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Author's Note: I came up with this idea Friday night, and since I discovered I only had until midnight on Sunday instead of the week I thought I had, and had to finish up Patreon content yesterday, I pushed hard to finish it today in time for the contest. I would have liked to do a lot more with this, but time just didn't allow it. Thanks as usual to my readers and, of course, the Big Closet team who work tirelessly to give us all a great place to post and read TG fiction. ~Amethyst.
 

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I sat alone at a table in a dark corner of the cheapest inn Eldan Hollow offered, lost in the same spiral of misery that often dominated my mind. Mostly, it was boundless despair; the crushing weight of a body and a life that felt viscerally wrong was as heavy as it ever was, a weight that seemed to rival that of the world itself. That wrongness had been with me for as long as I could remember, like my body and soul were two mismatched, jagged shards of shattered people that someone tried to mash together but got completely and hopelessly wrong.

My body and soul didn’t match, they would never match, and it was a festering wound within my heart that I feared would never heal. For inside this large, bulky, and very male body was a soul that cried out to be anything but. I longed to be soft, graceful, feminine, and beautiful, to not have to look at my body and face in the mirror or that disgusting thing between my legs. Because every time I did, I would recoil in soul-searing agony at what I saw. It was not me, not the real me, I wasn’t supposed to be like this.

In addition to that onerous weight upon my soul, I was tired, weary, and trying to convince myself that the stale bread and watery soup that I was eating were actual food. That was when a hooded and cloaked figure, cast in shadow, sat across from me. I did not recognize her until I heard her whispered voice say haltingly, “Xiria, we… I… need your help.”

As always, my heart fluttered and a thrill shot down my spine as she used, not the horrible male name that I had been given at birth, but the name of my soul, the name I had chosen for myself. It was the only part of myself that I had any control over, the only part I could make match who I was inside. Her voice sounded as tired and weary as I felt but still managed to make my chosen name sound as sweet as honey.

It was Janessa, of course. I’ve known Janessa since before either of us could walk. We grew up together in the orphanage, and honestly, some days she was the only light in my life that kept me from throwing myself into a monster den to end this parody of a life. She was the only person in the world who knew my secret, who knew my name, and I loved her with all my heart.

I sometimes fantasized about what it would be like if I could be truly myself, instead of trapped in this hideous, hulking husk. They were only fantasies, though, and I knew in my heart that that was all they would ever be. I thought Janessa loved me too, but I worried that she might also be attracted to me like I was now from the soulful looks she sometimes cast my way, longing glances like those I often found myself casting toward her.

Even if, by some miracle or great feat of magic, I did manage to become truly female, I feared that we were destined to remain merely friends. She was attracted to me like this, and the mere thought of being with anyone as I was now made me feel like retching. Maybe we were fated to be like this, ships passing in the night while I suffered a life of torment that no girl should have to endure.

Only Janessa knew the torment I lived through every day, only she seemed to care and understand. She was trying to help, too, but each false lead for a way to fix me seemed to drain my shallow reservoir of hope more and more. Still, she was trying so hard for me, and if she was asking me for help now, I could do no less for her. So, I did not hesitate to ask, “What do you need?”

“I need to go to the Ruins,” she replied, her voice barely a whisper. A cold shiver slithered down my spine at the last word, and she didn’t need to specify which ruins. Anyone in the once-kingdom of Kanis would know of the cursed city at the mere mention of that word.

Sixteen years ago, when we were both infants and the war with the Altharia Empire was at its peak, the Ruins were known as the capital city, Lanheit. It was a center for trade and learning, where all the races coexisted in peace and harmony

Nobody knows what truly happened there for sure, but most people believed it was a vicious curse placed upon the capital by Altharan mages since their disdain for non-humans was well known, as was their desire to expand through conquest. Altharan researchers, like Janessa’s master, claimed the King of Kanis had mages developing some grand magical weapon that blew up in their faces, but I doubted that even they believed such lies. All that was known for certain was the results; the capital and the lands surrounding that once great city met with a great cataclysm that changed the course of the war and allowed the empire to take Kanis in conquest.

People mostly didn’t talk about the Ruins, though, except those loyal to the Empire, who brandished the crux of our defeat like the threat of a blade to our throats. Those who had anti-Empire sympathies spoke of it only in hushed tones and hidden places, just as they spoke of rebellion and freedom for the people of Kanis. Janessa and I both silently supported the rebels for now, though we could not do so in any meaningful way with our Altharan masters' watchful eyes always upon us.

We were all citizens of the Empire now, whether we liked it or not, and our once proud land was still healing from the wounds of the war. There were far too many orphans like me and Janessa; too many orphanages, and too many mouths to feed. That was why, when we turned sixteen last summer, Janessa and I were forced to leave.

We were not thrown out on the street, but our situation was not much better. We were offered what they called apprenticeships under Imperial lackeys, and now we worked long hours for a few coppers a day and a warm place to sleep. They had me training to be a bodyguard for a wealthy Altharan merchant while Janessa now worked as an assistant for a researcher at the university.

I bit back a curse. I would do anything for Janessa, but going to the Ruins? That was asking a lot. “Why would you want to go there?” I asked. My voice felt raw and gritty and was barely a whisper, but at least that meant I didn’t have to hear it. I hated my voice as much as I hated my body, for the deep hardness of it fit me just as poorly.

Wordlessly, she slid a small cloth pouch across the table and motioned for me to open it. When I did, my eyes went wide as I caught sight of the sparkling golden crystals within. Ambercite. Of course, that made perfect sense. Her master was studying the Ruins, Shades, and Ambercite for the Empire.

Whatever magical cataclysm struck the former capital, the magic was dark. It twisted every living creature in the city and beyond, turning them into monstrous, mindlessly violent shadows of their former selves. These aberrant Shades now prowled the Ruins, preying on those who were weak and anyone foolish enough to enter that cursed place.

Greed creates such fools. Ambercite is valuable, not just for the magical properties the crystals possess, but universities throughout the Empire and researchers like Janessa’s master were willing to pay handsomely for samples to study. And where there are Shades, there is Ambercite. Many adventurers were willing to risk the dangers for the chance to get rich or to possess a rare piece of Ambercite for themselves.

I’ve heard that when Shades are killed, they crumble away to dust, leaving only Ambercite crystals. Janessa’s master believed that Ambercite is crystallized mana, containing fragments of the essence of who and what the Shade once was, and they can be absorbed by other living beings. Ambercite crystals have been used to learn skills, gain knowledge, improve one’s base attributes, and even to change one’s race.

That last one was frowned upon by the Altharans, but it was of keen interest to me until Janessa told me that while the race might change, all subjects who went through such a change always remained the same physical sex they started as. I lost all interest in Ambercite of any sort when I realized it wouldn’t fix my problem. So, I closed the pouch and slid it back across the table to her, still not sure why she wanted to go to the Ruins.

Was she hoping we could find something valuable and strike it rich? Even the small amount she had in that pouch would probably be worth a few gold pieces at least, and we were both living on coppers. Then it hit me.

“Janessa, where did you get all that Ambercite?” I whispered, my throat suddenly tight.

“I… took them from Kazar’s samples.” Annnd there it was. She stole the crystals from her master, and that explained why she was so quiet and hiding behind that cloak and hood. Not that she was hiding well since the cloak was bright azure in color.

Honestly, I shouldn’t have been surprised. Our ‘apprenticeships’ were little better than slavery. Our Altharan masters worked us to the bone for a place to sleep by a hearth and a few lousy coppers, but they were both wealthy enough to easily pay us fair wages. I had been thinking of escaping, too, though my escape would have been death, and I only kept going because if I died, it would hurt Janessa.

When Janessa spoke again, her tone was insistent. “We’ll need them, and Kazar won’t miss them, at least, not any time soon. He’s gone to the Altharan capital to share the results of his research so far, he’ll be gone for at least a week. I was doing some reading, taking notes for him, and going over some maps, and I found something big, something that could change our lives… A treasure grander and more valuable than anything in this whole screwed up empire, and I have the map to find it.”

“Wait, you can read?” I asked in surprise. We had grown up in the same orphanage after all, and the only schooling I remembered either of us getting was on how to do the chores.

“What do you think I do as Kazar’s assistant?” she hissed. “When I started working for him to replace his last assistant, he had me use a piece of Ambercite. It was a skill crystal, and I learned how to read and write from it. Look, we need to go, I’ll explain more once we’re safely out of town and on our way to the Ruins.”

We were well out of town and following the old highway to the capital when night fell, and Janessa had us retreat into the woods far enough where we wouldn’t be seen from the road to camp. The pouch of Ambercite wasn’t the only thing she stole from her former master when she left. Janessa had a satchel with a few books, a map, and enough coin for us to get a pair of horses, some supplies, and real food for our trip, though we did our shopping in a part of the city where we weren’t well known. We also bought me a proper sword and some leather armor since the practice gear I used while training was cheap and would be useless if I needed to defend us.

It wasn’t until we were lazing by the campfire after a meal of cheap wine, roast mutton, cheese, and bread that Janessa took out the satchel with her books, the pouch of Ambercite crystals, and a sharp-pointed dagger. She poured the crystals onto the ground between us and began picking them up, one by one, with a look of intense concentration on her face. There were over a dozen crystals total, and she set one that seemed a bit bigger and glowed brighter than the rest aside before dividing the rest into two piles, one in front of me and the other in front of her.

“I tried to take any that I thought would be useful for us,” she explained before picking up the large one she’d set aside. “You can get a general feel for what each crystal is by holding it and concentrating on it. This one is a race crystal; it feels like one of the Fae races, kind of like earth and trees. I figured that after I stole all this stuff, I should change my appearance in case anyone comes looking for me.”

“You’re going to turn into an elf or something? Like, tonight? Are you sure about this?” I asked as I looked at the crystal in her hand. I agreed with her idea in principle; she needed to make it so she wouldn’t be found, but going from being thought of as a thief to being a non-human wasn’t exactly a step up in the Empire. People of other races often disappeared or were hauled off by Altharan soldiers after being accused of being rebels.

“Yeah, that’s the plan,” she agreed. “I’ll need some way to help keep us safe in the Ruins, Xiria. Magic would be best, and maybe after we find what I’m looking for, we can join the rebellion or something.”

Janessa was being cagey about this whole thing, and if she was keeping the details hidden from me, it was either because it was going to be dangerous or she wasn’t aware of the finer details herself. Neither possibility was reassuring. She looked so nervous, but as much as I wanted to hold her hand and reassure her, I had no idea how the crystals even worked or if my touching her right now might somehow cause problems. There was no time like the present to learn, though, so I asked, “How do they work?”

Janessa nodded and gave me a faint smile as she explained, “Like I said earlier, you can sort of sense what they are if you’re holding them, but it takes fresh blood, right out of the body, to bond to them. The first person who used one was wounded and did so accidentally when the Ambercite was exposed to his blood.” Well, that explained the dagger.

“There is one thing you need to know, Xiria,” she added as she gave me one of those sad, longing looks like she was wishing we could be more than just friends, but knew it wasn’t possible as things stood. “Research shows that the changes in people who use race crystals are permanent, there will be no way for me to go back to being human after this and other race crystals won’t work for some reason, even though some types of crystals, like those for attributes seem to be stackable to some degree. I had to really think about which one I took. I’m hoping to be able to use magic, and for the Fae, magic talent is as common as it is rare for humans. Hopefully, I’m right and the skill and knowledge crystals I took won’t be useless.”

She took a deep breath, picked up the dagger, pricked one of her fingertips, and then closed her fist to brush the bleeding digit against the golden crystal in her palm. The effect was nearly instantaneous. As she opened her hand again, I could see the crystal dissolving into motes of golden light that seeped into her until her whole body seemed to glow. It was so bright that I had to look away, and when the light finally faded, Janessa no longer looked like the girl I grew up with.

Gone were her dark brown hair, slightly chubby and freckled face, and deep brown eyes. She looked like she might be taller than before, though she was still shorter than I was, and she was slender and almost ethereally gorgeous now with silver hair and eyes. “H-high Elf,” I sputtered, scarcely believing that this was Janessa. “Y-you’re still you in there, right?”

Janessa’s eyes shot wide open at my words, and she quickly snatched up a handful of her now-silver hair to examine it in the firelight. If she wanted to be able to use magic, she probably couldn’t have chosen any other creature alive that would be better suited to the task. “I… wow… I… yeah, I’m still me, Xiria, at least on the inside.”

After that, she wasted no time using the other crystals she had taken for herself, though she had to prick her finger again since the wound had healed when she changed. Three of the six crystals were for attributes, two were skill crystals, and the last was for knowledge. As she used them, she let me know what she’d gained from each. One of the attribute crystals was for magic power or potency, another was for mana, and the third seemed to boost her ability to concentrate, or her focus, as she called it. As for the others, the knowledge crystal seemed to be for healing magic in general, while the two skill crystals helped her learn specific spells, one she called “Prism Burst” and the other named “Tangle Trap.”

Then it was my turn, and I looked down at the crystals in front of me dubiously. As much as I loved and trusted her, I had to wonder what treasure would be worth all of this: going into the Ruins and changing herself into a Fae. Not just any Fae either, but a gods-damned High Elf. If the imperial army found out about her, they would kill her on sight and claim she was a rebel after the fact.

Still, she was my best friend, and more than that, the girl I loved, and I wasn’t about to let that happen to her. I had to be able to protect her, now more than ever. The treasure, whatever it was, wasn’t important to me. All that mattered to me was that it was important to her, and if it was important enough that she was willing to do all of that to get it, then I would walk through any of the seven hells to make sure she got there safely.

So, I didn’t ask, I trusted her. If she felt we needed these Ambercite crystals, I would use them. I would do anything for her, even live on in a body that was torture for me, to spare her pain and suffering. Without even picking any of them up first to get a feel for what they might be, I pricked my finger and touched each of the seven crystals in front of me in turn.

I intuitively sensed what effect each of them was having as I used them. Most of them seemed to improve my physical attributes: agility, stamina, strength, reflexes, and dexterity. It was a strange, heady feeling that was hard to describe other than I suddenly felt ‘better’ and had more energy. The other two were skill crystals, one for swordsmanship and the other for reading and writing, or at least that was what we suspected.

When I drew my sword to take a few practice swings, the movements seemed a lot more natural to me, fluid and graceful in a way that I wasn’t used to, but comforting in a way, as if I had been using a sword all my life. We tested my other new skill by pulling out the books and map that Janessa had brought, but we were both disappointed when I couldn’t understand them any better than I could before. “Maybe the skill is for a different language, like Fae or Kobold?” Janessa finally suggested after it was clear that I couldn’t read any of the texts she had brought.

“Maybe,” I agreed, feeling a little disappointed.

She leaned over to wrap me up in a warm and comforting hug. “Hey, it’s okay. I can still read this stuff, so I can just explain what I need to. Anyway, this book is the history of Kanis until the war, and there is a lot in there about the capital city. The one with the illustrations is the journal of an early ruin hunter, containing all his knowledge about different types of Shades in the Ruins, and the last book is Kazar’s research notes. The map shows the capital as it was before the cataclysm. We need to go here, the Fae District.”

As she spoke the last part, Janessa pointed to a spot on the map, and I could feel a sense of cold dread tying itself up in knots inside my stomach. I might not be able to read a map, but even I could see that it was right in the middle of the city. “How do you expect us to get that far into the Ruins? The place is probably swarming with Shades.”

Janessa pointed to the map once again, this time at a tiny blue dot. “See these dots? Those show the locations of travel gates; there was a system of them spanning the entire capital, and according to the ruin hunter’s journal, a lot of the old magic, including the gate system, was still working when he explored the Ruins. We can take this one, where the old highway reaches the city, and travel straight to the Fae District. There are a few different types of Shades that could drop what we need, and I’m hoping we can find all of them there. Our best bet, though, is probably the barracks of the Storm Legion; there should be a high concentration of the right kind of Shades there.”

“Going to an area with a high concentration of Shades of any sort seems like a dangerous prospect,” I countered, frowning at the thought.

A determined grimace settled on my best friend’s face, and I knew she wouldn’t be swayed from this as she stated, “That’s why I took the Ambercite. It’s why we’re preparing, because only certain types of Shades are likely to drop what we need.”

“And what is it that we need so badly?” I pressed.

“The key,” she replied cryptically. “The key to the greatest treasure there is.”

I knew there were likely countless treasures waiting in that ruined city for someone either brave or foolish enough to claim them. Few ventured there, and even fewer returned, making the capital almost legendary for its untapped wealth and luxuries. What treasure required such a key? Was it the key to the royal armory or vault? Regardless of its nature, it was important to Janessa—so important that she was willing to do all of this and risk everything to obtain it. If it mattered that much to her, could I really do any less?

I had a difficult time falling asleep that night as my mind wandered to what lay ahead. When I awoke, Janessa was clinging tightly to me in her sleep. How could something feel so right and so wrong at the same time? There, in the arms of the girl I loved, I felt like I was where I belonged, and yet such intimate contact while I was in this repulsive body made me want to recoil in disgust and shame.

The first couple of days of travel were a learning experience for us. Neither of us was used to a life on the road, having grown up in the city, and it was taking some time for our minds to catch up with what our bodies could now do since using the Ambercite. This was especially true for Janessa as she tried to get used to a body that was fundamentally different than what she was used to.

She was now taller, and her body shape, balance, and the way she moved seemed so different from the friend I grew up with. She was almost effortlessly graceful now, even in her now ill-fitting clothes, and she was trying to figure out the heightened senses and natural abilities that came with her new form. Magic would come with time and practice, and she already knew a couple of spells thanks to the Ambercite, but she was working hard trying to figure out how to cast glamours as soon as possible.

She might not be recognizable as her old self now, but being recognized as a High Elf would be far worse. High Elves had ties to the throne of Kanis, and the Empire could see her as a threat. A High Elf could unify the people of Kanis, including the various rebel groups, under one banner. She spent much of our days traveling the highway, hidden within her hood, though fortunately, we encountered few people, and none at all as we got closer to the Ruins.

Even with the horses to speed up our journey, it was several days before we reached the edge of the old capital. We had seen signs of being in the Ruins for almost an entire day before that, though: long-abandoned and dilapidated farms and homesteads; the bleached bones of what were once cows, horses, and the like; and pastures and fields overgrown and choked with weeds. The closer we got to the city, though, the more skittish our horses became, and the more oppressive the air felt, as our instincts screamed at us to leave this dangerous place.

We had to shoulder our bags and release our horses once the dilapidated walls and spires of the old capital were in sight. We had to fight Shades twice as we approached the city, though neither was as powerful as we feared. Once Janessa locked them down with Tangle Trap, I was able to dispatch them with my sword, and we even got some Ambercite out of the encounters. The Ambercite was all attribute crystals, allowing me to further increase my reflexes and agility, and Janessa to boost what she called alacrity and focus.

Now it was mid-morning, the gates were before us, and we carefully watched for signs of Shades from our current position, crouched behind a rotting wagon close to the roadside. We stayed low to the ground while Janessa examined the map and tried to work out the fastest way to our destination. “This is our last chance to back out of this,” I told her, my eyes not leaving the gates.

I didn’t mind dying; it would be a welcome release from my suffering, and I would gladly die if it meant doing something that was so important to her, but when I thought about her risking herself, I just wanted to pull her away from this haunted place and never look back. She was risking her life for what? Some shiny trinkets or some wealth? What was worth her life, her very self, that she would risk so much for it?

It didn’t help that she was being so close-lipped about things either. Was she afraid I would think her shallow and try to stop her from doing this if I knew what this treasure was? Did she not trust me? The last thought stung after all we had been through together, and I swiftly quelled it. No, it wasn’t that, couldn’t be that. In the end, it didn’t matter to me anyway; I would stay by her side and protect her because it was important to her, and I loved her so much sometimes it hurt.

“I’m not turning back. We… I need to do this,” she adamantly insisted, and I knew her well enough not to press any further when her mind was already made up. The best thing I could do for her now was to stay by her side, be alert for danger, and protect her as best I could.

So, instead of doing what was probably the smart thing, I asked, “Which way?”

Janessa turned to me with a smile so warm it threatened to melt my poor heart. A different smile, a different body, and yet, the effect on me was the same as ever. She was still and always would be the girl who held my heart. She gave me another of those longing looks, and then her cheeks flushed as she quickly tore her eyes away and looked back at the map.

It was a moment before she finally replied. “Thanks, Xiria… for caring and trusting me enough to do this. I… know that I’m being difficult, but I… have a plan and this will be worth it… I promise you that. When we pass through the main gates, there should be a travel gate somewhere nearby and to our right. There are two gates we could go to from there, but it looks like the one in the Fae District is closer, and there is a more direct path to the Storm Legion’s barracks. Let’s go.”

I nodded silently in answer and then stuck to her side as she took off running. I could have easily outpaced her now, but the point was to stick with her, to protect her from harm. So, I ran beside her with sword in hand, ready for anything. Thankfully, it seemed like the entrance to the city was quiet, like a tomb, and we had time to get our bearings before searching for the travel gate.

“Good, it seems like the journal was right,” Janessa said as she sagged in relief. “Most people who attempt to raid the Ruins enter here, so it’s been mostly picked clean of Shades. When we go through the gate, though, we’ll have to be ready. This city is massive, and very little of it has been explored since the cataclysm, so we’ll probably see a lot more Shades in other districts. Oh, there’s the travel gate!”

She was pointing to a large arch of stone atop a round stone dais in the middle of a small square. It looked large enough for maybe two people to walk abreast, so it was probably reserved for foot traffic while wagons and horses traveled the main roads. Still at her side, I stepped atop the dais alongside her, and the stone beneath us began to glow with a soft, pale blue light.

“Fae District,” Janessa enounced clearly, causing the space within the arch to shimmer with a similar pale blue light. Taking her hand in mine (the one not holding my sword), my heart hammered in my chest like a blacksmith gone mad at the anvil. Our joined hands were both trembling as we stepped through the light.

We were set upon almost as soon as we finished passing through the gate, and I quickly raised my sword to block the lunge of the horrifying black creature. It looked like it had been a Satyr once, but its skin and hairy legs were now pitch black, its limbs clawed and twisted caricatures of what I had seen in pictures, and its face stretched unnaturally and topped by massive curling horns. Its baleful red eyes held no hint of intelligence, and a too-wide fanged maw snapped at my face as I lashed a foot out to kick the creature back, followed by a swift lunge of my sword to its core.

In our previous two encounters with Shades, I had learned that they all had a core, right where the heart would usually be, and if we destroyed that, the creatures would perish. As I recovered, I was barely aware of Janessa chanting behind me and to my right as I slashed through the chest of another twisted parody of a former Fae. Vines shot from between the street’s cobblestones ahead of me to entrap a third, and as I ran my sword through the core of that Shade, another went down as a beam of radiant light burned through its chest.

There were still more, over a dozen, who were drawn by the death wails of their counterparts. I slashed, hacked, and stabbed at any of them who came close, until my arms were weary, my breathing haggard, and they were all piles of dust and Ambercite. Janessa looked as weary as I was by the time we were done; she had used a lot of magic while tying some down for me and burning holes in others with Prism Burst.

Neither of us was used to fighting a protracted battle like we just had, and I was glad Janessa had healing magic. I had earned several slashes and bruises during that fight, and it was only my leather armor that prevented worse. I had a feeling that we weren’t out of the woods yet either, so I kept my eyes peeled for more Shades as we took a quick break and Janessa healed my wounds.

Before moving onward, we gathered up any Ambercite we saw, though Janessa assured me that none of the Shades we had fought would have what she was looking for. Still, there were several attribute crystals for both of us, including one that further increased my stamina, which I felt was sorely needed after that fight. There were also some skill crystals, but most of those didn’t seem immediately useful for either of us, the only two exceptions being another pair of spells for Janessa: Crystal Barrier and Spirit Bolster. We placed the other crystals in Janessa’s pack, used what we could, and then moved onward.

We progressed cautiously and quietly through the ruined streets of the Fae district with the guidance of Janessa’s map. We didn’t see any of the Shades that my best friend was looking for, and those that we did see, we either tried to avoid or kill before they could see us coming. There were still several times when a Shade or a small group of them got the jump on us, though, and we had to fight our way through.

This place was probably beautiful before the cataclysm. As we moved through the district, we saw vast gardens that had long since overgrown and gone wild and ruined plazas where the tinkling of fountains would have been serene if not for the rubble and the prowling Shades. Now, this city was a cemetery where the disgraced dead roamed free.

Finally, we were approaching the gates of the Storm Legion’s barracks. The sun would be setting soon, and since I didn’t want to be wandering around once it did, we would have to either find what Janessa was searching for soon or a place to shelter for the night, hopefully both. The place ahead of us looked more like an overgrown woodland garden with disheveled and deteriorated huts among the branches than anything I would ever picture as a barracks.

Janessa sensed it before it saw us and quickly pulled me behind a tree to hide from its sight. “Look, over there,” she whispered. I think that’s one of them… I can sense more of them in the trees as well, a lot more. That one is stronger somehow, though, I can feel it. The wind… the wind tells me that the others are scared of her; she’s killed many of them.”

It wasn’t the first time on our trip through the district that her new Fae instincts had told us something important, so I believed her and peeked cautiously around the tree to see what Janessa was talking about. It was a good distance away, and I could barely make out a ghostly figure and the glint of something golden. “What’s that it’s holding? I asked since her new Fae eyes were much keener than mine.

“I… I think it might be a Relic,” she replied in an oddly reverent tone, even for whispering. When I let my confusion be known on my face, she quietly elaborated. “Relics are rare, like extremely rare, among Shades. The ruin hunter mentioned encountering one in his journal, and Kazar has been dying to study one for as long as I was his apprentice.”

“So, what are they then?” I pressed, peeking out again to make sure the Shade hadn’t spotted us.

“Kazar believes that when an object a Shade was carrying when they were turned was intricately connected to their self-identity, it becomes symbolic of who they were and gains similar properties to Ambercite. If her sense of self-identity was strong enough to create a Relic when she turned, she’ll probably have a lot of Ambercite on her, hopefully, she’ll even have what we need. She seems like she’s the right type of Shade, or at least one of them.”

I nodded grimly. If that thing had what Janessa needed, then I was damn well going to get it. I took a deep breath, looked her right in the eyes, and told her, “I’ll get its attention, cover me.”

“Be careful,” she replied, her eyes moist and pleading.

Stepping out from behind the tree, I walked purposely toward the Shade, sword ready in my hand. I kept my eyes on it as I approached, and I still managed to somehow lose sight of it. It was like it just vanished and… It was only my newly enhanced reflexes and a wary step backward that saved me from being cut in half. As it was, the long, golden glaive that the Shade bore cut right through my armor and left a shallow cut across my chest.

Eyes wide, and my heart thrumming frantically in my chest, I stepped back and desperately parried the Shade’s follow-up thrust. This was wrong. Until now, the Shades we had encountered came at us savagely with tooth and claw, but this ghostly feminine figure with buzzing, blurring wings was using a weapon like she knew it intimately. If we hadn’t increased my attributes and gotten me the swordsmanship skill, I would have been dead with that first attack.

I was vaguely aware of Janessa chanting behind me, and suddenly, I felt filled to the brim with energy. It was barely enough for me to continue parrying and dodging the Shade’s whirlwind of attacks. I could counter now, but I was still on the back foot, and I needed an opening to attack instead of defend.

Vines erupted from the ground beneath the Shade but passed right through it, only finding purchase on the glaive, and it still wasn’t enough to give me an edge as one of the Shade’s hands let go of the weapon and shadowy claws passed through my sword and raked across my chest, leaving burning trails of crimson behind. Whatever this Shade was, I couldn’t touch it while it was taking me apart piece by piece. Janessa couldn’t lock it down like this either; her Tangle Trap passed right through it, and I had no doubts it would pass through her Crystal Barrier just as easily.

That left her Prism Burst spell, but with me between her and the Shade, she wouldn’t have a clear shot at it, and the damn thing had just worked that glaive free, giving it a large advantage in reach. I stayed inside its guard, trying to take away that advantage as I deflected a sweep toward my right side and then rolled left. Janessa must have been thinking along the same lines as I was, because I didn’t even have time to call out to her before a beam of light ripped through the ghostly shade’s chest.

For a moment, all I could hear was the rapid beating of my heart and my haggard breathing before the Shade dissipated and the Glaive fell to the ground, along with a small pile of Ambercite crystals and dust. I collapsed to the ground an instant later as Janessa rushed toward me to tear off my chest armor and shirt and examine the wounds beneath. Her trembling hands pressed lightly to my wounds as she began chanting a healing spell.

“Thank the Gods, you’re okay,” she mumbled a few minutes later, once my wounds were healed.

“I was with you, of course I’m okay,” I replied with more cheer than I truly felt. To be honest, I was tired and worried about being in this city after dark, but I didn’t want to worry her. “You should check that Ambercite and see if they have what you need.”

The words prompted her to immediately lunge for the pile of golden crystals and begin frantically going through them. I had barely cracked a smile at her eagerness when she held up a crystal that was slightly larger than the others and cheered, “It’s here!”

I got tiredly to my feet, happy for her as I said, “Let’s gather that stuff up and go then. I don’t want to have to fight any more of those things right now, and it’s going to be dark soon.”

While hurriedly backtracking the way we came and trying to avoid any further Shade encounters, we found a somewhat secure place to sleep that night. It was a run-down home inside a big hollowed-out tree, and while the interior had seen better days, it had a hearth, and the door was thick, sturdy, and had a thick bar to keep out intruders. Only once we had a fire going inside the hearth from shattered furniture and had eaten something did Janessa open the pouch with the new Ambercite and spill the contents on the floor between us. The glaive, which looked like it was made of Ambercite as well, rested against the wall nearby since Janessa had insisted we bring the rare Relic with us.

Janessa picked up the largest piece of Ambercite, looking uncertainly from it to me and back again. A suffocating silence hovered over us for a moment before she finally took a deep breath and offered it to me, and I looked at her in confusion before breaking the silence. “So, that’s the key to your treasure? What is it exactly?”

“It’s a race crystal… for you,” she replied, her eyes pleading and her hands trembling, causing the crystal to shake in her open palm.

“But you said we were coming here for some treasure… the greatest treasure,” I said in return, my heart heavy from the look in her earnest silver eyes. “You said a race crystal wouldn’t work for you again.”

“I did… and that’s why this is for you. You… wouldn’t have agreed to all of this if you knew the risks and that we would face such danger for your sake. It took me a while to put the pieces together, and I had to wait until Kazar wasn’t constantly looking over my shoulder, but I did all of this for you. Because my greatest treasure has always been you, and I want you to be happy,” she told me as tears started to stream down her cheeks.

“But…”

She knew what protest I was going to make before I could even fully voice it and promptly cut it off. “That Shade… it used to be a Sylph, they’re elemental Fae of wind and lightning, and I knew where to find them because they were mentioned in the history books. All the members of the Storm Legion were Sylphs. I know I told you that when you change race with one of these crystals, your physical sex would stay the same, but some Fae species are female only; they don’t have male counterparts: Dryads, Nymphs, Undines, and… Sylphs. This… this should work. You can be the girl you’ve always been on the inside.”

I stared at the golden crystal in her trembling hand in wonder and fear. I could be a girl; my body and soul could finally match. “What…” My voice caught on the words to come. “What if it doesn’t work?”

Janessa wiped tears away, and then her gleaming silver eyes regarded me with an all too familiar and unshakable determination. “I’m a High Elf now. I can use magic, and I won’t rest until I find a way to make it happen for you. But it’s going to work, I know it will.”

I would have laughed if I wasn’t so nervous. If anyone could make something happen through sheer force of will, it was Janessa. My heart thrummed in my ears, I could scarcely breathe, and my hands were shaking worse than Janessa’s as I fumbled to take the crystal in hand. My hands trembled so ardently that she had to wield the dagger and hold my hand still with her other hand to prick my fingertip.

As soon as my bloodied fingertip met the crystal in my hand, I was suffused in pleasant warmth, first my skin, and then it spread ever deeper until it was like I was inside warmth itself. I had never felt so light, so boundless, or free. When the warmth left me, everything felt different, but at the same time, right in a way that I had never experienced before. For a moment, all I could do was stare at my delicate and feminine hands, so different from the slabs of meat I had only moments earlier.

My arms were just as visually pleasing, and a glance downward had my breath catching in my throat as I saw the mounds of my new breasts for the first time under the shirt I had put on to replace the one that was damaged with my armor. I… I was finally me. I broke down then, shedding the happiest tears of my life. With my eyes closed, I could feel the changes in me. That ugly square body was gone, replaced by soft, feminine curves, and the horrible thing between my legs, its presence no longer gnawed at my mind with its wrongness.

There were other changes, too, changes I didn’t expect. From the way my clothes hung from me, I was probably smaller now, and there was this sensation of something constrained behind my back, desperate to be free and move. Did I have wings? I was still trying to process that thought and the sensations that summoned it when Janessa lunged forward to kiss me.

Her lips were warm and soft against mine, and so insistent as she wrapped her arms around me and held me close. As we kissed, my heart fluttered in my chest wildly, and it was like being infused with warmth once again, this time spreading outward from my belly. I… I was a girl, and the girl I loved more than anything was kissing me. When we finally parted, both gasping for air, she beamed at me and said breathily, “I’ve… been waiting to do that for a long time.”

“I… thought you were…” I gasped, before suddenly realizing that I wasn’t sure how to finish that sentence.

Again, Jannessa showed that she knew me better than I knew myself. “Attracted to men? No, Xiria. I’ve never wanted you for the body you wore, just the person inside. I love you; it’s always been you. You’re my greatest treasure.”