Into the Void III
Posted: Wed Nov 13, 2024 10:29 pm
44th of Ash, 124 AS
Continued from here.
The beasts eyes stared unblinkingly at Lyra, searching, and in them Lyra thought she could sense a deeper understanding. It was powerful, more so than any shadow spawn she had ever seen. When it moved every shadow seemed to twist and bend. Again it dipped its head, its meaning clear before it turned and melted into the darkness of the abyss beyond.
For a moment Lyra hesitated. Thoughts and reason clashed with the awakened emotions inside her soul, but quickly she pushed through the uncertainty and made to follow. Flowing like smoke she went after the tiger, excitement mixing with anticipation as she was consumed by the darkness as well.
She had not traveled much in the Nyxus, and thus did not fully understand its ways. There was a steady drain on her aether the longer she held onto the magic that kept her rooted in this place, and she worried that she might be snatched away before the beast could lead her where it wanted her to go. She needn't have been concerned, however, for just as she felt the strain on her aether grow near unbearable there was a sensation of a hand upon her back. It was like a great weight was lifted from her shoulders, and suddenly the cold of the void felt warm and inviting. She had not realized how difficult it was to breath, how the land itself seemed to claw at her sanity. That hand wiped away the fog of the world, and she felt at peace. Even without him speaking to her, she knew who it was. She felt welcomed here as she had never been welcomed anywhere in her long life. She felt home...
With the burden of the realm removed from her Lyra was free to follow the tiger wherever it lead. There was still the drain on her aether from her prison to consider, but the draw from the void itself was all but gone so long as she remained close to her guide. They traveled through twisting corridors, up flights of stares and passed through broken archways before they finally exited to the outside. A large black sun hung like an obsidian orb in the sky above, partially overcast by clouds of grey and violet. It gave off no light, yet despite its absence Lyra could see. Shadows spread out from every structure, but they did not behave as shadows did in the material realm. Objects might cast one shadow, or they may have many. Some moved on their own, others blinked back when Lyra stared at them, and still others would split away from their anchors to travel off into the distance. From the corners of her eyes Lyra would sometimes catch movement, likely shadow spawn of some kind, but none drew near.
The tiger was watching her, patiently waiting while she took in the scenery, and when she finally looked back at him he stood and padded over to the edge of what looked like a cliff. After casting one final glance back it leapt, and Lyra quickly followed. They flew down from what was a floating island in the sky, below which stretched the city of Zaichaer... or a twisted copy of it. The buildings which stood were crumbling ruins, broken and sometimes twisted into odd shapes. Some brick structures seemed made of sand, while trees were dark and twisted things that clawed at the buildings that they grew near. Like in the Prime Material realm there was a large crater at the center of the city, but it was even larger and more jagged looking like the maw of some great beast. From inside the abyssal darkness of the earth large black tentacles reached out, swiping at anything that drew near and pulling in what it captured into the depths below.
It was clear where they were going, and Lyra clung to the fur of the tiger as it made its way, bounding through the air toward the crater and the thing that resided inside of it. They plunged into the heart of the crater, passing by the thing that looked at them with one large black eye, and fell deep, deep into the ground and the warrens which lay beneath.
She felt it before she saw it, a familiar whisper that echoed with her own symphony. As they passed through the top of the second deep Lyra looked down at the trees of a forest, the reflection of her dark demesne within the Nyxus.
They landed softly at the center of the clearing where the dais stood even in this place. Lyra flowed off of the tiger, reforming into her physical form to stand on the cracked stone. She looked around at the familiar yet different surroundings. The trees were still black and twisted, but where the leaves were white in the material realm they were a brilliant shade of blue here. They waved slightly despite there being no breeze. The fog that filled her demesne was also present, but it was not quite as thick. Looking down at the dais on which she stood she could also see the same pictographs of the ritual which has given her a physical body, but like much in the Nyxus it was cracked, broken and nearly inert.
When she closed her eyes Lyra could still feel a connection to the land, something that she had not quite expected, but perhaps it was due to the connection she held with the master of the Void itself. Spreading her senses she could feel movement across her claimed territory. They were... souls. Or, not quite souls. There were some true souls even within this place, but they were few. Lyra suspected they were trapped in the Nyxus when the shadow spawn first began to arrive. Perhaps they had been dragged into the Void, and then died within its boundaries. Perhaps that meant it was not so easy for a soul to pass from the void to rejoin the reincarnation cycle.
This brought many questions to Lyra's mind, but she shook them away to focus on what had brought her here. When she looked at the tiger he was laying on a large stone, eyes closed with his tail twitching slightly. He seemed to sense her gaze and cracked one eye to look at here. The expression made Lyra smile and she floated over to its side.
"Did Em'bra send you to me?" Lyra asked, not expecting an answer. The tiger opened its other eye and blinked slowly at her, its thoughts somehow coming through despite no words being spoken.
"You are his." She said, and without moving the tiger seemed to express agreement.
Lyra reached forward, but paused to look at the creature with a questioning gaze. It looked at her, then almost seemed to sigh before closing its eyes and pressing its head into her palm. Lyra chuckled and gently scratched the cat behind the ears, running her fingers down its coat until she earned a deep rumbling purr from the beast. It seemed to enjoy its head scratched, and the underside of its chin. She kept at it for a minute or two before she sat on the rock and leaned her back against the tiger's side. It nudged her, seeming to ask for more pets, but Lyra shook her head.
"Why did you bring me here?" She asked, "Your presence is... pleasant, but I doubt your company is all you were sent to me for."
The tiger blinked slowly again, and then yawned a large, toothy yawn. It then stood, shook itself and leapt from its resting place, heading toward a circle of trees which Lyra instantly recognized. She followed it into the broken dome of wood, eyes widening as the obvious struck her once she was inside.
"The Cradle..." She breathed.
When her daughter was born, she had placed her into a special cradle made from voidrilium. She had spent countless hours crafting it, shaping it, and infusing it with all the magic and power that she could. She knew that her daughter would need to grow fast, so she had tasked it with forcefully aging her, and as it did so it taught her many things through an artificial soul she had implanted inside it. The entire dome of black wood was a part of the Cradle, and to keep her daughter safe she had hidden it in the Nyxus where only she, or one she had chosen, could reach.
Finn had come to collect her daughter not long ago, and Lyra knew she would be safe in his care. She had thought little of the cradle since then, as its purpose was complete and it was set to decompose once it had been opened. Yet as she approached Lyra realized with sudden excitement... not all of the cradle was lost.
There, embedded into the pedestal, filling one of the many cracks in the warped stone, was a small piece of crystal which sparked with violet energy. A single, thin shard of Voidrillium.
Continued from here.
The beasts eyes stared unblinkingly at Lyra, searching, and in them Lyra thought she could sense a deeper understanding. It was powerful, more so than any shadow spawn she had ever seen. When it moved every shadow seemed to twist and bend. Again it dipped its head, its meaning clear before it turned and melted into the darkness of the abyss beyond.
For a moment Lyra hesitated. Thoughts and reason clashed with the awakened emotions inside her soul, but quickly she pushed through the uncertainty and made to follow. Flowing like smoke she went after the tiger, excitement mixing with anticipation as she was consumed by the darkness as well.
She had not traveled much in the Nyxus, and thus did not fully understand its ways. There was a steady drain on her aether the longer she held onto the magic that kept her rooted in this place, and she worried that she might be snatched away before the beast could lead her where it wanted her to go. She needn't have been concerned, however, for just as she felt the strain on her aether grow near unbearable there was a sensation of a hand upon her back. It was like a great weight was lifted from her shoulders, and suddenly the cold of the void felt warm and inviting. She had not realized how difficult it was to breath, how the land itself seemed to claw at her sanity. That hand wiped away the fog of the world, and she felt at peace. Even without him speaking to her, she knew who it was. She felt welcomed here as she had never been welcomed anywhere in her long life. She felt home...
With the burden of the realm removed from her Lyra was free to follow the tiger wherever it lead. There was still the drain on her aether from her prison to consider, but the draw from the void itself was all but gone so long as she remained close to her guide. They traveled through twisting corridors, up flights of stares and passed through broken archways before they finally exited to the outside. A large black sun hung like an obsidian orb in the sky above, partially overcast by clouds of grey and violet. It gave off no light, yet despite its absence Lyra could see. Shadows spread out from every structure, but they did not behave as shadows did in the material realm. Objects might cast one shadow, or they may have many. Some moved on their own, others blinked back when Lyra stared at them, and still others would split away from their anchors to travel off into the distance. From the corners of her eyes Lyra would sometimes catch movement, likely shadow spawn of some kind, but none drew near.
The tiger was watching her, patiently waiting while she took in the scenery, and when she finally looked back at him he stood and padded over to the edge of what looked like a cliff. After casting one final glance back it leapt, and Lyra quickly followed. They flew down from what was a floating island in the sky, below which stretched the city of Zaichaer... or a twisted copy of it. The buildings which stood were crumbling ruins, broken and sometimes twisted into odd shapes. Some brick structures seemed made of sand, while trees were dark and twisted things that clawed at the buildings that they grew near. Like in the Prime Material realm there was a large crater at the center of the city, but it was even larger and more jagged looking like the maw of some great beast. From inside the abyssal darkness of the earth large black tentacles reached out, swiping at anything that drew near and pulling in what it captured into the depths below.
It was clear where they were going, and Lyra clung to the fur of the tiger as it made its way, bounding through the air toward the crater and the thing that resided inside of it. They plunged into the heart of the crater, passing by the thing that looked at them with one large black eye, and fell deep, deep into the ground and the warrens which lay beneath.
She felt it before she saw it, a familiar whisper that echoed with her own symphony. As they passed through the top of the second deep Lyra looked down at the trees of a forest, the reflection of her dark demesne within the Nyxus.
They landed softly at the center of the clearing where the dais stood even in this place. Lyra flowed off of the tiger, reforming into her physical form to stand on the cracked stone. She looked around at the familiar yet different surroundings. The trees were still black and twisted, but where the leaves were white in the material realm they were a brilliant shade of blue here. They waved slightly despite there being no breeze. The fog that filled her demesne was also present, but it was not quite as thick. Looking down at the dais on which she stood she could also see the same pictographs of the ritual which has given her a physical body, but like much in the Nyxus it was cracked, broken and nearly inert.
When she closed her eyes Lyra could still feel a connection to the land, something that she had not quite expected, but perhaps it was due to the connection she held with the master of the Void itself. Spreading her senses she could feel movement across her claimed territory. They were... souls. Or, not quite souls. There were some true souls even within this place, but they were few. Lyra suspected they were trapped in the Nyxus when the shadow spawn first began to arrive. Perhaps they had been dragged into the Void, and then died within its boundaries. Perhaps that meant it was not so easy for a soul to pass from the void to rejoin the reincarnation cycle.
This brought many questions to Lyra's mind, but she shook them away to focus on what had brought her here. When she looked at the tiger he was laying on a large stone, eyes closed with his tail twitching slightly. He seemed to sense her gaze and cracked one eye to look at here. The expression made Lyra smile and she floated over to its side.
"Did Em'bra send you to me?" Lyra asked, not expecting an answer. The tiger opened its other eye and blinked slowly at her, its thoughts somehow coming through despite no words being spoken.
"You are his." She said, and without moving the tiger seemed to express agreement.
Lyra reached forward, but paused to look at the creature with a questioning gaze. It looked at her, then almost seemed to sigh before closing its eyes and pressing its head into her palm. Lyra chuckled and gently scratched the cat behind the ears, running her fingers down its coat until she earned a deep rumbling purr from the beast. It seemed to enjoy its head scratched, and the underside of its chin. She kept at it for a minute or two before she sat on the rock and leaned her back against the tiger's side. It nudged her, seeming to ask for more pets, but Lyra shook her head.
"Why did you bring me here?" She asked, "Your presence is... pleasant, but I doubt your company is all you were sent to me for."
The tiger blinked slowly again, and then yawned a large, toothy yawn. It then stood, shook itself and leapt from its resting place, heading toward a circle of trees which Lyra instantly recognized. She followed it into the broken dome of wood, eyes widening as the obvious struck her once she was inside.
"The Cradle..." She breathed.
When her daughter was born, she had placed her into a special cradle made from voidrilium. She had spent countless hours crafting it, shaping it, and infusing it with all the magic and power that she could. She knew that her daughter would need to grow fast, so she had tasked it with forcefully aging her, and as it did so it taught her many things through an artificial soul she had implanted inside it. The entire dome of black wood was a part of the Cradle, and to keep her daughter safe she had hidden it in the Nyxus where only she, or one she had chosen, could reach.
Finn had come to collect her daughter not long ago, and Lyra knew she would be safe in his care. She had thought little of the cradle since then, as its purpose was complete and it was set to decompose once it had been opened. Yet as she approached Lyra realized with sudden excitement... not all of the cradle was lost.
There, embedded into the pedestal, filling one of the many cracks in the warped stone, was a small piece of crystal which sparked with violet energy. A single, thin shard of Voidrillium.