The Echo of a False Hero

Everybody in the village had done a complete personality change around him. Although he could not be considered a 'believer' of Ashurn , they did not know that. If anything, the fact that he wasn't smited in those holy flames probably had something to do with his sigil protecting him from its influence.

Does this mean that all the voidwalkers are brainwashed? what exactly is Ashurn?

Elias did not fret over this. He had one focus.

He spent the next week learning more about the world with his newfound freedom. Books were expensive and hard to come by , however as the Ashborn clan had lived here for a very long time and protected their land it was probably one of the last remaining stores of knowledge aside from the royal archives and the church.

Of course , Elias wasn't a voidwalker yet , and his acceptation was not long ago. He did not push his limits.

He opened a history book on voidwalkers, but sighed and slowly moaned.

He didn't know how to read. No , it was more likely that he had forgotten how to read. The words seem vaguely familar however distant , causing Elias to close the book and talk to the scribe that watched over this place. He wore a deep-red robe that possesed a certain majesty to it with a beard that covered his face and scruffy , bushy eyebrows that covered most of his features.

He had a quiet vibe around him , but Elias felt something from him.

Void energy?

his sigil began to slightly buzz as Elias sat opposite him. The old man paid no attention to him before he put the quill down.

'Welcome , accepted one. How may i be of service?'

'Hello , elder. I'm just wondering about voidshards and need more information. Is it alright if i ask you some questions?'

The old man gave a small grunt , before offering a freindly smile.

'Of course. Please call me Veylan, i am not particualy fond of being reminded of my age.' His eyes slowly opened , possesing a unnatural wisdom to them. His eyes slowly drifted to the sigil on Elias hand before returning onto his face.

'Can you describe rifts?' Elias clearly stated as the old man nodded his head.

'You could say that reality from the void dimension converging with our world is what causes these 'rifts'. Centuries ago , humanity was nearly wiped to the point of exctinction with the collapse of the veilstone , something that held the barrier between the two dimensions together.'

Elias had heard this from Rook. But an opportunity to get more information from such an educated source was rare.

'I see. Then what caused the collapse of the Veilstone?'

'Ashurn knowns. Some say it was the greed of humans. Some say that it couldn't take the toll of holding the dimensions together after thousands of years. However , one thing that is agreed upon is that the veilstone was sentient to the point of choosing 'hero's'. When one generation of hero dies , another is selected , marked by a sigil like yours. However , your sigil's pattern , an eye , is unique. I have never heard such a description of a sigil.... hm.... could you be the first of another class , or are you a fake? it matters not.'

Elias felt his heart twing a bit before nodding his head and moving on.

'How does the veilstone fit in with the belief of Ashurn?'

Veylan moved his body back on his chair , looking up to the ceiling.

'Much like the heretical church of today , we do not believe in a god that created the world or created the veilstone. Instead , we believe in 'ascendants' , hero's who moved up past the seven tiers and ascended to the very essence of the world itself. However , unlike the church , Ashurn was not a hero , and did not possess a sigil. He went up the tiers through his sheer willpower and his blazing heart , and became one with the world to fight the void. The veilstone is something that was before him , and we do not believe that Ashurn created it or anything like that , neither do the church. However some groups do believe that a god created the veilstone... bah... imagine that. If god was omnipotent , then why give humanity such struggles?' Veylan's lip curled in disdain before nodding to Elias to ask the next one.

'What are voidborne?'

'Hm.....' The old scribe stroked his beard. 'Unexplainable horror. Some voidborne base themself off mythology lost to time , some create are completley seperate , however they all have strengths and weaknesses. Much like voidshards that human consumes , if you figure out what the 'theme' is , it can determine how easy your fight with the voidborne is. However more powerful voidborne with higher intelligence is , the harder it is to find. For example , a fire based voidborne , lets say a fire voidborne like a sulfur giant is obviously going to be weak to water , due to its theme , no? but Typhon , a catacymstic voidborne that plagued the earth around 136 years ago, a towering entity with a hundred shifting heads, each whispering in an unknowable language that frays reality itself, how do you stop something that does not summon storms , but is a storm? the answer is through sheer strength , most of the time. And that is what takes the life's of so many young hero's.'

Elias clenched his fist. The information was useful to him.

'What... exactly are sigils?'

'There are misconceptions about them. The viewpoint is that they stop the external influence of the void and other beings that can erode the mind , and that they give incomphrensionable talent to those chosen by it. However , there are examples of hero's who can be considered 'untalented' even with the sigil , shown by a lack of rising through the stages. These are dangerous as they are often swayed by the void into unsalvationable wrasses of flesh and mass that can threaten the world's safety. You could say that's why people were skeptical around you until you were marked by our god , me included. However , the true benefeit of those sigils is that they allow seamless integreation of voidshards with the limitation of 'class.' Although i've never met a hero since i like being surronded by books , as a blessed voidwalker myself i can feel the void energy around that thing. It is possible that Kaela is too inexperienced to feel it yet.'

I.. see....

'Zhukov.' Elias muttered. 'Do you know a sword with the name Zhukov? that summons green energy that can split the sky?'

Velyan shook his head. 'I do not recall knowing a sword called 'Zhukov'. However , if we are talking about green energy that is powerful than the verdant hero is who your most likely talking about. He was known for having a vast arsenal of swords he had collected from deceased enemies and freinds alike..'

The verdant hero?

could it be his father?

Elias clutched his head and tried to think. He did not recall his father having a sigil. Could it be a coincidence?

'Can you tell me more?'

Velyan grunted. ' i do not know more. The only information that comes from the capital are when hero's are selected and who they are , most of the time with somewhat unreliable results. However this generation have been selected, and their talent seems to be impressive compared to the last generation. All i know of the last generation is that the fool was the daughter of Rook , the man you knew.'

Elias felt his body go cold. The hellflame's roared up in his mind again as his sigil slowly began to shine , soothing him without a choice.

'Who are the royal family that Kaela mentioned?'

Velyan let out a grunt. But this time , his grunt turned into a snicker that resounded in the dusty library. 

'A bunch of entilted brats. Four princes , one princess. A civil war occured with the death of the emperor, they all believe to be better than one and eachover. They're all grasping at hero's like they're some political tools , failing to see the misery of their people and the threat of the void , Ashurn's curse upon them. Failure to react to rifts, higher taxing , a lack of basic understanding of needs of common people. For gods sake! abolish the entire thing!'

Elias gave an agreeing smile.

'Can you give examples of the powers of voidshards?' The old man's brows furrowed , before he sighed and nodded.

'Asking a voidwalker for their power is taboo in most cultures and can happen to people personally. When you entwine a voidshard it becomes one with you , for better or for worse. Some people see it as a part of their identity and when you ask what they are , they are likely to crumble. However! i do not take such a stance over my abilties due to the fact that i have dedicated my life out of combat. People treat me like their equals , but in my eyes , i am a coward compared to them. But Ashern's blessing is on me , and i protect people through this desk of mine.' The old man muttered , a certain fire in his eyes , perhaps the washing of his age has not dampened the spirit. ' My first shard was collected from a monster called Suithus. The rift was described to me as something the strike team had never seen before. It was in the forest , and every 'tree' was replaced with the four letters 'tree'. Rocks disspeared , only with a large black font saying 'rock'. The monster was weak physically , but anything it wrote appeared. Luckily the Grand-patriach managed to kill it before it managed to erase existence of one of the strike-team. Oh. I got side tracked.'

The old man gave a cough before clicking his fingers.

'It gave me a couple of powers. It gave me the abilty to understand and translate any written or spoke language , even those long dead and encrypted, allowed long range communication through speaking of the mind, and allowed me to memorize entire books , scrolls within just glancing at the content. The weakness , however, was that knoweldge stored in his mind is never forgotten, and my memories will never fade.' His face dropped. 'I've seen things that are meant to be forgotten. You could say that forgetting is a benefeit that i never can get again. Your memories will fade in time, sure , maybe even what happened with Rook. But i remeber every smell , every touch , the feelings of pain, the texture, every face that died , every personality of people i lost. It certaintly is alot. I wonder if somebody without Ashurn's gift can handle this?' He sighed. His eyes flashed with what he probably remebered all those years ago. A lover , maybe even a freind. Elias shuddered thinking of it. 

'My second voidshard is... well , you don't need to know the monster. But it's a power i don't use often. It allows me to connect my mind to others and share knoweldge and experience. But through my life , i've only used it a couple of times. The risk of mental entangelment and overload from the collective consciousness is too much for somebody to bear. Imagine a mind that never forgets sharing those memories and that mind? you'd crack. And it's happened before.'

'Will you ever had a third voidshard?' Elias asked as the old man snickered.

'Voidshards work off something similar to digestion. At the start of using the shard , your powers are weakened and hard to control. The more you use them , the more you get used to them and the stronger they grow. However to ascend to the next stage you must have mastery over the voidshard and its power and not get corrupted by its usage. The benefeit of it is that the risk can be lowered through more time invested in it , but it can never be nullified. However , due to the nature of my second voidshard , i've never mastered it nor mimisied the risk , for my fear to use it is too grand.'

Elias nodded his head in understanding. It was similar to a warrior training muscles , but with exterresional horror beyond human comphrension.

'I have work i need to do now. I hope i've been useful to you , accepted one.' Velyan gave a smile before diligently returning to his work. Elias stood up from the seat and did a small bow before returning the chair and walking out.

Slowly walking out of the door, Elias looked down to his sigl and breathed out.

Remain focused. You must not waver.

The void knows.