Chapter Thirty-Five
Remembrance of Ecclesia: Asunder
A full week passed before she saw Albus again.
Night had fallen on the fortress, about an hour past the start of curfew, and she was reading in her room by lamplight. She wasn't expecting any visitors, but suddenly there was a knock on her bedroom door. Shanoa paused, marked her place, and hopped off the bed before walking over to answer it. Albus was standing on the other side, a small grin on his face, a bag of snacks and a deck of cards held in his hands.
"Hi," he said in a sheepish voice.
"Hey."
"It's been, um, a long time." He glanced over her shoulder, into the room beyond. "Can I come in?" He held up the bag of snacks. "I bring the appropriate offerings."
Shanoa was still mad at him for his spying, but the truth was she missed her brother. She missed spending time with him, even the meals where they were too exhausted to talk and ate in shared silence. She didn't want this quarrel to go on longer than it had to, and by the eager sheen in Albus' eyes she could tell he was of the same opinion. Though she wasn't keen on letting the issue go without talking about it.
She held her arm out towards the snack bag. "Hand them over first."
Albus acquiesced with a relieved smile. Shanoa nodded before turning around and walking into the center of her bedroom. Her brother followed in silence, closing the door behind them. She spun to face him as they stood across from each other, staring. There was an awkward tension in the air. Both parties knowing the issue yet hesitant how they should start addressing it.
"How did your latest mission go?" Albus asked after a time.
"It was…" Shanoa's mind drifted to the bards' performance. "Fun, actually."
"Good, you should be out enjoying yourself. You expend so much energy saving countless lives. No one deserves to have fun more than you."
Another heavy silence passed between them. Albus shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He glanced away for a few moments as he worried his bottom lip between his teeth.
"I've been thinking," he said when he'd gathered his courage.
"That's always dangerous."
"Normally yes, but not this time." Albus forced himself to look her in the eyes. "I've pondered what you said to me, about how I place so much emphasis on roles and may be… overprotective of you. Which are both valid points, but what stuck out to me the most was your claim I don't have enough trust and faith in you. It hurt to hear you say that, and it's not what I intended to convey at all."
"I know you mean well," Shanoa said.
"That doesn't excuse it," Albus said with a shake of his head. "But I know what brought me here. I lost my birth family at a young age. I don't remember the details of how it happened, since I was little more than a toddler. After their deaths I was whisked away to Ecclesia by strange men, and then – when I got here – no one wanted me. I was alone for years, without anyone to call friend or kin, until I met you. The best little sister I could ever hope for. Barlowe ordered me to protect you the day we were bonded, and I took his words to heart. I vowed to myself I'd do for this new family what I couldn't do for my birth family."
He looked like a young boy, then. Small and scared. Not the strong, intelligent man he was.
"I'm terrified of losing you, Shanoa," Albus continued, "because no one else matters to me. Not the Elders or Barlowe or Ecclesia. The only person I genuinely care about is you. And I'm… scared when you go on missions. Scared of what you're encountering, how dangerous it might be, and it's my own selfish fear which drives me to do and say those foolish, unnecessary things. I know you're strong enough to overcome whatever challenges you face. But still, I don't ever want my personal anxieties to make you doubt yourself."
"You're allowed to be afraid, but you don't have to keep trying to protect me from everything," Shanoa said as the memory of Torpor's failed absorption flashed within her mind. "I've told you this before."
Albus ran a hand through his dark brown hair. "I can't protect you, is the thing. We're no longer mission partners, and it fuels a sense of powerlessness which makes my fear burn stronger." He looked away again. "After a while it got the better of me, and I needed to confirm you had someone with you who would keep you safe in case things went awry. A suitable substitute for my company. Spying on you was out of line, especially because knowing and trusting in your strength should be enough to quell my fears."
"But it isn't," Shanoa stated rather than asked.
He met her gaze for a moment before looking away in shame. "If I could kill this fear I would, but alas…"
"I'm not going anywhere, Albus." She caught his gaze and held it with a confident expression. "I was trained by a true master of combat. I have all manner of Glyphs at my disposal. And in the unlikely case both of those boons fail I have Aurelia to protect me. She's saved my life before, and I know she'd do it again."
"I have difficulty trusting someone I've never met," Albus said with a sigh. "But her saving your life and being good to you is all that matters."
"So you'll stop spying?"
"Yes." He nodded. "I'm sorry for what I've done in the past because of how scared I am of losing you. But I promise, I'll do whatever I can to help you in your fight against evil. I'll never stop striving to be a beacon to show you the way. Because I love you."
"I'll hold you to it," Shanoa said with a steady, promising gaze.
A small smile graced Albus' lips. "I expect nothing less."
Silence settled over them, no longer awkward with lingering tension. The upset faded from Shanoa's heart as she took solace in her brother's presence. She knew he'd follow his words with action.
"Apology accepted," Shanoa said, breaking the silence. She held up the bag of snacks and wiggled her eyebrows. "Of course, it was the food that did it."
"I knew appeasing your stomach was the way to go," Albus said with a chuckle.
"I'm not sharing, by the way."
He rolled his eyes. "Figures."
"Good." She stuck her tongue out at him before her face broke into a wide grin. "Now stop your moping and shuffle the cards. There will be plenty of time for you to be sad when you're losing."
They took up their usual places on Shanoa's bedroom floor. Minutes later the room was filled with the sound of their quiet laughing as they started a game of cribbage. The shadow of betrayal had lifted, leaving behind joy in its wake. The siblings played late into the night, and Shanoa wouldn't have traded it for the world.
IXI
- Age 19 -
Shanoa spent a year in the near-constant company of her two favorite people. Going on adventures with Aurelia, sharing meals with Albus, and splitting her nights between the two. It was the best era of Shanoa's life, one uncomplicated by drama or some manner of internal crisis. All three of them worked, in their own ways, to help rid the world of evil – to fight for those unable to fight themselves. And seeing her efforts come to fruition time and again, knowing she was making a lasting mark on the world, gave Shanoa's heart a sense of contented purpose unlike anything else. When she commiserated with Albus or Aurelia late at night, playing games or sharing quiet stories, Shanoa wished – deep in her soul – things could stay this way forever.
Now, it was approaching her twentieth birthday. A milestone in and of itself, the beginning of another decade, yet it was of little concern to Shanoa. Her life was marked by personal achievements, not predetermined dates. Albus was, understandably, thrilled, but what confused her was Aurelia seemed almost eager for it too. Her last birthday had come and gone without much fanfare. A brief word of greeting before they both delved into their books that night. This time, Aurelia seemed to find excuses to bring it up.
They were on another monster hunt. Searching for the breeding nests of a group of lizard men raiding towns in a valley region. A local trapper had been spreading rumors about the beasts; tales with just enough truth in them to be suspicious. The man was hard to find, however, which was how they ended up here, wandering a village market looking for anyone who knew his whereabouts. Aurelia stopped them when they reached a clothing stall. Shanoa watched, perplexed, as the albino picked through a few of the dresses hanging on display.
"So, about your birthday present," Aurelia said, pausing when Shanoa groaned.
"Not this again."
"How do you feel about clothes?" she continued, unperturbed. The albino pulled a green dress off the rack and held it up for inspection. "This might look decent on you."
"It's drab and I hate it."
"Didn't realize you had such strong opinions on fashion," Aurelia said with a chuckle.
"Dresses are impractical," Shanoa said. "Besides, I care about individuality, and those dresses are all the same. All they'll do is make the wearer blend in. Become another nameless face in a crowd."
"If you're that concerned about 'individuality' I'd argue you're already different enough." Aurelia's eyes lingered on her tattoos and long, unbound hair. "And yet you still want more?"
"What I want is a place where everyone isn't forced to look the same." Shanoa gestured to the strangers around them. "That was one of the first things I noticed about the outside world. How much it values conformity. How our own uniforms must sacrifice functionality because God forbid a woman wear pants in public. Ecclesia doesn't care, and for that I'm grateful, but I want to find at least one place out here where I can be as I am without inviting stares." She flashed Aurelia a small smile. "Kind of an impossible birthday present to get."
A smirk pulled at Aurelia's lips. "You're always a difficult one."
"If you're so insistent about this just get me a book."
"That's too easy. Landmark birthdays deserve something special and unique." Aurelia's gaze wandered to the adjacent stalls. "How about makeup?"
"No, Aurelia, stop-"
"Have you ever worn any?"
"Never." Shanoa narrowed her eyes at the albino. "And I have no intention to start now."
"What would you look like? Even with only some eyeshadow and lipstick?" Aurelia pondered out loud. "Now I'm curious. We have to see the answer."
She began to walk towards the display and Shanoa dashed forward, placing her body between Aurelia and the cart.
"Aurelia."
"Pretend it's a disguise. You're going undercover to help us find this trapper."
"That's not how it works."
"I'm a spy, that's exactly how it works." Aurelia tried to slide past her, but Shanoa once again blocked her path. The albino frowned. "You're just fighting me on principle now. What if…" she trailed off.
Her attention shifted, focusing on something over Shanoa's shoulder. The young warrior resisted the urge to turn and look. It would only give her friend an opening. Aurelia remained fixated, however, her eyes tracking the mysterious target as it moved behind Shanoa.
"What is it?" Shanoa asked when the silence stretched too long.
Aurelia met her gaze for a moment before her eyes returned to the object of her focus. "Stay here," the albino said in a low voice. "I'll be back in a moment."
She didn't wait for Shanoa to respond. She turned and walked off into the market without another word. The young warrior watched her go, perplexed, before she made a frantic search for whatever had grabbed her friend's attention. Nothing stood out to her, though. No one she recognized. No monster slinking about in disguise. She huffed, irritated at the albino's flighty nature, but made no attempt to follow her. Aurelia was still leading the mission, after all. If she ordered Shanoa to stay put, then she would.
The marketplace was anything but stagnant. People moving in and out, not lingering in groups except for near the carts. Shanoa stepped off to the side so she wouldn't hold up the natural flow of traffic. There was another group near her – traveling merchants, by the looks of them – talking to each other, but she didn't pay them much attention. A few minutes passed, with no sign of Aurelia, though the merchants' conversation had grown more heated. Shanoa contemplated walking away when she froze at the sound of a name. One she'd never been able to forget.
"I'm not going back to Golaş. I don't care how much money you're offering," a shorter, brown haired merchant said.
Two of his companions, a blonde man and a woman, nodded in agreement.
A tall, tan-skinned man scoffed at his refusal. "Come on, it's good money. Too good to pass up if you ask me."
"Only because there's no one else stupid enough to go there." The shorter man pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He fumbled with the packaging, trying to remove a cylinder with his gloved hands. "Place is haunted."
"You can't prove that. No one can," the tall man said.
"If you're so sure then take the job yourself," the woman interjected. "I don't see why you need to drag anyone else along."
"The order is too big for one person," the tall man replied. "Now, I hate to call in a favor-"
"Goddammit, don't do this to me," the shorter man said in a grating voice, his lips wrapped around a cigarette he'd finally managed to retrieve. "No money's worth dying over."
Shanoa waited as they began to argue amongst themselves; hoping their conversation would naturally lead back to Golaş. After a minute, however, it became clear they'd devolved into airing past grievances that had nothing to do with the original source of the argument. The young warrior steeled herself, took a deep breath, and walked over to the group.
"Excuse me," she said, garnering their attention. The merchants paused and looked at her; confusion and anger swirled in their expressions. She ignored the emotions as best she could and plowed ahead. "I… didn't mean to eavesdrop, but you said something about Golaş, right?"
"Who're you?" the shorter man asked. A scowl etched on his face.
"I'm a… traveler." Shanoa swallowed. "I have friends in Golaş, and I'm worried something might have happened to them."
"When was the last time you heard from them?" the taller man asked. His voice was calm; unimposing.
"About a year and a half," Shanoa said, recalling the timing of their mission. "I'd write more often, but moving around so much…"
"It's hard to keep friendships alive when out on the road," the shorter man said. The lines had disappeared from his face and he seemed almost relaxed. He puffed on the cigarette; smoke curled from between his lips. "I don't want to be the bearer of bad news, kid, but the entire town went silent about a year ago. No one's heard from the people who live there, and any merchants who make the trip never come back. Town just up and swallowed the whole lot of them, if you ask me." His eyes narrowed at the taller man. "Haunted."
"It's been longer than that," the woman said. "Not long after the murder, from what I've been able to gather."
"Murder?" Shanoa asked. Her stomach twisted; her mind filled with vile memories. A dead boy. A smiling Father. The scent of his burning body.
"Yeah," the woman continued, "that priest, can't remember his name. He was murdered about a year and a half, maybe almost two years ago. Never heard if they found out who did it. Last time I visited was right after it happened. Anyway, town went quiet around a month later. Don't know if they're related, but who can say. Maybe the place got cursed."
"Bunch of nonsense," the taller man said. "There's plenty of reasons why…"
Shanoa stopped paying attention as they dove right back into their argument. Too many memories were being dredged to the surface. A mission she'd do anything to forget. But something else blossomed in her mind as well. A suspicion stemming from someplace unknown. It was nothing – it had to be – but what… what if they'd failed? What if the evil they'd eradicated had managed to survive despite Father Lupu's death?
Across the marketplace, Shanoa spied Aurelia, standing out amidst the crowd. The sinking feeling in her gut intensified, for reasons Shanoa couldn't identify. She turned back to the merchants.
"Thank you for your help," she said with a slight nod.
The shorter man exhaled another puff of smoke. "Your friend." He hesitated. "I hope they're ok."
Shanoa didn't respond. She stepped away with a curt nod and waited as Aurelia walked up to her. The albino cast a furtive glance at the merchants.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
"Yes, they were wondering about my tattoos," Shanoa said. The lie perplexed her. Both the reason why she said it and the ease with which it had flowed. Still, she ignored it for now.
"It happens, so long as they weren't rude."
"No, just curious."
"Well." Aurelia jerked her head in the direction she'd come. "I think I found our man."
They left the market, their hunt resumed. Shanoa refused to think about Golaş during the rest of the mission, or later the following night when they read books in companionable silence. Only in the silence between missions – where she was left with enough time to ponder deeper questions – did Shanoa allow herself to acknowledge the horrible truth.
It wasn't her place to question why, but a part of her would always doubt.
IXI
- One Month Later -
Shanoa still couldn't shake the feeling something was amiss.
It was a ridiculous notion. One bred from the paranoid words spoken by absolute strangers. There was nothing to base her suspicions on. No evidence or anecdotes from acolytes who may have traveled in the area near Golaş (that she could find), and yet the feeling of dread sat in the pit of Shanoa's stomach; festering, waiting.
What did she even suspect, she wondered? Shanoa couldn't answer that question. All she knew was some base instinct inside of her screamed for further investigation. Only that was beyond her ability to do by her lonesome, and she couldn't ask Aurelia for help. Especially when she had been the one to investigate Father Lupu in the first place. The albino would dismiss her feelings as nothing more than stray fancy. The influence of outsiders who put too much faith in local superstitions and gossip; the same foibles that led to the murder of over a dozen children. Besides, Shanoa didn't want to sully the comradery they'd built between them on what amount to nothing more than her personal anxieties.
There was, however, family she could call on.
"I need you to do me a favor," Shanoa said.
She and Albus were in the restricted section again. They'd wandered over to the theatrical scripts, somehow. Plays weren't Shanoa's genre or style of choice, and yet – every so often – she was inclined to give them another go. Years ago, when she and Albus were allowed to go on missions together, he'd taken her to a few plays in secret. After those experiences, she couldn't read a script without an accompanying insatiable urge to see it performed live. An impossible feat now, and she'd learned to avoid eliciting the emotion altogether. Albus – who had been thumbing through a copy of Orestes – shot her a curious glance.
"Well, that's a rather straightforward way to ask," he said with an amused smile. "What sordid task would you have me do now?"
Another time she would have pushed back against the teasing remark, but she ignored it.
"You have access to the records detailing my missions with Aurelia," she said.
He made a sound of recognition. "Technically I don't, but… yes."
"And you can search through them without raising suspicion." It wasn't a question.
His brow furrowed in concern. "Is something wrong?"
Shanoa hesitated. She wondered how much she should tell Albus, not only out of concern for leaking classified information, but the lingering fear of her brother restarting his crusade to protect her from harm. He'd become much better about trusting her strength over the past year, never overstepping his bounds or voicing unnecessary concern over the danger she faced on missions. Still, his anxieties yet lingered, and Shanoa didn't want to ignite another bout of overprotective zeal.
Yet he was also her brother, the person she trusted above all others, and if she was going to ask him for help he deserved to know the question plaguing her. The young warrior sighed and leaned against the nearby bookshelves. She took a deep, steadying breath.
"I'm not sure, but you can help me get to the bottom of it," she said. "It started almost two years ago on a mission to the town of Golaş…"
She detailed a summary of the mission and how they'd stopped the rampant slaughter of innocent children. How the atrocity had sharpened Shanoa's resolve to eradicate the forces of evil poisoning the world. Then she told him of the conversation she'd overheard in the marketplace, the ominous warnings from the merchants, and the strange sense of foreboding following the news.
"What do you need me to do?" Albus asked when she'd fallen silent.
She took another deep breath. "I need you to pull the mission coordinates and make two talismans. One that will take me to Golaş, and another to return me to my bedroom."
"That's." Albus let out a long, slow exhale. "A big favor."
"I don't have anyone else I can turn to."
"Don't get me wrong. I'm not opposed, just… concerned." Albus closed the manuscript in his hands and placed it back on the shelf. He turned until he was facing Shanoa, arms crossed over his chest. "What do you expect to find?"
Shanoa looked away, not wanting to discuss this any more than she had to. "I can't say. That's why I need to do this. To set the questions to rest inside my head."
She could feel the unease emanating off Albus, but he acquiesced with a slow nod.
"Ok, I'll see what I can dig up. It'll take me a few days to make the talismans, though. They keep a close eye on the ingredients, and I don't have an official order that will allow me to get them without forging a couple signatures."
"You'll find a way," Shanoa said. She could see, out of the corner of her eye, Albus' lips curve in a lopsided smirk.
"That I will."
"Thank you," she said as she turned to face him.
His smirk turned into a genuine, yet somewhat sad, grin. "Anything for family."
IXI
It took Albus longer than she expected. More than a week passed without any news or updates on the investigation. They didn't dare speak of it during meals; surrounded by the eyes and ears of acolytes who would never hesitate to inform the Elders of their transgressions. Shanoa went on a mission with Aurelia in the interim (yet another vampire coven needing to be wiped out) though nothing seemed to be amiss.
The dread remained, but – to Shanoa's great relief – their relationship hadn't suffered for it. Aurelia seemed even more companionable than usual. She talked about the history of the manor the coven called home. It had been built by members of the House of Habsburg and contained several architectural oddities Aurelia pointed out as they fought their way through the building. It was the strange dichotomy again, the discussion of lively subjects in the midst of death, yet it helped assuage Shanoa's fears for the moment. Perhaps her concerns were unjustified, and this was all nothing more than a misunderstanding fueled by the ignorant outsiders and her own personal failings.
If only she could force herself not to question why.
And then Albus reappeared.
It was late in the day, almost sundown, when Shanoa heard a knock on her bedroom door. She hid the book she was reading under her mattress before she walked over and opened it. Albus strode past her with a nod, but the hard expression on his face spoke of troubling news. Shanoa closed the door and turned to face her brother.
"Do you have them?"
"Yes, as requested." He withdrew two red talismans from his pocket. Shanoa reached out to take them, but he pulled his hand away before she could. "Before I give them to you… Shanoa, were there any other missions like this? Where you have." He paused. "Doubts."
She gave him a confused look. "No, just this one."
"Are you sure?"
"Why are you asking?"
It took a while for Albus to respond. She watched, silent, as he pieced the words together.
"When I was reading the documentation, I noticed it was all by the same author," he said at last. "The investigation, the evidence, the proposed strategy for eliminating the target. The only person who contributed to the file was 'Ecclesia's Shadow' – Aurelia. The same person who discovered this priest and his deeds in the first place. Scout reports come across my desk all the time, and there's always at least two agents who author a dossier. Now, maybe her role is different, but I find it suspicious the one mission you're having doubts about is the same one where she had complete control over the narrative from beginning to end."
"What are you suggesting?" she asked, not wanting to make the connection herself.
"That maybe there's something she… missed."
"You think she lied."
"I don't want to leap to conclusions, but we can't rule out the possibility," Albus said.
Shanoa threw up her hands with a scoff. She'd hoped it wouldn't come back to this, but, in truth, it was unavoidable. They'd never be able to talk about Aurelia for long without it becoming an argument.
"But that's not an unbiased opinion," Shanoa said. "You've always had suspicions about her."
"If I'm being judgmental then why did you ask me to make these talismans?"
Silence fell in the wake of those words. Shanoa tried to pose a counterargument but couldn't come up with one. He was right, much as she loathed to admit it.
Eventually, Albus let out a long sigh. "Look, I did some more digging. I searched for another mission where Aurelia not only discovered the target but was the sole author on the dossier. There's a fair number of them. More than I was expecting, including the first mission you two ever went on together. The necromancer, right?"
"You…" Shanoa said in a strangled voice. He promised not to do this anymore, yet here he was again, protecting.
"His name was Doctor Igor Grahn," Albus continued. "He lived near a town named Cordova. While you're investigating Golaş I want to go on a trip of my own." Albus reached into his other pocket and withdrew two more red talismans. He didn't need to say it out loud. They both knew where they'd take him.
"And what do you expect to find there?" Shanoa asked.
He gave her a sympathetic look. "The same as you: nothing."
They were silent as they stared at each other. The unstoppable force and the immovable object. Shanoa knew one of them would have to acquiesce, and – at last – her patience wore out. She needed to put her anxieties to rest, and perhaps, once they both discovered nothing was amiss, they could put an end to this. She'd be able to convince Albus that Aurelia didn't work with malicious intent. That she was as dedicated an acolyte as they were. Shanoa might never be able to prove to him the sincerity of the other woman's friendship, but it would be a start.
"All right, you can go to Cordova," she said in a low voice.
Albus nodded and handed her the talismans for her trip to Golaş. Shanoa stored the return talisman inside the small satchel strapped to her thigh. She'd spent most of the day training in her travel garb and was thankful she had yet to change into casual clothes.
"Do you have anything scheduled for tonight? Training, a meeting with Omar, anything?" she asked.
Albus raised an eyebrow but shook his head. "No, I-"
"Then let's end this right now," she said.
"Shanoa, wait."
"I won't be long." She brought her hands together as he reached out to stop her.
"Shano-!"
The last syllable of her name was lost in the warp when she ripped the talisman in half. She didn't feel any of the negative symptoms that came with the transversal. Her mind was too focused on the task at hand to pay heed to something so inconsequential as her own atomic disassembly. After a moment she stumbled back to Earth and, once grounded, assessed her new surroundings.
The mountain pine forest was familiar despite the years that had passed since she was last here. Instead of warping into the middle of the wilderness, however, Albus had the foresight to set the destination coordinates next to a road. As she stepped onto the dirt path Shanoa noticed the divots made by frequent cart traffic had begun to erode. No one had come this way for a long time. A quick glance up and down the road confirmed she was alone. A momentary thrill ran through her. This was it – her first taste of total freedom – yet it was quenched by the immediacy of her task.
Shanoa wasn't quite sure which direction to travel, and it occurred to her she wasn't fully prepared for this. She lacked a compass or a general sense of direction. In the past she'd always relied on Aurelia or Albus to guide her through the vast reaches of the outside world. Trusting Albus had taken this into account she narrowed her gaze, searching for any sign of habitation at both ends of the road. Sure enough, off in the distance she could make out the hint of stone bricks amidst the pine trees. She took off at a run; urgency fueling her gait.
It didn't take her long to reach the outer edge of Golaş. She slowed to a walk as she took her first steps into the village that had haunted her nightmares for almost two years. There was a marked difference in the quaint town she remembered and what stood before her now. All her hopes, any assurance her fears were unfounded, were quashed in that moment. When she took in her first chilling sight of an abandoned, destroyed village.
Visual signs of neglect and disrepair marred the houses in sight. Vines crept unhindered up the walls and around porch beams. Each door she passed was open, either ripped from their hinges or swaying in the slight breeze. The glimpses she received of the homes' interiors displayed upset front rooms and entryways. A hint to some mass disturbance she couldn't yet name.
The windows she passed were all dark. Despite the waning sunlight, she didn't see any candle or lamplight filtering through the glass. More than a few of the windows were cracked or shattered. In fact, when she looked closer at the stone bricks of the buildings' exteriors, she saw massive cracks splintering the face underneath the covering of vines. Above all else, pervading over the entire scene, was a heavy silence. None of the usual commotion she expected from a human settlement. No distant din of machinery and tools from workers in the mine. Even the ambient noise of woodland animal life was absent. The only sound she heard was the rush of air that came with the slight breeze sweeping through the empty streets of Golaş.
Something had happened to this town, but what? For a moment she wondered if the village had been attacked yet dismissed the thought almost at once. There weren't any bodies or even the hint of human remains. Besides, a human assault on a settlement was a rational explanation. She doubted word of it wouldn't have spread, or that such an event could birth superstitious rumors. Perhaps it had been ravaged by a natural disaster, but again, there was a distinct lack of corpses. There'd at least be skeletons – something.
Shanoa reached the town square without encountering a single person. She was tempted to call out in the hopes of receiving a response but couldn't bring herself to break the eerie silence. Her training and host of Glyphs left her with few actual fears. Most danger she came across could be conquered with ease. And yet, the deadness of this place instilled a strange sense of terror in her heart. If something was here – an unseen monster – she didn't want to alert it to her presence. A childish fear, but one she couldn't break free of.
More evidence of some destructive force met her in the town square. Store fronts were torn up; their painted wooden signs marred and cracked by blows of an unidentifiable origin. Market stalls and carts had been overturned. All of them were vandalized to some degree. What remained of their wares were strewn about the open space and splintered wood littered the ground. Shards of glass from the nearby broken windows had been mixed in, creating a dangerous combination that would leave her bloody if she fell.
A sound met her ears. The loud snapping of wood. Shanoa whipped her head in the direction it came from. There was movement next to one of the overturned carts. Shanoa approached it, her steps slow and cautious, until she caught sight of two small figures huddled against it.
They were children – a boy and a girl – without any shred of clothing. The naked pair was tearing at the cart, using their bare hands to break off wooden boards from its underside with an unexpected strength. They didn't notice Shanoa come up behind them. She watched them for a few moments, unsure what to make of the spectacle, before she spoke.
"Hello!" she said in as friendly a voice as she could muster.
The children paused in their task. They turned, slowly, and stared up at the warrior with blank expressions. Their facial features were almost identical, leading Shanoa to surmise they were twins or – at least – related. The only way she could tell them apart was by other anatomical differences. Their eyes were strange; the irises so dark they were almost black. It… unsettled her.
"My name is Shanoa," she continued when they failed to speak. "I'm a friend of." She paused. What was his name, the boy who had led them through Golaş? She knew it, but in this nervous moment that knowledge failed her. "Where is everyone? What happened to this town?"
They continued to stare at her, not speaking a word.
"Or I could, you know, talk to your parents about it, I suppose. You're not here all alone, are you? I mean, you can't be."
"Hu… man…"
Shanoa froze at the sound. It had come from the female child, she'd seen her mouth move, but it wasn't a child's voice the girl had produced. It wasn't even a human sound. A gravely noise made by something not built to communicate via speech. The dread ignited in Shanoa's stomach, growing to a blaze in less than an instant.
"Excuse me?" she asked in a whisper.
Then, the change began.
The children's skin transformed. Morphing from pallid flesh into a strange, marble-like texture charted by blue-black varicose veins. She'd seen this before. In the body of the young boy slated for cremation. This was the work of Father Lupu's poison, but the man was long dead. Slain by her own hand. How could these children be affected by his unholy machinations? They hadn't drunk anything. They hadn't-
"Hu… man…" The boy joined her, speaking in the same pseudo voice. The timber of something she begged not to understand.
"There's one story in particular that infects the mining towns of this region, Golaş amongst them. The tale of the Stone Folk."
Their flesh hardened, and Shanoa couldn't deny the truth. It wasn't veins; it wasn't flesh; it was stone. The pair hunched over, growing a musculature of solid marble.
Shanoa's heart pounded inside her chest. Everything within her rallied against what she saw. It wasn't true. It couldn't be.
And still, Aurelia's words sounded in her mind.
"These short, stocky creatures weren't made of flesh and bone, but of the stone itself."
No.
They weren't children.
They only looked like children.
"Hu… man…"
Their maws opened wide, revealing long, sharp teeth of jagged rock. Those already peculiar eyes morphed further with the change, transforming into black orbs of polished obsidian. The light from the waning Sun danced within them, setting the spheres alight.
And Shanoa – horrified – couldn't deny it.
"HUMAN!"
A screech left their throats. The high-pitched grinding of rocks sliding against each other. They leapt at her; these short, monstrous things. Their fists morphed, becoming clubs of solid rock they raised with the intent to bludgeon her. Shanoa didn't pause to think or consider. She summoned Melio Secare and sliced through the creatures with ease. They fell – split in twain – a thick, oily substance spilled from the wounds in lieu of blood. It was black in color and reeked of some earthly rot.
Shanoa's breath came in pants as she stared at the creatures. She fought to tamp down the panic that birthed inside her mind. She wasn't one to give into hysterics, but this was… this was beyond…
She winced as a fresh round of high-pitched screaming met her ears. It came from all around her; the sound echoed off the surrounding mountain cliffs. A cacophony that continued even as she saw them, a horde of stone-fleshed creatures, crawling out of the decimated homes. They all looked the same to her, though a few stragglers were still in the midst of their transformation from faux human children into monstrosities. Black obsidian eyes stared at her – this interloper – as they began their charge; mouths still wrenched open in that horrid screaming.
Shanoa fought them on instinct rather than will. Melio Secare sliced through their bodies with the same, almost insulting ease, but sheer numbers could overwhelm even the most powerful weapon. A few of the creatures landed hard blows to her legs and torso. A vicious strike to the back of her knees sent Shanoa to the ground. The creatures were upon her in an instant, striking at her unarmored flesh with their cudgeled fists.
"I've yet to uncover any evidence to suggest the Stone Folk are anything more than myth."
She screamed. Not in pain – for all their viciousness these creatures had yet to make her feel that foreign sensation. No, it was from something far more wicked.
Pnuema flowed through her arms in a union. The localized gale exploded from her; the winds strong enough to force even the Stone Folk to fall back. They flew in all directions, most landing prone, but those who remained upright were unimpressed by her power. They lunged towards her again, and Shanoa met them with Melio Macir.
They didn't relent under the force of her Glyphs. They continued to scream and fight even as she crushed them with the massive hammer. As she traded their blows with the mighty fists of Lapiste. The icicle projectiles born from Grando lanced the cracks she made in their stone flesh. The ice expanded within them until limbs and torsos exploded outward from the pressure. It all became a blur. Her assault grew more savage as she realized what had happened to Golaş. The full breadth of the horror that had taken place here.
"These people believe Father Lupu's claims that he's killed Stone Folk because they've watched him do it."
Shanoa believed her.
She always did.
Because they were family. They were friends. They were…
"You." The words she had spoken to a man she'd been told was wicked. "What have you done?"
Shanoa lost herself.
She didn't pay the Stone Folk any heed as they finally began to flee, back towards the mine they called home. She stood over the unmoving corpse of one creature. Melio Macir was gripped in her hands as she brought it down on its body, over and over, smashing it into dust, her skin and clothes smattered with that black, oily blood. She was crying. The tears falling from her eyes speckled the cracked stone in small, dark circles.
"How many children have you killed?"
"None."
The creature's head was smashed. Only bits of gravel remained, but she kept swinging. Over and over and over again.
It was real.
All of it had been real.
Shanoa looked up and saw the last of the creatures running off in the distance. With an enraged sound she rushed forward on the winds of Rapidus Fio. Melio Macir still in hand, she barreled past the stragglers, smashing their legs to pieces under the force of her blows. She didn't get all of them, but more than enough. Shanoa circled back, ignoring their cries of fear and pain, the cheap imitation of child-like noises. They continued screaming as she split open their heads.
It didn't matter what they looked like. What they sounded like. They weren't children.
They never had been.
At last, Shanoa reached the entrance to the mine. Her rage demanded more, the justified deaths of these horrid creatures, and the ones left alive had all fled into that dark passage. But the sight that greeted her there was too much. Shanoa fell to her knees, the tears flowing with increased fervor.
What remained of the people of Golaş was mounted around the entrance to the mine. Hundreds of human skulls bleached a bright white from exposure to harsh sunlight. The trophies of some wicked hunt. She remembered how Father Lupu had built a similar effigy around the crematorium's oven door. Yes, him, the protector of Golaş. The righteous man she'd killed.
A fellow slayer of monsters.
She'd done this. Shanoa sobbed in uncontrollable heaves. These people were dead because of her actions. No, because of them. Aurelia was just as much to blame. Father Lupu hadn't lied to her. He'd never killed a child, but she didn't listen. And now all the villagers were gone.
She knelt there, grieving, for an indeterminate amount of time. The only marker she had was the gradual darkening of the sky. The first hints of starlight could be seen by the time she stood. The rage burned anew inside of her; fueled by the sorrow that came with the recognition of the sin she'd committed. Another scream tore itself from Shanoa's throat as she summoned Lapiste. The stone fist crashed into the side of the mountain, shattering some of the skulls – the effigy. Shanoa summoned the Glyph again and again. A repeated barrage upon the cliff face. At last, the stone surrounding the mine shaft gave way and collapsed, burying the cavern underneath a rockslide.
About half of the skulls remained intact after the collapse. A clear warning to any who might happen upon the ruins of Golaş. It might not keep the Stone Folk at bay. She knew nothing of their abilities, but it would at least keep humans away.
It could do that.
It could save…
"You're so." The albino shook her head. "I'm shocked you're able to keep any secrets at all. The blunt honesty is rather disarming."
"I guess that's why I've never been tasked with anything covert," Shanoa said with a smile. "Though you make it sound like I've never told a lie."
"You're just not very good at it," Aurelia said, her tone lightening in kind. Shanoa could tell the comment wasn't meant to be taken as an insult. Though she wouldn't have mourned her lack of that particular skill regardless. "But yes, it's one of the many reasons you've never been tasked with subterfuge. Besides, the entire business is a rather sordid affair." Aurelia's expression darkened the slightest bit. "You encounter some of the most wicked people."
"Did you investigate this man as well?" Shanoa asked, realizing they'd strayed far from the topic at hand.
Tumult churned in the albino's eyes. "Yes, I did. In fact, I… discovered him."
Shanoa stood there, panting, weeping, for a while longer before she gathered herself. She couldn't stay here forever. There were too many lies in this place, but how many more lies had she been fed? She didn't want to believe it. It didn't make sense. There was no motive she could devise. No explanation as to why or what end Aurelia was trying to achieve. All she knew for sure was innocent people were dead, and it was a direct betrayal of everything Ecclesia stood for.
Distraught, Shanoa pulled the remaining talisman from her satchel and tore it in haste. She ignored the transversal. Little more than an annoyance amid her grief. When she emerged inside her bedroom she discovered Albus was still gone.
The tears resurged in full force. Shanoa took purchase in an empty corner of her room, her back pressed against the junction where two walls met. She curled in on herself, praying in silence that it wasn't true. That it had all been a mistake. She couldn't lose Aurelia; what they'd built; their friendship. Her mind drifted to the glow worm cave, to the hours spent in this very room, reading in silence the books their Elders would dare to deny them. To the fears Aurelia laid bare when they were alone.
Was it all a farce? No, Shanoa could sense the sincerity of it. For all that Albus had argued against it, she knew what genuine affection felt like. So why? What had driven her to commit such an atrocity? To make Shanoa…
She cried.
It was some time before Albus returned. The Sun had completely set, and she'd wept throughout its final descent. Her eyes were puffy, no doubt bloodshot, but they focused on the momentary shimmering point marking where her brother would emerge. He stumbled out, into the darkened room, and lit one of the oil lamps before he looked around for his sister. Albus gasped when he caught sight of her; still curled against the corner, distraught.
"Shanoa, what's wrong?"
"What." Her voice was hoarse and quavered with still untapped emotion. There remained a line that had yet to be crossed, and she watched herself stumble closer and closer to the proverbial edge. This had to be the only one. The only mission that was wrong. And still Shanoa needed to know. "What did you find in Cordova?"
"I." He blinked a few times. "What?"
"Please!" she said it louder, harsher than she'd intended. Shanoa took a few deep breaths as her bottom lip started to tremble. "Just… please."
Albus gazed down at her with a sympathetic expression. "Maybe it should wait-"
"No! I need to know the truth." Shanoa gripped her head in her shaking hands. The tremors would only get worse, but that was a burden she'd have to bear. "I deserve to know."
Albus hesitated a moment longer before he spoke.
"Doctor Igor Grahn was a respected surgeon in the area. He worked mainly with comatose and other high-risk patients. People most other doctors would be ill equipped or unwilling to treat. His manor served as a combination of laboratory and hospital. Of note is the fact he specialized in retrieving still functional organs from the recently deceased and transplanting them into living recipients whose own organs had either failed or were in the process of failing. He lauded this procedure as using death to help sustain life, and, from all accounts, he succeeded."
No.
"This woman," Shanoa said as she gestured to the teenager's corpse. She managed to maintain a steady voice when she spoke.
The necromancer glanced to the body in question. A sorrowful look seeped into his eyes.
"Yes, even the young can die," he said. "That is the cruelty of nature."
"Thus, you seek to rectify it." Shanoa's words carried the full weight of her accusation.
The necromancer shook his head, seemingly unable to take ownership of his deeds. "I seek to prevent more needless death. A gruesome task, but it's for the good of mankind."
"On the day he died," Albus continued, "his nursing staff was off duty. There were, however, nine comatose patients being treated at his manor. They… perished alongside the doctor in the fire that destroyed the building."
Shanoa's chest constricted. Her breath came in harsh pants. The trembling in her limbs grew worse.
"Patients," she said in a harsh whisper. "They were…"
"He did this," Shanoa said at last. An accusation, not a question.
Aurelia nodded. "Yes, these are the dead he seeks to bring back to life. The ones who will serve him in eternal, twisted gratitude."
A heavy silence settled over them.
"He wasn't a necromancer," Albus said in a soft voice.
It didn't matter. No amount of comfort could shield her from reality.
"Oh God." She shuddered with every labored inhale. "Oh God, Albus. I… we… what have…"
She began to hyperventilate as the panic set in. The true horror of what all this meant. Albus made an awkward lunge towards her; caught up in sheer desire to do something as he watched his sister break down.
"Shanoa." He extended a hand towards her – to offer a comforting touch – and she screamed.
"Humans are creatures of strange convictions. They will commit blatant atrocities if they believe it serves a higher moral purpose."
Shanoa kept screaming. In tears that simmered into a blinding rage. How long had it been there? How did she miss it?
"What they fail to consider is morality itself is subject to interpretation."
But that was the most damning thing. It had always been there, hadn't it?
Aurelia had always lied.
Shanoa didn't realize she'd stood up until she was already marching for the door. She heard Albus call her name again, but she paid him no heed. Nothing mattered anymore. Not curfew; not his righteous concern. She threw open her bedroom door and it banged against the wall. Another sorrowful noise left her throat as she marched down the empty hall of the girl's ward. She had no destination in mind. She just needed to find her.
"AURELIA!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. The name traveled down the hall in a demanding echo, yet she knew the albino would not appear. Still, she continued. "AURELIA!"
Footsteps sounded behind her as she stormed through the fortress. She knew it was Albus, but there was nothing he could do to stem the tide. This could only end in blood.
"WHERE ARE YOU?!"
"Shanoa!"
She felt a hand on her shoulder. Shanoa summoned Pnuema, not strong enough to harm her brother, but enough to push him away. She heard a sharp cry behind her and a dull thud as he fell backwards. Another time she would have been overcome with guilt, no doubt later she would be, but her anger remained in full control. She kept moving.
"COME OUT!" she yelled as she rounded a corner. "I KNOW YOU'RE HIDING!"
The sound of more footsteps met her ears. Down the hall, she could see a pair of night patrolmen running towards her. They halted at the sight of their Blade – seething with rage – and she glared at them with the full breadth of her fury.
"Get out of my way."
They acquiesced without uttering a single word. She stormed past the terrified men. Part of her was appalled by her own actions, knowing she'd have to face the consequences, but it couldn't be any worse than the realization consuming her. She wasn't righteous. She wasn't a hero. She'd been made into something else. A curse upon humanity rather than its savior.
It sickened her.
Shanoa continued to scream Aurelia's name, though the albino remained elusive. She knew others were following her, called to attention by the sound of their Blade rampaging throughout the fortress, but she ignored them. They couldn't tell her where Aurelia was – coerce the Shadow out of hiding. Shanoa could only think of two people who might have that power. One would never honor her demand, but the other could be swayed or – if necessary – forced.
She reached the vacant hall without being intercepted or stopped. Despite the years, she could still easily identify the door in question. Shanoa banged on the heavy wood slab with her closed fist.
"Oriana!" she cried. "Open up!" There was no response from the other side. Shanoa glowered at the inanimate barrier. "Oriana!"
"Go away," a familiar voice said from inside; the sound muffled through the door. "I am not taking visitors."
Something snapped inside Shanoa. With a roar she pulled her arm back and summoned Lapiste. She waited just long enough for the boulders to solidify before she punched. The rock fist barreled into the door and forced it open with a loud crash. The wood splintered and broke, what remained of the door hung askew on bent hinges, and bits of metal from numerous locks littered the inside of the room. Oriana stared at the heaving warrior; her eyes wide as she gawked at the destruction.
"Scheiße! What in the hell are you doing?"
"Where is she?" Shanoa asked.
Her voice dripped with venom, but Oriana wasn't swayed. The old woman crossed her arms over her chest and gazed down at her with a disparaging look.
"And why should I be answering any questions, you crazy child?"
"You know where she is."
"Are you trying to threaten me?" Oriana asked. "It will not work." Energy swirled on the tip of her tongue. The preliminary incantations of a spell, but Shanoa didn't retreat.
"Where is Aurelia?"
"And what will you be doing if I don't answer?"
Shanoa made a show of looking around at the paintings adorning the walls.
Oriana scoffed, shaking her head with a frown. "What Chaos you have become, kind."
"She needs to answer for what she's done," Shanoa said in a steadier, more controlled voice. "What we've done."
Oriana's expression changed to one of pity, though she didn't dismiss the magic she'd coalesced around her. "All these years and you still haven't seen? She is always with you, kind. It's in her very name."
Shanoa looked down, beneath her feet, at her own shadow. Of course, what better way to watch her, to follow her every step? The young warrior leapt back, into the hallway, causing her shadow to stretch out before her. She summoned Luminato in her right hand and hurled it at the patch of darkness. It was a hunch, nothing more, but it could work.
The orb of light momentarily dispersed her shadow when it hit. There was a strange, humanoid sound, then she saw a dark figure tumble out of the ground in front of her. Aurelia clutched her arm as the black tar fell away. The Glyph had singed the sleeve of the garment she was wearing, but the albino didn't display any signs of pain. Shanoa didn't care. She had what she wanted.
"You," Shanoa said as she stood over her adversary. This thing that had once been her friend. The tattoos on her flesh glowed with a bright light. "How many?"
The albino stood and turned to face her, though she didn't meet Shanoa's gaze. The display of submission only served to fuel her righteous fury.
"Shanoa-"
Another vengeful scream tore itself from the young warrior's throat. She grabbed the front of Aurelia's shirt and pinned her against the nearby wall; her forearm pressed against the albino's throat. Aurelia tensed, but didn't resist.
"How many, Aurelia?" Shanoa asked, her voice carrying down the hall. "How many innocent people did we kill?!"
A long silence followed as Aurelia looked at her with an almost sorrowful expression.
"'W-what is innocence?'" the albino asked after a time. The words spoken more to herself than Shanoa. "'The term is malleable, conforming to the whims of the one who-'"
Shanoa screamed again. She twisted, throwing Aurelia to the floor. The albino caught herself in time but lay sprawled before her. She stared up at Shanoa; her face attempting to revert back to Ecclesia's Shadow but couldn't finish the transformation.
"You weren't supposed to know," she said in a soft, almost timid voice.
"And that makes it right?" Shanoa's arms trembled at her sides, tattoos still aglow. "You lied! You lied about everything!"
Aurelia's eyes glistened with a wet film and she looked away. "No," she whispered. "Not everything."
That admission hurt the most.
"How can I trust you?" Shanoa asked. The ruins of Golaş flashed within her mind. The screams of creatures who warped their bodies to resemble human children. "Dear God, the entire village is dead. Everyone, three hundred people. How many others? We- we burned the sick alive, we-"
Shanoa turned to her side as she retched. Unable to contain it, the young warrior vomited on the tiles, her heaves continuing until there was nothing left in her stomach. Tears streamed down her face as she wiped away the remaining spittle on her lips. Then, she looked at Aurelia once more, and screamed anew.
It was a sound of all things horrible. A pure agony stemming from guilt she'd never be able to appease. Shanoa pounced upon her former friend. Her knees on either side of Aurelia's torso as she gripped the collar of her shirt in both hands. Words formed on Shanoa's tongue. The same righteous speech she would utter at the gates of another version of Hell.
"I am the Blade to banish evil! I am the morning sun that will vanquish the horrible night! And if that means I have to kill you." Shanoa summoned Melio Secare in her right hand. She poised the tip of the blade against Aurelia's throat. A mere flick of her wrist and it would be done. "Then so be it!"
The albino stared up at her. There was an entire world held within her purple eyes. Years of emotions went unspoken between them. Aurelia said nothing. She didn't even attempt to fight back. Shanoa wished she would. That would make this easier. It would be-
A sob left her throat. The hand holding the Glyph wavered. Why did it have to be like this? Why did it always end in blood?
"Shanoa!"
Strong arms wrapped around her shoulders and pulled her back. Shanoa struggled in Albus' grip as he forced her off Aurelia, but the fight soon drained from her. She sagged in his arms once they were upright; utterly defeated. A small crowd of night patrolmen stood nearby, watching their Blade come undone.
"She's not worth it!" Albus said.
Aurelia rose to her feet; her movements stiff and labored.
"He's right," she said, purple eyes still downcast. "I'm not."
"You… you've betrayed all of us. Everyone in Ecclesia. Fed the Elders false intel so you… so we could…" Shanoa fell to her knees, fresh sobs racking her body. "What have I done?" she whispered as she buried her face in her hands. "What have I done?"
Silence fell over the entire scene. No one dared break it, until the eternal rebel spoke.
"Lord, the dramatics," Oriana said. "You better be fixing this door once you're done crying."
"Oriana!" Aurelia said in a harsh voice.
Shanoa could almost hear the old woman roll her eyes.
"This is just as much your fault, blasses kind!" She scoffed. "Quite the spectacle, it is. I'm never going to hear the end of this. Do the guards be wanting a look at my heretic paintings? Since we're all airing our skeleton closets."
"Oriana," Aurelia said once more.
"Take care of this, or I will." Shanoa heard Oriana retreat into the confines of her previously private room. "Wo zum teufel ist der scotch?"
"I trusted you." Shanoa's voice wavered as she spoke.
"Shanoa-"
"No," she said, cutting off Aurelia. "Don't you dare speak. If you do, then I might." She paused. "It's not my place to pass judgment, but I can at least ensure justice is done." The young warrior forced herself to her feet once more. Melio Secare re-formed in her hand, and she pointed it at Aurelia in warning. Shanoa glanced at one of the mute patrolmen. "Call the Elders. They need to know of her crimes."
When her eyes returned to Aurelia, she noted a change had come over the albino. All emotion had drained from her face, but not in the way she'd recognized was her mask of Ecclesia's Shadow. This was something else – something more sinister and complete in nature. Shanoa continued to brandish her sword. Her vision swam; her heart raced inside her chest. She tried to steady her breathing, but it came in short pants. Still, she had to keep her composure. She had to see this to the end.
"If you try to run-"
"I won't," Aurelia said. Her voice held a strange, even timber. No emotion was contained within those words. No hint to anything that might resemble a soul. Shanoa didn't concern herself with the change. There was still work to be done.
"We're taking her to the council chamber," Shanoa said in an unsteady voice. "I… I'm going to end this."
"Shanoa!" Albus said as she tried to take a step forward.
Her leg gave out and she fell to the floor, everything inside of her screaming, coalescing into this raging storm she just realized had grown out of control. She looked up into Aurelia's purple eyes. A gaze that carried nothing in their depths, and she wondered if – despite everything – they'd ever truly been able to overcome their hatred towards each other.
Darkness seeped around Shanoa's eyes. It was in those few moments, before it took her, that she realized she was fainting. The strain too much for her to handle. Aurelia's eyes never wavered, but in the brief final moment Shanoa saw it. A single tear escaped and slid, slowly, down her pale cheek.
Then there was nothing.