Legendseekers Catchup 3 - 4: Moonreach Support

I need to save Troia.

Even after being dismissed from the infirmary, even after saying their goodbyes to Queen Ryu, Oberon, Hush and Samson, it was the only thing Pantalaimon could think of when they returned to the knights barracks.

How is Troia doing?

It was the only thing Pantalaimon could think of as accepted their night black scout cloak from a Knight , with a line of newly graduated Scouts, Fighters, Menders and Healers behind them receiving their own. The xyns being knighted as Captains were receiving their last. Just as Queen Ryu said, there was absolutely no ceremony or fanfare.  Only lines of xyns preparing for war.

Is Troia alone?

Pantalaimon considered this question as they delivered supplies around Moonreach to support the xyns actively maintaining the barrier. Did she make it out alive with Pantalaimon's Ophistles and her Spearbie?

Is she scared?

Troia never showed fear in the face of danger. Would she ever show fear now, after everything they had seen?

Is she alive?

Pantalaimon couldn't bear to think of what would happen otherwise. They would lie on their bed, unable to sleep as this question haunted them.

What will I do without Troia?

It was a question that they could never answer.

———————————————

A few nights earlier, back in the Corrupted Lands... 

 Troia burst out of the tunnel and taken Pantalaimon's Ophistles, together with her Spearbie,  the corrupted moxyn and vexyn did too, their eyes crackling with that otherworldly, sickly energy that the villain bore.

Troia stood her ground and bristled her fur and feathers, arching her back and hissing to appear as threatening as she could possibly be in the moment. Her threat display needed to buy enough time for her to evaluate what to do next, and it worked for now; both corrupted xyns hesitated and pinned their ears back, visibly by the eyes flashing on her markings and feathers. 

But she heard the sound of several voices, strange, growl and snarl behind her. Troia's ears swiveled to pinpoint the sound of growling behind her. Several more corrupted xyns had crept up to her rear and her sides.

Troia was completely surrounded with no way out.

 Pantalaimon's Ophistles, Hermes and Mercury, huddled uneasily beneath her black Scout cloak.  Spearbie brought itself out to hover above her; but even this enchanted weapon, renowned for it's faithfulness and bravery, trembled ever so slightly from above. 

Without realizing it, Troia swallowed, and the sensation of something  cold slid down her throat and into her stomach. It felt like a ball of ice.

There was no hope of her winning against two corrupted xyns when they possessed those strange eyes, never mind a vexyn; she remembered how powerful the two corrupted xyns were when they cornered her and Pantalaimon in the outskirts of Pixiehome. And she remembered how much destruction the corrupted Vexyn caused back in Elysium Heights- she and Pantalaimon only defeated it by shoving it out from the sky, with no way of knowing if it even survived the fall.

She needed to run to safety and seek immediate refuge within these barren lands,  and plot her escape to try to make it back to civilization- to the Queens- to Pantalaimon- as soon as was humanly possible.

Troia dug her claws into the ashen, grainy soil. Her golden horns flared brilliantly with a dark aura with an intensity that made every corrupted xyn screech with rage. A pure black sphere of dark magic engulfed her in seconds, and it rapidly expanded to swallow every corrupted Xyn too within it...

———————————————

Back in Moonreach, in the present day...

Pantalaimon rang a bell on Athen's doorstep with their wing, holding a basket of moon energy supplies in their mouth. Their faerie halo  quivered on their horn in anticipation, and Pantalaimon tried to calm themself so that their Faerie would calm too. They had been sent to deliver supplies to knights that were currently out of service; many of them temporarily discharged from their positions from being too sick and weak to serve. Post-corruption xyns made up a good portion of these knights, too...

The door creaked open by a centimeter. One eye peered out from the darkness of the room, and upon seeing that it was Pantalaimon, the door swung open fully to reveal Athens himself.

The aftereffects of corruption that stained his face and body made it seem as if someone had spilled a bottle of tar or pitch on him. He averted his eyes, and pawed the wooden floor idly. 

"Hello," Athens said. He glanced, briefly, at Pantalaimon to await their response, and cast their gaze back to the floor again.

Pantalaimon's smile at Athens felt unnaturally tight. This was almost nothing like the proud, warm old Athens that they had once known. "Hi Athens! I was sent by the knights to bring some supplies for you," they mouthed through the wrapped wooden handle on their tongue, and to emphasize their point, their faerie halo fluttered around the goods within. "Want me to drop it off here?"

Athens hesitated, and shook her head. "No, please, step inside." She motioned for Pantalaimon to join her with a flick of her tail, and they walked in. Athen's home was never known for being the most organized- but at least she tried to make it comfortable and presentable, and clearly well-lived in. Now however: Stacks of tomes now littered the floor, scrolls and sheets of parchment laid strewn about, an. A mirror lay, forgotten, in a corner- undamaged with it's surface obscured by a thick layer of dust. Pantalaimon wondered if they'd ever want to use a mirror again if they survived corruption, too.

Athens walked past all of it unfazed, without blinking an eye, as if she didn't see any of the messes she had made. Pantalaimon acted as if they, too, didn't notice anything- but this change in Athens unnerved them deeply. What was it like for a xyn, post-corruption, to try to live normally again...?

The both of them arrived in Athen's kitchen, and she sat down on a cushion by the table, Pantalaimon gently placed their basket beside, and sat down on a cushion opposite of Athens, using their magic to bring out the provisions they brought for Athens and setting them one-by-one in front of her.

"So," they began to explain, "I brought you some bottles of raw moon energy, some dried moonflowers, butternuts, a few Sunburst flower seeds from the last Sunrise Celebration... sorry they're a bit old, I scrambled to pick up some of the nicest things I could for you from whatever was left in the knights pantry; we're running out, you know how things are these days. Oh, and you've also been trying to moonbathe too, right?"

They couldn't tell Athens that he clearly didn't look well from the lack of moon energy intake, in case if he took it the wrong way; on account of his post-corruption markings.

Athens managed a half-hearted smile and chuckled. "As best as I can. Thank you for everything you've brought." The glasses halo that he wore seemed dull and tarnished under the faint lamplight. "But that being said, Pantalaimon..."

"Yes, what is it?"

"I wanted to talk about Troia."

Oh.  Pantalaimon blinked. Were they in trouble...?

"Please go on, Athens."

"I was told you and Troia left for the Corrupted lands- but Troia didn't come back. Please, tell me everything that happened, from the beginning..."

"Alright then. It all started like this..." Pantalaimon sighed, sadly, and began to recount everything from the beginning to Athens...

———————————————

A few nights earlier in the Corrupted Lands...

The black sphere imploded on itself, erupting with rays of darkness; and for a moment everything in the immediate area turned pitch black.

When the dust settled, and what little moonlight was left  filtered, a circle of charred black ashes and smoke was left behind, and every corrupted xyn caught within it lay on the ground, incapacitated. 

Troia was nowhere to be found. 

One of the corrupted xyns slowly got up on it's legs and growled as it sniffed the air, groggily, to try and search for her. But there was nothing left of her or her companions. One by one, the corrupted xyns rose up, and ran off to try to search for Troia- if she was even there...

———————————————

Back in Moonreach, in the present day...

Pantalaimon finished their story to Athens. Their feathered ears drooped, and their tail laid, motionless, on their cushion. It had already been difficult enough to tell this to Queen Ruu and her trusted confidants, but telling all of this to Athens when Troia was his sister he was attached to...

"I see..." Athens said. She stared into space, contemplating everything that she was told- her stare was unusually blank, as if her corruption .

Pantalaimon shrugged. "I told the Queen that I've been hoping to try to find a way to save her. I think... I have an idea on how to get started... but I don't even know where to begin. How do you."

Athen's unicorn horn instinctively sparked with a flicker of magic. Her eyes turned up to look at the sparking tip of her horn. 

"Perhaps... I can still use my Astral magic to try and see what I can. I haven't been able to fully control my magic ever since being discharged from the infirmary for my corruption, but after you spoke to me about Troia... then..."

Athens shut her eyes tight and gritted her fangs, concentrating. 

In Athens' illusion, Troia, limping, walked alone. Both of Pantalaimon's Ophistles were trembling beneath her black cloak, and her Spearbie hovered just above her, rotating itself every so often to survey their surroundings.

Pantalaimon startled, and scrambled closer to the illusion, nearly tipping over Athen's table. "TROIA! She's alive here-"

Sweat beaded on Athen's brow as she knitted her brows in intense concentration to maintain her magical image. Troia seemed to pause, looking about frantically, before vanishing immediately from view with her magic. Right in front of her seemed to be a naturally occurring cavern, but the moment that Troia turned invisible, so did the cavern opening... 

The illusion began to flicker, and soon after Athen's horn faltered with it's magic- showing rapidly flashing images and sounds the sound of something clicking, and being unlocked- something glittering like chalk-  clovers of which they had never seen the likes of before- the high pitch of a song, the dial of an apparatus rapidly spinning in all directions- and it ended in halves of pure black and white swirling ever close together, until they merged to form a sheer grey fog through which nothing more could be seen.

The illusion faded away completely in a matter of seconds. 

Athens hunched forward, gasping for air. Pantalaimon rushed to his side, panicked. "Athens! Are you okay?!"

"... I can manage," she said, after a few moments of labored breathing. "I can't tell you if what we saw was the past, the present, or the future, or some other prophetic vision... with the ways corruption could have permanently altered my magic, I can't tell." 

She hung her head sadly. "... You said not even the Queen or her Astral-aligned xyns could see into the Corrupted Lands; perhaps its this recent type of corruption I once had that allows me to conjure these visions in that region. At least, just for now..."

Pantalaimon considered her words. "Thank you, Athens. I'll leave you to rest for now- you look exhausted."

They narrowed their eyes, resolutely. They were ever so slightly closer to knowing what to do now to save Troia- and to prepare for the worst...

———————————————

Back in the Corrupted Lands...

Troia, weakened and exhausted, crawled into the cavern opening, and reappeared into view. She laid onto the cool stone floor to rest for a moment, and both of Pantalaimon's Ophistled slithered out from under her cloak to lie beside her; Mercury seemed more comfortable not being jostled around constantly on Troia's back now, and Hermes seemed to appreciate not being tangled into a ball with Mercury. The stones on their cheeks glowed, and Troia felt some relief from her pain and exhuastion. Spearbie, who couldn't feel anything physically, hovered above all of them still, ever keeping watch like a weather vane changing direction to ensure they were safe inside.

The entrance to the cavern was hidden by her invisibility magic; she could only hope that the corrupted xyns that she had left behind wouldn't see this cavern through sight alone. The air throughout all of the Corrupted Lands was more acrid now with the ambient scent of Corruption mist than it ever had been; she had learned to breathe, carefully and slowly, to limit  intake so as not to damager her lungs. She hadn't detected the scent of an actively Corrupted xyn in here, and so she deemed it safe.

From this hiding spot, Troia had a limited amount of time to plot her escape before her pursuants would eventually find her- she would not last without the last moon's energy by hiding for too long. She knew instinctively that she was far enough from the villain's lair to be out of direct danger from him, yet, still far enough from the border to be anywhere close at all to Moonreach. 

Troia needed to make it to civilization, and so she tried weighing her options here; was Pixiehome a good option with it's rivers- but corrupted xyns had already crossed the river... Wingfeel had already been overtaken by corrupted xyns, but if there were any survivors left. Valorise was her safest option, and the least likely to succumb to being overtaken by corruption; but she had no way of knowing if she would survive making it through the Frosttouched Pines alone, especially because she could not fly...

But in the background, something flickered at the back of the cavern; Troia stalked over, cautiously; and she almost could not believe what she saw.

It was a dimensional rift, left open for some unknown amount of time. The fabric of reality at it's edged were frayed and smouldering with glowing embers, like a paper that had been lit with fire slowly eating away at it's edges.

Something tugged at her heart to enter it, and without thinking, she quietly stepped inside.

 The dimension that she stepped into was pitch black.

She finally reached the end of the path when she no longer could feel something solid under her claws. The dimensional rift that she entered from was now a pinpoint hole in the distance.

Something, massive, completely obscured by darkness, shifted quietly in front of her.

 Spearbie dove right in fromt of her, ready to transform upon command. Hermes and Mercury slithered to wrap themselves around the large shoulder feathers on her back, and their crystals glowed brightly; they understood here that there was no option to run to safety- they had to fight if they must. Troia was about to react, until the silhouette in front of her spoke.

"There's no need to fear me. I cannot harm you."

One gleaming eye in the distance slowly opened itself- then a second- and possibly, a third- and several star shaped markings glowed, subtly, with some latent power broiling beneath the surface.

Troia saw something around the shadowed figure glitter in the dull light- but from the way they were arranged, they weren't scales or horns.

It was a xyn, burly and unfathomably larger than many other vexyns she had seen before; bound and suspended by countless chains.

"Pleasure to meet you... I am Yang." It said.

Troia could only stare at the figure's numerous star-shaped markings along its body. The silhouette managed a gentle, restrained smile- one that Troia didn't understand how it made her feel.

"I have something to tell you that you must know," Yang continued. "Please, listen to me..."

———————————————

Back in Moonreach ...

Pantalaimon delivered their final round of provisions to numerous other xyns, next to Samson and Hush, supporting the barrier. Their visit with Athens had troubled them- Athens seemed determined to want to go with the rest of the Knights to fight in the Corrupted Lands once it was time - but they couldn't in good faith encourage him to go his current weakened state.

"Here you go," they said, and dropped the basket by a few Lullay menders. They gratefully took some of the bottled moon energy and provisions before returning to their posts, focusing their magic.

"Thank you, Pantalaimon," Hush said. "We need all the help we can get. Samson isn't in a good mood from briefly being taken away from the knight's headquarters to supervise the barrier support here, since Queen Ryu asked him to briefly, but I know he'd thank you too."

Samson, meanwhile, was busy ordering several Royal Knights a bit further away, pointing the direction in which they should patrol the city streets.

Pantalaimon laughed, briefly. "Don't mention it."

"Of course. That reminds me..." Hush thought. "Have you -"

But Hush was interrupted, when something brilliant glinted in the sky, diving towards Moonreach.

"IT'S A XYN!" One Mender cried. "LET THEM THROUGH!"

Some of the xyns maintaining the mearest section of the  barrier ran to each ofher, putting all of their heads in a circle and letting their horns touch and halos connect; an shining column of light poured upwards and straight through the barriear, temporarily opening a hole just large enough to let the xyn through.

The xyn collapsed their wings to their side and dove through; shooting through the hole in the barrier like a train through a tunnel and crash landed into the pavement below. The xyns casting the spell ceased, splitting up to run towards the stranger- together with Hush, Pantalaimon, Samson, and everyone else in the vicinity running in their direction. Even Oberon and Cavvy had run out from their stations to see the commotion. 

The smoke from the rubble cleared to reveal that it was a vexyn that crash landed in Moonreach; some parts of their body were white and night black in color. They righted themself upwards, standing on two dragon-like legs; their arms were connected to their wings, much like a wyvern's. Very few xyns present had ever seen this before in their lives, and they could only watch in awe as the figure shook themself off to clear their scales of dust. They stood, regal and proud, as they addressed the crowd before them.

"I am Yin." They raised their wings, and bowed their head.

"I come in peace from another dimension, and bear the blessing of being one of the Moonstricken. I am able to see our beloved moons up close with my Moongaze; please, take me to Queen Ryu, so that I may allow her to see the vision of my Moongaze at any of our moons just once. It will be the only time I can do so, before the war that you will wage in the Corrupted Lands..."

Some of the xyns in the crowd started to talk to each other, and Pantalaimon perked their ears up to eavesdrop.

"Do they have a few screws loose? Both of the Queens literally flew up to the moons themselves to try to talk to them- only to come back with nothing- even from Yanwei!"

"Yeah. What would being Moonstricken do differently than being the Queen of Lunerest, if she can take stroll in the park to look at our moons anyway?"

But the Queen's consultants seemed to think differently. Oberon, Samson, Cavvy and Hush muttered amongst each other, turning to Yin.

Oberon was the one to speak up. "You've come this far, and we're in a race against time to go to war. Fair enough; come with us. We welcome any assistance we can find. Perhaps, your Moongaze may help us learn something that our queens speaking to the moons cannot... and if your visions cannot show us anything, you might have wasted our time, but there'll be no harm done."

"Thank you." Yin turned to Pantalaimon; they couldn't help but stare in awe the sheer size of the Vexyn before them. "I was told that you had met with that villain in the Corrupted Lands before escaping with your life. You've seen what he can do... please come with me. You must see what I may be able to show you with my Moongaze; perhaps you can save your friend with this knowledge, too."

Pantalaimon blinked, stupefied. "Ah, sure, of course- I'll come." Their faerie halo fluttered close to Yin's face, as if it was curious, too, about the xyn that stood before them.

———————————————

Pantalaimon followed with Yin, Oberon and the others back to the royal castle to meet with Ryu.  Yin's bipedal stature and unnaturally large size was only accommodated for by the grand scale of the castle's ceilings and the width of its hallways; and perhaps it was the few place that could accommodate them fully in Moonreach, short of being in Valorise.

Shortly after arriving in the castle, they reached the doors just outside of the throne room, where Ryu would presumably be. Every xyn inside, frantically, paused to step aside respectfully so that Yin and the others could walk through

"Here's the throne room," said Oberon. "Your royal Highness may be in here, busy at work. She will most likely be receptive to seeing your Moongaze visions." He motioned for the guards to open the doors to let everyone in.

What would await Yin, Pantalaimon and the others in the castle...?