Legendseekers Part 3: Whispers of the Corrupted

Troia lay in her childhood bed in her mother's noblexyn manor, motionless and silent. It was dark inside her room as she had always preferred it during times like these. The childhood toys she had kept well into her adulthood were strewn about on the floor, only faintly outlined by a sliver of light filtering out from the crack underneath her door. Though nobody could open her locked door, she knew her mother would eventually approach her from outside, and order her to open it up...

Troia could not stop thinking about the mysterious, shadowy figure that she had seen, surrounded by Corruption Beasts encircling them. Memories of the battle of Wingfell lanced through her head- her sibling Athens sending her off with the Moonsearch spell, the wails and howls of the Xyns that were left behind as they were cornered by the Corrupted they couldn't escape from.

She had taken Pantalaimon's tiny gift box to her room, and it lay in the corner of her bed. Despite the previous weeks events, it was still intact ever since Pantalaimon gave it to her, if not with a bit of torn wrapping paper. She opened it up, and with a colorful "poof!" the tiny gift popped out of the box and expanded in size to reveal Pantalaimon's present.

It was a Lunewyrm plushie. Troia had always kept Lunewyrms close to her heart.

She hugged the Lunewyrm plushie tighter to her chest, burying her cheek in it and drawing her ragged wings closer to shield her face, as if she was afraid anyxyn could see how vulnerable she felt in that moment.

It had been days since she returned to Moonreach reporting the news of the mysterious xyn to the rest of the Royal Knights. At the time, many of her colleagues believed her, even coming forward with similar sightings of such a figure- others were skeptical, believing that Troia had fled to save herself above staying back to save everyone else. Memories of her vexyn Captain Versailles being overwhelmed by corrupted xyns, Athens staying behind as she departed with the Moonsearch spell flashed into her mind again. Troia felt her fangs clench and her chest tremble, but kept her composure, and said nothing in return. She was sure that she knew exactly what she saw- it was of no use starting conflict within the ranks of the knights when everyxyn needed to stand united now more than ever. But if she and every other xyn that thought they saw this shadowy figure was wrong, then...

Once the queens were informed of what Troia and other xyns had seen of the shadow figure, it took quite some time for them to decide on the best course of action. It was days of arguing until they reached an agreement- Ryu staying back to protect the cities with the Lullay Knights, and Yuhi protecting the Royal Knights. Troia agreed to travel with a contingent of anyxyn within the Royal knights that answered to Yuhi's call. Preparations would take a few days for everyxyn to ready themselves so that none would be left behind.

She had needed to return to her manor to tell her mother and the rest of her noblexyn house of what was happening and what she planned to do next- she felt guilty that she somehow resented the fact that they wanted to keep tabs on her every move. Her mother said that she always had Troia's best interests at heart- amd family must be there for each other, at any cost, no matter how they made you feel...

A cuckoo clock rang in her dark bedroom, and a clockwork pwigi popped out to declare the time with several trills and a final tweet before shutting itself back in. Troia slowly lifted her head, glancing one last time at her pwigi plush and giving it a gentle nudge of her cheek before rising from her bed. Today she was expected to arrive in Moonreach to regroup with Yuhi and the Knights. They would depart in three days for the Corrupted Lands- not far from where she first met with her Captain before her promotion from Trainee to Royal Knight...

Having gathered her necessary belongings in a carrying case, Troia quietly opened her door. Her mother stood right before her, and Troia bowed her head reluctantly.

"Don't forget to tell me everything you know about that mysterious Xyn and the corruption beasts," said her mother. "I'm particularly interested. Not a soul must know that I've asked- not even Queen Yuhi. You've done so well, you can't fail me now."

"...I will." said Troia. Something started to feel lightly sick in her stomach, but she couldn't understand why. She had to remember her mother's best interests with her at heart after the passing of her corrupted father- she would be the one to keep the corrupted at bay from her family...

Troia's mother guided her to the door of the manor, and watched her fly away to Moonreach. The old xyn did not take her intense, burning gaze off of Troia until she was no longer seen at all. She smiled to herself- and anyxyn that could have seen it would have felt a sinking feeling in their throats from seeing the glint of her teeth...

Troia arrived in Moonreach once more. Pantalaimon had finally gotten in contact with her once she left her manor and responded to their telestone calls. He begged her to meet with him before she left- they had something very important to tell her.

She landed in a quiet street of the city where Pantalaimon anxiously awaited her.

"Troia! How I missed you!" Pantalaimon cried. They ran up to her and was about to hug her tightly, only to back off when Troia growled and rigidly shrugged them off. Pantalaimon backed away, hesitant- she seemed far more on edge than before, when she had sullenly accepted their first hug weeks ago.

"I'm sorry," Pantalaimon apologized, gently. "Do you want to talk about what happened while you were gone...?" 

Troia turned her head to the side to avoid Pantalaimon's direct gaze. "..." It took her a moment to think of what to say, before she slowly explained the events of the Corruption spreading in Wingfell, the losing battle the Royal Knights faced, and Athens sending her away with Moonsearch. It seemed difficult for her to work up the courage to describe what had happened- at times she didn't seem to recognize how her voice wavered despite her surface-level stoicism.

Pantalaimon nodded all the while, and their face creased with worry as she spoke. They also told her about the recent events- Spright's shop being burned to the ground by Corruption Beasts with the Xyn himself being found Corrupted near the Perilunal Plains, too. The situation was already increasingly desperate, but the loss of Spright's original shop together with almost losing Spright himself sent shockwaves through the populace that knew him.

Pantalaimon had interviewed Spright after he was brought back from his Corrupted state in the hopes that they could learn more about what had happened, but Spright seemed to have difficulty remembering anything that led up to and during the corruption itself. Spright could onyl recall in a haze that a dark figure stood over him before everything went dark- that was to be expected in most events of corruption, but was this different from all the other cases…?

Pantalaimon pursed their lips and knitted their brows in thought, putting a heart-shaped pawpad to their chin. "It might just be a hunch," they said, "Since both locations are so far apart, but there might be a connection with Spright being found near the Perilunal Plains, and the mysterious Xyn being located opposite of the continent in the Corrupted Lands…? It surely must be a coincidence, can it...?"

Troia only stood motionless as Pantalaimon spoke, and spoke after some time thinking. "We will find out soon enough." She turned to leave, but Pantalaimon bounded up to her side one last time. Any playfulness they once had dissipated- they were dead serious.

“Look… I know I’m not being paid to do this by the news agency, but can I come with you to the Corrupted Lands with Yufi? I know it’s dangerous, and that I can’t fight- but I need to see what’s going on for myself with my own eyes. Perhaps I could bring along some of my colleagues to broadcast what’s going on- if it helps anyxyn at all to see what this mysterious xyn looks like and unearth more clues.” Pantalaimon focused on Troia’s mask, trying to meet her gaze.

Troia almost blanched, but remained silent to their face. Bringing unauthorized personnel to the Queen’s rally, when everyone’s lives were at stake and they would be a liability? Had Pantalaimon gone mad? Yet with how dire the stakes were at this point, perhaps any help was of benefit than none at all… 

Troia sighed, every so slightly, and turned around. “Follow me,” she said. “If my Captain or any Captain approves, we’ll see....”

Pantalaimon nodded. “Right then! I’m with you!”

The both of them departed for the Royal Knight’s headquarters. 

—

When the both of them returned to the Royal Knights, several xyns- some eyes laid on Pantalaimon and Troia suspiciously, but a majority of them didn’t pay either any heed. The air around them was tence from urgency as numerous xyns rushed back and forth with heavy equipment and supplies for the journey ahead, others assembling into groups to march off for deployment soon after- to fight alongside one of the Queens themselves was not to be taken lightly at all and everyxyn here understood the gravity of the situation. The two xyns sprinted past the ordered chaos, taking care to exit into a stairwell that led to the Captain’s quarters. Troia needed to see if her captain Versailles was present at all- she knew the next one to contact if she wasn’t there...

Once the both of them arrived, Troia was shocked to see her captain Versailles greeting her. The grand Vexyn was clearly beaten bloody and badly injured- still, despite her injuries she stood proud and regal as she had always been. It was a miracle that she had not been Corrupted, much less remained alive at all since the battle of Wingfell. The star halo that hovered over Versailles’ heart shaped scale on her chest wavered slightly, and the trailing comets that encircled her back had slowed considerably in their movements. The warm glow of her lucky aura, normally radiant, had dulled from her injuries.

“How good to see you, Troia,” said Versailles. Her voice was warm and welcoming, but thoroughly exhausted. “I just arrived from Wingfell a few days ago. I’ll be leading the contingent of knights that you’re assigned to… I know I’m not in the best of conditions, but I need to ready myself soon- serving Queen Yuhi can wait for no-one.”

“Captain…!” Troia nearly exclaimed- but she kept her voice to a hush, and calmed any excitement that she could have felt. Versailles was clearly not in the best of conditions. Pantalaimon paused, glancing at the both of them, and bowed his head respectfully to Versailles.

“I hope you’re fine.  Do you know what happened to my sibling, Athens? She is… was… serving in the Lullay Knights during the battle of Wingfell.”

Versailles shook her head, slowly, and sadly. “I saw a corrupted Vexyn attacking her, before I lost sight of her. I swear that I saw her corrupted, but…” She turned her head to a window to look out at the starry sky, with a faraway look in her eyes. “My knights and I gave our all best to save those we could, but it wasn’t without losses with our own numbers being corrupted and turned against us. To my horror and the complete surprise of everyone still alive, the corrupted stopped attacking us all at once- and I swear, they all scattered and fled, leaving anyxyn uncorrupted alone. We could only stand there in silence, speechless. I wonder if the corrupted xyns themselves could have gone to the Corrupted Lands, or…”

She shook her head, and returned to look back at the two. “It was all I could do to secure any corrupted xyn that we could immediately save, rally ourselves, and bring our remaining troops back to Moonreach. We don’t have enough time to speculate if that shadowy figure with the corruption beasts was involved. But I digress- you came here for something before we leave, yes?”

Pantalaimon nodded, and proceeded to ask Versailles about accompanying the Queen and the Royal Knights to the corrupted lands. Versailles raised a brow and shook her head once more. “I can’t allow that,” she said, firmly. “Queen Yuhi refuses risk the lives of any civilians, as well intentioned as they are. Though… perhaps we might need your services here at Moonreach to broadcast information live to the public, should we see fit”

“Aww. Alright then,” said Pantalaimon- clearly a bit deflated that he couldn’t join in on the action. It wasn’t long until he perked up again. “I’ll see you around then! Don’t get corrupted and die on me, alright, Troia? Say hello to Queen Yuhi for me!”

Troia sighed- but it was an especially gentle one. It was the closest she ever got to a friendly reply or a smile when speaking to Pantalaimon. “Fine. I won’t.”

With that, Pantalaimon exited the Captain’s quarters, and Troia and Versailles prepared to leave for the Corrupted Lands. Troia did her best to appear, but hearing about the unknown fate of Athens troubled her deeply- the likelihood of corruption and any likelihood of survival further still seeming further away than ever was something she shouldn’t be thinking on now. If Athens had been corrupted, would she, too, be drawn to the Corrupted Lands to this mysterious figure…?

—

Together with Yuhi, Troia and Versailles, along with every other Royal Knight that accompanied them, arrived at the Corrupted Lands. Everyxyn settled in at the edge of the lands themselves. Something felt distinctly wrong with the air here- not just because of the lack of magic, but from something else that Troia couldn’t quite describe…

Yuhi stood at the forefront of the group, motioning to everyxyn to follow her lead. Captains and their respective knights would fan out into the Corrupted Lands to search for the mysterious xyn, circling the perimeter of the area until the mysterious figure was located.  from there, Yuhi would give further commands on what to do next- charging and attacking would be a last resort if the mystery figure refused to speak with her first…

Versailles and her group crept out forth through the dry thickets of deadened grasses, taking care to blend in as carefully as they could the further they pushed into the deadlands. The night air only seemed to turn colder, and colder, as they pressed inwards, and Troia. She thought she saw a flash of black before her, but it vanished as fast as it came. The same feeling that she felt in her heart when she used Athen’s Moonsearch spell tugged her towards some unknown direction in the plains. She pressed her ears to her head and silently shifted to her Spirit Walker form, barely visible to anyone, and crept forward… would it even be possible to see Athens here…?

What do Troia and Versailles see within the Corrupted Lands?