“KEEPER!” bellowed Lex from atop Teyu Yagua’s back. “I HAVE RETURNED! MAKE READY TO HONOR OUR BARGAIN!”
Teyu howled with all seven heads as he finished, the sound loud enough that it echoed off the walls of the Shrine. Nor was it the only noise to be heard, as skittering, slithering, and muffled whispering came from the surrounding buildings. But none of the Keeper’s disciples dared to show themselves, and as Teyu’s howl trailed off, silence slowly enveloped the cavern once more.
But it was broken only a moment later by the voice of Thermal Draft, gawking up at him from in front of their quarters.
“Lex! What...what is that th-”
She couldn’t finish, the fit of coughing that came on then so violent that she would have fallen if Lex hadn’t caught her in his telekinesis, the purple aura from his horn keeping her upright long enough for Akna to hurry over and let the pegasus lean on her.
“You shouldn’t be exerting yourself in your current condition,” pronounced Lex flatly, making no further move to help Thermal Draft even as she kept struggling to clear her lungs. “Akna, take her back inside. I don’t want her straining herself further.”
“W-Wait,” gasped Thermal Draft, somehow managing to speak even as she kept hacking. “Just...got...back...” Each word came out in wheezing exhalation, struggling to form coherent words even as she kept fighting to breathe. “Rest...”
“I’ll convalesce once I’ve completed the Rite of Sublimation,” answered Lex dismissively, still making no further move to help the choking mare. It wasn’t a lack of concern that kept him from trying to assist her – though he was acutely aware that even if he’d immediately rushed to her side, he still would have been powerless to do anything – rather, it was sheer exhaustion that kept him from moving, knowing that any rushed or careless movement would have sent him tumbling from atop Teyu’s back.
That was an issue he’d been struggling with ever since he’d recovered from having conjured Teyu’s meal. After regaining consciousness, awakening just in time to see the creature finishing the last of the food he’d created, Lex had managed to convince it to return with him to the Shrine of the Starless Sky. Despite his apparently having earned the monstrosity’s goodwill – since it hadn’t killed him while he was unconscious – that hadn’t been easy, and not simply because he hadn’t dared waste any more uses of divine authority giving it the ability to speak; the creature had initially reacted poorly to his telling it to come back with him. Even coaxing it with the promise of new “friends” who were waiting to meet it hadn’t produced the reaction he’d been hoping for.
It had only been when he’d broached the possibility of permanently gaining the ability to speak that the flame-eyed creature had given in.
Lex had known that was a dangerous thing to offer, since he had no idea how to make any such thing happen. But it had concerned him only a little, since the Keeper would doubtlessly volunteer to solve that particular problem; the talking skull had made it plain that it wanted Teyu as a servant, and since the flame-eyed creature was already sapient, it would be in the Keeper’s best interests to ingratiate itself with the wolf-crocodile thing as much as possible, and giving it a means of talking would be the easiest way of doing that.
Of course, if such a thing was beyond the Keeper’s powers, then the situation would likely take a turn for the worst. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that, since bestowing the power of speech was almost certainly a far less demanding task than granting cognition to something which lacked it. There was no way to be sure, however.
But at least, if worse comes to worst, Teyu’s rage will prompt the Keeper and his acolytes to respond, Lex knew. As fearsome as this monster was, there was no way the Shrine’s caretaker would allow it to rampage through his territory. Doing so would make the fleshless pony lose face – figuratively speaking – in front of its subordinates. If nothing else, that would make for an opportunity to escape.
Though in his current state, Lex doubted he’d be able to manage even that much.
He’d attempted to ameliorate the worst of the damage he’d taken, using one of his few remaining applications of divine authority to grant Teyu the ability to heal with a touch. But the flame-eyed beast had so much power that the attempt had granted it only minor healing powers, which had done almost nothing to alleviate the exhaustion, debilitation, and pain that Lex was in. It had been enough that he could move without passing out, but that was all.
Worse, he’d been forced to use divine authority more than once on the way back.
Grit and Gristle had known the way to Teyu’s lair because they’d been there before, and Teyu had apparently remembered them, growling as soon as he’d caught their scent. Worse, the four-legged sharks had expected him to subdue Teyu with force, and so had reacted poorly when the creature had emerged under its own power. It had only been by the narrowest margin that Lex had managed to prevent a fight from breaking out, eventually forcing Grit and Gristle to leave.
The end result was that he now had only one more use of divine authority remaining.
And his dark magic was down to almost nothing now, since he’d needed to keep expending it to maintain his darkvision; even turning into a shadow was beyond what he could currently do.
Under other circumstances, both of those problems would have been easy to solve. Simply sleeping for a few hours would have replenished his dark magic, while divine authority renewed itself each midnight. Presuming that it was already evening, taking time to rest would have restored both, as well as allowing him to at least partially recover from how thoroughly depleted he felt.
But looking at how quickly Thermal Draft was deteriorating now, Lex knew he didn’t have that luxury.
“So, you were able to bring even so potent a beast under your sway,” came a rasping voice, dragging Lex’s eyes away from the choking mare, instead looking at the globe of absolute darkness that was floating down from the top of the Shrine’s claw-shaped tower. “Truly, Her Divine Darkness favors you greatly."
"Akna, take Thermal Draft back inside. Now."
Lex didn't bother waiting for the adlet to reply, seeing her usher the coughing pegasus through the open doorway behind them, before turning his full attention back to the blackened sphere descending toward him. He couldn’t see through it now, since trying to augment his darkvision would have accomplished nothing except to incapacitate him, but he directed his gaze towards the center of the dark globe. “The Night Mare’s favor wasn’t abetted by those creatures you sent with me,” he growled.
“Grit and Gristle were unable to properly guide you to your destination?” came the Keeper’s voice as the globe descended until it was almost at eye level with the highest of Teyu’s heads, which sniffed the air curiously.
“They were capable of that much, barely,” spat Lex. “But their presence proved to be an agitating factor for Teyu, necessitating their dismissal.”
The clicking chuckle was heard again then. “It seems I’ll need to discipline them again. No doubt they’re hiding somewhere, hoping to avoid punishment for upsetting...Teyu, you said? An interesting name to give it.”
This time Lex was the one who chuckled. “I gave it nothing.”
“Hm?”
“Allow me to introduce Teyu Yagua.” Upon hearing that, the creature’s central head barked loudly. “Or at least, that’s what he told me his name is.”
For a long moment, the black sphere hung in the air in silence, the Keeper needing several moments to find his voice. “What?”
Despite how battered he felt, physically and emotionally, Lex couldn’t help but enjoy a moment of spiteful satisfaction. “Of course, Teyu can’t converse naturally. Fortunately, I was able to recognize his intelligence, and grant him the ability to voice his thoughts with this power the Night Mare has given me. It’s a shame it was only temporary, but I’m sure you can imagine how excited he was when I told him that you could permanently grant him the power to speak.”
“...I see,” rasped the Keeper. “And I can say that I’m...pleased to assist in such a noble endeavor. Though I suspect it will take some time to complete such a task.”
From his place on Teyu’s back, Lex’s grin grew sharper. “That’s only to be expected. But I have no doubt Teyu will remain patient for as long as it takes. After all, once he sees what the Rite of Sublimation does for me, he’ll know that you’re capable of making his desire a reality.”
A single, sharp clack came from within the sphere of darkness then, and Lex could just imagine the Keeper clenching its jaw. Now I’ve got you, he sneered inwardly. Your credibility with the creature whose obedience you want is now directly tied to my completion of the Rite. See what happens if you try to renege on our deal.
That had been the possibility that Lex most wanted to avoid. The Keeper’s refusal to perform the Rite without being compensated for Ganas’s death by way of a new servant hadn’t been explicitly contingent on the creature Lex brought back being non-sapient, but that had still been clearly understood. And although the Keeper had been the one to identify the monster in question, Lex wasn’t willing to allow for even the slightst chance that the Keeper would use Teyu’s cognizance as an excuse to demand that a different creature be procured in its stead.
Fortunately, that wasn’t the case any longer. Now that he’d tied the Keeper’s credibility with regard to granting Teyu’s wish to speak to its credibility with performing the Rite of Sublimation, the Shrine’s caretaker had no choice but to drop any objections it might have had to how things had turned out.
And if the Keeper was the source of the outside interference that Spinner had predicted would leave him “misshapen” after he underwent the Rite, then hopefully this would prevent that from happening.
“Then that’s all the more reason to get the Rite underway as quickly as possible,” intoned the Keeper. “My acolytes have already finished making the necessary preparations. When you’re ready, come to the cathedral and we’ll begin.”
The floating darkness bobbed slightly lower then, the Keeper continuing to speak. “I should also take this opportunity to welcome you, Teyu Yagua, to the Shrine of the Starless Sky. I am the Keeper, charged with maintaining this sacred territory on behalf of the Night Mare. Tell me, are you familiar with Our Dark Lady? Bark twice for yes, three times for no.”
Lex resisted the urge to snort as Teyu gave three short barks, immediately recognizing that the Keeper was testing whether or not the seven-headed thing was really as intelligent as he’d been told it was. As if I’d bet so much on a bluff.
Instead, he focused all of his effort on climbing down from the creature’s back without collapsing in a heap; despite the unliving pony having already seen him collapse before, Lex had no desire to give it another indication of just how weakened he was.
“A shame,” answered the Keeper. “I’ll see to it that this oversight in your knowledge is corrected later. But for the time being, I’ll need you to remain here. I trust you have no objection?”
Again, three barks filled the cavern.
“If you’re satisfied, I’m going to the cathedral now,” stated Lex, striding past the two the moment his hooves touched the smooth floor of the Shrine. “No more delays, I want you to perform the Rite immediately.”
It was all he could do not to gasp as he spoke. The simple act of walking was already causing his heart to pound as though he were sprinting as fast as he could. He could already feel the muscles in his legs burning, and every injury he’d taken in the last few hours seemed to flare up in defiance of his earlier efforts to heal himself.
But despite that, Lex smile as he approached the gigantic stone claw that was the heart of the Shrine of the Starless Sky.
There were no more delays to be had.
It was finally time to undergo the Rite of Sublimation.
It was finally time for him to become an alicorn.