Shattered Star

”Oh Ana,” Tori says beginning to tear up. She produces a silvered scimitar from her robes. ”Do you remember the promise I made to you? That I wouldn’t let you become a monster.”

The exhaustion in Cade's eyes flicker away as the silver and steel shimmers in the light, his eyes widening in suspense.  "...What are you doing with that?" Cade asks, taking a cautious step forward.

Anastasia closes her eyes. "... she's doing what I asked her to do. Bennett, I'm going to have to ask you as a friend not to interfere in what's about to happen." Her eyes open again, the briefest, faintest flicker of red in them as she draws her own scimitar. "I don't want it to come to this, Tori. I release you from your promise. You and I both know how this will end."

Tori stands her ground, though tears are streaming down her face. ”I made that promise to you, not to what you’d become. You’re already falling. You can’t release me from that promise anymore.”

"Then come at me," Anastasia says shortly, raising her blade into a ready stance.

"Just-Just wait a moment!" Cade tries to interject, gripping his staff.  "Lower your weapons, please!  You don't need to resort to violence--I'm sure there's another solution to, to whatever's happening here!"

There's a moment of stillness, tension in the air, before Anastasia moves. With almost supernatural speed she dashes up to Victoria and, when the cleric tries to raise her guard to defend the front, ducks around and behind her. "Sorry," she murmurs, her hand raising. "But I did warn you. Goodbye Tori." With a sharp movement she brings her blade down. At the last second, she twists it, striking Tori in the back of the head with the flat of the blade and knocking her unconscious.

Anastasia sheathes her blade, hearing the sounds of shouting from the church behind her. "I guess I'm not welcome here anymore," she says softly, walking back down the steps. "Guess I'll need to find somewhere else to stay."

Cade tries to plead again, but the skirmish is over in an instant.  Cade too hears the sounds of shouting in the church walls, and after craning his head to make sure the girl's skull was still intact, he races after Anastasia.

"What in the world was that?!" Cade demands as he nears her.  "We've walked all the way to your church just for you to assault a young cleric, then walk away?!"

"I had meant to go curl up in bed, not get in a fight," Anastasia says. There's something different in her voice from earlier, a little harder and flatter. "But she did make me a promise, and I understand her trying to make good on it. I don't... think it was necessary though?" She sounds thoughtful now. "I thought for years that if I gave in, it would be the end of me, that I would become the thing I hated most, but... I could've killed her, easily, and I didn't want to. Not because she's my friend or because it would be inconvenient, but because she didn't deserve it, just for doing what she thought was right. So I'm... I'm not too far gone." She stops suddenly, as though this is a mind-shattering revelation. I don't have to constantly fight against myself, be terrified of myself. I don't need strict rules and a goddess to keep from becoming a monster. I'm... I'm free."

Anastasia's words do little to fill Cade in on the scene in the church, and his expression falling deeper into confusion serves only to highlight his ignorance.  "That... that did not explain--Anastasia," Cade insists as they continue to walk away from the chapel, "What exactly is happening?  I know you must be under a lot of stress due to... today, but ever since we left the Crow you have been acting strange.  Is there something wrong?  Or... right?  If something is amiss, you can talk to us about it."

Anastasia cocks her head at Cade. "I would've thought it was obvious after what I did back there. I'm a vampire, Cade."

"You're--" Cade begins to repeat, then abruptly stops.  He blinks as he processes the information Anastasia presents him.  "...a vampire," he finishes with a sigh.  "...Gods, I would be lying if I said I didn't think so, but..."  The wizard takes a deep breath and a long exhale, puffing his cheeks as he does so.  "And here I was hoping it was simply a mental breakdown."  Cade runs a hand through his hair, plainly nervous.  "...For how long?"

"That... is a complicated question," Anastasia says, twirling a lock of hair around her finger. "It's not a true vampirism, more of a slow, growing corruption. I'm still human, still alive and mortal, but I've been developing vampiric traits for the last two years or so. But if you asked me when I would've started calling myself a vampire... well, to be honest, today."

"Which means... hm," Cade mutters, bringing a thumb and forefinger to his lips in thought.  "...Then this is serious--not that it wasn't already," he adds hastily.  "...Have you tried any curative methods?  Beyond seeking divine help, that is."

"No, Cade, I just resigned myself to my terrible, terrible fate," Anastasia replies, arching her brow. "I've looked high and low. The only known cure is to kill... the vampire that infected me, and even if I thought I could face him, he vanished from Magnimar after I escaped him."

Cade's brow furrows in agitation.  "...There has to be another way," he whispers to himself as he shakes his head in defiance.  "Some way... even if it simply curbs the symptoms, there has to be something we can do.  A spell, a-a poultice--something!"

"A problem cannot simply have a single solution..." Cade muses ruefully.  "There is always another way..."  Cade devotes a few more moments to this thought before he mentally sets it aside.  "...In any case, what happens now?  If you're... a fully-fledged vampire now... what's going to happen?  Will we still be working together?  Not to mention--" he adds, "that the church of Seranrae may not take kindly to our actions tonight."

"She challenged me," Anastasia shrugs. "What I did was in self defense and nonlethal. I'm sure this isn't the end of it, but I'm not in the wrong here, and you didn't do anything."

"True," Cade agrees, "although I'd imagine your friend and the clergy will fail to see it that way."  Cade pauses before hesitantly speaking once more.  "...I-I take it that... you are still working with us to recover the Shards of the Sihedron, then?  There's still much to be done before we set out for the next Shard, of course, but... I--a-and I'm sure everyone else would--understand if this development takes personal precedence."

"Of course," Anastasia frowns. "I said I would, and I'm not bound by any oaths anymore but I'm not going to leave you guys high and dry. That'd be shitty of me, and pretty disrespectful to Naomi too considering she died for this. Besides." Anastasia cracks her neck in a fluid movement of her head, almost subconsciously. "Flynt was also after them. I want to know why, and if anyone hired him I want to know who, and beat the motherfucker to the others."

Anastasia's cavalier attitude and straightforward tone takes Cade aback for a moment.  "...Y-yes, quite.  Well, I'm glad that... we'll still be working together.  ...Er," he meanders uncomfortably, "will you... be alright?  Do you need a place to stay for the night--or... day?  Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I've got some gold in my pocket for a room at the inn, or..." Anastasia pauses. "Actually, I think I have an idea. Thanks for offering though, Cade, I appreciate it. You head home, and, uh, thanks for walking me back."

"Y-yes," Cade replies wearily.  "think nothing of it..."  He pauses awkwardly, unsure if he should say anything more before deciding that it was past time to head to bed.  "W-Well, again, if you need anything let us know.  ...Have a good night, Anastasia."  With that the wizard lumbers away towards the Seers of the Stone campus.  As Cade treks through the streets of Magnimar, the weight of today's events slowly wear him down until he collapses onto his bed, physically and emotionally drained

Meanwhile, at the inn, Ali sighs alone in their room. They stare at their scarred arm and spy a relatively unmarred spot of it. They think about how Naomi's healing didn't mar their skin like the healers before this. They owe Naomi a scar at least. They bite in deep into that spot, ignoring the pain. They hold their teeth into their flesh while their mouth fills with blood. They remove their teeth from the new wound. "Naomi...I swear upon this wound that I'll grow stronger. Strong enough that none of my allies will die again!"