Hydra translator: https://lingojam.com/ZalgoText
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::Well what the fuck do we do now?:: The vicious black slime of Chrihin’tyan’s voice slid across Yzven’khan’s mind as they both stared down at the eviscerated corpse at their feet.
The hulking smog coloured chaos beast beside him released a sound like a chainsaw ripcord as two heads snaked down to snap the body neatly in two before both halves disappeared down his multiple throats.
::I got what I needed from him,:: Yzven’khan spat back with an acidic edge to his mental threads.
::We needed him for navigation.::
::We needed him for nothing. He already gave up his homeworld’s location. We’re the ones with the ability to teleport, idiot,:: Yzven’khan snapped. His ember-bright eyes narrowed to slits as he glowered at his compatriot.
To say that Chrihin and Yzven’s relationship was contentious would paint a rosy picture of their time together. Chrihin hated Yzven almost as much as he hated their recently departed bond. Yzven shared his sentiments.
Preinh, the man now being digested in Yzven’s stomach, had been a reasonably strong partner in the beginning. His inability to keep his head (literally) while their world blew up around them had been his undoing. Chrihin and Yzven had at least done him the service of dissecting the beast who had killed him shortly after the altercation.
That left them in a bit of a bind though. As much as both beasts despised each other with the fury of a thousand burning suns, they trusted each other. They worked well together and it was this element of cooperation that allowed them to survive in a world that would dearly like to see them both dead. Without the mollifying element of their bond though, a thread of unease thrummed between their shared mindspace.
Chrihin did not believe that Yzven knew what he was doing. Yzven resented this thought.
::Just follow me,:: Yzven snarled as another ominous boom rocked the stony walls around them.
The chaos ranked beast twitched his wings irritably as he led his companion up to the surface level of the world. The air already stung with the sulfurous brine exuded by a volcano near its climax. Once plentiful trees were reduced to ashy skeletons dotted across the landscape, and the horizon had vanished in a wall of smog as deep and thick as the colour of Yzven’s wings. A few other beasts milled about the surface, some clustering together around the hulking chaos beasts in charge. There were attempts being made at organizing for an evacuation. It was not going well.
Other beasts slipped away until the smog consumed their shadowy forms, allowing them to vanish unnoticed. Or mostly unnoticed. A few times, Chrihin caught a glimpse of a deep shadow twisting the clouds overhead into miniature tornadoes as it dove after the disappearing forms. Once or twice he heard a shrill cry cut short. He paid them no mind.
Chrihin followed in Yzven’s shadow, sticking as close as he could without treading on his stinger tipped tails. Instead of aiming toward the clusters of evacuees, they mimicked the actions of the singular beasts seeking to disappear. Chrihin kept one head pointed upward, ever watchful for a sinister shadow.
Yzven led them around a rocky outcropping, glaring down any beasts who looked their way. The benefit of being a chaos ranked beast was never having to answer to anyone else’s command. The downside was being the size of a building. Even so, he managed to find a relatively remote corner of the mountain range where no other beasts passed for a solid five minutes. Once assured that they were alone, he turned to his companion and forced the hazy image of a distant world across their connection.
::That’s it?:: Chrihin demanded. ::We may as well be aiming for a fucking asteroid. That image is soup.::
::You’re welcome to go back and grovel to Bekirol if you want.:: Yzven snapped in turn. ::I’m sure he’d love a simpering lapdog. I’ve no intention of sticking around though. This whole Arx is falling apart, and I’d rather take my chances on my own.::
::Fine. But I’m not using that pathetic excuse for a finger painting. Find a cliff. Jump off it. I’ll hitch a ride off your ass.::
Despite himself, three of Yzven’s heads curled their lips up in a lop-sided smirk. There was something unavoidably amusing about the mental image of Chrihin hanging off his back end as they fell toward an unknown landing.
::Fine,:: Yzven conceded. ::I hope you land on all of your faces.::
It didn’t take long for Yzven to spot a sufficiently high jumping point. A shelf of rock thrust out from the mountainside on an angle toward the sky, as if it had attempted to yeet itself into the sun before the mountain landed on its tail and squashed it flat. The rock rose high and far enough that it would put them at risk of being seen. Yzven could only hope that anyone watching thought they were trying to off themselves instead of escaping.
The chaos beast led his imperial partner up the slope, ever watchful for anyone headed their way. As they approached the summit, he broke into a lope, and then a full on gallop. Chrihin kept pace.
At the last possible second, Yzven flared his wings wide before diving off the end of the cliff. He felt Chrihin’s talons sink into his thighs seconds later. A short grunt was all the acknowledgement he gave of the pain before they dropped into the black void between worlds.
One heartbeat.
Two heartbeats.
Then the numb nothingness of the void fell away before a world draped in twilight. Yzven flared his wings wide, catching an updraft that brought his fall to an abrupt halt. Chrihin’s claws raked down his legs as the imperial beast lost his grip and tumbled toward the ground below.
It was a short fall. Chrihin unfortunately survived. Though the flare of irritation that passed along their mental threads momentarily blinded Yzven. Both beasts’ mind spaces throbbed with pain as Yzven coasted to a landing next to his companion.
::Asshole,:: he snarled at Chrihin.
::Prick,:: Chrihin snapped back.
Both beasts shifted focus to the world around them to spare themselves the trouble of looking at each other. A thread of confusion wound its way from Chrihin’s mind to Yzven’s, and found its twin there.
::Where are we?:: The imperial demanded.
::Exactly where I said we were going,:: Yzven retorted with less confidence than he would have liked.
::Bullshit. You have the mental images of a brain dead dog, but even that was enough to see that this world is nothing like the one you had in mind.::
Chrihin had already collected a great deal of evidence to back up his claim, despite having been on the world for a solid minute. For one, there were no little wooden houses with lights glowing in their glass windows like in Yzven’s image. For another, they were surrounded on all sides by thick, dense jungle seeped through with every shade of green imaginable. Not a flat expanse of over-farmed wasteland. Perhaps most damning of all, the hazy glimpse of stars available in Yzven’s image did not align at all with the tapestry of glittering lights peeking out through the darkening shroud of sky overhead.
Yzven received all of these thoughts and more. In response, he threw up a wall of indignation.
::I said-::
“Well, well, well. What do we have here? A couple of castaways? How did you poor, sweet babes end up on my doorstep?”
Whatever it was that Yzven had been prepared to say died in infancy as both beasts swung their attention toward a new speaker. It took a moment for the pair to spot the intruder. The lengthening shadows turned the jungle floor into a mass of lumpy, misshapen monsters waiting to pounce. Yet as her soft footsteps carried her past the edge of the treeline, they were equally surprised to see the slender, small frame of a humanoid striding toward them. The woman had blue skin and hair as red as a raging bonfire, but she was undoubtedly human. And undoubtedly naked.
All the better, Chrihin thought. Clothes always stuck in his teeth.
The oily black imperial lowered his four heads and hissed at the woman.
::Be gone, snack. We're busy.::
Much to his continued surprise, the woman responded with a light, musical laugh.
“Snack, is it? Oh, that's cute. I'd have a little more respect for the locals if I were you. You are, after all, trespassing.” She smiled up at them, all serenity and innocence and something that sent a shiver down Yzven’s spine.
::And what is a little morsel like you going to do about it?:: Chrihin said, heedless of the suspicion pinging off his companion.
“Try me and find out,” the woman offered.
::Just eat her and let's move on.:: Yzven shed his concerns like a bad nightmare. There was nothing a miniscule creature like her could do to him. And yet… And yet he would feel better once she was half-dissolved in Chrihin’s stomach.
The imperial did not need further encouragement. He lunged forward, heads snapping with lightning speed toward the little blue woman.
To her credit, the woman did not flinch away from the attack. Yzven admired her bravado right up to the moment where she exploded outward in scales and claws and heads. Then he took a step back as a hulking, blue and red hydra rose high above Chrihin’s head on muscular hindlegs, before crashing down on his back. Five of her twenty heads snaked down to snap and nibble on his necks as the largest, central head curled around, lips peeled back from sword-point teeth and yellow eyes aglow with delight.
“Now… what was that about a snack?” The blue and red hydra purred in his ears.
::I concede:: Chrihin offered up quickly.
“This wasn’t a duel, sweetling,” the red and blue hydra purred. Yet she withdrew her bulk from his back one claw at a time, her heads remaining a hair’s breadth above his as he pulled his flattened frame into a tight curl.
::Who are you?:: Yzven demanded, overcoming his stupor. ::You’re no beast that I recognize.::
“I am no beast at all. I am Idamiss-Selamputo Sphagra. You can call me Rara.”
::How is it I’ve never heard of you before?:: Yzven still wasn’t convinced that this towering queen of red moss and blue scales was not, in some way, related to the beasts of Arx Atra Mons. She was too magnificent not to be.
“If you had heard of me, that would be a problem. Mother is very keen on keeping our secretive little world secret. Speaking of which…” Rara sat back on her haunches, her long, moss-lined tail curled around her ankles. “I need to figure out what to do with the two of you.”
Chrihin, still hunched low to the ground, scooted backwards until he lay closer to Yzven. He uncoiled himself, rising like a reinflating loaf of bread. His heads remained close together, as if daring to let his limbs stretch out a little might invite another assault.
Yzven tempered down the reflex of disgust at his companion’s submissive actions. Chrihin knew how to survive around larger creatures. Yzven couldn’t blame him for the caution either, given he sensed a very real threat in Rara’s words.
::How many of you are on this world?:: Yzven demanded, momentarily ignoring the part of his brain that screamed like a terrified monkey for retreat.
Rara cocked her central head to the side and gave him a curious once over.
“Oh, are you thinking of sizing me up for a fight? I can promise that won’t go well for you.”
::No. I am simply trying to determine how much of this world there is to share.::
Rara’s response to that statement was a bark of laughter that rippled from one head to another until all twenty of them chattered and chittered with delight.
“No. No no no, sweetling. There is no sharing my mother’s domain.”
::You keep mentioning this mother of yours. What makes her so special?:: Chrihin still held his defensive stance, coiled tight and ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice. Yet his curiosity was getting the better of him. Yzven felt it creeping up like an itch desperate to be scratched.
In response to this, Rara uncoiled her tail from around her legs and stood up. She strode toward them, heads low and forward in a bouquet of yellow eyes and flicking tongues. Yzven took a cautionary step back, but she was not interested in a fight. She stalked up to him with a sultry look and a purr rolling up from her throat.
“She is a hydra,” Rara said, and as she spoke, she pressed her muscular side to his, plush moss cushioning their connection. “Not a beast, not a halfling, not some weak, diluted blood, but the real thing. She is the goddess of this world, and all who live here do so at her mercy.” She slunk around Yzven’s hind end, her tail coiled across his chest, his shoulder, then trailing slowly along his side. At the same time, she rubbed up against Chrihin, all feline grace and invitation.
Yzven let out a dismissive snort before he could stop himself. The way she spoke made it seem as if this hydra was superior to him, and he took personal offense to that.
::I have heard of hydras. Weren’t they eradicated?::
“Far from it,” Rara cooed. “Most of them are just locked away, waiting for someone to open the door again. My mother is the smartest of them all though. She escaped before the doors slammed shut. She alone lives freely in the Nexus. And she has made this place her home.”
Rara sat before them, paws together primly and tail coiled around them. She looked smug, each of her twenty heads bearing a half-smirk.
Yzven gave Chrihin a sidelong glance, who mirrored it right back at him. They didn’t need to be telepathic to share the same thought.
This lady was crazy.
Mind you, they were used to crazy. Yzven, for one, didn’t know if he wanted more of it in his life though.
::This could be beneficial to us,:: Chrihin hissed, oil slick of a mental touch greasing across Yzven’s thoughts.
::Or it could be a shiny new prison,:: Yzven shot back. ::We just escaped a failing empire. Why would we want to jump into a new one?::
::Because this world certainly doesn’t look to be failing. And whatever her mother is,:: Chrihin said with a subtle twitch of one of his heads in Rara’s direction, ::she’s probably just as if not more powerful than her.::
::I think we could take her out,:: Yzven said with a sneaky glance at the preening blue and red hydra.
::You didn’t feel her strength. We may be able to triumph in the end, but not without significant damages.:: Chrihin paused and Yzven felt the shifting of his train of thought like a cooling of the wind. ::We have no direction. We have no rider. All we knew when we left is that we wanted to get away from the Arx, which we did. Now we are here, on a world ruled by an alleged hydra with her very powerful and admittedly impressive offspring staring us down. You can’t tell me that some part of you doesn’t see this as a gift, Yzven.::
He had a point. A world ruled by women wasn’t the worst place they could’ve ended up. Especially if the mother was half of what the daughter offered. At the very least, it was worth an inspection.
::We would like to meet your mother,:: Yzven said.
“Oh good. That will make this so much easier.” Rara stood and whirled around, somehow managing to tangle her tail around Yzven’s forelimbs when he took a step forward to follow her. She looked at him over her shoulder with half of her heads. “Mother gets a little testy when I eat a new comer without letting her decide on their worth first.”
Yzven cast Chrihin another glance, who shot it right back at him.
They fell into silence as Rara led them through the thick, viney jungle with a level of ease that tattered on supernatural. At one point along their walk, Yzven glimpsed a trail of smoke curling up into the deepening bruise of the sky. He craned his heads around to see and spotted small, flickering collections of light. Fires. Well under control and clearly in use for something.
“Nevermind them,” Rara said. “They’ve paid their monthly dues and then some. They are mother’s favourites right now. Which means they’re off limits.”
::Humans?:: Yzven ventured.
“Of a sort,” Rara said. “Either way, they are patrons and they are claimed.”
They said nothing more as they followed after the blue and red hydra. She moved with unerring determination, following a path that neither of them could see. A few times, she looked to be headed toward a patch of jungle too thick to allow her bulk (or Yzven’s for that matter) to pass through, only to slip between a curtain of vines and proceed onward without issue.
By the time they reached the edge of the jungle, Yzven had stopped questioning Rara’s direction sense. This was clearly not the first time she’d taken this trip.
The trees thinned away just as the last light left the sky. A tapestry of stars spread out overhead, blanketing the world in long, deep shadows. The twin moons, one half full and one waning, cast pallid, white light across the ground. Were it not for the titanic bonfires blazing at the four pillars of the largest stone structure Yzven had ever laid eyes on, he might not have been able to see at all.
The bonfires, propped up in massive bronze braziers covered in intricate carvings, stood at the four corners of a cathedral-like, open-air structure. A flat, marble floor covered the interior, and all along the sides, thick columns of stone marched in regular lines. Their wide tops supported a roof that, by all laws of physics, should have come crashing down ages ago. It rose in waves and tiers, sweeping ever upward with a series of increasingly intricate designs decorating its trim. At its top stood a majestic statue of a multi-headed beast holding vigil over the valley all around. The entrance to the structure was easily wide enough to admit all three of them with room to spare. Yzven soon saw why.
The creature that lay at the heart of the cathedral, glimpsed between the lines of white columns like an elusive tiger in the forest, was easily twice the size of Rara. More importantly, the creature that lay within the cathedral was easily twice the size of him. This fact became increasingly evident the closer they drew.
Rara entered first, striding between the arches with a lightness in her step, as if she were skipping home for dinner. Yzven followed second, with Chrihin sticking close behind him. It wasn’t that either one of them was scared. It was simply prudent to be cautious when walking into the den of an alleged goddess.
The hydra lay behind a raised dais on which a single throne sat empty. Three long, serpentine tails curled around the base of the dais, while her muscular limbs stretched out behind it. Twenty seven heads dipped and weaved through the air, each one lit by ember-bright eyes. Five of them bore crowns whose gemstones winked and sparkled in the orange glow of the bonfires. The hydra’s hide was red as old, dried blood and faded to black underneath. The familiar brands of ancient combat scarred her scales here and there, carving deep gouges into an otherwise perfectly sculpted frame. She was a thing of beauty and destruction, evoking long buried prey instincts in Yzven’s mind as her five central heads turned and regarded their little group. Yet for all the awe that filled him, he couldn’t shake the impression of a mother cat with her kittens as he regarded the hydra. Between her paws and gamboling about her legs, three tiny bodies engaged in play. All three of them bore insectoid features in their large thoraxes and six limbs. Yet it was the tiny, bobbing sparks of light dangling over their heads that really caught his eye.
Yzven would recognize that green flame anywhere. Those three hatchlings were balespawn.
::S̸͍̉̇̀p̸͉͌̎̀̀à̷͎̯̳̪̠̗͓̈́͠ǵ̸̡̜̫̠̬̃h̸̭̦͇̲̉̄͑̋r̷̨̛̹͙̫͆̃̿̇͘a̴͎̳̙̽͋̇̀̽̌̈́,:: the hydra intoned with the deep, resonating chords of a bell. Her mental voice reverberated off the inside of his skull, momentarily shaking free all other thoughts. ::W̶̤̐̈́h̶͓͋̓̔a̸̩̲̔͋t̷̨͙̔ ̷̭̔̎h̵͈̯̉̕â̶͖̿v̵̨̝͈̓e̷̲̎̇͜ ̷̭͙̻̿͂ȳ̸̪͠o̸̮̅͐u̵̻̤͇͆ ̶̯̠͊̓͠ͅḃ̶̮̏ŗ̸̰͘o̵̬̕͜ù̵͍͈̆͘g̸͚̀h̴͖͓̲͐t̵̛͕̣͉̋ ̶̻̋͒b̴̙̤͗ê̷̡̦͂f̵̛̪͍͘o̸̩͌r̸̗͓͛͊̒e̸͕͌́̂ ̶̗͔̭̅͗̀ḿ̵͍̙͊̉é̴̬̽͝?̶̞͒̇̇::
“Hello, mommy,” the blue and red hydra chirped in a saccharine sweet soprano. She bounded over the few remaining feet between them, then rose up on her hindlegs to rub her central head against the larger beast’s central head. “I found some strays out in the wild. I don’t think they have a home.”
::Ì̵̠̲̮̖͍̰̜̽͊̊s̵͇͌̑̆̊̋̈̆ ̵̢̛͍͖͖̖̣͚̉͐̀̌͐̕ẗ̵͖̣̫͙̮́̌͌͒̕͝h̷̭̼̲͈̝̯͕͌̈́̇̈̏͂ȁ̷͉́̔̈́t̶̠̎̀͆͆̅͝ ̵̡̠̫̖͖̏͋̀̔ś̴̡͕͖̀̆͗̀̿͜ͅơ̵̢̮̪͎̜̮͎͗̚̕͝,:: the hydra said, her tar-thick mental threads slapping against his consciousness. ::Ą̸͚̟͛̀̽n̴̘̯̍d̴̮̔̈ ̶̧͚̈́͑̕w̴͍̗̏̉h̷͇̅a̴̢̅͑t̸͖̣̎͒̒,̴̩̎̀ ̶̪̲̺̈́̒p̷͓̆͂͜͠ȑ̷̡͎̍̎a̸̦̖̰̓y̷̰͍̤͑͑t̷̜͂ė̶̡l̵̤̆̓l̷̨̨͖̎͑̾,̷̩̠̯̔ ̵̹̰̜͆̉b̷͈̯͚̍̚ṙ̵̨̎̊i̶̩̎n̸̤͉̗͒g̷̥͉̲͝͝s̸̞̜͗̑ ̸̥̳͓̈s̸̱̍̄û̶̱̱͈c̵̮̈́̐͆h̵̜͐̀ ̷̯͓̌l̴̪̟̺̔o̵͍̓s̷̖̐̿͒t̶̮̓ ̵̼͊͐͜ś̵͖͇̂̎o̵̤͌ų̷̳̎̂̌l̶̞͖̖̍̚̕s̷̫̒̊ ̴̥́͊̌t̴̰̤̂̆̏o̴̦͇̝͝ ̵̦͎̯͐͋͒m̶͖͛y̵͍̌̽ ̶͖͂d̷̲̍̈́͜͝ọ̸̩͕͌͗͋o̴̬͛̒͐r̴͔̹͂͠s̷̬̚t̴̫̖́ḙ̵̩̐̕͝p̷͖͚͐?̶̩͍̃͛͝::
Yzven looked at Chrihin, and for the second time that day, they shared a thought without truly expressing it. They were in way over their heads. They were also too far in to back out now.
Yzven stepped forward. Being the larger of the two beasts, he took it upon himself to represent them. In the back of his mind, he sensed that Chrihin was fine with this plan, as it meant he could be blamed if he got them both killed.
::Your Eminence,:: Yzven began. That seemed like an appropriate title for a goddess. ::We come from a place called Arx Atra Mons. Our home is crumbling and falling apart. Our leadership was weak. We opted to seek out a new place to call our home.::
::D̷͓͉̈͝e̸͓͔̒͛̆f̸̩̀é̶̲̩͓̅͐c̶̳͑̍t̸̳̕͠ȏ̸̯̀̚r̴̼͝ş̸̺̱͂.̵̨̙̮̽:: The sibilant hiss of the hydra’s words echoed from one head to another, loud enough that it seemed to bounce off the walls of the chamber. ::Ỉ̸̱̫̿ ̴̢̞̯͐ḩ̴̥̯̃a̶̢̫͕͌̈́̅v̸̧͑͗e̵̢̠͂n̵̻͂́͠’̶͙͚̓͊͠ṯ̷͓̱͊̑ ̶̲͋m̴̜̳̍ü̵͓͉̈c̸̼̞͐h̶̫̞̄̇ ̷̥́̌f̷̯͕͐ô̷̪͎̾̂͜ń̴̥̦d̴̞̘͊̚ń̷̪̊͠ě̷̖̹̈̆s̶̬̻̯͐̈́͝s̸̼͕̓̍̚ ̶̟͊̈́͛ͅf̵̨̲̟̃͌͠o̸͔̠̱͂̊r̸͓̣̊͂͠ ̵̞͊ṭ̴̝̅̉͝h̵̻̩̰͗̌ȏ̶̢̬̲ș̷͇̋͑ë̴̱̼́̀ ̵̛̠̪͇́́ẇ̵̠̥̇h̵͍̻̣̓̚ǫ̶̿ ̴̫̀͘ḇ̴̏̾̇ṙ̸͙̲̫̉́ȩ̵̹̪͊a̶̟̰͒̑ḱ̴̪̭̈̚ ̴̼̑̅t̷̝͎̆͑h̵̞͓̰͂̌͑e̶̻̓i̷͑ͅř̷̻̏́ ̴̡̪̒̋v̶̲̔ő̵̩̗̝̈́ẃ̸̠̿s̵̭̣̟̿̋͝.̸̼͐̿̉::
::It was better than remaining as servants to a dying crown,:: Yzven spat back. Perhaps it was a little more vehement than necessary, but he didn’t dare show weakness in the face of this monstrosity.
The hydra moved with the slow, inevitable force of a landslide at its inception. Her talons scraped across the stone floor as she pushed herself up to her feet, each step thundering through the open chamber. The three balespawn hatchlings skittered out of her way, crawling up to the throne to hide behind its back and peek at Yzven and Chrihin from a safe distance. The hydra’s tails swept across the floor, scraping and grinding with the weight of her scales. And all the while, she stared at them. Not once did any of her 27 heads look elsewhere in the room as she stepped around the dais and came to stand before them. Her shadow engulfed them both. For the first time in his life, Yzven was made to feel small.
::T̵̟̗͇̑e̵͕̘̓̕ḽ̴̲̀̚̕l̶͔͇̬͌̏̆ ̶̗̟̇m̵̻͗̚ḙ̸͎̘͛̓̇,̸̳̄̿:: the hydra said, smothering Yzven’s mind beneath the deep sea pressure of her own. ::Ẃ̸̗͕͛́h̵͔̠̋͘y̶͓̜̎ͅ ̴̙̬͚̄s̸͔̉̍h̸̝͈̭̎ǫ̸̬͔̋ȗ̴̡͍̘̈́͗l̵̲̬̱͆́̂d̵̯͓̈́̽̂͜ ̷͎̆͘I̶̡͛ ̸̱̠̦͐̎̈b̷͒͜͝ĕ̵̺͚͠l̸̼͊̈̀i̷̢̯̰̐̄̇e̸̙̘͊̆̃v̴͓̠̩͂͛̃e̵̛̯ ̶̧̓͐̚y̷̻̎͝ơ̵͈̦̤̈̒u̸̢̮͇͌̓ ̵̤̪̖̈́ẘ̷͖͝e̸͖̽r̵͇͓̬͑͌ë̴̬̽ ̷̳͖̠̓ň̸̠o̸̟̐́͐ṱ̸̅͘ ̸͓̽ĕ̴̦̈́x̸̲̗̟̄͛i̶͍̣͐͛̾ͅl̴͈̜̀͗́ḛ̶͒͠͠ḑ̶̬͈́͘?̷͓̑͑ ̷̨̯̾̚Ẇ̴͎̈́h̴͇̞͒͠a̸̭̦͐t̴͕̽ ̷̰͠d̴͉̰̏i̷͖̫͎̊̋ď̵̲̃ ̸͚̪̹̑t̸͈͖͓̃͑h̸͙̉̋͑i̴̛͉͔̤s̶̯̘̋̚͠ ̶͉̺͆̕A̷̗̅͑r̴̖̭̣̊̈̈x̶͓̙͌̈ ̶̙͎̐̑A̷̺̚͝t̸̲̮̑r̴̰͛̒̎a̷̲̬̻̋ ̸̪̜̍̾M̶̰͙̞̀̏̄ọ̵̣͗̊ͅṉ̴̫̗̉s̴͈͍̥̒̈́ ̸͍̯͋̆̕ͅo̷̺̩͛̀f̵̧̠̾̈́ ̸̠̦̀͋͜y̶̘͉̟͗͘ơ̷̰̗͛ū̴̧͕̍r̷͚̳̝̉̚͝ș̴͐͌̕ ̵̩̺͙̏̋̿d̴̨̡̖̏͒͠o̶͔̬͎̽ ̶̰͂̂̎ẗ̵̡͙̹́̑͝o̶̤͂͂ ̸̜̃̽w̵͖̋ͅa̴̪͕͆̿r̴̗̬̀̉̕r̵̭̤̻̐̊a̸͓͓͗̎͝n̷̛̛͈̰t̷͉̑̕ ̸̦̔͛̾y̶͚͓̅̊͝o̷̦̱͊̿u̴͓̕ṛ̴͋͝ ̶͍̀ś̸͙̬̄̽͜c̸̠̝̜̀o̷̩̺͋̌̚ͅr̴̢̫̥̓̐̀n̸͚̦͚̿͂̈́?̶̨̙̒ͅ::
::It’s what they did not do,:: Yzven said. ::They promised us greatness, that our people would spread across all the worlds of the Nexus. They promised us glory and conquest. They promised us blood. Instead, we hid beneath the shadow of a mountain like cockroaches under a rock. We couldn’t even dominate a single world, no matter our strength. And then, when the very mountain that we called home began to rebel against us, they told us to fend for ourselves. There was no order, no leadership to follow. When our rider died in the chaos, we could no longer stomach remaining idle. They were not worthy of our loyalty.::
As he spoke, Yzven felt his blood warm in his veins. He hadn’t realized how angry his rider’s death had made him. How it highlighted just how bad things had gotten at the Mons and how little respect he had for them anymore. Preinh had been a good, strong man with clear goals and ideas. He’d been ignored and overlooked for years. And now he was dead because the leaders of the Mons couldn’t even handle an evacuation. It was appalling, and he pushed that energy into his words.
For a long while afterward, the hydra was silent save the ever present bellows of her lungs at work. She filled the cathedral with her presence in a way Bekirol never could have. This was what true power looked like. Yzven considered whether or not he’d be able to bow to such a beast, and realized that he was quite willing to give it a shot.
He’d be much happier running his own show, but that wasn’t going to be likely on this world.
::I̷̤͗ ̴͆͜t̷̨̆o̵͈͊o̴͇͂ ̸̛̻l̸̼͋e̶͕̐f̷͕̏t̶͖͐ ̷̞͑a̸̫͌ṉ̷͘ ̵̟̈́e̵͍̊ḿ̶̰p̷̻͋i̵͚̚r̷͕̋e̸̝͋ ̶̮̓t̶̥̏ḫ̴̆ȧ̷̢t̵̘̑ ̸̹͝f̷̡͗a̶͇̓i̶̙̓l̷͍̒ê̷̲d̷̛̖ ̵͉̋t̶̫͋ó̵͜ ̶̘̿r̴͓̓e̷̟͌s̶͖̈́ṗ̷̪è̸ͅc̴͎̿t̶̯̅ ̸̛̮m̴̝̔ẙ̶̯ ̵̊͜c̴̖̋o̷̘̐n̵̛̳t̸͕̀r̶͈̂i̸̢̅b̵͍̃ú̴̢t̸͇̽i̶̖̕ö̷̰́n̶̟̅s̸̫̈́.̶͍͋ ̵͉̊I̴̤͋ ̴̻̈w̶͛ͅa̶͓̚ś̵̞ ̴̙͂c̸̡̎a̶̱͝l̵̨͛l̸̩̽e̸͚̋d̵̩͋ ̴̠̋ö̷̘́n̷̝͑ ̷̜̇b̵͕́y̶̻͘ ̶̺͌m̸̡͊y̶̧̽ ̶̣͒l̴͋ͅḭ̶̎ḛ̶̈́g̶͔͝e̶̾ͅs̸̢̆ ̵̼̒t̵̘̆o̵̞̊ ̷̼́s̶̟͋a̷̬͑c̵̝͋ȓ̸̝i̸̤͝f̶̭͠ì̷͙c̴͍͠ë̵̦́ ̷͋ͅi̶͇̚n̸̢̔ ̴̤̾t̷̢͑h̷͔͝e̸̻͑i̷͜͝r̶̟̆ ̸̢́n̷̞͌å̶̼m̷̙̍é̶̺,̵̳͑ ̴̨̆a̶͔͐n̵͈̕d̴͔̈́ ̷̺̂I̴̮͗ ̸̭̿d̶̓͜ḯ̶̠d̵͓̓ ̷͙͘s̶̩̃o̷̰͌ ̶̼̐w̵͎̓i̴̠̓l̵̈́͜l̶͓̆i̷̤͝n̶̹̊g̴͇̽ľ̶̙ỵ̸̌.̸̼͠ ̸̹̑F̶͍̈́o̸̥̐r̷̘͒ ̴̟̌ị̸̿t̴̛͎,̶̟̆ ̷̳͒I̶͔̓ ̴͓̒ŵ̵̝ȧ̷̟s̵͓͑ ̷͉̂ș̷͠c̵̺͋o̴͉̊r̷̥̀n̸̙͐ḛ̵̋d̸̞̏ ̶͔̃ą̸͛n̷̠̒d̸̖̔ ̴̺̊a̷̻̍ḇ̸̉ũ̵̧s̴͉̊è̸̱d̴̨͝.̴͖̅ ̸̯͗N̵͋ͅō̶̮ẉ̵̂ ̶̙͠t̶̼͠h̶̥̚ẹ̵͝y̷̘̔ ̴̰̾r̶̮̊o̴̿ͅt̶̢́ ̵͉̔o̵̱̽n̷͓̈́ ̶̦̽a̴͈͘ ̵̼̈́p̵͓̃r̶̨̂ĭ̸͙ș̸̍o̵̱̔n̴̼͝ ̵͖̇w̶̬̐o̸̙͐r̴̰͠l̵̤̈d̸̖̊ ̵͔̄w̶̫͝h̷͕͑î̸͔l̶̳̂e̶͓̚ ̶͍́I̴̻͘ ̶̦̈â̷͙m̸̦̈ ̴̗̅h̸̟̎ȩ̴̀r̷̞͒e̶̬̐,̶̳̔ ̴͕̕g̸͈͠o̴̧̔ḓ̵͂ḍ̸̉e̸̠͑š̶ͅs̵͔͝ ̶̫̈́ŏ̸̡f̴̥̏ ̴̳̈́m̷̘̌y̵̢͊ ̸̲̍o̴͇͂w̸̮͛n̶̩̈́ ̶͎͌d̷̮̊ò̴͉m̸̯̎a̸͈͗i̶̠͘ṋ̵̕.::
The five crowned heads of the hydra eeled forward, great, scarred maws taking up positions around Yzven’s heads. He took a single step back and came up hard against Chrihin’s bulk.
::I̸̲̾f̶̗͑ ̴̩͌I̵̟͗ ̷̯̿p̶̮̂ę̶̓ȑ̷͓ṃ̵̉i̶̞͋t̸̗̽ ̴̰͑y̶̧͑ǒ̷̯ù̴̢ ̵͖͒t̷̤̓w̸̤̑o̵̭͆ ̵̩̎t̸̮͠ǒ̸̡ ̸͓͗s̷̠͛t̸͚̍à̷͕y̷͈͋,̷̥͠ ̷̦̍w̶̢͠h̸̬́ạ̶̑t̴̟̍ ̸̣͋ã̴̤ṡ̸̪s̶͉̿ǔ̸̥r̷̼͘à̷̢n̸̙͌c̶̘̓e̸̙̕ ̷̛̥d̷̜͝o̷͚̎ ̷͓͋Į̷͋ ̸̩̊h̸̜͂a̸̫͊v̸͕̋e̸̮͠ ̷̥̀ṫ̸̼h̸̫̏ȃ̶̳t̵̘̊ ̶͙͊y̵̻̑ǒ̸͎û̶̩ ̷̧͂w̵̞̑ḯ̴̮l̸͉̑l̸͔̾ ̸͌͜r̵̻͝ȅ̸̮m̸̗͝ă̷̞i̷̯͆n̴̞̕ ̷̞̃l̸̡̅o̵̺͊ŷ̴̠ȃ̸̡l̷͉̿ ̸̜̈́t̷̟̉ő̶̺ ̴̟̓m̵̛̻ȇ̶̦?̷̏͜::
Yzven considered the words, but before he could respond, a torpedo of psychic energy exploded across his mind.
The hydra’s mental touch had been disconcerting at first. The way it rebounded off itself, feeding back over each word until it took every ounce of energy just to decipher a single sentence. Yet this was more like being swallowed whole by her presence, drowned in a pit of black, sucking tar that coated every inch of his mind. He pushed against it, swimming to the surface of his own thoughts, only to be dragged down again.
The invasion seemed to last for eons. Yzven lost himself to the lightless, depthless dark of the hydra’s mind. Then, just as abruptly as it started, it was gone. The sudden absence of her presence left him reeling. The bonfires burned too bright. The cool evening breeze froze against his hide. The light brush of Chrihin stumbling behind him felt like a thousand burning pokers on his legs. He stood perfectly still for several long heartbeats, just trying to piece himself together again.
::Y̷̪̿o̸̪͠ù̶͈ ̵̢͗f̵̧̋o̸̲͛u̸͙̽g̵͎̀h̸̠̐t̵͕̆ ̵̢̓b̴̉ͅa̸͉̔c̷̨̾k̶͖̉,̵̬̓:: the hydra said with a hint of amusement colouring her overlapping words. ::Ǧ̴̟o̸͍̚ö̷͇́ḑ̴͝.̷̻̂ ̵̠̋I̵̹͗ ̶͍͝l̴̗̀i̷͕̽k̶͔̀ë̶̼ ̴̀ͅy̴̥̽ơ̷̹u̷̦͒r̸̡̋ ̷̰̓s̵̗̎p̷̦͂í̴̠ȓ̶̳ḯ̶͓ť̴̤.̵̱̃ ̸̱̿Ȉ̵͕ ̴̦̒h̴̫̉a̵̛͍v̶̪̑ẻ̸̺ ̵̪͗p̵̼̉e̶̬͊e̷̻͛r̷͚͗ȩ̴̍d̴̲̐ ̷̣̎i̷̽ͅn̴̠͠t̵̜͝ȯ̶͙ ̶̝̿y̷͉̅o̴͚̐ṵ̶̈́r̶͕̀ ̷̦̈́m̶͇̂í̴̗ṉ̷̊d̴̡̾s̴̺̔ ̴̨̕a̶̮͝n̵̬̋d̷͉̈́ ̴̻͗f̶̧̿o̶̗͊u̷̺̎n̵͚̒d̴̝͐ ̷̤̄y̶͈̍ǫ̶͌u̷̻͝ ̵̨̄b̵͍͝ọ̸͛t̸͎͝ĥ̸̞ ̸̹̍ẗ̵̯o̵̩̐ ̷̧̇b̷̧̅e̴̛̙ ̶̦͝a̵͕͂c̵̠̆c̴̦͝e̸͎͂p̸̗̓t̷̼̔a̸̫̓b̶̯͌l̶̮̚e̸͔͒.̸͔͗ ̵̫̅Ỹ̸̝ŏ̶̧ú̴̲ ̷͉͘w̶͕͛ỉ̴̙ľ̶̦l̶̏͜ ̶̬̿ś̷̠e̸̬͌r̶̳̆v̶͔̽e̷̥̔ ̸̝̊m̵̥̒ę̵͊.̸̦̈́ ̵̭͠I̸̡͋n̴̡̈ ̵̱͛è̷̢x̴̻͆ć̸̺ĥ̶͖ȁ̶͙ñ̸̗g̶̣͒é̶̬,̴̩͒ ̴̡͌y̵̡̓ô̸͖u̸̪͐ ̷̖̀w̷̰͗i̸̥̽l̸͎̇ļ̸̓ ̵̗͋ḇ̵́e̷̮͋ ̸͎̏g̷̬͝i̷̩̕v̴͙̇e̵̥͋ñ̶̘ ̵̰͌l̷͖̿ä̴̙́n̵̜̚d̷͔͠s̶͕͌ ̷̣̄t̵̥̋o̸̞͋ ̸̥͝g̶̰̊o̸̫̿v̴̠̂ḙ̸̀r̵̟͊n̴̮͗ ̷͓͠ā̴̝s̷͔̊ ̵̥̾y̵̥͆ȯ̴̳u̴͕̓ ̸̧̕p̴͇̓l̶̪̅e̷̹̿ǎ̸̝s̷̝͠ě̸̯.̷̙̀ ̷̟͌S̸̡̐e̶̫͌p̶̘̓a̴͈͂r̵̜̅ä̷̭́t̴̹͐e̸̘͑ ̵̞͆ó̴̼ȑ̸͙ ̶̹͊t̷̻̅o̵̭̔g̸͙͊e̷̼͠t̸́ͅḧ̶̻́e̶̙͊r̶̠̃.̴̮̾ ̴̾͜T̶̠͂h̴̭̕a̴̞̾t̶̹̓ ̷̣̀m̷̦̓u̴̺͠ć̸̹h̴̯̔ ̵̪̽i̷̛͎s̴̬̽ ̸͔͂y̴̭͝o̵͎̓u̷̠̓r̴͉͝’̷̗̎s̵̠͑ ̷̯͋t̶̝̋o̴̗̓ ̴̪̈́d̸͚͋ë̵̺ć̸͇i̶͇͗d̷̗̅e̶̗̊.̶̲̈::
::And how will we serve you?:: Yzven asked once he remembered how words worked.
The hydra tilted her central head to the side. One by one, the other twenty-six heads copied the first.
::I̷̝̎ ̴̰̇t̴̻̏ḣ̸̟i̶̬͐n̴͔̒k̶͔͐ ̷̩́y̸̠̓ȏ̴͇u̶͍͐ ̷̟͊h̵̩̓a̴̮͒v̵̧́ẽ̸͙ ̴̫̀a̵͈̔ ̵͙̿v̴͉̅e̷͍͛r̷̜̽ŷ̴̲ ̸̣̌g̸̣͝o̷̜͝o̶̤͋d̴͕̆ ̸̠͗i̷̝͂d̶͖̎ḙ̸̒a̴̱̔ ̴̯̆ò̵͈f̶̗̈́ ̵̝̏h̸͕͝o̸̻͊w̸͕̿ ̸̛͍y̷͜͝ò̸̱u̶̫̔ ̷̬͂w̵̰̐i̴̖͋l̵̟͝l̵̖̒ ̶̰̈́s̶͖̅ê̴̥r̵̲͑ṽ̴͎e̵̤͒.̷̻̒ ̸͎̒Ÿ̸̝́ȏ̵͇u̷̞͌ ̵̣̑m̶̩͒à̶͈y̴̩̔ ̵̗̂ã̴͎d̸̫̆d̸̦͘r̴̢͘ë̶̪́s̸̮̏s̴͇͊ ̷̩̀m̶͖͘e̸͓̾ ̷̗̐a̷̛̖s̷͕̋ ̴̺́D̴̡͘i̷̜͐a̷̻͠m̷̢̓i̵̦͐s̶̩̓.̴̝͌ ̵͎͌Y̷͓̽z̶͖̎v̶̨̀é̸̝n̸̦̅’̵̥͗k̸̺̾h̴̢̃a̵̲͐n̸̥͐ ̷͍̈a̴̞̒n̵̦̔d̶̟͂ ̶̾ͅC̶̩̎h̵̻̿ṙ̸͈i̷̭̍h̵̺͑ȋ̵̼n̷̢͛’̴͈̏t̴̖̅y̵̯̍a̶̳͑n̷̡̏,̵̤͊ ̷̮͒w̶̬̐e̸̦̎l̸͕̎c̷̙̉o̷̥͂m̷͈͆ė̷̹ ̶̙̈́t̶̬͝ȏ̶̬ ̴̹́y̷͓͆ȍ̷͎u̵͎̐r̸̝̒ ̸̙͠n̶͍͝e̴̺͐w̵̛̤ ̴̩͛k̵͍̿i̴̟̕n̶̪͋g̶͍̒d̴̪͒ō̴̱m̵̨̋s̴̳̽.̶͍͐::
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