"Who are you, and what the fuck are you talking about?" Stella asked sharply of the man who had emerged from behind the cages with the three others.

"Ask your friend," he replied, unfazed by her attitude. The man was tall, looking down at us, neither condescending nor oozing with arrogance, but still exuding authority - not a High Commander, according to the stripes on his shoulders, but an outright Grand Commander. From what Traiana told us, only the Marshals were above him.

"I asked Rairok what happens to people who surrender to the will of - the darkness," I explained to Stella, unsure of what to actually call the darkness and subconsciously snarling at the man.

"Ah...so their brains get fried? Great."

The man, looking us over, examining us, nodded. "Not a fine death, not a fine sight - brains leaking out of nose and ears."

"Well, thanks for telling us," Stella said, a little paler after hearing that. "... but you still haven't answered me who you are, sir."

The man looked at her, considering her sterling manners. "Grand Commander Maignes of the Silver Order, Intelligence - and you are Stella Palemoon, an alleged member of Dia Eichenralke." It wasn't a question. He read it off the paper his aide had given him.

"Do you have a problem with that, sir?"

"That remains to be seen," Grand Commander Maignes said, his eyes on me. I was ready for the questions, but they never came. He just stared at me, silently. 

Was he trying to rattle me? If so, it worked.

"What?" I asked when I couldn't stand it anymore.

"Korra Grey, also allegedly a member of Dia Eichenralke. A human originally, it seems, claimed to have been struck by the curses..."

"About that..."

"Stop, I haven't finished. The curses that give her the appearance of a beastwoman. According to the scouts, able to sense any sight on her person, regardless of their abilities. And, apparently, the presence of a five-star beast. Not to mention her ability to speak their tongue."

Without the system in this era, they had no concept of levels. Instead, they rated strength with stars, with one star corresponding to about one hundred levels.

"That was incredible," the diminutive, bespectacled man standing behind Grand Commander Maignes spoke with immense passion. "I have never heard Rairok speak so openly to a stranger."

"Or with such patience," said the woman standing beside him. "He even seemed amused and happy." 

Beast talkers, I guessed.

"And he praised you for your tongue. Is that something that came with the curses, or did you learn it yourself - if so, before or after?" asked the male beast talker.

The Grand Commander's serious mask cracked, showing his annoyance with the two. "There will be a time to ask that; but it is not now."

"Why not? Don't you want to know?" the woman argued.

"Of course - but don't you think there are more important things to find out from our Eichenralke friends than that first?" Seeing that he had finally silenced the two, he turned his attention back to us. "I must applaud you both."

"What for - sir?" I asked, his sarcasm not lost on me.

"For forcing me to deal with you sooner than I had intended."

There was no denying that I wasn't happy at the prospect of things finally moving forward. Yet some clarification was in order. "That was not the intention - sir," I argued, trying to be polite in Stella's manner. 

"I gathered as much. Leaving aside how many knights you gave a good fright in their sleep, I found the reports of your dealings with the 'darkness', as you call it, most intriguing."

"Intriguing? You said you saw what it did to people," Stella pointed out that they knew what could happen to us here - we could get our brains fried - in my case, if I was lucky.

"However, you are indeed correct. I have read many accounts and witnessed myself no less instances of both humans and beasts confronting the 'darkness'. However, never have I seen someone thwart it from entering their mind while still struggling to resist the beast's howls."

"It spoke through them," I tried to explain.

"The same shit happened to Cordell, Cordell Pon Kurkav - you know that beast talker from Wroifross," said the male beast talker.

"Oh, him," the female beast talker nodded. "Poor guy. What he heard the beast say was too much for him. It led him to ..."

"Of course, I know about him - and other beast talkers who got too close to the front. The reason why this is as close as you will ever get to the tainted beasts."

"If you knew, how could you let us be locked up here?" said Stella angrily, forgetting the correct address.

"Not my decision," the Grand Commander Maignes said sternly, his voice ringing in my ears. "However, not a poor one. It serves to show who has the will to stand at the front lines. Isn't that where you wanted to get to?"

"It is," Stella admitted.

"Then you can be glad they threw you in here. The quickest way to prove you're up to it. And believe me, it's even worse up there. If you don't have the will, you're screwed and essentially a liability to others."

"So, we’ve proven ourselves, and we can go?" It was worth a shot to ask.

He smirked at my question. "Nice try, but no way. Putting you next to our men right now would risk their lives as well as yours. I suppose, according to your statement, you want to do your honor and not die - somewhere on the battlefield?"

"That's right, sir," Stella nodded. "We're ready to fight."

"That's where you're wrong. You're not. You will be when I say you are, do you understand?"

I looked at Stella, feeling a twinge of anxiety in the pit of my stomach. This was it; we were at last one step closer to our goal.

"I said, do you understand?"

""Yes, sir.""

"Good. Then you will surely understand that there is no point in continuing our little interview at this foul hour." 

I drew in a breath to protest, but he stopped me with a flick of his hand. "Nevertheless, I would like to clarify a few things before I retire back to my tent. First of all, help me; I can't quite place your thick accent. Is that Waterminster Valley or Tryentingye Planes?"

'Shit!' The moment I heard the question, I hit my mind with [Indomitable Will] again. The very crude trick to keep my shit together - and kind of curb my body language. 

"Cresleche Highlands - Linemell Village," Stella said our prepared answer, to which the Grand Commander Maignes raised his eyebrows.

"Both?"

"Yes, sir," I nodded.

"I see the Cresleche Highlands. They were overrun more than a decade ago. You must have been quite young when the beasts destroyed your village."

"And they killed many we knew," Stella added. "We've stuck together ever since."

"Oh, really?" Grand Commander wondered. "So you were together when this human, a man I assume from the way you talked about him, experimented on your friend here?"

'Damn, he was good.' Luckily,  it was a detail we had thought of as well.

"Yes, sir," Stella said without hesitation.

"Could you elaborate a bit and explain to me who he was, where and how you managed to escape?"

This was where the truth, mixed with lies, came in. "Frederick Dungreen. Where I have no idea. One day someone attacked his place - beasts, men, someone else, I don't know - we took a chance and jumped into the sewers below the place. We washed up somewhere on the banks of the river. As you can imagine, we didn't look back too much and just ran."

Grand Commander Maignes nodded. "Indeed, I can imagine - believe it or not, that's another story. However, it might help if you could enlighten me as to why you, Palemoon, seem untouched, unlike your friend.

"I was too young then."

"The practitioner of banned studies with a conscience?"

That was a rather bizarre way to call the madman.

"He wanted to wait until I got older, sir."

"Reasonable, while sometimes children can be more malleable, they don't endure as much." The ease with which Grand Commander Maignes spoke of it sent a shiver down my spine. He seemed almost unmoved by the idea of experimenting on children. "Well, I can believe that - for now. And as for you, the not-beastwoman, what can I expect from you? Can you turn into a five-star beast?"

"No, sir. It's just my presence. The result of a strange combination of all the beasts whose blood flows through my veins."

"Shame. We could use a beast like that in our ranks. Rairok isn't much of a fighter, you see."

"Isn't it dangerous for the beasts there, sir?" Stella pointed out something we had been told several times, and he had mentioned himself.

"...or shifters like me?" I added.

"Oh, so you are indeed one."

I knew what he was getting at. "One, not much stronger in my beast form than I am now."

"That - remains to be seen. The same goes for your individual strength. One-star warriors, at least as I see it. How experienced? That is questionable and something we will have to find out in the morning."

"In the morning? Wait, you're leaving us here - until morning?" I blurted out, horrified at the thought of spending the rest of the night among these tainted beasts.

"You got that right. Think of it as a test, a way to convince me that you have what it takes. I simply need to see if you can truly face your inner nightmares."

"Then, at least Stella," I said. She didn't have to brave the rain here together with me, watching over my sorry ass.

He looked into my eyes, an unexpected sorrow in his. "Sometimes it takes more will to endure seeing your friends suffer when you are helpless to do anything about it. Like I said: Convince me - and start by putting up with being here till, say, morning. Do that, and then we'll talk. Fail, and you're gonna have a fucking hard time finding your honor here. Do we understand each other?"

"Yes, sir."

While Stella was quick to agree, I gritted my teeth. "Yes - sir."

"Alright - I heard what I needed to hear. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to catch up on my sleep," he said, stopping short. "Oh, on that note - try to avoid hammering the beasts with your presence. I would hate to have my sleep - limited as it is - interrupted twice a night. Besides, if you do so, it might look good on your report." After giving us a strange hand gesture to say goodbye, he turned and walked away with his aide at his heels, dragging two protesting beast talkers by the hems of their coats behind him.

"We have so much to discuss..." 

"I don't care," the Grand Commander replied to the man, undaunted.

"Her ability..." 

"It can wait until morning," he said to the woman.

"But..."

"I don't want to hear another word."

 

***

 

We sat there in silence for a while, each of us locked in our own cage and thoughts. Even Rairok seemed to have said as much as he wanted, and neither of the other beasts bothered to start roaring again - mercifully. Thus, complete peace prevailed between the Cages.

"That went better than I thought," Stella eventually spoke up - in spite of everything that had happened, an uncanny joy in her voice. Or should I say hope? After all, it seemed that this cycle was not lost, and we still had a chance to get where we needed to go - and eventually home.

"Yeah, it did."

"That's because you fared exceptionally well," said Traiana, who finally decided to show herself. The fact that I was startled by her sudden arrival was entirely overshadowed by how pissed I was that she'd left us here to fend for ourselves. Hell, she didn't even mention that I might be attacked by the 'darkness'. So, looking at the ancient woman, I had to hold myself back from yelling at her, and consequently, from screwing up our little plan again. 

"I know I haven't been fair with you, little ones. I deserve your ire, but don't let it blind you. If I were to tell you what you're in for, you wouldn't quite understand what we've faced here and what you may face in your time. It may have been waves of beasts and monsters that destroyed our lands and killed our people, but the true enemy was not something tangible. It wasn't a powerful beast, a thousand-year-old monster, or a twisted magus, as many would wish. After all, as you know, it's easier to face an enemy you can blame and sink your blade into than it is to face your inner nightmares. That's essentially what we're facing here, and not just here, but throughout the Elea Den.”

Her voice was pained, the look in her eyes begging us for understanding and forgiveness. But did she deserve it? One look at Stella and I knew we were on the same page. Neither of us could bear to be cross with her anymore. If she had meant harm, it would have been a different story, but in her own way, she was trying to help us, to teach us.

"I still don't understand what IT is, Ella?" I eventually asked Traiana about the 'darkness'. The thing was, whenever we asked her about it before, she told us we weren't strong enough to bear the truth. However, after I cooled down and let my mind go over what I had been through, the fact that I was basically facing my inner demons didn't seem as bad as she tried to portray.

Traiana smiled, even more apologetic. "Forgive me, but I still think it's something you have to find out for yourself. My old teacher always told me that the journey is often more valuable than what awaits you once you reach your destination."

"You could ask Rairok, Korrey," Stella suggested, and she was right. What was stopping us from asking someone else? Wouldn't that be the same as asking her? Besides, how else were we supposed to find out what IT was, if not by asking? Did she want us to face it directly? I assumed that wasn't possible in this echo.

"That's perfectly fine with me, little ones. That is the journey, part of it, and Rairok is an excellent choice. He is very kind - if you get to know him and avoid angering him - and a wise beast. If he deems you fit to know, he will share his knowledge with you, and I won't object."

"Ah, you're just a guide," I whispered with a smile on my lips, finally understanding her reasons a little.

"What did you say?"

"I... I was wondering how Rairok got here in the first place," I replied to Stella as soon as I realized my mistake. "I mean, he doesn't strike me as someone who would mindlessly fight alongside hordes of other beasts."

"Indeed he is not," Traiana agreed, looking fondly in the direction of Rairok. "He approached us humans on his own. Not to attack us, though. He came here for the beasts in the cages - to help them. At least he tried to at first. Alas, he failed to do so for those who were already lost, which is true of all the beasts here. Still, he stays."

"Well, he sounded like a beast to me," Stella said, pointing out that all she could hear was a roar and nothing else. "A five-star beast, the way Grand Commander Maignes compared you to him - subtly, so I'm wondering how they can keep a beast like him in a cage."

Traiana hummed songfully. "It is possible, but Rairok is free. He has his den here, and you could even say he's one of the caretakers of this place."

‘Damn!’ That was not what I had expected. Not that I couldn't imagine facing a beast as an equal, after all, I've faced many of them, most of which I wasn't even a match for. But because of what Traiana and the Grand Commander had said: the closer the battlefront, the stronger the power of the 'darkness' and the more dangerous it was for the untainted beasts, and not just for them, for everyone. The beasts were simply more prone to yield to the darkness.

"I'd like to meet him face to face," I breathed at last, to which Stella laughed. "Not what I would do, but I know you see it differently. Maybe if we prove ourselves, they'll let you meet him."

"Or he'll come here himself," Traiana remarked, clarifying when I gave her a puzzled look. "He's not a massive beast. Regardless - whether he shows up or not - you have nothing to fear from him. What you should be worried about, little ones, is the rest of the night. It won't be quiet for much longer; it never is. So get ready, little Guardian, to face your nightmares, and you, little one, to see your friend struggling with them, unable to do anything about it."

I got goosebumps just at the thought of listening to the tainted beasts again, hoping deep down that it would be a little more bearable now that I knew what to expect and what I was in for.

It wasn't.

With nothing more to say, and as the first beast began to purr and whisper its beguiling lies to me, Traiana disappeared, leaving us to face this trial alone once more. This time I didn't blame her. It would surely bring back many painful memories for her to see me struggling while Stella could do nothing but watch helplessly.

And so, amidst the Cages full of growling, tainted beasts, we each endured our own trials, hoping that morning would come quickly.