A Waste of Grey Matter

Life, Supernatural

The moon was right and spirits were high at the clearing on the coast of Oriab now known as Queen's Landing. For now, for Hashinara Yoshitakatomo, that was enough. Faithful Tōdaisen Nobuhara had sent out word that pilgrims were welcome to settle this corner of the Dreamlands. They would no doubt begin to trickle in over the next few days. Then, colonization could truly begin.   At the moment, Yoshitakatomo's interest was absorbed by the madwoman she'd found wandering the shores. Or, it should have been. Something else had caught her attention; a shadow a bit blacker than the rest of the night around it. The thing extended a rubbery claw, and Yoshitakatomo put a name to its horned skull: Night-gaunt.

The creature seemed to be here for Yoshitakatomo and her* alone. An invitation, it was clear. The Princess-Daimyō bid loyal Hosokawa Gracia to watch over Carmilla before taking the hand that was offered. In a moment, she* was wrapped up in smooth black limbs; held firmly but not violently to the creature's chest. They were ascending, quickly. Under the gibbous moon overhead, Oriab stretched out under Yoshitakatomo.   There, on the northern coast, was Baharna, where she* and companions had first met the denizens of this strange land. Across placid Lake Yath, the frozen Ruins of Tyrhhia heaped and huddled in a flurry of snow. Their sight reminded Yoshitakatomo that an unresolved mystery yet lurked there amongst the Wamps and Ghouls. Those goat-headed reliefs carved into pillars at the ruins' center were no doubt the key.   Elsewhere, more mysteries yet presented themselves. Yoshitakatomo had not been to the southern coast of the island yet. A great, stony, almost-human face carved into Mount Ngranek stared down upon brush and heath there. It was clearly not a fertile land, yet a city flourished there at the edge of the sea all the same. But that in itself was strange. Hadn't the Baharnans told Yoshitakatomo that theirs was the only settlement of note on this island? The city below looked just as large, but dark. Not a light nor a flicker of activity broke the silence of its dark streets. Just next to it, a yawning cave entrance towered up out of the ground, as though threatening to swallow the city whole. The aperture didn't look natural. It was too tall, too open, and it called to Yoshitakatomo without a voice.   Even so, the ancient Daimyō let her* attention move from the strange display. They were high enough now that she* could see over Ngranek itself, to the eastern side of the island. A valley dipped there between the northeastern and southeastern shores. It seemed barren, sandy, a desert parched for rain. The surface of the dunes was broken only by a few oases and the hulking shapes of black ruins. At its center, a black tower jutted forth from the sand at a leaning angle. Even from such distance, Yoshitakatomo could tell that the tor was not built by the hands of man. Its surface was unmarred, perfectly intact without entrance or window upon it. At its very tip, a green light flashed at irregular intervals. There was something there, something powerful and arcane that Yoshitakatomo could get the barest taste of on the wind. Before she* could look more closely, however, the night-gaunt dove.   They were gaining speed at a terrifying pace. For a moment, it seemed as though they were going to slam right into the side of Mount Ngranek at terminal velocity. If a night-gaunt wished to kill Yoshitakatomo, surely there were better ways to go about it than this? Just before impact, their true destination showed itself. A hole in the rock, about the size of a person. The 'gaunt slipped into this and the tunnel beyond, plunging them into complete blackness in an instant.   The journey from there was interminable. They were still moving, at great speed in fact, but the utterly unchanging blackness made time hard to measure, and distance more mysterious still. As a precaution, Yoshitakatomo reached out mentally to her retainer back at the Landing. She* delivered instructions on what to do if, for whatever, reason, she* did not return. With that done, there was little else but to wait.   Fortunately, it was not long from there until they reached their destination. Yoshitakatomo became aware of a great emptiness around her*. Everything was still bathed in opaque darkness, but they were clearly no longer in a tunnel. The night-gaunt twisted in the air, bringing them both upright, then deposited Yoshitakatomo upon a stony surface that she* could feel, but not see.   Her* transport didn't seem about to add anything, sitting silently just behind. So, Yoshitakatomo took magic into her* own hands. A few spells and she* was even less perceptible than the shadows in the abyss. What's more, the layout of the temple before her* fed back into her* mind even without such limiting senses as sight. For it was a temple. The soaring roofs and great pillars called forth a building that could be nothing but a place of worship.   The two towering obsidian doors opened without a whisper at Yoshitakatomo's touch and she* stepped inside. There was something familiar about this place. Had the Daimyō been here before? Perhaps in a dream. It seemed she* knew where to go, feet beating a silent but steady trail across the black floor. Even if this place did not hint at familiarity, there was a sound now. It was soft, organic, wet, but enough to guide Yoshitakatomo until she* arrived in the throne room. A cyclopean seat of power dominated the back half of this chamber, as invisible as anything else. And yet, the man who stood out against the darkness, white against black, was far too small for the throne.   Nodens.   He was engaged in much the same activity as he had been last time Yoshitakatomo visited. On the ground before him, a disgusting creature with exposed brain and skin several sizes too small wailed its last death cry. Nodens' sword cut through its neck and, with his free hand, he reached down and scooped the grey matter freely from its head. Elsewhere in the room, three night-gaunts watched this display in faceless silence.   The Abyss had not seemed to lurk beneath Ngranek last time Yoshitakatomo had visited, so the occultist could be forgiven for thinking that the night-gaunt brought her* somewhere else. With Nodens' scarred, pale hide on display, however, everything fell into place. She* had been summoned yet again.   With a blade in one hand and the other full of brains, the ancient God of Sleep made no mystery about why he had done so. It was Yoshitakatomo's new position as Champion of Omoikane. There were far worse beings in the Dreamlands to associate oneself with. If it had been the Great Ones of Kadath, for example, Nodens would have cut Yoshitakatomo down where she* stood. As it was, Omoikane was still dangerous. The Goddess of Nightmare had a dangerous approach to forbidden knowledge, demanding that all nameless terrors be unearthed and understood. As one of humans' few allies in this shifting place, Nodens knew better. He would not interfere in the relationship between Yoshitakatomo and Omoikane, but did caution against delving too deeply. Some things were better left unknown.   The Princess-Daimyō had a theory of her* own on that matter: "Curiosity will always take two paths; either a road of peace or a cliff to climb that leads to the unseen." As if to snub the god who would snuff out forbidden knowledge, she* then proceeded to ask Nodens a series of increasingly occult questions. What of the Wamps in Tyrrhia? They were former humans, were they not? And the night-gaunts, why did they abduct Baharnans from Oriab at night?   On the former, Nodens would not speak. The Wamps had ignored such warnings and learned secrets which they had come to regret. As for the night-gaunts, some were delivering Baharnans and Dreamers who had learned too much. Others were not his doing. Nodens was not the only being to dwell in the Abyss.   Something about the way he said that seemed a portent to Yoshitakatomo, but she* barreled along with the questions all the same. At being asked of Yhtill, Nodens finally shut their discussion down. There was something in his empty expanse of eyes, yet trying to discern it was like trying to make out details on the distant stars. Yoshitakatomo could not read his reaction to the name. Easier to read was Nodens' frustration. He had not brought the Daimyō here to answer her* constant questions about the occult. Rather, he wished to remind her* of their earlier agreement.   That creature, from the Cities of the Dreaming Moon, which had contacted Yoshitakatomo. It would not wait forever for their meeting. If she* did not wish to make an enemy of Nodens, Yoshitakatomo would not entertain its pleas. Rather, the thing was to be slaughtered on sight. As before ,the Princess-Daimyō did not make any commitments. Neither, however, did she* refuse Nodens. With an assertion that Yoshitakatomo had grown stronger since their last meeting, and that she* would heed his warning, it seemed that their meeting was over.   The rest of the creature's brain dribbled out of Nodens' hand and onto the floor as the Daimyō of the Hashinara Clan left without so much as a bow. Outside, the same night-gaunt was waiting. It caught her* up, embraced her* as before, and delivered Yoshitakatomo without incident back to Queen's Landing. It seemed like little time had passed, yet that was not a meeting nor a warning to be dismissed. That strange message from the Moon still loomed in Yoshitakatomo's mind. Would she* accept the meeting?