Beyond the Void

Chapter 26, Are you going to get dressed?

of Fleeting 711 - The Alyar Dominions express growing concern about the Humans and their rapid expansion near neighbouring Alyar lands. The Alyar are worried as the Humans need little help to adjust to a new world and are rapidly surpassing the Alyar in every aspect. Especially when it concerns the flow. Guidance from the Alyar has turned into a desperate attempt to reign the Humans in. Tensions grow.

An excerpt from the diary of Pia...

VAERA

One moon and two tens since the Mark of the Other One blossomed.

The bright light hurt Vaera's eyes. Being dead should not have been so uncomfortable. If anything, she had imagined it as a blissful feeling, spontaneously accepting to let go of everything dear to her. Instead, every part of her was weary. She could hear footsteps in the distance.

The sound of footsteps on wood was coming closer. She was not dead. Vaera pried her eyes open and rubbed them. She was in an attic room. From the window next to her bed she could just about see the rooftops of the Palace of the Pureblooded. She was still in Whitefall.

The last thing she remembered was falling down several cliffs along with half of the palace. How on earth was she still alive? The footsteps had reached the door.

"Oh, thank the Six Makers, it's only you." Vaera loudly exclaimed as Clarissa appeared in the doorway. She nearly mistook the girl for some stranger.

Vaera had rarely paid any attention to the girl. Although not a bad looker, she had plain written all over her. Even her long black hair looked dull.

Vaera was about to get out of the bed, but only now realised she was naked. So she settled for sitting upright and covering all the important bits with the blanket.

"Mei! She's awake!" Clarissa yelled from the doorway. She was clutching her bosom and had a slightly disapproving look on her face.

"Mei? Where am I?" Vaera exclaimed.

"At the orphanage. My orphanage." Clarissa had a surprisingly soft voice, Vaera discovered. And after a moment that discovery was forgotten as she heard loud footsteps stomping up the stairs.

Although the door was ajar Mei slammed it open.
"Vaera! Explain!"

"What! Now hold on, I am the one with questions here!"

"The palace is broken and the next day, half of the city runs through the Amber Falls, looking for you."

"You know very well that was the voidstone! I had nothing to do with it!" Why did she even have to defend herself like this? This was stupid.

"You had a job there that night, everyone knows that now. Your regular customer told them." Mei threw a pile of clothes on a chair next to the bed. "So, what did you do? You join a cult suddenly?" Mei picked up Vaera's left hand. It could not have been a bloodseal! Yet a brand was seared on her left arm and hand.

"No! They'll hang me as soon as I set foot out of this door!" She wailed.

"What happened, Vaera?" This time Mei looked a little concerned saying that.

Before she said anything, she inspected the large brand of vines and leaves now covering her left arm. Usually bloodseals were a simple pattern of lines and shapes. On her palm was a red imprint in the shape of a droplet. And this bloodseal was huge. It went all the way up her arm, up to her shoulder and then down on her chest.