Elegy for a Star Ch. 101-110

"So anyway," Tess murmured, trying to change the subject, "Let's get started, Wydwen."

Mairaela shifted closer to Joyona, hoping that proximity had something to do with who you got paired up with. Still, Joyona didn't get paired up with anyone. Maybe that part doesn't really matter?

Wydwen hopped down from Joyona's arms and positioned himself in front of the group. The rune upon his head began to glow, brighter and brighter until Mairaela felt hypnotized. The edges of her vision began to darken, narrowing more and more until she went to sleep.

It was the sun that woke Mairaela. She had to shield her eyes when she opened them, still sensitive to the light. She was lying in a field, embraced by the green grass with an empty, blue sky above, not a cloud in sight. Mairaela could feel the ground shake and she heard the sound of hoofbeats approaching.

Mairaela sat up, looking ahead to see riders approaching. Dozens upon dozens of them. There must have been at least a hundred.

The wind whipped at her clothing--her normal clothing, for which she was grateful--as she put her hands up at the arrival of the riders. They, however, rode directly through her, as though she weren't even there. She felt nothing but a tingling, a swish of air as these riders passed through her like nothing.

Mairaela turned around, looking to see where they were going. A large tree stood not too far away. In front of it was a giant. A great, massive giant. His gray skin and white hair was so familiar, but Mairaela hadn't seen him in decades.

Evig, and he was sobbing.

She watched the riders. One of them had short, golden hair. One had dark hair down to his lower back.

.

Leanna and Costentyn. They were supposed to be dead. They were killed by Evig; killed by this monster just in front of them.

Where was he? Mairaela ran toward the riders in a panic, ran toward the giant, trying to find the man she looked for.

She slipped through the horses like a ghost, striding forward to the front where Leanna stood, dismounted. By her side was a man in a blue cloak with long, blonde hair and blue eyes.

Mormerilon.

Mairaela knew what this was. She knew why she hadn't been given a goal yet. She was simply supposed to watch. To experience. To live the moment that her surrogate brother died.

"Evig," Mormerilon called out.

"No, don't," Mairaela begged, "Ride away."

The giant raised his head to look at Mormerilon.

"We're here to help!" Leanna called out.

"Stop it," Mairaela said, clenching her fists so tightly that she could feel the cuts forming in her palms, "Please just go. He's not the same Evig that we knew. Just go. Stop talking to him and leave!"

"Tell us what we can do!" Mormerilon added, stepping forward and holding his arms out to his sides.

Evig's eyes opened slowly, tears dripping down his large cheeks, "There is nothing you can do." He shook his head, "You can't stop it. I can't stop it."

"Tell us what it is," Mormerilon called out, "We can help."

"You can't help. You need help, and that's what I do. I help. I'll give you an end more peaceful than He will. I'll help."

"Evig," Leanna whispered, "Evig, you aren't making sense. Let's talk this out." She held up a hand signal to the rest of the riders. They began to ready their weapons.

"I'll help you all."

Chapter 104 - Joyona and Miren's Second Trial

"So," Miren started, "Just get from point A to point B?"

Joyona nodded. She wasn't unhappy to be working with Miren, but would have much rather worked with her Summer Courtish counterpart. Miren was alright, though. Serious. Practical. The kind of person that Joyona pretended to be.

"Is there anything I should know about your gift?" Joyona asked.

Miren just shook her head in response.

Joyona nodded, even if the response was not very helpful.

Taking in the sight of her surroundings, Joyona's eyes scanned the grassy hills, dotted with large rocks that seemed to have pushed their way out of the ground. Plenty of places for an ambush, and considering that the Trial left them their armor and weapons, she assumed they would have a use for them.

"Well," Miren said, gesturing ahead, "Lead the way, shieldwall."

Joyona didn't much like confrontation, so even if the words were distasteful, she didn't want to get into an argument with Miren. Besides, what good would it do to build discontent right before a fight? She tried to suppress any annoyance with the Winter Fey that had swelled in her chest, focusing instead on the potential dangers ahead.

Pulling the axe from her back, Joyona wielded it in both hands, stretching her shoulders and testing its weight. She nodded and began to march ahead.

There wasn't any visual sense of direction, but rather it was an instinctive feeling. One direction felt "right" and another felt "wrong." The way forward had a certain pull to it that drew one step after another from Joyona.

She wondered if she should say something to Miren, but nothing came to mind. She could ask about the Winter Court. Ask about Mairaela. Neither of those options sounded good.

Focus. Focus. Joyona couldn't afford to think about social norms and her inability to maintain them when there was potential danger around every corner.

That danger made itself known not long after Joyona centered her thoughts. Around a tall rock off to her right, atop a green hill, Joyona could hear some scuffling. She turned to look at Miren, who seemed to hear the same thing, judging by the way her ears were perked up and she was looking toward the rock as well.

Joyona shared a look with the Winter Fey, pointing toward herself and the rock, then to Miren and making a chopping motion. The Fey nodded her understanding. Joyona liked that. Silent conversation. Silent agreement. She was more comfortable with that, without having to worry about social cues. She wondered if Miren actually understood what she was going for.

Joyona crept toward the rock with Miren just behind her. As they approached, the Winter Fey maneuvered to the side a bit, keeping low. The scuffling continued up until Joyona leapt over the rock. There was a squeal as a small, impish creature fled off to the side. Joyona was immediately relieved to see that it was something so small, so seemingly harmless.

Miren didn't seem to agree with that notion. She intercepted the creature as planned, flanking it from the side, and skewered it upon her rapier. It let out a screech before Miren twisted the blade and wrenched it free with a pop and a squelch of internal fluid. The scrawny, short winged imp dropped to the ground, bleeding out upon the grass.

Joyona approached the corpse, picking it up by one wing and looking it over. It was green, blending in with the grass quite well except for the streaks of crimson blood that dripped from its wounds. "This is... too..."

"Easy," Miren completed, "That is very unlike the Void." The Winter Fey patrolled around the area, looking off into the distance and nearby, "That doesn't make sense. There must be something else."

"Maybe they explode," Joyona looked at the corpse before throwing it away into the distance. She watched it, waiting for some sort of detonation, but nothing happened.

Miren sat back against the boulder the imp had been hiding behind and said, "Maybe we should just consider ourselves lucky and head the remaining way."

Joyona wasn't so sure and she didn't even believe that Miren thought this would be the case. The Winter Fey didn't seem very confident in her own words.

There was good cause for that. The boulder that Miren sat against burst from the ground behind her, revealing a much larger stony body beneath. The Winter Fey was thrown down the hill, rolling until she came to a stop. In her place, the boulder rose into the air until Joyona could see two arms, two legs, and two red, gemstone eyes. It stood taller and taller and taller still, until it dwarfed the sizable Joyona, who stood about as tall as the giant's knee.

"Shit," Joyona thought, "This is going to really hurt."

The giant brought a rocky fist down and swung it against the ground, kicking up dirt and rocks as it traveled along an arcing path toward Joyona. The armored woman blocked the attack with her axe, but the force of it threw her to the side. She was sent rolling down one end of the hill, her broken axe clattering to the ground beside her. She thought to herself, "My gift is armor, not weapons." She got her feet under her toward the end of the slide and began a mad dash back to the stone monster.

Another swing from its other arm, but Joyona was ready. Panels on the back of her armor opened and emitted a forceful shockwave behind her, propelling her forward and tearing up chunks of dirt and grass in her wake. Joyona slipped inside of the giant's reach, grabbing one of its legs and pulling it backward with such force that it grew unbalanced and fell forward.

As it dropped, Joyona's armor sent out another shockwave, launching the woman into the air above the collapsed stone colossus. As she began to arc downward, she brought up a fist. Her armor let out several more rapid bursts, flinging her to the ground with such force that her drop upon the monster burst its stone body into dozens of pieces. Each of them, individually, grew lifeless. "As stones should be," Joyona thought.

She wasn't even winded, but she was about to be.

Joyona looked around her to see each of the dozens of boulders bursting from the ground and becoming the same rocky monsters. Not all of them were alike. Some had stone weapons, some were taller, some were shorter and some had multiple limbs like spiders.

She would need help. She had to check on Miren.

Joyona rushed back to the Winter Fey, who had already collected herself. Her mouth was bleeding but she otherwise looked fine.

"Whatever your gift is," Joyona said, "We need it. Why are you holding out?"

"I'm not," Miren said, "He'll be here in a moment."

True to her word, as a few of the giants approached, Joyona spotted a creature approaching from behind them. Running on four legs, furred and massive, its lengthy stride had it upon the stone monsters in an instant. A maw with a deadly row of sharp teeth and prominent fangs opened wide and slammed shut around the stony beast, squeezing until the bounder-creature burst into gravel and stony dust.

It was then that Joyona could get a better look at the beast. A great, white wolf, massive in size. At least fourteen feet tall, but likely much more. It was ferocious, stony chunks settled into the fur around its mouth as it set its sights on the nearest foe.

"What is that?" Joyona said under her breath.

Miren crossed her arms, "My gift, of course."

Chapter 105 - Gwen's Second Trial

"Not ideal," Gwendolyn said, looking around the castle room she stood in. It was the Great Hall of her father's keep in Lannercost, her home for most of her life. It was empty, which simply never happened when she was living there. Grand, ten foot tall portraits of every family member were hanging from the walls. It had been a while since Gwen looked at them, but she knew them by heart. She saw them at least once a day. Her father, stoic and proper, looked as though his spine was a steel rod by the way he stood so straight. Gwen's picture was no different. She'd been painted the same day she earned her knighthood. She'd been so proud, eager to be exactly like her father. To become Lady of the Castle. To serve Lannercost and the Empire. To lead.

But she had changed. She had changed so much.

Her sister, Janette, sat in her portrait, wearing a black gown with her silver hair done up in ringlets and tied behind her head. She looked fragile. Delicate. Gwen had no idea where she got that. Both of her parents were warriors, at least in spirit. Not Janette, though. Gwen took it upon herself to bear the responsibilities of the House, to spare Janette a life of servitude to the Reverend-Father, but mostly to their own father.

Gwen dared not look at the portrait of her mother. She knew it well enough, but was eager for the day when she forgot it. The memory of what her mother did was too much to bear. She was surprised that her father kept the portrait up. Though, perhaps in real life, he hadn't. Gwen had to remember that she was in the Void, not in her actual home.

The fact that this was a dark and evil place didn't help to deter her from believing it was home, however.

"Gwendolyn," came a rough, hissing voice. The once-knight turned to see her father ascending the short stairs from the doorway, rising and approaching Gwen. He stopped about ten feet away.

Gwen's throat tightened. As angry as she was at her father for initiating her mental break, all of her confidence was drained from her face the moment she saw him. Had it been his fault? She was the one that couldn't handle his expectations. His words to her were nothing special. Two words; That was all it had been and it drove her over the edge into insanity. It broke her. It was her lack of will, not her father's.

"I'm glad you're realizing it," Rhothomir replied as though Gwendolyn's thoughts were spoken aloud, "I asked nothing of you that you could not handle. Your squireship was far more challenging than my request for you to stay out of trouble."

Gwendolyn sunk a little, a weight building upon her shoulders. "Remember," she thought to herself, "This isn't him. This is a shadow of him. I'm in the Void and I need to remember that, as real as this all feels."

"I might not be your actual father, but I am an accurate copy of him. If this conversation were happening in the actual Lannercost, it wouldn't go any differently," her father replied, "He is disappointed in you. Confused. Wondering why you betrayed him and the rest of your family."

It felt like she'd been stabbed in the chest. Gwen shook her head, "I didn't betray anyone. I was doing my best."

"You used to do better. You are not supposed to be falling away from your prime but ascending to it. Why did joining the College and Corps cripple your honor?" Rhothomir asked, his face the epitome of disappointment and pain. He cared. Gwen had hurt him, because he actually cared.

"Dad," Gwen started, her chest aching, "I'm sorry."

"I want to believe that, daughter," Rhothomir replied, "I do. But you've cursed me. Wished me harm. You've been angry at me when all I wanted to do was help you remember your oath."

"Please..."

"Think of your sister. A disgraced sibling, how will that affect her marriage? I didn't want to marry her off in the first place, but now it'll be to someone of even less import."

"She'll be okay, dad," Gwen replied, "She doesn't even-..."

"And your mother?"

That one wrenched Gwendolyn's heart. He didn't even have to say it. Gwendolyn knew that her mother would hear of what Gwen had done. The dishonorable, shameful things. The stripping of her knighthood. That's all she could think about while she was being punished at Kravana Hall. That and Tess.

"I know," Gwen said, holding up a hand for Rhothomir to stop, "I'm aware of what I did, but if you love me, I need your help now more than ever. Something broke in me and I need to fix it."

Rhothomir smiled softly, "So you'll come back home?"

"Dad," Gwen said, shaking her head sorrowfully, "What I'm doing here matters. I can't step away from it."

"What you're doing there can be done by anyone. You are only one person. The Black Sun might be an inevitability, but unlikely that it would do anything to us in this lifetime."

"I have friends that need me," Gwen replied, pointing behind her as though her party were standing there, "I can't abandon them, like..."

"Like you abandoned your family?"

"I left with your permission," Gwendolyn replied with a snap.

"Because I thought you would represent this family well," Rhothomir replied, "And now I need you home."

Gwen shook her head.

"Your party will be fine," her father said with a sigh, "They'll have another person to replace you in weeks, or they'll be given easier jobs."

"Dad, this isn't right," Gwen said with a sigh, "It's not right."

"But it's what I need from you," Rhothomir said, "It's what your sister needs." Her father approached, arms out for an embrace, "Isn't that enough? You've known these people for less than a year and you've known us for your entire life."

Gwen felt her throat getting tighter. "I told you, this isn't right," Gwen replied, "I'm not going to do that."

"So you're cutting out your family?" Rhothomir asked, "Your sister?"

"I'm not cutting out anyone, least of all Janette. You're cutting me out, and don't pretend it's any different."

Rhothomir held a hand out, a double-bladed staff manifesting in his palm. He clutched it and flourished with it for a moment. "If you think that, then I'll really have to cut you out," he replied.

"Dad, I don't want to do this," Gwen replied, holding her hands up, chest-high, don't do this. I don't-... dad, please."

"I'm just a copy, right?" Rhothomir replied.

"Right," Gwen said, nodding.

"So this should be easy."

Gwen looked into his eyes, narrowing her own, "There's something else, isn't there?"

"There's a soul in me, Gwen," Rhothomir replied.

"Father?" Gwen asked.

Rhothomir just smiled and shrugged, "Your father. Your mother. Janette?"

"That's impossible, they're all-..."

"Distant. Quiet. You haven't heard from your father in months. Your sister for even longer. Your mother in... gods, how long now? Years?"

"You fuck," Gwen hissed.

Rhothomir just smiled, "Kill me. An innocent. An innocent you may know. Or keep your life." Her father gave a little chuckle, "Your pick, daughter."

Chapter 106 - Tess' Second Trial

Tess immediately knew that something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong. She was still in her loincloth and chest wrap, but looking down at her body, she saw no bulge showing through the cloth. She pulled it aside only to see a very cute, very reddened, very wet cunt between her legs. She felt that burning need in her core, feeling her arousal soaking her vulva and inner thighs.

"Fuck," Tess said softly, "I wonder what horny buffoonery the others are dealing with."

She turned to see Gwen standing not far away, her back turned, grumbling. Tess looked relieved, "This place must like us, we keep getting paired together!" She laughed and gestured to her sex, "Look what I have! Let me guess what you have. This should be fun!"

Gwen turned around, shifting uncomfortably. Her eyes were... red. Dark. They were a little disconcerting. "Gwen?" Tess asked, "You okay?"

"I don't know," she replied, "I don't feel so well."

"Is this the task? Do I need to help you feel better?"

"Maybe," she grumbled, "Maybe Miri knows."

"Miri isn't here," Tess replied, before Gwen pointed over Tess' shoulder.

Tess turned to see Miri behind her, standing proudly, eyes red. There was a big, hard cock standing at attention between her legs.

"Ah," Tess said, nodding her head, "This is starting to make more sense." She looked back toward Gwen and asked, "Are you a mimic?"

"I don't know," Gwen replied.

"Okay, that's a yes," Tess said, looking back at Miri, "Let me guess, I need to make you both cum without me cumming?"

Miri pointed off to the side. Tess turned to look and saw a red-eyed Mairaela standing there in her cat-tail, miniskirt outfit, a similarly enormous cock hanging flaccid between her thighs. The skirt did nothing to hide it. She looked pretty content with this and confirmed it in an instant, "This is going to be amazing!"

Tess turned around at the last side she hadn't observed yet. Tess thought, "Miren, probably. Maybe Scirocca?" She was surprised to find, of all people, Joyona standing there, dressed in her full armor. She was so tall, Tess couldn't imagine what might be between her legs.