My Servant System

"Unlike down here, the world above is ruled by giant Clans, Sects, or any other groups of warriors and mages who banded together with a common goal in mind. Here we have a single figurehead or a small group that provides strength while those with money and political experience provide stability.

Tessa was in one those Sects, one that worshipped nature - specifically she was a member of one of the more influential and powerful branch families that had created the Sect, and had a special bloodline passed down to her.

She was one with nature now instead of just someone worshipping it, and as such her power grew exponentially compared to everyone else's; the problem with these Sects is that infighting is far too common, and because she was so talented she was targeted by many others. Those from outside the family as well as some within it as well."

"Before anyone asks, I don't... particularly think about it anymore. It has happened and it is done. I was never really close to my family to begin with - they were similar in structure to ours just without the love - so knowing that my brothers, sisters, cousins and even my Aunts and Uncles didn't want me alive never really bothered me."

It was something that sounded practically identical to what I had read before, something that made me question just how accurate those authors had been and if they really were aware of just how terrible people were in all worlds.

The Empress turned her head towards her wife and stared at her for a moment before she resumed her story, clearly not happy with how Lady Theresa spoke of her past but also knowing she wasn't able to tell the woman how to feel.

"As for me, I grew up around the edge of the various Sects and Clans in seclusion, training under my Master and learning everything there could be to learn about fire. After I came of age she told me to go and join any group I could to further hone my skills.

I chose to join this Sect that worshipped nature on the grounds that fire was a cleansing presence that refreshed forests and ushered in new growth. After taking the tests and getting placed as a very talented and gifted Neophyte I met Tessa, and we grew close.

Friends first then something... more. The pressure of her station, me going on missions and the various fights within the Sect itself led to us getting close. Even though she was an Elf heavily attuned to Nature... I suppose that was what made it so alluring for us both."

We all listened to the reminiscing of the Empress without informing her that the story of their love blossoming was both welcome yet also not what we were currently listening to her for, but there was no telling that to her since... well...

"And why was it so 'alluring', dear? Do keep yourself on track... though I don't particularly mind the memories~!"

The two shared a small smile before the Empress went ahead and just said "Since she was somewhat similar to what you see today, me being far less in control of myself meant that our time together was more... risky.

I'm a Devil; think Demoness but far more potent, tempered, but also incredibly volatile. My magic is my blood, giving me far more power yet making me far more likely to harm myself if something goes wrong.

My 'blood' flows through all of my children, but the purity of it varies greatly. Dante has some, Vienna does as well, while the others have fleeting traces of it... and you, Leone, have the most pure of all my children. It's why your talent with Fire Magic is so high."

With a partial answer on what Leone was, I looked towards the Vampire in question and took in her expression, wondering how she was taking it; for her part she seemed rather interested yet not terribly shocked by such a revelation, but that seemed about right.

We all knew that the Empress had something unique flowing through her veins, and on top of that we knew that Leone probably had a good amount of that in her veins as well; now we all knew that she would have likely awakened to something incredible if she had accepted the bloodline array we had gotten during the Trials.

"So how did you end up down here? The... your family wanted to kill you, so you fled? Was it easy to come down, or..?"

"It's incredibly easy to go down, but impossible to go back up. Practically impossible, anyways; I believe there are methods to return, but I do not care for any of them. However, coming down isn't just 'coming down'. You lock away a large amount of your power and cap yourself at a certain level.

The peak of this world is barely worth mentioning where we were from, so for us it was... drastic and took a long time to get used to. Even now I sometimes feel incomplete and weak compared to what I was before. However, while we lock away some of our power we don't lock away our knowledge; that helps a fair bit because of the things that are 'unknown' or 'impossible' down here."

"We can discuss that some more later, Leone. It's a far more... in depth topic that requires far more time and attention then we have now. In fact... I imagine you are all hungry? We should move over to the dining hall and eat. Relax, let everyone be amongst their family..."

Slowly and carefully rising to her feet, Lady Theresa stepped down from her throne and beckoned for us to follow, taking us through the Palace and leaning on the Empress' arm as we made our way to something I deemed just a little more important right now.

Some good, incredible food that was made by someone besides myself, maybe accompanied by a glass or two of wine and the knowledge that I could retire for the night after the meal and just sleep...

Oh I was looking forwards to it so damn much...