Chaos Rising: The Realms Book Six: (An Epic LitRPG Series)
Page 33
I will never be that cool.
Below their feet, the rumbling stopped, and the tinkling sound of fast-growing crystal ceased. The world quieted as the birds cast skyward by the lance’s sudden appearance landed atop their new aerie. Strong winds flowed about the Oblivion Lance’s peak, ruffling Lex's hair.
“Woah,” Lex said and threw his arms above his head. A high-pitched yell of pure triumph pushed past his lips and he felt alive.
Congratulations, you have completed the hidden quest Repair the Aegis of Order.
You have earned 1,000,000 XP for completing the hidden quest The Aegis of Order. The Aegis is a vast network of interlinked Order Lances that has protected Korynn from invasions from the Realm of Chaos for millennia.
Your successful invention and crafting of an Oblivion Lance has not only repaired but strengthened the Aegis because of the mana absorbing properties derived from the Oblivion Blade. You have pleased the Lords of Order and will receive an appropriate award soon.
An archon will be assigned to the Oblivion Lance as soon as it is convenient.
“Holy shit,” Lex blurted, a mad happy grin splitting his face. He told the others what he’d read and there was much rejoicing.
“Yay us, we saved the world, again,” Simon said. “So yeah, obviously we’re awesome. And as much as I’m looking forward to going on more adventures with you guys, despite the personal costs.” Simon ran his hands up and down his bläärt body like a model showing off a new outfit. “We kinda failed at our actual mission.”
“Oh my god, Gryph!” Lex blurted, the memory of seeing his player standing atop the Earth’s Harlan’s Tower rushing back to him. “Where’s Gryph?”
“Yeah, we don’t know you idiot, remember?” Simon said, spinning his finger next to his head in the universal symbol for crazy. “That’s what sent us on this stupid quest in the first place.”
“No, no, you don’t get it. I saw him.” Lex explained what he’d sensed. How right before impact he'd sensed Gryph standing atop the tower of Earth’s Harlan’s Watch. Was he alive? Had the impact killed him? Had Lex killed him?
“Are you saying that Gryph is working with the Cabal?” Seraphine asked.
“That does not seem like something that friend Gryph would do.”
“No, it does not,” Lex agreed, glancing up at the huge warborn. “Which means we need to find him.” Lex interlaced his fingers and brought his hands to his face, deep in thought. A moment later he felt the fool and opened his mouth to laugh at his own foolishness. But, as happened often, Vonn beat him to the punchline.
“You have been knocked in the head a bunch, so I’ll give you some slack,” Vonn said. “But, if I were you, I'd try that handy dandy Player Tracker thing of yours. That’s if I were you, which I'm not. Thankfully."
“Dammit,” Lex muttered and then scowled. “It'd be nicer and take fewer words for you to be less of a dick,” Lex muttered.
“True, but what would I do with all the extra words?”
Lex shook his head and laughed. He closed his eyes and activated Player Tracker. A virtual map filled Lex’s mind, a representation of the planet Korynn. Light illuminated the places Lex had visited, but much of the world was still locked in shadow. The glowing dot representing Gryph was in one of the illuminated areas. A place Lex knew well. His eyes snapped open and fear bit into his heart.
“Gryph is in Harlan’s Watch.”
It took a moment for the shock to wear off and the true meaning to register. The group went silent, as the true measure of the words became clear.
“The Cabal has invaded the Realms,” Errat said.
“And what of Earth?” Vonn asked.
“I don't know,” Lex said, his knees growing weak as he looked over the edge of the balcony where a small army of rangers and warborn, no larger than ants, were approaching the new Oblivion Lance.
“Looks like we’re going on another idiot adventure,” Vonn said, then peered towards the ground. “Now, how do we get down?”
Epilogue
Constable Nahrman manned the last defensive wall in front of the Order Lance. The sheer number of chaos fiends assaulting their positions had decreased, but their overall size, power, and vileness had multiplied beyond his militia’s ability to handle. They would not survive another assault.
As bad as it had been, it got worse.
The ground under Nahrman’s feet started rumbling. Near the edge of town, a pair of massive red metal rings pushed up from beneath the streets and started spinning. The rings radiated power and deep orange mana bled through thousands of incomprehensible runes making them difficult to focus on.
The rumbling hum of the spinning metallic rings zipping over his head was frightening, but the true horror was the fast-shifting sky.
Their own cloudy gray sky disappeared in a flash, replaced by a seething morass of reds, oranges, and blacks filled with liquid clouds and vile monstrosities that threatened to drive Nahrman mad. Then it switched to a cloudless blue sky. A hot wind blew over the Constable stealing the moisture from his skin faster than he could sweat.
The rumbles increased and the whine of hidden machinery grew louder. The air above him shifted so rapidly between the three different skies that they almost blurred into one.
“What is happening?” Furrick asked in a feminine voice.
"I don't know." Nahrman looked down on the boy trapped in the assassin Seraphine's body and shook his head. Nothing had made sense for some time and the Constable would not pretend it made sense now. The fear coming from the boy made Nahrman wish he was more of the white lie kinda guy. But if he was going to die, he planned to live his last moments as honestly as he’d lived his life.
He put a gentle hand on the boy’s shoulder. This was all the comfort the gruff lawman could offer the kid.
“Look!” Furrick yelled and pointed skyward. The shifting skies moved so quickly that the world seemed like three separate children’s flipbooks mixed into one. In the sky, a massive spear of crystal twice the size of their own tower screamed towards the rings.
“Everyone, get inside now!” Nahrman yelled and pushed Furrick towards the lance. The other defenders looked to the sky and screamed. They ran, stumbling and falling as they rushed in a panic to the wall as the crystal shimmered and parted to give them access.
Nahrman was the last man through and the temporary entrance snapped shut. A moment later, the world began to scream. The sound of something large and fast approaching peaked and then quieted. The silence lasted for less than a second before a massive blast rippled over the town.
The pulse flowed over the tower, but instead of drawing a wave of flame and destruction over them, it shifted the world. Up felt like it was down and inside out. To Nahrman's left, Furrick hacked up a pool of vomit that hung motionless in the air for a moment before launching skyward, propelled by some quirk of gravity.
Then the world stopped shifting and everything became quiet.
Nahrman got to his feet, his weak knees threatening to topple him once more. He ordered his men to tend to the wounded and motioned Furrick to follow him as the wall pulsed and opened. Together they stepped outside.
The first sign that something was off was the hot, dry wind that blew over them. It was early fall in Harlan’s Watch which meant cooler temperatures, heavy cloud cover, and morning fog. He shielded his face as a brilliant sun assaulted his eyes.
From his vantage point, Nahrman could see past the town to the fields and woods beyond. But they were gone, replaced by endless shifting dunes for miles in all directions. There was no river, no forest, and no fields. The bridge was gone and the only sign of civilization, apart from the town itself, was a wide road made of a variety of stone Nahrman did not recognize.
Far down the road, through shimmering heat distortions, a convoy of odd metal carts sped their way. Nahrman had served in the army, long ago, and was familiar with a wide variety of siege engines, but he’d never seen anything like these monstrosities.
&n
bsp; An ear-splitting scream raged overhead and Nahrman cast a startled gaze skywards. A pair of massive shapes resembling metallic hawks flashed overhead. Nahrman’s eyes widened in surprise as he caught a glimpse of a man wearing an odd helmet and mask staring down on them from within the metal bird’s body.
Then with another thunderous boom, the metal birds flew towards the horizon.
“Are those dragons?” Furrick asked as the arrow-headed shapes disappeared into the glare of the sun.
“There are no more dragons,” Nahrman said.
“No, but there are things worse than dragons,” Sean said, stepping up beside them.
*****
Cast adrift in the morass of liquid space, the five primal spirits of pestilence, madness, carnage, decay, and deception began to coalesce once more. Their rage was a potent wave that exploded, bathing their hated Realm in fear and despair.
Deep below ground, in the safe house hidden beneath the streets of the chaotic Harlan's Watch, Gaarm clutched to Minny and a wide grin pushed through his fear. "Well done, Rex."
But Gaarm knew the victory would be short-lived. It would take time, but the Princes of Chaos were eternal, and they would return.
*****
A cool, wet breeze flowed over Finn Caldwell, and he opened his eyes. Below him, a familiar river flowed past a new Harlan’s Watch, one made of concrete and metal. Silence hung heavy as four figures, two men and two women, stepped up beside him.
They were tall and powerful, the peak of human perfection, and like Finn, they were all dressed in loose-fitting robes. These were men and women used to command, used to power. That power was about to grow.
“How long will it take?” the shorter of the two women asked Finn. She showed no anxiety, no fear, only a faint curiosity.
“Any moment now,” Finn said, his voice measured and calm.
Finn's heart thumped in slow, measured beats as he counted the seconds. After months of living as the warrior-mage Gryph, the Realms looked different through Finn's eyes. What will it be like this time? he asked himself.
He did not have to wait long, for a wave of pure power exploded outwards from the center of Finn’s forehead. He bent at the waist and grunted. Then the full power of his Prime Godhead filled him near to bursting. It had been nearly a year and a half since he’d felt the power. He found that he’d missed it terribly.
To his left, the other woman was the first to awaken. A burst of golden light expanded from the center of her forehead and washed over her. She fell to her knees, overwhelmed by the power surging through her. Then she stood and gazed at Finn, her eyes twin pools of gold. Thus, was the Empyrean Goddess reborn.
The next to transform was the man standing beside the golden goddess. Like his fellow, it began in the center of his forehead, at the spot of the mystical third eye. But, where the woman’s transformation had the purity of gold, his was the crimson of dried blood. The wave flowed over him, staining his tanned skin to match the flare. A pair of curved horns pushed from his skull and curled back. When he returned to his feet, he looked at Finn through eyes of fire. Thus, was the Chthonic God reborn.
The other woman came next, and like her fellows, the surge of power drove her to her knees. Her body spasmed like an epileptic enduring a seizure and a deep orange light flared from her forehead. She was the quickest to get to her feet, but the small, spastic motions continued for some time after the resurrection. She looked at Finn with eyes like magma. Thus, was the Chaos Goddess reborn.
Last came the tall, lean man to Finn’s right. He did not fall to his knees but stumbled and clenched his jaw. A flare of silver-white filled with flecks of blue flowed from his reopened third eye and expanded through him. His posture straightened and his appearance became more pristine. When the wave passed, he turned to Finn with eyes of sapphire and nodded. Thus, was the God of Order reborn.
The five reborn gods walked to the edge of the town and looked down. Below them, several thousand troops stood in orderly squares staring towards the top of the tower. When their gods appeared above them, thousands of voices roared as loud as thunder.
The Cabal was ready for war. All five gods gazed to the northeast, where the ancient Holy City of Avernia lay.
“Let’s go kill the High God,” the God of Order said, his mouth curled into a sneer.
The End of Chaos Rising.
Book Six of The Realms.
The Realms will Continue with The Ravaged Land.
Book Seven of The Realms.
* * *
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Acknowledgments.
I couldn’t have made this book what it is without the help of numerous people.
Thanks to Erica, my first reader, and the love of my life. You make me smile every day.
Thanks to my mother Kathy for a lifetime of support, and my sister Melissa, who is becoming more and more of a dork every year thanks to my nephew Caleb.
Thanks to my father, Kevin Carney who always encouraged me to follow my dreams. I miss you Pop.
To my awesome Beta Readers, including Erica Rasborn, Ezben Gerardo, Kenneth Darlin, Ian Taj El, Ramesh Prabhu, Lance Wheeler, Geo Smo and the others who gave me feedback.
Without you guys, Chaos Rising would not be the book it is today. Thank You.
And thanks Lou Harper for the awesome cover.
https://coveraffairs.com/
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