The Wayward Son

Commorragh Walkway, Later

As Seiras crossed the massive walkway from Melisara's lab along with a pair of wracks, he was deeply contemplative of what had happened today and what the arrival of harlequins would cause.

The wracks escorting him seemed somewhat cautious of Seiras freely walking behind them but were likely more trusting of him now than they had been previously. The arrival towards the slave chamber was cut short and intercepted near the entrance by Renfaeda of all people.

The succubus queen had both Mokaela and Aelendriel with her as well as a great number of her higher ranking wyches.

"Ah Seiras, there you are! I was looking for you in the slave chamber, but I guess you were still with Melisara. What were doing there for so long?" Renfaeda asked him curiously.

Through his peripheral vision he could see Mokaela and Aelendriel stealthily trading cautious looks. No doubt they were wondering whether Seiras would tell her the truth or not.

The librarian of course didn't tell the truth, "Melisara wanted to give me a tour of her lab. She also insisted on performing some experiments on me. Pain-thresholds and drug responses…things like that."

"I see…it would appear she also made some clothes for you to wear. How nice. Faelan will love that outfit." Renfaeda replied as she looked at the clothes he was now wearing.

He honestly couldn't tell if Renfaeda believed his lie or not, but it had thankfully dissolved any inquisitorial probing. Seeing Aelendriel and Mokaela both with several obvious bruises, he wondered if anyone suspected anything.

"What are you looking at, Monkeigh?!" Aelendriel hissed.

"I was just wondering what happened to your neck," he asked. Aelendriel and Mokaela both immediately picked up on Seiras trying to cover for them and joined in on it.

Mokaela shook her head, "We were sparring earlier. I was a little rough with her, but Aelendriel has been training harder since you defeated us."

"I see…" he replied passively.

"Hmph…it's so strange seeing all of you alive together again. I expected more hostility to be honest," Renfaeda chuckled to herself.

Aelendriel and Mokaela both began to say various things to Renfaeda in order to further reinforce their lie. Seiras tuned them out as he glanced over at Nelfaera. The Syren hadn't spoken a single word the entire time. She had apparently been looking at him but averted her gaze immediately as they made eye contact.

Her usual sultry pride and arrogant smirk was replaced with a broken and somewhat fearful expression. Part of him enjoyed seeing Nelfaera humbled like this, but he found it odd how depressed she was...especially in comparison to Aelendriel or Mokaela. Kaerith was obviously delighting in Nelfaera's depression as she winked at Seiras with a proud smile on her face.

"So why were you looking for me, Lady Renfaeda?" Seiras asked the succubus queen before any more awkward interactions could occur.

"Faelan wanted to speak with you again, and asked me if I would bring you by. There is also a harlequin performance tonight, that we were all going to attend. Mokaela suggested why not bring you along as well." Renfaeda answered.

"I have no interest in watching harlequins dance around and speak in a language I don't understand. Is there any way you can just come back for me later?" he asked.

"Nice try! I didn't walk all the way down here just for you to tell me no…that's not how this works, slave. You should feel honoured, Seiras. You even get to sit in the private pavilion next to Mokaela and me," Renfaeda replied.

"As you command, Lady Renfaeda…" Seiras got the conversation back on track.

Renfaeda smiled proudly at him, "I'm very pleased to see how well you've adjusted to all of this. Let us not delay any further. I don't want to be late for the play."

'Emperor curse my luck…we're probably going to be sitting on the front row too,' Seiras groaned mentally.

Theater Dome Arena, Commorragh

After an awkward trip to their destination, Seiras was curious to find that it was in a dome next to the wych cult arena. It was a massive amphitheater that had about ten thousands seats. Judging by how immaculate and pristine this particular part of the dome looked, he assumed it was only for the nobility. The lack of seating and the high concentration of trueborn completely solidified this theory.

To Seiras' relief, he and his "masters" weren't sitting directly on the front row. Instead they were all on some type of private pavilion that was sectioned above the other seats. It was decently close to the front, but not too close. They were roughly one hundred meters from the stage. To Seiras' fascination, the pavilion could move, and Faelan purposely moved it further away so that Meela's null presence wouldn't disrupt the show.

In their private area, he was seated next to Renfaeda on one side and Mokaela on the other. Aelendriel sat next to Mokaela with a number of other high ranking wyches right of her. To Renfaeda's left sat Faelan, Maeralya, and Nelfaera. All of Faelan's incubi were literally standing behind them and a number of Maeralya's slaves sat in front of their master. Meela herself was of course at Faelan's feet.

Seiras could see some of Maeralya's slaves trying to scoot away from the red-haired woman with subtlety. To his interest, Maeralya told Sylea to sit at his feet.

The brown haired Sororita was careful not to draw his attention or that of the wyches present, but Seiras could feel the Sororita leaning against his leg. She likely felt more comfortable being near him.

"I can't wait for the show! I haven't seen the Fall in a while." Mokaela said with excitement.

Before anyone could respond to her, the lights dimmed as Eldar harlequins appeared on the stage. Several of the trueborn cheered for their opening act. Seiras watched with intensity as the masked eldar danced around the stage in ghostly acrobatic displays.

The one standing at a podium display began to narrate as the harlequins dispersed into various places, "Every Aeldari knows of the Fall…the fall from grace. The fall from divinity. The fall from our own supremacy. Aeons ago in a time almost forgotten, the Aeldari Empire stretched across the galaxy. It was a testament to the greatness of our race and has never again been matched since its destruction. It stood eternally in the days of old. Infinite in power, and unmatched in potential. Our ancestors were once masters of the universe."

The Eldar narrating was using psychic powers to create an illusion that went along with the play. The various harlequins roleplayed ancient Eldar as the illusion around them showed a beautiful society with impossibly amazing visuals.

"But how did such a a mighty empire fall? That is the tale we have come to tell, and the tale that all Aeldari should hear. The Fall was inevitable near the end of the Aeldari Empire. It came not through war, disaster, or disease. No…we destroyed ourselves." The narrator continued.

The various Harlequins reenacted depraving actions like actors in a play showcasing the narration. The magical illusion spells added an immersive visual enhancement along with the troupe acting it out. Looking closer at the psychic eldar narrating the play, Seiras saw that she had a reflective mask on as well as a hood.

'She must be the shadowseer,' Seiras made a mental note.

"Our idle supremacy before the fall had created a post scarcity empire of unlimited potential and a life of immortal ease. This eventually gave birth to complacency, depravity, and excessive indulgence. In a psychic echo that would forever scar the galaxy, the Chaos God Slaanesh was born. She-Who-Thirsts sprang forth into the materium taking shape from all the excess and evil that had corrupted the Aeldari. A being of beauty and terror…she rose out of the warp in the newly formed Eye of Terror and in a gluttonous frenzy began to consume the souls of all the Aeldari she could," the shadowseer continued narrating.

Seiras watched curiously as another Eldar joined the stage in a terrifyingly flashy appearance. The shadowseer didn't even seem to cast any illusions to add to the effect as this new arrival apparently did it herself. Seiras could tell it was a female judging by the skintight domino holo-suit, but she wasn't like the other harlequins. This one was wearing a horrendously shaped horned mask and brought him great unease by her presence. In a way she reminded him of the unease he felt around Meela. He quickly realized why as he thought about his previous conversation with Ashera in the slave chamber.

'That one's a Solitaire…only Solitaires can play Slaanesh,' Seiras thought as he stared intensely at the solitaire.

The solitaire's bizarre psychic powers caused a shrieking echo throughout the crowd causing many in the audience to gasp or scream. Seiras couldn't help but notice how appalled and uncomfortable all of the dark eldar in the crowd looked from the solitaire as she gracefully and lethally danced around projecting horrendous images of souls being devoured.

"All of the gods tried to intervene, but none could match the might of this newborn chaos god. One by one they all fell before the power of She-Who-Thirsts. Asuryan the great Phoenix King and Lord of the Heavens was consumed first by Slaanesh. She knew the dangers he posed and sought to remove the leader of the pantheon immediately. Her next meal was Morai-Heg…the great crone goddess and consort of Khaine. Vaul was next, and then Lileath, and then Kurnous. Soon the only gods that remained were Cegorach, Isha, and Khaine. The laughing god fled into the webway avoiding Slaanesh's pursuit, and then the mighty war god, Kaela Mensha Khaine drew Widowmaker and faced down the evil Slaanesh with his full might," the seer narrated further.

Seiras found this fascinating to watch as the magical display that went along with the harlequins acting made it even more enjoyable. One of the troupe masters down in the play was now playing the part of Khaine as he got into a blade fight with the solitaire. They both had giant illusional projections of their particular aspects take up most of the stage as the two fought.

"Is that what She-who-thirsts looks like?!" Maeralya screeched fearfully at the performance.

To Seiras' curiosity, he didn't see some horrible monster fighting Khaine like the dark eldar did. He saw an Eldar with white hair. Her face was obscured in the same mask the solitaire was wearing, but the eyes were glowing pinkish purple through them.

Seiras stared intensely at the illusion of Slaanesh and almost found it beautiful. His interest in it almost caused him to fall into a trance. Nobody else seemed to notice his reaction except for Mairan. The incubus quickly poked him with a demiklaive from behind drawing him back to his proper mind. He felt a light amount of blood run down his back, but was thankful to regain his senses. He didn't have time to look back at Mairan as the audience gasped in horror at the battle between 'Slaanesh' and 'Khaine'.

The seer's narration continued, "Khaine fought with all the might and hatred of the Aeldari, but even the mighty war god could not best Slaanesh after she had consumed the souls of many of his fellow gods. Before she could consume Khaine, the Chaos God Khorne intervened and sought to claim the war god for himself. An eternal champion…a trophy."

Following her words, a massive illusion of a horned daemon intercepted the solitaire and reenacted a godly clash with the Slaanesh illusion.

"The two ruinous powers fought one another for the soul of Khaine, but in their battle, they ripped Khaine into pieces and the god's soul would not be claimed by either one that day. After a humbling draw, Slaanesh would eventually drive off Khorne as the Blood God had no interest in what remained of Khaine. This left only Isha…goddess of fertility, love, life, and healing. As Slaanesh moved to claim her final prize, Isha cried out in terror for anyone to save her from the fate of the other gods. Her desperate cry was answered…but not by one she expected. The Chaos God Nurgle, Lord of Decay would also challenge Slaanesh that day. Where Khorne failed to take Khaine, Nurgle did not fail to rescue the mother of the Aeldari. He would seize Isha from Slaanesh and make her his wife," the shadowseer kept going.

'This is all pretty messed up, but it explains a lot. So the Avatars of Khaine are shards of Khaine that came from Slaanesh and Khorne fighting for him? And what about Isha? Nurgle took her?' Seiras wondered.

He had learned some bits about the gods from Kalyra, but never anything this extensive. He kept his attention focused on the play as the solitaire was beaten back by an illusion of Nurgle.

"Isha was saved that day from the fate of the other gods but would forever more be condemned into the plague gardens of Nurgle. There she sits still…eternally subjected to Nurgle's plagues as her immortal healing powers cure all blights and heal all wounds. She is the antithesis to Nurgle's Decay, and he keeps her there…as an eternal prize used to test his newest and most horrible blights," the seer elaborated.

'So Isha is technically still alive in Nurgle's realm? I wonder…if she could heal anything, could she heal the Emperor?' Seiras couldn't help but wonder.

"For a time, Slaanesh would gorge herself on the souls of most of the Aeldari Empire. Eventually however, she would forge anew her own realm of Chaos. Angered by Khorne and Nurgle's meddling, she would war with them for many millennia. But that…is a story for another day," The shadowseer paused briefly.

"In the wake of her birth, the Aeldari race was now on the brink of collapse and extinction. All that remained were the disciplined Asuryani exiles that fled aboard their craftworlds; the savage Exodites who survive primitively; the nobles and pirates of Commorragh shielded within the webway; and of course, the servants of Cegorach that fled with their master. Long have they been divided…but though they diverged, all should remember the story of the Fall and of our greater racial identity. I encourage you my kin to not despair or languish in these grim times. Remain proud and strong for one day the Aeldari shall rise anew. Like the Phoenix King Asuryan, our greatness will be reborn from the ashes of the old empire. Like the mother Isha, our life and prosperity shall bloom with her love binding us together once again. Like the hunter Kurnous we shall tread a path back to glory and find our way through the darkness. Like the maiden Lileath, our dreams shall come to fruition as new generations are born into a galaxy of prosperous hope. Like the smith Vaul, we shall reforge our empire and craft weapons to never again be rivaled. Like the crone Morai-Heg, we shall weave our own fates and know the truth of our own divinity. Like the mighty war god Khaine, we shall crush and burn our enemies with long overdue vengeance. And in the end, the laughter of Cegorach shall echo across the heavens for all to hear as the Aeldari get the last laugh in the end…" the seer concluded before darkness consumed the stage.

Many among the audience began to cheer, clap, and whistle in approval at the play much to Seiras' confusion. He found it odd that the Dark Eldar were in favor of such an idea, but quickly figured even they liked the small measure of hope that came at the end of such a dreary story. It made more sense to him now why even dark eldar liked harlequins.

The shadowseer cast a beautiful illumination of light as all the harlequins stood in a line and bowed to the audience. Seiras stared at the solitaire, who was standing a noticeable distance away from the others at the end. His intense staring had finally caught the solitaire's attention as her masked face glanced in his direction. He was shocked that she noticed his staring.

Something about the mask and the eerie absence of her face caused Seiras to feel a shiver run down his spine. Time almost seemed to slow down as a strange type of tunnel vision filled Seiras' vision. The locked stares between him and the solitaire had created an almost pinkish and gloomy aura in his peripheral vision. He couldn't tell if she was psychically affecting him but had a feeling that she was.

His vision returned to normal a second later as Mokaela waved a hand in front of his face, "Hey, what are you doing? Who are you staring at?"

Seiras snapped back to reality somewhat relieved when he saw Mokaela standing in front of him with confused eyes. She briefly tried to look down and see what he was looking at, but the solitaire was now gone. The rest of the harlequins all departed shortly afterward to the backstage of their little performing area.

'Sing for her and she'll dance with you…' he heard Iruna's words in his head as he pondered on whether or not it was a good idea to approach the solitaire.

"That was enjoyable! C'mon Seiras, I want you to meet, daddy. I'll bring him right back, Renfaeda," Mokaela spoke to the others as she tried to pull Seiras out of his seat.

'On second thought…I'd rather stay here,' he groaned mentally. He had no clue why Mokaela would want him to meet her father but couldn't really object as the succubus gestured for him to follow her. The others offered various jokes to the succubus for taking Seiras to meet her father, but the librarian ignored it all. He was in his own world right now.

Something about the solitaire had genuinely messed with him. He briefly glanced back at Mairan who was still standing behind Renfaeda and Faelan, 'Mairan broke that trance I was in…what the hell was that? Is going near that solitaire really a good idea?'

"How did you like the play?" Mokaela asked him curiously as the two walked down the steps of the amphitheater. They caught quite a few bewildered stares, as they had both been killed in the arena recently. Seiras paid them no mind, and Mokaela seemed equally as unconcerned about people staring.

"I couldn't really understand what they were saying, but the visuals were interesting," Seiras lied.

Mokaela chuckled, "Oh forgive me…I should have translated it for you. It was about the Fall. My father was one who played Khaine in the play. I'll tell you the story later if you want."

"If you insist on it…" he trailed off unenthusiastically.

After the audience began to disperse a bit, Seiras reluctantly followed Mokaela backstage. Several harlequins turned their heads towards him alertly, as Seiras walked behind the succubus. No doubt they knew who she was, but they were extremely wary of his arrival.

'Alright…focus on land raider calibration. I need to shield my mind,' Seiras thought to himself as he began to occupy his mind with intensely mundane things.

As the two passed backstage, the harlequins watching the door turned to follow them. After walking through a winding path for about a minute or so, Seiras found himself and Mokaela in front of the obvious troupe leaders. Nobody spoke a word for a moment until Mokaela ran up and hugged her father, "It's been forever, daddy! I missed you!"

Seiras remained deathly silent as he kept his mind occupied and sharp.

"Forgive my distance…it is distracting to be here around you. It reminds me too much of your mother. It is good to see you again, Mokaela. I take it your hobbies here have paid off. You were promoted to succubus last I heard, yes?" he asked her.

She smiled eagerly, "Of course! Would you expect any less of me? Your troupe did an amazing job in the play."

"I'm wondering something, daughter…why is there a space marine here with you?" Mokaela's father asked as his masked head glanced behind her towards the stoic librarian. The harlequins seemed greatly interested in Seiras' presence and were no doubt confused by the Kabal colours on his clothes.

The shadowseer walked up to his side and spoke cryptically, "A lost raven caged within Commorragh…strange, I sense very little from him."

Seiras momentarily felt relief when he heard those words as it meant the harlequins weren't aware of his future plan. He felt unease shortly afterward when he realized that the shadowseer called him a 'lost raven.' Nevertheless, he shielded his mind and repressed his aura as much as he could while counting in his head.

"A space marine slave is rather rare. He's not even restrained. How odd…" Mokaela's father noted.

"A librarian as well…he wears the psionic limiter collar. That might explain why I can't sense anything from him," the shadowseer added.

"This is Seiras…he actually beat me in an arena duel. We're on good terms now though. Both of us ended up dying. He killed me and then Renfaeda killed him. The Immortal Revenant Melisara resurrected all of us. Faelan decided to recruit Seiras to serve the Kabal afterward and he's been cooperative ever since," Mokaela explained to the harlequins.

Their heads all noticeably focused on Seiras now and he could feel a slight amount of killing intent coming from some of them. Mokaela's father seemed serious as he looked at Seiras and spoke in gothic, "So…Archon Faelan has recruited you into his service, has he?"

"Obviously," Seiras said simply.

"You have an aura about you…space marine. Even through that collar, I can see the brightness of your soul. You shine brightly, and yet I see nothing of your future. How curious," the shadowseer said in gothic as she got closer. Seiras made sure not to look at her reflective mask as he pretended to be more interested in Mokaela's father.

Seiras did not respond or react to her comment as he kept his mind shielded. The shadowseer circled him briefly before walking away.

"Is this space marine your slave, Mokaela?" her father asked curiously.

"No, he's Renfaeda's slave…" she said with obvious disapproval in her voice.

The shadowseer shook her head, "That's a shame…I would have asked for you to turn him over. We could use a monkeigh like this."

"For what exactly?" Mokaela wondered.

The shadowseer shook her head, "Nothing that concerns you, Mokaela…"

'I need to find that solitaire while I'm here…how am I going to get away from the rest of them though?' Seiras thought briefly.

His concerns seemed to be answered when he saw Renfaeda walk around the corner. The succubus queen acknowledged the harlequins dangerously, "What's this I hear about you wanting MY slave?"

"It is of no concern, Renfaeda Aeshul. We have no intention of taking him from you," the shadowseer replied.

"Seiras, find your way back to the others," Renfaeda commanded as she walked over towards Mokaela's side.

Seizing his opportunity to leave the area, Seiras immediately left. For once he was actually thrilled to see Renfaeda. As he found his way back around and headed for the exit, he sensed the familiar aura from before. Instead of returning outside, he followed his way towards the aura instead. He soon found himself at a distant balcony with a respectable amount of privacy from the other Harlequins' area.

As he expected, Seiras finally caught sight of the solitaire sitting alone at the balcony. Her back was turned to him and she was looking out into the horizon of Commorragh. He slowly approached the harlequin but made sure to not seem like he was sneaking up.

The solitaire didn't budge or react at all as Seiras walked over towards her side. She kept impossibly still poise as she ignored him. Trying to get her attention, Seiras spoke to her, "You were my favorite part of the play."

She didn't react or move at all to his comment. He expected some type of condescending response, but he might as well have been invisible and muted to the silent harlequin. She remained still and unresponsive like a statue.

"You're a solitaire, right? That's why you were playing Slaanesh?" Seiras asked her.

She finally turned her head towards him and stared blankly. He couldn't tell what she was thinking due to the mask and was extremely creeped out by her aura.

"How would you know that? The play is in our language, space marine and Slaanesh looks different to everyone. There's no way you would have known that unless you knew what was going on," the solitaire spoke for the first time. Her voice was extremely depressing and carried an emotional grimness to it. While most Eldar voices were annoying to him, hers actually invoked a feeling of sadness and nihilism. He could almost feel her sorrow and it caused a bit of a contagious depression within him.

"I can understand your language," Seiras replied in her race's tongue. He was taking an incredibly huge risk in doing so, but a part of him wanted to believe that he could trust her.

"I assumed as much…though I find it odd that you would admit it. If you know I'm a solitaire, then you know I can kill you effortlessly. It's an ill omen to speak to one of my kind. What could you possibly want from me?" she asked with a stoically sad voice.

"You assumed I knew your language?" he responded in gothic.

She nodded as she switched back to gothic as well, "I watched you several times from the stage. It seemed likely judging by your reactions to the narration. Many monkeigh have watched the play before, but you're the only one who I've ever seen that interested in it…specifically me. So tell me, space marine…why are you here? You were staring at me the entire play."

"Well…" he tried to think of something to say as the masked solitaire turned her entire body to face him now. Not being able to see her face made this even more awkward and uncomfortable for him.

'Sing for her and she'll dance with you…what the hell does that even mean?! Am I literally supposed to sing for her? Is she the one Iruna was talking about, or was it Meela? No…it would have to be her. Even Ashera thought it sounded more like a solitaire.' Seiras tried to figure out what to say or do.

He had no idea what to sing and tried desperately to think of something. Against all sense of pride and reason he started singing the first song that popped in his head to her. It just so happened to be a song he once heard in a Meridian Underhive. He did his best to sing it despite not being experienced at the act himself:

"Where'd you get the notion you're only mortal?

You know there's a dark place that will make you something more;

I could sell a one-way to absolution;

To the wholly abstract;

Where we'll never drift back ashore;

I've been living on the far side;

I've been leaving footprints in your mind;

Tell me all your secrets I could be your key to the afterlife;

Feel the rhythm in my cold heart;

I could make your soul a work of art;

Just a touch of heaven, walking with the dead makes you feel alive;

We could take a ride on the road to paradise;

You'll abandon your bones for a desolate home away;

Skipping the pain of death;

I'd like to steal your breath and make you new…because you're so blue;

Live beyond this divide and I promise you the other side;

Abandon despair inside of you;

You're ascending now and breaking through;

Nothing else will ever be as true."

After finishing the song, the solitaire simply stared at him. He half expected an insult or some type of resentful reaction, but to his surprise the solitaire tilted her head and spoke cryptically, "Why would you sing a song like that to me?"

He didn't know what to say and was already beginning to regret his actions.

"Nobody has ever sung to me before. I enjoyed it despite your crude voice. However, I still don't understand why you're here…unless the answer was in the lyrics? It's a riddle then? You're here to offer me something?" she questioned.

'This is unusual, but at least she reacted better than I expected her to. What should I ask her though? I mean, Iruna talked about her dancing. I suppose that might work,' Seiras thought.

"I want you to dance with me," he decided to say those cryptic words in the hope it would evoke some type of solution to his dilemma.

The solitaire stared at him silently before speaking, "Do you know how to dance?"

"Not really…" he trailed off.

"You want me to teach you then? Quite a puzzling interaction. Even my kind avoid my company…I've never actually spoken to a monkeigh before in this manner. You actually want to speak with me…how strange. Don't you know it is extremely bad luck to talk to a solitaire? To my kind it's a terrible omen to interact with one." she responded.

"Well I'm not one of your kind, and I'm a slave in Commorragh…I hardly think that matters right now," he countered.

"Your company isn't unwelcome, but I find it unprecedented. You're different than anyone here. I'll admit I also find it fascinating that you can understand and speak the Eldritch language. That would imply you're very intelligent for a monkeigh. Who taught you?" she asked.

"An Aeldari Autarch from the crashed craftworld Aldmorian. I salvaged his spirit stone on Typhon Primaris before an exterminatus wiped out the planet. I kept it for decades and eventually returned it to craftworlders," Seiras answered her.

"Interesting…Autarchs are highly disciplined and extremely loyal to the Aeldari people. They've walked many paths without losing their way and only they have the mental willpower to bear the burden of leadership. Why did he teach you?" she wondered.

Seiras was silent for a moment before answering, "He didn't by choice…I tortured him and threatened to break his stone and send him to Slaanesh if he didn't help me. Although we didn't like each other, I had a small measure of respect for him. The things he taught me saved my life countless times over."

"Strange…a space marine who willingly desired knowledge from an Aeldari? I was under the impression that was heresy in your 'Great Imperium of Man.'" the solitaire noted.

"It is heresy…but desperate times call for desperate actions. I would walk any path to save others from damnation. That is the warrior's sacrifice after all. I bear my own burdens and regrets from these sins I commit, but they're all for a greater cause. My purity is worth sacrificing for the betterment of mankind," Seiras replied.

She finally stood up and she walked over towards him in a ghostly blur. Reaching up, the solitaire felt the collar around his throat, "A psionic limiter collar…you're a psyker. It makes sense considering only a psyker could talk to a spirit stone. So you're a librarian captive in Commorragh who can understand our language? I see why they keep you around now."

"Nobody else knows I can understand them. I've kept that secret to myself," he explained.

"And yet you share this secret with me? You truly walk the path of damnation then." she stated coldly as she brought her hand back.

He sighed as he begrudgingly responded, "I need your help. It's not easy for me to ask of an Eldar…I have no reason to trust you and I know you have no reason to help me, but I'm taking a big leap of faith here."

"Why ask me?" she asked immediately.

"I feel drawn to you..." Seiras admitted even despite how awkward it sounded.

She was deathly quiet again as she circled him like a colorful blur. Seiras felt a slight tickle from her movements and before he even realized what had happened, he saw drawn on markings all over his body. He couldn't tell if it was ink or blood, but it had a heavy texture to it.

He looked at the markings shocked, 'I didn't even see her move. When did these markings get on me?!'

"You see those lines? Each one is a place I would have cut you apart. I still can…" she said with grim hostility.

"Why don't you then?" he countered.

The solitaire practically teleported a distance away as she stood over the ledge of the balcony. She was facing him from her perched area and crouched low before speaking, "You feel drawn to me, do you? I'll admit, I'm genuinely flattered by your request…though that would mean you're cursed if you desire my company. In my two thousand years of life, not one person has ever asked me for help. You're a psyker and yet…you aren't groveling in despair from my mere presence. Can't you sense the taint of Slaanesh within me? You didn't avert your eyes like the others…you stared at me. I was your favorite part of the play, was I? Why is that? Are you touched by Slaanesh as well?"

"I am…I've heard Slaanesh's voice before. I also have psychic glamour…at least that's what a farseer told me once. I can tolerate the presence of blanks to some degree. The collar might also shield me as well," he explained.

"I'm not a pariah or blank as you understand it, but my cursed empty soul does create a negative psychic void around me. The effect is the same though. Even my own kind don't like being near me. My only interactions are in the plays and the dances…you're the first person in over a thousand years who has actually attempted to talk to me like this. Why are you under the impression I can help you?" she wondered.

"I don't know, but a farseer sent me on this path," he told the truth.

"This farseer sent you on the path of damnation. You're a sacrifice for one of their agendas I imagine. I suppose they hoped you would help their own people along the way? Let me guess…the farseer was from Iybraesil? They expected you to help free their aspect warriors here I assume. Does that mean you want my help to escape?" the solitaire asked.

Seiras remained silent as he looked directly at the eyes of the mask. He didn't know what to say and simply did not answer.

"No…I won't help you. Specifically, I won't help that farseer. If you want to share the company of another damned soul though…I might humor such an idea. I don't have any friends, so I won't dismiss you just for being a monkeigh." the solitaire finally broke the eerily quiet tension.

'Well this was a colossal waste of time. Now I have to worry about her telling the others about my ability to understand them.' he thought concerned.

"Perhaps you could change my mind though…" she trailed off as she reappeared directly in front of him.

Seiras felt a horrible shiver run down his spine as he was forced to his knees from impossibly fast precision strikes. The solitaire held a blade to his throat and began to caress the flesh and newly grown stubble hairs of his face with the weapon.

"How?" he finally asked her as the lack of a follow up caused his anxiousness to skyrocket. He wasn't scared, but this situation was definitely a lot more intense than he wanted it to be.

"I love games, but nobody ever plays with me. Do you like to play games?" she asked him seriously.

He didn't want to say yes, but had a feeling there wasn't any choice in the matter. He spoke calmly, "Yes."

The solitaire retracted her blade as she sat on the balcony edge and patted next to her side for him to sit down. He got up and walked over before sitting next to the unusual harlequin. His legs were hanging over the edge of the balcony drop off as they sat side by side.

"Do you like riddles? Answer this riddle for me: Forward and forward I go, never looking back. My limit no one knows, more of me do they lack. Like a river I do flow, and a bird I fly. Now can you guess, what am I?" she asked as her head turned towards him dangerously.

Seiras thought for a moment, 'Unknown limit…flows like a river…more of it do we lack…always going forward…'

"Time?" he answered her slowly.

She nodded, "Yes, I am time. Here's another one for you: The more you take, the more you leave behind. What am I?"

'What do I take that I leave behind? Man just when I think I'm making progress with her this starts happening. It's like one step forward and two steps back. Wait…' he sighed mentally.

"Footsteps?" he answered cautiously.

The solitaire nodded, "Correct. How about this one: You see me in the water, but I never get wet. What am I?"

Seiras thought for a moment before the answer seemed obvious, "A reflection."

"What belongs to you, but others use it more than you?" she asked.

'Why do I get the feeling she's going to kill me if I get one of these wrong? I haven't even asked her damn name yet. Wait…Name!' he thought seriously.

"My name," he answered.

"What is your name, space marine?" she took a break from her riddles and asked him directly.

He answered her immediately, "Seiras. What's yours?"

"I'll tell you if you can answer more riddles for me. Next one: What's harder to catch, the faster you run?" she asked.

"My breath," he answered. Luckily this one was pretty simple.

"You will always find me in the past. I can be created in the present, but the future can never taint me. What am I?" she followed up.

'These are starting to get more difficult. Let's see…if the future can't taint it, but the present can create it…history?' he thought.

"History," the librarian answered.

"Too easy. What is easy to get into but hard to get out of?" she continued.

'Will this nonsense ever end? I'm going to get myself into some serious trouble here if I mess this up. Trouble!' the librarian thought relieved.

"Trouble," he replied.

"These aren't really difficult, but I'm impressed that you can answer them. I honestly expected you to mess up by now," the solitaire noted.

He stared at her briefly before asking a dangerous question, "What happens if I get one wrong?"

"Then you lose," she replied purposely vague.

"I won't miss any then," he said with resolve in an attempt to mask his concerns.

"The more there is…the less you see. What am I?" she kept going.

"Darkness," he replied.

"What can be swallowed but can also swallow you?" the solitaire asked as she scooted closer towards him.

Seiras thought about her question for a long ten seconds as he desperately tried to figure this one out. Eventually the epiphany his him as he answered anxiously, "Pride!"

"Getting nervous now?" she tilted her head at him.

Seiras sighed, "How many more of these do I have to answer?"

"I'll tell you what…if you can stump me on one, then you win. Go ahead and throw your best riddle at me," the solitaire said with calm neutrality.

Trying to remember riddles he's heard throughout his life, Seiras spoke one his sister Shirin got him with once, "When I live, I cry…if you do not kill me, I'll die."

The solitaire was silent for almost a full minute much to Seiras' confusion. He honestly expected her to answer the riddle as it wasn't actually that difficult.

She looked at Seiras and finally answered, "Sorrow?"

"Actually it's a candle…" he said slowly

"Hah! A candle? I suppose I overlooked that possibility. Your primitive Imperium still burns wax to create light. That was a rather unfair riddle on your part. I completely forgot candles even existed," she laughed.

Seiras was somewhat curious to see her depressing and nihilistic voice change into a light laugh. Seeing this type of a reaction was completely unexpected.

"I actually didn't think it would give you any trouble," he replied.

The solitaire sighed, "Well a deal's a deal…you win. I'm actually impressed, Seiras. I'll tell you my name now…It's Aenaria."

"Is there no way I can change your mind about helping me Aenaria? I'm willing to do just about anything at this point." he followed up.

The solitaire faced him again before replying, "Really now? That's a game worth playing. Impress me...try to win me over and I'll consider it."

"Wait, what do you mean by 'win you over?'" he asked, but upon finishing her sentence, the harlequin practically disappeared out of nowhere. Seiras looked around in confusion as he tried to locate her, but soon realized she was gone.

'How exactly am I going to win her over? What does that even mean? Well this turned out to be a bad idea as usual. Maybe I did get cursed talking to her,' Seiras sighed as he left the area.

To his surprise, he noticed the areas that Aenaria marked him with were now gone. He was actually thankful for this as he didn't have any way to explain it to the wyches. Even despite their removal, Seiras still felt marked in a way.

After a short trek back, he finally found his way towards the amphitheater again where he spotted an angry Renfaeda. She quickly growled at him, "I thought I told you to return here! Did you go wandering off?! Don't tell me you were getting funny ideas about running away!"

Before he could answer, his collar began to zap him with excruciating pain. He fell to the ground and shrieked in agony as Renfaeda definitely hit the highest setting on it.

"Stay away from these damned harlequins, Seiras! That's an order from your master!" Renfaeda growled.