Storm Kings (Song of the Aura, Book Six)

by Downs, Gregory J.

  Gramling suddenly turned the sickest sheet of white Gribly had ever seen. “The… the Golden Mountain!” he cried, “Is it in this same land?”

  “Golden… what?” Gribly asked.

  Traveller raised an eyebrow. “No. I would feel it. As such, I do not know where it is, though I suspect it to exist deep in Nation… the name of the continent your former master lent to his new-made regime. I had, in fact, called you both here to discuss its whereabouts.”

  Gramling looked visibly relieved, and a curious glint shone in his eyes. “You want me to tell you where it is… assuming I know.”

  Traveller nodded. Gribly opened his mouth, then closed it. “Is there a problem?” the Aura asked. Gribly shrugged, unsure.

  “It’s just that… well, I see why you’ve done this. If we destroy his mountain, we kill him. But for one, wouldn’t he be at his strongest there? And for two, we don’t have the means. That is to say… Lauro has the only weapon we know to be capable of harming Sheolus, and he’ll never leave his place with the Remnant.”

  “It’s true,” Gramling agreed, though he seemed preoccupied. Trying to remember the location of the Golden Mountain? Perhaps… Gribly hoped so. He wanted- needed- his brother to be on their side.

  Traveller nodded, conceding the points. “Unfortunately, with two major enemies on the loose, Red and Gold, Wanderwillow and I have been restricted to protecting our respective areas. I took the Fellmere, using the Gray Cathedral as a temporary core, while Wanderwillow had to make do with rebuilding his old core… the place now called the Grove. Neither of us can move far without risking either Automo or Sheolus wiping out the rebel armies.”

  “Protection…” Gribly considered. “And we’ve no way to strike out at either… wait. Wait! What about Automo’s island? His core must be somewhere inside it… I may have even visited the place when I stole the Midnight Sword from him. If we can find it again, Gramling and I, perhaps we can destroy his core… or if he’s there, defeat him first, then do it. That would more than even the odds. We can chip away at Sheolus from there on out!”

  “A worthy plan,” Traveller agreed, “but you do not know all there is to this puzzle.”

  “Uh-oh.”

  Traveller sighed. “The Day of Norne… the day when World and Otherworld will collide… is in five days.”

  Gramling cursed obscenely. “What?!? Why didn’t you tell us this before??”

  Gribly pressed his lips together, but managed a more mild reaction. “You’ve been telling me it was close, Traveller, but five days? I expected at least a few more weeks. The Last War is in its final stages, but nowhere near over.”

  “There were… things… that had to be prepared first,” Traveller said quietly, staring off into the distance. He looked far from his usual, carefree self, and Gribly wondered what he could possibly mean.

  “Blast. Bloody…” Gramling continued on in a lower tone. Gribly sighed.

  “I see, Traveller… but this is awfully close. We have five days ‘til some cataclysmic event, that you’ve been telling me I’m essential to for… how long? Since we first met. Yet I don’t even know what it is, or why I… unless…” A horrible realization peeked into his mind.

  “Unless…” Gramling seemed to be thinking along the same lines. “…the worlds colliding. The Legion… the books…”

  “Books?” Traveller nearly whirled on the lad. “What do you know, Gramling?”

  “The Legion… awakening…” Gramling looked up, staring the Aura straight in the eye… and Traveller was the first to back down.

  “Gramling?” Gribly whispered uncertainly.

  “I should have known. There’s been whispers all along…” Gramling shook his head. Gribly started to sense what was coming, but he tried to blank his mind, to ignore it. It didn’t work.

  “The Day of Norne,” he said. “Norne was the Aura of Fate… High Cleric Vath told me that. So in five days… Fate comes full circle.”

  “Sheolus won’t just be more powerful,” Gramling continued the thought, “he’ll have direct contact with the rest of the Legion.”

  “Trapped for a thousand years,” Gribly murmured, “and now, the Otherworld will clash with the real World, just like it did back then. That’s how the Aura imprisoned the Legion, isn’t it?”

  Traveller simply nodded, but he didn’t look offended. Instead, he made a small gesture to urge them on in their discovery.

  “So,” Gramling took up the thread, “he plans to release the Legion from whatever Otherworldly prison you put them in. There’s only one way to stop him, and that’s to destroy his core, and, if I’m right, to slay him forever with Lauro’s artifact sword.”

  “But that’s not it,” Gribly said, rubbing his forehead, thinking slowly. “We have to do it on the Day of Norne, because even though he’ll be at his most powerful, Sheolus will only be vulnerable to us then. You can’t really kill a god… or a false god… not permanently. We’ll have to loosen his hold on this world by destroying the mountain. Then we’ll have to trap him, probably with the sword. Then, and only then, we’ll have to seal him in the Otherworld prison with the rest of the Legion!”

  He almost felt like falling to his knees right then and there with the enormity of it all… but he stayed upright, staring at the other two with wide eyes. He couldn’t help it.

  “Just the two of us?” Gramling said, after a long pause.

  Traveller seemed to mull it over for a time- far too long, in Gribly’s opinion- before he finally answered.

  “No… at least, I do not believe so. It is… difficult… to plan such things, especially against the will of the other Aura. They have removed themselves from the awareness of myself and Wanderwillow, and as such we have not the clearest perception of the future, as we once did.”

  He fell silent again, musing for over a minute before continuing.

  “He needed you… Gribly… for his plan to work. That is why, when I first found your father, years ago, I attempted to end this fight before you even existed. It failed… and I fear I only made things worse.”

  “Why?” Gribly asked. “Does it have to do with me being the Prophet?”

  “Indeed. You were chosen before your conception, Gribly, in the time when you were not more than a small, bright soul in the vast infinity that is the Creator’s light. You were to be his mouthpiece to the world, by directly serving us, the Aura, and bringing about order and prosperity through your words and influence.”

  “Heavy thoughts,” Gramling muttered.

  “Sheolus knew this, as did I, and the rest of the Aura… as well as the Legion. We have always known it. So when your birth came about, naturally both sides responded.”

  “The first burning of the Gray Cathedral,” Gribly whispered. “I saw it in Wanderwillow’s book of visions.”

  “There was only one thing that we did not reckon on,” Traveller said solemnly. “You, Gramling. There should only have been one child, yet there were two.”

  “So you took me, and had to leave Gramling behind?” Gribly couldn’t help but sound bitter. It seemed like betrayal, no matter what he thought of his twin.

  “No. I had him- you- but…” Traveller’s jaw worked, “…but you were stolen away, Gramling. I feared, then, not knowing if I had indeed saved the right child.”

  Gramling laughed, short and mirthless.

  “But?” Gribly said hoarsely.

  “But you heard the voice of the Creator. Once only, but you heard it… when you transported yourself and your allies away from Automo’s island.”

  Gribly’s mouth dropped open. He remembered. “I… that…”

  “So I have developed this plan,” Traveller said, taking them both in with his gaze, “Hoping to turn Fate against Sheolus. Gramling… your destiny is no less than your brother’s. You double the odds of defeating Sheolus, by existing outside of what anyone could have predicted.”

  “Does that mean… I’m a prophet, too?” Gramling didn’t look as if he thought he’d l
ike the answer.

  “No… at least, I do not believe so. But you have much the same abilities as your brother, and I believe you are the key to defeating the Legion once and for all. Sheolus will never expect a strike at his heart of hearts… especially with Wanderwillow and me keeping up the pretence of defensive war here, in Vast.”

  There was a silence that seemed to last for ages. Gribly felt the breeze on his cheek and heard the far-off but all too real sound of thunder in the distance. A storm was coming, and he would have to master it… with his brother… together, or everyone he loved would perish. He knew it for sure now.

  “So we strike through a Dream Portal, on the very day Sheolus hopes to have his great victory over us here.”

  Traveller nodded. “The details of his plan, we may never know. But this way, we will not have to.”

  Gribly thought for what seemed like forever, before nodding slowly. “I’ll do it. Gramling?”

  To his utter surprise, Gramling turned to Traveller. “Will you join us, O Aura?”

  Traveller smiled. “I will. It is a gamble of epic proportions… but I will. After I transport you, you will strike at the Golden Mountain. Then, when Sheolus senses the game, I will follow him through, and we will pin him before Automo, or any other enemy, has time to react.”

  Any other enemy? Gribly didn’t want to know what that meant. Gramling, on the other hand, nodded as if his mind had just been confirmed.

  “Then… I will join you, Brother, and you, Aura of Dreams. Together, we will end the evil that tainted me for so long… forever.”

  Chapter Seven: Shardum Vox

  There was not much more to be said, and soon Gribly found himself floating peacefully in the realm of normal, human dreams for the first time in ages. How long the numbed, happy state lasted, he did not know. When it was deep into the night, perhaps even the earliest reaches of the next day, he felt himself being shaken into wakefulness.

  “Wha… who… no…” he said groggily, rolling away from the interloper and pulling the rough sheets over him. What idiot was in his tent at this hour? He felt sleep begin to come over him again…

  Whoever-it-was punched him in the shoulder… hard. He twisted around, lashing out, and felt his wrist grabbed and twisted. He fell out of his cot with a painful thump and a muffled cry, but before he could Stride or fight or shout for help, a gloved hand clapped over his mouth and a familiar voice whispered in one ear.

  “Stop struggling and open your eyes, Stupid. It’s me… Gramling. I have to talk to you.”

  “What about?!?” Gribly snarled, pulling the hand away and spitting out an unruly strand of hair. Gramling let him get up and turn around before continuing in a low, cryptic tone.

  “About what Traveller told us. About the Day of Norne. There’s something more you need to know… something I didn’t tell the Aura.”

  Gribly was instantly wide awake and silent. He sat down on his cot, no longer angry, and Gramling sat down beside him. “So…?” Gribly prodded, wondering what it could possibly be.

  “I…” Gramling paused, shook his head as if arguing with himself, then went on. “I think Sheolus let me escape.”

  “Well, he did tell me your escape was a ‘gift,’ you know,” Gribly said. Gramling nodded sourly. They’d discussed the strange circumstances of his escape directly after the battle of the Gray Cathedral.

  “But it’s more than that. I’ve had suspicions for some time… but now I know for sure. He knows, Gribly. He knows everything we just discussed… and I think he’s controlling events.”

  “What do you mean?” Gribly said breathlessly. It sounded strange, but it fit with his own lingering doubts and fears.

  “I think he knows what we’re going to do. He must know the Aura through and through, Gribly… like… like brothers. They were like that, you know, in the long past… He knows when and where we’ll strike, and he’ll be ready. I’m not sure how… but he will be. He’s more powerful, now, you know. Just like us. Just like Traveller. Maybe more. I’ve lived under his thrall before. I will not let him control me again.”

  Gramling looked ready to tear someone limb from limb, and a hot tear trickled down his face. Gribly nodded slowly. “We should tell Traveller.”

  “No!” Gramling said, shaking his head vigorously. “That’s what he wants! All his enemies in one place. He’s going to strike us early… earlier than we think. The only way for us to stop him is to hit him even earlier. But Traveller needs to stay here and protect the others, and if we tell him he won’t let us go.”

  “Go… where?” Gribly said faintly, though he thought he knew already.

  “The Golden Nation,” Gramling hissed. “It’s the only way. We have to destroy Sheolus’s core before the day of Norne. Cripple him before he’s ready, while he’s still marching on the Fellmere and Grymclaw with his army.”

  “But we need Traveller’s help for a portal… and for the battle!”

  “There won’t be a battle, not if we can help it,” Gramling snapped. “There are… allies… in the Golden Nation. People who can help us. We’ll destroy the mountain, or what’s inside it, and get back here right as the hammer blow falls on our friends.”

  Gribly’s head hurt. None of this seemed wise, but… somehow… he thought… blast. He was so tired of running and hiding. The plan sounded good to him, somehow, crazy as it was.

  “Allies?” he asked hesitantly.

  “Rebels,” Gramling said. “Elia’s told you about them, and so have I. But she didn’t know the whole truth… because, well, I didn’t tell her. There are those who will ally themselves with us, if we show them proof you’re the… the Prophet.” His eyes darted downwards, and Gribly had the distinct sense he was leaving something out. But how to make him… how to…

  “We’ll need to leave a note,” he said, surprising himself. “For Traveller to find, so he knows what we’ve done… even if he finds it too late to join us.”

  “No,” Gramling said, shaking his head and biting his lip. “There are spies here. A lot of them. I’ve found a few…”

  “…the phantom deaths, two weeks ago,” Gribly said, narrowing his eyes. “I thought you might’ve… Lauro was blazing angry, you know.”

  “I know.”

  “Why didn’t you tell him… or me? How am I possibly supposed to trust you?” Gribly’s heart was beating faster than it did in battle. Something seemed right about all this, yet there was still a piece missing. Something… vital…

  “Traveller thinks I’m a minor player; don’t bother denying it,” Gramling said. “But there are things even he can’t predict… and neither can you. You want to know the truth? The absolute truth?”

  Gribly closed his eyes, taking it all in. “Yes.”

  “I see visions,” Gramling whispered hoarsely, in a voice that almost sounded like a chant. “Like yours. But every night. I see what comes, and goes. I see bits of the past, and future. I see… everything. And I’ve seen… I’ve seen…” his voice faded away. Gribly opened his eyes and saw that Gramling’s were shut tight, his face screwed into a tight ball of concentration.

  “What did you see…?” Gribly prodded, quietly urgent.

  “No…” Gramling hissed. “I won’t let you… you can’t… you don’t own me anymore! Get out!” Gribly jumped, shocked at the intensity of his twin’s voice. Gramling wasn’t speaking to him… he was… he was…

  “Gramling?”

  His brother’s eyes shot open. “I… I have to show you, Gribly. You can’t understand… not without seeing for yourself.”

  Gribly’s mouth opened slightly, then shut. “How…”

  “Close your eyes.” Gribly did. “Now don’t panic. It hurts at first. I’m going to…”

  Gramling touched his temple, slightly but firmly. Red-hot pain lanced through Gribly’s skull. He screamed, but no sound came out.

  The world went white.

  ~

  Gram watched with morbid satisfaction as the abandoned docks of the Zai
n, or what was left of them, came into view. It had taken a bloody long time to dodge through these waters, swimming as they were with Golden Nation warships and even the swimming automaton beastie he’d had to hammer to death three hours ago. But now their goal was in sight… just beyond the charred husk of what had once been a Tribe Circle.

  He smiled, letting the cold wind whistle through the gap in his teeth. Here was where nightmares met their end… under the chilling caress of his war hammer.

  “Let’s see how you unkillable slime like the taste of a weapon stolen from the Red Aura himself!” Gram sneered. “You won’t know what hit you…”