Snippet #2541815

Diana's memories of the surface, for the most part, were much more pleasant than what she was experiencing then. First of all was the absolute relentless light than blinded her. Many days, she would look up the Pit on the rare occasion that the silo doors opened and light would flood down for many levels, and she would be blinded by the light that poured in, though she didn't dislike it. It was brighter than any gas light that hung, any Glowworm that crawled, any furnace that burned. She didn't know exactly what she felt about it, she never thought about it. Did the light represent hope? Nostalgia? Entrapment? Fear? She couldn't tell. She just felt something pleasant about the light that poured in from above, a piece of an alien environment in her home. Or maybe it was a piece of home in an alien environment.

Yet, here, she was bathed in the light, and it was more light than she could handle. Even when squinting, her eyes burned, so she kept her eyes closed and had to cover them with her arm. She could not see a thing, but nonetheless, she walked along with the formation. six escorts walked ahead of her and six were behind her, all wearing the same red and blue military uniform, all with blue berets with red crosses and together, they all walked in an H-shaped formation across the courtyard with Diana in the very center. Many of them were much shorter than her, younger too, men and women between ages of 13 and 20. It was through their eyes that Diana could see.

For example, she could see herself and the formal clothing she was granted for the occasion. Whenever she had any business that had to do with the Order, she'd wear this dress of which more clearly displaced the colors of her nation than any others. Half red and half blue with white dots connecting like constellations in the star maps Diana recorded which represented the connection between them all and a bright red cross on the blue cap which had an even older meaning. The difference in nations didn't seem to matter to creatures beyond Samallia, probably because most of them had singular empires that dominated their planets, but Elekitel wished to spread its name out anyway, to depict itself as the most favorable nation. Also, considering Elekitel, like any other nation, planned to become the dominant empire of Samallia anyway, it seemed only fitting that she, as a representative of Samallia, would be wearing the colors and symbols of Samallia.

She could also see everything around her, one of the many surface emplacements of Elekitel, this one being Section-B Main, which sat right over the Section-B Pit and was encased completely in many layers of concrete walls and watchtowers where soldiers were posted and where the Falzers nested, large falcon-esques with deadly eyesight and scarlet feathers which were as strong as iron and talons which could shred through the same material, and they flew at blindingly quick speeds. In the courtyard around them, many workers were tending to a lot of the larger beasts, the giant Elswine, big boar-esques with long tusks that pointed straight forward and the ability to smell things that are even a mile underground, and the Qirin, a cross between a horse and a dragon with red and blue scales and curled horns that was famed for its speed, strength and bravery (and terrible smelling excrement).

She didn't see any of the Great Bears though, one of the most famous combat creatures of all for their sheer size, creatures larger than dragons that were known to be the most aggressive creature in all of Samallia, possibly most aggressive of all seven realms. They come in all colors, be it white, black or brown, and all wear armor of shining iron and are able to destroy nearly anything be it forts, warships, freight trains, cities or anything Elekitel pleases. They can be deployed on both land and on some waters (wherever Krakens couldn't be deployed due to the water being too shallow) and they can smell man and machine from about a Yojana away. Nearly all cowered from the forces of the Great Bears. It was rumored that they could even kill dragons, even the winged ones that existed in worlds beyond Samallia, being able to pull it from the air. They must have been kept at larger surface emplacements like in Sections A and D, but they certainly didn't fit underground, most having lived their entire lives on the surface. Diana, like anybody else, never feared the Bears. It was only late during her time in the military that she ever got to see them in action, but she knew what they were capable of, even on their own. On their own, they could do great things because they were big and strong, unlike the Vnamens. Yet, they were still dumb animals, so they obviously couldn't accomplish things without the direction of the Vnamens, the true greater power. Though, on her own, Diana wondered if she'd still be any smarter than the Bears. Only once she'd been without them, the first time she went to the Hall of Silence, and it was only briefly, but it was a very confusing situation. Now, she was to go there again.

The formation continued through the courtyard, workers and soldiers parting to make way, yelling orders at their various fabrications. Diana's escorts were shouting too, not at the people of course, but at the animals. Diana, too, was shouting. The words were very incomprehensible, being a very simple language meant only to be yelled at fabricated creatures, whom may have not understood it all the time. The trick wasn't in what was said, but how it was said, and usually, that was by shouting. The telepathy between the Vnamens also consisted more of quality than of content, quite unlike the spoken language the primitive races used, of which was extremely complicated and left a lot of room for misunderstanding. Diana was still learning it, as she had been required to be able to communicate with other races and her telepathy was of a lower tier. Vnamens in Samallia, whom focused little on magic, rarely even had enhanced forms of telepathy. What they had was good enough for them.

Diana's group approached another which was in a line formation ahead of them, each holding a different piece of equipment. Her escorts stopped, but Diana approached them, with her eyes covered still. One by one, they handed her various forms of equipment; a pair of surface goggles, (which Diana put on immediately that allowed her to see and left her arms free,) a belt with a knife sheath, a pistol holster and a few pockets, a silver-colored pocketwatch (which had the various constellation markings that were on her clothing along with the cross) that also contained a compass within it, (which theoretically would work on other planets,) an ivory knife which fit in the belt's sheath and a crossbow of which was about as small as a pistol with a bow that could be folded up so the weapon could be holstered. She was also given about twenty of the wooden iron-tipped bolts which were small enough to fit in her ammunition pocket. Diana examined the crossbow, seeing that it was already loaded with a single bolt. She was quite confident that she'd be able to fire it accurately. She'd used a variety of different projectile weapons before and her accuracy was top notch, at least when she was around her allies. Being able to see through the eyes of her allies, she had multiple angles of view, not to mention she had the accuracy of not one person, but many whom were thinking about taking the shot, as if she were part of a greater body. It wasn't Diana who made a shot, it was her entire squadron. Diana wondered if she would still be as accurate on her own, especially considering she hadn't fired a weapon in years.

The weapon was only for self-defense anyway, in case they were attacked on the way to the Spirit Barrier, but she was unlikely to be attacked once she was at the Hall of Silence. Only, Diana wasn't sure how long she'd be there for. It all depended on what the Headmaster Erobus wanted of her.

Once Diana was prepared, the group whom supplied her stepped aside and her escorts returned to either side of her. They moved toward one of the enormous gates of the innermost wall which was opened for them already. The formation continued through the various sections, going through the minor barriers of each square-section and through the major walls of which encased around the whole emplacement, where the Pit was located. Eventually, they arrived at one of the outermost sections, where other young soldiers were waiting, armed with rifles, along with a much older Vnamen, older than Diana even, whom wore grey robes. White hair covered his head, just as it did any other Vnamen. One of the soldiers was dealing with some sort of long-eared creature, of which Diana didn't recognize as a fabrication, meaning it was a natural creature. A mule perhaps.

Behind them was some sort of bronze archway, simply standing on its own, with many strange characters engraved on it. Attached to its sides were cylindrical crystals of some kind. On her own, Diana could tell it was some sort of Mana-powered device. Though, she was already receiving the thoughts of all the others. The older man was the hermit whom was sent by the Order, and he had the ability to open portals using magic, only it required quite a bit of Mana. The crystals were heavily enriched with Mana and could be found underground. Other worlds may have made use of these for a lot of their magical technologies, but Elekitel used them for much more important purposes, mostly for growing their food with very few nutrients available (which only the parasite implanted in their stomachs could turn into something usable for their bodies). The matter, however, seemed very urgent, as she could tell from the hermit's thoughts.

The hermit was clearly much different than the rest of them. His thought were the most identifiable among the group because he was the most different, a minor, yet differing opinion, and instinctually, thought they didn't show it, they all either despised him or feared him. Even Diana saw him as somewhat of a threat, yet a minor one because there were obviously more people on her side of the opinion. It wasn't any less difficult to tell what he was thinking. He was rethinking the memory of being contacted by the Order to find Diana and even about some of the ride there. He thought about when they were setting up the portal and how inefficient magically they were, but his thoughts were tense as he was thinking about death for some reason.

Wordless exchanges took place between the whole group and the hermit and the soldiers dispersed with the exception of two whom stayed on either side of the hermit and together, the three turned around. Diana's escorts stood in a horizontal line in front of her. Everybody, including Diana but with the exception of the hermit, stood still like statues. The hermit was whispering something, incantations of some sort which Diana could barely hear. Those who spoke verbally needed strong ears to listen, but Vnamens did not, yet they were not completely deaf. The hermit waved his hands as light in the archway began to bend, shifting into what appeared to be a light blue fluid-like surface of which emanated light phosphorescently. With a few slightly more audible incantations, the color solidified as an ocean blue.

As soon as he was finished, however, the thought of death entered his head again. Diana wondered about that, yet her wondering didn't go unnoticed. The hermit thought about what being shot by the soldiers would be like. One of the soldiers told her that the hermit would be executed as an enemy on their land, despite being neutral. Diana understood completely, however. Nations didn't truly matter to the Vnamens, only thoughts mattered. If ones thoughts did not match your own and those of everybody else, they hindered the great collective and even had the capability to infect more with their ideas, even if you were unwilling to be. This hermit may have done nothing but good, assisting refugees and doing tasks for the Order, yet once he was out of the protected land, anyone opinion could do what they saw fit.

Diana then wondered exactly why he decided to do it anyway. It would have been easy for him to refuse the Order, they could have sent one of their own people, probably not a Vnamen, to find her if it would have cost him his safety. The hermits thoughts went back to receiving the request, when he learned of the Archites, and they even went back to his own former nation, the terrible memories of war, being exiled of deviant thought, meeting other Vnamens whom sought neutrality or safety and his decision to stay in Samallia to help them. What exactly he was trying to say, Diana couldn't tell, but somehow, he just knew that he'd be doing the right thing. He also knew that the portal wouldn't stay open for long. He was grabbed by the two soldiers and moved out of the way (though, he moved willingly as there was no way the young soldiers could overpower the 30+ man) and Diana's escorts dispersed to either side. Diana hesitated. Thoughts were put into her mind about how to get to the Spiritual Barrier from the other end of the portal and how to activate the portal when she returned. Thoughts of urgency and duty were thought all around and the hermit even stopped thinking about death, but he did think about peace.

Diana took a deep breath. Often, Diana did so to be able to tell who she was as her thoughts often got mixed in with others, which was part of being part of the collective. It was like she was trying to mentally prepare herself for jumping into cold water, so instead of taking it slowly, she dived right in, running straight through.