Through the mists

by Renart de Mal Herbe

Albus Dumbledore Knows Aster Potter is dead by his fault. His multiple devices monitoring her say so. However he received a response to her Hogwarts letter saying she will attend the school. How is this possible ? Is someone impersonating Aster ? He will do his best to find out.

8. Chapter 8: Lessons part 2

Somewhere, beyond the edge of the world, where time and space no longer make sense, under a starry sky that mirrors the past, present and future. Two small hooded figures draped in thick travelling cloaks walked at the bottom of a canyon. The smaller of the two walked calmly with the help of a large grey staff, engraved with a multitude of strange symbols. The other, a little taller, was hopping along a few metres ahead, dancing and jumping from rock to rock, having fun doing acrobatic stunts. The first one sighed, looking up at the sky at the antics of her companion. Her green eyes glowed behind the thick scarf concealing the lower part of her face.

Carefree, the taller one continued her merry-go-round as a movement alerted the smaller one. Behind a rock one of their preys was hidden. A predator normally adapted to hunting souls in this lost region of the first circle, thinking he was at the top of the food chain in his territory. Unaware of his real situation. He was about to pounce on the tall girl whose blond curls escaped the cowl during her frenzied dance.

The predator, a low-level soul eater with a scaly body, powerful muscles, piercing eyes and sharp fangs, leapt out of its hiding place onto the girl, claws out, its eight powerful limbs ready to tear the carefree girl apart.

Sighing, the smaller girl tilted her staff slightly towards the creature, an array of interlocking glyphs glowed with a powerful white light, and with a crack of thunder a mighty bolt of lightning shot out from the staff to strike the creature in mid-air, stunning it instantly. Surprised, the taller one stood still and stared at the unconscious creature on the ground. The smaller one sighed again.

"I know you're not risking much playing like this, but please Sonya, at least pay some attention to what's going on around you."

Sonya, turned to her companion, and stuck out her tongue. "You're killing the mood Aster, let me have some fun, this part of the first circle is particularly boring."

"Next time one of the local bone grinders jumps out at you, I' ll let him. That'll serve you right."

" You cruel Aster, what's poor little Sonya going to do if you don't want to save her anymore? "

"She'll let herself be eaten quietly is what she'll do. And I don't even know why I'm bothering to try and protect you, I've never seen anything that could pose any danger to you yet."

"Oh, you little flatterer, that won't get you anywhere, you know? Besides, your little lightning bolt there, a new Kav-deb array? I've never seen you use it."

Pride lit up Aster's eyes. "No, it's the first one I've created myself. It's a modification of the..."

She was interrupted by Sonya's arms closing around her, hugging her tightly, Aster let out a small cry of surprise. "Congratulations, little night owl, on your first array. I'm proud of you. You're on the right track."

Sonya released her embrace and spun away, leaving a blushing Aster standing there. "And what does your little lightning bolt do?"

"Ah, uh... It stuns the target until it's given a potion to re-stabilize the electrical potential. The defensive arrays Kav-deb teaches me are always too lethal or not enough . I needed a middle ground."

"Interesting, good point. But be careful, I doubt Kav-deb gave you the green light to start creating your own arrays. You know that one mistake can have serious consequences with that, right?"

Aster rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know, Anna has repeated it to me enough." Aster was tired of hearing it again and again. Yes, creating new arrays was dangerous, but with the right safeguards, it was possible to escape the worst. "When do you think Kav-deb will finally officially allow me my own arrays so I can stop doing it in secret?"

Sonya seemed to hesitate for a moment, walking backwards and tapping her chin, staring blankly. "Hmmm. I'd say soon. Sometime this year probably if you're lucky. Anyway, he probably already knows you're experimenting on the sly and can't do much to stop you."

"I hope so... By the way, when are we gonna get there?"

"Soon, soon. Take the bone grinder with you, you can eat him later."

Aster nodded, and they set off again. Aster didn't know how long it had been since they had begun their excursion into the first circle, a few days? A few weeks? The question would remain forever suspended, time is meaningless here. But there was no need to worry, Anna wouldn't know the difference, as far as she was concerned Aster had probably only been gone a few hours. No, what was inconvenient with Sonya and Aster's repeated excursions into the outer circles was that her age no longer made any sense. She should be 11 in a few weeks in the outside world, but with the time spent here her age didn't really make sense anymore. With Sonya's help they had tried to calculate out of curiosity but the only result other than giving Aster a massive headache was an age range between 15 and 25. So much for accuracy.

Aster sighed, and let her magic flow into a small silver ring on her left index finger, the array immediately came to life and the unconscious bone grinder rose from the ground, his tall, lean white form floating behind, as she and Sonya resumed their journey. One of the things that frustrated Aster most about her new life was how slowly she was growing. Anna had warned her that with all the deprivation and abuse she had suffered at the hands of monsters and her premature vampiric assent she would grow up much slower than normal and have a youthful appearance all her life. But this was still a lot. Despite the years in the main plane of existence and the years spent with Sonya travelling in the outer circles her appearance was that of a little girl of barely 9 years. Which was infinitely frustrating, because of her mind being that of someone in her mid-twenties. And Sonya, who used to take the form of a little girl for all she knew, had chosen the form of a teenager just to taunt her.

And the worst thing was that it worked terribly well to piss her off! She was 127 bloody centimetres tall! And despite her efforts she was hardly growing at all! Drinking milk every morning, eating soup, stretching, nothing helped. Her growth seemed to be slowing down terribly and according to Anna it was going to stop far too soon for her liking. She had asked Kav-deb if there were any rituals to solve this problem, but he had replied that all those he knew of were incompatible with her vampire condition and that the only other way was to completely abandon what remained of her humanity and make black magic pact after black magic pact with various entities until her appearance was comparable to that of his. And that was not for her, the gift of Lagaelis was more than enough. Sonya had proposed a ritual to become a shape-shifter like her, but the ritual included a massive human sacrifice and a minimum of 300 years in a pocket dimension constantly doing soul magic forbidden even by the Koxhkoxh dynasty. And no matter what Sonya said, Aster wasn't going to cross that boundary. As a result, Aster was stuck with the body of a nine year old, and still small for her age, growing at an awfully slow rate.

Aster had considered staying in the outer circles until her body matured a bit more but Sonya had talked her out of it, meeting Umgol in his awakening phase, one of the kings of the circles or even worse a birthless or primordial, was not for her. The gamble was clearly not worth it. Anna was already opposed to her regular escapades with Sonya in the circles, and still only Sonya's promise to protect Aster with her life if necessary had convinced her to accept Aster's jaunts.

The two girls continued to walk for another hour or so, discussing things like Sonya's newly discovered passion for vegetable stew, or Aster's current project of a controlled flight array. (A folly according to Sonya, too dangerous to expose one's body to that kind of magic she said, but Aster wasn't convinced of the impossibility of the thing. And growing wings, however temporary, was too impractical for her liking). Or why Aster should wear more colours, especially green to go with her beautiful red hair instead of the usual grey or black. Aster didn't like fashion, a waste of time, she preferred to concentrate on the practicality of the garment. The only reason she considered Sonya's advice to wear green was that the colour could prove useful as camouflage in the wild.

Finally, they arrived at their goal. The end of the canyon opened onto a wide, barren plain, with a few dead trees with white wood and a few clumps of dry grass. Sonya stepped forward, looking carefully in all directions, before turning and addressing Aster. "We have arrived in the territory of the great devourers, it will be a banquet for you! I remind you of the objective, to have enough souls or residual souls for you to heal your scared soul and complete your defenses . Keep the excess to do what you want. But above all today I'm going to teach you two very useful arrays against all the species of soul eaters. Remind me again what soul eaters are?"

Aster sighed, already knowing the answer to this question by heart. "Soul eaters are all species of creatures that have no souls of their own but live by absorbing and digesting the souls of the living or the dead. They reproduce by dividing when they have absorbed a sufficient amount of soul for the process. Do you have to ask me that every time?"

Sonya nodded, looking totally happy with the situation. "And what are soul eaters made of?"

"An amalgam of more or less complete and digested souls linked together... stop with your stupid quiz please!"

"No! I refuse! I'm going to bore you with my stupid quizzes as many times as I want to, you cheeky girl!" at her words Sonya pulled two scrolls from her satchel and handed them to Aster. "Now look at these two array conjunctions on algeometric supports (acoas) and tell me what we're going to do to get our little banquet.

Aster grabbed the scrolls and looked at the two acoas Her eyes widened as the understanding of what they were about to do struck her. "Who created these arrays?"

"Me, why?"

"It's genius! Pure genius!"

"Hey, you flatter me, but they don't call me the mistress of souls for nothing, kid. Let's see if you understand, explain to me what we're going to do."

Aster cleared her throat. "The first one is a... bait. It will simulate the appearance of a large amount of soul in one place, which should attract all the souls eaters for miles around. The other... is a link disruptor, it will break all the links that keep the soul eaters in one piece."

"Oh! Kav-deb taught you better than I thought if you can recognize all this. You're exactly right. We'll lure all the beasts for miles around (whatever that means here), break the bonds that maintain their existence and poof! All-you-can-eat buffet for us. We'll just have to act fast and run away quickly afterwards because this kind of method is anything but discreet here. On dementors in the real world I don't say, but here, it will be like lighting a gigantic lighthouse. Therefore, I order you to stay close to me at all times as soon as the arrays are triggered!"

"Yes ma'am, aye madam!" Aster said, making a parody of a military salute. Aster was getting really excited about what they were about to do. Several times already she and Sonya had gone into the outer circles to hunt down the soul eaters and eat them. Bone grinders, great devourers, former beasts of Iish, many creatures had passed by on their plate over the years. And little by little Aster had used the souls and soul fragments recovered from the creatures to strengthen her mental defences and attempt to heal her scared soul. But the amount of soul needed to finalise her defences and stabilise her own soul was just absurd. Here Sonya had just given her the big news. She would soon complete her ascension to the lower entity stage. Finally she would have a stable soul and the nightmares, cold sweats, epileptic fits and fainting would cease. Devouring the piece of soul that had been embedded in her own had not been without consequences and at last she would be free of her partial being condition.

Seeing Aster over-excited Sonya said. "Calm down little one, calm down, it will take a while you know!" She thought for a moment before adding. "It will take at least the equivalent of two months to trace the acoas and power them. You start by setting up the tent, I'll set up the wards around the perimeter."

While Sonya began to lay out the various arrays that would support the wards needed to protect them in these hostile lands, Aster pulled the tent out of her bag. A large, rustic tent purchased from a mountaineering shop a few years ago, it was solidly reinforced with various arrays of alarm and survival defences. Which while being very practical in outdoor circles or wilderness camping in dangerous terrain, left something to be desired in terms of comfort. No space magic was compatible with the powerful defence magics used, leaving Aster and Sonya to sleep in normal sleeping bags on thin folding rubber mattresses. Fortunately a cushioning array simulated a mattress comfortable enough to wake up without back pain.

Half an hour later Aster had finished setting up the tent. It was a simple military-looking tent made of thick waxed canvas sewn with multiple silver thread snaps. The interior was just as plain, two bunks and a sleeping bag, small piles of clothing as pillows. A tempest lamp hung on a pole near the entrance to the tent. Aster was rather proud of her efficiency, many excursions into the hostile environment with Sonya had taught her more about survival than ten years alone in Siberia could do.

With Sonya still busy putting up the defences of their camp, Aster set about cooking the meal. A skill, learned at first out of necessity among the Dursleys, but then turned into a enjoyment, cooking with her mother Anna was something that punctuated her life and gave her time to spend with her mother. Today the simple act of cooking allowed her to relax, the manual action, now automatic by habit, keeping her hands and mind busy.

The bone grinder stew was simmering gently when Sonya joined her. "Aster please come, I need some of your blood to finalise the wards." Without question Aster stood up and nodded. Then she followed Sonya to a hole in the ground behind the tent. At the bottom of the hole was a bluish stone, one of Sonya's favourite stones, more durable and with a more stable flux than the others she said. Aster drew her silver blade and sliced her palm, leaving a thread of blood running down the stone. One application of the flat of the blade to her bloody hand, the gentle light and warmth of an array later, and her skin was as good as new. Sonya did the same, a thick black liquid dripping from her hand onto the stone mingling with Aster's clear red blood.

"I'll leave you to activate the stone, I'll set the stage for the acoas's installation," Aster nodded again and placed her hand on the bloody stone. She concentrated and let some of her energy flow into the stone, breaking one by one the bonds that prevented the stone's energy from dispersing. A wave of ecstasy ran through her as the energy of the stone flowed back into her in response. She looked up to see if the wards had stabilized and smiled as she saw a dome of bluish energy form over their small camp.

She stood up and walked towards the centre of the camp to join Sonya. "The wards are well in place. I didn't see any problems."

"Good, go back and watch the stew so it doesn't burn." Sonya replied as she continued to let her arms split into countless blackish pseudopods, which immediately began to clear the ground and level it in preparation for the installation of the acoas.

"Yes, tonight it's carrot bone grinder! You'll love it!"

Sonya turned her head towards her with a big smile on her face. "Really? I'm lucky today then, I suppose it was the one you caught earlier?"

"Yes, it was a young one, still tender."

A small cry of joy escaped Sonya's lips, before she got back to work. Aster's gaze was lost in the steam swirling over the stew, the next month was going to be gruelling given the amount of work to be done. But hopefully it would be worth it.

A month later Aster had just woken up in the tent, wrapped up warm in the sleeping bag. Yesterday Sonya and herself had finally finished tracing and feeding the acoas with magic. Today would be the big day, and Aster was buzzing with excitement. She was about to get out of the sleeping bag when she heard a small groan of discomfort against her side after her little movement. Aster sighed, 'not again' she thought. She widened the opening of her sleeping bag to confirm her fears. Taking advantage of Aster's absolutely tiny size and the far too large sleeping bag Sonya had crawled inside with her and was currently clutching at her waist like a koala. What was she supposed to think of that. This situation was more than funny, who would believe her if she ever told them that one of the first things she saw when she woke up on these expeditions to the far edges of the universe where time and space no longer made sense and the most common and least dangerous creatures were the various species of soul eaters, was a thousands of years old entity snuggled up to her using her as a cuddly toy.

The absolute absurdity of the situation made her chuckle softly. She pressed Sonya's cheek to wake her up. Sonya grunted and tightened her grip, ignoring Aster. Aster wondered of how she got there. Her status had slowly drifted from acquaintance, to apprentice, to close friend, to tedy bear for entity. Aster blamed her small size and youthful appearance for this. Aster was reluctant to wake her up to complete the ritual, Sonya had a habit of sleeping particularly soundly and besides, after years of living with Anna as her mother she had completely given up her reluctance to physical contact and greatly enjoyed her cuddle time with Anna or, Sonya for that matter. But as much as Aster wished not to interrupt the moment, the ritual had to be done quickly to get back to the main plane. The acoas had taken up a lot of her time and energy and she was starting to get sick from the lack of absorption rituals. She needed to find prey to feed on as a vampire quickly before the symptoms became too severe.

Aster shook Sonya and she finally woke up. "Come on get up, I'm running out of blood ritual, we need to finish our hunt quickly so I can get back to the main plane."

Sonya rubbed her eyes and yawned. Then she shifted her collar, leaving the porcelain skin of her neck free. "You can drink my blood, you know... it'll save you from having to go back up so soon."

"No, I won't! Last time it was an extreme emergency and it went very badly. So no. Let's finish today and go home tonight!"

"All right then, if you're in such a hurry. Remember, stay close to me before, during and after the ritual." Sonya said as she pulled herself out of the sleeping bag before getting dressed.

Half an hour later both Sonya and Aster stood side by side in front of the acoas activation point. The tent and all the equipment had been packed away, the wards disassembled and the girl and the entity ready. The tension in the air was palpable, Sonya unwound a silver wire and held it in her hand, she then put her arm around Aster's waist holding her tight. "Aster hold on to me we are going to fly, you don't want to be on the ground for what is about to happen."

Aster complied and pressed herself against Sonya's side, holding her tight. Aster felt the magic flow through Sonya's body and surround them both in such density that her magically sensitive eye could only see a thick fog of white light. They then began to rise slowly through the air to an altitude of about 300 metres. From this height the view was astonishing, the barren expanse of canyon, arid mountains and dry plains that made up the first circle revealed its true nature, an eternal chaotic change in the shape of space and time remaining stable only in small areas where the presence of souls allowed a semblance of stability. Everything else was an eternal change of superimposed forms and indescribable states. To avoid getting sick Aster looked away from it to focus on the large area of stability below her in the form of a barren heath. All was still quiet, the only thing connecting them to the ground was the thin silver wire Sonya held firmly in her hand.

"Are you ready, Aster? Don't panic and hang on to me for dear life, okay?"

"Yes, don't worry I'm ready." Aster said with determination in her eyes.

Sonya's eyes darkened and her smile turned to carnivorous.

A shockwave of magic ran through the silver wire to the ground and the first acoas, activated. The air seemed to grow denser and denser, and Aster closed his magical eye, afraid of losing it because the magic had become so dense it could burn it. Even at this distance the magic was so thick that it had taken on physical form, the air heavy, oversaturated with energy. A first beat sounded. Then nothing, just silence and incredible energy density. Then a second beat, stronger than the first. The beats became more regular, the magic beneath them beat like a heart, a new, unspeakable, terrifying being was born. Idiot, lifeless but alive, mindless but conscious, an abomination, a grotesque and abysmal parody of life.

On the tenth beat a rumbling sound was heard, far below her Aster could see the earth shaking. She looked away from the concentration of energy that had become so dense as to be opaque, to look out of their island of stability, and to her surprise, the first outer circle had changed radically in a few seconds.

The landscape had become stable as far as the eye could see, nothing was changing anymore, everything had gained a strangely normal aspect. Almost terrestrial. The canyons, the arid plains, the mountains. Everything, for the first time, had stopped changing in a coherent way. The rumbling was getting louder by the second, a cloud of dust had risen on the horizon. Squinting, Aster could make out in all directions a multitude of diverse creatures. Tens of thousands of soul eaters were converging on their position.

Aster had been mentally preparing for this moment ever since Sonya had spoken of ending Aster's soul problem once and for all, and at the same time having a banquet never seen before. But this vision of nightmares, nothing could have prepared her for this. A sea of monsters, running blindly in their direction. Some the size of rats, some gigantic, some she had faced before and some she had never seen or even heard of even in the wildest of legends told by Sonya.

If it were possible for a vampire Aster would have lost even more colors. The gigantic horde was there now, 300 meters below them, some of the smaller creatures starting to climb Sonya's silver wire.

"Sonya! They're coming up! Do something." Aster said, panicking.

"Patience."

The tens of thousands of creatures were now a shapeless mass lost in the pulsing fog of magic. And the smaller ones halfway down the wire.

"Sonya please, the second acoas!"

"Wait... a few more moments..."

The creatures were three quarters of the way down the wire, their eyes filled with madness and devouring hunger triggered by the intense magic.

" SONYA ! "

" NOW ! "

Aster and Sonya simultaneously unleashed their most powerful shield array.

A blast of energy shot through the wire knocking down all the creatures before reaching the second acoas.
...

Silence.

Everything had stopped, breathing, the soul eaters below were still. A drop of sweat that had just fallen from Aster's cheek hung motionless in the air. Then in the stillness, a small light appeared among the creatures. At first nothing more than a tiny glow like the flickering flame of a candle. Then the light grew and grew, the spark became a flame. The flame became an inferno. The intensity of the light continued to increase, accompanied by a hissing sound that was almost inaudible at first, but became more and more dizzying. Soon Aster was facing a sun. She closed her eyes and put her arm in front of her face to shield herself from the now unbearable light, the hissing sound hurt her eardrums terribly and she could feel the power of the light burning her skin, even through the powerful shields. Then she felt Sonya turn her in her arms and place herself between her and the source of the light to protect her. This terrible moment stretched on for a while, then the hissing stopped and all was silent again. The rumbling had disappeared and an unnerving calm had replaced the powerful magical pulse she had felt since the first coasa was activated.

Aster cautiously opened her eyes, only to see the fabric of Sonya's cloak and to feel herself slowly descend to the ground with her. After two minutes of descent with her face buried in Sonya's chest, Aster felt Sonya gently lower her to the ground. Aster, still a little dazed, shook her head and moved away from Sonya to look around. The plain had given way to a completely smooth expanse of black glass. The energy of the ritual had apparently been enough to glaze the ground for miles around. But what immediately caught her eye were the thousands of bluish lights of all sizes floating at different heights. One thing was strange though, a glow was slowly rising over the horizon like a rising sun, the black sky full of stars taking on bluish tints. Her special eye told her that something was at work. However, as she looked at the thousands of souls in front of her, she brushed aside this thought.

"Sonya, was the ritual successful? Are these the souls?"

Sonya nodded, looking particularly arrogant. "Yes, those are all the souls the soul eaters ate that have not yet been digested or have only been partially digested.

Aster took a few steps through the thousands of flames surrounding her, her hunger growing by the second. "I take it this is an all-you-can-eat buffet?"

Sonya smiled. "Go ahead, devour, fill your own soul, let yourself go, this is all for you. Give free rein to your impulses! Accept yourself, go ahead!"

Aster did not hesitate, she sat cross-legged on the ground and entered the trance that Sonya had taught her to master. The darkness engulfed her. And all her feelings changed. She was now the bluish sphere she was used to. Over the years, it had grown enormously, until it reached its current size, but the scar left by the fight against the worm had never properly healed, and now, the problem would definitely be solved. She turned to her link to the distant star, Aathna, and to her satisfaction the thin filament had become a nice thick string. She then focused on her surroundings and felt the thousands of soul fragments, and life energy orbs around her.

With effort and concentration she stretched out her own soul, engulfing all the others, breaking them, absorbing them into her own essence making them her own. Never had she devoured so many souls at once, and it was felt. She was beginning to feel light, drunk with power and energy flowing through her. Unable to absorb anything more without going mad she refocused her soul, breaking down and digesting what remained of the network that made up the other souls, which made their possessor individuals, reducing them to pure energy or framework for her defences. She directed all the energy towards the still gaping wound left by the terrible fight between her and the worm, and to her immense satisfaction, the energy and what was left of coherence in the souls filled the wound, merging with her essence completely.

At last, she was whole, free from the horrible disease that had made her suffer for the last few years. She would have to thank Sonya, give her a big gift or something that would really please her. She already owed her too much...

Eager not to linger any longer than necessary in the first outer circle after doing such flashy magic Aster decided to come back to reality to quickly leave with Sonya and return to the main plan.

Aster opened her eyes and stood up, Sonya was a few feet in front of her, looking towards the horizon, around her all the fireflames had disappeared, the obvious result of their large feast. Sonya turned to her with a smile on her face. "So Aster. How are you feeling?"

"Better than I've ever been. Your theory worked, strengthened my essence and definitely closed the scar in my soul."

"Well, let's not hang around here any longer than necessary. We wouldn't want to get caught after doing this sort of thing."

Aster nodded. No hanging around, staying would be offering themselves up for any other entities, Circle King or otherwise, that might come after them. At this thought Aster turned to the horizon, a sun had risen, a strange shape vibrating with power, dwarfing the stars, a strange heat flooding the previously temperatureless air of the first circle. Something was approaching.

"Sonya?" The entity faced the rising 'sun', eyebrows furrowed.

"Aster come. Right now! Hold on to me!" For the first time since they met, Sonya had a hint of worry in her voice. Aster ran to Sonya and took her hand. She smiled at her and a sensation of crossing a liquid surface later they were both standing in the middle of a path on the Asphodel moor.

"Aren't we going straight back to the main plan today?" asked Aster.

"No, I have some business to attend to." Sonya said worriedly, "We were spotted earlier, I just realised. And I'm afraid I've now got a birthless one on my heels."

Aster's eyes widened comically at the news. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yes, I'll get him and he'll get off my back, though it's going to take me a long time and I'd rather not involve you."

In a fit of suicidal courage Aster said. "I could help you, you know. To fight him."

Sonya smiles, looking touched. "Aster, it's nice of you to offer, but in this kind of confrontation I give you a life expectancy of a tenth of a second at most."

"Ah, is it that bad?"

"It's a birthless Aster, and one I happen to know. I know what I'm doing and what I said. If I'm not back in ten years you can start to worry, all right?"

At the thought of not seeing her friend for so long Aster's heart sank. "You're going to survive, aren't you?"

At this, Sonya laughed. "Aster, I'm tougher than the most persistent cockroach. No one has ever managed to finish me off in any way that's at least remotely lasting. And it's not for lack of trying. No, you don't have to worry."

Aster nodded, her eyes moist. "Okay."

"Before I leave I have two things to give you. I was going to give them to you for your next birthday, but obviously I won't be able to be there. She took out of her bag an ovoid medallion with two slightly shiny hollows and a small vial that looked perfectly normal. "The medallion, it summons two demons that you can unleash on your enemies, to do this cover the medallion with your blood and say 'I offer my blood, their blood and their souls' listen carefully, only use it in the worst of circumstances okay? The power of this medallion is great, the demons will not stop until they have devoured the soul of your enemy and drunk their blood or when they dies. Finally the medallion is based on a black magic system, once you have used it, it will slowly absorb the magic and life energy around it. So that it doesn't endanger the wearer and everything around it, it does this very slowly. It takes a little more than a year to be operational once again. So not to be used lightly, okay? And never if you're not sure you want your enemies dead. And if you fire it without a target, it's your soul you're offering. All right? So be careful with that."

Aster nodded a little terrified at the thought of using such a thing, but the idea of having a last line of defense was more than appealing. She held out her hand.

"Before you take it. I want you to promise me that you will only use it as a last resort, okay?"

"Yes, I promise." Aster was completely sincere. Anything remotely related to demons was never to be taken lightly.

"Now the vial. This is a soul vial. Keep it with you at all times! Swear to it! If your body is ever destroyed the vial will keep your soul until you can be rescued. After use it becomes invisible and undetectable except to me, Anna or Kav-deb. This is the last resort, okay?"

"Yes, I understand." Aster looked very serious. "I solemnly swear to always keep this soul vial on my person."

Sonya looked satisfied. "Well, now I'm off, the birthless one is not far off and with him even a vial of soul won't save you. Take care of yourself Anna and Kav-deb okay?"

"Yes, you can count on me. Be careful, all right?"

"Nothing can happen to me, nothing permanent anyway, trust me."

Aster stepped forward and hugged Sonya. "Get rid of the troublemaker quickly," she said.

"Count me in." Sonya said, stroking her head. She broke free of the embrace, leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on Aster's lips before disappearing in a cloud of ash with a smirk on her face.

Stunned for a moment, Aster remained motionless, before turning completely red and placing her right index and middle fingers on her lips, clutching the vial and pendant in her other hand. She had expected a lot of things, but not this from Sonya the millennial entity... She just hoped Sonya would be okay. She had listened to Sonya's stories and legends of great starbeasts, of horrors creeping from the edges of worlds, of ravaged consciousnesses, of beings ignorant of the rules. And from her stories Aster knew that a confrontation with the birthless was not something to be taken lightly, even for someone like Sonya.

oOOOo

Aster was sitting on a small, uncomfortable wooden chair in front of Kav-deb's desk, her eyes downcast, staring at the floor. Ashamed. A few days after her return from her long stroll in the outer circles with Sonya, Kav-deb had summoned her, looking grave. Aster knew that this confrontation would not be pleasant. She had broken too many rules and had been caught. She would not get away with it. Anna had already punished her for her carelessness and lack of self-preservation. Her demonic pendant had been confiscated as too dangerous for a young girl by her mother. And when questioned, she had confessed to the difference in the passage of time and the fact that it was not hours but weeks or months that she spent with Sonya beyond the edge of the world. Her mother had never been so angry.

Since then, Anna had not let her out of her sight for more than half an hour. And Aster couldn't really blame her. She had worried Anna terribly, and in their discussion and description of what had happened, Aster had discovered that she had come so close to death, and that she owed her life only to Sonya's quick reaction.

And now she was sitting in this little chair, waiting for Kav-deb to arrive after Anna had asked him to explain to her undignified, reckless and suicidal daughter what she had done wrong. Aster swallowed. No, this meeting will not be pleasant.

Kav-deb entered the room through a small doorway, and silently walked over and sat behind his desk. He crossed his long, gaunt, hooked fingers that looked more like large claws than hands, and rested his chin on them. The orb of light in his skull was white and cold. After a few minutes of fear and discomfort he finally spoke.

"Aster karrasinqi, you are here at your mother's request, because you seem to have broken all the rules. Now tell me. What have you done?"

A shiver ran down Aster's spine and she said in a small, shameful voice. "I failed to tell my mother the exact nature of my regular excursions with Sonya. I have hunted soul eaters in the territories of kings without treaties or agreements. I experimented with common class, martial class and war class arrray without supervision. I voluntarily participated in a sacrificial ritual involving two major class acoas. I have crossed paths with a no-birth."

"And what do you conclude from this?"

"I almost died, several times, worried my mother, withheld information, and that I regret. But the ritual a week ago, I don't regret that."

Kav-deb nodded. A smile on his lips. The orb in his skull lighting up again, shrouded in golden flame. "Well, you've learned your lesson, it seems. And I suppose Anna's punishment was more than enough. I suppose she also explained to you why associating so closely with Sonya is not a good idea."

Aster looked up. "Yes, but Sonya has done so much for me, I..."

"I know, I know, there's a reason she's known as the corruptress. Don't worry, as long as you stay in her good graces you'll be safe, unlike what Anna told you." Kav-deb sank into his seat and sighed, "You know how afraid Anna is of Sonya... she'll always have trouble accepting your 'friendship'."

"I know..."

Kav-deb's smile widened, "Now it's time for the congratulations, my dear."

Aster's face lit up for a moment before becoming confused. "Congratulations?"

"Yes. First of all for your complete healing of your little soul problem, for that you'll have to remember to thank Sonya when she gets back from her ... little getaway."

"Thank you. But... Kav-deb, I'm worried. What if she doesn't come back, what if she disappears, what if she gets killed by the birthless?" Aster turned her large, pleading eyes to Kav-deb in search of comfort.

Kav-deb leaned in, his orb turning grey. "Aster listen to me carefully. You must never. And I mean NEVER worry about Sonya. It's not a question of if she'll come back, but when."

Aster nodded, a little reassured. "I see."

"Now, I must also commend you for your deep understanding of magic that you proved by creating your first magecraft arrays on your own. I wish you'd told me about it yourself, but I guess I scared you too much by not allowing you to do it yourself until you were fifteen. But your age doesn't really mean anything now, does it? After spending so much time in outer circles."

Aster sighed, "According to Sonya's most accurate calculations, I'm between 15 and 25. That's as accurate as we could get."

Kav-deb nodded, "Interesting... But don't forget that as far as Anna is concerned you're eleven. So stop worrying your poor mother."

"Yes, sorry." said Aster, ashamed.

"I think we're done here. Now I want you to show me all the arrays you've created. Kav-deb said, getting up from his seat. And walking towards the door. He turned a small coloured dial until it showed green and opened the door and stepped inside. Aster followed and found herself in a large plain of tall green grass on the edge of a forest. She had just come out of a small, crumbling brick hut with only the door standing. The sun was high in the sky and a slight breeze caressed her cheek. The sun was far too strong, and Aster pulled her hood down with a grimace.

"Come on, show me your creations," said Kav-deb.

Aster nodded, hesitant. "I've made two and I'm developing a third. The first one...", Aster blushed, "You know how Mom doesn't like it when I go too far away from home without giving any news, so I invented a way to communicate with her easily." she took a sheet of paper out of her bag and started to draw a simple array on it. Then she wrote at the top of the paper, 'For Kav-deb'. She pushed her magic into the array and watched as the paper folded into a paper bird and flew out of her hands to land on Kav-deb's shoulder. Kav-deb touched the bird and it turned back into a normal sheet of paper.

"Ingenious..."

"Yes, but it has a problem, it doesn't fly over long distances. I can't use a power stone to send a letter, and if I overload the array with magic, the paper will catch fire."

"I see the problem. Remind me of the main rule of magic and its exceptions."

Caught off guard, Aster thought for a moment. "All magic is temporary and ceases to exist when the energy that makes it work runs out. The only exception is form transfiguration."

"Right. Now, the means to make an enchantment last in time."

"Supply it with magic on a regular basis, inking it into a source of magic, whether it's a power stone or leyline, black magic... Ah, I see where you're going with this, I hadn't thought of that. But how do you make a black magic array? I know how to absorb the magic around me, and use it as my own, but to do that with an object dissociated from me..."

Kav-deb smiled at him, "It's simple really. What allows you to use black magic is your pact with Lagaelis. And that kind of bond is always a blood bond. To pass your blessing to an array, trace it with your blood and add an absorption sequence. This will transmit your blessing to the magic you want to do."

During Kav-deb's speech, Aster had sat down on the ground and pulled out more paper to take notes. "So, if based on dark magic, the bird could continue to fly indefinitely by absorbing the surrounding magic?"

"Yes, in theory. As long as there is enough magic or life energy around it."

Aster smiled, "Thank you. I'll try that later."

"Your second array?"

"Ah yes, most incapacitating arrays are too easily reversed as they usually only stun the opponent. So I came up with an array based on an electrical surge that unbalances the charges in the target. It doesn't kill and only renders the victim unconscious, but it requires a potion to rebalance the electrical potentials to reanimate the victim. This complicates the process and prevents a simple reanimation magic from reviving the enemy. The only problem is the thunderous noise that I haven't managed to suppress yet. But I'm working on it."

"Show me."

Aster raised her staff and let her magic flow into the array, a split second later a violent white arc of electricity split the air for a hundred feet before dispersing in a powerful crackle of energy.

"Not bad at all, for the noise, just reduce the amount of magic you use, it will be less powerful and has a shorter range, but will make less noise. And your current project?"

"It's a simple acoas. Once activated it should allow me to fly without any supports."

Kav-deb's flame lit up with interest. "I hope you don't mind us working together on this one.

Aster nodded. "I'd love to! I was just getting around to it." Master and apprentice then entered into a deep discussion about the intricate principles of Gravitic control magic that would go on far too long... Anna would be angry again tonight because of Aster's tardiness. What would become of her daughter with such bad influences around her?

oOOOo

One morning, in the cold mists near a small lake, two shapes danced, graceful and aerial, fast and violent, flitting around each other, seeming to land only sporadically. Every few seconds bluish sparks would shine through the mist as their blades clashed together in a crystalline clatter. A series of quick lunges, all parried, avoided or deflected, sweat running down their foreheads, droplets of blood joining the dew like little scarlet gems when by chance a blow hit its target. They danced, one around the other, ever faster, ever more violent, ever more graceful, each movement supple and vivid.

At first Anna had firmly refused to train Aster in martial arts and blade mastery. She had wanted her daughter to enjoy the few years of childhood she had left as a child, as the little daughter she never had. But Aster had decided otherwise. The little girl had died the night she had run away from her uncle's fire in that cursed forest. It had been an illusion to believe for a moment that there was any trace of a child left in Aster. The horrors she had gone through had forced her to grow up far too quickly.

Anna had wanted to hope. To hope that all was not lost, that there was still some innocence in Aster that she could keep. But the moment Aster came back on that fateful day with that Sonya monster, Anna understood that the little girl Aster was definitely dead. On that day, she had made her choice. The choice to become powerful as Sonya had explained. To no longer be at the mercy of anyone. And when Aster had asked her to teach her the art of the blade, Anna couldn't refuse. The little girl was no longer there. Lost for a long time. In front of her stood a young woman who had appeared far too early in a far too young body, in search of strength and independence. Without being able to understand that her role was to be protected and not to protect others.

Sonya had been a blessing as well as a curse to Aster. A friend, a confidante, someone with whom she shared the most disturbing similarities. And as much as Anna would have liked to avoid it. Her daughter had grown close to Sonya, and the two of them went on regular expeditions to places Anna preferred not to know existed. To stay close to her daughter Anna had to live up to the relationship she desired. More and more she treated Aster as an equal, teaching her things that no girl her age should know. And Aster was a sponge for her teachings. Absorbing every bit of knowledge with ease and dedication.

This morning, in the garden by the lake, she was practicing the blade dance. The close combat technique of her former ally Vlad's royal guards. And once again, Aster was doing incredibly well, moving with the wind with each violent and deadly blow but filled with grace. She was a pleasure to have as a student. And it had been a long time since Anna had let off so much steam in combat. But Aster still lacked training and maturity in her practice. The flaw she had just shown was proof of that. With a lightning-quick move Anna flew the blade out of Aster's hands and took advantage of her surprise to stand behind her, her own blade pressing against her daughter's thin delicate white throat.

Aster's breathing was ragged, rapid, the multiple cuts covering her let her scarlet blood flow. Anna felt her relax and lean against her chest. Aster closed her eyes and put her hand on Anna's arm.

"I concede, you got me." Said her daughter. Still so small, so thin and frail. Anna couldn't understand where all the energy that her little body had shown in their frenzied dance that had lasted more than an hour came from.

"Let's go home, that's enough for today."

Anna sheathed her blade, and took Aster in her arms bridal style. She was still plenty small and light enough to be able to do this to her without any effort, Anna thought with a sigh. The vampiric ascent she'd made at far too young an age would leave its mark for the rest of her life. She would never reach the size of a normal adult. Aster, as always, let herself go, snuggling against Anna's chest as she made her way home. If there was one thing Anna was grateful for, it was that Aster had completely left behind her aversion to physical contact with her abusive family, and was actively seeking contact with her... or Sonya.

They soon arrived inside and Anna gently placed Aster on one of the sofas before fetching her staff. This was Aster's pride and joy. A large staff of bone, similar to grey wood. Carved from one of the ribs of a Laquillis corpse found beyond the lake. Engraved with multiple arrays of pure alchemical silver, blood-bound to Aster and thus responding only to her magic. Her masterpiece as Aster liked to call it. She handed her the staff and Aster took it. An intricate array at the base of the staff lit up and a gentle warmth engulfed them. Anna could never get enough of the sensation. Every little cut, every scrape on her skin closed up as if it had never been there, leaving no trace. Anna was proud of her daughter. Her talent, her strength of character, her will, the kindness she could sometimes show. Yes, Anna was proud of Aster.

"don't forget to take a potion to prevent contusions later." said Anna before going to the kitchen to fetch two cups of hot milk with honey in it. It was so sweet to see Aster drinking so much milk in the hope of growing up. She sat down next to Aster on the sofa and handed her a cup. Aster happily grabbed it and took a sip, leaving a mustache of milk on her upper lip. Anna giggled.

"You did well today Aster, you're getting better."

Aster gave her a beaming smile. Anna could never get enough of it.

"Thank you Mum, I'm doing my best." Aster frowned, making an adorable pout. "I just slipped on the wet grass at the end. "

Anna smiled. "Aster, honey, your game is too airy. When you're on the ground your footing isn't stable enough. That's why you're in this situation. And you don't take enough advantage of your small size. You are thin and small so you are faster and a harder target to hit. Put more emphasis on dodging than parrying."

"But I'm going to grow up, Mum!" in a mischievous mood is her daughter this morning.

"Maybe, but not for a long time. So do me a favour and do as I say."

Her daughter nodded and took another sip of milk, looking thoughtful. "Mum, for the last few months I've had the feeling that we're being followed when we go hunting. It doesn't matter the town or the village. I wonder if it does that to you too."

Anna frowned and thought back to their last few hunts. And indeed she had more than once had that strange feeling of being watched. But nothing concrete, nothing really suspicious except that feeling. And apparently her daughter shared it. If it had only been her, she would have ignored it, but apparently she was not the only one to feel it. Her expression became thoughtful and worried as well, "Yes, I've had that feeling lately. But I haven't seen anything concrete or that arouses my suspicion. I hope we're just anxious, but just in case, let's keep an eye out. One never knows."

"About that, mum. You should give me back the demon locket. I think we'd be safer with it."

Anna frowned. That damn medallion... "I think it's a bad idea Aster, with demons you never know."

"But Sonya gave it to me..."

"That's just it, I don't trust her. Remember how your last escapade ended."

Aster looked disappointed. "Yes, I understand."
It wasn't the first time she'd had this discussion about the medallion. And Anna could only hope that she had done the right thing.