Serena, Herald of the Mother
Serena lounged upon a bed of cushions strewn around the floor, mindlessly picking at the bowl of grapes to her side as he eyes roamed the courtyard of Obsidian Palace. A few of the Exalted practiced their arts in the field, hacking and slashing at each other to prove their dominance over the other as, even the Exalted were not above such desires, and out of the corner of her eye she spotted Vas sitting in a dark, gnarled tree twirling her dagger in boredom. Serena shared that boredom, it had grown dull on the mortal world, as of late, with little need of their skills and the lack of any amusing events that they could watch unfold.
Some of the younger Exalted looked forward to watching the 'quest', but Serena didn't. She had watched them unfold before, it was mostly walking... and more walking... with a bit more walking added in for good measure. Perhaps, a conversation here and there as they 'bonded' which was, somehow, even more dreadful to have to witness and the less she spoke about the 'love' that would sometimes blossom during long, extended periods of isolation with members of opposite sexes, the better. Yes, the fighting was far and in-between, 'quest' were a dull affair.
Plucking a lone grape, she brought it to her lips and slipped it in, closing her eyes as she chewed. It didn't help that Mother hadn't shown any enthusiasm either after the initial news. She had yet to pick a champion despite the 'group' supposed to be meeting today to start out on their 'quest'. It seemed her desire to aid the quest was based entirely on watching the half-breed and how he preformed. Serena was glad the half-breed had taken refuge in the realm of the 'God-King' as, if he hadn't, there had been a good chance the Mother could have ordered Vas, or herself, to bring the half-breed to the Palace, so the Mother could take a 'closer look' at the boy. That task would not have been difficult, but Serena would have questioned the value in the boy and wasting her time on maimed half-breed.
A voice swam through her mind, a warm voice, "Serena, dear, it seems the God of Boredom has 'invited' me to his realm which means the quest has begun. I have decided on my," the voice paused, and Serena could picture Mother tapping her finger against her lips as she pretended to ponder on the word, "'Champion'. I will open a portal to their location, be a dear and help to send them on their way."
Serena pushed herself up from the cushions, taking a moment to clear away the wrinkles in her dress as she did so. The dark portal opened tore open space in front of her with budding curiosity on the 'champion', Serena stepped through it.
Skarruk and Shebaba
Skarruk's black eyes took in far more light then any human's could possibly hope for, so the secrets of the dark, dank tunnels could not hide from him. He was on a hunting trip, a suicide trip really, to explore the troll warrens and bring back their 'treasure' for the Chieftain. But that is what he got for overextending his authority as tribal shaman, he gently prodded Shebaba's abdomen with the end of his spear, coaxing her to keep moving through the tunnels.
His skin crawled with every step she took within the caves, his heart thumping faster in his small chest as he fought down the panic that was rising, he wanted to turn Shebaba around and flee. One troll was bad, two was worse... but an entire Troll Throng? That was death, and he had no desire to have them puke out their stomach contents on him as he dissolved in the acid of their bile. Shebaba must have sensed his fear as she stopped once again, Skarruk let out a curse in Gou'Toki as he prodded Shebaba again, but she wasn't moving.
Skarruk frowned and smacked her harder, a loud crack splitting the air and echoing down the tunnel as the shaft met her armored carapace, and still nothing. Not even a chitter of warning to him for his blow... nothing. She hadn't disobeyed him since she was a spiderling, and more then that, she had never not responded at all. Skarruk shivered as a chill ran through his body, his dark eyes scanning the tunnel as his instincts screamed at him that something was very, very wrong.
Finally, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted movement, something in black that he had not noticed before. Instinctively, he tried to prod Shebaba again, but she wasn't moving, merely staring ahead as if lost in her own world. Gripping his spear tighter, he started to chant in Gou'Toki calling upon the magical energy in the air to come to him as the shadow started to move, "Drath tokin'ra Ko.." his voice died as the magic he called to him was being unraveled. Unraveled faster then he could draw it in, his panicked mind raced as his instincts continued to scream at him to run away from the figure, that it was dangerous.
But the shadow kept coming, advancing at a slow, almost lazy, pace. Reflexively, he thrust his spear at it when the shadow came in range, but it was smacked aside the blow as if it was nothing more then an annoying gnat, before he could move, it shot out at him like a viper, gripping his throat and lifting him off Shebaba as if he weighed nothing. Skarruk clawed and scratched at the arm holding him, his dirty nails failing to break the material over its arm, grasping for his belt, he tried to pull out his dagger, but a flash of pain blurred his vision as the shadow slammed him into the cave wall.
Blinking away the tears, his vision cleared and finally, at this range, he was able to see the shadow for what it was. A human, but not just any human, his dark eyes fell on the pale beast skull on her head, and his heart froze in terror. The Herald. He had never seen her. None in their tribe had, but they knew her. Just as all knew the Mother. It was an instinctual knowledge, no different then breathing, a primal fear and awareness that lurked in the back of their mind, buried deep within their very creation. But the knowledge did little to alleviate his fears.
"Skarruk," The herald said in gou'toki, her voice cold. It was odd, it held no accent, no personality, it was as if Skarruk had read the words carved upon the wall, "The Mother has chosen you to preform a task. Succeed, and you shall be rewarded. Fail and pray that your death is quick."
His black eyes widen in equal parts fear and surprise, he would have asked why, but he had trouble forming words around the thin hand gripping his throat, "You are to join a... group formed by the gods and aid them in their task," with that, her hand released his throat, and gravity took its toll, his body smacking into the cold, hard ground as he breathed deep trying to fill his lungs with the musty tunnel air.
"W-What task?" Skarruk gasped, pushing himself to his feet.
The Herald watched him, her face revealing nothing as she waved her hand and as the air itself seemed to tear, a dark portal coming into existence, so abyssal it seemed to even draw in the lesser darkness of the tunnel into its embrace, "Go," the Herald commanded.
Skarruk fumbled around, his dirty green fingers combing the ground until they bumped into the shaft of the spear. Picking it up, he returned to Shebaba and climbed on, the soft chittering sound his companion made were soothing as they echoed in the tunnels. It was a familiar sound, one he hadn't thought he would find so comforting once he had been deprived of it. Gently nudging Shebaba, he led her towards the portal, and with once last look at the Herald, her through it.
Skarruk let out a pained cry as the burning light seared at his eyes. He dropped his spear as his hands came up to cover his face, gripping it in agony as his pupils tried desperately to adapt to the massive amount of light assaulting them. His eyes clasped closed, his hands shot over his head and gripped the hood of his cloak, pulling it over his head to mercifully shield him from the harsh, blinding rays of light that peaked through the trees.
From the sanctuary of the shadows provided by his hood, Skarruk blinked away the pain and flashes of light, he could smell humans, an elf... beast... He gripped his spear even as he felt Shebaba move under him. Finally able to see, he looked around, his head moving in quick jerking motions as he scanned the forest, from the other 'champions' in it, to the large beast prowling around them. Shebaba had adapted quicker, it seems, as her fang's chittering grew louder, a warning to the others, as her two, blade-like front legs lifted into the air ready to strike at anything that came too close.
"The Mother's...... contribution," the cold voice of the Herald said from behind him, he turned his head, almost glad to have her there as while she was terrifying, she was a terror he was more familiar with. Skarruk looked at the group one more time, before gently laying his hand on Shebaba's head, calming the spider as it lowered its legs and left its aggressive pose.
The rustling of grass drew his attention back to the Herald who had stopped half-way in her turn to go back into the portal, her head turned to fall on one of the, what Skarruk could only assume was some kind of wounded human, "The Mother has taken an interest in you, half-breed. She will be watching your actions from now on, do not disappoint."
It seemed she did not want, or need, a reply as the Herald turned back and entered the portal, the dark vortex closing behind her.
With his only... 'ally' gone, Skarruk gripped his spear tightly, his knuckles turning yellow from the pressure, "Skarruk," he said roughly, his voice till hoarse from the near strangulation, "Shebaba," he said, touching the spider on the head to give introduction. His large black eyes kept jumping from human, to... wounded.. human, to elf, to beast trying to watch them all for signs of treachery or aggression at the same time and failing at anything more then looking like a jerking patient going through withdrawal.