Beneath the looming tower's entrance, the guardsman signaled for the handful of other guards near the titanic doorway. It shimmered with pale light as one might see at the bottom of a clear lake on a sunny day, its rays gently bouncing off the other guardsmen's armor. "He's here to see the Scourge," the guardsman said, signaling once more for them to stand aside and grant them passage.
"Oh, a visitor, eh? It's been a long time since that old leech has had anyone come visit him. Why now?" one of the guardsmen at the door asked the one leading the figure. "Mind your tongue in the presence of a lord, Draer," he spat back with a not-so-subtle nod toward the hooded figure.
I did not think he could get much paler, Terwin thought as he watched the blood drain from Draer's face.
"M-My apologies, lord… uh…?" Draer said with no small amount of pause, hoping the visitor wouldn't immediately strike him down. "Ter-..." the hooded figure began, but his guide swiftly held up a hand to stop him. "No, lord," he shook his head with a warning look, which the figure didn't quite understand. "You should know better than to ask that, Draer. Open the damned door already," the guardsman said with a hint of anger.
"O-Of course, sir. R-Right away!" Draer snapped and nodded to his counterpart on the opposite side of the door. The two of them placed their hands into the sockets behind them and channeled mana into them, emitting a soft, humming glow that matched the door's.
Slowly, almost as if the mana itself were being cautious, the door's shimmer halted. The moment the first tendrils separated, a wave of malicious mana burst out from inside, nearly knocking the guards off their feet. Surprisingly, Terwin stood strong, though he was only able to do so for appearance's sake.
Such malice, he quietly thought, shielding his face from the barrage of sickly green mana.
The air grew still and silent around them just as quickly as it had grown violent, as if Aen Silar itself knew what had just occurred. "This way, lord," his initial guide said, allowing the figure through the doorway first with a slight bow and extension of his left arm. "You know, I never got your name," Terwin muttered.
"I did not give it, lord, and I suppose you must be wondering why I stopped you earlier. Names have power in a place like this, and there are creatures that would seek to take advantage of it. For example, Draer's name isn't his true name, it is one of the callsigns we use to tell friend from foe, and that is one rule we never break," the guardsman replied in a hushed voice.
Nodding, Terwin looked into the depths of the tower down a long hallway with a series of others lining its walls, and guardsmen to watch over them. They stood like silent sentinels; the only sounds were the clinking of their armor and the flaps of their robes as they came to attention.
"Impressive. How do they manage to stay bathed in that mana for as long as they have?" Terwin asked idly as he walked down the hallway. "Each tower has its own specialized training that the guards must undergo. For these, it was growing accustomed to the effects of Leech mana, lord, though there are few towers that could hold a candle to this place," the guardsman replied in a hushed tone.
How long must that have taken? Even I am not entirely immune to its effects, Terwin thought, considering his own lifetime idly.
They continued toward the center of the tower when, a few moments later, Terwin's eyes grew wide in both fear and shock. The bright, pale green light that had been flowing from the far end of the corridor subsided as his eyes adjusted. His pulse quickened, and his palms began to sweat in realization of what was before him, a few meters off the ground.
"What in the…?" he muttered while his jaw struggled to keep itself shut as he looked toward what appeared to be a silver coffin being suspended by tendrils of mana, much like the islands outside the tower. The moment the words left his mouth, the tendrils rippled and glowed under the strain of the one contained within the coffin.
At a gesture from his guide, the coffin began to lower, and more details of its design came into view. There was no visible seam on the outside, but there were numerous lines engraved in geometric patterns along its shell. Upon closer inspection, however, Terwin realized that they were not solid lines, but rather tightly knit, sequential runes that formed a binding spell humming with mana.
The coffin, now only a meter off the floor, halted its movement and loomed over its guests for a few seconds, patiently awaiting its next command. In the few heartbeats that followed, Terwin swallowed dryly, giving his guard a subtle nod to let him know he was ready for whatever came next. With another wave of his hand, the guard poured mana into the coffin, making its front transparent and revealing the prisoner within.
It was a tall, humanoid figure with thick black scales near its temples and along the corners of its jaw, making its features look as sharp as a knife's edge. Long, white hair draped loosely over its broad shoulders and shaved-down horns that lined its hairline. While this being was not emaciated by any means, it certainly looked as though it had lost much of its former physical strength, as dark circles and sunken cheeks hung heavily beneath its still-shut eyes.
Terwin steadied himself and clenched his fist momentarily, exhaling the breath he wasn't aware he had been holding. "Wake up! You've got a visitor, one who demands your respect," the guide said loudly, earning him a slight flinch of disgust from the prisoner before he slowly lifted his eyelids, revealing deep, glowing green irises with slitted pupils.
His eyes lazily moved from the guard to the hooded figure, then back to the guard. "There is only so much respect I can offer from my current position, Sura," the figure said tiredly, moving his eyes around the coffin before a slight smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "You dare speak my name, cur?" Sura snarled, taking a half-step forward.
"It's pronounced Scourge, you insolent little brat, but I am certain you did not wake me from my slumber to trade barbed words like some unevolved, egotistically damaged churl," he said with a wicked grin, knowing it would ignite his rage. "That's enough," Terwin snarled between them, giving the prisoner a glare. "So, what brings you to this forgotten corner of the Sea? I suspect you are not here to set me free, are you?" the prisoner asked with a wry grin.
"No, I am not. I am merely here to ensure that you are still where you belong, Mideia," Terwin said, furrowing his brow, earning him a chuckle. "Well, now that you've seen me, what do you think? Do I still pose so much of a threat to your precious council as you've been told I do?" Mideia asked, raising an eyebrow and prompting Terwin to pause.
He seems safely secured enough, but then how did he manage to take control over that dwarf and the others? He thought momentarily.
"Not at the moment, I suppose. I do have a few theories in mind regarding your past ventures, but perhaps those should be kept hidden, lest you decide to change your tactics," Terwin said, crossing his arms in front of him, prompting Mideia to snicker delightedly. "Well played," he said with a wicked grin.
Terwin turned to his guide and gave him a nod of dismissal. "M-My lord, I cann-..." Sura's words cut off at a gesture from Terwin. "I will be fine. There is something I need to discuss with him privately that comes from the highest order of the council," Terwin said, turning to look back at the grinning prisoner.
Sura shifted his gaze between the two for a heartbeat and returned a solemn nod before stepping back and moving down the hall. The moment he left the confines of the central chamber, a wall of Meridian mana closely resembling the main entrance mana blocked the passageway.
"There, now you may speak freely, Scourge. While it angers me greatly that I was the one ordered to come here, I will perform my duties as required by the council. Now, what is it that you have to say?" Terwin asked in a flat tone.
Using what little mobility he had within the confines of his coffin, Mideia cracked his neck twice and shrugged his shoulders. "What do you know of the one called The Mouth of the Twilight Sea?" he asked, catching Terwin off-balance and causing his eye to widen slightly.
No, show him nothing that he could use against you, Terwin reminded himself as he took a moment to recompose his thoughts.