Shadow Slave

Sunny remained silent for a while, thinking...

There was a lot to think about. Although Neph's eyes were closed, he could tell that she was thoughtful, as well. The history of the Dream Realm, which they could only guess before, was revealed in front of them with stark clarity.

Of course, Ananke had not witnessed all these events herself. But the tales she relayed were passed down to her from people who actually had.

'No wonder...' No wonder Mordret had told him that the knowledge and experience Awakened brought back from their Nightmares were perhaps more important than the power and Abilities they gained. And that Legacy clans, especially those ruled by the Sovereigns, were very particular about which Seeds their scions challenged.

Both Valor and Song must have accumulated a great deal of knowledge... however, that knowledge was not something just anyone could access. Even Nephis, who had been adopted into the great clan, did not seem privy to most of their secrets yet.

That was only natural. After all, knowledge was the origin of power. ...According to Weaver. And Anvil would not trust her with power until she had proven herself.

He lingered for a few moments, then looked to his right, where Ananke's mask still lay on the wooden deck. Stretching his hand, he picked it up and stared at the fearsome, demonic face.

Sunny could not glimpse anything about the mask. He did not even know whether it was a Memory or a simple piece of carved wood.

Glancing at Ananke, he pointed to the mask and asked: "Is this a Divine Memory?"

She remained silent for a few moments, then slowly shook her head. "No, my Lord. This one is merely Sacred... a lesser facsimile of the true Mask of Weaver. It is a part of the ceremonial garb that we, priests and priestesses of the Nightmare Spell, wear - both to escape the gaze of our pursuers and to follow in the footsteps of our benefactor, the Demon of Fate. The more accomplished a priest was, the higher rank Memory they would be bestowed."

"My mother, whom I inherited this Memory from, was one of the few who received a mask of the Sacred Rank, which was the highest of honors. As for Divine Memories of the Mask of Weaver... I've never seen these holy relics. There were only ever two of them, entrusted personally to the first two who were chosen by the Demon of Fate - the High Priest

silence, he followed his

Ananke, as the Priestess of the Spell, could teach

looked at him with a surprised expression. "Where is my eye? No... no, it doesn't. But... if I may be so bold as to ask, how do you know the name of that enchantment, my Lord? This Sacred Memory of mine only possesses two. It was only the

a long time, then sighed and summoned Weaver's Mask. Soon, a fearsome mask of polished black wood appeared

eyes widened slightly. "M-my

It's just that I found this thing a few years ago in a godforsaken pit of

of the daemon in question, which he had swallowed in the Ebony Tower, but decided against it. He didn't want to give the old woman a heart attack, or put strange thoughts

with that same reverence. Then, she sighed softly. "My Lord... was this Memory helpful to you on

"Helpful? Well... I guess it was. It saved my life a few times. Ah, but it also almost killed me

fate that guided you to it, and

like being reminded of just how helpless he was against fate. Neither did he like the

couldn't really dispute what Ananke had said. First, because it was pointless to argue faith with logic. Second... because he wasn't sure that his logic was sound. Who was to say that the damned Demon of Fate had not really arranged for various things to happen in the

He let out a heavy sigh, then dismissed his Weaver's Mask and put

deck. It

mask and placed it on her

he looked at the beautiful vista of the Great River and said: "So, when you elders entered the Tomb of Ariel, most of the priesthood of the Nightmare Spell remained outside, splintered in order to convert more carriers during the Doom

for a few moments, and then shrugged. "Well, they've done a great job. The Nightmare Spell outlived both the daemons and the gods. In the future, it is nearly all-powerful. Ah, by the