‘What happened to you Innais? Brinn told me you have something called the memory sickness,’ said Brigid breaking away from Innais.

‘Of a sort. Sit and I’ll explain all I can,’ they did as she said and waited for her to speak. None of them knew how to feel around this woman. She had been so many versions of herself in the brief time most of them had known her, and few of those versions suggested someone that was not dangerous. They took their cues from Bridgid, who seemed to regard the woman highly and showed no sign of fear for herself. Although she did shift awkwardly sitting up straighter as though the woman would command her to do so at any moment.

‘I have not had the memory sickness as others do. My memory was taken away and held someplace else. Even now I do not think it has all returned to me,’ her voice steady and crisp. Whatever had happened to her, she certainly seemed to have regained that melodious power in her tone from her first appearance at The Proving.

‘Brinn said that someone had done this… who is it?’ asked Brigid shifting herself.

‘Yes. Arawn’vyr is what he called himself. He is the cause of all of this mess. Somehow, he held my mind and memory there with him in his prison,’ although her voice never faltered her eyes grew a little wider as she spoke.

‘We saw him in that white spire thing. Called himself The Neverset King. That Jadissa woman and Bornwald wanted to bring him back to life for good or something,’ said Ra’Handa. Innais regarded her questioningly.

‘Do you mean Refrain?’ she said. ‘He is certainly dead and advises this kingdom in secret as he must, but he is not Arawn’Vyr. At least not anymore,’ an eyebrow raised as she spoke. Her haughty tone seemed to make Brigid nervous.

‘So… so it is true that an undead king secretly rules the city?’ she said, the horror of Dellwier’s confession weighing on her.

‘Yes. As it must be. He ruled this land during the great wars of the numinia, though you would know it as the war with the Ghel. He witnessed their destruction and the endless rise of The Corruption… you do not simply throw away great knowledge in the passing of a life,’ Blink could see why Brigid seemed so anxious of the woman. She wasn’t cruel in the sense of the word, though whenever she spoke it was cool and direct. She would be heard no matter what. Blink could see where Brigid had gotten it from when they had first met, although something told him he should never make that comparison in earshot of Brigid.

‘The Daybreakers are bound to him, distant relatives of his blood distilled through time and generations,’ she added.

‘So how do you know about him?’ asked Danu. Innais looked at her, it seemed for the first time. Her eyes made Danu uncomfortable, and she tried not to meet them a second time. Innais seemed to understand yet said nothing to the group.

‘I was there when he died. It was I that advised he be able to continue to rule the city in secret,’ she said definitively. Danu looked back to her with shock across her face, ’But that was over thousands of years ago!’

‘Yes, it was… closer to two by my count. I was one of the Numinia. The last remnants of us, power stolen and left to fend for ourselves,’ she spoke as if she had simply said the tea was lovely and asked if they should have another. All of them there started at her wide eyed not knowing what to say. Worst of all was Brigid who had now lost all sense of keeping her composure with her mouth hung wide open. This woman is one of the Numinia. Nessus told me that they were… Blink couldn’t make himself finish the thought. The very idea made his head spin with questions. Finally, it was Danu that spoke up, ‘You are one of the Old Ones then?’ Innais raised an eyebrow at the reference to Old One’s an eyed Danu curiously.

‘You have met one of us before then,’ it sounded more of a statement of truth than a question.

‘I have…,’ Danu quailed at that and would say no more.

‘Very well. Not all secrets are mine to tell,’ Innais said wryly. It was Bridgit she looked to next. ‘Straighten yourself and close your mouth Brigid less a hornet makes a nest of you,’ she chided. Brigid did as she said immediately and looked like she wanted to scold herself for such quick obedience. She had fought so hard to shake this side of herself with Innais. Hadn’t she herself stormed into the guild not two weeks ago ready to order Innais about? That was before this, before Innais had declared herself a Numinia, a God. It couldn’t be true. Innais was clearly still very unwell from the memory sickness that had affected her.

‘But that isn’t possible Innias… I’ve known you all my life and not once have you ever told me this. It must be the memory sickness making you think this,’ Brigid finally said doing her best to stifle a quiver in her voice.

‘No Brigid, it is not illness that makes be say these things. It is certainly very true and is not something you idly share and even less so when you’ve lost all your power,’ it wasn’t said harshly but there was still a edge arrogance in it, and sadness Blink thought.

‘In an Age long since passed we gifted our power to mortals either by trial or fealty. We played the numinia boards and mortals that proved themselves wise and intelligent enough to wield power became our favourites, our children, or… pupils I suppose. We shared with them the greatest of our power,’ the group listened intently. It was difficult to follow, and Blink had to force the thought of this woman being a god away. It was too much to fathom having tea with a being said to have created and presided over the world.

‘Soon they grew so powerful they felt they no longer needed us and formed their own conclave. A Pantheon of Mortals they so called it. They shared their knowledge but grew old. It was then that they sought to steal all our power and so they did. Though it didn’t make them immortal but rather extended their life. Too long…far too long. There are but few races of this world that can remain on the mortal realm without their souls becoming corrupted. They must return to The Torrent to be cleansed and reborn again,’ she paused a moment from speaking and took a sip from her tea. Blink and the others waited for her to continue. Nessus had said something about all this down in the tunnels. Could it have been true? All of it? Who’s this Arawn’Vyr then? Blink why are you even asking yourself this? You should be grabbing hold of Ra and making for the first ship out of this place. You’ve no place in all of this.

‘There is more,’ said Innais placing down her cup and looking at Blink as if she had read his mind. Blink did not like the way she seemed to know even more than she let on. She glanced at the fur hilt of his blade attached to his back in the wooden scabbard Danu had fashioned for him. Blink tried to look away from her and avoid making any more eye contact.

‘There was one among this new Pantheon of Mortals that believed that by stopping the flow of The Torrent it would end the cycles of death and rebirth. He succeeded… of a sort… with the help of the numinia pieces he stopped himself from returning to The Torrent and used their power to burn half the world in the process. It was he that caused the war and destruction of the Ghel’Narran. Eventually he was sealed away, some of the numinia pieces in his possession were lost or hidden away. Others were sealed where they could not cause further harm. His called himself Arawn’Vyr. If what you say is true and they have Morgwenn, the numinia of guiding the dead to The Torrent then they have all the need to free him,’ Innais finished her tale looking at each of them in turn awaiting their response. None of them dared to speak. It all seemed too outlandish to be real.

‘We’ve heard that name before. It’s what the king called the dark elven woman,’ said Danu. Innais paused and Blink was sure he saw her face crease slightly at that.

‘So she has remembered and found him once again… I had hoped to prevent this by sealing him away and taking all memory of him,’ she said.

‘What do you mean?’ said Blink speaking before he could stop himself.

‘Morgwenn and Arawn’Vyr were lovers. It was not unheard of for our kind to take lovers of the mortals though their brief lives pained us to do so. For Morgwenn she would love but one soul and one soul only. As she guided Arawn’Vyr’s soul century after century to his death and rebirth the constant grief broke her. She began to forsake her duty, one that held the very fabric of the universe in the passing of life and death. So, I sought to quell that pain by removing their memory of one another. He believed himself King Refrain and I could watch him for a time, yet his corruption made it difficult to maintain, the taint in his soul forced him to remember himself and the grief of all his endings. After he destroyed the Ghel’Narran I had no other choice but to kill his body and seal his soul,’ she said painful memories crossing her eyes.

‘Why didn’t you just send him to The Torrent to be cleansed,’ asked Danu.

‘I tried many times, but he would not yield. And by that time I had long since lost my power to a numinian piece. We do as we must,’ she added. A chasm of silence stretched between them as they sat and took in her words. Blink felt their thoughts oppressing him, after all their’s must have mirrored his own. They were not great heroes of stories, they had no place in this disaster, in a fight against Gods beyond their reasoning. Blink was just a slave, an orphan, and wanted to find a quiet place to live out his days. A voice inside him grated at that, he was no slave any longer. Finally breaking the silence was Innais, she sighed seeming to have grown tired of their expressions.

‘Will you stand against him?’ she said. They looked at her in shock and Blink heard Ra’Handa curse.

‘You expect us to believe some wild scary story for youngling? Or that you’re a God? You didn’t even know who your own daughter was before. Why are we listening to this rubbish?’ said Ra’Handa angrily. What’s gotten into her?

‘Ra, there’s no need to be like that,’ he said more softly than he intended. He cleared his throat and tried again, ‘Getting angry won’t help us none’.

‘I ain’t angry Blink. I’m right bloody terrified is what I am. We need to get outta here and find some safe place. Lay low and let someone else take care of things,’ her voice rising in pitch as she spoke.

‘There is no place to hide. He will spread destruction across the world and do what he did to the Ghel’Narran,’ said Innais authoritatively calm.

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‘Well… Ra’Handa’s right. Can’t you do something? I mean you’ve got that numinia piece there after all,’ said Brigid trying to sound her old stubborn self but unsure of how to act given what she had just heard. Her entire world had changed in a moment and nothing she had known would ever be the same again. How many times would this happen to her, she wondered.

‘Even if this figure had not been broken I could not. When our power was stolen it would stay forever in the pieces. I can use them and I have a particular affinity for my own,’ she fingered the broken piece in her hands, ‘but I will never again wield my old strength. Now that this one is broken its power will gradually fade away forever and return to The Torrent.’

‘What are we supposed to do then?’ said Blink. He wanted to do as Ra’Handa had said and have nothing more to do with any of this. She was right, they didn’t belong here, this wasn’t their fight.

‘Which of you broke my figurine?’ she asked the question but seemed to already know the answer as she looked at Blink. In that moment his stomach twisted in fisherman’s knots just thinking about what she might ask him to do with the sword.

‘I did. Jadissa had me in a memory and I got out by cutting through the numinia piece,’ he said begrudgingly.

‘That could only have been done with the power of the numinia themselves. That sword at your back. Whom does it belong to?’ there was a curious turn in her voice when asking.

‘It doesn’t matter. It’s my sword and no other’s,’ he said too defensively for his own liking. It seemed enough for her as she didn’t pressure the point any further. She took from his response her answer and gave a derisive sniff of understanding.

‘If you use that sword to break all the numinia pieces he has then he may be weak enough to kill; or at the very least push close enough to The Torrent to give us time to find and destroy the other pieces,’ she made it sound simple, fighting monsters, and beings wielding unimaginable power. Blink also noticed that she said the word may far more times than he liked.

‘You don’t know if it will actually work then?’ he said guardedly.

‘No I do not… but it is the best we can hope for. The longer we talk here the sooner they will reach him and free him,’ her hard stare took him in.

‘Can’t you just take the sword and do it yourself. Leave Blink and the rest of us be,’ said Ra’Handa angrily. It was shocking that she had the gall to speak to a god like that. She must truly be afraid if even that did not settle her. Innais looked at her and frowned.

‘That sword is bound to him, and I would not touch it for anything in this world,’ she said and turned back to Blink. She stared deeply into his eyes and held them there. He tried to look away but found he could not.

‘You are not the slave anymore Blink. You must choose this… and accept the consequences whatever they may be. That is you’re right now,’ her words were direct but not without empathy.

‘How did you…,’ Blink went to ask but was interrupted.

‘I was the Numinia of Memories… I once saw all that was the past, present… and even some echoes to come. With this I can see some of the past again. I know of where you have come,’ she sounded as if she felt a little sorry for Blink. She had clearly seen more of his past than he would have wished anyone to. Ra knew more than anyone and even she was not privy to some things.

‘Fine. I’ll do it then,’ Blink said the words before he had realised exactly what he had agreed to. He swallowed hard trying not to think of the terrors to come.

‘Blink no. You don’t have to do this. We can find Rollo and his ship and get out of here,’ pleaded Ra’Handa.

‘Come off it Ra. Isn’t this what you’ve always wanted? I’m so scared I could shake my skin off at this point too… but if we leave now then this is just going to catch up to us anyway,’ It’s the smart thing to do Blink you fool. What could have made you say yes to this?

‘Blink is right. We can’t just let this happen to all the people that live here,’ said Brigid. ‘Dellweir might be a brainless gnat but he doesn’t deserve to be left the way he is, or Terrick that half-wit pretty boy,’ Brigid hoped it had sounded fiercely determined as she said it and not as though her feelings for them had changed.

‘We have to try Ra. We have to,’ said Blink again wishing his thoughts would match his words. She stared at him thinking it thought. There was tension in the room as they waited for her response. None of them wanted to do this. None of them thought they would truly make a difference here. But what choice did they have?

‘Alright… but the moment things look dire we get out of here faster than green grass through a goose, ya hear me?’ she said and meant to hold Blink to that. She would drag him by the ear to the docks and halfway across the ocean if she had to. The way she looked at him told him the truth of that. Blink was glad that she had agree to stay and fight with him, but also could not help but be disappointed she hadn’t pushed the matter further. How do soldiers do this? They must be afraid of dying or getting hurt, yet they still run full force into the things that might kill them.

‘It’s settled then. He was sealed beneath the city using the last of my strength and that of another numinian I have not seen Runavin in since however, though his seals will not be easily broken. As soon as we wake your friend we will depart,’ she said rising from her seat.

‘We?’ said Brigid standing.

‘Yes, we. I may be without my old strength, but I am not helpless. Besides… I owe Arawn’Vyr much for what he did to me,’ and with that she left and went to Nessus’s room. The group followed her and stood around the bed as she held the broken figurine in her hand. She placed it on Nessus’ forehead, and it began to glow faintly. The glow spread outward taking in all of them until all they could see was white light. When it faded, they stood in the dark wet sewers below the city. They watched as a memory of Ra’Handa carrying an unconscious Blink down the tunnel played out around them. Nessus held the barrier against the monster than had attacked them.

Nessus held all the power they could as the monstrous creature beat at the barrier. With each slam it seemed as though it might break at any moment. Nessus knew they must hold it as long as possible to allow their friends to escape. Another of those shatteringly powerful fists came down on the barrier and Nessus’ legs buckled. If it must happen, then it needed to be now more than ever. Nessus reached for The Torrent that flowed though all things even in this dark and terrible place. They reached for the flow of the vines, the water, the people far above; they reached even into the Shad’ahgar that would break their body if it made it through. Nessus felt the flows and opened themselves willingly to them and they filled their body with power. It felt as though they were everything and nothing in that moment. It was like floating along a river of stars and colours in an expanse of nothingness. Nessus could feel the tributaries, and forked branches of the flows break away endlessly connecting and bringing life to all things. Every time they opened themselves it felt as though they may be taken away for good and lose themselves. Nessus tried to give the power form and purpose focussing on the stones above. With that they pulled with all their might and the entire tunnel collapsed in on itself from the entry spreading out to cover the Shad’ahgar and then Nessus. The barrier held somewhat thanks to the power of The Torrent but once the ceiling had collapsed Nessus could hold it no longer. The barrier was released, and Nessus slipped into unconsciousness.

When Nessus awoke the dust from the debris had settled. They moved stiffly as they sat up. The Shad’ahgar was unmoving beneath the rubble and Nessus hoped it would stay so. These were creatures that followed the fall of Ishtarik in the war, much like those of the golgeists. Where humans and even the Ghel’Narran had been twisted by The Corruption, so too were other creatures some that became Shad’ahgar. Nessus stood and found it difficult to place weight on their leg. It seemed that holding the barrier against such an onslaught had taken more of a toll than they first thought. They limped to a wall away from the debris and the body of the Shad’ahgar and leaned against it to inspect their body. They pulled away the corseted tunic and the jewellery hanging about their neck. Their dark skin beneath had taken on more of the quality of The Torrent. Where before the shifting colours only occupied their arms, it had since spread to cover their torso. They gave off a faint spectrum luminescence on their skin.

‘You promised me you wouldn’t use it anymore my vidar,’ came the familiar voice. It was warm and tender, but also dripping in the usual stern undertone. Standing before Nessus was another figure as elegant and strong as Nessus. As was the way of the Ghel’Narran it was difficult to say if they were female or male if considered through the customs of the other races. For the Ghel’Narran it mattered not as they shared their souls, knowledge, and consciousness among their peoples and generations past.

‘Ha’turrosa mi vidar Wrennal,’ said Nessus smiling adoringly at the figure before them. Wrennal wore flowing silk crimson pants and a similar coloured scarf like wrapping about their chest. The wrapping was gilded in golden threats that hung loosely about. A golden chain of coins dangled about their waste and down their arms they wore many bracelets of various metals. Unlike Nessus’s face they wore no makeup however a blooming lotus was tattooed atop their bald scalp. They were strikingly beautiful and handsome in every sense of the words.

‘My love it good to see you again,’ said Nessus.

‘Ha’Turrosa mi vidar Nessus,’ said Wrennal in response. ‘You must not do this again or you will be taken by Hennaka,’ they added sternly afterward.

‘The sooner I shall join you there then,’ Nessus said lovingly.

‘That is not what I wish, and you will listen to me for once my vidar,’ said Wrennal their brow scowling as they crossed their arms disapprovingly.

‘You always were as vibrant as the flame on the dessert winds when angry,’ said Nessus teasingly.

‘And you were always as stubborn as the stone that pretends it has not become the sands,’ they said in reproach. It only made Nessus’ smile broaden even more.

‘How long has it been since I lost you?’ Nessus said. Wrennal softened a little at that. They had been bonded as vidar and for the Ghel’Narran there was no greater expression of love than that.

‘It has been many, many moons I should think,’ Wrennal spoke more softly and although they did not unfold their arms the creases in their brow softened.

‘When you last visited me, you told me I must continue to search for the Knowledge… to return to the old ways,’ said Nessus.

‘I did say this. It is the way of the Ghel’Narran. You know this,’ Nessus noticed the same old disdain for the duty of the Ghel’Narran.

‘It is not your way though. It is not our way,’ Nessus emphasised our way, speaking of what they had done together.

‘You saw what came of our way. We investigated forbidden knowledge and tried to drink of our ancestor’s souls within Hennaka. It was a mistake. I was swallowed whole by the Hennaka’s Will and you… a cup attempting to hold an ocean,’ Wrennal lowered their arms whilst speaking. Their brow furrowed again but this time not in anger or frustration. Their handsome features now creased with worry.

‘You would not have been harmed had I not made you turn from the search for The Knowledge,’ said Wrennal.

‘I’d do it again because what you sought was a way forward for all peoples and not just our own. We looked where our forebears dared not search for The Knowledge. It had not been found anywhere else and they feared to go there. We did what we needed to my vidar; my only regret is that I cannot follow you yet,’ said Nessus stepping forward to place a hand on the cheek of Wrennal. Their hand could not actually touch the spectral form of their lover, their vidar, but Nessus placed it there all the same.

‘You must find a way out of here. They will need you. There is a terrible corruption in this place and a horde of the fell ones sleeps in wait,’ said Wrennal looking into Nessus’s eyes.

‘The golgeists? Here in this place?’ asked Nessus though they knew Wrennal would not have been wrong.

‘Yes. Follow the tunnel to where these vines are thickest. You will come to a chamber where they sleep. That is where The Corruption is held. Continue and do not stop and you will come to another exit. Do not go in that chamber alone Nessus. Do you hear me?’ the familiar sternness returning to their voice. ‘There are some things best left unknown,’ they added, a little shame tinging their voice.

‘The great blasphemy and hypocrisy of the Ghel’Narran my vidar. Search for The Knowledge in all places, but never stare into the darkness from whence it was lost. You have no shame my vidar and it never suited you,’ said Nessus tenderly.

‘My shame is that you must do this without me. Please be careful,’ said Wrennal returning Nessus’s expression.

‘Ghel haren mi vidar; ghel parta mi vidar; ghel de ghel mi vidar Wrennal. I hear you; I see you; I am you Wrennal,’ said Nessus as Wrennal’s mouth curled and their face beamed. Wrennal touched their forehead to that of Nessus before they dissipated into smaller and smaller lights. Once they were gone Nessus stood alone in the darkness of the tunnels beneath Dayargain.