Chronicles of the Exalted Sun Child

The gate shimmered for a long moment before it burst into bright light. A moment later, Gwendith stepped out and immediately went to the side. Heron, Saki, the Devotee followed her out of the Hillside Burrows and into the town…village, that she couldn’t quite remember the name of.

She glanced at the sky, noticed that it was just past noon. As she looked at her surroundings, her perception aura caught Saki’s shiver as well as Heron’s. The ground was covered in a thick pile of snow, maybe half a pace? Underneath, the ground was frozen deeper than she could sink her perception in. 

“What’s the date?” She grumbled, but of course, neither of her companions knew. 

“From the looks of it, mid-Water,” Heron said. “Or maybe close to Earth.” 

“That’s…” Gwendith muttered. They had left in the midst of the Season of Earth, and Time does not flow backwards, ever. So either nearly a year had passed and it was already AF 3003 or… maybe more than a year had passed.

When she and the other eight left Braxxon in search of the source of the Elemental Tide, they had ventured into the Shardlands again, which meant that Yuriko’s True Connection spell was once again unable to reach her. They spent several weeks searching, and the most frustrating part was that it had been a fruitless search. Perhaps there had more than one source, or perhaps the nodes they found that practically spewed out the Elementals were part of a greater whole, but nothing they’d done had stemmed the flow of enemies, until a couple of weeks ago, they just stopped coming. It took that long to return to Braxxon, and when they arrived, they could successfully trade for what they needed. Two Tower Entry Tokens and enough Exit Tokens to leave the forsaken place. 

They had just used it after bidding goodbye to the other Ancients, and they popped out where they entered the Chaos Fount, so thankfully, they didn’t have to make their way out of the Fount too. That was more than a relief since she was eager to return to her love. She regretted going on this adventure, and they didn’t even get what they were originally after! Granted, they might have something more valuable, but still…

Although, Yuriko’s words of encouragement bolstered their morale, so she supposed it was fine. And…

She didn’t pull out the Tower Entry Token that was sequestered at the bottom of her backpack. It was larger than she expected, being a sphere that was three inches wide and looked like it was made out of bronze clockwork gears and parts. She hadn’t inspected it beyond confirming how many it would allow to enter the tower…or rather, climb or delve it. According to Nathan Quint, each token allowed a circle to enter, meaning five people. There were five gems near the centre of the contraption plus a toggle to select which direction the token would allow them to go to. 

Anyway, the ground floor of the tower, which was apparently much like a Shardland contained within a structure, allowed non-climbers or delvers to live in. But the cost of living there was somewhat prohibitive. 

So who would enter the tower? Herself, Yuriko, and Heron, for sure. But the Chaos Lords, and the handmaidens? It would have been easier to buy a second token, but after the Conclavists bought theirs, the merit exchange had greyed out the option. There had been three tokens, apparently, but one had been claimed by the time Gwendith and the others returned. 

Which was what made the entire ordeal so frustrating! They should have stayed in the city and waited! It would have made absolutely no difference! Argh!

Now, they had to choose who would come into the tower! And no matter what happened, someone would be left behind. She had no intention of being left behind, and neither did Heron. The two of them had spoken and bonded over the course of their adventure, and they’d come to an accord. 

That made Gwendith’s lips twitch in amusement and she gave the bigger man a sideways look. He noticed, blushed slightly, and rolled his eyes. Saki’s smirk didn’t escape Gwendith’s notice either, which made her cheeks heat up a little too. The Mishala handmaiden had been surprisingly knowledgeable. 

Ah…there was a good possibility that the Shadow Guard had watched her and Yuriko getting frisky, or just as likely, it was part of her training as a Mishala. Even if her lover had not gone into specifics, Lady Mishala had not been reluctant to tell stories about the Clan. Ah, and Yuriko’s cousin had never been inconspicuous in her dealings. 

Anywho, she needed to contact Yuriko to tell her that they were back. They could just hurry to Nirlith, of course, but she knew that her lover was not there. Where she was now, was the important question, and there was no faster source than just asking. 

In fact, Heron was already casting the spell so Gwendith didn’t have to. Instead, she organised her memories and considered her…their options. 

“Miss Sharine…” Nathan said just before they activated the Exit Tokens, “I would behoove you to come to the Eternal Tower’s Ground Floor, along with Heron…and your other Ancient friend. As soon as you can.”

“Why?” Gwendith asked warily. 

The relationship between her and the five Conclave Ancients had been cordial the entire time they had been together. She even felt more than a bit of warmth from the three women, but now, Nathan and the other four had stoic expressions on their faces. 

“The Conclave of Authority regulates rogue Ancients,” Nathan said after a long moment. His voice held no emotion as if he was stating an absolute fact. “All Ancients are registered under the Conclave, and while you and your friends may escape and hide, as long as you move in and around the Arcadia Region, the Conclave will eventually find you. I…understand that you and your friends came from the Shattered Realm and you do not know of the right way, but I implore you to register and…well, it would be easier and you won’t be sanctioned.”

“You will tell them?”

“It is one of the core tenets of the Conclave,” Nathan said. “Even if we don’t, your activities will eventually be noticed. At least if you register as soon as you can, instead of hiding, you will be forgiven due to extenuating circumstances.” 

Gwendith controlled every part of her body so as not to react to the arrogance. Her perception told her that Heron was similarly incensed, if not more so. But she was pleased to note that he had not reacted other than to frown. 

“Are you threatening us?” Gwendith said quietly while her Anima flared. The five Conclavists stiffened and trembled, and a little bit of fear crept into their faces. They were only in the Second Growth Phase after all. She and Heron were a level beyond, and even worse for them, it was a watershed level. Actualisation was the true start of the Ancient’s Way, according to Yuriko, and the levels beneath were dross. 

She recalled all of her interactions with the Conclavists and realised that they had always been a bit reserved. They talked about the Conclave, of course, and boasted about their base, the Floating City: Sofrugious, and how it was a bastion of peace, prosperity and knowledge. They shared some of their secrets, or rather, they shared what was common knowledge to anyone who knew what Ancients were. 

Surprisingly, Gwendith didn’t know the technique they used to simultaneously train and strengthen themselves in battle, and she thought even Yuriko didn’t know of it. 

Anaflexio. Anima Burn. 

Gwendith couldn’t hold her shivers when she recalled that little secret the circle told her and Heron. Or perhaps it was a gesture of goodwill? Well…perhaps not, since Nathan didn’t tell her how to actually do it. It wasn’t as if she could self-harm easily. 

Anima was the core of her being and the seat of consciousness. That’s what Yuriko said anyway. Hurting oneself was nearly impossible without great resolve, and the Anima itself resisted itm too. Yuriko’s general method of getting herself hurt by taking attacks or going into environments that could bypass her Anima defences was one way to progressing, but Anaflexio used certain techniques to induce the damage. And at the same time, the burning Anima empowered the Ancient severalfold depending on how high a percentage was ignited. 

Burnt Anima recovered slowly, and the lower the percentage of damage, the faster the recovery. She didn’t know the specifics since Nathan was a tease and she didn’t witness them using it either. It was not a technique they knew personally either since it could not be activated unless one was Actualised. But it was general knowledge and a path to power. 

That alone would tempt Yuriko, Gwendith was sure, but she and Heron weren’t so tempted. Why? Because they were Yuriko’s Squires. They cannot reach the same level as her unless she Ascended. At that point, Yuriko could free her and Heron from the restrictions even as they were boosted to the penultimate level. 

Hmmm, but learning how to boost their personal power would still be useful, heh. 

Either way, she was of two minds about going to the Conclave, but then again, Nathan asked them to head to the Eternal Tower’s Ground Floor and go to the Conclave’s embassy. She didn’t really believe what they said…but she was worried about being hunted. In the end, it would be Yuriko’s decision. 

Gwendith blinked and shook her head to get out of her reminiscing when Heron finished casting the Sending Spell. It wasn’t a two-way communication, of course, but now, all they needed to do was wait. 

She looked at the snow-capped mountains to the east and her eyes sought out the pass. Even this far, the gap was noticeable. Yuriko said she would be in the Virtalla Region to fight off the invasion, though Devotee did not have the specific details. For all Gwendith knew, the war was already over and her lover would already be back in Nirlith. 

She glanced at Heron again and repressed her automatic shudder at his stature and size. It wasn’t so bad now, especially since they spent some time getting to know each other better. Plus, being in a campaign and in life-or-death situations helped with camaraderie. It was that her mental scars weren’t so easily overcome. 

Still, she knew that the man had been pining for Yuriko for most of his life, and it seemed that Yuriko had already acknowledged and accepted those feelings. 

Gwendith smirked as she recalled the clumsy way the two flirted with each other. Yuriko’s Mishala Mien was a powerful tool, but it was also a bit of a handicap, wasn’t it? All her lover had to do was beckon and that would be it. Her scruples prevented her from doing that unless it was an enemy, and Heron wasn’t as affected by the Mien now, mostly because it was unnecessary to add to what was already there. 

He was pitiful, especially since he acted so badly when they were so much younger. He was making amends, of course, and wasn’t going to push. 

The funny thing was that Yuriko wanted him to push now. Hie hie hie! 

Ah, she might have to nudge them over the cliff, didn’t she? It would make her lover happier, that was for sure…

The thought of sharing didn’t bother her, and it never occurred to her that it should have been an issue. The Empire didn’t vilify same-sex relations, after all, but didn’t allow permanent unions. After all, Heritage was power. 

It was only in Karcellia, and now in Bresia, that Gwendith and the others were exposed to different cultural norms. She knew Yuriko ignored the more in-depth and troublesome ones, especially since she would never lack for partners. She was also certain that her lover would have a new bed warmer by now, though it had never come up in their conversations. Gwendith didn’t care at all. 

Gwendith saw Heron startle. He smiled and nodded, then whatever communication he received ended. 

“They’re in the east, as we suspected.” Heron said, “She’s part of the campaign to fight against the invaders.”

Gwendith smirked, “Then let’s go help them.”