Goldie and I watched the being known as Tenebris through a scrying spell that I cast on the Smiting Card that Goldie had made and we’d been obsessing over. We thought about playing Smiting to pass the time, but it was hard to ignore what was happening in Talj and we decided to watch our new favorite in action.
Tenebris was statuesque, very reminiscent of a Vodun, but much more terrifying. She had dark gray skin, but much of her coloring including her hair and eyes, were a deep shade of red. There was a darkness to Tenebris, but she didn’t seem evil like the Lord Cockroach entity that we brought from a different universe.
We had watched Tenebris with the other red-aligned warriors aboard their ship in the Talj Junction, and it was clear that Tenebris had taken a leadership role. She was with the 4Warrior known as Djallon in the command room who communicated with the leader of the mission, Pultine. When they arrived at their destination, Goldie and I had to readjust the picture we watched because we assumed there was some connection issue that created a large wall of darkness behind the intimating figures of the Pito, but apparently this was the manifestation of the power the Pito had amassed.
“Maybe defeating those things will impact the wall…” Goldie postulated but she trailed off when she saw details of the opponent that Tenebris, Zacchaeus, and the Fonlander known as Shini, encountered at the front of the battle. It looked like a larger version of her in red. “Is that Red?” Goldie asked.
“Who is red?” I asked.
“An ancient asanbosam,” Goldie said, her voice full of wonder and disbelief at what she was seeing. “Red was a leader before the partition on the Disc of Agê. Sadly, she died, but her story lives on. Apparently she does too in some other realm where she has been corrupted by the Pito.”
“Do Tenebris and Zacchaeus stand a chance?” I asked with concern.
Goldie shrugged and looked at me. “The Red that I know isn’t this corrupted Red, who knows what they are capable of. But we will know shortly.”
We watched Tenebris and Shini engage the large red bat creature that seemed to have veins of black all over its body. Tenebris flew like Superman, easily dodging the slower attacks of the large bat, and landing solid blows that knocked the corrupted creature from side to side. Shini blasted magic at the bat, bolts of violet and green magic that seemed to hurt the bat as much as Tenebris’ blows. I was curious why Zacchaeus largely hung back and I watched him seemingly floating in place. But every time Shini or Tenebris landed a blow that caused the giant bat to rage, Zacchaeus would very discreetly shoot an oily black substance at the bat that clung to its dingy, red-black fur.
“I wonder what their plan is exactly,” I asked Goldie who was looking as curiously at Zacchaeus as I was. It was clear that between Zacchaeus and Tenebris, they could have easily defeated this gargantuan bat, but something else was happening. “Do you want to go with me to the Meta Chamber?” I asked Goldie. “The Vodun still in the Fonlands should be there and more screens to view the action.”
“I thought you had to be on alert here in case they need exfiltration from that realm,” Goldie says.
“I can do what needs to be done from here or the Meta Chamber. Besides, I can be down here in a flash,” I said with a snap of my finger and we were both in the Meta Chamber where Jo and Agbe were watching the monitors.
“Have you all noticed some of the heavy hitters in our force are not fighting exactly…” I started and Jo finished the thought for me.
“They’ve developed some strategy,” Jo said. “It’s good to see that many out there are strong enough to go blow for blow with those Pito, but there is some other strategy at play. I will know more once I receive an update from a commander. Arcana Master, Agbe will fill you in on the situation with the Talj Junction.”
Goldie and I were both intrigued and decided to stay in the Meta Chamber to watch the many screens dedicated to Tenebris’ battle with the Red Pito that was covered in more of the black magic that Zacchaeus expelled from a distance.
I was curious what Jo meant about the situation with the Talj Junction, but I assumed that she was referring to everything that the screens broadcast. But Agbe did fill me in later and I was floored to learn that the existence known as Talj, the Living, was experiencing unspeakable pain and was threatening to rip itself apart at any moment, which was bad news for all those heroes in Talj. I was tense, ready to do what needed to be done to get them all out safely, but the Vodun had a plan that was apparently unfolding.
PRL Serials 