Amber, Mercedes, Joan, Yara, and Larenzac were brought to The Spire and then all defenses were raised to their highest level.

There was no hiding, but anything that was flying at that height decided against trying for the fortress.

“What’s going on?”

“No idea yet. Other, what has happened?”

“We hardly know ourselves. Xol stole Fomoria’s soul and body.”

“Is he alright? Is Harlan alive?”

The Other couldn’t look Yara in the eyes.

“We don’t know. Marigold didn’t exactly give us all the details. The instant that she arrived she told us that Xol stole Fomoria’s soul and we needed to get you all out of there. If he captured you, he would’ve just used you to make us do what he wanted.”

“What about Liat? Can you bring her here?”

“We can try. I’M GOING OUT, BUT I’LL BE BACK SOON.”

The Spire itself hummed a reply and the Other jumped off the edge.

Another took his place as the bearer of answers.

“To answer everything else you want to ask, we don’t know shit. Go inside and wait.”

Mercedes, Joan, and Lanrezac went to look around The Spire, the excuse being that it was better that they split up since the Others didn’t have a real chance against Xol in a fight anyway.

Amber went with Yara to a room so she could rest, but she wanted to be alone, so Amber just sat outside the door.

It took her a minute to accomplish it, showcasing the sheer power that The Spire had in it, but The Darkness manifested in Amber’s shadow.

“Miss Fomoria. I have a proposition.”

She yelped and jumped up.

“Don’t be like that.”

“What are you doing in my shadow? I thought you could only do that to Fomoria?”

“Dear, I could do this to anyone. I need a champion, a real champion. Not like what I gave to Harlan.”

“He’ll be back, just-”

“Marigold knows this, but I wouldn’t expect her for a few weeks, since she’ll try to find him first, then she’ll give up, and worry about the fact that she failed to tell you for those weeks.

Fomoria isn’t dead in the traditional sense, he’s just had his soul swapped with Xol’s via paradox magic. Fomoria can’t die, not anymore, but he can be spread out, made formless.

The Fae, they can make a new body from dirt, but Fomoria, he is something else entirely.”

“Xol stole the bodies of dead infants. He can just do that.”

“Perhaps he can, but perhaps he won’t. We don’t even know how long it will be before his mind comes back together, days, months, decades. In the meanwhile, someone needs to keep what he built in order. You are the warmage of House Fomoria, are you not? Do you not have a duty to-”

“Don’t give me that bullshit. You lost your pawn and now you want another one. I don’t intend to be the next person to fall into whatever schemes you have, you bitch.”

“I give you power, you prevent the collapse of the Fomorian Empire as best you can.

Fomoria will want something to come back to. I’ll keep my terms loose, and I won’t be wrapping you up in my plans, not that you would be of much use anyway.

I need a guard dog for Fomoria’s land, nothing more. You don’t have gate, and you can have void gate the moment you accept. Gather survivors, bring them here, and I’ll even give you knowledge on how to keep this place safe from Xol.”

“Assuming you can actually do that.”

“A taste then.”

Amber suddenly knew how to cast a powerful ward with no clear limit to the size or shape.

Anything that tried to come up would require her express permission, and she could see the other side of a gate before it opened, even if they were the champion variants.

“Can this really stop him?”

“If this can’t, then you’re all dead or captured regardless, so what’s the loss in my deal?”

“I’m not accepting anything until I have all of the details.”

Six months later.

“Oh, the Witch.”

“My, how a lack of thoughts makes one harsh.”

“Hate comes from thought. How much of Xol’s plan did you know? Did he get out of hand or were you just ignorant? Which is worse, I wonder?”

“What did he tell you?”

He moved beyond sight and tapped the shadow on the forehead, pushing her back and making everyone jump from their seats.

“You… touched me?”

“Of course. We are both un, both, not. Witch, you fear this.”

His mouth upturned to show his teeth, white and licked by flames from inside him.

Anger was a focus, to a point, beyond such a point, it was just senseless rage.

“Remember the toy foxes you made for your niece and nephew?”

“OH YES. I made the one orange, and the one white. I really liked making them. I hope they are still working good.”

He began to stretch his arms down, painting foxes into the spire floor with his mark.

“Keep him in line. He is not acting how he should. It’s likely he has lost whatever part lets him process his emotions, thus making him stuck in his feelings. He was reaching a fever pitch, unable to contain himself any longer once he found a target to torment.”

“I can tell that he’s still in pieces, I’ll make sure he doesn’t do anything too stupid.”

“There is no stopping that, just limit the damage.”

“Hey, why don’t we go and find some wood? You can teach me some carving techniques.”

Sepul disagreed with what was happening.

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“Fomoria, remember-”

But it didn’t matter much since Marigold didn’t want Fomoria to go back to being so aggressive yet.

“Have fun.”

“We will.”

Once Fomoria was out of sight, Marigold sat back down.

“Don’t do that again.”

“I would rather my grandson act like my grandson.”

“And I would rather he not do something stupid and end up on the wrong side of the gods.

When Fomoria is whole again, he can say whatever he wants, but they won’t care about what state of mind he is in. If he… he will make his own choices, not because his lack of memories made him insane, but because of what he knows and does.”

“He’s not an idiot. ”

“Yes, he is. He was directly threatening The Darkness. And for what gain? He remembers that he hated her, but he doesn’t seem to remember that he also understood why he worked with her despite that.

He’s always been headstrong, but he’s not often fallen so completely to that fact and ruined things for himself.”

“We will need his mind. If there is anyone likely to understand what Xol is doing, it’s him. The man gloats, and likely said or did something before Fomoria faded away that would give us something.”

“It’s not like I want him to remain like this forever, but he can’t be picking fights and ignoring orders like that.”

Just for an instant, Marigold looked away, and Sepul caught this, but didn’t push.

Perhaps she just liked the happy Fomoria, he thought.

But that wasn’t the Fomoria that they needed right now.

In the next three days, Fomoria had taught everything he knew about carving to Amber, and she made everything he asked.

He seemed happier than nearly any time she ever knew him.

But, sometimes when he talked about something he saw that he wanted her to carve, he would pause, his eyes would grow dimmer.

Whatever was wrong with those memories, he didn’t want to talk about them.

He wasn’t back to himself, but he seemed much more mellow than before, he could be angry and sad and happy without any extreme shifts in personality.

“Where is Liat?”

“She’s with Carmilla.”

“Marigold said that Carmilla took Camilla and left. But she didn’t say anything about Liat.”

“Don’t worry about it. Why don’t we carve another sun? The children seem to love them.”

“She’s dead, isn’t she?”

Amber put down her knife.

“Wherever Carmilla went, she didn’t take many people, she didn’t have many to take. We are hoping that she comes back, that Liat is with her.”

“But you know she’s dead, don’t you? And Yara suspects it? That’s why she hasn’t come to see either of us. That’s why she is so cold.”

He buried his head in his hands, liquid shadow seeped between his fingers.

“I failed her again, I couldn’t protect her. She should’ve never been in this place. I-”

Amber tried to hug him, but he couldn’t feel anything.

“The Darkness, she told me. She wanted me to just mourn her and get back to the fight.

I couldn’t bear to tell Yara. She lost you already, she lost her home when she left. It would’ve crushed her.

There was never a good time to tell her.”

Fomoria took a step, and vanished.

It was no mystery where he was going, or so she thought.

The Spire of Other connected the inside and outside of The Veil, crossing it was as simple as walking to him.

Where he was going, that was the hard part.

He felt lost, and he felt that it was familiar.

The desert? Perhaps he could find Liat and Yara’s parents, tell them what happened, beg them to take Yara back to somewhere she belonged.

The North? He knew one person there, Reet, and perhaps it would be best to go to someone who knows nothing.

Ragne? Perhaps Rosewell could give some words of wisdom, perhaps Relly could soothe his soul with her cheer and youth.

Castle Fomoria? Maybe Adina would stir something inside of him.

The Grand Academy? Hirum could objectively observe and be honest about what he could see.

But lost in thoughts, he arrived at the front gates of Blackstone mansion.

“HALT.”

The guards pointed their spears at him and communicated that something strange was at the front door.

Fomoria just cocked his head to the side, not saying a word for minutes.

A man and a large dog came out the front door, claw and blade drawn.

“IDENTIFY YOURSELF.”

The dog retracted his claws and got closer to him.

He circled around the floating shadow, sniffing more and more, trying to understand.

“What happened to you? Fomoria?”

“Death.”

“Not a ghost.”

“Something else. You there… you are… Onyx?”

“Is that really you?”

“If memories are what make someone themself, then I suppose I must be Fomoria.”

“You sound like him. Why are you here?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I did when I came. I’m just… lost.”

“Come in..”

The walk through the mansion brought up many memories, not all pleasant, but most.

“What have you been doing? We haven’t seen or heard anything about you in half a year.”

“I’ve been… as close to death as someone like me can now be.”

“I don’t find your eerie vagueness quite as enjoyable as others.”

“Xol stole my body and soul. I faded away, and it’s taken six months to reform into something resembling myself. But… there is much I don’t remember. I’m not whole, I don’t have skin, but I feel I don’t fit in it either. Everything that I’m told I built has crumbled, I don’t know what the I before would do in the face of this.”

“How long have you been… not dead then?”

“Weeks.”

“I assume this isn’t the first place you’ve come to?”

“I’ve spent time with Amber. Why does my chest ache when I can’t feel anything?”

“Mother would know better about that than I.”

Blackstone was putting Tenebria to sleep when Onyx knocked on the door and Fomoria mimicked him.

“Come in.”

She looked up and down the shadow.

“Fomoria, it’s been some time.”

“I know… Yes, I know.”

She found the confidence in his statement strange.

“Onyx, why don’t you finish reading this story to your sister?”

“Nooo. I want mommy to read it.”

“Mommy needs to help your Uncle Fomoria.”

“Why does he look like that?”

“I don’t know yet.”

She kissed Tenebria’s forehead then walked out with Fomoria.

Cimmeria brought him to a tea room.

Since she had stopped her drinking entirely, she became quite familiar with various teas, familiar and exotic.

“Vanilla?”

“I don’t have a physical form.”

“Sometimes tea is for the soul rather than the body.”

“Vanilla then, please.”

“Why don’t you explain what’s wrong while we wait for it to seep?”

He told her of Xol’s betrayal and his missing memories along with what happened to Liat and what other places he thought about going.

She didn’t answer until after she poured two cups of tea and put sugar in; she stirred Fomoria’s cup.

“You must tell her. But, perhaps that idea of going to the desert isn’t bad. You are always putting others ahead of yourself, that part is absolutely what you would do.

You know that you can’t be there for her, that you are broken and she will be by the confirmation of her sister’s demise.

You know you can’t pick her pieces up and put her back together until you are whole yourself.

If her parents have any heart, they will beg their people to accept her back home.

But I tell you this now, I warn you in no uncertain terms, because I have interacted with Golden before, she will never be allowed to leave again. Either they would make her stay as a part of being allowed to come back, or she would see you as unreliable, and she would stay of her own will.

If this is what you want, if you would put her well-being above your desire to one day return to her, then go to the desert, make your plea, see if it is possible, then make her parents break the news to her.”

He hunched over the table, sniffing the tea. He knew that he couldn’t really smell it, but his mind was tricked by the memories that came from the tea he drank in the past.

“Or I just stop being such a coward, and tell her now.”

“Is that what you think is best for her? That she suffers alone? Who else can she turn to?”

“I shouldn’t tell her then.”

“Why?”

“Because I can’t help her, because I’ve failed everyone, I’m a failure, a fraud, I’m a monster.

I’ve been pretending that I’m stupid for over a day now, just so Amber spends more time with me.

So I don’t need to think about what I can’t fix.”

“Why don’t you ruminate on those thoughts for a time, come to a conclusion on your own.

You are wise, but ignorant. Beyond your years only gets you so far in that department, sometimes your idea of an experience isn’t enough.”

Fomoria sat there in silence, losing track of time was something he often did these days, and he was finally broken from his thoughts the dawn had come and Cimmeria was sleeping across from him.