The walk down to the cellar was cold, but refreshing. I instinctually moved to open the door, but I hesitated. This was someone's room.

Knock, knock

“Come in.” The raspy voice called.

I pushed the door into the makeshift room and found the Rabbi sitting in the large plush chair we had moved into the cellar for him. He was reading from a selection of books I had gathered from our library had his request.

“Ah, Chase, it is good to see you my friend.” He said fixing his broken glasses on what was left of his nose. He put his book down on the table beside him and crossed his hands in his lap.

“Shalom Rabbi. May we speak? I need sage advice and find little in my companions.” I said with a chuckle.

“Avade, of course.” His voice was dry and hoarse, typical of the undead, but I found great comfort in his presence.

I took the seat across from him and smoothed out my clothes. I sat back, and then forward, resting my elbows on my knees. I found it hard to get comfortable.

“I can’t imagine you get many visitors down here in the cold. I apologize for the intrusion.” I could see my breath in the repurposed cold cellar.

“Quite the opposite really. The Japanese boy comes down frequently to have tea and play chess. Sometimes he plays the violin for me.” Rabbi Elijah said with his zombie smile.

It’s rare, but I was actually surprised. I hadn't realized anyone else was visiting him. I smiled, glad that at least one of the young members of the team was checking in on the old Rabbi.

“Well, I’m glad Tadashi has been keeping you company.” I said.

“Quite the little mensch that one. But tell me, what has your mind in such knots my boy?” He leaned forward and patted my leg.

I took a deep breath and let the chill of the cellar fill me. I shivered, but it hardly bugged me.

“Today, I am to complete the bonding ceremony for Kalysta. She is to get her Artifact, and become an official member of the Order.” I told him.

“Mazel tov! This is good news. Also, thank you.” He clapped. The Rabbi had been able to reattach his arm but it didn't function the same after it had fallen off. I had assisted him in getting it going again.

“Not a problem.” I replied. It had taken some basic sewing and a bit of forbidden magic. A simple task, really.

“The problem is, I recently have come to believe that Kalysta may be my daughter.” I continued.

“This is also good news! What is the problem you are having?” The Rabbi gave a raspy chuckle. It sounded like someone choking.

“I was the one who killed her mother, and she has sworn to find her father and kill him in revenge.” I gave him the short version of our long and troubled past.

“Oy vey. I see why this is a problem. She does not know that this is you? But why did you kill her mother? Was she a bad woman?” He asked. His brow furrowed, but it was an exaggerated motion when it was just skin and bone.

“Quite the opposite. It was an accident. One of my bound Artifacts is the blade Tyrfing. It is cursed to kill someone every time it is drawn.” I explained.

The Rabbi nodded and gestured as if this was obvious. I wondered just how much the old man really knew.

“So you got stuck in a situation where she was the only one around while the sword was drawn. I understand. This is not your fault.” He said slowly and matter-of-factly.

"It was totally your fault." Tyrfing sneered.

The Rabbi tilted his head as if listening for something. He shook his head and waved his hand dismissively.

“I fear to tell Kalysta who I am, as I’m certain it would be heartbreaking for us both. But part of me wishes she would just end me…” I trailed off.

“But you know that the sword would take her too.” Rabbi Elijah finished for me. I sighed, nodding.

"I wonder if she taste just like her mother?" Tyrfing growled, trying to antagonize me.

This time the Rabbi held up his hand and looked around the room. His eye settled on me, and looked through me.

“Be silent cursed blade.” He said suddenly. I stared at him, wide-eyed.

"Bite me old man." Tyrfing replied, just as shocked as I was.

I sat back in my chair, baffled. Never before had anyone heard Tyrfing other than me.

“Listen here klumnik, the people are talking. You must be silent.” The Rabbi scolded.

"I only see one person in the room, you prune." The sword shot back.

The Rabbi muttered some curses and shook his head.

“How do you live with it?” He asked, huffing.

"He doesn’t have a choice." The sword replied.

“I’ve been trained to endure much worse torture than my bratty sword.” I told the Rabbi, adjusting uncomfortably.

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here!" Tyrfing roared.

“Is it always this mouthy?” The zombie Rabbi asked, putting his hand to his temple, clearly exhausted.

"Says the talking corpse" The sword replied.

“Unfortunately. And now that you've acknowledge it, it won't stop." I told him.

The Rabbi got up and touched my forehead with his wrinkled, skeletal hand. He closed his eye and began chanting in a language I’m unfamiliar with. It certainly wasn't Yiddish.

"What the hell do you think you’re doing? Stop it!" Tyrfing raged like an angry animal trapped in a cage. And then the sword’s presence disappeared.

“That will shut it up, if only for a little while.” The Rabbi said, sitting back down in his chair.

Again, I was baffled.

“How did you…” There was no shadow behind me. There was no other voice. No feeling of rage to surpress.

“I am very, very old. I know many tricks.” He chuckled. I never thought I’d see a tired corpse, but there he was, looking exhausted even in death.

“Can you teach me?” I pleaded.

“It will take some time, but yes. However you must do something for me, when your training is complete.” He lifted his glasses and scratched the inside of his eye socket.

“Anything you need.” I replied eagerly.

“I want you to end me, and make sure I am not brought back.” He said, the mirth leaving his raspy voice.

His words stunned me. I had never considered the quality of life he might be living. No one really stopped to ask. He was brought back and forced to make Golem and not once did anyone ask him if he wanted to be alive, or undead. And truly, he was only a small piece of the original Rabbi Elijah of Chelm.

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“If that is your wish.” I agreed.

“Good boy. Now listen. You go do your ritual with your daughter. Help her find her path. She will grow to trust and respect you as a friend. You tell her who you are when the time is right. Let her get to know you, without the curse of the sword. Show her who you are on the inside, without all the anger. You may have missed the opportunity to be her father, but you can still be her friend if that is what she wishes.” He told me, very paternally.

It hurt to admit that he was right. I have missed all the growing up. She was a woman now; she didn't need a father. She needed a mentor and a guide. That was something I could do.

“Now go, while the sword is still silenced. I can only imagine it will come back very angry.” He told me.

“Thank you for your time and your words Rabbi.” I said, bowing to him as I got up to leave.

“Berotsen, think nothing of it." He replied, waving his hand at me.

~*~

The Vault was almost as cold as the cellar, with none of the comforts of the friendly Rabbi. This room made me absolutely miserable. Between my own Bonding Ceremony and the overabundance of magical presences, I was always unnerved.

Kalysta got to the door, with Anders following behind. She was all smiles and excitement, practically skipping towards me. Anders and I shared a look of pity. This ritual could go very well or very poorly, and either way, it would change her life forever.

We had once been beaming teenagers, with wide eyes, full of excitement for the new world opening to us. The Bonding Ceremony was like the cold hard slap in the face of adulthood. Suddenly it was all very real. And things hurt more. Seeing the world with wider eyes opened you up to the darkness hiding under the surface and one by one your delusions of a fantasy adventure are turned into a nightmare of grotesque monstrosities. You watch the people you care about most die.

But most of all you realize the real monsters are within.

We moved to the open space of the Vault, passed the Artifacts, to an intricate pattern etched into the stone floor. It resembled a pentagram, but was overlaid with symbols of other various faiths, and myths. Around the edge of the circle were runes that glowed a faint blue, always active. Kalysta moved right to the center. Her eagerness was painful to watch.

Anders moved about, lighting candles and two wall torches, turning off the fluorescent lights. He slipped into a rhythmic motion, chanting or humming to himself. It was clockwork for him; routine.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this? We can do more training if you don’t feel ready yet.” I reached out to Kalysta, and she took my one hand in both of hers, rubbing my rough knuckles with her gentle fingers.

“I’m sure Chase, thanks for worrying about me. But I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. I can finally get this overwith and get revenge on my father.” Her smile was so sincere.

I don’t have to turn to know Anders is staring at us. I faked a smile for her sake, and handed her the ceremonial dagger for the ritual.

“You know what you have to do, right?” I asked, staring into her eyes, so much like Serena’s.

“Yes.” She nodded.

When I stepped away behind her, to the far edge of the circle, and Anders grabbed my forearm.

“She doesn’t…” He started.

“No.” I answered quickly.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” His grip on my arm tightened.

“I certainly hope so.” I had been to enough Bonding Ceremonies to know how it worked. Anders' lack of faith in me was unsurprising though.

He moved for the door.

“You aren’t staying Anders?” Kalysta called after him. He turned with his hands on the door and shook his head.

“This ritual is a special bond between master and student as much as student with Artifact. I will leave you in Chase’s capable hands.” He closed the Vault door and I hear the rolling lock click closed.

Kalysta turned to look at me, some of her confidence draining. I smiled, as genuinely as I can, and motioned for her to face ahead.

I ran my own ritual knife along the palms of my hands and closed my eyes, hands turned to the ceiling. Memories of the Latin incantations that my Master, Gideon, had used came back to me and I repeat them slowly at first, until I was confident I knew them off by heart. It was like riding a bicycle, as they say.

Opening my eyes, the runes flashed to life, beaming up into the ceiling. Slowly, I knelt and placed both my bloody hands on the edge of the circle. I could feel it as the blood was pulled from my hands, filling the etchings in the ground, and causing the blue light to turn red.

I could also feel Tyrfing trying to push passed the new barrier in my mind. I forced it back, demanding control.

I moved to the front of the circle and nodded for Kalysta to cut her own palms, while I continued the incantation. She winced after the first cut, and was hesitant to perform the second. I wished I could do this for her, but that is not the way. When she finally mustered the courage, she knelt and placed her hands to the floor like I had done, allowing the circle to pull the blood from her veins.

The etchings filled on the inside of the circle as well and the runes changed again from blue to red. She stood and I moved to get the hell out of the way.

"Cite your intentions Initiate, for you to become Chosen, the Artifacts and Gods will decide." I recited.

"I wish to take up my mother's staff..." Kalysta said, her voice cracking. "I want to be her Legacy, and become a Chosen for the Order of Vigilance."

One by one, all the Artifacts in the room began to glow, the circle calling out to them. Boxes, crates and glass containers illuminated. Some of them began to vibrate and jump about.

“You must reach out. Let your soul find which Artifact is to be yours.” I told her. "Dig deeper than your intentions. What does your heart want more than anything?"

Kalysta took a few deep breaths and spread her arms, opening herself to the magic of the circle.

"I need the power to hunt down my father and kill him. For what he did to my mother." She said, her voice quivering with a roil of emotion.

The magic of the circle raised her into the air, holding her gently to hover above the circle. Her eyes went wide, and I motioned to remain calm.

Suddenly, one of the runes flickered from red to green. Deep in the rows of Artifacts, I see a box light up with similar color.

“Kalysta, you need to call to the Artifact, beckon it to your hand.” I instructed. She closed her eyes and I could try she was trying hard. The green glow began to disappear from the box, and then the Artifact materialized in her hands. It was a white lace corset with a seashell motif.

"That's the Corset of Aphrodite. It was said to make your target open to suggestion, almost akin to mind control." I told her.

She took the corset and turned it over gingerly in her hands. I could see the disappointment mounting on her face.

Another rune turned from red to green and a matching light lit up close by from a small jewelry display.

"Kalysta..." I didn't know how to warn her. Bonding to one Artifact was hard enough, but having multiple was a difficult feat. From what Anders had told me about Orion, the boy had to go through the Ceremony several times, as he struggled to remain connected to any Artifacts. On their ninth try, the boy had been flooded with Artifacts. He ended up having almost unlimited use of many of the items in the Vault. But Apollo's Bow had been the one that manifested first.

The second item materialized in her hands; a bracelet made of five large pearls, shimmering purple and pink.

“The Pearls of Persephone. Used for teleportation, by pulling one off and shattering it while thinking of your destination. Each year, when the Goddess goes to the Underworld to see her lover, one grows back.”

Kalysta slipped the bracelet onto her wrist and looked to me, the disappointment mounting into anger.

"These are weapons. How am I supposed to fight anyone with these." She said over the magical humming.

"Not every Chosen is granted a weapon Artifact. I can train you in subterfuge and espionage, don't worry." I told her.

"Thats not what I want!" She shouted back at me. "I need a weapon to kill my father!"

The red runes flickered once more, but instead of green, it turned black.

"Kalysta, you need to calm down. We can attempt this again later." I warned, staring horrified at the black rune. "Nevermind, you need to get out, now!"

Kalysta looked at me with panic, the magic still holding her in the air. She tried to force herself back down to the ground. I looked around for some kind of corresponding black light to spring up among the boxes, but none came. I still didn't like the implication.

Kalysta finally made it down to the ground and tried to move out of the circle. Her final item flew across the room, from seemingly out of nowhere, at great speed. It impaled the floor at Kalysta’s feet. She yelped stepping back from the weapon.

“The Bident of Hades.” I said in a hushed tone. We both stared at the vibrating, two pronged spear, stuck at the edge of the circle.

When all the glowing faded and the runes absorbed all the blood, they returned to their faint bluish glow. Kalysta was left standing there with her Artifacts, but looked none too pleased. I couldn't blame her.

In a glass display, closer to the Vault door was her mother's staff, The Caduceus; Hermes' healing staff. There was a little golden plaque that said 'In Loving Memory of Serena Kokinos'.

I winced as Kalysta let the Corset clatter to the floor. It and the Bracelet disappeared; the Corset poofed into pink smoke and the Bracelet turned to purple mist. I watched as she walked out of the circle and across the Vault to the case where her mother’s staff rests.

“Why didn’t it come to me?” She whispered, placing her hand on the glass case. She rested her head against it and I saw tears hit the cement floor.

“It just wasn’t meant to be. You were chosen by many other Artifacts, which is no simple thing. I only know a few people who can bind to more than one or two Artifacts.” I tried to be consoling, but it only seemed to irritate her further. She pounded on the glass and turned on me.

“Why?” She pleaded, fists clenched, tears streaming down her face. I was unsure how to answer her. “No matter how hard I try, I can’t get answers. I gave up a normal life to be here. I gave up my family!” She cried.

I wanted to tell her, so she doesn’t feel alone. She needed to know who I was. But the Rabbi’s words rang through my mind. I knew it wasn't the time yet. I was being selfish.

“I know it’s hard. And I won’t lie to you, it doesn’t get easier from here on in. Your life is for the Order now. These Artifacts are bound to you until you die or something changes with them. I will do everything in my power to make things go as well as can be, but unfortunately, I cannot change the past.” As the words left my mouth, I realized they were the furthest thing from comforting.

Kalysta stared at me, silently crying for a long moment. With a steadying breath she came over, and I expected her to hit me. She surprised me instead with a hug.

“Thank you.” She said, pressed into my chest. I wrapped my arms around her, and held her for as long as she needed. We said nothing else until she pulled away.

“Come, let me get your hands bandaged up.” I knocked on the door for Anders to open it. He greeted us with a smile, but it faded when he saw the looks on our faces. Kalysta nodded and walked passed him and he looked to me.

"No good?" He asked.

“We’ll talk about it later.” I told him.

I looked back at the Bident of Hades as it turned into omnious tendrils of thick black smoke.