Нова Проспект / Nova Prospect: Good l_ck, yo_ are f_cked (Эредин)

Good l_ck, yo_ are f_cked (Eredin)

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 17:35

* * *

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 17:35

//Eredin.

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 17:36

Eredin struggled between oblivion and reality - as much as the rippling, searing pain would allow. Visions flashed before his eyes: the green towers of Tir na Lia, glowing gold in the setting suns, the sprawling terraces, the wide streets, the grass, and trees, evergreen as in spring. The cool waters of Easnadh, in which the stars glittered at night like bonfires.

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 21:50

Everything he swore to protect.

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 21:50

//"Eredin," the familiar voice called again.

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 21:52

He dreamed of two sparkling orbs on an ivory pedestal. They swirled in a fanciful dance, and with each spin, the back of his head cracked more and more.

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 21:53

//"Inserted metal into their bodies, created mechanical servants," came the echo of a phrase I had once heard. - Destroyed all those sensitive to magic..."

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 21:58

In the haze of sleep, the image of Caranthir appeared. The mage had no strength for more than scattered thought-forms; the torture had devastated him. He tossed the glowing orbs, and they hovered in the air. One hand in a dainty glove, the other... An ugly iron outgrowth. The same as the dh'oine that leaped into the void. The same as the jailer's. Sparks ran across the polished surface.

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 21:58

//"Zireael... Bring Zireael to them," Caranthir barely moved his thin lips. - I will try to open the gate to the Spiral."

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 21:58

Even with the help of the Elder Blood, it can't be done alone. He can't risk the best mages of the Alder Folk to...

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 21:59

"Что у него, блядь, за нейроактивность? (The fuck is wrong with his brainwaves?)" a barking male voice interrupted the vision. "Въеби ему электричеством. (Give him a fucking jolt.)"

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 22:04

Less than a moment later, an icy needle stabbed into his temple. Eredin barely kept from gagging, bent in half, gulping for air.

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 22:00

...No. He's willing to sacrifice the entire Council to save Aen Elle from those things. Including himself.

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 22:08

Eredin came to his senses and realized he was in the same place where he had tried to cover his eyes for a few moments, a metal and stone hangar, an uncomfortable room made of straight lines. Rage came up to his throat like a choking sensation. It was a tremendous effort of will to suppress it. He must keep a cool head. He was in a cage because of his imprudence.

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 22:52

Yelena leaned over the glossy black surface, on which multicolored waves danced. A man with a beastly grin stood beside her, his arms crossed over his chest in a disproportionately huge grin. Despite his demonic appearance, there was something disgustingly human about the grin.

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 22:57

Both of them didn't raise their eyes.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.24 в 10:35

If they really don't wield magic... Then the creatures from the Gate of dh'oine will be hard to deal with, and what comes after them will make their world go numb with terror and then scream. He'd like a fair war better than the destructive magic that rots interdimensional space - but to go up against nine billion souls, he'd need a couple of decades to prepare.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.24 в 10:40

Eredin heard the light rustle of footsteps on the stone floor. The elf came to his senses sharply when he saw the man who had entered: bare muscles, covered by light armor, sticking out as if the man had been skinned alive. The lower limbs ended in split hooves. Helena and the amban stretched out like a string at the sight of him.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.24 в 10:41

Eredin couldn't believe it wasn't a demon, and he couldn't resist the temptation to take a closer look at the creature. //"Human," he urged himself, trying to recognize something human in this strange creature, /"just human./ In the corners of his eyes, he saw a faint spider's webbing. It was easier to breathe.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.24 в 10:41

"Только что получил сообщения. Эльф не ошибся. (Just got the message. Elf was right)," the man strode across the hangar with wide strides; his hooves glided silently across the floor. "Хостел в даунтауне Шанхая. Полное визуальное совпадение. (Hostel in Shanghai downtown. Full visual match)."

Camrad_RIP 14.03.24 в 10:53

An invisible puppeteer pulled the strings, and Eredin had no choice but to follow them. How had they agreed to do this to themselves? How could the flesh recover from such barbaric intervention without healing magic?

Camrad_RIP 14.03.24 в 10:42

The voices were drowned out by the noise of the machine's mill-like rotating blades. The space inside was too damn small; Eredin had no idea how this rickety structure was supposed to get them anywhere.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.24 в 10:43

He tried to clutch at the rail as the machine heaved and shook as if it were about to collapse, but the invisible ties held him fast. It's a tricky thing for a people who don't know the art of portals.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.24 в 10:43

"How old are you?" The leader enunciated the words as if he doubted his, Eredin's, mental capacity.

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 22:58

That's the kind of thing people have always been interested in. They age quickly and ugly - childbearing, disease, the stuff they call food. Eredin tried to answer, but his tongue wouldn't move. He glanced at Yelena.

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 23:00

"Three hundred," he said with difficulty. His numb larynx refused to obey.

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 23:01

The man gave him a cold stare, leaning back.

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 23:06

"Are you interbreeding with us?" And, apparently deciding that the word "interbreed" was too complicated, he clarified: "Offspring?"

Camrad_RIP 14.03.24 в 10:44

Why would he be interested in that, and who does he mean by "us"...?

Camrad_RIP 14.03.24 в 10:44

"With whom, the humans?"

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 21:57

"No, with fucking unicorns," the brute said with a snicker.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.24 в 10:45

What? Unicorns are more averse to interspecies bonding than Aen Elle.

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 22:09

"Barrett," the leader cut him off, "don't ask questions you don't want to know the answers to. With the humans, elf."

Camrad_RIP 14.03.24 в 10:45

" interbreeding?" A shiny bling was enough to get their women into bed, and in military campaigns, one had to make do with little. All the more reason to find a certain charm in the young dh'oine, the beauty of one-time butterflies. And there was no doubt that there were consequences of such fleeting infatuations - with human fertility, after all. But Eredin had never been interested in that.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.24 в 10:51

"If there's someone who isn't squeamish," he replied.

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 22:09

Diable, you bitch! The insolence flashed red before his eyes. Eredin prayed that the creature from the Spiral would grind Elena's bones to dust. When the man raised his palm upward, the pain subsided.

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 22:25

"We're not squeamish, don't worry," said the iron gorilla. "By the way, Namir, were there any women in their squad? Нет? Бля, прикиньте, сколько бы стоило видео. (No? Ah, shit. Imagine how much a video would cost.)"

Camrad_RIP 14.03.24 в 10:48

So he's asking about their women? For Aen Elle to voluntarily share a bed with dh'oine, much less conceive a child from such a relationship - such a disgrace has happened only a couple of times in history.

Camrad_RIP 14.03.24 в 10:48

"And what is the life expectancy of hybrids?" Namir continued, ignoring the jeering.

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 23:07

Eredin doubted the creepy curiosity was motivated by lust; it smelled of something... medical, something laboratory. Tortured by a bad suspicion, he downplayed the number in his mind:

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 22:24

"A hundred and something."

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 22:12

The man was silent for a few moments before turning to his companions:

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 22:13

"Потрясающе. Генетически совместимая молодость - натуральная, без аугментации. Время вкладывать бабки в Тай Юн, если вы еще не сделали это. (Truly fascinating. Genetically compatible longevity - all-natural, no augmentations. Time to invest cash in Tay Yun, in case you haven’t already.)".

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 22:14

The men switched tongues, discussing something with the kind of fervor with which people always discussed money, whether it was made of gold, leather, or paper. Outside the window, he could see a gigantic city, a giant city made entirely of transparent glass and black stone. A veritable anthill; the flow of people was so dense that it looked like an endless river from above.

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 22:12

Some worlds are overflowing with life breeding without measure. Drowning themselves in their seeds, cursed to multiply and multiply until they have to strangle each other in the struggle for a place under the sun.

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 22:11

The vehicle landed on the roof of one of the squat buildings, unassuming compared to the luxurious glass towers. The height of the buildings here must have something to do with prosperity.

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 22:10

Namir and his mutts seemed monstrous not only to Eredin. When they appeared, their own kin tried to dissolve, to blend into the walls. The building was swarming with soldiers and squat cyclops creatures.

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 21:55

Zireael was here. The older blood leaves behind an elusive, unique magical imprint, like the plume of a fine perfume. She was. They won't find anyone upstairs.

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 21:54

The girl behind the counter squirmed in her chair. Her pearly fingernails drummed a nervous staccato on the marble. Large, perfectly round tears rolled down her cheeks. It was unlikely she would see another dawn.

Camrad_RIP 12.03.24 в 21:54