Dominion Crystals Are Forever | SO Dominion of Erinar

["Templar"]

//: OPEN //:
//: Erinar //:
//: Attire //:
//: Objective I - First Come First Served //:

​

Templar felt it. A pull, long before she knew of the world. A surge, sharp and potent, echoed across the void like a whisper. One moment she stood beneath the quiet sky of another place… the next, the whisper guided her here. Erinar.

Emerging alone this time. The Relic lifted her head, taking in the landscape that stretched before her. A world carved from fire itself. The horizon glowed with molten light, rivers of lava snaked between the obsidian plains. Ash drifted like snow. Soft, but burning. Settling onto her hooded cloak in layers. The air tasted of metal and volcanic gas, hot enough to sting even through her helmet's filter.

A deep rumble pulsed beneath Templar’s boots. The planet breathed. Boots crunching against brittle rock as she walked slowly. A molten bubble rose beside her. Pushing up from a lava pool. It expanded, glowing hotter until it burst with a wet hissing pop. Sending droplets of molten stone around. Templar only watched. Her head lifted up, attention shifting ahead. She felt them. Other force signatures. Faint, but present. She did not seek them out. Not yet. Instead the Relic followed the hum. The deeper resonance calling from beneath the ground’s crust.

As she walked, something unusual caught her eye. Color. Not the harsh reds and oranges of lava. Nor the charcoal-dark ground. It was something softer. Stranger. Alive. Templar slowed, tilting her head. A patch of color clung to a rock ledge where the heat rippled most violently. Kneeling down as she approached, obsidian dust sliding from her knee plates.

There growing impossibly against the planet’s volcanic molten environment was a volcanic flower. Its petals thin and translucent like glass, glowing with inner embers. Veins of gold traced through each petal. Pulsing ever so faintly with the heat, as if the flower borrowed fire from the planet itself.

A miracle in a place where nothing should survive.

Templar extended her right hand. The glove brushed the petals lightly and carefully. Plucking the flower with gentleness. She lifted it closer to the rim of her helmet so she could study its structure. Its glow. Its quiet defiance.

With her other hand, Templar reached behind her back. Leather creaked softly as she retrieved her journal. Weathered, hand-stitched with its edges charred from past journeys. She flipped to a blank page. The flower was laid carefully between its sheets, pressed gently as the journal closed. Later Templar would sketch it, document it, record its miracle.

Just as Templar was about to stand, another faint shine caught her attention. Something was glinting beside the flower she had just plucked. Half-buried in soot and ash, the object would’ve been easily overlooked. The Relic reached out and brushed the debris aside with the back of her glove.

A crystal. Small. Barely the size of a pebble. Yet unmistakably unnatural in its perfection. Templar picked it up. Turning it between her fingers. Even through the glove she felt a subtle warmth, as if the crystal held its own tiny furnace within. Its surface was smooth and glass-like. Faint veins of molten gold ran through its interior, shifting like trapped embers. When she tilted it, the veins pulsed. Dim, rhythmic, alive.

A sound stirred against her palm. A vibration. A hum so soft it was barely a whisper. The size of the crystal wasn’t strong enough to be dangerous, but the energy within it was unmistakable. Raw. Concentrated. Waiting.

Templar studied it a moment longer before slipping it carefully into her journal, nestled between reinforced pages beside the flower. The leather creaked as she secured it. Her head tilted slightly the other way.

‘…Perhaps,’ she thought, ‘Master likes crystals…?’

Despite her situation, the thought lingered. She would present Master with a bigger rock. ( Spencer Varanin )

Templar stood once more. The heat wind stirring ash around her boots. Looking toward the deeper plains. Toward the low pulsing hum of the crystals calling below. The deeper resonance ahead pulled her onward. Adjusting her cloak, she continued walking.

 

[Aerik Lechner]

WEARING: xxx | TAG: Korran Dorn | Irina Jesart​

The tunnels burned with heat.

Aerik moved through the haze, each step slow and deliberate. The air was thick with ash and the deep vibration of molten stone. The machinery above had gone quiet, leaving only the pulse of the planet itself. It rolled beneath his boots like a slow breath.

The words spoken to him lingered in the air. They were not a challenge or warning. They were the kind of truth that did not need to be answered. Power like this could not be mastered. That did not mean his betters would not try. They knew a stronger truth.

Aerik did not reply at first. Pervasive heat pressed close, and the glow from the molten channels reflected across the walls. The Force here was ancient, patient, and indifferent to those who sought to claim it.

The pup exhaled once and let the thought settle.

“Then it decides,” he said under his breath.

The chamber widened before him. Catwalks stretched high above, their frames warped by time and heat. Several tunnels opened into the rock ahead. Each carried its own current, some strong, some faint, all feeding the same pulse that filled the cavern.

Something on the surface of the rock wall caught his attention.

A mark had been burned into the stone near the entrance of the second tunnel. The shape was precise. The edges still shimmered with faint red light. He reached toward it but stopped before his fingers touched the surface. The warmth rising from it told him enough.

It had been made recently.

It had been made for him.

Aerik stood. The mark faced the tunnel where the hum of the crystals grew stronger. Their rhythm filled the air, deep and steady, calling to those who could feel their song. He knew what waited down that path. He also knew who had taken it.

The pup looked toward the other tunnel. Its air was still. The sound of the crystals there was distant, but deeper, almost lost. It led away from the deeper heat, away from the pulse that filled the chamber. That was where he turned.

He started walking without a word. The stone carried the faint echo of his steps, then swallowed them whole. The heat followed him for a while before it began to fade. The walls cooled, and the light from the molten flow behind him dimmed until it was gone.

He did not look back. The mark on the floor would cool soon and lose its glow. The message had been received. That was enough.

The air ahead was still and heavy. The ground here did not hum. It listened. Aerik could feel the quiet settle around him, thick and deliberate. It would hide what needed to be hidden. It would lead away those who might have followed the stronger trail.

He rested one hand against the wall and let his focus steady. The faint vibration of the world moved through his palm, weak but constant. It was a rhythm he could follow. It was enough to mask another.
A pressure gathered at the edge of awareness. It was not the sharp pull of the crystals but something deeper, quieter, and old. The kind of presence that did not call for obedience yet still compelled movement.

Aerik turned toward the sound.

“This way,” he said, his voice calm and certain. “The current shifts here.”

No glance followed the words. The Force would guide those who needed to follow and lose those who did not. Steps carried forward into the shadowed passage until the heat of the cavern gave way to cooler air. The echo of molten breath faded behind, leaving only the pulse of the earth, uneven but insistent.

One gloved hand found the wall. The rock was warm to the touch, the vibration faint but alive. Energy stirred within it, slower than the crystal song yet heavy with meaning. The current winding through this path felt different like it was drawn from something older and deeper.

Silence thickened around him. Not emptiness, but a stillness that listened. The path seemed to wait.

A moment passed before movement resumed. Each step carried further from the heat and sound above. Behind, the mark left in the stone would soon cool and vanish. Its purpose was complete. The new current pulled onward, patient and steady, and Aerik followed where it led.

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Tags: Srina Talon | Gerwald Lechner​

---

Lina felt the whispered song in the shadows before she appeared, her command of the darkness was one that Lina could not help but admire. Yet despite all her admiration of the Empress's abilities, the muscles in her shoulders still tightened, lips forming a thin line as she addressed the rising hum in the room before turning her attention to Lina.

There was no incline in the volume of her voice, yet Lina still felt the sharp edge as she was reminded of who sat in the throne that Empyrean had vacated. She gave a small incline of her head in response. "My apologies, Empress." she said softly, as not to interrupt the rest of her speech. She listened, eyes roving over the projected image, before lifting them back to Gerwald as he spoke.

Caught between the Empress and her hound, her words would have to be careful, her arguments sound. She took in a breath and exhaled slowly.

"I don't disagree on any particular point, save one." she began. "The Blackwall is a cage for those without vast influential power and waystones, it hems them in, preventing outside communication and trade. By design, or as a by-product it doesn't matter, what matters is that there is danger in keeping a boot pressed so heavily against the backs of the subjects who are the very foundation of this Order." Her gaze flicked back to the holoimage as she studied it for a beat longer, thinking.

"Force Storms are inherently difficult to control, even with the power of the Erinar Diamonds behind them, a fleet could be launched beyond where it is intended. We could however, let the force storms run wild within the storm and use them to conceal hypergates just inside. It would allow us to launch defenses and attacks at will but also, perhaps allow trade for those less able to do so at present. We still control who passes in and out but we extend it to a wider audience. It would give our more volatile warlords the opportunity to vent their aggression beyond the Order's boundaries. It might avoid more casualties like those at Atrisia and Fivune."

Sith were meant to fight, to test each other and push one another to new boundaries, but there came a point where such skirmishes no longer served the greater good of the Order.

 

[Veyran Solis]

Soah Ty’Jyn​

Veyran felt that familiar tension in the air, the deliberate stillness of a predator waiting for its moment. The corner of his mouth curved faintly. Soah hid well, but she still hadn’t learned that the Force gave her away long before her footsteps ever could.

He straightened slowly, the residual energy from the Erinar Diamond still crawling across his skin like static. The shards around him hovered in fractured suspension, trembling in the air with restrained power. As he turned toward the far side of the chamber, his gaze cut through the haze, the shimmer of heat, the faint outline of movement where the shadows bent unnaturally.

“Little kitten.” he murmured, his voice echoing through the molten chamber, low and smooth. “You came after all.”

He stepped forward, unhurried, the molten glow painting his armor in liquid crimson. Every motion carried the calm of someone utterly at home in chaos. The ground cracked faintly beneath his boots, each step stirring embers from the floor.

Her crouched form came into view then the amber glint of her eyes, the ripple of dark markings shifting across her skin. She was working the crystal, careful, controlled, her focus like a blade’s edge.

He paused a few paces away, watching her with the faintest flicker of amusement, moving to gather his own for the taking.

“Don’t worry yourself. I’m not here for a second round, not yet anyway.” he said, voice edged humor and a blade’s edge. “ Let’s call a truce for now, at least until these diamonds are secured.”

 

[Soah Ty’Jyn]

Interacting with: Veyran Solis

​

The low hum of the cavern swallowed her breath.

Soah's claws retracted with a soft scrape as she eased the final fragment of the crystal into its containment case. The glow dimmed when sealed, but its heat still pulsed faintly against her palm. She snapped the lid shut, sliding the case into her satchel. That was when the fine fur along her neck rose.

The Felacatian's head turned, her braids sliding against her damp skin as amber eyes locked onto the figure emerging from the haze. Veyran. His presence burned in the Force like a scar that refused to fade. The faint shimmer of the oppressive heat couldn't hide him not from her.

A low growl built deep in her chest, barely audible over the rumble of magma below. Her stance stayed crouched as her tail flicked once behind her before stilling again. She didn't trust him, he was a predator who smiled before he bit, waiting for any advantage or hint of weakness before he attacked like a rabid Kathhound on the hunt just to make people bleed.

Still, the crystals were too unstable to risk a fight. Not here. Not yet.

So without breaking her stare, Soah secured the satchel to her back and straightened, the sentient ink writhing as it still clung to her like a second skin. The oppressive heat shimmered around them in a way that turned he space between into a mirage of danger and restraint.

Her nostrils flared as the Acolyte drew in a slow breath as she tasted the air, inhaling the sulfur, the heat, and beneath it, the dark musk that was uniquely his.

And while her expression was all but flat, only the slightest cant of her head gave any indication to her thoughts as amusement flickered in her mind.

"So you survived."

Amber eyes narrowed as she caught the molten reflection of him through the haze as she slowly stood up.

"Truce it is," she replied after a tense moment, the edge of her voice more warning than agreement.

"And next time…" she let the words linger with promise, and the very rare ghost of an upward twist at the right corner of her mouth, "I'll make the mark match."

The Felacatian's lips curved in a flash of sharp teeth before she turned, melting back into the cavern's shadows. She'd come for what she'd been looking for...

But next time...

She'd make him bleed even more.

~ Exit thread ~​

 

[Helix]

Objective I
Tags: Lirka Ka /OPEN​

Helix nodded, seeming to find that answer satisfactory. In truth, he intended to outlive all of them. Critically, Helix had spent the bulk of his efforts chasing permanency and stability more than power. If the universe ended as Lirka posited it would, Helix knew one thing for certain.

He'd still be there, floating in the void, kept safe by a bubble of his own impenetrable self-importance.

"Of course I posit victory. It is the only possible outcome." He replied smoothly. And it was. Anything Helix could not defeat, he could outlast.

"Once upon a time, I'd have bored you with the calculations and how I derived them, but I am rather more than a collection of numbers now. I feel it in the depths of my self-given soul. That is enough for me." Said the colony.

He shook his head, incensed at the idea of himself ever growing complacent on his laurels. He had overcome too much and succeeded against impossible odds too many times to fade away into history as a bloated, feeble priest-king. No, he was different than the rest.

He would not be defeated by victory so easily.

Lirka, bless her, had her view of things, and he mostly agreed. Helix thrived on conflict, challenge, and danger, however. Those things prompted strength and ingenuity, and he could scarcely imagine a universe without them.

"True, I suppose that's getting a little ahead of myself. There are certainly no shortage of obstacles to face in the here and now." He stopped to place one hand on the wall, sprouting countless fine, vibration-sensitive cilia from his fingertips. He concentrated, listening along the corridors for movement. Even the beat of a heart would do. It was hard to filter out Lirka's clanking footsteps, but not impossible.

"Hopefully others will see value in these baubles." He said, retracting his arm from the wall. "I certainly do not, but shiny rocks are always of value to someone."

 

[Matteo Guo-Yian]

​

Closest friend: Lunaria Talon
Short: Jorryn Fordyce
Chaperones?: Quinn Varanin | CT-312

Matteo had noticed the ramp-up in difficulty for their missions as well. It could be a punishment, it hadn't been their fault they ran straight into a demented Sith Lord with a horde of the undead, but that didn't matter too much to the Jutrand Academy. They hadn't been as successful as they should have been and the Dread Empress herself aided them in the end.

"I noticed that too, yeah. Maybe something in the air?" It would explain why breathing was so difficult here. It reminded him of Brosi and the choking, toxic atmosphere there.

The fact that his own Master and Luna's mother found it necessary to intervene still filled him with... perhaps not shame, but an emotion that was closely adjacent to it.

He promised to keep her daughter safe and promised too that he would never tell Luna this. But in the end there had been too much. It had made him train harder, fiercer, Luna might have noticed that too. The way he had been carving through training droids like they were paper. Over and over again in the training yard.

Until his hands bled and his body was covered in tracks of sliced wounds that were healing badly as his energy was running out.

It was ironic that when they were younger it was Matteo who told Luna that she shouldn't work so hard. That training until her feet bled wasn't the right way to handle it. Only for himself to take up that same tactic later on in their lives. But shame was a powerful motivator, it pushed him forward to be better, stronger, to be worthy of being the Knight of the Empress.

"Lots of shuttles." Matteo muttered in response, bumping her hip with his as they passed the crevice. Luna approached the new figure first and Matteo approached with caution behind her.

"Matteo." The young man announced right after 'Artemis' used her false identity again. He was so used to it at this point, it didn't even make him blink anymore.

"If you are, we can work together." Then putting his hand on Artemis' shoulder, a gentle squeeze there. "But if you are here to be an obstacle, know that we do not frighten easily and will take the battle to you without hesitation."

 

[Jorryn Fordyce]

// Lady Jorryn Fordyce //
// Objective // Research //
// Focus // // Lunaria Talon // Matteo Guo-Yian // Quinn Varanin // CT-312 //

---

---

Static greeted the datapad of the Echani as she tried to locate the source of the Erinar diamonds, the technology failing as often as it gave a decent reading. There was no rush in the footsteps of the Echani, allowing herself time to heed caution into the pools of lava that licked as the heat shield she wore.

Despite its strength, sweat still managed to grow on her brow, and she regret forgoing a more practical suit to deal with the environment.

The back of her wrist dragged the sweat away and glanced the glow of the magma away from her eyes, there was little else the planet offered besides ash and magma. She let out a sigh presuming she would go the march alone without any assistance, yet against the molten surface stood a figure, hands raised in a greeting.

A pleasant surprise, apparent enough of the Former Lord Inquisitor's face.

Jorryn returned the glance with unease, not quite accustomed to be greeted on such a competitive ground. Truthfully, she had expected to fight any that she had not already been familiar with, yet this girl at least had the decorum to not instantly attack her. The tunes of youth caressed the Echani's ear, and it was then she knew why the girl hadn't jumped to attack her.

Compared to the youthful Sith Jorryn grew up amongst, she supposed that it was a welcome change in the new Sith Order, though the male that followed resembled the Sith of her generation. Bold and honest, a warning that fell not only from his lips but it the way that he carried himself. The silver-haired Sith noted the way that he took the girl by the shoulder.

A comfort of some kind?, Jorryn mused to herself. Or a warning to not approach?

The difference mattered little to the Echani, instead she simply offered a smile, and allow a serpentine tongue to forge this alliance.

"Artemis and Matteo, a pleasure." A soft smile took her lips as she gave a small bow, the tone giving more relief than her face would. "I might admit a bit of relief that you have the sense not to attack me immediately," Jorryn allowed herself a sigh, if not but to remove some of the heat building against her. "This planet is brutal enough without having to worry about other Sith slaughtering each other for a stone."

A hand pulled a mask with the force, the air growing more decrepit as she strayed from the shuttle. Loathe as she was to wear one, it may be needed sooner than later. The Echani drew nearer to the duo, observing the body language of the pair carefully as she looked them over.

The man deemed himself a protector, to be sure, though his charge couldn't be described as a damsel. She was the one with the courage to reveal herself to begin with, unsure if Jorryn represented friend or foe. Matteo had been there to reassure her, a metaphorical and literal hand on her shoulder.

"I like you." The flash of a smile curved her cheeks in response to Matteo Guo-Yian 's words, before the mask lifted itself to obscure Jorryn's features. "It's not everyday I get to meet an honest Sith, so I'll match you. My name is Jorryn Fordyce, Lady of the Sith, and working together to procure a few specimen of Erinar for all of us seems beneficial"

White hair still strayed from the edges of her mask, protected by the heat shield she wore upon her arm. As death roiled between them, the Echani returned a glance towards the datapad.

"I suspect that we may be a touch later than the others, though..." A dramatic pause let the words sink in as she hoped a solution would magically present itself. "Technology is hardly my specialty, so I haven't been able to make much use of the signals to locate the diamonds."

The mask aimed its way towards the lava falls and downwards slopes that resembled a path to the netherworld, a click of the tongue acknowledging the Echani's realisation.

"I suppose it makes more sense that these diamonds would be further down, amongst the depths of the industrial excavation." The loathing to delve any further into Erinar was clear despite Jorryn's face being hidden away, the datapad being set away in a pouch. "And I suppose that you two would prefer to have the stranger lead the way instead of falling behind you?"

The willingness was clear in Jorryn's voice, even if the preference was all but nonexistent. It was clear that Erinar hardly fit Jorryn's preferred locale, but such sacrifices were necessary for innovation.

And the pair she found herself with could prove to be interesting.

 

[Ellissanthia]

Location: Erinar Diamond Cave - Erinar
Thread Objective: First Come First Served
Mission Objective:

• Capture Erinar Diamonds.
• Explore the cave.

Tag: Kito

“I am not a Si—”

The words were silenced in Ellissanthia’s throat. The fire came, and her gaze widened, violet-hued irises reflecting the onrushing inferno. The Undine extended her right arm, tapping into the Dark Side to open a temporary channel in the flame, sparing her from full immolation. And yet, the fire was a living, rolling thing, controlled by a powerful pyrokinetic Shaper. The rebuffed flames roared around, with some coming near her head in a blistering shroud.

Her face shield flared to life and shimmered, deflecting the blast. However, the sheer thermal transfer was immense. Ellissanthia cried out as a wave of agonizing heat flashed across her face. The ends of her hair crisped, and her left eye seared with pain, vision blurring into a watery mess. She choked, the air suddenly an oven blast that scorched her throat.

She staggered back a step as the shock and disorientation came over her. The bodysuit had saved her life.

And in its wake, she was all the more furious.

“You’ll pay with more than just the rock!” Ellissanthia howled, her voice came coarse and ragged, cerulean features contorted by a pain that was swiftly subsumed into rage. The Undine pointed her left hand towards Kito’s chest from just over 9 meters away, index and middle fingers locked together to focus her intent into a single, vicious point. A violent, earsplitting crack sounded out as an explosion of ultra-compressed air detonated from her fingers in the form of a narrow, concentrated beam.

A Force Push, focused into a telekinetic lance.

A shockwave ripped through the air as the compressed air column accelerated forward at supersonic velocity, carrying enough kinetic energy to shatter a durasteel barricade!

Spoiler: Loadout

• Eclipsed Veil
  
  • Miscellaneous Equipment
    
    • FAE/U-01 "Serenity" Anti-Signal Field System
  • Accouterments
    
    • Red Accents
    • Eclipse Sect Symbol - Left Shoulder
• Storm Kiss
• Supernal Infusion Vials
• SHIVA Vials
• Siqsa-S1 Semiautonomous Seeker Obscuration Canister (2)
• Spirit Anchor Talisman
• Seer Stones

 

[Varin Mortifer]

FIRST COME FIRST SERVED​

He delved deeper. Passing by some ores that held quiet whispers but not for him. Those were reserved for others. He needed this crystal to talk with him and him alone. He would have to avoid fighting for the most part on his end. He doubted he would survive a collapsing cavern of molten rock. As he pressed on the heat rose and the oxygen grew heavier, though he was accustomed to lower dosages of oxygen from his training the air felt….heavier here.

That's when he heard it. Like a being entranced by a siren’s song he heard a melody. He continued down the path, stepping over small lava veins and taking on small corners that most dwellers would cower from. The song was not necessarily a sound of music, but a hum of familiarity. A beat that struck the very core of his nerves as he drew closer. His heart began to beat a hard steady thrum as he drew closer.

Ahead of him was an opened cavern. Almost naturally made. His eyes looked upon its walls as the glittering pieces of gems revealed themselves and disappeared like spectres in the night. As he rounded the corner he saw a silhouette of a mountain of a man. His armor bore the marks and blemishes of battles uncountable. His gauntleted hand, ladened with blades, rested upon the wall as the figure stared at the crystals.

“.....Who…who are you?”

Varin spoke quietly, his voice bounding off the walls and returning back to him.

The figure did not turn to meet his gaze. But instead spoke with a voice deep enough to sound as if tectonic plates moved the very core of the planet itself.

“Have you forgotten me already?”

Varin’s eyes widened as he dropped his mace to the floor bending on one knee to face the floor. Kneeling almost like in worship to a god itself.

“...Father.”

Varin’s breath caught.

“But…you..I saw you-”

Lord Mortifer’s head slowly turned to the boy. His crown of blades ablaze with the fires of death itself. Varin drew silent and quickly averted his gaze to the floor. Sweat building over his brow.

“Forgive me father, for speaking out of turn.”

Lord Mortifer’s heavy foot fall echoed among the chamber as he stepped closer.

“...Arise, Varin. You seek power here, don’t you?”

Varin pulled himself to his feet as he answered.

“I seek a diamond. I have passed many but one calls me here. One knows me, of our home. Father.”

The phrik helmet’s eyes brightened like embers as Lord Mortifer stared into him.

“You draw close to the dark side here. These diamonds bear the makings of the dark side of the force itself. Volatile, power, promises. Things the dark side will allow, gift to you and even take.”

Lord Mortifer’s gaze fell upon a single crystal embedded in the wall ahead of them. Crimson yet pulsing like the heart of the infernal caverns themselves.

“Are you prepared for any sacrifice that this crystal would demand?”

Varin was silent for a moment.

“...I have to be.”

Lord Mortifer stepped to the side outstretching his hand towards the crystal.

“Then take it. But know this, nothing is ever free when dealing with the dark side, son.”

Varin stared at the crystal, its heart beating in tandem with Varin’s. The siren song growing louder as he stepped closer. His finger stretched out towards the crystal as the air vibrated around him. Smoke and fire licked up his shoulders as he spoke to the crystal, demanding it come to him.

The crystal would respond. A harmonious vibration responded to his force signature as the wall that held the crystal in place released its grip around the object. Crumbling away like old hardened dust. The diamond drifted towards him as he watched it, stopping just within a hand’s reach. Varin took a moment to admire the crimson hue that would erupt an orange burst within its center. The crystal was alive, it had chosen it’s master. Gently Varin plucked the crystal from the air. The heat hissed on his palm, but the heat did not bother him. He rubbed his thumb gently on its face.

Power. But not free. The cost is yet to reveal itself.

He would make his way out of the caverns, plucking but one more crystal for his master. A gift that he would soon find a way to turn into something worthy of Revna Marr

{Exit Thread} ​

 

[Irina Jesart]

Tags: Korran Dorn Aerik Lechner​

The song drew them deeper, the heat growing more intense. Her companions slowed, struggling with the weight of the containers they bore between them, sweat rolling from beneath their hairlines, their breathing laboured. In contrast, Irina was comfortable, she still bore the same sheen of sweat the raiders did, yet beyond that it did nothing to slow her down.

She trailed her fingers along the warm stone, almost certain that he was on the other side of the cavern wall.

"Where are you going?" she murmured to herself. She had half expected him to follow, maybe she'd even hoped for it. But if he had, then they would be in competition for the same thing. Perhaps they still were.

The tunnel forked again, and again she rested her hands on the stone to feel where the song was loudest. They took the right fork, following the natural pull down until it came to a sharp end. The path vanished, dropping sharply away as the cavern opened once more, revealing a vast lake of lava beneath them.

Irina didn't hesitate, stepping off the ledge to drop smoothly to the lakes shoreline below, bending the force around her to slow her descent.