Soulseeker’s Descent
Page 24
“Dead! Noooo!” the pontiff moaned.
Manchego had died. Was that possible? Lulita and Luchy hugged each other. Why was only the Goddess of Night left? Doubt and fear raged in the girl’s chest. She checked her ring finger to prove what she already feared. Although the jewel still shone, the light in it was faint and it seemed to be going out. It was not possible! Just that same day at the central market she had felt his presence; the ring had flashed as if he had been there whispering words in her ear.
“Lulita,” came a cavernous voice behind them.
Balthazar had changed greatly. His hair was now completely white and his clear blue eyes radiated unheard-of energy.
“You felt it,” Balthazar said.
The grandmother’s eyes were moist. “Yes.”
“Come. There is much to do and little time left.”
Something terrible had happened, Lulita knew. And if anyone knew what it was, it was this man.
***
“We are gathered here in an emergency,” the Faceless Baron said from the shadows. “Thanks to Balthazar, we have found out in time to save our world. Mérdmerén and the Empress of Grizna have confirmed the news.”
The room was large. The thieves had placed a round wooden table in the center with wine and goblets. The thief who was acting the part of the Baron seemed overwhelmed by the presence of Sokomonoko and Meromérila, both beautiful and mysterious.
“I never thought Mérdmerén’s diplomatic journey would culminate in such terrible discoveries, or that Balthazar would arrive bearing the same news. The Times of Chaos… subtle words, there is no doubt, which we mortals barely understand.”
Around the table were Balthazar, who seemed to pierce the shadows with his gaze; Dül Donn, the King of Doolm-Ondor; Queen Meromérila, who could not get over her sorrow; Othus the Benevolent, the new governor of Moragald’Burg; and Haziiz Farçai of the Divine Providence.
“The news is serious,” Sokomonoko said. “I have seen it. The universe is suffering as never before. Nothing like this has ever happened before.”
“I, too, felt it,” Meromérila said. “I still cannot believe it.”
“The summoning of the Great Alliance has failed,” Balthazar said. “The five dragons and their five essences did not join the Grand Alliance and certain gods have fallen including Alac Arc Ángelo.”
“There are things I do not understand,” Dül Donn said. “But this sounds very serious.”
Othus of Moragald’Burg cleared his throat.
“This changes things,” the Baron said from the shadows. “We must take matters into our own hands.”
“No way!” Mérdmerén cried, affected by the wine. “Without the Gods, we’re lost! It’s a bloody mess! We can’t do anything against the God of Chaos! It’s impossible!”
“That would be true,” Balthazar said, “if the God of Chaos did not have a small problem.”
“Go on then, surprise us,” Mérdmerén said.
“We have two plans,” the Baron announced. “We thought them up after Balthazar explained to me who Mórgomiel really is. There’s something in him that might mean our salvation.”
“Tell us what, Baron. All this suspense is going to drive me insane.”
“Respect, Mérdmerén, and make yourself respected by showing yourself worthy. You are the king of these lands, not a common drunkard. Mórgomiel conquered our planet thousands of years ago intending to conceal portals to other worlds and galaxies, all to enable him to organize his attacks and his legions without having to use what is called the River of Time.”
“Is that an advantage for us?” Othus asked without much conviction. Listening to a man who concealed himself in the shadows did little to convince him.
“It is, my friends. Mórgomiel can’t destroy this world, because he needs it.”
“You’ve lost the plot, Baron. You really have,” the King of Mandrake put in.
“I propose that we sequester Mórgomiel’s world, that we make him come to take it away from the parasites—that is to say, from us.”
“But that is suicide!” Dül Donn cried.
“No. It is brilliant,” Sokomonoko said. “Although the plan needs to be faultlessly coordinated.”
“I’m lost,” Mérdmerén admitted. “What do we gain by hastening our destruction?”
“It’s a question of setting an ambush,” the Baron explained. “For that, we need to unite the nations and their armies and deploy them when Mórgomiel comes to rescue his world. But there’s more. Among us is Meromérila. She is the Queen of Gardak, an empire on another planet that is distant but similar to ours.”
“The Meridian is the center of the universe,” Othus the Benevolent protested. “So it is written in the scriptures of Moragald’Burg,”
Dül Donn smoothed his beard. “A world of portals, eh? That would explain the strange discoveries near the Enemén volcano.”
“And the faults near our lands as well!” added Othus. “Strange energies have been witnessed there for thousands of years!”
“It is all connected,” said Balthazar with a grim stare. “Some have ventured into these tunnels and found nothing. Others have felt the dark energy within this place. Our world is crisscrossed and connected by these strange tunnels, each with thousands of portals that lead to thousands of worlds.”
“None have seen portals,” added Dül Donn.
“They are not visible to the naked eye,” added Balthazar without explaining much.
“Balthazar is a sorcerer of great power,” the Baron explained. “He’s brought us Meromérila who is prepared to cooperate with us. Her extended army will be of great help.”
Othus was still doubtful despite Balthazar’s enigmatic presence.
“So, the plan is to ambush Mórgomiel when he arrives. We’ll have a huge army ready that is capable of bringing him down. I hope.”
“Sokomonoko says he rides a dragon of shadows,” howled Mérdmerén. “A dragon! D’you think we’re going to be able to kill that with our pathetic arrows?”
“That’s a problem we must solve,” the Baron replied calmly. “But you have to fight fire with fire.”
“Do you realize what you’re saying?” Dül Donn protested. “Haven’t you heard, he’s already killed the Gods and their dragons?”
“There are more dragons,” Balthazar said. “Some are lost, others turned to stone in an eternal slumber. They can be awakened with the right words.”
“Quite true,” Sokomonoko said. “Stern’s Dagger is proof that they exist.”
Mérdmerén took his hand to his dagger. Made of dragon’s scale…
“That doesn’t solve the question of who is going to kill Mórgomiel,” Othus put in.
“Once again,” the Baron said, “another problem which we’ll need to solve while we’re applying ourselves to fixing the first part of the plan. According to Balthazar, there are more worlds, each with its own army. We need to convince them to join our cause. We would be able to assemble a legion such as has never been seen.”
There was silence. They looked at each other and the darkness, trying to come up with an answer or with sufficient courage to face the difficulties that were looming.
The Faceless Baron broke the uncomfortable silence. “This leads me to the second point. We need to clear this planet of Mórgomiel’s followers and make sure that only our people occupy these lands.”
Haziiz Farçia smoothed his long mustache. “Are you proposing to besiege Árath?”
“Yes. I think Árath should be destroyed.”
“That is feasible,” Meromérila said. “You can count on my legion of insects. The Dakatak do very well in the shadows.”
“In that case, we’ll destroy Árath first. Then, you must go to other worlds to gather as many armies as you can,” said the Faceless Baron.
“There’s another problem,” Mérdmerén objected. “How will we transport the armies between worlds?”
“Kanumorsus,” Balthazar replied.
&nb
sp; “Kanu—what?” Dül Donn cried in surprise.
“It is the labyrinth of tunnels and portals Mórgomiel created for traveling between worlds,” said Balthazar. “Although, not everybody can perceive these portals. I can myself.”
“What a bloody mess!” Mérdmerén spat out.
Dül Don was convinced it was some kind of joke.
“Other worlds?” he asked the other members of the table. Meromérila and Sokomonoko nodded.
“Two days ago we were celebrating my daughter’s wedding, and now we’re planning the transport of armies from other worlds to destroy the God of Chaos. Unbelievable!”
The authoritarian voice of the Baron echoed in the hall as he spoke.
“Armageddon is upon us! The Times of Chaos have begun anew!”
THE GALACTIC CRUSADE
It’s the year 2095. The third world war rages on. The confederate states of the Megachine advance to impose their relentless totalitarian regimen on the world. If nobody stops them, our freedom will end. The allied powers have fled, the remainders of which have joined forces to create ÆTAS to confront the Megachine threat.
About the author
I am a Guatemalan author in the genre of fantasy and sci-fi. When not creating some strange fantasy or sci-fi world, I am an Internal Medicine Doctor by profession. I like coffee, meditation, cross-training—and reading, of course!
As far as I am concerned, there is no greater pleasure than knowing you, the person who has taken the time to read one of my works. Please send me an email at authorpaulwunderlich@gmail.com Tell me what you think of my stories. It will be a pleasure to know you!
Follow me at twitter @paulwunderlich
Sign up for ARC copies of future releases at: www.wunderlichrealm.com