The Gilded Empire

by Ryan W. Mueller

  "And just where do you think you're going?"

  Rik's stomach lurched. He had to think of an answer quickly. "I'm just heading out to the market. The last time I checked, there's no law against that."

  "What's in the sack?"

  "Just a few things I was hoping I might trade at the market."

  "Let me see."

  Heart pounding, Rik opened the leather sack. All it held was his change of clothing. Surely Dirk wouldn't find any issue with him getting rid of his old clothes. Dirk pulled the clothes out of the bag, examining them with a frown.

  At last, he nodded. "All right. Go to the market, but you better be back for your latrine duty tonight. If you're late, you'll earn yourself an entire week."

  "I'll keep that in mind, sir." Rik saluted Dirk, then made his way down the hall. It took a lot of effort to keep his pace natural, as he expected Dirk to call out or send guards after him.

  But neither happened. Rik stepped through the stone door leading out of the garrison, then started toward the city's main gate, where Mathew was waiting for him. As Rik walked, he couldn't dispel the suspicion that someone was following him. He kept glancing into nearby alleys, but he didn't see anyone. Still, his skin prickled.

  The mist was thick this evening, so he couldn't see far. His chest felt tight. He kept hearing sounds, but through the mist, he could only make out shadows. Were they ordinary people or perhaps Sunset soldiers spying on him? He took a few more deep breaths.

  Feeling on the verge of panic, he turned to the right, away from the market district. If someone was going to confront him, this was when it would happen. But would Dirk really spy on Rik like this? Surely he wasn't that suspicious.

  Footsteps sounded to Rik's right. He turned in time to see half a dozen soldiers step out of the nearest alley with Dirk at the front.

  "You aren't going to the market," Dirk said. "You're deserting."

  Rik's heart pounded. "No, it's not that. I-I just took a wrong turn. You know, new to the city and all. Why would I desert? Only an idiot would desert." He couldn't decipher Dirk's expression. "You do believe me, don't you?"

  Dirk stepped toward Rik. "You are under arrest for desertion."

  Rik took his staff from his back and pointed it at the soldiers. "Don't make me hurt you. I know that desertion is a bad thing, but I’m not hurting anybody. I just have to do something else." Sweat beaded on his forehead. "There's no need to kill me."

  The soldiers continued approaching, leaving Rik with no choice. He focused on the image of water, but didn't try to keep it at a trickle. Instead, he unleashed all the power he had in him. A massive wave of water burst from the end of his staff. The soldiers raised their hands as if that could protect them, but when the wave hit them, they went flying.

  Rik prayed he hadn't hurt any of them too badly. Heart pounding, he took off running. By the time he glanced back, the soldiers were lost in the mist. He sprinted toward the edge of the city, barely noticing anything around him.

  Shouts came from behind, but he ignored them. Only a few more blocks to go.

  When he reached the gate, he found it closed.

  Why the hell was the gate closed? They never closed it. Surely they hadn't done this just for him. He wasn't that important. Glancing around in panic, he looked for an escape route. He didn't find anything, and soon hurried footsteps clunked against the rocks behind him.

  At least ten guards stood at the gate, watching him with arrows nocked on their bows. Rik focused on fire and channeled it through his staff, forming an invisible shield. Any arrows that struck the shield would disintegrate.

  But Rik couldn't hold his attackers off forever. Already, Dirk and his troops were approaching from behind. Others came from each side. They must have known what he intended to do. But how? Had his intentions been that transparent?

  Then Mathew stepped out from a nearby alley, smiling as if he found this amusing. He stepped toward Rik. "Quite the welcoming party, isn't it?"

  Rik's stomach twisted. "You did this?"

  "You needed to be eliminated."

  Rik trembled. "Then everything you told me was a lie?"

  "Not everything. You did have a chance to escape the Shadowed Land, but I'm afraid that chance is now gone. As soon as I dispel your shield, you'll be full of dozens of arrows."

  "Why?" Rik asked, feeling as if a heavy weight had descended upon him. "Why do you want me dead? I deserve to know that much before I die."

  "Simple," Mathew said. He stood just outside Rik's shield and spoke in a low voice. "You are a threat to Krinir. You have to die. Your desertion gives us a chance to make it look like a normal execution. They call us the Dark, and we prefer to operate in the shadows."

  Mathew waved a hand and sent a burst of fire at Rik's shield. Though Rik tried to hold it, he knew it wouldn't last long. He used every bit of willpower he had, knowing it was a useless fight. He'd never see Markus or Nadia again.

  But then the flames stopped. A powerful jet of water slammed Mathew against a nearby building. Rik turned to see Dirk unleashing the spell. Though Rik had no idea why Dirk was doing that, he ran to the man's side, still holding his shield strong.

  As soon as Rik stopped beside him, Dirk let the spell die. Then he turned to Rik. "Come with me. I'll get you out of the city."

  "I-I don't understand," Rik said as they darted into a nearby alley. All the other soldiers must have been too stunned to react instantly. But would that hesitation be enough for Rik to break free? He raced through the alleys, keeping pace with Dirk.

  "No time to explain," Dirk said. "We need to climb the walls. Keep your shield up."

  A soldier appeared ahead of them, aiming a bow at them. Dirk sent a quick surge of lightning at the man, and he hit the ground, twitching in pain.

  "Did you have to kill him?" Rik asked, breathless.

  "Oh, I doubt he'll die from that."

  At last, they reached a set of stairs leading up to the wall. They raced up the stairs as more soldiers closed in from behind. A few soldiers manned the wall, and Dirk dispatched them with the same bursts of lightning. Soon they stood at the edge, looking over a fifty-foot drop. Rik felt dizzy.

  "Do you know what to do?" Dirk asked.

  It took Rik a moment, but then he remembered how he'd saved himself in the Fire Mountains. He leapt over the wall and pointed his staff at the ground. His staff's reaction from the wind he generated slowed his descent, but he still hit the ground hard.

  Dirk landed a few moments later, then pulled Rik to his feet. They both cast shields just in time, for the barrage of arrows soon began. As they sprinted across the rocky terrain, arrows disintegrated against their shields.

  "We've gotta keep running," Dirk said. "They can't follow us until they get the gate open, and that should take at least a few minutes." He glanced back toward the wall as if checking their progress. "We'll have to leave the road. Doubt they'll follow us into unwarded territory."

  Though Rik agreed, he didn't like the idea of facing the monsters of the Shadowed Land. Thus far, he'd only encountered the one, and that had nearly killed him.

  They raced to the edge of the road, then past the wards. Soon they were out of bow range. Rik glanced back, noting that the gate remained closed. He had no idea how long they'd have to run, but at least he was in good shape. So far, he was only a little winded.

  The mist thickened. At first, that annoyed Rik, as he could no longer see the city, but then he realized that it was a blessing in disguise. Their pursuers wouldn't see them now. Dirk must have had the same thought because he slowed to a brisk walk.

  "How far do you think they'll follow us?" Rik asked.

  "We can't stop. The mist will help us, but the rest's our responsibility."

  They walked a few more steps before Rik said, "Why'd you help me?"

  "Where there is Dark, there is also Light."

  Rik shook his head. "What?"

  Dirk ran a hand through his close-cropped beard. "The Dark are Krinir's serv
ants. The Light are those who fight against him. I'm with the Light. It wasn't an accident that we were there to help you when you came to the Shadowed Land. I planned that excursion specifically to rescue you. One of our sorcerers can read the Webs of Fate. She saw your arrival."

  "Why didn't you tell me all this before?"

  "You weren't ready," Dirk said. "But your actions today gave us no choice. I received word that you'd visited Mathew in the Imperial Palace. I already knew that he's part of the Dark, one of Krinir's most trusted servants. I had an inkling of what he'd planned. I tried to arrest you to keep you from making a much graver mistake."

  "Then you would have let me go," Rik said as they kept walking.

  "I probably would've let you off with a little extra latrine duty."

  "I'd rather be on the run for my life."

  Dirk chuckled. It was the first time Rik had ever heard the stern man laugh.

  "So what do the Webs of Fate say about me?" Rik asked.

  "As you probably know, the Webs of Fate are difficult to read. All we can see is that you're a very strong Weaver and that you may be an important part of the effort to defeat Krinir. I'm afraid the Webs don't give us many specifics beyond that."

  "So I guess Mathew wasn't lying to me."

  "It's easier to lie if you gain a person's trust by telling the truth first."

  "That makes sense," Rik said. "But what do we do from here? Do we have a plan, or are we just running for our lives?"

  "We're going east, toward Krinir's fortress. That's where the Webs lead."

  Rik's stomach churned. "I was hoping Mathew lied about that part."

  "I wish there was another path."

  "How can we hope to stand against Krinir?" Rik asked.

  "I have no idea."

  Chapter 20: The Dark God

  Krinir had led Danica, Renaud, and Valencia to a small chamber where they sat on red, cushioned chairs. The god was not at all what Danica had expected. He sat across from them, sipping from a cup of tea one of his servants had procured. Now the servants were all gone, leaving them alone with the most dangerous man in the world.

  Everyone had been silent for a while, and Danica had begun to fidget. She wasn't normally prone to worry, but she'd never been in a situation like this.

  Krinir looked right at her. "You don't trust me at all, do you?"

  Danica's heart pounded. How the hell was she supposed to respond to that? She glanced to Renaud for support, but he looked pale himself. After a deep breath, she said, "I've heard many negative things about you."

  Krinir leaned back in his chair, letting out a low chuckle. "Most of them are probably true. But there's no need to be nervous here. You're the only person who can get me out of the Shadowed Land. I'm not going to kill you because you don't like me."

  The way he spoke of killing seemed too casual, as if he'd have no qualms about killing her as soon as she fulfilled her role.

  "And once I've freed you from the Shadowed Land?" she asked.

  "There's no need to get ahead of ourselves."

  Danica felt suddenly bold, though she wasn't sure where that boldness had come from. She leaned forward, staring Krinir in the eyes. "Are you going to kill me or not?"

  He smiled. "I enjoy it when people are more direct with me."

  "But you won't give me a straight answer?"

  "Why should I? I'm a god. You're a pathetic human."

  For the first time, she thought she saw the true evil that lurked beneath Krinir's mask. "If I think you're going to kill me afterward," she said, "then why should I help you?"

  "There are ways to make you suffer that won't kill you." Krinir shook his head. "I was trying to have a nice civilized discussion here, but you had to ruin it. Conversations about torture don't make for a terribly good introduction."

  "All right, then," Danica said. "How about this? Convince me that I should really take your side, that I should help you of my own free will."

  Krinir smiled. "I like you."

  Danica wasn't sure how to feel about that.

  "No doubt you've heard that I'm evil," Krinir said, "and in some ways, those who tell you that might be right. But I've always found evil is such a meaningless term. It all depends on how you look at things. Is the snake evil because it eats the mouse? No, that's just its nature."

  Danica frowned at him. "Are you saying that it's your nature to do the things you do?"

  "I'm a god. Individual human lives matter little to me. I'm more concerned with the grand plan. God and his faithful little servant Lionar had one vision for this world. I had another." He stroked his beard. "You see, when technology destroyed the Old World, they decided we couldn't have it in this new one." He grinned, looking almost like a child playing a favorite game. "But I managed to get some past them."

  "Why?" Danica asked. "If it destroyed the Old World, won't it destroy this one, too?"

  His grin became even wider. "Don't you see? That's the whole point. This is all a game to me. Perhaps it's not about destroying the world. I don't know. I like to see what you humans do when you're pushed to the edge. It's fascinating, really."

  Danica glanced over at Renaud and Valencia. Their mouths were open in shock.

  "That's horrible," Danica said.

  Krinir shrugged. "I don't understand why you humans are so intent on living. The world is a terrible place. You spend most of your lives suffering to some degree. And you always seem to find some way to make life even more hellish. I don't understand it. I think you need your world destroyed from time to time. Something has to make you see sense."

  "But there's a lot of good in the world," Danica said. "You'd be destroying that, too."

  "Do you actually think you're going to change my mind? I've had countless millennia to decide how I feel about your pathetic race. I may find some of you interesting to talk to, and that's why I don't think I could ever see the world completely destroyed. Life would be boring without humans. You just need a new start from time to time. It's happened before, and it will happen again. My purpose is to guide things toward that path of destruction."

  Danica had no idea why she thought she could debate a god, but she had to try something. If she helped him escape the Shadowed Land, that would aid his plans to destroy the world. She almost laughed. How had she ended up in a situation like this?

  "Your purpose is whatever you decide it should be," she said. "Or do you lack free will?"

  "In this world, there are three main forces: Creation, Restoration, and Destruction. Rador is the Creator. Lionar is the Restorer. I am the Destroyer. That's the natural order of things. Every one of these things must be in balance. You wouldn't understand. You're only a human." He leaned back, putting his hands behind his head. "I still like you. There aren't many humans who have the courage to challenge me the way you have. It's refreshing."

  Danica glanced at Renaud and Valencia again. They still had blank expressions on their faces, as though the truth about their god had robbed them of all thought.

  But Danica's mind was racing. How could she stop Krinir?

  "I know what you're thinking," he said. "You want to find a way to stop me." He chuckled. "Well, it's not going to happen. We'll continue in the same cycle we always have. I'll destroy the world, and then Lionar will restore it. As for your so-called God, as far as I know, He doesn’t exist. He is not the Creator. That title belongs to Rador." Krinir looked at Renaud and Valencia. "You two have been very quiet. Are you surprised to discover my true nature? Did you think I actually had your best interests in mind?"

  "We thought you believed in humanity," Renaud said.

  "You're pathetic." With a casual flick of the wrist, Krinir sent bursts of lightning at both of them. They both let screamed for a moment, twitched once, then fell still. Smiling, Krinir met Danica's gaze. "That's my power. Impressive, isn't it?"

  Danica felt cold inside. She didn't know what to say.

  Krinir rose from his chair. "Now I believe we have work to do. Follow me."r />
  Chapter 21: The Dark and the Light

  Rik and Dirk did not follow the roads, making their way deep into the wilderness instead. They encountered a few monsters, but nothing they couldn't handle. Though they never heard any signs of pursuit, Rik still peered over his shoulder every few minutes.

  The air always seemed too quiet, and the mist wrapped its tentacles around them. Without the protection of the wards, the mist appeared thicker. Whenever monsters appeared, they did it suddenly, as if someone had conjured them right there on the spot.

  One day, as they ate around a small fire, Dirk said, "We can only expect it to get worse. We're already approaching the edge of the Wastelands."

  "Don't like the sound of that," Rik said, mouth full. He was leaning against the trunk of one of many twisted, skeletal trees. The rocky ground beneath him was uneven.

  "Don't worry about it too much. We'll have help. Or at least I hope we will."

  Rik groaned inwardly. "That's not exactly reassuring."

  "I've never been one for reassurances."

  "All right," Rik said. "Who's gonna help us?"

  "A few of my friends from the Light. They've established a secret settlement out here at the edge of the Wastelands. We're so far from the roads that most people would never think of traveling here. You have to admit it's quite a desolate place."

  Rik swallowed a bite of dried meat. "Can't argue with that."

  He looked across the barren landscape, trying to remember what grass and leaves looked like, trying to imagine a world with a sun, with day and night. It hadn't been that long, but something about the Shadowed Land made him feel as if an impenetrable door had closed between him and the life he used to know.

  A soft vibration jolted him out of thought. "You feel that?"

  Dirk didn't answer. He'd already launched to his feet, scanning their surroundings with narrowed eyes. The vibrations continued, growing stronger. Would this be a monster much worse than anything they'd faced so far?

  Rik peered into the mist but couldn't see anything. The mist felt thick in his lungs, as if it would suffocate him eventually. He shoved that feeling aside, though. He didn't need it right now. Instead, he focused on the vibrations, but now they were growing weaker.