#taox

I'm not going to list every conversation, just oryx's opinion so far. He admits that the Proof eternal, the hive themselves, Failed and that he must "understand why. I must understand the path of our lie" he says he will "Find our osmium court and our fathers orrery. There I will remember, and again tame the deep"

He knows that the worms lied to him to Xivu he says "Sister, we were betrayed. Fed lies to fatten worms. I failed to understand"

but still holds to the deep, and Hates the light, when savathûn tell him about the events Ghosts of the deep he is shocked

"You sought my resurrection? With... Light? Betrayer"

I cannot physically describe the sound of betrayal he makes. Seriously it's full of pain and hurt.

He thinks about the oath they made to destroy Taox and reclaim their osmium court and how they did not complete their oath. He quotes himself in the books of sorrow that he thought himself the heir of fundament, to those ten year Krill, but he claims he's not and that he must return first. That is a direct contrast to he says in Verse 5:7 — Forever And A Blade of the books of sorrows

And in all of the conversations one thing keeps getting repeated, That Oryx vowed to understand, that is his nature to understand.

So he turns home to the start of everything, where proof of the greatest lie in the destiny universe lies. And yet he doesn't turn away fully from the sword logic nor the deep, not listening to the pleas of Xivu to return to how it was before his death nor savathûn's attempts at freeing him ( her words not mine) he chooses what he wants, he walks the path HE wants, because he's not War incarnate nor the Witch Queen.

Kaharn Atoll is what does it, with its swarms of strange ships, the bristling lightning spires turned to ornament and art, the impossible heights of buildings never meant to survive the waves.

Not a change, not a revelation, but a quiet unlocking: ah, the Fundament is so very large, and she (and her people, and everything her people have ever done –) is so very, very small.

“To watch”, they name her duty later, and Taox does not correct them as she swallows the mother jelly, laced with enough venom to alter its purpose. But she does not live to watch, or teach, or guide – or even lead.

...with the intent to harm // read on ao3

The court is in an uproar. It wouldn’t be so apparent to an outside viewer, but Sathona’s heart beats in tune with the ebb and flow of local politics. She can clearly see unrest in the rush and swirl of the crowd of ministers, the stiff gait of knights changing guard and hushed conversation behind columns. There is something going on, clearly, though she can’t quite put her claw on what exactly. Taox isn’t much help either, only looking at her sternly as she turns her and Xi Ro away at the door.

“We want to wait for Aurash in the harbour,” Xi Ro protests.

Taox doesn’t budge, ushering them further into the hallway with a gesture. “It’s not safe to head out now. Go to the upper floor and wait in the storage room, she will join you there.”

This is a very peculiar request, though Sathona has never been one to outright question Taox’s commands. It’s more of an Aurash thing to do. But now Aurash isn’t here, and Xi Ro is already distracted by her anger, so it falls to Sathona to ask, “Why?”

Taox let her eyes linger on her for a moment too long before speaking. It’s unnerving.

“Because I say so.” She never answers their questions like this. She is their teacher, and a teacher never passes up an opportunity for an explanation. “Now go, and stay there until I come and get you.”

They retreat upstairs obediently (though with considerable offence on Xi Ro’s part), and lock themselves up in the storage. Aurash arrives halfway through their third game of shellpox, sea-wethered and just as confused as the rest of them.

They don’t even finish the round before all hell breaks loose.

It’s only later, when they are fleeing to the harbour, that Sathona realises she couldn’t hear the Helium knights searching other rooms before they barged into theirs. As if they knew exactly which door led to the storage three royal heirs would be hiding in. As if they knew what they were looking for.

The Precursors

The Lubraeans

The proto worms

The Krill

Kaharn Atol

The Ammonite

The Qugu

The Noesis

The Ahslid

The Ecumine

At this point with The Final Shape being such a wild concept for a location, as well as Darkness being tied to memory, history and emotions... It might be possible for anyone to appear as some sort of phantom, memory, nightmare, simulation or something similar.

I don't personally think it's really something that needs to happen. The most likely fate of Taox is that she died a long time ago. Even with evading the siblings, the civilisation she hid with got entirely destroyed: she either died without the siblings even noticing or if she tried to flee, she went somewhere else to hide and died in obscurity. She may have even fled again in some sort of cryo, but there would be no way to find her at this point or to know if she'd still be alive in there.

He would stand on the prow of the city and pronounce, and Taox, among the courtiers and wage-workers, would follow the line of his gaze to the flapping wings and needle spikes. The birds would flock to the line between the ocean and the rainclouds, and then the words would come, not sweet nor cruel, but measured, difficult in their simplicity. The Osmium king would often speak by moonlight, and so the birds would return to their far shores overhead.