by C. M. Hayden
Vexis laughed to herself, regarding her father as she might regard a small child. “I don’t need immortality. The fear of death keeps a girl sharp. It helps us remember that what we do here, now, matters. What good is immortality if you’re just a dirty little despot in some shitty corner of the world?”
The Shahl looked at his daughter with a mote of fear behind his eyes, as if he was just seeing her for the first time. “Vexis, I’m your father. Do as I say.”
“No, you haven’t earned the right to call yourself that.” She stood from the bed and leaned one hand on the back post. “There’s only one true immortality. It’s the only one that matters, at any rate. It’s the immortality that comes from being feared. Nobody fears you, Valros.”
“I know plenty of people who would disagree with that.”
Vexis waved his comment aside. “Not that kind of fear. That’s the ordinary kind, like people fear getting stabbed or fear being boiled alive. They’re not things people actively worry about until it’s actually happening to them.”
“And what kind of fear should they have, precisely?”
Vexis smirked. “Good strategy, keep the conversation going until a guard notices the bodies outside the door. Maybe burst in to save you. Not a bad idea. Don’t worry, I don’t plan on killing you. Not for a while, anyway. If only you could lift your hands, maybe you could deal with me yourself. That’s the price of being old, I suppose.”
“You have no power,” the Shahl said, pointing to her magistry cuffs.
Vexis lulled her head, then casually picked the cuffs off her wrists and dropped them onto the blankets. “Because of these?”
The Shahl leaned back onto the bedpost, knowing he was powerless to stop her. “How?” he rasped.
“Your sixth Inquisitor was nice enough to remove them for me. My good friend, Nima. Wonderful girl. She’s a bit broken right now, but I think she’ll work through it. She’s stronger than even her brother knows.” Without warning, Vexis snapped the cuffs around her father’s wrists. She flashed a cat-like grin. “Just to keep you out of trouble. These are vicious little creations, aren’t they? Courtesy of your old friend, Amelia Ross. She called them Class S enchantments; said they were completely unbreakable, which I can attest to.”
The Shahl looked at his wrists and shot his daughter a pained glare.
Vexis placed a single finger on his mouth and shushed him. “That feeling right now in the pit of your stomach, that’s true fear. It comes from helplessness and inevitability.
“I owe you a lot, Valros. You helped show me the way forward. See, I have big plans, big visions. A vision of dragons. A vision of conquest. A vision of chaos and blood. A vision of light.” Again she smiled, more terrible than ever before. “Don’t worry, I’ll show you.”
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
A Vision of Light
PRAXIS DIDN’T REMEMBER HOW he’d gotten in the back of the wagon. He didn’t remember how his hands had been bound with magistry cuffs, or who the unmoving body beside him belonged to. All he knew was that he was in a horse-drawn wagon and could see the stars overhead. The coachman was familiar to him, a minor noble in his service. Praxis tried to get his attention, but the man pointedly ignored him. Praxis forced his head up over the edges of the wagon so he could see.
There were men on horses following the wagon, and Vexis was at the lead. They were very far from Helia Edûn. Around them were enormous bones stuck into the hard ground, and Praxis realized they were in the Dragon Wastelands. They came to a halt beside a valley thick with broken spears, ancient armor, and frayed banners sticking up from the dry, cracked earth.
Vexis hopped off her horse and looked into the wagon with a smile. “Oh, good. You’re awake.” She snapped her fingers at one of the men. “Prop him up, I want him to see this.”
Praxis practically snarled at the men. “A thousand shekels to the man who strikes her down.”
Vexis looked around to the others. “Anyone want to take him up on that? It’s a lot of money,” she asked glibly. The Endran girl, Nima, was standing beside several others. Her cheeks were red with tears, but she looked at Praxis with indifference. Nobody moved or said a word.
“You think the Netherlight will protect you from Father?” Praxis spat, turning his attention back to his little sister.
“Oh, I have more than that.” Vexis beat against her chest and coughed a few times. She looked as though she’d throw up. She hit her chest, one more time, and coughed up a small, rounded crystal into her palm. She held it up to the night sky. It glowed white with its own inner light and shined like a star.
“I’ve been saving this for a long time.” She held it to Praxis’ face, and he felt his entire body begin to heal. His pain disappeared, and his bruises faded.
“Is that…”
“A fragment of the Arclight.” Vexis nodded. “Wonderful, isn’t it?” She held the Arclight fragment and the Netherlight side-by-side and licked her lips.
“What are you going to do?” Praxis asked, as Vexis approached the dragon bones sticking out from the ground. “Kill me out here where nobody will know?”
Vexis ran her hand along the immense dragon ribcage. “Why would I kill you? A dead man can’t learn any new lessons. A dead man can’t be made to regret his past. A dead man can’t fear anything. And a dead man can’t bear witness to the birth of a god.”
Vexis held the Arclight and Netherlight together in one hand, and the two chunks of crystals crackled and sparked. She pressed her other palm against the dragon bones. “What would you do with the power of life and death in the palm of your hand? Something small, no doubt. Think bigger. Dream bigger.” The crystals glowed in her hand, and shadows intermixed with the white glow of the Arclight. “Rise, Craetos.”
The shadows and light expanded rapidly from her hand like wildfire. They touched every bone before her, and the ground rumbled and cracked underfoot. All at once, bits of dry flesh pulled toward the bones and, piece by piece, a dragon skeleton became whole again. The muscle and meat grew back and the dragon, once dead for a millennium, stirred in the sand. Its eyes glowed like yellow embers, and it shook the earth with each step. Its wings flapped hard, kicking up a hurricane of dust and knocking Praxis onto his back.
The final bits of gnarled sinew and cracked scales came together in a cobweb of mismatched flesh, and the dragon snarled. Vexis ran her hands along its massive frame and exposed leg muscle.
With the undead dragon looming nearby, Vexis approached Praxis and held her hand lovingly to his cheek. “Shall we begin?”
EPILOGUE
The Third Light
ARANGATHRAS LOOKED AS INTIMIDATING as ever. He stood beside the door to the Conservatorium, glancing around at the foliage dispassionately. He was in his human-like form and had healed well from his time as the Shahl’s prisoner. He’d shed most of his cracked scales, and the Arclight had taken care of the shallow flesh damage.
Arangathras motioned one of his enormous claws toward Taro. Realizing he was meant to shake it, Taro did so.
“I’m in your debt,” Arangathras said. His enormous hand felt like it could encompass Taro’s entire fist.
“It was nothing,” Taro said, slightly taken aback.
“I disagree. I never dreamed my midsight could be so wrong.”
“Midsight?”
Arangathras looked uneasy as he explained. “Your proximity to the Arclight has given your kind powers over creation and animation. And the Helians’ proximity to the Netherlight has given them power over shadow and death.”
Taro cocked his head. “You’re telling me there’s another?”
Arangathras nodded. “There is. The Overlight allows Seers, such as myself, to view possible futures. Sometimes many thousands at a time, but usually the most likely ones boil to the surface. When first I saw you, all paths showed you to be wicked. You proved me wrong.”
Taro didn’t know what to say to that.
“I’ve let my brothers and sisters know what took
place in Helia,” Arangathras said. “It’s been agreed that there will be no conflict between our people.”
Taro blinked. “So, I just stopped a war?”
“It would seem so. Your actions did what Sivion herself could not. But there’s more to it.” Arangathras gritted his sharp teeth. “A terrible darkness has entered this world. We’d knownVexis was dangerous; but until today, we didn’t know precisely how dangerous. There are rumors…whispers of my long-dead father returning as a necrotic abomination under her control.”
“Necrotic? As in undead?” Taro asked.
Arangathras nodded grimly. “The future grows more obscure by the day, but all timelines point to a conflict with Vexis and her ilk. I have not told Sivion or Godrin yet, but I’m sure they must feel it coming.”
Taro asked the most obvious question first, “Then why tell me?”
Taro got the distinct impression that Arangathras was not supposed to be talking to him about these things, and the dragon was quiet for a long moment before he answered. “I tell you this because…because when I look into the future I don’t see the Sun King. I don’t see Sivion.” His burning amber eyes met Taro’s. “When I look into the future, I see you.”
“There is only one thing that can transcend life and death: our name. By the time you read this, I will be long dead. And in the thousands of years to come, the dust from my body will be long gone. But someone will remember my name. Perhaps as a prophet, perhaps as a teacher, perhaps as a madman. But someone will remember.
Here, then, is my final truth: Do something that will make people remember you.”
-The Forty Truths of Ishal Valharis
- End of Book 2 -
Taro’s journey isn’t over.
For updates on Book 3, ALL THE GODS BELOW, you can follow the author on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/cameronmhayden) orTwitter(http://twitter.com/cam_hayden).
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Most of the artwork for the Arclight Saga is commissioned from ClickArt Studios. To see more of their work visit: http://clickartstudios.com.
APPENDICES
I - SUN KINGS
CONCURRENT TITLES:
King of Endra Edûn
Right Hand of Amín
High Lord of Solis Enor
Warden of the Sunken City
THE LINE OF SUN KINGS
A note on dates: 0 N.E. is the year of Arkos’ creation. Endra Edûn (“The Kingdom of the Sun”) replaced the Children of Aldor and the ethnic Ciridin circa 1890. Many lords of the Old Kingdoms went south to Solis Enor, and would later be conquered by Sun King Agim. Others travelled west to Craetos (the continent), south to Kadrek, and southeast to Serra.
1 Aldor the Divine (1890NE - 1910NE)
2 Silos (1910NE - 1921NE) *
3 Thoros the Builder (1921NE - 1930NE)
4 Ranos (1930NE - 1941 NE)
5 Loren the Blind (1974NE - 2001NE)
6 Saethiria (2001NE - 2011NE)†
7 Aennon the Bastard (2011NE – 2050NE)
8 Agim the Conqueror (2050NE - 2101NE)
9 Lannis I the Ancient (2101NE - 2260NE)
10 Lannis II (2260NE - 2290NE)
11 Simros the Cruel (2290NE - 2325NE)
12 Aeyn the Great (2325NE - 2399NE)†
13 Renethon (2399NE - 2452NE)
14 Casterius I (2452NE - 2510NE)
15 Casterius II (2510NE - 2595NE)
16 Garan (2595NE - 2634NE)
17 Mordris I the Hammer (2634NE - 2694NE)
18 Mordris II (2694NE - 2699NE)
19 Mordris III (2699NE - 2788NE)
20 Baelon (2788NE - 2852NE)
21 Felyria (2852NE - 2899NE)†
22 Rastor (2899NE - 2931NE)
23 Demetros I (2931NE - 2998NE)
24 Demetros II (2998NE - 3041NE)
25 Nuramoth the Mad (3041NE - 3044NE)
26 Godric the Great (3044NE - 3101NE)
27 Godrin (3101NE - present)
† Female. Properly referred to as Sun Queen.
* The year of the final Old God’s departure from Arkos.
SUN KING GODRIN TERMANE
his father, SUN KING GODRIC
his wife, LADY LYRA, of House Tennrish
his daughter, LADY KYRA, heiress apparent
his brothers LORD CASSIN and LORD LANDEN
his sister LADY ESERA
QUEEN LYRA TERMANE (TENNRISH)
her father, LORD AEGYN, ambassador to the Celosan Republic
her daughter, LADY KYRA
her mother, LADY KIRIS
her brothers, SIR SILOS, SIR ANATAR, SIR JERAN, knight-warders of Castle Mardun and Castle White
HIGH COURT
Magister General LADY AMELIA ROSS, Imperator, chief officer of the Magisterium until her arrest for treason.
Magister General LORD TORRAN BRIEGO, Imperator, chief officer of the Magisterium.
Warder General SIR ORSET GAVIN, Supreme Commander of the Order of the White Sun, chief warder.
Solicitor General LORD LUNIL FENRIS, master of finance, taxation, overseer of provincial matters within the kingdom.
Ranger General LORD CASTOS ELAIN, Supreme Commander of Agim's Eye, the primary ranger corps of the Endrans.
High General LORD LANDEN TERMANE, younger brother of GODRIN, Lord Commander of the Sun King's armies.
II - THE OLD GODS
The Old Gods (also called the “Old High Gods” or the “Illithari”) are the creators of Arkos and its inhabitants. Their existence is not a matter of debate within the world, though their nature, will, and the method of their worship is a point of great contention. Most are generally believed to be benevolent. Some cultures believe there to be thousands of Old Gods, however, only six are commonly named.
LORENDAMU, who is called the Shipwright. The god of time and circumstance.
IRENIM, who is called the Helmsman. The god of magic and the ever-changing cosmos.
SARONA, who is called the Navigator. The goddess of life and nature.
TERITHOTH, who is called the Cartographer. The god of death.
AMÍN, who is called the Quartermaster. The god of fate and order.
NURUTHIL, known also as ITH-HARUS, who is said weaves the darkness and churning chaos of the universe. The first and oldest of the Old Gods.
His lieutenants CTHURHIL, SUBORGATH, ISAROTH, and SITH-NAROSA, whose thoughts and whispers drive mortal men mad.
Spoken of separately is the force known as:
AETHER, the churning chaos of the universe.
III - THE ARKOS
The Arkos (or simply “Arkos”) is the world-ship and the primary location for the events in the Arclight Saga. Designed and built by the Old High Gods (with the aid of the dragonkin and the First Ones) it is a massive superstructure that hosts continental landmasses, oceans, and thousands of species. The inhabitants of the Arkos are unaware that the planet is, in fact, a space-faring vessel.
From a great distance it appears as a spherical disc with six equidistant pylons and a protruding bottom. The sun and moons are artificial satellites simulating night and day.
The Arkos is composed mostly of aventium and is thought to be thousands of years old. The Old High Gods apparently abandoned it and all the inhabitants many hundreds of years ago. The reason for this is unknown, and many of the systems left behind have begun to malfunction.
The Arkos runs on templuric energy, such as that given off by the Arclight of the Magisterium. This creation energy adheres to biological entities and is shaped by the thoughts and emotions of those it binds to.
IV - PRONOUNCIATIONS
PEOPLE
Taro :: Tahr-row (“Tar” rhymes with “bar”)
Nima :: Nee-ma
Kyra :: “Ky” rhymes with “eye”
Aris :: Air-iss
Mathan :: “Math” is pronounced as in “mathematics”
Briego :: Breego
Craetos :: Cray Tos or Cree Tos (“Tos” rhymes with “dose”)
PLACES
Edûn :: Eh-doon
Helia :: Heel-e-ah. “Hel” is pronounced like “heal”
Celosa :: Sell-osa
Tyrithia :: Tie-rith-ee-ah
Caelis :: Say-lis
Vaelis :: Vay-lis
Aedris :: E-dris
OTHER
Magister :: Maj-is-ter
Magisterium :: Maj-is-tier-ee-um
Endran :: Endrin
Imperator :: Im-peer-e-tor
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