The man in the shattered mirror
((Be warned, this is a long post))
Ro had heard some rumors, recently. Odd ones that brought her some deep concerns. They could be true, she thought. That would be ridiculous. She turned the corner to the training room to see a familiar face wielding a runic blade surrounded in raw, arcane energy.
“Harkin?”
The man turned, the left side of his face covered in burns. He stared at her for a moment, but his eyes spoke volumes. There was almost nothing there of Harkin. “Ah, you must be Ro. Harold told me of you.”
The silence was palpable. But Ro had been right, the rumors were wrong. This was not the Harkin she knew. She had had some hope, slight as it was, that the man she knew, the man she had come to respect, the man she had come to see as... She couldn’t bring herself to speak about it, simply greeting his kindness in turn. “Yes. I am the Collective’s current Eldritch Knight.”
The man smiled looking at her. “Well, I am pleased to see I left such a capable apprentice.”
Ro calmed her mind. Everything felt like a trick. Like someone just wanted to hurt her. “So, are you the *real* Harkin. Or are you another universe’s?”
He looks away, letting his blade fall to his side. “According to quite a few mages, I am of this world. Though, no one can determine why my memories have left me.” He seem exasperated, letting out a heavy sigh. “My apologies. I wish I could tell you more but nothing I can do seems to remedy these circumstances.”
“How about some tea?” Ro responded.
Harkin gave a gentle smile. “That...would be lovely.”
The two made it tot he kitchen in relative silence. It was too early in the morning to see most faces in the guild hall. Ro began a pot of hot water letting it boil before either of them would say a word.
“Mint and chocolate I presume?” She asked, knowing the answers.
“A bit early for that, but certainly a lovely choice.” He smiled, it was a pleasant surprise for her to know his taste in tea. Though the truth of the matter bit him. “Tell me, Ro, what is your full name?”
She hesitated. She knew the answer to this question, but the way it was asked stuck her. Was it a challenge? No, something different. “For a time, it was Ro-el’tai Vartis. But after an issue within my family, I changed it to Ro-el’tai... Saldorek.” Her stare was cold, not letting herself betray any emotion.
“if I may ask...” He could barely bring himself to speak. “Why did you choose to change your name?”
Ro couldn’t think. She stared at man so familiar, so important to her, but had no memories to speak of. She inhaled slowly. “My mother demanded I leave your apprenticeship, saying that it wasn’t beneficial to our family to continue. We argued a short while before you entered the room. You defended my choice, going so far as to state my mother was unfit to call herself my family.” She gave a brief pause, watching Harkin’s response, but he still seemed stunned by everything.
“I’ll be honest, I’d never had someone fight for me like that before. Most of my life, my family taught me that I had to prove myself worthy of their name. Of my family. That it was an honor to be of a house. But coming here, you help me learn the truth. That family is not a set of rules or something that needs to be earned.” She looked away. “It is love shared between people, regardless of blood. I..” Before she could speak, Harkin embraced her, sobbing.
“I’m so sorry.”
Ro was stunned, only managing to get a single word out. “Why?”
“I left you. I left all of you. I was reckless.”
“Harkin, you died. You can’t be blamed for that.”
There was a silence, as if the whole world stood still. Harkin sat back in his chair, composing himself. “Maybe so, but my reckless actions lead to my death. And I had far too much to protect. I let hatred blind me.” He let out a heavy sigh. “Even if I know I can return.”
Ro sat in silence for a moment before responding. “Now you’re fucking with me.”
Harkin let out a chuckle. “I so very wish. No, my story is rather old. In truth, Harkin was not my name, but the only name left. I was born in a demiplane controlled by a powerful entity known only as The Starved Mind. This monstrosity feeds on memories. Apparently, my mother served him, sacrificing me along with an entire village to act its play thing. Of the shattered pieces I could gather, she used me as a puppet, creating and devouring memories as they pleased.” He grimaced at the thought.
“I have no idea how many lives I lived within that realm. I do know that it pissed of a very powerful demon. So much so that she sent her daughter to pull me out of that plane as revenge, going so far as to imbue me with infernal magics.” Harkin held out his arm, the skin still appearing as if a fire was underneath. “It called that day The Shattering. That demon left a terrible mark on me and my memories were still of the life i had lived to that point.”
He took a sip of tea. “I must have lived many more live after that. The Shattering left me in a cycle. Every time I died, I returned to The Starved Minds realm, xer influence permanently sticking me in the memory of life where I was released. I spent many life times returning to the various planes, dying, and being reborn. It was not until a kind, simple cleric of a goddess of the mind saved me that I managed to change the cycle.”
“It was a death like I must have had before. Fallen to some trap or foe or beast. The young dwarf rushed to save me. However, by the time his spell had finished casting, he had already forgotten me. Instead, only his god remembered me. A god of mind and memory. She gave me an offer. I could retain my presence in this world, but I would have to relive the day in which I was freed. And when I did, I would not have control over where I ended up.”
“So now, here I am. Torn between the whims of three entities, reincarnated at random until I live long enough to reshape my memories. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. But I had thought myself wise from keeping truth from you. I was a fool to believe, with your might and will, that we would nt meet again.”
Ro attempted to process this information. “So you’re telling me, that you are basically the most incompent immortal being to ever exist?”
Harkin smirked. “I’d say second or third, but yes. I’d also say I’m the luckiest.”
“And why is that?”
There was a long-drawn silence once more, as Harkin attempted to pull the words from his soul.
“Because no being alive could be so lucky as to leave you as their legacy.”
