Void Rift (rp) - Intermission

"Wouldn't that allow Atavul to spy on him?" Katie asks, concerned.


The golem chimes again, looking up at Xlentia and staying still.


Stephanie telekinetically grabs Doir as he begins to roll, stopping him from falling into the lava and putting him beside her.

"Nice save." I comment.

 

“He’s literally just so much of an asshole that Atavul stopped listening to him and fired him from being a spy rodent.”


Xlentia narrows her eyes at the golem, picking it up between two claws.


As time passes, the lava rises to the point where it’s mere feet away from the trio. It thankfully doesn’t bubble much, but the heat is particularly hard on Artemis.

 

"Somehow I don't trust that, but it's amusing nonetheless." Abigail says happily.

"Well...as long as he really isn't a spy..." Katie says.


The golem doesn't react much, just staring back at Xlentia.


Artemis begins to sweat a lot, before Stephanie creates a barrier to block out some of the heat, placing a rune that releases cooling air on the inner side of it. The rune lasts for about a minute before disappearing however.

 

“Even if Atavul changed his mind, I may have gotten Ihra to alter the ferret’s soul a bit so he couldn’t even if he wanted to use it as a spy.”


Xlentia pinches down on the golem, growling.



The tide stays dangerously close for half an hour before starting to recede.

 

"Could Ihra alter Atavul's soul so he's not evil anymore?" Katie asks.


The golem chimes a little, it's body starting to crack before it fires a potent blaster of laser directly into Xlentia's face. It creates a large explosion, harming those near it. However, Xlentia's armour keeps her completely safe.


Artemis lets out a sigh of relief, before glancing over to Doir.

"Aj, hand me that razor. I can probably skin that ferret thing a lot better than you." Artemis asks.

I hand Artemis the razor as Stephanie picks up Doir. Artemis gets to shaving off his fur, being careful not to cut into the skin just yet.

 

“No, the more powerful a thing is the harder it is to work with. The gift is literally just a ferret.”


Xlentia braces herself, inadvertantly slamming the golem to the ground before letting go and starting to feel her face.
“What... what did they do...? What happened to me?”


Below what seems to be a slightly labyrinthine map is a bit of writing.
“Happy Holidays Aj, enjoy your new pet
-Eric”

 

"I thought Ihra was some kind of omnipotent god in disguise or something?" Abigail asks, relaxing on her sofa.


The golem makes a dent in the ground, it's body seeming quite resistant. However, some of it's limbs break off, and the golem seems to lose power; shutting off. An invisible force lifts the golem up, and it floats through the rift.

A giant mirror appears in front of Xlentia, allowing her to look her new armour over.


"Aj, look at this." Artemis says, holding Doir up to me.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." I say, groaning.

"At least we've got the map now," Stephanie says, summoning her tome and flipping to an empty page, "I'll copy it so we don't have to take him with us."

Artemis holds Doir up to Stephanie, and she begins copying the map into her tome.

"I already have a couple of wolves as pets. Maybe he'll make for a good snack for them." I comment.

 

“She’s a relatively newborn omnigod. She doesn’t know the extent of her powers and has to teach herself.”


Xlentia looks at her own face looking for any differences between her current appearance and that of her old armor, eyes widening.


Doir feebly squirms a bit, though it doesn’t seem to be a voluntary movement.

 

"Is there nobody around to teach her?" Katie asks, sounding sympathetic.


Her new armour is far less clunky and large, and seems to basically be an extra layer of very smooth scales; making her appearance more silver. The armour appears to be completely covered in runes that connect into each other, and is dotted with mage crystals embedded into it; not sticking out like the previous set. A large deep purple mage crystal seems to rest in the upper middle of her helmet, which feels like it's enhancing her psychic abilities a little. In addition, Xlentia can barely feel the armour at all, her movements free from restriction as the armour moves with her. The only areas that aren't armoured are her claws and eyes; as well as a gap for her mouth.


Artemis holds Doir a little tighter with both hands, letting Stephanie properly and accurately copy the map.

 

“Do you know any other beings that can create anything they want on a whim?”


Xlentia seems confused as her hostility winds up settling quite a bit, albeit not completely.
“...What do they want from me? Face resistance getting what they want by force, so now they try to open me up with a gift just after timeless torture?”
“I’d say if that was the case then it’s working.” Emerald mutters.
“S-silence...”


It feels somewhat like trying to hold a water snake, though Stephanie does have a fair amount of time to work out any smaller details if desired.

 

"Us guardians can, to a degree." Abigail says.

"We can create our elements, usually." Katie clarifies.


"It's a gift and an apology," Praecantatia's voice says, "We did not realise the monumental work you put in to protecting our reality, so we thought you should gain the same protection from us."


Stephanie jots down every last detail of the map, inadvertently drawing on some of Doir's skin in the process.

"Your art is getting better, Stephanie." Artemis says positively.

"Thanks!" Stephanie responds happily, finishing the map.

"Alright just chuck that thing in the lava and we can go." I say.

Artemis narrows her eyes at me, "We can just leave him here. There's no need to kill him, and we shouldn't be killing regardless." She says.

"Yeah yeah yeah we've got the map anyway." I say.

 

“She can create a copy of Tenebrae to support her in a fight. She can probably do the same with Lux. Who else do you know that can work with creation on that scale?”


Xlentia seems startled, but then her anger comes back in droves.
“No. I cannot believe that. You torment my soul in hell, treat me like a rabbid dog that needs to be put down to the point you strike at me in my own home, tear me asunder, and then after I am at wit’s end you turn as hard as you can to save face. Give me one good reason I shouldn’t banish you all right now.” She growls. “I accept this gift as realization you made a grave mistake, but mark my words I am through being your plaything, being treated as inferior. Am I clear?”


Doir squirms when drawn on, seeming to already starting to be coming to.

 

Abigail and Katie both shrug.

"She's powerful." Abigail comments.


"I can't control what you think. If you choose not to believe it, then you are free to." Praecantatia says, sounding slightly smug.


Artemis puts Doir down, before going back to waiting. Stephanie closes her tome, though keeps it on her.

 

“It’s hard to learn about unexplored grounds.”


“You think you’ve put me in my place, hmm? Fine.” Xlentia growls, seeming to manipulate the rift slightly.
“You are no longer safe from the Hive Master’s influence. Stop wasting my time and go prepare for the war you wanted so badly.”
“Xlentia, stop this!”
“Praecantatia, it pains me to turn my back on you, but your friends have torn my soul apart, betrayed my trust, and left me tormented and tortured in your hell. When you are done using me for your own amusement, I will talk. Until then, consider yourself lucky my brother has not acted against the transgressions of your friends.” She says, serious.


Doir yawns, opening his mouth before scowling at the silencing.

 

"Couldn't she just create whatever she can imagine?" Katie asks.


Praecantatia appears with a guilty look on her face.

"It pains me that you'd turn your back on us too," Praecantatia says, "Which is why I can't let you do that, Xlentia."

Praecantatia extends a hand, the mage crystals on Xlentia's new armour seeming to invert in colour. What was ordinarily a psychic block changes to a potent psychic amplifier on a set channel, Praecantatia's influence becoming incredibly strong. A few set commands start to repeat in Xlentia's mind as she feels her will being turned.

"Protect the rift. Stop the hive master. Obey Praecantatia. Protect the rift. Stop the hive master. Obey Praecantatia." rings over and over in Xlentia's mind.

"Stop this childish tantrum, and I shall release my influence. If you refuse, then you are too powerful of an entity to be left to rampage and ruin." Praecantatia's voice says over the commands in Xlentia's mind.


The silence spell seems to be wearing off, Doir able to talk at half volume, and cast basic magic.

 

“Yes, once she figures out how to.”


Xlentia lets out a furious roar, before the armor suddenly falls off of her piece by piece as if it was never welded on. Or, more specifically - the welds were cut.
“I AM NOT YOUR PUPPET!” She roars furiously, taking a swipe at Praecantatia.


“Fucking ‘ell, I thought your ladyfriend was a forest guardian!” Doir complains.

 

"That sounds like it'd get boring pretty quick. She could just imagine all she wants and have no reason to live." Abigail says.


Praecantatia tries to step back to avoid the attack, though gets hit; a large gash appears on Praecantatia, blood gushing out of it. She gives Xlentia a betrayed look, glancing to Emerald before falling backwards into a swiftly forming pool of blood; seemingly dead.

Xlentia can't help but think of Stephanie, and how to explain killing her mother.


"Quiet. You've served your purpose." Artemis says, sounding serious.

 

“Being a god’s probably boring after a while.”


Xlentia glares at the pool of blood.
“I am not your slave.”
“Mistress, this is too much!”
“They tortured me. They tried to kill me. Now, they tried to mind control me. If they want to apologize, then they should apologize. Their hollowness, their lies... I owe their mortals and their children my life, not them. A gift of mind control is no gift.”
“Xlentia, Praecantatia held no ill will towards you!”
“Clearly that’s not true. I’m not willing to have two hives here.”
“L-lady Gaia will be furious! They all will be!”
This seems to hit Xlentia hard.
“I... I’d rather have earned her distrust than be betrayed by her too.” She sighs.
“This is too much from both of you!”
Xlentia seems further startled by Emerald’s words.
“I-I can’t let them just use me however they wish... I need to stand up for myself...”
“That doesn’t mean you can just cut them down!”
“How else do I earn their respect? Protecting them was worth torturing me, what other option do I have?!”
“Please, just... have her tended to. Work out an agreement, just don’t do this!” Emerald begs.
“I didn’t mean to!” She screams.


“Like hell I have. I’m Aj’s new pet! And there’s no regifting allowed.”

 

"I hope our gods aren't bored." Katie says, worried.

Abigail waves a hand, "They're probably engaged with the other reality." She says offhandedly.


Praecantatia lies on the floor, a pool of blood the size of a small lake forming below her.

Gaia steps through the rift with a positive expression, holding a large pouch of coins that seems to be made out of woven plant fibre. The word 'Xlentia' is woven into it in flowers.

"Praecantatia t-" Gaia starts, before noticing Praecantatia's body in front of her, going silent. She looks at Xlentia, then to her bloodied claw. She shifts between her five forms, hair and eyes rapidly changing colour before she finally settles on fire.

The whole library feels overcome with an intense heatwave, and Praecantatia's blood hisses as it boils.


"I'm going to regift you to Mortius." I say flatly.

 

“Yeah, Xlentia’s being a handful.”


Xlentia looks mortified, but also betrayed.
“I... I can explain...” She stammers.
Emerald flies between Gaia and Xlentia.
“You need to leave. Your friends have tortured my mistress long enough. Attempting to mind control her was the last straw.”
Xlentia opens her mouth before Emerald forces it shut.
“You have done quite enough, mistress.” She snaps, before turning to Lady Gaia.
“It pains me to say this, but I’m tired of your deceit. You and your friends have lied, tortured, attempted to slay, and deceived mistress for too long. Now you have added attempted mind control to the list.” Emerald says to her, seeming hurt by her own words. “Due to these transgressions, neither I nor Xlentia accept your apology nor your ruse of a gift enabling you to mind control her.”


“I’ve always wanted to meet him! Shame I don’t stay dead longer than a second.”