Fall of Autumn, Week 5, Day 1

After Effy left, it was just Gristle and me standing silently in the sitting room.

"I broke a window," I said abruptly, unsure of how else to bring it up.

"I'll call an artisan to have it fixed, my Lady." He said simply.

"I told Ridan this is how you would be." I half-gave a laugh at Gristle's almost too innocent expression.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean."

"You asked one question, you know, when Effy was here." I shook my head, smiling lightly at the butler. "Ridan was sure you'd ask for details, want more information, do what was in your power to know. But he doesn't know you. You've never asked more of me than I was willing to give."

I paused, glancing down at my hands—only to find them shaking. I looked back up at Gristle with the knowledge that it was okay to do things afraid.

"Thank you, Gristle."

Gristle looked at me for a long moment, the softness in his eyes seemingly melting away into one of sharp analysis. Until, finally, he sighed.

"You don't have to thank me for something like that. Please, hold out your hand."

He reached out with his own, palm up, waiting for me. Confused, I thought maybe he wanted to look at the now-healed injury. So, I gave him my off-hand. The one I'd actually cut twice—once, today, and once on the road to Fellan. It only had one faded scar rather than the two that should have been there. Gristle wrapped his hand around my own.

"I'm going to use a Skill. I'll say its name so you know what it's called. It'll bind me to my word unless you release it. You gave quite a bit away today without regard for what it could mean should I be lying. I wasn't, but this will reassure you should you become worried about that later. Understand?"

I felt my smile soften. Yet again, Gristle was asking nothing of me that I hadn't given freely.

"Yeah, go ahead."

"[Assassin's Guarantee]"

I blinked. "What?"

Above our clasped hands, a scroll appeared—the color of freshly fallen snow, glowing with a pale blue light. Across it was a fanciful script in a deep blue ink.

As I looked up curiously at Gristle, he gave a soft chuckle. "Just read it for now."

I nodded sharply. He thinks I'll ask a thousand questions. But, he did me the grace of not prodding me. I'll do the same for him.

The scroll had just a few simple lines and read just as legally binding as Gristle had made it seem, except for, well—

"If you willingly go to the Duchess without my permission, your heart will seize? That… seems a bit much."

Gristle smiled indulgently. "Lady Nora, press your thumb at the bottom. It'll use your mana to seal the conditions."

I scrunched my nose, but did as he said. He wants to show his loyalty. I don't want him to think it's misplaced.

I pressed my thumb to the bottom of the scroll, right next to my name—my full name and title. Eunora Killian Dawn, Countess of the West. Ironically, this was the first time I'd seen my unlanded title written out. I had never seen the decree Oberon had shown the Baroness Perry. Annoying. I didn't want such a burdensome title.

I was expecting a prick, big or small, or a flooding of mana, in or out. But all that happened was my thumb felt as if it was pressing a paper, and the scroll rolled itself up—and then kept rolling tighter and tighter until it simply didn't exist anymore.

"Check your [Status]. It should be there, at the bottom." Gristle instructed.

[Status]

[Status Summary]

[Name: Eunora Dawn]

[Race: Human]

[Age: 8]

[Unallocated Stat Points: 0]

[Vitality: 55 Endurance: 28]

[Strength: 30 Dexterity: 56]

[Perception: 105 Magic: 55]

[Luck: 45 Divinity: 107]

[0th Tier Class: Child of the Gods, Level Max]

[Boon: Morloch's Blessing]

[1st Tier Class: Young Lady of Darkness, Level 12/20, 92.4%]

[Skills:

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

0th Tier: Inspect Lv. 10, Mana Manipulation Lv. 10, Mana Sense Lv. 10, Meditation Lv. 10, Weaving Lv. 10

1st Tier: Quick Calculation Lv. 5, Silent as a Shadow Lv. 5, Weave of Darkness Lv. 10

2nd Tier: Mental Fortitude Lv. 12, Otherworldly Lv. 1, Shadow Conjuration Lv. 10, Shadow Manipulation Lv. 10

3rd Tier: Shadow Animation Lv. 11

Untiered: A Shade of Dawn Lv. 1, Eternal Communion Lv. 3, Eyes of Gospel Lv. 2, Tight Lips Lv. 1, Sophism Lv. 5, Steal Nerves Lv. 2]

[Soul Bindings:

Gristle Frijoliq: Active, Unbroken]

I looked between the verdant green screen and Gristle. "A soul binding?"

"Yes, historically, they were used to force fealty. But that practice has long been outlawed in Maeve."

"Did we just do something illegal?" I asked, taken aback.

"I was not forced into using my own Skill, my Lady."

I paused. "That's not a 'no,' Gristle."

The smile on Gristle's face grew sharp, and for the first time, he showed his teeth when he smiled.

"My Lady, how much do you know about the age of culpability in Maeve?"

I narrowed my eyes.

"Is it the age of majority?"

"Not quite, it is the age and capability of a person. Culpability—do you know what I mean by that?" When I nodded, Gristle looked at me with approval. "Good. Well, as you are not at the age of majority, nor are you in the second tier of your [Class], technically, the Crown would not press charges."

"Ah. So it is illegal—but no one can do anything about it, because according to them, I'm incapable, I am not to blame for my actions."

"Correct, my Lady." Gristle clapped his hands. "Very good! Perhaps we should add a law class as well!"

"When could we possibly fit that in?" I retorted, before realizing what Gristle was truly saying. "You're saying that you would take the blame for the soul binding, aren't you?"

Gristle waved off my concern.

"Once again, it's one-sided, so should I be asked, though I hope I never will, a few careful phrases should be fine."

Shaking my head, I let the subject drop. Then, I remembered something so utterly mundane, I was almost excited.

"Hey, so I lost a bet. Can we prep a few lunches for Third Day at the Academy?"

Gristle's expression softened. "Of course, my Lady. How many do you need?"

"Four—five, including me. I'll be eating at the Academy that day too, so I'll be back a bit later than today."

"It's good to see you've made friends already," Gristle said, and I felt my cheeks pink.

"I wouldn't go that far. But they did request something that's easy to eat and has meat." I paused, thinking, "Oh! And Remour wanted a dessert! Can we do some cloudgazer tea too?"

"Your will be done, Lady Nora."

Slipping back into my room after dinner, I finally had time to myself and used it to [Inspect] [A Shade of Dawn]. It was… unique. And I found myself confused and fascinated by it.

I stared at the Skill description for a long time while Noir, Haze, and Shade roamed around my room, finding the right shadows to hide in. Laid gently atop my bed were the three bodies they had been using. The black bunny. The iridescent panda. The emerald lizard.

At some point, I stopped staring at my new Skill and started studying for the next day. Rudimentary economics, noble etiquette, and the theory of magic. It was a tedious affair, going through the booklets Gristle had given me. Filling out the small worksheets at the back of each notebook, whether I was supposed to do so or not, was just enough challenge to help me keep my focus from straying back to [A Shade of Dawn].

Late into the night, I studied the sheet listing my classmates at the Tower and the ones for the three instructors. Several of the names were the same as the Academy list. Edwin Horus. Juliette Mithra. Uriel Hyperion.

There were a few others, a Joseph whose face I couldn't place and a Sun who I vaguely remembered as having fallen a few too many times during class, but it was Uriel's name I was interested in.

The son of Marquess Hyperion. The Watcher of the West. Second only to the Dawns in authority of the western duchy. He had been alone most of the day at the Academy, only ever really interacting with Remour.

I found myself wondering what his family was like—was it anything like mine? Was he a loner or was he alone? The difference was stark.

Eventually, I decided if I was meant to find out, one day, I would. I went back to reading about noble etiquette and who produces wheat and the principles of sensing mana without the [Mana Sense] Skill—which was useless to someone who had the Skill. The only thing I had hoped would be interesting was Practical Magic, but the booklet was mostly charts and tables for the instructor to fill out, with a column for their initials.

During a break, I opened up the door to the balcony and grabbed my oversized blanket. Setting myself up right by the balustrade, I looked out over the garden. The green light of Revel cast the barren trees in a ghostly hue. The chill in the air nipped at my nose, and I burrowed my face into my blanket.

Shade crawled into the blanket with me, her small body tucked between a fold and slipping into the shadow of the fabric. She was barely to my knees, with waif-like limbs. Her face was still fully manifest, peeking out where she snuggled in.

"You know, a part of me will always be Defender." She said lightly, but I could hear the underpinning of sadness as she spoke. "But I have always wanted to be Shade. You gave me a name, made me a part of this world. I will always love you for that, Nora."

I pulled Shade further into the blanket, trying to share my warmth, though I was sure a spirit of darkness had no need for such a thing, and leaned forward. I pressed my head against the cold metal, peering down to look at Shade.

"I could say the same about you, Noir, and Haze. The knit animals you inhabited were the vessel for you to live. But the three of you, Noir, who once was Entertainer, and Haze, who once was Adventurer, taught me how to live again. You three kept me alive in a world I wasn't sure I wanted to be in. You helped me to love even after loss. You did more than earn your name. You made me wish they were your names."

I stared off in the distance, barely able to make out the mountains lining the horizon.

"I used to think that little Eunora was the one who needed you. That the knit animals were a crutch left behind by a girl who was no longer here. Turns out, that girl was me. It has always been me. I am both a girl of the past and a girl who grew to become the future. And, that's all I can continue to be. Me. The God of Nora."

I pulled up my [Status] once again, looking over [A Shade of Dawn]. I stared at it until my eyes were heavy, until the spirits of darkness had to help me to bed. And even then, I left the [System Notice] float in my vision as I drifted off to sleep.

In that moment, pain and peace melded into one.

[Status]

[Inspect]

[A Shade of Dawn: Your existence has become defined, and you have established the first characteristics of your Domain. This is the embodiment of your Divinity. This Skill is defined by the following characteristics: Protection, Heritage, and Affinity. You can manifest a blade representative of your Divinity. A Shade of Dawn is a soul-bound blade that is able to change shape. When wielded, the Light of Dawn shines brightest on your enemies. Once manifested, A Shade of Dawn is locked into that shape until it is used to defeat an enemy. A Shade of Dawn requires rest to grow stronger. Time between manifestations shortens upon level up.]

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