The presence of Geralt of Rivia in Dravograd cast a peculiar, almost tangible shadow over the city's usual anxieties. Merchants whispered about monster threats, guards tightened their patrols, and children pointed surreptitiously at the white-haired Witcher. Aizen, however, saw not a monster slayer, but a tool. A highly effective, albeit stubbornly principled, implement. He spent days observing Geralt's movements, his interactions, the precise efficiency of his combat style against a particularly aggressive pack of ghouls near the city's graveyard. He noted the Witcher's acute senses, the unique chill of his mutated aura, and the almost mechanical way he dispatched threats.
Aizen continued to frequent the Scriptorium, his pursuit of knowledge growing more specialized. His attention honed in on forgotten, dust-laden tomes detailing ancient nexus points – places where the very fabric of the Spheres seemed to thin, allowing for unusual magical phenomena or even passage between dimensions. He discovered fragmented accounts of chaotic energies, of raw, untamed power that could be drawn upon, though at immense risk to the unwary. These narratives, often dismissed by modern scholars as fanciful myths, resonated deeply with Aizen's understanding of the Hōgyoku and its transformative potential. He began sketching crude maps, mentally overlaying them with his knowledge of current geopolitical hotspots, searching for intersections of power and chaos.
His network of subtly influenced pawns in Dravograd was flourishing. Torvin, now the city's most successful merchant, served as an unwitting conduit for goods and information flow. Captain Roric, believing himself a master detective, ensured the city guard maintained a state of high alert that perfectly suited Aizen's need for controlled environments. But Aizen yearned for a pawn with broader reach, a more influential connection to the larger Continent.
His gaze fell upon Lord Valerius, a minor noble from the northern reaches of Temeria, who had arrived in Dravograd with a small retinue, purportedly to oversee a trade agreement. Valerius was a man of middling ambition and easily flattered vanity, prone to making decisions based on perceived status and a vague yearning for greater influence. He frequented the Scriptorium, though more for show than for actual study, poring over genealogies and strategic maps he barely understood.
Alaric began his meticulous work on Valerius. During the Lord's visits, Alaric would subtly arrange for a seemingly opportune page to be open on a nearby table – a forgotten scroll detailing an ancient Temerian land claim, or a speculative treatise on resource-rich, unclaimed territories near the border. He would ensure that a particular, seemingly innocuous phrase or name within these texts would resonate with a profound, almost mystical significance in Valerius's mind. He used his Kyōka Suigetsu not to create grand illusions, but to intensify existing desires, to polish rough ambitions into gleaming, irresistible opportunities.
One afternoon, Valerius was perusing a map that showed the often-disputed borderlands between Temeria and Redania. Alaric, seemingly engrossed in a different tome nearby, subtly intensified a series of lines, making them pulse with a faint, almost subliminal energy for Valerius. He simultaneously infused the Lord's mind with a profound sense of destiny, of an opportunity unique to him.
Valerius's eyes widened. He traced a finger along the border, a new, daring strategy blossoming in his mind. He then turned to look at Alaric, who offered a small, knowing nod, a silent affirmation of the 'brilliance' Valerius was feeling. Valerius felt a surge of confidence, a belief that this quiet boy somehow understood his untapped genius. He dismissed the feeling as merely a reflection of his own sharp intellect.
Later that week, Lord Valerius, much to the surprise of his retinue and the general populace of Dravograd, extended his stay. He began sending urgent, increasingly ambitious dispatches back to Temeria, proposing bold new initiatives for border expansion, leveraging the very "insights" Aizen had planted. He also, at Alaric's subtle suggestion, began inquiring about certain "archaic artifacts" mentioned in the Scriptorium's more obscure texts – artifacts Aizen himself was researching for their potential connection to nexus points.
Alaric observed the unfolding ripples of his manipulation with cold satisfaction. Lord Valerius was now a more significant piece on the board, his actions reverberating through the political landscape of Temeria. The upcoming war, already a certainty, would provide the perfect environment for him to test his theories on large-scale manipulation. The chaos of human conflict was not an obstacle; it was a resource. A fertile ground where the seeds of his influence could grow unseen, transforming into a dense, inescapable forest of lies.
He continued his meticulous research, his understanding of this world's peculiar blend of elemental magic, inherited bloodlines, and monster physiology deepening with each passing day. He was still merely scratching the surface of its true potential, but the foundation was being meticulously laid. The stage was being set. The actors, unaware, were already rehearsing their lines.