Over the past month, Elanev had been trying his best to find out some clue about the whereabouts of the old man.
None of the servants knew where his room was, and many had even told him that they didn't see the man for weeks at a time, as if he disappeared from the Palace and returned on a whim whenever he liked.
There had been no word from the King, but there had also been no order to chase him away from the Palace, making him at least hope that there was some chance that his words had some kind of effect.
Today, finally, a summons had come which had made Elanev's face light up.
The Black Raven King had requested his presence in the King's chambers.
This message broke the boredom; as he had had nothing to do in the last week.
The first week had been a lot of fun. Whenever he went to the sparring grounds, there would always be a Black Raven Fighter waiting to challenge him, whom he would defeat with minimal effort.
No Mages came, and no one above his level bothered to come both because they were actually not confident in a victory, and also because it might be called "bullying" if they did end up winning.
After three weeks of consecutive defeats where the soldiers went back to their camps each more bruised than the one before, they understood that they either had to step up their game or stop the challenges altogether.
Elanev had been hoping for the former, so he was very disappointed when he saw the latter happening.
Hence, for a week, he had had nothing to do except spar and train alone.
Finally, it seemed that things might change.
The Black Raven King's chamber was a huge room, at least 20 meters in length and 30 meters in breadth. The black doors through which he entered seemed to be made out of some kind of material which was harder than wood but lighter than metal.
On entering, Elanev noticed that there were no personal embellishments anywhere.
Most of the room was empty, except for the occasional sofa.
On one side was a bar counter, while a large King-sized bed was on the other end of the room.
As for the Black Raven King, he was presently standing, looking out at the sparring grounds of the Palace through one of the many windows in the room.
Even though Elanev entered and closed the door behind him, there was no response from the King who seemed to be lost in his thoughts.
Thinking for a moment, Elanev chose to walk up to the King's side before trying to see just what the King's eyes were fixed on.
As someone just a step away from the Exalted Human realm, Elanev's eyes were quite sharp, allowing him to spot some sort of ceremony that was taking place in the distance.
20 or so kids were lined up beside each other, while baby Black Ravens with glossy coats of feathers and small, cute bodies were placed in front of each.
Although the Ravens only looked like they were weeks old, they were already looking around intelligently and trying to study their surroundings.
Each of the kids were trying to communicate with a Raven in their own way. Some also laid down on their stomachs to look into the eyes of the Ravens and speak with them, while some raised the Ravens in their hands before conversing with them.
After a set amount of time had passed, each kid was given a ring-shaped trinket which they wore before coaxing the Ravens onto their fingers, just like the King had done in the stadium.
While around 15 Ravens stayed on the 14-15 year-old kids' hands after this happened, the rest flew back, leaving the ones who had been communicating with them dejected and depressed.
One of the kids even fell on the ground and started crying, while another tried to chase forward in desperation.
Yet, he was stopped by a Black Raven Fighter, who announced the end to the process.
Both Elanev and the King had been watching together this entire time without a word, so when the King spoke softly at this moment, Elanev became slightly startled.
"I remember meeting my first Raven. I named him Grull, as I thought it sounded cool. Each time we interacted, a glaring match ensued between us with the one who blinked first being the loser. When we connected during the final ceremony, I finally understood that the Raven was only doing so because it was half-blind."
Hearing the story, Elanev had to try hard to resist the urge to chuckle, as it had been told in a somber tone.
From what he had found out in the past month, all eligible 14-year olds were given 3 months to connect with a particular Raven. Over that month, they would frequently interact with the Raven for a period of time in an attempt to make a connection with it, so that there would be no hiccups when the time came to make the final connection by blood.
It seemed that the King wasn't expecting any reply, as he calmly walked to a table in the center of the rooms beside which there were two chairs.
Opening a bottle of wine and pouring two glasses, the King sat and drank one while still not looking at Elanev.
Never being in such a situation before, Elanev had no idea how to react.
With no other option, he followed the flow and also sat down before taking a sip from the wine which tasted sweet.
"I was never known for being smart. No, I know I am not very smart. But what I am good at is plunging my sword into the hearts of my enemies. These days, I feel that I am forgetting the warrior in me who ascended to the throne after wading through blood. Will you help me in finding him again?"
After speaking the last sentence, the Black Raven King turned around and looked straight into Elanev's eyes.
In those eyes, Elanev saw many conflicting emotions which he could not even begin to make sense of. Yet, there was one which stood out: desperation.
Swirling the wine in his glass for a second and downing it in one gulp, he looked back into the King's eyes before replying:
"It would be my honor."
....
Daneel, who had halted his training on being notified that the Black Raven King had finally called for a meeting with Elanev, smiled wide on seeing this to-the-point discussion that had happened between the two men.
Just like Elanev, he also noticed the emotions in the King's eyes when he had made the request.
Yet, he read something else which Elanev had missed: these were also the eyes of someone who felt trapped.
And for any such person, a way out of the trap was something which would entice them to do anything.
....
The past month had been one of the happiest in Helena's life.
First, in just a day after the King had told them about the Bank of Angaria, a brand-new shiny embroidery trinket had been delivered to their home along with the remaining materials that they had requested.
To accept these, the square golden plate that they had been given before had been used.
After checking the identity using the plate, Helena had had to drop some blood again to verify that it was really her who had the plate in the first place.
Seeing this, Dalia had innocently asked, "Will my Mother have to bleed every time we take something from the Bank?"
For this, the official had had no answer.
Indeed, the system wasn't perfect, but what was essential was that it worked.
Due to the increased speed of the trinket which apparently cost 300 Gold Lans, Helena had been able to complete the order in much less time than quoted.
Thus, those who had given the order were quite happy, even giving them a 50 Silver Lan bonus over the 10 Gold Lan payment that they had made.
In this, the profit that the duo made was 1 Gold Lan, as the material was enchanted fabric which had cost quite a lot.
Still, this was a huge amount for the mother and daughter who mostly earned Silver Lans since the beginning of the business.
Of course, of this 1 Gold Lan, 20 Silver Lans went to the Bank.
This presented Helena with a thought: orders like these were quite rare, and even this one had only been obtained by luck.
If she could get more of them, she would definitely be able to pay back the loan faster, so that she could even think about expanding her business.
What could she do to make that happen?