Arawn.

  It was a name Aria knew all too well.

  She shut her eyes tight as mental images played in her mind. Images of her mother’s battle with him and the other Shadows of Athanasius playing in her head in a sequence.

  She shot to her feet, drawing the attention of the other two, though she didn’t realize it with her eyes shut tight.

  “Tufani?” Daxton asked, though she barely registered his voice as the painful memories began to consume her.

  They led to him stabbing Anila through the back in a surprise attack, sword exiting through her chest. Something that had only happened because her mother had protected her from the hume. It was her fault, if she hadn’t been there, if her mother hadn’t needed to worry about her, then she’d have been able to escape.

  And live.

  But she was dead now. Her mother was gone from this world…

  And it was her fault.

  Her breathing began to quicken, cold sweat dripping down her face. The memories ended with her mother’s smiling face after she’d sent her away with a wind Art, before erupting with explosive light.

  She began to hyperventilate, her breath coming in rapid, raspy gasps.

  Her nails dug into her palms, which suddenly felt numb.

  Rage, grief, and fear all swirled in a tempest inside her, warring for supremacy.

  She was beginning to find it hard to breathe, and her chest began to hurt. She placed a hand to her chest in response to the feeling.

  A voice was calling out to her. A voice? Who was it? She thought she could almost recognize it. Her mother?! No… the voice sounded male. Onas? No… who-

  “ARIA!” Daxton yelled, finally snapping her out of her daze.

  She opened her eyes, and was startled to find the Champion in front of her, his hands on her shoulders, shaking her and giving her an expression filled with terror.

  “You… you suddenly started to have a panic attack. What’s wrong?” he asked her.

  “I… I…” she gasped out, still hyperventilating.

  “Easy now,” he said to her, hesitating briefly before pulling her into an embrace, her head to his chest, “slow down your breathing. It’s okay. It’s okay.”

  She trembled in his arms, not having realized she’d been shaking. She found herself leaning into him, seeking comfort as she tried to do as he instructed.

  She didn’t know how much time passed as she listened to his heartbeat before her breathing finally returned to normal. Hesitantly, she pulled away from Daxton’s hold, unable to meet his eyes.

  “Lass,” Zareb asked as she looked to the ground, “what happened?”

  She didn’t answer them.

  Daxton muttered under his breath, “Your panic attack started when I said…”

  She tensed as she thought he was going to utter his name again. However, he didn’t. She looked up, and saw realization in his eyes. He nodded to himself, and then led her to the chair that HE’D been using to rest, giving it to her to let her collect herself.

  Zareb seemed to notice Daxton caught on to something, as he asked, “Lad? Do you know what just happened?”

  “Tufani was having a panic attack,” he explained, “and I think I know what triggered it.”

  Zareb seemed to catch on, “It began as we talked about-”

  “Don’t mention the name,” Daxton interrupted, “not around her.”

  Aria clenched her teeth, disliking the sudden feeling of being coddled, “I’m fine. No need to baby me.”

  Daxton gave her a flat look. He took a deep breath, “What happened with… you know, him?”

  Aria glowered at him, refusing to answer.

  He surprised her then when he responded, “Alright then, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

  She gave him an astonished look, “Just like that? You’re not going to press me?”

  He shook his head, “No. Considering your reaction earlier, I don’t want to force you into opening up about things you aren’t ready for. Just… just know I’m willing to lend an ear if you ever want to talk about it.”

  Taken aback by the consideration he was showing her, she could do nothing but nod as he and Zareb continued their earlier topic.

  ***

  Despite Galen’s deep concern for Tufani, he decided to leave her be to mentally recover while he continued to talk with Aleksi out of earshot. Considering Tufani’s very sharp hearing, they took their conversation out a ways from the tent.

  “That was concerning,” Galen muttered as he glanced back in the direction they’d come from.

  He hoped she would still be there by the time he and Aleksi were done talking.

  His mentor chuckled, “Lad, you’re one to talk considering the shape YOU were in just a moment ago. The fact that you can worry about another in spite of your own suffering is an admirable trait.”

  Galen flushed. He cleared his throat as he got back on topic, “Right, so we should be far enough so that she doesn’t hear. I had told you that Arawn was the one who’d taken your place in my Ether training.”

  Aleksi scowled, “Right… that man… considering what he’s like as well as his true identity… I shudder to think what he put you through.”

  He frowned, “His true identity? What does that mean?”

  “Remember how I told you I’d get into more of how the Dominion has deceived you at a later time? Well, I suppose now is that time,” Aleski answered.

  He took a deep breath, “Alright, go ahead. Hit me.”

  “I’ll start with Arawn’s true identity. As well as that of Milton’s,” Aleksi began, eliciting a frown from Galen.

  “Those two,” Aleksi continued, “are, in actuality, Shadows of Athanasius.”

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  Galen’s frown deepened. The term, “Shadow” tickled his mind. After a moment, he recalled how Redian had overheard the term, and how it was something the Sentient Weapon had, at one point, possessed knowledge of before the Dominion tampered with its memory.

  Remembering this, he reopened the mental connection with Redian. Though judging from the unusual silence from the sword, he figured it was already listening intently.

  “What are Shadows of Athanasius?” Galen asked Aleksi aloud.

  “They are the secret enforcers of the Dominion,” his mentor explained, “they’ve been around since Athanasius came into power. As the name implies, they work mostly in the shadows. They enforce their emperor’s will, and specialize in infiltration, espionage, and all things combat. Make no mistake, however. They are not limited to just those areas. Each Shadow is put through nigh torturous training combined with what amounts to brainwashing to create incredibly powerful and fanatically loyal super soldiers that serve Athanasius directly.”

  Aleksi spat at the ground with a look of disgust, and an uncharacteristic look of anger on his face. “It’s absolutely disgusting what that blasphemer, Athanasius, does to them,” he all but snarled.

  Galen couldn’t help but shirk back at the unexpected level of passionate anger his mentor displayed.

  Aleksi must have noticed how uneasy he looked, for he calmed himself and said with an apologetic tone, “Sorry about that, lad. Athanasius and his Shadows… well… I’ve a grudge against them. A very personal one…”

  Galen nodded in understanding. He was immensely curious to learn about the details, but decided he wouldn’t poke at what was clearly a sensitive topic. Instead, he asked, “So, these Shadows are basically like a secret police for the Dominion?”

  “That’s one way of looking at them, I suppose,” Aleski stroked his chin thoughtfully, “though, keep in mind that the Shadows are not only enforcers, but they are also the personal guards of Athanasius himself. Remember when you went to meet the Emperor yourself?”

  Galen remembered how there were two guards wearing deeply black armor with helms that hid their faces. They guarded the entrance to the chamber where the alleged god had awaited him.

  Seeing the remembrance on his face, Aleksi nodded, “That’s right, lad. Those two guards you saw were Shadows. Most of that order is made up of those who carry Athanasius’s blood in their veins.”

  “His descendants?!” Galen asked, eyes wide.

  Aleksi nodded, “Yes, as well as direct children of his. He’s lived for centuries, lad. He was bound to have sired sons and daughters over all that time. His direct children are considered demigods in the Dominion, and almost all of them and their descendants are either Shadows or hold other positions of great influence, if not both at once.”

  Galen frowned, “Huh… I didn’t think… well, Athanasius is considered a god to the Dominion, isn’t he? I’d have thought that… you know… doing THAT with him would be considered, I don’t know, blasphemous?”

  “If only it were so lad,” Aleksi sighed, “but no. Athanasius has many concubines from what I can gather. As you learned during your studies in the Dominion, he and his empire believe very strongly in eugenics. Many marriages are often arranged by the Dominion, particularly for those in the Second and First Circles, in order to pass on and further hone talents and traits that they consider desirable.”

  “Yeah, I remember that,” Galen grimaced, “it explains why so many people here on average were far better looking than the people of my world. That eugenics stuff doesn’t sit right with me.”

  “Neither with me, lad.”

  “So… are all of the Shadows made up of Athanasius’s kids and descendants?”

  “No,” Aleksi answered, “some can be recruited into the order, even if they don’t possess Athanasius’s blood. You’ve heard of the rare instances where someone from the Third Circle can be elevated directly to the First if they prove to be an exceptional genius among geniuses?”

  Galen nodded.

  “Well, among that special pool of people, those that show themselves a level above even that will be scouted to see if they can be recruited into the Shadows. Remember Callista, lad?”

  He flushed, before his eyes widened at the implication of the question, “She’s a Shadow too?”

  “Perhaps,” Aleksi scratched at his chin, “I’m not entirely certain to be honest, though it wouldn’t surprise me if she were. She possesses beauty that shines above even the nobility of the Dominion. You can imagine how such a thing could prove valuable for the Shadows. I’m merely using her as an example, though I’m not discounting the possibility that she is a member of their order. In fact, it’s quite likely she is.”

  “That just makes her trying to seduce me all the worse,” Galen said, feeling sick as he shuddered, “to think she’d be willing to go THAT far…”

  If he didn’t feel taken advantage of and violated already, he certainly did now.

  “Quite,” Aleksi agreed, “now, going back to Arawn.”

  “Right. So, he was a Shadow that whole time I was at the Dominion, huh? Milton too?” Galen shook his head, “I guess his sudden change in behavior when that whole Ignis mess began makes sense now.”

  “You mentioned Arawn was placed in charge of your training?” Aleksi asked to clarify.

  “Yeah…” Galen groaned, “damn his training was brutal. I was starting to think the bastard wasn’t human. Though, given what you told me… that also makes sense now.”

  “How frequently were you forced to train with him, lad?”

  “Twice a day,” Galen answered, grimacing as he remembered being beaten to a bloody pulp each time he trained with that monster, “and I had to study under Milton twice a day as well.”

  “Two times daily, so they doubled the frequency at which you had to take your drug laced Ether Intolerance pills,” Aleksi noted, “no doubt to get you addicted faster. That would explain why your withdrawals got so intense after such a short amount of time.”

  Galen felt his stomach sink at the reminder of his addiction. Seeing his expression, Aleksi placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, “Don’t worry, lad. We’ll help you overcome this. I’m going to have some of our people in the Rebellion study your pills and see about making some new ones that won’t be laced with addictive drugs. I’ll also see if there are any natural remedies we can make that can accomplish the same thing as the pills, even if it’ll be less effective. I’ll have to talk with the elves in our ranks to see if there are any Vindannan plants that can be used to accomplish the same thing.”

  “Vindanna?” Galen raised a brow, “what does the Realm of the elves have to do with this?”

  “A lot. At least, perhaps,” Aleski shot him a half smile, “come. We’ll need to speak with the Tufani lass about this next part.”

  “I hope she’s okay…” Galen muttered as he and his mentor began to walk back to his tent.

  “You show an awful lot of concern and consideration for her,” Aleksi noted with a teasing smile.

  Galen flushed as he shot back defensively, “And? So what?”

  “Nothing! Nothing,” Aleksi chuckled.

  They walked in silence for a moment or two before his mentor suddenly added, “I hope it works out for you, lad.”

  Galen shot him a confused glance, “You hope what works out for me?”

  Aleksi gave him another teasing grin, but didn’t answer.

  He flushed, realizing what his mentor was hinting at, “It’s not like that!!!”

  “Sure, lad,” Aleksi snickered, “sure.”

  “Boss,” Redian spoke in his mind, “anyone can see that-”

  Oh NOW you decide to speak up, Galen interrupted the sword, you know, you’ve been awfully quiet until now, but you ALL OF A SUDDEN decide to start yapping.

  “Of course!” Redian gave the impression of a smile in his head, “there was a perfect opportunity to tease you after all!”

  Galen shook his head at the shameless bluntness at which the Sentient Weapon admitted that, Anyway! Onto actually important stuff! What did you think about what Aleksi said about the Shadows of Athanasius? Did it jog any memories?

  The sword, thankfully, answered seriously, “My memory doesn’t work like yours, boss. I didn’t ‘forget’ that information. I can’t really forget anything I learn unless I decide to delete it. Rather, in this case, the information and memory was taken from me. Though, there are gaps in between my knowledge… perhaps…”

  What are you thinking? Galen asked the blade.

  “Perhaps I can use what Aleksi told you to bridge some of those gaps. I’ll have to make some conjectures and educated guesses here and there to fill in some holes, which is less than ideal, but… it should be better than nothing… Want me to give it a try?”

  Galen nodded, Go ahead. Keep me updated.

  “Righty-O, boss!” Redian saluted in his mind before it withdrew.

  Galen brought his focus back to the real world, and noticed Aleksi giving him a funny look.

  “What?” he asked.

  “Nothing, it’s just amusing seeing you interact with Redian,” Aleksi chuckled, “it’s humorous to see you randomly making faces and small head movements and such.”

  Galen flushed, especially as his mentor continued, “You’ll have to learn to control those kinds of reactions, lad. If you’re trying to keep a low profile in public, that sort of thing will draw attention.”

  “Got it,” he mumbled in response, too embarrassed to look Aleksi in the eye.

  They soon made it back to the tent, and thankfully saw Tufani was still there. She had her legs up on the seat, and was hugging them as she had her face buried in her knees. She perked up and turned to them as they opened the tent flaps and entered.

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