A black tentacle wound its way around her waist. She could feel it’s cold, oily slickness even through the leather of her bodysuit. She looked at it in horror as she was suddenly whisked thirty-feet into the air. She looked down screaming, her legs kicking. She could see Hadraniel and the other Saints struggling against an overwhelming disarray of snapping jaws and clutching tentacles. Their movements kicked up white, foamy water; their Caliber lights were hazy auras through the falling rain as they dodged and fought against a foe that could plunge beneath them or rise up behind them.
Karinael felt hot, sticky air wash over her and she looked up. Enormous jaws opened wide as the tentacle that clutched her brought her toward her doom. She screamed, holding her sword out in front of her, but before the sharp teeth sunk into her body the thing screeched and its neck recoiled.
Beneath her Asteroth ripped his axes from the creature’s neck, dark-red blood flying. The thing now turned its attention to him and its neck curled around as its head came down, snapping at him. Karinael felt her stomach flop as she was waved around in the air. Another tentacle came toward her. It began to wrap itself around her left leg but she reached down and hacked at it with her sword and it finally relented.
Beneath her, her friends were failing. Swords chopped at black tentacles, only for more to rise up in their place. They struck for any of the beast’s seven necks, but their weapons were no more than penknives to it. Raziel and Gadrial fought side-by-side, both refusing to let harm come to the other.
Karinael watched helplessly as Baradiel’s arm was wound by an oily tendril, his sword plunging into the churning water as he was yanked high into the air. Sodiel shot in, his bo-staff twirling. He was about to strike for the tentacle but one of the creature’s heads came chomping down on him. He rolled and came up fast, holding his bo-staff out just as the teeth closed in, the jaws stopping short of devouring him as his staff wedged the creature’s mouth open.
Hadraniel moved in, his sword whirling. His star-metal blade cut across the creature’s cheek, opening a wide gash beneath a huge, yellow eye. The beast squealed and Sodiel was able to rip his bo-staff away and tumble to safety, but the thing whipped its head and Hadraniel was tossed aside, splashing through the water.
Karinael fought against the panic that rose in her belly. She closed her eyes and focused on the Saints below. Her own Caliber began to glow around her. She had practiced linking with this group only a couple times, but although she was still new at this, Karinael could immediately feel them all around her, like fireflies dancing in her Caliber. She reached out to Asteroth whose own Caliber was so intense that it was impossible to miss, and she linked it to her own. Hadraniel’s Caliber came next, followed by Sodiel’s. Raziel’s and Gadrial’s came to her like a single unit. Finally, she found Baradiel, his Caliber coming from somewhere above and far to the left of her, and it was full of panic. Like distant candlelights she could feel the warmth of other Calibers too; the Calibers of those unknown Saints that were part of her and Hadraniel’s own serpent constellation in the sky. But they were much too far away to matter and would only distract her from the Saints she was currently with, and so she cast them away. She drew the Calibers she had gathered into her own and felt them all coming together as one. She was a conduit; a link. Through her own Caliber she connected them all, and as she did, her own Caliber began to intensify until she could feel the plasma wafting from her body and her eyes.
Through the stormy sky, more brightly than the lightning that flashed, burned the stars of Karinael and the others. It was not a serpent that was traced in the sky, for Karinael had focused only on the Saints that were with her. Instead, blazing white light shot from Karinael’s own star to Hadraniel’s, across a great expanse of cloud-cast sky to Raziel’s and then over to Asteroth’s, onto Gadrial’s and then Baradiel’s and finally Sodiel’s.
Beneath Karinael, the Caliber light of the Saints immediately roared to life. Their Star-Armor and weapons, once black, now burned as white as starlight. Hadraniel rocketed like a comet toward a tentacle, his spinning blade tracing a white disc around him. There was a heavy thwack as the oily tendril was cut clean through, revealing a stump of bone and pink flesh that quickly disappeared beneath the waves to the howling of one of the creature’s heads.
Another massive head barreled down upon Asteroth. The large man’s left gauntlet shone with brilliant white light as he wedged an axe between one of its enormous fangs. He wrestled with the beast a moment, its forked tongue whipping at him as his right foot stomped down between fangs on the lower jaw, pinning the giant maw open. Then his right hand swung around, plunging an axe into the thing’s eye. The fang that Asteroth held with his axe snapped off as the thing shrieked and recoiled from him.
Sodiel danced upon the water, his bo-staff a whirlwind above him as he fended off a lunging tentacle and rolled past another. An enormous head shot toward him, curled fangs reaching. Using his staff, Sodiel vaulted into the air and landed on top of the creature’s head. As it rose into the air he leapt off, swinging his staff, shattering teeth as he plunged back into the water.
Raziel and Gadrial stood side-by-side as a pair of tentacles struck down at them like snakes. They crossed paths as they leapt to opposite sides, the tentacles crossing each other and slapping the water where they had been. Gadrial jumped into the air and impaled the two tentacles together where they crossed. Raziel dashed in with his sword sweeping up, and he lopped them both off in a single stroke.
But then something shook Karinael’s focus. She felt horror and panic coming from Baradiel. Through her Caliber link she could feel intense pain in Baradiel’s left arm and right leg. She opened her eyes and saw Baradiel above her. He was held by a pair of tentacles, one around his arm and one around his leg. He fought and struggled but another tentacle wound its way around his neck. Karinael felt her link to the other Saints faltering as Baradiel’s panic infiltrated her mind. The light of her Caliber began to waver like a candle caught in the wind. The plasma that came off her body and from her eyes began to die out. And then Karinael screamed in horror as she watched the tentacles rip Baradiel’s head from his body. His arm came off at the shoulder and then his leg at the waist, and his torso plunged with the rest of his parts into the water below.
And the link was broken.
Karinael hacked down with her sword and felt herself fall from the tentacle, splashing into the water just as the light from everyone’s Star-Armor faded to blackness. She came up choking for breath and watched helplessly as Raziel was thrown aside by a tentacle. Another wrapped around Gadrial and dragged her beneath the waves. Her head came up screaming for a moment but she was quickly taken under again, her cries gurgling out. Raziel kicked himself to his feet. He screamed his rage as he ran to the last spot Gadrial had been. Sodiel pushed him aside and then used his bo-staff as leverage to vault himself over a giant maw that crashed down into the water, snapping at them.
Karinael looked and saw Hadraniel racing toward her, shouting something at her. She looked up and rolled just in time to avoid one of the serpent heads. Hadraniel pulled her to her feet. Nearby Asteroth yelled out. All heads turned.
The water bubbled and spat as a bulbous, black mass rose up. Thousands of gallons of water rolled off of it and the Saints had to swim as the shallow sea heaved and crashed around them. It was the thing’s body, and it was titanic, like some monstrous kraken risen from the abyss. At its center was an enormous, yellow beak that opened to reveal a bottomless throat lined with white spikes. All around it were rooted the thing’s endless tentacles. And the seven heads, Karinael watched with some horror, became its eyestalks; the jaws just pincers. The beak opened and let loose a long, shrill, haunting bawl that reverberated upon the mountains behind it as lightning flashed across the sky. As a singular unit all the Saints but Raziel turned to flee. Raziel was on his hands and knees in the spot Gadrial had been pulled below, screaming and splashing in the water, desperately
seeking her.
Then Karinael felt the earth drop out beneath her and she was suddenly plunged into the cold water. Her breath gurgled as seawater engulfed her. Her arms and legs flailed. She looked up and saw the rain and a flash of lightning playing upon the waves above her head. She was sinking and her Star-Armor was sending her down like a rock. She looked around and saw only the dark, cold abyss of the ocean beneath her. She felt panic burn her belly. She closed her eyes and focused on her Caliber. She became lighter. She waved her arms and kicked with her legs. She felt herself rising, rising, rising until at last her head burst through the waves. She coughed and spat as rain pounded her face. A wave crested over her and for a moment she was back underwater. And then air tore through her lungs. She coughed and looked around. Hadraniel and the others were all struggling against the waves as they fought to remain above water.
Tentacles shot from the creature’s bulbous body. Karinael felt the crushing grip of a tentacle around her chest as she and Hadraniel were thrust into the air. Beside them, Asteroth, Sodiel and Raziel were also taken by massive tendrils. Sodiel was upside down. He slipped his staff between the oily coils that snared his legs, desperately trying to pry them loose. Karinael screamed as Sodiel was brought above that terrible beak to be devoured whole.
And then a ball of fire fell from the sky. It plunged into the water just in front of the creature’s body. Huge waves were thrown up in all directions, and once again the barren land could be seen. As the waters began to roll back, Erygion the Standard Bearer stood from his shallow crater. He held wide his arms, staying the sea. He had no cape or helmet; he had no weapon in his hands. Yet, somehow the man looked far more imposing to Karinael than she had ever seen him. There was a fury in his eyes that cut through the blazing inferno that was his Caliber’s aura.
“Saints of the Final Star!” roared Erygion, his Caliber as red and hot and molten as a volcano’s heart; too intense to gaze upon. Before him a wall of water stood, held back by his Caliber’s might alone. “You know me as the Standard Bearer, but you do not know why Aeoria has always counted one among her Guard!”
The creature began to shriek, its towering pincers going wild. Karinael felt the tendril around her waist loosen and she plunged to the ground, mud softening the blow. Beside her Hadraniel fell, and then Asteroth and Sodiel and then Raziel. The creature’s tentacles all shot toward Erygion, wrapping his body, his legs, his arms. They sizzled and smoked as they hit his armor. The creature struggled to move him, but Erygion stood his ground like a living monolith.
“The Standard Bearer is a rallying point!” raged Erygion as fiery heat poured from his Caliber, forcing Karinael and the others to scramble away from him. Yet still his fiery Caliber spread. Oily tentacles burned and smoked upon his black Star-Armor. “The Standard Bearer brings hope! The promise that one’s flag still waves sets the hearts of men ablaze!”
The creature shrieked, the seven eyestalk-pincers snapping at Erygion but not daring to bite him through that burning aura. The tentacles recoiled, charred flesh smoking.
“Saints of the Final Star, know that the banner of Aeoria yet flies!” roared Erygion. Within the inferno of Erygion’s Caliber now blazed the fiery star of Aeoria. “And know too that when I fall another already takes my place! When the time comes, she shall hold the banner high and you shall all rally to her! But on this day I say to you that we are the Saints of Aeoria! Our Calibers shall not snuff out like candles, but instead shall blaze as comets across the sky! And so to all of you I offer my light! Remember how it burned, and may it always bring you promise! Saints of the Final Star, go forth and fear no evil!”
The creature squealed. It tried to flee as Erygion’s Caliber flared from his body like the death throes of a collapsing star. The Saints all raised their arms, shielding their faces from the light and heat. Karinael could feel Erygion’s Caliber within her own now. Through it, she could hear his voice speaking to her alone. He spoke a thousand words to her, but in that moment all she really heard was, “Goodbye, Karinael of the Generous Hand. Lead them well.” Karinael fell to her knees as tears streamed down her face.
Through the flames of his Caliber Karinael could see Erygion’s body flaking away like ashes in the wind. The enormous creature shrieked and squealed as it was consumed into his aura. The waters around it began to boil, sending plumes of steam high into the air. There was an awful stench as the beast’s body was seared, its black skin popping and blistering. Its enormous beak blackened, and then charred bits began to crumble away.
“Erygion, no!” screamed Karinael.
The creature was sucked into Erygion’s Caliber. Fires flared all around. And then all at once the fiery aura collapsed in on itself, leaving behind no trace of the creature, not even its bones.
Charred earth smoldered around Erygion’s empty armor, the subsiding rain sizzling off of it. The clouds began to break, casting the landscape in the light of the evening sun. All was silent.
Karinael crawled to Erygion’s armor, taking his empty gauntlet into her hand. She collapsed, her body wracked by sobs.
— 18 —
Tea Party
Dark clouds circled the city of Valdaria. Rain came down in a soft patter and ran through the cracks in the cobblestone road which was lined on either side by thatched-roof cottages. Saint Ophelia strolled hand-in-hand with little Agana, the blood down the front of her white dress starting to diffuse out into pink in the wet fabric. Thunder rumbled the angry heavens and Ophelia looked behind. In the distance lightning flashed over the high hill that overlooked the city, illuminating the ancient castle perched atop it like a stately raven. Beneath the ominous structure an eldritch forest clutched its way up the hillside, branches like tentacles grasping at its venerable foundation.
A small contingent of knights followed behind Ophelia and Agana, their steel boots clapping as one on the wet avenue. Whenever Ophelia took Agana outside the protection of the castle King Verami always sent them as an escort, though today they were holding back further than usual. Ophelia attributed this to the rain and the fact that they all looked a little pale and miserable. Their black, lacquered armor was dripping with rain and their red capes bearing the raven crest of Valdasia were heavy and clinging to their backs. They were led by Sir Erich Spengle whose dark eyes seemed distant beneath his helmet, its crest of raven feathers matted from the rain. He kept looking over his shoulder to the castle.
“Your men all right back there, Spengle?” called Ophelia.
Sir Spengle started at her voice and turned his head from the castle to address her. “Yes, milady. The rain makes it cold in the armor, is all.”
Ophelia turned her attention back to the avenue she strolled with Agana. All the homes were shuttered up. Down the way she could see heads poke from doorways, and then they would quickly shut. A moment later the candlelight would extinguish from the windows and curtains would be thrown across them.
Agana saw this too and her lips screwed up. Her shoulders slumped and Jackson’s cold, stiff body dragged through a puddle as she held on to his one hand. “Nobody ever wants to come outside and play with me, and its such a nice day. Poor Jackson is never going to make any friends today.”
“Well, some mommies and daddies don’t let their children play in the rain.” said Ophelia. Raindrops beaded on her star-metal breastplate and dripped down the black scabbard at her side. “The rain should let up soon and then I’m sure we’ll find somebody to play with.”
Agana pouted as she walked. “I like the summer rain. It’s so warm compared to the castle.”
Ophelia squeezed Agana’s small hand in hers and smiled down at her. She watched as Agana’s eyes scanned down the street, eager to see anybody, but the streets were empty. Agana sighed. Then she seemed to catch sight of something. There was a face in the window of a cottage up ahead. The green curtain was open just a crack, and a pudgy, round head with dark hair and brown eyes stared
from it. A second later the window opened further and a woman looked out. Fear painted her face as her eyes locked with Agana’s. The curtain was quickly pulled shut.
“There!” said Agana, tugging Ophelia’s arm. She ran up the street a short distance and started hopping and pointing, Jackson flapping in her hand. “There was a boy! Maybe he would like to play?”
Ophelia came up to Agana and turned her obsidian eyes to the cottage, pretending she hadn’t seen the boy. “This one? Are you sure?” She smiled.
“Yes, there in the window! There was a little fat boy!” Agana’s dark eyes looked up to Ophelia, hopeful. “Oh please, Saint Ophelia, won’t you ask if he can play! You know how I adore the little fat ones. Maybe he would like to have a tea party with me and Jackson?”
Ophelia smiled at Agana. “Sure. I’ll go ask his parents. Wait here a moment.” Ophelia turned to Sir Spengle and his men who were about a block down. She motioned to her eyes and then to Agana, and Sir Spengle nodded his recognition of the order to keep an eye on her.
Ophelia strode across the street. Her star-metal boots clanked upon the flagstone steps as she came up to the wooden door. With a gauntleted hand she banged on it. “Saint Ophelia!” she barked. “By order of your Exalted Princess, Agana Valdara, I command you to open the door and greet us!” Ophelia bent her neck and placed her ear close to the door, listening. A moment passed, and then another. No sounds from within. Ophelia scowled. She turned to face the door and hiked her leg, kicking it in.
Broken fragments of door crunched under Ophelia’s boots as she entered into the dark cottage. A woman screamed and Ophelia’s eyes turned that direction. Standing in the corner was a woman in a blue summer dress clutching a pudgy, little, dark-haired boy to her. Beside them was the boy’s father, just as dark of hair as his son, though he was more muscular than plump.
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