Talnius Valoro, fallen scion of House Valoro, was always furious. He’d been angry so long that he didn’t remember what it felt like to think clearly, and he knew he wasn’t thinking clearly now as he walked toward the boy. He was angry that his mother had forced him into the Keepers too young, angrier still that he’d failed his Trial, and his soul was hot with rage that his family had disowned him for it.
He had no illusions that he’d changed now, or that he would change even if the impossible happened–if he somehow found a life with Presla. This was who he’d been for a century, and as he reached up to grip the chain collar wrapped around his neck, he wondered if his family had made him this way on purpose. Their desperation to keep the prominent family members as peerless Elementalists had manifested in countless ways, nothing more brutal than how they tried to force specific Soul Cores. Perhaps in this moment he should be grateful, he considered, as the links of chains began to melt in his hand.
They impotently erupted into small blades as the collar fell apart, but they were ultimately nothing to someone who had Awakened Ember. He’d only needed to experiment those first two nights to be sure he could remove the boy’s trinket at any time; the Keeper in training had no idea how powerful an Ascended Awakened would become by the time they were pushing against the threshold of Primus. It was just one of the odd gaps in knowledge that the boy had displayed, and Tal was ready to exploit it–until he saw how Cen and Olus had reacted to his presence.
Talnius despised Kade. For his arrogance, his sanctimonious judgment, and sometimes just for his smug face. But his boys had been in awe, and they’d somehow known they could get from Kade what Tal couldn’t provide. House Valoro only had one training method, and he would never subject those two to such barbarism. Sadly, Tal had overcorrected. He was so afraid of becoming like the family that had ruined him that he sheltered the boys, terrified that he might do to them what was done to him. After what they’d been through, he would die to prevent that.
But he couldn’t deny what they’d become in the short time they’d spent with a ‘real’ Keeper, and that alone would have been enough to make Tal want to spare the boy. That he was somehow also a living cure to Chaos Sickness meant that Tal had to keep him alive somehow. Even if Talnius had been too far gone to care about that personally, he knew that Presla would never forgive him for taking that miracle from the world. Though now, as countless chains hurled toward him, and he was forced to use the Soul Powers he’d sworn off for a century, he found his grip on mercy was tenuous at best.
The air around Talnius superheated in an instant, and every chain that came near him met the same fate as the collar had, leaving behind a trail of molten metal. Ember wasn’t like most fire-based Awakenings, and Tal couldn’t throw around flames or even control existing ones like so many others. Instead he was fire, and the heat that radiated from his Soul Core was so far beyond this child’s nascent Soul Manifestations that they may as well have been made from paper.
As Tal felt himself pushed back suddenly and pain exploded in his left shoulder, he realized his mistake. The boy had interesting powers, and Tal couldn’t help but watch him occasionally in the countless battles they’d been through these last weeks. As such, he’d thought he’d been prepared for the unusual constructs Kade could create, but looking down at the purple spear lodged in his flesh, he saw that this was something different.
The heat had affected the thing, and it was drastically smaller than those still hovering around the manic warrior facing him, but distracted by the inner turmoil of using his hated Soul Core, Tal hadn’t considered the unusual color. The constructs were clearly tainted by Chaos, and he could see the flesh blacken around the wound before his eyes. With no further hesitation he tore the spear from his shoulder, and a moment later he smelled his own burning flesh as he seared the corruption from the wound.
The bottomless seas of rage inside him roiled, and Tal prepared to charge forward, his twin maces glowing red as if fresh from the forge. Hating himself for doing it, he fell into the combat stance that had been drilled into him for years by House Valoro’s weapon masters, and began to move. Gone was the reckless, derision-fueled approach that he’d used on the monsters that were beneath him, and in its place was an elegant dance of limitless precision.
He ignored the chains that ceaselessly reached for him, knowing they were no threat. Instead, his full attention was on the Chaos spears that seemed to fly at him from every angle. He shifted continuously, flowing through the forms that his body seemed to remember better than his mind did, and he felt almost untouchable. He remembered when he’d been a boy, Ember only recently having Awoken within him, and learning that their family’s signature combat style had been pioneered by an ancestor that had Awoken Water. He’d been disgusted, and had demanded to be taught something reminiscent of fire, the arrogance of youth emboldening him.
Now though, he could only be grateful for the training he’d received, as the pain in his shoulder was a constant reminder of the danger he was facing. Thankfully his opponent clearly had no similar training, and was out of his mind besides. The spears fired rapidly, but clumsily, and as his maces wove complex patterns around him deflecting anything he couldn’t dodge, Tal quickly advanced on his target.
Incapacitating an Awakened wasn’t an easy task, as the line between a killing blow and a non-lethal attack powerful enough to render one unconscious was razor thin. Tal knew he’d have to bring to bear all his skill for this not to end in tragedy, and when two longswords appeared in Kade’s hand–each ominously glowing with purple energy–the likelihood of this finishing with someone’s death escalated alarmingly.
Talnius immediately adjusted his stance, controlling his aggression and baiting the younger man into a more controlled exchange of blows. Thankfully Kade seemed to have almost no mind left, and he alternated between inarticulate screaming and manic laughter, charging forward with no consideration of danger. Even the Chaos spears slowed as Tal easily deflected one sword swing after another.
Tal’s fury was blunted by frustration as he considered this may be the opposite of what he wanted. He’d seen what happened to the boy the first time he’d absorbed too much Chaos, and Tal realized his best chance of an acceptable outcome to this fight was to get as much of the corrupted energy out of Kade as possible. Hopefully his unlikely ally would make an appearance soon, as he wasn’t confident he could do this alone.
Changing tactics again, Tal began retreating across the village square, attempting to frustrate Kade who was still swinging his blades wildly. When the continuous ringing of metal on metal was reduced to the occasional parry, with most of Kade’s attacks hitting nothing but air, the boy finally began to switch back to his Chaos spears. Tal knew it wasn’t enough, having seen the remarkable size of the blast fired into the sky several nights past, and knew it was time to try something stupid and risky.
He moved until his was back was to some of the ruined structures of the village, the opposite direction of where the villagers were no doubt cowering, and kept up his baiting dance until the frustrated young warrior once more screamed at him. “MORE! I NEED MORE!” Tal quietly hoped some part of the boy was rational enough for this to work.
“You’ll never have more while I’m alive!” he roared back. “You’ll fight me until you burn out, you mad fool!” At first Tal wasn’t sure if the gambit would work, as Kade simply screamed into the air for a long moment. Then he got what he wanted, as the boy threw his blades away, and raised his hands in front of him as if reaching for Talnius. Thinking back to what he’d seen the last time he saw this, Tal felt his resolve slip for a moment, but as deep purple energy gathered between the outstretched hands, Tal reminded himself that a confrontation with his self-appointed jailer was exactly why he’d kept his other ability hidden.
As the blast exploded forward, so large that Tal couldn’t even see his opponent behind it, he used Smoldering Step, disappearing from the line of a fire and reappearing behind the younger man instantly. The mana drain was enormous, as the ability wasn’t truly meant to be used before reaching Primus, but it worked, and he had a perfect view as the gargantuan eruption of Chaotic energy tore through the space he’d occupied only a second earlier.
Tal marveled as the blast passed through the entirety of the village and disappeared from sight as it tore through the outer wall. He could feel the corruption even from this distance, and his mind went back to distant memories of traveling the True Chaos. For whatever reason, Kade let the blast continue long enough to have killed a thousand Tals, which hopefully depleted the boy’s reserves enough to make the difference.
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The moment the light show ended and the boy’s arms fell to his sides, Tal struck. His maces crashed into Kade’s back with expert control; he needed to injure the boy, but not kill him. The force of the blows knocked him to the ground, and Tal was over him in an instant, his assault unceasing. He knew what he was doing was a longshot, but he’d seen something that night that he hadn’t felt the need to tell anyone. It didn’t seem relevant in the intervening time, and Tal’s mind had been completely occupied by his fury at Kade’s actions, then his desperate need to see Presla healed. Now it was likely their only hope.
As the beating continued, Tal prayed to the Lost Gods, and he watched for any sign that his plan was working. At last it came, and Talnius was so relieved that his attacks stopped for just a moment, allowing Kade to burst from the ground with the strange strength that he strangely didn’t always possess. Tal was thrown back, slamming into the ground on the other side of the square, but he was grinning as he regained his feet.
Silver chains had begun to emerge from Kade’s body.
The truth was that Tal wasn’t the first one to find Kade that night. He’d been well aware that the unusual metal Aspect had been left on guard duty as always, and had been surprised when it suddenly rushed out of the inn. Curiosity combined with too many drinks had led Tal to follow, and in moments he’d spotted the pillar of energy soaring into the sky.
He couldn’t keep up with the Aspect as it pulled itself along on its silver chains, but there was no doubt as to its destination. Tal had arrived in front of the sickhouse just in time to see the burnt husk that had been Kade collapse into a heap. The boy was clearly unconscious and didn’t see what happened next, but Tal did. The disturbing purple energy had still been there, and seemed to rise from his body like flames; the blast hadn’t been enough to cleanse him of the corruption.
If Tal had been more clear-headed at the time he may have been more prepared for the danger they now faced, but he admitted to himself that he would have readily dismissed any risks for a chance to save Presla. Now though, he knew the boy’s Aspect was their only hope. It had been there that night, its chains wrapped protectively around its master as the energy ravaged his body, and Tal had watched in fascination as it did something.
Some of the silver chains had separated and bored their way into the ground. Tal had been unable to see how it did the rest, but somehow the remaining corruption inside the boy had been siphoned out, most of the purple energy had flowed through the Aspect’s chains and disappeared into the earth, the rest dissipating into the air. The process had been relatively quick, and Tal had watched in fascination as Chaos pumped through the chains until they began to dissolve before his eyes.
Talnius had stayed back until it appeared finished, and when he finally approached the boy, the Aspect appeared to have been completely consumed. Tal’s education had been remarkably thorough, however, and he knew of nothing that could truly destroy an Aspect so long as their connection to this world was being maintained by a living master. He was proven correct now, as silver chains slowly spread out from an unaware Kade.
Tal couldn’t risk that the madman might be far enough gone to attack his own Aspect though, and so he charged back in, maces at the ready. As twin blades appeared to intercept the attack, Tal was faced with several inconvenient discoveries. The first was that Kade’s madness seemed to have diminished as he expelled more Chaos, but only enough to make him a far more competent opponent. The next was that the boy clearly had plenty of Chaos left, as the corrupted spears once more began to appear.
The final discovery was more frustrating than dangerous, but Tal still considered it the worst of the three: the boy was talking again. “I knew you were planning to kill me!” he shrieked. “You’ve wanted me dead since the moment I found out about your filthy operation! You’re responsible for all of this, aren’t you? You did this to me!” Tal did his best to ignore the paranoid accusations, as his mind was already pulled in too many directions. He was trying to deflect swords that were now swinging just as hard as his maces, while simultaneously dodging energy spears and trying to hit the younger man–both without killing him, and in places the silver chains weren’t gathering.
When Tal noticed that purple energy was once more being siphoned into silver chains, he recognized the true battle of attrition had begun. Every spear, every blow from his maces, and every moment the Aspect performed its task brought Tal closer to the victory he sought. Time ticked away slowly, with Talnius fully absorbed by the endurance trial the fight had turned into. He needed perfection; he had to dodge every strike while returning his own perfectly, knowing that a single slip could mean his end.
Finally his opponent began to slow, the crazed, manic look on Kade’s face slipping as he looked more and more like himself. Suddenly he took a step back, and the blades lowered to his sides. Tal breathed a sigh of relief, but kept his maces up as he cautiously closed the distance between them. Not ready to take chances, he raised a single mace–if he could just knock the boy unconscious, the Aspect could hopefully do the rest.
He only realized his mistake when he heard Kade quietly laughing to himself. Tal followed his instincts and dodged to the right, but he simply wasn’t fast enough. The point of a Chaos spear emerged from almost the exact spot he’d been pierced at the beginning of the exchange, only this time he hadn’t managed to reduce its size with his heat field. Tal’s mana reserves were nearly depleted, and the boy had never managed to create a spear so far from his body before, so Tal had long ago switched to focusing his Soul Core’s heat exclusively in front of him.
The crazed warrior had somehow realized this and lured him closer for a surprise attack, and the result was Tal’s left arm hanging limply at his side. Kade exploded into action once more, moving forward at an alarming speed. Tal was immediately pushed back, the pain and corruption of his wound limiting him even more than fighting one handed. He could see the purple energy spilling out from the Aspect had slowed to a trickle, however, and Kade had ceased creating spears. Tal could win this, but not without sacrifice.
He knew he didn’t have enough mana left for what he needed to do, but under the circumstances he only had one card left to play. He was proud that he didn’t hesitate as he tore the mana and lifeforce out of his ruined arm, and as Kade charged relentlessly forward, the boy suddenly found himself swinging at thin air. Tal’s remaining mace was already in motion as Smoldering Step completed, and he barely managed to stop himself from caving in the back of Kade’s unprotected head in his fury.
He savored the sound as mace met bone, and watched in satisfaction and relief as the boy collapsed to the ground in front of him, injured but alive. Taking no further chances, Tal stood in place for nearly ten minutes, mace raised in anticipation. But thankfully the boy was truly out, the toll from using so much Chaos finally coming to bare. Talnius watched until the last remnants of corruption were channeled out by the persistent Aspect, before he finally let himself relax. Looking around at the destruction and madness that had come from healing the village of Bolos, Tal sighed, then reached down and lifted his defeated opponent.
***
Kade awoke to the smell of a campfire, and groaned in pain as he tried to sit up, but failed. His memory was a hazy mess, but he knew that somehow the Chaos had overwhelmed him once more. Looking down at himself, he was grateful to see that he hadn’t devastated his body anywhere near as badly as the last time, but he was surprised to see that it was Drake’s chains preventing from moving, which were wrapped around him dozens of times.
His alarm mounted as he looked over and saw Tal watching him suspiciously from the other side of a small fire. He had a sarcastic comment ready about waking up to the man once again, but the quip died in his throat when he noted the man’s left arm was missing, and crude bandages were wound around a still bleeding stump. He also wasn’t wearing the collar. Tal spoke first, “Are you still crazy?”
Kade hesitated before answering, decided that the question deserved an honest appraisal. He looked inward, both with his Energist vision and his senses, searching for any scrap of the corruption that had nearly destroyed him twice now. At last he answered, not holding back his fears. “I don’t think so, I can’t find any trace of the energy in my body…but truthfully I didn’t realized it was there last time, so I can’t be sure.” Surprisingly, the man just nodded at that, and they were both silent for a time as Drake slowly unwound his chains.
Talnius spoke again when Kade sat up, looking around at the miles of empty country surrounding them. “You should be with the Keepers for now. Whatever else happened you’re still the only thing that can cleanse Chaos Sickness.” The man’s voice was monotone and hollow, and Kade wasn’t sure how to react. “That Aspect of yours was able to get the corruption out of you in the end, but I think it burns itself up doing it. I hate to say it, but you probably shouldn’t attempt another cleansing until both you and it are more powerful.”
Kade nodded as Drake slowly took his customary form as a necklace and gauntlets–though the gauntlets could barely be considered as such given how thin and brittle they felt. Drake really had lost most of himself, and Kade could only hope regenerating that much lost mass wouldn’t be too difficult for his loyal companion. He looked back to Tal, who was still watching him, unmoving.
Not knowing what else to do, Kade reached down and removed a small metal container he’d secured to his belt, and placed it on the ground next to the campfire. “There are three Bonds in there, it’s everything I managed to collect from our battles. Divide them among Cen and Olus as you see fit..they’re fine right? I didn’t…?”
Tal looked at the box, then nearly fell as he tried to reach for it with a left arm that wasn’t there. Kade looked away uncomfortably, then stood up, orienting himself based on the position of the moons. Tal stood a moment later, pocketing the box with his remaining hand. The two men shared a long look, neither speaking.
There was too much to say. There was nothing to say. Kade suspected the man in front of him was as conflicted as he was for the moment, and made the only decision he thought he could. “Take care of them,” he said simply, then he started to walk away. He could feel the man’s gaze on him as he disappeared into the darkness, and kept expecting to hear some last word, some final curse, but there was nothing. Kade would be left to his own thoughts and regrets as he made the long journey to the gathering of Keepers.