Theurgy: Forsaken Oaths (Book Two)

Chapter 49 The Matron

Massua awoke suddenly in her sleep. She did not know why. She doesn't remember dreaming, and it wasn't Vermilia; she was still sleeping within her subconscious. It was a late night; she had spent the day preparing for the last meeting tomorrow with her mother, so she was plenty exhausted for a good night's sleep. She thought that this would be a restful rest, but she felt something pull her to consciousness, like this sudden sense of falling. She looked about her dim room, the bright twin moons allowing silver beams to bounce around and create plenty of shadows. Something was unsettling, and she realized in a moment that her door was opened, and there were no guards stationed there. 

    Massu immediately grabbed her mother's silver bracelet, placing it over her wrist before holding the dagger that was under her pillow. Carefully she stalked to the door, ready to lash out at whatever came her way. Looking outside, she found nothing but darkness. None of the candles that were meant to light the halls were lit. But most startling of all were the bodies. The Two Valorian knights that were meant to stand guard were lying on the ground in a heap, their spears still in hand. Massua feared that they were, in fact, dead, but as she placed her fingers on their wrists, she found a pulse. They were sleeping. She looked up, chills all over her body, but as her gaze shifted, she noticed something shimmering at the end of the hall. It appeared to be a woman in a long black dress, holding a lantern in one hand and a shepherd crook in the other. She stood there for but a moment for Massua to see her before steeping around the corner and out of view.

    "Excuse me?" she dashed over quickly and peered around the corner, only to see the adjacent hall empty, no woman in sight. She looked back at the sleeping guards, considering waking them to deal with this disturbance, but something swayed her. Something called to her, beckoned for Massua to follow. With her knife ready, she hesitantly walked down the hall where the woman had disappeared. It was deathly quiet this time, knight, and it seemed that no guards were around either. Perhaps they have succumbed to the same thing hers did as well. She could be convinced that this was just some dream, but she's never experienced something this lucid, even the visions given to her by death. This was very much real. She came to a crossroads, and again that voice came, a low whisper that rose in her mind and pulled her. She looked to her left, a hall that descended into a staircase. She could only catch a glimpse of the woman in black as she descended the stairs. This time she ran, looking down over the railing to see that the woman descended the stairs further and further down. Now that she thinks about it, she has never seen this stairway before.

   "Wait a moment," she sprinted down the steps. But no matter how fast she went, she never seemed to catch up to the woman. She seemed to glide down the steps. She has never been down this far into the Wild Halls. The decorative alabaster walls were giving wall to exposed stonework and support. And seeping between each seam and crack were various vines and roots that snaked all about, even covering the floor. It was pitch black, forcing Massua to follow the woman's lantern as she led her further and further in, tugging her along. No matter how Massua called for her to stop, she seemed to ignore her and move forward. On the way, they passed all sorts of statues, most of the people she had never seen or heard about, wearing out. On their pedestals were worn-out iron plaques displaying their names and dates. She stopped to read some of them. "Michael Ollurus 894-988", "Marrion Silva 753-820", "Abbadon Culmen 555-670". And on and on, stretching back to the founding date of the Empire; "The Matron Avarossa Lucian. Eternal." Massua felt the pull in her gut pull stronger as she went on. She finally came to a circular chamber deep in the heart of the Wild Halls. The overgrowth was even more pronounced here. Even without sunlight, the vegetation was vibrant, with many flowers decorating the chamber. The woman in black finally settled on a stone throne at the very head of the room, raised on a slight incline. She allowed the shepherd's crook to lean against the throne but still held the lantern just before her face. And it was then that Massua could get a good look at her face. With the wide-brimmed hat and the shawl, Massua knew who this was. The cold feeling returned. The sapphire flame of the lantern suddenly leaped from its container, dashing through the air like river currents directly to braziers set up around the perimeter, illuminating the entire room at once.