Chapter 1: Disrepair

  Vina idly pressed her red nails into the stone bench and swirled as she drew a rune. Pressing hard enough to embed her entire nail in the stone, she marveled still at how easy it was for her to form the material to her desires. After a few minutes of diligent work, she was done. Still the runes remained dormant and she couldn’t escape the painful knowledge that her means to power them had changed.

  With her Asharaina title removed by Trina, she could no longer simply lift her blood to fill her etchings. Instead she formed a knife into the palm of her hand and activated Blood Call. The weapon turned to a liquid immediately and began its quick return into her bloodstream, but with a thought she relaxed her desire for the blood to return and it simply fell onto the stone bench beside her. What blood didn’t fit into the runes, she silently urged to creep forward. As if in a mockery of her former prowess, the blood oozed forward no faster than a snail before powering the rune phrase she had crafted.

  “I’d thank you for not doing that,” Pawld chimed in from the other side of the room.

  Vina didn’t even look back at him as she recalled the blood to herself and placed her hands back on her lap. Still, she kept her gaze averted from Pawld’s work.

  Her skills wouldn’t let her relax though. To the side she felt Caja’s vibrance swirl with fear and concern, her eyes locked onto Vina.

  “Blacksmith?” Riza asked from the side, her tone clearly impatient with the man.

  “Yeah…” Pawld muttered as he worked. “Almost there.”

  Although her eyes were firmly locked on the floor, Vina could feel his every movement and the growing dismay within his vibrance. “This isn’t going to work,” she said mostly to herself.

  “We don’t know that, Vina.” Caja said softly in response.

  Pawld let out a deep sigh, “She’s right and also wrong. I can’t fix it the way it is, but it is possible.”

  Vina looked up in surprise as a hope began to form within her. She recognized her mistake immediately. Draped over an armor stand was her kaliter armor. Once pristine and gleaming with a subtle grayish iridescence, the armor now appeared dull, battered, and dead. The front had a large gash across the chest, with jagged edges where Seassa's blades had sliced through the scales. Sections were missing entirely from the torso and arms, torn away by Zel’alor’s unnatural strength. The gaping holes revealed the underlying structure, which was twisted.

  It was a heartbreaking sight for Vina, whose mother had gifted this armor to her. Tears came to her eyes as she choked back a sob.

  “How can it be fixed?” Caja asked in her place, as she comfortingly rubbed Vina's back.

  Pawld frowned at Caja’s question. “It’s indestructible. It’s been scattered, not destroyed. You just need to find the scales that were removed, and I can add them back in, piece by piece.”

  Vina stood up immediately from the bench like a puppet had pulled her strings. She opened her refuge recall window, but before she could make a selection, Caja hands snatched her elbow, “Wait…”

  Riza jumped to Vina’s rescue immediately. “Don’t touch her like that!” she snapped as she grabbed Caja’s fingers and wrenched them back aggressively.

  “Ow!” Caja cried out, but released her immediately, “I’m sorry. I just think we should talk about this before you go back!”

  Vina was momentarily tempted to remain. Deep down she really didn’t want to return to Trina, but she shook off her reluctance. Nodding her thanks to Riza, she took a step away. “It’s okay. I… I have to do this,” she muttered and made her selection.

  Vina’s perspective immediately shifted as the light around her took on an ethereal quality. The only light in the area was sourced from the massive shimmering barrier covered in sigils above her as well as the rune covered metallic material beneath her feet that glowed a brilliant blue. All around her, darkness prevailed as creatures once again surrounded Trina’s refuge. Vina’s gaze searched for scales, but initially all she saw was Trina.

  Trina, with her long blue and white hair, knelt on the sole remaining patch of blue grass with her hands held out as if begging. Her body swirled with multiple colors as her translucent skin exposed the power that coursed through her body. She remained still other than for the billowing colorful clouds in her eyes, which locked onto Vina with a gaze that felt nearly tangible. She blinked, and Vina looked away unable to bear the sight of her captor.

  But her eyes locked onto something else that existed within the barrier. A hole in reality, that defied her ability to comprehend, lay some distance away from Trina. Like a monument to Zel’alor’s power, the hole remained suspended in the air as if someone had ripped whatever material reality was composed of. She stepped slowly around the hole, finding that no matter how she moved around it, her perspective remained identical as if the hole was rotating with her as she circled it.

  When her eyes began to ache at staring into nothingness, she resumed her search for the kaliter scales by activating her foraging skill. When a single scale-like shape lit up blue in her vision, her heart tightened. She knelt down in excitement as she stuffed it into her backpack, another item her mother had made for her. Resuming her search, she found several more scales scattered around Trina’s refuge, but she had yet to recover near enough to replace the damage she had witnessed on her armor.

  While Vina worked, she felt the subtle movements of Trina’s eyes, unable to ignore them through her blood sense, though there was no vibrance or warmth coming from Trina’s form. Each flutter of her eyelids sent a shiver through Vina, like a distant echo of the anger building within her. The air in the refuge was stifling, a heavy, oppressive presence that seemed to mirror the rage simmering inside her.

  "WHAT!" Vina finally screamed, her voice sounding empty in the oppressive gloom. "What could you possibly want?!" Her fists clenched at her sides, nails digging into her palms as if trying to contain her seething anger.

  She stomped toward Trina, the very woman whose decisions had burdened Kaliq, Siany and herself with Langternem, leading to her containment within Trina's refuge barriers. Although Vina couldn't feel the tightening in her stomach anymore due to the refuge’s protections, she knew the quest Siany had bound to her would kill her if she stepped outside the boundary. The mere thought of it fueled her rage further.

  "You want another Aspect?" Vina mocked, her eyes blazing with hatred. "Well, too bad! You lost that benefit when you stripped me of my title!" Spit flew from her lips as she ranted, her gestures growing more violent with each word. A blood knife suddenly appeared in her hand, its crimson blade glistening in the dim light.

  "I fucking saved you from Zel'alor, and you still stole it from me!" Vina leaned toward Trina, pressing the blade against her neck. "You're lucky I need these barriers to survive." She leaned closer, her voice a low growl. "Because, Trina, if even one of my people dies because of your system, I'll kill you, and let this binding quest kill me too."

  Vina slowly dragged the knife along Trina’s neck, intending to draw blood. Trina's skin, however, remained intact without a single wound. Vina gritted her teeth as she laid her hand on Trina's wrist and activated Blood Stained Hands, but just like with Zel’alor, her ability failed. Instead of instantly bleeding, Vina watched Trina's eyes fill slowly with crystal clear tears. Vina released Trina and dragged her rune covered nails along the woman's soft translucent skin, once again failing to injure her.

  "Don't you dare cry!" Vina spat venomously, her voice cracking with emotion. "I'm the one who gets to cry! You tortured Siany! You force me to remember every excruciating moment of my life! You gave me purpose in this world and then stole it away!" She took a deep breath, her voice a mix of anger and despair. "You tried to kill me and stole dozens of levels from all of my people, scarring them in the process! And for what?! Specializing in Foraging? I don't even know what Blood Bloom Insight is!"

  Vina threw her knife between Trina's knees, embedding it in the sole remaining patch of grass with a thud, her eyes barely registering a more intense blue hiding in the grasses. "Fuck with me or my people again, and we'll see just how durable your eyes are." She tugged down the collar of her shirt, exposing her heart where the Aspect of Sculpting beat within. "Or whether I can shape you," she hissed, her voice barely above a whisper as her heart beat with a dual rhythm.

  Sudden movement in the distance caught Vina’s attention. A quick look toward the shadows outside forced a chill up her spine, its source originating from the black mark Stine had forced upon her. In the distance, metallic plates groaned as they rubbed together, announcing the approach of something disturbingly heavy. With each movement, the sound sent a shiver through Vina's bones.

  “What the fuck are you doing, Stine?” Vina demanded as she moved toward the edge of the barrier to get a better view. The flurry of activity she had witnessed earlier was, in fact, creatures parting to make way for a multi-legged monstrosity. Its legs shook the metallic frame with every step, the vibrations of its steps could be felt through her body.

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  The creature's narrow, wedge shaped face was filled with multiple eyes, each staring at her with unnerving intensity. When it opened its mouth, hundreds of teeth jutted out at awkward angles, filling its gaping maw.

  A soft hiss filled the air, Stine's voice emanating from the creature. “I do nothing more than is necessary. You, on the other hand, are so upset that you fail to see that Trina's refuge protects her from your assault. Just how angry are you, Vina?”

  Vina glared back at the monstrosity, her rage barely contained. “Not angry enough to break the balance again.”

  The creature gave a hacking cough that sounded vaguely like laughter. "You've come to understand far more than I had guessed. My teachings are not wasted on you, and for that, I am relieved. Are you ready to learn again?"

  “Why?!” Vina snapped, her voice sharp and cutting. “So you can manipulate me again into giving you Randar, Trina, and Zel’alor?”

  “Oh, Vina.” The creature sighed loudly, a sound that sent a chill through the air. “What makes you believe you haven’t already given me everything I wanted?”

  Vina paused, her rage doused by a sudden wave of doubt. “I... stopped you.” Stine's silence was a heavy weight, and Vina's eyebrows furrowed in concern. “But... I restored the balance. Didn’t I?”

  Stine's response was cryptic, its words carrying an unsettling resonance. “Both Prany and I already gave you an answer to that question.”

  Vina’s mind raced, her perfect memory summoning every discussion she’d had with either one. Her lips tightened as she realized what Stine meant. A tense silence settled between them as Vina absorbed the possibility that she had failed to protect Randar or Trina, that her own death and subsequent revival by Trina had meant nothing.

  “Let’s speak the truth together, Vina,” Stine urged, its voice gentle yet menacing. “I am merely...” Its voice trailed off, leaving Vina to finish his thought.

  “... delayed,” she whispered, her breath catching in her throat.

  “Yes,” Stine chuckled. “I can not fail when...” Stine continued, its words slicing through the air like a cold wind.

  “When you leave no path to success,” She finished, her voice heavy with resignation.

  The creature seemed to purr softly, its twisted mouth curling into a grotesque grin. “Such a beautiful mind Trina has created within you, yet she did so without your permission. Why do you think she inflicted this boon on you?”

  Vina swallowed the lump in her throat, her voice barely a whisper. “She...” Vina started, but a quick gaze at Trina reignited her anger. “You!” Vina shouted, pointing an accusing finger at her. “You forced it upon me to help yourself! You don’t care for me any more than you cared for Siany! Our pain and suffering are meaningless to you!” Vina pressed her finger against her temple, "Transcendent Memory? You just didn’t want me to forget about you!"

  When she pulled her finger back, she noticed it was smeared with blood. The sight ignited her rage further. "Enduring Blood? You wanted to empower my abilities just so I could kill others for their aspects! And Refuge Recall? You wanted me to get back here so I could save you, you selfish bitch!" Blood suddenly dripped from her cheek onto the runic pad at her feet.

  A flash of blue and the sound of popping abruptly halted her rant. Vina looked down to see a segment of the runic pad fizzle out upon contact with her blood. Above her, another sigil cracked with the sound of a struck gong. Fear rippled through Vina as she realized what she had just done, but when the barrier didn't collapse, a dangerous idea began to form in her mind.

  Stine's voice whispered from the darkness, "Yes,” Stine’s voice rumbled. “You're learning far faster now." Its words carried an unsettling calmness that made Vina's blood run cold. Another creature approached, carrying a bundle of scales and broken fragments of metal. It tossed them unceremoniously through the barrier, where they clattered onto the runic surface with a harsh clang.

  Vina knelt down, her eyes filling with tears at the sight of the fragments of her armor and broken sword. Tenderly, she picked up the scales and placed them, one by one, into her backpack. Finally, she lifted the two broken pieces of her sword, her grip around the hilt trembling slightly. "Selenia..." she whispered, her voice thick with grief. She fought to stifle the memory of Zel'alor's corruption by her hand, but it crept into her mind regardless. With a shake of her head, she quickly stashed the pieces into her backpack. "Thank you, Stine," she said softly, her anger momentarily dulled by the wave of emotion.

  "Vina..." Stine’s voice came low in the dark, like a distant echo. “I can remove your pain. You know this to be true.”

  Vina sniffed back tears, her voice barely a whisper. “Go. Away,” she responded, stressing each word. Turning her gaze away from Stine and its creatures, she focused on the rune she had destroyed with her blood. The silence that followed was oppressive, carrying a sense of foreboding, as if the entire refuge held its breath in anticipation of what she would do next.

  But Vina simply bent down, trying to understand exactly which runeform she had disabled in Trina’s intricate nest of overlapping runes. As she read the now dead area and the surrounding runes, one fact became increasingly apparent to Vina. “Not all of the runes are active…” she whispered, as she traced the worming paths with her fingers. They squirmed in her sight, but her skill was finally sufficient to keep the simpler rune words from straying too far for her to follow.

  Soon she began to identify a pattern. “My blood converted a portion of a Sanctuary rune memory…” Vina crawled across the runic pad, her mind memorizing the patterns before her as a networked lattice began to take shape in her mind. “Sanctuary… nature… divinity… life!” Vina’s voice reached a crescendo with the last word. Her fingers swept across a section that remained disabled, but not from exposure to her blood. “What the…?” Her head snapped up as she looked at Trina in disbelief. “Is… is this The System?”

  Trina’s eyes blinked twice in response, and Vina’s face contorted into rage. “Don’t lie to me!” she screamed as she skittered across the runes and slid to a stop while pointing at a section. “I gave you the aspect of memory and the runeforms related to memory are active!” Vina yelled as she pointed at the runes at her feet. “Sanctuary and nature are active as well!” Confusion crossed her eyes as her vision swept across a reference to divinity. “The divinity runeforms are disabled…” Vina’s glare snapped back to Trina with a question on her face. “But I gave you the aspect of divinity?”

  Trina’s eyes closed for a moment, but when she opened them her eyes were firmly locked on the three aspects attached to her chest. Vina’s mind raced as she tried to understand the gesture until Eilin’s voice filled her mind.

  “They were never distributed, presumed to be aspects tied to the system itself.”

  “No… no no!” Vina said in denial. “Those aren’t the system that tried to kill me, you lying bitch!” Vina’s eyes returned to the runeform as she climbed to her feet, and she began to walk the length of the massive barrier.

  As Vina's gaze fixated on one of the numerous convergences of memory, nature, and life within the intricate runes, a chill swept through her veins, sending shivers down her spine. "This... this is it," Vina breathed, her voice disturbing the deafening oppression of the gloom. Her fingers trembled as they traced the lines of the runes. “This is how you first tried to kill me.”

  In that moment of clarity, Vina understood the true purpose behind Trina's design – not to nurture growth, but to control any who learned skills she did not approve of. The convergence of threads before her was not evidence of Trina’s benevolence, but a deadly hidden consequence should any not obey her expectations.

  Had she not possessed a perfect memory, her traveler title, or the assistance of Carda to dissolve her false promise, she saw the mechanism that would have brought about her death. A siphon rune, hidden amidst the labyrinth of Trina's work, was ready to drain the vibrance from her body and reduce her to a corpse, just as she had witnessed with one of her people in The City of Halos.

  She had been a pawn in Trina's game from the very beginning, a mere plaything to be discarded as soon as she strayed too far from Trina’s defined purpose. "No more," Vina declared, her voice ringing with defiance. Vina gently dabbed at the wound on the side of her head as she let it bleed once more. Then she gently placed the tip of her fingernail against the siphon rune. A resonant cascade of pops shot across the runed pad as runes shattered at her touch. “You won’t kill any more of us with this!” she growled as she cast another glare Trina’s way.

  Vina stood once again, scanning the surrounding area for one more runeform. “Where is it?” she mumbled, passing by Trina for the sixth time. Her frustration mounted with each fruitless step. The oppressive gloom of Trina’s refuge seemed to close in on her, pressing down on her mind and spirit. Her rage simmered beneath the surface, threatening to erupt at any moment. She turned back to Trina, who remained immobile, her ethereal form almost serene amidst the chaos.

  "Where is it!" Vina demanded, her voice a growl. Trina's silence only fueled her anger further. "Where is the runeform that binds me to Siany’s promise?"

  Trina's eyes, still filled with a strange mix of sorrow and resignation, blinked twice slowly. Her lips parted, but no sound came out. Vina's patience snapped. She couldn't physically harm Trina, but she had other means at her disposal.

  "You're leaving me no choice," Vina hissed, her eyes blazing with fury. "I will make you regret keeping this from me."

  She focused her thoughts, drawing upon the Aspect of Sculpting, which began to draw upon her blood reserves. Her fingers twitched as she reached out to Trina’s chest, preparing to weave the threads of her life experiences, preparing to rewrite them.

  Trina's eyes widened, a flicker of fear Vina thought. Vina’s voice was a deadly whisper. "I’ve never tried it before, but I believe I can rewrite your very existence, Trina, even within the refuge’s protections. I can make you forget everything, believe whatever I want, or turn your greatest strengths into your deepest weaknesses. Shall I practice on you?"

  Trina's eyes darted around frantically as if seeking an escape from Vina's impending threat. When she found none, her gaze locked onto a distant point beyond the barrier. Vina followed her gaze, but all she saw was the shimmering edge of the refuge.

  "Last chance," Vina warned, her voice cold and unyielding. "Where is the runeform?"

  Trina's eyes, filled with tears, blinked once, causing one teardrop to fall to the remaining grasses at her knees. Vina frowned, her mind racing to understand the unspoken message. She thought back to every detail she had seen, every fragment of conversation she had overheard. Then it clicked. Trina was looking to the north by northwest, past Termily.

  "The City of Valanire," Vina whispered, her eyes widening in realization. "It's there, isn't it?"

  Trina's eyes closed briefly, a simple affirmation of Vina's suspicions. The rage that had fueled Vina's actions ebbed away, replaced by a cold, calculating resolve.

  "You've bought yourself some time," Vina said coldly. "But if I find out you lied to me again, I will return, and I will use Stine’s power. You will abandon your system and adopt Darkness. Imagine living under its control, bound to its will. I know Stine will tell me the truth if I force you down that path."

  Trina's eyes filled with a mix of relief and sorrow as she watched Vina turn away. The path ahead was clear, and Vina's determination was unyielding. The City of Valanire held the key to her freedom.