Farra rubbed her eyes, feeling a knot in her stomach when she tried to pick herself up off the ground. Her thoughts were scrambled, and even though her sight continued discerning her immediate surroundings, her mind could scarcely process the noise and footsteps around her. It wasn't until she looked up, eying Verrika laying on her back. The first individual she had come to regard with warmth since the passing of her parents now lay completely still. A tear formed in the feirin's eye, she attempt to pick herself up again while crawling closer. She made enough distance before collapsing back down to see her friend's lifeless eyes. As more tears flowed, she turned, becoming privy to the rush of boots around her. Voices arguing and contesting one another was the only noise that could be heard between the scrambling of numerous bodies. Erres stepped from the noise, kneeling down. His fingers, clad in armor, brushed over Verrika's eyes and shut them. He turned to Farra, her tearful eyes meeting his. The red piercing gaze when she first met him was not scrutinizing her. His eyes were soft and full of remorse, of that much Farra was certain. She sniffled, then a gauntlet laid on top of her head, patting before Erres stood back up and took his leave. Some of the voices yelled after him, but he continued on.
An unfamiliar voice spoke over her. A black greave stepped next to her, followed by a gentle, echoing voice that was short of yelling, but demanded the silence of those in the room. “The act of grieving, though different between individuals, is a characteristic found within all souls. Rest Farra, your body has pressed its limits, and Verrika is in a peaceful slumber now.”
As she heard those words, her eyes shut. The last thing she could hear was the same voice commanding individuals out of the room, before she drifted into unconsciousness.
Some time must have passed when she woke. Her eyes opened, staring toward darkness. An attempt to lift her arms was met with immense soreness, shuffling her legs resulted in an aching pain, and even her still feet burned after the long trek. She had been laid flat on her stomach, and this darkness she stared into was soft on her face. Her fingers curled, digging into fabrics, this bed was comfortable unlike the one back at the quarry.
“Enjoy it. Even for the highest ranking soldiers, a rest in a bed like this is hard to come by. It's kept for those who return from combat sustaining significant injuries and need time to recover.” Farra could see the familiar twitching and heard his laid-back voice. Her face managed a smile, relieved at the sight of Teilve through her open eye. She buried her face back into the pillow, tilting her head to its other side.
“What happens now?” Her voice escaped, muffled by the pillow.
“A number of things I imagine. I am a mage of Lord Erres' dominion, however here we are at the temple. There will be dissenting opinions based on our findings and what occurred. I hold little respect in the eyes of many individuals here with the exception of Lord Valen whose tower we are currently in, and who you’ve already met. I can only imagine that in light of Verrika's death and our findings, combined with the decision of bringing you on our expedition, Erres will be encountering a deal of resistance with other lords and their officers.”
“Did we fail?”
Teilve chuckled, standing from the stool he sat and stretching his limbs. Farra turned her head back, a single eye remaining open and observing the room without moving her body.
“My teacher would implore upon me the meaning of failure. I don't think we did. We lost a dear friend, but we found what lies south of the desert; though I can't figure it's what Lord Erres wanted it to be. And though undeniably, you came with some disadvantages, I think you did every bit we could have expected from you. We all may have encountered an unfortunate end if not for you. It lies to our lord and the rest during council to decide what is and what isn't failure.”
“Is it my fault what happened? Are we going to be punished?”
Teilve paused sitting back down with a gentle click of his staff on the stone floor.
“I tend not to think so. And it is doubtful. Between Lord Valen and Lord Erres, though the latter will be admonished in front of his peers, both hold a great deal of favor with the Warlords much to others dismay. The lord is a warrior through and through, with unbridled ambition and bravery and the stratagem to reinforce it. Lord Valen's research and magics is a great boon to the entirety of our army. Those two both are cause for inspiration and envy as a result.” Teilve bit his lip, pausing again and gazing back into Farra's single bulb, dimly lit by the dim magical glow in the room. “I know not what Gare and Erres think of what happened. In that moment we split without taking care to help you, and it was Verrika who had the instinct to try and make the best of it. Mayhap Lord Erres would have been able to cleave the monster in two from the inside and save the both of you, but that simply isn't what happened in that moment. I had the opportunity to talk with Kaladin after dispersing from the Oracle, and we both think it miraculous you managed to halt the worm.” He smiled, voice raising in grandeur. “Just imagine, a behemoth worm, ready to consume both the beloved Verrika and novice Farra, only for the latter to take an experienced warrior's weapon, wield it flawlessly and bring the creature down from the inside. Not even two moons before that were you able to wield a weapon.”
“But Verrika is still dead.” She attempted to wrest herself from her elongated and flat position, teeth clenching as her body screamed from the soreness. “Whatever I did wasn't enough.”
With both eyes in full view, Teilve saw each, full of water. He took a breath before lowering his stave, and tapping it upon Farra's head. “Such is life in this world and these lands. You know it, even prior to that. If it counts for anything, Verrika died because she expended herself for our escape. We could've took the risk of conducting the ritual on unsafe ground one more time. But you shouldn't push yourself over such things, rest for a bit longer, you'll have plenty of opportunity to exert yourself in the coming days.”
A tear trickled down her cheek before she crumbled back into the bed, shutting her eyes. Teilve lowered his cowl, unwrapping the cloak from his body and tossing it over her without another word.
When she awoke, Farra had flipped to her side, causing a ruffle on the bedding. Teilve sat, head tilted down, wrapped around and leaning on his stave held over his shoulder in a slumber. It was the first time Farra could see his features in the faint glow of the room, realizing she was covered by his cloak. Teilve was of a particularly gangly frame with a tattoo beginning at his cheek and running well down past his neck. All along the otherwise straight design, were numerous spikes, branching out from one another like that of a tree. His hair even in the flickering light was a clearly a light brown. Farra shuffled more, her soreness though still immense, was no longer immobilizing. She roused from the bed, feeling her abdomen scream once again before hearing the sound of a knuckle smack against stone when she shifted her hand. Immediately she pulled it back to mouth, licking the back of her knuckle after a crack, realizing the source of her pain was a bowl filled with food set by her side.
She took the bowl, cradling it on her lap, using her finger to pick at bits of the meat and tubers inside, idly nibbling as her eyes floated around the room. All around were arcane trinkets and tools, various desks loaded with tomes and other devices. The walls had inscribing all along them, connecting in a myriad of complex ways as if the entire room was built with the purpose to conduct an immense ritual. On various desks and within walls she saw the source of light. It was the same stones as she had seen in the quarry’s war hall, small rocks that glowed softly with faint light. Baskets of weapons sat beside bookcases in numerous quantity, being of no remarkable design. Others had markings similar of the weapons she had seen the soldiers use. In the middle of the room etched into the ground was the circle on which they arrived through. The image of Verrika's lifeless body flashed in her mind for a moment as Farra bit into a chunk of food with a deep breath. Her eyes continued on, observing, her sight continuing to watch for any traces of movement but discerning nothing but Teilve shifting in his sleep.
Before long she reached the bottom of the stone bowl, her nail tapping against it, alerting her there was no more food. Setting the bowl to the side she unraveled Teilve's cloak from her, digging her fingers into the soft bed one last time before launching herself from atop it and onto the cold ground. She was barefoot she realized, and changed from her tunic into a softer cloth taking the form of a short robe, perhaps for the purpose of better examination of any wounds she might have unknowingly sustained. Still, she shivered from the feeling of cold against her feet. She had come to enjoy some protection wrapped around them. She took the cloak from the bed, laying it back over its owner before turning to the room.
'It would be best to avoid touching things.' The thought occurred in Farra's mind when she passed Teilve, stepping around ritual circle centered in the room. Though she had little talent for magic, Farra could not help but feel intrigued by the designs all around her. From stands adorned with armor bearing markings, to small jewels and stones inscribed with symbols upon them lying on desks. It was apparent that the act of treading into this place uninvited might be cause for issue. The feirin spotted a groove in the wall with an eventual segment in between, realizing it was two doors fashioned from the same material of the towering walls rising remarkably high. Both lacked handles and looked far too heavy for just any person to press open. Her gaze instead turned back toward an open tome lying upon a desk. Inside were numerous markings filling the entirety of the page, nothing resembling any sort of language. She flipped the page only to find more runes, eying a few repeating formations that she had seen on weapons prior. It wasn't long before the book began to feel heavy in her arms, beginning to wear at her sore shoulder when she held it before she decided to set it back down with a thud, immediately rousing a Teilve who looked all around him.
“Farra?” He spoke with a slight disorientation in his voice before turning to see her blinking back at him with wide eyes.
“I'm sorry, I decided to look around a bit.”
Teilve continued to shake off his drowsiness, pressing his stave into the ground and bringing himself up. “Not a problem, it's just a book, though you should be wary of touching some of these things. You probably wouldn't blow anything up or anything of that sort, but someone may get upset if an item is not in a place they left it.”
“Oh.” She stepped back from the desk she was beside.
“This chamber is the base of the Oracle. There will likely be an infirmary set up outside close by, now that we know the results of the teleportation. But for this time, Lord Valen request this bed to be set up for you. As you can probably see, this tower is primarily a lab for research, though the Lord’s library and quarters lie upstairs.” Teilve pointed to a slab of black concrete, half Farra's height. Her eyes widened when she realized it was a step, and past it was another step, spiraling upward. This detail had completely passed her, for each step was so big enough that it could practically be a wall to one her size. A magical stone hanging in an alcove high above the ground was positioned to as to actually provide lighting for the staircase.
“We should not venture up there. I like to think I am on amicable terms with Lord Valen, but he likely wouldn't appreciate us taking this opportunity to scamper around his study while he is away. Even higher beyond that is the peak of the Oracle, a place where Lord Valen can oversee much of the surrounding temple grounds.”
Farra shifted her head about, examining crossing lines that traveled up the wall like separate circuits.
“Lord Valen sounds rather important.”
“It would be difficult to overstate his role. Whereas Lord Erres has become a binding and rallying cause with the desire to unify us, Lord Valen enables us to stand on equal footing with the unknown.”
Farra rubbed her arms, turning from craning her head up the rising tower and toward the door resembling more of a massive seal.
“Are we locked inside? The door seemed too heavy.”
Teilve dragged his hand across his face, wiping his eyes and shaking off his drowsiness. “It is one of the few proper gates or barriers we use. Naturally we don't want just anyone walking inside. Despite that, it's not all quite sealed away as one would think. You simply need to be in possession of a trinket that Lord Valen lends to individuals at his discretion. Then the door is quite effortless to move. You see it is not just Lord Valen's knowledge and efforts that are a remarkable boon to our cause, but also his willingness to share and divulge his knowledge. So it is quite normal for qualified and even aspiring mages and scholars of our ranks to find their way in and out of these doors with minimal supervision. As it is Lord Valen himself who puts together most these volumes, should someone remove one it wouldn’t be an irredeemable loss. And escaping with such knowledge, but lacking the means to utilize or learn it makes theft seem more than a futile endeavor.”
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“We are on the temple grounds now aren't we? What is it like outside? Can we look?”
Teilve nodded his head. “We should take care not to wander too far, you still seem stiff, and I am embarrassed to admit that if you collapse, I may have a bit of trouble pulling you back to your bed. And there is the matter of not so friendly fellow soldiers.” He sighed, pulling a crude ring etched with symbols. “The air does get a bit stale in here for my tastes, though the outside is not too much better.” He touched the ring to the gate; engraved runes on the door began lighting up and pulling the heavy stone apart from the middle, retracting into the tower's walls.
They stepped out into the open with faint glows hanging from pillars adorning a paved walkway. Though it was still difficult to see through the overwhelming darkness, Farra could discern the shape of some structures fashioned from stone at an elevation below where they stood. "To think somewhere in this world people would build things as big as these. My parents told me stories, but those were stories they heard from their own parents." Her breath betrayed her amazement before she turned, hearing yelling in the distance across the spanning pathway. It was the sound of two warriors disagreeing over some issue.
"Unfortunately, a tour of the capital domain should likely wait, it was my own and others fears that there would be some amount of discord after recent events. Lord Erres would likely be the recipient of most of it, least from any ranking officer. But that doesn't mean you might not be the object of some ire either." Teilve lowered a hand around Farra, urging her away from the voices. "Still, we need not return inside yet, this walkway goes perfectly fine the other way as well." Behind them the tower's gate sealed with the loud crash of two stones clinking together. Amid that same noise, Teilve took the opportunity to pull Farra along, maintaining some level of ease in his step to not aggravate any injuries or soreness in her body.
"Shouldn't we stay close you said?" She winced for a moment, feeling her sides ache and make it difficult to turn, taking a breath and stepping on as she gazed out toward the temple grounds.
"Yes, we won't be going too far, just out of the immediate sight of the possibility of unsavory interactions in order to spare ourselves the trouble." Teilve pointed past and around the tower where bare stone lot, smoothly paved remain undisturbed. "Perhaps it would have been more prudent to remain inside the tower until others came to pronounce it safe, but admittedly I can only take the stuffiness for so long. Here, if you're going to sit, do so on my cloak, I wouldn't want the ground to cause your body any complications." He bundled up the thick cloak Farra had become accustom to wearing over their little time together, tossing it onto the ground for her. She obliged with a smile, finding the cloth to provide a cushion, not as comfortable as the bed she was in, but quite welcoming in comparison to what she was use to. She lay tilted on her side as to not crush her tails beneath her.
Farra looked up into the dark sky, the only bit discernible in it was the moon centered over lands in the distance. Her head tilted back, able to glimpse needles rising high into the sky from behind where she sat. Each needle rose like a great stone spire carved from the land, acting as a natural deterrent to any that would seek to explore the opposite side.
"What's on the other side of these mountains?" Farra stretched her arms out across the ground, looking at the sky above her.
"From what we understand-" Teilve sat beside her, holding his wooden stave against the ground and over his shoulder. “-it seems to be a spanning mountain range, much of the same design as these closest needles you see here. We haven't exactly seen firsthand, but through the use of some magics. The Warlords have put in some thought into the matter personally from what I am to understand. It would be a bit problematic if enemies could come flying over what we presumed to be a natural defense after all. But it seems more than likely that isn't the case. We've not heard of any sort of flying creatures or individuals freely flying that high through means of magic yet, and one would likely be impaled or trapped trying to traverse over it otherwise."
"It feels like were locked inside of a cage doesn't it?" Farra looking into the sky squarely.
"Hm?" Teilve tapped his foot to the ground. "I suppose it might feel that way wouldn't it? A desert with unsightly creatures to our south, with only what seems to be the end of the world beyond it. An impassable mountain all along our west, stretching as a natural border for much of these lands. And not to mention the least of which is this land itself, bearing its fangs at us from the creeping shadows."
A silence fell between the two, their breaths audible between the faint disagreements of voices far on the other side of the tower. Teilve dragged the end of his stave in circles, idly practicing the etchings for some runes, looking up and gazing over the temple grounds and into the moon. "It's why relying on Lord Erres and following his dream is the best course of action. There's no room for divisions in times and conditions like this. Mistakes and mishaps will happen, but we have to push on for any chance at breaking free from the prison this world has us set in. That is why regardless of the outcomes, discord, and uncertainties, even when the best option seems no better than the worst at times, we just ought to remember that's the way these lands are." Teilve picked a pebble from the ground, flicking it up into the air and catching it. "Least that's my reasoning anyways. Perhaps you will have some other; or be one of the ones who disagree with his way of going about things. But even if you are I'd hope you understand standing divided is just impractical entirely."
"Death happens. If not for Lord Erres I might be dead long ago." Farra spoke bluntly, continuing gazing upward into nothing.
"You speak like no child Farra, and I don't know if that's necessarily a good thing. It makes me shiver." Teilve laughed, catching the pebble and tossing it over the walkway, falling down into the lower ground below beyond their sight. "Maybe you'll grow into a commander giving us all the orders."
"I can barely hold a weapon, I don't think I would be someone anyone would look up to." Her voice spoke quiet, solemn as her head dropped from the sky, looking toward her folded hands and rubbing them to the uneven gravel.
"Yet look what you did out in the dunes, barely able to hold a weapon and all, having to overcome any inhibiting senses in the moment. Give it some time, I'm sure as far as Lord Erres is concerned, you've proved your mettle." Teilve stood, hoisting himself up by stabbing the staff against the ground. "And that's to say nothing of your ability. Seeing things before they happen? I can't imagine it mattering too much you can't hold the biggest sword when you can swing a blade just right every time." He swung the gnarled stave in a long arc with both hands, losing his balance briefly and catching himself on the back of his heel, taking a flustered breath before speaking. "Really, you're young after all, pay your physical attributes little mind, you have plenty of growing to do."
Farra pulled her head up and down without a word, blinking at him before gazing back to the moon lying in the incalculable distance. For some reason, even setting her eyes upon it filled her with a sense of melancholy.
“Teilve.”
He turned from inspecting the twisting tip of his catalyst.
“Yes Farra?”
“When traveling, Erres spoke of the moon being a goddess.”
“That's right, perhaps that's one of our most well-founded deductions, that and there lying some sort of god far northward of our lands, possibly past where even the lands of moonlight lie. Well other than everything we know about our own god of course. Besides those things, there's purely speculation about the goddess of-”
“I've never taken time to think about this moon in the sky. Others from my tribe never paid much thought to it. But when you look at it, the moon seems like someone. It shined down brightly on us in the desert like I had never seen it before. But if this goddess helped us there, then why do so many still suffer?”
“Because simply Farra, even the divine have their limits. We are a faction of war, and ultimately she may be our enemy. But whether she knows that or not, she must have decided in that moment that helping us was her best course of action. If you’re suggesting that granting us light in the desert was her way of helping us. But there is too much I don't know as well.”
The constant bickering far down the paved path became louder, a sign of the soldiers nearing. It became increasingly obvious they were in fact discussing Erres position as a lord, and any matters that pertained to it. Farra looked up, batting her eyes. “Should we get back inside?”
“Nay, if they wish to speak ill of our lord, we will not reinforce any distasteful opinions they have by stowing ourselves away in the tower. The council and other meetings are likely concluding soon for the time being, so they won't be long here at any rate. Still, steel yourself a bit to not mind a bit of yelling.” Teilve smiled back as several soldiers garbed in plate, carrying helmets at their side came into sight from around the tower. Rather than bickering, it was more a reinforcing of negative opinions, as they agreed unanimously about every ill word spoken.
Teilve stood silent, stave held to the ground at his side. The lack of a source of light inside the lot of stone they rested in concealed the two for a moment, however all three soldiers turned, recognizing the mage in the shadows, and spotting out the feirin they heard stories about sitting down. A human man was straddled on each side by two more intimidating frames. Farra discerned another to be a demon of sorts, with notable differences from Kaladin. However, the third she was entirely unfamiliar with. Despite being taller than the human, he was remarkably stocky with swelling muscles exposed between gaps of armor, and a grayish skin that almost seemed to blend with his tarnished plate. The human began to speak.
“Look, two of Lord Erres' faithful soldiers, or maybe half a soldier considering one is a mage and the other a beast wench he took interest in.” The way in which he uttered the word 'Lord’ carried such contempt and vile feelings that it would have been more respectful to leave the title out entirely. To Farra, his voice was none at all inspiring, reassuring, or commanding of any respect like the voices of numerous soldiers she had heard up to this point. They were that of a man who was bitter and envious, grasping at perpetuating negative sentiments. Farra lacked any decent understanding of the relationship between various figures in the faction, but from her past experiences, she could feel the animosity and disregard.
“To think you would speak ill of the studies of magic. All we mean to do is bolster our fighting force you see. Isn't that much something we can agree on?” Teilve held a smirk on his face, waving his open hand as if preaching to those beneath him. “Surely any soldier can understand that much.”
The human handed his helmet off to the demon, posturing in front of Teilve, casting a foul gaze at a Farra who looked back blankly. “We don't get to experience the benefits of such magic on the eastern front, it seems for all your research and advancement here in the capital and western lands, none makes it to the soldiers that ought to use it. It gets reserved for petty projects that end up in failure. Verrika was a fine woman.” He nodded. “Guess this sow is gonna have to grow into something and become her replacement, that's all Erres will let her be.”
The hulking gray individual at his side opened his mouth, “Don't insult the females of other races.” All three began to laugh and chuckle, Teilve clicked his teeth, tapping the stave to the ground. “Fortunately for you, she's young enough to not know what you meant with your foulness, otherwise I would daresay you all find yourselves in graves outside the battlefield. However on the matter of magical armaments making it out to the lands of Lord Raom, I would say that if you and his lordship perhaps supported Lord Erres and Lord Valen's proposals for unification, then it would be easier to provide you with such supplies, rather than treating us like some estranged family.”
Farra sat and continued her silence, she knew that every word being exchanged was in some way an insult or demeaning to other side, however she could tell in Teilve's voice he had a rather honorable approach in his words. The only thing making her reel was the gazes the man would cast her direction in between the bickering.
“Lord Erres' attempt to have everyone cast his lot with him? The same Erres that shunned more good soldiers in favor of a a mage and slave? The same Erres that was unable to protect his soldiers or father?” With every word, a glare became Farra's once neutral face. Teilve caught the sharp eyes in the corner of his own, waving a hand within his grandiose manners to signal to calm.
“In that case, it is my hopes Lord Raom takes the time to come and tell us how he fails to lose a single soldier in every incursion and defense. Or is the eastern front that quiet in reality? Or do you care so little about your fellow soldiers that you don't recognize when one is felled?” Teilve's words drifted into a sourness. “Perhaps Lord Raom should come visit the temple himself, rather than sending proxies who lack proper strategic understanding to be having words with the other lords. Or those of a stature befitting little more than fodder on the lines. I daresay a slave has more purpose.”
Farra stood, speaking quiet and concise. “Teilve, he will attack.”
“Is that so mage?” The human paying little attention to Farra's words, took a step back to draw his sword. The soldiers at his flanks backed off, making no effort to take part in that moment. Teilve took Farra’s advice, swinging his stave into the arm drawing the blade, bashing it into the man and pushing off to create distance between the two as a flame began to flicker in the head of the catalyst.
Before another movement was made, a boot crashed against the stone, similar to a distinct one Farra heard after teleportation. A towering figure in every sense of the word, armored head to toe, came from about the tower. His frame was gaunt yet beyond thrice the height of Farra. Adorned with a slim helmet, it only accentuated the feeling of a tower overlooking oneself. Various pieces of blackened cloth lie tucked beneath the pauldrons and gauntlets, hanging like small capes blowing from the slightest wind, creating a haunting visage. A long, torn kilt, seemingly ravaged by countless battles, cut from the same cloth as those on other parts of armor, hung around his waist side. It loosely covered even more obsidian-black armor underneath. Any and all previous individuals Farra had ever encountered pale in comparison to this monstrous knight's size and menacing stature. Without another moment, the flame from Teilve's staff vanished, and the man sheathed his blade.
“Disperse if you have no business with me.”
The aggravated man cast a scowl Teilve and Farra's direction before taking his helmet from a fellow soldier's arm, storming off past the way opposite from which they came, his accomplices following behind.
The figure, clad in black, spoke in a tempered voice which still demanded fealty, creating the impression his voice was booming. “Inside. We will talk of what happened.”