"The Head Diviner, Carl... he's been restless," she said, her voice dropping an octave, losing its playful edge. "He claims the waters are speaking. There is movement in the Depths, Kael. More than we've seen in a decade."
Kael looked at her with his eyes wide, sleep completely vanished and replaced by a hint of fear and anger. He said in a shaky voice while looking Fern straight in the eyes, "Those damn abominations are back again? Isn't this just like four years ago, when my mother and father died defending this city?".
Fern stared at him for a while without saying anything. She wanted to protect this child's innocence—protecting him and not allowing him to venture into the cursed side of the Imprinters and Echoes the world has to offer. She wanted him to live peacefully under her protection, live happily, make some friends, fall in love, and witness the marvels of human warmth.
Yet she knew that was just wishful thinking. Fern couldn't convince him to walk on the path she chose for him; he was too headstrong for that. Ignorance is bliss; the less you know about the world, the better.
One of the things she learned from her experience—rising from a Gale citizen to a soldier, then captain, and finally Lord—was that she had to let go of the people she cared for.
'Care, not control,' she thought to herself.
With a heavy sigh she said, "Yes and no. Yes, because it feels like the Echo invasion from four years ago; no, because Old Man Carl said it is a much smaller one."
She remained silent for a while, pondering. The silence seemed to last seconds; eventually, she said, "What path do you want to walk in life?"
Kael looked at her for a moment, then gazed into his lap at the little sparrow that had fallen asleep without a care in the world, finding their conversation boring.
"Will you tell me about the world so I can make my decision? The overprotectiveness of my parents and you has turned me into an ignorant fool," he said with a pleasant smile that wasn't sincere. He wanted to move her heart and then make her spill everything she knew.
Fern chuckled, amazed by how his "puppy-eyes" act and attempts at manipulation were so terrible. She took a step forward, sitting beside him and looking straight into his silver eyes. "Let's start here: what do you think about the world?"
Kael replied in a confused tone, "Be more specific."
Fern did not avert her gaze. "I mean, how do you see the world from your point of view?" she said.
Kael's gaze drifted from her face toward the still-open window, deep in thought. It was afternoon in Gale City, and the storm seemed to be worsening. Arcs of lightning danced in the thick black clouds of the cold storm; a strong wind was blowing, nearly uprooting some old houses. After minutes of pondering, Kael let out a heavy sigh and looked at Fern.
"With my limited knowledge, I know there are unspeakable horrors, disasters, mysteries, abominations, and unimaginable ancient eldritch beings. But I also believe that there is a side of the world full of marvels, knowledge, discovery, and peace—or else the world would have been destroyed long ago," he replied.
A small, sweet smile crept onto her mesmerizing face as she said, "It puts my heart at ease that you still have your adventurous instincts and still think there are sides of the world worth living for. Okay, I will answer every question you have."
"What are Echoes and Imprinters?" Kael asked in a tone full of expectation.
Fern averted her gaze to the window, her clear, cold, grey eyes reflecting the storm and the city lights. She said in a flat tone, "I was hoping this wouldn't be your first question."
Fern sighed, returning her gaze toward him. She added, "Imprinters are those deemed worthy to imprint and leave a mark of a certain Aspect on the world, embodying that very Aspect. And Echoes are those deemed unworthy; madness claimed them, turning them into mindless, bloodthirsty echoes of their former selves."
Kael looked at her, flabbergasted. He wasn't stupid, so he knew of Imprinters and Echoes, but the deduction he had come up with was that power was inherited through lineage. He didn't expect to be so far from the truth.
"So it works like that... but how can one leave an Imprint? And who evaluates people to see if they are worthy or not, and why?" Kael asked, not fully understanding.
"If you're chosen, you'll undergo an Imprint Tribulation. That is the test in order to become an Imprint, and it's triggered by certain requirements that are unique to everyone. However, if you fail, your mind will break and you'll experience an Imprint Collapse, becoming a mindless echo of yourself. You surrender to your most malicious desires and crave the taste of Imprint holders ,as for who and why is a mystery" Fern explained in a serious tone to make him aware of the dangerous path to power.
"And that's not the worst part," Fern added, grinning. Kael frowned. "It's not? There is something worse than that?".
"The madness is something you can avoid through preparation and caution, as long as you don't get impatient, that is," she muttered. "The worst part is that in order to be attuned to a certain Aspect, you have to abandon something."
Kael massaged his forehead with both hands. Everything Fern said was hitting him hard, one thing after another. Suddenly, he felt something cold—something that seemed to be sapping the warmth from him—touching the back of his head.
Kael lifted his head and glanced at the source of the cold; he saw Fern holding her right glove in her left hand. Fern's gloveless right hand was touching the back of his head, emanating a violent chill.
Kael quickly pushed Fern's hand away, saying, "Your hands are freezing! Are you alright?"
She chuckled hoarsely. "That is what I was talking about." She put her glove back on in one fluid motion. "My Imprint is 'Blizzard.' When I passed my first Tribulation, I was abandoned by warmth.
My whole body is like a walking blizzard—too cold for ordinary people to touch me for more than five seconds."
"The higher you go on the path of power, the less human you become. Humans and ordinary creatures are creatures of balance. Experiencing too much of a certain Aspect makes them undergo Imprint Tribulations; if they pass, the balance breaks. A murderer cannot be a healer, and fire cannot be cold. There are some unique people everywhere, but that's irrelevant right now. What I am trying to say is: power comes with a curse."
Kael became speechless. He knew there was no free meal in the world—wherever you are, you have to work for the things you want through sweat, blood, and tears—but wasn't this simply too cruel? Fern could not experience human touch, or her partner would die, unless she found another Imprinter of the cold—and who knows if they would even get along.
"Power comes with a curse and a constant risk of madness," he said while staring at the silent Fern. She nodded in agreement.
"But not having the strength to survive and protect the things you hold dear in this accursed world is a much greater curse. If that's what it takes to not be helpless, to protect what's mine, and to make my will matter... that's a small price to pay, don't you think?".
Fern gave a dazzling smile, so bright it nearly blinded him. "You truly are Veleron and Kei's child. That tyrannical will of yours... I am envious."
After she finished talking, a blinding light shone through the open window, followed by the whole island quaking, a deafening sound, and the explosion of a portion of the walls, killing every life form near that area.
Fern jolted upon hearing the cacophony of the explosion and seeing the blinding lights.
"Kael, do not come out! Absolutely do not, do you understand me? Those abominations decided to make use of the storm. Go hide somewhere safe. Damn it, they are getting smarter by the day!" she said while leaping out of the window like a soundless wind.
Landing on the ground, she strained her legs and bolted with hurricane speed—speed so great she left a crater behind. Wings made of cold wind appeared on her shoulders and her speed doubled, making air pressure build up in front of her as she flew toward the walls.
Stunned, Kael looked at her with admiration for how powerful she was while still so young, and with worry, because no matter how strong she was, there were unspeakable ancient horrors that humans were not meant to encounter.
"That is why I desire strength... unreasonable strength. I am just a helpless maggot now. For now, that is," Kael said while clenching his fist so hard his knuckles turned white. He shook his head, snapping back to reality, scooped up the sparrow, and dashed forward, searching for a safe place.