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[h3][i]Beyond the Black Spire
Kerymhoarth
1 week ago…[/i][/h3][/center]

Shyss might have been one of the most powerful and the most clever of the Shyr lords but most would be hesitant to admit such a thing. Shyr respected strength and didn’t wish to admit being weaker than another. Their very positions would be compromised at such an admission and would result in infighting within the respective clan(s). Some bent the knee though out of fear of their own extinction, others required…persuasion. Clans like Clan Ashekh, led by the brutish Arek Ashekh, or better known as Arek the Vicious. The Ashekh had evolved to become monstrous creatures, creatures blessed with immense strength and cursed with both an immense thirst and a short patience. Their own appearance matched their beastial nature. Why should a monster like Arek bend a knee to Shyss Canak? Shyss the Sage? Shyss the Scholar? Shyss the Schemer? That was the sort of creature Shyss needed to persuade with more brutish methods. That was when he unleashed his own monster. A monster of his own flesh and blood. His son, Sohteth. 

For months, Shyss had attempted to reason with and recruit the Clan of Ashekh but to no avail. At best, they replied with insults and insinuated weakness within Clan Canak. At worst, they killed the sent messengers with no reply at all. Lord Canak had become weary of this consistent exchange and decided it was time to employ a more aggressive diplomacy. 

[center][i]“They will bend the knee or be destroyed. So decrees Lord Shyss Canak”[/i][/center]

Sohteth had walked through the Deep Deserts for weeks, stopping only to rest and nothing more. These shifting sands weren’t meant for the weak or the foolish. They’d been meant to be the grave of his kind, a mortal mistake made by mortal creatures. It was on the third day of the second week that Sohteth entered the rocky cliffs and passages of Kerymhoarth, home of Clan Ashekh. The walls dwarfed Sohteth, standing approximately three hundred feet tall and leaving a passage barely large enough for a group of four to move through if they stood shoulder to shoulder. Above, eyes watched and moved through the caves and crevices that spiderwebbed through the stone walls. The lone cloaked shyr stopped in his tracks before addressing those that watched him.

[b]“I am Sohteth, son of Lord Shyss. I was bidden to speak to Lord Arek of Clan Ashekh by my father”[/b] he declared. The Ashekh knew better than to deprive their master of a potential meal such like this. From above, a hulking figure descended and landed with a heavy slam that cracked the parched stones beneath their bare and clawed feet. Slowly, it rose to its full height before the son of Shyss, dwarfing Sohteth by several feet. A figure with skin the color of slate, eyes the color of amber, ears that were rounded points like an animal, slits for a nose, and as described to him, a mouth far too large and full of monstrous teeth. A figure with muscles and sinew that were barely contained by its grey flesh. The smaller Sohteth wasn’t impressed as he withdrew his hood, revealing a face that could have blended in with the humans were it not for his snow white hair and irises as white as his sclera. 

[b]“Lord Arek, I presume?”[/b] he asked in a curt tone. The figure chuckled, leaning in close and circling the smaller shyr as it sniffed at him like an animal determining whether this was friend, foe, or food.

[color=ed1c24][b]“Shyss insults Arek by sending a welp? Such a small creature will merely taunt Arek’s hunger. What could Shyss possibly have to say when Shyss oft insults Arek as such?”[/b][/color] the massive Arek said. As the large creature spoke, he continuously moved like a beast as he changed from walking on his legs, to crawling along the cliff walls, to walking on all fours while circling the human like son of Shyss. This creature was far more agile than one might expect but still unimpressive to Sohteth who felt the need to stifle the compulsion to sigh with boredom. This was a display he’d seen far too often and had grown far too accustomed to. Still, he’d been tasked by his father and the task would be completed as he was told. With that thought, the shyr closed his eyes and shunted all thought from his mind except the image of Shyss Canak and the message he wished to give.

Before the shyr of Clan Ashekh was a display of grotesquerie none could have imagined. Sohteth began by putting vast pressure on the bones in his face with his hands, fracturing them and disfiguring the average face that had been before them into something of a mashed and gruesome mess. Then, the wet sound of blood vessels and muscles moving and shifting the bones became audible as his face began to change appearance before them into that of someone else: Lord Shyss Canak. Even the shyr’s short white hair began to grow and darken in color, becoming as wavy as the shyr Sohteth was impersonating. Arek had even backed away, disgusted by this display and by the sickening sounds that had emitted from this creature’s transformation. All that remained unchanged were the eyes, something the shyr was unable to shift. The creature looked before its audience as they now leaned in to hear what needed to be said.

[i]“I am Lord Shyss Canak…lord of Clan Canak. I bring a warning and an offer to the strong of Clan Ashekh,”[/i] the thing that was not Lord Canak began. Many of the Ashekh grinned animal grins to one another at the acknowledgment of their strength. Even Arek. [i]“Many moons past, our kind was driven into this harsh land of dust and sunlight by the mortals. An attempt on our lives that they believed would destroy us. Mortalkind sought a half measure to our demise and failed.”[/i] he said as he motioned towards the deserts he’d come from. [i]“We have hidden in the shadows since then. Squabbling amongst ourselves like ignorant children and making ourselves weak by breaking into clans rather than uniting as one. Clan Ashekh, Clan Tris’dain, Clan Zelkhanna, and yes even Clan Canak.”[/i] This proclamation both offended and intrigued the members of the Ashekh, though Arek was not impressed by this seemingly disrespectful message. [i]“I ask you…why should our kind be forced to hide from those whom we call prey? How can we be expected to survive much longer by feasting on the scraps we find in the deserts? How can we hope to survive when they come for us to finish their work? We have been separated from one another for too long and have only grown weaker with every passing year. Soon, our kind will be buried and forgotten in the sands of these deserts as the mortals would have intended or destroyed by their hand. I say no longer. No more hiding in the shadows. No more suffering in the dark. Join my clan, fight alongside me, sons and daughters of the shyr. Fight so that we can forge a future the mortals would have taken from us and rule as we were intended to as equals”[/i] the creature that was not Shyss exclaimed. 

It was with that final proclamation that Sohteth’s features began to shift back into the form they once were, bones now mending back into their original state and hair pulling back to its original length and consistency. With his features returned, the shyr looked to the audience above as he spoke in his voice now. [b]“Know this, there will not be another chance to join the war. You are with us or you will be left to die, your legacy dust to the wind and your clan forgotten. Decide your fate, sons and daughters of Ashekh”[/b]. The Ashekh muttered amongst themselves as Sohteth waited patiently. Arek, ever the impatient brute that he was, laughed defiantly as he regarded Shyss’ lapdog. 

[color=ed1c24][b]“Shyss once more wastes Arek’s time with empty promises and emptier threats. Even now the Ashekh discuss how to kill Shyss’ messenger”[/b][/color] claimed the brute. Sohteth however smiled ever slightly. 

[b]“It’s not my death they discuss” [/b]he said with a smirk. Arek looked to the alcoves above, rage building like an inferno. It was the first time he’d turned his back on Sohteth and a fatal flaw on his part. Sohteth’s abilities didn’t stop at mimicry of others but rather it was a by-product of what he could truly do. Sohteth focused and drew from the nutrients in the blood of those he killed. Proteins, enzymes, a variable chemical cocktail that his body could use to grow long and sharp talons. Talons that he then used to dig into the flesh of Arek’s back before ripping out several of the vertebrae above his hips. Arek howled in both pain and rage as his legs failed him, falling like some massive rock from a mountain top. He tried to lash at Sohteth but the Shyss dog had stepped away. [b]“Fret not Lord Arek, I will not kill you though I would truly enjoy nothing more than feeling what few brains you have crushed in my hand. No, I think it rather fitting that those you call kin do the honors”[/b] he said. The murmuring became more excited, more frenzied even. Sohteth’s claws pulled back into a normal hand as he dawned his hood once more. [b]“Once you’ve disposed of your former master, march to the Black Spire of Shyss Canak. There you’ll be armed, fed, and prepared for the war to come”[/b] he called to the clan. Sohteth smiled as the sound of Arek begging for his life hit his ears, pleading and trying to bargain with those whom he’d so mistreated. No doubt the Ashekh would take their time killing their former master. Judging by the noises the beast made, it was exquisite levels of pain

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[center][h3][i]The Black Spire
The Dune Sea
Present…[/i][/h3][/center]

It hadn’t taken the son of Shyss long to return back to the Black Spire. It was a trip after all that he’d already made, all that was left was to retrace his steps. Sohteth entered his father’s throne room with his head bowed. Canak smirked at his son’s formality and raised his hand. 

[i]“Rise my son”[/i] the lord said with a smile as Sohteth raised his head and looked upon his father. He smiled back as Shyss approached and embraced his father in a hug, patting the older shyr’s back. [i]“I trust that Clan Ashekh has been convinced to join our cause?”[/i] the lord asked. Sohteth smiled and nodded. [b]“Arek the Vicious has been dealt with father, and I brought you a gift as well,”[/b] he said. Canak cocked an eyebrow at that as Sohteth produced a set of vertebrae with a bit of meat and gore still attached to it. [b]“I present the backbone of Arek the Vicious…or rather what likely remains of his backbone”[/b] he said. Shyss smiled with a mixture of delight and pride as he took the bone, examining it. This would prove quite useful in the Flesh Pits. What beasts he could conjure with this specimen. 

[i]“This is quite a prize my son. I’d have rather you brought me his head but alas, this will certainly do nicely”[/i] the elder shyr admitted. Sohteth shrugged at that and smirked. [b]“Alas there wasn’t much worth salvaging between his ears as we both know”[/b] he said with a chuckle. 

Shyss chuckled at that as well as he handed the backbone to a servant, instructing them to take it to his lab as he turned his gaze to a model of Has’rad, moving a carved piece of wood bearing the mark of Clan Ashekh to the miniature Spire. [i]“Clan Ashekh, Clan Tris’dain, and the minor clans have pledged their allegiance. With Nekhara’s aid and the aid of Antigone, we are nearly ready to begin the Great Work. All that remains is dealing with the Old Goat and swaying the seers of Clan Tal’oc to our side”[/i] Shyss spoke aloud. Sohteth followed with his father and looked over the model, glancing back to his father. 

[b]“Do you truly trust Nekhara to help us? What’s to stop her from turning her wrath on us?”[/b] he asked. Shyss glanced back to the white haired shyr and raised an eyebrow. [i]“Do you question my judgement?”[/i] he asked. It wasn’t hostile, merely a genuine curiosity of what his progeny thought. Sohteth shook his head before clarifying. [b]“Merely trying to understand, father. I do not trust her”[/b] he explained. Shyss smiled as a teacher might when their pupil posed a good question. [i]“As you shouldn’t. I merely trust her to do what is in her best interests. She has lost much of her power and has no armies…yet. That said, she is still powerful and can further our goals while furthering her own. She knows if she intends to reforge her empire she must make an alliance with those whom she deems…unsavory. For now, she is our ally of convenience”[/i] he elaborated before motioning to a piece showing the stylized eye symbol for Clan Tal’oc. [i]“If we sway the Seers, then we can better predict what the “Black Empress” will do before she knows what she will do”[/i] he added. Sohteth nodded in understanding. 

[b]“Do you wish for me to approach the Tal’oc and try to sway them?”[/b] he asked. Shyss shook his head. [i]“You’ve done enough for now, my son. I will extend an invitation to the Tal’oc myself out of respect for them. For now, I must ensure the Clans are prepared for what is to come next and continue refining my creations further. Antigone will be here soon, I would have you welcome her to our home and ensure things are progressing with her father”[/i] the old shyr said. Sohteth smiled and nodded. He wouldn’t complain about seeing his beloved, especially if it meant furthering their machinations as well. 

Antigone aided Canak and the shyr as much as she could in their efforts to control and manipulate Nessioi to aid them but the Old Goat’s support was dubious at best and had only become more shaky as time progressed. Canak would likely need to convince the Satyr Lord in the most direct way possible that opposing them wasn’t in his or his people’s best interests. Shyss would rather be diplomatic but diplomacy became an uncertain thing when it came to the denizens of the Mortal Domains. They were more content isolating themselves and fighting one another over scraps of a dead empire or naive ideology than coming together to ensure survival. Canak lamented to himself that he had to rely on sadism and horror to secure peace but alas, a short period of sufficient cruelty was necessary to ensure serenity for the millenia to come. They’d call him a monster, a murderer, a tyrant, their descendants would likely as well, but this was preferable to total extinction and this wasn’t a world meant for him. Whether the Immortal Domains wanted to admit it or not, they needed the Mortals to survive. 

Canak stiffened as if seeing or hearing something no one could see for a moment. Some of Canak’s first delvings into fleshcraft had produced a creature that he referred to as Watcher Beasts, creatures that could patrol the boundaries of his lands and could not only be psychically controlled by him but could share what they sensed as though it was Canak experiencing it himself. That was what had occurred to the older shyr lord as Sohteth approached. [b]“What do the Watchers see, father?”[/b] he asked. Canak’s trance was broken as he looked toward his son. [i]“Antigone has a way with timing. She has crossed into our lands from the North Eastern Fringes. Go to her and escort her to the Spire”[/i] Canak commanded. Sohteth gave his father a bow before making for the North Eastern Fringes.

Sohteth narrowed his eyes as he managed to locate the throng of Watchers that had spotted his beloved. Sohteth disrobbed and draped the robes around his neck as he closed his eyes, drawing on the power of the blood as he began to shift and change. His skull lengthened, fingers growing longer and webbed to form wings, his form shifting into that of one of his father’s Watchers. With this new form, Sohteth took flight and joined the throng before deciding to play with his paramour. It didn’t take long before she saw through the act and called him by name, causing the shyr to laugh a bit more as he began shifting back into his true form as she asked about this new and terrible trick. The young shyr chuckled as he donned the robes again to be more presentable.

[i]“That I have my dear, that I have. My most sincere apologies for causing you distress. Couldn’t help myself” [/i]he said with a toothy smile as he took her hand and gently kissed her knuckle. He motioned towards the spire as he spoke. [i]“I’ve been bidden to escort you to my father. Your room has been prepared and I’ve taken the liberty of leaving you some gifts to welcome you home”[/i] he mentioned as he walked alongside her. The young shyr spoke of his journey as they made their way towards the spire, speaking of the barbaric Ashekh clan and their detestable former leader. [i]“How often such creatures underestimate something smaller than them, eh? The mortal overlooks the scorpion before gasping for their final breath”[/i] he commented. He took a moment as he seemed to realize he’d been talking a little too much and chuckled a bit to himself. [i]“Sorry, I’m rambling again aren’t I? Tell me about your journey. I trust it was productive?”[/i]

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While the Zitan’s ability to speak the common tongue of the non-insectoid races was stunted thanks to simple biology, understanding the language was merely a measure of intelligence which Twitch possessed. He recognized her slur as she referred to him as “hornless one” and chittered in response at that to display his displeasure, not that she’d likely recognize it. Still, the woman lowered her daggers as she approached and the automaton responded in kind by relaxing slightly. Twitch tilted his head slightly at the question of whom he served and took a moment to consider the words to speak.

[b]“This…one…loy-al…House...Sed-dad”[/b] the insectoid replied slowly and deliberately. Twitch loathed trying to speak the language but few knew the ability to Sign and even fewer could communicate through pheromones as zitan did. Twitch watched as the strange woman removed a ring from her finger and flicked it to him. The automaton moved faster than one could easily process as it snatched the ring out of the air. Taking the ring from the machine’s hand, the woman went on to explain that if he showed this piece of metal to one of her kind in the cliff city of Thermopoli that he could expect to be shown where he needed to go. Twitch clicked and chittered in confusion at this. [b]“I…not…un-der-stand”[/b] he replied. It seemed his response didn’t matter as she whistled for her mount and bade him a farewell as she rode away.

The insectoid stared at the ring for a moment before shaking its head and pocketing the small trinket. He swore the more he interacted with the non-insectoid, the less he truly understood. With his distractions ceased, he began gathering what artifacts he deemed most worthy aboard his sleds. One he would pull, the other pulled by his Sentinel. Much would be left behind but the zitan had been clever indeed. With a release of pheromones, Twitch could find this place again and recover more when and if the time came. For the time being however, the insectoid looked towards the moonlit horizon, for the Shining City awaited….

Several days would pass before Twitch would return to Frey with his treasures in hand. The insectoid chittered with relief as he managed to sell what he could. All in all, it would cover the loss of the skimmer and potentially fund another which would allow for the recovery of more artifacts. Twitch was pleased with himself and looked forward to delivering the good news to the Twins. Still however, he found himself thinking of the strange woman he’d met. The ring still weighed his pocket down and still the question of who she was weighed his mind down even more. Who was she and why was she keen on a Skavver like him? Perhaps Tharos and Thessi would be able to answer him…

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The elf handed the map to his sister as she wished to inspect it closer with her own eyes. The parchment was in a rough state as it had been folded and refolded who knew how many times. He explained the source had been from some Sunrunners who’d recently come back from retrieving several professors and students of Drashor Academy who’d discovered the site. The Academy was a respectable school responsible for many academic discoveries that had made Has’rad a less alien place to the Exiles. It wasn’t like members of the Academy to misidentify such a thing. That meant then that the find was legitimate and that it wouldn’t be long until they wouldn’t be able to access the site themselves. 

[b][i][color=8882be]"We likely have a week or 2 until they put together a proper team and gather the equipment necessary to set up a proper dig site. If we move fast enough, we’ll be able to get our own piece of it”[/color][/i][/b] he explained with a mischievous smile. He smiled even wider as she said they should prepare then and embraced her in a tight hug. [b][i][color=8882be]"That’s my nys[sup]1[/sup]!”[/color][/i][/b] he exclaimed with a grin as he got to his feet and followed her example. Tharos relished the thought of getting out of the city for a while and potentially making not only a bit of coin but earning a bit of respect that they’d earned, not been given. Tharos quickly donned a decent cloak and found some appropriate garb that he’d managed to pack when he heard the door open. Tharos listened as he heard a familiar chittering and smiled. It seemed Tel’ist[sup]2[/sup] had delivered their loyal servant and most trusted companion back to them.

[b][i][color=8882be]“Twitch! My dear friend, just who I was hoping to see”[/color][/i][/b] he said with a grin. Twitch gave an approving chitter as he began moving his hands and digits in a sort of poetry of motion, weaving together words with movement rather than sound. The Twins had learned Zitan Sign to make communication with their friend more bearable for the insectoid companion. 

[i][b]“It is good to see you too, my friend. I must however apologize for I bring both good and bad tidings”[/b][/i] he signed. Tharos frowned at that as Twitch explained that they’d lost the skimmer to a bout of bad luck. Some of the artifacts had to be left behind but he’d managed to build a sled from the remains of the skimmer and save some of the more worthwhile artifacts. He bequeathed the money to his friend and Tharos sighed with relief. [b][i][color=8882be]“Twitch, that is wonderful news my friend. Losing the skimmer is indeed misfortunate but this money will help us fund an exped-”[/color][/i][/b] he began. The male twin stopped speaking as he felt a shiver run through his spine. Not a true shiver mind you, a sort of psychic tremor as it were that told him something had shifted in the Fate Weaver’s strings. Something happened. Thessi might have been more skilled in the Art than him but he had the Art as well, a bond that connected them more than just through blood.
 
Thessi. Something had happened to her. Tharos didn’t think as he instinctively called on the Art to fold reality on itself. For a moment, reality held its breath and raw energy began to hum in the air. Like a mirage in the desert. For Twitch, he only saw his friend one moment and then gone the next. All that was left was an unsettling drop in the stomach and an empty space where Tharos had been. Tharos appeared by his sister’s side, feeling further unsettled by such use of the Art as he moved to his sister, watching as her eyes had turned black and bulged while her hands clawed frantically at anything nearby. 

[b][i][color=8882be]“Thessi! Thessi snap of out it!”[/color][/i][/b] he commanded, praying that perhaps using the Art had dispelled whatever was gripping her in this moment