Tears of Dusk

Isyd moved quickly through the woods. The forest surrounding Vilriver was the deciduous type which meant that around this time of the year, the trees had lost most of their leaves and the ground was damp and muddy. Tonight was a moonless and cloudy night, turning the forest into an ominous and cold place full of muffled and far-away sounds. Isyd wasn’t disheartened rather, he felt at ease in this environment. It reminded him of those times he had spent alongside the Rangers in the Black Forest. It was relatively speaking long ago, but Isyd kept good memories from that period, notably because it was the first time he’d truly learned the Arts.

While distractedly keeping attention on his surroundings, Isyd crossed the Little River to put as much space between him and the four Ringleaders he’d left behind. He knew that a bit further to his east was the Waving Bridge and using it as a point of reference, Isyd headed northward and deeper into the forest. His objective was now the tokens, but he didn’t know exactly what he was looking for. The Doyen had spoken of challenges protecting them so Isyd used his perception of the Song of the Grace, trying to hear anything out of the ordinary. This was particularly more difficult in an environment such as the forest, a place brimming with life. It made the white noise even more confusing and tricky to ignore.

Isyd suddenly stopped near a muddy pond, his attention perked not by the Song of the Grace but by something at the edge of his vision. The terrain around him was gently sloping and littered with middle-sized boulders covered with lichens. Isyd stared past the birch trees to the strange shape that stood out. After a glance at his surroundings, he approached closer. There, in the middle of the forest had been erected a monolith. Twice Isyd’s size, the stone was large and stood upright, visibly rugged and tapering at the top. The area surrounding it had evidently been cleared. If the monolith attracted the eye by its size and girth, what intrigued Isyd more was what stood behind it: a full suite of plate armour resting against it. The metal shone at the light of Isyd’s Lightsphere. Isyd remained at a safe distance, certainly more after noticing the mace resting at the foot of the armour, and reached at it with his extra senses. He couldn’t hear anything weird coming from the armour, but he wasn’t naïve enough to dismiss it entirely. Instead, Isyd reported his attention to the monolith from which he could hear the thrumming of the Arts.

It didn’t take him long to find the Commands that had been chiselled into the stone. It turned out that he was facing an [Arcane] and more precisely, a Balance puzzle. Isyd found that somewhat reassuring. The first time he encountered a Balance puzzle was in the Academy actually since those weren’t common in his previous life. Naeht had been surprised by that fact, given how skilled he was at solving them. Balance puzzles came in different forms but the principle remains the same: they were [Hexes] that were out of Balance due to missing Commands or misalignment of the Meshing. Solving them required a good understanding of the Logic behind the [Spells] and an ability to read unknown Meshing. For Isyd, this wasn’t much different than his experience in his previous life spent deciphering enemy’s [Spells] to counter them. Plus, hearing the Song of the Grace allowed Isyd to be more attuned to the harmony required to solve a Balance puzzle.

Isyd approached the stone and put his gloved hand on the geometrical shapes carved on its surface. He closed his eyes and honed in on the Song of the Grace. He let his Idpulse subsume his mind, falling into steps with the rhythm he could perceive. It was like an invisible dance; Isyd delicately reshaped the Commands into place and Meshed the various [Core Hexes] in accordance with their tunes until they all fell into place. With a satisfying hiss, the stone Isyd was touching suddenly sank in. It was followed by the apparition of a circular hole where the Balance puzzle previously stood. Isyd put his hand inside the hole and it came back holding a metal coin. This was one of the tokens scattered across the forest that were worth 3 points. This meant that with his intact Blysht, Isyd was already halfway there in terms of points.

Isyd reported his attention to the set of plates near the monolith. He had to admit being perplexed by it. A part of him wanted to poke at it and examine it further because he suspected that it had been put there for a reason. However, Isyd had to keep in mind that he was taking part in a competition and couldn’t afford to dally around.

A disturbance at the periphery of his senses decided for him. It was a tune characteristic of the use of the Arts. Isyd immediately moved in that direction, looping back around towards the Little Stream. The trees became parser as he approached a wet meadow and Isyd kept an eye on the forest floor to avoid stepping into a bog or a deep, treacherous puddle. Once at the edge of the meadow, he knelt behind a decaying shrub and observed.

In the centre of the meadow was another monolith and another suite plate of armour similar to the ones Isyd just left. And next to it stood Henryk Pwom, the Ringleader of the Hammer. His back was facing Isyd and he was focused on solving the Balance puzzle. Isyd relaxed where he sat and considered his options. His first thought was to rush in and claim the token for himself. If Henryk still had his [Limiting Arcane], then Isyd’s points would add up to 18. One stone, two birds as it were. And yet, Isyd hesitated. Jozaf had been miserly in terms of information when it came to the Ringleader of the Hammer. Of all the Paramount Rings, Henryk was by far the most secretive. Isyd was curious to learn more about his skills.

From where he sat, Isyd could see Henryk struggling to solve the Balance puzzle. He was hunched over and his blond hair glistened with sweat at the light of his Lightsphere. Isyd was surprised by this; he had always assumed Arcanysta to be good at this kind of exercise. By focusing, Isyd could hear the humming of the Song of the Grace out of tune and the attempts of Henryk to correct it. After several minutes of patiently observing, Isyd couldn’t bear it anymore and stepped forward.

Henryk was so concentrated on his task that he didn’t notice him approaching until he was at arm's length.

“Need some help?” Isyd asked nonchalantly.

Startled, Henryk whirled and in his hand was a glowing red rod that Isyd had mistaken for a Lightsphere. Isyd ducked just in time to avoid the wave of flames spurting from it.

“Wow! Hold on!” Isyd said, throwing a quick [Deflecting Spell] as Henryk attacked once more.

The flames scattered against the [Wind Spell] but still forced Isyd to take a few steps back. It took him only a few seconds to guess that what Henryk was wielding was an [Arcane] because there was no way for him to cast [Spells] so fast. Isyd hadn’t considered it before, but now he realized that using [Arcanes] was a good way to circumvent the [Limiting Arcane]. It was common knowledge that [Hexes] of high Opening could be wielded at a lower level after they’d been turned into [Arcanes].

“We meet again, Wybrany,” Henryk greeted him with his characteristic deep voice.

“I noticed you struggling with the Balance puzzle. I thought I would offer a hand.”

Henryk raised an eyebrow. “I assume that the stone contains a token. You plan on claiming it for yourself?”

“Not necessarily. Surely, we can come to an agreement. But first, I’d like to know how many points you have so far?”

Henryk hesitated briefly then shook his head. “Sorry, but I’m not willing to collaborate, Wybrany.”

“A pity, but I understand…” Isyd sighed.

Henryk raised his rod that resumed glowing red. Isyd expected him to attack him once more, but instead, Henryk spun and slashed at the monolith. The flames that appeared drew an ashy mark on the stone, but they didn’t seem to have affected it more than that.

It was then that Isyd felt something shift in the air. A new tune was picking up in the Song of the Grace. First surprised, Isyd quickly identified the source of it.

The suite of plate armour had started to move.

“Are you the one doing this?” Henryk asked Isyd, pointing at the armour as it slowly straightened up and picked up his mace.

“No, I’m not. You may want to step back!”

Henryk didn’t need to be told that twice and had already put some space between him and the monolith. The plates clinked as the whole armour moved, but the inside that could be noticed through the discontinued joints revealed that there was nobody within. This armour was moving on its own.

Henryk was coming to the same conclusion as Isyd. “Is it a Summon, you think?” he asked.

“No, it doesn’t sound like one,” Isyd said, trying to piece together what they were witnessing.

He didn’t have much time to do so because the instant it picked up its weapon, the armour turned in their direction. At one moment it was brandishing it, the second later he was in front of them.

Taken by surprise by the sudden speed, Isyd could only throw out a quick [Deflecting Spell], knowing full well that it couldn’t be strong enough to withstand a physical blow. Fortunately for him, Isyd wasn’t the one being targeted.

The mace was aimed at Henryk who raised his left arm as if trying to protect himself.

“[Shield]!” Henryk shouted.

The weapon never made contact. On Henryk’s wrist, right below where the [Limiting Arcane] had been attached, was another [Arcane] that turned on. A circular wall of air with metallic reflections spawned between him and the armour and deflected the mace. More than that, it pushed back the moving armour a few paces.

“Nice [Arcane]!” Isyd said without hiding his relief.

“Thank you, but another direct blow like this and it will break. What is this thing anyway? I thought it was maybe an [Illusion], but the blow is very much real! Are you sure it’s not a Summon?”

“Pretty sure, yes. I think… I think it’s a sort of [Golem]…” Isyd advanced, uncertain.

“A [Golem]? What is that?”

Isyd didn’t have the chance to answer. The armour was already walking back in their direction, raising its mace once more.

Isyd pointed a finger at it. “[Pierce]!”

The needle-like burst of wind hit the plastron, but it did nothing to stop the Golem one bit. He’ll need something a bit stronger than that.

On the opposite side of the meadow, someone appeared and was running in their direction. Isyd had only just noticed them, that they were already casting a [Spell] in the back of the Golem.

“[Heavenly Needle]!”

A [Windblade] hit the armour squarely in the back and forced it to stop.

Isyd’s heart lurched in his chest as he recognized the [Hex] as well as the physical stance used.

It couldn’t be…

“Felyn…?” he muttered.