#nann the explorer

[arianna-irwynarn]

https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=PH0K6ojmGZA&si=AssLW20ja6xQmOn0

This song makes me think of the Hexfire. Such a great song.

The wreck of the Edmonfitzgerald

[nann-the-explorer]

Arianna watched the mass of tentacles and mouths lumbure towards her. The whispers rose in volume at Ituith’ryiel’s question.

“I don't know, they started just after I got free of Nann's mind. at first I couldn't understand them but now…”

She listened to the voices repeating their words again, goosebumps rose on Ituith’ryiels skin. Maybe he didn't want to know the answer after all.

Arianna spoke suddenly, in a language she didn't remember ever learning.

“it's hungry. In a dark silent place… something about… nothingness. It doesn't make much sense.”

Ituith’ryiel needed to go and think, there would be time to deal with the girl later.

“Ituith’ryiel please be careful… “.

For some reason, she looked concerned for him. Something he was sure she would amend if she knew he was about to eat her. A tiny part of he sighed, there was no way he was glad he didn't have to kill her. Was there? His inner question was interrupted by an angry voice.

“what in hells depths were you trying to do this time!?”

Nann was awake, great.

Arianna felt exhausted, she turned and walked back into her room, shutting the door and locking it. She climbed under the sheets and closed her eyes. If she hadn't wanted to talk to anyone before, now she really didn't. She buried her head Into the pillow trying to drown out the whispering. She had hoped after relaying their message, that they would go. Things were rarely that simple.

She fell into an uneasy dream.

Ras wandered the forest, he smiled to himself. Andrei had vanished but there were traces of her all over the forest. Footprints, snapped twigs, yes she was fast but she needed to be more conscious of what was around her.

A twig snapped, off to his left, Ras leapt into the nearest strong tree and waited. Sure enough Andrei crept past his hiding place. He watched her for a while as she pet the grass and laid her jacket down. She had an air of confidence about her that was attractive. Nann flashed into his memory. He smiled to himself, she was sweet and mischievous. He was surprised at kissing Andrei. Perhaps he was too flirty with her. Worry nagged at Him. Why did he feel like he was missing something?

Andrei grinned when she heard Ras approaching.

“Hey stranger.”

„What did you just do to Geiger?“ 

Nann was fuming. It was one unacceptable thing, that he still wanted to go after Arianna, but that he began to hurt their comrades in this way to achieve that was beyond every reason. 

With a rather clumsy motion, Nann tried to pick up Geiger from the opposite cabin, where he went right through the door and hit the wall. But it was a rather awkward sight, as the small sailor tried to pick up the massive man. Geiger was awake and thankfully not severely injured besides some scratches from the wooden splinters and a really bad headache. He smiled at Nann, glad, that they had came back from the depths of their mind to take over their body again. At the same time, he felt horrible, since he deemed himself not innocent in that matter, he was the one, who send Nann into unconsciousness after all. 

Ituith’ryel observed the two humans interacting, but was not fully listening to Nann’s rambles. He knew, he did something horrible, at least from the human sight. In his world, this was merely some kind of playful bullying … then again, humans were so fragile.

He drowned out Nann’s rambling, his mind wandering back to the voices he had heard from Arianna. It highly unsettled him, albeit he didn’t knew yet what to make of it. Something nagged at the back of his mind, some hidden memory, that didn’t quite want to surface yet. Another thought took forefront. Could this be somehow connected with the vision they had in the cave at the beginning of this rather straining mission? The creature, that spoke the same language? The other Yadaldh’re that lived in the tunnels under the island? He had to think more about it, he had to talk with Yicth’ararc about it. But first, Nann demanded his attention back …

*You damn bastard. You will apologize to Geiger and Arianna … now!“ Nann spoke in the same way, they used to scold their children and he knew, there was no way to wiggle himself out of this. 

That would surely would turn to be the most awkward moment in his long life -  apologizing to a being he had preyed on. Someone who had told him to be careful even a minute ago. Someone, he wasn’t all too sure about killing anymore. 

Ituith’ryel sighed. 

„Well, I guess, you won’t take a „No“ for an answer, wouldn’t you …? Then let me at least change into a more … suitable … form.“

Andrei hadn’t tried much to hide the traces of her little hide and seek game - she wanted to be found after all. But even with a little more effort, she was sure, he would have found her own enough. So, she could at least make it a little more comfortable for the two of them as she took her jacket of and lay down in the grass. 

Her heightened senses were fun to play with, she could already hear him approaching from far away, his movements silent and graceful, but she was attuned to the faint pats of feet on the soft earth nonetheless.

With a grin, she greeted him, rising from her position and circling him closely, measuring him like a predator would with his prey. She could sense his heartbeat, the relaxed rise and fall of his chest, and even the smallest twitch in his muscles. It was like reading a book and she searched for a specific page - the telltale signs of him wanting her. Her hand followed her trace around him, slowly wandering over this abdomen, observing his reactions. Andrei was pretty sure, he could sense her growing arousal, the way her breath hitched and her skin radiated a certain heat. Words were not needed now, her body conveyed her wishes more than enough. And she knew, if he decided to indulge himself with her, he would let her know it one way or the other. 

Yicth’raracs gaze had changed and he had frozen in movement. If he would have had something resembling eyebrows, they would have been severely furrowed right now. As fast, as Ituith’ryel had attacked Geiger and Arianna on the ship, he had stopped his actions … and Arianna had talked about whispers, about nothingness. What kind of whispers? Yicth’ararc shivered, his ethereal body reacting in a way it hadn’t in eons. It was like a ripple, that crept through the vast dark room Tostain stand in, but the knowledge as to why remained elusive to him yet. 

Where Yicth’rararc lacked in the ability, Tostain’s brows surely furrowed now. 

„Hey, what’s up? What is happening on the ship? Is Arianna in danger? You told me to lend me more of your power … so do it already!“

Yicth’ararc’s head tilted sideways in an abrupt motion, his gaze unfocused as if his mind just stopped working somehow, lost in a see of memories as he scanned for something specific. This was not good. With another sudden movement, he snapped out of this trance and looked at the sailor. 

„Ah, yes, yes … you’re right.“ 

Yicth’arac lifted one of his clawed hands with that awful long fingers and looked at it absently, pondering what to say.

„But you don’t have to worry for that elven creature on the ship. She is safe for now … whereas this world and even our realm may not anymore …“

Tostain didn’t even have so much time as to think of a proper answer to that as Yictararc’s hand shot forward, grabbing his whole face, covering it completely. A suffocating feeling befell Tostain as his vision blacked out once again. 

„When you wake again, I will follow you closely … and we need to find out, which horror from the past decided to grace us with his unwanted presence." 

[nann-the-explorer]

Ras chuckled, “if you like, Just don't force it. It'll come naturally. There are lots of mental abilities vampires can use.”

Her fingertips felt nice on his face, he couldn't help a wolfish smile in response to her attempt at seduction. He was attracted to the human anyway but as a vampire it only heightened her appeal. He willingly let down his guard, allowing her to use her abilities on him.

It felt nice, Andreis gentle charm washed over his mind, causing his Normally restrained attraction to surface. His large hands slipped around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

Andrei was feeling less forced as the seconds went by. The power was becoming more natural to her. Ras's eyes held a look of desire that caused another tingle of arousal.

she Smiled, it was working. now she had to get him to bare his neck.

“won't you show me that neck of yours?”

Ras seemed to stare for a second. Andrei waited, willing her charm to work.

Instead Ras kissed her.

Arianna was looking at her reflection in the small mirror. The spare clothes that had been found for her were a little snug. A sigh escaped her lips, she couldn't understand how she ended up in Nanns mind. Then again her memory was patchy. The last thing she remembered was looking up at lucan. His blonde hair, smirk and black eyes. Wait. Black eyes? That didn't feel right, nothing felt right to her at the moment. She couldn't bring herself to leave her room. She didn't want to talk to anyone so laid back against her pillow. The Hexfire rocked gently, she felt herself relaxing. As she began to adrift off to sleep the strange whispers began again in her mind. As she puzzled. What the. Whispers. Were saying a loud sound of, wood splitting and something heavy smashing through a wall invaded her ears. Her eyes snapped open, vaulting off the bed she flung her door open in time to see a. Tentacle picking up the body of Geiger and throwing him through the wooden wall into the cabin opposite.

“oh gods!”

Andrei’s eyes widened in surprise as Ras leaned in to kiss her, but she quickly gave in to the sweet taste of his lips, her thirst for blood momentarily subsiding to the warm feeling of arousal that slimmed inside her. This was at least as good as drawing his blood, maybe even better. Playfully she nipped at his lower lip, begging for entrance as her arms wrapped around his neck possessively.

Her mind wandered briefly to Nann and how they would react to her making out with Ras. She was pretty sure Nann wouldn’t mind, it wasn’t the first partner they shared - after all, there weren’t much persons interested in them since they had been cursed. But usually, the two of them would talk beforehand. Despite her more ruthless and egoistic nature, urging her to take whatever she could get after struggling on the streets with nothing for years, Andrei couldn’t help but feel a brief flicker of guilt at passing over her friend like this. Nothing, that upset her too much, she would find a way to clear it up later. Now, she just wanted to enjoy it, keen on finding out how far he was willing to take this. Albeit she wouldn’t make it that easy for him - she had a knack for games, even rough ones as long as she had a certain control over it, and they were in this situation because he had played catch with her first.

With a chuckle, she broke the kiss, getting up from his lap in a swift and graceful motion, smirking at him.

„Ah, first my blood, now my body ist it? Well, I do not intend to be swayed that easily. Come and claim your prize, if you dare to.“

With that, she darted into the woods. She had been a master in climbing in the standing rigging before and with her heightened body control and senses as a vampire it was even easier to navigate between the tree tops. Although she was pretty sure, he would soon catch up to her, but that was part of the plan after all - she didn’t plan on running from him, but more on increasing the anticipation and maybe to find a more secluded and comfortable space for whatever was to come once he would catch her.

-

Geiger had only been dozed off for a minute or two, Nann still unconscious in his lap. But it had been more than enough for Ituith’ryel to break through the barrier he had erected to shield the eldritch from the outer world. Geiger startled awake, disoriented for a minute and grew pale as he looked down at Nann. They had their eyes open, but instead their normally calm and gentle fir green eyes, he was greeted by a fiery red gaze. Nann’s mind hadn’t even fully awakened yet, a chance for Ituith’ryel to take over his host without too much annoying interference. And he made sure he would this chance to put to good use.

„And, pray tell, how long did you think how this would go, Geiger?“ Ituith’ryels rumbled inside Nann’s chest, the low growl a stark contradiction to their delicate human body. Geiger let go of Nanns hand, as their body moved to bring some distance between the massive man and themselves. 

„The captain deemed this necessary. It wouldn’t have been if you didn’t start to plot against us and our guests. Your duty here is something else after all.“ Geiger was calm but steadfast in his answer although he didn’t like the fact, that he now was merely an operating pawn in all of this. But he knew in the end it had been a necessary evil to avoid the eldritch from harming them or the elves.

„You’re right, I have a duty in this world, to protect it until it reaches it’s natural end, ready to be eaten by our kind … but in order to do so, I also am supposed to secure my position here and I deem those guest of yours as a risk to that. But why do I even bother to explain myself to you … I have an elf or two to eat.“

With that, Nann’s body moved to the door, but Geiger leaped forward, his mass moving in an almost comical way as he pressed himself against the door, trying to keep Ituith’ryel from escaping. Under normal circumstances, Nann wouldn’t have been able to move Geiger as much as an inch away from his current position - but this wasn’t normal and Ituith’ryel was angry enough to proof how little humans really meant to him. He sighed nonetheless at the obstacle.

„Ah, I see. You do want it the hard way, don’t you?“

In a blur of motions, tentacles grew from Nann’s back, adored with countless red eyes and teeth, writhing around their body, slapping against the walls of the small room and darting for Geiger.

With a crash, Ituith’ryel send Geiger flying through the door, across the narrow gangway and into the cabin across. Nann’s body, completely controlled by the eldritch, followed the path of destruction into the gangway, a sudden motion at the corner of their eye made their head snap. Their red eyes fixed on Nann, their head tilted slightly as a wicked, sharp teethed and contorted grin sprawled across their human face. 

„Why, hello, Arianna. Long time no see.“ Ituith’ryels voice almost purred. How very convenient that he wouldn’t have to pull her out from her room. Making Nann’s body moving forward, his tentacles slithered over the walls of the gangway, surrounding Arianna. She didn’t look like she could put up much of a fight and he was willing enough to make her end quick … as he suddenly stopped Nann’s movements. Their red eyes darted around as if searching for something. Then he looked at Arianna, Nann’s brows furrowing in a questioning expression.

„What’s with these whispers?“

-

Yicth’ararc’s head swayed ever so slightly as he pondered Tostain’s question.

„It’s pretty simple actually … become a full host to me.“

Tostain’s expression froze at these words. A full-fledged host? Just like Nann was? He nervously looked around, thinking of an answer to this, but instead just came up with even more questions.

„What do you mean? Becoming your vessel like Nann is to Ituith’ryel? Why? And what would that mean for me?“

The creature chuckled in an almost fatherly way, his hands gesturing Tostain to calm down. 

„Calm down, child. … yes, I mean just like Ituith’ryel is a part of Nann and can use their body. And you don’t have to be afraid, I would abstain from forging our minds into one, similar like Ituith’ryel did with Nann. We’ve learned as much during our connections with the hosts in the many worlds.“

Yicth’ararc circled Tostain, his grotesque semi-human form towering high over the sailor. The creature’s eyes measured him with a certain fervor, as if checking his body for aptitude to inhabit the eldritch’s strength. 

„As for my reason … you see, I am at a bit of a loss in this position here. I can’t move freely, I am bound to this place. In fact, my body more or less is this place. So, it would be nice to move around a little for a change. And …“

Now, Yicth’ararc’s head rose up, as if listening to something that was far away. In this moment, the glowing bal of light descended again from the black void around them and low mumbling could be heard again. Tostain’s eyes widened as he heard Arianna and Ituith’ryel, realizing that he hadn’t just imagined the voices before. And the fact, that Arianna was faced with Ituith’ryel again highly unsettled him. Yicth’ararc hold the glowing ball in his clawed, distorted hand again, his other hand neatly tucked behind his back.

„ … it seems, the Sentinel at the Lower Gates is up for some trouble with this female being from another world you grew so fond of. Maybe it would be good to have another one of us to keep him in check a little more.“

That reason was more than enough for Tostain to agree to Yicth’ararc’s proposal without further consideration. With a horrified gaze at the unfolding events back on the ship, he clenched his fists and leaned forward.

„OK! I am doing it, just give me something to protect Arianna with!“

[nann-the-explorer]

oh my gosh! I was the Erica anon, I can’t believe this account is still active. I decided to revisit some of my favourite old roleplay blogs and I saw this one had posted! How are you?! - Erica anon (who’s somehow still alive)

Hi there! It's so nice to read from you again! I am happy to see that you're still around. I even have your last ask still in my inbox, I guess I was just too anxious to answer it after being away for so long.

How are you? I hope, you're ok ... somehow still alive sounds a little bit worrying.

But I guess, it's quite similar for me. I struggled with psychological issues for a long time now, I barely remember the year 2022. But I managed to get back into my old life in 2023 and even started to write again just in the last two months ... I will hopefully start to draw again soon, too.

[nann-the-explorer]

Arianna listened to ituith’yriel, he was sounding weird. Hes never mentioned having many voices before and it left her feeling even more confused.

She knew that ituith’yriel didn't like her and he didn't like his space being invaded. She wasn't his biggest fan but she wanted to try to have some semblance of a friendship. For Nanns sake.

Also there was something about that eldritch creature she couldn't help liking.

“I'd Like to leave but I can't seem to…” her gentle voice was barely above a whisper, full of uncertainty. The space she was seeing was almost entirely black. Was this really Nanns mind? it felt like a different plane to her, one of darkness, silence and a bitter coldness that seeped into your body.

Her elven ears prickled, a wisp of voice, spoken in an ancient tongue barely audible. Was this in this strange place or in her cabin?

She tried to will herself out of the sterile place, a feeling of nausea and suffocation hit her. Arianna struggled to breath, it was as if her breath was being stolen. Colours began to swim in front of her vision, a roaring sound overtook her hearing.

She was about to die.

Her eyes snapped open. She was back in the cabin, a cold sheen covered her body and her white bed clothes clung to her body. She couldnt hear ituith’yriel anymore, a small mercy.

Ras heard the seductive tone in Andreis' quiet voices. Her cheeks were flushed and she looked delectable. Releasing her from his pin, Ras sat on the forest floor. The wind blew his silver hair softly and a smell like fresh rain and mint caught Andreis nose. It was his scent, how did she not notice it before? 8

He patted the spot next to him and she sat.

“There are many things in the world's that a vampire can hunt. Animals are pointless. Their blood won't keep you strong, in fact it will slowly kill you. It's like slowly starving.”

Andrei could tell he was talking from experience. A pang hit her, she understood hunger all too well. She laced her hand with his, giving it a squeeze.

Ras squeezed back. A soft smile graced his face before he schooled it back into a more neutral expression.

Once again his fingers stroked her neck, turning her hand over to then stroke her veins.

“The best places to take blood are, the neck, wrists and the thighs. Of course you need to ne more intimate to get that one.” He smirked.

“the trick is to get your target to willingly give you their neck.”

That sounded impossible, Andrei didn't think she knew anyone who would willingly give their neck, except for maybe Nann or Tostain.

“vampires have an ability to charm others, unless you're a total bastard that is. It's a difficult thing to explain so if you don't mind, I'll show you?”

His voice held an allure that was missing a second ago. Andrei couldn't help looking up at him. The feeling of attraction intensified as Ras looked into her eyes.

“won't you come a little closer?”

Any coherent thoughts evaporated from her mind. Rass’ suggestion was all she could think of, it was the greatest idea she had ever heard. Moving, she settled on Ras’s lap as if it were the most natural thing in the world. His lips ghosted hers. “you're like a bright flame in the dark on that ship.”

Andrei didn't notice the way Ras tilted her neck, a small gasp sounded as his lips touched her throat in a soft kiss.

His lips found their way to her pulsing artery, his mouth watered.

“Embrace the pleasure I give, taking blood isn't always painful.”

His fangs sank into her skin, her blood flooded his mouth, sweet and spicy.

Andrei didn't even feel the bite, there was no searing pain, no feeling her life-force being pulled from her body. Instead a feeling of pure pleasure spread throughout Her body. Ras wrapped his arms around her as he drank.

Andrei felt the cool air on her neck as Ras's lips left her neck, his tongue gently licked the twin puncture marks.

Ituith'ryel sensed Arianna's struggle to leave his very personal space inside Nann's mind, but he couldn't quite grasp why it was so difficult for her. Maybe it was Geiger's doing, as he shielded this space from the outer world, reducing Ituith'ryles movement radius to merely a little black box on the ground of Nann's consciousness or the elf was really more effected by the presumed illlness, that had befallen her, than the old eldritch could fathom. Maybe even both.

He let out a loud reliefed sigh anyways when he finally couldn't hear her anymore on Nioth’luyia's wavelength, the druid seemingly gone. "Lucky for you." he thought, feeling a strange kind of ease. Again, it wasn't as if he was concerned for Arianna … he couldn't possibly be worried for her, now could he? … but it was good to know that she now wouldn't fall into the grasp of Nioth’luyia. So, in that regard, he maybe liked Arianna even a little more … or rather, hated her a little less … than his psychotic sibling, he had to admit at least that much to himself. Besides that, he could think of thousand better ways to kill that druid himself than to simply hand her over to Nioth’luyia, he had some semblance of pride to uphold, hadn't he?

Ithiuith'ryel's sibling on the other hand found the absence of the strange being rather disappointing.

"Ah, what a pity, that little thing seems to be gone now. You've got interesting friends there, big brother." Nioth’luyia chirped in a rather unpleasant voice. "Can I talk to them sometime again?"

Ituith'ryel growled internally, scuttling around like a huge cat before laying down flat again.

"Don't you dare … and now get lost! Why don't you go talk with your host instead and leave me be with mine?"

Just as he said that, a small light flickered in front of what could be called his nose, sending a flash of comprehension and anticipation through him … Nann was about to awaken again and it seemed, that Geiger couldn't send them back to sleep immediately this time. And really, Geiger was increasingly worn out, slowly losing his stamina to hold Nann in that unconscious state for much longer. Ituith'ryel flashed a toothy grin at this unexpected revelation, forgetting about bothersome Nioth’luyia promptly as his claw shot forward to prevent the little hole of light in Nann's mind from closing again. It was his chance to finally get outside of this prison after all and he wouldn't let it pass by unused.

"It's playtime …"

-

Tostain stepped closer to the creature, that sat in that large pitch-black room, looking at him and gesturing with its free hand to join it. With a questioning look on his face, Tostain looked back and forth between the entity and the ball of glimmering light in its hand. But the voices from the glowing ball seemed to be gone now and a part of him wondered now if he had really heard them.

"Are you by any chance … Yicth‘ararc?"

The creature cackled, a raspy sound. With a soft pat, the creature sent the small glowing ball of light flying upwards and joining the other lights, that softly blinked scattered in the vast space.

"Indeed … I met your Captain and Ituith'ryel's host Nann before. I am the Sentinel at the Threshold, the keeper of the many worlds."

The creature gestured around them with a protruding wave of his hand, looking at the billions of small glimmering lights that surrounded them. Obviously these weren't simple lights than but rather all the worlds and universes the creature could oversee from here. The creature looked back at Tostain, his hands offered towards him.

"And you are one of the many warriors in many worlds that I have lend a fraction of my power to."

Tostain raised an eyebrow. So, his power over time originated from this entity then. He had never expected more of these creatures involved in this constellation between the powers of the crew and Ituith'ryel, who could possess Nann's body completely if necessary. Tostain furrowed a brow, contemplating as to why it had been necessary to send Ituith'ryel as a possessor then if they all could lend their powers to them partially. He filed that question away for later, now he just wanted to know, what this was all about.

"What do you want from me, Yicth‘ararc? Why am I here?"

Yicth‘ararc made a little smacking sound, his hand with the long fingers coming up in an exaggerated dramatic gesture.

"Why so hostile? I merely wanted to make yure you're alright after that afwul sickness."

Now, the creature leaned forward, his head tilting ever so slightly.

"And … if you're interested, that is … I wanted to ask if you would like to have some more of my powers?"

Tostain's expression changed to surprise. Where was this coming from and why? Why now? These questions and more swirled around his mind as he contemplated the proposal. Something told him to be cautious about this generous offer, but there were some other thoughts, that overrid his wariness. With more power, he would be able to protect Arianna better, maybe even going against this Lucan. His hand clenched into a fist at his side as he asked the one question, that took forefront before everything else.

"What would I have to do in return for that?"

Yicth‘ararc grinned contented, his long tongue split into many smaller ones, licking independently over the teeth of his maw. This was exactly going according to plan.

-

A small shudder of arousal rushed through Andrei's body as Ras licked the bite marks and she could feel her body reacting to it, belying her usual power over her carnal desires. The feeling of him drawing blood from her was unlike anything she had experienced before, and anyone else would have reacted quite differently. Hell, she would have moaned loud if it hadn't been for the last remnants of her physical control. She blinked a little, confused at how easy he had charmed her to sit on his lap - yes, Ras was quite attractive, just a complete fool or a blind person would have thought otherwise. But Andrei wasn't one to be swayed that easily, she had way too many bad experiences from her past for that. For the slightest moment, it irked her to no end, that he could twist her around his finger like this and, even worse, she reacted like a mindless puppet to that. Andrei looked at him with a pout.

"Looks like I am not that bright, if I get charmed so easily by you, am I?" She smirked, answering to his little pick-up line from before. But now, she was tempted to try this whole charming skill thing of a vampire as well. She knew, Ras wouldn't probably fell for it as easily as she did … she deemed him too experienced for that and she was merely a bloody beginner in that context. But she was hopefully not a complete bastard like he had put it before and therefore completely unable to use it. Besides, there was no one else around to try with.

She leaned a little closer, her eyebrow lifting as she raised her hand and traced his jawline with her fingertips in a tantalizing way. She managed a seductive smile, revealing her pointed canines while a progressively growing thirst for blood and physical intimacy were at war inside her.

"I see, what an unexpected pleasurable experience … well, Ras, you had your fair share of my blood … and I have plenty of pleasure to give to you myself. So, why don't we swap roles now?"

[nann-the-explorer]

She paused at iuith'ryiels words. She wasnt sure. The uncertainty in her voice was easy to hear.

"I… am not sure… i just woke up and i could hear you. I tried calling your name but you couldnt hear me, so… i spoke in my head and my vision went dark"

Arianna couldn't be certain but iuith'ryiel didnt sound quite right. He sounded stressed one moment and then overly friendly the next. He had told her that he was fine so she didnt press him any further. She knew she was still awake but it felt very stange.

" Iuith'ryiel, where am i?"

Ras moved through the forest cautiously. He wanted Andrei to get used to her abilities and in a way this was perfect. He didn't like being the prey, something he'd never let happen back home. The knight's would mock him. Ras pictured the smiling faces of the squad, it felt false for some reason, as if it was a photo with the faces blurred. 'How strange' he thought. Even the word Knight felt foreign. He was a Knight, wasn't he?

Andrei didn't sense Ras sneaking up behind her. Turning into gas was a bit of a dirty trick, after all how was she supposed to pick up on something odourless and invisible? Now she lay on the forest floor with Ras pinning them in place, a triumphant look on his face. "Never drop your guard." he grinned at her, his eyes glinting predatorily. "it's effective to use your strength to break your enemy into pieces but there is also another way which will benefit you." His hand lazily left Andrei's slim wrist, making its way to her neck. Cool fingers stroked down her hot skin.

"Taking their blood will make you stronger. It also weakens them considerably."

Andreis Amber eyes widened. Something about this situation felt intimate. "I-I haven't taken blood from anyone… not since I woke up."

"want me to show you?"

"Want me to show you?

Andrei gulped. Since she had drawn Arianna’s blood back on the ship, her heart beat again and right now, it felt like it was somewhere between her ears since she could very clearly hear it.

There were so many emotions swirling inside her at once right now, that she couldn’t quite sort out on how to answer him … First of all, she didn’t like at all to be pinned down - it reminded her of her times living on the streets of the capital, when men had tried to force themselves upon her. She had learned how to wield a knife very soon. But then, this was different at the same time … she felt somewhat attracted to Ras, although she of course knew, that he was with Nann. But the fact, that they both shared a vampire nature now, made this situation very intimate and very alluring to her, like a secret only the two of them shared. She desperately fought the urge to try and switch position and simply kiss him. Instead, Andrei nervously licked her lips and tried to concentrate on another urge, that had awakened just the moment Ras had made his offer. The thirst for blood. She opened her mouth to manage a whispered answer and blushed as her voice sounded way more seductive than she initially had intended.

„Yes, show me …“

-

"Ituith'ryiel, where am I?“

Nioth’luyia giggled silently when the one that communicated with Ituith’ryel over their wavelength seemed to fall for the imitated voice of her older grumpy brother. This was fun. A fun, that Ituith’ryel wasn’t too keen on prolonging as he interfered. The more Nioth’luyia would interact with Arianna, the bigger the risk got that they would learn where the elf was and would try to take over. He recalled, that Arianna got sick somehow before he was sent into oblivion by Geiger, so he couldn’t tell how steadfast the elf currently was. And an elf as a vessel for an Yadaldh’dre, such a psychotic one like Nioth’luyia at that, wasn’t exactly, what he wanted to happen. So he intervened, before his annoying sibling could act up again.

„How for Izh‘oto’s sake should I know that? Listen, you may want to go back to sleep or whatever you do at this time of the day and let me be … just myself … and my internal voices. I really need some time to sort things out. Just myself … and the many little voices inside my brain.“

It was a warning. A very clumsy warning, but a warning nonetheless. How else could he have conveyed the fact, that he wasn’t alone? Right now, he felt like a psychotic himself. He could swear, that Nioth’luyia was rolling around laughing somewhere in the darkness.

-

Tostain was seemingly nearing the source of the voices as he stepped into a giant black space that flickered with billions of lights, like a small universe. And amidst this space, he finally could see where the anchor chain, that originated from his chest, led. Right in this space a huge black dark figure sat hunched down, looking at a small glowing ball it held in one claw with three pairs of awfully elongated fingers. The anchor chain vanished under its black flowing cloak that moved ever so slightly, as if something was slithering around underneath. The creature had a huge pair of antlers which didn’t seemed to be rigid but moved ever so slightly like tentacles and shimmered in multiple colors. Tostain wasn’t afraid, not after all he had seen since the time he had started to serve on The Hexfire, but the small glowing ball immediately caught his attention as he could hear Arianna’s voice coming from it … and that of Ituith’ryel’.

As Tostain stepped forward, the creature’s head snapped around, facing him. It resembled a kind of deer skull with paper thin skin and four yellow eyes along each side. Its teethed maw swung open and a long appendage rolled out, consisting of multiple intertwined tongues.

„Ah, there you are. The one I lend my powers to. Finally we meet in person.“

[nann-the-explorer]

Ras and Andrei hit the beach. He sprang out of the yawl and held his hand out to Andrei. "I'm not sure what we can do here. We have to respect the spirit, he was kind enough to lead me to the plant in the first place.." his voice trailed off. Andrei looked down the beach, the sand was a mixture of gold and white which she found dazzling. Her vampire sight made everything brighter and clearer, Ras's silver hair sparkled as the sun caught it, giving Andrei the temptation to touch it. 

Ras was surprised when her fingers caught a lock of his hair. "Andrei?"  his blue eyes searched her face causing a blush to creep across her cheeks. She covered herself by grinning boldly. "Sorry I thought you had a bug in your hair." relief spread through her as he laughed and smiled. "So where now?" she asked. Her knowledge of the island was small, having only seen the map briefly. With Dr Kirkham having suspected her of helping the enemy, she knew nothing about the plant. She was glad to be here on dry land. She needed the break. 

Ras thought for a moment. Going to the clearing again was pointless. "Let's go check on the villagers, one of them might know something."

Andrei nodded. "what is that black stuff? There are tons of it everywhere and it smells disgusting." bending down she scooped the powder into her palm and sniffed it. "That's eldritch remains." a smirk appeared on his face as Andrei quickly dropped the remains and pulled a disgusted face. "Urgh! Why you!" her feet were silent as she launched into a run. Ras laughed again as he dodged her and took off running. The two vampires moved like lightning, weaving between trees and jumping over bushes. Andrei loved it. These abilities, running freely, she was embracing her vampirism fully. She jumped upwards into a tree and waited for her prey to pass. 

Arianna was feeling confused. How could she hear Ituith’ryiel? She hadn't cast any magic, yet, she could hear him as clear as a bell. Her mind was jumbled as if it were a mirror that had been shattered into thousands of pieces. "Are you OK?"

„Are you ok?“

Ituith’ryiel’s many eyes blinked in confusion. Why would the elf be concerned for him, even ask him how he was? He hadn’t been the nicest eldritch in history so far. Nioth’luyia snickered again.

„Awww, how nice. Yes, brother. Are you ok? I would like to know that, too.“

Ituith’ryel growled, while somewhere in the dark his sibling lurked producing a many teethed grin. And he now faced another problem - Arianna would keep asking if he didn’t answer and so would Nioth’luyia. He gritted his teeth and tried to flee into a question himself, answering in an unnaturally high pitched voice.

„I am fine. What‘s with the sudden interest in my condition?“

He turned around, but he couldn’t see any of those two in the dark of Nann’s silent mind, although he assumed that Nioth’luyia hid on purpose. That unbelievable coward. This made it hard to get rid of them. And Ituith’ryiel had to get rid of them, since in this case they could not only mean an utter and complete nuisance but also a veritable danger for him and Arianna.

Not that he was concerned for the elf … or was he? … but Nioth’luyia would take advantage of every possibility to feed the sadistic side of their personality. If it was true, that Arianna was someone who could remove him from this world, his sibling would totally use this for their own goals, even if it was just for their sick kind of fun. And after that, they would try to manipulate Arianna. No, Ituith’ryiel couldn’t let that happen. He was not happy in his current position and the connection with Nann and he knew he could be an insolent bastard … but at least he was a loyal insolent bastard. And if anything he wanted to be the one responsible for sending Arianna back to wherever she came from.

Arianna answered something he did not quite hear, since the gears in his stubborn head rotated at light speed to come up with something to shoo away his sibling. But Nioth’luyia listened closely and answered, mimicking his brother’s voice with a silent snicker.

„Why, tell me, how did you get here?“

Tostain could hear water dripping somewhere in the distance, but he couldn’t locate the exact position, since it was pitch black around him. The only thing he could see and feel was that goddamn anchor chain, that originated from his chest and vanished somewhere in the dark.

„What in all Heartless Depths is this?“ he thought, wanting to slowly follow the weak glowing chain to wherever its other end went. As he moved forward, he thought for a moment that the dripping water were words, that echoed through the silence of the blackness. He couldn’t quite hear, what exactly they said, but he could swear that one of the voices belonged to Arianna.

[nann-the-explorer]

Ras blinked surprised at Samuel's words. "Oh, Captain no. You aren't a fool, in any sense." He tried to give the old man a reassuring smile. "thank you for your kind words about Nann." his smile however didn't quite reach his eyes. 

"Actually, if I may be blunt, I think there is going to be big problems with the cure. Despite bringing back a huge bag's worth of plant material, we only managed two small vials of gold liquid. All of it got used on our friends… as it was, I picked well over half of the plants." His sky blue eyes fell." the spirit of the island told me to take no more than that as they plants wouldn't recover. You see, it's used by the humans and  animals too. Without it everything will die." there was a long silence. Ras pushed his hair behind his pointed ears. "I'm not sure what we can do. I need to speak to Arianna once she wakes again." There was an obvious look of frustration on the captains face, which caused a feeling of guilt in Ras. "I'm sorry I don't have better news for you. I just thought it was best to be honest with you." sadly most of the villagers were gone. Those that were left must have been either immune or just damn lucky. "I know it might be hard to hear but we might have to accept that we don't have a cure for them. But if we can confirm that the disease has died out, then the people who are left will be able to rebuild." He knew it wasn't a perfect option, not even close but it was better than nothing. 

A female voice chimed in." I'll be happy to check the island with Sir Ras, Captain." Andrei's cheerful face peered out from behind Ras. 

'please let me go with him!' Andrei thought to herself. She needed a distraction from the mental link with Lucan. She had been trying her best to ignore the sinister thoughts that drifted through their bond, even trying to envision a brick wall in an attempt to block them out. All had been to no avail. This was her opportunity to focus on something else, also to question Ras on this vampire and her new abilities. Her Amber eyes looked up at Captain Alardice in an obvious plea. 

As she slowly began to regain consciousness Arianna heard a strange voice. It was faint and unearthly but it was there. Although understanding the native tongue was tough, she did recognise the person speaking or to be more exact raging. Ituith’ryiel. She wondered why she was hearing him, surely he wasn't in her room? Slowly she opened her eyes and looked around her cabin. There was no one except herself and little Blume. The sound of his ranting didn't disappear. "Ituith’ryiel? Is that you?" her voice was quiet as she questioned the quietness of her space. Only Blumes slight breathing could be heard. Arianna wondered wether she wasnt hearing the eldritch talking through Nann but instead had their minds somehow reconnected? That thought disturbed her. Like she wanted a connection with a psychopathic monster intent of murdering her. A long sigh escaped her, closing her eyes again she spoke in her mind 'Ituith’ryiel is that you?'

„Oh, Captain no. You aren't a fool, in any sense!“

Captain Alardice smiled, although their opinions differed greatly on that case. But he had to admit that he was kind of touched by the words of this strange elven man and for a moment regretted being distrustful towards him and his friend Arianna. He hadn’t always been so sceptical towards others, but time and experience made him harsh on everyone outside the crew. 

*Well, I consider them crew by now, don’t I?* he thought as he talked with Ras. And moreover, the two weren’t neither born nor socialized in his world and far more tolerant than any of his fellow men had been during the last years. 

He dwelled a little on those thoughts until Ras mentioned the very limited options to cure the inhabitants of the island. That, in particular, was something the Captain didn’t like to hear and his brows furrowed deeply. This was not good, this was horrible - not only for the culture on this foreign land but also for his crew and himself. 

The Captain wanted to respond something, but Ras or rather Andrei didn’t let him much time to answer to the explanations. 

Andrei seemed eager to go with the elf and Alardice knew his steward well enough that she wouldn’t stop asking him until he allowed it. She had her own head and in fact would go with Ras all by herself without any allowance in the end, but she rather had the Captain be affirmative of this whole mission. She might had her own different reasons for going with him, but the Captain could see, that she was first and foremost hoping for answers to her changed state. 

Alardice sighed. It was a long and rasped sigh, indicating how very much done he was with this whole situation, but simply taking his hat and go wasn’t exactly an option here. And it wasn’t his style anyway, he had never been stone-cold running before from difficulties and this was not the time to start with such a questionable behavior.

So, he simply nodded at Andrei, giving his permission to her silently and tried to force out a smile, but it wouldn’t show up. Things were to serious now.

*I have to admit that these news are pretty bad, since it’s not only the inhabitants of the island are in danger but we might as well … our admiralty board won’t accept any failure from this special crew. A quarantine action may last too long … but we need to find a way out and fast … we are expected back in a few days. I will ask Dr. Kirkham, if her knowledge is also required with that, I need to talk to her anyway. You should go get your friend, too, Ras.“

With that said he turned around and went straight to the sick bay, slowly succumbing back into dark thoughts of their hometown. He pondered what would be worse - them coming back late or them coming back early with an extincted culture. He scolded himself for these selfish thoughts before deciding that he didn’t give a damn on schedules. And vampires. And egocentric eldritch monsters.

Ituith’ryel had curled up in the dark and tried to made himself as flat as possible - his favorite sulking position. He had been ranting for hours with nobody listening to him and now he felt neglected and sleepy as hell. But he didn’t dare to sleep, he wanted his rage to be the first thing they would see as soon as Nann was back up again. 

But until then there wasn’t much he could do and he found it rather boring. The mind of Nann wasn’t exactly his favorite place but he had to admit that it was way more fun when they were awake. And at least he had someone to mock. That wasn’t the case now … or so he thought.

„Dah‘fas h‘as lon deynkh‘em, bah‘yel?“

The voice was rather bright compared to his rumbling sound but it was still his native tongue speaking. Ituith’ryel listened attentively for a moment, just to lay his face flat on the ground and made a long hiss of disapproval. This was not an unexpected moment of fun, this was his annyoing sibling.

„What do you want, Nioth‘luyia?“

The voice snickered. 

„Are you so much into your role that you even forget how to speak Yadaldh’dyria? I am impressed, brother, I am impressed!“

The snickering made Ituith’ryiel tentacles curl up, Nioth‘luyia always have had the congeniality of a broken nail. It doesn’t made it better that their abilities allowed them to wander the sleeping minds of humans, first and foremost the human they did lend her psychological powers to. This, Nioth‘luyia would pay their bigger brother an unwelcomed visit from time to time, when Nann was fast asleep. Ituith’ryel sighed. 

„Oh, for Izh‘oto’s sake … dah‘fas jih‘ven feyz, sih‘bryel? 

The voice stopped snickering and answered in the most innocent way they could muster. 

„Fyh‘uzc leyz er boh’nfv , …“

Ituith’ryel snarled with half a laugh in his voice. 

„I have been afraid so …“

They were getting on his nerves - of course, they just wanted to talk … or rather being nosy and ask why he was stuck in here for such a long time. He didn’t intend on telling them that they trapped him here for conspiracy, because he knew how they would badger him about that. 

But he couldn’t stop himself from ranting away at the impertinence of these humans, that had brought him in such a situation. Nevertheless, he made sure to leave the elves out of this conversation.

He didn’t know exactly why. 

"Ituith’ryiel? Is that you?"

Nioth’luyia, who just wanted to answer on Ituith’ryiel’s rant, instantly became calm as they both heard the voice echoing through the darkened space of Nann‘s mind. Ituith’ryel growled, because of course he did recognize Arianna‘s soft voice, but he found it dangerous for her to be with him and this psychotic sibling of his. He could practically hear Nioth’luyia‘s grin through the darkness, as they answered in the most kind way they could fake. 

„Oh, and who’s this now? Using my wavelength to communicate with this human? Can’t be human, though … how veeeery interesting.“