A living darkness wraps itself around Izia like a protective barrier. “God..Goddess?” Izia says in a hushed whisper, “are you there?”
“Oh Izia...you know she can’t hear you right now,” a voice replies, seemingly coming from everywhere at once.
“No, no, no, no. Why are you here?! I don’t need you!”
“Oh really? Then why are you drawing from my power to protect you?” Through the swirling darkness, a face forms. It’s angular, light purple face circles around Izia, never letting her escape its sight. Izia glares back at it’s horrific face; a black butterfly shaped mask-like appendage growing from the top of its head, leaving only its mouth exposed. On each of the four wings is a set of engravings, each glowing with an otherworldly light. In the center of the mask is a pair of green eyes with abyssal black irises. “Don’t act so confused, we both know you love using it.”
“Shut up…”
The creature smiles and continues to circle around Izia. “I can feel your excitement whenever you draw from me. When you were about to incinerate Julun? Oh that was thrilling.”
“Shut up…” Izia repeats.
“Of course it doesn’t compare to the towns you’ve wiped out. Wilo, Myna, Zet. Tell me, when you hear the screams, do you wish it was coming from your fa-.”
“SHUT UP!JUST SHUT UP!” Hot tears run down the side of Izia’s face. “I swear on Aza’s mercy, I will cast you back down to whatever hell you came from.” Izia stares at the shadowy creature unflinchingly.
“Oh, so confident today. Is it because of that boy? The idiot guildmaster?” The creature stops moving around Izia and extends its neck towards her. “I’ll tell you a little secret: he’s about to die,” she whispers in Izia’s ear.
Izia’s eyes widen, “What? You’re lying.”
“Nope, it’s the truth. I can feel the presence of my kind here…..mhm….it’s definitely his presence they are tracking. It’s going to be messy.” The creature moves its face directly in front of Izia and relishes in the anguish it sees on her face. “That’s the expression I wanted to see! Oh Izia, you never do learn. You’re a death sentence, the sooner you accept that, the more fun we can have together.” The engravings on the wings start to glow brighter. “Oh, it looks like my time is up, until next time, Izia.” The darkness recedes as Izia’s black grimoire falls onto the sand with whispers of black essence streaming from it.
“She’s lying, she has to be. Why would there be more nyl?” Izia looks at the grimoire at her foot and kicks it.
“What’s your deal?” Izia snaps around and sees Marn rubbing the side of her neck, “something in the sand?”
“It’s nothing,” Izia replies, making sure to stand between the grimoire and Marn. She subtly dismisses the book and after a moment, remembers the current predicament. “We were swallowed by something huge, but we aren’t being digested.”
“Huh? Yeah that’s true,” Marn says, “but judging by the look of things, whatever swallowed us has a huge appetite.” She thumbs over her shoulder and Izia looks in bewilderment. Green skies, complete with clouds, hang overhead. “This thing somehow ate the sky.”
“That’s…” Izia stops herself. “Impossible? But it’s happening right now. There’s a sky, clouds, land, and even a light source. Could it be that this creature generates its own ather, and its interaction with the natural ather of what it’s eaten caused this? Maybe if-” Marn boots Izia and she falls to the black sand. “What was that for?”
“If you got time to space out, then use a craft and get us out of here. I don’t want to sit in some weird thing’s stomach.”
“Get us out? How? I don’t have any translocational spells,” Izia replies as she dusts herself off. “
“Then use that book behind you, isn’t that how Evokers work? Read a book, do the spell?”
“Book?” Izia turns around and sees her black grimoire resting on the sand. “That’s not possible, I dismissed it.” “Hey, can you use your ather?”
Marn pulls out her dagger and slashes the air. “No, I can’t.”
Izia rushes to the edge of the beach and stares hesitantly into the green sea. She sticks the tip of her finger in and quickly pulls it away. “It’s as I thought,” she says gasping between each word, “the water is liquid asterium.”
Marn’s eyebrows furrow. “Asterium, the stuff that drains ather?” She looks at the sea and inhales deeply. “There’s a hint of something chemical coming from the water...like something metallic.”
“It’s probably a side effect of this thing’s digestive system and-wait you can smell it?” Izia asks as she turns back to Marn.
“A bit. My senses have always been dialed up more than others, especially after my Gladius training.” Marn opens her mouth to continue but catches herself, “so what does that mean this thing is made of asterium?”
“I don’t think so,” Izia replies. “If that were the case, we wouldn’t be able to move. I think it’s eaten a lot of it, and the result of the digestion is this sea of asterium. There must be asterium particulates in the air.”
“So then the map and our comms won’t work either.” Marn sheathes her daggers and starts walking away from Izia, towards the seemingly endless expanse of black sand ahead of them. “Won’t do us any good to stay in this spot, we need to find an exit, “ she says just in earshot of Izia.
“Look around you, there’s nothing else here but sand and its probably sitting on partially digested stone. We should stay here; the ground is solid here and we can come up with an escape plan.”
“So your plan is to sit here and do nothing?”
“That’s not even close to what I said,” Izia shoots back. “ We don’t know how the inside of..whatever this thing works. We don’t know how far this land stretches or if its completely solid. It’s a blessing from Aza that we weren’t hurt when we came here in the first place.”
Marn cocks her head slightly. “Oh so is that what all that black smoke was? The blessings of an Atherial?”
Izia freezes for a moment but plays it off. “What are you even going on about? Maybe the impact on the sand caused it to-”
“This may come as a shock to you, Evoker, but you’re not the only one who knows a bit about the legends,” Marn says as she draws a single dagger from her hip. “The Nyl, twisted creatures of malice that feed off the ill intent of humanity. The eternal enemy of the Atherials and the bane of all life on Grezia.” Marn eyes the tip of her dagger with eyes of steel. “ Beware of the living darkness, for when it takes shape, it takes life.”
Izia slowly inches towards her book, maintaining line of sight of Marn.
“Why don’t you use the power of the book and get us out of here?” Marn asks as she grasps the hilt of the dagger firmly, “it works when you’re in fear for your life right?”
“What? How does she know that?” Everytime Izia has summoned the black grimoire, it was when she was under extreme duress. It took the teachings of the Maidens to keep her mind clear during those times, and even then it was a toss up which book would come forth. “The only people who know that…” A rush of horror and anger fills Izia’s core as she grips the spine of the grimoire, “ How’d you get here, Julun?”
“Aw you figured it out,” Julun says still in the guise of Marn, “it was the last part right?” She struts towards Izia in a manner that would make the real Marn want to fall on her blade. “It’s your fault you know. If you would have been with the boy, it would have been an easier job. He never shuts up, and he’s so easy to read.” Julun shifts her body into the form of Adelie, “I’m loud and annoying, please join my guild so I can tell you how annoying I am all the time.”
“How long have you been here?!”
“Oh Izia, do you really think I’m going to reveal that to you? Where’s the fun in that?” Julun dismisses her illusion to reveal her true self wearing a simple string necklace with a purple gem at the end. “Did you have fun running around with your new group?”
Izia’s ather swells inside of her. “Divine wind, bend to my will and become my blade,” Izia thinks to herself before opening her mouth, “Cutting Gale!” A small gust of wind shoots forth from Izia towards Julun. “It won’t have as much power as a full verbal incantation, but it should still..” Izia drops to her knees, barely able to keep the rest of her body upright.
The windcraft passes through Julun harmlessly while distorting her image. The illusion of Julun slowly fades away as the real one appears behind Izia. “Even with all this asterium around, you were still able to control your ather enough for a partial craft?” Julan says in Izia’s ear, “your ather control is truly remarkable.”
“I don’t...need praise from you.”
“Aw, that’s not very nice of you to say,” Julun says as she pulls away from Izia, “that really hurt my feelings. Guess I’ll have to take this as an apology.” Julun walks in front of Izia so she can see her with the map and stone in hand. “I appreciate you doing all the work Iz, you’ve always been so reliable,” she says as she admires the map, “I’ll be sure to put it to good use.”
Izia manages to get to her feet and focuses on the necklace in front of her.
Julun catches her eyeline and smiles, “This little trinket makes it so the asterium doesn’t affect me, but that shouldn’t be a surprise to you. After all, you know better than anyone that ather isn’t the only kind of power out there.” Julun sees Izia tense up. She always knew just what to say to get underneath her skin; it was one of her favorite hobbies. The ground beneath them starts to shake as a rumble of the creature’s stomach rumbles. From the sky, a massive piece of land falls into the asterium ocean hundreds of feet away from them. “Well as much as I’d love to stay and chat, I’d rather not be crushed by debris.” Julun digs inside of her cloak and pulls out an engraved stone.
“A gatestone?” Izia moves to take the stone, but Julun squeezes it in her hand and a portal appears behind her. She gives Izia a satisfied smile and mouths “nice try” to her before falling through the portal and disappearing. Izia falls face first into the black sand with her arm outstretched in front of her. Izia turns onto her back and stares up at the shrinking opening in the sky. “That has to be the way out,” Izia thinks to herself, “I need to get out and help Adelie. I can’t have another person die because of me.” She gets back on her feet and sees Marn standing in front of her.
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“Where is she?” Marn slowly steps towards Izia, “where’s your witch friend?”
Izia hasn’t known Marn long, but it was clear by the sheer determination on her face that Julun had gotten to her too, most likely making her relive a traumatic event; a favorite trick of hers. “She’s gone, and she took the map and stone with her.” Izia watches as Marn makes a disapproving face towards, one filled with accusation.
“Did she take it, or did you give it to her? Marn asks with a glance.
“She took it,” Izia says more sternly in an effort to quell the silent question, “she was able to somehow ignore the asterium.” Izia moves to continue speaking but stops herself, “wait what am I doing? I don’t owe her an explanation.” “We need to get out of here,” Izia continues, “ Adelie is in trouble.”
“He’s always in trouble,” Marn says, “it’s what he does.”
“Look, I can’t explain why, but if we don’t get out of here soon, he will die,” Izia blurts out, surprising both herself and Marn. “Julun told me that Lavius was going after him,” she says after gaining her composure.
“Well if it’s Lavius then it shouldn’t be a problem. He was a weak Gladius; could barely channel his ather through his weapon.”
“Weapon?”
“Yea, he’s a Gladius...he uses weapons,” Marn says. “ I thought that went without saying?”
Two thoughts immediately occupy Izia’s mind. Her first thought was a simple acknowledgement; during her time with Adelie she saw him using his ather, but never in conjunction with a blade. Her second thought however, made the blood in her veins run abysmally cold. “Lavius doesn’t use swords or any weapons, he’s an Evoker.”
“What? No, that's wrong. He’s definitely a Gladius, he even asked Zy-” Marn grits her teeth and exhales- “ he even asked if he could join the 13 Blades Style.”
“I’m not wrong. The only members of Night’s End that use weapons are Hodin and Mogun and the garrisons they’re in charge of.” Izia sees the wheels turning inside Marn’s head, watching as Marn tries to determine the veracity of her statements. “I was with Night’s End, remember? What would I get out of lying to you about this?” “Come on, you can’t be that dense can you? I have no reason to lie about this!”
“When we get out of here, you’re going to tell us everything you know about Lavius,” Marn states.
“Fine,” Izia replies with internal relief, “ I’ll give you every detail that I know. Now, let me think of a way to get us out of here.”
“You made it seem like you already had a way out,” Marn replies but Izia ignores her. Marn grunts but elects to stand guard and keep her eyes on the sky above.
“Great Goddess of Mercy Aza, please heed my call,” Izia thinks to herself. “I’ve need of your guidance.”
Nothing.
“Please Goddess Aza, I’ve done all that you’ve asked. I’ve assembled a group to escort me to the islands and shared with them the maps, as you said.”
Nothing.
“I’m unable to use any of my ather due to the environment inside of this creature. Please Goddess Aza, grant me the mercy of your gifts so I may escape from this.” The familiar sound of nothingness rings loudly in Izia’s head. “Is there something I’ve done? Have I not been dedicated enough?” For some reason she can’t put together, Aza has denied her voice, but through that echoing silence, another voice plays in her head.
“After all, you know better than anyone that ather isn’t the only kind of power out there.”
Her eyes pull towards the grimoire, the power that could save them. “I was able to use it when we arrived...maybe I can…”
“Hey Evoker, eyes up. There’s something coming.”
Izia snaps back to reality and watches the sky. Another object falls through, this time only a few feet from the beach. Before she can even react, she feels the warmth of Marn against her as she’s whisked away from the coast. “How can she carry me so easily with one arm? And it’s so hard, like stone given flesh.” Izia blinks her thoughts away and looks as a wall of asterium crashes onto the beach; had they had stayed, all of the ather in their bodies would have disappeared at once, causing instant death. “She was able to react that quickly...and with no hesitation either…” Something in the distance catches Izia’s eye, “Wait stop!”
“What?” Marn says as she looks at Izia.
“Stop running. Look!”
Marn slows to a stop and turns around, allowing Izia the chance to remove herself from her hold. Just above the asterium sea is a black pillar, at least five-hundred feet in height, emitting a sustained forcefield that’s pushing the sea away in all directions. “ I can feel ather coming from that thing,” Marn says.
“If it’s able to produce ather, it must be negating the asterium in the area. We need to get to-”
“The pillar,” Marn interrupts as she walks towards the large structure, “you don’t have to state the obvious, Evoker.”
They reach the edge of the forcefield and Marn places her hand directly on top of it.
“What are you doing?! That’s raw ather! It could overwhelm you and-” Izia stops herself as she sees the forcefield envelop Marn and pull her up towards the pillar. “Ok, so that’s not an ather stealing field. But then, how is that possible? This is definitely raw ather.”
“Evoker” Marn yells at Izia, “if you stop again, I’m breaking your legs and carrying you the rest of the way.”
Marn’s threat works. Izia pushes through the forcefield and heads towards the pillar. The moment she enters, her grimoire disappears. When the two reach the black pillar, the base of it opens it up and transports them inside in a blinding flash of light. Inside is an environment that Izia hadn’t seen in a long time. The purple and black color scheme lining the walls was all she needed to see to know this was from Night’s End. To her right is a spiral staircase that ascends towards the ceiling, connecting to various landings along the way. “Marn, I think this is a trap. This thing is from Night’s End.”
“I gathered that much,” Marn says as she draws both daggers out, “looks like we’re not alone either.”
Izia sees Marn’s eyeline and follows it to the ceiling cloaked in darkness. The headquarters of Night’s End was full of engravings that obscured rooms and other items from anyone’s vision except for those designated as allies. Disappointment fills Izia as she’s able to look past the darkness; she’d hoped her abandoning of the guild would have made her an enemy. “Even after two years, they haven’t removed me from their ranks.” Still, at the moment it was a blessing they hadn’t removed her, she could move through the area unbothered and would need that luxury; the pillar had almost an endless amount of doorways lining the walls.
“There’s no reason to draw your weapons,” a voice says from behind Marn, “I’m not your enemy.”
Izia turns to Marn and looks behind her. Standing there is a man who has the appearance of Zav, but his speech and mannerisms are completely different.
“Who are you,” Marn says as she raises her daggers, “your signature is different from Zav.”
“I’m him and I’m not,” Zav replies, “but that’s not what we need to talk about.”
“I can’t help but notice that Adelie isn’t with you,” Marn says, “why is that?”
“I had things to take care of and-”
“Where is he?” Marn and Izia say in unison.
“Exactly where I left him. Now before you get mad, I already sent someone to get him,” Zav says in an effort to stave off any further interruptions. “There are things happening that you all need to be caught up on. Once I’ve received word that he’s secured, I’ll be transporting this pillar to his location.”
“If you think I’m going to wait here while Adelie is in trouble,” Marn says before pointing her dagger at Zav, “ take us to him now.”
“I have my orders Marn, and I very much doubt you’d be able to kill Nylim using those,” Zav coolly replies.
“Nylim?” Izia thinks to herself, “So then she really wasn’t lying.” “What makes you think the Nyl are back?”
“Like I said, there’s more going on than either of you know.” Zav moves past the pair and takes a step onto the staircase, “I suggest you two try to make yourselves at home. I’m not able to crack all the engravings here, but there’s a room on the third floor that might interest you Marn.” He quickly disappears from sight, leaving the two alone on the ground floor.
“I can come with you,” Izia says, “they haven’t taken me off the…” Izia watches as Marn slices the air with her dagger. “I’m still-” Marn swings again, this time following her strike up with a quick rotation of her body and three fast jabs. It was obvious to her that Marn would at this for a while, so Izia makes her way to the staircase and goes up to the next floor.
Izia’s footsteps echo down the cold, dark hallway. She had turned down three other doorways earlier. The first one lead to an empty room with a single painting of a woman, the second had a single, massive wall of symbols she couldn’t decipher, and the third had a statue of a man on fire. This was Izia’s first time in this area, but the layout was similar to that of the main headquarters. “That statue always creeps me out,” Izia thinks to herself as she walks towards the end of the hallway. She turns to the wall on the left and places her hand on it. The stone wall separates and reveals a room of impossible darkness. Izia steps into the darkness and the wall closes behind her.
“I know you’re here,” Izia says aloud, “this room is your favorite place, so come on out.” An essence shoots forth from Izia and absorbs the majority of the darkness in the area, leaving only a layer of black on the ceiling. Vitra stands in front of Izia, this time in a more humanoid appearance. She slowly stretches her limbs and her butterfly wings unfurl from her back, spanning from just over her black shoulders to the ground beneath her. The darkness wraps around her, only allowing for her face, arms and midsection to be exposed.
“It’s been such a long time since I was allowed to come out in such beautiful darkness. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Shut up Vitra, I’m not in the mood for your games.”
“Still in a foul mood I see,” Vitra says as she continues to limber up. “ Then let’s get to it, what do you want?”
“Earlier you said the Nyl were back and that Adelie was in trouble. Is he ok?”
A wicked smile creeps across Vitra’s face. “You know I have access to all of your memories right? He’s not him, you know. Saving him won’t undo what you did.”
“Is he alive,” Izia says sternly.
“For now it seems like it. My kin have a nasty tendency to play around when they get bored..he must be providing excellent entertainment.” Vitra sighs, “I wanted to get a chance to have fun with him, it's not everyday I get to play with a Mujinga.” Vitra eyes Izia as a look of confusion sprouts on her face. “You weren’t aware? Not surprising, they’ve been missing for eons.”
“If he’s alive, then that’s all I need to know.”
“Oh but there’s something you should know...the Mujinga lie to destroy the Nyl. It’s the reason they exist.” Vitra’s wicked smile widens to an inhuman size once she sees that Izia understands what she’s getting at. “Honestly I was going to just keep that a secret, but the despair you bring me is like no other. Your worthless guilt strengthens me, so please go rescue him and watch as he fulfills the destiny of his people.”
“You’re wrong! He wouldn’t do that, he’s protected me before.”
“He’s protected Izia the Evoker, he knows nothing of Izia the Nylblood.”
“If he kills me, then I’d be rid of you finally,” Izia shoots back.
“Oh Izia, your false bravado can barely whet my appetite. And if you think he’s strong enough to kill me, then you’re needing a reminder of things.” Vitra’s wings straighten as darkness floods from her in thick waves. Izia’s body collapses under the weight of the darkness and Vitra looms over her. “If I had my physical body, just my presence alone could crush your pathetic body. I am Vitra the Blackfly, one of the Greater Nylim. Never forget that, child, or I’ll drown you in so much despair you’ll wish I’d take your life.” Vitra recalls her darkness and rushes back inside Izia’s body, leaving her gasping for air on the floor.
“I swear on everything, I’ll kill you one day Vitra,” Izia thinks to herself before picking herself up from the ground and leaving the room.