Myena vs Efialtera

 

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Intro

This is a story about Myena, the Black Hunter, who welcomed challenges with open arms.

Born as one of the first four Gyarii to ever exist, fast and agile, Myena lived solely with a single urge that drove her actions from her very core. The thrill of danger!

Inside the group, Myena played the role of the provider, hunting wildlife and bringing food to the table. But her hunting method was not conventional at all. She would do things her own way. Presenting herself in front of her prey as a menacing presence. Any eyes that met her figure would feel a death sentence cast upon them, for there was no living creature that could match her speed in hope of escaping.

Known for her abrupt behavior, bloodthirsty mood, and cruel jokes, she was branded as the scariest and deadliest of the Gyarii.

At night, when Myena would return from a successful hunt, the gyarii would gather for a feast around a circular table. If the weather allowed it, they would do it outside at the center of the square and under the watch of the moon, which was slowly falling asleep and was letting the stars prevail in the darkness of the sky dome.

Glimmering candles were lit humbly upon and around the table, and the soft glow of their flickering flames would cast a warm, golden hue upon the faces of the gyarii filled with laughter. They were content to be together, no matter how few of them existed at that time; they were forming a strong and happy group. Their joyful voices and hummings would harmonize perfectly with the cozy and friendly atmosphere around them.

During that time, Myena would always be in high spirits and the one to break that harmony with her disturbing words and her alarming voice, which could easily interchange between husky and high-pitched. Her first intention was to tease Elvana, the Mother of Nature and the one who always opposed her cruel behavior.

”You know, Elvana, you are considered the Mother of Nature and all, but you wouldn’t survive one night in the wilds. There is one simple rule there: "Hunt or be hunted.” If you drop off your guard or fall asleep at the wrong time, the beasts will find the opportunity and... bite off your  head!" She highlighted that last sentence with a mischievous chuckle. 

However, Elvana was unfazed by Myena’s challenging words. She knew Myena’s wicked attitude very well, like she knew herself. “Believe me, my dear Myena. I understand the nature of living things much better than you can imagine. And although I know they are capable of brutality, they are equally capable of love as well."

Love Interest

Love, eh? Myena thought she understood that sentiment. Wasn’t love that kind of feeling when you wanted to make something yours? That you find it worthy enough to deserve your attention and treatment, however rough it was? Then, wasn’t her hunting considered an act of love? After all, she would only chase the worthiest of the prey. Myena was amused by that thought.

Even with her lover, Addlestar, she was rough and possessive. From her perspective, he was her property and belonged to her alone. And yes, he did receive all of her attention and care at the moments they were together.

And Addlestar would appreciate her love, for it was true. Cruel but true, unbound by any rules or restrictions. And Myena would never lie. She didn’t have to. She didn’t care if her words hurt or irritated. All the while, she had nothing to hide from. She would only look at you dead in the eye and show her true intentions. Impulsive as she was, Myena lived solely in the present moment.

The night before the Gyari left their homeland, in order to migrate towards the lands of the East, Addlestar and Myena came together for a last sultry night. After all, they would be separated afterwards. Their connection was always strong and intense, and before dawn, their heated bodies would quiver in passion and satisfaction. However, Addlestar couldn’t help but express his worry.

“Myena, why don’t you come with us? We will need your help on our journey. No one knows the dangers we might encounter,” he asked, although he had already gotten the same answer many times before.

Myena chuckled. “You have Asterios and Elvana, right? You will be fine! For me, there is another path to take. A path that’s been calling me for a long time now…”

True Nature

And indeed, when the gyarii entered the Astral Cave as the safest path towards the east, Myena took a different, northern one. She dwelled into the land of the Arachnias, where nightmarish and extremely lethal territorial creatures were creeping.

 There she was now, all alone in an unexplored and most dangerous part of the earth. This sensation was so thrilling to her. For, she found power in solitude. Free and strong, no one could bend her will, and no one could force any kind of rule upon her. In this state, Myena was in her truest nature.

Her vicious smile was unfazed as she walked in this rotten land of the Nightmares, her demeanor unrivaled. At that moment, even the wind was afraid of touching her.

Skirmish

At some point, the terrain started caving in and around her. The sharp rocks curled in a manner like they wanted to devour her. In this tunnel that she found herself, it felt like the whole world narrowed to a dark corridor.

On the walls, Myenna was hearing creeping sounds. The sounds of beasts walking on multiple legs. “Five, six…no, eight.” Her keen hearing as a hunter could tell her that these creatures possessed eight legs each. And they were moving fast. “There must be dozens of them."

Myena stretched her bare hands to the sides as she was walking this narrow passageway; her head bowed a little, her smile widened. “Come, come, my dearlings. What are you waiting for? The perfect  moment?" She chuckled to herself and then lied with her back against the floor. Her legs and arms extended in an X position; she was now completely unguarded.

“Now’s your chance,” she yelled, and like a squad obeying their commander’s orders, the spiderlings jumped out of the shadows. As she was lying on her back, Myena witnessed a swarm of nightmares floating above her, about to land on top of her. They were huge and creepy. Their legs were slim and pointy. They were like no other beasts she hunted back in the moonyard. A new prey!

With a swift motion, she got to her feet, drew her twin blades, and, like a bolt, launched towards the ceiling. During that spring, she sliced, and two of the spiders fell dead to the ground. As Myena stabbed the ceiling and was now hanging from her sword, she looked down to see that the rest of the spiders had landed and were now looking up at her. They were covering the whole surface of the floor. The ground was like a sea of enemies that were now creeping on the walls, rapidly making their way towards her position.

“Beasts that can climb walls!” Myena laughed with excitement. She unpinned her sword from the ceiling and began falling. As she was mid-air, she enhanced her daggers with her inner astral energy, and as she spun them both, she produced a hurricane of electricity that shocked every enemy around her.

In the end, all the spiders fell with their backs to the ground, their legs shriveled, and their bodies fried.

Efialtera: The Queen of Arachnias

At last, Myena reached the queen’s lair, a massive castle of sharp rocks and intertwined tunnels. The structure of the foundation was so intricate and spontaneous at the same time that it left one wondering if this was the work of an intelligent being or a randomly malevolent formation of the terrain.

Myena entered inside and immediately felt the wind howling as it passed through the countless circular tunnels, echoing like desperate cries for help. Myena chuckled to herself. "No one is coming to save you in this god’s forsaken place.” The rough topography around her, the ground, and the walls were coated with webs, and from the ceiling there were occasionally hanging captured prey covered in strings.

This place was a labyrinth, and it annoyed Myena. She didn’t like puzzles. She didn’t like anything that wasn’t straightforward. She tried taking different paths again and again, only to end up looping in the same place. This maze of tunnels, combined with the terrifying shapes like screaming faces and otherworldly entities that were randomly forming on the rocks, were meant to drive her crazy with fear and desperation. But they only worked to fuel her irritation. 

Myenna took a big, long breath and focused. Somewhere around here, she could sense an overwhelming presence. At the heart of this labyrinth radiated a powerful aura that sent shivers down her spine. That thing would come and devour her at her most vulnerable moment, when she was completely spent and on the edge of madness from wandering into this complex of no escape. That’s what her hunting instinct told her.

The moment she understood that, her mind cleared. She closed her eyes and followed her senses. With a slow pace, she began walking again, talking turns and paths on the various tunnels that presented themselves in front of her. The possible routes were endless, but in her mind, there was only one straightforward path now.

Finally, she stopped moving. She had reached there. To the core of the labyrinth. Every stimulus was now intensifying around her. Myena exhaled, opened her eyes, and slowly raised her head. Then, her pupils shrank to the size of a dot!

Myena was shaking. She chuckled. Then laughed. Then laughed even harder! So hard that the tunnels around her were echoing and amplifying her sound in such a way that the countless abused souls that were lost in that place were laughing with her. But that laugh had a false tone in it. It was the unsettling, terrifying kind. The laugh of a crazy man.

Above her there was a horrifying entity. A creature that seemed to derive from another world. The world of Nightmares. And that creature was their master. Efialtera, the Queen of the Arachnias. 

Myena looked into her eyes, and what she saw surprised her. There was no trace of a soul, no way of communication. What that creature saw in Myena was a target, a prey. Nothing more, nothing less, and no hope for something different. If that creature did possess a soul, it was hiding below the depths of the abyss inside it. Efialtera was a monster beyond monsters.

But so was Myena. Perhaps in a different way, but that didn’t matter at that moment. Her laugh signaled the start of a thrilling duel. A duel lost in time and space in this god’s forsaken land. With no witnesses and no interruptions.

The world shook as Myena launched an attack. A slice towards one of Efialtera’s legs with the intention of chopping them off. However, the queen’s hard skin was left unscathed. She raised one of her other legs and stabbed downward in order to nail Myena to the ground. Myena evaded the attack, and below her, as she was now, she aimed to slice Efialtera’s belly. 

The spider jumped towards the ceiling, and by walking on the walls, she disappeared in the shadow. Then, the darkness around Myena rose, leaving only a spot of light where she stood, and Efialterra was creeping in every direction. Myena tried to focus, to read the spider’s motions, and to understand where she would strike next. 

But she found it difficult to tell. Suddenly, Efialtera launched from the shadows with a bite, an intention to devour the lone gyarii whole. Myena reacted to the attack at the last moment. She tried to dodge, successfully so, but not completely unscathed. The spider had bitten off her left arm! 

The gyarii cried a sharp, painful sound and bent her knees as she hunched, clenching on her fresh wound. There she stood now, Myena, bleeding and alone amidst the darkness. So desperate and helpless. About to be devoured at any moment, lost in the edges of existence, forsaken from this world. 

Or, that was what a third observer would believe. Yet, that was the moment when Myena shined the most! Her head was facing towards the ground, but her smile was stretched to her ears. The thrill inside her was driving her so hard that she wouldn’t change this sensation for anything in this world. This desperate situation was pushing her to the edge, letting finally loose her true power!

At that moment, Myenna transformed. Her aura rose and rose, taking over this nightmare labyrinth and reducing it to a mere playground. Her demeanor changed to a wicked pose of absolute dominance. What really happened to Myena then, no gyarii could explain, but it left even Efialtera, the Queen of the Nightmares, frightened and shaken. And since that beast had taken Myena’s arm, Myena took something more important from Efialtera.

Her head!

Outro

Myena brought the trophy to Inmaar, the fertile land where the rest of the gyarii had settled. There, Addlestar had taken over as leader, and he was the first to rush to her side and welcome her to her new home. He generously treated her and lavished her with his love and care. He offered her a comfortable life so she could rest and heal.

And Myena, after such an ordeal, liked being surrounded by familiar faces and living a luxurious life, having easy access to well-cooked meals, hot baths, and accommodation. But only for a short time.

After all, she wasn’t made for living a cozy social life. And so she wandered again in pursuit of new thrilling adventures, only to return to Inmaar every so rarely to meet her lover and announce her well-being to the rest of the gyarii.

Eventually, Myena found herself drawn to the Unpassable Canyons, a deep valley in the north that no gyarii could or dared to enter. It was the unknown dangers and seemingly impossible challenge that piqued her curiosity. 

And so she ventured there, never to be seen again, and whatever happened to Myena’s journey after that point it’s not a tale for the gyarii to tell…