Savaj's body laid bare, broken, and battered in an empty void surrounded by nothing but darkness. Her face was flat on a platform of what felt like crystal before its cold surface woke her nerves. And when it did, pain cascaded through her tiny veins like white water. Every inch of her body, from her crown to her toenails burned as if she were marinated in a vat of acid. Her mahogany skin was coated in dried blood and lesions that irritated her pores like fleas.
Shock and adrenaline pinned her eyelids open as she writhed through the hovering shadows in agony. Her mind was still reeling from Kham/Vyrin's ambush and the castle of questions that predicated the assault.
Every second brought fourth harsher memories from their encounter. She reached at her back for that malicious Michio rune torn into her skin, but her muscles failed her. She remembered reading Kham's mind and watching the their witch carve it into their scaly backs. The Icarus Pact. A curse that preyed on the Djou’vik’s curosity of pacisfism and mutualsim. Their want to coexist enabled their predators and allowed the once unapproachable creatures to be abused by misplaced trust."What’s upon your back is Michio in Origin. It’s a peace treaty written in the Ahlm tongue. The Michio language, when infused with Naten in this way, and many others, it alters the world around it. And in this case you’re DNA..
..The Anima arranged these peace talks among our people and yours, the Djou’Vik. Majestic draconian creatures who wanted nothing but peace and equality for all of The Mother’s children. She ambushed them, and abused our Anthem of Carbon infusion to apply a genetic curse to your people to force you to your life as human and never take the skies again.”
Kham insisted it was the Prodigy that bound the Djou’vik to fleshy prisons and strangled their children with the chains.. but..
.. then those memories returned, fleeting remnants of the moment she'd been double crossed. After she was struck, Savvy reflexively released a telepathic pulse before her Naten supply was cutoff. It functioned akin to sonar; illustrating a detailed picture of what transpired as she drifted off. It was war tactic Kham taught her in the event needed she needed to convey information while under attack...Savaj’s body hit the floor with a soft thud. Maeel revealed herself slowly from the ground up with the flat of her hand extended having just chopped her in the back of the neck, knocking her unconscious. While her feet were bare underneath, the dark steel armor, a product of Michio and Goblin ingenuity shows its decadence and gleamed in the moonlight. The leg plates covering the shins were fashioned after the faces of the Khadar, horned, and jawed.
In warefare, he imprinted upon his faithful the importance of information, insisting it be more valuable than any cargo of artillery. And today she finally understood the sentiment.
She'd been betrayed. The ominious glimmer of Mael's armor haunted that thought and birthed a fiery rage that swallowed her void of confusion.
The realization furrowed her brows and irritated her injuries, but the catharthic storm of fury that tailed treachery numbed the lions share of her suffering. Who was that woman? She was massive, decked out in blackened plates that concealed more than her appearance, but the strength behind her attack echoed Michio.
She remembered Kham's face right before she passed out and his murderous grin scalded her further. Savaj opened her lips to scream or yell, but her mouth was stone dry. Scratchy, like she'd been gnawing on sand and swallowed glass.
The compound of sickening sensations were maddening but Savaj dug through her discomforts like she'd been trained to do. Through some breathy grunts, she mounted her weight on her elbows and crawled along the reflective ground until she could support her back against something, anything but these freezing tiles. She'd never been so cold. So weak. Her senses she was so proud of were scattered and barely responsive, but she pawed through her blurred scope of vision until her hands found a pillar to lean on.
Savvy's naten was depleted and every laborous movement tore open an old wound, but laying a hand on the stone column unearthed runic sigils along the floor that burned the encompassing shadows away like a torch. The column mirrored the symbol and lit up like a beam of fire, spreading it to the other eight that surrounded her and adorned the azure altar lost to the ruins of time in radiant amber light.
.. where the fuck am I?
"You truly don't remember.."
Savvy's eyes widened as she searched the expansive building for the sullen whisper but she couldn't help but she was distracted by its grandiose decour. Above her, a vast body of water flowed in intricate patterns that defied gravity and enticed the imagination. They splashed against the walls, which were painted into massive murals illustrated with fables that date back to the first Advent Year. Dead languages. Broken glyphs. But there was no sign of-
"It was my hand that carved the stone, but this sanctuary was your design.. Your home.."
The timber of the disembodied voice was low and deafening, like rolling thunder. But its tone was calm and heavy with sentiment.
"Our home.."
Finally Savaj's eyes were drawn to him. The hulking figure behind her who was resting his frame against the cold surface. His back leaning against one the blistering pillars. His presence was staggering, even while sitting, he was the most polarizing figure she'd ever seen. His skin was tough, darker than oak and covered in scars that brought character to his otherwise smooth face. His eyes were green, a reflection of the mothers beauty and his hair was coiled in locs that streamed over his boulder sized shoulders. Yh'keem was the second child of Akavjjr and the first one branded by the Michio's seal. The script mimicked the runic tapestry draw into Savaj's back, but Yh'keem's was drawn on his chest as if someone used a shard of glass to sculpt the symbols.
Savaj had to crane her neck to hold his glance once the giant of a man lifted himself to his feet. It seemed like he was just waiting for her to wake up but Savaj wasn't quite sure she had. In the depths of her subconscious, she'd seen his face before. That voice soaked in experience, even his scent of blood and soot. It was familiar. But not enough calm her apprehensions. He approached her like a sentinal, careful not to set her off but he could sense her anxieties racing to dramatic heights. She didn't recognize him, despite their unapparent history and, which forced him to stop in his tracks. He glared at Savvy, and she glared at him. He was offended, she was frightened..
...
...
Yh'keem took a step back and dropped back down upon the glistening platform, narrowing his glare at Savaj's suffering. He did nothing to stop it. He knew she needed to surmount this obilisk herself, but he struggled to conceal his discontent. Savaj was an individual he'd never met, but everything about her, from her stare to her scowl reminded him of his sister. It was bittersweet.
"You truly don't remember anything about us.."