Lament of the Lost

"What did you mean by registering as a seeker, Ria?" I asked halfway down the stairs. When Rayden talked about the Labyrinth being the fastest way to become stronger, she didn't mention anything like that.

"To enter Fallen's Cry, you must obtain the Labyrinth Mark. It's the teardrop-shaped symbol on their wrist," the little kitare explained as she made her way down, pointing at the passing seekers. And indeed, there were teardrop tattoos on the backs of the hands of those who hadn't covered them with gloves. 

The question 'Where do I get one?' was already on the tip of my tongue when my foot touched the black surface of the monolith, and a shiver ran through my body, making every hair on my body bristling up. It wasn't just the notion that I was touching something quite possibly thousands of years old with my bare feet, that I was standing on something that was probably so big it made me feel like an ant on an anthill. No, there was this strange energy that rushed through my body, a strange pull, nothing too strong, nothing dangerous. At least not according to my instincts, yet the beast in me stirred, almost as if fighting the energy. Was that normal? Ria didn't seem to have that problem. But unlike me, she wore shoes on her paw feet, just like the other seekers.

Actually, not entirely true.

Quite a few Terr'dens, most I'd say, didn't wear shoes, making my little guide the exception among them.

"Come on, Korra," Ria urged me to follow her when she noticed my faltering. 

Yet, after taking a few more steps, I looked up behind me and shuddered again. Up there, largely hidden behind the edge of the stairs, was an entire city, standing on what I was now touching with my bare feet.

"Korra?"

"Oh, sorry. I'm coming."

This time, I followed Ria across the platform, careful not to get in the way of any seekers. The smart thing to do, since most of them could surely kill us with one swing of their swords. Not the only danger, despite what Ria said, though. Mindful of my steps, I moved while watching the ground closely, expecting the runes engraved in the black monolith to light up at any moment, kidnapping me into the bowels of this ancient structure.

Much to my relief, however, that did not happen. I arrived at the statue along with my little guide.

"Let me introduce you to Traiana," Ria said playfully, giggling at my efforts not to look directly at the statue of the woman. It turned out that the statue only affected people once an hour, which made me wonder why I didn't see little Kitara crying and if it was some kind of mind spell - with a cooldown, obviously.

Nevertheless, knowing that it was safe for me to look at the statue now, I raised my eyes.

Up close, the woman was much bigger and even more lifelike. Despite kneeling, Traiana's statue was more than three times my height, not to mention the size of her chest. It might have been hidden behind the armor, but it wasn't hard to see where the swearing stemmed from.

Her tits weren't what snared my attention the most, though. Standing next to her, I could see her tears running down her cheeks, not unlike real tears except for the white glow. Yet, unlike real tears dripping down as she cried her eyes out, hers never reached the ground. In contrast with her white glowing blood that flowed from the wounds to the ground, seeping into the engraved runes, her tears turned into a mist before reaching the black monolithic floor, taken away by the wind I didn't feel blowing down here.

She almost seemed like a trapped goddess whose blood fed the Labyrinth. That or some perverted fountain.

Struck with awe, I walked around the statue, looking for the nameplate, as was the custom with statues on Earth, but found none. A question for my little guide popped into my mind: how did she know the woman's name? But then, as I opened my mouth to ask, my eyes fell on the helmet at the woman's knees. There, on the back of it was engraved writing, one word, a name.

[Traiana]

It was a simple hand engraving without any fancy glow, but one saying a lot. She wanted those who found her body on the battlefield to recognize her no matter what happened to her; that she went into battle ready to die. But now that the battle was over and she was still alive, she shed tears for those who had fallen in her place, for her friends she had failed to protect.

How did I know all that?

I wish I could tell.

It must have been the same magic that made me cry on the stairs earlier. There was no other explanation as I felt nothing in my mind but the feeling of the woman's last moments, as if they were my own. Even when I hit my mind with [Indomitable Will], the feeling of Traiana's determination and heartbreak remained. That and two words that kept popping into my mind.

It was not like the tingling of the Lattice notification, but more like an echo or a melody you couldn't get out of your head, two words repeated over and over again.

'Fallen's Cry'

When I first heard Traiana's name, I thought of her as a woman, a living woman, the girlfriend of one of the guards to whose large tits they compared mine to. I couldn't have been more wrong. Same with the name of the Labyrinth I just was standing on. I had it just for the name people gave it, a name associated with something that happened here, or something like that, as was often the case. After all, this beating heart of Castiana was called Labyrinth Square precisely because the entrance to it was located here. But no, Fallen's Cry was the name of the Labyrinth - it was as simple as that. It was given to it by its builders, whoever they were.

'Did the name mean anything?' One of the many questions that arose in my mind. Despite giving me so many glimpses of the moment etched in black stone, I was not shown if it was the cry of Traiana herself for the fallen that gave the Labyrinth the name, or the cry of those who fell in the battle she fought alongside. 

Moreover, what kind of battle merited the construction of such a monument? Not to mention that there were supposed to be twenty-six labyrinths on Eleaden, or so I was told. Did that mean that twenty-six such battles were fought across the planet? How long has it been? How ancient was the structure under my feet? 

So many questions, but no answers.

No one really knew. At least, that's what Ria told me when I asked - that and that it was time to keep my promise.

Nirrvash

I have to admit that it probably would have had more impact if the last three chapters were one, but I hope you still found this version of the visit to the entrance to Fallen's Cry interesting.

Enjoy your weekend.