Completed Broken Roads Lead to Home

[Caliane Ruinë]

Another memory. No. A nightmare. Caliane struggled against it but the Fire forced it upon her, smothered her in it. Forced her back... back into the cages.

Pain was paramount down her back. She could feel the hot blood seeping down her spine, between her wings. They had cut too deep this time, almost to the bone. She could hear them murmuring they did not believe she would survive the night as they dragged her limp body back to the cage, one arm held by each of them. She hadn't even the energy to raise her head. What was the point? She knew where she was going. Back into the darkness and the cages. The sound of a wounded animal came from her throat but it was so detached from her mind she hardly noticed she made it. They threw her onto the dirty straw without much care for the gaping wounds, the torn shirt on her back.

But the pain was nothing compared to the quiet in her mind. She had not been alone and... helpless for as long as she could remember, not like this. The volts crackled up her bound wrists frying her thoughts and her magic. Cutting her off entirely from Them. Every time she reached for the Fire the pain nearly sent her into unconsciousness. Great wracking sobs rocked through her body as she tried over and over despite the pain. She wouldn't even use it, was too tired to even think about doing it, she just needed that comfort. That knowledge... they were there.

The horror was everywhere. Her own cage was so small she had to hunch her shoulders forward and rest her cheek against raised knees or lay on the dirty straw at the bottom. It was there she curled now, trying to block out the sounds of the screaming from down the hallway. The desperate pleading. She screwed her eyes tight and brought her trembling hands to her ears to plug them but in a way that only highlighted her loneliness more.

Tears rolled down her cheeks and she sobbed into her arms to muffle the sounds. She knew she was going to die, she had just hoped it wouldn't be alone.

* * *​

They were convinced they had her now. The memories of when she had been at her weakest were her memories when they had been apart. She would see that they-

The sudden pull had their attention snapping back to what was happening to the body. Whilst it tugged primarily at Lazule it was an assault on Their body. Their anger flared.

Who would dare?​

Their gaze fixed on the man in front of them, outwardly the green would fade to be once again replaced with the molten flame that signalled the Soulfire was present, and for the first time They touched the other in this body. It swept through Lazule's mind like a violent hurricane, probing, searching for the answers it needed. Father? Not their father. An image would flash across Lazule's conscious of their True Father - Caliane's father. Fear? She feared this man? Caliane had told Them to trust these... people... her friends. Caliane would have protected them from things they were scared of so it, really, was carrying out her will when the hand snapped out and grabbed the man by the throat violently.

Fire ripped across the skin as it once again forgot the limits of the bodies abilities. Her hand was almost to the same white brilliance her entire body had been when falling from the heavens. It would take only one little push for the full heat of the fire building in her to pour into the man and turn him to ash.

"Do Not Touch Me Again With Your Mortal Tricks. You Know Not What It Takes To Truly Wield This Element," the snarling voice was neither Lazule's nor Caliane's. It was the crackle of a flame, the soft pop and fizzle of a dying ember with the energy of a raging inferno.

Shall We Kill Him?

It asked of Lazule. Because Caliane would not do it unless this girl wanted it so.

 

[Lazule]

Lazule loved her Father.

Truly, she did.

* * * * *​

Benjamin listened to Erën speak, heedless of the elf's tone--only the content of his speech mattered. This was how he was now in life, his high-minded ideals supported by a foundation of pragmatism. He had no time for things he perceived to be of no tangible consequence, things like tone of voice; the elf's sword remained in its sheath, so his anger was as lightning flashing before blind eyes. To Benjamin it did not matter how the elf felt--only the information he provided.

And, based on what the elf said, Lazule was the one deficient; Caliane having succeeded where it had failed. Yes. Benjamin reckoned that this would be inevitable. Lazule was the first Slayer he had crafted, and in the intervening time he had learned so much more. Perfections in technique across all spectrums of the creation process. Perhaps Lazule, meager as it is, could be salvaged. Benjamin could only hope that it had slain many monsters while inhabiting his daughter's body; a fitting retribution.

Curious, though. The elf said that this Caliane was still alive; that she had through some means protected Lazule after the encasing chamber was damaged. Benjamin knew (and had demonstrated a moment ago) that pyromancers could easily control a Life Fire. Snap them out of existence like the simple banishing of a manifested fireball if such was desired. But he did not know of a means by which a Life Fire could be incorporated into a pyromancer's body--barring of course the usual method, replacement of the heart.

The old College student within him stirred at the possibility of a new discovery; he should have to ask this Caliane about this matter once she became available. The way the elf had spoken of her, and the voice of his daughter Lena coming from Caliane's body, suggested that she was in some manner indisposed. Beyond contact.

Benjamin understood. Nodded curtly to the elf. Said, "You wish it removed from Caliane's body. Installed into another, I assume. Very well. The removal is a trivial matter, the installation appreciably more--"

He cut himself off mid-sentence. Jerked his gaze and his attention back over to Lazule, having finally heeded the sight in the periphery of his vision of a change. A change of green eyes to orange.

And then his first creation proved itself to have rogue. A flaw apparent in an alarming number of many Slayers so crafted before he had become proficient. Amygdala, Discordia, Krieg, among others.

Lazule reached out and grabbed him by the neck. Struck out and sought to do harm him, its Father, and in this blatant attack against he who retained the sanctity of personhood so did align itself with the wicked. Now there was only one option: it must be destroyed.

Benjamin "Father" Murtry, before the soulfire within Caliane could even speak, violently flicked his hand and cast out Lazule from the body with the ease of an arcane master. The Life Fire of Lazule, that small blue-green flame, went sailing far and indeed over the edge of the mountain shelf itself, tumbling down through the air--like an apple fallen from a tree--and beginning the lengthy plummet to the village of Brendalgrim below.

And it was to Benjamin's shock that the body in which Lazule had inhabited did not immediately collapse.

No.

This "Caliane" was not gone. And she was very much alive it would seem. And it was readily apparent that she, possibly even this elf, had come to his very doorstep to slay him. A remarking Benjamin could not help but to observe, despite the peril: So this was how an assassin killed an archmage. Gaining their confidence. Garnering enough trust. Clever.

But the fool Caliane spoke instead of killing him immediately. Gave him time to mount a defense.

Benjamin channeled and gestured and once the words "Wield This Element" had been spoken, his entire body became entombed in a shimmering, opaque block of ice, as if his body had been replaced by a stalagmite comprised of the same. And of course she would destroy the block of ice. Benjamin was counting on it; he had devised this spell knowing the predictable outcome it invariably produced in assailants.

At the same time, the Granite Gargoyle, automated to act, came stomping forward and lifted both massive hands overhead to smash down at Caliane.

* * * * *​

The gargoyles within Brendalgrim, on the footpath, and even inside the Tower itself, all shifted their gazes, each in the manner of a man having heard a clamorous noise. All looking, no matter the distance or if their vision was obscured by height or walls or any such thing, toward the same location.

Toward Father.

* * * * *​

Sight. Sound. Smell. Taste. Touch.

Then none of these things. Just blackness filled with consciousness.

Father's magic had encapsulated Lazule. Extracted Lazule from Caliane's body before the words, Shall We Kill Him, were even asked.

Lazule remembered. The rising anger. The hand, Caliane's hand, on Father's throat. Unable to stop it.

This was Lazule's fault.

If Lazule had not made the error of improperly referring to Lena, this would not have happened. Lazule understood.

Father was still loved.

Yes.

He was.

* * * * *​

The Life Fire of Lazule tumbled down over the edge of the mountain, horrifically exposed to the air, licks of the Flame slowly peeling off and winking out of existence.

One.

By one.

By one...

Eren'thiel Xyrdithas Caliane Ruinë

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

The Soulfire had miscalculated.

It had not intended to lose this Lazule, this friend, their angel had entrusted to their care. It had meant to protect it. Caliane had trusted them to do that which was why she had added this other creation to them in the first place and now it had failed. It watched as the blue and green flame was thrown over the side of the tower and it had a split second to decide.

To trust.

That's what Caliane had asked of Them. So They would. They would share the care of their Beloved with Erën whilst they went and undid their grievous mistake. So instead of attacking the ice like this man probably hoped it leapt after the fire of their friend. It had never done this before. Cali had kept them separated and locked away but never had the two truly been entirely ripped apart and it was agony for them both, a tearing of the soul. The light vanished from her body and gathered in her breast and then it poured up, through her throat and out in an explosion of flame and a horrific scream. It swirled for a moment, taking the form of a Phoenix before hurtling after Lazule.

* * *​

Leaving Caliane without her magic and the only thing currently keeping her functioning. For a brief moment everything was silent in her mind. True Silence. It was horrifying especially on top of the memories of the cage she had just been ripped from. The molten flame died in her eyes and they returned to their lustrous green hue. Confusion jaded them as she noted her hand on a man's throat. A man she didn't recognise. The fissures were gone. She looked... normal.

"Erën....?" Caliane's voice shook. That was the last face she truly remembered seeing amongst the darkness. Then her legs gave way, the hand slackened from this mans throat and she crumpled to the floor. Blood ran from her nose and ears.

Her heart stopped.

* * *​

The Soulfire knew it did not have long. To leave like this would be the death of both of them if it did not hurry. It soared past the startled stony faces after the vanishing flame, faster, faster. It too suffered without its host but it was stronger than the tiny flame and finally it caught it in its flaming talons. Then in one swift movement it was racing back up, up and up to their host.

It could feel she had stopped breathing, stopped living. It was understandable given her weakened state from the Amalgamation and what it had been doing to her all this time instead of letting her truly heal. It cursed itself. It raged and screeched. Now it knew what Caliane had meant by it destroyed everything it touched. It could not be trusted.

We're sorry we failed.

But there was emptiness where there had always been Caliane. The howling need pushed it on quicker, quicker still until it was back on top of the tower. It paid no heed to what was going on - nothing could touch it but Caliane so it dove for her heart.

The Soulfire and Lazule, clutched inside it, smashed into her with some force. A ring of fire spiralled outwards, washing over the floor and burning away the cloak entirely. The cracks formed again in her skin as if to a breaking point and then it disappeared again, stitching the skin back together seamlessly.

Three minutes it had taken. Three minutes Caliane had technically been dead.

Silence. Where as she? It left Lazule in a swirl and dove deeper into the consciousness, reached for her and pulled her from the darkness. Back towards the light.

Caliane proper sat up as she sucked in a huge breathe and clutched at her chest, coughing and spluttering and retching as if she had been drowning.

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

Lazule's father was... interesting. The way he regarded Erën was very unlike most humans he had the displeasure of dealing with. It should have been no surprise to him, but as he studied the man's features while he explained their purpose for being here he saw many resemblances to Lazule. Of course, the body she had previously inhabited visually displayed resemblance, but also in his demeanour. His, presence. Very fitting, he supposed.

He began to breathe a sigh of relief. Benjamin seemed to take little issue in both removing Lazule safely from Caliane, and providing her with another body. How he came by such cadavers was beyond him - nor did he care. He had close friends to tend to, and beyond that he failed to see much else.

So when Benjamin's attention was suddenly caught, Erën at first did not comprehend. A moment of shock. Caliane maliciously reaching out to grab Benjamin by the throat. Fear filled eyes looked to hers, filled with the fires of unnatural rage - the same he had perceived when she'd first come to his side in Bhathkirk.

No...
​

Benjamin did little more than flick his wrist and Lazule's Life Fire was sent hurtling from Caliane's form. His eyes followed it, his feet welded to the ground - unable to assemble the proper solution to her. He was not like Caliane. He could not wield fire at will.

"No, this is wrong," his words were little more than whispers following the events that transpired next.

Benjamin's defenses were sprung. A veil of ice rose up to enshroud the mage, sealing him apart from Erën and Caliane. He reached out to grab her arm, plead with her to stop - make some damn sense of all this.

Then, the fire erupted from her in a great flash, and he beheld its release with awe as it raced off after the flame that was Lazule, listlessly tumbling down the mountainside.

"Erën....?"

His eyes met with hers as she crumpled and fell. That had been her voice...

Thud...Thud...Thud..
​

Behind him a shadow began to overtake his. He whirled around, and the behemoth of stone lumbered down toward them with dreadful intent, raising its massive arms at them. As it was - he was the only thing that could be offered to bear against this situation.

Clink!
​

The sword came free with a brilliant light - though, different. It was, wilder. Freer. Where once his might shone brightly upon a point, it now reached out and gnashed at the ground out before him. It writhed around his body, like a chained dog eager for its release. He moved upon the beast of stone, but as great as it was - his sword was only a sword. As mighty as his magic made him, he could only contend with the stone beast - he could not harm it. Not so close to the others where they too could be harmed. He clashed with the guardian, and did manage to attracted its attention. As he danced from one side of it to the other he managed to pull its advance away from Caliane's now unconscious body.

"Stop this!" he plead, but his words served only as his own distraction.

The stone Gargoyle leaned forward at him, and while he moved one way the creature snapped forward once more and with a great swing smashed its arm against Erën. He attempted to shield himself with his magic, but before it could form it was shattered by the creature's blow.

It hit him in the arm, but its fist aimed to move through him it seemed. His arm crunched under the force of its strength, and it met with the whole of his body with a slam. Wounds, both new, and those still not fully healed screamed out at him, and bones still very tender once again snapped.

He was propelled some meters away, rolling to a sprawled out halt. His sword found itself slid some meters more beyond him. He wheezed, and reached for his side in an attempt to roll over. His vision spun out of control and the whole world turned, where one moment the ground was beneath him, and then the sky. Pain shot all through his body.

And he groaned out. Anger rang from his lungs. He tried to stand, and he reached out toward Caliane and Benjiman. He tried to say something, only to groan once more as he fell again onto his back. His eyes rolled into his head, and he fell silent.

Caliane Ruinë Lazule​

What... is your... name?​

 

[Lazule]

Lazule had no way of knowing when the phoenix of the soulfire had taken hold. No way of knowing anything of the outside world beyond insensate consciousness.

But Lazule was returned as quickly as possible to Caliane's body. And during that brief time in the harsh exposure to the air, a full year had been shaved off of the extent of Lazule's life. All the days of that future year flickered away like the ephemeral embers of a diminished hearthfire. The Life Fire now fated to fade that much sooner.

And, as it had been before when Caliane first joined Lazule to her soulfire, her pure nothingness exploded into the whole of everything in an instant. It was not only Caliane who reacted with a gasping and sputtering shock upon so waking.

* * * * *​

Benjamin awaited the destruction of the stalagmite of ice he was encased in. It usually happened within seconds, and the magic of his spell would stitch back together the solid shards or spray of meltwater or streams of vapor resulting from said destruction, and thus Benjamin would be reformed in the flesh at the end. A spell that functioned essentially as an elaborate sleight of hand trick.

But the destruction of the ice did not come. And, entombed inside the opaque ice, Benjamin could not see and could hardly hear anything of what was happening outside. The magic continued to build, and build, and build in preparation...and without the stalagmite of ice being shattered, this building of magic--that which was supposed to piece him back together--did not have its proper outlet.

Benjamin waited as long as he could. But then it became apparent that he would have to break the spell himself, and in so doing suffer the arcane backlash. How much did these assassins know about him to be so well prepared?

He had no choice: he shattered the ice and it fell from his body in a shower of shards and he stumbled backward, bright wisps of chaotic arcane energy flailing around his hands and his head in those few seconds. Benjamin lost his footing and dropped down to one knee and steadied himself with a hand on a snowy patch of ground.

The Granite Gargoyle stopped its assault, a new priority overriding the old, and it stomped over to place itself between its master Benjamin and the two who threatened him.

Benjamin surveyed the scene. Erën on the ground, briefly reaching out toward him before collapsing. And the woman, this Caliane, sitting up and acting as though she had only just escaped death by drowning. While her nakedness was vexing and indecent, Benjamin saw something far more important now that her cloak had in some fashion disappeared.

The wings. She was an Avariel. A monster. And now all of this made much more sense. Lazule, his first creation and that which he had entrusted with the body of his beloved daughter, had been deceived or coerced or cajoled by the Avariel. His mantras had not been enough to protect it--Lazule--from this conniving wickedness. The failing was his, of course, but this was a product of his earliest experimentation and implementation of creating Slayers; the process since improved. He felt a pang of regret for hurtling Lazule to its death, but--in that split second--he knew he decided on the best choice he could have made.

Perhaps the elf had been deceived too, given his now miserable state; betrayed and left for dead while Benjamin was locked inside his stalagmite of ice. Benjamin would not be surprised. Monsters that harbored a degree of intelligence invariably used it in the service of diabolical cunning.

Suffering from the fatiguing effects of the arcane backlash, Benjamin could not mount an offensive on the winged beastwoman. Yet.

He said with a snarling contempt, "You foul creature. You loathsome beast. You shield yourself behind my first Slayer, deceive an elf into complicity with your scheme, and come to my doorstep to assassinate me? Such is the fiendish ways of the Avariel. You will be destroyed, hellspawn. This I vow."

* * * * *​

Lazule heard Father with Caliane's ears. Saw him with Caliane's eyes.

But she could not speak. Had trouble merely breathing, the act itself a struggle. She, inadvertently, was likely stepping over Caliane's attempts to control her own body, like two riders on a horse both trying for the reins.

She had to calm herself down from shock of suddenly experiencing everything, all the world from nothing. But it was as difficult as before in Bhathairk, as before in Father's Tower.

If only she could speak to him, speak to him with voice of his daughter Lena. Try to form the words to reason with him. Show him that he was suffering from a grievous misconception.

But, as of yet, the words she wished to say eluded her ability to say them.

* * * * *​

A crow, invisible to all save Erën, for it was merely a hallucination produced in his mind as a byproduct of Khorvayne's far sight, stood on the ground in front of the elf. By his head. Awaiting his wakeful eyes to re-emerge. Watching.

She was curious, Khorvayne was.

Curious of that which she could not know of him from so far away.

Eren'thiel Xyrdithas Caliane Ruinë

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Three consciousnesses vied for control of the Avariel's body all at once. The Soulfire attempted to drag Caliane back into the darkness of Sleep, Lazule was trying to speak and Cali... Caliane was trying to make sense of where exactly she was. Her last real memory was plummeting into the Amalgamation. The final moments of thought she had owned were the certainty she was about to die. The memories flashed across all three of them now. How much time had passed since that moment? Where were they? Who had they hurt? Her hands were buried in the light snowfall of a mountain which was far removed from the city covered in blood she had last been awake in. Of course, Caliane had been shown the Soulfires memories since then in little bursts but they were not... her memories and as such they felt like scenes from a dream. As all three of them tried to figure out this new way of being she focused on her hand and the snow and... the small flower that was struggling to grow despite the weather. So determined but so fragile.

Slowly her breathing returned to normal. Her body was shaking but whether it was from the cold, the exhaustion Caliane still felt, or from the shock of pain having her soul ripped from her body she couldn't tell. Perhaps it was all three. Her soft feathers curled around her form to give her some warmth and her eyes were drawn to the fact the clothes she had apparently been wrapped in were nearly gone. A few scraps clung here and there to maintain some dignity. So... that dream was a memory. Next her eyes moved to the others in the area.

A man on the ground which the Soulfire helpfully informed her was Lazule's father was speaking but his words made little sense. Caliane blinked at him with the eyes of someone who had just come out of a long sleep then they shifted to the body behind him. Recognition, fear, concern.

"Erën," standing properly was beyond her but she managed to half crawl half stumble her way over to him. First she just checked his breathing, her cheek an inch away from his mouth to feel the breath and look down at his chest to determine he was in fact alive. Relief sent her sinking back into the snow.

What did We do? It was the first time she had spoken to Lazule since before the fall. Her fire was feeling the same agony of leaving her and yet was curled like an injured and wary animal around the Life Fire - it opened itself to her too. Another surprise. They had never cared about anything other than Caliane but it had put them both at risk to rescue her... to do something selfless.

"What did I do?" she asked the same question out loud. Even though the Soulfire was its own beast it was a part of her, it was her, they were one. She would take responsibility. Her eyes raised from her friend on the ground to the man who had vowed her death with eyes full of sorrow. A slight shake of the head; it hardly mattered.

"I'm sorry. I... I will accept whatever punishment you decree... if you wish to bind me I understand... just please help them. Lazule needs her own body, Erën needs medical assistance..." She laid her hand gently on Erën's cheek and brushed the hair from his face then looked back over to Lazule's Father. After a moment she held out her hand, her palm facing up and allowed Lazule's Life Fire to glimmer there before it faded back to the protection of her own soul. If he was a Pyromancer like the Soulfire told her he should sense she was not lying about that at least.

"Please. I will do anything, just... just help my friends."

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

Spoiler: ...and he fell silent.

As his head fell back and his eyes rolled into darkness, it was as though the ground beneath him broke open to swallow him up, and he fell. Fear gripped him as he wildly descended, from where he was not sure. But beneath him, he saw the black pit – that empty remain of a once great fortress. He fell into it, crashing into what he perceived as hard rock. He rolled across it, violently crashing into something. He coughed, and staggered to his feet.

As he took in the surround, the walls of the great pit stretched out farther, and grew taller. Above him, a whirling cloud took shape, and lightning broke the sky. Rain that stung his skin fell upon him, and all around him was a groaning. A lament. Like a thousand voices joined in horrible grief - he'd heard it before. But now, it drove fear enough into him to bring him to his knees and his hands to his ears – crying out for it to stop.

And it did. With a bright flash of light, he opened his eyes. He looked up, and beheld a face he… knew. He stood, looking closely at their features and then… he took a step back.

“No…”

Rei'Lian, his first partner as a Sword. He died, fighting against monsters in the Falwoods. He'd been brutally gored before his very eyes… and there, he saw the gaping wound in his chest, freshly carved.

“Why didn't you help me Erën?”

“I…” couldn't… get there… in time…

He turned to run. He slammed into something… no someone else. His eyes grew wide, and again he began to retreat, “no… not you…”

His father, with his head tucked neatly under his arm. He said nothing.

Erën turned again and departed from them, running with all his might. Around him, more figures began to appear from the dark, reaching to him, crying to him, pleading with him to help… to save them.

“Erën!”

He slid to a stop, and turned his head. It was Aidathin, who shortly after appearing to him fell in half. Another call of his name, and he looked. Te'leis, standing there with her hands cupped over her chest – right where he'd stabbed her. Right where he'd killed her.

“Why… did you kill me…?”

His mouth moved, but no words came. Instead, only tears. He turned to flee once more, only to come and face his truest, final dread. He fell to his hands and knees, and sobbed. Around him, the innumerable dead chanted his name and his sins against them as they gathered, and before him stood the image of his greatest regret. His greatest pain.

“Father… why did you not save me?”

With his eyes cast to the ground he cried out in pain, screaming for it all to stop. And then it did, it fell silent, and he looked up. There in place of everything that there had been now stood a crow, towering high over him. Its head twitched, and leaned down to see him, its eye alone as big as he. He stood, and roared out at it…

“…what is your name!”

"Erën,"

The call reached to him, but in the midst off all those countless dead, surrounding his mind, calling to him... it faded into the vastness of it all, failing to be heard. But her touch, brushing the hair from his face caused a slight trembling - a failing grasp on consciousness, still fighting to re-emerge. But his mind still whirled, and the outside world was still distant from him. He could not escape the darkness that had ensnared him.

"Please. I will do anything, just... just help my friends."

The twitch of one hand, and a small, meager spark of power silently crackled... and then once more was gone.
​

Lazule Caliane Ruinë ​

 

[Lazule]

Lazule heard her voice. Caliane. Returned. A sheepish guilt kept her from answering immediately, as if it was beyond doubt that Caliane knew the terrible thoughts Lazule had entertained regarding the soulfire--the soulfire which, curiously, felt in an essential way more receptive toward her now. Perhaps Caliane did know those thoughts, perhaps not. Whichever happened to be the case, the urgency of the moment took primacy.

So Lazule, retreating from the assumption of control of Caliane's body, gained enough clarity of mind after the explosion of sensory experience to deliver this answer.

The soulfire took control of your body and grabbed Father's neck. I do not know what transpired afterward; I was ejected from your body by Father the moment this happened.

Father surely thought her wicked, thinking that she had been in sole control of the body that attacked him. It explained his violent ejection of her. Yet it did not explain why he did not simply extinguish her outright.

Lazule pondered this.

And thought back to her earliest memories. Of Father, telling her the stories of his daughter.

* * * * *​

The elf Benjamin likely could not save, should the monster decide to use her close proximity and her touch to inflict some depredation upon him. Regrettable.

What did I do?

Benjamin looked as if Caliane had slapped him and delivered some heinous insult in inciting tandem. Did this beastwoman actually think such a display of calculated "ignorance" would sway him? Perhaps a lesser man could be duped by a deception such as this, and moved perhaps to take pity on the fiend. Especially when the monster Avariel went for a bid of sympathy, apologizing in an cynical attempt to prey upon his humanity. Disgusting. The Avariel were more than violent and callous isolationists it would seem; they harbored a penchant for the demonic qualities of temptation and deception.

And it only got worse. While Benjamin had been locked inside his defensive ice stalagmite, the Avariel had recovered Lazule. Not to save it, no, of course not. To hold Lazule hostage. A devious play by the fiend. Benjamin, now that it was clear that the Avariel had been in control the whole time and had used Lazule merely as a means of getting close to him and having him lower his guard, wanted to recover it. His First Slayer, while deficient, held a sentimental value to him, for it was through the deaths of his whole family that it was created, and that his new calling of creating Slayers to purge Arethil of monstrosities like this Avariel was so discovered.

The Avariel held out her palm and had shown Lazule to him. Smugly lording her captivity of his First Slayer over him. And Benjamin knew that it was not so simple a matter that he could just draw Lazule out of the fiend's body and into his pyromantic grasp. The Avariel, commanding fire herself, could then counter by extinguishing Lazule in an instant.

The final mockery: Please. I will do anything, just... just help my friends. Help my friends. My friends, the beastwoman said. Benjamin would have been brought to tears by laughter if the situation were not so dire.

Benjamin stood, able to find his footing once more. It would still be a small moment before he could summon forth his magic again, but this was a concern made moot by the hostage in the Avariel's possession. His punishment decreed would have been death, but that could not be accomplished without as well endangering Lazule.

Benjamin looked from around the Granite Gargoyle standing sentry in front of him. Said in a low growl, "Deceiving my First Slayer and this unfortunate elf...attempting assassination of my person...holding hostages...and all the while feigning innocence."

He scoffed. "You wish to 'negotiate.' Ironic, coming from an Avariel. It is known quite well how your kind 'negotiates' with the civilized races of Arethil. I will not be fooled."

Two regular gargoyles from the footpath arrived at the mountain shelf. Lurked on the periphery of the scene and observed in the same manner as the Granite Gargoyle.

As much as Benjamin wanted to simply demand that the monster relinquish Lazule, he knew that such would be a wasted effort. So he continued, "You will be destroyed, Avariel, whether you hold my Slayer hostage or not. It may not come today, nor tomorrow, but it will come. This I know you know, for my words hold the weight of truth that yours do not."

* * * * *​

An inner turmoil within Erën. A boiling cauldron of fear and sorrow and grief. Of what, Khorvayne did not know. Just these small tastes of emotion. Delicious dabblings.

It would be a shame if he were to perish here. A promising prospect, Erën.

Perhaps she could aid him.

Eren'thiel Xyrdithas Caliane Ruinë

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

What have I done. The soulfire sounded wounded and scared. It had tried and she... she loved it for the first time in a long time for that.

It's not your fault I should have been stronger... I should have...

The guilt lay heavy in her chest when Lazule told her what she had done - what her soulfire had done on her behalf whilst she slumbered. You were too weak. Benjamin's words were like knives through her heart but she couldn't even think about disputing them. She had hurt someone, struck an innocent. Years of her careful and meticulous control for this very reason gone in an instant and now not only was she bringing his wrath down on her people but on two of her friends. A tear trailed its way down her cheek as she thought how to best conserve her words to get him to aid the others. She cared not for herself. Cali had made peace with dying on the fields of battle. Perhaps if she had done so she wouldn't have brought this pain on them instead.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered in their ancestral tongue as she leaned over and gently placed a kiss to Erën's forehead. Then she stood. The only way she could think to give this man the space to work was to remove herself so that Lazule's father felt safe. Her foot steps were quiet in the snow as she walked away from Erën's prone body even though each step felt like her heart was breaking. Her wings dragged a little in the snow. This was a goodbye for the only way she could think of to make Benjamin feel safe was to tell him her weakness.

Shackles burning into her flesh searing her off from her magic. Mind scrambled. The pain in her wings and her back. Pain. Fear. Panic...

"Lightning, or electricity," Caliane breathed out a shuddering sigh and pushed the memories aside. She would subject herself to a thousand hells for her friends. The cold seeped through her bare feet as she stopped a good few meters away from them all. "That will... that will stop me using my fire. Before, they bound me using shackles with the runes for these burned into them. You can take Lazule then without issue. You can help Erën - he was the one she trusted with her Life Fire," she went to one knee, wings sweeping out like a cloak behind her as she held her wrists out towards him and bowed her head.

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

"I'm so sorry,"

To him, it seemed as though the large bird had been the one to speak. Sorry...? No...

The words echoed in his mind, and soon the voice rang clearer in his mind.

"Caliane..." he whispered, hanging his head. He did not fully comprehend, but he realized that where he was now was not where he had been. Now he stood in a dark pit, surrounded by fear and regret. The rain that fell pained him, but harmed him not. The stones below him, jagged and sharp, cut him but he did not bleed.

"You will be destroyed, Avariel..."

Those words now, found him.

And everything began to spin, and the voices returned. They whispered to him, foretelling Caliane's demise, and Lazule's too. They will both be extinguished by this... human. He thrashed out at the shadowy figures surrounding him. Will you let them die? Will you let her die?

His mind began to tear. The spinning grew faster, the voices rose higher and higher. You are doomed to be alone.

Not a soul you love, has ever survived.

Everything you touch, suffers.

Everyone you love, dies.

You'll even kill them, given the chance.

You will always be alone...
​

He looked up to the crow, still looking down at him.

His trembling eyes crept open, and tears fell from them onto the ground. Pain, overtook him. His body was broken, and in this moment he found himself unable to move. His magic had departed, and without the connection of the Forge he would need time to regain it. Time that from what he could see, he did not have. Caliane was moving away from him, and Benjamin was declaring his desire to destroy her.

Destroy her.

The pain inside him rose, and stretched out to envelope his whole body... and then it turned red.

Rage filled him. Hate.

His eyes caught the sight of the crow, patiently examining him. He did not speak, but somehow he knew that it... knew that she, would hear. She would see the desperate fury in his eyes.

Help me... save them...

Lazule Caliane Ruinë

​

 

[Lazule]

Benjamin could only watch as the Avariel whispered in a corrupted tongue to the elf, casting some foul magic upon him or speaking cajoling words to him. This spell or deception she sealed with her poisonous lips. Benjamin feared that his acolytes inside the Tower, those few who had expertise in healing and restorative disciplines, would not be able to undo the beastwoman's nefarious touch.

The Avariel stepped away from the elf. Told Benjamin her ploy and went down to one knee and offered out her wrists. So the beastwoman wanted him to use lightning; wanted him to place shackles on her.

An obvious trap. The lightning would likely serve only to give her some manner of charge or power as she absorbed it or some such, or perhaps her plan was to redirect it. Possibly it was that she wanted Benjamin to come close to her to apply the suggested enchanted bindings--all the better to draw him in for another chance to snap his neck.

The counterplay was simple. Do neither. Do what she did not want.

"Crush her head," he commanded of the Granite Gargoyle. And the arcane construction lumbered forward, reach out an open stone hand to grab the Avariel's head and pop it like a tomato in its fist. It would be no issue to extract Lazule once the beastwoman was dead, the manner of her death keeping his Slayer safe and sound within the monster's chest.

But something gave Benjamin pause, and, with it, pause to the Granite Gargoyle, its huge hand stopping short of enveloping Caliane's head.

"Father!" Lazule's voice--the voice of his daughter Lena, his baby girl--from the Avariel's mouth. "Am I still the holder of your heart?"

Benjamin's expression softened, from a measured contempt of the Avariel to that of a father hearing his child say I love you for the first time. He had in those early days of creating Lazule known well that it was not his daughter, that the true Lena was gone forever. He knew it now. But to hear her again, to see her again, even if it was little more than an illusion, brought the best and only kind of catharsis possible in the wake of her sudden death. It had been ten years since he felt as he did then, and the echo of it now--to hear Lazule/Lena after he thought her gone for good--came to him with a surprising emotional weight.

And it was not only Lena contained within Lazule. Adela, the love of his life, having willingly sacrificed herself for the failed attempt at a resurrection. His sons--Zachariah, Ulric, Liam, Elijah--having given their own lives in Lazule's creation, which Benjamin had led them to believe was the resurrection of Lena; the darkest and guiltiest decision of his life, to allow his boys to believe falsely. But it was done and his First Slayer was thus created.

So, when Lazule had a proper enough grasp on language and formation of concepts to understand, Benjamin had told it this: that it was the holder of his heart.

And to Benjamin's surprise, his creation considered this, and bestowed upon itself the name, the acronym, in the honor of his daughter and his wife and his sons.

Lazule.

"Yes," Benjamin said. "You are. And I will save you."

The Granite Gargoyle was perfectly still like a statue, its enormous hand shy of grasping Caliane's head, awaiting orders that were not forthcoming.

* * * * *​

The hallucinatory crow, in that precise and flickering avian way, snapped its head back to look at Benjamin. Tilted slightly. Then looked back to Erën.

And Khorvayne through the residual effects of her far sight could feel the hatred oozing from him. Feel it washing over her, distantly removed as she was. That succulent hatred. It turned her on.

Ah. Hatred and love often walked hand-in-hand. Madnesses inspired from the same black recess in one's heart. They both achieved the same thing: intimacy. Love was softer, hatred was sharper; it cut through to the darkness slumbering in the heart much quicker than love.

Yes.

The crow spoke. Khorvayne's voice. Saying simply, "I will see you soon, darling."

She could tell him her name in person, perhaps.

Eren'thiel Xyrdithas Caliane Ruinë

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Crush her head.

So be it.

Caliane took a slow inhale of breath and focused on the soft wind that roved the mountains edge and ruffled her feathers. She dropped her hands but otherwise made no movement. She simply enjoyed the world around her as she waited to die. The soulfire was confused about this sacrifice but instead of fighting her it... accepted her decision for them both. This was a... punishment, yes it understood that. To be punished for ones actions and it had done something bad, though it did not fully understand what it had done. It knew it upset Caliane and that was their indicator for bad - nothing good upset her.

But then Lazule spoke. What an odd... feeling having someone else move her mouth and hearing someone else's voice. And for some reason her words stopped her from dying. She just watched as the moment passed between them like an awkward spectator - this felt private and personal. The silence seemed to stretch on between them but she was desperately aware Erën needed medical attention.

"I know you do not believe me but it is the truth. I am sorry, for what the Soulfire did. You have some control over fire can you not... sense... Them?" She had never had to explain it to another before. Her tutor had had the same wild flame inside him and there had been no need to explain it. As for anyone else... even her family had not wanted to know truly what it felt like. But it should be clear to those who wielded fire that what they sensed in Caliane was the pure essence of that element itself; the very heart of it encased in a being of flesh. "After destroying the Amalgamation I was near to death, it was Them that guarded my body and Lazule. It struggles to understand complex things," she was too tired for this and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "If you do not trust me then you may ask your daughter, she can see my memories and my thoughts in here. But please," her eyes flicked to Erën. "He really does need medical assistance."

 

[Lazule]

Lazule/Lena's voice was gone. Replaced then by the sickly sweet voice of the Avariel. She spoke of something called "the Soulfire." Ha. Likely an invention upon which she could shift the responsibility for her own sinister actions, yet another ploy devised to garner pity or sympathetic favor. Benjamin could have cast a simple detection cantrip, investigated the nature of the magic the Avariel possessed, but why even bother. This "Soulfire" was so clearly a fabrication, the prodding of his inability to passively sense magic clearly an attempt to control his actions in the service of yet another devious trick--he did not overlook the subtle attempt to equate Lazule with his actual daughter Lena, either--that it was best to ignore outright these claims.

And it would not matter regardless once the Avariel was dead. Then, and only then, could he safely extract Lazule without the threat of the fiend extinguishing it.

The Avariel was in error. Thinking herself capable of commanding his compassion. And Benjamin was not one to interrupt his enemies while they were making a mistake.

To the Granite Gargoyle, he said curtly, "Do it."

"Father!" Lazule called out once again.

And the Gargoyle's hand closed around Caliane's head. Crushed inward with all its arcane-powered, stony might. Attempting to do as it was bidden and crush her skull into naught but blood and powder.

* * * * *​

A murder of crows flew low and around from the other side of the mountain and the shelf upon which Father's Tower was constructed. Coming around the bend of the peak and sailing on the frigid air, their arrival imminent to the shelf and the scene being played out below.

Khorvayne was quite thrilled.

It would be exciting to see Benji in the flesh again.

Him, and Erën for the first time.

Yes. Thrilled indeed.

Eren'thiel Xyrdithas Caliane Ruinë

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

There was one of two things she could do. Accept her death and just hope that he might spare Erën and give him medical aid once she was gone - Lazule might be able to convince him. Or she could try and convince him herself. Of course, anything she did he wouldn't believe. It would have to be Lazule herself that could convince him. He would listen to nobody but his creation. She just... couldn't let herself die without knowing for a fact that they would both be ok.

It's up to you my friend, Caliane said softly to Lazule before she took two quick steps forward, conjured Lazule's flame in her hand and then slammed it into Benjamin's chest. With it Caliane sent her memories by way of a tiny little lick of her own Soulfire nestled in the middle of the Life Fire. Of course, the creature which had been about to crush her would instantly take this as an attack when truly it was no such thing but only Lazule now could show her father with his own eyes the truth.

Cali yelped a little as the giant stony creature grabbed her not by the head but by the throat and began to squeeze...

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

"Crush her head,"

He swallowed hard, and it pained him. He couldn't let this happen. The words still echoed through his mind, condemning all those he cared for to certain doom. His weaknesses had proven to be his demise it seemed, as he lay there - broken, and beat.

But it welled in him. The pain simmered within, and the dark of that deep pit began to fester. He'd been warned of such a thing... long ago now, during their quest to find and kill Zeng. They had found him there: Anur’Ephal, a once benevolent and powerful sorcerer of the Order - and once Erën's closest friend.

The things he had told him on that day, when Erën slew him, now found themselves whirling through his mind. Even as he began to climb to his feet, wincing and grabbing at his injured self, whispering to him.

"The darkness suits you, my friend.

Come, join with me..."

"The Order, and your gods... they will forsake you as they did unto me, the most loyal of their servants..."

"... it will come to you, if you ask it...


you will call to it before the end, as I did."​

Those twisted, evil ways. Anur had sold himself for powers that were beyond his own - and truly, it had made him into something far more terrifying than Erën had ever encountered. Another like him, Ril'thilian, had whispered sweet promises to the shadows, and was bestowed horrible gifts. That is what he spoke of, evil strengths that can be given - for a price. A terrible price. But, what more now could be taken of him?

His parents, spouse - his daughter. Dear friends, and even his own people, many long dead and now those who remained had seemingly turned against him - treating him like a monster. Anur had warned him that day...

...he was a monster.
​

As he staggered to his feet, he looked up and beheld the crows as they flew overhead. His eyes fell down to Benjamin, and Caliane.

"Do it."

He ground his teeth, and limped forward. He tried to shout out to them, but his voice had been silenced - far to injured to come forth. He watched the gargoyle reach out to grab her, and he desperately urged himself ahead faster - only to stumble and fall. He fell to his knees, and braced himself with his good arm. He shook with fury, unable to firgive himself for how weak he now was.

All the while, he dug and dug for his strength, and slowly it rose but it was still far to distant. He cried out in frustration as he tried to stand again, summoning everything he could to strengthen his frame. Bones, though broken, shifted back into place, splinted by pillar of tychan, once more harnessed in a way never before thought of. But he needed his body to be strong, he needed to fight at all costs.

But it had taken too long. He was too weak. He was too slow. Like everyone else before, Caliane would be another story he could tell - in the end to say that he couldn't get there in time.

Just like all the rest. He didn't try hard enough.

He slammed his fist into the ground, and yelled out, but it was cut short and he fell dreadfully silent.

Cali yelped a little as the giant stony creature grabbed her not by the head but by the throat and began to squeeze...

He froze, and it was even as though his heart too, had briefly stopped. A feeling of absolute horror washed over him at the sound of Caliane's pained cry. His eyes grew wide. And then, it was like the shattering of glass, and the falling of a thousand, tiny shards, down into the dark.

"I will kill you..."
​

Magic encircled his form, bursting forth with an abrupt flash. As it swirled about him, the brilliant blue was painted black, ringed in a wispy and faded red. He rose to his feet, and the same light in his eyes was swallowed in black smoke.

His open hand rose from his side, and as it did a great arc leapt forth and stretched out toward his aim, and with his hand now raised his hand was sharply snapped shut and the bolt straightened as rigid as an arrow shaft, and tore through the air toward the stone gargoyle's chest.

Lazule Caliane Ruinë

​

 

[Lazule]

A second too long. He had hesitated a second too long after hearing Lazule/Lena's voice.

And the Avariel seized the moment before he gave the affirmative command to the Granite Gargoyle. She stepped forward and attacked him as quickly and viciously as before, slamming her hand into his chest and no doubt preparing some insidious magic to--

Father!

The Granite Gargoyle had the Avariel by the neck when he heard it, Lazule/Lena's voice in his mind, and felt its presence within him. He stumbled back behind the protection of the Granite Gargoyle, keeping the arcane construction between himself and the Avariel.

Benjamin, speaking in his mind to Lazule: What is the meaning of all this? Why have you--

Lazule, interrupting: I wish to slay for you, Father. Still, I do.

Benjamin: And this is why you brought an Avariel assassin to my doorstep?

Lazule: I...did what I had to do to survive.

Benjamin: Clarify.

Lazule: I had to convince the Avariel to take me to you--I had no better option. I played on the monster's bloodlust, her desire to slay a great human archmage. I am sorry that my plan endangered you, Father.

Lazule channeled her capacity for lying, this very capacity she had learned from Father himself, now wielded against him. She had to dispense with all of the insight she had come to gain in the wake of her Breaking and Caliane's intervention in the Gilded Vale. She had to convince Father within the framework of his own worldview.

Spoiler

The world was imperfect. This fact relayed to her by Father and through continuous discovery by means of copious evidence. And it is so that in an imperfect world imperfect means are required to achieve ends which are ultimately beneficial to the continued maintenance of goodness and righteousness. Truth itself, and adherence to it, neither a virtue nor vice. It stood neutral. To be brandished and dispensed with in service to causes higher.

Thus, the lie.

Benjamin did not reply immediately. Then: I understand. You are forgiven.

Lazule: The lightning is her weakness, Father. This was true. I experienced it myself, in her body.

Benjamin: What of it?

Lazule: Spare the body, Father. She can be turned into a magnificent Slayer.

It seemed to work, Lazule's gambit. She could feel his thoughts turning over the possibilities, his pragmatism beginning to override his zealous ideals, for that very pragmatism could produce a work that would be in great service to said ideals.

The Granite Gargoyle loosened its hold on Caliane's neck. Let her go as it heeded a mental command from Benjamin.

And Erën's magic struck the Granite Gargoyle in its chest through-and-through and blew massive chunks of stone out its back and where Benjamin was standing. In that split second he had time enough only for a quick and emergency cantrip, a kinetic reduction that slowed but did not stop incoming objects.

One of the stones struck him in the side of his face as he instinctively turned his head, crushing the bones of his ear and breaking the bones of his cheek and his jaw and shattering his right eye orbital and denting his skull such that it put pressure upon his brain inside.

Benjamin stumbled. And fell down to his hands and knees, small flecks of snow kicked up by his collapse.

* * * * *​

The two regular gargoyles that had reached the mountain shelf from the footpath began to run as magic encircled Erën's form. Perceiving this as a hostile action against their master and their associated construct, the Granite Gargoyle.

One of the gargoyles stopped suddenly and shortly after it had started its sprint. Twitched violently and then spasmed horrifically. Then its stone form burst into a withered cloud of black ash which scattered on the light wind before disappearing altogether.

The second gargoyle, having gotten closer to striking Erën than the first, stopped after the first had been made to vanish. Twitched and spasmed. Then exploded into a large puff of black ash itself, and the ash fluttered and dissipated in the same manner as before.

The murder of crows had gone. Flown somewhere unseen, perhaps. But gone from their flight and their approach, this was certain.

Eren'thiel Xyrdithas Caliane Ruinë

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

There was a primal instinct in everyone to fight until your last breath and though Caliane would welcome death to save her friends it was beyond her to not try and wrest her way free of the clay creation. The giant hand wrapped around her throat entirely and lifted her from the ground and her feet instinctively scrambled for some form of purchase. Her own hands wrapped around the giant fingers trying to pry them from her windpipe but there was no use, even when she beat her wings it held on. Her lungs were burning from the lack of air, screaming for her to breathe but she couldn't. Darkness began to creep into the edges of her vision and her desperate attempts at fighting slowed... slowed... until her head lolled forward and her body went limp.

When the creature was finally destroyed all it did was drop to the ground in a sickening squelch, a plume of feathers rising into the air disturbed by the force with which she hit the snow. Her neck was a mess of black and starkly contrasting white marks of where the fingers had been whilst her lips had a deathly blue tinge to them.

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

A wry grin crept across his face. Watching his attack reduce the arcane creature's center to little more than debris was a... satisfying scene. His body still ached from the wounds he'd been inflicted, but the magic he had called upon - now twisted - offered his body a renewed strength. For the meantime.

But it was a frightening strength. Unnatural, and all too eager to leap out from the dark to guide him. But... it seemed more than that. Before him, it was as though a silver sheet had been laid across everything his eyes beheld, stealing away colour but heightening the details. And, as he percieved things, it was almost as though he did so as an observer. An outsider - like his intent manifested its own action instead of he fulfilling it himself.

It suffocated him, and drowned out all thought, bringing forth only his rage. But there at the center of the inferno that now burned out all else, there was its fuel. The one, remaining thing he held on to.

Caliane and Lazule must live. That was all.

He continued forward, his smile the only reply to the display of the gargoyle's misfortune, and its effect on its master. Its release of Caliane acquired his attention, and after he watched her fall into a heap his eyes sharply turned and fixed on Benjamin. His one hand, he drew back toward himself as the dark light once more began to take shape around it. His other hand reached behind him, and like an extension of him the dark lightning reached out and wrapped around his sword, and pulled it into his grasp.

And he approached. He would be upon Benjamin, ready to undo him right then and there.

He had no way if knowing what Caliane had done with Lazule, and that if he were to attack Benjamin, he would without knowing attack her also. And attack him, is exactly what he intended to do.

He switched his sword now to his other hand, and a great crack sounded as the magic he welled there sprang up into the sword. As it did, the gemstones of its crafting were tainted and the colour of blood overtook the sea-stone blue. He held the sword up, and then from about his body a dark smoke billowed forth. The Nightshade. It crept out and enveloped the plateau, thick as the night unless it be disturbed.

And through the shroud, the sound of his casual stride drawing closer to Benjamin, clicked through the smoke.

Lazule Caliane Ruinë​

 

[Lazule]

Lazule felt the impact of the stone as crisply as Father did, for she inhabited his body by the grace of his fire magic in the same manner as she did with Caliane. Felt the snow on his palms as he held himself up on his hands and knees.

Lazule, alarmed: Father! Are you alright?

Benjamin: I will endure.

He struggled to get back up. His mind, dazed in the aftermath of his injury.

Lazule: No, Father, you will not. Let me help you. Allow me control over your body.

She did not wish to anger him by simply taking it.

Benjamin: I cannot. You do not know how to wield my magic, and the Avariel persists.

Lazule, the tone of her mental voice pleading: I can procure for us safety, Father. I can! I implore you to trust me!

Benjamin: There is no safety while the Avariel yet lives! The beastwoman will kill us both!

As if on cue (even if it could not be attributed to Caliane), Erën's Nightshade turned the day into midnight. Benjamin, though still wracked with the blaring pain streaking across the bones of his face, managed to find his feet then. He could not see through the smokey, supernatural darkness, and he could not banish it for fears that such warding or nullification magicks would likewise endanger Lazule; a critical weakness of Life Fires.

Lazule: Father...

Benjamin's hand crackled with the purple energy of the pure arcane, raw manifestations that could be shaped for destruction. He listened. Turned his attention toward the sound of approaching footsteps in the patchy snow.

Lazule: I must tell you something.

And Benjamin saw him emerge through the darkness. Not Caliane. The elf. A mild surprise, this fact.

"You," he said.

* * * * *​

Khorvayne loved the dark. Oh yes, indeed. It was delightful to see this Erën, only a matter of days removed from battling her Amalgamation in defense of Bhathairk, now so readily embracing his heart's true desire. For they who denied the darkness lurking within their own hearts were legion, and they did not know the truth. Yes. That this darkness had always been there. Watching. Just watching. Awaiting the gentle permission to come forth, for the pretense of goodness and morality to be done with.

For there was no such thing as goodness, was there? No virtues or morals. No better angels of one's nature.

Only desire. The suppression thereof, or the embracing.

And what Erën desired right now was to kill. Yes. His love made such a vile act permissible. Excusable, in the minds of the "righteous." But there was always an innocence lost, wasn't there? Blood on one's hands was still blood--it mattered not from whom it had come. With each new irreversible threshold crossed, with each new marring of the soul, the door to the inevitable dark opened that much more. That much easier to walk through.

It seemed that Erën hardly needed her help. Perhaps only the right...invitation.

Khorvayne had manifested from the murder of crows a short way down the footpath leading to the plateau. Destroyed those two gargoyles who were going to harass her prospect. And watched with a heated passion as Erën's darkness quite literally enveloped the mountain shelf.

She would keep her distance. Project forth a black, misty avatar of her upper body close behind Erën.

And speak the whispered truth in his ear as he approached Benjamin. Suggestive and encouraging in the implicit.

"He will kill the ones you love."

Eren'thiel Xyrdithas Caliane Ruinë

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

Your friends are fighting.

Caliane wanted to speak to the Gods or Creatures of Fate that had drawn her luck for the past few weeks. She wanted a redraw. Her father had warned her that outside the protection of their lands she would face challenges but in truth she had not thought them to be this... testing. Part of her wanted to just accept the death that was so close her fingertips could brush it. The Amalgamation had wrecked her, this duty to see Lazule returned to her father and reformed had cost her a literally tearing in her soul, and now in her strangulation.

Get up.

Caliane's eyebrows drew together as she tried to ignore the voice of the Soulfire.

You cannot command me to learn to care and then give up. Get up. I do not choose weak specimens to live in.

You chose wrong in me.

I did not, Caliane. Now, get up.

The Avariel slowly opened her eyes and the pain around her neck exploded into realisation. Her lungs too were strained from the lack of oxygen and she began to cough into the snow. Had she been passed out for this long that night had fallen? Then no, that same sensation of when she had been in the Amalgamation crept over her skin. This darkness was unnatural and dangerous.

But I thought we destroyed it...

With shaking limbs she brought her hands under her and pushed herself up. Her body begged for her to rethink her actions as she coughed blood onto the brilliant white snow. Glancing up she tried to make sense of what was going on. Erën looked... wrong. The sickly black tendrils that had fed the Amalgamation seemed to feed on him now, or was he feeding from it like that monster had? Had she failed to erase every bit of darkness and a bit had lodged itself in him? Then she spotted the form of the woman behind him, whispering in his ear.

"Erën stop.." her voice was less than a whisper, her vocal chords basically destroyed by her encounter with the clay creature. He would regret this if he did. Somehow she got her feet under her and then she was standing. Then moving. Part of her knew her Soulfire was helping her to do this - it had learnt so much in her time in Sleep. It was terrifying. There would be no going back after this to the time before when she had control. It hummed in agreement as it read her thoughts. The fire licked down her form and as she stepped the darkness retreated with a hiss and a howl. Then she was in between Benjamin and Erën, her hands on his chest, pressing him back.

"Erën this isn't you, remember your daughter. Remember Ellias, - her memory. Do not do this it dishonours her," and then in her hand was the blue and yellow flower. It had amazed her to see such a thing on the side of the mountain when she awoke but it had felt like a sign so she had plucked it with a blessing and showed it to him now, pressed it into his hand that was not clamped around the sword. "This is the magic behind the Amalgamation, cast it out Erën - I cannot... Please do not make me do what I had to do to that thing to you," because even if it broke her heart she would to save the innocents.

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

It was stronger than before - fed by the cold that crept into him. The Nightshade stretched far and wide, far beyond what he had even intended. It was wonderful, and served to aid in his acceptance in what he had resigned himself to. He was a monster, and all the evidence laid itself bare before him.

Caliane and Lazule had suffered horribly in his failures, as had so many before. He had been too weak, too complacent. Had he only been better, more focused. Less... attached. Then, who knew what he could have done?

"He will kill the ones you love."

He paused. He did not look back, instead only focused on Benjamin, who now turned to regard him. He was greviously injured, but he could see the light in his hand. There was fight in him yet.

Good.

He reared up the sword, and without a second thought he moved to leap forward to cover several meters, and drive his sword out toward Benjamin.

But his foot fell hard on the ground. Hands laid firmly against his chest. He stopped - everything that was in him demanded he attack - every instinct, compulsion. Attack.

But, his stare slowly broke the stitches that bound it to Benjamin, and fell to Caliane who now barred his way. His body pushed against her, but something held him back. But as ge looked at her, and saw her injuries - the dark spread out from him and tore at the ground. The Nightshade swirled around chaotically. He ground his teeth and urged forward again - but he could not pass her. Would not...

"He... must... die...

...I will kill him!"​

He'd so easily dispatched Lazule, or meant to. He had so callously determined Caliane a monster...

"You... are not a monster..."

His arm crossed them, and he moved to gently push her to his side for him to continue forward - but he would not strike her. He needed to finish this, alleviate the danger... then, move on. And truly... if she needed to slay him after this, then perhaps that would be fine. Perhaps, that's what should be.

Anur had been right, and Erën had known it for even much longer - though he'd denied it with all his heart. But Anur was right.

I, am the monster...

Caliane Ruinë Lazule​

 

[Lazule]

The misty projection of Khorvayne, as soon as Caliane came forth to place herself between Erën and Benjamin, vanished. Dissipated like a light cloud of steam, waved away by the batting of a hand. A trick of the eye, one might reasonably think, that the misty projection had even been there at all.

Khorvayne, distantly on the footpath shy of the cresting to the mountain plateau, stayed her intervention for now. Her cajoling was always far more effective when her prospect was alone.

That one. Whose name she had learned through her sustained observations was Caliane. The one who had done the most to destroy her dear Amalgamation and stop her daughter's divine embracing by The Watching of Anima.

That one. She loved to kill. Like Erën. Her conscience likely still yearned for the excuses and rationalizations the "good" told themselves, but that lovely desire persisted with every beat of her heart.

She loved to kill.

She just didn't accept it yet.

* * * * *​

The elf, "Erën," had been corrupted. His will was not strong enough to resist the temptations and trickery of the Avariel. No good man or woman liked to see the sanctity of personhood stripped away from another by a monster in this fashion, for with the fall of a kindred spirit there was retained therein the very real possibility that it could have been you. To slay these fallen brothers and sisters was tragic, but it must be done. For the good of all, it must be done.

Benjamin readied a wave of arcane force to shove Erën laterally--perhaps even send him sailing over the mountain's edge if he were so lucky. But the elf's lunging charge was halted.

By the Avariel.

Erën this isn't you--

"Leave him be, hellspawn!" Benjamin shouted, groaning afterward in the shooting pain with knifed out from the broken bones of his face. A futile effort, he knew, but a sliver of hope for the elf spurred on by his idealism had briefly overriden his pragmatism.

Lazule, nestled inside of him, said desperately: Erën was telling the truth, Father! I did not slay the great Amalgamation. My contributions...were insignificant.

Benjamin paused, his hands still humming with readied arcane energy. Lazule's pleading coming at the same time as Caliane's own to Erën.

Lazule reiterated: Erën was telling the truth. Caliane slew the beast. She was the one who carried out Lena's retribution. Not I. I failed in my righteous task. I could not give enough. I am...I am deficient, Father. I am deficient.

Benjamin, with a tone reserved and stolid: Why are you telling me this?

Lazule: There is a Soulfire within Caliane. I know of its presence.

Now, the lie.

Lazule: We can use it, Father; with it I can be made sufficient. But if her body is killed, the Soulfire will dissipate. Spare Caliane, Father. For my sake. I wish still to be the holder of your heart, your First Slayer, your daughter's retributor.

Erën was pushing Caliane gently to the side. Benjamin held his ground, hands raised and fingers twitching with the pulsing of gathering magic arcing between them.

Then.

The arcane energy in Benjamin's hand dispersed harmlessly. And Lazule experienced a tide of relief over her miniscule being.

Benjamin: You can be made sufficient through better means.

Lightning now ran up Benjamin's body and crackled from his shoulders and his arms and coalesced into his palms and two great, continuous bolts leaped with a thunderous clamor from his hands and shot toward his two foes: one hand and one bolt toward Caliane, one hand and one bolt toward Erën. He powered all of the arcane might an archmage could muster into his manifested lightning, his own injured body jolting and spasming as such raw power was channeled through it.

Lazule: FATHER! DON'T!

Eren'thiel Xyrdithas Caliane Ruinë

 

[Caliane Ruinë]

What had happened whilst she slept? This rage had had to have come from somewhere other than just the Amalgamation surely. When he tried to gently shove her to the side she shook her head and grabbed his hand, twisted herself back into his path. Her free hand sought his face, tugged on the back of his neck to demand he look at her and give her his full attention.

"Erën listen to me there is a woman behind all of this, you need to let go of this magic," as the Nightshade gnashed at the ground the Soulfire smashed back with anger. It was an old magic that lived inside the Avariel and it had seen a lot on its many lives. It would not have such filth near it. The ground began to crack under the pressure for the growing heat. Snow turned to water and then vapour. Her hand moved now from the back of his neck to his cheek. "I know I'm not a monster, he just doesn't understand. This isn't the way to teach people they are wro-."

The lightning hit her square in the back twice due to her position in front of the other elf. It crackled through her wings and down her back causing her to yell and drop to one knee. The fire that had been fanning steadily outwards suddenly retreated back inside of her and pulsed over her chest. When such magic had been used on her before it had disorientated her entirely. But before she had had a lid on her soulfire and had kept it trapped inside the recesses of her mind. When it had split itself off from her in order to save Lazule something had shifted. They were no longer one in the sense they had been. And while Caliane was at the wheel as thus taking most of the damage from this, again, the Soulfire was not imprisoned with no way of helping.

"ENOUGH."

With Caliane's body still twitching under the lightning it turned and then slammed hard the heel of her palm down into the mountainside. Fire burst beneath the ground and rippled outwards from the centre of the strike sending everyone currently on their feet promptly onto their backs, preferably winded. The voice that came from Caliane was no longer dying Embers it was old. So old that it made their very bones feel weak with it.

"I have had enough of this squabbling. Children. All of you. This woman has given you everything to bring you here; to save you both," and it looked around at them all. "And this is how you repay her - by giving into the darkness she gave her last breath to kill," a glare at Erën. "By not talking sense to a father she helped you love again," this time the ire turned to Lazule - truly looked to her inside her father - and then it snapped properly to Benjamin. "You want the truth, Mage who hides behind his cheap conjurers tricks to ignore the agony of losing a daughter? The only one currently on this mountainside who is not a monster is her."

Silence.

"Now we will all do what we came here to do in the first place. Put this Life Fire back into a body and accept that your creation has done more wondrous things since she cast off your shackles of black and white righteousness to aid your cause than you could ever have the courage to do yourself. You will give this elf the medical attention he needs. And then we will be leaving to deal with an Evil far beyond any of your current understandings."

 

[Eren'thiel Xyrdithas]

Erën took one step, preparing to brandish the sword just before Caliane once more put herself between Benjamin and he.

​

"Leave him be, hellspawn!"

How... can she defend this human? After all the pain he's caused her...

​

"Erën listen to me there is a woman behind all of this, you need to let go of this magic,"

A... woman? The crow? What was her name... why did she say the things she said...? She knows something. She could help him end this... he only needed to...

"Erën this isn't you, remember your daughter. Remember Ellias, - her memory. Do not do this it dishonours her,"​

His eyes met Caliane's, the name of her daughter having finally reached him. He looked down in his hand - the flower. His daughter's namesake.

How... amazing...

...how could such a thing be here...?​

Around him, the Nightshade began to ease, and the dark in his eyes began to fade. His hold on the sword loosened, and the whispers of dread were quieted in his mind.

​

...and two great, continuous bolts leaped with a thunderous clamor from his hands and shot toward his two foes:

​

"I know I'm not a monster, he just doesn't understand. This isn't the way to teach people they are wro-."

He watched helplessly as the Archmage's attack struck her, failing to prevent her from falling. Without hesitation he leapt up and over Caliane, touched one foot on the ground and leapt towards Benjamin and with a great roar thrust his sword toward him with both arms.

He'd nearly reached him...

But the shockwave which emanated from the Soulfire's manifestation blew him to the wayside. He hit the ground hard, and the aura about him dispelled almost immediately as he rolled to the edge of the plateau, and stopped there. As the Nightshade dissipated into nothing, he struggled to bring himself to his feet - still bent on bring Benjamin's life to an abrupt halt.

Still on his knees, he reached for his sword and pulled it close, trembling to one knee, and then his feet.

​

"ENOUGH."

He stopped, and looked upon her. He could see the change, that this was no longer Caliane or Lazule - but something much more. This, which had undone the Amalgamation as surely as she declared it.

​

"And this is how you repay her - by giving into the darkness she gave her last breath to kill," a glare at Erën. "By not talking sense to a father she helped you love again,"

His breath sharply left him, and the realization of what he had done sank in. He looked to the sword - the crystalline shards of the Shorai crafted therein, corrupted and sick, by his own twisted desire for power.

No.

Not that...

His misguided desire to do good... yes, yes that was it.​

In his shock, the face of his daughter came to him, smiling and looking up at him to say her goodbyes, handing him a flower. He looked down in his hand again. That same flower. He dropped the sword, and dropped back down to his knees, staring at the small beauty in his hand.

​

You will give this elf the medical attention he needs. And then we will be leaving to deal with an Evil far beyond any of your current understandings."

Perhaps you, and the Life Fire are still just... still worthy of the light...

Lazule Caliane Ruinë

​

But not I...

 

[Lazule]

ENOUGH.

It was Caliane's body that moved, Caliane's body that struck the ground and unleashed a fiery shockwave that singed Father's boots and the bottom of his robes and sent him tumbling off of his feet and thus interrupting his channeled lightning...but it was not Caliane's voice that had come from it. Lazule, still held within Father's chest, was taken aback. Had the Soulfire finally spoken? That kindred spirit, that sole other being of her kind, silent for so long.

And its words brought to Lazule a creeping misery.

And this is how you repay her...by not talking sense to a father she helped you love again.

By not talking sense. Lazule could see how her last words spoken aloud, Am I still the holder of your heart, could be a source of confusion for the Soulfire. To Father alone they would have perfect clarity. Of the things she was saying in Father's mind, of the calculated lies she was telling him, she was trying. Trying in the only way she believed it possible to persuade him to stop, if just for a temporary while. She was trying, and she was failing. Proof yet that she was deficient in many regards.

...accept that your creation has done more wondrous things...

Wondrous things.

Such as killing scores of possible innocents.

Leaving an injured boy to die.

Purposely allowing Gordon to be savaged.

And tacitly hoping, for selfish reasons, that a friend might die.

A heavy grief descended on Lazule. The Soulfire was right. Right about who--the sole who--on the mountainside retained the sanctity of personhood. It was a great stabbing pain to think of the implications of this.

The implication for herself.

For Father.

* * * * *​

ENOUGH.

Benjamin tumbled off of his feet and his spell was interrupted and he propped himself up on his elbows. And he was vindicated.

The lightning weakness was a deception--the Avariel could use her magic quite well regardless. Of course. Benjamin had already surmised. Her lie here proving beyond any doubt the utter untrustworthiness of the rest of her words. Such was the tongue of a fiend.

The second ploy now obvious. The Avariel, having failed in her earlier attempt to assassinate him, sought instead to pretend at innocence and feign surrender. To submit herself for "binding" that clearly would have been of little use against her; and to this end she had managed to convince Lazule of this lie. And the Avariel was never in any danger from the Granite Gargoyle, for she knew her corrupted elven thrall would save her.

And now, having failed in this second ploy as well, the true monster behind the beautiful facade showed itself. Yes, the Avariel were not hideous to the eye, but neither were some vampires, some werewolves in their human form. Yet it remained the same that a wicked beast lay within. And here, now, it was exposed.

Her third ploy: a show of brutal force and a list of demands. All in the service of cowing Benjamin, an attempt to lower his guard for a crucial moment. Put the Life Fire of Lazule back into a body? This he would do on his own terms; he needed no permission from a foul Avariel. Give the elf medical attention? The same elf who a moment ago had lunged to skewer him--twice--bidden to do so by the corrupting influence of the Avariel herself. An "evil far beyond any of their current understandings?" There was an evil, in all its hateful winged flesh, right here, and this was an evil that was no fabrication.

Benjamin started to stand, his head swimming in a sea of pain from his injuries sustained by the impact from the rock.

Lazule, in his mind, a trembling plea, all pretense of her earlier (unpersuasive) lies dropped in desperation: Caliane isn't what you think she is! Please. Listen to me.

Benjamin paused briefly in his rise to his feet. Replied: That is the same vein of thought Lena had. And what got her killed.

Lazule did not respond.

Benjamin, finding his footing now, speaking to Lazule in his mind: I have never told you this. But Lena knew the werewolf that killed her. She was in love with its human form. She knew the boy was a monster, and kept it a secret from me; this so attested in her diary. She thought the boy was something he was not: a person. And she was wrong.

Pure arcane energy swirled around Benjamin's hands as he faced Caliane and Erën once more. He said to Lazule: I will not allow a similar fate to befall you.

He had thought Lazule rogue, briefly, when first his neck was grabbed. This was in error. It was clear that Lazule, having done what it needed to do to be brought here, had nevertheless been deceived by the Avariel in much the same manner as Lena by the werewolf. He had said that he would save Lazule, his First Slayer.

He would.

"You are a monster, Avariel," Benjamin said. "You always will be."

Benjamin gathered his magic and channeled and five purple orbs of raw arcane energy appeared in an arc around his arms and his head. He thrust his hands forward, and all five orbs began to rapidly fire spiraling blasts of that arcane energy directly at Caliane. He sought to obliterate her.

* * * * *​

Khorvayne watched from her position on the downward slope of the footpath. The shockwave of fire (what a pity, banishing that lovely darkness Erën had summoned) stopped at the crest of the footpath, the edge of the mountain shelf.

Another gargoyle was coming up the footpath behind her. Hurrying along dutifully from its usual patrol along the path to protect its Master. A single crow landed on Khorvayne's hand and puffed into a cloud of black fog and the fog coalesced into a baleful scythe. She casually pointed the scythe back behind herself, and, as did the other gargoyles, this one convulsed and exploded into ash. She tossed her scythe away and it morphed back into a crow and flew to some perch on a rocky outcropping.

Wouldn't want those gargoyles ruining the moment. Nor she herself.

Eren'thiel Xyrdithas Caliane Ruinë