Warrior of the Void Book 1, Chapter 47

Groaning and blinking where she laid, Muur wasn’t greeted by what she’s expected. She wasn’t exactly sure what she’d thought it’d be, but it was not a tall sandstone ceiling and three privacy curtains surrounding the bed she was in. When had she–?

That simple question was cut short by a wave of pain-induced nausea. She felt horrible, and the sensation of her stomach jumping into her throat was the least of her worries. Her entire body was a nexus of suffering, where pain transcended the physical and reached beyond the constraints of her flesh, like tendrils burrowing into her.

By the grace of the gods, this did not last long. A second at most. But that didn’t reassure her, not when one of her partitioned off memories knocked on the proverbial door of her mind. She had felt like this once before, an imperial who she hadn’t burned to death so much as sublimated for doing something she’d rather not dwell on. Only crumbling bones had been left behind.

It had unbalanced her aether so badly that she’d only survived thanks to her mentor’s help, involving far more pressure point jabs and needles than she’d ever want to experience again.

The only saving grace was that she was clearly inside the Ossuary and thus benefiting from its wards. But– her talisman. The absence of its reassuring weight around her neck was enough to force her body to act. It wasn’t pleasant, not with how it felt like her arms were made out of lead, but it was thankfully pain-free.

Now that she was sitting in the bed, Muur could get a slightly better look at her surroundings. This was pretty obviously an infirmary of some kind, and from the lack of sounds outside the curtains, she was pretty clearly alone in there. She was laying in a simple hospital bed, a single nightstand– What in the–?

Her talisman was right there, laying down on the nightstand… Except there was an absolutely massive metal quill embedded into– Did it just sink into the surface of the medallion? Blinking owlishly at the sight, Muur’s full attention was on the life-saving jewelry. Sure enough, every few seconds, the quill would burrow deeper into the talisman. Less than a millimetre at a time, but it still remained plenty obvious. 

What the fuck had Himiko done? Other than save her life, anyways.

“A most peculiar sight. Is it not, apprentice?” Cocobuki’s voice startled her out of her staring at the odd sight. Turning its way, she saw the top of his head peek above the foot of the bed. Just enough that only his cowl and eyes were visible, which, thanks to his eyepatch, felt a lot more threatening than it should be, “I would be elated if you were be able to explain the happenings that led to your state more clearly than when your companion brought you back,” Waddling away, the Guildmaster sat himself on a stool and crossed his arms, “Alas, if you cannot, I would not be surprised. You were rather delirious when the gladiator left you in our care.”

“Well, just for starters, now we have proof at least some of those dreams of mine aren’t dreams at all.” Muur groaned as she settled herself properly in a sitting position on the bed, “But let me walk you though this mess from the start, before I get knocked for another loop.”

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“Is that so…” During Muur’s entire explanation, her Guildmaster remained completely quiet. Only ever nodding, or humming as she detailed how a simple, would-be quiet day turned into a nightmarish fight for her life. Once her tale was finished, he looked conflicted, disturbed almost, “–Forgive me for asking this, apprentice. But do you swear that what you’ve said is true? That you’ve battled Voidsents at the roots of the Sultantree? Would you swear it upon your honour, that of your people and of the man that taught you, and saved your life in doing so, Gankma?”

“Yes.” Muur replied without hesitation or pause, just a sharp nod, “While I suppose the tentacled creature could have been something else, I would recognize the Gargoyles anywhere. Both by appearance and the taste of their aether.”

“By all description, that was a Void Monk. Amusingly they were named that because– no, nevermind. This hardly matters at this time…” The man grew quiet once more. With every second that passed in silence, his face scrunched up more and more as his thoughts battled within his mind, “I… asked, not because I distrust you. Far from it, and therein lies the issue. As my dear friend’s student, your words are more than enough for me, but…”

“But, as my brother is so unable to say plainly,” A door beyond the curtain was opened, and immediately Cocobani’s voice filled the silence, “We have not detected any sort of Voidsent incursion.”

Throwing the curtain open, the other Guildmaster marched to Muur’s side with a complicated look in his eyes, “No fluctuation of local aether. No flickering of the wards. Why, not even a trace of battle! Nothing–” Grabbing the talisman like one would a burning piece of coal, he held it in front of her, “–except this…”

He wasn’t glaring at Muur. Nor was he looking at her in suspicion. But he stared at her, his eyes looking straight into hers and daring her to respond.

“Wha- even without getting into the rubble from the Gargoyles, I threw around enough aether to make it look like it was midday around the Sultantree. How…” Muur eyes suddenly narrowed as confusion gave way to suspicion, “This was targeted at that noblewoman, an assassination, so of course whoever’s responsible would have some way to keep it concealed. But why use Voidsent of all things when the slightest slip up would have the Void Hunters coming out in force to investigate?”

Cocobani said nothing, only humming with narrowed eyes as he looked over Muur, “Brother, please.” To which Cocobuki could only sigh.

“Bah. Fine, brother. Fine,” Relaxing somewhat, the Guildmaster shook his head, “‘Tis as she says. The Sultansworns confirm her words, they too did not believe her. Not ‘till she all but threw a Voidsent’s skull at them. Lady Lilira swears upon her name and her line that she was indeed beset by Voidsents, and that only your apprentice’s and her companion’s presence saved her from a fate most grisly.”

“Then, did they–” “Clear the site? Nay, they were too busy escorting their charge to send a man to bear witness to the carnage,” This time, it was him that sighed, “Seven Hells brother, I’ve had the Void Hunters interrogate the men manning the gate of Nald during that time. And for hours their words are the same: they saw naught–! Hm?”

Raising a hand to his ears, Cocobani frowned, “Yes? Are you sure? You’ve–!?” Pulling his hand away, one fifth of the Guildmasters took a deep, fortifying breath, “Right. It is a Scion matter, then? I see. You will be held to this, good sir.”

Cocobuki, tapped his knee with a finger before jumping to his feet, “I can surmise who this was. Only one man would be so bold.”

Turning to his brother, Cocobani nodded, “That would be him, yes. Insufferable man that he is. He confirms it all,” Looking at Muur, he nodded to her as well, “Whatever has blinded our methods, it is not match for that contraption of his. Meaning that we have no reason to distrust your tales regarding your aether. ”

“Time to address the proverbial elephant in the room, then?” Muur asked, nodding at the slowly-burrowing metal feather lodged into her medallion.

“What a strange name for a gobbue– but, yes. ‘Buki?” No word was exchanged between the two after that. Some kind of twin-to-twin communication prompted Muur’s teacher to extend a hand so that the talisman could be dropped into it.

“It is, yes,” Said the man that had been the goal of years of wandering this realm for Muur, at least as the realm itself was concerned, “Ask your questions, apprentice. I’m sure they are many.”

“Right, the most immediate and worrying, do we have any idea what’s going on with that feather and what the hell even is the entity I’ve named Himiko?” Muur asked, cutting straight to the chase. Beating around the bush was when you weren’t seeing one of your main lifelines getting burrowed into.

“Quite frankly? We’ve knowledge of the being you’ve encountered,” Cocobuki told her, “Both of us have been part of the Void Hunters for a long time. My brother, in far more of a scholarly role, but neither of us know what that creature is.”

“Beyond the obvious, of course,” The other guildmaster said easily before stuffing the talisman into a wooden box, “It is a Voidsent, that much is rather clear. But from your descriptions, it does not act as one normally does. Thankfully, while these revelations will force us to return the majority of the treatise that we had earmarked in order to try and fathom what manner of nightly affliction had begun grasping at your soul, they will also inform our research for this point onwards.”

“Silver linings. Anything I should be concerned about in the short term? That feather burrowing into my talisman isn’t exactly inspiring confidence.” Muur asked with a tilt of her head, noticing with some alarm her hair was a pale lavender now. Not the inky black it was supposed to be nor the patchy, stringy white of her Syndrome.

After a moment of hesitant contemplation, Cocobuki was the one to answer, “The answer to this is a deeply and infuriatingly complicated one.”

“One that neither of us are capable of answering at this time. Learned as we are in the lore of the Abyss that is the Void, we are not privy to some of its most ancient, and dangerous, content,” Box in hand, Cocobani made to leave the curtains’ confines. But, as if recalling something, he stopped short of crossing their threshold, “Do you believe yourself capable of walking, or would you prefer to remain in this room?”

“Let me put that to the test.” Muur said as she slowly, carefully, slid out of bed. Shockingly, her legs didn’t even wobble a bit when she put weight on them. If anything, now that the agony of unbalanced aether was gone, she felt better than ever. 

Gingerly, she took her amulet back, not putting it on so much as holding it by its chain. Something in her gut said its new state was responsible for… all of this. But it looking good on the surface didn’t mean she was going to be an idiot and just put it right back on. “Off to meet the Warden, I’m guessing?”

If there was anyone who would know more than the Guildmasters themselves, it was that genteel phantom. Good thing she had some tea leaves and scones prepared, planning to ambush the ambiguously gendered entity to pick at their brain on this whole situation. Before everything had escalated.