The Keys to Ascension

by Dilland Doe

  Finio stared at the chinchilla. “That makes no sense.”

  “Just do it!”

  Finio concentrated. He flexed his hamstrings, imagined his elbows summersaulting while moving them in little circles, then screamed while feeling dizzy. His connection to Kwitty exploded open. He relayed that onto his siblings and sensed their own connections tearing ajar.

  I hope this is safe.

  *

  “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” Theto couldn’t help but scream while rolling away from a massive fireball whose explosion blasted him toward the tentacles of a monster. Flashing his arms with enhanced speed, Theto chopped off the incoming tentacles, then landed and dodged some kind of green magic.

  He didn’t scream for the battle, he screamed because his high beings’ powers surged through him. Theto glanced up at all the enclaves of wizards raining down hell on him, then chose a spot at the back of each one and released Thranix’s shockwave power.

  Like an earthquake, the entire cavern rumbled as the wizards screamed while the blasts sent them tumbling out into the open cavern falling to their deaths or injury. A few used magic to slow their falls, but Parto and his sister appeared before them, quickly ending their lives.

  Theto drew on all the massive power of Yepiera to create thousands of images of all the siblings as well as an elite Hyzantrian vanguard charging into the cavern. The monsters stepped back, eyes widening in fear.

  The siblings charged. Parto leapt on top of a monster and dodged incoming tentacle attacks while stabbing the thing again and again, aiming towards its eyes. Theto charged another, chopping off incoming tentacles, then rolling under an attempted kick by the beast’s ginormous leg.

  Theto chopped into its leg again and again. It tried to stomp him, but Theto was too fast. He repeatedly cut into the beast like he was chopping down a tree, making its blood fly everywhere.

  Theto then released a powerful blast wave between himself and the leg. It blew him safely away as the force snapped the chopped leg and the big monster came crashing down.

  Another screamed as its face melted from the sister’s attack as she ran down its body and jumped away. Theto dashed to the monster he fell, and sent both his swords into its head.

  A few other monsters remained, but they shrunk, retransforming into cowering wizards who went to their knees and begged for forgiveness. Not knowing what power or tricks the wizards could play, none of the siblings hesitated. In seconds, all the mages lay dead.

  The snake’s head rolled.

  Ch. 71

  Hyzantria’s capital hung in silence as Lizeto and Kericles walked down the streets in full armor, followed by their respective men. All had seen the army of gigantic and ugly beasts standing outside the city walls. Fear and doubt fogged every citizen’s mind.

  Lizeto was surprised people didn’t flee in panic. The harbor remained and there were plenty of boats to ferry people away. But maybe there was something to the faith of his fellow Hyzantrians. The Divinity of course was a lie, but maybe it made the citizens brave. Or at least more pliable. Foolish?

  A beautiful woman with her hair down in gentle blonde curls strode down the opposite side of the street, carrying a basket of bread. A guard flanked her on each side.

  Lizeto stared, whispering to Kericles, “Who’s that?”

  He smiled through his lifted visor. “Ha ha. I’m the foreigner here. How should I know?”

  Lizeto watched her walk past. She stepped with strength and dignity, but also grace.

  “Actually,” Kericles said, “I do know who that is. She’s the niece of the leading general.”

  “General Romo?”

  Kericles nodded. “That’s the one.”

  Lizeto dreamed of holding her hand and a little more as he approached the walls. The archers and melee men stared apprehensibly, clearly less confident than when simply men stood just out of reach of trebuchet range, ready to come crashing in on their walls.

  Soldiers made way for Lizeto and Kericles. They leaned over the ramparts, scanning the monsters that they previously faced in battle.

  Each abomination had different eyes; all of them disgusting. But the humanity wasn’t completely gone. The same apprehension Lizeto saw in the faces of soldiers and citizens, he saw in the eyes and even body language of the monsters.

  Lizeto spoke quietly. “Is there any reason they don’t attack?”

  Kericles stared out at the enemy. “Maybe reinforcements, but they have the numbers to take us. Our army isn’t fully recovered from the easterners, and we saw how easily the monsters pick apart men on walls.”

  Lizeto and Kericles both turned to each other smirking. They both knew. In their previous fight, they hurt these beasts. They really did.

  Lizeto pumped a gauntleted fish into a metal-covered hand. “We should sally out and strike before our enemies find their courage.”

  “Our men wouldn’t be enough.” Kericles said.

  “No.” Lizeto shook his head. “All of us.”

  A messenger stood about fifteen yards away delivering mundane orders from the general.

  Lizeto yelled to him. “Messenger! I have an urgent message for General Romo.”

  He ran to Lizeto and saluted. “Sir.”

  “Tell him Lizeto Pinsta has met the enemy in battle and knows their weaknesses. Tell him they have the strength of devils but the fear of men. Tell him if we sally out now we can crush them. Arrange a meeting between him and I at once.”

  The messenger nodded. “Sir…but with the siege he’s unlikely to grant this request.”

  Lizeto stepped toward the young man. “Tell him Count Lizeto Pinsta demands an audience.”

  His eyes and mouth opened as he looked up at Lizeto. “Rylo is…”

  “Dead. It’s okay. His son will avenge his death.”

  #

  Lizeto, with some input from Kericles sitting beside him, told General Romo and his senior staff of the weaknesses discovered and of the plan to attack immediately.

  The grizzled general, who looked more gruff and worn than old and decrepit, shook his head. “I won’t risk the entire army. There’s nothing to stop the monsters from running right over us. We need the walls. We need the alleys of the city. We need real barriers to lash out from and take these things down.”

  “If you let these giants get their blood up, they won’t be stopped. I’ve seen what they can do and how many of them there are. We’ve got to sally out while they’re scared.”

  The general sat in silence for a moment. He locked eyes with Lizeto. “Count, the answer is still no.”

  “Okay, how about just the knights. All of them. Horses won’t do you much good in your battle plan, and if we meet failure, many will survive on the speed of their mounts.”

  Lizeto saw that the general considered his points, but he knew it wouldn’t be enough.

  Lizeto leaned forward and spoke softly. “I’m a wealthy man. I can offer your lovely, but not well born, niece a husband who controls one of the wealthiest estates in Hyzantria. You would be uncle to a countess.” Lizeto sat back.

  The general’s eyes went wide. He looked down Lizeto before bringing his eyes back to Lizeto’s face. “She might not be happy with your girth.

  Lizeto jerked forward. “Hey! I’m super strong and muscular! She’ll like ma bodae.” He nodded.

  The general laughed. “She does seem to like silly men…”

  “Silly?” Heat rose in Lizeto’s mind.

  The general rubbed his chin and looked off to the side. “And she’d be amazed by your wealth. And with her father’s death in the war…”

  Romo turned his gaze on Lizeto. “You’d really marry down?”

  “You know how precious your niece is. No matter her heritage, a woman as beautiful as that can never be seen as a downward marriage.” Plus, with the early death of his father, Lizeto badly needed an heir…

  The general raised an eyebrow. “Do I know this?”

  Lizeto nodded. “Yeah, who else sends two elite guar
ds to accompany his niece to the market when there’s a siege of crazy magic monsters outside the walls?”

  Romo chuckled. “Yes, yes, I see.” His face went straight again. “What if she’s an idiot. You don’t know her.”

  Lizeto pulled his head back, suddenly worried. Her stride seemed so confident, sure, and gorgeous…but what if she was an over confident moron who became so sure because of how men treated her on account of her beauty? “Is she?”

  The general shook his head. “No, she takes after her general uncle.” He held out his hand.

  Lizeto shook it firmly.

  The general nodded as their eyes locked. “Now, tell me of this cavalry attack.”

  “Oh, it’s quite simple really.”

  #

  Lizeto led the knights filing out of the walls. Giant armor-covered horses riden by men surrounded in steel, in any normal battle would be the monsters. But on that field, they were the ants. And I’m the queen…wait…no I’m not!

  Lizeto halted his horse on the far right side of the horde. It was nothing compared to the eastern horse hordes, but Hyzantria had a lot of knights. They looked like a mass of steel, and it would soon be charging steel.

  He looked across at the men to his left. They stared up at the monsters. The knights’ faces contained worry like they were about to fight gods…and maybe they were, but Lizeto knew these gods still had their human fear. My whole plan is based on them being scared of us, not the other way around. Lizeto moved his horse forward before turning in front of the knights. He rode to the middle and stopped.

  All the knights stood in place now. Kericles and his warriors came out of the gate and stood behind them. Not on horseback, they may not see any action, but if a great victory was to be won, Kericles wasn’t gonna be left out of it. Lizeto shook his head.

  He scanned the knights. “Gentlemen! We fight beasts from another plane. True monsters of fairy tales. Their defeat will grant us the glory of generations!” He pumped a fist in the air.

  The Citians cheered, but all the knights remained silent.

  Lizeto slowly brought his arm down. Uuuuuuuuh.

  “We will show them our strength. Show them that we are greater than men too. We are the true beasts!” He didn’t bother throwing a fist in the air. He stared at the silent crowd of horseback knights.

  They stared behind Lizeto at the monsters.

  My people are so stupid. Dad was right. I mean, dad was a fool for trying to change it like he did, but he was right about our fellow Hyzantrians—just a bunch of Divinity slaves.

  “Fear not these creatures. For we have faith. Faith in The Divinity. And…The Divinity has faith in us. We are his fist and he is our steel. We will charge into these maleefa and crush them like the wicked devils that they are!” While finishing the last line he pulled out his sword and raised it.

  A rousing cheer came up from the knights.

  Lizeto began the freaking chant. “The Divinity. The Sovereign. The Authority.”

  The knights and apparently the whole city joined in. “The Divinity. The Sovereign. The Authority. The Divinity. The Sovereign. The Authority. The Divinity. The Sovereign. The Authority.”

  The men’s faces no longer showed fear, but determination. Wow. How many leaders actually believe in The Divinity and how many just use that false idea as a tool to control the masses?

  It sure does work.

  Lizeto yelled, “Prepare to chaaaaarge!”

  Officers relayed the message. The chant died down from the knights but continued from soldiers on the walls and the city’s masses behind them. Using gauntleted hands, the mounted warriors lowered their visors.

  Lizeto looked at the ridiculously huge and gross things arrayed ahead of him. We’re obviously about to charge. They should really group up to take us all on at once. Are they so powerful that they don’t need to worry about that? Or that foolish?

  “Chaaaaaaaaaaarge!”

  Lizeto had never led such a knight’s charge before. He’d never rode forward with such weight and numbers beside him. The massive rumble of heavy hooves joined !with the chanting city to create a truly awesome rush of invincibility as the ground blurred below him and the monsters came closer in view.

  The things roared, showing their huge mouths filled with discolored teeth. They tensed their brownish bodies filled with veins larger than a man’s arm. Their arsenal of tentacles, sprouting from different parts of their bodies, stood at the ready. Lizeto couldn’t concentrate on how many men would fall due to the strange appendages, or how many would be crushed or kicked around by the huge legs and feet of their enemies. All he could do was ride forward and prepare to strike.

  Right as the knights entered tentacle range, the enemies glanced at each other with their large, misshapen eyes.

  Are they missing a leader? Or just scared?

  “Ahhhhhhhh!”

  Lizeto rode right toward one, holding up his sword. It lashed at him with a few tentacles, but he chopped off their ends before they reached him, then he sliced a deep cut into its leg as he rode by before focusing on the next one.

  The mass of knights rode through the center of the monsters. A few of the enemies got off massive kicks, sending horses and men flying. Others plucked men from their mounts and tossed them away. But too late. The Hyzantrians were upon them, riding by and slicing at legs.

  By the time Lizeto broke through, past the beasts, many of the enemy bellowed in pain and all of them in the center started collapsing to the ground, where the next sword swings hit their heads.

  As planned, Lizeto curved right to charge the monsters in that direction. Half of the cavalry followed, the others went left.

  Something gigantic appeared in the sky. A flying monster. It came toward the enemy on the right side, roaring some sort of message.

  Have I led us into a trap!?

  The apprehension in the faces of the beasts turned to outright fear. Like some great worry had been confirmed.

  They all turned and ran.

  The knights caught a handful of them before the enemy built up speed, then chopped them down. Many bumped into each other and even fell, making them easy targets for the Hyzantrians. The rest bounded away on thier huge legs.

  As Lizeto and the knights slowed, giving up the chase, the city behind them cheered. The knights joined in. Lizeto felt they cheered for him. He led the charge after all. Some could say that he was the savior of Hyzantria. “Man, I’m so buff, heroic, and cool.”

  Triumph exploded through him. He pumped his sword in the air and yelled in glorious victory.

  Ch. 72

  In the great stadium of the capital, Lizeto and his Arrassio boys ran down the field. Lizeto slammed into a distracted opponent to the cheers of the crowd. Parto and Theto bounced the balls away from other dancers coming at them while looking for a shot.

  They saw their chance and rocketed the ball back to Finio behind them. Finio trapped it on the ground, reached back, and slapped that ball with such force that it sung as it blurred through the air. The defender dove, but too slow. Another score!

  The fans cheered. The brothers, all looking identical in their uniforms, high-fived each other with their handsome Arrassio smiles. Lizeto looked up at the changing score board. Eleven to one.

  “No chance!”

  He glanced at his amazingly beautiful wife and blew her a kiss. She blew one right back. He caught it and placed it on his flexing bicep.

  “Triplets, Lizeto, in!” yelled their coach.

  All four of them deflated just a little bit.

  He was a renowned coach, paid top coin to take this team to the top. The brothers and Lizeto jogged over.

  The coach clapped his hands multiple times. “Game’s won. Let some backups get some action for the last few minutes.”

  Lizeto felt the same disappointment the triplets did, but they listened. They knew the play of backups could be the difference in the playoffs.

  They all sat on a bench and drank some water.

&nb
sp; Lizeto smirked at Finio. “They are like little, weak bugs to us. Imagine the score if you enhanced us.”

  Finio shook his head. “That would be cheating.”

  Parto, sitting on the other side of him, glared. “Absolutely not. I’ll put a blade through your heart myself.”

  Theto sat next to Parto. He splashed a cup of water all over his own face, then shook it off onto the ground. “Our high beings helped save this country and yet if we used them even for a little fun we’d be persecuted.” He shook his head.

  Parto faced him. “You got your pardon for the maleefa acts you committed thus far. Don’t expect another one.”

  Lizeto looked at Parto. “I’m surprised you made it. Don’t you have a band of maleefa to hunt down?”

  Parto chuckled cockily. “I’ve already brought in or killed many of those vile attackers, hauling in tons of estra. They’ve run out of estra and are leaderless. It’s just a matter of time until the inquisition tracks them all down.”

  Lizeto slapped his hands on his knees to draw attention to himself. “Yeaaaah, well, I’m friends with The Sovereign now. He seems deeply religious, but he wouldn’t move on me. I’m in the line of succession. If I become The Sovereign, who knows what changes will come.

  Theto grinned. “Surely a lot of ham will be wasted on our honored leader.”

  The triplets laughed.

  “Hey! How do you think I’m so strong? Not pure nature. My dad wasn’t this buff. I need all that ham!”

  Finio patted Lizeto’s stomach. “Yeah, a lot of muscle right here.”

  “It’s just ab padding. Man, my abs are so strong they’d cut stuff. My body needs a little ab guard.”

  The triplets stared at him for a moment, then busted out laughing.

  As the laughter died down Parto stared at Lizeto. “There isn’t a line of succession. The Divinity chooses.”

  Realization of the secret he just revealed washed over Lizeto. “Oops.”