The Magi's Society

Before Mevi was confident enough to lift herself into a sitting position, she waited for several minutes while breathing quietly. The creature sounded as if it had left slowly, possibly stalking the outside hallway. Yet from what she could hear, as her adrenaline subsided, there was no noise to speak of for several minutes. She finally decided to risk her own movement, and sat up on the stone tile floor. With as little noise as possible Mevi scanned the area for her tools. Her welding stick, and only light, was dreadfully far away after clattering to the ground in her haste. Her bending hammer was close by, and she could reach the bone stave. After taking a few moments to collect herself again, and to fight through the agonizing pain of her right leg, Mevi resolved herself to try and get up.

Taking her walking implement in hand, Mevi rose into a mockery of a standing position. Limping as she gathered her welding stick, for her mobile source of light was most important. Mevi could finally see what place she found herself in. The majority of the room was covered in collapsed debris, spilling from the ceiling and partially blocking what looked like the main doorway. The room seemed quite deep, much larger than even the workshop she studied her tools in only a few hours ago… Once Mevi was reminded of her situation again, and recalled her hazy memories, she realized she had no inclination of how much time had passed. Even in her panic, how much time had passed couldn’t be guessed, with her pain overriding most of her senses. She hoped she hadn’t been gone for long, the idea of needing to find food in a desolate place like this did not appeal to her.

Mevi tried to observe the rest of the room, but with so little light and her own injuries distracting her, she failed to notice anything of significance. Her desire to continue being productive started the waver. She had no idea where she was, how far she had fallen, or what had been trying to chase her. She was in immense pain, and what little knowledge she had of injuries told her that her leg needed immediate care. Her willpower began to fail her, the rush of adrenaline running low and no longer keeping her from breaking down. Regardless, she couldn’t stay in such a place. The idea of being trapped and lost in this pit of horror made her hate where she found herself. With small tears welling in her eyes, she forced herself from collapse and refused to give in.

Mevi tried her best to limp around the room, not needing her bending hammer or wanting to carry it without a reason. The area was large, even being filled with so much wreckage, and there seemed to have been much to do in this room once. Yet most of what might have been furniture was ruined, devices were rusted, and any hint of items were covered in thick layers of dust or were destroyed. The room looked like some strange workshop, filled with several tables that might’ve once had various devices and tools stored on or in them, but it was more like a junkyard of rust now.

Mevi spent some time walking the length of her new hideaway. The tables were ruined and falling apart, having once been bolted to the floors but no longer stable. What might have been storage installed into the walls had fallen and collapsed into large piles of rubble. What seemed like glass shards were scattered across the floor in small piles, she made careful work of limping across the space so as to not fall. Everything seemed broken and destitute. But for one thing in the room. In the far corner, a metallic table that was partially covered in tumbling rubble, held what looked to be a mostly intact glass ornament of some kind. Without proper light it was hard to see. Yet as Mevi approached the ornament seemed more a container than some sort of decorative piece. Inside the small container was a strange gemstone faceted to the remains of some old and rotted glove. Only the gem and the snaking metallic wires, that might have once held it to the glove, remained. Part of the glass container was broken, and a fist sized hole gave jagged access to the contents within.

Mevi cast her dreary gaze back across the room and towards the tiny dim light seeping in from the hallway outside. She was tired, badly hurt, and was quickly realizing how doomed she actually was. She missed Kalesi, and even Nessia along with Marcus with their companions and mentor. What few people had been pleasant towards her she realized she cared for, to a very small degree in Marcus’s case. Her first real day in the new life she was conscripted into against her will had led her to terror and broken bones. Worst of all, she was enshrouded again in darkness. The only source of light promising danger above all else. Even if she wanted to sit by the light, its eminence would guarantee anything outside could see her as she could see the source of the illumination. The risk of sitting too close to the door was too great. Mevi wanted to cry, but had to force herself to be silent for fear of being found. Even her own internal pain was prevented from ventilation. At least in the mansion, none would bother to enter her small room. There she could light up her brief moments completely to herself with her treasures, and she could allow her emotions to be free. The dread of the situation was beginning to take over, and Mevi noticed that her vision was blurring badly. Were her injuries finally overtaking her? Black void started to creep in around the edges of her vision, she felt the pain creeping its way up her limbs and into her soul. She just wanted to see light again. Proper light, any window that could whisk her away to a star’s warm embrace no matter how blinding.

As her vision faded, and her hopes began to leave her, Mevi noticed something at the edge of her view. A small iridescence. As she focused, it was a cold and blue shine. A faint, old, and dying light that fought against the darkness that threatened. Mevi turned her head, with what strength she had left, and could see some needle-point of light from her collapsed position. She had not even noticed she had collapsed onto the pile of rubble at the corner of the room. She had very little strength left within her, but that small fighting light compelled her to pull herself from agony. Her mind screamed that she wanted to be with that light! She needed to be with any light! Whatever the luminescence came from, she needs it for her own sanity to prevail. She pulled herself from the rubble and abandoned her staff. She grappled with what little strength she had left to mount the pile of rust she was being absorbed into. Her only functional arm stole what it could of strength, and her will provided the rest. She hoisted herself up against the metallic table, and peered into the glass container.

The small gem, a blue and beautiful thing, was forcing out what little it had within itself to shine as if a small dot in a inky black sky. The only star that shone through what haze and dread covered Mevi’s skies. Against any prior judgment, and her mind unable to process any other reasonable response, Mevi reached into the container and grasped the blue gem. The metallic wires and cables attached to the device seemed to be firmly entrenched into the base of the container but came loose at the moment of contact with Mevi. The object was stolen from its ancient resting place, and Mevi held the dying light in her hand. It was a pure thing, the blue sheen that fought to simply flicker. The light held no malice or radiance, it contained no power or will, it reminded her nothing of the Magi’s brilliant display of malicious power. It was a small and harmless light, that strained against itself and the penetrating darkness, and seemed as if to react to Mevi’s plea.

Mevi held the gem in her hand, as its glow slowly dimmed as if dying. She couldn’t see it die, she needed it to survive. If this small light couldn’t survive against such darkness then how could she possibly try to resist against her own fate? She poured all she could into the small light, and it seemed to feed on her desire and began to grow in dim illumination. What was barely a glint then became a pin-sized starlight that started to grow to the mightiness of its wielder and shone like a flickering candle. The treasured light struggled to maintain itself, and Mevi could not think of how to preserve such a strange thing. But as she thought to try and assist it she began searching its container, but then she noticed the gem’s appendages were reaching and grasping. The wires and cables, that hung like a seedling’s roots, started to weakly attack Mevi’s fingers and wrist as if it reacted to her thought a moment ago. She watched them drag against her bloody hands as if wanting to wrap around something. Then she realized what it might be trying to do, this gem must need to attach itself to her to function. Like with what looked like a glove, it needed to be worn in some way. It used what little strength it had within its ancient vessel to respond to Mevi’s desires and notify her of its presence. Mevi didn’t take any time to make her decision about the device.

Mevi arranged the gem so it would sit in her palm, as it seemed to do on the old remains of the glove it was once attached to. After holding it in her palm, the wires and cables weakly snaked up her wrist and seemed to try to wrap themselves around her, halfway up her forearm. As the slow process seemed to finish, the smallest of cables reared up and inserted themselves into her skin. The assault was barely noticeable, only a small pinch from the point of impact and then nothing. As the gem seemed to settle and arrange itself in her grasp, it began to glow stronger than before. No longer a faint candle, it seemed to burn with blue light that could rival a flaming torch. The glorious illumination was bright and wonderful to behold, but as Mevi was marveling in the amazement she heard something from the hallway.

A shrill and prolonged scrape of metal against metal, as if someone had dragged a jagged dagger across a metallic sheet. The echoing howl of the monster that had hunted Mevi just minutes before. It was reacting in tandem with the brightness of her newfound weapon against darkness. Mevi willed the gem to be quiet, but not silent, and recalled how she focused on her own small gem. The device responded instantly, and seemed to sense exactly how much Mevi wanted it to dim. The illumination went from a fiery blaze to just enough to show Mevi’s direct surroundings and floor. As she did so the scraping eventually stopped, but it had moved dangerously close to her location. The echoing sound of a metallic howl was hard to pinpoint just how far it had traveled, but Mevi could not believe it was very distant. The creature had somehow known of her when the gem activated. Did it react to heat, Mevi’s own senses are so dulled and overcome with pain she didn’t register anything spare for the light. Did it somehow sense the light despite outwardly seeming blind and eyeless? Or could it have sensed the activation of the strange device itself? Mevi didn’t understand what this blue gem was, or what the monster outside was, but needed a solution soon.

Mevi first needed to find a treatment for her leg. She stealthily made her way from the corner and scoured the room with her newfound light, or she scoured the room as stealthily as someone hopping around while lightly clanking a bone staff could. The echoing sound of her staff against the stone tile seemed to be amplified in Mevi’s heightened state of awareness. She found herself sensitive to every sound, smell, and movement around her despite the pain she felt. She could faintly hear the sound of a slithering, wet, mass as it rubbed and writhed against itself slowly. The monster had to be close by, but how close was unclear. It had obviously not fully fallen for Mevi’s trap, or had fallen for it and resolved to station itself where her clothes were found. Regardless, it sounded docile and unaware for now. Mevi took her opportunities as they arrived, and eventually found a suitable metal pipe she could fasten to her leg as a sort of brace and splint. She found her welding stick, as it had been briefly lost in her delirious state from before, using it slowly, and on its lowest setting, she cut the pipe in her lap. Her blouse wasn’t long enough to properly cover her legs so small sparks occasionally singed and burned her flesh, but she ignored the pain as it was incomparable to the agony her leg constantly produced. The pipe was prepared, and with a tear in her clothes she produced bandages to secure the pipe to her own leg. She spared a part of the metal pipe to cut into smaller pieces using it for her left hand and wrist. In a few suspenseful minutes, Mevi had created a crude splint. It was stable enough, thanks to her now half as long blouse, and her leg and wrist were firmly secured.

With her injuries handled, as best they could be in the situation, Mevi scanned the room again for ideas of what to do. She then recalled her hammer. The device was mostly meant to bend certain objects with ambient heat and some applied force. But its function to emit a short-range shatter was a viable distraction or defense if the worst came. Quietly hauling herself to the entrance, Mevi retrieved her hammer. Her hands full with the staff and her two tools. But her new splint could be used as temporary storage, as the situation was desperate. Mevi needed a plan, but before she could make one she needed to know how far away that monstrosity was. As her memory of the mass of flesh and hate returned to invade her thoughts, Mevi struggled to realize she needed to turn off her light source. For whatever reason the creature had become active at the same time she summoned the great light from her new gemstone. She could not risk it knowing where she was because of its use, even now it might sense the dim light that it produces but simply can’t find out where it comes from. So with an increasingly heavy heart, Mevi wills the gemstone to darken.

Desiring darkness, and enforcing her mind upon her newly found device, Mevi focuses to cement her logic over her instinct to cling to the light. As Mevi does so the gemstone dims, flickers, and puts itself out. Mevi lets out a sigh of relief that the device listens, and turns to track down the dying beam of light to approach the doorway’s exit. Yet as she searches she can’t tell if she is keeping her eyes closed or not, she is confused as to why she still can't see anything. Even before the light from outside shone dim and short into the room, yet it was now gone completely. Mevi searched frantically, and hated the thoughts that crossed her mind as to what could have put out the light. As she fumbles and grasps at the space around her, she notices something. The light is still there, but muted and nearly gone. In her panic and partially delirious state she had taken the almost pitch black darkness for her eyes being shut. She saw the short beam from the hallway light source as it was letting out extremely little illumination. Mevi approached the beam slowly, fearing the light was losing power and then she would not be able to spot the monster. As she maneuvered around the beam of light and looked out the exit of her hideaway, she was perplexed beyond words.

The beam of light, and the hallway, were emitting uneven illumination. The hallway was as bright, or as dim, as before and yet the beam of light leading into her hideaway was dimmed beyond comparison; it might not even be considered light. As Mevi looked out, ignoring the anomaly, she searched for the monster’s bulbous form or sight of its location. In the hallway, where she had thrown her robes and cloak, large quantities of red ichor was drying on the tile and walls. As if splattered by some uncaring butcher. What might be considered footprints of a massive creature stumbled past the gory scene, and the hallway from where Mevi came was thoroughly coated in the bloody mess in varying degrees. Despite this, the blood didn’t go much farther past where Mevi had abandoned her garments and there was no sign of the monster up or down the hallway. If the bloody substance was left behind by the creature, as some kind of secretion, it would be possible it hadn’t gone past her hideaway. It might even be far down the hallway and in the darkness beyond where the glowing orbs reveal. A fair distance to say the least, and hopefully far enough that it can’t see or sense Mevi’s investigation.

Turning her attention back to the anomaly, after confirming her immediate safety, Mevi looks at the dissimilar light levels cast on the ground. She dares to move partially out of her haven, and exits into the hallway slowly. She notices that as she moves the light seems to almost be absorbed and dissipates to the point of being almost pitch black. The darkness follows Mevi in a brief proximity, how far exactly is hard to tell but at least five meters of darkness seems to surround her. Looking down at her gemstone, and recalling her own command to it to ‘darken’ rather than deactivate. She wonders if this is coincidence or a chance anomaly. While still in the hallway, she tests her theory. Focusing with her mind, she commands the gemstone to deactivate or stop whatever it is doing. In the same instant the light flares back to life from the orb and beams back into her hideaway. In the same moment the light returns a rumbling clamor is heard from down the hall and past the darkness where the blood trail leads. The monster seems to suddenly notice her again, and a clash of activity explodes down the hall in an echoing cacophony. Mevi immediately yells in her mind that she needs the hallway to be darkened, she commands her gemstone to resume its task and darken the space around her again. As she does she whirles on her one leg and scrambles to enter her safe place again.

It only took the monster a few moments of chaos to react, and possibly a minute to traverse the entire hallway. Yet halfway across the distance its rage seems to subside and it begins to approach where Mevi is in a more docile manner. As Mevi scrambles to the floor, and the light around her is consumed, she hides behind the closest table that has a small vantage of the outside. Even from over five meters away, part of the hallway outside is still consumed by her gemstone’s darkness, a much larger radius of effect than before. The large body of the monster appears in the dim light, and it blocks out what light isn't being actively hidden by Mevi. The details and form of the creature are almost entirely out of view due to its sheer size, and what can be seen is a gnarled and scaled trunk that must be one of its legs. The colors and features are muted and devoid of vibrance they might have once had, as the color and light around it is being consumed even from so far away. The creature idled by the doorway for at least one minute, but the duration felt like an hour. In the duration of its prowl Mevi accidentally let out a breath, and the creature reacted suddenly to the sound yet remained docile. Mevi dared to test something, and let out a slow and quiet gasp of air. Taking in what little she could muster in the monitored action, and letting out only what she allowed in. The slow and deliberate motion of breathing, despite Mevi’s racing heart, didn’t seem to alert the creature. In fact even to Mevi’s own ears certain sounds seemed muted and slow. She worked her breathing slowly up to a normal pace, and the creature still didn’t react. After its investigation concluded it turned and seemed to return down the hallway. Mevi was fascinated and stared down at the clinging gemstone.

Yet as the creature left, Mevi could feel herself becoming faint. Not noticing it before but as she stood up she became suddenly dizzy. While she looked down at the gemstone, she could still see the smallest wires despite the dimmed light and felt a tingling coming from them. She willed the stone to deactivate completely again. As it did, some of the light dripped into the room once more. Mevi placed her hand in the way of the dim light, and illuminated her arm. Where the small wires were inserted, black veins streaked in stark contrast to her naturally pale skin. Horrified of the potential of having some kind of infection, she watched in confusion as the veins slowly returned to a normal state and disappeared under her skin after the black infection faded completely. As her arm returned to normal the sense of unease and dizziness faded quickly after. The device and its functions were slowly becoming known to her.

It seemed to have control over both light and darkness, to some degree, yet enacted some kind of price. What the price was isn’t clear, but continued use seemed to result in pain, unease, dizziness, and whatever the black veins represented. Altogether the unknown power she now somehow possessed seemed both a boon and a threat. She seemed entirely unnoticed when the device darkened her movements and breaths, outside of sudden and loud noises. Yet if used for too long, the device might make her faint or simply deactivate and if either happened near the beast she would almost certainly die. Yet despite the unease and potential danger, Mevi sensed an opportunity. She could not believe waiting and hiding would save her from such a monster. What could Kalesi even do against such a beast? That is if Kalesi even knows she is missing and tries to find her. No. Mevi must find some way to save herself, and if she is to either die in fear and starvation or in an attempt to live and flee she will fight to live.