Aidari didn’t expect to die during a storm.

Her family had lived among them for generations, predicting weather patterns and following them to their next destination. Whether it was the harsh winds of Bitrfall or the soft, morning glow of Fyrebloom, each one had its own joys and vices. But right now, Aidari had never wished for sunrise right at this moment. Perhaps, it would make the High Stormcaster drop from heat exhaustion.

The tall, imposing figure of the Stormspell elf was obscured by the night sky and rain but Aidari didn’t have to guess that she was furious. Her purple skin and ornate, obnoxious purple cloak acted as a beacon to guide the High Stormcaster forwards. No amount of natural cloud cover could ever create such a monstrosity. Especially over a precarious cliff top like the one Aidari was currently stranded on.

Forewarn Cliff was a well known spot for romantics and as beautiful as her teacher was, she was sure the happy couple hadn’t chosen their underground secret lab because they liked the views. It had been completely hollowed out to lure servants and apprentices from Floodbound into their clutches. Servants like the ones she had failed to rescue. Servants like her. 

“I should’ve known. No Stormspell elf would ever go out on a night like this. That mist illusion of yours isn’t your best work, little Traited.” Kalia spat, her voice towering over the storm she conjured.

Aidari cursed, her arm still dripping with an ash covered wound, her grimoire long retreated into the void to preserve what little she could of her life. One wrong turn. All it took was one wrong turn and she was now caught between a rocky cliff face and a mass murderer. Well, one was fashionably late.

“True. Then again, I didn’t have much of a teacher, High Stormcaster. Too busy using your students as blood sacrifices?” Aidari yelled, attempting to goad the short fuse of her former mentor.

“You little snitch. I wondered why your control was above everyone else’s but now I see what a cheat you are.”

Fighting the urge to roll her eyes, Aidari kept her feet firmly planted on what little even ground she had and tried to convince herself the plan was good enough. Her wrists ached from being tied up for so long, the crumbling manacles now useless from Kalia’s husbands Earthspell but defending Kalia’s vicious lances of lightning with her mist was taking everything she had.

“I’d rather be a cheat than a murderer.”

The long stretch of winding water that rose into a gossamer barrier had always been mysteriously beautiful but now, without any sense of a plan, Aidari silently begged it to help aid her. It thrashed aimlessly against her back, the sea mist that rose lazily around the cliff face refused to settle beside her, the long strands of enchanted black water continuing to protect Nerdia from ‘outside forces.’ Outside forces like her. 

Great. The magic water barrier was racist.

Her pale violet skin flickered nervously against the weight of the lashing rain as if to remind her how woefully unprepared she was for this fight. Even with the High Stormcaster’s similar taste in weather controlling abilities Aidari’s were more used to being a distraction rather than attempting to outclass a combat mage. Which meant there was one way out of this. She had to stall until help arrived. If she could just get Kalia angry enough, her lightning would do the rest.

“Dearest, perhaps you should go a little easy on the Stormspell. We’ll be attracting more than just the Rainfall Brigade at this rate. We don’t want any more interference.”

The Earthspell elf remained unfazed like taking a leisurely stroll in the middle of a hurricane was nothing to him. Despite the cold winds heightening her fear, Elliot Ashgrave terrified Aidari far more than any fate that the murky drop below would provide her. After all, his lineage had been the one to create the Brink.

“Apologies, love. Tonight has been…less than stellar. I thought we should skip the questioning and silence her now. Just in case.” Kalia said warmly, her voice carrying easily despite the rising storm.

Aidari flinched the moment a familiar scarred hand rested supportively against Kalia’s shoulder. The long, thin red scars ran down the shadow of his dark skin like magma breaking through earth, the once greenish tinge of the Earthspell elves' hair turning redder with every step. Elliot Ashcraft had been on the wrong side of her lightning once before. He would not be so easy to fool twice. 

Clutching a crudely made book in his gnarled left hand, the pit of dread in Aidari’s stomach grew legs and crawled up her throat at the implications. Elliot Ashgrave had tried to create his own grimoire. He wanted to become cursed. He wanted to become a Traited. An elf with a grimoire. Her grimoire. The thought was…sickening.

“Of course, Kalia. That sounds like a pragmatic idea. Care to do the honours?” Elliot said cheerfully, his forest green eyes twitching with suppressed anger. 

Aidari seized the storm for herself.

The jagged rocks that made up the Forewarn Cliff rose to attention.

The hard earth and packed soil curled into a claw, cutting her attempt short just as the lightning clouds loomed overhead, perfectly aligned. Aidari clung on to the control over the skies above, her nails digging into the harsh rock until her nails bled ash, desperate to think of something, anything but the crushing weight around her chest. 

“Just like you did with Robin, your daughter?” Aidari blurted out, a last ditch attempt to buy time.

Kalia’s expression faltered, the large spray of water from the Brink skimming into her Stormspell by mere inches. She turned away, shutting her eyes to mask the pain of losing her daughter and her resolve. Just like any Traited, the Stormspell elves’ powers derived from their emotion and whether it was through shock or grief the storm around her faltered long enough for the grey cloud to fade to white. 

“A necessary sacrifice. Her Sunspell wasn’t enough to overpower that Daybreaker girl let alone Master Midari. But you? Well. That depends on where your loyalties lie.” Elliot said calmly, his nonchalant voice sending chills down her spine.

Aidari clutched her chest, the white hot scar that still burned beneath her cloak still made it hard to breathe. Robin Whiteheart had lured her and many innocent elven apprentices into her parent’s clutches with the promise of private tutoring. Her parents had assured their daughter that her Sunspell was meant for more. Before she used it to carve into Aidari’s chest. All for a stupid book she couldn’t summon.

“What’s a legend like Master Midari the Watcher got to do with it? She died during the Four Peaks war. Everyone knows what happened in Willowstone.” Aidari wheezed, the stones angrily tearing at her feet.

Master Midari had been a formidable Light Traited who had wielded sunbeams as fiercely as any Sunspell elf. She was a fond astrologist who was an advocate for connecting the myths of Neridia with her own kind but when the Four Peaks war overwhelmed Nocturus her research became a deadly weapon for war. Research that had recently made its way to Neridia.

“I see. Your power is strangely similar to ours despite being one of them. Cursed or not, we could’ve used that. Studied it. Help you control it. But, no. Instead you’re here. Trying to flee.” 

Aidari bit back the urge to argue, the snarl of indignation burying its way back into her throat in favour of trying to settle her rapid heartbeat. She wouldn’t call being caged to a cliff face with a treacherous, watery death drop at the bottom ‘fleeing’ but Elliot still had it in his ash covered brain that she could be persuaded.

“If I knew that was possible I wouldn’t have to hide. You do know Traited tend to turn to ash when we die? Unless you can squeeze blood out of a stone, you won’t get much to study from my ashes. Even Forecasters should know that.” Aidari bluffed, still trying to break free from the Earthspell mages grip.

So much for being a Mist Maiden. 

Aidari wasn’t good at deceptive tactics: too clumsy to skulk about and her Trait too inconsistent to rely on the shared connection between her and her Agar to even attempt swapping places. Her inability to grasp the most basic concept of her Trait had forced her hand, her fellow Mist Maiden’s having the ability to slip away from any situation. But she had something they didn’t have. 

Setting her jaw, Aidari wrenched her arms free of the coiling spikes just enough to reach for her abdomen with the tips of her palms, hiding her abilities beneath the Earthspell the best she could. The healing mist flooded her wounds, her wrists still weak to the weighty manacles from before. Despite all the bruises and blood the bruised ribs became a numbing pain long enough to stop the ash covered scars on her arms and slowly recover what she could of her energy.

“What would you suggest instead?”

“Let me join the Ashcraft Society.”

Aidari raised her chin defiantly despite the pain, meeting Elliot’s vengeful gaze head on, his grip on his Earthspell growing ever tighter despite the curiously dark look in his eyes. Aidari gulped, taking a steadying breath and focused on the fact that she hadn’t been thrown off Forewarn Cliff yet.

“Eli…”

Kalia stared up at the sky the morose greys she had conjured with her Cloudswell were now dappled with the dark indigo and pale lilac of the traditional Stormspell elf colours. 

“Why would we ever accept a Traited like you?”

The lightning still seized within Aidari’s palm stung with a vengeance. Not yet.

“What my husband means to say is…what are you offering, Aidari?”

“As you say, I’m a Traited. There’s no sense in denying that anymore. Which means, I have only a few hours left before the High Sunstress kicks me off the highest tower and back to where I came from. But that also benefits you and the people you work for. I happen to have contacts beyond Neridia.” Aidari admitted, the slight glimmer of trust in her former mentor's eyes making her wary.  

“You? You’re just a serving girl.”

Elliot’s harsh words were a crude slap to Aidari’s pride.

He sounded just like her Agar.

Her dragon barely acknowledged their shared existence, opting instead to dedicate themselves to serving their kin. Aidari had been alone when venturing to Neridia. She had been alone when she had left the Griffinwood and when she had been attacked in Blightshadow. Once again, she’d have to survive this alone.

“You wouldn’t happen to know of the House of Caldor, would you?” Aidari said casually, acting as if it wasn’t a big deal.

For the first time that night, Elliot’s expression was no longer impassive, a strange mix of contemplative incredulation. Aidari bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from grinning nervously, focusing on the strange negation that was happening in front of her. Her former noble house was the pinnacle of grimoire research.

“Not only that, but I have the Sentinel’s trust. The Winged Ascendancy is testy right now because of this lavish ceremony being interrupted but…being Traited to a dragon has its merits. If you get what I mean.” Aidari added, counting the seconds in her head.

The Ashgrave Society boasted the same over estimation of their intelligence exactly like her father. Aidari doubted they realised she was even missing. 

Her heart ached for the cool oasis she grew up in, the cold, isolating trees of Griffinwood well, Griftwood if she kept to its colloquial nickname. Not even a forest made of gold could pay for the debt you owe the Baron. 

Her parents, the Red Baron and Baroness had agreed to pay for her Mist Maiden education but before Aidari had realised their business ethic they scarpared to avoid the consequences and moved to a little town called Blightshadow. It was a small, uninhabited plot of trees right across from the Brink so her parents' business deals of ‘skimming off the top’ earned them the nickname Griftwood. The House of Caldor no longer cared for her family but Eli didn’t know that.

“She can’t be, Eli. She’s lying. We could kill her-“

“No. If we’re going to change Neridia we need the Sentinel’s backing. We need her, Kalia.”

A loud clap of thunder echoed across the Brink. 

“If we get caught…”

“We already are. At least this way it’ll all be worth it.”

Elliot glared back at his prisoner to make sure she hadn’t escaped. Aidari smiled sheepishly in an attempt to pass it off as one big joke.

“How can we trust her?”

Kalia’s normally pointed gaze softened a little, clutching Elliot’s cursed hand to calm him down. They’d be a cute couple if they weren’t murdering innocent children. The light rain turned harsh, the Earthspell surrounding her began to crumble section by section, finger by finger that relaxed under the weight of such a deal. 

“We bind her to her word. With necromancy.”

The duo threateningly closed the gap even as she tried to pull herself free, the wonky cliff face far slippier than before. The slick moisture in the air clung to Aidari’s skin like cotton candy, unable to do anything with her mist.

“No, you can’t. You don’t know what you’re doing-“

Aidari clapped her hands painfully over her ears, the harrowing roar of a dragon sending her to her knees and shattered the rest of the rocky shell around her. The two elves began firing their respective Forecaster abilities at nothing, pellets of mud and searing lighting veering into nothing. This was her chance. She prayed to the Laia and hoped her Trait would be enough.

Lightning struck the sky above them.

The cliff face rose in length to meet the lightning storm head on.

It did not reach.

With every change in the overcast skies, the bright laser of the storm split a nearby orchard of trees in the distance, the lifeless, pale body of Robin lying peacefully at the foot of the clearing. Surrounded by flames, the memory of her former friend faded into the smoke. 

Aidari forced herself to crawl out of the husk of rock, coughing at the destruction around her only for her feet to meet open air. The Forewarn cliff was no longer a cliff, the serrated edge of a broken crag of rock cleaved in two as all of them desperately clung to whatever bits of rubble they could. 

The shadow of a dragon loomed eerily close, obscured only by the desperate attempts of the High Stormcaster’s Cloudswell cocooning them midair with every ounce of her strength. The Brink remained motionless, somehow unchanged by the blast.

“It’s alright, Eli. It’s alright. I have you. I have you.”

Admit the cacophony of panic, the quiet hush of a private moment between two lovers became the entire world for just a few seconds. The smell of burnt flesh and rock mixed with the rotten sourness of necromancy against the burnt pages now scattered to the wind. Kalia’s midsection had larger chunks missing, the purple cloak half shorn to reveal the same oozing, red scars running up her arms. 

Elliot had gotten his wish. He was turning to ash. But so was his wife.

“Kalia? No, no. Please. I can’t-”

His blind gaze was aimless, the result of looking directly at the blueish white lightning but even if he couldn’t see his own body disintegrating, Aidari had no doubt he could feel it. With every breath that left her lungs, theirs grew ever shallower, the proof of their fate being tied together just like Traited and dragon. Until they too became ash in the wind, forever entwined by their mistakes.

Aidari couldn’t speak, choking out what little bile that was left in her stomach over the side of her driftwood shaped rockface. She hadn't insteaded to kill them, only scared them enough to make them scatter or flee. Heck, had she tried harder her mist could’ve…saved them, could’ve saved Robin. She wasn’t supposed to be here.

“I…I didn’t…I don’t know what happened-”

The Brink made way for a sky split into a clear, blue morning tinged with the reddish hue of an angry sunrise. The horizon of white marble arches that had once led the way now toppled and cracked by such a force, the whirring clouds sent into a frenzy by the long, skeletal sight of her dragon inches away from her. Everything was gone. Everything was gone and it was all her fault.

“Aidari. What have you done?”