Shias stayed close to Shana as they followed Ariadne into the Woven Nest. One hand he kept in his pocket, lightly touching his pen Talisman so that he could survey the area with Divination Magic.
It was, in a word: fascinating.
Just as he and the others had noticed on the stairs and out in the snowy forest, everything here was woven from the finest threads imaginable. And these threads could seemingly take on any texture — metal felt like metal, wood like wood, snow like snow.
The tunnels they walked through were also woven together, their floors, walls, and ceilings white and gleaming with a soft brightness. What kind of material they were, Shias couldn’t tell. Nor could he discern where the light came from — it seemed to emanate from the surfaces themselves.
The tunnels were wide and tall, easily accommodating Ariadne’s massive arachnid body. She spoke, her voice so smooth and silky, with Shana as they walked, and Shias listened in.
“The Weavers are not the Hollows that you know of,” said Ariadne. “Those, we will explain in time. But the true Weavers are all those like me and under my command and protection. Together, we weave the threefold fabrics of time, fate, and dreams.”
“Dreams?” Shana asked. At the same time, Caleb asked, “Time?”
“You were both called here,” Ariadne said. “Shana, the Dreamer, and Caleb, the Time Mage. There is purpose in all things, and great purpose in your being called here. There are three fabrics that, together, hold the deepest truths of the world.”
“Which world?” Shana asked. “We’ve been to so many.”
Ariadne chuckled, such a musical sound. “What you and yours call ‘worlds’ we see as parts of the greater whole. And that greater whole that you call ‘the universe,’ is what we call ‘the world.’ There is one world, and it is greater and vaster than any can comprehend. And it is ever growing, ever changing. But it is one whole, made up of a great many realms. The Locations of the Enchanted Dominion. The planets and solar systems and galaxies of the Human Realm. And there is more, much more, much of which you will never see. One piece of that great, elusive whole, is tied to you, Shana.”
“The Dreamworld,” Shana said. “And Nightmares.”
Ariadne nodded, a graceful gesture that seemed like a reverent bow. “Indeed. We weave from the truths of the world, tying together the threads of fate, time, and dreams to bring greater clarity and understanding of all that is, was, and will be.”
“You can see the future?” Caleb asked.
“In a fashion,” Ariadne said. “We do not see as you see. And we cannot see all things, but… the shape of things. The texture of things. We can see these, and feel these, and know these. We are, in a way, watchers — we observe all things. And from those observations, we weave together the threefold whole.”
“But you don’t share your weavings beyond here,” Shias said.
“Not entirely,” Ariadne said. “The weavings of fate, we share with the three Fates, who then pass on parts of those as prophecy.”
“Only parts?” Annabelle asked.
“Not all of fate is for all the world to know,” Ariadne said. “It is a complex decision, one which has been entrusted to the Fates.”
“What about time?” Caleb asked.
“And dreams?” Shana asked.
“Those are why you two are here,” Ariadne said. “And their truths shall be revealed to you soon. But here we are. Prepare yourselves — I know my appearance was startling for all of you, but now there are many more of us. Do not be alarmed. We will not harm you, but there is little we can do about our appearance.”
“I think you’re beautiful,” Addie said, smiling.
Ariadne bowed in reverent acknowledgment, thanking the girl. Then she led the way out of the tunnel into a vast chamber, far wider than it was tall, with many branching tunnels off of it. This, too, was woven of the same softly gleaming white material as the first tunnel. And, unlike the first tunnel, this place was populated.
Shana, Shias, and all the rest paused as they entered the new chamber. Ariadne took a few steps before turning to face them. And all around… were many more of the spider-people like Ariadne. Their lower bodies were huge, bulbous, and bearing six legs, the front two of which sat highest and were longest. And from the front of their bodies rose humanoid torsos, arms, and faces. Chests, stomachs, arms, and even faces had pale skin melding with black, glistening carapace, and were covered in thick black tattoos, just like Ariadne, and Shias noticed patterns in them. There were some who had almost identical tattoos to Ariadne, while another group that was just leaving down a distant tunnel all had identical tattoos on their backs of a sort of ornate, curving F.
There were many women, but also quite a few men. All had glossy black hair that hung long and straight. Every male among the Weavers bore a weapon, and all of these weapons were woven of some kind of black, curving metal. Long handles morphed into curved, twisting blades on both ends. The men all had very similar tattoos, displaying woven crossed blades, web-like shields, and other iconography relating to weapons and defense. The only difference from one male Weaver to the next was subtle — on their right breast, each had a circular tattoo and within it, a grouping of blades. Some had one, others had two, and very few had three.
While some Weavers continued out through tunnels to their destinations, many paused in the great entrance chamber, surveying the arrivals with shiny black eyes, their faces betraying only the slightest curiosity.
“Welcome, Shana Greyson, Caleb Greyson, and many others,” Ariadne said, spreading her human arms wide, “to the Woven Nest.”
Male and female Weavers alike bowed low in greeting, holding it for a moment before rising. A moment later, they continued in their duties, heading down tunnels, while more Weavers came in from tunnels and, after a moment’s glance at the newcomers, headed down other ones.
“There’s so many,” Shana said softly, staring. Altair stood at her side, wagging his tail slowly and nuzzling his head against Shana’s leg.
“And far more than can be seen here,” Ariadne said. “There are thousands of chambers throughout the Nest, all connected by tunnels. All is designed for Weavers, so you should have ample space. But if you feel constricted or constrained, please do tell, and we shall all do our best to accommodate you. Are you prepared to continue?”
Shana started to say something, then stopped and turned back to the group. “Are you guys ready?” she asked. Annabelle, right next to Shana, replied first with a nod. She seemed speechless as she looked all around, taking the whole place in.
“This place is amazing,” Kathryn said, grinning. “I’m ready to see more.” Next to her, Rae murmured her agreement, looking around with wide eyes in amazement.
Addie stuck up her hand, smiling widely. “Yes, please! I wanna see everything!”
“Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess,” Ben said, looking around nervously. “Sure, let’s keep going.”
“You don’t need to ask,” Caleb said with a chuckle. “We’re all in this to the end, right?”
“Right,” Shias said, nodding to Shana. Shana seemed relieved at the responses, and she turned back to Ariadne with more confidence in her posture and voice.
“We’re ready,” she said.
Ariadne led them forward, pausing at one of the male Weavers. They spoke to each other in hushed tones for a moment, then the male Weaver did a sort of salute with his two front arachnid legs and turned, heading down a different tunnel than Ariadne took the others.
“All Weavers,” Ariadne explained as she walked, “once they come of age, fit within one of four groups. There are the three Weavings: of Fate, of Time, and of Dreams. Our females are chosen for one of those three. The males, on the other hand, serve as our guardians and protectors.”
“You have enemies?” Shias asked.
“There are many who would seek to disturb the delicate balance here,” Ariadne said. “Those who would seek to take the weavings for themselves, for profit or for personal power. Those who would see our weavings corrupted, disrupted, to challenge or rewrite the truth. We must be kept safe on all sides, from all those who would seek to do us harm. And yet… we are not perfect in such regards.”
“Have you been attacked?” Shana asked.
“The one type of attack we consistently fail to detect and prevent is the most grievous,” Ariadne said, bowing her head. “Our eggs… for a very long while now, eggs have been disappearing from the Nest. Stolen in the night, stolen even while more and more guards watch ever vigilantly over them.”
“Stolen eggs? But who would be so cruel as to steal your eggs?”
“We do not know,” Ariadne said. “And to further confuse their intentions, all stolen eggs are only taken down the same stair you took to reach this place, then discarded on Hollow Island.”
“Discarded?” Caleb asked. “But why…”
“Hollows,” Shias said. “That’s how the Hollows that we call Weavers come from, isn’t it?”
Ariadne nodded. “Our young, especially when still unborn, are deeply vulnerable to outside influence. When taken as eggs to Hollow Island, the very land itself transforms them. Their souls are shattered, and they are born alive but hollow, empty, a life without a soul — a vessel, like all other Hollows. Once taken to Hollow Island… they are lost to us.”
“I don’t get it, though,” Kathryn said. “If Hollows are soulless, just vessels, how do they act so alive? Why do they attack us so viciously every night?”
“Hollow Island was, if you can believe it, once a place of peace,” Ariadne said. “The Hollows there are born from nothing, they constantly come into being, forever replacing any that are destroyed. There is no way to eradicate them, but that was not a problem before. Before… there was a Shepherd. He tended to the Hollows, guiding and instructing them, filling their hollow selves with Light.”
“I’ve seen it,” Annabelle said. “Mother took Isabelle and I when we were very young to meet the Shepherd. Hollow Island… was so beautiful then. So peaceful.”
“It was,” Ariadne said. “But one day… we know not how or why… the Shepherd disappeared without a trace. With him gone, the Hollows remained as they always were — perfect vessels, ready to be filled with whatever influences were most powerful and near. Darkness soon infested Hollow Island, and with it, all Hollows turned to the Darkness. The beasts that invade your city every night are mere tools of the Darkness, taking advantage of the weakened walls between Grimoire and Hollow Island during that midnight hour.” She cast a glance over her shoulder, seeing something on Caleb’s face that Shias missed. “Yes, Caleb. You have been fighting the Darkness even before you knew what it was.”
“But they’re just using your babies!” Addie said. “That’s terrible!”
“But it’s easy when the only way in and out of the Nest connects to Hollow Island,” Kathryn said.
“Oh, that is not the only path to and from this place,” Ariadne said with a soft chuckle. “The stair to Hollow Island is only one of many — though it is the only path for most Humans and Enchanted. Many other paths are sealed, so that only Weavers can take advantage of them, and still others… well. As I said before, there is so much more of the world that you never have, and likely never will, see.”
“So a Human or Enchanted is the one stealing your eggs… and just discarding them,” Shias said. “Adding more tools for the Darkness to use.”
“An agent of Darkness, there can be no doubt,” Ariadne said. “Darkness cannot reach this place by normal means. It must act through its agents, or through…” She trailed off. Far ahead, Shias could hear shouts, and the occasional clang of metal. “Come. There is one danger, Shana, which only you can save us from.”
“I thought you said there was no danger here,” Kathryn said.
“Not to you,” Ariadne said. “No, the Dreamer faces no danger here. But she is also our only hope — the only one who can stand against the danger that threatens one valuable third of our purpose.”
“The Weaving of Dreams,” Shias said. “An attack… Nightmares?”
Ariadne walked a little faster. “Come. You shall see.”
They soon emerged into a new chamber, and the sounds of battle were louder here. At the far side, a makeshift wall had been woven into place, with a small opening cordoning off the other half of the chamber. At that opening, a dozen male Weavers traded blows with vicious monsters with black skin and gleaming red eyes.
“Nightmyrn!” Shana cried, staring in shock. A Weaver’s blade sliced through one, and it burst into motes of darkness that scurried away, vanishing into the back of the chamber. But there were many more Nightmyrn, of all shapes and sizes, and they fought with terrifying ferocity.
“Long have we awaited the Dreamer,” Ariadne said. “For those of us who specialize in weaving from Dreamworld must dream in order to do so — and long ago, all were captured within a horrific shared Nightmare. They cannot wake, and constantly spawn Nightmyrn. We can fight them back, but…”
“But you can’t stop them from spawning,” Shana said. “You can’t save your Weavers.”
“This is why Heart sent you here now, rather than before,” Ariadne said. “You needed the powers of purification. For you cannot see the weavings you must see, the truths you must learn, until those Weavers of Dreams are rescued from their fear. Please, Shana.” Ariadne turned to Shana and bowed low. “Save us.”
“I will,” Shana said, her eyes gleaming with determination. “Annabelle, Altair, let’s go.”
The trio — Dreamer, her Apprentice, and the Dream Conductor — started forward. Shias followed them, staying close. Shana gave him a grateful smile.
If things are too much, I’ll protect you.
Now at the opening in the new wall, Shias could see clearly into the darkened other half of the chamber. Against the far wall, dozens of Weavers were fast asleep, their faces contorted into terrified expressions, their bodies occasionally convulsing with violent spasms. From them spawned numerous Nightmyrn, too many to count, enveloped within malevolent purple miasma. And all of them were larger and more vicious than those Shana and the others had fought and purified in Grimoire.
“There’s… so many of them,” Shana said, staring. One Nightmyr threatened to leap past the Weaver guardians blocking the area, and Shias raised his pen Talisman. A gleaming shield of light materialized, blasting the Nightmyr back, crashing into three of its fellows.
“We’ll just have to try,” Annabelle said. Shana nodded, and Altair gave a bark of encouragement.
“Come on, Dream Sprites, do your thing!” Shana said. She held up her hand, and a beam of magenta light shot from her palm to Altair. Annabelle joined in, too, and together they opened a larger portal than Shias had seen them open before. Out came dozens of Dream Sprites, wings beating lightly, scattering golden motes of light all around.
Altair barked and charged forward, leading the Sprites in their battle against the fearful forces arrayed against them.
Shias had seen this several times now, and confidently watched as the Sprites surrounded several Nightmyrn, and Altair barked to subdue them.
But…
“No!” Shana cried, reaching her hand, still pulsing with magenta light, forward. “Hang in there! It has to work!”
“What’s happening?” Shias asked.
“It’s like… we can’t reach them,” Annabelle said. She held both hands out, straining to put all of her focus into her role as the Dreamer’s Apprentice.
“Why aren’t we breaking through?” Shana asked. “I… I can feel it. Like… there’s a bit of a reaction, but it isn’t enough. Even with so many, we can’t break through their fear.”
“It’s more than fear,” Annabelle said. “Such malevolent, wicked intent… this isn’t like the other Nightmyrn at all!”
“Altair, everyone, come back!” Shana cried. Altair hesitated a moment, but as Nightmyrn bore down on him and the Sprites, he barked out orders and dashed away. The Dream Sprites followed. Their golden motes of light had dispersed some of the purple miasma here and there, but it quickly reformed, and even the Nightmyrn they’d surrounded and been directly attempting to purify seemed nearly untouched, quickly rallying and pursuing them.
Shias stepped forward, using Guardian Magic to force back the Nightmyrn so they couldn’t reach the fleeing forces of Dreams. Altair and the Dream Sprites made it out safely, and the Weaver guards stepped into place, resuming their duty in preventing the Nightmyrn from escaping their quarantine.
“What was that?” Shana asked. She was panting with exhaustion as she closed the portal after all the Dream Sprites returned to Dreamworld, and she swayed on her feet. Shias rushed to her side, supporting her just as she’d been about to fall. “They…”
“It must be the time they’ve spent corralled together,” Ariadne said. “That thick fog of fearful miasma has grown thicker and more vile every day this has gone on. The Nightmyrn are more powerful than I feared.”
“But what do we do now?” Shana asked. “We… we couldn’t even purify one of them.”
“We go back to Heart,” Annabelle said. “She’ll know what to do. This can’t be impossible.”
“We’ll all go together,” Shias said. Even as he said that, Kathryn, Rae, and Ben joined them.
“You’ve got one Apprentice,” Kathryn said, “but maybe you can have more!”
“Let’s all work together,” Rae said. Ben nodded next to her.
“Right,” Shana said. She let out a sigh, and then smiled. “Well, that did make me pretty tired, so getting to Dreamworld won’t be difficult.”
“I can take you to a place to sleep restfully,” Ariadne said. “You won’t be disturbed.”
Shana looked past Shias to Caleb. “Will you…” she started.
“We’ll stay awake,” Caleb said, holding Addie’s hand. “But if you do need our help, we’ll be there.”
Shana smiled and nodded. “Thank you.”
Shias helped Shana along as all of them followed Ariadne. The sounds of battle slowly faded behind them.
No one’s demanded anything of us. No one’s looked at her with judging eyes when she failed to save them. The guards went back to work, and Ariadne’s right here helping and forgiving us.
Shana’s worst fears are spiders, but… these spiders really aren’t so bad. I’ve been keeping an eye out for a sign that things aren’t as they seem, but…
Shias looked ahead at Altair, who trotted alongside Ariadne, happily accompanying the Weaver Queen.
I should have trusted Altair from the start. He really is perfect at discerning friend from foe.
They were laid to sleep in downy beds of white weavings, arrayed in a circle. Their heads were in the center, their feet at the outside, and all the Dawn Riders, along with Annabelle, held hands. Shias was between Shana and Rae, and then there was Annabelle, Kathryn, and Ben.
I feel wide awake. I wonder if I’ll hold everyone back from getting there…
But as Shias closed his eyes, he found himself swiftly drifting to sleep. And with it, a pull at his heart. He was being taken beyond sleep, to Dreamworld.