waves of exhaustion seemed to wash over him, flooding all of his senses. His vision blurred and now each movement felt incredibly slow and uncoordinated. He was barely in control of his own body, as he tried to claw his way out of the pond to no avail. All of a sudden the only thing he could think about was lying there and allowing himself to rest. But he knew he couldn't. He could not rest here. 

The portal had brought them here in a split second, travelling thousands of miles in the blink of an eye. Lukas should have known that there was a price to being able to pull off such a feat, even with the existence of magic. He just wished they'd given them a heads up or something. 

To be able to make instant teleportation possible, the portal had drawn on everything that they could offer. All of the magical energy from his Mana Pool had been drained, going even further to rip all of the physical vigour and stamina that he had within him to bring him from Linemall to what he assumed was Ilagron Kingdom. 

Dread filled his gut as he groaned, all the muscles in his body screaming at him to stop moving and give it a fucking rest. But he couldn't ret, not when he had nothing to assure that they were safe. He didn't think the owner of this property would be very pleased to find that three random strangers along with a humanoid octopus had been spit out of their pond. 

But as he struggled to bring himself to his feet, he slipped on the rocks before crashing to the ground face first. He cried out in pain, as hopeless as ever. He stared up at the large estate and realized that there was nothing he could do because his body was no longer listening to him, despite his internal pleas of desperation. 

Lukas felt the weight of soaked clothes and sheer exhaustion dragging at his limbs like anchors. He tried crawling forward but he knew that there was no point in doing so. 

His vision blurred at the edges, dark spots dancing in time with the pounding rain. Just as he began to lose his hold on his consciousness, a warm glow flickered through the storm—dim, golden, and impossibly out of place. 

He forced his eyes upward and saw her: a woman standing in the arched doorway of a distant estate, a flickering lamp held high against the storm. The rain twisted the light and masked her face, turning her into a silhouette of flowing fabric and quiet stillness. Lukas wanted to call out, to move, to do something, ANYTHING—but the world tilted, and he crumpled into the mud with a quiet exhale, the storm swallowing him whole. 

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Lukas stirred to the soft crackle of a fire and the scent of something warm and spiced drifting through the air. He blinked slowly, disoriented, until the image of a hearth with orange flame dancing on hot coals came into focus.

He was lying on a modest but clean bed, wrapped in thick woolen blankets, the weight of them oddly comforting. A small table beside him held a cup of iced water, still beaded with condensation, and a bowl of steaming soup that smelled faintly of smoked fish and herbs. 

The room was old, its stone walls lined with weathered tapestries, shelves stacked with faded books and relics of a nobler past. And there, standing silently by the window, her back to the firelight was the same woman who he'd seen before he passed out. 

Immediately, his instincts screamed at him to be on guard. Enough Mana had gathered back within him such that he could draw on every single drop of water in the room he found himself in.

The water obeyed his command and in a single moment, it flowed through the air before shaping itself into a sharp blade of liquid which hovered inches away from the woman's neck. She flinched and turned around to face Lukas, taking a tentative step back away from the blade till she had her back against the window. 

She was tall, draped in a dark sea-green gown that clung to her like the tide. Her silver-streaked hair was braided down one shoulder, the kind of braid worn by women who worked with their hands, not for beauty but for practicality. 

Her skin bore the weathered grace of someone carved from wind and salt—creased gently around the eyes, but still commanding. Her eyes, when she turned, were like storm glass: pale gray, unreadable, but holding the quiet strength of crashing waves held just barely at bay.

She reminded him of Lady Kaitlyn Drakos, those eyes bore grief immeasurable yet it bore the regality and strength of a hard-headed ruler. 

"Who are you?" Lukas asked, his eyes narrowing as he finally noticed that he was alone in this room. "Where are my companions?" He asked, unable to hide the hint of worry which creeped into his voice. 

She eyed the blade of water that threatened to cut through her neck at a moment's notice and raised her hands in clear surrender.

"I am…Velena Ilagron. Your companions are fine. Katrina and Jesse…they are in the kitchen, helping me prepare for supper. They tell me your name is Lukas. Certainly a strange bunch, you folks don't look like you're around here. Travellers I presume?" She seemed pretty calm for somebody who had their life hanging in the balance. 

Lukas relaxed but still kept the blade of water at the ready. Words meant nothing but her knowing his name did give him some assurance that his people were safe. 

"You are quite the skilled mage. But could you put off trying to kill me? I saved your lives, you know? Would it be too much to ask that you put that away so that we can go join your friends downstairs?" 

Lukas eyed her suspiciously before giving in. The blade of water shifted into the shape of a ball which was plopped back into the cup that had been set on the table beside his bed. He was pleased that his skill over the Divinity of the Seas was improving day-by-day. 

She smiled and gestured at the pile of clothes that she had set at the foot of the bed. "Change into those when you are ready. Dinner will be served in around 20 minutes. It is a pleasure to meet you, Lukas. Join us." 

He wasn't very sure what to make of Velena Ilagron. She didn't seem like she posed a threat to them but Lukas could never be sure. He had no idea what it was like outside of Linemall and with some of his strength having returned to him, he would be ready for whatever came their way. 

But Lukas was sure that he was hungry. And that he did need to get some food in his belly. And he was sure as hell that this small bowl of stew would be no where enough to sate his appetite. 

Lukas made his way downstairs, each step slow and cautious, the wooden floorboards creaking softly beneath his bare feet. 

The estate was quiet, eerily so. Empty halls stretched before him, lined with dusty portraits and faded banners that hinted at a forgotten grandeur, the kind that time had no patience for. It reminded him of the abandoned palace he had awoken in. It didn't seem like there was anybody else in here. Rooms remained empty, any indication of other residents in the house remained absent. 

At the end of the hallway, just before the staircase curved down, he caught sight of familiar voices drifting up from below. 

As he descended the wooden steps, he found Katrina already at ease, her damp curls tied back, legs crossed comfortably in front of her as she chomped on a slice of grilled trout, laughing softly at something Jesse had clearly not found funny. 

Jesse sat stiffly across from her, eyes still scanning the room like a soldier waiting for the other boot to drop, his spoon dipped into a thick stew but untouched. When he saw Lukas, he immediately stood and made his way over to him; terribly glad to see that he was finally awake.

"Where's the…Kraken?" He whispered to Jesse. 

"Is that what you call him? The octopus man? Haven't seen a Beastman quite like him. He's back in the pond. He was far too huge for me to haul back into the estate. Went back to check on him and he seemed plenty satisfied staying in the pond." Velena answered, which made Lukas raise an eyebrow. 

She definitely had a good fucking set of ears on her.

He'd have to be careful what he wanted to say when she was around. 

It was a good thing that she assumed that the Kraken was just another one of the Beastfolk and he figured anyone else would do the same. He'd thought he'd have to hide the big guy away to prevent the wrong kind of attention falling on them. Guess he'd been worried for nothing knowing that the Kraken could just pass off as part of the Beastkin. 

The dining table was simple but welcoming—laden with bowls of clam chowder thick with roots and seaweed, fried sardines served with tart berry compote, and warm flatbread dusted with salt and dried herbs. Whatever else this village had lost, its people still knew how to eat like the sea owed them a favor. 

Katrina was already eating and so was Velena. Seeing that Velena herself was chomping down on the food set out for them, he figured that it wasn't laced with something nasty. And Lukas was starving. He nodded at Jesse, assuring him that it was safe for the time being. They would eat and be grateful for the food by making sure they didn't leave a single crumb on the table. 

As the meal went on and the firelight painted soft shadows across the stone walls, the tension slowly unraveled into lively conversation.

Between spoonfuls of chowder and bites of salted fish, Velena enlightened Lukas on where the portal had brought them to. A lot had changed since Linemall closed its borders from the outside world. 

She actually laughed out loud when Lukas asked if they were in the right place, if they were really Ilagron Kingdom. He just had to make sure even if she did very clearly have the family name of the kingdom's monarchy. And it was a good thing that he did ask because her answer allowed him to understand a bit more about what it was like in today's day and age. 

"We were once one of the Four Great Kingdoms of Humanity," she said, staring into her cup. "Our fleets ruled the coastlines, our ships fed half of Hiraeth. We sided with the dragons during the Great War and we paid the price. We surrendered when it was clear the war had been lost and most of our territories were claimed by the Nozar Kingdom. This is all that's left of it. They allowed the Ilagron Family to continue ruling as nobility but we have become nothing more than an earldom. It has been this way for centuries now. Have you all been living under a rock? I didn't think the Khaitish were so incredibly closed off from the rest of the world." 

He immediately recognized the name. Khaitish Kingdom. The land of the Beastkin. Also one of the Four Great Kingdoms of Humanity; followed by the Kingdoms of Nozar and Easthaven. It was one of the things he had learnt from the old books he'd found in the library.

He thanked whatever god was out there because Velena had just given them a cover story and he immediately took it without Jesse and Katrina could respond otherwise. 

"We haven't exactly had the luxury of keeping up with the finer details of post-war politics. In fact, the Great War is kind of taboo to bring up. People avoid talking about it like the plague." He glanced briefly at Katrina and Jesse, indicating that they should let him do the talking.

They continued eating, simply nodding along despite having no idea what he was on about. 

"We barely know anything about what happened during the war, let alone about what happened to Ilagron. Not in any real way. Just rumors. The people in Khaitish act as if the Great War never happened." 

Velena's eyes flickered with a mix of understanding and something sharper, a glint of old pain. "Taboo, huh? I suppose it is easier to pretend," she paused, her gaze turning distant, her fingers tapping idly on the armrest of her chair. 

"Ilagron wasn't the only one that fell, you know. But we were the first. And the hardest." Lukas had a feeling she was talking about Linemall but he did not dare ask. 

Velena let out a soft sigh, standing up from the table with a graceful but weary movement. "I think it's time I head in for the night," she said, her voice carrying the quiet finality of someone accustomed to long, solitary hours. 

She began to gather the empty plates, her movements methodical, as if the rhythm of cleaning up for herself was a part of the day-to-day lives. Not something that would be a part of a noble's life, not when they should have servants to tend to them. 

"The storm's not letting up so you're welcome to stay the night. In fact you're welcome to stay for as long as you like," she added, glancing over her shoulder with a half-smile, "but don't expect a feast like this every day."

The three of them thanked her graciously and even offered to help with the dirty dishes, yet she refused; telling them she would be a bad host if she allowed her guests to do such a thing. 

As they stood to leave, Velena paused at the doorway to the dining room; it seemed that she still had something she had to tell them. 

"Just so you know, there's nothing much to see in Ilagron Village. It's just a patch of land, and the sea's the only thing still holding us together." She looked over her shoulder at them, her eyes shadowed.

"Like I said, I'd love for you all to stay for as long as you like because it has been a while since I've had company but I cannot with good conscious allow you to remain here any longer than a week. I highly suggest you take your leave when Sunday comes around." Her words hung in the air like a warning.

Lukas, sensing something deeper, asked why they couldn't stay longer.

"And what exactly happens on Sunday?"

She turned fully towards them and gave them a grim smile. 

"Because this estate will no longer be under my ownership. It will likely fall into the hands of the Nozar Kingdom and this village itself will cease to exist. And believe me when I say that they don't take as kindly to strangers. In fact, they have a particular distaste towards your friend over in the pond."

"And what will happen to you?" Katrina asked, concerned. She didn't like what she was hearing. 

"Me? You shouldn't worry about me, hun. This is my home. And it always will be. I'll go down with Ilagron Village, fighting till my dying breath even if it means standing alone against the Nozar Kingdom."