Beyond the Void

Chapter 14, Ravencrest

The Age of Shaping - lasted roughly six thousand years.

Little is left of this age. The only notable event recorded tells of the shattering of the elder soul of Burn. The D'yer guard the chronicles detailing the event, and they only tell of it happening, not of the how or the why. There are mentions of an Alyar war ending during the early years of the Age, but the time and opposition are unknown.

An excerpt from the diary of Pia...

VAERA

Five tens since the Mark of the Other One blossomed.

While the city functioned as normal, you could see people throwing worried looks at the Palace of the Pureblooded. Wild energies were no longer contained by the jet black crystal of the voidstone and erupted over the city. Vaera wondered whether the shield she saw being conjured had any effect or not.

The past five days Vaera had had a massive headache. She had avoided the Amber Falls and the Dens like the plague. In light of her new predicament, she tried to put the word around for Mei. But she wasn't too sure what was going on with Ramsey's lot. She did not have much hope about the situation. Right now she was craving a drink more than anything.

Vaera could not avoid the place any longer. When in doubt and suffering from headaches caused by rampant flow, the best idea was to drink until you passed out. And tying off loose ends in the city, one of her clients had insisted on a meet in the Amber Falls as usual.

So far the entire process had been relatively effortless, if odd. All the people and clients that knew her were asking whether she was okay and where they would find another contact like she was. The worrying part was that Vaera saw no sign of Jaybird interfering in her matters. This uneasy calm made her lose sleep.

Vaera got dressed and stopped for a moment. Looking around her modest living space, she found what she was looking for. The bright blue piece of cloth Jaylen had gifted her the past year.

Picking it up, she realised that she had not bothered to wear it for several tens now. The piece of cloth, hardened with slabs of thick leather, also held some of Vaera's most precious tools. Some essential valuables hid in there too.

It had turned into a ritual each time she went out. Looking at the waist-guard, thinking whether she needed it today, what exactly was she doing cutting off all of her unfinished business like that, whether it was really the time to cash everything in and buy a piece of land. Preferably somewhere far, far away to grow crops, raise cattle and maybe even children.

That last thought was strange. Having children felt foreign. She could not say she did not have the patience for the little brats, but Vaera could not imagine herself raising a one either.

Alternatively, she could take Jaybird's offer. Endure a couple of years and keep the illusion in place.

She looked out of the window. The white cliffs had turned a shade of grey today. A loud crackle hummed across the skies and a sting of pain shot through her head. The pain was so constant now it had numbed her senses.

As she was about to set the waist-guard down, a small prickle poked her behind the ears. No, today she would wear it. She was about to fly out of her nest after-all. That was most likely the truth; she was already thirty-four. Or thirty-something-four at least. She would be too old if she stayed here and played Jaybird's little puppet.