Chapter 14: The Merging Memories

Elias began to identify those sitting above and surrounding him, recognizing that they were all familiar figures. Although of the fourteen here, he had only dealt with four of them for the majority of his life, it did not stop him from knowing all of their names.

The figure sitting in the central position was one he had always seen from a distance, but he knew she was the head of the Assylum. He suspected that she was Royalty; the Stoneward Asylum held the Order of Broken Shield. He could not be one hundred percent sure, but Elias believed this was a military organization, and the military and the Royalty had closer ties than with the Guilds.

Her name was Yseult, and Elias did not know her last names, even though she must have several; the Royalty and powerful Siphons always had more names attached to them, a symbol of their authority.

Elias had always wanted to see her features, not because of any boyish urge but due to the power he sensed around her, even as a mortal. Every time he had seen her in the distance, he had always been alerted by her presence when his heart would stop beating, a chill would run down his spine, and that blasted voice in his mind… would be silent.

He did not know if any of the members of the Order deserved to die because when he was around the Asylum, the weight of her presence drove everything away, and for that reason, she had an almost mythical status in his mind.

Sitting by her right and left were Brother Valerius and Sister Lanthe. Brother Valerius had one eye and a shocking mop of red hair on his head; his face bore lines and scars, as if he were an older man who had lived entire lifetimes on the battlefield, but his red hair gave no hint that it was not natural.

Sister Lanthe, on the other hand, appeared to be a calm and gentle matron who always had a scent of flowers and herbs surrounding her. Among the leaders in the Order, she was the one with whom he was most familiar.

He did not have the time to consider the others here with him when a sudden chill passed through his mind, as if his memory had just awakened after a short nap, and Elias suddenly recalled what had happened during the moments he was knocked out.

This was among the strangest things he had experienced in his life, and Elias, who could hold a host of abominations inside his bones as a mortal, was well acquainted with the strange and surreal.

’Is this sort of thing going to become the norm as a Siphon, or am I just that much of a freak?’

The sensation of being knocked out yet still aware was almost as if he were undergoing an out-of-body experience; or, despite his body being asleep, his mind was awake, and now that portion of his awakened mind was merging with his present consciousness.

This was the part that he found to be mind-bending, because in that moment, he felt as if he had been split into two persons with the same mind, and these two minds were beginning to merge. Elias saw two of himself become one, and he did not know what he felt about seeing himself from the inside out.

It began with a familiar thumping sound in his memory, one he knew that Kaelen made when he was irritated or angry, but for once that anger was not directed at him,

“You reckless fool, Rhys! Knocking the lad out like he’s some street thug? What if you cracked his skull? He’s mortal, not one of your shadow-puppets!”

“Calm your stump, old man. A tap, nothing more. The boy’s tougher than he looks, steadier than you on your good leg at least. He’ll wake any moment, ready for the Lumina’s call. I admit I did not expect him to endure two taps before going down; he is one durable dude.”

“A tap? With your Fury Forge fists? I’ve seen you ’tap’ beasts to pulp! If he doesn’t stir for the rite, it’s on your head. You drag him here like a sack of dew rations, ignoring his wishes. The Asylum’s no place for untested blood!”

Elias was learning many new pieces of information as these memories continuously merged with his consciousness, and now he was beginning to pick out subtle changes in the tone of voices in his memories, like the anger in Kaelen’s voice and the rising irritation in Rhys’s voice, who spoke next in a sickly sweet tone of voice.

“His wishes? The hovel he calls home is nothing but a cage, Kaelen. This watchtower’s wards will guide the flow of Lumina and boost his chances. You know the odds for late bloomers like him. I’m doing the boy a favor, not some spiteful prank.”

There was another slam on the ground. Kaelen must have been truly angered. It was the first time Elias had heard him slam his crutch twice, and because the floor was metal, the sound was like a loud gong, and he wondered how such a loud sound did not immediately wake him up.

“Favor? You call blindsiding him a favor? The lad’s earned his peace, years of steady work, no complaints. If he wanted the hovel, you should’ve respected it! Now he’s sprawled like prey, and for what? Your bets and boasts? I thought we were going to allow the lad to remain a mortal in peace. If we cannot take care of one mortal for his short life, how can we be called Siphons!”

The voice of Rhys sharpened, carrying a tone that Elias had not heard before, and he wondered if, after all the years he had spent in this Asylum, how much he truly knew its inhabitants.

“Peace? In a world that prunes mortals like weeds? You’re soft, Kaelen, always were. The Order’s power isn’t spite; it’s necessity. He’ll thank me when he’s sipping dew as a Wisp, not rotting as chaff.”

Multiple booming sounds shook the air. Kaelen must have been truly angry, and once more, Elias wondered how this loud sound could not have woken him up. It was almost as if his consciousness had been suppressed, yet how was he able to recollect all these memories?

“Soft? I’ve lost a leg guarding this ’necessity,’ you shadow-skulking coward! You drag him here, risk his secrets spilling under the wards, without a word of warning? Enough of your games, Rhys! If the boy’s ascension fractures because of your arrogance, I’ll drag you to the Maw myself!”

“Coward? Watch your tongue, stump. I knocked him for his own good; he’d argue till Vyrindel rose. The Asylum’s the forge he needs; your coddling would’ve doomed him.”

Elias nearly shuddered when he heard a roar from Kaelen, it was almost like that of a beast, and his rebuke to Rhys swiftly followed.

“Doomed? Your ’good’ is poison! You ignore his fears, his plans, and treat him like a puppet in your schemes! Back off, Rhys, or by Solthar’s dead light, I’ll make you feel what a ’tap’ truly means. The boy’s rite is sacred; your meddling ends here!”

A new voice interjected, soft yet filled with power, and Elias knew who was talking even if he had not heard her voice before.

“Enough of your games, Rhys. Release the lock on the boy’s spirit and let him face his Ascension with a clear head.” A pause, “Kaelen, you do not have to worry, he only locked the boy’s spirit and did not harm his flesh. This rite would aid him, not do him harm.”

“By your will, my lady.”

The subdued voice of Kaelen whispered, and the last of his memories merged. Elias blinked in astonishment; the entire process of merging his memories took only an instant, and a cool voice that could come out from the mouth of a serpent whispered in his mind,

’Two minds… one hunter, now whole. Good.’

Elias hated the sensation of his mind, the most sacred part of him being split apart, and his dislike for Rhys grew a notch higher, and it would seem that the Passenger agreed. Yet this was worrying, because for the first time, the voice in his head was making sense.

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