Eclipsed In Silver

Chapter One - Prologue, Us and Lae'zel

It was the pounding ache directly behind Eirina's eyes that coaxed her to wakefulness. The last thing she remembered was gazing up at the waxing moon, saying a prayer before seeking repose. She had been on the roof of the inn she was staying at, not wanting to interact with the others she travelled with. they were deep in their cups and she wasn't in mood for frivolities. The anxiety that had been plaguing her all day had finally settled down enough that she would be able to rest.

The tapping sound on glass made the headache worse, Eirina cracked her eyes open, attempting to raise her hands to rub against her temples. Only her arms weren't moving. The scream was caught in her throat as the horror struck her at the sight before her. Eirina knew she wasn't dreaming, you don't dream pain. And the wish that she was dreaming. There, staring at the Eladrin through the glass above her were bright orange eyes and a large, purple elongated forehead. She had read about these creatures, her parents had told her tales as a child of the hive mind and the need to uniform domination. Long, slender fingers pressed against the glass of the pod for a moment before turning away. The long cloak and high collar blocked most of the figure in front of the pod, and the scream began to rise up in her through again. Mind flayer. Shit. Shit shit shit. How the hells did she end up here? And has it already....

Choking back the scream, Eirina thought a quick prayer to Selune and tested her bonds. Her arms were lashed tight to her body, the glass and tentacled dome above her keeping her encased. Thinking hard, she realized that this was pod. An egg. And what she knew of mind flayers and ceremorphosis, there was no escaping what was going to happen next. Watching the tentacles part, there is something she realized: these things do smile. "Hive mind my ass, this thing is taking some perverse pleasure from the fear I can feel on my face." Eirina thought as the pod opened and an unseen force wrapped around her neck. Hand hovering a few inches above her face, she could feel the phantom force squeezing her throat as the writhing tube of teeth was lowered to her eye. Pain lanced through her and the headache she woke with was nothing but a small discomfort compared to the teeth biting around her eyelid, digging and burrowing in. Throat released, Eirina could hear her scream echo as the pain mounted. Finally, black edges around her vision began to appear. The last thing she saw were the piercing orange eyes and the slow undulation of a tentacle as the tail of the wriggling barb slid over her eye and everything went black.

When she came to again, the headache was back, but dull, aching, and not the piercing one she experienced earlier. This time, it wasn't a mind flayer waking her, but the rocking of the ship as it careened violently to the side. Something was happening outside, there was a gaping hole in the side of the room and Eirina could see a flaming red sky flying past. Hells. She was in one of the hells. And this was a ship. Struggling against her bonds once more, she felt them give way and the lid hissed open. Staggering out, she stumbled slightly on the rocking ground and looked around. Half the pods were crushed from whatever came through the side of the hull. Some of the others were engulfed in flames, and the rest looked to be empty. She was the only one in this room. Well, aside from the viscous pool that the eye wriggling tube of teeth came out of. Giving the pool a long look, she decided it would be safer to avoid it. Not knowing anything about mind flayer anatomy, Eirina didn't know if the contents of that would be compatible with her skin, so just walked past it. She could hear the sizzle of the acidic nature of the vat as she stepped carefully past it. Checking her body, she was shocked to see that her armor and dagger were still on her body, but anything she had left in her room in the inn was not on her.

"Damn! My mace and shield were in my room!" Cursing her luck, she looked around for weapons and equipment. there were pods on the levels above her that she couldn't reach, mind flayers had this floaty thing that they did, so it made sense that they didn't need stairs like pretty much everyone else did. A cursory look around the room revealed a door on the other side of the tadpole pool. Eirina moved cautiously, glancing at every pod she passed, checking for survivors. The Moon Maiden would want to save them, even if they would eventually turn into one of those nightmares. Everyone deserved a chance to survive and find a cure. The mucilaginous fixture moved in a disturbing fashion, not allowing Eirina to even peak into the next room, she was open and exposed right from the get go.