Dream of Legends

by Stephen Zimmer

  Lee knew that unity was perhaps the most important element to maintain if they were all going to have even the slightest chance of surviving. He was not naive enough to think that the worst was over. Far from such a perspective, he was pretty sure that much stormier seas lay ahead.

  Holding Lynn snugly to himself, Lee began to wonder how he would be able to bridge the gap between himself and the other two. He also began to think of what they could seek to do, if Ryan and Erin turned out to be right about everything.

  There were just so many things to consider, and unavoidable, onerous choices to make. Lee knew that the key to their very survival lay in keeping everything in its proper perspective, and, most of all, keeping a level head.

  *

  THE UNIFIER

  *

  The icy night winds whipped through the air, high up on the solitary, black mountain overlooking the vast city of Avalos. On a broad balcony, supported by thick, stone corbels, jutting out from the body of the great palace structure upon the citadel’s seventh level, the Unifier stood silently, with His eyes raised intently skyward.

  There were no guards, or other attendants about. Any uninvited eyes that might have strayed upon the open surface had long ago been cleared away.

  A distant flock of serpentine flying creatures, wings outstretched, with thin tails trailing behind, glided along the powerful currents of the night winds. Their forms were sharply outlined by the light of the smaller moon. They were predators in their own right, but presented absolutely no threat to the figure on the balcony.

  It was the Unifier’s time of isolation, meditation, and supplication. Normally, He isolated himself within the special chapel that had been constructed deep inside the mountain, but this night He had opted to pray under the expansive, ebon skies.

  “My Father, what should I do?” the Unifier called out, His words ascending into the black night. The stars flickered coldly, as an empty silence met His words.

  He fell down upon His knees in humility, a look of measureless worry written upon His face. It was an expression that no human had ever beheld, but there was no use hiding His concerns before the immeasurably dark Power that He was so intimately united with.

  As the words of the Unifier drifted off, the winds about the balcony slowly started to swirl, and were soon picking up in force. Though no clouds moved about in the starlit sky above, a massive, cloaking Shadow crossed over the balcony. It thickened, engulfing the forms of the Unifier and the balcony. The Shadow was a form in and of itself, and had not been caused by any physical element merely blocking light.

  He knew immediately that it was not His Father that had manifested to His call, but rather one of the greater powers of the dark abyss, one that served dutifully at His Father’s side.

  The Sentience that had taken the form of the living Shadow was not the only essence that emerged. Flowing through and about the Unifier was a deep, freezing Presence, one that also encompassed the black Sentience in the air above.

  “Seven Lands and Ten Great Rulers serve your bidding truly. You speak with His authority. The world sees that none can wage war against You,” came a cold, deadly voice, filling the night air around the Unifier.

  The Unifier immediately lowered His head in obeisance to the malevolent Sentience, and the Presence that transcended it, even as He felt the Presence’s icy caress, and thorough permeation of His own being.

  “Your power grows, as You do the work of the Master, Your Father, Our Lord,” the voice continued in strong resonance. “Why do you cry out so?”

  “Our enemies are proving more difficult to overcome than I believed they would be,” the Unifier uttered in a deferential tone, knowing that nothing could be hidden from the Sentience, and certainly not from the Presence that had coalesced around them, and flowed within them.

  “You will overcome them, those who serve our Enemy, for Your power is far too great for any power of this world,” the Sentience stated firmly. “The Master will grant more of His power to Your Sorcerers, to aid you. Do not doubt that those who oppose You will find themselves consumed. More of the Master’s servants have been released to come into this world, though it comes at a great price. Blood flows abundantly upon the Altar of Sacrifice, and it creates vulnerability in a place where we risked none before. These servants will be placed under Your command, from this moment forth, to comfort You, and to serve You, in the greater service of the Master.”

  The Unifier kept His eyes fixed downward. His words coursed with reverence and obedience, a tone that no mortal had ever heard from His lips. “I am grateful to the Master, my Father, to Whom I submit all that I am.”

  “Raise your eyes,” the Sentience commanded Him.

  Slowly, the Unifier brought His head and eyes upwards. A number of the stars in the sky, around a third of those in his field of vision, were now blocked out by the dark, billowing shape above Him.

  “Behold, Your servants are here,” the Sentience then stated.

  Just to the right of the shapeless form, a strange, sinuous effect materialized in the air. It was similar to the look of ripples moving across a pool of water. Then, as if the sky was fashioned out of some tender fabric, the air itself split apart, revealing a widening hole teeming with fire and smoke.

  A blistering heat blasted across the Unifier’s face. Ghastly, bizarre sounds, of kinds never heard anywhere within Ave, mingled with hopeless, human-like cries, the latter imbued with tremendous pain and sorrow. The hellish chorus wafted out of the flaming hole, filling the Unifier’s ears.

  The rising cacophony and spectacle would draw no attention from others in Ave, as only the Unifier’s senses had been enabled by the Presence to perceive the ethereal rift. Without warning, the hole was occupied with the massive head of a hideous, fearsome-looking creature.

  Its broad, horned head contained white-hot eyes, and its mouth displayed rows of long, serrated teeth. The beastly figure’s wide, bulging shoulders were adorned with the presence of dark, leathery wings, the tops of which rose high up from its back. In its left, clawed hand, it clutched a fiery, jagged sword.

  With a lithe grace that belied its considerable bulk, the creature flapped its wings, and flew out of the gaping inferno. It drifted in a glide down to the surface of the platform with the Unifier.

  Standing over three feet taller than the Unifier, the creature was a living quintessence of deadly intentions. Three other such creatures emerged in succession from the hole, all of them continuing over to stand alongside the first.

  “As is above, so is below … The Accursed One sent His Archons to minister to His son, and so shall the Master send His own servants to minister to His only, begotten Son,” the Sentience announced.

  The Unifier’s eyes remained transfixed, gazing in wonder upon the four monstrosities on the platform with Him. An eerie, shrieking cry cut through the night, prompting the Unifier to look back over towards the tear in the sky. The high-pitched shrieks rose swiftly into a piercing crescendo.

  The snout of a giant, serpentine creature emerged through the blazing hole. Its elongated neck was connected to a broad, scaly body, supported by an extensive wingspan. A horrible stench accompanied it, and its spiky teeth, each one as long as a dagger, glistened in the moonlight.

  Riding on the back of the diabolical creature was a hooded figure, bearing a great black sword aloft in its right hand. Two small flames peered out from deep within the hood, a surreal gaze that seemed to penetrate through anything in its path.

  The hooded cloak itself, the Unifier knew at once, was crafted out of skin, toughened and worked by abyssal arts to withstand the weapons of humankind better than any armor. It was a very intimate fabric, as at least some of the skin used to fashion the cloak had come from the one that now wore it.

  With a simple crack of the black reins, the shrouded figure guided its infernal steed forward and upward, taking a slow, circular route in the air above the balcony. Three other similar flying creatures, each with cloaked riders mountin
g them, came forth, proceeding upwards to join the first one. When the last of the four was through, the rift in the sky suddenly collapsed, vanishing from sight, and leaving the sky undisturbed and silent once more.

  The four great, winged creatures then descended, alighting upon an open expanse of ground spreading far outward, down before the balcony. The tall, horned creatures that had been earlier brought forth from the cleaved sky moved forward, spacing themselves apart along the balcony, while turning to face inward towards the Unifier. Riders, steeds, and horned figures alike waited in silence.

  “Bow before the Son of your god!” the voice of the Sentience boomed.

  The four riders upon the flying creatures dismounted, the last three drawing lengthy black swords from the scabbards at their sides before they all lay themselves prostrate before the Unifier. Faces pressed against the ground, they held their arms forth, with their black swords spanning their upturned palms, in a gesture rife with submission.

  Three of the towering winged entities on the balcony immediately did likewise, their flaming swords not so much as singeing even one of the coarse hairs scattered across their rough, knotted skin. The fourth of the tall entities remained upright, its eyes appearing to burn more intensely than the others.

  “You deny my order?” the Sentience inquired coldly of the fourth, as a coiling sensation stirred within the air.

  The creature bellowed forth an ear-splitting roar, shaking its fiery blade upward, at the Sentience. The creature’s mindset was naked and exposed to the Unifier, who was empowered to read deeply into the thoughts of anything subordinate to Him.

  Its ample musculature bulged with the force of the anger and incredulity racing inside of it, enraged at being commanded to bow before a mere human entity. It had expected the Son of Jebaalos to have a different form, certainly something other than the pitiful body of a human.

  Countless humans were held in bondage within the immense, nightmarish realms of Jebaalos. They were mere fodder for the amusement of a powerful creature of the lower realms, such as the demonic figure on the balcony was. It could not believe, or accept, that the human before it was actually the exalted Son of the Lord of Fire.

  It quickly learned that it had made a terrible mistake in its prideful defiance. Flames accumulated in the air, converging into a mass that formed within the emptiness in front of the dense, shapeless manifestation of the Sentience. With blurring speed, the flames lashed out, proceeding to envelop the rebellious creature.

  The searing flames instantly tore away at the thick flesh of the stricken, fourth creature, eliciting deafening cries of extreme pain. As the beast flailed helplessly and desperately, it cast its burning sword aside, throwing it out over the edge of the platform. The flames of the sword ebbed, as the sword itself dissipated like wisps of mist spread by robust winds.

  The relentless fires whittled the mighty creature down to a small pile of ashes in just moments. A few light breezes scattered, and carried away, what little was left of the fearsome beast of the abyssal realms.

  “And such is the fate of any that deny the will of the Master,” the Sentience declared, as if to make a bold lesson of the gruesome display for the others still prostrated on the platform and farther below, on the ground.

  The smoldering, dark circle that remained in the stony surface, where the powerful, demonic entity had stood only scant moments before, effectively served to accent the Sentience’s foreboding words. There were no other challenges forthcoming from amongst the seven who were left, even if any had harbored similar, resistive feelings deep within.

  The Unifier knew that they did not possess any such sentiments. They were all wise to His true nature, and had fully accepted Him as their Lord, and through Him they knew that they were continuing fervent obedience to Jebaalos.

  “The four Arcamons before you, upon their steeds, have been given to You, as they are spirits most knowledgeable in the arts of war,” the Sentience’s voice proclaimed. “Their understanding is culled from the most brilliant war minds in all of Ave’s history, most of whose souls are now claimed by the Master, and are now dwelling in His Kingdom. Use them to your advantage in gaining final victory over the Five Realms, over Saxany, and anywhere resistance to our Master yet exists.

  “They are all former worshippers of the Master, granted their new forms over long ages, after their sentencing by the Accursed to our Master’s Kingdom. They are warriors for whom there are few equals across the surface of this world. They have been granted to you as a reward for the devotion and service that You have given to the Master. Great power and sacrifice were used to pierce the Veil, and bring them through. As You know, the Sundering has not yet happened.”

  “I am duly honored,” the Unifier replied with great reverence, knowing the rivers of blood that had flowed through the Altar of Sacrifice to empower such a breach of the Veil.

  The expenditure of so much power was no small matter, as any direct action by Jebaalos within Ave required a high level of spiritual exertion. To bring through seven creatures of the abyssal regions into Ave, each in an incarnate form, required an unprecedented outpouring of power.

  “The three remaining Archons are from the exalted legions placed under the command of Molech. They are warriors of the new armies that are forming even now, in deep realms of blood and fire, awaiting the Sundering. Know that there are many who are much greater than these, and innumerable ranks of their own kind, that are all now marshaling for the assault upon Palladium.”

  The Unifier looked upon the three warriors of Molech with a sense of wonder, imagining the kind of strength that was gathering within the Realms of Fire for the Final Battle. Like the Arcamons, they represented just a fraction of the vast powers that had been carefully gathered, and assiduously built up, since the Celestial War of the Schism.

  The Unifier had no doubts that an army of the monstrous creatures could unleash a ferocious assault upon the legions of the Accursed. Their intimidating, fell appearance echoed the complex nature of the Great Archon in whose legions they served; the majestic titan of the nether realms, Molech.

  The Unifier had no doubts that the Legionnaires of Molech were more than a match for any mortal warrior. The infernal creatures were overwhelming in terms of sheer strength, even compared to the most massive of Gigans.

  “I must return to the Court of the Master, but You have been bestowed with an answer. Continue Your path, and the enslavement of this world shall be in Your hands,” the Sentience avowed. “The Master will then join with You, and You shall rule at His side. Know that You shall rise with Him when He ascends to conquer the last horizon, when all Pallidium shall be laid low!”

  The last words of the Sentience thundered, with an underlying abyss of defiance and rage. Slowly, the stars obstructed by the Sentience’s manifestation began to reveal themselves again, as the dark, living Shadow faded out of the night skies. With its departure, the Presence that had saturated the area also ebbed.

  As the Shadow and Presence vacated the area, the seven entities lying prostrate before the Unifier slowly began to rise. They continued to keep their eyes lowered in reverence, careful not to meet the gaze of their Master.

  “Go into the world, Arcamons, and take account of the war as it is now,” the Unifier ordered. “Seek to break the power of all who resist, that their lands may be conquered with swiftness. I desire to possess the Five Realms, Saxany, and Midragard, so that I can bring my Father’s unity closer to embracing all the lands of Ave.”

  “As you wish,” responded the deep, chorus-like voice from one of the four.

  Without another word, the Arcamons sheathed their blades of obsidian-black, remounted their steeds, and took to the air. Rising on a sharp incline, they set forward swiftly. It was not long before their forms diminished, and blended into the distant, star-dotted horizons of the sky.

  The other three winged creatures remained dutifully in place. Their white eyes were anything but dull and lifeless. The Unifier could feel the s
corching hatred churning deep within their molten gazes. The Legionnaires of Molech despised being in Ave, before the time of the Sundering that they bore a cavernous hunger for. They wanted nothing more than to assail the Archons of the All-Father directly, and gain vengeance for their brethren’s ancient loss, and humiliation.

  Feeding on ceaseless streams of antipathy, they had grown mightier, and even more terrible in fury, than many of those that had fought during that tragic age. They were more than ready to beset their greatest enemies, chafing to hurl their wrath towards the Archons from Palladium.

  Yet they were firmly bound by the Unifier’s command, which carried the authority of the One Who had sent Him, whether they wanted to be in Ave or not. Before The Unifier gave them any assignments, however, He wanted to amuse Himself a little, by witnessing the formidability of the great creatures.

  “Guard!” the Unifier shouted into the night, even as He made a special summons from the depths of His mind.

  He called to a being that had remained out of sight all throughout the night’s events, at His strict order. It was several more moments before anything broke the thick stillness, but at last signs of movement transpired down on the ground, before the palace balcony.

  A hulking shadow emerged, spreading across the area that the cloaked Arcamons and steeds had so recently stood upon. The mammoth form of a Gigan came into full view just a few moments later, trudging in the wake of the broad shadow. It was an exceptional brute among its rugged, hulking kind, bearing a wickedly-sharp axe of immense size.

  In height and mass, the Gigan was easily the visual equal of the three demonic entities before the Unifier. The Gigan was advanced in its martial skill, as well as being further enchanted with Sorcerer’s arts, such that the Unifier doubted that any warrior within Avalos would have stood much of a chance against the powerful beast. The Gigan had long been a personal guardian to the Unifier, quartered on the seventh level of the mountain citadel.