The Revelation of the Vine: Graft

Chapter 8: The Fae in the Gap

   "Well, at least we get to stop for a bit. My legs burn so bad,"  one of the Seeds groaned. An olive-skinned Empirian boy, named Atreios, with hazel eyes and wavy, light-brown hair hanging out of his helmet, stood next to Tenbu. A few other voices quickly rose up in agreement."I know, brah,"  another replied, Rahlix, also an Empirian. He had dark green eyes and spiky, black hair with high cheekbones and a wide jaw. He and Atreios had been picked up together in Empirium, and appeared to be close friends. "What was that, like, three or four hundred steps?""Five,"  I corrected. His green eyes went wide. "Up until today, these stairs descended onto a ledge across the chamber below from here. The Knights and I won t have a problem getting across, but you guys are going to have to swing.""What,"  Falkir asked in surprise."There s nothing we can do for you here. You'll need to lower one of the lanterns down first to get a better look,"  I advised, shrugging the damp pack roll off my shoulder, and rolling it open in front of me. Along with other miscellaneous tools, there was a long hemp rope, about 50 feet in length, a pair of metal claws, a few ice picks, and a hand shovel. "What's your name, Cap,"  a small, calm voice asked; one I hadn't heard much. The Faefolken, Teion, stood between Vhalrin and Falkir, shorter than both, bright eyes sparkling in the light. "I only ask, because . . . well . . . we might die down here,"  he looked around at everyone, and then down at the hole before continuing, "And I just wanted to know." Normally I would have told him that no one was going to die. This time, though, the whole game had changed. There was no telling what condition the tunnels might be in after the Tear, and the warning I'd received upon our arrival weighed heavily. It might take longer to get out this time. There might not even be a way out any more, at least, not through the Transition phase. I suppressed the rising doubts and fears. They had to make it to Lemnis Dale; had to. They might be the last of us. "It's Virgil . . . Teion,"  I said, looking the youngest Seed in his leaf-green eyes. I couldn't help but smile. His face was pale, splotched red on the nose and cheeks from being cold. Yellow hair covered his head, pulled back into a braided knot. It looked like he was around twelve years old, but I knew he was at least fifteen. All of the Faefolk retained a youthful appearance throughout their life. He returned the smile, before lowering his gaze back to the darkness. I slipped the rope through the loop in the top of my lantern, tied it off, and then said, "Here, Teion. You lower it down." He grabbed the lantern and started to lower it through the gap. At five feet down it started to swing in a faint wind. The light looked like a tiny bubble floating down in a sea of black, gently swaying as it drifted. At ten feet, only the bottom half of the rope and the part above the hole were visible. Twenty feet, the lantern began to swing in small, oblong circles. Thirty feet, still going, lower and lower. The circles widened as it descended. At fourty feet, it looked like something flew past the lantern on one of its outward swings. Like a black phantom that ripped through the ball of light. A few more swooshed by, as the rope reached its full length. The Lantern swung freely in the air at the bottom of the taut rope. Darkness loomed above, around, and still below the radius of pale light."There s no way I can do that,"  Atreios cried. He crossed his arms over his chest, and hung his head, shaking it in defeat. "Let me climb down,"  Teion said, rubbing his smooth chin, eyes squinting at the darkness. He gave me an assuring look, "I can make the climb, Captain. I grew up in a tree-top village, piece of cake. And, I m pretty sure I can see in the dark better than anyone else down here, except for you." I knew it was true, Faefolk have an uncanny ability to see better in low light than everyone else. Their eyes had adapted to the deep darkness of the thick forests of the Nook. They were also very dexterous, and excelled at feats of agility. And as for my eyesight, well, it was no secret that the Lemniscata gained abilities that surpassed those of normal men. He grabbed one of the metal claws from my open pack and slipped it into his belt, before rubbing his hands together and kneeling in front of the edge of the last step, "Might need this." He tied his end of the rope to the extra claw, and passed it back, Falkir then hooked it into a crevice in the corner of the wall and the stairs. Teion tugged the rope a few times just for feeling. The weight of the lantern at the bottom wasn't much, but it kept the rope straight, and the claw held firm to his weight."Wish me luck guys,"  Teion said, as he placed his heels over the edge of the broken stairs and leaned back with the rope."Good luck,"  Atreios said, as if apologizing for having given up so easily earlier. He looked about the age Teion should have looked. "I'm Atreios by the way, just in case you die.""Nice to meet ya, we'll talk later,"  he replied, and climbed down the rope into the darkness. In the blink of an eye, Teion was over the edge and racing down the rope, hand under hand. There wasn't much we could do except wait for him to send word. "That was pretty brave,"  Atreios said. "What did he mean about being able to see in the dark better than everyone except you, Captain?""Well,"  I started, "I'm sure you probably already know at least a little about the Faefolken's cat-like eye sight, but probably not too much about Vine-Sight."  My last two words made everyone's eyes go wide. "You see, nothing is truly dark, at least, that was true until Corruption appeared. Everything that exists in our universe gives off a sort of energy, except Corruption, but most of it is invisible to see with our normal eyes. The light that our brains register into images is just a small portion of the full spectrum of light. The Faefolk have, in some sense, tapped into this ability genetically after generations of adapting to the darkness of their forests; though only in a minimal capacity akin to a cat or . . . a panther. "The ancients could also utilize this ability, to a certain extent, with tools, but in the end, they were still only using physical constructs to observe other physical constructs and were never able to discover soul energy. However, since humans are composed of both body and soul, we have a hidden innate ability to perceive soul energies. "Full utilization of this ability requires a supernatural shift in the visual spectrum, not just enlarging the pupil of one's eyes or filtering light with a lens or other device that translates detected waves into an image. It is only one of the abilities that the Sowing will bestow upon you. That is why, despite how much the unexpected events of today have changed everything, it is still -- no . . . now it is even more important that you all complete the Sowing. You might be the last ones that do."