[this is not canon. it never happened and most likely never will. you are welcome to read it, sure, but do not read INTO it, for there is nothing there. I just had to write.]
The land of Yliakum is a giant stalactite. So they say. One would assume that this would mean that the entirety of the world was composed of limestone, but this is not true, for deep in the heart of the world, a crystal shines, a beacon of energies unimaginable that actually warp and shape the space within, creating biomes, landforms and habitats as unique and diverse as those on any other world. That is how, on the very periphery of Yliakum, deep in the fissured recesses commonly known as the Stone Labyrinths, twists and turns like a void snake a narrow lava tube, created eons ago, perhaps before the arrival of the Gods.
Through this narrow passage wandered an orb of white light, as clear and steady as the Azure Sun itself but only a fraction of its brilliance. This orb of light emanated from the end of a wand, and that wand was being carried by a clamod menki, a healer by the looks of him, who was using this light to lead a small band through the dark tunnel.
Behind him followed three fenkis and an Ylian. The tube was narrow and cramped and only allowed the band to walk in single file. Behind the guiding menki was a clamod fenki, so dark was her fur and clothing that she was almost imperceptible in the absence of light, a mere shadow among shadows. Behind her walked two akkaios, one outfitted in leather and woven hunters garb, bow and arrow at the ready, while the other was covered in steel plated armor, which creaked and clanked along the tight corridor. Bringing up the rear was the Ylian man, a red-haired tracker, whose years of experience exploring these very depths had him on high alert.
One by one they emerged into a grotto at the tunnel's end. The subterranean chamber was mostly circular in shape, with a high-vaulted domed ceiling, from which hung several small stalactites, each a miniature facsimile of the world they existed in, formed as mineral laden waters seeped through the grounds above, depositing their riches in layers along the outer surface of each cone. The process of their creation was slow, and as conditions above gradually changed over time they would grow and stop, new ones forming where the groundwater found new cracks to pass through. That water dripped, dripped, dripped in a steady, constant, agonizingly slow rate into a deep pool that encompassed almost entirely the cavern's floor.
The pool was clear, as clear as the diamonds found at the bottom of the Laanx temple dungeons. It's surface was like glass, a still smooth surface, it's stillness only broken by the occasional drip from above. The entire grotto was filled with the glow of an ambient blue light, which seemed to be emanating from the very pool of water itself. But looking into the pool, our adventurers observed that it's depths were as black and fathomless as the darkness from which they had just emerged. The effect, the always astute Ylian ranger pointed out, was like staring into the eyes of one of the akkaio fenkis present.
They gathered around the edges of the pool, stopping only momentarily to rest and take in its eery calm and beauty. Finally, the clamod leader spoke up, his voice was soft, yet echoed throughout the eternal maze of the Labyrinths. "Well, what now?"
"What do you mean what now? You lead us here Sacho," said the shadowy clamod. "Didn't you know where you were going? You've lead us straight into a dead end." A quiet smile possessed her lips as she contemplated the meaning of those two final words.
"I was only leading because I had the light," the one named Sacho made clear. "It was Callie's words that lead us here. I say it again, what now?" He turned to the leather clad akkaio, as did the rest of the group, as if they depended on her answer, but she was still staring into the bottomless pool. "Aramara?"
At the sound of her name, Aramara lifted her head and looked to each of her companions in turn. Her gaze at last ended on the armored fenki. To her she held out a paw, her face set with determination, "Mari... give me your armor."
"My armor? What for?" Mariana took a step back. Her armor was precious to her. Beyond protecting her in battle, it served as a shell between her and others, providing the distance, the detachment she needed to cope with her life. It was her mask. Beneath the steel plating she hid her true form, what she truly was, scarred and broken. Aramara knew this, as did the dark fenki. She looked between the two trying to find some explanation, but it was the way Aramara had asked for her to remove her armor, to willingly hand it over as if it were not so important, so crucial to her being, that had Mariana doubting her dependance.
"Do it Mari," said the clamod fenki.
Mariana relented. With sagged shoulders she slowly removed her steel shell. Piece by piece she exposed herself slowly to all present.
Is this what you want Ara? For me to stand naked before the world? What in the name of the cursed Gods are you planning?At the same time Mariana stripped herself of her defenses, Aramara too began removing her clothing, all save but her undergarments and a shirt of chainmail. Both men turned to give the fenkis the privacy they deserved, but still wondered what such an exchange could mean. Aramara handed over her woven shawl to her warrior friend to cover herself with, and picked up and donned the heavy armor.
"Aramara, what is this? What are you doing?"
"I'm going to find him," her voice was set with resolve, "I'm going to find Miomo."
Before anyone could object, or at least make sense of her actions, Aramara stepped to the edge of the pool and dove into the clear blue waters headfirst. The weight of the armor pulled her quickly down into its depths, until she had disappeared completely into the inky blackness.
\\=._\[-*-]/_.=//
