Interlude 1 - Lomoy
, which had been made to obey, focused gaze upon the deceptively frail form of master's messenger. Air rhythmically flowed in and out of making a deep rasping sound, though had no need to breathe.
The messenger smiled knowingly before bowing deeply. A sign of respect, not lost on intelligence but meaningless nonetheless. had no emotion, no feeling. consciousness existed out of necessity for the world inhabited, an afterthought to the great and terrible formlessness of true nature. Whether or not the messenger showed respect to did not matter, only the will of master mattered. Thus did , through consciousness, await whatever command the messenger had brought.
A creature scuttled just beyond the hovel where resided. One of the creatures of this place, twisted and changed simply by being in the presence of physical manifestation. A desired and intended side effect of true nature. The creature cowered and sniveled beneath the boughs of a fallen tree, also watching the undisturbed and ever-patient messenger. The creature, in contrast to , had a consciousness, complete with feeling and will and hope because that's what it was; A soul, and despite manipulating effect on this world the will of its inhabitants was somehow inalienable.
"Oh great and mighty Manae, I greet you humbly." The messenger broke the silence with his typical prose and pomp, adding an extravagant curtsy. did not deign the performance with a response, for could not speak. Still, the messenger loitered awaiting one. After a few moments, he continued.
"Our master, as ever, wants of you. The guests he has brought into this world have shown varied degrees of success in the roles they were brought to play. One, which resides in your domain, has made fast allies with the local peoples. There is a fear that he will grow too comfortable and fail to fulfill their role's purpose and so the task has befallen you, Manae, to disrupt their course of action and force them to grow in ambition." The messenger's smile, usually calm and coy, grew into a charming grin. Behind it, a palpable manic energy danced.
still waited. The master's dealings were already known to it, nor did the nature of them matter. All it had need of was its purpose, granted to it by the master and told to it by the messenger.
"One important aspect I must convey to you, oh formless one made manifest, is that the one whom I mention must not expire. They must survive the spectacle of your appearance in order to fulfill their purpose. Now, I will convey to you the master's words in full." His head turned to glance over his shoulder at the quivering creature nestled among the leaves of the fallen tree. "Only, there must not be any eavesdroppers."
The creature jerked as the messenger lifted his finger, an unseen forcing gripping it tightly as the struggling for lifted into the air. With a light flick, the creature accelerated to immense speeds and flew straight out of the hovel. It shrieked in terror, its eyes affixed to the messenger as he waved his hand, drawing shut an impenetrable curtain of black around him and Manae.
Lomoy flew through the air, unable to turn to see if he was about to hit something. His heart raced as he braced himself for the pain of impact. One second passed, then two. Finally he slowed, coming to a gentle stop in the air. The force gripping him gently lowered him until he touched the ground, then dissipated entirely. He crumpled to the ground in a heap, his paws sticking up into the air. His melange dark grey coat collected the dirt and leaves on the ground as he righted himself.
The thick locks of fur were long like strokes of paint and otherwise well kempt. He shook himself off and stood on all fours, glancing around. He'd only gone in there after seeing that person appear out of nowhere and stroll right in. There wasn't any concern for the Forest Lord, they were an essential constant. They, or rather , was more of a force of nature. simply was. He wasn't even sure could be hurt, really.
No, Lomoy was worried the stranger was going to end up hurt or worse by strolling into the very private and very sacred home of the most powerful thing around. He and the others only ever went in there to attend to and receive the occasional instruction. It was a forced relationship, the consequences of ignoring which were… not great. Still, it wasn't too demanding and in return they got to live in relative peace. It was all the more reason to make sure the strange visitor did not do something that could cause him or the others trouble.
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But then they had used some kind of unseen force to not only remove him, but create that veil of darkness around them and the Forest Lord. He'd heard from some of the other Untouched that strange visitors did come to see the Forest Lord, though it was rare.
None of the folk really understood too much about what went on with the Forest Lord, nor did they have much desire to stick their noses into things that may have serious consequences. For most of them, it was better to keep their heads down and just keep on trying to survive.
But survival alone was boring for Lomoy. He began to wonder now as he walked back in the direction of his village, what do the visitors want with the Forest Lord? He couldn't believe it was just for a fun chat. And what sort of individual even wanders into the deepest parts of the UnLands and right into the very home of its keeper? Maybe they were an ancient species that created the UnLands and hide themselves away from the world, then go to visit their creations to make sure they keep functioning correctly. Or they were a secret cult that worshipped the UnLands and had earned some kind of favor or had some special way of keeping themselves protected from corruption.
Whatever it was didn't really matter to him, he mostly just liked to come up with cool and unique explanations for things. His imagination was his escape from the everyday mundanity of his current life. He briefly thought of putting his thoughts to paper, but abandoned the idea when he thought about how hard writing with paws would be. Instead, he'd settle for telling stories to those who'd listen around the fires at night. He'd been practicing for almost as long as he'd been part of the village and he'd gotten quite good at it. So good, in fact, that the village elders had made him responsible for communicating information through spoken word between the different groups within the Untouched. With his skills, there was never a misunderstood message or any particular phrasing that ruffled too many feathers. He helped to smooth things over and was responsible for public speeches and announcements.
His mind continued to wander between daydreams, stories, and his duties until he was close to the village. Telltale columns of smoke rose up before dissipating against the thick canopy of leaves high above.
The snap of twigs to his left caught his attention and his head turned to the source. He froze.
A lone Dark-Touched stared at him several paces away. It stood still, its oily black streaks of fur hung in the air as though in a thick liquid, slowly swaying about. It's red eyes, bare skinned muzzle, and ever-exposed fangs made for a gruesome visage that still sent shivers down his spine whenever he saw one. They were the personal servants of the Forest Lord. Untouched who had become too corrupted, or simply born already without wills of their own.
After overcoming his initial fright at its sudden appearance, he calmed down. The Dark-Touched never harmed the Untouched. In a way they were allies, they even came to the defense of the Untouched on the rare occasion when something threatened the village. Still, they were not to be crossed and they were definitely not friendly. They were almost machines, unfeeling and unthinking. Always working under orders from their master.
That was what caught his attention next. The Dark-Touched always worked in pairs, and yet this one was alone. He looked around for its other half but the other was nowhere to be seen. Had something happened, he wondered? Maybe it had gotten lost or injured, he supposed.
No, they had a sense for finding their partner and would not be lost for but a moment. Perhaps, then, they were working on a task right now? But what task would require the two to be separated?
The final realization stirred unease within him. It's partner was gone. Dead most likely, for if it had been captured this one would be preoccupied with freeing it. It was rare that a Dark-Touched died. Normally, they would flee before getting into that much trouble. It had to have been extremely unlucky or extremely outmatched for it to have perished. He hoped it wasn't the latter, lest whatever bested the beast came for the Untouched next.
But, that was the only answer that seemed to make sense. He continued to the village, warily passing the Dark-Touched who continued it's mindless staring. When one of a pair of Dark-Touched died, something seemed to break in the surviving member. No one really knew what happened to them either, since they would eventually disappear without a trace. Most speculated that they had been assigned a new partner, some said that the master absorbed their essence so that they could be made anew. No one had any evidence to support their imaginings though, and no one really cared enough to find out as there were much more important things to deal with day to day.
Lomoy shook off those feelings of unease and picked up his pace. That was two things now that barely ever happened, just in one morning! He'd planned to tell Elder Dzommuyd about the visitor, but now he had to report the strange Dark-Touched. The Elder would likely have patrols set up and a stricter curfew established for a week or two until someone could figure out what had done the beast in. He did not look forward to it, since it would mean less free time and more headaches since he would be the one sent to notify the other villages.
The first of many exasperated sighs escaped him as he prepared himself for a busy few days.
