Addae folded his arms and observed the little girl holding Alex's hand. He shrugged then stepped aside.
"You can go in and head to the primary hall. Tell the advisor what's what and wait your turn," he said. Alex grinned and patted the hyena on the arm before heading passed, pulling Listy along with him. They laced through the corridors, finding the primary hall draped in fine wool, spilling over with bright reds. At the back of the room by a door was a striped lemur with a desk in front of her, covered in slips of wood that had writing scribbled all over them. She was sorting through and crossreferencing.
There were two chosen on either side of her. Two hooded and cloaked minks. As Alex and Listy entered, one of them nudged the lemur who shook, startled out of her work.
"Yes?" she looked over at the visitors. The chosen gestured to the door. "Oh right," the lemur replied, then gestured with the chosen. "You should go down that way if you wish to meet the queen. It leads down a corridor, stand by the guard and don't go into any of the rooms." Alex nodded, surprised at the efficiency and led Listy along through the door. At the far end was the guard, a badger, and as they walked to him, Alex noted the chosen following behind. The badger glanced at them, then raised his hand.
"Wait there please," he said then leaned to the door. "Your majesty has visitors."
Dim Lane rubbed his hands together with glee.
"So you're either mad or are heavily affected by the void... or both." He grinned and scanned his surroundings. "All this chosen stuff is so hard to pin down. Feels like anything could be true. Anyway, I think we're getting close." He jogged ahead up over the crest of a hill and stood pointing ahead. Once his companions joined up with him, the could see the view of the town of the shard down below. "Welcome home Aria. You'll be our guide so I hope your memory is up to scratch." He looked over at her and spied her bread. "Oh and pass us some of that."
Once they climbed into the hole, the rabbit pushed a large rock in its place and sealed it shut. I stood flat back against it and oriented himself in the dark, pointing forward to the opposing wall.
"Name's Reeza, and I guess you two are Imshi and Yenchi, right?" he walked straight past them to the other wall and pushed at it. It slid away on a crude hinge and light speared through a minute gap. Beyond was a small hovel, with a dining table at its centre and a fireplace that headed up through the chimney in the building above. There was a chair with its back to them, facing the fire. Just above its back were old ears and peeping eyes , with a wide and deep black pupil. She pushed herself off onto her feet, a little middle aged woman who was even shorter than the boy.
"You found them," she beamed with a smile. The boy folded his arms in triumph and looked up at the two.
"She's been so interested in you since you started making scenes in this city," he said. "It was hard not to notice."
The shard trembled in its altar and reached far into Entaru's head, into his thoughts, raking spectral fingers along every facet of his existence; and soon began to seep even deeper. Like a sentient tar it oozed into every function of the fox. It spat and vomited sounds from his mouth, and twisted within his eyes. A string of almost thoughts sparked and burned. It tore at Entaru's self, burning his mind, tearing at him until all light began to fade and he collapsed to the floor.
When light finally pierced past his eyelids, Entaru looked up into the face of Aman who's excitement rippled across his face.
Little-Hands looked over to Leo with a smirk.
"So these are your weapons?" She held them up to the light, turning them over and inspecting every angle. "How do they work?"
Chosen Akela strode across the grass and descended down into the hard stone of the undercity. She weaved down the streets until the temple stood in front of her, blazing with perpetual smokeless torches whose flame danced in twisted eddies. As she headed through its entrance, Chosen guards greeted with a nod. Once they entered it seemed there was a perpetual tone in the air, the softest hum that slid into the minds of even the most disconnected from the void. Chosen Akela directed the pair down some steps to a lower level and into a large open room. There was a mat in the centre of the room and three Chosen stood at the back wall, where decorations spilled across the wall like detailed embroidery made purely by living plants. She guided Siyan to stand by the door and then stood Meredith on the mat and faced the three frozen figures.
"State your name and the nature of your pull to the void."
Topic: Everflame: The Shard (Read 26133 times)