Quilliyen
Two minds, two souls, one body.
Water trickled from the surface, slipping between unseen cracks in the stone, slowly eroding the core of the earth into an ever-expanding chasm. Through crevices, down moist cavern walls, and finally, onto the back of the human.
Lucas shifted as the droplet slid down his chilled spine, but within moments, he had already forgotten about it. He sat with an aged book in his lap, most likely the last of its kind, and used the light of the bioluminescent fungi to make out the foreign words. His tongue clicked against the roof of his mouth and licked the edges of his incredibly dry lips. It had been days, weeks, maybe months, since he had tasted water, but before he had set out, the warning had been clear: don’t imbibe what you don’t know. His eye twitched as the clicking tongue caused the roof of his mouth to itch.
And then it happened: a slithering against the rocks. Lucas was calm as he lifted his eyes from the frayed pages in the ancient book, and as his eyes adjusted to the darkness beyond, he searched for his assailant while also getting to his feet. He closed the book and lifted his hand, preparing to cast any manner of spell against the denizen of the dark. But as the minutes passed and silence fell over him, only marred by the rushing water miles below, he allowed his guard to drop.
Though he was from the world above—Toril, as those in the Underdark had called it—he had come to know the ins and outs of the Underdark as if he was one of the foul beasts who called the place home.
He stretched, mentally exhausted. He gave the book one last cursory glance before he tucked it into the folds of his robe and set off into the darkness, content to be done with his studies for the time being.
He stopped at the entrance of the plateau. At least, it was the name he gave the flat area miles below, where the Illithids called home. For months he had watched them, just out of range of their psionic abilities, and he now knew their patterns almost as well as he knew his own mind. He had been cautious at first, maybe even afraid, but he had now mastered the ability to empty his mind in case he ever entered the range of an Illithid Enforcer.
With an empty mind, he patiently waited for the next excursion from the kingdom. At regular intervals, one Illithid would leave its domain on some unknown mission, and now, Lucas thought, he was ready. He knew the spells by heart, and knew the exact combination of words to bring an Illithid to their knees. All he needed now was a test subject. He was content to wait, though. The right time would come.
***
He stood like a statue on the outer curtain wall of the city, breathing slowly as he sifted through the innumerable whispers in his mind. Purple lights and wisps of smoke curled like languid snakes towards the roof of the cavern, finding small crevices to creep into before fighting their way to the upper levels of the Underdark.
In the far reaches of the kingdom were the cries of fresh victims, in the center were the newborn thoughts of the tadpoles. Those nearing a decade old were beginning to plead for the feast of the brain, longing for their new host.
He pushed the thoughts from his mind and continued searching for any abnormalities within the kingdom. From misplaced items to movements in the darkness, he was aware of it all, and it was his job, along with the other enforcers, to quell any unrest from outsiders.
Like a flame against the darkness, a light went off in his head. He opened his black eyes and scouted the kingdom, looking for anything out of place. Stretching out the feelers of his mind, they crept down streets, up the stairs of parapets, and out into the Underdark, looking for any intruders that had ventured too far from the sun.
And there it was.
A human.
A meal.
***
Lucas stood completely still, nearly indistinguishable from the rocks around him. His hands were raised and the words of the book were fresh in his mind. As soon as the Ilesine monstrosity stepped around the corner, he was ready.
“Hyagh!” The word was more of a guttural grunt as Lucas jumped forward and pointed his palms at the creature. He began to recite the spell—it was only a short four words—but his lips had barely formed the first consonant when he realized he was in over his head. The Illithid Enforcer towered over him, a swaying, sturdy beast, with twitching tentacles covering its mouth.
Reality seemed to snap. One moment he was standing upright with his palms pointed outward, and the next, he was on the ground with tentacles wrapped around his head. Lucas screamed, he kicked, he tried to form coherent words, but as death continued to hesitate, Lucas found himself descending into silence. The creature spoke no words, nor made any killing blows. Instead, through the gaps in the tentacles, Lucas could see the moist walls of the Underdark slipping past him as he was dragged through the gates of the Mind Flayer kingdom.
He was no fool, knowing what fate most likely awaited him. As the Illithid dragged him through the kingdom, Lucas reached into the folds of his robe and pulled out a small flask, barely the size of his palm. Feigning an attempt to escape, he acted as if he was trying to pull the tentacles off his head, when in reality he put the flask to his lips and downed the bitter liquid. He almost gagged, but as his internal organs began to tingle, he knew the potion was taking effect. It changed the chemistry of his body, not enough to kill him, but hopefully enough to kill the tadpole that was going to be inserted into his eye.
The room he was taken to was a strange one, and one he had only heard about through legends passed down through the generations. He was doubtful anyone except the Adversary had escaped with their mind intact.
The walls were saturated with a fluctuating purple as the liquid of the Elder Brain was constantly in motion. The Illithid Enforcer held Lucas steady as he reached into the Elder Brain and plucked out a wriggling tadpole. It had the ferocity of a starved piranha and the body of a tapered, fat grub. Lucas recited every spell he could think of, but it was no use. His arms were held fast by two slimy hands, and his head was held in place by tentacles of the same texture.
He screamed as the tadpole was placed on his face, and descended into unimaginable pain as the creature peeled back his eyelids and slithered into his eye. Finally, his consciousness left him.
***
Lucas opened his eyes and was immediately confused. His body felt numb as he strode along the streets of the Illithid city, shuffling past Mind Flayers without a second thought. “I must be dreaming…”
“What the fuck?!” A shrill voice resounded throughout Lucas’ mind, startling him. “Who are you?”
“Who are you?” Lucas exclaimed. His body stopped moving forward, garnering suspicious stares from the passing Illithids.
“I’m Quilliyen! This is my body! You’re supposed to be gone!”
“Your body?” Lucas shouted.
“Yes, my body!” I waited a decade for this!” Quilliyen noticed the stares and started moving forward again, though his hands were shaking. “This is because of the Pact, isn’t it? Are you from Cthul? Are you a side effect of him or something?”
“No! I’m Lucas! This is my body!” Lucas felt like he was going to faint again, except he couldn’t. He was only a consciousness, floating in the vast, black void of a mind.
“...Oh no…” Quilliyen whispered. He stepped off the main street and into a secluded alley. Finally, out of sight from the other Illithids, Quilliyen could think. “Let me get this straight...You are Lucas. You are the owner of this body?”
“Yes!”
“Why’re you still here, then?” Quilliyen snarled.
Lucas sifted through his memories, though, suspiciously, he felt as if there were a second pair of eyes watching as well. From the angry voice that came next, he was sure his memories weren’t private.
“You drank a potion?!” Qulliyen yelled. Lucas winced. He felt a bit dizzy from all the activity in his brain, and from the groan Quilliyen made, he was sure the tadpole could feel it too.
“I did! I did!” Lucas snarled back, begging for silence. His urge seemed to be mirrored, because the aggression from Quilliyen ebbed immediately. “So, what happens now?”
“We try not to get executed is what happens now.”
“What do you mean?” Lucas asked.
“I can’t hear the Hive Mind because of your stupid potion. Everyone knows something’s off with me. It won’t be long before they think I’m…”
“The Adversary…” Lucas finished, his realization coming just in time with Quilliyen’s. “So we’re both stuck in this body. Maybe we can work something out. What is it you want?”
Quilliyen was silent for a moment, though Lucas could feel the monster thinking. “I want power,” Quill growled. “I’m not a pawn anymore. I want to rule.”
“So we’re aligned, then,” Lucas hummed. He smiled, almost able to visualize his mind neighbor. “I want to be a god amongst men. I want to rule.”
“Great. What does that mean for us?”
“We need to leave before your siblings realize what we are.” Lucas used his control over the body to motion to the entrance of the alley. Standing in the center was another Illithid, staring straight at them. Lucas was sure they were being reported.
With their desires aligned, Lucas relinquished his control over the body as Quilliyen stepped into the driver’s seat. Their first objective was to escape the city without being apprehended. Next, they would make the slow climb from the Underdark and emerge into the sunlight, into a world Quilliyen was completely new to. From there, their quest would begin.