Greyashe chapter 321 is entitled 'Passionate Debut'.

Previous chapter 320: You must take that first step.

Next chapter 322: Passionate Debut. II

Summaries page

-Short summary-

Fears are realized as Butcher rises to attack his foe, leaving Van and his travel mates in a precarious situation.

-Long summary-

Van is shaken to attention by a raindrop poking him on the cheek, and it’s only now he realizes he hasn’t looked up at the sky since the incident. His eyes were cast downward even when he talked to his friends for seemingly the final time, and he hadn’t bothered looking up until this gentle reminder that there is a world outside of his self-pity. Though now after meeting his father, an angelic ‘sister’ and her persistent suitor, the boy finds himself once again interested in the world. He glances upward and using his hat’s visor blocks out the sun which despite the rainy reception is still shining high in the air. Despite not really knowing where he’s going, the fact that he is once again going is more than enough for him. It’s only now that the boy realizes he’s alone, and he glances back at his group to find that in various degrees they’re clamoring over the lone flower (an angelic one at that) of the group.

Lazaro offers to carry her bridal style (as he will need the practice for the actual event.), as Colin offers to take her hand so that she doesn’t fall. Van makes a face and wonders to himself if he should just keep going on his own? He notices that Roysé is making the same face and immediately pities her. Dealing with Lazaro or Colin is manageable, but the two of them together requires more divine patience than she can muster. The boy knows that getting involved means invoking one or the other’s wrath, and wonders how he can help her without having to put up with too much trouble? He looks around and finds a long stick, picks it up and hands it to the angel explaining that it can be her walking stick to avoid objects and give her a sense of general direction. He assumes her hearing is acute so she can just follow their steps, which means they’ll all have to either walk in front of her or at her side.

Colin strokes his stubble and agrees that this is the best course of action, and applauds his son for being smarter than most people here. Lazaro fumes at the thinly veiled insult, and states that he will walk directly in front of the angel. Van sighs and allows his exasperation to show just a bit by asking Lazaro why It’s so important he go too? Surely wandering around with them can’t be all that interesting to him since he’s supposed to be a God.

Lazaro crosses his arms and without missing a beat states that he will never let Roysé out of his sight. He’s lost her several times –due to Colin, and a few due to his own negligence. This time however he won’t let her go. She is precious to him, and if wandering around with his sworn enemy and his son is how he’ll be able to spend more time with his precious then so be it.

Roysé turns bright red and covers her face. Doesn’t he know how embarrassing that sounds? Van smiles uneasily, and replies to the inquiry not spoken. Lazaro is so full of confidence in himself that he probably doesn’t feel that anything he does is embarrassing at all. Lazaro turns up his nose and confirms this by saying that embarrassment is for fools who lack the gumption to believe in what they’re doing. If you believe in something why should you be embarrassed about it? Van expects his father to retort this somehow, but is surprised when he remains silent and walks by his son with an enigmatic expression leaving the two younger men with the girl. Lazaro then glares at Van and says that he has Roysé and he can join his father. Van begins to turn and go, but Roysé nimbly keeps in stride with him. She comments that her brother has ‘gentle footsteps’ that are more pleasing to her ears, so she’ll follow him. Lazaro stares at his feet and tries to mimic Van’s walking for a while before he nearly trips and simply walks alongside the two.

Van asks Roysé in a whisper if she’s still uneasy about being out in public like this? Roysé turns to the sound of his voice and gives a small curt nod. She understands that Colin means well, but her enemy is one who would stop at nothing to destroy anything she holds dear in an attempt to cause her anguish. If it were just her and him, she could handle the risk and maybe she had avoided being around others just for that reason. Though she just couldn’t say no to Colin when he found her collapsed and tired from her own psychosis –the persecution complex that danced in the eyes of everyone she met along her journey. If he or any of the boys were to get hurt because of her then it would be the straw that breaks her very soul snapping in two.

Van mulls this over and asks if her enemy would be able to find her that easily? Is it the angel remanence she had talked about? Isn’t that something she can just stop emitting or something? Roysé confesses to only knowing a little bit about the phenomenon herself as other angels rarely had to worry about the effects they had on others. That being said, she doesn’t know if the enemy she hides from is able to seek her out by being familiar with the remanence, but his power grows even more terrifying with each passing day. Van’s eyes narrow, and he asks if the ones who pursue her are the sentinents? Roysé’s eyes open and focus on the boy with all of their emptiness. He can sense it well, her fear, frustration and loathing….and his question is answered without a single word being said. He then nods and reassures the girl that they won’t allow anything to happen to her. Lazaro shoves Van out of the way and asks about their secret conversation, and as he starts a one-sided argument with the farseeing boy, Roysé looks in Colin's direction as he strides away into the distance seemingly without a care in the world. She asks herself why he’d push for this knowing all of the risks? She knows he’s pushing his son to some unseen end, but could he be doing the same to her…?

The ‘Angel remanence’ as known to the angels themselves is the result of myths and legends spurred in part by Dio’s search for the angel known as ‘Ambriel’. Humans coined the phrase out of an ironic sense of mystique, claiming that being around certain individuals granted effects not unlike immortality and good fortune. Upon learning of the possible existence of heaven dwellers, they coined the phrase ‘angel remnance’, which the angels above conformed to in an attempt to explain the strange effect they seem to have on their non-divine brethren.  While in theory what Claire and Ambriel(Royce) had explained to the members of their parties is correct, there is an unseen side to the remanence that they have no knowledge of. A side that would only confirm the wayward angel’s deepest fears about her public appearance, and lead to struggles along an already thorny path.

Shrewlund: King’s palace. The current dwelling of one Butcher…leader of the once trio of sentinents, a martyr in his own opinion who had taken the form of his enemies when his people had long gone back to being immaterial, so that he can exact revenge. Butcher had taken a liking to the Shrewlund republic and it’s bountiful magician population and quickly took over upon spurning the ‘recall’, turning it into his fortress and headquarters. It is a capital of trade as various items are made here using the magicians and shipped to both users and non-users of agape. It is here that Butcher seeks to strengthen his stranglehold of his enemies by taking their wares and sic’ing magicians on them until they have no choice but to submit or be submitted to his own brand of torture. Now that the deal struck with the angels had all but broken down he is literally like a child left at home to  his own devices. In this case however, nothing can be done by the parents as the child is wily enough to know his own rights and have a major chip in his favor….that the angels and the humans had started the conflict first. With this knowledge he could very well hold on to the notion that he is right and be correct in assuming this.

Butcher sits upon the throne and calls for his attendant Hiram. Hiram approaches from a side room as if he expected to be called, and bows before his king. He is a man within his late forties with a short brown haircut and small eyes that seem to be permanently narrowed. He wears a long robe, vestments of the previous king and walks with his hands clasped behind his back. His mouth is hidden behind a long brown beard, but one can detect just a slight bit of arrogant spite in his movement and actions. Butcher needs at least one human at his side to explain the world’s anthropology, and Hiram knows he won’t be replaced or killed because of this.

Butcher motions boredly for his attendant to stand and asks if he’s found anything about the corpse he asked him to examine? Why had it been toxic to him? Hiram nods and explains that nothing unusual had been found in the body itself, but after considering the means that Mist the Silverwind had died in, he has a theory. Butcher sits up attentively, and Hiram takes this as non-verbal permission to continue. He explains that there is more than one sort of ‘love’…nay ‘affection’ that people possess. The type that he and his magic breathern are familiar with is ‘desire’. However, what Mist had displayed is something akin to passion. What kind of passion she displayed is unknown to him, but it appears that ‘affection’ is psychologically damaging to him. If he is to conquer humanity, he will need to get over this handicap or he will perish.

Butcher narrows his eyes and asks what he should do to deal with this weakness? Hiram’s lips twist into a sadistic smile, and he suggests to the sentinent that he take the human approach and attack the problem head on. Butcher looks at him unamused, but understanding the irony in his words. He then asks how many magicians are in the city of Mahadelic? Hiram is surprised and answers that a few are, but he can’t be sure of their numbers without contacting them. Butcher commands that he does so, as he knows his true ‘enemy’ is heading there. The fool had made the mistake of revealing herself…and because he had been near her at the time of that great ‘passion’, he always has at least an ‘inkling’ of where she is. Her remanence is stronger now, which means she must have found someone to care for her…which means he now has a target to destroy. She had done well to hide for so long, but that remanence will give her away for as long as she lives and get stronger whenever she’s with someone she cares about. He knows as well that there are two ‘remanences’, and that Baker pursued one in order to eradicate it on his behalf. Truly he knows that his obsession with finding and destroying ‘that angel’, is unhealthy…so unhealthy that even he realizes how wrong it is. Baker is only being a good soldier, going to ‘deal with’ what might be the unraveling of his commander, but he had only watched at that time and is only somewhat familiar with remnance, which is why he had gotten it wrong. Yet he can’t be upset with his course of action.

Hiram bows and begins to leave when a figure appears in the entrance of the palace room. The figure lumbers in and the adviser and sentinent are confronted with a rock golem –Grimm the rocksteady. His eyes are devoid of any emotion, and he draws closer to Butcher, unable to assume human form due to the ‘recall’ that had damaged his agape and psyche….yet what draws him to Butcher now isn’t a call from his master. It is another ‘passion’. Butcher stands and without changing expression asks Hiram about Grimm. Hiram quickly states that he is one of the Kaiser mage select, as is his daughter who he just killed. He is about to state more when Butcher holds up his hand and says that he’s heard enough. He then cricks his neck and fingers stating that he will take his adviser’s advice and tackle his ‘handicap’ against ‘passion’ head on.

A few hours later, Van, Colin, Roysé and Lazaro arrive in a town under a downpour. Van’s early greeting was a precursor to a more momentous storm, and the group just barely managed to get into town and under an awning before they got soaked to the bone. The four stand under the awning for a while silently looking out into the rain, until Colin gazes around and frowns, muttering that something is off. Van asks his father what he could mean, and he states that it’s too quiet. Van begins to admonish him for thinking too much, but he quickly recalls how Aschner had said the same thing right before his end came, and decides to take his Dad seriously. He asks why his father feels that way, and Colin replies it feels much too like someone cleared the town out moreso than it being just empty due to natural causes.

Van squints through the rain and notices what his Dad means. It’d be easy to mistake this place as a ghost town, but there are signs such as buildings and houses in relatively good standing, a park with flowers still in bloom and most of all cars still present. He turns to his Dad to ask what he thinks happened here, but then sees something more disturbing in the rain. Van points and the others follow his extended arm to the group of three shadows walking in the rain towards them. The two farseers can immediately tell that these are magicians, which means only one thing.

Butcher knows they’re here.

Van snaps back and motions for his sister, father and Lazaro to run, but one of the magicians shapes the wind and launches a ball of pure water at them, temporarily submerging the group. Van who was ready for a sudden movement manages to dive out of the water ball before he drowns, and takes Roysé with him. Lazaro surprisingly comes out untouched as Colin pulls himself out of the wave as well, but their movements are still too slow as another magician with a bandaged face lunges and behind him a wave of soil rises and quickly descends on the group. Once again Lazaro is unhurt and simply strides over to a third magician who is aiming for the angel and deftly kicks him away. Colin and Van on the other hand aren’t quite so lucky and find themselves pinned down by the fourth magician as the first prepares another water ball to drown them on land. Van glances back at Lazaro who stands beside Royce without any inclination to help them. Roysé opens her eyes in a futile attempt to see what’s going on and begs Lazaro to explain. The would-be God boredly says that Colin is finally getting his comeuppance. While it is a little sad that his seemingly innocent son would die too, it’s not his problem. Roysé begs him to help them, but he crosses his arms and declines. He’s only here for her. Not them.

Van struggles to move as the water ball takes shape and gets wider with every second. Colin tries to break free but the third magician kicks him hard in the face knocking him out. Van feels panic rising within him as his mind races for a solution that will save he and his father’s life. He remembers back in the cave where Lazaro had revealed the fate of his people, and gets an idea. He hadn’t wanted to voice this since it was no more than a theory, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

He yells for Lazaro to listen to him. He asks if he doesn’t think it’s strange that despite following his Dad around for a while as they went from hiding place to hiding place they’re only being attacked now? Moreover that they’re not attacking Royce? Lazaro digs in his ear and acknowledges this, but still doesn’t see where is logic is going. Van grits his teeth and yells back that his people being killed wasn’t just an accident either….a person manipulated them into killing each other! Lazaro glares at the boy, his distaste for this topic of conversation becoming evident. So? What is he saying? Van finally brings it home by telling him that the enemy who pursues Roysé, and left him a sole survivor is one and the same, and he’s attacking them now!

The water ball is dangerously near the two farseer’s heads at this point, and just when it looks like they’ll be resigned to a watery grave, the magician with the water ball suddenly leans forward as if a weight is being placed on his back, and soon is on the ground writhing for air. The water ball disappears and Van instinctively turns to Lazaro who has his arm extended and his fingers spread.

He grins maniacally stating that Van has finally said something worth listening to.