Past, Present, Future [Vyra!]

[DaGlobster]

Kruz'Iik repeated the process of drawing her in close and snaking the two longer tentacles up to her temples. Once more came the silence in the dark, and then suddenly, just as before, there was light.

Vast jungles, covering everything as far as the eye could see. The Formian evolutionary path. Primitive Formians guarding their queens in caves. Caves give way to villages, villages give way to castles, castles give way to cities. Flashing lights, large explosions. Formians killing Formians with clubs, then bows, then swords, then guns. The discovery of space travel. Formians stretching to dominate their system. Formians at their prime.

Then, the darkness begins.

Fleets of metal ships carrying invaders. Formians being massacred. An entire race slowly being killed. Pain, anguish, suffering. Formian queens being gunned down with their larvae still in their arms. The systematic cleansing of a culture.

A single vessel escaping the madness by sheer luck.


Exposure to this kind of knowledge would more likely knock Vyraena out, if nothing else, but if she somehow managed to stay on her feet, Kruz'Iik would be there again, staring into her eyes with his hands on her temples. If the knowledge proved too much to her, she'd wake up with Kruz'Iik watching over her.

[Vyraena]

The images flowed vividly and clearly in Vyraena's mind. She was being exposed to the entire history of a long forgotten race. It was fascinating. She had no idea how long it had actually been, but it felt like she had been watching these memories for hours. When they finally ended, her vision faded to black again. This time, however, her vision didn't return right away.

She wasn't quite unconscious. She could still think, she could still see... just everything she saw was black. Her thoughts flowed lucidly through her mind. She thought about everything she had learned, and how much more knowledge there was here. This city was an untapped source, the perfect location to gather knowledge.

When Vyraena finally returned to a fully conscious state, she was laying on the ground. Kruz'Iik was standing next to her, watching her. She wasn't sure how long she had laid there for, but it didn't appear to have been exceptionally long. She got to her feet and looked at Kruz'Iik. "Well, there's no time to waste. We have an entire city to explore!" And so she ventured forth into the vast expanse that was this underground city.

[DaGlobster]

(Kruz'Iik's kind of a master of subtlety manipulating minds, and you joined yourself to him twice. However, if what I'm about to do isn't kosher with you, just let me know, and I'll change it. These are the consequences of linking up with him, though.)

"You should sit down for a while. I fear another rush like that will kill you." Kruz'Iik said, stopping her to place a hand on her shoulder. From his touch would come a soothing sensation. Something in the back of her mind told her that she did need the rest. "Sit for a while, let me ask you something." He said, and he slowly pushed her downwards, into a stone seat that rose up out of the ground, created by Kruz'Iik.

"When I enter your mind, I hear music. Such beautiful music. I simply must hear you sing."

[Vyraena]

(It's fine. She knew she was letting him get inside her head and did it anyway. Consequences would be natural, as long as there's no permanent alterations to her it's okay with me xD)

"Sing?" Vyraena said in a slightly shocked tone as she sat down in the seat. She began to laugh a little. "That's random, but if you insist. I've been told I have a lovely voice, although who could say if that's actually true?"

Vyraena cleared her throat with a small cough. "Alright then, what would you like to hear?"

[DaGlobster]

(No, it's nothing permanent. It would take a few more joinings to build a permanent link, and believe me, you don't want that :P. But for now, Kruz'Iik's got his strings in her subconscious, which means he can subtly manipulate her in small ways without her knowing.)

"The impressions in your mind indicate nothing but that truth," Kruz'Iik said, lifting a hand so he could gently cup the bottom of Vyraena's chin with it. His eyes pierced her the entire time, eternal in their deepness. He removed his hand, returning it to his side.

"Just sing whatever comes to mind."

[Vyraena]

"Anything?" Vyraena said, as she contemplated what she would like to sing. She sat in silence for a while, deep in thought. Then, she stood up and cleared her throat with a small cough yet again.

And so she closed her eyes and she sang, her voice echoing off the empty city buildings and walls of the cave they had entered. She sang the tale of a young knight who had slain dragons and even gods to get save his princess. It wasn't a long story, and only took her a few minutes to sing, but she felt it was one that best showed off her voice.

When she finished her story, the cave returned to silence. Vyraena sat back down in the seat that Kruz'Iik had created, and opened her eyes to look directly into his.

[DaGlobster]

Kruz'Iik turned his back on her as she sang, allowing himself to be lost in the sounds. If it was one thing that Mindshifters had a weakness for, it was music, especially music that involved string instruments. The human vocal chords were one such string instrument, and every time he heard a singer, he couldn't help but lose himself.

Vyraena was something else, though. Perhaps it was the acoustics of this place, perhaps it was the sound of human song bouncing off of the ruined buildings of a lost civilization, but regardless, it swayed him. His skin unevenly fluctuated from blue to yellow in time with Vyraena's words. When she was done, he turned back to her, just in time to catch her opening her eyes.

He stood there, staring into her eyes for what seemed to be a peaceful eternity. "You truly are gifted," He said, not breaking eye contact as his two primary tentacles reached up to caress her face.

[Vyraena]

"Thanks," she said, blushing slightly. "It sounds nicer when there are other instruments, though." Vyraena looked around her, still eager to examine the remainder of the city. She wanted to know what was hidden in its vast expanse, what clues she could gather... even if there were no more memories for her to take.

"Should we resume exploring soon?"

[DaGlobster]

"Mindshifters do not have instruments, only our voices. It takes a Mindshifter's ear to appreciate song without accompaniment," Kruz'Iik explained as he took one of Vyraena's hands and helped her up from the chair.

"We could spend years in just the city alone. The warrens above must cover at least as much distance. I say we head straight for the core of all this; the queen's chambers.

[Vyraena]

Vyraena looked around at the sheer massiveness of the city, and sighed. Kruz'Iik was right. It would be impossible for them to explore the city and the tunnel in any reasonable amount of time. She was disappointed, slightly. She wanted to know everything about this fascinating race.

"You're right," she said. "But how do we find it?"

[DaGlobster]

"Formians are insects at heart. Where else would the queen be but the very center of it all?" Kruz'Iik said. He started walking, leading the way towards the center of the city. To pass the time, he struck up a conversation.

"Where did you learn to sing like that?" he asked, slowing down so he could walk next to Vyraena.

[Vyraena]

Vyraena felt embarrassed. In her attempt to take in the complexity of the city, she completely forgot that the Formians were insects! She looked around, not ignoring Kruz'Iik, but wanting to take in everything as she walked through the city. Finally, she looked back at him and spoke. "Hmmm... I suppose I've always been able to sing like that, even since I was little. I remember singing for my father's court when I was only three or four years old."

[DaGlobster]

"It is such a rare property, to have a natural singing voice. Especially to have it develop at such a young age. I have experienced many kinds of musics, from cultures ancient and new, yet nothing moves me like the voice of a single human."

Kruz'Iik fell silent, as if contemplating. The city around them was forbidding in its silence. Not even the sounds of cave critters could be heard. Had this place truly been sealed ever since the Formians died out?

"Perhaps I will hear you sing again before we are done," He said, looking over to her. There was something odd about the way he looked at her.

[Vyraena]

"Perhaps." Vyraena said with a soft smile. "But for now, let's focus on the city." Vyraena looked around at the buildings. The carvings seemed to be changing as they approached the center of the city... evolving, becoming more complex.

"They're changing." Vyraena said to Kruz'Iik, hoping he was observing the same thing.

[DaGlobster]

"They are. The queen was absolutely critical to the survival of this city. One could infer that the Formians would have their more complex and beautiful architecture the closer one got to the queen. I..." Kruz'Iik trailed off, stopping suddenly.

"I've just realized...there's no bodies...not on the streets at least. You'd think that given their demise, the streets would be littered with corpses..." Kruz'Iik said, looking at Vyraena.

[Vyraena]

Vyraena was so caught up in learning about the culture that she had never even stopped to consider that. The Mindshifter brought up a good point... it was odd that there were no remnants of the actual Formians this city harbored. Sure, years upon years of decay would have been in work... but there should be at least something left.

"Are you saying the Formians left the city as they were wiped out? Or do you mean it's possible they've just been dormant this whole time?"

[DaGlobster]

"The vision implies they were slaughtered, unless..." Suddenly, he turned around, grasping Vyraena's shoulders. "The stones only contained the memories of the Formians here. Sure, the species might have been over for the Formians in this city, but there stands a great chance that the others evacuated, perhaps taking a juvenile queen with them."

His hands moved to cup Vyraena's head. "They could still be active as we speak. They could be living under Adela, or Connlaoth. Anywhere."

[Vyraena]

"Maybe the carvings in the Queen's lair could tell us more?" Vyraena wondered out loud. She took a few steps and stopped again. She looked around one more time, then began walking towards the center of the city again. Without warning, she began to pick up her pace, eager to get to the center and discover what secrets it hid.

[DaGlobster]

Kruz'Iik picked up his pace as well, but instead of speeding up, he merely started gliding across the ground, standing in one place. "Allow me to expediate our progress," He said as he passed Vyraena. Wrapping an arm around her waist, she found herself lifted off the ground and onto another one of Kruz'Iik's invisible, semi-intangible platforms as they sped through the streets.

Finally, they came to stop in front of an artificial mound, complete with great stone statues of Formian warriors. Ahead of them, laid a massive, circular stone door. "Here we are. The entrance to the queen's chamber."

[Vyraena]

Vyraena looked at the statues and the carvings on the door. She turned to Kruz'Iik. "Is there anything of note here at the entrance, or shall we move on?"