On Death's Honor

Chapter 30: The Vow of Intent

Frenza was walking along the icy dirt road when she noticed a familiar figure leaning against a rock that jutted up from the ground, sound asleep with a massive book in her lap despite the chilly night air. Summer was steadily approaching, yet Spring had yet to release its hold from the coastal village's evenings. She smiled, feeling oddly moved at the sight of the small teenager that, once again, buried herself past the point of consciousness within her studies.

Studies that were not yet mandatory, even. Such a bright, curious young mind, even if she was born without the Sixth Source.

Sighing, Frenza strode up to the girl, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"Erlan," she said softly. "Wake up, girl."

The blond youth stirred, cracking open her eyes.

"I know the difference between a night wraith and a blood wraith," she murmured. Frenza laughed softly.

"Do you, now?"

Erlan groggily nodded, stifling back a yawn.

"Blood wraiths descend from Fazule . . . one of the Solow Gods trapped in Hazyern. Night wraiths are descendents from the children of Zol and Merdis."

Frenza hummed in thought, intrigued by the idea. She glanced around the sleepy village before ultimately deciding to take a seat in the dirt, next to the girl.

"Merdis was married to Kozik, not Zol," she reminded. Erlan sat up, rubbing her eyes with her palms.

"Kozik was the son of Nevy and a nymphian female. Merdis was one of Chros's mortal daughters. Their children would not have had the same magical properties as what we see in night wraiths."

Interesting. Frenza hadn't thought too much into the gods' affairs when it came to their children - but there were reasons for that.

"How would you know?" She prodded. "Who are we to determine what would be possible among the gods?"

"Because unlike blood wraiths, night wraiths can manipulate shadows - hence, their possible relationship to Chros, our god of death. Merdis and Sarafina inherited the ability from their father. However, when Sarafina was captured by the elven lord, Rezuel, who was able to manipulate light, and had his daughter, the kid - while immune to mind invasions, although I suspect that was partly due to her mother convincing Chros to bless her - could not slip into or out of shadows. She couldn't control anything except for maybe a few patterns of light."

Frenza frowned.

"Are you speaking of Venwith?"

Erlan nodded. "A mortal goddess had a child with an immortal elf, two beings with powers opposing each other. As a result, their child could not use either of the gifts. They cancelled out."

"You're forgetting that the girl was cursed," Frenza began. "Sarafina's and Rezuel's reunion - if you could even call it such - was not a favorable one. Chros himself flayed Rezuel alive for what he did to his daughter. The only reason the child lived-"

"Was because Sarafina loved her," Erlan interrupted. She stared up at the runkist, as if the answer was obvious. "She cared for the girl and fought for her from every day on. If Chros had placed a curse on his granddaughter, Sarafina would have sought to kill him, herself."

Frenza shook her head. "The girl suffered from madness," she tried to explain.

"Venwith suffered from what we now know are symptoms of sundown dependence - the drug, I mean. Think about it. She never slept. Records state that her nails were always caked in blood, but instead of being violent, they could have just been literally bleeding. Yet no one would know for sure that she was near overdosing because her grandfather shielded her mind from attacks, which means she wouldn't have hallucinated nearly as often as others would have, if at all. She wouldn't have been possessed by a lost spirit, either, from having an incredibly vulnerable mental state."