"Before I begin expounding on all sorts of things," Ravenna started, with an unusually pensive expression, "perhaps you'd best begin by expining your own uanding of affairs, so I know what you know - and what you don't."

  "Oh." That made seo Fern. "Well - I guess for text I've lived in Pinsgate pretty much all my life; all that I remember, anyway. But the gist of it... hmm. Light is upright and virtuous, always taking on the challe hand and never shirking a job that needs doing. Darkness is not to be trusted, because things are never what they seem when the dark is involved. ... Something like that." Her forehead wrinkled ever so slightly. "The teags in Bckgss Bastion are even more porized than that, at least withiemple; but even before I met you I thought calling for the extermination of all Darksiders retty extreme, so I didn't pay much attention to them."

  "My goodness. And have you had any experieh the dark or its practitioners?"

  She shook her head. "Not directly, no. I've never had to face off against one; as far as I know, some of the more dangerous beasts with kill orders on them sometimes used dark magic, or something like it, but I never dealt with those directly either."

  "Iing. So it's all just theoretical knowledge to you, then, nothing practical."

  "I guess? My skills for deteg magic aren't very refined. ... None of my skills are, to be fair."

  Ravenna leaned ba her chair. "Hm hm hm, ahing to add to the list, then. But I see! I see the gaps, and also where some things must be knocked down and rebuilt to help you." She grinned. "And so we shall do just that."

  Ferled into her fy chair and did her best to listen to what was sure to be an iiure.

  "The very first thing - the most important truth, I think - is that magic, magical energy, the aether itself; this has no moral poo it as you seem to uand it. Using light as a on or a shield does not somehow make you a better person, any more than using darkness makes you worse. If that was true, then Pinsgate and Bckgss should be bastions, aha, of virtue and justid all good things, sihey are so packed with Lightsiders." The dark mage smiled thinly. "pare what you are told to what you see in the world, and you will soohe teags crumble uhe weight of reality."

  She processed this, bringing to mind various guild members and other residents she knew were light-wielders. It was true they weren't always the most upright of people, a... it was hard to let go of old beliefs. Her foundation was definitely fractured, though. "Do you know any... virtuous Darksiders?"

  "Oh yes - my half-sister, for one! She is a perfect dy, or as close as oo it. Despite being an aplished dark duelist, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone willing to speak a wainst her." Ravenna smiled brightly, this time with a defie of pride - a new expression, for her. "I do hope you'll be able to meet her some day; right now we speak by correspondenbsp; Perhaps the message I send her will be about you. That said-" She settled bato expository mode. "Every Darksider is an individual, just as every Lightsider is. The general difference, I suppose, is that practitioners of the dark have o put up any sort of moral facade; ironically, I find them rather easier to trust, if not to get along with."

  "And why's that? Not getting along, I mean."

  "Ah, that dovetails ly into my point." The dark mage did some light wrist stretches while she tinued. "Although no moral po exists, as previously he nature of light and darkends to influence a wielder's personality over time. It may sound simir, but there's a very important distin." She paused for a moment. "Light, as I'm sure you're aware, is aheric aspect that best mas as raw forbsp; It's a very - I don't want to say physical thing, but... frontational. With light you make barriers or you break them. You go to the heart of a problem and smash it as hard as possible. If there is danger, you sweep it aside, and if you ot, you lift your shield aher the storm. All those things, those as, the way Lightsiders do business - it affects, or affect, the way Lightsiders see the world around them. Does the line I'm drawing here make sense? How it differs from an i moral po?"

  Fern's brow furrowed deeply as she leaned forward in her chair, stewing over all of this. "By this logic, you're saying - I think you're saying - that using light alter you, but won't necessarily, depending on your own circumstances. That it's not a universal thing or an absolute; it's a much more variable effect."

  "Precisely." Ravenna fshed a grin, and the affirmation warmed some internal piece of the hero that had long gone cold. She'd done something correctly; she'd checked a box, or passed a test, or something. Whatever it was, she felt better. That was a good thing, right? It had to be.

  "In that case, what effect does darkness have on people? What are its characteristics?"

  "Darkness is light's opposite, ceptually speaking. Instead of tering force with force, dark practitioners seek to divert or deflect or simply avoid it altogether. It is deeply anchored in subtlety; the art of hidden, unseen, and sometimes simply less obvious things. Faced with an overwhelming threat, an aplished guardian of darkness will not merely stand firm ahe wave wash over them; rather they will seek out a oint, or some advantage, and exploit it as only they . Having said all that, I'm afraid the influence of darkness lead to some very tiresome personalities." The dark mage let out a sigh, straightened herself, and then tinued. "Practitioners avoid direct frontation and flict, much like they avoid the strikes of an enemy. They dislike being pressured or ered, and will employ the same misdire in versation as otlefield; one's word choice oftes dissected and harped upon to no end. Thankfully this is, again, not universally true - but when it is, by the gods is it infuriating to deal with! If the Lightsiders didn't want my head so often, I'd much rather deal with their self-righteous prattle."

  Fern leaned babsp; "That is... a lot to take in. It makes sense, on the surface, just..." She gestured vaguely. "I think I need some time to absorb it all."

  "No doubt. Upending one's entire belief system is rather arduous, I'd think."

  She ruminated silently for a while, before a long-buried thought surfaced. "If there is no limiting moral po, then - is it perhaps possible to wield both light and darkness at the same time?"

  Ravenna's eyes lit up eagerly at the question. "What a fasating line of inquiry that is. We'll o explore overcsses , in that case."

  One of the unication devices on the desk lit up, its pointed crystal illuminating a warm red-e. "Dinner is ready, Mistress." It wasn't Sapphire's voice this time, but another - deeper, darker, and... hungrier?

  "Ah! Of course, of course. We'll be right down, Crimson darling." The dark mage stretched her arms and then rose from her chair. "Further talk must wait for the moment. It would be a shame to miss out on Crimson's ary creations."

  Fern took a little extra time to leave the wonderfully fortable seat, but eventually mao stand up as well. "I could certainly use a bite."

  The prospect of food helped speed her steps pared to before; that, and the way was down, rather than up. Ravenhe way again and she followed, down past the library and beds - with another longing gnce - and back to the ba hall.

  A maid waited there for them, but not Sapphire. True to what her name must be, her eyes and hair were both a brilliant crimson-red, offsetting her deathly pale skin; her hair curled in wide twin spirals that narrowed at their ends, like an auger-nce, and her eyes gleamed with their own inner light, a hungry thing that fixed on Fern a yet another shiver down her spine. Her outfit was almost identical to Sapphire's, except that her shiny bck gloves were fingerless, showing off a full set of sharply pointed darker red nails - almost like cws.

  "My goodness, I hadn't even realized it was time for the evening exge already," the dark mage purred sweetly, stepping off the final stair and sashaying over to the head of the table. "We really got to talking; lost track of time entirely, it would seem."

  "How very like you, Mistress." Wine-red lips split in a toothy griing Fern on edge once more with a prickly feeling. "Not that I bme you, seeing as you've acquired such a... delightful panion."

  "She's not for eating, Crimson darling," Ravenna interjected with a mild frown, taking her seat. "She's my partner. And she's had a simply dreadful time of it already, so don't ghtening the poor thing when we've barely gotten to know each other."

  Crimson's eyes went wide. "A... partner? Truly? Why, that is wonderful news, Mistress. It has been far too long." She turard Fern, her eyes at least slightly less predatory than before. "Might I hear your name, Miss...?"

  "Fern," she replied, gingerly taking her ow and fag Ravenna across the table. "Fern Skysh, of Pinsgate. It's... o meet you at st, Crimson. Even if I find you a little unnerving." Did I just say that aloud?

  The maid quirked a brow. "You don't say! Well, I promise you I've never eaten anyone when Mistress forbade me."

  "And when she didn't?"

  Crimson just grinned very widely, a glint of light fshing off one of her es, highlighting its unusually rge size. "Darling, please. I wouldn't want to put you off your meal."

  Fern looked down at the table, empty but for a pair of elegant pce settings, then back up with a quizzical expression. Before she could even say a word, the maid held out a curious little rod-shaped devid gestured at the table, and with her other hand, gave a sharp snap of her fingers.

  With the distinctive womp of iniheric transfer, a full set of dishes blurred ieop the polished wood, plete with exquisitely knitted potholders underh eae. A great steaming pot - practically a cauldron - of dark browy stew served as the terpiece, and the barest whiff of its aroma set the hero's mouth watering with an audible growl of her stomabsp; And if that wasn't enough, there were all sorts of fruits aables, a multiyered casserole of something uifiable, a verdant green sad that was almost an art pie its own, and at least three different varieties of bread.

  "Dinner is served!" Crimson annouwirling the rod between her fingers and then snatg it away. "I do hope it's to your liking, darling; when Sapphire told me we had a guest, I had to e up with a little bit extra from our stores. This is a rather hastily thrown together meal as a result; which is to say-" She learowards Fern with a smug little grin, and whispered: "It gets eveer."

  Better than this? Is such a thing possible?

  The hero leaned ba her chair as Crimson picked up her pte and began practically decorating it with food, artfully arranging the various dishes for her to sample and find what she liked best, theur to her and took her bowl - aurhat with a full helping of the stew. Gods, it was even more incredible up close; she could practically taste the meat already, a far cry from the cheap cuts she was used to iavern.

  Ravenna smiled brightly as Crimson started back her dire. "Most excellent. Now, where were we, darling? Overcsses, if I recall-"

  Immediately the maid whipped the aetheric rod out, snapping it in an arc to within part-widths of the dark mage's nose. "Desist, vilin."

  Fern's eyes went wide at what was surely a terrifying breach of etiquette. Even if she was x with her maids, there had to be a line somewhere.

  "V- vilin?! Me?! How could you say such a thing?!"

  The room seemed to grow noticeably darker, and Crimson's eyes ever so slightly more luminous. "Ravenna Direfrost, you will not talk your partner's ear off at the dining table. For shame." The brief shadow, and the palpable pressure that came with it, moved on. "Not until she's eaten, at the very least. 't you see the poor darling is practically starving, yet she's still waiting for you to give her the go-ahead? Holy." The maid looked back over her shoulder. "Fern, don't let your food get cold."

  "Yes ma'am." She tried to ignore Ravenna's indignant pout, and took a spoonful of the stew; and with oaste, she asded to paradise.

  Well, maybe not. But it certainly felt that way.