“She’s lost it,” Tabitha said as she quickly unsheathed her blades. “She’s gone completely insane.”
“I believe there’s no arguing that,” Forrus agreed as she snatched her bolas from her hip. “She appears even crazier than Scay now.”
“Is that good or bad?” Scay asked her. “Somebody tell me.”
“What happened to her?” Hollia asked. “This isn’t the same benevolent guardian we met before.”
“Who is your queen?” Daemon demanded. “Who is it you’re choosing to obey and commit these horrible deeds for?”
“Aeon,” Nuci replied with a tortured smile. Everyone stared at her confusion as the alurane giggled with her eyes going out of focus. “Aeon is my queen. Aeon is my queen. Aeon is my beautiful queen. Long live the Dark Queen of time.”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Rulo shouted. “Aeon’s dead, you crazy bitch! You buried her yourself earlier today, remember?”
“No, she isn’t,” Nuci retorted shaking a finger at the orc. “I didn’t bury her, I only buried the cave as she ordered me to. My queen lives. I’ve seen her magnificent return myself. She’s alive… so very alive… so very, very alive.”
“The Dark Queen… is alive?” Sasha repeated in shock.
“How? You killed her,” Forrus argued.
“You can’t kill her,” Nuci giggled with a strained smile. “Nobody can kill her. She’s time itself. She’s everlasting. She’s this world’s rightful ruler. There is no disputing it. No fighting it. No resisting it. All hail our wonderful queen… our… wonderful… queen…”
“She lives?” Sasha said looking to Daemon in disbelief. “Could this be true?”
“It could be,” Daemon cursed as he saw the alurane before them laughing with apparent insanity. “If that’s true then we have even more problems to deal with than those further ahead, and the one in front of us.”
“Nuci, stop,” one of the desuwraiths begged with all hands held together. “This isn’t how you’re supposed to be.”
“You’re not mean like this, you can’t be,” another implored with tears in her eyes.
“You’re the Dark Queen’s guardian!” the third insisted as she pointed to the alurane. “It’s your duty to keep her from harming others, not to harm others with her!”
“You can’t do what she says, Nuci! You’re better than that!”
“Nobody can order you around! You’re a guardian!”
“Please stop this, Nuci! Please be the nice person you were before, the one we all love!”
Nuci slowly looked down to the three desuwraiths who stood at the shore of lake, the trio of sisters watching her with heartbroken faces as they begged her to return to her senses.
“Please be good again, Nuci!”
“Don’t do this, please!”
“You’re not like the Dark Queen, you’re not evil!”
“Listen to them,” Sasha implored. “Look at what you’re doing. This isn’t right and you know it. This isn’t what you should be doing. You’re a guardian! Wake up and act like it!”
“If your charge is running loose then you need to kill her!” Rulo ordered. “That’s your job, your sworn duty!”
“I don’t think she’s hearing us,” Hollia mentioned shaking her head, herself and everyone seeing the alurane’s empty gaze aimed towards the desuwraith sisters while she merely giggled and twitched erratically. Her roots and vines swayed above the lake and near the shore while spinning whirlwinds of water and glimmering blue light remained in the air around the alurane.
“What happened to her?” Scay wondered. “She wasn’t like this before, was she? How did she get like this?”
“Aeon,” Daemon said, with the girls turning to him in trepidation as he saw what the guardian had become. “I believe she speaks the truth, the Dark Queen may yet still live. It appears that Aeon had her way with her former guardian in retribution.”
“Had her way?” one of the desuwraiths asked as everyone saw the alurane laughing with an awkward smile adorning her face. “What does that mean?”
“What did Aeon do to her?”
“Nuci, what happened to you?”
“She broke her mind,” Hollia realized in horror. “She destroyed Nuci’s will. She’s nothing but a mindless puppet now. How did Aeon do that to her so quickly?”
“Aeon can control time,” Tabitha reminded her. “And she’s one sick bitch too. Who knows what this poor girl went through at her hands.”
“I’d say she went through a lot,” Rulo guessed as they saw the alurane had clearly lost her senses and didn’t even appear to be listening to them as she giggled to herself.
“Nuci, please,” one of the desuwraiths begged. “Come back to us. We want the real Nuci back.”
“Please snap out of it! Wake up!”
“Don’t do this, don’t help the Dark Queen with hurting others. You’re not like her!”
Nuci blinked then slowly focused her eyes on the sisters who stood before her, the alurane holding a hand to her cheek as she twitched slightly with a saddened smile coming over her.
“Girls…” she softly spoke. The desuwraiths smiled hopefully at her as they took a few steps into the water, the alurane sniffling as she then held out a hand towards them.
“I’m so sorry for this,” Nuci said shaking her head.
“Nuci,” one of the sisters softly said as they all held out a hand towards the alurane ahead of them.
“Please.”
“Come back.”
The alurane looked at them with a gentle smile as she twitched again before bright blue wisps of light began rising from the water up into the air around her. Shimmering ribbons of aqua and sapphire light swirled around the alurane and her flower while gathering into three bright blue radiances near her hand, with water being lifted up from the lake into the magical gatherings of energy in siphoning streams. The desuwraiths looked at the lights curiously as they gave off flickers of rainbow colored hues around them, their eyes then turning to Nuci as the alurane shook her head while showing them a remorseful smile.
“I’m sorry, but my queen has commanded me,” she said before her eyes widened and her smile became frightening. “And I… shall always obey my beautiful queen. It is my purpose in life.”
Without pause she clenched her hand and fired out streaking bolts of water filled with enchanted light from the splashing balls of water, the flashes of kinetic liquid and shimmering magical radiances flying through the air and striking through the hearts of the desuwraiths with sharp impacts. Everyone watched in surprise as the bolts of energy struck through the girls and blasted searing holes of steam and blue sparks into the ground further behind them. The desuwraiths stared in stunned silence at Nuci who giggled awkwardly with eyes again going out of focus.
“And she wanted me to tell you three,” Nuci continued before gently waving her hand. “She hates you for your help with me keeping her locked away, and also goodbye.”
“Nuci…” one of the desuwraiths breathed out before dropping to the side with a splash. Another wavered with a tear coming from her eye before she fell to the other side with spatter. The last one slowly looked down to the hole punched through her then to Nuci with a saddened smile.
“We… were good girls today. Just… like you… wanted us to be.”
She wavered then fell forward into the water with a splash, with Daemon and the girls staring at the fallen sisters in disbelief as they were struck down by the alurane.
“How could you?” Hollia breathed out. “They were your helpers, your friends. They looked up to you! They cared about you!”
“How could you strike them down like that?” Forrus raged. “They may have been simpleminded but they by no means deserved this.”
“Yeah, it’s official,” Tabitha growled as she tensed up with her swords. “Your mind is completely gone. You have no idea what you’re doing anymore, do you?”
Nuci laughed wildly as she held her arms out, the crazed aluran
e summoning larger torrents of water to shoot up around her while glaring blue radiances of magical light flew through the air and above the now rolling lake. Daemon showed discontent at seeing the bodies of the desuwraith sisters floating among the waves as they were pushed back ashore then turned his cold blue eyes to the laughing alurane as he drew out his sword with a sharp ring.
“I do feel sorry for what Aeon has done to you,” he said as all the girls got into fighting stances. “And for those three girls you so callously struck down. If you can still hear me somewhere in your fractured mind, if you can still understand anything I’m saying, then know that we will put an end to Aeon’s time very soon. She may not be my charge but I will uphold my duty in protecting Eden from the likes of her all the same. As for you, I would prefer it if we didn’t have to fight, you’re obviously nothing more than her puppet now, but it appears you’re giving us no choice.”
“I am sorry,” Nuci replied with a strained smile. “I don’t want to hurt you. I didn’t want to kill them. But my queen’s orders are absolute, and I must obey. I must obey. I must obey. I must obey.”
She held a hand out as a shimmering blue radiance which outlined a large segmented shield appeared before her, her vines and roots now swaying with more energy as the alurane faced the group of fighters before her.
“Though I must let you know a little secret,” she giggled with a twitching eye. “You’re far better off being here than you would have been had you kept going to Green Haven.”
“Oh yeah,” Rulo snorted as she glanced to the dead desuwraiths before glaring at the alurane again. “I can tell we’re way safer here with you. This is much better for all of us.”
“You’d be surprised,” Nuci quipped with a sly grin. Daemon and the girls watched her carefully as she glanced to the nearby tunnel that she had blocked off earlier.
“You’d be surprised what your fate would have been otherwise.”
Chapter 19
Reunion (Part II)
In the world of Eden the Dark Queens were known only by a select few, their presence and threat within the world intended to be buried and forgotten with the passing ages. Each of these four unique monsters held the potential to end all life on Eden, to be unstoppable and uncontrollable as the ultimate power above all else. Guardians were tasked with keeping them locked away and safely hidden from everyone, each knowing that should one ever break free it would take nothing short of a miracle to stop it. Limitless strength, unmatched magical power, near-immortality, and magic that could alter time itself. These dreaded queens were the embodiment of the worst that monsters could be made of.
Only the bravest of knights would dare stand against them.
*****
Underground where daylight never reached was a hollowed cavern that red ant girls frequently traveled, not by foot but instead rail as they transported various supplies for digging, excavated ore from their tunneling, workers heading to and from their assigned quarries, and anything else that required use of their specialized cargo convoys that rode atop expansive railways. In this particular cavern multiple tracks of steel converged from tunnels branching out in all directions, with the center of the hub having a massive slab used as a turntable to properly turn passing convoys of workers when needed. All around the platform ant girls were busy unloading crates and duffel bags from four parked trains of three flatcars each, the many workers quickly moving the supplies brought in by their sisters into a few passageways with other ant girls by the entrances motioning them to hurry up with loud squeaking. A few torches were lit around the cavern to provide ample lighting and near the exits where the rails not only traveled out but also divided into more tracks that split into different tunnels.
Standing near a large gathering of crates that was still being piled upon by lines of diligent workers a few ant girls were examining some parchments they had while squeaking with one another. One of the monsters pointed to the four nearby convoys then shook her head and motioned to two marked areas on a map she held, one in the east and another in the southwest. Another squeaked and shook her head as she pointed on her map to a location in their nest to the east then over to one of the tunnels where a few ant girls were standing to the side of and peering into while squeaking at each other in confusion. A third ant girl pointed to an area on the map to the southwest and squeaked something while waving to another tunnel that more ant girls were watching with growing impatience.
An ant girl with a sword sheathed at her hip snatched the two documents and eyed them over before rolling her eyes and squeaking to the workers behind her. A group of them saluted her then quickly started grabbing crates that they then marched with into the passageways behind them. The officer watched them go then squeaked at the workers awaiting another convoy from the eastern outpost, the ant girls saluting her with all but one quickly running over to assist with moving the supplies they had into the proper tunnels.
The other from their group ran over to a lever near the tracks and pulled on it, only to stagger slightly as the switch merely clacked and didn’t budge. She pulled again and again with loud squeaks, the lever clacking each time while the rails tried in vain to switch over from heading straight into the turntable which was currently set for the incoming southwest convoy to ride into. The ant girl squeaked and heaved with the jammed lever then kicked it hard with a loud squeak, the switch finally moving with a screeching crack. She watched the rails slide aside to connect to a track that led around the cavern in a slow arc before stopping near the other convoys then squeaked with a proud smile. Running quickly after her sisters to help them with their task she didn’t hear a second clack come from the switch, with the lever shaking a little before dropping further down. This went unnoticed just as the rails also sliding back into their original position with a quiet screech did.
The ant girls quickly moved boxes and satchels into the sprawling tunnels with only a few torches lit here and there along the way. As a line of workers rushed by with their crates and loud squeaking they passed others who were opening some of the boxes and carefully pulling out large rods of their crystalline bombs that they began gently wedging into holes in the walls. A nearby officer watched the workers preparing the explosives before looking at a chart she had, one that outlined where they needed to plant the bombs beneath the elven forest that they were currently directly under. The ant girl squeaked with a smirk then continued on her patrol, watching more workers passing by with their stockpiles of bombs while others carefully mined out the right areas to plant theirs. She slowly nodded as she glanced around at the number of bombs that were being set and also carried further ahead while knowing more were still on the way.
This was without a doubt going to be a very big and explosive show for those above.
*****
Running through a narrow path in the elven forest Clover led the way with her bow in hand while her quiver lightly swayed on her back. Following closely Daniel, Squeak, Cindy, and Reiko were on high alert as they passed towering trees and darkened canopies while their footsteps were muffled from the fallen leaves and soft dirt they ran across. Clover kept a sharp eye on their surroundings as they swiftly made their way towards her grove along the hidden pathway, spotting not a single elf nor intruder in the woods around them yet still feeling like others were very close by and just out of sight.
After continuing along the winding forest trail for a while longer Clover quickly darted behind a large tree and pressed against it, with the others stopping and watching her curiously as she sharply waved at them to get over beside her. They quickly ran over and stuck close to the tree as the elf slowly peeked around the edge at something.
“We’re here,” she said, with the others carefully poking their heads around either side of the towering timber. “Welcome to Green Haven, Dan.”
Right in front of them was the elven grove, the expansive forest village serving as home to hundreds of elves of which some could now be seen. Elven women and children walked among their smo
oth dirt roads that scattered throughout the village, all dressed in similar elven garb as Clover was while some carried bows and quivers of arrows with them. Stables for horses were seen built beside and even into the trunks of the tall trees while a few fire pits could be seen here and there that had lingering smoke drifting up from them. An archery range was set in a clearing further away with multiple targets positioned a good distance from bales of hay and racks of bows. Thin angular green flags swayed from passing winds as they hung from poles sticking out from the trees, the ensigns of the province baring three rounding leaves over a brown circle as their crest. And some of the timbers were hollowed out at their bases to reveal dens that elves gathered in while also having stairwells leading up into the trees on the inside. Slowly Daniel and the girls looked up to see that while the forest floor had quite a lot to see it wasn’t all there was to the village, not even close. Huts and wooden dwellings were seen built right into the sides of the trees higher up, the homes of the elves being accessible by rope ladders and ramps that led to the lower residences while the higher ones were presumably accessed by the stairwells within the larger trees. Rope bridges were strung across the village nearly all over high above to provide walkways to the many elevated homes, with elves seen crossing a few of them as they went about their day while some were even passing overhead along tree branches from some of the timbers.
“Wow,” Cindy breathed out.
Slowly they all looked higher up, seeing that at the center of the settlement ahead of them was one of the largest trees in the forest which had branches reaching far and wide atop it. And built into the tree beneath the ample covering of lush foliage was a beautifully crafted temple of smooth sandstone and timber, the roof being set in a wide steeple while balconies and windows were seen from its southern side by Daniel and the girls where a few figures were able to be made out overlooking the elven grove beneath them.
Chronicles of Eden - Act XI Page 65