Media: Shadowrunning. Artwork courtesy of Clary <3

Music: Festivals of Light, Audiomachine

Once she was free from the infirmary, Cadence charged through the weeks like a wild bull released from captivity. Her main focus was training hard with everything that had to do with her shadow-weaving abilities. She could move the second largest discs without breaking a sweat, tear out shadows from walls and turn them into needles of shadows. Ales had erected a target in the training hall where she could practice throwing needle after needle. Although her accuracy still needed a lot of work, Cadence could tell that her mentor was impressed with the ferocity of her throws.

Today however, Ales didn't use the training hall. He had sent her a hastily scribbled note with one word one it.

Clock tower. Midnight.

Cadence couldn't understand his motives. All their lessons either took place in his office where he would lecture her about the three blockage points of a Varya and the three Aspects, or they would be training physically and Affinity-wise at a training hall.

Nevertheless, at the appointed hour, Cadence rose from her bed. Grasping the metal railings, she crept down the ladder of the double-decker and landed silently onto the carpet. She slid on her Varya robes, unhinged her cloak from a peg, double-checked her pocket for her obsidian bead, and sneaked out of the room.

The moonlight paled against the walls as Cadence made her way toward the clock tower. As winter drew slowly towards its closure, the snow fell like feathers from the sky, no longer trying to tear apart heaven with its wrath. Sorokin had finally met its savior and was no longer in pain.

She pulled the cloak against her shoulders. It was the one Arik had given her on her first ever Murka tradition. Although it was sewn to resemble a Patrol's cloak, it lacked the velvet and softness of a real Patrol's cloak. Cadence would never forget how warm a Patrol's cloak was when Ales gave her his on during their journey to the Hall of Games.

The cloak protected her from gaining suspicion. Cadence was able to make her way toward the other side of the Hall where the clock tower was, then commenced climbing the narrow, stone stairs.

Every step up the tower, Cadence cursed Ales' name. Of all the places he could have chosen, he just had to pick the highest building in the entire Hall which wasn't even wide enough for three people. Right foot first, followed by the left foot, it was a painful and monotonous exercise. By the time she reached the top of the tower, she collapsed onto the dusty floor. She coughed violently, having inhaled a lungful of dust and dirt.

"You're going to have to build up your stamina." Ales walked out from behind the bell. The bell was gigantic, almost to Ales' height and it easily required more than six people to be able to join hands and circle the bell. Whoever was in charge of tolling the bell had to be an insanely strong Murka or a Warrior. "In battle, people like you will perish in the first sixty seconds."

"There are no stairs in battle," Cadence wheezed. "Now shut up and let me catch my breath."

"The longer I spend time with you, the more I realize how annoying that mouth of yours is."

Cadence didn't bother to reply, being too busy trying to slow her beating heart and getting some warmth back into her hands and face. "Why this filthy place?" She picked up her hands from the ground and tried to beat the dirt and pieces of hay stuck to them. There were white splashes all over the floor and even on the walls. Darned ravens.

"Tonight we'll be doing something different. Watch, and observe."

Without warning, Ales ran towards the railing, leaped, and dropped down from the tower.

"Ales!" Cadence released a strangled cry. "Are you insane?"

She dashed toward the rails, closing her fingers around the frigid bricks "Ales!" Everywhere she looked was a sea of blinding white. There was no sign of Ales' dark robes and cloak, or his messy golden hair. "Ales!"

A blast of air erupted in front of Cadence as Ales soared out of thin air and rolled back into the tower.

"I'm glad to see you're so concerned about my wellbeing." He grinned.

"You bastard!" Cadence half-wished he had fallen to his death. She tried to punch him in the jaw, but Ales caught her fist. "What the hell was that?"

"I call that flying. For you, on the other hand, it's called Shadowrunning."

Cadence held up her hands and took several steps back. "No way. We...we're like a thousand feet up."

"Aw, I didn't take you for a person who's afraid of heights."

"I'm scared, and it is insane. I'll fall and die. We don't all have wings."

"I'll catch you if you fall," Ales said. "I have faith that you won't fall."

Cadence hated the fact that Ales was coercing her sweetly into jumping off a tower, and quite possibly to her death. She knew how she would die—by sacrificing her Shell and Spirit to bring back Master Orelik and her father—but never had she considered she would end up as a flat blob at the bottom of a dirty tower in the Hall of Games.

"Wise of you to bring your cloak along," he said. "I don't want you to freeze."

"If I don't fall to my death first."

"Always the pessimistic one." Ales held out a hand. "Come."

He was already up on the brick railing. Ales had to bend his back, or else he would hit his head with the stone arch above.

"Trust me, I won't let you fall."

"Ales, for all its worth, I'm not ready for this."

"The Affinity is activated through external and aggressive stimuli. This is a great chance for you to push beyond your boundaries."

Cadence glanced around the bell tower. Ales had lit small, portable lamp. Wise choice; a small flame oftentimes cast the largest shadows. She crooked her fingers and ripped the shadow of the bell into thin, flattened strands.

"When you soar, use your own shadow to propel yourself into the air. Push hard against it, the reacting force will toss you back up into the air. Loop the external shadows around buildings to steer your direction. You can push against the shadows of other objects too. Remember, anything that casts a shadow can be used to your advantage."

Holding the shadows in one hand, she clutched Ales' in the other. Her heart started to beat rapidly, hitting her ribcage with so much force, she was afraid it would fall out. She started to hyperventilate, her knees shaking so badly they knocked into each other. Her shaky breath misted against the cold. The Orishas' names started to float in her mind and tumble out of her lips.

Ales squeezed her hand. "Only when you let your doubts go can you see how high you can fly."

Push against your own shadow. Right, that sounded so much more effortless before she looked down at the dizzying height.

"On the count of three, jump."

Cadence forced herself to take in a mouthful of the cold, biting air. "Yeah," she chattered. "I'll see you on the other side."

"One." Ales' intense eyes never left her face. "Two."

He let go of her hand. "Three."

Cadence jumped, and regretted instantly. For a few seconds it was just her tumbling through snow and the frigid air, stricken with fear, panic and shock. As the ground rushed to meet her, Cadence saw her shadow reaching up for her too. She threw out her hands and PUSHED.

She felt as if she had slammed into a hard wall of concrete. As her shadow was against the floor, the only way the energy of her push was upward. The force of the push against her shadow hurled her back up into the air. She flung out the tendrils of shadows which latched on the metal pipes around the building before her. Cadence pulled at the ribbon of shadow, which drew her to the right. Another ribbon of shadow went to the flagpole of a low tower, changing her course before she could smash into the previous building.

Cadence pushed at her own shadow again to prevent her body from dipping, then threw out her two ribbons of shadow one after another, pulling her forward. It was similar to dancing with the shadowsinger all over again, but without the blades. Faster and faster, Cadence pushed and pulled, wrapped the shadows and released them again. She looked up and saw the stars blinking above her. Perhaps if she flew high enough, she could touch them. Would they explode into silver, tinsel dust upon contact? Or would they jingle like bells?

She felt like the ruler of the night, flying over a sleeping city with shadows as her wings. Here in this instant, there was nothing but the cold, the wind and the stars as her companions. She was far from the trivial pursuits of the nobles, the hatred between the Varya and Murka, and left all her misgivings behind.

She let out a loud whoop of delight. Tightening her hold on the shadows, she allowed herself to touch down onto the roof of the furthest turret, signifying the end of the Hall of Games. Cadence splayed out her hands by her sides, and hurled an exhilarated shriek into the open air.

Ales tucked and rolled onto the ground beside her. Brushing the snow off his trousers, he straighted up and broke into a smile.

"If you're going to say I told you so, I'm going to knock out your pretty teeth," Cadence said.

"You think my teeth are pretty?" Ales grinned. "Awesome."

Cadence rolled her eyes, then took a step closer toward the edge of the roof. From her position, she could see the entire sprawl of the Region of Games, past the wall and to the forests beyond. Far beyond the Region were out-flung mountains where the sun would rise and descend. She could fit the entire world into her palms.

"It's beautiful." She breathed in awe.

"Indeed it is." Ales stuck his hands into his pockets, then looked at Cadence. "Do you remember what I told you about the three Varya blockages?"

"Yeah," Cadence replied. "The temple, the heart and the waist."

"Good." Ales suddenly dashed forward with such stealth, Cadence was barely able to register what happened next until he struck her hard in the chest. Cadence gasped, losing her balance. She fell off the roof and plummeted into the vast space below.

She couldn't think. The only thing her mind could conceive was the fact she was going to die. Cadence tried to pull out Energy from her Core, but the Energy spluttered and died. Ales had blocked her Core when he struck her on one of the three blockages, the only weaknesses of a Varya's powers. There was nothing she could do except to flail and scream. The ground rushed up to meet her, and she was two seconds away from smashing into it.

Ales zipped past her, wrapped a hand around her waist and pulled her up with an immense push air against the ground. Dust whirled as they shot back up into the air.

"What the hell was that for?" Cadence screamed at Ales when he released her on the roof. "You know very well that you blocked my Core so I couldn't shadowbend. I think you want to kill me."

Ales leaned calmly against the weather vane, then flicked one of the round metal pieces, spinning it. "If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it when you first arrived instead of spending my time training you."

Cadence was so furious, she couldn't even speak.

Her mentor straightened up and looked across the out-flung mountains.

"A true Patrol need to be on their feet at all times. When trapped in the enemy's land, you can be killed anytime, anywhere, and they have the knowledge to overthrow ignorant Varya. Do you know why we really wear masks and a bandolier, Cadence? A mask is a solid protection against Core-blocking. If you had been more vigilant, you would have seen me dashing toward you and deflected my blow. Have you learned anything from our combat classes?"

"You surprised me," Cadence said, although this time, her voice came out softer. There was no point arguing with Ales. All she wanted from him was to extract information about raising the dead and she would be on her way.

"Carelessness is all others need to defeat you." Ales eyes blazed with a fury Cadence never knew he possessed. Ales had always been a smiling man with a hard to shatter calmness which drove her insane. The man seemed taller, imperial somehow, yet his eyes betrayed him. It was a look of anger, fear and regret.

"My sister," he said. "Was taken and killed because of her carelessness. She rushed right into the heart of Walker Hunters, and they caught her off guard. Its the simple things we overlook, and the things we least expect that'll knock us to the ground. When she died, she screamed for me, and there was nothing I could do but watch."

His good hand touched his scarred one, then slammed a fist onto the roof. Tiles flew loose and skittered off toward the white, frozen ground.

"Never turn your back on the enemy," he said. "Never assume you'll be given a second chance to correct your mistake. Your body would hit the ground before you can even think."

Ales walked past her and stood at the very edge of the roof, the front halves of his shoes treading thin air.

"We should head back. We've spent too long out here. Someone might notice your absence."

He watched Cadence unravel the shadows of the pipes on the wall.

"Don't ever let them trap you in darkness, Cadence," he said. "That's the ultimate weakness of any Walker. They equate Walkers to death, Varya who thrive on darkness, but what they didn't realize is how close shadows and light are related."

"I'll make sure I carry a flint," she said.

Ales' changed the subject. "Nice bracelet." He pointed at the one her brother gave her.

"My brother gave it to me for my birthday. He carved it himself. It's not the prettiest, but the effort is there."

"Well, I supposed as your mentor, I owe you a birthday gift." He fumbled around this belt and pulled out a pair of short, slim daggers. They were barely longer than Cadence's forearm, and were dwarfed when compared to Ales'. "These are made from tempered steel and Celestium. Hilt of steel, blade of Celestium. It'll keep you safe from both humans and Rakashas. You can even stick these into Yaokwais and kill them instantly if you hit the right spot."

"I can't accept these, it's too much." She pushed the daggers back. All her life, she had never received a present more expensive than a handful of chocolates. "This probably cost more than what I can make in the army until I die."

"It's a present." Ales reached for Cadence's hand and held on tight even when she struggled and fought against him. "It is disrespectful for one to refuse a courteous gift."

He pressed the daggers into her hand and curled her fingers around the leather sheath.

"Go on," he said. "Slide them free."

She clamped one of the daggers underneath her arm and unsheathed the second one. The dagger was rather small, yet it could be transformed into a powerful one if used correctly. Its steel handle was made for tight gripping, with grooves spiraling down into a small amethyst stone at the dagger hilt. Cadence angled the dagger so that the blade caught the moonlight, marveling at the scaled crossguards and the inscriptions on the Celestium. They looked like Runes used by Oracles, but there were more angular.

"What does it say?"

"I am the shadow," Ales replied. "It's in old Walker tongue, the language is dead among the common people, but still used by Invokers. Its sister blade also has similar inscriptions, but that one says 'I am the light.'"

"Giving a weapon a good name is like arming yourself with a little more luck. You embed a bit of yourself into them when you say their names and hold them close to you at all times."

"Why give these to me? They sound too valuable to be given to a new Varya."

"A Walker weapon," he said. "Must be wielded by a Walker."

Ales made sure Cadence had tied both daggers to her belt before they took off together. Ales pushed himself upward and forward with controlled bursts of air from his hands while Cadence pulled herself forward and kept aloft with steady pushes against her shadow. There was no exchange of words between them, only mutual acknowledgment and listening to the stars sigh in the skies.

****

A/N

This is one of my favorite chapters to write! :'D