image [https://i.imgur.com/SIIqYGG.png]

An overwhelming and throbbing numbness permeated from her back. Her pack cushioned her fall, and quite possibly saved her life, though its odd shape and uneven distribution still made for an uncomfortable landing. Reaching to her side to grasp the ground and level herself, she began the process of absorbing the room around her. Her eyes were still adjusting to the new darkness from the surprising brightness of the cloudy world above, the sky being the only light that illuminated the center of the room she could not yet fully see.

The first thing she noticed was a large and lumbering creature approaching her. Bare of clothes and horribly disfigured in comparison to any person she had met before. The creature had scales in place of skin, a dull teal that would only shimmer when the light just barely grazed its surface, giving it an unholy halo around its silhouette. As she had seen in the prints they had no doubt left, its feet and hands were webbed, not dissimilar to a fish. Its limbs were without mass, the form of the bones could be seen through the thin scales, giving the creature very angular joints and a dip in its stomach. Its head was flush with its torso, with no neck to speak of, the creature would position its entire body as it examined her. Its hobbled walk turned to a crawl as it approached closer. It truly was the head of a fish that sprouted from the creature's body, though she didn't know which kind. Its nostrils above its eyes breathed wildly as its mouth would randomly open and close. A strange popping noise would echo every time it would do so.

The pain now was manageable, enough to start moving. As she shifted to sitting on the ground, still holding to the ground for stability, the fish creature jumped back. Much like how she was startled by the net's movement, so too was the fish startled by her. Taking advantage, she pushed herself further away from it and made for her sword. Holding it out in front of her, a distance was made and time was bought to formulate a plan.

Her aching head groaned to think until from behind, more sounds of popping and the slapping of their feet upon the stone floor. Her eyes had adjusted as well as she could hope, but her view was obscured, still she could not grasp the shapes moving in and out of her vision. She looked around and noticed a pillar some few feet away from her without the strength to stand on her own, she would need it to get up again.

Pushing her back against the pillar she slowly slid up, still keeping her sword far out in front of her, occasionally swinging it to her side to dissuade what approached from behind her. Without her sight, it would only be a matter of time before they could surround her. Light was the one thing she hoped for beyond the measly rays peaking through the hole.

Desperate, she used her free hand to grab an item from the side of her pack. Disoriented and awkward, it took an uncomfortable amount of time to reach across. The creatures almost curiously continued to approach. The one that had dragged her down, with her blood still within its webbed hands, finally touched to the floor. Compared to the others, it was athletic, almost graceful in its movements. Moving between its lessers, it would be the first to get within striking distance. Whether she could retaliate however...

Finally finding purchase on it, she whipped the item out in front of her. The creature was not intimidated by the motion, but that was never her intention. She struck the long stick along the pillar, the sound was loud as the metal of the object rung and boomed throughout.

It hadn't worked.

She struck the pillar again. Another clang of metal echoed. Still unimpressed the creatures persisted. Perhaps the humid air had ruined whatever mechanism laid inside. Though she had no idea exactly what that mechanism would be. Her desperation manifested tenfold as her breathing became erratic.

One final strike, one last time. She held it high and struck the bloated end hard upon the stone.

A flash of bright white light erupted from its end. As the white dulled to an orange that made the room clear as day, sparks flew out from the end. The sound of shearing leather escaped the odd device as whatever burned inside screamed. The sparks subsided as the roar of flame overtook the screams.

The tool, marvelous as it was, was also entirely ordinary. Its shape was simple and uninteresting but hid the impressive mechanism within. Some scholar had found a way to make fire with nothing but a strike and deemed the torch as the Sudden Flare. It was expensive, but its worth was well justified. The Sudden Flare had finally made the fast approaching creature reconsider its approach. Clutching its fishing spear tightly and jumping back, the others had elected to cower and cry in fear of the device.

The one that grabbed her, the bloodied creature, struggled to mouth the words with its unfortunate anatomy. Its glubbing and over annunciation formed a word after a moment.

"Fire?"

She responded.

"Stay back!"

"Sta... stay, ba...ck? ...Fire."

The others were still cowering, in a very primal sense they were lost. They did not, or could not understand what was being said, save the bloodied.

"Man, thing."

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The bloodied continued to murmur to itself, struggling to form the words with its bloated and obtuse mouth.

"Man? N... no."

Lowering its spear, with a look of genuine concern in its eyes, it looked deeply into her eyes.

"What, was... am... are I... we, us?"

Its eyes closed and what brow it had furrowed into rage.

"WHAT!!!"

Looking around as the bloodied seem to be regaining its composure, now thoroughly out of her depth she sought an exit. The net to climb back out was cut off by the creatures, even if she could break through there was nothing to stop them from pursuit. Behind her, half a dozen more of them. Now, with the light of the flare, she could see the room itself was a sort of octahedron. To each other corner was a bridge, all of them met within the middle where the net led straight up and out. Cut off from the left and to her front and back, she looked to her right, there a bridge led to a large door. Unopened and with a dozen broken weapons at its foot, it seemed they could never make their way through it.

Perhaps because they lacked the necessary level of intellect they never noticed, or could never operate the handle she so readily saw within the door. A deep hole embedded in the door showed a handle that seemed like it might turn. Although, there was no guarantee that it would open for her, perhaps they had already tried the handle, and that was why they had resorted to mining through the door. Though considering its state, that seemed to have no effect either.

It was the door, or death.

Holding the flare out towards the creatures, she back-peddled towards the door. She arrived as the creatures slowly turned more bold, she dropped the torch at her feet and turned toward the door. She plunged her hand within and turned the handle both ways, pushing and pulling. It moved slowly and the stone mechanism grinded as she moved it with all her strength. Finally, a thunk as something fell within the doors mechanism and the door opened inward for her.

Turning to retrieve her flare, she felt a sharp and sudden pain as something pierced her side. Just shy of the lungs, through the layers of fat and muscle and just barely within the ribs, the bloodied had clumsily pushed the spear into her. It was shallow and weak, but it was pain. Blood oozed and covered the spear that held within her, the bloodied creature looked at her astounded as it blubbered more words.

"WHAT!?!"

She grabbed it tightly and threw it away from herself, pushing the bloodied away and falling through the door. She kicked and dragged herself, shutting the door with her kicking as she escaped. The blade fell from her hand as the thunk from the door told her it had locked again.

She finally screamed. The light was gone, in another strange room she sat as she could on a set of short steps. Flailing for her pack, she grabbed whatever she could to close the wound. Linen and bandages fell into her hands as she rummaged, and she began the laborious process of tending to her wound. The blood seemed that it would never end as she closed what she could. But it wasn't working.

Desperate again, she reached for her second Sudden Flare.

She struck it lightly upon the ground, failing to find the strength to truly swing it. With luck, it breathed fire and lit the room. Now came more pain.

The blood refused to stop, so she removed what bandages she had haphazardly applied and prayed for strength. Holding the flame of the torch as close to it as she would dare, she suddenly and violently plunged it to the wound.

She wailed as the skin and flesh boiled, but she held it true. After holding a moment longer than she thought she had the will for, she finally threw it across the room and to the door. In some cruel twist, it killed the fire within it. Holding her ribs, just under her heart, she felt for the flow of blood, but found none.

After another groan of pain, there was silence. She knew without a doubt that just past the door, the creatures worked tirelessly to break down the door. But she heard none of it. Perhaps her burst of strength had finally faded, and now she was without her senses. All she knew was the pain of her wound and the darkness of the room.

Then, a hum caught her attention. Breathing deeply and painfully, she turned to find it, overcome with a sense of purpose she ignored the screaming pain of her wounds. As she turned to the center of the room, the room seemed to glow. When she tried to look to see the details of the room, she failed to really perceive them. Ultimately, she realized the light to be an illusion, save for the center of the room. Further up the steps she laid upon, at the top was a pedestal. The foot of the pedestal was moss covered dark stone which turned to a brilliant and vibrant obsidian as it moved towards the top. The angular and mathematical overlapping shapes of the other architecture gave way to a beautiful and natural shape, one that flowed and almost swayed. Upon the pedestal was the light. And she reached for it.

Grasping and clawing, she climbed the steps, each movement brought her closer to divinity. The steps seemed endless, but in her delirium she could not feel the passage of time, slowly losing herself, she continued to pursue what lay in wait at the top of the steps. At the precipice of the pedestal now, she clung to the base, and then to the brilliant rock, willing herself up to look inside the small dip within the pedestal.

A thin and gold strip of metal, unassuming but undeniably exquisite in its form. Something seemed so perfect about the piece. Smaller than her finger, she reached out with the last of her waning strength to touch it.

The gold touched back, clinging to her finger and sinking into the skin. It began to crawl and move its way within the surface of her skin, moving it aside and making way for itself as it crawled through her hand, then to her arm. Despite the strange and grotesque nature of it, the process was painless. She felt the embrace of a brother she never had.

The metal moved across her collar and around her neck. Passing under her ear and finally resting under her right eye. Then nothing. Its movements ended as suddenly as they began, and her arms finally failed her. She fell from the pedestal and unto the floor, sprawled upon the steps, she waited for her strength to return.

Waiting for nothing, waiting for waiting's sake, unknowing in how much time had passed. She prayed.

"..."

Her words were weak, as her lungs struggled to make them.

"Be his name..."

The longer she prayed, the more powerful her words became, though never being more than a whisper.

"...His acts... elegance."

She was losing herself to the sleep that called out to her, the rest she craved.

"May we be as him. As I, his tool..."

One last breath, before her body would finally fail to sustain her thinking mind.

"May the Peacock lead to..."

She felt a presence approach her, fearing the creature's return, she struggled to keep her eyes alive so she might bear witness to what would strike her down. Or perhaps it would be better to not see, she thought.

But one last time, curiosity would win over caution, and her eyes opened to a beautiful visage. A voice spoke with conviction, but with an underlying caution, curiosity, or maybe fear. He sounded like a young man, in a way she did not recognize, neither northern nor southern, eastern nor western. A voice so foreign as to be unknown, but so familiar as to be trusted unconditionally.

"And who is it, that calls my name? Which of everything are you?"