A Hollow Mountain (The Brightest Shadow Book 2), page 54
"If you haven't seen this Knakar," Reina said crossly, "then it could be a woman."
"Could be, assuming this particular woman needs to requisition a large number of armored codpieces."
"Hah!" Ghalia brought her axe forward, the over-sized weapon dominating the space in between them. "Is this bloodsteel truly worth it? The warrior makes the weapon."
Fijn shook his head slowly. "I don't know about that... I've heard incredible rumors about what it can do, and credible ones too. They say with a bloodsteel sword, even an untrained soldier could draw blood from a Catai."
"You want to stab me, little man?"
Ignoring them, Celivia focused solely on Daekhan. "If there's no bloodsteel available, why bring it up?"
Daekhan regarded her coolly with an unknowable expression before he pulled the skewer from this mouth. "All our smiths are busy, but if you don't mind lesser quality weapons, there are human smiths who could forge it as well."
"Lesser quality? I assumed the mansthein smiths learned it from them."
"You could say that." As Daekhan tucked his skewer back between his lips, he hid his mouth, but she saw something like a smile. It was gone the next moment, so she merely tucked the glimpse away. "I didn't want to cause offense, but if you're open to the idea, then I can arrange for bloodsteel knives."
"I have no problem with that." Celivia matched his cool gaze with her own. "I didn't realize that the mansthein armies had connections in human-controlled Wahleen."
"We've been living here for some time... but that's not really important information, for soldiers who are heading directly into war in the Sotunn Mountains." Daekhan turned to speak with Fijn over the specific details, obviously unwilling to share more.
Though she left them to it, Celivia found herself turning over the exchange in her mind. Daekhan would not have brought it up by accident, but it was nearly impossible to parse his intentions. She guessed that he wanted to test her feelings regarding humans - everything beyond that was mere speculation.
Over the next several days, Celivia focused on physical training alongside spending time with Reina and Ghalia. She engaged in a great many contests of strength with Ghalia, mostly because the Catai enjoyed overpowering her repeatedly with her enhanced body. Though Celivia had again requested a Catai rebirth, she heard nothing in response.
Reina, meanwhile, was a perfect partner for intense use of sein. As they sparred, however, Celivia found herself comparing her old friend to Slaten. Though Reina was unmatched when it came to opening the floodgates of raw sein, Slaten's precisely focused assaults were threatening in a different way. She wished that she could introduce the two just to see them spar, though of course Reina would hate Slaten personally.
She had hopes for her friends spending more time with Jeraeli, but the other woman was completely busy in the west. Her attempts to visit Jeraeli only led to Ghalia making lewd implications, so she let it go. There was a chance that all of them would fight in the southern war together, so she would anticipate that.
But the next time someone knocked on her door, it wasn't her assignment. Instead, a Voidwalker regarded her with a bored expression.
"Naena Celivia? Zeitainan Kreue requests your presence immediately."
"He's far enough to require voidwalking?" As she spoke she quickly grabbed her weapons and a few other supplies, since it seemed unlikely that she would be given any preparation time.
"Correct. You don't actually need to come immediately, but I'd rather not waste time."
"Of course. I don't want to delay your schedule."
"Oh, it's not that." The Voidwalker leaned on the side of her door frame, picking at a loose thread on his shirt. "My job is solely to address the Zeitai's transportation needs. But he is already near the limits of his patience, so I suggest you not test him."
Having a personal Voidwalker was a mind-numbing luxury, but Celivia tried not to let it overwhelm her. She only changed her outer robe to a cleaner one, then went to join the Voidwalker by the door. "Do we need to g-"
"Here is fine." He stepped toward her and pulled her into a speck of oblivion.
It wasn't so long before the real world unfolded around them. Celivia noted that the temperature was nearly the same and the sun had only moved somewhat. That would be an unremarkable jump, except that by her rough calculation it placed them within the borders of Portant.
When she saw the Voidwalker turn around, Celivia followed his movement and then understood.
A vast pit had been torn from the rolling green hills, as if a giant had simply scooped up the earth. Yet when she walked to the edge, she saw that it the sides were actually a series of carefully dug ridges, with steep ramps placed throughout. The mine as a whole appeared to have begun with a large circular pit, which now ended in a pool of green water, but further work had expanded it into an ungainly blob of countless pits, ledges, and tunnels.
"Looks like they've moved." The Voidwalker continued to walk ahead of her, though he looked back to give her a long-suffering glance. "That makes my work a great deal harder, but the Zeitai does what the Zeitai wants."
"Do you know what the Zeitai wants from me?"
"I only follow orders. Whatever it is, I suggest you cooperate."
As they descended one of the roads into the mine, Celivia realized that it was more active than she had expected at first. The workers on the other side looked like insects, only their carts of rubble easily visible. Closer to her, she could observe the workers better. Strangely, they didn't have Wahleenese mottling, but most appeared to be from Fein Karnak. They were also rather scrawny for workers, tired men with torn clothes and dying tools.
"Oh, there they are." The Voidwalker gestured to the side and Celivia spotted Zeitai Kreue standing atop a ridge between two deeper pits. Even from a distance, she could feel the oppressive presence, a cloud wrapped around her throat. This time it seemed to radiate disapproval, and though it was too far away to see his face, she suspected the Zeitai glared at everything below.
When they drew close, she realized that the Zeitai wasn't alone. The young woman in the white dress clung to one of his legs, occasionally pawing at his loincloth. While Celivia attempted to swallow her reaction to that, Kreue turned his head and spotted them.
"Finally. That's enough, Laeluon, you can return until we need you. Celivia, come up here."
There was no ramp or other way to the ridge, like an island without a sea, but Celivia was equal to the task of leaping to the top. She felt as though the Zeitai's presence should push her back in midair, though the impression of sein was only in her mind. When she landed, the pressure lessened, an invitation to step closer.
"At first, I thought there might be nothing to you." Kreue turned to her, the concentration of force binding her in place several paces away. His movement dragged the young woman across the ground, though she only pouted. "But you wiped out one of the raider clans, you worked well under Jeraeli, and above all... you reached the Hero when so many others missed him."
"Jeraeli deserves the credit for discerning the correct rumors."
"But you do have a connection to the Hero, do you not?"
Celivia swallowed, which had no effect on the lump in her throat. "I think so."
"Then I have a use for you after all." Kreue stepped closer, his eyes narrowing. "You appear to be more driven than I first thought, yet you have no interest in enjoying the fruits of your labor. I don't care if you refuse my gifts. Those are the concerns of the leeches wriggling around me. But I need to know why you seek strength and authority if I am to give you any."
"I..." It was difficult to breathe so close to the Zeitai, but she didn't see any choice except to answer with guarded honesty. "I want strength in order to make the world into the place I believe it should be."
Kreue snorted and the young woman around his leg laughed. "An idealist, then. That's harmless enough, but you're a fool. Everyone thinks that if they become strong enough, they can have whatever they want, but that's not how the world works. Even becoming a Zeitai was not enough for me... though perhaps two Zeitai working in concert could truly be masters of their world."
All she could do was stare back at him, keeping her knees locked to avoid retreating. Was he suggesting a theoretical alliance between them in the far future, or merely musing to himself? She disliked the anger in his gaze, but she still preferred this focused Kreue to the one who lounged amid a submissive harem.
"Enough of this. You are here for two reasons: first, you must tell me all that you remember of your time in Ith Ire. There was a mining operation, was there not?"
"That's correct." Celivia hesitated, unable to put the pieces together, but told him all the details that seemed relevant.
After listening carefully, Kreue scowled and turned to the edge of the ridge. The young woman finally let go of his leg, just lying in the dirt and kicking her legs irritably. Eventually Celivia decided that it would be best to follow him, though she stayed a step back and looked out over the layers of the mine instead of making eye contact with the Zeitai.
"Everything about this is wrong." He growled out the words, more to himself than to her, yet it seemed that he intended to explain. "The direction regarding this mine came from feeble graspers in the Senate, maggots with no power except coin. I accepted the offer only because I thought it would help destabilize the balance between the human nations."
"I thought that this mine was an official agreement between Wahleen and Portant."
"It was. We worked through them. But when I attempted to cause havoc, I received a reprimand and decreased support. Someone wants this mine to stay open, and I'm not so sure it's actually anyone in the Senate. So many parts of this have the stink of other Zeitai..." Kreue cut off with an actual growl, an instinctual sound from deep within his chest.
"Kreue, how long do I have to sit here in the dirt?" The young woman pouted from her seated position. "Stop talking to this girl so we can do something more fun..."
To Celivia's surprise, Kreue laughed and walked over to the young woman, picking her up effortlessly by her hips. He lifted her like she weighed nothing, then leaned forward, his tongue invading her mouth. Celivia did her best to watch without expression until they finally finished and Kreue turned back to her.
"The second reason you are here is because I suspect that something in this place has a connection to the Hero." Kreue folded his arms, sharp fingernails tapping against his biceps like steel on steel. "Some arrogant fool thinks that they can sweep in and take something of value from under our noses. But I can play that game too, and I will use you as my hunting beast."
Aside from the demeaning metaphor, Celivia felt a worse alarm. "You want me to find something in the mine? I can feel the Hero's effect on mansthein, but that doesn't grant me any deeper connection."
"I think you're wrong on that. Stay here. I will move everyone out of our way so that you can investigate the deepest parts of the mine."
Kreue leapt off the ridge into the pit below, bellowing at one of the workers. He began moving from place to place, giving orders and occasionally kicking over a cart when the workers failed to evacuate quickly enough. Celivia could only watch for a short time before she had to look away, which made her gaze fall on the young woman.
She had picked herself up and now watched Kreue with a strange expression on her face. Were there hints of fear there, or something else? It was certainly different than the fawning adoration she usually showed while clinging to the Zeitai, so Celivia decided that this might be her only opportunity to ask a question.
"May I ask how old you are?"
The young woman immediately turned to her with a sneer. "You want to rescue the poor girl, is that it? I'm older than you, some of us merely keep our youthful good looks."
"I see." Celivia couldn't bring herself to apologize, but after a glance toward Kreue, pressed on. "If that is so, then I've never met a mansthein quite like you. Did you undergo an unusual rebirth, or...?"
"You've been hurt, haven't you? You were broken, so you assume that everyone else must be broken as well." The young woman laughed and tossed aside her pure white hair. "I count myself lucky to be able to spend life alongside a creature as magnificent as Kreue. He'll keep you so long as you're useful, but I've seen the look in your eyes, and I eagerly await the day when you're thrown aside."
"I see." Celivia realized that she had repeated herself, but the conversation had her mind spinning backward. She could never imagine taking such a path through life and struggled even to accept it as the choice of another. Part of her would have tried, but the casual disregard from the young woman left a sour taste in her mouth.
Before they could say anything else, Kreue landed beside them, sending dust flying in all directions. He scooped the young woman up onto his shoulder, which made her giggle. Celivia swallowed her distaste and followed as he leapt back down from the ridge, this time methodically making his way toward one of the pits in the side of the mine wall.
"Someone tried to slip past me with an order to expand the mine in several directions." Kreue gestured forward as they leapt again. "I intercepted their message, but I don't know who or why. But I am convinced that something related to the Legend must lie down one of these paths. I want you to tell me which one."
Celivia nodded, because that was all she could do. They traveled down the corridor, which was littered with signs of work but empty of life. She felt absolutely nothing, which made her feel like a fool. The Zeitai expected something from her that she simply didn't think that she could deliver. "Do... do you have any idea what you might be looking for?"
"One of my most trusted agents captured a human working with this Sage in the south." Kreue shook his head slowly. "Before he died, he suggested that the Sage cares about something called 'seals' that relate to the Hero in some way. But that is irrelevant to you, I have better sources of intelligence. What I lack is someone who looked the Hero in the eye and fought him. Do you feel anything strange here?"
"I will need to feel more than one tunnel."
"Then turn this way." Kreue led her back out, then into another tunnel in a different direction. It felt just the same as the others, and by the third tunnel on the other side of the mine, Celivia was beginning to imagine tortures that would be inflicted on her if she failed to produce results.
Her stomach clenched painfully. She assumed it was merely her anxiety and then immediately questioned her assumption. That was the way the Hero lurked, seizing control of her very nature. Not an oppressive force from without, but control from within.
Or it could be simple anxiety, given that a Zeitai breathed down her neck. Celivia forced herself to keep walking, attempting to examine her feelings, but only further entangled herself in her thoughts. When they reached the end of the tunnel and climbed back toward the surface, she found herself struggling with whether or not to say anything. It might go poorly for her if she answered incorrectly, but giving no answer at all might be worse...
Then she saw the women and her mind plummeted into the depths of the pits.
She barely even noticed that their skin had Fkaz coloring because her eyes were captured by the ragged garments they wore. Exactly the same as those she remembered from Spathor. If there had been any doubt as to their purpose, nearly all of the women had swelled, many nearly ready to spawn. Several guards moved alongside them, bulky Feinan warriors unlike the miserable male workers. They were unnecessary, as none of the women even raised their eyes from the path before them.
Celivia should have been able to control herself, but she stopped walking and stared. This was nothing like the knots in her stomach, everything within her had simply dropped away. It was impossible to deny that she was witnessing one of the most contemptible corners of mansthein tradition, dying on Orphos and yet being recreated on a new continent.
"They're being moved from one of the older tunnels," Kreue said as he came up behind her. "There were no orders to mine deeper there, but I thought it best to be thorough."
"What... why are they...?"
"Are you that thick? To seize the northern nations without being given more legions, we need to breed new generations of Deathspawn. The Wahleenese mansthein breed far too slowly and are too set in their ways. But new spawn, put through the proper rebirths... in two decades my army will rival any Zeitai's."
She barely heard the words, still staring at the women as they were herded into another tunnel. Then Kreue stepped closer, looming over her, seizing her gaze. What she saw there was not the predatory expression she feared, but the merciless indifference she realized was far worse.
"You should know better than to fear. This is war, not the foolish old teachings from Fein Karnak. All of the most worthless - male or female - will be put to work so that their lives will still be of some use to their superiors. They will build a better world for those of us who can make proper use of it."
As she stared back, for the first time Celivia was no longer overwhelmed by the Zeitai's presence. It couldn't compare to the agonizing tension growing within her.
A more intelligent woman would have nodded and accepted his logic. She was a minor officer who had no right to speak to a Zeitai, much less argue. All she could do was remain quiet until she could advance far enough to gain control and prevent such things from ever happening again. Speaking up would only set her further back from making a true difference.
Yet she had been telling herself that for years. As painful memories clawed their way up her body, Celivia decided that she had no choice. If she said nothing now, even if meant nothing, then all her future accomplishments would be as ash.
"This isn't right."
Her words immediately earned a glare from Kreue and his presence closed around her, but it could no longer encompass her.
"These practices have always been the weakness of Fein Karnak." In another setting, other women might have argued that her approach conceded too much to the enemy, speaking of benefits instead of justice. Here, all she could do was scramble for an argument that might reach the Zeitai. "It produced large armies, but weak ones. That was why the Senate conquered them ages ago, and wh-"
