A Foreign Realm (Mianite One-Shots)

Beyond the Void (part 2)

Blood continued to flow freely from the long gash on his hand as Mot's stomach turned over. The crimson liquid sizzled on the stones at his feet, and his insides clenched at the sound.

"Hmm." Dianite's guttural disembodied voice mused, and his wisp of a body coiled up before creeping forward. His ghostly form snaked across the ground, weaving around Mot's trembling body.

Too fascinated and scared to move, Mot watched as the ghost floated over the bloody stones, leaving clean ones in its wake. The fallen god siphoned off the oath blood, and the change was immediately apparent.

The fog thickened, condensing into a much more recognizably humanoid form. From the waist down, the god dissolved into smoke. However, from the waist up...

Mot's heart skipped a beat. He looked almost exactly the same as how he'd remembered him. Translucent, yes, and slight blurred, but it was all there... the fiery gold eyes, black hair, ruby-red skin, pearly-white horns and slightly pointed teeth.

"Dianite." He breathed.

"Yes, this is much better." The god mused, staring at his muscular forearms with the air of one coming up for air after being underwater for a very long time.

"My lord." Mot bowed his head, if only to avoid his vaguely pink face.

"So... Mot." Dianite said, testing the name on his spectral tongue. "I suppose I have you to thank for this?"

"I was only doing my duty, m'lord." He muttered.

"Indeed you were." A grin stretched across the god's face. It was one of a predator, cunning and crafty. It irked Mot, but he dismissed it. "...which is why I'm sure this won't be the last time I require your services."

"Mot!" Country Bat cried, clinging to the warrior as he emerged from the portal.

"Oh hey there Batsy." Mot replied tiredly.

"Guess what? I made a friend!" She said, enthusiasm unwavering. "You know Mianite? He's a nice man now!"

"That's... that's nice, Batsy." The exhausted soldier replied, running a hand through his hair, watching as flakes of ash fell to the ground.

"Where've ya been, Mot?" She said, grinning up at him with a gap-toothed smile. "Haven't seen ya around for a while." For a fraction of a second, her smile wavered. She glanced away. "Haven't seen ya much at all, really."

Mot's heart squeezed as he gently pried her off. "I've been busy." He said, hoping that that sub-par explanation would satisfy her. It didn't, of course, and the curious girl followed

"You and Sparks both." She pouted. "It's just been me and Jeriah..." She trailed off. "He's been quiet recently though."

Mot cared, he really did, and Country Bat knew that. He'd always make time for her, even when he was swamped with work or recovering from a particularly demanding quest. So when he finally turned her away without so much as a second glance, she knew something was wrong.

Despite her youth, County Bat was neither innocent nor oblivious. Sold by her parents into a contract with Mianite when she was barely old enough to walk, she'd grown up learning how to avoid and outsmart hardened warriors like Jeriah.

At first, she did her best to keep a polite distance from Mot. Instead, she observed from a distance as he went about his business. She took careful note of the always-bloody bandage he kept wrapped around his hand at all times. She observed silently as he vanished through the portal for increasingly lengthy stretches of time, each time returning a little paler than before.