Violet jumped down from the green throne, taking a moment to inspect its overall aesthetic compared with the rest of her handiwork.
She’d spent much of the day decorating the throne room, modifying the design using the education she received from Edmon, Tiffany, Valerie, and Leonora on the Victorian Gothic style the Empress enjoyed.
Valerie, the Maid, and Leonora, the Artist, helped to stylize the work with their own interesting twists that occasionally made her smile while in her human form, and with all the practice, she was rapidly increasing her thread skills.
After a while, Valerie timidly made her aware of her Class as a Songweaver, giving the Maid the ability to generate music by the way she moved. The method of how it all functioned was still somewhat of a mystery to her. Violet was more than a little fascinated by the concept, allowing the Maid to demonstrate.
Violet was fascinated with anything to do with music, and Valerie discovered she could summon instruments that harkened back to her childhood. The result left the Maid dancing and playing the strange human creation throughout the last few hours. The melodies captivated Violet and helped her envision a more detailed composition to the room’s artistic design.
Valerie called her instrument of choice a violin, dancing with the device while other invisible musical apparatus joined from time to time as she activated other skills on cooldown.
A variety of colors left her instrument in dazzling waves that affected her in unique ways, but according to Leonora, Violet was the only one that could see them because of her ultrasharp senses, and the rhythm morphed with her increasing proficiencies and levels.
The Maid wanted to follow the theme of the Empire’s growing Victorian Gothic image, introducing Violet to a somber, tragic, and eerie cast to the violin’s style. Leonora may not have been a singer by Class, but the artist hummed along to Valerie’s tunes, causing Violet to mirror the action.
Violet made decent progress as her internal clock told her the sun was setting, yet it would be several days before it would be completed. A crest design and the Empire’s name were still being discussed between the Royal Court; so, it would be a bit before she could add those details.
She didn’t interact with anyone outside of her two assistants and the occasional suggestions from the Royal Court. In fact, she hadn’t noticed any of the thousands of Yaltha’ma that had been so prevalent upon her family’s revival and had no clue what they were involved with but concluded Edmon was most likely using them.
Morph would be coming off its cooldown within the next few minutes, and with every reset, Violet took the chance to become more comfortable in her new human form, unlocking a Proficiency Skill that tickled her to the core. When transforming, her clothing would now somehow be stored within the skill, saving her time and actions.
Her attention was diverted as twilight fell, Tiffany contacting her through the Nexus; she’d been anxiously waiting for this event all day. “Vi, the Empress has asked me to join you for this power gem experiment! Isn’t this exciting?”
To say her hearts were palpitating would be an understatement; however, despite the ticklish tingles cascading down her powerful muscles beneath her exoskeleton, she managed to keep her voice and demeanor in check.
Yes. The Empress made me aware that I might be able to add fire resistance to my silk; it would be quite useful if that were the case.
“Dearie, you don’t need to hold back with me,” the Witch giggled. “It’s just the two of us … oh, I’ll be there within the minute.”
Violet’s response was as detached as she could manage. I understand the Royal Court can identify the emotions of those under them, just as I can detect Valerie and Leonora’s moods. However, I wish to present myself in a manner befitting a Queen’s daughter.
“Oh, you’re so cute! I suppose that’s something I adore about you; so, you just keep being your darling little self. Be there soon! Also … is that right? You can sense Leonora and Valerie’s emotions?”
Yes? It is not difficult.
“Well … umm, I don’t know how to tell you this, dear, but … that’s not so normal,” she mused. “I noticed it with Azalea yesterday, which is quite interesting.”
Swiftly running through the possibilities, Violet didn’t find it too unusual; although, she concluded the instinctual response was natural since she was so aware of her family’s capabilities. Thélméthra have an advanced limbic system. Perhaps it is a response to our natural abilities?
“You girls never cease to amaze,” Tiffany whispered. “The details your mother sniffs out are … impressive would be a disservice to the Queen.”
Violet couldn’t help but feel pride for her mother at the Grand Witch’s statement, and the conversation helped ease the pressure mounting in her armored body. Her legs itched to tap with intense anticipation, but her iron will kept her muscles still, giving no outward appearance of agitation while she waited.
Her two assistants had been given the time to practice their skills while she was away, and the violin playing around the overcast lighting of the room aided in calming her hearts. The jewel induced lights surrounding the throne room had been darkened by her webs to add to the somber theme.
The spider watched the Maid’s delicate fingers tighten and ease, weaving the strange-looking branch against the threads of her instrument, eyes closed as her body swayed to the sounds she produced.
Violet felt a sense of peace with the colorful waves, helping to calm her anticipation with the buffs provided by the Songweaver.
Leonora was silently inspecting the work they’d done so far, probing for areas that could use more detail while admiring the artistry.
The Grand Witch arrived on the left shoulder of a skeletal Quen’Talrat, another opening and closing the door upon her command.
Tiffany slowed upon entering the room, reviewing their labor with a bright smile before settling on the Maid’s performance. Valerie soon came to a stop to present herself to the Grand Ritualist.
“... No, Dear, that was beautiful,” Tiffany encouraged with a gesture. “Don’t stop on my account.”
“You flatter me, Tiffany,” the Maid bowed, but Violet could feel the pressure the girl felt upon the command. “I still have much to learn … I’m only using simple notes. It actually surprised me how my dancing abilities have developed throughout the day. I played violin as a child, but I never got too far since my parents ran out of money to continue the lessons.”
“How lovely that you may continue such a desired hobby.” Tiffany hummed, glancing around with a thoughtful expression. “It may have been simple notes, but that doesn’t detract from the captivating melody and artistry of your dance.”
Her glowing orange eyes settled on Violet, sliding past Leonora’s respectful bow. “Well, Violet, we shouldn’t waste any more time than is necessary … of course, listening to such music is hardly a waste,” she noted, giving the maidan an approving smile. “Let’s see what magic awaits us.”
Violet took to the walls, insides squirming with so much tension that she didn’t dare speak, easily pushing open the massive doors herself before the ape made it to the ceiling.
Tiffany cleared her throat while entering what had been described to Violet as The Hallway of Ascension; the shining gems embedded in the black wood were supposed to represent what the Witch called galaxies and the glories of space. She grasped the concept but didn’t seem to understand it enough to find the majesty the Witch saw.
“Ahem, Vi, if you could close the door behind us. We really can’t be too careful with the area we are going … just, so you know, you are the only person outside of the Royal Court the Empress has given permission to enter this restricted area.”
She complied, feeling even more blessed with the information, and now a bit curious as to why the Empress had been so guarded about what lay ahead of them.
Morph just came off cooldown, and before Tiffany made it to the opposite side of the long hallway, she was dressed in her first outfit. Her heel length jet black hair was elegantly managed, lifted to her upper thighs by the hair ornaments she’d crafted with the Witch’s instruction, and allowing it enough slack to weave as she moved.
Her tongue slid over her black lips, adjusting the outfit to radiate the image of perfection by manipulating the silken gown’s threading and altering the position of her bandeau bra underneath her long white kimono with large intricate black chrysanthemum designs.
The geta shoes were utterly silent as she approached the radiant nebula themed door, bracing herself to contend with her light weight while pushing it open upon Tiffany’s instruction.
Violet’s fingers twitched on contact with the warm wood, surprisingly heavier than the stone door that preceded it, and she’d never encountered the type of tree it was composed of. There was a force within that puzzled her, but what met her was something spectacular and foreign.
The humming energies flowing around the room made Violet pause with the door only open a crack, identifying the plethora of forces leaking out.
“... Is something wrong? Oh … well, isn’t this something?” Tiffany mumbled, halting beside her. “Wow … Thélméthra certainly do have quite the intense ability to sense their environment. Your mother didn’t share with us the extent of the power radiating throughout this room. Hmm … so many varieties from just the small glimpse I can analyze through you.”
Violet slowly pushed forward with the Witch following, soaking in the experience she was able to glean through the Nexus.
The young Thélméthra princess stepped onto the evenly cut ocean green grass, feet well above it with her shoes. The vivid pink, blue, and silver flowers had been placed in a deliberate pattern, leading to an icy bridge and causing Violet’s focus to linger on the waves that rippled in a lovely design.
Holding out her hand, Violet made her way toward the water’s crossing, black fingernails weaved with the frequencies of several waves that rippled throughout the room, but she came to a stop halfway there, continuing to examine every fluctuation around her.
“... My mother is not so attuned to energy-based elements; it is that and my thread that sets me apart from the past Queens in my line. Ever since I first consumed those elemental stones, I have been developing these traits, which branded me as a Web Sitter by my sisters, and granted me the advantage over my mother within those fields.”
“Is that so?” Tiffany whispered, glancing toward the leafless white trees surrounding them. “You can actually see the dynamism influxing around us by colors … I so wish I could observe what you do, but that ability is only granted to the Empress when it comes to Intelligent Undead.”
Violet moved across the sea of grass, returning to proper form once they’d stepped out of it, and she could feel the releasing counter energy their interaction made, sending a ripple through the atmosphere.
She halted at the edge of the bridge, bending down while wrapping her hair around her side to keep it off the grass. “It’s so much more intricate and lovely than anything I’ve experienced,” she whispered, following the colors as they interacted in the air, creating new vivid streams of shades.
Smoothly hopping over the flowers, she landed on the other side, realizing Tiffany was trying to use her as a medium to detect things she was unable.
Around the hill at the room’s center was a turquoise stream, fed by a fount of energy residing within a hollowed-out long and narrow strip in the glowing alabaster wooden wall.
“I’ve been able to identify many phenomena around this city since I’ve been revived, and a few mirror the interactions such as those created within The Hallway of Ascension … but nothing as concentrated as what is present in this room. The sheer weight of interplay is likely why you can sense my reaction so clearly through the Nexus.”
“An astute observation,” Tiffany hummed as the ape lowered her to the ground. She snapped her fingers, creating orange flames to examine the elements herself. “What can you tell me about each? I can learn many things about their properties, but perhaps there is something I am missing.”
The Thélméthra was silent for a moment, continuing to sort through the fields that played with one another, momentarily colliding to cause miniature backlash to repel or fuse together before separating again shortly after, creating something new.
Eventually, her vision lifted to view the rich beams of yellow and white light; its waves didn’t just cause a visual pigmentation to the circular chamber, but the brilliant metalwork of a triple triangle-shaped design produced a soothing pulse that evened out the interactions. It appeared to be crafted out of a similar wood to the white trees, yet distinctly different in its mannerisms while framed by golden metal that seemed to elongate the fluctuation.
“Everything within this room has a purpose … even the very grass we walk upon that releases a calming agent to allow our presence without causing a disruption to the process.”
Tiffany’s gaze settled on the nine luminous trees. “Are those the same as the ones in the throne room … or the wood the chairs are made out of … maybe the walls?”
Violet slowly shook her head while following her gaze. “At first glance, but no … each one produces unique energy that compliments the whole. It was not the same in the throne room, and that is most likely the product of that,” she stated, pointing at the hollowed-out section in the wall, releasing a smooth waterfall.
Her white halo-like irises surrounded by pure black sclera shifted to the stream, identifying the mass of colorful gems of all shapes and sizes within.
Everything is planned.
The spider’s focus lifted to the center tree, affixed with glowing spheres of energy that far outclassed anything in the room. A sinister, glowing red obelisk with pulsating blue inscriptions grew around the font of blinding power, yet the monolith revealed no aura, which puzzled her.
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“... I couldn’t begin to explain to you what this is for, but whatever it does, it requires an inordinate amount of power. Each interaction within the space is fusing, repulsing, generating a continual stream of additive strength that does not diminish, but increases.”
Tiffany’s eyes widened with understanding. “Unlimited energy … this is a massive unlimited source of power … Ke’Thra’Ma built a generator.” Her orange eyes fixated on the tree in the center of the island. “The Life Fruit was his end goal from the beginning. Violet … what do you suppose would happen if you tried to incorporate that force?”
Violet frowned, returning to the path to walk across the icy bridge, but she paused upon taking her first step on the structure, vision lowering to study the force trapped within. She hadn’t even noticed it until now, which shocked her.
“... Is this … a gateway?” She mumbled, bending down to run her hand across the surface.
“Gateway?” Tiffany questioned, running her flames across it. “... I don’t sense anything particularly out of the ordinary except for its resilience to heat.”
Violet’s eyes narrowed while studying it. “... If it were to melt … it would release such dense waves that … it could cause extensive damage before generating some kind of portal. It is very similar to the Gates the Supreme Queens use to continue the conquest. At least … that is the feeling that triggers within me … new areas to dominate.”
“Fascinating … what of the tree and monolith?”
Violet slowly rose back to her feet, continuing to the glowing red obelisk to study the interactions between the pome hanging from the leafless branches, then the pillar, and the tree before directing her gaze toward the charged soil and turquoise waters.
“Hmm … There are many collaborating elements here that are toxic to Undead … no, the energy that fuels us. I can certainly feel the exposed flames of the Quen’Talrat beside us being harmed by the radiant energy.”
“Even from this distance?” Tiffany asked, brow furrowing with concern.
She nodded, glancing at the waters. “It’s the liquid that vaporizes, lifting into the atmosphere to join with the other forces. The type of waves resemble the fruit … however, what produces it, the font hidden below the monolith, and behind that waterfall … it is like … what did you call it, cousin? In any case, it seems related to the pom.”
“... Fascinating,” Tiffany growled, commanding the ape to retreat and close the door behind him. “Are we in danger? My, it would have been so much easier to decipher this place if I knew you had such talents,” the Witch moaned, running a hand through her ponytail.
Violet shook her head, glancing down at the stones in the pool. “Not as far as I can tell. We are protected from such atmospheric tides; although, those fruits are another matter entirely.”
Her halo-like white irises moved with her black sclera, tracing the joined pulses. “The fruits are not the same … some require more power than others while different frequencies are released by them all.”
Tiffany hurried to her side to follow her examination, tone alternating between excitement and dread. “You’re saying they’re all unique?”
“Yes … in their complicated composition; however, they share the same base … they are like eggs, forming something inside by the interacting forces around us to release upon completion.”
The Witch’s cheerful attitude faded in an instant. “Eggs … for what? What will they produce?”
“I cannot say,” she replied in a soft tone, left index finger running down the smooth, radiant trunk; the structure responded to her touch with powerful neutral waves.
Tiffany’s fire pressed against an exposed root of the tree. “... Is it intelligent?” She asked, and her carefree demeanor had been replaced by dark suspicion.
“I wouldn’t say that … no, but this … possibly.” She pointed at the monolith. “There’s something powerful inside … threatening … fluctuating … seeding the tree’s internal structure with a divergent path to its natural intent. If it’s intelligent or not … I cannot say.
“Eating the fruit? I could ingest it and dissect its contents, but each one is unique, as you’ve stated. The process would be extensive, too … I would suggest working my way up to such … opaque energy. Even we have our limits, and some things must be eased into.”
“And this is one of those rare instances?” Tiffany mumbled. “Is it really that cryptic to you?” She asked, moving her flames to the blood-red obelisk.
She pondered on the subject for a moment, fingers closing into fists at her side. “Everything within this room is mysterious and new, to a certain extent. However, among all the abnormal forces … the red monolith with those glowing blue symbols … there’s something immense within, and that is all I can tell; it is the greatest singular object in this room with the bridge being a close second and the symbol above as the third.”
Tiffany’s brow furrowed, orange irises lifting to the three fused golden triangles fixed within the ceiling, leaving the center open. “... I just don’t know what to do about this place. It holds such power … yet, it could be used against us, and we have so little understanding of it all … how arrogant of me to think I was getting a grasp of it.” She sighed.
“In any case,” she shook her head, managing her hair, “the Empress wished us to use one of these gems. What do you think about such a proposal?”
Violet’s eyes darted to the pool, filled with the shimmering jewels of powerful elemental forces. “I would advise against such actions … it could disrupt the harmony within the room.”
“Is that so?” Tiffany groaned, glaring at the turquoise pool. “If that is the case … perhaps Edmon has found another area with them that we could use.”
Upon questioning the Doom Guard, he retreated to browse the current registry. Sure enough, there were many rooms with such items on the upper right side of the palace’s left-wing.
Tiffany reluctantly guided her back, and they discovered the area in question; Federico, the Curator, was present with a piece of paper. He lifted his gaze to them; much of his left arm and parts of his exposed right leg showed muscle and bone since he was only a Rare-Grade intelligent minion and would require more time to restore his physical form.
“I heard from Lord Edmon that the Ladies Tiffany and Violet were in search of glowing stones that held power.” He commented, pointing to the corner of the room. “I have organized the ones we’ve found upon the table there … in the back.”
Tiffany’s bright smile had returned on their walk over, but Violet sensed a disquiet within the Witch after their trip to the humming room of power. “Wonderful work! Oh … look, Vi, white, red, and … I’d call that gunmetal gray,” she giggled.
Approaching them, Violet wasted no time in her question. “I am to try and absorb their energies? They are insignificant compared to the others.”
“Oof … well, we can only do what we can at the moment,” Tiffany mumbled with dissatisfaction. “Let’s see how they work.”
Complying, Violet popped the tiny gems into her mouth, moving them to her primary decomposition organ with high hopes. “Hmm ... the process will likely take an hour for just one,” Violet admitted, turning back to the Witch. “I will start with the red since the Empress mentioned it as a possibility of granting a fire element. Is there something you’d like me to do in the meantime?”
“Actually,” Tiffany’s lips bunched to the side, absently eyeing a few inventions around the room. “Your mother has been coming and going, busy as usual; she’s shockingly resistant to the idea of Maids, though,” she grumbled.
The thought hadn’t actually crossed Violet’s mind, which made her reprimand herself. “What of your Maid?”
The Witch scratched her arm absently, walking to a strange metal device with a light hum. “Esmeralda? She’s handling the clean-up at the moment. It’s a bit difficult without proper materials, but she seemed to be getting by. The woman’s surprisingly resourceful, but … um … no, the next oddity would be your older sister.”
Violet couldn’t help but close her eyes, refraining from letting go of a short sigh. “What did Camellia do?”
“Oh, not Camellia … no, Lea is the oddity.”
“Lea?” Violet questioned, vision falling to the floor as Federico moved to a new table. “She was sent east, correct?” She asked, able to identify her sister’s general location with her high rank within the Nexus.
“Yes, she still hasn’t returned … the issue is her movements, rather than her timing,” Tiffany explained. “She’s underground, far underground, and has been there for some time, going below what I or even your mother expected.”
“I see. Am I to see what happened to her?”
“Once your mother returns,” Tiffany nodded. “It’s been a discussion between us throughout the day, but it’s not as if we expect anything to be wrong … it’s just a precaution. Iris will be back within the hour.”
Tiffany said that but her mother entered the city ten minutes later, and Violet’s orders were reinforced by the top Assassin. She took off to the east side of the jungle with a bit of interest; it was rare for their mother to be concerned about Azalea; Camellia usually held her worries.
Violet was glad to have a bit of time away from the capital; she enjoyed a leisurely stroll through the jungle every so often when alive, searching for silk design inspiration, and couldn’t identify anything nearby even remotely capable of providing a worthy hunt for her middle sister, much less pose a danger to the peppy Thélméthra.
The environmental changes that had occurred over the last century fascinated Violet as she observed the low valley. She dissolved the red gem after descending to the next canyon’s lower levels and immediately sensed the benefits; the Empress had been right; absorbing the jewels would grant her vital effects.
By deconstructing the elemental outer casing and analyzing the force within, she could fuse those energies into her DNA. Not only her silk, but Violet’s own body gained a minor increase in Fire Resistance.
However, the issue came with her relatively minor experience in dismantling elemental forces; she would need a lot of practice before attempting something as complicated and dense as the fruit Tiffany had asked for. This little gem may not have been much, but it opened up a world of possibilities that excited her.
Returning to the hunt, she quickly picked up her sister’s trail, disregarding most of it since she could sense her general location, and was a little confused when her sister finally got in contact with her through the Nexus.
“Vi! Oh, you won’t believe what I’ve found,” Azalea cheered. “There are some crazy black hands that are pretty dangerous underground!”
Violet paused on a low hanging tree branch. Black hands? Are you in danger?
“Mmh … I wouldn’t really say in danger, but it certainly is dangerous!” She giggled. “I’ve been exploring all these caves … some are really, really big, and I’ve found Quen’Talrat remains in a few. Mmh … I’ve been hauling them around because I thought the Empress might enjoy them, but these black hands can be a bit annoying.”
Reading between the lines, Violet’s armored abdomen fell a little with exasperation. ... You’re lost, aren’t you?
“You’re always so sharp, Vi!” Azalea replied in a shameless tone. “Well … I can’t really go back the way I came, and I’ve never really been down this far, so … yeah, it’s been an adventure,” she laughed.
Violet continued along her path, easily scaling the nearby bluff. Lea … if there is danger, you should have come back to report it. She chastised.
“Oh, c’mon, Vi; you know I totally am!” Azalea snickered. “I just need to do some investigating before all that; it was super important to figure out what this new stuff is … oh, maybe you can figure it out! Go over to that big pit … you know, where that gray-furred Quen’Talrat girl made a base.”
Feeling a little exasperated that she had to come all the way out here to discover her sister’s carefree personality had been the cause of the Royal Court’s worry, she ran to the edge of the large bluff separating the valley, noting the changed structure.
However, her annoyance melted away once she made it to the opposite side. Lea … there’s a massive hole in the valley.
“I know! Isn’t it amazing? It goes so far down; I don’t even know how deep it is because of the fog.”
Knowing she wasn’t going to get anywhere with how excited her sister was, Violet switched tactics. Just burrow your way up. I’ll do a little testing, and then we’ll head back to report.
“Hehe, I knew you’d be interested! What about going back to report first?”
If she were in her human form, a blush would have touched Violet’s cheeks. I need to identify the threat myself … you were the one that said I could do it better.
“Right, right? Of course, you’d be able to figure out more than I could; you’re so talented, Vi! I just wanted to jump in and have a little fun on the way down, but then that thing attacked me, and … wow, it is pretty fast, and it destroyed my web on contact. Interested? Interested?”
She was.
… I’ll get back to you.
“Hehe.”
Just get up here! Violet grunted.
“Coming!”
Violet changed back to her human form as it came up again, jumping off the edge of the cliff while keeping her clothes in their proper place with her thread. Her hair extended, breaking the weight of her fall before wrapping around her waist; she knew it would be more efficient to utilize it rather than cut it off.
Reaching the location, Violet stared down at the swirling mass of fog below, observing the shape it created. It’s not natural.
Her focus shifted to the blackened walls, abnormal cut of the stone, and colossal size of the fissure. This was dug out … something massive burrowed into the earth…
“Well, what do you think?” Azalea asked, already running through the jungle to meet up with her after burrowing to the surface. “By the way, there’s a layer that’s super, super dense down there … I think I chipped a nail punching through it.”
Chipped a nail … with a punch? Violet snickered.
“Hehe, funny, right? No, but really! I was clawing through stone, you know, without a problem, and then, oof … a snag! I mean, really? I grabbed a chunk to show mom.”
Good … you just jumped inside? Did you even take the time to realize this fissure isn’t natural?
“Uh … maybe. I was just so excited! Oh, oh, did you see it yet?”
No … give me a bit of time to understand it. Okay?
“Gah … you’re so slow!”
Violet severed her connection to Azalea; when her sister was pent up with excitement, Violet couldn’t think clearly, and it mostly stemmed from her constant goading.
There is something within, and if…
Her thoughts trailed off, and Violet leaned closer, stomach churning while identifying a pulse of unfamiliar energy. Even with all the mysterious forces within the room Tiffany had brought her to, this was something entirely different and unrelated.
… That’s definitely dangerous … yet it hides, waiting for its prey to spring its trap.
A smile touched Violet’s black lips as her hair unwound around her waist, lowering hundreds of thousands of tiny threads of silk into the pit to spread out in a mass of invisible feelers.
Azalea soon joined her in human form, glancing down with a giddy squeal. “That’s what you’re doing? Oh, I love it! How will it respond?”
“That’s the question,” Violet whispered, hair follicles wrapping around the entire width of the valley’s scar, weaving closer and closer to the ground. “... It’s a lot more tiring than I thought it’d be, though,” she mumbled.
The two sisters watched the clouds for a reaction, and Violet spotted it first, followed by Azalea soon after. Five black smoky shaped hands shot to the edges from within the fog but momentarily hesitated; Violet continued inching the invisible silk further into the fathomless abyss.
Ominous waves fluctuated off the shapes, three times bigger than The White God; Violet hummed softly. “It’s not quite as dangerous as I first thought … here it comes.”
Both Thélméthra were hidden by their skills, and it seemed the hands couldn’t detect them on the surface; so instead, they lashed out at the edges, rising with rapid motions to attack blindly, and the two sisters discovered the hands were disembodied after observing it leave the fog, cut off at the wrist.
Violet’s estimation of the things heightened as it passed through some of her threads. Rot … it’s an energy that accelerates decay!
Azalea was just as shocked. “Rot? Shoot, that’s … concerning. I’m glad I didn’t get caught up in it. How is your silk?”
Protected to a certain degree … for what reason, I’m not entirely sure, but that’s enough information to bring back to the Royal Court. If there is an enemy like this, then it does require our attention.
Cutting off her hair, she left it lining the walls for further analysis while away, turning to find a large ball of bones wrapped tightly in a light blue silk sack; her sister was giving her a toothy grin. “Well? What do you think? Impressive? Impressive?”
“...”
“Aww, don’t be like that, Vi!” Azalea groaned. “I did good!”
After a moment, Violet relented, giving her a smile. “Yes … you did well.”
“Hehe! Okay, don’t lag behind; it’d be embarrassing if the youngest gets back last while I’m carrying … Hey, give it back!” Azalea cried as Violet darted by, snatching the silk ball and throwing it a dozen meters into the air before catching up to it and racing back to the fortress with her sister on her tail; the shadows moved up the walls, searching for prey, but far from a threat now that the pair had decided to leave.
Azalea’s yells soon became squeals of joy as they tossed the sack of Quen’Talrat bones back and forth. It didn’t take them that long to return, taking part in a somber meeting as all the reports came in.