Chapter Text

Nuvia stood over her workbench, her cloak set beside her, slowly brewing a batch of poison. Acrid fumes drifted up as she stirred, though she had long grown accustomed to them. Grim determination was set in her mind; her tribe had chosen her to slay the Spire, and she had vowed to not disappoint them. As she finished the vat of poison, she delicately poured them into individual vials, ready to be used at a moment’s notice. With this final preparation completed, Nuvia wrapped her cloak around herself, grabbed her daggers, and made her way to the Elder’s residence to receive her final send off.

As Nuvia entered the Elder’s home, she found her to already be waiting for Nuvia. The Elder gestured towards a chair near the back of the room, and with little hesitation, Nuvia walked forward and sat. The Elder assessed her for a moment before speaking; “I trust you have made all of your necessary preparations, Nuvia? The Spire is a brutal place, and it would be foolish to forget anything.”

“I am ready to depart at any time, Elder. No huntress would forget her tools, especially not me,” Nuvia assured her.

“Of course, of course, I must not forget who I have before me. Though, I do have one last thing for you before you begin your journey to the Spire.” With this, the Elder disappeared into another room for a brief moment before returning with a fogborn skull. Nuvia was familiar with it; it was a ceremonial headpiece crafted from the skull of a sacrificial animal from her tribe. Seemingly granting a heightened vision and knowledge of enemy weaknesses, it was to be worn by the deadliest of hunters. And now it is my turn , she thought. “Please, do not let this be a waste,” the Elder asked of her.

“You have my word, Elder,” Nuvia vowed, “I swear to you and the tribe, I will not disappoint you. I will not fail.”

“Confident as ever, I see. Come on then, let us see you off.” The two of them began traveling towards the northernmost point within of the Serpentine Empire, the true starting point of her quest. As Nuvia’s village was only just south of it, it was only a matter of a few hours before they reached their destination. As they grew closer to the Empire’s border, Nuvia’s heart began to race. What if they chose wrong? Do I even have any chance of defeating the Spire? She did not let her misgivings reflect on her face, lest the Elder call off the mission.

“Nuvia,” the Elder began, “whatever happens out there, rest assured that Delvola is watching over you. You are not alone in this.”

Delvola — goddess of the wild, and matron deity of the Serpentine Empire. While Nuvia was never a devout follower, it would not be right to disregard tradition entirely. Nuvia bowed. “Thank you, Elder. May her bloom open a path for you.”

“And for you as well. Now, just one more thing before you leave.” With that, the Elder brought Nuvia in for a deep embrace. “Don’t die out there. We’re counting on you.”

After a moment of hesitation, Nuvia returned the Elder’s hug. Signs of affection were uncommon outside of family and those in a relationship, so such a gesture caught Nuvia off guard. “Of course,” she whispered, “I promise.” Nuvia took one last look at the Empire; a vast landscape teeming with life, put in peril by the Spire. Should she fail, her entire home could be wiped from the continent. The thought made her shiver with dread and seethe with cold fury.

“This is where I say my goodbyes, then. I hope we meet again someday,” Nuvia said.

“Whether it be in this life or the next, I am sure we will,” the Elder assured her.

And with that, Nuvia took her first steps north towards the looming obelisk on the horizon.

The journey to the Spire did not prove itself to be difficult, though there were still many things that came as a surprise to Nuvia. For as many notes as the returned researcher provided to her, much time had passed between their escape from the Spire and their arrival at the Empire. While she was expecting the strangely mutated birds, she was not expecting to be suddenly attacked by a group of passersby. Despite this, her hunter instincts allowed her to dispatch of her attackers with ease.

Upon examination of her ambushers, she found them to be oddly discolored; they seemed to have a blue coloration in their skin. More pressing than that, however, was that they all adorned the garments of the Iron Dynasty. I had best be on the lookout for more of them. I would bet a snake’s hide they have been corrupted by the Spire.

Twice more Nuvia was attacked by members of the Dynasty before she avoided them altogether. While she noted that not all of them were discolored, they all had a sort of sharpness to them — whether it be pointed noses, longer ears, overgrown fangs, or something of the like. Heavens almighty, what else is this Spire going to do to these people?

As Nuvia grew close to the Spire, she felt like she was not moving of her own accord, as if some force had welled up behind her and was pushing her onwards. Feelings of confidence and trust began seeping into her mind — feelings that were not her own. Her mother’s voice rang out in her head; “You can do this”. More voices chimed in — “Trust in Delvola,” “Don't let anything stop you,” “Bring back a souvenir, eh?” The last one almost made her chuckle.

After two weeks of travel, Nuvia decided to set up camp in a sparse area of land; the lack of cover would make it easy to spot someone attempting to ambush her. Not much further, she thought to herself. I can see the entrance from here . Just as she was about to bed down for the night, she heard the faintest sound of metal on metal in the distance. Must be another one of those Dynasty warriors. I had best dispose of them now.

Nuvia cursed the sparse cover that she had been appreciating only moments prior; she would have to wait for the person to sleep before she could approach. After waiting several minutes, the grinding sounds stopped, and Nuvia began to approach after another ten minutes. It was exactly as she had expected — another Dynasty warrior. Drawing two of her daggers, Nuvia bolted towards the figure, scuffing a tiny pebble as she ran. It made almost no noise at all, and Nuvia hardly even acknowledged it. However, it seemed to be just loud enough for the figure to awaken, and Nuvia found herself bringing her daggers down upon a man with fury in his eyes and his sword raised above him.