Chapter 41 - Seeing Things
Gwen left Tess and Mairaela to discuss whatever it was they were talking about. She was more concerned with what she just saw. It was watching them, whatever it was. She opened the door to Joyona's room.
The room looked to be a small chapel. There were only a few paces from end to end, but set up just opposite from the door was a small shrine. The candles had long since burnt away and the cup of incense sticks was shattered upon the floor.
A foot-tall, stone statue was present, showing a man with outstretched wings and a beautiful face. He was dressed in armor and armed with a spear in one raised hand. Its other arm was missing. Below it was some old Court-tongue scribbling. Gwendolyn had an upbringing that taught the Fey language, so she managed to discern the writing as: "Arkaid, God of Peace." It was a god she'd never heard of. One of the Old Gods, no doubt. Is that who made this section of the Void? Was Arkaid here somewhere?
Each of the Old Gods in the Black Sun were supposed to manage their own particular pocket within the celestial object. When that god was killed, the pocket closed. This is how they would eventually defeat the black sun, by toppling the thrones of the gods who abandoned them.
Gwendolyn heard some murmuring around the corner, behind some of the makeshift benches and bookshelves. It was Joyona's voice, but Gwendolyn couldn't hear it clearly. She was speaking to someone.
Gwen knew that no one else should be in the room, so she grew concerned that Joyona may be in danger, and she slipped through the room, ready to summon her blade once more.
"...been kind to me… save the.… can you do…"
Gwendolyn cursed herself for not having Mairaela's sense of hearing right now. Who was Joyona speaking to?
Despite her better judgment, she decided to announce herself. She shouldn't be spying on her own team. She needed to give Joyona the benefit of the doubt. "Joyona? Is there someone else here?" Gwendolyn asked.
There was a pause in the language, a shifting of plates of armor. Joyona rounded the bookshelf, looking as passive as ever. She was in her plainclothes. Brown trousers and a light shirt, tied in the front with lace. She appeared mannish rather than womanly, which seemed to fit the Evigkin's stature. Gwendolyn didn't know enough about the Cairnfolk to know if giant women were usually like that.
"No," Joyona replied.
"I thought I heard you talking."
Joyona nodded her head, "I was."
Perhaps Joyona was praying. This is a shrine after all. But wouldn't she be praying to an old god, if that was the case? Suddenly the giant woman looked quite imposing and ominous. Gwendolyn tried to bury that feeling deep inside. She didn't want to think about fighting the juggernaut a second time. One mistake and it's all over with Joyona, and she doesn't quit so long as that armor's on.
"Okay," Gwendolyn replied, deciding not to press the attack, "Well, the others are getting ready to head out. I know you can get your armor on whenever you want, but are you ready?"
Joyona nodded, her eyes focused on Gwendolyn. Did she want privacy for whatever she was doing before? Joyona was always difficult to read. Except in combat, that is. Much to her shame, Gwendolyn had been replaying the fight against Mairaela and Joyona in her mind, following different paths of what she could've done differently. Hopefully they'll never fight again, but if they have to, it'll be a different story than last.
"Hey," Gwendolyn started, jabbing a thumb over her shoulder to point back at the room she'd entered from, "I saw something in there, just to give you a heads up."
"What did you see?" She asked.
Gwendolyn explained, "Some… thing. It looked like a creature of the Void, whatever it was. I don't think it was friendly, but it wasn't doing anything to harm us that I could tell. It was just watching us." Gwendolyn frowned thoughtfully, "Maybe it was a scout. If that's the case, we should go right away."
"Sure," Joyona replied, "I just need to finish up some things."
Gwendolyn nodded and planned on standing by, but Joyona stared at her, and the Dame grew uncomfortable, realizing that Joyona meant to be given privacy.
"We'll be in the other room," Gwendolyn said, turning and marching out of the small sideroom chapel and back into the bedroom with Tess and Mairaela.
"I like being around you too," Tess was saying to Mairaela just as Gwendolyn opened the door. She turned and closed it and when she turned back around, she saw the two lovebirds looking at her.
"Gwen?" Tess asked.
"Gwendolyn," She replied.
"Gwendolyn. Can we talk about last night?"
The knight recalled the events of the night before. How she felt about Tess, what she'd done, what the two of them did. She hadn't had the time to process it. There was too much to think about. Tess potentially being a demon or a dark wyrden or both. Joyona wanting to be by herself, talking to herself. And then Mairaela, well, Mairaela seemed to be better now, so at least there was that. Still, Miri was perhaps the most upsetting out of the bunch. Gwendolyn felt that the demon was on too long of a leash, and that Tess was losing her grip on it.
Gwendolyn held up her hand. There was too much going on right now, and she couldn't take something else, "I don't want to talk about it."
"Alright," Tess replied, looking a little dejected.
Gwendolyn's heart sank. Did she really come off as that cruel? "There's just a lot going on," the Dame tried to append to her earlier statement, "We can talk later?"
"Okay," Tess replied, looking a little more satisfied with that answer.
"Are you both ready to go?" Gwen asked the two of them.
Tess smiled and nodded, but Mairaela propped her hands up on her wide hips and chirped, "I am, unless you two want to have a quickie before we head out."
Tess' face turned red and Gwendolyn was sure that she wasn't the only one. She shook her head at Mairaela, and even though she knew it wasn't entirely a joke, she played it off like it was. "Joyona will be out soon, so let's be ready to move when she does," Gwendolyn replied, "This has taken longer than the Void Exercise should, so let's get out of here today."
Chapter 42 - The Swamp
The cityscape faded behind them, overcome by fog and shadow as the band pressed on toward the beam of light ahead. Tess could see, now, that the light seemed to sprout from a great, white tower in the distance. It was difficult to look at for long, however. Between here and there was a marsh of oddly shaped trees, spherical and fat around the trunk, with a few short branches sticking out the top. The canopy was minimal but the water was fetid and stagnant. Tess, especially in her minimal clothing, was not looking forward to it.
The soil grew soft, leaking swamp water as it was pressed under their feet.
"Tess," Joyona spoke up, her voice carrying that metallic tone with it, "Come here."
Tess obeyed the instruction and as she approached the giant, Joyona lifted her with cold, strong gauntlets and settled her onto her pauldron. The pauldron included two fans that were situated in a way that it wasn't very uncomfortable to between them like a chair. Tess held on as the giant moved beneath her, carrying her through the mess.
"Why don't I get a ride?" Mairaela joked, "You have a second shoulder."
Joyona didn't respond, but she did stop walking. Everyone followed her helmet's direction, looking off to the right.
There, at the edge of the swamp, standing just to the side of one of these fat trees, was an emaciated man. His skin was painted blue and decorated in red lines. His eyes were dark and beady. He was bleeding heavily from the chest and in his hand, he held something.
"What is that?" Tess asked, squinting to try and see what was in the man's hand. It was moving, whatever it was.
Mairaela summoned her bow and readied it, responding, "It's his heart."
The man didn't move. He simply watched and waited, his pumping heart sitting in his palm the entire time. "Disturbing," Tess remarked.
"That's the Void for you," Mairaela responded, "Should I send him a warning shot?"
"Why pick a fight?" Tess asked.
"We should kill him," Gwendolyn replied, "Nothing in the Void is friendly, least of all something so disturbing."
Joyona nodded her head. Even Tess could see the reason in that.
"Got it," Mairaela lifted her bow and drew back on the string. When she released it, a beam of light instantaneously burst through the man's skull, popping it like a melon. He dropped into the swamp water behind him, his heart falling into the water. "That's that," Mairaela concluded.
"Tess, keep an eye out behind us while you're up there, okay?" Gwendolyn said, not sharing in the same victorious joy as she once did with the Huvudorm.
Tess replied with a question, "Why did he just stand there? He knew we were going to shoot. He didn't even flinch. He didn't budge."
Gwendolyn spoke softly, "Can't say. Let's just get the fuck out of here."
"As you say, Dame," Joyona replied, trudging onward.
The next thirty minutes went by relatively silently. The group was too busy looking in all directions around them to hold a conversation with one another. Every now and then someone would call for a halt, trying to squint at a distant object that turned out to be a fallen branch or a bloated, floating corpse of one of those blue people.
They were deep into the swamp now, close enough to the light ahead that it was casting shadows upon the water and creating a disorienting view. This was especially true due to the slightly dulled, monochrome nature of the place.
As they approached the edge of the swamp, one of those blue-painted creatures reappeared, its extracted heart pumping quickly in its hand.
"Mairaela," Gwendolyn relayed, "Take care of this one."
"Is that the same guy?" Tess asked.
"Don't know," Gwendolyn replied, "Let's hope not. But he's got to go either way."
Mairaela raised her bow, taking aim. Tess was watching ahead, looking at the man whose fate was already decided by four visitors to his world; waiting for that yellow beam of light.
But then she heard a crunch. Tess spun to see Mairaela, face gushing blood, crash into the water. The creature that struck her was something large, with arms the size of pillars, but Tess couldn't get a great look as she fell off of Joyona's shoulder when the giant was tackled from behind by something. Tess fell beneath the disgusting water, keeping her eyes closed. Things were splashing all around her. The water was moving in chaotic ways. Eventually, Tess got her feet underneath her and brought herself back up. She was waist deep in the disgusting swamp.
Joyona was under the water, collapsed under the weight of a dozen of those spider-people from before. She must be drowning in her own armor. Gauntlets rose from the surface of the swamp water, striking spiders and throwing them off to the side, only for more to replace them. She was thoroughly outnumbered, and even if they couldn't penetrate her armor, the water could.
Mairaela was face down, floating in the water behind them, a thin line of blood drifting in the water beside her head. Gwendolyn was fighting… something. It was a behemoth, blue skinned and covered in patchy fur. It was top heavy with shoulders broader than Joyona's armor and a gorilla-like head. On its front, its organs were connected to a limp man upon his stomach. The beast seemed to have burst out of the man's back and now carried the corpse like some vestigial appendage, flailing and flapping with each jerky movement. The sight made Tess ill. Must everything here be so horrifying?
Gwendolyn was parrying strike after strike, narrowly missing fatal blows from the gigantic creature. She was too busy slashing incoming spiders to retaliate thoroughly. She had moments—striking the water to create a large wave that washed enemies away—but she was overwhelmed, Joyona was dying and Mairaela may very well already be dead.
The Devil. The Keepers. The Red Poppy.
Nothing. Tess felt something bite her on the shoulder, digging into her flesh, but she dare not look. Whatever it was, the pain burnt its way through her veins.
The Crown. The All-Father. The Maiden.
She felt like her insides were on fire. There was another bite, this time on her flank. She felt a weight pulling her down into the water. Her last sight of the surface was Gwendolyn getting slammed into a tree by the gorilla creature. We're dying, she thought, we're going to die. One last spell. It must work, or else it was all over.
The Branch. The Horse. The… The…
Some creature grabbed her wrist before she could finish the sign, ripping through her veins with what felt like a knife, and Tess blacked out.
Chapter 43 - Eventide
Miri took control once Tess blacked out, finding her mind easy to overtake when it was already unconscious. What followed was violent, bloody and full of death. It was exactly what Miri was made for.
After the fight, Miri collapsed against a tree. She had more cuts than she could count. Her right eye was unable to open with so much blood pouring down it. One of the gorilla creatures, so large that it stuck out of the water's surface, had one of her horns impaled in its back. So that's where that blood was coming from. Joyona had long since stopped thrashing, Gwendolyn was torn apart behind one of these trees somewhere and Mairaela's corpse was carried off sometime during the fight. Tess would live, Miri knew, but she wouldn't be very happy. In fact, she would be devastated.
Miri wished that there was something that she could do about it. She wasn't exactly the best at helping people cope. Aside from fucking them, there wasn't much she knew how to do on the social front, and she didn't think that Tess would be in the mood.
She brought her hand up to cough, only just then noticing that her little finger was missing. She coughed anyway, blood pouring from her lips. The water around them was crimson and green with bloating bodies all about. A typical day in the Void.
Any moment now, Miri knew.
Her whole body ached. She hadn't felt this way since the tower. Since Arlen. Since Henry. The dragonfire and the rush of wind. The burning smell of Henry's flesh. His screaming. The guilt she felt. "I'm sorry, Henry," Miri spoke aloud, words that she'd said time and time again.
She brought one knee up out of the water; The skin was split, the bone fractured. She wondered how long it would take her to heal this time. Certainly it wasn't the worst she'd endured. But Tess? This was about as bad as it could get for her. The thought of Tess' reaction to this put knots in Miri's stomach. She would have to stay in control until she exited the Void. She couldn't let Tess see them like this. She was at least grateful that Tess hadn't yet learned how to stay conscious when Miri took control.
Miri rolled forward to try and stand, but she only succeeded in vomiting more blood into the swamp water. "Not yet, I guess," Miri groaned, relaxing back against the tree.
Any moment now.
"Little Crow," the figure whispered, gliding atop the water's surface. Its whole form was visible now. Androgynous both in form and voice, with two protrusions atop its head that formed some sort of religious symbol or crown. Its eyes, large and white—empty—were opened and gazed inside of Miri. Miri was quite used to it. Eventide didn't frighten her anymore.
She tried to keep from showing her pain, but it was impossible. She was a bloody and broken mess; why even try? "I'm not going back," Miri groaned with blood-soaked fangs, her vision growing hazy. No matter how blurred her surroundings became, the figure ahead was always as clear as can be.
"Did I mistreat you?"
"Fuck you."
"You are upset."
"Fuck. You."
The figure looked confused, its eyes growing chaotic, mixing the white and the black in flashing lines that dissipated almost immediately.
"I want to help," Eventide said.
"Your help isn't worth shit," Miri replied.
Eventide continued to talk, "All I want right now is my child back. My Little Crow will return when she's ready."
Miri wanted to roll her eyes, but she wasn't convinced she still had a right eye. "Your children-..." Miri scoffed, "Your bastardized zealots, you mean."
"Little-..."
"I'm never coming back. I am never coming back. Do you hear me, Eventide? I will never come back. I found my way out and I took it, so fuck you. Fuck you to Gods' End and back," Miri spat a bloody mouthful into the water.
"Give me my child and I will return the souls of your friends," Eventide whispered calmly.
"Gods dammit," Miri hissed. Unfortunately, she knew this was coming. She knew that Eventide would win again if it decided to show up. "Fine. Arkaid was never as insufferable as the others, anyway," Miri grunted, "Take your spawn back."
"I need you to do it," Eventide responded, "Then I'll return the souls."
"All three?"
"Yes."
Miri struggled to her feet once more. She couldn't quite do it, but Eventide reached a hand out and lifted Miri out of the water and into the air. Miri put her hand out, one single talon upon her fingertip moving through the air. She hit something palpable within the nothingness in front of her, rending it open. A tear in the fabric of the world. A glowing, yellow portal ripped open, showing the stars behind it and in their center: the Black Sun. Behind it was Thyr, eclipsed, lending a halo of light to the ominous ink.
"There," Miri said, trying not to sound defeated, "This pocket is reconnected to the Black Sun." At least she trusted Eventide. She had never known it to go back on a deal.
"See you soon, Little Crow." Eventide vanished into the mists.
"Yeah, coward," Miri groaned after it was gone, spitting up blood, "Run away."
Joyona came up out of the water with a crash, pulling off her helmet and throwing it into the swamp. She was heaving, vomiting swamp water and trying to regain control of herself.
"Help!" Gwendolyn cried out behind the tree upon which Miri rested, "I'm hurt, I need-.. Joyona, I think I need that armor!"
As soon as she was able, Joyona struggled to her feet, gave Miri a confused look, and then wordlessly ran to Gwendolyn's position.
It was a short while before Gwendolyn was up and moving again, though she was about as bloody as Miri. A bit less openings in her body, though, for which Gwendolyn should be grateful. Mairaela came back in short order, too. Her nose was bleeding and one eye was bloodshot, but she was otherwise unharmed.
"What happened?" Mairaela gasped.
Gwendolyn shook her head.
Joyona gestured to Miri, which gave Mairaela a bit of a fright.
"What are you doing here?" Mairaela asked Miri with a furrowed brow.
"Oh," Miri said, rocking her head back against the tree and closing her eyes, "You know that 'good fight' I mentioned? Think I just had it."
"That doesn't answer the question," Gwendolyn said, though she looked sympathetic to the demoness' pain.
"I cut some wrong-place-wrong-time fucks to itty bitty shreds," Miri grunted with a bloody smirk, "Again." She neglected to mention saving all of them. It wouldn't be good to raise more questions.
"Are you going to give control back to Tess?" Mairaela asked.
"When our body isn't falling apart, sure," Miri replied, "Or would you have her go through this pain instead?"
"No," Mairaela said, looking remorseful, "No, I didn't mean it like that."
She did, Miri knew.
"Joyona," Miri groaned, "Mind carrying me?"
The giant nodded her head and Miri flashed her cheeky smile.
When the group reached the tower, Miri's rapid healing had most of her wounds closing and her bones reconnected. Her finger was growing back and she wasn't bleeding so much anymore. "I want Tess to see this part. It's special, the first time."
Miri retreated into the background, shoving Tess' consciousness forward. She saw what Tess saw, felt the pain that Tess felt, and held onto the part of Tess' mind that would numb that pain a bit. "There you go," Miri whispered fondly, "Good girl."
Chapter 44 - The White Tower
Tess, Gwendolyn, Joyona and Mairaela entered the white tower through its large, open front doors. Tess felt a wave of tingling air pass over her body as she stepped through and a feeling of security and safety washed over her. It was pleasant, especially given the shape she was in right now.
The floors were marbled and given a checkered white-and-black pattern. The walls were carved, white with veins of black and gray throughout. The air was cool here. It was relaxing upon Tess' skin, though she felt embarrassed that she was dripping swamp water and blood all over the floor. It seemed enormously disrespectful considering how neat and tidy the place was.
In the center was a statue: a winged man, armored and helmeted, holding a great spear into the air. He bore a halo of light and had a champion's face, looking to the sky. On the pedestal were words that Tess didn't recognize. Court-tongue, no doubt.
Tess angled her eyes upward. There was a spiral staircase the entire way up. "What the fuck is the point of a tower like this?" She insisted, wishing to the gods that she wouldn't have to climb that, "It's empty except for stairs to the top."
"Ascending," Gwendolyn replied, beginning her march to the stairs.
"Joyona," Tess knocked a knuckle against the giant woman's armor, regretting the pain to her knuckle immediately, "Mind if I hitch a ride on your shoulder again?"
"You need to walk this one," Joyona replied.
The group started to venture up the stairs, and though she was rather fit, it wasn't too long before Tess began to fall behind the legitimate warriors. Mairaela kept with her though, keeping an arm looped through Tess'. Tess was grateful for the company.
"Tess?" Mairaela said, bumping Tess' hip with her own, "Can we talk?"
"Not much else to do here," Tess grunted, "What do you want to talk about?"
"We're almost to the end," Mairaela said softly, "You haven't proven what you said you'd prove."
Tess had forgotten. She was basically walking up to her execution. Every step was another thread wrapped into the noose. "Yeah," she replied. What else was she going to say, "I'm going to give it a try once we're up there."
"Can you stop and look at me for a second?" Mairaela asked, holding Tess' arm.
Tess paused and looked at her. The Fey had a teary look in her eyes. Her hands were shaking a bit. "Are you lying to us?" She asked.
A thousand questions rushed through Tess' mind, but she replied hastily, "No."
Mairaela searched Tess' eyes, her gaze flitting back and forth between them. They stood face-to-face for some time before, eventually, Mairaela said, "Okay."
They climbed the stairs in silence after that. Gwendolyn and Joyona were out of sight, but Tess could still hear the rattle of Joyona's armor and, occasionally, Gwendolyn would call out to Tess and Mairaela to check on them. Almost to the top, Mairaela spoke softly, "I'm going to defend you. When we get back, I mean. I'm going to convince them that you're good."
Tess paused in her place, and Mairaela passed her on the stairs. She wanted to say something, but "thank you" didn't quite feel like enough. Mairaela seemed content to move on, anyway, so Tess simply followed in her footsteps.
At the top of the stairs, Tess looked around at the room that opened up to her. Joyona stood in front of a pedestal. A beam of light was shooting out of it and into the sky above. Mairaela and Gwendolyn were waiting for Tess at the top of the stairs. Gwendolyn wiped some sweat from her brow and shot Tess a proud smile, "Good to see you survived. A lot of stairs, huh?"
Tess nodded her head. She just had to smile when Gwendolyn was smiling. For some reason, seeing her typically serious face upturned into happiness always brought Tess extreme joy. Mairaela clapped Tess on the ass, much to her shock, and chuckled, "Now for the best part, or so I hear."
Rubbing her stinging rump, Tess approached the pedestal with the others, standing beside Joyona. The giantess looked into the light, her own eyes glowing white.
"Is she okay?" Tess asked with some concern on her face.
"Yeah," Gwendolyn said with a big grin, "Look into the light. You'll see."
Tess did as she was told, though she had to bring up a hand, peering underneath it at the blinding rays. Eventually, the light grew and grew until, even when she closed her eyes, she could see it through her eyelids. Eventually, the intensity seemed to dim, and when Tess opened her eyes again, she was standing atop a marble floor, but the room was infinitely large, with no walls or ceiling in sight. The pedestal, too, was gone.
"Tess."
Tess whipped around, only to find Miri standing behind her. Her body relaxed a bit and she cocked her head, "How are you here? I thought you can't manifest in the Void."
"We're in your head," Miri replied, "Whenever you cut away a piece of the Black Sun, you meet the old god you freed. He awakens a piece of your soul. It's… empowering. Sometimes they'll give some sort of artifact. Other times they advance your gift. Often it's both. They are usually grateful. But it depends on the god."
"You've done this before?" Tess asked.
Miri nods, "It was a long time ago."
Tess was curious, but looked forward instead, "Where is the old god?"
"His name is Arkaid. He's not coming this time. He had been free since the first Void Exercise was conducted, but… not anymore. He's back with the Black Sun."
"What do you mean? Why?"
"I-..." Miri started, pausing.
"What did you do?" Tess asked. Even Tess felt like her words were harsher than she meant them to be.
Miri frowned, "I did my best."
Tess' heart sank. The room crumbled away and Tess was back beside the pedestal. Its light was gone. Miri was gone.
"What was that?" Gwendolyn asked.
Mairaela looked confused, "Was that all? I don't feel anything. There was no… nothing. No god. No… advancement. No awakening."
Joyona looked contemplative.
"Something isn't right," Gwendolyn replied, "But we don't have time to figure it out. We need to get out of here. Maybe Philomena will know."
Ahead of them, just beyond the pedestal, a portal was shimmering. It wasn't there before looking into the light, but it stood there now. Starlight was just beyond it, nestled upon a blanket of a midnight blue sky.
Each of them, one by one, stepped through the rippling surface of the portal and, one by one, they reemerged in the Void Chamber back at Kravana Hall. Except, this time, the black, chaotic, spherical void was gone.
Guards were present. Twice as many as there'd been when the group initially departed. Weapons were drawn, readied against them. Without their Gifts, they were mortal. Furthermore, they were weaponless, armorless. They had no choice but to put their hands into the air and await instruction.
Philomena filed into the room behind a man with salt-and-pepper hair, a short beard and dark, thick eyebrows. He was dressed finely, and given that Philomena looked subservient to him, he must've been someone of importance.
"Ladies," Philomena started, "This is Lord Brandt, Dean of the College." The Dean looked between the four women present. "We have some questions to ask you."
The party each nodded their understanding, eyes flitting around to the weapons drawn upon them.
"First and second," Brandt said, his voice as rough as gravel, "Where is the Void and what did you do to it?"
Chapter 45 - Probation
The inquiry lasted several days. A step-by-step retelling of the events from each of the party members. Miri coached Tess through it. Tess wouldn't be surprised if Miri also had a gift in lying, because her explanations for the most awkward events were rather reasonable. Oddly enough, Philomena's attempts to scry their whereabouts or activities never worked. Apparently this happened from time to time, but it was rare. Either there was something that blocked it, or Tess and the others were exceptionally lucky. They hadn't been too lucky in the past, as far as Tess could remember, so she predicted it was the former.
Unfortunately, Tess did need to tell them about her repeated sexual experiences with Mairaela and the brief moment with Gwendolyn. Luckily the question as to what she fucked Mairaela with never came up, so that secret remained, for which Tess was grateful.
In the end, all of their stories must have matched up, because the questioning stopped. They had the routine experience, up until there's a memory gap in the swamp. Then they experienced no advancement at the end; no visit from a god. Tess had expected to be dragged away to a cell at any moment. The instant that anyone in their party brought up the possibility that she was a Dark Wyrden, it was over for her. Apparently, that never happened. Brandt and his questioners made their own rationale for the events, but Tess and the others were deemed careless, but not malicious.
They were given a week of probation and extra duty.
Probation meant they couldn't conduct training and were prohibited from many rooms in Kravana. The library was one of them, which was disappointing because Tess wanted to visit Scirocca. In fact, they weren't allowed to go near the upper-class dormitories. Even worse, Gwendolyn's fancy room was taken from her, too, as a part of the punishment. They were relegated to the barracks, a place for the Kravana guardsmen, not even members of the Corps that traverse the Black Sun.
Tess was just happy to be alive, but the dishonor was hitting Gwendolyn hard. She hardly spoke on the first day of their extra duty, which had been sweeping and mopping the halls. She was no better the day after. On the second day, much to Tess' enjoyment, they were to feed and brush the Sevarran drakes. Throwing the torn shreds of raw meat into the air for the drakes—eight feet of scales, muscle and powerful wings—was actually fun, Tess thought. Mairaela was enjoying it too. She made friends with a drake named Ifa, who nuzzled her for a moment. Tess couldn't get any of them to be quite so fond of her, but it was sweet to see Mairaela so happy.
Joyona just handled it like any other mission. She handled most of the brushing, since scraping over those scales took a lot of muscle. Plus, with the drakes being so tall, it was difficult to reach their necks without them being cooperative. There was a moment when Tess was about to get pinched between two fighting drakes and Joyona managed to pull her out of it.
There was even a Napori Gryphon, a beautiful, white-chested and gold-winged bird-lion. It mostly just watched Tess with a cocked head, but whenever she'd get close to its enclosure, it would squawk, snap and strike at her with its talons. Tess kept her distance after that. Still, it was quite the sight to behold.
Still, she felt that the Sevarran drakes were much more passive and well-trained. It wasn't much of a surprise, given that Sevarra makes a great deal of their money by trading their high-class drakes. Apparently the mountains surrounding Sevarra were once full of drake nests. Now they were all brought together under camps, trained from birth and selected for breeding depending on certain traits. The thought made Tess sad, so she focused instead on the happiness of the drakes in front of her.
Even still, despite all of these curiosities and opportunities to learn, Gwendolyn did not seem very pleased with her current lot in life.
The third and fourth days were not so enjoyable. One of them, the four were split up and Tess got stuck delivering food to guardsmen at their posts. The guardsmen were happy to see her and were grateful to receive their food, which was nice, but somewhere between their catcalls as she walked away, having to lug heavy objects back and forth, and spending so much time on the freezing parapets of this high-altitude castle Tess was reason enough to find plenty of distaste for the task. Still, apparently Joyona had to clean the disgusting state of the prison walls. Tess couldn't imagine what could've been smeared all over them.
On their fifth day, they were to pack crates of goods and deliver them to the Ritual Circle. Apparently they were being sent down to Hastenburgh and brought to a ship at Oar's Rest. Tess got to meet Timo, captain of The Bowman, and his first mate Merrill, an ash dwarf. Tess specifically liked Merrill, whose eyes lit up like a stoked flame whenever she took a puff of her cigar. They spoke of Syln Caelora, the capital of the Winter Court, and adventures of bribing merfolk to be allowed past their islands.
Captain Timo even spoke of meeting Ondrasaith, one-third of the Cysefin Clutch, known to many as She Who Swam Beyond the Stars. It is said that she is old enough to know the previous goddess of the sea, before the current god—Nyx—came into power. She swam the oceans in the moon of Proteus and dove into the magic-churning guts of stars. Timo grinned a golden smile when asked and said, "And it's all true."
Merrill talked about being a miner in the city of dragons for two decades before a legendary pirate named Mika Weller saved her from that dangerous, inescapable fate. She spoke of Mika like a bandit hero for all the things he did for her.
It was all so inspiring. Sometimes it was hard to remember that there was a world outside of the College and Corps; outside of Tess' little world. For a moment, she wished that she could explore it, but had to remind herself that she was tied to the Black Sun and that she needed to find answers there. "Maybe someday," she thought, "Maybe Gwen, Mairaela, Joyona and I can travel together. Once all of this is over."
Nothing special happened the day after, but on their last day of extra duty, Tess met Aster. Aster was a fire spirit, sent from the Twilight Court, the realm of the Archfey and the afterlife that all good Fey awaited at their life's end. The Twilight Court was inexplicable to anyone that had never been there, but Aster tried anyway. The little ball of fire danced around, his little stick legs poking out of his flaming body, with two dark specks for eyes. He didn't get much across, just a lot of gibberish about emotions moving you, time working like a spiral staircase, and your true form showing through the facade. It sounded magical and honestly? Quite scary.
By the end of it all, Tess hoped that she would have more experiences like that in the College and Corps, or else she was going to have to find a way to get back on extra duty. Sure, a great deal of it was awful, but those moments to hear of the outside world were incredible.
"We could go there," Miri urged her, "Travel the world."
"But everyone we know is here," Tess replied, "And the Black Sun-..."
"Is dangerous. Is not going anywhere. Is not worth the answers we may get from it," Miri responded.
"I'm not leaving," Tess insisted, "Not unless we all are."
Chapter 46 - Maupoissant
Now that their probation was over, the team was going to be assigned to a handler. The handler was responsible for picking missions, briefing them, and sending the crew into the areas of the Black Sun that needed immediate pruning. When they read their assignments, even Joyona's face blanched at the name of their officer: Maupoissant.
"Why is this a bad thing?" Tess asked.
"It's the brigade commander. Command Akosua Maupoissant," Gwendolyn replied with a dismal tone.
Tess was confused, "But wouldn't that mean we have more opportunities and access to things?"
Joyona shook her head, "Not with Commander Maupoissant. She'll tear us apart and spit the pieces down the mountain." Joyona sounded more scared than she had in the Void. Tess smirked at the idea that Joyona was more scared of encountering people than encountering monsters.
Mairaela let out a sigh, "They're probably doing this to us on purpose."
Tess frowned. Things had been so sad since they came back. Tess was just happy to be alive, but perhaps this isn't the start that the others expected to have in the Corps.
As they sat in their briefing room, waiting for the commander to arrive, everyone appeared antsy. Restlessly shaking feet, knuckles rapping on the table, and a few instances of deep breathing and sighing created the symphony of stress that they all experienced during the wait.
When the door did open, Tess' three allies jumped to their feet. Tess followed after, stumbling as she rose, but trying to mimic her friends.
The person that entered was young, Tess realized. How they described Commander Maupoissant Tess expected an old witch. This woman must've been around Joyona's age. Her hair was big, black and curly, surrounding her head but not covering her right ear. She was a little taller than Tess, but not as tall as Gwendolyn, but her build was just about as slender as the Dame's. Her skin was the color of a honeyed almond, but it was her eyes that drew Tess to her. Maupoissant's eyes were the bluest eyes that Tess had ever seen. They practically glowed with their ice-blue hue.
"You can rest," she said, and everyone took a seat once more. "My name is Captain Kofi Maupoissant," she explained, "And I have been assigned to be your handler."
Captain Kofi? She must be a relative. Everyone around her looked relieved and Kofi must have noticed.
"Glad that you weren't assigned to my mother?" She asked, giving a laugh, "Me too. She was my 'handler' for my first sixteen years. They don't subject people to that torture anymore. She no longer does that work."
Tess smiled. So far, she liked Captain Kofi Maupoissant.
"Okay, so I received the debrief from your Void Exercise. Not that I needed it. Everyone seems to know about it by now," Kofi gave a sigh, "Which is a problem. The worse our reputation, the worse the jobs we are offered by the Corps. So, we're starting a little behind the curve."
"I'm signing everyone up for classes in the College," Kofi explained, much to the dismay of Tess' team. They didn't speak out against the order, but they didn't look all that happy with it. "You're not going to miss out on any training, but you are going to miss out on some sleep," Kofi explained, "The classes you're in are going to be in addition to your typical duties. They're only six week courses, but doing this extra time will put you in a better light to the Corps."
Gwendolyn nodded her head. It seems she came around to the idea.
"Do any of you know how jobs are handed out here?" Kofi asked.
Mairaela spoke up, "The Corps assigns them according to the abilities of each team."
"Yes, but," Maupoissant responded, "There's some math to it. It's a points-based system, and you earn points from past missions, from successful training and-..."
"College courses," Tess interrupted. Immediately she knew how rude she'd been and she insisted, "Oh, gods, I'm sorry, Captain."
"No, that's right," Kofi waved away Tess' concern, "So we're putting in the extra work. Training and courses. We'll get some assignments under our belt and you'll be on your way to the inner layers of the Black Sun before you know it."
"So, Dame Gwendolyn, you'll be taking Aura Basics with Soveliss. That will help you improve your abilities the most," the Captain explained, and Gwendolyn nodded. "Joyona, you'll have a Denizens class with Cira. Learn well, since that knowledge could mean the survival or defeat of your entire team." She looked to Mairaela and explained, "For you, Miss Aulidwulf, I give a choice: Corps Combatives, Mind and Body Meditation or Advancement Theory."
Mairaela considered the options and then answered, "Advancement Theory, Captain."
Kofi wrote the decision down, nodded, and replied, "That will be with Scirocca in the library."
For a moment, Tess felt jealous that Mairaela got to take a class with Scirocca. She wondered for a moment if Scirocca taught that class with more "rituals," like the one she performed with Tess. The Captain looked at Tess, "Tess, as I understand it, you're Giftless, but your team vouched for your capabilities. You'll be taking Late Gift Development with Madame Pava. With any luck, you'll be one of the few who she can pull a gift out of. It works about a third of the time, or so."
Tess nodded her head. That didn't sound so bad. Maybe she was attuned to the Wyrd and had a gift. That, combined with Miri's gifts, would make her quite the threat to the old gods. Tess was hopeful, but she tried to temper her expectations. As far as gifts were concerned, she'd been let down quite often.
"Your classes began yesterday, so you're going to be joining a little late. I expect each of you to pass, and while this isn't my decision, your employment in the Corps may depend on it," Kofi explained with a rather ominous tone, "Just a warning."
When Kofi turned to leave, Mairaela spoke up to say, "Thank you, Captain."
After she left, the four of them looked at one another. "So, what do you all think?" Tess asked.
"Stunningly competent from the sound of it, and from what I've heard of the Commander's daughter," Gwendolyn explained.
Mairaela nodded her head, "Seems to know what she's talking out. Has our best interests at heart."
Joyona simply nodded.
Tess was happy with that. She was hoping that this may turn things around for them. It was nice, at least, to see Gwendolyn a bit happier. Things have been better on that front ever since they got to move back into the dormitories, even if Gwendolyn didn't get her fancy room again. Now she and Tess were sleeping in the same bed, which was exciting at times, and at other times, very exciting. Even if Gwendolyn wasn't happy about the smaller room, Tess was quite pleased with how things turned out for them.
Maybe this way they could talk about that one night in the void? Maybe they could talk about that kiss.
Chapter 47 - Nighttime Debrief
It was that very night, as Gwendolyn and Tess lied in bed, that Tess posed the question.
"Gwen?"
Gwendolyn didn't even have the energy to correct her on the name. "Yeah, Tess?" She responded.
Tess was on her back, upon the left side of the bed. Gwendolyn on the right, laying on the side and facing the wall. Tess stared up at the ceiling for a time before continuing, "That time, in the Void… you, Mairaela and I?"
"I don't want to talk about it, Tess," Gwen replied, "Let's just go to sleep, okay?"
Tess wasn't having it this time, "Well, when are we going to talk about it? I don't want to just forget it ever happened."
Gwen rolled over onto her other side, facing Tess. The knight was dressed only in a white slip that reached down to her upper thigh. It matched her hair so beautifully and gave her a pure and royal appearance, despite their new room.
Tess, however, was in woolen pants and a loose, linen shirt. She would have preferred to sleep naked, but she didn't think that Gwendolyn would approve.
"Alright. Let's talk," Gwendolyn said, her gray eyes searching Tess' face, "What did you want to say, before?"
Tess felt put on the spot, even if it was what she had asked for. How would Gwen take it now, if she informed the knight of Miri's manipulation? She suddenly regretted forcing the conversation, but couldn't back out of it now. "Miri told me afterward that she lowered my inhibitions," Tess explained, "Changed my attitude, I guess."
Gwendolyn nodded her head, listening without much change in emotion.
"And she did something to me to make others more attracted to me, at the time," Tess added.
Gwen nodded again, awaiting further information.
"That's it, I guess," Tess concluded.
"Thanks for letting me know," Gwendolyn replied, "Are you good to sleep now?"
"No," Tess explained, shifting uncomfortably in the bed, "I guess I just don't know if you would've done it regardless of Miri's manipulation." Gwen didn't immediately reply, and Tess, while staring at a single spot on the ceiling, added, "I don't know what we are, you know?"
"We're friends, Tess," Gwendolyn replied. It didn't sound like the full answer, but it was the only conclusion that Tess came to as well. "And that's good," Gwendolyn replied, "I like being friends. You've become important to me."
Tess nodded her head. Something in her chest felt hollow from Gwendolyn's response, though. Regardless, she didn't have much to add to the conversation after that.
"Why are you confident that you and Mairaela are friends, but we aren't? She did try to kill you, you know," Gwendolyn said, her tone implying humor, though the knight wasn't always the best at conveying it. "I fought for your life. So is it because you two hump each other and we don't?" Gwendolyn asked.
Tess let a sigh drift into the air above her. She wasn't sure. She hoped that it wasn't for that reason. She didn't need sex to be sure that someone liked her, right? She and Scirocca had sex, but that woman was unreadable. Still, Tess had a sense that Scirocca liked her. She knew that she and Mairaela were close, but she wasn't sure what Joyona thought of her. Maybe it really was about sex. Tess grew worried.
"Maybe it is," Tess replied with a frown, "But it shouldn't be. I know that we're friends, but-... maybe I thought it was more than that, or that I'd ruined it when we got back." Tess felt guilty for relying on sex like that, and she immediately tried squashing the feeling, pushing it deep, deep down. That was healthy, right? "Never mind, this gave me a lot to think about-... I should probably reassess my relationships with people, huh?"
"Maybe. Tell you what though," Gwendolyn replied, "If it would help to 'confirm' things for you, while you're reassessing, we can do something that might give you a bit more confidence in me." Tess felt Gwendolyn shift, and in no time the Dame's hand was running up her inner thigh.
The feeling made Tess quiver, and she clutched the sheets to keep the instinct to guard her secret at bay. Gwendolyn knew. She didn't have to hide it here.
"It keeps you up at night, doesn't it?" Gwendolyn asked softly, her hand slowly cupping the bulge in Tess' sleepwear, "Don't think I haven't noticed the way you squirm at night. Or how hard you are in the mornings." As she spoke, Gwendolyn softly rubbed and massaged Tess' growing hardon. Much like she would have expected of the swordswoman, Tess found Gwendolyn's hands to be exceptionally skilled and graceful. She parted her legs and arched her hips up.
"Yeah," Tess whispered, giving a distracted whimper, "It does. I do.. Oh, gods, Gwen.."
Gwendolyn moved her hand, much to Tess' dismay, but she took the waist of Tess' pants and shoved them down below her rump. Tess wiggled and kicked to get them off of her legs entirely, returning to her position with newfound excitement. Gwendolyn's hand wrapped around Tess' length. Her fingers were cold, which gave Tess a shiver, but they were quickly warming around her column of velvety, steely meat.
"So," Gwendolyn started, releasing Tess' cock and raising her hand. As she did, the backs of her fingertips traced little lined along the underside of Tess' length. Eventually, Gwendolyn held the head of Tess' cock in her palm. "If I take care of this problem each night for you," Gwendolyn added, "Will that help you to understand that I like you?"
"You don't have to do that, G-.. Gwe-.." Her hips jerked as she tried to put her cock through Gwen's hand, but was unable to pump through anything. She desperately wanted some kind of hole to fuck.
"You can call me Gwen right now, if you want," She whispered into Tess' ear, "And I'm doing this because you're a part of my team, Tess. I need you well rested and focused for classes and training tomorrow. It wouldn't do to see you struggle and not lend you a hand or two. Maybe you'll need this whenever we rest in the Void, too, so I may as well get practice." Trailing fingertips again, Gwendolyn's hand slipped back down and gently cupped Tess' balls, giving them a gentle tug.
"I'm doing this because we're friends," Gwen purred, scooting closer until her body was pressed up against Tess' side, "And I'm doing this because I want to." That hand returned to the base of her cock, stroking one time from base to tip and back again. "Okay?" Gwen concluded after that first stroke.
"Okay," Tess whimpered, unable to focus too much on what Gwen was saying, so distracted she was by the knight's deft handiwork.
"Just for the record," Miri whispered into Tess' mind, "I'm not manipulating any of this. You scored a tugging from a knight, tiger. I'm so proud!"
"Th-thanks," Tess replied softly to Miri, even if it didn't appear that way. Her breath hitched in her throat in between panting.
"Of course, Tess," Gwen responded, unaware of the conversation in Tess' mind. She had two hands on Tess' length now, pumping away with a double-handed grip. It dawned on her how skillfully Gwen could wield a cock, given how proficiently she manipulates the handle of a sword.
A nightly handjob from the knight, Tess thought, wondering how she could be so lucky.
"I think I know how to make this even better," Miri mused with a little giggle in Tess' mind.
Chapter 48 - As Friends
Sitting on Tess' thighs, Gwendolyn gripped her roommate's length, one hand over the other. Her arms jerked, pumping Tess' cock through the soft tunnels she formed with her hands. It was enough effort that she bounced on Tess' body, upon the bed. Her breasts jiggled in her nighty with each needy tug, which Tess seemed to like looking at.
She wondered if Tess thought that she was composed and just doing this as a necessary, friendly favor. In truth, Gwendolyn was soaking wet between her legs, certainly showing through her panties by now. To hold Tess' cock in her hands, as obscenely large as it was, gave her such a thrill that her heart was fluttering with eagerness and joy. Even if she tried to adopt the stoic "just doing my job" act, Gwen's playfulness couldn't help but show through.
Gwendolyn adored the heated, desirous look in Tess' eyes as her hands pumped up and down. The way the woman would gaze across every inch of her body, finding inspiration to edge herself along as she was milked so thoroughly. Tess' legs started to buck underneath Gwendolyn's body. Her whole body was squirming, and Tess could feel the telltale signs of an orgasm in the way her cock was throbbing and swelling—somehow—even larger.
"Are you close?" Gwendolyn panted, excited for the opportunity to watch Tess cum again, "It's okay to let it out, Tess." She knew that she was going further with this than she'd meant to initially. She just planned on giving Tess a quick handjob and going back to sleep, but before she knew it she was up above the covers, two-handing that massive shaft and talking dirty. She knew that Tess was close, and the thought that Tess' cum might splatter all over her crossed her mind. "Oh well," she thought, "It would just be an accident, after all. She couldn't blame me for it." She could imagine Tess apologizing for it; could imagine herself feigning annoyance.
Mairaela wouldn't do that, though, Gwen knew. Mairaela didn't need to put up this chivalrous facade. She was free to fuck every night because of her Fey culture. She would happily take Tess' load onto her body, only to moan and beg for more. How Gwen wished she could be so free.
Gwendolyn saw Tess' face scrunch up amidst all of those pitiful whimpers and soft cries. She could still feel Tess' throbbing, but there was no orgasm.
"Are you going to cum?" Gwendolyn asked again, though this time her tone was a bit more serious.
Tess blinked her eyes open and looked up at Gwendolyn with a deep red blush across her cheeks, "I-.. aah~.. I.. nhh.. C-can't."
Gwendolyn frowned. What was she doing wrong? She didn't have much experience with this sort of thing, but she figured that this should be simple enough to do. Up and down, right? "Am I doing it wrong?" Gwen asked, failing to keep from sounding too disappointed and self-conscious.
"N-no, you are!" Tess gasped, bucking her hips, "Oh, gods, you are-..."
This brought a smile back to Gwendolyn's lips and she redoubled her efforts. "I'm making her feel good," Gwendolyn thought to herself, squealing and giggling on the inside in a way that she could never do outside.
Gwen leaned forward, until Tess' cock was pushed up against her stomach, with only the thin lining of her nighty in the way. She kept pumping her hands, this time causing Tess' length to rub up against Gwen's belly with every stroke. "So why can't you?" Gwendolyn cooed, "Can't you? For me?"
"M-Miri," Tess moaned.
The name set off some alarms in Gwendolyn's head. What was that demoness doing? Gwen admittedly liked Miri enough. She'd saved Tess' life twice. On the flip side, Gwendolyn found it hard to trust Miri after all of the shady things that have been occurring around her. And now? Why couldn't she just let Gwendolyn and Tess have this moment?
"She won't—fuck!—let me," Tess added, "Keeping-... uuhn~.. keeping me f-from-.."
"From cumming?"
Tess nodded, her lips pinched between her teeth as she began to let out little cries. Her hips bucked needfully, desperate for a release that was right on the edge, but just wouldn't come.
Gwendolyn slowed down, frowning, "Should I stop?" Her hands were still pumping Tess' dick, but she didn't want to torture the poor girl if she wouldn't get any release.
Tess couldn't stop panting, trying to catch her breath. Her head rolled from side to side, like she was dizzy. Her hair was a mess, spilling out over her pillow. "I want-.. Ha.. haa… I want to cum.." she whimpered, "I want to cum… so, so bad.."
Poor Tess. Gwen thought for a moment and then insisted, "Then let's get you to cum." Gwendolyn started up again, her hands twisting as she stroked that big dick in front of her. Her own hips were rolling against Tess' legs, body bouncing with the force her arms exerted. "You want to make this difficult, Miri?" Gwendolyn whispered, "Well, I don't like to lose."
Gwendolyn brought her hands between her legs, moving them through all of her slick juices before bringing those lubricated hands back to Tess' cock. After spreading what she could all over Tess' length, Gwen kept one hand on Tess' crown, pumping those first few inches while the other hand fondled the balls beneath that big girlcock. Tess' hips were twitching and spasming, desperate to get whatever friction was necessary to bypass Miri's barrier on her orgasm.
"Tess," Gwendolyn purred, leaning in to look at Tess closely, "Look at me, baby."
Tess' eyes blinked open, but they were hazy, lidded and out of focus.
Gwendolyn smiled softly at her with Tess's cock pressed up between the knight's breasts. "We're going to get you to cum, okay? You're going to get that release you want, just lay back and enjoy yourself," Gwendolyn tried to sound consoling, but in truth she was battling for it.
"You can cum on me, you know," Gwen offered, her hands a blur, "Would you like that?" Tess' hips bucked, and Gwen felt something hot on her collar. She looked down to see Tess' cock giving small spurts of clear precum. It wasn't a full orgasm by any means, but it was close.
"Just a little more and then you can let it aaall out," Gwen whispered encouragingly.
Tess was out of her mind with pleasure, quivering and whimpering pathetically, but there was no orgasm. For a moment, Gwen considered fetching Mairaela. She was certain that one of the Fey's blowjobs, or a go at her body, would seal the deal if Gwendolyn's hand was getting close. Hells, the big tittied redhead could wrap Tess in her bust and get her off that way. Why wasn't Gwen willing to go that far, though? She refused to get Mairaela to bail her out of this.
"Tess, watch me, sweetheart," Gwen cooed. She didn't know why she was using such cute names. Maybe that's how she wanted to be treated, if she were in Tess' shoes. Either way, she felt it was appropriate, given the situation. Gwendolyn was the caretaker, Tess was the patient. Miri was, as usual, the problem. What a troublesome demon!
Gwen lowered her head, working Tess' cock with both hands now, palms and fingers gliding up and down that hard shaft with ease. It was a good thing that Gwendolyn was in shape, because even her arms were burning from the effort.
Tess' eyes flicked open and looked down at Gwendolyn. The Dame dipped her head until it was just above Tess' cock. Still milking at the big girlcock she'd been massaging for the last half-hour, Gwen opened her mouth wide. She didn't dip her head lower, but she looked ready to receive whatever Tess was going to give. Tess' lip quivered, her eyes so focused on Gwendolyn's mouth. Gwen stuck out her tongue, dipping her head a little lower.
Gwen had about half an inch of Tess' crown past her wide-open lips when Tess went off. Immediately, Gwendolyn's mouth was filled with a gush of cream that shot across her tongue. Surprised, the knight lifted her head, only to get another shot across the face. She never stopped milking Tess' cock, even if she were just moving her arms out of muscle memory by this point. Catching Tess' lustful gaze, Gwendolyn didn't back her face away anymore, instead deciding to make it all worth it for the poor girl.
Keeping her face by Tess' jerking cock, Gwendolyn caught the majority of each jet of cum across her cheeks, forehead, her closed eyes, chin and mouth. Being edged for so long, it was an especially ample and thorough coating applied to Gwendolyn's face. By the time it was done, Gwendolyn drew back and wiped cum off of her closed eyes so that she could at least see a little bit. Tess was hypnotized by the sight of her, even if her length was slowly softening. Gwendolyn opened her mouth and worked her tongue to push the cum out into her palm, but the taste and smell were going to stick with her for a long, long time after this.
Chapter 49 - Madame Pava
"There you are," came a sensuous voice from behind Tess.
She jerked upright, released from her reverie of all of those unexpected moments the night before. She wondered what Gwen was up to right now. She nearly slipped back into her daydream before she recalled that someone had just spoken to her.
She'd been waiting in the hallway outside of a room labeled "Echoshaping." The iron door was locked tight, with no other details about what could be behind it, except a placard beside the label that said, "Knock once and wait." Tess knocked half an hour ago.
Tess turned around to see a beautiful woman in a white, hooded robe. The only peachy skin showing was that of her face. Her arms were blanketed in her flowing robes and her hands were covered in white gloves. Her feet couldn't be seen beyond the end of her dress. Under the shade of the hood, it appeared that she had blonde hair, but Tess couldn't say for certain.
"Madame Pava?" Tess asked. The woman stood just a hair taller than Mairaela, if Tess had to guess.
Darkly painted, red-colored eyes sparkled with amusement. Behind a sheer, black veil, Tess saw a small, petite mouth curl at one edge.
"You're Tess," Pava's words were soft, delicate and enthralling. There was something about her voice that made Tess want to listen, no matter what she was talking about.
Tess could only nod.
"And you're giftless," Pava added.
Tess felt like it was a bit of a label, but she could only nod her head, "Yes, ma'am."
Pava leaned in closely, inspecting Tess' face, eyes, mouth. She didn't indicate that she found anything particularly good or bad. Something drew Tess' attention to Pava's hair, shifting oddly with her movement. A small sparkle of eyes shimmered within Pava's hair.
"What-..." Tess started, before a yellow snake struck from beneath Pava's hood. Tess lurched backward, watching the serpent's jaws snap just in front of her, before she collapsed onto the ground. "What was that?!"
Pava removed her hood, displaying a tangle of yellow snakes for her hair. "These are my friends." Pava brought a hand up, caressing one of the snakes, which curled itself around her wrist affectionately. "My friends despise the gifted. Did you know that the serpent is unrepresented by any constellation? Almost every single creature has a tie to one of the constellations, but crows? Snakes? They have nothing," Pava caressed a few of the scaly ropes that slithered atop her head, "The spiders have their whole constellation in the Spinnerets. Salamanders have a fire moon. But snakes… even dragons hate them, seeing them as a lesser, unevolved form. These poor creatures have been spat out of the stars like trash, never again given a home in the heavens."
"They hate the gifted," Tess repeated, "And that one attacked me." Tess' eyes widened, "Does that mean?"
"That you came too close?" Pava asked, "Yes."
Tess gave Pava an incredulous look that turned quite sour. Hadn't she been the one to approach Tess? She rose to her feet and brushed herself off, coming up to be face to face with the Madame. She avoided being too face-to-face, however. "If you don't mind," Pava said, stepping past Tess to press a key into the door she'd been waiting at. With a turn of the key, the heavy door slowly began to swing open.
Within was a rocky cave that bore no similarity to the rest of the castle. She wondered if she had traveled within the mountain now. She knew that the castle was built on the mountain, but did it have its roots within it? It was difficult to see, to keep up with Madame Pava, especially once the door shut behind them. Her eyes were slow to adjust, and all she could hear was Madame Pava stepping away from her.
"Madame?" Tess spoke aloud, hearing no response. Ahead of her, a flame was lit, illuminating her destination just a few paces ahead.
When Tess came to it, she saw a small desk with an assortment of powders and herbs. Mushrooms were growing along the walls and a spiderweb was forming in one of the rocky crevices above. All-in-all, Tess felt overdressed and wondered if she should've brought leathers, rather than common clothes.
On the far end of the room was a tunnel that led off into darkness.
"What is echoshaping?" Tess asked.
Madame Pava seemed busy with a red ledger, but responded, "An echoshaper looks back through the ripples of your soul."
Tess raised an eyebrow. That made no sense. She hoped Pava knew that made no sense. She decided not to voice her concern, however. "What are the ripples that a soul makes?" She asked.
"Lives once lived. Lives yet to be lived." Pava replied, closing the ledger and turning around to face Tess, "Your soul goes through a journey much longer than yours. We're going to look through it to find if a gift has, or ever will, exist in your soul."
"And then what?" Tess asked, "You 'shape' it?"
"We fold it, yes," Pava replied.
Tess scratched behind her ear, "And that means?"
"Nothing, to you," Pava responded, letting out a bit of a sigh, "Listen, you do understand that this isn't a class, right? I have no obligation to teach you anything."
"What do you mean?" Tess asked. Captain Maupoissant had said she was signing them all up for classes.
"This is a therapy," Pava replied, "If it were a class, it would be beyond remedial. You are behind on even the basic requirements for the Corps, and yet you are here. This is a therapy for the giftless, one last attempt at being useful."
"We don't need this uptight Yysh cultist," Miri groaned, "They're all fucking crazy." She could feel Miri throwing a tantrum in her mind, "She wouldn't know 'useful' if 'useful' shaved those disgusting noodles off her head!" Tess could recall enough about the Yysh. Believers of a secretive Snake-God. They adopt serpentlike traits, but generally keep their beliefs to themselves.
"Alright, then when does the therapy start?" Tess asked, trying to not hiss like one of the Madame's snakes, "As far as I can tell, I'm no closer to getting a gift."
Pava must've heard the vitriol in Tess' voice. Her eyes narrowed and she gestured to the side, guiding Tess toward that dark tunnel. "Let's go see the echoshaper, then."
"You aren't the echoshaper?" Tess asked, feeling a sudden anxiety.
She followed Pava's direction and stepped into the dark tunnel, hearing the woman approach behind her. As her eyes adjusted, she saw a dank passage, with water dripping through webs atop the cave ceiling. There were a few areas in the tunnel that Tess had to crouch, climb or squeeze through in order to make it to the point where the cave opened up wide. A large chamber came to greet Tess, lit by a few luminescent crystals jutting out of the walls. The cave turned into carved stone steps that carried Tess and Pava down to a hexagonal platform. At the center was a stone slab, raised to waist height.
"Lie down," Pava instructed, and Tess followed the order. The stone was chilling to the touch and it took Tess some time to adjust to the temperature before she could lie down comfortably, even through her clothing.
Lying there on the stone, Tess looked at the ceiling and only saw shadows. None of them moved, though she constantly checked, expecting to find something horrible up there.
"Yeah," Miri hummed, "This was a bad idea."
There was a sting in Tess' neck, and she twisted to see Pava with a needle; a small droplet of blood on the end of it.
"Relax," Pava said, and by the time the word was over, Tess realized she couldn't move a muscle. Pava reached out and adjusted Tess' head to look directly upward, "The first time is always the worst."
"This was a really fucking bad idea," Miri snapped, her voice growing dim and muted. "Tess? Tess! Fuck, oh fuck," her voice began to fade to complete silence, "Fuck, Tess, stay with m-... don't-..."
Her mind was empty, her body numb. She could barely breathe. Tess couldn't tell how much time passed in that state, but eventually something came into her field of vision.
Atop the ceiling, crawling upside down, was the largest spider Tess had ever seen. It was larger than her dormitory room by a considerable amount. Suspended on a thick line of web, it began to slide down toward Tess, closer and closer. As it approached, Tess noticed its face: an eyeless human, with eight red jewels spanning its brow and forehead.
Tess couldn't hear a thing, but she could feel Miri slamming at the barriers of her mind, trying to break through.
It didn't happen. Tess tried to scream, but not a sound escaped her lips.
Chapter 50 - Catching Up
Gwendolyn turned the spoon through the mix of dry sausage and potatoes. She got to sit with the regulars of the Corps during meals now, and wasn't forced to sit at the guest table, or eat down in the barracks like she'd been forced to during probation. What a miserable time that was. She still awaited the letter from her father about her probationary status on her first few days at Kravana Hall.
She hadn't seen Tess in a few days now. After that night together, Tess was gone in the morning and didn't come back the next night, or the one after that. Or the one after that, so on and so forth. Gwendolyn did what she could to not think too deeply into what might keep her from coming back to the room. The more she tried to push them down, the more the thoughts kept cropping up, "She wasn't ashamed, was she? Was I gross? I don't behave all that femininely and-... well, I'm not like Mairaela. Maybe I did something wrong."
Maybe her class was keeping her busy. Gwendolyn couldn't imagine that a class called "Late Gift Development" would be that intense. It sounded like information she'd learned when she was a child. Not that Tess didn't need it, or that she had no excuse for not knowing it, but Gwendolyn thought that Tess would catch onto the information easily. She hadn't heard of Madame Pava, though. Gwen wondered what she was like.
"Hey," Gwendolyn turned to see Mairaela taking a seat behind her. The auburn haired Fey was placing down a plate of fruits, berries and sausage. She had two chunks of bread on her plate. Mairaela must've noticed her staring at her food and said, "Here, I snagged this for you." The Fey passed her a piece of hard bread.
Gwendolyn took it, smiling in thanks, only to see Joyona stand across from them. The Evigkin had two plates, one full of potatoes and sausage and the other… also full of potatoes and sausage. She placed the plates down and murmured something about beer before walking off again.
"Tess busy with class again?" Mairaela asked. She didn't show up to dinner yesterday either, after all.
Gwendolyn nodded silently, choosing to not bring voice to her growing concerns. "How's 'Advancement Theory' coming along? Did Scirocca slap your knuckles again?"
"I managed to avoid her wrath this time," Mairaela jested, "And despite what I said yesterday, I like her. She knows her stuff. Like.. fuck, Gwen. She really knows her stuff."
Gwendolyn was getting used to having her name shortened. She stopped fighting it. It wasn't a big deal to her, personally, but her father would wring her neck for it. The knight smiled softly at Mairaela and took a bite of the bread she'd been given.
"For instance," Mairaela begins, "Did you know that Maeros the Mad was the first recipient of a divine's boon?" Mairaela's face crinkled up and she shook her head, "Well, basically. It was from the Dragon Queen, but before she became a goddess. Back when she was just… you know, a dragon queen."
"What would Maeros need from Her?" Gwen asked between bites. Maeros was a part of a group of adventurers known as the Heroic Divine. They were more the former than the latter; not having any divine blood between any of them.
"Power to kill Arlen," Mairaela replied, "She gave him access to her Blood Wyrd. He had magic like dragons do." The Fey was really into all of this, though she had a bit of a disappointed tone when she added, "Much good that did him."
Gwendolyn found it interesting, but she preferred what she'd been learning in her class, "I learned about aura control today. Can't wait till we get an assignment and I can put all of this theory into practice."
"You'll have to teach me," Mairaela said with a smile, "And I'll teach you what I learn."
Joyona returned then, setting down two mugs of some sort of foaming drink.
"How was your class, Joyona?" Mairaela asked.
Joyona shoved a spoonful of potatoes into her mouth and replied around the food, "Stab a tomb guardian in its eye before you get fried." Joyona shoveled more food into her mouth. She'd been a lot hungrier lately, Gwendolyn noticed.
"That's what you said yesterday," Mairaela replied.
"Mm. It's still true."
"You doing alright?" Gwen asked.
"Mm," Joyona nodded, taking a big swig from her mug.
Gwendolyn looked to Mairaela, who seemed to have a similar look of concern on her face, but the pair moved on. "What else did you learn?" Mairaela asked, nudging Gwen on the arm.
"Well, that glow that forms around us in the Void—the aura, I mean—it comes from Thyr. The Black Sun is constantly eating away at our star, but that light doesn't go away. It's just trapped in the Void," Gwendolyn explained, pushing the bread through her food, "So sometimes that light flocks to us. We don't exactly know why, but we can use it. It's empowering."
"Miri was able to rip mine away from me," Mairaela said, picking up a couple of berries and popping them into her mouth one at a time. "What do you think that means?"
"Not sure. Maybe it's a demon thing," Gwendolyn replied, looking over to Joyona who was already done with one plate and beginning on the other.
Mairaela and Gwendolyn exchanged a look again. Gwen didn't think that Mairaela would say anything, so she spoke up, "Joyona, why are you eating so much? I mean, no shame if you're just hungry, but it's just unusual for you."
"I skipped class," Joyona grunted past a mouthful of food, "Did something else."
Mairaela nearly spat out her food, "What?!" She chewed, swallowed and followed-up with a harsh whisper under her breath, "Joyona, we depend on passing these classes!"
"If you fail out, you're gone from the team. You're out of Kravana and the Corps, everything," Gwendolyn added, "You heard the Captain."
Joyona nodded her head, "I'm alright."
Gwen took a deep breath and let it out slowly, nodding her head. She knew not to press Joyona, but the woman was so difficult to read at times like these. She was confident even when she was acting strange. She had never let them down though, so maybe they should just stop being suspicious of her habits.
"Where are you from, Joyona?" Gwendolyn asked, "I know you're giantblooded, but did you grow up in a Cairn?"
"I did," Joyona replies, licking two fingers, "West of the Summer Branch."
"You were near Rotherham?" Mairaela asked.
"About two days' walk from it," Joyona nodded.
"Good cheese?" Mairaela followed up. Gwendolyn couldn't help but laugh. Rotherham was known best for its cheeses, despite all of its other massive economic and diplomatic successes.
Joyona nodded her head.
"What about you, Mairaela?" Gwendolyn asked.
"Shathlenora," Mairaela replied with a bit of pride in her voice. The woods of Shathlenora were known to produce some of the best Glade Wardens in the Summer Court.
Gwendolyn's brow raised, "You know how to use a glaive?"
"A spear, in my case. And yes," Mairaela nodded, "Admittedly, I was a little disappointed when my gift wasn't something pertaining to that."
Gwendolyn nodded her head. This new information about her cohort was interesting. Having spent so much time becoming trusting and comfortable through battle, it only just occurred to her that she didn't really know much about them.
"And what about-..."
"Whoa, there, you haven't told us about where you're from, Dame Gwendolyn Mirabenise," Mairaela said, holding up a hand to pause Gwen.
Gwendolyn rolled her eyes and chuckled, "Alright. I'm from Lannercost. Armskirk before that. My father is a landed knight and a-..." She paused, redirecting, "Uh-.. My mother is a Valkyrie of Morro."
"Let me guess, she's the First Valkyrie, or something?" Mairaela asked with a smirk.
Gwendolyn chuckled and shook her head, "No, that's Harkroth. Mum is rank and file."
"You still talk to them much?" Mairaela asked.
"Last heard from my father in the post when I was passing through Testament. It's been weeks, but I'm sure I'll get mail soon," Gwendolyn elected to not mention her estranged mother's lack of communication.
The trio sat in silence for a bit of time, enjoying their food, Joyona enjoying her drink. Eventually, the silence grew anxious.
"So," Joyona started, immediately grabbing the attention of Gwen and Mairaela, "When are we going to start worrying about Tess?"