"So this is the one?"
Standing outside of the entrance to a cave, Melaine idly crossed her arms as she spoke to the bird perched atop her head.
Nodding, Ravenmother answered.
"This is the one Leander and I went into, where Lewren had made himself home and if what Leander says is true… This is where the minions of the Maw are hiding."
At the thought of what was hidden within the cave, Melaine's face distorted into an angry expression before calming a moment later. Closing her eyes, Melaine listened to the shadows.
Her perception extended into the cave, feeling the shadows that were comfortably settled within. The shadows that occupied this cave were old, having dwelled within this cave since it had been formed thousands of years ago. These shadows were ancient… and agitated
They were not things that could be bothered by a small source of light or a creature passing through them. Something truly abominable had begun to awaken, shining a tainted light that caused an upheaval in the darkness.
As she listened to the shadows, something stirred within Melaine's own shadow. Two beady eyes like stars looked at Melaine from out of her shadow. Its voice growled deep and heavy, the young shadows that surrounded the entrance to the cave quivered as it spoke.
"Let me deal with these small things, it would only take me a moment to devour them all."
Furrowing her brow, Melaine opened her eyes – still looking into the cave.
"I am not loosening your collar, Umbrasis. If I let you loose, you would decimate this entire mountain range… and that would not be good for my kingdom. So stop asking!"
The last part of her sentence was said with an annoyed tone as if she had grown bored of repeating it. Glancing down from Melaine's head, Ravenmother looked at the shadow.
"Mel, does he really have to follow you everywhere? That gator is getting on my nerves."
Umbrasis laughed.
"Speak for yourself, bird. At least I have a reason to be stuck with her. What's your excuse?"
As Ravenmother opened her beak to speak, Melaine threw her hands up – silently groaning as she spoke.
"What do you want from me? I had never made a pact with a beast whilst I was alive. I thought making a pact with a super-powerful beast would be a good idea. My bad!"
Exasperated, Melaine began walking into the cave.
The agitated shadows that resided within the cave began to calm as her presence filled the cavern.
The shadows were not the only entities within the cave to notice her presence. The sound of stone smashing against stone filled the air. Pausing, Melaine tilted her head, sensing something approaching.
Melaine rubbed the back of her neck with one hand, reaching out her other hand to hang in the air, causing the folds of her dress to rustle on a silent breeze. Quietly, she whispered.
"Ravenmother, what do you see?"
Ravenmother's purple eyes widened as she peered into the darkness. A moment later, Umbrasis' voice snickered.
"What's wrong, Melaine? Is it too dark for your poor eyes to see?"
Ravenmother glared at the shadow before continuing.
"Two creatures of stone are approaching. With each step they are tearing up the cave, drawing parts of it into their body. Orange crystals are spreading across the surface of the stone, it's corrupted."
Melaine responded with a curt nod as she stretched her fingers.
"I see."
As she started moving forward, a small cyan flame burst into life in the palm of her outstretched palm, and the shape of the fire began to change. Growing longer, its end bent sideways, growing sharper. The fire burned brightly, disappearing in a flash. Where the fire had once been, now a scythe made from pure white bone wreathed in the ever-familiar cyan flame was held tightly in her hand.
Spinning the scythe with one hand, the flames burning on its smooth surface illuminated the cave – the eyes in her shadow squinted as if annoyed by the sudden light. Clearing her throat, Melaine stopped her scythe from spinning, catching it with her free hand. Her fingers tightly gripped the length of the scythe.
As the corrupted stone figures descended upon her.
A small thought crossed Melaine's mind.
'I wonder what my Hero is doing right now.'
----
Leander had been running for a long time. Everything was a blur; everything was confusing, the only constant being his own footfalls. at first, Leander had tried to count his steps, but he always lost count after the second step.
'One, two… five? Twenty?'
The unexplainable fog was truly a mystery. From an outside perspective, the fog that drifted down from the mountains and onto the lake should have only been a few meters wide. But the moment Leander had crossed the boundary, all reason and logic ended. The only fact Leander knew for certain was that he was still alive… and that he was still being hunted. Occasionally, Leander took a knee to feel the tremors in the ground, they were still coming from the left.
'I'm still on course, but this is ridiculous. There is no reason it should be taking this long.'
Sliding to a stop, Leander drew his sword. Raising it above his head with both hands, he brought the sword down into the ground. The tip of the sword bounced off of the ground – although he couldn't see this – Leander felt the vibration run through the blade and into his hands. Gritting his teeth, Leander sheathed his sword. Taking a moment to consider the space he was in.
'If the fog wasn't enough proof, this place. It's not right. Between the dysphoria, loss of direction… the whole being bigger on the inside and that's only from this small portion. What would I experience if I had tried to cross through the centre of the mountain range proper? Could it be even larger? A continent within a continent… Melaine, you truly are ingenious to use this fog to your advantage.'
"Hello! Hello, is somebody there!"
Stopping, Leander quickly looked to see where the voice had come from. An act that was futile due to the fog. Not just because his vision was blinded by the fog but also because the voice seemed to come from every direction.
Again, it spoke. Leander scowled, unable to discern the gender of the voice. Did the fog disrupt sound as well?
"I know you're there, I heard you strike the ground. Don't worry. I'm not a threat like the other things in here, I just need your help. Will you help me?"
Remaining silent, Leander faced forward – at least the direction his feet were pointing in. Not having moved them after stopping.
'I don't like this. Not one bit. Why can I hear this person's voice clear as day…'
"I just need help getting out of here!"
'But I can't hear whatever is making the ground tremor.'
The voice in the fog was quiet for a moment, returning Leander to the silence of the fog. After a few more seconds, the voice sullenly returned.
"Ah, you're pretty smart, you know. I thought using your language would make tricking you easy."
Before the voice had finished speaking, Leander had already begun to run again. Shutting his eyes, Leander focused on nothing except the ground beneath his feet – as the ground seemed to be the only constant in this unearthly realm.
"Ah, don't run, if you run you'll reach the boundary before I can reach you!"
The voice sounded sad, but then suddenly, the voice boomed from every direction. Each vowel cracked through the fog like a bolt of lightning.
"DON'T YOU DARE LEAVE! GIVE IT TO ME! YOUR BODY, GIVE ME YOUR VESSEL! WE NEED IT GIVE IT TO US! WE'VE BEEN SO HUNGRY EATING THESE HUSKS, GIVE US SOMETHING OF WORTH. YOUR SOUL LOOKS DIFFERENT; DOES IT TASTE AS UNIQUE AS IT LOOKS!?"
As the voice intensified, the sound of its voice cracked against Leander's body, causing it to shake as if he had been struck with a mighty blow. The physical pain was not the only symptom, each vowel carried with it a familiar pain putting the flavour of blood into Leander's mouth.
'No… Is it, it's damaging my soul with just its voice?'
As he was thinking this, Leander reached the end of the fog.
His senses returned all at once, hearing, sight, direction, time. Normally, Leander would have been fine due to the sudden influx of mental stimuli, perhaps stumbling slightly before regaining his footing. Leander felt a moment of joy looking out over the dark grasslands that lay beyond the fog wall, but his happiness was fleeting as he fell down. The area he had emerged from the fog was a steep decline.
Tumbling down the dirt, Leander came to a stop at the bottom, lying on his back.
Staring up at the sky with a blank expression, Leander stayed there for some time.
'What a beautiful night.'
Stars twinkled down on the continent of Orozia. It had been early morning when Leander reached the dock; now, day had passed, giving way to the peaceful night. It seems that Leander had been running through the fog for an entire day, or time functioned differently within the fog.
Leander knew one thing for sure.
'As long as I live, I am never stepping foot into that fog again.'
Leander watched the stars, allowing himself a moment to rest. Closing his eyes, Leander looked inwards – wanting to inspect his soul, Leander's mind entered his Soul Sanctuary.
Opening his eyes, Leander found himself lying on his back. The stars were gone, and now the cloudy expanse of his Soul Sanctuary filled his vision. The blazing sun that was his soul shone, reflecting every colour of the rainbow.
Leander found it fortunate that the cloud he had appeared on within his Soul Sanctuary was facing his sun. He did not know if he could put in the effort to stand and walk long enough to find a cloud that gave him a good view of his soul.
Focusing his attention on his soul, Leander was happy with the state his soul was in. Whatever that voice was, it did not deal any serious damage to his soul.