10-24-2016, 08:28 PM
Soon, the tunnels, passageways and pits evolved. Stone and timber, pebbles, dirt and bone gave way to smooth rock walls and slick paths. Scents of decay and death were left behind, to be replaced with humidity and stale air. Two worlds blended as they sank deeper, leaving the Up behind. Man made tunnels, burrowed like fingers dug into the earth, began to bend like gnarled knuckles on the old. Caves, more ancient than the tunnels of the Above, were their home. They smelled familiar, like safety, and like home. Except in a few more steps, they would need to protect their faces.
"Cover your mouth and squint your eyes,"
she told the man at her side. He'd discarded her arm, and that burnt her soul. She was the Awakened and he the sinner, it should be her that refused him, but the Eye was forgiving. He did not know what offense he had cast.
As she spoke, Illarion and Marat dug deep within the robes and pulled a black cloth, like a scarf, up to their eyeballs, obscuring their mouths and noses. Valeriya did likewise, although her scarf had been tied around her waist.
A few more steps and a narrow slit broke the smooth wall alongside. From it wafted a horrid scent that burned her eyes. The drummers were down there, with their boiling cauldrons and burning pits of acid. The skins of the oni would be taken to them once it was cut away from the flesh. Valeriya had never been down there, as only a few of the Khylsty were allowed, even among the Eyes. But neither did she have the desire to see the foul work for herself. Whatever slime leaked such rotten, putrid scents, she had no desire to see.
Once they were past the slit, the three Khylsty pulled their scarves from their faces. The churning in her stomach lessened and she found the time to answer their lord's question. A smile stretched across her lips as she answered, her shoulders straightened.
"I am Valeriya, Eye of the Khylsty,"
and a swell of pride straightened her shoulders. "That is Illarion and that is Marat, brother monks of the Khylsty."
She didn't explain that Illarion was her twin. It was an evil thing for one woman to bear two offspring, but as they were of the line of the Eyes, it was an unclear offense. Neither acknowledged Regus at that time. They were busy hefting the weighty beast.
"You are Ree-ggg-us"
she answered in turn, testing the name on her tongue. It was a word she'd never heard before like the words that made up the rest of his name.
"You, Regus. I have seen your face all my life. As have the other Eyes before me. Come, you will soon see."
Soon, the caves began to widen. Lights from torches stretched closer. Air began to circulate, and a warmth began to creep through the leather of her attire.
"This is home. The Sacred dwelling of the last of the Khylsty."
She smiled, so much so, she almost sinned.
"Cover your mouth and squint your eyes,"
she told the man at her side. He'd discarded her arm, and that burnt her soul. She was the Awakened and he the sinner, it should be her that refused him, but the Eye was forgiving. He did not know what offense he had cast.
As she spoke, Illarion and Marat dug deep within the robes and pulled a black cloth, like a scarf, up to their eyeballs, obscuring their mouths and noses. Valeriya did likewise, although her scarf had been tied around her waist.
A few more steps and a narrow slit broke the smooth wall alongside. From it wafted a horrid scent that burned her eyes. The drummers were down there, with their boiling cauldrons and burning pits of acid. The skins of the oni would be taken to them once it was cut away from the flesh. Valeriya had never been down there, as only a few of the Khylsty were allowed, even among the Eyes. But neither did she have the desire to see the foul work for herself. Whatever slime leaked such rotten, putrid scents, she had no desire to see.
Once they were past the slit, the three Khylsty pulled their scarves from their faces. The churning in her stomach lessened and she found the time to answer their lord's question. A smile stretched across her lips as she answered, her shoulders straightened.
"I am Valeriya, Eye of the Khylsty,"
and a swell of pride straightened her shoulders. "That is Illarion and that is Marat, brother monks of the Khylsty."
She didn't explain that Illarion was her twin. It was an evil thing for one woman to bear two offspring, but as they were of the line of the Eyes, it was an unclear offense. Neither acknowledged Regus at that time. They were busy hefting the weighty beast.
"You are Ree-ggg-us"
she answered in turn, testing the name on her tongue. It was a word she'd never heard before like the words that made up the rest of his name.
"You, Regus. I have seen your face all my life. As have the other Eyes before me. Come, you will soon see."
Soon, the caves began to widen. Lights from torches stretched closer. Air began to circulate, and a warmth began to creep through the leather of her attire.
"This is home. The Sacred dwelling of the last of the Khylsty."
She smiled, so much so, she almost sinned.
The Eye of the Khylsty