Aster Fall, Ch 24: Lenei (Patreon)

Sam pulled a healing scroll out of his belt pouch, one of the limited few that he’d made in between working on his bracer, and handed it to Altey.

His sister was holding onto her Wand of Ice Bolt with a fierce determination, even as she was also hiding behind him, looking across the circle with wide eyes. Aemilia’s hand on her shoulder kept her from moving any farther forward.

“Go heal her,” he suggested, nodding toward the paladin.

From everything he could tell, there was no way that the paladin would harm Altey, but he was still planning to keep an Essence Shield around her.

Behind him, he felt the force of his mother’s illusion spell fade, but it was still projecting the force of her emotions outward. That had been what got the paladin’s attention.

The paladin had a subclass as a healer, but he figured the offer to heal her was more important than pointing that out.

“Why should we heal her?” Altey frowned up at him, not taking the scroll. “She was attacking you.”

“She didn’t mean it,” Sam said as he tried to maintain his calm. He held out the scroll. “She thought I was evil. Go on.”

“No.” Altey refused to take the scroll again, shaking her head adamantly. “She doesn’t deserve it.”

His mother took the scroll from his hand instead, and then walked forward to the paladin who was still staring at them in shock.

Sam shifted his Essence Shield, keeping it around his mother as Aemilia knelt down next to her.

“Not everything in the world is what you think,” Aemilia said simply, answering the question the paladin had asked a moment before.

Her voice was firm, but her anger had faded a bit now that Sam was unharmed.

“Hold still,” she commanded as she reached out with the scroll.

“No!” The paladin’s hand shot out, grabbing for Aemilia’s wrist. The only result was a flare of crystal blue as the Essence Shield knocked her hand away.

“Stop fussing,” Aemilia replied sternly. “It’s just a healing scroll.”

She held it up where the paladin could see, the standard healing runes on it clearly visible.

“My son made it, and there aren’t very many of them,” she continued. “If he’s polite enough to give it to you, the least you could do is say thank you and hold still so I can use it.”

“But he’s a demon!” The paladin protested, her voice wavering as she looked between Aemilia, Altey, and Sam. Her voice trailed off, before she tried again.

“How could a demon be...?”

“My name is Sam,” he answered, his voice echoing across the field as he turned the topic to something more useful. “What’s yours?”

Behind him, he checked to make sure the privacy barrier was still intact. It was on its last legs now. Three people breaking through had disrupted it.

He infused a few more points of essence into it to stabilize it, leaving himself almost out of essence. An aura floated on the edge of his storage, ready to appear in his hand if he needed more.

“My name is Lenei,” the paladin answered, slowly, as she studied the scroll in Aemilia’s hand.

She wasn’t an Arcane Scribe, but she’d seen enough healing scrolls that it was easy to tell it was real. A moment later, she let Aemilia activate it.

Sam looked around the circle, including at all of the torn up dirt and seared grass, and shook his head. Perhaps he should have chosen a different place to practice.

The innkeeper wasn’t going to be happy that half of his back field was scorched, but another gold coin would probably make him look the other way.

“Well, Lenei,” Aemilia suggested as the paladin’s burns began to disappear, “why don’t we all go upstairs and have a chat together? You’ll have to promise not to attack until you hear the full story.”

“I’m not a demon,” Sam added as he raised his hand and showed her the mark on the back of it. “Trust in the Guardian Star.”

He considered using the story that his appearance was a curse, but he decided not to this time. There was a legend that paladins could tell a lie when they heard it.

His appearance was a problem, but it was also what made him who he was.

Lenei hesitated, but as she looked at Aemilia and then at Altey, and then at Sam who was standing there calmly, she slowly nodded.

“Alright,” she said, letting out a sigh as the healing scroll finished its work. “Can someone explain what by the Law is going on?”

---

A little while later, the four of them were seated around the table in their room, with Sam and Lenei at opposite ends of the table.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Lenei said, frowning as she listened to the full story. “How could you transform into that? And have your race changed? I’ve never heard anything like it.”

“I can’t explain it, but that’s what happened,” Sam offered as he wrapped up his explanation.

After hearing her story, it was clear that Lenei had been following him since he and his father activated the ruins by Cliff’s End, at the beginning of this all.

The World Law had announced back then that it had summoned an authority to investigate.

Apparently, that was Lenei.

He hadn’t expected that it would be a Level 60 paladin. At the time, it would’ve been enough to crush them.

Even now, she was 11 levels higher than him, although his bracer and class abilities were making up the difference.

With everything taken into consideration, it didn’t seem like that strong of a response for an Outsider ruin.

Perhaps the World Law had other troubles.

“You said your Call brought you here, right?” he asked as he decided to turn the conversation in the most important direction. “And it’s still calling you toward me? Well, we need your help. Perhaps that’s why you’re really here. Maybe the World Law sent you to help us.”

“What do you mean?” Lenei frowned. “A Paladin has to follow the Call, yes, but...you don’t look like someone I’m supposed to be helping.”

“Try to get past that,” Sam answered drily. “There’s an unknown Outsider and a concealed Flaw in the mountains here, near the ancient ruins above Highfold. I could use your help to kill it and close the Flaw.”

Lenei frowned as she heard the request. It was true that it was the sort of thing she was supposed to be doing, but she was still having a hard time putting it all together and changing her mind so quickly.

The feeling of the Call that was tugging her toward Sam was still there, though, which lent his words extra force.

“Haven’t you told the church and local forces here?” she asked, her frown deepening. “They should be taking care of this area.”

“We’re trying that too,” Aemilia spoke up. “That’s where my husband and another friend are now. She’s a Seer. They’re in Highfold trying to convince them to listen, and explaining how a wyvern was acting under something’s orders.”

It didn’t take too long to explain the rest of the details to Lenei, and as they did, her frown continued to deepen.

The dark-haired young woman leaned forward intensely, her elbows on the table, as a sense of determination radiated from her. It was a pose that showed off her character as strongly as a masterful sculptor could have captured it in stone.

Her lean muscles in her arms and the strong line of her jaw demanded attention. Her almond-shaped, green eyes tilted upward slightly at the corner, and her skin was a rich olive that was bathed in the light from the fireplace at the side of the room.

More than that, there was a feeling of heightened emotion constantly swirling around her, filling the area and making it impossible to mistake what she meant.

Her every action demanded attention.

It was the effect of her Charisma.

For the first time, Sam began to realize what the attribute could really do. She was impressing her will on the world around her just by existing, almost like a powerfully enchanted artifact.

To an extent, he could feel that he was doing the same, just not as strongly, and it helped to bring the importance of the attribute into focus for him.

Perhaps he should add more to it, when he had the time. It would help in situations like this, if he had to explain himself to people.

His Charisma was still 30, the same as it had been for months.

“You’re right that the Call is still pulling me toward you,” she said, returning to study Sam intently. She’d been doing that for most of the time they’d been in the room. “I don’t feel a threat from you, and the Guardian Star is on your hand...but even with that it’s hard to accept what you’re saying without more proof. You are just too strange.”

“The World Law itself has authorized my existence,” Sam said as he stuck to the facts that he thought might convince her. “It considers me a full citizen of Aster Fall and someone who is working in its interests. Otherwise, your attacks might have injured me.”

Lenei frowned as she thought back to the Aura of Law that she’d tried to use against him, as well as the meaning of the star.

As a Paladin, that star was the symbol of her entire Order, and to see it on the hand of a demon was deeply unsettling, but if what he said was true....

She would have to meet with the other seer in their party and talk to her, to see if she was telling the truth about the Breaking that was coming.

Paladins didn’t have the exact ability to discern truth from lies, but her Spiritual Awareness was highly attuned to emotions and changes in character.

It let her read expressions and some emotions, giving her insight into whether people believed what they were saying. These three all believed what they were telling her and the story was consistent.

“I don’t have another explanation yet,” she said at last, “but I’m also not going to leave until my Call changes. If what you’re saying is true...then show me where the Outsider is and I’ll do my best to kill it. As a Paladin of Law, it’s my duty to Aster Fall. If you’re right about it, maybe I’ll be able to trust you.”

“Good enough,” Sam agreed, nodding at her. “It’s still several hours to dawn, so let’s call this a truce? We can all get some sleep and wait for my father and Krana to return. Then we can decide what to do about the Outsider.”

Lenei looked around the room, and then she gave him a firm nod, her movement still somehow more graceful and forceful than he expected, even when he knew about her Charisma.

“We’ll speak again in the morning,” she agreed as she pushed up from the table.

She paused, looking toward the door and around the room as she realized that the innkeeper was probably already fast asleep. She’d have to wake him up to get a room.

“You can borrow Krana’s room,” Aemilia offered, nodding toward one of the doors that opened onto the common area.

Lenei hesitated for a moment, with one last long look at Sam.

“Thank you.” Her voice was softer, kinder than it had been before.

She didn’t trust them yet, but she had to admit that there were a lot of things in their story that rang true.

The thing that really made her accept their story was the Call and the Guardian Star. If she doubted those, she would be doubting her entire life that had led her to this point.

The star on Sam’s hand was still shining with a version of the World Law’s aura in her senses, letting off a gentle, reassuring presence, as she shook her head and walked toward the room Aemilia had indicated.

She would put up a blessing around the room before she fell asleep, which would give her some warning if anyone attacked, but from the looks of it, they wouldn’t.

Except for the little girl, she added as she glanced back.

Altey looked like she still wanted to shoot her with that ice wand.

Lenei hid a smile. This family was strangely fierce. Perhaps that was what came from forging their own way in the world.

For a first Calling, this was nothing at all like she’d expected.

---

After Lenei left, Aemilia and Altey also went to sleep again, leaving Sam alone in the room.

He returned to his work table, his chin on his hand as he leaned forward, studying the enchantment on the wall.

He was debating whether to strengthen it before he went to sleep, and also whether to divide Krana’s room off from the others, but after a moment, he shook his head.

His mother and sister had their amulets, which would trigger defensive shields if Lenei tried anything. That was enough reassurance.

From what he’d seen of the paladin, it wasn’t in her to attack his mother and sister, and he doubted that she would break her word and attack him either. It should be safe enough.

He looked out the window to where Caelus was moving toward dawn and shook his head, considering the work that he still needed to do.

He’d get a few hours of sleep, but after that there were a few things he needed to finish before going after the Outsider.

Healing scrolls were on the top of the list, along with an idea he was working on to protect his family.

Avoiding Lenei’s attacks had also given him an idea for how to use Essence Shield for evasion. He would need to put some effort into studying that.

Just standing there and absorbing blows on his shield wasn’t a very good tactic, especially if there were more wyverns, since it drained his essence too quickly. It would be better to evade and save his energy for attacks.

Thoughts spun through his mind as he leaned back against the wall behind him, his eyes drifting closed. With everything on his mind, he forgot about his bed.

His work table felt more familiar anyway.

---

“I need to get my shield repaired, which means I have to stop by a church armory,” Lenei announced, as she looked down at her shield the following morning.

The shield was still mangled, its enchantment damaged.

“I tried to repair it, but it’s beyond my skills. There should be an armory in Highfold.”

“Let me see it,” Sam offered, yawning as he stood up from his work table. He tucked the healing scroll he’d just finished away in his belt pouch.

It joined a swiftly growing stack of others there, which was what he had spent most of the morning working on. It took him about an hour to make one, these days.

“You...” Lenei hesitated, looking at Sam with some doubt. His illusion amulet wasn’t active, so his demonic features were on full display.

She’d agreed last night to work with him, but it was still a bit difficult to wrap her mind around it.

“If I wanted to harm you, I would have tried already,” Sam said bluntly as he held out his hand. “I’m an Enchanter. Maybe I can fix it.”

He also wanted to study the enchantment and see how the church did things.

Lenei hesitated, studying him, and then a bright white light began to radiate out from her, concentrating on her hand.

She could still sense the unpleasant aura of a Defiant around him, but based on his story, she understood why it was there.

“I believe your story, but...if you can take my hand,” she said slowly, as she held it out to him, “I’ll trust you with my shield. It’s already broken.”

Sam shrugged as he wrapped his hand around her wrist and shook her hand. The energy around her flowed across his skin harmlessly.

He snagged the shield from her and wandered over to his work table, where he set it down and began examining it.

Behind him, Lenei’s expression shifted to confusion, and she let out a sigh as she followed him, pulling up a stool to sit down on the other side of the table.

“So you’re really not a demon...” she muttered, half to herself. “It’s just hard to accept, especially when your race shows up as Outsider.”

“Outsider of Aster Fall, not a demon,” Sam muttered back as he turned the shield around, infusing it with a thread of his aura as he began to study the enchantment.

“And that’s only because the World Law didn’t know what else to call me.”

Essence-Infused Human or something would have been better, in his opinion, even if he did look like a demon.

“Do you know much about the history of the church?” Lenei asked with a frown, as she looked at the star on the back of his hand.

“Which part?” Sam spoke, half-distracted as most of his attention was on the shield.

“The legend of the last Breaking and how the church was formed, and the role that the demons played in it.”

Sam shook his head, since he had no idea what she was talking about.

“Where’s a bard when you need one...” Lenei looked around the room hopefully, as if a bard might jump into the area now that they’d been invited.

When nothing happened, she continued.

“There’s a song about it...a very long one called the Cycle of Ages. It’s nearly four thousand years old, if you trust the bards who sing it.”

“About a demon?” Sam asked, with some curiosity.

“About three of them,” Lenei agreed slowly. “You reminded me of it, since they are known by the color of their auras. Did you know...supposedly there have only ever been three real demons in the legends? Every sighting of them has been attributed to one of those three, although there have been some lesser versions reported as well, avatars or lieutenants perhaps.”

“What?” Sam asked, turning to look at her with more attention as he processed what she was saying, and why she was bringing it up. “What do you mean? Surely there’s been more than three?”

He wasn’t sure what she was talking about, but the idea brought back the three demons he’d seen in his dream, from the First Contact.

“No, just three, at least for those who fought the gods. Red, orange, and blue,” Lenei shook her head. “The Demon of Sundered Blood, the Demon of Demented Passion, and the Demon of Shattered Skies....”

She looked up, as if looking into her memory.

“I’ll paraphrase the songs, since I’m not much of a singer.

“The Demon of Blood commanded blood to flow. He ripped it from peoples’ veins when their hearts were still beating until it turned to a rushing tide across the ground, drowning city walls.

“The Demon of Passion drove the world to madness and despair, until no one could see the difference between family and foe, and murder was more common than breathing.

“The Demon of Shattered Skies ripped heaven and sea asunder, pouring one into the other until the earth shattered, the stars fell, and the elements failed. She drowned the world in tears and storms, turned the air to fire and the earth to wind.”

Lenei was watching him closely as she spoke, as if she wanted a reaction. When she didn’t get any, she just nodded.

“Those are the Three Demons of Aster Fall,” she added. “Blue was the Demon of Shattered Skies. That’s the one whose color you have. It’s said she was the last to retreat from the world, fighting even as the gods descended to repair it.”

With that, she sat down across from him, looking pointedly at him and then at the shield in his hands.

“So, can you fix it?”