by Tyson Jordan
I had been careless. Behind my teacher, I saw my sword waver from side to side, sticking upright into an Alpha’s belly. Wrongly, I had thought the Malinvictus dead. With a final effort, it struggled and pulled my sword loose, setting free a coil of grey entrails before leaping at Ferric, its jaws wide with indulgent greed. I could not react in time.
The teeth sunk deeply into his neck, and a gout of blood filled the air before spattering noisily across the wall. Ferric was the paladin no longer, but frail and desperate as he flailed his arms ineffectually, trying to prise the beast away. He toppled to the floor, the monster atop him, its claws doing their vicious work on his body. I rushed forward in furious terror and kicked the Alpha savagely, hearing a resounding crack as its head turned at an obscene angle. I numbly pulled the dead creature away.
“No, no, no … This is all wrong, this isn’t how it’s supposed to be …” My eyes opened wide at the sight of Natrium Ferric, his abdomen and neck torn open, as he lay on the floor. I fell to my knees and held him, my hands drenched in the wet heat of his lifeblood that seeped out between my fingers.
He looked up at me, his pale mouth struggling to find words, but there was no air to carry them forward, and sadness marred his eyes. He lifted one blood-streaked hand that wavered weakly and purposelessly before falling to the floor. Sobbing, I cradled Ferric’s head, pressing it into my chest, and felt the last of his breath leave him as his body turned limp. He would never again draw breath.
43
Losing Myself
I could feel tears streaming down my face as I gently laid his head on the floor, closing his eyes with a soft caress. He was suddenly so small and seemed so out of place there, and the sight of him immersed in his blood and surrounded by evil angered me. Something began to give way within me, and I heard a soft and faint voice once again, letting a clamour of sweet and bloody temptation wash over me. In my mind’s eye I could see the silhouette of a giant, eternal and immovable in the desert, and the whispers of a strange woman could be heard.
I charged forward with sword in hand and cruel intentions in mind, and found grim satisfaction as my enemies fell one by one before me, their limbs hewn and their flesh torn, staining my hands and face with black blood. They turned from me, each of them indistinguishable from the last, and even thought to run in fear, and their misery sustained me as their bones shattered beneath my merciless fists. The woman’s voice intensified, spurring me on to greater and more terrible feats as I descended from one floor to the next. I began to thrive on the violence, my vision blurry as I called down lightning from all around me and brought searing ruin upon the many fools who had thought to enter this place.
With my enemies crushed behind me, I came at last to a wall, fractured heavily by time yet still somehow resolute, and howled in frustration at the sight of it, its insignificant presence offensive to me. I was filled with a strength I had never felt before. The wall shattered and revealed the night sky, a glimmering mass of conquered stars that infuriated me further. Just below, the Gammas continued their drudgery, hammering away at the foundations of our fortress, and I could feel my body moving of its own accord, entranced by the woman’s encouragement.
You must stop … There was another whisper in my mind, and I hesitated for a moment, my vision and hearing regaining some small clarity, alongside my arms and legs regaining some small autonomy. The voice of the woman turned to shrill disgust, hoping to drive me on once more, but my heartbeat slowed and my senses returned to me again.
Please, Zircon … don’t lose yourself in her. The voice returned, no longer a whisper but the warm tone of a friend I barely knew, and the woman’s voice could no longer protest. She screamed in agony, as if falling into a deep and unfathomable darkness, and was gone from me.
Innatus? I thought for a moment, and shook my head in my new surroundings, my sense of self restored. He did not respond, and I stood in solitary silence on the edge of the chasm I had created, feeling the cold wind of the night sky blow and tug at my headband. The rhythm of the demon tortoises pressed on, and an uneasy feeling spread through my body as I peered back at the chaos I had so shamefully wrought.
Argenta soon entered my vision, her curved sword giving off white fumes as the blood of her enemies evaporated from its pristine surface, and paused. Her green eyes shone in shock at the sight of what I had done, and I had no words to offer. She sheathed her weapon as she approached tentatively and stood alongside me.
“Ferric is dead.” I nearly choked on the words as I hung my head in despairing shame, which was interrupted by Argenta’s hand on my shoulder. She looked at me, her normally hard face suddenly softened by gratitude, and spoke.
“And I am alive because of you. Despair will only claim more lives in this place, Zircon, and so we must carry on. That is our charge.” Her words took hold, and I reclaimed my sword from the floor, shaking free my lingering blood-thirst and feeling instead a desire for justice.
With Engeltrane unsheathed, Argenta stood at the window, her black hair waving in the wind with the glittering Teem beneath us, and looked down at the Gammas below, her face hardened once again. We frowned in unison, understanding that descending upon them would mean only our end.
The winds outside grew stronger, and I turned my face from them, hearing a faint vibration in the air that grew and pitched, and in the corner of my eye I saw the Destrier burst forth, its engines thrumming and glowing in glorious light. The Gammas stopped their work and stared in contempt at the sight of the white, shining ship.
“Sorry for the delay.” Our chronopatches crackled with Janus’s voice. “But I have just the thing for our friends down there!” We watched the ship ascend gracefully into the air and then spiral downwards towards the Gammas, who roared at the sight of their impending doom and began to burrow frantically beneath the sand.
As Gareem had promised us so long ago, the Destrier was indeed a tool of war. The ship’s weapons systems activated without delay and the air twisted and warped as its particle weapons charged and emitted rapid bursts of merciless light that drove us from the window. We clasped our hands ineffectively over our ears as the resulting explosions rocked what little remained of the Bastion’s primary wall, and relentless flames poured upwards.
“Oh, hell!” Gareem’s voice crackled and, through small partings in the blackness, I could see Betas clambering up the wall and adjacent roofs, vomiting their green oxidants into the air. Argenta and I drew our weapons and opened fire without hesitation, perforating their translucent bodies and letting them crumple on the ground.
The Destrier had ended the percussion outside, with the high-pitched whine of its engines the only sound remaining. We approached the broken wall and peered down at the devastation, met with only billowing clouds of smoke that poured from the earth and the crushed shells of the Gammas that lay broken and still. Argenta and I made our leap, falling some distance to the ground below and landing amidst the burning bodies, trying in futility to shield ourselves from the overpowering stench.
The Destrier landed before us, its beam weapons glowing fiercely red in the darkness. The Betas, desperate though they were, had made their progress, and I swore at the sight of the ship, ridden with electrical shorts from a severely damaged weapons pod. Gareem muttered, “What are you waiting for?” We climbed the narrow stairs into the cramped space, first seeing Janus breathing hard at the weapons console to our right, and then Gareem in the pilot’s seat, who swivelled to greet us.
It was oppressively hot in the ship, the air stifling with the smell of scorched polymers and electronics invading my nose.
“Little bastards got lucky.” Gareem cursed as he pounded the armrest with his fist. “So now we have a warship that can’t shoot. Goddamn it.”
“The Bastion is secure, and Anion with it,” Argenta replied simply, and Janus murmured in some small relief at the sound of her voice. I looked back at the fortress, flickering in the fire and embers, and the new chasm at its base was more than worr
isome.
Gareem stated, “I’ll need to be here, and soon. There could be others on the way.”
I realised that I had not yet relinquished my sword, and I forced my grip to relax, feeling tight discomfort in my joints as they protested. My hands were still soaked in the blood of the Malinvicta, mixed with the blood of my teacher, and the thought of their mingling disgusted me.
Ferric is gone, isn’t he? Janus asked, knowing the answer before I could respond to him. Gareem swore again, gritting his teeth as he shook his head. “Goddamn it all, no more!”
“We aren’t finished yet,” I growled, and my comrades stared at me, knowing that Vaelryk remained beyond, his guard stripped from him at last. He would not escape us. The Destrier ’s engines vibrated once again as the ship sealed itself, and we burst into the atmosphere, our charge before us at last.
44
We Do What We Must
The ship’s engines hummed as we descended from the night sky. It was a remote and barren place, a dead coastline chilled by the blue night. One of Grand Ocean’s moons glowed brightly, suspended in the air, as we departed and Gareem made his rapid return to the Bastion.
I stared at Vaelryk far ahead, his form stoic and patient on the coast, made visible in the glow of a white moon. I thought of Ferric then, and how terribly fragile his dying body had felt in my arms, and the weight of his death did not leave me. I heard the voice of my father, like unbending steel, demanding that I adhere to his legacy, and the sound of his words resounded in my mind. I saw the Shining Gates once more, their silvery light encircling Erde and leaving my world forever erased.
Nyrvanna stood close to his side, cradling his neck with her arms and pressing her body into his, and he returned her embrace. She was in clear pain, barely able to stand, and I could see firsthand the work that Gareem had done in freeing Janus. In Vaelryk’s hand was the Pestilent Reaver , that jagged, fuming nightmare that I had known since I was only a boy. I forced myself to look at him, swallowing my fear.
He took everything from you, Zircon. Everything! Your father, your life, your dreams, and all of it! I can give you what you need to cut him down and make him beg for forgiveness! You need only set me free! The woman’s voice had returned, and it was both thunderous and tempting in my head.
I have been with you for longer than you know, Zircon. I know your pain and your outrage all too well, but I know your strength. You are stronger than you know. You need not the crutches offered by a monster. Innatus’s voice calmed me, and I silently thanked him for it.
“Look at them, my love! They come so eagerly to their deaths, marching in a line towards us! How bold! How noble!” Nyrvanna threw her head back in laughter, and Vaelryk looked on at us, unimpressed.
“Go to hell, you bitch,” Janus snarled through gritted teeth.
“My, someone is aggravated, isn’t he? What about the other two? Is all of your backbone stored up in him?” Argenta’s reply was the draw of her blade, and Engeltrane shone white in her hands. I gripped Demonbite tightly and set the great sword free, feeling its pull on my arm.
“Strong and silent, are we? Or are you too paralysed to speak freely? How does it feel, standing here on your own grave? Animals will feed on you, the sun will bleach your bones, and soon all of you will be nothing more than dust. Are you frightened?”
I drew my gun and fired at Nyrvanna without hesitation. At such a short distance, the shot was unmissable, yet it drifted suddenly and without warning into the fumes of the Pestilent Reaver . Vaelryk frowned in considerable distaste, and I holstered the sidearm, knowing that it could not serve me here.
“How rude. But what can we expect from these butchers? My love,” Nyrvanna craned her head upwards, her eyes never leaving us, “they’ve murdered our pets, and we can have so few of them in this watery waste. How cruel! Is this what their heathen gods want from them? Is that good in the eyes of their gods?” Vaelryk smiled at her words, drawing Nyrvanna even closer and kissing her deeply.
“It is time for ye to go, my love.” He spoke finally, his words soft and kind and heavy with impossible age, and I scowled at the sound of them. He released her and she stepped across the sand, her silver skin shining in the intense moonlight, before casting one final smile at us and fading away, a fleeting shadow that had no more place before us. Janus cursed at her disappearance, and turned his attention to our remaining foe, his dagger clutched tightly.
“Ye, Ocean Dweller.” Vaelryk spoke, pointing his blade at my friend. “Ye be the one who so greatly strained my love, Nyrvanna. For that, ye shall die first, not by Feeling or by trickery, but by my sword.”
My friend snarled at Vaelryk, drawing his dagger closer to his chest, and replied, “Not before you’ve paid for what you and your whore have done here.” The Malinvictus standing before us sighed in exasperation and offered an invitation.
“The first strike be yours, boy.” Janus flashed his teeth in response, and behind the monster I could see the waters begin to swell unnaturally, commanded by an unseen force.
You two need to move! Now! I had no time to offer a reply as Janus cried out in defiance, forcing the water to surge towards us, gone mad under a demanding will. In the corner of my eye I saw Argenta leaping back, her guard raised without pause, and I cursed my hesitation, turning on my heel too late. We heard the clamour of the waters as they crashed down upon us, the waves breaking and casting cold spray in all directions.
I was immersed in frigid darkness, unable to move or see, and I felt Demonbite pulled from my grip by the torrent. I began kicking, fearful for my friend who no doubt stood isolated with Vaelryk, and soon found solid ground as the waters receded. I opened my eyes, coughing as I peered back at my friend with waterlogged eyes. Argenta had already begun moving forward.
Our enemy was drenched and doubled over, his hands and knees sunk deeply into the soaked sands, as my friend raised his dagger high into the air. Janus prepared to drive his weapon down into a new and fleshy home. He struck his blow, then froze in place.
“I will not be so disrespected!” Vaelryk’s hand was wrapped tightly around Janus’s wrist, and he squeezed it tightly, letting the bones crack beneath the might of his grip. Please, no, not again, never again, please, no … I saw Demonbite plunged into the beach a great distance away and sprinted for it, retrieving it only in time to see my friend doubled over before our unperturbed enemy, his own dagger plunged deeply into his stomach.
Janus fell to the beach, his watery blood spilling from his stomach onto the sand, and looked back at me, his face apologetic, before tipping to one side and finding stillness on the ground. The tide resumed its natural rhythm, uncaring for the events of this night, and encircled his slight frame, tugging on his red hair and slowly pulling him to the sea. Vaelryk moved past him, uninterested as he retrieved his weapon, and regarded my wailing with faint disdain. I charged forward, feeling the separation between us all too furiously.
Argenta had reached him at last, Engeltrane ’s brilliant light cutting through the air in elegant form as she wasted no time. The Malinvictus acted in pleasant surprise as he was forced to guard against her, being pushed back towards the sea by her relentless precision. The soft glow of her sword had been replaced by a burning white light that pulsed with each clash, displacing the Reaver ’s fumes.
Vaelryk intensified his efforts, his bemusement replaced by growing concern. Each of his counters was a fierce and killing blow that would have stripped the flesh from any other, yet the red Sentry continued her assault, parrying his strikes and sidestepping deftly, her long hair twisting in the air and her face a portrait of calm focus. With a masterful feint, she goaded him into raising his sword high over his head, and crouched before him, her nodachi at the ready.
The red warrior did not cry out in triumph as she turned her body, letting the blade rise up in effortless silence to meet Vaelryk’s chest. He groaned, pushed back by her attack as his violet garments fell to his waist, his free hand clutching at a bloodied chest. A
rgenta moved to strike again, her sword glowing with a furious white light, and stopped for only a moment, her gaze locked onto Vaelryk’s chest in a costly moment of shock. He saw his opportunity and freed his bloody hand, grasping the Pestilent Reaver and driving it down, splitting her armour at an angle and, like Janus before her, setting loose her blood on the wet sands. She fell, breathlessly, and he spoke. “Ye had great talent, and this is a fitting end for one such as you.”
She did not reply.
45
Legacy
I was overcome by sorrow and guilt and boundless rage. I leapt forward, my foe at last within reach, and lashed out, letting Demonbite collide with the Pestilent Reaver . A burst of sparks flew from my sword, and my enemy sunk his foot deeply into my stomach, kicking the air from my body. I staggered back, wheezing but refusing to look away from him.
He made some small effort to hide the sight of his chest from me, but then sighed at the futility of it, lowering his blade and revealing the sight that had paralysed Argenta only a moment before. My eyes flared open and my mouth fell agape at the sight of him, the once-perfect flesh marred cruelly by a blow that had not been given that night.
In the centre of Vaelryk’s chest was a cavern that was squarely and brutally carved into his body, and the thought of my father charging his enemy with his war hammer firmly in hand invaded my mind. The cavern was a black defilement of the perfect golden skin and the symmetry of his body, and I peered inside, seeing the faint pulsing of a brown orb, small and feeble, within.
There was terrible sadness in Vaelryk’s face as the defilement of the cavern spread slowly, as if being resisted, and then pressed outwards, turning the golden skin mottled and muddy while his white, shimmering hair fell away. His muscles became ropey, barely clinging to skeletal arms and legs, and his eyelids dissolved, exposing eyes that had turned cloudy and white. He was a pitiable sight.