#Yes that's an ESO refernce

[dianeshshadowsun]

Stardust

The house in Auberdine. They had been there many times before, but had not returned since the father of Reveria and Dianesh had been slain. The part that was odd, was the report they’d received from Reveria herself, flying over the house. “There is light coming from the shed Vel…” So they had made their approach quietly and, in fact, there was light coming from between the cracks of the wallboards of the shed. Velerodra wanted to throw a rock to see if anyone was about while Dianesh wanted to approach in the shadows to peak in the shed door. They debated for several moments before Vel said something that was likely intended to be sassy but ended up having a completely different meaning. “Walking up to the door is just as dangerous as throwing the rock, stardust.” 

Dianesh had been completely pulled from her professional focus. “Did… You just call me Stardust?” Vel had shushed her with a “Focus.” The sentinel couldn’t help but smirk as she felt her heartbeat quicken for a moment. Vel got what she wanted, even if Dianesh felt like the monkette had saved that name for just such a moment, to get what she wanted. “Throw your rock.” Vel had been quick about it, like she knew her little name would get the result she wanted. The rock sailed through the air and shattered a window, drawing four robed and hooded figures from within the shed to investigate. 

The number of people was enough for surprise, as the shed was tiny and likely not able to hold four people comfortably. It was decided the pair would split up, seeing as the four were searching in pairs. Velerodra took the two near the house, Dianesh, the pair by the shed. “You said you’re good at snatching, yes?” Vel was right. Dianesh had been a commander of the forward scouts and infiltrators for the Sentinels and this was just the kind of work she’d done for so long. Vel went through the broken window, making noise to draw the pair inside before hiding in the bathroom. The sentinel nearly killed the first person that she took with the sudden jolt to their person as she violently drug them in to the shadows, choking them into unconsciousness. Not a sound had been made, leaving their partner clueless. 

Velerodra had brought chain weapons today, ever the master of odd weapons. The pair in the house split up, one going down a hallway, the other wandering the open living and kitchen spaces. Vel got the drop on the one in the hall but luck was not on her side and her intial attack missed, an attempt to wrap his neck with her chain weapon. She struggled yet slithered away as Vel tended to do, only to eventually knock first one, then the other assailant out. Once Dianesh had taken her second, the pair met up and donned the robes of those they had taken down and moved into the shed. 

The reason for the number of people was soon revealed. A trap door, seamless in the floor was standing open. A flight of stairs led the pair to an underground passage, lined with torches that eventually opened up into an underground cavern. A massive idol to a god or goddess of death sat in the rear of the place, elegant, beautiful almost, with six arms that all held severed heads. Braziers with emerald flame roared on either side of it as a dozen or more robed and hooded.people searched workbenches, desks, shelves, crates, and more for something. A massive person with the voice of a man was bellowing orders to the rest before spotting Vel and Dia. Stalking up to them, he asked what the noise had been. Vel lied cleverly that it was a bird flying into a window but as she moved to walk away, the man grew suspicious. “What is the flavor of fear?” Vel had considered and then offered confidently “Sweet.” The next thing the pair knew, Vel was sailing through the air to land in a rough pile in the center of the cavern. Dianesh shadowstepped to the monkette as the massive cloaked figure bellowed. “Can you taste it brothers and sisters?! What is the flavor of fear?!” The choir like response from the cultists gathering around Vel and Dia was in unison. “Sublime, my brother.” 

It was clear that there were few or now options at this point. They could fight, which wouldn’t go well with how outnumbered they were. They could easily run but if these people were looking for something, Vel and Dia had an obligation not to allow them to find it. Dianesh looked around at all the hooded figures, daggers at the ready as Vel summoned claws of mist. Except those claws slowly turned bloody as she drained her own life fluid into them. With a violent flick the claws burst into a red mist as Velerodra summoned an ally that was not a part of the harbor. 

Once Vel had flicked her claws, the cultists charged forward. Dianesh blurred into a column of smoke, whirling around Vel as she took blow after blow. For as many as she took, she blocked just as many. Blood splattered across the monkette, Dia’s and others as the sentinel worked to keep Vel safe. A shield of mists formed around Dianesh, Vel’s way of helping her. It was overwhelming though and Dianesh was starting to feel the weight of blow after blow. Just when it seemed the cultists might close int completely, the ground bubbled with blood that formed into a circular puddle. From the puddle rose a heavily armored draenei, wielding a scythe that shimmered with ruinous powers. Blood shot out and turned into spears, goring over half the cultists with their own life fluids or those of Dianesh. 

“What a disgusting creature you are… Such wasted efforts…” The armored woman sneered from beneath her helmet as her scythe swung for the large man, who threw his robes back to reveal an amalgamation of bone and flesh formed into the shape of a man.”I need it.” Vel had said to the woman, who snorted. “Of course you do.” The rest of the cultists had rallied and charged once more at Vel and Dianesh. The monkette began to turn to mist as she spoke to Dianesh. “Follow my mists. Don’t breathe in though.” With that the monkette plummed into a cloud of mist that encircled the remaining foes. Dianesh followed that lead and billowed into smoke, intertwining with the mists to create a cloud of death. The pair worked together, Vel appearing as an apparition before their foes to distract them as Dianesh, while half half formed, shadowstepped and slit throats, leaving even more smoke in her wake. 

The last two cultists suffered terrible deaths as the hands of Velerodra. One was choking on the smoky misty mix, allow Vel time to shove a fist made of mist into the mouth before letting it burst to suffocate them completely. The pair soon separated, Dianesh’s billowing smoke coiling back together to reveal her and Vel, left with a mixture of mist and smoke, wound herself back together in a crackling display of emerald and jade light with flickers of shadows. Once she reformed, the mist lingered and revealed a form she rarely showed anyone. Needless to say it had claws of mist which she used to rip out the throat of the last cultist. Once done, the mist faded and Vel was just Vel once more. 

Both women fell to the ground at this point, Dianesh feeling every wound she’d taken despite the healing that melding as smoke and mist with Vel had done. It was almost as if the monkette could sense this as Dia drug herself over. No sooner had the sentinel reached her before Vel put her hand on Dianesh and sent a surge of healing mists throughout her entire body. While most of the small cuts and injuries to her internal organs were healed, there was only so much a mist spent Vel could do and a tired body could accept. She saved Dianesh’s life, stopping the terrible bleeding and seeing her organs restored. Vel was no slouch when it came to healing. The rest of the time was spent interrogating the flesh golem, with an introduction between Dianesh and the armored woman. “Oh, right… Dia, Koru. Koru, Dia…” Vel offhandedly said as Dianesh sized the woman up. “Velerodra has spoken highly of your skills.” Dianesh gave a slight nod as Koru looked over her, as if Velerodra had never once mentioned her. She otherwise played it off well for what time they spoke. Eventually, she faded into another pool of blood and vanished, leaving Dianesh and Velerodra to find whatever it was the cultists had searched for. 

It took some time and some puzzling but after a time the pair limped from the cavern and out into the fresh night air of Darkshore. Smoke billowed and plumed from the shed, signalling the fires that Velerodra had lit in the cavern. They walked about with two new things, a skull etched with death runes that Koruzziona had told them held the soul of whoever the person was it belonged to in life, and an obsidian tablet, with script chiseled in the language of the dead up it. Once they were a safe distance away, Velerodra turned and smiled at Dianesh. 

“We should go on more dates like this, stardust.” 

(Part 2 of 2) (Part 1 HERE)

Tagging @velerodra-valesinger​! Thank you for writing this incredibly fun arc with me!