The room was starkly lit by harsh white lights embedded into the ceiling. Around the long, white table sat several interesting figures. A fully encased, metallic coffin that hovered motionless with the soft hum of repulsors. A scaly reptilian, its six eyes flashing across the room as an occasional red tongue flicked out to lick an eyeball clean.
And at the head of the table, surveying the attendants with an inscrutable gaze, was a mummified humanoid. Wrapped entirely in black bandages, only a single thing set him apart: a golden circlet resting atop his head.
The reptilian was the first to speak, lowering his head and hissing in a low voice.
"Great Zahto...we are...honoured to have you here...it has been too long..."
The mummified figure, Zahto Zen, waved a bandaged hand, his deep voice like the rumbling of the earth.
"It has indeed. Barely a restful moment has graced me these past years. Not since the last Conclave have I seen even the other Zahtos. Tell me, Kuhto Frend, how is Zahto Kyl?"
"He is well....Great Zahto. His exploration...of the Abyss of Swallowed Stars...continues to bear great fruit...for our Order."
Zahto Zen nodded agreeably.
"That is good. The strengthening of one limb is the strengthening of the entire body. And I fear that we may require all the strength we can muster. The sands have been shifting and as time goes on, the ground beneath our feet only grows more unstable."
He paused.
"What of New Ithaca?"
Kuhto Frend paused, a tongue flicking out to moisten an eyeball.
"The Duke's eyes are ever-present as always...but they are not hard to distract. A new champion has risen in the Colosseum...so most of his men and attention has been drawn away...from the deepest bowels of this moon. And in the absence of a gardener...a few weeds have sprung up here and there."
"Anything to be concerned about?"
Kuhto Frend shook his head.
"Just feelers. Black Moon and Silence Reunion sent agents...but we made quick and public work of them. As for the rest...they slink about in the shadows...like cowards. Although...a strange new symbol has cropped up...even the Duke investigated it...but its source has not been identified."
"A symbol?" Zahto Zen asked curiously.
"Yes...Great Zahto. A simple logo...a red-coloured eye."
Zahto Zen was silent for a few moments, in deep thought, before shaking his head slowly.
"This is new to me. Though if it is avoiding even the Duke's scrutiny, perhaps we too should be careful. It is strange that he would purposefully investigate something like this...it is not like him to dirty his hands in these waters. There may be something there that we are missing. I shall send you more believers as soon as I can, but in the meantime be careful."
Zahto Zen warned him. Kuhto Frend nodded, his six eyes blinking rapidly in understanding. It was at this moment the previously silent third member spoke up.
A surprisingly soft and effeminate voice sounded from within that hovering steel coffin, addressing both of them.
"Great Zahto, Kuhto Frend. Axilis is arriving, and he brings with him The Beacon."
The voice spoke in a reverent tone about the coming figure. Zahto Zen clasped his bandaged hands before him, leaning forwards on the table.
"Let us hope he brings for us good news. In these dark times, we may need his guiding light more than ever."
***
Let us rewind time by a few hours, before these three had settled into their room, Slalgulathon's ship had just broken the scant atmosphere of the desolate moon. His assigned spaceport 237 was a remote one, though that was well-suited for his particular needs.
As he approached the surface of the moon, zipping past the lusterless grey in his obnoxiously golden vessel, it slowly came to a stop. Beneath, the ground split apart, revealing an large, empty space. His ship slowly lowered, landing softly on its centre. The ceiling closed over it, and the dim yellow lights of the hangar flickered on.
The door of the ship opened with a hiss, and a limping Slalgulathon hobbled down the ramp with difficulty. A service droid activated, its rusty joints creaking as it raised its triangular head to Slalgulathon as he exited the ship.
"Please confirm clearance."
It spoke with a monotone voice.
"Non-compliance will result in immediate termination."
Slalgulathon pressed a hand onto his aching eye, replying through clenched teeth.
"Clearance code SG-SLUG-208."
The robot beeped in confirmation.
"Received. Clearance authorised. Welcome to New Ithaca."
Trundling away on its rusty wheels, it disappeared down a service tunnel that promptly closed behind itself, returning the wall to its featureless grey. The hangar itself had a low ceiling, dimly lit by yellowish orange lights. Surrounded on three sides by a wall, it led out through a wide passageway to an intersection of sorts in the distance
But before he could take a single step, Slalgulathon let out a groan, and he collapsed to one knee. His vision blurred, shadows lengthening and shortening, flickering with strange intent.
The sound of countless footsteps echoed in his ears, like the distant march of a phantom army.
No. I recognise those footsteps.
The soft pitter-patter came to a stop just before him, Slalgulathon painfully lifting his head and squinting his only working eye.
"Wow. You look a lot worse in person. Like, a lot worse. Your mind is even more broken than before!"
The ominous words that did not match the cheerful tone they were spoken in came from a small, almost diminutive figure. Dressed in grey-overalls, he was at eye-level with a kneeling-down Slalgulathon.
The conspicuous sound of his footsteps came from the slapping of his sandaled feet on the stone floor. All four of them. Four arms complemented his four legs, coming out from his shoulder and just below, each ending in seven-fingered, two-thumbed hands.
His eyes were exceedingly large, the two of them taking up almost half of his face, staring at Slalgulathon with massive, expressive pupils. Over them he wore a slightly tinted pair of glasses, no doubt even the dim light here to him was blinding.
"My mind was never broken...that much at least."
Slalgulathon groaned in protest before slightly amending himself. Remembering the matter at hand, he continued urgently.
"Anyways, you said Zahto Zen was on his way? Take me to him, Axilis, I have crucial news."
Axilis crossed his four arms before himself obstinately.
"You are not going anywhere until someone gets a look at you."
He adjusted his glasses and added as he saw Slalgulathon open his mouth to protest.
"Properly."
Briefly simulating the outcomes of pushing it, Slalgulathon simply sighed and succumbed to the demands of the diminutive figure. It was easier this way.
"Fine then. If we keep the Zahto waiting, then it's on your head."
Axilis shrugged his shoulders.
"Least my head is in good working order. Honestly, it looks like you let an Elder God cook an omelette with your psyche! How exactly are you even walking right now?"
A tone of genuine awe had slipped into his voice; the kind one felt upon going to the zoo and seeing a particularly clever monkey.
"I have no idea, Axilis," Slalgulathon answered honestly. Flashes of that mutated eye, that seven-coloured iris went through his mind alongside a familiar lance of pain. "I'll explain everything once the Zahto gets here."
Axilis hummed noncommittally before shrugging.
"Fine then, I can wait a few more hours. Well, let's see if we can get you to a medbay in one piece then?"
Leaning down to help Slalgulathon up, to very little avail considering his maximum height was barely up to his waist, Slalgulathon staggered to his feet through his own accord.
If it weren't for the sheer urgency of his message, he would have collapsed right then and there. Instead, he forced his over-weary limbs into obedience with the flickering remnants of his fast-fading will, and followed behind Axilis' pittering footsteps.
"Hehehe, I look forward to this!"
Axilis' fading laughter echoed in the empty hangar and the two of them departed, leaving his vessel behind under the dim, yellow lights.