- Arachne –

she

was

born

flying

The air was damp and chilly. It embraced her with the thick scent of water and magic. Her existence embraced it back.

She was real.

Beside her, two other faeries popped into existence. They looked around, confused.

Arachne was confused, too.

That was her name. Arachne. But how did she know that? Everything about her was so sudden--

Just look at them. A voice pulsed from the room, from the walls, from the water itself. I still can’t believe we can do this. And they’re so perfect!

[We don’t have time for you to adore them.] A second voice, more masculine this time.

Across the room, there was splashing from the entrance. Or perhaps right outside the entrance.

[It’s a fight.] One of her fellows said. He’d been born in full armor, and his eyes burned with battle-fervor.

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Her other fellow, a huntress with bow and arrow, grinned. [Is that so?] She had a kind of natural confidence to her, a wildness that hid in the lines of her stance, the flow of her musculature.

Arachne frowned. [Are we being attacked?]

The feminine voice had fallen silent. Arachne could feel her… listening. Did she have trouble hearing them?

A sigh. They’re always so soft-spoken at first.

[Not Astrid.]

Well, that’s Astrid.

Astrid. Was that another faerie? What kind? For that matter, what kind of faerie was Arachne?

A question faerie.

Yes.

She would be a faerie willing to put her nose where it ought not be.

That settled, she raised her own voice.

[WHAT!] She took a deep breath of mana in. [IS GOING!] The other two faeries covered their ears. [ON?!]

Oh my! She’s speaking up! Oh, to answer your question Arachne, there are delvers here. They’re—

[I’m making the specters now. You brief them.]

Got it. So, delvers are here to fight with you guys, but you all will respawn, only it takes a while, and a lot of the other servants are still respawning at the moment. Anyway! Most importantly, don’t let them dive into the water under the big statue in the middle. The core’s in the statue’s base—

Arachne could feel it, now that the woman mentioned it, this ‘core’ was the source of both voices and a great deal of mana as well. The heart of this room and beyond.

--And if that dies, we all die. I don’t think the delvers are going to try and kill us, but better safe than sorry.

The faerie’s nodded at the information. It fit, made sense at a gut-deep level. This woman… she was their creator, their Queen. And the man her partner, her King Consort.

Arachne took a deep breath, feeling her creators, the web of them suffusing her whole world. They were beautiful, a thousand threads of living power. The ultimate tapestry.

The huntress faerie nudged Arachne with a foot. [I’m Atalanta.]

[Arachne.] She replied, pulling herself from her awe.

[And I,] the third faerie smiled at them, [Am Achilles.]

Behind them, two massive Specters burst into existence. One was a beautiful woman in watery colors and shapes, and the other a flame-covered skeleton on a motorcycle.

Achilles ignored the two new servants, darting forward towards the fight. Catching his excitement, Atalanta and Arachne followed.

[FOR GLORY!] Achilles shouted, [FOR LOOT! AND FOR VICTORY!!]

Oh. Kepler, they’re quite enthusiastic.

[Make sure they don’t die all at once.]