The Heart within the Rot
The Fox beastkin smelled of damp, loamy forest rot as his head turned to view the four before him. The amphitheater and the plaza of pillars above it were silent for a long moment. Then, the Fox looked to the other Emperors and Empresses sitting upon the pillars with him. He spoke slowly. "Sidus Serpens is still in danger. We immortals rot on the vine while our realm suffers around us. Elsa did as she promised and brought new life to our vast garden, but they need a true path to us."
"If they are true Emperors and Empresses of Sidus Serpens, they will find that path. They do not need our help," the great canine beastkin snarled. His once-luxurious golden fur, now matted with decay, seemed brittle as he moved. His golden eyes were cloudy with death, and his great, clawed hands seemed stiff as he leaned forward to speak.
The Sphinx beastkin scoffed. Her pearly white fur and wings still maintained their luster, but her eyes betrayed the fact that decay dwelled within her as well. "You forget you are the youngest among us, Braylon. Your path was not exactly straight, yet there you sit upon a high pillar."
The canine beastkin, Braylon, harrumphed but said nothing more, his eyes never leaving the cohort of four.
The shark-orca beastkin sighed, his gills grotesquely decaying on his long, thick neck. "They are here and they are needed. What else actually matters? They will walk Sidus Serpens' dark side and find the light."
It was now the mastodon beastkin's turn to scoff. Her voice was different from the others—it was like the rustling of leaves, like many voices speaking as one. "You have great confidence in these—three unproven Sidus Serpens descendants and a human. Are you sure Elsa chose right?"
The female tortoise beastkin sat a bit straighter at the comment. "What are you saying, Eldora? Has Elsa now fallen in your eyes?"
The mastodon beastkin—Eldora—shrugged and sat back. "Look at the state of the back garden; look at our state. She would seem a bit late."
Braylon laughed—an odd, growling sound—as he looked to the Sphinx. "And what do you have to say now, Shylah? Do you still believe their path leads to us?"
"I do, actually." She looked to the Fox beastkin. "We have enough in agreement. Let us move forward, Ryvvan." She bowed her head respectfully. The canine and mastodon beastkins scowled but remained silent.
The Fox—Ryvvan—looked over the other pillars and saw no further objections. He turned back to the four in the amphitheater. Varric, Ardyn, Atina, and Seraphis had all remained quiet, both out of respect and to learn as much as they could. All of them had sent out their senses to understand the condition of the realm, and all of them were confused. It was Sidus Serpens, but it felt like a layer of the great realm and not the full realm itself. It was as if their senses told them the truth and a lie at the same time.
For this, they had waited—but now Varric spoke. He stepped forward and bowed respectfully. His face was stern, but his body language was imploring. "I have been gone from my lands for eons, but I have never forgotten Sidus Serpens, and she has never forgotten me. She sent me someone to add to my strength—someone worthy of her vast planes, someone worthy of us all. Ardyn has fought along a road most crooked, and she has won every time. Sidus Serpens has called her, and she answered without hesitation. She is worthy, and her worthiness makes us all worthy."
Varric's voice rang up like a bell of condemnation. As he spoke, he felt Ardyn's love, admiration, and gratitude flow down their soul tether. The comfort gave him greater strength, and he seemed to grow taller before the High Council.
They looked to each other with knowing glances and nodded. The shark-orca beastkin, Salton, smiled at them, his rotted gills opening and closing on the sides of his thick neck like discarded sea trash. They spewed a fetid air that bespoke dying seas. His demeanor was one of purity, but his visage was terrifying and ominous.
"You have spoken well, young High Emperor. You have not forgotten nor diminished your connection to Sidus Serpens." He leaned back, the smile dropping from his face. His voice turned horrid and thunderous, squelching any notion of further discussion. "I am second here, and I feel we have discussed enough! Allow these four into the breach. It has always been our way to allow Sidus Serpens to have the final say! End this debate now!" He nodded to Ryvvan to continue.
The Council straightened abruptly. Ryvvan spoke with calm authority. "Salton has confirmed things, and Sidus Serpens has approved. You are allowed to walk this backdoor, but know that only you can see yourselves safely through. You will need to work together and conquer individually."
The pillar plaza began to descend, leaving the amphitheater behind. A door to the four's left opened—a huge arch that looked like the gaping maw of a dark, sinister creature. "This is the backdoor to Sidus Serpens. Walk through it remembering who you are, what you have gone through to get here, and where you want to go. Forget any of these, and you will be claimed and lost within the layers forever."
Ryvvan's voice echoed long after the pillars had gone. The four walked as one toward the entrance without fear. The doorway was cold, sapping their strength even as it dove into their souls to devour them—but once they stepped through, the air became warm and liberating.
They took several steps in, and the world suddenly opened into a vast, dazzling valley. It was as if they had snapped out of a powerful illusion. Ardyn was the first to break the spell, her battle robes rousing her and then her companions.
In the center of the valley stood a large castle of brilliant light, surrounded by four huge walls. At one corner was a great forest; diagonally opposite were two giant redwood trees twisting high into the air. To their left, a corner brimmed with wild chaotic energy, and to their right, a corner was an impenetrable void of nothingness.
As one, they realized: the backdoor of Sidus Serpens was actually its heart. They stepped toward the great wall, needing to figure out how to open the door.