Ira’s fingers tapped on the bottle of homemade wine he brought as he waited outside Adessa’s door. It’d been over a month since her letter saying she would be home soon. Sure, she could have gotten held up. Maybe she found more information that got her held up in Valencia. Still the silence didn’t sit well with him. It was hard enough over the, what was it… nearly six months she went quiet over the winter?
“Excuse me, have you seen Adessa lately?”
The passing farmer shook his head. “‘aven’t seen ‘er since maybe, three-four weeks back?”
So she had been home. “Thank you.” Ira pulled the spare key from his bag and let himself into the house. It was clean, no sign of intrusion. Though the garlic hanging on the wall had started to sprout. Definitely been a while since she was home. So what made her leave?
In her little study on the far side of the house he saw her papers strewn about. On the top he found his last letter and a half finished letter to him.
I think I’ve finally got it. The light is connected to an old power in Calpheon, and the sigil is from old Valencia. Together, they’ve been used to destroy black energy. But they were originally supposed to drive it away. If I can just find-
It ended there. Something interrupted her. But what? A new train of thought, maybe? He pulled some of the books off the shelf hoping that maybe she wrote some notes to herself in them. Something he could use to follow her path. Part way through one of her heavier tomes he found an envelope. It was small, with ‘Veil’ written on the front in a firm hand. It was never sealed so he opened it without a second thought. It only had one word on it, ‘Ilhen’. That just created more questions.
Finding nothing else to point to her location, Ira left the house. He knew that she frequently went to the inn to feel like she was in the city again. Worth a shot to ask around there. First he asked about the word, or name, ‘Ilhen’ but it didn’t make sense to anyone there. But when he asked when they last saw Adessa he finally got something concrete.
“Some white witch or somethin’. All covered in runes and hair white as snow. She came in talkin’ about some monster by Calpheon with blue eyes and black smoke. She left in a hurry after that.”
Blue eyes and black smoke?
We both know what that means.
Ira cursed Onris’ name under his breath. The idiot had let it get the better of him and she went after him. That was weeks ago and she still wasn’t home. Anxiety pitted itself in his gut as he grabbed his horse and took off for the west.
Everyone he talked to had said that the blue eyed monster in the forest was gone, but no one knew what happened to it. The hunters that frequented those woods said there were battle scars in the land but no sign of a body. More questions.
When he changed his questions from a monster to that of people he did seem to find more answers. There was a small home outside the city where a woman with blue eyes and dark skin lived. Likely the sister that he’d heard Adessa mention. Not that he wanted to see a member of that family right now but it was the only lead he had.
Sure enough. Shortly after he knocked he was greeted by a rather towering woman with those blue eyes. Though her eyes lacked pupils altogether, they were certainly not too pleased by the interruption, as she held an infant to her chest. “What do you want?”
Ira’s eyes briefly flicked to the infant. The child met his gaze with that sickly blue and faded vertical pupils. Great. Another one. “I’m looking for Onris. Is he here?”
“I’m a friend of Adessa-- Veil’s. I’m trying to find her.”
Veil’s name seemed to make the woman relax. The tension left her shoulders and she stepped out of the doorway. “I haven’t seen her since she left him on my doorstep, but yeah, he’s here. I don’t think he’ll be of much use to you.”
Left him on her doorstep? Ira followed the woman into the small house and found a casually dressed Onris looking bored as he read a book on the couch. Anger immediately flooded Ira’s blood seeing him here, fine, healthy, while Adessa was missing. He stepped in front of the woman and grabbed Onris by the collar of his shirt and dragged him off the couch. “Where is she?!”
“Where’s Veil, you asshole?”
“Hey!” The woman grabbed Ira’s wrist with enough force to make him drop the other man. The strength of her grip in her off hand, while she still swaddled the baby, was terrifying. “If you’re going to cause trouble here, I will kick you out myself.”
Ira relented, stepping back from Onris, and that seemed good enough for her. “Where is she?”
“Who? Look, I have no idea what you’re talking about!”
“Oh, don’t you get cute with me, bastard. Where’s Veil?”
“Who’s Veil?! Adi??” Onris looked to his sister and Ira realized the confusion was genuine.
“You.. don’t remember? What about…?”
Adiri shook her head. “Veil said she got rid of it, but he lost his memories with it. He remembers who he was before, but not since. Now, would you please stop harassing him? My brother may be an asshole but he’s still trying to catch up on the last few years.”
So she did figure it out.
But whatever she did, it didn’t quite work. Ira doubted she would have purposefully wiped Onris’ memories of her. “Sorry, I’m… just, sorry. Do you know anything about a witch or someone, a woman with white hair and runes on her body?”
“Onris told me about one, before. She hired him for a job once, getting some papers from deep inside the Kalis Parliament, and a few other things I think. Something about Caphras cave maybe.”
“Do you know where that is?”
“Thank you.” Ira gave the still confused and slightly startled Onris a passing glance as he left. This was the closest he might have ever felt to pity for the man.
The cave itself also proved to be empty and devoid of much. It was definitely the right place. A well of black spirits swarmed out from the base of the cave, infecting any unwitting adventurer that might find their way here.
I remember this place. Those poor fools, still trapped. Ha!
“Quiet.” Ira found a few kunai stuck in the rocks and scattered on the floor. She was definitely here. Unfortunately he also found signs of old dried blood. A lot of it. But still no bodies. She wasn’t here either. So where did she go?
Can’t you hear them? They’ve got what you want.
Oh, you actually want my help? How cute.
Fine. They’re talking about the… Edana’s Heart? It was here??
His black spirit went quiet for a while but he was getting impatient. If she lost enough blood to account for what he was finding then he’d be lucky to find her alive at all. Time was important now. Ira cursed himself for waiting this long to come looking for her.
The Edana was the first. The strongest of us. He ruled Valencia with his black spirit. The power he held was sealed into a black stone from under the castle so that no one could ever use it against Valencia. It’s been lost since… forever!
“So how does that help me find Adessa?”
I don’t know, but she was here. And so was it.
“U-uhm… excuse me?” A voice snapped Ira’s attention around as he pulled his blade up to guard. A small Shai with greying skin cowered before him. Realizing there was no threat he dropped his guard. “A-are you looking for the women that were here?”
Answers! Ira knelt down, grabbing the Shai’s shoulders. “Where are they? What happened?”
“Th-they fought. The woman in white and the other one. There was a giant here too, but he left. If he’d stayed it would have been much worse.”
“What happened to them?!”
The urgent tone made the Shai cower but he could not escape his grip. “Sh-th...they… The white one turned black and th-the other one was impaled by her ice.”
Ira’s heart dropped. The blood was hers. The world felt like it was crashing down around him. The cave itself could have collapsed and he wouldn’t have noticed. “But, where is she? Where did her body go?”
“A-a scholar was here. After the black ghost disappeared, she just laid there. A s-scholar eventually arrived with Ch-Chief Valentine. They found her and t-took her to Fl-Fl-Florin.”
He was gone before the Shai even had a moment to catch his breath.
“I’m sorry, but the Adessa woman isn’t here.”
Again?! Ira was losing his mind chasing her all over Calpheon. “Where, then? Where did she go?”
“Calm yourself, boy. I am not your enemy here. We did what we could to heal her but her injuries were terrible. She should have been laid up here for months but after a few days she disappeared. We still have her armor, if she ever wanted to come back for it.”
The bearded Shai led him across the small herbalist settlement to where the blacksmith had set up shop. In the corner of the building, sure enough, he saw her armor. The same armor she always wore when they worked. Horrible, jagged holes cut their way through the cuirass. That explained all the blood… by all rights she should be dead.
“We cleaned it up as best we could, but I don’t think there’s any saving it. Though, she did take the weapons with her. There used to be a blade in this pile and some small knives.”
That sounded like the Adessa he knew. Never unarmed. But her path was cold again. She wasn’t here and he had a really bad feeling about this. The woman in white had a stone connected to the very first person with a black spirit. And the cursed Shai in the cave mentioned a black ghost.
With a lack of any other leads he would have to go back to Calpheon. Maybe those that he once called allies would be keeping tabs on her.
Weak structural supports crumbled dust over the damp ground as Ira picked his way through the ruins of their old office. Someone had gotten to them first. The bodies had long since rotted and been picked at by the rats. There was no smell left to drive off scavengers.
Anything of obvious monetary value had been lifted but many of the books and documents remained. Most of the bookshelves were waterlogged and modly, destroying much of the text, rendering them useless. The Headmaster’s desk appeared to have been
He saw familiar documents, illustrating Veil’s tattoo, contracts for their targets. And, as he should have expected, an order of execution for both himself and Veil. It looked like the last they knew they might have been in Mediah. There would be no new information here.
Behind him he heard cautious shuffled footsteps making their way through the halls. He snapped backwards through space, pressing himself into the wall by the door, blade at ready.
“I know you’re in there…!” A voice yelled through the hall. It bounced off the walls and would echo down the hallways if anyone else was here. Ira cursed under his breath for this blundering. If anyone else was looking for her then they’d find him here trapped by whoever this idiot was. “By order of Elion’s Valkyries, show yourself! Why are you here in this twisted place??”
A valkyrie. Of course. He shouldn’t be surprised - they might well be connected to this sub cult of ‘Elion’s Light’. He knew their armor. Her neck would be guarded, but her sternum wasn’t. If he angled it right-
“If you mean Adessa harm, I swear by Elion that I will end you.”
Throwing caution to the wind for the sake of answers, Ira stepped out into the door, hands up. “You know Adessa?”
Thick tension held the air as the red haired Valkyrie poised her blade over her shield. Neither of them moved. One built purely for defense, the other an expert at quick offense. One mistake would be the end of either of them. “My name is Alyxeria. I’m here trying to help a woman named Adessa find answers. Your turn.”
“My name is Ira. I am a friend of Adessa’s, though I fear she may not remember me.”
Her stance shifted a little. That may as well confirm what he had feared. She didn’t remember. “Why should I believe you?”
“You shouldn’t. But I hope you will.” Ira remained where he stood, hands up, and waited. Grip just tight enough to end the fight if she decided to start one.
Luck seemed to favor him, however, as she relaxed her guard. “What do you know of her?”
“I was hoping to ask you the same thing. I lost touch with her almost two months back and have been trying to find her. I feared the worst. Do you know where she is?”
Alyxeria shook her head. “I offered her a meal and a warm place to sleep a few nights ago. She left by morning without saying anything. If you find her, don’t expect her to know you. I’m afraid she’s been taken by a black spirit. They’re cruel things that steal memories in return for power.”
“I’m… unfortunately familiar.” Ira’s heart broke in his chest as he heard those words. His Veil, his Adessa, was gone. Whoever he was going to find would be someone new. Maybe someone darker. Fuck you, Onris. This is your fault. We should have killed you the first time. “What led you here?”
“I recognized something about the tattoo on her arm. One of our junior Valkyrie got her hands on… a dark, dastardly book, that spoke of a cult within the church. It talked about a place in the underbelly of the city. I thought there might be a connection. I assume there is, if you’re here too.”
Spot on. Impressive. “There’s nothing left here.” Ira sheathed his blade and walked towards the Valkyrie. She was still wary of his presence, giving him space as he walked by. “Before you leave, you should burn everything you find. Better this place dies here.”
This was, truly, the last place he expected to find himself. Standing in front of that old door that once said home for so long. Ira sighed heavily trying to will his body to move. Gritting his teeth he reached for the loose brick, but paused. The brick wasn’t there. The key wasn’t there. Throwing a glance down the street in either direction nothing seemed out of the ordinary. No one was watching him.
Slowly, he checked the door. It was unlocked. Taking a moment to pause he took in everything he could see. The dirt by the door was scuffed but that could have been from his feet. The door had been unlocked - presumably using the hidden key, which no one should have been able to find.
What if…? Ira held back his hopes. Even if it was her, it wasn’t her. He swallowed hard and pushed the door open.
He couldn’t believe his eyes. There, in the middle of the room, stood Adessa. Looking absolutely terrified. Then his eyes started to take in everything else. The candle on the table, the burned edge on the blade, her torn open sleeve.
Whatever black spirit had hold of her was trying to burn off the one thing that could kill it. “Adessa. Don’t do it.”
