“We slowly deposited the other weapons in the armory, but he didn’t keep his sword. I grew suspicious. As we left, I confessed I was having my doubts with him. And that’s when he revealed his deception. He had triggered his sword’s ability. He was going to wipe out the entire barracks. There was no way to stop him. That’s when I decided to involve you guys. I know you can get the information out of him to stop this sword’s attack. The fact that the sword is at this distance will slow the energy transfer. But we need to figure out how to stop him. And fast!”
Morgan, after listening to me, said curtly. “Prove your story. I can’t let you trick me.”
This was it. Now we would see if the kid’s theory actually worked. Morgan wouldn’t let us near the central weapons room without proof that it was going to blow up.
“Sure.” I went to the kid, and wrested his sword away along with his bracer. He pretended to struggle. One of the guards smacked him.
I then glared at Morgan. “I can demonstrate the power of this sword. I however would need the smallest piece of Maktsten you have here.”
Morgan turned to Azrial. “Get the smallest part of your horse’s armor.” As Azrial started to protest, Morgan dismissed him. “Now.”
Azrial returned with a small joint from the neck of his horse’s armor. Now I understood how he was able to suddenly travel fast. It was because of the horse’s Azmoqian armor.
As he handed it to me, I saw what it had. The tiniest aberration in the metal, which looked like a small glassy sand particle, was a Maktsten. I placed the tiny Maktsten on the sword’s blue Maktsten and placed both of them on the floor, with the sword on the bottom, in the middle of the room. Everyone backed up, including Azrial. Morgan didn’t move a muscle. We waited for less than two seconds.
The stone blew up, throwing everyone off their feet, into the wall, including me. A couple of the guards slammed into the wall, breaking their necks. I then realized why Major Morgan was the head of this barracks. He still hadn’t moved. Nor had the blast affected him in any way. He was going to be a problem.
The survivors looked at the center of the room. The stone floor had been destroyed, leaving a crater that was more than a meter deep. The horse’s armor was still in one piece, but was glowing red due to the heat and was embedded in the ceiling. Dev’s sword was right beside it, completely unaffected. The kid was right. This was an exceptionally powerful weapon that had been discovered by him. I wondered why no one else had found this out earlier.
Morgan looked at me. “Let’s take a walk to the armory.” The seven members of the Final 100, Dev, Elbir and I walked towards the armory. The soldiers had been dismissed. The three of us had two Final 100 members each, assigned as guards. Morgan walked in front. No one said anything till we reached the central armory room.
The room had a long central table, around which lay glass cases with weapons and armors of various sizes in them. There were also multiple cases at the end of the room with various Maktstens of varying sizes.
Morgan then turned to me and asked, “Is there anything that this man loves more than his life? Because if not, we might as well die right away.”
All of us panicked, including our guards. Azrial howled. “Morgan, are you insane! I will...” he immediately shut up when Morgan stared at him. If looks could kill, Azrial’s head would have exploded.
“That’s Major Morgan to you, Azrial,” he barked.
I pretended to panic. “Please, sir. I don’t want to die. He… he has a village that he wants to protect. That’s the village you march on for the Azmoq reserve. That is the only thing he loves more than his life.”
Morgan took out some paper from under his armor, along with a pen and started to write a letter. I recognized this letter from my time at the Battle of the Bloody River. This letter was in a special Azmoq laced ink to ensure extreme secrecy and authenticity. It looked invisible to the naked eye, but only with a special Valantian Azmoq detector, the letter could be read. I widened my eyes at Dev, and pointed to the letter. Then I started to read his thoughts.
“What do you want me to do? Should I grab the letter?” Dev thought.
I shook my head just a little.
“Should I destroy the letter somehow?
I mildly nodded.
“How? Does it have Azmoq in it?”
I mildly nodded.
He closed his eyes for a minute. His mind seemed blank. I wasn’t able to read anything. He then opened it.
“Done. I have used the Azmoq particles in the ink to scratch every word out. The letter now has no words in them.”
Morgan turned towards Dev. “I will offer this to you. This offer expires in one minute. If you disarm your weapon, I will spare the life of every other villager in your village. The way you can hold me to this promise is by having a Maktsten on you, and you with me always. Once I have spared the lives of the villagers, I will kill you.
“The alternative is, all of us die right now. No difference it makes to you and me. But this letter,” he summoned the armory guard, whispered to him and gave him the letter.
“Which has just left the armory, will reach the High Seat before the rubble settles. Don’t worry, it will not get destroyed in the blast. The guard will put it on a carrier eagle in less than a minute. This eagle will be safe from any blast because of the heights it flies at.
“The letter says that unless I recall this order within the next month, they are to dispatch a 5,000-strong army upon the location of this village. When they reach it, they are to capture every villager alive. Then, each villager is to be tortured for at least a month in a fashion that will chill even a dead man’s bone. And then, they are all to be slaughtered.
“So the choice is yours. Your time starts now.”
Dev bared his teeth. Then in a few moments, he dropped to his knees. He then said in a flat voice. “I choose your first option. Bring me this chamber’s Maktsten, largest to smallest.”
There was a hint of a smile on Morgan’s face. The six others from the final 100 breathed a sigh of relief. Azrial moved out of the room as the armory guard came back in.
“I have dispatched the letter, Major,” he said as soon as he entered.
Ignoring him, Morgan said, “Get me all the Maktsten in this chamber, starting with the largest.”
It was done. Our fates were sealed. I didn’t know what drove me to do it. But I couldn’t let the kid go down and not even succeed. I really couldn’t. I had to make sure he succeeded. And Elbir too. Azrial would die as well. I reconciled myself to the death of thousands of people I was about to cause. They would be involved in the murder of many innocent villagers soon. I knew they wouldn’t allow any villager to survive. This act was saving some lives. Also, the barracks had to have been cleared of all maintenance staff, following protocol. So it was only the soldiers who would die. I was at peace.
I had one last thing to do.
The guard brought all the stones. The largest one was indeed about a tenth of the stone in Dhronari. The second was also almost the same size as the first. It was surprising that there were so many Maktsten under the Imperium’s control. They were extremely rare. The two large stones, detonated together would bring down the entire barracks.
I said, under my breath, “Dev. I am sorry for this. But here’s the consolation prize.”
I turned to Morgan. “You saved us. This man is going to die. Can you give him some satisfaction? Kill two more of the villagers, but please also summon the Yerin assassins who killed his friend. If he could kill those men, I know his quest for revenge would die down and he would be less likely to betray you in a moment of weakness.”
Morgan again had a ghost of a smile. “I like your idea,” he said. He called another of the Final 100 and asked him to get the assassins.
The man returned as we waited in silence. As he returned with one man, Morgan smiled for the first time.
“For your satisfaction, kid. The other one dies just before you will.” He punched the guy in hi
s face. And we saw for the first, although probably the last time, a display of this man’s strength. The assassin skull just cracked from the side, with blood spluttering out of his head as the man collapsed. Elbir bent down and identified the man. It was the assassin.
Dev smiled. “Thank you. If you are true to your word, I would die knowing that I have saved at least some of my village. And have gained my revenge.” Morgan said nothing.
Dev held his sword. He placed three stones that fit easily under its stone together on the central table nearby. He motioned everyone to stand behind him. Everyone complied but for Morgan. Dev eyed me. I read his thought as he prepared himself.
“Move yourself and Elbir gradually to my right as I destroy the Maktstens.”
I had finally committed to ending my life. I was at peace with the thought that I was doing some tangible good as my life was about to end. I didn’t care to comply.
Dev slowly raised his sword to his face. And then held it with both hands. The sword extended and glowed. Everyone took a step back. Including Major Morgan. The “tough” man finally showed fear.
Dev released the sword handle from his right grip. He then placed the still glowing sword on the table. He then said, “The glow will transfer to the stones. Do not worry. It is normal.”
Just as he said it, the Maktsten started to glow. Brighter and brighter. He turned towards Morgan. The Azmoq weapons and armor around us started to shake. The floor itself shook. And then there was light. Everything was white. Then came the sound.
Of the world tearing apart.
The Round Lotus lit up. Blooming with white light.
Chapter 26: A thief in the wind
Events were abound in the High Seat, two years before the Round Lotus bloomed… these events were to affect everyone in the world, soon enough…
The High Seat was the only completely man-made city in the world. It ranked among the top three in terms of size, behind only Welehölla in Morgenia and Xiun in the eastern continent of Wenoxha. It was opulent, colossal and housed only the Valantian Imperium, elite Valantian units, the Final 100 and a select few others. For the people of the main land, visiting the High Seat was a dream. A dream they could never achieve. Even for the people of Capitol Hills, some of them extremely wealthy by Valantian standards, a visit to The High Seat was still the chance of a life time. To see the Imperium Chambers, the colossal pure white halls where the Valantian Imperium decided the fate of the continent, along with the various chambers that housed the greatest warriors of the continent, any citizen would give an arm for.
It was not just the opulence or the prestige which made a journey to The High Seat intimidating, it was also the physical location. The entire city was constructed over flattened tops of fours hills, with no normal routes to approach the hills but for sky cables for the elite and stairs for commoners, which were completely controlled and monitored. It was impossible for anyone to enter or exit the city otherwise. Not without becoming a human pincushion.
But for Kazena, breaking into the Forbidden City and entering the Imperium chambers was a matter of routine now. She had perfected the art of entering any and all buildings on the main land years ago, and stealing whatever was the most difficult to steal. Last few years she had broken into the High Seat and Imperium Chambers quite frequently. The challenge was worth the effort, she didn’t need any treasure as reward for that. Now, she was looking for the ultimate challenge. Entering two of the most secure rooms—the secretive royal treasury and the chamber of philosophy.
The first one made sense for the continent’s best and most enigmatic thief. But the second one seemed like an eccentric choice for someone in her profession. But she had clear reasons for it. If fact, she wanted to get into the chamber of philosophy more than the royal treasury.
The royal treasury was an extremely well-guarded room, as expected. But as the outsider who had explored the Imperium Chambers the most, she realized the room was extremely small to house any significant treasure. But that increased her curiosity—what treasure was so well guarded, and yet so small?
Her curiosity was even more for the chamber of philosophy. It was even more well-guarded than the royal treasury, with the chambers of the Order of Seven located right around it. And one of the seven was always inside their chambers. The entry to the chamber of philosophy through a particular chamber was locked automatically if the member was not in the building. There was no way for her to see what was inside the chamber of philosophy. It was also a large chamber. Why would studies of philosophy need such a large space and such tight security? And it was certainly connected to the royal treasury, as people frequently moved between these two rooms.
Today was the day. She had figured out how she could use her skills to penetrate the chamber of philosophy. As luck would have it, six members of the Order of seven were out. Only Titan was present. And she knew, more than anyone else, that he had not been the same since the Battle of Bloody River with Varishtan. In fact, he seemed to be an honorary member of the Order. Draconair was clearly to be his replacement. But they were waiting for something to happen before they replaced Titan. She wasn’t sure what that something was. It didn’t matter to her. There was an opportunity which had been created and she had to take it. She could handle Titan.
She saw the guards to Titan’s chamber leave. This was the opportunity she had been waiting for. The door to the chamber of philosophy would be locked, but she had managed to observe the locking mechanism of the door. It should be easy to open.
She created the air lenses that her special swords allowed her to. These lenses, which spanned the length of her body, allowed her to hide from all in plain sight as long as she maintained the right distances between herself, the lenses and the viewer.
This was tough work even with a single observer, let alone multiple.[6] But she had learned to master it. She moved into the gigantic warrior’s chamber before the guards could close it. Thankfully everything in the Imperium Chambers was colossal in proportions. This left her a lot of room to maneuver her lenses constantly to ensure she stayed completely hidden.
Entering the room, she was intimidated at the sight of Titan. She had seen him many times, but never so close by. He was at least two feet taller than her, probably a foot wider as well. He was pacing in the room and looked nervous. Maybe today was an important day for him. The pacing made things difficult for her. Firstly, his massive size needed her to adjust her lenses. Now the pacing meant she was having to adjust the lenses in positions that she wasn’t familiar with. There was more than one occasion where she was sure she must have flickered into Titan’s view, as he paused briefly and looked suspiciously in her direction. But whatever he was thinking of was weighing on his mind. He continued to pace. She had to wait for him to exit his chamber, even for a few moments, and she would be inside.
He usually left for a minute long briefing around this time with the captain of the Imperium security. However, time seemed to pass without him moving out. She was getting nervous. Was the briefing cancelled today? She would have to leave if that was so. But then, there was a flurry of movement. She heard multiple boots run around. Then there were loud bangs on Titan’s door.
Titan opened the chamber door. A slender man, with a tense look on his face, said as he panted. “There is an intruder in the Imperium Chambers. He is heading slowly towards the Imperium. We need your help—he has already taken down two members of the Final 100.”
Titan immediately picked up his splitting maul and rushed out. She couldn’t believe her luck. Another intruder, on the same day as her! She waited for his chamber doors to close and got to work. The door seal was complex. It consisted of a series of sliding bars which served as locks, each needing a key. The amount that the locking bar needed to be slid was also specific. But she knew all the distances. Keys had never been an issue. She waved her sword across the locks, and air pressure within each of the locks adjusted in a way that it imitated the key’s pressure, opening the lock. Her swords
helped adjust air pressure around her, which was the basis of her powers. She then moved each locking bar precisely, again using air pockets that her sword generated to ensure precision.
The door opened, the chamber was in front of her. It seemed unreal. But then, there was a sound. And the door started to slam shut before she could walk in. She had missed something. An alarm had been triggered. There was a ringing sound which seemed to have started because she opened the door. But it didn’t matter. She was invisible to anyone sent to investigate. And she had seen the inside of the chamber. She held out her left hand and folded her right hand towards her chest, maintaining them both at shoulder level. She threw both arms out clock wise, until her right was open and left folded, while focusing on what she had seen inside. Someone had just entered the room. They were too late to find her. She had disappeared.
And she immediately appeared on the other side of the door, just as the door closed. She had entered the chamber of philosophy. The combination of invisibility and her ability to jump instantly between locations were the gifts that helped her become the greatest thief this continent had ever known.
She had little time. They would definitely rush into this room to check for intruders. If there were more than five people, her lenses couldn’t work.
She moved around, trying to understand the place she had jumped into. The chamber of philosophy itself was divided into multiple segments. She seemed to have entered the antechamber. There were multiple people in black cloaks moving around contraptions she couldn’t understand. But there was something she could understand. There was a large glass room within the chamber, which seemed to be empty but for one thing. A strange looking weapon.
At first look, it looked like a spear. But as she moved closer, cautious of alerting any of the chamber’s occupants, she saw it looked like a sword as well, with a hilt and a pommel. It looked extremely intricate in its design and was incredibly beautiful. At the same time it felt like it wasn’t a modern make. It felt like a centuries old weapon. She knew she needed to have it. It was too attractive to pass up. This was going in her permanent collection.
Age of Azmoq: The Valantian Imperium Page 30