Lassim’s eyes fluttered open, the sparse light of the subterranean world’s flickering wall flames casted eerie shadows across the cavern walls.
He felt a profound weakness enveloping his body, an emptiness that gnawed at his insides. His sleep had been deep but unrefreshing, the lack of mana was making it feel as though he was slowly being drained of life.
With a groan, he pushed himself to a sitting position, the room spinning slightly as he did so.
Pushing through the dizziness, Lassim staggered to his feet and made his way through the network of tunnels in search of Sanvra.
The air felt heavy and thick, which did nothing to ease his pain and sick feeling.
Thankfully, he found her after a short search with her presence near one of the many shrines dedicated to Khaalseru.
"[Sanvra]," Lassim called out weakly as he approached her. "[I... I need to find a way to access the mana here. I’m not sure how much longer I can last like this.]"
Sanvra’s expression turned somber as she nodded, understanding the urgency of his situation.
Without another word, she led him deeper into the caverns to a secluded area where the presence of worship for Khaalseru was strongest. The walls here were adorned with the skeletal trophies of countless hunts, each one placed with deliberate care to honor their god. These countless shrines filled every crevice and available space in the cavern with barely any room, except for the center pathways.
As they reached the middle of the room, they settled down and sat across from each other, Sanvra gestured for Lassim to prepare himself.
He took a deep, steadying breath and summoned his halberd, the weapon appearing in a flash of light that briefly illuminated the dim surroundings. Sanvra raised an eyebrow in surprise but said nothing as he placed the weapon across his lap. She had seen his weapon in his memories, but it was the first time he’d summoned it since arriving.
"[Begin when you feel ready. I’ll try to support you]," she instructed softly.
Lassim closed his eyes and tried to connect with the mana of the plane, to draw it towards him as he had so many times before in other places.
But here, the mana felt almost alive, antagonistic, recoiling from his touch as if repelled by his very presence. It was the same as when he last tried.
He gritted his teeth, frustration mounting with each failed attempt to press against the will that held the mana in the air.
Seeing his struggle, Sanvra reached out her hands, her palms facing him as she too tried to coax the stubborn mana.
"[Let’s try together]," she suggested, her voice tense with concentration. "[Focus on your halberd. Mayhap we can channel it through that.]"
They both concentrated hard, beads of sweat forming on their foreheads as they exerted all their mental strength to direct the mana towards the halberd.
The air around them seemed to thicken, charged with their combined efforts, but still, the mana resisted, slipping away like snow melting away in their fingers.
Exhausted and disheartened, they finally paused, gasping for air. Lassim leaned back against the cool stone ground, resting for a moment. He wiped the sweat from his brow, his expression one of deep frustration and deeper exhaustion than before.
Lassim’s struggle with the elusive mana of the Drow’s underground realm had grown increasingly frustrating.
Despite Sanvra’s help, the mana here seemed almost sentient in its refusal to cooperate, shying away from his every attempt at connection.
The atmosphere in the cave felt dense, the oppressive nature of the untouched mana weighing heavily around them.
They began to try again, and again, and again.
Each of Lassim’s attempts ended in failure, leaving him feeling more drained than before.
His mind raced for solutions, his body tensed in concentration, and his spirit wavered between determination and despair as every attempt used up the little bits of the mental strength he had left.
Finally, overwhelmed by the futility of his efforts and the gnawing weakness that clung to his limbs, Lassim’s frustration boiled over as he shouted in the common tongue, "WHY ARE YOU BEING SO STUBBORN!!!"
In a moment of sheer exasperation, he released a pulse of lightning energy, more as an expression of his irritation than as a calculated attempt to harness the mana.
The burst of electricity was minor, but it crackled sharply through the air, inadvertently striking the cluster of corrupted mana that was being accumulated above his halberd with Sanvra’s support.
To Lassim’s surprise and Sanvra’s astonishment, the lightning didn’t disperse or repel the mana.
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Instead, it interacted with it in a way they hadn’t anticipated: the dark, sluggish energy around the halberd shimmered briefly, and where the lightning touched, the corruption seemed to dissipate slightly, rendering the mana less hostile and more malleable.
Sanvra’s and Lassim’s spiritual senses immediately noticed the difference the tiny bit of lightning had made on the mana.
The discovery was accidental but revolutionary. Lassim looked at Sanvra, a spark of hope flickering in his eyes. "[Did you see that?]" he asked, pointing to where the lightning had purified the mana.
Sanvra nodded, her eyes wide with a mix of curiosity and excitement. "[Your lightning... it cleansed it somehow. Can—Can you try that again?]"
Encouraged by this unexpected breakthrough, Lassim focused his remaining energy.
Drawing upon the small reserves of mana he had managed to conserve, he directed another deliberate bolt of lightning towards the densest part of the corrupted mana and wrapped it up within a cage that contained it.
Again, the electrical energy seemed to sear through the corruption, cleansing it and leaving behind mana that shimmered with a newfound purity. It seemed that the hostile will was more amenable and placid now.
Realizing the potential of this technique, Lassim worked methodically, his movements precise.
Each strike of lightning refined the mana further, making it progressively easier for him to draw it towards himself.
With every successful attempt, he felt the first bits of mana were ready to be consumed by his cultivation technique and become part of him.
When the mana was absorbed into his body, it was like the most ancient and powerful springs of pure health had entered his veins.
This mana was like heaven compared to the mana abundant in the air of Nexaria. He only received a tiny bit of the mana, an amount that previously would be enough to barely generate an unformed lightning bolt attack, yet, it was like the most nutritious meal he’d ever had.
His body shuddered in pleasure as he felt the mana nourish his dried out mana veins and rush towards his inner heart world.
Both Zaphy and Mari were still deep in their slumber but he could see with his spiritual sense that their bodies were regaining a bit of color.
Sanvra, witnessing this transformation, began to understand the implications of what just happened. "[...Absorb… MY STAR! THIS IS IT! This is what they meant by absorb! Your ability to wield your godly lightning can help us! Your lightning can renew our plane to a time before the corruption!
We might be able to be free from this prison!]"
The High Priestess completely lost her composure and basically tackled Lassim in a hug from her seated position, knocking him over as semi-frozen tears began to shed down her cheeks.
Lassim blushed madly in embarrassment by the sudden physical affection, but mainly out of awkwardness as he didn’t know what to do. He gently patted her head that was resting on his chest as he replied, "[I’ll do my best to help. I don’t know how long this will take, but we will do it.]"
Motivated by this revelation, Lassim and Sanvra continued to work, his initial frustration transformed into a rhythmic process of purification.
The air around them crackled with energy, each flash of lightning bringing more of the stubborn Drow mana into a state where it could finally be absorbed.
Exhausted yet elated and finally with mana reserves full again, Lassim finally took a break, feeling the life-giving mana coursing through his veins once more.
They each took a moment to study the changes in the mana in the air. A considerable amount had been cleansed, but the corruption still affected the entire plane. The amount of mana they cleansed and absorbed was like a single drop of a massive room-sized bucket.
Yet, even this room-sized space was a tiny speck, not even a full drop, of the entirety of the massive plane’s total mana that needed to be cleansed.
As they wrapped up their session, Sanvra spoke, her voice soft yet firm, "[What you’ve discovered today could change everything for us. Not just for you, but for all the Drow. You really are our star.]"
She stared into his eyes as she finished her statement. Behind her snowy white pupils, a plan was forming. Her gaze towards Lassim became more affectionate, but tinged with a small amount of worship. She was determined to relay some messages the next moment she was alone.
Lassim, now visibly stronger and more confident, nodded in agreement. "[It seems I’m here for this reason after all]," he reflected, a smile breaking through the fatigue. "[If the size of this room is anything to go off of, I really don’t know how long it’ll take. But! Let’s see how quickly we can cleanse this place and get all of us out of here! That’s a promise from me to your people.]"
Together, they planned their next steps.