As usual, Achlys was by her father's side. Everywhere the lich went, she tried to follow. And everything he did, she began to mimic. When he would read and transcribe crumbling texts, she would sit on the floor beside him and flip through the pages of her picture books. As he would preach sermons to his congregation, she would attempt to repeat his words to her toys. And as he floated through the corridors of their home, she would sometimes hop behind him in a desperate attempt to achieve levitation.

Karthus did his best to encourage her and was delighted how, week by week, she grew stronger. Whenever he worked, he would attempt to give her a related task, such as dusting the pews on days he repaired the cathedral, if she ever had a question, he would answer it to the best of his abilities, and most importantly, he began to dedicate more time to training her magic. He was fascinated by how she had managed to help Katherine regain herself, and he hoped that as she grew, she would be able to have similar success with other wraiths. And it was for that reason that Karthus made sure that Achlys was able to routinely visit Katherine.

It was after one of these visits that Karthus decided to take the long way home so that Achlys could run along the beach. She had kicked off her shoes and was took off through the sodden sand. She raced after the waves as they retreated into the ocean, only to dash away as they washed against the shore anew. The water was cool, but Achlys had long ago grown accustom to the temperatures, so she didn't flinch at the sudden chill when a particularly quick wave would wash over her feet. The sensation of the sand sliding away underfoot tickled her toes.

A piece of driftwood caught Achlys's eye and she rushed over to pull it from a pile of seaweed. She held the worn piece of wood proudly above her head until a soaking piece of seaweed sloughed off its end and splatted across her face. She spat, shaking her head to clean the sand from it.

"Eew," she sneered.

"What did you find, Achlys?"

"A staff."

She ran back to him, beaming with pride as she presented her find.

"Just like you," she noted.

Karthus chuckled.

"Almost, my little one. Your staff is still unmarked."

He pointed towards his staff, covered with its countless tally marks.

"How do I get?" she asked.

"I will explain further when you are older."

"But I a big girl now."

"I know, but this is for very big girls. You need to help people in a special way."

"Like Katherine?"

Karthus paused and thought for a moment. True, Katherine had already passed into undeath when Achlys had met her, so she hadn't technically brought a soul to face the Lamb or Wolf. However, Katherine had been lost before Achlys brought her back to herself so she could be at peace. So in a way, she had helped to deliver a soul unto the Isles.

"Yes," he answered, "just like Katherine. Achlys, let me see your staff, please."

Reaching down, Karthus took the staff from Achlys and carved a single tally mark into the wood.

"You have earned this one," he explained, "these tallies are sacred things. Do not mark up your staff yourself. When you grow older I will teach you how you may earn more. Do you understand?"

"Yeah."

"Good girl. Go run and play now. When we return home, you will be taking your nap."

"Okay!"

Karthus was content to let her chase the crabs, both spectral and living, across the sands and wear herself out before her nap, but then he spotted something unusual further down the beach that put him on guard. It was a rowboat. It had been deliberately pulled up onto the beach and tracks, leading away from it, were fresh enough that they hadn't been blown away by the breeze.

"Achlys," he ordered, "come back to me."

"What wrong?" she asked, sensing the distress in his tone.

"Look," he said, pointing towards the foreign vessel as he did, "do you see it?"

"The boat?"

"Yes. Achlys, if you ever see one of those, you are to return to the cathedral immediately."

"Why?"

"Boats often bring danger."

"I came in boat."

"As did I once. Sometimes boats bring wonderful things here, but many times, they do not. Thieves and invaders sneak into our home, seeking to destroy wraiths under the flawed ideals that they are saving us."

"Save us? From what?"

"They believe our gift is a curse."

"What?"

"They simply do not understand, but they will learn in time."

"Can I help? Like with Katherine?"

"When you are older, I expect you will. But for now, when you see a boat, run home and alert me, or Hecarim, or even Thresh to what you saw. We will deal with the invaders. And if you one of the invaders sees you, scream and call wraiths to you."

"Okay, but why?"

"They may try to steal you away."

"No!" she stomped her foot, "I want to be with you!"

"I know, and I will never let them take you. You do not need to be afraid, Achlys. There is nothing stronger than a parent protecting their child."

Achlys leaned into Karthus, and reached up to hold his withered hand. Karthus threaded his fingers between hers.

"Let us go home where it will be safe."

Holding firmly to his hand, Achlys followed Karthus back to the cathedral. At times she even tugged him along in an attempt to return faster. The thought of being stolen away was a dreadful one. In the shadows she kept imagining these invaders, though she didn't know what they would look like. Karthus hadn't told her, so her imagination took control and filled the shadows with brutes with jagged teeth, fiends with long, grasping fingers, and monsters dragging large sacks in which to stuff her.

Never before had she felt such relief as the pointed spires of her home came into view. Karthus released her hand and Achlys went tearing across the dark ground as fast as her little legs could carry her. A sound, equal part sigh of relief and yawn of fatigue, escape her mouth as she stumbled through the doorway.

"Time for your nap," Karthus informed her.

Achlys nodded in agreement and shuffled alongside the lich to her bedroom. She clambered up and into her lifeboat bed and began to drift off to sleep before Karthus finished pulling the blankets up.

"Sleep well, little one. I will see you when you awake," he cooed.

Once he was sure that Achlys was asleep, he drifted out of the room and shut the door behind him. Without waiting another moment, he summoned a throng of wraiths to his side and commanded them to guard the door. None were to pass.

With great haste, he departed the cathedral. He was hell-bent on tracking down the intruder upon the Isles and removing any threat to Achlys. He would return to the beach, destroy the boat, and then wait.

When Achlys awoke from her nap, there was a new wraith at Karthus's side and another tally etched into his staff.