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Alleria stood alone amongst the dirt and dust of her abandoned childhood home in the outskirts of Old Gridania. Black stains scorched the wooden floors that still seemed to shine as small glimmers of pre-dawn light filtered in through the boarded up windows of the condemned hovel. Blood and burnmarks that would never fade, seared into the spirit of this place as well as the material.
The door was barred off from the outside, no one ever meant to touch these halls again… But she’d learned long ago where she could squeeze through rotted boards so she could feel some semblance of closeness to those long gone.
The ghosts of the past still felt like they lingered here as well as in her mind as she clutched a small black crystal in her palm. This is where her mother and father had been killed. Her younger brother Lirath consumed along with them by a mistake that could never be taken back.
“This is a bad idea.” She sank a fang into her lip as she turned that crystal in her palm again, feeling the warmth of it as well as sensation of the dark knowledge within trying to press into her mind.
Lirath had summoned a voidwalker in a fit of young, overeager ignorance. To this day no one knew where he’d learned how to do it. A taurus had been called forth, too powerful for the teen to handle as it rampaged through the home and gored its summoner. Before the Twin Adder had made it, Alleria included, it had been too late for anyone left in the house.
Alleria resigned that same week, much to the sorrow of her superiors. But they understood, and provided her with an honorable discharge. Her sister Vereesa instead dug deeper into her career with the Grand Company, rising through the ranks, while Sylvanas had vanished into the woods, only sending letters as she traveled Eorzea to find something to make it all have meaning.
The eldest was the one who was still stuck in place. Mourning the tragedy. Feeling powerless against the might of the voidsent. Against those who were foolish enough to try to wield their power.
Fools that she was debating on joining, to use their own power against them.
The memory crystal in her palm was that of a Reaper. Given to her by a cloaked stranger who had heard of her history and rage. She should have turned them into the city watch, but something about them drew her in. They spoke of the darkness that had rooted in Alleria’s soul the day her family died, and that should she only learn to harness it she could make the other denizens of the void pay.
She’d taken the crystal then and there, feeling the secrets it contained. To summon a creature of the void and bind it to her will. The knowledge of how to make a pact that would give her the ability to find and lay low anyone else who was foolish enough to toy with that power.
She would fall so that others would remain safe.
That interaction had been a week ago. It had taken a week to make up her mind, and now here she was back where it all began, still not sure of her choice but going through with it anyway.
Face set in determination, Alleria clutched the gem so tight that the scythe-like edge bit into her palm. The liquid dripped down her wrist, and she chose to ignore how some of it sank into the crystal. Finally allowing the whispers in, the crystal glowed with a dark, blood colored glow. The symbol on it blazed bright crimson as memory after memory began to course through her mind.
Several lifetimes of knowledge flooded her all at once. The rise and fall of other reapers. Of their companions.
Of the power they wielded.
Alleria closed her eyes and tilted her head back, mouth open slightly at how good it felt. Extending one hand forward, she felt the echo of another doing the same, and in reaching for that power a massive scythe materialized in a rush of smoke. The handle was pitch black, seeming to be made of some kind of crystal, and the blade was a dark purple that shimmered even with minimal light.
It felt right in her hands. It didn’t look like any the previous wielders had used, and somehow she knew that a reaper’s scythe was a personal thing. An extension to the dark inside.
She slammed the butt of it into the wooded floor below, calling on the memories to reach to the void.
It was like ice dousing her veins. A never ending torrent of blades slicing her skin. A distant part of her understood right away what had happened to her brother. He had likely panicked at the pain. Pulled away from it allowing whatever monster through the small hole that was being punctured through to the realm beyond.
But Alleria was not Lirath. She was older, more life weary, and most of all determined to see this through.
“I seek a pact. The blood of my foes will be the prize of the strongest to answer my call. To one of you willing to join your power to the mortal world without fully being allowed manifestation here. Limbo that promises violence and adventure the likes of which you’ve never seen.”
Her voice echoed loudly in her own mind, reaching out into the expanse beyond. The response was immediate. An unknowable number of voices chittered and screeched as they clambered to answer her call. Shrieks of violence as they seemed to rip each other apart for a chance to be the one chosen.
Then all at once it stopped, and the image of one being solidified behind her eyelids.
It was a type of void creature she had never seen before. Humanoid, seemingly a woman, her skin a sickly pale white where it was visible. She was mostly covered in a flowing tattered gown of dark purple and black that shifted like waves and appeared to serve as her skin itself. It melded into her shoulders where dark tentacle-like appendages twitched and slithered like living pauldrons.
“What a curious mortal you are, to seek such an open pact with the darkness.”
The voice that came out of purple lips was in her mind, the face before her unmoving. It was syrupy and low, a seduction not trying to hide itself behind lies.
“You seek power. I can provide that and more, if your payment is truly such a bounty of aether and blood.”
As Alleria watched her ‘speak’, the oddities of her form began to scrape at her insides.
Where the eyes of a woman would be, instead her skin was marked with a line of blue glowing sigils etched into her face, several different symbols that vanished into a violet hairline. Those locks seemed to meld into the pauldrons at her shoulders, animated as though she were underwater.
Alleria pried her traveling gaze back to the being’s face, feeling strangely rude for her ogling but unable to help herself. Did Voidsent have feelings? Such an odd question to consider as she was on the precipice of pulling one into her world.
“You’ve fought back the others who seemed to be jumping at the chance, I take it?” Alleria’s voice wanted to shake as she thought the words to this vision, but she held it together through sheer force of will.
“Most valued their continued existence, and so they simply left you to me. I assure you, I can provide so long as you keep up your end of the bargain, Alleria Windrunner.”
This thing knowing her name should have shaken her. She went to ask the question, but the being beat her to it.
“You cut your palm there during the summoning. A dangerous venture, including your own essence. But it was what drew me to you. Blood tells stories… And stories are what I enjoy collecting.”
The entity licked her lips, and Alleria couldn’t help but watch as they sized one another up.
There were two sets of arms on her figure. One pair of them seemed to have normal skin that crossed over her chest with palms flat in a mockery of a dead body at rest. Runes like the ones over her eyes carved a trail from the backs of her hands all the way to her gown. The second pair of arms rested to her sides with a black chitin instead of regular skin. Violet veins that matched her hair glowed along these two, the same kind of lines twisting down her abdomen where it melded into the flowing material that continued down past her waist.
“I see. Well then, an accord has been reached.”
Opening her eyes, Alleria called this answering voidsent into the world where so long ago her brother had done the same. The portal rippled to life in that old, dusty wood, and slowly the full form of this being came into reality through the floor.
She had no legs. Instead her gown fluttered in a spectral breeze as she hovered in place.
Accents of a brighter color glimmered in the limited moonlight, coming from two bangles that hovered over the wrists not wrapped around herself. They did not touch her, shining gold and spiked in a material that Alleria quickly realized seemed to be like the crystalized haft of her new weapon. There was a circlet of the material also across her forehead with a shining black gem in the center.
Alleria’s breath caught. She was terrifying and alluring all in one.
A scythe that was the inverse of her own, a purple crystalized base with a menacing black blade sprang to life on her back, hovering in place behind her.
“Do not resist. It will only draw out the discomfort.”
She surged forward and entered Alleria’s body. Seeping the void into her soul, and shrouding her like a new, but not uncomfortable blanket. Alleria’s breath came out in a gasp as for just a moment, her own skin glowed in the same hue as the runes along its body.
She felt it. The power of a Reaper, ready to be called. This being slumbered in her soul, just on the line between the void and her world, nestling in like a happy animal making a home for itself. It wasn’t as uncomfortable as Alleria had anticipated. In fact there hadn’t been any discomfort at all.
That should have been something that worried her. But Alleria couldn’t bring herself to analyze it right now.
“Did you see that? In the old Windrunner home?” The voice of a man outside, muffled by the barred doors made Alleria go stiff as the blue glow died from her skin.
“Nothing is there you scaredy cat. Place has been boarded up for years now.” An older voice. Likely two passing patrolmen.
“Now is your chance to show me. I see what I need to do to get out of here silently. How do I do it?”
Shaking out her hand, she pocketed the stone now specked with her blood. A sultry laugh echoed in her mind as between her new knowledge and the voidsent, Alleria teleported out of the home without so much as a peep, appearing just outside the back wall where she could slink away into the Twelveswood unnoticed.
The wind howled through the deserted village of Hemlock, a keening lament singing out like the spirits of the people who lived there before the chill came. The Coerthas Western Highlands were particularly harsh this day, as Alleria slowly pulled apart abandoned wooden furniture to make a fire.
“We should have stayed back in Falcon’s Reach until the storm passed”
The unwelcome commentary of her avatar slithered through Alleria’s mind and she groaned. Five years had passed since that day back in Gridania. She hadn’t returned home since, feeling she’d broken some kind of sacred rule for her people.
She sort of had in a way. No one called to the void unless they wanted to be seen as a lunatic.
“Storms in Coerthas can take weeks to pass. Once day hits, snow or not we’re back on the hunt. That Ahriman isn’t going to take itself down. That cult has been creeping closer to the Dravanian Forlands, and no one wants that thing eating all the wild chocobo.” She was half kidding, more worried about all the unsuspecting travelers whose bodies had been getting found in the snow.
Ever since peace had been formed with the dragons, more foot traffic made its way through here than ever. A slow attempt to reclaim what had been taken by claw and frigid climate alike. It also meant an increase of the more unsavory types using these lands, and Alleria hadn’t been without work in some time.
She’d gained a bit of a reputation. People called her ‘the Harbinger of the void’. Originally feared for her use of voidsent, but over time proving that her power spared others from the dangers those with ill intent could bring. It didn’t stop the side looks from those who knew little of her intent or the small group of Garleans who had found her that utilized the same power trying desperately to understand how she got the memory crystal she had.
She’d been honest with that group. A stranger gave it to her. No, she wouldn’t give it back. So they’d become monitors of sorts. So long as she went to Ul’dah once a month or so, or at least sent a messenger, they didn’t hunt her down.
“That fire is never going to catch.”
The sultry voice pulled her out of her thoughts once more.
“Well I’d love to see you start a fire on furniture that’s been frozen for so long. Fuck, alright. I’ll have to grab some branches from the nearby trees to augment it. Hopefully I can find a few shreds of dry pine…” It was unlikely given the absolute blizzard that was beginning to pick up outside.
“Or we can take down some of the local yaks and burn their fur.”
“Okay, no. I know for a fact that smokes terribly. Some even say it smokes purple. That sounds incredibly poisonous. I would suffocate, and then you’d never get more stories.” Alleria rolled her eyes and pulled her two daggers from her belt. The weapons she’d used long before she’d picked up the wicked scythe slung along her back. While the longer weapon would have been good for slicing higher branches, she wouldn’t ever use the tool used to reap lives for something so mundane.
It took longer than it should have, and the whole time she worked, her avatar was yapping away in the background about what they could have done, how they were looking forward to the hunt. At one point she commented on the blueing of Alleria’s lips with a hint of concern, and the Reaper knew it was time to get back inside.
Thankfully there were enough semi dry pieces she’s pulled from the higher branches to catch, and from there she augmented with shreds of old couch cushions while waiting for the wood that had been a bit more soaked to dry. Pine burned fast, so she needed to hope she had enough to at least last her until the sun rose again.
Her leather armor was soaked from the snow, and she knew she had to get it at least a little dry before the real cold of the night time set in. Stripping her cloak and the outer pieces of equipment, she found herself left huddled in her woolen undergarments, shivering despite the fire.
“What in the seven hells are you doing?!”
The alarm of the voidsent made Alleria grin despite chattering teeth. She’d never admit it, but she found it a little adorable how her avatar had picked up Eorzean slang like ‘seven hells’. One time she’d even caught her exclaiming ‘Thal’s Balls!’ and had to fight the need to burst out laughing in the middle of a mildly intense fight.
“If I stay in soaked clothing I’ll never last the night. Best to get them to dry at least a little while the fire is hot and we still have a bit of sunlight left in the day.” At that she felt a press against her ribs, a request to surface in this world pressing against her soul. At first, Alleria pressed back with a firm hand. They weren’t fighting. There was no need for her avatar to leave the void for anything so idle as building a fire.
“Oh come now, Alleria. I am simply desiring to be present while you’ve shed down to that fleshy skin you mortals have. What if someone were to storm in and strike you down?”
If Alleria rolled her eyes any harder, they would have fallen out of her head. Huffing a sigh, she loosened the leash just a little.
“You’re going to be insufferable unless I let you out, aren’t you?” It was a statement phrased as a question, and Alleria could feel the glee as the portal over her shoulder formed, allowing the pale lady to glide out across the fire from her.
She couldn’t sit exactly, but the bottom of the gown folded over as though she were sitting with her legs tucked under her. Those pale runed arms still never moved from their position over her heart and right shoulder, but the animated ones hovered over the fire.
“Do you even feel warmth like that?” It wasn’t something Alleria had ever considered in their time together. The voidsent tilted her head inquisitively as she looked at her ‘owner’, but didn’t answer. “It’s just a question-” Alleria paused, mind grabbing for information that she shockingly realized she didn’t have. “Wait.” How had this never come up before? “I just realized… Wow. Okay how has it been five years and I don’t even know your name?”
The entity’s brow rose, expressing surprise despite not having the obvious eyes to look into to see it. Eyes were such an expressive part of a person, it had seriously unnerved Alleria at first not having those to judge the intent of her summon. Now after all this time, she’d picked up on the much subtler parts of their communication.
But how had she never realized she didn’t know the woman’s damn name?
The voidsent tilted her head to the other side while her lips curled into a smile that worried Alleria.
“And what would you give me in return?” The words from her confused Alleria. Give her?
“What? For your name…? I… What would you want?” As Alleria asked, that smile turned into a predatory grin that chilled her to the bone in a different way than the oncoming blizzard. The entity tapped a finger on her cheek as though considering long and hard.
“Well… Our pact allows me the aether of your foes. Perhaps in exchange for my name, you provide me with a taste of yours? I’ve been quite curious since the day we first formed our pact. It was an intoxicating aroma, your blood dripping into the circle, but it was burned up by the magic and I never got a taste.” The being licked her lips hungrily and continued to grin, and Alleria flinched back.
“What?! No! You get one taste and you’ll try and devour me!” She’d seen her avatar feast on their fallen foes. Mortal. Voidsent. Beast. It didn’t matter to her insatiable hunger for everything that made mortals just that.
A few times she’d had the misfortune of seeing her feast on someone before they’d passed. It had been bandits and outlaws, but the screaming still haunted her sometimes in her nightmares.
“Oh Alleria, why would I devour you when that would be a one and done meal? Keeping you alive and healthy is all a part of this deal that keeps me sated. If you remain happy and whole, I can barter for as many tastes as I like. One of those buffets, as you call them, instead of just a single gluttonous feast that will leave me trapped back in the void when I’m done.”
Alleria hated that her reasoning made sense. But the nagging question of why now wouldn’t leave the back of her mind.
“Why do you need something in exchange for a name? I never gave you anything for mine.” She folded her arms in front of her chest, feeling warmer for their argument and her confusion, but feeling exposed stripped down as she was.
“You never asked for anything in return, and who would I be to deny a gift? Ours is a transactional kind, Alleria. Nothing is given without something of equal value gained. If you have nothing to give, you are consumed. Or you become strong enough to consume.” Her words were given so matter of fact that Alleria’s brow rose into her hairline. Her avatar didn’t speak often of the void. But Alleria knew she’d given plenty to this being without ever asking for anything in return.
Clearly, she’d taken advantage of her ignorance of their kind. Unsurprising for a voidsent. But also a bit more alluring that she was losing her advantage just for a simple taste of her aether. It wasn’t like she didn’t have a lot of it…
No, what was she thinking?
“What would be the purpose? We have plenty of foes for you to make a meal of.” Alleria knew her argument was weak, and the entity simply shrugged and rebutted it quickly.
“Well there are no foes before us, are there? You desire my name and have something I want. Besides, what is the point of your kind trying any new flavor of food? Yours has intrigued me. I feel it as we fight together. When you let my power blanket you like a shroud. Is it wrong to want to sample the power I’ve been protecting?” There was a hunger to her posture that made Alleria’s spine tingle. Closing her eyes, she could swear she saw the imprint of impossibly violet eyes gazing at her, but when she opened them again it was that same set of glowing runes that met her.
The two of them together before a fire in the setting sun of a cold and snowy landscape… Something about this all felt weirdly intimate. And the avatar had materialized to help guard her while she was stuck armorless. Biting her lip, Alleria finally let the last chains on her resolve go as she uncrossed her arms.
“I… I suppose one taste couldn’t hurt.” Gently she cupped a hand in front of her, and the avatar’s face moved to watch it. Pulling from within herself, she let the light of her lifeforce form into a small ball of corporeal aether, shining a blue not so different from the runes that so fascinated her.
Her avatar slowly shifted, hovering silently to get closer to her. Alleria had been expecting to watch her place her own hand over hers and absorb it through her skin as she’d done to many of her foes.
What she hadn’t expected was to lock her eyes as the entity gently took her hand, pulled it up to her lips, and ran a strangely soft tongue across her palm, lapping the essence up like a dog with a snack.
Alleria’s mouth hung unceremoniously open as she watched with morbid fascination as her life’s energy was consumed with an almost reverent care. Her avatar hummed in an almost erotic tone, making Alleria flush as she finished her treat and grinned at her.
The voice that came out was husky, filled with emotion Alleria didn’t know Voidsent could even possess.
“Xal’atath. The name I’ve had since darkness fell is Xal’atath.”
The name went right to Alleria’s chest, settling there like it always belonged. A piece of this being that she’d allowed into her soul locking in place forever.
“Well Xal’atath. Hmm. I’m going to call you Xal.” She grinned, trying to break some of the tension as Xal’atath still held her palm close to her face. The being took it and nuzzled the hand against cool and soft skin. Alleria shuddered and it had nothing to do with the raging cold outside.
“I’m not opposed to that.”
Alleria smiled.
“Good. Well then Xal. It’s nice to finally have something to call you other than ‘you’ or ‘avatar’ or ‘little shit’.” All things she’d used to describe the mischievous woman before her. Xal’atath laughed, long and loud. It was a sound Alleria had never experienced while the being was manifested. And one she wouldn’t object to hearing again.
The two women stayed close as Alleria put another log on the fire. And even after she donned her leather armor once more, she allowed Xal’atath to hover in this dead hovel with her for a while longer.
Two unassuming allies, now closer than they’d ever been before.