Warm sunlight bathed Stathis as she slowly opened her eyes, wincing at the brightness after so long in twilight-gloom. It was nice, sort of, to have some actual light, but it was painfully bright, green-purple blobs flaring up in her vision.

You have come, my child. The voice sounded, as much a sensation as actual words, a rippling pulse of warmth moving through Stathis. As must be, as was prophesied long ago. Stathis fully opened her eyes, wincing in pain at the surrounding haze, managing to look around – wherever she was, it didn’t seem entirely physical, with luminous mist surrounding her, the faintest hints of gleaming marble walls behind it, the surface beneath her feet so bright that it hurt to look at.

The voice came from all around here, sounding in her mind, but more all-encompassing than Janaxia’s voice. The child of dark grows in power! Stathis looked around, trying to find the source of the “sound”, but there was only the luminous haze, and the too-bright marble floor beneath, flecks of crystal shining like tiny suns.

‘Who are you? And what are you talking about? You’re going to need to be more specific!’

She took a step forward, suddenly realising that she was in her armour again, the plates and straps back in place, her sword at her waist, a shield strapped to her arm.

‘Where is this? And why are you bringing me here?’

You are the last ember, in which I have placed my power. I was too weak before, to do what needed to be done. By the time I realised, their power was too great. The old world was left behind, and the sealing conducted, but it was incomplete. And now I can feel the boundaries weaken again. Soon, those held here shall be free again.

‘You’re talking about that other world, aren’t you? The dead place? Well, having that hole blasted through reality seems like it would be bad news, how much worse is this?’

The dark will rise!

Was the voice actually aware, or just some sort of ghost, or a fragment left behind of something? ‘Can you understand me? You need to give me some specific details, or I can’t help you!’

The mists roiled, motes of light sparkling down from above her, phantasmal feathers shining for a moment before bursting into crystalline sparks. You are the instrument of destiny. A blade forged to complete what I could not. To drive back the darkness, destroy the Triad, and bring a pure, perfect light to the world.

‘What does that actually mean!?’ Stathis resisted the urge to stamp her foot in annoyance. ‘I’ve no idea where the Bell is, I don’t think anyone does. The Blade, I’m not sure about, I think maybe Poratia had it? The Book doesn’t seem to be doing much, and I don’t know how to destroy it anyway. The ravenous demons are a problem, but they can be defeated, and the more sensible ones can be talked to. Zarazonnia’s not really any worse than any other conqueror, she can be negotiated with. I can sort of see why the Sethans might not want to be stuck there, the place isn’t really very hospitable. If the desert could be restored, then they’d probably be less wanting to conquer other places.’

The voice sounding somewhere between confused and annoyed. You were born of a warrior, to be the blade of the light, to deliver the final stroke to the darkness. You must embrace your destiny! All the prophecies that were written, all that must come to pass, all lies upon you.

‘If you wanted me to do stuff, you could have been rather more explicit about it all. It’s all very vague and not really very helpful. And my sword is my own – I will protect those in need, and fight for those that need it, but other than that? I choose what, and where, and how, to fight.’

That is not what you were made for!

‘I wasn’t “made”! I was born. Although, admittedly, under somewhat unusual circumstances. Which I imagine is something to do with you?’

I did indeed set your spirit in motion.

‘Well, you could have checked in during the last few decades! Especially if you were wanting me to actually do something. Rather than leaving lots of vague bollocks with a succession of nutjobs over the centuries, leaving all sorts of deranged ranting! Anything I have done has been pretty much by coincidence, because it’s not like there were any useful hints for me to follow. So are you going to tell me anything actually useful, that will help me do things?’

There was a long silence, the tone similar to when Janaxia was being grumpy, despite the lack of any speaking body.

‘Well!?’

The Blade lies shattered, power stolen to empower a host. They are…

‘The shapeshifting people that Poratia made? Yeah, they’re bastards to kill, unless I use my powers, or Janaxia drains off their energy.’

You must not empower the darkness!

‘Well, it doesn’t seem to make her much worse, and she’s less of a danger than those things. They’re fast, tough and hard to put down, although fortunately most don’t seem to be very well trained. I’m hoping they’ve not been used to infiltrate everywhere though, as that could get messy. The kingdoms aren’t on the best of terms to start with, it wouldn’t take much for them to start getting pissy with each other and then then only way to make anything happen is to smash some heads together.’

Mortal politics are beneath my concern.

The voice was definitely grumbling now, although at least it showed that it was an actual consciousness.

‘Well, that’s what’s going to be needed. I can slay the things near me, but if Poratia made a load of them before hopefully getting killed, then they could be all sorts of inconvenient places. Is there any way to detect them other than having Janaxia touch them, or me stabbing them? Because the second isn’t really practical, and I don’t think I could get Janaxia to go around poking everyone we meet.’

The abominations are impure!

‘That’s not helpful! What about holy water? I know Janaxia doesn’t like the stuff. Or forcing them onto holy ground?’

The light of the heavens will repel them.

Stathis sighed. ‘A “yes” would have sufficed. I’ll ask Hakara to get the word out, although I don’t know if anyone will listen. And there’s all the regular undead around which are something of a pain. I don’t suppose you can do anything about them? Like make the sun shine downwards or something, brightly enough to maybe harm all the wraiths and things like that?’

Do not beg power of me, child! You were given the power of the heavens yourself, that you may fight the darkness yourself. My power lies vested in containing the forces of old, leaving little to spare for other matters. The spark lies within you – unleash that, and it shall be all the power you need.

‘That’s great, except I don’t know how to do that, and also I can only be in one place at a time. So it would be more useful to deal with this on a wider scale?’

Such things are beyond my power! But the Triad shall be your greatest foes! The Bell to call, the Book to bind and the Sword to slay.

‘Got any idea where the Bell is?’

If the voice had a body, it would be crossing its arms in annoyance across its chest and glaring at Stathis as it replied. A darkling child stole it from a hidden fastness, not long ago as your mortals reckon time. From there, it vanished from the sight of the heavens.

‘That one can, what, summon demons? It can’t be up to much, that’s the sort of thing that’s hard to hide. Maybe it got dropped into the oceans or something? I’ll keep an eye out. But for now, the shapeshifters and the undead are more of a threat. And whichever of Poratia’s kids manages to became the successor. Maybe they’ll all tear each other apart? That would make things easier. Then Janaxia gets to be the heir – that’ll make her happy.’

The voice grumbled, like thunder on a sunny day, somewhere out of sight. The light should not suffer the darkness.

‘My actual mother didn’t have much luck with that line, I don’t think you really get a say in the matter. And yeah, she’s spooky and eldritch, but she’s not really all that bad – just keep her distracted and she doesn’t really do much. If she is the harbinger of the apocalypse, it’s not her fault or something she wanted herself.’

She has killed you once already!

‘Not deliberately. And you could have warned me about that? Would certainly have been better than getting killed by a bloody kiss!’ Stathis looked around again – the mists had spread slightly, revealing the vaguest hint of marble-smooth architecture, huge pillars holding up massive blocks of stone. ‘So, keep an eye out for the rest of the Triad, watch out for those bastard shape-shifter things, and there’s probably going to be demons and, from what Hakara says, other stuff, coming through that hole? Anything else to say, or does that summarise it? I don’t want to sound like Semari, but have you got anything more concrete? An actual holy sword would be nice – could do with an upgrade.’

The spark within will empower you. You are beyond the need for such mundanities.

‘Easy for you to say, you’re not fighting demons and undead all the time! Do you at least have any specific advice where to go? We’re stuck out in the wilderness, it’s going to take a while to get anywhere, so some specific advice would be appreciated.’

Hmph. Stathis tried not to smirk, the thing managing to sound exactly like a grumpy Janaxia, when things weren’t going her way. The darkness is heavy upon your world. But a path is open to you, to the east. The heir of the woods likely knows the way.

‘I’m going to assume that’s Parth – for future reference, names are lot easier than titles!’ The voice didn’t respond, the mist billowing more thickly. ‘Would a goodbye be too much to ask?’

There was no response, as the luminous haze thickened around her, swallowing up what few details she’d been able to see, before she plunged into sleep again.