The Red Glaive

“Concentrate.” Sister Olia snapped breaking Aeria’s focus. The light from her hands vanished. Sister Olia was a mean woman traditionalist sister who just seemed to resent Aeria. “You haven't been practicing.” she said, her lips pursed into a tight line. “Perhaps instead of vacationing with your sister, you should commit to the House of Devine Temperantia and live here like the rest of us.”

“No!” Aeria snapped back. “I’ll get it alright and where’s Elyon?” Aeria exclaimed angrily. She and Elyon had made so much progress the past month. Aeria had even produced a shard just the day before, but now with Sister Olia ‘teaching’ her she couldn’t produce a thing.

“Sister Elyon is currently occupied. Now concentrate!”

The session was doomed from the start. The second she learned it wasn’t going to be Elyon, Aeria should’ve just turned and left back to the barracks.

Niko and Caius always asked where she went on the weekends when they weren’t in training and she always answered the same. “I told my sister I would visit her whenever I could.” Caius, the sleaze, had insisted on coming along the first few times but Aeria had been successful in rebuking him enough times for him to stop asking. Niko only asked once, with him, Aeria felt guilty telling him no. But she wasn’t visiting Adelaide, she was going to the shrine and neither was allowed inside.

She wondered what they did while she was gone. Caius probably begged Niko to go out with him to some seedy tavern, Niko probably just ignored him and strummed at his citole playing nothing in particular.

“Concentrate!” Sister Olia snapped again but Aeria had enough.

“Maybe I could if you didn’t keep interrupting me!” Aeria said and left to go find Elyon. The sister didn’t follow, instead she huffed over to another sister and began berating her for producing vials a little less than perfect.

Aeria wandered the halls. She knew where almost everything was. The only area she wasn’t shown yet was the sanitarium where the sisters treated the ill and the dying. Elyon hadn’t been in her room, or the Eques room, or the library, so there could be no other place she could be but in the sanitarium.

Shrugging, Aeria pushed back the doors and was immediately met with a disturbing smell. If illness had a smell, this was it. It filled her nose so much she could almost taste it. Here, the sisters dressed in white, and they could be seen moving from room to room in a hurried pace. There were four very long halls lined with rooms each connected to the central hub in which Aeria stood. To her right were doors to the outside that the public could use to enter the shrine’s sanitarium.

“What are you doing here?” a tired sister said coming up to her.

“I’m looking for Elyon.” Aeria said uncertainly. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to disturb her now.

“She’s in the Hall of the Fading.” she said pointing to the hall to Aeria’s left and then left in a hurry taking clean linens with her.

A thin veil was draped in the doorway that, when crossed, muffled the noise from the other halls. The quiet made Aeria uneasy. Then, from down the hall, very faintly she heard a soft singing. It was the only noise in the entire hall and Aeria was drawn to it. It seemed to call her so much so that she didn’t even see the bodies ready for cremation in the rooms of the hall. The closer she got, the more familiar Elyon’s voice became.

”. . .often miss. When you close your earthly story, will you join them in their bliss?” her voice was soft was sung like a lullaby. Aeria stopped at the room where Elyon was leaning over a man so pale he looked dead already. Her hands clutched tightly to the sides of his head. Only the light that remained in his eyes was the only indicator to life. Will the circle be unbroken, by and by, by and by?” Elyon continued and rested her forehead against his, her tears landed on the man’s cheeks. Is a better home awaiting in the sky, in the sky?” her song ended and the light in his eyes faded.

Elyon stood and covered her face with her hand. Her breaths jagged but calming already. “I’m sorry.” Aeria said feeling like she had interrupted something intimate.

“It’s alright.” Elyon said wiping her tears. “It’s good that you saw this.”

“How did you know him?” Aeria asked her heart heavy for Elyon.

“I didn’t.” Elyon said and covered his face with his sheets. “Our gift allows us to help the dying in their passing. We take their fears and doubts and our voice to guides them to the other side. That way. . .they don’t die alone.”

“Our gift does this?” Aeria asked confused and stared hard at the sheet covering the recently deceased man. “I don’t understand.” Her gift was to heal, or so she thought.

“That’s alright.” Elyon said with a sad smile. “This will be the last thing I will teach you, did you make your vial?”

Aeria looked away sheepishly. She didn’t want to tell her how horrible she had done without her or how terrible she had behaved to Sister Olia. Suddenly she had an immense respect for Elyon and Sister Olia. Her look seemed to tell Elyon everything.

“Olia was Olia wasn’t she.” Elyon laughed lightly. “That’s alright, you can go home for this weekend, I won’t be free.”

Aeria left with a lot on her mind. She wanted to save people not help them die. It made her feel sick that she would one day help someone die, and yet. . . there was a calmness in the man’s face as Elyon sung to him. An utter peace that Aeria had never seen in her life, somehow it felt familiar. She’d ask more about it the following week when she returned to the shrine.

The full moon was high in the sky and illuminated the streets of Lux Aeterna brilliantly with its light. It only told Aeria that she had to head to the Silver Oasis. She had been lucky, the full moon ending up falling when she was staying with the Shrine. The next full moon marked on her lunar calendar was going to be during her time with The Red Glaive. The thought of having to sneak out of the barracks was already making her nervous, even with it being a month away.

Aeria shed her Shrine robes in a deserted ally just near the walls of the Oasis. Instead, she dressed in gold wool dress that she had taken from the Shrine’s donations. She left her robes neatly hidden behind a loose brick and left to the Oasis. The closer she got to it’s doors the more she tried to flatten the wrinkles of her dress, then cursed herself for not doing it before hand like Madame Salver had taught her.

Stepping into the Silver Oasis Aeria almost held her breath. She had expected Valor to be there, she had left in a hurry despite his attempts to keep her there. It was better if he didn’t know her, but didn’t stop thinking of him that night, and many nights after. Just when she thought she could move on, she had to return to the oasis.

The Oasis was open to the public so he could be anyone. A thief or murderer even and she wouldn’t even know it, but that seemed unlikely. There was something about the way he carried himself and the way he spoke that told her he could be a Baron’s son, or even a Lord’s son. She had met Barons and Lord’s sons and when they came to take her sisters. One look of her red eyes and they were were frightened. They would try to act unfazed but they were never smooth in the way the rushed away from her.

Valor didn’t care. He seemed genuine in his interest and the thought made her blush. She didn’t want anything from him, she could never be wife, couldn’t live in a house nor raise children. What she wanted was to travel as a glaive, to help people and conquer her fears. That wasn’t something she could get as a housewife.

Still, she couldn’t help but feel a little girl’s glee whenever she thought of Valor.

The pendant had been in the waters of the oasis for a couple hours when she heard someone stumble in. Aeria stood and watched as Valor, looking disheveled and walking with a limp, approached the oasis before collapsing by its banks.

“Valor!” Aeria said as she rushed to his side. He groaned in pain and rolled on his back, his arm was held in position by a crudely wrapped red scarf instead of a sling. She fell to her knees and when Valor struggled to sit up Aeria pushed him back down. “What’s wrong?” she asked when he calmed.

“They ordered bed rest,” he said voice straining and Aeria allowed him to rest his head on her lap. Maybe it was the magic of the Oasis, but she was never afraid to be anyone else other than Aeria with him. “But I wanted to see you.” The blue of his eyes reflected the light of pool as his gaze transfixed upon hers and she resisted the urge to run her hand through his brunette locks.

“I meant where are you hurt.” she said quickly and looked away to calm her pacing heart and to hide her burning cheeks. He shut his eyes with a small smile.

“They’re teaching us to joust.” he said and did his best to pull back the red scarf from his shoulder. Underneath Aeria saw an almost black bruise formed on over his clavicle roughly the size of a dinner plate. “Even blunted and gloved those jousting spears are just terrible.”

“You’re a knight.” Aeria said and placed her hand over the bruise instinctively.

“Easy.” he cried when her fingers just barely grazed the surface. Bruises she could heal, but almost immediately she knew there were cracked bones underneath that she didn’t know how to fix. She wished that Elyon had taught her how to expand her healing abilities instead of focusing on silly eques flasks. “I’m not a knight yet.” he said when he grew used to the pressure of having Aeria’s hand over the bruise. “And you’re a healer right?”

Aeria pulled her hand back. He had asked before and it seemed she hadn’t quelled his suspicions. He knew she was lying and was trying to catch her in a mistake. He couldn’t show up the shrine looking for her. That would raise too many questions. “I’m not.” she lied. The injury looked lethal but nothing a little bed rest wouldn’t heal up in a couple weeks. The bones were cracked but still in place, they could fix themselves in time.

Valor groaned as he forced himself to sit up. “You shouldn’t strain yourself.” Aeria cautioned and placed her hand over his chest which he ignored and painstakingly sat legs outstretched beside her.

“May I have a token for my next joust?” he said and Aeria blinked. She knew knights were supposed to be chivalrous but she never had one acting that way towards her.

“I have nothing to give.” she said. She had read stories where fair maidens would give a handkerchief or a necklace but she didn’t have a handkerchief and she wasn’t about to give him her mother’s medallion.

“How about a kiss?”

The soft chime of magic filled the air as the moon’s light reflected off the pool. Aeria only had to look at it and remember the courage it gave her to know her answer.

“Alright.” she said and Valor seemed surprised before smiling softly and slowly leaning in. Her breath caught in her throat and she that sinking feeling made its way into the bottom of her stomach. Her hand came up to his chest and closed around the loose part of his scarf right under the clumsily tied knot. He must have done it himself.

Valor’s hand closed over hers and Aeria shifted her hand so that his was against the fabric. Valor pulled away and watched what she was doing. Running his hand along the fabric, Aeria wrapped his hand lightly with the very edge. Then she brought the red scarf to her lips and kissed it gently. She could feel his fingers through the soft fabric.

Stay clean and stay whole she begged it, and allowed a small fragment of her magic to slip into the fabric. She pulled her lips away, feeling the scarf sizzle with magic before settling. “Take it with you.” she said.

Valor stared at the end of his scarf intently as if he could see the magic she had left there. “Thank you.” he said kindly, then leaned in a placed a soft kiss upon her lips.

Aeria had seen it coming, but didn’t pull away. The spark that came when they made contact ignited something in her. She leaned into him and Valor yelped out in pain. “I’m sorry!” Aeria said quickly. She had placed her hand over his wounded shoulder to brace herself.

“I knew you’d be here,” a voice came from down the path making Aeria and Valor turn in that direction.

A man stood there, older than Valor but of similar slender build. Long pale blond hair was was tied behind his back in a messy braid. An angled chin and a hawkish nose gave him feminine features. His stormy grey eyes were fixed on Valor as if Aeria wasn’t even there.

“Looks like the calvary is here.” Valor said before struggling to stand. Seeing Valor’s trouble getting up the stranger approached him but Aeria, who was right next to him, helped him up instead. Valor leaned on all one leg as he stood. “This is my friend Elric.” Valor said motioning to the blond standing in front of them. "Don't mind him, he worries too much for me."

"With good cause." Elric said curtly. Aeria turned to him, but it seemed Elric only came to fetch his friend and showed no interest in Aeria whatsoever. “You should be resting your-”

“I know, I know.” Valor said cutting him off. “But I feel much better now, thanks to Elyon.” He added and smiled at Aeria, she couldn’t stop herself, she smiled back.

“Come now, we must get back before Sir Prest finds out we are both gone.” Elric said coming to Valor’s side.

“Alright, I’m going.” he said as he wrapped his good arm over Elric’s shoulders, then turning to Aeria he said, “You’ll be here again?”

Aeria thought back to the pendant still soaking in the water before answering, “Yes.” she had to come back every full moon.

Valor smiled and allowed Elric to help him. “You’re supposed to be meditating when you come here.” she heard Elric scold before they vanished down the path.