《The Monsters Inside Me》Chapter 15 - Foundation
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=Calibro's Wraith=
"This...... this is bad."
I move my eyes from the paperwork in front of me to the young Wraith standing in the doorway. He fidgets nervously, shifting from foot to foot.
"Are you sure this report completely accurate?"
"Y-yes sir. I was there when the message was delivered via spirit walk."
"So let me get this right. They found and captured the anomaly, upon doing so they realized it was something more then a simple possession. They transported it in a cage reinforced with spiritual energy and got it all the way to the outpost on the Northern border of Reld and Eldor. Than......"
Oh gods how I hoped not talking about it would make it go away. Calibro feeling my turmoil continued what I'd stopped, forcing me to look at the truth.
"It made incapacitated every Wraith in the outpost in single move and made a Revenant that went on to kill three of the four Wraiths on the capture team before they or any Wraith in the outpost recovered enough to fight back."
Losing three Wraiths is always a problem, but that's not what's truly important.
Most of the time when someone dies their spirit decays along with the body, returning to the world as pure spiritual energy. Sometimes though, whether it be from powerful emotions or some spiritual intervention, they instead disconnects from the body and starts to wander around.
Without the protection of a Link or Body their very soul starts to warp. Twisting into something grotesque and horrible unrecognizable for what or who ever they used to be.
The grotesque abominations that come to mind for the common man are what happen when they try to possess a body. They force their way in, damaging the body and causing it to become unstable, hence their appearance.
The oldest ones can keep the body together and relatively normal, except for a few small details. Thankfully the process takes a very long time, limiting the amount of Revenants severely. Even the youngest Revenant capable of possession is thousands of cycles old, and the oldest?
Immeasurable.
*He made one......*
That single sentence sends chills of fear down my spine. He made a Revenant from a living human in seconds, a process that takes thousands of years to complete was done almost instantly.
"It needs to die Calibro. I don't know how fast it could make them, but even if it's just one a day....... at the very least it would be game changing."
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I turn my attention back to Wraith, signaling for him to write down orders.
"Send the following orders to the West Regional Leader Castus via Spirit Walk."
[Their is a highly dangerous anomaly within your region, last seen on the northern border outpost between Reld and Eldor. At your own discretion you are to capture or kill it. You are to cease and forbid any Spirit Walking within your territory as the Anomaly poses a danger to any doing so. Keep on the lookout for any area's with increased Revenant activity as it may be an indicator of it's presence. You cannot fail, theirs more than your job at stake.]
=Varith/Cor=
"........Did my crea-Cor give me a name?"
"No, not to my knowledge"
*Feeling a bit of Deja-vu here.*
It's been hour's since I'd learned how to keep my energy from leaking out. We'd maintained a steady silence the whole time, until now at least as the sun falls below the horizon.
"W-would you name me?"
"No, it'd better if you thought of one yourself. I'm sure you'd be able to think up a great name."
".....b-but....."
"But?"
"I-I want you to do it. "
"....... Why?"
"B-because it's you."
"But why? Why do you seem to trust me so much? Why are treating me like a friend? You woke up in my head with no memories of your own what so ever, Yet your not panicking not screaming not freaking out, nothing. So I'll ask again. Why?"
Her thoughts fall silent, staying that way for what seemed like hours. I wait patiently, this is a question she needs to answer. If she doesn't want to I'll make her. Thankfully it doesn't come to that.
"Because he told me to."
"Cor? Why trust him? He stuck you in someone's head without your permission, didn't even give you a proper body."
"........ because he's why I exist. Before him their was nothing. Nothing at all, and he gave me something. Asking only that I stay with you. So I will, I'll stay with you forever, I'll exist solely for you. So what if I don't have a body? I exist and have a reason to do so, I can think o no greater gift.........Plus, you feel like him a bit, like Cor."
For the first time I've talked to her, her voice is steady, showing none of it's usual weakness.
I don't know if I should laugh or sob.
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*For Varith!* I cry out silently.
*He wanted you to live for Varith, not me!* I try to stifle my thoughts, keeping my inner turmoil from surfacing.
*Should I tell her? Tell her that her reason for existence is as good as dead? That she failed to do what her savior asked of her? No, I have to even if she hates me, even if-*
*She leaves?* My thoughts grind to halt, unable to cope with the thought. Even if the thought that she could somehow leave me was irrational.
*Why? Why was the thought so unbearable. I'd been fine alone before she'd came! I've only known her for a couple of hours, most of them spent in silence, yet............*
*It terrifies me, the thought of being absolutely alone again..... I can't, I can't tell her, but I have to. She should know, she deser-*
"A-are you okay?" An interruption to my thoughts.
*I can't*
"..................."
"H-hey?"
*I can't*
"Hello?"
"Iszith"
"Wha-?"
"Iszith, that's your name. Happy now?"
She falls silent, but the warm glow I feel is answer enough.
*I can't*
=West Regional Leader Castus=
"Hmmmm, more than my job, huh."
Having delivered the message the spirit walking Wraith next to me blurred off into the distance, likely terrified that the Anomaly will attack him.
Winslo my spirit circled around me lazily, "Sounds important. Wonder what's got HQ so worried about it."
"I don't know but I'll guess we'll find out. It'll be a bit tougher to corner it without the speedy messages that spirit walking provides."
Winslo gave a shrug, or as close as he could get without a body, "An old fashioned hunt then."
I couldn't help but grin at the thought. I stand up from the table, happily sweeping the mountains of paperwork off of it.
"Fetz! Bring me a map!"
"Y-yes sir!" Sounds of rummaging start to emanate from the other room only to stop the next moment and be replaced by the quick tap of his feet on the wooden floor as he makes his way here.
Gently he lays the map on the empty table top spreading it out. I study it for a few minutes in silence, turning to Fetz when I'm done.
(http://www.royalroadl.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=16921)
"Relay these orders to the other three captains." I hand a sheet of paper to Fetz outlining the information and order's I'd just received. I give him a minute to read them over.
"I want Ortef to start moving his patrols further and further north from Reld's southern border, if the Anomalies still in Reld I want him out. Rehz and Talv are to only increase their patrols of the northern Eldor border and keep an eye out for anything strange."
"S-sir? What about me?" I eye Fetz warily. A bright boy, a genius compared to some of the oafs I've met, probably why he's been promoted so quickly but........
"Oh stop beating around the bush, the kids an ass when it comes to fighting."
"Yeah....."
I move, clapping my hands on his shoulder's. Dwarfing his already small frame with my gigantic body.
"I want you guarding the bridge to Bashaar, can't have that thing getting into such a valuable place." Not that'll try to, if it's on the run it'll likely go for the northern border of Eldor.
"......Yes sir." He seems to deflate a little, like I said he's not stupid, he realizes what I'm doing. I send him on his way.
"What about us?" Winston asks quizzically from behind me.
"We wait, react, and hope the damned messages get there in time."
"Alright and in the mean time......" He gestures to the paperwork scattered all over the floor.
"Urrrrgggg...."
=Varith/Cor=
"What's your name?" Iszith cuts the silence a second time, only minutes after the first.
"I....... I don't have one."
"................."
"Would you like me to name you?"
"No tha-" My gently refusal was cut short when I caught wind of her emotions. She really wants to do this.
"........Alright."
"Vicis."
Something inside me seemed to quiver, I like that name, I really liked it.
"That was fast, where did you get that from?"
"It just felt right........ D-do you not like it?"
"........No, I love it. Thank you." Again that warm glow.
*I can't shake this feeling though. It just feels so familiar......... so right. Well its just a name, I don't need to read into it so much.*
==
So! I want to ask something of you guys! So far really the main draw of my story is suppose to be the whole emotional and moral struggle going on here for Vicis as I'm sure you've all noticed. So I was wondering, how am I doing with it? are the emotional scenes to sudden? To short or drawn out long enough? I want your opinions! If their shit tell me! If you think I'm doing a good job with them tell me how I can improve further!
Love to hear any feedback whatsoever!
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