Who Art Thou Before Me

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Alright so, I have decided to go with the 600 word format for this novel. TESR will remain as is. Remember lads, if you see something, say something. My grammar isn't perfect and should be scrutinized when necessary.

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POV: Deus

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My room was silent as the low rumble of Scola's breathing echoed through the still air. The dim blue glow cast by the crystal on the ceiling reflected off of the small pendant in my possession. Within the pendant, was the gloom. I have no idea how deep the connection between the gloom and Tyvelia goes. I am also unsure of how she would react to me placing it somewhere it couldn't hear or detect me. So while I wanted to explain all my plans I couldn't. It simply wasn't possible.

So instead, I was going to have to cheer her up naturally. I stroked Scola's head one more time before getting up and slowly walking towards the door. Standing in front of the grand silver entrance I sucked in a cold breath before exhaling slowly. Failure meant torture and death, victory might mean a life of living in fear. However I'd rather live in fear than die a glorified possession.

As traitorous thoughts began to spread throughout my mind like a conceptual new dawn, the shadows around me flickered and seemed to be drained away. The sound of stone scraping against chitin pulled me out of my thoughts and brought the unusual yet familiar sight to my attention.

I whipped to see Scola completely unravelled with her legs splayed out. Her two main arms were now spread wide as she prepared to strike. Her target was the shadows that had coalesced in the middle of the room. Slowly but surely the shadows bubbled and boiled before all amalgamating into the shape of a woman's body. An abstract black eel's tail flicked about as it dripped with darkness.

My heart began pumping like mad as finally, Tyvelia's form was complete. As always, the sensation of sharp eyes piercing my chest from beneath the blindfold came my way.

However this time, she was very different. Her slight veil of frailty that she usually upheld had become quite thin, and a pair of horns now peeked out from behind her hair. They appeared to have a bark-like texture that matched their splayed, branching nature.

On top of that, her left hand seemed to be covered in black slimy skin, the same as her dragoconic form.

Despite this jarring shift in the mood that surrounded her, I immediately reined in my fear, sealing it within my eyes with a pale green flash.

"Worry not, I'm not here for you, Deus."

Her words were abnormally quiet, even for her normally silent demeanour. She then turned her gaze upon Scola before eroding her air of frailty further.

"Head to the hoard, the glooms will fill you in on your task."

The room was silent for a moment as Scola seemed to contemplate refusing the order, which was quite the predicament given it was very likely I would be allowed to heal her a second time.

Finally, Scola decided to move, albeit with a chitter or two beneath her breath.

Turning back to Tyvelia, I found her staring at me with a curious gaze.

"Is… everything alright?"

Tyvelia, despite always having a calm regal demeanor, seemed worried. And considering I'm a human (for the most part) I should be concerned that the eldritch horror is unnerved by something.

"I'm fine, just a little tired. My sleep cycle is fast approaching, though I may have to delay it for a year or two."

"Sleep cycle?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

She nodded, however didn't elaborate.

'Welp, that's something I'm going to have to research then.'

Tyvelia seemed to contemplate something, before finally shaking her head in a disapproving manner.

"I will be returning to my study, contact me through the gloom should a problem arise."

And thus, with the same flare that she arrived, she left.