#xiphrel

“I will not be disposed of like filth!’

The black spectral form of the sorceress Xiphrel raged against the sigil scrawled into the wooden floor. Shards of ice blew around her as her rage became physical form. But none of the power seemed to reach beyond the confines of the seal.

“You can do this, Adessa! Just like I showed you!”

Panic was the only thing that she could feel in this moment. She was able to will her body to shunt the form of her black spirit into physical existence, but it was still tethered to her soul. She would need to destroy it.

"I promised you life, and I gave it. But when I promise you power, you shun me?!”

This was her fear manifested in the real world. If she could overcome it, she would become stronger for it. The things that Ira told her, the life she was trying to live before this Xiphrel fucked everything up, she wanted that back. That hope filled her body with warmth.

“That’s good! You can do this.”

When she opened her eyes again the tattoo on her arm was glowing softly. Just like when Xiphrel yelled at her to destroy it. But now she knew that she wanted it destroyed to protect herself. Adessa locked her gaze with those red eyes.

The shards of ice bit at her exposed skin as she moved into the confines of the sigil. Xiphrel lashed out at her but her semi-corporeal claws could not bite through the leather on her arm. “It’s over, Xiphrel!”

Those words seemed to send the black spirit into a rage. Something about them felt familiar on Adessa’s tongue. This would be the end of it. 

“No! I’m not done!”

The ice bit deeper and in larger shards as Adessa forced her way through the pain. The ghastly form tried to move around her but she was faster. Her kunai caught the edge of a shining iced plate and halted its progress. In the next moment her hand made contact and the whole world went white.

---

Adessa? Can you hear me? Veil?

Pain numbed her skull as sensation returned to the rest of her body. The stinging of small cuts all over her arms and cheeks, the hard wood of the floor, Ira’s hands as he tried to wake her. Ira. 

“Hey. Hey, I’m here. You’re okay.” 

Veil cracked her eyes open and saw that familiar face flood with relief. The exhausted laugh barely left her chest before he pulled her into a tight embrace. It had been so long since the last time she’d held him. She missed it so much. They held onto each other for a long while before it finally felt enough.

“So… who came back? Is it Adessa? Or… Veil?”

“We’re both Adessa, silly. You know that.” 

If Ira could look any more relieved than he did already, then he certainly did. Knowing that she was back, all of her, was exactly the news he’d been hoping for.

“I’m sorry, Ira. It was Onris, I couldn’t just… I couldn’t…” The reality of it all came crashing down on her heart. Onris losing his memories, having to make a deal with the devil to survive, and the mess that came after. It was all her fault. The emotions cracked through onto her expression and she broke. The tears flowed freely. All Ira could do was hold her until it passed.

Eventually Veil settled and was able to get her feet under her again. Ira put on some tea and they sat together for a while, making up for the past several months of being apart.

“Think you’ve got it in you to tell me what happened?” he asked as he poured out the light tea for them. The wine he’d brought still sat on the cabinet but that would be better saved for a happier moment.

“Please, don’t blame Onris for this. It’s not his fault. If I hadn’t left, he never would have… just… please don’t blame him.”

“I can’t promise that. But I won’t do anything about it. Not with how he is now.”

Remembering that hit her heart again. At least he was safe and with his family now. Adiri would take care of him for as long as he needed. “Let’s just put it behind us. He can… live his own life. With his sister.”

“And her baby, apparently.”

Veil nodded stiffly. “He can have his life, and we can go have ours. We can go explore the world. See Valencia, go beyond the ocean. See everything there is to see. Just the two of us again. For us and no other reason. If you’re willing to leave that cute little house of yours for a while, at least.”

“Didn’t you already explore all of Valencia?” he side eyed her with a smile as he sipped his tea.

“Yes, but you weren’t there. So how about it?”

“Sure. Why not. The world?”

“Adessa. Don’t do it.”

Don’t listen to him. He’s got a black spirit too - he’s here to kill you and take my strength!

Something about him felt so familiar. She should know him. He knew her name. Adessa’s hand tightened on her blade. The way he stood and the pleading in his face told her that he was not here to hurt her but why else would he be here?

Exactly. Don’t let him catch you off guard. He is an expert at hunting black energy.

Oh, she wouldn’t. At this point better safe than sorry. The stranger didn’t seem to expect her to move but was prepared for it nonetheless. Instinct moved her body and he matched every slight. It was like he knew what she was going to do before she did. Even unarmed she couldn’t touch him.

In a panic, she did the best she could and flipped the heated edge of the blade forward. The blade dropped mid strike to her off hand. He caught sight of it but had nothing to stop it before it would sink into his side. Just when she thought she’d finished this, seeing the grimace on his face, she felt him rip the blade from her hand. 

“Adessa, stop!” The heated knife clattered to the floor across the room, his hand red with burns. 

Finish him!

She tried to grab for another knife off the table but the stranger grabbed her from behind and pinned her arms. The joints of her shoulders yanked from her sockets making her scream. His weight held her to the table no matter how she tried to struggle against him.

“Please, Adessa. Stop. It’s me. It’s Ira.”

Ira. She remembered the note on the table by the bed. She’d been looking for him. For Ira. “Ira?”

“Yes. Ira. I’m going to let you go now, okay?” She nodded and he released her.

No! Don’t trust him! He will ruin you - us!

Adessa ignored the voice. Her body told her that she knew him, and that name was in the letter, written in her hand. “So what now?” she asked meekly, rubbing her sore shoulders.

“Now we talk.” In a gesture of trust, Ira retrieved the blade and offered it to her. She saw his burned palm and took his hand. Not knowing if it would work she placed her hand over his. The black spirit in her mind had talked about her affinity with ice and it explained why she was always cold. So maybe she could do this. 

No.

Adessa glowered - that bitch wasn’t the one in control here. Closing her eyes she tried to tap into whatever reservoir the black spirit held. He hissed initially at the cold but the pain seemed to fade. “What was that?”

“It was, uhm…” she tapped her head, “from her. She wasn’t too happy about it.”

“She? Is it… is her name Xiphrel?”

How does he know that?!

“I think so. She doesn’t like that you said that name.”

Stop talking to him! He’s going to destroy us!

“Listen, Adessa. I know you don’t have much reason to trust me but please I hope you will. I’m your friend and I have been your friend since we were young. You gave me this scar when we first met. Do you remember?”

There were the briefest fragments of things before, but… something about it felt like it was right. “Not really, but I believe you.”

That seemed to relieve him a considerable amount. “I’ve been so worried about you. You have no idea. I would hug you if you’d let me but I don’t want to make it too hard for you. But there is one thing I need to ask of you.”

Adessa was a little fidgety but she nodded.

“Will you go to Tarif with me? I think we can solve your problem there.”

Don’t do it! Only death will find you there!

Days of trying had led to few answers. Adessa found herself walking in circles chasing the passing memories of a life she didn’t remember. Faces that her heart ached to see, places her feet wanted to run to, only to lose them before she could fully grasp what it was. Every time she stopped they were gone.

No longer paying attention to what she was doing, she just wandered. She refused to look at the people for fear of seeing another face she could not recall. All she could do was stare at her feet as they moved. Until they stopped. Adessa looked up and just saw a door. Old but sound. She knocked, hearing the dull thud against the thick wood, but got no answer.

This place doesn’t have what you’re looking for. Go back, and I can lead you to real answers.

Adessa ignored the voice in her ear again. If she didn’t want her here, that meant there were answers inside. She took a step back from the door and looked around for any sign of a way in. No windows but… her eyes fell upon a brick in a random spot on the wall. It didn’t look out of place but her instincts told her that was the one. Sure enough, it slipped loose, and she found a key behind it.

The door swung open slowly to an abandoned home. Dust had settled on the furniture. Rats had gotten into the dried grains. It didn’t look like anyone had been here for months, if not longer.

You’re wasting time here.

“Then that means I’m in the right place.”

But where to look? She started going through drawers and cupboards. There were a few old papers that had names and locations on them. Most were Xed off, but she did find some that weren’t.

We can use these ones, without the x’s. Keep them. Wait, what- no! Don’t put them back!

“If you want it, then I don’t. I’m not here for you--” A headache split through her skull again, but she was getting used to this by now. Grimacing behind grit teeth she waited for the spirit’s tantrum to pass. Then she tore the pages up and burned them over a lit candle. “You’re not the one with power here. Now shut up.”

That seemed to drive the point across as the voice remained silent. A folded paper by the bedside caught her attention. It wasn’t as dusty as the rest of the place but definitely hadn’t been touched in nearly as long. The handwriting immediately felt familiar.

I found Ira. He’s alright.

Was this? Did she… live here? With Ira? A dull ache throbbed behind her eyes. This wasn’t from her spirit’s little tantrum. The name felt so familiar but it was like it was stuck behind a wall of stone and she couldn’t quite get to it. 

I’ve decided to go to Tarif to look into what my mark means, and if it can be used to help people with black spirits like you.

She knew someone like her. Someone with a black spirit, and she was… trying to help them? What could she have possibly done? Even that Valkyrie made it seem like they don’t just go away. What could her mark possibly do to help? Wasn’t it just a tattoo?

I miss you. I hope I’ll see you soon.

I love you.

That ache roared into a painful migraine with white hot light behind her eyes. She felt every heartbeat and with each one she saw something new. Those faces. Clearer. A bloody forehead scar and a gross apology. Ira?? A cut belt and pain behind those blue eyes, almost agony. Adessa grabbed at her hair and screamed against the pain. She couldn’t make sense of any of it. 

Listen to me! That’s enough of this! You’re only making it worse!

“Shut up!!” Adessa screamed into the empty room.

You need me and you know it. You can’t handle what you did and that’s why you can’t remember. You did this to yourself. If you just listen to me then you can fix all of this.

“I said shut up!”

A light erupted in the room, emanating from the marks that covered her right arm. Panic flooded her pain-addled mind and sent her scrambling across the floor trying to get away from it. “What did you do?! Stop it! Turn it off!!”

I’ve done nothing. This is all you. Your past is coming back to destroy you. That mark will do nothing but cause you agony and ruin everything. Only you can make it stop, and only you can make sure it never happens again. Breathe.

Deciding to listen once more to the black spirit as it hovered over her shoulder, Adessa breathed through her panic, waiting for the shaking to stop. The light slowly faded from the tattoo until she sat alone in the dark room once more.

Good. Good. Now you need to get rid of it. A hot candle and a flat blade should be enough to disrupt the sigils so they no longer function.

Anxiety still pulsed through her veins but she listened. Taking the knife from her belt, she heated it slowly and evenly over the single lit candle in the room. It took time - so much time - but it was finally hot enough to burn. Grabbing a leather strap from one of the drawers she placed it between her teeth and sat at the table. This would hurt.

Hurry!

This is nonsense!

“I’m not listening to you.”

That red haired church twat has no idea what she’s talking about.

Adessa ignored the insults ringing in her ears as she continued to wander around Calpheon while ignoring the direction of the spirit at her shoulder. It only infuriated her more. Likely in retaliation, a splitting headache pierced between her temples and sent her to one knee. “Cunt,” she hissed back at the spirit.

It took a moment for the pain to pass before she could get back to her feet. The ache made her woozy for a moment and she had to take her time reorienting. 

“Hey! You there!” A thick accent accosted her ears while she was still recovering. When she blinked her eyes into focus, she saw a tall spindly man with a limp rushing in her direction. Confusion held her feet in place more than anything. “You! How are you still alive?”

The man shoved his way into her personal space, looking her up and down. In his case, well dressed definitely did not equal well behaved. He grabbed her chin to turn her face and she slapped him.

“Unnecessary!” he scolded, looking down his nose at her. “You wouldn’t even be alive if not for me. Where’s the respect? Though being alive at all is a feat in itself.”

Adessa released the hand that instinctually went back for her knife, her curiosity now piqued. “What do you mean?”

“What, you don’t remember? The indignation of common folk. Pah. I found you bleeding out at the bottom of Caphras cave. If I hadn’t been in there, you would have died alone and surrounded by ice. Though…” his mind seemed to wander away as he looked off into his recollection, “why there was ice at that quantity in the middle of summer is beyond me. What do you know of it?” His attention snapped right back to her.

“You’re asking the wrong person.”

Run.

For once she and her black spirit agreed on something. Adessa took a cautious step back. Her curiosity wanted questions answered, but this man was not the kind of person she wanted asking her questions.

“No, I do believe I’m asking the right person. No memories, incredible survivability, in Caphras cave of all places. You wouldn’t happen to-- Hey!”

Adessa’s chest ached as she walked through the slums. The Shai that she’d met waking up said she should have stayed there for months, but that whisper in her ear told her they needed to move. That her own power would keep her moving. But that didn’t stop her injuries from causing intense levels of discomfort.

The voice also said they were hunting for something. Energy? That there was a hidden room in this city that had names and places where they could find everything they needed. While walking through the streets she couldn’t help but have this nagging feeling she’d been there before. Like she should recognize these people. Instinct told her she should be looking for someone. Every time she started to get off track the voice coaxed her back.

As she traveled farther into the depths of the city it got seedier. A lone woman, wearing stolen clothes that didn’t quite fit, and all but lost, there was an innate feeling of being in danger. Adessa’s instincts were screaming at her that they needed to move faster.

“Hey hon’,” a voice came from a dark side alley as a man appeared from the dark. She jumped and moved her feet faster. “Oh, don’t be like that. I was just saying ‘hi’.”

Even as she walked away as quickly as she could, the man kept pace. 

“I just wanted to talk.” His voice dropped an octave as he grabbed her arm and pushed her back into a wall.

Those instincts that had been screaming at her this whole time kicked into high gear. The moment her back hit the wall she dropped. Being shorter had its advantage when she rose and slammed the top of her head into the bottom of his chin. Blood poured from his mouth as he blabbered almost incoherently about biting his tongue.

Adessa didn’t stop there. Muscle memory took over as her arm swung wide, cracking her elbow against the side of his head, and throwing his momentum into the wall. The blade that the voice had told her to take from the pile of broken armor found its way into her hand as she pressed him back into the wall just as he had done to her. The metal nicked his neck before she paused.

“L-look I-I-I’m sorry! I-..I didn’t mean anythin’ by it!”

He’ll just do this to another woman if you let him go.

“Don’t kill me..! Please!”

You know you want to. It’s in your blood. It’s what you’re good at.

The man’s begging fell on deaf ears as Adessa considered her situation. This did feel right. It felt familiar. Her body knew what to do even if her mind did not. This wasn’t the first time she held a person’s life in her hands.

Do it.

There was no more hesitation as the razor sharp edge cut a clean line against the man’s skin. The movement was so smooth it took a moment before the tension broke and the blood poured forth. Adessa had to take a step back to avoid getting sprayed as the man gurgled and grabbed at his throat. It almost seemed as if the blood itself was frozen to her blade as the voice laughed in her ear. 

That’s a good girl. Now, where were we?

“It’s over, Xiphrel!”

“No... it’s not!”

Small particles of ice hung frozen in the air between the two women. It could almost be mistaken for snow. Even on the cusp of summer the air was cold around them. Haggard breaths fogging the air before fading into the perpetual chill. Jagged formations of ice littered the cavern, jutting off the walls in terrifying spikes, some dusted with frozen blood.

“I am done with your games. All the people you’ve killed, all the lives you’ve destroyed. It’s over.” Veil passed her blade into her left hand, flexing the palm on her right as glints of light shone through her armor.

Xiphrel screamed in frustration and ripped the amorphous glowing black stone from it’s mount on her wrist. “You are supposed to be the heart of Edana! The First! Where is that power?!”

There was no point in waiting for her to figure out whatever secrets that stone may hold. Veil kicked forward in a beeline straight for her target. It would be over in an instant. Onris avenged, the other souls she’d stolen put to rest. 

But Xiphrel was not ready to atone.

Seeing her imminent death approach she did the only thing her instincts told her she could do. She crushed the black heart into her own chest. Before Veil could make contact with her skin a massive surge of energy jettisoned her backward. 

Shrill laughter filled the air. "Finally!” Pure black energy emanated from Xiphrel’s form, swallowing her clothes, her skin, her eyes, until all that remained was a shadow of her old shape. It billowed as the power flowed through her. Red eyes opened where hers once were. “You won’t have me now, veiled one. I will be the only one to walk free-- No...” 

The farther she stepped from the well of energy in the cave, the harder it got to move. It was dragging her back. Trying to trap her within, with every other black spirit that was unfortunate enough to lack a host. 

A host. “No!”

The reality of her situation set in. Xiphrel was not free to use this power she had stolen. She had accepted the power into her person and become it. Become one of them. She was no more than a black spirit, chained to the confines of their own reality. Unlimited power could be hers but only in the presence of a host. Xiphrel felt herself shrink from the fear.

Panic filled her incorporeal form. A host. Any host. Anything. Then her eyes fell on her would be assassin.

The lack of pain was the oddest part of dying. It was cold, first. Either from the ice or the lack of blood she wasn’t sure. The only thing Veil was sure of was that this was not how she wanted to go.There were too many people she was leaving behind. Things left unsaid.

Silence could have meant the end but she still felt the strain on her ribs as she tried to breathe. Opening her eyes again she was greeted with the last thing she saw. Jagged cones of ice covered in blood. Her blood.

A cough wracked her broken body and the pain hit. She cried out, wishing that someone would hear her, but knowing no one would. Ira, I’m sorry…

“Do you want to live?”

Veil’s eyes met the black form vaguely in the shape of the woman she’d come here to hunt. The red eyes of a black spirit stared back at her. She lost. She’d lost… Xiphrel had gotten the power she so desired and Veil was going to die.

“Answer me, ‘Veil’, do you yet want to live?”

“What’s it matter to you?” she coughed. “You got what you wanted. Don’t... torment me.”

Xiphrel’s voice purred close to her ear. “But you see, this doesn’t have to be the end of it. I can share, and you can live. Just say yes.”

“Never.”

“Then let me be the bearer of bad news, you sweet soul. If you die here, I’m certain your precious partner will learn of this. Ira, if I recall? Guess who he will blame?” Veil’s heart sank. “You got it. Your beloved Onris. It was his fault after all. You’re only here because of him. And if he kills him in revenge… doesn’t your lover have a sister? A large, scary, sister. Well she might go after Ira, and then who knows what will happen. That ancient power their family has is quite terrifying. He might not survive.”

Violent shivers started to run through Veil’s body. It was either fear or shock. Neither was good. “So what... do you propose?” She couldn’t believe she was asking that question. Ira would never kill Onris. Not after he’d lost his memories again. He wouldn’t even know who she and Ira were anymore. But the fear gripped her heart and kept asking what if…?

Xiphrel leaned in close, a ghastly finger tracing her blood dripped jaw. “Take my deal. With my power supporting your body, you may yet survive.”

“Why do you need... me?”

“Unfortunately… I miscalculated. The power I sought came with a chain. The only way to be free of it is to be taken from it. By someone like… you. So what will it be, Adessa?”

Hearing the name that Ira had given her. No one else used it before except for him. He’d wanted her to live a normal life and he left so she might have one. Everything Ira had ever done was for her. Tears dripped down her cheek when she closed her eyes. It wouldn’t be long now before the decision would be made for her. She’d lost feeling in her legs and hands.

“Well…?”

I’m so sorry, Ira, Onris… I love you both.

“You... have a deal.”

A twisted toothy grin formed in the shade’s features. Regret instantly filled Veil’s heart as she watched the hand reach forward. A tap to the middle of the forehead. And blackness.

---

She’s coming around!

Hurry, someone go get Valentine!

Where’s the summer herbs?!

A dull faded light burned her eyes as she slowly blinked them open. Every inch of her body ached with excruciating pain. A part of her wished she’d be dead just so the pain would end.

“There, there, easy now. It’s been a long road to get here.” 

Groaning and blinking her eyes, her vision cleared on the face of a bearded Shai. Behind him she saw the small collection of other Shai watching closely. Behind them, a vine covered wall, climbing up into a tall vaulted ceiling. Subdued blue lights filled the room of this single dwelling. Thick bandages covered most of her body below the cotton sheets. “Where…”

“Florin, darling. Do you remember how you got here?”

Nothing. There was nothing. She shook her head. 

“It’s no bother. You’re safe now. What’s your name?”

Try as she might, even that question drew a blank. But there was a whisper, something there in her ear. She thought she might have seen a shape from the corner of her eye. Dark, shadowy, red eyes, but when she looked it was gone. From the other ear she heard, “Adessa.”

Gulbrun rolled his neck, popping each vertebrae as he went, a loud sigh of relief from his lips. “Finally. Feels good to not hear you every waking second.”

“Speak for yourself. Even in my head you snore when you sleep.”

The giant knelt down by the well of black energy as it spilled forth. The infantile black spirits goaded and coerced him as he swatted them away. “What now?”

“Now, my large friend, we go our own ways. I have this, and you can go… back to whatever it is you did before being in my employ.” Xiphrel palmed the black stone in her hand, the measly looking thing that got her stuck with the brute in the first place.

That did not seem to sit well with the giant, however. “There’s still the issue of payment.”

Xiphrel’s eyes snapped back to him. “Don’t start this again.”

Almost like deja vu he stepped forward and towered over her. “Your little trinket doesn’t have its energy restored yet. So you can’t pull the same trick. And you owe me payment for getting you here.”

“You presume too much, giant. Your payment is your freedom.”

“Not. Good. Enough.”

Tension hung in the air. Xiphrel bristling with ice. Gulbrun rising with anger. Neither one of them moved. The black spirits from the well swarmed and whispered promises in their ears but neither was there to listen. The longer they waited, the more energy the Heart would absorb. 

The moment was interrupted by the light tapping of footsteps. Neither turned fast enough before a blade flew through the air and narrowly missed Xiphrel’s neck. The body that followed was not so easy to avoid.

Faster behind them than expected, the assassin that Xiphrel had lured out there tackled her to the ground. “I said I wasn’t done with you.”

The sorceress responded instinctually, pulling a formation of ice from the earth, forcing the Veiled One to move. She was too fast for her and came back before she could get to her feet. Defense was the best Xiphrel could manage, pulling up a wall between them, trying to physically separate herself from the assassin.

“Gulbrun! A hand?!”

By the time she got her feet underneath her, the other woman was vaulting up and over the wall of ice. Steel flew, barely interrupted by more ice, as she descended upon her. Powerful as she might be there was no defense against pure speed.

“Gulbrun!”

“You’re on your own, witch.”