A Shadow in the Mist

“There be three things which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not: The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.”

From the book of Proverbs pre-breaking, one of the few books to survive the Breaking of the World

Cain Sunday, August 4th, 564 AB

Pushing myself to my feet I followed Mother Leora into the Church. We did not go to the central chamber again but a side room, its walls lined with scrolls and tomes. Mother Leora sat down and gestured for me to sit in a padded armchair. She took down a tome and opened a bottle of ink.

“As per the law your skills, passives and trait must be recorded for the church’s records,” she said. “You already know this, but I am required to remind you that anything we say here will stay private, and your records will be kept anonymous until your death.”

“Yes, Mother,” I said nodding.

You have been invited into a party. Accept?

Yes/No

I selected yes and opened up my character sheet, holding up my palm so Mother Leora could read it. Her pen scratched on the blank page of the tome as she read and recorded my information. She set down the pen and flipped through several tomes before returning to her scribblings.

“You are very unique,” she said. “You and your Relic both.”

“I am?” I asked.

“Yes,” Mother Leora said. “Do you know your father’s trait?”

“Yes, it’s called Enraging Power, it gives him a percentage boost to his strength when enraged,” I said.

“And do you know your mother’s?” she asked.

“No,” I confessed. “She died when I was eleven, I never got the chance to ask her.”

“Well your trait differs greatly from any I’ve seen before,” she said. “Never reveal it to anyone.”

“Why?” I asked, confused.

“Imagine what someone with your trait who became a Warlock would be like,” Mother Leora said. “There are those who would fear such a possibility and kill you just to keep it from happening.”

I gulped imagining both my own death and the possibility of a Warlock with that trait. Warlocks never purged the corruption from their bodies like Wardens, they would only become more and more powerful if they had this power in their blood.

“Then there is the matter of your Relic’s secondary passive,” Mother Leora continued. “Most secondary passives aren’t that impactful and, on the face of it, neither is yours. But I’ve never seen one like it. You can breathe in the Mist, not just see through it. This means you can stay in there far longer than any other non-tainted creature with no need for you to refill your air bladders.”

“You do not need to keep this a secret but I would caution you to tell others discreetly. There are many who would seek to use you, and risk your life needlessly to explore the Mist if they knew it.”

“I will be discreet ma’am,” I promised.

“Your skills are mostly standard; your Fog Form is a rare skill. I see it listed as only having been discovered on relics a handful of times. You don’t have any abilities that I would consider weak but nothing earth shattering either,” she said. “Don’t be discouraged by your Relic’s Element or its shorter blade, I have known many Wardens, and I will tell you this, it is not your skills but your skill in using them that will determine your greatness.”

“Thank you, Mother,” I said, bowing my head.

“Now we come to the matter of your bride,” Mother Leora said. “You currently have a great deal of corruption in your Core and only three of my girls have a capacity large enough to absorb all of it. Of the three, one of them is temperamentally unsuited for you and the other is a noble’s daughter. That leaves the third girl whom you already know.”

I opened my mouth to say I didn’t know any of the girls but then remembered the girl I had rescued.

“Aranea wasn’t it?” I asked, wracking my brain for a moment to remember her name.

“Yes,” Mother Leora said fondly then her eyes became stern as she looked in my eyes. “What I am about to say to you does not leave this room, am I clear?”

“Yes Mother,” I said, feeling suddenly on edge as she stared at me intently.

“A Mother Superior is supposed to have no favorites among her aspirants,” Mother Leora said. “It’s one of the reasons we are forbidden from marrying. When I began my training in the capital, I never thought I would take this role. Then, I became pregnant with one of the royal prince’s children. He wasn’t part of the main family but was still wealthy and powerful. We were going to get married but he died fighting in the war. I took the vows and gave birth in secret. Aranea is my daughter. I tell you this so you understand that I am not just entrusting you with one of my aspirants but my own daughter.”

“Tell me now if you can’t be responsible for her because if I hear you haven’t protected my little girl… not even the Council of Templars can save you from me,” she said, her threat hanging heavily between us.

“I will die before I let any harm come to her,” I promised.

Mother Leora looked into my eyes for a long minute as she weighed me. Finally, she nodded. “I believe you, Sir Cain. Remember, tell no one of this conversation.”

I rose and bowed to her, turning to leave. I stopped just before my hand touched the door handle. “Does she know? That you’re her mother?”

“No,” Mother Leora admitted, her voice full of heartbreak. “And every day is a little harder not to tell her. It’s why I have to let her go. She can never know. Not who I am and not who her father was.”

I left her alone as I entered the central chamber. Sir Valren and my father were talking and I approached them slowly, not wanting to interrupt.

“Cain,” my father said, gesturing me over. “Sir Valren here said he wished to speak to me about you.”

I stood next to my father and Sir Valren held out his arm, clasping my wrist in a warrior grip. “Has Mother Superior found you a bride among her aspirants?” he asked me.

“She has,” I said bowing my head in respect to the man who my father obviously held in high regard.

“Good,” Sir Valren said. “I was speaking with your father about our time together in the last war. He was a brave warrior, and loyal to the Church and our kingdom; I am glad to see he has passed down those traits to his children. I have been stationed at Fort Mistwall for the past few years as overseer of the Academy there. I have been recruiting promising young pages to attend and I believe you would make a fine addition to the academy. We don’t get enough skilled Mist Wardens, the prejudice against that Element means we never have the best people for that role.”

“I would be honored to attend but I must serve my father until I pay him back for purchasing my Relic for me,” I said, touching the hilt of Achlys where it hung awkwardly at my hip.

William, who had been silently standing by father, handed me the spear he had taken from the Warlock. “This is rightfully yours Cain. It is a Fire Relic, it would more than make up for the price of your Relic.”

Father laid a hand on my shoulder. “You are my son,” he said, his voice full of pride. “This was a gift to you. Regardless of what my wife might say, you owe me nothing. I will not have you try to purchase my gift to you, or your own freedom. If you wish to join Sir Valren at the academy to train there, you have my blessing.”

“Do it,” William urged me. “The chance to train at an academy next to the Mistwall isn’t something you can pass up. Think of the opportunities.”

I hesitated for a moment longer before deciding. “Yes, I would like to join.”

“Excellent,” Sir Valren said. “I was only going to pass through here, but my company will stay one day to give you your wedding night.”

---

Aranea

I drew my needle along the stitch of my dress, fixing the tear I’d taken from the wind imp’s claws. Even now the memory of being chased through the orchard still made my heart race with fear. I remembered the claws going for my neck only for the young Warden to appear, driving his dagger through its head. My hands shook and I steadied my breathing.

“A Weaver is always calm and collected,” I reminded myself, my needle steadying once again.

The tear was mended. I snipped the threads and let my skirt fall back down, the mending barely noticeable. Mother Leora entered the dormitory and we all snapped to attention. I winced, ready for my reprimand for being outside of the dormitory without permission. The rules had seemed so silly, but they had almost cost me my life today.

“Welcome Mother,” We said in chorus as she strode with refined elegance down the rows of beds.

“Good evening, Daughters, you may go back to your duties, the danger has passed,” she said. I could feel a collective sigh of relief escape my fellow aspirants.

Some of these girls had only been training here for the past seven years, ever since they were tested. Others were orphans like me and had been raised here their whole lives. Not all of those orphans would become Weavers, but they still learned the trade and would become good wives. A valuable addition to any settlement they joined when they came of age.

Mother Leora stopped before me and I lowered my gaze, ready for the lecture I would receive.

“Aranea, walk with me,” she said, her voice soft and gentle.

Surprised by the unexpected tone, I followed her out into the convent’s garden. She sat down on a marble bench and gestured for me to sit beside her.

“I’m sorry for going out into the orchards without your permission,” I said, my fingers tapping nervously.

“You know what you did was wrong,” Mother Leora said. “I’m not here to lecture you.”

“Then what am I here for Mother?” I asked.

“You have been chosen,” Mother Leora said. “The young man who took his knighthood today will be your Warden. You will be married tonight and tomorrow you will leave with him.”

I was stunned. While I had always known that the Mother Superior would choose a Warden for me one day, it was still a shock that it was today.

“Which one was he?” I asked nervously, there were so many new Wardens in the town below.

“You’ve met him already,” Mother Leora said, a small smile on her lips. “He’s the young man who came to rescue you.”

I thought back, recalling the man’s face. He was a handsome boy, if a bit lean, having just recovered from the ganglyness of adolescence. He had dark hair, marking him as being of more northern or eastern blood than those typical of our kingdom.

“Is he… a good Warden?” I asked, unsure how to word it.

While I had given up the dreams all Aspirants had at first of marrying a Prince and serving in the royal court defending the capital, I still wanted to marry a Warden who had promise. I wanted a man who was bold, heroic and whose deeds would be sung about in legends.

“Do you think I would assign you to some unworthy knight?” Mother Leora asked me her arms drawing me in close. “Oh, my little spider, I will miss you. He is a good man; I can tell that about him, and his Relic is powerful.”

“What element is it?” I asked.

“Mist,” Mother Leora said.

“Oh,” I said, disappointed.

“Do not discount him because of the prejudices of others,” Mother Leora reprimanded him. “He will get enough of that from others. You are to be his wife, and must always support him.”

“But no Mist Warden has ever been sung into song,” I said.

“Perhaps that is because no one believed enough in them,” Mother Leora said. “Don’t let that be you, my daughter. If you support him, he will cherish you. In time, you will find that to be worth more than all the songs in the world.”

“Yes mother,” I said, bowing my head and feeling her lips kiss down on the crown of my hair.

“Go pack your things,” she said. “I will prepare the bridal chambers.”

I got up and went back to the dormitory, feeling strangely different after my conversation with the Mother.

“What did she say?” Laria, my best friend, asked.

“I’m getting married,” I said, feeling dazed as I said the words aloud.

Laria squealed in joy and wrapped her arms around me. Laria was another orphan like me, but her core wasn’t large enough for her to qualify as an Aspirant.

“Congratulations!” she said. “Have you seen him? Is he handsome? Is he a noble’s son? Oh he must be! I saw that man who must be his father come through the town gates with his sons. What house is he?”

Laria continued asking questions without even waiting for an answer and her usual energetic, free spirit helped me to relax. She helped me pack all my things into my chest. The Mother had helped us all prepare a chest with what we would need to take with us when we married. Our bridal chest, filled with the tools of our trade. My ivory comb was special, a gift that had been given to me anonymously on my seventh birthday when I had been tested for my Etheric core. I had a natural core of sixty-four. High, even for women.

With my bridal chest packed I was taken away. I removed the dress of an Aspirant as I put on a new dress made of lace and white linen. A veil covered my face as I waited. Mother Leora guided me into the church’s central chamber. My fellow Aspirants played the harp and lyre, providing a low backdrop of music. The young man’s family stood in the pews watching, along with the other girls from the Convent, a retinue of Wardens who had been passing through, and the rest of the small town.

Mother Leora guided me before the altar where the young man waited, wearing a simple white tunic, his feet bare just like mine. Taking his hands, Mother Leora guided the two of us close and clasped our hands together. I squeezed his hands, his touch helping me calm my nervous heart. I hadn’t realized just how many people were in the town until they were all watching me at once.

“Aranea Ward and Cain Le’meer,” Mother Leora intoned. “You have come before the church today to swear your vows in the view of the Voice and man. After tonight, you shall be as one flesh and spirit; bound together by your vows, and the bond you create.”

“Sir Cain Le’meer, you will be the leader of your family. Where you go, your wife shall follow. She shall prosper, and suffer, by the choices you make. It is your responsibility to provide for your household, to work by the sweat of your brow and the blood of your body to shelter, clothe, feed, and protect her. Do you swear by the blood of your body and the ether of your soul to love, cherish and protect this woman for as long as you live?”

“I do so swear,” Cain said, meeting my eyes. His dark brown eyes were solemn and purposeful.

“Aranea Ward, you will be the keeper of the home. You shall tend the hearth and whatever children the Voice gives you, ensuring the order of your house. It is your responsibility to comfort, support, and counsel your husband; to ensure that within the walls of your home there is always someone he can rely on. Do you swear by the blood of your body and the ether of your soul to love, obey and support this man for as long as you live?” Mother Leora asked.

“I do so swear,” I said, feeling my heart skip.

“Then by the will of the Voice and the authority given by the Church, I join you together as husband and wife,” Mother Leora said. “What the Voice has put together, let no man separate.”

Cain leaned in and I met his lips with mine, the kiss soft and hesitant, neither of us sure of ourselves. Cheers rose from the assembly as Cain lifted me into his arms. Carrying me, as was tradition, to the wedding chamber. The heavy wooden door shut behind us, blocking out the cheers of the gathered people as the feasting and drinking began behind us. Cain carried me to the bed, setting me down gently on its covers.

For a moment, we were both still. We were strangers, but the role we were to play now had been explained and taught to us since we were children. Cain pulled up his tunic revealing a well-muscled body from years of training to fight the djinn. There were several scars along his left arm that looked to have come from burns. He reached out slowly, his hand caressing my cheek and traveling down my neck.

I helped him undo the ties of my dress letting it slip from my shoulders. I slid out of the dress, dropping it to the floor. His trousers joined them on the stone floor. The air was cold, and I felt goosebumps form over my skin. Cain joined me on the bed, our lips pressing together again. Our hands fumbled with each other as we both awkwardly moved.

His lips traveled down my neck, and I laughed, the sensation exhilarating but also ticklish at first. My hands slid around his back and neck running through his dark hair. I pulled his face to mine, kissing him again. Reaching him down I guided him to my entrance. At first, our movements together were awkward, but we found a rhythm. There was pain at first, but it faded quickly. I felt myself enjoying his touch more and more, our breathing growing more labored. Then it happened, a golden glow suffused mine and his body as the Corruption transferred from him over to me.

The sensation of his arrival was like holding a hot coal in your hand, the burning traveling through my veins and into my core. I gasped in both pain and ecstasy, my legs drawing him tight against me. We lay like that for long minutes as we both panted, regaining our breath.

He pushed himself off of me, lying beside me, and I laid my head on his chest. There was a tingling in my right palm and I held it up, watching as a sigil formed itself there. With a thought, I accessed my newly unlocked character sheet, having finished our bonding ritual.

Core Level

1

Experience to Next Level

0/10

Bonded Element

Mist

Name

Aranea Le’meer

Hit Points:

68

Hit Point Regen:

1 per minute

Might

Agility

Endurance

Will

Senses

Clarity

3

4

4

6

7

6

Ether

Corruption Level

64/64

57/64

Trait

Final Stand: You gain +1% regen rate for every missing point of ether in your Core.

Primary Passive

Secondary Passive

Mist Sight: You can see through the Mist without impediment, it is visible to you only as vague haze in the air.

Mist Walker: You have immunity to the effects of the Mist able to breathe freely within it with no hindrance.

Mist Skills

Siren Song: Your voice sings out in a hauntingly beautiful tune for the next 30 seconds inflicting Pacify on creatures who can hear you and Clarity on allied targets within hearing distance.

Cost:

15 ether

Mist Veil: Your body becomes blurred by a veil of mist making you harder to hit for the next 20 seconds inflicting a 50% miss chance against you.

Cost:

8 ether

Ether Familiar: You conjure an elemental spirit of Mist to serve as your familiar. It will last until destroyed and is resummoned casting time 5 minutes.

Cost:

15 ether

Moon Skills

Lunar Ray: A blade of silver light shoots from your hands up to 100ft striking a creature you can see dealing your Core maximum charge as Moon damage.

Cost:

3 ether

Silver Purity: Closes wounds across a single creature’s body and removes any Disease, Infection, Debuff, or Curse affecting them.

Cost:

10 ether

Wind Skills

Voice on the Wind: Link yourself and up to 3 others to be able to speak even at whisper up to 200ft away for 10 minutes.

Cost:

9 ether

Sweeping Hurricane: A rushing wind pushes away anything not secured down in a 40ft cone in front of you.

Cost:

5 ether

I extended a party invitation to Cain and he accepted it. I held out my hand, showing him my character sheet. As his Weaver my character sheet was a sort of mirror of his, I had the same number of skills as my bonded Warden but I didn’t have armor of course.

“Mother Leora said you were skilled, but I didn’t realize you had seven skills,” I said.

I knew the average was four. So his relic had to be of exceptional quality to give out seven skills. Only the royal families had relics that gave out a full nine skills, and those were passed down from generation to generation.

He extended his own hand, showing me his character sheet. It was impressive but I noticed his Trait was fogged over preventing me from reading it.

“Why can’t I read your trait?” I asked.

Cain was hesitant. “Your mother… Mother Leora,” he said, “told me not to show it to anyone. She believed it could cause problems. You are my wife so, if you want me to show it to you…”

“It’s alright,” I said, kissing him. “If the Mother Superior felt it was best to keep hidden, it probably is. If I need to know, I trust you’ll tell me.”

We were just married, and I didn’t want to pressure him to share all his secrets with me. A Warden had to feel comfortable with his Weaver, or he wouldn’t be able to pass on the Corruption for her to purify. I shivered suddenly, feeling the cold air rush over my bare skin. Cain pulled the covers over us and I pressed myself against him for warmth.

Closing my eyes, I had trouble sleeping. The excitement of the day, my new skills, being married, all of it raced through my mind. Then, there was the lack of the familiar smells of the dormitory, and the non-existent backdrop of the other girls’ heavy breathing or whispers in the night. Cain’s breathing grew deeper as he fell asleep and, eventually, my mind drifted off as well.