Tears of Dusk

Isyd only left the Library at the last minute, after the 1 st Hour bell. He wrote down in the ledger which books he borrowed, books he intended to study the rest of the night. Jadwia had left a few hours earlier and there were only a couple of Pupils that were leaving at the same time as him. On their face were the signs of an exhausted mind that dreamt of the sweet release of sleep. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a pleasure Isyd could enjoy.

Instead of heading to the Common Dorms, Isyd went to the Atelier. At this time, he would usually have no chance of entering without a Key given by Hidrss. Fortunately, the Master of Arcanic Arts hadn’t gotten around to repairing the doors Isyd had broken during the Korochun. He didn’t meet a soul, but Isyd kept his senses peered. His steps led him to some private quarters — Isyd had been told that they hadn’t been here initially, but that Hidrss preferred sleeping in the Atelier instead of the Tutors Quarters in the Academy proper. It wasn’t the first time Isyd came here. He approached the door at the end of the hallway and passed his gloved hand in front of the doorhandle. It revealed a hidden [Hex] that blinked briefly twice, before fading away.

It was a [Detection Spell]. The door had been opened twice, which meant that someone had come and gone.

After making sure that nobody was coming this way, Isyd opened the door and stepped inside the dark bedroom. It had belonged to Tekla before she handed her resignation and left Vilriver in a hurry. Isyd was hesitant on turning on a Lightsphere.

“You see anything out of the ordinary, Naeht?”

“No, not really. Everything is as we left it!”

Isyd took another step inside and felt something under his boot. He picked up what looked to be a letter. A wave of his hand and a [Light Ball] appeared and floated overhead.

“So, what does it say?” Naeht asked excitedly.

“It’s from the Baron,” Isyd said. “He wants to arrange a meeting with Tekla to decide what to do next. He wants to know if Antaka was part of the Atelier.”

“Wow! I didn’t think he would dare try something again after what you did to him!”

“Neither did I… It doesn’t make sense…”

Isyd pictured once more the pathetic figure of the Baron, crawling in front of him in fear and pain and begging for his life.

The words Snake had uttered came to him. She doesn’t pay me enough to risk my skin against someone of your level…

Isyd crumpled the letter in his fist and headed out.

Naeht was flying next to him. “We’re going after them?”

“I had given them a way out. I suppose that mercy wasn’t enough. They’ll now face the consequences.”

Isyd headed out to the Fields and walked further into the forest. Tonight was a cloudless night and the starry sky and the bright silver moon provided ample light for Isyd to find his way. Eventually, by following the Little Stream downstream, he arrived near the manor.

Naeht who had been sent ahead to scout, came back to him. “There are few Peacekeepers still present. I’ve seen 4 guarding the gates.”

“It shouldn’t be a problem,” Isyd said.

He first checked if there weren’t any [Shielding Spells] that could alert of his presence. He then used the Song of the Grace to locate the person he’d come for. They were alone it seemed, which made the whole thing easier. Isyd approached their gardens, gathered his strength and leapt to a balcony on the first floor. He forced the door open and entered the guest room.

In the middle of the room stood the Baroness Pani Halyna Kazkan. She turned at the sound and when she recognized him, she paled visibly.

“Oh! God! Please, have mercy, Demon!” she said as she stumbled back. “My husband is not here! It is him you seek! I’m innocent!”

Isyd walked further into the room. “It is enough, Baroness. You can drop the act. I know the truth.”

There was a moment of stillness and silence. Suddenly, the Baroness seemed to change before Isyd’s eyes. She straightened her posture, lifted her chin and threw back her shoulders. It was as if a mask had fallen to reveal her true face; her meek and juvenile expression shifted into a more serious and royal demeanour. Her thin lips curved into a cold smile.

“It seems I have been found out,” she said, calmly.

“It was a smart idea to play the innocent and emptyheaded woman while scheming and trading under your husband’s name. I am ashamed I fell for it as well.”

The Baroness gave a falsely humble shrug. “A woman must learn to use her wits, it is all… Now, may I know why are you here?”

“You know why. I said I would come back if you don’t cease your attempts to steal the Blysht. I’ve seen the letter you send to Ms Dumnchory. Contrary to you, she’d been wiser and heeded my warning and left Vilriver. You should have done the same, Kazkan.”

The woman didn’t appear intimidated in the slightest.

“I see…” she sighed. “Well, it is unfortunate, but you must understand where I am coming from. The Blysht is an opportunity I simply cannot let pass. With control of it, I could rise through the ranks of the szlachta like none other. I would gain enough prestige to rival the Crimson Ones, enough wealth to rival their large estates. Everyone tries to improve their station in life, can you truly fault me for that?”

“I can if you do so at the expense of everyone else. What right do you have to put this stranglehold on the Blysht, to take it all for yourself? You didn’t spend hours gruelling in the mines to fetch it. You didn’t spend hours cutting it into a useful shape. You didn’t spend hours crafting the necessary [Spells] to Ingrace it. The only work you expended was to sign a paper claiming it at yours. In my eyes, you have no ground to stand on. Your greed will be the doom of us all, and I am here to stop it.”

The Baroness shook her head and paced toward her bed.

“Then, I must admit that we are at fundamental disaccord then, Mr… What did you say your name was?”

“Antaka.”

“It is a strange name if you don’t mind me saying. Do you know what it is supposed to mean?”

… Antaka is the first breeze that brings the Cyclones from the Mother. Antaka is the first seed that brings the blight into the field. Antaka is the first rash that brings the sickness to the body. Antaka is the First and the Herald. It never comes along; Death soon follows. A warning for others to stay away. You understand? That is what it means. Antaka is…

“… the Bringer of Death,” Isyd said.

“Really? What an ominous name! I am sorry for you!”

“Do not be! It was given to me and I carry it with pride.”

Halyna Kazkan turned to face him. She had a sweet smile on her face. “It is good for you. However, I am afraid I cannot let you stop me, Antaka!”

In her hand, she held a glass lens full of engraving and rose to eye level.

Pain suddenly flared in Isyd’s skull and he let out a howl of pain. It was as if thousands of ants were running on and nibbling at his brain. Isyd’s vision turned blurry as the pain became more and more searing.

What… A [Spirit Attack]… a [Mind Searcher]… a [Mind Breaker]?

“You should stop struggling, young man, it will only make it more painful.” he heard the Baroness say through a cloud of pain. “Accept my control! I think you will be a good asset to replace those traitorous mercenaries. Let it go, Antaka. Let me inside your mind!”

Isyd fell to his knees, his hands clutching at his head. He could faintly hear Naeht calling to him, but she was drawn with the rest of the pain. It was as if his eyes were about to explode from their sockets. More than anything, Isyd was trying to keep it at bay.

“Stop! Stay away!” he howled.

“Surrender to me!” Halyna Kazkan shouted back.

But Isyd wasn’t talking to her. His right arm was burning. He could almost taste the [Taint] in his mouth. The Baroness’s [Arcane] was threatening to break all the barriers Isyd had put to keep the [Taint] contained.

“Stop…” his shouts had turned to weak pleas…

“Come on, let me see who you truly are under the mask. Let me in!”

Something gave way in Isyd’s mind.

He lifted his head and met the woman’s eyes.

“You want to see? Then, come on in…”

Halyna Kazkan gazed into the two eye sockets. In less time than it took her to blink, she saw everything Isyd laid bare.

She stared at the abyss that was his soul. The abyss stared back.

The Baroness let out a bloodcurdling scream. The [Arcane] shattered on the floor and she threw herself back.

“No… No… No! It’s… not… real! Let me go! LET ME GO!”

She collapsed and then crawled backwards to put as much distance as possible between her and Isyd.

She clawed at her face, at her eyes, and pulled at her hair, all the while howling in horror.

“NO! LET ME GO! LET ME GO!”

But she could no longer escape.

Those gemstone eyes stared down her soul and a chilling laugh pierced her mind.

The images were now engraved in the Baroness’s psyche. So much blood. So much death. So much pain. Mountains of corpses burning. A hell from which there was no escape. A world plunged in eternal darkness. Monsters chasing after her, eating at her flesh again and again. Pulling it apart, then putting back together. Again, and again and again. Her blood turning black, full of vileness. It was a sickness, an evil that filled all her senses. It was in her mouth, in her nose, on her skin and under it. It was in every breath she took, in everything she touched, in every thought she had.

She couldn’t escape. The vileness was everywhere. The vileness was in her. She was the vileness. She was vile.

She couldn’t escape it… she couldn’t escape it… she couldn’t escape it... she couldn’t escape it…

She couldn’t escape.

Amidst the visions of terror, Halyna Kazkan saw Isyd for what he truly was. How could he be? He wasn’t supposed to be! He was an aberration! A monster in human’s skin!

He was a curse upon the very earth he walked on. He bore the vileness in his very soul. Everything he touched was tainted. Cursed to bring death to everything and to all…

He was the vileness!

She had to burn the vileness. It was the only solution. The only way to be cleansed. Burn him. Burn herself. Burn everything that was ever touched by the vileness. She would burn it all…

Burn… Burn… Burn…

Isyd stumbled away into the forest. He was trying very hard to mute the sounds of shouts and cries behind him, to ignore the acrid odour of smoke that filled the air.

“Isyd, the [Taint]…”

“I know…” he said through gritted teeth. “I… I have it under control…”

He was breathless, all his strength was sapped.

“I just need to lay down for a while to recover. To sleep.”

Isyd hated sleeping. Naeht knew that all too well.

“It’s gonna be all right, Isyd. I’ll be here, watching over you,” she said.

“I know.”

She kept talking to him as if to reassure him, but Isyd couldn’t pay attention. He’d been surprised by a [Spirit Spell], which hadn’t happened for a while. He knew he was more susceptible to them than most. It had been a close call. He could have handled it better if he hadn’t been so exhausted by the past few days.

Isyd found a somewhat even patch of dirt and fell to his knees there. He laid down against a fallen tree, wrapped in his darkveil. The soil was hard and cold, wet fallen leaves landed on his exposed skin. Isyd didn’t mind any of it. The less comfortable the short sleep he would have. It was for the best.

Isyd hated sleeping because sleeping meant nightmares.

Sleeping meant remembering.

He closed his eyes and drifted off.