A Whole New World
32nd of Summer, 514 A.V.
32nd of Summer, 514 A.V.
Tinnok had never been engulfed in such darkness in her entire life. She had been in caves before, more than once, but wherever the Snake Goddess took her it was winding, harsh and utterly dark. She carried Tsuya in her arms, alternating between carrying her in her arms and having her wrap her arms around her neck, legs around her waist, the girl too weary to walk so far on her own.
Yet Tinnok’s injuries screamed, her body just as weary. Siku, however seemed to care little for the half breed’s plight, Caiyha might have all but forced her daughter to take the Witch into her city, but it didn’t mean she had to like it by any means. Too weary was the half breed to try to remember the entrance to the tunnel Siku led her through, though she would occasionally feel a cool breeze or a hot one that would suggest other connecting tunnels, and the fact that this great snake had access to an entire tunnel network that raced beneath much of Falyndar’s jungles.
Their breaks were infrequent, Tinnok getting a little water into Tsuya and herself before some sharp command from Siku would keep them going. The half breed was not aware that the journey only took her two days, since time was so distorted for her in a land beneath the ground.
What helped her get by, was the feeling of her new and expanded Gnosis. The rocks were not alive, but every bit of moss, or the strange blind creatures beneath the water she might sink her feet into seemed drawn to her. For a while a Nightmare bat perched upon her head and allowed her to see as it did, not with sight, but sound. One couldn’t use normal eyes in such extreme darkness, yet for a while her feet did not stumble, her legs trembling and collapsing beneath her as she carried the strange green haired girl that had been entrusted to her, mind voraciously tearing up the contents of the events that had happened to her in the past few days.
A fear also passed into her gut then, the fear of the Dhani. For years…no decades, she had been trained to fight them, raised to hate them despite the fact she held half of their blood in their veins. She had faith in Caiyha…but not Dhani. Would they truly keep themselves at bay knowing that behind her scaled flesh and yellow eyes lay a Myrian born and raised? When she thought of these things her body would twitch and she would hear Tsuya groan. She forced herself to push away these thoughts and focus on the here and now. Siku would ensure her survival if only for the fact that angering her Mother could be a dire mistake.
When they arrived in the large and lengthy network that made ‘Zinrah,’ Tinnok was not even aware, so weary was her body. They had stopped for a few bells, the witch curling up gratefully on a pile of damp moss, comforted by the soft and calming nature of a plant who would never glimpse Syna’s rays. She had eaten the last of her mangoes and almonds that morning, feeding them to a more conscious Tsuya, who had insisted on walking the rest of their journey.
One minute she was focused on the back of the serpent she had assumed was Siku, then she was surrounded by three towering Dhani, who looked…not so well. One slumped against a wall, drool coming out of its mouth, another was fiddling with its weapon, looking as if in a few chimes it could join the first one in blissful sleep. The third, however showed more promise. Dark eyes assessed Tinnok, and in return her yellow eyes turned to this Dhani. She opened her mouth to speak in Myrian, then paused, realizing that could be a colossal error on her first chime within the confines of Zinrah, she would have to suffice with her broken common.
“Hello. I Tinnok. I am Witch of Caiyha, was shown the way here from Siku. This is Tsuya, daughter of Caiyha.” She wasn’t sure if this was a completely accurate statement, Tsuya wasn’t a biological daughter, but such a claim was hard to deny when the girl stepped forward to inspect the Dhani, bright green eyes almost matching her flowing green hair. She offered a hand towards the hulking snake as if she was just another person passing in the street, her common far better than Tinnok’s.
“I am Tsuya and this is Tini! Siku was nice enough to show us here after mama told her too. I have never been in a cave before, but I think I already like it. What’s your name?”
The half breed’s eyes assessed the young girl’s incredulously, wondering where this energy had been a day or so prior…
Word Count815
