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Incursion Empire Ch. 8
🕑 Added 2025-04-03 19:35:18 +0000 UTCChapter Eight
It was like being submerged into the depths of the ocean, pressure, darkness, and cold that assaulted his mind. There was no way to breath, his chest constricted as the alien smothered his mind. It traipsed through his memories like it was a book, ripping and tearing apart his past with gaudy amusement. Dane gagged, body shuddering, as bile rose up his throat in a burning wave.
“A Shadow? I sense the importance in this term, but I must be missing some context here. Hmmm….I wonder…” the voice became Dane’s entire being. His entire body shuddered under the assault as the native continued to rip and tear through his mind, looking for the context he was searching for.
“Here it is. Ahhh…you were a child when you were told. Stripped of being one of the clan. Stripped of citizenship for something that you had no control of. You poor thing.” Its words were belied by the joy in its voice as it wallowed in Dane’s memories of shame and embarrassment. It was enjoying itself at Dane’s expense and continued to pry deeper.
Images flashed past Dane’s eyes. Halls of marble filled with gold, silver, and rich tapestries. Expensive woods from different worlds and alien servants who bowed deferentially as he passed by, the sound muffled by thick carpets. Light streamed through stained glass windows above him and the laughter of Xeroc drifted to him, Dane’s own laugh matching the prince’s.
“Who is this boy? A prince? Is he the leader of your expedition? Hmmm…yes…I see it now.” Curiosity and malice wormed deeper and deeper into his mind as the old monster continued to shuffle its way deeper into his memories, savoring the one’s where Dane felt emotional pain.
Another memory filled his mind’s eye. Storm clouds filled the horizon and black lightning split the sky as raindrops the size of fists hammered the roof of the palace with machine gun intensity. Empress Laruan stood above him, filling his vision as his mother’s cries of mercy were ignored. Each raindrop exploded in a spray of water as guards drug his mother out of the palace, possessions thrown into the street as her begging rose to a higher level.
“You have corrupted the blood. Your services are no longer required. The child will be of use though!” Laruan’s voice boomed out, silencing his mother’s cries as the old man grabbed his wrist. He peered up and for the first time he saw Master Ke’Von.
The memory morphed into the abandoned factory that Ke’Von kept him in. The padded floors and the myriad of practice weapons sitting on their racks. The other Shadows who sat around in sullen silence as Dane was led to the factory and shoved through its doors, shivering, scared, and dripping wet from the violent storm raging across the world.
“Severe. Blood purity tests in your world. Primitive.” Dane coughed blood as wet heat streaked down his face as his head felt like it was wedged into a vice.The pressure consumed him, pushing against him until he was ready to slip away in unconsciousness.
“What else do we have?” the voice boomed across his being and then Dane was watching as he was trained. Ke’Von’s treatment of him was brutal, involving his feet and fists. Dane was a soft boy and his cries of pain and tears of agony were savored by the old monster. The years sped by as the training facility remained unchanged, the faces around the edge of the matts changing as Shadows left and new ones arrived.
Loneliness, isolation, and pain was all that Dane felt as the native drank it like it was nectar. Its pleasure radiated outward, pressuring against his mind even as all his memories filled him the despair of his childhood. Of the oaths and values that were beaten into him, of the purpose that was beaten into him.
“Sworn servant of the Imperial line. This Xeroc is the one who leads you all. You have so little self-determination that you're no more than a hive insect. Skilled though. The knowledge in your mind of the System and what’s to come is invaluable. That rage you keep buried is self-destructive. You won’t succeed with those lofty goals as you are now.” The pressure retreated away as suddenly as it had come and Dane sagged in relief.
There was silence until his original captors came back, Meritorious leading them, and they quickly and efficiently grabbed Dane. A rag was pressed against his face to wipe away the blood that had streamed from his eyes under the pressure of the ancient one’s investigation. Meritorious brushed against his mind again, soft and comforting after the weight of the old one.
“Not many survive the Elder’s presence. You are strong.” Meritorious sounded impressed even as his shoulders hoisted Dane up and had to carry him. There was no strength left in his limbs and even the imminent arrival of the System could not rouse his spirit.
“Sleep will help. Your mind needs to shut off, to rest after brushing Elder’s mind. He is one of the oldest of Those Who Command. He often forgets his own strength,” Meritorious said. Even through the bond and in his addled state, Dane could tell it was a lie. Elder did not forget his own strength. He simply did not care if those beneath him could not survive his encounters.
They carried him across the snowy ground and toward a much smaller tent. The cold pressed against him again, cutting through what little warmth he had gained over the hours. A shiver wracked his body even as the cold reinvigorated him, clearing his mind of the fog.
Cataloguing everything was difficult, his memory refusing to function properly as he tried to plot his escape. Dozens of the bigger natives were walking around in their armor and that was just from his limited route. There were none of the others, Those Who Command, that he could see. Only Elder.
Psionic power at that level would need little in the way of help to control the area. Elder could simply crush this entire area with little more than a flex of his mind without breaking a sweat. How far that range would be or how well Elder would know what was going on without peering through his mind was something else.
“If I flee, would he know when I decide to flee? Or does he need to be looking in my direction?”
Meritorious looked at him and there was a hint of empathy there in his golden eyes. They lowered him to a cot, strapping his wrists down with leather bindings and tossing a rough blanket over his body. His new dwelling wasn’t as well insulated as the tent they’d used to interrogate him and there was a chill in the tent. Mist formed over his head with every exhalation, but the heavy blanket protected him from the worst of the cold.
“He is not omnipotent. But he can peer through our minds with ease and it’s not always the hammer you felt. He can be as delicate as a scalpel if he wishes. You will not know his presence unless he wills it. Rest for now. You have little to worry about physically.
Even addled as he was, Dane caught that Meritorious said physically. Surrounded by psionics, he was just as worried about his mental health as his physical. Becoming an empty shell under the pressure of a psionic monster was a fate worse than death.
“We have found an encampment of rebels not far from the barrier. I will be gone for a few hours with most of my men, but Elder will still be here. Don’t try to run.” Meritorious did sound like he was trying to be helpful. Dane drew forth his mental protections as best he could. Psionics weren’t common, but they weren’t rare. If one didn’t have a skill or ability to shield their mind, there were techniques to try to shield oneself.
He repeated poetry that Master Ke’Von enjoyed reading. He pictured every word in his mind, making sure the words were illuminated with color until his mind was filled only with bright colored words. The more detail he added to the letters filling his mind, the stronger the shield should be. Meritorious chuffed, the sound coming from deep in his throat, and leaned over to pat Dane on his shoulder.
“Tricks that all know. It would only work against the most inept of our peoples.” Dane didn’t stop, filling the letters with depth and more color, fleshing them out as much as he could. Meritorious made that chuffing sound again and Dane realized it was some type of laugh.
The massive native turned and left the tent leaving the tent abandoned. A pale shadow was outside of the entrance, the only guard that remained. Not knowing who was left and if they were still peering into his mind, Dane kept his trick going until he faded to sleep.
