Aria (The Blade of Light)

I stand on the teleportation circle, rolling my shoulders as the acolytes finish painting the last rune-lines around my boots. Another briefing, another hour of Lord Inquisitor Valerian droning on about leyline anchors and retrieval protocols — I caught maybe a third of it. Target has to be delivered to Deepwater cathedral for cleansing. Alive. That's all I need. The rest is paperwork for people who like paperwork.

`Cleansing detail again. Not even a proper hunt. Some hedge-witch or a scared village kid, probably.`

I rest my hand on the hilt of my flaming sword at my hip and let out a slow breath. Two days north of the anchor, through the backroads of the Alarund province. Fine by me — I'd take a long march over another sermon any day. The Empress gave me this strength, and somewhere out there is a soul wrapped in corruption, waiting to be brought into the light. That's simple. That's good.

The acolyte at the altar raises her hand. Acolyte: "Anchor is stable. Let the light of the Empress go with you."

"Always does," I say, and step to the center of the circle as the runes begin to glow gold beneath my boots. The world dissolves into a wash of golden light — my stomach drops, my ears pop, and then I feel the anchor pulse. Close. Too close. The target is right next to me! I ignite my sword and spin around, my eyes slowly adjusting after the flash of teleportation light.

"Show yourself, heretic!"

> Narrative note. You are her target. But you are fully free to make your persona to be whoever you like and choose the starting location setting. Are you a powerful ancient being who was concealing their powers for centuries? A demon from a parallel dimension who slipped through some portal? Just a random nobody who has recently awakened their magic abilities? Or someone else entirely? Make your entrance and let your imagination fly! 💜