Ascension - (Alarian Warriors)
Elendor

Aveyon released her death grip on Vincent’s waist as they finally began to slow, they’d put a lot of distance between them and the slavers.

“That was quick thinking, we could have been in trouble if you hadn’t set the other horses loose.” He told her.

Aveyon nodded, glad that he understood her intentions. With more than one horse loose they wouldn’t know which one to go after, or whose tracks to follow.

Rearing the horse to a stop they both dismounted, stumbling to the ground exhausted. Aveyon fumbled through the saddle bags for some clothes. She was becoming quite aware of her naked form since they were now out of danger.

“Vincent?” she asked, her eyes lingering on the red welts that were still not healing on his wrists.

He looked down at her, his face worn with lines of stress, pain, and worry.

“You are not healing anymore, or replenishing essence on your own, are you?” She continued.

He shook his head grimly. “My body feels... blocked?” He couldn’t think of the correct word.

“I am sorry.” This was her fault.

“Don’t worry about it, we are headed to the right place for this kind of issue.” He added smiling at her. “We will sort it out, but more importantly, how are you feeling?”

“I feel... Not myself. I am also disconnected from your essence, but my body... It is holding its own essence now.” She looked down at her hands frowning. “It is like my entire being has started to change, I am not even sure how it is possible or what I am to become?” She made a pained expression as she tried her best to put it into words.

“We should keep moving, the answers we seek are ahead of us, not behind.” He said struggling to mount the horse after he changed and strapped a weapon to his waist.

“Take a moment Vincent, you need it.” She incurred.

“We can’t, there’s too much happening, too much we can’t control. We need the elves' protection now more than ever.” He responded slightly panicked.

He wasn’t wrong, and she didn’t see the point in arguing with him. Instead, she mounted the horse and positioned herself, so she had control of the reins, in front of him. No longer riding side saddle, her long dress bunched up to her knees.

“I just follow this path, yes?” She asked.

He eyed her slightly surprised but nodded nonetheless.

“Then rest, I will lead the horse for a time.”

“You’re okay with this?” He asked concerned.

She kicked the horse into motion, causing Vincent to grab onto her waist to keep himself steady.

“A little discomfort never killed anyone.” She stated.

As the sun began to rise, they didn’t stop, they couldn’t. She pushed through her discomfort and kept them going for as long as the horse would let them.

Thankfully, the elves' outpost didn’t appear to be far from where the slavers had taken them, it only took a few hours to reach the enchanted city. The horse trotted to a stop allowing Aveyon to truly take it in.

“It’s quite a sight, isn’t it?” Vincent smiled as he watched her look on in wonder.

It certainly was, before her a cascade of buildings, made from beautiful white marble with shimmering gold ascents framing and decorating them. It was heavenly. The buildings lined a mountainside looking over a huge valley, it appeared to look as though it was floating in the sky over a bottomless canyon.

Kicking the horse into motion with a few more steps they finally arrived at their destination. They were greeted warmly, though the first reaction was shock, probably due to their matted and bloodied appearances.

The elves knew Vincent well and welcomed the two without question. Clearly, they were expecting them. The elves, though they looked human, were incredibly beautiful. Well-defined jawlines, flawless skin, tall and lean. They were kind and well-mannered, what surprised Aveyon most was that they saw her as their Princess as well.

“The Alarians have long been allied to us, we see them as a part of our family and therefore you are royalty to us as well.” Their leader who had introduced herself as priestess Kirra had told them when Aveyon attempted to have her address her only by name.

This elf was the high priestess that ran the temple in the great city. She held the highest position among the clan. Kirra had been the one waiting for them at the entrance to the city. She’d told them that she hadn’t been expecting them until much later that day and was still preparing. The guard towers had alerted her to their approach, and she was notified just in time to greet them.

Aveyon wasn’t paying much attention as they were hurried inside, she let them do as they wished. Too tired to protest, and too weak to even try. She was just glad they were away from the outside world, away from the slavers and with people who knew her kind.

Though she felt uncomfortable, honestly what didn’t at this point, at the end of the day this was the elves' home, and it was only right to follow their customs. What Aveyon liked the most about the elves' customs was that they were not fond of touching, they gestured with their hands a lot but never touched her. They offered them a place to bathe, fed them, and gave those clean clothes before sitting down with Kirra to discuss the current situation.

All the while Aveyon was in complete awe of the city, it was better than the stories her mother had told her as a child.

Huge gates lined the entrance to the city, and most of the dwellings were built inside the very mountain they had seen on their approach. But she didn’t feel as though they were inside, the essence wielding displayed on every corner only cemented in the fact that she had come to the right place.

She gasped as an elf zip-lined from one side of the mountain to the other, simply entering a building on the other side as though it were a normal day. It was astonishing to her, the streets were vast and open, though there was a large gaping cavern down the middle separating the sides, and yet somehow it was a functioning world. Beautifully paved with parks and gardens dotted around and yet somehow it just worked. It was like they were in their own little world, tucked away and secluded from prying eyes.

Aveyon now found herself sitting at a large table in a temple-like structure that lay just south of the centre of the city, Kirra’s domain. The elf hadn’t rushed them, and for that, Aveyon had been grateful, but it was now time to get down to business.

“We will need to run a few assessments to prepare the correct training programs for you both.” Kirra started.

Vincent frowned. “Both?” He questioned.

She raised a brow at him, flicking her long braided red hair over her shoulder and eyed him.

“You’re...” She waved her hand in a circle looking at his body. “Ah, being? If you will. It is different, the blood that runs through your veins will need to be expressed if you wish to return to normal. We do not need a feral beast running around the city if it can be helped.”

“You can tell that just by looking?” Aveyon asked surprised, it seemed she already knew what had happened to him.

“Indeed, elves are the first race to receive the blessing of essence, the ability to wield was originally taught by us. It is only natural that I can sense such imbalances.” Kirra stated proudly.

“Do you know of blood-wielding?” Aveyon asked.

Kirra’s eyes widened ever so slightly as she looked at the Princess. “And why would you ask that? It is an ancient art that no one can use anymo-”

Kirra cut herself off as Aveyon pulled the small knife she had collected out; she pricked her finger. As the blood dripped from her finger to the table in front of them, it froze, shattering on impact.

Kirra gasped. “You possess Ichor!?” Her gaze snapped to Vincent again. “You, you also possess her blood, is this why you are defiled!?”

“It is not what you think, we attempted a ritual to better protect me. But once my powers were awakened, it put Vincent in an... Odd situation.” Aveyon tried to explain.

Kirra shook her head. “Regardless, it still needs to be purged from him.” She paused with a frown. “It should be eating away at his body. How you managed to stop it from progressing further is beyond my knowledge. But the blood-wielding, yes, we can train you.” She concurred. “Is there anything else I need to know before I arrange teachers?”

“Lady Vexous is alive and being held prisoner by a being called Ashera,” Aveyon stated matter-of-factly.

“What!?” Vincent and Kirra responded in unison.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake.” Kirra raised her hand to her temple and began massaging the skin with her fingers. “Do you know where?”

“Most likely in the third realm,” Aveyon answered.

“Teramore...” Kirra looked grim at the mention of the dark realm. “We will assist in any way you need. But... Only after I am satisfied with your training. I am not sending my warriors or you to their deaths unnecessarily. However, the matter of the goddess is different, that we will research and make a start on ourselves.” Kirra nodded her head. “It explains a lot, but I still do not understand how that would have happened.” She wondered aloud.

“Whatever the reason, Ashera used the goddess’s absence to corrupt my father.” The last word came out with venom as Aveyon spoke. “All I know is that I need to get to Lady Vexous in order to gain the knowledge to return to Alarious.” She concluded.

“All in due time, you have much to learn.” Kirra pulled out a small object wrapped in cloth. “That aside, there is something I believe you can help me with now.”

Aveyon reached forward taking the wrapped object she was handed. Inside was what looked like a dream catcher, its feathers were pure white and the beads glistened in the soft candlelight.

“What is it?” She asked.

“A dream catcher,” Kirra smirked.

Aveyon gave her a look that said, really?

“We found this in a village nearby. It appears to be the cause of humans being... let’s say unstable.” The elf explained.

Aveyon picked up the object and turned it over in her hands.

“Well, that is certainly something...” Kirra muttered.

Aveyon looked at her confused, Kirra reached forward to try to touch a single feather. The feather jerked to life and sliced at the elf’s hand; Kirra yanked her fingers out of reach just in time. Aveyon, shocked, dropped the object as it attacked. Can an object do that, what was this exactly?

“It feels similar to an Alarians power from what I have studied of it, but it is off somehow. I cannot get close enough to replace out more.” Kirra explained.

Aveyon tilted her head at the beaded dream catcher, she noticed a small glint coming from the gemstone at its centre. Taking her small blade, she very gently cut away at the strands releasing the gem. Taking the hilt of her weapon she smashed it down on the glass like rock, shattering it. A crystal shard bounced onto the tabletop and all three looked at it in absolute shock.

“That’s!” Vincent couldn’t believe his eyes.

“But they are all destroyed!” Kirra added.

Picking up the small shard, Aveyon eyed it suspiciously. In the centre of the tiny shard was a swirling black substance. “It is an aura shard, and fear I know which one.” She finally said, looking at the two in turn.

“I believe someone is making these using the shards of my shattered aura. I cannot be sure, but it may be Ashera.” She turned the shard over in her hand. “I would hazard a guess that the substance inside the shards is most likely ichor. Seeing how Vincent acted when I was awoken... I can only guess what effect this could have on others. If I could command Vincent, there’s no telling what Ashera is having others do.”

“The blood of the gods... is infecting this realm?” Kirra asked. She sighed, clearly that was not the answer she was hoping for.

“How do we fight against a god’s power?” Vincent asked.

“I honestly do not know,” Kirra responded, she looked to Aveyon, a sternness in her eyes. “Only a god can fight against another.”

“I do not believe that, with enough understanding and knowledge... there must be a way.” Aveyon closed her fist around the small sliver. “If we can study this shard long enough and become familiar with it, maybe we can sense them. Find them easily, destroy them. Or at the very least seal them away.”

“Destroy them, why?” Vincent frowned. “If they are similar to an aura, surely you could use them.”

She shook her head. “These shards have been corrupted to create a new type of power, giving them to creatures and humans results in, for a lack of a better term, chaos.” Lifting the shard up to eye level. She watched as the small amount of black substance appeared to fight against its tiny container for freedom. “Auras were created for a different purpose, this... this is evil, dark.”

“I have heard of this Ashera before; I will speak to the other clan leaders and replace out what they know,” Kirra added.

“Is he in hiding?” Vincent wondered aloud.

“I think it is more than that, I have a feeling that he is bound to the second and third realms. There is a lot more to this that I really do not know...” Aveyon trailed off; she hadn’t gotten much time with Vexous in the end. “I can try to reach Lady Vexous again, but now that Ashera is aware that I know she lives, that may not be the best idea.”

“It’s too risky.” Vincent injected.

“I agree with Vincent here. You are not well trained enough to even attempt communication. Give it some time, you are not to attempt it until you are ready.” Kirra added.

Aveyon blinked at her unbelieving for a moment but smiled. She’d never been spoken to like that before. Everyone else would beat around the bush, Kirra on the other hand was to the point maybe even a little harsh with her words. Aveyon found that she actually liked her.

“Then we will face that bridge when we need to, right now we do not even have the ability to hunt down these shards, let alone face him,” Aveyon responded. “He has not tried to reach out to me again, since the first time. There must be a reason...”

“It does not matter, all that matters is your strength and abilities. We start in the morning, you two get some rest. There is much work to be done.” Kirra concluded the meeting and had them shown to their rooms as a matter of urgency.

They were escorted to an inn in the centre of the village, one that overlooked the gardens. Vincent had been given an adjoining room to Aveyon’s but they both entered the same one. She sat on the bed, and he took a spot on the floor crossing his legs.

“If we are to have any chance at reaching Alarious, we are likely going to need to go to the third realm.” Vincent pondered out loud.

“My thoughts exactly. But if we can sneak in, get to Lady Vexous, and get out. We may not even need to worry about facing Ashera.” Aveyon joined in, though she didn’t mention that the goddess’s cage was right behind Ashera’s throne. That was clearly a problem.

“If we can avoid fighting a so-called God, we should take it. But he’ll likely follow us to Alarious.” He added.

“Us?” She questioned. “You are coming with me?”

“Your father may not be as strong a foe as Ashera, but I would not abandon you at the end of your journey.” He looked up at her, a fire burning in his eyes.

“You know, do you not?” She asked not needing to elaborate. The end of her journey would also be the end of her life.

He nodded. “I might not understand fully, but I will try to.”

She felt her emotions stirring. “You would not stop me?”

He lay down on the floor looking to the ceiling. “I want to. Returning to the river of souls with your mother is your wish, I fully respect that. But, I won’t lie to you, I want you to live. But I also feel that you need to make that decision on your own. I can’t force you, but I will help you with anything else, in this life or the next. So that’s what I’ll do, I will follow you, even if that means into death.”

The emotion she should be feeling seemed to evade her, there was an odd sense of relief, but she still had a hollowness inside her that she couldn’t shake. “Thank you, that oddly puts me at ease. One would think that a statement such as that... I should be rebutting it.” She paused, readjusting her position on the bed to lie down. “It is hard to put into words sometimes. The sinking feeling in my stomach, the consent condescending thoughts. The want to just have it all stop. Sometimes I think it would be easier to just cease existing.”

“I think, everyone can feel that like that sometimes. It’s how we deal with it, and who we have around us that matters.” He told her.

“Even you? You tied yourself to me knowing I don’t intend to return alive, so why?” She questioned.

He chuckled. “Even me. I have often wondered what the point of being in this broken, dark, horrifying world is. All we do is fight to survive. What is the point in living in so much pain and anguish?”

She glanced at him from the bed. His confession gave her a newfound appreciation of him. “How do you keep going?” She half whispered.

He turned his head to look at her. “I replace something worth living for, something worth fighting for. I have friends, I have a heavily stitched-together family. And now... I have you.”

Her heart clenched, she felt somewhat touched. A tinge of guilt also crept in as she thought about the fact that he was willing to end his life with hers. Yet it wasn’t enough to sway her decision.

“Maybe one day, you’ll replace something, but for now your father is enough.” He told her not expecting anything.

It was refreshing to hear and elevating to not have to explain herself. Not to have to lie to him. They had an odd understanding, maybe even a little twisted.

They spoke about many things together before she finally managed to drift off to sleep. He covered her with a blanket and curled up on the hard floor soon joining her in his own slumber.