Hurried steps rang out in echoing bursts along the vast corridors of the Ascension Hall, the tiled floor and empty walls amplifying every impact, every step of the Footfall of Judgement. With each hooven step, this One’s breathing grew more laboured; it wasn’t easy carrying a weight such as theirs, and to do so in as much of a hurry as they were meant nothing but struggle for such a languid figure. They had to reach the chamber of the High Arbiter and deliver the message held so tightly in one’s hand. Digging deep, fighting the sharp pains that stabbed at their innards, this One did their best to power through, the rapid staccato of hooved feet snapping sharply against the tiled floor chasing them down the corridor like the agonising pursuit of Ka’Thuun himself.

Dragging themselves around the final corner, this One barged their way through a group of unsuspecting colleagues in silent discussion, something this One would have gladly stopped and conversed about on any ordinary occasion, but not today. Steeling themselves for the final surge, this One ignored the moans of annoyance and disrespect behind them and bolted for the door one final time, as fast as their gangly frame would allow. Neglecting to announce this One’s arrival in the customary manner, they used their momentum to crash through the doorway.

Sitting at the heart of the High Arbiter’s private chamber, several figures, stunned by the sudden, unexpected intrusion, rose to their feet in earnest, including the Honour Guard that watched their leader’s every move and ensured that One’s safety. If it wasn’t for the fact that they knew the intruder, they would have tackled them to the ground and apprehended them by now, but that wasn’t the wish of the High Arbiter, who simply waved the protectors off.

Standing in a resplendent robe, the High Arbiter towered above their brethren. This One’s elongated, skeletal frame groaned with each movement in the direction of their worker. Their spindly upper arms, of which there were four in total, emerged from beneath the cloth and interlocked with each other with a ritualistic-like poise. More pale than one’s friends, the High Arbiter’s ashen-grey skin was taut to the bone, a sign that the end times were near. But not before they dealt with this intrusion.

Turning effortlessly toward The Seer, a purposeful tilt of one’s head indicated an acknowledgement of the information they shared with this One, and seemed to calm the younger one’s chaotic nature. Gesturing with slender, pointed digits to the window nearby, both High Arbiter and Seer seemed to glide forth, their polished, cloven hooves emitting a gentle, ringing chime against the metallic floor until they stopped. In perfect synergy, both used their uppermost arms to lift the sheer, silvery veils that obscured their features from view. In place of the gelatinous orbs that helped them to see several aeons ago, vestigial dimples indicated their species’ evolution from simple three-dimensional vision that allowed them to make sense of the dread that loomed over their homeworld, a consciousness that weaved its way into the High Arbiter’s awareness. Something whispered in the darkness of space, felt all this distance away. The One reached out to calm the alarmed mind of their Seer. They shared the uncertainty they felt, but the High Arbiter could not risk the end of this One’s people, after all these millennia.

Whoever they were, they were coming.