Aleh's body lurched with a gasp. Air failed to enter his lungs.
The world he awoke to was a tenebrous blur, a strange incandescence all there was to distinguish the shuffling shades around him. A rasping breath echoed from his barely functional throat, another desperate attempt to breath causing him nothing but pain.
Something spoke. A strong appendage got a firm hug over his back, propping him into a half sat position. A cold object was pressed against his lips, the pulpy concoction inside bearing a bitter and grassy taste. As the liquid, or ooze rather, dribbled down his throat however, a jolt quickly spread across his body, from the tips of his extremities to the darkest to the most unknowable depths of his Asha, returning life and more importantly control to his mind.
He coughed, choking on the vile thing. Ring Flower extract, he recognized, likely fresh and mixed with some sort of taste givers considering he wasn't retching all over the floor by now. As he once again breathed, everything came into focus, and he realized he had been brought inside his vintage Oke, the Homunculus within its walls showing its high alert through swift pulses of scarlet bioluminescence, a good sign.
"Well done, young sir," Rosen's ugly bearded mug said from so close he cold smell his breath, "Take it easy now, you-"
No time for that. Aleh grasped the older man by the collar, trying to pull him down. "Hooolly. Where...?"
The memories of the last few hours were coming back to him, and with them his failure.
He had been foolish. Appallingly amateurish! Back in the Sect, the punishment for a mistake of this caliber would have hobbled him for life. Trying to match an Heir's Asha not only inside one of their Chief Concepts, but potentially even inside a Domain in the making would always be suicide for a regular human, even a witch of his caliber. That he had so blindly focused on offense, neglecting defense completely was salt rubbed in the wound.
He understood his reasons, of course. It was deeply unpleasant to admit, but the moment he saw Holly freeze, contact with the Children made, he saw his dream unraveling before his very eyes, and that had been enough to move his body faster than rationality could stop it. He shook his head; no time for self-pity.
"Where's Holly?!" he asked, louder. "Tell me you stopped her! Tell me!"
"... Young sir, please calm down." Rosen said, his tone an unspoken answer.
"I can't believe it." Aleh pushed him away, and that he didn't budge a centimeter was another cut to his pride. "No, no, I refuse to believe it. You failed to stop her?! How could you- no, we must go find her right now, to-"
"Aleh, breath!"
The command gave him pause. He wanted to lash out, to scream, but he followed it instead, letting logic ground him again. This wasn't time for throwing more wood into the chimney. "... Thank you, Almalilly. My apologies for the... hysterics."
"No need for that. I get it, Aleh." Almalilly said, sitting down by his feet on one of the Oke's hard fought for couches. "I just had more time to process it, I guess."
The hand extricating itself from his shoulders, Aleh fell back onto the seat. "It has happened then. Holly has made contact with the Children. She is compromised."
"We fell right into their trap." Almalilly agreed with a sigh. "To think they would even use the Sect! How long must they have been watching us to figure that out?!"
"I would suppose not much observation was needed. So long as they knew how their enemies are supposed to act, they would spot the rat. That they managed to get their hands on a Faceless, however..."
"From the beginning, the fullness of the Lady's plan would never have reached the ears of mere Faces. The risk of leaks would be too high. Besides, the Sir wouldn't keep something that might-"
"Shut the fuck up, Rosen." Aleh said.
"Immediately, young sir."
Aleh massaged his temples, a faint agony flaring in waves beneath his cranium, physical manifestation of his Ashic wounds he gathered. He might suffer the consequences of his folly for the rest of his life depending on his luck, not that he had the time to confirm; now, they had to plan a way to retrieve Holly, no matter the cost.
...No. On second thought, there was one thing with more precedence: he had a bone to pick.
"You see, I can understand how none of us humans could stop Holly, not when we are caught with out metaphorical underwear around our ankles by an Heir of the Azure with vested interest in taking her." He rose on his arse, squinting against the shadows in search of his target. "Tell me, then, what could possibly be your excuse, dearest Furfu?"
"Aleh," Almalilly warned. "Not the time."
"When else then?! The next time she fumbles our very sensitive operation, assuming there will be a next time for her to fumble?! She is a Faceless, for fuck's sake, isn't this what they are made for?!"
The miserable creature once named Furfu stood in the corner, close to the threshold separating the Oke's passenger compartment to its cabin, shrunk into herself and trembling as if experiencing a nightmare, which he would make sure she did by dawn or die trying.
"Why are you even here? Did Marquise go insane? Or was she fucking you? Where did this trust come from?!" He stepped towards her, Merurgy surging as his control over his Arts slipped for a moment, bringing to the light an unidentifiable sore that made him cringe. "Because all that stands before my eyes is that same cruel bastard who crippled her comrades on a whim back in the Sect, beaten into an obsessive coward!"
"Aleh, enough!" Almalilly stepped in between them. "This isn't the time to make good on childhood rivalries!"
"Childhood rivalry?!" he said. "Ha! You think this is a rivalry?"
"What I think is that it doesn't matter! If she isn't going to be use, forget about her and helps us with a plan to salvage the situation, preferentially before Sir Agare returns!"
"Tch! If he returns at all! Who knows, perhaps our little interlopers actually did murder the arrogant prick, and might be heading back to us right now!"
Inside, the only lights available allowed for little and dim detail, but there was no darkness in the entire Starlit World that could obscure the somber look Almalilly threw his way. "Take. This. Seriously."
"The sir will return," Rosen murmured from behind him. "Please don't underestimate his strength, young sir."
"... Tch!" Aleh spat. "Tell me the situation then. What changed while I was down under?"
Silence. Surely a good omen.
"We are under attack." Blades voiced echoed, clear and close enough to almost get a jump from him. Had she been standing there all along?
"... Not exactly under attack," Almalilly said, "but we are being pinned down, and if that isn't the purpose I don't know what it could be."
Frowning, he reached with a hand towards the wall, making contact with his Homunculus through the slim metallic sheet separating him from its many divisions. Sending a Merurgical message, the creature recognized its master and allowed him access to its own sources of energy. The wall became transparent, and the red luminescence pierced to the outside, bathing their surroundings.
The Floodlands had made good on its name. The Oke's wheels were submerged in over what he estimated was half a meter worth of water, crashing against them in impossible waves that rose over the nearby uneven terrain more like a sheet held against the wind then any of its natural properties should, could, allow it to shape itself into.
"How long?" he asked, perplexed.
"Since Holly left." Almalilly answered. "It kept rising until a few minutes ago."
The light painted the tree line in the color of blood, illuminating as far as the thick of the woodlands, where the water level appeared to come to a sharp drop. There, once camouflaged against the shadows, a shape revealed itself.
Aleh stared it down, finding it difficult to describe. Elongated and slick, bearing a multitude of slim, reflective branching objects upon its back, gently drifting as if caught by accident in the water currents. Except, it suddenly quivered, submerging itself with deliberate ease.
He paled, slamming both hands against the wall. He lent his very energy to the Oke, boosting its defenses.
"Brace for impact!"
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
"What? Young sir, what did-"
Too late.
The Child of the Lake, Heir to the Azure, who had been watching them all along slammed into the side of their nearly 3 tons heavy vehicle with enough violence to drag it sideways.
-------
Holly had underestimated the Floodlands.
Every step taken towards the heart of the woods the closer the jungle got to a maze. Cavernous walls of wood and thorns that allowed not the slightest beams of light through. All the illumination allowed to another person lost in this place would be the few incandescent mushrooms that occasionally grew under rotting trunks and glowy mucus whose origin she had no time to guess.
The thin tendril of water leading her, however, stood out like a torch in the night. Infected with Will, its unnatural contours brought her up and down hills, over and under trees, into the depths of puddles and caves formed from the embrace of roots. No matter the obstacle, it never lost its shape or shine, never lost its gentle grasp of her own Will.
Deeper they went, and ever quieter did the Floodlands became; ever stronger did the drumming in her chest grow. Not all things had fled this new, dominating presence: with every other step, she would feel the crunch of soft larvae who had wriggled out of their mud cradles only to find themselves helpless to escape, armies of slugs and snails of every kind brought together by a common fear, smaller animals such as lizards and salamanders hampered by old wounds and missing limbs. She quietly apologized for the useless cruelty, but never lost stride.
Other, more sinister things refused to flee. In fact, if anything, they pursued the stretched Will with a hunger she couldn't understand.
The first apparition hobbled its way out of the dark on impossibly gaunt limbs, sillhouette blurring with the rhythm of its drowned screams. A body of bloody meat and skin ribbons was all she could guess it was trying to emulate with its repulsive shape, its colors suddenly blooming into view as if independent from light.
"Out of my way!"
By reflex, her arm swiped through the mass, followed by another hundred who were not truly there. Physically, she felt nothing but a strange chill that seeped below her hardskin. Her Will drove itself through a mass of bitter fear and starved desperation with the consistency of rancid muck, sending shivers down her spine.
It wouldn't be the only one to block her path. More and more of them emerged around her, creeping from behind bushes and enormous leaves, or shambling in a hurry against her guiding creek, only to be lashed apart in an instant.
"My Mariwa, just ahead," the other Will said, unbothered by the interlopers. "The most perfect place for our reunion I could find. The most perfect place this landlocked hovel could ever offer to our Blood. You will see!"
Led by the hand, it wouldn't take long until she broke from the densest reaches into a sort of clearing. Or, at least, somewhere the canopy wasn't so all encompassing she could look up and see the stars watching them. The moon was fast approaching its new phase, the six-fingered palm imprinted into its surface already hidden.
She slowed down to a walk. As promised, her destination was right there, over a gentle slanted hillock and into a bright clearing, strong lights bathing her and the woods in dozens of colors, a sight that in different circumstances might have enthralled her. This one time, she had to force her shaking legs to keep a steady pace.
Up there, a beautiful view had been prepared for her.
Before her eyes, sat a small, shallow lake, its waters so placid they mirrored the sky and the brilliant show of lights of the flower field its shores had turned into. None she recognize: long stalked reds with with hairy cores, pink and violets that floated on their leaves, pristine whites with sagging petals like little cups, other more demure ones in greens and teals. All, however, were mere backdrop compared to the gorgeous giant blooming from a gargantuan hollow which laid in an islet in the smack middle of the place, its light blue petals, each the length of a man, had a much subtler shine to then, almost as if enchanted, specially in comparison to rivulet worth of golden sap slowly cascading into the waters.
She realized, then, it wasn't just the flowers. The entire basin was lit like the day, leaving nothing to the imagination.
Then, where was her guiding Will's source?
It let go of her, slipping away into the depths of the lake. The unnatural stream of water, once its medium, splashed apart.
She took this as her invitation. Head carefully held high, she shuffled into the pleasantly cool water, the greenery rustling around her legs with such quiet whispers she felt as if they were moving, making way for her entrance. She walked until she felt the water reach her crotch, roughly the middle point to the islet.
Emboldened by anger and fear, she called. "H-hello?! I'm here!"
Nothing but silence.
An idea occurred to her, both wondrous and terrifying.
Her Will dipped into the water, very hesitantly at first. When her fingers that were not fingers reached its cool surface, she knew there was no backing from this, and pushed down with all the courage she could muster.
It was as if a whole new world opened before her. As if that tiny lake had this profundity to it its physical counterpart could never hope to match, one in which she was freer than ever before. Her Will swam, spreading in all directions, no need for conscious effort, the pleasant embrace never steering her wrong.
She had never felt this much at home. And that was the horror of it.
She slapped her cheeks lightly, recentering herself. Outside the delicious hold of instinctual familiarity, her Will's exploration looked less like an elegant swim and more like a vicious trashing, its frenetic dance disturbing the mirror into small waves. She stopped herself, a little embarrassed at the idea somebody might be watching her.
"D-didn't you want to meet me?" she said, searching but finding nothing. "Where are you?"
Silence met her again, only for a minute this time. What came to answer her, however, wasn't a voice, or at least not her guide's.
The cacophony no, the gurgling, asphyxiated choir echoed from all around her. The chaos of its lack of coordination created its own bizarre, unsettling yet melodic and nostalgic hymn, reminding her of the Lesser's festivals, the longing but hopeful songs the villagers sang together, mouths struggling to match one another, and she always there out of sight, an uninvited observer.
Apparitions stepped out of the darkness. A few were already investigating the edges of the lake, she noticed, unwilling to dip in nor leave, waiting for something to happen. Dozens joined them; hundreds, some so dim they were barely living mist and shade, others so clear she could almost see how their impossible viscera came together; she turned away in disgust.
Only when she was surrounded, did part of her Will feel something. A teasing caress, rubbing its way past her fingers and up her wrists, quickly vanishing as she tried to grasp it. Then again, in a completely different location. Outraged, she spread as far as she could, almost covering every drop of the lake, touching nothing to her great dismay.
At the third caress. she retreated, pulling Will as tight as she could. "Stop this! S-show yourself! Why won't you show yourself?!"
The forth caress came soon, and this time she was ready. like the jaws of a coiled snake, she closed upon the offending limb, overwhelming it with numbers! It didn't even try absconding, to her confusion, the smooth, jointless, fingerless stump resting with lazy ease under her ambush.
"I-I got you! A-aren't you going to talk to me?" she said. "I'm going to leave if you don't!"
"This state... My Mariwa. What has that lice done to you?" The Will said, raw devastation sinking her heart in uncontrollable sympathy.
"W-what?"
"I do not understand the language of Allebodt, my sad, broken Mariwa. It is the language of savages, of treacherous animals, beneath the Blood."
She was left speechless, confused.
"Who took your pride, your beauty?" the guide continued. "What is that wretched thing, covering the inheritance of the Blood? What are those trembling legs, that shaking, whimpering voice? Stain my sight with this wretched witchcraft no longer!"
It took her a few second to understand their request, their emotions bubbling to the surface with every minimal instant of disobedience. Somewhat relieved, she pulled her robes off in one swift stroke, leaving herself fully nude for the first time in what felt like ages. Disgusting, odorless sludge dripped down her limbs, another sight she pointedly tried not to look at.
"Vile."
"Don't call me-" She almost said but then realized. "Don't call me that."
"It is not you, My Mariwa, it is the state those vermin left you to languish! To deny yourself, to suffocate the divine in its own impurity! Were you meant as a message to our Lady, to me, of the cruelties those Faceless abhorrences are capable off?!"
"They cared for me! They kept me alive, they-"
The reply came like the crack of a cane, shattering her point in a half. "Look at yourself, my Mariwa! Malnorished, dirty, spineless! Examine your own Divine Intent, how malformed it has become, stiff and slow!"
"If it wasn't for my comrades, I would be a lot worse off!"
"Comrades?! A captive, dismembered and shoved into a cell, fed once a day, then dragged out to feel the Lady's breeze one last time! And you have the gall to thank your wardens before me?"
"I'm not a captive!"
Their anger burned stronger, growing like fire until the Will as a whole simply vanished. She was left flabbergasted, taking a step back before realizing she didn't actually know where this thing was. She heard movement to her left, swiveling on her heels to find empty space.
"Long have I tried to reach you, my Mariwa," the Will said, nowhere and everywhere. "The Master of your Domain allowed me no passage."
Her own Will wasn't half fast enough to catch it this time. Another sound, something emerging from the bottom of the lake behind her, nothing there again.
"You are no longer the babbling infant that I lost. At this advanced an age, I fear correcting you will be a struggle, though at least the troublesome parasites shall not bother you from now on."
"What do you mean?" She failed again. "What did you do?"
"I can see your potential, still alive inside the husk. By my hands, the salvation of our family shall me molded, shall bloom to her full divinity!"
"You can't see anything! You can't know me!"
"I know your pedigree, the quality of your Blood, and the person you are not. Through this unholy number, I know who you were, who you are, and who you would have become if not for me!"
"You can't." She hissed, nails unfurling. "You can't! You can't, You can't, You can't!"
"I will show you."
Another wet sound, behind her again. She didn't fall for it this time.
Which is exactly why she did. Only when she heard the soft footsteps on soft mud did she realize they had come, and froze.
She was afraid. By now, she was sure of who they were, and what she would see when she looked back. She knew it might destroy her, destroy who she was utterly and without mercy, but it was too late to run.
Carefully, she turned. The figure had been waiting for her with patience. Her mind went numb.
Taller than even Julius by at least a head; long spindly limbs, armored with a shining smooth white carapace and armed with claws like sickles both on their diminute fingers and their elongated toes; their torso was flabby, a soft abdomen pushing from under a steel cuirass, their tendril ridden parts covered by nothing but a silken loincloth, a deep purple in color.
But it was the head that cinched the deal, that broke her. Its bloated back, its long tentacles held in the air in distress, its featureless dome for a forehead, its almost nonexistent lips, barely covering a mouth of sharp teeth, and its eyes! Slits so camouflaged along the nigh lacy folds of skin that crossed it from right above the lips to below his temples anyone would be excused for not realizing they were there, all four of them.
But she knew better, It was the first difference she had noticed after crawling from that copper tasting cocoon, who knew how many years ago.
"My Mariwa, my precious daughter," her father said. "How gorgeously have you bloomed. Never worry yourself again, I will make things right!"