The next morning Korsha woke up, stretched her body until she was limber and warm and then settled down into meditation. She released her mind, merging her identity with the darkness behind her eyes. There she lingered. Watched. Examined the thoughts that drifted through her. Eyed the color of the emotions that stained them as their textured bodies pressed against her mind. Each breath in was measured, equal to each breath out. It was in these moments that she found peace.

Yet she had a job to do and so she rose, went to her armor and put it on. By the time she was finished, the others had awakened. The hunt master split everyone into groups and had them spread out. He unfurled a map and Korsha felt her breath rush out of her. She watched in silent astonishment as the hunt master ran his finger across the paper. She ran a quick mental calculation. The cave was nearly four miles long from entrances to the farthest tip. Yet there were multiple corridors, many branching off into smaller and smaller twisting veins of space.

She and her master were given the eastern pass. The passage would terminate near an underground Lake. Something she was all too eager to experience. She had to force herself to slow down as she consumed her light breakfast. With that out of the way she and her master strode towards the entrance of the eastern passage. The beam of their omnivices’ working to slice through the darkness and reveal the path ahead. The rocky opening was slanted as what looked like a large stalactite had fallen to the ground as though it had been shouldering a great burden it could no longer bear. They passed beneath it in silence, only their echoed footsteps speaking in this dark place.

They walked for what seemed like several hours in silence. Korsha marveled that her master not only kept pace but seemed hardly affected by the trek. He wasn’t a young thaeruun by any standard nor was he old but, in her experience, most who had climbed over the peak of their youth allowed that gift to diminish. It was as though time was decaying them bit by bit so that even the decline was a slow trudge downwards to the final destination. Yet her master’s face remained resolute, the heavy lines upon his forehead creased in concentration as they continued ever forward.

Bit by bit they cleared the various passages. Most were short and so it only required several minutes to confirm their emptiness. As they made their way deeper into the cave, it took on a soft illumination from above. Every now and then she would gaze up at the ceiling and see thick strands of webbing that would glow. She thought she saw small squirming shapes sliding along them. There were areas where concentrations of web created small pockets of light like a distant and dull sun. In a way they look like constellations. Was that why those with hyperspace madness ran here? Yet something didn’t add up. Wouldn’t they have had to have been down here before to know about this? Though, if the elders were right and this was a spiritual possession then it wouldn’t matter. The spirit was driving them down here for some reason that was known only to itself.

They paused to gather themselves. Korsha took the opportunity to examine the map on her omnivice and realized that they hadn’t even made it a mile in. Things were going far too slow.

“Master, I believe we are going to have to pick up pace if we are to arrive on time.”

The older man grinned, a one sided affair that wasn’t reflected on the cybernetic side of his face.

“Why is that?”

“We won’t make it to the end of the cavern if we don’t push ourselves.”

“Hmm… Though I would state that our goal is to find the missing etchitari.”

Korsha dropped her head as she realized her mistake. As always her master was correct and had once more realigned her priorities.

"But I do agree with your assessment. It would take us a week to scout out every nook and cranny. Unfortunately, I don't have that kind of time. Perhaps there is something you can do."

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Korsha knew that this was a test. She chewed the inside of her lip not wanting to let her master down and wanting to rise to the occasion. She wasn't trained in any tracking skills as spirits often didn't leave those sorts of things. Her eyes widened as she realized something. Sometimes spirits did leave something behind that could be tracked. It was like an aura or a lingering residence. It often caused people to fill a chill as they walked into a room.

People were the same way. They left a lingering residence upon the spirit world, or at least the veil. With a smile she reached up her hand and activated the witchlight in her palm. She saw the anxious fluttering of moth-like beings around her. Vaedra. These spirits lived upon the veil feeding upon the lingering emotions that dwelled there.

"What do you see?" Her master asked.

Unlike her, who was tainted by Azaelah's touch, her master could not see the vaedra even with the witchlight. He was totally reliant upon her ability.

"Nothing yet. But if the etchitari is here, I can find them.”

For the next several hours she searched various side corridors, only going in a dozen paces or so before turning back. Most of the places were empty, devoid of any vaedra. She stopped only once as she saw a writhing black serpent like smoke twisting along the ground. For a long moment she considered whether or not the fear vaedra had come from an animal but in the end she couldn’t be certain and ultimately backed out of the passage.

With their faster progress they ended up reaching the end of their tunnel by midday. The lake was massive, it's cold inky surface glistening in the soft glow of the webs. Korsha’s light glinted off the surface as though it were polished stone. Standing along the back she could make out small white crabs scuttling just beneath the surface. Tiny schools of fish moved through the water in languid circles.

The sight of it was wondrous and lonely. Beauty surrounded by the cold protective shell of rock that ensured its continued existence but also its isolation. Korsha was pleased her master allowed them to rest for some time before moving on. She felt drawn to this place. As though there was a deep primordial connection between her and this axis mundi, this localized center of the universe. As she ate her meal bar, she wondered where she’d end up if she were to drop into the spirit world in this location. Part of her was willing to bet that she wouldn’t even need the chain circlet or the stimulants to cause her to drop.

This place was a medicine all its own.

Yet soon her master stood, ready to head back. Reluctantly, but faithfully, she followed once more, turning on her witchlight. They continued forward, Korsha working to ensure that each passage was clear once more, though this time it the check was more perfunctory than meticulous. She wouldn't have checked at all if it hadn't been for the anxiety within her that whispered doubts to her initial search. A feeling she might have shrugged off it her master wasn't here but how could she face him if she'd somehow missed the etchitari. Such a failure would be devastating in its shamefulness and so she gave into the emotions. Double checking her work and finding she was right each time. That didn't change the fact that she would check the next passage and the one after that. And so they continued on for the next hour or two, before they came to the entrance. Stepping out beneath it, they made their way back to the camp. It was deserted.

"Well done, my faithful servant." Anadrov said.

Korsha perked up at the compliment. Even in dealing with her doubts, they'd still managed to make it back before everyone else. As they approached the camp Korsha was eager to eat as the meal bar had done little to sate her body's desire for more calories. Letting out a breath, her fingers curled together, ready to smother the emerald flames that danced in her palm. She froze as she saw something. Lifting her arm she saw an orange blob drifting through the air before her. It drifted through the witchlight's flame before slipping away. Walking along, she found it again. She stopped, eyeing its spasming form.

There was an almost gooey nature to it as it pulled itself together to form some intricate geometric shape that it never quite finished before collapsing and losing cohesion. Her brow furrowed. This wasn't a spirit but another vaedra, one she'd never seen before. She followed it's bobbing form as it drifted through the air. Over and over and over again it tried to form itself into something coherent but its failure seemed inevitable.

"What did you find?"

"A vaedra..." Korsha said absentmindedly, her mind racing to understand what she was seeing.

Why would a vaedra keep doing the same thing over and over with the same result. What sort of emotion was this? Korsha's eyes widened as she saw another drifting by a nearby tent. Drawing closer she found the tent's side torn open. For a long moment Korsha just stood there. Her gut's clenched as she knew this was bad. But how bad? What sort of emotion was she seeing? It wasn't hatred. It wasn't anger...

Korsha's whole body went rigid. Then it struck her, the realization hitting her with an icy chill that shot through her chest and into her arms and legs. These vaedra weren't based upon emotions but upon experience. What else could it be? She knew most of the emotional vaedra but she'd never seen the more rare expression of their kind. What kind of experience was the continuous collapsing of structure into formless chaos? What kind of experience was it to try something over and over and over and over... again and always have the same result.

It was madness.