Tale of Eldramir

Several weeks after the farewell to Morncrest, and the expedition to the Archipelago’s Temple of the Void. Very, very far away, nowhere near the Endless Archipelago, a family of four was fretting over a disturbing piece of news.

The two adults were an athletic and handsome man with blonde hair and a white, gold-maned lion sitting next to him, as well as a slim and beautiful woman with black hair and a black furred panther next to her. Their two children were sitting and trying to work on their school assignments.

This was Warren, Evelyn, Wendy, and Ellen. Ezekiel’s family, who had just been informed by the Church of Ten that contact with the Sanafalls expedition was still unavailable. The family was currently spending some time at home, as Warren and Evelyn had found themselves with a short break between missions for the Church at the moment.

“How do we know if he’s okay? We haven’t gotten any letters from him in months!” Evelyn said in a nearly shrill tone. The worry had been gnawing at her for weeks. Ever since they had first been informed that Ezekiel would be participating in the expedition to the Archipelago’s Temple of the Void.

“Honey, you know that the Church is doing all they can to ensure that the information regarding the Archipelago comes through smoothly. With the restrictions placed on us, there’s nothing we can do right now.” Warren stated.

He was just as worried as Evelyn, but unlike her, he had been kept busy by a semi-constant workflow doing missions for the Church. Thanks to their children, the past three years had seen Evelyn mostly working within the Church, as an advisor, teacher, and general assistant within the Cathedral.

That didn’t mean she hadn’t had her own fair share of missions. As official Church affiliates, contracted to pay back a ridiculous sum of money, both the parents had to do a number of dangerous jobs. It was simply fortunate that the Church supported them and wasn’t as cruel as the nobility and Inquisition of the empire.

“I know, but there hasn’t been any word in so long. I can’t help but worry that the next we’ll hear of him will be...” Evelyn trailed off, glancing to the other side of the room. “Will be bad news.”

Neither Evelyn nor Warren had really delved into the situation regarding Ezekiel with their daughters. The twins were aware that their brother was forced to leave home three years ago. But they had maintained an interest in him due to the regular letters that he would send.

However, since they had started their schooling, and had formed their own friend groups, the lack of actual interaction with Ezekiel had taken a toll over the course of the three years he’d been gone.

Worse yet, while the nobility couldn’t do anything about what the Church said or taught, they could still spread bad rumors throughout the populace. This had led to a somewhat negative opinion regarding the Luminance family.

There had been more than one occasion where either Warren or Evelyn had had to sit their daughters down and tell them that the citizens of Harkem were idiots. As well as defend their views regarding Ezekiel, who was the subject of most people’s ire.

The less said about the treatment of Void Mages in Harken, the better. The Church still welcomed them, with open arms at that, but the nobility tried to vilify them as much as possible. Even without the Cult of Light’s influence.

Suddenly, a knock on the door broke Evelyn and Warren out of their thoughts. Rushing to the front door, Evelyn threw it open, praying it was news regarding Ezekiel.

Seeing a woman wearing the robes of a Scholar, Evelyn’s heart was filled with equal parts joy, and dread. She knew that whatever the news was, it would be either wonderful, or devastating.

“Hello Mrs. Luminance. I have a missive for you and your husband, from the Grand Scholar.” The messenger informed them. From the side of the room, Wendy and Ellen looked up in interest.

“Oh, thank you!” Evelyn said as she took the heavy letter. “You have no idea how good your timing is.”

“No worries, ma’am, your son is still valued by the Scholars of the Church. Especially since he invented those wonderful communication devices.” The Scholar said before turning to leave. “Have a good day! It’s good news after all.”

Evelyn’s heart soared as the Scholar walked away. Nearly slamming the door shut, she tore open the letter and began to read. Her daughters and husband moved to circle around her as she read.

The letter was fairly extensive. It wasn’t just a brief summary, or three sentence statement saying that Ezekiel was alright. It was a full breakdown of the events that had happened. The initial findings by the expedition, the Cult activity, the Death Worms, the hidden Ruins, and even Ezekiel’s adventure in the Cruor’s territory. As well as the unfortunate loss by the Sanafalls Cathedral.

But as heartbreaking as the news regarding the expedition was, the key point that held Evelyn together was the fact that her son was alive. As far as she was concerned, that was all that mattered right now. That, and the fact that one of the bastard cultists that tried to kill him three years ago was now dead.

“He’s alive. He’s alive and returned to Sanafalls. He’s being credited for acting as a primary contributor to the spoils that the expedition acquired.” Evelyn began to cry with joy as she learned of her son’s accomplishments.

“That’s wonderful.” Warren let out a sigh of relief as he took the letter for himself. His face contorted in numerous ways as he read about what had happened.

Wendy and Ellen looked confused, but happy like their parents.

“So, big brother is, okay?” Wendy quietly asked. “He didn’t break another city, did he?”

Warren and Evelyn shared a sharp glance at Wendy’s question. They knew it was mostly just innocent curiosity, but they knew they’d have to be more careful regarding what information their daughters were receiving from their friend’s parents. As well as their classmates.

“Indeed. Your brother actually did a number of great things during his little quest. According to the Church, it seems like he’s the one who found the lost Temple and opened the way for the expedition to get there.” Warren said, briefly and vaguely summarizing Ezekiel’s contributions.

“Maybe now the other kids will stop lying about him.” Ellen said excitedly. Wendy looked down at her feet at the reminder of how the other children treated them.

Warren and Evelyn couldn’t help but grimace. They knew that, if the full information was made public, or otherwise leaked, then the nobility would certainly twist things to make the problems they faced seem like Ezekiel’s fault.

They had wanted to wait a little longer before they told their daughters about the dangers that Ezekiel had had to face. Such as the Cult, and the nobility of the empire. As well as the Inquisition. But it no longer seemed like they had the time to hold it off any longer.

“Girls... I think we need to have a talk about why most people don’t seem to like your brother. As well as the lies that have been spread regarding him.” Warren said in a slow and regretful tone. Evelyn just looked upset that this was having to happen at all, but she didn’t dispute that it might be time.

For their part, Wendy and Ellen just looked confused. They had no idea why their parents were sad again after finding out that their big brother was okay. Worse yet, they had no idea what horrors they were about to be introduced to. It seemed like a piece of their childhood was about to come to an end.

Elsewhere in the city, a young man with a somewhat chubby bird on his shoulder was sparring with three of the Tier two guards of the Alkena family. Off to the side, in the sparring area’s viewing platform, two young ladies watched.

Drew, Shari, and Yennifrey had remained close friends over the years. All of them had been influenced by Ezekiel’s presence, and his exile had hit them all hard. But, if anything, it had also inspired them to work even harder towards their own respective goals.

“It seems like Drew’s actually going to win this one.” Shari observed as she saw Drew avoiding most of the guards’ attacks.

Drew’s movements were incredibly swift, and his attacks were seemingly random, weaving in and out of the few openings left in between the guards’ own movements. On his shoulder, Jesse would flap his wings every now and then, acting as support as Drew continued to fight.

The hard-working Drew, and lazy little bird, were a unique combination, but ultimately worked well together. With a swipe of his wings, Jesse threw the Cavern Mage guard off balance. Taking advantage of the opening, Drew was quick to take him down. His painted weapons left marks in fatal areas on the guard’s uniform.

It was now two versus two.

“Yeah. He’ll probably be accepted to the Wandering Titans this year.” Yennifrey muttered as she idly petted the medium sized boar next to her. Bonnie sighed in contentment as she did this. Giving a side eyed glance at Shari, who huffed and began scratching the spoiled boar as well.

Unlike Jesse, who had slimmed down from fat to plump, upon his Tier up, the boar Spirit bonded to Shari had increased in size upon its advancement to Tier two. As such, until she reached Tier three, and could change her size, Bonnie would no longer be able to fit in Shari’s lap like before.

A soft chittering sound came from around Yennifrey’s arms. A medium sized black spider with a glittering web-like pattern on it made its way out of her shirt.

“Jealous, Tess? That’s unlike you.” Yennifrey muttered as she moved her hand to pet her own bonded Spirit.

It happened roughly a year ago. Yennifrey, after getting permission from her parents, had managed to convince Evelyn to take her on a personal expedition to try and find a Spirit of her own. After months of practically begging her master to take her out of the city, Evelyn finally agreed, and took her apprentice to an area that Reya suggested.

The older and higher Tiered Obscure Spirit had, apparently, made several trips over the years, doing her best to find places where she felt the most comfortable. It was in one of these places that the panther shaped Spirit had become essentially a queen of her own territory.

Here, in the middle of the night of a new moon, Evelyn brought Yennifrey, who managed to find a kindred soul in the little spider Spirit. They both loved to weave, and upon learning that it was possible to enhance webs and weaving with enchanting, the little Spirit took to the same enchanting lessons as Yennifrey like a fish to water.

Shari, however, couldn’t help but shiver as she saw the little spider Spirit. She knew she didn’t have anything to fear, but the innate fear that humans seemed to have when it came to certain creatures, in this case, bugs, seemed to spring up whenever Tess was around her.

“I hear you’ve applied to become a Church affiliate. Planning to follow in your master’s footsteps?” Shari asked. “Make sure you let me look over any contracts they ask you to sign. Wouldn’t want you getting trapped, after all.”

“I will. But you really do need to forgive the Church. It’s not their fault they couldn’t accept any payments from your family.” Yennifrey said. “The inquisition sentenced them to pay back the assumed debt. If anyone should be blamed for miss Evelyn and mister Warren’s problems, it’s those moronic nobles and worthless inquisition.”

Shari just sighed in frustration.

“I know, I know. I just want to help them, you know?” Shari said. Sensing her partner’s frustration, Bonnie placed her head in Shari’s lap to distract her.

“I know, but you’ve got your own worries. You’ll be setting off to the capital soon. ‘To spread your family’s business and bring it to even greater heights.’ That’s what you said when you managed to help your father work out those new trade routes, wasn’t it?” Yennifrey said in a teasing tone.

Shari’s face lit up at the reminder of what she had said several months ago when she and her father managed to make an excellent deal. One that had the potential to raise their status to a higher rank within the nobles of the Willowbrush Empire.

“Excuse me, young mistress.” A quiet voice called out to the two ladies from behind.

Standing there was one of the maids of the manor. She held out a hefty looking letter that was sealed with the sigil of the Church of Ten.

Shari and Yennifrey couldn’t help but get excited. Any news from the Church would mean information regarding Ezekiel. Quickly, but gently, taking the letter from the maid, Shari thanked her before dismissing her to return to her duties.

“I guess since Peni and Stephen both joined the Church, they probably already know about whatever this is.” Yennifrey said. “We’ll have to get Drew to come over before we read it. You know he’ll be annoyed if we read it without him.”

“No need. It seems like he’s about to finish up.” Shari said as she started opening the missive.

Glancing to the sparring circle, Yennifrey managed to see Drew wrapping things up as he laid out the final of the three guards onto the ground. As he and the final guard remained in the sparring circle, gasping for breath, Drew held out a hand to help the guard up. A bright line of paint crossed his throat.

“Good match!” Drew said with a massive grin. “I couldn’t have gotten this far without you and the other guards.”

The three guards couldn’t help but smile back as they bashfully accepted Drew’s thanks. Some of the guards took offense to being beaten by a boy that had just reached his teens. But those were the guards that didn’t see how much Drew trained outside their sparring.

The amount of blood, sweat, and tears that he had been shedding since Ezekiel had left was enough to fill an ocean. The fact that he had not only broken through to Tier two, but was already at Step five, should’ve told everybody that. Especially since it was impossible for him to afford any Tempest mana crystals.

“Drew! Come here. It’s a missive from the Church!” Shari called out.

Knowing that it must be news regarding Ezekiel, Drew seemed to fly over to them from across the sparring area. He nearly face planted when he landed, however, as he had run out of mana. Jesse facepalmed with a wing as Shari and Yennifrey laughed at him.

“What does it say? What does it say?” Drew asked excitedly.

Ever since he’d heard that Ezekiel had joined a Guild as a Church liaison, Drew had been dying to get every scrap of information regarding Ezekiel’s adventures as possible. He refused to let Ezekiel leave him behind. Nor would he allow Ezekiel’s words from before to come true.

Drew’s ambition, his desire to enter the Desolate Territory, wasn’t something that he could simply wait for. He needed to go there, and he needed to do so as soon as possible.

As the three began reading through the letter, all of them had different reactions.

Yennifrey grew worried, wondering what her master was thinking about. As Evelyn had most certainly gotten this information as well.

Shari was quiet and neutral as she saw the troubles that Ezekiel was going through. She couldn’t help but be reminded of the rejection Ezekiel had given her when he left. It seemed he was right about the paths their lives were taking them.

But it was Drew’s reaction that was the most startling, as his fist clenched in anger as he read about Ezekiel’s foray into the Cruor controlled territory. His mood went from being excited to hear about his closest friend, to being angry at the perceived hypocrisy.

“That liar!” Drew exclaimed, not even bothering to finish reading the letter.

Yennifrey and Shari winced at Drew’s yell. They both knew what he was talking about. Drew had told them about how Ezekiel had told him not to even attempt going to the Desolate Lands without being at least an Adept.

Yet here was proof that Ezekiel himself had done so. Worse yet, that he’d done so on his own. Without any support from a Guild, or from the Scholar of the Church of Ten.

“We don’t know the circumstances-” Shari tried to say.

“Save it! Here I am, working my ass off, holding off on joining a Guild until I’m stronger, just because I was starting to agree with what he said about being an Adept before heading off on expeditions.” Drew was nearly fuming. “Yet here he is, not only going into a Desolate territory alone, but also taking action against the Cruor themselves!”

Flipping the table in front of him, Drew stormed off and out of the room. Jesse frantically tried to catch up after having fallen on the ground from Drew’s actions.

The two young ladies and their Spirits could only remain where they were sitting in the sparring room. Not sure what to do, and unsure if there was anything they could do.

It wasn’t like Drew’s words were entirely wrong, after all.

South of the Willowbrush Empire. Within the desert lands of Tarquessa. A meeting was taking place within a hidden facility. The symbol of the Followers of Radiance, aka the Cult of Light, lined the walls as rows upon rows of people at various ages trained alongside their bonded Spirits.

“Cease!” The Legendary level overseer called out, bringing the training to an end.

As the trainees broke off, leaving to go about their own devices as training ended for the day, one young girl was separated from the forming groups. The dog sized salamander at her feet nudged up against her as she held her bruising ribs.

“I’m alright, Celia. Just bruised this time.” Riley said as she tried to comfort her bonded Spirit.

“In that case, guess we didn’t manage to do what we intended today.” A nasally voice called out from behind Riley. “You’re lucky you’re not leaving here with broken bones, Newland. It’s all that you deserve after all.”

Turning around, Riley saw a group of four standing nearby. Just ahead of them was another young woman with red hair. Next to her was a pony with a mane made out of fire. She had a haughty look on her face as she insulted and threatened Riley. Riley didn’t even know this girl’s name, as she was a relatively new arrival to this facility.

“I still don’t see why the Lead Followers allow you to remain here. It’s not like you’re even a ‘real’ Follower. The Radiant Lord hasn’t even seen fit to bless you yet.” The young woman called out. “Of course, that’s only the obvious state of being for one who was tainted by the Anathema.”

Riley couldn’t help but grit her teeth and clench her fists in anger as they continued to insult her and her friends.

“Did I strike a nerve?” The other girl asked in a taunting tone.

“No. I am thankful the Radiant Lord saw fit to release me from my shackles.” Riley said in a dead and emotionless tone. Something that grated on the nerves of the group in front of her.

“You lying little-!”

“Enough!” The overseer called out, interrupting the other girl as he approached. “Usually, I wouldn’t care about what you’re doing on your own time, but the Red Light of Radiance wishes to talk with Miss Newland. So, off with you.”

The group of bullies went on their way, but not without giving a few threatening gestures to Riley as they did. She just ignored it like she always did. Knowing that reacting would just end up with her getting in trouble with the overseer.

“Come along. We can’t keep the leader waiting.” The overseer dragged Riley away.

They ended up traveling through a twisting maze of halls leading toward the central chambers of the facility. Coming to a stop in front of a door with six guards standing outside of it, the overseer passed a note to one of them.

Riley was then pushed inside the room after the contents of the note were confirmed. As she entered the large and brightly lit room, she was shocked to see that a pool of magma was on the far side of the room.

The sheer heat of the room was enough to cause her extreme discomfort. If not for the size of the room, she was certain she would’ve been burned by now. As it was, the heat still made it difficult to breathe. Though Celia seemed to have no problems.

A red-haired figure was sitting in the pool of lava. The only thing that Riley could see was his head. The rest of him was submerged beneath the lava. He didn’t turn toward her, but, as if sensing Riley's discomfort, he raised a hand and snapped his fingers. The temperature of the room immediately dropped by several degrees, and Riley found it easier to breathe.

“You’re not that bad, girl.” The red-haired man said. “Most kids at your Tier wouldn’t be able to breathe at all. But you’re still a few Steps above them, aren’t you.”

A feathered serpent’s head poked out of the lava pool. It briefly took a look at Riley and Celia before seemingly giving a scoff and going under once again. Riley and Celia both shivered in fear as they sensed the animosity of the much more powerful Spirit.

“The Anathema is still alive.” The man said. “Tell me, how does that make you feel? Knowing that the abomination you once called friend is alive, while all our forces in the Archipelago are not.”

Riley froze up. She knew that it would be impossible to lie, but she also recognized what her actual feelings were. Not the lessons that they were trying to indoctrinate her to. Looking down at Celia, who looked up at her in fear, but acceptance, she closed her eyes before speaking.

“Happy.” She said to him without an ounce of fear.

Riley immediately fell to her knees as the man in the lava pool released his peak Legendary pressure upon her. Celia fared little better as the both of them started to burn from the increasing heat of the room. For a second, neither could breath as they weakly writhed on the ground.

“You dare!” the man yelled, his voice nearly cracking the walls from the pressure. “After all we’ve done to save your soul from damnation! After all your parents sacrificed, and all the resources we’ve given you, you would dare to care for that wretched Anathema!”

By this point, Riley and Celia were barely conscious. They were basically delirious at this point. But even so, Riley couldn’t help but feel in awe of Ezekiel. As she knew that he had faced magical pressure like this before. When he was at a lower Tier as well.

“I should strike you down where you lay right now. But I won’t.” The man released the pressure he was emanating. “Instead, you will be put into a higher level of training. Failure to succeed in all tasks will result in punishments, for you and your family.”

Riley barely noticed the door behind her opening, and herself and Celia being picked up and taken from the room.

“You’re lucky we still have plans for you.” Was the last thing she heard the leader say before she lost consciousness as she was carried from the room.

Watching Riley and her Spirit be taken from his personal quarters, the Red Light of the Followers of Radiance sighed in frustration. He wanted nothing less than to kill the little girl for her impudence. But he was given strict instructions not to, as the Speaker of the Light had a plan for her. One that he, begrudgingly, agreed might be useful. Especially since the Anathema was still alive.

“Little brat is lucky she has a use.” He muttered angrily. His feathered serpent Spirit nudged him as it came up from the lava. “Fine, fine, I’ll try to calm down. I’ll probably get yelled at during the meeting anyway.”

A ringing sound from an artifact on a desk to the side of the room grabbed his attention.

“Ancients dammit!” He grumbled as he stepped out of the lava.

He quickly got dressed so as to be somewhat presentable for his meeting. Even if their faces weren’t seen, it wouldn’t do well to show such disrespect to all his peers. Even if he believed that some deserved it.

Walking to a section of the wall, he activated the enchantments concealing a hidden panel. Tapping an item on the desk before entering, he alerted his guards that no one was to enter for any reason. No matter what. Then, he strode into the secret communication chamber.

Taking a seat, six figures bathed in different colored light appeared before him.

“Greetings,” the figure in Gold light, the Radiant Speaker, said to them all, “I’m certain you’re all aware of what has happened in the Archipelago. So, let me get this out of the way; we will not be retaliating.”

The Red lit man couldn’t hold himself back from slamming his fists on the table in front of him.

“What!?” He exclaimed. “You can’t be serious! We should be going there right now to ensure that the Anathema can’t do anything even worse!”

Most of the fellow lights looked like they agreed, but he noticed that Typhos, the Gray light, and the Blue lit woman were of a different opinion. Worse yet, it looked like the Gold light was about to reprimand him.

“Do we need to have another private chat, Marco?” The Gold light said in a condescending tone.

Marco, the Red light, immediately knew he crossed a line. Very rarely did the Radiant Speaker have personal and private chats with any of the Lights of Radiance. The exception being Typhos, who constantly pushed boundaries. The Gold light was just too busy to do so.

“No, Lord Speaker. I apologize for my outburst.” Marco said in a subdued and frustrated tone.

“What happened?” The Gold light asked. He knew that something had happened, as Marco very rarely spoke out against him during meetings like this.

“I spoke to the girl today. The one that was tainted by her friendship with the Anathema.” Marco begrudgingly said. “She said to my face that she was happy he was alive, and our forces were dead.”

The other lights, Typhos and the Gold light not included, all hunched over in anger at Marco’s explanation.

“I’m assuming you’re punishing her for this.” The Gold light said.

“Yes, but I figured I’d put her to work for that plan as well. So, she’s been moved up to a higher training level. She’s already better than the others at her current level. But I made her well aware of what will happen if she fails to keep up.” Marco explained. “She’ll suffer at first, but probably catch up soon.”

“Good. A little bit of pain will hopefully teach her a lesson. Otherwise, we’ll need to see if our Lord can spare his blessing sooner, rather than later.” The Gold light said. “It has already been decided what we shall do with her, but it seems she’ll need to see the light more quickly than expected.”

“I would advise against that.” Typhos said. The other lights just looked exasperated.

“Because she’s a child?” Marco sneered.

“Because she’ll expire before we make use of her.” Typhos stated. “I know that the training in the facilities is harsh, but it’s not particularly deadly. We value our followers too much to just kill them in training. But you all know what the cost of forcing a person to see the light is. We have no idea how long it will be before we get the chance to strike against the Anathema once again.”

The other lights seemed to accept his explanation. Even Marco, who still didn’t like it.

“From what I’ve learned from my time in Trillious, we may get a chance in a few years. But to act too soon will blow that chance away.” Typhos said. “For now, all we can do is leave him be. The forces in the Archipelago are too spread out to influence. Yet too tightly knit together in loyalty to sow discord and strife. Worse yet, they’re certainly on their guard to any outsiders trying to establish themselves.”

“Agreed. But worry not, Marco,” The Gold light spoke up, “I know how badly you wish to strike out against the Anathema. When the time comes, you and a dozen other Legendary Followers will be there to strike against him. He will die, by your hands.”

Marco couldn’t help but feel incredibly pleased at that. It was something he’d wanted for years now. To finally get a promise like this was enough to wash away all his earlier frustrations.

“Thank you, Lord Speaker. You honor me.” Marco said.

The Gold light nodded in approval before turning to the Blue light.

“Lana, how are things going in the Morathi Alliance?” The Gold light asked the Blue light.

“Slowly. I’ve managed to stall any imminent break out of civil war, but I’m not sure how much longer the peace will last. Worse yet, I’ve made no headway into finding our lost Kindled son.” Lana said, her blue lit figure pinching its noise in frustration. “Whoever hid their trail was good. All I know is they might have entered the Willowbrush Empire, roughly a decade ago.”

“Hmm... Erkan, Typhos.” The Orange and Gray lights perked up at their mention. “Look for rumors if you can but focus on ensuring our grasp on the Empire is solid. We need to be able to act within a decade. I know our plans have been slowed thanks to the Anathema, but we can’t allow our work to go to waste.”

Typhos and Erkan nodded in understanding and agreement. They would divert some of their forces as soon as possible.

“Now, let’s continue with the reports and planning. We’ve got at least a few years before the Anathema is within our reach. Preparations need to be made.” The Gold light said.

Marco couldn’t help but internally sigh. If there was one thing that he hated about being a Follower of Radiance, it was the planning and the subterfuge. But at least he got to kill enemies with impunity. That was always fun.