Legendseekers Part 3: Whispers of the Corrupted
Ragna paced. It seemed she was doing that a lot lately.
The queens' faces were serious, contemplating. Rune was standing before them, having just finished their report. No one was saying anything.
It was driving Ragna insane.
Yuhi drew a deep breath, drawing all the attention towards her.
"My love", she said, turning towards Ryu. "Our objective is clear."
Ryu nodded, her long hair covering part of her pretty face. "We must remain in the city and strengthen our defenses against corruption. Our history must not be repeated."
Yuhi looked at her, startled. "No", she said, "I meant to say that we must send our troops to investigate in the Corrupted Lands. If the beasts are gathering there, the source of all our problems also must lie within its borders."
Ryu looked at her, her eyes stern, an expression so foreign on her usually gentle face that it made Ragna shiver.
"We cannot leave the city and our subjects unprotected. We haven't faced such a threat since ancient times, we are completely unprepared! We are overrun, more and more xyns fall to corruption by the day!" Ryu held her mate's gaze, communicating quietly. Yuhi shuddered, catching on without any words being spoken. Ragna wondered what the queens were not saying. She didn't have to wonder for long.
"If it continues like this", Yuhi whispered, finishing Ryu's argument, "Lunerest will fall."
Silence overcame the throne room. One could have heard a pin drop.
That's why they all jumped when the doors suddenly burst open and a knight trainee tumbled in.
"MY QUEENS!" They yelled. Ragna cringed, she couldn't surpress it. With their rank, they weren't even supposed to be here, let alone address their rulers in such a manner.
But it seemed they had no time for protocol, because Ryu simply nodded, prompting them to continue.
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When the door had closed behind the young trainee again, Ryu spoke up.
"A xyn?" she asked. "Among the corruption beasts? I do not remember anything like that."
Yuhi only shook her head, looking equally lost.
Ragna growled quietly. It seemed the bad news never stopped.
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At least the bad news had spurred everyone into action. Ragna could appreciate that. Anything was better than sitting around and waiting for their downfall.
Rune was standing beside her, all nervous energy. A small gathering of knights had joined them as well. The city couldn't really spare any of them, but the queens had agreed that Yuhi couldn't leave for the Corrupted Lands all on her lonesome.
Yuhi, still on the steps of the throne room, was talking quietly to Ryu, nuzzling in the soft hair of her mate, saying good-bye.
Ragna turned her head away, feeling uncomfortable with witnessing such an intimate moment between their rulers. Ryu and Yuhi had never hidden their affection for each other, but they also hadn't been prone to public displays of said affection. Their crisis had overthrown every unwritten rule Ragna had ever known, let alone the written ones. Not that she minded that the queens were more approachable these days. They were no longer just these god-like beings everyxyn regarded them as, they were also... just xyns. It was a small comfort for their subjects to have them walk among them.
Ragna snapped out of her thoughts when Yuhi joined them, eyes serious. Her three tails swished agigatedly. When she addressed the knights surrounding her, including Ragna and Rune, she did it as their equal.
"I can't promise that we all will return to our beloved city, my xyns", Yuhi said. "For this is a dangerous mission. But I have faith in your abilities, as I have faith in mine. We will look out for each other as we venture into the Corrupted Lands. Our people count on our success. The future of Lunerest depends on it."
Ragna felt the weight of that responsibility rest heavy on her shoulders and she swallowed, hard. She had waited for this, for a chance to proof herself, to show everyxyn what she was capable of. But now that this chance was upon her, it threatened to crush her.
Rune nudged gently into her side and Ragna startled, looking down. The moxyn was smiling up at her, knowingly, with a soft, almost-not-there upturn of her lips.
Ragna snorted. Of course the forest witch, of all xyns, would catch onto her mood and be all uplifting about it. As if she needed her help.
But she returned the nudge anyway, just a bit harder.
Previous prompt: "Ragna and Rune make their way through the castle to the Lullay Knight court. The pristine moonstone walls shine brightly as the two enter; there are golden talismans and other beautiful decorations hanging from the ceiling. There’s a large ring of Lullay Knights standing in a huge circle with many different runes etched into the floor. The Lullay Knights look tired and a bit haggard but Hush beckons to Ragna to enter the middle. Ragna runs to the middle and the Lullay Knights bow their heads; their horns lighting up synchronously. There’s a gentle hum in the room as the pale light begins to enshroud Ragna. It’s cold, frigid as the spell creeps across her body. The Lullay Knights begin chanting and slowly raise their heads; the light getting colder and brighter as their heads rise. Ragna feels herself holding her breath as the spell crescendos, sending waves of cold magic through her body. She pants a little bit as the knights finish, looking rather drained.
“The spell will guide you towards anything Oborn or Trellisa have touched.” Hush tells Ragna via telepathy, “Best wishes, my fellow knight.” Hush bows their head and heads out of the room to let the next knight know. Ragna and Rune decide it’s a bit late to venture out today but Ragna already feels the cool pull of the spell to the east of Lunerest.
The next day, the two xyns set out across Lunerest; it takes them a few days to make it to what the spell was leading Ragna to- the edge of the Corrupted Lands. Ragna wants to go in and destroy some corruption but Rune feels they should stay back. They stay and keep watch for a while and then they see it… a swarm of corruption beasts carrying something mystical that looks similar to the material of the shards they found before deep into the Corrupted Lands. Ragna wants to jump into action but Rune insists they go report this to the queens first. They head back to Moonreach to report on what they’ve found."
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Aw, is that BONDING I see?
I didn't run this past an online translator to proof-read. Lemme know if you spot any mistakes!
Btw, Basil is still in the castle gardens. He is safest in his little bird bath :'D.
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749 words
Submitted By Tav
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Submitted: 1 week ago ・
Last Updated: 6 days ago
