The Endless Solvent

Once she was able to eat properly and on her own, she rapidly improved. She found she could briefly ‘look’ using her new sight and not be knocked out immediately. It still took much focus to make sense of any of it, but she was able to confirm one thing: she was looking at things in the Great Solvent.

She could usually make out glowing spots that represented solute. Then she surmised smaller ripples of light that appeared were related to the runes drawn by the runist Laell. At one point, while feeling particularly brave, she focused on the string of patterns around her, she concluded that the cart or vehicle they had put her in was heavily enchanted. Was all of that needed to keep away the pain and keep her conscious? Or like Verne, were they used to keep her in control?

It was easy distinguishing between the solutes. Aris couldn’t quite describe it as she didn’t think of her new sight as truly the ability to see. Things like physical features, light and color were simply metaphors. There was an essence to the solute that set people apart and the best way Aris could explain it was like it gave off a different color.

Verne spent the most time with her and she spent long moments secretly studying his solute. Despite remembering him in Sekrelli colors of gray and red, Aris thought Verne’s solute almost looked deep green in color. It reminded her of the pine forests back in Caelis, the ones she and her brother spent so much time in. How shocking it would be if she described his solute as green-colored - the Sekrelli had many who supported Gaian purity like the Kuvans and prided themselves on being purely warm toned.

She found - in her studies conducted partially out of boredom - that his physical vicinity didn’t always affect how clearly she saw his solute. It made it very confusing in determining where exactly he was. Aris also noted fluctuations in his solute when he spoke, moved or reacted to something. It was clearest to her when he spoke to her. It felt like sitting next to a fire and being able to watch every flicker and hear every crackle coming from it.

“Do you think you can beat me in a fight?” she prodded one day, out of the blue. They were alone at camp to the best of her knowledge and the perfect time for her to test the Sekrelli noble.

“Right now? Probably.”

“How about when I’m feeling better?” Aris leaned forward, carefully feeling out the edge of the cart so she didn’t fall off. Glimmers slithered out in her sight. She had touched the runes inscribed on the wood.

“I see no reason why we must fight,” Verne said. There was a faint scraping sound like he was cleaning something. “So there’s no need to determine who would win.”

“It’s a hypothetical,” she pressed, annoyed. “Or are you too scared to even entertain the idea?”

To her surprise, he laughed. The solute in front of her sparkled and glowed, giving her the impression that he was genuinely amused. “I think if we fought, Camaz would have my head. Do you have any idea how much trouble we went to find you?” He went silent for a few moments. “It was due to the Parts’ mercy that they led us to you in time.”

“The Parts’ mercy has nothing to do with it.” Aris found her mood suddenly soured at the mention of a Part. “You better fucking believe me.”

“We were chasing shadows for weeks,” Verne said. “Finding you in that bandit camp was nothing short of a miracle, even if the Parts were not involved.”

Aris felt her mouth twist down in distaste. She had heard about Camaz’s expedition out to the east and of him being betrayed by one of his spy friends. This Moulu knew she was out here and had Camaz sniff her out. The timing was too suspicious for her to ignore: would Moulu be tied to the people who opened the Gate in Gendis? Camaz told her they called themselves Bringers and that they seriously worshiped the Parts like true gods.

“If you haven’t noticed, I am partially a shadow,” she said to Verne. Then she tried something incredibly stupid.

Before turning into her shade form was as easy as flexing her fingers - she liked the feeling of using her abilities. The impulse came to her since it’s been a while she was well enough to try it again. She was able to do it, pleased at the wave of discontentment coming from Verne’s solute, but then a stab of pain pierced her head. She materialized again on her hands and knees then promptly vomited on the cart floor.

If she didn’t know better she would have thought Verne stabbed her in the face. No, it was the cursed eyes of Doran. It was doing something to her very solute and made it difficult for her to use her abilities. It was like she walked fifty paces backwards in progress. Aris spent the rest of the day in agony, only hearing concerned voices and someone putting a cool cloth over her face.

When she could bear to acknowledge being awake again, she knew Camaz was by her side. His solute was a dusty gray-blue, she thought in a haze of pain. Like morning ocean mist or the edges of moonlight on a clear night. She couldn’t sense the other two nearby, but then again she was no expert at physical distance relative to what she could ‘see’.

“You awake?”

She felt the damp cloth on her face flip over to the cool side. “Sure,” she croaked.

“Were you trying to escape?”

Was she? The thought occasionally crossed her mind but whatever they were doing for the pain was working. Not being able to see meant she wasn’t able to figure out what the runist used in the enchantment to control the pain. If she left the cart, she would be at the mercy of it again. It would be stupid for her to leave: this much was obvious. “No,” she finally said, wincing at the fresh stab of pain.

“Then why were you pulling a stunt like that? Were you trying to impress our Manus department pretty boy?” The familiar snark in his voice was supremely irritating but strangely comforting.

“Camaz… I’m fucking blind.”

Camaz gave a cough which suspiciously sounded like he was covering up a laugh. “Well, whatever your reason, you’re an idiot.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Aris fought a wave of nausea as her head pounded. “This is really helping.”

“Something’s changed in your solute and you’re adjusting poorly to it,” he said. “I can sense it with my inner eye ability.”

Aris grew quiet. Back at the Academy, Camaz knew right away that she absorbed a Shade. It was only natural he would know this time around she had done something similar.

“It’s slowly killing you,” Camaz continued. “If it wasn’t for Laell’s ministrations and us forcing several healers to help, you would already be dead. It isn’t a physical ailment, Aris, it’s something cracking your solute in two.”

Take my eyes into your solute and pray to your celestial bodies that you do not die.

In some ways, she already knew this. Doran had told her.