An Owl's Rise

After traveling through the grounds of the Miris Sect's headquarters for nearly thirty minutes, Mave's group pulled into the courtyard of a large house and began to slow to a stop.

'That is certainly quite the mansion to just give away to someone. It reminds me of some of the old massive European manors I saw photos of while doing reach for a paper.'

Evelyn was flabbergasted to see such an enormous property being so casually handed over. Along the way they had passed other large houses, but this one stood out amongst all that they had seen up to this point. Evelyn did suspect though, that deeper into the headquarters even larger and more lavish mansions were situated.

Once the vehicles had stopped, for the first time since arriving in the Tyrannis Union, Maeve stepped out of her carriage along with her two handmaidens.

As if they had been waiting for their cue, the moment Maeve revealed herself, the large doors that served as the mansion's entrance opened.

Inside, Evelyn could see two rows of attendants waiting with their heads slightly bowed.

At the back of the lines of servants, however, was a single woman who was sitting on a luxurious chair with a table that had a cup of tea and several sweet laid out atop it.

With only a quick glance Evelyn was able to decern two very important characteristics of this woman. One she was undoubtedly related to Maeve. Their facial structures were similar and their hair color the same. The woman's age appeared to be in her late thirties or early forties, though it was likely she was much older than that.

The second thing Evelyn noticed wat that this woman was strong. She was keeping her magical energy restrained, but not trying to hide its potency. It was easy enough to tell that she was at the peak of the arcanist rank.

Maeve walked to the front of the group and led the way in. It seemed that now that they had arrived at the Miris Sect's Headquarters, she was no longer worried about her life being in danger.

Upon reaching two meters away from the woman seated at the table Maeve bowered her head deeply.

Her handmaidens and guards then all set one knee on the ground and lowered their heads almost to the floor.

Evelyn watched this and wondered what she should do. Just bowing her head would be one thing, but she really did not want to get on the ground.

Thankfully, Lucia took the lead in providing an example for them and bowed in the same manner as Maeve. Apparently, their falsified status as first-class citizens of the Usturg Federation meant that they did not have to show absolute deference to this woman.

"It is an honor to meet with you again Grandaunt Vivienne. Thank you for agreeing to my request and arranging a position within the Miris Sect for me." Maeve said, her head still lowered.

"It was the least I could do for my adorable grandniece. Now go ahead and raise your head. There is no need to stand on ceremony here." Vivienne said, a bright smile on her face as she addressed Maeve.

She then offered Maeve a seat, and one of the nearby attendants poured her a cup of tea and placed several confections in front of her.

"My you have grown since the last time I saw you. Both in size and your magical abilities. And it seems that you've brought some rather talented personnel with you."

Vivienne first looked down at Maeve's handmaidens and guards that were still on one knee, but when her eyes reached Evelyn, Lucia, Bylur, Aralee, and Rehni they were filled with far greater interest.

"Yes, I brought those most loyal to me along from home, as well as hired a party of mercenaries as added security. The five still standing are those most talented mercenaries, and as I am sure you are already aware, they are first-class citizens of the Federation."

"They certainly are impressive for mercenaries. I almost want to try recruiting them into the Sect, but I do not want to antagonize the Mercenary Association by poaching their members. It would be undesirable to strain relations with our neighbor." Vivienne said, a greedy glint in her eyes as she stared at specifically Lucia.

Grandniece and grandaunt continued to converse idly about this and that for several minutes.

However, Vivienne eventually got up and prepared to take her leave. There was no doubt that shew as someone important within the Miris Sect and had other matters to attend to.

"Let us speak later in private when I have the time. I wish to know what condition my father is in and the situation surrounding the family as whole." Vivienne said before departing.

Around a third of the servants waiting in the entrance left with her, but the rest stayed behind as attendants for Maeve.

Now that her grandaunt was gone, Maeve got up and began giving orders to the servants as the new master of the mansion. Several went out to grab the luggage from her carriages, while the head maid began showing her around.

While Maeve was being led away, an older gentleman approached Evelyn's party and told them that he would show them to their rooms.

'Wow, this is really just a guest room!'

In her room Evelyn found a large canopy bed with extravagant bedding. There were also three closets of varying sizes, with the largest being bigger than the room she had lived in during her first life.

Finally, there was an attached bathroom with a giant tub and a separate shower that could easily fit six people in it. Opulent soaps and makeup were neatly arranged on several counters, and a large mirror that looked like an art piece sat against one of the walls.

Evelyn was caught up in the extravagance of the space for a couple of minutes, but her wonder quickly faded. She had not come here to indulge in the Miris' Sect's hospitality. Her goal was to tear the place down, along with the rest of the Tyrannis Union.