Emerilia Series Box Set 3

by Michael Chatfield

  Her feet touched the floor. The golden auras of Light and the angel dominated the room.

  “My Lady of Light, I have returned.” The Angel’s voice seemed to calm all those who heard it and made them feel drawn to her. It flowed with grace, but was precise in its pronunciation.

  “Khanundra, the leader of my Angels. I have missed you,” Light said softly.

  She had created the Angels as tools, a way to defeat the Demons and tear power from the rest of the Pantheon. She had amassed a great power when she sent her Angels on a holy war to cleanse Emerilia of those who did not worship her.

  The Angels had been torn from the world and held prisoner by the Grey God. Now, with Khanundra’s return to Emerilia, it was only a matter of time before the rest of her Angels returned.

  “I am honored by your words, my lady. However, I do not sense the rest of your legions,” Khanundra said, confusion in her voice.

  “It has been many years since you last walked Emerilia, Khanundra. The Angels were captured by the Grey God, but soon all of your brothers and sisters will be returned to us. We will tear down those who took you from me and then I shall ascend to my position as the matriarch of the Pantheon,” Light said with complete confidence.

  Khanundra prostrated herself on the floor. “Command me and I shall carry out your will,” Khanundra begged, complete confidence and faith in her creator.

  A cold smile formed on Light’s lips. “Go, and clean yourself up. Learn from my people what happened to Emerilia in your absence. In three months’ time, the remaining Angels will join us and we will be prepared.” Light’s voice was firm and sure.

  “As you command, my goddess.” Khanundra got off the floor and backed away out of the hall, bowing the entire time.

  It seems that she is looking to come back onto my good side. She feels as though she has let me down. That will be useful to me in the future. A creature wanting to prove its worth will do much more than one that simply does it to gain more power for themselves. Light relished in the power that Khanundra fed her from the moment she was returned to Emerilia.

  She briefly closed her eyes, imagining the power that she would feel with all of her Angels returned. She had not felt that strong in centuries.

  ***

  Fire appeared at her balcony and looked down at her gathered Dragons.

  Due to their shared bond, they could faintly tell what the other was thinking. It seemed that Akatol’s return had not gone unnoticed.

  “Where is he?” Fire looked to Denur, who was perched on her own ledge next to Fire’s home.

  “Opheir; it seems that he took over Quindar and Fornau’s old home.” Denur let out a snort, her nose flaring.

  “We will set for the mountain immediately. We need to put him down before he restarts his blood rituals and subjugation of the People of Emerilia,” Fire said.

  “I will go, but you will remain here,” Denur said.

  “Denur,” Fire said, her tone dangerous.

  “Fire, you might be my mother, but right now you’re pregnant. There is no way I’m letting you go into battle while carrying a child,” Denur said.

  Fire could count on one hand the times when her Dragons were angry with her and as she looked out upon them, she realized that Denur had the support of all her children.

  Fire knew that she shouldn’t be going, but she was the one who had given Akatol life, given him power. She had hoped that he would grow out of his delusions. Instead, he fell into them more. She felt responsible for him and his actions. She felt a kick in her belly and her hand moved to it.

  She sighed and closed her eyes. “Fine, but if you’re going, I’m going to make you my Champion.” Fire looked to Denur.

  “I accept.” Denur lightly jumped from her balcony. As she descended, her body became smaller and shifted into a Human. Just before she landed, her large wings were the last thing to combine into the cloak that she wore. She knelt before Fire, her head lowering.

  “Denur, mother of Dragons, and my daughter, I offer to you the position of my Champion, to go forth and protect those who seek the path of knowledge and punish those who use that knowledge for nefarious uses. Do you accept?” Fire asked.

  “I do.” Denur looked to the ground.

  Fire summoned up power within her body, pulling from her personal Mana pool. Flames grew over Fire’s body, her aura enough to make the Dragons take pause. Her eyes were like twin blazing orbs.

  Fire lowered her hand and touched Denur’s head. Flames grew to envelop both of them before receding into Denur’s body. The air became thick with Mana as Fire transferred power into Denur, awakening her abilities and removing the limits upon her body.

  Fire was familiar with Denur’s body, having made Denur herself. Fire altered and changed Denur, opening up new pathways for her Mana to flow, reinforcing her body.

  Denur grunted, shifting under the flames that now covered her. They turned from red to yellow to blue, flowing from Fire to her.

  The power left Fire; the flames around her and Denur faded away.

  You have created a Champion of Fire

  You have blessed Denur Dracul, turning her into a Champion of Fire. As your vessel, she will carry out your orders across Emerilia.

  Denur Dracul has undergone powerful changes.

  Unknown stat increase

  Unknown abilities unlocked

  Class awarded: Champion of Fire

  Fire dismissed the screen, watching as Denur dismissed her own screens.

  “Ugh, sometimes I hate this system. It can’t even give me a correct reading on what you did,” Denur complained.

  “More powerful, blah blah, Champion, blah.” Fire waved her hand and smiled at Denur, who rose from her kneeling position with an amused look on her face.

  “Now go and deal with Akatol. Protect this family and Emerilia.” Fire looked into Denur’s eyes. There was a sadness there. Akatol and Denur had raised many children together, but his past kindness did not free him from the slaughter he visited upon the People of Emerilia.

  He had killed tens of thousands of Emerilians in horrific sacrifices to increase his power. Even as he became stronger from the bloody rituals, his fanaticism grew. Through this, he was able to dominate any and all creatures under the power of a god or goddess. The Dragons had been but playthings in his eyes as he continued his slaughter. This was why Bob needed to step in to remove the threat of Akatol, who was highly overpowered and unbalanced compared to the others within Emerilia.

  Fire felt fear creep up her spine. Denur and her children were powerful; she just didn’t know that over the time that Akatol had been sealed away that they had been able to attain the same power as he had.

  “I will see to it.” Denur nodded, her eyes filled with stony resolve. She walked toward the balcony, expanding into her Dragon form. It had grown with the newfound power that ran through her body. With a powerful flap of her wings, she rose, moving off the balcony, and headed for one of the exits.

  Dragons lifted off from their perches within the volcano, following their matriarch, joining those who were already outside, their numbers unable to fit within the volcano.

  All of them had heard the stories and the warnings of Akatol as children. He was the monster that they could become. To protect Emerilia, to protect their family, they had to kill the father of Dragons.

  “Good luck,” Fire whispered, scared for them as she unconsciously moved her hands over her belly.

  ***

  Dave entered the emergency meeting with the Council of Anvil and Fire. There were concerned faces around the table. The normally rambunctious and jovial mood was replaced with a serious one.

  Now was not the time to talk about their trade. Now, their job was to protect the Dwarven people and face the hardships that had come to light.

  Ankol sat at the head of the table. Everyone took their seats, waiting for him to talk.

  “I believe it is time that we elected someone to a governor position on the council,” Ankol
started.

  A Dwarven governor was only elected in times of chaos to lead the council and make the decisions that needed to be made.

  “Many of us have fighting experience, but none more than Endur. I believe that a Dwarf who not only knows the people, but the shield bearers who defend our homes would be best for the position,” Ankol said.

  There were nods and noises of agreement.

  Dave looked to Endur; the Dwarf’s face seemed to harden.

  “I thank you for the nomination,” Endur said.

  “Are there any other nominees?” Ankol looked around.

  The Dwarves might have big egos, but here in the council, they had learned to work together. They were the leaders of the Dwarven race. If they were to fall into squabbles, then their race would fall apart.

  “Okay, Endur will take over as governor after this meeting.” Ankol smacked his hammer on the table. “Three creatures have been released from their imprisonment. We know that one is a Water Dragon hiding in the Dragon mountain in Opheir. The other descended in a golden light over Markolm before disappearing. We do not know what or where the third creature is.”

  Dave raised his hand.

  “Dave?” Ankol gestured for him to speak.

  “It is the Angel Khanundra, Dragon Akatol, and Water serpent Melhoun,” Dave said.

  The expressions around the room were grim with the news.

  “It is time to spread the Weapons of Power,” Sola said. There were grumblings of agreement and disagreement.

  Ankol looked to Endur.

  “I guess I will be stepping into my role a bit earlier?” Endur looked around the table. This was why he was elected. There was little time for in-fighting and debate.

  “We will continue with the tournament. At the same time, we will open our mountains to the people around us. They will have to buy a residence and we will not deal with shanty towns outside our cities. Disease will kill us as sure as any blade. We will contact our allies to talk about our plans for the event. When the tournament is completed or when our military judges pick someone from the fights, if the Grey God agrees, we will guide them to our Weapons of Power vaults. We will not show preference to Dwarves or other races or groups. At this time, we need to get those weapons into the hands of the most capable. We will bring the war council into the Anvil and Fire’s meetings. It is imperative that there is no confusion between us.” Endur looked around the table, his eyes hard.

  Dave felt a chill run down his spine. With these words, the Dwarven war machine would turn. With but a word, Warclans would assemble as the time of peace was broken. This was a war council.

  Endur’s eyes locked on Dave. “Dave, we will take up the offer from the Stone Raiders and open an embassy in Terra as soon as possible. We will have two Warclans from each of the mountains ready at all times to move: to either defend our homes, or move to Terra on assaults that will be organized there.”

  Dave nodded in agreement. He knew that Josh would agree with Endur.

  Endur looked to the rest of those gathered there. “Raise the Warclans, all of them. Check our stockpiles of grand workings and make sure the mountains are secure. We will talk to the Aleph about assisting in arming and armoring our people. It’s time these myths and legends remember why the Dwarves and their allies are to be feared.”

  Chapter 5: Above Opheir

  Lucy was looking through various Player feeds.

  Players in Opheir showed video of Akatol descending out of the sky. He seemed to be as large as the mountain he landed on. He let out a bellow that shook the very land.

  Across the forums, Players were grouping together. Guilds were offering gold and items for information on the creatures that had arrived in Emerilia.

  Of the three, the only one that seemed to be within their reach was Akatol, who was now occupying Quindar’s old lair.

  People were rushing through Cliff-Hill and Nadorf to face off against the Dragon. With the surprise event, people were rushing online.

  As the Dragons from Densaou Ring of Fire were using the air currents to bring them up and over the sea between Ashal and Opheir, they were taking hours.

  The Players were using teleport pads within Nadorf or Cliff-Hill and then using their powerful beasts or the like to travel toward Opheir. The luckier Players were already in Opheir, some actually seeing Akatol land at the mountain.

  Many of these people moved to the mountain at their best speed.

  While Players raced to Opheir, the POEs were running away from the mountain, getting as much space between them and the Dragon as possible.

  His aura was strong enough to be felt in Kono. The city was quickly evacuating; most of the people staying there were vendors excited to make money off the incoming Players.

  A video popped up at the top of the forum.

  Lucy clicked on it; it was from a group of Players in Egas Nation. Above them, dozens of Dragons were headed toward Opheir. They didn’t seem as large as Akatol, but there were a lot of them.

  Just thinking about the destructive power of the Dragons was a scary thought. She’d been looking over Dragon videos of Players who had gone Dragon hunting.

  They seemed like impossible creatures. Few items even affected them. Their strength and magical power were incredible—the definition of Creatures of Power.

  Players raced in from every direction, but they charged toward Akatol’s new home without a clear plan, excited to see what Akatol was made of. Many of them had broken through the hundred ranks. Thinking that they were all-powerful, they reached the entrance of the mountain lair.

  Lucy found an ongoing stream. The comments were going wild, up and down the side of the screen. She ignored them, watching what was going to happen.

  They slowed their advance and actually moved into something resembling a formation. Players at their level instinctually started classifying one another, their strengths and weaknesses, based on appearance and gear.

  They moved into the dark cave which spiraled down into the ground. The Players bunched together, taking a bit more caution.

  Some charged ahead.

  Lucy watched on the Players’ mini-maps as they continued downward. Small groups charged forward, eager to gain the glory.

  Some of the more veteran Players stayed back, continuing down slow and steady.

  The first dots seemed to stop down the mountain, moving around in a large area before fading out. Lucy hissed; none of them had their streams going.

  Lights bloomed around the main group that was descending into the mountain, pushing back the darkness that started to make it harder to see.

  More Players joined or moved forward; one such group charged downward on their beasts.

  Lucy found one of them with a stream; the group raced down the spiraling corridor, eager to be the first to the bottom. The group reached a large open area, a dim light in the ceiling and coming from a pit off to the side. On the other side of the room, there was a large pool of water.

  They looked around, trying to find where the Dragon was. Several cried out as icicles seemed to appear above them. The icicles stabbed through the riders and mounts, impaling them to the floor. Icicles and rain drops moving so fast that they blew people apart upon impact moved around the room.

  “Feels like they’re being herded,” Lucy said, trying to get as much information as possible from the stream. They were all going to die but they’d be back in a few hours, even if it was with less stat points and a reduced rank.

  It was a large setback for those who had higher ranks, and even more so if they had equipment that wasn’t soul bound to them.

  “Well, there’s a reason that few people try to fight Dragons.” Lucy shook her head.

  “How goes the information gathering?” Josh looked up from the map, he, Cassie, Esa, Kim, and Dwayne were standing around.

  “Looks like a bunch of people rushed to Quindar’s lair, which I guess we should call Akatol’s lair now. Getting turned to mincemeat down there, but still no idea wh
ere Akatol is. Seems he went in there, but no signs of him,” Lucy said.

  “I wish we could be there,” Dwayne growled.

  “Soon enough; we know our own strength and fighting Dragons is outside of it. We just need some time and we can fight Akatol and whatever comes out with the event,” Josh said.

  “Okay, so we’ve got the basics for a raid into Alturaran lands. They’re pretty powerful, but we can deal with them. Then we’ve got another raid possibly for that portal in Gudalo that leads to the Xelur’s realm. We have dungeons within Devil’s Crater and scouting quests around Devil’s Crater,” Kim said, bringing their attention back to what they could do.

  They were setting up different locations and areas for the guild members to join parties and work on improving their skills.

  “Okay, good, because I’ve been looking at quests from the mage’s, adventurer’s, and trader’s guilds. They’ve got a ton of quests that the guild members can double up on. Getting better rewards for what they find as well as getting more experience to increase their levels,” Cassie said.

  “We shouldn’t forget the Mirror of Communication school. While we might have really impressive stats, knowing how to use them is important.” Esa looked to Josh.

  “Okay, if we can get some Mirrors of Communication for cheap, or we can build them, then we’ll make a hub for people to join into the school and learn in there.” Josh looked to Kim. “I sure as hell don’t want some of their experiments blowing up in our faces.”

  Kim muttered under her breath, but it was too quiet to be heard.

  “Something’s happening!” Lucy shared the stream she was following of the semi-organized Players moving down to the bottom of the mountain.

  All of them watched on their interfaces.

  Lights were sent out across the room, illuminating it. Some people threw up or gagged from the sight. There must’ve been around fifty bodies impaled into the floor with icicles.

  Blood was drawn across the floor of the lair.