Indigo (NaNoWriMo13)

Chapter 23 - A Warden's Bidding

He smirked. “Yes, Gaby, please remain quiet unless you have something worthwhile to say.”

“I could say the same to you.”

Discord turned around and realised he hadn’t been the reason behind the green Elites change in expression at all.

Not even close.

A female and a male stood over him, staring down their noses with an air of barely contained annoyance. The female struck him as a regal creature, with pale blue lines of etched out runes tattooed into her skin, across her face, arms and neck. The tattoos seemed to resemble the templates for the runes rather than the runes themselves. Discord guessed the male had twenty years up on his female counterpart because his skin had long since given way to gravity, but he too bore the same runes.

The pair was unmistakable.

“Warden Karma, Warden Pyha,” said Discord, inclining his head. Even he wasn’t stupid enough to mess around with Wardens nearby, even if he still couldn’t quite believe it. Wardens? Here? What could possibly be happening that would dictate their presence?

He removed himself quickly from the chair and stood beside it. “May I offer you the seat?”

Karma’s lips curved into a smile, marring the perfect edges of the tattooed runes across her lips.

“You may.”

 She lowered herself into the chair with an air of grace, folding her runemarked hands in her lap as Pyha took his place beside her. Both wore a satchel harbouring their premade runes secured from their waists, while the rest of their body was garbed in a shimmering blue suit that radiated power.

 Discord had never quite managed to figure out where the Warden’s material came from so he could get some for himself.

In yellow, of course. The real colour of power, the colour of pure energy.

“What are two Wardens doing in our humble headquarters?” asked Discord. “If I may so inquire, that is.”

Karma was the first to answer. “I’m at the understanding that all here are in confidence of the project currently being undertaken in regards to Rathe?” Nods around the table. “We have reason to believe that its completion is under threat.”

Discord frowned. “We had Wardens Illiriya and Caiden here not four weeks ago to check up on the project’s progress and they deemed it satisfactory. They appeared pleased that we’ve managed to locate a Spectrum as well as keep it on track to finish in three year’s time as originally planned.”

He couldn’t read Karma through her perfect mask of neutrality. “While you have indeed found what is looking to be the yellow Spectrum, there have been reports of something much more sinister taking hold in Sirah. That her armband has broken only adds to my concern. They are difficult to create, but much more so to destroy.”

The female Warden paused, letting her gaze linger on each Elite for a second or two until she finally rested on Discord.

“How many of you would agree that the Herald has finally realised their potential?”

The response was uncertain murmurs that dedicated their belief to either side, but it was a purple colour that found their nerve before the rest.

“We haven’t found anything that would indicate such a thing, Warden Karma,” he said, obviously trying to resist biting the inside of his cheek. “The project is based here in Sirah, and it would make sense for the Herald to directly assault it if they understood their purpose in Rathe’s arrival already.”