Section Author: 'Yui-chan'

The steep stairs were the same as they had always been, hard, cold, and drafty, unyielding and unchanging in the span of a man's life. Once, he had thought them the perfect representation of his existence, his role as the Slave to his lenient Master as immutable as the granite steps. Now he knew better. His memories, as they slowly returned, were showing him what he had been born to, what he had once been, and the knowledge was letting him finally Awaken. The steep stairs may have been the same as they had always been, but the young man climbing them was irrevocably, undeniably different.

"Ayden?" The child's quiet voice rang loud in the stairwell, causing the young man to jump in alarm. With wide eyes, he crouched and placed a hushing hand over the boy's mouth.

"Shhhh," Ayden whispered, "you must be quiet, Graeson. We are too close to the Master's chamber, and he might not like that you are here."

The boy's steely eyes widened, fear flooding their depths until his new friend smiled softly and moved the muffling hand to stroke his hair comfortingly. "I did not mean to frighten you, child. I will protect you, and I am very strong." He didn't voice his worry that he would not be strong enough to resist the Master, but instead lifted Graeson up over his head in both demonstration and distraction. Wisely, the child muffled his giggles as Ayden whispered, "See?"

Graeson nodded as he was gently lowered again, his smile fading slowly into a serious frown. When Ayden would have turned away to continue up the long steps, he tugged on a ragged sleeve and brought the man's attention back. "Ayden, you're nice. Will you help me find my Mommy?"

Leaning down, the young Slave nodded to the boy with grave eyes. His newly-restored identity reminded him of the pain of losing a mother, and he vowed, no matter what other outcomes his actions would have, that he would find the dream-child's mother and reunite them. Firm in his resolve, he took Graeson's hand gently and whispered, "I swear it, child. We will find her."

Boy and man regarded each other for a long moment, dark steel eyes exploring the depths of silvery-green ones until the Celestial Child saw what he wanted. With a smile and a nod, he bounced up to the next step, dragging Ayden's hand behind him. The man's grin matched the child's as the two resumed the long trek up the winding stairs.

*******

The instances had lost coherence long ago, merging and blending and blurring into a sprawling mass of tortured emotions, soul-searing tragedies and shattering revelations. Her kingdom was burning, and she could hear the screams of her people as Thinas' undead troops slew and tortured and abused them. The darkelf, once her dearest friend, yanked cruelly on the chain about her neck, throwing her roughly into the animated corpse that had once been her brother. They both sneered hatred at her as the rusted dagger he held still in his rotting hands stabbed fire into her gut.

Aegon smiled down at her cruelly as he turned the blade, shoving it ever deeper into her. 'Stupid cow, I had my use of you. Did you think I was yours alone?' Those eyes she loved so well shone bright with malice as he sneered, 'You've shared me all along, so why should tonight be different?' When he withdrew, she did not feel the pain of the wound, overshadowed as it was by the shattering of her heart as she watched him stride back to the naked woman awaiting him in their bed.

'He never loved you, anyway. How could anyone love a creature so weak and pathetic?' She turned slowly, almost beyond hearing, to face herself with eyes of ice. Ebon smiled cruelly as sounds unmistakable in their cruelty began to issue from the bed behind them. 'Let it go, pitiful little shard. Give in.'

'... no... ' She covered her ears and closed her eyes, desperate for refuge from the ruination of everything in her life. If ever she had known that her tortures were nightmares, the knowledge had been lost beneath the weight of tragedy, and now she shuddered in helpless misery, curling herself into a ball. Darkness surrounded her, and in time the sounds of betrayal faded. In the silence, she cast her mind about, seeking something - anything - to hold on to, to fight for.

A door opened into the darkness, and a broad-shouldered silhouette cut the light on the other side. Gasping for breath past her sobs, Yui tried to back away from the strange form, only to find herself suddenly hampered by a rough, wet, stone wall at her back and shackles on her wrists. She shuddered from much more than just the cold as she felt a chill breeze across her bare flesh, and fear such as she'd never known sliced through her veins.

'One. We are one.' The raspy voice rang through the silence as the stranger approached, his words taking on a chilling new meaning. In response, she did the only thing she could.

Temae Yui, proud Huntress and ruler of a kingdom of thousands, threw back her head and screamed her terror into the storm.