In the Heart of the Fire (a KOTLC fanfic)

Bonus Story: All About Athnamas

Full Name: Athnamas

Age: 18

Species: Elf

Ability: Talentless

Occupation: Neverseen member

Social Status: It's complicated

Relationship Status: Single; will take you out... with a weapon of your choosing

Preferred Weapon: Knives

Aspirations: Become the next Lady Gisela, but better

Appearance:

- Midnight black, curly hair (dyed)
- Storm gray eyes
- Over-average height
- Wears clothes with hidden pockets that have knives
- Always stylish
- Always some sort of heels

What the heck happened:

So. You see. What had happened was.

Project Moonlark was not the only gene-manipulating experiment that the Black Swan conducted. There were also many others, one being Project Flickerwings, where Halcyon DNA was mixed with an elven embryo, the reason for the twins' eye color. Unfortunately, they failed to realize that this embryo carried twins, not of a bad match, but because of a genuine genetic anomaly. The experiment failed miserably, resulting in a Talentless twin and an ordinary Mesmer twin.

In order to cover the failure, the Black Swan altered the minds of the parents and gave the Mesmer child back after relocating them. They took the Talentless to be enrolled in Exilium. Much to the Black Swan's dismay, the child, along with many others, was taken from Exillium by the Neverseen. Unknown to everyone, Lady Gisela decided to raise the children in the Neverseen, a child army. Athnamas was exceptionally talented. She was a prodigy even though she did not attend Foxfire or any school. Once she was old enough, Lady Gisela told her of her complicated birth situation. It only made Athnamas work harder.

After almost another decade, Athnamas was given a very small chance to confront her family. She took it because she wanted it that bad.

After Neverseen spies learned that a specific group of teenage elves was residing at a nearby coven, Lady Gisela devised a plan to intercept them. Not one to do things for others, Lady Gisela made Athnamas promise not to hurt anyone, specifically her son and the Shade, whom she needed for a dangerous, and perhaps deadly experiment.

As per the last installment of this story, their plan worked and the experiment is about to be run.

Athnamas and Councilor Ace:

When Athnamas was originally taken to Exillium, Ace volunteered to adopt her secretly. He was lonely, but he knew Councilors could not have families. Though he wasn't yet a Councilor then, it was his end goal all along. He sent elf after elf to search for her, not unlike the Black Swan's search for Sophie. When enough elves didn't come back, Ace took a brief hiatus from his political career and went after the child himself. He did find her... as well as an underground elven cult. Ace was caught when he was trying to escape with the child he considered his adoptive daughter.

He was forced to join the Neverseen in return for the official adoption of Athnamas. He agreed, if only to keep this precious child close to him. Over time, he came to love the organization of elves almost as much as the child he raised. He made time in his political schedule to help teach Athnamas when Lady Gisela would have never even looked at her.

But when Athnamas quickly rose through the ranks, Lady Gisela could not help but notice her. Ace refuses to take credit for Athnamas' skill, saying he only helped hone it.

The pair, through their training sessions together, bonded even deeper. Anytime Athnamas needed anything, which was rare, Ace provided it.

Thus, the two became father and daughter.

An Average Day In Athnamas's Life:

Athnamas wakes up with the sun. She then goes out for a morning run. After getting a light breakfast, usually Threadleens, she goes down the gym and practices her knife-throwing for about four hours. She will practice with both arms. Then, she takes a couple of hours to study runes and history. After lunch, she then trains in hand-to-hand with Ace. Though she has absolutely zero elven ability (including telekinesis and such), she is determined to make herself a formidable opponent. She and Ace come up with moves that give her the advantage in their free time together. After that training, though, she eats dinner, showers and plays the human game of chess with Ace. Then, it's sleep and repeat.

A Day In Atlantis:

One day, Ace decided to take Athnamas on a shopping spree in Atlantis. She had never really been to any elven places and he was due for a charity run.

After her morning run, Athnamas came back to find Ace waiting for her in the cafeteria. Instead of her usual Threadleens, there was a plate of Ripplenuts waiting for her. She was immediately suspicious. Ripplenuts were her favorite. She always denied herself the sweet, though, because she knew there were better things to put in her body.

Besides, she never got them unless people wanted something from her, usually to kill someone else. Along with not receiving elven abilities, she also never received their sense of guilt. Violence had no effect on Athnamas.

She wondered who her adopted father wanted her to take out. Perhaps a political opponent? Maybe he was finally making his move to become a Councilor.

"What do you want?" Athnamas asked. Her voice was like her blades. Sharp.

"My dear, I wish to take you on an adventure. How would you like to go buy whatever you want?"

"Depends. From where?"

"Atlantis."

Athnamas's gaze locked onto his. "That's the noble elves' shopping place, mostly for business."

"I'm aware. That just means it's where the best products are. I will be able to best equip you."

Athnamas nibbled on a Ripplenut. "What's in it for you?"

"It would look good to the public if I were to be generous to an orphan."

At least he wasn't asking her to kill. "Okay."

Standing atop the rock ledge, Athnamas wasn’t afraid. "How do we get there? Just jump?"

Ace laughed and took a bottle out of a rock. "Not quite." He uncorked the bottle and threw it into the water. A giant whirlpool appeared. "Now we jump!" Ace launched himself in.

Athnamas shrugged and followed. The ride was quite a thrill. She even smiled! Well, just a tiny bit, more of a smirk, really. Once she recovered and got off the sponge, she took in her surroundings. One thing stood out. "Where's the exit?"

"Over there." Ace pointed to a place far out, where a column appeared as a speck in the distance. "Do not worry. I promise nothing will happen to us. Let's go enjoy the shops."

Athnamas did something she'd never done before. She ran. She ran throughout the streets. She ran until she found a clothing store.

She dug through the racks with a vehemence like no other. Once she found a tunic and pants worthwhile, she presented them to Ace. He laughed.

"Those are for men."

Athnamas shrugged. "They're durable. Nice pockets for knives. I want them."

Ace just smiled. "Alright. Though those pockets are for Pathfinders-"

Athnamas gave him a deadly look, making him stop talking. She also picked out some boots. Ace paid for their things, then they went back to base. Athnamas was slightly bitter when Ace levitate them, as she could not do that, but the bubble experience outweighed her negativity.

"That was... fun." Athnamas said while putting her new things up. She had never had fun before. It was a foreign concept.

"Don't you want to wear your new clothes?" Ace asked.

"Nope! I don't want to get them all sweaty."

Little did she know she would wear them in the presence of the leader of the Neverseen during a very... volatile experiment.

*****

Author's Note: Hey! Hope this clears some things up. I actually really enjoyed doing this. I do hope you enjoy reading it, though I know it's a lot. Happy reading, book buds! Love you all!🩵