The Gilded Empire

by Ryan W. Mueller

He didn't need to make any threat. With a chill, she recalled how casually he'd killed Renaud and Valencia. Yes, they'd been her captors, but they were still human beings, and they didn't deserve to die on a god's whim.

  Heart pounding, she approached the machine. Krinir pressed the button that started the machine's buzzing, and she clung to the arm of the machine.

  The buzzing filled her, and she focused on creating a portal back to Terra. When the portal opened up, swirling with strange colors, it revealed a misty landscape.

  "Still the Shadowed Land," Krinir said.

  Danica tried again, focusing now on the laboratory from which she'd entered the Shadowed Land. Again, the portal opened, showing a misty landscape. Every time she tried to create a portal, the mist remained, hanging over everything like a thick curtain.

  Krinir stepped closer. "Are you even trying?"

  "Of course I am," she said, trembling.

  His expression was unreadable. "I knew it wouldn't be easy. We'll try again tomorrow. I've been waiting for hundreds of years. A few more days won't change anything." He moved toward the exit. "Come. I'll show you to your chambers."

  They navigated the branching corridors of the fortress. There were a few servants, but the halls still felt deserted. When they finally reached her chambers, Krinir pushed the door open, revealing a warm and inviting space beyond. The bed looked softer than anywhere she'd slept in a long time. The dresser was full of beautiful clothes. There were no windows, though.

  However nice this place was, it still felt like a prison.

  She stepped into the room while Krinir remained in the doorway, watching her. After a few moments, he said, "You are free to wander the fortress, as long as you don't try to force your way through any locked doors. Though I have to admit you couldn't get through them even if you tried. I've put very powerful locks on them."

  Danica's mouth felt dry. "I wouldn’t try even if I could."

  "Good. I'll have some of the servants bring you books on magic. Perhaps they'll help you discover how to create the portal we need." He narrowed his eyes. "You can read, can't you?"

  She nodded, feeling sick to her stomach.

  "Good. I'll come for your services tomorrow."

  With that, he left the room. Danica settled down in a chair at the side of the room, trying to figure out what she should do. There had to be a way out of this, but she wasn't seeing it. After all, how could she stand against a god?

  Even if she did succeed in returning him to the normal world, she wouldn't live long after that. Surely Krinir didn't want anyone to know his true plans. Freeing him from the Shadowed Land would be the last thing she ever did.

  So it was in her best interest to delay as much as possible. But how much could she stall without making him suspicious?

  Soon servants arrived with books about magic. The servants were strange and silent, going about their business as if they were dead inside. She tried to talk to them, and they responded with little more than nods and shrugs.

  Unnerved by their behavior, she began leafing through the books with no real clue as to what she was looking for. Most of the texts described magic based on the elements: Fire, Water, Ice, Lightning, Earth, Wind, Darkness, and Light. It mentioned the Pilgrimage and the temples. But she had trouble finding anything about portals.

  The closest she came was a teleportation ability that came from Darkness magic, but that still wasn't right. The sorcerers of Luminia had been trying to teleport to the Shadowed Land for a long time without success, so clearly whatever she was doing wasn't the same.

  Of course, most of these books were very old. Could the sorcerers have discovered a way to make that journey? Surely Krinir would know if they had. Though she didn’t know the extent of his powers, she figured he had to have a way to communicate with people from Terra. He was a god after all. Weren't gods supposed to be all-powerful?

  But he couldn't be. If he were all-powerful, he wouldn't need her.

  Her stomach twisted at the thought of leading Krinir back to her world. She wanted to put little effort into finding a way home. After all, this fortress seemed a comfortable enough place in an otherwise bleak world. But she couldn't be lazy. Krinir would know.

  And she would suffer for it.

  She had to be going about this the wrong way. With a disgusted sigh, she tossed aside the book she was reading. She'd never felt so frustrated in her life. There were no good choices here, and no clear paths to any goal. It felt as if the walls were closing in on her.

  Deep breaths. She had to focus, had to find a way out of this.

  The kind of magic she used obviously wasn't based on the elemental magic of the temples. It was an innate ability, like Berig's strong senses or Farah's healing. She had to check the books that described innate abilities.

  It was a long and boring search, but eventually she did find a few books on the subject. However, as she read them, she didn't find anything about creating portals. Perhaps she was the only person ever to possess such a talent. If that was the case, she wouldn't find anything in these books, and then she'd face Krinir's wrath.

  She must have dozed off at some point. When she woke, somebody was pounding on the door to her room. Her body felt stiff, and her chest hurt where she'd fallen asleep on a book.

  "Coming," she said, staggering across the room. By the time she reached the door, she had begun to wake up. She opened the door.

  A servant stood in the doorway, his expression grim. "The master wishes to see you. Come with me."

  Danica didn't have the energy to say anything. Feeling sick to her stomach, she followed the servant through the fortress's corridors. Eventually, they reached the same large foyer where she'd initially met Krinir. He stood in one corner of the room, looking stern.

  She opened her mouth to ask him what was wrong, but her voice didn't work.

  "Finally," he said. "I've forgotten how much you mortals like your sleep."

  Her voice came out, but she still felt shaky. "Do you need something?"

  She didn't know if there was some title she should use to address him, but she didn't care. As far as she was concerned, he was a monster, and monsters didn't deserve respect.

  "It's time for another attempt," he said.

  "I don't think it will work," she said. "I found nothing relating to my abilities."

  For a moment, she thought Krinir would punish her, but then his expression relaxed. "I should have known. I've never heard of anybody with such a talent before, and I have spent the centuries searching the Webs of Fate, looking for someone like you. I couldn't believe it when I finally saw your potential in the Webs."

  She hated to think that somebody could watch her life from so far away. But how else could the empire's Technomages have found her?

  "Follow me," he said. He led her toward the same room where she'd tried to open a portal before. She connected to the machine again and attempted to create portal after portal. Every last time, a misty landscape appeared. Krinir didn't say anything, but she could sense his disappointment. It felt as if it might wrap around her and squeeze her to death.

  They went through this same routine for days and days, but nothing ever changed. The effort had become exhausting. With every passing day, she felt she had to sleep more. When she tried to study magic, her eyes refused to stay open.

  Why wasn't it working? Were her failures a result of her conflicted feelings? Perhaps she needed to believe she was doing the right thing in opening this portal.

  No. That couldn't be true. She hadn't wanted to travel to Krinir's fortress in the first place, but she'd fashioned a portal anyway. So it had to involve the nature of the Shadowed Land. The place was meant as a prison. If she wanted to return home, she had to find a way to unlock the gates enclosing that prison. She knew of only one person who could do that in any form.

  Again, Krinir met her in the foyer and prepared to lead her to the room with the machine. Before they started walking, though, she stopped him.

  "Yo
u've sent people out of the Shadowed Land before," she said. "We met some of them. They were turned into ugly creatures and made unable to speak as a price for your magic."

  Krinir gave her a tired look. "I know about them. Do you have a point?"

  "I do. Don't you see it? The Shadowed Land is a prison. You're the only being that has ever found a way to get people out of that prison, even if it's an imperfect way. You have to tell me how you can do that. It might help me figure out what I'm missing."

  His mouth twitched in something that almost looked like a smile. "You are more intelligent than I thought you'd be." He stroked his beard. "But I'm not sure how to answer your question. Sending people out of this place has always felt natural to me. However, I don't like to do it because there are always costs."

  She didn't know whether to feel disappointed or relieved. How long could she go on like this, trying to find a way out, before Krinir began to punish her? Would he spare her his torture because she was trying, or would he grow frustrated with her lack of progress?

  "Can't you describe something of the process?" she asked.

  "I focus on where I want to send them, and then I send them there. Most of the time, I've looked into the Webs of Fate to see the costs involved. There isn't much more to it than that."

  "How am I supposed to help you, then?"

  "We'll keep trying," he said. "I am a patient god."

  Perhaps he was, but she dreaded the day when his patience would run out.

  Chapter 25: The Lost Messages

  Kara followed Warrick through the dark tunnels. He held a flame in his outstretched hand, guiding them along the twisty and uneven path. Kara hated to feel dependent on him, but she had no choice. She'd been dependent on others her entire time in the Shadowed Land.

  Why had God created such a place, where only those with powerful magic could live in anything resembling safety? If God could sentence people to life in a place like this, perhaps Warrick was not as evil as she'd once thought. She could never bring herself to agree with the things he'd done, but she thought she was getting closer to understanding him.

  And he'd saved her life. Again.

  "Why did you save me?" she asked. "I know I'm important to whatever the Webs of Fate say, but I don't think that's the only reason."

  Warrick kept walking. "It's what any decent person would do."

  "And do you consider yourself a decent person?"

  "No," he said. "But that doesn't mean I shouldn't try."

  That was not the answer she'd expected. This man had killed so many innocent people, and yet he still wanted to do the right thing. She might have thought he wanted to impress her or sway her beliefs about him, but she believed him when he said he didn't care what she thought of him. The man was an enigma, and a part of her wanted to understand him.

  You're insane, she told herself. It was better if she parted from Warrick as soon as she no longer needed him. After all, what would Nadia say if she returned home in the company of Warrick?

  Perhaps she could find a way home that would leave Warrick here in the Shadowed Land. That would help the people of the Empire, but she wasn't sure she could do it. No one deserved this place. Well, maybe Krinir and his allies deserved it, but they were as close to evil as she'd seen. In fact, she had the feeling Krinir would make Warrick look almost kind.

  Could they truly depend on Krinir to get them home?

  The tunnels continued in an endless pattern of twists and turns. They encountered a few branches, where Warrick considered for a moment before forging ahead. Kara followed without argument. In a place like this, she didn't want to get separated from Warrick.

  Again, she hated how useless she felt. She'd never felt useless back home. As part of the Order, she'd helped people. She'd fought against tyranny. She hadn't needed magic to do that.

  Now her lack of magic bothered her.

  But was it truly a lack of magic? Warrick had told her about the strange powers he detected in her. When she searched for those powers, however, she found nothing. Why couldn't she access them? Did they work only in whatever world she'd visited?

  "We're approaching something different," Warrick said, startling her out of thought.

  She peered into the darkness ahead. "I don't see anything."

  "It's part of being a sorcerer. You start to get a feel for these things." He began walking again, and soon they reached a place where the passage opened up into a wider chamber. The cavern was so large she couldn't see the ceiling far above.

  In fact, the entire chamber stretched farther than she could see in every direction. Blue magical torches cast eerie light upon the rocky walls, so Warrick put out his handheld flame.

  "This is not a simple cave," he said. "People created this place."

  "Why would they do that?"

  Warrick closed his eyes and didn't respond for a long time. For a moment, Kara worried there might be something wrong with him. But then he opened his eyes and said, "The Webs don't tell me anything. When I look at this place, I see dark strands."

  "And what does that mean?"

  "It means I want to investigate this place."

  "Are you sure that's wise?" she asked.

  "I'm tired of feeling like someone else is in control. If these strands are blocked from my view, that means they must be important. They must be something Krinir doesn't want me to know." He took a few steps away. "That is, if it is Krinir doing this to the Webs."

  "Could it be God himself?"

  "As far as I'm concerned, God is a myth. Even if He does exist, He left the world in the hands of Krinir, Lionar, and Rador."

  Kara was struck once again by just how much she didn't know about the world. Her life had been a simple one, but ever since the destruction of Crayden, it had taken a different path. A terrifying path, but also a fascinating one.

  That was a strange thought. She almost didn't recognize the person she'd become.

  Warrick had resumed walking, so she followed close behind. Shadows danced across the walls, and she kept an eye out for monsters, but she heard no sounds apart from their footsteps. Still, she remained close to Warrick, finding it odd that she felt safer around him.

  They walked for a while, seemingly lost in the vast cavern, but Warrick moved as if he know where he was going. He'd glance to his left or right briefly before continuing forward. At last, one of the cavern's walls came into view. Warrick walked alongside the wall, running his hands against the rocky surface. Kara had no idea what he was looking for.

  He stopped and stared at something with wide eyes.

  She took a tentative step closer. "What is it?"

  "This writing here." He gestured to black marks against the wall, just visible in the bluish torchlight. "This is written in a secret code my friends and I invented back during our days at the academy together." He stepped closer, squinting at the writing. "I wrote this."

  "But how could you have written it? You've never been here before."

  He didn't respond. His eyes were closed, and he looked almost as if he were in a trance. He continued like this for a few minutes, and Kara began to worry. Should she touch him? Do something to break him out of his trance?

  At last, he opened his eyes. "I know the truth."

  Chapter 26: The Truth

  "The truth?" Kara asked.

  "I was here before," Warrick said, "but Krinir made me forget it. He created the dark strands that have confused me so much. I left this message here because I saw Krinir's betrayal coming, and I saw the chance to return here. It's all finally coming together."

  He began pacing, and she wasn't sure if she should press him for more information.

  "There are three forces that govern this world," he went on. "Destruction, Restoration, and Creation. Krinir is the Destroyer, Lionar is the Restorer, and Rador was the Creator."

  "Was?"

  "Shortly before the Great War, he transferred that responsibility to Krinir, making Krinir both the Creator and the Destroyer."

&n
bsp; Kara frowned. "That sounds contradictory."

  "It was," Warrick said. "And that's why Krinir gave up his status as the Creator." He paused for a moment, frowning in deep concentration. "He gave it to me."

  Kara didn't understand any of this.

  "That's how I created all those regions in the Empire. That's how I created the mountains, the magical barriers. I always thought it was the Stone of Creation, but it was me all along. Krinir saw my potential as a powerful sorcerer, and he passed those powers on to me."

  "Why would he do that?" Kara asked, leaning against the rocky wall.

  Warrick resumed pacing. "Being both Creator and Destroyer was tearing him apart. When Rador made him the Creator, I don't think Rador understood the inherent contradiction in Krinir being both Creator and Destroyer. He may have transferred the powers of the Creator to me, but I think it was too late. I think he's been driven insane, and there's no hope of saving him. This time, he'll destroy the world for good. I know it deep in my bones. He has to be stopped."

  Strangely, Kara believed Warrick. She should have doubted everything he said, but she heard the sincerity in his voice.

  "But how can we hope to stop him?" she asked.

  He considered for a few moments, eyes closed. "It's starting to come back to me. I have to face off against him." He started pacing again. "But I won't be strong enough. If I faced him now, especially here in the Shadowed Land, he'd kill me without much effort. I need all three stones—Restoration, Creation, and Destruction—and here in the Shadowed Land, I am disconnected from the two I do possess. I am not as strong here."

  Kara took a step closer. Strangely, she was no longer afraid of Warrick. "If you had all three, would you be powerful enough?"

  "I’m not sure, but there's a chance. Obviously, Krinir feared me enough that he used his powers as a god to conceal this knowledge within my mind."

  "Is there anything stopping him from doing the same thing again?" she asked.

  Warrick shook his head gravely. "No."

  "So if we do meet up with him, as we intend, he'll take the knowledge away again. After all, he can read the Webs of Fate. He'll see that you've been here, right?"