Fathers and Daughters

She ran as fast as she could, the low-hanging branches whipping her face. The abbey was already only a distant figure atop the hill. She bypassed the village and crossed the river far from the bridge, wary not to encounter any Brotherhood soldiers. The forest was the only way out.

Which way to go now? - she thought. - Maybe I could find Katnir, but God alone knows where he is. Maybe I can find shelter with other orders in the West, the Sisterhood of Wisdom or another branch of my own order? No… Even if I can hide, what if the Brotherhood tracks me down? Shall I leave the realm? No, I'm too afraid to do it alone.

That part of the forest was barely a suitable terrain for a march. Rocky and full of steep slopes, it hindered her journey and forced her to reconsider going on the highway.

She had put her necklace back on as soon as she escaped the abbey grounds. She was scared the absence of catharite would awaken her powers, if she indeed had any, that is.

Maybe mother was wrong and I'm not a sorceress. I don't feel any more magical. Maybe it was just my imagination and there wasn’t any connection with the ring.

She still had it with her, hidden safely in her pocket. She wondered what its significance could be and why mother kept it locked away in the basement.

Finally, she was too tired to continue the march and sat at the base of a tall cliff. It was a secluded place, with birds singing in the trees. The fresh breeze carried their tunes from far away. The thick canopy veiled the forest in a somber mirk.

As soon as she caught her breath, she was overwhelmed by the weight of everything that had happened that day. And it was barely midday. She was sitting on rocks, shivering and drowning in her thoughts. She thought about her mother, Taevine's treachery, Liesë's madness and the ring. She also wondered whether Einhart really was her father.

No… This can't be. And it can't be that Liesë indeed spoke with Sonia. She must have been delusional… Taevine said she had escaped. Does it mean she's now a fugitive like me? Can Taevine even be trusted? It's too much, too much for me… And what if mother was serious and indeed the murderer of Lynette… is my father? No, no!

She slammed her fist against the cliff. Suddenly, she heard some noise above. Looking up, she saw some rocks coming loose from the impact. Strangely, instead of fleeing, her first instinct was to reach out with her and try to stop the rocks mid-air, but finally her right mind prevailed and she dodged them in the last second.

Still shaken, she suddenly heard a raspy voice behind her:

“A battlesister, alone and lost.”

Satine turned around and stood eye to eye with a bandaged figure, its face hidden in the shadow of the hood. A pair of yellow eyes glinted in the shade. He wore a dark cloak and held a quarterstaff in his hand.

“Einhart…” – she muttered, retreating a few steps and instinctively reaching for her swords.

The Flayed Sorcerer moved closer and she could now take a better look at his deskinned face, lit by the orange glow of the fireball he held in his free hand. She wanted to speak, to explain, and to get some explanation from him, but the sheer sight of his mangled body frightened her into fight-or-flight, and she didn’t feel like flying anymore.

She knew the catharite necklace would dissolve the fireball before it could reach her, but she wasn’t willing to bet her life on it. Apart from her duel with Katnir on the rope bridge, she had no experience fighting spellcasters, let alone one of Einhart’s renown. Closing the distance was her best hope.

As soon as she sprung forward, Einhart released the fireball. But it wasn’t aimed at her. Instead, it impacted the rock, spraying Satine with fragments ejected by the blast. The shower of pebbles staggered her and now Einhart closed the gap on his own terms, spinning his quarterstaff over his head.

He struck with overwhelming strength. Satine was barely able to deflect the strike, surprised by its power. She tried to stab him, but the sorcerer swiftly dodged the strike and instead grappled the sword by the blade. He pressed hard, trying to break it, but Satine jerked it free, cutting his hand. To her surprise, no blood sipped from the wound.

Unfazed by the injury, Einhart spun his staff, forcing Satine to step back to avoid being hit. Before she had a chance to counterattack, he lifted some rocks with telekinesis and threw them at her in quick succession. Thanks to her dexterity, Satine dodged them all and moved into melee once more.

Her quick attacks forced Einhart into defensive, his quarterstaff barely keeping up with her twin shortswords. Being so close to victory, Satine finally asked herself what she really wanted to achieve. Despite her anger and freshly resurfaced grief after the loss of Lynette, she couldn’t bring herself to even attempt a fatal blow. What she really wanted was closure, and she didn’t know how to force Einhart to confess.

“You hesitate” – Einhart spoke through gritted teeth. – “And that’s why you will fail.”

Unwillingly, she created an opening in her attacks, which the sorcerer immediately exploited. He struck at the hilt of one of her swords, almost knocking it out of her hand and forcing her to readjust the grip. It was enough to turn the tide, and now Satine was being pushed back. Before she knew it, her necklace fell out of her collar and was now dangling free, vulnerable.

“I’m sending you to join your sisters!”

Einhart raised his staff and sent it down in a powerful strike, crushing the catharite to splinters. Satine fell on the ground, no longer protected by the metal’s influence. The sorcerer aimed his hand at her, sparks already flashing between his fingers as he charged up the lightning bolt. Satine closed her eyes, accepting her fate. But death did not come.

“The ring…” – Einhart spoke. – “Where did you find the ring?”

When she opened her eyes back, the sapphire ring was floating in the air between them. She was too shaken to respond.

“Where did you find it?” – the sorcerer asked again, grabbing the ring.

“My mother gave it to me” – she replied with hesitation.

“Your mother…” – Einhart paused and took a closer look at Satine. Shivers ran down her spine from that gaze. – “It can’t be… She was dead! My men assured me they both died when Elwood burned down!”

He fell to his knees and looked at Satine again.

“I recognize you now… It’s been so long… I have forgotten that I’ve ever had a daughter.”

“How could you have forgotten?!” – Satine felt tears dripping down her face.

“There’s nothing I can say to you that would absolve me.”

“Then at least tell me why you abandoned us!”

“Once my adventuring days were over, all I wanted to do was to pass on my knowledge and my skill. Me and Mina had a daughter… We had you. But you didn’t have the aura of a spellcaster. I thought that magic sensitivity would manifest later, but years had passed and you still were an ordinary child. Mina couldn’t have another baby after the complications with your birth, and I believed I was doomed to have no heir to my magic. That’s why I set out to become a battlemage. To find a new purpose in life.”

“That’s it? You left your family because I couldn’t cast spells?”

Einhart seemingly shrunk in shame.

“Yes... And I have been twice deceived by my fortune… You are a sorceress now. I can sense it.”

“Are you relieved now?! Knowing that I did inherit your magic in the end?”

Einhart looked into the horizon in silence. After a moment he spoke softly:

“No… Even if my magic did pass onto you, what kind of world have I left for you to inherit? A realm that will hate you for your very existence. A barren soil, unfit for a flower like you to grow in. What an irony… In my pursuit for a better future I have destroyed that of my own daughter…”

“It’s too late now.”

“I know… I’m sorry, Satine.”

She was about to say something harsh in reply, when she heard a sound of horsemen approaching. Looking towards Gath, she saw a squad of Brotherhood troops in the distance.

“They found me!” – she exclaimed, jumping on her feet.

“I’ll take care of them.”

“If you think a single act can erase…”

“I don’t. My soul is beyond redemption. Take this with you and go.”

He handed her the ring and a clay seal with strange symbols.

“What is it?”

“The seal from the tomb of Halandir. Your wizard friend is looking for it. Find him and tell him to go west from the Seeing Hill until he can see the Addago Rapids in the distance. There, in the middle of a glade he will find the mound.”

“Before I go, tell me one last thing. Why did you kill my sisters?”

Einhart looked at the ground in shame.

“We stumbled upon each other near the tomb. I couldn’t risk them reporting it to the Brotherhood.”

“I don’t even know what makes me hate you more…”

Her father didn’t say anything. Satine ran deeper into the forest, away from the pursuing soldiers. Looking back from a safe distance, she only caught a glimpse of flashes of fireballs far away. Having tucked the seal into her jacket, she marched on and didn’t look back anymore, her goal now clear.

Find Katnir.

***

“Right here, venerable father” – one of the soldiers said. – “But we daren’t go inside.”

The door looked ordinary, but the mud and bloody footprints leading from inside seemed intriguing, to say the least. That was the first finding in the abbey that truly picked Kragavald’s interest. Having dealt with Mina, he could now turn his attention to the abbey itself and the secrets waiting within.

He carefully pressed the doorknob. It yielded and the door opened.

“Guard the entrance” – Kragavald told the troops. – “Let none inside.”

He stepped inside and locked the door behind. While the miasmic, obfuscating haze inside was almost paralyzing, it was nothing compared to some of his prior experiences with the supernatural. The sunlight was coming in through the small windows, casting thick rays in the mist. He could smell the staunch of death in the air.

The room was in disarray, with books, tools and alchemical reagents scattered erratically on every flat surface. He noted some interesting titles in the collection, including many forbidden by the Holy See and thought to have been burned to the last copy. He was pleased to see this notion proven wrong.

A fine addition to my library – he thought.

In the middle of the room there was an oak table. When he approached, he spotted a human shape strung naked on the top with its limbs stretched and the chest sliced open. An array of chalk and dying candles surrounded it. It was a young woman, her skin cut with alchemical symbols. He recognized them. Their purpose was to summon and bind the spirit of a dead person.

He pulled out one of his favorite implements: a compass-like device with a silver needle reacting to the presence of ghosts. It shivered gently at first, but started to prance a little harder the closer he got to the body.

“By all things holy… It was a success. How do I wish to meet the mind behind this…”