A Light in the Darkness

[IamLEAM1983]

Her fellow slave gave the Augur one last look, then motioned for Meris to follow him outside.

"I can't train you here," he explained. "Too much traffic, others would notice. I know a place, though. We go past the slave markets in the Sixth Moon district. We'll sneak past the docks and swim to an old arch the squids never thought to build over or under. We slaves call it the Respite Point. Those who escape but who can't make it to the surface come here. They have caverns and crevices to hide in. The lucky ones aren't found or die after going in too deep. The unlucky ones are shipped back to Dalarath."

He paused. "We fish for ourselves, there, and we build our fires so they can't be seen from the city. This is a cavern, though, and the vents are narrow. Any smoke at all is eventually smelled by someone, so be careful."

As they made their way out of the palace and out into the streets, the squids they passed always checked for their spiked collars. Adewalé remained silent for the longest time - until they reached a quiet corner of the docks.

"I know the Augur," he said, his tone suddenly a bit grim. "His line worships Harrogath and Amaxi, but there is one Other that was never meant for the Void Weavers to worship. The Architect," he said. "I'm sure he's gone and tried to look over the Darkhallow's banned libraries. This is an eternity on his time, an afternoon nap on ours."

[TennyoCeres84]

Meris sighed lightly. "I hope he finds what he's lookin' fer. Who is th' Architect, though?" she whispered as they waited in the quiet area of the docks.

[IamLEAM1983]

Adé didn't immediately respond and gestured for her to be quiet. He reached down and underneath the pier they stood on and pulled out a bundle of some kind. Opening it partially, he revealed one paw from her own seal pelt.

"Toss your clothes in the water and put it on," he told her. "We have a few miles to swim, and the Augur gave me something he says will allow me to keep up with you."

His tone hushed, he pointed to the far end of the cavern, where the residential developments stopped and rocky shores began to extend. "We're going here," he said. "There's a passage carved into the rock by sympathizers. It's as old as Dalarath itself, carved one chip at a time, one Squid thought at a time. The previous Augurs and the current Chamberlain would suspect any prolonged gathering of squids there."

He looked to her. "Stay underwater as much as you can, but don't go too deep. There are monsters in place, precisely to catch those like you or others who might try and escape through the water. They only patrol the maximum depth your people can reach."

[TennyoCeres84]

A second of joy flashed over her face as she saw her sealskin, and she eagerly took it from the bundle. She tossed her clothes into the water and put the pelt on like a hooded cloak. It swallowed her human form and enveloped her in a seamless transition. The harbor seal dived beneath the water and swam gracefully to the end of the cavern. Her dark coat made it difficult to see her in the inky water, but she stayed well out of the monsters' path.

[IamLEAM1983]

Adewalé kept up thanks to a ring that had been enchanted in order to give its wearer temporary Finman abilities. The seal would soon notice that her Yoruba teacher had sprouted a fish's tail and gills along his cheeks. He surfaced long enough to verify their destination and then resumed his course, allowing the both of them to arrive at the clandestine settlement within a little over fifteen minutes. It was then a matter of him beaching on the rocky shore and removing his ring.

As could be expected, the place didn't look like much. Dwellings and camps had been arranged on the far side, well out of sight. The sympathizing Weavers seemed to have taken to the top of the rocky arch, having done their best to carve the stalagtites and stalagmites into dwellings, but the result was intentionally more crude than what what Dalarath proper offered. From afar, it had to look as if the area has remained unoccupied. That meant no obvious cooking fires, no visible smoke, no signs of occupation. Every so often, however, Meris would see the word Silence carved into the rock in a wide variety of languages - a constant reminder to pipe down. Sound could travel far in the cavern and loud noises would be difficult to mitigate.

The people she'd cross all carried the marks of hardship and abuse, with the only rare virgin bodies being those that had been born there. Of those, there was perhaps three or four, young children who ran naked on the polished stone, raised and educated in near-silence, taught to exhibit all of their innocent cheer with as little noise as possible. Two humans and one Finman child, they were kicking a ball of rags around, communicating in hushed tones and signs as though it were completely natural. They seemed to live in a fairly small community, no more than five or six families or groups of kindred refugees.

Of them all, the Squid traitors looked to have been the most mistreated. She'd see hard faces with their tentacles cut cruelly short, bodies contorted into drooling and inept wretches that were even less capable than their surface-dwelling helpers - or the odd sight of a Weaver honestly caring for a young human infant, his arms covered in too many burn and break marks to count, his face marked with the kind of hard determination a long-suffering parent might have to show, but also with something that marked one's death in Dalarath.

Love.

"Welcome to Respite Point, Meris," noted Adewalé. "I'll take you to Elder Delmar if you want. He knows more about the Architect than anyone else here."

[TennyoCeres84]

"Aye, please. I'd like tae ken more," Meris whispered with a nod. Wrapping her sealskin around her, she cast a look at the refugee camp. She had suffered under her previous owners, but her misery had been mild compared to some of the people here. While still a prisoner and slave, she had it easy due to the Augur's treatment of her. She was deeply grateful for that fact.

[IamLEAM1983]

Adewalé stopped at the childbearing Weaver and exchanged a few words, gesturing to Meris. A tired and knowing smile became visible behind the tentacles and he timidly extended a hand towards the selkie. The clothes that coalesced around her were simple, a far stretch from the Augur's preferred opulence. A single white robe came into focus around her, made out of coarse and warm material that quickly dispelled the moisture clinging to her. Seeing her pelt, he added a simple knapsack to his creation, giving her a spot in which to put her second skin. The man nodded respectfully as they walked on, very briefly raising his tentacles and making a slashing motion across his throat. He'd apparently been rendered mute as punishment for his diverging opinions.

The Black man led Meris to the farthest point under the arch's shadow and found a carved staircase within. Going up, they came to a small collection of carved dwellings, single or double-room holes that had to cater to small families on a limited footprint. A straight path to the second set of stairs could have been possible but would have exposed the residents. A short but meandering road eventually crossed the archway and disappeared into the arch itself. It led to a door that had been fixed into the stone proper, and into the single overtly protected structure on Respite Point. It was a carved dwelling hidden inside the arch, its interior lit by Void Weaver spheres of captured light that lazily floated across the single room, lighting certain corners and plunging others in darkness. Alcoves were covered in scrolls and books and trinkets fashioned by the local wives and children, with chalk drawings of stars and planets covering the low ceiling. Adewalé had to duck to fit, while Meris would just about be able to stand normally.

A globe happened to float over what looked like a raised expanse of smooth stone, revealing itself to be a bed. What looked to be painstakingly smuggled sheep hide served as the mattress, while a quilt made of several knitted strands of rags and discarded clothes covered that. Light fell over an old walking stick and shifted to the right, exposing the oldest and most haggard-looking Void Weaver Meris would have ever seen. He'd grown more tentacles than seemed traditional, two of them affecting the long bristles of a long and drooping moustache, the several others forming a thick beard that, if Elder Delmar were to stand, would probably stop just short of his groin.

He opened his eyes, deep and black but laden with an intense sadness, and lifted an arm. "Boy," he said, the word sounding as if speaking were a Herculean effort for the old being, even as an immense amount of respect and care could be perceived in that single word. "Boy, what have you brought me?"

Adé smiled. "A selkie, Elder. Young and powerful, judging by our mole. I can confirm its reports."

Delmar closed his eyes and gathered his strength. "Come, child," he said. "Let those old eyes see you in the light..."

[TennyoCeres84]

The roane stepped into the available light, allowing the old Void Weaver to see her. To Delmar, he would see a young woman who still retained girlish features, but had a mature air to her. Her face had noticeable characteristics indicating Sami heritage, but they blended with her phocine ancestry.

Meris was unsure of what he would see in her. Yes, she had power, but felt it wasn't anything of great note. Though, apparently the elder had more insight than she did.

[IamLEAM1983]

The elder's dark and piteous eyes widened and his tentacles moved, exposing the tiniest bit of a lower lip. Quiet amazement could be seen on his features. "I've dreamt of you," he whispered, awe perceptible in his voice. "Though it will take you ages to grow to be aware of it, you are his lock... and he is your key."

The tentacles moved again, one of the moustache-like tendrils reaching up and stroking her cheek in an almost grandfatherly gesture. "You are the one the Architect asked me to wait for, child," he breathed. "Others will wield Their weapons against Them, but your work will bring you to see the forgotten wisdom amidst all of our madness. Soldiers will come, but the Tactician is here!"

He closed his eyes and let out a ragged sigh that felt painfully thankful, a wrinkled smile playing behind the tentacles and quiet tears streaking down the corners of the elder's eyes. "Thank you, Lord of all Stillness. You've heard my plea and have brokered a truce with the White God... You've brought us an instrument and the blessed fool who will attune it!"

His eyes turned back to Meris. "You must come with me," he breathed, "in the chambers they have all forgotten. The Darkhallow knows what can destroy it, and I know which hallways to walk..."

As if on cue, Adé approached them both with an extra pillow and blanket. "You'll need to join his mind, Meris," he explained, his voice soft. "I understand this is a lot for you to process, but if Delmar is correct..."

There was a nervous, almost giddy pause. "Then this is the beginning of the end for the Others. Some in Respite Point would destroy all Void Weavers, and I can't blame them for harbouring such intense hatred. The Augur has made me think differently, however. I would rather see them freed from Their sway, so they can live as we do."

[TennyoCeres84]

Meris' mouth hung slightly agape, stunned eyes widened. She heard Delmar and Adewale's words, but had been rendered silent by her shock. The selkie closed her mouth and nodded dumbly.

Approaching the African man, she took the pillow and blanket from him. Her astonishment dissipated, leaving her to look to the two men. "What dae I hae tae dae?" she inquired wholeheartedly.