Corey had never seen Natalie so angry before. Sure, some would say that because she was a redhead, she had a short temper, but before they'd come here, he had only ever seen her lose it a couple times, and both for a good reason.
Not that this was an unreasonable reaction after waking up to find Dominic gone, panicking, and trying to figure out where he'd gone, only to spot him a ways down the passage, walking with a strange woman.
It was definitely not an unreasonable reaction, Corey told himself, as anger resonated within him, as well.
The woman in question was frowning at the three of them as they met up, and without preamble, said, "You're all children. I had thought, when you said you weren't alone… I'm sorry, I'm going about this all wrong. My name is Victoria."
Dominic, looking increasingly guilty as he took in the fury on Natalie’s face, and the angry disappointment on Coreys as they looked between him and Victoria. A long silence stretched between them, before Natalie finally asked, her voice clipped and unfriendly, “What do you want?”
“Nat,” Dominic pleaded softly, “don’t be rude.”
Victoria shook her head, telling him, “She is right to be suspicious, boy. Not everyone you meet down here will mean you well, although most of us tend to want to help, if able. You should always question whom it is you are speaking with, though. There are many you would do best to avoid, those who would not have come to your aid, but instead have allowed you to step into the rift.”
The comment caught the angry duo’s attention, and while Corey now looked at Dominic with concern, Natalie was still angry as she demanded of the woman, “What is a rift? What are you talking about?”
“It is hidden in a low mist. Never higher than your knees, able to move in search of those like you. Some are strong enough to let those on the other side pass through, but they are fewer in number.”
Corey stepped in now, telling Natalie, "I think we need some context," then looking at Dominic for an explanation.
More than a little uncomfortable, Dominic told them of how he'd decided after waking, to go get some practice with his bow. He skipped over the details of how angry he got, a dark blush of shame coloring his cheeks, before he got to the part about him heading back to them and not really paying attention to where he was going.
He then looked at Victoria to fill in the blanks of how she had gotten rid of the mist.
The woman pursed her lips together, seeming to contemplate what to say for a few moments, before beginning, "Get comfortable. This may take some time, but I believe we are safe for now."
Taking her own advice, Victoria settled into the dust, laying her sword in her lap as she leaned against the crystal. Only Dominic followed suit, using the opportunity to avoid looking at his angry friends.
Nodding her understanding to the standing pair, Victoria began.
"There is much to know, much to learn about this place. I could speak for days on end, and not even scratch the surface of the information needed to survive, much less thrive. You must learn to read the situation and decide if it is a time to speak, run, or fight.
There are some things that can tell you however, that will be true, no matter how deep you go. The first and most important information you need is about the mist, as it so happens. What it conceals, as I have said before, is a rift between this world and another, similar to the portal that brought you here."
"We didn't go through any portal, though," Dominic protested in confusion, "It was a hole in the ground.”
Victoria nodded, “Its appearance may not have been what you expect a portal to be, but nevertheless, it was a portal, a doorway between the world you know, and the Below. Likewise, those that are covered in the heavy mist are doorways into an adjacent world,” seeing the blank looks on the youngling’s faces, she paused, before adding, “Think of it as a jelly sandwich. We are between the two worlds, in a realm that holds them close together, but never quite touching.”
“So where does the mist go?” Corey asked quietly, turning the conversation back on track.
Victoria closed her eyes with a sigh, slowly shaking her head as she answered, “It leads to a dying world. The inhabitants are cruel beyond imagining, slavers one and all, and the more slaves in their possession, the higher their status in the world. They are called the Dunvirin (Dun-ver-een). It was through their technology that the first portal to the first world was opened, and the apocalypse of many worlds was the result, entire species doomed to slavery.”
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“The bondage is nearly absolute. Once you wear the brand of a Dunvirin, the slavemaster gains control over you, through their commands. It is not mind control, so much as it is compulsion. If you are commanded to do harm to those you love, you will obey, but you will be watching yourself do it as a captive in your body.”
The three friends were silent as they listened, and Corey felt himself sinking to his knees in the dust, a fear he’d never known before making his legs feel like jello and his stomach twist into a sick knot. A couple feet away, Natalie leaned against the wall for support, feeling similarly. Dominic sat, slack jawed in horrified awe, and not one of them could think of a thing to say in response.
Victoria watched them in solemn silence for a few moments, before continuing in the solemn voice, “Because it is a compulsion, an incomplete control, their slaves began to fight back. Small loopholes grew resistance, small victories became great triumphs after one slavemaster left too much room for interpretation in his commands, and was assassinated by one of his own thralls, freeing all under his control.”
“With access to the Dunvirin’s knowledge through their former master’s information center, they began to fight back, guerrilla fighters passing through the enemies doors to new worlds, to save who they could from the fate that had befallen them.”
“It was not enough. Their numbers were too few to compare to the swift and violent wars that the Dunvirin would wage to achieve their goal; total enslavement of the world’s dominant species.
The rebels had to change tactics. Many still worked in the field, saving as many as they could, with suicide runes carved into their bones should they ever be captured, for none would accept the possibility of being captured again. Those who stayed back, though, had their own work to do, and enough that it took over a hundred bright minds nearly a thousand days and nights of research to find a way to access the most jealously guarded Dunvirin technology.”
“The portals.” Natalie whispered, the first words spoken by one of the youngsters since Victoria began.
She nodded confirming Natalie's suspicion before continuing, “The portals. Their first move after that was to open their own portals, saving many lives through this alone, but it was still not enough. For every ten they helped to escape, ten times more were enslaved, ever adding to the Dunvirin’s disposable numbers.”
“The research continued in the background, until a small team of scientists made a tremendous discovery. Before they had perfected their technology, the Dunvirin could only open portals to the realms between worlds, and had to navigate to the doorways to the next world. They had long since fixed the issue, of course, but this was the seed of an idea, and the idea was one that would control the fate of the next world that the Dunvirin set their eyes upon. Our world.”
“The plan was complex, many minds working to cover every flaw, to think of every possible failure to convince all that it would work, because the power required to fuel the plan was immense, and would consume all of them, making this into their last stand.”
“The Dunvirin did not understand, when the guerrilla attacks ceased. It had been generations since they had faced true adversity and they simply told one another that the rebels had lost heart and given up, seeing the truth of their superiority. When the portals opened to this between realm, they assumed it was a simple malfunction. Only when they discovered that this one was openly hostile to them and their branded slaves did it occur to them that something was wrong.”
“The ritual that the rebels had performed worked in three ways. First, any of Dunvirin blood or brand would find themselves weakened upon setting foot in this realm. The weakness would progress and intensify, until eventually their hearts would simply stop. Secondly, they could neither close the portals, nor open new ones to a new world.”
“The third and most complex function of their ritual was to preserve themselves, the knowledge and the power to continue the fight against the Dunvirin. It is through their influence that the Below creates the portals to appear before certain people.”
Victoria paused for a moment, then looked at Dominic and his bow specifically, “It is their gifts that we wield in the fight against them,” she gripped her sword, “These are items grant immense power when wielded properly. But they are nothing… absolutely nothing compared to what can be found after reaching the root of their work, the being that has come from all they once were.”
“We call it the Soul, but that is merely a human interpretation of all they have become. In appearance, it is a great crystal, as tall as a full grown man, but no wider than a sapling tree. It is rooted in the darkest parts of the Below, too far for any of the Dunvirin or their branded to travel, but that makes it no safer for us to journey to. Most perish along the way, but those who make it…”
Pausing, Victoria smiled faintly at her captivated audience, then lifted a hand with a pile of dust upon it. “Watch.” she whispered, and they did, while the dust liquified in her palm, until all that remained was a clear water, which she let trickle between her fingers.
“I was given the ability to transmute natural matter into other forms of natural matter. I must touch what it is I wish to transmute, but it is usually an easy thing to do,” her smile became grim, “And turning flesh into stone is usually an effective way to finish a combat.”
“The gift given is always to suit the traits of the person to reach the Soul. If you are a protector, a fighter, a thinker, a healer… I have never seen two who share the same powers, not even twins. The only thing that is consistent is the knowledge they share. The history I have shared with you has been implanted in all of our minds to warn newcomers of the dangers they face, as has the understanding of the portals and how they work, allowing us to shift the rifts to another place in the realm.”
“Still, the Dunvirin are relentless and determined. For the first time in their recorded history, they are at a standstill, unable to continue their advance and break through to our world’s surface and they have become increasingly infuriated by this. They still send their slaves, who they see as disposable fodder, to search for new slaves to drag through a nearby rift. I have also been told of some who were given orders to search for the Soul, or a way to destroy it from afar.”
“If they succeed, the rebels’ work will be undone, and this realm known as Below will collapse upon itself due to the bond created by the rebels and strengthened by time, and this time there would be no stopping them, for they all learned from that one mistake and now ensure that their slaves will destroy themselves before betraying their masters.”