Blood and Shadows III
Posted: Sun Nov 17, 2024 7:32 pm
46th of Ash, 124 AS
Et'vaaran watched the whisper as it flew off into the darkness of the Nyxus before turning its eyes on Lyra once more. It looked at her questioningly, and Lyra responded with a smile.
"She will return in time. I have sent her to collect what souls she can." She nodded after the whisper, "We know not what all lies out there... Or rather I do not know. If she perishes her fragment will return to me, and then I will know as well."
The tiger, seeming satisfied with the answer, looked down over the broken city of Zaichaer. It yawned and stretched, looking back at Lyra briefly before it launched itself off the side of the island and disappeared. Lyra shook her head. Et'vaaran had shown little interest in communicating with her, seemingly content to simply observe and aid when the whim struck. It was fine, of course, and Lyra could not ask for more from the Void Beast. Its aid was already far more than she had any right to expect.
Lyra looked after the tiger, considering her next steps. With her whisper traveling in search of souls there was little more she could do but wait for its return. She planned to turn her dark demesne into a beacon of sorts in the near future, but until she had a larger number of souls, and a reliable way to harvest aether from them, it would still be some time before she could initiate that process. That left Lyra with several options. She could return to her prison and continue to examine the wards, but even as she thought this her brow furrowed in distaste. She would rather spend as little time as she could inside the demonstone, and thought of returning before she absolutely had to did not appeal to her. There was also the wards outside the stone itself, which she could examine in the Nyxus. That was of course viable, but given the difference between the material realm and the nyxus the process was bound to be frustrating and tedious. She could of course peer through the shadows of the material realm to observe what she could there, but Lyra did not feel an immediate need to re-engage in that task. After all she would likely have to spend countless hours doing just that, and for now she simply wanted to feel some sense of freedom.
There was a pang of hunger deep inside her, a reminder that she was still starved for blood. That was when Lyra recalled the flesh that Et'vaaran had been bringing to her. It had still been warm, with vitality flowing through it, and so it must have been fresh. Where had he gotten it? The shadow spawn likely brought things back from the material world, so perhaps living creatures found themselves victim to that as well. There might still be other living creatures in the void, lost or dying. If she looked, would she find them as well?
Lyra considered all of her options before casting a glance back toward the entrance to the lab. She decided that she really did not want to throw herself into the wards again this day, and instead turned her gaze to the city below. Without further thought she stepped off the side of the floating island, falling down into the city below.
The streets of the city were laid out identically to how they were in the material realm. Most of the buildings were similar, though some had slightly twisted architecture or were shaped differently. The materials were not all stone either, with some of the structures appearing to be made of solidified shadows instead of any physical wood or brick. Lyra floated down one of the main streets of the city, her body half formed as smoke trailed behind her in a billowing wave as she scanned the darkness on either side of the street. She saw eyes shining down nearly every alley, looking down from every rooftop, and peaking around broken doorways and out cracked windows as she passed. None seemed interested in approaching her, though a few did get a bit too close for comfort. Once when one reached for her Lyra snapped out with a sharped blade of shadows, severing its arm which made it recoil back into the abyss from which it came. After that none seemed interested to try.
It was, in a word, dull. There was no life in the Nyxus. There was a twisted mockery of it of course. Dead looking trees, shrubs that might have been plants were it not for the wet texture of their 'leaves' and sharp teeth barely visible in their foliage. There was no hint of living creatures one would expect to see in the city. No birds in the trees, or rats in the alleyways. There was some shadow spawn equivalent, but they did not act as their counterparts did. When she looked at them Lyra was reminded that these THINGS did not possess any soul of their own, a fact which was quite unsettling if Lyra spent too much time thinking on it. It made her question just what the shadow spawn were. How did they function without souls? Why did they exist in the first place? Questions seemed to come to her endlessly as she explored, but as she neared the crater Lyra paused to look around her. She had caught a familiar scent in the air.
She had not fed since the last bit of flesh Et'vaaran had brought her two days prior, but she still pulled on the power she had to activate Veracity and expand her senses, focusing on smell. She drew in the stale air through her nose, turning to follow the scent until she discovered where it was coming from. Off to the side was another alleyway, no different from all the others she had past on her way to the Crater. When she looked closer, however, she noticed small markings on the sides of the buildings, and what looked like dark stains on the ground. The hunger inside of her guts grew stronger as she flowed forward, pausing at the entrance of the alleyway to look down into its depths.
There she saw some twisted creature leaning down over something it was consuming. The wet sounds and crunching it was making was enough to set most mortal's teeth on edge, but for Lyra it ignited a sudden burning fire in her insights. Her hunger turned ravenous as the scent of blood became overwhelming, and suddenly and without thought she flew forward and threw herself at the shadow spawn. She had never been one to turn to physical violence, even when pushed into a corner. Lyra prided herself on being able to find elegant solutions to most situations, once which did not involve her sinking her elongated teeth into the goopy neck of some amorphous creature. Yet... Here she was.
Shadows wrapped her hands as long claws extended from her fingers which she used to rip the shadow spawn into tatters. It seemed to dissolve in her grasp as she ripped out its semi-solid throat and ripped through its liquid insides. When she was done Lyra was surrounded by blackened gore, as well as a pull of ruby liquid which flowed from the open chest of what used to be a person.
Tossing aside the remains of the shadow spawn Lyra bent over the still warm body, bringing her lips down to the gaping chest wound, when she noticed a slight breeze. Looking up she saw the person's eyes, glazed over and dull, but looking in her general direction. The breeze was a weak breath. They were still alive.
With effort Lyra resisted the urge to feed and instead floated over the person so that they were face to face. His, or maybe her, eyes followed Lyra, meeting Lyra's golden orbs with their flat grey ones. Reaching down Lyra gently caressed the person's cheek, leaving streaks of black where she touched.
"You were unfortunate." Lyra said, her tone softening to something close to sympathy, "There was no rhyme or reason to why you were chosen. No malicious intent nor divine curse has lead you here today."
The person did not respond, but Lyra did not expect them to. Instead she came closer and pressed a kiss gently against the person's forehead, releasing a series of pheromones which wiped away the pain they were feeling.
"Rest. Your time in this flesh has come to an end... but I shall keep your soul safe." If they heard her or recognized her words they gave no indication, but Lyra was content.
Looking down Lyra placed a hand into messy insides of the person, reaching deep until she had passed beyond her elbow. Runes wove up her arm, glyphs of black liquid which glowed with a dark power. With a pull Lyra withdrew her arm, now soaked with blood, and in her hand she held a small orb of white smoke. Beneath her the person breathed out one final breath, and their eyes fully glazed over as their body passed away. Lyra looked at the soul for a moment, humming softly to it before she opened her mouth and consumed it whole. The little soul would be housed within her soul space, where it would be safe and where Lyra would be able to find it once again.
It seemed she was correct. There were living creatures in the void, brought in by the shadow spawn. She had expected them to already be dead by the time they were drug inside, but maybe it was easier to bring in living creatures than dead ones. This was fortunate for Lyra, as it meant she could both hunt for flesh to satiate her hunger, and harvest the souls of those unfortunate enough to be drawn into the Nyxus.
As she began to lick the blood from her arm Lyra wondered idly if she could set up lures of some kind, to draw in more from the material realm into the void itself. It was an idea worth considering... after she had satisfied the hunger tonight.
Et'vaaran watched the whisper as it flew off into the darkness of the Nyxus before turning its eyes on Lyra once more. It looked at her questioningly, and Lyra responded with a smile.
"She will return in time. I have sent her to collect what souls she can." She nodded after the whisper, "We know not what all lies out there... Or rather I do not know. If she perishes her fragment will return to me, and then I will know as well."
The tiger, seeming satisfied with the answer, looked down over the broken city of Zaichaer. It yawned and stretched, looking back at Lyra briefly before it launched itself off the side of the island and disappeared. Lyra shook her head. Et'vaaran had shown little interest in communicating with her, seemingly content to simply observe and aid when the whim struck. It was fine, of course, and Lyra could not ask for more from the Void Beast. Its aid was already far more than she had any right to expect.
Lyra looked after the tiger, considering her next steps. With her whisper traveling in search of souls there was little more she could do but wait for its return. She planned to turn her dark demesne into a beacon of sorts in the near future, but until she had a larger number of souls, and a reliable way to harvest aether from them, it would still be some time before she could initiate that process. That left Lyra with several options. She could return to her prison and continue to examine the wards, but even as she thought this her brow furrowed in distaste. She would rather spend as little time as she could inside the demonstone, and thought of returning before she absolutely had to did not appeal to her. There was also the wards outside the stone itself, which she could examine in the Nyxus. That was of course viable, but given the difference between the material realm and the nyxus the process was bound to be frustrating and tedious. She could of course peer through the shadows of the material realm to observe what she could there, but Lyra did not feel an immediate need to re-engage in that task. After all she would likely have to spend countless hours doing just that, and for now she simply wanted to feel some sense of freedom.
There was a pang of hunger deep inside her, a reminder that she was still starved for blood. That was when Lyra recalled the flesh that Et'vaaran had been bringing to her. It had still been warm, with vitality flowing through it, and so it must have been fresh. Where had he gotten it? The shadow spawn likely brought things back from the material world, so perhaps living creatures found themselves victim to that as well. There might still be other living creatures in the void, lost or dying. If she looked, would she find them as well?
Lyra considered all of her options before casting a glance back toward the entrance to the lab. She decided that she really did not want to throw herself into the wards again this day, and instead turned her gaze to the city below. Without further thought she stepped off the side of the floating island, falling down into the city below.
In the Mirror City of Zaichaer...
The streets of the city were laid out identically to how they were in the material realm. Most of the buildings were similar, though some had slightly twisted architecture or were shaped differently. The materials were not all stone either, with some of the structures appearing to be made of solidified shadows instead of any physical wood or brick. Lyra floated down one of the main streets of the city, her body half formed as smoke trailed behind her in a billowing wave as she scanned the darkness on either side of the street. She saw eyes shining down nearly every alley, looking down from every rooftop, and peaking around broken doorways and out cracked windows as she passed. None seemed interested in approaching her, though a few did get a bit too close for comfort. Once when one reached for her Lyra snapped out with a sharped blade of shadows, severing its arm which made it recoil back into the abyss from which it came. After that none seemed interested to try.
It was, in a word, dull. There was no life in the Nyxus. There was a twisted mockery of it of course. Dead looking trees, shrubs that might have been plants were it not for the wet texture of their 'leaves' and sharp teeth barely visible in their foliage. There was no hint of living creatures one would expect to see in the city. No birds in the trees, or rats in the alleyways. There was some shadow spawn equivalent, but they did not act as their counterparts did. When she looked at them Lyra was reminded that these THINGS did not possess any soul of their own, a fact which was quite unsettling if Lyra spent too much time thinking on it. It made her question just what the shadow spawn were. How did they function without souls? Why did they exist in the first place? Questions seemed to come to her endlessly as she explored, but as she neared the crater Lyra paused to look around her. She had caught a familiar scent in the air.
She had not fed since the last bit of flesh Et'vaaran had brought her two days prior, but she still pulled on the power she had to activate Veracity and expand her senses, focusing on smell. She drew in the stale air through her nose, turning to follow the scent until she discovered where it was coming from. Off to the side was another alleyway, no different from all the others she had past on her way to the Crater. When she looked closer, however, she noticed small markings on the sides of the buildings, and what looked like dark stains on the ground. The hunger inside of her guts grew stronger as she flowed forward, pausing at the entrance of the alleyway to look down into its depths.
There she saw some twisted creature leaning down over something it was consuming. The wet sounds and crunching it was making was enough to set most mortal's teeth on edge, but for Lyra it ignited a sudden burning fire in her insights. Her hunger turned ravenous as the scent of blood became overwhelming, and suddenly and without thought she flew forward and threw herself at the shadow spawn. She had never been one to turn to physical violence, even when pushed into a corner. Lyra prided herself on being able to find elegant solutions to most situations, once which did not involve her sinking her elongated teeth into the goopy neck of some amorphous creature. Yet... Here she was.
Shadows wrapped her hands as long claws extended from her fingers which she used to rip the shadow spawn into tatters. It seemed to dissolve in her grasp as she ripped out its semi-solid throat and ripped through its liquid insides. When she was done Lyra was surrounded by blackened gore, as well as a pull of ruby liquid which flowed from the open chest of what used to be a person.
Tossing aside the remains of the shadow spawn Lyra bent over the still warm body, bringing her lips down to the gaping chest wound, when she noticed a slight breeze. Looking up she saw the person's eyes, glazed over and dull, but looking in her general direction. The breeze was a weak breath. They were still alive.
With effort Lyra resisted the urge to feed and instead floated over the person so that they were face to face. His, or maybe her, eyes followed Lyra, meeting Lyra's golden orbs with their flat grey ones. Reaching down Lyra gently caressed the person's cheek, leaving streaks of black where she touched.
"You were unfortunate." Lyra said, her tone softening to something close to sympathy, "There was no rhyme or reason to why you were chosen. No malicious intent nor divine curse has lead you here today."
The person did not respond, but Lyra did not expect them to. Instead she came closer and pressed a kiss gently against the person's forehead, releasing a series of pheromones which wiped away the pain they were feeling.
"Rest. Your time in this flesh has come to an end... but I shall keep your soul safe." If they heard her or recognized her words they gave no indication, but Lyra was content.
Looking down Lyra placed a hand into messy insides of the person, reaching deep until she had passed beyond her elbow. Runes wove up her arm, glyphs of black liquid which glowed with a dark power. With a pull Lyra withdrew her arm, now soaked with blood, and in her hand she held a small orb of white smoke. Beneath her the person breathed out one final breath, and their eyes fully glazed over as their body passed away. Lyra looked at the soul for a moment, humming softly to it before she opened her mouth and consumed it whole. The little soul would be housed within her soul space, where it would be safe and where Lyra would be able to find it once again.
It seemed she was correct. There were living creatures in the void, brought in by the shadow spawn. She had expected them to already be dead by the time they were drug inside, but maybe it was easier to bring in living creatures than dead ones. This was fortunate for Lyra, as it meant she could both hunt for flesh to satiate her hunger, and harvest the souls of those unfortunate enough to be drawn into the Nyxus.
As she began to lick the blood from her arm Lyra wondered idly if she could set up lures of some kind, to draw in more from the material realm into the void itself. It was an idea worth considering... after she had satisfied the hunger tonight.