Transitions, Part II
The Talons guarding the entrance of Risea'a Mirror stood aside for the incoming party that was making its way into the Corridor, having been notified of their guests earlier through a courier. As the last member of said party passed through the shimmering silver of the mirror's horizon, the Talons re-assumed their positions, and the Mirror became solid once more.
Inside of the Corridor, the party made its way into one of the various "offices", and the youngest member of the group, Zoey, closed the door behind her. Taking a seat on a nearby chair, the other Retainers of Mithambe's Throne - Julian, Rachel, and Jason, also took seats in the office/examination lab. Their charge and lord, Jacob, sat on the center examination table, with his beloved wife Iris helping him onto the table.
"Julian, you'd think that a routine medical examination would be performed by you," Jason noted, for Julian was the Court Physician and one of Jacob's most trusted members, as he handled his personal bill of health. "So why is Doctor Belfour doing this part, and not you?" Before Julian could speak up, Zoey interposed herself into the conversation, considering that it is one of the areas of subject matter expertise for which she could contribute. "The kind of health checkups being done today aren't necessarily that of his physical body, but instead that of his ethereal body," she answered to the Champion, who nodded, seemingly understanding why today's routine check-up was going in this direction. "That is also why Princess Clarisse is present, for she perhaps knows of the minutiae of King Jacob's transformation better than all of us in this room combined." Jason nodded once, knowing of the condition that Zoey was referring to. Out of everyone present, it was he, alongside Iris, who bore witness to the first time Jacob tapped into the full measure of his ethereal might, and how he almost lost his life in the desperate exchange of power. Even after the passage of years, the taste of ozone and the smell of burnt flesh were etched into his memory, as were the sights and sounds of the infamous impulse that ultimately saved their lives that day. It appears that the past did not want to stay in the past, even as Jacob took off his shirt and Adrienne began to connect various instruments of unknown purpose to Jacob's chest.
On the other side of the examination room, Iris and Clarisse were discussing the progression of Jacob's metamorphosis, while Rachel remained standing by Iris' side, listening into the conversation without adding in. "So you are saying that he has been more withdrawn these days, Iris?" Clarisse asked, wondering how her beloved nephew was doing. "At least that is what the courtiers have noted," Iris replied, even as she gently rolled her wedding band on her fingers. "When it comes to myself or Kaylie, he is the same loving man as always, but when dealing with others outside of his immediate circle, the others have noted that he seems... detached from everything." Clarisse nodded, even as she wrote down her own notes. "I think I see, and it is fortunately not uncommon for those who are undergoing the process. I was like that undergoing my own metamorphosis, a few decades back," she replied, the shadow of a smile creeping on her face as she took a trip down her own memory lane. A gentle cough from Iris brought Clarisse back to the present, even as Adrienne was beginning her diagnostic scans. "It is part of him re-establishing what matters the most to him - especially as his mentality will be undergoing significant alterations and shifts in the coming months and years." Iris nodded, even as her lips pulled together in a shape representing frustration and a frown. "Is there anything I can do to help him?" "Just continue being you, Iris. You need not worry about trying to change a thing - in fact, trying to change will probably destabilize him and make the incoming transitions difficult." Clarisse reached out and gently held Iris' hand, gently holding it within her own. Clarisse intimately understood the coming stress that Jacob and Iris would go through, and took the Queen's hand in her own to let her know that she was not alone in dealing with this.
"The good news is that there is no issue with the engine being integrated into your system, your Majesty." Adrienne nodded as she began pulling the arcane leads out of the ethereal engine that was nestled in the center of Jacob's chest, while also pulling out the vellum papers outlining the diagnostics that were just performed. "Furthermore, it appears that your ethereal body has finally transitioned out of the Inversion, and is now formally in the Regression stage, which may be able to explain some of your recent physiological and psychological changes. I'll have Doctor Julian explain those parts in detail, once I finalize the report detailing the Regression and its significance to your physical health. It should not take me more than a day." "Thank you for your swift and gentle work, Doctor," Jacob replied, even as he pulled his shirt back over himself and slowly got up from the examination table. He clenched a fist and looked down, with his eyes shimmering and glowing, indicating the use of his ethereal sight. He idly traced his veins, feeling the ether flow through his physical frame, and how it branched throughout his arm and the rest of his body. It has been a long three years since the incident that necessitated the engine implantation that saved his life, but the significance of such a sequence of events are finally beginning to manifest. As he stood firm on his feet, all attention in the room and adjoining office turned to him, and everyone who was present assembled around him, with Iris moving to his side and gently intertwining her fingers within his own. His eyes returned to their idle magenta hue, and he regarded his trusted retainers and friends, before giving them a small but meaningful smile. "The Inversion is complete, and I am now in the next stage," he told them, and they all nodded in return, glad to hear that their King and friend was in a good state, and not in danger as they had originally feared. "With that being said, however, I am still finding myself... exhausted and detached these days," Jacob continued, as he extended his crozier to its staff length and used it to steady himself. "Other than attending to issues that affect the Kingdom as a whole, I will have to talk to the Dukes and Houses to see that the Court and the Houses are able to remain self-sufficient while I undergo the next coming trials." His gaze fell on everyone else who surrounded him, and they gazed back, awaiting his directions. "We will discuss that in a short while. It is time we return home, no?" As one, they began to file back through the aisleways and back into realspace, with only Rachel and Adrienne lagging behind them.
"I must say, sister," Adrienne started, even as she held her papers to her chest, "you've some fine taste, in both Lord Jacob and Lady Iris." The elder of the Belfours stifled a giggle at Rachel's expense, even as Rachel shook her head. "Though, if he didn't see it now, don't count on it for the next long while, not throughout his Regression." "Please, don't remind me," Rachel replied, even as she casually twirled her fighting fans in her hands, matching her elder sister's steps. "Everyone else but Jacob notices, and before you say so, it's not the transformation. He's always just never had his eyes set on anyone but Iris." Adrienne glaced at her sister, before merely shrugging. "Such is how life is, Rachel. Though, seeing that you're now the Grandmaster of his Talons, clearly your devotion to him is unwavering, even if he does not look at you the way you want." She then hid a smile behind a hand. "It would be unbecoming of a bodyguard to be madly in love with the one they are assigned to protect, no?" "Please, Miss 'Married to the Job'," Rachel retorted, but there was no venom in her words. Adrienne made a pained face, before the two sisters shared a laugh, and hugged each other. "I'm glad you're alright, though," Rachel admitted, before letting go. "It's been a while since I've been home. Is our father doing well?" "He is doing as well as he can, though I cannot be certain of the days coming," Adrienne mused, as they made their way through the Mirror and were back in the basement halls of the Basilica. "We need to catch up over lunch or something. Maybe when you're next free?" "You know my job, Adrienne," Rachel replied with a longing sigh. "But I can try. Jacob is excellent with making sure our needs are met, too - it shouldn't be hard for me to get a day off or so to catch up with family." As the rest of the royal escort began making its way out, Rachel gave her sister a simple salute, before cutting her way to the retinue through thin air. Adrienne waved at her rapidly disappearing sister, before turning on her heel to get some work done.
"Julian, you'd think that a routine medical examination would be performed by you," Jason noted, for Julian was the Court Physician and one of Jacob's most trusted members, as he handled his personal bill of health. "So why is Doctor Belfour doing this part, and not you?" Before Julian could speak up, Zoey interposed herself into the conversation, considering that it is one of the areas of subject matter expertise for which she could contribute. "The kind of health checkups being done today aren't necessarily that of his physical body, but instead that of his ethereal body," she answered to the Champion, who nodded, seemingly understanding why today's routine check-up was going in this direction. "That is also why Princess Clarisse is present, for she perhaps knows of the minutiae of King Jacob's transformation better than all of us in this room combined." Jason nodded once, knowing of the condition that Zoey was referring to. Out of everyone present, it was he, alongside Iris, who bore witness to the first time Jacob tapped into the full measure of his ethereal might, and how he almost lost his life in the desperate exchange of power. Even after the passage of years, the taste of ozone and the smell of burnt flesh were etched into his memory, as were the sights and sounds of the infamous impulse that ultimately saved their lives that day. It appears that the past did not want to stay in the past, even as Jacob took off his shirt and Adrienne began to connect various instruments of unknown purpose to Jacob's chest.
On the other side of the examination room, Iris and Clarisse were discussing the progression of Jacob's metamorphosis, while Rachel remained standing by Iris' side, listening into the conversation without adding in. "So you are saying that he has been more withdrawn these days, Iris?" Clarisse asked, wondering how her beloved nephew was doing. "At least that is what the courtiers have noted," Iris replied, even as she gently rolled her wedding band on her fingers. "When it comes to myself or Kaylie, he is the same loving man as always, but when dealing with others outside of his immediate circle, the others have noted that he seems... detached from everything." Clarisse nodded, even as she wrote down her own notes. "I think I see, and it is fortunately not uncommon for those who are undergoing the process. I was like that undergoing my own metamorphosis, a few decades back," she replied, the shadow of a smile creeping on her face as she took a trip down her own memory lane. A gentle cough from Iris brought Clarisse back to the present, even as Adrienne was beginning her diagnostic scans. "It is part of him re-establishing what matters the most to him - especially as his mentality will be undergoing significant alterations and shifts in the coming months and years." Iris nodded, even as her lips pulled together in a shape representing frustration and a frown. "Is there anything I can do to help him?" "Just continue being you, Iris. You need not worry about trying to change a thing - in fact, trying to change will probably destabilize him and make the incoming transitions difficult." Clarisse reached out and gently held Iris' hand, gently holding it within her own. Clarisse intimately understood the coming stress that Jacob and Iris would go through, and took the Queen's hand in her own to let her know that she was not alone in dealing with this.
"The good news is that there is no issue with the engine being integrated into your system, your Majesty." Adrienne nodded as she began pulling the arcane leads out of the ethereal engine that was nestled in the center of Jacob's chest, while also pulling out the vellum papers outlining the diagnostics that were just performed. "Furthermore, it appears that your ethereal body has finally transitioned out of the Inversion, and is now formally in the Regression stage, which may be able to explain some of your recent physiological and psychological changes. I'll have Doctor Julian explain those parts in detail, once I finalize the report detailing the Regression and its significance to your physical health. It should not take me more than a day." "Thank you for your swift and gentle work, Doctor," Jacob replied, even as he pulled his shirt back over himself and slowly got up from the examination table. He clenched a fist and looked down, with his eyes shimmering and glowing, indicating the use of his ethereal sight. He idly traced his veins, feeling the ether flow through his physical frame, and how it branched throughout his arm and the rest of his body. It has been a long three years since the incident that necessitated the engine implantation that saved his life, but the significance of such a sequence of events are finally beginning to manifest. As he stood firm on his feet, all attention in the room and adjoining office turned to him, and everyone who was present assembled around him, with Iris moving to his side and gently intertwining her fingers within his own. His eyes returned to their idle magenta hue, and he regarded his trusted retainers and friends, before giving them a small but meaningful smile. "The Inversion is complete, and I am now in the next stage," he told them, and they all nodded in return, glad to hear that their King and friend was in a good state, and not in danger as they had originally feared. "With that being said, however, I am still finding myself... exhausted and detached these days," Jacob continued, as he extended his crozier to its staff length and used it to steady himself. "Other than attending to issues that affect the Kingdom as a whole, I will have to talk to the Dukes and Houses to see that the Court and the Houses are able to remain self-sufficient while I undergo the next coming trials." His gaze fell on everyone else who surrounded him, and they gazed back, awaiting his directions. "We will discuss that in a short while. It is time we return home, no?" As one, they began to file back through the aisleways and back into realspace, with only Rachel and Adrienne lagging behind them.
"I must say, sister," Adrienne started, even as she held her papers to her chest, "you've some fine taste, in both Lord Jacob and Lady Iris." The elder of the Belfours stifled a giggle at Rachel's expense, even as Rachel shook her head. "Though, if he didn't see it now, don't count on it for the next long while, not throughout his Regression." "Please, don't remind me," Rachel replied, even as she casually twirled her fighting fans in her hands, matching her elder sister's steps. "Everyone else but Jacob notices, and before you say so, it's not the transformation. He's always just never had his eyes set on anyone but Iris." Adrienne glaced at her sister, before merely shrugging. "Such is how life is, Rachel. Though, seeing that you're now the Grandmaster of his Talons, clearly your devotion to him is unwavering, even if he does not look at you the way you want." She then hid a smile behind a hand. "It would be unbecoming of a bodyguard to be madly in love with the one they are assigned to protect, no?" "Please, Miss 'Married to the Job'," Rachel retorted, but there was no venom in her words. Adrienne made a pained face, before the two sisters shared a laugh, and hugged each other. "I'm glad you're alright, though," Rachel admitted, before letting go. "It's been a while since I've been home. Is our father doing well?" "He is doing as well as he can, though I cannot be certain of the days coming," Adrienne mused, as they made their way through the Mirror and were back in the basement halls of the Basilica. "We need to catch up over lunch or something. Maybe when you're next free?" "You know my job, Adrienne," Rachel replied with a longing sigh. "But I can try. Jacob is excellent with making sure our needs are met, too - it shouldn't be hard for me to get a day off or so to catch up with family." As the rest of the royal escort began making its way out, Rachel gave her sister a simple salute, before cutting her way to the retinue through thin air. Adrienne waved at her rapidly disappearing sister, before turning on her heel to get some work done.
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