The Chained Watcher

Backstory: Void Hunting

~~~

Xelqua spun his old mask on his finger, watching the light play across the matte off-white surface. His face is bare, not that that matters in his retreat, but it's still a departure from the norm. Shame this one doesn't fit anymore.

You see, he'd Tiered up rather recently, and now his gear doesn't quite fit anymore, meaning he now needs to make himself new gear more befitting of his Tier. The only problem lies in sourcing the materials. Watcher masks are quite special, which means they need rather special materials to make, which come from a rather special place with some rather special creatures.

The Void.

What, did you think just any old material could make a mask that hinders precisely none of its wearer's cone of vision?

...

Okay, so maybe he would be able to achieve that with his imbuing, but that's not important. It just wouldn't be the same if he used mundane materials.

Void materials are strange and difficult to work with, but oh so powerful when crafted successfully. It usually takes a few tries to get it right though, which is why he'll be going out and hunting for the materials.

He sets his old mask down, stretching with a grunt. Welp, no time like the present.

First things first, he thinks as he strides purposefully through his retreat, he needs his weapons. No way is he going on a Void hunt unprepared. An emergency shield bracelet just in case, a one-time-use teleportation necklace for if something out of his league shows up, a special spatial storage bag woven from Void spider silk so it wouldn't decay in the Void, and his weapon of choice for Void hunting. A bow.

Now, this isn't just any bow. He'd managed to come across the very rare sight of a tree in the Void a while back, and he managed to snag a couple branches before getting chased away by the swarms of smaller creatures inhabiting the massive plant's canopy. Roots. Er... With gravity being a bit nonexistent in the Void, and up and down being rather arbitrary distinctions, the Void tree's canopy and roots were both intertwined and interchangeable. He didn't exactly stick around long enough to catalog it.

He takes a moment to admire the work of art that is his Void bow. Iridescent veins run through the ebony bark, the creation still containing a breath of life even after being removed from the source and processed into a weapon. His fingers trace along the grooves he'd carved to guide it in its new form, and he savors the thrum of power as the ancient enchantments layered throughout the entire thing stir, ready to fulfill their purpose once more.

The string is admittedly a bit lackluster in comparison, being made of the silk of a Void Weaver, a variant Void spider with much stronger silk, but it serves its purpose well enough.

He sighs at the relative ease with which he draws it back, disappointed. This bow has served him well for quite a while, but more and more, it's losing its usefulness. His recent Tier up means it's smaller in his hands than before, and the draw weight isn't quite up to his full strength like it used to be, even if it won't break under full draw. He lets the string relax, slinging the bow over his shoulder.

Picking up the quiver, he double checks the arrows for any that should be replaced, picking out a few of the smaller ones and setting them aside. Hmm... Yeah, he could use a couple dozen more.

One of the wings from his newest, largest pair curls around in front of him, splaying out on the table in front of him. He preens the feathers gently, straightening feathers, critically examining the large variety of lengths, widths, and aerodynamicity. His hand settles on a particularly symmetrical feather the length of his arm. He traces it to the base. Then, he pulls it out.