one knows. He might have sealed himself away together with Azarial, or he might have died, when he gave up his powers.”
Selissa couldn’t think of anything to say. Alassane had been silent through the whole conversation, instead staring at the walls.
Serendia closed her eyes in thought. “No matter what, after that, Cadeyrn was never heard from again…”
ℓ
Selissa rested her head against her knees as she sat on her bed in her and Alassane’s inn room. For years she had been dying to know the meaning of that symbol, but now that she finally found out, she was left with more questions than answers.
“Why do I have the mark of an angel that disappeared 600 years ago?” She asked Alassane quietly as he exited the bathroom. He didn’t say anything as he walked to stand at the end of the bed.
Selissa knew he was watching her, but didn’t bother raising her head.
“That time, back at the temple… You knew about the mark, even though you never saw it.” She said softly. She knew Alassane kept many things from her, but it was an unspoken agreement that they didn’t speak about it.
“You probably knew what it meant too.” She said. She didn’t really expect him to answer her. He rarely did when it came to things like that.
No words passed for a while, but Selissa was content to sit in silence.
A sigh sounded from the end of the bed. “Cadeyrn’s temple was abandoned centuries ago, but it still stands.” Alassane said quietly. Selissa lifted her head and looked at him in surprise.
“It doesn’t seem like we will find anything here… We can go there next, if you like.” He continued.
Selissa knew she should be mad. Mad at him for avoiding her question. Mad at him for keeping something like that from her. But watching him now, she couldn’t.
For the first time, he offered to help her find out who she was. What all this meant. And she couldn’t refuse.
“Okay.” She said simply. “Let’s do that.”
18
Compared to their arrival, their departure from Var’Nori was surprisingly uneventful.
They left without a word to anyone, even though Selissa noticed Serendia watching them from afar as they walked through the city gates.
The guards shot her nervous looks as she passed by them, and she wished she could say she was less confused than them.
It had been two days since Serendia had revealed the story of Cadeyrn and in two days her mind had been one big mess.
The mark on her back was the symbol for the archangel Cadeyrn… The mages had detected divine magic in her… And she was attacked by a demon worshipper that wanted her for some perverted reason…
She knew all these things were connected. How could they not be?
It was like having all the side pieces of a puzzle. You could see that there was a picture to be seen, but you didn’t know what it looked like. And none of the middle pieces seemed to fit quite right…
For what must have been the thousandth time she tried to get some sense of what she knew. She didn’t remember anything from when she was a child. The mark on her back was an angel’s symbol and somehow she possessed divine magic.
What was her connection to the angels? Had they for some reason bestowed their blessing upon her? Or a curse…?
Selissa sighed. She figured that if it was any of those, it was probably the last one.
She glanced at Alassane who walked silently by her side. He had barely said two words to her since he agreed to take her to Cadeyrn’s sanctuary. He had only told her when they were leaving and then he seemed to ignore her existence.
She tried not to let it bother her. It wasn’t like they were friends… She had known from the start that he had his own agenda. That there were things he wasn’t telling her. And that he was probably only using her in the end.
And even though she had known all that from the moment this whole mess started, she still felt a sense of betrayal. After all he had betrayed the trust she shouldn’t have in him…
Selissa ignored the strange tightening in her chest. The overwhelming sense of loneliness that hit her made no sense. She had always been alone, and she had never been bothered by it before.
Again she peered at the thin man walking next to her. She had no business beginning to see this man as a friend. He wasn’t and he had never been…
She knew nothing about him. She didn’t know who he was or where he was from. And most importantly, she didn’t know how he got involved in all this to begin with.
A thought suddenly struck her. It was something she had completely forgotten after discovering the meaning of the mark.
“How did you do it?” She asked Alassane.
She saw him tense for the slightest of seconds, before returning to normal. “Do what?” He asked without turning to look at her.
“The thing you did to send that Demios guy packing…” She said. “With the blue flames.”
She halfway expected him to go silent as he usually did when she asked personal questions, but he replied in the sarcastic tone she usually associated with Alassane.
“Have you never seen magic before?” He said in a tone that usually had her spitting fire, but now had her sighing in relief. She could handle the sarcastic, annoying Alassane. It was the silent, secretive Alassane that had her at a loss of what to do. The presence of something familiar and safe in the middle of the storming ocean that was her life made her regain some of her spirit.
That didn’t mean he was getting off so easily though.
“But you’re no mage.” She deadpanned. Alassane scowled annoyed. Yes, good old Alassane was back…
“It is not only mages who are capable of using magic, you know.” He said simply.
“No, I know that…” She said, while rolling her eyes. “Demon, angels and other magical creatures do too. And sorcerers… Are you a sorcerer, Alassane?”
Alassane sent her a look that would have frightened even a demon lord. Sorcerers might have been humans practicing magic like mages, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t an enormous difference.
While mages prided themselves on studying the magic and using it correctly, sorcerers were often self-taught and performed dangerous experiments. And often it was quite dark magic they practiced.
While mages were respected and admired, sorcerers were often looked down on or downright feared.
Despite her dreary mood, Selissa couldn’t help to feel gleeful that the insult got under his skin.
“Shut up, woman.” He said simply and walked on. Selissa checked a point for her on her mental scoreboard, before running to catch up with him.
“Where are we going anyway? You haven’t told me where this temple is.” She paused for a moment. “Actually, you never seem to tell me where we are going. You should consider breaking that habit.”
Alassane snorted. “I’ll buy a leash in the next town. Then you won’t get lost.”
Selissa grimaced. “Just tell me, will you?”
Alassane let out a sigh. “It’s in the western Ver’Dohna, not far from the Sinarian border.”
Selissa stopped dead in her tracks. “Are you crazy?” She asked incredulously. ”We’re going to Ver’Dohna? For the love of Shi’laran, they’re going to slaughter us the moment they find out we’re Sinarian!”
Ver’Dohnians weren’t known for their compassion. Selissa had heard horror stories from Ver’Dohnian refugees who had had to flee their own country. And Ver’Dohna and Sinaria had always despised each other. Even before the war Sinarians hadn’t been welcome. And now, they would be killed on sight…
“That is why they’re not going to know.” Alassane said calmly, unaffected by her agitation. “This place will do…” He muttered to himself and stopped. Selissa watched him confused as he dropped his bag to the ground.
“But since you seem to be able to find trouble no matter where you go, you should be prepared.” He continued. “So from today on, you’re starting your training.”
>
19
“My… training?” Selissa asked slowly.
“Yes. Training. You might have heard of the concept.” Alassane answered impatiently.
Selissa’s eye twitched. “And who, might I ask, would be training me?” Of course, she already knew the answer to that question, but she prayed that for some reason, she was wrong.
“Who do you think?” He asked, obviously not pleased with her pretended ignorance.
Suddenly facing a dozen Demios didn’t seem so bad. She would much rather die a horrible and painful death than subjecting herself to training sessions with Alassane. Well, maybe she was being a bit melodramatic, but still…
“Why are you going to train me?” She asked. “Back at the temple we were evenly matched.”
He scoffed at her. “And who was the one who almost got the life beaten out of her when the demon spawn appeared?”
She frowned. He was right. Even if she was talented with a sword, she hadn’t stood a chance against Ardeth.
Swallowing her pride, she nodded. “What are you going to teach me?” She sighed in defeat. She was never going to hear the end of this.
Alassane refrained from making any comments on her surrender and went straight to the point.
“You’re clearly strongest in hand-to-hand combat and sword fight, so we will start with polishing your skills there.” He said thoughtfully. “At least what I saw of your fight with the demon spawn proved that you can throw quite a punch.”
He smiled at the last comment and Selissa stared in shock. That had to be the closest she had ever come to being praised by Alassane.
He didn’t give her time