[The Labyrinth] A Spider's Web (Veldrys)

[Nashira]

Winter 3, 511 AV Nashira walked alongside rock walls, which stretched towards Syna's realm. They were far taller than she, making it impossible for her to look over their length, and make her way through the walk, without getting herself lost; caught in the occasional dead end. The Ethaefal would sigh each time she was faced with a slab of dark grey stone on three sides. Each time she would raise her right hand and press her palm alongside the contours, trying to feel Syna's warmth. Her wisdom. Trying to discern if she could discover the proper way by merely closing her eyes, and willing the answers to come to her. As though she could honestly absorb Syna's knowledge from anything she had touched. It was what the Ethaefal tried now, as she let her sparkling pink and golden palm settle onto the gentle curve of one of the stones. It was smooth beneath her touch, suggesting that it had been well worn by the weather in the area, or caressed in much the same fashion as she was doing now. A small smile etched its way across her slender face, as she lowered her head a little, as though in respect. As though bowing to the knowledge that only the gods seemed to know. "Guide me with your light," Nashira whispered, as her long, light brown hair cascaded over the length of her shoulders, and curled around her neck. As her deep green horns sparkled in the streamers of golden colored light which managed to trickle through the holes in the rocks. "Show me the way. Show me your wisdom. Guide me on this path." As the last of the words left her lips, the Ethaefal fell silent. She remained in that position for several seconds. Waiting, wondering if she'd feel any different if she was allowed to know. After a few bells, Nashira pulled her hand away from the stone, and lifted her chin so that she was now gazing straight ahead. She turned abruptly on her heels, and headed back towards the other end of the bend, once there, she turned right, knowing that she had tried the path towards the left before, and gotten no where.

[Veldrys]

The Symenestra was neither a follower of Priskill nor a follower of Aquiras – although he had begun to appreciate Denval’s other patron god in recent months. He had been blessed by the blood god. Viratas would always come first for him, no matter what happened, but he still found solace in the Labyrinth. Walking past the great stones helped him clear his mind. Now that it was winter his walks had become a little shorter, but he still went to the Labyrinth regularly. There was something about it that filled him with peace.

And peace was what he needed the most right now. Things hadn’t been the same for a season. Since he had received the prophecy, since Syna and Leth had appeared and the child had been murdered, Denval seemed to be a different place. Veldrys had done what he could, but in the end his efforts had been lacking. He had seen the stone that would change everything in a vision, but he was no closer to finding it than he had been in the beginning.

All he had been able to do was heal a few people that had suffered from the mysterious illness that came with the use of any gnosis marks, and that hadn’t nearly been enough. They would likely have recovered on their own, sooner or later.

His destination was the small garden at the center of the Labyrinth, as always. Now that it had become colder, there would be no flowers there, no sweet-smelling herbs, but he still enjoyed sitting on the little bench and gazing at the sky. It fascinated him. In Kalinor where he had been born the sky had been hidden behind layers of rock.

He never reached the garden the same way or in the same amount of time. Sometimes he seemed to walk forever, sometimes he nearly got lost, and sometimes he reached it in an instant. Today was one of those strange days where he faced a dead end at every turn, no matter what he did, but he wasn’t particularly bothered by it. Trying to find his garden kept him from thinking about other, less pleasant things.

And then he saw her, and his eyes widened. He had occasionally met other people in the Labyrinth – some of the Denvali enjoyed meditating here, just as he did – but he had never met an Ethaefal, at least not a female one. He looked at her for a few moments, admiring her, the strange, almost otherworldly beauty that all of her kind possessed, and then he noticed that she seemed to be a little worried.

„Are you lost?“ he asked. His voice was gentle, polite. „We could try to find the way together, if you wish. Sometimes two pairs of eyes see more than one ...“

[Nashira]

Nashira looked up at Veldrys, her molten amber eyes settling on his amethyst colored ones. She took note of his pale skin, his long lashes and frail frame. His silver colored hair, and his dark, curled claws. She smiled weakly, pleasantly, so as not to frighten him. So as to make him feel as though she were one with Syna, showering him with her warmth. It has been awhile since we have seen one of them, Nashira thought, as she turned to face him directly. I wonder what he could be doing here. The Ethaefal's eyes sparkled as she raised her right hand, and pressed it into the top of her forehead, before drawing it back, over her hair. She passed it through the vibrant brown lockes, slowly but steadily tugging any knots she came across apart. The strands stretched between her fingertips as she tilted her head slightly to the side and simply stared. "You could say that," Shira replied simply. "Considering I can't find the way out, or perhaps back in." She paused. "I'm told this labyrinth has a heart. It must be guarded rather heavily by these walls, its ribs if you will, if it takes more than one mind to come to find it." Nashira's smile widened as her hand drooped to the base of her hair. She pushed it back up, and then lowered it repeatedly, tousling her hair as though she were somewhat nervous. "But that's no matter. It simply drives people together. The lost," Nashira wore on. "Helps to ensure that we make a few friends along the way." The Ethaefal finally pulled her hand away from her hair and allowed it to return to her side. She took a few steps closer to Veldrys, allowing herself to close the narrow gap which hung between them. "Come then, we'll continue on this way a bit, until a fork presents itself." She paused. "We can make our way from there, and perhaps discuss why we chose to come and allow ourselves to be misplaced." With that, Nashira took a few steps past Vel, and down the narrow walkway. After a few seconds however, she turned to glance over her shoulder, perhaps to see if he was coming. The Ethaefal's hair cascaded over the length of her shoulders, and settled in the middle of her back. Her hair splayed across a single eye, causing her to appear oddly mysterious. "I'm Nashira by the way," she added, as her shoulder came up, close to her chin, as though she were shrugging at her blunder. How rude she was to fail to introduce herself. As soon as the word's had left her lips, Nashira flashed a final, radiant smile, before turning back around and walking away. OOCSorry for the wait. I totally missed this.

[Veldrys]

„Back in?“ the Symenestra repeated softly while he watched her as she touched her locks. Even her hair seemed to be more than just hair. He doubted that he would ever get used to the presence of the fallen ones in Denval, that there would be a time when he wouldn’t be surprised at their beauty. Could you go blind if you looked at an Ethaefal too long? Was there anybody in the world that wasn’t mesmerized by them? „I have seen the heart of the labyrinth“, he told her. „I have been there more than once, but the way to the heart never seems to be the same. It’s strange, isn’t it?“

„Maybe“, he agreed as she talked about how it drove people together and shrugged shis shoulders. He had never seen it this way. To him the Labyrinth had always been a place where one went to be alone, to meditate, to communicate with the gods and not to make friends. If he had any desire to make friends, he would go elsewhere, but he didn’t say it out loud. Instead he gave the Ethaefal a gentle smile, as if he were not venomous, as if he were not one of those treacherous spider people, as if he were just honestly glad to be in the company of another living being.

Surprise was visible on his face as she stepped closer to him. Few women would dare to do such a thing when they were alone with a Symenestra in a strange place, but maybe Ethaefal were different. Maybe Ethaefal didn’t fear mortals. Maybe she was not familiar with the things his people had done. He looked at her for a moment as she eventually walked past him, as if he were trying to figure her out, and then he decided to follow her. Being lost wasn’t as bad when you had somebody to talk to, when you were in the company of a woman that had fallen from the sky.

„I am Veldrys of the Vervain Web“, he introduced himself. „Did you come here for the same reason that I did? To pray? To clear your mind?“

[Nashira]

"Actually, to get out of the city for a bit, more or less," Nashira replied. "Considering one can go to pray or clear their mind as well in one place or another. You don't necessarily need a maze to help you do that." The Ethaefal paused as she continued to stride along the gated path, until she came to a fork in the road. A strip of stone leading in three separate directions- right ahead of them, and to the left and right. As she peered in each direction for a time, the Ethaefal found that she had no more idea as to which path the two should take than before. "Perhaps we should try moving left," she whispered, without giving it much more thought, and simply shrugging, began to head in that way. "So now that we know why we are each in this labyrinth, why are you in Denval?" Nashira asked. "Surely a Symenestra finds himself rather out of place among humans. Or, rather, predominately humans. Much as an Ethaefal finds themselves out of place among them too." Nashira paused as she considered her words, "have you come to learn something? Or even to teach, at the Academy perhaps, or did you simply happen upon this place like so many other outsiders?" As she spoke, Nashira began to concentrate on her djed. She imagined it swirling around her mind, and yet, slowly, unraveling, spiraling downwards until it was reflected in the backs of her eyes. Past the dark orbs her pupils cast. Past the shadows and small red streams with trickled through the whites. Hidden, in the outer portions of her eyes. There but not, and before Veldrys could get another word in, she forced herself to stare into his eyes, tightening the connection, the hold she knew her djed could have on another. Nashira imagined her djed, a slender, silver spider's web trailing out of the edges of her eyes, as tiny, nearly invisible tears. Imagined them bursting; releasing the sticky silk they contained, which danced slowly across her body, and the distance between herself and Vel, until it clung to him. Slowly cocooning him in its suggestion. Three simple words: tell the truth.

[Veldrys]

„No, you don’t“, Veldrys agreed as Nashira stated that you didn’t necessarily need a maze to clear your mind. „But it helps sometimes.“ With that he followed her to the fork in the road. A sigh escaped his lips as he noticed that there were three different paths that they could take. Walking through the labyrinth often calmed him down, but at the moment he just felt lost. He had no idea at all where they were at the moment. „Maybe we should keep on going left for a while“, he suggested as they moved on. „This way we will at least not get anymore lost than we already are.“

„I do often feel a little out of place“, he confirmed. „There are no others of my kind. I have found a few friends here, but in the end they will always be human, and I will always be a Symenestra. There are things about my people that they will never understand. But you have Xelhes, Lysander and Sitkanis. They are all Ethaefal. There is something about Denval that seems to attract your kind. You probably don’t feel as out of place as I do.“

He wanted to say more, , when their eyes suddenly met. There was something strange in her gaze, something unusually intense, but he didn’t know what it was. It probably didn’t matter anyway. No, there was nothing odd about it. Why had he thought that? She was merely curious, and he decided to share his story with her. He was usually a little hesitant to talk about it, but for some reason he felt comfortable in her presence. Maybe it was because she reminded him of Xelhes and Lysander. He had come to consider Lysander a friend.

„My people are dying, Nashira“, he revealed. „Our children poison their mothers, and there is little we can do about it apart from letting others suffer in their stead and condemning innocents to a painful death. I heard that Denval had been isolated for centuries after the Valterrian. I have come here to find traces of the past, the old world. I have come here for knowledge and maybe to find a way to save my people.“

„In a way I have also run away. Whatever solutions they have found, they don‘t work for me. I can’t kill, Nashira, not even to make sure that my people live on, and I would have been forced to do it if I had stayed. Maybe I’m a fool, a weakling, a hopeless idealist.“ He laughed, a bitter laughter. „And you? Is your story as depressing as mine?“

[Nashira]

"Who?" Nashira asked, as her brow furrowed with concentration as she tried to place the names, certain they should stick out if the truth was as Veldrys said. Yet, as she sifted through the inner reaches of her mind, nothing came to light, she was certain, she knew naught of these people. "I'm not so sure I've met them before, or so much as heard of them." The Ethaefal paused for a time, her brow unfurling slowly as she simply walked; and waded through the silence. Through the whistling wind which enveloped them from time to time, before dying back down. Go on, the magic insisted after a time. Speak. Break the emptiness. End the silence, it insisted, as Nashira peered at him again, before turning skyward, wondering what Syna would think of their encounter. Wondering if she'd feel just as uncomfortable and out of place amongst the pallor of the Symenestra and Denvali humans. Soon, all too soon, Nashira knew her magic had worked, for Veldrys launched into another story. Another explanation. "Everyone runs away every once in awhile," Shira confided simply, as a small smile crossed her lips. "While my story isn't quite like yours, it isn't any less sad. For, although our children couldn't poison us, we too, cannot have children, making us a dying race, in our own way... well... that's not precisely true either." The Ethaefal sighed as she scratched her head, thinking of how best to explain. After a time, she returned her hand to her side, and continued on. "We can't have children whilst in this form, but in our former skin, we may, making any children we may have unlike as you see me now. You see, there are no Ethaefal children. We are born, arisen from the sea, if you will, as we appear. Never aging. Never truly changing, even as everything around us does. We watch people come and go. Watch them age. Watch them move on, and here we are, stuck in time." Nashira paused for a moment, collecting herself, "of course, we could die ourselves. But not as you'd think, of age... it takes other things, more violent things, treacherous things, to finish us." The Ethaefal smiled uneasily as she glanced at the ground, at her feet, not wanting to look into the Symenestra's eyes as she spoke. "Can you see now, why both our stories are so similar? So very pitiful, in a way? For, if we ever choose to act on affection, everything is taken away?" Again, the woman paused. "They can never look like us. Never be like us... and so very often, we die trying to make things live on. The irony of it, is haunting, isn't it? The cruelty that lies in the simplicity of it. In fact." Nashira sighed as she turned left, down another passageway. "It does not seem as though we are all that very different, are we?" she asked. "For although your life seems far more frail than those of my kind, they aren't really, not when you think about how one loses themselves as they lose everything around them. Everything that mattered anyway." As the words left her lips, Nashira turned away, she didn't want the spider to see the beginnings of a true tear, glistening on the gentle red diamond duct by the side of her right eye.

[Veldrys]

„You do not know them?“ Veldrys asked, surprised. He had always thought that all Ethaefal knew each other, that there was something that connected them all. „I can introduce them to you, if you like. You’d probably get along with Xelhes and Sitkanis at least.“ He wasn’t so sure about Lysander as the youngest Ethaefal tended to be very childish at times and direct on top of it. He had only been a boy when he had died.

A few moments passed in silence. The Symenestra had little idea that magic had been used on him. He thought that the feeling of trust was natural, mutual. As Nashira eventually claimed that her kind couldn’t have children, he arched an eyebrow, about to say something. He knew that this wasn’t true. The Captain was pregnant with an Ethaefal’s child. Was it different for female Ethaefal? That seemed the only logical explanation.

„I know“, he remarked softly as she explained it in more detail. „I told you, I know others of your kind. I’ve heard some of it before. If this is true, the Captain’s child will be human, just like her. It must be hard, to watch your friends, your family age and die while you always stay the same. Symenestra at least don’t suffer that particular fate.“

He said that as if he pitied her, to some extent at least, but in truth he thought that the fate of an Ethaefal was easier. The had fallen from the sky, they never aged, never had children that looked like them, but at least they could love others without killing them, even if their lovers would pass on all too soon. He preferred that and otherworldly beauty to the kind of life that had been forced on him.

„No, maybe we aren’t that different“, he agreed. „We are both destined to lose everything we ever cared about.“
A sigh escaped his lips.

[Nashira]

Nashira shook her head lightly, her long brown hair splaying across the ends of her cheeks, her lips. She could feel the strands sticking as she spoke. "We have no family, and friends tend to be few," she whispered, as she reached for him. Her hand blindly grasping at the air. Slowly, she forced them to unfurl, to keep searching until they brushed against his pale flesh. To her it seemed so very cold, devoid of Syna's warmth. In that single moment, that split second, Nashira's magic churned. It sprang to life, to fit its master's need. To push the Symenestra. Silence, it insisted. For a moment. Hold your tongue. Be silent. Be still. Then speak. Small words. Small phrases; a change of subject. Something new. Something fresh. Something devoid of sorrow. The magic paused as the Ethaefal's arm sank to her side. Its power was receding, its existence flowing back into her core, as opposed to the heart and mind of the spider. "It would be nice to meet them though," Nashira whispered, as she forced the tear away, back from whence it came. "Some day, if we all ever find the time, and then, perhaps, we could go looking for another of your kind. Surely, you can't be the only one that has stumbled upon this place, and chosen to settle for a time." Nashira paused, as she turned to face the Symenestra. "How does that sound to you?" Nashira asked, before considering that he may not want to meet another of his kind, afraid of what may happen if he wandered too close. Shrugging, the Ethaefal kept on moving, wondering where in the world the labyrinth's central point could have gotten to. For all she had seemed to accomplish that day was to wander in circles, with and without total strangers. Largely, in silence. Speak, the magic commanded, seeking to break the cycle, as a dull throbbing pressed against Nashira's temples, causing her to think that she was beginning to over do it again.

[Veldrys]

For a moment he could feel her touch. It seemed to him as if she were filled with light, as if as if she carried a hint of her goddess‘ warmth within her, as if her mere presence made those melancholic thoughts that took a hold of him every once in a while go away. For a moment he smiled, although he didn’t know why. What was it about this strange woman that had fallen from the sky that made his thoughts and feelings take such turns?

„There was one Symenestra here a while ago“, he suddenly remembered. „But she left without telling me. Most of my kind don’t like places like this one. It’s too secluded, and it’s too hard to leave again if problems arise. There is hardly any opportunity for them to hunt. But still, I appreciate your offer. Maybe there is a Symenestra hiding somewhere, in Denval or close by.“

He fell silent again and simply walked next to her for a while. It seemed to him as if she wouldn’t appreciate words right now. He had already said too much, talked about too many sad things. After a few minutes he raised his voice again though. It had seemed to him as if she had been on the verge of tears before. Maybe a change of topic was in order, something to distract her, to cheer her up a little.

„It’s not all bad though“, he told her. „We are alone and damned, but there is still beauty in this world, in the way Syna’s light shines on Denval, in every plant, every man and woman, every building, if you look hard enough. It’s possible to forget everything in the arms of another being for a while. Did you ever see something that was so beautiful that it took your breath away?“