Web of Blades - Chapter 20: Spreading the Truth

Kalden wiped the water from his eyes as he processed this new development. He knew Tori had forgotten their time together in Kenzo’s fortress, but this was a better result than he could have hoped for. And while he intended to share the truth, he had to address the mammoth in the room. 

“You first,” Kalden said. “You hunted me down and tried to kill me out of nowhere. I want to know why.” More importantly, would she change her mind and come back for a second round? Had he truly swayed her with one technique, or was she desperate for answers?

“Hey!” Lyra shouted from the other side of the canyon. “I’m coming over! Don’t throw any blades at me, okay?”

Kalden nodded toward her, even as his ruthless side considered a surprise attack. One perfectly timed blade could slow Lyra’s momentum and tip the scales back in his favor. Between that and the dream technique, Tori might be too shaken to fight again after that.

The thought faded as quickly as it came, leaving a faint distaste in its wake. He’d already committed to a better path forward. The first step toward uniting North Shoken against their true enemy.

Lyra got a running start and kicked off with a burst of pure mana, vaulting over the broken bridge. Meanwhile, Zukan approached more cautiously along the stone path, brushing the ice crystals from his sleeveless black shirt.

“You were right before,” Tori said once everyone had gathered around. “The orders came from Kai Raizen.”

“What’s the Sandviper want with me?” Kalden already knew the answer, but he still wanted to hear her guess.

“He said you and your family threatened the Great Concord.”

“That’s all?” 

“Yeah, I know how it sounds.” Tori tilted her head and spoke in a mock-earnest voice. “Just following orders! But can you really blame me? One day, we were classmates, then you became a third year without saying a word. Then you and Zeller allegedly stole a quantum computer from the school library, became masked vigilantes who drained people’s souls, and attacked the freaking Palace Prime.”

“Ashur Moonfire took Relia against her will,” Kalden replied. “We did all that to save her. And we only attacked the police who were hurting innocent people.”

“Sure, but no one told me that. Why wouldn’t I believe my Mystic after all the shit you guys did back in Espiria?” 

Lyra glanced back and forth, twirling a lock of her red hair between her fingers. “I’m lost here. Why did we stop fighting?”

“Misunderstanding,” Zukan said in a dry voice.

“Ask him.” Tori pointed to Kalden, then tapped the side of her own head. “Why do I have these memories of us training together as kids? How the hell did you do this? And who took them in the first place?”

Kalden surveyed their small group. They were all dripping wet thanks to Lyra’s techniques and practically begging to be ambushed out here. “You two want to come inside the house? This might take a while.”

~~~

Five minutes later, they all gathered around the hearth in Kalden and Zukan’s camp site. Zukan rekindled his fire technique, and Kalden retrieved two more zylusk legs for their guests. Apparently, those two had been traveling for two days straight without food or sleep.

Lyra stretched out on the stone floor with her head on Tori’s lap, eyes half closed but still listening. Meanwhile, Zukan continued eating his dinner as if he’d never been interrupted, tearing strips of zylusk meat with the quiet efficiency of someone used to getting his meals cut short. The next few zylusk legs hovered over the fire, rotating with subtle shifts of Kalden’s mana.

As the food cooked, Kalden shared the bones of his story, starting with Last Haven and how someone erased the sect from the map, along with any memory or record of its existence. This part was the most relevant for Tori, since it explained her lost memories.

From there, he moved on to the Archipelago and how it served as a prison for anyone who opposed Last Haven’s attacker. It felt strange to speak so openly about this, but the time for secrets was behind them.

Finally, Kalden explained how the Archipelago served as a microcosm for their entire world. Just as the Martials had been complicit in their own capture, the Mystics swore never to oppose the world’s true enemy. Kalden even shared his father’s theories about the enemy’s ultimate goal.

Tori frowned at this last part. “So let me get this straight. This mysterious Mystic wants to destroy the whole planet and become an Angel? And no one’s ever seen his face?”

Kalden shrugged a shoulder. “So my father says.”

“Do you believe him?”

“I haven’t decided yet. But I’d planned to fight this enemy, regardless. Because everything else is true. The stolen memories, the Archipelago—I’ve lived through it all.”

“Yeah.” Tori rubbed at her left temple. “I still can’t believe someone ripped that stuff out of my head.” Her voice quivered as she spoke, and Kalden understood. What could you trust if not your own memories?

“And everyone swears this oath?” Tori asked. “My grandfather? The Iron Regent?”

“Everyone,” he confirmed. “It happens during the Mystic advancement, so there’s no way to dodge it.” Aside from leaving the planet, but Kalden kept that part to himself for now.

“You’re sure? They know what’s happening, and they just roll with it?”

“You’re surprised?” Zukan asked. “They choose between keeping their power or losing everything.”

“Some of them try to fight back,” Kalden said. “They tell themselves they can do more good from a place of strength.”

“But they can’t fight back.” Tori ran a hand through her dreadlocks. “Shit . . . your dad needed a dream artist just to remember what happened.”

Kalden nodded. “He can’t fight the enemy directly, but he can still work to expose the truth. The Ivory Fox developed the dream technique I used on you, but she was assassinated before she could use it.”

“I heard about that,” Tori said in a low voice. “A Twilight Veil, right?” When Kalden nodded, she asked,“Any idea which clan it was?”

“I was hoping you did.”

She gave a helpless shrug. “Even if my clan knows, they haven’t told me. Besides, it happened before Lyra and I came to North Shoken.”

Kalden nodded again. “Speaking of which, how did you two end up here?” 

“We always planned to come back once my mom got better. She’s fine, by the way. Thanks for asking.”

He gave a faint smile. “Then let me rephrase that—how did you advance to the Master realm so quickly?” The North Shokenese had their own ways to speed up advancement, but most involved finding your Master revelation at a young age. If Tori and Lyra had done that, they should’ve been far closer to the Artisan realm last year. 

“Prime Minister Moonfire.” Tori glanced down at Lyra as if deciding how much to share. “He recruited us a few weeks before you attacked the Palace Prime. Then he pushed mana into our souls to make us advance quicker.” She gestured to their surroundings. “I think he was planning ahead for this.”

Kalden raised an eyebrow. “Planning to have you assassinate me in the Shadow Garden?”

“He wanted to recruit you, too,” Lyra said without opening her eyes. “You and Zeller both.”

Tori stroked the other girl’s hair and nodded in vague agreement. “He knew war was coming to North Shoken. He wanted his own pieces on the board. Relia Dawnfire was supposed to be his champion. We were the backups.” 

That certainly fit with Relia’s story, but one thing didn’t make sense. “My father and I aren’t trying to start a war. Quite the opposite, in fact. We’re trying to unite North Shoken against our true enemy.”

“Unity is rarely that easy,” Zukan said from Kalden’s right. He’d finished his meal and sat with his forearms resting on his knees, the golden star pendant catching the light of his fire mana.

“That’s one way to put it.”  Tori shifted her weight, and Lyra rolled over without opening her eyes. “You said all the Mystics serve your enemy. But what if some Mystics serve him more than others?”

“It’s possible.” Kalden turned the idea over in his mind, cross-referencing it against everything Relia had told them. According to her, Ashur Moonfire opposed the very enemy they sought to defeat. So why would he oppose this dream technique? Was it all part of some elaborate cover? The Sandviper was obviously involved, but who else did they need to watch out for?

Tori answered his question a second later. “Clan Sanako is after you, too. So is Makori.” 

“Wonderful,” Kalden said. “Same reasons as the Sandviper?”

“As far as I know,” she replied. “I met with the other aspirants before the Shadow Garden began. We agreed to work together against you if it came to that.” 

“What about Akari?” he asked. “She joined Clan Zell in the Storm Garden.” 

“Can’t say. Clan Shirin didn’t have any aspirants this year. But the Kazarus always pick a fight with Clan Zell. I doubt this year will be any different.”

Kalden knew Akari could handle herself—better than him in many cases—but his chest still tightened at the thought of someone ambushing her.

They sat in silence for a long moment while Zukan removed the next few zylusk legs from the fire. His mana continued flickering in the hearth, and the waterfall struck the stone path outside.

Tori accepted hers and took a bite. “So what’s your next move?”

“I still need my Veilcord,” Kalden said.

Zukan leaned forward and met Tori’s eyes. “Do we need to worry about your friends?”

“Maybe.” Tori furrowed her brow. “They had backup plans if I failed, but I can help you dodge them on the way.” Then she patted Lyra, who seemed to have fallen asleep. “I can send this one back to my group—tell them I’m chasing a lead. They might be pissed, but what can you do?”

“Are you planning to attack me again?” Kalden asked. He sensed no hostile intent in her mana this past hour, but he’d never stopped watching the Veilcord on her arms. 

“I had my chance,” she said with a quick shake of her head.

“That’s not as reassuring as you might think.”

Tori blew out a long breath of air. “Look . . . this whole thing rubbed me wrong from the start. Playing assassin, setting traps, attacking a non-Corded. Call me old-fashioned, but I still believe in honor.”

“But that didn’t stop you.” 

A flicker of regret crossed her face.”I thought I was doing the right thing. Now it sounds like I was protecting someone’s dark secrets.” A short pause. “What’s your plan after the Shadow Garden?”

“This dream technique works,” Kalden said. “Now I have to use it. If my father’s right, then our enemy is actively maintaining this memory suppression technique. The more we spread the truth, the weaker it gets.”

“So you’re gonna pop it like a bubble?” Tori asked.

“That’s the idea.” 

“Who’s next in line?”

“I don’t suppose Clan Raizen will listen?”

“I doubt it,” she said. “I might believe your story, but the others will need more proof.”

Kalden nodded. “What about Sora Sanako?” 

“The Shipwright?” Tori cocked her head to the side. “Why him?”

“He wields more influence than any other Mystic on the continent, aside from the Iron Regent. And I know for a fact that he lost something precious.”

Tori raised an eyebrow, but she didn’t press for more. 

“Have you met him?” Kalden asked. 

“Seen him,” she corrected. “He doesn’t talk to lowly Masters like us. And he sure as hell won’t listen to you.”

“I’ll think of something. I just need five minutes with him.”

Tori held his gaze for another few heartbeats, then shrugged.  “The Shipwright should be at this year’s Emergence.”

“Emergence?” Zukan asked.

“Big ceremony in Dorashi City,” she said. “The new Corded get paraded around, the Mystics give speeches, and everyone pretends to be friends.”

Kalden had already heard of the Emergence, “but he hadn’t given it much thought until now. Still, a public ceremony with hundreds of witnesses? That made it much harder for someone to make him disappear. 

“This could work,” he said.

Tori snorted at that. “You’ve never been to a party in Dorashi City, have you?” When Kalden didn’t reply, she flashed a dark smile. “I’d take my chances in the War Gardens.”