V M Brain over Brain over Brawn over Brawn

[Shallan Davar]

A cavern, immense and ancient. You could fit a city amongst the clefts and chasms, maybe half the size of Kharbranth without even having to try very hard. The gaping division in the depths of the earth stretched out like an underground sky, arcing up into the darkness above her, and down from the edge of the precipit on which she stood to equally unknown fathoms.

Gasping, Shallan took a few steps back from the edge of the overlook she had been standing on. She frowned, glancing at the lantern she held in one hand, the abrupt oddness of her situation crystallizing in her mind. How had she gotten here? Had she been stolen from the Crossroads just as quickly as she had arrived there? No, she was wearing a coat, and thank the Almighty for that because this place was absolutely freezing! What was she doing here?

Shallan? Have you returned? Pattern’s voice came timidly into her head.

Pattern? She responded with a tremor of uncertainty, What’s going on?

You CAN hear me! Pattern’s relief was immense and obvious, his happy buzzing almost drawing out her thoughts in its warble as he babbled on.

I had been asking and asking you, but you weren’t listening to my questions, just continuing to walk on like you were angry with me. I had concluded it was time for you to kill me, why else would you ignore me so ha-

Pattern! Shallan cut in, eyeing her surroundings with an increasing sense of urgency. The empty stone remained silent in its vastness.

Yes?

Something has been happening to me… I can barely remember a thing since we were in the desert. What are we doing down here?

Mmmmm, Pattern buzzed, You do not recall? Shallan, our bond is based upon truths remembered. You cannot lose yourself in delusions and remain true to your oaths as a Knight Radiant…

I… know that… Shallan hesitated, I… don’t think this was me, Pattern. It doesn’t feel the same.

Mmmmm, agreed. This is changed. There was a… distancing in our bond, like when a new variable is added to a solved equation. Perhaps even two variables.

Shallan pulled her strange new coat tighter as she glanced around the cavernous expanse with equal parts fascination and fear.

How did we end up here, Pattern?

Here is a very poor descriptor, Shallan. I suspect you mean in the general sense? Or are you asking about our arrival to this precise location?

The first one, yeah. What have we been doing?

We came here to get gemstones Shallan. The crossroads have no need for stormlight, so they do not make use of spheres. We cam here to…. Mmm… 'slice the man in the middle?'

Cut out the middle-man, Pattern. It’s an expression.

It is a good lie. Pattern agreed, continuing his explanation, We spent much time on the surface, negotiating and bargaining, they did not want as to go down here. Eventually we went into the ground with the men who wear the funny helmets, then you went a different way from them to meet the shiny man with the wiggly beard. He doesn’t like to talk much, but you were also being quiet, so it wasn’t strange. We followed him deeper into the caves, quite a ways deeper to my estimation. I believe you were waiting here for him to return, though he didn’t say to wait for him.

What? Shallan was certain there was something very wrong now. She needed to leave, but storms… How would she even get out of here? Pick a tunnel at face value and pray that it lead towards the surface?

I like the wiggly man’s robe. Pattern continued chatting cheerfully, so relieved to be able to speak with Shallan again he hadn’t noticed her alarm yet, It has wonderfully intricate designs on it. I do not know if it makes sense for him to bring us gemstones though. The other men seemed far more likely to be able to break apart rocks for us.

Pattern. I need you to focus. Shallan was now facing away from the cavern, trying to pick apart any sign of her route to this point.

I am listening, Shallan. What is the matter?

Do you know the route we took to get here? I think we’re in trouble.

Mmmmm, you have changed and you do not wish to wait for the wiggly man? Pattern buzzed. Is he a danger?

Maybe? I don’t remember what’s a dangerous thing down here! Shallan cast about for a scrape, or a smudge, any sign of footfalls on the stone floor. Nothing.

The men in the hats spoke to us of dangerous things down in the caves, yes. You did not seem frightened of the wiggly man when you first saw him, so I presumed he was not dangerous.

How long has he been gone?

Not too long, though I have a harder time keeping track of such things while we are away from the surface, your skies are so useful for tracking time’s passage. Mmmm... Are you hungry?

Not especially. Which tunnel did he leave by?

Oh! He didn’t use a tunnel. He floated down off the edge of the cliff. Somewhat like a Windrunner or Skybreaker, though I do not recall him glowing with stormlight.

Shallan’s heart was beating in her ears. Now that she was paying attention, there was a dull throbbing in her head, steadily growing now. Like a hook that had been left slackened, and now was being steadily reeled in.

Mmmm, Shallan? Pattern thrummed nervously.

I feel it, Pattern. Whatever’s happening, it’s coming back.

Shallan dimmed her lantern as much as she dared, she probably needed the light more than whatever this thing was, but she felt so exposed keeping it bright in these dark tunnels. She crouched in the near darkness, fighting to keep her thoughts from being overridden by this outside force once again.

There it was, a nightmare face, rising over the edge of the cavern with a level ease of one that gravity cannot control. Her thoughts were fragmenting, but the creature’s strange form struck her curiosity, and she clung to this lifeline with a determined fierceness. Why would something that lived in a cave look so much like an aquatic creature? Why would it need such small tentacles surrounding its mouth, when it had perfectly functional arms?

The robed monster landed on the edge of the cliffside, burbling to itself as it advanced smoothly. It was curious, poking at her brain, trying to understand why she wasn’t waiting as she had been told to do. Why she continued to fight even now, when she understood there was no escape.

Strength before weakness.

Shallan growled. She had precious little stormlight left, but she breathed it in anyway, her skin and eyes bursting forth in a luminous glow that outshone her lantern several times. The creature reeled backwards in surprise, wiggling fingers moving to shield its eyes. At the same time, she could feel its influence on her mind knocked free by the Storm’s power coursing through her being. She needed to seize this chance.

“You’ve made a mistake, monster.” She spoke with a feigned authority, burying her fear in a Radiant-like declaration, “You will not keep me here within the darkness!”

The squid-faced being straightened up, continuing to shield it’s eyes from her brilliance. It burbled something at her, and she felt the mental presence return, this time not as a dominance, but as an emissary. Warily, she listened.

An exchanging of values, a deal being struck. The images and impressions forming in Shallan’s mind and dissipating just as quickly. A service performed, a trifling betrayal. The creature wanted her to do something for it, something those above would object to, but she owed them nothing. A lifting of mists, a beautiful sight. The task would be to her benefit. It could provide her with protection from the… this part was still unclear, even with the telepathic link…. The mind-death? She had little to gain from refusal, and much to gain from agreement.

And the mental impression was gone again. The creature waited, its’ tentacled face too removed from human to read any sort of emotion or expression. It seemed to be waiting for her to answer.

Shallan… I have revised my assessment… this being is indeed dangerous…. Pattern buzzed uncertainly in her mind.

I know Pattern.

But she didn’t exactly have a lot of options.

“I’ll do it.”