“Thank you for saving my life…” Zephyr sighed as she tried not to fiddle with the miles of bandages wrapped around her arm, as well as the mini blood pack that was dripping Life Goddess blood into her veins. She was currently sitting in the recovery bay, refusing to lie down, while her fellow Trio members and a couple of unfamiliar faces watched over her. “I’ve been hit before, but, by the Void, not like that… Thyel and Kahlos had no idea what to do, our normal anti-corruption stims did nothing.”
“That is literally our job around here!” Vikalos smiled back cheerfully. “According to Kal, you are very lucky, darling Zephyr. It’s been a very, very long time since we last saw you though.”
Thyel, the white and silver Beh’en with a very short crown of horns, frowned. “Honestly surprised to see that you’re still around, Lord Vikalos. Thought you went back to Deathven. And we heard rumours Galyn was dead, but I guess not.”
Kahlos nudged Thyel, telling him to shut up, since Galyn had just entered the room, carrying a tray of specially formulated drinks to help make everyone feel better. The largest drink was given to Elkay, who was sitting next to Zephyr, recovering from the huge amount of blood he had donated.
“There were rumours that I died?” Galyn immediately asked.
Thyel shrugged. “We all heard that Itaviir and Vikalos went back but you didn’t, and we also heard that the Ancient Collector tore through several Decay Lord ships still in the area. We’re thankful he didn’t reach the Ventra Expanse. While the Ventra themselves are gone, the region is still very active.”
“Huh…” Galyn muttered. “Well, you are right about Ahkron. That… was not fun…”
Kahlos eyed Galyn somewhat, then grunted at Thyel. Thyel glanced at Kahlos, before turning back to Galyn. “Buddy asks what happened. Did you… did you face the Ancient Collector?”
Galyn hesitated, then put the now empty tray down. He lifted up part of his chest armour, revealing a massive scar. “He nearly killed me. Litvir and Phovos stabilized me until I could form one of my healing cocoons… I do not like talking about… that though.”
“Well, it’s good to see you’re alive anyway!” Thyel smiled. “You Tattered Navigators had it rough. Surprised there’s even still a Thantir and that you lot accepted Kal. Us Ventra somewhat broke up before we could accept them.”
Elkay weakly raised his hand. He was still quite dizzy. “I am sorry, I hate to sound rude, but who are you three?”
Kahlos grunted some more in a “do you not know?” way.
“Now, now, Kahlos!” Zephyr tutted. “This fine youngling saved my silly crystal butt. We’ll tell you, but you have to tell us why you have special anti-corruption blood. You’re… not one of those mimic things are you?”
Elkay sighed, then nodded. “As much as I hate being called an Amalgam Mimic, I am, yes. And before you ask, no, I am not Deathbringer, the lost member of the Missing, I am my own damn person.”
Still smiling, Vikalos took over the reigns of the conversation. “Friends, this is Elkay Theanon-Rethianos, Unender, a member of us Thantir. Elkay, these three are the Ventra Gales, a Named Trio!” Vikalos pointed at everyone in turn. “This is Kahlos Velspastis, Veilbreaker; Thyel Syokatageid, Soulstorm, and Zephyr.”
Elkay glanced at Zephyr. “You do not have a name, just a codename?”
Zephyr nodded. “Indeed. I have no idea where I came from, I just soared through the infinite void until I stumbled across Kahlos and Thyel, who were struggling with a Voidborn who was trying to kill a nursery of abandoned Beh’enlu, and the three of us fended the Voidborn off. We became Decay Lords together, founded the Ventra Decay Lord sect and, uh…”
Kahlos growled, loudly.
“It wasn’t completely our fault…” Thyel sighed. “We thought the Kronothrax wanted us to help them. We didn’t realize until it was too late that they just wanted cannon-fodder. We did what we could, we saved who we could, and those who are left went back to Deathven or forged their own paths. You understand, right, Lord Vikalos?”
“I am sorry to interrupt, but why do people call you Lord Vikalos?” Elkay asked. “You have never requested that we call you that.”
Vikalos snorted with amusement. “It was my rank when I was among the Justar, and part of my old name when I was an intra-universal deity. No one needs to call me that, people just… do for some reason. But friends, you’re not alone when it comes to sect plights, us Thantir are only just rebuilding ourselves.”
“You seem happier as well!” Zephyr chirped. “New duties and a completely new team, outside of you three and Saahro. And you passed things onto a new Trio, it seems?”
“Retvik and Litvir did well keeping things afloat while I was out for the count. Both of them are as tough as nails.”
“Seemingly so! They…” Thyel nodded in agreement, before suddenly turning to Kahlos. “No, I do NOT want to do that!”
“Does… Does Kahlos not talk?” Elkay blinked in surprise.
“He does, but Kahlos is a Truthteller,” Zephyr explained, with a hint of laughter in her voice. “He can only speak in truths, but he can also sense and speak truths about others, whether they want to admit them or not. Thyel keeps a telepathic link between us so we can communicate.”
Thyel continued to stare at Kahlos, and Kahlos continued to stare at Thyel back. “I do not want to. Yes, Litvir is cute as heck, especially for a Psion, but he is either an adolescent Beh’en and thus too young, or he, Retvik and Elkay here are something else and probably not compatible, considering Elkay here is a mimic.”
“They look familiar though…” Zephyr mused. “Like, maybe the same species as little Vick.”
“Who is Vick?” Elkay had a lot of questions and was torn between asking them, keeping quiet or going to sleep to get rid of hid dizziness.
“One of the last Decaylings we raised to Lordhood!” Thyel smiled. “Thought he was an adolescent Beh’en but he’s more like Elkay, I guess. Much shorter though. I think he now runs a small pub in the Ventra Expanse. Good kid. Like you, Elkay. Although, to change the subject, how long before we can leave? We have work to do and we need to get back to that patch and cordon off the area to stop others from getting hurt.”
“Now now, Zephyr needs to heal up!” Vikalos exclaimed. “You all need to rest too. I’m sure you’ve got someone in the Ventra Expanse you can contact to put out warnings, and I think Litvir and Kal both have contacts they can speak to as well. In the mean time, Zephyr, you ought to take a nap. You too, Elkay, you donated a lot of blood.”
Zephyr nodded in agreement. “You’re right. I am rather tired. Would I be able to get a private space so I can meditate?”
“Of course!”
Thyel seemed somewhat anxious to leave, but he knew Zephyr and Vikalos were correct. Galyn led Zephyr out to a private recovery room, while everyone else headed off to do their own thing. However, as Elkay was about to retire to his own quarters, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Standing over him was Kahlos, someone so tall he put the Beh’ens to shame.
“Uh, hello, how can I help you?”
Kahlos lifted up the visor that hid his face, revealing a pair of eyes that glowed gently in blue. He seemed to scan Elkay somewhat, before putting his visor back down.
“You are more than enough,” Kahlos seemed to smile. “Remind others of who they are.”
“Um, excuse me?” Elkay stuttered.
“You will know.”
With that, Kahlos wandered off, presumably to telepathically chat with his fellow Decay Lords. Feeling too tired and delirious to care, Elkay decided to just go to bed.