Eternal
You’re not taking any chances, this ritual doesn’t feel right to you and you’re not going to let Tulla put herself in any more danger in the name of Dendrin. You put the book to the flame. You half expected it to be invulnerable or something similar, but it burns fairly quickly and easily.
You wonder if you should think up a lie to tell Tulla. Maybe tell her that you lost the book or something, but you can’t lie to her. Besides, you’re fairly certain she wouldn’t believe you anyway. You’re just going to have to deal with her getting angry with you.
Unfortunately you don’t expect her to get quite as angry as she does.
“You destroyed the book?! What’s wrong with you?! That was obviously a sacred book with a sacred ritual to Dendrin and the shadows! I trusted you!” Tulla yells.
“I’m sorry Tulla, but that ritual didn’t feel right. Not in my heart. I couldn’t let you perform it and something bad happening to you.”
“But that wasn’t your call! That was mine!”
“Tulla, I know you’re a shadow and a dedicated follower of Dendrin and all that, but you really don’t know what a manipulative uncaring and unfeeling bastard he is. I know! I’ve been speaking with him for decades!”
“Yes, I’ve heard all this countless times. And just because your relationship with him wasn’t positive, it doesn’t give you the right to dictate MY relationship with him!”
You can’t contain your own anger at how Tulla is reacting to you just trying to look out for her.
“What fucking relationship? Does he even speak to you? Does he? No! He doesn’t! You know why? Because he doesn’t give a shit about you! And the sooner you learn that fact, the better off you’ll be!”
“Dendrin will speak to me when he deems it to be so. In fact maybe he’s not speaking to me because I’m still associating with you.”
“Are you listening to yourself? How can you even say such nonsense?! I’M the one who even got your foot in the door to be a fucking shadow in the first place! I’M the one who’s been training you, and supporting you all these damn years! I’M the one who SAVED your life when you were a little girl! So don’t tell me that your associating with me is some sort of negative!”
Tulla gets quiet and looks at you with a stare you’ve never ever seen her give to you before.
“You know something uncle? You’re right. And I am grateful for everything you did for me up to this point. But I see now that our minds are not the same on this and our paths differ completely. I shall continue to respect you, but I believe our relationship will not be the same after this.”
Tulla takes her leave immediately. You call out to her, but she doesn’t listen. You curse yourself for getting angry like you did, but you still believe you did the right thing.
Days pass and you hear nothing from Tulla. There aren’t any of her shadows coming to the temple for training either. You begin to get concerned so you make a trip to Triumph and start asking questions.
You find out that nothing has happened to Tulla, except that she’s been fighting directly on the front lines. You imagine that she’s probably working out her anger through battle. A bit reckless, but you’ve often turned to battle many times when you were angry so its one way of channeling it you suppose.
Weeks pass into months and eventually into years. Victor has been driven out completely, yet you hear nothing from Tulla in all that time. You don’t hear anything from any shadow or Dendrin for that matter, not that you don’t mind his silence, but its like everyone has abandoned you completely. You learn that Triumph has been renamed New Gloom and a new shadow temple is in the process of being built there. When you attempt to find out more about Tulla, other shadows barely speak with you and only say that Tulla cannot be bothered as she has important business as Shadow Mistress.
Naturally you become outraged that you’re not being allowed to see her and despite your best efforts you are only beaten by shadows for your troubles. If only you much younger and they weren’t hiding behind their shadow magic.
As you drag your bloodied body out of New Gloom it is at that moment you realize that Tulla has not and will not forgive you for what you did. You feel a great sorrow that you haven’t felt since Talia died. You return home that day and go to the only one who has continued to stand by your side for decades.
“Talia… I have tried to do the right thing whenever I could, but everyone I’ve ever cared about has either died or in this last case pushed me away. There is no longer a place for me in this world. I come to join you at last and put aside this life time of anguish once and for all.”
You lie down beside Talia’s grave and thrust your blade into yourself.
You wonder if you should think up a lie to tell Tulla. Maybe tell her that you lost the book or something, but you can’t lie to her. Besides, you’re fairly certain she wouldn’t believe you anyway. You’re just going to have to deal with her getting angry with you.
Unfortunately you don’t expect her to get quite as angry as she does.
“You destroyed the book?! What’s wrong with you?! That was obviously a sacred book with a sacred ritual to Dendrin and the shadows! I trusted you!” Tulla yells.
“I’m sorry Tulla, but that ritual didn’t feel right. Not in my heart. I couldn’t let you perform it and something bad happening to you.”
“But that wasn’t your call! That was mine!”
“Tulla, I know you’re a shadow and a dedicated follower of Dendrin and all that, but you really don’t know what a manipulative uncaring and unfeeling bastard he is. I know! I’ve been speaking with him for decades!”
“Yes, I’ve heard all this countless times. And just because your relationship with him wasn’t positive, it doesn’t give you the right to dictate MY relationship with him!”
You can’t contain your own anger at how Tulla is reacting to you just trying to look out for her.
“What fucking relationship? Does he even speak to you? Does he? No! He doesn’t! You know why? Because he doesn’t give a shit about you! And the sooner you learn that fact, the better off you’ll be!”
“Dendrin will speak to me when he deems it to be so. In fact maybe he’s not speaking to me because I’m still associating with you.”
“Are you listening to yourself? How can you even say such nonsense?! I’M the one who even got your foot in the door to be a fucking shadow in the first place! I’M the one who’s been training you, and supporting you all these damn years! I’M the one who SAVED your life when you were a little girl! So don’t tell me that your associating with me is some sort of negative!”
Tulla gets quiet and looks at you with a stare you’ve never ever seen her give to you before.
“You know something uncle? You’re right. And I am grateful for everything you did for me up to this point. But I see now that our minds are not the same on this and our paths differ completely. I shall continue to respect you, but I believe our relationship will not be the same after this.”
Tulla takes her leave immediately. You call out to her, but she doesn’t listen. You curse yourself for getting angry like you did, but you still believe you did the right thing.
Days pass and you hear nothing from Tulla. There aren’t any of her shadows coming to the temple for training either. You begin to get concerned so you make a trip to Triumph and start asking questions.
You find out that nothing has happened to Tulla, except that she’s been fighting directly on the front lines. You imagine that she’s probably working out her anger through battle. A bit reckless, but you’ve often turned to battle many times when you were angry so its one way of channeling it you suppose.
Weeks pass into months and eventually into years. Victor has been driven out completely, yet you hear nothing from Tulla in all that time. You don’t hear anything from any shadow or Dendrin for that matter, not that you don’t mind his silence, but its like everyone has abandoned you completely. You learn that Triumph has been renamed New Gloom and a new shadow temple is in the process of being built there. When you attempt to find out more about Tulla, other shadows barely speak with you and only say that Tulla cannot be bothered as she has important business as Shadow Mistress.
Naturally you become outraged that you’re not being allowed to see her and despite your best efforts you are only beaten by shadows for your troubles. If only you much younger and they weren’t hiding behind their shadow magic.
As you drag your bloodied body out of New Gloom it is at that moment you realize that Tulla has not and will not forgive you for what you did. You feel a great sorrow that you haven’t felt since Talia died. You return home that day and go to the only one who has continued to stand by your side for decades.
“Talia… I have tried to do the right thing whenever I could, but everyone I’ve ever cared about has either died or in this last case pushed me away. There is no longer a place for me in this world. I come to join you at last and put aside this life time of anguish once and for all.”
You lie down beside Talia’s grave and thrust your blade into yourself.
