Ardrin grabbed a vial from the nearby table and swirled the dully glowing contents within.
Deep inside the alteration chamber in the underbelly of Pydredd, a score of hegraphenes were strapped to inclined tables, patiently awaiting for him to come around to them. The dungeon that was the alteration chamber had all sorts of bindings along the walls, some were constructed of pure mana, while others were made of some unknown, but likely unbreakable, material.
As Ardrin swirled the contents of the vial, he eyed the concoction closely, the dull-colored liquid came to a sludge-like halt when he stopped. Without too much movement of his head, he peered over his left shoulder briefly, then his right before pulling out a small, glass container filled with a violet and golden liquid. A curious mixture that glowed faintly, as it was only a small quantity.
Let this be enough, he said in his own mind, shielding his thoughts from any who might be listening.
He poured the golden and violet concoction into the larger vial, and swirled it once more. The entire room began to hum with energy, as the mixture began to glow intensely, emitting beams of light across the room. As the beams faded, so, too did the humming that resonated from the strange liquid.
As the hegraphenes tilted their heads curiously, Ardrin held the vial out in front of him in presentation. "Pay attention because I will only say this once," he began, his voice rolling like thunder throughout the dungeon. "Lord Volzuk and I have toiled long and hard to reach this point. If any of you wish to back down, say so now and we will find adequate replacements for you. If you decide to go through with this procedure, which may very well mean the deaths of you and your comrades if this goes poorly," he said, his tone carrying the weight of his words flawlessly.
Each of the hegraphenes glanced at each other for a few moments, but all nodded in unison once all their decisions had been solidified. "Excellent. Now, let us begin," Ardrin said, grinning beneath his mask. As he walked from creature to creature administering the concoction to each of them, he kept a close eye out for any signs of rejection, but found nothing out of the ordinary.
I'm relieved it's working this well with them, but it has only added more to a long list of questions than it has provided answers, he thought, pouring the concoction into the mouth of the final hegraphene.
He waited a few minutes after the final administration, ensuring there were no visible side-effects that were immediately present in any of them, especially the ones that had taken it first. "I apologize for the inconvenience, but I will need to keep you here for the night under close observation," he said with a dip of his head.
"However, when I feel comfortable enough to send you back out on your own, you will be briefed and sent out on a test mission to Caegwen with Irun. Do any of you have any questions regarding what I just said?" he asked, clasping his hands behind his back. When no answer came, he nodded curtly and excused himself from the room.
Meanwhile, in another, open-air courtyard of Pyrdredd, Athar and Volzuk walked together under the gloomy sky. The skinless figure walked a few steps ahead of the young man, with his hands loosely clasped behind his decrepit back. Until this point, the two had walked mostly in silence, save a few morsels of small-talk.
"Athar," the Undergod's voice rang out suddenly after a long moment of nondescript, yet awkward silence. "Y-yes, great one?" he asked, his tone exuding his surprise. "Now that we are far enough away from prying eyes and ears, am I correct in assuming your master must have told you that there was something with your core that he wasn't willing to expose?" Volzuk asked, keeping his tone almost explanatory rather than questioning. "Yes, he has, great one. Although to what end, I do not know," Athar replied, lifting his brows and looking off to the side as he shook his head.
"I see. Then what do you think it could be?" the Undergod asked, almost as if he already knew the answer. Athar paused, even going so far as to stop walking for a few moments as he considered his answer. "I think it could be something that could easily destroy who I am, and he, for reasons known only to him, is trying to prevent that," he finally replied, scuttling up a few steps behind Volzuk's left.
"Destroy, you say? Have you ever considered the fact that he might think you'd outgrow him in power? Or, perhaps, that it could potentially break the controlling hand that has pulled the strings of your life?" the Undergod asked, glancing over his shoulder.
"N-no, great one. In fact, I think he has always been looking out for me, in his own, admittedly fucked up, way," Athar said, scratching his cheek nervously. "What do you mean?" Volzuk asked, finally turning to fully face the young man, and halting his steps.
The young man froze, but regained his composure as he cleared his throat. "I don't think the Masked One is entirely a bad person, great one," he began, rubbing his chin with his index finger. "And what do you define as being a bad person?" Volzuk asked, his tone holding a subdued intrigue he was clearly struggling to contain.
"Like anything else, something, or someone, being bad is just a matter of perspective. What one may consider to be good, another may consider to be entirely evil," Athar said after a moment of consideration. "The way I see it, he was just a victim of unfortunate and sequential circumstances that eventually led him to where he is today. However, that is not to say that all of those circumstances made him a bad person. He was just responding to them as best he could, with the knowledge he had at the time, great one," Athar explained.