by J D Franx
Having listened to the entire conversation in awe, Nekrosa finally spoke. "You were a Guardian. Weren't you? "
Nodding her head, the assassin returned slowly. "I am a Guardian, the very first initiated into the Guardian Pact. I am the only one left alive today. I was present over ten thousand years ago during the rituals that created the Black Suns, the Guardian Pact, and the first six DeathWizards."
"Incredible. Do you know where the magic failed? Or why?" Nekrosa asked, his eyebrows furrowed by the depth of his thoughts.
Before Yrlissa could answer him, Sephi added, "I know what you're thinking, luv. Yrlissa, no one alive knows more about death and the other side than Nekrosa. Perhaps he can help you figure it out."
"You don't understand!" Yrlissa snapped. "There's nothing to figure out. The magic is broken. It's not balanced! It's chaotic and extremely dangerous. God-magic mixed with Elvehn and Human magic, Demon, Fae, and Dragon... it was a disaster, and it was wrong to even try. We could never figure out if it was the corruption of death or if the people born with the magic didn't have the strength to handle magic from another dimension—from the afterlife. I'm talking about the magic of all the Lesser races combined with that only the gods can use. All of it handed to a mere mortal being....”
“Jesus,” Max said, frowning, but Yrlissa never slowed.
“We had the first-hand help of all the gods, Sephi. I stood and had this same conversation in this very field with the gods of life and death after we buried the first three DeathWizards to fall to the corruption. Of the first six born, only two survived, and they barely managed to hold the corruption off. At times, even they couldn't hold back. So, we directed their madness, their destructive force of chaos against the Ri'Tek. If we couldn’t... if Mylla and Dathac—if the gods—could not figure it out then, well, I'm sorry if this sounds rude, but what chance would a mere necromancer have now?"
“You don't think it's worth a try? I can pull a spirit from the afterlife and get answers,” Nekrosa offered.
Yrlissa whirled and grabbed the King by his throat. She felt the frozen touch of Sephi's ice blade on her throat the moment she touched him, but it did not stop her. “If you ever pull a soul from the afterlife in my presence, I will kill you, Nekrosa Kohl, and your wife will be miles too slow to stop me. Do you understand me?” Nekrosa nodded and flashed a grin as she continued, “Pulling a soul from the afterlife leaves them up for grabs by the demon hordes of Perdition upon their return. It upsets the natural balance of power in the afterlife. Leave the souls of the dead at peace, they've earned it.”
“Fair enough,” he said. His voice was steady, and his eyes were void of fear. “It was just an offer. We need all the help we can get, do we not?” Yrlissa released him, and the flat side of the cold dagger slid harmlessly across her throat. The warning from Sephi was clear.
“Ember still needs to know these things,” she added, spinning her dagger back into its sheath.
“I will tell her everything,” Yrlissa said. “After Kael is safely interred.”
Max nodded, and a sigh of relief slid from his lips as he sat back down to hold his side. He watched Ember. She was only fifty feet away, but she might as well have been back on Earth as she showed no signs of recognition of those around her. He could not believe Kael was gone. Ember would never be the same and neither would he.
“Fine.” He finally agreed. “Tell her later, but what do we do after that? Kael is dead, and, in my opinion, there's only one thing that needs to be done now. A Northman and two Cethosian wizards need to join him on the other side. Preferably after they suffer first. A lot."
"No,” Yrlissa said, shaking her head. “Believe it or not, we will need Kasik, Giddeon, and Saleece before we’re done. We should stay here for a month or more. Let Ember mourn Kael while you heal. She needs to be able to say goodbye and to deal with her loss, and you will need to be battle ready. The hectic life we're going to have once we leave this forest won't allow for it. After a wound like that, you are months away from being fight ready, and Ember must be mentally sound and physically whole for what is to come. We all do, and we have the time. An Animus seal is open now, and you all need to know what’s coming. We must prepare. There are those of us who have spent our entire lives trying to avoid this day. The Luhnee and their Keepers will already know about Kael and will be here to help with his internment.”
“Bullshit,” Max quipped. “The only need I have for those three will be to die.”
“Max,” Yrlissa said. “Do not worry about Giddeon. I have a feeling he's getting far worse than you could ever give him. The traces of magic lingering in the Animus room when we arrived were familiar. I've felt it before, but it has been a very long time.”
DRAGON ISLES,
VER KARMOT, 5025 PC
Talohna's only living ArchWizard, Giddeon Zirakus, had been alone in his cell for what he guessed to be a couple of days. After the assassination of his son, Kael, Giddeon had been so shocked and disoriented that he had been completely unprepared for the sudden arrival of the DragonKin's Queen Superior and her group of warriors and mystics. Believing them guilty of Kael's death, Queen WhiteScale and those accompanying her apprehended Giddeon, his daughter, Saleece, Kasik, and a priestess of Mylla named Sister Nikki. Somehow, they were all transported back to the DragonKin home island of Ver Karmot. Though he didn't know for sure, Giddeon strongly suspected at least one of the women with the Queen was a true mature Fae. They had jumped to the Dragon Isles using the same Fae transportation spell Ember had used to save their lives from Bauro BlackSpawn and his pirates many months earlier. However, the jump had almost killed Ember. The massive use of magic had drained her life force and left her on the brink of death. Only Max's ingenuity had restarted her heart and saved her life.
This Fae, an older woman with blazing red hair, had jumped twice as many people ten times the distance and never showed so much as the slightest bit of discomfort. Giddeon grinned at the memory of how the magical transport had felt. That was real Fae power—magic not seen in Talohna in over ten thousand years. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced, and he was elated to have had the chance, even given the dire circumstances surrounding their capture. The fact he had seen a living Fae other than Ember gave his heart real hope for the first time in many years.
His smile quickly faded, though, as the reality of his situation returned to the forefront of his mind. He was in a lot of trouble, and the DragonKin rarely felt the desire to explain themselves. As ArchWizard, he would demand an explanation. Nobles, royalty, and high-ranking wizards were entitled to a tribunal when dealing with inter-race crimes. Being shoved into a dungeon prison without an explanation was insulting and he was sure it was illegal based on Talohna’s political treaties.
Giddeon had not seen Saleece or Kasik since being tossed in his cell. Queen WhiteScale's only words at the time sent shivers up his spine.
"You will answer for your crimes, Giddeon Zirakus. Pray your punishment is left in my hands and not the hands of the very angry Fae mother who still has access to Darklings."
Darklings. Giddeon shivered with a groan. He had always assumed the myths were just that. Myths, stories, or nightmare imaginings and nothing more. Some historical documents even stated as much, that they were stories merely used to frighten young Fae children into behaving. Other myths about Darklings were better off not being thought about. The hairs on the back of Giddeon’s neck stood on end at the thought of an emotionless Fae poking and prodding the tender parts of his brain with long-forgotten magic he could not begin to understand.
The sensation quickly passed. Queen WhiteScale would not dare subject him to such appalling debasement, not while Joran Bale was still king of Cethos and the royal fleet was in the waters of Talohna. It would take King Bale time to mobilize and perhaps even more time to find him, so Giddeon shook his head to focus on his immediate situation.
The whole time he had been in the cell, he had been offered no food. A bucket of drinking water ha
d shown up while he slept the first night, but that was it. Having not eaten since the day before Kael’s death, intense hunger pangs gnawed at his stomach, and he was nauseous all the time. The water only helped a little. Tired and sore, he drifted off into an uneasy sleep and was plagued by nightmares yet again. Morbid dreams tore at his emotions as he watched, helplessly, while Kael died again and again.
Heightened emotions from the effects of the near-lucid dreams overwhelmed Giddeon. The images shifted to the moment he, Saleece, Kasik, and Sister Nikki had betrayed Ember, Max, and the others by darting them with tribal sleep poison. His wife, Aravae, had been among those whom he betrayed. Her eyes, clouded by the haze of death, stared up at him accusingly. The words of the prophet, Zaddyk, bombarded his mind and visions of the young man's destruction-filled prophecies rolled through Giddeon's sleeping mind over and over.
The city of Corynth fell, burning under the claws of creatures he did not recognize. The cities of Dra'Kahn, Kyll'Darhen, and even Avalera City in the Southern Kingdom country of Ellorya joined Corynth’s fall. All were destroyed by waves of dark invaders with no real form.
Like his other dreams, it haunted him every time he closed his eyes. The hungrier he became, the harder it was to stay awake. The more time he spent locked in his distorted dream reality, the more horrific its impact was on his psyche. The nightmares weighed on his conscience, and his soul ached with guilt and regret. During his few waking moments, he prayed to every god in the pantheon for the dreams to stop.
But they continued unabated into the fourth day. Though few people had his mental discipline, the insipid approach of insanity crawled into the dark recesses of his mind, and Giddeon feared the time he could hold out was lessening.
Angering a creature like the Fae was a stupid thing to do. Especially when they had the magical ability to walk in dreams, enhance emotions, and rip at memories. Giddeon knew what was happening even though he was powerless to stop it.
He smiled in his growing exhaustion. When King Bale arrived, the DragonKin would pay for their arrogance in believing they could treat him like that. If a Darkling really did take over, things would quickly get worse. As the fifth day approached, there was a violent change to his dreams as he realized it might take much longer for King Bale to find him. It scared him because he had no doubts the games were over.
The possibility of a Darkling entering his mind was becoming a terrifying reality. Not understanding his fear had been a reality for almost two days, Giddeon's body shook with stress while he suffered hours of emotional torment under the power of a Darkling.
BLOODKIN CASTLE
VER KARMOT
Queen Shelaryx WhiteScale watched her friend and the Fae High Monarch, Eva Thornwing, emerge from the magic of her dreamwalk spell. It had taken her and a Dark Fae deep into Giddeon's mind as the ArchWizard sat cross-legged and unconscious on the floor before them. Carved from the island’s bedrock an aeon ago, the sparse room produced a chill that slowly seeped into a prisoner’s bones and added to the stress of questioning.
“Any answers?” Shelaryx asked as the Fae Matriarch untangled her fingers from the Dark Fae's hands. The DragonKin Queen immediately bent over and slid a heavy set of enchanted wooden manacles over the Darkling's wrists. They took every precaution possible when it came to the powers of mind manipulation wielded by the Dark Fae. An older female DragonKin Zephyr slipped a similar collar around the Darkling's neck before attaching a wooden chain to the manacles. Made from the inner bark of the enchanted Dyrannai tree, countless magical symbols had been burnt into the wood aeons ago. The tree’s resin cured the shackles and locked the magic inside. A matching gnarled wooden key, activated by the Fae Matriarch’s power, sealed the Darkling’s collar tight and cut off the creature’s frightening powers.
Eva stood and answered the Queen. "Yes. With Dar'Tan's help, I have pulled and twisted the events of that day from Giddeon's mind at least a dozen times. We used memories and fears to manipulate his mind until we found the answers we were looking for. Giddeon and those following him used a sleep poison to render Ember and those loyal to her unconscious before they went after Kael on their own."
The Darkling chuckled lightly. “I'd be happy to go in again, my dears. His memories are tantalizing and delicious,” Dar'Tan crooned.
Shelaryx ignored the Dark Fae's taunting, knowing Eva would not allow the Darkling to feed on Giddeon's most active emotions. It was a bluff and bluster, the kind of mind game that made the Dark Fae so dangerous.
"What about the assassin who murdered Kael?” Shelaryx asked. “Was Giddeon aware of him?"
"I cannot be sure,” Eva said, shaking her head. “I do not believe so, but I could be wrong. Even with a Darkling's help, there is a difference between watching the events through the memory of his dreams and knowing what Giddeon had real knowledge of. Dreams are only an interpretation of what happened, and memories deteriorate, regardless of one’s mental prowess. If I push further into his raw memories, he might not survive the emotional distress."
“I don't mind if the wizard dies. In fact, let’s call him guilty, and I will happily help him along—end his horrible suffering at the hands of these half-breed lizards,” the Darkling offered. A high-pitched cackle crawled from his throat.
“Gods-forsaken animal,” Commander Zatassa said. Yanking the wooden chain, he lashed out with his claws. Eva stepped in front of Dar'Tan and the DragonKin commander's sharp claws stopped mere inches from her face, nearly peeling it from her skull.
“I cannot allow you to hurt him, Commander,” Eva stated, her Fae empathy overruling her common sense.
"Well then." The Dragonkin's Queen nodded for Zatassa to stand down. "I guess we'll have to find out what Giddeon knows another way." Her light chuckle echoed through the throne room.
Eva agreed. "I will leave you to it then. I cannot be here when you… question him. I know from his dreams he meant my daughter no real harm, and I suspect he did not plan what happened to Kael. If I stay, I will be compelled to stop you from getting the answers we desperately need."
"I assumed as much. Stay in touch, my dear. It's been good to see you, again."
"We have missed the DragonKin, Shel, but we will be side-by-side again. Soon, if things continue to go so badly."
"They will,” Zatassa offered. “Giddeon and his witless followers have perpetrated the first seal opening. The Ri'Tek are already moving on the Dwarven seal. The Elvehn Animus Seal is still unprotected, and we can do nothing to help the Dwarven Host. The Ri’Tek do not know where the Human seal is located. If the Dwarven seal falls, my Queen and the Kin will help defend the Human seal. We cannot let it fall. Most of the Ri'Tek Syphoners are there. Cracking that seal might very well destroy the Sepulchre.”
“Perhaps I can help the Dwarves,” Eva said. “I cannot jump with warriors and mages that close to the Kasym's breach, but I can use our ancient obelisks to get myself and several enchanted weapons there. I just need some added precautions before jumping to Dal Dagore.”
“It has been over twenty years since you were last there, and you only made it because of Ella. The tunnels from the Animus room have been collapsed. It would take years to excavate them. I know of no other way to get to the Dwarven stronghold.”
Eva shook her head. “I need our witch of the White again, or else a certain Elderblood Wizard.”
“I understand the witch can get you there, but you honestly believe Seifer Locke is powerful enough to safely shield you from the chaotic magics of the Kasym breach?” Shelaryx asked, the doubt in her voice heavy. “With some of the Ri’Tek already free, the Kasym will be highly active.”
“Our Fae scholars believe the Locke’s line of Elderblood is untainted. With my help, he may be able to help jump to my—to the Dwarven brothers’ location. If he knows where to find Ella the White, then all the better.”
Queen WhiteScale nodded. “Then, I wish you well, my dear friend. We will need every advantage we can create at every turn.”
“They are going to open all the Animus Seals, are they not?” the Fae Matriarch questioned.
“I do not see a way to stop them without Kael. The seals were always a temporary measure, Eva, we knew that. To have Talohna free of the Ri’Tek for over ten thousand years was a blessing we knew would never last. It is time for us all to stand up and fight.”
“And, thanks to this fool,” she said, motioning to Giddeon. “We are going into war having lost the only real weapon we had against them.”
“It matters not now. If the second or third seal opens, I'll drop the shield that protects the Dragon Isles to concentrate on defending the Human Animus seal in DormaSai. They cannot get to yours, and ours is far beyond being any help to them. Even the Ri’Tek cannot tunnel through a hundred feet of melted stone, and they only have the numbers to attack one seal at a time. They will find us waiting at the third. After the Dwarves, the Human seal is their only option. We'll fight to protect it with everything we have. The Sepulchre must stay intact for as long as possible.”
“And the Elvehn seal?” Eva prompted.
“They will never safely move a force through the Forsaken Lands. Jasala’s creations will attack the moment any Ri’Tek steps across the bridge. You must remember her original goal was to build an army to help fight the enemy when the seals opened. None of us believed she would ever conjure the power needed to create the Sepulchre. The Ri’Tek do not have the time to go after the seal below Jasala’s tower.”
Eva nodded her agreement. “You are right, but my Fae must be extremely careful in this realm. Should the enemy capture even one of us, our blood will destroy the Sepulchre, and the remaining seals will all open at once. Thankfully, the magical races are not what they once were, and Ember is far from recovering her full genetic memory. With her so far from maturity, her blood will not contain what they need for centuries.”