Statarkon wasn’t quite sure how to feel as he floated through the darkness. He could see seven Voidborn ships ahead of him, but none of them had moved and, interestingly, they were all rather battered. That was not a normal state for anything Voidborn related, Voidborns always kept everything pristine. These diamond-shaped ships had been through a lot and had clearly not been repaired in a long time.
As Statarkon reached a distance in which the other Voidborns could properly see him though, he sensed commotion and confusion. They were talking to each other. They were concerned. Almost scared. And they definitely weren’t local Voidborns. They didn’t speak normal Kenosomilia. Statarkon continued to listen in, and as he did so, he began to learn their dialect. He didn’t approach further though. He remained where he was so he could greet them. They were probably hesitant. Statarkon was not a normal Voidborn. And he had admittedly just appeared from the same vicinity as a Decay Lord ship these Voidborns had just fired warning shots at.
Eventually though, there was movement. A panel opened up on the side of one of the ships and a Voidborn stepped out of it. They clearly cautiously inspected Statarkon, then gradually inched closer.
“Hello…”
Statarkon felt even more uneasy now. Mostly because this Voidborn looked a LOT like Statarkon. Considering that Statarkon had never met these beings before, that was rather worrying.
“Hello… You… you are one of us?”
“I am a Voidborn, yes. Not from here though.”
“But you look just like us.”
“I guess that is coincidental…” Statarkon sighed. “I am here to try and arrange a meeting, so we can discuss peace. You seem… young and scared.”
The Voidborn nodded. It glanced behind it, looking back at its ship. Several other panels opened up, and more Voidborns could be seen, peering at Statarkon.
“We are unsettled. We have no home. We just… appeared one day, within our ships, pulled from the Eternal Darkness. The remains of another group of Voidborns, suddenly brought back to life. But everywhere we go, we are constantly attacked.”
Statarkon sighed. “I understand that. I understand it greatly. But not everyone is out here to kill you. Some people want to protect themselves.”
“They always shoot at us. If we fire near them, it scares them away. The Decayons shot at us. We shot back then came back here and hid. Before then, the Voidborns of the Shaded Eternum also attacked us. Everywhere we go, someone tried to destroy us. We used to have fifteen ships. We have seven now. We were fifty originally, now we are seventeen. Twenty one, if we include you.”
Statarkon shook his head. “Child, I am not one of you directly. I am just a Voidborn of my own, Adogtic and alone, pulled out from a completely different Eternal Darkness. However, I am here because I want to help you.”
The Voidborn eyed Statarkon. “You look… you are like us though. You have to be one of us. You are offering us help. You haven’t attacked us! Wait… is this… is this a trick? A trick to finish us off?”
“It is coincidental. But I am here to genuinely help not just you but the Decayons who live here already. Clearly, you need help, and you cannot communicate with the locals to discuss what you need. You need a place to call your own, you need safety, but can’t physically tell people that. I offer myself as a translator and middleman to help you find a place for yourselves, in exchange for peace.”
“You… are with the Decayons we just shot at…”
“I am, yes. I assist them and they assist me. The Missing are peacekeepers. We do not want people to get hurt, not needlessly. We open up paths to new discussions. I can help you with those discussions. You just need to stand down and allow me to help.”
The Voidborn hesitated. Again, they glanced back at their ship. Several other Voidborns left the ships and came close.
“Do we believe him?”
“He wants to help.”
“No one has offered help before.”
“Maybe we should… I am tired. I do not want to drift any more.”
“It may be a trap though.”
“We have nowhere else to go. This is a different path.”
Statarkon nodded in agreement. “I am offering a different path. One where you can settle down, where you can stop running and stop fearing attacks from others. I will speak to the Decayons, I will translate your words for you, explain to them that you are young and lost. They will understand. Decayons are often lost as well, and there is often confusion between Decayons and Voidborns. But there can be peace.”
“There can?”
“Indeed. After all, there is an entire cult of Voidborns, the Vast Voids, who are allied with Deathven, the main society for Decayons.”
“Huh…”
The Voidborns muttered to themselves again.
“Perhaps we can talk. We are open to peace. We do not want to fight, we have lost enough as it is.”
Statarkon allowed himself a small smile. “You are?”
“We are, yes.”
“Will you withhold your weapons?”
“If you can offer us protection for this meeting with the Decayons, then yes. We will talk. In peace.”
“Wonderful!” Statarkon immediately perked up. “My name is Statarkon, representing the Voidborn side of the Missing and of Decay Lord sects that work in purifications. May I ask what your names are?”
The Voidborns all glanced at each other again. It was clear they didn’t really know themselves. Statarkon realised that they really were young children. Cold, lost and confused, just trying to survive. This was made even more apparent when they finally answered Statarkon’s question.
“We… do not have names. We were never given names. We are just Newlings.”
“How long have you been out here?”
“About… about a hundred year-strings? We are not sure. We just do not want to run and hide any more.”
Statarkon held out his hand. “I understand. Perhaps, when we have arranged peace, we can also find a name for you all. How does that sound?”
“We… we would like that… thank you…”
“No worries, little one. Come along now. Let us arrange a sanctuary for you all…”