A handful of herbs are thrown into the bowl to be smashed and ground up. Repeatedly in a circular motion. The result is thrown into a flask, a flame lit beneath. With more flasks, liquids, herbs, and flames being lit, a single, small vial that could be enclosed in his hand is drank. He downs it in one go. The retched taste makes him gag, but he bites down, clenching his teeth and forces it all down.
A gasp of air escapes his lungs.
The palace that stood resolute, was now an empty lot void of even pillars. He did so without an explanation, vanishing from sight and only sending word to his wives, days later.
They were brought to a room in the Fallenic Temple, a room at the very end of a long and isolated hallway, that could only be seen into through the thick wall of glass that was void of any visible entrance. It was to this room that they approached, finding their husband on the other side wearing a full set of armor.
Marasia and Astra remained calm, but Kalia could hardly hold back her own anger.
"Why!? Why did you burn down our home?"
Her voice entered through a sealed pipe above, into the otherwise sound proof room. Erik approached slowly, as though too tired to move at any greater a speed. He came inches before the glass wall to explain. "I am sick." He told her, a gruesome voice ringing out from his helmet. "Grel's pox. An Elvish disease that found its way onto shore through the exiles. The Drow, over generations, have built up a tolerance to the disease. We, however, have no such resistance. I brought it into our home, and upon realizing that, I had no other choice but to cleanse it all." The three women all had terrified looks on their faces. He could see they were worried, worried for him, who was their beloved husband. None of them knew what to say, or rather, they refrained from speaking, knowing they only needed say one thing, and that would come when he was finished. "Like many things, I planned for a backup, incase such a time were to come. I had not imagined it would be I, who'd destroy our home, but regardless. The home I had prepared for you, is it to your liking?"
It was Marasia who answered, acting as a unified voice for her and her sisters. "It is more than enough."
"Good. You will need to stay there with Henry and Celia for as long as need be. Chester will ensure your comfort and necessities. If you need anything, you will relay them to him.
"I... How... Wh...." Kalia sputtered. "Will, will you be well soon?"
Erik did not answer immediately, pondering for a moment the best answer he could give. "I will not die so easily."
The three said their farewells, and with heavy hearts, returned down the hall. Astra wiped away her tears. Kalia remained composed, yet unsettled, while Marasia chewed her nail.
Now that he was alone, Erik removed his helmet, a solid piece of armor that he rested on the table he sat down at. His skin was ghastly pale and he was drenched in sweat. His breathes were heavy, drawn out and unsteady.
He would remain isolated in that room, eating, sleeping, and working from within, relaying his orders to his men on the other side of the glass wall. Chester would be the one to confront him the most.
"My lord, currently Grel's pox remains in control in Ferin. I can not imagine where we went wrong for you to have become infected. I... I..."
"Flies." He exhaled.
"My lord?"
"Flies." He stated, droning on with a vacant look, as though he himself, were trying to come to terms with it all. "They linger around filth, picking up diseases and carrying them elsewhere. No doubt, they were attracted to the rotting corpses and ill, where they came into contact with the sickness. The disease is contracted through physical contact, thus, with every precaution and measure I took to ensure no disease spread, the only thing I was unable to account for, is the very air that flies get around via. At no point could one have even come near me, so I must have come into contact with something that one had infected. An infected object. As long as only the dark elves remain in Ferin, and none pass over to Innah'vadah, the disease should spread no further. Take spiders from the den, set them free in Ferin and relay the decree that none are to harm them. Any leftover food, carcasses, or puddle, are to be rid of. Procreation is also to be outlawed completely within Ferin."
"Yes, my lord. I will do so right away."
"Chester."
"Yes, my lord?"
"When was the letter sent?"
Chester stared through the glass momentarily before blinking. "Six days ago, my lord." He answered.
Chester opened his mouth, but closed it soon after. He had more to ask, but he refrained as he was then told: "You may leave."
In order to spread the faith of Fallenism, Erik created the Fallenic Preachers, groups of Fallenic Knights who were assigned to protect a single Fallenic Priestess, with the ultimate goal of establishing acceptance and churches in other settlements. The Telvanians were for the most part, accepting, near to Innah'vadah, but the farther the preaching went, the more struggle they endured. To the north, were the tribes of humanoid creatures who resembled a mix of man and stag. They had antlers upon their head, and hooves, instead of feet. They were peaceful, for the most part, a stark contrast to the savages to the far west, whose very land was barren and scarred.
Four Fallenic Knights and a single Fallenic Priestess traveled via carriage, one that was pulled by three Telvanian steeds.
The range of mountains seemed to always encompass the very edge of one's vision from all sides. The land, that was vibrant and green, just mere hills before, was now trampled, dying, and desolate. Remnants of towns stood out among the plains, with fencing and old signs with unintelligible reading engraved upon the rusted metal, being so faded, that one could not tell the engraving from the cracks. The Knights were warry to go any further, reigning back the steeds in stopping. They would come to decide their course of action, choosing to first understand their surroundings.
The silence drove them to believe the old town was abandoned, the town that was of few homes, with possibly many having been torn down or burned. There was no sane person who would live in such a place, thus they explored to learn what they could. That night, they camped just outside the border of the town. The priestess, sitting in writing of a letter to deliver to their lord, contemplated all that she would portray.
The knights would offer her ideas of what to write, such as what they'd found so far. "Tell him about the lack of wildlife nearby. Not even blades of grass grow too tall here."
"Also, tell him of the lack of light here. I swear not a single ray of light had broken through the clouds."
"It is going to rain, that is why."
"Then why has it not rained yet?"
"Did you not take the weather classes in the temple?"
"No. I learned how to cook, instead."
"Learn a wife's skill, rather than learn to read clouds. Foolish."
"Lord Fall says that to know how to prepare food, is as much a skill for men, as it is for women. Know not to eat what is poisonous or rotten, and to carve flesh from bone with the skill of a butcher. Perhaps you should watch clouds, less, and diversify your skills."
"Enough, you two!" Another knight snapped, before calmly composing himself in asking of the priestess. "We should rest now, awake in the morning in search of a stream for water. If we do not find one quarter, we will return back."
Having agreed with nods of the head, they rested for the night. The knights slept, napping, but were alert nonetheless, while the priestess slept peacefully by the fire. The air was still and silent, but beneath the ground, something burrowed closer to the sound of the only beating heart. The ground, ever so lightly toppled upward in a line, moving closer and closer through the dark.
A shriek, a scream, high pitched and shrill. It pierced the ear drums. The knights reacted instantaneously, drawing their blades and searching the enemy in the night. The priestess, screaming in pain, pulled herself out from beneath the covers. The knight nearest swung his blade, a spray of blood coating the ground. The priestess fell into the arms of another knight who sought to see the wound she'd endured. He shone her arm in the light of the fire, a deep bite of numerous teeth, with blood spilling out.
They tended to her injury and sat around the fire to inspect the creature that had attacked. It was limbless, a snakelike creature with red eyes and multiple rows of circling teeth. Its flesh was pale and rough, and it resembled a snake and leech.
The Fallenic Knights were smart, they did not dispose of the body, nor eat it. Instead, they threw it in a trunk and prepared to return, knowing the dangers of infection or illness that the creature may have spread; that the Fallenic Priestess may have contracted, and by the coming days, such fears would be realized.
The Fallenic Priestess had indeed fallen ill, becoming more sickly as the days passed. Soon, she was unable to bear the moving of the carriage which made her react terrible with panicked screams. The knights had no choice but to heed at her request. She attempted to be as strong as could be mustered, but it soon became unbearable.
She wrote beautifully and delicately, words that melded together in a visually appealing crescent of writing, as all Fallenic Priestesses were taught to write. Upon finishing the letter, she would have it delivered, taking out a black and engraved coin, and dropping it. The coin fell to the ground, disappearing into the deepness of her shadow. The letter soon followed, and the two items were no more. She would then cover herself, hiding deeper in the shade and away from the blistering sun, while the Fallenic Knights would converge in discussion over the matter.
"She is getting worse and is drinking less. At this rate, we won't be able to return back to the last town to seek aid by the end of the week. Perhaps one of us should go ahead, taking one of the horses to ride."
"Two will struggle to pull all that weight."
"We could travel along side."
"For only so long."
"We must do something."
"Perhaps, instead, we send one ahead, and the rest remain. She can hardly handle the travel anyway without becoming unstable. Whatever illness she has contracted, is certainly affecting her mental state."
The knights looked to each other, realizing there was no need to further discuss.
"Then. Who will go?"
One would travel alone by horse, while the others, in the fields they were left in, would take to setting up shelter. As the priestesses state declined, one of the knights took to writing the letters informing the capital of their situation.
The letters and coins would pass through the shfi'nyl, returning to Innah'vadah in a room within the Fallenic Temple, the Temple of Fall. It was the messenger room, where all letters would be delivered and sorted. The letters alone, would be taken, while the coins of solid shfi'nyl would be placed within the ink-like pool that was the leftover shfi'nyl. The messages would find their way into the hand of Chester, who would oversee his lord's prior duties in his absence. He would do a fine job, relaying only what was necessary to relay to his lord during their meetings.
"My lord, are you awake?" He asked in approaching of the glass wall, unable to see anything but darkness beyond it.
"...Tell me." A voice would respond moments after; a tired and drained voice.
"Yes, my lord. Ferin has become more difficult to control following the new laws placed upon them. Some are refusing to accept it, only going so far as to voice themselves, but no confrontations have taken place yet. There is also a second matter I wish to address with you. The preachers that parted to the west, crossing the edge of the map of Tel'vane have sent word of their findings. They describe the land as desolate and dangerous, with creatures that hide beneath the soil and attack at night. It is from one of these creatures that the priestess was harmed and contracted an unknown illness."
"Describe its symptoms." A dry gasp echoed down the hall.
"Of course, my lord. It started with a darkening of the wound, followed by chills and profuse sweating. In the coming days, she would develop nausea, weakness, and loss of appetite. She has also developed a sensitivity to the light, as her eyes are unable to bear the strain. She has now developed irritability and rage, but her own sanity remains intact." Upon finishing his description, he stood idly in the silence as though he were alone. He waited for a response for seconds, until finally he received one, but this time, it was different.
The hollow voice from the other side of the glass spoke, for certain, his, yet livelier than before. "Did they state where they are? The name of the land they trespass on."
"That... It is unknown for certain, but I remember the contents of their prior letters before this unfortunate event. They... They..." Chester scrambled to recall. "...Ah, yes! They, they spoke with Telvanian commoners a country prior. From what the priestess could gather, they were fearful of the land beyond. They called it words that she did not know."
"What?"
"Prah... Prahpaly..." Chester scrambled to find the words in the mess of letters he'd brought with him, managing to cut his finger on the edge of the paper in doing so. Finally, he found it. "Prahpaly Zemlee!"
"Propali Zemli." Erik said from the other side of the glass wall at which he approached, revealing himself on the edge of the darkness; the outline of his full set of armor at which he wore, just barely visible. "Decaying Lands."
"My lord?"
"Bring me the record of their remaining coins. Now." He ordered, an urgency in his tone which prompted Chester to act with haste, leaving without even saying a proper farewell as he rushed off to do as told."