Existentially Bound: Part 17
Nexus
Note: This story may contain sexual situations, strong language, images, etc...
Intended for mature audiences only. Reader discretion is advised.
"Aye. A manifestation of it, to be sure. Though… it changes."
Emily almost toppled over as she stared up at the myriad floating portals. "You've been here before?"
"Aye; when I was trapped for all those years."
"Years?" Emily asked, now staring over the side at the magical quicksand-like landscape under the platform.
"Wait. What changes?" Paige said, her thoughts dwelling on the previous topic.
Valandra traveled to the end of the overhanging platform, measuring up distances. "The Djinn which hold dominion over this labyrinth are Elder Djinn. They scatter and change this structure and manifestation on their whim. As I stated before, if Djinn collectively make up a region… if they choose to believe it, the world becomes solidified and reality sets in."
Paige tapped her chin. "I get it! If there's a group of Djinn that believe they are birds, and the world is only sky, then that's what the world becomes."
Valandra nodded. "Aye. And while the combined power of three Lesser Djinn may be enough to overwrite the world created by another, it is most certainly not enough to overwrite that of a collective. Nor an Elder."
"These Elder Djinn are that powerful?" Emily said, rubbing the back of her neck.
"They are. The Elders are from the primordial core elements of Tyria. We cannot risk confrontation with one. I have spent years of a lifetime here; you have spent less time significantly… None of us, even combined, are enough to overpower an Elder."
"So they're like… What? The rulers of this place? The rulers of Ahdashim?" Paige asked.
"I do not think this is the correct way to think of it. I have seen that each collective world seems to have a predominate Djinn which began the belief in the world. It starts with one: a Djinn traveling for the first time to Ahdashim creating their own wish. Usually with the belief in who they were before becoming Lesser Djinn. Such is the way of various species within the realm. Moreover, others which join into that belief populate their world, thus adding to the solidification of the collective's wish. The world becomes real. It is in one of these worlds that I believe Demitra resides in. The question is… which one?" Valandra gestured to the myriad sand portals around them.
Emily rubbed her temples in frustration. "Okay… Lemme get this straight, for all the frost girls here. Basically, you're saying mortals that become Djinn (whatever species they are) tend to come here and create a world with their mind. Most of the time they're content staying what they were before, so there's a lot of species here in various worlds."
Paige nodded, also working through the information. "And when new 'Lesser Djinn' show up and have the same sorta… mindset, they add to whatever world aligns to their thought and make it stronger. Is that it?"
"From what I understand. But the question remains, in what world would Demitra imagine herself in?" Valandra shrugged.
All three women stood, pondering, glancing around at the various portals, until finally Emily spoke up. "She'd want to be free. She'd want to come back to us."
Valandra raised an eyebrow, a flush of worry on her face. "Assuming her gateway shattered like ours… Where then would she go to seek such freedom?"
Paige shrugged, then straighten herself as a thought came to her. "So… if we can't answer the problem directly, can we wish to find the correct path?" she asked in earnest.
"Within other worlds, maybe. Here, in the Nexus, however-"
"Yeah this place is too powerful. I think I get it," Emily said succinctly.
Valandra grinned at the woman, always appreciative of how she could break things down to their core. She froze a moment, a thought occurring to her. "Core," she said absently.
"What?" Both Paige and Emily asked in unison.
"Perhaps the key is within our cores."
"Perhaps the earth-based Djinn of this Nexus can be reasoned with by one of their own elemental makeup. You," Valandra said, pointing at Emily, "are most definitely made from the elements which you inherited from me; that of ice and all that makes up air."
"Yeah, and like… lightning too," Emily giggle with a slight sparkle on her fingertips.
"That's um… what she meant by 'air' I think," Paige injected causing a groan from Emily. "So what about me?"
Valandra slightly shrugged. "You, Lady Paige Dejarin are… something different."
"Well, given my mother's magic and how innate I am with it… I think I have a guess."
Valandra took a few steps closer to an adjacent portal looking into the sands before glancing over her shoulder at the woman, almost whispering the word, "Death?"
Paige nodded slowly. "That's… That's my guess."
"Perhaps. Of this, we are not certain. Unfortunately, it may be millennia here before we garner an answer to this. But I do know, I seem to have a bit… more within."
"What do you me-" Emily suddenly stammered backward as a small brook of lava bubbled into existence at Valandra's command.
She stood a few steps away, her hand outstretched to create the lava font. Her fist then clenched, which immediately brought the lava together, compressing it into a solid pyrite row of rocks.
Emily tilted her head a moment, then just gave a simple nod with an even simpler smile. "Oh yeah. Earth magic," she said in the most accepting tone either Valandra or Paige would have expected.
"You… knew of this?" Valandra asked, puzzled.
"Well, yeah. Back when I first got Demitra back, I felt a connection to the earth. In that lava pit you jumped into when you freed her… I could feel the earth magic course through me. I even started exploring it a bit, but then the war… Looks like you have a bit more control of it than I ever did though. Maybe you were meant to wield it."
Paige suddenly chuckled at the incredulousness. "Are there any other huge surprising secrets
you want to let us know about, Emily?"
The woman seemed to seriously consider the question, as an exasperated puff of smoke came from Valandra's lips. Paige picked at her puffy hair for a moment, looked at the sand pool below, while Emily seemed to continue pondering.
"What… What if we just ask?" she finally suggested.
All three women looked at each other with a dumbfounded look upon their faces.
"Would that… Do you think that would work? I mean, diplomacy can be a powerful tool…"
Valandra's head slightly smoked. "Well, I suppose it may be more productive than haphazardly jumping through portals. Though… if it does not work; if the Elder is malevolent…"
"Yeah, yeah. We can take him. Djinn are ageless, not invulnerable!" Emily's eyes sparkled like glaciers during a sunset.
A chuckle came from the former ice queen. "Yes. But, you should heed your own observation: we are Djinn, and we are not invulnerable. We are ourselves here. Our bodies are not in Tyria, they are here (however incorporeal they may be at times!). And, whatever they appear to be - be it four arms or extra… appendages - they are us. We die here, we die. And, we will die if we attempt to engage an Elder."
Emily let out a frosty breath. "Well, there goes my plan."
"Then we don't die. We talk things over, appeal to him. We try something he may not even be familiar with any longer: diplomacy!" Paige stood, clenching her fists resolutely.
Both Valandra and Emily stared at the woman's posture, her resolve, and couldn't help but bask in the woman's uninhibited optimism. The women looked at each other in silent understanding that Paige was, by all intents and purposes, hope personified. And, it took little effort to see how the hope she kept alive for Demitra's return had played a part in the hurt she felt with the perception Valandra and Emily had given up.
Emily took a step toward Paige, placing a slightly frosty hand upon the woman's shoulder. "We… um… We believe we will find her, too Paige."
Paige raised an eyebrow at the woman, but made no facial expressions otherwise.
After a moment, Valandra came to the group. "Merged together… we may have lost sight of it…"
"But, we… we never stopped believing, Paige." Emily finished the thought.
Paige nodded slowly. "Then let's go find this Elder Djinn and find out where Demitra is."
They collectively came to stand on the edge of the precipice, looking down at the swirling sand below. In its center was a portal, rapidly fluxuating, flipping through scenes of innumerable various landscapes almost too rapidly to see.
"Our objective is to believe in it. Believe we will find the Elder which resides here. Believe and wish with everything you are to find the creators of this Nexus. Blank your minds, lest you find yourself in a world of your creation, full of mindless Demitras. The nightmare of your vessel is nothing compared to a sense-deprived mind. So blank your thoughts and fill it only of the Elder Djinn we currently seek, and not our ultimate goal."
"So should we… make a slide or…" Paige chuckled and nudged Emily in the ribs, who also started laughing.
Valandra blinked a moment, not understanding the reference. Her face flashed an annoyance at the ramifications and hurt the inside joke inadvertently had. It was the first time she had not known an experience, which Emily had without her.
Emily saw the look, knew it well, stopped herself mid-laugh. "Um… Okay, so we just jump down and hope for the best?" She asked, trying to take Valandra's mind off the uncomfortableness she undoubtedly felt, being left out of the joke.
"I… uh, yes," the woman stammered for a moment, then regained her composure. "We jump. But, we must remain cautious; must remain wary. Elder Djinn are… Well, they were the first. Such is why they govern the fundamental structures of Ahdashim. And they are old. As old, if not older than our world. Their ambitions are quite… foreign to us. And I have yet to hear of a benevolent one. As I understand it, they are filled with disdain for the lesser beings we represent: humans… mortals."
"Yeah, well, they've not met us!" Emily said with a chuckle.
Both Paige and Valandra face-palmed. After a moment of quiet contemplation, however, each nodded silently to the others. Simultaneously, all three women leaped from the platform, quickly fell and plunged into the swirling vortex below, which promptly swallowed them whole.
-----
"Move!" Valandra commanded, but it was already too late. Before the women could materialize fully and gain their footing, an explosion of earth sent them flying.
"The hell?" Emily said as she rolled over.
Paige pointed to the overbearing wall which bordered the circular platform. "Up there!"
Surrounding the women, high above on the tops of the walls were five floating earth-based Djinn. Each waved their hands, mystically channeling their magics for an assault.
Emily looked to Valandra, who gestured to Paige. "Well, comeon, diplomat! Diplome already!"
Valandra rolled her eyes but shook her head in agreement.
Paige stood, her arms held outward, palms up in a gesture of non-aggression. "We only seek council; advice on how to find one who has been lost to us. May we explain our situat-"
A large bolder suddenly sprung into existence at the behest of the three forward Djinn, promptly launched at the women. All three leaped from the impact zone, completely at the mercy of the rumbling tremors which brought them down.
Emily sprung up, lightning crackling around her person. "Fine! We got our answer; now let's send one in return!" She yelled as she slammed her foot down, sending a bolt traveling through the floor and up the wall. It struck its mark, instantly shocking the Djinn which promptly burst into sand.
Valandra was already to reprimand the woman, knowing full well the futility in confronting the elders, when something caught her eye. She channeled flames into her hand, then launched it forward in a blistering fireball that exploded onto her target. With a pop, the Djinn quickly turned into sand, landing in a pile.
"Well, this is most definitely not what we wanted. Maybe a taste of death will be enough to make them listen!" Paige reached inward, called upon the magic to turn herself into the personification of death magic: a spectral wraith. Instead, much to her surprise, nothing happened. She opened her eyes, with a perplexed look on her face. But the newly presented puzzle had to be solved later - a fact that was reminded to Paige as a large hand of stone erupted from the soil.
"Paige; here, behind us. Emily: ice it!" Valandra ordered.
Paige quickly rolled out of the way as the giant hand of stone swept at her. She came to stand behind Emily, who was already following the suggestion. An ice storm came into view overhead as a whirlwind came upon the hand, the blistering cold only slowing its movement.
The Djinn above silently pushed harder with their magic, each weaving their hands in intricate patterns to enhance the conjuration.
"Emily, you fool; water freezes! Drench it, then freeze it!"
The new woman of ice brought both hands forward, channeling rainfall in one hand, maintaining the bitter cold from the other. She groaned as she poured more magic into their combination. Snow turned to hail, then to freezing rain, which solidified on contact. Within seconds, the entire arm was halted, covered in a thick ice. Ember almost fell on top of Paige, who caught the woman.
Valandra's eyes sparked with embers as both hands came forward, pulling in the desert heat, channeling into one point. She pulled the gathered plasma over her head, launching it into the sky. At its apex, the fireball suddenly burst into hundreds of smaller fragments of solidified flaming rock, the force sending them back down upon the frozen appendage. It shattered as the fragments pummeled it, releasing with it an energy shockwave of sand which promptly popped the rest of the Djinn.
Paige stood up, looking around at the disintegrated Djinn. "They… They weren't real, were they? They were like your Awakened conjurations from before."
Emily sat up, a bit wearily, then stood with both Paige and Valandra's help. "So, what? We missed the mark on trying to find the Elder Djinn?"
A heated breath was exhaled from Valandra. "No. I… I do not believe so. They should be here; this nexus infamously has multiple Elders…"
"Doesn't look like they're here now," Emily spat, crossing her arms, looking around at the empty stadium.
The mocha woman tapped her chin. "What, then, would cause the Elders to leave here?"
"Such is not the concern of 'Lessers,'" a voice tremored.
"Ah hell," Emily said, reaching for her staff. The weapon suddenly popped, falling to stand, as did her clothing, replaced by two additional arms from her sides.
A quick glance from Valandra showed Paige and herself doing much the same. All three women stood with their full Djinn forms exposed. Their skin glistened with their respective elemental hues. Emily was a pale blue, Valandra was a deep red, while Paige was a forest green. They found themselves more interested in each other's full Djinn appearance, than they did the swirls of sand coming from each pile of the former adversaries, combining in front of them.
Ever the voice of reason, additionally pulling attention away from her nudity, two hands were brought to point at the magical event happening. "Elder?"
Valandra's eyes grew wide. She quickly dropped to her knees, looked up at the other two women who stood like statues. "Get down, lest we be obliterated."
Both did as instructed, a cooperative Paige, with a reluctant Emily.
Before the three Djinn swirled magical flowing sands, waving and fluctuating as though they floated upon a river's windy circular current. Each group of sand pools found their way to each other, combining and flowing until finally shaping into what appeared to be a giant four-armed Djinn made of flowing sands. Two sand hands slammed Two sand hands slammed into the platform mere feet from the kneeling women. "'Lessers' which dare seek me?"
The puff-haired woman cleared her throat, looking up to the enormity which was the Elder Djinn. "Great Elder Djinn, we beseech you. We come before you with a request: We have come from afar and as for passage to a grain of sand; a single world."
An otherworldly raspy laugh came from the creature of sand. "You request? From me? Who are you to request, but an insignificant spec on an endless sea of floating filth!"
"Oof," Emily softly grunted.
Paige sighed, tried her best to remain neutral at the insult. "We are specs who have found our way to your glory and wonder, and we humbly request your aid."
Emily flinched, gritted her teeth.
Valandra whispered, "I am uncertain appealing to his vanity is wise; these Elders do not think as we do."
The shifting sands that made up the Djinn's mouth formed into what seemed to be a grin. "My glory and- These things are unimportant!" He leaned forward, the everchanging face closer and peering into the hearts of all three women. "Tell me then, what is important to you? Why have you come to my Nexus? To simply travel to another world? Such a thing could be done at a thought in Ahdashim! Yet you seek one which could end you at but a command?"
Paige reached down, grasped onto the courage and hope she had continued to believe in. She stood, facing the giant head with a resolve that gave pause to both Emily and Valandra. Her fist clenched tightly as she took a defiant step forward. "We come seeking passage to find another Djinn. The one called Demitra Naja Nyimah!"
The sands suddenly shimmered, shaping into what appeared to be a surprised face. The Elder Djinn pulled backward suddenly, almost fearful at the instant recognition.
Emily stood, two hands on her hips, the other two folded.
"What do you know of her?" Valandra asked timidly as she stood.
The Elder Djinn pulled back, sliding his fists from the platform as his entire makeup shimmered and fluctuated for a moment.
Vigilantly, Valandra pressed forward. "Something… is breaking your concentration. Why, at the mention of her name do you act like this?"
"Yeah, if you fear her, why not just give her back? I'll take my wife and leave this place!" The woman's hair frosted over.
"Fear?" boomed the Djinn's voice. "I fear no human-turned-Lesser-Djinn!"
Emily chuckled. "Even I'm a better liar than you."
The Elder sharply darted its head to Emily. "You will not be so bold once you are facing him. If we Elder Djinn could not combat him, Lessers have no possibility!" The Djinn seemed to stop himself for a moment, considering. "Though, this name you say…" His hollowed sand-filled physique turned to scan each each woman individually, his unscrupulous gaze digging into the core of each.
Paige modestly covered herself while Valandra and Emily shared glances in an unspoken conversation that was Emily asking if she should attack and Valandra telling her not to.
In his own time, the Elder Djinn folded all four of his arms, casting a scrupulous sand-eye at the group. "You are the whispered descendants?" He cryptically asked.
Valandra didn't wait for another to respond. "We are!" She exclaimed with a false assuredness.
Emily groaned. "It's the vault again, isn't it?"
One of Paige's hands tapped her chin as another absently picked at her belly button again. "Possibly so. But I'm more interested in who whispers about us, and what do they want? Who is 'he' and where is Demitra?"
"All connected," the Elder began. "Okht Thaljia is correct: the vault. This is where your transformations began. He knew of this; It is why he placed the weapons in the hands of your ancestors. However, even with his gift of future sight, he has become... overzealous. That which he sought to destroy is what he has become."
"That was… You're talking about Demitra's Djinn mentor, aren't you?" Emily asked, then offered an explanation to the others. "See, Demitra told me she had a mentor that gave her those bracers. And then, back when we were in the vault the first time, her room was empty, except a box of sand! And, then the second time, when we were in the vault fighting the Djinn, he told us Demi's Djinn could see the future! Remember the tapestries?" Emily's face was a vivid blue as all eyes stared at her. "What? I remember stuff!"
"What does all of this have to do with us, Elder?" Valandra asked, her voice filled with unusual reverence.
The gigantic Djinn leaned forward, bringing all four arms to lean on the platform, coming closer than any of the women were comfortable with. "If you are, indeed, the whispered descendants, then perhaps his prophesy shall come to pass, and you shall champion the avoidance of the destruction that threatens both our realms."
Paige held all four arms outward, in a pose of non-aggression. "How are we to fight a threat we do not know? And, if we are the 'whispered ones'-"
"Whatever that means," Emily scoffed.
Valandra shot her other half a sharp glance.
"What I mean is if we are known and are to fight whatever this is… We're going to need all four of us. Me, Emily, Valandra… and Demitra."
The amalgamation of sand and stone which made up the Elder Djinn sat back, crossed all four arms, considering. His eyeless gaze peered into the distance, as though seeing through a myriad of swirling portals, realities, and worlds. After an uncomfortable silence shared by the women, the Elder finally spoke, his voice a low more humbled rumble. "I shall grant your request, conditionally, however. The weapon must be sealed away forever."
"What weapon?" Emily blurted before she Valandra could stop her.
"Are you talking about our vessels? Back in the vault, that's what the Djinn said, 'Weapons, all. To fight the immortal.'" Paige recalled.
The Elder nodded slowly. "Your vessels are the weapon against the former immortal-bound. Once the calamity has been averted, the transcendence shall herald in the sealing of the weapon forever. Do this, and I shall send you to that which you seek."
Valandra looked to the other women. "I do not know of this calamity, but if our vessels are weapons to stop it from destroying reality…"
Emily rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Okay, again for all the frost girls here... You're saying that our vessels are weapons, and we gotta use them to stop this calamity from destroying everything, but we gotta seal them away when we're done using them? And we'll know when to do that when some sort of 'transcendence' happens? If we agree to this, you'll send us to Demi?" Emily asked with finality.
Before Emily blindly agreed to the Elder's demands, Valandra interjected. "What transcendence do you speak of?" Valandra asked, working all angles of the puzzle. If her dealings with Djinn taught her anything it was that the cryptic speech, favors, and promises could not be taken at face value.
The Elder seemed to grin. "When the Djinn of Crystal rises," he offered without further explanation.
Paige covered her mouth with two three of her four hands. "Dem-"
"Demitra?" Emily frowned.
Valandra rubbed her temples, muttered under her breath. "Always her…" While the distain for her once-scorned lover had evaporated from the woman's once icy core, small remnants sometimes surfaced. While merged, Emily had helped with any lingering animosity; now, separated, it was something Valandra knew she needed to continue to work through, but secretly worried about her own role when Emily and Demitra were reunited. She took in a breath, exhaled heat, then looked at her sister, with resolve. "I shall bow to your decision, Lady Paige Dejarin."
Emily's eyes flashed a vibrant blue at a thought. "Is… Is she the villain we are to face?"
Paige clenched four fists. "No. I choose not to believe that.
"For the future of our realm and the future of the corporeal one, do we have an accord?" The Elder's voice quaked.
Valandra's head started to smoke, on the brink of ignition, but she nodded to Paige, who looked to her after Emily.
The smaller mocha-puff haired woman turned to the Djinn and shook her head in agreement. "Aye. We accept."
Without hesitation the Elder Djinn broke apart, returning to the sand and stone which shaped him. Each group began to swirl around the center as a giant sand portal shaped into existence. "Accords are not to be broken. Do so and all you know shall be extinguished. Go, whispered descendants, find the one you seek, and fulfill your prophesied destiny."
The three women walked up to the portal, pausing momentarily to give each other a look. There was an uncertainty that hung in the air, an unspoken cautious hopefulness that permeated each. The world they were stepping into: unknown. The choice they had made: uncertain. But, each stepped into the vortex with a desire to find Demitra Naja Nyimah, rescue her from this place, and finally leave the Realm of the Djinn.
Or, at least… that was the hope.
[To Be Continued...]
