The Reikä of the Plunge
Written by Rubynium.
It’s easy to forget how deep the caverns under High Heart reach. Most everyone has seen the Plunge at some time or another, and borne witness to the ceremonial challenge wherein a griffon and their rider dive to the edge of the darkness below and soar across to the waiting crowds. There are very few alive today, however, who have seen what lies in those depths, masked by shadow and darkness - what terrible things form the true challenge of the Ninth Trial.
You all know, of course, about our seven Perhe, yes? Good, good - now, how many of you remember what you’ve learned about the eighth Perhe?
Hmm. Your teachers have been slacking, I see. Well, many seasons ago - before my grandmother’s grandmother was born - the Mountain Queen created eight Perhes, blessing each with a piece of herself and the world we stand upon. The mysterious eighth Perhe was given the gift of the Blood of the Realm, a gift that we no longer understand, other than that the Empress must find some as she undertakes the Trial of Heart.
Now, many say that the Eighth Perhe - winds carry their memories - simply dissolved into the other seven after many years. This may well be true for the vast majority of their people, but this history forgets one of the oldest stories of our history - one that I will share with you now, if you are unafraid.
In the Ancient Times, there lived a woman named Veri. Veri was strong and swift and loyal, everything a Sovereign could hope to be. She belonged to the Eighth Perhe, and with her aid and the strength of her griffon, they became the strongest of Perhes for a time, guarding High Heart from any who dared to attack it. It is said they once even warded off an incursion by an Elder Drake - but that is not the story you came here to hear.
When the previous Sovereign died, Veri was one of those who took part in the Trials to become the next Sovereign. She sailed through the Trials with ease, every one - until the Trial of Heart. She and her griffon, Sukeltaa, descended into the Plunge with the others who had made it to the ninth trial, full of confidence and might - but when she returned, she was changed. All who took on the Trial of Heart came back slightly different, of course, but Veri seemed to have faced something truly unthinkable. Her eyes, once the warm brown of a griffon’s, were now a yellow-white that looked almost like liquid starlight, and even though bloodstains marked her coat, she refused to remove it for anyone to examine her. The Trial concluded, as she and a handful of others had completed it, and Veri returned to her Perhe.
That night, many in the Eighth Perhe heard a knocking at their doors. When they opened their doors to see who called upon them at this late hour, they found Veri standing before them, summoning them to a meeting at the outskirts of their town. Many found themselves compelled to follow her, and as the moon reached its zenith that night, near half the Perhe stood in the snow by their village, watching as Veri - she with eyes like the Blood of the Realm - turned her back to them and removed her bloodstained coat.
There were no wounds - no scars, no bruises, nothing that would indicate a danger that had befallen her. Nothing except the gaping void where her back once was, a blackness deeper than the Plunge and littered with distant stars. All those who laid eyes upon that void felt their eyes glow white and turn to stars, and identical holes opened in each of their backs. They were compelled to follow Veri as she called out to her griffon, Sukeltaa - whose eyes now glowed with starlight - and led those with holes in their backs to the depths of the Plunge, where the Ninth Trial always struck. She led them into the darkness, and guided them by the light of the Blood of the Realm into the very deepest caverns.
Years passed, and the Eighth Perhe was weakened by the loss of their strongest warrior. No one knew where Veri and her followers had gone, only that they had disappeared into the night and never returned. It was only when the new Sovereign died, and the next set of Trial-takers returned from the depths, that they learned what had happened.
There were four who had come far enough to descend into the Plunge for the Ninth Trial - their names were Hyvä, Lohtu, Kasvanut, and Yrittää. Lohtu led the way down into the darkness, and the four of them travelled together for a time, until Yrittää froze in place by the stream. The other three looked them over for a moment, using Hyvä’s rune-light to try and find some sign of what had happened, but found no obvious change. It seemed that Yrittää had been paralyzed by some strange force, unable to move or even to breathe. The three who remained discussed among themselves, but continued onward.
Soon, the same affliction struck Kasvanut, who froze mid-step and toppled to the ground. As he fell, he shattered like glass, and when Hyvä and Lohtu looked him over, they found that his eyes - still intact - now glowed like stars.
The two of them refused to continue further than was absolutely necessary, and raised Hyvä’s light higher to make their path clear. They could see the light of the Blood of the Realm ahead of them, and they drew nearer and nearer, watching with every step for movement or magic. They saw nothing.
They reached the stream of starlight, staying close to one another, and knelt to fill their vials of the Blood. As they stood and began to leave, Hyvä stepped in front of Lohtu and shouted, pointing ahead of them into the darkness. Her voice died on her lips as she froze, Blood of the Realm still in her hand, and Lohtu stepped back with fear. Their heel touched the stream just as they looked up and saw a creature stepping out of the darkness.
A griffon and its four-winged rider, their eyes glowing with the might of a thousand distant stars, strode out of the shadows toward them, and they heard a cry that echoed in their ears long after the sound had stopped.
And Lohtu ran, past the griffon and into the darkness of the caves. As they went, they saw shadows of all sorts, and distant tiny stars that glittered in the depths of the darkness. They felt a stillness settling over their limbs each time they saw those stars, but the growing warmth of the Blood of the Realm on their ankle repelled the paralysis for long enough for them to escape. They held Hyvä’s light aloft, lighting their path, and almost escaped unharmed until they raced past the place where Yrittää had been frozen. Their fellow Trial-taker was no longer trapped in place - they were standing with fingers curled into fists, glaring in Lohtu’s direction with eyes that glowed like stars.
Lohtu screamed, and the sound echoed out of the Plunge, reaching the ears of even the bystanders outside. As they screamed, they felt claws rake into their back, tearing at their skin, as the griffon Sukeltaa appeared from the darkness, its four-winged rider dismounting and brandishing a spear.
Lohtu called for their griffon, and a swift battle ensued - the Reikä, those with holes in their backs, fought to trap Lohtu in the Plunge, while Lohtu and their griffon attempted to flee. Only by the grace of the Blood of the Realm on their heel could Lohtu withstand the paralyzing voids of the Reikä, but their years in the darkness had strengthened them to truly terrifying levels. Their Four-Winged Queen was the deadliest of all, sending blow after vicious blow toward Lohtu. Finally, though, they managed to blind her with Hyvä’s light, distracting her and all her army for just a moment. That moment was enough for them to mount up, flying out of the Plunge faster than a peregrine’s dive, with the Blood of the Realm still in hand.
It was only on Sovereign Lohtu’s deathbed that they could find the words to describe the horror of the Reikä and their warrior queen. No other Sovereign has ever described the terrible, wonderful things they have seen in the depths, but there are plenty of reasons to trust the words of your elders in this regard - never venture into the Plunge alone. There is always something in that darkness, waiting for the unprepared to step into its grasp.
And if one of your fellows has eyes that glow like stars, never, never let them turn their back to you.