Lateral Movement

by Alzrius

750 - The Rest of Your Afterlife

Dying for the second time had proven to be just as confusing as the first.

Of course, Solvei knew that wasn’t really the case. She hadn’t actually died during the fight with Prevarius...at least, she was pretty sure she hadn’t. But when she’d found herself in a pitch-black space, surrounded by a ring of blue fire, she’d been certain that her life had come to an end.

And in a way, it had. Not because she’d gone to join her father at Hrothvitnir’s side, but because she’d been reborn. When she’d heard Lex call out for her, felt all of the pain and sorrow that he was carrying, it had made her heart break. He’d done so much for her, all while carrying more anguish than she’d thought one person could bear; upon learning that, Solvei had realized that she would never be able to bring herself to leave his side...not after hearing him crying out for her to stay with him.

Instead, she’d embraced the idea that she’d be with him always.

And that had been exactly what had happened, even after she’d closed her eyes for the last time after plunging into the river, her chest torn open by Sissel’s lightning bolt. Because when she’d opened her eyes an indeterminate amount of time later, she’d been shocked to find herself in a small room together with Lex – her beloved Master – and everyone else.

At first she’d been overjoyed, thinking that he had saved her somehow, but the truth had become clear all too quickly. No one had looked at her. Her every word had been ignored. Finally, when she’d tried to touch Lex’s unconscious body, her paw had passed right through him; that had been when the last of her doubts had vanished.

She was dead, and rather than going to join her ancestors, she was bound to remain at her Master’s side...not as his companion, but as a spirit.

Shock had quickly given way to panic, trying to figure out what to do. But all too quickly, she’d found out that there was nothing she could do. The magic that her Master had given her as part of their bond was gone now, leaving her unable to conjure up the slightest wisp of ice or snow, as well as completely unable to use telekinesis. She couldn’t even change her size the way she used to, nor summon the black crystal armor she’d used so often.

Worst of all, she couldn’t feel her Master in her mind anymore. Despite the fact that he was right next to her – something which wasn’t liable to change soon, since she’d discovered that she couldn’t move more than a dozen paces away from him – his presence was no longer part of her awareness. That had frightened her more than anything else, not having realized how much comfort she’d taken in feeling him always with her, despite the distance between them.

Now, it what felt like a cruel joke, she was still in close proximity to him, but had never felt further away.

But that had been only the beginning.

Seeing her Master mourn her so deeply had driven her to tears, hating that she had become the cause of more suffering for him. She hadn’t been able to keep from sobbing as he’d cried out her name and clung to Akna, the adlet soothing him by pretending to be her. It had only been because she’d had no more tears to shed that she hadn’t wept again when she’d witnessed him retrieve her body – slaying that vile spider that had taken it – and quietly tell Valor to stand watch over it.

After that, things had become a blur. She’d witnessed his meeting with that Keeper person, even though she hadn’t been able to see the ruler of the Shrine through the darkness he kept around himself. She’d watched as Lex had barely managed to establish a rapport with that bizarre creature, Teyu Yagua. And she’d followed her Master as he had moved into the hidden recess beneath the big claw-shaped building, trudging down the stairs resolutely despite looking as though he was going to fall over at any moment, still refusing to give in despite his exhaustion, his injuries, and his grief.

And when he’d leapt into the pool of darkness, she’d been drawn into the vision he’d had then as well.

When Solvei had been a pup, her father had told her about how utvalgte who betrayed their heritage were taken by Vutok in the afterlife, consigned to the scorching fires of his burning abode. It had sounded like the worst fate imaginable, and she’d never questioned that assumption.

But she’d been wrong.

The worst fate imaginable was seeing her strong and proud master be so completely broken, his entire world torn apart with nothing more than a few soft-spoken words. Torment wasn’t being consigned to flames; it was being forced to watch as he was fed lies about how it was his own fault that he’d suffered so badly. There was no physical pain that Solvei could have imagined being worse than having to see her master give up on himself, throwing away what she knew were his most cherished vows as he went on a rampage, slaughtering everyone in a manner more reminiscent of Bolverk than of the pony who had fought so hard to save her family.

And there’d been nothing she’d been able to do to help him.

She’d tried anyway. She’d yelled, both with her voice and in her mind, for him not to listen to what those winged unicorns were telling him, despite knowing that he couldn’t hear her. She’d tried attacking those phantoms herself, seeking to drive them away before they could harm her Master further, only to be as unable to touch them as she was anything else. She’d prayed and cursed and howled for the Night Mare – and, once that goddess had failed to respond, any other god or spirit who would listen – to spare Lex this, offering to pay any price asked of her.

All had been for naught.

But then, bereft of hope after having watched her Master kill everyone he could find, something had happened that Solvei hadn’t expected.

The barbed wire around his foreleg had lashed out as though it were a living thing, tearing apart the illusion he’d been trapped in. Then it had pulled him through, and once again she had been made to follow, wondering what new torment awaited him now before finding herself in a dark forest much like the one they’d crossed through shortly before her death.

And suddenly, it was like she was alive again.

She could feel the ground beneath her paws. She could hear her heart beating in her chest. She could taste myriad scents filling the air. Her muscles were suddenly tensing with nervous excitement, and the urge to run at top speed for the sheer joy of feeling herself move had very nearly caused her to take off without thinking. But she hadn’t been able to act on that urge, paralyzed with sudden joy at another sense that had been restored.

In her mind, she could feel Lex’s presence again, her awareness of him driving away all other thoughts, and it was in silent exultation that she called out to him.

MASTER!

He wasn’t very far away. Now that Solvei could sense his presence, she realized that she wasn’t any more distant from him than she had been as a spirit; it was only the thick foliage blocking her view of him. Even as she tensed her legs, preparing to bound toward him with all possible haste, there was a sudden bright flash from somewhere nearby, and a familiar voice cried out in shock, followed by a sudden blast of cold air coming from the same direction, prompting a pained yelp. That in turn was followed by loud snarls, all of which were close-

Then Solvei felt the sensation of magical movement, and her dearest Master was right in front of her.

He was smiling, his breathing turning ragged as he looked her over by the soft light of his horn.

“Solvei,” Lex murmured, reaching out to softly brush her fur, seeming to marvel at the sensation of it. “My Solvei.”

She couldn’t reply, staggered under the weight of the emotions pouring off of him then.

She usually only felt his feelings when he was having an extreme reaction to what was happening, and every such instance that she’d experienced until now had been decidedly negative, ranging from towering anger for reasons she’d never fully understood just before they’d reached that pony village to overwhelming panic when that Mystaria pony had somehow revealed one of his deepest secrets. But it had never, ever been anything like what she was feeling now.

Amazement. Relief. Elation.

And overriding them all was l-

Another bright flash came from off to the side, so close that Solvei could have touched it with her tail if she’d had her back to it. Although her darkvision let her see without light, it didn’t prevent her eyes from registering illumination, and the sudden radiance – its source hidden behind a few leaves – was powerful enough that she instinctively squeezed her eyes shut, hearing Lex stumble as he did the same, the rush of emotions she’d been feeling from him suddenly fizzling out. No no no!

Off to the side, a snarl and the sound of rushing paws drew Solvei’s attention...and her ire.

Whatever this thing was, it had just interrupted her reunion with her master. After seeing how much her death had hurt him, and being unable to do anything in his time of need except watch, she was finally, finally able to be with him again, and now that she was actually bringing him some peace THIS INTERLOPER HAD GOTTEN IN THE WAY OF IT!!!

Snarling so heavily that snowflakes spilled from her lips, Solvei turned in the direction of the incoming creature. Her vision was still filled with spots, but she couldn’t have cared less, calling upon the magic her master had given her. This time it responded immediately, and she felt herself start to grow even as black crystals spread across her body, moving to intercept the oncoming creature.

Her vision had recovered just enough that she could make out the sight of the leaping quadruped that jumped out of the bushes then. Its eyes still glowing in the aftermath of the bright light they had emitted, the thing had a lupine shape, except that its fur was as black as hers was white. But that was where the similarities between her and it ended.

Beneath its fur were thick bony plates rather than skin, revealing its fur to be little more than camouflage for the dark terrain. Its paws were oversized compared to the thickness of its legs, almost freakishly so, and its jawbone jutted forward in a pronounced underbite, lower fangs curling upward. And right now, those fangs were bared at her Master, the creature leaping toward him as he cursed and rubbed a hoof across his eyes.

It never came close to him.

Her increased size made it easy for Solvei to snatch the creature out of the air, her jaws closing around its throat easily. Choking, the creature raked its swollen paws against her armor, but it was no more able to penetrate the black crystals than Blat had been, and Solvei ignored the feeble attacks. Instead, she tightened her grip on its neck, wrenching her head around sharply. A loud crack filled the air then, and the creature in her mouth gave a sudden shudder before going still, its neck broken.

Master, are you-

She didn’t get a chance to finish before a pained cry drew her attention off to her other side, where another winter wolf – Akna, she realized with a start – was pinned beneath two more of the creatures, one with frost lining his fur as they swiped at the blinded shaman, their paws coming away wet with blood.

What’s happening?! demanded Lex, still unable to see despite keeping his horn’s aura active. Solvei, what's the situation?!

It’s alright, Master! She was already in motion as she answered, tackling the wolf-things and knocking them away from the adlet. Please wait just for a moment! I’ll take care of these creatures right away!

Both of her enemies landed in a heap, their eyes glowing faintly as they got up and slowly started to circle her, growling at having been denied their meal. But Solvei couldn’t have been less intimidated, giving a howl as she rushed them.

As long as I’m here, I swear that nothing will hurt you ever again!

Author's Note:

Having stayed by Lex's side even in death, Solvei comes to his rescue in the Night Mare's realm!

Together with Akna, will the three of them be able to make it through Darkest Night? And what will happen to Solvei when (and if) Lex returns to his body?

Comments

[Not so New Brony]

Heh, guess Akna's cover has been blown and with an application of Divine Authority/Charismata, Lex can force her to divulge her intentions though I'm actually curious if he's still able to use said power here. Sure Solvei's power implies that being the case but it could easily be allowed due to their connection with each other.

Regardless, Lex now has a reliable ally to depend on in case his power is on the fritz, not to mention the usage of his spells in the Rite, or do they not count since it was all in his head...sort of.

[TheAbsoluteRadiance]

Didn't expect this turn of events at all even If I should have. It was so obvious! Slovei couldn't go to the afterlife until Lex died because Slovei wasn't a nightmare believer or had any link to the nightmare that wasn't Lex's. It was even stated that Lex gave a piece of his soul to Slovei.

So The link should look like this: Slovei -> Lex -> Nightmare/Nightmare realm. If Lex died while Slovei was alive Slovei would have died too and both would go to the nightmare realm at the same time. Following this logic If Lex return to the living realm There is a chance even if slim Slovei would return too even if it would be in ghost form like earlier.

[Booster Spice]

Solvei is regained in current Realm.

I wondre if she can gain XP for her or Lex at least by defeating local opponants?

[Alzrius]

11347971 Don't forget, Lex's refusal to rest and recover before undergoing the Rite meant that, after bringing Teyu Yagua to the Shrine, he only has a single application of the Charismata left. So while he can use it to make Akna talk, that's going to be it until he hunkers down to rest. Of course, he has a few other options now, but hopefully he'll try to manage his remaining resources carefully, especially since it's uncertain if the spells he used during the Rite were expended or not. Then again, he doesn't exactly seem like he's in the right frame of mind for that sort of logical analysis either.

[Alzrius]

11348351 I like to think that these kinds of twists are foreshadowed by what's happened previously, but it's hard for me to be certain of that since I'm the author and all. As such, it makes me very happy when someone says "I didn't see that coming, but in hindsight it makes total sense!"

As for whether or not Solvei would have immediately expired if Lex had been the one who died...that's less certain (though not necessarily wrong). As of right now, it seems like Solvei's connection to Lex means that the two of them will 1) always be together, and 2) that manifests by having Solvei follow him, rather than the other way around. So presumably that would mean that if he died, she'd go with him. If so, that's a point of vulnerability in their relationship, but only with regard to Solvei herself; while Solvei's own death clearly hurt Lex, it didn't endanger his life. Either way, that's clearly the drawback for how much power their relationship grants her (and him as well, insofar as having a strong and absolutely loyal subordinate).

But at least it's helping out now.

[Alzrius]

11348493 Solvei can't gain any XP on her own, unfortunately. In game terms, the maximum level that she can attain is set in relation to Lex's current level, and when she hits that particular cap she can't become any stronger until he does. Once that happens, then she could theoretically gain more experience points to make up the gap, but that's a moot point since Lex will automatically use his connection to infuse her with more power accordingly (e.g. the portion of his soul that he's imbued her with via the Charismata will grow in accordance with his own growth, strengthening Solvei to the maximum degree possible each time).

Of course, whether or not the XP she earns can go to him is another matter entirely.