Ranging Race

Ruel Za'Darmondiel.

***

We had to get this… Troupe out of the House. It was paramount. Not out of fear or threat, even. The reason came from the orderly chaos ensuing from their presence. They were a group of contradictions, and their ways could infect the mind just as their mana infected the very walls- a most dangerous combination.

Elg-Horr was the God of Mana. As ridiculous as that was to say, it made sense, being Telin's Champion. Yet it went beyond that. The Goddess of Magic. The God of Fertility. The Weaver of Fate. The God of Mana. His domain of all things mana completed both us and those traitorous elves above- the children of Youtera.

Unlike them, however, he was here, on the Mortal Plane, in Nonus, within the Darkworld of the Bodhi Peninsula, in the ancient Falls of Zimysta, within our House Za'Darmondiel; and he came with proxies- Gods and Goddesses of his own, and those deities had champions, all touched with so much divinity that it poured off their frames in ways that changed everything.

Glowing patches of moss or sometimes stone lingered above the places his feet fell, emitting illusions of the things we were most curious about him. Some rose from the ground to take on spheroid shapes and followed him, spinning around him endlessly. A most-haunting music poured from his shadow, unplayed by the likes of the undying halfling or other bards.

He carried a smell that left the tingling taste of salt, blood, and grease in my mouth. So too was it the same for them, especially the ones they called Iris and Reina. Metallic mushrooms and vibrant flowers bloomed wherever they passed. The human that Ilar obsessed over oft poured his maddened whispers throughout the House just by outstretching his arms.

Even the goblin's presence gave our goblin slaves the courage to scowl and snarl at us as we passed. But even that was hardly as problematic as these three.

The Gerdian matriarch who turned air into water.

The giant of a man who carried the heat of magma.

The giantess of a woman who seemed more like a venerable blue dragon in human form.

Elg-Horr would change Zimysta. That was what the matrons worked so hard to ensure- that the Falls would forever go down in the annals of history as the first elven city to receive his touch. But only if those three didn't melt, flood, or freeze the place first. And so, me and my sister took it upon ourselves to get them as far away from the Falls as possible. And perhaps get some information to boot.

How ridiculous it felt, though, levitating through my own house to not slip while following the dragoness and her conclave of canines. They trotted along the walls and ceilings as if they cared not for class or tact, leaving prints of ice and snow or even blooming seeds on the ancient stone of our house. Flowers trailed in their wakes, frosted like the highlights of their fur, and the way their vibrant eyes darted between the hidden passersby made it seem as if they dared someone to say something about it.

Uncannily intelligent, they were, and dissimilar as well, yet uncannily similar all the same. Three of them had short legs, yet where one was dense, stocky, and bearded, the others were lithe or, in one case long. One even had horns and black sclera like the Striflings, whereas the other two were more or less true to the bestiaries, only larger and with ice-blue streaks of fur highlighting their silver snouts.

It was the same mark present in Geri's drow-white hair- shaved on the sides and braided into finger-thin strands tied into a messy bun. So too was it present in her magical mark, shown to the world by way of her hooded pelt vest of white fur remaining open. The patch of vibrant blue hair drew my eyes down whenever she turned to face me. When she didn't, the same hue could be seen within the eyes of her hood- made from the head of a great canine.

"It'll be a little cramped inside." The woman began as we passed through the gates, motioning to a large beast that appeared from nowhere. Parts of it positively radiated magic, much like an arcane construct. Yet it was undeniably made with metal and thrummed with a power that didn't come from any magic I could sense.

"What is this?" I demanded.

"A Squid Squealer." Geri proudly said, tickling one of the dozen or so tendrils protruding from the rear of this long shell or…

"It is an egg." I realized.

"Was." Geri corrected. "Now it's a Squid Squealer, but there's only enough room for me and two more, so someone's gonna have to ride on top."

"Pharyl has experience riding lizards." I pointed to the forsaken trash I pulled from the wreckage of a… lost house while guiding the slightly cleaner Qiryyn and Nhildia behind Geri.

Morbidly curious, I paid close attention to every detail as we entered. The beast or machine coiled Pharyl within its tendrils to lift him to the top where an impromptu saddle of tendrils awaited him. Several more braided themselves and extended to our feet to create a bridge to its innards, then morphed to create handrails for our ease of movement.

Nevertheless, I floated up the bridge to face a strange construct akin to a beak. It was set to the left of an unassuming door like a great monument embedded into the wall. One that continued on the other side of an antechamber.

Though I was curious still, I was veritably unimpressed and remained so until we pushed through the antechamber to emerge in a fine lounge bathed in my favorite blue shade of bioluminescence; and my arcana- the canines hopped atop the seats and cushions strewn about the sunken central area, much to my disgust. Thus I relocated to the table on the right to sit.

"Alright, hang on up there," Geri called.

I began to question how she thought he could hear her when I was distracted by a sharp whine ringing throughout the cabin, followed by a deep shudder and a sudden lurch.

"W- what is this thing that can fly so fast!?" I heard Pharyl ask as clearly as I would my thoughts.

Following the source, I saw a curved panel of glass showcasing an eye scrying on Pharyl, clutched in the grasp of this creature while he turned his widened eyes about his blurred surroundings.

"We've already been told this is a Squid Squealer, now be quiet!" I spat, then turned to this most curious woman before me. "The stories tell of you, Shujen Princess, being a ranger. I suppose that is your occupation?"

Her brow rose as she turned away from the window to offer me a nod. "Yes. A Ranging Warlock. Among other things."

"Hmm. Legendary Classes, were they?" I mused. "That aside, I have heard of your… possession. Your curse. You are now a celestial sorceress, and yet a warlock still. What is the title of your patron?"

"The Man Inside the Moon."

"What is this Moon you speak of?"

Her eyes danced above my head as she thought for a moment. Then they fell back to me with a crude smirk. "Have you ever been to the surface? Or have you heard of the rock in the sky?"

"I have!" Pharyl shouted.

So I shouted louder; and with power. "SILENCE!"

"Why are you so harsh to him?"

"Why?" I turned to Geri with a look of genuine shock. "He is nameless- claimed by no House. The same is true for them." I motioned to Qiryn and Nhildia. "I pulled them from the walls of these Falls, but he is male. Inferior in all regards, useful only for breeding. Drow females are smarter, faster, and stronger, as our Goddess, Lilith, most-high decreed. Only we receive the grace of our Queen Spider.

"Do you not agree?"

"No." She said with no hesitation. "Such things mean nothing in regards to strength or potential. After all, Amun is stronger than anyone here, and he's a half-drow male. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Elg-Horr is different!" I sneered. "He is the only male that matters! The only one that ever will!"

She stared into my eyes for a long moment. Yet there was nothing to gain from staring into hers- so cold and empty, like death itself.

"What is he to you?" she eventually asked.

"I cannot tell you because I am unknowing. Besides the Eternal Champion, no elf knows who or what he is, save perhaps his mother. We all know of him, however. Every elf on the Mortal Plane older than two hundred sixty-six years heard the Creator's words, heralding the arrival of his Champion." I admitted moments later. "Many were given tasks to prepare for his arrival. That is why he is here. So we may learn of him- of his purpose; so he may learn of his people. Drow."

"A third of his people." She corrected, making it my turn to raise a brow. "His mind- his consciousness is what's eternal. His flesh is Half-Drow, half-Human. His spirit and soul, however, are that of the darkest Nox Devil. A Master of Shadows, a Sovereign of Death, Void Incarnate."

Pausing, she leaned over the table to growl while giving me a feral grin. "Would you like to know what they call him on the surface?"

"Humor me." I leaned forward, growling back.

"The Elven Devil. Or, depending on who you ask, the Devil of the Fae." She reclined in her seat, shrugging carelessly.

I thought it a ridiculous title until I remembered his blackened fingers, jagged teeth, and draconic eyes. Plus of course, those fiendish horns. "Perhaps it is more accurate than one might assume. However, it is now my turn to ask a question.

"What is he to you?"

"Everything." She leaned back, laughing airily. "Technically, me and my brother have known him the longest. A perk of our… possession, as you put it. So, to us, he's the leader of our pack- our family. On the other fang, he's both my savior and tormentor. He's my boss. My patron. My God, above all."

"So you are a pious person?"

"Not a cleric or paladin, no. Not exactly."

"Do not contradict yourself, Geri." I pointed at her. "You are one of his chosen followers- his Champion. Do tell: what are the most important aspects of his portfolio?"

"Moonlight, the Domain I'm a part of," she first said; an expected thing, but each thing that followed made me more unsettled than the last. "And of the aspects that apply to all of his domains, there are Canines, of course, but also Nature, Freedom, Duality, Change, Curses, Creation, Destruction, and now," she grinned wider. "Dying."

"Many aspects, there are. But not elves," I said. Pleaded. "Not Drow."

"Not yet." She turned and smiled, much to my unease. "Or, maybe never." She shrugged moments later. "That all depends on what he sees down here."

'On what he sees down here.' I internally mused. 'A drow… raised as a man. No… a half-drow, born as a Child of the Nox; ancient beings who care not about death, only the wickedness in mortal souls. A Night Devil. A Devil, the hated enemy of demons.'

I took a long look at Pharyl, a male. Then down to the quickly passing grounds of a lesser house, where many slaves toiled about endlessly. I imagined them as hordes of undead. Not mere skeletons and zombies but souls given bodies of darkness that would die and rise and die and rise for as long as their summoner possessed mana- their summoner, the God of Mana.

Then, I remembered the stories about the Matron's venture across the surface. The stories of the newest living lich of the Nox. The creations of destruction. The legendary weapons. The sun summoned to the surface to decimate an army, yet contained to preserve everything else.

I thought of the cruelty of the curse he inflicted on Geri and Freki and the punishment he imposed on them for killing their progenitors, being haunted by them in undeath. I thought about how he subjected those human children to Abbot Eiriol's training in Nydorden Halls, only to have them return aged and evolved with parties of their own. Then, I thought of the plans for the one who accompanied and witnessed their evolution, and I realized...

'The Matrons erred in bringing him here.'

That realization- that thought came like a dagger striking at my heart, shattering bits and pieces of spirit. They fell helplessly into the roiling red sea occluding my mind, never to be seen again, remembered only by the bubbling anger rising around me like fire.

The brute of a woman seemed amused by my reaction, yet returned to her window as if to taunt my simmering rage. Yet I was… distracted, dismayed by my realization, and disgusted by it all the same.

As time pressed on, it only grew worse. My senses began to betray me, convincing my ears to hear spiders skittering behind me. I could not shake certain thoughts from my head. Thoughts that I was wrong. Thoughts that the Matrons were right. That they were always right- that they could never be wrong. Thoughts of webs, encasing me wholly. Those thoughts, and worse.

No.

They were not my thoughts but thoughts imposed upon me by the Queen of Chaos spinning a new fate for me. Thoughts of taking my blade and felling this heretical beast before me, then turning it on myself for allowing such blasphemous thoughts to cross my mind.

I knew… I had sinned- doubted the Matrons and in turn, doubted the Queen herself. A simple act that would forever remove my prospects of becoming the paladin I dreamt of being- that I was fated to be.

I became a pariah in an instant, that I knew. Hated by every follower of Lilith due to the webs she spun in our minds in response to the obvious fate I decided to voice in my mind- the place she could hear me most.

At least Raki would see the glory of what was to come. As for me, I would come to meet the same fate as my brother.

If I didn't die first.

And so I remained, falling deeper into despair as this strange vessel pulled me further and further away from the House. We rode around in an almost ambiguous direction. At least until I realized she was scouting the entirety of the Falls. From floor to ceiling, wall, to wall, she somehow mapped the Falls and the area beyond Spinner's Gate using this vessel that seemed to steer itself through the air at great speed.

That observation combined with the vessel itself served to clear the webs in my mind, if only a little.

It was quite a comforting experience, being in a vessel built for one my size. It was wider than a double carriage and more like a cave on the interior. Yet it could travel through the Darkworld and, most likely the surface with ease. Not to mention, it was quite luxurious.

This couch those I dragged with me were sitting on could have fit Geri and many of her beasts as well. And though the kitchen was small for one our size, it had all I would need to escape from this web of madness.

Yet, there was more. Doors on the forward-most wall led to a bedroom and an alcove of glimmering lights and windows displayed all manner of information that I could and could not comprehend. But that hardly mattered. There was a trial ahead of us.

"We must stop soon."

"Why?"

"The Fall's silence is upon us," I said. "The day is to end."

"So?"

"Most creatures of this realm hunt by sound. When the Fall ceases, the senses will be at their highest. Must I spell it out for you?"

"Very well." She sighed dejectedly, and with a flick of the finger, sent the vessel rising toward a stalactite.

With no input from Geri, the vessel slowed to a halt next to the stalactite to envelop all but two of its tendrils around the stone just as the other pair wrapped around Pharryl.

He stepped through moments later. Much to my ire, his lanky body slumped with trepidation and fear while the conflicted mural of his brutish visage scanned the interior for a place to sit. He elected to find a place between the beasts and relieve himself by stroking its neck, only to stop upon noticing my stare. Yet the beast demanded he resume the action.

"Will we be safe here?" I turned back to Geri, showing more trepidation than I would have cared to.

"The squid has camouflage and no sound or smells will get out." She carelessly shrugged. "So, yeah." She then laughed. "I thought drow were supposed to be terrifying."

"You think I am fearful, I think I am wise to not have to fight an army of creatures should I not have to." I snarled back, then sought to seize my opportunity. "That said, I would like to see how you fight. I hear all of the destroyer's companions are supernaturally strong."

She rolled her eyes, sighing in apparent disgust.

"If you have something to say I suggest you say it, human."

"What is fighting to you, drow? Glory? The greatest pleasure imaginable?" She asked and subsequently answered, disgust still evident in her voice. "Does your heart pound in excitement whenever you get the chance to draw blood? Have you ever even drawn blood?"

The rage within me welled with the question, erupting in my fist, slamming on the table. "Elven blood!" I sneered. "Of course! The blood of my enemies! Of course! The blood of any who oppose our Queen and her matrons! Of course!"

"Were you born that way?" She asked with such calmness that I was forced back into my seat. "Is that a trait inherent to all dark elves, or was that drilled into your head as a child? How old were you when you first drew blood? Was it during combat or training? Was it even a surface elf or was it one of your slaves? Was it one of your Queen's most hated enemies or those attempting to foil the Matron's schemes? Was it a gray dwarf? A deep gnome? Was it another drow?

"Have you ever even left this c-"

"SILENCE!" I shouted, and my voice seemed to echo for leagues despite us being enclosed in this comparatively tiny vessel.

She was not threatened, though. No, she was amused.

"How cute." She laughed. "You have no power here, Ruel Za'Darmondiel. Nor does your Queen. That aside, in your words, Amun is here to learn of his people. However, I can tell you right now that he'll hate your snarky attitude and misandry.

"He can't help but change things he doesn't like."

"Snarky?" The word ripped the webs from my thoughts, only for twice as many to replace them. "Tell me, Geri, is that what you think of me?" I sneered. I could not stand for this human's insolence any longer.

Slowly, she turned to loom her mass above me. But I was undeterred. I stood to meet her gaze, staring my crimson eyes straight into her blue orbs. Something she seemed to be amused by, as she lifted her head and smirked.

"You have a sharp, biting voice, Ruel. It makes you sound like a bitch and, don't get me wrong, you are. But neither of those is your fault. You've been brainwashed into thinking you're greater than you actually are." She tapped her head before pointing her finger at me. "But I like you, so I'll warn you. Don't try that superiority bullshit with my brother, or with any of the Troupe for that matter. Amun may be tolerant, but the same can't be said for the rest of us. You disrespect them, you'll die.

"And I hope you do. 'Cause I want you for myself."

"I do beg your pardon?" I stepped closer. "You want me to be a slave to you? You would kill me!? The Prime Matron's daughter!?!"

"Oh, we don't keep slaves, Ruel. We change people and raise the dead." Geri snarled. "I don't give a shit who your mommy is and I don't give a fuck what Goddess you pray to. Fuck around and you'll get bit. It's that simple."

"I dare you to try, beast!"