BXBX NOVEL Chapter 52 Talk With The Cardinal
"Sir, Lord Lanlaris is calling for you; you have a guest waiting for you in the meeting Hall."
Samiel heard a servant's voice while he was meditating during his study of the Basic Principles of the Void Necrosis. He then opened his eyes as he stopped his meditation, he was curious who came to visit him, but he had a premotion who it could be.
The only people who could have such a strong interest in his persona, to come down and visit him would be those from the Hall of Kadath, to which, Samiel expectedly waited for their arrival one day.
'Hooman, I am sensing very, very powerful Legendary in the Citadel.'
Samiel heard Nefertari's voice in his head as he stretched his body after meditating on the revelations from the Basic Principles of the Void Necrosis for several hours straight already. He was still very far from mastering even the spells he could cast with his meager strength, but he was improving at a visible rate.
Due to his love for Magic and its study, and most importantly in his endless pursuit of power, he didn't really have a problem sitting in one place and reading and comprehending the Magic Grimoire for even several days straight.
"How powerful?"
He asked in curiosity.
'Close to the peak, Bloodkin, and it is a woman. Don't antagonize her, or you will suffer plenty; even if she cannot kill you or cripple you, that doesn't mean you cannot get a beating as hell... and then nobody would be able to feed me anytime I want.'
Answered Nefertari, caring about him in her own cat way as he nodded and departed to meet with the female Legendary from the Hall of Kadath that came to visit him. Nefertari would always reply something in this way because, for her, her comfort and food were more important than her hooman, as the Almighty Cat could find a new servant who would dance to her whims.
He thought she should be someone of very high rank in the Hall of Kadath if she was sent here; that came from his conclusion as he was the bearer of the Blood of the Primordial Demiurge, they would need to send someone of corresponding social status.
Samiel knew that there was a very high possibility that the Hall of Kadath knew about him since the moment he entered the Tower, maybe they had their own means to find out, or Azathoth notified them.
Though, in the end, the result was the same.
He stood up as Nefertari jumped on his shoulders, probably wanting to accompany him. However, Samiel was unaware of her true intentions. Samiel was unaware that Nefertari, as an Elder Wampus Cat and direct descendant of the powerful Goddess Bast, could for a short time summon a Transcendental Level of power without suffering any consequences.
This was something akin to her racial power. So, she wanted to go with her master in case he got attacked, so she could protect him if he was attacked by the powerful Legendary Level powerhouse there with the intent to kill him.
Samiel went through the halls of the Citadel of the Zephystrand City as he arrived at the meeting hall, where the Lanlaris Daragan, together with his guests, were already waiting for him.
And that was the moment, recorded in the history books for the later generations, as the first meeting and act of joining.
Samiel immediately found the Legendary woman; as he scrutinized her, from tips to toe, she was very beautiful, indeed, as most of the Bloodkin women were. She had rather pale skin, with pointy ears, not that pointy like Elves, a bit shorter.
She had piercing red eyes and long white hair in a braid for better mobility during combat. She was wearing shining plated armor that fit her body very well, enhancing her enchanting figure and her curves to a whole new level.
Just as he was observing the vampiric woman, she was doing the same thing to him, as her piercing gaze penetrated through his entire being, like he was being judged by her. He never stood before people who could see through him like this, not counting the Transcendents, who had that ability, but not even they could sometimes.
So the meeting with the woman was very different, and he was starting to feel uncomfortable.
"So you are the Holy Son of the Daemon Sultan."
She said indifferently, without any emotion, just stating the obvious; there was not even a hint of an emotion in her voice as she looked at him as if she was testing him in some way.
"Yes, and you should be someone from the Hall of Kadath to recruit me, if am I right?"
He cocked his head as the woman nodded before she looked at Lanlaris Daragan, who motioned for everyone to leave the meeting hall before he left. Only two of them were left in the place, three if Nefertari is counted, who was watching the female vampire attentively.
"Karliana Kircheisen, Cardianal of the Hall of Kadath."
She said as Samiel gave her a slight bow; in their free time, Yvraine kept teaching him the manners of the Imperial Family, and she was very good at that, not to mention she was enjoyed it, very much. For him, it was just pure torture, learning all those aristocratic mannerisms and other things so annoying, but if he could pass Yvraine's etiquette class, then there was nothing to fear.
Especially considering how it was at the start.
At the start, Samiel couldn't give even a proper bow without embarrassing himself.
"Samiel Zentaur, my fair lady... but that is something you already knew if I am not wrong?"
She nodded as she motioned for him to sit down next to her, to which he did.
"So, how will it proceed? Will you give me some speech like salesmen selling their products?"
He asked jokingly, to which she giggled a bit but shook her head in denial.
"No... it doesn't work that way. The first thing to know is the recruitment of the Hall of Kadath is one-sided; basically, we choose those who we consider worthy, and our only choice is to join; other ones don't exist."
She answered as Samiel got the message hidden between the lines; he was very good at reading things like this, especially when they contained some kind of threat or message.
"There is another choice, but that should be death."
He said as she nodded.
"You could at least give me an overview of the thing I would obtain by joining you if we already know the outcome of this discussion."
He said, as it was obvious he would be joining the Hall of Kadath, Samiel knew that in his case, they wouldn't kill him if he refused, but that would be plainly stupid from his viewpoint. By joining the Hall of Kadath, he would officially become a Holy Son of one, if not the strongest, Gate of the Tower and the entirety of the Cosmos.
"Basically unlimited resources, backing of the entire Hall of Kadath, and armies on your command as you wish... of course, all of that is based on the contribution. While the position of the Holy Son comes with tremendous benefits, the Hall of Kadath is still based on a strict meritocratic structure, so you would need to contribute to obtaining some more rare things. This rule is applied to those at the bottom, as it is to those on the top."
She explained while Samiel nodded. He didn't really have a problem with contributing something such as carrying out missions for the Hall or things like that. Not to mention, the system of pure meritocracy ensured that only the best of the best would survive in the enviroment of the Hall.
"Also, you will get your Personal Knight, who would act as your protector, sharpest sword, strongest shield, and closest confidant. We already have a suitable candidate for that role, best recruit in the Holy Templar Order for several past Eras."
She noted as Samiel listened to her "selling" the position of the Holy Son of the Hall of Kadath.
"And the obligations?"
He asked after a while; he always had a keen mind for that, probably due to the fact he studied Law on Earth and always searched for the hidden clauses and other unsavory things that were not said outright.
"Just one... when you reach the sufficient level and qualification, you will need to become Hall Master and cannot retire unless you find somebody to take your place, just like former Hall Master did with the current one, and that before, and before, and before and so on."
She answered as this was a rather reasonable condition.
'Nefertari?'
Samiel asked his familiar through the telepathic connection they had other for her opinion; because he was aware of that, his familiar was able to sense someone's emotion and malice.
'She is clear... on the contrary, I can sense goodwill towards you from her.'
When he heard that from Nefertari, he nodded.
"I agree."
Samiel agreed to her proposal in the end, as sooner or later he would accept; he just wanted to have some fun and hear some explanations from her if possible.
After he agreed, she took some kind of Seal and threw it at him. The moment he touched the Seal, it dissolved into countless particles and entered his body, as a tattoo appeared on his right hand, bearing the shape of the Hall of Kadath's symbol.
"With this, you have officially joined the Hall of Kadath. That symbol act as Transportation and Communication Device. You can connect the Hall from any place in the Cosmos and the Tower, aside from some special locations. Additionally, if it has in-built special Transcendental Teleportation Power, so if you are close to death, like very, very close, it will activate and teleport you to a safe place. Also, it has detection abilities and could detect Transcendentals and powerful Legendaries and other functions that you can find out on your own."
Karliana explained the usage of the wondrous tattoo.
Just the fact that this little thing could save him from a death-like situation if he was not in some kind of specifically sealed place was really something to behold. And the detection abilities to detect Legendaries and Trasncednentals was too something useful.
Though at this, my familiar Nefertari scoffed as she could do it too, but to not let her be grumpy, Samiel scratched her behind her ear and told he she was far superior to the tattoo. Nefertari was a very prideful cat, so she didn't take lightly Samiel obtaining something she could do... probably maybe better or worse, but that didn't matter to her.