Ashtik: The Champion of Black [Progression][Slow decay]

One-hundred and sixty-eight, such is the count of men – masters and magicians – required to undo a single accidental effort from a single fourteen-year-old girl. A circle had been formed from jade powder and black salt candles. They marked and crossed from each side of the room into a vast pale star. At the centre, a creature beyond terror. An abscess creation of a monster's nightmares.

No condolence was offered the child, but for wicked glares and whispered prayers. No comfort given to the impossible girl with the impossible power.

The old healer had ushered the Champion... and the Chosen, out of the chamber and back towards her dusty old classroom. The novice textbooks and juvenile assessments still lay undisturbed where Evara had left them. The sheen of dust still lingered on each crack of sunlight though the sparse candles yet acted as the main source of light.

They didn't linger in the classroom long. Evara was made to gather her books before Kana dragged the pair into her office.

Calling it an office seems reductive. In truth, it was a laboratory. Scientific equipment and ongoing experiments sprawled across the cramped room while spell books and ritual sites lay at seemingly strategic positions within the mess.

"Evara," the old woman finally sighed. "I cannot offer you so much as I ought to... but I can offer you this." Her leathery old hands pulled a small burgundy silk cloth from within a pristine marble chest. She peeled back the cloth and revealed within a small circlet.

A silver rim with a single clear golden gemstone carved into its centre.

"We give these to powerful journeymen," Kana explained as she gently placed it over Evara's long flowing hair. As soon as the crown touched her skin, a ring of blue runes lit within the metal bounds and Ev seemed to go lightheaded.

"Gods," Ev sighed. She pressed her weight into her sister's shoulder as she tried to steady herself. "Is... this how people are... supposed to feel?" She panted.

"Not quite," Kana whispered, "but it is closer."

"Are you okay?" Ashtik asked.

Ev didn't answer for a long moment. She closed her eyes and drew some silent and focused breaths. After a while, she took back her own weight and looked to her sister, saying, "I Don't... think I've ever been better. It's like... I've been dragging a thousand tonnes my entire life... and now I'm free. It's like my lungs have doubled in size and my heart has slowed to a crawl."

"I believe the runes will lessen the strain by a small fraction. You should seek out other artefacts like this, the effect will stack." The old woman collapsed behind her desk. She took her face into her hands and blinked away the excitement of the day.

"Thank you," Ev meekly said. "I... I have never felt this good before."

"And I have never felt worse," the old woman scoffed. "Champion - if it's even worth calling you that - I have something more to say to you. I would prefer that we were alone."

"If you can say it to me, you can say it to her," Ash snipped.

"She is a child. I would rather not."

"It's fine, Ash. I'll go gather my things," Ev nodded. She bowed her head lightly towards Kana before departing the room.

"Do you know about the types of magic?" Kana asked once the door was sealed.

"You explained something earlier but... not really."

"There are many sources for the magics. The type of magic I, and your sister, channel is called a 'font'. There is the blue font, that of creation. The red font, that of transformation. The golden font, that of holy magic. Then there is the rarest and least useful of them all; the purple font, that of power," Kana explained from beneath her lightly shaking hands.

"Power sounds pretty useful," Ash scoffed.

"To a killer, maybe. There is no function to the purple font but as a means for death."

"That sounds pretty useful for a Champion of war," Ash insisted.

"But you are not the Champion of War, are you?" Kana sighed. "You are just some... girl," she said as if it were a slur.

"Maybe, but right now, I'll have to be enough," Ash sniffed.

"Ashtik, I saw you using the black font against that beast. The ability to harness corruption itself... Imagine if Evara had access to that power. She would be a battery, supercharged beyond comprehension. Her already unimaginable power would be... infinite. She'd be closer to a goddess than a girl. You MUST find some way to give her the mark... Seek out some power... I beg you."

"If there is some way to give her this power, I would be glad to, but a dark fate awaits the Champion of Black. Even I can figure that out. I won't let her die just so that I don't have to," Ash coldly said.

"But... It is not just about you or her. It is the entire world, child. If you give her the power she may die, but she will save the world."

"That's not a worthwhile trade," Ash snorted coldly. "Fuck the world. Ev lives, and that's that. I will fight to save Marash. I will give my everything to save you... But you can't have her."

"You would let the world die... for one child?" Kana gasped.

"Do not mistake me for a noble hero, Kana. I will kill you all - one by one - if that is what it takes to keep her safe." She paused to gather some kinder thoughts before her eyes fell to her feet and she said, "I may not have been chosen, but I will fight and – more likely than not – I will die. If that isn't enough, maybe the next Champion will be better suited to the role."

"But... if you fail... all will perish – your sister included," Kana whispered.

"Maybe, but if that's the case, then I won't fail."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I won't let her die. It really is quite simple, to be honest."

"You're mad," Kana accused.

"I'm driven," Ash corrected.

"I... Pray that you are right, but I suppose I ought to prepare for the end. I have nothing else for you, 'Champion'. Be gone now," the healer ordered in a shaken voice. At no point did she look at Ash, nor did she make an attempt to pull her head from her palm.

Ashtik slipped away without a farewell. She sealed the thick oaken door behind herself before crossing the classroom over to her sister. Evara sat behind her desk and scoured over some ancient manuscript in silence. She didn't notice that Ash had appeared until her sister whispered, "Are you ready to go?"

It caused Evara to startle but she quickly gathered herself. "Aye," she huffed as she packed away the old leather-bound tome. "Shall we?"

"After you, my queen," Ash teased. She stroked a hand against Evara's new circlet as she spoke. The girl seemed unsure if she ought to look bashful or proud, so instead she opted to look mildly miffed.

"Joke all you like," Ev sighed. "But you know I'm rocking the regal regalia look."

"Aye. You've already got the gown and crown. All you need now is the attitude and a bunch of man servants."

"Are you implying I don't already have a queenly attitude?"

"I don't think queens cry when they get splinters," Ash snorted.

"Right... It wasn't a splinter; it was a bloody stake! If I was a Vampris it would have killed me!" Ev whined, looking to the finger that had long ago bore the grievous wound.

And so, they left that little room nestled within that far from little place. They left a thousand times the weight they had entered, and yet with a thousand times the pace. Evara, the Chosen of Black, bound and bounced in a literal way that her restless mind had always yearned to be able to do. It seemed an effort of will not to jump down the hundred white marble steps ten at a time. It seemed nought but decorum and manners kept her from breaking into a sprint and dashing away into the horizon. Her lady-like nature strained against her first taste of the raw energy of unburdened childhood.

Kana had said the circlet would offer her a fraction of reprieve, yet it seemed like any more alleviation would strip from her the burden of gravity. That this was the result of a small improvement almost frightened Ash. How much of a burden did the girl truly bear? How much would she change without it?

"Ev, slow down!" She called out. Evara quickly cast the worry aside as she continued to bound down the steps with a face-cracking smile.

"Come on Ash! We've gotta get back home. I want to get dinner started."

"You'll start nothing but crying if you fall down the stairs," Ash called again. She quickened her own step to match with Evara, but couldn't steadily catch up to her.

The crimson day had already begun to fade into the sapphire dusk. The shadow of the great port tower cast over the temple and blotted out what remained of the sun. The lively crowds of the previous day hadn't waned in the slightest. They still shambled along in their half-drunken stupors. They still raved and cackled as they wore the insignias of their chosen warriors.

She wondered if she might catch sight of a little sparrow upon the chest of some young supporter. It seemed unlikely, but a slim hope held fast.

The duo followed along the shadowed trail. They followed a somewhat less direct route in hopes of avoiding the worst of the crowds. There was little of note on the path up until they came upon the old man tugging along an old hand cart.

"Amell?" Ev called out across a quiet alleyway,

"No Amell's here, dear," Amell called back. "Just good old Colin. How can I help?"

"Right, sorry," Ev whispered, clearly embarrassed.

"How are you, Colin?" Ash asked as they closed the distance.

"I'm feeling my age, that's for sure," he chuckled. He dropped the two-wheeled cart and its wooden reigns clattered against the cold cobbled street.

"Quite the hall, Ser," Ev pointed out.

"Aye," he agreed, "Just some bits and bobs. Should be helpful in Ravenfield."

"Let me carry it," Ash offered. She gave him no chance for protest and took up the cart in a single motion.

"I will take it, Spinny. It wouldn't be very gentlemanly of me to allow a woman a third my size to carry my load."

"It's fine. Besides, you're probably still hungover, even if you pretend you aren't."

"Well... I won't lie; I am awful tired of pulling it. Thank you, Ash. How are you two?"

"You should have seen it, Amell!" Evara cried joyously. "Or- erm- Colin."

"Seen what?" he tiredly laughed.

"Ash... She defeated a Demon!"

"A... Demon?" Amell repeated hesitantly. He looked over at her, newly abashed that he had allowed her to pull his cart. "What happened?"

"Well, we were doing magic and... I messed up," Ev lightly put it. "Long story short, a big flubbery thing appeared and Ash literally put it to sleep."

"Ah," Amell choked. "That... certainly is a long story put short. Mayhaps you might elaborate?"

"Gladly! I'll have all the gory details when we have our dinner!" Ev enthused.

"Well... Dinner and a show, lucky us," Amell chuckled.

"Not really a tale for feasting to, Ev," Ash sighed.

"When else would I get chance to tell everybody?"

"Maybe don't," Ash sighed again.

"Don't be silly! Everyone will want to hear about how you beat a Demon, surely?"

"We nearly died, Ev. Why would people want to hear about that?"

A shiver ran down Ash's spine as the memory of the thing finally caught her. It was as though the creature had been lingering at the edges of her vision, but she had refused to look at it until now. She saw its thousand gaping maws in between each cobbled stone. She saw its writhing, pulsing form in the fatty rolls of the lifelong drunkards marching around her. Each varicose vein and each drinker's rosacea reminded her of the stringy legs that had so suddenly shot out of the blue knight's mouth.

"But we didn't die! That's what makes it so entertaining!" Ev insisted. "Tales of near-fatal escapades!"

The idea unsettled Ash, and she must have worn the feeling on her face. Amell gave her a single glance and knew to move the conversation along for the time being, though he was transparently interested in hearing more details of the day's adventure.

"Evara," he began, "I like your new circlet. It looks enchanted, right?"

"Oh," Ev said as though half a thought had just been cut off. Her eyes shot up towards the sky in what could have been an attempt to see her own forehead, but sense caught her quickly and she instead opted to run a hand over the metal band.

"Yes. The runes help suppress the corruption within me," Ev mildly explained.

"I admit, my tutelage on the magics is limited, but wouldn't you have to be an experienced magician to require such a relic?" Amell asked.

"That... is also a rather long story."

"Then I expect that this dinner shan't be a short one," he laughed.