Hope

Irwyn awoke, sweat on his brow. He did not panic nor let his heart beat out of his chest. One could only be surprised by visions so many times before they became somewhat… mundane, for all they let him witness half incomprehensible things. It had been months since Irwyn had last been made to witness one during the Exenn. He had been frankly expecting another sooner.

So, he delved right away into analyzing what he had seen. It had begun in the tomb, staring at the pillar… except Irwyn realized he couldn’t quite recall what it looked like. It was stone, definitely, but nothing else came to mind as to its shape nor appearance. He knew that the innermost chamber was within a genuine labyrinth of sorts, except could not remember a single specific step along the way. Details were glaringly absent. Unlike his previous visions.

But perhaps that was merely a side effect of what the tomb contained: An actual remnant of Lumen, if he was interpreting correctly. A shattered piece of an Aspect. That could make his heart skip beats. And if he had understood things correctly, of Ignis and Umbra as well. That in itself was enough to awaken very un-Light Greed deep within him. Enough to make his head spin for a moment. Although it was selfish, he could not easily dismiss such a desire. Because it promised power, oh so much power.

And Irwyn had a need for power. The limited Time of his defacto pardon that the Duchess had granted him was one thing, but much more urgent was the constant threat of the Undead. Being stuck at camp due to his lack of magical might had begun to stink. The knowledge that any random Draugr could be hiding behind a corner and kill him on sight - for all such a scenario was unlikely. And while he was not as paranoid as Elizabeth about the likelihood of it, the situation did bother him. And frankly, there was only one solution to that: To achieve such power that he could forego fear. That careful approach was enough to nigh guarantee survival rather than merely increase odds…

But perhaps he was getting ahead of himself. The issue with the vision was that he could not know where it had taken place. But even to that there was a hint. The desert surrounded by glass mountains was familiar - he was quite certain it was the very same place where his first vision had taken place. And since that was the case, perhaps it was no coincidence. Quite possibly, it could be somewhere he could reach.

Back then such a thought had never even crossed his mind. He had kept those visions mostly secret and lacked the resources to even attempt looking into them. But things had changed since then. He had someone he could confide him who also happened to have the resources to help him search. So, he left his bed and walked downstairs. It was not much earlier than when Irwyn usually woke as became apparent when looking out one of the building’s small windows. He found Elizabeth just placing down tea for their breakfast.

“We need to speak, full privacy,” he said as soon as he sat down.

“Done,” she sat opposite to him and announced after a few seconds, a veil had spread around them by them. “Another vision?”

“Am I that predictable?” he sighed.

“First thing in the morning you just remember something of utmost urgency and secrecy?” she rolled her eyes with a smile. “Yes, it is quite obvious. Does it have to do with our current predicament?”

“Seemingly? No,” Irwyn shook his head. “Rather, it could be a solution to our more long-term woes. Let me explain…”

And so, he described what he had seen. Though as always, Irwyn excluded that he had been to one to take part in building the burial site… Or other things that hinted at the Name he could still distantly feel when he forgot to intensely ignore it but was still not quite willing to accept was real. Nor did he mention the other person in it, for it was all too unbelievable even to him. Neither of those details were what mattered the most either way, the dream was mostly about the fragments.

“And this… tomb,” she said hesitantly. The very idea of it seemed to shake her. “Do you have any idea where it supposedly is?”

“That I will need your help with,” Irwyn nodded. “It was the same desert of my first vision, of that I am almost sure. It is no coincidence, I think, that it had appeared twice, even if much time would have passed in between. Therefore, I think it is not a stretch to think it would be somewhere in our Realm. A desert, surrounded by mountains of glass… possibly with two suns.”

“What do you mean possibly with two suns?!” she stared.

“Well, that is what I have seen in the vision.”

“Our Realm only has one Sun,” she reiterated the obvious.

“It does now,” Irwyn nodded slowly. “Which is why I would not have suspected it at first. But then I thought: Did it always? Is there any possibility that one is simply… gone?”

“Solaricide,” Elizabeth said an unfamiliar word with wonder, though the meaning was obvious. “It is… not impossible I suppose. But it would have predated the Federation by eons - otherwise, I think I would have at least heard of it. Likely a Lich War as well, who else would do such a thing?”

“How would someone slay a Star?” Irwyn asked, baffled by the very concept for all he was the one proposing it.

“The same way one slays any great immortal: Deceit and a thousand attempts,” Elizabeth said. “As they bring down our Named and more. A Lich only needs to succeed once.”

“But a Sun?” Irwyn repeated. “They seem quite untouchable and far more powerful than even a ‘great’ immortal.”

“I obviously don’t know the specifics,” she shrugged. “But we have a word for the slaying of a Star. Its very existence implies it is more than possible, for all it is obscure knowledge.”

“How do you even know it?”

“Ehm… mythological books,” she replied after a pause.

“You just said that it has not so much as a mention in our recorded history,” Irwyn argued back.

“Mythological and taking liberty with historical accuracy,” she corrected, visibly embarrassed.

“Is that a convoluted way to say fiction?” Irwyn couldn’t help but smile.

“Even if that were the case, the word was not just made up by the author. As with many words for higher concepts it had likely arrived in vocabulary and dictionaries by the way of extraplanar visitors,” she explained. “But that is all beside the point. A desert surrounded by glass mountains, I will ask around. Something like that should not be impossible to find.”

“It could also be that it simply looks like there are two Suns because of some Illusion or something of the kind,” Irwyn suggested, though he highly doubted that would be the case. It was worth not dismissing outright though.

“How hushed should I keep this?” she asked. “It will take much longer to find anything if I have to try and go under my mother’s nose, if I even can manage that.”

“In the vision it was implied that it could only be found by someone Fated for it,” Irwyn thought out loud. “Given the powers involved, I think it would be a fair assumption to say that the opposite also applies: Those unworthy should find nothing even if they know where to look. Or at worst, they would be at least unable to enter. And I think faster is preferable.”

“Hmm, I will try to make it not completely obvious still,” she nodded. “Perhaps inquiring about a varied list of places with specific yet vague enough description.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“And what do you plan to do when we find it?” Elizabeth’s gaze suddenly intensified.

“I have not… necessarily thought out all the details so far,” Irwyn admitted.

“If you are right, and you might be, that those are genuine fragments of the Aspects… I don’t know,” she shook her head. “What even can we do with that?

“Gain power,” Irwyn pointed out the obvious.

“How?”

“...Fair point,” Irwyn admitted. “I just figured it would come naturally at that point.”

“Even if that happens it would be foolish to not be prepared for the opposite,” Elizabeth shook her head. “Such lack of foresight is unlike you.”

“That is not…” Irwyn instinctively wanted to defend his stance but had the state of mind to pause and analyze. Was it really reckless to just walk up to the pieces of reality’s very sculptors and assume things would turn out fine? YES, obviously! he realized. And that was quite troublesome. Why was his first thought directed in such a reckless direction? “Perhaps I have gotten a bit too used to improvisation always working in my favour when it comes to magic. It is obviously quite arrogant to believe I am infallible, even if in just one thing.”

“I cannot say I don’t have some similar tendencies,” Elizabeth empathized. Her very bloodline was known to sing of their Wrath. “Though I have learned to curb them with logic and caution. And your visions… they always had a purpose, even if we could not discern it right way. If we are led towards this tomb, it must be for a reason. Either we are after a weapon… or after a potion of sorts - ludicrous as it feels just to voice it. The Ambrosia no one even dares consider.”

“Do you know of any precedence for this?” Irwyn asked.

“Remnants of the Aspects don’t exactly appear all around Irwyn,” she shook her head. “There is a finite number of them in the universe – that much is known. If any of the other Duchies have obtained some they hide it well. I am almost sure House Blackburg hasn’t ever held one since its founding and that in itself should be a testament to their rarity. My ancestors would have stopped at nothing to obtain such a trophy and tool. I know of exactly one documented case of them being seen and even used.”

“Which was?” Irwyn asked.

“It’s too long of a story, but simply put, the Duchy of Green’s capital is considered the most unassailable stronghold in the entire Federation. That is because it is built around and within a tree offshoot from the Deceiver’s firstborn creation – a great Tree of Life if you recall - which could only grow because a ‘Lie of Vitaros’ had been planted beneath its first root when it was still just a sprout. There it has stayed ever since and likely will forever as the tree is widely considered equal to a Named mage in power but orders of magnitude more difficult to kill.”

“Wait, the Duchy of Green has a living tree?” Irwyn paused. “One intelligent enough to know magic from what you are saying.’

“Probably a lot more than one, though their capital is special. Every Duchy has a few dozen imposing landmarks,” Elizabeth shrugged as if sapient trees were normal. “The Duchy of Teal has an infinite tower, that I find more fascinating than smart foliage.”

“An…” Irwyn began to exclaim.

“It’s probably not the time for that,” Elizabeth interrupted him before he could finish. “I also had news before you dropped yours on my head.”

“Oh, sorry.”

“It is not so urgent, though we should not dally,” Elizabeth shrugged. “My mother has delivered on her promise of information.”

“That was fast, to achieve it overnight,” Irwyn admitted.

“Even odds she already had everything in hand and waited to make it seem less suspicious,” Elizabeth disagreed. “Either way, I now know the exact sums that have mysteriously left Alira’s possession.”

“And how much is that?” Irwyn nodded.

“A significant wealth, apparently,” Elizabeth shrugged. “I thought it rather meagre, but then you have warned me many times that my perception of money is twisted. So I asked several accountants and close enough people that are involved in hiring more… mercenary help.”

“The conclusion?” Irwyn nodded.

“Enough to hire a mage or maybe even two capable of intention magic. Maybe halfway towards the next leap but that seemed a stretch to them unless said mages happened to be desperate. All of them were certain about one thing though: The only way a conception mage would even consider working for such a sum would be if they were already passing through the area on another business and considered the work extremely safe or owed favors – unlikely in this case.”

“Because you are sure those two are from out of Black,” Irwyn noted.

“Besides the masks that your friend had brought up, everything fits,” Elizabeth nodded. “Even the flow of money implies the Duchy of Yellow - although the exact details are not possible to trace in a short time frame. And masks, well, they are not always part of an attire.”

“So, a Light mage, we know that much from the first attack,” Irwyn nodded. “And a Soul mage that can alter memory to a small degree. Would what we have seen match up with what we have seen them do?”

“Yes, it would,” Elizabeth nodded. “Low imbuement is about at the level of what we have seen if regular people could break out of it with a nudge.”

“Then I should go meet them,” Irwyn nodded right back, fully expecting refusal. The trick would be persuading her out of that position.

“Absolutely not,” she shot right back.

“Why?” Irwyn challenged.

“This could all still be an elaborate trap,” she insisted. “A way to get us to go outside the camp.”

“So any risk is too high a risk?” he questioned. “Is that what you are saying?”

“...Yes.”

“You have said yourself that the undead have avoided overt attacks so far during this War,” Irwyn inclined his head. “How often have they actually gone after settlements? Even for assassinations.”

“Almost in no cases,” she hesitantly admitted.

“Surely there have been more vulnerable targets than us in that case that were not targeted.”

“Maybe.”

“Then the chances of your fears coming to fruition are infinitesimal.”

“I… I cannot,” she bit her lip. “I must not leave. Not just because of fear but duty as well. I am so very weak, Irwyn, and my corpse would be so enticing to the Rot.”

“Which is why you have countermeasures binding you,” Irwyn pointed out.

“Those can still be overcome with enough effort,” she looked like her teeth might bite through any moment. “It would be so monumentally irresponsible of me.”

“I will go alone,” Irwyn shrugged. Whether it was excuses, genuine duty, or a mix of the two, Irwyn had already intended to go without her. He had a plan of sorts hatching after all and it only worked that way.

“No,” she almost instinctively insisted. “There is still risk.”

“That is paranoia speaking,” he said, staring her down. “The inner voice that refuses to take any risk for any reason. You may as well start assuming that a Named Lich is personally coming to kill us.”

“That is astronomically unlikely,” she refuted.

“Yes,” Irwyn nodded, letting her puzzle out that this had been exactly his point. After a few moments of silence her embarrassed squirming let him know that she clearly did.

“Assuming these are really just normal mages betraying the Federation,” she said slowly. “What if they are more powerful than we expect? There is no going back once they see you.”

“I said I want to do this. Not that I want to do it stupidly,” Irwyn shook his head. “And it would be very idiotic to go as Irwyn, their likely target.”

“Alira had known who you were associated with,” Elizabeth pointed out

“Do you think she cared to remember what we were called? And that it translated to those two?” Irwyn shrugged. “It is a possibility, but I would think it not likely. There is a good chance those would-be killers don’t even know I am associated with someone like you. Coming to a different Duchy for a relatively meager pay smells a lot like desperation and subpar decision-making. They could be outcasts on their last leg.”

“Then what do you suggest?” she sighed. She did not seem fully on board but at least was no longer outright protesting.

“I have gone out of my way to separate Irwyn and Young Mockingbird, at least in the eyes of the Guild,” he explained. It had been a whim at first, then for appearances to more easily get the Tears involved. Suddenly, that divide between identities had a much more important purpose. “That is the key, I think. I can approach them, scope things out. Then judge how to proceed.”

“I still don’t like it,” she admitted.

“I know,” Irwyn nodded. “And if you truly insist that I shouldn’t do this I will not. But I really think I should. We cannot live in constant avoidance of any danger. If we want power, we have to grasp it, that will not be done without risk in itself.”

There was silence for a few tense seconds after that but Elizabeth spoke eventually: “You will take Sergeant Hiera with you, to serve as backup.”

“Who?” Irwyn frowned.

“We do have a small more elite squad of mages, since you have clearly forgotten,” she rolled her eyes. “Sergeant Hiera leads it.”

“That is fine,” Irwyn nodded. Thinking back, he vaguely recalled something of the sort being mentioned. It had been months. “But we should be careful about what we tell them. We cannot know where their loyalties lie. Hidden allegiance to House Fathomsight is not an impossibility as far as I am concerned.”

“Agreed,” Elizabeth nodded. “I am not letting you go without discussing this precisely.”