Chapter Text
Chapter 1: Truth in a Tale
Once upon a time, there was a boy who turned into a monster.
He wasn’t always a monster. He had a mother and father, and six siblings - a middle child of a loving noble family, living in Whitestone Castle as his parents ruled benevolently over the town below. All was well, until the day an evil sorcerer came to visit, and slaughtered most of the family in their sleep. This boy, the only survivor, made a deal with a demon in order to gain revenge.
In exchange for the power to destroy his family’s murderer, the demon demanded souls - human souls, ones he could corrupt and devour. The demon kept up his end of the bargain; the sorcerer died, screaming and alone. The boy, now a young man, retreated to the castle to live alone. But soon, people started disappearing from town - good people, people who were missed. An outcry went up, and a small group of town leaders marched through the forest to visit Whitestone Castle and confront the young man. Why should the town have to pay for his folly, they wanted to know?
They never returned.
Several nights after the party of leaders disappeared, townspeople saw a great flash of light come from the castle. Some said they heard a terrible scream echo through the forest. When morning came, there was a strange shimmer around the castle. You can’t see it, not all the time, but if the sunlight hits it just right, you can see it shining, a transparent barrier around Whitestone Castle. Those who know magic say it keeps the demon inside, so it can’t steal innocent townspeople on a whim.
… that’s not to say it doesn’t take townspeople, though. It does, even to this day.
Twice a year someone from the town disappears, a criminal, a deadbeat or a charlatan - someone deserving of punishment, someone who not even a single soul might miss. But if there is someone left to miss them, they say, a pouch with coins is left on the doorstep; the Whitestone crest burned into the leather, a mocking compensation for a life taken and a reminder to not wait up.
***
The last light of day is already fading when Vex’ahlia returns home after a long day of work. There is no light behind the windows of the tiny hut she and her brother are sharing, and Vex sighs. It usually means trouble when Vax’ildan is not home by nightfall. It means he’s lost another job and his fingers have gotten into someone else’s pouch to make up for it.
One day the monster is going to get you if you keep stealing, she tells him every time when he returns home with his head hanging in shame. He never listens, and the monster never comes. And, well, Vex always forgives.
Vex shakes her head and fishes a key out of her pocket when she reaches the door. She fumbles with the lock for a minute, the keyhole escaping her in the dark, until with a soft click it opens - and she stumbles over something lying on her doorstep as she enters the house.
Her curse breaks the silence of the empty hut and she bends down to examine the object that tripped her. Vex picks up a heavy leather pouch, for a brief, glorious second wonders why Vax had left his haul on the doorstep of all places - and then drops it like a hot stone with a choked cry as she notices the crest burned into the leather.
One day, the monster is going to get you.
“One day” is here.
Vex can only stare at the pouch - the de Rolo family crest mocks her, lying face-up, with several gold coins pouring out of the top. All told, it probably contains more money than she’s ever seen at one time. With this kind of coin, she could buy a nicer house closer to town, and not have to worry about where her next meal comes from, not for a very long time.
But her brother would be dead. Perhaps is dead, as she stands here, gawking at the terrible leather pouch with its terrible blood money.
The next few minutes are a blur. She grabs her heavy cloak, shoves the coin pouch into her bag, and locks the house again. There is no one around to see her run; their hut is the last occupied home between here and the Ashari, and the Ashari are the only ones separating her from the dark woods that surround Whitestone Castle. Vex runs mindlessly, her cloak flying behind her, heedless of her aching feet or burning lungs.
Keyleth sees Vex approaching the Ashari farm before she makes the front porch. “Vex?” Her friend stops on the steps. “Vex, what’s wrong?”
“I need to borrow a horse. And I need you to look after the house until Vax comes home.”
“Vex?”
“Please, Keyleth.” Vex can’t look her friend in the eye, and can’t begin to speak of it, not if she wants to remain calm. And she needs calm for what she’s about to do.
Keyleth pauses for a long moment, long enough that Vex is afraid she’ll refuse. But then she nods. “Come to the stable.”
When Vex is seated on a horse, she reaches into her bag and hands Keyleth several coins from the cursed pouch. “Take care, Keyleth.”
“Vex, please …”
“Tell me,” Vex interrupts, finally meeting her gaze, “do the Ashari tell the version of the Whitestone Castle story that talks about a willing soul?”
Keyleth blinks, looking confused. “Yes. They say the monster will take a willing soul in exchange for a stolen one. But Vex, I’ve been up there, and … Vex!”
But Vex is already riding away. Keyleth’s protests die on the wind as she leaves the farm - and the town - behind.
She spurs the horse on, riding as fast as she dares. If there is one thing Vex remembers about the story, it’s that the trade, one soul for the other, has to happen before sunrise. Once the new day has dawned, the captured soul is lost forever.
Soon the dirt road leading through the fields gives way to a narrow path between tree trunks and Vex reluctantly has to slow down to avoid hitting a low hanging branch or the horse stumbling over a fallen tree. Unfortunately it also makes her more aware of her surroundings. The air is cold and still around her - the usual sounds of approaching night have disappeared. No breeze or sound except the hooves of her horse hitting damp earth and her own ragged breaths break the silence. It’s not natural, but nothing about this forest is natural. There’s a reason no one comes here, and the reason is the castle beyond, and whatever terrible things live inside. The eerie silence is terrifying, but for her there is only one way - forward.
She tries not to think of what her brother is going through right now as she presses on, only of the moment when he will be free again, when she has fulfilled the promise she made to their mother and kept him safe. Not that she would have needed it. Vex would do anything for her twin - and so would he for her.
A loud growl somewhere nearby startles her and the horse, making it jump forward and run faster. Fear trickles down Vex’s back and she doesn’t turn, doesn’t try to reign in the horse, only holds on tight and prays to any god that will listen for the castle to be nearby.
It seems like she rides forever, but it’s likely just a few minutes before she starts to see lights in the distance - the castle, it has to be, there’s nothing else out here. She’s almost there. Vax is almost within reach.
The next moments play out as if happening to someone else.
The growls that have followed her grow louder, until it sounds like the creature is at her back. She gasps, and looks backward - at the same time as her horse rears, sending her tumbling to the ground. She lands in the mud, filth covering her hands and knees as she scrambles. Breath tickles her neck, but every time she spins around, she sees nothing. But the growling continues, soft but infinitely loud, sounding as if something is right next to her ear.
Vex tries to stand, but her cloak snags in something unseen, nearly choking her as she topples onto her back.
This is it, she thinks, terror making her thoughts seem almost clinical. I die here, and Vax dies, and our lives have been for nothing.
In the darkness, she can see the shadows of tree branches above her, swaying unnaturally in the stillness. And for a moment, she waits, wondering when death will appear in her view.
Then, with a loud roar, a huge dark form jumps onto the road beside her - and with another jump knocks whatever was holding onto Vex’s cloak off it. Vex hears the fabric tear and instinctively scampers backwards, away from the hulking form of a bear - that pays her no mind, its focus entirely on the something under its paws.
Vex takes her chance, gets back on her feet and runs.
Fueled by fear she races along the path, towards the faint light of lanterns between the trees right in front of her. And then she finally breaks through the treeline and a cobblestone path appears under her feet. A closed ironwrought gate looms between her and the castle and she runs full force against it, stumbling as it gives way under her pushing hands. Vex slams it shut behind her and takes a deep breath for the first time since entering the woods.
She is almost there. Vex quickly keeps going before the last pieces of her tattered courage leave her and she can’t find the strength to do what must be done.
The castle towers dark and uninviting, no light behind any of the many windows in that awe inspiring structure. Towers, parapets and the big double doors leading inside are crowned with stone gargoyles, hissing down at her with their hideous faces. She wonders what light she saw gleaming through the trees - but then again, she might not want to know. Maybe the castle was leading her here for its own nefarious purposes. Perhaps the monstrous resident wanted to lure her here, not satisfied with just stealing her brother’s soul.
And perhaps, she thinks, she’s stalling, letting her mind try to talk her out of what her heart knows she needs to do.
“Hello?” Her first attempt at speaking comes out a broken croak, so she swallows, takes a deep breath, and tries again. This time, she yells, her voice echoing through the darkness. “Hello? Come out here, I want my brother!!” She pounds on the giant doors, her fists making a disappointingly quiet racket. “Come face me, you monster! Or are you so cowardly as to hide from a woman?”
There is no response. Vex feels hot tears begin to streak down her cheeks. This is not how this ends. She has not made this journey in vain. She continues to pound on the door, until her hands feel bruised and weary. “Monster!” she screams. “Show yourself! You cowardly wretch, you steal our families away under the cover of night, but are too scared to look us in the eye. Face me! Monster!”
She screams until she’s hoarse. Still, she hears no sound other than her own voice, and her fists on the door. All else is silent.
There must be another way. This can’t be it. Vex frantically looks around, maybe she could break one of the windows, get inside? She has to do something, when this thing wouldn’t come to her, she would get to it. This can’t be it.
One last time Vex’s fist falls against the door and she is in the process of turning towards the row of windows on the side when the wood gives way and the door opens silently inwards. She stops and stares.
For a moment she can’t make out anything past the frame; darkness, almost as solid as a wall, fills it completely. Until her eyes adjust and her gaze shifts - and it is not a solid wall anymore but a figure of wreathing smoke and shadows, tall and bulky with no discernible features past two blue pinpricks of light where one would assume eyes should be. It stands as still and silent as a column, staring down at her, and Vex feels her blood run cold and panic creep into her heart.
Mother, give me courage. She swallows down her fear, and to her own surprise her voice sounds level, if hoarse from abuse, as she speaks - she has this one chance, she has to make it count.
“I come for my brother, Vax’ildan. I come with a trade - his soul for mine.” When the figure does not speak, she continues, unable to bear the oppressive silence. “I am a willing soul,” she says, hoping against all hope this part of the story is true. “You cannot refuse me. Send my brother home, and take me instead.”
After another long moment of silence, the creature finally speaks. Its voice is strangely doubled, as if two beings speak at once. The loudest voice is a terrible sound, like a hundred swarms of buzzing insects. Underneath, the second voice almost sounds human, which is almost more frightening. “You do not know what you demand,” it says.
“I know what I want.” She hates the tremor in her voice, but she can’t fight it. “I want my brother’s freedom. I will do what I must to secure it.”
“Your brother is a criminal. He is not worth your soul.”
“You do not get to decide what my soul is worth,” she snaps. “Or what my brother is worth. I am willing. I trade myself for him.”
“Turn back now.” The buzzing insect voice has not changed, but the human-like voice below it sounds almost … pleading? “Go back to your home. You now have the means to improve your life. Live, for your brother’s sake.”
“While you kill him, or do whatever it is you do to people here? No.” Vex squares her shoulders. “You have to take a willing soul. That’s what the story says. Take mine.”
A strange sound leaves the creature - somewhere between a low pitched buzz and a sigh. “Very well. I accept the deal. Follow me.” With that it retreats inside the foyer, giving Vex the space to enter through the door.
And to her horror she notices the pull inside her chest, drawing her towards the monster. The deal is struck. Her eyes dart upwards to the sky, for one last look at the stars above her, before she follows it inside and the door falls shut behind her.
Wall sconces flicker to life, illuminating a small portion of a wide, once grand but now dusty and derelict foyer - empty except for her and the monstrous form made of darkness. Against the light of the sconces Vex can make out soft plumes of smoke drifting off its lumbering body that is not solid, but a mass of constantly churning and swirling smoky tendrils. She shudders and has to force herself to keep her eyes on it as it leads her further into the castle on eerily silent footsteps.
Lights come to life as it leads her along corridors and down a staircases, and extinguish when they have passed them, making her wonder for a moment what strange magic is at work here. While they walk it doesn’t speak again, for which Vex is grateful; the discordant duality of its voice frightened her almost more than the ever-changing shape of its body.
Eventually - finally - they reach the cellar, and behind a door a corridor with a row of barred cells. Again it steps aside to let her enter and Vex rushes in, desperate to see her brother alive and unharmed. “Vax?” she cries.
The noise of shock comes from the farthest cell. “Vex? Oh gods, no, Vex.”
She runs to the cell, to find her brother sitting on a straw-covered floor, with only a sleeping pallet and a chamber pot inside. He quickly gets up to meet her at the bars, and covers her hands with his. “You’re going home,” Vex says, trying to keep the shaking out of her voice. “You’re going to get out of here.”
He just stares at her for a moment. “Vex’ahlia, what did you do?”
“I kept a promise.”
When the smoke creature glides up to them, Vax steps back, shaking his head vigorously. “No. No, I won’t allow it. I’ll stay here. I can’t -”
“You have no choice,” the creature says, in its terrible voice. “Three times offered, the deal is made. She will stay.”
The smoke envelops the lock on the cell door, and Vex hears a metallic clang. “Go to Keyleth,” she says, her voice sounding far away. “Tell her I’m sorry I lost her horse. You can probably take my place at the shop, it doesn’t pay very well, but it’s safer than what you were doing.”
The door opens, but Vax doesn’t move. “Vex, no.” His voice is filled with anguish, and it breaks what little of Vex’s heart that was left intact. “I won’t - I can’t -”
“You can, and you will. I chose to be here. You didn’t.” She steps inside the cell and grabs his hands. “Go, please. For me. Get out, go live, that’s all I wanted. That’s all I needed.” She’s crying - she didn’t mean to, didn’t want the creature to see her this way. But her brother’s face undoes her. She throws her arms around his neck; he holds her so tightly that she has trouble breathing. “I love you,” she says. “I couldn’t leave you here.”
“But I’m supposed to leave you?” Vax’s voice cracks on the last word. “That’s not -”
“Enough.” Vex feels the cold smoke come up behind her, and she’s drawn out of her brother’s arms somehow. A dark tendril reaches out and wraps itself around Vax’s arm. “Leave my home and never return. Your sister has given you a rare gift. Do not squander it.”
Neither twin can say another word before the monster drags Vax with inhuman speed out of the cell and up the stairs, out of Vex’s sight. She is left alone in the dark cell as the reality of her new existence crashes over her head. Sobs are wrecking her body and take the last strength left in it, dragging her to the floor where she curls in on herself in the damp straw.They didn’t even get to really say goodbye. She would die in this cell below this damned castle, never get to see the sky and the stars and her brother again and they didn’t even get to say goodbye. If Vex had needed proof that she was now in the hands of a monster, this was it.
To her surprise it returns after a few minutes. She only notices because the sconces on the walls light up - its steps are impossible to hear. With sheer determination to not let it see her break again Vex manages to sit up and modulate her breathing until the sobs subside, turn her despair into fury instead, before it appears in front of her cell.
“You could have at least let us say goodbye. I will never see him again and I didn’t even get so say goodbye!!” She yells at it.
There is no real face and no expression as it looks down on her. “It didn’t sound like you were going to. Now come, I’ll show you to your room.”
Taken aback and baffled Vex only manages a surprised “What?”
“Come! Or would you rather stay here?!” It snaps at her, the voices even more discordant while shouting in different pitches.
She opens her mouth to ask more questions, but then thinks better of it. If it intends to give her better accommodations while she still lives, she won’t argue. She follows the thing from a distance, watching the smoke curl into odd shapes in the breeze created by movement. It leads her up the stairs to the main floor, then up the giant staircase in the main foyer. When they reach the second floor, they walk down a long, dark hallway. The farther they get from the staircase, the less light there is, until Vex can’t see her hand in front of her face. “Um. Um, excuse me?” she says tentatively.
She only knows it turns to look at her because she can still see the two blue dots that seem to be the creature’s eyes. “Why are you stopped?”
“I can’t see. I don’t - that is, I don’t know if I’ll trip on anything.”
“Oh.” The single syllable is the first thing she’s heard in a single voice - the human voice, or what she thinks is a human voice. But when it speaks again, the dissonance is back. “Just a moment. Light!”
Slowly, lamps begin to flicker into being, lining the hallway from where she stands forward. It makes her shudder - what sort of magic is this, that this creature can command flame into being with only a word? At the same time, she realizes it has done this for her, so she forces her voice to work again. “Thank you.”
It says nothing; it simply begins to move again, and Vex can do nothing but follow.
At the far end of the hall, it stops in front of a door, which opens without a touch. “The room is yours. Do not leave it after dark.” It waits for her to pass through the door before gliding back down the hall. The door closes behind her, and she hears the telltale sound of a lock tumbling into place.
Now, Vex allows her legs to give out once again, sinking to the cold wooden floor and wrapping her arms around her knees. From here on out everything is uncertain and frightening. When would it kill her, take her soul? How long- Tears start streaming down her face and she makes no move to wipe them away. Who would see, who would care anyway? As her old life breaks down around her Vex cries and trembles until her eyes refuse to shed more tears and her body feels stiff and everything aches.
She doesn’t know how much time has passed but now that the tears are gone, leaving her body hollow and her mind empty, she gives herself permission to look around in the room that would be her cell for whatever time was left of her life.
The monster hadn’t bothered to turn on the light for her again so she can only make out rough shapes without details in the soft moonlight streaming through the- windows! With a lot of effort Vex manages to unfurl her body and stumble through the room towards the set of tall windows, complete with a window seat. She can’t make out any details of the land surrounding the castle but craning her neck and looking upwards she can see patches of sky dotted with stars.
Another quick look around the room reveals the location of a giant four-poster bed. Vex sheds her muddy and torn cloak and dress, slips out of her shoes, before stripping the blanket off the bed and wrapping herself in it like a cocoon. She waddles back to the windows and sinks onto the seat, pulling her legs up until they press on the other side of the frame and she is wedged entirely in it. Her tears are flowing again, this time with a bit of relief - if nothing else, at least the creature has left her this, a view of the world she’ll never experience again. The stars are a small comfort, a bit of familiarity in this terrible, strange place.
She wonders if Vax is looking up at these stars right now. If he’s on his way home - or to the Ashari, as she’d asked - or if he’s still lurking here somewhere, hoping to rescue her as she’d rescued him. She hopes not, with all her might. There’s no escape for her, no loophole to be exploited. And as terrified as she is, she wouldn’t do anything differently, given the chance.
“Go home, Vax,” she whispers to the stars. “Live well, for me.”
Soon, exhaustion claims her, and the stars fade to the darkness of sleep.