Who We Were

[Yeva]

T I M E L E S S

She sat on the end of the bed, twirling the chopsticks between her fingers. The soft sound of snoring was slow and sonorous, interrupted by the slight rustling of twisting sheets.

She would be waking up soon.

Yeva looked back to see the face of a young Hytori, half-hidden by a swatch of red curls, peaceful for now. Her eyes were closed, but darting. The whispers of fear resonated like fading musical notes as the girl's lips began to twitch. She knew the dream the elf was having, for it had been her own. She had laid curled in the arms of others, muscular and drapped across her, waking from the pressing body heat and the nightmare that claimed her.

She started to shift in the bed, and Yeva crawled further onto the mattress, watching her own expression closer. Her reflection was sweating now, fussing like an infant. And then her eyes fluttered open and a slow recognition had her turn her head to peer back at the strangers engulfing her. Eyes widened. Fear. Shame. Lust.

Echo, or who she was in this memory, tried to claw free, pushing and squirming away from the security of the bed, for to her, it had been a prison. A scary place of new experience and unusual feeling.

Yeva tensed as her memory passed through her. Behind her, Echo was hurrying to gather her shoes, and Yeva dismissed her, pulled back the blanket, and contemplated the very things that had scared her off. A couple, which had once held her steadfast, were now shifting to where she had once laid, their nude forms carved and hardened. They smelled faintly of morning sweat, their bodies had been defined by battle and tattooed with beautiful art.

Watching her own behavior as an outsider was strange, for she knew what she felt and why she ran. And yet, now, it was almost foreign. When she looked upon the bed, she did not see scandalous behavior. What she saw, and what she missed, was comfort. Companionship. Touch.

She crawled into the bed and laid there on her back, feeling neither the heat of another, nor the weight of their embrace. They were not gods, or seers. She would remain alone and the strum of loneliness would only grow.

The memory did not end here, it simply began.

She listened as her footsteps raced down the hallway, and sighed with longing to be home.

With an ache in her heart, she sat up.

Today was a difficult lesson, a cruel reminder of what she lost.

Today was the day she met Norani.

[Aegis]

As Yeva followed her younger self, the world would seem unchanged, for in actuality, it was unchanged. It was still early morning, she was still in Drathera, and herself would be heading to the tavern where she'd find the tired Orkhan lass. However, on her way there, something did, in fact, change in this world, in this memory.

As the Yevas passed by a small landing, a simple balcony for viewing out over the lands of the Ecithian Commonwealth. It had been there before, showing off the small structures of Lowtown, and the expansive food forests of the farming areas, leading out into the grasslands that eventually ended to the vast, green range in the distance.

And in the moment that Yeva looked out that balcony, a blinding white light punched through the growing dawn. A great white sphere streaked across the sky, a trail of small glowing stars left in its wake that quickly dissipated. And as Yeva would see it, so would the rest of the Commonwealth that happened to be looking at the sky at that moment.

The memory was changing.

There were gasps and looks of wonder, and soon a crowd began to form on the balcony, gentle pushing and nudging around Yeva as people thrust themselves in so as to get a better look at the phenomenon. Whispers passed around excitedly, some with worry, some with a sense of adventure as they all watched the great orb fall down through that great, green barrier at the southern expanse. The rumors grew, but the tone dropped into hushed whispers. Everyone that lived there knew about that unconquerable reach, where the Orkhan of old had managed to make their own but were bested and driven out.

The falling star had disappeared into the depths of Central Ecith.

[Yeva]

T I M E L E S S

Seer followed Echo at a distance.

Yeva had less interest in what she had done, or how she might have acted differently. She knew and felt that things played out exactly as they should have, for the absolute best, and her attention lingered on the lush scenery. Bright splashes of color and immense detail were tucked into every corner of Drathera. Such beauty should have been a comfort. Her steps turned more reticent, two stones had settled into her legs. Bare feet began to drag.

Seeing her will be difficult.

A deep exhale left her body, she struggled for strength. She missed this. She missed what she had taken for granted out of fear of the unknown.

A sharp ache in her heart split open to reveal a festering wound. Poisoned with loneliness, cursed to watch a million memories. A million friendships. A million lovers. A million lives. She shared their hopes and fears and judged their actions and upbringings. She had witnessed what-ifs, what-nots, births, deaths, hopes, and betrayals. Yeva felt these things, shared them, and yet they were not hers. She would continue to be cast into the weave over and over again, until when? When would it end?

When would she understand this purpose?

Yeva stopped. So faintly, nearly lost amongst all the sounds of talk and movement, the hustle and bustle of a tavern, she could hear the signifier. It was faint, perhaps more imagined than real, but she knew it well. Out of sight, but not out of mind, Yeva watched the introduction perfectly in her mind's eye, even without returning to the known path.

"H'uvro. I an Norani, of Ounokt Nora."

Her lips twitched, her speech in perfect sync with her Echo deeper within the memory. She knew what came next. She knew it all, "H'uvio."

The pain cut at her again, snapping at her weakness. Yeva walked to the nearest balcony overseeing the city to compose herself. She tilted her face upwards as if to feel the warmth of the sun's smile and gasped at what she witnessed. A star, a blazing fury, cut through the clouds and broke the skies, tearing Yeva from her reluctance.

The world around her shifted, the power of its cosmic interference booming outwards like a sonic wave.

Orcs stopped to watch the phenomena. Bodies joined her on the balcony. Whispers and shouts, excitement and fear. The burning light arched across the sky, past the city, past the golden grasses and fruitful fields, disappearing like a wink just beyond, to the lands she did not know. To the canopy of the uncharted jungle, lost to history and suffering. To a place, few travelled to, and even fewer survived.

The star!

Yeva, unseen, pushed through the growing crowd, rushing to the tavern she should have been. Chaos was manifesting, people who had been enjoying breakfast were rising at the commotion. Where she should have shared her first meal with Norani, her Echo was pulling back, moving away with darting eyes as more orcs rushed outside. Caution gripped her. Norani was now facing the landing where Ruvaf and other Ci'uvan had been settled. The Seer watched in horror as her Echo stammered a fearful response and pulled away, rushing to find her safety, to catch a glimpse of the trail of dissipating stars left in the nova's wake.

The white-knuckled grip Yeva held on the vestige in her left hand faltered. She looked down.

Two wooden chopsticks carved well and straight, painted a navy blue, crumbled between her fingers.

No! Her Echo and Norani separated further, the threads fraying. How is this possible?

How...?

She reached out to Norani, who was now soothing young Ruvaf's nerves, "You can't go," she pleaded, but it was of no use. Her voice was trapped in the Astra Sea, "Stop! Norani-" She waved to where her self had departed, tears prickling at her eyes, desperation in her voice, "This isn't how it goes! We're supposed to become friends!"

The Star.

Yeva's hand was covered in ash and she searched the face of the woman she may have never known. Her throat had started to close, but she could not cry. The sound was small and strangled, "You're supposed to love me."

A difficult decision was presented before the Seer. She could not follow love if she did not have it. She needed to find Galetira's blessing. She needed to survive. She needed to return to life beyond the Astral Sea.

Yeva ran.

She tore through the entrance of the tavern, to the stairs of Jarkor's Tail. They were not far up, on Guchak's Landing, and she acted without reservation, launching herself down the stairs, sprinting, jumping, catching herself. Exhaustion did not hinder her, nor did weather or time. Legs and arms pumping, her hair flew behind her, a sweep of red across the stone stairwell. She ran so fast, she felt as if she were flying, gritting her teeth only upon impact with each cluster of steps she cleared.

She ran towards the tall grasses, towards danger, to the trees beyond and the shadows of suffering they cast throughout history.

She ran towards her future.

[Aegis]

Yeva was running blindly through the grasses, chasing the fallen star and any hope that she still held for what came with it. Her bounding red curls already attracted lots of attention in Drathera, and many had looked on as she sped past them, a woman determined.

And then she ran into a brick wall hidden in the grasses, though not literally.

As she started to fall, a hand reached out, catching her arm gently, a familiar face smiling down at her. Chieftain Boraba stood there in full warrior dress, her famous chakram strapped to her back. She nodded, pulling Yeva back to fully upright. And standing next to her, a head or two shorter, another Orkhan woman, who smiled brightly at Yeva.

"Good to meet again, Yeva Fatebreaker." Seer Vuka stepped forward, in warrior leathers as well, a spear strapped to her back, offering an embrace, "We're here to help." A thundering SCREE!!!! rang out and the Matriarch of the Ci'uvan flew down to them, one wing blocking the sun for the trio, a single flap bending the many meters tall grasses down flat before she landed heavily.

Boraba leapt up with ease, tossing down a rope that Vuka quickly scaled, and she climbed into the rear most position, leaving a gap between her and Boraba. "We'll take you to your star." Vuka smiled down at her from the unsaddled back of Ruvaf's mother, "We can talk on the way."

Vuka looked back toward Drathera, able to feel something there. While neither her nor Boraba nor Yeva would be able to see it, far upon the peak of Drathera, standing out upon a balcony from her temple was Galetira herself. She saw the three of them, her brow furrowed into a scowl, her ebony eye swirling in annoyance. She turned to send out orders to various Orkhan when a song began to play from Syren's temple. A song old and slow, soothing and calm, a song that had immersed itself in many variations across every culture and none had ever known from whom it had come. Galetira's eye swirled back to white, and the goddess dropped to her knees, her head in her hands as she sobbed.

That was the song that Syren had made for her, all those millennia ago, a reminder of the first time they had met beneath those giant lilies, and had spread across the world a hundred times over about cherishing those first moments.

[Yeva]

T I M E L E S S

Yeva came up short, yelping at the sudden grip that came from the grass and snatched her arm. It did not hurt, but ceased her stride in one fell swoop, a lion's paw coming down to catch a mouse by its tail. In surprise, the mystic tried to tear away, but the warrior held her securely, and in a breath, the mystic was steadied, "B-boraba?"

The face of the Chieftain was darkened by shadow, her large frame silhouetted by the sun behind her, yet the mighty chakram strapped to her back was undeniable. It was as glorious as it was terrifying. Yeva could recognize it anywhere.

The orc nodded, just as another figure stepped forward to join them.

"You... you can see me?" Yeva's face betrayed all emotion. She looked shaken. Boraba's quick interference had initially frightened her, her mind having been so focused, so determined, she had been blind to her surroundings. A fatal mistake, even in the Astral Sea.

Perhaps especially in the Astral Sea, "You-" her eyes dropped to the hand, processing the touch. Her mouth moved, trying to capture a sound. Nothing was making any sense, she didn't understand. If the memory was changing, and she did not know Norani, would she ever meet them? How were they here? How did they find her?

The new arrival was a familiar face as well, "Seer Vuka!"

A new noise emerged from Yeva's throat, deep within her chest. Relief, confusion, desperation, not unlike to an animal that had been caught in a trap and left to starve. Her hand had found the back of Boraba's, needing to convince herself it was real. When Vuka held her arms open and she was released, Yeva shot into the embrace without reservation, crying without tears, "You are here? You can see me and you're here." she held the Seer steadfast, burying her face against her chest, squeezing tight in her gasping sobs, "I- Norani- she- the star-I-."

"Good to meet again, Yeva Fatebreaker."

"You remember me?" she questioned, in spite of herself.

"We're here to help."

Whereas before her voice was lost, now words tumbled out of her mouth, "I've missed everyone so much," so many thoughts twisted and rumbled in her mind. She could hardly keep up with what had happened and what was still to come, "Something terrible has happened!" she gasped, pulling back to look at both the women, "Galetira! Did she send you? Is she alright?"

The enormous screech that sounded drowned her questions and Yeva tensed, before exhaling as the great Chieftan scaled the mount and threw a rope down for them to join.

We'll take you to your star. We will talk on the way.

Yeva nodded so much she thought her head would pop off. She shook from all the adrenaline pouring through her. Vuka settled herself behind Boraba, leaving a space between them, just for her. Nice and secure. Yeva grabbed the rope with both hands when Vuka looked up, searching. She looked towards the top of Drathera, not to the star, and Yeva faltered trying to climb up. She tried once more to find purchase with the rope between her toes, and reached towards the riders to aid her. Flying would be faster. These women were strong, efficient. A Seer and a powerful warrior were an unstoppable pair, especially those as seasoned as these. Their aid could change everything. Yeva smiled, ready to join them.

Something scratched the back of her skull, a creeping sensation.

Her brow furrowed, a half smile poised precariously on her face. In the distance, a slow song began to rise and wash across the swaying grass as she tried to pull herself up upon the Matriarch, "Wait-Why... why did you call me Fatebreaker?"

She had never known that title. She had never claimed it.

Why would Vuka insult her so?

[Aegis]

Once Yeva was up and between them, and Vuka leaned forward, a serious tone in her voice when she answered Yeva's question about her second name. "Because that's what you told me to call you." She paused, "Or rather, you will."

They Matriarch carried the three women over the great grassy plains toward the southern expanse far faster than nearly any flying creature alive could muster, and yet, the winds didn't bother a single curl upon Yeva's head, giving deference to Boraba and the relic she wielded. As Vuka spoke, the words carried easily.

"You'll know, or maybe you already do, how immaterial time is in the Astral Sea. We move through the Sea outside of time. Which means at any point in your life that you enter, you could meet any other Seer at any point in their life, or at least after they've borne her Emblem."

Vuka smiled, a hand on Yeva's hip, a comforting squeeze given, "Yes, She sent us, in a way. On this day, she tasked us with being at that place where we came across you. But in our memories, you never arrived. We didn't meet until you walked into my hut and I drew that hummingbird upon your skin."

She shook her head, "It took me a while to get used to such things. I'm still not always sure that I am."

Her hand slipped from Yeva's hip, "When the star fell, we found ourselves awoken in this memory, and there you were, as She had said you would be." Her fingers gently touched Yeva's side where the Hummingbird had been inked into her skin, "But where is Norani? I would've thought she would be with you."

A sound of worry passed through Vuka's voice, "Wait. Why are you here, now, Yeva? You don't bear her mark." It grew a bit into suspicion, "How did you even get here? What happened?"

The world around them was racing by and upon her great wings, they were nearly halfway to the edge of the unconquered jungles. As they approached, Yeva would see far more clearly than she ever had from Drathera or from Ounokt Nora. These trees were far taller than even Drathera itself. Their canopies disappeared into the clouds, and their darkness within was absolute. A distant crack of thunder roared, and Yeva would be able to see that it came from a storm that was raging beneath the boughs.

"Why did you ask if She was alright?"

[Yeva]

T I M E L E S S

"Because that's what you told me to call you. Or you will."

"Oh." Yeva's brow furrowed. She had barely settled in when the Matriarch was pushing into the sky. Hurrying to wrap her arms around Boraba, she tried to incorporate what she remembered about flying. It was easier than before, the wind not granting the same resistance as her time on Ruvaf. Without the visor that had once been gifted to her, Yeva rested her cheek to the Chieftan's back.

Behind them, Seer Vuka tried to explain more about the Astral Sea. Time was immaterial. At any point she could see another Seer in any point in their life after they bore Galetira's emblem. Yeva frowned. She had not seen anyone.

Well, not including Vhexur and his brief gift upon the shores of Southern Ecith.

Yeva tried to comprehend the fluidity of fate, or rather its impermanence at times. They were in the grasses the day she met Norani? And now... their reunion had come to pass?

"I... am not sure I understand. You were waiting for me, before you knew me?"

"It took me a while to get used to such things. I'm still not always sure that I am."

The warmth of her hand vanished from her hip, and Yeva sat upward to try and look over her shoulder at the woman, "When the star fell, we found ourselves awoken in this memory, and there you were, as She had said you would be."

She predicted it all. Which meant... Galetira knew Yeva would be lost. She had known the entire time. Her heartbeat sped up, confused. Where... where did it all end?

Fatebreaker.

Yeva jumped when fingertips brushed her side, to the hummingbird boldly painted upon her side. She knew the question that was about to come, and feared it.

"But where is Norani? I would've thought she would be with you."

She shook her head, "I... I don't know."

"Wait. Why are you here, now, Yeva?

I don't know,. It would have been easy to repeat. Instead, she took a deep breath to find the words. Vuka's voice fluctuated, and without seeing her face clearly, it was hard to read. Yeva needed to explain everything, but how?

"Galetira came to me, she took my hand," Yeva flexed her fingers, remembering, "We went to a room, and she told me many things. We had tea... and then... She guided me into the Astral Sea. She showed me memories, and... and then.... I don't know. Something happened."

Her eyes grew distant and the young elf grew silent for a moment. The fields beneath them were a blur, "She reached into the Astral Sea," Yeva mimicked the motion, grabbing at the sky as if she could pluck an unseen star, forming a fist, transforming it. "She held me close and made her Emblem... Galetira was going to put it here," Yeva touched her chest, once again reliving the moment she looked into the murky eyes of the Goddess, as darkness swept up through the river of time to engulf them, "Something came up the River. It was dark, it... it separated us." She dropped it.

"How did you even get here? What happened?"

This time, she could resist the reaction, "I don't know," Luck, chance, fate? Yeva wasn't so sure anymore. Nothing about her time in the Astral Sea had felt predictable. It was a constant state of chaos, tossing her to its whims, and watching as she reacted, adapted, survived, "She kept me safe. That's all I know for certain. And, I-I have to find the star. It's the only way I can return."

I think.

They were covering a great deal of ground, much faster than they would have should she had been running. From their advantage point, Yeva could see the trees, much larger than they had looked from the distance of Drathera. She trailed their length with her eyes, stomach twisting. It felt an impossible task was before her, and as they approached, she could feel the crackle of electricity in the air. It hummed with power.

"Why did you ask if She was alright?"

"The Dark thing," Yeva explained, a bit uneloquently, realizing she must have thought the memory instead of speaking it, "I saw her fighting it before I fell into the sea. It was awful... It hurt her... She roared, and... I've been afraid something happened. She never found me. Memory after memory... I've been lost...." She buried her face against Boraba again, her hand reaching behind her to touch Vuka. The appearance of others brought a strength she had not realized before this entire journey. Maybe it was true what they said about Ecith. It was not good to be alone, "Until today."

Yeva pointed to the great expanse of jungle, at the storm that raged inside it, "What is that place?" and, just as a boom and crack of thunder resounded, "Why is it doing that?"

They were almost there now. It wouldn't be long until they landed soon, at least that was what the young woman expected. Everything else, however, was unknown.

[Aegis]

Seer Vuka listened intently, all of it sounding like the normal ritual that Galetira went through when she was marking one with her Emblem. But nothing had ever interrupted the process. Nothing that lived within the Astral Sea would dare challenge the Astral Dragon. Surely nothing remained that could even pose a threat in her domain? The calculating going through her mind could almost be felt by Yeva, an air of tension.

"If she knew you'd be lost here, to have us here waiting... then she knew she'd be attacked by this.. Darkness. She knew it but still went through with it, not altering the course of events. She must have seen more... to know that this was the better option." As she spoke, one of the blood vessels in her eye tinged black, "And you've been wandering lost through the memories of the Sea? That..." She gave Yeva a squeeze, "You're so much stronger than you know for holding it together to reach this point."

A curt nod, "We'll find your star, you'll find your way, of this I am sure."

Approaching the edge of the jungle now, Boraba and the Matriarch steered them down to the grass at the edge. "Very few know what goes on in there, a cursed land that the Orkhan of old once conquered but events of old drove us out." A powerful flap of the wings and the Matriarch landed, and Boraba jumped down, pulling out her chakram, flashing a hand sign that Yeva would recognize from when she traveled with Norani back to her village.

'Quiet, still.'

The world around them was terribly quiet, far more quiet than Yeva had heard of anywhere in the entirety of her time in Ecith. There wasn't a bird call, an insect chirp, the brush of wind, nothing except for the thunder that roared now as lightning struck deep within the dark and vast forest.

Boraba eased up, giving the sign to relax. She turned to look at Yeva, "She's in there, I can feel her." There was a knowledge in that look, the same she'd given when Yeva had had the vision of the Chieftain. Boraba's eyes cast over Yeva's shoulder around the same time the hairs on the elf's neck began to raise. Seer Vuka spoke, "How do you want to do this? You're the only one here in body, so only you can be harmed, I think... We can protect you. But if Galetira chose this path for you to take, then we must follow your direction. She knows best, and she chose you." Boraba nodded, "Matriarch will stay here, the forest is not for one such as her. She will guard our escape."

Up close, the trees were impossible, dwarfing even the tree that Borabi, Norani, and Yeva had called home. They were dark hues, blacks, greys, deep reds. Their trunks were vast around and their canopy disappearing above the storm that was brewing. The smell of water and mud came out, as now the sound of rain inside the forest could be heard. "Maybe you should try to glean something, you don't need her Mark to see that which goes unseen."

[Yeva]

T I M E L E S S

Yeva was not convinced she was as strong as Seer Vuka claimed, for she had felt powerless since her journey began. The idea that Galetira knew and planned for these events, for this to be the lesser of two evils... well...

Losing Norani, watching as their paths never crossed, never knew each other, that felt as if her chest had been cleaved open. There was no promise that her success could restore what had already been lost, and if it hadn't been for the Matriarch's flight, she would have descended into a dark place of her own. I'm so sorry. For a moment her eyes closed and she listened to the temporary silence. The void of nature. The mystic prepared herself as the Matriarch descended.

"Very few know what goes on in there, a cursed land that the Orkhan of old once conquered but events of old drove us out."

The wind whooshed as they landed, the Chieftan taking the lead. She moved with a hunter's prowl, and expertise in battle, and held her hand up to keep them still. Time stretched, and Yeva did not breathe. Darkness snarled within the canopy as lightning flashed in a warning. The wind shrieked.

Boraba's fingers formed a new sign, Relax.

Yeva exhaled and dismounted, but she stared into the wilderness.

"She's in there, I can feel her."

Her attention flickered back to the woman with her, "Who is?"

Boraba met her eye, a steady resolution shared, and understanding pierced her. Yeva's stomach dropped and she stumbled backward in denial, where she bumped into Vuka, who steadied her shaking frame. No. her mouth opened and closed in silent pleading, No, please.

Yeva bit her lip to keep from crying. Boraba's eyes flickered beyond the shoulders of the small elf, who had begun to feel the hairs on the back of her neck rise to attention.

"How do you want to do this?" Vuka's voice sounded just above her, "You're the only one here in body, so only you can be harmed, I think... We can protect you. But if Galetira chose this path for you to take, then we must follow your direction. She knows best, and she chose you."

I don't want to do this. she thought solemnly, I want to mourn... for what was and was yet to come.

It took a moment to gather her resolve. When she was ready, Yeva took a few steps towards the jungle, wearing a doleful expression as she swept her eyes across the gnarled roots, to the branches that extended far higher than any living thing she had witnessed before. She was told this was a place where events of old had taken place, but old was not the proper description.

This was ancient land.

The scratch of danger never left her, but she continued to step forward, to the very defined border of overcast shadow. Yeva felt something. But what was it that she looked for? She inched closer appearing so frail and young before the wall of natural wonder that stood before her. She did not look over her shoulder for reassurance. She flinched no more. She listened, holding up a single hand, signaling as the Chieftain had. Quiet, still. Her heart thundered in her chest, but she waited.

The smell of mud was thick and heady, and at her feet was a puddle. Easily dismissed by another, she saw that it formed a perfect circle. A sign of enlightenment. Yeva crouched to study the pool, dipping a finger in the liquid. It was far colder than it should have been, nearly ice. Strange for a land so humid. The leaves whispered in a rush of voices, muddled by the seething wind. Her reflection mirrored back at her in uneasy ripples, glimpsing the anxious flush of her skin, the raw patch of her bottom lip, threatening blood. The honey-brown eyes that had a reservation and dark curiosity in equal measure shimmered and steadied as Yeva reached out to bury her fingers into the grime. The earth opened up to her almost at once, her arm sank deeper. Something cold and desperate pulled her wrist, and her thoughts were of a hand just a bit further, a drowning memory she had to grasp. Behind her, she thought she heard Vuka say her name. The warmth she held was drawn from her as her teeth began to chatter.

What was she doing? How... how was she doing it? Yeva twisted her fingers, reaching. Just a bit further.

More.

More.

The mud sucked at her forearm, her elbow. Gritting her teeth, she was nearly face down in the puddle now, the corpse kiss of the water on her cheek. A rumble of thunder, a growl. She brushed against something smooth and then biting. She jolted in surprise, immediately softening her touch. Again, the others called out to her and she did not respond. Her brows furrowed and she felt, gingerly now, finding purchase and pulling. Her focus was one.

Removal was difficult, although what she held did not seem overly large. Yeva pushed upwards, away from the dark puddle with a last will of strength and a sucking sound. She revealed the prize, the brief brush with obsession. Blood soaked her, from her armpit to the object in her hand. The elf stared in horror, finding that the puddle she had touched matched the same substance. In fact... The land was a swath of red, and the air was rich with metal. A scream caught in her throat, given voice by the agony of the wind. Was someone crying?

She blinked.

The vision was gone. Yeva shook, steadied back to reality... or the Astral Sea... or... Where was she? Focus. Remember your purpose.

Her breath had grown shallow. It was not blood, but red clay. Spray from the jungle storm spit at her and she turned her face, using what was left of her skirt to wipe away at the weighty object in her hand. It was metal, broken yet dangerously sharp...? Yeva deftly washed it, fearful as she uncovered the broken shard of a blade, strange runes etched along its edge. Turning it over, no rust touched it. She did not know what to say. She did not know what this was. She knew only one thing. This too was as ancient as it was terrible.

Her eyes lifted to witness the storm.

What...

What happened here?

There had been so much pain. A massacre? A fury. Tears, unfounded, rolled from her eyes and she finally looked at the others who stared at her, mouths agape. Seers were strange in their actions, but this? This was a needle in a haystack, by a woman unmarked and crestfallen. They seemed anxious at her discovery.

Curses were not lighthearted things. Something terrible had happened. Yes... Yeva wanted to mourn.

For what was, and was yet to come.

She reached for Boraba who helped pull her to her feet. Vuka rushed forward to pull her close and tilted her head back, searching the young elf's face.

"Fatebreaker, what did you see?"

The redhead shook her head, lip trembling as she clutched the metal shard to her chest. This was the land of suffering.

"Ecith bleeds."

[Aegis]

"Ecith bleeds."

As the two helped Yeva upright, Boraba's eyes fell upon the runes upon the metal shard, growing wide. She stepped back from Yeva two steps, holding up the great chakram that deemed her worthy of being Chieftain. On the crystalline blade, visible to Yeva as Boraba held it up, were runes, several of which matched those upon the shard Yeva held now.

"Impossible... Those runes are..." She was aghast, shook, "Ancient. Only the ancient smiths that forged the Relics knew them." She paled, an uncommon look one known for her ferocity, "To see one shattered... that is a tragedy that is not known." She cast her gaze into the jungle, "What happened here?"

And Yeva was right to know this as a land of suffering, as a land of blood. The perfect puddle was now broken, Yeva's own blood dripping into it from clutching the metal shard so hard. The puddle overflowed from just that small addition, a muddy and bloody rivulet forming, serpentining into the jungle, growing darker black. It stretched impossibly far, disappearing into the darkness, the clouds of the storm ahead shifting to a blood red crimson.

Vuka began pulling out bandages and a salve, offering to patch up Yeva's hand.

Once Yeva was ready, Boraba spoke, "We should move in line. I should take the lead, I can respond to danger fastest there. Vuka should bring up the rear, able to support and protect you as we go. You will need to guide us. This jungle is just as vast as the lands we control in the north, to be lost is to die."

From their position, there were three paths present. The first, off to the left, looked to be worn down by animals. It hooked left, disappearing around a tree large enough to hide a host of dragons behind. The second, in the center, was rocky, flowing downhill, and was where the rivulet from the puddle flowed. The third was not so much a path, but rather an opening in the dark foliage, moving away from the storm, and veered into the depths of darkness.