Glory's eyes locked onto the armored figure standing before the Guiding Light. The sun burned high above them, reflecting off the man's polished plates in harsh, white flashes. Heat shimmered in the air, and a faint hum quivered around Saan's body as they stepped forward.
A swirling dome of wind formed suddenly around them, its motion gentle but firm, pushing Glory back a few steps. Dust lifted and spun in small eddies around her boots.
"Couldn't you at least warn me before doin' that?" Glory called out, squinting against the dry gust that rippled her skirt and veil.
Saan didn't answer. Their eyes remained fixed ahead, unblinking.
The armored man stood motionless for a breath, then his gauntleted hand rose to the hilt of his sword. The weapon's guard caught the light, and a maroon gem embedded in its center pulsed faintly as if responding to his touch.
"Who are you, strangers?" His voice boomed through the helmet, muffled and metallic, yet ringing with a kind of ritual authority.
Glory slowed her pace, raising both hands slightly as she moved into the range of his voice. "We're just passin' through, sir. Mean no harm."
"That answer is hollow," the man barked. "Do not draw nearer! I see the wind stirring around thee, cloaked one, and I sense the heat of magic in the woman beside thee. Ye are not to be trusted."
"As I said, we're just passin' through," Glory replied, her tone brightening with a teasing lilt. "Do we need identifications for that now?"
"The Guiding Light shall not be touched by shadows such as yourselves," the man declared. "Reveal thy faces, or be judged by flame."
Glory tilted her head, her smirk curling like smoke. "Well now, guess our journey's got itself a rough start. What say you, Mr. Saan?"
"So be it," Saan said quietly. Their tone was even, stripped of emotion. The wind around them deepened, the dome tightening, its edges shimmering faintly like glass in sunlight.
Glory sighed as she reached into her carpet bag and drew out a whip with a black braided cord, its bronze handle adorned with small crimson gems that flickered like live embers.
She dropped the bag. Before it could hit the sand, her figure blurred and vanished, leaving only a swirl of dust in her wake.
The armored man tensed, unsheathing his sword in a flash. Yet before he could swing, the whip coiled around the blade, jerking it toward her unseen hand. He dug his feet into the sand, the ground cracking beneath his boots.
"You'll not—!" His words cut short as Glory appeared beside him, twisting the whip. He strained against her pull, the sword trembling between them.
Then she vanished, reappearing as she lunged forward, her boot slicing toward his helmet. He leaned back just in time, the strike grazing past him, and immediately drove his left fist upward in a counter punch aimed at her midsection.
Using her grounded left foot, Glory pushed off, vaulting above him in a fluid motion. She twisted midair while the whip continued to tug at his sword.
She landed behind him, using the whip's tension to drag his sword sideways toward his throat. The blade's maroon gem flared as it resisted her pull.
Saan walked on, unhurried, their cloak stirring gently behind them.
"You are a shadow that does not belong in the Light," the man thundered, forcing the sword back. The gem at its center ignited, releasing a burst of flame that enveloped both of them.
"This is what you earn for standing against the Light!"
"Uh... what?" Glory's voice came from within the blaze, perfectly calm. The flames swirling and bending around her for an instant, as if avoiding her entirely, then getting drawn into the gems on her whip, like a sharp, effortless breath.
Saan's eyes flicked upward, a trace of surprise crossing their face as Glory stepped through the fading fire, unharmed. "I thought the Light Keepers were supposed to be stronger than this," she said, her tone teasing. "Is that truly all you've got?"
She kicked the man sharply from behind. The blow sent him stumbling forward, his sword slipping from his grip. The impact left a deep crack across the back of his armor.
He coughed, voice strained. "Cough... cough... How?"
"The flames were weak," Glory said, her tone almost casual. "You need armor to protect yourself from your own fire? Weak mana control, I'd say."
The gems along her whip glowed bright crimson. Flames erupted across its length, licking the air.
The man struggled to rise, drawing a dagger from his boot. The blade dripped with a dark liquid that hissed as it hit the sand.
Saan stood silently near the Guiding Light, watching without a word.
Glory yanked her whip toward the sword lying in the dirt. The weapon slid across the sand, the metal turning black where the whip's heat touched it. She caught it mid-motion, studying the maroon gem embedded in its hilt.
"Let's see how much fire this holds," she murmured. Her eyes glimmered. The gem flickered, then dissolved, its glow drawn completely into her weapon.
The man lunged, dagger raised. Glory turned aside, her movement swift as wind. The whip snapped around his leg, molten heat searing through the metal. He screamed, falling hard onto his back.
He didn't drop the knife. Snarling, he punched the ground, conjuring a thick cloud of smoke.
Glory vaulted above it, eyes narrowing through the haze. The dagger whistled upward, narrowly missing her boot. She twisted mid-air and lashed downward, her whip blazing brighter. The man screamed again, armor blackening beneath the heat.
She landed with a kick that shattered his breastplate and cracked his helmet, scattering dust in all directions.
"The House of Truth gives its Light Keepers poisoned daggers?" she asked with mocking disbelief. "I thought you lot were supposed to be honorable."
Her whip pulled tight again, molten lines tracing its path. The lower half of the man's leg tore free with a hiss of melting metal and flesh.
His scream ripped through the still air. "Aarghhhh!"
"I haven't had this much fun in some time," Glory said softly. "I'll grant you a death without pain. Consider it a kindness."
She kicked him square in the chest, breaking the rest of his armor. Beneath it was a young man with blond hair matted by sweat and tears. He clutched a pendant between trembling fingers, his voice cracking.
"Show me the truth, Lord!" he shouted, eyes wild with desperation.
"Take your truth to your grave." Glory said, smiling faintly.
She leapt high, her whip spiraling behind her like a burning ribbon. Mid-air, she twisted her body, raising one leg straight up above her head in a perfect vertical split. Then she brought her boot down with devastating force.
The heel struck the man's chest dead center. His armor caved inward with a sickening crunch, metal folding like paper. Blood sprayed across her boot as his ribs collapsed beneath the impact. The ground exploded in dust, a crater blooming beneath them both.
"What the..." Glory muttered, stumbling as the earth gave way. The man's body dropped into the growing pit, lifeless, and the crater widened into a yawning chasm. She fell with him, through the dust into a vast cavern below.
Inside the Guiding Light, Saan felt the tremor ripple through the stone. Their right hand clenched tight, eyes sharpening as pupils contracted, peering into the cloud of dust.
Glory twisted mid-fall, her eyes catching a faint glimmer of light above. She flicked her whip upward, its tip catching on a jagged rock in the cavern's ceiling. The leather pulled taut. Using the tension, she swung herself sideways and landed hard on a narrow ledge beside a rushing stream. The man's broken body vanished into the dark water below with barely a splash.
Saan launched themselves forward, making the floor explode beneath their boot and stone crack in a starburst pattern as they shot through the open archway. While the wind dome swelled, expanding outward in a violent rush.
The Guiding Light shuddered behind them, cracks racing up its stone walls as Saan appeared at the edge of the gaping hole, their eyes narrowing as they surveyed the cavern below. They raised their hands slightly, and the swirling dome of wind around them expanded, coiling like a living thing. Currents of air lifted them, steadying their descent as the Guiding Light beneath them groaned and cracked.
"Here!" Glory called out, waving from the ledge as stones and dust tumbled past her.
Saan leaned into the wind, tilting their body with careful control. Gusts twisted beneath their feet, carrying them downward in a graceful arc. The air seemed to bend around them, guiding their fall, slowing their momentum, and pushing them toward the narrow ledge with uncanny precision.
They landed beside Glory on the ledge, their cloak billowing as the air around them stilled.
"Mr. Saan... I'm sorry, I reckon I went a bit too far," she murmured, her voice restrained, a nervous smile appearing on her lips.
"You're far too crude," Saan said, their gaze taking in the surrounding cavern.
"I know," Glory admitted with a nervous smile, gripping her whip with both hands.
Saan glanced at her for a moment. "But you have potential," they said, still surveying the area.
Excitement brightened Glory's eyes. "Thank you for the praise," she replied.
The cavern was enormous, the ceiling lost in shadow. The only light came from the hole above, its beams falling like silent pillars through drifting dust. The stream ran fast beside them, white foam flickering on its dark surface. Each wall shimmered faintly with veins of crystal, reflecting the faint daylight in muted blues and greens.
"Where does this water go?" Saan asked as they stepped toward a smaller tunnel branching off from the main chamber. Their wind barrier faded into stillness. "Does the town not use it?"
Glory followed, her boots splashing lightly in the shallows. "This place ain't safe for normal folk. Rocks fall, floods come and go dependin' on how the Elis flows above. But I do wonder why the elves let this part keep runnin' underground."
"It's beneath the notice of Kuruzeth'Ya'vye," Saan said plainly.
"Uh... right... that," Glory answered, blinking.
"They guard the Elis River," Saan clarified.
"Well, now I understand," she said, a spark of excitement in her tone.
Then suddenly, she froze as she noticed her left hand, empty.
"Oh, for heaven's sake... I forgot my bag," she muttered, groaning. "Can't go without it. Had somethin' important in there."
Saan stopped but didn't turn. "Return quickly," they said.
"Thank you, I won't disappoint!" Glory replied, already breaking into a run.
Her boots cracked the stone with each leap. She lashed her whip upward, catching a rock near the ceiling, and used the momentum to launch herself toward the hole. With a sharp pull, she burst through into daylight again.
Saan watched her silhouette vanish before turning toward the smaller passage. The cavern trembled. Rocks began to fall, sealing the tunnel's mouth behind them.
Outside, Glory landed on the crumbling edge just as the ground convulsed. Her eyes widened as the hole expanded, swallowing chunks of the Guiding Light's foundation.
She snatched up her bag and looked down. The cavern below had changed, the ledge nearly gone, the tunnel collapsed.
Her hands tightened on the strap of her bag. She stood still for a moment, breathing hard, then looked toward the eastern horizon.
"Well then... guess it's just me for now," she murmured, adjusting her hat.
She began walking east, the wind tugging at her veil as the ruins of the Guiding Light lay silent behind her.