Someone to build an army and find this realm’s key.
‘Join me,’ the One promised. ‘And you, and all your ancestors, will rule upon earthly thrones.’
And so Wrenwyn became Lordach’s first Acolyte.
She shed her own blood into the mountain and allowed the One to feed upon it. Her humanity changed, but her soul was filled with power.
And it was wild, and wondrous, and strange.
It gave her wings of blackest night … for with her newfound power, she tamed the first raphon.
The One shared with her all the knowledge of the darkness.
She learned of new creatures, of new magic, from the realm conqueredbefore. She learned a language that was beyond the comprehension of the Five.
And with it, Wrenwyn penned the truths in the Shadow Tome.
Only those who had doubt in the Five would be able to decipher it, to learn of its secrets and truths, for it needed to happen slowly.
Without mistake.
Too fast, and the Five would turn their eyes upon Lordach.
Too fast, and they would notice the tendril of the One’s soul that had gone missing from his cage.
They would silence him. They would cut off the root of power he’d taken centuries to sow … and stop it all before it started.
The Shadow Tome spread slowly across the land, and Wrenwyn turned many with eyes to see towards the north. When they arrived, they need only shed their blood into the mountain to feed the One proof of their belief. And their soul would be opened, and a tendril of the One would enter them and set them free.
They danced with the One, instead of marching to the Five’s false light.
Wrenwyn bore a child, and raised her in the ways of the One.
And when she grew old, her soul finally ready to pass on …
Wrenwyn’s child was given the same choice:
Live free in the dark. Or die loyal to the light.
The child chose freedom, and so as the One promised, it was through Wrenwyn’s own blood that arose the next Acolyte.
The One’s voice faded away.
Six continued to fly through the darkness, and past the tips of her wings, Ezer saw visions soaring by. Glimpses of memories in the dark.
She saw Styerra, sobbing in the Citadel’s library as Ervos lied, and used the fear of the Five to make her flee.
She saw Zey, her eyes filled with hatred as the Masters carved her hand with penance and told her she’d failed them again.
She saw Izill weeping before a statue of the gods. ‘Whatever I’ve done to cause you to turn a blind eye to me … please. I beg of you, forgive me. Grant me the gift of magic.’
She saw a beautiful, dark-haired Sacred – Soraya – with penance marks all over her back as Kinlear held her and she sobbed through the pain. ‘I didn’t mean to disobey,’ she cried. ‘Why do I still resist?’
She saw countless Sacred forced to wed before the Masters for the sake of strengthening the Five, not a hint of love in either partner’s eyes. She saw Styerra’s joy wither and die when Erath told her he’d been Matched with someone else.
The vision shifted … and suddenly Ezer sawherself,standing alone in the rain as Ervos boarded the prison wagon and left her behind.
She saw herself in the woods, a shadow wolf inches from her face.
