Chapter 289: Divine Messenger
“Champion of the Unchosen.” The person who approached Coop spoke. Their voice was calm and they waited until they drew close to speak, still completely hidden beneath their loose clothes.
The soft tone of the words revealed the first hint that the figure was a woman. Her robes had completely masked her form, and other than the hand holding the walking staff that doubled as a falcon perch, there were no other clues that a human was beneath the pile of fabrics at all.
She used her empty hand, hidden by a wide sleeve, to pull the thick beige veil off of her head, keeping the walking staff secure with the other. Coop watched close, not particularly worried, but wary all the same, inspecting her as she planted her feet square in front of his.
[Human (Level 191)]
[Sentinel of Stars (Mind)]
[Astral (Bound)]
Her level wasn’t particularly amazing compared to the champions of the Assembly of Settlements, and it was falling far behind what the residents of Ghost Reef were collecting, but it was still relatively high. The wandering Sentinel was only a step below the pinnacles of humanity that his companions represented. That was respectable in Coop’s mind.
When the veil fell to her shoulders, the Underlayer illumination finally reached her face. Her dark brown hair was cropped short, as if it had been shaved just a few months earlier, and she kept her eyes closed while she ran her fingers along her scalp, exhaling with honest relief. Thick black eyebrows, darker than her hair, matched the color of her long eyelashes, which fluttered open once her face was free from the cloth.
The way she spoke, as if it was inevitable that they would meet, caused Coop’s eyes to subtly narrow in suspicion. The first words she had spoken were a simple declaration of his presence. He was trying to decide if he should know her, but once she opened her eyes he knew there was no way he would have forgotten this person.
She stared back at him with irises that were an unnaturally piercing blue, a color that Coop thought would glow in the dark. He had only recently noticed the Saker Falcon’s eyes take on the same color, spotting them from a huge distance, better signifying the pair’s connection.
The Falcon’s eyes had returned to those of a regular bird of prey, yellow and focused, but he didn’t need any more confirmation that they were a team after it made itself at home on her staff. The bird ignored Coop as it pulled on the metal bits that were hanging from her potential weapon, releasing them so that they jingled in the heavy Underlayer air. When Coop returned his attention to the woman, he found her gaze fixed on his own.
Coop wasn’t sure exactly where he was, somewhere beyond the edge of the African territory. Whether he had already reached the Middle East was uncertain without a settlement marking his journey. No matter what, he was pretty confident that she had also traveled a long way before arriving at the edge of the Assembly of Settlements, but the way she locked in on Coop left no doubt that she was specifically seeking him out.