Dear Diary

The Terrible Tales of a Tiny Terror vol. 2

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0

June 13

Aerie Peak

 

Talk with Seda today. She give infos on plan. Going to talk friend about more stuff. Think we have meet soon. Pieces are coming together faster now and furlough is close. 

I told her things. More things than I tell anyone else right now, with blood thirst and enjoy violence. Can't word this shit good anywhere but brains. Hate

Better than I expect. She understands. She know why I make the choice I'm gonna, too. Cause this is me. And I can't. No Acherus raise make me enjoy watch people bleed out and hurt. That always been me. I enjoy it. Want to do more of it. Want fights. Always want fights, always want to hurt someone else. So I have no choice. I knew this would happen. Think boths did. 

Jo won't like. She doesn't choice either. 

After furlough. 

I have bit over two week left. 

Got to enjoy while I have it. 

 

 

Seda call me a friend. That means stuff. Good, though. I think her friend, too. Never tell her this but look up to her. 

Gross, feelings.

 

 
0

June 21

Jade Forest

 

Talk to other breakout via shade yesterday. Still suspicious. Still going. Too good to pass up. Want to get fix. Want to stop being broke. This ruin so much and it frustrates. Maybe that why I'm extra angry now. I should be better than this and I can't. 

Shit sucks. 

Gonna miss this nice with Jo, though. Time is count down. I'll have two week after to go under again but it not the same as this. I don't want to but have to. I know it. They'll disapprove again. Show how little they ever understand. Don't get why sacrifice have to happen. Maybe they lucky to not have to understand but shove their disapproves at me is bullshit. I shouldn't stand for it. Maybe I snap back this time if they get at me before I'm gone completely. 

I can't be this violence, though. I can't. I'll do something and won't regret it when I should. Don't see why they can't understand that. 

A week and half left.

 
0

06 July

Aerie Peak

 

Trying to write again. If go slow, not bad handwriting. Takes so long. Frustrat ing. I have thoughts and I want to write them.

Cas kidnap successf ully. Complicated plan but it work. Sometimes those do. Playing to weakness, too. Good sign. She was one I was not sure about. Survived in Gnomeregan but survive skills don't always translat to good agents. Being willing to kidnap someone at all a good sign. Moral flex is what I need. It mean you can get shit done.

I can feel it starting. There more distance between me and them. Reactions starting to slow. Slight ache, barely notice for now. Not noticeable on outside, yet. Once it progres they will notice. Expect it to be like last time. Confusion and selfishness. No one consider I maybe make choice for the best, always ask selfish base question.

It bug me that no one do this to Seda. No one question her judgment when she went off and back on. No one question why. I have to be question and judged and told I am making selfish choice and being a bad mom and worse bullshit. She never is. I am jealous of that     I just want to go under without being interrogate by selfish people who refus to understand even though I explain them before and again. And I don't owe anyone any explains. I'm going to fuck them up if they try shit.

I am a violent person. I am an angry person. I enjoy spill blood and watching them die by my hand. I enjoy fighting. Under no influence, I am still this. It makes me do bad things but it's me. It's me. I can't lead good if my judge is clouded by wanting to kill. Decision is very simple. I have to. Seda understands. Jo understands. Sky understands. They will watch out for me if the selfish people try something. Sky has extras in case they try to purge again.

Fucking terribl that I hav e to do this with my own unit. Terrible that I can't trust them enough to feel at ease about this. Longsight shatter my trust in this and even though he gone it can't come back. For my own safety I can't trust them. That is too bad. That is hurt. I have learn to be afraid of my own unit in this.

This is why I don't miss him. I couldn't trust him after that. I look at him and I remember he was about to force purge me against my will. I remember how Jo had to talk them down. I remember and I trust less and less.

I couldn't tell Nia all of the reason why I have to do this but I wasn't lying. I need it to be better. It make me a better gnome. I don't want to, I have to, and I will demand respect until they give it. By force if I have to.

 

 

 
0

<The audio recorder makes her voice sound tinny and there's a crackle and hiss in the background; clearly this isn't a high quality device. She speaks slowly and stiffly, with pauses and stutters as she forces an uncooperative brain and body to correctly pronounce challenging words. Every so often, she takes a sharp, pained inhale.>

Today is July fif-. No, sixt..eenth, now. I'm in my office.

Trying to clean my armor off. At least a little.

I just got back from Pan..dar..ia. The Throne of Thunder. Accurate.. accurate..ly named, I'm soaked. Cave slimed. Trying to wipe some off before I get home. Hard to explain it away.

Went to coll..ect anima for Shady. Bit worr..ied now, what it might do to me. If used...mm. Poorly.

<A pained inhale that breaks into a slight groan. The sound of something scraping on leather.>

This body is.. not. Not handling the trans-. Trans..ition. Well. Heh...

It hurts worse. I'm having a hard time hide-. Hiding it. Mm.

With the anima, th..ough... I don't want to end up like the s.. saur..ok. I saw. And set free. Heh. Oops.

<She doesn't sound repentant or concerned in the slightest.>

I got the anima. It's in this dagger. It serves as a ch-. Chal. Mm, can't. A contain. Con..tain..er. A container. I'm not sure how to get it out but I'll just make Shady do it. 

Have to ask Jo when she can come to Borean. The last one I'm.. doing. Alone. Again. Can't expose anyone to it. Not there. I've learned.

I've def..initely learned...

<Her voice trails off. A minute or so of quiet passes, broken only by her pained, sharp gasps and, every so often, the sound of leather scraping against leather.>

...I'm fading. Need to get home soon or I'll go down in my office.

One last.. one last thing, though.

It spoke to me. It pull..ed me. I found it. It was dead or I would be, too, I think but its... its -self- stays on in there, somehow. I touched its corpse and it show. Show..ed. Showed so much. The truth. I knew it but had never seen.

I saw a land in felfire, Azeroth I think but maybe it wasn't, and then it was...buried. By a black sea. I was pull..ed down to the Sleeping City, I think. I saw it. I was torn, melted away, then remade and it was agon..izing until it...ended. And it was void. It was relief.

And it spoke to me. I remem... re..mem..ber all it said because it's import. Import..ant. 

'There is solace in the void. There is no pain. There is no fear. There is no anger. There is no more.'

'The void's embrace awaits. The void's embrace will always await. The void will claim all that walks, crawls, and slithers.'

That's what it said.

It spoke true. The void will take us all. When Azeroth falls, I will be taken to Ny'alotha, the Sunk-. Sunken City where N'Zoth sleeps. 

Sleeps.

He is awake, I think. They all are, now. Again.

<A shuddering groan. The sound of leather scraping incessantly against leather.>

Home. I have to get home. I have plenty to think about, now, though.

Ahn'Qiraj will only bring more.

<A click.>

 

<Silence.>

 

 

 

 
0

<M speaks in a listless monotone. Her ability to pronounce words with ease is still lacking; she stutters, she restarts, and she trips over certain combinations of syllables. During the worst of these, the barest hint of frustration leaks into her voice and fades within seconds.>

<The sound of kitten meows can be heard at times in the background.>

Today is July twentieth. I am at home. Jo and the kids are asleep.

The pain has sett-. Settled. It is done. 

<A pause.>

Saw Z a few days ago. Need to get him the jaw. Strange...thing to drop off. Going to con.. cons-.

<A sigh.>

Con..sid..er words while I have time. For them both, not just her. I hope this will help us all.

Mov.. moving. Moving on.

The patrol was not normal. We found a corpse-. No. We found the find..ers of a corpse. Elf ment..ioned seeing a flash of light before they found the man's corpse. Tele..port. Tele-. Mage. He was a mage. He was near..ly run thr..ough in six places. The wounds had ichor on the edges. Violent..ly done. Quin thinks he might be from North..rend, because he was in warm armor. Too warm for here, in summer. And the symbol on his armor...

A red fiery circle with the Scarlet 'L'.

Foll..owed the blood trail to where his-... he arr-.. he showed up. Fro and Sky saw some..thing more. They foll..owed an impact trail down to the lake. There was-. I am uns-. Un..sure. How to describe it.

It was three undead, Forsaken I think. They were all back to back with a metal band around them all to hold them toge..ther. Quin saw it first, that their backs were sewn together. None of them had arms below the elbow. Inst..ead they had... had spikes. Spikes but iced or crystal..ized ichor. It was melting from the lake water or heat. Not sure.

Seda took the tip of one to send to her Knight friend. Lammy clean-. Puri..fied the lake part that the thing fell into. 

Sky real..ized that the Scarlet corpse might have been...ichored. Ran back just in time. Cas shot it in the head, Quin ashed it and the ab..om..ination. Saved the elf and dwarf.

I am concerned. By this. By what is going on, where they came from. 

We need to look deep-. Deeper. Into this. 

<Another pause.>

 

I think I might make a trip tomorrow. A kind of... a kind of pilgrim..age. In a sense. 

We will see.

That is all, for now.

<A click.>

 

<Silence.>

 
0

<Rain can be heard loudly in the background, along with, distantly, the sound of footsteps in puddles on occasion. As usual, the worst of her struggles with words garners a slightly frustrated heat to her voice that fades quickly.>

Today is July twenty-first. I am in Azsuna. Just in Ahn’Qiraj.

It was...grand. Old. Still but not quiet. I ex..pected to hear and I did. Words of wisdom. As ever.

They were looting sac..red ground. Their fates were predes-. Hm. It wou..ld have happened anyway. Maybe a kind-. Kind. Ness. Silithid are painful. I'm faster. Didn't feel the... the pleasure of it. Killing. It was dry. The inhib..itor is working. Good.

I chose to kill them. I wasn't acting on my own vio..lent urges. It was a delib..erate choice.

I don't regret it.

<A pause lasting nearly thirty seconds.>

Jovana was not someone I ex-. Expect. Expect..ed to see in the temple. Two more with her. They all should have died, too. By rights. Not their place. But...

<A flat sigh.>

I'd like to keep ex..isting for the little time the world has left. Even if...well.

<She speaks as if quoting someone for the next line:>

'You will never be acc..epted among them. You will never be 'fixed.' You do not belong in their world.'

They're right. And that ret..urning to their world will only make my fall worse. Always has before. They Know. Always. I will always be alone in the end. Outcast. Only a matter of...time and how badly. Always. But I knew this. Noth..ing new there.

Got the obs..id..ian Shady needs. Compl..ete..ly ex-. Mm, can't. I anti..cip..ate betrayal fully, now. I will be careful. I may just go to the tundra alone. I prob..ably can. Made it through with these two fine. Maybe best to keep Jo not ex..posed to the, ah. Shadiness. Also gives me better denial.

Good plan.

Mm. Need to find band..ages and a sewing kit. Bullets shou..ld be alright. Can't keep bleeding. Shows. Have to repair my armor. Need to find Cere. Or Lammy.

...Lammy is safer. Cere will ask.

Re..mem..ber for next time: silithid have sharp man-. Mand-.

<A sigh.>

Teeth.

<A click.>

 

<Silence>

 

 

 
0

*Written on a scrap paper and shoved into her journal is one word, underlined around ten times:*

TOMORROW

 
0

<It's an abrupt shift. Her halting, stumbling speech is gone, replaced with her low pitched (for a gnome) voice, smooth and well spoken. There is an utter lack to emotion, depth, and attachment in her tone and inflection is at the barest minimum.>

Today is July twenty-fifth. I am in my office. The ritual was successful and I have regained proper speech and physical abilities. I can hold a dagger again and write. I can speak fluently. This is beneficial for future communications and expression. 

The ritual was one of the most physically uncomfortable things I have experienced as far as I can recall and, in the future, I plan on avoiding similar experiences if I am able. They offered future services if desired although I am uncertain taking up this offer would be wise, apart from necessary repairs due to combat injuries or extensive decay. If events arise where I may require additional alterations, though, I will reconsider this stance.

What I will not reconsider is the stance of not telling anyone that any of this occurred. They do not require this knowledge and it would be unwise to share. 

Moving on.

Broom claimed a kitten. I believe Shrub desires one, although I have hesitations on her competency. Great hesitations. If she does eventually request a kitten, I will ensure she is aware that her behavior and care of it will be monitored and, if found lacking, punished and the kitten rescued. 

Speaking of kittens, I am furthering my. Hm. My wish, I suppose, to deposit a kitten on Seda. She remains unaware. I have not seen her, truthfully, to raise this suggestion so I am going to do it without asking first. I do not think it would be negative, though. Kittens are pleasant.

<A pause.>

Cloudweaver wrote a notice of an upcoming mission that was of...a concern to me. I am uncertain if I have a choice otherwise than to attend; hallucinations, illusion magic, and the mention of unknown malevolents in the mountains and ruins of Alterac is... 

Ah.

Concerning, I believe. I think I am experiencing a concern. I do not wish to return there. I do not wish to see others return there, either, though, and I have the only knowledge. 

I have long since made up my mind, so rehashing these thoughts is useless. I will go. I see no true alternative. 

For now, that is all.

<A click.>

 

<Silence.>

 
0

<Her placid monotone contrasts wildly with the paranoia of her recording.>

The date is the 28th of July. I am in my office.

I know, now, I think. I was under delusion before. I need to keep a close eye on things. Perhaps if I spot a crack in this play, I will be able to break out of it.

It is the most pleasant, generally, one I have seen, though. Maybe it would be best to accept what is because it is worse without this.

Mm.

I would ask Sky what her plan is, going forward from here, but after my actions earlier I might have lost her, too. I thought she was a bear. I was made to see her as a bear. She has reason to distrust me. Still, I might try. Later, though, and after some time of non-hostility. 

Apparently Knutcrank was under the influence as well. It would be beneficial if he did not do much while seeing the others as bears, although I did not ask. I only aimed a stab for Sky and it did not contact. My status was realized almost immediately, when things did not line up. This is positive. It cannot control me for long. I already watch for signs. Not hard enough, it seems, though.

I cannot slip up again, it will cost me my life in a place like this. That is something I have already learned.

For now, I will remain in here to process the evening's events. The bears and the imp mother and the illusions are not wholly surprising, considering. What comes of the scepter investigation will merit interest. 

I might warn Seda that she should be cautious of her Others.  That is news to be broken gently, though. I owe her much from her treatment of me last year. 

If it has even been a year.

Time is convoluted, to say the least, and I am uncertain if I wish to understand it.

<A quiet sigh.>

Part of my mind clings to the wish that I had never gone today and so would have never seen and known. Perhaps that would have been better, although the eventual breaking would likely break me, in turn, had I not. Although that, too, perhaps would have been better.

It is too late now, though, and therefore such wishes are inefficient and useless. I must press on with what information and knowledge I have.

Someday, perhaps, I will see the true sky again.

<A click.>

 

<Silence.>

 
0

<A long silence. She sounds even more emotionally distant than usual.>

August... it would be the ninth, now. I am at the siege doors of the keep, watching the sky.

Watching Argus in the sky.

<A pause.>

He used Karazhan as ammunition. I should not have engaged but it... 

He needed to be shot down and no one else would do it, not like I would. The things he implied, the losses he dredged up, were unacceptable at a time of uncertainty and vulnerability. 

This has taught me, without a doubt, that I cannot have a moment to myself in public without it being attacked. It was a mistake. It will not be repeated.

<Another, longer pause.>

I would have died long ago if I had given in. Sky would be dead if I had given in. I would not be Commander if I had given in. That was an insult and I will remember it. I will remember everything he said. Every lie he tried to pass as truth is a reminder of how our friendship actually died the day he turned and I did not know it. He is not the man I once knew.

I will miss who he was, not what he has become. I think he cared, once. Perhaps that was a lie, too. Perhaps his hate started in Ulduar, or Karazhan. 

Using the death of my daughter on a night where it had already been dredged up twice is unforgivable. Accusing me of willfully planning on leading the unit to their deaths is unforgivable. And insisting, twice, that I have given up and that I would not be here if I had not given up in the past is absolutely unforgivable. 

I died for them. I died for him. And it seems he was not worth that sacrifice. I do not think he is worthy of being my Advisor, as he clearly does not trust in my leadership at the very least. If I had been in my tabard during that conversation, it would have been grounds for demotion. He cannot and will not speak to his Commander in such a manner.

But I will not consider him any longer. He is unworthy of my time.

I am going to make Izarre a card. I recall them being appropriate in times of loss.

Later is Darkshire. I do not look forward to going there.

Mm.

This is a bad time all around.

That is all, for now.

 

<A click.>

 

<Silence.>

 
0

 

It didn't taste like anything, nor did she expect it to. Lacking in taste buds, the demonic blood could have been oddly viscous cream for all she could tell. That was likely for the best. Under her glove, she could feel the hard metal of the ring against her finger. It was a mild distraction; not something she was used to but something she could ignore with ease. What she couldn't quite ignore was how good it felt.

The minute the blood was past her lips, she could feel strength and vigor return to her battered body. Ichor stopped spilling from the sword's cut in her side and from the holes in her boot the jagged ice had left. Even along her cheeks, she could feel the tiny cuts left by frost shards pulling back together into nearly impossible to see lines. The hole in her side was still there, open but no longer bleeding, and she didn't want to look again at her badly burned hands and forearms, but it was enough. 

It was more than enough, if she was honest with herself. It felt incredible.

M turned, pulling a small handheld mirror from her desk drawer to inspect her face. Tiny nicks now covered a few parts of her cheeks and neck but they only showed upon the closest of inspections. Jo, she knew, would find them but few others ever got that close. Moving down, there were similar lines in her armor where the wyrm's breath had sent a thousand tiny frost shards across her. That would be harder to explain. The Servitors tabard would hide the hole in her side and the matching cut in her armor, at least. That left the trouble of her leg. There were visible and impossible to hide holes in her boot from calf to ankle where the ice had pierced through and, although no longer bleeding, there were matching holes in her skin beneath. That would not do. 

With a sigh, she sat in an overlarge, for her at least, chair and pulled off the ichor stained shoe. It would be wiped off before she emerged from her office but for now her attention rested on the two holes in her flesh. It would be hard to stitch them closed and she doubted the thread would hold. It would be easier just to patch them over, but with what?

Her gaze lifted towards the bag on her desk, resting near the now drained vial of demon's blood. It would do. Rising again, she climbed up and from the bag she pulled out a single, sin'dorei hand, still with several rings on the fingers. Fresh from the cold of Northrend, it was only starting to thaw out. Its eventual resting place would be a freezer for safekeeping but M needed a donation of flesh first. 

With precision, she pressed the tip of her blackened dagger to the skin of the palm. Two circular shapes were neatly cut and flayed away, slightly larger than the holes in her leg. The san'layn's hand was shoved unceremoniously back into the bag afterwards. Skin patches in hand, now, she turned back to the repairs. Along with a small dab of a dark, viscous substance, she carefully stitched along the edges of the elven skin, joining it to her own. The tones of flesh didn't match in the slightest, and the bright red thread stood out even more, but it would do for now until she had more blood on hand. There was not enough time before the meeting to see to her side, but that could wait as well.

She only hoped Gregory would maintain their bargain. Without him, she had no regular source outside of the heat of battle. The mission ahead would provide, she hoped, plenty of opportunities for, as she named it, 'field snacks,' but she could not guarantee it. Once the deployment was over, she could empower the ring again, but there was no time. Not now. Not yet.

A quiet sigh escaped her and she pulled her boot closer, starting to clean off her own ichor blood from its side. There would also be no time to hide its distinct smell and that, she expected, would draw questions. M had no lack of experience in only half answering, or just entirely lying, in response to questions but it was an inefficiency when there were more important matters. The upcoming deployment was what she hoped would bring the most attention. 

Boot now clean enough to pass off as unstained, she readied herself to leave the privacy of her room. The bag carrying the elven hand was placed carefully into a black lockbox, which in turn was tucked under her arm. With quiet steps, M slipped out of her office. She had a hand to freeze.

 
0

*This letter is folded in an envelope and kept in the communal officer's office (formerly Etharion's).*

Children,

I am hopeful we will return and I will destroy this letter. Still, there is a high enough chance of terrible things happening. We are going into Argus absolutely blind. No one has been on that planet in twenty five thousand years. It could be a death trap. 

In the worst case scenario, if neither of us make it back, I would like you to know a few things:

-I have treasured both of your presences.

-You are both intelligent young people and I know you will grow into brilliant adults. 

-You will be alright.

-You have Uncle Rezi and Rethier and Harthur and Aunt Nora.

I do not wish for you to read this but these things happen. Death happens and it is unwise to avoid facing that fact.

I wish you all the best.

-Mom M

 
0

<The sound of hooves on metal can be heard intermittently. M is speaking in emotionless, listless Gnomish, likely for privacy.>

We have been on Argus for a week now. I do not find myself concerned or pleased by this to any extent. It is simply occurring and I am witnessing it.

Some appear stressed or afraid. A few find the technology interesting. I am interested in the warframes the Lighties use but would likely be unable to operate one myself. 

<A pause.>

This is not a place I belong. Some-. Most, actually, of the others do. They find comfort or safety with the Lighties. They do not have to be wary of their armor or weapons or prayers. They talk of faith a lot. I overhear them even if I do not want to. How everyone should keep faith in the Light and in the rightness of the mission.

I do not care about either of these so I avoid the Lighties as much as I can. It is hard, when we are kept on their ship.

The easiest way to make a world give you more power is to make them dependent on you for something. Technology and military forces, in this case. I do not trust this. I do not trust them.

I heard a rumor. It happened, I think, when we were on Krokuun's surface with the krokul. Someone said that Boss Blindfoldie destroyed a Windchime because it tried to make him Lighty. It makes no sense to me, but I overheard a few Lighties talking about it, in whispers. They disapprove. They fear its loss might mean defeat. 

If a Windchime had been on board when I was there, I would never set foot on their ship again. Since I learned of their apparent prowess at unavoidable mental communication, I have mistrusted their existence. If this rumor is true, I am right.

The Lighties can never be trusted with the power they wield. They will always, in the end, turn on those they have power over. 

I will not be taken by surprise.

<A long pause.>

Gregory continues to bring me various bile grubs. Worms. Full of blood. They work. To be frank, I have never been this functional during a long deployment to my memory. For now, this is working as hoped, and I do not anticipate having to restock on cookies any time soon, barring major repeated injury.

<A pause.>

I did not anticipate the, for lack of a better word, rush. I feel things in those moments. I am renewed and invigorated, more than I could expect given that I am in this corpse. I am uncertain if this is a concern. I am aware that this blood can have-. Will have. Side effects. It has not been long enough for any to show, but they might come. I do not wholly know what they will be, either. Not orc level, at least.

I will keep an eye on things, regardless, and if negative effects happen, I will cease and look for other options. I did bring glue and needle and thread as well, both of which work as temporary fixes.

<A very long silence, stretching into minutes.>

I hope the children are doing alright. And the cats. I consider their absence frequently. It is very dull here overnight. Nothing to do but watch Argus or watch Azeroth turn.

I can see Aerie Peak sometimes. It is so strange to see it from another world.

This is not a deployment I will miss.

<A click.>

 

<Silence.>

 

 
0

<As with the last recording, M is speaking in Gnomish.>

September eighteenth, at our temporary base in Mac'Aree. I prefer being here on the land, especially now that the Vindicaar has become too uncomfortable to spend extended time on. The upgrades the draenei put in place involve a large amount of Light.

As ever, the Lighties do not think outside themselves to the impacts their actions may have. Unintentional, likely, which means nothing. It shows more clearly that the Lighties may pretend to care but in the end will cease to consider us where it matters. 

Us and everyone else who, through discrimination or violence, have come to see them as they are and are uncomfortable with them as a result. They are all imperfect, but seem to hold themselves up as if they are not. Prone to zealotry. Prone to acting without forethought. To conveniently forgetting their actions may have damaging consequences on others.

If the war against the Legion is won, a new enemy will be looked for. The Ebon Blade has done questionable things, from what I have heard, and the Forsaken continually do. Easy targets. The dogs will push for war against Windrunner. I will not be caught off guard. 

<A pause.>

Jo also heard about the naaru incident on the Vindicaar. That means it is likely true. To try and remake someone against their will...

They wonder why I am uncomfortable around them. Look at what they follow.

<A longer pause. Faint rustling.>

This evening's mission went in an unexpected direction. We met a krokul, Olu, who took us into the void. 

He used us. Zibby is disgruntled by this. I am less so. While I do not wholly appreciate being used, I would not have seen what I did without Olu. When he took us through the abyssal void from one rift to the other, I felt and knew things that are of interest. It was cold and very quiet. The void exists to consume and to keep the Light in balance. Without shadows, Light cannot exist. That is the rule of things.

The rifts themselves were... Jo calls them incredible, and I would agree. I saw an abyss, somewhere in the Beyond I would imagine. There were no Nether energies, only lights from stars and other things being pulled in. It was unchanging and unmoving, it just continued to consume all things. I am uncertain if those rifts show reality, the same reality or different black abysses, but the vision was of great interest. 

Olu said, and Z confirmed, that there is a dark naaru here on Argus, and that it is responsible for the heavy void presence near it. I have not heard of naaru darkening before. I have questions on this.

Olu showed a final thing, uncertain if it was intentional however. We killed a void revenant, which left behind what I would call its heart. A dark core of shadow. Olu opened this and consumed the void energies without much external strain or any visible negative impacts. I have never seen this happen previously and I am very interested in how it might work. 

If there is a way I could regain, in this body, the abilities with shadow I had in my own... 

<A brief pause.>

Jo gave me a void crystal to test. The results were...interesting, short term. For roughly a one minute period, I could unskillfully manipulate shadow energies before it faded. I believe the reasons for this are multiple.

Firstly, this body, from what I can tell, never used shadow in life and has no muscle memory in relation to it. That can be improved upon with practice. 

Secondly, the void crystal only had a few second use in shielding me from the Light as was its original design. It does not have much power. Other sources of void are numerous, it seems, in the area of Mac'Aree we visited, so a gradual increase in power is something within reach.

Thirdly, I may be missing a vital component that I am unaware of at present. There is only one way I can conclude to rectify this.

I must seek Olu and request his teaching. This is not information I will be sharing, especially with Zibby, but I do not see another effective way forward. Continued experimentation with void sources could cause distortion as with the krokul we saw unless I have a knowledgeable source for a guide. No one in the unit has skill enough with this to provide teaching.

When time and duties allow, I believe I will take a bit of time to try and track him down. Although I cannot enter the void realm, I think he must exit it at some point. We saw him outside of it first. 

Mm. I have much to consider. 

<A click.>

 

<Silence.>

 
0

“Knew you would come back.”

He’d been waiting. After he’d drunk his fill of shadow, and after he’d tossed his tools out of the void, he’d found a quiet place, off the beaten path, to wait. Briefly, he’d considered that the draenei might seek him out for some quarrel but he’d liked her odds. And there she was, making a distinct effort to keep her footfalls audible. She wanted him to know she was coming.

Those footsteps paused when he spoke, though, and Olu turned his gaze up towards their last sound. Clad in the same dark leathers, but minus the red cloth over them, his visitor struck an unimposing figure as she squatted on the edge of the balcony that curved out from the long-abandoned draenic house.

For a time, they stared at each other. He could see, if he focused, the strands of magic that tied the little woman’s soul to her body. It was similar in theory to the magic that connected the soul of a vigilant to the metal body they were housed in but the practice of it was all wrong. This was a soul tied to flesh that had long since expired, tied with arcane and shadow and something else he’d only seen the Legion do; necromancy and soul binding.

It did not matter.

Olu held out his hand.

 

-

 

“You will hear the whispers. Be aware.”

“Understood,” came her voiceless intonation, flat as it always was. “I have before.”

When languages did not match, magic bridged that gap. It had taken a great deal of convincing. Olu’s new student, as he’d come to learn, did not trust the touching of minds in the void. Even now, as they sat in the darkened plane, he could feel the faint twinge of mistrust.

“No. Not like this. I show you.”

 

-

 

“I could teach more than this.”

Olu watched her carefully. M - he had finally pulled a name from her - only stared at him in silence. He felt no curiosity and this puzzled him.

“You only ask for weapons, for hiding. I know and can teach so much more.”

“I am aware.” M’s voice remained even and still he felt no stir of interest. “I am also aware of what I could do with what you offer.”

“Learn from experience.” He nodded. Here was a student who might not die when it came down to the wire. “Then I can teach. How much do you know of the void?”

 

-

 

Two days; that was how long the base instruction took. It involved no magic, only the passing of knowledge from master to student. Olu looked back on his twenty thousand years of practice, mistakes, and recoveries to find the most salient concepts to touch on. He spoke of the origins of the void, the need of its existence, and the many paths of truth and lies it told as one. A lot to take in on a first day of study.

M had left. Duties had to be upheld. He knew she would return. They would not be at the ruined house, though. The judgment of the Light could look for and find him if he stayed. A hole into nothingness opened at the gesture of a finger and through he went.

They would meet again.

 
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