Chapter 13: Haunted Earth
Wind whistled past Seln's body with speed enough to pluck the feathers off a chicken (or at least that's how it felt). Monolith was hunkered down on the spirit's back, behind one of her dorsal fins. She was close enough to her head that she could hear her if she yelled, but only if she yelled. The wind, otherwise, was too loud.
Seln herself was contributing just as much to the noise. The air spirit had gathered a shelf of clouds around herself, and every so often thunder would clap around them, Seln using lightning to boost herself forwards. Or sideways, or downwards, or upwards. While Monolith would have considered a straight line of flight to be the most efficient, Seln apparently did not. The air spirit was ducking and dodging, dipping and turning, and bouncing through the air. Every time she gathered lightning around herself, everything went white for a moment as she leapt forwards. Her jump only lasted a second, but what was below them before was now far behind them. They would emerge in eerie silence, and then sound would catch up to them, a ringing crack.
Monolith had pulled a living membrane of stone up from Seln's back and connected it to the edges of the dorsal fin she was hunkered under. It cut down the wind enough that she no longer had fear of being plucked right off the spirit's back. Out of curiosity, she summoned her sword to her a few times and set it different lengths away from her shelter. Most of the time, the wind grabbed the weapon right away and chucked it into the void, even when it was only a foot from Monolith's toes. It was a little unsettling.
"We would have gotten to this place already, if you would just fly normal!" she yelled after what felt like the fiftieth random drop in altitude.
"But this is more fun!" Seln called back, voice intertwined with the wind. "Flying normal is boring!"
"I prefer to keep my stomach out of my mouth," Monolith retorted. "You're making me nauseous."
"Wait, really?" the spirit stabilized. "I didn't know gods could get nauseous!"
"Oh, for all that is holy," Monolith growled. "Why did I ever agree to fly on you?"
"Because I could get to our destination way faster than you could," Seln retorted. "In fact, isn't that the mountain range we're looking for?"
Monolith risked a peek around the edge of her shelter. Up ahead, stone peaks reached for the sky, rising from the surrounding forests and meadows. These mountains were part of the chain that cut off the Forbidden Lands from the rest of the world, but here they curved northwards, and then back south, forming a cluster of peaks. The highest ones, in the middle, were always covered in snow.
"We're looking for a mountain with a very large, sheer section, probably with an equally large boulder field below it," Monolith said. "It isn't tall enough to have year-round snow, at least not much of it. The monastery is almost at the top of the mountain and may be visible from the air."
"You're the expert on earthly things," Seln replied. "You look for the mountain, I'll fly us lower."
The spirit started to descend towards the incoming peaks. Heavy, dark clouds gathered far to the west, on the other side of the mountain chain. The clouds would be forced upwards by the peaks, and would rain themselves out long before reaching the other side. The result was one side of the range that was moist and tropical, and the other that was scrubby and dry. The earth below them was brown and grey, the closest one could get to a desert in a temperate climate.
"The map of the mountains placed the monastery as northeast of the central peaks," Monolith said. "We should be getting close to it."
The air spirit rounded over a peak. More mountains sprawled before them, steadily rising towards the glaciers above.
"There!" Monolith's eyes spotted the sun, reflecting off of sheer stone. The mountain rose before them, a round-topped form with a face so sheer, it looked as if a giant sword had sliced it in half. The stone was completely smooth, streaked in places with black mosses and bands of quartz. The size of the avalanche must have been unprecedented; nearly one-third of the mountain had dropped into the valley below, filling it with massive boulders. Monolith could see the boulder field, filling the space below for miles and miles. Lord Emon's story could not have been more correct; with the valley filled, and no other passes available to connect the mountain to the foothills, the monastery was completely cut off from the world.
There is evidence of many other, smaller rockfalls along the valley, the god observed. I wonder if those were formed when the humans were trying to clear a path up the mountain, to rescue the survivors…
There was no way the rockfall had been natural.
They topped the rounded mountain, Seln staying well above its peak. The stone curved downwards until it met the rest of the mountain, which was jagged with boulders and ridges. In short, it looked like a regular mountain, while the dome seemed totally unnatural.
"There's the monastery!" Monolith said, pointing to the backside of the dome. Nestled onto the rounded surface was a cluster of ruins. They looked normal enough.
"I don't wanna get to close," Seln whimpered. "The air here feels strange."
"Take us down to the base of the dome, then," Monolith ordered. "We won't be that close, and I can't understand any more about this place from the air."
Seln curved away from the ruins and descended towards the mountainside. Once off the dome, the terrain became rugged and dotted with scraggly bushes. The farther down they went, the more life there was.
Seln halted above a relatively-flat section of the mountain, drifting low enough for her pectoral fins to touch. Monolith stood and extracted herself from her shelter. Stepping out into the sun, she squinted, trying to spot the ruins.
"I can't see the place," she said, frustrated. "Seln, did you really have to take us so far away?"
"I didn't!" the spirit protested. "I can't see it either, Monolith, but I didn't go that far!"
The god bounded up the slope to a large boulder. Deftly, she swung herself to the top, standing up tall. She stretched her neck out, trying to spot the smooth slope of the broken dome.
A strange ripple crossed part of her vision as she moved her head. She froze, looking towards the spot where she had seen the ripple. Nothing was there.
She narrowed her eyes and looked away. There, in her periphery, the ripple appeared. It was situated beyond the crag fields, where the rock became smooth.
"I think I know where the monastery is," she said.
"Oh boy," Seln quailed, floating a little closer to the ground. "Can you not feel the energy, Monolith?"
"I can't feel anything, not yet," the god replied, "but I can see something. Follow me."
She hopped down from the boulder and began to pick her way through the rocks. Seln followed her closely, like a five-hundred-foot-long dog.
"What kind of curse do you think is on this monastery?" she asked. "It...it feels cold, colder than it should be."
Monolith glanced over her shoulder. "We are very high up in a mountain, Seln. It's supposed to be cold."
"I've flown with the cirrus clouds," Seln retorted. "I know how cold it should be, Monolith, and it doesn't feel right."
Monolith resisted rolling her eyes. "Well, it being cold could mean a lot of things. A frost giant, ice phoenix, or a bunch of ghosts. Or one very, very upset ghost."
"Can you free ghosts?" Seln asked. "They make me so sad...imagine being stuck somewhere, unable to leave, without your body? And all you have the capacity to do is drift around…"
"I can free ghosts," Monolith replied, "but you have to fight them to do it. The curse that turns a human into a ghost is very strong, and that magic will fight with everything it has. It's like trying to pry a shark off someone's arm with only one hand."
"You sound like you speak from experience," Seln chuckled.
Monolith frowned, raising an eyebrow. "You know as well as every other god that has ever existed that I was attacked by a shark once. Once."
"Everyone talked about it for weeks," Seln snorted.
"I'm glad to can laugh at my expense," the god muttered, flattening her ears.
She crested the steep slope, rounded another boulder, and the smooth dome rose before her, like a creature's arched back. The wind blew down the surface and across the crags, carrying shreds of cloud with it. The pale fragments dissipated as they rolled down the smooth rock, just barely dusting the top of the dome with vapor.
Nestled on the dome's slope, about one-third of the way up, were the ruins. Their image was misty and distorted, and if Monolith looked at them head-on, they nearly vanished. She spotted a set of carved stairs winding down the dome from the spot.
"Can you see it?" she asked Seln.
"Yeah," the air spirit replied, sounding nervous. "I can see it if I look out of the corner of my eye."
"I can see stairs," the god said, "but Lord Emon suggested approaching from the air." She lifted her wings from her back and jumped upwards. Beating her wings, she flew up to Seln, hovering to the left of her long snout. "Be ready with lightning, Seln."
"Okee dokee," the spirit muttered, gasbags on her belly fluttering nervously.
Monolith curved a wing and flew towards the ruins. The illusion around the place diminished as she rose in altitude; apparently, whoever had disguised the location hadn't thought about it being approached from the air.
Lord Emon would seem to know what he's talking about, then. Monolith stopped above the ruins, about two hundred feet up. She could see the backside of the illusory magic, which was form-fitting around the very edges of the place.
She frowned. Why disguise the buildings, but not the stairs leading to them?
Even the most powerful gods and sorcerers made mistakes, but an entire staircase was a large detail to miss.
"Stay sharp, Seln," she ordered. "Something seems off about this place."
"Oh, now you think so," Seln muttered darkly.
Monolith descended cautiously, watching for signs of movement within the ruins. Despite how isolated the place was, the compound was quite large and contained many buildings. The entire ruin was circled by a crumbling wall. It would have kept out bad weather and roaming creatures during its time, but now it was riddled with holes and scraggly moss.
Monolith's feet touched the frozen ground. She lowered her wings and lifted her hands defensively, watching the shadows. Nothing moved.
"Stay above, Seln," she said. "If I yell, be ready to cover me."
"Please be careful," the spirit begged.
Monolith summoned her sword to her hand. The blade flashed into existence, harsh mountain light reflecting off the pale metal. She turned its point towards the earth and pushed it into the soil. Cold flowed up the metal and into her hands; she cursed and yanked her blade free. Frost had formed on the surface; as soon as it lost contact with the ground, the frost melted. Or rather, it vanished. No water was left behind.
She gritted her teeth and looked down at her feet. Frost was clinging to the edges of her stone sandals, and as she watched, it slowly crept up their sides. She jumped into the air. As soon as she lost contact, the frost vanished.
"I think I know what happened to the people who were here," she said. "It was curious, I thought, how Lord Emon said nobody ever made it down the mountain. The path from here to the rockslide is intact, and going down would have been easier than going up." She scanned the ruins. "Hopefully Lord Emon's spell aimed true, and the sword is here. And hopefully, I can find it quickly."
She set back down on the ground, feeling how the ice immediately grew onto her feet. She couldn't feel the cold, though.
She shut her eyes and extended her consciousness through the ground around her. The monastery housed many underground chambers, for food storage and otherwise. She could feel the emptiness in the ground, where rock gave way to air. Beneath the temple were many rooms, and if she applied her knowledge of human construction to this...
An artifact room. Those were usually under the main religious buildings. And there was something else, a pocket of...cold. She couldn't focus on it; every time she did, she felt her mind slow down.
She opened her eyes and looked at her feet. The frost was at her ankles. Annoyed, she jumped back into the air and shook the ice off. It was unsettling, seeing something covering her skin that she couldn't feel.
"There's an artifact room beneath the temple," she called to Seln. "I'm going in there. Be ready to blast the roof off the place if you have to."
She flew towards the crumbling temple, its importance signified by its central position and round shape. As she passed between the columns, she felt cold radiating off the marble. When she looked, she could see frost on the surface.
That's probably why this whole place hasn't fallen down yet. The magic was literally freezing the stone together. The entire building was suspended in cold stasis.
The shadow of the roof fell over her as she entered the exterior circle of the temple. Part of the central dome had collapsed, including part of the interior wall that separated the altar from the outside. She passed through the gap and came to hover above the altar. All of its niches, which would have been inhabited by statuettes of patron gods, were empty.
She felt a chill pass through her. Did her statue once occupy a place here?
The way into the basement of the temple was covered by a trapdoor on the exterior of the room, wood shriveled and covered in frost. Monolith flew over to it and caught the handle on the tip of her blade. She pulled and the frozen hinges snapped like twigs, revealing a spiral staircase leading into darkness. Cold radiated up the stairs, frost forming on the ends of Monolith's whiskers. She backed away, cursing quietly. She pawed the ice off her whiskers, feeling her sense of emotion return. Not that there was much to feel in this place…
She approached the trapdoor cautiously, eyes piercing through the darkness. The stairs led downwards to a stone floor, the entire basement carved into the rock of the mountain. Unlit braziers lined the walls.
Having Casper's firepower would be good for this. She felt herself wishing her friend was by her side. He could melt away the cold magic that was currently icing her extremities.
An artifact room was a likely place to send a magical object. After all, those places were often outfitted to handle magical energy, and were defendable from raiders. Hopefully, Lord Emon followed such logic.
She slowly began to lower herself through the trapdoor, trying not to touch any of the surfaces. At her size, it was near impossible, and she gave up after a few moments, letting her feet touch the marble stairs. Hastily, she ducked beneath the doorframe and scuttled down the stairs. Once she was in the basement, she could fly again, but even as her feet left the ground, she could still feel the cold creeping in on her.
I've got to be quick about this. She was strong, and the magic struggled to grab her, but eventually, she would start to freeze. The temperature in the basement was so low her breath fogged and turned into snow.
She looked around. The basement was not very large; there were only two doors out of this place. She chose the one on the left and floated over to it. With her sword, she pushed the door inwards. The hinges creaked horrifically loud, but held.
Something moaned behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, spotting the near-transparent ghost floating in the shadows. The faceless form froze when her eyes locked onto it. She lifted her sword, ready to dispatch the trapped soul if it decided to fight. The ghost backed away, knowing this was a fight it couldn't win.
She turned away. The ghost made a small, sad noise somewhere to her right, where it had huddled into a corner. She frowned, feeling her eyes drawn back to the poor being.
I guess it won't take too long to free this one…
She lunged at the ghost, sword lifted. Blue energy immediately flew around the ghost, darting at her like a spear. She dodged the blast and cleaved it off near the base, where it had projected from the ghost's chest. The magic spluttered out immediately, the ghost clawing at where the beam had sprung from it. Deftly, Monolith thrust her sword into the spot, spearing the last bit of magic. Blue veins radiated from the spot, the curse fighting to keep hold of its host. The poor ghost flailed and cried, unable to do anything but try to struggle free.
Monolith twisted her blade and jerked her arm backwards, freeing herself from the ghost. The last bit of magic fizzled out on the end of her blade and the ghost stilled. Slowly, it drifted upwards. When it encountered the stone, it passed right through and vanished.
Monolith bowed her head. "Go in peace." The freed soul would be able to leave this world now, and rejoin the sacred cycle, where it would become life anew.
She looked down at her hands. Frost was lining her fingers.
I've wasted my time. I need to keep moving.
She passed through the open doorway. The round room before her had niches carved into the walls, many of them holding objects; it was what she was looking for. She drifted into the center of the room, searching for the glint of the Ancient Sword.
"Looking for something?"
The voice was cold as the frost lining the stone and harsh like jagged rocks, completely nonhuman. Monolith lifted her blade defensively, turning her body to face the voice. A blue glow appeared in the darkness, and a spectral figure appeared, a ragged black shape edged in dark blue. It was the size of a human, and had a face pale as the moon, but Monolith could make no features of it. The entity, whatever it was, held a short, gold scepter in one pale hand. It was from the scepter that the extreme cold radiated.
"Who are you?" the god demanded. "You have no right to interfere with heavenly business."
"Heavenly business?" the apparition cackled. "I have all the right. Dormin promised me eternal life, and he has yet to follow through on his words!"
Monolith narrowed her eyes. "So you're one of his pathetic followers, then? Strange, seeing how long ago the war was. You seem to have found eternal life already."
"This is no life," the apparition spat. "I am barely substantial. I cannot eat; I cannot drink. I cannot sleep. And all I feel is cold!"
"Dormin is not going to be fulfilling his promise," Monolith said levelly. "I will destroy him before he can. And if you stand in my way, I will destroy you too."
The apparition laughed. "I would have freed Dormin by now if it would have been any use to me. But that cursed sword will not let me touch it. The light magic inside of it is too powerful. But if I inhabit your body, I am sure to be able to handle it. I will free Dormin, and he will repay me with immortality!"
"Good luck with that," Monolith growled. "No ghost can take my body from me."
"But I am no ghost!" the apparition cried. "I am so much more. And the cold weakens you bit by bit, while it gives me strength." They lifted the scepter and pointed it at the god. "But enough talking! Give me your body!"
A blast of blue light emitted from the rounded tip of the scepter. Monolith dodged it, the magic splattering against the wall behind her, covering it in ice. The god swung her sword at the apparition, but they vanished, leaving behind nothing but a blue glow. The glow reappeared behind her, and she barely dodged another icy blast.
I'm slowing down! The frost was up to her knees and elbows. It edged her wings and had completely covered her whiskers. She could smell nothing but cold.
A glint caught her eye. The Ancient Sword! It was in one of the ice-covered niches. If she could break through, grab it, and escape in time…
The apparition dodged her strike again, teleporting behind her. She swung around, pulling a chunk of stone from the wall and throwing it at the monster. Instead of dodging this one, the apparition put their arms up. The rock bounced off, a flicker of blue revealing a magic shield.
Magic flew at her. She swerved right, but the beam struck the tip of one of her wings. She flipped onto her back from the impact and lost control, slamming into the ground. Immediately, frost raced across her back and up her shoulders, grabbing at her like hands. She slammed the pommel of her sword against the ground, shattering the stone beneath her. It freed her, but the frost, now riddled with chips of stone, still stuck to her back. She flipped herself over, trying to get back into the air, but her wings were fouled. Another blast hit her, striking her sword hand. She was pinned to the ground, and another blast fixed her other hand to the floor. She could feel the frost creeping across her back and up her legs, which were refusing to respond to her orders to move.
"You put up a better fight than all the other pathetic people that used to live here," the apparition chuckled. "They froze within minutes after I cursed this place. Their spirits gave me life whenever I needed it. With how many ghosts I still have left, I could live for another two thousand years. But I won't need to."
Monolith slowly lifted her head, ice crawling up her neck. "So that's why there aren't as many ghosts here as there should have been. You've been using them, their souls, to sustain yourself."
"So perceptive," the apparition chuckled. "These people wouldn't have had to suffer if you and your pathetic human allies had just surrendered to Dormin. He would have granted me eternal life, and I would not have had to stoop to freezing myself in this place to wait for his eventual return. After I take your body and free Dormin, perhaps I will finally let these poor souls go."
Monolith inhaled slowly. "You aren't going to take my body."
The apparition cackled. "You're in no shape to stop me, and there's nobody here to save you."
Monolith snorted. "So you can't tell what exists, except for what is within this place."
The apparition shrugged. "Why do I care what goes on outside? I can only affect what is within this place. If some hapless creature like you wanders in, that's just a bonus!"
Monolith pushed all of her energy into her lungs and roared. "SELN!"
Thunder shook the air. A bolt of lightning shattered the temple of the dome and struck the marble stairs leading into the basement; rolling balls of lightning formed and zoomed around the space, melting any frost they touched. One of the balls bounced into the artifact room, circling the downed god. The apparition shrieked unpleasantly, clutching the scepter tight in their pale hands.
Another bolt struck the basement, this one cutting right through the stone ceiling with white-edged fury. Each strike let more light filter in, and the frost receded further.
"You won't get away!" the apparition screamed, lunging at Monolith. The god roared again, pulling at the ice that bound her hands. She couldn't free herself; the frost had too strong a hold on her. She focused her energy into the ceiling overhead and split the stone.
Light poured onto her back as the ceiling was rent in two. The frost hissed and evaporated from her body, froze muscles unlocking. She threw herself to the side, away from the charging apparition. The beast caught onto her armored shoulder, free hand wrapping around the base of her right wing. With a shriek, they stabbed the scepter at her chest. She roared in pain, feeling a blade of ice cut through her stone chestpiece and enter her flesh. Intense cold radiated from the point, and she felt it clinging her heart. The apparition cackled, pushing the scepter in up to her handhold. Monolith's armor was turning white around the break, her flesh freezing black.
She screamed, swinging her sword upwards. She sliced through her own armor, her mind forcing the stone apart. The edge of her blade met the golden shaft of the scepter and cleaved it in two. The apparition shrieked, pulling her hand away. What had once been whole was now a shriveled piece of useless metal.
The other half of the scepter was still embedded in Monolith's chest, but she no longer felt the cold. Her shattered chestpiece hung from her shoulders, rent in two from where the scepter had pierced it. Its exterior layers lay still on the ground, where her sword had tossed them.
"You...you broke my scepter!" the apparition pouted. "That was my royal item, my symbol of rule over this forsaken place! And now, without its magic, these ruins will collapse!"
They were right; as they spoke, the frost was receding from the stones around them. The air was warming up, and the buildings were starting to sag.
"Good," Monolith growled, leveling her sword at the monster. "You will be buried with them."
"I think not!" the apparition cackled. "No, I will not stay here. I will go somewhere else, somewhere far away...somewhere, where I can be worshipped as a queen, as I deserve to be!" they laughed, throwing their pale face back. "Yes, that is what I'll do. It was good to meet you, god. I hope Dormin brings you to a sorry end!"
With a snarl, Monolith lunged at the apparition, sword raised. Blue light glowed around the figure and they vanished, just as they had done before. But this time, they did not return.
Monolith lowered her sword, disgruntled. Damnit. I hope I never see that thing again. She glanced down at her chest, where the front half of the scepter was still buried. It hurt, but at least she wasn't frozen. With a grunt, she grasped the twisted end of the object and yanked it out of her flesh. It was followed by a spurt of blood, drops splattering onto the stone floor. She ground her teeth together and put her hand over the wound; it would close quick enough on its own.
The Ancient Sword was where she had seen it, in one of the niches. The ice had receded from it, revealing the pale blade that looked so much like her own. She limped over to it, casting her own weapon back into its otherworldly sheath. She picked up the much smaller weapon, and felt the darkness within.
We have him.
She glanced around the artifact room. What other treasures were here?
Long-lost magicks, maybe even god-touched; ancient items of unknown power. She took a step towards another niche. The ground shook as a crash echoed through the doorway; the structures above were starting to collapse. Dust sprinkled from the ceiling, settling on Monolith's shoulders.
No use in letting these items be buried forever!
She approached the first niche, which held a gold-inked book bound in faded leather. And then the next, which held an ivory box, carved with such beautiful intricacies one could become lost looking at them. And then a brooch, sparkling with magicked gemstones. She circulated the room, arms filling. She could hold no more, but more was left, so she stuck the Ancient Sword between her teeth and kept going. The ground shook again, cracks appearing in the ceiling.
That's all! Thoroughly laden, she quickly moved beneath the gash she had rent in the ceiling. With a hop, she shot up from the basement and through the gap. The harsh mountain sun spilled over her and she spread her wings, flying away from the ruins. The temple was in shambles, dome shattered and columns scattered. As she fled, a large section of the exterior wall leaned outwards and fell, bricks scattering across the smooth stone of the mountainside.
"Monolith!" Seln was still floating overhead, lightning buzzing around her head. When she saw the god, the lightning dissipated.
"I got it," Monolith mumbled around the Ancient Sword. "And I got all this stuff too."
"You looted the temple?" Seln asked, incredulous. "Why would you do that?"
Monolith landed on the mountainside, well away from the ruins. She set her items down and removed the sword from her mouth so she could speak clearly. "Because otherwise they would have been buried under that heap. These are priceless, ancient artifacts, and they're useless when abandoned. I didn't loot them, I saved them."
"Eh, I guess you're right," Seln pondered, drifting over. "But what are we going to do with all of them?"
Monolith took the leather-bound book in her hands, eyes reading the gold-inked script. It was in a holy language, one that was different from the common tongue that humans and gods had been speaking for thousands of years. She was a little rusty, but maybe it would be a good read.
"Well, we need to know what they are first," she reasoned. "And then, maybe they'll make good gifts for the human leaders that we must contact soon. The reunion of our peoples should be grand and lavish. Humans like their trinkets."
"I hope they aren't cursed," Seln worried.
"The source of the cold you were feeling was a scepter wielded by this strange, ghost-like being," Monolith told her. "I destroyed the scepter, but the apparition got away."
Seln yelped and swooped closer to the ground, just now noticing the god's cleaved chestpiece and bloodstained fur beneath. "Monolith! You're bleeding!"
The god put a hand to her wound. "I'm aware. It's closing up, though." She shut her eyes, calling to the stone around her. Strips of it peeled up from the ground and settled into her outstretched hands; she pressed them to her chest and fused the broken sides of her chestpiece together. She repaired the rest of the damage to her armor with more of the smooth stone. Its color was different from the rest, grey compared to something a little more brown.
"I'm glad you're okay," Seln said quietly.
"You might have saved me," the god admitted. The air spirit's head jerked up and tilted quizzically.
"The apparition was trying to steal my body so they could touch the Ancient Sword and extract Dormin from it," she explained. "The scepter they wielded could cast powerful frost magic, and just being underground in the ruins sapped my strength. The beast got a lucky shot on me and pinned me to the ground."
"By the stars," Seln breathed. "I did save you!" Her gasbags inflated and she shot higher in the air, bobbing like a balloon. "I saved you!"
Monolith bowed her head. "I am very thankful, Seln. I am glad you came along."
"We must write about our journeys," the air spirit declared. "Never before has one of my kind saved the life of a major god. This is revolutionary!"
"Perhaps we should," Monolith agreed, gathering up the artifacts. "When we return to the Higher Lands, we should seek out the Libraries and what remains of our ancient texts. Too many were probably destroyed by Dormin, if not all of them. All of our history, our legends…"
"We're writing our new legends now!" Seln declared. "And we will rewrite what we can remember of the old."
Monolith, sword in mouth, was unable to reply, so she just nodded. Spreading her wings, she flew up to Seln's back and settled behind her foremost dorsal fin. With care, she tucked the artifacts safely in the niche, where the wind would not pluck them away.
"I will try to not jostle as much," Seln promised. "I don't want to lose the artifacts."
"And I will take a long rest," Monolith muttered, leaning back against the dorsal fin and shutting her eyes. "Try not to lose me either."
"Fighting sure is draining!" Seln declared. "That's why I avoid it, so I can save all my energy for enjoying myself. When you wake up, we will be back at the Shrine!"
Monolith dreamed while she slept. She saw the past gods, her allies and enemies, shadows moving about on a smoky plain. Was this the Higher Lands? Were the gods getting their forms back? The sky was clouded, as if fires still raged. She tried to approach the figures, but they just kept wandering farther away. She tried to call out to them, but no sound left her mouth.
Something was crying in the back of her mind. She turned around and saw the horned infant, naked atop a flat rock. The child's cries continued, but then its form morphed, becoming shadowy. The figure now crouched atop the rock, glaring at her with glowing blue eyes.
Do you think you're doing the right thing? Pandering to the wants of humanity, willing to risk your life to make deals with them instead of just taking what belongs to you? They are just dirt, mortal worms who are good for nothing but worshipping us, the gods. And you see to it that you treat them as equals? What kind of god are you?
Monolith tried to tear her eyes from the figure, but she was frozen in place. She began to panic, heart beating in her chest. Was it the frost? Had the apparition returned to finish their job?
You're weak, the shadow said. You're soft. You want to reunite with humanity as equals. You used to see the truth, that you were above them, and that they were nothing but animals. But now, you live with one mortal woman and she convinces you that humanity is strong and capable. You visit one damned sorcerer and he convinces you that humans are dangerous and cunning. You think they deserve respect! Pathetic!
The shadowy figure started to move towards her, not walking but drifting strangely over the ground. I will escape you. And I will return to destroy you.
Monolith jolted awake, yelling and clawing at the air. She summoned her sword to her hand, ready to fight off the shadowy figure approaching her. But there were no shadows; she was riding on Seln's back, surrounded by her rippling grey fur. Sunlight spilled around her, warm and innocent.
"You okay back there?" Seln called. The air spirit had stopped moving and twisted around, looking at her dorsal fin with one glowing eye.
Monolith slowly lowered her sword, trying to slow her breathing down. "I...had a nightmare," she muttered, whiskers twitching at the strong scent of her own panic. Her eyes were drawn to the Ancient Sword, tucked with the other artifacts beneath Seln's fin. "I...I saw the other gods. But I couldn't call to them, and they kept wandering away from me, into a shadowy plain. And then...I saw that child. It turned into a shadowy figure with glowing blue eyes…"
"Hey, Monolith!" Seln yelled. The god started; she was holding the Ancient Sword in one hand, pointing it towards her chest. She cursed, throwing the sword away from herself and jumping to her feet. It clattered into the other artifacts, scattering them.
"It's Dormin," she snarled, backing away from the artifacts. "He's trying to get into my mind, the worm. Even when trapped within a sword, his powers of persuasion are still strong."
"I haven't felt anything," Seln said. "But then again, what does Dormin care about me?" Her voice quavered a little. "I'm just a useless air spirit, after all…Wait!" She started, a ripple passing down her own body. "I'm not useless! I don't think that!" She turned her head and began to fly in a tight circle. "I'm useful! I'm helpful! I may only be an air spirit, but at least I care!"
"Whoa! Whoa!" Monolith yelled, holding out her hands for balance. "Slow down, Seln, or you're going to toss me and all the artifacts!" She put a hand on her dorsal fin. "Dormin's trying to get into your head too."
Seln stopped spinning, uncurling her body. "You...you don't think I'm useless, do you, Monolith?"
"Of course not," the god scoffed. "You saved my life in the monastery." She glared at the Ancient Sword. "We need to get back to the Shrine as fast as possible. Dormin's only going to continue to try and trick us into freeing him. We need to shield our minds from him." She lowered herself to a seated position and crossed her legs. "Clear your mind of all thoughts."
"My mind is buzzing like a beehive," Seln replied. "How could it ever be empty?"
Monolith shut her eyes. "Dormin can only persuade you if you think about his words. Focus only on what is physical and around you, but think nothing more of it but what you can feel. If you feel thoughts creeping in, shut them out. Set us on our southern course, and fly with haste."
"I-I'll try," Seln stuttered. "Focus on the wind and the air…"
Monolith inhaled slowly, letting herself become aware of the living ground she sat upon. She breathed out, feeling the wind across her face.
Weak, a voice whispered in her head. Unworthy.
She ground her teeth together, forcing the thoughts away. The ground beneath her was warm; she could feel the softness of Seln's fur and the strength of the stone beneath it. The air was cold, rushing by her quickly…
Unworthy…
She inhaled again. The sun was shining on her back, warming her scalloped armor plates and stone wings that looked so much like Seln's long forefins. The light was all around her.
The light was all around her. Shadows could not touch her. She was the light.
Un...worthy?
Her mind was empty, but it was full of light. It was full of light because she was true to what she believed in. Yes, she was different now. She believed in the humans, and she believed in believing. That made her anything but weak.
The thoughts in her mind were just barely whispers now. She couldn't hear them anymore. She was nothing but the ground, the air, and the light.