Sightless Vetius frowned as he probed the crystal jade exterior at the apex of the Shining Palace. Like everywhere else on the exterior of the palace, the Crystal Jade here was still warm to the touch. The crystal fought against his efforts to influence it. A Stray Thought, still alive and healthy. One that still held a connection.

That connection would be the key here, he knew. The key to hacking his way into the magic. The key to changing it and all others with ties to it. However, such a feat could not be done as is. Not while the Stray Thought’s idea resisted outside influence.

“Any luck?” Prince Al’likar asked. Vetius exhaled and shook his head. A gesture the blind prince was able to notice through the eyes of the guide that stood beside him.

As Vetius knew he would, the prince had become more accepting of Vetius since their chat in the prince’s room. The Prince now understood the gravity of the situation.

If the Being won this power struggle... If the Being became whole... then he would leave this world. And seeing that this world’s magic was tied to the power, then the magic would likely go with. With out the power, the world would be thrown into chaos.

There was much in this world that could not exist without the power. Creatures, plants, entire bits of geography! The loss of the power would be devastating to the world. And so, the Being could not be allowed to win.

Furthermore, there was the Prince’s Adept abilities. Vetius suspected that this, more than anything were among the Prince’s highest reasons for coming to accept Vetius and the Clan. For while the Prince was technically blind, he was also a Sight Adept. The combination of those two attributes lead to some interesting results.

Prince Al’likar could see the world, but not through his own eyes. Instead he could see the world through the eyes of others. This had led him to developing some interesting fears in life. Fears of his being alone. Fears of his own blindness. A blindness that came from no one else being nearby.

In addition to his unique adept abilities, Al’likar’s condition led to some more useful possibilities. The kind of possibilities that had made Vetius so interested in the young prince.

The Young Prince pursed his lips. “So then,” He started, “how do we proceed?”

For a while, Sightless Vetius said nothing. He turned his sightless gaze in the prince’s direction, more for gesture than for anything else.

“We’ll need one of the artifacts.” Vetius said.

“Artifacts?”

“Stray Thoughts from long ago.” Vetius said knowing full well the comment had no meaning to the blind prince.

“And where do we find these artifacts?” Al’likar said hesitantly.

“We don’t.” Vetius said. “If the clan looks, it will be noticed.”

"But-"

“The Hekkru-Natjier is looking into it.” He said uneasily. “And from what I hear, it sounds like he may have a lead.”

The prince furrowed his brow, not understanding.

“And who is this Hekkru-Natjier?”

Sightless Vetius stared out into the distance, to where he suspect the visage of city would be.

He didn’t answer the young prince. Instead he let the Insight wash over him. With it, he fruitlessly searched for the artifacts yet again.

The Seed let out a final roar as Val and his fellow Pactmakers ripped out its final heart. The Seed, and its monstrous tendrils, fell limply to ground.

“CUT OFF THAT FUCKING MONSTER’S STEM!” Talley roared, tears of anger and grief flowing down her cheeks.

The Seed had just killed her lover, Haithen. Smashed him to bits before her eyes. Pieces of the Haithen still coated her. It was a trauma not likely to go away anytime soon, if ever.

Val struggled forward but faltered. The gaping wound at his side sapping him of strength.

“Senses! The hearts! I think they’re healing!” Nia cried in horror.

Nia herself, hadn’t faired much better than the rest of them. She hadn’t been able to get up after having been tossed, by a tendril, against a wall. Val worried that the creature might have paralyzed the woman, and that was not malady touch healers could easily heal.

Val struggled to rise, but he was too weak.

Whoosh! A woman dashed past him like the wind. Pulling out a curved blade, she hacked at the Seed's stem.

“Breath…” Val breathed out. Breath it was the name -or perhaps title- that the odd woman, with the strange foreign accent, had given them. She had sought the Pactmakers out a few days after the Distortion broke out in the small city of Kalor. A Fishing City on the south-eastern coast of the Nation of Sight.

The woman and her loyal followers seemed to have strange knowledge of the cult. She knew how to hide from the Cult. How to avoid the Insight, and a few techniques to fight back against the Sightless.

Furthermore, she seemed to have no connection to the Being. And yet she knew of him. Knew of his Unspoken Pact. Told them of what he would take from them if they died. The Being… He had fooled them! Lied to them! He had thrown them into this suicide mission, a mission none of them had wanted any part it.

Without Breath and her people. They would have never made it this far. Never have found the Seed’s location. Never have even gotten to the Seed. She and her people had sacrificed for them. And here she was right now, in the nick of time, helping them again.

Breath hacked away at the stem. Once. Twice. Three times. With the fourth strike, she had finally cut the stem clean off and salted the stump.

The Seed died. The world around them seemed to pulse. The Distortion slowly fading away.

Val blinked. After so long of living in the Distortion, he had forgotten what normal looked like. He looked to the dead Seed and gasped. The Seed… Its corpse had turned into Shadow Metal!

Breath collapsed into a sitting position and exhaled. Val could almost feel the woman’s exhaustion.

“It’s done.” She said.

Time stopped. Everyone, except Val and his remaining Pactmakers, froze in place.

“My, my.” Said the Being materializing out of thin air. “I wasn’t sure if you all would actually pull it off.” He said with a smile.

“You bastard.” Talley growled dangerously

“Yes, yes, me. Mr. Bastard” The Being said, looking at Talley with a knowing smile. “But instead of Bastard, how about we try the name-” The Being looked Talley in her eyes, letting his words linger for just a second, “-Haithen.”

Talley screamed in rage. Angered by Haithen taking her deceased lover’s name. Tossing the remains of her lover’s upper half to the side. She rushed at Haithen. Blade in hand.

Haithen snapped his fingers. Disappearing and reappearing beside Breath’s frozen body.

He frowned as if confused. “Hmmm… Perhaps that one might have been too soon...” He said more to himself than to the others.

“YOU THINK?!” Talley raged.

Haithen looked up at Talley. His gaze expressionless.

“Trickster of Tricksters.” An accented voice said beside Haithen.

Haithen blinked twice. His brow furrowing in confusion. He turned hesitantly to the woman beside him. Breath.

Her likeness blurred and unblurred. A strange crystal fell to the ground and vanished. Breath’s appearance had changed. Her black hair turned silver. Her tan skin changed to an orangish-tan hue.

Haithen’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Nashep-Natjier…” Haithen said, sounding almost in awe.

Breath raised her hand before Haithen and clenched it into a fist. It looked almost as if she were grabbing the fabric of reality itself.

“Begone.” She spoke.

The world shattered. Time rushed back in on itself.

When Val opened his eyes, the world returned to normal, but the Being was gone.

Talley collapsed to her hands and knee. “That bastard…” She whispered. “He took his name.”

Breath rose to her feet and looked to Talley, confused. Then, the realization set in.

“Who died?” She asked in her strange accented voice.

Val looked at her hesitantly. The woman he had known as Breath had changed in appearance entirely. And while he knew her voice, he couldn’t place her ethnicity.

“What are you?” Val asked, as Breath’s followers started shuffling into the room.

Val’s breath was slow and heavy. His body weak from blood loss. The world at times spinning.

Breath frowned at the response. Slowly she approached Val. Kneeling, to get a good look at his wound. Her expression turned hard and sorrowful.

Val smiled weakly. “It’s not so bad.” He said.

Breath gave him a flat stare.

“Nothing that your healers can’t heal right?” He’s said nodding off to Breath’s followers.

“I’m sorry, Val.” Breath said somberly.

“Sorry?” Val asked, a hint of worry creeping in his voice. “Sorry for what?”

“I’m sorry… for this.”

Breath’s hand dove into Val’s belly, causing him to gasp. He gasped not in pain, no, there was no pain. Instead he felt something different. Something he couldn’t describe. I was like Breath had dove into Val’s very being and began ripping out bits of him piece by piece.

“I can’t let him have you Val.” Were the last words he heard her say as the world began to fade. “I can’t let him have any of you.”

---

Breath exhaled as Valley, the last of the three pactmakers, died in her arms.

No. There used to be four pactmakers... perhaps more... Breath reminded herself.

She failed Talley. She failed all of them.

She let the woman’s corpse fall to the floor, and looked at the strange crystal held in her hand. Talley’s legacy. Now nothing more than a Stray Thought. The crystal had a strange look to it, with a mirror like sheen. But when you looked into it, it did not show one’s reflection. Rather it contained a world within. With glimpses of experiences, thoughts and emotions springing forth here and there.

Breath had succeeded in cutting out the bonds to the Being from each of the pactmakers. Even succeeded in rescuing their legacy. But what she seemed unable to do, was to do so without killing them.

Sighing, Breath shattered the fragile crystal in her hands and released Talley’s legacy back into the world.

“Another loss, Nashep-Natjier?” Dak-qam, One of her followers asked. He was of her Sqarwn-Enx, those bond for life.

Breath, The Nashep-Natjier -God’s Breath-, nodded solemnly.

“I can cut away his bond,” The Nashep-Natjier said in her native language, “but I can’t save them.”

“Then we do what must be done.” Dak-qam said. “We kill them all.”

“Kill all the pactmakers?”

Dak-qam nodded.

Nashep-Natjier sighed and shook her head. “We can’t beat him that way.” She said. “For every pact we end, he’ll make another.”

The Nashep-Natjier looked to Dak-qam. “And we can’t possibly find them all.”

“We kill them all. It is the best way.” Dak-qam repeated.

The Nashep-Natjier pursed her lips and rose to her feet.

“Come.” The Nashep-Natjier said. “It is time for us to go.“

Dak-qam nodded in agreement. Their job in this town was done, and furthermore she had revealed herself to The Being and firmly drew her line in the sand.

There would be more Pactmakers to find elsewhere. More bonds for her to break. The Being, he did not deserve the power he held. No one person would ever deserve the power he held.

It was her responsibility to break him. Her responsibility to break all of them.

High General Viktor Frost sat alone in his study, reading through reports. A knock came from his door.

"Come in.” Viktor said.

The door opened. The girl entered. Karina Frost. His daughter.

Viktor frowned. He had sent for the girl hours ago.

Viktor adjusted his spectacles and turned his gaze back down towards the reports.

"Soldier.” He said while reading through the pages before him.

Karina stood still for a moment after her father allowed to meet him. Even though the years of military education and discipline had made the military etiquette almost a second nature to Karina, the recent events, especially the words from the Being had definitely impacted her, which was evident by her voice, which were colder than usual and her eyes, which were sharper and more dangerous than ever.

"I assume you have read my reports, General Frost." Karina said, sitting down after presenting herself to her superior.

Viktor raised his eyebrow at the comment, but not his gaze.

Due to the sensitive contents of her reports, Karina not only had sealed the envelope and insisted to have it taken directly to the General, but she had also used a cipher to encode her report, one only the general would know, related to one of the books her mother wrote about her studies when she was still alive.

While it was a bit strange at first to see how cautious Karina was being about her report, as soon as the General started reading it, he would immediately realize that all the measures she took were more than justified.

Not only parts of the story were hard to believe, such as the 'Being' and the 'Pact' he made, 'Vi'dareus' and the creatures that called themselves 'gods', but the method the cult seemed to have to apparently 'produce' shadow metal were all incredibly dangerous information.

"Your officials weren't the only ones wrong about the cult and the gravity of this situation." Karina said as she silently waited for the General's reply, her eyes cautiously observing every reaction and move.

Viktor sighed softly. The girl’s report had been full of things that were hard to believe. While yes, some of her reporting had proved factual and deeply concerning, there were other parts of the report that were much more difficult to swallow.

Then there was the worst part of the report. The part that spoke heresy. That the Lord of Senses was not a god. That the Lord of Senses made malicious pacts with people and stole their legacies, whatever that meant.

And even if all she wrote were true, this was not something he could act on. He could not take this information to the Emperor and expect to be taken seriously. Senses no! While yes the Cult’s display of power was clearly a concern, now was not the time to shift course.

Viktor was just glad that she had the sense to put that information in a cipher! If word ever got out that his daughter was a heretic. Senses, that would be the end of her.

"The danger of the cult is clear,-” Viktor said while taking notes in one of his reports. He spoke in a firm voice, making it clear that he had no intention of speaking any more on the subject. "-but now is not the-”

Viktor’s voice trailed off. He noticed a bit of movement out of the corner of his eye. Viktor looked up from his reports. The girl had a familiar floating next to her.

Breathing out, Viktor pursed his lips into a thin line.

"You got a familiar.” He said flatly. The disapproval plain in his voice.

He had noticed this familiar before, after the girl had taken the Eastern gate. He hadn’t realized at the time that the familiar had been with her.

Viktor didn’t dislike familiars per se. He saw them for what they were, a useful tool. What he disapproved of was the new fad of adopting a familiar as a pet. The kind of familiar that the one beside Karina so plainly was.

Karina knew exactly how dangerous all the information on her report was should it leaked or became public. Hence why she decided to entrust it to the one person she trusted most... Her father, General Frost.

It was true that the contents of her report were honestly... very hard to take seriously, but she could only hope that her father would believe her words.

After all, she had never lied to him nor on an official report before.

The moment Viktor started speaking, Karina's attention was completely focused on him. He had to believe her. She did not have any reason to lie, especially about such sensitive matter.

Unfortunately, just as he was about to start talking about it, he noticed Akai peeking at him from behind Karina. Karina had been very clear when she asked for Akai to behave herself, which, surprisingly enough, she was doing so. Be it due to her previous request or maybe because she was intimidated by the General.

Akai's behaved and polite posture soon disappeared though, the moment the General displayed his disapproval, after noticing her.

"Oh wow... And here was I thinking that you were the cold one! Well... At least we know that he is definitely your father..." Akai said to Karina, clearly letting the General know that the feeling of disapproval he displayed upon meeting her was mutual.

Viktor eyed the familiar. His expression unmoving.

"It was a gift. Besides, Akai helped me a lot, when even your high officials couldn't." Karina said her sharp words clearly referring to how the other high officials and even Viktor himself refused to believe her.

Akai, who was staring at Viktor with a clearly annoyed expression, immediately turned to Karina, shocked at first by the fact that Karina was actually defending her and soon after letting out a smug smirk as she looked at Karina.

"Shut up Akai, not now." Karina said, without even looking at Akai, since she already knew exactly the type of expression she was doing.

Akai simply raised her hands in silence, with a clearly satisfied expression, knowing that she had 'won' as Karina continued.

"There are no lies or half-told truths in my report. Now you know well how grave the situation is. It is not something we can ignore anymore. The military needs to reassess it's priorities. We need to start preparing ourselves..." Karina said with an extremely serious expression and tone.

"The military’s priorities are whatever the Emperor pleases.” Viktor said sternly.

The girl was still young. He had to keep reminding himself of that. She might be a clever one but she still had much to learn.

Viktor eyed Akai. "Familiar. You breathe a word of anything we are about to say and I will see to your destruction personally.” Viktor said coolly. "Believe me, you would not be the first familiar I’ve done away with.”

He looked back to Karina. "The topic we are about to discuss is highly sensitive in nature. News that is still on its way to the Emperor’s ear. The Emperor's Sister, Queen of the Nation of Sight, is dead. Murdered by the King. They sent her head to us in a bag.

"Knowing the Emperor, he will not take this lightly. Once he learns of the matter he is going to want me to conduct a full assault on the capital. It is going to take everything in my power to convince him that we should not abandon our post and current tactic of blockading the Nation of Sight’s access to food supplies from the Nation of Taste.

"I suspect that I might be able to stall his decision, but sooner or later, we are going to be forced to march. I cannot afford any distractions. The moment he starts to doubt my loyalty to the Empire will be the moment he assigns a new High General to the post.”

Viktor looked Karina in her eyes. "This was never a question of trust. I always have a proper amount of trust in the reports from my soldiers, as any good High General should. The issue at hand is a matter of hierarchy. A single report like yours, is not enough to convince our Emperor to change priorities. Your report is the kind that would get us in trouble. The kind of report that could get you hanged.”

The High General breathed out. Their Emperor was highly religious. Talk of other gods and heresy was dangerous. He had seen such talk lead to the deaths of others in his career. He would not have the girl follow those men to the grave.

The smirk on Akai's expression after she heard Karina's reply wouldn't last much though.

The moment the General's eyes met Akai's once again, Akai immediately felt a shiver run through her spine. The coldness of his eyes was only matched by the sharpness of his words as he threatened to destroy her, should Akai say anything about that conversation to anyone. Promptly, Akai made sure to go back to behind Karina again, in silence. She didn't seem to be afraid to tease and mock him before, but after hearing his words, Akai definitely didn't want to test him to see if he was bluffing or not.

"Our duty is not to serve the emperor, General Frost! Our duty is to serve and protect the future of our nation and our people!" Karina said, clearly enraged as she heard her father's words about the military's priorities being the Emperor's priorities.

The moment she heard the General's words about the Emperor's sister being murdered, Karina felt her blood being drained from her face. That was the worst case possible. The Emperor most definitely wouldn't stay quiet about that.

"What?! The last thing we need at this moment is an enraged Emperor moving the military solely based on impulses and his own feelings, going over and ignoring the strategic decisions from the military!" Karina said.

"Normally I would agree that this act of offense against our nation warrants a swift answer... But there are much more serious matters in our hands right now... And much better ways to deal with the murder of the queen than to simply use brute force." Karina continued.

"We need to manage and preserve our forces and resources to deal with one threat at a time. We cannot deal with an all-out war, the threat of the cult and the so called 'gods' at the same time! Our best bet is to continue to slowly strangle the Nation of Sight by continuing the blockade while we deal with the cult and their ‘gods’." she said, as the General, mentioned that they would sooner or later be forced to march.

"My report might be hard to believe and even dangerous… But you know as much as I do that everything I wrote is true, father. I never lied on an official report before and I have no reason to do so now." Karina said. The fact that she had called him that instead of using his title only made her words sound even more serious.

"The things I heard, saw and experienced in that town, about the cult and the so called 'gods'... What they stole from me... It changes everything. We cannot simply feign ignorance and hope our problems will get solved by themselves if we continue doing what we are doing! Even though the rest of the world isn't ready to hear the truth, even if our ‘emperor’ refuses to open his eyes to the truth, both for the future of the military and our nation, we will sooner or later have to step up and make a choice..." Karina said, looking Viktor directly in his eyes.

"And if we do not, I can assure you we will all end up being mere pawns, tools for either a self-entitled, so called 'god' who doesn't care if we live or die or slaves, mindless servants to the cult..." Karina finished as she looked deep within the general's eyes, waiting for his reply.

Viktor removed his spectacles and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.

The girl was trouble. Her words were laced with treason. She lived in a world that she idealized, while the truth of the matter was that the military did not follow him. They followed the hand that paid them.

He lowered his hand and looked at the girl, his daughter. It was worse than he thought. The girl truly did believe everything in her report. While he meant what he said about having a healthy amount of trust in her report, he also had to have a healthy amount of skepticism about her assessment of her experiences in Shimmertown.

People told stories all the time about their experiences and came to conclusions that were not always warranted. He had to approach the girl's report carefully. He could not just take it word for word.

Viktor met Karina’s gaze. "You are my lieutenant, soldier. And I'm your High General. So long as we remain that way, I cannot be your father, and you cannot be my daughter.” He reminded her. "You will either have to follow my lead, or you will step down from your post. Willingly, or at my command.”

He rose from his seat to signal that he would hear no more on the matter.

Clasping his hands behind his back, he looked to her and said, "Is that clear Soldier?”

He gave the girl a hard look. The kind of look that said that she had better give him an affirmation.

Karina could see it in his eyes... In the end, he was just like the rest of his high-ranking officials. Just like them, her father didn't trust her. He didn't trust her skills or her knowledge, even though she had already proved him wrong many times...

Still... If it was what it took for them to finally recognize her, she would prove them all wrong. Again and again, no matter how many times it was necessary.

She would regain that which was stolen from her and bring the so-called 'gods' to their knees...

The Emperor... The Military... The Nation and even her own Father... They would learn to recognize her value… Even if they only did so once they finally lost her loyalty.

As the general got up, delivering his 'ultimatum', he could clearly feel the cold air around Karina, cold enough to burn one's skin should they approach her too much.

"Yes. Very well, General Frost." Karina replied as she stood up.

"With all due respect, General..." she said, as she gave a step forward.

"As soon as I die, any traces of my existence in this world will be erased. Stolen by a so called 'god'..." Karina said, looking straight towards Viktor's eyes as she spoke.

"If my actions, my accomplishments... Or even my crimes won't matter in the end, there is not much other than my own pride keeping me in the military, General Frost... You have already lost a daughter. You should value what you still have, lest you lose a competent Lieutenant as well." Karina finished, her eyes as cold and sharp as the shards of ice being crushed beneath her feet as she shifted her posture, standing upright in an 'at attention' posture.

Despite how fierce Karina was, the stare Karina had right now was unlike any other Viktor had ever seen before. It became immediately clear that she wouldn't consider him her father anymore. He had indeed 'lost' a daughter.

"Your next orders, General Frost." Karina asked, her posture as impeccable as always, despite the cold wind around her and her cold stare.

Viktor frowned. This was not the first time he had given this speech to the girl. She knew that his position required him not to show favoritism. She knew what that meant for their relationship. Viktor had only meant to remind her of their station and their unspoken rule of keeping professional titles. Yet, this time his reminder had pushed her too far.

For a long while, Viktor said nothing.

"I’m sorry that you feel that way.” He said at last. His voice had turned soft and steady.

Breathing out, Viktor turned to face the window. It was time that he got to the matter that had been on his mind when he had called for the girl.

"Your prisoner is not eating.” He said. "If she doesn’t start eating soon, then I mean to start allocating our time and resources to people who still wish to live.”

Something had frazzled the girl. Something truly had spooked her.

"You are dismissed, soldier.” He said. "Just remember, our talks may be tough… our talks may be hard… but the door to my office,-” Viktor turned and met the girl’s gaze. "-that door remains open.”

Karina's expression was cold and emotionless, unchanged despite the general's words. As much as he deemed her own feelings irrelevant to their 'duty', she did his.

"Yes, General. I will make it sure that the prisoner will cooperate with us." Karina said, saluting the general, still at ready, waiting for the general to give her permission to leave.

As soon as he did so, Karina merely saluted him once more, before turning away and leaving his office, without expressing a single reaction to the last words he said.

Viktor watched his daughter leave. The girl hadn’t even closed the door to his office. Breathing out, he gently closed the door himself and calmly took at seat at his desk.

Shuffling through his reports he found the one the girl had written and read through it for the seventeenth time. When he finished, he sighed and put the report back down on his desk.
What am I to do with this? He thought to himself.

Whatever he did, it would need other sources of confirmation besides the girl, and it would all need to be done carefully.

As Karina made her way to where Tayla was being kept prisoner, it was clear to anyone in the general vicinity that she was in a terrible mood. If not for her cold expression and the way she was walking, it was due to the extremely cold air surrounding her and the sound of ice being formed and crushed beneath her boots as she walked, leaving a trail of sharp ice fragments in the ground. Despite the fact that she was a rather petite woman when compared to the other soldiers, most of them knew well to keep as far away from her as possible when she was in such a state.

With a single stare and a hand movement, Karina ordered the soldiers who were tasked of guarding the prisoners to open Tayla's cell so she could enter.

Without a word, Karina grabbed the chair from one of the guards outside, brought inside the cell and sat down, looking at Tayla. Tayla would immediately know that Karina was extremely irritated. At first, it was uncertain if Karina would direct her anger at Tayla or not, but it became evident by her next words that it wasn't the case.

"I see you haven't made a choice yet, Tayla." Karina said as she watched Tayla's reaction, waiting for an answer.

Tayla had been sleeping when the door to her cell opened. Sleeping was pretty much the only thing Tayla did these days. That, and staring at the men who walked by.

A week ago, Tayla might have wondered why she was still alive. She might have paced her prison like a wild animal. Shouting, screaming and begging to be released. It was like being that little girl all over again. Helpless, scared and at the mercy of another.

While Tayla found that same panic to still be there, she found that in the week since Smit’s death, she couldn’t quite bring herself to care. All her anger, all her pride, everything she had accomplished since joining the clan… it all felt hollow.

Laying on a poor excuse for a cot, Tayla lazily opened a single eye to see what had caused the disturbance. Was that… the woman?

Tayla furrowed her brow in confusion and groggily sat up in her cot. Her lack of food made the gesture feel weak. Her stomach growled in protest of the motion and her brain demanded that she save her energy for food. Instead of listening to her body, Tayla blatantly refused to acknowledge its needs. None of it mattered. None of it ever did.

Tayla rubbed her eyes as the woman, who she now knew to be Karina Frost, went on about something regarding making a choice.

"It’s… you...” She said, only half awake.

To be honest she didn’t even follow what the woman was talking about. Her mind was dull from refusing food, she had only just woken, she half expected the woman to be some hunger induced hallucination. Yet when Karina remained and kept talking, it became clear to Tayla that her mind wasn’t playing tricks on her

Tayla sat up a little straighter. Her instinctive hatred of the woman snapped her awake.

"You…” She said again. This time with a fire in her voice. Karina Frost. The woman who kill Smit.

She reached for her magical abilities, but found none. That’s right… The military had been regularly drugging her with taste deterrents. Tayla hadn’t been able to taste a thing for a week.

Gritting her teeth, she took in the woman. Karina seemed angry. Terrifyingly angry. Good! Perhaps she need not starve herself much longer. Perhaps she could have Little Miss Princess Karina finish off Tayla with a little goading. Perhaps she could..

‘Tayla-’ Smit had said to her, as he lay there dying. ‘-you’ll kill yourself…’

The fight in her eyes suddenly vanished. Tayla deflated.

"What do you want?” She said in a defeated manner. Her gaze now staring down at her feet.

Karina had no time for Tayla's tantrums or her tendency to close her eyes and simply push the blame for her own choices into someone else.

"Your time is running out, Tayla. You need to make a choice." Karina said.

"You can either keep blaming the entire world for your own mistakes and decisions, refusing to accept them as your own and throwing childish tantrums or you can learn with your mistakes, rise up and do something to atone for your errors. Both for yourself and the ones who have suffered for what you have done" Karina continued, her voice as cold, harsh and sharp as her eyes.

"Your precious cult has done nothing but spread misery, destruction, corruption and death wherever it went. Pathetic and greedy fools who let themselves be used and corrupted by Vi'dareus, a vile, disgusting creature that calls itself a 'god'." Karina said, the hatred in her voice clear as she said the name of that supposed 'god'.

Even though the 'being of many names' had previously said that saying it's name would invoke it's attention, Karina still did so. Out of hatred and spite. An open challenge to those so called 'gods'. Not just the being, not just Vi'dareus, but any and all of them who dared to think that humans were theirs to toy with.

"And you... You were used by them. Just like many others who were forced to kill their own loved ones, driven mad by the corruption of the sightless and the seed..." Karina continued, looking directly into Tayla's eyes as she did so.

"Just like I was used by the 'Being of Many Names'... Who stole something precious from me..." Karina said in a lower tone, almost as if she was saying to herself, her voice filled with anger and hatred.

"But unlike all the other victims from the cult, you were not mad nor were you being controlled or brainwashed... You did so out of your own will... And you knew well what the cult was doing, didn't you?" Karina asked, looking deep within Tayla's eyes.

"What will you do, Tayla? It's time for you to choose. You had enough time to reflect upon your actions and what is going on around you. Hate me all you want, but you cannot ignore the fact that it was your own actions, your own mistakes that killed your companion." Karina said, carefully watching Tayla's reactions.

Tayla gave Karina a sidelong glance. The name Vi'dareus had brought a strange sensation to Tayla and triggered an itch at the back of her neck. Tayla frowned and returned to her gaze to her feet.

Everytime Karina and Tayla talked, the woman always asked her to make a choice. To join her. To follow her path as if she were a lost soul with nothing to live for. It irritated her. Angered her even. But today, Tayla could not find that anger. Today, Tayla was a lost soul.

Karina was right about something though, Tayla had been doing a lot of thinking lately

"You know, I think my relationship with Smit was the closest thing I’ve had to having a friend.” She said. "He had feelings for me, I think. I always knew he felt that way about me, I just turned a blind eye.”

Tayla hesitated as a pain swelled in her chest. The wound was still fresh. It was hard to even talk about Smit.
"I didn’t want that kind of relationship with him.” She said whispered. "I just… I just wanted things to stay as they were…”

Tayla took a deep breath and exhaled. She should have told him how she felt. She should have told him not to bother. Maybe then he would have left her alone and he would have still been alive.

She curled her hands into fists and looked at Karina. While Karina had indeed killed Smit, Tayla had killed him just as surely.

"Why am I still alive, princess?” She said in a defeated tone.

Despite Karina's apparent anger, she still heard Tayla in silence, paying attention to her words. For the first time, Tayla wasn't being aggressive or confronting Karina. So instead of dismissing Tayla's words as nothing important, this time Karina heard quietly.

Karina heard about Tayla's relationship with Smit, about how he was the closest thing she had to a friend... And about how she wasn't able to make a decision... Even regarding the type of relationship she wanted with Smit.

"Even then, you were not able to make a decision, were you, Tayla? To tell Smit how you felt, what you wanted..." Karina asked, her icy eyes looking deep within Tayla's soul.

"In the end, you did not make a decision. You never did. This deep ingrained doubt was what made you take the path you took in your life, it was what made you hesitate on multiple occasions, it was why you joined the cult, since they made all the choices for you... And in the end, it was what caused Smit to die." Karina said. Her words were harsh, but those were words Tayla needed to hear.

Tayla shot Karina a glare.

"You ask me why you are alive, Tayla? You would have died, but Smit made a decision when you couldn't. He gave up his own life, so you could continue with yours. Despite all the mistakes you made, despite the choices you took, he continued by your side." Karina said, as she sighed and looked away for a moment.

Tayla deflated at that and looked back at her feet.

Karina really wasn't in the right mind to give life advice to someone else... Especially in the state her own life was right now... But Karina still felt that if she gave up on Tayla at the moment, Tayla would definitely break.

"Even though I would like to have a loyal, competent subordinate, in the end, the only one who can make this choice is yourself. Whether you join me against the cult and the gods or if you decide to leave all this behind and live your life... The only one that can decide what you will do is yourself." Karina said.

Tayla couldn’t help but laugh dryly.

"Live my life?” She said, repeating Karina’s words. "You and I both know that your people will never allow for that. My clansmen are slaughtered just for entering your country. And the other clansmen who were captured with me… well… I noticed that quite a few of them have disappeared in the night.”

"Clansmen...?" Karina replied, anger flaring up in her eyes once again as she heard those words.

"Do you still think the cult is your 'clan'? That they cared about you or Smit? Please, don't make me laugh. They were using you both." Karina said.

"Clan or cult… Whether they were using me or not... The people I worked with… people I spent years of my life with… they were still my clan… the closest thing I had to family… believe it or not, but those people were no different from me. Many of them too were just looking for a place to call home.”

"Cooperate with us, Tayla. At least for now and then you will be able to regain your freedom. Show us that we can trust you. Trust you to not go back to the cult, that we can trust you are able to keep yourself from spreading classified information. Then you will be free once again.” Karina said, looking to Tayla with a harsh, cold expression.

"Corporate with you and be your loyal subordinate, you mean?” Tayla sighed and shook her head. "I’ve done that… and look where it got me.” Tayla waved her hand to the cell she was in. "I think I’m done doing that… at least for now.

"Besides,-” Tayla looked to the soldiers guarding her. "I’ve seen the way they look at me. They would never accept me. More likely than not to stab me in the back even.”

She turned her gaze back to Karina. "You know what I think?” She asked. "I think that the only reason I haven’t disappeared is because of the person who captured me and who she is”

She looked to Karina. "They told me who you are, Karina Frost. Must be nice to have a man as powerful as The Mirage as your father.”

There was no hostility in her words, they were just spoken in a matter of factly.

The moment Tayla mentioned Karina's father, it seemed like all semblance of patience that Karina was able to keep until now simply evaporated. Despite the fact that Tayla didn't have any hostility while saying those words, it seemed like the previous provocations, coupled with the nerve she struck when she talked about Karina's father finally drove Karina over the edge. The cold air that had slowly calmed down since she arrived at the cell became stronger once again as she looked directly to Tayla's eyes with a hostile expression.

"Are you in a hurry to die, prisoner? Provoking the only one who thinks you might be useful isn't a good choice if you want to stay alive." Karina said, her tone and her eyes making it clear that her threats weren't mere bluffs.

"Ever since I entered the military, I was alone. In the military, I always had a general, but I never had a father. Everything I am nowadays, everything I have conquered is due to my own efforts, my own training and skill. All those who thought they could challenge me were quickly put in their places. All those who doubted my words or my skills were quickly proved wrong. Again and again." Karina said her face was close enough to Tayla that the cold air swirling around her was stinging her skin.

"And you... Are just another one like them. Another one who failed to surpass me and instead of accepting my skills and understanding that you need to get better... You just chose the easy way of blaming everything that happened in something else other than your own incompetence!" Karina finished, looking at Tayla for a moment before she finally gave a step back.

Tayla couldn’t help but shiver from the chill. Her skin nearly turned blue at its touch. Yet despite the cold’s sting, Tayla weakly chuckled. The stoic princess Karina was stoic no more. Tayla had hit a nerve.

"And here I thought I was the one who was quick to anger.” Tayla said in a tired voice. "It seems neither of us are ourselves today.”

Slowly, she lay back on her cot and stared up at the ceiling.

"What did the Trickster of Tricksters take from you? The clan-” Tayla hesitated and glanced at Karina. "-cult says he steals people’s names.”

Karina's anger was still apparent as she looked to Tayla. Her constant sarcastic tone and words were starting to make her wonder if the effort to try and make Tayla cooperate was even worth it...

"You have been testing my patience for a while now, Tayla. I am the only reason why you are still alive... and you appear to have forgotten about this fact." Karina said with a hostile tone.

"Your values are so twisted by the cult that you know not the difference between a subordinate and a slave... Think about these words very carefuly before giving your final answer, Tayla. I won't make my offer a second time." Karina said, replying to Tayla's previous words when she refused to be her subordinate.

After taking a few moments to breathe and regain her composure, Karina gave a step back, distancing the cold, icy wind from Tayla again as it slowly died down.

"It is not nearly as bad as what the cult takes in exchange for power... Your mind... your sanity... But the Being took something very important as well..." Karina said, her tone becoming serious as she said so.

"It took more than just my 'name'. It took my legacy. My accomplishments, all my effort, all I did in my life... Even my very existence will be erased, stolen from me once I die. Nothing will be left behind. As if I had never existed in the first place." Karina explained with anger in her eyes.

"In exchange for a pact I didn't ask for, with the only motivation for it being its own selfish goals... It will now steal my very existence when I die... And what do I get from this? The 'privilege' of being used by him!" She continued, the hatred in her voice seemed to not only be directed towards the Being of Many Names, but Vi'dareus and all the other so called 'gods' as well.

Tayla didn’t know what to say. She honestly couldn’t relate to Karina. She never knew the value of what it meant to be known in the world. Of what it meant to be a part of other people’s lives in a positive way. All she had ever known was pain and suffering from the people above her. She was already forgotten. She had always been forgotten.

So instead of saying something comforting, Tayla just frowned and shrugged. Turning on her side, Tayla faced the blank wall of her cell.

"The c…” Tayla stopped herself short of calling the cult a clan. She had to remember that Karina didn’t like that term, and years of calling it a clan hadn’t made things easier. "The cult doesn’t take our sanity in return for the Insight’s power,” She said, "but it does seem to bind us to the cult.”

Tayla felt the itch grow on the back of her neck from her words. She hadn’t felt the comforting euphoria from the Insight for nearly a week. The unscratchable itch was maddening.

"The itch, it's excruciating. It beckons me. It calls me to the Insight’s comforting embrace.”

She paused for a while before turning her head to look at Karina. "I don’t know what it is that you see in me,-” She began, "-but I don’t think I can be the blank slate loyalist that you are looking for. Furthermore, I am not someone who values their life so much as to fear death from refusing your offer.”

Tayla waved her hand to a plate of uneaten food that lay to the side.

"I chose death the moment I woke up in this cell.” She said solemnly from her cot. "However, you reminded me of something today.”

‘Tayla, you’ll kill yourself…’ Smit’s words rose to her mind again.

Tayla reached to her plate of food and grabbed a bit of bread.

"Smit did not sacrifice himself so that I could go about getting myself killed.”

Tayla took a bite out of the bread, chewed and swallowed.

"Lousy deterrents.” Tayla said with a half chuckle. "Tastes like nothing.”

Tayla turned on her cot, switching the side she was laying on.

"You’re welcome to kill me if you want. Not like I can do much to stop you.” Tayla said while taking another bite of bread. "Or, you can come back some other time, and perhaps talk some more.”

She eyed Karina and shrugged. "Afterall, it's not like I have anything better to do. And who knows, maybe it will even help build up some of that ‘loyalty’ that you seem to be looking for… or at the very least… trust.” She placed emphasis on the word trust.

Karina wanted loyalty, but she had yet to establish trust with Tayla. Trust took time. Trust required effort… on both sides… That was the part Tayla had neglected with Smit. Trust was a two way street.

Tayla sat back up in her cot, and leaned her back against the wall. "Either way, you hold the woodsmen’s whittle. Me, on the other hand… I’m just the block of wood.”

Karina heard Tayla's words in silence. The 'Itch' she described, how she talked about the 'insight's embrace' worried her. That addiction to the insight was what led many to give themselves to the cult, just to have everything taken from them by the cult's 'insight'.

Still, even though Tayla had already been touched by the cult's 'Insight', Karina still saw value in her. She knew how the cult operated better than anyone in the military knew. Probably even more than Chres himself. Her help would be welcome to fight an enemy they knew next to nothing about...

"It's worse than a drug, isn't it? This... 'Insight'... You know better than I would ever know, Tayla. This is how the cult binds people to their ranks, how they rob them of everything... Even their own sanity in the end." Karina said after Tayla finished.

"You seem to be mistaken about me, Tayla. I don't need a puppet, nor a mindless minion to do my biddings. I am not like the Cult nor those revolting creatures, calling themselves 'gods'..." Karina said, her voice firm as she said so.

"I need someone who can think for themselves. Someone who knows more than to just blindly obey orders. Someone who has the capacity to discern the right moment to act and do so when necessary. Someone truly competent." Karina continued, looking right at Tayla's eyes as she did so.

"And I know you can be much more competent than the cult ever gave you credit for." Karina completed. Her voice made it clear that it wasn't just a hunch. She was convinced that Tayla had much more value than the cult ever believed her to have.

"Trust comes first, then loyalty." Karina said as she turned back, going towards the cell door.

"But for now... you should focus on eating and recovering yourself. Next time I come, I will bring something more palatable than what was given to you." Karina said before she walked through the door, closing it behind her. Her words gave Tayla more than enough confirmation that she wasn't planning to kill her.

Tayla chuckled to herself and shook her head as she watched Karina leave. How in the senses had that one not killed her yet, Tayla would never know.

The itch intensified with that thought. Almost urging her to act.

Laying back in her cot, she ignored the itch and the stares and frowns that came from the prison guards. Closing her eyes, she smiled as she tried to drift back to sleep.

"Quite the stick in the mud that one is. Isn’t that right, Tayla?" Said a voice.

Tayla jumped, her eyes shooting back open in an instant. Reclining against the bars inside her cell stood a man with jet black hair. He smile at her with an amused look on his face.

Suddenly alert, Tayla shot up and placed her back against the cell wall. She quickly glanced to the guards. They didn’t even appear to have noticed the man… In fact they didn’t even appear to be moving.

Tayla felt cold, as she suddenly realized how unnaturally quite the world had gotten. Slowly she looked back to the man who continued to smile at her.

She hadn’t even heard the man enter. Who the hell was he?

”Please, allow me to introduce myself, friend. My name… Well, you may call me-"

"Trickster of Tricksters.” Tayla interrupted in sudden realization. "You’re him, aren’t you?”

The Being looked up in mid flourish. ”Well, yes, but I would prefer the name-"

"You know we’re supposed to be enemies, right?” Tayla interrupted again with a smirk. The Being frowned as she continued, "That I’ve already been touched by Insight and that the clan has been looking for someone who has both been touched by Insight and your pact.”

Straightening his posture, The Being smiled and folded his arms. ”Oh is that what you all have been up to? My, my, I never knew. Definitely been in the dark on that one." He said sarcastically.

"Why are you here?” Tayla asked, cutting to the chase.

”To give you the chance to get what you want." The Being said with a knowing smile.

Tayla gave him a look of mistrust. "And what exactly is it that I want?”

”Power. Belonging. Control."

Frowning, Tayla took a seat back on her cot.

"The way I hear it, your abilities don’t work that way in exchange for what you take.”

”My abilities give me the ability to move you in the direction of what I offer in exchange for what I take."

"And what did you offer Miss ‘Stick in the Mud’ there?” She asked, nodding in the direction that Tayla left.

”Her life." The Being said. ”If it weren’t for my involvement, she would have died during Shimmertown’s day of madness. They all would have… except for Chres."

Tayla eyed The Being suspiciously. He had chosen an odd person to make a pact with, especially considering the timing. Karina had only just left but implied that she wanted Tayla to fight beside her against the clan. If Tayla chose that route, she would have more contact with the clan, giving her an easier chance to abandon Karina and return to the Clan’s side.

By appearing before Tayla, the Being was practically begging join Karina only to abandon her for the clan at the first chance Tayla had. She could only imagine the reception she would have on her return. One of the Insight and the pact? She would be exactly what the clan had been looking for. They would laud her as a hero…

Power. Belonging. Control… Tayla met The Being’s gaze. Yes, he was indeed offer Tayla all of that in exchange for making the pact… but why? How did that benefit him?

"You’re going to have me killed, aren’t you?” She said. "Steal my legacy and name the instant I make the pact.”

The Being’s smile grew. “And if I did, would it make a difference? You and I both know that despite what you told Karina, you aren’t going to join her. Even if you do build said trust. Once she realizes your intentions, do you think she’ll stay her blade then?”

Tayla frowned. "And if she learns that I made a pact with you, after everything she just told me. Do you think she’ll stay her blade then?” She shot back.

The Being laughed, ”Have you seen that one’s temper? No. Of course not. You’ll be skewered faster than you can blink. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead.”

"You make a very convincing argument.” Tayla said flatly.

“Why thank you, I certainly try.” I shot back without missing a beat.

Tayla lay flat on her cot and placed her arm over her eyes. "I think I’ll pass-”

“Thing is,” The Being said, while cutting her off. “Miss ‘Stick in the Mud’ doesn’t ever have to know about our arrangement.”

Tayla lowered her arm from her face and glanced at The Being.

“Control.” The Being said. “A chance to finally stick it to to woman you can’t best in battle.”

Tayla said nothing. The idea did sound appealing. A chance to stick to Karina through other means in more ways than one. But, did she want that though? The itch on her neck intensified. Yes. A part of her did still want that.

Tayla turned on her side to face away from The Being.

The Being smiled, his form becoming transparent. “I didn’t hear a no.” He said, his voice sounding more distant.

"Nor did you hear a yes.” Tayla said without looking.

“Which is why I’ll be back.” He said. His voice echoed throughout the room.

Tayla merely shrugged, and time rushed back in on itself.