Phyzann of House Dusk, loyal to Craask, Kell of Kings, slayer of Lightbearers and Cabal, lay silently beneath the dark waters.
The dull eyes of Cabal Legionaries peered thoughtlessly into the darkness, as they slogged through the water like livestoc ...
"So he cut off his own arm?" Eido asked warily. Drifter flicked a coin at the empty cookpot, where it pinged against the rim and bounced away.
"He tripped and fell on his own damn sword," Drifter corrected. "A little different."
"But it didn't kill ...
Eido loomed over the gathered hatchlings, who huddled together nervously. Drifter loitered nearby.
"The Drowned Captain feared nothing," Eido intoned. "So, when he saw the three glowing eyes in the cave mouth, he opened fire!" Eido mimed furious sho ...
Phyzann of House Dusk, loyal to Craask, Kell of Kings, was tested by wave after wave of Cabal intruders.
But each platoon that lumbered witlessly into his lair fell to pieces beneath the Eliksni hero's blades. Their entrails disgorged into the stag ...
"Father, you one served the House of Dusk alongside Phyzann, the Drowned Captain, did you not?" Eido kept her tone casual.
"His reputation was known by all," Mithrax replied cautiously.
"The odes say he was a ferocious warrior," Eido prompted, "wh ...
I tell tale of the Drowned Phyzann
House Dusk Captain, with his sword drawn
on Machine-spawn and Cabal
and with our House, our Captain led
against the Legion, Risen dead
our foes ahead, Phyzann's call.
But Drowned Phyzann had at his back
betrayers l ...
Phyzann of House Dusk, loyal to Craask, Kell of Kings, lay betrayed. As his life-Ether flowed into the murky water, he heard a call.
It was not the call of his Kell, nor of his Dregs. It was not the call of the Great Machine, nor that of the Awoken ...
"Spider, I wish to ask you about Phyzann, the Drowned Captain," Eido prompted. "No doubt you've heard the odes."
Spider chuckled sardonically. "I wish I knew who wrote them—I could use a liar like that in my operation."
"My father also doubted the ...
"Two Guardians were riding a Sparrow through the EDZ," Glint began.
Eido typed into her datapad.
"They were both on one Sparrow?" she asked flatly, not looking up.
"Yes," Glint said. "They stopped at the side of the road, because the Sparrow broke ...
Listen! Here is the story of the Legion-Lost,
Who saw a final dishonor at the hands of an enemy.
War-hardened, tusk-proud, bonded-in-battle,
Broken at last in their deathless death,
Felled by Light-eaters, fated to be Taken.
Many times this story has ...
"And these 'Headless Ones,'" Caiatl began, tilting down her tusks in contemplation, "they are warriors?"
"Oh yes," Eido said, looking up at the Cabal empress. "In fact, they may be Cabal in origin. I am investigating the stories now. Your retainers ...
"After the Drowned Captain disappeared," Eido said to the gathered hatchlings, "the Cabal claimed the cavern as their own."
The hatchlings muttered darkly, mimicking their elders' prejudices against the Cabal.
"But the very first night of their occ ...
Earth was war-wounded, Light-devoured.
The Legion-Lost grasped victories where they could;
Ungoverned, burned in spirit, borne bitterly,
They fought with honor until honor fled them.
Here was how they found first-death, where
The Legion-Lost moved fo ...
"Thank you for speaking with me," Eido said cheerfully. The Psion bowed its head, and Eido did the same.
"I've conducted an interview with Empress Caiatl already. But I am hoping that you could further illuminate the subject."
Eido felt a soft, bl ...
"About… 13.2 kilograms," Cryptarch Yareli read from the scales.
Eido wrung both sets of hands uncomfortably. The laboratory walls were lined with hundreds of canopic jars, filled with preserved organs and appendages. She recognized many of them as E ...
But less than death the Legion-Lost became.
In their great shame at the end of their battle,
Great weapons fell from their grasp.
But whispered were they into new wandering,
Dark-forged and Taken into shameful embrace,
The Legion-Lost gained their na ...
"And these monsters exist?" Lord Saladin asked, his voice grave.
Eido nodded nervously.
"I have ample evidence for their existence. I know that they have flaming pumpkin heads, and that they're filled with candy," Eido said stiffly. "And loot. They ...
"Would you like… some tea?"
The trip to Luna had been a short one, but now Eido sat uncomfortably in a folding chair in Eris Morn's dwelling. Her host poured steaming liquid from a vessel into a small ceramic cup. The Scribe took it politely, trying ...
"During that time, children would run amok," Cryptarch Matsuo explained. "They would extort foodstuffs from the citizenry under threat of vandalism."
"Hence the participants' eagerness to disguise their identities," Eido mused. "But how does this sp ...
"I believe you're due for congratulations," Eido continued, "and several apologies. Your work revealing the Headless Ones was a feat of rare scholarship."
"Well thank you for saying so," Glint chirped. He seemed to double in size as his shell swelle ...
The Findings of Eido, Scribe of House Light, Regarding the Beings Known as the Headless Ones (Cont'd)
"…from which I can conclude that the pumpkin was a type of sentient gourd that contained eyes and a mouth. Sometimes a single eye, and sometimes th ...
"After seeing Glint's evidence, I combed our archives for any mentions of headless bodies," Cryptarch Matsuo began.
"And I uncovered what I consider to be the oldest-known documentation of the Headless Ones!" He slid a vacuum-sealed piece of parchm ...
"So, if the Headless Ones were created by Nokris as you claim," Eido concluded, "how could they come to populate a cavern on Earth?"
"Maybe some Headless Ones hitched a ride from the Moon," Glint posited. "Like stowaways of cosmic evil!"
"Perhaps, ...
The Findings of Eido, Scribe of House Light, Regarding the Beings Known as the Headless Ones (Cont'd)
"Here's what we know about the strange pre-Golden Age ritual of the Hall Between:
During the rite, common Humans wore monstrous masks for cosmetic ...
"If pre-Golden Age Humans knew of the Headless Ones," Eido said, "then they cannot be of Hive origin."
"A reasonable deduction," Cryptarch Matsuo affirmed. "Humanity's first contact with the Hive didn't occur until sometime during the Collapse."
"G ...
"You really think that Humans created the Headless Ones?" Glint tilted his shell flaps obstinately.
"Yes. I hypothesize that they were created as part of an ancient Human ritual," Eido replied, oblivious to the Ghost's indignation. "…called the Hal ...
The Findings of Eido, Scribe of House Light, Regarding the Beings Known as the Headless Ones (Cont'd)
"It seems that the overarching theme of The Hall Between was 'transgression.' It was a time when social strictures were lifted, and Humans were per ...
Legend
