Board Thread:The Company/@comment-24930445-20140615054833/@comment-24930445-20140622075655

Vision Walk

Kat sat with her back against the wall, Aerli’s back against her chest and Vee’s head resting on her thigh. She had been absently playing with his hair as she watched Ben, though her thoughts were elsewhere.

She spent an hour or so silently cursing herself for trusting Axin, then another hour or so cursing the man himself. Since no guards had come in to drag her out, she was assuming he hadn’t said anything about her being there, but she couldn’t be sure and she hated that.

The headache hadn’t lessened despite meditation and she found herself wishing for Mogneio once again. She never told Ry, but she sorely missed the crotchety old bastard. She sighed softly making sure not to wake either of the kids.

“You’re in pain. Perhaps I can help you?” The man Vee had introduced as Mack spoke quietly from beside her.

“N’thanks. It’ll pass. I just need ta rest a bit. Been a long day.” She had never been one to take an instant liking to strangers and this one was no exception. She had thanked him for staying with Vee and Tarin when they were taken, but she honestly didn’t know why he had and she didn’t like the feeling.

She laid her head back and closed her eye, trying once again to force herself to relax. His voice stirred the silence once again. This time, though it was still quiet, he did not speak. He hummed. Kat frowned slightly. She knew the song. Opening her eye, she rolled her head to look at the man as she listened for a few moments more.

“Where did ye learn ‘The Ballyeamon Cradle Song’? Tis been a vera long time since I’ve heard it.”

He didn’t answer, merely continued to hum, his deep voice pure, though the song was meant for a tenor. Sighing, she closed her eye and softly hummed with him only to felt herself begin to drift away to sleep.

__________________

“Little mačka (cat). You must pay attention. It is almost too late for your people as it was for mine. The Wiveni. They will come soon. Come with me little mačka. You must see.”

Kat opened her eye to see Volanyn crouched before her. Surprised, she glanced around to find they were the only two in the room. “Where are they? Where are m’ people?”

He smiled softly. “They are here, mačka. We speak in your dreams. I apologize, but this was the only way I could show you. You need to tell them.”

She moved as if to stand, his hand capturing hers as if to help. Although a dream, she could feel the coolness of his skin, smell the scent of him. “Come with me mačka.” He led her through the room and out through the door, though it never opened. In the hallway, they passed several people and none of them stopped to stare. None of them seemed to realize they were even there.

She was surprised to discover he seemed to know where he was going, but she was not nervous. Soon, they passed through another door into a room much like the first. In here, however, were people she had never seen before. Each one sat straight, stiff in hard chairs, their attention focused in front of them intently.

“Who are they?” She tilted her head up to her escore.

“They were once you. Now, they will serve the Wiveni.” As if by some unspoken cue, each head turned at exactly the same time for exactly the same distance and stared at her. The expressionless faces seemed to study her and it creeped her out. Watching them watch her, she could almost hear Ry’s voice. “Wheel’s turnin’ but the hamster’s dead.”

“They see us?” She couldn’t help it, she stepped closer to Volanyn.

“Yes and through them, the Wiveni. It is too late for them mačka. They are pawns now. Come. You must see how it started.”

“He led her back through the door, though instead of the hallway, she found herself back in the temple. The kňazi stood in their places, though they appeared as if made of stone. Each priest stared ahead much like the pawns had in the room. The podstavec (pedestal) and Spasiteľ (Redeemer) were not in their place and Kat looked up to Volanyn.

“It is a moment in time, mačka, nothing more. But you must watch.” His hand swept outwards and she followed its progression until she was taking in the room once again.

Suddenly, a man burst in. “Otcovia svätí, to je môj brat. Tam je problém, a že nie je sám. On porazená svoju ženu a rodinu, aj keď sa nezdá realizovať. Tam sú iní v obci. Oni tiež fungujú ako on. Modlite sa, povedz nám, čo robiť! (Holy fathers, it is my brother. There is trouble and he is not himself. He has slaughtered his wife and family, though he does not seem to realize. There are others in the village. They too act as he. Pray, tell us what to do!)” The man gasped suddenly, arching his back. Before he could scream, a kopije (spear) pierced his chest from the back. As if in slow motion, he collapsed to the floor to reveal the man behind him.

As the pawns had been, the murderer was completely void of emotion or expression. His movements were almost robotic, though the blood from a cut on his arm proved otherwise. As he took a step towards them, the scene froze.

“The Wiveni. They enter the soul. Steal it. Take who you are and feed on it then use your shell for their own. Their only goal is to conquer and subjugate any and all who cross their paths. Their methods are quite ingenious; to use one’s own people against us… against you. As you saw, the process has already started in your world. Now you must return. Tell your people before the Wiveni themselves come through their gates.”

Kat frowned. “What do you mean?”

“This is their first wave, mačka. Once they have your people fighting amongst themselves, they will come. The podstavec and Spasiteľ were created by my people to stop the portals they travel through from opening, imprisoning them between worlds. By removing our sacred items, you have broken the bindings holding them there and they will be coming through.”

She suddenly saw what the man before her referred to as Wiveni. Her first thought was demon. The creature he showed her was huge, at least ten feet tall. It appeared vaguely humanoid, though it stood on four legs and had four arms, each with one seriously bad-assed wickedly curved blade in hand. Its head was bulbous, though its eyes were tiny and the deepest shade of red. A slathering maw opened wide as if to display teeth as wicked as the weapons it carried. There was no nose that she could see, though its ears nearly resembled horns in their height and pointiness.

Thick necked, she could tell from the muscles protruding throughout its body that he was a fighter, and a very strong one to boot. His size would probably make him a slow opponent, but his strength would make up for that slowness. She wasn’t willing to test that theory.

Its exoskeleton was shiny black, as if made of metal. It might have been armor, but it had a natural appearance, as though it were a part of the fiend. She could barely detect swirls of deepest red, almost the color of their eyes throughout the exo, and they seemed to favor that color in their personal adornments. As if a part of some tribal markings, a brighter shade of red seemed to symbolize warpaint of a sort.

The sound it made reminded her of a thousand tunnel grinders plowing through the hard granite shell of a mountain, eating everything in its path only to spit out dust in its wake and she slapped her hands over her ears and closed her eye.

Suddenly, silence. She slowly lowered her hands and opened her eye to nothing. Pure blackness surrounded her both in sight and sound. “Volenyn?” He did not respond. She felt her hand reach out before her, searching, but she found nothing. Her panic began to build. “Volenyn?!”

“Kat! Wake up!” The slap across her face had her jolting upright, not quite stifling the scream that slipped from her throat. Her friends were staring at her wide-eyed, Aerli held tightly in Vee’s arms while Tarin and Xyastia helped Ben sit up. “Welcome back, sis. Have a nice vacation? Thanks for not taking me with you, by the way.”

“I’ve gotta talk to Axin!” She stood, then stumbled, falling into Mack’s arms as her head nearly exploded with pain.