Shadow Slave

It was winter in NQSC, but here in Bastion, the weather was warm and mild. Nephis did not receive a lot of opportunities to take a leisurely stroll around town, but she remembered enjoying the thriving atmosphere of the swiftly developing city during her last outing, which was... about a year ago, now?

The city sprawling around the beautiful lake had changed tremendously since then. Of course, Nephis was familiar with all these changes - she gazed down upon the bustling streets of Bastion often from the tranquil height of her heavenly island, studying the lively flow of human activity from a distance.

Every time the Ivory Tower returned here, the city seemed different. The humans, however, were the same.

Sadly, Nephis did not enjoy diving into their liveliness today. She was still recovering from the battle with Condemnation, after all.

Her stroll was not entirely for leisure, either.

She had left the castle with a specific purpose in mind.

Nephis had long been searching for a talented enchanter, She and the Fire Keepers received plenty of Memories by slaying Nightmare Creatures, sure, but those Memories were too dependent on the whims of the Spell. Very few of them sulted her needs perfectly, or were powerful enough to make a difference.

That was where Awakened enchanters could help. The problem was that craftsmen capable of forging Memories, or even enchanted items, were extremely rare. Most of them belonged to the Valor family, and while Nephis could easily commission a Memory from her own clan... that would defeat the purpose.

It was precisely because her most powerful Memories were either known to or directly created by the Great Clan Valor that she was searching for an independent enchanter in secret.

Yesterday, Cassie informed her that their search had finally borne fruit. Not only that, but the person in question resided right here, in Bastion... and as a cherry on top, he even happened to possess an extremely rare affinity to shadows.

The last part was of no importance for the commission, but given the sudden entrance of the Lord of Shadows on the stage, Nephis was curious to learn more about this unusual element and its nuances.

Therefore... Cassie had decisively sent her to meet the enchanter personally. Nephis was not sure why she had to go herself, but since Cassie assured her that this person could be trusted to keep a secret, she arrived at the place late in the evening - knowing her friend, the man would have passed an extensive background check, so there was no reason not to.

That said, it wasn't easy for Nephis to walk freely on the streets of Bastion. Her fame was too great to remain unrecognized. So, she used several cosmetic Memories to slightly alter her appearance... even then, she had only ventured out after it was already dark.

quiet lakeshore street, she glanced at the cosy brick cottage, and then at the

Café & Memory

moment, Nephis tried to imagine what it would have felt like, to live in a simple cottage like that and make a living by doing peaceful

it seemed so...

people in the world - lived. This peaceful

this one. Cassie had warned her that it was a strange kind of

the awkward feeling of meeting an

A moment later...

sound of plates scattering on

froze, looking

seemed to be... a very clumsy person, to have tripped on his own feet like

long

moments, and then the young man jumped to his feet, dusting off his clothes in

done so, he smiled at her as if

to the Brilliant

Nephis was momentarily stumped.

Cassie had told her about a talented Master capable of forging powerful Memories, she had imagined an older man, sharp and austere - like most smiths of

was that the shopkeeper would be

attractive people, of course. And yet, the proprietor of the Brilliant

darkly glistening gems. His raven-black hair was carelessly gathered in a knot, and there was a subtle sense of calm confidence to him...

porcelain doll dressed in fine black

unlike the rugged handsomeness of the seasoned warriors Nephis usually encountered. More than

Not every Awakened was a warrior, and after Antarctica, there were even plenty of Masters who had Ascended out of necessity, not choice. Someone with a Utility Aspect did not have to wield

Or even none whatsoever.