Sylia, the Dark & Light Saint

Months had passed since Mathias Herves Dwarions settled matters with his mortal family.

The Saint Year had just started with very long months that seemed to stretch endlessly.

It was not surprising as the High Lords already declared it would be a special 'Bloody Year'. And Mathias knew a bit of their plans as one of those High Lords was his very own father.

The true Sylia became increasingly elusive as of late, seldom visiting him.

As expected, the Sub-Realm had split, leaving Mathias with less than half his forces to support him. Even Sylia had most her followers dispatched to a safer Sub-Realm.

Yet several of the maddening woman's allies lingered close, some brazenly near. Right under his nose, in fact.

Sylia was undeniably creative in her designs, not sparing any means to stay in control of the situation even as she was constantly absent.

She was likely keeping an eye on him, not trusting him…as always.

He did understand her concerns. All their plans depended on his performance. And he could not afford to fail his mission.

Things had certainly changed for the worse when he was concerned. He had lost most of his belongings in this Sub-Realm as his father sent most of his lands and assets to an uncorrupted and safer area, leaving him with very little in the end.

His father had at least been generous enough to send him new assets that were to replace some of what he had just lost. And for that, Mathias was grateful.

He also knew how much his father depended on him. He had already decided he would devote himself entirely to the tasks assigned by the Creators.

To outwit his foes, Mathias even had to play the part of the subdued.

He was forced to share a body with an enemy he had trapped in a prison shell buried within this very special embodiment. Mathias was quite proud of what he had crafted for this particularly nasty foe and a few others he meant to fully deal with.

He had promised himself there would be nothing left of them when he was done. Less than nothing.

By now, Mathias should have received aid but none had come so far.

He knew that the ancient Division of Sylia's Source, the one they now called Sylia II, was meant to support him, but she had come and gone without staying long in their Region as she was supposed to.

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Mathias wondered when she would ever settle in her role for good. She was still mostly under Sylia's control. Her freedom was imminent, and just thinking about it sent a shiver of terror through him.

He had heard terrible things.

The woman certainly had a very bad reputation.

He needed to be careful from now on.

A single misstep might cost him a fragment of himself…with Sylia II around.

Perhaps this was punishment for his past naivety and for trusting those who later betrayed not only him but his most esteemed father, the Master of Blood Lords.

Regret suddenly gripped him. He had to do better in the future.

***

Divisions of his had offered aid, though he could count only on a few. The others could not be trusted as they were only partially his. Their loyalty to their other Makers made them unreliable for important matters.

It was also his damn fault for making so many with untrustworthy individuals.

Soon, he would need to either destroy or remake many of those Shared Divisions, unless his father or uncle acted first, as they had before on more than one occasion. His history of careless alliances was well-known and their consequences were even more famous, leading to a lot of sacrifices and destruction.

He had since grown cautious but would it matter now? Would the Creators ever forgive him?

Once upon a time, he was interested only in research, and his obsession led to his current downfall. He had tried to mirror his father and uncle by making Shared Divisions of his own but had utterly failed.

Only recently had he grasped the Creators' ability to rewrite Shared Divisions with ease as their own. He also finally understood that they had never created true Divisions, only Sub-Divisions…or even less than that.

The memory of that revelation, and the shock it had brought at the time, remained sharp in his mind as he regretted his many losses and mistakes.

Now, Mathias had to atone. First, he needed to address the problems created by his social circle, all the while carrying out Sylia's tasks.

He had truly lost his status, he thought bitterly.

His father, the Master of Blood Lords, had ordered him to follow all Sylia's orders and make an ally of Sylia II, her ancient Sister Division. And defying his father's wishes was unthinkable.

The Mathew Bunnies were already busy with other tasks. One of them who had been found guilty of seditious thoughts, now faced the threat of diminishment, though Mathias hoped for mercy.

He rather liked that one, and so did Sylia, who was fond of little Bunnies.

Yet he reminded himself that her love for Bunny soup was even more notorious than her love of those creatures. The rare dish she made had been praised endlessly by his father in the past for its singular taste.

Mathias thought grimly that the Mathew Bunny, or at least half of him, was likely fated to become a Gourmet dish fit to suit his father's palate.

Mathias pushed the thought away. He needed to focus on his duties. He could no longer afford to have any more distractions. Months ago, his father and uncle had sent his Red Serpent's Shared Division, likely to devour the Mathew Bunny and his other bothersome creations.

Mathias could only pray now that he would not be put on the menu as well.

Because that would be bad indeed. And to make sure he did not end up like that, he needed to follow Sylia's orders to the letter.

He knew this was his last chance.

There would be no other.

Not when his actions had endangered a loved Division of someone as ancient and revered as Lord Chester.