by Jack Crosby
Blackest Night I:
Tiamat’s Revenge
Jack Crosby
Heat Lightning Publications
Two Dudes, Brews, & Books
478 East Altamonte Drive Ste 108-782
Altamonte Springs, FL 32701
Copyright 2019 by Jack Crosby
All rights reserved. No part of this book can be reproduced scanned, or sold in print or electronic form without permission. We encourage you, the readers, not to engage in any form of piracy.
Printed in the United States
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Publisher Note:
This book is a work of fiction.
All of the names, places,
and events that occur are from
the author’s imagination.
Any resemblance to an actual
person, alive or dead, place,
historical event, or business establishment
is purely coincidental.
Jack Crosby
Email me at [email protected]
Books:
Demons in D.C.
In the Nyx of Time
Abaddon Rising
Witches of Oz
Grave and Wicked Business
The Crazy’s Guy Guide to Bacon
Interactive Novellas
Demons in D.C. (The Interactive Adventure!)
Fiendish Sins: A Horror Harem Adventure
The world of Alfheim, covered by oceans, holding four great continents:
Floating, Central, Frozen, and Southern Continents.
Our story begins a long time ago on the Floating Continent,
In a time of war…
**18 years ago…**
“Commander Cutter!” a voice rang out. “Commander Cutter, we’re under attack!”
I jumped from my bed. The words attack roused me from my deep sleep. I opened the door to my chamber to see one of the cadets standing there, no more than seventeen or eighteen. I knew this one, Rex, as he’d just joined the Royal Command. The look in his eyes told me all I needed to know. The Kingdom of Skylonus was under attack.
I hurried by, with the young man at my feet. “Status report, cadet,” I barked.
“The paratroopers from the ground regency of Gibraltar were spotted an hour ago. At first, we believed them to just be scout, but ten minutes ago they attacked. Two stayed behind – we believe they are trying to summon Tiamat, the devil dragon.”
“A summon?!” Words were lost on me. We’d just entered the armory and I grabbed my weapon, Dark Star. The sword was made of a black meteorite that landed on the sky kingdom eons ago. It was the symbol of the high commander.
::Equipped Dark Star – plus 575% physical damage, plus 450 hp, plus 150% defense, Doom::
I finally heard the first explosion. It seemed the paratroopers had breached one of the side walls. “Cadet Rex, are you feeling brave today?”
“Yes sir,” he said as his hand snapped to attention.
“If they are truly summoning Tiamat, then all is lost.” It was a grim reminder of the power of a summoned creature, especially the devil dragon. “But, if you are courageous, we might be able to save the young prince and whisk the two of you away to safety.”
“Sir, what about you?”
“Today is a good day to die a hero, cadet.”
We both were equipped and ready to fight. We needed to get to the throne room as soon as possible, as the royal family would have retreated there. Another explosion shattered the silence; it was going to be a fight to get there.
“The moment we leave the safety of the barracks, we must be prepared for our enemies. Let’s go, Cadet Rex.”
::Cadet Rex joined the party::
The two of us exited the door and into the courtyard that separated the main part of the castle from the Royal Command. Battles were going all around us, paratroopers versus the soldiers that I personally trained. I saw Captain Ryle running towards the hangar, in the hopes to begin to mount of sky attack. It sickened me that I couldn’t help, but the safety of the boy prince was always the objective.
King Dontavious always suspected an attack from the regency below us. He was even worried that they had found a way to summon the creatures’ parallel realm again. Being the stubborn man that I was, I assured him that was false – no one would ever find the magic again to summon one of the monstrosities.
That’s when I saw the rip in the sky above me. It was the first sign of Tiamat’s arrival. Soon the devil dragon would break through and blast the kingdom on the orders of her summoner. Tales of her attack, Blackest Night, were written all throughout our history tomes. Unfortunately, after tonight, neither us nor the tomes would be around to be updated.
“Let’s keep going, Rex.” Both of us had stopped our forward movement to look at the rip.
“Tiamat’s coming,” he said.
“That she is, son.”
We finished our dash across the courtyard, only to be intercepted by two paratroopers. The battle begun.
They had the jump on us: Grenade launch
Both Rex and I were blasted with low volume frag grenades, but our health bars stayed true. They were about to find out the power of the Commander. Double slash
The X shaped attack brought both paratroopers to their knees. With their health at critical, Rex finished them off quickly: Line attack
As soon as the battle was over, Rex jumped two levels, from level one to level three. I was at level sixty-eight, so these foot soldiers didn’t pose a threat to me. With them dead, we moved on and into the castle. Something didn’t feel right as we entered.
“Commander, I sense the presence of magic.”
Rex was right. Black magic carried with in a distinct signature that all members of the command were trained to detect from day one. We’d be dealing with a mage soon.
The two of us stayed true to our path, through the welcoming hallway and into the main annex. The white glowing spot on the ground was a recovery point, in which we walked over and regained our lost health. It was a good thing, too. Waiting for us, blocking the door to the throne room was the black mage we sensed.
“The famed Commander Cutter, what a surprise.”
The mage was male, with yellowing skin and teeth. He was dressed in black wool armor, befitting of a battle mage. In his hand was a staff, the source of their power.
“Once we engage, Rex, there’s no turning back.”
“Understood Commander.”
With that, the battle began. I had the highest level on the field which gave me the first strike advantage. Instead of attacking, I used my anti-magic skills to set us up for the long fight: Shell
The barrier of blues and whites washed over us, protecting us from the worst damage the mage could inflict. He snarled as he saw the shell take hold.
“So be it,” he called out. It was his turn and he went right for it: Firaga
The highest-level fire spell erupted flames towards us. Shell absorbed most of the damage, but to say we didn’t feel that one was an understatement. Poor Rex, at level three, it ate away half his health. On the bright side, both our spirit attack gauges went up.
Rex countered right away with: Strike
The basic sword attack was plenty good as it cut through the mages weak physical defense and took away a quarter of his health. The mage quickly countered with: Protect
Damnit! Protect was the opposite of shell, making him invulnerable to most physical attacks. I had a plan, but it was a calculated risk. If he had enough mana points to pull off another firaga spell, it wouldn’t work.
P
arty defend
Both Rex and I put our swords up in a defensive stance. We only needed to get our spirit gauges full at the same time to initiate a team attack. Hopefully the mage wouldn’t pick up on it.
The mage didn’t. With a fancy twirl of his staff, he targeted me. His attack wouldn’t kill me, but it would top off our spirit gauges. The gods were on our side today. Flame
The jet of fire poured over me for a minute, but only brought me health down to a third. With both Rex and my spirit gauges at capacity, it was time to end this fight and get into the throne room. I looked over at Rex and signaled. He understood, thrusting his iron sword into the ground. I followed suit, initiating our team attack: Deadly Uprising
The ground below the mage’s feet burst forth with rocky spikes, throwing him into the air. The spikes kept coming, pounding into him over and over again until the attack ended and the mage dropped back to the ground. Overkill flashed above his bloody body, the battle finished.
Rex gained five more levels while I gained one. With no time to spare, we ran past the mage’s corpse and into the throne room. It was there that we were greeted by the king and queen.
Both looked panicked. “Is it true, Cutter?” the king asked.
I looked out the window facing the courtyard, the summoning had been complete. Tiamat could be seen in the sky above, charging her attack. “There’s no time, we need to get the boy prince to safety.”
The queen nodded. “There’s one escape pod still functioning, Dante is already in it.”
At least that was on our side. “Rex, go to the pod. It is up to you now to make sure Prince Dante lives.”
“But sir, the rest of you?”
There was no time for arguments. “We all know our stations in life. The king, queen, and I will die with the people. You and the prince will live. One day, he will rise up and take back our kingdom, understand?”
Rex looked as if he was going to argue some more, but thought better of it. “Sir, yes, sir!”
“Good, now go.” The night sky was beginning to brighten, Tiamat ready to destroy our kingdom. “May the gods watch over you.”
He turned to leave and that’s when I made one last decision. “Wait, Rex.” The young cadet turned around. “Take this. You are the Commander now.”
::Item lost Dark Star::
Rex hesitated but took the sword. He bowed to the king and queen and gave me one last salute. “Until we meet again, Commander Cutter.”
Rex ran as fast as he could by the thrones and out the back-escape hatch. As the king, queen, and I huddled around, waiting for the end, we eventually heard the popping sound of the pod rocketing down to the planet below us. Rex had made it, Dante was safe.
It was only then we rested in peace. The unnatural roar of the devil dragon tore apart the castle and Blackest Night put a quick end to our lives…
Tanaka Corp. Presents
Tiamat’s Revenge
**18 years later…**
“Happy twenty second birthday, Dante.”
It wasn’t much, but Uncle Rex did the best he could each and every year. We had fish caught from the river and wild berries from the forest. It was a simple life, but a good one. Uncle Rex regretted the fact he was the one who raised me from a child, but, as all of our fellows were dead, we were the last two Skylonians.
My mother and father were the king and queen; I was the prince to the kingdom. Rex had just been a young cadet when Tiamat destroyed the kingdom with her Blackest Night attack, escaping on his commander’s orders. He carried the sword of the commander each and every day with him. His skills with the blade were a marvel to watch.
I blew out the single candle that was on the wild berry muffin he made for me. “Thanks, Rex. As always, you have gone above and beyond.”
“Anything for my prince.”
Even though we were practically family, Rex still acknowledged me as the crowned prince of a doomed kingdom. I’d tried years ago to get him to knock that off, but he swore up and down that one day my time would come and that I’d be the ruler of a proud kingdom. I wanted to believe that. I also wanted to believe that there were insanely beautiful moon girls that would come for me each night, but alas, that wasn’t happening, either.
The night of our escape, our pod crashed in the outer regions of the Regency of Gibraltar. Rex traveled for three days and nights to cross the border into the Wildlands. Here, we lived in our remote cottage, sheltered by the mountains the surrounded us and by the crazy tales people told of the region. Everything from werewolves to trolls were told to wary travelers in the taverns that popped up here and there. So far, I’d seen nothing of the sort. Sure, we had a fair number of wild wolves and other creatures, but nothing so dangerous as a troll.
While we ate, a noise came from the outside. It sounded almost human. “What do you think that was?” I asked.
“Probably nothing for us to concern ourselves with.”
“Hey, it’s my birthday, I think I deserve the right to go check it out.”
Rex laughed, knowing my adventurous side would always want to check out the unknown. “Fine, but at least arm yourself. And make sure you’re back by nightfall.”
Arming myself was no problem. I grabbed the short iron sword he’d made for me when I was younger.
::Equipped Dante’s Iron Sword – Plus 2% Speed::
With a spring in my step, I ran outside and waited to see if the noise came again. It did, from close to the river if my sense of direction wasn’t playing tricks on me.
The river wasn’t that far from the cottage, only a few minutes to walk there. I wasn’t sure what I’d be expecting, but it wasn’t that. When the rushing water came into view, I saw a hooded figure wearing the imperial blue of the Nagano Nation. Rarely did we see any one from the samurai country come this far into the Wildlands, but here one was. And they were under attack from a Lesser Kraken. I did the right thing, I joined the fight.
::Mystery Samurai joins party::
The Lesser Kraken was no match for my speed, so I got the first turn in: Rapid strike
My iron sword was thrusted three times into his squishy body, inflicting serious damage. My new companion followed right after me, using: Shuriken toss
The samurai threw two five starred blades at the monster and each one curled into critical hits near the Kraken’s eyes. Between the two of us, we took the monster down in one turn. I leveled up to four and the mysterious samurai gained one level to three.
The Kraken dropped an item in defeat.
::Gained squid ink::
“That’ll be useful for the next battle, blinding your opponent.”
I was surprised to hear my companion’s voice; it was female! “My uncle normally deals with those things, so this is my first vial of ink.”
The samurai dropped her hood to reveal one of the most enchanting faces I’d ever seen. “You are a brave warrior, to come to my aid.”
As I shook her hand, it was only then that I noticed a few things that I missed when the heat of battle was upon us. Number one were the curves under the imperial blue uniform. That was another dead give-a-way. Number two was just how gorgeous her almond shaped blue eyes and pouty lips were. Holy man, the Nagano Empire apparently knew how to make a good-looking lady.
“My name is Kira, rogue class samurai. And who might you be, brave warrior?”
Brave warrior? She could call me that all day long for all I cared. “My name is Dante.” I couldn’t say I was the prince of a long dead kingdom, so I made something else up. “I’m a soldier of fortune, with my Uncle Rex.”
She nodded knowingly. “Ahhh, there are many stories in my kingdom of hired warriors in the Wildlands. Goddess Luck is on my side today. I was sent by my master, Yamato, to locate a hired warrior to help guide us to Gibraltar.”
In just a flash, my good feelings were dashed. The minute she said Gibraltar, my blood began to boil. All I could think about was the night their paratroopers attacked and summoned Tiamat.
“
Why on earth would he want to go there?”
“Officially, it is a peace meeting between my master, Yamato, and the Gibraltar prime minister.” Then she looked around as if to make sure we were alone. “However, with Gibraltar on the brink of invading Nagano, we’ve been tasked with finding out how they learned the art of summoning. It is no secret that they were once successful in bringing Tiamat into this world and destroying the Kingdom in the Clouds.”
This was fate, finally coming to my aid. “Rex and I would love to accompany you to Gibraltar. We happily accept this job.”
My new friend, Kira, looked at me funny. “Shouldn’t we ask him first?”
I knew Rex would go along with it, mainly because he stood by protocol and would defer to me as the prince. This was the one time that I wouldn’t mind using that, if I had to.
Kira followed me back to my house from the river. Along the short walk back, she told me more about her nation. While it was all nice and what not, I was way more interested in what other surprises were kept hidden by her samurai outfit. As we made the last bend to get to my house, Kira threw herself on me.
At first, I thought maybe my charm had won her over. It was only when she put her fingers up to her lips that I realized something else was happening. Three men stormed out of the cottage, the last one carrying Uncle Rex before dropping him on the ground.
“General Victor, we found this in the house.”
One of the armored men handed the lead man, this General Victor, the Dark Star sword. “I’ve heard of this sword,” the general said. “The pride of Skylonus, no?”
Rex didn’t say anything. As I looked at him, I saw he was sporting a big shiner on his left eye and numerous abrasions over the rest of his face and arms. He looked as defiant as ever, though.