NOVEL WEB Epilogue
The waving mass of invisible tentacles swayed around Rang Yu as he stepped from Baron Verstrom's mansion. The feather-like touch erasing his passing from the minds of gardener and gate guards alike. A slightly more powerful press from his soul-linked tendrils smoothed his existence from the minds of the secret Royalist-aligned Mages hidden within the mansion across the street. With a flicker of careful will formed over centuries, he continued his way down the road. The roiling mass of his soul flickered through houses before him as he left the noble district. Only a stray cat was allowed to retain the memory of his passage.
When the ancient master of magic reached the merchant district, he allowed hundreds of auguries of the future to blur past, each with a differing goal. When he smelled the scent of scones with blueberry jam, a small curve of a smile spread across his face, and he turned North to hunt for his new favorite bakery where he had not yet eaten. His steps were light, chipper, and complimentary to his stylish clothes matching any of the passing nobles or well-to-do merchants' finery. Without real thought, the young-looking man's face subtly shifted - the ears widening, teeth turning slightly, chin narrowing, hairline receding. Each change was minor, but the new face held no resemblance to Rang Yu by their end.
Stepping into the bakery, the new Rang Yu smiled at the sound of the gentle bell as he eyed an empty table in the corner of the cafe and bakery. While he claimed his scone with blueberry jam, the smell just as delightful as in his vision, Rang Yu formed a hardened spear from his soul. In passing, he pierced the weapon through the spirit that had been forcefully peeling away bits of soul-stuff from the woman behind the counter. The woman's sad-looking professional smile shifted into one of confusion, then bloomed into a genuine smile as a burden she had been suffering under unknowingly was lifted.
Rang Yu was aware of other creatures within the capital that were hunting and preying upon the humans. He had slaughtered dozens of them throughout his visit, but he made no particular effort to track them directly. In general, he killed them in passing, knowing that there would always be more than he could kill alone. But still, he felt a bit of warmth, knowing that his new favorite supplier of baked goods would suffer just a bit less over the coming decades before she passed away.
In response to the flirting of his new favorite baker, Rang Yu smiled and waved, but his expression of joy faded the moment his back was turned to the young woman. His mask was carefully managed to ensure he could continue to return for new scones, but he had no real interest in the short-lived wisp of life that made his treats.
Wandering through the streets, the ancient mused over what more was to be done in the capital before he checked on other social and magical experiments left to percolate in other far-off kingdoms. While he was distracted and wandering, he continued using his soul constructs to remove his passage from the citizens' minds. Included was the thief that had targeted him as he consumed his scone in the bakery. Rang Yu turned down a side street with a wide grin and continued on to his last planned visit.
These back alleys of the merchant's district were small and cramped. The second story of the surrounding houses overlapped even the street to create narrow tunnels between the buildings. Despite the narrow confines, the passageways were clear of debris or sleepers. If these were the lower districts' backways, that would not be the case. Still, the merchant classes and Guilds had no interest in giving cutthroats or bums a place to hide - such was an easy recipe for an undead outbreak.
Stopping at a narrow house wedged between a brewer and cheese presser, Rang Yu slipped through the door that seconds before had been locked. The sudden click of the lock woke the large man sleeping on the thin cot who reached for the dagger under the bed before his eyes were even fully open. Before his fingers could touch the crude iron blade wrapped with a tenon handle, his eyes rolled back in his head, and a white fog rolled through them. Invisibly draped over the laying man's body was the ghostly image of an elder Shaman in full regalia. Slowly it shifted, the form changing, ectoplasmic bone structure moving from male to female, old to young. Despite the morphing forms, a constant of a long tentacle formed from soul-stuff stretched into the North. While the invisible spiritual tentacle resembled Rang Yu's, it was created from a patchwork of differing souls where the edges morphed from one to the next. No two places matched in texture or color.
"Do you come to make more demands?" the creature within the man asked, the tone dull and expressionless. At the same time, the faces shifted endlessly in expressions of anger and frustration.
A familiar mischievous smile spread across Rang Yu's new face as he stared at the creature, ignoring the man.
"No, no. Despite being adversaries in this instance, I have no real animosity toward you. That you bowed out on this and made my life easier speaks well to us working together in the future. If you worried that I was planning to destroy you, know that you have long been on my list of neutral spirits. I simply wanted to let you know that I would owe you one in the future for letting me disrupt your plans," Rang Yu said.
The Ancestor's slowly shifting face tumbled through multiple looks of confusion, its multitudes seeming to each be befuddled in turn. Finally, the creature settled on an old face and held steady for an extended period as it eyed Rang Yu. Despite the considered look, Rang Yu simply continued to smile as if nothing was to worry about. Which there wasn't. The Ancestor had been gracious and was willing to consider the needs of humans. It had manipulated the future of two kingdoms. Still, it had tried to minimize the deaths and work toward a preferred future. Its survival did not depend on preying upon humans. Instead, it integrated the Shamans into the whole at their end. While not something Rang Yu would like for himself, the Shamans were roughly informed of their profession's consequence when inducted, and consent was required for the magic to work.
All in all, it was not the worst creature that Rang Yu had formed an alliance with by any means.
"Very well. We will," here the creature hesitated. It seemed to be confused as to the exact word it wanted to use before it continued, "consult with you where our action touches on your own in the future."
Rang Yu gave a small bow at that response, the mask of his smile firmly in place.
"That isn't necessary, but I do appreciate it. I'll also try to avoid meddling in your affairs. As I said, I have no animosity over your actions. There are far more destructive spirits plaguing humanity that need to be dealt with, rather than someone as benign as yourself," Rang Yu said.
So saying, Rang Yu left, his tentacle of spiritual force locking the door behind him to the befuddlement of the now awake and aware broad-shouldered man in the empty room.