“Typical Earthborn concept,” the monster snarled dismissively. “Making power a means to an end instead of an end itself.”
“Whatever,” I replied, because I didn’t expect to bring the ancient dragon around to my point of view with this brief speech. “I could point out that I wind up gaining more than simple power itself, which should make me even more invincible, but I’m pretty sure other Earthborn and Avalonians, and even the Atlanteans around here, tried to tell you as much before you ate them. But the point is, to manage my power like I was trying to explain, I have to establish what is true and what is false. And I’m finally starting to realize just how many men, monsters, and false gods lie to those who would be kings. Like you, for example,” I said, giving the giant dragon a level look.
“An ironic accusation, considering the false face you are using to speak to me,” the Tidefather snorted.
“I also get that,” I replied, my absolutely authentic face frowning slightly (because it was so authentic). “But we wish each other harm, so we’re at war, and all war is deception. I have no reason to give you any information that you’ll use to harm myself or my subjects. And that’s the other thing about being king. You’re automatically at war, so everyone lies to you about how much power you really have. To try and make you think you’re weaker than you really are, that you can’t really do all the things you want to, so you just shouldn’t try.”
“I’m finally tired of your talking,” the monster replied. “Hurry up and spring your trap, so that you can die.”
“Almost done, really,” I promised. “Here’s what I’ve learned. My territory has no boundary. Not in here. My territory goes beyond this false sea, this false deep, this false sky. I will be the one to set the limits of my throne. Not you, and not all the liars everywhere who insist that the Expanse is supposed to be a place where the strong abuse and devour everyone else, and that I don’t have the power to change it into something better. Now I’m done. So fight me. You long-ass bitch.”
I had to admire his patience. He had to be half-mad from being locked in here so long anyway, and I had been purposefully annoying for most of the conversation. I wasn’t even giving him the dignity of using my actual face to speak with him (Whoops. Slipped out there). On top of all that, I’d eaten at least thirty pieces of him during a time when he had already spent a fair bit of his power trying to find the secrets inside the frigid mountain. And for all he knew, I was going to hole up in there for another hundred years or so, maybe even find a way to open the seal at the bottom on my own, after rejecting his offer for help and killing his messengers.
Actually, I had already done that last one, but he didn’t seem to realize it yet. He still knew very little about me, had been thwarted in his attempts to learn more, and now he was being threatened with violence by an annoying ant he had already been wanting to step on for quite some time.
Honestly, I probably would have hit me by now.
But he still didn’t launch an attack like I’d expected. I had known that he still had his floodbreath, and I had been hoping I could taunt him into using it again, especially since a ranged assault would prevent the cold air of the mountain from affecting him. To my surprise, he opened his mouth and let out an angry roar instead.
It still proved to be all I needed. From my real location, far away from my illusory image, we launched our attack.
The Atlantean survivors had spent a century hiding from the Tidefather before the Flood had claimed the last of them. In addition, they were already familiar with this structure. It had been part of Avalon’s Shelter for some time. Originally, it was to be the place where the Rite of Territories took place, and part of the Rite was meant to involve the Atlanteans walking the potential Lord through the library and testing the candidate by trying to educate them. The candidate was also supposed to explore the massive structure on his (or her) own, to demonstrate whether they could locate some of the hidden passages inside the complex. That last bit was what clued me in to the crux of the Rite: it was all about discerning truth. If a ruler couldn’t tell what was true and what was false, they could never really tell what they were ruling. Their territories would never be any bigger than what they were deceived into believing was really theirs. Subjects on their borders would constantly be attacked, and the ruler would waste time wondering if they truly had a right to interfere, or if they were just being greedy for more land. They would waste precious time by not realizing that said land was already theirs to begin with, and others were going to take both it and their subjects unless they fought to protect them.
Now, yes, a ruler can also grab territory that actually shouldn’t belong to them, but that’s another lesson for another time. Right now, I had to rescue those who were lost and suffering.
At any rate, the Tidefather, despite the massive amount of power he had expended over the aeons, had not explored as much of the mountain as he thought he had. So while the Atlanteans aided me in creating an illusion that could still mirror my voice and actions, even from my position at the bottom of the mountain, they took me to another tunnel on the other side of the sealed library, containing a number of hidden exits that had never been opened.
We waited until I had managed to provoke the Tidefather enough to have his judgement and perception be affected by his anger. That entire time, I was the only one who spoke. The others didn’t even talk through the mindlink, worried that they’d disrupt the act somehow. They did, however, point to the script magic lining the walls. Originally, I was meant to find them on my own, after touring the library. They were intended to help me realize that my kingdom’s boundaries weren’t defined by the limitations put in front of me by outside forces. My own vision, my own reach, and the consent of those in need of my power played a far greater role in determining what I was allowed to rule. Again, the Rite’s purpose wasn’t to convince me that I could invade whoever I wanted. This was simply about rejecting the false limitations created by my enemies.
Such as the idea that I was stuck inside this mountain until I either died or submitted to the treacherous Wyrm that desired the last of my people and their knowledge.
The Atlanteans had decided to forsake the test of having me navigate these passages on my own. The original Rite had been too corrupted by the actions of the Tidefather and the Flood to cause something as minor as a bit of spelunking to be relevant. If I was willing to fight both threats, then I was already rejecting the limitations others had imposed upon me. In their opinion, I had already passed the Rite.
So while the Tidefather was trading words and lies with my illusion outside, I and my hastily-assembled council were at the very bottom of the mountain, looking at the rest of his body, the part that had stayed hidden beneath the depths through the scrying portal leading directly outside. The lowest levels of the cavern system were far beneath the mountain itself, which meant they were not full of cold air. It also meant that the Tidefather could actually come near them and not be affected, without even being aware of his proximity to the complex. He was currently resting over our heads with no knowledge of our presence. And even if he had known, it would have been useless information. The tunnels in this section were too small for him to do anything other than collapse them, and the powerful enchantments protecting them would have taken time to break through, even for a beast of his power.
That didn’t make the sight of his form any less intimidating. The dragon had a vastness that rivaled the giant Woadfather trees that I had encountered during the last Rite I had completed. Each scale was the size of my entire body, making it no surprise that the humanoids created from them were just as large.
But those same Scalelings had created a weak point in the mighty Wyrm. The Tidefather had been forced to sacrifice over a hundred of his scales to try and break into the mountain, and while he had recovered a bit of their power in most cases, he had not recovered the scales themselves. Those pieces of himself, those shards of outer covering, as well as the respective fragments of his o
riginal vital guard that he had attached to them, had been lost permanently, unless the dragon managed to somehow reunite with them and absorb them back into his body. Which again, he would never be able to do with all of the pieces I had already eaten.
You’re welcome, Teeth said. Glad I could save the day for everyone.
Shut up.
But the most important thing was that those missing scales had created openings in the dragon’s body that we were about to exploit.
A large patch of scaleless flesh had come into view over our heads. As the Tidefather bellowed in rage, the patch remained within firing range, making it a safe target for us. The Atlanteans acted immediately, triggering glyphs on the nearby floor. The markings transported us up through the barrier above our heads, turning the roof into our floor and putting us right next to the unprotected gap in the massive beast’s scales.
Before guiding us through the underwater tunnels, they had cast enchantments on us, which allowed us to see and breathe in the dark, watery depths. I was still grateful that we didn’t need to go very far. I cloaked us with Carnwennan until we had swam the short distance to the unarmored fles. Upon reaching the wound, I summoned Shard, my new icy poleaxe, and thrust it into the exposed muscle while casting a new Practitioner-level Ice spell that the Atlanteans had taught me personally.
Glacier’s passage.
A pillar of ice shot out from my weapon and twisted into the vulnerable gap in the dragon’s armor, grinding and carving a hole large enough for us to enter. The dragon let out a roar that could be heard even down here, but the ice began affecting him immediately. The monster’s entire body became sluggish, preventing him from thrashing about. He was going to overcome the damage in the next few moments, but that was okay.
At least I hoped it was.
You’re sure this will work? I asked my dragon counterpart as we rushed for the open wound.
Stop being jittery, Teeth snapped. The Atlanteans already confirmed that this was possible.
Possible isn’t that reassuring, I answered as I crawled into the wound created by my attack.
Possible should be all kinds of reassuring! Teeth shot back. You shouldn’t even be able to attempt something like this at all! If he had even half of his normal strength, you would have already been dead!
The wound was large enough for three party members to walk side by side. The icy pillar had lost much of its strength, but a much smaller piece of it continued to excavate into the giant dragon.
According to Teeth and the Atlanteans, that was exactly what we needed.
Thankfully—and it should have been a much more minor concern—carving into a giant, decrepit dragon’s body was not as gross as it could have been. His insides were even more vulnerable to cold, and had already begun frosting over. It still shouldn’t be this easy, I thought as we pressed further in.
Then the Tidefather began thrashing, roaring curses I couldn’t make out from our current position within his flesh. The massive body began to writhe, slamming us against the frozen walls of the tunnel we had chiseled into his side. We bounced painfully against cold tissue, hard muscle, and the occasional uncovered portion of a giant rib.
Crap, we need to hurry, Teeth said in my mind.
Everybody cut loose now! I commanded.
We had hoped to launch our most powerful attacks when we were deeper inside, but that clearly wasn’t going to be possible. So the Testifiers began hurling their strongest one-time magic spells, including Karim’s lightning bolts and Eadric’s crafted bombs. Breyn activated his tattoos and let loose with his Woadfire, and Breena converted into full Sunrise Sprite form and fired off the blast that had killed a piece of Cavus before.
The frozen flesh began cracking apart all around us. Breena’s blast created a tunnel deep enough to get us the rest of the way to the area we wanted to reach, the place where we could finally kill the Tidefather outright.
Val and Virtus hacked the last of the frozen chunks of flesh out of our way and we dove into the inner world hidden inside an ancient Lesser Wyrm.
***
Teeth had explained it to me when he had consumed enough of the Tidefather’s Scalelings to realize how damaged the ancient creature was. A dragon’s appetite is a special power all to itself, one that lets the creature digest almost anything. And as the dragon devours more and more, its appetite grows stronger, mixing with the dragon’s nature to create new changes. It was part of the reason some lesser dragons were able to advance to stronger forms, such as a wyvern becoming a drake, or a drake becoming a full-fledged dragon. For true dragons, the appetites affected them even further. Teeth had apparently learned this from Vinclum. The reality was that dragons were much like the Earthborn themselves. They could be good or evil, selfish or unselfish. Like humans, it all depended on what appetites they chose to gratify. That, in the end, determined the characteristics of the powerful creatures, because at that point, the appetite applied to more than food. A dragon that focused on its cravings for mastery over the tide and control of the deep would become a sea dragon, a lesser version of the Tidefather himself. A dragon that sought light, personal growth, and closeness with the heavens would become a sunwyrm, though such beings were considered extinct with the possible exception of Vinclum. And finally, a dragon that focused on gratifying only its basest of urges, and took a sadistic delight in causing pain, without ever contemplating showing a shred of compassion to another being, would become a linnorm, as Aegrim had. From there, they would further pursue magic itself, combining their skills with various Ideals to grant them certain areas of influence.
Once the dragon spent enough time satisfying its chosen appetites, and survived satisfying said appetites, it would eventually become one of the powerful creatures known as Wyrms. Wyrms were usually much larger, and always much more powerful, but the biggest, and most secret, difference is that their appetites transform into a special zone inside their bodies. A zone reflecting their powers and their goals. It was the very heart of their strength, and in the case of dragons who chose to Descend, it was also the place where they stored their treasure, the things they desired, the things they wished to consume permanently.
It was also—assuming one could reach it and survive the experience—the best chance to kill a Wyrm for good.
This was a secret kept by all Wyrms, one that was rarely shared because of the vulnerabilities it entailed. It was probably one of the reasons Wyrms seldom chose to bond with other creatures, and even when a bond was forged, they kept that knowledge hidden unless the dragonbonded became a Wyrm themselves and discovered the truth on their own. But Vinclum, the Cosmic Wyrm of Honor and Bonds, had chosen to share it with my own inner dragon.
It was possibly the only way we were going to defeat one of the most powerful monsters we had ever faced.
We ran, tripped, bumped and stumbled through the Tidefather’s insides until we reached the shimmering world of his appetite. We were fortunate that the Tidefather had chosen to retain a serpentine build. The Wyrm’s appetite took on the same dimensions of the dragon’s digestive tract, even replacing said organs directly. Like most serpentine creatures, the Tidefather’s digestive system ran throughout the length of his body, and his appetite had not altered that detail. Therefore, as long as we could cut deep enough in any one spot, we could reach his world of cravings.
It didn’t change the fact that it nearly killed us.
Virtus and Eadric were fine. The Ideal of Earth complimented Eadric’s dwarven balance and resistance to damage perfectly. By the time we made it inside the Appetite, his vital guard had already healed his cuts and bruises. Virtus had reflexes honed by untold millennia of experience. He rolled in the inner realm gracefully in spite of his armor, letting his shield absorb the impact of his landing.
Weylin and Val had it the next easiest, tumbling clear of most of the damage with their supernatural agility. They had a few bruises, but they landed on their feet.
Karim and Breyn fell heavily and landed direc
tly on their backs, hurt, but alive, thanks to Karim’s script shields and Breyn’s Woadtattoo. The Gaelguard had landed cradling Petalbell to his chest.
Breena’s dawnblast had left her nearly unconscious, and a blow to the head on the way inside finished the job. If I had been a second slower, the Tidefather’s rattling about might have torn her head clean off.
My own tattoo flared when I caught her. Still holding Shard in one hand, I wrapped my other arm around her as tightly as I dared and dove for the shimmering passage, letting my armor, script shield, and Ideal magic take the brunt of my descent. Three times, I hit something hard enough to make my head rattle, but in the end, I landed whole enough to be able to look around.
We were standing in a thin layer of water on yet another floor, one that swayed and moved without affecting our balance. There were no enemies in sight, so I immediately turned my attention back to Breena and cycled through every healing spell I could cast on her. She stirred and regained consciousness almost immediately, wiping the blood from her face.
I’m okay, Wes, she said as she pushed herself out of my arms, wobbling in the air for a bit before steadying herself. Thanks for the save.
I kept our link open as I evaluated the rest of the group. Everyone else was either standing up or already on their feet. Petal flew out of Breyn’s arms with a look that suggested she was somehow pleased and offended by him at the same time.
Beyond my team lay the rest of this shimmering world.
The similarities between this place and the watery world of the Rite outside were striking. The main difference was that the top layer of ground was more turbulent, making the place we were standing on feel like a giant water bed. Also, we stood firmly on the very top, instead of sinking into the ground-like sediment just below the surface.
Teeth swore in my mind.
This is bad, he said to me.
Why? It looks almost exactly like the world outside.
Lighting Distant Shores (Challenger's Call Book 4) Page 26