Seeds of Discordia

Liam had to remind himself she wasn't a full bred Succubus, only a half. However, he understood now what she was talking about. He looked at her and was about to say something, but she beat him to the punch, "Before you ask, no. I am not a follower of the Vice of Lust. Neither was my father."

"Your father?" Liam repeated, a bit surprised since he had thought it would have been her mother who was part of the Demon-kin race. Instead of a Succubus mother, she had an Incubus father.

"Yes, my father," Val repeated as she let out a breath of air. "While he had hid the fact that he was an Incubus from almost everyone in the town I was born in, it was hard after I was born since I couldn't really hide all of…this." She motioned to her horns, wings, and tail. "I grew up with people hating me without ever really knowing why. Why did parents keep their kids away from me? Why random kids would call me a lewd sinner? Why I couldn't…" She paused as she tried to calm herself from getting too angry. "My parents had it worst. My father didn't reveal it was him who I had received these racial features from which made people skeptical about whether I was their kid or not. Some badgered them while others started to believe I was just some orphan they had picked up. I felt so bad for them. They didn't deserve the hatred they were receiving. So when I reached the age of getting my Starting class I ran away, hoping their pain would lessen and they would stop being pestered so much after I left."

Liam gave her a sad smile. While he couldn't really say he relate to her pain and what she went through, he could understand the pain of kids looking or treating you differently due to not being something they wanted you to be. Growing up he had cousins who treated him and his siblings differently due to them not being full blooded on either side of his parents. He didn't understand why they were like that and started to hate it as he grew up.

Val took his silence as him waiting for her to continue. "There is something you need to understand when it comes to the Demon-kins. Something not everyone really gets, but luckily some do. Not all Demon-kins have ties to the Seven Immoral Vices. In fact, a lot of Demon-kins want nothing to do with them. Just like any race in this world, the Demon-kin have a faction that goes too far. Humans with their Sojourners Of Light, Beast-kins with their Apex Dominators, etc. For us Demon-kins, ours is the Seven Immoral Vices. Because of them everyone views every Demon-kin as a member of them."

Liam winced as he thought about it. While it was true almost every Demon-kin he had ever come across was a member of the Seven Immoral Vices, he was starting to think along those lines. A sudden thought came to mind that made him curious. Seeing as this was a great time to ask he went for it, "I know this might be a shift in topic, but is it true there are those who were once members of the Seven Immoral Vices and then left it?"

Val gave him a curious look before saying, "Yes. You must be talking about members of the Underground Association called Sin Users. You must have come across a member or two right?"

Liam nodded. "Just recently. After you all left, two members showed up stating they had left the Seven Immoral Vices due to some rift or conflict. I wasn't sure if they were speaking true or if they were trying to throw me off."

Val nodded a few times before saying, "It's understandable, but what they said was true. Everyone a part of the that Underground Association are members who have cut ties with the current Seven Immoral Vices. It's no secret in the Demon-kin community, but I don't know how wide spread it is to the other races."

"Do you know why they have split?" Liam asked.

Val shrugged. "I don't know for sure, but whispers say that the current leadership is going in a more…violent direction to achieve their goals. So much so they have allied themselves with a mysterious group no one really knows much about."

Liam's attention was fully on that last bit. If what Val was saying was true then that group must be the one that had arrived on the island where he had ran into Jude and Kala. He was already trying to look into them by sending Lady Arachne what he had found. His mind went back to the box she had sent him. He really wanted to look into it now even more to see if she found anything out but knew this wasn't the time.

"Do you know what their goal is? The Seven Immoral Vices?" Liam asked.

"Their original goal was to spread vice around the world, but from what I have gathered they have a new goal," Val replied. "They are looking for a prison."

"A prison?" Liam repeated as his thoughts veered to his own Matron Deity. "Do you know what that prison holds?"

Val shrugged. "Not really, the information I get on them is hard to get and isn't always complete. But if I had to make a guess, I'd say it has to do with the origins of their powers."

Liam's brows scrunched. "Origins of their powers?"

Val nodded. "I don't know what form that comes in. Books…creatures, I'm not sure."

Liam brought a hand to his chin as he thought back to his encounter with the Demon-kins he ran into back on Cashat Port. The ones who had created the Black Dungeon. The ones in there were trying to open some sort of Portal entrance. Their cries of outrage of ruining their work and the things they had said didn't make much sense back then, but now he was getting more pieces to the puzzle. However, he still didn't have everything.

Val watched as Liam thought to himself. She was thinking about some things and had a question of her own. "Can I ask you something?"

Liam snapped out of his thoughts as he looked at her. "Go ahead."

Val looked a bit hesitant at first. "After hearing about me running away from my parents, what does that tell you about me? Knowing that I am half succubus, are you still willing to claim you want to have me in your group in both accounts? Am I wrong in wanting to belong somewhere that no one looks at me like I am some lewd sinner?"

Liam stared at her. With a short chuckle he sarcastically responded, "I thought you said you only have one question?"

Val frowned at him before giving a slight chuckle of her own. "Sorry, I couldn't help it."

Liam shook his head as he stated, "You have nothing to worry about. To be honest you have every right to ask these questions. Those are the questions you want to ask because they will help ease your mind knowing how the other thinks of you. So it's okay to ask as many questions as you so you can get that peace of mind."

Val nodded. When she didn't say anything and Liam noticed the look in her eyes, he responded, "You leaving your parents the way you did just to protect them was an idiotic thing to do." Val's hopeful look in her eyes turned into disappointment as hurt started to grow inside her. Liam placed a hand to forestall what she was about to say. "Sure, with you gone it might make people stop what they were doing and make them believe your parents had gotten rid of you, but at the same time you may have hurt your parents for running away without talking to them about it first. Your mistake in it all was you didn't talk to your parents to see how they felt or if they had some plan."

Val's eyes dropped to the floor. She could feel her heart beat hard against her chest in a way that while it truly didn't hurt her, it still felt like it did. That feeling stopped as she listened to Liam's next few words.

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"But…what you did wasn't out of malice, but out of love for your parents," Liam said as she looked up and saw a warm smile on his face. "While I say it was idiotic, and I still believe that…You truly believed what you were doing was to help your parents. To me that says you care about those you care about and will do anything to make sure they are safe and well. Even if that means taking you out of the equation. I can respect that."

Val's heart tightened before loosening up. She felt her body grow warm and light as if something had finally melted and released something heavy within her she hadn't realized was there.

"As for your other questions. It's not wrong to want to belong somewhere. As far as I'm concerned you're not some lewd sinner. Hell everyone has some form of sin in them, who are they to judge you for the races you inherited. I'm half beast-kin so I can kind of relate to your pain. After I got here I appeared in Cashat Port and had my fair share of people looking down on me for that. However, my friends and teammates don't treat or look at me the same way as they did. I also believe, no, I know they wouldn't do that to you. So as for your concerns about if I am willing to claim that we still want you in our group after knowing you are half Succubus I am more than willing to have you in it. As long as you don't betray us you are more than welcome to."

Val stared at him for a long moment. Her lip quivered as a single tear rolled down her right eye. Val brought a hand up to touch it and then looked at it. She looked both relieved and confused at it, like she wasn't expecting to cry. The tear made Liam feel a bit awkward. He wasn't trying to make her cry but seeing that she was he looked for something to help her dry it. he didn't need to as she swiftly wiped it away and calmed herself down.

After a few breaths she looked back at him and gave him a warm smile. "Thank you."

"I do have a few conditions though," Liam started back up making her look confused. "One of the conditions to join us is that you keep secrets from others. Someone once mentioned that everyone has secrets, and they can be used as powerful tools. What you see, learn, and experience must be kept secret. For example, me being a part of this group. My teammates know about this, but not those outside of it. Another condition is you work hard to help protect us when we're in trouble. We will do the same for you. And lastly…if you ever come across your parents you must apologize and have a proper talk with them."

Val's body relaxed once more. She gave him a wide smile as she nodded and said, "I agree to all the terms."

"Good, you will have to tell the others what you have told me, so they understand your situation better as well. I will be by your side, but I will not be your voice. This is so you can show your trust to them, and I promise you they will show you the same in kind," Liam stated.

"I understand," Val said.

Liam receive a sudden message from Eri pressing him to try and get her as a follower. While he was happy she was wanting to join them as a group he also thought that maybe bringing up his Deity right now was too much. He explained his plan to her and why he was hesitant to do as she wanted him to do right now. She was reluctant at first but soon agreed.

Liam stared at her and asked, "Can I ask you a random question?"

"Sure," Val said.

"Are you a follower of any Deity yet?" Liam asked. While he knew she wasn't due to Eri he wanted her to say it, so it didn't trigger any red flags.

"No. As a Demon-kin we usually become a follower of either one of the Demon-kin related Deities, but since I didn't grow up in any of the Demon-kin territories I haven't been around any others types of Deities. As for those the Deities that aren't Demon-kin related, they refuse half Demon-kins outright. Why do you ask?" Val questioned with a confused look.

"I happen to know of a Deity who sees potential in you," Liam explained. "However, this Deity wants to test you before making their decision."

Val's eyes widened. "Really?! There is a Deity that sees potential in me? Who? What do I need to do to receive a blessing from such a Deity?"

Liam placed both hands up in the air to stop her from asking more questions. "I will not reveal what that Deity's name is or their nature, but you will know if you have past their tests and will reveal themself when they believe the time is right. For now I will inform you that your first test is secrecy. They will test to see how well you can keep a secret. Okay?"

Val nodded extatically with an excited expression on her face. Liam could see the happy and excitable look in her smile and eyes. He was happy that she was someone he and his group could relate to. Her circumstances were different yet also similar to theirs in some way. He wasn't sure how this whole thing was going to go, but he was glad he was able to find something in her that he could understand, and grab hold of.

"Ah, before I forget…Was the request you made for me here just a façade so we could talk?" Liam asked after seeing the time.

"Ah, crap. I almost forgot," Val stated as she looked embarrassed. "No, I really did want your help with something." After seeing the raised brow on Liam's face she continued, "After seeing your skills in crafting I figured I could get your help with some things I need. In exchange I figured I could give you some vials of my Toxic Mana Extract you can use however you like."

Liam grew excited at that. He hadn't come across any Poison Type of Mana Extracts and having some on hand would greatly help him make some new things. For the next hour Val walked him through a recipe to make something called Weak Toxic Health Potion.

Like the name had suggested it was a Weak Quality Health Potion mixed with Toxic Mana. While the potion would poison the person who drank it, it would also heal the amount of health taken away from the poison damage. Liam was skeptical of this type of potion at first, but after Val explained it was for her class and why she needed it, it all made sense.

Her class gave her a passive ability that allowed her to take poisonous drinks or poisons and turn it into a way that could either empower her poisonous magical spells or turn the poisons running through her system into a cloud she could breathe out and into another when close enough to them. It was quite scary the way she put it. It also depended on the type of poison running through her system that determined what she could do with it.

She also had him make a Weak Toxic Fume Cloud. It was a Chemicalized Created that created a cloud of toxic fumes that exploded outwards from the point of impact. He had learned that his Arcane Mana could increase the effects made by the product especially if he infuse the Arcane Mana into it before throwing it. With her Minstrel Magic she could control the cloud and move it in ways he didn't know was possible before it completely disappeared.

They were starting to learn the benefits of working with each other through this crafting session alone. She could have him enhance the effects of the crafted Poison related vials and she could help him advanced his Poison Craft and Chemicalized Creations in new ways.

After making as many vials of both products as they could within that hour they finally decided it was time they left the Web Branch of the Fiddler's Spider Web. Liam received his reward from the cloaked man and they both signed up as a team. The man had asked if they wished to make a name for their team, but they declined for now. they needed to talk more about their collaborations together and get a feel for how they wished to go forward and if they wanted to add more to the team. Liam already had someone in mind, but until Gimmel officially became a member of the Fiddler's Spider Web and had informed Val of his interest of joining the Underground Association, he wasn't going to bring it up.

After they met up with the others they took some time to finish off the night before heading back to the inn. There Liam had the others from his group meet him in his room where Val both expressed her desire to join them as an official member of their group and informed them of her circumstances.

She was both relieved and happy when they welcomed her with open arms. She was also stricken with Mercer when he revealed he was a Tiefling. Liam saw a very interesting look in her eyes when he revealed that to her, one he was going to tease Mercer about when she wasn't around.

After Val decided to leave for the night the others had asked Liam what all she knew, and Liam explained to them the test he was giving her as well as what he didn't tell her about Eri. While half of them thought it was pointless to do it, the other half agreed with his cautious approach. Mercer, being one on Liam's side explained to the others that it was a wise idea because while she had become a member of their group she wasn't a full member just yet. Not until she became a follower of Eri.

The others argued that Liam should have just told her about Eri and made it official then, but Mercer, Avery, and Blair stopped by saying that it was too soon for her to know all of that or do that just yet.

They explained it just how Liam had seen it. She was already overwhelmed by the mere fact they had accepted her circumstances. What if after that she came to the decision they weren't a fit for her anymore or that the things they would face was too much. She would be in too deep and would want to leave with the secret they needed to keep away from hostile eyes. if she had Eri's blessing and the knowledge of Eri would be a threat to them just for knowing.

While the others were coming around and understanding Liam's caution they also didn't like they had to wait. It seemed that the others had already taken a liking to her and wanted her to fully be in. After fully agreeing to what Liam had done was the right choice after a few more minutes of arguing, they all decided to head to bed themselves. This left Liam all alone in his room. All alone for him to finally open the box Lady Arachne had sent him.