Stathis started to explore the vast palace – all empty and huge, any signs of life long-since gone. There had been battle here, once, gouges and blasts etched into the walls, but long enough ago that even in the strange and unchanging nature of this place, the edges were smoothed over. Despite the combat that had happened here, it wasn’t a fortress, or at least not one built according to any structure she recognised. The hallways were too wide and open, without any murderholes or chokepoints, although it looked as though there had been a few attempts at creating them. Had this place been that peaceful? The walls were thick enough that it could be a fortress, but that seemed to be purely a function of size – the windows were large, creating opening that would be virtually impossible to defend.

Despite the neat and orderly layout of the building, it was so large that it was hard to find anything, beyond more and more oversized hallways and grand hallways. She tried heading inwards, towards whatever might be in the centre, pushing forward, over and around a variety of collapsed walls and fallen-in ceilings.

As she moved forward, the passages narrowed, and started to curve and twist more, something other than relentless straight edges finally appearing. There must be something in here! Normally there would be a throne room, or a shrine, or some kind of sanctum or something. What would people even need this much space for? She slipped through a passageway, stone blocks fallen against each other so there was barely room to squeeze through.

The air was getting hotter, the dull dryness replaced by a slowly increasing dry heat. That showed there was something going on, somewhere. There had to be something here other than endless stone passages! And it wasn’t as though there was day or night, or any need to eat. Hopefully, when she was able to get back, then not too much time would have passed.

She made her way through narrower, curving passages. These were less marred by violence, although there were still areas where the ground was broken and uneven, gashes in the stone revealing drops through into chambers below. From the size, searching the place properly would take an age, even with several teams of adventurers – with just her, then mapping it entirely would be impossible, especially without paper.

Stathis closed her eyes and tried to focus – there must be something here, if this was the centre of whatever-this-was. She took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, letting herself sink into a quiet and self-imposed darkness. There! She felt a tug, a slight warmth on her face, like the sunshine on a dull day. It was ahead of her, and further downwards.

With a direction in mind, she kept progressing. Even in the narrower, internal corridors, it never got truly dark, the place never getting more than slightly dim and shadowed. As she got closer, it was easier and easier to sense, the warmth increasing to a comforting warmth, making her smile despite herself. Stone chunks, clearly once part of a door, lay on the ground, scattered like rubble. The passageway they had once barred was heavily gouged and scarred itself, with light, actual light, shining from within.

A peaceful calm settled upon her as she crossed the threshold, making her feel relaxed and comforted, like stepping into a cathedral. Although at least this time she didn’t have to worry about Janaxia’s clothing disintegrating! Despite the aura of the place, that soured her mood – hopefully Janaxia was still alive, although from what Stathis had last seen of her, things didn’t look good. Mother wasn’t the forgiving type, and “direct assault” was something of a weakness of Janaxia’s, nor did Janaxia’s family seem the kind to offer her sanctuary.

She glanced up, and up, and up – the chamber was a tall cylindrical shaft, stretching up and out of sight, with bright, warm light spilling from above, bright enough that it hurt to look at. Beneath it was a lake of liquid, thick and dark, looking like a slick of oil, depth impossible to tell, the far side out of sight. As she watched, a droplet fell from above, sending ripples through the liquid, the plop breaking the silence.

The floor was bare rock, not worked stone, but the building was so large it could have been built on or around a hill, or she could have descended to ground level or down to the bedrock without realising. The pool was simply cut from the ground, the edge knife-sharp and sudden against the surrounding stone, without any ornamentation around it, not even a protective wall.

Images shimmered into being in the darkness – bulbous domes and thin spires of crystal, a busy and crowded city, cut through by canals, gleaming in the moonlight. Was that Belazaan? She’d only been there once, but not many places had crystal towers! The view shifted, seeming to move in uneven jumps and lurches, juddering and jumping through the air towards an elegant looking building, next to a large square, ringed with statues and lit by brightly-coloured lanterns.

Then the viewpoint lurched again, and it was inside. Although she could see the room, even the food and drink being offered on tables, the probably-people there only appeared as vague streaks and smears of pale light, the dancefloor distinguishable from the regularity of the movements. It was somewhat disconcerting seeing food suddenly vanish as it was presumably eaten, the streaks moving around near the tables. Only two stood out – both had more defined humanoid shapes picked out in black shadow, although their bodies and limbs warped and mutated as they moved, warping and shifting from moment to moment, although always keeping about the same height and build.

She watched as the two shadows moved with seeming intent, through the room, shadows rippling as their hands shifted into spikes. They both lunged at the same time, spiked hands stabbing forward towards a more normal smear. Before she could stop herself, Stathis touched the water, dipping her finger into it, finding it bitterly cold to the touch. Then she blinked and she was there – music playing, the scent of food and wine, the smears looking better defined, closer to people-shaped, but still impossible to tell apart.

The music juddered to a stop, the chatter of the room going silent, a scream of panic coming from somewhere. She seemed to be up in the air somehow, and it took a moment to orientate herself. She could see the two dark figures, their shapes more precisely visible, standing over a downed smear, blood staining the floor. She felt herself descend to the floor, a blade in one hand, a shield in the other.

One of the shapes launched itself at her, leaping forward with preternatural speed, claws clanging off her shield. It had enough force to rock her backwards but not enough to break through her guard, before the other one attacked.

This close, she could see their shapes better – humanoid, but shot through with veins of black and red, with a shard of gleaming darkness where their hearts should be. One spoke - despite their warped appearance, their voice seemed normal, albeit tinted with hatred. ‘No summoning of the light shall thwart us! Begone, broken guardian of old!’

She blocked several swift strikes, letting her armour absorb another, a slight twinge of cold coming through the plate, but she didn’t feel a wound. Around her, panic broke out, the crowd screaming and running for the exits, as other guards stepped forward. From the door came a large and humanoid figure, that pushed through the crowd, looking like flame bound into human form. Was it a fire elemental? But it wasn’t scorching the rugs or floor, as it picked up an empty platter and threw it, the thing smacking into the back of one of her enemies, knocking them sprawling.

Stathis took the chance to thrust back, stabbing it through the shoulder. The darkness peeled and burned away with a stench of burning meat, before the other attacked, a flurry of strikes that forced her back, clanging off her shield and armour. After being stuck in that other place, being able to fight, to move, to do something other than simply walk, was a pleasure, and she slammed her shield back with a roar. They were fast, but didn’t seem to be armoured, and weren’t experienced at fighting armoured targets – they surged forward together, trying to overwhelm her by the sheer number of attacks, but none had enough force to penetrate.

She couldn’t resist laughing, caught up in the exhilaration of action, settling her feet and then stabbing back at full strength, feeling the shock of impact, before sunlight blazed along her sword, peeling away the darkness to reveal cut and scarred meat, blood spurting from her attack, as another knife-thrust bounced off her shield. She pressed her advantage as the figure of flame charged from behind, smashing one over the head with another tray, the metal snapping in half under the impact. They managed to recover fast enough to stab at Stathis’ arm, blade penetrating into the armour.

The dark figures were on the defensive now, ducking and weaving but unable to regain the initiative. One broke away and dashed for the window, Stathis landing a solid hit on their unprotected back before they were out of reach, jumping through the glass and out of reach. The other jumped at her, body somehow flowing around a strike, dodging in mid-strike, another strike rattling against her armour. ‘The light rises too late!’ She felt pressure on her ankle and she was suddenly off balance, tottering backwards for just long enough that they escaped, the fire giving chase.

Stathis turned towards the downed blur, the flow of blood heavy, and reached out to teach them. She felt fine cloth and warm flesh, along with the too-hot stickiness of fresh blood, as they gasped. ‘Don’t worry, you’re safe now.’ She had no idea if they could hear her, but they seemed to relax slightly, as she healed them, a bright solar glow spilling out.

And then she was back in the chamber, hand still extended into the pool, a slight trail of blood showing dark and ominous amongst the bright water. She splashed her hand around, but the images didn’t return, as the darkness slowly faded into the liquid.

‘So you have found the Wound.’

She jumped to her feet, startled, then let out a breath when she saw it was the blinded man again. ‘What is this? And how did you get here so fast?’ He pointed at a gash in the wall, high above them, a patch of mist just barely visible in the low light. ‘You could have told me! Would have been a damn sight faster than finding my way here through the insides of this place. So, what can you tell me about this? I travelled through it or something, it looked like Belazaan. Um, not that you probably know where that is.’

He knelt and trailed his hand through the liquid, before raising his hand up and flicking his fingers dry – the stuff moved liked water, but seemed utterly silent now, the droplets re-joining the pool without a sound. ‘The Wound.’

‘Yes, you said that already. I saw a droplet drop from above, and then it showed me a vision. Or transported me somewhere, I guess?’

‘The gap between worlds can be breached. Your spirit can transmit itself to that place. This is where the world, this world, was broken. And even now, is a wound between the worlds.’

Stathis splashed her fingers again, wincing at the biting cold of the liquid, hoping that another droplet would fall, or another vision would occur. ‘How often do droplets fall? What sets it off?’

‘It moves by the will of the Light, as it tries to seal the darkness away. What did you see?’

Stathis briefly described the scene, and the fight that had ensued.

‘Agents of the darkness! I have not heard of those that have taken the darkness into their own bodies before, but there are always those willing to sacrifice themselves for power. A shame that you couldn’t truly kill them, but with luck, they will have been weakened. But it cannot be forced. Should you wish to use it again, you shall have to wait here.’

‘Have you ever used it?’

‘A long time ago, even by my reckoning. I and the few of our kindred left did lend our aid as best we could. Back then, it was but a small thing, but it has only grown over time, as the darkness grows. and, one by one, we fell, our spirits defeated, until only I was left. And so I left this place, to wait for a day of change.’

‘So, uh, couldn’t anyone have travelled through recently and… um, had a child?’

‘It is a wound in the very fabric of the world itself, a breaking of the fulcrum of all things! To use it for such things would be a sacrilege. And I have been alone for ages beyond counting, certainly not engaging in… dalliances.’ He looked genuinely offended.

‘Sorry. Just wondered if someone might have met my mother that way. There’s been a few people with similar abilities, but I’ve only ever met one, and he seems to have inherited the normal way. She mentioned a glorious blaze of light, and then, well, she had me.’ Was he blushing? It looked strange on his weathered and scarred face. ‘So what’s above us, that bright light?’

He looked thankful for the change of topic. ‘That is the holy sanctum, to which the Light withdrew until we proved itself worthy. From there, her tears for our weakness fall.’

‘So if I fly up there, I can see her? Talk to her? It’d be nice if she knew some way for me to get back.’

He shook his head. ‘She has withdrawn beyond this world, granting only these visions as her mercy.’

‘Right. She doesn’t sound very helpful, to be honest. Did she do more when this place was alive? Gods should at least try to engage with the world.’

That slightly disturbing expression of fanaticism bubbled up again. ‘Ours is not to question! We betrayed her, and failed to live up to her expectations, and so must endure.’

‘So what actually is up there? Some sort of dimensional seal or something, and probably a lot of protective wards?’ She squinted upwards, but was unable to see anything through the light, other than the violet blobs that formed in her vision.

‘It is sealed, and not to be touched. Those that tried, thinking themselves sacred and safe, were destroyed for their transgressions, their bodies burnt to ash.’

‘Maybe lead with stuff like that? Fine, I won’t go up there.’ Unfortunately, it was too high up to throw anything – even Parth probably couldn’t get an arrow all the way up there. ‘So, what’s your name? As it looks like I might be here a while, we may as well get to know each other.’

There was a long pause before he answered, his mouth still out of synch with the sounds Stathis was hearing. ‘My name? It has been long since I had to use such. Agon, I think it was.’

‘I’m Stathis. Nice to meet you, I suppose.’ She stretched herself out on the floor, trying to make herself comfortable, using an arm as a pillow. ‘Anything else you want to tell me? Rather than waiting around until I ask the right question? I’d rather get out of here as soon as possible, and it’ll be quicker if you help, rather than being vague and mysterious at me.’ She shifted around, until she was as comfortable as she could make herself. A twinge of pain came from her arm, and she unstrapped the vambrace – there was a small scratch on her skin, where the dagger had managed to penetrate through the metal. ‘Hey, how do wounds work here? Do we heal?’ She focused, using a tiny part of her power to heal the wound. Although after healing the victim of the attack, she didn’t have much power left.

‘Time treads but lightly here – your wounds shall heal eventually, but far more slowly than you may expect. If you intend to fight again, you should reserve your strength, or else you shall fall. As all others have fallen, until only I am left, again.’

Stathis tuned out his speaking. She’d have to keep an eye on the pool and try and get a message to the others – Hakara might be able to do something, or Janaxia might have some idea what had actually happened, but probably not. If she was still alive, at least.