Even as the sunshard pierced Rhain’s eyes, the crippling pain faded away and he felt his Anima pulse. The roots of his black yew Geist tightened around his core, a sphere of fertile earth with tufts of green grass growing on the surface.

The presence had returned and the pressure slowed time enough that the last instants of his life stretched on into eternity.

The roots moved until the jade circle around his core was visible. The proof of Sorcery. On the circle were carved the Workings that he knew, the spells he's mastered to the extent of being able to cast them in the midst of combat. It was the false Chalice of Covenant.

Rhain Hervard, student of Telrorth. Your time has come to an end.

‘Lord of Knowledge.’

No. I am the #$%#$%#$.

Knowledge of the name burned from his memory as soon as he heard it, leaving naught but a muted buzz.

‘What? No! Why do you call me?’

Foolish child. Your lord, $%#$%#$, has no power over death. I do. I offer you a chance. You, who have taken the arcane knowledge of reality weaving, and you who has taken a false Chalice, I offer you, life. In death.

‘No. No! I will enter the cycle of reincarnation, I will not be bound!’

Fool child. Know you not who slew you? Your Anima will never have the chance to return the cycle, not in a thousand millennia.

‘No, I’d rather enter dissolution!’

Another presence entered into the realm of Rhain’s perception, this one warm and familiar.

$%#$%#$

#$%#$%#$. Begone. This one has been marked as mine.

So be it. But not without my pound of flesh.

Searing pain filled Rhain as his Anima was torn asunder. Ambient Chaos flooded past the boundaries and slowly ate at the remnants of his being. For a moment, Rhain felt as if he were in two places at once, one remaining by the comforting roots of his yew, and the other in the clutches of something far darker.

He’d touched into that darkness, he realised, when he ventured into the Chaos, attempting to awaken his nascent Sorcery. The Chalice…his chalice, though false it may be, had brought him honour and power. Now, it was filled with pieces of his Anima and it sank into the depths of the Abyss.

Rhain’s consciousness slowly faded, and the roots of his tree enfolded the remnants of his core. Perhaps one day he would awaken as himself again. But that was a long time coming...if it ever would.

_____

Layla’s emotions spun and roiled.

When the Sorcerer created Koinos level Colossi, she had thought they were in for a tough fight. She couldn’t do much after causing the rock dome to shatter. Few of her Spellwoven foci were of much use in tactical combat.

She could create barriers, waves of repulsion and even regenerative cubes which were all useful in strategic battle, but the ones that were deployable quickly cost too much Animus, and she was down to a third already.

Switching the beacon on was the priority, though she should have done so much earlier, Chaos burn her distracted mind.

Her heart nearly stopped when her niece ended up under fierce assault, and she screamed, “Help her!”

Riley grunted. He was already trying, as she knew very well, but the other two animated trees blocked his bolts. He did his best to burn them down.

Then, incredibly, Yuriko used her oversized artefact greatsword to take out the Sorcerer and his Colossus. She could see smoke rising from the eye slit, and she felt grim satisfaction. She picked up her Plasma Lancet and held it ready, though it was of no use.

Those scumbags were too far away for her to hit. Riley and Aidan were cleaning up and Yuriko stalked threateningly at the remnants. For some reason, the girl looked bigger and more terrifying than Layla initially thought.

‘Hmm, her enthralling aura changed.’ Layla mused even as she shaped her Protective Field to counteract Yuriko’s aura.

Releasing her Animus as a Field was the most basic thing taught to everyone in the Empire, and it was such a versatile thing. The heart of the matter was that Field laid claim to a small territory, a mini-domain, around the body, and through it, enforce her Will.

Some Sorcerers said that it was the foundation of their Workings, though she knew there was something else needed. Not that she wanted to find out anyway, she had no desire to meddle with the frightening forces of Sorcery.

Layla heaved a sigh of relief.

Once the Colossus stopped moving, a wave of fear washed over the remaining warriors and the front ranks dropped their weapons, turned tail and ran. Riley shot those who still held their arms, prompting the stubborn ones to eventually follow suit.

“This is an ill-considered attack,” Layla said.

“They probably didn’t know about us,” Riley shrugged. “Well, anything to make things easier.”

“Right.”

Yuriko seemed content to let them run and Aidan’s lackadaisical attitude meant he’d rather not exert himself too much. Only Riley kept shooting.

“That should be enough,” Layla said when the boy kept it up.

“They’ll only return to trouble us later,” he grunted.

Layla gave him a side-eye and he rolled his.

“Fine.”

They kept watch, but soon enough, the locals were out of sight.

Layla yawned. It was still the middle of the night, but from the feel of it, it was only about three hours before the sun rose. She didn’t think they’d continue to rest here though. She turned off the focus that kept the stone tower intact, and almost at once, it started to sink back to the ground. She jumped off the side.

“Warn me next time,” Riley groused as he stumbled off the platform.

“It kept you on your toes, didn’t it?” she quipped.

“Still…” Riley muttered as he rubbed his thigh.

He glanced at the retreating, well, routed, army, and up at the Chaos streams above. This close to the Celestial Refraction, the cycles of the Luminous Moon were a bit strange. Sometimes, the progress reversed from Darkward to Fullness, though it never reached either state by the time of the year’s end. Then, no matter how the moon progressed, a week after the start of the new year would always be the Dark Moon.

The night was bright, with a Waxing Moon. The Chaos Streams were stronger here in Bella which meant it was never too dark at night.

Layla gathered her things off the ground and packed them up while glancing south. Who knew if they migiht grow enough courage to return?

Aidan and Yuriko returned to the camp.

Aidan yawned and stretched while Yuriko looked introspective. Her artefact rested on her shoulder, pointing straight up. Golden shards hovered around her, looking like murderous hornets.

“I’ve always wondered what those were,” Layla remarked when the two came close enough that she didn’t have to raise her voice. Yuriko started out of her reverie.

“Huh?”

“Those things.” Layla pointed at the shards. “How did you come upon the technique? Ah, you mean you got it from Fri’Avgi?” she continued immediately when the girl reflexively looked at the weapon.

“Er…”

“I think you used something else during that last battle? I can’t quite recall. Ah, that Animus sword. Why though?”

“Um, I didn’t have a weapon, or rather my side-blade broke.”

“But you have that.”

“I couldn’t summon Fri’Avgi then.”

“Funny that, summon. How do you put it away? Do you leave it somewhere safe and materialise it? No, no, that couldn’t be. What if you go too far from the hiding place? Distance places a big factor in limiting reality shaping,” Layla half muttered.

“I place Fri’Avgi in my Anima,” Yuriko said after a moment.

“Your Anima? Incredible. Isn’t it difficult though? How do you even do that? I suppose you change the artefact’s structure and bring its Anima Signature in tune with yours? No, no, that’s a bonded artefact, isn’t it? I recall the details from your license. That means that your Anima frequencies already match! That’s already half the work! I…”

“Aunt Layla,” Riley said firmly, “don’t keep her standing there. We’ve got to decide what to do.”

“Don’t call me aunt,” Layla said absently. “Well, you’re right. I assume none of you would like to rest here in the vicinity of so many dead.” Muffled groans and screams came from the slaughter field. “You see? I’d rather not listen to them moaning, or worse, wait for their corpses to rise.”

“Rise?” Yuriko yelped, “What do you mean?”

“Oh, ah, of course, you haven’t, er, you were still in your first year at Sharom. Hmmm, well, Chaos has a tendency to fill in a vacuum. Powerful emotion at death leaves a…resonance that may attract Chaos.”

“They turn to Wyldlings?”

“Of a sort. We’re in an untethered plane, so that sort of thing happens more often.”

“But…” Yuriko hesitated, “I came upon a village whose people were massacred and none of the bodies were…corrupted? By Chaos. We buried them.”

“It’s not an instant thing and it doesn’t always happen,” Layla explained. “But in a site where the ambient Chaos density had risen unnaturally, say, during a battle, the chances for instability when it comes to the Planar Veil, can open pinprick holes into the Primordial.” Layla shook her head, “But here I am, talking your ear off, we should pack up and go.”

“But, shouldn’t we aid the wounded, then bury the dead, in that case?” Yuriko asked worriedly.

“Why?” Riley said in a blunt voice. “They attacked us unprovoked. And it’s not our duty to do so.”

“Even so,” Yuriko said stubbornly. “If there’s a chance that they’ll turn into Wyldlings…”

“Not Wyldlings,” Layla corrected. “The term is Kathari. After a mythical Great Old One.” She shrugged. “The chances are slim.”

“I…Still.”

Layla exchanged glances with Aidan and Riley. She could tell that her niece would be stubborn about this.

“Very well,” Layla sighed. “But we burn the dead, after our own traditions.”

“I know their last rites.”

“If you hope to ensure that they don’t rise as Kathari, it’s better to destroy the bodies. I know they bury their dead here, but we don’t have enough time to do it.”

Yuriko glared at her with narrowed eyes then gestured towards the remnants of the earthen rampart.

“You’ve enough power to raise that but not to create a big enough ditch to bury the dead?”

“I, well…” Layla spluttered.

“She’s got you there, bis sis,” Riley sniggered.

“Well, I’ve still to reweave my spell foci, in that case. Go ahead and survey the field for dead and wounded. But I’ll not heal the wounded only for them to stab us in the back.”

Yuriko shook her head.

“Look at them. If not for Rhain and that ice queen, none of them would have been able to harm us.”

“Don’t be overconfident, child,” Layla rebuked. “Enough of them attacking at the same time will pierce through our protections.”

“Yes, but there aren't enough of them.”

Layla rubbed the back of her neck and held in a sharp retort. Yuriko took hold of the bone and gnawed at it. It didn’t look like she’d let go anytime soon. And those two boys aren’t helping. Riley was smirking off at the side while Aidan…had plopped down on his bedroll and taken a nap!

Oh, it was too early for this. Layla felt a yawn trying to escape. Yuriko looked chipper than a rooster in the morning.

“Well, do what you want.”

She was giving up. It was probably easier to let the child do what she wanted than try to convince her otherwise. She was a Davar, and she knew what living with bullheaded idiots was like. Not that Layla wasn’t stubborn, but she knew what battles to fight. Anyway, the Ebon Horizon should be on its way. From this distance, it wouldn’t take more than a few hours. Unless the captain felt lazy.

She watched as Yuriko put away her artefact, snuffing out the shards in the process. The flames of her Protective Field condensed and returned to her Anima. Yuriko had incredible control, and Layla would love to find out how she trained for it. Fine Animus control wasn’t a Davar trait, so it could very well be from the girl’s mother’s side.

Layla had never met Sadeen Mishala personally but she’s seen a Mishala before. She shut that thought away in an instant.

Yuriko’s aura shifted from that terrifying mien into her usual allure. It didn’t look like it was under Yuriko’s control, otherwise, she wouldn’t waste her strength like that.

Anyway, she had to do some Spellweaving if she wanted to do what her niece wanted. Well, she needed to replenish her Animus first. So she sat in a meditative pose and pulled in ambient Chaos to filter into Animus.