Dedicated to H4Y13Y for the amazing picture of Tayne. IT'S ON THE SIDE, IT'S SO PRETTY LOOK AT IT. 

---

Chapter 41 - Celestial

---

Kiarae woke up.

The Naclictite under her trembled as if something tore at its foundations. She sat up, ignoring the dried blood cracking up her arms and stomach from the movement. The thin lines crossed her body more times than she dared count, each one a slender slit of pure pain.

The Master hadn’t been kind. For the first time ever, she’d thought he meant to kill her, albeit in the slowest way possible. Her body wasn’t the only thing in tatters. Her soul was damaged to the point where her magic was hard to reach. Her link to the nether realm was feeble at best.

More than ever, she was at his mercy. The Linaye, her only connection to Skye was dulled by the excessive mutilation of her soul, she was sure. As a result she could get no more information out of the elf past that she lived.

Kiarae clutched her arm, trying to stem the flow of blood running from elbow to hand.

Where did he get that damned soul blade anyway? she thought. Another monstrosity that should never have been created.

Another tremor shook the floor.

Was the Citadel under attack? Or had the Master attempted a spell too powerful for him to control?

The celestial listened, tuning herself to the muted energies around her.

It took a while before she sensed anything at all. Then, something flickered, igniting into brilliance in her mind as the flood of nature magic made itself known. Kiarae only had one word to explain it.

“Skye.”

Kiarae struggled to her feet, leaning heavily against the wall as if somehow the action would help. She’d told her student -- she’d ordered Skye to stay away, to never, ever under any circumstances try to reach her in the Citadel. She didn’t understand. She had no idea what the Master was capable of; she didn’t know what the corruption was, or what it could do.

Deities above. She had to get out, and fast. If Skye was here, if she was fighting against the Master... Kiarae didn’t even want to consider what would happen. With the soul blade in his possession, he could eventually rip the magic straight from their souls to place within the Opal. If that happened, this land and all the people within in were as good as corrupted. The deities would fall one by one until nothing but the corruption was left.  

Kiarae reached out with her mind in desperation. She cast her consciousness out, seeing through the eyes of her marred soul. She looked for anything -- demons included, and had begun to pressure the mind of a nearby tainted that guarded her cell when another presence appeared.

*+*+*+*

Tayne staggered down the hallway, taking deep breaths to suppress the pain rising from his leg with every step.

Even bound, the blood still flowed. The silvery material ripped from his cloak had turned crimson with it. Lightheaded, dizzy, and not sure how much blood he had left to lose, he kept going. To stop now was to give up. To stop now was to abandon Skye, Jesse and Wrain.

To stop now, he told himself, was to let the corruption win and disregard all the years he’d spent risking Silverborn lives to stop it.

So he kept moving. Kept dragging himself down the corridor, expecting the blinded Hunter to come flailing at him for every turn. More than once, he swore the shadows moved, taking on the shape of a human like being only to fade into perfect reflections of their solid counterpart once more. There was light enough to see by, generated by purple orbs hanging from the wall, but he almost wished them gone for the flickering shadows they created.

He was being watched. Of that he was certain.

Tayne reached a crossroads that branched off in several directions. He hesitated a moment, trying to get his bearings when a strange emotion overtook him.

Left. He had to go left.

His feet moved, carrying him into the archway of the leftmost corridor. Then, a minute later, he took a sharp right guided by the same compulsion. A wide hallway opened up before him, its end swallowed by the darkness. With no plan and unsure why he was following it, he continued forward.

It wasn’t long before the same feeling gripped him again.

He found himself scanning the endless wall for a small door he knew was there. The one that this strange feeling was ordering him to find. The one that he needed to go through.  Tayne increased his speed. He couldn’t see it, but he knew without a doubt that it was there.

He smiled when he laid eyes on it. The small, surprisingly wooden frame was a stark contrast against the rest of the solid stone walls that rose the Citadel from the ground, but it was there. Why was another matter altogether. He placed a tentative hand on the handle, wary of a trap. It tingled momentarily, but the sensation was forgotten as he spotted a single silver speck dance under the door.

His eyes widened in silence. What am I chasing?

Tayne turned the handle pushed it open slowly, wincing as it creaked loudly on its hinges. That explained the choice in material, at least. It was a warning.

He made it through and quickly shut it behind him. Sure enough, heavy thuds came from the outside hall. The gravelly voice of a tainted floated under the door.

“You heard it,” growled the demon. “It’s the only thing that makes that noise around here.”

I was right, thought Tayne. Not that it helps me at all.

The footsteps came closer. Tayne glanced around, looking for some place to hide, but the corridor was narrow. The only cover was in the form of several thin pillars that decorated the walls, twisting to the ceiling to mould a delicate archway but there was no way he could hope to hide behind them.

He resisted the urge to draw his sword. Fighting in this enclosed space with his leg was to doom himself to die. He had to be smarter, use the only advantage he had against them in the Citadel.

There has to be something I can do.

An idea crossed his mind. Quickly, he loosened the ragged remains of his cloak and dropped it in the centre of the corridor, a little way away from the door.

 “The handle has been touched. There is an intruder in her prison,” said the same tainted as before.  

Tayne placed his right foot in one of the sculptured pillars. The result of their intricately carved design made them perfect for climbing, with several well placed foot holds and places his hands could grip. He hauled himself up, dangling by his arms until his one good leg could find purchase to push his body higher and repeat the process.

“We shall hunt then. You will no longer be disgraced for your actions against the Hunter,” said another.

The first snarled. The deep, rasping noise would have stood Tayne’s hair on end if not for his previous encounter with the Hunter. These two were tainted, but they were nothing compared to the Hunter’s mass and cunning. At least that’s what Tayne told himself as he pulled his body on to a platform-like section of the archway high above the floor.

 “When we bring the intruder to the Master he will no longer disrespect us with guarding the Celestial.”

“You should not have challenged the Hunter so. It’s your fault we’re here.”

Tayne’s heart skipped a beat. The Celestial. Kiarae. She’s here?

He found his eyes drawn to a patch of wall directly in line with where he’d left his cloak. He studied it closely for any discrepancies and was disappointed, until the silver spark returned to trace the outline of a certain section of Naclictite stone.

Skye’s words came back to him. He slides the wall open to enter, and she can see some kind of thin passageway.

This was it. He’d found Kiarae. She could salvage this disaster. All he needed to do was get her out. To do that, these tainted needed to disappear.

“A Silverblood, do you smell it?” asked the first demon.

The second tainted stalked forward, its chest low as it advanced towards the discarded cloak. It sniffed it carefully, picking up the material and turning it over.

“Blood. He is injured.”

That was enough for the second tainted to move forward and join the first. It snatched the cloak, the Vercton mark glowing red on its brow. Tayne held his breath, praying that they wouldn’t look up and see him before he was ready. He eased his sword from its scabbard and grabbed it between his neck and shoulder, leaving his hands free to release the scabbard from his body.

“The leader, the one the Master wishes to turn,” it said. It raised its head, looking down the dark corridor, knowing there was nowhere to hide. “You will not best us here, Silverblood. Give yourself up now and we will not tear a limb off before your ritual begins. Make us wait and you will suffer.”

It took a step forward. Tayne dropped the scabbard. It landed directly in front of the first tainted and both of them looked down.

Between shoulder blade and neck, back of the knee and base of the skull.

Tayne jumped from his improvised platform. The tainted were tall and the ceiling low but his injured leg still screamed at him as he landed on the first tainted’s broad shoulders. He ignored it and drove the blade into the unprotected spot near the tainted’s neck.

The tainted made a gurgling noise, its legs giving way beneath it. One down.

The second tainted reached for Tayne, claws extended. He leapt for the pillar, seeking sanctuary from the spines. The tainted swiped behind him while the other died slowly, squirming on the floor as black liquid poured from its fatal wound.

Tayne grasped the pillar with one hand, his sword grasped firmly in the other. His legs swung around and he pushed back on the wall, steadying his swing. The tainted turned to face him. Tayne released his grip.

He hit the floor and rolled between its legs, cowering under its tail and stabbed it through the back of the knee.

It wasn’t enough to kill it. Its tail thrashed furiously and it still managed to stand. Tayne pulled his blade out and ran it through the second knee. The tainted fell forward, arms out to support it. Tayne wasted no time, crawling up its back and jabbing his blade into the base of its skull.

The tainted fell forward, instantly silent.

Tayne gave himself a moment to calm the adrenaline racing through his system before attempting to climb off the dead demon. The feeling that guided him was back, urging him to hurry but he took it slow. The spines on the tainted were still deadly, even if they were stationary.

His feet hit the floor, his leg in more agony than ever before. This much exertion wasn’t good for it. He just hoped that it wouldn’t become a dead weight, but there was little he could do except push on.

The silver spark was back, dancing the same pattern on the wall. Obviously it outlined the section that opened, but how could he make it work?

He raised his hand, letting the feeling take over. Unsure why, he placed his finger over the spark and followed it, his fingertip tracing its path. The familiar tingle of Naclictite was stronger here, leeching the energy faster than it had previously.

At the end of its loop, the spark fizzled out of existence.

The wall silently slid away into itself, revealing a sight that stopped Tayne’s heart.

A silver haired woman lay sprawled on the floor. What he could see of her skin was pale and covered with small lacerations, but there was no mistaking the faint shimmer that surrounded her.

Kiarae.

When she didn’t move, Tayne rushed forward. The Naclictite’s leech hit him with full force as soon as he crossed into the room. He staggered forward, keeping his eyes on the celestial. Even without touching the stone, the parasitic effect weighed him down, making him want nothing more than to drop to his knees and close his eyes.

He reached Kiarae’s still form, blinking hard, fighting the fatigue. He leant down, grabbing her arms wherever he could manage and started to drag her out from the room. One step, and his damaged leg gave way entirely. The rest of his body followed, crashing to the floor.

Tayne’s vision glazed over. Thoughts drifted apart in his mind, deconstructed by the nature of the Naclictite. Why... why was he here? His head lolled back. He couldn’t hold it up. The stone winked at him, but he couldn’t tell if he were supposed to care. His chest ached and he struggled to draw breath.

Skye. It bounced around his head. The only word that the Naclictite couldn’t take. The one that kept coming back.

Skye needs me, but it’s so heavy... I can’t move.

His cheek tingled strangely, and his side hurt like it was bent at the wrong angle. All he could see was the Naclictite, glinting in the silver light and Kiarae’s hand on his boot.

Take my hand, Silverborn.

Driven by the same instinct as before, Tayne grabbed her arm. Her fingers curled around his wrist and squeezed so lightly he barely felt it. The silver aura flashed around her and crept up the length of his arm. It was slow at first, inching forward, but by the time it reached his chest the rest of his body was encased in seconds.

The silver shell met itself, and Tayne’s strength came rushing back. The world was sideways once more, and it scared him how he hadn’t noticed it happening.

He pushed himself up, breathing hard with air-starved lungs. Kiarae’s fingers still latched on to his wrist, but they were loosening. Her grip wouldn’t last long.

Without ever letting go of her hand, Tayne scooped her up in his arms. She was painfully light, her bloodied robes wisping around her figure weighed more than she did, he was sure.

In the five, agonised steps it took to carry them out of the room, he stumbled twice. His left leg couldn’t take any more. It’d persisted through the Hunter, even his drop landing on the tainted, but no more. The energy his sword had placed within the wound to keep it going was gone, sucked dry by the Naclictite.

Once the corridor, he placed Kiarae down gently and retrieved his cloak, placing her on it so any contact with the Naclictite was impossible. He let go of her hand. The silver barrier protecting him vanished without the contact. He knelt beside her, constantly checking both ends of the corridor for signs of tainted, and waited.

But the celestial did not stir.

*+*+*+*

Kiarae struggled to break the fog surrounding her mind.

I should never have let my consciousness slip.

Connecting with the Silverborn and sharing her shield had cost every scrap of energy she’d saved. She was beginning to doubt her decision to call him here. She’d forgotten how powerful her Naclictite was against those without the ability to draw endlessly from the ether.

Because now, she couldn’t wake up. She didn’t have the energy to pull herself back to the physical world.

He was beside her now, she could sense him. Without the Naclictite siphoning her magic, it was slowly returning. Except when it should have pooled in her soul, it leaked out, maintaining the silver glow around her against her will before dissolving back into the Nether realm.

The blade. The deities cursed blade he used. What exactly did he do to my soul?

She tried to perform a soul healing, as she’d had Skye do but simply could not amass enough energy. She was stuck between the mortal and Nether realms, drifting amongst the souls of the ether while her physical body kept her chained to life.

The Nether realm was an odd place to view. It appeared as the mortal realm did, had it not been touched by mortal hands, and was wrapped in a permanent glow. Here, she stood clutching Taldorei’s Light tightly with both hands. The staff was charged with ether; able to hold a decent amount of energy, but it was no use to her while it remained in the Nether.

She tried to think. Bright balls of light, the souls of deceased mortals, swished past her frequently, all gravitating to the same silvery cloud that hung in the sky. Two danced in harmony, twirling their way around each other in an intricate dance before disappearing through the cloud.

Ah, young love, she thought.

Not all made it, however. Some were pulled from their steadfast track, and she could almost hear the screams as the ether that composed the soul was devoured by a yawning, black rift.

Kiarae suppressed a shudder. The corruption’s presence in the Nether realm grew stronger with every soul it devoured. The deities couldn’t stop it alone. The Celestial hadn’t shared more information with her than basically, the corruption was a being of another realm that was feeding off the ether energy contained within the Nether realm.

An idea crossed her mind. Feeding off it... would that work?  

The ether around her wasn’t strong enough. She needed something more potent or risk spending a millennia gathering it. She needed a soul, but a quick glance told her she wouldn’t be able to catch one.

Unless.... she didn’t need to. There was a brilliantly strong silver one right next to her.

She reached out an ethereal hand, touching Tayne’s soul directly. She felt him flinch under it, and gave him a moment to recognise her essence. When he calmed, she spoke into his mind.

I cannot wake by myself. I need your help once again, Tayne.

He’d heard her. She knew he had. What surprised her though, was that he managed to reply.

What would you have me do? We have to hurry, Skye and two Silverborn are alone in the Citadel and the Master is yet to arrive, to my knowledge.

Skye was here. The Master was most likely with her. I am going to siphon energy from your soul to mine. I will replace it once I wake, but you cannot fight me else what little control I have over it will slip.

I understand. Begin when you’re ready, he replied.

He fell silent, opening himself to her presence as best he knew how.

Guided by instinct, Kiarae closed her fingers gently around a small section of Tayne’s soul. She was careful to merely scrape the energy away, not wishing to steal something important. It took a long minute, but eventually she had what she assumed would be enough to pull her back.

Prepare yourself.

She closed her eyes, absorbing it in one huge burst.

*+*+*+*

The fatigue took Tayne instantly. He knew when she’d started, but he forced himself to remain open.

Open doors, paddocks, sky, stars moon windows moonlight oh deities this is horrible!

It wasn’t simply fatigue. Things sprang unbidden to his mind, random actions or memories that he’s long since forgotten. He felt exposed and completely naked before this woman, and it was not something he enjoyed. She could see everything about him, even the things that he wasn’t proud of.

He endured it for nearly a minute before he felt her stop.

Prepare yourself.

The words echoed through his mind. Tayne placed his hands on the ground before him, preparing for the sudden drop in energy.

*+*+*+*

A/N - See the external link? Click on it. Now. It's a picture of Tayne created by H4Y13Y and it's the most amazing thing I've seen and I can't stop looking at it O.O I'll put a link in the comments too, but seriously -- LOOK AT IT! 

Alternatively you could just look at the picture on the side for those looking at it on a computer.