“We need to talk, all of us,” I pulled away only slightly before speaking to her. “I’m done hiding. I won’t deny who I am anymore... who we are.”
“How soon?” Venna offered no objection, only seeking some sort of timeline instead.
We’d discussed the eventuality of such a disclosure before, but I’d always hesitated, fearing the fallout that my Empire might face more than any ill effects I would endure. But things were different now—I was different now, and I’d swept away my old concerns for new ones. My Tári were more important to me than anything else, and I wouldn’t deny them any longer.
“Tonight, if we can,” I replied. “We can meet together in my tent to decide when and how we’re going to proceed.”
“I’d like you to bring Stel,” I slid my hand over Venna’s, holding her gently while I spoke. “This will affect him just as much as anyone else. But no matter what the rest of us decide, I’ll understand if you don’t want to be a part of this. We can keep our feelings just between the two of us—I won’t force you or Stel into anything you’re not comfortable with.”
“I’ll… we’ll need to talk first,” Venna hesitated. “He’s been very open-minded about you and me, but we’ve never discussed anything like this before.”
I recognized that there was a vast difference between Stel allowing his wife to have discreet liaisons with another woman and letting that fact become widely known. The potential impacts of such a disclosure would only be even more difficult to absorb due to the rather high profile of my position. Could Stel handle the possible backlash he might suffer? Did he even want to? Those were questions only Stel and Venna could answer for themselves; all I could do was await their decision.
“I understand,” I gave her hand a light squeeze of reassurance. “Just remember; what happens next is completely up to you. I won’t pressure you into anything.”
“You never have,” Venna smiled weakly, genuine in her expression, yet obviously distressed by the uncomfortable situation I’d suddenly thrust upon her.
I returned her grin as I rose and left Venna to her thoughts. She and Stel would have a great deal to consider before we talked again; so, having seen her safe and sound, I departed for my last rendezvous.
This time I didn’t need Insleí to guide me through the remade encampment. I could sense the direction I needed to walk intuitively and followed the path that my heart guided me along until I finally saw Bane’s massive form sleeping peacefully on the ground. He’d exerted himself tremendously the night before; first in his desperate struggle with the skeletal dragon, and then again when he’d saved us all from the onslaught of the beastkin horde.
I wasn’t the only one who’d noted and appreciated Bane’s valiant efforts. While he slept, Bane was surrounded by a cordon of sentries who ensured that nothing would disturb his recovery. The admiration Bane had earned was not limited to my own guards who knew him best; soldiers wearing the blue capes of the Ministry guards stood alongside a troop of our Army’s red-caped soldiers, adding their numbers to the Imperial Guards that stood watch over him. Seeing Bane sleeping, I hesitated to approach him. The health bar floating above his head was still not completely full, so I knew that he needed more rest after the strain of the previous night’s battles. I’d only just turned away, intending to return to my own tent when his voice echoed inside my head.
Come to me, my Sintári.
I spun around immediately and rushed to Bane’s side, wrapping my arms around his thick neck and clinging to him almost desperately.
‘I was so worried about you, Bane,’ I sent him in return as he coiled his neck around me and nuzzled his head against my back.
As I was about you, my Sintári, the deep, resonant tone of his thoughts came back to me. But I saw the light of your eyes burning brightly through the night, and it let me know that you were still safe.
I wouldn’t have described my situation during the battle as ‘safe,’ but I understood what he meant. Every time I’d caught sight of Bane flying through the dark skies, I felt a surge of optimism, providing me with the strength I’d needed to fight on.
I stayed with Bane for a long while, relishing the few moments of peace we were able to share after the horrors of the previous night. But there was still much left for me to do that day, and I was forced to leave him far sooner than I would have preferred. Still, Bane needed his rest to fully recover, and he quickly laid back down when I departed.
“Tana,” I called to the guardswoman as I stepped away from Bane. “Please make sure that Líann is still back in our tent. If not, I need you to track her down and ask her to meet me there.”
With a quick nod, Tana shot off to see to the assignment I’d given her.
“We need to find Ella,” I informed Insleí next. “Then the four of us are going to have a discussion.”
Although I’d let Venna know of my decision, I hadn’t told Insleí what I’d intended to do yet. Even so, my earlier demonstration and the short list of people I was gathering led her to the correct conclusion. Not that she voiced her thoughts on the matter to me, but I was able to read her expressions almost as well as she could read mine, and the slight tightening of her gaze told me that she understood well enough what was to come.
“Actually, she assigned herself to Líann’s detail this morning,” Insleí replied with a crooked smile. “By the time we make it back to your quarters, Tana should have rounded both of them up for us.”
Insleí was right. When we arrived back at the tent Líann and I were sharing, Ella was standing outside along with a squad of guards. I motioned for her to follow us as Insleí and I stepped inside, and we each took a seat while Líann looked on, slightly confused by the gathering. The tent that had been appropriated for our use was much smaller than the one that had been torn to shreds during Bane’s fight with the undead dragon, but the close confines suited the mood of the conversation that I’d brought my Tári together for.
“I’m not willing to conceal the truth any longer,” I began, my sense of conviction only growing stronger as I said the words aloud. “You’re my Tári, and you deserve recognition for just how incredible you are. Up until now, I’ve been getting all the credit for everything that’s happened, but none of it would have been possible without you. Left alone, I’d be nothing; reduced to a quivering mess, completely overwhelmed by the world around me. The truth is that you’re more important than I am—it’s time to let the rest of the world know what’s been obvious to me for so long.”
“Venna and hopefully Stel will be joining us later to finish this conversation,” I took Líann’s hand in mine as I explained my purpose to them. “But we need to discuss this among ourselves first.”
“As I’ve cautioned you before,” Líann gently reminded me. “The political implications of such a disclosure might be… significant.”
She’d warned me that the morals of this world didn’t allow for what might be perceived as blatant indiscretions on my part. Mistresses and affairs weren’t an uncommon occurrence among the rulers of the Realms, but protocol dictated that those infidelities be kept quiet and not openly flaunted. But those concepts didn’t really apply to my Tári—our relationships were of a completely different nature than those of the other races.
“I know,” I replied, unable to keep my sense of disappointment at that prospect from seeping into my words. “But I no longer care about that. You are my priority. After all we’ve done, if this world can’t accept us, then it can burn for all I care.”
The last bit came out tinged with a little more venom than I intended, but my point was still clear: I was done living my life on other people’s terms, and it was time for this world to recognize my Tári for the amazing women they were. I wouldn’t hide them in the shadows anymore.
Silence reigned for a moment as the three of them pondered what I’d said. We’d discussed the issue before, and none of them objected to stepping forward; only Líann’s practical considerations had stood in the way of us d
oing so.
“I know you aren’t taking this step lightly,” Insleí finally responded. “And you’re were right to talk things over with us before you did anything. When it comes time to do this, I only ask that you use my true name. I won’t continue to hide who I am either once we all come forward.”
Her comments drew confused stares from the others, but since she’d spoken her intentions so clearly, I let my answer fill in the blanks for them.
“It will be my honor to give you back your name, Insleí,” I couldn’t help but smile at her warmly.
“I thought…” Ella hesitated to finish.
“Saibra did her job,” I replied on Insleí’s behalf. “She gave Insleí the opportunity she needed to recover. But now that Insleí’s been restored, Saibra is no longer needed, though I hope that I might still see her from time to time.”
“You may,” Insleí responded with a somewhat lopsided grin of her own. “She was very fond of you.”
Insleí’s revelation sidetracked our conversation for a while, and I let her explain the situation to Ella and Líann. She obviously wasn’t overly eager to go into details, however, only reiterating that she’d needed the cover of another persona while she dealt with the tremendous changes the path of her life had taken.
When it was clear that Insleí would reveal nothing more than that, we returned to our earlier conversation once more. With all of us in agreement on the issue, it quickly became apparent that the only thing left for us to decide was when and how to finally reveal ourselves. That would only happen once Venna joined us—with Stel by her side, I hoped. So, we left those details for later, and Ella and Insleí departed while Líann and I remained in our tent.
“I probably have a lot of notifications to look through,” I suddenly realized. “Do you mind if I spend a little time sorting them out?”
“No, go right ahead,” Líann replied, pulling me down to rest against her as I opened up the UI.
Valued User: Due to the large volume of your pending notifications, level-up options have been delayed until after you’ve cleared them. We hope this slight modification improves your gaming experience.
Experience gained – You have gained 12,550 XP.
Experience gained – You have gained 550 XP.
…
Experience gained – You have gained 550 XP.
The XP rewards seemed to roll on endlessly before something different finally scrolled past. As before, I’d not only received full credit for my own kills, but also Bane’s, and through the boon of Saibra’s Oath, Insleí’s as well.
Commander’s bonus – You have earned party credit for every kill made under your command or the direct command of one of your party members.
Experience gained – You have gained 62 XP.
…
Experience gained – You have gained 62 XP.
The notifications finally halted, and the level-up menu popped up before my eyes. Even though I’d no longer gain any talents after breaking through the level 80 barrier, at least I’d have some Attribute points to assign.
Valued User: You have gained 15 levels. In order to streamline the level-up process, your accumulated discretionary Attribute points will be allotted at once. However, you still may not assign more than 1 point per level gained to any single Attribute. Skills and other bonuses you have earned will be granted after you have assigned your Attribute points.
Your non-discretionary points have been allocated as follows: Strength, 2 points, Constitution, 4 points, Dexterity, 3 points, Intelligence, 3 points, Wisdom, 3 points, and Charisma, 15 points.
We hope this slight modification improves your gaming experience.
Of fucking course, I sighed to myself as I looked over the way my points had been distributed.
Obviously, I didn’t need to assign any of my discretionary points to Charisma. So, after looking over my other stats, and considering the perilous situation we were still in, I divided the remaining points almost entirely among Strength and Constitution, sliding just a single point into Dexterity when I realized how it would round out the numbers. Completing that process allowed the next prompt to appear.
Boon, Saibra’s Oath – Saibra’s kills belong to you now, and you will receive full credit for every life she takes in your name. In addition to XP credit, you have also received a 1% bonus you may apply to any weapon or armor skill that you currently possess. However, this bonus may not be used to raise any skill above 60%.
You have 52 percentage points to distribute amongst your armor and weapons skills.
The XP I gained from Insleí’s kills used to be listed right after the notification that I’d received her boon, but it seemed that the consolidation of my messages had lumped them in with the rest of the XP alerts. Not that it mattered—I’d gained a truly ludicrous amount of experience, and the proficiency points were far more valuable to me anyway. Saibra’s Oath probably would have provided me with many more points had Insleí not been fighting by my side. Being so close to me, she’d been within range of my Shadow Armor’s deadly projections, and I’d witnessed them take out a great number of beastkin she might otherwise have slaughtered herself.
With the proficiency gains I’d achieved on my own, and the limits of Saibra’s Oath, I quickly ran out of points to slot into the armor and weapon talents I used most often. After maxing out everything else, I dumped the remaining few points into my Spear Skill, having nowhere else to put them. If nothing else, the sudden boost to that talent would make my next sparring session with Ella very interesting. With that taken care of, I pulled up my full personal sheet for a quick review.
Dreya Dae
Sintári Female
Title: Sintári, Empress
Level - 95
4462942/4531200
Health - 726/726 Aura - 1748/1848 Endurance - 726/726
Sintári – Sintári interact with their surroundings in unusual ways. The effects of these interactions can be unpredictable
Class – Warden – Wardens gain a 10% bonus to skills associated with nature or which have natural effects
Specialization – Protector
Mastery – Warlock
STR - 80 (+8)
CON - 60 (+6)
DEX - 50 (+5)
INT - 41 (+4)
WIS - 42 (+4)
CHA - 111 (+11)
Abilities
Ignore Armor – Your next arrow will ignore a portion of the target’s armor. Cost – 20 Aura. – 36%
Stun – Your next arrow has a chance to stun its target on hit. Cost – 20 Aura. – 35%
Block – You may attempt to use your bow to parry a single melee attack. Cost – 20 Endurance. – 20%
Swarm – Your next arrow duplicates itself in flight. Cost - 20 Endurance and 20 Aura. – 47%
Flurry – Perform three rapid strikes with a bladed weapon. Cost – 30 Endurance. – 42%
Parry – Chance for your blades to block next melee attack targeted at you. Cost – 20 Endurance. – 43%
Hamstring – The next arrow fired has a chance to cripple your opponent. Cost – 20 Aura. – 32%
Hilt Bash – Stun your opponent with a successful hilt strike from your bladed weapon. Cost – 30 Endurance. – 41%
Blood Price – Your arrow inflicts a damage-over-time bleed effect. Cost – 30 Aura. – 37%
Blind – Your next arrow has a chance to inflict blindness on a successful hit. Cost – 30 Aura. – 37%
Achilles Strike – Cripple your target with a slash of your bladed weapon. Cost – 30 Endurance. – 41%
Penetrator – Advanced Ability – Your arrow pierces through armor easily. With increased proficiency, it may penetrate through even greater barriers. Modifier – Strength. Cost – 60 Aura. – 20%
Disable – Advanced Ability – A successful strike of your blade to an extremity renders the affected limb completely useless until healed. Modifier – Strength. Cost – 60 Endurance. – 43%
Shockwave – Advanced Ability – Your arrow explodes o
n contact, dealing minimal damage but generating a stunning shockwave in a radius around its detonation. Size and scope of this effect increase with proficiency. Modifier – Strength. Cost – 120 Aura. – 53%
Combine Abilities – Advanced Ability – You may channel more than one Ability into a single attack. Success depends on your proficiency with each individual Ability. Modifier – Intelligence. Cost – 150 Aura. – 32%
Defender – Advanced Ability – Use your bladed weapon(s) to successfully block all incoming attacks for a short period of time. Duration of this effect is dependent on proficiency with this Skill and the weapon(s) used. Modifier – Constitution. Cost – 180 Endurance. – 20%
Cleave – Advanced Ability – Your next attack with a bladed weapon ignores your opponent’s armor. Modifier – Strength. Cost – 150 Endurance. – 20%
Siphon – Advanced Ability – On a successful hit, your arrow bleeds health from its target, transferring a portion of the damage back to you in the form of restored Health. Damage and restoration rates are dependent on proficiency. Modifier – Constitution. Cost – 100 Aura. – 1%
Enlarge – Advanced Ability – Your arrow grows to massive size in flight, taking on the power of a ballista bolt. Modifier – Constitution. Cost – 120 Endurance. – 22%
Sintári Abilities
Natural Affinity – The Sintári’s unique connection with the natural world may manifest itself in random ways at times. While these effects are generally beneficial, they are also typically outside the direct control of the Sintári. Modifier – Charisma.
Control – Effect varies, applies to all Sintári Abilities. – 88%
Shadow Armor – Use your shadows to form a barrier that not only absorbs incoming damage, but also lashes out at any foes within its reach. The power of this armor’s offense and defense depend on how much of your darkness you channel into it. Modifier – Shadow Magic Affinity. Cost N/A. – 52%.
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