Sidling with ease across the labyrinthine streets of Greystone Square, a shadowy figure appeared at the gated passage, leading to the remains of the House of Pales. Arrays of candles offered a dim, but comforting light, in contrast to the somber atmosphere.
"I sense something is troubling you, shadowborn." A voice echoed. Standing atop the crumbling stairs, he stood still, as an elderly woman approached him; a dark crystal orb in hands, her blindness guided by the spellforce within the globe.
"..." He flinched from her nearing.
"Tevell..." She reached out to him, her slender hands crimped by old age. A foreseeable reaction, for he backed away, his body tensing up, as he avoided the woman’s touch. "You found something near the Prismissal Spire, did you not?" She already knew the answer, as an arcane expression appeared upon her face. "Something you could not anticipate." A lingering silence dispersed throughout the old ruins. There was a chill in the air, yet a certain warmth could also be felt; a clash between fire and ice, a glimmer of hope amidst an approaching doom.
"I found... someone..." His response was indefinite.
"A young woman of true beauty I hear…" She received words of his recent activities. "Something is lurking in the shadows… different than you-" She reached for him once again, only for him to take another step back. "A force I have never encountered before- I can feel its grasp on the entirety of the Dominion… growing more every day... dreadful... agonizing... far worse than the Orcus Plague." His expression creased, for she spoke with severity and truth. "Something of tremendous power, as I fear this may be the end of all as we know it… but I do know this-" She ambled towards him.
"You must keep her safe Tevell… Always." She placed her hands around his; a firm grip, she could sense his urge to withdrawn, his self inflicted deprivation for even the slightest attachment.
"Who she is must be yours to discover… but it is primordial that you do!" Her arcane words resonated within his mind. "A child of Illumination… a child of the Shadows… she will need you, shadowborn." He pulled his hands away. "You must keep her safe- you must... Always." She sauntered away; leaving him to his thoughts as she disappeared into the darkness of the ruins.
Keep her safe... Her words pulsed in his mind. Always. He glanced at his hands; a faint quiver and a throbbing sensation, his spellforce was diminishing. The glow from his eye dimmed, fine lines formed on his skin; his thirst needed to be quenched, his appetite for Magicae growing desperate.
He hasted back to his quarters; concealed within the Abandoned Library, it stood in the midst of Old Platus, to where old knowledge was long forgotten. A district very few would dare venture, it was home to many dreadful legends; the most well known, being that of a winged creature of darkness, feeding on children. A tortured soul, cursed to live a life of solitude, driving by madness, as it devoured the young ones.
Keep her safe... Those words hammered in his head, over and over again. His body was becoming heavier, his movements slowed and strained. He headed to the back of his derelict home; a patch of tall grass covered a portion of the stone floor, on which hundreds of small flowers bloomed from Glaceanmoss. His gentle touch contrasted with his dark appearance, as he carefully picked a handful of their leaves. He poured water and cottonwood sap into grinded Magicae shards, before adding the leaves to the strange concoction. She will need you, shadowborn... He closed his eyes; the old woman's assertion trapped within his mind, he found himself unable to escape its draw.
He let out a sigh, and refocused on the task at hand. He stirred the peculiar mixture, its shade slowly turning into an ashen hue. His eyes were absorbed by the spiraling brew, its motion almost hypnotic. Vapors began to emanate, the concoction nearly ready.
"Good enough..." His hunger could no longer wait. He filled three phials, and drank the rest: its effect sated him instantly, his spellforce replenished in full.
