For the first while of their southern trek towards Rynthavael, the companions were silent, focused on running and their surroundings. As the hours passed, however, Xavier started to mull over questions he had building inside. Now was the perfect opportunity to query two who had been in the world much longer than he had and maybe gain some understanding of topics that kept coming up. He motioned to Ella to catch up as he quickened his own pace to match that of Lianna.
“Lianna, if you don’t mind,” he began. “I have some questions that you might be able to answer. There is still a lot of this world I don’t understand, and since you are now aware of my past, your knowledge could help fill in some of the details.”
The Iskari woman slowed her pace slightly. The nature of her talent drastically slowed the consumption of stamina along with increasing speed, so none of the trio were short of breath. However, it was difficult to maintain a long conversation with the treacherous terrain and trees whipping past at such speeds. She turned her gaze slightly, and he could finally see her face for the first time since they had departed. Her eyes were bloodshot and red-rimmed, a clear indication that she had been crying while they ran. Xavier winced, seeing the woman’s features, and came to a complete halt, Ella almost bounced off his back as she nearly ran into him.
“What do you want to know human?” Lianna queried. Her tone wasn’t malicious or angry just resigned and full of sorrow. “We must not dally the longer we take the more possible harm from Arenvalis.”
“It’s not the slowing or possible harm that is making you cry Lianna,” Xavier pressed. “You don’t have to wear the collar if you don’t want to. We can find another way to get to Ironhaven and you can go back home.”
“No!” She cut him short with an agonized cry. “You think I did not already consider that? As the elders said, this is the best possible way. Gods know I do not want to put that accursed thing back on my neck. I could not argue, disagree, or even resist those who owned me when I last wore it. Can you imagine being a small child and having no ability to play or simply be a kid? At least my owner did not find Animari attractive. We were just labor to him.” She spat as she finished her words as if even thinking about the man made her bile rise. “But to go into Arenvalis without a collar as an Animari would only result in my freedom being taken from me by another. My people are not seen as people in those lands. We are lesser beasts, servants,” she hissed out the final words with a feline growl, “slaves.”
Her vehemence was palpable to Xavier and Ella. Both took a step back at the sheer violence couched in her words. Xavier unknowingly rested a hand on the hilt of Vaeltheris, and the motions drew Lianna’s eyes. Seeing his posture, her eyes narrowed dangerously, and a deep rumbling growl emanated from Frostclaw, who had come to his lady’s side.
Realizing what he had done, Xavier jerked his hand away from the blade and held both of his palms out in a placating gesture. Trying to ease the sudden tension between the party. Ella stepped closer now and held her own hands out to the irate Iskari and snow leopard.
“Lianna,” Ella whispered soothingly, “we are not going to hurt you. Xavier wants to work with you and help both of our people. You have heard we have Animari in our village who are free and work and play right alongside everyone else. That is what Xavier wants to see more of. He has a hatred for slavery. Even though I am bound to him, he dislikes me calling him master.”
“Why do you call him that?” Lianna snapped. “Your very words and actions make me trust him even less with what the elders have charged him with. You have been awfully secretive about your relationship with him. Do not think I have forgotten how conveniently you showed up at the raider camp. I know we did not leave any tracks or trails to follow. Forest runner obscures those.”
Xavier’s eyebrow raised slightly at that admission, and he looked back to the path they had been running, expecting to see some broken branches or at least disturbed earth and grass to mark their passage. Nothing however was out of place, the land and vegetation as pristine as it had been before their arrival. The skill, talent, whatever it was showed even more utility than he had previously recognized in it. It also made the gamer in him crave it more.
Ella sighed and lowered her hands. “Secrets can be damning, I agree, but these are not mine to share anymore. I am Xavier’s as much as the blades he wields are. Someday, he might tell you the details, but trust me; I mean you, nor Verdantspire, nor any Animari in general harm. Xavier does not either.”
Lianna calmed slightly, and Frostclaw stopped his growling. Though her stance remained tense she nodded slightly and turned to start walking south once more. She had not forgotten Xavier had questions and maintained a slower pace to allow for them. The other two quickly caught up to her but kept a slight separation from her so she didn’t feel pressured.
Xavier was the first one to speak while they walked. “Lianna, what does it mean to be traveling companions? I get the feeling from the fact I got a notification about it when both you and Ella joined me that it is something more than just traveling together.”
“It means we have goals and wants that are in common. You could have hired me to go south to the costal cities of Drakkenport or Velanor and I would have traveled with you as a guide or guard. We would be traveling companions but not travel companions. We would just be traveling together not seeking a common goal. The world sometimes recognizes when people are aligned and gives them this distinction. We are both more and less than party members. I do not know more details than that as it is not a common thing. But you say you and Ella are companions as well?”
Xavier shrugged slightly then nodded. “We became companions early on. Long before she was bonded to me.” That question made him curious though. He had not checked that particular screen on his interface since the bonding. His eyes unfocused slightly, enough that he could see his UI and the path before him and selected the tab for companions.
Both Ella and Lianna were listed there, and he could see some minor details about each including their classes, levels and stats. He still couldn’t see their attributes or skills, but he assumed that was normal.
“Yes,” he confirmed, “You both are on my companions tab.” Glancing to Ella he continued, “see you are more than just my bonded. You are still my companion at the very least.”
Ella rolled her eyes slightly; she already had known that since he was on her companions list as well. She had more details about the bond between them due to Vaeltheris but was not going to share them with others around to hear. Maybe she would get a chance to do so when they camped for the night. Something she decided to do when Lianna slept, and it was their turn to keep watch.
Xavier broached the next topic carefully; he already knew how volatile it could be but needed to know so he could perhaps plan a better path. “Is wearing that collar going to be an issue, Lianna? I don’t want to force you to do it. It is obvious how much it bothers you.”
The feline woman’s shoulders slumped. “I know you are an outsider, but surely you have had slavery where you are from.” She glanced at him, and he nodded sadly before she continued. “It is not just a plain piece of metal. It is a bastardization of the collars used to control mages after the Magewar Reckoning. It does not just mark you as a slave it is enchanted to control the wearer based on what orders and limits are given when it is placed. It is why I had no freedom as a child. I have to trust that you will not put any restraints on me.” Her last words were whispered again, showing just how deeply she feared such an action.
Unwittingly, she had revealed more information about the world Xavier had no clue about. What was the Magewar Reckoning and collars for controlling mages? Did that mean all mages were slaves as well? Wait, the mage from the raiders did have a collar on, one that he still had in his satchel. He fished into the bag and withdrew the dark metal ring. “You got me this off of the raider who was a caster. Does that mean this is a slave collar?”
Lianna did not recoil from this collar in the same fashion as she did from her old one. It could be the fact that she did not have the same emotional distress attached to it, but Xavier was certain there was more to it than just that.
“That is both true and untrue. A veyhn’shaar is a slave collar in the fact that it controls and limits mages, but if you were to place it on the neck of anyone who could not wield magic, then it is just a metal ring. Few actually call them Veyhn’shaar anymore, by the way, and simply refer to them as sealrings or voidbands. Drekh’tar on the other hand, the slave collars, can affect anyone they are placed upon. They do not have the same capability of restricting magic as a sealring does but beyond that they are the same. I do not know why sealrings only work on mages, beyond my knowledge or even wanting to know.”
She had calmed down somewhat while they continued to walk. Xavier wanted to keep her talking and keep her mind off wearing the collar eventually but felt the need to reassure her that he had no intention of restricting her with the collar, it was only part of her disguise to enable them to walk unhindered in the kingdom to the north. “As I told the elders I will place no restrictions on you when or even if we go through with the disguise. It is to keep you safe in hostile lands, not control you. I want you to trust me as I am putting trust in you. Hopefully, my actions will prove that to you.”
“Time will tell human, time will tell. Come on we should run again. We are still almost two days away from your village even with my talent.” With that she took off running and the others raced to keep up with the fleetfooted ranger.
The rest of the day passed with relative quiet. Frostclaw helped them avoid several larger beasts roaming the woods, a bear and a tall greenskinned humanoid with arms reaching to its knees to be specific. Dusk had fallen when they found a clearing to make camp in. As Ella and Lianna gathered wood for the fire Xavier was nearly giddy with excitement, he was going to get to use his new rune that he had learned from the raider camp.
You have learned a new Rune – Alarm
Attribute
Details
Level
1
Rank
1
School
Air (Zephira) & Life (Vitalora)
Casting Time
This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.
1 minute
Range
30 feet
Duration
8 hours
Components
V, S, M (a small silver thread or engraved rune stone)
Effect
Inscribes a protective rune in a 20-foot radius, alerting the caster when an unauthorized entity enters the area.
Alert Options
Audible Alarm: A loud chime or ringing within the area.
Mental Ping: A silent alert to the caster (within 1 mile).
Rune Appearance
Faint glowing glyphs, pulsing with soft sky-blue (Air) or golden-green (Life) energy.
Usage
Commonly used for securing camps, doors, and hidden pathways against intruders.
He sat in the middle of the camp studying the information in his UI. Luckily, unlike the raiders, their camp was small, and the 20-foot radius would cover them all. He knew they would still keep a watch but this gave them an additional set of protection. It also explained the large number of silver strings that the mage had been carrying. He had thought it was an odd thing to carry around but that was before he knew about rune components. It seems his crafting skill had some very specific details. He paused and pursed his lips in thought. Does that mean the mage was a runecrafter as well? Or could all mages craft runes to some extent? Was his crafting just a redundant function of magic? He shook his head fiercely before going off down a rabbit hole he was unlikely to emerge from, especially since he knew next to nothing about runecrafting or magic and was just speculating on everything.
As he focused on the rune in his UI he noticed a small glimmering translucent sigil take shape on the ground in front of his seated position. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he recognized the shape, it was the same one he had seen when he first found the rune. Instinctively he pulled out one of the silver strings and began laying it along the water… no manamark on the ground. As he did so a series of words beyond even his talent for languages to translate fell from his lips. As the last of the string was laid in place it vanished and the sigil flashed briefly before fading to a soft golden-green glow, barely visible against the moss of the ground. He had done it, he had laid his first rune. “May the world tremble!” He thought inwardly in enthusiasm. That was right about when the alarm set off, a loud clanging noise filling the clearing as the two women returned with their foraged supplies.
Wincing and covering his ears, Xavier dismissed the rune amidst glares from the duo carrying firewood. “May the world tremble…” he thought again forlornly. Where had he gone wrong? He looked back at the information on the rune and noticed it had options. Ones he had not acknowledged when he laid the first one. Sighing he tried again, there were subtle changes to the lines of the rune this time and soon he had another one in place, this one with a mental warning to him, soft chimes instead of a klaxon like call in general and excluding party members and their minions.
Preparations in place the small party enjoyed a quiet meal of a crunchy bread, dried meat and some hard cheese. Nothing to write home about but filling and quite tasty actually. Soon they turned discussion to who would have what watch. Xavier ended up with first watch, Ella taking the interrupted sleep of midwatch and Lianna having the last one. Frostclaw would not actually be pulling a watch but aiding the party as a whole throughout the night.
Plans in place Lianna moved to the otherside of the fire and curled up in her blankets next to Frostclaw. Ella and Xavier remained seated next to the fire quietly talking about what had happened after Xavier had left initially to explore what turned out to be the mine and then Xavier recounting what he had discovered so far in that place. He also remembered that it was not cleared completely, and they would need to return soon to explore it more fully. After a while of talking Ella looked over seeing the soft rise and fall of Lianna’s breathing as she appeared to have finally fallen asleep. Neither of them had noticed that one of the Iskari’s ears had been angled back towards them as the woman listened to everything they said.
“Ok, I think we are safe now. What do you mean you are Vaeltheris?” Xavier whispered in demand. “That’s kind of a big bombshell to be dropping on me out of the blue”
Ella raised her eyebrows not understanding any of his euphemisms but answered the question she could. “It is… complicated. I am the sentience of the blade but not.” She half questioned herself. “I told you the blade holds the collective consciousness of the last survivors of the Sylmyrian civilization. That gives it an awareness of sorts. About 20 or 30 years ago… quite frankly I lost count, I woke up holding it. As the centuries passed Vaeltheris realized it was trapped and had no way out, so it eventually gave birth, I guess, to me. I share much with the blade, I know what it feels since it is an extension of me and I of it. We are two parts to a whole it seems. That is why when you bound the blade to your soul you tied me to you as well. It is also why I cannot wield it myself other than as a dagger in self-defense. Wherever you go with the blade I can follow, in times of duress I can manifest near the blade, like I did when you died.”
Xavier stared at her in silence for a long while. Neither noticed the anxious flicking of Lianna’s ear that was turned towards them. Finally, Xavier spoke softly. “I can see why you kept this a secret. Is that what you meant by they were no longer your secrets? They’re mine now aren’t they?”
Ella smiled softly and nodded. “Yes Master. Now you have bonded my blade nothing can be kept from you. Aelriva told me of a prophecy before the fall of Sylmyria.” Her voice took on a sing-song tone as she remembered the words of the little sprite.
“When the heavens burn and the earth does sigh,
A mark long forgotten shall pierce the sky.
From the ruins of ages buried deep,
A herald shall wake from an ancient sleep.
Bound by chains yet fated to free,
The weary, the lost, the enslaved, the plea.
With shadow and flame their path shall blaze,
Through trials of darkness and blinding haze.
Balance calls from the fractured core,
Where power slept in the times of yore.
The gods shall waver, their thrones shall shake,
As the chosen rises for justice's sake.
Beware the path of riddles and strife,
For truth lies tangled with death and life.
By will alone the course is set,
For the marked one holds the cosmos' debt.
An ancient bond, a world to mend,
The age-long cycles shall find their end.
Through trial and fire, the chains shall break,
And the gods' dominion the earth shall quake."
She finished and took a deep breath as she came back to the present. “Aelriva and I believe that whoever bears the mark of the Syr’Vailen is the one spoken of and who should bear Vaeltheris to restore the lost civilization.”
Xavier sat quietly for a while after Ella stopped talking. That revelation further cemented his concern that he was not in control of himself, he was sure now that Danu was playing a longer game with him as a pawn. There was no way to know what choices were his own and what was actually foreseen. He grappled with this for several long minutes before he remembered something Danu had told him before he was restored to life. ‘Fate is destined to happen, who fulfills that fate is unknown. If not, then someone else days or even centuries in the future could be the key. You make your choices and if they fulfill what is to be then you are the one.’ At the time Xavier thought that was an awful like that Matrix movie with the whole ‘There is no spoon” concept. Now, however, it was a rock he could cling to, he would make his own choices and see where the chips fell.
The rest of Xavier’s watch passed in silence, after their discussion Ella lay down near him in her own blankets and was soon deep in sleep. Frostclaw would raise his head and look at Xavier every so often then off into the forest but nothing besides the sounds of night animals and bats blended with the gentle noises of the wilds at night. After his time passed he gently shook Ella awake and moved to his own blankets to sleep.
When Xavier awoke, he felt as if someone was watching him. Rubbing the night crust from his eyes he sat up and saw Lianna staring at him. After a few moments she looked away, staring at Ella instead. Xavier rolled up his things and moved to sit near the fire across from the Iskari.
“Something bothering you Lianna? You seem rather tense this morning,” He asked. While waiting for her answer he pulled over his pack and started digging out some hard tack and dried fruits for breakfast.
“I am fine,” came the curt reply.
It was clear she wasn’t, however, Xavier just attributed it to the same concerns from the day before. She was getting closer to having to wear the collar and the whole situation was setting her on edge. Finding the food he was looking for he pulled out enough for all three of them and then proceeded to nudge Ella awake. As she stirred and sat up he handed her a portion of the food before splitting the remaining between himself and Lianna.
For her part Lianna went even more reclusive. In silence the trio finished breakfast and then stowed the little bit of their camp. Xavier, still proud of his second attempt at runecraft, dismissed the alarm rune and soon the party was on the run once again.
Another mostly uneventful morning passed. The presence of, if not the guidance of Frostclaw helped them avoid conflict with the forest denizens. It seemed that the day would pass without any issues until around midday Lianna came to an abrupt halt and spun on the two.
“There is no way she is your sword! That is impossible. What else are you lying about? How did you fool the elders into trusting you?” Lianna erupted, her hands on her sword though not drawing it yet.
Xavier’s eyes widened and he back pedaled away from the angry ranger. Ella right at his side her hand resting on her bow, ready to pull it free if needed. Though the accusation made her cry out in fear at the secret being known and her master threatened and possibly killed before he could make a change.
“What are you talking about?” Xavier demanded in return. “Have you lost your mind? I know the thought of the collar scares you but this is a new way to try and get out of it.”
“I heard you two talking last night,” Lianna snarled. Frostclaw once again moving to her side adding his own growls to her anger. “I do not know what games you are playing at but I am not a fool, you must have tricked the elders despite the truth steam. Lured me out here to what actually enslave me and sell me to Ironhaven and gain favor?”
“For gods sake Lianna can you not grasp I don’t mean you any ill will. I told you to go back to Verdantspire if this was too much for you. Why would I send you home if my goal was to enslave you?” He pulled out the woman’s old collar and threw it on the ground. “Take the gods be damned thing and throw it away. Its clear the plan of you going in disguise will not work. Ella and I will go to Ironhaven on our own and figure things out without you.”
Ella, on the other hand, while the two were yelling at each other, had moved to Xavier’s side and suddenly pulled Vaeltheris from its sheath. The sound of metal sliding free caused both Lianna and Xavier to stop and turn to face the young woman. A resolute look settled into Ella’s features and she turned holding the blade flat across her palms in front of Lianna.
“You are Xavier’s companion, just as I am. Though there is no bond between us or real reason for you to trust me this is the only way I can think of to prove to you that he is not lying about me at least. I am Ella Bree Vael. In the tongue of a long dead people Vael meant blade. I was born of this blade just as you were born of your mother. I am the maiden of the blade” As she spoke Vaeltheris began to glow softly, that glow spread into Ella’s hands and partway up her arms before she turned tranlucent and appeared to be pulled into the blade before it clattered to the ground.
Both Xavier and Lianna stared at the slowly dimming blade before Xavier rushed over to scoop it up from where it had fallen. He called out for Ella several times to no avail. Looking in horror at Lianna he was at a loss for what to do. The Iskari could only stare back in equal amounts of horror and surprise. The two searched the local area wondering if Ella might have tried to come back or had just teleported somewhere nearby. After ten minutes however there was a soft glow next to Xavier’s side that slowly formed into the figure of the young woman.
Sighing softly as if she had just finished with a huge burden Ella smiled weakly at the two. “It is not easy for me to do that and takes time to get the energy to return. When I came to you from the village it was the sense of your death that provided me with the will and energy to come to you as fast as I did. I cannot die, as far as I know, I will always return to the blade, and it will take me longer to return. I am bound to Xavier as long at Vaeltheris is and that is bound to his soul.”
Lianna looked from the woman to the man and back again. She had been so certain that the conversation she had overheard was just lies. All humans lied, even this one. She knew that to her core, but he had saved some of her people from the raiders. He had been respectful of her and her brother. He had died to save her people; she saw the mark of the Kael’Sharyn appear on his chest. He was god-touched. If she was wrong about Ella and Vaeltheris, could she be wrong about him as well. Her turmoil only grew as fear and loathing that had dominated her childhood and youth battled with what was right before her and her hope for it to be true. In the end it proved too much for her and her eyes rolled back in her head as she collapsed to the ground unconscious.