Chapter 172: Chapter 165 – Labyrinthian I

The chamber was well lit, just as she remembered it. Pillars capped with ever-burning braziers framed the path up to the sarcophagus. The space was clear of bodies, of course, Azrael had cleaned up after their encounter with the human hunters so long ago. The sarcophagus itself was still on its side, cracked and broken. There was a spot on the ground that had been blackened by some sort of powerful magic. The Tomb Guardian had stood there for thousands of years, she imagined, waiting. The door at the end of the chamber was still open, a portal leading out into the cavern and world above.

Teyva looked down at her feet and wiggled her toes within her boots and took a steadying breath. She’d been trying not to think about it as she stood there, wrestling with the sensations that pervaded every inch of her body. She was thankful for the party chat ability, she’d needed to hear Azrael's voice. It helped a little. She tried to put words to the sensation. It was like she’d let someone taller than her drive her car. Now that she was behind the steering wheel, the mirrors were set wrong and the controls were locked. She couldn’t pull the seat forward either and even the wheel itself was set at a weird angle. She blinked a few times, adjusting to the way light entered her eyes. She looked down at her hands and flexed her long fingers, her talons adding even more length.

“I guess you were kind of like training wheels, weren’t you, Rani?” She muttered, shifting her weight on her legs and trying to take a step. She managed well enough, only stumbling a little. She ran her fingers through her hair and felt her thumbs scrape across her long ears. She grimaced, feeling the tightness on her forehead from the glittering scales that had formed there over time. She was acutely aware of the faint pressure that the presence of her horns provided as well. All those sensations combined added up to a feeling of wrongness that pervaded her entire body muted only by months of experience living in it.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She felt the slits along her cheekbones twitch and shuddered. She wanted to clench her fists but the idea of daggering her own palms immediately occurred to her. Frustration boiled up again and she felt a scream coming on. She didn’t need this, not now, she had things to do. The rage from when she’d first awakened was still there, just stunted for now, bottled up. She needed to direct it the right way, lashing out at her surroundings in a tantrum would solve nothing. She took a deep breath and held out her hand, a faint glow forming around her fingertips that blossomed into a magic circle. The circle spun for a moment before slowing down, she felt resistance, “C’mon Nephral,” She murmured, “I need you now more than ever.”

The circle began to spin again and she sighed with relief. The circle of light condensed, collapsing in on itself until it took the shape of a ball of light. The ball grew until it had produced legs, a head, a tail, and wings. There was a flash and Nephral burst into being, the black-haired sphinx spreading his wings and leaping into the air. He flapped his wings once and flew a circle around Teyva’s head. He landed on a column nearby and peered down at her.

“I am furious with you, mother,” Nephral growled.

“I know, I didn’t have time to argue with you, I’m sorry Neph,” She said looking up into the creatures big yellow eyes. He returned her gaze stoically, his tail flicking left and right. She rubbed her arm, “I’m sorry for a lot of things. I’ve ignored you, let the tasks ahead of me draw away my attention. You’ve been hurting, haven’t you?”

“You haven’t said ‘dearie’ once,” Nephral noted, not answering her question, “You are free of Rani?”

“Rani will never hurt anyone ever again,” Teyva said, looking back at the sarcophagus, “Her soul is lost, even to the afterlife. I destroyed it.”

“Her punishment was too short,” Nephral growled and then his ears fell, his tail flopping down on the surface beneath him, “I have not been an ideal familiar to you, Mother. It is no leap of logic that you could not rely on me when the time came to face that witch. I am weak.”

Teyva tilted her head and smiled at him, “Now that’s a stupid thing to say. Very unlike you.”

The feline rallied and his fur rose, “Stupid?”

She stepped toward him awkwardly, her feet still feeling a bit wrong beneath her, “You know more about everything that I’ve ever known than I ever will,” She said, “You have been at my side since all of this began. You are my friend, my partner, my other half. I would not have survived any of this without you close by. You are more dear to me than you can possibly imagine,” She paused and grinned, “And you have a lot to take responsibility for.”

A flood of emotions passed over the sphinx’s feline face, his tail flicked and his ears rose, “Responsibility?” He asked.

“You kept saying things about spreading my name across the world, building kingdoms, after a while I started to believe you. I’m a Queen now, a Goddess to some, and as far as I can tell it’s all your fault,” Teyva said, wagging a finger at him, “You have a lot to answer for!”

“Me? But you did all those things!” Nephral countered.

“Not without you. Never without you,” Teyva said firmly, “Don’t you dare leave my side ever again. Do not keep your heart from me, little Sphinx, tell me when it aches from now on, got it?”

Nephral spread his wings and leaped across the gap between them, landing on her shoulders and curling around her, settling his tail around her neck. He buried his fuzzy face into her cheek and purred, “Only if you do the same, mother.”

She stroked his head and made her way slowly towards the exit of the tomb, “Fine, fine,” She teased. She stopped at the door and looked back at that place. She glanced at the epitaph written on the wall. The same words that were in her place of the soul. She shook her head and sighed, turning away from the place of her rebirth one last time. She started through the cavern, summoning up a darkeye to guide her. She mused quietly as they began to move up, ascending inclines until the scent of fresh air reached her. She glanced at Nephral, “Did I really say ‘dearie’ that much?”

“All the time, it came off as a bit condescending but I will admit after some time it became something of a signature for you,” Nephral said.

Teyva rubbed her chin as she walked, spotting a bit of sunlight up ahead, “You think I should try saying it anyway? Keep up the signature?”

“Please don’t, it would be terribly forced then,” Nephral grumbled.

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Teyva laughed and let out a sigh rubbing her face and trying to center herself. She drew in her mana and let the soothing feeling wash over her as the sunlight finally splashed against her face. She dismissed the Darkeye and stepped out into the clearing she and Azrael had slept in that first night. She glanced around, no traces were left of that night, all of it buried beneath a sheet of now. She looked up at the sun in the sky and took a deep breath. She needed help. “Great Deshan! Can you hear me?” She called out.

The trees rustled and the wind picked up, coiling in that empty space. At first nothing came and then Teyva felt a presence behind her, strong and vibrant. She turned and looked up at the top of the mount of rocks and moss that was the entrance to the cavern. The mighty wolf god looked down at her from his perch, his enormous eyes looking her up and down. “At last you return to my domain,” Great Deshan said, “A godling no longer, you have indeed ascended. The old man will be pleased to hear it,” He turned his eyes on Nephral and inclined his head.

“It’s good to see you too, great one,” Teyva said, “Really good. I need your help if you’re willing.”

“You need only ask, Mother of Monsters,” The mighty wolf rumbled.

“Can you take me to the Forest’s edge? I need to get to Osan as fast as possible. I could run but I imagine you are even faster, I can’t waste any more time,” Teyva pleaded, “My home is in danger.”

The great beast leaped from his perch and crouched, lowering his body closer to the ground. “Then climb up, Mother of Monsters. I will have to weave through the trees as I cannot fly.”

Teyva smirked, “I might be able to assist with that at least,” She said, hurrying to the titanic canine’s side and climbing onto his back. His fur was thick, soft, but hard like metal. It was a strange feeling beneath her fingers. The wolf rose to his feet and glanced back at her. She nodded, “Just start walking, I’ll take care of the rest,” She said and began to cast [Glasswalker].

Moments later they were in the air, the mighty wolf dashing across the magic platforms that Teyva was creating beneath his feet. The wind whipped past them, sending her white hair flapping about all over. Nephral clung to her for dear life, mewling irritably at the sudden rush of motion. Teyva glanced to her right, for the first time really appreciating why the forest was called a ‘Green Sea’. A veritable ocean of snow-capped trees stretched out in rolling waves for as far as she could see. Tireless hours passed, battered by freezing wind. Teyva used her word magic to warm Nephral as they traveled. Nephral’s presence recovering her mana as fast as she could expend it on [Glasswalker].

To her surprise, she heard Deshan’s voice call out to her nearly six hours into their crossing, “We should see the edge of the forest soon! I will have to leave you there, though, I dare not go into the domain of the Lord of the Open Skies!”

Teyva blinked, she tried to look up from her spot behind the safety of Deshan’s head and the wind battered her eyes. She leaned back down and shouted back to him, “I’ll take your word for it! Thank you for taking us this far!”

“Mother! Look!” Nephral called, turning his head to the left. Teyva turned and saw the Great Tree in the distance and something else. She felt her stomach hollow out as she took in the ruins of the Orcish settlement. She was relieved that they’d all escaped before the attack but it was still a terrible thing to see. She grit her teeth and pressed her head to the great beast’s fur, thanking him quietly for taking the orcs in. The roar of air around her continued for a few more hours, the sun having almost set before the great beast slowed.

“We have arrived,” Deshan called, leaping from the platforms and onto the ground at the edge of the forest.

Teyva lifted her head from Deshan’s fur and looked up, her breath catching in her throat. A vast expanse of silver and white stretched out beyond the horizon. All of the grains of the Wildlands had blossomed, their silver-ish interiors reflecting the light caught by the snow and causing them to glitter in the fading sunlight. Teyva slipped off of Deshan’s back and landed on her feet, staggering a little bit. She landed on her hands and knees, her hands hitting something hard beneath the snow. She blinked and started to dig it out only for Deshan to let out a mournful growl.

“I wouldn’t, young miss,”

Teyva ignored him and kept pushing snow aside until she wrapped her hands around the sheath of a Warden Blade. She felt her heart sink and looked up, casting her gaze over the snow. There had to be over a hundred small mounds in the snow. She closed her eyes and swallowed the rage again, sitting down on her legs and looking up at the sky.

“Deshan?” She asked.

“Yes, young miss?”

“Can I count on you and your wolves to give them proper burials?” Teyva asked, “Collect their swords for me too, so I can return them to their families when this is over.”

The wolf paused and then nodded, “If that is your wish, I will grant it.”

Teyva kept her eyes on the sky, the snow dancing over her tear-streaked face, “Thank you.”

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