Egress Unveiled Event: The Forgotten
Prompt 1: Draw or write your Reosean taking part in the varying crimes and pranks that the Forgotten may hold. This could be stealing building materials, pranking another Haedian, or perhaps causing a distraction to allow for others to run in!
Featured Reoseans:
https://www.deviantart.com/reos-empire/art/Scourge-14534-901537573
https://www.deviantart.com/reos-empire/art/Somos-14129-892659177
https://www.deviantart.com/reos-empire/art/S-T2-Troall-16559-1018001738
3453 Words
By FourDayz and Renya06
It was quite strange. Somos had only ever experienced snow once. Back then, it swirled around in the air, blocking his vision and stinging his wounds. Every surface of his body was coated in a light layer of frost, sapping the warmth within him and left him weak, barely able to stand.
It was miserable and he never wanted to see snow again.
Yet here he was, smack in the middle of Vitalus, a warm breeze rolling over his back and a sheet of sparkling white before him.
“This… this is really bad!” Somos didn’t give himself time to gawk at the admittedly pretty scene before him. He sprung forward and followed the snow. He moved quickly at first. The snow wasn’t high enough to hinder his running and so he bounded through the fields with ease. The path eventually led to a massive chasm in the ground. A crack that seemed to split the mountain itself.
Somos slid to a stop and cussed at the sky. “Of all the places to go sightseeing, you chose here?” Almost everyone had heard about the Elder’s request to explore the underground caverns. While he himself was curious, this was not the time to do it!
Other adventuring vayrons and humanoids gathered around the edge, perplexed at the random weather and working to clear a path through the snow. A puller spotted him. “Crazy weather, huh? No one’s sure what caused it. It was clear skies all day! If you’re going down, come help us move all this snow.” He tossed him a makeshift shovel.
Somos let the flat board fall at his feet. He didn’t have that kind of time. He pushed past them all, ignoring their protests and, ever so carefully, made his own way down. Thankfully, the path was straightforward. A downward slope against the wall as he was not well versed in traveling through snow. When he made it to the bottom he was greeted with a strong gust of cold wind to the face. He shivered. He wasn’t sure if it was just him but it seemed colder than last time.
It wasn’t long before Somos found his target. A blizzard raged in the first cavern he entered and in the middle of that, one lone vayron, his glowing blue eyes piercing the veil of white.
They walked.
They didn't remember wanting to inspect the new chasm; his hackles raised at the sight of something that didn't quite look like it belonged.
That he'd summoned his powers to defend himself against a potential threat. That the excitement had temporarily robbed him of his much-needed concentration, and his control had slipped.
They didn't remember.
All they knew was the wall of white that encompassed everything, as it should.
And so, they kept their inexorable advance.
Until the opaque barrier became marred by a darker figure.
Something fuzzy brushed the edges of their consciousness.
A slow trickle of faded pictures.
Did he... know that creature?
As he pondered this new puzzle, the whipped-up snow fell steadily to the ground as the harsh winds swirling around him slowed to a crawl.
He blinked, a frown forming between his brows.
Why was it so hard to focus?
Somos closed his eyes and braced himself as he stepped into the storm. Strangely, he was not blasted with frigid cold air and tiny needles of ice. He opened his eyes. The storm had settled into a light snowfall around them.
Before him stood the vayron he called Frosty, more for his attitude rather than his magic. Somos approached him cautiously, the memory of being entranced by the storm’s power felt like it happened yesterday instead of two years ago.
“Heyyy, Frosty. Remember me?” Somos called out to him. He couldn’t tell if the other vayron was lucid. Those glowing eyes revealed nothing to him. He took a couple more steps. “Heard you bein’ a pain in the ass lately. It’s got a lot more people talking. You good?”
-
Above them a creature slithered forward on its belly, wings folded tightly against her body so as not to be seen. Many had passed through her caverns but not one displayed that level of power over their magic, even if they lacked control. She pondered this while watching another vayron — a runner, she believed— confront the other. She could use them, she thought.
She wouldn’t give them a choice.
That voice! He did know it.
His breath jerked as the fog of his mind continued to clear. " ...Rat?" It had been so long. What would he be doing here, of all places? The glow faded from his eyes as the last specks of frost settled, the blizzard giving way to an eerie calm. He looked around. Where was here? Was he in the caves he'd been wanting to explore? His claws dug angrily into the frozen ground.
How much time had he lost this time...
He huffed and loosened his grip before cold dread had time to settle in his core. It wouldn't do to show how out of control his condition was becoming, not when he had company. Turning his gaze to his 'companion,' he almost let out a snarky remark but didn't know what he could say that wouldn't reveal he had no idea how he'd gotten here.
So he stayed quiet.
A few beats passed before Somos realized that Frosty wasn’t going to answer. He seemed… embarrassed? He didn’t think he’d ever see that. “Uh- it's Somos, by the way. You can just call me that instead. Got excited exploring the caves, huh? You know, I was heading down here myself when I ran into you. I thought I was gonna have to do this by myself but I get to partner up with my best friend!” Somos chuckled, knowing the statement might earn him a smack with how their first meeting went. Anything to get Frosty to focus on something else.
He rolled his eyes at the other's exuberance and, with the slightest nudge from his powers, launched a sizeable wad of snow into Somos' face. "We aren't friends, Rat." He shook the remaining haze away. "But yes, I was exploring and saw an unusual creature, so I followed it." There was no need to mention that he wasn't even in the cave when he'd first spotted it. "Since you're here, make yourself useful and follow me." Without waiting for an answer, the dark runner walked deeper into the winding cave system.
Somos staggered and shook off the snow, a bit shocked at the extent of control over his power. Last time he only just sparked. Guess a lot can go down in two years.
Blinking the last of the snow out of his eyes, Somos looked up to complain, when he spotted two eyes glittering in the darkness above them. At the same time, another voice began echoing through the chamber.
“Step no further, intruders!” The creature neatly dropped down from its ledge and landed on all fours, wings flared. Somos couldn’t help but gape at its likeness to his own features. This wasn’t just any cave creature. “Did you think you could waltz into our home uninvited? Sniff around at your own leger? Your kind has been tainted by those humans.”
Despite the hostility, the vayron-like creature smiled, baring her teeth. “But if it's exploration you want, then come. I have a job for you.” She turned and deftly climbed up the cavern wall, using footholds Somos couldn’t see and perched at the top. “It's the only way forward.”
“Nice,” Somos whispered to Frosty. ”You got us in trouble.”
He scoffed at Somos; trouble might as well be his middle name at this point.
He looked the creature over. So this was the vay lookalike he'd been pursuing. What an attitude, he thought haughtily as waves of cold blasted out of him in his irritation, "I don't associate with humans. I don't associate with anyone, present company included." Annoyed but fearful, he held the power back before he could lose himself in it. Again. "A job? Don't make me laugh" he scoffed again, "What's to stop us from simply finding our own way forward? We don't need a guide."
“Happy to be here too, friend.” Somos rolled his eyes but stayed back, happy to let Frosty take over negotiations.
Troall raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Surface dwellers think they can navigate these labyrinths by themselves? Don’t make me laugh. You can’t get to the other clans without a guide.” She paused, thinking to herself before she continued. “But by all means, I’d like to see you try.”
She turned and disappeared over the edge, her tail twitching in irritation. Somos suspected she didn’t go very far. “Well, that went well!” He exclaimed sarcastically. “We find our distant cousins who probably haven’t seen the sun in centuries and you give them a cold welcome, in their own home. You never cease to surprise me.”
“I’m not,” he replied, although he wasn’t so sure. Two years ago, he would have had some snarky come back for the other creature. Maybe even tried to outdo Frosty on who could be more of an asshole. A lot has happened since then. “I was on standby so that I can bail your ass out when you inevitably fail.”
Somos threw him a toothy grin and walked up to the crystalline wall, looking for anything that could help him up the incline.
"You're still insufferable. I see some things don't change." He joined the other vay near the wall. "Move aside. We have a 'cousin' to track down." Putting his paws up on the slippery rocks, shards of ice burst forth in a staggered pattern, creating makeshift stairs to the top. He jumped on the first one, claws firmly gripping the frozen step. "Don't slow me down." He said with a backward glance towards Somos before making his way upward.
“Showoff,” Somos muttered. A lot may have changed but his lack of magic persisted. He still hadn’t sparked and that ticked him off more than his short stature.
He clambered up the ice stairs, his claws gripping the smooth surface as best as he could so as to not fall off. The last thing he needed was to embarrass himself in front of Frosty.
The ledge opened up to the mouth of a tunnel. Dim crystals lined the corners and lit the way forward. Sure enough, their “guide” had been waiting for them at the top. She was gone now, leaving only her scent. Frosty was confidently striding into the tunnel.
“Do you have a plan?” Somos asked as he caught up. “Because, you don't look like you do.”
He didn't stop to answer, "Plans are for the weak. Why would I need one when I can handle whatever comes my way." He wasn't curious about these new fellows, per se, but rather interested in knowing what kind of threat they could pose.
He wasn't a tracker, but the stale air of long-closed caverns made identifying foreign smells especially easy. Following her trail along the twists and turns of this so-called labyrinth, he slowed when he heard voices ahead. "Sounds like we're about to have company," he said as he kept advancing.