Darkness lay all around, everywhere that it could touch. On the ceiling, on the floor, clinging to the walls and the stones littered about the cavern. They engulfed all, sticking to the various surfaces like parasites unwilling to part from their host. The air was still and cold, stagnant winds that had been trapped long ago. All was dark, and were it not for the sounds of something sliding, slithering about the room, it would be silent. The creature coiled, coming to rest around a patch of stone. All was still.

...Whispers spoken in a language long forgotten emanated from nothingness. The sounds reverberated off of the walls, uncaught, unheard by living ears. Something fell from the nearest wall, landing softly on the ground. It shuffled slowly towards the vine; all around the cavern, more creatures were falling, landing without a sound, moving as one towards the center of the room. They whispered, though they did not speak to one another; one word escaped their tainted lips. They breathed it out, chanting softly at first, though gradually growing in intensity.

...“Rhashahk…”

...An orb of darkness appeared in the center of the coiled creature. Laces of shadow broke off now and then as it started to spin; as it continued to grow in size, the orb became more stable, until nothing broke away from it.

...“Rhashahk!”

...The orb swirled, stretching upward. It solidified moments later, transforming into a flower not yet bloomed…

...“Rhashahk! Rhashahk!”

...As the creatures edged nearer, the flower blossomed. Its petals were a bright red, shining through the darkness despite the lack of light. A much smaller ring of red hovered above it. The plant gave a shudder, two leaves growing from its stem.

...“RHASHAHK! RASHAHK!”

...The leaves turned, revealing their bottoms to be that same, eerie red color. They seemed to glow; a hiss sounded from the flower, and the creatures were silenced. The leaves, now very much like a pair of eyes, blinked, weariness evident in them. They closed, and the cavern was thrown back into darkness...