“If I may be so rude to ask, which family do you hail from? What brings you to the Dreadwood?”

  A slight blush rose to Vale’s pale cheeks, and Caledon immediately regretted his question. He sipped his drink in embarrassment.

  “Forgive me, my curiosity gets the better of me sometimes.”

  The girl gave him a shy smile.

  “It’s charming. I’m here for the same reason as everyone else I suppose – securing trade deals with the Highlady.”

  She gestured to the crowd around them.

  “It’s mostly a formality, an excuse to revel, wouldn’t you say.”

  Caledon nodded with a laugh, which was when his glance slipped to a lady in the distance looking at him curiously.

  His eyes widened.

  I almost forgot. Mother.

  Vale traced his gaze, back to his mother.

  “If I’m in the way-“

  “Cally! There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you. Who’s this?”

  Vale turned to his sister Viveria with a smile.

  “I’m Vale, and you are?”

  “This big buffoon’s sister! I’m Viveria, call me Viv.”

  “Viveria. But it’s a beautiful name!”

  She leaned inwards.

  “No, I insist. Who comes up with “Viveria” in this day and age.”

  She rolled her eyes and snorted.

  “Nobles.”

  Vale giggled in response, clearly entertained by Viv’s antics.

  “You’ll have to forgive my oaf of a brother.”

  Viveria stood on her tip toes to wrench down his head, whispering into his ear. She took care to ensure that her voice was clearly audible to Vale.

  “Cally, she’s way out of your league. Shoo I’m making a new friend.”

  He turned red and attempted to muster a response, quite unsuccessfully.

  Vale shared in the laughter with his sister, who immediately began regaling her with the most charming tales from his childhood.

  Viveria’s message was crystal clear.

  This was what he got for teasing her about all of her suitors.

  Seeing the opportunity for what it was worth, he politely excused himself, his sister shooting him a triumphant grin, and immediately returning her attention to her newest friend.

  He would have loved to have gotten his revenge, to have continued talking to Vale, but he couldn’t let the thoughts slip away from him again. He hurried downstairs, back into the small library, shutting the door.

  He felt a familiar chill, but this time, it was as if he had stepped out of Brimstone’s forcefield, right into the winterlands.

  “It’s chilly in her-“

  He halted in his stride. Staring, at an elf, sprawled out over the sofa. Drool leaked from her mouth, which was stuffed with not one, but three golden popsicles. Caledon gaped at the sight, but a part of him couldn’t help but admire her ambition.

  Wavy ash-white hair tumbled from her head to her shoulders. The girl snored in her bliss.

  He made for the exit immediately. If his sister saw him with another girl, he would never hear the end of it.

  Then, his eyes latched onto a soft orange glow coming from one of the bookshelves. He cursed as his curiosity got the better of him. He strode closer to the source of the light.

  It’s coming from a book?

  Caledon read its title on the spine.

  ‘The City of Brimstone. A complete history of the mining settlement.’

  His eyes widened.

  It couldn’t be a coincidence.

  Paging through the book in search of the light, Caledon gently removed a note that had been placed within it. He almost dropped it in shock.

  Don’t drink it. Dunce.

  The words appeared to burn on the page before him. A message? Caledon’s brow furrowed in confusion. Why did it look… familiar? He sat heavily on the couch, whispering to himself, deep in thought.

  “Could it be my Fear? My dreams are imitations of reality. Could I be in the nightmare? Hallucinating this? But they usually end once I realise it… Do not drink-“

  His eyes snapped to the goblet in his hand.

  When did I refill-

  It was filled to the brim, with deep, golden liquid.

  Flora’s Nectar.

  His arm shook as it tumbled to the ground, noisily splattering over the library floor.

  He winced, his eyes moved to the sleeping elf, conscious that he might have woken her. She remained snoring, her chest rising and falling steadily. A glimpse at her face revealed that her eyes-

  They were open.

  Chilling, bright eyes of deep cerulean shone back at him.

  Watching him.

  Caledon scrambled to his feet. His anxious breaths turned into mist before him.

  “F-forgive me, I was… just looking for a book. If you’ll excuse me.”

  Her eyes traced his exit.

  The girl promptly returned to her blissful nap, the interruption dealt with.

  “Heh.”

  ---

  Caledon walked out into the garden at a brisk pace. His awe at the field of black and golden roses shining underneath the sprawling Dawntree ahead was tempered by the recent revelations.

  “There’s something in the drink? What’s going on.”

  Ever since reading the message, he noticed that every elf had a goblet in their hands. Filled to the brim with liquid of deep gold.

  Caledon gradually came to a halt. He sat on the grass, a distance away from the manor, the sights and sounds gently reaching his ears. The wind caressed his hair, and he slowly calmed himself.

  He sat, waiting.

  This time, the urges were clearer. He felt the urge to drink.

  The first thing that he noticed was how his hand twitched, as if to habitually reach upwards to his mouth.

  “This is ridiculous. It was good, but not that addictive. Wha-”

  His eyes widened, as a the strange torch he had found in his hands had appeared on the ground next to him, lit by a gentle golden flame. Caledon quizzically turned it over in his hands, before setting it aside, distracted again by the urges that steadily grew within him with the passing of the time. It was gradual, insidious. If he had not been alerted to it, it would have been easy to slip. He had watched as Flora’s diligent attendants filled every empty hand with a cup.

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Flora must be making a play. The perfect time, with all these nobles in attendance.

  Then, the urge began to seep into his thoughts, even as distracted as he was. He felt his mouth grow dry, and his head begin to throb. The colours around him, that had looked so vibrant just a moment ago, were dull and stale.

  I’ll just take a sip.

  Caledon dug his fingernails into his palm, resisting. Pain was a useful tool, especially with a Fear like his. It brought him back into reality, warding off his hallucinations.

  I need to warn father and mother.

  ‘My, my. What a handsome young man all on his lonesome, this won’t do! How are you, Caledon?’

  A familiar woman with dark grey hair halted before him. It was the same lady who had been seated with his mother. He rose to his feet, greeting her with a shallow bow. Even the act of standing made his head swim.

  ‘Pleased to meet you. And you are?’

  “Who me? You can call me Madame T. Brimstone, ah an honourable house.”

  She, looked at him with bright yellow eyes. Caledon noticed the slightest lines of age that revealed itself along her cheeks, and in the corner of her eyes.

  “I’m one of the negotiators, bargaining on behalf of House Flora. Is there anything I could help you with, young man? Perhaps you would like me to introduce you to a couple of ladies, I can’t begin to tell you how many romances Flora has had a part in.”

  She gave him an elaborate wink.

  “That’s quite alright, t-thank you.”

  She nodded hastily.

  “Why of course, of course. I’m here to serve. Well then, I’ll leave you to enjoy the night breeze.”

  Caledon’s eyes blurred as he struggled to keep focused. Every fiber of his being was screaming at him to-

  Drink.

  His eyes fell on a goblet that Madame T. left behind, filled with Nectar. He made for it, and every effort to resist was met with pain. He let out a yell, and knocked the cup aside in a fit of frustration.

  As his chest rose and fell, he gradually began to calm. The addiction, finally waning.

  Which was when he heard the whisper. It felt like something tugging at the edge of his consciousness. He strained to hear it, and even that meagre effort was painful. He found his resolve, and focused. The whisper sharpened, and Caledon smiled as his efforts paid off – finally making out the tantalizing whispers that eluded him at the edges of his consciousness-

  “Dunce. Idiot. Halfwit.”

  ---

  “Oh, he’s precious. He once told me ‘oh Viveria, I could never wield a sword as beautifully as you do. I’m too timid to hurt even a fly!’”

  Vale rubbed at her stomach, sore from all of the laughter, even though she sorely doubted that Caledon had ever said such a thing to his sister. Viveria Brimstone had certainly regaled them with tales of her brother. Even if the veracity of her claims were questionable, they were certainly entertaining.

  “He once accidentally stepped on a spider, and wept! The precious thing.”

  “Oh, come now, surely you can cut him some slack, he seems to have a kind heart.”

  Vale muttered under her breath.

  “Too kind for spiders though.”

  Viveria continued onwards, not detecting the words she had muttered under her breath.

  “He was twelve, my dear Vale. Twelve.”

  “I ackgree, I thinksh it’s ridickulush.”

  The girl’s stared a look at the elf that had joined their conversation. The girl was, admirably, attempting to juggle three popsicles in her mouth while lending her opinion.

  ‘Shiver’, her name was. Quite a unique moniker that likely described her Fear of cold. Paradoxically, the girl was putting away popsicles like she had been starved for a decade. They had found her snoring in the room, and decided to speak to the curious girl. Besides, Vale felt something comforting about her presence, despite her antics.

  Viveria nodded in solemn agreement at the girl’s words.

  “Absolutely, it is ridiculous. Half the ladies at this party would tear him apart – the poor boy would never stand a chance. Any poor lady that has the misfortune of dating him will have to do the killing for him.”

  Vale and Viveria erupted into giggles as Shiver focused on her popsicles.

  “Viv, Viveria. Hey.”

  Viveria’s eyes widened with concern at the sight of her brother.

  “I let you go for ten minutes – Cally you look like you’ve done every drug under the Dawntree! What’s happened to you?”

  Caledon’s eyes were hollow, and in the short span of time he had disappeared, he was hunched and ragged. He made a deliberate effort to lower his voice, casting furtive glances for Flora’s attendants.

  “Don’t drink the Nectar. House Flora has put something in it.”

  Vale and Viveria stared at him incredulously. Shiver just continued to suck on her popsicles as her eyes fixed on his. She made no move to remove them, as if silently challenging the veracity of his statement.

  “Trust me, Viv. We need to tell Father, and-“

  A blinding pain shot through Caledon’s forehead, he let out a groan, and barely steadied himself against the door that he had shut behind him.

  “Cally!”

  Viveria rushed to his side, supporting him as he panted against the door.

  “Get rid of your drinks.”

  Viveria looked at her goblet, the golden surface of the Nectar.

  “It’s harmless?”

  “You think so, let me prove it.”

  Caledon, steadying himself attempted to pry the cup from his sister’s hands. With some difficulty, she finally relented, with a hint of longing in her gaze.

  Caledon waited.

  “How long are we going to do this for?”

  Seeing that her brother had somewhat regained his vigour, her tone became teasing.

  “In front of my new friends too? This is Shiver by the way, you haven’t met her. Cally, you’re going to embarrass me if you keep this up.”

  Caledon just waited, and as the seconds turned into minutes, the three girls waiting in anticipation, he frowned in confusion.

  Why… why wasn’t it happening to her?

  Viveria just continued to look quizzically at him. She walked across the room and gently pried her glass away from him. She took a tantalizing sip of her drink, and Caledon almost wrenched it from her grasp to do the same.

  He shook his head, stumbling again.

  “Viveria… perhaps your brother has a point. This drink has been curious. I’m confident I’ve drank my fair share, but it somehow never seems to deplete. House Flora’s servants sure are diligent with it.”

  Vale smiled at him, Caledon felt the strange emotion surface again at the sight of it, as beautiful as it was.

  As his eyes lingered on Vale’s smiling face, the hint of emotion that had emerged when he last spoke to her suddenly crystallised. The unfamiliar emotion that his sense of attraction seemed to war with within him, revealed.

  On the one hand, he was drawn to her, there was little doubt about it.

  But on the other…

  Revulsion.

  ---

  Caledon parted from the group, his memories, gradually returning to him. He locked himself in a room, away from the others, taking deep breaths.

  He wished it was all just a nightmare – a twisting of reality like he was used to. But as the torch burned into existence in his hand his call, the dread was beginning to set in. His memories were gradually returning to him, but not quickly enough. He remembered Shiver and Vale, how could they ever have slipped his mind?

  Shiver had wanted to kill him, there was no forgetting that. She had assumed that his father, Highlord Berevan Brimstone had murdered her family for a young orphan’s theft of a lord from House Flora.

  They had delved into the Archcity of Fear together, descending through Anhedonia.

  That was right. He was a Fearshaper.

  A Fearshaper of corruption, who languished in the second realm of Fear - Trepidation.

  As for Vale…

  The memory of his father’s body returned to him.

  Killed, by her brother Triol.

  Then reduced to a puppet by her sister, Dawn.

  Vale herself, was faultless. She hadn’t been to blame for the incident, but his wrath did not discriminate.

  He shook his head, steadying himself. Every second since he had torn himself away from the Nectar, the urge to drink it had steadily grown, and he had steadily felt worse.

  But there were bigger things to worry about. He felt the edges of a name form on his tongue. A familiar one, that felt right.

  “Zel. Are you there?”

  He strained, for the whisper, that had visited him shortly before.

  “How I wish I wasn’t.”

  Caledon let out a sigh of relief.

  “Thank Avalkin you’re here. Something strange is going on.”

  “You don’t say. Did you finally glimpse one of the hundred messages that I left you?”

  “Y-yes, I did. Thank you.”

  “It’s only been the tenth time.”

  “What?”

  His guide let out a long sigh, as if in defeat.

  “Each time, you come to your senses, you slip. You drink again. Falling back into the loop. Forgetting yourself and your memories, caught into the lie.”

  “No… No that can’t be. I wouldn’t fall back into temptation.”

  “And yet you do. You are nothing but consistent… At disappointing me. Here I had hopes for you.”

  Caledon highly doubted that Zel ever had any expectations of him.

  “No, no. I don’t have the time for this.”

  He rose, tightening his fists around his Phobia, as he pushed his way back out into the endless revelry.

  He headed straight for the rooftop – he needed to get mother to safety. There was so mu-

  “Caledon, there you are.”

  A stern voice. It bore metal in its tenor – it was harsh, yet kind when it needed to be. His head twisted as he ascended to the rooftop, meeting his mother, who was waiting for him there.

  “Mother.”

  The tears welled up in his eyes, as he embraced her. No doubt, she would chide him for it – but for the moment…

  The last time he has seen his mother herself, had been prior to her departure to the Archcity of Dreams. The moment she had returned had been the birth of his Fear of corruption. That fateful day, when she had returned, and she had changed. Morphed into a different person, a petty woman who envied her own children, who began to spite them, and pine after her husband’s attention.

  He knew for certain, that this was his mother. Before she had departed for the Archcity of Dreams where something had twisted her-

  “Oh, Cally. I’m getting better at it, aren’t it.”

  Caledon’s breath froze.

  Cally?

  He pushed himself off his mother, and dread welled within him, his visions tinged red, as he saw a cloying smile on his mother’s face.

  And on the faces of all of the elves around him.

  “I’m getting better at it-“

  His mother’s eyes began to run with blood, her grin distorting her features as the corners of her lips began to tear.

  “AREN’T I CALLY.”

  ---

  Caledon gasped, his breathing ragged. Suddenly, the vista around him snapped back into the locked room in which he had been seated once more. That he had never left. Sweat that ran down his chest clung to his shirt. He felt like someone had killed him, and dragged him back to the world of the living.

  “You’re finally back.”

  He buried his face in his hands, afraid to confront the reality before him.

  “Dunce. Focus. The hallucination is over. This is reality. You are a Fearshaper of Corruption. Do not fall to it.”

  Easier said than done.

  Caledon steadied his breathing. His eyes were drawn to his Phobia, that burned in his hands for the first time that day.

  Suddenly, a flash of inspiration reached him. The reason why he had snapped out of whatever haze was hanging over the mansion, while his companions and sister thoughtlessly continued as they were.

  The golden flames of his Phobia danced in his eyes.

  Burning quietly, in a dark room - Caledon formed a plan.

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