Author's note: While working on this chapter and brainstorming ideas for the future development of the series, I realised some things in the previous chapters could use update. So I went through the chapters 0-8 and added or updated some dialogues or descriptions. Nothing major, the overall story is the same. But if you like focusing on details and guess what could happen later, I recommend reading the story from the start.
Now, back to the story...
Nesha was sitting on her bed, staring at her right hand in her lap. After the healers visited her again, she was no longer in pain, but for her right arm, which was hit the hardest by the blast, it wasn't enough. She tried to move her fingers and they stopped halfway to forming a fist. Anything further and sharp pain shot through her entire arm. And moving the arm wasn't much better. Her muscles barely obeyed her.
"Get up," the door opened and a guard stepped in. "Lord Kaisinel requires your presence."
She looked at her standard issue infirmary clothing, shrugged and obeyed. The guard led her to a well‑lit but windowless room that was only two turns away, and shackled her to the only chair in it. She waited only a few minutes, and the Lord of Illusions himself entered. And with him general Outremus and a female officer she didn't know. For a moment they stood there in silence.
"You are Nesha, a former Miragent legionnaire and former member of the Lightshade group. Is that correct?" Outremus asked in a formal tone.
"Yes."
"And you defected to the Asmodian rebel group shortly after being stationed in the Morheim fortress. Correct?"
"Yes."
"Why?" this time it was Lord Kaisinel, who asked.
"Why does it matter?" Nesha looked up. "I broke the rules, so... would it change anything?"
"Answer the question."
"Self preservation."
"Explain," Outremus said.
"They were killing the Asmodian slaves for braxshit reasons. And they spread rumors I was a half‑breed. So it was only a matter of time before I'd take the place of the dead ones."
"Why did you choose the Asmodians instead of here?"
"I figured it would be the same here as it was there," she shrugged.
"What were you doing in Heiron?"
That question was expected. Nesha gave it a moment to sort her thoughts. She didn't really know or do much. And being interrogated didn't make her open at all. But what did she have to lose? She described what she remembered, but they didn't look happy at all.
"What does your relationship with Veille look like?" the Lord changed the topic.
What? He knows already? Nesha tried to keep a neutral expression, but had to avert her eyes. But what does it look like?
"It was in the cell of the Shelter, when I talked with her for the first time ever," she said. "I don't know who she is as a person, except she's a coward."
"Would you be able to convince her to come here?"
"And face court martial? No, I don't think so."
"Are you that loyal to her?"
"No. I just don't think she's an idiot."
"And who are you loyal to?"
"What? Does it even matter?"
"Yes," Lord Kaisinel's voice was emotionless, his face as if carved from stone. The other two stayed silent, but watched her carefully.
"I..." Nesha's heart was beating faster, as she tried to understand the meaning behind that question. What does he want me to say? I already broke the law... Nothing can change that. "I don't know. I don't give a shit anymore."
"Explain."
"I was loyal to Miragent," tears started creeping into her eyes. "To Elysea. To my fiancé. But they all dumped me, when they heard the rumor I was a half‑breed. My loyalty is no longer wanted. To the Asmodians I went out of necessity, not loyalty, which they don't want from me anyway. And I'd rather Vanish than go to the Balaur."
"Evitina," the Lord said after a moment of silence.
"Yes, my Lord?" the officer stepped forward.
"As we discussed, give her partial aether‑cuffs and place her with the Asmodians. She will start her new duties immediately."
"Yes, my Lord."
"What new duties? What Asmodians?" Nesha was confused.
The Lord of Illusions and the general left the room. The officer Evitina took a single aether‑cuff from her cube and placed it at Nesha's left wrist. Then she removed the regular aether‑cuffs and untied her.
"Follow me," Evitina turned around and walked towards the door.
"Wait, you're just... letting me go?" Nesha got up.
"I am relaying you Lord Kaisinel's orders. And depending on how you'll follow them, he will decide what to do with you further."
"I don't..." Nesha stopped herself and shook her head. "Fine, whatever," she said and followed Evitina out.
The officer led her to the main plaza of the Inggison Illusion Fortress. And although the fortress itself was real, the shapes of the buildings and patterns in stained glass gave its name justice. First, the two women went to the quartermaster, where Nesha received a set of spare clothes, bedsheets and one dagger. Holding everything in her left arm proved to be more challenging than she thought.
"What happened?" Evitina pointed to her barely moving right arm.
"It's not healed."
"After you settle in, go to the healers. Downstairs and to the right," the officer pointed at the main stairs. "Now follow me."
"Lord Kaisinel mentioned something about Asmodians."
"Yes. We have a group of six Asmodian humans here. You will be responsible for keeping them safe and if they have any problem or need something, you will either solve it or bring it up to me."
"Why me?"
"We don't have people to spare."
~ o ~
Cathy woke up on the floor in a small, dark room. She felt dizzy and her wrists and ankles were heavy with aether‑cuffs. The lack of aether felt less suffocating than before, but still it made her heart race and her breathing quick and shallow. After a while that felt like eternity, she started hearing other sounds than just her heartbeat. And she wished she didn't. Either from far away or behind a few doors, Darrand was screaming in pain. Just when she thought it would last forever, it stopped. And silence was much worse.
~ o ~
They spent several hours in the cave. Tatran and Lonewolf needed sleep and Sigwyn and Ortiz needed food and strength. Only Stain looked like she was fine. After Lonewolf stopped his wife from killing her, Aielyn just sat on the cave floor and tried to get rid of her dizziness using aether. But she was no healer and only exhausted herself. Stain came to her, smudged white paint on her cheek and after several minutes took it back. That was followed by a smudge of purple paint, a slightly different shade than what she used on Sigwyn, and the dizziness was slowly disappearing.
"Thank you," Aielyn said, once her thoughts were clear enough.
"You're very welcome," Stain grinned. "I'm curious. You're an Elyos. But he rescued you," she pointed at Tatran. "Why?"
"I came here with them. I'm not really... from Elysea. So I was helping them. But we got separated on the way here and I... I messed up and was captured."
"And now they know everything you did," Stain painted spirals on her own arm.
"What? How..."
"That was a very nasty drug you had in you," she rolled up a green bead. "Very difficult to resist."
"You... they gave it to you too?"
"I guess so? Yeah, probably. How else would I know, right?"
"You don't remember?"
"Nah," the green bead fell apart in a splash and a brief hint of irritation flashed across Stain's face. "I guess they were testing it. Or they needed to know what I could do with the paints... So you're going with them to Asmodae?"
"We actually..." Aielyn stopped herself. Can I even trust her? "I don't know where we're going. I'd say we have to get out of Elysea first and then we'll see."
"Ah, well, I'll go with you. You guys look like a fun group."
Aielyn didn't know how to respond to that. She looked at the others, all of them were sleeping. Lonewolf and Tatran surely knew what they were doing when they released this person from her cell. She didn't want to mess up more than she already did. If she didn't let the Lepharists capture her, she would still have her bow and cube. Now they only had three weapons among six people. No, four, Lonewolf had a spare dagger and he gave it to his wife, she looked like she could use it.
"How long were you in the lab?"
"Dunno, forever?" Stain contemplated. "Nah, that makes no sense. I guess since Ascension?"
"You don't remember?"
"Nah, I work with paints, not with time," her voice wavered. "Someone else works with time, right?" she frantically mixed several colours. "No, I don't know anyone who works with time. There's no one like that."
"Did I say something wrong?" Aielyn was puzzled.
"Nope, everything's fine."
Aielyn let her thoughts wander and tried to think of anything else than her time in the lab.
After another hour or so Lonewolf woke up, Sigwyn followed when he moved. They spent most of the night in the lab and the sun was slowly rising up, heating everything. The ranger looked at it with a frown. He and Sigwyn exchanged whispers and he got up to wake up others.
"What is the plan?" Ortiz asked when Lonewolf distributed their last zeyla and meon berry.
"We have to get out of Elysea," Lonewolf said. "But we can't go to the Shugos, they will expect us there and most likely set up an ambush. We can wait for a rift to appear and hope it will get us somewhere, where we can survive."
"But rifts are quite random," Tatran objected. "And we don't have the devices to predict them. For what we know, one could be just over that hill now. Or on the other side of the desert."
"We can go to Verteron and try the skywhales, if they are still there," Aielyn said. Everyone looked at her with confusion. "The skywhales in Verteron and Altgard are the same. They migrate between these places. At least that's what they said in the Ascension Academy. So we could..."
"That's a load of braxshit," Tatran glared at her with disdain. "Do you think no one ever tried that? Doesn't work."
"But..." Aielyn wanted to protest, but she couldn't bring herself to look at the spiritmaster. Every time the aether‑enhancing jewel on his arm got into her view, she felt a sting of grief, as her memories of Carmir resurfaced.
"Listen, Elyos, if you don't have any useful ideas, just shut up."
"My name is Aielyn!"
"Enough," Lonewolf stopped them. "Enough, you two. Stop it. We have to cooperate for now. Yeah, the whales won't work. But we're stuck here. So even if your ideas are insane, just say them. Maybe we can get something from it."
"I didn't know you were such a diplomat," Sigwyn smiled.
"Yeah, me neither. That's what happens when the line between allies and enemies becomes blurred."
"Aielyn," Ortiz said. "Do you have any contacts here that could help us?"
She shook her head. Tatran grunted.
"Oh, but I might have," Lonewolf even sounded surprised.
"You? Who?" Sigwyn was curious.
"Mira."
"The one from the Abyss?"
"Yeah."
"Do you think she'd help us?"
"I'm not sure. Depends how she's doing under the new government."
"Who are you talking about?" Tatran interrupted the couple.
"I know an Elyos woman, who might not be immediately hostile to us. She's a daughter of some general, I think Velraios, and she's a decent sorceress. I once kind of saved her in the Abyss and she kind of repaid me, when I got into trouble here in Eltnen. But I haven't seen her in a few decades."
"The last time I heard of Velraios, he was a vice‑general under Telemachus," Tatran said. "Did he survive the war?"
"I have no news about that."
"According to the info in the Shadow Court archives, he didn't seem like someone who would like Israphel's new order," Sigwyn added.
"And if something happened to him, Mira would be pissed. We could use that."
"Or they can use that against her," Aielyn said. "If they didn't kill him, but hold him captive somewhere..."
"Or she might not be alive," Stain shrugged.
"We can go to the Eltnen fortress and see for ourselves. In the worst case, there's Abyss gate."
~ o ~
Lonewolf checked the Agairon village again and when the last person disappeared in their house, he crept towards the backyard. One thing he could almost always rely on in the Elysean villages was laundry. At any point in time, there was always someone who needed to have their laundry dried, the warm climate made it possible. And since they needed clothes, he knew where to get them. He felt a bit of guilt for stealing from the innocent and probably poor people, but they needed the clothes and he couldn't be picky. He at least made sure to not take everything from one person. He returned to the others, who were hiding between the bushes near the mystical spring. They couldn't stay long, the villagers would come here for water sooner or later, but for now it was the best place available.
He distributed the clothes, and both Sigwyn and Ortiz were eager to wear anything sensible. Tatran at first gladly replaced the lab coat with a plain shirt, but then he realized the coat had useful pockets and put it back on, he only ripped away the sleeves. Unfortunately there weren't any spare shoes in the village, so Ortiz had to wrap the former lab coat sleeves around his feet. Stain said she was doing fine in her shorts, cropped top and barefoot, with paint on her feet in the shape of shoes. And Sigwyn...
"Are you... alright?" Lonewolf took her aside.
"No, none of us is alright," she smiled. Her smile was still the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. "But I can do without shoes for now. I can feel the rocks on the ground, but it doesn't hurt."
"Do you know what this... aetherium does?"
"I can feel aether through it and I don't feel pain, but..." she shook her head. "These were... prototypes..." her voice broke, as she struggled to not cry.
"I'm sorry," Lonewolf hugged her. "I won't ask, unless you want. Just tell me if it hurts."
"No, it doesn't hurt. It doesn't even get hot from the sun."
Lonewolf wanted to know everything about that damn metal, but he held his tongue. Dragging Sigwyn's attention to it only distressed her. It could wait until they get back to Gelkmaros. They returned to the rest of the group and he quickly refilled his waterskin before leaving. He was the only one with a cube now, so most of their supplies were with him. Fortunately he found a few bottles in the village, which he also filled.
They left the village outskirts and carefully reached the nearby cliffs, alongside which they moved north. For sneaking around in the desert, their group was too big. If it was a standard mission, he'd split the group into two and set a meeting point, but he was the only one who seemed to know anything useful about Eltnen. Plus most of his group spent years in Aion knows what conditions. They had to stick together, careful planning and reconnaissance should get them to the forest, where hiding was easier.
In a few hours they reached Anathe, another of Lady Yustiel's fountains of life, a small oasis in the middle of the desert. They took a rest in the shade of the scarce palms and refreshed themselves with water and omblic fruits.
"Alright, time to go," Lonewolf declared. "Where's Lyn?"
"She's playing with the water spirits over there," Stain pointed to a group of rocks and bushes. "I think."
"Lyn!"
The blonde daeva got up and looked at him inquiringly.
"We have to go."
"Sure, I'm ready," she smiled and walked over to the group. When she was almost there, she turned around and waved, Lonewolf could see only a splash of water and ripples.
"How could you play with spirits?" Tatran grunted.
"My... my mom taught me how to speak with them. And they like to play, they're like little elrocos, just smarter."
The spiritmaster glared at her, but said nothing.
~ o ~
Nesha put the pile of clothes and bedsheets on the closest unoccupied bed. It was the lower part of a bunk bed, the only one that was separate from the others. The six Asmodian women, all humans, looked at her with a mix of fear and curiosity. She took off her infirmary clothes and put on the new ones she got from the quartermaster. As she put on the belt with her new dagger, she felt strangely relieved. The clothes were common, standard‑issue type, but it had a distinct cut, that was not only Elyos, but clearly indicated Inggison. She couldn't help but smile. One of the Asmodians looked like she could gather courage to speak with her soon, so she left the barracks to find a healer.
"It's damaged on the aether structure level and it's intertwined with the nerves," the healer said, as he examined Nesha's arm. "I can try healing it, but can't promise anything. And it will hurt."
"Do it."
"It will really hurt, are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure," the assassin insisted. "Tie me to the chair or give me something to bite on, I don't care. I need this arm."
"As you wish, but remember I warned you," the healer gave her a piece of wood to put between her teeth and a towel to hold onto.
At first, when the aether started pouring from his hands into her arm, she didn't feel anything. But that changed after a few seconds. As if thousands of super sharp needles stabbed into her arm and kept twisting inside. The pain was all she could sense. One eternity later the healer finally stopped. Nesha realised she was crying and her jaw hurt from the pressure she unwittingly placed on it. When her breath calmed down, she took out the piece of wood, it had very clear bite marks on it. She tried to move the fingers on her right arm, but it was no better than before. And it hurt, although the pain was dull.
"It didn't work," she was bewildered. "How..."
"I warned you," the healer looked tired. "Here, at least take this, it should ease most of the pain."
He wrapped her forearm and hand in a bandage soaked in a slightly differently scented odella paste.
"Try again, then."
"No. This is a very complex wound. As you just witnessed, I am not able to fix it."
"Then call someone who can!"
"That, I'm afraid, would be only Lady Yustiel herself, or maybe her Wings, but we have none of them here."
Nesha cursed and let the healer finish the bandaging. When he was done, she left the infirmary without a word. It didn't help. Now she truly had no chance to do anything else than babysitting six helpless Asmodians.
"Nesh, I'm glad to see you're alright!" Ylrian stopped her, as she was crossing the main fortress plaza. He was dressed in new, clean clothes and was smiling.
"If you call that alright," she shrugged.
"Did... something happen?"
"I... I guess I should thank you... for getting me to a healer. So, thank you."
"You'll always be welcome."
"What happened, anyway? Why are we in Inggison? And why am I not in jail for treason?"
"Ah, well," Ylrian scratched his head. "I kinda convinced Lord Kaisinel that you can be more useful to him if... eh... you have something to do."
"So you were spying on the rebels, I get it. How did you hide that from Lady Triniel?"
"About that... well, you could say I didn't know that. Lord Kaisinel has ways to... properly prepare his spies."
"Right. So..."
"Everything I told you was true, though," he quickly added. "I really had doubts and I really went to Inggison and from here to the Shelter... there was just an extra step that I forgot."
"You know what?" Nesha slightly smiled. "I'll believe you."
"Thanks, Nesh... oh... shit..." he turned his head to the suddenly activated teleportation statue. Two men stepped from an aetheric portal. "Nesh, get out of here, things might get dangerous."
Just as Ylrian finished the sentence, Lord Vaizel noticed him and in a blink of an eye stood in front of him. His eyes were unfocused and his movements erratic.
"How dare you show up here, you traitor," the Lord of Freedom grabbed Ylrian by his neck and pushed him to the wall behind him.
"Vai, I can explain," Ylrian wheezed.
"I don't want your fucking explanation."
Nesha took a deep breath and turned to the angry Lord.
"Lord Vaizel, may I suggest to spare his life? I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding."
"Nesh, don't..."
"Shut up," the Lord spat at Ylrian. "It's no misunderstanding. This fucker is a traitor."
"He fucked up, yes," Nesha nodded. "But only in failing to inform you about the mission he did as a favour for Lord Kaisinel. He went undercover to the rebels. So he didn't betray you, he's just an idiot for not telling you about it."
"Ah, and why should I believe you?" he dropped Ylrian and turned to Nesha.
"If he was a real traitor, Lord Kaisinel wouldn't let him run around the fortress like this, don't you think?"
"I think you are very smart and very beautiful," Lord Vaizel touched her cheek. "You could come with me and tell me more. Or better yet," he moved his hand to her hip and slowly slid it to her butt. "You could tell me something about yourself."
"It is a generous offer, my Lord," Nesha tried to keep her voice as calm as possible. She gently pushed his hand away. "But no."
"That wasn't an offer, bitch," he grabbed her right arm and squeezed. She clenched her teeth as sharp pain shot through her. "That was an order. I am your Lord and you will come with me."
"Hey, Vai, calm down," Ylrian put his hand on Lord Vaizel's forearm. His voice was hoarse. "She said no. Don't be a dick."
"That's none of your business!"
"Alright, Vaizel, enough of the show," Lord Kaisnel walked down from the stairs. "I'm sure you're here because of a different matter than one random soldier in my fortress."
"Ah, Kaisinel," he let go of Nesha and walked towards the Lord of Illusions. "My friend! Yes, I want to discuss... something. In private."
"Of course, follow me, we can discuss it over a nice cup of tea."
When both Lords left, Nesha turned to Ylrian.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine," he replied while massaging his neck. "Thanks for saving me."
"You saved me before, I was just repaying the favour."
"Well, thanks anyway," he grinned. "If you need anything, I'll... oh, hi, Az, haven't seen you in a while!"
The silver‑haired man dressed in all black, who arrived with Lord Vaizel, stood right next to them. When did he get here?
"If you don't want to go with him, leave the plaza and don't show up until he's gone," he said quietly to Nesha.
"What are you talking about?"
"Vai... Lord Vaizel for you, will forget that you exist, unless you show up and remind him. So if you don't want him to fuck you, go away."
"That's messed up," Nesha shook her head.
"How can you be so complacent in that, Az?" Ylrian frowned.
"Because I remember whom I swore my loyalty to," he turned around and walked to the teleporter.
"I'll... go back," Nesha said. "I have... stuff to do, now that I'm not in jail."
"Sure, take care," Ylrian smiled.
Nesha quickly walked back to the barracks, to the room, which she shared with the Asmodian women. When she arrived in the room, instead of a pile of stuff on the lower bunk bed she found everything neatly arranged on the upper one. She climbed up and threw everything down, including the sheet on the mattress, which wasn't easy to get off with just one hand. The Asmodians watched her with a mix of confusion and fear. They already put the three remaining bunk beds together and all six of them had their stuff on the upper ones.
"I get it, you tried to help," she said. "But I don't want to climb up or down every time."
"But..." one of them protested meekly. She was sitting on a lower bed and sewing or fixing some clothes. "It's safer up there."
"What do you mean, safer?"
"Well... the drunk men don't bother looking up. Mostly."
Nesha closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"I was assigned here to keep you safe, whatever that means, so... if they come here, I'll explain to them why they shouldn't do it again."
~ o ~
Cathy was sitting inside of a large bowl with three chains attached to it and rising up above her. The stars were watching her from the black sky again. She turned around and saw a huge face of a woman with a blindfold over her eyes. It was a statue. What material it was made of, she couldn't tell, but the bowl she was sitting in felt like metal. She examined it more and realised the bowl was a part of scales and the woman was holding it. The bowl on the other side held a large, ornate shield in green and gold hues. She heard metal creaking against metal and her bowl started moving up. She looked around in panic. The statue was raising its other hand, in which it held a sword. Then the shield cracked and the pieces fell from the bowl. And she started falling.
When she woke up, she was still in the dark room, on the cold floor. What do the stars want again? How long was I asleep? Her hand brushed against something, a wooden cup with water in it. Was someone here? Without thinking she drank all of it. She searched the rest of the room, but found nothing. After a long silence, Darrand screamed again. She crawled into a corner, pressed her palms to her ears, but it didn't help. And the aether‑cuffs on her wrists were so heavy, she couldn't keep her hands up. Even after the screams stopped, she still heard their echoes.
~ o ~
When they finally reached the Manduri forest, it was almost evening. At first, Lonewolf wanted to stay close to the edge of the desert, but Stain convinced them she had a better idea and led them to an elevated rock plateau closer to the fortress. The place was still hidden under the trees and far enough from any roads and all six of them could comfortably rest there.
"How did you know about this place, Stain?" Aielyn asked.
"Dunno, I just... knew it," Stain shrugged. "It's pretty, right?"
"Yes, very pretty. What's the plan now?" Sigwyn chimed in.
"I thought about it during the travel," Lonewolf said and pulled out papers from his cube. "Lyn will go to the fortress, find Mira and give her my message and some of these papers."
"Wait, me? Why?"
"You're the only one here who can pass as Elyos."
"Not when I fly. And the fortress is quite above the ground."
"You can just use the elevator," Stain pointed out. "You just walk to the center, right next to the Abyss gate, wait for the elevator to come down and hop on. As long as you pretend to know what you're doing, they'll let you pass."
"Uh, alright, but I don't know this Mira person," Aielyn objected.
"Imagine a typical contestant of any pageant event," Lonewolf said. "Blonde hair, perfectly styled, blue eyes, perfect make‑up... Yeah, you'll have to ask."
"I don't like this," Tatran said.
"Me neither," Aielyn agreed.
"When you find her," Lonewolf handed her a few papers, "give her this. Tell her that if she wants more, she needs to come to the fountain in the forest. Also... Stain, can I borrow one of your paints?"
"Sure, which one?"
"Doesn't matter, the green one," he took a clean napkin and wrote the word handkerchief over it and handed it over to Aielyn. "Don't mention my name and just hand her this."
"Are you sure it will work?"
"No. If you don't find her, or she refuses you, you'll have to improvise."
"If this doesn't work," Tatran asked, "what's the alternative? I'm not going back to the lab."
"Nobody's going back to those labs," Lonewolf replied. "If this doesn't work, we'll take a rest here and figure it out. Lyn, go now, you need to get there before the night."
"Alright, I'll... I'll be back," Aielyn took the papers and the napkin and jumped off the plateau. "I hope."
"Wait," Stain jumped too. "Take this," she offered her a small red bead. "If you get into trouble, just throw it at the trouble and run."
"What does it do?"
"Red explodes, what else?" Stain smiled, put the bead into Aielyn's palm and climbed back.
The forest was big, but Aielyn knew the approximate direction to the fortress and once she found a path, it was easy to follow it. As she was descending into the valley, she noticed several guards in various distances from the center. Unlike the rest of Eltnen, the surroundings of the fortress were lush with vegetation and the crescent‑shaped lake was full of clear water. There were even waterfalls. The fortress itself was carved into a huge rock in the center of the valley. Several islands were floating above and Aielyn noticed a few guards on them too. No one paid her any special attention. She reached the elevator and let it carry her to the main hall. No one stopped her. In the hall she looked around, but no one corresponded with Lonewolf's description.
"Uhm, hello," she stopped a servant. "I'm looking for a... woman named Mira..."
"That's me," the servant replied. She indeed had blonde hair and blue eyes, but there was no perfect styling or make‑up on her. She didn't look like a daughter of a general.
"Isn't there any other Mira?"
"Nope, just me. What do you want?"
"I... uh... we have a common... acquaintance," she gave her the napkin. Please, Aion, if it's her, make her remember. A person walking on the other side of the main hall caught Aielyn's attention. She had short blonde hair, orange eyes, warm brown skin and was dressed like a forest flower. And had a high‑quality bow over her shoulder. Oh, shit.
"What should I do with that?" Mira held the napkin.
"I... I have to go. Go to the fountain and... oh no."
Lorsa had also noticed Aielyn and was swiftly walking towards her. Mira used her distraction and disappeared.
"Hello, lost one, what are you doing here?" the flower ranger smiled coldly.
"Ah, Lorsa... I... I brought this for you," she offered her the papers she got from Lonewolf.
"Let's go over your report somewhere else," Lorsa said and gestured towards the stairs. "Shall we?"
"O‑of course," Aielyn warily followed her. She didn't dare to disobey. She was looking for possible escape routes, but she wasn't strong enough to run away, if the Vaizel's Wing decided to kill or arrest her.
"Close the door," Lorsa said, when they entered a small room, empty save for an ordinary table. "And give me the papers. Where did you get them?"
"In the Lepharist lab in south Eltnen."
"Where are the others?"
"What others?"
"Your companions."
"I... I'm here alone."
"Sure. Alone. Without a weapon. Where are they?"
"Well, my weapons were confiscated by the Lepharists..." Aielyn wanted to give her a snarky reply, but her voice broke. "They took my cube too. My mom's hairpin was in it."
"I'm sure you can get another one."
"No, I can't," she wiped her tears and tried to get back her composure. "My dad had it custom made for her. I... I miss them. So much."
"What happened to your parents?"
"Israphel's minions killed them."
"Is that why are you fighting us? For vengeance?"
"I'm not fighting you, I'm fighting Israphel."
"Lord Israphel is the Elyos ally."
"And his minions killed my parents."
"Yes, you said that. And going against them will only get you killed. Which means I don't have to do that, for now. As a favour for these documents. You may leave."
"You're just... letting me go?"
"If you ask one more stupid question, I might change my mind."
"Uh‑hm... thank you," Aielyn turned around and as quickly as possible left the room.
She looked around the main hall and surrounding open rooms, but she couldn't see Mira anywhere. And she wanted to leave as soon as possible, in case Lorsa did change her mind. As she passed by another open door, she noticed a weapons rack with polearms. She peeked into the room, yep, it was an armory. I shouldn't draw attention, I shouldn't draw attention, I shouldn't draw attention... But I need a weapon! She walked in, trying to project confidence. No one was there, so she took the most ordinary looking longbow. On her way out she almost bumped into an armored woman with a stack of papers in her hands.
"What are you doing here? Just because the armory is open, it's not a reason to skip the proper process."
"Uh, sorry, it's... um, Lorsa's orders. I-I have to go, I should already be on the way... yes, sorry, I should have found you first."
"Ugh, those Wings think they can do anything," the woman rolled her eyes, flipped the papers and gave one to Aielyn. "Sign it here. And next time, go to my office first."
"Yes, of course," Aielyn wrote something that could resemble a signature. "Thank you very much and sorry for the trouble."
The ranger walked straight for the elevator. As she was waiting for it to rise, her nervousness was rising too. That was stupid. What if Lorsa sees me? Fortunately no one paid her any attention and she was able to take the elevator down and walked away from the fortress. Once she was out of sight of the patrols, she ran and stopped only when she reached the fountain of life. She sat on its edge and breathed heavily. That was close. But at least I have a weapon now. I could have taken a dagger too... She drank some water from the fountain and looked around. After a moment she found a rock she could use as a weapon, if she got into melee, and put it into her pocket. She heard a sound behind her and turned, readying her bow. It needed more aether than what she was used to, but it was still manageable. The Elyos servant Mira raised her hands in a defensive gesture.
"So, I'm at the fountain. What's happening here? Or was it a joke?"
"Hi, no, it wasn't a joke. I'll... someone wants to talk with you, could you wait here? I'll get them..."
"No need for that, Lyn, I'm here," Lonewolf stepped out of the shadows. He also held his bow ready. "Hello, Mira. Long time no see."
Mira's eyes widened in shock and she quickly formed an aetheric shield around her.
"Asmodians? You're in league with Asmodians?" her eyes darted between the two rangers.
"Don't tell me you don't remember me," Lonewolf sounded theatrically sad.
"No. I don't associate with Asmodians."
"Is that why you let me go instead of letting your father execute me back then? Because you don't want to associate with us?"
"Lonewolf," Mira frowned. "I remember now. What do you want?"
"We just destroyed two of Israphel's labs and we need your help to get the fuck out of here."
Aielyn looked at him in surprise? Does he really trust her that much?
"And what makes you believe I'll help you? Even if you try to force me, I still can run to the guards and tell them what you just told me."
"Why would you do that? You don't like the Lord Dictator any more than we do."
"And how would you know that?"
"Just a hunch," Lonewolf shrugged. "You don't look like you're enjoying any privileges of being a general's daughter."
Mira frowned and if looks could kill, both rangers would be dead.
"Don't you fucking dare," Mira spoke through her gritted teeth, "to take my father into your fucking mouth. You don't know shit about him. Or me."
"Lyn," Lonewolf said, while still keeping his eyes on the sorceress. "Go back and send Sigwyn here quickly. The rest of you can slowly follow, but give us time to sort this out."
Aielyn nodded and left them at the fountain. She had to backtrack her path a bit before she found the familiar trees and ran to their hideout.
"Sigwyn!" she said just as she climbed on the plateau. "Lonewolf needs you at the fountain. He's trying to negotiate and it's not going well."
Before she finished, the ginger‑haired assassin jumped down and disappeared in the forest.
"Where did you get that weapon?" Tatran immediately grabbed her bow.
"Hey!" Aielyn snatched it back. "I took it from the armory. It was open and all I had to do was to sign a paper. And no, I didn't use my name."
"If it was that easy, why didn't you bring more weapons?"
"Because that would be suspicious. And besides, you already have a weapon. And Stain and Sigwyn the same. Oh," she looked at the Reian man sitting next to them. "Sorry, Ortiz, I guess I could have brought you a dagger or something..."
"It's alright," Ortiz waved his hand. "I used a bow, but after they took so much of my blood, I'm barely strong enough to stand."
"Are you... alright?" she asked carefully. "You look even paler than before, your face is almost the same as your hair."
"It's the lighting, don't worry."
"At least eat something, I'll get you some berries. Oh, and we should slowly go to the fountain too. Lonewolf said we should give him time, but we should come."
"Time? You can't give time," Stain said with a foggy voice. Tears were glistening in her eyes as she stared into the distance. "You only have yours. And others have theirs."
"Stain?" Aielyn carefully approached her.
"Yes?" the painter snapped into attention and smiled. "We're going somewhere? Let's go, then."
"Fucking Elyos," Tatran muttered under his breath and jumped off the plateau.
Stain happily followed him and Aielyn helped Ortiz, who was still weak from the blood loss and mistreatment. When they reached the fountain, Mira was already calm again, but still pissed. As the group emerged from the forest, she looked at them and almost jumped with surprise.
"Chroma!" she ran towards Stain and bowed. "You're alive! Do you need anything?"
Stain froze.
"This is Choma?" Tatran stepped back. Lonewolf and Sigwyn also stared in disbelief.
"Who's Chroma?" Aielyn's eyes darted between all the others.
"There's NO Chroma! I'm Stain!" Stain snapped.
"But..." Mira was taken aback by that reaction.
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Stain grabbed her own head and erratically walked in circles. "Don't talk! I need to concentrate!"
"Chroma is... was Lady Ariel's Wing," Mira explained. "What did you do to her?"
"You think we'll believe you, that Chroma was a half‑breed?" Tatran scoffed. Aielyn rolled her eyes.
"You can believe whatever the fuck you want, Asmodian, but I knew her. This is Chroma," Mira said.
"There is NO Chroma!" Stain yelled and fell to her knees. Aielyn ran towards her.
"Shh, shh, it will be alright," she carefully touched the painter's shoulders. "Look at me, please."
"There's no Chroma," Stain wept.
"You're right, there's no one like that. Can I hug you?"
"Yes."
For a few minutes she just sat on the ground, letting Stain (or Chroma?) weep enough to calm down. The others, in the meantime, retreated a bit further from them and discussed something. Aielyn didn't hear what it was.
"I think they have agreed on a plan," Ortiz walked over to the two women. "Can you both continue?"
"Stain?"
"I..." Stain searched through her blanket‑backpack and found a jar of bright pink paint. Using her fingers, she slapped irregular lines on her face. Before she packed the paint again, she started smiling. "Yes, I'm ready. Let's go."
"Alright," Aielyn got up and walked to the rest of the group. "So, what's the plan?"
"I'll open the portal for you to Black Cloud Island," Mira said. "And after that I'll take Chr... I'll take Stain to Inggison."
"Nope!" Stain protested. "I'm going with them."
"But Lord Kaisinel can help you."
"But I don't need help, I'm fine," she giggled. She scraped off a bit of the paint from her face. "I guess too much pink."
"But I can't..." Mira put her hands on her face for a few seconds. "Fine, whatever. I'll get you to the Abyss and then report to Lord Kaisinel myself. Get ready."
The Elyos sorceress tapped her aether‑enhancing jewel and started weaving aether around. After a minute or so, a glittering portal hovered before them. Sigwyn went first. Then Lonewolf helped Ortiz, in case the portal exit was up in the air. Aielyn took Stain by her hand and both of them stepped through the portal. They appeared in the Abyss. But something seemed wrong.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Mira screamed, as Tatran dragged her through the portal, which collapsed behind them.
"Did you think I'd let you just send us to a random place?" the spiritmaster looked around. "And I was right. So? Where the fuck are we?"
"But I was aiming at the Black Cloud!" Mira protested.
But the landscape around them didn't look like the famous trading post. They were in the middle of ruins. Streams and swirls of aether were creating colourful haze.
"Oh, no," Aielyn's heart sank. "We're at Primum."