Chapter Text
In the wilds they speak your name with reverence and regret.
For none could tame our savage souls yet you the challenge met.
Under palest watch, you taught, we changed, base instincts were redeemed.
A world you gave to bug, beast, and man as they had never dreamed.
- From 'Elegy for Hallownest' by Monomon the Teacher.
No cost too great.
No mind to think.
No will to break.
No voice to cry suffering.
Born of God and Void.
You shall seal the blinding light that plagues their dreams.
You are the Vessel.
You are the...
The...
"...Father...?"
"You'll come home safe, promise?"
"I will. Pinky promise."
The birds were chirping within the trees of the forest in the alps, a girl sitting on a flat rock, watching as they flew, her silver braided hair resting on her shoulders, reflecting the light a bit.
This girl was called Silvis Fitzroy, or as her school called her; 'The Girl of Silver'. She was particularly the quiet one, but fast on her feet and quick to choose between fight or flight.
Silvis got off of the flat rock, took her backpack, and carried on. Silvis loved going for walks in the alps.
Silvis walked to a rockier terrain on the mountains, still with some grass and the occasional moss, and looked down, gazing into the huge, black, emptiness, that looked like it goes very deep into the mountains. She peered over a little bit longer, until she heard a yipping noise to her right. Silvis looked over her shoulder, to where the yipping was coming from.
There was a white fox pup running towards her, jumping at her feet, as if asking to be picked up. Silvis heard a growl and looked up, and her eyes widened.
There was a group of wolves, apparently after the fox pup, advancing with hostility. Silvis took a step back, the fox pup inching near her legs, clearly trembling. Silvis, shaking in fear herself, picked the fox pup up in her hands. The leader wolf of the pack snapped and bared its teeth. Silvis knew that the bite of these animals was 400 psi, stronger than most dogs. That much force was enough to break her arm bone.
Silvis remembered promising her older brother that she'd come home safe.
She never once broke a promise.
The sliver of hope of returning home unharmed was starting to die out like the embers from a fire.
The wolves advanced forward, teeth ready to snap. Silvis stepped backwards to the point she could feel that she was close to the edge of the giant sinkhole. The wolves leapt forward, and Silvis yelped in shock, and-
She fell down.
She was still falling. At the velocity she's reached she's bound to die once she hits the ground. She could see the white ground approaching and Silvis and the pup braced for impact.
The impact was surprisingly soft, cold, and it saved the young girl's and the pup's life. Silvis shot up, wrapping her arms around herself, shivering. The fox pup also popped up from the snow, yipping at her in concern. Looks like the promise she and her brother made wasn't broken after all.
"I'm okay." Silvis spoke. Her voice was like a flute in the forest. The fox pup wagged its tail. "Well. What should I name you?" Silvis pondered. Then a name came to mind.
"...Argos." She spoke. "I'll call you Argos." Silvis concluded. Just then, she heard soft, light, footsteps on the snow around her. They stopped. Silvis turned and suddenly, she couldn't move.
The...unusually tiny resident in front of her, no more than 1'9 tall, had a plain white skull-looking 'mask' with two horns sprouting out from the 'mask', a sword with a thin handle on their back, and they were draped in some kind of cloak, the hood over their head with the horns sticking out. (the arms and hands were probably covered by the cloak).
And there were only two, gaping, void-black holes in the mask, staring right back into Silvis' eyes. Silvis didn't dare even blink. Didn't even breathe out of caution and fear. She could feel the helpless fox pup trembling in her arms. The resident held out a hand.
"...You...want...me to come with you?" Silvis questioned. The resident nodded. Silvis stood up, still carrying Argos. She walked slowly and steadily. While they were walking, Silvis questioned her guide. "So... what's your name?" She asked gently.
"...No Name." The resident whispered. Their voice was wispy, airy, high in pitch, and innocent like a child. Yet it sounded like it was coming from the deepest depths of a far-off endless void.
"Ah. You don't have a name." Silvis spoke.
"Well, if it doesn't bother you...what name would you prefer?" Silvis questioned softly once more. "...Knight." The resident whispered again. "Knight. Fitting ring to it." Silvis responded, smiling. Argos woofed in agreement.
The trio got to the edge of the path. And there, in front of them, was another sinkhole. It wasn't as deep as the one Silvis fell through though. There was a well-lit city in the distance. Silvis scanned the area.
Looks like that sinkhole was the only way down.
Silvis held her hand out to the Knight, who took ahold of her pinky. Argos held onto Silvis's other arm which she was holding him by. Together, they jumped down.
They hit the ground with a thud. It wasn't as life-threatening or deep, but it was still a deep drop. They walked towards a wall. Silvis was confused until the Knight unsheathed their sword and, with a good hit, managed to break the surprisingly brittle wall.
Silvis kept walking behind the Knight, breaking through several more walls until there was a little...bug, running towards them. The Knight immediately stabbed it three times. And just like that, it was dead. The trio watched as this orange-amber ooze that was way too thick to be blood seep out of the bug.
Argos' snout crumpled while Silvis grimaced. The ooze had an extremely strong, sickly-sweet smell-like rotten mangoes. Silvis was disgusted, but out of curiosity, she leaned closer. The Knight immediately spoke. "Stop. Will get burned. Is dangerous."
Silvis stood still, regained a straight posture and kept walking, avoiding the ooze. There was another bug that was running towards them (which The Knight, thankfully, also killed). When the trio got through the last brittle wall, there were these floating platforms, white glittering magic holding them up. These luckily, were small jumps. The Knight started jumping up these platforms. Silvis set Argos down and the fox pup managed to make the jumps on his own.
Silvis jumped-and she landed safely on the platform, following her companions. They walked through a narrow, high up pathway. The Knight seemingly made some inscriptions on the wall of this pathway glow. Silvis reached out and-
"Higher beings, these words are for you alone."
"Your great strength marks you amongst us. Focus your soul and you shall achieve feats of which others can only dream."
A voice rang out in her head. Then it stopped. Silvis felt dizzy for a few seconds. Argos yipped in confusion, looking dazed. "I know bud." Silvis said, petting the fox pup.
They continued on. And what looked like a fly, crossed with serrated tweezers, was flying straight at them as they exited the 'corridor'. In two single hits from the Knight's blade, it was dead. The sickly-sweet smell filled the air once again.
Silvis looked up at the floating platforms, fascinated by the magic holding them. Was it a permanent spell? The sound of breaking stone and flesh and exoskeleton being pierced snapped Silvis out of her thoughts.
"Is safe now." The Knight spoke, somehow up on the topmost platform (and Silvis didn't even hear it). Silvis set Argos down and they both jumped up to the topmost platform to meet the Knight. The trio jumped up the irregular 'staircase' and continued on.
As the Knight kept slaying the insects, the sickly-sweet smell kept intoxicating the air. Silvis made sure to steer clear of the puddles of orange ooze. As the trio kept walking, they found themselves in a 'corridor' once again.
Then the floor fell apart, causing the trio to fall again. Luckily there was not much distance between solid rock, but that didn't stop Silvis and Argos from letting out surprised yelps. The Knight, however, simply got up on their feet and turned their head around to check if their companions were safe.
Silvis gulped and gave an affirmative nod. The Knight turned their head to the front, walked towards the edge, and jumped down. "Safe." They spoke. Silvis gently picked Argos up and walked over to the edge. There was a part of the 'cliff' that allowed the Knight to descend deeper.
Silvis hopped down, and the Knight jumped onto one of the platforms. Silvis could see that there were metallic 'spines' coming up from the floor like stalagmites. The Knight walked to the edge of the platform and jumped, somehow getting to the other side, and dodging multiple stalactites falling from the ceiling.
Argos whimpered in fear, cowering in Silvis' arms. The Knight looked back at them, sensing their concerns, and simply took out a parchment hidden in their cloak. They began to whisper something in a foreign language.
And right before her eyes, Silvis could see the 'white' magic from underneath...extending into a clear pathway. The Knight tilted their head, as if they were also surprised (which they probably were). Silvis gently stepped down to make sure the path was solid.
Luckily, her hopes have been proven. Silvis breathed a sigh of relief.
After making it back up to the surface, the trio walked on. "So, about the parchment...and the spell you casted earlier...you seemed surprised." Silvis asked softly. "Father gave it to me. Did not know it could do...that." The Knight answered. The trio once again came across some inscriptions on a stone. And once again those inscriptions glowed within Knight's presence.
"Higher beings. These words are for you alone."
"Beyond this point you enter the land of King and Creator."
"Step across this threshold and obey our laws."
"Bear witness to the last and only civilization, the eternal Kingdom."
"Hallownest."
The Voice rang out again. Silvis shook her head lightly. Did all of the inscriptions have a remaining side effect of a few seconds of dizziness? Or was it something Silvis had to get used to? Or was it because she was human?
Either way, their path just...stopped. As the trio was faced by a wall. But it looked very brittle. The cracks letting light pass from the other side. The Knight walked up to it, putting their hand on the brittle wall. "...Locked from the inside. Gate has weathered away." They spoke.
The Knight unsheathed their nail, and hit the crumbling gates, cracking it further. The Knight's nail hit it again, the cracks growing, more light passing through. The nail hit the gates again, again, again, again, again, until finally-
*CRASH*