A.N.: First of all, thank you so much for all the support! I really appreciate all the nice reviews, it's great motivation to keep writing this story. We're starting to pick up the pace now, I hope you are all ready and that you enjoy the coming chapters!
It was a quiet night.
Dave glanced at the open wastelands before the tall gates he guarded. Once, there had been sprawling slums at the entrance to the higher levels of the hive; By now they had all been demolished to make surveying the land around the gates an easier task. He was but one of the hundred men in charge of defending this particular gate; nine gates there were dispersed throughout this level, and nine gates were blockaded and guarded by armed men of the local planetary defense force such as himself.
He knew things weren't well in the Underhive. Famine, violence and more plagued the place. And he knew that, in effect, the orders from the governor...he shook his head. Ex governor Faen had been an effective execution order of the Underhive. Eventually, they would run out of supplies and starve. But at night, he could still see from afar the lights in the distant shanty towns and hab-blocks that dotted the level. That is, until a few days ago. One by one, the lights had gone out. At first, he had thought it had merely been faulty power lines, but it had become too regular to be so. He'd talked with the others about it. He hadn't been the only one to notice, and the other gates reported similar things in their horizons. By now, not a town shone even a single light. Robert had theorized that anarchy had finally fully erupted and that civil war was consuming the Underhive. Some had agreed, others said they might be saving the power for other things. Dave...wasn't sure what to think, quite frankly. Things had been messy recently, and not just in the Underhive. Between the rebellion a few years ago, the rise of the Angels gang, the blockading of the Underhive and now the execution of the governor by the Sororitas... he feared for the future.
His grip tightened on the strap of his lasgun as he reached for the radio with the other hand. It was time to check in on the others.
"Gosad. Any updates on your side?" A moment of silence, before an answer came through.
"Nah. Nothing really, save for I can't find that drunken idiot Polas." Dave sighed.
"Damnit. Think he stole a drink again?"
"I know he stole a drink again. Reported him already, but well. You know the captain won't do anything to him." Yeah. He knew that. Didn't mean he had to like it.
"Fuck's sake. Fine, I'll go look for him. Tell Ijin to take up the rampart for me."
"Aye aye." With that, he cut off the radio and headed down the main metallic rampart, heading further into the mini fort set up at what used to be a simple paper check booth.
For some time he walked through the nearby streets of the lower hive. This was one of the poorer areas that wasn't classified as the Underhive, but no one here would dare attack a member of the PDF and so he strode with confidence. He knew the places the drunkard would usually end up. This was a painfully regular occurrence after all.
"Ugh..." His head turned to a dark alley nearby. That groan sounded familiar. Entering the alley, he shone a light forward which elicited a startled yelp. "Gah! Put that thing away, please!" He shook his head but did as asked, walking up to the man dressed in a sloppy PDF outfit.
"Damnit Polas, I thought I made it clear to quit this shit!" He crouched down, smelling the strong smell of the booze. "Ugh, seriously if the captain saw you she'd lash you in front of all the others." She wouldn't, but a man could dream.
"I...Dave?" The drunk looked up with blurry eyes, before gasping and suddenly reaching out, grabbing tightly at Dave's sleeves. "Dave! Oh Emperor thank you, Dave!" Dave startled at that, trying to pull back.
"Hey! The hell do you think you're doing?!" He demanded, but the other man was blubbering incoherent nonsense.
"Dave, it's...oh god, I saw something eat someone!" Polas pointed shakily to the opposite alley. "There was this big...thing, and it had tentacles and was eating his brain!" Dave stared down, before scoffing angrily.
"Damnit, let me go!" With a strong pull, he ripped himself out of the drunk's grasp. "You drank too much again you fool. Come on, we need to get back to base."
"No no Dave, it was...it was there, it was right there! It came from the sewers!" Polas was shaking, terror in his eyes. "I wanted to shoot it, but my fingers...they wouldn't stop shaking...I couldn't stop shaking!" Dave was a little disturbed by the sight, but he had seen worse during the rebellion. With a grunt, he finally clubbed the man over the head, watching him slump over. He'd have to apologize, but he knew he wouldn't be reprimanded. Everyone knew how difficult Polas could get after a few drinks.
Damn drunk. As he lifted the drunk with some effort, he glanced at the opposite alley. It was dark, darker than this one was, with not a single light shining from it. A shiver ran down his spine, and he looked away.
Another six months before his next rotation. He could hardly wait.
"Why Lictor?" Anya asked softly, her eyes closed as she sat cross legged in Nornie's chamber. She could feel the younger her's presence nearby, her psychic projection clearly visible through her arcane vision.
"I am unsure. I believe it was a position of power in one of the very ancient human civilisation back on your homeworld."
"Hm. I suppose I should use the name then. I have to show some respect to my heritage."
"It is your decision. The name does not matter, only the distinction for proper usage." She felt almost a hand on her head, as she saw the fuzzy form of her younger self brush her hair. "Now focus. We need to keep developing your powers. You have much, much further to go."
"Right, right." She hummed softly as she reached out to the ripper waiting patiently before her, willing it to float upwards. Once again, the ripper started to get dragged upwards, letting out a little shriek, before falling back after being raised half a metre or so.
"Better. Keep going."
"Yeah yeah." She remained quiet for the next hour as she repeated the exercise again, again and again. She'd been at it for hours, and by now she was developing a migraine. Her face was scrunched in concentration, and while she knew she should be unable to feel pain it somehow felt like she was having cold needles shoved into her brain.
Then, something wrapped around her, making her snap her eyes open. To her surprise, she found herself looking up at the large form of Nornie, the still growing queen gazing down at her with what she knew through the Hive's synaptic web to be concern.
"Nornie?" Her younger self asked, surprised. The aforementioned Nornie let out a chuffing noise, lowering her head and nuzzling against Anya, a warbled cooing noise emerging from its massive throat. A wave of feelings, emotions and thoughts came over Anya, making her eyes widen further. "Oh. I suppose I have been pushing her a bit too hard...perhaps some rest will do us some good." Anya shook her head, a strange feeling of shame coming over her.
"Don't blame yourself. You're a part of me. If you pushed me, I was really pushing myself." She sighed. "It's just... I'm feeling impatient. There's barely anyone left to hunt, to eat down here, but we need to be strong for the next step. And there is nothing to do but wait while the Hive goes hungry." She shook her head. "They're my Hive. My responsibility."
"The Hive can survive for much, much longer than this without sustenance. It only needs it to grow and expand." Her younger self chided her. "There is no harm in growing stronger, but crippling ourselves in doing so would be counter-productive to the extreme." Her younger self pointed upwards. "I believe there are still a few fresh bodies from the eleventh district. Why don't we go take a break and add some biomass to our own." Anya smiled.
"Sounds wonderful. I'll go get them, and we can eat with Nornie." She giggled, a childish sound that felt out of place coming from the tall, lethal creature. "We'll make it a picnic!" Her younger self smiled fondly as Nornie let out an excited warble, the sound of heavy footsteps coming from what had once been a staircase and since been converted to a semi organic ramp as one of the warriors dragged down a few corpses for Nornie to eat along with her progenitor. Anya smiled happily as she leaned against Nornie, happily munching on the remains of what had once been a child the same age as herself, the massive creature against her gulping the body of what might have been its mother in a single bite.
It had been a very long time since Anya had felt this happy.
"What news sister?" The canoness was busy examining a variety of documents strewn across her improvised desk in what had once been the planetary governor's office. She'd gotten rid of most of the more ostentatious decoration, leaving only the symbols of piety and religious worship.
"Canoness. We've done as you asked, inspecting much of the local nobility. Besides the usual petty infighting, we found no trace of dark worship or xeno heresy." That was reassuring. Corruption was not unusual in the Imperium of Man; more often than not, it was the rule, not the exception. It unfortunately often served as a blanket for things far more sinister to hide in plain sight.
"Excellent news. What is the progress on their power struggle for the seat of planetary governor?" The other sister shrugged.
"So far, it seems to have entered a stalemate between the Everan family and the Onasin." The canoness gestured for her to continue. "One is a family that made its fame during the early expansion to this planet, serving along the ruling families during many of its conflicts. The other's power lies in its fortune, built upon the trade with the outer worlds." The canoness considered those facts as she looked down at the documentation before her.
"Well then, the answer is obvious. The Imperium always needs more troops, not some fat merchant." She nodded to herself. "Support the Erevan, and make it clear any support for the Onasin will be met with reprisal." The sister before her hesitated at that.
"Canoness...with all due respect, if the Onasin family is subjected to this, they will be torn apart by the other families, and trade with the outer planets will be crippled for this world." The canoness raised a single, unimpressed eyebrow.
"And? We will have a world with a militant population. They can deal with a reduction in luxuries."
"My lady, this is going to be more than just a reduction in luxuries. Essential supplies are brought from the outer worlds, this will..."
"Sister." The warning in the canoness' voice was clear to hear. There was steel in her eyes as she stared the other sister down, the woman having gone rigid under the scrutiny. "It is better to be hungry and faithful than to grow fat on heresy." The other sister gulped, nodding shakily.
"O...of course, canoness. I will give the instructions." With that, she made a hasty retreat out of the room. The canoness shook her head. Of course she knew what the consequences of this would be. But if the population was strong, then they would rise above the difficulties imposed on them. They would emerge strong, more capable, better prepared for the cruelty of the galaxy. Besides, better a dead but faithful world than one that survived through weakness or worse.
She rose from her desk, brushing away the documents. Enough of this. She needed some action. The arbites had been struggling with a group from the lower levels of the Hive, people who had protested the brutal means with which the planetary government had cracked down on any sign of opposition or criticism when it came to the decisions made by the noble houses. A feral smile came to her lips as her hand came to rest on her side arm.
No loyal citizen would ever oppose the representative of the Imperium of Man. These must obviously be heretics. Only those like her were apt to judge the rulers of the world. Only a heretic would dare think otherwise.
And there was only one fate for a heretic.
Anya stared at the person brought before her. One of the last survivors of the Underhive, gathered by her Hive to bring back alive. She had been confused at first, they didn't bring back creatures alive unless she had given strict instructions to do so. But when she found herself close to them, she'd understood why. This one was different. This one was like her.
A psyker.
The eery glow in his eyes was unmistakable; Far fainter than hers, and overshadowed by the terror she could read in them, but still very much there.
"So...what should I do with them?" She asked her younger self. The psyker let out a pitiful whimper, eyes glancing around to the four warriors that stood guard nearby. They were outside of the factory; no way would she bring a potentially unstable psyker near Nornie. Even if she had no doubt Nornie could crush them with her mind if she wanted to, it wasn't a risk worth taking.
"Please...please, don't...don't kill me!" The psyker whimpered. She gave them a closer look. They were young, barely an adult. Much of their hair was gone, and the dirty bloodstains and wounds she could see on his scalp pointed towards him having ripped it out. His eyes were green, with a blue glow shining softly behind his pupils. His clothes were ragged, but nothing unusual for someone living in the Underhive.
"This one will give you good training. You have gotten better at getting into normal human minds. But there are many creatures out there who have far stronger wills, and far stronger psychic abilities. This seems like the next logical step in your teaching." She nodded at her younger self's words, before turning her eyes back to the psyker. She felt a grin appear on her face as she asked, in a kind voice.
"Do you hear the voices too?" The man's eyes widened. A blubbering prayer escaped his lips, a desperate cry for help to the Emperor. She sighed, shaking her head. "Oh, no, no, no. The Emperor can't hear you here. Or if he can...he will not help you." She shrugged. "I am not sure why. Maybe he can't. Maybe he doesn't care. Maybe he has more important things to do." She patted him on the head, her claws leaving thin trails of blood on his bare scalp, the man barely flinching so paralizing was his terror. "He certainly didn't help me."
"The Emperor...protects..." The man responded, his eyes glassy.
"Not everyone. Not always." She replied. "Not you. Not now." Curiosity had gotten to her, she would freely admit. She had never had someone to talk to about psychic things, and whilst her younger self and the wider Network had taught her much, it wasn't quite the same. She knew that the psychic abilities she'd had converted to better fit with that of the Hive had been different. The voices had never stopped until the Shadow passed over her. "So please. Do you hear the voices too?" There was a hint of desperation now. A subtle begging to know she hadn't been the only one. Hadn't been alone. He glanced up at her, tears streaming down his face before slowly nodding.
"Yes." His voice was broken, shaky. "Always. They whisper such horrible, horrible things..." He took in a shaky breath. "Promises that are too sweet to be true. Screams too loud to be ignored."
"Change." She answered, his eyes wide as he nodded frantically. "Some ask you to give up, to embrace the inevitable end. Others promise to change things, make them better. Or to make you strong, strong enough to overthrow the tyrants."
"To make your wildest desires true." He was enraptured now, and she felt a strange kinship with him. She hesitantly reached out, grabbing his hand. A strange compulsion was coming over her, compassion born from understanding.
"I can make them stop. They did for me." Her younger self turned her head sharply to her, and even without words she understood the meaning. What had been for her would not be done for another. Not now. Not yet. But there was no need to worry. This was not what she wished for.
She knew from her younger's lessons of that...thing that came over the worlds Tyranids approached. This immense blanketing of psychic connection, that drove psykers made from the sudden absence of their connection to what her younger self had called the Warp. The Immaterium. But for others, those who were not trained...it could be a blessing. A relief. And for her, a weapon should she manage to channel it to a more precise degree. A Shadow to smother her opponents' mind and powers.
"P...please..." He looked at her with such despair, such pleading, that she could not help but be moved. "I have been hearing them since the day I was born...I can't...I can't take it anymore..." She nodded gently as she reached out, feeling the blanket of the Shadow in the Warp over her, willing it to expand and encompass the man as well. Focusing it, smothering him in. She saw his breathing grow slower, his eyes roll back. Then, a gasp as his hands clawed at her arms. "They're...they're gone!" A smile appeared on his face, wide. "They're gone!" She smiled at him.
"I'm glad." With that, she grabbed his head and in a single motion, snapped his neck. It was painless, and from his expression he barely registered surprise before death. That confirmed it. It was a hard thing to do, but she could increase the influence of the Shadow in the Warp if she wanted to. He had been a relatively weak psyker, but the fact it was possible at all was good enough for her. It meant she could grow this ability.
"With that attack, we have consumed all the biomass of the Underhive. Or at least, the vast majority of it." Her younger self seemed thoughtful. "There is no use delaying any further. Someone is bound to notice eventually, and better to strike with the element of surprise. Still..."
"You're hesitating?" Anya asked.
"Not quite. But...if things go wrong, and someone finds Nornie...she is a weakness." Anya's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"What." Her words were a growl when she spoke, protectiveness rising within her.
"Not like that. But if she were to die, then we would be left without a means of replenishing our forces. We would have to start from scratch, and we might be in a far worse position than now." Her younger self nodded. "I will take some of the biomass we have and find another place. Create another nest. As a security measure." Anya calmed down, reassured the implication wasn't that they had to get rid of Nornie.
"Fine by me. Where will it be?"
"I am unsure as of yet. Although our friends past the gates have given me a few ideas..."
"How long do you need?" Her younger self looked thoughtful as Anya started consuming the body of the psyker.
"Three days. After that, you are free to launch your attack."
"Three days huh?" She tore off a hand and swallowed it in one gulp. "Alright. I'll get back to training in the meantime then."
"Yes. Next, try lifting a hormagaunt. By the time of the attack, I want you capable of throwing a warrior five metres."
"You have very high ambitions for me." Anya joked. Her younger self smiled wide.
"Oh, you have no idea."
Dave had been called away from his usual post. A series of disappearances having recently taken place in the lower levels had caught the attention of the higher ups under the increased scrutiny of the sisters of battle, and not wanting to spare the arbites on the higher levels it was up to them to check it out. After all, as the captain has passed on with an angry scowl: 'It's not like the Underhive has much of anyone left anyway.'. She'd seemed about as pissed as he felt. He wasn't a fan of gate duty, but he still recognized the importance of it. Even if he disagreed with the reasons behind it.
And so it was that he, along with six of the other guards, were tasked with investigating one of the hab-blocks twenty minutes walk away from the gate. The apartment was still busy with people, looking nervously from the peepholes as the heavily armed and armoured arbites walked up the stairs with loud, heavy steps. They finally reached the door they'd been informed to investigate. The worker hadn't been coming to their administratum position for the past week, and no one had bothered to go there until further disappearances rose the alarm bell. He wondered how much longer this would have gone ignored had the sororitas not been present on the planet making everyone nervous.
As the most experienced here, it was up to him to take care of breaching. No announcement was done, no warning given. He simply walked up to the door and slammed his iron boot into it, immediately bringing his weapon to bear as he strode inside with confidence. The others rapidly followed him, checking corners and taking cover as they moved inside.
The apartment was small, with only a single room and bedroom. For this area however, this was almost luxurious; the man must have stayed within the lower levels due to lower property prices, which with a job in the Administratus, no matter how low, would allow him to live in relative comfort. He could immediately see things were out of place; Some furniture had been dragged around, there were traces of dry blood on the floor and one of the doors had strange claw-like marks on it. These made him frown for they were high on the door; Indicating either that whomever, or whatever had caused them had pounced upwards, or had been tall enough to reach there. Stranger still was the lack of sign of forceful entry. The windows were intact, the door before he'd busted it down hadn't shown any signs of being damaged.
Entering the bedroom, he found a gruesome sight. A large blotch of blood on the bed, staining the sheets and pillow with a deep red colour. The blood was old and crusty. Whatever happened here, it wasn't a recent event.
"Shit...the hell do they want us to do? We ain't investigative." One of the other arbites grumbled. He gave her a warning look.
"Look around. Anything that sticks out, point it out. The faster we get this done, the sooner we can get back to our posts."
"Yeah yeah, will do." The rest dispersed in the small apartment, examining different parts of it. Dave took the time to sit down at the man's desk and examine the things he was working on. A variety of documents of minor importance. Someone thirty seven years ago had requested a change in their air filtration unit, and the paper now showed it had just been denied due to an error in the plans sent. Another person had accused his neighbor of heresy a week ago. An arbites team was to be sent, though someone else would have to be the one to send the order. His eyes focused on one of the papers, frowning. Huh. Apparently, the man had worked with the department of level control. Those were in charge of various tasks throughout the Hive city, specifically ensuring that people could only go on specific levels if they had proper authorization and avoiding smuggling. As such, they were the ones who usually took care of maintaining and manning the passport desks between levels. He looked at the document. His blood turned to ice.
It was a report of a fault in the construction of some of the gates blockading the Underhive. Sewers that hadn't been disconnected, dead angles from which people could sneak by...and other such things. His hands were trembling as he held the paper. His instincts were yelling at him.
"Vince." The man looked up to him. "The other people who disappeared. I want reports on all of them when I get back to my desk."
"You found something?" Dave looked at the paper, before swiping them into his bag.
"I think so. I'll tell you on the way back."
They didn't find anything else. That night, as Dave sat down on his hard bed, he examined the various disappearance cases on his data slate. At first, he thought his hunch might have been wrong. One woman was clearly taken in a crime of passion. A man disappeared after angering the local mob. Classic stuff. But then, a few people started ringing alarm bells. Workers who'd been on the job to create the gates to the Underhive. A supervisor missing. An inspector gone, having vanished from their very office. It was painting a very, very ugly picture.
But who the hell benefited from this? His first guess would have been the Angels, but there had been no sign of any human activity at all in the Underhive for the past few days... were they preparing something? An assault, perhaps?
He shook his head. Surely not. The people there would be starving, unorganized, and certainly not able to do such high level infiltration outside of the Underhive. This was professional. The work of an expert.
And yet, for the life of him, he couldn't figure out anything except that this indicated the preparation for either sabotage or an attack. But who the hell could attack them? And why the gates at the Underhive? Who the hell would want to get in there, and who was left inside that even with knowledge of weak points it would succeed?
It painted a very, very ugly picture. One he needed to report.
He finished compiling his report, freezing at the sound of the door behind him closing. For a moment he stood still, his hand inching towards his side arm, before whipping around with his las pistol out. No one. There was no one there. But he hadn't imagined the sound of the door closing. Paranoia filled him, and his eyes darted around the room. Then, something caught his attention. Something wasn't quite right near one of the walls, as if...as if the walls had a bit of an odd spot, a weird distortion on one of them. He opened his mouth to scream alert but found only a choked gurgle escaping it as barbed tendrils rushed at it, tearing into his throat and flooding it with blood in an instant. In the same instant, two massive claw appendages, strangely similar to that of a praying mantis, came snapping on him, severing his arms instantly. Pain bloomed within him, his weapon falling to the ground as the creature materialized before him. A soft whimper escaped him at the face of the nightmare that had been camouflaged in his room.
By morning, all that was left in the room were traces of blood, and a broken data slate.
Anya's eyes snapped open.
"You are back." She mentionned at her younger self. The girl had hardly appeared recently, disappearing for hours on end as she affaired herself to create the second nest. Anya knew where it was; what it looked like, and had even spat out another larva like Nornie to serve as a second infant Norn Queen. She'd taken to call them Norn Princesses. They would only be queens once they took their place in a hive-ship, having reached the sufficient size, psychic power and maturity. This new one she had called Daisy.
"It is finished." Her younger self confirmed. "Our insurance is prepared." Anya smiled.
"Good. Hopefully we won't need it." The younger self smiled.
"The lictors have been busy. And you have been improving. You didn't even need me to properly filter the information they were feeding back."
"Silly." She reached out with her hand, caressing the cheek of her younger self with a fond smile. Strangely enough, she could actually feel her under her chitinous fingers, as if she was really there. "I will always need you. You are part of me after all."
"Well. Yes and no." The younger self shrugged, but did not pull away. "Are you ready?" Anya grinned, the four hormagaunts that were floating around her falling back to the ground softly.
"Yes."
"The hunt begins." Anya tilted her head.
"No. This isn't a hunt." She stretched as she climbed out of the lower levels of the factory, hearing the clattering and chittering of hundreds of creatures rushing to the sewers, preparing themselves for the attack. "This is a declaration of war." Her eyes drifted into the horizon, to those tall gates that stood so far. Monuments of the Upper Hive's disdain for those of the Underhive. The instruments of their slow but certain death. She wished she could simply knock them down, tear them apart. But no. Uncertainty and lack of information for her opponents were her advantage. The less the Upper hive understood about what was happening in the attack, the less efficient their counter attack would be. She could not beat the entire Hive at once.
But she could bleed it until it was too late to stop her.
"I would like to thank the Council for this opportunity to present my case." Ylsen declared before the great panoramic hall. Above them stood a dome of transparent material showing a direct view of the stars and space beyond, including the world they were currently orbiting by. It was a majestic sight, yet one that Ylsen could not find himself enjoying on this day. He tried to keep the nervousness out of his voice. Every one of the fourteen eldar before him were older than him by a scale of centuries.
"The Council of Farseers welcomes you, Ylsen. You have walked the path of the Warrior, that of the Artisan, that of the Teacher and that of the Gardner." The traditional exchange done, the Council went back to their seats, floating gravityless chairs that allowed the farseers to look down upon him from a high, their backs haloed by the gleaming of the stars. "Your exemplary service to the Craftworld allowed you an audience before many others; I hope you use it well." He nodded, rising from his kneeling position.
"I understand fully what has been granted to me. I will be direct, to avoid wasting your time." Asuryan only knew how often the Farseers had to deal with up and coming eldar waxing poetics trying to impress them. "I have been having visions. At first I thought them a dream, but focusing on them has made me realise they are no such thing." That caught their attention. He saw a few lean forward, their attention caught.
"Well then. Go on, explain further." Another said.
"I saw..." He closed his eyes, bringing forth the vision to his mind. "A child. A human child, I believe. Sitting on a throne of flesh and chitin." He shivered at the memory and the innocent giggling of the child. "I thought it might be a vision of the Great Enemy, but there was a feeling to it...a distinctive one that I cannot ever brush away." He looked up at the farseers. "I believe this was a warning as to a threat from the Great Devourer." Murmurs filled the air, though an average human would not be able to pick them up. These were psychic messages, slithered into the very air such that only an eldar or particularly skilled psyker could hear what was said.
"You are certain, Ylsen?" The woman who'd asked that question had lowered her chair to be almost eye to eye with him. "The Great Devourer?"
"Yes." He shivered. "I could never forget its psychic mark. Not after..." She raised a hand.
"Stop. You do not need to delve on such painful memories." She sighed. "That vision unfortunately does not give us much to work with. A threat, perhaps, but with no indication or clue as to where or what really."
"I..." Ylsen knew that. "I was hoping...you could..." He gulped. This was the moment. "Help me focus my vision." Silence reigned in the Council room.
"What you ask Ylsen...that is no small thing." She whispered softly. "You would walk our path?" He shook his head.
"No. I am not ready for that." That made a few of them relaxed. If he asked for such, they would have chastisied him as arrogant, no doubt. "I ask merely for your aid in guiding me to delve further into this vision. I cannot do this alone."
"You understand we have more to do than delve into every vision of a possible threat Ylsen?" A man with a booming, yet musical voice spoke. "We cannot simply agree to this."
"Indeed." Another agreed. "Movement from Biel-Tan is causing some unrest on many a human world. We need to ensure we are not caught off guard, and that requires our constant focus."
"Perhaps I may be of some assistance, then." One of those who hadn't spoken yet whispered. This silenced the others. "We have fought together Ylsen. If you believe this to be a threat...it is worth trying."
"Vanar. Are you certain?" The one with the booming voice asked. "This is no trivial thing."
"Yes." She looked to Ylsen. "Meet me at the gardens, at the end of the day. We shall take care of your vision then."
"Thank you Farseers." He said, bowing deeply. "For your time, and your advice."
"Hm. And thank you for bringing this matter to us, Ylsen." The woman spoke. "Despite our words, we are taking this seriously. But we are badly spread out. Even if this turns out to be a matter of great import, we cannot guarantee our ability to intervene."
"I understand Farseer. I will not take anymore of your time." With that, he gave one last bow and turned away, walking out of the Council room.
She found him in the gardens as she said, as the day came to an end.
"Ylsen." She said, her voice soft and melodious. He gave a nod to her, a small smile spreading on his lips despite the circumstances.
"Avana. Thank you for coming to help."
"I am here to help all of us." She answered with a sad smile. "The Great Devourer is a threat that our kin understands the danger of, but does not...truly comprehend on many levels." She sighed. "So. In order to do this, we will have to walk back to your vision together. Hold out your hand." He hesitated for a moment, remembering the horror that had taken his body as the vision unfurled; But eventually did as she asked. She grasped his hand within her own, her eyes starting to glow with eldritch power. He felt himself drift away, pulled out of his body and thrown into the mind realm; a dizzying experience that could never be properly put into words.
An impossible array of colours of sounds bombarded him. Images coming too fast for him to process; screams, blood, teeth sinking into flesh, a burning city, dead ships floating in the void and that horrible chittering of billions of legs running towards him. Then, silence descended upon him; he was on the ground, in the dark void, crying on his knees. Someone was standing right in front of him. A young human child, with white hair and bright yellow eyes. She smiled at him, opening her arms and drawing him into an embrace. His sobs only grew stronger as she pat his hair, whispering reassurances into his ear.
The vision broke as the farseer pulled back. He gasped, falling to his knees as he greedily breathed in the cool air of the craftworld; Failing to notice the concerned look she was giving him. He fell to the ground, clutching himself as he started to cry. He couldn't stop it; Couldn't help himself. It had been too much, too overwhelming. Exposed to the feelings of that which he knew to have been himself, the raging grief and self loathing. He couldn't stop crying.
"Ylsen..." Avana said with a mixture of compassion and concern. "...take your time. I am not going anywhere." She sat down next to him, a comforting presence as he quietly cried into the soft grass. He wasn't sure how long he stayed like this. It could have been minutes, it could have been hours. But eventually, he grew quiet. After some further time, he gathered the strength to rise to a sitting position, staring down at the ground.
"I'm...I'm sorry Avana." He shook his head. "It was too much."
"It is alright Ylsen." She smiled. "That is why I am here." She crossed her arms. "Your vision...I saw most of it, but I failed to catch some. Too focused trying to pick up the details to try and identify a location and a time." She gave him a cautious gaze, as if worried about his reaction. "Do you know what caused you to have such a strong emotional response?" He hesitated. For some reason, he did not want to share the part of his vision in the dark. It made him feel dirty. Traitorous. And he knew not why it made him feel this way, but...he couldn't bring himself to talk of it.
"...No. I'm not sure. It was...it was all too much." He wasn't sure if she believed him or not, but she didn't insist.
"Well, I believe I got some information from all of this. You are right, the taint of the Great Devourer is clear in it, though...there is some strange influence there. As if passed through a filter." She tapped her chin, her beautiful face taking an almost pouting expression. "It is rather frustrating. Still, I believe I know the system your vision pointed to. We can work from there." She shook her head. "Otherwise, it is too vaguely ominous to tell us much. I agree that it is a warning however." Her expression turned severe. "If this vision came to you however, this is a threat that will eventually come to us. I do not believe it will be enough to convince the council to launch a full scale operation, but I can probably dispatch a specialist squad."
"I will go with them." He surprised himself by speaking up. "I...I need to go. This is my vision, if I am there...perhaps I can help further."
"You are an experienced warrior, Ylsen." She said. "Very well. I will let you join the venture. I will discuss this with the Council tomorrow, and will see about dispatching you."
"Thank you." He bowed to her. "With any luck, we can cut this threat at the root before it grows to become too much of a problem, whatever it may be." And yet, as he walked away, he felt he could almost see the figure of a white haired child, grinning at him as it sat atop one of the numerous buildings around the park.