Chapter 508: Hidden
Tala set her teacup back on the table between herself and the arcane, Lisa, feeling quite comfortable in the chair sized—and supported—for her in the fox-kin’s home within Irondale. “Thank you for the tea. It is excellent. And thank you, again, for meeting with me.”
Lisa gave a nod. “Of course. You are most welcome.” He hesitated for the briefest moment then continued, “Before anything else, I must congratulate you, Mistress Tala, on advancing to Paragon. To be so Honored is rare for your species and your very existence makes all those you know and love safer. I imagine you are quite excited.” He smiled kindly, still keeping his teeth back. “I must also thank you for the increase in available power. I never imagined that you could put my little aspect-removing trinket to such use as you have, but I, for one, am grateful for your altruistic application of the magics.”
She gave a small smile around her next sip of tea, only answering after setting her cup back down. “Thank you, master Lisa, and you are most welcome. I would say that the advancement was a long time coming…”
As she trailed off, the fox-kin chuckled. “But it really wasn’t. Be careful, young one. Often those with such meteoric rises have similarly spectacular falls.”
He gave a contemplative look, and Tala let him consider for a moment.
“You are… I would definitely say that you are in a unique position out of all those I’ve ever heard of, and I am not referring to your level of advancement or your age. Never before has an Archon of gated-humanity been acknowledged by a Major House as an official member, let alone one with true power.” He gave her a careful look. “I do not know how your story will end, Mistress Tala, but I am eager to see how it progresses. Honestly, this—more than even the safety and potential longevity of your hold here—prompted my decision to accept your invitation. If you do not waste what you have earned—through competence and the twists of fate, both—you could be the herald of a new age on this continent.”
Tala coughed in embarrassment, took another long sip, and then gave a slight nod of acknowledgement before changing the subject with little social grace, “So, how are you settling in? Your home is mostly complete, I trust?”
He waved that off. “The physical rooms are done, of course, but properly aligning the other aspects—and getting them just right—will be the work of decades. Even with that project ahead of me, I am enjoying the greater freedom life here affords me. Thank you for that.”
Tala gave another nod of acknowledgement.