by J D Franx
“You understand the prophecy...” Yrlissa stammered.
“I understand it,” he replied. “I’ve seen it through the eyes of a prophet. I know it can’t be stopped. Sythrnax’s death will buy us some time.”
“Afraid not,” Sephi added. “I imagine they are marching on the Human seal right now. The Elloryan invasion was a feint.”
“Of course, it was,” Kael spat. “This is what I’m talking about. They are more advanced than us in every way. Smarter, faster, stronger. They don’t even think like we do. They can use normal magic in ways you could never dream of.” Standing, he stretched and forced back a wave of dizziness. “Where’s the Human seal? I can’t stop them, but I can take out some of their wizards, perhaps even the Vikress if she's there."
"Listen to Yrlissa, Kael. Please," Ember begged.
"And unite Talohna?" He scoffed. "Do you even realize what has happened in the north?"
"Our spies have reported in, but most only relayed what we thought were rumors. They mentioned descriptions that fit you, but we knew you were dead. We all interred you," Sephi replied.
Kael shook his head. "Then, let me explain it to you, so there is no misunderstanding. King Bale is dead. Princess Corleya is the new queen. I made sure of it, but they are in no shape to fight another war, especially against the Ancients. Ellorya is already under Ancient control as you have seen, so Talohna’s two biggest military powers are with the Ri’Tek. I returned Giddeon Zirakus to Corynth, and Kasik should be there by now if Queen WhiteScale kept her word. The DragonKin and the Fae will help us, but it will be very limited help for now."
"Ta'Ceryss will help too. My family… our family are well respected there," Aravae stated as she entered the tent.
Kael chuckled and shook his head. "I don’t know who you are, but sure. Their forces are about the same as those who were freed from the first seal. The Dwarven Seal opened months ago, and the Human seal will open soon if they are in the general vicinity already. Jasala’s Sepulchre should hold until a fourth seal opens, but I doubt if it will hold for a fifth. The Ancients have all the time in the world, and there is no one left in Talohna to unite. Salzara and Kariya will side with the Ri’Tek if they can pay the mercenary price. If not, they will stay neutral especially now that Joran Bale is dead. His alliance with King Vhorez died when he did. I am telling you that the only hope we have is to either kill as many Ancients as we can or venture into their kingdom to find help there because there is no help south of the Kasym."
“Kael, this is Aravae, you—” Ember started to say, but the Elvehn woman cut her off with a hand up.
“Now is not the time,” she said, and she stepped forward to shake Kael’s hand. “My family are Ta’Ceryss nobility. They will help.”
Kael shook her hand in return but sighed. “Then, they will be in the minority, I promise you.”
Ember cleared her throat. “Getting across that Kasym isn’t an option either. It’s nearly impossible,” she said. “I don’t know how your jump back here was, but ours was devastating. It nearly killed us all, and those of us with magic took months to recover. I’m still nowhere near full strength.”
Kael shook his head, yet again. It was becoming a regular reaction for him. “I had to jump us. We were surrounded. Had they caught us… we were already dead. It was jump, be mauled by dogs, or swing from a hangman’s noose. It was our only very faint hope. I won’t do it, again.”
“Us. Our?” Yrlissa asked.
“Princess Corleya and her merc—her lady-in-waiting were with me.”
“That is how you helped her reclaim the throne,” Yrlissa stated.
Kael nodded, but did not offer anything further.
“There has to be another answer,” Ember persisted.
The colour was slowly returning to her features and her hair sparkled with the vitality he remembered.
“If there is another answer to this,” he said, “I don’t have it. But for now, I can get to that seal and do whatever possible to disrupt their plans.”
“Agreed, but you’re not going alone,” Yrlissa said.
“I can’t take any of you with me when I jump,” he said. “You won’t survive, and Ember’s in no shape to jump a large group that far.” Turning her way, he added, “You’re far weaker than you’re letting on. You can’t fool me.”
“I can come with you if you skirt the afterlife during the jump,” Yrlissa told him.
“I don’t jump that way anymore, not after Cassie...” he stopped and shook his head, again. Yrlissa frowned, but he was glad when she did not push.
“Then, I can bring a smaller group with Max,” Ember offered.
“Max is here?” Kael asked.
She nodded.
“You’re sure you can jump a small group?” he demanded.
“Yes,” she said. “As long as we find the ancient charm that’s affecting our magic. We destroyed the ones Sythrnax and Savis had before we jumped, but there must be another on one of the dead enemies nearby. Our magic hasn’t worked since we returned, and our landing was rough. The soldiers are searching the bodies, but...”
“There’s a lot of dead to check,” he finished for her. “I know. I killed them. Most Ri’Tek magic doesn’t work on me. Their charms and glyphs don’t either, not anymore,” Kael said and closed his eyes. He reached out with his senses. The Ancient relic lit up inside his mind in a beacon of blazing silver. Adjusting the magic, he pulled his view wider and the DormaSain camp appeared in his mind as if he were floating above it. After a moment, he opened his eyes. “There’s a dead Ri’Tek wizard just inside the tree line behind this camp. The amulet is with him. There’s no other life nearby.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Sephi offered and quickly ducked out of the tent.
Kael glanced back over his shoulder to Yrlissa and seriously took her in for the first time. Startlingly familiar amber eyes stared back. “Your death flower always been that size?” he asked.
She shook her head. “It was much larger up until you died.”
“Hasn’t grown since I’ve been back?” he asked.
“No.”
“That deserves some research at the appropriate time,” he stated and turned to Ember. “Did you bring back Sythrnax’s body?”
“On a cart in the center of camp,” she replied. “The Broken Blade is there, too.”
“He has something of mine. May I?” he asked.
“I’m going to go lay down until we’re ready to leave, love,” she said. “Come join me when you’re done or ready.”
He nodded and helped her up. She left the tent with Aravae’s assistance, and he rounded on Yrlissa.
“I’ll show you where,” she offered.
Kael followed her out to the middle of camp and slowly approached the cart.
You actually did it.
“Accomplished nothing,” he answered aloud, no longer caring what people thought.
“Kael?”
“Akai,” he said as he pointed to his head.
“He speaks to you?” she questioned.
He nodded but offered nothing more.
“I would like to discuss that with you at the appropriate time,” she said, smiled and walked away.
He did not bother with a reply. Instead, he focused his attention on Sythrnax’s body.
You proved it can be done. If nothing else, those who end up following you will believe… will know that it can be.
“I am not looking to lead anyone, Akai,” he replied, and removed both gloves from Sythrnax’s hands.
You do not and will not have a choice in that. Those who oppose the Ri’Tek will flock to you.
“Then, they will flock to their deaths.”
Many will. That is the nature of war.
“I like it better when you’re not chatty,” Kael quipped as he took out the two binding stones in the armored gloves. One was black, and one was a pale blue.
Those stones could be passed along and put to good use.
“The
black one is likely mine,” Kael answered. “But the blue one probably cost a good wizard their life.”
“Then, make that life lost worth the sacrifice.”
“Max,” Kael said and grinned, but did not turn around.
The big man came up beside him and dragged him into a massive bear hug. “It is good to see you, brother,” he said and put Kael down.
“Yeah, it is,” he said. Tears welled up in his eyes, and Max grabbed him, again.
“I am sorry, brother. I should have been there with you.”
“Not your fault,” Kael replied. Max let him go, again, and he took a deep breath.
“Yes, it is,” his friend said, and he could see the agony of failure written all over Max’s face.
“Never.”
“Look closer, Kael,” Max demanded. “It was my job to protect you.”
He shook his head, unable to comprehend what Max was saying.
“Look closer.”
Kael added more power behind his senses. Magic swirled through his oldest and closest friend, and he startled when his own power peeled the magic away. “Holy shit,” he whispered. “You’re pure of DemonKind blood. KiPara and DragonKin soul.”
Max nodded but said nothing.
Kael frowned. “You’re the watcher from the beginning of the prophecy… to purge or protect… Why would you not say anything to us?” he asked, as his voice trembled.
“The truth?” Kael nodded. “After so many countless centuries, I had begun to question my own reality, so how could I tell you?” he replied, but Kael knew it was not a question. “I knew the moment I first laid eyes on you and Ember together… you were just children. I knew in my very soul you would never destroy any world. I believed that you were in no danger at all. I’m not even sure I... what I believed was true anymore. Can you even imagine?”
“I have an idea,” he answered.
“How long were you there?” Max asked.
“Over two hundred years,” he muttered. “I can’t imagine several millennia.”
“We good?”
“Yeah, brother,” Kael said and smiled. “I get it.”
Kael stared at the stones in his hand and slid the blue stone into his Orotaq cloak as he held up the black.
“What are you going to do with them?”
“Returning this one where it belongs,” he said. His friend watched in awe as Kael grasped the black stone in his left hand and forced the dark energy out with his right. The thorn-covered vines on his fingers grew and lifted from his skin.
“Jesus,” Max breathed.
The dark magic touched the vines gently and slowly slid inside as if the vines were pulling nourishment from the magic. The vines thickened, and the thorns grew longer. As the stone’s power drained away, it paled in colour and revealed a white crystal—an empty binding stone.
“I’ll give it to the DragonKin the next time we come across them,” he said, and Max nodded his agreement.
“That is going to be hard to get used to,” Max stated.
“The feeling is mutual,” Kael said. “So, how about we ignore this weird shit we’re both mixed up in?”
Max laughed. “I can do that, brother,” he said and draped an arm around Kael’s shoulder. “Now, let’s go get ready for this jump to the Human seal.”
“Yeah.”
“Kael?” The voice came from behind him and he recognized it long before he turned to face it.
“Cassie!” he said and grinned. As he dropped to one knee, she ran to him and launched herself into his arms.
“I missed you,” she whispered.
“Me, too,” he replied and gently eased her back. “How did you end up here?”
“I followed Ember after you… you… her magic took me with to the forest. Yrlissa is my mynerha.”
“Your mother?” he repeated. She nodded as he touched her chin. “May I?” Waiting until she nodded, again, he gently turned her head. Sure enough, a tiny deathflower marked her temple. To anyone else in the world, it was nothing more than a small birth mark or mole. He smiled. “I’m glad you found them.”
Cassie reached out and gave him another hug. He laughed as she squeezed her arms together hard.
“I’m happy for you,” he whispered.
“Are you all right?” she asked, stepping back
“I will be.”
“You scared me,” she said.
The sentiment nearly broke his heart. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. This world is scary enough already, isn’t it?” She nodded as he continued. “I promise, I’ll try not to scare you again, okay? But try to understand I’m not well right now.”
“You died,” she stated. “Of course, you’re not feeling well. I’ll help you get better, I promise,” she said and hugged him one more time.
“Ah, I know you will,” he laughed lightly as tears welled up in his eyes, again. “Now, let’s go get ready. We have a lot to do, little Guardian.”
Cassie beamed with pride and happiness, and for the first time since he arrived back in the world of the living, he began to believe he might really be back.
At least he hoped so.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Time passes through the hourglass like sands pass by the sun. Neither touch reality because they are forgotten as quickly as they are remembered. A father’s love is felt only when it has nothing to feel itself. Donis forever plies to write unable to see the words on the paper at hand...”
The Prophet Zaddyk’s Final Journal Entry,
penned by Brother Donis Kincaid.
“I hope your mind finds peace some day, son. For I have always considered you one. I have never been prouder to write such words about any of the faithful I have raised, taught, and known.”
BDK
CORYNTH MARKETPLACE
GRADUATION DAY
Weeks had passed since Kael had brought him home, and as Giddeon stared out across Corynth, he almost wished he had not. The university’s biggest graduation day in years had become a total disaster. It was exactly as the prophet Zaddyk had predicted before his slide into complete madness. Giddeon shook his head as he stared at the destruction surrounding him. Wizards, warriors, and archers of all skill levels fought desperately against hordes of monsters from a deep forgotten hell.
Giddeon sighed. He had been so wrong about so many things, and now, his beloved city was paying the price. Zaddyk had tried, relentlessly, to tell Giddeon that a DeathWizard was not responsible for the coming attacks on Corynth and many other cities throughout Talohna. However, he ignored the prophet's warnings and dismissed them as visions tainted by madness.
Newly christened Master Wizard, Galen Vihr, knelt at Giddeon's side, too exhausted from fighting to stand. He could sense no magical reserves remaining in the young man’s body, and his life force fluttered unsteadily from using it to power his magic once his cruus was depleted. Every wizard, warrior, and archer in Corynth had given everything they had to slow the monstrosities ravaging the city—all in vain. As Galen looked up at him with blood-shot eyes, he smiled even though the massive black dragon and its smaller creatures continued to make their way deeper into the marketplace.
Galen did not buy his bravado. “We must flee, Giddeon. We can't fight it.”
“Go,” he said. “I'll buy you the time you need to escape. Go to the Southern Kingdoms and find Ember and Yrlissa—beg the Dead King if you must and find Kael. Warn them of what's coming, and then, help them track down the two DeathWizards you told me of after Kael brought me back here. They must be kept safe. Go! Now!”
“I will not leave you to fight that thing alone.”
“He won't be alone.”
“Xallis?” Galen let out, struggling to rise. “You're back.”
“I am,” he said, wrapping him in a hug. “Kiirein and I snuck into the city through the slums’ west side gate. He is helping the city guard and several Fae women evacuate civilians. Fae, Giddeon. The gods-blessed Fae are here helping. I came looking for you straight away.�
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“It is so good to see you, again, my young friend, and I know. The Fae Matriarch was here a half hour ago.” Giddeon laughed and gave the young man a hug. “I missed you, boy. But go with Galen. Don't throw your life away on a hopeless fight.”
“Hopeless?” the young wizard said, grinning. “Not yet. It is long past time for me to repay the kindness you showed me as a child and the support you gave as a wizard—” All three ducked as a winged aberration swooped down at them and flew back into the air toward the Cascade Citadel. Giddeon let loose three fireballs in rapid succession, but the creature was too fast and spun through the magic unharmed.
“The small ones are too fast to track,” Giddeon began
Xallis chuckled. “We'll see.” Two books hung from his belt, and with a quick flick of his wrist, both books jumped to life and floated in midair before him. “You gave me these, but you had no idea what they really were,” he said, winking at the ArchWizard.
Giddeon immediately recognized the two books from the set of five he gave Xallis years prior before he left to study with Ta’Ceryss’ most prominent Elvehn Elementalists from Aravae’s family in Kyll’Darhen.
“The Elemental Grimoires.”
“Yes,” Xallis replied. “I memorized the first three, but these two. Oh, believe me, these two—”
The flying creature turned from the castle and dove again as a long spear appeared in its hands. Banking to the left, it dropped from the sky while Xallis amplified the stiff breeze blowing through the city. Throwing his hand out, the young Elementalist released a wave of volatile air with his magic. The creature's attack ended, and it was tossed back into the sky, buffeted back and forth under Xallis' continued manipulation of the wind.
“Flame, Giddeon,” Xallis shouted. Giddeon never hesitated, forming a fireball in his left hand as the spell leapt from his mouth. Xallis snatched the fire as he pulled silver magic from the books in front of him. The flames raced side-by-side with the silver energy and both surged across the sky. The wind fueled the temperature of the wizard's fire until it exploded and engulfed the flying creature in midair well above their heads. Xallis continued feeding the silver magic to the flames and used one hand to spin the fire magic into a swirling hell-storm of wind and heat. Overwhelmed, the flying creature fell from the sky, burning to ash before its charred bones clattered as they struck the ground. The elemental magic winked out just as fast as Xallis had brought it to life.