From Dust to Dawn: Chapter 6
Summary: Reconstruction efforts are well under way, and now Ryune is making her passion project come to life in the form of a new organization of Fists of Rhalgr. What mysteries might await in those storied ruins?
Word Count: 5,811
Note: I got carried away and had over 10k words in this chapter. So basically the next one is already half done lol
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Story below the cut:
It seems not a moon can go by without something going on, Ryune thought, as the sound of rubble finding its new home came to a stop around her. A beam of light from above highlighted her form splayed on what she once believed to have been solid ground. Thankfully her instincts had kicked in, keeping her head from slamming against the surface behind her. She had only just come from the impromptu storage room she and her Fists had decided upon, having dropped off quite a lot of non-perishables and extra water, and found herself quite thankful that the floor had given out only after she had completed her deliveries.
With the dust clearing, she found herself in a fairly large room, the walls perhaps thirty by twenty yalms with a door on the shorter wall her feet pointed towards. Pillars were evenly distributed through the area about every few yalms, most looking to be very worn down and plain. As Ryune sat up, checking herself for any injuries, she took note of how far she had fallen, noticing the beam of light seemed to pass through about three successive collapses to get to her, which matched up to what she had felt on the way down. The walls seemed to have light red markings of some sort with a large ribbon of the color going around both the top and bottom of the entire room, save for the doorway. Squinting into the relative darkness, Ryune noticed writing of some variety between what would seem to be something like a mural. Its familiarity confused her for a moment before she remembered her time in the sunken city of Skalla, where she had seen similar designs and language.
She could hear familiar voices from above. She dusted off her blue Monk outfit that Tataru had made before looking up to the outline of a pair of familiar Miqo'te peering over into the abyss. It was O'tchakha and D'zentsa, two thirds of her experienced Monks in the complex.
"Ryune? Are you alright down there?" Came D'zentsa's voice, echoing off the walls. Her dark skin and clothes made for a sharp contrast to the light behind her.
"Do you need any help? We can probably get down there." Added O'tchakha, her light garments making her seem to blend in to the brighter background of the sky.
"Yeah I'm fine!" Ryune called back up to them, craning her neck to see. "I would keep back a bit. As much fun as the ride down was, I can't say I recommend it."
Neither one moved back any, which was hardly surprising given their penchant for getting into things since Ryune had kickstarted this project with them and Widargelt. In fact, before she could protest further, they were already on their way down, jumping diagonally across the gaps to go down a level at a time, their paths continuously crossing until they joined her side by side.
"Alright, fine, just be careful." Ryune stifled a laugh as she stood up, realizing she would have done the same thing. "And don't break anything. There could be some very important artifacts down here and I'd rather not have us be known for destroying history."
The pair nodded in tandem, taking in the room much as she had. After their adventures learning new techniques together before the recent world ending crisis, and the month of cleaning the temple up with them after it, she still wasn't quite sure what they were to one another. It didn't seem strictly romantic or platonic or familial. They were simply together, and that made them happy. Perhaps that was all that mattered.
"Well, thoughts?" Ryune asked them.
"It old, older than any temple in Gyr Abania I've seen." D'zentsa said, gazing at the pillars and walls.
"Yes, and in a different style as well. Skallic, I would assume." O'tchakha followed up, taking note of just how worn down the floor was. "Well used, too."
"Good, we're in agreement. How about a bit of exploring, eh?" Ryune took out her tomephone, recently reactivated from its centuries of slumber by Nero and Cid, and activated its light function, blasting a cone of white light many yalms ahead. The other two did the same with theirs, following Ryune as she made her way out of the room.
"Any idea what this place was?" D'zentsa asked, paying her attention to the floor, concerned about another collapse.
O'tchakha replied as they emerged into a hallway, identical doorways with seemingly identical rooms beyond each along its length, "Were I to guess, I'd say some sort of living quarters. These rooms are too big and numerous to be barracks, unless this was a base for an entire nation's army, but too uniform to be for very different purposes."
"I agree." Ryune said, shining her light one way, finding a dead end, then the other, finding a large arch demarcating the end of the hall. "Might be some sort of mass storage area, but I doubt it. The marks on the floor look like foot traffic, not from wheels or dragging heavy loads." She lead the pair towards the arch, noting just how little seemed to be left behind in each room they passed. In all, Ryune counted 20 rooms total, 10 to a side.
Passing beneath the archway, they emerged into a much larger room, their beams of light sweeping around the pitch dark area. It was quite tall, with terraced walkways going around the room in three tiers with many visible stairways leading to more hallways that seemed just like the one they had come from, and it was empty as could be, save for the large pillars every twenty or so yalms. Every movement they made seemed to echo across the chamber.
After a few moments of quiet contemplation while her companions surveyed the area, Ryune had an idea. "Girls, if you would keep an eye out, please. I'll see if I can get the Echo to tell me anything." Ryune said, kneeling down for stability as they came over. She had had time to practice doing this intentionally, but she wasn't a master at it yet. She knew it was possible to induce the right mental state, she just had to let it happen. The other two drew in close, understanding that she would be particularly vulnerable if she succeeded. Ryune didn’t know how well the Echo would work in this circumstance. Usually it was quite helpful for more recent events, but considering that nothing at all had likely happened since this place had been abandoned, she was hoping she might be able to pick up on something anyway.
Ryune cleared her mind. She had found it best to keep herself as open as possible, releasing any stress in her body and relaxing as best she could. Taking a deep breath, Ryune let go of her present self, feeling the world around her, how the stones felt beneath her, how the place might once have been full of light and life. Another deep breath as she imagined the sounds of those who once called this place home, the roar of a fire, the voices of the past overlapping and intertwining. Another deep breath, and…
In her mind's eye a distorted vision of the past began to play before her. Here there were dozens of long tables tables and a roaring fire in the center of the room, dim light seeping from above from a gap in the ceiling that had since been somehow blocked. People milled about, many carrying what looked like their belongings, often accompanied by children. Guards seemed to be everywhere, helmeted eyes wary of those arriving from somewhere she couldn't quite see, directing them to keep moving.
"Tell me, then, what grand plan do you have for us next!" An irritated voice of a Hyur man, gruff and deep, bellowed close by.
"Quiet!" Barked a second, this time from an Elezen woman. "You will not speak to him that way."
"No, no, he has every right." Spoke a third, the form of an monacle-wearing, elderly, Lalafell man, sorrow heavy in his words. "This disaster has gone beyond all worst case scenarios I projected. I failed…"
"You couldn't have known! You're the only one here who even tried, anyway." She spun to the Hyur man, "YOU wanted everyone to just stay put! Seasonal flooding my arse."
"Please! That's enough!" Pleaded a young looking Hyur girl. "This is unbecoming of you, and besides, people can hear you!"
The Hyur man and Elezen woman seemed to remember themselves, looking a bit embarrassed by their respective outbursts.
"It just keeps rising…" The Hyur man spoke. "I don't understand. Where is it even coming from? It just doesn't make sense."
"Would that I knew, my friend." Responded the elderly Lalafell. "If we knew that, we might well have seen the scope of this calamity, perhaps even been able to do something to stop it."
"Maybe we still can. We have to try." Said the girl, daring to have hope.
The scene grew blurry as more and more people walked in, a seemingly endless stream of refugees with nowhere else to go…
The real world swam back into focus. Ryune was back in the present, flanked by two of her most trusted students, their only other companions being the darkness and silence.
"Ah, you're back. What did you see?" Asked D'zentsa, her light still sweeping her side of the room, only revealing old stonework and dark hallways.
"More than I had hoped, less than I wanted." Ryune replied before going into more detail, recounting all she had seen to them both while her head stopped spinning.
"They had no idea what was truly happening to them." Stated O'tchakha once Ryune was done. "It was all they could to do escape."
"Yeah…" D'zentsa said, feeling the weight of what had occurred here. "I wonder if this place was built for them to hide in or if it was here even before their need of it."
"Not a bad thought, there. I can't imagine this would have been easy to carve from the mountain. Perhaps some old redoubt in times of war? An old temple complex?" Ryune wondered aloud. "We should get some historians and archeologists down here. I know one who would be quite excited to hear from me."
"Miss Mikoto?" D'zentsa asked. "I would image so considering how happy she got with the artifacts we found up top around the temple."
"She might never think to leave." Added O'tchakha with a giggle. "She is rather fascinating to listen to once she gets going."
"Yeah she is." Ryune agreed. "Before that, though, let's make sure there's no unwelcome surprises." Feeling back to normal, she stood up with a grunt. "I think its safe in this area, but I want to investigate over there." Ryune pointed to where she had seen people coming from with her light, revealing a large, carved archway which seperated the main area from what lay beyond. "I have a feeling we may get some clues in that direction."
As they passed beneath the archway, the darkness somehow grew heavier and closer, their lights not penetrating as far as they had before, and the echoes of their steps no longer rung so clearly in their ears. The hall only stretched on for a few more yalms, but in that distance it seemed everything had changed.
"What in the hells happened here?" O'tchakha murmured.
"Nothing good." D'zentsa whispered back, as though both of them were afraid to speak any louder.
"Stay behind me." Ryune told them both as the emerged into the next room. "I have a bad feeling about this." Even her voice was lower than usual, as if something might be listening.
The room they now found themselves in was also quite large, and seemed to form a circle from what they could make out. A dome stretched upwards, eliminating the need for support pillars. Directly ahead was one end of a destroyed stone bridge, a bridge which, it would seem, used to span over a vast, deep pit. Small nubs of similar broken stone could be made out about a quarter of the way around in each direction, implying it used to be a plus shaped bridge between four points. A wide walkway circumnavigated the whole room from what they could see with their lights. Ryune estimated it was easily a hundred yalms to the other side, likely more.
"Breathe and maintain your center of focus." Ryune told her students, already aware that they were quite unsettled, "Whatever it is here, we have the ability to handle, I promise, but you've gotta stay calm."
Ryune moved foward to peer down into the pit, shining her light down until it pierced no further. She could swear she could see some sort of movement down there, only a few dozen yalms away. Looking around the edge, she spotted a stairway that sprialed along the contour of the pit, half tempted to ignore it in favor of leaving whatever was down there alone. She sighed, knowing she couldn't do that if she wanted anyone to come down and figure out what was what, and steeled herself for what was to come next. It was now that she really wished that any of them had brought a weapon down here. While it would be good to go get them, they couldn’t just leave if there was something dangerous here that could get out in their absence.
"Alright, I guess now is as good a time as any for a lesson." Ryune told her companions as she turned around to face them. Ryune's best guess was some sort of ghost or the like was down here, so she intended to equip them to handle it. They looked to her, their faces betraying the fact that they would really rather be anywhere else. Ryune began by holding up her right hand, "Spirits are aetherial beings, just like us. They have become lost from the flow, just scattered memories and desires. By defeating them, we are releasing them. They need a second death to get them where they need to go. So, to do that," Ryune channeled her aether to her hand, the focused energy causing a noticeable glow, "we must make sure we make contact." She expanded it to encompass her arm to the elbow. "Without this technique, you're just as likely as not to hit nothing but air, but with it, its just about a guarantee. The main principal is to concentrate your aether at a low level without letting it disperse. Let it rest upon you and envelop what you wish to make contact with." Ryune held up her other arm, the glow transferring over to it. "Once you get it the first time, it gets pretty easy to move around. Now, let me see you try."
Ryune watched as the pair began to focus. "Just be glad I'm telling you about this now. The first time I had to deal with spirits, I had to figure this out on the fly." She told them, a wry smile upon her face. It wasn't long before they each had a faint glow of their own on their hands. Thankfully the technique was similar enough to how Monks manipulated aether as it was, particularly when building up aether in combat, and this was just a smaller, more controlled scale of it.
Before long they both had managed the techniques on their own, a testament to their skill and ability to adapt. Ryune allowed herself a moment of pride before turning back to the pit, the darkness within seeming somehow closer than before even as she shown her light down it.
"Alright, stick together and follow me." Ryune said, leading the way to the sprial stairway. The darkness seemed to recede, almost as if walking through a bank of light fog where being within it permitted some radius of vision. As they walked, they couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. Their lights swept around for anything of interest, noting how smooth the rock walls seemed to be. As Ryune looked around, she couldn't help but notice her students performing some sort of hand signs directed at one another. When she turned her head to look, they stopped immediately. Perhaps some form of communication? She was unsure, but it did look familiar.
"Lets take it slow." Ryune said, "The way this darkness is I can barely see more than a few fulms past my feet, and I'd rather go down the fast way." She suited action to her words, carefully plotting her steps, keeping her senses on alert for any changes.
As soon as she had her attention ahead she could hear the rustle of fabric and skin as they made their signs again. Ryune decided she would have to ask them about it later, perhaps when in less potential danger. For now she tried to get a read on what was going on aetherically. She couldn't feel much of anything but dark aspected aether, but there was most certainly a higher concentration below. The expected apparitions had yet to materialize, which was honestly more concerning than not. What in the hells had happened here indeed…
From Ryune's estimate they had likely made one lap of the perimeter, and, if the rubble that appeared at her feet was any indication, it would seem that this was the bottom. Chips of stone, scraps of fabric, then what was clearly assorted bones lay across what would seem to be the flat stone bottom of the pit.
As quietly as possible, Ryune said to her companions, "Lights off. Let your eyes adjust. Stick very close. There is something here." Her voice was barely a whisper, and yet…
In the darkness, a dim red glow took shape in the middle of the room. "Feed…I must feed…" The sound was as much a feeling as anything else, the intent radiating from the spot as the form began to take shape.
"A voidsent…" D'zentsa said, fear evident in her voice.
"Keep your guard up." Ryune told them with confidence she didn't quite feel. She had dealt with plenty of voidsent before, but she also knew the oldest tended to be the most powerful, and this one may have been here feeding for a very long time. The last time she had needed to take one on, she had a lot more support than this.
With their eyes adjusting to the darkness, the shape began to grow more defined. It was tall and spindly, not unlike an Elezen, but even more so. Its pale skin almost seemed to glow in comparison to the pervading darkness around them. The red glow from before manifested as a pair of piercing eyes, and only leant greater terror to the mouth below; much too large and with far too many teeth. As its form finished coalescing, the darkness seemed to wrap around it, forming a cloak of slightly darker shadow that blended into the surroundings.
"Where…is my meal…?" It asked, its voice a whispered rasp.
Ryune didn't answer, too concerned with gauging the power it had. Unfortunately it was too nebulous to pin down easily. She simply couldn't tell where it ended and the aether around them began like this.
"Are you…my meal…?" It asked, drifting closer. "It has been…so long…" From its cloak stretched one long, pale hand. "Thought I was…forgotten. So much…aether!" The voidsent launched itself at Ryune, mouth wide.
Ryune sent a blast of concentrated Chakra right towards it, hoping to break its charge, but the aether simply went right down its throat. Then it was on her. She held it back from her head as it struggled towards her, her hands firmly planted on it shoulders as its own arms wrapped their way around her to pull her in, head and neck straining towards her. Using the technique she had just taught her students, she brought a glowing knee up to strike it in its currently horizontal midriff, but it felt like striking an understuffed mattress.
"A little help?!" Ryune cried out, the muscles in her arms already beginning to burn from the effort.
O'tchakha was the first to move. Arms aglow, she sidestepped around, sending a half-dozen strikes into its side, the attack seemingly hardly noticed by the voidsent.
D'zentsa snapped into action as well, and, thinking quickly, dashed around to the pale legs of the creature, grabbing one in each glowing hand and pulling with all her might. It felt to her as if her hands were sinking down into sand as she strained.
"Zen, I've got you!" O'tchakha said as she quickly followed suit, grabbing onto its left leg so D'zentsa could put both hands on the right one. The combined effort seemed to at least get the things attention, as it turned its head a fully 180 degrees to regard them before letting go of Ryune and lunging towards them. Thinking in tandem, they quickly heaved the voidsent up and over, slamming it down as hard as they could to the floor.
The dull thud was hardly the sound they expected as it seemed to flow backwards into the darkness, its raspy breathing suddenly the only indication it was still around.
Catching her breath, Ryune made herself ready. "Its barely more than an apparition." She explained, "Its aether is so thin. I don't know how it can maintain a form like this, but its very dangerous, and every bit of aether it absorbs will only serve to make it stronger."
"Then what do we do?" Asked O'tchakha while she and D'zentsa assumed a back-to-back defensive formation.
Ryune had to think fast. If she had to guess, the darkness around them was likely its doing, and might even be a part of it. If so, even in its current form, it had plenty of reserves to call on. She had to assume it was deliberate, as it kept it safe while providing an ideal hunting ground. It seemed to still be at least a little hurt from being slammed down since it had yet to try another direct attack, but even that effort had been nearly entirely nullified by its nature. If they could just find a way to get a solid shot…
Ryune's eyes fixed ahead of her to her pair of students, arms still alight with aether, and had an idea. "Tchakha, Zentsa, let it come to me. When it engages again, hit it from both sides. Meet in the middle!"
They looked at her in confusion first before Ryune brought her fists together in front of her, a spark coming off of them from her own concentrated aether. They gave a sharp nod of understanding as they returned to scanning the darkness.
She could hear it all around them, above them. It was stalking them, looking for an opening. Ryune decided to force its hand by giving it one deliberately. Walking backwards a few steps as if frightened, she feigned a stumble, acting as if she would topple. Almost instantly it dove towards her from above, but a firmly planted back foot prevented her from being driven back as it was caught yet again, this time by the head as Ryune tried to keep its gaping maw from her own face.
"Do it!" She cried out as she wrestled it down to a more manageable level above the ground, its arms now trying to pull her in once more as they wrapped around her torso.
Jumping into action, the duo flanked the Voidsent, pausing for just a moment to catch each other's eye before unleashing a pair of mighty blows, their fists penetrating into the shape on each side, but without reaching each other.
"Harder! Don't hesitate, just trust each other!" Ryune strained under the effort to keep it in place. She knew they could do it. She had seen them spar so many times. It was like watching someone fight a copy of themselves, their blows connecting between them with absolute precision. She knew they were scared, but she couldn’t do this alone. They had to meet, to create that contact of aether within it. It was the best way she could think to disrupt it.
There was another moment of hesitation from the duo. Ryune could almost feel the near instant conversation the passed between them as they locked eyes with one another once more over the struggling voidsent between them. Ryune may not have known what nature their bond was, but there was no denying that it was absolute.
They got set to try again, this time their movements much more sure as they prepared, looking not unlike Ryune had seen them in the sparring ring. They sent forth one punch, two, three, each more powerful and more sure than the last. Ryune could feel the creature, which had so far only been pushing towards her, begin to take notice of the other two. It was too late, though, as finally their glowing fists connected deep within its ghostly body, the power behind them, combined with the concentration of aether, causing a small detonation in its chest. Suddenly, as more and more connections were made, it began desperately trying to get away.
The grip Ryune had on its head wasn't intended to, or enough to, keep it from backing up as fast as it could. As quick as it had struck, it now retreated back into the surrounding darkness. In fact, as it did so, the area seemed to become less murky, and Ryune could just about see it moving around. "I was right, the darkness is a part of it! Its taken some back into itself to repair the damage." Ryune explained excitedly. "We can defeat it!"
"Might take a while at this rate." Quipped D'zentsa, now able to follow its movements, too.
"Then we had best pick up the pace!" O'tchakha sent back with a grin.
Ryune was relieved to see their fear melting away. They understood that it could be beaten and that they had the power to do so. Now they needed only to see it through. This was good considering how winded Ryune felt after having to hold the voidsent back twice now. She figured she could do it a one or two more times, but it would be best if they could manage to sandwich it themselves without her having to pin it down. Considering how quickly they had advanced in their time together, though, Ryune believed they could do it. They reminded her of how strong she was after she had come back from the First.
There was a moment of realization that hit her as she watched the voidsent continue to circle; it wasn't just healing itself. The longer it stayed back, the more the air seemed to clear and the more solid it became. It would seem it understood that its old tactic had been countered, and was now switching to something new. Soon only a light haze remained as it floated above them, regarding them hungrily. There was also a new sound, rhythmic and quick, like running footsteps on stone. Then, they stopped.
Ryune looked up just in time to see a shaft of light pierce right through the head of the floating creature from the stairs above. As it began to fall, a familiar yell from a different spot marked another ally as they jumped, plunging their blade into it and slamming into the ground atop it. The figure hopped off, positioning between the trio of Monks and the voidsent.
"I know I'm not the best company, but I can't be worse than a voidsent, Ryune!" The selfsure voice of Fordola echoed off the walls. "You were late!" She said, turning her head just enough to look at her to answer Ryune's unasked question, smirk apparent on her face.
"Aye, though it seems she had good reason to be!" Came M'naago's voice from the source of the earlier blast, another arrow suffused with aether drawn back. "Takes a lot for you to miss a lunch date, after all!" She let loose, the arrow leaving a trail in its wake as it lodged in the voidsent's abdomen.
Ryune couldn't help but smile. "Its good to see you. Both of you." She said as a clattering sound came from behind her. She turned to see their weapons strewn about.
"Get yourselves ready. This isn't over." M'naago told them, readying another arrow.
Quickly, while Fordola charged foward to engage, the three scooped up their weapons. For D'zentsa's and O'tchakha this consisted of a pair of bismuth tonfas each, while for Ryune it was a pair of heavily aether-infused gloves made by Tataru, metal reinforcement sewn in to protect her hands under elaborate decoration. She hadn't thought to wear then while simply carrying supplies earlier.
The voidsent rose and lashed out as Fordola drew near, an arm sparking against her shield like a blade, retracting before she could reply with a strike of her own. The force of the blow had stopped her charge, and she was forced to defend as two more quick strikes came for her, the creature's cloaked humanoid appearance seeming to only be a suggestion as to the extent of its true reach.
"We're coming!" Called Ryune as she and her students rushed in. Another arrow sailed over their heads and into the voidsent as they charged, though it didn't seem bothered by any past those two powerful opening shots.
D'zentsa went low while O'tchakha went high, their weapons allowing them to hit with much more force than before, forcing the voidsent off-balance.
Ryune came in right behind them with an uppercut that seemed to start a dozen yalms back, the force of the impact not only slamming its gaping maw shut, but lifting the thing off the ground.
Terrifyingly, it recovered its composure before even coming back down, lashing out with a wave a dark aether which sent Ryune's students sprawling and knocking her back. The only one of them in melee range still was Fordola, who barely got her shield up in time to intercept its jaws.
Fodrola's eyes widened as her shield began to buckle, the thing's teeth closing in on her arm. Thinking fast, she slid her arm from the straps a mere moment before the shield folded, the crunch only serving to demonstrate how strong its jaws truly were. As she backstepped, she heard Ryune dash forward.
Worried that Fordola wouldn't last long alone, Ryune launched a barrage at the being. Clearly their attacks were having an effect, as it seemed to be having trouble fighting back, but voidsent like this were dangerous until the moment they were defeated. A point proven as a quick counterattack sent Ryune on the defensive, only to have her feet swept from under her by a lightning quick low blow.
Another arrow now stuck out from its shoulder, but it didn't seem to notice as it bore down on Ryune, mouth wide. She could hear M'naago cry out in panic as she raised her arms to defend herself, but the sharp burn of a bite never reached her. Instead, she watched as Fordola's blade, suffused with dark aether, tore through its head from mouth to neck, Fordola roaring with the effort, both arms using all they had to cut through.
At long last, it seemed that it was enough. The body fell to the side while the top of the head carried on with the momentum of the sword, landing a few yalms distant. A few gurgles later, and the voidsent was nothing more than a rapidly evaporating blob of dark-aspected aether.
Fordola turned to Ryune, offering a hand up. "You alright?"
"No worse for wear." Ryune replied, taking the proffered hand and being quickly pulled up. She nodded her thanks as she turned to the others, all of whom were coming together. Without that voidsent clouding up the place, she noticed faint light filtering down from the domed roof high above, its structure seemingly held together by twisting tree roots that let the noon sun right in. As such, she could already see the worry on M'naago’s face. "How about you all? Got all the bits you came in with?"
"Other than the arrows that it seems to have taken with it? Aye." M'naago shook her head. "You really can't help but find trouble. I take it you're fine as well?"
"Sore, tired, but fine." Ryune assured her, knowing how much her joints were going to be complaining later. "D'zentsa? O'tchakha?"
D'zentsa rubbed her neck, "Getting blasted didn't feel great but yeah, we're fine."
O'tchakha nodded her assent, "We've had worse."
Ryune then turned back to Fordola as she picked up her crumpled buckler. "So, wanna talk about what I saw there?"
"Which part?" Fordola asked, dropping the useless hunk of metal to the side. "I didn’t think I did anything wrong."
"What? No, no you didn't." Ryune pointed at Fordola's blade. "You didn't do that on purpose?"
"Do what on purpose?" Fordola snapped, her threshold for beating around the bush as low as ever. "Speak plainly."
"Your blade was cloaked in dark-aspected aether the same way my friend Sidurgu's and my own do while we fight as Dark Knights." Ryune explained succinctly.
"But that was its aether, was it not?" Fordola asked, her impatience now replaced with skeptical curiosity.
Ryune shook her head. "Your blade was coated in it before ever making contact. That was your own." Recalling what she had learned during her time in Ishgard and the nature of the power a Dark Knight wields, she could feel a smile start crawling its way across her lips. Fordola really did care, no matter how gruff she tried to present herself.
"So what does that mean, exactly?" Fordola asked.
"It means you might benefit from visiting Sid. He could help you harness that power and make you even stronger." And also perhaps help you work past some of your lingering issues, Ryune added silently in her head. She decided against mentioning Rielle. No fun spoiling the best part, after all.
"Hm, maybe I'll give it some thought, but we should get out of here first." Fordola sheathed her blade.
"Aye, that would be for the best. Besides, its past time to eat." M'naago piped up. "You two want to come along?" She asked Ryune's students.
"Yes please!" They said in unison, giggling at their spontaneous identicallity.
It didn't take long for them to return to the surface, nor to find their way to food. All the while, though, Ryune couldn't help but think of what else might be down there. She knew just who to call to figure it out, though.
