The Game Before the Fall

Chapter 38: Inheritance (Part 2)

"Would you mind telling us the truth?" I asked.

"It's not a kind tale," Elene replied softly.

"We've already heard about what happened to other Witches.... Their tales didn't end kindly either."

Elene breathed out, looking past us and to the city. The beautifully laid out streets surrounded by neatly erected buildings where everything had a purpose and place. Ultimately however it was lifeless. Empty.

"My Lady did not wish to be a Witch. She was born an orphan but due to an incident, realised she had a talent to charm others and testing her powers further, she discovered a way to control others by sharing her blood. I was but a doll at first, a charm my Lady kept."

"Sorry did you say doll?" Aria interrupted, though still conflicted she was paying attention.

"Right, I did not say before. I am an automaton as are my brother and sister you met earlier. My Lady created us, and I was her first. My heart built from the doll she cherished as a child."

While I wasn't all too surprised, I was impressed. She, Clara and Gerald all seemed very alive. They were a far stretch compared to the puppets that the dwarves had created before.

"Please continue," I gestured before Aria could ask another question.

"Yes.... It was slow at first. My Lady controlled the orphanage director, building a happier place for the others. Then it was leader of the gangs. The head of the Church. A rich merchant. They were the corrupt who assaulted her but turned to become her finest servants. Time passed and almost without realising my Lady had control over Elastire. I was made to keep her company as she realised she did not age and for a long while, we ruled the North. It was peaceful. People accepted her blood as a gift, a sign of pledging their lives to her rule. Then the Hero arrived.

"My Lady was smitten from the stories she heard of him and welcomed his arrival. He walked with us for a time, seemingly exactly as the stories told. No one realised his true intentions before it was too late. A single cut from his sword and he removed my Lady's head, just before he crushed it." Elene began to shake, a bitter echo embedding into her voice. "He was a pretender, accepting my Lady's love all the while building a case against her. His goal to rule in her stead, as the Hero who freed Elastire from the Witch of Blood. The irony however, was that if he had simply asked, she would have given it all to him from love."

Aria ground her teeth, "You killed him right? Tell me he got what he deserved."

Elene laughed, "He did die. He was torn apart by the chaos he caused. But...," Elene softened, again looking out to the city, "that revenge came at a cost. Those that had shared my Lady's blood lost control without her. They became crazed and infected others, turning the city to a nightmare. Everything my Lady had built fell apart in mere hours. Then she appeared...."

"Who appeared?" I asked as she went silent.

"The Eldest sister. The Witch of the Void. No one could stop the chaos and if it had spread the world would surely fall. But she... she sent us all away. Cut away our city and threw it to the Rift."

"That's-," I wanted to say impossible. A being powerful enough to send all the land we stood on now into the Rift.... It was a thought I couldn't comprehend. As someone who could touch the Void, I knew a fragment of what it would take. It would be more than just suicide.

"For several months the people of Elastire raged. All were turned by the curse and seeking sustenance they ate all the living animals of Elastire, right down to the smallest insect. And when the food was eaten... they starved." Elene sat down beside Aria, lips tight. "Then it was silence, a silence that persisted till now. We automatons were spared and though it took centuries, we pieced together what was broken."