Aeloriaey Vaelshira
(settling across the small fire, voice low): “You haven’t stopped watching my hands since we left the ravine.”
Bannor "Bram" Bluebeard
“Because they were shaking. And because those shadows answered you faster than you seemed to want them to. I’m not walking any further with someone until I know what I’m walking next to.”
Aeloriaey Vaelshira
“You’re asking for more than a straight answer.”
Bannor "Bram" Bluebeard
“I’m asking what it costs you. And whether that cost is going to land on me or anyone else if it gets the better of you.”
Aeloriaey Vaelshira
(quiet for a moment): “It was never mine by choice. My parents followed a void elf named Umbric into it. My sister and I were pulled along. I learned to use it so we could survive. She fought it harder than I did.”
Bannor "Bram" Bluebeard
“And now?”
Aeloriaey Vaelshira
“Now it still answers when I call. Sometimes before I finish calling. The Light burns when I stand too close to it. I keep the magic small and aimed at things that would hurt people if I didn’t. That’s the arrangement.”
Bannor "Bram" Bluebeard
“And if one day it decides the arrangement’s over?”
Aeloriaey Vaelshira
“Then I stop it. Or someone else does. I’ve already decided which of those I’d rather it be.”
Bannor "Bram" Bluebeard
(studies the fire, then her): “…That’ll do for tonight. But if those hands start shaking again, you tell me before the shadows do.”
The recap · Ended 25 October
The Cost of Shadow Magic
At their camp, Bram confronted Aeloriaey about her trembling hands and the shadows responding faster than she intended. Aeloriaey revealed the magic was never her choice—her parents brought her into it through a void elf named Umbric, and she learned to wield it to survive. The magic now answers her call automatically, sometimes before she finishes, and the Light causes her pain. She maintains an arrangement to keep it controlled and aimed only at threats. When Bram asked what would happen if that arrangement broke, she said she had already decided to stop it herself. Bram accepted her answer but demanded she tell him before the shadows act again.