Vina blinked, unable to really understand what she read. Shan, her adoptive father was dead? She started the letter again.

Shan is dead. The Darkness killed him at the place of his birth in the town of Berehmy on the 17th Day of Jaurm, 15461. Even in defeat, he was successful in his goal against The Darkness.

In his final days, Shan gathered the tols that would set in motion the revival of Trina and the ultimate destruction of The Darkness. He managed to find the Aspect of Light as well as Trina’s Necklace. Before he died, he gave them to me with instructions to get them to our daughters.

Shan and all of his possessions are buried at…

Vina squinted as she read the last word again. Her eyes absolutely refused to focus on it. Each time she tried, it blurred. When she looked closer, she saw the smallest runes she had ever seen, swimming about. They swam so quickly she saw that they were generating the blur. “Not this time!” Vina growled to herself softly. She was not going to wait to get answers. She focused hard on the little swimming runes until she could identify some letters. After a brief minute she had the runewords and she began to manipulate the seal once again with her blood.

The blur stopped and the scrambled word became visible. It read “Ctomina.”

Vina considered the note for a minute. It had clearly been written by her mother, but the tone was far different. She had not written it to her daughters. “The protections were stronger than even the previous notes”, Vina mused to herself quietly. “Why would she do that if she wanted to notify everyone about Shan…?” her voice trailed off.

New Personal Quest: Visit your Father’s Grave New Quest Marker Added.

“So, you’ve opened the last of your mother’s notes. Has something happened to Shan? He has not been seen in many years”, Hakim said.

Vina looked at Hakim with stern eyes, “The painting contains even the details of Priya’s notes?” She had looked at the painting, but there was too much there to see all at once. She had not had time to absorb everything she had captured in it.

Hakim nodded. “Yes. But it was just a snapshot in time. It doesn’t know what has happened since.”

Vina handed over Priya’s note rather than explain. She watched Hakim’s face closely as he read. She saw the sadness in his face as he read the first line, but when he reached the second paragraph, he smiled. “The Aspect of Light is actually real”, he beamed at her.

“Can you tell me about it? And the necklace too”, Vina said.

Hakim nodded, trying to take on a scholarly stance. “When The Severing happened, The Darkness quickly rose to prominence. For the last seven hundred years people have believed The Darkness to just be another person bonded with an aspect. Everyone assumed it was an Aspect of Darkness naturally. The shadows spread quickly across the world and everyone soon had their own stories and sightings of what it could do. The people needed hope and thus the story of the Aspect of Light was created. No one has seen either the aspect of light or darkness before, but Shan always believed one of them existed. One of your sisters must have it now.”

Vina sighed, “Yeah. And the entire world will know their names when I unveil this painting in the next two weeks, including The Watch. They won’t be safe anymore.”

“Not the entire world, Vina. It will take time for people to leave the city and return to their hometowns. With the portals down, your sisters will have several weeks to get themselves safe. From what I can gather from Etana’s personality, she likely has already left Termily with Ann after your disappearance.”

Vina nodded. That sounded exactly like those two. They would have a plan to get safe once they saw The Watch had abducted her.

“What about the necklace?” Vina asked, changing back to the topic of the note.

“The books, many written by Shan, say that Trina wore a necklace most days. It was extravagant, and occasionally filled with gemstones. She did not wear it to impress or feel superior however. She would travel around the world and find those in the greatest of need. When she found them, she would give them a gemstone from the necklace. The story goes that whoever received a stone from her would prosper again. Once they were thriving, they would return the stone to her by kneeling down and offering it up. The stone would supposedly return back to Trina like a shooting star, wherever she was in the world.”

Vina furrowed her brow in consideration, “People tried that when they started finding aspects, but it didn’t work?”

Hakim bowed his head, “It no longer seems to work, but many of us are still trying.” He cleared his throat and continued, “The discovery of the necklace is especially strange to me. It had always been assumed that her necklace remained with her. Shan knew far more than any of us though. Spending that much time with Trina can do that to you, I guess.”

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Vina frowned when Hakim mentioned his name again. She just learned her adoptive father had died, but she didn’t feel much. She knew practically nothing about him. “I never knew Shan. Was he a good person?”

Hakim gave her a fatherly smile, and she saw respect in his eyes, “Shan was one of the best. He grew up as an orphan. The way he tells it, Trina happened upon him rather randomly. His mother and father left him at one of Trina’s refuges when he was six. Trina cared for him for a long time. I think she underestimated the impact she would have on him. Shan became fully dedicated to Trina’s work, and he began the first consistent documented living experience with Trina. With his books, Trina went from mythology to history.”

Vina couldn’t help but smile with Hakim. His energy was infectious. “The way The Watch teaches it, Trina traveled around a lot. She didn’t even make portals. I guess she could just walk through thin air. Did she bring Shan with her?” Vina asked.

Hakim moved to pull a chair closer to her and sat down, “Shan’s work says Trina was able to make more than a single version of herself. He documented the life experiences with just one such incarnation. The Trina he traveled with was kind enough to not portal around. Although, he did travel endlessly around the world with her. She never remained in one place for long.”

“Why did he do it? Why did he write all of these books?” Vina asked.

Hakim rubbed his neck, seemingly unsure in his answer, “I think maybe only he really knows his reasons. I can tell you that Shan’s books taught people what Trina did every day of her life. With these documented approaches, quality of life began to improve across the world. Some say Shan was a better teacher than Trina herself. I’d like to think that was his goal to begin with. He wanted to teach people.”

Vina looked down at her hands, “That’s really nice. It sounds like he’s made such a huge impact here. I wish I knew him better. What happened to Shan leading up to The Severing?”

“Well, before The Severing, Shan wrote that Trina gave him The Aspect of Life willingly and then she left him. He was sure to get several eyewitnesses to the stone’s existence, description, and color. It is very different from the ones we find now.”

Vina’s eyes opened wide, “How different?”

Hakim chuckled at her response, “It was hollow inside and filled with an unknown liquid. It was just as indestructible as the rest of the true aspects, so no one could verify what was inside.”

“Oh” Vina said, a little disappointed at the lack of further details. “What happened next?”

“Shan slowed his writing and he published less often. He began to search for Trina in earnest, but only ever found her Aspects. He was like a Plorom”, Hakim paused when he saw Vina’s confused face. “Plorom’s have really good sense of smell. He had a way of finding Aspects that no one else did. Nearly all of the True Aspects we know of were found by him. When Shan had gone decades without finding Trina, he began seeking help. He knew he had an unlimited lifespan, but his desire to find Trina seemed to overpower his patience. He said one of his greatest regrets was the choice to start sharing the aspects that he found.”

“Was that when he started The Watch?” Vina asked.

“The Watch came much later. He started by having assistants and helpers. The operation grew steadily over time. It seemed as his operation grew, The Darkness also became more active as well”, Hakim said.

“Is there a connection there?” Vina asked as she moved to try to get more comfortable in her chair.

“It’s tough to say what the direct connection was. Shan believed The Darkness was looking for something. Maybe they were both looking for Trina? Whatever happened, Shan succeeded in irritating it enough that The Darkness began targeting him and his activities. Initially it was through acts of sabotage and only later did it actually become violent. The Watch was created to combat The Darkness and continue the hunt for Trina. Eventually that organization got too big and powerful and it turned on him. After he fled from the Twelve, my family had no further contact with him. He would have had sanctuary here, but I suppose he knew we couldn’t last against the power of The Watch and The Darkness simultaneously.”

Vina’s eyes opened in surprise and she sat back up, “Did you know Shan personally?”

Hakim nodded his head solemnly, “When I was a younger man, Shan commissioned a number of expeditions with my family that searched for aspects before his exile from The Watch. I also met Priya. She was the one who carved all of our portals.”

Vina couldn’t believe it. She found someone who knew her adoptive parents personally. “What were they like!?” she asked excitedly.

Hakim held a hand up, “Vina, I knew your parents in a professional capacity only.”

He took a deep breath and paused for a moment, “I will tell you my impressions, but you must know I did not know them on a deeply personal level.”

Vina nodded eagerly, but her excitement was doused.

“What I saw of your father was a man driven by a singular purpose. He was focused only on finding Trina. He had time for little else and especially not for me. He was a master of dozens of skills. Anytime there was a problem, he seemed to have the proper skill to resolve it. He was not unkind, but he was stiff. Sometimes he was too stern and short with people. I think his long life had begun to wear on him. His patience had long ago run out.”

Vina opened her mouth to ask a question, but Hakim raised his hand. “He had a soft spot for your mother. Priya was very different from Shan. She had a unique charisma that kept everyone together. Her personality was like the grease that kept things flowing. While Shan had the ability to make things work, Priya could make relationships work, even if those relationships were at odds with each other. She was indescribably brilliant and probably an even harder worker than Shan. I don’t even know how many portal rings she created, but the fact that the portal network exists at all is thanks to her.”

“I have so many questions”, Vina said.

Hakim nodded his head, but he frowned, “I know you do. I am sorry to say I was a young man when I worked with your parents. My experiences with them are limited, and I doubt I can give you more than I already have.”

Vina took a deep breath and sighed, “At least I know where my father is now.”

Hakim did a soft stretch of his arms, “You’ll find Priya as well. She was a survivor. I imagine if anyone could find a way to escape The Darkness, she would.”