[Georgi Alan Agamemnon]

I had finally freed myself and my wife from the blankets and ropes. We rushed to the door out of the basement and saw a note taped to it, written in Great-aunt Delta’s perfect handwriting.

[Do not attempt to open this door by force. I am dealing with a high-level enemy upstairs. Do not interfere. You will die. I will unlock the door when it is done.]

I saw that my wife’s hand was already pointed at the lock, [Destruction] spell ready to strike.

“Don’t,” I said, grabbing her arm.

“Dante is up there!” She barked. “I have to…”

“You will do nothing,” I said. “Sit down.”

Cassandra glared at me with her silver-blue eyes. “You trust Delta that much?”

“She is our Elder,” I said. “She lived in Oz for hundreds of years away from Skyisle. Her level is probably in the hundreds!”

“But…” She hissed.

“I know you’re worried. I’m worried too.” I tried to sound calm and collected even though my heart was pounding like a drum. “She is protecting us. She promised to protect Dante. You know better than I what happens when two high-level mages fight! I don’t want to lose you to a stray spell, damn it!”

“I can help,” my wife growled.

“Look. Over the past four months, while you were recovering and taking care of Dante, I helped her modify the house ward. She made me take apart the crawlspace and wind copper wire around that iron beam up there. I don’t know what it’s supposed to do, but Delta promised me that it was very powerful, arcane magic from Oz.” I pointed at the basement’s ceiling. “So, please, sit down!”

Cassandra’s rage abated. She sat down on the staircase.

The sound of a crashing body sounded from upstairs. Then came the girly screams. They didn’t belong to Dante and Delta had taken a vow of absolute silence and could not make a sound. I smiled, picturing the Wizard of Oz unleashing powerful spells against the Redcape. It had to be her. There was only one Imperial mageling in Skyisle that would dare to come into our home uninvited. The damn Redcape was getting what she deserved.

Cassandra started to tremble. I hugged her.

“You hear those screams? Delta is winning.” I commented.

She started to sob into my chest.

“Shhh, my love,” I said. “It’s going to be alright. We are fortunate that a wise and powerful Elder came to our aid in our time of need.”

“I… I’m sorry,” Cass spoke.

“Whatever for?” I inquired.

“I… I’ve been lying to you all of these years. I’m sorry, Georgi!”

“W-what are you talking about?” I looked at her tear-streaked eyes. A million thoughts went through my head. Could she have cheated on me? With whom? When? How?! Surely her Vow of love...

Her words sunk deep into my mind, like sharp steel knives. She was lying to me... for years? How? How could she?! How has she LIED to me?! Her Vow should have prevented this!!!

I wanted to start screaming at her, to grab her and to demand answers, but the Vow of my Love manifested in front of me. The Vow looked like Cassandra on her best day, at our wedding, wearing a brilliant dress woven from white and red threads. The manifestation put a hand on my shoulder and shook her silver-haired head. I sighed and tried to let go of my anger. I looked past the illusory manifestation at my real wife, waiting for her to speak.

“When I was sixteen I had a prophetic dream…” Cassandra finally started to speak, her voice trembling.

I listened to her words. When she fell silent I looked at her. This was an entirely unexpected confession.

“So, you’ve given a bit of your life to Ishira to change our daughter’s fate and then… instead of a daughter you had a son?” I confirmed.

She nodded.

“It doesn’t mean that… Destiny is dead.” I pointed out. “Perhaps Ishira merely changed something in you, to make our girl into a boy. Maybe that change will be enough to stop her from going down into the Valley of Death? Perhaps our girl’s soul IS in Dante.”

“But the ghost,” she shuddered. “I see it out of the corner of my eyes! A streaking, silver-blue light!”

“There is no ghost in our house, Cass.” I said. “The ancient wards beneath our house are very strong and mostly intact according to Delta. They would banish any malevolent presence from the Astral Ocean! Calm your nerves. I’m sure there’s a simple explanation to this phenomenon. Perhaps it is simply something that belongs to Great-aunt Delta? A spell or a familiar? Did you consider such? Did you ask her?”

Cass shook her head.

“I thought so,” I sighed. “Look, when all of this is over… maybe talk to Delta about the thing you see. Maybe she knows something, eh? You have to learn to trust our Elder, Cass. She is an Alana, just like you. She is part of your family. The house wards would not unlock to a stranger. I knew that she was family, felt it from my side the moment she touched the ward.”

My wife nodded with a sniff.

“Delta helped rebuild this house more than two hundred years ago. She knows it far better than you and I - she’s proven that many times already. She knows it inside and out! Did you see how she unfolded the floor to protect us? I didn’t even know that the ward could do that!”

“Me neither,” Cassandra muttered into my chest.

“Now what is this Alanian curse business?” I inquired. “I took your name when we wed because you told me that your forefathers were highborn mages.”

“It will not affect you.” She shook her silver-haired head. “It passes down my line. The blood of Alanians… is cursed. It’s probably the reason why Dante was born with an unlocked soul-song. Before my parents left me forever, they told me that I was the last Sentinel of Alania. I don't even know what it means exactly. The title of [Sentinel] was supposed to pass down to my daughter that never was... to Destiny. The Valley of Death calls out to us when we come of age...”

“Why must you be so damned negative?” I growled. “It is a blessing not a curse! I’m certain that Elder Delta will teach Dante not to go into the Valley of Death! She is here to watch over him, to do what we cannot! Even now she is fighting upstairs to protect him!”

“I hope so, my love.” She whispered. “Truly, I do.”

“You didn’t go down into the Valley of Death, you’re with me.” I pointed out.

“My parents bequeathed this house to me when I was fifteen, Georgi. They went into the cursed land, thinking that their magic was strong enough to handle the poison in the air. It wasn’t. They never returned!”

She started to cry once again. “I hear them calling out to me… my dreams, asking me to join them. I know that they’re dead. I know that I’m not strong enough to go down there and survive.”

“Great-aunt Delta was able to leave Skyisle!" I suddenly arrived at an idea. "Maybe she will take Dante to study magic in Oz Academia when he is old enough? Maybe Ishira brought Delta to us? Have you considered this?”

Cassandra nodded. “Dante cannot stay here. When he is old enough... he MUST leave us.”

“Why do we even live in Skyisle then?!” I barked. “We can all move to Agamemnon, live with my parents!”

“You know as well as I do that, your mother cannot stand me!” She shot back. “We don’t have the money to buy a new home in Agamemnon. I hate that damn city with its congested, dusty streets filled with whores, beggars, gangs and thieves! My parents left me this house and by the gods I will take care of it!”

She was stubborn. Too damn stubborn. I loved her too much. I didn’t want to fight the girl I had fallen in love with at first sight when I met her in an Agamemnon tool shop one day. I knew that the longer I lived in Skyisle, the further the gap between my skills and those of my peers would be… but it was the choice I had made for love. A choice that my parents did not approve of.

I still hoped to convince Cass to relocate, to build a life elsewhere, away from the Valley of Death. I had maxed out all of my carpentry skills and tried to save every copper… but it was hard. Much harder than I thought it would be.

“Maybe Elder Delta can help all of us relocate to Oz?” I voiced. “I’ll talk to her about it, okay?”

“I cannot leave Skyisle," Cassandra whispered, tears raining down her face. "Even if I am given a choice, I cannot abandon this village."

"Why?!" I barked. "Why are you so f..." The Vow of Love suddenly squeezed my heart so that I wouldn't start swearing at my wife.

"I made a Vow to my parents to watch over Skyisle! They made me swear an oath to Ishira, to watch this house and to memorize the song of our ancestors! I am the last Sentinel, Georgi. The Valley of Death is my legacy. The bones of my forefathers lie there still," Cassandra confessed.

I gasped at the revelation. I was doomed, doomed to a life in Skyisle. Cassandra lied to me, didn't tell me about her Vow, trapped me here... with her, forever.

The Vow of my Love stared at me curiously. A silver string led from my heart to her finger. She pulled on it before I even said what I wanted to say. I choked, swallowed the words.

"I... love you," I whispered to Cassandra, shuddering. The Vow knew how to hurt me, knew my every thought, watched my every action.

This was fine. I was strong. I was happy... things weren't too terrible. Right? Right. See? I'm happy. I love my wife!

The manifestation nodded and faded away.

The basement door suddenly clicked and swung open.

The fight was over.