The Hawk-Eye tower was surrounded by people not knowing what
to do. They were a sea of fearful faces, fleeing centre of the city. All of
them had been abandoned by the Guldspar and the Grapnel Guard, neither would
help rescue anyone in the Foundations. A voice came from the back with authority
but not much clout, for the crowd to disperse and flee. Some, already in a panicked
state left but most stayed. Moments
later however the sea of terrified faces parted, as the voice was revealed to
be Eryn's. He again, not in full view of the crowd convinced them all to leave,
much to the delight of Silas who was being crushed but the sheer volume. The exodus had revealed that the tower had
shifted, or the ground, in any respect the floor was one story further down
than the entrance. Eryn glided up carrying
a rope with him, which both Xera and Chloe used. Chloe, however snagged her arm
on a nail and ripped the entire sleeve of her dress off. The crystal infection
had finally returned her hand, although she could not feel it, and her shoulder
was now converted.
In a panic she screamed and let go only to be grabbed onto
by Eryn and hauled up. He commented on how heavy her arm was now compared to
the rest of her body and asked if she could feel it, to which she replied no.
Silas was making noises down below as he was physically unable to climb a
vertical rope. Eryn mumbled down to him about being burned the last time he helped
and conjured up a fiery hand. He quickly pulled Silas up but he again, suffered
from singed patches, to which he could Eryn smirk a little as they were
inspected. Silas was also the first person to enter the tower. Xera did not as
he was still a little confused, Eryn did not want to invoke the wrath of the
Hawk-Eyes and Chloe was preoccupied with her arm becoming crystal. They were
immediately greeted by a golden haired twelve year old girl, in full Hawk-Eye
battle armour. Each piece fitted, a
designed set, for a growing child this
was extravagant. As the girl greeted them individually by name, she only bowed
to Eryn, which made him more nervous
.
The stairs up were long and steep. Silas immediately feel to
the back of the group while Chloe had sped up, ignoring most of what was going
on and studying her own arm, unable to read anything off of it. When they had
finally reached the top it opened out into out in to an open-air awning. The
tower roof was supported by struts at the four corners, allowing unrestricted
views. In front of them was an old couple, a middle aged man, a teenage boy,
the twelve year old girl and from the back, the Televaraen from The Pale
Spine. When Chloe's eyes rested upon it,
Eryn could see her tense up and he put an arm on her crystal shoulder. He told
her that what had happened down there was probably because the Televaraen was
working, the boy that she had plated in the crotch and his gang were up for a
small bounty. Eryn prayed that it wasn't
the creature who he thought might have been stalking him, keeping reports and
sending them to the Hawk-Eyes of his worthiness. Silas bowed to group they had
met and revealed Chloe's arm to them forcefully.
As he showed them her arm, they were all taken aback. The
old man mentioned to Silas that the king had been removed from the city and that
Chancellor Pheylor was ruling in his stead. Pheylor had the trust of the
people, and more importantly the Grapnel Guard. Pheylor had already organised
the guard to start protecting the Steadfast by setting up encampments and
checkpoints. The alarm bells began to toll when he increased the Shadow Tax
created by the King. Many under the old rule rebuked the tax, but now with the
Grapnel in charge, it was officially enforced. As Chloe began to feel more and more violated,
the ground shook ever so slightly. A piecing ringing noise filled Chloe's head,
flooding it with pain. In the background she could hear shouts, messages being
passed from one to another. All female
voices in a cacophony of sound. She tried to distance herself more and more
from the examination. The more she did the more clearly should could hear.
There were whispers that the King's daughter had been replaced, the 'External Network'
and something known as 'Phase Two' was ready. She screamed in her own head to
gain attention. To which hundreds of voices asked her 'Who are you?' The voices
culminated in the searing pain in her head and then into white noise. She
quickly relayed the information to Eryn and the group.
Silas immediately took charge. He asked the teenage boy if
he could read what was on her arm. Silas had known he had been faking his
abilities to run from his family but to his dismay, the boy could also read it
too. His face, like the rest of those who observed Chloe's arm, had turned
pale. Silas recounted the phrase 'The Vessel shatters, The Heretic laughs and
the Herald calls fourth war.' He repeated this till all of gathered group said
the hallowed words. Silas, with anger, told Chloe that the Vessel and the
Herald have always been needed after someone first read her crystals. The
Heretic will eventually pay but she was needed to be kept safe, intact, and out
of the harm of the city. Chloe screamed in frustration. She pleaded with the
voices in her head for help, for something, for anything. She asked Melch for
help, she wanted to know what she could next. His reply was for her to die
quietly. From her ankle she could feel a searing heat flow through her veins as
her skin around it started to necrotiz. The crystal voice repeated over and
over that the vessel must be protected. Chloe could feel the crystals of her
arm being almost pulled across her flesh as her entire body was converted. The
pain was stopped in its tracks where met the gemstone. Her flesh had been
sacrificed to stop the spread of the poison but in turn she was no longer
human, unable to move and questionably alive.
Silas swore, a sound that bellowed birds of the roofs. She still needed to be studied but she
couldn't be moved. He told the girl to take the others out of the Steadfast and
onto Darkperch. There was another rumble, the tower lurched slightly and Chloe
wobbled. Silas and the others dashed forward to stop her form from falling
over. Silas waved the girl off as she looked towards him unsure. She turned and
hurried out the door, making sure Eryn and Xera were following. Both were in
shock, with a small part of Eryn wanting to stay. The girl told Xera that the
information he now had on him was needed to be taken to specialists, the House of
Morianna. They would be given the service of a Hawk-Eye by the name of Keito, a
name Eryn did not recognise. She also asked in a lower tone, that if they could
find out any information on a man named Zarik. She mentioned that it was not
official but Silas had been looking for his son for all the time she had known
him. Eryn remembered the name, and the bloodied corpse that turned to dust.
She had taken them to the Landline. A small outcrop to the
side of the main building that had only one purpose. It served as a zip line.
The young girl made sure both Eryn and Xera were attached to the line before
taking off down it herself. She was quickly followed by Xera, who had put on a
pair of finned gloves to hold onto the rope. Eryn then started his decent. The
outside of the caldera was much higher now. As Eryn slid down he noticed that
the city had sunk almost eight stories into the ground. As he passed over the
outside of the caldera his manacle stopped him in mid air. The rest of his body
wishing to fall while his arm remained locked in one position. He tried to yank
it free and as he did so he could hear the voice of Melch, his laughing echoing
inside Eryn's head. The catch on it was unexpectedly undone and Eryn lost his
grasp. He managed to save himself by quickly grabbing on making sure he was
stable. He now, however was in the perfect vantage point. The Obsidian Spire
slammed into the ground, sending a shockwave that blasted all glass as it
passed. The wall of sound hurtled towards Chloe, shattering her into sparkling
dust in the setting light. The cable wobbled, as Eryn saw the anchor of their zip line fall
away from the tower. All three then plummeted in mid air, two screams and one laugh.
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