Chapter 89: Of Currents That Flow and Depths That Watch
Chapter 89: Of Currents That Flow and Depths That Watch
Elyn’s POV
The thought lingered in my mind long after Morthen finished speaking about Lord Ignivar and his wife.
I tilted my head slightly, fingers tightening in my lap.
"You said his wife has flame attributes," I said, looking at him again. "But... I thought Ignivar’s wife was a fox demon."
Morthen adjusted his glasses, the familiar gesture precise and unhurried.
"She is," he replied calmly. "Lady Ysera is a fox demon."
That only deepened my confusion.
"Then what do you mean by flame attributes?" I asked. "I thought fox demons were... well, fox demons. They didn’t use any other elements except what is generally theirs?"
Morthen gave a small nod, as if acknowledging that the confusion was reasonable.
"Demon races are not always limited to the traits most commonly associated with their kind," he explained. "While fox demons are typically aligned with illusion, charm, spiritual perception, and mental magic, that does not prevent them from developing other attributes."
"So it’s... normal?" I asked.
"Yes," he said. "Uncommon, but not abnormal."
I leaned back slightly, absorbing that.
"Attributes can manifest independently of race," Morthen continued. "Some demons develop affinities that are not traditionally associated with their kind. It can be influenced by environment, upbringing, prolonged exposure to certain forces, or simply individual compatibility."
Vaelory frowned slightly. "So she didn’t stop being a fox demon."
"No," Morthen said. "Lady Ysera is still a fox demon. She simply possesses a secondary flame attribute."
That made more sense than I wanted it to.
"So fox demons aren’t... locked into one path," I murmured.
"No demon truly is," Morthen replied. "Race shapes potential. It does not imprison it."
I nodded slowly. The demon realm had a way of unraveling every rigid rule I’d grown up believing was absolute.
Vaelory, however, seemed to latch onto something else entirely. She wasn’t focused on what I was focused on...at all.
She straightened suddenly. "Then what about Duke Naviel?"
The name made me blink. I did not even think that that was who was on her mind at all.
Morthen paused.
Then he adjusted his glasses.
"Sir Naviel," he said carefully, "is not a Duke."
Vaelory turned sharply toward him. "He’s not?"
"No," Morthen replied. "He has never held a ducal title."
She stared at him. "I thought he was a Duke."
Morthen shook his head. "He is not."
There was no hesitation in his tone. No uncertainty.
"He is the son of a Baron," Morthen continued. "Nothing more, nothing less."
I paused.
With the way Naviel carried himself, one would think he was a Duke.
"He doesn’t act like a Baron’s son," I said slowly.
"That is because he is competent," Morthen replied plainly. "Not because he is a Duke."
Vaelory looked between us. "But he works directly with His Majesty."
"Yes," Morthen said. "As an assistant. Not as a ruler unlike Lord Ignivar."
I exhaled quietly, recalibrating everything I thought I knew.
"What type of demon is he?" I asked Morthen, seemingly moving on with the conversation faster than Vaelory was.
"He is a water demon," Morthen told us.
"Then why isn’t he the Duke of the water demons? He has the aura of a Duke," Vaelory cried out.
I gave her a look. "Why do you want him to be a Duke? Morthen just told us that Naviel isn’t."
She sighed, a crestfallen expression on her face. "I just thought he was, especially with the way he carried himself."
I ignored her. "Who then is the Duke of the water demon territory?" I asked Morthen.
"You have not met him yet, my lady. He is Lord Caleth of the Eldertide lineage. One of the oldest families in the demon realm," Morthen told us.
"And where is the water demon territory actually?" Vaelory asked him.
Morthen folded his hands behind his back.
"The water demon territory does not function like the others," he said. "It does not have fixed borders."
I frowned. "What does that mean?"
"It means," he continued, "that all rivers, lakes, underground waterways, marshlands, and inland water bodies fall under water demon dominion."
"All of them?"
"Yes."
"That’s..." I trailed off, trying to picture it.
"It is one of the most expansive territories in the realm," Morthen said. "It is known formally as the Thalassar Domain."
"There is no single centralized landmass," he explained. "Water moves. It connects distant regions. As such, the water demons’ influence is spread rather than concentrated."
"For the most part," Morthen said, "the Thalassar Domain is considered one of the most peaceful territories in the demon realm."
"For the most part?" I repeated.
He nodded. "With the exception of the seas bordering the Hellfire Territory."
That didn’t surprise me.
"Volcanic activity, unstable currents, boiling waters," he continued. "Fire and water clash most violently there."
I leaned forward, interest stirring. "Tell me, are there different types of water demons too?" I asked Morthen.
"Yes, my lady."
"One thing you should know is that there are numerous types of water demons..."
Before Morthen could finish his words, there was a knock at the door and Rin and Azerion walked in.
"My lady," Rin said with a huff. "The snake..."
"I’m not a regular snake," Azerion told her.
"You called me a raven and I’m not a regular raven so you’d be a snake to me until you call me by exactly what I am," Rin told him.
"But you are a raven demon," Azerion told her.
"And you are a snake demon," she told him then turned back to face me. "My lady, the snake demon is very annoying."
"What happened?" I asked her but it was Azerion who spoke up.
"She tried to take the jewelry on my shirt," he told me. "And I wanted to show you the jewelry first."
"I did not try to steal it," Rin said in shock.
I thought she was going to say something like, ’I was only trying to take it to check something’ or ’I just wanted to see if it was shiny,’ but then she opened that mouth of hers and shocked the living daylights out of me.
"I stole it and you took it back," she told Azerion with a glare.