Asteria continued her walk long into the night, kicking up sand and pebbles as she went. The scorching heat of the day was fading out of the sand, but her feet were still worn raw after days of trudging upon the coarse sandy desert. Coming across another group of those strangely skeletal bushes, she paused, moving to examine it. Seeing the pot-marked bony surface, Asteria realized that rather than a plant, they were actually the spindly remains of various dead corals in ghostly whites, dark grays, and sickened tan colors, standing out from the golden sand like driftwood or bony fingers and broken down skeletons.
A quiet rustling from the sand drew her attention, and Asteria turned from the coral to survey the moonlit surroundings. Nothing moved so she dismissed the sound, but just before she took another step, it came again and she tensed. Rustle, rustle. The sound grew louder, rustle rustle, until it was far to close for Asteria’s comfort but she still couldn’t see anything until--
BURST! A giant form flew out of the sound, mandible-lined gaping mouth spread wide revealing a bioluminescent gullet that glistened sickeningly in its own blue lighting. Large plated scales encased the form and long thick antennas spread out from below its huge beady black eyes. A sickening, putrid stench filled the air, the scent of rot and acrid odor of venom hanging heavily.
Asteria gaped at it mindlessly for a second, as it loomed over her, blotting out the dim light of the moon. She trembled, staring up at it as it towered on its back legs, revealing two other rows of slick, shiny limbs with bracketed joints and the grimy glistening of its brown chitin exoskeleton. Its long body squelched and popped as it wriggled to its standing position Holy shit, Asteria thought blankly.
It seemed to stare at her in contemplation for a second before it reared back. “SCREEEEEEECH!” it yelled as it lunged forward, and Asteria could swear she felt her soul leave her body as she gaped in panic for one second.
But just one.
The next, she was dodging out of the way, tumbling into the sand which flew up and stung at her eyes. Jagged teeth caught onto the hem of her skirt, and Asteria heard a loud ri-iip as the monster flew past her. It stumbled into the sand behind her, shaking sand off and recuperating as it spun back around to her once it realized it was merely holding a scrap of fabric. It lunged again and she ducked, spinning around just in time to see its jointed legs vanish under the sand. She stared, hesitantly moving into a tense crouch. Was it some sort of giant sand flea? Perhaps a super evolved version caused by the desertification of the area?
Asteria swallowed heavily, watching the sand carefully. It was perfectly still and silent, but she didn’t trust it. She had to be ready for anything. Reaching around her wrist, searching for the energy of her trusty knives, Asteria could feel the power of her divinity flickering around her wrists. Trusting in the powers she’d used for years, she steadied herself as she surveyed the sand. Her eyes caught on a glimmer of movement, as some sand seemed to vibrate in place.
Rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle, RUSTLE.
Asteria pinpointed the area, and reaching to summon her daggers, lunged forward, silvery blonde hair flying out behind her. Asteria’s eyes widened, and she grit her teeth, eyes flying around the flat desert. The sounds were coming from all around. Her shoulders hitched as she moved forward with determination. Sure enough, it popped out of the ground with a hiss, fangs bared, but Asteria was ready. Spinning out of the way of its reaching claws, she slashed forward, hand landing squarely on the creature's bloated stomach with a loud BANG. She huffed loudly as she leaned forward, sure that her dagger had found purchase in its heart and killed the giant sand flea, only to slip forward slightly. She frowned, clenching her fist tightly, feeling nails digging into her palm.
Pause.
Asteria looked up, and saw that her hand was wrapped around nothing. Her daggers hadn’t appeared.
Above her clenched fist which was planted firmly in the solidly undamaged shell of the flea, the monster tilted its head, looking at her curiously.
“Eheh.” Asteria laughed nervously, backing away. Her divinity hadn’t responded. Reaching deep inside, attempting to force it out caused a throbbing pain to race through her chest, and the scarred skin where she had been stabbed burned fiercely. It felt like someone had wrapped tight shadowy chains around her domain and clenched them until they began to suffocate her when she tried to access it. Releasing her focus with a deep breath, Asteria winced, straightening to meet the sand flea’s gaze once again. It had lowered into a crouch but seemed to be waiting for something and Asteria hesitated as she stepped backward, wondering if it would let her go. Instead the sand crumpled beneath her, as her foot sank below it and landed on something hard and slippery. She stumbled away, as the sand collapsed into aerated ground, revealing the lumpy upturned forms of more sand fleas. Rustle, slither, pop, scuttle, rustle, hisssss. Asteria blanched as the chorus of sand fleas filled the dry desert air, and they began emerging in hordes from the ground, leaping through the air and rolling around like boiling water in roiling, writhing motions as a flood of the giant crustaceans raced toward her, kicking up sand that filled the night air like thick smoke, obscuring the threatening critters until all that was visible was their gaping, glowing maws.
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Asteria ducked past another monster, and spun around, racing through the sand, stumbling as the slippery grains gave way beneath her feet. A sand flea snapped at her heels, close enough for her heart to skip a beat. Lunging out of the way of another, and then quickly flipping past one of the giant fleas as it screamed past, Asteria relied on instinct to guide her body.
She spun to the tandem beat of her heart, ducking past each ensuing wave of the hellbent, scrambling creatures, airborn sand stinging her arms at the speed of her movement. This was combat, this was feeling alive! It had been so long since she’d exerted herself, felt the thrum and the vivid pulse of being in danger, at the knife's edge of being snapped up and swallowed whole! An wide grin split across her face as she tricked and dodged the sand fleas.
Her long hair fluttered behind her as she slid out of the path of another sand flea, which gaped in confusion as she let a gleeful laugh, tinged with maniacal delight, escape. In the next second, she was back on her feet, racing through the sand, feet and lungs burning as she sprinted and let the power of her legs carry her through the crisp night air-- each push off the ground drove her further and faster and the adrenaline rushed as the swarm of sand fleas chased her. Yet despite the primal thrill that coursed through her, as fun as this was— she wouldn’t last forever, not with the huge masses of the fleas pursuing her.
Asteria skidded to a sudden stop, heart dropping. A chasm spread out, splitting the desert in half like a knife wound— one dragged roughly and jaggedly as it crushed bone and tore through tendons. Peering over the edge, Asteria could not see the bottom as the rock surfaces quickly fell off into obsidian darkness.
A growl filled the air behind her, and she turned to see the sand fleas slowly creeping forward, backing her up to an angled peak of the cliff face. She took a step back as they got closer, faltering as she felt sand crumble beneath her feet. Hesitating, Asteria glanced over her shoulder at the yawning chasm, and back to the fleas, their open maws glistening with frothed spit and black eyes staring soullessly down at her. One made a threatening move forward, and Asteria tensed, readying herself to dart forward and fight through the dense crowd of monsters, only to feel the sand give way.
She flailed, scrambling for balance, purchase, anything, but found none. And she dropped. The journey down was a rough one, as Asteria skidded along the cliff face, which though steep, was angled enough that she bounced and slid along it instead of a straight fall to her death. Rocks dragged into her skin, tearing long scratches and beating deep bruises into her limbs as she curled up to protect her head and vital organs. With one final jolting bump, Asteria flew up slightly before tumbling to a stop with a large splash.
Squinting around her, Asteria tried to make out the details of the pit, but barely anything was visible beyond the faint glow of the pool. She shuddered, images of a dark, void space filling her mind, which she quickly batted away as she pushed herself into more of a seated position, realizing suddenly that she was seated on top of a deep, slightly glowing pool of water at the bottom of the ravine. Asteria was not sinking even as her hair and dress darkened as the cold water seeped into them. A flash of movement in the pool caught her eye, and Asteria looked down. There was a face below the water, with pale, blue-tinted skin and the faint shimmer of scales adorning her face and pearls around her dark lashes. A glossy wreath of hair floated around her, shifting and bubbling around like a jellyfish or gleaming drops of water on a waxy surface. Noticing Asteria’s attention, the naiad’s eyes squinted as she smiled in greeting, gently waving her webbed fingers.
The naiad’s dress floated around her, a halo of light chiffon and silky blue wrappings like rolling tides or the delicate fins of some fish. The naiad pressed her hand against the surface of the water, and Asteria reached down to meet the offered palm with her own. The naiad raised her hand up through the water, slowly wrapping cold fingers around Asteria’s wrist as water dripped off the shimmering, iridescent skin. Asteria’s eyes widened as the grip tightened and suddenly, and she was being pulled through the water.
For a moment, the cool crispness of fresh spring water washed overhear and the world was colored in the deep blues hues, the next she was gasping, emerging out on the other side of the water, once again sitting on its surface but now in a completely different space, lined with rocky bricks and engraved decorative patterns. Looking around her curiously, Asteria felt a vague familiarity at the space ringing in her mind, but couldn’t quite place the stone lined pool or the steps leading upward. The quiet pad of footsteps on stone came from above, and Asteria raised her eyes to a deeply tanned hand with long, delicate fingers proffered to her.
Slate gray bandages wrapped around the palm, allowing only the tiniest peak at a shimmering gold leaf poking out from the wrappings. Asteria lifted her gaze further to meet the sharp, sandy brown gaze of the woman. Her angular face was framed by straight bangs cut short at her forehead, with curls pulled back into a long twisting braid ornamented by shiny beads and delicate golden chain. A simple gold headband sat above her bangs, with a spiky, sun-like crown atop. Despite the sharpness of her nose and cheekbones, a smile graced her face and spread her roseate, round lips. Her outfit was simple, a black chiton in two pieces across her chest, revealing more of that gray wrapping around her chest and down the length of her arm, with delicate gold plates laying on her shoulders. More gray fabric was draped around her lithe hips, gathered near the band at her waist which met a circular pendant in the center, decorated with the simple image of a laurel branch.
Despite all this, what really drew Asteria’s attention were those eyes, the color of the sandy desert she’d been trekking in for so long, the same as the stones that lined the space filled with sacred power that Asteria could feel thrumming through her soul. They were sharply upturned and almost-snake like, with a high crease and lined by shimmering golden eyeliner that drew them even further up and enhanced their angular appearance. Eyes that bore the mark of the Apollonian Priestess.
The pattern of golden laurels encircled her irises, marking this woman as the current Oracle of Delphi, Pythia.