Thirty days had passed since Nhea was welcomed into the Blood Witch's abode. Nhea had undergone significant growth since then, to Roe'nika's surprise. It seemed the more she accomplished the harder she worked. Her cleaning and cooking were much better, as well as her sewing. She was able to put little garments together to make something decent. She soon went from letting Roe'nika fix her clothes for her, to fixing them herself.
Her combat skills were also improving—strangely fast, much to Roe'nika's surprise. She had already mastered some stances. Roe'nika didn't believe that she was that good of a teacher; she was only showing Nhea the right way to go. That wasn't different from what any other instructor would do. Rather, she believed it was something inherent, within the little girl. Something that could only be drawn out with patience and hard practice.
To Nhea, the Blood Witch's abode had grown from a strange set of pathways and chambers carved into rock, to something more like home. Roe'nika was slowly transforming from a distant instructor to a big sister.
However, as life abounded within the two, churning and swaying with peace, for Nekea, it was a very different story.
Within her, it was like hell.
Nekea believed the one dream she had would be the end of it. That it was just a coincidence. A random anomaly that wouldn't occur again until long after she was dead.
She couldn't have been more wrong.
Every time she closed her eyes to sleep, she would see something. Things beyond her understanding; simply above the principles she believed made the universe run the way it did. Cryptic symbols flashed in darkness, with entrails aligned in perplexing shapes that rotated four-dimensionally. Her heart raced every time she woke up, and it started becoming increasingly difficult for her to sleep. Dark circles grew alongside bags underneath her reddened eyes.
One thing that made everything even stranger, was the fact that all the dreams seemed to refer to the same thing.
The body on the Workstone.
It seemed that with every interaction she had with the body, opening up blood vessels, testing the constituents of its blood, or looking at muscle tissues—they would all build up to a dream later at night.
For all the dreams Nekea could remember, there were creatures. Creatures that seemed more like demonic entities—spawns from hell.
Agents of darkness.
They wore long garments with spectacular designs, as though they were royals, and chanted in an undecipherable language, their many arms outstretched radially.
Nekea would hear the same syllables, over and over again.
"Miiradzekef iltkr mana…Miiradzekef iltkr mana…"
She wrote them down, and tried her best to decipher them, but to no avail. Regardless she wrote down the chants, and any other syllables she heard. They were vague and muffled, and rang as though she were submerged in a sea of blood.
And at the end of it all, there would always be a singular image.
The body on the Workstone.
It would rise up, and stand upon darkness.
It would stare her right in the face, and she wouldn't be able to turn. As though she were paralyzed. Frozen with fear, it seemed.
Its face was without a lower jaw, yet it always seemed as though, it were speaking to her. She would hear faint sounds, like the whistling of wind.
And then, she would wake up.
Her face pale, her heart fear-stricken.
Regardless of these things, Nekea's intrigue for the body seemed to grow. She urged herself to dig deeper. She had never seen such technical arrangements of muscle fibers, neither had she seen organs so intricately designed. It seemed to put Earth's best to shame.
And Earth's best was humanity.
The muscle fibers were quite strong, and were resisting decomposition, even after so many days. A normal human body would have begun rotting to the extent that they would have to throw the body out. However, the body on the Workstone only gave off a peculiar smell from its blood. Nekea had to strain herself just to make small incisions. She had to use sharpened blades, which almost always broke after little use.
The body seemed to be testing her limits.
Never had she been on something for so long. Usually, she would obtain whatever knowledge she sought in less than a week.
However, the body seemed to have boundless knowledge hidden within its structure. Every day she discovered something new.
The light of the morning sun poured into Nekea's sanctum, illuminating its surroundings. The distant cries of birds seeped into the large chamber, along with the brushing of leaves on trees, filling the place with a thick air of serenity.
Nekea was seated behind a desk on the far right of the sanctum, slouching on her chair.
Her tired eyes were locked onto the body she once believed was good for nothing. Loads of papers with calculations, deductions and notes scribbled on them, lay disarrayed on the table, blood stains on their edges.
Nekea had been hard at work the day before.
She had been wondering how exactly the body gained energy, if it had no true digestive system. No stomach. No intestines. Through a particularly horrid dream, it suddenly came to Nekea. An ostensibly random thought.
The sun.
She had set off taking samples of muscle tissue and setting them out in the sun, within a controlled solution of preservatives and natural proteins. As a control, she placed other samples in the same solution, but in a dark closet.
Surprisingly, she was right.
The samples in direct sunlight had exhibited slight growth, almost insignificant, yet significant enough to prove her theory.
The body charged itself with sunlight.
No wonder it was taking forever to decompose. It went through slight repair in the day, and during the nights used the energy to support itself. Very similar to how a plant functioned.
Her crimson eyes glared at the body bathing in the morning sun, and she was so focused on it that she barely realized her trusted servant standing next to her.
"Mistress"
Nekea almost jumped in her seat.
She immediately looked up and saw Roe'nika standing at her side, holding up a tray with a meal upon it.
Nekea sighed, rubbing her eyes.
"I apologise for startling you.", Roe'nika said remorsefully, as she placed the wooden tray down on the table.
Nekea smiled and replied, "Please, don't. It was my fault for being so absent minded."
Nekea adjusted herself, sitting properly, and looked down into the little set up of a meal upon the tray.
A small jug stood, a calming aroma steaming from its contents. Beside it was a plate with a few pieces of flatbread, with speckles of grinded herbs within it. They gave off an entrancing smell, almost pulling Nekea forwards.
Roe'nika gracefully lifted the jug and poured the a little of the herbal tea into a small wooden cup. She lifted the cup of tea and the plate off the tray and placed it on a cleared space on the table.
"Enjoy your breakfast mistress…the tea is a special blend of the Utin herbs you showed me."
"Special…blend?", Nekea exclaimed. She always preferred her usual blend, a mix of sunlight enriched mit herbs and selos. She lifted the cup to her lips, and took a slow sip.
Almost instantly, she felt lighter, as though she were being carried by the air. As the hot brew coursed down her gullet, warming her up, her mind felt clearer and clearer. It appeared that the bustle of thoughts and plans had gone silent.
"Its…wonderful.", Nekea said, her eyes wide with surprise. She had never expected Utin herbs to have such an effect, along with a smooth, bittersweet taste. She was well aware of the strong laxative effects Utin herbs produced, but never had she imagined they could be used in such a way. They were hard to work with, due to their delicate leaves and short-lived nature. However, it seemed Roe'nika had managed to pull it off.
Roe'nika smiled and remarked, "Thank you mistress, I'll make sure to carry the compliment on to the brewer."
Nekea turned her gaze to her servant, a mix of confusion and intrigue on her face. She knew who Roe'nika was referring to, but she didn't believe it.
"Yes, Mistress. Nhea brewed this blend.", Roe'nika stated.
Nekea stared at Roe'nika with deep surprise.
Nhea had been clumsy from the very start. She rarely ever got anything right. Even when she did, it was poor work. As such, Roe'nika always dealt with matters involving the Mistress. Nekea couldn't risk any imperfections. She trusted Roe'nika to handle things the way she wanted. Whether it was cleaning her work chamber, or arranging books on shelves. Roe'nika knew her like the back of her hand.
Nekea never expected that such a wonderful cup of tea could be produced from the hands of that clumsy girl.
Roe'nika's eyes were as true as ever; it was the girl who made the tea.
Nekea sighed. It seemed the girl had grown significantly under Roe'nika's tutelage. She rarely ever saw her around. Nhea was the last thing on Nekea's mind, and she had taken her as being just above mediocre.
Nothing impressive.
However, it seemed Nhea had gone far above whatever flimsy expectations Nekea had for her. Through a deceptively simple cup of tea.
Roe'nika said, "She's been practicing every day. Studying everything you like. Just so she could make something far better. She made it to help you with your work. It benefits her as much as it benefits you, after all."
Roe'nika began arranging the sheets on her Mistress' table.
She continued, "We've noticed how busy you've been lately. We simply thought to make something that would soothe your worried spirit. It was Nhea's idea to incorporate the tea. She handled the herbs all by herself, and made everything to suit you perfectly, over many days too."
Nekea looked down at the tea, shaking gently in the cup.
"It seems I severely underestimated the girl. She has forced herself into my closed sight…How is she?", Nekea asked.
Roe'nika answered as she stacked the sheets.
"She's doing quite well, honestly. I have to say, I doubted her. In terms of her household duties, combat and even her studies with the Breath…she's doing marvelously."
She paused and turned to Nekea.
"I believe you did set a challenge for her…she is working hard to beat it, Mistress."
Nekea smiled gently. Anything she had seen regarding the girl, seemed to be setting itself up to become potential truth. If it truly was a future revelation, Nekea was glad that she would be a part of the girl's making.
"Where is she?", Nekea inquired.
"Well, she's probably seated, nervously awaiting me in the kitchen.", Roe'nika replied, grinning.
A subtle silence grew in the chamber.
"Mistress,", Roe'nika began.
"Have you been having any more of those nightmares?"
Nekea's expression changed sharply.
"Yes, Roe'nika. Over and over again. And they keep getting more bizarre with time…I believe someone...or something, wants to communicate with me."
Roe'nika's eyes were filled with intrigue. Her ears twitched slightly.
Nekea continued, "I feel intuitive urges as I work. Urges to perform things in ways I normally never would. He…She…It…Whatever it may be, is reaching out to me."
The sunlight slowly dimmed as a large cloud passed.
"…and I'm going to respond…"
Her eyes glowed with a sharp, rich crimson.
Roe'nika smiled.
Nekea was still the Blood Witch.
At the far fringes of the Akar Forest, a tall man draped in white robes spoke with a fellow of his, his second-in-command, standing on a hill overlooking the forest. He asked his second-in-command, well known as a gentle giant, a very peculiar question.
"Did your mother ever tell you about the Blood Witch?"