Ethria 3: The Liberator

by Holloway, Aaron

  It didn’t take long for the shadow like Jinn to peel her defenses away, one raking claw at a time. The smoke that trailed him killed the living vegetation around him, preventing Pina from using it as another place to strike from. He cast the occasional purple and black flame spell that burned and turned entire vines to ash or cinders.

  After just three, maybe four minutes of fighting, Pina was weakening. Her strikes grew sluggish, her vines grew less dense, and her cries of pain and rage more desperate. Finally, the Jinn-hybrid cast one last spell and burned most of her defense to ashes. She sat panting as the Jinn lifted her in one massive hand. He ran his purple serpentine tongue over her face and shoulders as she struggled. Her mana was gone. Whatever reserve she had tapped to cast that last spell was used up. Tears streaked her face as tears fell from my eyes.

  I was exhausted. Nearly out of mana, and struggling against one of the most powerful wills I had ever experienced. Even the benevolent yet powerful Crystal Matriarch when she had come into her own power and awakened her avatar had not felt like this. I fell to the earth, prone. The weight of the Jinns power crushing me. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t see, and it took me a second to realize my face was in the mud. I forced my head to the side with a herculean effort, and sucked in a lung full of air.

  There was nothing for me to do. I had nothing left. No one was coming to help us. And yet, even there, I made one last choice before I knew I was going to die. I chose to still believe that perhaps, just maybe, something was coming. The Jinns will forced my head under the mud. I struggled and fought, but nothing I did made any difference. Darkness, true darkness, tinged my thoughts as my brain suffered from lack of oxygen.

  The world shook, and suddenly I was free. One last burst of adrenaline and will allowed me to pull myself from the mud and gulp down air for the first time in what felt like forever.

  I gripped my staff and raised it, ready to launch the one spell I knew I had saved that might do something.

  Three golden portals hung overhead and closed behind three shining visages. One was silver skinned and armored. Another a copy of the first but gold floated on the opposite side of the trio. The third was wreathed in living fire and molten earth. A shining firy halo over her head as she descended.

  “Kad’ri’al, Angel of Slaughter and Child of Wrath! You have violated the sanctum of this place, in violating the rules of Ethria by not declaring yourself, or binding yourself to a contract!” The woman’s voice was filled with rage and power. “Beyond that, you have not yet finished serving your punishment for betraying our lady of light. Back, back to your void Fallen!”

  Kad’ri’al, the dark angel’s name apparently, looked afraid. “This place will burn before I return to that wretched hole!” He screamed as he expanded his hands towards the rows of houses on each side of the street. The homes all lit up in bright red flames and turned to ashes in seconds.

  “You dare cause more harm?! Retch!” shouted the golden skinned angel. Kad’ri’al moved the gout of flame, pointing it directly at the golden angel. He fell to the earth as fire engulfed him.

  “No, Sa’gri’al! Back, he is mine!” The female angel shouted as she rushed forward and brought her blade of fire down on Kad’ri’al. The Fallen raised a blade made of bone, pulled as if from nowhere and met the strike before flaring his wings and taking off into the sky. The woman followed close behind, her rage and overwhelming power clear. She would not be denied no matter how much the half starved angel of, what was it? Slaughter? No matter how desperate the half starved angel of slaughter was.

  “What have you done!?” shouted the sorcerer. “You have driven off my new pet! You owe me for a replacement.” The Jinn floated up towards where the silver-skinned angel still hovered. He was watching the golden armored Sa’gri’al role in the mud extinguishing the flames that had caught his wings on fire.

  “Do you need healing, brother?” The silver skinned angel asked. The golden one laughed and shook his head. A moment later, when the flames were out, he ascended to meet his brother. The mud literally fell off him, as if repelled by some spell.

  “I am fine, that hurt a bit, but Kad’ri’al is much weakened from when he led armies to bathe in blood. If his sentence hadn’t been interrupted, he might have lost all memory some time soon and we might have been able to heal his mind. Sadly, it will take another sentence to rid him of what plagues his soul.” The two angels turned their attention to the Jinn then. “But this one, this is the one that summoned our brother away from his treatment. Wait.”

  “What is it, brother?”

  “Zek’del is that one of your fragments?” The golden armored angel asked. Honestly, my neck was getting sore from looking up, so I decided all I needed to do was listen to this. I went off to try to find Pina. “Zek’del is the God of Slaughter that infected Kad’ri’al. A Jinns fate, how fitting considering your lack of faithfulness to those who served you.”

  “Brother,” the silver skinned one said. “If this is that ancient dread god, then perhaps we should banish him.”

  “No. His fate is far worse than any we could send him to. He is broken. Do you know of Jinn’s Dar’le’nel?” I didn’t hear the silver angel’s response as his brother continued. “Unfaithful Gods, or cosmic beings of sufficient power like our own Archangel over there that have incurred debts they cannot pay, are shattered. How much they are broken down depends on the size of the debt but to incur such wrath it is usually substantial. By the looks of it, Zek’del here has what? Seventeen more pieces floating around on Ethria?”

  I found Pina in a pile of ashes. The Jinn had deposited her in the middle of the square. I touched her shoulder and flooded her with half of my remaining mana. It wasn’t much, calling it a flood was generous. It was more like a few cups at most. But it was enough to help her stave off mana exhaustion. “Pina? Pina, we have to go.” Her eyes fluttered open. It took her a moment, but I eventually saw recognition in her eyes. I was lucky she was so exhausted. She might have tried to hit me with the club she still held in her hand.

  “I am power!” Jekkel shouted. “You will learn to fear me!” It was odd when I heard it, it was definitely just Jekkel’s voice. There was no Jinn supplementing his speech. “What?!” He shouted.

  “The Jinn you fused with child; it is not loyal to you. Jinn only pay their debts. Which this one has long since done in your service. It clings to you so it can maintain a semblance of normal life. Do not think it has to obey you any longer. In fact, brother?”

  “Yes?”

  “Would you say that the Jinn is influencing this mortal unduly?” There was a mischievous tone to the angel’s words.

  “Perhaps. I have little experience with such creatures.”

  “Right, well. It is my belief that this entire episode came about because this Jinn subverted the will of his bonded mortal. Would you please cast a divination to see if that happened?”

  “Done, yes. The Jinn subverted the mortals’ will in a way that was not harmful to the mortal. One might even say it was advantageous. It forced his hand to prevent Kindler from summoning the shrines guardian.”

  “So there is no need to concern the Archangel or the Lady of Light in this. We can handle this lesser offense.”

  I had helped Pina away from the fire and mud. We now sat on dry if cold ground and watched the odd exchange. The Jinn was clearly trying to pull away from Jekkel. Its gaseous half kept trying to float away from the angels while Jekkel’s augmented torso anchored them face to face with the two powerful beings.

  “Your threats don’t scare me!” Jekkel screamed. Then his fused form made a strange, fear filled keening noise. “No, we will not run!” Jekkel yelled at himself. “We together are strong enough to ruin these lightweights!”

  “Oooooh, child. Do not tempt me. I would ruin you.”

  “Please do not antagonize my elder brother. He would like nothing more than to destroy this entire region for the evils that have been perpetrated by the powerful here. And you littl
e sorcerer, have been key to those dark efforts.” Jekkel hesitated. After thinking about it for a moment, he drifted away from the pair of angry demi-gods.

  I, on the other hand, was ready. Waiting for my moment. I had hoped the angels would remove the Jinn from consideration, but beggars can’t be choosers. After a moment, the Jinn-hybrid started moving faster and farther away from the two. Away from the town, and away from me. Oh crap, gotta do this now. I lifted my staff and unleashed the ball of death.

  You have cast Timelords Inferno 2

  I ignored the rest of the message, preferring to watch the action as it unfolded. The ball of flaming death sped towards my target, growing larger and larger as it went. When it struck, the hourglass containing the void of energy exploded outwards, consuming all in its path. It was like one of those gigantic fireworks from back on Earth. The thunder it made hurt my ears and even I felt the fire as it washed over us.

  Then the second half of the spell activated. The fire and energy that had rapidly expanded was sucked inwards just as quickly. When the remnants of the spell finally fizzled out, it slightly disappointed me. I hadn’t made another mini sun. Oh well, I guess there wasn’t enough stuff up there for it to make one.

  The sight of a small, purple and black creature falling from the sky was all that was left to witness. “I will retrieve him.” The silver skinned younger angel said and then disappeared in a blur. He reappeared as a small dot and he caught my enemy.

  “So, the mortal spark has some kick left in him, after all. Well done, I thought I’d have to step in and end that one. I was working up a justification for direct intervention, but that kind of thing is frowned upon if there is a more, mortal, alternative.”

  I tried to speak, but it came out as a croak. I picked up a small amount of snow and popped it in my mouth, drinking the quickly melting water greedily. I cleared my throat and tried again. “Thanks, I think?” The angel laughed. It was odd to see an overwhelmingly powerful demi-god laughing like a normal person.

  “You mortals are interesting. Particularly those from, well, where you are from.”

  “Wait, you know more like me?”

  “Oh, every so often the beings that run, where you are from, leave a loophole so that someone from your home can be brought here to help people. Usually it’s for good, but occasionally it hasn’t worked out so well.” I looked over at Pina, she was passed out. Dead exhausted from, well, everything she had been through.

  “Is she going to be okay?” I asked, genuinely concerned. I had known more than one person who had been through serious trauma. Very few who had been through anything even remotely like what she had gone through. I could see the scars, and I had heard what the sorcerer had said, and I could add two plus two to get four.

  “It speaks well of you that you would be so worried about her wellbeing. Particularly considering the dark things that stalk your own dreams.” He let that hang there for a moment and I just stared at him. I wasn’t going to take that bait. I just didn’t have the energy for some kind of psychoanalytic therapy session right now. He smiled again and nodded. “She will be fine, if she chooses to be. And given time. She is resilient, and has been through much before entering that sorcerer’s tower. Though I do not mean to suggest that she will not have struggles in the days ahead. The wounds she suffered are bone deep. Literally and figuratively. With the proper physical treatments, along with the right support from those who love and care for her, she will once again learn to thrive. Then she will face the choice to do so, or to let her mind crumble in on itself.”

  “What do you think she will choose?” The angel barked a harsh laugh, and settled on the grass and snow next to us.

  “I don’t know, cousin. And I won’t dare to venture a guess. My archangel might know more, but she is busy, and I doubt she will have the time to see through fate when she returns.”

  “Can I ask you a favor? Since I defended your goddess’s temple and all?” He grinned again, though this time it was filled with mischief.

  “Perhaps, it depends on the favor and how much my lady likes you. Besides, I don’t think ‘defended her temple’ is the right way to put it since you brought the danger nipping at your heels. But I will listen.” I told him about the undead, the knights who even now were probably fighting, holding off the horde.

  “That, that is interesting. I don’t sense any undead to the south. At least, not any currently active. The stench of them is everywhere, but I assumed that was from that one.” He motioned towards where his brother was doing, something to Jekkel’s unmoving body. He closed his eyes, and we sat in silence for a moment. His brother reappeared in a flash of silver light and settled on the snowy grass. He remained standing, though his brother sat. When the golden brother opened his eyes, the silver skinned one reported.

  “I gave the mortal a choice, since one of his was taken from him. He could either keep the Jinn as a servant for one more hour at which point it would dissipate as it is supposed to. Or he could be healed of his mortal injuries and have the jinn taken from him.”

  “What did he choose?” I asked, curious.

  “He chose to live. I removed the Jinn, and the mortal was left alive.”

  “And the punishment for violating our ladies’ home?” The elder brother asked.

  “I am sure being permanently Silenced, and then having three dozen Celestial Hounds put on his trail after being given a five-minute head start, in the depths of winter, while half naked, is sufficient punishment. If he survives, it is fate’s design if not Ethria’s. Do not think of interfering with that mortal.” The silver angel said, his gaze falling on me. “Particularly if my brother is to grant your boon.” He smiled then, warm and bright. “Ones so brave as you and your companions deserve something for your trouble today.” The golden angel sitting next to me grumbled something about his brother stealing his thunder before explaining what I had requested.

  “Brother, to the south, there is a stone bridge. See if there are knights there, fighting undead. If you find them, you are free to destroy them. The wrath of my lady is upon this entire region today. We are free to act within the code she sets forth.” The silver angel bowed and again disappeared. “That is something I’ll give you for free. We would have done it regardless of your asking. In fact, you telling me of the problem saved me stumbling on it unaware. So, what would you have me do then?”

  “Can you bring Ailsa and Tol’geth back? And maybe Dale too? He is missing. Oh, and can you teleport Tegin Traser here as well? He was wounded and had to stay behind. Oh, and Zed my master, he was on his deathbed last I heard.” The angel laughed, clear and true.

  “You do not ask for much, do you,” he said, whipping a tear from his golden eyes. “Only violating the realm of the fae, manipulating space magic through Tier 3 magical anchors, and possibly raising the dead back to life!” I felt blood draining from my face, worried I had asked for far too much. “Oh, don’t worry. We’re practically demi-gods.” he winked at me and I thought he might have heard my thoughts. “My brother could do most of that by himself. Though the fae queen might give him a black eye if he pissed her off too badly. Hold on.” He disappeared and over the course of the next ten minutes, he brought my entire party to Old Hearth When it was all said and done, my friends fully healed and healthy all stood together. Pina was still out cold. And honestly, I knew I wasn’t far behind her. Exhaustion made my bones ache.

  “Wizard look! Pina did not need to heal my arm. This glowing winged person who said he was your ally did. Good as new!” Tol’geth showed his arm, now free of even the slightest hint of the withering spell that had been placed on him months ago. I gave him a thumbs up and fell backwards into the ash, grass, and snow.

  The last thing I saw was the fiery Archangel with her dark quarry thrown over her shoulder, appearing as if out of nowhere. She demanded her two lackeys follow her. They created a portal for her and they all three soon disappeared.

  My eyes closed, and sleep stole me away.


  Chapter 36: The Bacon King!

  "Do you want my leftover bacon?" -No One, Ever.

  Old Hearth, 10th Novos, 2989 AoR - Morning

  I slept, and my dreams were a wash of half coherent thought. When I woke up I was groggy, and found myself in a small room with a bed, a washbasin, and a letter writing desk. My gear had been stashed there, along with the large traveling backpack I had brought with me from Kingdoms of Ashe. Ailsa must have brought it back with her from wherever she was stashing it in the fae realm, I thought. I stood up and made my way to the bowl of fresh water.

  I washed my face, followed by the rest of me with the cloth’s that were provided on the desk. Then dressed in my newly repaired robe, someone had graciously fixed and had cleaned, then shaved using the small sheers and hand mirror I found. My beard was once again cut neatly. It felt good to look like I wasn’t dragged out of some backwoods monastery for once. As I whipped my face clean, a knock came to the door.

  “Come in.” the door opened and Traser stepped in. He wore his armor, though most of it was stripped down to the basics for comfort. “Good to see you up and about.”

  “Yeah, you too.”

  “How is everyone else?”

  “The druid lady woke up just a short time ago. She’s still pretty sore and mad about the whole ‘you not killing him’ thing.” I winced.

  “What was I supposed to do? Angels literally from heaven, or somewhere a lot like it, told me not to. What else was I going to do?” I asked, smiling and shaking my head.

  “I know, I know. I saw them too, just before they disappeared. And I saw the aftermath of their disagreement in the ashes that was the town outside. You don’t have to justify yourself to me.”