Leon gleefully jumped onto it.
“What’s the last thing you remember?” I asked Claire. This was likely going to be a long conversation, considering all the stuff I had forgotten when I first came through.
“We were fighting the supreme commander. The emperor was dead, you guys,” she said looking around the room, “you were all dead. No matter how hard I fought, I couldn’t phase him, and the sun… oh gods, the sun was about to explode. I activated Father’s dagger, and then I woke up on your shoulder.”
“Did you say emperor?” Izaiah asked. “As in, someone who rules an empire. Did you hit your head or something?”
“That’s what you took away from what she just said?” Bella remarked. “The woman just said we were all dead, and you’re worried about a technicality. It sounds like a bunch of crazy talk to me.”
Claire was shaking her head. “It’s not—The dagger. Where’s the dagger, Aren?”
I reached behind my back, pulled the dagger from my trousers, and handed it to Claire.
“It’s—what’d you do to it?” she asked.
“It was like that when I woke up,” I said.
“This dagger contained a stone that held one of the forbidden magics,” she explained.
“Yes, I know, time travel. The king told me about this, but how do you know about it? When I came through, I’d forgotten everything,” I replied.
She furrowed her brow. “That’s odd, I’m perfectly fine, though I didn’t expect the dagger to carry me back, too. Maybe it’s because you were at the center of the blast.”
“Stop right there and back up a minute,” Izaiah said. “Did you say emperor?”
“Forget him,” Bella said. “What’s this about time travel, forbidden magika, explosions, and all that? Someone needs to explain what’s going on nice and slow for those of us who haven’t a clue.”
Claire turned in my direction.
“Hey, don’t look at me,” I said. “I never fully recovered my memory, I’m only going off of what I’ve learned since.”
Claire took a deep breath. “Aren was captured by Balgyra and given those,” she said, pointing at my arms and neural device. “They owned him, and by the time we had figured it out, he’d already delivered the Solara magika stone into their hands.”
She looked at the others as she continued, “Balgyra had only meant to use it as a bargaining piece to dissolve the empire and return them their freedom, but the supreme commander had other ideas. He used the spell to its highest capacity and essentially doomed the entire world to death.”
“Did you say emperor?” Izaiah asked for a third time.
“Gods, Izaiah, yes, she said emperor,” Bella said with a scoff. She looked at Claire and asked, “Are you saying we win the war?”
Claire nodded grimly. “After Father was killed, Lucian launched an all-out strike on the Balgyran capital and forced the president into submission. He—he took control of Balgyra and brought both under one banner.”
Bella placed a hand on her head and sighed. “This is what he’s been planning.”
“Planning, as in he hasn’t done it yet?” Claire asked.
“Right,” Bella nodded. “Your father passed not an hour ago.”
“Thank the gods,” Claire said in relief.
It was an odd response upon discovering one’s father had died, but then again, Claire had already known he was dead. In her mind, it had happened long ago.
“Then there’s still time to stop it,” she finished.
“Stop it?” Izaiah asked. “Why would we want to stop it? Isn’t this what we’ve been fighting for? An end to the war?”
“You don’t understand,” Claire said, shaking her head. “Something happens. I’m not really sure what, but during the raid on the Balgyran capital, the supreme commander nearly dies. He claimed he felt betrayed by those closest to him, and it’s that single event that led him to cast the Solara in the first place. As good as ending the war may be, if it results in the total destruction of all life as we know it, then we have to stop that from happening. We have to stop Lucian.”
“It sounds to me like all we need to do is save this supreme commander fellow,” Bella said. “Then we can leave Lucian alone, and it’s a win/win, right?”
“There’s only one problem with that,” Claire replied. “No one knows who the supreme commander is. He didn’t arrive until a few months after the founding of the empire. There was a rebellion in the north, and Lucian accepted the supreme commander as his second-in-command to sate the Balgyran people. As far back as I can remember, the supreme commander always wore a mask. I only discovered the reason why moments before I activated the dagger and sent us back.”
“The burns,” I said.
“So, you do remember?” she asked.
“It comes in spits and spurts,” I said, shrugging. “Perhaps given enough time, I’ll remember more.”
“That’s really unfortunate,” she said. “I sent you back thinking you’d remember everything and could have stopped all of this before it happened.”
“Maybe we still have time. What do we do?” I asked.
“A few things are different already,” she said. “Balgyra doesn’t have you anymore. That’s a good thing. But they can still get Elsie.”
“Elsie?” Leon asked, sitting up straighter.
“You’ve been quiet,” I remarked.
He ignored me and asked again, “What about Elsie?”
“She was the first successful magika infusion,” Claire said.
“The first what?” Izaiah asked.
“Oh gods,” I said. “Alton’s experiments. You’re saying…”
Claire nodded. “Balgyra discovered a way to bypass the need for magika stones. By injecting magic straight into the bloodstream, they’ve turned people into walking stones. What’s worse, is that in doing so, the limits of MP no longer apply.”
“You’re telling me that Elsie can have limitless magic potential?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Wait, the supreme commander. He was flinging magic around like it was nothing, so he—”
“Is also a Sovereign,” Claire said. “That’s what we call those who’ve ascended above the laws of magika. But Balgyra needs to synthesize Elsie’s blood in order to duplicate the process. If we can get to her before they do, then we can at least stop the rebellion.”
“But what about the supreme commander? Say the empire never happens, the rebellion never happens, are we safe?”
“I don’t know,” she said with a shrug. “Depending on how motivated he is, he could still potentially acquire the Solara and cast it. Which brings me to the third possibility. We get it first.”
“Let me make sure I understand you correctly,” Bella said. “The world is going to end if we don’t put a stop to it and the only ways to do that are, one, stop the supreme commander from reaching his tipping point, which we can’t do because we don’t know who he is. Two, save this Elsie person, but we don’t know where she is. Or three, find the Solara stone before the supreme commander, which we also don’t know where to find it. Is that about right?”
“Actually, I know right where the Solara well is,” Claire announced.
“Great!” Izaiah said. “Then let’s go there. Just tell me where to point this thing.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Of course, it’s not,” Bella said. “What now?”
Claire frowned. “The Solara well—and all of the forbidden magics for that matter—is guarded by an extremely powerful magic cast by the founders of the five kingdoms. The only way to break the seal is with the combined power of the five gods. Which means—”
“Which means we need all five Summoner stones,” Leon finished for her. “And Aren is the only one who can wield them all, thanks to those things he calls arms.”
Claire nodded.
Chet. What happened to my simple life as an Oathbreaker clansman? I could have gotten used to that.
“I
’m still confused,” Bella said. “If Aren is the only one who can get all five stones, then wouldn’t it be best if we didn’t find them. What if removing the seal is the very thing that allows the supreme commander get his hands on the Solara stone in the first place.”
Claire was shaking her head before Bella even finished. “Right now, he’s the only one,” she declared. “But if Balgyra gets their hands on Elsie, then any Sovereign will be able to absorb the magic of the five gods and, thus can open the well.”
“So, it seems like finding Elsie is the biggest priority, here?” Izaiah asked.
“I would agree with that statement,” Claire said. “But it’s more than that. The temples of the five gods are spread across the five kingdoms. We might actually be able to find Elsie, get our first stone, and stop the supreme commander all in one go.”
“And how’s that?” I asked.
“Because the first temple is in the catacombs below Balgyra’s capital, Winkerk.”
Twenty-One
“Come again? I think I misheard you,” Izaiah said. “It sounded like you just said you want me to fly into Balgyra.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. That would be suicide,” Claire said. “I want you to put down in Valeria, and we’ll cross the border from there. There’s actually a path through the mountains that leads directly into Winkerk’s catacombs. We can go under the city, and they’ll never even know.”
“You seem to be forgetting that those mountains are still an active battle zone,” Izaiah added.
“And you seem to not understand the gravity of the situation. We’re talking catastrophic consequences if we fail,” Claire said.
“If it’s so bad, why don’t we just turn around right now and explain everything you just told me to Lucian. When he understands what’s at stake, I’m sure he’ll be more than willing to help,” Izaiah replied.
“What makes you think he’ll believe us?” she asked.
“I believe you,” he said, as if that should be enough.
Claire was shaking her head. “That die has already been cast. Allyria’s timeline is proceeding as it had before. We can only hope to affect change in Balgyra,” she said. “Besides, what we need to do requires a delicate touch, and the fewer involved, the better. We can’t risk Balgyra catching wind of our plans.”
Izaiah grumbled. “Whatever you say.”
“Hey!” I shouted, not willing to take any more of his lip. “Are you with us? Or do we need to drop you off so you can run back into Lucian’s murderous arms?”
“No need to get all tense,” Izaiah answered. “I’m sorry, okay. I’m still coming to terms with the fact that my friend just betrayed me.”
“Are we all clear on what’s going on?” Claire asked, looking around at me, Leon, Bella, and finally resting her eyes on Izaiah and holding there.
“Fine, fine. Setting a course for Valeria,” Izaiah said. “Is that close enough?”
“That should be fine,” Claire answered.
Leon leaned forward. “Set down inside the facility where you found us. You’ll probably be able to keep the cruiser hidden, and I’d like to have a look around once more before we leave.”
“Making the adjustment now,” he said. He turned a few dials and punched a few keys.
I was glad Izaiah had settled down because if I needed to follow through with my threat, I wasn't sure how I would have flown this thing. There must have been at least a hundred different buttons and knobs, and about the only one I could figure out was the giant red eject button.
“There, all set,” Izaiah announced. “Barring any interruptions, we should arrive in about three hours. Nothing I can do to speed that up. Feel free to use this time to check your gear or just relax and contemplate our impending doom.”
“Speaking of gear. Are there any extra sets aboard?” Claire asked. “It appears that mine was left behind in the rush.”
“Sorry,” I said. “That would be my fault. Sadly, I’m not any better off, considering I’m still in my dinner clothes.”
“I’m less concerned about the armor and more disappointed to have lost all my magika,” Claire admitted.
“I can’t help you there,” Izaiah said, “But every AGIS cruiser comes with spare combat suits in the storage lockers.”
“What does AGIS stand for anyway?” I asked, thinking out loud.
“Allyrian Guardian Interceptor Squad,” Izaiah answered. “But AGIS is a lot easier to say.”
“Come on, Aren, let’s get suited up,” Claire said.
Claire stood and stepped back into the cargo hold. I beckoned for Leon to come with me, wanting to give Bella and Izaiah a few moments alone to talk through everything. It was probably quite a shock learning about people from the future.
Leon nodded and followed me as I proceeded down the ramp to the back of the cruiser.
Claire already had the storage locker open when we arrived and was rifling through its contents.
“All of this stuff is pretty restricting,” she said.
“What do you expect?” Leon said. “They’re a bunch of Guardians. They’re built like tanks. What’s your affinity?”
“I’m what you call an Oathbreaker, too,” Claire said. “But in our time period we’re just called Omnis. Once the war was over and Sovereigns came on the scene, the Oath became archaic. If you wanted to survive, you learned to do whatever it took.”
Leon stared at her with his mouth agape.
“I guess I didn’t answer your question. I was a Summoner,” she said. “Speed and agility are more important to us, so I generally prefer loose, yet durable garments.”
“Are there any weapons in there?” I asked.
She moved to the next locker over and opened the doors. “Take your pick.”
The back wall of the locker featured rows and rows of varying types of guns and rifles. If there was one thing I had learned from the last few days, it's that Von was right—tech couldn’t be trusted. Thankfully, the inside of the doors housed a few basic models of swords and daggers.
Below the guns were three drawers. I walked over and pulled them open.
Each one contained a bow and a quiver of arrows.
“Now we’re talking,” I said.
I lifted one of them out of its foam casing and examined it. The limbs were made out of a flexible alloy that allowed the bow some give, yet remained rigid enough to provide sufficient tension. The grip had been molded with finger indents and seemed to have a few bonus features.
The first was a red light on the front of the bow. When I pulled back on the string, the bulb lit up, and a red dot appeared on the opposite wall. The second thing I noticed was that a small lever flipped up where the arrow would rest, likely securing it so that it shot straighter when the string was released.
“Interesting choice,” Claire said. “You were always more of a sword guy before. I guess that stone really did a number on you.”
“You’re telling me, it even reset my level and everything,” I told her.
“It did what?” she asked with wide eyes. “Gods, tell me that didn’t happen to me. Do you have a power tracker?”
“All I’ve got is this thing,” I said, pointing at my temples.
“Sorry,” Leon said with a shrug, “Aren was wearing mine when we were captured by... Alton.”
Giving him an apologetic look, I tapped the neural link, and the display appeared in front of me. As I stared at Claire, her body outlined in blue, and a progress bar appeared above her as it scanned her. I quickly looked away, and it canceled.
“What’s wrong?” Claire asked.
I shook my head. “Nothing. I just—”
I turned once more and I looked at her. The scan started over again. This time I let it finish. There was a soft chime in my head, and a set of stats appeared on the opposite side of my field of vision that my own stats had displayed.
CLAIRE HALLAND
LEVEL 42
AFFILIATION: ALLYRIA
PROFESSION: SUMM
ONER
413/413 MP
7,670/42,000 EXP
3 AP AVAILABLE
52,300 FAME – ROYAL
674,060 RIFKELS
“Whoa!” I exclaimed.
“What?” Leon and Claire asked at the same time.
“You’re a level 42? And all those rifs,” I said.
Claire smiled. “I guess that means it’s all there.”
“That still begs the question as to why I was reset,” I said.
“It’s not all bad, though,” Leon declared. “You gain EXP twice as fast as anyone else I’ve ever met.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
As I stared at Claire, a few of her stats started to change.
“Oh no!” I shouted. “No, no, no. Stop!”
The Fame began ticking down at a rapid rate, then went negative and continued to fall. It settled at -40,000 with the new title of TRAITOR.
Once it was finished, her RIFKELS drained to 0.
“What’s going on?” Claire asked.
Before I could answer, the same thing started happening to me.
“Oh, we’re screwed,” I said.
“What?” she asked again.
“Someone just wiped our accounts,” I announced.
Claire recoiled, horrified.
“Not your level or anything—I don’t think they can change that—but our Fame went way negative, and they drained our rifs.”
A quick look at Leon told me that he hadn’t been affected.
“How is this possible?” I wondered.
“Chet, me, too,” Izaiah said from the bridge. “It was probably Lucian. I’ve seen him do it before. Every Sworn, Oathbreaker or not, is registered and all accounts maintained on a public network.”
“What about you, Bella?” I asked as I stepped back up into the cockpit.
“I—I’m not sure,” she said.
“What do you mean you’re not sure?” I asked as I looked at her and let the neural link scan her.
BELLA DUMONT
LEVEL 28
AFFILIATION: ALLYRIA
PROFESSION: GUARDIAN
280/280 MP
17,900/28,000 EXP
0 AP AVAILABLE
Sworn Guardian: A LitRPG/GameLit Adventure (Forbidden Magic Book 1) Page 16