"The Bright Elves would be less difficult to deal with than the Drow," Storm's warning echoed in Loviath's mind. Overlaid on that was the EarthMother's geas - "Heal my world. Bring back the Light."
She sighed. The EarthMother wanted the Drow. Of that she had no doubt, but her ability to do that...?
Storm had left her at the edge of the Drowlands, left unwillingly at her own insistence. The young girl exercised all the caution of her ranger training to forge deeper into the Realms of Dragonius on her own, armed only with a bow, a sword and her wits.
She skipped over, in memory, the days and nights of travel, fearing to be caught before she could deliver her message. She should have known better. She flinched as she remembered her capture and the journey to Dragarius, Stronghold and Temple of Dragonius, the God of the Drow.
As had become habit, she pushed aside the pain and humiliation of her present incarceration and concentrated on the Light. Eyes closed, mind wide open, one hand touching the dirt floor beneath her bare form, Loviath strove to find That-Which-Was-the-Earth Mother, She-Who-Was-Life.
There! Faint, but a thread of hope for the ranger. It was too far, too faint for her to fully grasp, but just knowing it was there gave her strength.
The connection was abruptly broken as Loviath was hauled to her feet. Two Drow supported her. She hadn't heard the door to her cell open, nor heard them enter. She gasped as the pain of her injuries intruded into her thoughts. There would only be more of the same. She wasn't sure how long she could hold on to her sanity as the days of torture blurred into one long mental scream.
"Breathe your last, Human," one Drow sneered. "Today Dragonius will see you." The second Drow chuckled in anticipation. Loviath looked again at the faces. Dark of skin with the same large upswept eyes, long thin noses, and thin lipped mouths of the Bright Eyes Elves. The cheekbones and chin where distorted almost to sharp points. Their foreheads showed ridges of bone under shining skin. Many rumors tell of the experiments of Herugar, the dark elven a cruel mixture of the ancient Fey and demon blood. A mixture that would never take if not for the strong enchantments placed over them. A mixture that left them children of magic and of fear.
"He's already seen me," Loviath muttered. "There isn't a whole lot left that he hasn't had a gloat over." A touch from one of the Drow made Loviath's muscles scream in pain. He released the pressure as her vision blurred to a world of shapes and shadows. She didn't remember much of the trip through the dungeons up the long flights of stairs, dragged through the gauntlet of staring and jeering Drow on the way to the Audience Chamber. Perhaps it's just as well, she thought bleakly. I can die there just as well as I can in the Torture Chamber. Either way, I'm not going to need to know how to get back to the dungeons, am I?
A bucket of ice-cold water brought her to complete consciousness. She lay, sprawled in a puddle, in front of Dragonius' throne.
"Well, Human?" an oily voice asked in Common. "What message is so important that you come before me in so sorry a state?"
Loviath had heard the voice before, several times during the long hours since her capture. She'd never seen the face, just heard the voice. Dragonius.
Slowly, painfully, stubbornly, the ranger rose to her knees. Standing was out of the question - for now. She raised her eyes to the Elven God and gasped in shock. On the dais before her was a curious throne, more stool than chair. Thick vine-like cables twisted around and about it, forming side and back supports for the throne-stool, but above it! Above the head of the being sitting there, Loviath saw the vines twist and turn in the intricate spirals, loops and whorls that were the sigil of the EarthMother! So this was what the EarthMother had meant in her cryptic message. "Seek all which is and was Mine and return it to me." Loviath breathed a small sigh of relief. Now all she had to do was to convince Dragonius....
"Well, Human?" the object of her thoughts intruded fiercely. The ranger drew her gaze from the hope-giving sigil to the God seated below it. From the waist up, Dragonius had the beautiful form of an elf - until one saw his eyes. Just as his body from the waist down was the unsightly menace of a giant spider, so too, were his eyes the faceted orbs of an arachnid. A curl of dark hair fell forward over his pale forehead and he brushed it back impatiently. No, not unsightly, Loviath realized with some surprise. Not ugly, just different. Even spiders have a function in nature, she remembered. Not truly Evil then, just different.
She met Dragonius' gaze, unafraid now. He tensed visibly.
"Lord --," Loviath croaked, forcing the words past torn lips and a parched throat. She swallowed painfully and tried again. "Lord Dragonius, I am Loviath, a ranger of Fisher Keep. I have been charged to bring you a message."
Dragonius leaned back on his throne, one hand raised thoughtfully to his lips, the other laying loosely over the arm of his throne. "You have already told me that Fisher Keep does not send you as Emissary. From whom is this supposedly important message?" he asked.
Loviath's chin lifted a bit, some part of her still able to defy his attempts to make her afraid. "I am under geas to the EarthMother," she finally admitted.
Dragonius stared at her for a long moment. He had expected the messenger, but not the sender. This was interesting. "Proceed."
Loviath closed her eyes and took as deep a breath as her damaged ribs would allow. Great Mother, help me find the right words, she prayed silently. Her eyes opened and she faced the God. "Lord Dragonius, the Balance of Power has been upset."
"I am aware of that," he said mildly.
A line of thought suddenly occurred to Loviath. If it worked. If not, well, she couldn't get much closer to Death and still be alive, she supposed. "And are you aware that the Balance also affects your own Power?" she asked.
Dragonius cocked an eyebrow, and Loviath took that as permission to continue. "Lord Dragonius, you are the God of Darkness and Pain. You are the Balance to Ariagor, the God of That-Which-Runs-Free. For one to believe that the darkness and pain are real and..."
Dragonius laughed. "Do you believe your pain isn't real, human? I can assure you, it is only minor compared to what could be done."
Loviath shook her head slowly. The room spun but she resolutely pushed that aside. "It is real, Lord Dragonius. But it is only real because I have known a time when I was not in pain. I can see the Darkness because I have known the Light," she said firmly. "Neither pain nor darkness frighten me any more because I know I will soon be in a place where I will feel neither again."
The Drow God rubbed one finger against his lower lip. "An interesting theory. And you have come to me for what reason? To show you Pain or Darkness? Perhaps both?" He chuckled.
"No, my Lord. I come to warn you of Herugar. He doesn't just seek to bring one demesnes but all under his control. It is an Imbalance of Power that will destroy this world."
Dragonius' amusement was obvious. "And you think I can stop it? You think I would want to?"
"Lord Dragonius," Loviath struggled to her feet. She knew her painful movements pleased both Dragonius and his followers that lined the Audience Chamber, but she didn't care. Somehow, it no longer mattered.
"Lord Dragonius, you hold dominion over Darkness, Pain and Death. But they are not Evil things. They are but the obverse of Light, Love and Life. Night follows Day, and all Life must one day die. All things, all races have the capacity to love and be loved. This is as it should be. What Herugar proposes, however, is perpetual Darkness and Death. Eventually, he will have no one left to prey upon. No one but the Gods who are weaker than he." She took a shot in the dark.
"Just as the female spider destroys her mate, so will Herugar and Xenirex destroy all those they now call ally, and, I have no doubt, themselves, in time."
Dragonius had half-risen at her blasphemous mention of his deformity but her froze as her words registered. His eyes widened, then narrowed thoughtfully. He sat back down. "And just what do you propose that I do, Human? Do you propose that I violate my Allegiance to Herugar as if I had no more honour than a human?"
Loviath managed a small grin. "Lord Dragonius, I am not wise enough to be considered an advisor to the Gods. But I do know this. A pledge of Allegiance is only valid and honourable so long as both parties make it so. If Herugar believed he could subjegate you, would he continue to keep you as ally - or as a servant?"
The Spider God held Loviath's eyes for a long time. She, in turn, was mesmerized by the multitude of 'herself' she saw reflected in his eyes. Herself and something else. "If he thought he could subjegate my people I am certain that would be his goal. He no longer has the power to perform such a task."
"What if he held the Horn of the Dragons?" A wave of tension flowed over the dark elven.
She saw the reflections replaced by a burst of fire underneath. The room swayed, the pain she could no longer hold back crept closer to her sanity. From a distance, she heard Dragonius' voice. It was different somehow, softer, kindlier. "That would shift the balance considerably. You are wiser than you know, Human. I will think on your words. I make no more promise than that." As the darkness enveloped her, Loviath could have sworn she heard the God add, "And should you tire of your world, your Light will be welcome here." There was a pause and a fainter whisper. Did he really say 'consort'? She didn't know for sure.
Dragonius' features swam before her eyes, melding into the astonished face of Storm, miles away, and then the darkness became complete.