The Lost and the Alone (Elk/Nowhere King)

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Characters Appearing: Eona, Nowhere King
Location (s): Tunnels beneath the mountains
Previous Thread Name.: N/A
Plot Summary.: A young woman finds herself mysteriously brought to a new environment, and meets an equally mysterious individual.

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Eona let out a faint groan, her entire body feeling heavy and her bones vibrating from the sudden trip she had gone through.

One moment, she had been riding with the caravan, moving through the mountains alongside Ryko, silence falling among the group to listen to the environment around them. They had been in search of a secret encampment, looking for a way to escape the notice of Lord Sethon’s forces. Silence had been needed, to listen to the echoes over the wind, to ensure they were not being followed. But, all that silence had been broken when a mysterious light shown around them, followed by sounds of panic and alarm from their caravan, human and horse alike not knowing what it was or what to do. Eona herself had stumbled around trying to find familiar faces before she felt the ground leave her feet. The last thing she remembered was screaming for Lady Dela and all sound soon had disappeared into nothingness.

She had felt weightless, disoriented, unable to grasp what way was which. Before long, the mysterious portal had spat her out somewhere cold and hard, knocking the wind from her body to the point of being temporarily unable to move. Add the lingering effects of such a disorienting trip, it took several minutes for Eona to regain composure of any kind, her mind and body slowly coming back to sync, the faint twitching of fingers or involuntary spasms of her body the only signs she was coming around.

“Eona…?” Her first coherent thought then was of her connection with the ancient ethereal force, her mind gaining some clarity enough to feel for that connection as her voice was barely above a whisper. Old fears of losing that connection again sped up her awareness of the situation, becoming hyper aware as she suddenly lifted her head, eyes focusing in the dimness of the cave system. This was not the mountainside she had been traveling on moments ago, the stone cold and rough beneath her body as she brought her hands closer to her body to push herself up as well as moving her legs to get herself on all fours. As she did so, the comforting presence of the crimson Dragon Queen filled her being, senses filled with the familiar smell and taste of spiced cinnamon that began to permeate the area. It was a silent comfort, a sign her connection was intact.

At least one familiar thing remained.

Taking a deep breath, Eona closed her eyes to allow herself a moment to refocus and recenter herself, focusing on slowly getting her body to respond to her thoughts and commands. The vibrating in her bones was gradually subsiding, so too was the heaviness in her body, but it would be some time yet before she was completely back to normal. Yet, it was also this moment that Eona became aware of approaching steps, perking up as she became aware of the echoes at last.

Opening her eyes once more, the young woman tilted her head up, shaking some of her hair from her face to peer up at the most mysterious creature she had ever seen.

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The winds were cold, whispering through the gnarled passageways that burrowed into the dark mountain like an ominous warning that something bleak lurked in the shadows. Nature could feel the poisoned suffering of the Nowhere King’s soul and even though it seeped with malice and hatred the underlying guilt and sorrow so often won out now that the General was dead and she was out of reach. This hollow spire that tore into the heavens had become his lair, an ominous protrusion devoid of flora and fauna that most were clever enough to stay away from. While the bleak visual wasn’t intentional, nothing was strong enough to survive within constant proximity of an eldritch horror born of desperation, a need for acceptance, bitterness and hate. He wasn’t supposed to be here, he wasn’t supposed to be alive and yet he breathed, an effort that felt more like it was beyond his will than any conscious driving on his behalf.

It wasn’t sound or movement that stirred the gentle Elktaur from slumber but rather light. Brilliant, vibrant, nearly ethereal the blinding ivory of pure white tore him from his slumber and he shielded his eyes, trying to block out the brilliance of the color before everything slowly settled back down. Confusion settled somewhere in his soul as he lifted his human torso off of the stones before the implication slowly sunk in. This world had stolen another soul. The notion stirred a mixture of emotions in his breast and for a moment he remained prone if only because trying to untangle the rats nest of his psyche was a daunting task. A part of him wanted to greet this stranger, dying hope whispered that they could be from his world while the other part of him didn’t care, the hatred bubbled, insistent and cloying like tar roiling through his veins… it merely wanted to devour the unfortunate creature, to steal it’s strength so he could become stronger.

Slowly, the Elktaur pushed himself up onto his hooves.

He moved down the dark corridors, his cloven hooves signaling his movements while powerful pronged antlers occasionally scraped the roof of the tunnels. He didn’t try to hide his approach nor was he obnoxious with the sound and truthfully he was torn on whether or not he wanted them to flee or stay. Indecision and instability seemed to be dear friends these days. He slowed as he began to see a female figure sprawled out in the darkness and came to a halt a short, respectable distance away. For a moment they did nothing but stare each other down and then finally the Elktaur sighed softly. “The only respite you will find here is a cold one.” Deep but melodic, his baritone was a sound that was almost unfairly enticing. “Wherever your home is, it is barred to you now. Welcome to Median, the world that steals souls from across both space and time.” No one belonged here... which was oddly fitting for a soul as ravished and torn asunder as his.

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Eona didn’t know how to react.

She could only crouch there on all fours, staring at this most unusual creature before her. A mishmash of human and animal, a voice melodic and enticing as if welcoming temptation of some sort. Part of her being, hardened the past two years from the conflict she had found herself dragged into, told her to be on the defensive and be ready for anything, another told her to flee as soon as she could, and a third told her to stay, to know more about this being.

‘Run.’

That angry voice again, the faint spirit tied so closely to her jewel hilted katanas that sometimes proved to be a guide.

‘Run. NOW.’ It urged once more, almost more scolding this time.

But, Eona mentally shook off the voice, coming to terms that there was too little that she knew about this creature. She didn’t know what he was capable of, much less if he could easily navigate this cave system she had found herself in. So, she swallowed her mixed emotions of being defensive or running, deciding to steel her nerve and try to understand more. “And here I thought the universe couldn’t get more cruel.” She spoke with quiet voice, clearing her throat as she pushed herself up to her knees, combing her hair back with her fingers as she held down her nervousness around the Elktaur. “Your information at least gives me a basic understanding of what happened…whatever a portal is.” She murmured the last part, almost to herself since such a concept seemed rather foreign to her. Whatever it was, it still left her feeling sluggish and heavy, not quite yet to where she had shaken off that feeling of traveling through different dimensions. It was a strange feeling, a different feeling than when she first bonded to the Mirror Dragon.

Speaking of the Mirror Dragon…It’s distant presence soon became more prominent, the smell of spiced cinnamon filling the cave they were presently talking. Beside her, Eona could already make out the faint outline of her ethereal companion, something she was certain this strange man could also see albeit perhaps not nearly as clear. Eona herself had to give a gentle mental push for the Queen of Dragons to not act yet, not wanting to start this encounter in a hostile manner without knowing more of her situation. “My name is Eona, the Mirror Dragoneye of my…world.” Eona finally introduced herself, voice normal and no longer a whisper, giving a respectful bow of her head of which she took the chance to activate her Dragon Sight as she looked back up. What she found in the Elktaur’s aura almost made her gasp, eyes wide as she saw altering colors of negative emotion; rage, grief, guilt, calmness, it was enough to make the young woman wonder how he had not yet exploded with the emotions surging in him.

The only thing she did not see was the beast hidden beneath the flesh and bone.

“And what of you? Are you from this world, or some place else?” She inquired, pulling herself back to trying to maintain a calm, non-hostile interaction. Because truth be told, she likely would be an easy target with the way she was now.

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The stranger birthed into the catacombs of his tunnels stared at him in a mixture of what appeared to be awe and horror and while he wished he could say, he still possessed the empathy towards strangers to feel something at it… he didn’t. She was another empty vessel to be gored and hollowed out by the cruel ironies and malice of a world uncaring. It was a harsh, brutal thought that continued to permeate his subconscious but not an untruthful one or at least not in his own experiences. Her words might have made a lesser soul flinch, but the Elktaur only saw raw earnest truth in her prose. “There is never a limitation to malice, suffering or cruelty.” He answered quietly, an exhaustion to his tone that spoke of his own bone-deep weariness on the subject. “It is, unfortunately, the only universal truth that lingers on any planet hosting sentient life.” Cold, but the Elktaur had long since retired notions of fairytale love and hope. He shifted back as she began to sit up, a clear limp in his gait as he did so, causing his antlers to scrape against the roof of the cavern. He flinched slightly at the sharp noise but didn’t apologize. It was clear he himself hadn’t gored these tunnels.

“A portal is a doorway, a bridge to gap the space and distance between two worlds.” The words dragged from his tongue almost before he could stop it. The Elktaur had always been fascinated by such things and he enjoyed sharing that love for science and experimentation… or at least he had a long time ago. He blinked, almost startled by the far more mundane desire and took a moment to grasp it. His psyche was such a rat's nest of tangled emotion that most days it felt akin like wading through a swamp, he did his best to shake off that dysphoria though and to focus on the conversation. It was far easier said than done.

His attention shifted to the glimmer of something he could see forming in the ether beside her and while he recognized it as some kind of magic force, he had little to fear. No being had ever been strong enough to kill him. Even she only got the chance because he bowed before her in supplication and let it happen. The woman staggered to her feet and introduced herself and at her bow he was caught off guard but reflexively mirrored her. One of his forelimbs drew up to tuck against his chest, one hand lifted to his breast and he offered a small bow. “Eona… I would offer you my name in return but I can’t remember it. I am an Elktaur, some variation of that will more than suffice.” He’d thought about giving himself a name but that seemed… too personal. “No. I come from a world known as Centaurworld and I’m relatively certain I’d be dead if Median hadn’t brought me here. I was… in the middle of a war when I was dragged from my home.” And did he want to expand on that? Not even slightly. His past was complicated, very complicated, swirling through love and bitterness, betrayal and anguish, loneliness and rage… so much seething malice.

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The Elktaur’s words rang a familiarity to Eona. And chilling eerie familiarity in fact. A knowing glimmer shown in her blue eyes, a tired weariness showing for but a brief moment at the mention of the universe’s cruelty, and her shoulders seeming to almost sag with an unspoken defeat of her own at the mention of war. Concepts she had all but become acquainted with, concepts that had become her constant companions even among company she could trust.

“It may not appear it, but I am all too familiar with how cruel the world can be. More than ever before by your description.” Eona’s awestruck calm fell away to a visible tiredness in her voice as well as reflected by her sagging shoulders. She was use to keeping a careful grip on her emotions, of hiding the feelings that always crept up but each time forced down. A carefully constructed mask when she was among others. Yet, hearing those words aloud, her thoughts reflected from the lips of another made them all too real for her liking, a confirmation of what weighed on her mind and her spirit. Somehow before her stood a kindred spirit, a being of flesh and bone knotted in shifting thoughts and emotions. “I suppose you can’t hide from strife and misfortune wherever we end up.” The young woman murmured, frowning at the fact at how foreign “peace” felt like in her vocabulary, in her concept of the world. She had no such thing. Peace was and unobtainable concept only for fools who had nothing else to believe in.

“Then that portal brought us both here to…Median. I see.” It was a strange word to say. Any sort of “bridge” that came to mind was just that, a bridge, connection, or link, like that of which she shared with the ethereal dragon presently looming at her side. As strange as the subject was, she was more interested in regards to this place being called Median. Median…it always meant at the center or middle of something, like what one could expect when starting from a circle or stage. Where they at the middle of a universe or something? Was it the central point to whatever had happened in her world and this Elktaur’s? More questions only flooded her mind. Questions she could discover for herself later.

Her gaze moved over the weird union of man and animal, an elk given what the creature called itself. He moved with a limp gate, as if in pain beneath the exhaustion. Whatever this elktaur had endured thus far seemed to be taking a greater toll on him more than she felt just recovering from the sudden drop here. “Seems your war did more harm than it appears.” She indicated in referring to his gait, unbothered by the scrapping of his horns on the stone ceiling. It would hardly compare to the other horrendous sounds she had heard in the past two years. “If you wish, I could try and heal some of your wounds. It may offer you some relief.” Her voice once more spoke in a knowing way, knowing how it was to simply limp about, to feel the soreness and discomfort, to be vulnerable in more ways than one. Even if she could not heal his mental and emotional pains toiling about within, she could at least heal his physical ailments.

At least she wasn’t useless in that regard.

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The Elktaur's words were far from compelling or even gentled and while he watched them impact her in the way her shoulders sagged and her eyes nearly seemed to droop in quiet defeat, he couldn't quite bring himself to feel bad. The world bore no kindness or empathy for those who suffered and dreams were only a solace for the dying. They couldn't change the natural progression of cruelty and evil anymore than they could change the flesh and fur they were born with. She spoke of her own sufferings and the beast was silent for a long moment before finally he offered her his first display of genuine emotion. "I would hope not, I would not wish the blight inflicted upon my soul to anyone." His deep, rumbling baritone escaped him in a low murmur. She continued with her bleak prose and the Ektaur wished he could maintain the optimism of his youth, but those days had long since fled him, curdled by betrayal and bitterness and pain. "Perhaps in another life peace might ring true but in this one, to believe in any absolute beyond violence would only breed naivety." The words were heavy and his countenance even more so. He was exhausted and run down by the world but he didn't know how to combat what lurked inside his own soul.

They moved onto the safer topic of Median but even that bred frustration which was outlined in the way his muscles bunched and his fur rippled. It took active effort not to paw the stones in agitation but he was thankfully beyond most such asinine displays. "Yes." He answered simply. "And from the few souls I've encountered, no one really seems to know more." Which was both inherently frustrating and curious. His scientific mind was eager to unravel something new while the darker more violent echoes of his soul only wanted to destroy what had taken him from his home. It was... a very conflicting rat's nest of thoughts and certainly not something he even wished to attempt to unravel.

She seemed to pick up on his blatant injuries and while the Elktaur was reluctant to accept her aide, he also knew the longer he languished in compromised squalor, the more likely it would be for the Nowhere King to take control. They were one in the same if anyone cared to split hairs and yet they were composed of pieces both separate and together. He shook his head, antlers lightly scraping the cavern roof. “I would… appreciate it, if you’ve the means. Don’t overdo it though, arriving here through that portal is not the most gentle of journeys.” Granted he’d been almost dead when he was dropped through so perhaps that had something to do with his own exhaustion. He dipped his torso, a subtle bow almost before he made a point to meet her eyes. “Thank you.” Even if he lost control, even if he one day hurt or killed her, he wanted her to know that in this moment, he appreciated her. It was a small boon in the grand scheme of things but it was all he had anymore.