#zelbus

[world-of-a-fallen-night]

Zelbus Eilor, Bodyguard for Gates

(my OC for Hellfallen)

[cyans-ocverse-of-madness]

( @aurum-the-yapper )

Esper's eyes went in and out of focus as she limped along the tunnel. Aurum was somewhere behind, chatting with some of the other Speakers. She had sustained a large gash along her side during the battle. It had been wrapped and she hadn't lost a lot of blood, but the pain was making her woozy.

Zelbu grabbed her arm. “Esper, stop. You're going to hurt yourself if you keep trying to go. We can grab the extra stretcher, it's fine.”

“No. I’m okay, it doesn't hurt that bad.”

“Hm,” he frowned. “On another note, what should we do with the kid? He seems like he could use a place to stay.”

At this, Dryope hopped forward from where she had been eavesdropping.

“We should have him join us! I can taste his aura, it's strong.” She suddenly stopped herself. “But of course, I'm not the one that’s in charge here anymore. Oh dear Zelbu, give us your wisdom,” She sang mockingly.

He ignored her tone. “Let's ask him. He definitely had a bad experience in the past with Speakers, so I'd understand if he was hesitant to join.”

Esper piped up, “He has some sort of home in the overworld. There's someone he refers to as ‘Mum’, though I don't think they're family. If he doesn't stay with us, I can escort him there.”

"It is his decision, but we are running low on new recruits." Dryope hissed.

-

The three approached Aurum.

Zelbu grinned and spoke, “Would you like to become a Locust?”

[cyans-ocverse-of-madness]

The Beginning

words - 799

No tw/cw

Next part is going to be Initiation :))))

@aurum-the-yapper

The Being didn't remember anything from before that day. That one strange, beautiful day when she had woken up and become a Speaker. 

She was dozing peacefully when she felt a sharp poke in her side.

“Hrhgh?” The Being mumbled at the sudden pain.

“Is it dead?”

She peeked upwards from her place on the grass and squinted in the bright light.

“Oh! Look. It's eyes opened!”

There were three figures standing around her. Each was wearing loose clothes of varying orange and brown shades. The one poking her with a stick had rock-like skin and pure white hair. She was pretty sure this one had been the one asking if “it” was dead.

The second figure was ginger, had a rosy complexion and teal spikes all over her head and shoulders. The same teal was glowing from her right eye while her left was a fiery orange. 

“Hey, are you okay?”

The third person reached out to give The Being a hand up. She blinked slowly.

“Yeah… I think?” The Being responded. 

This person was a short masculine figure with horns, goat-like eyes, and dark red hair.

“I'm Zelbu. Who are you?” The Being hesitated.

“I… I’m… I don't know. Where am I? Why am I here? Who are you guys?”

She tried to get a grasp of her surroundings as her hand reached up to grab his. 

Zelbu's skin looked ashy compared to The Being's. He had brown skin, yet he also looked like he had not been in the sun for a very long time. The Being's hand was a rich copper that glowed in the tree-dappled sunlight.

The one with the spikes puffed out her chest proudly. She put a fist over her heart and grinned with a mouth full of fangs.

“We are the newly promoted Junior Explorers of the Locust Speaker branch. I am Dryope, and this is Hestia-" she pointed to the grey skinned one “-and Zelbu.” 

She turned to her companions and lowered her voice, “Maybe if we bring back a new recruit, we can get ordained early. I sure don't want to wait another two years.”

Hestia frowned. “What's a deerborn gonna do for our higher ups? Plus, this one looks barely more than 12 years old. We're only 14 and we're on the young side of recruiting.” 

“Pleeeeaaaaase?” Dryope whined.

Deerborn?

The Being reached upwards, and her hand brushed something hard. An antler protruded from each side of her head.

“I'm not sure what's going on. Would you be able to help me figure out why I'm here? And why can't I remember anything?”

Zelbu looked startled. “Did you hit your head? Oh no, did we find someone with brain damage?”

“No, I think I'm fine. My mind is just blank? I don't know.” She shrugged.

Hestia crossed their arms angrily but Zelbu and Dryope shared an understanding glance.

Dryope spoke first. “You'll come with us on one condition. You have to join The Speakers.”

“The what?”

“The Speakers? One of the great branches? People of the lava and the truth?” Hestia piped up.

The Being thought for a moment. She thought this sounded like a cult, but wasn't going to comment on these teenager's beliefs if they could get her help.

“Why not! I'll come with you.”

It was that simple. That one conversation between brainwashed foot soldiers and an unknowing child caused so much to happen, even if they didn't know it then.

As soon as The Being entered the fortress, she knew she had made a mistake. The walls pressed in around her,  making her jumpy. All sorts of people passed her in the hall. Dryope had gone into some room and told her to wait outside. The other two had wandered off somewhere, probably getting back to their duties. 

The door opened and Dryope stepped out. “Welcome to Locust.” She grinned and held out a pile of robes for The Being to try on. These were probably the uniform. 

“Hold on, I never agreed to-” Dryope placed a finger on The Being's lips. 

“It's for your own good. Now, let's go to the dorms and get you a place to sleep.”

The Being was left alone in a long room full of sleeping mats. The heat was oppressive, so she began undressing to get into the new uniform. She reached into her pant pockets, just to check them before disposing of the dirty fabric. Inside was a cool, golden medallion.

On one side it read “||𝙹⚍  ᔑ∷ᒷ  ||𝙹⚍∷  ⍑𝙹ᒲᒷ” [you are your home] in standard galactic. Somehow, The Being could read it no problem. She turned it over. This side had small butterflies made of a purple crystal and the word “Esper”.

“That's me, isn't it?”

Esper had found her name and her new home.

[artisan-king-morleus]

My beloved bodyguard! 💕

Zelbus Eilor, Bodyguard for Gates

(my OC for Hellfallen)

[cyans-ocverse-of-madness]

The group entered Locust. The main sections of the fortress where within the nether, but small portions like the amphitheater were located on the roof. The group was entering through the main gates.

Above the doors was the symbol of Locust, carved out of bedrock. A ribcage. Esper glared at it and glanced down at her own necklace bearing the same symbol.

There were so many tunnels, winding and flowing through the netherrack. Some were lined with quartz and others were reinforced with blackstone. In these sections you could see the glow of the lava through the walls.

"Where would they be right now? Offices, or is there a meeting going on?" Esper asked.

"Probably the personal offices. This may cause a meeting though, so get ready for some public speaking." Zelbu responded.

A deep hum began, shooting waves of noise and shaking the building slightly.

( @aurum-the-yapper )

Esper's eyes went in and out of focus as she limped along the tunnel. Aurum was somewhere behind, chatting with some of the other Speakers. She had sustained a large gash along her side during the battle. It had been wrapped and she hadn't lost a lot of blood, but the pain was making her woozy.

Zelbu grabbed her arm. “Esper, stop. You're going to hurt yourself if you keep trying to go. We can grab the extra stretcher, it's fine.”

“No. I’m okay, it doesn't hurt that bad.”

“Hm,” he frowned. “On another note, what should we do with the kid? He seems like he could use a place to stay.”

At this, Dryope hopped forward from where she had been eavesdropping.

“We should have him join us! I can taste his aura, it's strong.” She suddenly stopped herself. “But of course, I'm not the one that’s in charge here anymore. Oh dear Zelbu, give us your wisdom,” She sang mockingly.

He ignored her tone. “Let's ask him. He definitely had a bad experience in the past with Speakers, so I'd understand if he was hesitant to join.”

Esper piped up, “He has some sort of home in the overworld. There's someone he refers to as ‘Mum’, though I don't think they're family. If he doesn't stay with us, I can escort him there.”

"It is his decision, but we are running low on new recruits." Dryope hissed.

-

The three approached Aurum.

Zelbu grinned and spoke, “Would you like to become a Locust?”

[cyans-ocverse-of-madness]

"Oh... yeah. We're gonna have to do some explaining. Locust has never really had connections with Probat, but this could be really hard to explain to the higher ups."

"Zelbu, you are the higher ups. At least for this sort of stuff." Dryope shot him a glare.

"No, I'm not. I only run the recruits side of things. We're gonna need to talk to them about what happened."

Esper shuttered. "I would really not like to do that. They don't like me."

"We have to, though. We're almost back, and then we're going to have to explain this".

( @aurum-the-yapper )

Esper's eyes went in and out of focus as she limped along the tunnel. Aurum was somewhere behind, chatting with some of the other Speakers. She had sustained a large gash along her side during the battle. It had been wrapped and she hadn't lost a lot of blood, but the pain was making her woozy.

Zelbu grabbed her arm. “Esper, stop. You're going to hurt yourself if you keep trying to go. We can grab the extra stretcher, it's fine.”

“No. I’m okay, it doesn't hurt that bad.”

“Hm,” he frowned. “On another note, what should we do with the kid? He seems like he could use a place to stay.”

At this, Dryope hopped forward from where she had been eavesdropping.

“We should have him join us! I can taste his aura, it's strong.” She suddenly stopped herself. “But of course, I'm not the one that’s in charge here anymore. Oh dear Zelbu, give us your wisdom,” She sang mockingly.

He ignored her tone. “Let's ask him. He definitely had a bad experience in the past with Speakers, so I'd understand if he was hesitant to join.”

Esper piped up, “He has some sort of home in the overworld. There's someone he refers to as ‘Mum’, though I don't think they're family. If he doesn't stay with us, I can escort him there.”

"It is his decision, but we are running low on new recruits." Dryope hissed.

-

The three approached Aurum.

Zelbu grinned and spoke, “Would you like to become a Locust?”