Breakfast in Chaos: Tasha and TearBreakfast above the Abyss in Strangeways was something of a tradition. It was said that from here you could get the best views of the flyers – those pit divers whose shape shifting abilities allowed them to spread iridescent or scaled wings as they flung themselves out over the Abyss and down, down, down into the depths. And so when Tasha proposed that she take Tear to breakfast in Strangeways, there was surely nothing to arouse suspicion ... Not even the fact that it was on the way to that mysterious heart of darkness in Chaos that housed the Labyrinth and ... at its heart ... the Logrus. Tear rested her head against the cool glass of the carriage and stared vacantly out at the passing scenery. She should have been cheerful, elated, and mystified by the bizarre landscape; its wild beauty twisted by the subtle radiations of the Abyss. Instead, she chose to let the steady rocking of the carriage soothe her tired mind. She hated to be such poor company, but she was exhausted to her very bones. She had not slept well and it showed. The nightmares had returned with malicious intent, disturbing her rest throughout the night. Tear had almost forgotten them; the last time they'd visited her having been almost a year ago. But that gnarled face remained wholly familiar when it emerged from the smoke and flames, its oily smile and yellowed teeth looming over her like a mountain. Thick fingers wrapped around her tiny body, lifting it upwards, upwards into a crushing embrace. Holding her firmly with no chance of escape. Cradling her. She shivered at that last thought; a new variation to her nightmare. Cradling. How could she even think of that thing as being…being what? Protective? She pushed this mental seed it from her mind before it could take root and grow. Tear turned away from the window and world beyond it. She smiled over at her companion, trying her best to put on a good face. Indeed, it was difficult to not smile around Tasha; the woman's enthusiasm was positively virulent with its infectious nature. It had been a treat to talk with someone of her own mindset and age. Liberating, perhaps, would be a better word. Around her new friend, she found it difficult to frown. "Is it close now? I'm starving," Tear said. Tasha's smile broadened, "IT is very close... You can feel it, can't you?" Tasha winked, "Oh, and we're close to Strangeways, too. Perhaps we should do breakfast first and then... walk and see... the sights?" Tasha giggled. Tear cocked her head, smiling in return. Tasha's playfully aura erased the linger tendrils of exhaustion tickling the back of her mind. "Remember I have no clue about this place," she admitted humbly. "Master Mandor hid much of the information with regards to my birthright. And. I'm beginning to wonder if he's not the only one." Tasha's look was sympathetic, understanding how it felt to have one's birthright denied, hidden. She nodded, "But why would they wish to hide you from Chaos? It is in your blood. And the Logrus...." Tear shrugged. "I don't know. Master Mandor has been very. Slippery. When it comes to my past. Which I do not understand. He's always been forthcoming about my abilities. And my training. If he didn't want me to see the Logrus, he wouldn't have been honing my skills all these years. Wouldn't he? "But people seemed shocked that. I haven't seen it. Not. In person." Tear brushed a bang from her eyes. "Your mother seemed very upset. About us seeing the Logrus. Do you think there's other places we should avoid?" "Avoid? Well, we should avoid the Abyss... And the Lost Ways." Tasha answered, "But I'm not sure why Mother would be worried. It isn't as if we both haven't already met the Logrus and... survived. Do you really want to avoid seeing the Logrus with your own eyes? After coming all this way?" Tear considered this for a moment, tugging thoughtfully on her ear. For some reason, she felt she could speak aloud with Tasha; that somehow, they were akin to one another and she would understand. "I. Never promised that I wouldn't. So. That means I can technically." Her smile waned. "I don't lie or break promises. So. If I do go and your mother inquires. Then I have to tell her I went. I won't have a choice. So…" Her violet eyes gleamed with worry, "If you'd get in trouble, I won't go. I'll accept any blame, of course. But. You still might be punished and I can't have that. Not even for the chance to see the Logrus for the first time. You're my friend. I couldn't allow you to suffer for my curiosity." Tasha saw the hesitation and desire in her friend's eyes. "No, you didn't promise and actually, I never did, either. I just said we'd go on up to bed..." She smiled, her eyes glinting in the dim interior of the carriage. Tear opened her mouth to protest, but began to worry her lip instead. Tasha was completely right and apparently at ease with any consequences that might stem from their "side-trip." She chuckled softly and gave a nod. "True." They were taking the narrow road along the rim of the Abyss now. A fork wavered in the road ahead. One road led to Strangeways, the other to the Logrus. Well, usually. This was, after all, Chaos. "Well..." Tasha felt the carriage shift and head off with purpose now, "Breakfast can wait. Let's go to the Cathedral first, shall we? And see whatever there is to see...." "I. Well. Umm. Okay." Tear said with a gulp. She took a deep breath and then another. By her fourth, a wicked smile had formed on her lips. "You're such a bad influence, Tasha. And. I sort of like it. I think this trip is going to be. Delicious." She clapped her hands and let out a wild giggle. "Oh, this is so BAD. Master Mandor will have a kitten, if he finds out." The carriage turned toweards the Cathedral and started down on the stoney path. Soon the inside of the vehicle began to fill with a strange red light, coming from somewhere outside ... "Almost there," Tasha exclaimed, feeling a slight tinge of apprehension, recalling the last time she'd visited, two years ago. "I didn't know about the Logrus before we came here... I mean, not really. I just knew that Mother and Father said I had to come here and, well, that was that." Tasha looked at Tear and whispered, conspiratorially, "I didn't know then people could... die... from the Logrus... Not then, no, but I do now." Tear gazed out the window, grinning with anticipation. The disquieting light only served to fuel this excitement. She nodded lightly, obviously listening to Tasha as she studied the cathedral. Her skin tingled as if she were standing beneath a thunderstorm. The intoxicating sensation made her shiver. "They don't die," she said idly. "Not really. They just transcend into a formulaic existence. They become one with eternity, fragmented information that we simply don't know how to extract. At least, I that's what I believe. I guess it is a form of death, but only by the standards of our limited perception." She sought to locate the source of the glow, fascinated how the sanguine light stained her skin. Tasha was amazed at how the red glow gave Tear's pale skin almost a healthy, rosy color. "Seems like the air here agrees with you." "Can you feel it?" Tear said in a husky whisper. "Like a million snakes slithering under your skin. It's wonderful." As the carriage stopped, Tasha smiled, "Well, we're here! Do you want to walk around a bit before going down?" "Heh. Are you kidding?" Tear chuckled; shivering with excitement. Tear nearly leapt out of the carriage, her heels clicking on the smooth obsidian flagstones. She stared up at the Chapel without fear, even as it stared back at her. The Serpent's vast head loomed over them hungrily, its maw wide and alive with shadows. Two cyclopean braziers of worn brass served as its eyes; oily flames painting the world in blood. The Chapel appeared to have emerged from the living rock, shaped in the body of a coiled snake. Smoothly rounded walls of columnar basalt created a scaled effect, while glimmering phenocrysts in the volcanic rock heightened this serpentine appearance. Toward the center of the spiraled structure, the air itself writhed and twitched as the radiations from the Logrus bled up into the sky. "I've been here before," Tear said. "In my dreams. Twenty years I've waited for this. Twenty years. It's like coming… home." She reached to grab Tasha's hand and half-dragged her toward the Chapel's black throat. Only to Tasha, the Cathedral's door was a more welcoming sight. It reminded her of an oversized hunting lodge / biergarten. Enormous curved horns graced the arch above the open doorway. The flagstones were a dull-gray granite, but surprisingly smooth and polished. Tasha, letting Tear pull her along, was not in the least apprehensive. She felt alive here, like nowhere else. Her blood sang in her ears, and she felt as if she wanted to run... or dance. Instead she only laughed as they continued their headlong rush toward the Logrus's call. Sconces set in pillars burned an unnatural red flame lighting the way within. Skins draped walls and heads of fanciful large-horned or antlered animals stared down at them with dead eyes which, never-the-less seemed to be watching their progress. Stone benches were nestled between the pillars, but these were unoccupied. Ahead was a raised dais with an altar of black stone. It was toward this which they were heading, yet Tasha whispered to Tear, "It is behind the altar... The way down." Tear continued along the twisting passageway, drinking in her surroundings like sweet nectar. The floors and walls had been blasted by some infernal heat until they were the consistently of polished glass. Spheres of liquid flame drifted lazily above them, casting the world in azure light. Nothing appeared solid or true, the reflective nature of every surface creating a sense of eternity. It felt as if they might walk into an angle and disappear forever. Around and around they went, walking through the belly of the hollow snake until they came to the center of the coil. Seven dolmens of black ice stood around a spiraled staircase leading down into the earth. From beneath the ice, things of ancient flesh and memory stared out at them with lidless eyes. There was no altar. And that brought Tear out of her revelry and awe. "Altar?" she said softly. And then noticed something else out of place. Tasha's soft skin now felt… furry. She glanced down at the large hand holding her own. It was an amalgamation of lupine and human, velvety fur and wicked claws. Tear's gaze drifted up to her friend's face. Gone were the angelic cheekbones and gentle lips; a wolf's muzzle and pointed ears were now in their place. The golden eyes were intoxicating, so alive and alluring. They almost detracted from the scores of pointy teeth that filled that smiling mouth. Tasha had become a beautiful, if somewhat terrifying, wolf. "Oh," Tear said flatly, blinking her eyes in numb shock. (Continued in Breakfast with the Logrus) |
