Chapter: 640 – Goodbye

Tala kept her aura highly suppressed, as she stood at the back of the small area in which the memorial for Alan Karweil was being held.

He was her father, in blood and influence in her life, even if not in relationship nor chosen association.

He had been my father. He’s not any more.

-Indeed.-

His grandchildren, his children with their spouses, and his wife were all gathered, creating quite the group. Additionally, his few business acquaintances and partners who remained were in attendance as well. Since he’d handed over the business over a decade earlier, there weren’t many such left, but apparently a few had kept in touch, and they made their relation known by their presence here.

It was a relatively short event, mostly because his end had been anything but sudden, and most had made their peace with it already. The words that had needed to be said had been said directly to Alan, himself, and so there was no need or desire to state them again, here.

In the end, there was a short official statement of his passing, and a list of those he’d left behind. In that there was a minor scandal, as Tala, Rane, and Lea were mentioned.

Everyone looked back to where they stood, surprised that Tala had been included, and seemingly expecting her to say something.

She didn’t, simply acknowledging the attention and statement, and the event moved on.

After the ceremony, there was a small get together which amounted to a less festive family gathering, Martha included this time, with some others thrown in. Lea flitted through the various groups, making her presence known and comforting those who needed it.

Blessedly, none of the non-family tried to cosy up to Tala or Rane to try to gain advantage through this happenstance, and the few family members that engaged with the elder Sappherrous family members did so out of kindness and genuine affection.

Alan had only died a few hours earlier, those at the ceremony having all been called in in the last hours as he’d declined. The Sappherrous family had stayed with Martha between the events, and the woman was now with her blood children and their families.

Rane had apparently let it be known that any of the Mages who teleported in either to see Alan in his final hours or to attend the ceremony after his passing could have their reinscription costs covered.

Tala… honestly? She was grateful for the kindness of the offer. She did care about her siblings and their families, and the financial burden of teleporting was mostly in the reinscribing, at least for Mages.

Honestly, she wasn’t sure that everyone would have been able to show up without the offer, so she was even more grateful to her husband for his thoughtfulness in a time where she had been unavailable to extend the offer herself.

All told, Tala was glad when it ended, and even happier to be able to return to the sanctum with Rane and Lea where Terry was still resting. As they left the ceremony, walking out the main exit, Tala led her husband and daughter to a park barely a block away, the three walking in relative silence.

In order to go to the sanctum, she now had to leave a physical anchor—hence why she’d had them go to the nearby park—but that was easy enough, given it could be as simple as a bit of iron hanging stoneward of Zeme, or as complex as her bracketing forms and their reality iron, chain nets.

That would be her default, of course.

In a sense, it announced where she was quite… noticeably for anyone who cared to look, but it paid to be obvious most of the time, especially when she could be incredibly subtle. After all, if it became widely known that whenever she was in her sanctum, her superficial connection point could be found by a simple look stone- or starward for her very obvious anchors? Then if she ever needed to hide, she could do so.

But that was all ancillary to her current circumstances.

With a nice spot selected, Tala, Rane, and Lea all entered the sanctum of their own will… or at least they tried to.

Tala did, but when she remained alone, she returned her focus to the superficial and found that Rane and Lea were still on the superficial, looking quite confused.

Tala willed herself back, and then arched an eyebrow at Rane.

He shrugged. “I’m doing what I’ve always done before, reaching out toward Kit with my will and…” He shrugged again. “Nothing.”

Tala groaned. “Right… Kit is… she and I are one. In a real sense, she no longer exists. Instead, do as you did before, but reach out to me, to my authority here.”

-I’ll inform Lyn and the others of this change. It hasn’t been an issue yet, but it would have been.-

Understood… This might allow us to grant some authority to Talons as well, without it being a dangerous precedent.

-Ahh! Yes, as it is directly through us rather than with Kit as an intermediary. I’ll look into it.-

Thank you.

Both Rane and Lea were frowning in concentration, and the mirrored expressions brought a smile to Tala’s face. They looked so alike at times.

There was an almost simultaneous feeling—or more accurately a sense—that each of them wanted to be able to enter the sanctum.

With a thought, Tala ‘said’ yes, mentally adding that they should be able to come and go and even move about at their leisure.

The two vanished from the superficial with nary a sound or signal, and Tala flickered after them, happy that they’d ironed out that wrinkle so easily.

Advancing is never without its little oddities.

-Indeed.-

Finally, the human members of the Sappherrous family were all able to enter the sanctum, coming in to find the spread of food prepared for them, beside the Path of Remembrance.

She still wasn’t sure if she wanted a statue of Alan on the Path—rust, she’d barely had even a moment to contemplate the idea—but it was the appropriate place for them to have their own wake in miniature.

Kedva and her assistants had really outdone themselves with the spread, going for beauty and quality over quantity this time around—though most of their meals had both in gold—and including things like edible sculptures and other aesthetically pleasing displays.

Even the various beverages were color coordinated with the surrounding snacks.

The three sat nearby, willing food to themselves… once again, Tala got the sense of the two requesting authority to move the food, and she did as she’d done before, granting that authority to the two in perpetuity.

Is this what Kit had to deal with? It was a bit odd to feel her husband and daughter moving food to themselves. It was similar to someone grabbing her wrist and moving her arm out of the way gently.

Obviously, it wasn’t as personal as a wrist… maybe taking a cracker off of her palm and setting it on her other hand? That was closer.

It’s… it’s odd.

-Hey, at least you aren’t feeling everything that happens in here. You are only sensing the direct uses of your granted authority.-

As makes sense, I suppose.

The three of them were quiet as they enjoyed the repast and each other’s company.

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After nearly a quarter hour, Terry flickered into being beside them, his request for authority being granted as soon as Tala felt it.

He appeared on Lea’s left just in time to snatch a bit of jerky that she’d been lifting to her mouth.

Lea startled at the sudden appearance, then huffed a laugh before wrapping her arms around Terry’s neck and pulling him down toward her, taking obvious comfort in the embrace.

He dutifully shrunk before flickering to rest on her lap. In response, she began to scratch behind his head. “Ohh, your feathers feel firmer. Is that part of your advancement?”

Terry trilled happily, the noise sounding somehow more resonant than Tala was used to. He didn’t look different, but his aura was just as blue as Tala’s, as made sense.

His arrival, and Lea’s inquiry seemed to have broken the comfortable silence the Sappherrouses had been resigned to, and Rane turned to his wife. “So? I can see your aura.” He grinned. “I felt your advancement. Anything that you care to share?”

She smiled in return. “I felt your support the entire time. Thank you for that.”

He nodded, shifting happily, and seeing no reason to say more.

Lea glanced between them before smiling herself, and leaning back, clearly happy to see her parent’s kind interactions.

Tala took another bite of what seemed to be a pear tart and continued. “It went off perfectly.” She gestured to herself. “I am me, more so than ever before.”

Lea got up, prompting Terry to squawk in feigned irritation before he flickered to take the chair’s seat for himself. Tala felt him snatch jerky on the way, his flickers so fast and smooth that she would have missed it, had he not been acting within her space.

Lea did a circuit of her mother, obviously looking her up and down, even as Tala remained sitting, shaking her head at her daughter’s antics.

When she finished a full circumnavigation, she went back to her seat and looked down at Terry.

He cracked one eye before closing it and shimmying, making it clear that he was quite comfortable.