I stirred as the morning came and chased away all of the obscurity of the night. My cold body came to life but I could still feel the dullness linger as I rose from my bed. A location I recall coming back to. I laid comfortably in my chambers while the sun reaches my face and gave me the strength to lift my cold and heavy body of my bed.

A maid entered my room like she was a seer and told me that Signor Borgia had arrived a while ago with Signor Orsini. I clothe myself for the occasion and made sure to look impeccable as I went to greet them. They waited for me in the lounge. A room I was hesitant to enter as last time I did, Signora Borgia had left me with both physical and mental wound.

I arrived at the entrance of the lounge and took a deep breath to gather my courage before I entered. Both the men’s eyes turned to me. Carlo Orsini sat in the couch while Alessandro stood by the window to look out over the back yard. Carlo rose as I entered, a sign of him being a true gentleman and Alessandro turned to me with a gentle smile that eased my distraught nerves.

The image of Signora Borgia’s abuse faded and was replaced by the vision of family and friends instead. A memory which I assumed was long gone but joyous to recall again. I gave them a benign smile as I welcomed them.

“Signor Borgia! Signor Orsini! My heart sings of joy as I see you. Have my servants given you breakfast yet? I do hope so as it would otherwise be rather inhospitable towards you.”

“We don’t need breakfast, Signora Di Santis! Though we took the liberty to bear something a bit more akin to our taste,” Alessandro gestured towards what looked like a wine bottle but I could sense what it truly contained and approved.

“Much obliged. I would rather avoid acquiring such a thing from my servants,” I admitted and Carlo filled a wine glass which he offered me. I received it with gratitude and took clandestinely a closer look at Carlo who I solely had look upon in a distant and for a brief moment. He was a handsome man, with far more masculine appearance than Alessandro. He had a rigid form that tells of a disciplined past. His stance was that of a soldier and the eyes were adamant in their appearance. His hair was also lighter which might suggest some foreign blood. Not that such a thing mattered anymore.

Carlo was in many ways the opposite of Alessandro who was diplomatic and cunning while Carlo was from the look of more unyielding and forthright. He looked like a man who loathed deceit and slander. He also felt more physically intimidating as he was rather tall compared to other men I have met.

“You look pale, signora Di Santis. You should drink to keep your health,” Carlo said with impassive expression but I was calmed by his gentle words.

“No surprise as she was up rather late with me yesterday. We visited La Sibilla and Signora Di Santis got introduced to Signor Zahara,” Alessandro uttered as he came closer. Carlo looked displeased with that knowledge.

“She is a newborn. Staying out at night is not encourage before she can handle her new powers,” Carlo reprimanded Alessandro who looked amused.

“Be at peace, mio caro! She desired to leave the mansion as she had been a prisoner here for too long. I suggested we go to La Sibilla to be at ease. I thought it would be a good idea to introduce Signor Zahara as he is crucial to our clan.”

Carlo huffed at the mention of Leonide Zahara. “That man is far to imprudent. He should not lead our young new member astray.”

“You give him to much credit.”

I chuckled at their banter. Alessandro did mention that they were old friends but they must truly be close as they quarrel like an old married couple.

“Then did you relish your visit, Signora Di Santis?” Carlo asked as they all sat down to further discuss the matter in a civilized manner.

“Sì, Signor. I was mesmerized by a whole new world. I even met some new clans. The hostess is a Prophet if I do recall correctly and I also met a Magistrate. Delightful I must say!”

“It may be so but I still urge caution when meeting Magistrates as not all of them are our allies,” Carlo muttered while filling his glass again. I looked bewildered by his statement. “Whatever do you mean, signor?”

Carlo turned to Alessandro who looked weary and I could sense that there was something amiss. Carlo was the one that finally cut through the awkward silence. “You haven’t told her about the Anarchia. She needs to know. They may not rule this city but rumor has it that they have settled down and are causing trouble.”

“Sì, the Anarchy is unsettling but frankly, I’m more worried about the La Cabala. They are far more ruthless.”

“That’s debatable. The Anarchy wants to rule the city. The Cabal merely wants to cause mayhem.”

Alessandro looked at something in a distant as he paused for e brief second before sighing. “We can argue all we want of who is the bigger threat but the truth is they are both a nuisance.”

“That we can agree on.”

“I cannot agree with any of you as I do not know what the Anarchy and the Cabal are,” I said stubbornly and my gaze darted between the two.

“That is because I wanted to avoid mentioning them until you were ready but I guess you have the right to know of the world you have become part of,” Alessandro explained before he continued on with the explanation to what they were talking about.

“ The Cabal is the opposite of the Sovereign. As some wanted order and created a ruling system, others wanted to embrace their primitive side and prefer the Ascendants to live in conflict with each other. They have been a presence in this city ever since the Romans were driven out a thousand years ago and have recently become more active.”

“And the Anarchia?” I asked.

“A far younger threat. They were created during the French Revolution and call themselves the Revolution. The revolutionist or Anarchist, as we in the Sovereign call them, want to destroy the Sovereignty and implement a new system where there will be many different rulers in one city instead of one. As you can imagine, very few sovereigns want to relinquish their power so conflict was imminent. They arrived here through the Italian Partisans, during the Second World War, and help freed this city. Ever since then, the political atmosphere has shifted and the Anarchists saw this as an opportunity to try to drive out the Sovereignty,” Alessandro explained and I frowned as a question formed in my mind.

“Why was this dangerous knowledge for me? Didn’t you say yesterday during our conversation with Signor Zahara that the I Sole doesn’t take sides? Then why should either of these factions concern us?”

For the first time since I met him, I saw a smile on Carlo’s face. “Seems that you already are a bonafide member of our clan. You are indeed correct. Normally, and mostly we aren’t concerned but both these faction has started to attack other clans to show their strength and their targets are smaller clans.”

“Like our own,” I whispered as the final piece of the puzzle fell into place.

“Killing a kin of the Herald in any clan is a statement and you are newborn. You most likely will be a target if we aren’t careful,” Carlo said calmly and I felt insecure as I was too new to feel comfortable in this new world.

“We will protect you, bambina!” Alessandro assured but I knew that promise was one he had no control over. That was entirely up to me.

“As long as I don’t go to the Monarchs to demand my revenge,” I uttered and I noticed Alessandro’s eyes shifting as something came to the surface of his façade. He was a master of hiding his true emotions but this matter really disturbed him as he clearly didn’t enjoy losing control over his fate.

“Then I will protect you,” Carlo said without hesitation even if his face showed no emotions.

“You would do that even if I got the Herald and his sister slain?” I asked with doubt in my eyes.

“Yes, I may not be pleased and let me assure you. That we would never be close as to me you are no better than a traitor though I understand why you did it but I would become responsible for you and would ensure that you at least have a chance to live before I leave. Most likely, I would bring you to another one of your kin in other cities. Maybe even summon them here. But I would aid you. That I can assure you,” Carlo answered firmly and I noticed that Alessandro gave him a peculiar look. It was somewhat akin to amusement and confusion.

“Enough of this grim conversation. We can agree to disagree for hours but until action is taken we cannot go forward,” Alessandro said with a vigorous tone in his voice. Carlo seemed to agree as he dropped the matter.

“Well, no matter. I have somewhere to be so-“

Both Carlo and Alessandro turned to me and I let out a sigh as I realized they weren’t to let me go until I told them where I was going.

“ There is a festival at Piazza San Carlo which I have decided to visit. I find that this manor has become rather dull since my… Either way, so I decided to go to the festival to cheer my mood. You are of course welcome to join me.”

Both Alessandro and Carlo seemed to be at ease. Alessandro gave me a sympathetic smile.

“Of course we can join you. I was considering joining the festival. That is one thing that hasn’t changed all these years I have lived and I do enjoy something familiar.”

“And it wouldn’t be proper for a young lady to arrive at the scene alone,” Carlo added and normally I tend to agree but I have begun to understand my power and in the light of day. I was immortal.

“I wondered if you would allow me to go. Especially with all the troubles and me being a newborn.”

“As I said before. The night is the domain of the Ascendants. At the day we are immortal and is the domain of humans. Few Ascendants are out during the day. Leonide would of course not join us as he hides from the light but we might be able to see a few Monarchs or Paramours.” Alessandro explained and I frowned at the last word. Alessandro chuckled as he noted my expression.

“Paramours are another large and powerful clan. Here in Italy, we call them the Amanti clan. The Lovers. They call themselves Paramours. You would most likely have heard about them from Christianity. They are Incubi and Succubus.”

I gasped as I recognized the words. Demons who crave intercourse. It’s even said that they drain peoples souls by having intercourse with their victim.

“The Amanti adore festivals, dramas, and art. If I remember correctly, you had studied literature. A lot of literature is written by Paramours just as much of the art is painted by them. Here in Italy were art always had an important role in our society, the Paramours have a large importance in Italian history.” Alessandro said as he put away his glass.

“Doesn’t she know about the clans? Have you given her the book?” Carlo asked and cocked an eyebrow towards Alessandro who chuckled. “Not yet, I had hope that I could teach her privately but I should give her the Atavi Codex.”

“Atavi Codex?”

“ A secret scripture which only an Ascendant can open. It contains information about all the clans. Some clans even a special codex which contains their clan's secret techniques. Often written by their Primordial.”

“I beg your pardon but I’m more confused than I was before. What is a Primordial?”

“The first ascendant from a clan. Sons and daughters of the first Ascendant, The Trickster. The creator of a clan,” Carlo said bluntly and my eyes went wide.

“They must be ancient as tales of demons and angels are as such!”

“You are not wrong. The Sun and the Moon clan is the youngest of the clans and our Primordial was born around 3400 years ago, “ Alessandro nodded and I counted. That should have been around 1500 B.C.

“Both of the Sun and the Moon clan’s Primordials were from the same period?”

“I sure hope so since they were twins,” Alessandro chuckled and I blushed as I realized why they mentioned that the Moon clan was their brothers. Their brothers were.

“Well, either way. Our clan has no codex as our Primordial Aten was not eager to write. He prefers to live in the desert as a nomad with his clan. “

“Prefer? He is-“

“Still alive. Yes, many of the Primordials are though some has not been seen in quite a while. We actually have a tradition to send young newborns to the Sahara desert to learn from our Primordial when they are ready to handle themselves. It’s an enlightening pilgrimage where we write our name on a hidden tabled in Amarna, a city dedicated to Aten in Egypt.”

I tried not to look ecstatic but all this sounded marvelous to me. I have lived in a rather isolated life, as I was expected to marry a good man who would help my father’s business. I had expected this and had only asked to be allowed to study literature so that I can expand my world through writing. My father didn’t mind and had paid my tuition.

But now I wasn’t just reading about adventures but I will experience them as well. I started to realize that the life that had taken my family also offered me more freedom than I had ever experienced before.

“Maybe I could write our clan a Codex!”

“Maybe, we never had a writer among us before so you would be a perfect choice,” Alessandro uttered with a smile as he saw my eagerness.

“Well, either way, we should prepare to visit the festival before it turns dark,” Carlo said and rose as Alessandro chuckled.

“It is still morning.”

“Not by the time you two have finished talking about our clan's history,” Carlo said bluntly and we all followed Carlo and got on our feet. I summoned the servants to clean up after us before we left for the festival.