Path of Dragons

Book 6: Chapter 79: Scope

Sadie leveled her sword at the old ta’alaki. He didn’t even twitch, though the balls of arcane power continued to crackle as they swirled above him.

“We do not have time for this,” he sighed.

“What do you want?” Elijah asked, stepping forward to stand next to Sadie. He gripped his staff with white knuckles as fear flowed through him. Because he felt that the ta’alaki was entirely unrestrained. The power circulating through the First Mage’s body – and all around him – reminded Elijah of Kirlissa, though somehow more restrained. It was markedly weaker, but to Elijah, it was still overwhelming.

If Elijah or his companions tried to fight, they would die. And the ta’alaki would barely have to shift a finger.

“I have sacrificed everything to hold the shackles at bay,” he said. “But I do not have much time. The system will not tolerate my rebellion for long.” He took a deep breath, and the orbs of ethera swirled a little faster. “You ask what I want, and I give you the only answer that matters. Yloa must die, and you must do it now, while he is weakened. Or he will destroy an untold number of lives. He may even join the Ravener.”

“Why? Tell us what’s going on,” Sadie said.

Elijah added, “We know a little about the war.”

“You know nothing. Do you have any notion of how many people die in a war that lasts hundreds of years? Do you have any concept of the sheer weight of the lives that have been lost? That Yloa has taken? He did not start like that. He –”

“The Shadeborn Sect. We know what they did,” Sadie said.

“That little assassination attempt was only the end of a very long road,” the First Mage stated. “He had begun to radicalize long before that ill-timed mistake. He used it, though. He framed himself as a martyr, and my people rallied behind him. He promised so much. Not just equality. Supremacy. He told us he would turn the tables, that we would no longer occupy the lowest rungs of our society. We would be the rulers, and the supposedly superior ka’alaki, our slaves.

“That turned it into a war or survival. Would-be allies among the ka’alaki refused to help us,” he went on. “I do not blame them, either. It was a matter of simple preservation. Some, like the Druids, tried to stay neutral, as was their mandate. Yet, in the end, even they chose sides.

“The wrong one, as it turned out.”

The tower rumbled, but the First Mage continued, “Eventually, he won, and he delivered precisely what he’d promised. It was a golden age for the ta’alaki, but it came at a terrible cost. I shudder at the memory of how our cousins were treated. Many became no more than slaves. Many, many more were simply killed. Justice for centuries of mistreatment, it was called. In reality, it was simple vengeance. Justice had nothing to do with what we did. With what we allowed to happen.”

He paused for a long moment before saying, “History is cyclical. If you manage to live long enough, you will see it. What happens today will be repeated in the future. So it was after the war. Even as Yloa presided over a gilded age of ta’alaki dominance, unrest began to brew. A powerful resistance was born, and yet another war began. This time, the ka’alaki had the edge.

“Yloa had yet to reach transcendence, but even then, he could match anyone on Ka’arath. The slight edge was not enough to result in a decisive victory, so the war dragged on. Once, his empire stretched across the entire planet, but eventually, it was confined to a single continent. Then, it shrank further until he barricaded himself in his fortress.

“Desperate, he crossed a line that no one should ever cross. He opened a connection to the Abyss. We do not know how he managed it, but at first, he only captured Voxx to be released on his enemies. The chaos that ensued allowed him to regain some lost ground. Yet, it was not enough. By that point, most of the planet was against him. Ka’alaki and ta’alaki alike fought against his tyranny.

“Yloa’s desperation grew, and he delved deeper into the Abyss. Too deep. It is unknown if the Abyss’ influence changed him or if he simply lost all context for what he was doing. What is known is that, through some forbidden ritual, he infected his closest followers with Abyssal power. They swept out from the Seat of Thunder, slaughtering any who stood against them. At last, Yloa had his enemies at a disadvantage. He was winning.

“But the system’s original purpose was to curtail and control the influence of the Abyss. It would not let such an infection stand. Yloa was given a choice. Cut off the Abyss, destroy his connection, and surrender his power. The alternative was Ka’arath’s excisement from the World Tree.

“He tried to escape, but his way was barred. He attempted to draw more power from the Abyss, and for a while, it worked. He finally passed the threshold to become a Transcendent.

“It was not enough.”

The First Mage sighed and went silent. It only lasted for a moment, but in that time, Elijah understood what had happened. Still, he didn’t say anything as the ta’alaki continued his tale.

“The excisement occurred only a year after Yloa reached transcendence. He fought against it, but what hope could a new Transcendent have against a system built by nine of the most powerful entities to have ever existed? He was as a child to any of them. And together? The system they built far exceeded even their combined power. It is a masterpiece with dominion over everything in the nine realms. Even the Abyss, driven by its terrible hunger, cannot stand against it. What hope did Yloa have?

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“The planet was excised from the World Tree. Some managed to escape, but only a few.

“Those first few years were…difficult. I died fighting one of the most powerful fiends to descend upon our planet,” the First Mage stated, casting his eyes downward. “A sliver of my soul remained, harvested by the system to be used in Towers and Trials.”

“Why didn’t you try to escape?” asked Dat.

The First Mage blinked. “I was old. Even before the planet’s excisement, I was close to my end. I stayed so that I could protect others. Perhaps I could even help some escape. I failed on both counts.

“But Yloa, for all his faults, was always powerful. And he knew the Abyss better than anyone. Through a great number of sacrifices, he managed to erect a shield around this continent. Again, he did not consider the consequences. Cut off from the Abyss, his corrupted followers withered. Many went into hibernation.

“It did not end there, though. The Abyss is corruptive. It burrows into you like an addictive drug until you can no longer live without it. The other survivors discovered that soon after Yloa erected his shield. They shared a fate with the Lightning Emperor’s chosen followers. I believe you call them wraiths.”

Elijah’s stomach twisted into knots. Since the beginning, they’d been hunting the wraiths like they were pests. But all that time, they were Ka’arath’s fallen people. Behind him, Dat bent over and vomited. Sadie paled. Kurik clenched his fists. Only Ron remained stoic.

“What do you want from us? Why are you telling us this?” asked Sadie.

“Because I need your help,” the First Mage said. That did not surprise Elijah. “Yloa is not like me. He is not a sliver of a soul. Neither are the people in his stronghold. They are all real, mostly descendants of his closest allies. He protected them. Nurtured them. And if they managed to defeat your people, they will be unleashed upon the multi-verse. Yloa’s growth has stagnated here, but if he is allowed off this planet, his progression will resume. He will kill millions. Billions. He no longer bothers with justifications. He doesn’t care about oppression. He is cursed with an Abyssal hunger that will drive him forward until he consumes everything in his path.

“You can stop him. He is shackled. Brought down to the level of a mortal and forced to play his role. He has never been more vulnerable. You must take advantage of that. You must kill him and his followers.

“Won’t that doom your planet, though? The ones left, I mean,” Elijah said.

“They are already lost. It is a necessary sacrifice. Only a few thousand remain. When weighed against the number Yloa will kill, that is nothing,” said the wizened ta’alaki. “I beseech you, please remove this stain from our proud history. Do not let Yloa – and his actions – be what defines us.”

Elijah – nor any of his companions, from he could tell – knew how to respond to the First Mage’s request. They’d come into the challenge expecting a fight, and they’d gotten a terrifying history lesson instead. And the First Mage’s story served to cement a thought in Elijah’s mind. The Trial wasn’t just about getting stronger. It was that, certainly. But as he’d long suspected, it was also a cautionary tale.

And an execution.

At first, he’d thought the First Mage had managed to escape the system’s influence and gone off-script. Maybe that was the case. But with everything he knew about the system’s power – and it seemed as close to absolute as was possible – he expected that it was just another layer of deception. It was all part of the act.

“Now, I must ask that you end my life before the system brings me back under its control,” the First Mage said, the ethera surging around him. “I assure you that you do not want to face me as an enemy. I understand if you do not –”

Elijah didn’t hesitate, springing forward, using Shape of the Guardian. By the time he reached the First Mage, the transformation was complete, and he had just enough time to activate Savage Might. So, when his claws fell upon the frail creature, they ripped through him without hesitation.

Sadie hadn’t hesitated, either, and she had used Blade of the Avenger. Dat had fired a stream of crossbow bolts, and Kurik had shot an arrow bound for the ta’alaki’s eye. Even Ron had used one of his kinetic force spells.

The barrage ripped the creature apart, and he died after only a couple of seconds. Oddly, after a brief moment of surprise, he smiled – as much as a snake-lizard man can, at least – which told Elijah that they’d made the right decision.

The moment the ta’alaki died, they each got a notification that they’d completed the challenge, and a familiar-looking chest appeared hovering over the First Mage’s corpse. Dat opened it, revealing an old-fashioned brass key on a thick, iron chain that looked like the sort used to bind a gate closed.

Dat picked it up, obviously using Hex of Scrying. His eyes widened at the results, and he said, “This is so awesome.”

“What is it?” Elijah asked, still reeling from the First Mage’s revelations. He wasn’t sure, but it seemed to him that Dat’s enthusiasm was meant to undercut what they’d learned.

“I’ve been waiting on something like this since the beginning of the apocalypse, bro,” Dat answered. Or non-answered, given that he still hadn’t revealed what it was.

“Dat,” Sadie said firmly. “Tell us what it is.”

“But –”

She glared at him, not unlike an elementary school teacher might look at a class full of unruly students. He deflated.

“Fine. It’s a dimensional space,” Dat said. “Or the key to one, at least. You know, you carry the key around, and when you want your stuff, you use it. So, no backpacks or anything. Just a key on a chain. I don’t know how big the space is, but I want it. I’ll give anything –”

Elijah could see why anyone would want such a thing. It would make travel immeasurably easier. Even Elijah, who tended to travel pretty light – especially with his Ghoul-Hide Satchel – would like to have access to something like that. But he wasn’t nearly as excited as Dat.

As far as he was concerned, the Witch Hunter could have it if it would make him that happy. But Sadie stepped in, saying, “Dat. You know you don’t need it as much as someone else.”

“But all my stuff –”

“Admit that you only want it because it reminds you of that game you used to play.”

Dat didn’t respond. Instead, he shoved the key into Kurik’s hands, muttering, “You can use this more than me.”

“What? I ain’t even asked for it.”

“We were talking about this the other day,” Sadie said. “You haven’t gotten any of the rewards. You deserve this.”

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“We are,” Elijah said. He hadn’t been privy to said conversation, but he wholeheartedly agreed with the sentiment. While it would have been nice to have such an item, it definitely wasn’t a game-changer for him. It very well could be for Kurik, though. “Aren’t we, Dat?”

“You don’t have to rub it in. I just wanted a Bag of Holding, bro.”

“You can have the next one,” Ron said.

Dat sighed. “Fine.” Then he forced a smile, telling Kurik that he hoped he got a lot of use out of it.

Kurik quickly bound the item, then slipped the enormous chain around his neck. It looked ridiculous, but it turned out to be much larger than any of them expected. “’Bout ten by ten by ten, by my estimate,” the dwarf said. He took the key and mimed opening a lock. A second later, a small, fist-sized portal opened. He removed his pack and shoved it against the black hole in reality. The pack disappeared, and Kurik grinned. “Oh, I can fit so many power crystals in there.”