The Tale of the Night Angel
"Kylar" said a voice from the shadows; "appropriate."
The man in question whirled around, sword drawn. "Who goes there?"
"Put that sword away boy. It can do me no harm" a shadow detached from the deeper shadows of the doorway and lounged against one doorpost, arms held out to the side in a posture meant to indicate lack of easily accessible weaponry. "I only want to talk. Arutayro. I believe your late master informed you of it."
"He did," Kylar said, not lowering his sword. "But I trusted him. I don't know you, let alone trust you. So talk if you must, but I'll be keeping the sword handy"
"Very well. But perhaps you'd agree to move to a less conspicuous location than the middle of a dark street at night? You may choose the location." If a shadow could somehow manage to look scornful, this one did.
"Alright. I know place not far. Just stay where I can see you" Kylar moved away from the doorway and waited for the shadow to follow.
"So paranoid. Thorne taught you well." The shadow glided smoothly along the wall next to the road following Kylar yet always staying in easy view. "You need not be. I could not hurt right now any more than you can hurt me."
They arrived at the shop a short while later. Kylar undid the lock on the gate that led to the courtyard and stepped inside, keeping his back away from his strange companion. Once the shadow had slipped inside he relocked the gate. Lock, unlock, relock. Just like Durzo. "We're here. No one will bother us. So talk."
"Right to the point. Alright then. How much has Thorne taught you about the Night Angels?" the woman's voice asked from the shadows, completely serious.
"The Night Angels." skepticism dripped from Kylar's voice. Eyebrow cocked he regarded the shadow. "You want to talk about the Night Angels?"
"Yes" answered the shadow simply. "It's important. Trust me." a dig at his earlier statement. "You've trusted me before, even if you didn't realize it."
"Why do you want to know about the Night Angels? And who are you anyways?" he almost slipped and asked why he couldn't see her. With his Talent even the darkest shadows was like daylight. "Why do say I've trusted you before?" this shadow woman worried him. Only a mage or Vurdmeister would even stand a chance at cloaking themselves from him. If she was either, this could well be a trap. Even if she was neither, he wasn't sure sticking around would necessarily be any safer than if she was.
"I'll make you a deal: I'll answer your questions when you've answered mine"
"Fine. An answer for an answer. Durzo used to swear by the Night Angels. He's never made any other mention of them. Why are you so interested in them?"
"I suppose you could say they are vital to my continued existence. If Thorne told you nothing of the Night Angels, did he at least explain the ka'kari to you?" Kylar's hand tightened on his sword for a moment before he forced himself to relax. The likelihood of this being a trap had just increased exponentially. Time to leave. "I don't mean to be so crude," the voice from the shadow continued, "but I have little time to dance around the matter. I need to know how much Thorne told you before I can fully answer your other questions."
"Why do you keep calling him Thorne?" The question burst from Kylar. He silently cursed the slip.
"You didn't answer my question first, but I'll answer yours anyways. Your master has borne many names over the years, but at the time we met he only had the one name, so that is what I call him"
"But that means you're as old as he is" Kylar sounded incredulous.
"Perhaps. Now will you answer my question? Did he tell you about the seven ka'kari?"
Kylar remained silent for a few moments weighing his options. If he stayed, he risked an attack, but if he left now he would be left with many more questions than answers. Besides, this wouldn't be the first time he'd been attacked in recent history. He made his choice. "He explained the basics. How a ka'kari is used to fix a broken Talent by replacing the conduit."
"And did he tell you of their history?"
"A friend told me the legend. Durzo just filled in the missing bit about the seventh. Who are you and what does it matter to you how much he told me?"
"It matters, young wetboy, because you have bonded with the black ka'kari and taken up the sword of Retribution. It matters, because your life is now in service of the three faces of Retribution. I assume you know what they are."
"Vengeance, Justice, and Mercy" Of course he knew. They were engraved on the sword he wielded.
"The Night Angel is bound by those three tenets. Follow them, and the black ka'kari will serve you. Abandon them and you will likewise be abandoned. Just like Thorne was. He served Retribution faithfully for centuries but eventually he failed in his duty and the ka'kari called to you. It is my hope that you will succeed where Thorne ultimately failed. "
"Wait a minute. I thought once a ka'kari had bonded it could only be released by death. That's why Durzo baited me into killing him. You're saying it can choose to leave when it wants? And is that what you meant when you asked if Durzo had told me about the Night Angels?" Kylar started to wonder if perhaps he had made the wrong choice in the Antechamber of the Mystery. They withheld important information when I had to make that choice he thought angrily.
"Two questions again. Tsk tsk." Seeming to sensing his rising anger though, the shadow woman continued. "But I'll answer them anyways. The ka'kari will begin to withdraw from you if you stray from the path of Retribution, but it cannot be separated from you completely until you are dead. As for your second question, I would like to tell you a tale; the tale of the Night Angels. Once, a very long time ago, there lived three sisters. These sisters were all born Talentless to a Talented noble family in a society where the Talent was valued above all else. They had great potential magic, but were broken like you and unable to use that potential. Under normal circumstances, these sisters would likely have been ritualistically killed to ease the shame of the family at producing three Talentless daughters. But prophecy was also highly valued, and a prophet had a vision that the fate of the country required that the girls should be trained as assassins, even though assassins in those days were like the wetboys today. To train a Talentless assassin was unthinkable, but no one dared defy the words of the prophets. The sisters became known as the Night Angels for they were as beautiful as they were deadly. In time they became the most highly revered assassins of their day, rather like Durzo Blint. Their true names are better left to the sands of time, but they were known as Mercy, Justice, and Vengeance. Mercy was the youngest and the kindest of the three. She preferred to kill her targets gently with painless poisons. Vengeance was the oldest and most bloodthirsty. The nobles often hired her to get revenge on their enemies or those who had slighted them. Justice's targets were primarily nobles and criminals who used their wealth and power or blackmail to escape the king's justice. But with such dubious fame comes enemies. A group of criminals who disliked being hunted by the king's 'trained dogs' banded together with the sole purpose of killing the Night Angels. They killed Mercy first by hiring her for a job that turned out to be a trap. They kept her alive long enough to lure out Vengeance and Justice. They were no match against such Talent as was brought to bear against them. Vengeance was killed and Justice mortally wounded. Escaping the trap, she traded her soul for the chance to get justice against the men who had killed her sisters. She returned to life, a shadow of her former self, but able to use the Talent that had so long been denied them. She was also given a magic sword, forged from her sisters' ashes. After she had taken her justice, the price of her bargain came due and she became the black ka'kari, bound forever to the sword Retribution, united with her sisters for all eternity." If a shadow could look sad, this one would have. "And the ancient bargain that was made with whatever deity actually exists has been passed down, along with the title Night Angel. Thorne bonded with the black ka'kari and joined in the bargain: life and the ability to dispense justice in exchange for his soul."
"So like him, my chance at the afterlife was forfeit when I chose to return to the land of the living?" Kylar asked mournfully.
"Not necessarily. It was the original price, but that was paid long ago. I have no knowledge about what the price of the bargain is now. Perhaps the good you do during your abnormally long life will earn you the chance at paradise. Perhaps whatever deity first struck the bargain will merely send you to the darkest pits of hell. You'll find out one day, but that day is far in the future. For now, enjoy the life you have, but take care not to stray from the path of Retribution." The voice, which had started fading towards the end of the tale, had become almost a whisper.
"Who are you?" Kylar demanded. If even half of what she said was true, how could she possibly know so much?
Before the shadow could answer, a faint sound wafted into the courtyard. Boots, marching. Soldiers. The trap was springing shut. Time to leave. The shadow woman noticed it too and started moving towards Kylar. Definitely time to leave.
As he turned away to climb the wall to one of his bolt holes, he noticed the silver of his sword slowly being consumed by black. "Justice" whispered the voice of the shadow in his ear as it fully engulfed his blade, the name etching itself into the blade once again.