warpweft | [popdrop] H4: Vermillion and Hospitality

[The first thing you notice is how dark it is. It’s really, really stinkin’ dark. You can’t see anything. Even if you naturally have the ability to see in the dark, well, not anymore. Which may be the second thing you notice - any powers you have, any magic is gone. Silenced. You can’t feel it, similarly to when you’re in the theme park, with an additional sense of anxiety and loss surrounding the inability to tap into it. Even a heightened sense of emotion won’t bring them back, like it might in the theme park. If you have other powers of some kind, enhanced physical capabilities or the like, they’re either gone or significantly reduced as well. You feel extremely normal and it doesn’t feel good.]

[Whether you stay still or stumble along in the dark, at least it’s not too long. You eventually catch notice of something illuminating the darkness. You find yourself drawn to it. It's a small spherical glass object. Near the edges, it's black, but bits of purple and violet appear, gradually brightening and swirling together in a spiral shape at the center. The spiral at the center is bright enough to bathe you and the surroundings in a soft violet light. As you get closer, you can feel voices coming from the sphere. You can’t tell what they’re saying, but maybe if you were closer. You feel a deep desire in your stomach to just…reach out….]

What are you doing?

[The voice, a woman’s voice, comes from behind you. You didn’t hear anybody approaching, but you’re immediately filled with an intense sense of foreboding. You turn and look, but you can’t see anything. The darkness is once again overpowering, the violet glow from the object next to you being the only thing that isn’t swallowed up by it. All you can make out in the darkness is what may be someone’s face and…two eyes. With nothing in them. Pitch-black.]

You touched the Heart…

You touched MY Heart!?

[There’s a lot of anger and it’s not making that sense of foreboding go away. The darkness and the person(?) inside it advance towards you, slowly engulfing the violet glow around you. Just when you’re thinking you’re gonna have to decide between fight or flight, here — something moves.

Towards you.

You feel something punch into your chest and before you know it, you’re on the ground, searing pain running through your upper body. A few things briefly pass through your senses. You hear a loud scream. If you tilt your head up, you can see a long black spike…embedded in your own chest. And you can taste… …yup. That’s your own blood.

That’s about as far as you get before consciousness leaves you.]

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[Her eyes flash green in the light as her attention latches onto this newcomer like a venomous snake. The hairs on her neck are standing on end, heart still pounding, adrenaline pumping through her veins even as the pain recedes.]

[Her uncovered chest is almost boyishly shapeless, with nothing much of interest to see beyond this strange new sphere. She curls her fingertips over it, and even though it's apparently a part of her body now, she's unwilling to pull her attention away from the stranger to investigate it further.]

[She stares, unblinking, her voice like a hiss.]

Who are you?

'I am Cornelius. I am known to some humans as an Umbral, a being from the Void. I am the guardian of this place.'

[she tightens her fingers around her new chest orb]

And what place is this? What are you doing to me?

'The object you saw before is known as the Voidheart. It’s a very potent piece of magic that connects my realm, the Void, to other realms. After you were attacked, I created a facsimile of it to resuscitate you. It’s not as strong as the real thing. But it can do what it needs to…for now, at least.'

'This particular place is called the Spiraling Sea. In a more general sense… … …'

‘I know her by her true name. You know her as ‘Hex’. This is her Heart. And I am its guardian.'

What do you mean, "her Heart"?

'Her spirit. Her soul. A manifestation of her thoughts, her memories, her feelings and hopes.'

'I take it from your ignorance of the concept, you do not know why you are here, either. Thus I am forced to assume this is the latest trick of the Fae.'

Who attacked me, then?

'Lillith. One of the more violent denizens of this place.'

'That she did this to you is...concerning. It means things have gotten worse than I thought.'

What do you mean?

'I have not been able to speak to her for some time now. This place suffocates her magic, including our ability to communicate with one another and that has…frayed her. In a way that I have not been able to help with.'

[He lets out a noise that could be a sigh, a few bubbles of Void floating off of his head and shoulders in what could be exasperation. The bubbles pop a few seconds after leaving his body.]

'I’m not terribly excited by the prospect of you freely exploring this place. The things you do here will have consequences. It could be dangerous for her. And it has already proven to be dangerous for you.'

'But. Perhaps you can help her where I am unable.'

Help her how?

’If we reach the True Heart, then we may be able to fix, or at least temper the sources of her anxiety and turmoil. But the way there is obscured. Particularly with… ...Lillith, making matters worse.’

’Explore the Heart, find Hex’s treasures, the things most important to her. It should reveal the path to the True Heart.’

...

[Finally starting to relax (incrementally. let's not get ahead of ourselves.) Now that the pain seems to be diminishing, she reaches out for her shirt that's floating beside her and starts putting it back on, still keeping a close eye on Cornelius.]

Who are you to Hex?

[He answers quickly and succinctly.]

'As I said, I am her guardian.'

'I am also her best friend.'

[............ can't relate to what it means to have either of those things.]

I see.

[She doesn't see.]

Then who is Lilith?

'She is Hex's grandmother. She considers the Voidheart to belong to her and her alone. Thus, she attacked you when you got close to it.'

Ah. Well, that part makes sense, at least.

[She looks around again, getting her bearings and starting to collect some thoughts about where to go from here.

She looks back to Cornelius.]

So, the Void. That's Hex's field of study, correct? I'm afraid I don't know much about it.

'The Void is the realm I come from. It is is a realm of darkness that exists as a layer between dimensions, keeping them separate.'

'And, yes, Hex considers it her life's work to further human understanding of the Void.'

[popdrop] H4: Vermillion and Hospitality

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