The Virens weren’t the usual wandering grounds for people, but he couldn’t help the magnetism of this place. Perhaps it was the inescapable darkness that pulled him there; his very nature perhaps wanting to shed some light on the forest, literally. But no, it was more than that, and for the past few years he found himself more drawn. The pull was near unbearable after his ascension which only led him to believe that it had something to do with the matter.
Red sap trickled down one of the many moss-covered trees and he was briefly reminded of the Ataiyan maples he’d grown up with in Nisshoki. It was high time for him to pay a visit, but appearances in such a heavily publicized area weren’t always the best for a deity in Parvpora. At the very least his family had more than come around to his ascension by now, yet he felt a pang of guilt when he lightened their doorstep.
He moved closer to the trunk and gathered a small amount of the sticky substance onto his fingertips and rolled it around until it hardened. As he walked he kept it between his fingers, squeezing and molding it to give idle hands something to do other than fidget with his blade’s hilt. Every so often he would hear the fast skitter of some unseen thing just at the edge of his vision, and was quickly reminded of the eerie nature the forest always had.
For a moment, he stopped and looked down at the near perfectly sphered ball, and then held it between cupped palms. His eyes closed and he pushed heat around it, creating a ball of light so brilliant that it shone in bursts between the spaces of his fingers; illuminating the otherwise dark clearing with so much light that one would think there had never been so much of a shadow’s wisp in The Virens. He peeked one eye open, knowing they’d always be safe from blindness caused by light, and was able to see the brilliance that was this part of the forest.
It was normally so very dark that you could hardly see any detail, but like this he was surprised to see the many shades of crimson that bloomed around him. There was even some green, he hadn’t expected that, and had he not felt the smooth heat between his hands he would have allowed the light to linger for longer. Instead, it all flickered away as quickly as it had come, and he looked down at pure amber: as slick and clear as glass, but with the deadly color of blood.
He smiled at the now fossilized sap and ran the pad of his thumb along its impossibly smooth surface. Already he knew exactly where he would put it in his eldest child’s corner of the nursery. Haruka was so feisty that no other of their children would be able to pull off owning such a thing. It was beautiful, perfect, one of a kind, just like her…
He carefully moved it into the pack at his hip and made sure it was fastened safely before continuing his walk. After only a few paces his eyebrows furrowed. Something was humming, no, vibrating beneath his feet. He looked down and saw only black soil and grass. What in the world…? With a quick survey of his surroundings beforehand, he knelt down and pressed his hand to the damp earth. He could just barely feel a surge beneath him, as if something were under the ground.
His curiosity got the better of him and he leaned forward enough to press his ear, eyes narrowing at nothing as he tried to listen. It was muted from the earth between his ear and the source, but he could just make out talking, laughing, music? Was someone living underground? And then he heard a pain stricken scream all the way to the tips of his toes and was no longer merely curious. Whatever was happening, it wasn’t all good and innocent. That was no cry of a butchered animal.
Without hesitation, he got to his feet and held his hands down; fingers curling, and as they did so the dirt began to shift until a hole just wide enough for him to fit through opened up. It was deep, so deep, even from here and being able to look down, he saw that it was at least fifty feet below. Well, he’d done worse things than jumping into a hole in the middle of nowhere, and quickly stepped through.
His knees bent in preparation of landing and even with his strength he couldn’t suppress a groan upon hitting the packed floor. Where the soil of The Virens was moist with health and nutrient rich fungus, this was more like the cracked ground of the desert. And so hot, as if stepping into a kitchen. As he slowly turned to take in this place, he realized that where he was seemed more like a kitchen than he would have thought. All manner of pots, pans, cutting utensils and more were hanging on the walls, haphazardly left on countertops as if their owners had lost attention to something else, and some were so well used that he couldn’t tell if they were scabbed in rust or blood…
He felt something drip on his shoulder and slowly looked up, having that query answered promptly at the site of what was hanging from the ceilings. Different lengths of skin and muscles were hanging out to dry and dehydrate for future storage, and he could tell that most of them were humanoid in shape…Yes, best not to linger here. The stench of dark magick was palpable and he had to hold his hand to his mouth to filter it as best as he could.
His hand rose and he moved invisibility over himself as he began to flicker through the halls, searching for the source of that scream. Every so often he found himself pressing himself to a wall to avoid running into one of the witches that called this place home. He hadn’t imagined there’d be so many of them in one place as those in The Virens often times kept to themselves. Or perhaps it only seemed that way, since he’d unearthed a nest of them. They hid well, and he usually kept out of the affairs of those that delved in the craft so long as none were harmed…that was not the case with these ladies. And though he could overtake them, he wasn’t sure how many of them there were. Best to find their victims, get them out, and return later.
As he moved in deeper his nose picked up a familiar scent. That sent his stomach turning to think that anyone he might have known had fallen prey to these devils. Emotion ruled him as he followed that trail and stopped at a warded door. Clever…And only because he was a deity of light was he able to even break through these dark wards relying so heavily on necromantic magick. He moved through the door and closed it behind him, nearly stepping back against it when he saw the many hanging cages.
Some recognized him, and that should have been his first clue that something was wrong. His invisibility had fallen upon coming into the room, which meant only one thing…a manufactured dead zone. Being so focused on helping them, he didn’t even realize that fact when people pleaded for his help and he quickly shushed them and came further into the auditorium-like room. That was when he saw her, in her own cage. He hadn’t seen her since the soul stream and his heart lurched to see Kat locked up like some item. They must be powerful indeed to have taken her down…Normally the white markings on his skin would have glowed brighter, but being in a dead zone they seemed only like white tattoos on his otherwise dark skin.
He quickly pulled himself up the chain that held her cage aloft, thankful for still having his muscular strength despite relying on teleportation so often. Still, his jaw locked from pulling up the great length, and he had himself standing on the small lip of her cage once he reached her; his fingers gripping the bars as he looked through, “How in the world did you get here?!” His voice was raised in passion and concern, yet he managed to keep it from getting too loud so as not to alert anyone on the outside to his presence.
