Kuroki Tsubasa no Moto ni
(Beneath Wings of Black)
Book 2: Silver and Gold

by Midori Kusanada




Note: The following tale was conceived as a side-story to the title Angelique: Tenkuu no Requiem and became the basis for the game Angelique: Maren no Rokukishi / Maren no Roku Kishi / Six Knights of Dark Love.
About naming: Leviath's blond staff officer was referred to in certain materials released around the time of
Requiem as "Kiefar" but is named "Kiefer" in Maren. I've used the seemingly original spelling of "Kiefar" here, but if you want to do a find-and-replace, feel free.
"Elis" almost certainly refers to the mythical Eris, but "Elis" has been in use for so long in the English-speaking fandom that to heck with it.
Translation by R. Capowski, 5/25/13. I can be contacted through the usual channels.




Table of Contents

Book 2: Silver and Gold
1. A Story That Begins with Death
2. A Chance Encounter
3. Truth
4. Night




Book 2
Silver and Gold




1
A Story That Begins with Death

The house of Ragna was all abuzz that morning.

One of the young maidservants had died, they said.

The girl's name was Elis.

"Did you know her, Master?" Thirteen-year-old Selena had broached the topic in an attempt to dodge her studies.

"No. I didn't." The neat trim of Cain's shoulder-length hair shook as he gave a curt shake of his head. He was only six years older than his pupil, so she regarded him as little more than another playmate. He had to attempt to uphold at least some degree of professionalism while on the job.

"Elis was chosen to be the Emperor's consort, but she just couldn't bear the thought, and so she flung herself from the west tower last night! They say she had a lover - a 'Lord Leviath'! It's sooooo tragic!!" Selena opened her blue eyes wide, the very picture of brattiness, as she mimicked her mother's relay of the events. Her father was captain of the Emperor's personal guard, so any news from the family was highly credible.

Cain's face darkened. This was a distasteful story, he thought - one he had heard somewhere before. No - one he had heard everywhere before. The poor woman would be the talk of the palace gossips for a while, and then be completely forgotten. But he could sympathize with this Leviath, having once been in similar circumstances himself.

He had been invited to this palace to be Selena's tutor only very recently - the great royal city where the royal houses large and small and the privileged classes lived, with the Emperor's palace at its core. The royal family's palaces stood clustered in a secluded corner of the city surrounded by forest, seemingly looking down on all the rest. He took no interest in the high nobility who lived there, so he knew little about their business.

He resolved to put his professional reserve on the back burner for the time being. With the time for studying they had left, he received a breathless lecture from his pupil on the whole sad tale.

~*~

This "Leviath" was high royalty - the Emperor's nephew. He'd be eighteen this year, they said. Despite his parentage, he was not in line for the throne - he was a dispossessed prince. Or, rather, his father was.

While his father was still crown prince, however, he had compounded an unforgivable error he had previously committed on Armis, home to the Imperial capital, and its outlying colonies. As a result, the Emperor himself removed the prince from the line of succession and forbade him from ever taking the throne - a decision with which the royalty and residents of the imperial city were all in full agreement. The current Emperor's ascension to the throne was received with great rejoicing, and his pitiful brother was relegated to his younger brother's shadow.

This much, Cain knew on his own.

The dispossessed elder brother - and the wife and child he took - were, however, permitted to remain on the palace grounds. It was perhaps the easiest and safest option available to the Emperor - to keep his incompetent brother close at hand, under his watchful eye, as a sort of pet. And so this was the brother's only child - this Leviath Ragna Alviss. According to Selena, of course.

Lord Leviath had been frequenting bars in the cities underground to drown his resentment of his miserable lot, getting into brawls and coming home soused. He was no better than a small-time hoodlum, with no friends save for his father, the gossips said. Even when his dear lover Elis had died, they claimed, his expression changed not a bit, and he had staggered off that very morning to his usual drunken pastimes. The girl, Elis, had been a lowly maid, so what would he care if the Emperor stole her away - what would he care even if she killed herself for his sake? The ladies of the court were taken aback by his faithlessness.

Cain's breathing grew labored, as if something had taken hold of his heart. He excused himself from Selena's study and went outside, heading for a small, removed summer villa that was deserted this time of year. He stopped for a while outside its elegant white face and leaned against the cold stone railing, looking out at a dead winter landscape shrouded in grey.

~*~

No matter how much time passed, her face never faded from his mind.

Her breast as it shuddered; her blood as it gushed from her heart...

How long had it been since he had been able to get back on his feet? Nominally, he had recovered from his heartbreak, but in truth, he was just going through the motions - like a lifeless automaton, hollow inside.

~*~

"Lord Leviath!"

Cain turned around with a start at the voice behind him. From a small path that wended its way around the back of the villa came a tall, slender young man with black hair. He wore a brown cape and leather boots atop a simple but well-tailored outfit the color of dry grass. The young man stopped still; from behind, a short and stout middle-aged man ran up to him.

"Whew...there you are, Lord Leviath!!" cried the man in a raspy voice, his face beaded with sweat. He heaved an exaggerated sigh.

"Leviath"......then this man is the dispossessed prince......!

Surprised, Cain regarded the man anew. He had imagined the young man to be haggard and wan, conjuring the image of a caged bird with faded plumage.

But was he really? Another look, and Cain saw the man instead as a honed blade. His toned limbs were more befitting a young military officer than a nobleman, and he bore his handsome features with the dignity of royalty - but the depth and gravity of his expression beyond a doubt spoke of a young man wise beyond his years.

The older man with the dark brown hair sidled next to the silent Leviath. "I had heard that you'd been sneaking out of town, but here you are! right in the royal house. Chalk one up for my intuition, hmmm? Well, whatever are you doing in a place like this?!"

The young man returned his intrusive questions with a stony glare. "Nothing," replied a voice that was cold and dead. But the older man didn't seem to care; he pressed on, the smile thick upon his face. From his unsavory character and gaudy dress, Cain guessed him to be a palace merchant.

"I heard the news about Miss Elis, and I couldn't be more heartbroken! I haven't a clue why the Emperor would engage in such outrageous behavior... I mean, Miss Elis was such a nice girl - it's such a waste!......" The man's gaze flitted about his listener's face to take stock of how his words were received, and he changed his tone accordingly.

"Well, you know good old Marouk, Lord Leviath - I've always been on your side! We can't let this stand, can we?!" The young man was silent; taking this as assent, the older man continued. "After all, you are the rightful heir to the throne. It is only natural that you should want to regain your place. Of course...you're going to need help..."

But the man stopped speaking suddenly; he had noticed that his listener's gaze was fixed upon something just beyond him. In his sights was Cain.

~*~

The moment Cain's eyes met Leviath's, Cain was mesmerized. His right eye was gold, the mark of the royal house. His left eye, however, was of the most brilliant emerald green - a reminder of the circumstances of his unfortunate existence. Both seemed to glow from within with the lustre of exquisitely crafted glass orbs. What emotions stirred beneath their depths? Stare into them long enough, and it seemed you could go blind from the light within.

Cain felt dizzy; he swooned, feeling as if were going to faint. Chills and illusions, light and darkness all seemed to tear apart his heart at once. That's right - he remembered this feeling--

~*~

"YOU THERE!! WHO ARE YOU?!--" A high-pitched shriek of rage snapped Cain back to reality. The man named Marouk was threatening him from the safety of the prince's shadow. "Just how long have you been listening to us, hmmm??

Surrendering himself, Cain moved closer to the two men and bowed. "We haven't met. I work as a private tutor for General Konrad's daughter."

"Konrad!!" Upon hearing the name of the head of the Imperial Guard, Maruch's eyes bulged from their sockets. Leviath's own mismatched eyes narrowed.

"What's your name?"

"Cain."

"...Strange eyes you have. They're too still for somebody living, with a look too distant for somebody dead." Leviath's tone was that of someone at the brink of the abyss, perched on the knife's edge between life and death. Cain knew firsthand what it was like to be trapped in such a deep well of despair.

"Lord Leviath--" Cain couldn't stop himself from speaking. "--Don't become like me. Find a reason to live."

Leviath, as expected, did not respond. But his eyes - which shone more and more like jewels the closer he got - fixed themselves ever more tightly on Cain.

"Hmph - what babble. Say a word about this, and in an instant, I'll have your head!!" Marouk barked, his eyes wild.

"One more thing..." said Cain, turning away from the other two. "You'd be better served without men like that at your side. ...Excuse me."

And he left, to the sound of the older man's incensed shrieks. "You--you--I'LL KILL YOU!! I'll KILL you before you even get the chance to squeal!! Leave him to me, Lord L--L--L--Leviath--*gasp*--*gasp*--*gasp*--" Sweat rolled down the man's face in fat drops as he screamed.

"He has the most magnificent golden aura."

"Huh?" Marouk looked up and noticed that a smile had flickered across Leviath's face. Words failed him in his shock.

"A man's real worth truly does lie beneath. ...He's beautiful." His gaze still followed Cain, who was receding ever farther away.

But his smile was not one of joy. It was instead at a sense of a change in the air, like a lone bud emerging from a season sunken in grey haze - a summer breeze that wrapped Leviath in warmth.




2
A Chance Encounter

Cain returned to the manor just in time for his midday meal. Afterward, he left for the library inside the Imperial palace. Its grand halls were covered with giant maps and canvases.

"Cain?"

He stopped still at the sudden sound of his name. From behind a brilliant red curtain gracefully emerged a tall young man. He was stylishly attired in a tailored dark green suit, and the loose curls of his dark blond hair were tied behind him with black ribbon. He had a doll's skin, glassy and white, and a doll's visage, delicate and masklike.

The young man proceeded toward Cain, flashing his teeth with a grin. But there was no mirth there in the cold glint of his eyes. ...This man is dangerous, thought Cain, every sense sounding an alarm.

The young man made no attempt to hide the cruelty and sadism in his face. He did, however, seem to take note of the wariness in Cain's expression, and put on a cheerful affect.

He danced nearer Cain and murmured in a lilting voice: "I've learned so much about you...at Lord Leviath's request, of course! You seem quite the capable man - a man of talent."

Another one? thought Cain. What was it about Prince Leviath that drew such poisonous characters to him? He wanted to hold his head in his hands.

The young man sidled closer and smiled, though the smile did not reach his eyes. He looked upward so their eyes would meet; Cain was half a head taller than he was. "Lord Leviath has taken an interest in you...but ours is no business for a fine, upstanding gentleman like yourself. Go! Run! Right now - and I won't say a word."

Cain almost shot back a retort but recovered himself. "Don't worry. I have no intention of coming close to Lord Leviath." The young man certainly possessed a strange magnetism about him, but whoever he was, Cain had no intention of being drawn in - by him or anyone else.

But the young man glanced downward with the strangest look on his face and snickered to himself - as if in disbelief of his listener's ignorance. If it were a performance, it was a brilliant one.

"You don't understand. There's a carriage with the Imperial crest headed for General Konrad's manor as we speak."

"What?" For the first time, Cain lost his composure.

"...You'll fetch quite a high price, I think." As he registered Cain's blanched complexion, he laughed all the more gaily to himself.

Just then, a figure appeared in one of the plazas connected to the corridor. Another young man, this time in a mustard-colored outfit, but with the same blond hair.

"There you are, Kiefar!" The new presence put one hand on the snickering man's shoulder; in build, in height, in features - they were mirror images of each other.

"We have to get back; we're going to be late!" The second boy threw Kiefar a gentle smile. They were clearly twins, yet a mere glance at the newcomer's expression - so friendly and full of vibrant charm - called the entire idea into question.

"Then go for all I care!! I'm not coming." Kiefar's thin eyebrows knit, and he knocked his brother's hand away.

"But why, Kiefar?!......"

"I'm going to amuse myself at Lord Leviath's estate. I'm not a palace-dweller like you. If I so much as show my face over there, they'll kill me where I stand."

"But Mother will be heartbroken!"

"Mother will be just fine with you there. Go on. Your inbred royalty's that way." Kiefar pointed back toward the exit. The twins were as different as night and day - as golden sun and silvery moon.

Day slumped his shoulders in sad resignation and departed, looking back several times over his shoulder at his brother. But there was nothing but despise in Kiefar's face. His house must have been a living hell just by virtue of his brother's presence. Everyone has a right to happiness; those who have had that right stolen by cruel fate lose their faith forever - become demons themselves. Cain understood why Kiefar would choose to follow Leviath.

When the boy disappeared completely from view, the masklike smile returned to Kiefar's face. "Well, I must be going. I've warned you as best I can; farewell!"

"Wait a moment...'Kiefar,' is it?"

"Hmmm?...What is it?" Kiefar's chestnut eyes met Cain's steel-grey ones.

"I'd like to meet with Lord Leviath. Will you take me to him?"

Cain's expression mixed animosity with shock. He shrugged his shoulders: "Well, I don't know; this is no business of mine."

"I won't pose any problems for you. I take full responsibility for my own actions."

With a condescending smirk, the young man gestured for Cain to follow.




3
Truth

Leviath and his parents lived in an old, gloomy keep surrounded by black forest that loomed high above its surroundings. Kiefar had hired a coachman from the city center, tipping the driver generously. He claimed he was seventeen, but he seemed to know already how to make his way in the world, well-accustomed to the workings of the Imperial capital.

Kiefar stormed into the castle with nary a word from the gatekeeper. He blithely asked a passing maid: "Hey, lamb chop, is Lord Leviath back yet?"

"No, not yet. He left for town this morning," the servant girl answered quickly, then at once disappeared.

Kiefar laughed to himself. "Girl's probably upset that Lord Leviath's not in sackcloth and ashes over that Elis," he chattered, showing himself up the stairs. Cain followed silently.

"...Women. One peasant wench dies, and they think the man's world should stop turning. ...Well, here we are."

Kiefar flung open the door to what seemed like a spare room, furnished only with a table and two chairs built into the wall. The two men entered.

A filmy curtain hung before a large window on the outer wall, through which one could see the forest and the sheer cliffs below; beyond lay a ravine that glistened like silver. Cain would have never guessed that within the royal city lay hidden such a place.

A swiftly setting sun cast a bright pallor on the sky above and trees below.

"So you believed what I said?" From behind Cain came Kiefar's voice, stifling a snicker.

"Huh?"

"What I said before. About you being sold into slavery."

"...That was a lie?"

"Of course! And you're supposed to be smart!!" Kiefar nearly fell over laughing at the table, the very picture of a demon. All Cain could do was to keep his composure so as not to give Kiefar any further satisfaction. He clenched his fist; his nails drew blood.

"...But it's true that Lord Leviath has taken an interest in you." The man stopped laughing; a mask of jealousy slipped over his features. "He's never done this before...shown interest in anyone else, that is. I don't understand what makes you so special."

Cain was confused. "Wait. You said that Lord Leviath wanted me...for what?"

"For his revolution, of course!" Kiefar stood up and spread his arms wide as wings. "He was born to rule the universe. He is its rightful lord...the rightful heir to the Emperor's throne!......" The young man's face was flushed - his voice rose in his fervor.

"He wants revenge - revenge against all those who attempted to extinguish his bright promise! His incompetent father, his blood-sucking mother, all those who whispered behind his back that he wasn't pure royalty because he didn't have two golden eyes, the ignorant masses who failed to respect the true royal bloodline...and, above all, that lazy, arrogant usurper of an Emperor!! And once he has his vengeance against them all, Lord Leviath will reclaim his rightful place - the throne to which he was born...!"

"--Stop!!..." Cain wanted to stop his ears. Yet again, he was snared in a spider's web. If he heard another word, he'd never be able to escape - would be trapped forever in the dark world of Lord Leviath and this boy...!

Suddenly, a realization came to Cain.

"...Wait. Kiefar, what draws you so to Lord Leviath?"

"'What'?...Everything. From the very moment I saw him, his overwhelming might - the blinding light he veritably radiates from every pore...I saw that he wasn't a man. He was a god. Before such power, I can only bow."

Upon hearing Kiefar's words, Cain rested both hands on his shoulders to steady him and looked him in the eye.

"Kiefar, no...that was magecraft that you felt."

"'Magecraft'?"

"I can sense it, just as you. I happened to meet a traveling mage once who informed me of the fact. Lord Leviath...has probably harbored great natural affinity for the art since he was born."

"But...then that means...!"

"You did indeed feel that 'masterful' air coming from Lord Leviath - but it resides in his flesh, not his soul. He's not this perfect god who can blithely orchestrate this bloodthirsty revenge you want! You have to understand that!!"

Kiefar's eyes glazed over, any thought behind them absent. "Lord Leviath...told me to wait here...I wonder what could be keeping him?"

"It's getting dark. I hope nothing's happened..." Cain's own face darkened. Magecraft or not, he couldn't let himself lose himself in those eyes of Leviath's.

The sky outside had faded to pale violet. A lone breeze caught the curtain, which rustled in the breeze. The two men's eyes met, then flew back to the window.

"Where is...Lord Leviath--!!"

"Over there - the cliff!!" Kiefar pointed to the wall of rock far below. Lord Leviath had climbed down its face, a large bundle wrapped in cloth in his hand.

"What...what is he doing?!"

"I don't know. But we have to go after him!" As fast as their legs could take them, the two men raced from the room.




4
Night

Splash.

Drops of water trickled down from the black roof of rock above.

...Splash.

This was the cave where Leviath used to come to cry as a little boy. Here now - here with Elis's body - he couldn't even do that.

He'd crept into the church to steal her away. The act had pushed him to the limit, and he finally couldn't bear it any longer.

...Splash.

He gently unwrapped the shroud around her cold corpse. Her face emerged, so peaceful he'd have thought she was just sleeping.

...Splash.

The drops of water from above dampened the silent face...and rained down upon Leviath as well.

~*~

I love you, Leviath....I'll love you forever and ever...!

~*~

Everything would be all right...just so long as Elis was here. ...Nothing else mattered.

He wanted to stay here...just the two of them, forever and ever.

~*~

Several sodden splashes above echoed throughout the cave. Leviath looked up; he saw the light of two lamps, bobbing up and down, coming closer.

"You--!!" His golden eye shone in the dim. He sensed the two young men's presence - not with sight, but with his inner eye. Cain and Kiefar, on the other hand, were relieved to find Leviath safe and sound.

"You'll catch cold here, sire. We came to bring you back." Cain, the one with the golden aura, held out his hand.

"Savages!!...Can't you allow a man to say his goodbyes!?"

"Forgive us!" squawked Kiefar, the one with the silver aura.

Leviath took the shrouded body in his arms and stood.

"Lord Leviath, where are we going?"

"To bury her. I won't let them have her... I'll lay Elis to rest in a field of flowers she loved."

~*~

The three left the cave. Night was swiftly falling; countless stars twinkled silently above.

After the arduous climb up the steep canyon walls, they emerged in a wide, flat meadow that suddenly opened upon the landscape like an empty stage. The scene in winter was cold and hard, but come spring, it would explode in a million brilliant blossoms in countless colors.

The men dug a grave with sticks and stones, laid the body within, and covered it with earth. A long time passed in their labor, during which no one said a word, conducting their somber ceremony in silence. After the last handful of earth was replaced, Leviath finally spoke.

"I'm leaving the palace tonight." The solemn pronouncement seemed to echo across the night beneath the stars. "When I have power enough - when I have gathered an army - then I will return...to vanquish the Emperor and take my rightful place." So said he before the grave of the woman he loved, as if to swear an oath to himself.

"I will follow you anywhere!" Kiefar stepped forward. "I've already received my due payment for forfeiting my right of inheritance - in preparation for when this day would come. I have no pleasure greater than service to you." Kiefar bowed deeply. Leviath gave a simple nod in reply.

"And what about you, Cain? Are you coming with us or staying?"

"I will follow you." Cain's heart was made up the moment he saw Leviath in the cave. Leviath would probably have never left that place had not Kiefar and Cain come to retrieve him. That fact shook Cain's heart like none other.

"Please hear me out, Lord Leviath. Like yours, my fiancee was desired by our lord and died a wretched death at her own hand. My heart died that day...but I want yours to live. I know helping it to do so is my purpose. Please, take me with you...be it to the ends of the earth."

~*~

And so the three returned to Leviath's castle, made preparations for their journey, and left its walls forever.

It happened when they set foot in the plaza in the city center.

"Hey, it's rude to leave without saying goodbye, Lord Leviath!" An ear-splitting yawp stopped the group in their tracks. Marouk's round face emerged with a smirk from the darkness between the pillars. "Heyyy, take me with you! Those two've no currency with the world, but the great merchant Marouk - his name opens doors everywhere!"

"What help could you possibly be to Lord Leviath?" But Leviath held Kiefar back and stepped forward.

"Marouk, you knew we were coming here, didn't you. Merchants' intuition?"

"Heh...heh heh. You could say that!"

Cain felt a sense of unease flood his heart. From where had this man come during the daytime? He'd found Leviath immediately at the villa, and now here...it couldn't be mere chance. He couldn't be...was there someone watching Lord Leviath...? A feeling of dread had steadily crept over him ever since he had entered the plaza, and this only confirmed his suspicions.

"Kiefar." He called the blond over in a whisper and saw even in the dim night that his face was ghastly white.

"Cain, I don't feel well..."

"Kiefar, you're more sensitive than I am. From where do you feel the magecraft coming?" Kiefar held out a shaking hand from beneath his cloak and pointed to a building in the plaza's southeast corner. On the second-story balcony appeared a solid shadow in black.

"Lord Leviath, the building next to the church - watch out!!" cried Cain. Leviath's eyes darted in its direction.

"Damn!...Marouk, have you been brokering information to the Emperor's mages!?"

"Hm? Well, commerce comes second nature to a merchant..."

"Lord Leviath, LOOK OUT!!" Kiefar screamed.

Cain was overcome with chills; his skin turned to goose flesh. He frantically grabbed Kiefar and dove for cover.

Bright flame wreathed the plaza like a great crimson flower blooming in the dark. Leviath's black cape danced high behind him in silhouette.

Marouk, left behind, took the full brunt of the attack, and he fell in an instant wrapped in flame.

"HYAAAAA--!!" His scream was all that was left of him.

Leviath, who had vacated the space in the nick of time, dashed toward from where the attack had come. "I know your weakness - you're defenseless until you've finished chanting!!" He threw the scabbard of his dagger aside and hurled it above as he ran. The figure in black above writhed with a strangled scream, and disappeared into the darkness, as if swallowed by the building.

~*~

Magecraft fire still flickered and burned throughout the plaza.

Upon his return, Leviath took his scabbard and the contents of his pack and scattered them around Marouk's charred body. If he could confuse his pursuers somewhat, perhaps he could gain some time.

Cain and Kiefar ran up to him. "Lord Leviath, are you hurt?"

"No, not seriously. I brought down one, but the rest got away." Leviath spoke waveringly, but Cain heaved an inward sigh of relief at the sight of him safe.

"So that is magecraft...such a frightful art," Kiefar muttered as he surveyed the scene, wrinkling his nose at the burning smell.

Cain steeled himself and decided to speak. "Lord Leviath, were you aware...that you yourself have great natural potential for magecraft?"

His words elicited a rare flicker of shock across Leviath's face. "Me? Magecraft? ...Are you serious?"

"Yes. Once we leave the city, I think it would be a good idea for you to develop that talent."

"I see. For survival...I agree."

People had begun filtering into the plaza. Noticing this, Kiefar cut in: "Talk later. We have to hurry. There's a manor I own on the outskirts of town - we can lie low there."

"All right. We can use the commotion to escape through the southwest gate." Leviath nodded and pointed the way. He ripped a strip off his cloak and tied it around his head to cover up his right, golden eye. "I have to hide my heritage from now on...until the day I return." Kiefar and Cain nodded in firm agreement.

Just then, the palace ablaze before their eyes seemed a magnificent vision of catastrophe that seemed to draw them in, throbbing like a storm - a dream made reality before their eyes.

"Let's go," growled Leviath, and the three young men turned to leave. They melted into the night and soon disappeared from sight.