A Kindred Trueflesh

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The Sanctuary – Awakening Chamber

  Key in hand, her feet carry her towards the hazy blue door. Eyes move as of instinct to the Glyph at its center. Though Eidos sees only a mundane symbol of copulating lines birthing the symmetrical patterns of a Glyph, the resonating Sigil she carries with her reveals its meaning—Discipline.

  As soon as this knowledge dawns within her, the mural's impression on her changes. The hooded figures turn their heads toward her, looking upon Eidos with expectant eyes. Suddenly, the door and mural fade from view, revealing before her a chamber shrouded in a smoky veil of deep blue light, its source yet unclear.

  Then in we go.

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The Sanctuary – Mathetia

  Stepping across the threshold, Eidos finds herself in a room wholly unlike the one she just left. The simple geometry of the previous area looks primitive in comparison to the dizzying array of shapes that now confront her. Lines and curves intersect to form intricate, extra-dimensional patterns that lace all surfaces.

  Staring at any given surface gives the impression of standing between two mirrors and looking off into their simulated infinities. But this effect is true from all angles Eidos seems to choose, and perhaps from every possible angle.

  A prismatic array of light fills the room, spilling in from narrow windows staring down from high above. These panes are stained in a variety of colors, arranged in what may as well be random patterns. What lies beyond these windows, however, is unclear.

  What lies within and what lies beyond, will knowing this end my cursed existence? I doubt it.

  Her eyes next fall upon the elliptical table dominating the middle of the room. Unfathomably dark, yet somehow polished to the point of reflection—even from under the thick layers of dust covering it. A number of smooth, lacquered chairs surround the abyssal table, all impeccably aligned with a perfect mirror’s symmetry.

  Then she sees it—the blue haze’s source. A spherical crystal has been placed upon a simple and unpolished jade stand, near the edge of the table. It is as dissimilar to the room as a shadow is to the light that casts it, a warped and distorted echo introduced by foreign elements into a forbidden plane.

  Her hand reaches out and collects the crystal. It trembles in her loose grip, threatening to fall. She grips more firmly, careful not to break it. The resonance persists, gently at first but ever gaining in intensity, until finally a vision coalesces at its center. The vision links with Eidos and soon becomes her assumed reality. Through the eyes of another, Eidos remembers—not memories of her own making, yet still distinctly hers somehow.

A gathering of robed figures. Two giant beasts wrapped in a violet glow. Death. Bodies. Thetian. A frantic flight from the Enclave. To Kabu. To the Thought Wheel of the Beginning. A journey across a lifeless landscape. A dark, crimson tower painted in blood, imposing over abandoned streets. Draugnir. A void darker than night. Imprisonment in this spherical jail. And…

  As suddenly as the images began, they cease. Eidos is left eyeing the crystal in her hand with utter indifference.

  This is… just as it was in the Wellspring, when I was Wulfias… But this time, I was… Ormenos? Who are these people?

  Her hands wonder whether to launch the crystal and destroy the entire area or to merely put it back into its jade stand. Both options seem to require too much effort to Eidos.

  In her indecision, the crystal makes the choice for her, opting instead for a third possibility. Its connection to her Falseflesh links their Truefleshes, unifying their minds for the span of a breath, but that is all it takes.

  Instinct becomes will, will then becoming thought. An image slowly forms, burning out lines from the void. A circle manifests, weaving an intricate tapestry of lines, never crossing, as they traverse dimensions linking paths among them. And soon, the Glyph is fully formed, completing the reaction.

  Without knowing why, Eidos calls Fenrir’s Glyph to mind. And without knowing how, the shining object in her hand dims as it begins to inject its contents into her Trueflesh, light waning until it vanishes completely.

   The emptied husk of the crystal soon slips from her hand, crashing to the ground and cracking into perfectly equal blue slivers. Eidos simply stands there, absently observing the surges of conflicting emotions now present within her mind. But these newly added thoughts and fears are just the unrelenting waves crashing against the unmoving cliffs of her apathy.

  A name etches itself into her Trueflesh. She knows the name, though she knows not why. ‘Ormenos’. Riding on the Trueflesh of Ormenos, Eidos masters the Techne of Hidden Mind through the Glyph of the Occult.

  A new skill? To what end? Even if it’s useful to my body, it’s useless to me.

  Not much caring to move, she lingers in the chamber a while thinking of nothing in particular. Her mind drifts, further and further from reality, very nearly vanishing completely. It is as though her very consciousness has fallen asleep. Her body however, rejects the idleness of its handler, for what is a body’s use if not to move?

  Thus, as her awareness slumbers, her body travels at its discretion.

  As you will, body.

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The Sanctuary – The Awakening Chamber

  Eidos respawns upon a metallic platform in the middle of an octagonal room. The garden murals all about leave no doubt that this is the same chamber in which she first awoke.

  Doesn’t this only happen when I die? Did my body walk itself off the stairs or something?

  Her body appears to be a less reliable conductor than her consciousness, but the latter yet remains unmoved, peacefully sleeping in a bed of disinterest.

  Undeterred, her body tries again.

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The Sanctuary – The Awakening Chamber

  Eidos respawns upon a metallic platform in the middle of an octagonal room. The garden murals all about leave no doubt that this is the same chamber in which she first awoke.

  Again?! How many times has it been now? I’ve lost count now. But, then again, I suppose it’s as good as any other path.

  Despite the passage of hours and the loss of scores—if not hundreds—of bodies, her errant body continues its stubborn attempts to find some place of interest as her consciousness naps.

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The Sanctuary – The Awakening Chamber

  Eidos respawns upon a metallic platform in the middle of an octagonal room. The garden murals all about leave no doubt that this is the same chamber in which she first awoke.

  …Yes, this is pointless, but it’s also maddening at this point! If we do this one more time, I’m gonna go insane!

  Her body recklessly plows toward the exit for another attem…

  Okay, Eidos, wake up!

  As if awoken mid-dream, Eidos’ consciousness reluctantly changes states. Rubbing her eyes and scratching her belly, she looks around the chamber wondering how she got here. She thinks for a moment, soon distracted by a burgeoning yawn. She briefly toys with the idea of sleeping some more, but since she is already wide awake, she prefers to avoid the tedious task of getting back to sleep.

   With no better options, she directs her feet toward the white door and to the winding stair.

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The Sanctuary – The Hall of Sentries

  Myriad distractions claimed her attention while ascending the stairs, one for each step she took. And now somehow she finds herself at the top. She shrugs and moves on.

  This Eidos is apathetic in the extreme… I know everything I do is meaningless, but this is ridiculous.

  The familiar narrow hallway and its resident sentry greet Eidos as her first footfalls echo through the hall. In the alcove, nearly consumed in shadows, the cloudstone’s Glyph appears to call to her, offering an escape. Since it is the nearest obj…

  No, body! Don’t you do it! We’ve already done this thousands of times.

  Suddenly, annoyed at the prospect of using the cloudstone, she moves toward the sentry instead.

  …I guess this Eidos is easier to sway than the last one… as long as she’s awake, that is.

  As Eidos approaches, she feels a Glyph bubble up to the forefront of her consciousness. With each step she takes, the form becomes clearer, yet remains uninvoked. The sentry has not yet reacted, and Eidos remains undetected. There it stands, motionless with its spear at its side, as if to deny Eidos' very existence.

  Whatever this Glyph is, it feels a lot like the mind from the blue crystal. Ormenos’ hidden mind, Techne, or whatever it was. Use it.

  Eidos stares briefly at a wall, running her finger along the lines of the bas-reliefs.

  Use it, dammit!

  Instinct takes over. Instinct becomes will, will then becoming thought. An image slowly forms, burning out lines from the void. A circle manifests, weaving an intricate tapestry of lines, never crossing, as they traverse dimensions linking paths among them. And soon, the Glyph is fully formed, completing the reaction.

  The Glyph of the Occult lends power to its Hidden Mind Techne casting an invisible veil around Eidos’ mind. The brief flash of the Glyph dissipates in her mind’s eye and she begins ambling towards the doorway and towards the oblivious sentry, eventually walking past them both.

  So if it can’t see my mind, it can’t see me? Whatever, at least I’m leaving this place again.

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The Sanctuary – The Antechamber

  A portcullis, some writing, more stairs. Nothing terribly exciting to grab her attention here. Perhaps attracted by the shininess of the light, or perhaps by the hole-iness of the portcullis itself, Eidos finds her feet soon walking in that direction.

  The portcullis, large and of metallic construction as it is, promises to resist motion with all the might of gravity—its indefatigable ally. Peering through its checkered apertures, Eidos’ eyes overcome the barrier that would thwart her Falseflesh’s progress. Beyond it is a lengthy bridge, scaled like a shimmering serpent, slithering across the chasm it overlooks.

  The serpentine bridge seems to terminate at a similar gateway, at the opposite end of the chasm, though no portcullis obstructs passage there. To the left of the portcullis is an apparatus or mechanism and housed within is something that nearly escaped her notice—an inert crystal.

  As it was before. I suppose there’s some Techne or Glyph that can repower the damn thing.

  Her curious hands reach to examine the mechanism and its jeweled companion. The crystal is as it seemed—devoid of any energy. It likely at one point was responsible for lifting the gate through some trick of magic or artifice. But dead it is and so it shall remain, as Eidos lacks the means to revive it.

  She moves to put it back, but it slips through clumsy fingers down onto the stony floor. A violent crack signals its end as the casing begins to spit shards of crystal in the six directions. Ephemeral as it may be, the crystalline fragments cascade floorward in gorgeous fashion—a lovely facsimile of fireworks.

  Eidos merely shrugs and moves towards the next nearest thing—the stairs. Peeking into the ascending stairwell, she quickly regrets the decision. Just thinking of how much effort it would require to climb them is itself too much effort to her. She begins to move away from them in search of something easier…

  Nope! Up the stairs, body. Now!

  Ultimately indifferent to wherever she is, is going, or will go, Eidos opts for the stairs in the end, having now forgotten her initial aversion to the work they will demand. For she knows that if she tires of consciousness, there is always the quiet refuge of slumber…

  No, you don’t! Move!

  Lashed by an unseen taskmaster’s bullwhip, Eidos lets her feet guide her up the rising stairs. This stairwell is large, but not so large as the one below. Further differences arise in the square shape and lack of railing. But a kindred trait does it find in that here, too, all light is natural light seeping in through an opening at its zenith.

  She begins her climb. Step summing upon step, an apparently unending ascension skywards up the shaft of a large square tower tries Eidos’ patience, stretching it to a hair’s breadth. Her consciousness begins to wane again, eyelids slowly closing, seeking the effortless comfort of sleep…

  Wake up!

  Her eyes spring open and she presses on.

  The passage seems to get ever warmer, and in time, she reaches the top, evidenced by the now-visible portal inviting her to exit the indifferent infinity of stairs.

  Next up is that creepy desert traveler that messed with my mind… I wonder if I can use Hidden Mind to avoid him, too…