“Well then to begin,” Tanex began as he rested both his elbows on the arms of the chairs and brought his fingers together in a bridge shape. “I’ve retrieved our little pyro which only leaves Xemmsur that we must get later.”
I remained silent and waited for Tanex to continue.
“That being said,” Tanex continued. “RaXi and Marlex are doing a bit of recon work that will not be disturbed at this time.”
A quiet nod went through the ground, and I began to wonder just how long Tanex had been planning this get together and exactly when he had started gathering people. I could feel Xraktos’s mind trying to pry into mine, and a scar that extended from the base of my left elbow to my wrist ripped. A steady stream of blood started moving down my arm, but I ignored it and crossed my arms.
“Also,” Tanex said turning to me. “There is the little problem of what you did to yourself Triskix…..Binding your mind and body to another by ways of a pact especially being what Xraktos is………”
“Tanex,” Erxia cut in carefully to avoid Tanex’s anger. “You have kept that to yourself this entire time. I believe it is time you explain.”
Tanex gave a smile for a moment.
“Triskix knows what Xraktos is,” Tanex smiled. “But for the sake of everyone in this room……you see….Xraktos is a pactmaker.”
Silence engulfed the room, and a nervous laughed erupted from Xarin. A quick glance from Tanex and silence was all that was left.
“A pactmaker,” Tanex continued as if the silence hadn’t emerged at all. “No that isn’t quite right….pactmakers…yes plural….Pactmakers are a race that appeared centuries ago first in the Coliseum and then in a few other worlds. They are humans who have secured special rights and powers with gods and other higher plane creatures known as summon spirits.”
“What would the god who made the pact get out of it though?” Sraixen ask very calm and collectively.
“The god that secures a pact with a human then has the ability to use that human when he needs in any instance,” Tanex answered.
“Pactmakers can make pacts with other humans though as well,” I said calmly. Tanex gave me a smile. This was what he was going to explain next apparently.
“What don’t you explain,” Tanex smiled.
I fell silent for a moment and considered this. I would not be made a fool of especially by Tanex.
“A pact between two mortals is also known as a shouraisei,” I started. “It is where a magical bond allows two people to access things each would need of the other. It starts as a contract signed in blood, and the extremities of the pact are written out in the contract.”
“Indeed,” Tanex answered. “Those were the exact words that were writing in the text of the packmaker book. Xraktos presented it to you like this then?”
“Yes,” I answered.
Another silence fell.
“And what were the extremities of your pact then,” Tanex answered.
I remained silent. One of the extremities was that we were both to keep quiet about the limits of the pact. Tanex seemed to sense this because his fingers beat against each other quietly in a calm sense of irritation. I looked over and saw a few of the apprentices staring at me, but there was nothing to say when you can say nothing.
“Fine then,” Tanex answered the silence. “Now then, what exactly Xraktos and Xerebus are trying to accomplish? Well…it seems both of them have a long and very bloody past. Researching them was a pain in the neck, but the benefits were reaped nicely.”
“They are both part of a pact,” I answered.
Tanex looked at me and smiled. “Oh so you know too then,” he answered. “Getting into Xraktos’s head? Hah who would have guessed our little order pyro would go into the disorder of someone else’s mind….Why not enlighten the rest then…..”
I took a breath in for a moment, and the air stung my lungs.
“They both made pacts,” I started. I could feel Xraktos starting to try and rip more scars. “And……they both hold someone dear…..someone named Martel.”
Tanex smiled a bit.
“Your words only confirm my knowledge,” he started. “From what I learned, Xerebus is a god forced into nobody form, and Xraktos as we already know is a pactmaker that has become a nobody. Their original names are Erebus and Kratos. Martel is a goddess who disappeared from the worlds years ago for unknown reasons. It is my knowledge that Martel is Erebus’s sister as well as Kratos’s lover.”
I rested my head on my arm that rested on the arm of the chair.
“Don’t believe me?” Tanex asked smiling.
“Just waiting for you to continue,” I answered. “Don’t break the order by stopping in the middle.”
I caught looks of other apprentices including Nyx and Lexian. Lexian had stopped clutching his eye and was watching the meeting with an intense gaze. Every so often, Nyx would gaze down at the bottom of her chair, and I realized that she was watching the children down below.
“Continuing then,” Tanex answered. “From inferences and confirmations, I have learned the rest of this tale. Apparently, Kratos became the head of the pactmakers council also known as Cruxis, and it was soon found out about Martel’s love with Kratos. Of course, Cruxis found this distasteful and so did the gods. Erebus, who felt it was his job to protect Martel from herself, began to start clashing with Kratos. In the end this clashing broke both their hearts and caused Martel to vanish completely.”
I took these words in carefully. It made sense, and at the same time there were still questions that Taenx had not answered, and it was then that I realized that he didn’t have these answers yet or he would have addressed them. Where did Martel go then? Suddenly the answer rose in my mind. That was why Xaraktos was fighting to open the nobody realm…….Another question arose…..where did Cruxis go then? Why have I never even heard of Cruxis…..If Martel is in the nobody realm did she become a nobody once then? Were heartless even around the to break their hearts? My mind flashed questions that refused to give answers, but I kept my face as calm and composed as possible.
