Hello and Goodbye

“Right...” Luna accepted her students helping hand gratefully leaning against her as they made their way back to the house. Luna didn’t know the way and let Eleanor take the lead. It seemed the list of things she didn’t know kept growing along with her shrinking usefulness were mounting up to be quite the humbling experience.


It was more than the shift in surroundings. Eleanor was genuinely growing beyond Luna’s ability to teach or even guide. Her grasp of aura and the void as part of that had put her beyond Luna a long time ago even if she still looked to her for advice as a friend would.

“I could have killed her....Your teacher..” Luna said suddenly. Her monotone breaking up the uneven clack of the pairs boots on the cobblestones.

“I showed mercy for your sake..She showed me no such kindness...Just remember that child...” Luna said finally with a sigh. “We often think we know people quite well, but never count out the incredible ability for beings of power to surprise you....” Luna said with a slight bitterness in her tone before shifting her focus to the next question eating her brain.

“Speaking of your teacher.....What is she..exactly?” Luna asked staring into Eleanor’s eyes her black eye unblinking as it glowed a slight purple ever so faintly.
 
“I showed mercy for your sake..She showed me no such kindness...Just remember that child...”

Eleanor listened to what Luna said, her expression remaining impassive, if still a bit sad. Luna might not understand but Eleanor knew she would have done the same if she had been in Valkery's position. She held no love for their master, she obeyed him because she had no choice. She knew that Luna and the others were the same as her, victims. But she also knew that Valkery did not understand that and she could not expect her to.

“Speaking of your teacher.....What is she..exactly?”

Eleanor looked back at Luna and blinked, "Um, what do you mean? She is a half-elf," She answered, but she wasn't sure that was what Luna had meant by the question.
 
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Luna’s eye narrowed drilling into Eleanor’s as she stopped moving. The duo halted in the street as her black eye glowed slightly as it bore into Eleanor’s like a hungering black abyss.

“Ah..” Luna said after a moment before her normal eye blinked and she turned away allowing them both to start moving along again.

It was a neutral sound given heavier weight by her already neutral tone. It gave no inclination as to whether it satisfied her curiosity or not only that either way she was done asking for now. There was time for grilling her sister when her book was safely back by her side.

“ I do hope you realize the next time you wish for my company on a family matter I will have to decline.” She said pausing after a moment.

“That’s a joke. As void forger you command me and every priestess under me.” She said softly.

“Well here we are again..” Luna said looking up at the house. “No offense but I think I’ll wait outside this time.” She continued her eyes never leaving the front gate to the courtyard.

“Another joke.” She said after another pause. “Telling jokes and fighting. I feel like Elise. Now all I have to do is drink blood and learn to spit.” This was not a joke.

Elise was quite good at both of those things. So with her comedic streak over she waited For Eleanor to make the next move.
 
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"Perhaps you should leave the comedy to Elise," Eleanor sighed. It saddened to see Luna like this, so frail, her will to continue almost completely shattered. But she wouldn't be allowed to rest, not when the order was so small. Every person needed to go above and beyond their duty. For a second she caught herself considering recruiting someone to ease Luna's burden. She quickly shut the thought down, but not before Bastelen heard it. The whispers became louder for a moment and Eleanor felt a chill but she quickly shrugged it off and turned to Luna.

"I wish you could stay here but you need to stay close to me to maintain the link. Don't worry I won't let anything happen to you. Once we get your book back you can put the necklace I gave you on. Valkery will have more trouble finding you with that on."

They came to the back of the estate and Eleanor "Hold on," She said picking Luna up bridal style. Luna had lost weight. She was so frail. Eleanor found it hard to hide the concern on her face. Void tendril came from her book and lifted the two of them silently over the back wall. With quick sure steps she approached the back of the main house and the tendrils lifted them up to the roof where Eleanor gently placed Luna down.

Eleanor looked out over the grounds to the garden house tucked off to the side. She touched the stone on the broach at her throat black void spilling from the book and turning it black. Eleanor's eyes turned white. Her range of aura perception expanded. She could feel luna beside her, the shadow of the many birds that had rested on the roof throughout the day, the family and servants in the house, the cat, and one person in the garden house.

Eleanor sighed, dropping her hand as the darkness faded from the stone and the color returned to her eyes. She pointed to the garden house for Luna to see "Valkery is there. Now we wait for her to leave," She said sitting down next to Luna.
 
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“I suppose that’s for the best.” Luna said with a small smile before nodding. The link was a very fragile thing especially considering Eleanor had formed it without ever needing to be taught. It had taken Luna years. She truly was gifted. She jumped with a slight flinch as Eleanor picked her up in her arms.

“There’s no need to..” Luna began to protest before she felt how easily her pupil lifted her up. She snuggled close before she could stop herself. The closeness to the only woman she had ever had true feelings for, and the only one that ever saw she had any feelings at all. The only one that ever touched her in a way that was gentle and calming.

She looked up with her eyes full of longing. Hoping to find the same longing in Eleanor’s eyes. Yet she only found concern. Her happy moment of closeness quickly came to an end as well as the tendrils of the void carried them quickly setting them softly on the roof.

Luna looked away feeling weak and ashamed of herself for the frail state she was in while her mind tried to focus on the task at hand. She held on when Eleanor let go for a moment longer than she should have before seeming to notice and muttering an apology before allowing her student to place her down. Valkery was still there. More waiting...Luna sighed as Eleanor sat next to her.

“So. The words “Don’t touch.” Don’t mean much to you do they pup..” She stated softly giving her a wry smirk before returning to her usual dead expression.

“Because as I recall..That was what was written on the tome when you opened it.” She said softly with her normal eye giving her a playful wink before her haggard expression returned. The look of someone who had seen life times of atrocity roll by her as she both witnessed and took part. The look of a soldier too tired to pick up the sword again. The whispers rose again to Eleanor’s ears reminding her of her thoughts earlier.

“ Her sister was carrying such a heavy burden she had never asked for.”
“How could you let her carry on?”
“Do you want her dead?”
“Would that please you? It would please us..”
“Blood..”
While they were just whispers...Luna had been strong...
Playing mother to a family that was well beyond her means to take care of along with her preistess duties, and Luna had shouldered those burdens alone.

Silently.
Never a single complaint passing her lips.

A lover forced to be a fighter.
“Oh that reminds me..” Luna opened her bag and pulled out a small cloth bag. She handled it extremely gently as she passed it to Eleanor.

“The library was safe of course when the cabin burned...but I went back and saved a couple of things. My blood might have gotten on them but I know spells that can clean them...I...You..” Luna seemed to be struggling with something as her soft tone faltered.

“You left them when...When our master called you. I’m not sure you would remember I made them for you but...” Luna trailed off yet again. Looking at the ground as she wrestled with her old enemy emotion. Inside the sack was a pair of white, fluffy, mittens. The snow rabbit fur gloves Luna had made for her when she had first arrived at the shrine.

While obviously made by Luna who was more a maker of practical things than stylish the fur was a quality one simply couldn’t get in any market.

Fluffy, comfortable, and warmer than anything cotton could achieve while still being lighter than any fabric as well. Luna remained silent as she seemed not able to deal with what she was feeling.

Her black eye staring into the black abyss of the sky it so closely resembled.
 
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Luna remarked about Eleanor's reading habits. At first, she was confused but then she remembered. The book that had talked of creating a link using the void. She had read almost every book in that library. She had been curious and Bastellen had not protested, so she had read it. She was glad she had, it had saved Luna's life.

Eleanor looked at Luna. She looked so tired. She could feel the exhaustion the emanated off of her. She had once been so strong and impenetrable, now... though perhaps Eleanor had grown aswell. The whispers started up again growing louder. Eleanor bit her lip till it hurt. Maybe Luna did deserve death, to put an end to her pain. But she could never have rest the way things were. So long as their numbers were so thin he would keep her alive well beyond her ability to continue. Eleanor didn't want her to die. But she didn't want to see her in pain either.

Luna then snapped Eleanor out of her thoughts, taking out a soft bag and handing it to her. Eleanor pulled the gloves out, tears welling up in her eyes as she recognized them.

"Oh, I can't believe you still have these." Her mind flooded with memories of her first few months with Bastellen, The pain, the grief. Luna had been the only source of light for her is such a dark place. How could she put anyone else through that kind of pain?

"But it wouldn't have to be that way," The whispers licked at her ears.

Eleanor suddenly looked quite tired, dark circles under her eyes as she hurriedly wiped tears away. But it was gone in a moment, her strength and resolve returned.
 
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“Elise used to say I “hoarded like a dragon.” It’s nice to see it was a useful flaw for once.” Luna said with a small smile seeing Eleanor remember.

The tiredness in her face didn’t escape Luna as it passed across her old students features briefly. For a moment she was the scared, starving girl wandering to her shrine in clothes not fit for the harsh weather crawling to deaths door.

But only for a moment.

Luna felt no small amount of pride for Eleanor. Watching her grow from a scared child to a woman capable of leading their order.

A strong fighter, a skilled mage, and her sister in their master....A lot truly had changed....Luna hated change. Even if she kept telling herself it was for the better.

She reached out and gently patted her on the shoulder like she used to whenever she hit a wall in her training or missed a deer with her bow. It was as handsy as Luna got on her own.

No words required.

She wasn’t so good with them anyway..
 
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Eleanor didn't take her eyes off the garden house, but a soft smile spread across her face. She reached up and patted the back of luna's hand as it rested on her shoulder, holding it for a moment before letting go with a sigh.

They both sat there in silence, just glad for the other company. Half-hour, then an hour. There was still no movement from the garden house. Then the light flickered out in the house. It was dark. A moment later Valkery, in her big hat, was seen leaving. Making her way through the garden towards the front of the estate.

"Alright, come, it's time," Eleanor said standing up and offering a hand to help Luna up, before scooping her up in her arms and letting the darkness carry them down. When they reached the ground she put Luna down still holding her hand as she lead her quietly through the garden towards the small house.

Approaching the garden house she tried the door. The knob turned and the door swung open on well-oiled hinges. She led Luna inside. dark shadows and moonlight highlighting the instruments on the tables, the embers of a dead fire glowing in the fireplace.
 
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Luna’s eyes narrowed suspiciously as they entered the house. “She let us in here.” Luna said instantly on alert when the door wasn’t even locked.

“It’s either a trap...or she no longer needs the book.” She said in her matter of fact monotone.

“One way or another I doubt either of those options bode well for us. She said heavily as she searched the dark room along with her pupil.
 
Eleanor glanced around the room but she didn't need to she already knew it wasn't there. The amount of dark energy stored in that book made it easy to sense. She could feel the afterimage of it on the space, though the rest of the place was rather devoid of any residual aura. Valkery must collect it frequently, but she was unable to absorb the void energy.

"It's not here," Eleanor turned and stepped back outside looking in the direction Valkery had gone. She could feel the afterimage of her aura. Valkery could have easily cleaned up her trail, she wanted them to follow her.

"Damn, she's already two steps ahead of us." Eleanor looked back at Luna "This is clearly a trap but we don't have much choice. Valkery won't hurt me and I won't let her hurt you," She said holding her hand out to Luna "You just need to stay by me."
 
Luna stayed at the ready as Eleanor glances around the room. A look of displeasure forming on her features as she confirmed Luna’s theory.

She had most definitely taken the book with her and this most definitely was a trap. Her hand tightened around the handle of one of her hunting knives ready to be thrown or drawn depending on what came next.

“Your teacher seems to always be two steps ahead of everything. I see no reason why we would be an exception.” Luna said dryly a slight annoyance flashing in her eyes replacing the usually weariness.

“I have no doubt she will not harm you, but if she were to harm me..” Luna looked at Eleanor with a strange look as she seemed to be wrestling with the right words to say. It was A look that up until this point Eleanor had seen directed many times at other but never received herself before.

A look of mistrust.

As Eleanor extended her hand Luna hesitated drawing back slightly.

“I was someone you never asked to be in your life. We were forced together by powers we were bound to...If you have to choose between a woman who taught and helped raise you, and a woman you had to grow to tolerate...” Luna trailed off looking at the ground.

She didn’t trust Eleanor to protect her.

The girls heart was not fully hardened by her experiences. It had even grown despite them in some areas.

It was something Luna loved about her, but this blessing brought with it risk. Luna knew as well as Eleanor did that if it came to blood and Eleanor had to strike down Valkery to save Luna’s life...

despite what she may do eventually...

She would hesitate.

And after what Luna had seen today when she had been attacked....

A split second was all the madame needed to complete a task as easy as killing her in the state she was in.

Of that Luna was more than certain.
 
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A flash of anger crossed Elanors face for a split second. "Don't talk like that. I will not let her hurt you." Eleanor said with conviction. "Valkery might be powerful, and clever, however, she is limited by the constraints of mortality. This is going to be a test of endurance. Even in the city where Valkery has all the auras of every man woman and child that passes through this place, I have that and more. The amount of aura I have collected in my book can easily overpower her and outlast anything she could throw at us. Besides my control of the void is stronger than others. I can block attacks that you couldn't." She came forward and took both Luna's hands in hers and looked her dead in the eyes "I will not let anything happen to you, I promise."
 
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“As you say.” Luna said after a moment. Whether she believed her or not was uncertain yet she followed all the same as she always had, and always would. Obeying her masters wishes regardless of the risk, and her masters wishes were Eleanor’s protection, and her word being treated as law.

As they walked Luna asked a question once again. Hoping to catch her student if guard enough to get a straight answer before she could think of a lie.

“So your teacher. She’s a half elf correct? Whats the other half?” She asked in her usual soft monotone. Though her eyes added the edge to the question her voice didn’t. She took Eleanor by the wrist gently turning her to face her, but before she could offer any answer Luna continued her pressing.

“I entered a pact and sold my soul. You were someone with massive amount of power whether you knew it or not. That is why we were not destroyed by the void. If that woman was a simple half elf the book would have consumed her as soon as she touched it regardless of her power. So I ask you once more child. What is she.” She said her eyes never leaving her students.

As gazes went Luna had quite the one. Even before the black eye. Now between her ice chip blue eye and her black one it was like staring into an icy abyss that demanded answers.
 
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Eleanor looked confused for a moment, her eyes slowly going wide as she listened to Luna's question.

"I-" She breathed "I don't know." She looked into Luna's eyes searching for a moment before tearing her gaze away and looking in the direction she felt Valkery's path had taken. "I- I haven't felt anything strange from her. She never really talked about herself." She shook her head the fear in her eyes dissipating, replaced with worry. "The only thing I can think of is she once called herself a weapon. Though, I don't know what that means." She bit her lip before taking Luna's arm and continuing along the trail at a quicker pace.

"We need to get your book back," She muttered. They passed down the main street. It was night but the trail was taking them through the middle of the city. They started passing through the abandoned market. The silence weighed heavily on the air, and all the closed shops and empty stalls casting dark shadows in the moonlight. The sound of running water broke the silence and Eleanor stopped short as they entered a square.
A fountain stood in the middle of the square bathed in moonlight. Valkery sat on the edge of the fountain, back straight, legs crossed, hands folded on her knees. The book sat on her lap and laying across it was her drawn sword. Valkery looked back at them with a sharp calm.

"Good to see you, my dear. I see you received my invitation." She gave a tight smile. There was still a red stain on her shoulder were Luna had bitten her. Her hat neatly pinned atop her head but some of her bun had come undone and the hair hung loose out of the back of the hat.

Eleanor shuddered, of course, Valkery would choose a public place for this. Her magic was subtle, she could draw on an endless supply of aura from the thousands of people who had passed through that space during the day. She could fight without the appearance of a battle, forcing Eleanor to keep her power subdued to avoid city guards from getting involved.

Elenor began to approach again keeping Luna close. As she got closer she noticed the heavy measured nature of Valkery's breathing. Her eyes were white and she could see traces of blackness creeping up from under her collar and up her neck, and her palms and up her sleeve.

"Valkery, It's killing you! Don't do this to yourself. Give it to me before it destroys you." Eleanor begged, stopping several yards away and holding out her hand to her old teacher.

"As if it is not destroying you as well? I have read everything. I know how to destroy you!" Valkery was shivering from the cold and the strain of keeping herself alive yet she still maintained her composure. She locked eyes with Luna. Luna felt her throat close again like before. Like something was blocking the air. Eleanor saw what was happening and panic welled up inside her. A black tendril lashed out at Valkery but they were deflected with the madam's own aura. The entire time Valkery never broke eye contact with Luna.

"Stop!" Eleanor cried out. "Stop this!" More tendrils lashed out but were knocked aside. "Enough!" a surge of darkness lept up from inside the book in Valkeries lap and struck her in the stomach knocking her back into the fountain. Luna could breathe again but Eleanor was already darting forwards. The farther she got from Luna the sharper the pain became.

Eleanor jumped up onto the edge of the fountain sword drawn as Valkery stood dripping from the fountain. As her foot came in contact with the stone ledge she gasped, the wet edge having been turned to ice with a thought from Valkery. Eleanor's foot slipped and she fell backward. Black tendrils caught her and she righted herself.

"You would not survive in close combat with me, child," Valkery said picking up her sword and tucking the wet tome under her other arm. Eleanor could see frost forming on the arm that held the book.
 
“She won’t have much time.” Luna gasped regaining her air as she struggled to stand from the latest attack the madame had seemed fit to afflict against her. “You end this now or he WILL take her.” Luna sounded neutral as usual but her eyes held something in them.

Pity, and sadness. The fate of someone claimed by her master was not something she wished on anyone. Not even Valkery. “Your powerful madame. But not even you are strong enough to beat him. Even someone like you will fall. He’s a never ending void always feeding. Even if kept at bay his devouring continues.” Luna said with the sad look never leaving her eyes. “Eleanor. You will take her. Now.” The voice of her master suddenly sounded. “Bring me it’s heart and soul child...She is weak..You are strong. The student bettering a weapon of the old ways. Truly poetic..”
 
Eleanor froze as the voice of her master sounded in her ears. He had ordered her to take Valkeries soul. The teacher she had loved. Her lip trembled and her eye wavering, her sense blind for a moment. Then she felt a sharp pain as the tip of Valkeries blade brushed against her cheek. A trickle of black blood running down her face from the cut. Valkery pushed forward stabbing again, This time Elanor deflected with a black tendril stumbling back as she brought her sword up to meet another flurry of blows. She looked in Valkeries eyes White and glazed over like her own. The white-haired student facing the white-haired teacher, both much too young for their pain. Much too young to carry the mark of a weapon.

Though Valkery was older, she had sworn never to use the full extent of her power but she sensed the swelling of power and fear growing in Eleanor as she drove her back. She needed to end this now. She took her eyes off Eleanor for a second and tapped into Luna's life aura directly, she knew that taking to much of this could kill the both of them but it didn't matter. She felt the familiar pain growing in her head, her nose and eyes began to bleed. Everything seemed to slow she darted forwards ducking around and under her blade, lunging her own blade towards Eleanor's book with a scream as she felt her own magic and the void eating away at her.

There was a split second of indecision as Eleanor felt Valkery draw the life from Luna. Then she let out a cry of her own as the full force of the black void erupted from her book seconds before Valkery's blade came in contact with it. Valkery was knocked back. Eleanor rose up carried by black tentacles, looking down on Valkery with cold eyes as the void thrashed about her.

Valkery lay on the ground dazed her drain on Luna halted and the book she had taken lying knocked from her hand's several feet away. And here she was again, lying helpless on the battlefield, defeated by her own power.

A void tendril scooped up the book Valkery had dropped and carried it to Luna so that she could heal from it's power.

Valkery rolled over coughing up blood. Eleanor could hear the hurried sound of marching feet as moving lanterns approached. A nearby patrol must have heard the screams and come to investigate. Valkery tried to get to her feet but a void tentacle knocked her back down. Her whole left arm felt numb and she fought against unconsciousness drawing on what aura she could find in the space to continue to cling on.

Eleanor loomed over Valkery. She had been ordered to take her soul. Her quarry lay helpless in front of her. Her master hungered. Valkery had tried to kill Luna and destroy her sisters.

The patrol of city guards flooded into the marketplace center lantern light bobbing in the dark as they shouted orders with swords and spears and tried to surround them. Eleanor bearly even noticed them. Like a buzzing on her peripheral. The void lashed out on her command and impaled them all. She opened her book and drained the life from them.

"There, take them, sate your hunger on that," Eleanor thought.

But the voice of her master echoed back "I want her."

Eleanor looked down at Valkery and a pain stabbed her chest like a fist clenching around her heart as her hesitation grew. "Now" Her master ordered. She gasped and tears filled her eyes as the void began to dissipate till she was standing small and alone over Valkery, her eyes returned to their usual green color.

She helped Valkery up and the older woman looked her in the eyes, Eleanors eyes wet and pleading. "Go, now, He can punish me but he won't kill me. He needs me to badly for that." She cried out and feel to her knees.

Valkery looked at her former student and for a second she understood. She then turned around and ran off into the darkness, not even bothering to acknowledge Luna's presence.

Eleanor lay writhing on the cobblestones tears streaming down her face as her insides were wracked with pain.

"You stupid, stupid girl, You do not know what you are playing with." Her master's void rung in her ears.

"I'm- I'm not wrong though," She thought through the pain, "You won't kill me."

"I might not kill you but I can make your life a living hell. I can fill your every step with agony and take away everything you ever loved."

"You know my contract." She gasped as the pain began to numb only to begin again somewhere new. "I would rather trade my soul than let you have the soul of someone I love. You must have known that I could not have followed that order." She let slip a pained smile as she struggled to stand but collapsed back down.

"I can give you many other souls, that is worth much more to the survival of the cult than the soul of one. We need strength now more than anything."

There was a silence but the pain slowly dissipated "I will hold you to that," the whisper lingered. The pain was gone, only a shadow of it lingered, but Eleanor didn't move, breathing heavily as she tried to gather her strength.
 
“But that does not mean I can’t punish someone less valuable.” He whispered.

Luna grabbed the book and began to heal. Opening it she began to read aloud. The void began to leak from her book like slimy plumes of inky, black smoke.

“Master?” Luna asked looking up from her book and looking around for a moment before her face paled even more than usual.

The book floated in front of her gently as she suddenly fell forward. The void flowing around her seemed to seep deeply into her skin and cling to it like the darkness that had almost claimed Valkery.

Her hands flew to her face. Her black eye was bleeding profusely. The void seemed to writhe under her skin like snakes. Points of void spikes would randomly punch through her skin leaving her changing between looking like a human and looking like a pincushion.

“Pup..” Luna said looking into her eyes pleadingly. Not because she thought she could help, but in desperation it was the only friendly face she could gain any comfort from. This torture continued until Luna was a writhing mess of small wounds and burning agony.

It stopped after a few minutes and there was quiet. More boots crunching on cobble stones warmed them that further city guard interference could be expected. Luna slowly stood.

“You can look forward to that every night that Valkery lives. This is my will.” He whispered with a chuckle before the feeling of his presence lifted. Luna didn’t look at Eleanor as she slowly stood and cleared her throat spitting out a glob of black blood and a few broken spikes that had been cutting her throat.

“Maywynn waits. We need to go.” She said softly. There was no accusation in her voice as she picked up her book and clipped it back to her holster before limping down the street with only a small glance back to make sure Eleanor followed her even if she still didn’t meet her eyes. Looking all the world like an old wolf that simply wouldn’t die out of stubbornness.

No matter how much her body aches and how much pain and loss she faced Luna never seemed to stay down.

It was the one thing that let her hold her head high even if the rest of her life weighed on her shoulders.
 
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Eleanor's gaze turned from shock to anger as she watched Luna writhing in pain. She rushed over to her, holding her, but she could not do anything to stop it.

"Do you want a dog? Someone, who can only blindly follow orders?" She demanded, not speaking the words aloud but she knew he would hear her. The sound of running feet came closer as Luna started to move off encouraging her that they needed to leave. No.

She spun around as the reinforcements filed into the blood strewn street, her eyes white-hot with anger, a snarl on her face. The void lurched out and spikes ran them through adding their bodies to the pile. It was to easy.

"I can fight and follow orders, only doing the bare minimum, resisting you at every chance I get. Or I can think for myself, give myself willingly to you, build your cult up in power stronger than it was before." She turned to follow Luna the void sucking back and returning to her book as she spun on her heal. "You know my mind. If I was forced to kill Valkery I would be useless to you. The guilt and grief would destroy me. Even if you kept me alive the grief would blind me. My loss would cost you greatly, right now you can't afford that. Your arrogance and need to control will destroy us." She marched after Luna the anger still running hot through her veins. "So I offer you another deal. The souls of those I love are off-limits. This includes my family, Valkery..." Then as an afterthought "And Quoril. in return, you will not only gain my full cooperation but also the initiative and drive to further the goals of the cult at every opportunity. The alternative is that you destroy yourself, alienating your few remaining followers, and having to wait another hundred years for someone like me to come within your clutches."
 
“Fine.” The words left and Luna pulled herself back up.

“I’m getting too old for this. I feel at least a century older than I am and that can’t be healthy.” She said spitting out a bit of black blood. She pulled her self up leaning heavily on Eleanor.

“Let’s be gone from this place child.” She wheezed.

“I believe we’ve said our hellos and goodbyes.” She said with a grimace as more guards began to be summoned to the square. This had been something that must be done.

A final chance to cast off her past and embrace her ugly future. “I’m glad you were able to protect your friends and family from his influence. You must have true power to be able to exert your will like that.” Luna said with a hint of jealousy in her voice.

“I wish I could do as much..” She said quietly. “Maybe then he wouldn’t have taken my sister.” Her monotone voice taking up a hint of a deep bitterness. Her black eye roving the street as they left. The horrors she saw through it never left her.