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"Patience, my friend. It arrives tomorrow, under heavy guard. Can't risk it falling into the wrong hands, now can we?"
I force myself to move away before they notice my eavesdropping. My mind races with possibilities. A Tear of the Thirteen, here in Rach? The power such an artifact could hold...
No. I shake my head, trying to dispel the dangerous thoughts. Getting involved with something like that would be suicide. I'm just a slave, powerless and trapped. Better to focus on surviving another day in this shithole.
But as I return to my post, hawking human lives like animals, the merchant's words echo in my head. A tiny spark of hope flickers to life, fragile but persistent.
Maybe, just maybe, this could be my chance at freedom. If I could just get my hands on one, I could bargain my way out of this.
3
KAIROS
Istand at the edge of Galmoleth, my home for centuries, and gaze down at the swirling clouds below. The pull I've felt for days grows stronger, an insistent tug at the core of my being. It's time.
My fingers trace intricate patterns in the air, weaving a complex tapestry of magical energy. Blue runes ignite across my obsidian skin, pulsing in sync with the spell. A shimmering dome of force encases me, its surface rippling like water.
"Here goes nothing," I mutter, taking a deep breath.
I step off the edge.
The wind howls around my protective barrier as I plummet through the electrical storm that perpetually shrouds Galmoleth. Lightning crackles and arcs, but my shield holds firm. The metallic flora of my home gives way to unfamiliar terrain below.
As I breach the cloud layer, Protheka's surface comes into view. My breath catches. It's more vibrant, more alive than I ever imagined. Lush forests stretch as far as the eye can see, broken by glittering rivers and towering mountain ranges.
I focus my will, channeling arcane energy through my body. The runes on my skin blaze brighter, and I feel the magic coalesce around me. In an instant, I'm no longer falling – I'm streaking towards the ground like a bolt of living lightning.
The world blurs around me as I descend at impossible speed. The air within my barrier crackles with ozone, and my hair stands on end from the raw power coursing through me. It's exhilarating and terrifying all at once.
I spot a clearing in the forest below and adjust my trajectory. The ground rushes up to meet me, and for a split second, I wonder if I've miscalculated. Then, at the last possible moment, I release a pulse of energy that slows my descent.
My feet touch down on Prothekan soil, sending up a small cloud of dust. The protective barrier dissipates, and I take my first breath of the planet's air. It's rich and heavy with unfamiliar scents – earth and vegetation so different from the metallic tang of Galmoleth.
I straighten up, my silver eyes wide as I take in my surroundings. Everything is new, strange, and utterly fascinating. The pull that brought me here thrums insistently, urging me onward.
"Well," I say to myself, a grin tugging at the corners of my mouth, "let's see what secrets you're hiding, Protheka."
I take a deep breath, letting the unfamiliar air fill my lungs. The magical energy here is... different. Vibrant. Raw. It hums through the earth beneath my feet, pulses in the air around me, and thrums in the very cells of my body. On Galmoleth, magic feels like an extension of me, but this is more free flowing, something teasing the chaos magic in my veins.
My runes flare in response, drinking in the energy greedily. I close my eyes, focusing on the sensations. The magic here doesn't just flow - it surges, ebbs, and swirls in complex patterns I've never encountered before. It's intoxicating.
I open my eyes, taking in the dense forest around me. The trees tower overhead, their canopies blocking out most of the sunlight. What little filters through casts dappled shadows on the forest floor. The vegetation is lush, almost oppressively so. Vines as thick as my arm snake up tree trunks, and ferns larger than any I've seen before carpet the ground.
A sound catches my attention - a low, rhythmic pulsing that seems to come from the earth itself. I kneel, placing my palm flat on the ground. The sensation is immediate and overwhelming. My magic courses through the soil like blood through veins, following paths and ley lines I can barely comprehend.
"Fascinating," I murmur, standing up and brushing dirt from my hands.
I reach out with my senses, probing the magical currents around me. There's something... off about this place. The energy feels tainted somehow, as if corrupted by some malevolent force. It leaves a bitter taste in the back of my throat.
A rustling in the underbrush snaps me back to alertness. I tense, ready for anything. The magical energy here is unpredictable - who knows what kind of creatures it might spawn?
I tense, my senses on high alert as the rustling in the underbrush grows louder. My runes pulse with anticipation, ready to channel magic at a moment's notice. Suddenly, a creature bursts from the foliage, all teeth and claws and matted fur.
It's unlike anything I've ever seen - a twisted amalgamation of beast and magic. Its body is that of a large feline, but its fur crackles with electricity, and two extra heads sprout from its shoulders, one reptilian and one avian. All six eyes lock onto me, glowing with an unnatural hunger.
"Well, aren't you an interesting specimen," I mutter, falling into a defensive stance.
The beast lets out a bone-chilling roar, and as if on cue, more creatures emerge from the shadows. A pair of worg-like beasts with bark for skin and leaves for fur. A serpent with scales that shimmer and change color like oil on water. And something that looks like it might have once been a likar, but now its flesh is translucent, revealing pulsing organs and bones that glow with an eerie light.
