Devi knew that Lugi would tail Mavin Tomas immediately, so he had waited for everyone to leave. Their members left the building discreetly, leaving no trace, relying on their marks to be a blur in the night.

The incandescent light bulb in the middle of the room flickered for a moment.

Their eyes meet as they note how the last of the members leave the building.

“They’re gone,” Lugi said. He stood up. He moved to the side of the basement, pulling down a switch. The wall next to him groaned as it slid, revealing a cache of equipment that was meant for high-ranking members. Anyone could pull the lever, but without the recognized mark. It would open a small storage space containing lesser weapons and a stock of canned goods.

“You  allowing me to use ordinance is frightening,” Lugi said, reaching out to a gauntlet. He wore it on his left forearm.

“Do you think that I speak nonsense when I say that Tomas is a dangerous one?”

“I do not. Still, you’re letting me handle stalking him with such an equipment.”

Lugi clenched his left hand. There was a distortion around him that was coming from his mark. A heat haze that cloaked him from prying eyes

Devi reached out to an item made of a rugged cylinder crystal emitting the same color as their mark. He inserted the crystal in the socket of the gauntlet, creating a multi-colored spark.

“Just in case, I’m allowing you to create magnetic-grapples.”

Lugi’s face hardened. “You act as if we’re facing them.”

“The magi are different, but even they are not foolish enough to wrangle with the old houses. We have each leg on both sides, but it does not bode well if we underestimate any of the founding houses abilities. There is a reason that this Empire is long lasting. It’s not the Athesia House that keeps it afloat alone. We must always remember that arrogance does us no merit.”

“I know,” Lugi adjusted the gauntlet. “Have to hide this inside a coat. You’re coming along aren’t you?”

Devi nodded. He took another gauntlet and wore it on his forearm. Lug’s eyes squinted.

“You look more eager to find out if he’s the one who’s been hitting our fellow disciples.”

“The supreme head left this station to me. I had vowed under the moon and the sun that I will be the guardian of our fellow disciples in the days to come. Four of them are dead, Lugi. They didn’t know what they died for. And I insist that I bring the truth out of the light. A Tomas or not, those who hurt our brothers and sisters will be met with justice.”

Devi’s expression softened. Then he nodded his head in affirmation.. “It’s easy to say that we follow him, but he’ll notice us sooner or later. A man with eyes like a hawk surely would notice. What I worry about is how we find anything that will prove anything.”

“And yet you choose to come with me in this task,” Lugi said. There was a questioning look on his face that demanded Devi to explain. “I wish to understand this fear that you had in him.”

Devi nodded stiffly, “What does the Tomas Family have?”

“Power.”

“No. It’s not only power. It’s the people under the Tomas Family that we fear. They say that once you enter the Lazon territory, you would realize how different their world is to the Empire. Lazon itself is a nation, and they thrive on merit and strength. Those who do not show merit, do not get strength. Those who don’t have strength, do not get merit.

“But the Lazonians are not cruel. Those who show sickness become thinkers. Their hospital in Sahus is a great testament to this. Their house of learning in Tolea, that allows their people to learn crafts and trade shows that they believe in the guiding words of the Strongarm Clan.”

“You make it sound like Lazon is an ideal place to live,” Lugi said.

“There have been infighting. You cannot change the nature of people thoroughly, and there have been times where they had to change their leaders. The Tomas Family is the family that won the game of power in Lazon. There were fifteen branch families of the Strongarm Clan, and it was centuries ago that they had been united into one single family. To settle their grievance, they came to the plains of Saama, donned in armor and gear. Fifteen branch families, along with their house guards and retainers clashed. In the circle of nobility, they call this event the war of the blood-kin. A heinous act of the Strongarm Clans that involved the killing of their own kin. The Emperor of that time watched the killing alongside the imperial family. And the family that came on top was the Tomas Family. There was the Whitefall Family, but they had decided to go down the north in hopes that they could own another piece of land. Anyway, because of that war, the Tomas had become the leading family. They have unified the Lazon Region within the eyes of the Emperor, and in the eyes of the people. They had solidified their loyalty to the Empire by letting the Emperor watch their act and at the same time showed the people that they were willing to bathe in their own blood for the sake of their home.”

Lugi’s expression grew irritated. “I don’t understand why you’re telling me such a tale. What is it that you want to say?”

Devi’s eyes became stern as he continued. Lugi could only listen. “For years the Lazonians developed within the hands of the Tomas, the Duran and the Strom Family had been the right and left hands of the Tomas Family. The Marcher Lord, and his lady was capable of bringing prosperity to the Lazon Regions.”

Lugi became impatient. He did not understand what Devi was trying to do by telling the history of the Lazonians.

“I understand that you are confused, but have patience,” Devi adjusted his gauntlet. “Lord Auger and Lady Matilda had a way with people and strength. Within the years of their rule they had reformed the Lazon, carved tunnels out of their mountains, and opened the Lazon to the outsides by allowing the trains to arrive on the base of their home. However, they also were the first to truly tackle the long dream of the Strongarms, to defeat the demifiends. They had opened a route through Hamenvaa that led to construction of the rock tower of Viota. They then captured the Haala grasslands. Finally, they had set a place in Jorvi, which is now the breadbasket of the Lazonians."

He paused for a moment.

“The Lord and the Lady were bold and adventurous, " he began.  "So it took them a long time to sire a child as they had wanted to finish the dream that the Strongarm had. However, there are many troubles, and with the war against Helion that they could not continue further in achieving their dream. Not to mention that the Lady had finally sired a child during that time.”

“And the child born of brilliance finally comes,” Lugi snorted.

“No,” Devi shook his head. “Many people had said that when the young Tomas heir was born. He had been lacking in mental facilities. He was a carefree child with the strength of a bull and the wit of a bird. Many had said that the lion and lioness of Lazon had given birth to a foolish and dumb child with mental disabilities. An eccentric child must not lead the family. They were not wrong in that regard. Even the Lord and the Lady had wanted to appoint Derrick Tomas as the new lord if they do not have a worthy successor that would honor and uphold the dignity of the Tomas House.”

“Wait, they were willing to throw their son away?”

Devi nodded. "It's their tradition. Every child of Lazon is baptized by letting them kill a demifiend through the use of any weapons. It is only then that they are considered a ‘Lazonian’ once they have done so successfully. But the son of the Tomas Family was not baptized as early as he should be because of their relations with the Imperial Family and the attempts of the Imperial Family to bond the Tomas family to the Imperial Household with a marriage to the Imperial Princess. When he was young, the successor was quite infamous so many thought that it was pitiful for the Princess to be married to a retard.”

Lugi’s eyes tightened. “So what changed?”

“The tragedy of Jorvi happened. They had already said that there were changes in the young sir before this tragedy. As if he had seen omens of such things that would happen and was changing because of this. So when the young sir left the capital and followed his parents, they had followed him out of worry for their young lord. However, when they arrived in Jorvi, they saw the young sir bathed in the blood of the demifiends. His father and mother laid to rest on the bloody ground. That change brought something to the young sir. The young sir stayed with his father and mother, caressing their unmoving bodies as if they were the most precious thing in the world. The decadent look and the stony expression the young sir had that day was said to have been bone-chilling. And yet no one bothered to call the  young sir out of his behavior out of fear for his mental status. He had been bathed in demifiend blood and baptized as a true ‘Lazonian’ and son of the Strongarm Clan in that tragedy.”

Lugi listed with his arms folded. Devi looked back at him.

“I told you that the reason the Tomas Family is dangerous is because of the people under them. But Mavin Tomas himself is dangerous because  in the few years that he had acted as the Marcher Lord of Lazon. He turned Lazon into a region that could even hold against the alliances in the war. They already had the power, but it was due to his use of the people and resources that he have at disposal that he had conquered the demifiend regions, made cattle of the fearsome demifiends, and had turned the demifiend regions into the south of Lazon. In the few years he was in charge, he had transformed Lazon into the Greater Lazon. He himself had planned the development  and now  the south of Lazon is a region of industry and agriculture.”

“You praise him too much.”

“Praise him? He had done so much with his political will and  wits.”

“That’s strange, I had thought that the Lord would try and hinder him.”

“Count Derrick is unfortunately not a petty man, and he was fond of his younger cousin even before his change, and had sympathized with him. He was one of the people who had defended the young sir from insults and defamation back then. Truthfully, what he had done was handle the matter of paperwork and procurement of the necessary resources. Nonetheless, if it wasn’t for the plans and the will of the young lord, the south of Lazon would remain a place for the savage demifiends.”

Lugi palmed the uneven table. His face clearly showed that he had trouble understanding why Devi would praise the young lord so much. For what purpose?

“He had power and the ability to lead. If he had continued with his rule, who knows what change would happen? So it came to a surprise that when the Lazonian forces had reached the mouth of Pustallo that he declared his intention to study in Arkadia, and hand over the patriarch role to Count Derrick. The Holmians, who pride themselves with staying purely for business, even tried to persuade the young marcher lord to remain the ruler. Many citizens, officials, and vassals had tried to persuade the young lord to continue rule them, but in the end he only told them:

“I thought you didn’t want a dumb child to rule you? I hope that you understand that all I did was to honor my mother and father, and I wish none of this. Cousin Derrick is a worthy ruler. You do not deserve a ‘fool’ and a ‘mentally ill’ person to rule you. Goodbye.’" Devi tightened the straps of his gauntlets. "His words shamed them. It seems that the young lord had not forgotten what they had done to him.”

“You said that you didn’t fear him personally,” Lugi mocked. “That the Tomas Family is the one that we should worry about. I don't seem to sense that on you right now.”

Devi glared. His looked displeased for being interrupted.

“Yes. He holds no property other than a cabin and a piece of farmland. He had abandoned everything to go to war and left the rule to Lord Derrick. But even so, he holds an extreme leash on the Greater Lazon. He had shamed those who had mocked him. He had shown his capabilities and yet refused to lead them after achieving his own goals with utter perfection. What I am trying to say is that after his deeds, the people had realized that they had lost the lord that had fulfilled the dream of their ancestors. It might sound petty for the young lord to abandon them, but it only showcased how they judged him too early.”

“How does that tie to what you’re trying to say?” Lugi demanded again.

“Mavin Tomas would have been the true lord of the Lazonians, but he abandoned it. The merit of his deeds was enough to grant him that power. Many of the nobles in the Empire would sell their souls for the power that he held after the complete conquest of the south of Lazon. Yet he gave it all away just to spite those who mocked and defamed him. Even now, they would treat him as their own lord. Count Derrick himself would willingly hand over the seat of power if Mavin Tomas demands it. It doesn't help that his merits in the war further improved this belief that he should have been the one to rule Lazon. Mavin Tomas alone is dangerous, he is a ghost, a terrible warrior and even more dangerous when he uses his family to achieve his goals. If we make light of him, then try to take him out. We would only provoke the hounds of the Tomas family. They would bring the fury and might of the Greater Lazon to us. He holds a great influence among the people and the loyal servants of the Tomas Family. They had always wanted to repay the young lord for his merits and repay the sins that they had done to the lord that they had mocked and defamed before his change.  I am not afraid of hunting the ghost of Dinia, but I fear the repercussions that will come the moment they learn that we pointed a blade on the former young lord’s throat.”

“You spoke too much only for this?” Lugi scoffed, slamming his hand on the table. “I already know that we had to watch out for the Tomas Family. You didn’t have to tell me any of this--”

Devi raised a hand to silence him.

“The first thing that he had done when he held the rule of power,” Devi interjected, “was to destroy the branch of Null in the Lazon Regions.”

“What?” Lugi’s eyes widened.

“I told you already. He knows of our existence. He knows that Null exists and has kicked our brothers and sisters out of Lazon. We know that he had stolen from us so that he could get the help of the Holmians and work with them to conquer the south of Lazon. Why do you think that he was able to conquer the demifiend regions in a short time? The Tomas Family is dangerous, because they hold on to the technology that we lost and use it to bargain with the Holmians technology and their help.”

“And we’ve done nothing about it!?”

“Yes, because if we had done something, then the hounds of the Tomas Family would have come for our heads. Truthfully, I am coming with you because I fear that the understanding between the Tomas Family and Null will be endangered. Make any wrong move and they would hunt us again. It is one of the reason that that we’ve changed locations. We don’t want the Tomas Family to know where we are.”

Lugi held his head. “So they don’t think of us as merely ‘cultists’ then?”

“Yes, and that’s a problem. People tend to laugh when they hear of our sect, but the Tomas Family understands what Null can do. Mavin Tomas himself knew what the technology that we hold can do and it’s worth to those who have the means to make use of it. He had used it to create an opportunity for Lazon wonderfully. They wouldn’t have been able to achieve such results without using Holmian technology. So imagine what they will do knowing that the lord that they respect and bow their heads to is being threatened? I wouldn’t have to worry like this if it was anyone, but they know that we exist and I fear that Mavin Tomas might be looking for us even now. However, I don’t believe that he’s trying to kill us.”

“Why?”

“Because he knows what we can do as well. He had made it clear to those who allies with him to never get involved with us as long as we do not step on their toes..  They had made an ultimatum to Null ten years ago that they doesn't want any of us in their land. We have too many enemies and many crave our technology so we could only remove our branches from Lazon and reach an understand. Truthfully, the supreme head would have not forgiven the Lazon Regions if they had successfully used technology that we possessed for their own. It was clever of them to trade the technology to the Holmians, and get their help instead."

Lugi thought how confusing it was. However, then as if brilliance had come to him, he looked at Devi.

“Are you trying to say that they didn’t even use our technology?”

“Yes. The Tomas Family holds a few of our technologies, but they do not know how to use them.  From the start, it was Mavin Tomas’s idea to use them as a bargaining chip instead to make the Holmians cooperate with them in conquering the demifiend regions.. I don't think they have found a way to make our technologies work. To put it simply, the Tomas Family traded our tech to the Holmians so that they would have help in conquering the demifiend regions and make use of Holmian Technology instead.”

Devi checked the pistol that he was carrying.

“Mavin Tomas is dangerous, but it would be far more dangerous if he decides to make use of his family to deal with us. He will find a way to take our technology from us if given a chance and hand them to the Holmians for benefits.”

Lugi looked Devi in the eye. “For all that rambling, you really are afraid of Mavin Tomas.”

“Perhaps. We can try and put a bullet inside of Mavin Tomas if he really is the one targeting us, but if we fail and he survives. Then believe me when I say that he’ll not hesitate to use the Tomas Family to destroy us.”

Lugi pondered for a moment. 

Devi wore his coat and adjusted his sleeves. “We’ll follow Mavin Tomas, no, if possible I would rather converse with him. If he really was the person hunting our members down, then I’ll stand by my word and bring him down.  But I rather avoid war if possible.”

Lugi knew that at the moment, they couldn't afford to wage a war against the Tomas Family. But if Mavin Tomas truly was the person hunting their fellow disciples, then they could only try to understand why he was hunting them. Even their Organization would not go unscathed when faced with an influential family that knows that they are a threat.