Michael & Marc

Michael Usiris the Magus
1840 also saw the House of Hermes move into in Gwent. Remembering his negative experience with Benedict Aurelius Usiris, Indrus postponed meeting his new magus until abruptly one night, as he and Jevon returned from hunting he was aware of a strange presence in Mansion House. He told Jevon to stay back and entered his library- to behold a youthful human in his mid-twenties who was standing, reading a book of Owain's poetry.

The magus smiled and told Indrus that he was Michael Uisiris, Benedict's son and that against his father's adament desires, that immediately upon graduating from Cambridge, he had presented himself as a candidate to found a new House of Hermes in southern Wales and chosen Newport instead of Cardiff or Swansea. Indrus was both disconcerted and intruiged by the young magus.

Duke Marc Iago Carradoc
From Michael, he learned that one of King Gwyn ap Nudd's sons, Iago had performed some strange rite of possession in the Wedgewood Forest with the help of the Bleid-dyn and taken a truly human form. Calling himself Marc Iago Carradoc, the fey noble had declared himself the Duke of Lion's Gate, the Otherworld brushing against Gwent and seized Caldicot Castle as his domain. Brusquely, Indrus threw Michael out and summoned Myfawny. She and Pritchard had both agreed to come and serve his court, bringing their own registered progeny with them to Gwent. He'd already given them the task to chase out or kill any other stray vampires who'd sequestered themselves in the city. Now he prepared a letter for her to take to the fey upstart.

Myfawny returned a few nights later and told her sire that the Duke was "dreamy" and provided him with a cask of gold and jewels gifted to him as an appology by Marc. She urged him to overlook the fey's blatant violations of the Treaty of Ivy, reminding him that Jevon's embrace was also such an act.

Myfawny also told Indrus that the Duke had told her that the fey had a Goblin Market in the otherworld that brushed into Newport's own market which they wanted to be built up in very specific ways- and would pay handsomely in terms of feycrafted items and boons for.

Pritchard and Myfawny rarely saw eye-to-eye but both of them urged him to make an alliance with the city fey. He told them to take care of it in his name. Then he left his estate house and let himself just blur as he had when followed Belli Mawr's call north upon awakening from barrowing himself.

Indrus' Response
He went directly to Ranier, entering the younger prince's estate after presenting himself to Ranier's gate guards. Once inside, he was taken directly to Ranier's chambers where he found Ranier engaged in a bloody feast with a naked witch that is introduced to him as Annabelle Constantine. She's licking the blood off his fingers. Likewise in the room is Jewellian and his own witch Ezmerelda.

Jewellian boldly shifts into a dire wolf in front of Indrus and Ranier lays back upon him, robe open and the two witches moving to curl into him. He asks Indrus how he can help him, talking and moving seductively. Indrus jerks back and walks away without answering him and moves out of the mansion but feels a soft call northwards. Its nearly dawn but he follows it, taking the brunt and pain of the sun before he reaches a large cave and walking in, is greeted by Melyn-Goch who takes an owl from a cage and slays it, mixing its blood with hers into a glass and offering it.

Indrus accepts it greatfully and begins to talk to her about how he'd never thought through what it would be like, to stop hiding from humans, to dominate and subjugate them. Freeing Wales from England still brought him the deep satisfaction but of all the changes he'd had to adjust to since his creation, this was the hardest and he was struggling.

Sympathetically she listened and told him this was exactly why she had given Cardiff to Ranier and let him have the title, the power, the responsibility while she indulged in the freedom to live as she always had- away from humans. She had never cared who ruled the humans, she was so old she remembered when the land had been ruled by the gods and told him the story of Diangeuw's curse and that her own grandmother had been one of the babies born when Gilfaethwy and Gwydion had been cursed by Math fab Mathonwy- now a but a swan and that she had tricked him into making her immortal by switching places with the human girl he'd chosen to be his meal one beltaine night and then bewitched him. She told him that she had been as beautiful and carnal as Ranier's witches in those days, three thousand years ago and Diangeuw just as wicked and clever as Ranier.

Reaching out, she carressed the side of his face with her withered hand and told him that all things die, even gods. Indrus moved closer and they undressed each other and exchanged blood and pleasured each other. At moonrise, she was already gone when he awoke and went home.