Hourglass

Coaxing herself from the depths of her sleep, Avea's eyes drifted to the ornate ceiling of the majesty castle, watching the golden flecks shimmer faintly with the breaking of first light. Laying staring up at the intricately detailed ceiling, faintly recalling the events of last night, like it were a distant dream. Each figment fluttering across her memory, only to dissipate like smoke as she tried to grasp them her conscious mind.

Concentrating she tunnelled through her memories, trekking through the Umbratus dunes with Neomon ... to the strange cave. Suddenly the crone's face flashed through her mind with such vivid detail that Avea shot up from the bed, her eyes so wide that she could feel the strain against her eyelids, as it all came flooding back to her. The memories tore through her mind with a vengeance. She remembered, the violence in the crone's smile, as she'd used her staff to trace a circle around the two unsuspecting claimed. The rattling of the shadow serpents scales, that grew more vigorous and bloodthirsty with every lie. The violet flare in Neomon's eyes, breaking the circle and falling to his knees in anguish. A game of truths that had cut deeper than any blade, for with every shameful secret they'd confessed it had been traded for a painful truth.

The dread gripped her body so tightly, Avea was paralysed as she willed her limbs to move. Yet the memory of crone's face flooded through her mind in startling clarity, as she'd recounted the chilling tale of the Noctrya's banishment. They'd learned the truth of the rotting festering corruption deep within the courts of the Umbratus moon, all to cover up a secret so horrifying they were purging an entire faction of Umbraki.

The Noctrya, the star seers. The only ones who could heal the tears, were being hunted down and banished to the veil. Once tasked by the ancients to guide the uri through the astral plane were now marked as parasites sent from the veil to destroy their beloved moon. However, they'd learned last night that it was Morpheus's wraiths who were responsible for the tears appearing along the dunes, drawing that veil closer to devouring the realm. Symphoning a dark force from beyond to infect the Umbratus essence. A cruel lie that had been carefully stitched seam by seam to form the false reality of the realm, but there was a loose thread.

The Astrolis.

A record of every bargain struck within the Octave, for the stars saw everything and no one could hide their secrets. Not even Morpheus. Locked away in a library, buried deep within the void of the veil. The crone's final act of revenge to the galad who'd exiled her to the dunes. She'd told Neomon and Avea to find the book and expose Morpheus's deceit to the Umbraki before their moon was lost forever. The heartbreak on the crone's face had curdled into something truly sinister at the mention of Morpheus's name. Trapped alone in her cave feeding on nothing except her hatred for the galad, it was like she'd swallowed all the darkness around her until she had become an abyss herself. Avea couldn't unsee Neomon's face as the truth was revealed to him, the devastation that ripped through him sending him to his knees. All he could do was hang his head while his shadows covered him, making him more shadow than man as his shame slowly consumed him.

The disgust recoiled through Avea's stomach, as she thought of the heinous lies spewed by Morpheus, like poison dripping from a serpent's fangs. All to cover up whatever lies he thought were buried in veil. On their journey back from the caves, her and Neomon made an agreement that they would be allies in their quest to find the Astrolis. Nothing had changed for Avea, she still needed to find the piece of the codex to bargain for her mothers freedom, and the Astrolis was the only artifact that could reveal the truth. Neomon would find the evidence of Morpheus's deceit and expose his lies to the Umbraki courts. Once they each had what they needed they would rejoin the rest of the galad and their truce would end.

Avea moved swiftly across the room, dressing herself methodically in her garments. Hiding her blades covertly within her layers, feeling that familiar cool press of the side of her knives. The swathes that she wrapped herself in were the deepest cerulean blue, and the accents of silver armour fastened everything together.Every piece a marvel of artistry that was perfectly fitted to her measurements, as her eyes roamed over the detailing on every cuff and plate as it fastened onto her body. Her mother's moonstone tucked into the garments, hidden from sight, but nonetheless glistened with inner vitality against her chest.

The crone had explained that the veil was layered, a dark manifestation of the abyss. There was the Null, the Void and then there was Oblivion. The Obscurus library was buried in the void, and by no means were they to venture beyond. Somehow Neomon and herself had to find the Obscurus library without the rest of the galad suspecting them, and then rejoin them to open the gateway that would allow the uri to descend. Pulling off this feat was not going to be easy, especially since she was certain Lazarous already suspected that her and Neomon were already up to something.

All of the compounding thoughts were pressing against Avea's temple, it was only when she thought her skull might split in half from the excruciating pressure did she notice something out of the corner of her eye.Towards the arched double doorway embellished with gold, that shimmered like it could feel her attention on it. Avea's feet were light against the floors, as she stalked across the wide expanse of her room. There was a scroll of parchment that had appeared without explanation sometime during the night. Delivered by unseen hands, it had been slipped through the crack in the doors.

The parchment in her hands was light, its creases delicate. As she unfurled it there was a layer of sand coating it, confused Avea blew on the parchment. The grains of sand lifted into the air, as if her soft breath were a gust of wind. Swirling and falling into strange gold lines that rearranged themselves on the parchment, "a map," Avea let out a breathless laugh. There on the parchment were the directions to the secret meeting point inside the majesty castle.

The double doors swung open, in an enthusiastic invitation. Avea walked out, her eyes fixed on the shifting lines that appeared and vanished at their own will, leading her through the curving and arching walkways that dipped and turned without warning. However, as she moved through the majesty castle the smooth curvature and wide archways of the castle walls began to dissolve away. Leaving only the long narrow stretch of the walkways that grew darker with every step, with the bright hues fading from a soft amethyst to an depthless black. Until there was only her breath, heartbeat, and cool, familiar press of her blades beneath her layers, their flat edges a quiet reminder that she was not entirely defenseless.

The gold lines on the map did not falter, leading her through another turn where there were narrow openings that lined down the walkway, the majesty castles loggia. Avea couldn't help, but breathe a sigh of relief as the slivers of first light pooled into the walkway. Although strange and slightly haunting, she passed all of the lancet openings in perfect alignment, whatever natural force had slowly worn away all the jagged and sharp edges of the majesty castle over time had decidedly left this cold isolated section alone, where the lightness and openness had been symphoned away. All the sharp edges pointed outwards like knives, poised for the kill. Still she was grateful for whatever remnants of light remained in this stifling walkway, as she followed her map to the giant pointed opening standing proudly above all the others, protruding outwards so that she could feel the faint breeze against her face.

The map held firmly in her hands, Avea stared out at the Umbratus realm below, the spiralling minarets of the inner court, the open courtyards, twisting alleys, the spherical huts scattered in the outer dunes. Most notably she could see the Umbratus moon inching closer to its zenith. The shifting lines on the parchment suddenly stilled, signalling that it had found its meeting point. She turned away from the moon, ignoring the way its radiant light pooled at her feet. Her eyes lifted only to find a smooth wall of obsidian, solidified into an intimidating barrier. Instinctively she pressed her hand against the barrier to find it cold and unmoving, mocking her as it stood.

 How could that be? she thought, as she stared down at the parchment only to see the golden lines on the map dissolve back into sand, slipping off the parchment with ease. Horrified, Avea turned over the parchment ... then again. "Wha...?" the only thing left was this impenetrable obsidian wall. Its very presence clearly intended to vex her. She couldn't find the entry, couldn't sense the secret passage that would lead her through it. The frustration welled up inside her, the scream pressing against her lungs like a dam about to break. She threw her arms up, "OPEN SESAME," the sand barrier remained unflinching. Her cheeks stained crimson, but was glad that no one was there to witness that pathetic attempt. The blank parchment remained in her hands, Avea turned as the moon inched closer to its zenith. Suddenly everything narrowed down, as the moon reached the peak of the archway. Condensing into a single streak of pure undiluted moonlight, it shone outwards as though it were reaching for the barrier, but was too far away. The walkway glowed in a haunting light, as if to say now's your chance.

Staring down at the parchment, unable to ignore her hunch, Avea held it directly up to the light, allowing it to shine through. Swallowing a gasp when the delicate edges of the parchment began to disintegrate, still she held it to the moonlight. Avea inhaled a shaky breath, as the parchment transformed into a piece of glass with peculiar mark etched into the middle, projecting right into the center of the obsidian barrier. The moonlight itself branding its mark into the obsidian barrier, the mark glowed brightly swirling outwards into a magnificent motif to reveal a door. "Nice trick" Avea muttered as the glass key evaporated. She didn't know how long the door would stay, so she grabbed the door handle and twisting it open. Her footsteps echoed walking into the room that looked like a hollowed out stone. The confined space was almost tomblike and instantly stifling, she could sense the oppressive silence before she saw the seven claimed crane their necks towards her. Bemused smirks carved into their faces, obviously they'd heard her outside the door. "Open sesame?" Kamari scoffed, Avea's cheek flushed, as the snickering reverberated through the obsidian walls. Opening her mouth to retort, but her eyes landed on the artifact they were all tentatively standing around.

The words on Avea's tongue died, as she beheld the ominous artifact, none of the claimed dared to stand close to, for fear of whatever unseen dark energy permeated from it. The structure defied gravity itself, with no sort of logic to its design. Four orbs of sand mounted on top of one another, growing smaller as they descended. The spherical vials orbited around each other with slow deliberate movements, like lovers locked in a dance. Avea watching with intrigue, as a singular grain of sand floated upwards from the smallest to the largest vial."What is it?" Avea asked, her stance was wary but her entire body leaned towards it, unable to restrain her own curiosity. All of the claimed followed her movement with a scrutinous glint in their eyes. "It's some sort of hourglass" Tofa replied, her jade eyes scoured over it as though she were disassembling it in her mind. Avea had figured as much, "none of us know what it's measuring" Tofa said, immediately predicting Avea's next question. "Perhaps its connected to the gateway?" Thessian spoke, his voice slightly strained as if unsure of whether to speak the thought out loud.

The darkness rippling from the hourglass was a malignant whisper that caressed Avea's ears. A shiver passed through her, as her heart skipped with every speck of grain that rose landing so delicately inside the largest orb. What game was Morpheus playing? The tension in the room could've been cut, with any of the blades that the claimed had hidden beneath their layers. "I'm sure one of us knows what it's for and is choosing to withhold" Yume's flittering voice glided across the small space, the accusation ringing in her tone. Avea followed her line of sight to Neomon who was leaning against the obsidian stone, meeting Yume's pointed stare with a bored expression. She hadn't spoken to Neomon since last night, but there he was leaning against the stone wall, his body loose and his eyes lazily observing everything. He only gave a shrug, "like I said I've never seen it before." If he was still visibly shaken from last night he didn't reveal anything, just seemed like his usual aloof self.

It was strange to see Neomon, especially now that she knew the truth. Neomon was a Noctrya seer.

 Not an astral parasite sent from beyond the veil, but blessed by the ancients themselves as a star seer. Avea couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed by Neomon's response, she'd thought that after last nights revelation he would be more inclined to expose the deceitful lies of his moon."It's the veil" Lazarus said, Avea's neck snapped back to the hourglass, to the three larger orbs...the Null ... the Void ... and the Oblivion. The fourth ... the umbratus realm. The dread was like a stone sinking to the pit of her stomach. "How long the Umbratus had left before the veil consumes the moon" Tofa said, her words echoed in the space. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Neomon's shadows had gone deathly still, his onyx eyes a depthless black making it impossible to tell where emotion ended and shadows began, as he watched the specks of sand float up the hourglass vials. Just before any of them could respond, a chill swept through the space, it nipped at Avea's skin and seeped into her bones. The claimed around her noticed it too, out of the corner of her eye she could see the glint of Lazarus's blade, could sense Kamari reaching for her weapon. Shadows spilled from the dark crevices of the obsidian tomb, creeping along the ground towards the claimed who had all now reached for their weapons, as the shadows bled together, merging into flesh and bones.

Into Morpheus, the galad of the Umbratus moon. Covered in cascading black fabric coiling around his body like a living breathing shadow, leaving his flesh unseen by the naked eye, while golden adornments hung from his horns like a melted crown. However, Morpheus's face had grown pale and his eyes sunken. The regal presence that he'd carried throughout the celebrations the night before had now become timid, even meek without the cries of adoration to coat him. There was a tightness in his stance, and he too stood far from the hourglass. The rest of the claimed noticed the change in Morpheus's demeanor too, without his wraiths surrounding him. No longer able to strike fear without his little shadows to do his dirty work. Avea could feel her rage simmering at the sight of him ... all the lies he had buried and all the blood on his hands.

A coward posing as a king.

"I see that you all found the meeting point just fine," Morpheus drawled, dismissing the suffocating tension while his sunken eyes surveilled each claimed up and down the same way a general would size up a soldier on a battlefield. Until his eyes landed on Avea, his lips curled in disgust. "As you can see the Oblivia reveals we do not have much time left, for every grain that falls is another inch that the veil takes from our beloved moon." As they'd suspected, still the claimed remained silent, no one daring to interrupt. "You will venture into the veil and open the gateway," White hot anger burned through her veins, blinding her vision. She glanced over to Neomon, seeing that he too could barely restrain his cool rage. The truth ... that was what she came for and she was going to find it.

 "Let the first trial commence," Morpheus's words rang loud and clear.

 The journey from the majesty castle to the looming veil in the far off dunes was a daze, passing through the the tight packed masses of the Umbraki crowds. Atop her zorah, staring down at the hopeful tear streaked faces, while they threw offerings to the claimed's feet like god's being worshipped at the altar. Morpheus relished in lavish display of affection, clearly having regained some of his pretentious arrogance, as he strode ahead on his own Zorah. Avea couldn't look down at the faces she passed, ignored the hands that reached out to her and the offerings that were left at her feet. Unable to think of them as anything more than flowers left at a grave. The crone's words kept playing in her head, until it became an incessant pounding.

 The one with the truth seeker mind will find the Astrolis.

 The sight of the veil became more and more frightening, the closer they approached. The Umbraki crowds had cheered loudly for them, as they'd ventured out of the realm, but none had followed to the outer dunes. None daring to get close to the monstrous shadow that lurked beyond, and Avea couldn't blame them feeling her own throat close up at the sight of it. The sheer size of it from a distance had been frightening, a grave danger looming but far enough away to not feel the paralyzing grip that made it impossible to look away. No one spoke, all that could be heard were the Zorah's low whines that grew more restless with every step forward.  "You're alright ... it's alright," Avea tried to sooth her critter, stroking its side in a calming rhythm. She couldn't say if those words of comfort were for her or for her Zorah critter, who was shaking so violently beneath its thick coat of fur, as the heavy silence rippled from the veil, drawing Avea's gaze further into its endless depths.

Even the claimed were growing skittish, Avea watched as Yume clutched her reigns tighter and Seeger's gills fluttered anxiously. She knew that they were right to be afraid of whatever lurked behind this living shadow. Suddenly there was a loud thud, "come back ... where are you going?!" Tofa cried out to her Zorah, clearly one of the youngest in the herd, who'd in a fit of panic curled itself into a tight scaled ball, and scurried away beneath the sand.

The rest of the Zorah followed suit, forcing the claimed off before curling into their tight balls and chasing after their youngest Zorah. The sounds of frantic clicking grew fainter as they rolled away from the ominous veil. Leaving the eight claimed and Morpheus alone. They dusted themselves off as they lined up before the veil. Face to face with the enemy. "Step forward" Morpheus's words rang out, Avea's shuddered at the haunting tone. The executioner about the give the final order as they stepped to the gallows. His long face had grown cold, and as he spoke the words were lifeless like he were a husk. His stance weaker, as his shadows coiled around his seemingly limpish frame, holding him upright. The claimed couldn't take their eyes off of the veil, not even as the wisps of shadow reached out towards them, brushing against their faces in a tantalizing caress.

"Fulfill your sworn duty, as the claimed. Open the Umbratus gateway and conquer the veil." His declaration was met with solemn silence. Every one of the claimed refusing to meet the Umbratus galad's stare. "Take the step beyond," it was only then that the lifeless voice broke slightly ... and those dark eyes flared with panic. "Beware the veil." He gasped, being released of whatever had taken hold of him. The shadows seized him before he could finish, vanishing into the darkness. The veil didn't wait either, Avea swore she could see another grain rise in the hourglass, drifting upwards as the veil took another inch of the Umbratus moon.

 Snatching eight bodies with it.