Chapter Text
They needed to get around the fountain. A few Matra moved to cut them off, but it wasn’t the bulk of them. Cyno dropped Tighnari’s hand again to bat them away, Kaveh following behind to apply his dendro to the electrified Matra. Tighnari, however, stumbled off in a different direction.
“Tighnari!” Cyno called, skidding to a stop. "We need to go this way!”
Tighnari’s tail lashed, but he kept moving, heading for the doors that went… up? Yes, Kaveh said that door would lead up further into the tree, a dead end so to speak.
“Tighnari!” Cyno yelled again, “That way is a dead end!” Moreover, they didn’t have time for this!
“There’s no way down from there!” Kaveh shared, also pausing.
Tighnari yelled back, but he didn’t stop or turn around. “I need to go!”
It wasn’t much of an explanation, it didn’t even make sense!
Cyno resisted the urge to rub his forehead, instead, he dodged Matra that were now steadily coming for them. He sidestepped and blocked blows, but backed further to not truly engage, unfortunately it would only separate him from both exits if he wasn’t careful. “We are going, but not that way!”
Tighnari made it to the far doorway, as the Matra hadn’t thought to guard an entry to a dead end- for good reason. He turned and scowled at Cyno, tail flicking agitatedly behind him. “You can’t make me. I still don’t even know your name.”
Cyno winced. Ah, he did make that mistake. This was a Valuka Shauna , he reminded himself. Tighnari had been seeing something earlier, it must be important if he was foregoing escape to investigate it. As much as Cyno needed to get Tighnari (and himself) out, he needed to respect the Valuka Shauna. Considering Tighnari’s assumptions when they first met -which wasn’t long ago at all- of course Tighnari would be resistant to Cyno’s well-meaning instructions. The last thing Tighnari needed right now was someone controlling him.
Cyno would still prioritize the Valuka Shauna’s safety and if they were cornered Cyno would get him out of there whether the fox liked it or not, but for this he could relent. He would trust what the fox was sensing was important enough for this risk. It was a gamble, but any chance of survival from this catastrophe was better than none. The gods, even the archons themselves were rarely absent from drastic events such as this. The death of a grand sage for such an atrocity was reason enough, but particularly a Valuka Shauna was involved, there was no way this wasn’t destined. Perhaps it was why Anubis resisted him right now, the god was too quiet in this moment of turmoil- perhaps it was another god who needed to step up. Whatever Tighanri was chasing, Anubis wanted him to prioritize that god’s will instead of his own. Anubis’ judgment, weighed Tighanri’s soul and found him worth listening to. Cyno must do the same.
He gave a look to Kaveh, then dashed across the room to follow the Valuka Shauna. Tighnari didn’t wait for him, rushing up the steps and pushing open the doors to the outside.
“Alright! Fine! Guess we’re going this way!” Kaveh said behind Cyno, trialing after the desert man. “It's only the exact direction that would get us cornered! Because we’re totally not trying to avoid that!”
The path was mostly clear despite the backtracking, the Matra hadn’t anticipated them going this direction, so they were ill-prepared to block them. Still, a few halberds were thrown and a few Matra were close enough to try at them but they were dodgeable. Cyno kept a firm grip on his polearm, the other hand across his stomach. His wound was definitely going to be an issue later if he had to keep fighting. For now, he grit his teeth and powered through.
Cyno barely stopped at the door, slamming it open and counting to run. Tighnari wasn’t too far ahead, he had slowed and was looking out. Cyno followed his gaze and slowed as well. All of Sumeru lay before them, spanning the horizon and stretching far into the sky. It was beautiful. There were mountains in the distance, watchtowers dotted them, but other than that there wasn’t much that was taller than the great Sumeru tree. Forests spread before them, a river winding its way through splitting the woods, trailing all the way to Sumeru City itself.
The walkway was wood, part of the tree itself but sanded into a path leading upwards. The path itself didn’t twist too much but it was steep, Tighnari stumbled on this part, distracted by the view. Cyno pushed himself forward to help, wondering what about the view was so distracting besides— oh.
Tighnari might not have been outside in awhile, he was, now that Cyno took a good look, quite pale. This might be his first time seeing the sun in… who knows how long. Tighnari’s ears were up even as he was on all fours on the ground. His tail, matted as it was, made small back-and-forth movements, a faint wag like a happy dog.
“Tighnari,” Cyno called, trying not to limp as he made his way towards the fox. “Are you alright?”
Tighnari’s head turned, wide eyes now on Cyno. The brief moment of happiness for the Valuka Shauna was over, he saw it drain from his eyes right in front of him. Tighnari grunted as he got to his feet, behind the,m Kaveh burst through the Akadmiya door. They both turned, tense, but could only watch as Kaveh swiped his claymore into the ground before the doorway and branches sprouted crawling up to block the doorway. A flimsy barricade, all things considered. It wasn’t very high at all, but it would give them time.
Kaveh came up to them, claymore dismissed and his box… was floating beside him, its flat surface faced them and Cyno noticed the two green pixelated dots that mimicked eyes. What even— no it didn’t matter, they needed to keep moving.
Cyno said this to the others, using his polearm as more of a walking stick than the weapon it was. “We need to keep moving.”
Tighnari nodded, moving up the pathway ahead of Cyno. Kaveh came up to Cyno and reached to take one of his arms over his shoulder. Cyno let him, if only because his adrenaline was fading and his wounds were making themselves even more known.
“You,” Kaveh said, adjusting for the shorter man, “are impressively banged up. How many of those Matra did you fight before I got there?” He sounded genuinely curious through the exhaustion the blonde must be feeling. Cyno could tell by looking at him, by the way he helped Cyno, he was not familiar with violent situations. But he was trying to help, that was more than what the Akademiya could say.
“Just a few,” Cyno grunted as they made their way upwards. Dread tickled his senses though, he was not in good shape and he felt as if the fighting was far from over despite the break.
Kaveh scoffed lightly, “Oh yes, ‘just a few’. There was at least a squad or two on the ground by the time I got there.”
“I am a general,” Cyno admitted with some deliberation, maybe a little spite too.
They crested the rise, it led to a platform made of stone, no longer part of the tree itself, though a curated pond made itself a barrier between the walkway and the tree itself. Tighnari was there, paused at the water’s edge as he stared attentively at the flowering lilypads.
“Razan Garden,” Kaveh said to them, “More exotic flowers are kept further up, if the sanctuary is our goal we’ll have to get through the garden.”
“Do you think we can lose the Matra?” Cyno asked, an idea sparking.
“It's a lot of winding pathways but there's only two which both lead to the same place, so no.” Kaveh shook his head.
Hmm, it still might work though, what if they used it to switch back? Lead the Matra to believe they went all the way up but hid in the garden to move back downwards as they went further up? That was a better plan than being cornered up high where they couldn’t escape.
Cyno was about to speak this plan when Tighanri stiffened, attention shooting from the pond to further along the empty path. The fox was completely still, sensing something that Cyno and Kaveh couldn’t.
“Tighnari?” Cyno called cautiously. He hoped it wasn’t more Matra.
“Do either of you see that?” Tighanri asked quietly, as if afraid to spook something.
“...No,” Kaveh said, just as wary. “See what? Are you …hallucinating?”
Tighanri didn’t answer, enraptured by whatever he was seeing. Kaveh gave Cyno a concerned glance, Cyno ignored it in favor of keeping his eyes on the Valuka Shauna. The fox wasn’t sensing anything physical. Tighnari’s tail swished, his first real movement before he unfroze, moving swiftly onwards to the next spiraling pathway. The fox was holding his pulsing Vision close along with his rattling chains, not waiting for Cyno and Kaveh.
Kaveh huffed in exasperation, “Whats with him?”
Though the words weren’t kind, his tone was genuine. It was surprising to Cyno to feel and hear such genuineness from someone who came from the Akadamiya. Perhaps it was just Kaveh, he didn’t seem to feel things in halves- something Cyno appreciated at the moment.
As they moved at a slower pace behind the fox, Cyno explained, if only briefly. Kaveh didn’t need to know everything, it wasn’t Cyno’s to tell.
“He is a Valuka Shauna, an ancient species from the desert lands. His people are sacred to mine as they are much closer to the gods. I believe he’s seeing something from them, something we should not ignore.”
“So he is hallucinating, just not the bad kind if he’s getting it from the gods,” Kaveh said, “Is that why the Akadamiya had him locked up?"
“Not entirely, I don't think.” Cyno said slowly, “Tighnari has not been… treated well- by anyone as far as I know. He was speaking literally earlier, he has not been treated like a person, but as an object to own. He expects the same from everyone he meets, everyone who lays eyes on him. Including me, including us.”
“That's… that's terrible,” Kaveh said simply, Cyno could agree. Again, though, Cyno was impressed by the emotion in Kaveh’s voice. Kaveh truly felt for Tighnari despite knowing the bare minimum. It doesn’t take much to be kind.
This much emotion, however, set off some of Cyno’s alarms. People trying to deceive usually play up their emotions, giving themselves a reputation opposite of their true nature. Kaveh’s nature was exactly the type of behavior he could clock as a traitor or spy, someone who would betray them.
But… He could not actually agree to that conclusion, at least when it came to Kaveh. Kaveh genuinely cared too much, he could feel it. Perhaps it was Anubis giving him insight, perhaps it was his subconscious picking up on other subtle signs he didn’t know yet. Either way, Cyno could not deny it, Kaveh was a good person.
They made it up the incline to yet another platform, larger with no pond but it had a little grassy area. A bulletin board was posted outside the grass plot and further along was a larger spiral incline that led upwards. Tighanri was not at any of those places but the Valuka Shuna was easy to spot, standing near the edge of the platform overlooking the vastness of Sumeru.
Cyno nodded his head in the fox’s direction, and Kaveh helped him come closer. Tighnari looked almost calm, tail swishing gently and ears relaxed. At least, this was the most relaxed he’d seen the Valuka Shuna, frankly, he looked a bit overwhelmed- which was fair.
“I am Cyno, acting general of the deserts’ forces,” Cyno said, finally introducing himself. “I am sorry I had not introduced myself earlier.”
Tighanri’s eyes flicked to him, turning slightly to reveal he kept his Vision close to his chest. His eyes were soft, or at least as soft as Cyno had ever seen them. He still looked guarded, but all the sharp edges had dulled. Cyno finally felt like he wasn’t what Tighnari was afraid of.
“Thank you,” Tighnari said, Cyno had the feeling he was talking more than just his introduction.
“You’re sensing something,” Cyno said, “it's leading you.”
Tighnari nodded, “A little girl in green and white. I only catch glimpses, but the farther up we go the stronger her presence. It feels…” the fox trailed off, looking down at his Vision. “We need to find her.”
Cyno nodded, quietly throwing his ‘switch back garden’ plan away. He felt no dread doing this, Tighnari was leading them and the gods were leading him.
And of course, this was the moment the doorway below broke. The branches had snapped, creaking and breaking in an alarming crash. The sound easily traveled up to them, followed by the thumping of a multitude of men. Cyno didn’t even need Tighnari’s alarmed ears to know where it was coming from.
“Time to get moving then,” Cyno said, untangling himself from Kaveh because if they had any hope it would be to move faster and he could do that better on his own, wounds and all.
Kaveh looked like he was about to argue with Cyno, but huffed instead when Cyno waved him off. Tighnari was tense, tail stiff and puffing up once more. Cyno stepped closer to the fox, testing his own capabilities as he got Tighnari’s attention. “Hey, I promised they wouldn’t get you, you will remain free.”
Kaveh stepped in too, looking entirely too jovial to be proclaiming; “They’d have to get through both of us.”
Tighnari managed to smile. Weak as it was, it made the fox look even softer. A glimpse at what the fox was without the mistreatment from those around him.
The thunder of the approaching Matra made the fox flinch and the glimpse was gone. It was time to run.
The trio rushed up the incline, following the winding branches that gave the curved ramp something like rails. Cyno limped, though it wasn’t really his legs that were the problem, he tried to lessen his gut’s movement. Movement would only make him lose blood faster, but running was necessary. A frustrating tradeoff.
Tighnari made it up first, his bare feet slapping on the stone platform. Cyno and Kaveh followed behind, Kaveh hovering near him. The next platform was smaller, the next ramp perpendicular to where they came up from. They skirted its length and went up once more, this path a bit more wiggly.
The next platform was even smaller but it dug into the tree, covering them from the sun like they had just entered a cave. Two paths went off from the little platform, both leading to white pavilions with blue stained glass. Tighnari paused only for a brief moment, looking in both directions with an ear split for each before his left one twitched and he confidently rushed in that direction. There was the smallest ramp up to the pavilion, they turned to the next incline, not paying any attention to the intricate flower design etched into the floor. This ramp had a sharp spiral that hugged the tree wall, though when Cyno looked up he realized they were still technically outside. Leaves fluttered high above them, covering them in its canopy though rays of sunshine filtered through. Cyno continued to heave himself faster using his polearm as a walking stick, nearly tripping on the lip onto the next platform. It was actually another small pavilion, this time with a pedestal in the center showcasing a flower with lavender petals that glowed even with the sunlight. Walls of wood surrounded this pavilion except for the stairs leading to a larger pavilion with another flower in its center. They pushed forward, they could still hear the Matra coming but they weren’t in danger yet.
The path this way was clear as well, two more pavilions with flowers bracketed the path but it led further upwards into the sunlight out of the canopy and garden. The incline rounded once more and Tighnari jolted to a stop at the top. Cyno and Kaveh came up behind him, weapons at the ready this time because two Matra were guarding the only pathway up.
The Matra were just as startled as Tighnari but lowered their halberds in preparation for attack. They were hesitating though, glancing at each other like they didn’t know what to do. Inexperienced guards.
Kaveh seemed to clock this as well, for he didn’t lunge at them while Cyno was gathering the energy to do so. “You gonna let us pass? Or are we going to have to go through you?”
Cyno stared at the man, that was a good line.
The one with short brown hair pointed up the path with a shaking hand. “It- it only goes up?”
Kaveh nodded, hefting his box. “Yep, that's the plan.”
Cyno slammed his staff into the ground, letting Anubis’ power flare for a moment. If they could intimidate these guards they wouldn’t need to fight which would a much better outcome.
The two guards flinched, the black-haired one almost tripping as he stumbled back.
Kaveh pressed forward, not even paying the two guards any mind as he did so. Tighnari scrambled after him, keeping close to his back and giving the guards distrustful glares. The guards let them pass, Cyno taking up the rear. As the other two went up Cyno paused at the bottom.
“Toss your weapons over the edge, you can say we disarmed you.” He said. He grit his bloodied teeth, he hoped it was more intimidating than it was because he was in a lot of pain. “Or I can do it for you.”
Black hair dropped his halberd, it fallen from his hands. Cyno gave him an unimpressed look and the man scrambled to pick it back up, dashing off to the balcony followed by the other guard. They threw their weapons, facing Cyno with arms now raised in surrender. Cyno nodded tersely, then turned to follow Kaveh and Tighanri up the path. He probably should have knocked them out anyway, but he was flagging and couldn’t be sure he could actually knock them both out in one hit. Well, they were being chased by a small army of matra anyway, two more shouldn’t make much of a difference. Besides, these two were cowards.
Stone arches curled over the larger path, though they didn’t seem to serve any function. To Cyno it looked like protruding ribs. The very architecture seemed to convey the city’s starvation of truth. Cyno tried not to sway as he climbed the last bit, but his adrenaline spiked again as he heard Kaveh grunting and the sound of weapons clashing.
Cyno pushed himself faster to the top, arriving to see Tighnari was still hanging back, Kaveh taking care of the two matra guarding the pathway to a building set into the branches of the giant tree. Kaveh had one down already, but the other was keeping back from the reach of his claymore, swiping at the blonde when his arc didn’t connect. Kaveh grunted as he was cut on the arm, his claymore, despite not being held by his arm at all, faltered.
Cyno pushed with everything he had left, leaping off the ground and colliding with the last matra in their way. Cyno made sure his polearm caught the matra’s shoulder, but as they went down pain fully enveloped Cyno and he came back to himself dazed and looking up at the sky.
Fluffy ears entered his vision, amber and green eyes filled with concern. The amber looked warmer out here in the sun, the green looked more pale, like the underside of a leaf.
Tighnari, he registered, Tighnari was speaking.
“-et up, Cyno do not fall asleep.”
Sound came back all at once, though there wasn’t much to hear since the fighting had stopped, it still felt like an avalanche. He grimaced and closed his eyes, snapping them back open when Tighnari scolded him.
“No- do not close your eyes,” Tighnari was mad.
“We need to move him inside, the matra are still coming and we can at least barricade the door,” Kaveh said on his other side.
“I’m fine,” Cyno said as his whole body radiated with pain and fatigue. He attempted to move, to force himself up because he wasn’t done, Tighnari was the furthest thing from safe right now.
A chained hand grabbed his shoulder, helping him up. “Go slowly, you idiot. You’ve lost a lot of blood.”
Cyno grimaced, he certainly felt it.
Tighnari’s ears twitched back, his head snapping in the direction of the only entry or exit from the top of the tree. The matra were coming.
“Come on,” Tighnari said, digging his hands under Cyno’s shoulders and heaving him up. “This won’t be pleasant.” He warned, and then Cyno’s world swam.
Each of them had one of Cyno’s arms over their shoulders, practically dragging him as they stumbled unevenly to the giant white and green doors. Nausea rolled Cyno’s stomach and the cotton came back, his vision continued to swim but he swore he saw Kaveh’s metal floating box drag his polearm along with them.
The door was pushed open and it was much cooler inside. After getting a bit inside Kaveh left Tighnari to hold Cyno alone while he slammed the door shut behind them, but not before a beam of bright green zipped through the gap, landing a diamond shape on the ground.
Suddenly there was a tall man in its place.
He was much larger than Cyno and Tighnari, taller than even Kaveh, and much more dangerous looking. Even with his blood loss, Cyno could tell this man definitely knew his way around a fight, which was the worst thing that could happen to them right now. His hair was grey but not with age, his emerald eyes were sharp and calculating, an Akasha hung over his right ear.
Definitely an enemy.
Tighnari stumbled back with a cry, Cyno pushing away every ailment to get his footing to help. This man literally just appeared out of nowhere and looked perfectly capable of… capture? Kill? Would the Akademiya want him dead immediately or hold him for some sort of joke of a trial? Either way, this man was how they were going to get caught. Cyno was going to fail Tighnari.
Kaveh turned around from the door at their sound of alarm, only to gasp himself.
“Alhaitham!”
The man, Alhaitham, stared at them. He was sizing Cyno up, how incapable he was at fighting off anything more than a stiff breeze- maybe not even that. His expression only changed when he zeroed in on Tighnari who had his ears back and was hissing lowly.
“A Valuka Shuna?” Alhaitham questioned, finally turning his gaze away from them to Kaveh who finished barricading the door with much more intense dendro affects. Nothing would be getting in, or out.
“Kaveh, who is-“ Cyno started, but pain and blood loss cut him off, making him grimace instead. He kept glaring at the man though, he was wounded, but he was not out of fight.
“This is the ‘us’ I mentioned earlier.” Kaveh said with a smile, a stupid smile because that explained nothing.
Tighnari’s hiss petered off but he remained defensive, tail poofed and swishing agitatedly. It hit Cyno’s legs sometimes, it was the only thing that didn’t feel painful at the moment. “The ‘we’ that are the other Vision holders in the city? I thought there’d be more.”
“He’s a scholar.” Cyno said through his teeth, finally recognizing the grey haired man and his not-quite sage attire. “I was supposed to be here for peace talks between the Akademiya and the desert, he was there.”
“Scribe, actually.” Alhaitham corrected, “I was using your disruption in the Akademiya as a distraction while I investigated Azar's plot. Then you killed him.”
Cyno couldn’t quite tell the intent behind the words, but he felt defensive. “For good reason.” Tighnari twitched beside him.
Alhaitham gave the fox a glance and nodded imperceptibly. “His death triggered a contingency plan to declare all Vision holders an enemy of the Akademiya, though he probably idealized being around to witness its execution. Even so, I congratulate you on defying the Sage's orchestrations. To some degree.”
Cyno bristled at that, what a backhanded—
“There were other vision holders,” Kaveh interrupted. “They ran Nilou out of Sumeru entirely. Her passion was the arts, so she was one of the first to be directly targeted.”
“That’s all fascinating,” Tighnari said, apparently his turn to interrupt, his voice dripping in condescension. “You can continue to talk but I’m going to make sure this idiot doesn't bleed out thank you very much.”
Alhaitham said nothing while Kaveh gasped an ‘oh!’ and grabbed at his shoulders, ripping off the red sashes that typically trailed behind him. They weren’t terribly long, but they’d make do for impromptu bandages.
Kaveh handed them to Tighnari who took them with less of a scowl, which he immediately turned back to full force as he guided Cyno down to the floor. The fox didn’t turn his back to Alhaitham, Cyno noted, though Cyno was now at everyone’s feet. The ground was surprisingly comfortable, he was sure that was a bad thing.
Tighnari only paused once he realized he would have to use both his hands for bandaging Cyno, his Vision still held tensely in his grip. Cyno lifted an arm. “I can help-“
Tighnari scoffed, “No, you are not to move unless I tell you.”
“I can hold it-“ he offered, but bit the rest of it off as Tighnari’s ears went down and he hissed. “Or not, I won’t touch it.”
Tighnari sighed, ears lifting but only slightly. He grabbed Cyno’s hand, placing his Vision in it. Cyno stared with wide eyes, not believing what he was seeing. Tighnari returned his stare, his amber-green eyes burning into Cyno. “You hold it, it does not leave your hand, your hand does not leave my sight. You are not getting up with this in your hand, I will break all of your bones and rip out every organ you have if you even try. Understood?”
Cyno swallowed. “Yes.”
Despite the chains rattling on Tighnari’s hands as he worked, Cyno had never felt more imprisoned. He had never been more afraid in his entire life of first aid until right now. But he also felt incredibly honored that the abused Valuka Shauna trusted him this much. It might not be much at all, but it was more than Cyno anticipated, probably more than Cyno deserved.
Cyno kept his hand with the fox’s Vision on his chest, in view, and didn’t move it. He held it tight, just to be sure it didn’t slip away from him. Even without the threats, Cyno would not have treated a Vision so carelessly but he understood the fox’s judgment.
The Vision was warm, which made sense considering Tighnari had been holding it for a while now, but Visions emit their own kind of heat. Once enough elemental energy is gathered the Vision would be ready to ‘burst’, but before then it would glow and ‘leak’- in a normal ventilation kind of way to relieve pressure without releasing the stored elemental energy. It hummed in his hand, alive almost, its green glow escaping through his fingers.
Despite being separated from his vision for however long, Tighnari’s Vision was bursting with energy. How long had it been holding it? How long had Tighnari felt he had every means to protect himself but had it physically ripped away from him? How many times had the physical manifestation of a part of his soul been torn from him?
Empathy could quickly become dangerous in judgment, but it was also an incredibly necessary part. Varying degrees of empathy create different judgments. Pity, for example, is a form of empathy that can convey both disappointment and sorrow and is easily misunderstood. Cyno felt pity now, disappointed in the world, the people Tighnari had met to force him to create such a violent shield around him. And sorrow for the abuse and pain that needed such a shield in the first place.
Tighnari was mostly silent as he worked on the gash over Cyno’s stomach besides certain instructions here and there. His ears were up and attentive instead of back and defensive, Cyno wasn’t fooled, Tighnari was 100% keeping at least half of his attention on Alhaitham. Cyno could also see the ranting the Valuka Shauna wanted to do. His eyes blazed like none other.
As he tightened the sash over his stomach he scolded Cyno. “Next time you want to lunge at a Matra while suffering multiple minutes of blood loss, don’t.”
“Your bedside manner is—“
“Shut. I didn’t see anyone else rushing to keep you from dying, so shut it.” Tighnari’s nose scrunched in a mock growl, it had Cyno smiling.
Cyno also lifted his hand, offering the fox back his Vision. Tighnari quickly snatched it back, but he didn’t glare nor did his ears even twitch backward defensively.
“You’ve had medical training then?” Cyno asked, as, well yes it did just occur to Cyno that Tighnari had done a near-professional job.
Tighnari looked away, ears flattening to the sides for a moment. Then he spoke quietly. “I wanted to help people before, it turned out more useful for myself once word got out there was a Valuka Shauna in the area.”
“I’m sorry,” Cyno said, truly feeling sorrow for this man who had just wanted a normal life, ruined by others' greed and lack of humanity.
Tighnari shrugged in response, then more loudly, “You stay lying down for as long as you’re able, I would have rather given you stitches but the packing should work to keep you from losing any more blood. Now stay down hot shot, and stop running into fights like an idiot.”
Cyno wanted to laugh, but even just a huff jostled his gut and made him wince, turning Tighnari’s disapproving glare onto him again. Cyno smiled sheepishly.
Alhaitham and Kaveh seemed to be having their own conversation, or, well, Kaveh did. Kaveh was talking quietly and fast, but also gesticulating quite avidly. Alhaitham barely seemed to be paying attention. Weird. Kaveh stopped with a huff, but there was now a dark green sash over the cut on Kaveh’s arm, a dark green that clearly belonged to Alhaitham.
Tighnari noticed his line of sight and leaned over to stage-whisper; “They’re roommates.”
Kaveh spluttered loudly, face turning bright red. “What-! How did you-?!”
Tighnari’s ears twitched pointedly as he gave them a flat look.
Alhaitham uncrossed his arms. “It doesn't matter anymore, Kaveh. As enemies of the state, we'd hardly be able to return home without immediately being arrested. It does beg the question, though, of why the Akademiya took so long to target Vision holders, if we're such a threat to their power."
"What happened to the rest of them?" Cyno asked, remembering how they mentioned a ’Nilou’ before.
“There was a senior who got fed up with the changes the Akademiya was making and went elsewhere to find students. She had an anemo vision. There was another girl like that, a student with a cryo vision. I think she just left one day,” Kaveh said. “Then there’s Dori—“
"The information broker?" Cyno asked, surprised to recognize the name.
“Then you know why the Akademiya has been trying to catch her for years. I pay her a visit from time to time,” Alhaitham said with a wave of his hand.
Cyno inwardly snorted, yes he certainly would be ‘paying’ for a visit with Dori. A fast way to lose Mora.
“How come you two stayed?” Tighnari asked. It was strange he was still on the ground with Cyno, he would have thought the Valuka Shauna wouldn’t want the others to literally look down on him. Well, Alhaitham and Kaveh were taller than both of them so that would happen anyway but that was beside the point.
“Alhaitham is considered ‘under control’ since he’s the scribe, which is a title technically under the Mahamata.”
“Mahamata? Is that different from the Mahamatra?” Tihgnari asked, ears flattening again as he looked at the scribe.
“Technically, yes,” Alhaitham explained. “Though they serve nearly the same function, there is a distinction. The Mahamata are alumni from the Akademiya who merely investigate to ensure that the rules of the Akademiya are being followed. If they find something amiss, they report it to the Mahamatra, who indict and prosecute the perpetrator. It's a 'tattle-tale' system that generally ends in ‘problematic’ people disappearing.”
Tighnari kept his distrustful glare on the man.
“Oh my Archons, Alhaitham, you’re terrible at this,” Kaveh sighed, literally putting his head in his hands before he looked back up. “He’s not going to ‘tattle’, he’s a Vision holder and they would just as soon lock him up. He's on our side–”
“What it means,” Alhaitham said over him, “is that I know exactly how far the Akademiya has strayed from their own laws. They're only getting deeper into what were once considered the greatest offenses to scholars– what they should be prosecuting. I’ve kept my head down to keep a record of all they've done until I could find an opportunity to hold them accountable. I didn't anticipate they would stoop so low as to abuse a Valuka Shauna, and for that, an apology is in order.”
Tighnari’s fur slowly went down, he didn’t stop glaring but he did look away, tail flicking. “Thank you.”
“I’m in house Kshahrewar, specializing in architecture. I design buildings and other facilities for the Akademiya.” Kaveh said in the following silence. Cyno nearly huffed with how awkward it was but it did break the silence.
“To pay off debts.” Alhaitham tacked on.
Kaveh choked on air and turned on the scribe, “Alhaitham, they didn’t need to know that!”
“You're too easy to manipulate. You feel guilt over every perceived slight, you always owe something as a result, and that is exactly how the Akademiya keeps you under their thumb,” Alhaitham said flatly. “They’ve convinced you that you need to work for them for free, and it wasn’t even their idea.”
“So instead of driving you away, they kept you even closer,” Cyno surmised, which wasn’t a bad plan on the Akademiya's part-- though there remained one question. “Why you two and none of the others?”
Alhaitham nodded. “We have dendro visions, which no one driven out did. I suspect they were looking to keep whatever little they had of the dendro archon’s power.”
“The archon’s power?” Tighnari asked, “What for?”
“Probably for whatever that is.” He said, pointing behind them.
Tighnari turned and gasped, Cyno propped himself up on his arms, for some reason having failed to actually look around the room.
Behind them was a very deep and tall room, the size of it did not seem to match the suggestion it was outside. There was a green glow coming from the center that was the only source of light in the room. Walkways led down to a central dias, tall structures mimicking leaves curled around the focal point. Sickly green chains crisscrossed over the spaces between them, barring the walkways. A smaller orb of the same pale blue-green chains rested in the middle on a pale blue-green construct of a plant. Inside the orb was a little girl in white and green, her glow overpowered the pale blue-green, casting everything in a vibrant color unless it was overlaid with the chains.
Huge ugly pipes connected to the orb, breaking what might have been a beautiful sight with uniform streaks of black and dark red. The pipes stretched over the chasm and up towards another set of doors. The pipes fed into the wall there, transferring… something to another place. It reminded Cyno of the giant mechs abandoned in the desert. Machines created for destruction and annihilation, those pipes felt even worse to his soul than the blue-green chains surrounding the little girl. Something truly evil was happening here.
“Is that…” Cyno could barely comprehend it, the audacity of the Akademiya. He thought chaining Tighnari was bad, but this…
“That is the Dendro Archon.” Tighnari breathed.