Dawn broke over the Ashwater River, painting its polluted surface with streaks of copper and gold. Elias moved beneath the docks, stepping carefully over discarded crates and rotting rope. His enhanced strength made navigating the treacherous footing easier, but didn't eliminate the need for caution.
The docks of Whitebrand operated in layers. Above, legitimate commerce thrived under the watchful eyes of House Veritan guards. Below, in the shadowed underbelly, a different economy functioned—smugglers, river pirates, and the desperate souls known collectively as River Rats.
Elias needed to find these people. Among society's forgotten, he might find temporary refuge.
A splash to his right made him freeze. A figure emerged from the murky water—a boy no older than twelve, thin as a reed, with a net containing several oily-looking fish. The child spotted Elias and tensed, ready to flee.
"I mean no harm," Elias said softly, showing empty hands.
The boy remained wary. "You're no River Rat. What you want down here, topsider?"
"Sanctuary. I need to disappear for a while."
The boy snorted. "Everyone down here is disappearing from something. What makes your trouble worth our risk?"
Smart kid, Elias thought. Direct and practical.
"I have silver," he replied, touching the pouch Wei Lin had given him. "And skills that might be useful."
"Skills?" The boy looked skeptical. "You a cultivator?"
"No. But I'm stronger than I look."
The boy considered this, then nodded toward a section of dock farther along the shore. "Come on, then. Mama Reeves decides who stays or goes."
He led Elias through a maze of support pillars and half-sunken debris. Eventually, they reached a collection of dwellings built into the dock's understructure—shanties constructed from salvaged wood, canvas, and metal scraps. People moved about this hidden community, cooking over small fires, mending nets, or simply watching the newcomer with suspicious eyes.
At the center of the settlement stood a larger structure—a repurposed riverboat hull, inverted and supported by stilts. A makeshift staircase led to its entrance.
"Wait here," the boy instructed, ascending the stairs.
While waiting, Elias studied his surroundings. The River Rats had created an impressive community despite their poverty. Water collection systems channeled rain from the docks above. Crude gardens grew in boxes filled with river silt. Even a basic defensive perimeter had been established, with lookout points at key approaches.
These people were survivors, adaptable and resourceful. They reminded him of himself—making do with what little the world had given them, turning others' castoffs into the means of survival.
The boy reappeared at the top of the stairs and beckoned. "Mama Reeves will see you."
Elias climbed the weathered steps, feeling them creak beneath his weight. Inside the overturned hull, lanterns cast warm light over an unexpected sight—what could only be described as a throne room in miniature. Salvaged velvet and brocade covered the walls. Polished driftwood furniture displayed surprising craftsmanship. In the center sat a massive chair constructed from river debris artfully arranged into a regal seat.
Upon this throne sat Mama Reeves—a woman whose age was impossible to determine. She might have been fifty or seventy, her dark skin weathered by sun and wind, her hair a wild crown of silver-streaked black. Her eyes, however, were unmistakably sharp.
"So," she said, her voice surprisingly melodic, "Jin tells me you seek sanctuary." She gestured to the boy who had found Elias.
"Yes," Elias replied. "I need to remain hidden from those who hunt me."
"Brass Tigers," said Mama Reeves, surprising him. "Word travels fast along the river. They tore through the Ashlands last night looking for a debt-runner who broke Kallen Reed's jaw." Her eyes narrowed. "That would be you, I take it?"
Elias nodded, seeing no point in denial.
Mama Reeves laughed, a rich sound that filled the chamber. "Good. The Tigers have been bleeding the Ashlands dry for years. About time someone bled them back."
She leaned forward, studying him intently. "But you're different from the stories. They say you're no cultivator, yet you defeated one in single combat. They say your eyes flash gold when you move just so." She tilted her head. "What are you, riverborn?"
The term was unfamiliar to Elias. "Riverborn?"
"Those changed by the world's currents. Neither what they were born as, nor what others might recognize. Flowing between defined states." She shrugged. "A River Rat concept. We see many strange things in the spaces between established powers."
Elias chose his words carefully. "I am... becoming something else. Something I don't fully understand yet."
"Honest. I appreciate that." Mama Reeves gestured to a nearby chair. "Sit. Tell me what you offer in exchange for our protection."
Elias sat. "Labor. Silver. Whatever skills you might find useful."
"And what do you seek beyond simple hiding?"
The question caught him off-guard. What did he seek? Safety, certainly. But beyond that?
"Knowledge," he answered finally. "About what I'm becoming. About a group called the Memory Walkers."
Mama Reeves went very still. Several heartbeats passed before she spoke again, her voice lowered. "That name has not been spoken in my hearing for thirty years." She glanced at the others in the room. "Leave us."
When they were alone, she continued. "Before I ruled here, I served as archivist to Baron Laskaris of House Veritan. I had access to records dating back to the Cultivation Dawn Era." She rose from her throne and approached a section of wall concealed by hanging tapestries. Behind them was a small alcove containing several lockboxes.
She withdrew a key from around her neck and opened the smallest box. From it, she extracted a fragmentary scroll protected by a preservation charm.
"This is one of the documents that cost me my position—and nearly my life," she explained, returning to her seat. "It references the purge of bloodline cultivators during the Sect Unification Wars. The Memory Walkers are mentioned specifically."
She unrolled the scroll carefully. "Here. 'Among the most dangerous of the deviant lines were the Memory Walkers, whose abilities permitted them to extract knowledge directly from the minds of others. The last known enclave was destroyed in the siege of Mount Whisper, though rumors persist of bloodline carriers escaping into the Eastern Duchies.'"
Elias absorbed this, connecting it to what he'd seen in the crystal's vision. "Do you know anything else about them? Their abilities? Their history?"
Mama Reeves rewrapped the scroll. "Only fragments. They were said to learn at an unnatural rate. To perceive what others could not. Some accounts claim they could access memories stored in objects or locations—though I always dismissed that as superstition." She eyed him curiously. "Until now, perhaps."
The description matched Elias's emerging abilities perfectly. His pulse quickened. "Why were they hunted?"
"Fear, primarily. The established cultivation sects couldn't control what they couldn't understand. A bloodline that transmitted powers without conventional cultivation methods threatened their monopoly on advancement." She returned the scroll to its box. "But there was more to it. The records hint at a deeper reason for the purge—something about the Memory Walkers' origins being 'beyond the pale of this world.'"
Beyond this world. The two suns in his vision. Kaelen Thorne's references to "seeding" their bloodline throughout the cosmos. The pieces were beginning to connect.
"Thank you for sharing this," Elias said sincerely.
Mama Reeves studied him for a long moment. "If you truly carry their bloodline, you will find no permanent sanctuary in Whitebrand. The major sects maintain watch lists of proscribed bloodlines even today. Should they discover your nature, they will hunt you as their ancestors hunted your kind."
"I understand," Elias replied. "But I need time. Time to learn, to grow stronger."
"That, we can provide—for a while." She rose, signaling the end of their private conversation. "You will bunk with Jin's family. Work the salvage crews during daylight. Keep your abilities hidden. And when the time comes that we can no longer shield you..." She smiled thinly. "We will part as friends, not enemies."
"Agreed."
Mama Reeves called for Jin to return. "Show our new friend to your mother's dwelling. He will stay with you until further notice."
As they left the upturned hull, Elias felt a mixture of relief and apprehension. He had found temporary sanctuary, but also confirmation of his precarious position. If the sects of Whitebrand discovered his awakening bloodline, they would move against him with far greater force than a mere Brass Tiger debt squad.
Jin led him through the community, occasionally offering commentary. "That's the communal kitchen. Fishing teams bring their catch there first, then it's distributed. Those platforms are for drying river herbs—they sell well in the medicinal markets, if you know which traders don't ask questions."
They stopped before a dwelling constructed from a salvaged cargo container, its metal walls insulated with woven river reeds. A woman worked outside, mending a fishing net with practiced hands.
"Ma," Jin called. "Mama Reeves sent us a guest."
The woman looked up, her weathered face expressionless. "Another mouth to feed?"
"Another pair of hands to work," Elias countered gently.
She assessed him silently, then nodded toward the container's entrance. "Space inside is yours until sundown. Then it's shared. Don't snore, don't steal, don't cause trouble. Simple rules."
"Thank you," Elias said. "I won't be a burden."
As Jin showed him the interior—a surprisingly organized space with sectioned sleeping areas and storage—Elias felt the telltale pressure building in his mind. Another trial was coming.
"I need to rest," he said quickly. "The journey here was... taxing."
Jin nodded. "Take the back corner. It's quietest."
Once alone in the designated space, Elias settled into a seated position, back against the wall. He had barely closed his eyes when the trial began.
Unlike previous trials, this one didn't immediately manifest as pain. Instead, his awareness expanded outward, as if his consciousness were water flowing beyond the confines of his body. The memory-traces he'd perceived before now appeared as intricate webs extending in all directions—connecting people, places, objects in patterns of experience and significance.
Here was Jin's path through the community, bright with familiarity and purpose. There were the tracks of salvage crews returning with their finds, laden with concentrated focus. Everywhere, the accumulated memories of the River Rats created a complex tapestry of shared experience.
Elias realized he could follow these traces not just in space, but in time—reaching backward to witness what had occurred hours or even days before. He focused on a particularly bright intersection of paths near the community's center.
Suddenly, he was witnessing rather than recalling—a meeting between Mama Reeves and a hooded figure from the previous night. Their voices came to him clearly, as if he were standing beside them.
"The boy from the Ashlands," the hooded figure was saying. "If he comes here, I wish to know immediately."
"My people are not informants," Mama Reeves replied coldly.
"Ten silver pieces say otherwise."
"Ten silver buys nothing on my docks."
"Perhaps this will." The figure withdrew something from beneath their cloak—a vial containing luminous blue liquid. "Purified essence. Enough to heal twenty of your sick."
Mama Reeves hesitated visibly. "Why is this boy so important to your masters?"
"He is a danger to himself and others. Unstable. The Hidden Hand merely wishes to help him."
"The Hidden Hand helps no one but the Hidden Hand." Mama Reeves took the vial nonetheless. "If he comes, I will consider informing you. No promises."
The memory faded, returning Elias to his body with a jolt. The Hidden Hand—the same organization Sera Lin had mentioned. They were searching for him, offering bribes for information. And Mama Reeves had not definitively refused.
His sanctuary was already compromised.
As this realization settled, the trial's true nature manifested. Pain lanced through his skull as new neural pathways formed, expanding his ability to access and interpret memory-traces. His perception sharpened beyond what he'd experienced before, allowing him to distinguish individual emotional imprints within the memories he touched.
Fear. Determination. Desperation. Hope. The full emotional context of each memory became available to him, enriching his understanding far beyond mere observation.
When the pain subsided, Elias remained motionless, processing what he'd learned. His abilities were growing faster than he'd anticipated. The System was accelerating his bloodline's awakening, pushing him toward some unknown conclusion.
Memory Walker Protocol Enhanced. Emotional Extraction Enabled.Bloodline Activation: 18%
The System's notification confirmed his assessment. Nearly one-fifth of his hidden potential had awakened in just a few days. At this rate, he would soon access abilities that might draw even more unwanted attention.
He needed to be cautious. Strategic. The River Rats offered temporary protection, but he couldn't risk endangering them—especially now that he knew the Hidden Hand had already made contact with Mama Reeves.
He would work with the salvage crews as agreed, gather what information he could about his bloodline, and prepare for his inevitable departure. In the meantime, he would be vigilant, watching for any sign that his sanctuary had been revealed.
As if to emphasize the need for caution, a distant memory surfaced—not his own, but one accessed through his awakening abilities:
"The greatest strength of the Memory Walkers was never our power to take memories," said Kaelen Thorne's voice in his mind. "It was our understanding that all things—people, places, objects—tell stories if you know how to listen. In those stories lies true power."
Elias opened his eyes, resolved to listen to the stories that surrounded him—and to discern which ones concealed dangers beneath their surface.