Private Tales What a Soul is Worth

[Nysia]

Nar'Vhen

The halls of her Keep were quiet as they always were. The only sound that could be heard was the shuffling feet of the faceless as they roamed and went about their daily tasks.

None of them peered at her with their eyeless gazes as she slithered among them, none of them even turned their heads. It was not disinterest, it was not respect of fear. The faceless could not have looked at her if she had commanded, not with a barb of her tongue. They were soulless things, empty and driven only by a command issued by the quirk of her finger.

A touch of magic.

She had used a soul to create them, or at least a part of one. Each of the faceless imbued with a sliver of what had once been a life. There were a thousand of them within her Keep now, each of them toiling away at a task. Each of them once a part of a man, a woman, or perhaps a child. Deep down they knew perhaps, a reflection of the scream of what once was a spark of life.

Nysia didn't think about that as she continued down her path. Those who had become the Faceless had made their choice, had struck their bargain. It was a decision, one that they had taken upon themselves. There was no guilt, not even the slightest sliver.

Two of the faceless pulled open a great door as she approached, their sinewy ashy flesh seeming to reflect some of the bare purple torchlight that hung within the air. As she moved beyond the doors they closed behind her once again, the laboratory in front of her lit perfectly by dancing magics above. Her gaze swept through the room, eventually landing upon the slight figure laying upon a bed at the center of the room.

"It's time to wake up." Nysia hissed towards the figure, knowing that it was not asleep.

It could not be.

 

[Manah]

Life.

It thrummed beneath porcelain flesh, thousands of souls whirling in chaotic symphony. Each one was once a person, perfectly unique in quality and holding an entire world of potential in their hands. An entire life, full of experiences and emotions; powerful, potent and vivid.

Bargained.

Deceived.

Stolen.

Reduced down from what was so deeply and uniquely impassioned and into base energy. The fuel that had brought the figure to existence. When the homunculus closed its eyes it felt them clawing at the back of lids, screeching in many-voiced succession, devoid of all once-held individuality and impossible to pick out.

So no, it could not be asleep.

The creature sat up, its expression perfectly neutral as it looked to the serpentine woman that slithered into the room. This was The Creator. It held no feelings towards her other than the acknowledgement of creation. In that sense it was brand new to the world, holding all the capabilities to develop feeling and opinion but having nothing more than a blank slate.

“I am awake,” the brand new voice stated, speaking tongues of those who now resided within her form, “you are The Creator.”

 

[Nysia]

Nysia had hoped it would be more fully formed.

It was a fault of her own of course. The Homunculus was little more than a shell to start, and she had been unable to predict how it would take the knowledge of it's... components. It seemed that nothing at all had filtered through. A fact which surprised and concerned her for the eventuality of her research.

Another challenge to overcome. "Yes. I am."

The serpent said as she pulled herself across the room and towards a nearby desk. Fingers coiled around a small piece of charcoal, quick marks made upon a heavy journal that appeared to be bound in a white leather. The script she wrote in was flowing, incomprehensible to those who only spoke common.

Nysia finished her writing, then slowly turned towards the creature still perched upon it's bed.

"What is the last thing you remember?" She asked, slithering over towards the Homunculus. Once she stood before the bed Nysia's tail coiled slightly, it's end reaching out towards something on a nearby table. After a moment she plucked a strange metallic instrument and drew it back into her palm.

Without waiting she grabbed the homunculus' hand and pulled her arm gently forward. The metallic claws at the tips of her finger pressed against her creations flesh as she held it's arm in place.

 

[Manah]

An odd question.

As far as the homunculus was aware it had just been created, there were no direct memories beyond coming into existence. There was nothing, and now there was life. Perhaps it was possible, however, to go further back beyond creation.

To what existed before existence.

The creator grabbed its hand and pulled, nails pressing against flesh in what was an uncomfortable sensation. It squinted, looking down at the indents created in ghostly skin as it recognised the concept of touch and less so, of pain. So strange, everything was old yet new at the same time, like riding a horse after years off the saddle.

It closed its eyes, seeking remembrance from before life.

Loud.

Chaotic.

“Screaming,” the creature answered, attempting to pluck a singular voice or sensation from the swirling maelstrom to give more context as to answer the question. It felt like a barrage behind the eyes, the voices grew louder and while incapable of singling out one, set emotions began to seep through, showing up again, and again and again.

“There is pain,” it spoke, face creasing in discomfort before it silenced the ruckus by opening its eyes, “desperation, fear, anger and sadness. These memories are unkind to the creator.”

 

[Nysia]

Amusement flickered over her features for a brief moment. Her fingers clutched a bit more tightly to ensure that her creation did not move, and then she slipped the needle beneath what should have been flesh.

Pain would have lanced through anyone else, but Manah would find no such thing. The metal instrument remained in place for a moment, Nysia's deft fingers withdrawing the plunger. No blood poured into the needle of course, instead Manah would feel a pinch as it's flesh was literally torn away.

"Small minds." She mused for a moment.

The needle was withdrawn from the homunculus' flesh. A few seconds would pass, and then the skin that had been peeled away would suddenly and quickly begin to regrow. As though it had never been taken at all.
Nysia did not linger, slithering away towards a nearby table where she placed it within a strange device.

Her fingers flickered, and a flame jumped to life a few inches below the needle.

"Don't concern yourself with those voices." Nysia said as she regarded her creation. "A bargain made is a bargain that must be kept."

She had warned them after all.

 

[Manah]

A curiosity.

It watched the needle and upon observing that no blood was drawn experienced feelings of confusion. The collective knowledge of souls within the creature held an expectation of crimson. Blood was what the human body held beneath the skin, allowing form to function and life to be lived. It knew this because the souls knew this.

The extracted skin soon regrew, another indication that its body was not entirely as expected. It appeared human, but it did not react as one. Such flesh should not have regenerated, and yet it did.

The Creator established her rules as she performed peculiar alchemy with the homunculus' flesh but only seemed to present further questions in Manah's fledgling mind. Did this mean that it was bound to all the past choices of these souls? It did not seem fair, a concept also shared by the voices.

“Are those bargains also my bargains to keep, Creator?”

 

[Nysia]

"No." Nysia answered plainly. "They are not a connection."

Her voice was firm, head turning to stare at the homonculus. "They to you as logs are to a fire."

It was an apt comparison. Those voices, those sounds of screaming, those pangs of pain and agony that lay deep within Manah were nothing save for fuel. They were a part of how it had been brought to life, how it could speak, walk.

"Stand." Nysia stated, turning her attention away from the Homonculus before she continued to speak.

"Your life is not one of bargains." She stated plainly. "But of servitude."

There was no reason to lie to the thing, no need for false words or woven tales to lead it into a trap. The Homonculus was already within her web.

 

[Manah]

Nothing more than fuel.

An interesting concept. Its mind held little information upon the use of souls in this form of power, either meaning that it was more obscure knowledge or that its creation was one-of-a-kind, not that it would have meant anything greater to Manah.

“Because you are its creator?”

The homunculus asked such a question out of simple curiosity, attaching links to where there were none before. The knowledge told that this was commonplace, that children were loyal to and served their creators up to a varying point. Usually done out of a sense of love, but it did not experience this emotion upon looking at the serpentine woman.

“Am I human?” Maha asked as unsure hands roved around its own body, indeed confirming human features of fairly regular proportions.

“Or am I something else?”

 

[Nysia]

"Precisely." Nysia said in simple confirmation, turning away from the Homonculus again and studying the mixture that she had pulled from the creatures flesh.

Under the flame it seemed to stabilize for a moment, though after a second more it disappeared into a wisp of ash. The serpent woman frowned slightly, lips thinning as she pressed them together in consternation. She had thought it would be different once Manah was awake.

Apparently not.

She shifted for a brief second, letting out a sigh. "Stand."

Nysia issued the command again, but this time there was a slight spark that ran over the tip of her finger. It would have been missed with a blink, but it was there. As soon as the word was spoken Manah would feel a compulsion, a drive to pull herself up from the bed.

"You are not human." She told the creature. "You are something better. An accumulation of my knowledge. A step."

Though just one.

 

[Manah]

A summoned will pulled the creature to its feet. Odd, the knowledge held no information upon such compulsions. Did The Creator hold a measure of control over its form? Did it have free will or simply an illusion of such?

Such considerations were only that for Manah, not a source of concern but just as an understanding of fact.

It slid off the bed and onto its own two feet, murky eyes looking downwards at toes that wriggled on command. It pondered the strange appendages, the knowledge not strong enough to know why they existed and what function they actually served.

Not human but better. An accumulation of knowledge, yet a step. This implied that there would be others; replacements that represented further steps taken. It felt nothing about being replaced.

Its head turned upwards, looking to The Creator and observing her snake-like form. Unusual, the knowledge did not know of the woman and what she was. The collection of voices knew of snakes and of humans but not combinations of the two. How peculiar.

“What is The Creator?”

 

[Nysia]

For a brief moment Nysia wondered if she had perhaps made the creature too smart. Questions were all well and good, but too many at a time could present...problems. She supposed it was a good thing in the end.

She had wanted something more than the faceless, and it appeared the touches she had given Manah were more than enough for that. For a moment more Nysia mused to herself, thinking of how to best handle the fledgling homonculus.

After a moment she answered. "I am a Lamia."

The truth, until it became inconvenient.

"A people far, far above humanity and any other creature here in the Underdark." Though even that was not enough for her. Fingers gestured towards the door at the end of the laboratory. "Walk."

It would feel no compulsion this time, but that in it of itself was a test.

Would she need to direct it every time with a touch of sorcerery, or would it learn to listen on it's own?

 

[Manah]

It was an... unsatisfactory answer.

Malah tilted its head, considering The Creator's opinion and then judging it solely on that merit. An opinion. It would seem that the Lamia was haughty, at least when held up to the lens of the voices, who disagreed with any kind of species superiority. The homunculus did not pass comment, the knowledge guiding against such unwise lines of questioning.

Walking as commanded there was no great marvel at existence, at moving. No eureka moment to mark the beginning of it all. It did not exist, and now it did, with everything seemingly functioning as intended.

Reaching the door it turned around, armed with yet another question that the creature did not have a proper answer to.

“What is the Underdark?”

 

[Nysia]

Slowly Lysia slithered behind Manah, gesturing towards the door just as the Homonculus turned around to face her.

There was an odd jerk, and then the great wooden gates fell open. On either side of them was one of the faceless, clutching heavy golden handles as though they knew nothing else. For Manah they would appear humanoid, but without eyes, mouths, or noses. Blanks. Experiments.

"There is a world above." The Lamia gestured to the ceiling. "A world of oceans, continents, mountains."

Her explanation was more complete this time. "Ours is a world below."

Nysia had always preferred it. Those above tended to ask too many questions.

"The Underdark is made up of thousands of tunnels, open caverns, underground cities and villages." She told the Homonculus. "A world beneath a world."

Their home.

 

[Manah]

The knowledge concurred, it knew of the above world, of a vast expanse of environments, flora and fauna that existed there. It knew of the sun and the taste of light without ever having experienced it. As above, so below. It appeared that a world existed beneath that one, a darkened mirror of what Manah knew.

Interesting.

It observed the creatures who opened the door, holding limbs but little else in the way of features. The knowledge knew nothing. Was this their sole purpose? Did these two senseless beings merely exist to open and close those doors? Did they think? Did they feel? Were they the steps that had come before Manah?

Strange creatures, it felt a stirring within its chest when it looked upon them. Sadness, the knowledge told it.

It kept walking without prompt, assuming that they had yet to arrive at their destination but it held a new question for The Creator to answer.

“Beyond servitude, what is my purpose?”

 

[Nysia]

Yes.

Too many questions, but she supposed they could all be answered. So long as thought did not stray too far. Though even that had it's answers. Fingers flittered at her side for a moment, the metallic claws on her palm clicking against themselves.

"Something to learn." The Lamia mused.

In truth, she herself did not yet know everything that Manah would be capable of. As far as she knew the creature was the first of it's kind. Over time she would learn more, perhaps even create more, but for now it was better to begin with the simple things.

"You are a first." Lamia said as they came upon a door, this one leading to a large balcony that was displayed as two more faceless opened the gates. "What you are yet to be even I do not know."

A step.

That was the way that she had described the creature, and it was the most honest explanation. Manah was not the end of her desires, simply a way to get closer to it. To what the sought.

To understand.

 

[Manah]

There was no definite answer from The Creator and thus no concrete purpose. Manah was at the forefront, an unknown quantity with an unknown future.

As they stood upon the balcony the knowledge whispered, making its own suggestions about what purpose meant. A multitude of different words and concepts bubbled to the surface. Love. Truth. Honour. Wealth. Power. Happiness. All different purposes held by a great many of the voices that fuelled its being.

Manah would muse upon such things later.

It looked upwards at the much larger figure of The Creator, observing both serpentine scales and human flesh melded together to make a truly predatory being.

“Then what is your purpose, Creator?”

 

[Nysia]

As they stepped onto the balcony, Nysia's home came into full view.

It was a fortress, an ancient one. Old stone walls and great towers could be seen all around them, though no sun lit the scape around them. Instead that role fell onto thousands upon thousands of luminescent plants. A pale shade of purple and blue fell upon the area around them.

They illuminated a great Keep, large enough to house thousands and yet enclosed so well against the rock of the Underdark that a siege would seem near impossible. Beyond the walls of the Fortress was a great lake, one that seemed to shine in the darkened light of the tunnels.

In the distance, on a small land bridge heading towards the keep one could see small flickering flames steadily moving towards them.

Nysia seemed to muse over Manah's question as she reached the edge of the balcony. "My purpose?"

A small smile touched her face.

"My purpose is to ascend." To become something more than she was. To reach heights mortals could only dream of.

Slowly her gaze turned towards the Homonculus.

"Nothing to concern yourself with." She mused, her knuckles brushing over the Creatures cheek. "You will find your attention drawn to other things."

 

[Manah]

Ascension.

To what, it wondered, looking over the ancient fortress that housed the lamia and all her creations, Manah included. The knowledge suggested that The Creator had wealth, knowledge and power, limiting options as to what ascension could mean.

A queen?

A god?

Something beyond?

Or nothing to be concerned with.

The Creator's touch was oddly tender, its own thoughts were not clouded by a judgement of the woman but the knowledge still seethed and despite being advised to ignore the collection of small minds it did not stop the homunculus from hearing it, or thinking about it.

“What other things?”

 

[Nysia]

Nysia smiled.

It was a wicked sort of smile, snake like fangs showing as her lower lip twisted ever so slightly. Her knuckle dragged over the Homonculus' flesh, and then she would feel the tip of her metal nail press into her cheek. The point dug in, and forcefully the Lamia turned Manah's head.

For a human it would have been painful, entirely unpleasant, but she doubted it would be so for the creature she had created.

"Them." As she forced Manah's gaze towards the bridge, her other hand curled. Another of those strange purple sparks ran across her palm, but this time the effect seemed to call towards something else. In the distance the gates of the Keep began to open, a dozen faceless working to open the heavy wooden door.

A few seconds later the figures upon the bridge stepped into the courtyard.

They were easily recognizable to Lamia, though perhaps not to Manah. They were elves, of a sort. Each had ashen skin, dark red eyes, and brilliantly white hair. They were drow. Once thinking themselves the mightiest creatures within the Underdark.

A notion they had, of course, been entirely wrong about. "Your first little test."

 

[Manah]

Her observation was forced outward by The Creator's hand, towards the figures that crossed onto the lamia's threshold, seemingly welcomed in as the gates opened and let them in. For what purpose were they here? Was it under the pretence of an invite? Or far less of a welcome intrusion?

“Drow?” It asked, the knowledge sure but not definite on an answer regarding the nature and species of Nysia's guests.

The smattering that the knowledge knew suggested that they were unfriendly, but perhaps it was another biased cog in Manah's machine. Although, while not unusual to have a bad experience with one person, perhaps a collective bad experience with an entire race raised fair points in how one should view or approach them.

After all, it seemed correct in its assessment of the creator, who held a harsh and vindictive touch of the homunculus' seemingly unfeeling flesh.

“What would you have me do, Creator?”

 

[Nysia]

"Dark Elves, in the tongue of man." The Lamia mused. "Vicious, arrogant little things."

She seemed to speak with such confidence that it seemed almost impossible to doubt her words. They lingered in the air as several faceless approached the pack of Drow, their motions seeming more guiding than hostile.

"Once, they ruled the Underdark, or they thought they did." An amused twinkle shone through her eye.

"An Empire that spanned thousands of leagues." She mused. "Now they are little more than a shadow of what they once were."

Her claw withdrew from the Homonculus' flesh. "They have come to bargain. To ask of my favor."

She knew as much from their missives.

"You, my dear. Will watch, wait, and then accompany me when the time comes." Nysia needed Manah to learn, needed to see what the creature could do.