Realms of Fantasy: Watching from the Shadows [Episode 110582]

The image of the heroic adventurers being taken into custody blurred a bit.  A short, backward zoom showed the scene now encased in a perfectly round piece of crystal.  The black-skinned hand of a Drow slapped its surface while a voice grumbled about bad reception.

The gaze of the scrying mage left his crystal ball as he leaned back on his chair.  The old and bald Drow, clad in the fur of black-and-white bear over the robes of a wizard, closed his eyes, lost in thoughts.

He wasn’t especially worried about his children.  They’ve already found themselves in direst situations than simply getting captured by a bunch of barbarian Drow.  He was pretty sure they’d get out of this trap; if not unscathed, at least still in one piece.  Maybe they’d leave a few of their Human pets behind, but who cared about them?

As with everything they faced, what didn’t kill them made Ranma and Ranko stronger.  Like in the male twin’s youth, when rigorous training, constant duress and unprincipled teachings were his everyday life.  All of it under the iron hand — in no velvet glove — of his “loving” father.  Which was certainly the greatest gift a Drow parent could offer to his child: the chance to survive in the harsh, backstabbing society Ranma was born in.

Yes, Genma, archmage of the Drow, was still alive.  Even if his two kids thought of him as dead, he was well and breathing, comfortably installed in his secret wizard study, away from the prying eyes of those thrice-accursed priestesses.  And keeping an eye on the twins.

He had, from the start, put great expectancies on his son Ranma for rising one day to greatness.  He took care of it, not only by training the brat’s body, but also by shaping his mind.  He made sure the boy would never be broken by the domineering attitude of the Drow females over lowly males.  Genma intentionally strengthened the rebellious streak in his son, while advising him to keep it well-hidden from the women.  This granted Ranma the needed strength when the right time came and he had no choice but to claim his freedom — apart dying.

The path chosen by his daughter Ranko, however, had been a surprise.  For a time, he had believed the girl entirely lost to her mother’s insidious brainwashing.  When she’d risen in power among the ranks of the young priestesses, everybody had thought of Ranko as the perfect embodiment of the proper Drow lady.  Under the pleased eyes of Nodoka, her daughter was striving and succeeding with ruthless efficiency in the corrupted clergy of Lolth.  Which made her unexpected turnaround, and the betrayal of her mother, even more stinging a blow to the High Priestess.

Genma chuckled at the memory.  He had to admit, he didn’t have much doings in this.  Nodoka brought it all on herself.  Killing the twins’ father before their very eyes, for example, surely had contributed.  Good thing that he had fully expected his consort to get tired of his irritating presence sooner or later.  Entirely prepared for the eventuality since a long time, he had taken drastic precautions to escape with his life.

The Drow that Ranma and Ranko saw dying at the hands of their mother — forced to open his own guts with a dagger in his magically-controlled arm, before the cackling Lolth priestess beheaded him with a swift blow of her sword — wasn’t Genma.  It was a mindwiped slave to whom the mage gave his appearance and identity; even the unfortunate sacrificial lamb was convinced to be the original.  Not to mention, the substitute was packed with enough misdirection and detection-fooling spells that no priestess could have suspected the truth, even if one had the idea to pry with her magic.

One doesn’t become an old Drow without being a crafty Drow.

That wasn’t the most determining factor in Ranko’s rebellion, though.  It sure had angered Ranma beyond reason, but for the girl her father was just on old, foolish male who had the bad luck of boring her mother to death.  His death, of course.

It became a different matter entirely when Nodoka ordered Ranko to similarly sacrifice her brother on the altar of Lolth, in order to prove her undying commitment to the faith.  That was the weak spot of the young priestess.  She dearly, absolutely, completely LOVED her brother, with all her soul.  Given the choice between him and the Spider Queen... she reacted rather violently.  Several acolytes of Lolth, who stupidly tried to stop her from escaping with Ranma, died this day, the magic of their goddess turned against them.

The old, male Drow snickered in remembrance.  He was glad his children made a break for it just before they’d go through The Test.  With their dwindling loyalties for the Drow cause, and their feelings for each other, they would have likely failed.  And a pair of Driders would have been of little use in Genma’s plans.

Now, in the outside world, Ranma and Ranko were maturing, growing in power and wisdom with every adventure.  Ranko may had lost her clerical magic for a while, but Genma was sure it wouldn’t be long before she’d be accepted by her new goddess, and regain spell abilities.  He didn’t care a bit that they were embracing the precepts of Good so popular with the surface-dwellers.  It only made them better suited for fulfilling their ultimate destiny....

One day, they’ll be powerful enough... and they’ll come back to the land of their birth, to challenge and overthrow their evil, cold bitch of a mother, and her lackey priestesses.  They’ll be the instruments of Genma’s final revenge... he’ll make sure of it.