“You and I are long overdue for a talk, daughter,” Nentai spoke softly beside me. “Put on your armor; we’re going outside.”
“Can’t we talk in here?” I pled with her. Nentai’s words were perhaps the only ones that I truly wanted to hear, but I had no desire to venture outside among the living.
“No,” she replied with some empathy. “What I have to say to you is best told outside, in the place that I have chosen.”
Reluctantly, I pulled the Armor of Melía on and even donned my cloak, and despite my misgivings, followed the Goddess outside and then through a narrow strip of forest before she led me to sit down with her beside a small, fast-flowing stream. Then, without any preamble, Nentai told me what she’d come to say.
She told me the full tale of Veroiá, who’d been lost giving birth to Nentai and her siblings, and that the Goddess’ mother had given each of her children a piece of herself, but in doing so, had surrendered too much of her own essence to survive.
Nentai then explained how she and her siblings had come together themselves to form the Great Barrier, and how each of them had poured a fraction of their own essence into its creation, while Uthalan used his mighty powers to guide its formation. She told me of the dead man’s death in that magic, and how the Barrier itself had given me life by drawing from the power it had been given—the combined essences of Veroiá’s children.
Nentai admitted to me that each of her siblings had played a role in my creation, but that she’d felt drawn to me since the day I’d first caught her attention. When I’d followed her path of vengeance, Nentai knew that my choice had been no mere coincidence, and it hadn’t taken her long to recognize the more powerful connection between us; far more powerful than the links I shared with any of the other Gods. It was then that she’d first claimed me in her heart as her own, and she’d done everything she could to protect me from that moment on.
But the Gods had sealed the world against their own powers as well, and her ability to aid me, and even visit me, were strictly hampered by those restrictions. Nentai had been unable to save me from the Laskans’ trap, or even come to my side until after the battle was long over. She claimed to have lifted as many of those restrictions as possible, but still cautioned me that I was largely on my own in this world. Her powers were great, but she was unable to wield their full potential. My battles would be my own to fight, Nentai warned me. Despite her desires, I couldn’t count on the Goddess to fight by my side or even intervene on my behalf.
“My mother’s spirit has not been reborn in you, Dreya,” she finished. “But your green eyes are also far more than just her namesake. You represent the best hope for peace on our world, something we were unable to achieve ourselves. But that will never happen so long as you wallow in your pain. I cannot heal what has been broken inside you, but perhaps this place can at least serve to begin that process.”
She said nothing more to me after that, and we sat beside the stream in silence for a time. That was when it first came to me: the sound of Tási’s laughter echoing from amid the rushing waters. It was faint at first, but in the stillness I heard it clearly, and I felt the tears falling from my eyes as I listened to her, calling to me from within the fast-flowing brook.
I’d taken the words of the water spirit as mere hyperbole, a simple turn of phrase to offer me reassurance, but that was not the case—I hadn’t lost Tási, at least not entirely. She’d be with me forever, if I only took the time to find her and listen.
Despite the icy coldness, I trailed my hand in the water as it ran by and closed my eyes to listen even more closely as Tási’s joy came to me from the currents. Every hint of her voice seemed to remind me not only of her love for me, but also of her desire for me to go on. To not dwell on the pain I’d felt in her loss, but to remember the happiness we’d shared in her life, and to make the most of my own.
After a while, Tási’s laughter faded away, and when I could no longer hear it, I opened my eyes to see Nentai staring at me hopefully.
I could tell that she wanted me say something to her, to let her know that she’d helped me in some way, but I had no words to convey just how deeply hearing Tási’s voice had affected me. Instead, I practically lurched forward, wrapped my arms around the Goddess, and buried my face in her shoulder. But the tears I cried against her were happy ones, and in between them, I spoke the only words I could find.
“This won’t be easy,” I gripped Nentai tightly as I confessed my doubts. “I’ll need your help, mother.”
“You’ll have it, daughter,” I heard her whisper back to me, and if I’d looked up at that moment, I was certain that I would have seen tears in her eyes as well.
EPILOGUE
Mother left me soon after, and I rejoined the Army on our long march southward. It would be some time before I got over the pain of Tási’s loss, and I’d never stop missing her, but knowing that at least part of her would always be with me washed away a great deal of my grief.
Instead of retreating back inside my carriage, I walked alongside my companions. The fresh air reinvigorated my tired limbs, and I felt my strength returning with each and every stride I took. They filled me in on all that had happened during my long sleep, and I offered my apologies in return for my poor behavior after I’d woken. After that, our conversation dwindled off, and we marched forward, mostly in silence, until it came time to camp for the night.
The long, drawn-out stretch of quiet had given me the time I needed to sort out my conflicted feelings on a matter that had been troubling me for a while. Though I’d come to peace with it myself, I’d never figured out how to extend that resolution any further. That night, I decided that it was time for me to take the first step in that direction, so after camp was set up, I called a small meeting in my own tent. A meeting with me and my closest companions—my Tári.
I’d spoken to each of them individually, telling them almost everything I knew about being a Tári and how important they were to me, but we’d never been together as a group. At least not knowingly or for the express purpose of talking about ourselves in that context, but the time for hiding from each other was over–our relationships may have had their individual components, and those were still entitled to privacy and respect, but we also shared a deeper, common bond, and it was well past the time for us to recognize that fact. I took in a deep breath to bolster my resolve and began that journey.
“Each of you knows what you mean to me,” I looked them all in the eye one by one as I spoke. “You are Tári, and your gifts are what make everything I do possible, but that is not all you do. By helping me, you also aid each other, and make it possible for me to offer you what you need. We are not truly individuals anymore, we are one. And it’s time for us to recognize that fact.”
Quick glances were exchanged as the shock of my words ran through the four of them, but I continued without hesitation.
“If I had my choice, I’d recognize all of you openly. But my needs have never conformed to my desires, and as Empress, that is even truer now than it ever was before. I must have the approval, or at least the acceptance of my subjects, and I don’t think they are ready yet to understand the complexities of the relationship between Sintári and Tári. So, at least for now, this will remain between us, but we will no longer hide from each other.”
“I have been making the mistake of judging myself by human standards and feeling guilty when I failed to constrain myself to their limits. But I’m not human—I am Sintári, and those boundaries do not apply to me. Nor do they apply to you. You are more than you know. You are no longer humans or elves, you are Tári. Everything I do, everything we do, is perfectly normal for us, and eventually, there will be no need for any of this to be secret, but until then, it will be for only us to share.”
“I will make just this one exception: Venna, when the time comes for me to reveal the truth openly, you alone may keep your relationship with me secret. I won’t do anything to jeopardize your marriage. You and Stel are too
important to me for me to allow that to happen.”
“Has Saibra taken Tási’s place?” Líann spoke up almost immediately when I paused.
“No one will ever take Tási’s place,” I immediately corrected her. “If you’re asking about individual V’Ríels, you may discuss that among yourselves if you wish; I have no objection. But I will not disclose that information otherwise.”
“I have no place,” Saibra spoke bluntly in response. “Not yet. My powers as a Tári still haven’t emerged.”
“I’ve always known about Tási, and it never bothered me that you were with her,” Ella admitted. “I thought that was strange, until now. I think I always knew things were different between us, and now it makes sense to me.”
“I may not fully grasp the concept of being a Tári, but this is fine with me,” Líann jumped back in. “I always wanted to know who the rest of them were.”
I was glad to see that she’d remembered not to bring up the fact that she was Táriel, not Tári.
Saibra simply nodded her agreement—she’d been able to pick the rest of them out on her own, so my revelations changed nothing for her.
I was concerned that there might have been a great deal of resistance to my bringing them all together and revealing them to each other, but their acceptance was a great relief. We spoke for a while longer, and they seemed to develop an almost instant sense of camaraderie, bolstered in my mind by the bonds they shared with each other through me. My words to them had not been a mere figure of speech—we truly were one, connected by our shared V’Ríel.
Only one of them didn’t join in the conversation, and it pained me to see her looking so morose.
“Venna, you haven’t spoken a word to me since… in days,” I offered her carefully. “Say something.”
Venna stared down at the ground between her feet and just shook her head slowly in response. I’d let Tási go to save Stel, and she clearly had no idea how to respond to the sacrifice I’d made for her.
“You two need some time alone,” Líann observed. “We understand what it is you want from us Dreya; the three of us should go now.”
With that, Saibra and Ella joined Líann, and they left me with Venna, who sat uncomfortably in front of me, looking completely lost.
“I don’t regret it,” I told her plainly, trying to open our dialogue. “Tási’s not gone, not really, and I’ve still got you and Stel.”
“You’ve given me a gift I would have never dared to ask for,” Venna finally met my gaze. “I don’t know how to repay you, or if I even can.”
“A true gift never needs to be repaid, Venna,” I held her eyes as I spoke. “All I want is for you and Stel to be happy, and to make the most of your second chance together.”
Venna still seemed lost, so I got up and knelt beside her chair, looking into her eyes as I gently stroked her cheek. As my fingers crossed Venna’s soft skin and traced along her neck, I sent the slightest thread of her gentle V’Ríel into her. Venna’s eyes slowly closed shut as the warm tendril flowed into her, and she shed a single tear as I sent her the thread of emotion that bound us so closely together. With my point made, I slowly pulled back and withdrew the thin band from her, and when she opened her eyes again, I held her gaze.
“Did that feel any different than before?”
“No, Dreya,” she whispered. “It was as wonderful as ever.”
“That’s because nothing has changed between us, Venna,” my eyes pleaded with her as I spoke. “Please help me make sure that it stays that way. Don’t push me away.”
Venna nodded back at me slowly, and I could tell that she was on the verge of tears once more, so I stood up and dragged her over to the pillows where I slept. She mistook me for a moment, and I smiled back at her when I realized what she’d thought I intended.
“I know that I have a lot of Deathless messages to go over from the battle,” I explained, giving her a friendly nudge as I spoke. “I’d like for you to stay with me while I look through them. I don’t want to do this alone, in case there’s something about Tási.”
“Of course,” she flushed as we sat down together.
Valued User: Due to the large volume of your pending notifications, level-up options have been delayed until after you’ve cleared them. We hope this slight modification improves your gaming experience.
Skill Discovered – You have discovered the Sintári Skill, Shadow Armor.
That certainly explained the darkness I’d seen swirling around me in my detached state. Hopefully, there’d be some additional details about that on my personal sheet.
Experience gained – You have gained 440 XP.
…
Experience gained – You have gained 440 XP.
Quest Completed, The Uniter — You’ve brought the last of the Realms under your influence and successfully united the people of Arrika. For this amazing achievement, you have been rewarded with the maximum allowable reward of 55,000 XP.
Quest assigned – Conqueror. Defeat the evils of the Dark Lands. Rewards for completing this quest are variable.
Valued User: You have gained 21 levels. In order to streamline the level-up process, your accumulated discretionary Attribute points will be allotted at once. However, you still may not assign more than one point per level gained to any single Attribute. Skills and other bonuses you have earned will be granted after you have assigned your Attribute points.
Your non-discretionary points have been allocated as follows: Strength, 3 points, Constitution, 5 points, Dexterity, 5 points, Intelligence, 3 points, Wisdom, 5 points, and Charisma, 21 points.
We hope this slight modification improves your gaming experience.
Wow. Twenty-one levels from that one battle. It was rather amazing, to be sure, but I had wiped out an entire army with only Bane’s help, so the rewards were certainly in line with the achievement. I wasn’t sure that I could ever duplicate that feat—the amount of pure darkness that I’d summoned was almost beyond my comprehension, and the price I had to pay for it was not one I’d ever wish to repeat again, but in light of the new Quest I’d been assigned, I probably needed every single one of those levels.
Putting aside the ridiculous Charisma boost, my points had been fairly evenly split. But I didn’t do the same with my discretionary points; instead, I focused on the stats that I anticipated would help me most in my efforts against the evils in the Dark Lands, and put seven points in both Strength and Dexterity, five in Constitution, and two in Intelligence, just to keep it from falling too far behind the others. I really wanted to look at the changes, but the level-up menus popped up immediately after I assigned the points.
You can now choose new Abilities. You must choose four of the following:
Rapid Fire – After firing an arrow, your follow-up shot takes half as long as normal to be fired. Cost – 10 Endurance.
Seeker – Your next single shot has an increased chance to hit. Cost – 10 Endurance.
Body Blow – Your next dagger attack, if it lands, will cause your opponent to suffer an Endurance penalty. Cost – 20 Aura.
Impale – Your dagger inflicts a damage-over-time bleed effect. Cost – 20 Endurance.
Focused Fire – Your next arrow causes increased damage if it hits. Cost – 20 Endurance.
Long Range Shot – Increase the effective range of your bow. Cost – 30 Aura.
Siphon – Advanced Ability – On a successful hit, your arrow bleeds health from its target, transferring a portion of the damage back to you in the form of restored Health. Damage and restoration rates are dependent on proficiency. Modifier – Constitution. Cost – 100 Aura.
Disarm – Advanced Ability – On a successful hit and a failed Dexterity check by your opponent, your arrow causes your enemy to fumble and drop their weapon(s). Chance of success improves with increased proficiency. Modifier – Dexterity. Cost – 100 Aura.
Companion’s Fortitude – Advanced Ability – Provides additional vigor to your companion animal. The selection of this Abili
ty provides a permanent boost to your familiar’s Constitution.
Enlarge – Advanced Ability – Your arrow grows to massive size in flight, taking on the power of a ballista bolt. Modifier – Constitution. Cost – 120 Endurance.
Shield Strike – Advanced Ability – Bypass an opponent’s shield with your blade attack. Modifier – Strength. Cost – 120 Endurance.
Combine Abilities – Advanced Ability – You may channel more than one Ability into a single attack. Success depended on your proficiency with each individual Ability. Modifier – Intelligence. Cost – 150 Aura.
Skill Boost – Advanced Ability – You may apply a 5% bonus to the proficiency of any Skill or Ability you currently possess. This bonus may not be used to raise any proficiency above 50%. This perk may be selected more than once.
Your choice is final and must be made now. Choose wisely, as you will now only gain a new Ability every five levels.
The multiple levels I’d gained also triggered the Ability menu to combine into one single selection screen, which was actually a really beneficial perk. Being able to effectively plan my levels ahead of time made my choices much easier to make.
I wasted no time taking Companion’s Fortitude. Any boon I could offer Bane would be my highest priority. We’d spoken briefly while he’d been hovering overhead that day, and I planned for him to share my tent with me later that night, once the rest of my business had been tended to. It would be a tight squeeze for him, but there was no way that I would be without him. Not only did I love him dearly, but I wasn’t ready to share my bed with one of my Tári yet, and couldn’t bear the thought of being alone either. Bane always offered me the comfort I needed, and I tried to repay him for that as best I could.
With my other three choices, I took Combine Abilities and Skill Boost twice. I was hoping that Combine Abilities might work in conjunction with my God-forged arrows, but even if it didn’t, it would make my attacks with my normal arrows all the more powerful. Skill Boost, on the other hand, would help me get some of my important, but less frequently used talents up to par.
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