111 Chapter One Hundred and Eleven – The Fire and the Sword, Part II (1/2)
”Oh, you've escorted some of my sisters to the Churches of Sylune to get purified?” I replied immediately.
His mouth opened, and then slowly closed. He stared at me for a long moment, the twitch on his shoulder faded away as if it weren't there, and blinked once, without even looking away.
Of course he hadn't. His job was to kill corruptive magical influences, not save them.
”You do know the Silver Queen has a Ritual which can cleanse a Hagchild and prevent them from becoming a Hag, right?”
He looked at me, and suddenly looked a bit strained. ”I... am aware,” he answered patiently.
I measured him for a long moment. ”Keep it in mind in the future. The Land loves to see corruption cleansed and returned to purity... not just purged.”
He kept my eyes for another long moment, before murmuring, ”I know where some hagchildren live even now.”
I tilted my head slightly. ”And you aren't saving them because,,,?” I drawled.
”I have more important things to do.”
I nodded slowly, taking that exactly at face value. ”So, this is a minor mission you need to delegate to others.”
He was silent for another long couple of breaths, and then slowly exhaled. ”That... would insure they never become something important to do,” he agreed.
”Are they close to turning?”
”Not really.”
”I should be able to handle that, if you tell me where and who they are.”
”I will do so.” He looked down at the table thoughtfully. ”I am here... to get Marked and Opened, as were my Brothers.”
I waved him down. ”I've been putting the Mark at the base of the spine on most people, to keep it out of casual sight. Where do you want yours, and what Mark do you want?”
”I would like Dexterity, as a Void. On my shoulder is fine.”
”Sit down. It'll only take a few minutes.”
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The Firesword had dealt with a lot of pain in his life, as might be expected of someone in his line of work. He had been wounded horribly many times, dealt with poisons, acids, burns, electricity, freezing, invasive parasites, and mental and spiritual trauma.
He couldn't hold it in as his soul squeezed out the holes punched in his body and his ki, and his Helix swirled around the openings, momentarily flaming to full and visible light around him.
And then she popped Open his feet, as if she wanted to piss him off.
It was a whole special kind of squeezing, unable to stop the compression and release of something that had never known it. Despite himself, the Fire and the Sword, mage slayer, manhunter, killer, slumped back on the chair, beads of sweat thick upon his forehead as he breathed deeply.
The holes faded from visible sight, but they were still there. He could feel the cleanly cut edges of them, punched into him by a soul as hard as diamond.
”Aru, girl,” he breathed lightly, quenching his trembling as the wispy edges of his soul seemed to swirl inside his Helix. ”Where did you get a soul that hard?”
”Nightmare,” she replied calmly. ”Where'd you get a soul that empty?”
”Reality,” he returned, and she lifted an eyebrow in amusement.
”Take your Soulshaper Level. You probably haven't spent Karma on a Class Level in forever. Your Soul is out, you can touch the Akasha. Reach out to your ancestors and say you want to be a Soulshaper.”
He stared at her for a moment, then closed his eyes and did as instructed.
His Helices flared with polyfires once again, this time with wisps of soulfire swirling and condensing down into another Helix around him, rotating counter to the first. The Firesword opened his eyes and stared at in disbelief at the display, which was truly eye-catching.
”Huh. Your Brothers weren't nowhere near as showy. You're going to be quite the showman if you want to be.” She reached out, grabbed his shirt, and hauled him upright without effort, despite weighing half what he did. ”Let's go over to Forge and discuss your Sword.”
He quenched his Helices, feeling the new power bound into them, and a potential for new growth and power in a direction he'd never been aware of before. Silently, he followed her back over to where Briggs was sitting.