Ch10: Weakness, Part Two

"When we are tired, we are attacked by ideas we conquered long ago."

― Friedrich Nietzsche

"Ven!!!" Mara cried as she staggered under the sudden weight. "What's wrong? Are you ok?"

Ever since she'd met Ven, he never slept and even claimed he didn't need to. Now his eyes were tightly shut, head loose as it rested on her chest.

"Brull, help me carry him!"

Mara grunted as she hefted Ven in her arms. He weighs a ton... Mara could carry thousands of pounds as a Martial Master, but her bones creaked as she held him upright.

"Why... oh!" Brull's eyebrows raised as he hefted one of Ven's shoulders. "What is he made of, Adamantite?" He frowned as he shifted some of the burden off his sister.

"Come on," Mara hissed. "Let's get him to his room."

They dragged and heaved, a step ahead of the curious crowd drawn by Ven's unconscious form. The door to the captain's cabin flew open under a swift kick from Brull, and with a last push, the pair hauled Vendak to his bed. As his body dropped the feathered mattress creaked, several ominous tings protested the sudden weight.

"I've got to look up this bedmaker," Brull's face twisted in a perverse smile. "This thing is made for serious action!"

"Shut the hell up and go find Otto," Mara's fist sank, deep into her brother's face, and some of her tension slipped away. "He's the most knowledgable onboard, he should know what to do."

If not, then Mara was at a loss.

"Alright, alright!" Brull backed away, his hands cupped to his jaw. "You're so bossy!" He jeered as he ducked beyond the doorway, dodging a heavy oak chair thrown by his sister.

Alone, Mara turned back to Ven, her face twisted in a frown. If he got hurt trying to help us... It went against her core principles, the central tenants of her order. To let civilians come to harm was a great sin for a Knight of the World. Ven wasn't really a civilian... More like a friendly dog. But he was eager to help, and she had so few resources.

"You better wake up, you idiot."

Mara sat down next to Ven, perched on the edge of the bed. He's not even breathing... She had no idea what species Ven was, but that probably wasn't a good thing. She placed a hand on his forehead, the smooth skin of his face hot to the touch.

The Knights of the guild are supposed to be the ones to take risks. Mara had lived her life by these codes, taught by her father to hold them above everything else. We're supposed to stand between our friends and the darkness. Her hand fell to her side, tightened into a solid ball.

Mara wished for more power, like the God of the World Guild. The mysterious Grandmaster stood above the Guildmasters and protected them all. A figure of legend, one she'd never seen in person. The man was said to be the most powerful Earth Deity alive. With that kind of strength, she could actually make a difference.

Someone like me will never reach that far...

Her destiny was far more mundane, and the best hope was to effect small change as often as she could. The resources needed to advance to Semi-Divine alone were more than Mara could hope to see in a lifetime, unless she sold herself to the gods like Otto.

"Rude!" A gruff voice called out from the open door, "You cats are always so mocking of the powers granted by the gods," Otto bristled as he stepped inside. "But you still pester me constantly to solve your problems."

The dog-kin gave Mara a smug look, her thoughts read by the more powerful cultivator as he pulled up his sleeves and walked over to Vendak.

"Now let's take a good look at you!" Otto's smile became almost fanatical, eyes lit with an obsessive gleam. He reached out and swiped his hands across Ven's motionless form. In a twist that defied logic, Ven's clothes flew aside and were stacked neatly on the nearby desk.

"What are you doing!" Mara said, her eyes averted and blocked by her palms. Otto spoke, but she failed to make out his words, the brief vision of Ven's well-toned body still burned in her mind. It was like a sculpture, a carved perfection of shadows and skin.

"Is he sure he's not a woman?" Otto asked, his face an inch from Ven's nethers. "He's lacking an important manly feature, but then... he doesn't seem to have anything down here at all?"

Mara blushed as she peered through her fingers, her tail twinned in a sheepish knot. Otto was right, Ven's body was indeed... smooth. His whole body, besides his head, had very little texture. Only the lines of his muscles defined it, he even lacked nipples. A solid black expanse of rippled muscles packed into a willowy, genderless form.

"Well, he's alive," Otto declared, his voice preoccupied as he pried open Ven's mouth and peered inside. "But I'm not even sure what he is, let alone what's wrong with him... OUCH," He jumped back, finger clutched in his hand as he glared at the stationary man.

"Those eyes of his are dangerous!" Otto held up his bleeding finger, a thin layer shaved off its top.

"Serves you right for poking around like a weirdo!" Mara said from behind the hollow wall of her hands. "Now help me get his clothes back on!"

"Hmmf." Otto snorted as his eyes performed a dramatic roll. "You can dress him yourself, I'm going to heal my finger and contemplate never helping out again!" He stomped off, beard wagging in the breeze as he stepped out the door and shut it behind him.

Mara glanced about the room, until her eyes landed on a pair of black, silken pajamas. She snatched up the bottoms and dragged them up Ven's body.

"Stupid dog," She muttered, her gaze still on Ven's rippled abs. "what kind of doctor strips his patients and leaves them to dry?"

She pulled the covers over Vendak and retook her seat beside him. Semi-Divines were rare, one that treated people so well even more so.

Vendak is so weird...

He behaved like a child sometimes, giddy with excitement over small feats of everyday magic. Yet she couldn't forget the look of him when they'd first met. He'd had a soulless, emotionless expression.

Covered in gore that still steamed with the heat of life, he'd strode towards her and her brother as if they'd crossed paths on the street. He didn't behave like a warrior, not really.

He treats death like nothing, but when he's not fighting he's like a scholar...

Her many years on the battlefield against the monsters of the labyrinths exposed her to all kinds of people. Vendak didn't quite fit with what she'd come to expect from someone so casual with the lives of others.

I still don't understand why he helped us?

A lone Semi-Divine was asking for death by interfering with any established Empire, let alone the Ori. Saving them was one thing, but Ven remained to protect them. It was the norm for immortals to treat the common people with casual disrespect, yet Ven played games with the children onboard and went out of his way to keep the crew fed.

Even within the guild, most higher-level practitioners kept to themselves. They did not tolerate the abuse of mortals, but they treated them more like animals that deserved their protection. It was hard to stay connected, even as a Martial Master. Mara had lived a long time, and most of her childhood friends were long buried. Time kept honest all who did not struggle against it.

A long sigh escaped from her lips, and she stood, a final glance toward Vendak's prone form before she walked decisively to the door. Even if I can never reach the top, I can't let that stop me from doing what's right. She would continue as she always had, her principles held high to guide her way.

Strong or weak, I have things to do.

She closed the door behind her, determined as she stood across the wooden deck. The people here looked to her for leadership, and now she had to calm their fears about Ven's collapse. Mara had formed a deep connection with these people, something beyond her expectations. Even if they hadn't shared a bond, born from their capture, she would've done her best for them.

"Walk into the face of the world, and leave it greater with every step." Mara breathed these words like a mantra, eyes bright as she stepped forward and embraced her path.