Private Tales Thief in Training

[Charity Briarthorne]

The door to the archives crashed open as Charity entered in her usual chaotic manner. "Ah, Ms. Briarthorne. How are you?" Cleo greeted her warmly. "Its nice to see-" Charity spun to face Cleo as she began to speak. "Where's Gwen?!" she demanded. "She's out back in the archives," Cleo spat, clearly annoyed that she had been interrupted. "You might be her daughter and all, but even you need to make an appointment to see her during business hours!" Charity sighed with aggravation. "Ugghh... Fine... Just get me in to see her as soon as you can. And tell her I have something to show her!"

The blonde haired woman sat in the waiting room and fidgeted impatiently as she watched clients come and go. It seemed like there would be no end to the people in line before her. Three clients left... The thought randomly entered her mind as she sat in her chair. There it was again! Charity wasn't sure where these random thoughts were coming from, but they hadn't been wrong so far. That was just one of the things that had started happening out of nowhere since the Black Rock heist.

Charity relaxed in her chair and counted the clients as they came and went. One... Two... Three... "Alright Ms. Briarthorne. You may see Ms. Vollmund now." Cleo called over to her. It was right! Exactly three clients had come and gone and now it was her turn. This was a power she really needed to learn how to control. But it wasn't the pressing issue here.

The archive door silently swung open as it reacted to her rune tattoo. Charity squeezed through the gap before the door had fully opened. "Gwen! Gwen!" she shouted excitedly, rushing over to embrace the robe-clad elf. "Look! Watch this!" A frown of concentration formed on Charity's face. The air around her hand began to shimmer like heat waves had surrounded it. Charity raised her hand and leveled it with an empty ink bottle. For a second nothing happened. Then the ink bottle shakily rose and floated a few inches above the desk, wobbling ever so slightly.

The sound of a door slamming broke Charity's concentration, and the small bottle exploded into a fine cloud of dust. "Did you see that?!" Charity squeaked happily, feeling quite proud of herself. "I don't exactly know where this power came from, but it started a couple of days ago during the heist. There's also these weird thoughts that keep popping into my head randomly and they seem to tell me things I wouldn't have any way of knowing. Before I came in here, one popped into my head saying there were only three clients left before it was my turn, and it was right! I hadn't seen Cleo's appointment book or anything, so how could I have known?" Charity paused her verbal spouting, out of breath.

"So... Umm... Yeah... Do you have anything in your archives about these kinds of powers? I'm dying to know what the hell they are!" Charity said as she tried to catch her breath.

 

[Gwendolyn Vollmund]

“Child be still. Find peace.” Gwen would say as the girl broke her embrace and began trying to catch her breath after such an out pouring.

Why were people always so aggressive in their conversations with her. Was a casual back and forth simply a bygone relic of a bygone era? She sighed touching her pupils nose with the tip of her finger she would feel a rush of wind leaving her body almost trapped by its soft embrace as she gently floated into the air.

“Your powers have been increasing. These voices come from other places. Most are good. They offer us vision into both the present and future. They will become more malevolent as your power increases.” Finally Charity was released from the force holding her aloft and fell into Gwens arms.

She placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “The power comes from your mind, and body working together to channel the reality you wish to pursue to an extent.” She said calmly.

“Try something else.” She instructed setting the girl down and allowing her to stand before backing away.

 

[Charity Briarthorne]

"Woah! Hey! What the hell did you do?!" Charity said frantically, desperately trying to grab on to something as she gently began to float up into the air. She quickly calmed down as Gwen explained her new powers to her in a soothing voice. The voices were coming from somewhere else? Where could they be coming from? Was a spirit following her around implanting these thoughts into her mind?!

Charity's thoughts were disrupted as Gwen released her and she fell into the woman's arms. "Don't do that!" she huffed as she wrapped her arms tightly around Gwen worried that she might do it again. "My mind and body working together to channel the reality I want to pursue? What does that mean? Will I be able to make anything I want real?" Gwen seemed to ignore her and instructed her to try something else. She knew Gwen wasn't really ignoring her and would answer her question in good time.

Try something else? What else was there to try? Charity hadn't considered that she might be able to use this new power another way. She thought for a moment before a new idea struck her. Charity released Gwen and once again focused the energy into her hand, except this time she imagined it was all gathering at the tip of her finger.

Charity reached over to Gwen's desk and slowly began trace a small heart shape near the corner. As she moved her finger the shape was shallowly carved into the desk surface. The longer Charity concentrated the energy, the more a new voice could be heard. A voice that was decidedly more demonic and evil compared to the flat tone of the voice she had heard earlier in the waiting room. She hurriedly finished with her task and fearfully released the energy.

"Uh... H-How was that?" Charity her voice shaky from fear. She wondered if she should tell Gwen about the voice, but at the same time she worried Gwen would forbid her from using her new power.

 

[Gwendolyn Vollmund]

“Good..” Gwen said with a slight raise of her eyebrow. She was impressed.

“But it means nothing if you can not back it up in combat.” Gwen said with a smirk as she stripped off her robes and clapped her hands. A wall slid out of place revealing a small room with a ring. The elf’s hair fell to her shoulders as she tied it up into a pony tail.

She wore a simple tank top and leather pants removing her shoes as she entered her left arm was bandages all the way to her shoulder but her back bore a tattoo that consisted of a group of symbols that seemed to spin into a pattern that made the skin crawl.

“Now.” Gwen said turning to face her. “Let’s see what you’ve got.” She sank into a ready stance.

 

[Charity Briarthorne]

Charity beamed proudly as Gwen praised her. It wasn't very often that she was able to impress somebody like Gwen! Her smile vanished as Gwen told her that the it meant nothing if she couldn't use her new powers in combat. She removed her coat as Gwen uncovered a secret fighting ring. Nervous didn't even begin to describe how Charity was feeling at that moment.

Following Gwen into the ring, Charity noticed the bandages on her arm and wondered what had happened. She didn't have much time to wonder as Gwen lunged at her. Charity dodged attack after attack, but she knew Gwen wasn't going to give up until she fought back.

Doing her best to focus the power around her hand, Charity returned Gwen's attacks. She could feel a small concussive force at the end of each punch, but doubted it was powerful enough to do much damage. As she sparred with Gwen, she could sense her attacks quickly growing more powerful, but the demonic voices in her head were growing louder as well.

Charity tried to focus on the fight, but trying to hold back the voices was like trying to hold back a mighty river after a storm. "Kill her... She's in your way... She's holding you back..." Charity suddenly felt like her head was going to explode as the voices overlapped each other and echoed through her mind. For a brief second, the world turned black and white, and she saw herself and Gwen in the ring, but it seemed like she was floating above it all.

And just as suddenly the world was back to normal. Except Charity was lying on the ground curled into a ball. Her hands were covering her ears and she could hear nothing but the voices inside her head. The faint sound of her screaming Gwen's name slowly filtered through her thoughts, though it sounded like it was coming from miles away.

Charity instinctively curled up as tightly as she could, and lay there, unconsciously calling out for Gwen over and over.

 

[Gwendolyn Vollmund]

“Good.”

“Watch your left.”

Gwen called advice as they sparred it was casual.

A sting here a sting there, something to keep her mind on the fight and punish her mistakes but nothing that would leave a bruise or draw any blood.

It was almost like a dance that neither could agree on. But the grace with which Gwen fought was almost beautiful and watching Charity slowly matching her warmed the old archive keepers heart. It was when her power started to grow that Gwen quickly felt the danger.

“Young one wait..” Gwen began. The final blow launching her backwards and into the opposite wall. Driving the air from her lungs she fell forward gasping. “How did you..” She gasped again only to see her young protégé curled into a ball calling her name. The world would turn black and white for her vision as well.

Charity was curled in the same ball surrounded by shadows whispering to her. Screaming at her. “ENOUGH!” Gwen said smashing her foot to the floor sending a wave that threw the shadows back.

“Do not touch her. I will end everyone of you and send back to the depths of the void if you do not understand.” She growled as her world shifted back to normal. “Charity?” Gwen would ask kneeling down.

 

[Charity Briarthorne]

Charity lay on the floor sobbing as the voices faded. After a moment she opened her eyes and looked around like a frightened animal surrounded by predators. The darkness was gone, replaced by the gentle light of the room. She had no idea where these terrifying new voices were coming from and never wanted to hear them again.

Still trembling with fear, Charity sat up and wrapped her arms tightly around Gwen's waist, pulling herself as close to the woman as she could. "I- I heard so many demonic voices." Charity stammered. "And.. I felt like I was surrounded by shadows! The voices and shadows were whispering awful things... They were telling me you hated me and didn't love me... And they told to me kill just you. They said I would be better off without you around."

"I heard a similar voice when I was drawing the symbol on your desk. It wasn't very loud and it was speaking in a language I couldn't understand. I didn't want to tell you about it because I thought you wouldnt believe me or you would make me stop using this new power."

Charity buried her face in Gwen's shirt as she bawled like a baby, the trauma of the whole experience overwhelming her. "I'm sorry Mother... I should have told you... I should have told you..." She repeated over and over squeezing Gwen as tightly as she could.

 

[Gwendolyn Vollmund]

“Stay your emotions child. Steel your self. They are drawn to negative emotions. They feed on it and seek to deepen and further it. It empowers them. So you must maintain neutrality.” She ran her fingers through Charity’s hair slowly.

“They will frighten you, tempt you, but allowing it no effect can keep it as such. Simple illusion. A projection of one world over another and nothing more. Much like our minds and bodies change reality through manifested belief and see possible outcomes by seeing the other plains of existence they occured. That is the calm voice. Helpful and kind users like ourselves separated by vast universes and yet still speaking.”

She held her close and allowed her to cry. Reminding herself that while powerful Charity was still just a mortal. Struggling to understand..She sighed patting her head. “Your thoughts aid others whether you know it or not daughter.” She said plainly helping her up to a sitting position and assuming a meditative position crossing her legs.

Gesturing for Charity to do the same Gwen would grasp her hands gently. She closed her eyes. “Our significance is our realization of our insignificance in the larger role of what swirls around us.”

“This is a lot to take in but I had no idea how far your powers had progressed...I should have paid closer mind. You far surpassed anything I could accomplish at your age. So these are essential things to know if you do not wish to be harmed or claimed by the shadows.” Gwen said calmly.

“So feel my calm wash over you. Calm is a state of perfect defense against these threats. The mind and body in a state of synergy.” She exhaled softly and opened her eyes revealing one black and one the normal hazy grey.

“Do you understand?” She asked softly.

 

[Charity Briarthorne]

"But... But.... I can't. How am I supposed to do that when they're so overwhelming?" Charity began to sob harder, still clinging tightly to Gwen. The whole experience with the voices and shadows had been so frightening she was sure there was no way to counter or stop them from taking over.

Gwen's soothing voice and prescene gradually calmed Charity. She allowed herself to be helped to a sitting position. What did Gwen mean she didn't realize how how far they had progressed? She'd only had them for a short time and still had no idea where they even came from! How could they have gotten so out of hand in such a short time?

Charity pushed those thoughts out of her head as Gwen held held her hands. Suddenly she felt a strong wave of serenity wash over her. She had no idea such a state of peacefulness was possible.

Charity still didn't fully understand what Gwen was saying, but trusted that the woman would make things clear in good time. She closed her eyes and held on to Gwen's hands, patiently waiting for the excersie to continue.