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Chapter 3 - Using the Useless

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A spectral finger brushed against Rena's being, jolting her awake. 

Her hand snatched out for her key reflexively, feeling the touch of another on its surface as she caught the offending hand and clamped down--hard. 

"Ah! Hey, stop it!" 

Rena blinked away the fuzz and dug her nails into the offender's wrist, hoping it was some member of the Order--particularly the Cardinal. 

"If you think," she began, focusing on the details of their face. All she could make out was that she was in some kind of cushy looking waiting room, complete with lounges and various plants. "That you can just take my key while I sleep, then I swear by the nine that I'll--" The words died in Rena's throat. She frowned. "Don't I know you?" 

The man before her had long, blonde hair, some of which was pulled into a ponytail but mostly just fell over his shoulders and the huge, red and gold robe, completely out of control. He pulled his hand free of her grip as she studied him, sucking on his injured skin. 

"You're that Mythic the Order was escorting around today," realised Rena, not quite satisfied with her answer. It felt like she was missing something. "The one in the red carriage." 

He raised an eyebrow at her. "That all you have, Rena?" 

The way he said her name, the lilt on the final syllable, widened her eyes in disbelief.

"Nazine?" she said. 

Nazine gave her a half smile. "Took you long enough." 

Key forgotten, Rena threw her arms around him and almost fell over as the world spun around her. 

"It's okay, Cayden. She's not a threat." Nazine steadied her and returned Rena's hug with a laugh. "To anyone but herself, maybe." 

"I think that chaotic hit me harder than I thought," murmured Rena as she pulled away. She held a hand to her head, taking note of the shadowy dark haired figure in the corner watching their every move. "I still don't feel right."

"That," said Nazine. "Is because the chaotic you had a run in with earlier drained most of the ley from your key, and I was in the middle of giving you an infusion when you decided to try and rip my wrist off."

Rena noticed the container glowing white on the floor beside Nazine and folded her arms. "I don't need a damned hand-out from the Order, thank you very much. I'll get more ley on my own." 

Nazine scratched his head. "Actually, this isn't a, um, 'hand out from the Order' as you put it. It's Cayden's personal ley vessel. He was concerned that you hadn't woken yet and asked me to see if I could do something about it." 

The shadowy figure pushed himself off the wall and took a step forward. "I was concerned the Order had forgotten about her. If it'd been you drained by the chaotic, they'd have had it to you before we left the sanctuary." 

Rena leaned back in the chair. "But the thing is--what was your name? Cayden?--I'm not their precious phoenix Mythic. I'm just some girl they don't have a use for, but can't disown, for fear of the image it'll present to the rest of the population." She tossed her head, sending strands of ebony hair stray across her face. "Like I said. I don't need their hand outs, or yours."

Nazine rocked back on his heels, pursing his lips like he knew exactly what was going to happen next and was removing himself from the line of fire. 

Cayden fixed his gaze on Rena's. She narrowed her eyes in return. 

"You're going to take the ley in that vessel," he said. 

"No, I'm not." 

"Oh, so you're just naturally that ungraceful, are you? Fall over a lot on a regular basis?"

"I didn't see you doing much fighting when that chaotic came out," said Rena. "Let me know how well you're faring after you get knocked around by one and then we'll talk graceful." 

Cayden raised an eyebrow at that. "When I fight chaotics, they usually don't get a chance to knock me down. You can ask Nazine if you want proof."

Nazine gave Rena a helpless look. "He's pretty good. I can't beat him when we train, even when I use ley." 

Rena glared at him. "Zin, I used to beat you."

"I'm better at it now!" Nazine wrinkled his nose. "Mainly because Cayden doesn't exactly hold back. If I don't improve, he just beats my a--"

Cayden interrupted him. "And I'm more than willing to demonstrate exactly how to temporarily incapacitate a Mythic if you don't sit there quietly while Nazine does the infusion..." He trailed off, a smile forming at his lips as Rena's eyelids drooped. "Or we could just wait for you to pass out again." 

Rena drew in a deep breath in an attempt to keep herself awake. 

She held out her key to Nazine, avoiding Cayden's gaze. "Fine. Hurry up, then." 

Nazine didn't wait to be asked twice, taking her key in his hands. Rena shivered at his touch, and though he held it gently, it didn't mean she liked it. As it rested, balanced on the open palm of his left hand, his right reached down to dip inside the glowing vessel on the floor.

Nazine clucked his tongue as he worked, something Rena tried not to find annoying. 

"The ley in your key is different," he finally said. "It's raw compared to the stuff the Order hands out, though I guess since you haven't had one of their, uh, hand outs in a while, you'd be getting it from elsewhere, right?" 

He posed it as a question, one that Rena wasn't entirely sure how to answer.

"I find hotspots occasionally," she said. "But it kinda just... fills itself."

Nazine stopped what he was doing and looked at her dumbly. "It just fills itself?"

Rena gave him a self-conscious shrug. "I guess, whatever my Mythic is, its secondary source is pretty common." 

A sad smile tilted Nazine's lips as he placed his other hand over her key, effectively sandwiching it. "You'll figure out your Mythic one day, Rena. I know you will." 

"Everyone else figured theirs out when they were ten. You did when you were nine. I'm only what, seven, eight, years past the date?" Rena rolled her eyes. "But don't worry he says, I'll get it." 

"I can still be jealous of your ability to draw ley out of things other than a direct source," said Nazine. 

"Yea, well, that's what you get for being a halfling, Zin," said Rena, poking his forehead. "One draw source and the complete and utter fascination of the Order. Too rare for your own good."

Nazine didn't reply. He bit down on his lip, completely focused on Rena's key. His fingers took on a vibrant golden glow as he curled them down and around the crystal, expelling the pale mist of ley from his skin and infused it. The ley disappeared in a final flash and a sound that reminded her of a fireplace being extinguished. 

"Gold," said Rena, barely able to believe it. "You're a lot better at infusions than when I last saw you." 

"Other than the fact that that was nearly five years ago now," said Nazine, closing and passing the vessel back to Cayden, who clipped it back to his belt. "I've been training to commune with the portals, like Emmiline was tod--"

Nazine seemed to realise what he'd said. His face crumpled. 

Rena placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "The spirit Mythic from today, who...?" 

She was intending to let the question hang, but Cayden picked it up. 

"Turned chaotic, yes," he said, earning himself yet another glare from Rena. 

She changed the subject, hoping to distract Nazine. "I didn't think the Order let anyone who wasn't at least three decades old train for that. Is it because you're a halfling?"

It didn't help. Nazine removed himself from the floor and relocated to a lounge a few metres away from her. 

"No," he said. "It's because what you saw today has been happening a lot lately. Mythics who've been communing with the portals for years, masters of it, have ended up like Emmiline and the Order has no idea why. They're running out of energy Mythics capable of performing the rejuvenation."

"That's not the worst of it, either," said Cayden, feeding Rena's questions when Nazine closed his eyes. "The Broken Lands are expanding faster than ever before. More than one town had been evacuated for fear they'll disappear during the night. Not to mention that nearly half the portals the Order has protected have closed. 

"Half?" Rena gawked. She looked back to Nazine. "That's... why are they putting you under training for it then, if the masters couldn't do it and you're not ready?"

Nazine shrugged, a vulnerable kind of defeated movement. "I think they're hoping my being a halfling will change something. There's another halfling they've managed to train, and she's been having more success. But she's a land-energy halfling, not elemental-energy like me."

"And you think her being part land Mythic might be giving her the edge?" 

Nazine gave another shrug. "Land Mythics have always had that connection to portals. It makes sense." 

After a long pause, Rena licked her lips. "I didn't realise it was this bad."

"No one does," said Nazine. "That's the whole reason the Order's keeping the rejuvenation's so protected. They don't want the public to panic that their ley supply is practically dead in the water, but they can't keep it hidden for much longer." 

How they'd kept it hidden at all was a mystery to Rena. The portals were a key part of life everywhere she'd been. The Order would assist Mythics in harvesting ley from them, which would then be stored and distributed in vessels similar to Cayden's own. The raw ley energy could be used for healing and creating, encouraging plants to grow in times of drought and even strengthening a body that was on death's door. 

To lose that would be an unprecedented tragedy. Rena fingered her crystal key, aware of the sustaining energy inside. Without portals, most Mythics might survive off their secondary source, but everything would change. 

With the lull in conversation, noise from outside the waiting room became obvious. What sounded like a herd of shifted centaur Mythics came down the hallway, only to stop at the door and drop to low whispers before the handle finally turned. 

Three Order members entered the room led by Rena's favourite cardinal. 

Elijah muttered something under his breath which caused someone behind him to scribble furiously across a clipboard. He looked about as happy as he always did, which was to say someone had put a pixie in his coffee and a serpent in his robes. 

"Mythic Rena," he said. His tone told her all she needed to know. "We understand that your trespass today was due to the fact that you believed yourself to be tracking an Unbound. Is that correct?"

"It is," said Rena, attempting to curb her distaste for the man. 

Judging by the wrinkles around his eyes, it hadn't been successful. "And what led you to this conclusion?"

"I was in Bilirsh earlier this month and came across several cases of people, lovers, to be exact, having fallen into a trance. After a thorough investigation, many of the clues supported the idea of an Unbound moving through the area. I followed reports of similar cases to a ley hotspot, and finally to this city yesterday night. The Unbound seemed to be seeking ley."

"So you assumed it would be drawn towards the portal," finished Elijah. "Understandable. Please wait while we discuss amongst ourselves."

Elijah moved back to the group outside, leaving Rena to glance at Nazine, hoping he could shed some light on the questions. 

It was Cayden who answered her. 

"The Order believes that there's a large group of Unbounds seeking to sabotage the portals," he said, voice low. "The theory is that the Unbounds believe our two species, humans and mythics, should be separate once more, and by closing portals, they force Mythics away from humanity, back towards their origins and the Unbound's way of thinking."

Rena frowned. "I knew that the Unbounds occasionally infected portals with chaotic when they communed with them incorrectly, which is why the Order walled them off to begin with, but now they're actively trying to destroy them? Why would they want that?"

"Because," said Elijah, having approached once more. "They're morons. Completely inconceivable. These Unbounds seek to undo all the deities did a millenia ago when they sacrificed themselves and bound our two races together to save the Mythics from our ignorance. The actions of these Unbounds will bring ruin to all if we do not bring them to heel!" 

"You speak like the Unbound group is confirmed," said Cayden. 

Elijah met his eyes, face grim in one of those rare moments that Rena saw the man beneath his hatred for her. 

"It is all but certain," said Elijah. "A caravan travelling to Leristith for the portal's rejuvenation in a month was attacked last week. While most of the humans were found alive, all the Mythics had been taken with no trace. Their personal guards, too. Slain or missing. The humans we managed to wake say they were attacked by Mythics."

"And they couldn't be chaotics?" asked Cayden. "Ferals, even?" 

Elijah was shaking his head. "Too little death for chaotics. Too neat for ferals. It is the only explanation." 

Cayden studied the ground. "Is our travel still planned to Leristith?" 

"We have no choice." Elijah's jaw set, eyes falling on Nazine's head hanging in his hands. "In the absence of Emmiline, the duty falls to Nazine to complete the rejuvenation ceremony on the portal." 

Rena couldn't hold the words in. "That portal's huge!" She stood up, moving between Elijah and Nazine before she realised she'd done it. "He's never done a rejuvenation before, and you expect him to just, what, do it? He'll be chaotic before it even begins!" 

Elijah snapped around. "There is no one else available! Or have you not been informed of the situation, girl?" 

 Rena's fingers clenched into a ball when she felt Nazine move beside her. She bit down on her tongue--hard--and drew air in through her nose while her stomach clenched and anchored the insults to her belly.

"She's under shock from the chaotic still," said Nazine. "I apologise, cardinal."

"She is not yours to apologise for," said Elijah, but his tone softened. "You and your guard are to report to the offices to prepare for travel. We're changing your schedule to Leristith in case of any additional problems."

"When do we leave?" said Nazine. 

"Tomorrow," said Elijah. "Additional security detail, including several defensive Mythic's we'll be sending with you to ensure you get there. This ceremony has to happen, or the deities help us." 

Cayden gestured to the door with his head. "Let's go, Zin." 

Nazine trailed along behind him, giving Rena one last look over his shoulder before disappearing through the sea of white robes and into the hallway beyond. 

It left Rena standing before Elijah, feeling more vulnerable than ever.

She wasn't sure that he would say anything else to her, but it was clear that she wasn't yet expected to leave. So Rena stood, fingers tracing the etched surface of her crystal key, trying to resist the urge to see what would happen if she set Elijah's robes on fire. 

After several minutes of lengthy discussion with the group he'd entered with, Elijah alone remained as they shuffled out of the room. 

"My colleagues and I agree," he said after a pause intended to mess with Rena's head. "That your use to us is extremely limited by your inability to commune with your Mythic." 

"Brought on by your ineffective training, might I add."

Elijah pointed a finger at her. "Silence, or I'll hold your key." Yet another pause as he retrieved his hand from the air. "You are effectively useless, with the exception that you possess an adequate ability in illusions, a rare enough trait. As such, we are detailing you to Nazine's guard."

Rena blinked. "What?" 

"You will be assigned to ensure his protection in any way possible. No matter what, he will reach Leristith, and I don't care how you do it, so long as he gets there. Illusion yourself as him. Illusion him as a troll or a human, I don't care."

Elijah's dark eyes held Rena captive, sending a shiver down her spine. 

"Consider yourself lucky. If it were up to me, I'd put you to a different use, but it is not my decision alone. But leave Nazine, go anywhere or do anything that will hinder the mission, and I swear by the nine families that I will have your key for it. Do you understand, Mythic?" 

Rena swallowed. The anchor had sunk deep into her body.

"Yes, cardinal." 

Elijah nodded. "Good." He gave her a smile that the toughest dae would have cringed at. "I'm glad we have an understanding."

And with that, he left, leaving Rena alone in the waiting room that felt a lot bigger than before. 

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A/N - Uh oh. The Infodump took me. Oh well XD 

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Wordcount: 10,404 (1/5 of the way there!)