Ambient sounds courtesy of tosha73 and EminYILDIRIM
Greetings to those below. I am Death, though as always, I will ask you call me Azrael. Today we will discuss the wraith-step, the ability to move so quickly you vanish unseen. It is something that seems simple, but as it was with shadowstealing, I’m afraid all things on Orosta that are . . . shall we say “out of the ordinary” . . . are never this.
Only shade-elves, the Zurrinaih people, can harness the ability. It is why the only Sicarius assassins you will ever see are shade-elves. Vānima likes her assassins fast. The thing with wraith-step is, though, that no one understands what it actually is. Same as how no one understands the shade-elves. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me explain.
by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
A Useful Background
To grasp the uniqueness of the wraith-step, you must first grasp the uniqueness of the Zurrinaih people. They were not created by my master. Well, at least not in the traditional sense. Like the undine and the jeenta, they are among Those Who Came After. They are not abominations because they do still have souls despite some who would attempt to convince you otherwise, but they are a bit of a problem. Rather, they present a bit of a problem in terms of ownership. Choice is law, and the one they came from made a choice, which has resulted in some debate as to whether her children are bound by her choice or whether they are still free to make their own. This “gray area”, if you will, may in fact be the cause of their gray skin. It is also the cause of the wraith-step.
by Yuha park from Pixabay
If at this point you’ve noticed I’m being vague, that’s on purpose. A lot of this has to do with my brother, and I’m afraid I’m just not in the mood to discuss him today. You see, he’s become aware of these little entries, and if I mention him too much, he might find a way to sneak his way in. He’s good at that. But believe me when I say that would be a bad thing. So, lest we speak of the devil and he appear,
allow me to be vague, won’t you?
Rules
The rules for wraith-step are a lot simpler than they were for shadowstealing. But remember what I said about simplicity. The devil is in the details, after all. And the first detail is the fact this ability can kill you if you are not careful. Sometimes it can kill you even if you are careful. This is because, in order for the ability to work, one must first trigger what the Zurrinaih people call a
zadrel.
Triggering Zadrels
by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay
hile all Zurrinaih can do this naturally, it takes a bit of training to become aware of it, which is why Sicarius assassins are the most prevalent users. The word
zadrel means “lightning” in the Zishlyn language, and I do believe it is an apt description for what it does. A
zadrel is the initial adrenaline rush a Sicarius assassin needs to enter the wraith-step. An assassin will trigger a
zadrel by activating the voluntary adrenal gland inside their head. Once activated, their eyes, even the sclera, jolt pitch black for a split second. A current of extra energy will strike through their body, allowing them their initial burst of speed. A shock of lightning is exactly what it feels like.
This is the killing you part because it puts great strain on the heart. For this reason, great discipline is emphasized when learning the technique. If a Zurrinaih becomes addicted to triggering
zadrels, they can suffer a heart attack or the much worse Black Blood Disease. Still, even if it is managed, things like this have a way of catching up to you. I should know being who I am, and I can tell you that even proper management only keeps me at bay. It does not make me leave.
A Lethal Invention
by Darkmoon_Art from Pixabay
ow, traditionally, triggering a
zadrel gives you all the benefits of a typical adrenaline rush. Increased strength, stamina, speed, and the like. A mother shade-elf may well trigger a
zadrel if she saw her child in danger, and perhaps that is how it is meant to be used naturally. However, the assassins have found a different use for these enhancements. Here we see the invention of the wraith-step.
Yes, “invention” is the proper word because if we were being technical, triggering
zadrels is the only true ability a shade-elf possesses. It is what has been done with this ability that has effectively created a second. As I said, wraith-step is the ability to move so quickly you vanish unseen. But this is as much a trick as it is a talent.
The Vanishing Act
by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay
y training every single muscle in their body, something a Zurrinaih child must begin by the age of seven, an assassin can learn to perform quick flashes of speed that can almost render them invisible. This is the wraith-step. But almost is not good enough, so to finish off what pure speed cannot, they employ long cloaks made from vapor silk. I must clarify here that wraith-step cloaks, despite their name, have nothing to do with the ability itself. They simply aid in the trick. Each thread of silk is inlaid with mirrors as small as flecks of dust. This allows the fabric to refract the light and allows the assassin to better blend with the elements. Like a magician performing a disappearing act, an assassin will take their cloak and whip it around themselves. This flash of color distracts the eye, and in that instant, the assassin bolts faster than an arrow.
Sometimes a streak of color may still be observed while an assassin wraith-steps, but often times it will seem like your eyes are merely playing tricks on you. The faster the assassin, the harder it is to spot this slight betrayal; however, there is always some hint of their presence if you watch carefully enough. Well, at least that’s what the Ministers of Sicarius will tell you. They’ll tell you this because they’re afraid of it not being true. But I will tell you there are in fact two assassins who are so fast not even a streak of color will dare betray them. One is a prodigy only recently graduated who has an affinity for dolls. No, not the kind of dolls you might imagine. Trust me. The second is . . . well, it’s a bit of a secret. He pretends he’s slower than he is. Not even his son knows how fast he can truly be. I’ve collected those who did discover it, or rather, I’ve collected those who, by seeing me, learned exactly what sort of threat they
had been up against. Too late.
The Lost Inventor
But at this point, you must be wondering about the origins of wraith-step. I did say it was invented, after all, and the natural next question is: By whom? I learned my lesson with shadowstealing, so rest assured I have prepared some sort of answer for you. The beginnings of wraith-step are not so lost in the shadows that people don’t remember. That said, there is some debate as to who should be credited, and the answers you will get vary greatly based on location.
Theory Number One
by J. L. Gryphon via Artbreeder
Some will say wraith-step was invented by Vānima the Veldriss, and since she is worshipped as a goddess these days, I can’t quite say if denying this would be viewed as blasphemy or not. So allow me to commit potential blasphemy when I tell you that no, she did not invent it by any means. She merely adopted it.
Stole it, in fact. And if you were to ask a certain tattoo-lover, she’d tell you Vānima didn’t even do that properly. But I digress.
Theory Number Two
by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay
nother potential inventor, and the one most people on Altyma believe to be fact, was a human known only as the Gold Man. People remember and forget various things about him as time drifts on, but there is one thing about him I will never forget. When I came to collect him 150 years ago, amidst the molten gold that had left him a skeleton more than a man, he managed two words when he saw me:
“Thank you.”
I don’t like when people thank me. It implies too many horrible things. But in this case I understood, and I can tell you the Gold Man’s life was nothing if not horrible. I look back on the day he became the Gold Man, the day the dragon, Saqqal the Golden Prince, was forced to breathe on half his body and turn him into a monster. I look back, and I still don’t quite believe it. I believe less what happened after. But it was all true. The consequences are still true. As I have said, Orosta is a broken world. I am Death, and while I am not good, I am merciful. I tried to tell the Gold Man his real name was Eric since he had forgotten, but he couldn’t hear me. The gold had long ago made him deaf, you see. So I collected him and brought him back to my master. He’s at rest now, I promise you.
It’s at this point I have to ask: Do you agree with the Altymans? Do you believe the Gold Man invented wraith-step? You would be wise to doubt it.
My Own Theory
by peter_pyw from Pixabay – Modified by J. L. Gryphon
ho invented it, then? Was it indeed this sobbing soul they called the Gold Man? Perhaps it was a dead memory looking for something he lost. Perhaps it was a dragon who liked to play games with insects. Or perhaps it was a man named after the sky.
History so often likes to pretend things are neat and tidy. This happened, then this happened, and this is the simple answer as to why. But the truth is, history is a mess, and the reasons why are worse. Was it all these things, or was it none of them? Or is the idea that the answer is both too frustrating to accept? Because I’m afraid to say it is both. It is all and none who deserve credit. It is even Vānima, after all, in her own thieving way. There is no one answer, and instead it is a tangled mess of events that made the wraith-step what it is. That is my theory, at least, my answer as to why history has struggled so much to name a single person. That and the fact dragons lie, of course. Not to mention my brother and the choice that was made.
The Wraith-Step Today
And so we come to the present day as time so often forces us to do. These days, the use of the wraith-step and all the misfortune that comes with it can only be found among Vānima the Veldriss’s precious, worshipping assassins. The most notable practitioners are:
Up until 150 years ago when I came to collect the Gold Man, the wraith-step was also used inside a castle in the desert everyone
thought was abandoned, but when a dragon decides to smash a castle . . . a castle gets smashed.
I suppose in some ways you could call the wraith-step an artform, which would mean the assassins in Sicarius are the last practitioners of a dying art and Vānima is its noble restorer. But I can’t condone how many I have had to collect on account of its invention. I can’t condone all the shade-elves killed by triggering too many
zadrels. I can’t condone my brother’s laughter sneaking in the wind, because there is a nasty trick to all of this he’s been hiding since the beginning. I won’t divulge it here. Then him invading these entries would be all but a guarantee. No, I will protect you from him for at least a little longer. Until he won’t let me anymore.
In closing, I will warn you: If you are unfortunate enough to meet him, remember the shade-elves slowly dying. Remember the Gold Man thanking me. Remember dragons lie.
Signed your guardian narrator,
Azrael the Star of Death
Book Information
To learn more, hop on over to the books page OR hop on over to the teaser and get a sneak peek of Chapter 1! For more articles like this one, have a peek at my Worldbuilding Journal and explore Orosta.
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