The Domini Saga :the Void War

Sil’Thalis remains beside the shallow spring beneath the waystone, alone in the copper-lit cavern. The conduit pulses through black rock, sending gentle warmth into the water.

As he studies the spring, its silver glow gathers around a deeper fissure. Brief impressions surface there: muddy footprints crossing the cavern floor and vanishing into the buried route.

The impressions do not form a summons or command. They are only a residue of passage, yet the mud appears fresh enough to suggest that something used the route recently.

The copper conduit answers with a slower pulse. The spring’s restorative current remains gentle, while the fissure darkens beneath the shifting reflections.

Beyond the fissure, the buried passage descends beneath the Troll Hills. No house mark, refuge sign, or witness-pattern identifies whoever left the tracks.

The route behind Sil’Thalis remains open toward the waystone, and the spring continues to offer its gradual healing current. The cavern waits without directing his next step.

Sil’Thalis lowers his restored hand into the shallow spring, allowing only a thin thread of his scar-born reserve to meet the silver-copper current.

The water answers gradually. Warmth travels from his palm through the marked arm, separating the spring’s restorative flow from his own power before either can overwhelm the other.

He increases the flow by a measured degree, then stops. The circuit accepts the added strength through distributed channels, leaving the old scars visible but stable.

Sensation remains clear from fingertips to shoulder. The numbness does not return, and the reserve settles more evenly beneath the skin instead of pressing against the damaged pathways.

The spring has proven its use: brief, controlled contact can reinforce Sil’Thalis’s magical circuit without draining his life force or requiring the conduit to obey him.

Sil’Thalis draws a small vial and fills it from the spring, keeping the container beneath the surface only long enough to gather a measured portion.

He raises the vial and tastes a few drops. The water is cool, faintly mineral, and carries the same gradual warmth that strengthened his scar-born circuit.

Nothing resists him. The current passes cleanly through his mouth and throat, settling as a mild restorative presence without draining his reserve or altering his memory.

His marked arm remains steady. The old scars neither flare nor fade, while the circuit holds its distributed strength with clear sensation from fingertips to shoulder.

The vial contains only spring water, but its measured effect is confirmed: small amounts can reinforce the damaged pathways without requiring direct immersion.

The cavern remains quiet around him. The fissure offers no summons, the buried route stays open, and the spring continues its patient flow beneath the Troll Hills.

Sil’Thalis follows the fresh muddy tracks into the fissure, carrying the filled vial at his belt. The narrow passage accepts him without resistance, descending beneath the copper-lit spring.

The fissure widens into a low passage where wet footprints cross pale mineral dust. Their edges remain sharp, confirming recent passage, but no voice or presence answers from the dark.

He follows the trail around a bend and reaches a broad underground gallery. Copper threads run through its ceiling, carrying the spring’s restorative pulse farther beneath the hills.

The tracks end beside a flat stone bearing three wet handprints and a small bundle of reed-wrapped provisions. Nothing bears a house mark, command, or witness-pattern.

Beyond the stone, two passages continue: one slopes toward a distant amber glow, while the other follows the copper conduit into deeper darkness. Both remain open, and the fresh trail has led Sil’Thalis here.

Sil’Thalis kneels beside the flat stone and studies the three wet handprints without touching them. Their sizes and spacing show three separate travelers paused here together.

The first print is broad and deeply pressed, with two missing fingertips. The second is narrow, marked by a ring-shaped mineral stain. The third is smaller, but its fingers trail toward the amber passage.

Copper resonance clings to each impression differently. The broad hand carried a burden, the narrow hand tested the stone, and the smaller hand pressed firmly toward the amber glow.

Beneath the prints, Sil’Thalis finds a shallow inscription revealed by moisture: three entered, none claimed the conduit, and the amber passage was chosen for shelter.

The reed-wrapped provisions contain dried roots, a flint, and a folded strip of undyed cloth. No mark identifies their owners, but the supplies are recently prepared.

The handprints hold no command or witness-pattern. They record a voluntary pause and a departure toward amber light, while the copper passage remains open and unclaimed.

Sil’Thalis follows the smaller traveler’s handprint into the amber passage, carrying the filled vial at his belt. The copper conduit fades behind him as warm mineral light guides the way.

The passage opens into a sheltered grotto beneath the hills. Amber crystals grow from the walls, and a dry stone ledge overlooks a shallow pool fed by a quiet underground trickle.

A small hearth of blackened stones rests beside the ledge, still holding a trace of old warmth. Reed fibers and root fragments lie nearby, but no one remains in the grotto.

Beyond the pool, the amber passage ends at a broad alcove protected from falling stone and underground water. The route back remains visible and unobstructed.

Sil’Thalis reaches the shelter without resistance. The crystals brighten around his restored hand, revealing no command, ownership, or witness-pattern in the refuge.