The Eternal Blade Saga Book 2, Chapter 38: Symbiosis

*Please note this chapter's POV has shifted to Seren*

The air grew uncomfortably still as the fighting ceased and all attention became focused on the mysterious figure standing amongst the rubble. Seren couldn’t believe what she was seeing. At first, the young guardian thought it was a trick of the smoke obscuring her vision, but there was a familiarity in the figure she saw. Dee seemed to recognize the woman, calling her by name. However, Seren remained suspicious. Everything she had known had been turned upside down in her previous days. She wasn’t sure what to believe any more, even with her own eyes.

Despite the sense of familiarity, theheight seemed to be all wrong to be Nienna. The firelight against the smoke andshadows hid most of the outline of her form, so Seren couldn’t really be sure.But it wasn’t only that. This woman felt—different from Nienna. She was stillthere, but distant, and there was something else: something emotionless anddark. It was hard to explain, even to herself, but she felt it all the same. Herintuition rose an army of red flags, prickling her skin and issuing a warning thatsomething was very wrong.  

Seren wiped at the beads of sweat and blood on her brow. In the midst of battle, she had failed to completely dodge weapon fire from one of the Inquest golems, and it had grazed her forehead at her hairline. She hadn’t noticed the pain until she reached up to feel the wound. She was tired too, they all were, and in that moment, the young guardian was thankful for the lull in battle. However, her gratitude was not without caution. She was young, but Seren had enough experience to know it was wise to be suspicious of a growing quiet amongst the fight. One usually knew what to expect in the throes of battle. It was when the chaos stopped that she knew it was time to worry what the enemy was up to.

“THOSEWHO ARE GUILTY NEED TO MAKE PEACE WITH YOUR GODS AND PREPARE TO MEET YOUR FATE.”

The woman who appeared to be Niennastepped forward, and as she did, smoke and shadow coalesced into strips ofleather that wrapped her torso. Panels of black material and leather stripsadorned with metal rings hung heavy around her waist over a pair of blackleggings. Charred wood crumbled under the weight of her dark boots, the bits disintegratinginto dust that was blown away with the slightest breeze. An elegant featheredmantle rest on her shoulders, and wisps of black shadow wafted off of them,adding to her otherworldly appearance. It was then that Seren got a good lookat the woman’s face. It was Nienna—and it wasn’t.

Her signature long, red hair was nowjet black, and her skin ghostly pale. It was her eyes though that sent chillsdown Seren’s spine. They were completely dark and devoid of any warmth theyonce had. As they fell upon the young guardian, she swallowed hard. She wantedto look away, but her gaze remained locked with Nienna’s, held there by someunseen grasp. All she could look at were those dead eyes. The woman’s lifelessexpression lingered, and an unsettling smile started to grow on her pale lips.

Shuffling from behind her finallypulled Seren’s gaze away, and she looked over her shoulder to find theirenemies regrouping and shifting their ranks. They no longer seemed to befocused on Seren and the others, and instead had turned their attention toNienna. The change in attention gave her an opportunity to slip off to the sidewhere Salara was catching her breath and bracing herself against her staff. Thesylvari had just recently returned with Dee from their errand, and she hadimmediately flung herself into battle, igniting the air above and calling theflames down to the ground where they charred everything they touched. Havingbeen a passive individual, her wild display of destruction had taken Seren back,but the added arsenal was welcome.

“What is going on?” Salara asked, bewildered. She looked over at the woman who was once their leader and shivered, shaking the dark leaves pulled back from the crown of her head. They had been roughed up and torn from the skirmish. The edges of her Priory robes had been singed as well by a back-spray of embers from her firestorm. Despite her roughed-up appearance, Salara’s crystalline eyes burned bright with a fire that quietly lusted for battle. “Everything just stopped. Who is that?”

“I think it’s Nienna,” Seren replied,glancing back over at the woman now stepping out from the rubble. She could nowsee now that the smoke had not played any tricks on her eyes. This figureresembling their guild’s leader stood at least two feet taller, towering overall of them. Her divine stature was poised and purposeful. In her hand, shecarried a scythe nearly the same height as her that had a frighteningly sharpcurve and emitted a ghostly green glow. Even if she had felt it, she showed nofear of the hoard of enemies ready to attack. It was all wrong. This person waseverything Seren had never seen in Nienna.

The sylvari’s eyes went wide. “But shelooks so different.”

“She said she was going to dosomething to help I think…,” Seren’s words trailed off, and then her eyeswidened as an epiphany struck. “You have gotto be kidding me.”

“What?” Salara asked, but the youngguardian had already left her side and was making her way toward the ruinedhall.

“Hey! Just for the record, this wasthe most idiotic idea you have ever had,”Seren roared as she pointed her sword toward Nienna. “Sister or not, I can’tlet you do this. I mean, look what it’s done to you.”

Nienna cocked her head to the side andflashed Seren a quizzical look. “IT HASDONE NOTHING BUT IMPROVE HER EXISTANCE. SHE CAN HAVE THE JUSTICE SHE SODESIRES.”

“Why is she speaking about herselfthat way?” Dee asked as she approached Seren’s side. “And what’s wrong with hervoice? It doesn’t sound like her.”

“I think it’s the blade itself,” Alenasaid as she joined the pair. Her minions followed at her heels, circling andhissing at all the unrecognizable faces closing in. Gordo lumbered behind them,following his mistress blindly as he waited for another command. “It’s just aquick theory, but I think the blade’s energy is using Nienna to personifyitself. Look how it’s transformed her physically. It’s like we’re seeing asymbiotic relationship at work here. It’s incredible!”

“Incredible? It’s creepy and dangerous!” Seren cried. “She’s holding the blade. Its power is overtaking her.It’s in control and who knows what it’ll make her do. We have to get that thingaway from her.”

She felt a heavy tapping on her shoulder, and Seren turned to find Clarkus and Tuborg with their backs to her, creating a protective wall between them and the enemies closing in behind them. Tuborg had lost his helm and had a cut on his caledon mushroom cap that was seeping golden sap. The charr also bore signs of battle with dirt and ash matted into his striped neck fur and all along one side of his snout. He reached up and gingerly touched a cut along his chin that had turned his white fur red. He let out an angry growl.

“We got incoming—sort of,” the Clarkussaid. “They don’t seem to be focused on usanymore, now that they have a bigger target in their sights.”

 “That may be true,” Tuborg began, “but if we’renot careful, we’re going to find ourselves in the middle of quite the storm.”

Seren nervously looked back and forthbetween Nienna and their enemies. They had started to flank the group now, andwere working their way behind the ruins. Inquest red was everywhere, brokenonly by the dark unrecognizable uniforms of hired fighters. Their shield stillheld, but Seren strained to look beyond it, hoping that maybe the Vigil would cometo their rescue. The noise of battle andthe red shields would have had to gotten their attention, she thought.

But there was no one.

“Hey, wait—where’s Ariella?” Serenasked. Her gaze darted around as she tried to find the elusive norn. It wasn’tunusual for her to disappear while seeking out a point of advantage from whichto strike, but the norn’s absence still worried her.

Salara shrugged. “Haven’t seen her.”

Clarkus anxiously wrung his paws onthe pommel of his sword as he nodded towards Nienna. “I certainly hope this iswhat the commander had us hold the courtyard for. I’m ready to finish thisfight.”

Using the large scythe as a staff asshe walked, Nienna casually strode forward. Shadows trailed in her wake andfrost formed at her feet everywhere she stepped. Stopping a few feet away fromthe group, she stared them down, as if they were merely an obstacle in her way.The severity of the developing situation appeared not to bother her in theslightest.

“THIS GROUP HAS BEEN DEEMED INNOCENT. MOVEASIDE.”

“They’re closing in,” Tuborg warned ashe readied his stance and great blade for impending battle.

Nienna took another step toward thegroupand thrust the end of thescythe into the ground, eliciting a heavy thud that echoed throughout thecourtyard. “MOVE. ASIDE.”

“Should we get out of her way?” Tuborgasked.

“We can’t. They’re everywhere now,” Alenareplied. Her long ears hung low and back as her worried gaze flitted all aroundthem.

Growl.“Let the commander have ‘em!” Clarkus roared. He thumped his clawed fistagainst his breastplate. The gesture agitated some of the Inquest and fighters,and they responded in kind.

Seren pushed through the group and positionedherself right in front of Nienna. “This isn’t right, this isn’t you. We don’tneed the blade to defeat our enemies. We can do this together!”

“SHE NEEDS THIS. SHE NEEDS ME.”

Seren narrowed her eyes. “Is that the lie you whispered into her ear to get her to pick you up?”

Those dark, dead eyes suddenly grew all aflame with a sharpened rage. “I DO NOT DECEIVE. I SEEK ONLY TO JUDGE THE GUILTY.”

“They’re coming!” Dee warned. Hervoice was drowned out by the sudden battle cries from their enemies rushing towardthem.

“GET OUT OF MY WAY!”

Nienna raised the scythe over herhead, the sharp curved edge poised to strike, but the piercing call of a snowyowl pulled her attention from the group. Athena soared down from a nearby tree,her talons outstretched. An unnatural growl emerged from Nienna’s throat, andshe turned and swung the blade at the bird.

“No!” Seren yelled, and as the bladefinished its arc and came within her reach, she dropped her weapons and reachedfor the scythe’s staff, grabbing hold without a thought.

Warring energies rapidly built betweenSeren and Nienna while they remained locked in a fight to take control over theblade. Through clenched teeth, the young guardian fought to hang on to theancient weapon. The ancient power reverberating up through her arms and intoher chest where she could feel it tighten around her lungs. It became harder andharder for her to breathe and even more difficult to hang on, but Seren persisted.She refused to let this weapon take over her friend—this woman who might be hersister.

The body can only take so much beforegiving in or breaking down. The power coursing through Seren overwhelmed her alreadytaxed body, and she felt her grip on the weapon weakening. Sensing her strengthwaning, Nienna pushed back hard, knocking the young guardian onto her backsideamongst the group. The group rushed to her side, and Dee helped Seren to herfeet before protectively placing herself between the young guardian and Nienna.Peering around the norn’s shoulder, Seren looked up and was met with a palevisage twisted in an odd look of curiosity and a knowing smile gracing herlips.

There was movement that was almost too quick to track, and before the group could react, Nienna swung the scythe upward, catching a sword wielded by an Inquest assassin. She turned her head, her black eyes narrowing at the asura who remained wide-eyed and frozen in fear. His little ears trembled. With a flick of her weapon, Nienna sent his blade sailing away through the air and then effortlessly swung the scythe over her head and around to connect with his neck. The lifeless body fell to the ground and soaked the dirt and ash with its blood.

With a satisfied smile, she let out atriumphant howl that sent a chill down Seren’s spine. The lull in the battle wasover.