Summary:
Marcus was victorious against Morkfang, the party now rests after such a perilous fight. Elyria plot from the shadows her ascencion using the recent wins as catalyst to gather the attention of the denizens of the Dark City.
Thalindra now lays uncouncious, her mind shut off to allow the Farseer to rest, the effects of the Supression Field constantly limiting her powers, making the Eldar need to take care of the use of her powers.
Shadows of the Dark City 7
Marcus was tired, since they got back to the cell he felt his body weighting like it had a sack of bricks on his shoulders. His thoughts were fogged and uncoordinated, he felt goosebumps throughout his gut as he kept his stare upon his own shaking hands.
Since his second close call with death in that arena and the fright, Arandur gave him moments before, he had finally done a number on him. In any different situation such as in the trenches, he would have the freedom to isolate himself to read a good book to take his mind off things.
With the absence of the time and space to deal with his bottled-up feelings, he felt overwhelmed, his anxiety spiking at the notion that this was his future. Fight for the amusement of a bunch of depraved Xenos while being stuck with a literal murder machine who is just twitching himself to end him and his men.
The Captain was no stranger to danger or life-threatening situations, but this particular conundrum was far above what he was accustomed to dealing with. He had no particular manual or understanding of how to deal even with his unlikely cell mates, hell he didn't even know what particular species they were part of before Darius told him.
Then came the fact that he needed to be strong, he needed to endure everything the Druchii threw at them, or else just like Thalindra said they incurred the risk of giving the leverage the Dark Eldar waited for. And if they knew exactly how to break them it would be all over, and nothing they could try to pull off would work since the filthy Xenos would know just what to do to break their morale and battle cohesion.
The Imperial was beyond screwed and he knew that on an average day on the field on those muddy holes, the 88th used to call home, Marcus knew exactly what to do, like clockwork he would order his men around to set a perimeter, to ready the artillery fire and to maintain comms. While war was the definition of chaos, once you've seen too many battlefields and bloodshed you start to notice a pattern to it, almost like a dance amidst the flying bullets and screams of pain.
Survive some more and you learn some steps to this dance, then one day you just go with the motions turning the mind off and letting your body go through it. It becomes second nature and a part of your own essence, in the end, once you reach this state you're no longer a mere soldier. You become war, your mind being riddled with thoughts about spilling blood, crushing your enemy, and winning against those who oppose you.
War was his home, war was everything he had ever known throughout all his life. He never had a healthy childhood with a loveable mother and father, Marcus never even knew how being a kid was to begin with, from his first memory, all he knew revolved around warfare. His last memory of his mother was her back and he saw her leave to some Emperor forsaken place to fight the enemies of mankind, that being the only vivid memory he had of the one who birthed him.
He hated remembering this particular part of his life due to all the baggage that naturally came with it, but still, that was familiar. This is what he was used to, the fact that humanity needed to fight to ensure its survival, each death having an intrinsic meaning of guaranteeing that the species survived the perils of the universe. Each one that had fallen in duty was accomplishing the will of the Emperor, honoring his designs and the ultimate quest of defeating those who seek to harm it.
But his current situation had nothing to do with any of that. He was in a completely foreign territory, one where he was stuck alongside Xenos, to survive what is the equivalent of the scum of the entire galaxy. Here none of them fought for a clear and well-defined goal, their enemy was not the demon worship heretics or some Xenos threatening a planet filled with civilians or high-value targets.
Their only goal now was to survive what Elyria threw at them, and their enemies could be anything. All of those who occupied the cell were no longer soldiers or warriors, but mere expendable meat to be used to entertain a bunch of sadistic frakkers while their guts get spilled on the ground of the arena.
This was not something he wanted either for him or his men. Rather die in service of the mighty Emperor, than die here like an animal, and each consecutive fight they were on was a step closer to this ultimate destiny.
His hands shook further as his thoughts raged on, his mind flaring in constrained despair, knowing of his likely fate if they did not find a way to leave this forsaken place. Then came the other matter of Thalindra and Kais, both Xenos who defied everything he knew about those who were not human.
He heard time and time again that they were monsters, adversaries who wished to stop human progress and destroy them. The Captain had accepted that without question, going on with his life without putting much effort into thinking about this. But now with how the Farseer had treated him and his men...it was hard to deny that she was everything aside from what they taught him.
Kais was also a solid Xeno warrior who saved his and Janessa's lives without a second thought, he is even inclined to believe that the Tau sees them as allies even with their clear suspicion and prejudice against him. He even opted to stay by their side even when they did not acknowledge him, the Fire Warrior stood by them in that fight even though he had no obligation to do so.
Marcus for the first time in his life was outside his comfort zone in all meanings of the word, fighting for survival instead of a greater purpose, killing for the sadistic entertainment of the scum who held their leash, and to top it all off his entire world view on non-humans changed with the weird bunch stuck with them.
He hears a shuffle beside him as Janessa wakes up using her only good hand to support herself up, taking a look around groggily.
"Captain?"
The Captain tries his best to not show his inner turmoil gulping down the dread and despair settling in the pit of his stomach.
"Yes, it is me."
Taking a good look at her Officer, her eyes showed confusion.
"Am I alive or am I dead and you're here to receive me in?"
He couldn't help but smirk a little before pointing out to the other side of the cell where Arandur sat immobile in his meditative state.
"If we were in the light with the Emperor would you think he would be there?"
Her stare lingered a little before scoffing.
"Fuck no."
"Well, there is your answer."
She raised herself from the ground to sit beside her commander, both in silence looking at their feet, until the Private's voice broke it off.
"So you won..."
Marcus was still distracted and divided between suppressing his emotions and interacting with the Guardswoman, so trying to contain his tone he gave a simple and direct answer.
"No. We won."
Her quiet laugh reached his ears as she kept her stare on her remaining hand.
"Well we certainly helped, but the one to kick that brute's ass was you. If it weren't for that we would be in the stomach of all those green freaks, so if someone deserves the credit for our victory, this person is you."
That brought a small genuine smile to his face and helped a little to improve his overall humor, even managing to quiet down his anxiety a little.
"Thanks, Private, I'm happy you think that way. However, I had a little help in that fight believe it or not..."
This made Jax's violet eyes widen at the implication of her leader.
"Wait! So what that Ork said..."
He nodded honestly.
"Was the truth. She helped me, I don't know exactly how since her kind ways completely evade my knowledge but she managed to show me his next moves, not only that as well as his weakness on his prosthetic legs."
This made Janessa turn her gaze to the lying form of Thalindra still unconscious although her eyes seized movement denoting a more calm demeanor.
"How? She did not speak with you throughout the fight. I was right there just beside you and in no moment whatsoever she came to speak with you, even less during your confrontation."
"No clue. It came to me as some kind of weird vision, I felt everything that it showed me, but I did not understand how my mind was doing that. With each blow and strike I managed to evade each with precision as if my brain already knew instinctively what to do. At first, I was suspicious of it, but I did not have time to consider so I just went with it."
This made the Private think as she maintained her gaze upon the lying figure of Thalindra.
"I don't get it...Why is she doing this?"
"Doing what?"
He asked trying to understand the current line of thought of Jax.
"Helping us! It doesn't make sense...in no moment throughout all my time as a Guardswoman I have encountered a single friendly Xenos, much less one parading around with the looks that could easily pass down as a human."
Marcus shrugged while looking at the laying form of the Farseer, her chest moving slowly as her breathing became steady and calm.
"To be honest? I don't know, but my hunch is that those who hold our leashes are far more dangerous than a bunch of humans. So even though in different circumstances we wouldn't be so friendly with each other, the fact we are here stuck in this hell forces us to work together."
Janessa sighed in frustration her mind filled with questions and bewilderment.
"It makes sense not gonna lie. But still helping you in that fight, stopping her murderous friend and healing you..."
"Us." the Captain politely nonchalantly added to her, letting the Guardswoman piece two and two together.
"Wait...When?"
He turned his gaze toward her, the Captain wanted to explain this while looking at her eyes, trying to show he was being totally honest about what he would just share with her.
"After they marked us, I woke up to her healing me. Then she went and made sure to heal every single one of you, she even let her friend be last during the whole thing. Prioritizing healing us first and making sure we were okay..."
In this conversation, this was the second time the Private widened her eyes at his words, her face shifting from shock to confusion and then to
distrust.
"This doesn't make sense. Why would an Xenos help us, not one but multiple times?"
The Officer wanted to be skeptical and say he didn't know and it probably had some ulterior motive that involved them being frakked over so the Eldar could survive, but in reality, he did not believe this. For some reason he trusted the Farseer, Marcus believed that everything she did until now was for their survival. The talk they had previous to everyone waking up came back to his mind as he remembered their interaction, and throughout that conversation, he did not feel any ill intentions coming of her.
The Imperial liked to think he was a good judge of character, so even though this could make Janessa skeptical of him, he needed to be honest about the type of person he thought Thalindra was.
"I don't know, but I trust her. She could just let us die many times over now, but still, she chose to help us."
Jax just looked at him as if he had grown a second head.
"How? She is an Xenos! This could be all a ploy to kill us when we are not looking, or even to use as a meat shield against whatever those frakkers throw at us."
Sighing Marcus took his eyes off Janessa his mind drifting again towards the fact that his very own faith was shaken by the realization that this Xeno helped them. Which caused conflict between the reality of their situation and that of his faith in the Imperial creed.
"I don't know. But one thing is certain is that if she wanted us gone, we would be. She had plenty of opportunities to get rid of all of us and she didn't."
Silence settled in as the Guardsmen pondered about the Farseer, both having their own questions about their unlikely savior. That is until both of their stomachs growled as if synchronized.
They stopped looking at each other before started laughing hard which prompted the rest of the Imperials to slowly rise themselves from their sleep. Ellias scratched the back of his head as he moved his jaw around to confirm if it hadn't been dislocated due to the cloth shoved into his mouth.
"Shit. Got my ass handed to me in a plate by a fucking Xenos."
Darius was quick to interject as he stood up stretching his arms and leg.
"That's what you get for when trying to mess around with those who are trying to help us."
Ellias did not like the comment made by the Combat Medic, his eyebrows raised in clear displeasure at his remark.
"Are you defending them, Darius? I thought you're the proud son of a Hospitaller."
The Specialist simply rolled his eyes at the implication done by the Corporal.
"Of course not! But I'm not blind to their efforts and especially for the Farseer who just saved our lives."
Ellias could only look in disgust towards Darius, his voice filled with disapproval.
"What would your mother think of your words Guardsman?"
This instantly made him look at the ground away from the Corporal, sitting beside Janessa without uttering another word.
"That's what I thought..." The Guardsman whispered as he slowly stood up from the ground.
"Ellias give him a break."
Marcus said in defense of the Medic, his amethyst eyes staring right back at the Corporal's purple ones.
"Are you defending him, Captain? He just supported the Xenos, if this was back in the trenches he would be sentenced to..."
The Captain quickly stood up his entire body shifted to one of command and intimidation, as his piercing gaze stared at his fellow Imperial.
" WE ARE NOT IN THE TRENCHES ANYMORE GUARDSMAN!"
His voice boomed with authority as his eyes kept fixated on Ellias. The Corporal then tried to argue, not wanting to admit defeat.
" WE MAY NOT BE! BUT THAT SHOULDN'T CHANGE WHERE WE STAND ON!"
Marcus stepped up going face to face with the Soldier, both stuck into a staring contest, neither wanting to give up their ground, Ellias tried to hold himself against his authority but even he could not stand up against the eyes of a seasoned Imperial Officer as he stared the Corporal down. He slowly but surely started to go beside Darius to quietly sit.
The Captain however was not done, deciding to let his soldier have a piece of his mind before settling down again.
" Where we stand did not change. We are still proud servants of the Emperor, but we would be fools if we thought for a second that our true enemies are them and not those currently plotting on how to end us in the most painful way possible."
This made the fiery-tempered Guardsman defiantly look at him once more. But Marcus was not having any of it as he kept going.
" Our enemy is not them! If we were in any other situation I would be the first to agree with you and shoot them without hesitation, but this is not any other situation. We are stuck in Emperor knows where at the hands of sadistic bastards who know no end to their cruelty and despicable behavior, and these frakkers have our lives in the palm of their hands. So have that in mind every time you think about fighting them, 'cause just behind you will be one of those Dark Eldar waiting for you to run dry shooting at the wrong target, before finally killing you in the most painful way possible."
Finally, Ellias let his still defiant gaze change to one of defeat as he just sighed and kept his stare on his feet. With the situation under control once again Marcus walked back to his spot on the ground, sitting once again alongside the others.
Silence filled the room once again, with the sudden outburst between the Imperials leaving no further space for small talk or conversations. That is until the sound of a strange bell rang throughout the area, the noise was distorted and ranged between high and low pitch as if random, giving a ghastly vibe to the already dreadful cell area.
All of them aside from Thalindra raised themselves from the ground, the air could be cut with a knife due to the tension this strange noise filled the room. Arandur was the first to try and take a look outside to assess what was happening, Marcus felt inclined to ask but opted to be quiet and wait it out, not wanting to risk the ire of the Dire Avenger.
"What is happening?" Janessa was the first to ask in a whisper, but she was quickly reprimanded by the Eldar warrior who put a finger to his lips signifying that they remain quiet.
He resumed looking throughout the bars, the bell rang again this time closer, the haunting noise further unsettling them all, he could even notice the powerful Warrior shake with each chime of the accursed instrument.
The Imperial tried to look through the bars to their side trying to get a glimpse of whatever was causing this. Unfortunately, the disposition of the metal constructs obstructed his view from seeing further than a few feet outside to their right.
Another haunting chime rings, this time even closer, the noise even more distorted than before, all of them were getting ready to face whatever was coming, Arandur backed off from the bar taking Thalindra on his shoulders to back off together with Kais to their corner.
All of them were tightly pressed against the cold wall, they were so close that all of them could smell the fear irradiating from their bodies. And although mere moments ago all of them were almost at each other's neck, now this lay forgotten as all stood facing the same direction getting ready to face whomever appeared through the accursed gate of their cell.
Moments pass their breathing loud in the silence between the pauses of the chiming nightmare coming to them. Arandur whispered something in Eldari that evaded Marcus understanding but he believed he was praying to some Xeno God.
Then a last ring as a weird object appeared in front of their cell. It was a black hovering cart made of a strange alloy he had never seen previously in his life. It floated at least twelve inches from the ground, and a very skinny headless abomination conducted the object.
He couldn't identify if it was human at some point but it was definitely humanoid, it was skinny, and the bones could be seen through the almost paper-fin yellowish skin. A multitude of wires and vials were stuck throughout all of his exposed vertebrae, connecting to a hovering apparatus in his lower torso where his legs should be. It was connected to the cart as both silently hovered above the ground.
In the place where his head should be there was only a void filled with a dark liquid which dripped constantly around the circumference of its neck. His entire body was filled with sewed-up wounds which dripped with the same foul liquid that dripped down from his neck. Its fingers looked like hairy spider legs, poorly strewn together, and they wriggled around as the abomination hovered outside their cell.
Then with its nightmarish hands, it picked up a small strange circular object filled with different holes spread out through the entire small apparatus, moving to the side of the cart to a small hole, the moment this strange device touched the side of the hovering machine it let out that haunting chime but this time it was deafening, the sound almost piercing Marcus eardrums.
It was horrible the entire time the strange bell sounds played out in their minuscule cell, all of them tried to cover their ears in hopes of staving off the horrible cacophony of dreadful sounds. But then silence returned as the being took the device out of the hole to finally open the side of the black cart to reveal a disturbing visage...
Inside the machine there was a shriveled human head, inside an aquarium with green liquid, its eyes were glasses over looking like a servitor, and its lips were just like many other parts of its body sewed shut. It turns to look at them, the expression of this poor creature one of total indifference and frozen in a catatonic state.
The Imperial wanted to throw up, even he who had uncountable experiences on the battlefield used to the gruesome reality of war, and the nightmarish images caused by the volley of enemy fire and artillery could not contain the sheer disgust at the display of sheer cruelty of the Drukhari manifested into this unholy creation.
Janessa was heaving threatening to throw up as Ellias tried to calm her down. Darius was staring blankly at the being not reacting whatsoever as if he were stuck in the realization of the horrors of such an abomination right in front of them.
Kais the fire warrior was in a similar state as the Specialist both just staring blankly at the monster in front of them. But Arandur was the one to surprise him more, his eyes had rage, pure and unadulterated, he could be from another species but Marcus knew hate when he saw it, and this was definitely it.
Thalindra though was worryingly still, not reacting to anything that just happened, the Farseer was still out cold even with that hellish sound she was still out of it.
The Captain needed to admit that he was now beyond worried for the Seer, that shouldn't be normal, even to their standards. How even after all of this she did not even flinch, Darius needed to take a look at her health, for all he knew she could have suffered some brain damage after that fight, and he needed to be sure she was fine. But this was not the time for that, first, they needed to be very careful about the thing just outside their cell.
But before any of them could react the head of the aquarium moved looking at every one of them before a mechanical voice came from the machine.
"Food...food for you all. Eat, must eat, not eat dead...dead, eat if not dead."
Once its slurred and confused speech ceased one big tray came out of the cart, on top of it there were bland beige tubes made of a plastic-like wrapping. The thing clicked with its hideous fingers something on the machine which opened a small slit through the bars as if they faded out of existence.
The abomination pushed the tray from the opening, Marcus tried to rush in to fetch it before it fell on the ground, but just like the thing serving them, it hovered mid-air before calmly lowering itself to the ground in front of them.
All of them saw this and waited in the corner expectantly but the thing just hovered there before saying the same thing in its slurred speech
"Food...food for you all. Eat, must eat, not eat dead...dead, eat if not dead."
But this time it added something else to its words.
"Watch, eat...must eat, pain, will cause pain...if not eat"
Arandur sighed before saying in his accented gothic.
"He is saying for us to eat and if we don't he will make us suffer or even worse."
Marcus looked between the beige tubes and the Eldar, understanding now the purpose of this thing just outside their cell.
"Okay, what is the catch?"
He whispered to the Dire Avenger, who just stood there staring at the food on the ground.
"Don't know Mon-Keigh but if I were you I would eat before this thing make true to his word."
While Arandur said that, he still didn't move, as his eyes were glued to the tray, the Imperial also knew enough to see that he feared the contents of the tubes just as any of them right now.
Marcus turned looking at everyone before asking fearfully:
"So anyone want to be the first to dig in?"
All that greeted him was silence as his men and the Fire Warrior looked around as if avoiding giving him an answer, while the Dire Avenger impassively stared at him.
'Shit' was all he thought as he realized that none of them was courageous enough to eat this strange food.
"Okay, it appears I must be the scapegoat for this one...I just want you all to know that if I die from this I'll come o haunt all of your asses!"
Arandur smirked with his words, the Eldar did not even attempt to hide his satisfaction in seeing the distress of Marcus. The Captain pointed angrily towards him, his mouth in a scowl.
"Especially you Xeno bastard!"
His smirk only got bigger before he released a small "Eh", and waved him to just go and eat. He reluctantly turns to do so, taking careful steps towards the metal tray in the ground.
Marcus shouldn't be so scared of literal tubes, but he was beyond frightened. He walked with small steps towards the tray kneeling on the ground reluctantly, before fetching the strange food. He opened the top of the tube, taking it to its mouth. The Officer slurped as he suctioned the top of the bag, the moment the contents touched his tongue he was surprised by the complete absence of taste of the strange paste.
The texture and consistency were strange to say the least, since it was thick and looked like unprocessed sausage packed into a beige wrapping. It was hard to swallow, so he took his time, at least the Captain thought, 'it did not taste like shit'.
Soon the others seeing him eating knelt beside Marcus to partake in the meal, each taking their own tube and started reluctantly eating. Arandur was the last to start eating since he carefully put Thalindra on the ground her back supported on the wall, before proceeding to take his and instead of sitting with them returned to her with his and her food. Then on his corner beside his unconscious friend, he started eating, his face contorted in disgust as his eyes never left them.
Slurping was all it could be heard as each devoured the contents of the tube. Moments passed as every one of them finished their meal, putting aside the wrappings above the tray.
The strange being right outside their cell took a look at the unconscious form of the Farseer before saying with that same slurred speech the same warning it previously gave them.
"Watch, eat...must eat, pain, will cause pain...if not eat"
Arandur's eyes immediately widened looking back to the head in the cart.
"The Farseer is unconscious, she can't eat right now."
Moments of silence went on as the machine kept its cold dead eyes upon the Eldar Warrior.
"Food...food for you all. Eat, must eat, not eat dead...dead, eat if not dead."
Its words never had been clearer, it was there to make sure that every one of them would eat the food. It was clear the Druchii wanted to be sure that their slaves would be well fed and not die of starvation, not due to kindness or common decency, but because their deaths were destined to be set on the grounds of the arena.
But Thalindra was completely out of it, and if Arandur's reaction were anything to go by, he did not have any idea of how to solve this situation. The thing just kept his position staring at the unconscious form of the Seer, soon a small metal tentacle went out of the gaping hole on his neck, it looked like it was made of a strange tar substance. It skillfully took the wrapping on the ground with it and proceeded to move it closer to the Farseer mouth.
Arandur tried to stop but the moment he tried to touch the appendage his eyes rolled back on his head before falling to the ground completely still. All other residents could only look in fear at the cadaveric thrall, knowing now that it was dangerous to even touch it.
Darius evaded the tentacle as it expanded and distorted to open the Eldar's mouth and drop the foul liquid directly into her throat. Soon Thalindra started to struggle to swallow the thick paste and her entire body started moving as she opened her bloodshot aquamarine eyes, to be surprised by the tar tentacle holding her mouth open. Still in a daze and confused by instinct she released a bolt of psyker energy upon the being sending him flying away to the other side of the holding cells, its tentacle evaporating into a black mist as it got hurled.
A loud crashing noise was heard as it collided with the bars of the cell right to the other side of theirs. The body was slumped upon the cart, the thing appeared to be completely out of it as the black liquid splashed around.
The Farseer was breathless her chest quickly rising and falling in clear panic. Marcus tried to approach her obvious distressed form, but Arandur who was now back to his feet again signaled him to stop, also putting his finger in his mouth in a gesture of silence, the Imperial did not understand why the Dire Avenger wasnt trying to calm down his friend, but soon he understood why, her eyes cackled with energy, he could feel a strange feeling of fear take hold of his gut as she looked around frantically.
All of them stood still staring at the distressed Thalindra who looked out of it, until the energy in her eyes and dreadful feeling in their guts went away as she very slowly laid down once again on the ground her bloodshot eyes closing as once again the powerful Xeno fell in a deep regenerative sleep.
With that silence permeated the room once again, all of its occupants now shifting their attention to the deactivated form of the thing that just moments ago bothered the resting Eldar. All stood there impressed with the result of that single bolt of energy.
But now came a simple question to what just transpired, what would be of them after this incident? Was this thing of any value to their horrible masters? But the most dreadful question of all would be about the fate of Thalindra for destroying this abomination.
Soon his questions would be answered as two figures silently approach the bars of the jail. They were Incubi wearing the same armor as those who had taken them to the marking room, both first went to the cart to assess the damages caused, after both were satisfied they approached the cell the red lenses of their helmets shined as they came face to face with the party.
"Cò agaibhse na beathaichean a rinn an tàir seo?"
The one on the right said in a velvety raspy voice, the Captain did not understand one word of it, so he turned to Arandur.
"What is he saying?"
The Dire Avenger's face appeared to be indifferent as his grey eyes kept their cold piercing stare upon both Drukhari in front of them. But even though the Aeldari warrior was very good at maintaining this stoic persona, the Imperial could see in those same eyes that he was stressed beyond belief with the presence of those other two Xenos.
Arandur did not show once to acknowledge his question, deciding to reply to the guard in that same unknown language.
"Nach eil e follaiseach? Rinn am Mon-Keigh e."
This earned an angry punch at the metal bars from one of the guards, who pointed an angry finger toward the Asuryani warrior.
" Gearr an co-ogha breug! Chan eil eadhon an obair motair bunaiteach aig na prìomhairean airson a bhith an aghaidh leanabh a-mhàin, agus tha thu airson gun creid sinn gum faodadh iad aghaidh a thoirt air Mor-aag Kahal?"
He was nervous the Officer knew that he did not have a clue of what they were talking about, but he understood emotions enough to see that Arandur was having a hard time with those two.
"Mar sin an e mise no i an uairsin?"
He stepped up to be face to face with the Incubus, both staring at each other before the guard replied in what appeared to be a question.
"Mar sin ciamar a tha e gu bhith na cho-ogha? Chan eil fad an latha agam."
He shrugged at the Dark Eldar's words, his stare still stone cold giving almost nothing away.
"Chan eil e gu diofar mo fhreagairt, aig a' cheann thall taghaidh tu neach sam bith a tha thu airson fulang airson na h-eucoir seo. Ach is dòcha gum bi mi ag ràdh... ma tha thu ag iarraidh fìor dhùbhlan, is mise an-còmhnaidh an roghainn cheart."
With that, the guard gave a small cackle before signifying to his comrade to open the cell. Taking a small device from his belt he waved around slowly, his eyes never leaving Arandur's.
"Ma tha thu fhèin no na beathaichean salach agad a' feuchainn rudeigin. Bheir mi ort fulang mar nach robh thu riamh roimhe, mar sin cluich co-ogha snog."
The other Incubi stepped inside his agile hands putting a strange handcuff-like object on both Arandur's knuckles. They took him away, but before his figure disappeared down the corridor he took a last look at Marcus his voice sounding on his mind as if he were speaking the words.
'If you touch or hurt her. When I get back I'll kill you, and your brethren, so heed my words Mon-Keigh, I don't make light of them.'
With that he went away alongside the Drukhari, leaving only Marcus, Janessa, Darius, Ellias, and Kais with a still-unconscious Thalindra. Silence once again permeated their cell as everyone just stood there not believing that the Aeldari Warrior was taken to a fate unknown, most believing him to be either tortured or to be killed for this transgression.
Although all of the humans were weary of the Eldar, especially Arandur, they couldn't lie and say they dreaded what would be done to him. In the end for all of them, it was very hard to not admit he was the most skilled one of their weird group, him being easily equivalent to 20 guardsmen.
If he was taken out of the picture they could kiss their own asses goodbye since they did not stand a chance for long. If they threw another wave of naked Dark Eldar warriors Marcus doubted that even Thalindra with all her power could not hold herself against an entire horde of her Dark Kin.
So having no choice the Captain started to pray in silence holding his hands, he asked that the Emperor may have mercy upon their souls, that he preserves, although undeserving, The Dire Avenger as one, if not the only hope for their survival in this shithole, and last for forgiveness from being dependent of these Xenos, something he knew soon would be paid for in blood. And if it came to it, he hoped it was his, if someone was deserving of the Emperor's wrath this person was certainly him, and he would take it all without hesitancy or regret.
Everything he has ever done was for Humankind, for the Imperium, and for his unit. And although now he was certainly committing several heresies, he knew in his heart that it was all for their survival, just as many times before.
Then it came to him that flash of memory, the one who many times haunted his dreams. The day it took a chunk of his soul, the one where was forever damned to relive to face his sins, one he believed came directly from the Emperor himself for his cowardice...
She was floating upon the sea of her conscience, her eyes fluttered as she basked upon the river of tranquility that flowed within her. The shimmering waves of her memories helped to soothe her exhausted mind.
Time was meaningless here, the Eldar was absorbed in her own self, and reality at the moment was distant from her. There was no Dark City, no Dark Kin, no death, and not even She-Who-Thirsts, there was only her.
Meditation was one of the first tools of the Asuryani to deal with the ever-present pull of the one who holds the claim of their souls, however, it was far from being its only use. From the moment Thalindra could speak or have the complexity of thought her parents taught her the perils outside the path system as well as the lack of discipline and meditation.
She couldn't remember at what age exactly she came to fully grasp the practice of meditation, but the Seer knew the moment she did, it became the main channel for her to deal with her problems and inner conflicts. "There are no big problems when you have a sound mind", was something her mother used to tell her when she started treading the Path of the Seer, and to be fair may be the inherent wisdom of a mother or the person she is, in the end truest words could not be said.
So Thalindra took that saying to her heart and made sure to always have her thoughts still and harmonious as the currents of a spring. And she was proud of it since that led her to be one of the best when it came to being a Farseer, accomplishing many things few of their people dreamed they could achieve.
She touches the currents of flowing emotions upon her core, seeing as each takes different experiences to their assigned pond. They glowed according to the spectrum of emotion they represented, some larger than others, but even the smallest that was owned by hatred was being constantly filled by the currents.
The Seer looked at them, choosing on what pond to bathe herself, the one who would be best to deal with a fatigued mind. After some moments, in the end, she settles for the pond of bonds where the memories of those dear to her could be glimpsed, the familiarity of them always something that could bring much-needed comfort.
So the Eldar slowly lowered herself upon the bright cyan pool, basking in the warmth it brought to her heart. At once the familiar smell of her loved ones came to her senses, the comforting smell of sweet incense of her mother Aralith, the sensation of the safety of her older brother Aelyndor, the remembrance of tutoring of her younger sister Sylvanis, the never-ending bond of sisterhood with Kaelaith. The brotherly affection of loyalty, and dedication of Arandur, and by last the vow of duty to Ulthwe ever associated with her father Althorin.
All of her senses were taken by these memories and sensorial experiences, in a weird way she felt in that moment as if their own presence were with her in that pond. But she knew that this was only the residual effects caused by her mind displaying her memories and emotions. They were in a way her, the fragments of her own memories personified into imitations of the real people.
For some, this experience could lead to actual dark places, due to the overall situation outside of her. But for a being such as Thalindra, for someone who hails from a doomed and dying race, having these people to call her loved ones made her truly blessed by Isha's grace. And even though they were far apart in all meanings of the word, having the opportunity to remember them, to bask in their bonds was enough to ease her tired mind.
That is until from the respite of her own presence upon the higher planes, she felt a pull, it started around her mouth region, to then her throat as she felt some kind of strange invader to her mucous membrane. This was enough to rip her out at once from her meditative state, the battle instincts and reflexes jerking into motion in one go.
Another thing every Eldar learned alongside meditation was to create mind protocols to deal with being ripped out from such an important and intimate moment. It varied from individual to individual, but to someone like her who understood well the inner workings of the universe, if anything could approach without her making notice this was a level 10 threat. Her mind constructs were built to stay ever vigilant even in a meditative state, so if someone managed to get a hold of her before she even noticed the one doing it, there was only one protocol in sight.
Her body was in autopilot mode as it hurdled a bolt of energy through her fingers, it was quick and precise hitting the target at its center. The first thing her physical form took notice of was that the threat was dealt with, and the second was that there were people around her, a new protocol was activated to make sure these were not enemies, this part made her soul act up in search of ill intent, it glanced at each one of them, before noticing the absence of violent intentions.
This was enough to activate the third protocol, turn off the body, and take her soul's eye out of reality once again to restart the process of regeneration. Once everything settled once again Thalindra closed herself even more upon the pond trying to make the most of this moment before being taken out of it once again. Comfort and rest would be a rare commodity due to their current conundrum, so is best that she enjoys it while it lasts.
However after a while, there is something else she feels amidst this very faint experience, but notices it all altogether. The smell is not good by Eldar standards but is not bad in any way shape or form, it is familiar, and at the same time new. Once she took notice of it the Seer knew who this smell belonged to.
There in the same pond as her was Marcus the Imperial Captain she knew not so long ago. Wearing the same tethered trenchcoat, his purple eyes looked back at her, sadness and pain embedded in them, his smile was half-hearted alongside his very pale complexion which was different from the one back into the outside world.
The Human did not utter a word, but she understood why he was in this pond, and why his shape was so visible differently than the rest. He represented something very familiar to her, the Mon-Keigh was the embodiment of a part of her that never had a proper representation before, and now it did. This part was "the sacrifice", the drive to do everything in order to make true to your duty, to be apt to give everything to accomplish the mission.
Of all of those who came to her during her Path, none caused the impression he did, and the ironic part is that it was a human. Different than many Aeldari, she knew that his species were far from being vermin or animals as many of them liked to call it, the Seer had killed more than enough of them to know they had far more in common with them than with any other life form in the galaxy.
But still, they were famed and with reason to be zealous fools who would throw themselves carelessly at anything they perceived as an enemy. To let their bloodlust loose as they dispatched anyone not taking into consideration age or even fighting capabilities, by Isha they killed themselves daily in fear of treason or the influence of the ruinous powers. The Seer understood well the reason for their fears, but humans were far too lost in their barbaric ways to see that the way they were dealing with things was not only insufficient as well as self-destructive.
Yet even with all of that, Marcus existed as a testament that every rule has an exception. He could just act as expected and antagonize her and Arandur, it would be the most sensible thing to do in their own view of the world, but no. After what they'd been through and her helping them, it showed him that he could extend a hand and so the Imperial did, although in any other circumstance, she would doubt that the Officer would choose this path.
Marcus did not only extend his proverbial hand, he actually put himself in line in her favor. The Officer suffered so she could be spared, in the end, it didn't work and she knew that it wouldn't, but still this human didn't, and acted it out on her behalf. And for that Thalindra was grateful, and for the first time in her path, she came to cherish this very young new bond forming with him. At the end of it all, he was far closer to her reality and perspective than even Arandur, the Guardsman understood the weight of leading and duty to those under your leadership, he had seen many, horrible things in his very short life, throughout this blink of an eye that it is human lifespan all he knew was to fight and bleed for his kind, but still, this did not corrupted his essence.
Just like her, many believed that her path should be that of the Howling Banshees, her fierceness and determination to win even going as far as leading in the front lines and missions, made it look like to others that the Farseer was in some weird way blinded by the fixation o Khaine, although her path is far away from those of the war god.
But it was logical to any outsider of her kind to think like this, not once had Thalindra shied away from the chaos and turmoil of battle, and this only got, even more, weirder to most due to the nature of the Path of the Seer most working from the sidelines or away from the frontlines using their powers to divine advantageous routes for their military.
But to someone like her, Thalindra dared to face the adversities head-on, and due to her strict upbringing by her father a proud Exarch who fought many wars before she was even in her mother's womb, this was even more apparent.
When she was just starting as a Warlock she had on her belt at least more than 70 kills on her belt, and the number only stacked up as she kept going. Many believed that she would either change paths to another one more war-oriented or even keep as a Warlock, but instead, she went head on the path of Seer, until she lost herself to it not managing to shut off anymore her mind from visions and the future.
But even after all of that, not once did she lose herself to bloodlust and revenge. All the deaths caused by her orders were not taken lightly by her conscience, of course, warriors of any kind were always easier to kill and dispose of, since their path just as hers had the possibility of dying in battle.
Now, disposing of civilians of any kind was something that tore down at her any time she needed to. It was worse with humans since after so many of them were killed by her hands, it was impossible not to notice the haunting similarities of their deaths with theirs. The final breaths, the light vanishing from their eyes, and the fear that gripped their souls just moments before fading.
They also mourned as they did, and in her mind always came the memories of moments when a mother would cry over their children's lifeless bodies or the other way around. The way their soul flared at the pain being the same as their kin although far fainter, she also dreaded not having a Warmask to shut down such memories from her psyche, differently than her friends and men who could just be at peace back at the Craftworld not remembering what had transpired in their last operation, the only impact of it being those lost either to physical death or worse.
But even with all of that, never once did she lead these horrible experiences, and the grim reality of the galaxy clouded her conscience and purpose. Her duty was the reason for all this suffering, the blood in her hands was necessary, and if it had any other way she would gladly take it instead of taking innocent lives. And she knew deep down as she looked at this bond, and the eyes of the one who held it, that he understood well this feeling, Marcus was a leader who just like her would do anything to honor his duty to his people and kind, even if meant destroying one-self in more meanings than one.
And just like it came, it went away as she was left on the pond to relax and finally have her so-deserved rest, the noise of the rivers and seas of her being lulled her into a sense of comfort as she kept her meditation going, being still away from fully rested.
Arandur was taken to the training grounds of the arena, the guards on either side of him accompanied him towards Elyria who oversaw with interest a bunch of initiates sparing with each other.
The entire training ground is dimly lit, with eerie, greenish, or violet glows cast by bio-luminescent organic meaty bulbs. Shadows cling to every corner, allowing the Wyches to practice stealth and ambush techniques in the corners. Bloodstains cover the floors, and the air is thick with the metallic scent of death, mixed with spicy perfumes.
The sounds of screams, clashing weapons, and brutal combat reverberate throughout the grounds. Echoing from the chambers and pits are the tormented wails of those who fall in battle or are kept alive for future torment.
The central area of the training grounds consists of several arena-style pits. These are open spaces surrounded by towering, jagged walls adorned with the skulls and bones of past victims. The pits are circular or octagonal, with spikes or bladed surfaces surrounding the edges to prevent escape and to increase the danger of each bout.
Along the edges of the training grounds is the elevated platform of which stood the infamous Succubus who hold the line of their lives. They took him to her as they climbed the stairs to meet her, once Elyria's back faced him the Incubi on his right addressed his lady.
"Dark Lady of the Arena, this one has damaged one of the Food Servers. What are we to do with him?"
Without turning to them she kept her stare at those training in the central pits, but her indifferent voice replied to the guard's inquiry.
"Is that so?"
The Dark Eldar at his left reaffirmed his colleague's words.
"Yes, my Dark Lady. He has damaged another property of yours."
She hummed a finger under her chin in a mock thoughtful pose. Then turned towards him, her eyebrows rising in skeptical surprise.
"Well, well...it has not been an entire cycle yet and you are already causing problems? Considered me impressed, never thought someone of your caliber would be so reckless as to damage the property of a steemed individual such as I."
Arandur kept quiet, knowing well what the Dark Kin was capable of doing when enraged, so the warrior just chose to stay quiet and let her decide his punishment. Elyria walked around him observing his form, taking in each detail, the Dire Avenger felt uncomfortable under her analytical gaze. Then she stopped just in front of him her eyes glinting with cruel intent.
"What punishment would be befitting to such a skillful warrior? What could I do to you to make it clear to never again damage a property of mine?"
He kept quiet his eyes cold and indifferent at her charades, opting to ready himself for the incoming suffering that no doubt would be delivered by the cruel Drukhari in front of her.
She raised her finger in the air exaggeratedly and theatrically, as her voice got filled with glee at some unspoken joke.
" I know just the thing! It would be just what I need to knock some sense not only for you but some others..."
Her eyes were staring directly into his soul, and for once in a very long time, Arandur felt genuine fear over whatever this demon wearing the face of a woman held in store for him.
"Want to guess what it is?"
He kept quiet holding her evil gaze, not daring to take his eyes away from her. Then in one single fluid movement, she pushed him out of the platform inside one of the pits down below, with his training he managed to stand the impact of the fall distributing it in his entire body, but even with all of that, it hurt enough to take the air out of his lungs.
Loud feminine cackles could be heard just above him as Elyria stared him down in the pit. But soon his attention was back inside the hole where two Wyches were sparing but now stopped their activities to stare back at him.
The space was small, just big enough to allow some movements, but he had to admit that with two people it would be cramped, but now with three fighting would be something messy and extremely personal.
"Girls...Show this Dire Loser the might of our Cult, give him no quarter and if victory comes to your hands, you're free to do with him as you please!"
Both of them licked their blackened thongs at him as they shifted their entire attention to him, this fight in technical terms would be pretty easy, aside from the fact that his hands were still bound by the shackles.
"Could you at least release my hands to give them more of a challenge?"
Arandur tried to reason with her as he screamed his question at the Succubus. She took that same fake thoughtful pose as before and answered with a pop of her mouth.
" Nope."
And with that she waved to her subordinates to go at him, each coming from one of his sides, looking at him as a predator would look at fresh meat, circling him slowly as they raised their daggers and whips.
Arandur backed it off with his back to the wall, to try and stop any attempts from behind him. Now he had two armed opponents who were very eager to face the Asuryani warrior, their mouths salivated at the prospect of victory and having the liberty to torment him any way they saw fit.
Both Wyches had the advantage that was for sure, but they lacked something he had plenty of, and that was experience. It was clear they were initiates, he knew from their posture that they had many bouts, but still lacked the experience of dealing with the randomness of war and the battlefield, also if he wanted to be honest he had been in far worse scenarios than this, such as the time he had to deal with 4 Space Marines alone. This being the closest he came to meet his end, so now facing amateur gladiators this was far more beneficial than he expected coming from the Druchii.
The girl on the right lunged at him with a dagger in hand, he simply evaded her first slashes, using the wall to do a backflip away from the second one who was coming to his left, both almost collided with the wall. He took this opportunity to send a well-placed round kick in the neck of the one who tried to first strike him, the hit was precise making the Wych release her weapon and get to her knees before finally going unconscious.
The second one spun using her razor flail to try and land a hit against him, the Dire Avenger evaded each blade that tried to strike him, his grey eyes never leaving the dark green of the remaining Druchii.
" WHY CAN'T I HIT YOU!?"
And this moment of frustration with his opponent Arandur took this opportunity to use his bound hands to deflect the whip away from his direction. The metal alloy protected his hands from the damage as he lounged at her with grace and agility, his first kick sending the flail flying away from her hand, the second kick going to her neck taking her breath away and the third and last to her gut sending her flying to the ground.
"Answering your question, I'll not be struck by any of your blades. Not before I honor my word and vows as a Dire Avenger."
With that he delivered and final blow to the side of her head sending her flying towards the wall where she hit it with full force her neck bending in an unnatural angle as she just lay limp on the ground.
And to his complete surprise and shock, he heard slow claps coming from just behind him. 'What!?' was all he thought before receiving a powerhouse kick to his back sending him flying face-first into the same wall not long ago he threw the initiate.
"Well, I must say Bravo! You showed a lot of skill in defeating these younglings. But now after seeing what you are made of, I suggest we make this a more fair fight don't you think? Big fish against big fish..."
Arandur turned to her still disoriented by his face hitting the hard metal wall, but he recognized well the owner of that voice, Elyria stood there in the middle of the pit a single dagger in hand, the same used to gut Morkfang, his blood still on it.
He spat on the ground, the spit mixed with blood as his mouth was filled with its metallic taste. He let out a mocking laugh at the Druchii words.
"Fair? Fighting a bound opponent with no weapon, is that what you call fair?"
She just smirked back at him, her eyes glinting with satisfaction at the scene of her opponent provoking her.
"Of course, this is punishment after all. There is no victory for you in here, and consider it fair, since I could do a lot worse than what I'm going to do with you now."
Arandur fixed his posture to a fighting stance once again, he knew her words spoke true. He saw her fighting the Orkboss, the green skin not having a single chance at winning against her, throughout his knowledge of fighting and war, the Aeldari knew Elyria was a true monster, someone who did not know limits or fear. Her thrill was in defeating those she considered worthy enough of her fists and blade, it didn't need a Seer to learn that.
The way she jumped at the hulking Ork with glee was proof enough of this, so now that he was here, cornered and stuck against a being such as her, his only hope was that he could at least scratch her perfect face before she was done with him.
"What are you waiting for? Let's be done with this Dark Kin."
"Took you long enough "Cousin". Let's see what the children of Ulthwe are made of, shall we?"
And with that both lounged at each other, both set into defeating their opponents.
Thalindra woke up, slowly raising herself to a sitting position. The Seer did not know how much time had passed since she lost her conscience but she knew it probably went far longer than she wished for, maybe an entire cycle.
Turning to look around to assess the situation of the cell she instantly notices the absence of Arandur, which was pretty strange due to the fact the Dire Avenger always stuck together with her, turning to look at the other occupants she instantly noticed that the humans were hurdled in a corner, while Kais was just beside Marcus in a meditative state, they were far from their side as they could.
Janessa, Darius, and Ellias were in deep sleep and Marcus was occupied reading something. He had his back towards them facing the wall, she knew he was reading what looked like a book, the Farseer could even grasp the words and the meaning of the text he was reading, which revolved around a human female and human male meeting in secret to express their youthful love.
Thalindra could not understand the appeal of such a tale for someone like him, but she understood why. His soul was dimmed as if a fire was slowly dying. The Farseer knew well what this meant. He was going through some major emotional pain, something that was making his soul threaten to collapse. She could peer at it to try and find the source of his distress, but he would know instantly what she was attempting to do, so the Seer chose to refrain from doing something like that.
Also, Arandur's disappearance was far more of a pressing matter, since the Guardsman appeared to be holding himself together with that book, so first things first, she approached the only one steel awake who could give answers.
She touched his mind in hopes of getting his attention which succeeded, he instantly shoved the book in his pocket before turning to her in one go. His eyes for a moment were glazed over, immense sorrow and pain on his irises as he looked at her, devoid of any light or positivity, but just as he took notice that she was awake his soul flared as his flames got fanned by her presence.
"Oh...hey Lady Thalindra, I'm happy to see you fine. I was worried that the worst may have come to you."
The Seer could see through his eyes what he was seeing, and she couldn't lie it wasn't pretty. She had her hair in complete disarray, and her mouth and ears had dried blood upon them, Thalindra had seen better days, that was for sure.
"I'm fine, just overextended myself a little."
The Eldar replied in a reassuring tone, wanting to cut short any worry the human may have since she needed to know what happened to her friend.
"Well that is an understatement, you are out of it for a long time. I don't know how much due to not having any way of verifying time down here but you indeed spent too much time sleeping."
She hummed in acknowledgment of his worry, but the Seer had a priority, the anxiety was starting to grip her core at the absence of her friend.
"Marcus, where is Arandur?"
This made his eyes widen, and his lips got tightly close together as the words came to his mind 'He was taken', his thoughts had a solemn tone to them. But he did not know how to breach the subject to her, fearing for her well-being after the last fight.
"What do you mean he was taken!?"
Now his eyes looked like two saucers, his mind being overridden with a confirmation, and Thalindra could not do anything aside from sighing, her worry got the best of her in this situation.
"Can you read my thoughts?"
The Farseer considered reverting to her old ways and simply using her powers and manipulation to make the Imperial forget this talk ever happened. It was so easy in fact for her to do that, she had done it before, but this time it was different.
She felt bad even considering using subterfuge and manipulation, Thalindra thought that this human Captain deserved to know the truth or at least part of it.
"Yes, but let's focus on the pressing matter at hand. Where is Arandur, where did they take him?"
He was not surprised by her revelation, he was already suspicious that the Seer had such a skill, but still, the Mon-Keigh chose to answer her fair and square.
"He was taken for punishment..."
This was one of the worst things Thalindra could hear after meditating, her mind raced with dread at the innumerable possibilities of the horrors her only remaining friend was going through. Her mind could only think of one thing:
What would be of Arandur Swiftblade?
Now thx once again guys for reaching this point, it makes me a very happy writter to have such amazing people giving this weird idea of mine a chance!
As usual I want to thank Boyo99 and BillyFish1409 for helping me out with this project. Both were essential for us to be reaching here so show some love for them and stay tuned for their own projects and updates!
Also before replying the comments, I wish to explain something really quick...
For those who are not guests, I usually reply to you on your PM's if youre commenting here, I do that since I like to have this personal interaction with people, so me and the reader can have that little back and forth. So if you commented here and did not see your name explicitly said here, check your PM I may have replied to you there. I know that if this blows out and many start to review I'll probrably do like Boyo and post at the end of each chapter, but for now I'll do that way.
Now for the replies:
expert93 - Thx man for all the love you have been sharing since you started reading Shadows! And im happy to hear that one of my intentions with this story was met, that was exactly give a taste of gladitorial life and fights. Hope to see you on the next one and may this journey further amaze and "horrify" you XD.
So once again thx for checking this out and reading till here! Until the next one...TheChristianPrimarch is out! Peace and God Bless!
