The Fourth Elder's chamber lay hidden deep within the Barren Lands, far from the cities still scattered across the country. No map marked its location, and no road led to it. For miles in every direction, nothing existed but cracked earth, dead vegetation, and wind-worn stone. Even the nearest signs of civilization were those that belonged only to 'The Severed' organization under the Elder's control.
The chamber itself had been carved beneath the barren ground. The Fourth Elder sat alone at a long black table, several reports spread before him. He read through them in silence, though his attention had begun to drift.
The operation had failed. That much was obvious. What concerned him was not the failure itself, but the reason for the meeting he knew was coming. The information he had provided had been accurate when it was collected. The school had been monitored. Its personnel had been documented. The military presence in the surrounding area had been recorded, but the information aged, and the Elder knew some of those reports were outdated.
He had made that clear when the Voranth requested them. He remained seated behind his desk when heavy footsteps echoed through the chamber.
The Elder lifted his head.
The sound approached slowly from the corridor beyond the chamber, then the door opened, and the same Voranth entered.
Its seven-foot frame passed beneath the doorway, its elongated limbs moving with unnatural precision. Black chitinous plates covered its slender body, overlapping across its chest and shoulders. Its crimson eyes immediately settled on the Fourth Elder.
The door closed behind it.
"You," it said, pointing a clawed finger at the Fourth Elder, "You gave me misleading information."
The Elder studied the creature for a moment before looking down at the reports. "I gave you everything we had." He said.
"Then you knew it was outdated." The Voranth moved closer. "And you didn't inform us"
"Some of it." The Elder said with a shrug as he gathered the reports into a single stack."That was the latest information available to us. I made no claim that it was current."
The Voranth stopped across the table from him.
"You should have known the situation had changed."
"That is an unreasonable expectation." The Elder's expression hardened behind his mask.
"You came to us asking for information. You never explained why you needed it, who you were looking for, or what you intended to do with it. You gave us no details that would have allowed us to determine which information mattered."
The Voranth remained silent.
"You asked," the Elder continued, "and we answered with what we possessed."
The creature's crimson eyes remained fixed upon him. There was something unsettling about its silence. It wasn't the silence of someone searching for words but the silence of something deciding whether words were worth using.
The Elder had dealt with dangerous individuals before. He had negotiated with powerful Awakened and survived encounters with creatures that had crossed the Veil before. But this Voranth was different. Its intentions were impossible to read.
The Voranth had approached them without explaining its reasons. It had asked questions and accepted the information given to it. The Elder had never considered it necessary to understand more.
Now he wondered if that had been a mistake.
"You knew the information was incomplete," the Voranth said with a dangerous tone.
"Yes."
"And still provided it."
The Elder went silent for a few seconds.
"It's what you requested." The Elder's voice remained steady. "I cannot give you information that does not exist."
The Voranth stepped closer to the table and placed a clawed hand on it. The Elder did not move.
"I did not deceive you," he said. "Whatever you encountered, whatever changed between the time those reports were compiled and the moment you acted, I had no control over it."
The Voranth's gaze narrowed. "And you expect me to accept that."
"I expect you to understand it." He responded.
The two remained locked in silence.
Finally, the Elder exhaled. "I have done my part."
His tone became firmer.
"I provided everything available to me. I didn't alter the reports. I didn't hide anything relevant from what we knew. If the information proved insufficient, then that is unfortunate, but it was not deliberate."
The Voranth simply stared at him. Then, without another word, it turned toward the door. The Elder watched it leave without moving. For a moment, he thought the confrontation was over.
Then the Voranth stopped.
"Do not cross me again...human." The Voranth said as it stood at the doorframe.
The Elder's brow furrowed as the Voranth slowly turned its head. Its crimson eyes seemed almost luminous beneath the chamber's dim light. The atmosphere suddenly changed. There was no sudden display of power. No movement. Yet the warning carried more weight than any threat the Elder had heard before.
"And if I do?" he asked.
The Voranth's voice was quiet when he answered.
"The Severed will be destroyed."
The Fourth Elder froze, and his back straightened. For the first time since the creature had entered the chamber, genuine concern crossed his face.
"The Severed?"
The Severed was the organization he had helped create all those years ago. The unwanted people of many countries and cities, the so-called last havens of humanity, across the world.
Everything he did was for the betterment of his people, and now…they were being threatened by this creature.
The Fourth Elder remained motionless for some seconds, then…he let the pressure of his presence run free. The atmosphere within the chamber changed again, but this time, both beings looked ready to act at a moment's notice.
"As I said before…the information we provided was the most up-to-date we had. If things changed, then that's unfortunate." He said as he slowly stood up from his chair. "But make no mistake…creature, we do not work for you or anyone else…and we do not take threats quietly."
He said as the pressure within the chamber started increasing.
They were both increasing their presence.
The Voranth narrowed its eyes at the elder and chuckled as it finally crossed the door, the door closing behind it.
The Elder simply released his presence and slowly sat down in his chair. He glanced at the reports one last time before putting them away. A migraine threatened to form behind his eyes as he wondered if he had done the right thing.
Making deals with alien creatures was not the best example of loyalty to humanity, after all.
Then again, the organization he belonged to consisted of individuals who had already been abandoned by the world first.
He simply decided to put those thoughts in the back of his mind and continue his work.