I was entrusted to guard it. We brought it back in a coffin shaped box made from magic resistant material. Chains and locks were wrapped tightly around it and they clanged and sounded as the cart brought it home. The scholars who stayed with us in our sanctum were starved already to see what it was, the fools fogging their glasses and sharpening their fingers into lockpicks. As my commander prepared to leave for another ride, she turned to me and said “You are to guard it. See to it that none get near it.” And she left.
The rain began to fall and constantly drenched the roof and stonework of the fort we called our home. I am Elencia, a knight in service of our holy order. One function that we hold ourselves to is the containment of magical and strange items, cursed things filled with buried darkness and ill. Profane magic is to be locked away and held in vaults or destroyed if possible, though we oft avoid this for a firm belief held by recent leadership that even the most difficult and terrible things might be studied and understood one day.
I took a liking to this order. The battles they give me are fulfilling and the service we do I believe to be noble. They have given me charity; A bed to sleep on, armor to don, a sword to wield. I am not the strongest of the knights in this place, still bested time and time again by Vyl and Breata, but still I take pride in my ability. The rain, however, drove me mad. Every night, ever since we were given that coffin all I could do was either lay inside and console my candle or force myself out into the rain and mud to continue my work in the training yard for lack of a room spacious enough to perform my training.
Except… I was fairly certain the vault was mostly empty. It had only one occupant, and that was the relic it now housed. And I was, of course, meant to guard it. None would mind and it also would make it easy to catch any of those scholars if they were sneaking in…
And sure enough…
I opened the door to the vault shocked to find that it was slightly ajar. Down this low the sounds of rain were so muffled as to be softened together into a congealed drone, an ambient hum of the dour world outside. Under this sound my footsteps were disguised as I walked up behind the scholar who was crouched by the coffin and finishing the last rake of her pick into the lock.
Click. She pulled it aside and gently parted the chains. The girl adjusted her glasses and her short brunette hair and slowly crouched down to open the box. The lid lifted and my blade stood just an inch before her neck.
“I have not received your request to review and research, Scholar,” I said calmly.
Her hands went up in the air and she otherwise did not move. “I apologize! I… curiosity just got the better of me!”
“Aye, and what if what is inside gets the better of you? Your contingency plan lacks forethought.”
She turned on her tip-toes and faced me head on, that damned smile cute enough to maneuver any sternness I had so far displayed. “Forethought is the enemy of progress. If I were cursed, I am certain, humble knight, you would rescue me.”
I start to laugh. “I cannot dispel any hexes you fall under or even promise your security—Especially if you do not tell me when you intend to perform your research. Stand up and step aside…”
The scholar does as I say and takes her hip swaying steps away from the box. “You have to admit you are curious yourself. Do you even know what it is that is inside it?”
“I was not a part of the group that secured it…” I lift the lid just a bit more. Maybe… Maybe a peek would satiate her. The box parted more but I found myself unable to stop. I opened it the entire way and we were able to savor the sight.
It was a suit of armor a few inches taller than I. Its construction was immaculate and detailed with intricate plate and sinister curves that ended in thorns at the elbows and horns on the helm. Each inch was all midnight dark with pale red inlay. Even the glove was terribly dangerous looking with small interlocking spikes and wavering shapes that ended then in claws.
We are taken aback.
The Scholar reached for the helmet to admire the visor…
I slam the lid back shut before her fingers even enter the radius. “H-hey!” She yelps.
“If looking was dangerous, touching is foolish.” I insist, the humor and patience faded now. “They ought to teach you scholars self-preservation so you might live to see your work come to fruition.”
She gave a nervous smile and let her anxious tic bring her fingers to her glasses to adjust. “You worry far too much, my friend. I am from the universities of Aldaraia, it is in my nature to research and my forte to persevere. I have been cursed before and will likely be again…” She cleared her throat. “Still… I am lucky enough to be forgiven—unpunished! And to even steal a glance! You are far too kind madam… what was your name?”
She gave me no room to correct unpunished and earned my sigh. “Elencia. Elencia Parvets.”
“Elencia, why thank you so much. I’m Tilly Sprentz. Should I need muscle for my next bit of work, I know where to ask! Thank you again!” And she was out the door. When so motivated, she moved quicker than I expected the book readers to move. She was young and foolish and more spry than the grey beards or the desk sitters. She left an impression as my attention turned to what it was I went there in the first place for.
I locked the door to the vault and began my drills. There was just enough space for me to swing my sword and practice my balance. Both feet planted on the floor, swinging with my arms, making sure there was no unnecessary lean to my swing, becoming unmovable yet flexible…
My sword was laid to the side and I began my other training. I performed push ups and sit ups and lifted my pack filled with stones. I jumped and I ran in place, I did all that I could to earn the sweat on my brow and come to rest at last.
Against the cold stone wall, I laid. My waterskin was retrieved from my pack and the drink was overdue. My heart thud against my chest and the muscles of my body began their waning groans that would be followed by the pain of my muscle repairing come tomorrow.
It was then while I was alone with only the armor I felt… strange. My heart wasn’t slowing as quickly as it normally did. Resting would normally summon a satisfying relaxation but this time it did not part. I still felt as if I was running, as if the fire in my belly might grow and blossom until it took my mind as well. I stood up and squeezed my hands into fists. This place was nowhere to perform my exercises. The air was hot and humid down so low and the space was dark and foreboding. Only the torch in the corner offered any solace here and it quickly lost even that slight warming charm.
My thoughts returned to the sparring matches I performed with Vyl and how she bested me time and time again… I would grow no stronger down here. And yet… so long as it rained this would be all I had for lack of willingness on my part to catch my death out in the rain.
As I left the vault behind I felt my mind grow sluggish and my arms ache from the weight of my sword. I walked to my chambers and retired.
The next day I awoke to that rain still continuing on outside. There’d be no respite, it seemed. With no other choice I returned to the vault to continue my exercises. As soon as I began I was surprised by how motivated I felt. The exercises I performed before felt compromised and less than whole sprung forth into their fully evolved forms.
My count grew through each set, easily doubling my efforts and my count of repetitions from the day before. I finished my final sit up and stood and ran through the drills again and found the weight of the blade so much more familiar, so much easier to maneuver and control.
As I finished the final sway of my blade, I could that the warmth in me had grown so great. I fell to my knees and pushed my fingers against the tension of my belly. I felt the faint lines of my abdominals and went lower. The sweat striped vertically across my midriff, my hair fell messy and uneven. I panted as my fingers parted and hooked against my crotch. It was a fast touch but a sudden and impassioned one. When I stood my mind raced with condemnations of what I had done, how I had allowed myself to grow distracted. Besides, one of my vows was to avoid such carnal pleas.
And yet a new voice now lingered in my mind…
I awoke to routine with fresh eyes. We met and spoke our creeds together. There we were with hands on our chests. Vyl and Breata were there as well, my betters, maybe even true believers. Was I not one of them? The fact I was contemplating it even felt… strange. To question is to not believe. Even that first question in my mind had precluded me from them, my rivals. I saw Tilly, but she made no such promises and snuck off before our breakfast was served, likely content with her own rations.
As soon as I had finished eating I informed the castellan that all was still well protected in the vault and prayed they did not ask what it was I was doing down there or risk losing the only place I could continue to train. There were yet no orders for me to ride out and assist nor foes to fight. With that I returned to my self-imposed duties.
Back to my training. Swinging my blade. Honing my body. Only… the feeling I had was fading. The euphoric bravery was only whispers now. I wished it hadn’t struck me so hard but it was a mind blanking hole in my gut. Where had it gone, this motivation, this power?
I dropped my blade in my frustration and fell to my knees to fetch it. “Damn it… Why am I so incapable?!” I wanted to yell louder but I feared the vault ceiling would only be so succinct a sound suppressant.
I heard something.
I raised my head and stared at the source I somehow instantly recognized.
The coffin raised its voice. “Do you desire more?”
Shaking, I reached for my blade and raised it. “Who speaks?”
“Who listens?” The voice returned. It was difficult to place, neither male nor female. “I am naught but instrument. Tis your mind that informs. I have no words of mine and loan them from you. My personality blooms in you. My source… you know it already, Elencia dear. I’m in this box, the one you opened for your friend.”
“She is no friend…” I pointed my sword as if it would keep me away from this thing already in my mind. “And how is it that I hear you? Am I cursed already?”
“You are not cursed. My energy was released into the room when you opened the box. I was able to form some of myself but only partly. In only a few minutes, this personality I managed to form will fade as I am divorced by the great barrier of this reinforced box. I am water, this room my vessel, and the last sliver of me will soon be dried away.”
“Then why speak to me now? You wish to coerce me into falling for your trap?”
“I speak again on this: There is no me. I am nought but instrument and the song you hear now is your own. I am of the mind that feeds me, that speaks of what they want. And what do you want?”
Were I less lonely I might have ignored the voice. I hadn’t noticed I was so… empty until that moment when I felt companionship from sharing a room with a disembodied voice born of a cursed relic. And yet I hungered. “I seek strength. Of character. Of body. I want to be more than I am…”
“There is nobility in that,” The voice replied. “Those who seek strength find themselves to be less than they wish. There is no sin in wanting to be better. Is that what you wish for, to be stronger, more able a warrior?”
“Aye…” Despite my moment of weakness I was still on my guard. “And I suppose… you offer it?”
“It is what I offer,” The voice replied. “I have no memories of when exactly I offered this for you have smothered that mind with this box you hold me in, but I know it to be true. I make people stronger. I make them more. And nothing else.”
“No curses?”
“None whatsoever, as much as you can trust me,” The voice gave a gentle laugh, softer than its normal voice. “Elencia… I wish to be you.”
“Be… me?”
“I enjoyed seeing you work hard. I am enjoying our chance to talk. And I fear soon I will be no more. I don’t want to stop having you and I wish only to help. Please…”
Elencia felt a chill run down her spine. She felt conflict a more dedicated knight might not have expected to feel and it shocked her. She realized the question that was about to be asked of her would not be one she’d quickly turn away and she would, with all her heart and soul, consider it.
“Please open the box. Let more of my energy enter the room. Let me exist just a while longer.”
…
I returned the next day to continue my training. As soon as I opened the door that whispering voice entered my mind, “Welcome back, Elencia.”
“Thank you…” I walked slowly to the box and opened it for only a few moments, long enough to nurture this friend of mine who existed only so long as the armor nourished it. “A little air to break your fast, I suppose.”
“And now you are to perform your training?”
“Aye…”
I returned to each of my sets. I performed them adequately. I swung my blade and felt that same fervor return, that passion bright as flames that last time sent me to my knees and my hands to their grasp. I swung my blade forward and stopped firmly in place, my measure met and my balance unwavered. I panted heavily as sweat dribbled down my forehead and made me growl with approval. I felt incredible.
“And is that your set complete?”
I was surprised I hadn’t sunk to my hands and knees and committed to the same delirious pleasure as last time, but the sensation of another being in the room returned some function to my mind and made me feel a touch less uninhibited. “Aye.”
“And now you leave the room?”
“Til tomorrow.”
“Goodnight, Elencia.”
And I returned tomorrow.
Anon, I lifted myself and trained. I swung my sword with renewed fire, I put more weight in my backpack and practiced my lunges and my steps and leapt and ran and pushed myself further. I threw myself into it and gasped through each new height with delight. I rubbed my stomach and felt the muscles grow more defined as I worked and tightened them.
“And is that your set complete?”
“Until tomorrow.”
More rocks into my pack; I had grown accustomed to the weight and my muscles were starved for a challenge. Images of my fellow knights filled my head and agitated me into rushing from the vault and fetching more heavy things I might place inside. My backpack full to bursting I placed it on my back and began my push-ups. I retrieved a blade I borrowed from the armory, a much heavier bastard blade, and began my regiment with it. I thought there might be a time my knowledge was on loan from my previous sword but I was shocked how quickly my work had paid off and my instinct had transferred.
“Well done. And is that your set complete?”
“Just a few more…!”
And then the next day I returned again. I opened the coffin and neglected to close it. I brought my armor and trained more fiercely in it alongside the pack filled with stones and the borrowed heavy blade. I threw myself into it when suddenly an apparition appeared. A figure stood before me. “Explain yourself…” I pointed the sword.
The voice replied. “A training partner. I studied how you fight and learned that I can creation illusions to assist.” The figure moved its blade into its first position. “Use it as a way to hone your technique.”
It seemed preposterous but the more I committed to the act the more convinced I was. Our blades seemed to clash and I was able to work with something that was fighting back. I anticipated their swings and retorted. I watched their figure and hasted to beat back their attacks. I exploited openings and made them fall back. But they returned with their own strength renewed. They had learned from fighting me and redoubled their efforts. They exploited my weaknesses and used my techniques against me. They swung their familiar blade back at me and pushed me against the wall.
I growled and wished to move more agile. My armor was holding me back and my body grew too warm inside that vault. I tore it away from one piece at a time. My shoulders cracked and my biceps flexed as sweat beaded down my stomach. The stagnant air was colder than my furnace of heavy armor. I yelled and went forward with all the fury in form.
Shoulder first, I slammed my body weight into the figure and knocked them against the wall. I bashed their helmet with the hilt of my blade and broke their hand against the wall to undo their grip on their sword. I was feral. I pushed them to the ground and sat atop them. I ripped their helmet off to reveal below.
Their face was mine. Their hair was paler than my blonde. Their eyes were red. And they smiled at me faintly. “Apologies,” The voice said, a touch out of sync with the moving lips of the illusionary figure. “This is the only face I know, unless you’d rather—” it swapped then to Tilly’s, “I use hers?” And then their face was back to mine.
Panting, I was atop a pale shadow of myself. I set my blade aside and ran fingers through my hair. I ran a hand across the cheek of the illusion. It felt softer than mine, her hair more silken, her eyes more piercing. This was a woman who could conquer kingdoms. I was training in a dark vault that smelled of mold. I wanted to kiss her. I wanted chains around my neck that would pull me to her lips and would have us never part.
And there it was again, that infernal warmth that had made me break down the previous time. My fingers were already strumming at the seat of my underclothes. I hoped they would not notice but knew it was very likely they could detect it all, every emotion I felt, every little thing I had thought I had been hiding. They seemed to know how I fought well enough. I placed a hand against my clone’s chest plate and pulled it aside. They even had the mole on my breast that I was certain had been wrapped and not once revealed. They did not see, they detected, they saw me the same as water fills a room.
I stood up and closed the lid of the coffin and began to leave, letting my armor lay there for now. I needed clarity not cleanliness.
“And is that your set for today?”
I turned my head. The illusion was gone as if the armor suspected it had upset me. I shook my head. “Until tomorrow.”
And in my bed was where I felt all the blows. My hands did not relent. Alone, I touched and felt and inspected. My arms felt stronger. My stomach was tauter and more defined. I was more confident, more sure that I was a great knight. I hid my moans beneath my hand and then my pillow as it grew too intense to hide. And all I could think of over and over was how my armor was failing me. It made me too heavy, hindered the strength I was feeling.
I awoke the next day not noticing the bumps on either side of my head yet or the other sensations riding down my spine. I walked back to the vault as Tilly emerged from another room taking a bite from her apple.
“Why hello good madam knight! Might I see if I can assist?”
“Assist?” I replied.
“Word has it you’ve been spending quite a bit of time yelling down in the vault. They think you might be training. Well, sparring sounds like a splash of fun in my otherwise grey days. A quick sword fight, and if I win I get to inspect that relic, and if you win I’ll be a tongue towel for your abs. Sound fair?”
Maybe to her it was funnier as it still seemed an impossibility, but my mind steered into the sheer cliff of her face beneath me yesterday as I sparred with the illusion. I felt a shock to the system. “A-ah! I um…” I moved quickly to shake her. “No interest in that arrangement. You are not to look any further into the armor, got it?”
“No fun!” Tilly puffed her cheeks. “And is it to go… uninspected, unknown forever? I’m having dreams about the damn relic, come now…!” But she relented. She was sweet. “Fine. But I will find a way to learn more of it. Credit to you for being such a strong defender. Until next time, Elencia!”
I was thankful she ceased. Every step further down into the dark felt like a relief. Such urgency I did march with, I pushed my hands forward and nearly broke down the door when I discovered who was waiting for me.
Breata wore her brunette hair in tight braids and her attire was light and pale. She gave me a smile as I entered and threw a training blade my way. “Morning, Elencia. So, the rumors are true…” She pointed to the armor, the swords, my pack opened to reveal the training stones inside. “You really are down here fighting the hells. I worried it might be delirium, but the coffin was still firmly locked and shut.”
I was flustered but caught the blade without issue. “A-aye. I…” The sound of the rain was still barely audible.
“Truth be told I’ve gone quite stir crazy myself! And the thought that you were down here still wryly getting a workout in was driving me mad! I decided to investigate those rumors the scholar was spreading. Turns out she wasn’t full of it. Now… what say you and I fit in a quick match, check your merit? Fair warning, I’m a tad rusty.”
I was in no place to deny and Breata was one of the knights I admired. My superior. “A quick match…” We met blades and felt the honor in our chests. And then we fought.
We clashed and matched again and again. Every motion I had was quickly and capably deflected by her. I followed my instinct and my internal monologue, trying to stay balanced and stay to my stances and yet remain unpredictable and all it amounted to was her still capably reading me.
She was still in all measures my better but I swore the distance had closed. She was impressed and the battle lasted long enough even she began to run out of air. But then she pushed forward, swung her stance wide, and caught me off guard. She was able to slam forward and catch the blade tip just before my neck. It was decided.
“Very good… Though it is plain to see you need more sparring matches. Should we go again?”
I was quiet. “May I… Have some training time alone?”
She laughed. “Of course! I am the one intruding here. After all, you are stationed to this vault whereas I am not even afforded the honor of the stable. You’re doing good Elencia, already twice the warrior when you first joined.” She patted me on the shoulder and left.
Alone… I finally heard the voice again. “Elencia?”
“Armor… you saw her fight just now, yes?”
“I did.”
“Can you replicate it?”
…
I sparred with the shadowy replica of Breata over and over. I saw how it was she fought with luxury of time. I could see her moves and how it was she had controlled me all that battle. I felt satisfied at last by the end of the night when I finally defeated her! I panted and held my sword before retreating to a bath and then bed. I couldn’t keep my hands away from myself as I admired what I was and what I was becoming.
I returned the next day to commit to similar trials only to struggle more in this fight. “Why is she harder this time?” I asked.
The voice replied through her illusion “I studied what I learned of her overnight. I was not showing her correctly. This is much closer to how she fights. She’s brutal and sudden. She lets you tire yourself out and feints blows that look exhausting only to encourage you more. She carries her weight well and never wastes a blow. You spend most of your fighting trying to learn the other fighter that you forget to remain unpredictable yourself.”
“I need more…” I looked to the armor. “What… is that you do to the wearer?”
“I make them stronger,” The voice assured me. “We grow closer. You’ll grow more profane, less human.”
I took slow steps closer to the armor. “… And what if I only wear the gloves?”
“Then the effect is much lesser.”
Slowly… I reached into the box and retrieved both of the gauntlets. They were sharp and intricate, immaculately detailed. They fit me loosely as I slowly lowered the first onto my arm, just down to my elbow, and then equipped it on to the other.
THWIIISH—They suddenly tightened, matching my proportions perfectly. I looked at my hands and felt it… they radiated power. The faint red lines began to glow. It felt so sharp and incredible, as if I had borrowed another’s body and began to feel how much stronger they were. The warmth radiated through me and spread, a fire from another room growing so bright that its neighbor’s floor and wall began to grow warm.
I reached for my borrowed blade and found it lighter than ever. I swung it more deftly, more precisely.
“Very well done,” The voice said, only now it was within my own mind it spoke.
“There will be consequences to this, yes?”
“There will be.”
“Summon Breata.”
The illusion did as I asked. I returned to sparring with her mirror and did not cease for hours. I fought until every part of me was too exhausted to continue. I was stronger but still struggling in my battle. I slipped my hands out of the gauntlets and placed them back in the box and tiredly dragged myself back to my bed where I wished only to sleep off the frustration and the exhaustion. I would train again in the morning.
Sleep, however, struggled to come to me. All throughout the night I was interrupted by warm pulsations in my fingers. The radiating pain of my torn muscles was replaced by a strange tight wrapping sensation, something warmer than my own being encircling and ensnaring my arms though they were not visible. I felt this heat reach little pin pricks at the tips of my fingers. I hurriedly lit my lamp and watched as black claws emerged from my hands and my fingers were dyed dark black.
I stared at them for hours but could not bring myself to be disgusted. I was too enamored by the warmth, seduced by the sensation, and hungry for more. I fell asleep with my new, more sensitive hands wrapped around me.
When I awoke right before dawn I snuck out to the stables and hid away a pair of gloves. The rain had relented but it was still too muddy to train anywhere else, not that I’d even want to at this point. I returned to the vault with my hands hidden until I was there. I traded my gloves for the gauntlets and continued to train against Breata’s illusion.
I bested her. Every fight ended with my victory, my triumph. I cheered loudly. I defeated her again and again and memorized her moves and made improvements to my own style. All that was left was to test it on the real thing.
The illusion returned its form to its replica of me. It grabbed her hand and squeezed it, our claws matching now. “You’ve grown more confident.”
“I’ve grown stronger,” I said. “Thanks to you.”
“Thanks to me…” They nodded their head. “Might I ask you a favor?”
“I… suppose so?” I felt the gauntlets weigh more heavily.
“Call me Elencia.”
I hesitated. “Why… do you wish to hear my name?”
“You are who I know best. I know you better than me, for lack of me to even learn of. I am only what I observe. I wish to see if it feels right. Please.”
“Fine… I suppose it wouldn’t hurt, would it, Elencia?”
The figure shivered and bashfully turned her head away before smiling back at me. “Elencia. What a fine name. I shan’t steal it from you. We can share it happily, no?”
“We very much can,” I laugh.
“Can you show me more of you?”
“How do you mean?”
The illusion’s red eyes seemed to glow. “I mean your room. The place you stay. The people you are near. I see only where the armor has been exposed. I am asking you to please… take the gauntlets with you tonight to your bed. Let me see who we are normally.”
I wanted to laugh but knew this idea was not ridiculous to the figure. “What if you try to escape? Or seduce my friends?”
“I have no interest in escaping. Do you wish to escape? Then I do not either. I will only seduce those you wish seduced. I am nought but instrument.”
“And how would I hide these?” I point to the gauntlets.
“Like so…” She snapped her fingers. The gauntlets reduced themselves to… something. Some blasphemous material that then turned pale as my original skin (a touch paler perhaps) and perfectly faded back into me.
They can hide. I closed the coffin and locked all the locks and brough the keys back with me. “Only tonight. You may see this outside world only tonight.”
I made my nightly rituals slower so that she might see them better. I showed her dinner and the stew we were served and how we all ate in patient familiar timing, restrained and disciplined. I showed her how Tilly ate sugary foods she pilfered from the nearby village and brought her books and tomes with her to supper, alienating herself even from her fellow scholars we employed to assist with our research. The armor saw Breata who took her supper with the other knights ad they laughed and told friendly jokes and spoke of what they were before they were devoted. And I showed her Vyl.
Vyl ate alone at her own table. She read as she ate from a book that did not give away its topic. She was a redhead with a few freckles and a green gaze. She was the strongest knight in the base, perhaps one of the strongest in the entire order. She rarely socialized, mostly speaking with Breata whenever they had words worth exchanging. Besides the captain, she was also the one who left the base most often to perform missions and duties.
The armor whispered in mind “and you shall surpass even her.”
My eyes widened and I swallowed hard.
As I finished my supper I began to walk towards my room when a voice caught me. Vyl called out to me. “Meet me outside.”
She took me there. The training grounds were still muddy but had begun to dry. She threw a blade at me which I caught. “You mean to train?”
“Train. And to humble.” Vyl fished out her blade. Not a training blade but the silver sword she hunted her monsters with. “What is it you are doing down there? In that vault with that armor?”
“I train for lack of grounds…” I swiveled my foot as if to prove the mud would take me. She moved forward and pointed her blade in patient preparation.
“Then why is it you leave those training grounds after yelling for hours only to then return to your bedroom to make a new manner of sounds?” She swung. I caught the blade in time.
“What sounds?”
“The ones you think captured by your pillow. You go against teachings. You lack restraint.” She swung again. I was fast, stronger by merit of my training and the boon granted by my gauntlets but she was still beyond me. It was clear if she wanted to truly be done with me this would be the battle to finish me. But she wasn’t. She was putting me in my place, reminding me… She proved this by swinging in such a way to twist my wrist and disarm me. She had the blade pointed at my neck. “Do you want to be kicked out? A strong knight like you is rare and you’d risk it?”
“I need to get stronger…” I squeezed my fists, feeling the joints of the armor like a phantom limb.
“Then get stronger.” She pulled her blade away. “But cease training in that vault before someone who cares catches you, and be more careful what you do in your chambers.” She turned to walk away.
Without restraint, I swung my blade at her. She caught it. She turned and retorted. We clashed for minutes longer. Her speed was unmatched and her ability was elegant. I could still tell she was holding back so I went stronger. I begged the armor in my mind to give me more… more…! The gloves tightened around my arms and little barb like nubs sprouted down my forearms in single fins. I could feel the fire down to my bones as I swung faster and harder.
And finally, she showed me her everything. She drowned me in sword strikes and clashed against me once more before she defeated me with one final blow that went past my defenses and marked my cheek with a stripe of red. Blood.
She was cold, no smile on her face She placed her blade back in its sheathe. Wordlessly, she left me in the mud.
I bathed. I returned to the vault and fetched the greaves. They fashioned around my legs and expedited the process quite suddenly. I was brought to my hands and knees by the most severe year pleasurable cramp I had ever felt. My feet were clawed and legs armored by small spikes. My calves became more defined and my thighs ripped with strength, hot fire pouring through my veins.
“Did you see how it was she fought?” I asked.
“I did.”
“Tomorrow we begin the drills.”
“And you will defeat her,” The shadowy ghost of me appeared from behind and stroked my strong legs. I nodded my head.
“Yes, we will, Elencia.”
I returned to my bed and as is if to spite Vyl’s words my body continued to change. The strength of my legs as I wore the symbiote armor spread to my crotch and gave me a new fire to sate. At first it was only a bump but that bump grew more profane and heavy. I recognized the shape from the stables but not the size. The grapefruit sized sack swaying between my legs was new as well. Both of my hands wrapped around it and were met by a blunter more horribly tempting sensation than anything else I had ever drawn from my form.
“It feels so good…” I muttered.
My ghost appeared and contributed to touching it. I moaned softly. “A boon it is I can make you feel me so.”
“D-don’t stop… Please…”
“You must be ready for the mess.”
“Gods yes… Gods yes… How big…?”
“You will need new sheets if you are not careful. You will hit the walls if we go too hard.”
“Then I’ll be very careful… just… please… p-pleaaaase…!” Fire burned from my eyes and the little bumps of my growing horns pushed out further. I felt fire leave the tip of my new length. It was a deep, sinister pleasure that radiated in my balls and climbed to the top of the spire and then made my abs radiate in delight. As I cleaned myself I looked at my reflection and saw how deep the lines of my abs had grown and detected a faint red light glowing between them like a fire freshly put out… or just about to be encouraged into a blaze.
Again. I returned to the vault in the morning having slept with the bits of armor I pilfered. I roared and trained again, struggling to find weights that could even tire me out. My new length had vanished into its sheathe, a foreign addition that made it just as easy to hide as the other changing aspects of myself. I practiced too, summoning the armor from its transient hidden state, though with only greaves and gauntlets I found I looked a touch scandalous.
The rest of the armor beckoned, missing its sisters so badly. I felt the start of my tail pushing out from my back. I was the keeper… no one would know. I lifted the armor from its box and went to place it on me…
Only for it to turn in part into a dark slime that latched forward and attached itself to me. It squeezed tight, engulfing so much of me before settling on my person. And then it solidified. It turned back into itself, proud, dark armor, menacing as a demon. I was swallowed by it and made so much more. As the helmet turned dark and then slowly oozed off my face it revealed my smiling face as my horns continued to grow and my eyes turned just as red as my ghost’s.
I felt a maiden’s hands admiring my armor. I turned and it was my ghost, now entirely white haired and beautiful. She was as small as I used to be, but my transformation had made me taller, stronger.
“Look at how we’ve grown,” she said. The we made me feel incredible.
“Look at how much stronger we are now,” I echoed, finding myself laughing faintly. What madness I had surrendered to and yet I had no wish to return. She kissed me on the cheek and I rose back to my feet. The armor faded back into the form with which it remained hidden on me. I lifted my blade and continued to train, finding every swing was easier and easier than the last.
I heard someone coming with my much-improved hearing. I quickly slammed the box shut and turned just as Breata emerged through the door.
“Still going at it…?” She laughed. “I heard you and Vyl had an argument.”
“She accused me of being cursed and of disobeying my oath.”
“Forgive her, she’s more oath than woman,” Breata laughed. “Listen, I got an assignment and I didn’t want to waste what might be our last chance to spar.” She revealed the training swords she had brought with her. “One more bout, then get to bed. It is pretty late, Elencia.”
She threw the sword. I caught it and entered the stance.
Every movement was anticipated. Every blow was countered. Before she could exhaust me but now I was exhausting her. I whittled her defenses, made her regret every time she lifted her blade to catch mine. The recoil of my blows heated her muscles and shaved down the strength of her joints. I relished it, those moments I recognized the telltale signs of exhaustion. And yet she smiled. She was impressed with me.
I brought my blade to her neck and she threw her hands up and laughed.
“Yes Elencia! Well done! You are quite deft now. You move with so much more intent. Even when I could predict what you were about to do there was little I could manage. Whatever you’ve been doing, it has plainly worked for you.”
“… Thank you,” And I smiled back. “Breata. I hope we can fighting again soon.” I might have put too much emotion in to it but she matched me earnestly.
“Now don’t work too hard, alright? You’re stronger, but Vyl isn’t going anywhere. Have a good night, Elencia.” Breata left me in that chamber. No sooner the door had closed than the illusion of Vyl had appeared.
“Shall we?” My ghost of her asked.
“Of course,” I turned and we matched blades.
…
A knock at the door alerted me. “Enter.” I lowered my blade and hid the armor back within my person. Tilly came in through the door to the vault carrying a few things with her in a bag. “Tilly.”
“Hey… Elencia! Wow, you take this guarding stuff pretty seriously, you know that?” She laughed.
“What makes you say that?”
“Well… you missed breakfast… and supper… and frankly it seems you missed bed too, or at least Vyl suspects you have. How long have you been down here training?”
“Likely as long as you figure,” I say. Tilly took my hand and places an apple and some candies in it. I look at her with a faint smile. “Very kind of you…”
“Of course. You’re down here working hard and all that. I know how that is. I’ve missed more meals than I can count whenever I’m entranced by something. Research is research, your muscles are just more physically noticeable than my brain. Speaking of noticeable, have you gotten taller? And have you—”
“Would you like to research the armor?”
“I…? H-huh?” She waved her hands. “Hey! I did not bring these to bribe you! A paladin won’t fall to some sweets, no no! No game, honest, I—”
“Tilly,” I repeated. “Can you keep a secret?”
She gulped and slowly lowered her hands. “Why… yes. I’ve been told I am quite good at it.”
I placed my apple carrying hand atop both of her own hands. I bid the armor emerge. She watched as dark plate sprouted across my hand, constructed itself from thin threads of black goo spreading itself like web and solidifying. Her jaw dropped. I slowly raised my hand to her mouth with both of her hands still at the back of mine. She lowered her teeth around the apple and tasted it.
She studied me. She traced her hands across my legs. She pushed her face against my abs that glowed low and red and then her face against my sheathe. Her throat played its part to test the girth and her hips tested how my strength had increased. For what it was worth, I was very impressed with her endurance. I wished she had been more quiet, but we were far past observing curfew. She tasted me when I finished and curled her toes in satisfaction.
“I… I…”
“I am departing soon,” I whisper to her. My ghost watches me with a satisfied smile. “When I leave, come with me Tilly.”
“But… what about your oath?”
“Tilly… The oath has begun to hold me back. The oath would have me watching items collect dust and purity hypocrites control my pleasure. I’d be dry, weak, and here until the captain remembers my name and remembers my sword hand is better than my duty observing. I’ve guarded this vault well, I have earned my retirement. And you have earned your chance to research me to your heart’s content.”
Tilly… nodded her head. “I’ll wait for you. At the inn in the next village over where I fetch my sweets. I have friends there who can secret us away I suppose. I’m just surprised this is even happening Elencia. I’m only contracted so the folk here won’t miss me, especially not the old researchers. Assholes, the lot of them.”
I smiled and slowly walked away. “I’ll see you tomorrow once my business is done.”
And in my bed me and my ghost kissed and spoke of our plans, of who we’d be soon. I found myself using I less and less as it felt more incorrect. Elencia is certainly an I and yet that is not who We are. We are something more than one Elencia We suppose. Forgive me if I use the two interchangeably as some things are still being figured.
As I walked outside at night for the village, a stern voice ceased me. “Elencia!”
I turn, wearing only my small clothes. “Vyl?”
“Where do you think you are headed?” She was in her armor and with her sword. “I saw Tilly leaving a bit ago and you so soon as well, and after all that noise in the vault. Did she take the armor? Curious that the box was empty.” Vyl lifted the key she had and my eyes widened for only a moment.
Ah, so the captain did not fully trust us, or at least trusted Vyl to look over us.
“Vyl… dear. I am going nowhere. In fact, I am full glad you heard us. I wished to incite this… at night especially when no one will interrupt us. All good worshipping pure souls abed waiting with fervor to awaken and pray anon. They must be thrilled to be so… holy.”
My words did not entertain Vyl as she wielded her silver blade. “Drop to your knees and submit. I will be taking you back.”
“You won’t, I’m afraid.”
Vyl was still not entertained. “You are in your small clothes. You have no weapon.”
I laughed. I took a step forward. My feet were suddenly in armored boots. My legs were suddenly covered by armor. I lifted my arms above my head as the dark took them too, fully equipping them in armor. Vyl watched with her eyes wide in shock. I retrieved from my back a great blade formed fully of the armor’s material, my newest trick. I slammed the blade against the ground to display its heft and sent mud flying about me, bathed in red.
We spoke in unison, as one. “Vyl… Do you think you can still take me?”
And Vyl smiled. She was thoroughly entertained. “I do.” And she flew forward across the ground and swung her blade at Us. We caught it in a clash and pushed forward. We would win this battle and then see Tilly where she awaited us in the inn. And We will surpass Vyl and all of the order. We will be stronger. We laughed as our tail slipped forward and wrapped around Vyl’s legs and squeezed them tight together.
The rain slowly came to a halt that night as Our blade pointed at her neck. “Until next time…”
“… Until then.”