Time passed, for the night made way for yet another sunless morning. Since the very day the Orcus Plague had been dispersed, the city had seen its share of cloudless skies, but a mere three years later, something far darker began engulfing the Dominion. And as much as he tried denying it, he too could feel it.
Keep her safe... Those same words pulsed in his head, his mind harrowed by them, unable to rid this heavy feeling weighing upon him. Despite his efforts, the increase in Magicae bathing had brought him no alleviation, his encounter with the nameless young woman a drain on his very thoughts, his body unable to regain full strength.
"Your senses have begun to falter." His eyes widened, as he spun around; his expression creased from discomposure. "You were unable to sense my presence." Adhafera approached him. He remained in complete silence, his eyes scowled in consternation. "You received my message, have you not?" She could read him with ease. He circled around her, his eyes never leaving her sight.
"That woman… doesn't concern me." He finally spoke.
"Like it or not, your path will intertwine with hers, Tevell." She faced him. Although struck by blindness, she could see his aura; she could sense his emotions, feel his thoughts. "Her presence here, in this city, troubles you... and it has since the very night you saved her life..." He winced. "Your encounter with her was no coincidence, shadowborn… deep down, you can feel it..." She received no answer, but a pair of glaring eyes; she could feel them, cold and sharp like blades of ice piercing through her very soul. “You will meet her again soon… when the Time of Amatheos strikes the Twilight of Fall, you shall climb to the heights of the Horologe.” She pulled the dark crystal orb out of her robes, and took her leave without further words.
His eyes followed her, as she sauntered away and out of his quarters. Her presence lingered around however, the atmosphere imbued with her soulforce.
It was no coincidence... His expression frowned, his dismayed comprehension in dire need of clarity. He headed down the lower section of the dilapidated library, to a small musty chamber. Duskdew mushrooms gleamed an emerald hue, in contrast to the warm glow emanating from the array of pillar candles. Charred bookshelves circled around the room, a stone table and a tall armchair at its center.
He browsed through the many books, a finger brushing against each spine, as to feel the knowledge within. His eyes locked upon a nameless tome, its binding cold to the touch, its pages not that of sedge paper, but each one a thin layer of brume. He took a seat, a trembling hand slowly opening the book. Shadowborn...
One born under a dormant moon, skies of ashen shade; it was believed a curse to birth a child during the moonless juncture. Those given life, brought into this world by the Hands of Darkness; tainted souls marked as a plague on these very lands, ill-fated children often cast out of the Dominion. Preachers of Lumios claiming that such fate could not be rewritten, nor should anyone dare to challenge the providence of Mors. But to these lies, existed one Truth: Darkness could not be without Light. Opposite forces whose very existence depended on one another. The Scale of Hexad required balance, but very few chose to accept and live up to this Truth, for the vast majority of the populace feared its occult nature and unearthly practices. Light and Darkness necessary elements, allied opposite destined for one another. A Child of Illumination, and a Child of the Shadows... a shadowborn. The writing enclosed in this nameless tome revealed only the verity, for lies could not be contained within its spellbound pages.
Adhafera knows of this Truth... His expression creased, his individuality and liberty bruised by this draw. A force was pulling him toward something he avoided his entire life; a deprivation he had clenched onto for as long as he could remember. You must keep her safe... Always. His mind cursed at the very thought, but he could not deny the genuity behind those words.
