Fate of the Empires

The Ale Geyser pub. It’s a small building from the outside. The door at the front of the building is open, but the wooden window shudders on the sides are all closed. It is surprising that the pub is open this early in the day. Draccus led the city guards away. I hate separating, but it seems we have no other options. While Draccus has the guards chasing after him Jun, Magnus and I make our way across the street into the open doorway.

The interior of the pub reeks of ale. The constant flow of alcohol in the fountain makes the smell in this place much stronger than the usual tavern. The layout of the room is typical. Wooden tables and chairs with a bar near the back. Behind the bar is a door leading to another room. A thin man with a limp sweeps the floors as we enter. He appears to be in his late thirties, his brown hair thinning on his head. He doesn’t look at us at first. “We’re closed,” he says with an unusual accent.

“We’re not here to drink,” Jun answers.

This causes the man to look up at us. It takes him a minute, but he recognizes Jun. “Master Fang,” he says.

“Grim, you do not have to call me that when Ethan isn’t around,” Jun replies.

“Sorry, Jun,” Grim says, “Jes habit I guess.”

“By the limp, I’d say you know why we’re here.”

“Yeah, but da strange thing is dat I wasn’t told to stop ya.”

“So we are walking into a trap,” Magnus says with exasperation.

“Is it true dat you’ve turned against da crown?” Grim asks Jun.

“You’ve known me since I was a boy, Grim,” Jun responds, “What do you think?”

“I think it’s impossible, but when I tried to defend you dey beat me,” Grim says rubbing his leg.

“Did Ethan show up personally?” Jun questions.

“Nah, it was da captain of the royal guard,” Grim answers, “Showed up last night after closing.”

“Are you going to be alright?” Jun asks.

“I may be old, but I’m tough,” Grim says.

“May we use the passage?”

“You know it’s a trap and you still wanna go down?”

“The king is in danger,” I say.

Grim nods in approval. “Okay,” he says.

He leads us into the back room. It is a storeroom filled with barrels of ale. We assist the injured Grim with moving some barrels away from the corner of the room. Once the area is clear he reveals that the floorboards lift up exposing a set of wooden stairs leading down. Grim lights a candle and leads us down the stairs.

At the base of the stairs is a room carved out of the earth itself. There is wooden framework to help support the tunnel. A steel door blocks the entrance to the passageway. Grim pulls out a ring of keys. He fiddles with the ring, trying to find the right one. “Are you sure you wanna go down there?” he asks as he finds it.

“Yes, Grim,” Jun says.

Grim doesn’t look pleased to hear that, but he puts the key into the lock. A draft of air is pulled into the passage as the door is opened. I cast a light spell to illuminate the tunnel. It slopes downward even further into the ground. The entire passage has a wooden infrastructure to prevent cave-ins. “I’ve got to close da door behind you,” Grim says.

“Do what you must,” Jun replies.

Grim struggles with the large metal door before he finally gets it closed. I’ve got a bad feeling about this. Jun leads the way into the tunnel. Who knows what Ethan has planned for us down here. He is the type of man that would drop the city on us from above if he thought it would stop us.

I hope Draccus is alright. I know he can handle the city guards with ease, but that is not the only threat Ethan will have for us. My thoughts are interrupted by a hissing noise. The three of us look around. It must be coming from further in the tunnel, but it is too dark ahead to see anything. We keep moving. The hissing grows louder as we move. My bad feeling is growing steadily worse. “Stop,” I say, “This is all wrong.”

“She’s right,” Magnus says, “That noise is troubling me too.”

“Let me try something,” I say.

Time to discover some of those immortal powers my father spoke of. I concentrate on the blackness ahead. I look beyond the realm of the material plane. It is a place between planes. The shift is actually sort of painful. Is my body staying in the material world or does it go with me? I’m not sure.

“Where did she go?” Magnus asks.

That answers that question. In this realm every non-living thing glows. It is a very light blue, to the point where it is almost white. The color of humans depends on their aura. People who are good and pure like Jun and Magnus appear as a bright yellow. Animals are neither good or evil. They are gray.

The hissing is coming from a gray form a few hundred yards ahead of us in the passageway. I see a set of very large, dark eyes surrounded by scales. What ever this is, it’s huge! Its head takes up half the height of the tunnel. There are no reptilian creatures of that size native to Athusia. It opens its mouth, showing off two long fangs. Wait. I see something else. Glands in the back of the mouth. I know this creature. This is the Borathian Dragon Snake! It is the largest snake in the known world. The glands in the mouth allow it to breathe fire like the dragons of legend. Borathian scholars believe that dragons did, in fact, exist and that the Dragon Snake is a close relative. I don’t believe in dragons, but this creature is very real and it is about to attack.

I see the spark of the flames in the Dragon Snake’s mouth. The inferno that creature is about to unleash will fill the entire tunnel! I have to do something. I quickly shift back into the mortal realm. “Get down!” I shout to the others.

Jun and Magnus drop to the ground. I change into the immortal form as I run ahead of them in the passage. I can feel the heat preceding the flames. I have no idea what I am doing right now. The fire is within sight. “Open yourself up to the fire, my daughter,” I hear my father in my head, “And you can absorb it.”

The fire surrounds me. Dancing on my skin. Moving through my hair. I take a deep breath and as I do I feel the flames being drawn inside. The heat should sear my flesh as it passes over and through me, but I hardly feel anything. “You will not feel the pain at first,” my father speaks in my mind again, “But when you do, you’ll wish you had not.”

The attack of the Dragon Snake becomes a maelstrom around me as I draw in the blaze. I pull the last of the fire into my body. Steam billows from my skin and armor. My internal body temperature is much warmer than usual…and it feels like it is getting hotter. This must be the painful part. I drop to the ground, writhing from the unbearable agony! I feel like my blood has been replaced by fiery magma.

Jun and Magnus rush to my side. Jun touches me, but quickly pulls back when my skin burns his. “Leaia!” Jun says in a panic.

My body begins to cool and as it does I revert back to mortal form. Slowly the pain subsides and I look at Jun. “Are you alright?” he asks.

“Yes,” I say weakly.

“What in the name of Orin are you?” Magnus asks in his typical tactful manner.

I feel my strength return. With Jun’s assistance I stand up. “I’ll answer that later,” I say, “Right now we’ve got bigger problems. There is a Dragon Snake ahead in the tunnel.”

“A Dragon Snake?” Jun responds, “We don’t have long before it attacks again.”

Magnus steps in front of Jun and I. “Glacia murus!”

Ice particles spray from Magnus’ hands forming a thick wall of ice between us and the Dragon Snake. Magnus turns back and looks at me. “Alright, we are safe for a few minutes,” he says, “And I want some answers.”

“What do you mean?” I try to play it off innocently.

“Look, I don’t know if I am the only one who has sensed this, but something is going on with you and I want to know what. I have seen you cheat death more than once and I don’t know what that was with the fire just now, but something is wrong with you!”

“Magnus, calm down,” Jun says.

“No, it’s alright,” I say, “I do owe you all an explanation.”

I have been avoiding this since I found out. How do you tell those close to you that you are the daughter of a god? How would they react? Would they even believe me? At least now I know they probably will. “I’m waiting,” Magnus says impatiently.

“While we were in Densetsu I discovered who my parents were,” I start.

“You’re Densetsun?” Magnus interrupts.

“May I finish?” I ask in an annoyed tone.

“Sorry,” Magnus apologizes.

“My mother was an Athusian named Kayla. And my father…my father’s name is…Arus.”

“Your father was named after your god?” Magnus asks, “That’s odd.”

“My father is the god of might.”

“What?!” Magnus exclaims, “Wait. Let me get this straight. Jun is now the emperor of Densetsu. And you are the daughter of a god? I’m feeling a little insignificant here. I suppose Draccus is probably related to this Dragon Snake in some way!”

Magnus walks over to the ice wall and continues his rant. He speaks like he’s talking to the snake on the other side of it. Jun takes my hand. He looks at me thoughtfully. Even with the strength of an immortal I am still weak for those eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asks.

“I was afraid of how you would react.”

The entire tunnel vibrates as a blast of fire hits the other side of the ice wall. Steam begins to form off the wall. It will probably only take one more hit like that before breaking up. Magnus grows even more hysterical when the wall is hit. “Kin to the lizard or not, you are going down, snake!” he shouts at the ice.

Magnus continues to shout obscenities as Jun and I turn back to each other. “I would never judge you for being different,” Jun says, “Look at my background.”

“This isn’t really the time or place to talk about this.”

“I know, but if we don’t live through this we will never have the time or place.”

“It would never work between us, would it?”

“I don’t know. I’m a two-faced, double-dealing spy who now has the responsibilities of an emperor and you are a warrior priestess who is the daughter of a god. It would be rough.”

It’s true. There could never be a happy ending for us. Our lives are about to be pulled in completely opposite directions. It would be selfish to consider our own needs above those of the people that need us. This disappointment won’t be too much of a change. We are both used to not having what we truly want.

“We both have serious obligations to attend to,” I say, “I suppose our desires must be put aside.”

“Yes, but no matter what happens, there is something I must do.”

“What?”

He pulls me into him. His lips touch mine and the entire world around us melts away. I curse the side of me that thinks as a woman, but I have wanted this moment for far too long. It feels like time stops in his arms and yet it doesn’t last nearly long enough. As we separate Jun looks up. “What’s wrong?” I ask.

“Just making sure I didn’t anger your father,” he says with a smile.

“If you two are quite finished,” Magnus cuts in, “We have a giant snake to kill and a country to save.”

Jun and I both look embarrassed. We were so caught up in each other that we forgot where we were. We walk over to Magnus near the ice wall. “Magnus, as soon as the snake attacks the wall again I need you to cancel the spell,” Jun says, “But be ready to cast it again. We need to close the distance between us and the snake quickly to prevent it from using that attack again.”

Jun draws his sword. I guess I should have mine out as well. I summon the sword of Arus. Magnus looks at me with disgust. “Show-off,” he says.

We wait for the next attack. Suddenly we hear the sound of something cracking. It’s the ice! Apparently the last flame strike did more damage than we thought. “Uh…,” Magnus stammers, “We might want to get back.”

We scramble away from the ice wall as the Dragon Snake attacks again. The wall explodes towards us. Steam clouds the entire tunnel. There is no time for hesitation. We rush forward. We don’t have to go very far as the Dragon Snake has moved towards us. It takes up so much space that it doesn’t have much room to move around, which will work to our advantage. The scales of this large reptile are as red as the flames it spits.

Magnus stops once the Dragon Snake is in sight. He prepares a spell. Jun rushes ahead. He runs up a sidewall and springs off of it to land on the creature’s head. The Dragon Snake reacts quickly and slams its head into the ceiling, knocking Jun off in the process. Jun hits the ground and loses his sword.

I run to the right and make an attempt to stab the creature in the side. It moves its body knocking me into the wall. It continues to press against me, crushing me into the earth. I look to Magnus for help. He completes his spell. In the blink of an eye Magnus begins to shapeshift. He grows fur and a tail. Large claws emerge from paws that were once hands. He moves on all fours, bounding at the Dragon Snake. He has become a large tiger. He leaps up and latches onto the Dragon Snake’s neck with his claws.

The Dragon Snake attempts to shake Magnus off, freeing me from the wall. My ribs and legs are killing me! I may be impervious to damage, but I still feel pain rather well. The Dragon Snake forces Magnus into the wall. Magnus loses his hold and falls to the ground. Fortunately, he also has the reflexes of a cat and recovers instantly.

Jun regains his footing and goes for his sword. The Dragon Snake strikes with his mouth. Jun rolls under the attack. The Dragon Snake goes for another attempt, but Jun punches it in the eye before it has the chance. The Dragon Snake recoils from the hit, giving Jun the time he needs to grab his sword.

Magnus moves in for another attack. While the Dragon Snake is preoccupied with him I make my move. I run to the side again. The Dragon Snake must sense me because its body instinctively tries to crush me again. I get my blade into position this time and the creature’s body hits my sword instead. I push in as far as I can and run, cutting the Dragon Snake along its whole side.

The Dragon Snake brings its tail forward, wrapping it around me. It constricts so that I can’t move before lifting me into the air. I lose focus and my energy blade vanishes. The Dragon Snake turns its head towards me and opens widely. The glands in the back of the mouth are secreting the fluid for the fire attack! Magnus bounds towards me. He sees what is about to happen. “Oh no!” he says in his cat form.

Magnus instantly changes back to human form. “Glacies!” he casts.

He shoots ice into the Dragon Snakes mouth just as the fire ignites. The fire and ice turn into an explosion of steam. The Dragon Snake’s body pins Magnus against the wall as a defense mechanism. The Dragon Snake tries to shake off the damage from the spell. While it is stunned, Jun effortlessly runs up the creature’s back. He makes it to the Dragon Snake’s head again. This time he drives his sword downward into the Dragon Snake’s skull. It starts thrashing, throwing Jun off once more. It loosens its grip on me. I get free, landing on the Dragon Snake’s back. I summon the sword of Arus once more and slice into the creature’s red scales.

Magnus gets away from the wall and proceeds to bombard the Dragon Snake with ice shards. Eventually the Dragon Snake’s head and tail collapse. It stops moving all together. Jun retrieves his sword from the creature’s head. He then severs the head from the body to make sure it is dead.

“Next time I get to play decoy and Draccus gets to fight the giant snake monster,” Magnus says as he dusts himself off.

“Let’s get out of here,” Jun says.

I couldn’t agree more with that thought. I recast the light spell and we continue the rest of the way through the tunnel. We reach a large metal door much like the one on the other side. It is closed. As we approach Magnus smacks his own forehead. “Oh, Orin, why?!” he is flustered.

“Magnus, what’s wrong?” Jun asks.

“I didn’t see it. I didn’t feel it.”

“What?”

“This entire tunnel is magically sealed. I haven’t had contact with Tanus since we’ve been down here and it didn’t even cross my mind.”

It must be the door that clued him in. I can sense that barrier as well. The magic sealing the passageway must be very subtle for neither of us to catch it. “Can you dispel it?” Jun asks.

“I can clear the spell on the door, but that is about it.”

“That’s all we need,” Jun replies.

Magnus steps up to the door. “Expuli nebula nubes magicus,” Magnus casts.

The door glows for a moment before opening. We step through to find a room filled with the bodies of guards and soldiers. Looks like there was a trap set for us here as well. Based on the severity of some wounds and the precision of others I believe Draccus was here. Someone was with him. The Densetsun fighters rely on accuracy over strength. Perhaps they were accompanying him. “Draccus was here,” I say.

“Was there a short cut and you didn’t know about it?” Magnus asks Jun.

“He must’ve come through the drains,” Jun says, “It’s the only other way.”

“Oh, well good choice on the tunnel then,” Magnus says, shuddering at the thought of crawling through the sewage drains.

“Magnus can you sense Tanus or Draccus?” I ask.

Magnus closes his eyes a moment. “They are above us,” he says, “They’re together.”

“Let’s go,” Jun says.

We make our way up to the ground floor of the castle. We run into a very surprised Draccus and Cleric Tanus in one of the hallways. It looks like they were heading back our way. “You are safe!” Draccus says joyfully.

“We were just coming to get you out,” Cleric Tanus says, “Trouble?”

“Nothing we couldn’t handle,” Jun answers, “Looks like you had troubles of your own.”

“The whole thing was a set up,” Tanus says, “I lost some men and the one Densetsun warrior with us was killed as well.”

“Some of the castle guards have joined our cause,” Draccus says.

“Alright, let’s get back to the front so we can signal the rest of my men,” Jun says.

The five of us make our way towards the front of the castle. We join the remaining clerics and some of the castle guards in a large room by the front doors. A big battle took place here. There are bodies all over. Things are not going at all to plan. Jun finds the body of the Densetsun warrior. He kneels beside him to pay his respects. I find the fallen clerics. “They fought with honor,” my father speaks to me once more, “And died well. Do not mourn them. They are taken care of.”

Magnus finds his way outside. He cast a color burst into the air to signal the rest of the Densetsun warriors. A spray of color covers the sky high above the castle. Afterwards he launches energy blasts at the castle walls on both sides of the main gate. After repeated attempts the walls eventually buckle and collapse. Within minutes the Densetsun warriors find their way to the front. Once everyone is back inside we seal the doors. Jun gathers everyone in the center of the room. “We need to get to the grand hall,” Jun says, “From there we will have access to the rest of the castle, including the throne room where I expect to find Ethan.”

“The elite guards are waiting in the grand hall,” one of the castle guards says.

Lord Darkwynde’s own personal bodyguards. Are they serving Ethan now? Is Darkwynde alive? “The elite guards are the last defense standing between us and Ethan,” Jun says, “They are the most highly skilled soldiers Athust has to offer. Do not underestimate them. If any of you guards want to hold here, I understand.”

There is a long silence before one of the guards speaks up. “We are here to defend the king and this country. We are with you.”

“Alright, let’s go stop Fenholm,” Jun says to everyone.

With weapons ready we all move to the entrance of the grand hall. The grand hall is usually a place for gatherings and celebrations. A place once used to celebrate peaceful times and prosperity. It is about to become a place of battle and death. A place of mourning that which once was. Upon opening the doors a storm of arrows fly our direction! A couple guards attempt to get through the doors, but are taken down as soon as they get passed the entrance. “We’ll never make it passed those archers!” Tanus shouts.

“Magnus, can you do something?” Jun asks.

“I’ll see,” Magnus answers.

Magnus steps into the doorway. He attempts to cast a spell, but more arrows pepper the door. Magnus ducks out of the way just in time. “I can’t get the spell off!” Magnus shouts, “I need a few more seconds.”

A bright enough light spell might give him the time he needs. “Magnus, cast immediately after I do!” I call to Magnus.

“Alright,” Magnus replies.

I stand in the doorway with Magnus directly behind me. “Light of Caeleum!” I cast.

A burst of the brightest light I can summon appears in the center of the grand hall. I move out of the way to give Magnus his shot. He casts a lightning spell, but one bigger than I’ve ever seen before. It spreads through the entire front half of the grand hall! Magnus doesn’t wait for anyone else. He runs in as soon as his spell is done. I follow him and everyone else files in behind us.

The steps that lead into the main portion of the grand hall are littered with dead archers. Waiting for us beyond that is the entire elite guard brigade. We are outnumbered, but we’re used to that. They all wear half-plate armor. It gives good defense, but allows more movement than full-plate. Each guard has a uniquely designed helm. Their weapons vary as well. Some carry long swords and shields. Others wield two-handed swords. The leader has a long sword and a short sword in his possession. His helm has spikes covering the faceplate. “Welcome home, Jun,” the lead elite guard says.

Jun steps forward. “Jared,” Jun says.

“This all stops here,” Jared says.

“This all stops when Ethan is dead.”

“He’s going to be king. We cannot allow you to kill him.”

“The last guards who said that, died,” Draccus says.

“Keep your pet on a leash, Jun,” Jared says, “He’s going to get you into more trouble than you are already in.”

“I know you are not going to stand down, Jared. And I’m not going to spend time attempting to convince you.”

“That’s good because I bore easily. Your group is skilled, I’ll give you that much. You made it passed the Dragon Snake, through the trap beyond that, and passed all the guards. I hear you even killed Slade. A task I would’ve liked to handle, but I suppose I should thank you. I finally get to move beyond this station.”

“The only place you will be moving to is the underworld.”

Jared points his long sword at Jun. “I’m going to enjoy killing you,” Jared threatens, “Take them.”

The elite guards move on us. We engage them. The elegance of the grand hall is completely destroyed during the mass combat. Many of the guards meet a quick end against their elite counterparts. The elite guards do find a bigger challenge with the Densetsun warriors and the Arusian clerics. The elites are no match for the speed of the Densetsuns, but they adapt quickly. They start to gang up on single warriors to take them down.

Tanus and the remaining clerics have formed a tight circle to cover each other from the oncoming elite guards. The clerics are strong warriors, but Tanus is easily the best of the bunch. It is no wonder that he is a high cleric. He actually outranks me in the order. Somehow I think I still have more pull.

Draccus is unstoppable with his duel-Densetsun blades. His strength and speed outmatch every elite guard he comes in contact with. Magnus and I fight back to back with our energy weapons. I use the sword of Arus while Magnus uses the magus staff. The combat is too close together for him to use any area effect spells. He struggles a bit against these skilled guards, but he can keep them occupied long enough for me to finish them off.

Jun cuts his way passed guard after guard until he reaches Jared. The two men attack each other without hesitation. There is clearly a history between the two of them that I don’t know about. Jun knocks Jared’s helm off using the hilt of his sword. Jared becomes even more outraged.

Most of the guards on our side have fallen. A few of the Densetsun warriors and another cleric have met the same end. Our numbers are dwindling fast. Maybe our best isn’t good enough against these expert soldiers. They were chosen as the king’s bodyguards with good reason. If we cannot turn the tide of battle, Ethan may yet see his crown.