The soul fragment spasmed erratically, pulled in multiple directions simultaneously by three distinct forces that were vastly more powerful than it was.

The first force was the natural inclination of a soul to be unified – to be as one, a continuous unbroken entity. This was by far the weakest force, but not quite so weak that it had no impact at all in the struggle.

The second force was what is known as the ‘cycle of reincarnation’, a powerful and ancient formation that transcends the boundaries of space and time. This force was more than strong enough to trap any unattached soul in its unrelenting grasp, but was carefully designed so that it wouldn’t have a negative effect on any soul that was inhabiting a living body – quite the opposite, in fact, as the constant small strain actually slightly strengthened every soul within its reach.

The third force, and the one with the largest direct effect on the soul fragment, was from the shattered remnants of a soul-link; a powerful bond between two different souls that had been set up by a godlike being that existed in an entirely different layer of reality. The remnants were weakened and had entered an extended state of self-repair, but they still retained some of their original function.

And so the fragmented soul remained, barely able to move while most of the other souls around it (that were also newly freed from their bodies) streamed past and entered the great cycle.

But the fragmented soul wasn’t the only thing to remain behind, as hidden deep inside it, in a place where there should be nothing at all, was a rune-covered construct that was, upon closer inspection, actually another soul… and the two souls, fragment and construct alike, were connected by a series of strange runes…. And one of the runes, in the language that they originated from, was ‘Ally’.

***

When I awoke my first thought was to check on Tetra, and my second thought was to wonder why the sky had disappeared. Last I recalled I had been in a clearing, out in the mountains, trying to survive some kind of calamity that I had called down upon myself. But now I was in a stone room of some kind, stark and plainly built, reminding me of the fortresses that House Spiritwind had built. Whatever room I was in, however, it wasn’t the room I had been staying in previously.

“I’d punch you if I wasn’t worried you’d just go all unconscious on me again.”

I jumped at the sound of a sudden familiar voice… or at least I tried to jump, and all that I accomplished was getting tangled in the sheets and I struggled to turn around.

“Tetra! You are alive”

Tetra rolled her eyes, slowly standing up from a chair tucked into the corner of the room with her arms crossed.

“No thanks to you, locking me in a spirits damned tree for a week!”

Her words may have been accusatory, but there was no real heat behind them, and I could tell that she was just putting up a brave front. Just what the beast had happened in the last…

Wait… what did she just say?!

“Week! I was out for a whole week?”

I tried to lower my voice after the first few words, but my shock was too great to maintain my composure. I looked around the room again, noting that the décor was plain and utilitarian, and the colors were in line with those of House Spiritwind. I then looked at tetra, and she looked just about the same as I remembered, with no visible injuries or scars. There was, however, no sign of Wulfric…

Tetra scowled at me again, and this time there was more raw emotion behind her words.

“I said I was in the tree for a week; do I look like I just crawled out of a tree, you beast brained fool!”

I stopped trying to remove the sheets tangled around me and took a deep breath, trying to get myself back in control. Tetra was obviously upset, and even upon brief consideration it was easy to see why – at the very least, she had to remember that we had knocked her out in order to save her…

Which meant she probably blamed herself, at least partly, for whatever happened to Wulfric.

“Tetra, I… I’m sorry…” I took a deep breath, “How long was I unconscious for?”

Tetra let out a sigh, and I could see that the worry she was hiding was starting to rise to the surface again. But just as she was about to reply she suddenly froze, wide-eyed and staring at something behind me, and at almost the same moment I felt a shift in the Qi of the room.

“Heller! Any brain damage from the self-destruct? I’ve been shitting myself with worry for weeks!”

I smiled as I struggled against the sheets again, turning myself around to face the new arrival. I didn’t know what the heck he was talking about, and ‘self-destruct’ was clearly said in English, which was strange, but none of that mattered now – he seemed to be ok, which meant that whatever calamity found me, it had left him alone.

***

Jesvae sighed as she read through the reports on her desk. Somehow word that the Merrik had visited Spiritwind territory had leaked – she first thought it must be one of her soldiers, but then she realized that any servant that overheard the wrong conversation could be the guilty party. At least the details were still secret, and Heller’s reports were for her eyes only, directly submitted after the boy finally woke up.

The entire world was still covered in snow and dust, though the light from the sun was starting to shine through more and more this last week. The enormous explosion, or eruption, that had happened out in the mountains had somehow caused the sky to darken for weeks, across the territories of all four Great Houses, and that was followed by dust, rain, and dirty snow falling everywhere. There wasn’t an enormous amount each day, but it would build up anywhere that it wasn’t dealt with.

The event did cause some good, however, as far as Jesvae was concerned; streams of panicked people had flocked to The City in a way that had never happened before, and there were murmurs going around of unrest once the council started to turn people away.

In some ways, it was like a trial run of what would happen if true disaster struck – such as the disappearance of the Merrik. Which hadn’t happened yet, judging from the fresh reports of him clearing out a smaller beast wave that attacked the territory of House Flameward. The disappearance of the sun from the sky had likely panicked beasts as much as it did people, and if anything, Jesvae was surprised that there hadn’t been more attacks.

Regardless, for now she knew that she had to reevaluate her plans… the report from Heller made it clear that crossing the mountains was not going to be possible in the near future – not unless Heller somehow became just as powerful as his master.

She tapped against the desk, mulling over her options. If the mountains were too dangerous, and the Valley of Shadows was, if anything, even worse, then perhaps it was time to pay the Shieldwall a visit…