12 Miles Below

Captain Sagrius stood at attention, all four Winterscar knights behind him. They’d arrived first after we sent out meetup coordinates, escorting Kidra who brought with her a backpack that looked more like a large sack to abduct people. Which was kind of the point, given that the two of us were planning on using it exactly for that reason: Stuffing Wrath in a sack.

She tossed it on the ground, wasting no time opening up the string.

I eyed the sack. “Could have picked a better color, this clashes with my theme you know. And is she really going to fit in there? Looks a little on the small side.”

“Dear brother.” My extremely kind and generous older sister said, “I had to get this at the last possible second - all while organizing the house knights to recover all your workshop equipment, in the middle of a city wide call to evacuate. If you say another word, I’m afraid there may be violence.” She turned her head to the Winterscar knights behind her. “And would you look at this, there doesn’t seem to be any witnesses.”

The knights behind her had an unusual amount of additional equipment in addition to the rifles and ammunition carried on the hoversleds behind them. They also shared a quick look between each other, before nodding solemnly to the Winterscar Prime.

Bunch of traitors, can't ever get good minions these days. And speaking of the devils, Captain Sagrius stepped forward before me with a curt salute, then waved over the equipment the knights had recovered from my workshop before leaving.

The list was depressingly short.

"I notice most of my gear and trinkets are missing." I said, a sinking feeling in my gut. "They didn't fall off on the way did they?"

"My lord, we could only carry the complete prototypes with us." The good captain said. "Your experimental items had to be left behind, and standard operational doctrine demanded that we destroy anything left behind. No hiding location was deemed secure enough for these relics. Lady Winterscar's clothing items are of lower priority and could be left behind for future recovery."

I gave the captain a nod, knowing it was all for the ultimate best in the end, and turned to complain about it to Kidra. "When did hiding things under the bed no longer make the cut in security? Nobody told me about this change, I'm lodging a formal complaint the moment we're back on solid snow. Swear to the gods. The House Prime is going to hear about all this."

"Objections noted, and will be put under careful review." Kidra said, rolling her eyes.

Shaking my head at the injustice of the world, I brought Wrath’s cradled shell over to the sack and started to consider the logistics here. It was probably large enough to fit her up to her head, so long as we rolled her up into a ball. We’d just gotten started on stuffing the Undercity’s de facto supreme royal monarch into the sack when the original twenty clan knights following Atius arrived from different directions all within minutes of each other.

They were very professional and didn’t ask any weird questions like ‘What the three gods are you doing with that girl?’ And we didn’t need to tell them excuses like ‘It’s not what it looks like, well, kind of, but there’s nuance’

Windrunner walked up to Lord Atius’s side, technically second in command now that the whole army had assembled, and then gave us a pointed look. Likely expecting an explanation for all this because I admit first impressions don't make us look like the good guys.

Lord Atius followed behind with weary steps. “We’ll wait for the Shadowsongs whelps to arrive and then I’ll brief you all. No doubt you’re all confused at the mass evacuation orders that were sent into the city a moment ago.”

Windrunner nodded. “Sir. Given the orders, I assume we’ve been made?”

“In a manner of speaking.” Atius said, turning to the gathered group. Seven to ten knights was the standard for an underground expedition. We had gone way over that number. This many clan knights all gathered together in one spot? There’s only one reason and it’s shortly before a full on war against another clan or an Othersider encampment.

It gave an ominous feeling. And maybe the pair of Winterscars working hard on stuffing a girl into a slightly too small sack in the background might have added to it. Can’t really tell since I spent the time mostly hissing at my sister for bringing a kevlar sack. Wrath’s wing feathers were gods damned pointy. And the broken sections constantly got caught in the material.

“I needed something resistant, and I couldn’t find a strong enough metal box correctly sized with back straps in time.” Kidra hissed back. "I had five minutes to find this and go. You try to do this feat in that short amount of time in the middle of complete chaos." In the process of shoving Wrath into the sack, a few metal feathers were bent. Wrath did not appreciate this.

“Please desist from causing my shell further damage. This will increase the repair time needed.” Wrath said over the soul bridge between us, using Journey’s external speakers, with its permission. Her violet eyes were the only thing we’d managed to get working after I’d tried to manually reboot some parts of her system while we'd been waiting. Mild success. Hoping for more, but there's a limit to what I could do, even with relic armor gloves keeping my hands steady.

Optical systems were a good first step, not too integrated into all the tiny bits in her head. Maybe if I had more time I could fix up some of the damaged wiring inside her shell. Feathers were built with far too many redundant systems. All I needed was to pick the least damaged one and make sure at least one thing was connected. Even her soul fractal seemed to be connected to adaptive circuitry. If I had enough time, I might even be able to hook up her arms and legs to route through those. She wouldn't be able to use them with any finesse as she told me, and walking was out of the question - but it was possible for her to try to move them manually.

The real killing issue here was that heat damage was extra effective. It hit everything at about the same rate. So while all those redundant features made Feathers excellent at shrugging off pinpoint strikes, area of effect hits did a number on them. Most of her body I could probably fix up into working condition so long as she directed me. None of those would fix the small circuitry inside her head that let her use all of this with any kind of skill.

“This is your fault for making your wingtips pointy.” Kidra shot back at our captive. “Even shut down and unmoving, I’m amazed you’re still capable of making life miserable for all of us. Keith taught you too much."

"My wings fit particular ascetics. It was necessary for them to be pointy." She said, completely serious. Given she was a Feather, I actually believed she really meant every word of that.

Kidra did too, one hand snatching Wrath's cheek and pinching it up and down. "All of this will be fixed up at the mite forge yes? What does it matter if I bend and break a few more fingers.”

“That’s a steep upgrade from feathertips. You seem a little miffed.” I remarked, gleefully adding more fuel into the fire.

“I had some excellent patterns and colors I intended to bring back to the surface. Now, it’s unlikely I’ll get those back until the later expedition to loot the city.” She said, giving Wrath a particularly hard shove into the sack. Violet eyes glared back at her in response.

“You are planning to loot my city?” She said, angry about all the wrong things in this picture.

Kidra turned her helmet in my direction. “Why is she even active? I thought you mentioned she was unconscious in the message.”

“She’s afraid of the dark.” I said with a shrug.

“I am not afraid of the dark.” Wrath said, violet eyes indigent. She couldn’t move any of her facial features yet. But despite the neutral look, I could tell she’d be glaring at me if she could. “Besides. This is not the dark, I simply lose consciousness. There is a debatable difference.”

I turned up to Kidra. “Like I said, she’s afraid of the dark and wants me to hold her hand. It’s a little adorable. Also, I think we need to restart, maybe if we tried rolling her up outside the sack first.” I pointed at part of a tangle starting to happen.

“A Feather is not afraid of the dark!” Wrath said while Kidra lifted her out.

My sister gave me a pointed look.

“Fine,” I huffed. “I’ll be serious. Her soul fractal is active so long as a soul tendril connects. It looks like without her shell working, artificial souls fade. I don’t know if it’s permanent or just temporary. We know she can last at least an hour while in that deep sleep, since that’s how long it took us to get to her. Maybe contact with another living being is enough to keep the concept of herself alive. After a bit of begging from her, I decided to be magnanimous and keep her company.”

Wrath seethed. “That is factually incorrect and you know it, human.”

“Fine fine, let me rephrase that. After a bit of dignified begging from her, I de--”

"Slander." She interrupted, glaring at me. "Feathers do not beg."

My sister turned her gaze in my direction. “Perhaps we are being a little too rough, she has lost almost all of her body and is currently being shoved into a sack.”

“Counterpoint, we are Winterscars.” I said, raising a finger.

Kidra hummed and nodded. “Fair point, continue.”

“Right. Now as I was saying, a terrifying machine of mass destruction is clearly not scared of the dark. And it would be ridiculous of me to insinuate that, of course. She just appreciates that I’m holding her hand like this through a tough time.”

“Exactly.” Wrath said as we got her feet into the sack and brought her head back out. I had to hold her by the armpits and lift her up so that we could properly aim her down. “We do not know the full effects of leaving an artificial soul disconnected from a neural network for extended periods of time. Keeping me awake and aware is the preferred course of action.”

“I understand.” Kidra said, turning again to me as we lowered her into the sack. “Congratulations dear brother, it seems we've successfully abducted a stray. ”

“You okay with us bringing her back into our House?” I said. "I know you've had some history with her. The stabbing kind."

“So long as she doesn’t have fleas, I’m sure she’ll fit in with the House. With some of the fabrics I’ll loot from her city, I may even sow her a nice dress. Perhaps a uniform. Black and white, with frills and a tiara. Very traditional. Fitting end for what she put me through.”

Violet eyes stared daggers back at Kidra, but Wrath smartly decided to remain close lipped at the provocation of having her city looted in any way.

“Capra’Nor will be an empty ghost town within a day, and quite a lot of resources are being left behind.” Kidra continued, baiting the silent feather lurking in the sack. “Resources the clan could use. Once the Otherside hears of the evacuation, they’ll come searching to pick the city’s bones regardless. I don’t intend to let them have first take.”

That finally got her. “That is my city you intend to loot, I won it by conquest! It's mine! The equipment, gear, people and food are all mine by right.”

“Kidra, I think we made a mistake.” I said, wagging a finger within biting distance at the half-filled sack with violet eyes glowing inside, staring angrily back at me. “Look at how greedy she is about her loot. Typical spider behavior rather than a stray cat, if my machine guide is correct.”

"I've learned only some lessons on handling machines." Kidra said, bringing one of Wrath's feathers up for inspection. "How much force do you believe would be required to snap one of these? This seems like important information to know, we should run a few experiments."

While they weren’t connected to anything, there was still a magnetic field of some kind that was active and making them resistant to being bullied around. All part of regular Feather's stupid amounts of independent systems, all built to continue functioning even in the face of extreme damage.

The spider in question sputtered a few half-thought out words, before pausing. A slow blink in the darkness of the sack. “… I admit your analysis is correct that it would make more sense to… to loot my city on a return trip in the future.” She spat out the word loot as if she’d been forced by gunpoint to cooperate. Which wasn’t too far from the truth.

“And?” Kidra asked, tapping another obstructing wingtip.

“...And I am allowing my older nature to resurface. Slightly.” Wrath said, sulking further into her soul fractal, glowing eyes looking away. “I know you worked hard on your textiles Kidra, I regret that they weren’t deemed critical enough to bring with you. If I had bought the city a few more days, you would have been able to carry those to your residence.”

Kidra stopped, gauntlet looking like it was about to bend another pointy bit. “It matters not. I’ll be sure to recover them on a second expedition, another time.” She folded the metal feather more gently, pushing it into the broken wing in the right place. “Besides, the majority of the textiles I wanted, I’ve already incorporated into my armor.”

My sister had added a few touches on the otherwise barren and unpainted look of the Winterscar armor that Father had kept clean and uncluttered for the past lifetime. Relic armor could easily tear away cloth as if it were a sheet of window ice, so it didn’t matter too much what she added or if it could get caught in anything. Against moving four hundred pound metal, few things would hold it back.

She wasn’t exactly wearing a typical kimono, but the armor looked about as close to that as possible, with parts of the cloth cleverly cut to look as if it were all under the plate.

“It looks--” Father said and then wisely stopped midway. "Nevermind. I meant nothing of note."

Being a stout traditionalist, Father had never adorned the armor with any kind of trinkets beyond the sigils of the House. Kidra did not care to continue that legacy. She slowly looked down at the necklace she wore, as if daring the old ghost to make another comment. “Go on.” She said, voice sounding awfully sweet. “Do remember, I quite liked the lacy patterns with Winterscar blood red. I could return to the city to fetch it. It is, after all, my armor now. I can do as I wish with it.”

“That’s a trap.” I said, warning Father while I shifted Wrath inside the sack to bring her head out as a last step.

“...Do as you like. It's no longer my concern.” Father tutted, turning back to his meditation. He understood Kidra and I had absolutely no reservations on working together. We could be at each other's throats one second, before immediately barking down a newcomer with no pause. He was fair game like Wrath, since both of them couldn't lift a finger to stop us now.

He didn’t need to say more, Ankah and the Shadowsong minions appeared, holding a standard sprint as they covered ground. They’d even brought all their collected weapons, and a hoversled behind them with more ammunition and rations. In moments, they reached our little gathering spot and took position in the lineup.

We’d finally gotten all of Wrath’s body correctly stuffed snuggly into the sack, with half her head poking out. Knees raised to her chest and arms hugging her sides, with the wingparts all safe from cutting the kevlar. Journey had no trouble lifting the sack into position while Kidra tightened the straps to keep the sack hands-free. She gave the Feather a pat on the head when it was all done.

Lord Atius took a step forward, and the knights all turned attention to him.

“Expedition team, mission briefing is as follows. Approximately two hours prior, an enemy Feather approached the city attempting to gather intel on To’Aacar’s defeat and location. Lady To’Wrathh departed in an attempt to stall. Negotiations broke down, and the only option was to engage in a ‘friendly spar’ with the Feather, aiming to destroy her. This worked with mixed results. During the fight with this Feather, Lady To’Wrathh sustained fatal damage to her systems and is currently mostly offline. Fortunately, she was able to eliminate the opposing Feather, granting the Undersiders a stay of execution. That Feather will be back, and the amount of time the city has before the machines discover their true allegiance is likely measured in hours now, hence the immediate evacuation orders.”

Behind the group, I could see the twinkling city lights of the pillar. A massive snake of lights were moving out of the gatehouse, spreading into thinner lines the further along the path they went. The city had steadily been evacuating over the past week, with enormous groups leaving every other hour. I thought those were large crowds. This made it all look like tiny expeditions in comparison.

Most would have to journey on foot, with a few soldiers to serve as guards. Transports were all taken up, or still returning back from the last deposit. Our knights had to really fight to bring the few hoversleds we had, packed with provisions.

It would be arduous for the people leaving, the voyage lasting days if not weeks of traveling through unclaimed territory. General Zaang was busy securing important items and projects for his own personal convoy, such as To’Aacar’s broken shell that his war scientists were still slowly studying.

The machines in the city would be filtering out later, rejoining and hiding among the larger ranks. Perhaps their shared experience would curb the bloodthirsty monsters that lay past the sectors To’Wrathh had controlled.

Lord Atius watched with the rest of us at the distant parade. Old eyes grew hard. “What comes next does not involve the clan. And I do not speak as the clan lord, only as a Deathless.

We need To’Wrathh back online. However, the damage To'Wrathh sustained is too delicate for conventional repairs. And given her status as a machine traitor, it is very likely that this may be the last time a mite forge is left unguarded as the machines sound the alarm and begin to hunt after her. I aim to escort Keith to the nearest one, where he’ll assist in the recovery. Once minimum repairs are complete, we will depart straight for the surface rendezvous point. As the first known Feather to turn against the machines, she may play a critical part to stabilizing some kind of peace underground. One thing I need to make clear - this is not the clan’s business. As far as our home expects of us, we should return to the surface to help against the invasion, not run headfirst against a machine army. The clan is my home, my people. But Deathless are called to do more. I am compelled to see this through.”

No murmurs among the group. The knights all stood ramrod straight, watching the clan lord, waiting. They knew he wasn’t done yet.

“Those of you who serve the clan first, I will understand if your choice is to return now. I’ll give an oath upon my name that I shall not hold your decision against you once I return to the clan. The next pickup at the rendezvous location is in five days, if you go now at full sprint, you should reach the evac zone with a day to spare for the unexpected.”

The clan lord turned to scan the rest of the knights, age and wisdom in his gaze. “I have a good idea of who can come and who cannot. If you cannot, you know who you are. Go in peace. You’ve honored your vow by coming down here in the first place, and more even by staying and helping the Undersiders in their time of need. More isn’t expected from any of you.”

His head turned to stare down one knight in particular, giving him a slow nod. The knight stared back, then saluted and took a step backwards. “Forgive me, m’lord. I have too much at stake, my fam-”

Atius raised a hand, pausing the knight's speech. “Targon, lad, I know you and your situation back home. You have nothing to apologize for. Shelby needs you with that little hellion of yours. This mission is optional, unlike ending To’Aacar’s threat to the clan. A call to action, not duty.”

Four knights shuffled their feet, glanced at each other, and took a step back out of the line, joining the first knight. Three others followed shortly after.

All five Winterscar knights stood their ground, helmets locked on me. I had a feeling they were going wherever I was, and nobody could tell them otherwise.

Oddly enough, Ankah and her minions remained in the lineup, arms crossed over their chest as if this whole thing was beneath their notice. Atius glanced in her direction, raising an eyebrow, saying nothing otherwise.

It looked like there was nobody else leaving the lineup. Thirteen of the clan knights remained, with seven having backed out. Atius raised a hand, calling attention again.

“There is more. You all need to know the dangers that are waiting for us. Else your decision isn’t informed. If danger appears, it is likely to be far worse than a standard expedition. Expected enemies are any of the known machine variants, and possibly three Feathers if we’re not fast enough to get to this forge before the machines discover the deception. Two are of unknown abilities and one with semi-revealed ones. Sending the info package on what we know of To’Sefit now.” There was a heavy tilt in his voice on this as all our HUD received the info package, opening it up to detailed specs we’d learned from talking to Wrath.

“Normally, it takes a team of Deathless working together to wear one down a single Feather. Against three, with access to an army... if the worse comes to happen it will be… a difficult fight at best, even with our equipment and abilities. A group of Feathers working together aren’t uncommon on the lower strata, rather they’re infamous. They’re sent when Deathless get too far deep into the machine world and the machines want them stopped. Lads, I’ll be straight with you all, I haven’t heard of a Deathless team that survived past that point. It’s typically known as the end of any expedition when Feathers are mobilized as a group. The goal at that point is to hold off the Feathers while any mortals among the expedition attempt to escape.”

The group of knights didn’t stir nor question anything.

Atius nodded, as if expecting this from his elites. “That said, there hasn’t been a Deathless team composed of more than ten, we’re too spread out from one another to gather like this. Usual teams are three to four, typically with support of Imperial Crusaders. Right now there are nineteen of us assembled here. All of you have access to equipment and techniques that put you on par with a Deathless, or even above them depending on your skills and experience. The raw firepower this expedition has far outstrips even a full legion of Imperials. The challenge isn’t insurmountable. This is likely the first time in centuries that a group of Feathers is under threat of being beaten. It is, however, almost assuredly going to be deadly, which is one thing Deathless have on mortals. We can go in again and again, undying. You only have one life to give.”

We were glass cannons in this case. Capable of dealing more damage than Deathless, but not capable of taking the same hits.

“The songs of a band of heroes diving into the heart of the enemy and returning all unscathed are just that - songs. Reality is harsh and rarely forgiving.

We came down here to hunt down and kill a single wounded Feather, equipped with twice the number expected to ensure we won. It was necessary, and we’d brought as much as we could to mitigate the risks.

Now, things have changed. All of you need to turn and ask your mirror - is your death something your House can afford? The safe route is still there, waiting behind you.” At that, he turned knowing eyes to the Shadowsongs.

They remained in the lineup, stubborn. Insead, two other clan knights had their shoulder slump down, and each took a step back.

Windrunner, standing next to Lord Atius, was giving a death stare at one of the knights that was still among the lineup. That knight looked as if he was being raked over the coals. Likely a private comms chat between the two. A moment later, the knight gave a small nod, and took a step back.

“Shadowsong.” Atius said, eyes still focused on the trio. “All the knights assembled here are among the elite warriors of our clan. Veterans, one and all. They’ve spent years training in armor. You three have only gained armor recently. While I have no doubt that you possess the courage to come with us, you lack the experience yet. Go live to fight another day.”

Ankah and her minions still stood their ground, with the spoiled princess outright glaring back at the clan lord. “When the city was under siege by that Feather, Kidra shared the Winterblossom technique with us all. She has the same experience and time with her armor as we have. We can, and will, match her blade. House Shadowsong will not suffer to be cowed or judged a lesser.”

“Lass, consider that wisely. Pride often finds itself misplaced, more so in youth. Your father wouldn’t handle news of your death well. If you go with the retreating knights here, it’s guaranteed you’ll return safe to the surface.”

“I said what I said, it is unbecoming of a Shadowsong to withdraw words spoken. I am a full member of the clan, with all the rights that attend to that rank, including independence.” Ankah said, turning her helmet to stare at Kidra for a moment. “Should I die in this mission of yours, then record these words to my Father - I upheld the honor of our noble House. I am no craven coward hiding behind the shadows of others.”

Atius leveled his stare and held it for a moment. Ankah didn't back down. “So be it lass." He finally said with a sigh. "I can’t afford to turn down three more blades at our side. Not for a mission like this. And all whelps must eventually grow their own wings. The Winterblossom technique puts you on par with most veteran knights already.”

We all turned to look north, where General Zaang had sent us coordinates for the nearest mite forge the city knew about.

A place listed as the flooded temple of Ordritz, and the hollow forest that stretched around it.

Next chapter - The Temple

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