Full Dark

Chapter X: The First Oath

Columbus divided the right circle into a top and bottom half. He pointed at the top section. "If one's soul is just and good, they will be sent to the Dappled Valley, domain of Bask, Monarch of Sunlight." Columbus moved the stick downwards. "If a soul was greedy or feckless, Chain awaits them in the Grief Barrens, where the soul will be broken and beaten until it has been purified of all traces of evil."

Tobias suppressed a shiver. The Vigil believed that all Twisted were damned to a long audience with Chain. Was that what was in store for him?

"I mention Bask and Chain because all magic that we know, from my flames to your water, radiates from them, percolating into our world via the Curtain," said Columbus. "Are you familiar with each of the Abiding?"

"Of course," said Tobias. "There are the rulers of the Afterward, Bask and Chain. There is Brine, which, easy enough to remember, is the god of water. Squall dwells in the air, riding the high winds. Stoke's domain is fire, both the flame in the mountain and the passion of the heart. We pray to Thatch to grow crops, and invoke them when burying the dead. And the final one is... um..." Tobias paused, coming up blank.

"Shroud?" volunteered Amalia.

Columbus nodded his head. "Shroud is the seventh Abiding, and overseer of The Curtain. It seems that the Old Ways still live in Palewind. There is that to be thankful for, at least." He moved the stick to the point where the circles touched. "For our purposes, let us imagine this as The Curtain."

"Before us, before time itself, there were The Abiding," said Columbus. "When this world was still cooling from the fires of creation, The Abiding bound themselves together with The First Oath, a contract that they would adhere to for all of eternity. Each living thing was to be under the domain of Brine, Thatch, Stoke, or Squall, and the dead would be ruled by Bask and Chain. Shroud would sit between the worlds as judge and arbiter, insuring that the oath remained unbroken." Columbus divided the Caulheim circle into four quadrants.

"In the same way, so too is magic handled. Bask and Chain produce all magic, but the four gods of the mortal realm harness it, and they filter it down to their respective disciples. To give balance, impartial Shroud chooses which souls returning to our world can be disciples, and to whose domain they belong. These souls blessed by Shroud are considered Shroud-Touched, or as we tend to call them, magi."

Tobias stayed quiet, digesting the information being delivered to him.

"So because Tobias controlled that column of water, he is linked to Brine?" asked Amalia.

"Exactly," responded Columbus. "Tobias will have a resonance with water, and perhaps other liquids, but he will have no luck with shaping winds, or molding rock. The First Oath prohibits it. Even in their own domain, one is limited by what surrounds them: good luck causing a flood in the desert."

"So in a place like that, a water magus would need to carry their own supply to use magic?" asked Tobias. "Doesn't seem very useful."

"There is a way around it," admitted Columbus, "but it should not be a concern of yours. Besides even just within one's domain great feats are possible, if you have the patience and aptitude for it."

Tobias furrowed his brow in concentration, trying to think of the most relevant thing to ask while Columbus was still in a talkative mood. "This is interesting and all, but what's the catch? Why don't magi use magic all the time, to help themselves and others?"

Columbus shifted on his seat, started to speak a couple of times and stopped, as if determining the best approach to the topic. "I suppose there is no way around the hard truth. Each time you use magic, you bare your soul to the energies beyond the Curtain, and such things always come with a cost." His gaze drifted towards the fire, but he seemed to be staring through it. "Each invocation of your powers leaves behind a sliver of your soul in the Afterward. It shaves off your life, one moment at a time. It can even kill you, and the more magic you use before you die, the longer it takes to purify your soul. Or at least, that is what the philosophers claim."