MYSTBLOODS: NA’KAISHIA

"The girl is a child of black strife and she doesn't even know it. How long are we going to keep that power a secret? Her combative skills astound. And yet she still thinks of herself as a regular mystblood. Revealing the truth behind her blood right will unquestionably change the tides of this war."

~Prime Elder Ah’ma to Na’Keem about Na’Kaishia

Clan Nightshade held it down as one of the most devoted clan houses aiding the Shadaran throne since its inception. Founded by Chaka Nightshade way before The Darker Than Dark Times emerged, the clan continues to stay true to the Khan sovereignty even with their current clan head Olexia Nightshade at the helm. Former head Kaiza Nightshade, mother of Na’Kaishia and sister to Olexia, ascended from natural causes, though the streets of Centra claim Kaiza’s depression from Na’Keem’s treachery the true culprit behind her death.

This also fuels Na’Kaishia’s resentment towards her father.

House Nightshade
Tuamutra District | Northeast Centra
Sometime Before the Calamity Era

Na’Kaishia had just reached her ninetieth push-up when Olexia Nightshade emerged from the archway of the master blackblade’s personal training chamber. The clan leader stopped a few respectable steps away, observing the heavy pack strapped to Na’Kaishia’s back. She was a mystic at peak physical strength. Fit, alluring, intimidating, and now soaked in sweat. Without her connections to magi, Na’Kaishia would be near superhuman by ephemeral standards, as told by her toned physique.

The two women knew powerful bodies were essential in wielding any kind of power beyond mortal coils. Stronger minds included.

Na’Kaishia hit a hundred and stopped, sitting on her knees soon after and slightly wheezing as if far from being truly winded. She carefully removed the heavy pack from her back, unbuckling the straps, and it hit the floor like a sack of cinder blocks. The thick thud secretly amused Olexia wholeheartedly.

She knew why her niece was in here half-toiling to death. “Meditation in motion.” She smiled.

Na’Kaishia briefly acknowledged her aunt with a glance as she stood up. The sweat on her brow dripped. She wiped it away before it hit her eyes. “Improves the mood.”

Olexia smiled. “And has it?”

Na’Kaishia took a moment to think. The pause clued Olexia in. “A little.”

“Then don’t stop on my account,” said Olexia.

“Not good to overdo it.”

“When has that stopped you?”

Na’Kaishia smirked. She reached down to pick up the heavy sack with ease and carried it to the table, tossing the bag onto a stony table before snatching up a towel folded next to her flask. What sweat remained was dabbed away in moments. “An envoy from Shadowbane came to visit.”

Olexia’s mood took a shift. Anything involving the Exile King was a mood killer. This also explained her niece’s extensive workout. “Very bold.”

Na’Kaishia scoffed. It sounded like a chuckle. “I know; right?”

“Well?”

“Well, what?”

“An envoy emerged from the voidrealms on behest of the king. What was the message?”

“Riddles.” Na’Kaishia faced Olexia and leaned against the table, the towel was thrown over her shoulder. With a need to quench her thirst, she finally claimed her flask, popped its cork, and took a long swig. “Definitely not his own words. Spoke of secrets hidden from me. Futile attempts to make me reconsider my place.”

Olexia reviewed her words. Na’Keem’s new attempt at swaying his daughter wasn’t new, but concerning, especially the part where he spoke of secrets. What secrets? What could be hidden from Na’Kaishia that she doesn’t notice already?

The only secret Olexia tried her best to not hint at. “Mind games,” she said and left it at that. “Did you send the envoy to an early grave or was mercy on the menu?”

Na’Kaishia twisted her lips, entertaining the concept. “I thought about killing him, but I didn’t. He seemed forced. As if he didn’t want to find me.”

Olexia quirked a brow. Na’Kaishia was soft when she wanted to be. Perhaps the king’s envoy deserved to live. “So, you felt sorry for him?”

“Sure.”

“And your response?”

“My fist.”

“So, your message to Na’Keem is a fist?”

“Yes.”

Typical of Na’Kaishia to do. Olexia tucked a loose golden loc behind her ear. Her niece’s disposition could not be helped. Not that Olexia would intervene. “Perfect response.”

“There was one thing he said that had me thinking.” Na’Kaishia half-turned her head as if her attention had made a B-Line to Olexia, but stopped along the way. A speed bump in her thoughts. “The night I told mother my desires to become a blade of Malice, she snapped. Her reasons were in the right place—though I found it hard to accept. Clan Nightshade is famous for its assassin logic and the Blackmother favors our house. Mother preferred that I steered clear of the realms of warfare, but I am what I am because of destiny. Na’Keem said the same, and insisted that I continue my resistance, for that is where I will find the truth.”

“Your mind is as sharp as the blades you carry,” Olexia said. “What is it you think he is saying?”

Na’Kaishia sighed as she lifted her flask. She knew the king’s message before it was given. “A bunch of bullshit.”

A wave of relief hugged Olexia, comforting her, but only for a time. She expected Na’Kaishia to unravel the unenlightened truth behind her abilities. That answer held the reason behind Na’Keem declaring her as his heir—even though Shadowbane was a rebel plane of existence hidden in the voids.

If Na’Kaishia was in the dark, then there was no need for Olexia to be concerned just yet. So it seemed. “Ah. Very much so. Though I hope you are better than that tough mouth of yours. Agendas are always woven in madness. You never really know the truth unless you’re bold enough to unriddle their threads of deceit.”

“Well…” Na’Kaishia entertained the issue. “The offer continues to present itself.”

“Unfortunately,” said Olexia.

“But I know it’s a lie.”

“Just be mindful,” Olexia advised. Na’Kaishia’s disposition was justified. Na’Keem served evil intentions. Anything he said was a danger to those who listened, and Na’Kaishia used her nose instead of her ears when dealing with his bullshit. Even one’s delusion presented truths. Maybe Na’Kaishia wasn’t ready to discover it.

So, Olexia told her this: “Remember, we face an unworldly threat capable of many things. Truths within lies are like blood diamonds. What glistens is never truly as pure as one portrays.”

Hopefully, the statement held some weight. By Na’Kaishia’s standards, she simply scoffed as her head hung low. Riddles. Nothing but riddles. The only weight to Olexia’s wise words. And the kind that tugged at the corners of Na’Kaishia’s lips. “Umbra’s breath… Not you, too.”

Olexia pressed the statement even further. “Know thy enemy.” She left it at that, then put on a proper smile. “As for the reason I am here, you are required at our next meeting. It has been moved to Sondus.”

Na’Kaishia hardly attended the clan meetings. Each house held its own congregation, chattering about the districts they govern and other crown-related matters that only representatives of the Shadaran throne had the knack to deal with. Now, when situations are too significant to avoid, then Olexia summoned—and none refuted the call of their house.

“I’ll try,” said Na’Kaishia. She was poking fun at Olexia’s request. The two exchanged a gentle laugh. Olexia wasn’t even demanding, and her eyes were intense. It was then that Na’Kaishia caught on to her bright display, responding with a thinned side-eye.

Darkgear Citadel
Heart of Centra
Sometime Before the Calamity Era

Sovereign Malice roamed the halls of her citadel with two vanguard scouts at her side. The scouts were debriefing, a dreadspawn outbreak involving an extension of darkgearian darkweavers in Bale was thoroughly exterminated. Malice held a mystographic screen of alternating data glyphs and images that she browsed with the sway of her fingertips. The data displayed summarized the Balen outbreak exposed and destroyed by Kynemba Nightshade and his Black Disciples.

“Forgive me, my lady.” Olexia appeared, having sought the sovereign as planned. “I come bearing an urgent matter.”

Malice ceased her business with the scouts and released them from her presence, gesturing them to leave. The scouts vanished in a quick burst of shadowy smoke.

“All’s well?” Malice’s disposition changed dramatically. Gone was the rigid beauty of the Black Malice as a familiar air of benevolence took her. She resumed her walk with her now. She and Clan Nightshade go way back. “How is the clan holding up? I know Na’Keem’s emergence is an unsettling revelation.”

“Another nameless letter arrived,” replied Olexia. Just another night under the Exile King’s unwanted limelight to her at this point. “Nothing worth mentioning for this coming engagement. One more empty threat to add to the fire.”

“I apologize,” Malice said sincerely. Anonymous threats were acts of cowardice. “Veiled messages can be an annoyance to crack.”

Olexia flashed a tiny smile. “If the enemy was any smarter, they would learn to make their little love letters fire resistant. Besides Shadowbane’s infamy, I chatted with Na’Kaishia prior. She grows stronger every night. She also bluffs as if she’s impregnable to her father’s attempts.”

“Her mind wanders,” said Malice after a slight pause.

“Baby steps,” replied Olexia.

“If Na’Keem is looking to provoke her latent power, he will be deeply disappointed when she uses it against him.” Malice briefly peered at the mystograph still in her hand. “Imagine the damage she can do against those she deems destined to die by her blade.”

Olexia didn’t expect to hear that. Malice’s position in Na’Kaishia’s potential, seeing it as a benefit than a curse, was obvious. Not to neglect how grim-sounding the sovereign became with her words. It startled Olexia sometimes.

It startled everyone. They weren’t used to their philanthropic world queen going full-savage. Refreshing to some, concerning to others. “You sound partial to its likelihood.”

“Favorably inclined,” said Malice. “For good reason. She can give her father a run for his money.”

Olexia considered the scenario. It was a fine concept. “A high possibility.”

“Not to neglect the dangers of her mind if she so releases it—provided she becomes aware,” Malice explained. One could never weigh the pros without the cons. “The oath of Darkerage seethes within me. I had no choice but to return to darkness to grasp its purpose. Because of our ancestors, we share an unfavorable history of dark discord, which the darkweavers’ code praise as absolute. I, for one, do not.”

“She has made it this far,” Olexia admitted. The oath of Darkerage was an umbiri trait of darkness and fury born from Hellion’s will. Nocturien became a warmongering nightmare among his enemies, but the seductions of Hellion paved the road to self-destruction, thus Nocturien reshaped its authority, renaming it The Wrath of Sacred Darkness, or Umbringer’s Fray.

The event and those that followed were marked as one of the last times anyone had ever seen the world king... before he vanished.

With Na’Keem’s message to Na’Kaishia, Olexia figured that if Na’Kaishia ever wished to decipher that message, then she will not only be graced with the recollections of Nocturien but Na’Keem’s connections with such power—and why she is so important to him. To know the Khans’ true power is to know that any missteps in willpower can send one plunging into the spirals of chaos.

And Na’Kaishia was a tough and stubborn mystic woman.

“You don’t believe she will submit to a version of the darkening, do you?” Olexia asked.

“I believe that when my dear friend picks up that the gifts of atra live in secret inside her veins—she will be prepared.”