Cage [https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczNfdc-rEwLzm-pcDO_4CKqnfDk7wC1my6kXPWfQTQllDK4mPnJ5HLj_zqrGMLuwsqkHJf8fW9WbHZyYuf9k-w9-BVRwUZikhJh2jYQh9dOsm07Vu0BfFLvfqwuAZtXZl-n_7QhYIt-bq0ZaQR6ySrua=w613-h919-s-no-gm?authuser=0]
Uriel didn’t even dare to breathe as he watched Phoenix’s eyes go wide and lock onto the Soul Mark. He had never worked up the courage to tell anyone himself before. The people that currently knew were either present at the time or had been told by others. Phoenix was the first person that he had willingly revealed this secret to.
He watched and waited to see what outcome he would get in return for his rare leap of faith. He chose to trust Phoenix’s words. Trust that she really might choose to share his burdens like Dazien eventually had. Hope that she wouldn’t hate him for being chosen by an evil god… For making a deal with one.
She didn’t speak right away, though, and he could almost see her mind racing as she processed everything this could mean –what it had meant. He almost thought he had gotten the worst outcome as she finally tore her eyes away to look into his own.
“You’re my best friend, Uriel,” she said, “This doesn’t change that. Thank you… for telling me; for trusting me.”
He couldn’t have stopped the tears if he had tried. Something inside him snapped, and he didn’t wait for her as he pulled her into a tight embrace. For the second time in his life, he had gotten the best outcome that he could have asked for.
Phoenix returned his hug, and he was grateful that she didn’t comment on his trembling and silent crying.
“Please, don’t leave me,” she whispered, “Even with this. I don’t want you to go.”
Uriel didn’t want to go either, but even with Phoenix’s acceptance, he was still a danger to them. He had to make her understand that. “If anyone else finds out… they’ll use it to ruin your House. Patricia was right that my mere presence will be a blight upon yours and Daze’s reputation.”
She pulled back to look up at him, “Wait, Pati knows? You told her?”
He shook his head, “No. She mentioned learning about my titles from Presley somehow.”
“Titles?”
Uriel nodded, then moved to shut the door to the room and pull her further into it, back to the hearth where Orebela had been silently watching. As they sat on the sofa, he prompted, “I can show your book, I think.”
He paused as the [Guide Book] appeared before them, open to blank pages and awaiting his touch. Uriel met her eyes once more and said hesitantly, “I think I’m ready to tell you everything now… if you don’t mind the weight of it.”
Phoenix rubbed her eyes as she gave a short laugh and said with a smile, “What’s a few more secrets to add to my own? Your friendship is worth the extra weight.”
Uriel managed a weak smile in return as he placed his hand on the book and focused on showing his titles.
Name: Uriel Karislian
Species: Cinderen (Ashen)
Caste: Crystal 8
Divine Titles
Chosen Destroyer
Your aura has been altered by the divine entity: Destroyer. The alteration has enhanced the strength of your aura, increasing its range and resistance to effects from higher castes. Your soul has been marked as one who has been chosen by the Destroyer. People can sense your desire to destroy through your aura.
Titles
Slayer
Your aura has been slightly modified by your accomplishment. The resolve to end the life of another person can be sensed within it. Your aura has slightly increased resistance to being suppressed when combating foes of the same or higher caste.
Unwilling Parenticide
Your aura has been slightly modified by your actions. The guilt of causing the death of your parents and your desire for atonement can be sensed within it. Your aura slightly increases the effects of abilities that cost health or have recoil.
Orphan
Your aura has been slightly modified by your situation. The loss of your parents can be sensed within it. Your aura slightly increases the effects of abilities that produce resources.
Adventurer
Your aura has been slightly modified by your accomplishment. The desire for adventure can be sensed within it. Your aura has slightly increased effects when affecting a Mundane ally.
“You… you accidentally killed your parents?” she asked, a hand going to cover her mouth as she stared at the pages, obviously rereading them.
“It wasn’t an accident…” he replied bitterly before expounding, “I made a mistake. I chose to defy my captors to save another child… They had very specific rules there that I had to follow. At the time, if I disobeyed an order, they would hurt my family as punishment, but so long as I obeyed, they were safe and taken care of.”
He gave her a sad smile, “When they ordered me to kill this tiny little cinderen girl that reminded me of my sister, Eirlys, I tried to claim her as my sister too. Tried to turn their rules against them. So they agreed, let Faelyn be considered my sister, then punished the rest of my family for my defiance.”
Uriel reached up and gave a gentle scratch behind the ear of the black cat sitting too still and too quiet to be asleep. He chuckled as the furry head leaned into the skritches to maximize coverage, then added, “That was actually the first time I met Bliss too.”
A green cat eye opened to peer up at him as Phoenix asked, “Bliss was captured with you?”
He shook his head, “At the time, I didn’t know that. I thought she was one of the monsters that the cult there controlled. They were going to use her to eat my parents and Eirlys while I watched,” he said with a shiver.
“That’s messed up,” the Wayfarer replied with her nose scrunched up in disgust.
“Most of my time there was,” he admitted, “But Bliss didn’t kill them. I begged and pleaded with my captor to spare them. Promised to never disobey again.”
“Then they made you kill your parents instead?” she guessed.
Uriel nodded, “I couldn’t control my aura at all at that time. They locked me in a cage with my Mum and Pa until my aura slowly killed them,” he could almost hear their words in his mind as he finished saying, “They died hugging me… telling me it wasn’t my fault. Hard to believe even now when it was my lack of control to blame.”
“The people who put you in that cage are to blame, Uriel,” Phoenix practically growled.
He chuckled, “That’s what Dazien said too.”
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The Wayfarer glanced at the book once more before turning slightly, lightly touching the mark on his arm as she asked, “Why didn’t you tell me before?”
“I didn’t think you’d understand–”
“You didn’t think I would have understood?!” she reiterated incredulously.
He gave her a flat look, her reaction proving his point, “I’m Chosen by the Destroyer, Phoenix. It’s not exactly a friendly god like any of the ones you represent. I didn’t think you’d understand that the rest of the world won’t see me the same way they see you.”
She fell silent in thought, returning to look at the sigil engraved on his arm as she idly traced the swirls that appeared like a maelstrom of colors.
He wasn’t sure if he should push more or let her take her time processing, but he knew the other fact he had been avoiding. The reason that she should think of him as a monster. Quietly he prompted, “Aren’t you going to ask?”
She glanced up curiously, “Ask what?”
“The price,” he answered simply, and her eyes went wide as she realized what he was talking about.
Phoenix looked back to the mark and asked, “Do you want me to?”
“I want you to understand why I have to leave still.”
“No, you don’t,” she replied stubbornly.
“Phoenix, what did you trade for your marks of Favor?”
She frowned but reluctantly answered, “Apparently, a title and upgraded quest rewards for Hero and Rebel. Some Knowledge Tomes for magic and fighting from Scholar and Warrior. A [Guide Book] upgrade from the Traveler. Some Ruby Bits and help to have kids in the future from the Cultivator. Kara for the Champion and help taking care of Presley for the Parent.”
He gave her a sad smile, “Some questionable worth to those but still mostly good things from good deities for good reasons.” Then he took the hand touching his own Soul Mark and held it as he said, “Your turn to ask me.”
Her nose scrunched, showing her displeasure at the inevitable information, but asked, “What did you trade for? To allow the Destroyer to mark you…”
“I asked for the power to destroy people. I begged to be strong enough to kill everyone. I was blessed with my [Raging Inferno] talent,” he admitted softly, “I’m not a monster just because I killed people, Phoenix… I’m a monster because I wanted to destroy someone so badly that I traded my soul for it.”
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Phoenix wasn’t sure how to respond to that, but for some reason, she just couldn’t see him as a monster. Uriel really was her best friend now. He had been there for her, supported her, and never got angry at her or judged her for the terrible choices she made. He cared for her. Monsters couldn’t care about her like he did.
“You were angry,” she carefully said, “I know what that’s like. I made pretty bad choices when I got angry, too. Even died from it.”
“Phoenix, I–”
“Are a person,” she interjected, “Like me. We make mistakes, right? We mess up, we lose control, we keep secrets when we really shouldn’t, we trip and break ourselves,” she gave him a gentle smile, “But that’s why we have family and friends that will accept us despite all that, right? To help fix the breaks?”
To her delight, the mage laughed, even through the tears that had begun falling again. It was weak and broken, but it was still a laugh.
Uriel used his free sleeve to wipe his eyes as he finally managed to say, “I don’t deserve a friend like you… or like Daze. You’re both too good for me.”
It was her turn to laugh at that, but she decided to use that to her advantage, “I disagree, but even if that were true, does that mean I’m good enough to choose you as a friend? If we both still want to be friends, then it doesn’t matter if either of us deserves it or not.”
“I’m not sure if you’ve been spending too much time with Dazien or Priest Jacob to be able to come up with that argument.”
She grinned, “It is a pretty good one, isn’t it?” she squeezed his hand as she added, “The point remains, whatever you did in the past, whatever terrible, desperate choices you felt you had to make… I know who you are now, and who you are is a friend I never want to lose.”
“I don’t want to lose you either,” he replied softly, returning the squeeze to her hand.
Silence fell as they both processed the conversation, her gaze alternating between the words on her book, the mark on his arm, and the ember eyes watching her, cautious yet hopeful.
With a random thought, she conjured the cookies that she had meant to bring originally, “I wanted to bring you these; keep you company while we waited for Daze together. Will you eat them and wait with me, or are you still planning to sneak out and run away from us?”
Uriel glanced towards the door, then back to her face as if searching for some hidden answer to a question he wouldn’t voice.
“I don’t care how complicated or dangerous being near you might be. I’ve had a target on me since arriving in this world, and you’ve stayed by my side. I’m going to stand beside you, Uriel.”
He shook his head again, this time more indulgently, as he reached over and picked up a cookie.
Bliss moved then to slowly slink down onto her lap and give a begging mewl as the kitten looked up at her with large, pleading eyes. She chuckled, “You can too, but only as many as Uriel eats.”
Uriel chuckled as well, then pointedly took a bite of the one in his hand as a signal for the chimera to begin. Which the kitten did, jumping from her lap to shift into her small humanoid form, sitting on the floor opposite her, and carefully lifting one of the cookies to nibble on in an attempt to match the mage’s pace.
Then she asked curiously, “So what happened to Bliss? You mentioned she was there but you thought she was working with the bad guys?”
“I don’t know all the details, and it’s not really my story to tell anyway,” Uriel replied. He gestured toward the chimera, “It’s up to you to share what you want about that. I’m sorry I let that slip.”
“Will ask Chriss later,” Bliss replied in a small voice, “Cookies first,” she said, lifting another from the plate towards Uriel for him to eat.
Phoenix laughed as the cinderen rolled his eyes and took the proffered cookie, which caused the chimera to grab another for herself.
They sat together in a more comfortable silence now as they nibbled on cookies and continued processing the origins of the Cataclysm Mage. She knew she had many questions, some she would probably never voice aloud as they would likely trigger terrible memories of his time in captivity.
Other trails of thoughts had her analyzing her past conversations with Uriel, Dazien, and even Paul regarding the mage and his secrets. Seeking signs and clues that she hadn’t been able to piece together before.
“Who else knows?” she ended up asking, figuring that was a safe enough question.
“Dazien, though that’s probably obvious.”
“I kinda assumed,” she admitted, “You don’t strike me as the type to get that close to someone who didn’t know.”
He chuckled, “He found out from Warrior. Long before we became close like that.”
“Warrior told him? The god Warrior?”
“Asked if he’d kill me in a duel in exchange for a blessing.”
Phoenix’s jaw dropped open in shock, “What?!”
Uriel laughed, “Obviously, he didn’t accept. Instead, he told off the god. Yelled at him for even suggesting it.”
“That does sound more like him,” she admitted, remembering how Dazien refused to submit to gods.
“Got his own title for that, but it’s also what prompted Warrior to offer to train him personally as well,” the mage explained. Then, he redirected back to the original question, “Other than him and Pati, Paul and his old adventuring party know. They were the ones that rescued me.”
Phoenix was temporarily distracted by the very obvious drooping of Bliss’ ears and wings while openly pouting after Uriel’s latest statement. The Chimera muttered, “Didn’t know they were Adventurers.”
Uriel gave her a placating pat on the head, reassuring her, “I know that now,” before continuing his list, “Then the High Priest of the Mender and Priest Jacob know. I was brought to them when I first arrived here after that. High Priestess Deserin was informed as my new guardian.
“Then just the AOA Directors and the duke. Bliss was there when it happened, and her connection with Chriss means she knows, too. That’s it for anyone outside of the cult, as far as I’m aware.”
Phoenix felt her blood run cold at the idea that popped into her head with that last statement, and she asked, “If any of the clergy can sense my Soul Mark, does that mean all of the Destroyer’s followers can sense you, too?”
Uriel gave a half-shrug while accepting another proffered cookie from the hungry chimera, who was patiently watching them and the plate, “I think so, but I’m not positive. They never told me, so when Everin told you, that was the first I learned of it as well. He mentioned there was a range limitation, so I can only assume they’re either too far away or silently watching from the shadows. It definitely makes me more worried now about putting all of you in danger, though.”
She nodded in understanding, grabbing another cookie from the quickly diminishing pile.