by Tamryn Tamer
“I only have spies in your guild to keep an eye on the other spies in your guild,” Raven said reassuringly. “It wasn’t malicious.”
“Come on dear,” Mirage pulled Diana from the room. “Let’s go let your friends know you’re under new management.”
“And we’re back to you,” Jericho smiled at Raven. “You can be the treasurer.”
“Excuse me?” Raven scoffed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You control the purse strings. That’s what you’re worried about, right?” Jericho said. The fact was Raven was always most interested in money and everything else was in pursuit of that. It was possible her idea of freedom was simply financial. “God knows I shouldn’t be anywhere near a budget. I’ve been wealthy multiple times now and every time I end up broke again within weeks.”
“How would it work?” Raven finally showed a crack in her resolve. “You could kick me out of the guild anytime and it’s not as though I can deny you access to the guild treasury.”
“You have to trust me. We’ll work together as a council similar to how we did in the alliance but under a single banner.” Jericho said thinking through the best way to split things up. “If Diana wants, she’ll be in charge of raiding and dungeon exploration. Terra will be in charge of player versus player which will mean working closely with Mirage on the spy network.”
“Mirage?” Terra squeaked out. “I don’t think…”
“You work well together,” Jericho smiled. Despite their childish feud, the two had a way of getting stuff done. He could only imagine what they could accomplish if they had a mutual objective. “It’ll be fine.”
“Fine,” Terra grumbled.
“So,” Jericho turned to Raven, “You’d be in charge of our finances and logistics and as a bonus, you’ll have to work closely with Cynthia since she’s in charge of overseeing Dayrose and its development. She could also use the help since she’s more of a politician than an architect.”
“We are going to have so much fun together,” Cynthia smiled wickedly at Raven.
“For somebody who never wanted to run a guild you sure are trying to sell me on working for you,” Raven glared at him. “You’re really willing to give me full control over the finances?”
“Absolutely not!” Jinx snapped up. “I’ve heard enough of this! She can’t touch my treasure! The treasure is mine! It’s mine! It’s mine! It’s mine! Bandits! Marauders!”
“Semi-full control,” Jericho chuckled.
“Fine,” Raven said coldly. “We’ll join Sin on a trial basis.”
“Really?” Kaos asked excitedly. “Does that mean we’re moving in?”
“Oh,” Jericho grimaced. “Raven can move in if she likes but I’m afraid men aren’t really allowed to live in my manor.”
“You’re joking,” Kaos said as he looked around the table. He looked at Raven waiting for her to insist but nothing. “Seriously? That’s cold man. Very cold. Where am I going to stay?”
“I think you’ll fit right in at Greenridge,” Jericho said. “You’ll like it there and they need some adult supervision.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Terra said. “First we need to figure out a way to protect the city that doesn’t involve us basically watching the city around the clock.”
“I may have a temporary solution to that,” Talia said pensively. “I can’t say I’m particularly fond of it though.”
“What is it?” Jericho asked.
“A cosmic barrier,” Talia answered. “Now that you’ve mastered cosmic magic you should be able to create one. Once created, they’re fairly permanent barring other cosmic mages.”
“But won’t that prevent your magic from working?”
“It depends on the barrier,” Talia said. “The one at the magus tower combines all four magics to create a nullification barrier. There is also the dark prison which I believe you’re familiar with that prevents anybody except for light magic users from passing through. The light barrier of Whitespire acts as a defensive barrier although it can be broken. And finally, what I propose is a spatial barrier.”
“You mean like Cirrus?” Luna asked excitedly. “We can do that?”
“Cirrus?” Jericho asked.
“The Ethereal capital,” Talia answered. “Well, it’s really their only city. It’s impossible to reach without either using a portal or spatial magic because of the barrier. A spatial barrier causes anybody walking into it to just pass right through to the other side as if they walked through a portal. From the inside it does the same thing but you’ll end up on the other side of the inside. So, you’d be turning the entire city into a prison.”
“It’s not a prison,” Luna scoffed. “You can come and go when you please.”
“Only if you can use spatial magic,” Talia said. “And since Dayrose is currently under siege the main city portal won’t work for exiting. Hence why it’s a temporary solution. We would have to continually make our own portals to come and go.”
“Is there a better solution?” Jericho asked not liking the idea of making the city impossible to access or escape without spatial magic but it was the top contender. For a moment Talia’s expression suggested she thought of something but it quickly returned to normal. “What was that? You do have a better solution, don’t you?”
“No I don’t,” Talia answered coldly. “The spatial barrier is the best solution. We’ll just function like Cirrus.”
“You’re hiding something,” Jericho insisted.
“No I’m not,” Talia said angrily. “Now drop it.”
“Talia,” Jericho said with an uncharacteristically stern tone. “We are talking about our city. We cannot expand while trapped in a barrier. We cannot help our friends while trapped in a barrier. If there is a better solution I want to know it.”
“It’s not a better solution it’s a worse one!” Talia snapped furiously. “They’re jerks and I don’t want to go back there! I am a demigoddess of time and I don’t take orders from anybody! If I don’t want to tell you I don’t have to tell you!”
“Who are jerks and where don’t you want to go?” Jericho asked his tantrum throwing time witch.
“The Temple of Eberis,” Talia said defeatedly. “He’s the god of gamblers.”
“Cities that are protected by gods are unassailable,” Theia offered.
“Why haven’t I heard of any cities like this?” Terra asked.
“Because the last city to have a god guarding it was Dawn and that was thousands of years ago,” Talia scowled at Jericho. “Gods are just awful. Everybody is expected to cater to their every whim no matter how ridiculous. Do you know how all-powerful beings entertain themselves? It normally involves cutting out the hearts of virgins.”
“At least we’re all safe,” Luna joked.
“Good one,” Jericho said before turning back to Talia. “So where do I find this temple?”
“Let’s just use the spatial barrier first and then we’ll think of something else,” Talia insisted. “After a while, the blessing of peace will return…”
“Owl would just declare another attack,” Jericho said. “We need something that can’t be removed. According to you, having this god here will make the city unassailable. So, where do I find him?”
“You don’t,” Talia grumbled. “You find his herald.”
“Alright,” Jericho smiled as Talia slowly but surely gave up the information. “Where do I find his herald?”
“At his temple,” Talia said attempting to protest by limiting the information.
“And the temple?” Jericho chuckled.
“I don’t want to say,” Talia complained. “Last time I was there I made a big fuss about how I was going to find a relic that would allow me to become a full-fledged goddess and kick Eberis’ ass.”
“The command orb,” Jericho smiled. “So that’s why you were after it. So, where’s the temple?”
“In the Maw of Cerberus,” Talia stomped angrily. “I can show you where it
is. But first, we really do need to create the spatial barrier.”
“And we need those portal scrolls,” Terra said. “And we need to arrange a trade agreement with Whitespire.”
“Get me there and I’ll handle that,” Raven assured them. “And I suppose I need to begin informing my guild that we’re being absorbed.”
“Plenty to do all around,” Jericho said. “Let’s get to it.”
Chapter 6
The Cosmic Mage
Jericho was amazed by how quickly Raven managed to organize everything once she had access to all of the guild functions. She sorted players by class, professions, and even general preferences into groups and gave them tasks which maximized both the needs of the guilds and the player. Even her trade negotiation was handled swiftly, partially thanks to Theia’s support and the promise of more Fallen heads.
Theia was also thrilled to finally turn in the head of Prince Niraxi, as well as attempt to turn in the enormous demon skull she’d collected. Unfortunately, while the Choir was impressed by Rizar’s skull, they were sticklers for rules and offered her no points towards her rank for it. In the end she decided to work it into a rather terrifying demon bone shield.
Everything was going smoothly and before he knew it carts of orichalcum were streaming in through portals. Every time one of the pipelines was set Raven moved onto the next like a master clockmaker making sure everything clicked together perfectly.
“And we’re ready?” Jericho asked Raven as she sent another group through a portal. Since Raven couldn’t use magic, she relied on Cynthia to hold them open for her. “Once I put up this barrier there is no leaving or entering Dayrose except through these portals.”
“Yes,” Raven answered. “And I’ve established communication networks and designated gatekeepers. Even if you can’t get this god, we can function perpetually like this if we have to. I’d rather not though since closing yourself off from the world is generally bad for both trade and growth.”
“So, there’s no hurry!” Talia said anxiously. “We can take our time and...”
“No!” Jinx said authoritatively while taking several excited swings at an invisible opponent. “I want to beat a god! I’m going to put them in their place! Witch! Hag!”
“Are we really planning on taking her?” Talia shook her head at the enthusiastic spectral beast.
“Sable and the wolves are guarding Owl’s familiars. Mirage is setting up spy networks with Terra. Theia is working as the ambassador to Whitespire. Mai refuses to leave her children until she’s convinced, they’re safe and Riseva’s not about to argue with her. Luna is helping everybody with coordination since she’s the only other spatial magic users. That leaves me, you, Jinx and Ariel.”
“I still don’t think Ariella should be going with,” Cynthia grumbled. “She’s the queen and should remain in the city until we’re sure things are safe.”
“It’s fine!” Ariel said excitedly. “If we’re going to invite a god to Dayrose the queen should definitely go with!”
“So, we’re really doing this?” Talia sighed. “Okay. Let’s get the barrier up. Cosmic magic of this scale requires you to tap into everything. Obviously cosmic magic is connected just like elemental magic is connected and sensory magic is connected. You need to unlock that connection.”
“Cosmic overload,” Jericho said focusing on the new ability he’d been unable to access for the last month. It appeared as soon as he learned time magic but first activations were difficult. He didn’t manage to activate sensory overload until his battle with Prince Niraxi and that was by chance. “Let’s see if I can do it.”
It wasn’t the first time he tried activating the ability but it was the first time he had a reason to. He was going to protect the city and everybody within it. He had an enemy that could strike at any time and hurt not only his friends but also his familiars. He was motivated.
“Hurry up. Idiot. Dummy.” Jinx groaned as Jericho’s frustration turned into tiny flames flickering on his shoulders. He was trying to hurry but no matter how much he tried to envision a spatial barrier going up around the city nothing happened.
“It’s okay,” Ariel said supportively. “It took me weeks to learn how to activate my Warden’s Wrath ability and I still can’t do it reliably! You can definitely do it!”
“Jericho,” Talia said haughtily. “You’re not only trying to use spatial magic, are you?”
“It’s a spatial barrier,” Jericho said breaking his concentration.
“No,” Talia said. “It’s still a cosmic barrier. If you could create cosmic barriers without accessing all of the cosmic magic then any cosmic magic user could make them. Just because spatial magic fills the space doesn’t mean the other magics don’t serve a purpose. You are crafting the barrier using all of those magics.”
“Fills the space,” Jericho mumbled as he closed his eyes. He imagined the magic inside of himself. The darkness lived in his center, or more accurately nowhere since it didn’t exist. Neighboring it wasn’t only his light circulatory system but space itself where he existed. Finally, encasing everything was the flow of his time. He activated them all simultaneously while envisioning them working together and like a spark igniting a flame, cosmic overload followed.
He felt a swell of power inside of him unlike anything he’d ever felt before. Elemental overload doubled the size of his elemental pathways but cosmic overload didn’t increase the path size, it increased the pressure. It was like he’d just plugged into a limitless source of power and it was tearing him to pieces.
“Hurry up,” Talia’s voice sounded far away, like an echo in the darkness. He reinforced himself with light magic as best he could while the power tore through him like water ripping apart a damn. “The barrier!”
Right, he needed to build the barrier while he could. He imagined the entire city of Dayrose as if looking at it from above. If he were building a wall around Dayrose, the first thing he’d need to do was frame it. Jericho created two massive dome-shaped barriers of light, one inside the other, and moved onto the next step.
Jericho was creating a spatial barrier and while the space between the two light barriers was certainly full of space, it wasn’t the right kind. He needed to empty it of everything. He tapped into the darkness and let it flow between the twin light barriers erasing the space itself. Once the mold was completely cleaned out it was ready to be filled.
Jericho didn’t so much release space inside of the mold but instead released a constantly fluctuating flow of spatial magic itself. It was neither here nor there, but it was definitely somewhere, probably. The twin barriers of light were weakening as Jericho filled the space to the point of bursting. Finally, he needed to stabilize it.
Time. At best the spatial barrier would last a minute. It took too much energy and focus to maintain and despite his best efforts, it would vanish. But a minute could potentially feel like an eternity. He looked at the time flowing around the barrier and pulled it into his own. He carefully started slowing it to a crawl until the barrier’s minute became a year to everybody else. It was finished.
He snapped back to his normal time as his body collapsed. He wondered what caused his collapse and why he couldn’t really feel anything.
“Huh,” Jericho said as he looked down. Everybody was being pushed back by Talia but it didn’t seem they were too eager to rush to help him either. He looked down at his hands, or at least where his hands used to be as they were replaced with shredded stumps. His legs suffered a similar fate but he didn’t feel any of it. Instead, he felt the euphoria of the darkness. “I’ve had worse.”
“What happened to his eyes,” Raven whispered to Talia. “They look like Sable’s.”
“Interesting,” Jericho shapeshifted himself some replacement hands and pulled out a healing potion and a chocolate bar. He gradually continued shifting and repairing himself until he’d regained his legs as well. “Okay, now it’s hurting.”
“Can we touch him now? Crone. Hag.” Ji
nx asked even though she obviously had no intention of waiting for an answer.
The dark-haired girl rushed toward Jericho practically tackling him as she started checking him over. She inspected him so thoroughly he began wondering if she was searching for hidden jewels. Ariel hurried to him as well but was less curious and more relieved. Both Talia and Raven were more intrigued than anything.
“That was interesting,” Raven smiled. “Terrifying but interesting.”
“What do you mean?” Jericho asked still unsure about what happened. While the power was flowing through him nothing else really mattered other than the sensation and building the barrier.
“See for yourself,” Raven tossed him a recording orb. “Had I known that was going to happen I would have recorded from the start. You also might want a mirror.”
“Huh?” Jericho activated the orb and at first what he was seeing didn’t register. It was him, but it was like he was being burnt from the inside out by darkness and light. For every vein of light flowing inside of him, a parallel vein of darkness intertwined with it and burned through his flesh as his body blinked in and out of existence. “What the fuck?”
Jericho watched as his blinking body was torn to shreds by the light and dark magic until his shredded body hit the ground. Then it all rewound and started over again like he was stuck in his own personal hellish time loop of being thrown in a cosmic garbage disposal.
“What did you say about a mirror?” Jericho asked while searching his inventory for something reflective.
“Here,” Ariel blushed as she pulled out a hand mirror and handed it to him. “You can borrow mine.”
“How long have you been carrying that?” Jinx pinched Ariel’s thigh causing the fairy to jump. “This is because you look a little more mature isn’t it? Just so you know the crone is going to change us back the first chance she gets! Jezebel! Narcissist!”
“But I like the way I look,” Ariel pouted while crossing her arms. “You’re just jealous that in another decade I’m going to look like a proper queen and you’re still going to be an angry beast!”