A bugle heralded their return to the Wall. Shadows danced around them. Markos waited while Caelyn waved to the Wardens on the rampart above them. The large doors creaked open just a sliver for them to move through.
A crowd of pale faces above leather armor and fur watched the trio as they crunched into the courtyard. With a clanking of chains, the door shut behind them.
"Y..you're alive!"
"You're covered in blood!"
"Are you hurt?"
"Is the Sister okay?"
Concerned voices overlapped and drowned each other out until it was a din. Markos huffed, pushing through the crowd. Iliana slept despite the noise.
"Move." Caelyn glared at the gawking Wardens.
With a jump, the guards hurried to clear a path. They stammered apologies but Markos ignored them, carrying Iliana to the shadows of a door that lead inside. Caelyn was not far behind.
"Go wake Cameron. I will receive him in the quarters he prepared for us."
"Yes, Sir Talon!"
The templars didn't look back as they continued inside, navigating the narrow hallways until they slipped into their quarters. It was far larger than what they needed or expected. Warmth sank into their weary bones as they entered the chamber. At the front, was a sitting area by a fireplace with two large couches with a table in between. A kettle sat on the hearth while cups, a bottle of wine and a flagon of water were set on an end table to the left of the couch closest to the entry. Off to the left side of the chamber were three clean beds with wool stuffed mattresses, thick fur blankets, and pillows. At the back of the chamber was a curtained archway that led to a toilet and bath tubs with running water.
Markos was excited for a hot bath after drudging through the snow and being on the road for several weeks. Caelyn set his helmet on a table and started unbuckling his cuirass.
Markos gently set the slumbering woman on a sofa. "I'll get the bath water warmed up for you, Caelyn. I'm going to wake her up so she can wash up too."
"Thank you but, I can handle my own bath. You're not my squire. You're a templar." Caelyn held his sword belt and glanced at Iliana before looking back to Markos. "She needs cold water to purify herself after dealing with this. She won't wake up for some time yet but it is not good for her to stay coated in the muck."
"Should I leave it to.. you? Or is there a woman here that can..." Markos shed his armor, and looked at the mess on the front. It was going take him hours to get it clean again.
"No." Caelyn set his sword down with the rest of his gear. "What you are about to learn is a secret. It is rare that a Helka leaves the convent."
Markos exhaled sharply, freed from the burden of the weight of his armor. "She mentioned that."
The blond templar shifted to Iliana's side. Kneeling, he beckoned for his junior to come closer. He lightly unfastened the ties that gathered the orange gown at Iliana's shoulders and pulled away the bloodied overdress. He set it to one side, before unbuttoning her collar and peeling down the crimson under dress to bare her neck and shoulders. He stepped back.
Markos blushed, staring at the exposed curve of Iliana's shoulder. His golden eyes were wide. "What is..?" His hand trembled as he fell to his knees. His fingertips grazed the top of an ugly black sphere that marred her otherwise smooth skin, the material glistened purple in response and repelled him. "Oh gods... why is there... Maraium inside her? Doesn't this hurt her when she harnesses the Word?"
"The Holy Sword discovered that embers will burn out by the time most of use reach adulthood if they leave the convent. As they use their power, they gain strength."
"Isn't that a good thing?" Markos tore his eyes away from Iliana to look up accusingly at Caelyn.
"Yes and no. They follow a strict upbringing. Once an Ember leaves the convent, they experience the outside world. What happens to any youth once they interact with new people? What happens why they discover they can make decisions over life and death?" Caelyn removed his gloves, his voice low and calm.
Markos furrowed his brow and thought of how Jo acted before he left. "They fall in love. They rebel?"
Caelyn nodded. "The issue is that an Ember holds untold potential. The Word springs from their hearts and flows back into Jord. This keeps the world alive. Think of what happened with the aphotic."
"The clearing felt like all of the life had been ripped from it." The junior templar's shoulders drooped as he sank against the couch.
"These are truths that they don't like to share with templars. They usually go to great lengths to keep it from us." Caelyn sat down across from him and leaned forward on his knees. "Iliana and I have theories. She doesn't have a spirit guide monitoring her, so she has more freedom than other embers."
Markos loosened the collar of his gambeson, sighing deeply. "Aphotics in the teachings are the punishment for using magic—they destroy life. The embers are the way to balance it—they restore life."
"Right. Aphotics are the living manifestations of the inverse of that power unchecked. They attack things that draw on the Word. They attack the thing like it is an invader. They attack until the invader is dead but then, they don't stop. They rampage until something comes to stop them—embers." Caelyn gestured with his hands, making sure Markos was paying attention before he continued. "Embers are vessels that gather the Word within them. They can use the Word to disrupt an aphotic's form, or they can draw the corrupted aphotic to them."
"...Iliana did which?"
"She absorbed the aphotic's magic and then pushed her own life energy into the clearing to restore it."
Markos turned to look at the sleeping face of the Ember once more. "What does that do to her?"
"What happens when you pour small amounts of poison into a jug of wine over time?" Caelyn poured them both a cup of wine. He handed it to Markos.
The junior templar accepted and considered his answer. "It mixes. The poison can weaken if more wine is poured in." He sipped the wine. The thought of poison made the drink off-putting, but he was thirsty. "But the wine is still spoiled."
"And no one wants to drink from a poisoned jug of wine." Caelyn frowned. "Nor keep the jug."
Their eyes drifted back to Iliana. "Embers don't return because they get poisoned and then get discarded?"
"Worse. They take too much poison and stop being wine." The corner of Caelyn's mouth twitched. His grip tightened around the cup.
"Iliana said "she"." Realization dawned on Markos's face. His voice trembled. "This aphotic once an Ember." He looked back to Caelyn for confirmation. "Then the Church sends a templar to..."
"To kill them. Embers never return to the temple. They stay on the road and experience all that pain. If they succumb to it, the Church expects us to put them down." Caelyn downed his wine and poured more.
"How is being a Helka and the Maraium connected?"
"Helka are the eldest embers to have survived. They led the convents and teach the next generation the dogma and how to control their powers. Many Helka have never left their convent unless they are moving between temples. I would not call that freedom. When they get scared and run— we are sent to bring them home." Caelyn shook his head. "Maraium and Heartstone are also opposites. Heartstone is the crystalized power of the Word. Maraium is its opposite, a neutralizing agent. Heartstone is found in Maraium deposits."
"Our weapons and armor are Maraium to counter act apostates and aphotics."
"And us. We also use magic, it's just rarer that anyone admits it. The armor protects us and controls our abilities. But we are not so powerful that we need to have it embedded into our bodies to control us. Helka are quite powerful but to control them or prevent them from ever turning on the Church... well.."
"How could they let this be done to them? How could we let this happen?"
"They don't know. Helka don't speak of it. It's why their robes change." Caelyn paused. "You know, some templars get special tattoos as a reward?"
"..No. That's also Maraium? How?"
"Maraium dust circulates in the blood."
Markos was appalled. "This is a curse. Why did I want this?"
"Because, we're the ones that are going to break this curse. I'm going to be the next Dragonslayer. I will become the Pillar." Caelyn smiled confidently. His eyes flashed blow with a rush of power that made the hair on the back of Markos's neck stand on end.
"What of Iliana? Can we save her?"
"It's possible. It's a theory we've been developing. Magic amplifies magic. More fuel for the fire. There is something I've heard whispered at the temple from the Fleur. Something called 'Awakening'."