Zendrius shifted uncomfortably in the magnolia armour as they neared the nexus. “What do you suppose this armour is made of?”
“I do not know my lord, the Agrarian is not known for his craftsmanship.”
“It’s strange that I really wasn’t bothered by my nudity, especially since I know I would never have strolled around naked back on Earth.”
“Just like your body is changing, I can only presume your mind does as well, my lord,” said Nessha as they approached the massive rune drawn in the black soil.
Zendrius stopped his companion just as she was about to speak. “Let me, Yolphilious.”
However instead of Oriax a small ball of fuchsia energy appeared above the rune.
“It means Oriax is busy with a client elsewhere and that we should wait,” said Nessha before her lord could ask.
“Hmmm, so how do we know how long we have to wait?”
“We don’t, my lord. Oriax usually prioritises who gets helped according to their standing in Los-Reinar.”
“Oh ok, well since we have the time why don’t you tell me about what has been bothering you?”
“My lord?”
“Something has been bothering you since we left the Garden, care to share?”
Nessha looked down. “I’m worried, my lord.”
“About your friends?”
“That as well, but the durandals . . .”
“Oh you think because I almost lost an arm in my fight with that lobventor from the First Tier that I’ll be killed by a durandal since they are the third race of the Ooti. The Ooti might be Third Tier but the durandals can’t use magic, which means I’ll be fine as long as I don’t get hit.”
“It’s not that my lord,” said Nessha hesitantly.
“Then what? I don’t understand.”
“The durandals’ native realm is Liquiem.”
“Yes and?”
“My lord, Juria controls Liquiem.”
“What?!”
“The durandals are not the third race of the Ooti anymore, my lord. They are the only race of the Ooti, the rest have all been hunted to extinction. Since the people of Juria entered Los-Reinar by their own doing, their hunger and thirst is not in harmony with this plane. Where any of the Six Tiers as well as the Fallen can survive by only eating and drinking once in weeks, they have to consume substances daily. The durandals’ fate is a cruel one, for although they do not possess the ability to weave magic, their regeneration is matched only by the Dannar. If they lose a limb for instance, it is replaced in minutes. However once captured they possess no way of escaping from captivity except through brute force.”
“Wait you can’t mean-”
“Indeed my lord, Juria uses them like cattle.”
“But mankind doesn’t believe in eating other sentient beings!”
“My lord, you should know yourself that every race in the Six Tiers is sentient. What do suppose mankind would have done if every living thing on Earth was sentient?”
“Why didn’t the Dannar stop them? Why don’t they stop them? Surely there are no machines that can stop their combined power?”
“That is true my lord, but the thing Los-Reinar lacks is unity. The Six don’t mind the humans because to them, they are little more than pests and Juria does not anger the Dannar because they are not fools.”
“Have they no foresight? Surely they must know that Juria will only continue to grow stronger until they can eventually challenge them?”
Nessha shrugged. “I don’t not know how their minds work, my lord. Mastema tried to warn them but it was only your mother that took the time to listen.”
“What –” started Zendrius when Oriax appeared.
“Oh my, it is you my lord,” said the violet-eyed being with a bow. “I did not recognise the energy signature that called me and so I assumed it was some nameless fiend. I apologise and may I say that you have matured quite well these past few cycles.”
“I’m sure,” said Zendrius absently.
“Do you still have a nexus in Liquiem?” asked Nessha.
Oriax gave a wide grin. “As long as they keep destroying them, I’ll keep making them.”
Persephone walked over to the egg and lightly stroked the taut surface. “Finally you are ready.”
The translucent cyan membrane contracted in response, opening small valves at its base. Alyza slowly drifted down as the amniotic fluid drained from the egg until she lay at the bottom. The petaloid limbs of the egg relaxed and fell away, unveiling the naked girl.
Persephone kneeled next to her and brushed away the raven hair from her face. “Now you will be worthy of my son.”
“My lady,” said a voice behind her.
Persephone turned to the man and saw that he was averting his eyes from the girl. “You are wise, Azain. We do not know how my son might react if he learns that another male saw his mate unclothed.”
Her dead mate’s kin smiled and held out a towel. “If he inherited Mastema’s power it’d rather not get on his bad side.”
Persephone took the towel, taking care not to catch Alyza’s tail in an awkward position as she gently wrapped the girl in it. “Let us take her to her room.”
Azain followed closely as his deceased best friend’s lover marched from the room. “Should I not go get Zendrius? He will be killed if he is caught.”
“My son is where he needs to be, he has to succeed without our help, else all of this is pointless,” said Persephone as two woman opened the doors to Alyza’s chambers.
“But everything will also have been for nothing if he is killed,” said Azain as he helped placing Alyza onto bed.
“My son will not die so easily.”
Sunday 28 August 2011
Monday 22 August 2011
Fire Child Part 12 & 13 Special
Nessha carried her lord over to the intricate circle of symbols and gently set him down at its centre. “How long will he be unconscious?”
The Agrarian shrugged. “Probably until he has recovered from his injuries, in the meantime I would like to examine him so please get out of the circle.”
Nessha quickly did as she was bid then watched with interest as the markings of the circle gained a light green glow. The light intensified as the Agrarian continuously moved his arms in a ritualistic manner while he chanted, until finally a three-dimensional projection of Zendrius’ seal materialised in the air.
The Agrarian moved closer and touched one of the fractal spheres of the projection. The image evaporated, being instantly replaced by a dome the size of the circle’s diameter. Billions of runes continuously spiralled down the roof of the dome until the Agrarian waved one of his hands, causing the image to dissipate. “Well now, this is something, looks like this will keep me busy for quite some time. Nessha?”
“Yes, my lord?”
“I’ll allow you to stay here with my nephew while I work, but on the condition that you keep him occupied. Maybe show him how to control those flames of his? I don’t know, just don’t let him bother me until I call for him.”
“You are most gracious my lord, but I am afraid I am not sure on how to teach the young lord the control you suggest.”
“Oh right, of course. Well anger seems to be the catalyst to his flames’ intensity so work with that, now take him somewhere he won’t bother me,” said the Agrarian as he shooed away the unsure woman.
Zendrius ducked allowing the blade to harmlessly hiss through the air. “Hey I know you are taking it easy on me but you don’t have to make it that pathetically obvious.”
“I have neither increased nor decreased the intensity of my attacks, my lord. It is you who have been improving.”
“Well I suppose I should be happy to hear that,” said the teenager as he retaliated with three waves of flame.
Nessha dodged the attacks in a manner that would have shamed even the supplest Olympic gymnast. “We have been training for quite some time my lord, it would have been worrisome if you had not improved at least this much.”
“Thanks, that really fills me with confidence,” said Zendrius dryly as he recalled his flames.
That his flames were no ordinary fire Zendrius had known from the start, their colour had made it quite obvious, but he had also discovered that he only possessed a limited supply of fire to attack his enemies with. For although the sanguine flames never burned out, they had to be recalled or manipulated from their current position if he wanted to use them. It was a strange sensation, his flames were not just some lifeless natural element, but seemed as if they were part of his being, as if he had gained an extra limb.
“I think an increase in difficulty is in order, my lord,” said Nessha as she weaved the signs for accelerated speed.
“No you don’t,” said Zendrius as he quickly shot a ball of flame at his tutor. She had at first tried to explain the mechanics of basic magic to him but what seemed simple and common sense to Nessha would make physicists cry in a corner.
The ball of flame arrived a second too late as the winged woman dodged it in a blur of movement.
“Damn it,” cursed the teenager as the fire consumed one of the strange orange and gold tree-like plants.
“Nephew please don’t burn down my garden, these beauties are quite hard to create,” said the Agrarian as he patted the smooth texture of one of the plants.
“Uncle, I thought you have forgotten about me.”
The orange-eyed being scanned the surrounding devastation. “Hardly, I have just been busy.”
“So have you figured out whatever it was you were trying to figure out?”
“I discovered enough for now, more will be revealed with time.”
“Do you know why Lord Zendrius isn’t in his true form, my lord?” asked Nessha.
“Indeed I do. But it is going to cost you.”
Zendrius feinted injury. “Oh, you’re going to charge me, even though I am your nephew?”
“That’s that and this is this. Everyone pays for information, no exceptions.”
Nessha moved closer. “How much my lord?”
“Hmmm, well for everything I have discovered about Zendrius up until now . . . let’s say . . . a hundred thousand souls.”
“Where the hell am I suppose to get a –” started Zendrius when Nessha placed a cautionary hand on his shoulder.
“And how much for everything you know about my kin?” asked the concerned member of the Living Blade.
“I don’t know much but I am also the only one who has some clue as to what happened so let’s say . . . ten thousand souls and then I’ll throw in something for your young lord to wear since he seems quite fragile in his current form.”
“Do you even have that many souls?” whispered Zendrius worried to his companion.
“I do, but I will be substantially less helpful in any future conflicts, my lord.”
“I suppose we don’t have much of a choice, these are things we have to know.”
Nessha nodded. “Very well, my lord. I’ll pay your price.”
The Agrarian smiled before extending one of his hands with his palm outwards, Nessha moved closer before holding out her hand in a similar fashion. Their hands were inches apart when blue orbs, each the size of a man’s fist, started to emerge from Nessha’s arm. Wails of despair and pain filled the air as the blue balls of energy spiralled towards the Agrarian before submerging themselves within him. Zendrius moved closer to inspect the strange phenomenon and for a moment he could have sworn he saw a face contorted in agony in one of the orbs.
“Now with that behind us let us move on,” said the serpentine being as the last wailing orb entered his body. “First let’s start with my nephew, it would appear that you have been sealed within yourself, as strange as it might sound. It is a six part seal, think of each part as a locked door and behind each door is different attributes of your original being. Now here is where it gets really interesting, each door has three conditions which need to be fulfilled in order to release, or unlock if you will, the door. One of the six doors has already been opened, which is why your eyes turned from their human likeness to their demonic form, also you have now access to your genetic memory, if I am correct?”
“Yes, it started the moment I entered Los-Reinar.”
“That would make sense, you see there is an order in which you have to unlock each door. The first door’s conditions were as follows, you must experience intense rage then experience an instance in which you believe you’ll die and finally you have to return to Los-Reinar. From what I heard from Nessha, this all happened when she went to retrieve you from Earth.”
Zendrius nodded.
“I’m sure you have also concluded that each sphere on your chest represents one part or door of the six part seal.”
“I figured as much, do you know how I can unlock the rest?”
“Well I don’t know how to unlock all of them . . . yet, but I do know how you can unlock one of the doors.”
“Great, while I’m doing that you can figure out how to unlock the rest,” said Zendrius with a smile.
The Agrarian mirrored the expression. “As long as you pay for the information I provide. Listen carefully, the conditions are as follows: first you must consume the flesh of a durandal, then you must experience the accumulative wails of a million souls and finally you must drink the nectar of Eve.”
Zendrius just couldn’t suppress the juvenile grin on his face. “Wait, when you say drink the nectar of Eve, what exactly do you mean?”
The Agrarian looked both surprised and disappointed. “Oh? It would seem that your genetic memory isn’t a special case after all, you are just like all your cousins, you have only inherited bits and pieces of Persephone’s memories.”
“Persephone,” repeated Zendrius to himself. “Is that my mother’s name?”
The serpentine being looked shocked at Nessha. “He does not instinctively know his parents?”
Nessha only shook her head.
For the first time Zendrius saw his uncle worried. “Is there a problem?”
“No, you are just . . . different from what is considered normal among our young.”
“You mentioned cousins, but my memories tell me that there has always been only the Six.”
“Many of my siblings started experimenting with crossbreeding after Persephone mated with Mastema, for although none of us approved of her soiling our blood with that of a negna, he was still the only other being in Los-Reinar whose power rivalled our own and thus their offspring could potentially shift the power balance among us.”
“The Dannar sired children to maintain a power balance?”
“Of course, why else would we dilute our blood with that of lesser beings?”
Zendrius looked from Nessha to his uncle to make sure he wasn’t being mocked. “Ok then, let’s just move on. So about the nectar thing?”
“Let’s just say that you can only get it from me and that it is going to be extremely costly,” said the Agrarian with a smile.
“Whatever, is there anything else that I should know?”
“Just that your sealing couldn’t possibly have been done by the people of Juria, besides the fact that they rely on technology, their skills in magic are pitiful and limited to protective runes. This six part seal of yours is a work of art, even I could not duplicate such a feat. No, whoever did it has a grasp on magic and genetics that is almost impossible to believe.”
“You have absolutely no suspects in mind?”
“I have a few but it would be pure speculation and I don’t like to speculate.”
“Well then let us move on to Nessha’s info.”
The Agrarian shifted his orange gaze to the woman. “Here is what I know; one hundred and twenty-one cycles before you returned from Earth, the Living Blade fort was attacked by Uvall’s legions. However instead of his usual tactic of overwhelming the enemy with numbers, he only sent a small group of his most powerful retainers and from the way they acted I’d say they were given orders to be as covert as possible. They were almost at the rift when this strange oval-shaped being appeared. I have never seen anything like it and I have been around for a long time. Naturally everyone stopped and stared at the peculiar creature when all of the sudden a blinding white light erupted from it. When I finally regained my sight it was gone along with everyone else. As you might imagine I was quite curious as to where everyone went so I did a bit of digging and found that Uvall’s men where back in his domain. Apparently they just appeared, or so I was told. As for the creature and the rest of your kind, I have no idea where they are. I eventually decided they were all transported through the rift but since you didn’t run into them . . .”
“I see,” said Nessha worried.
“We did run into that weird creature though, it appeared while I was speaking with Father Warren and abducted an acquaintance of mine before escaping back into the rift,” pointed Zendrius out.
“So it went through and came back before I regained my sight? Extraordinary, I assume this acquaintance of yours was human?”
“Yes, an eighteen year old girl.”
“Tell me the details.”
“Only if you’d give me a discount the next time I buy information from you,” said Zendrius with a smirk.
“If nothing else Persephone, your decision to defy us and mate with Mastema produced a very peculiar and entertaining result,” thought the Agrarian before agreeing to the witty child’s proposal.
The Agrarian shrugged. “Probably until he has recovered from his injuries, in the meantime I would like to examine him so please get out of the circle.”
Nessha quickly did as she was bid then watched with interest as the markings of the circle gained a light green glow. The light intensified as the Agrarian continuously moved his arms in a ritualistic manner while he chanted, until finally a three-dimensional projection of Zendrius’ seal materialised in the air.
The Agrarian moved closer and touched one of the fractal spheres of the projection. The image evaporated, being instantly replaced by a dome the size of the circle’s diameter. Billions of runes continuously spiralled down the roof of the dome until the Agrarian waved one of his hands, causing the image to dissipate. “Well now, this is something, looks like this will keep me busy for quite some time. Nessha?”
“Yes, my lord?”
“I’ll allow you to stay here with my nephew while I work, but on the condition that you keep him occupied. Maybe show him how to control those flames of his? I don’t know, just don’t let him bother me until I call for him.”
“You are most gracious my lord, but I am afraid I am not sure on how to teach the young lord the control you suggest.”
“Oh right, of course. Well anger seems to be the catalyst to his flames’ intensity so work with that, now take him somewhere he won’t bother me,” said the Agrarian as he shooed away the unsure woman.
Zendrius ducked allowing the blade to harmlessly hiss through the air. “Hey I know you are taking it easy on me but you don’t have to make it that pathetically obvious.”
“I have neither increased nor decreased the intensity of my attacks, my lord. It is you who have been improving.”
“Well I suppose I should be happy to hear that,” said the teenager as he retaliated with three waves of flame.
Nessha dodged the attacks in a manner that would have shamed even the supplest Olympic gymnast. “We have been training for quite some time my lord, it would have been worrisome if you had not improved at least this much.”
“Thanks, that really fills me with confidence,” said Zendrius dryly as he recalled his flames.
That his flames were no ordinary fire Zendrius had known from the start, their colour had made it quite obvious, but he had also discovered that he only possessed a limited supply of fire to attack his enemies with. For although the sanguine flames never burned out, they had to be recalled or manipulated from their current position if he wanted to use them. It was a strange sensation, his flames were not just some lifeless natural element, but seemed as if they were part of his being, as if he had gained an extra limb.
“I think an increase in difficulty is in order, my lord,” said Nessha as she weaved the signs for accelerated speed.
“No you don’t,” said Zendrius as he quickly shot a ball of flame at his tutor. She had at first tried to explain the mechanics of basic magic to him but what seemed simple and common sense to Nessha would make physicists cry in a corner.
The ball of flame arrived a second too late as the winged woman dodged it in a blur of movement.
“Damn it,” cursed the teenager as the fire consumed one of the strange orange and gold tree-like plants.
“Nephew please don’t burn down my garden, these beauties are quite hard to create,” said the Agrarian as he patted the smooth texture of one of the plants.
“Uncle, I thought you have forgotten about me.”
The orange-eyed being scanned the surrounding devastation. “Hardly, I have just been busy.”
“So have you figured out whatever it was you were trying to figure out?”
“I discovered enough for now, more will be revealed with time.”
“Do you know why Lord Zendrius isn’t in his true form, my lord?” asked Nessha.
“Indeed I do. But it is going to cost you.”
Zendrius feinted injury. “Oh, you’re going to charge me, even though I am your nephew?”
“That’s that and this is this. Everyone pays for information, no exceptions.”
Nessha moved closer. “How much my lord?”
“Hmmm, well for everything I have discovered about Zendrius up until now . . . let’s say . . . a hundred thousand souls.”
“Where the hell am I suppose to get a –” started Zendrius when Nessha placed a cautionary hand on his shoulder.
“And how much for everything you know about my kin?” asked the concerned member of the Living Blade.
“I don’t know much but I am also the only one who has some clue as to what happened so let’s say . . . ten thousand souls and then I’ll throw in something for your young lord to wear since he seems quite fragile in his current form.”
“Do you even have that many souls?” whispered Zendrius worried to his companion.
“I do, but I will be substantially less helpful in any future conflicts, my lord.”
“I suppose we don’t have much of a choice, these are things we have to know.”
Nessha nodded. “Very well, my lord. I’ll pay your price.”
The Agrarian smiled before extending one of his hands with his palm outwards, Nessha moved closer before holding out her hand in a similar fashion. Their hands were inches apart when blue orbs, each the size of a man’s fist, started to emerge from Nessha’s arm. Wails of despair and pain filled the air as the blue balls of energy spiralled towards the Agrarian before submerging themselves within him. Zendrius moved closer to inspect the strange phenomenon and for a moment he could have sworn he saw a face contorted in agony in one of the orbs.
“Now with that behind us let us move on,” said the serpentine being as the last wailing orb entered his body. “First let’s start with my nephew, it would appear that you have been sealed within yourself, as strange as it might sound. It is a six part seal, think of each part as a locked door and behind each door is different attributes of your original being. Now here is where it gets really interesting, each door has three conditions which need to be fulfilled in order to release, or unlock if you will, the door. One of the six doors has already been opened, which is why your eyes turned from their human likeness to their demonic form, also you have now access to your genetic memory, if I am correct?”
“Yes, it started the moment I entered Los-Reinar.”
“That would make sense, you see there is an order in which you have to unlock each door. The first door’s conditions were as follows, you must experience intense rage then experience an instance in which you believe you’ll die and finally you have to return to Los-Reinar. From what I heard from Nessha, this all happened when she went to retrieve you from Earth.”
Zendrius nodded.
“I’m sure you have also concluded that each sphere on your chest represents one part or door of the six part seal.”
“I figured as much, do you know how I can unlock the rest?”
“Well I don’t know how to unlock all of them . . . yet, but I do know how you can unlock one of the doors.”
“Great, while I’m doing that you can figure out how to unlock the rest,” said Zendrius with a smile.
The Agrarian mirrored the expression. “As long as you pay for the information I provide. Listen carefully, the conditions are as follows: first you must consume the flesh of a durandal, then you must experience the accumulative wails of a million souls and finally you must drink the nectar of Eve.”
Zendrius just couldn’t suppress the juvenile grin on his face. “Wait, when you say drink the nectar of Eve, what exactly do you mean?”
The Agrarian looked both surprised and disappointed. “Oh? It would seem that your genetic memory isn’t a special case after all, you are just like all your cousins, you have only inherited bits and pieces of Persephone’s memories.”
“Persephone,” repeated Zendrius to himself. “Is that my mother’s name?”
The serpentine being looked shocked at Nessha. “He does not instinctively know his parents?”
Nessha only shook her head.
For the first time Zendrius saw his uncle worried. “Is there a problem?”
“No, you are just . . . different from what is considered normal among our young.”
“You mentioned cousins, but my memories tell me that there has always been only the Six.”
“Many of my siblings started experimenting with crossbreeding after Persephone mated with Mastema, for although none of us approved of her soiling our blood with that of a negna, he was still the only other being in Los-Reinar whose power rivalled our own and thus their offspring could potentially shift the power balance among us.”
“The Dannar sired children to maintain a power balance?”
“Of course, why else would we dilute our blood with that of lesser beings?”
Zendrius looked from Nessha to his uncle to make sure he wasn’t being mocked. “Ok then, let’s just move on. So about the nectar thing?”
“Let’s just say that you can only get it from me and that it is going to be extremely costly,” said the Agrarian with a smile.
“Whatever, is there anything else that I should know?”
“Just that your sealing couldn’t possibly have been done by the people of Juria, besides the fact that they rely on technology, their skills in magic are pitiful and limited to protective runes. This six part seal of yours is a work of art, even I could not duplicate such a feat. No, whoever did it has a grasp on magic and genetics that is almost impossible to believe.”
“You have absolutely no suspects in mind?”
“I have a few but it would be pure speculation and I don’t like to speculate.”
“Well then let us move on to Nessha’s info.”
The Agrarian shifted his orange gaze to the woman. “Here is what I know; one hundred and twenty-one cycles before you returned from Earth, the Living Blade fort was attacked by Uvall’s legions. However instead of his usual tactic of overwhelming the enemy with numbers, he only sent a small group of his most powerful retainers and from the way they acted I’d say they were given orders to be as covert as possible. They were almost at the rift when this strange oval-shaped being appeared. I have never seen anything like it and I have been around for a long time. Naturally everyone stopped and stared at the peculiar creature when all of the sudden a blinding white light erupted from it. When I finally regained my sight it was gone along with everyone else. As you might imagine I was quite curious as to where everyone went so I did a bit of digging and found that Uvall’s men where back in his domain. Apparently they just appeared, or so I was told. As for the creature and the rest of your kind, I have no idea where they are. I eventually decided they were all transported through the rift but since you didn’t run into them . . .”
“I see,” said Nessha worried.
“We did run into that weird creature though, it appeared while I was speaking with Father Warren and abducted an acquaintance of mine before escaping back into the rift,” pointed Zendrius out.
“So it went through and came back before I regained my sight? Extraordinary, I assume this acquaintance of yours was human?”
“Yes, an eighteen year old girl.”
“Tell me the details.”
“Only if you’d give me a discount the next time I buy information from you,” said Zendrius with a smirk.
“If nothing else Persephone, your decision to defy us and mate with Mastema produced a very peculiar and entertaining result,” thought the Agrarian before agreeing to the witty child’s proposal.
Monday 8 August 2011
Fire Child Part 11
The creature Zendrius assumed was the Agrarian hovered in the air and he found himself torn. He wasn’t sure if he should be horrified or amused by the strange sight. The Agrarian was enormous, its serpentine body spanned easily over a mile long but what made it so bizarre were its appendages. All along its scaly frame were thousands of small feathery wings peculiarly similar to the wings of a hummingbird. The collective drone of the fluttering wings was almost deafening, a fact that puzzled Zendrius, since he had not heard the creature’s approach.
The Agrarian landed with surprising finesse before six knots at the side of his body unfolded themselves into arms. “See, my information is never wrong. Why is he so tiny?”
“I was hoping you would know, my lord,” said Nessha as she lowered her gaze.
“Come closer nephew,” said the Agrarian as he beckoned with all six hands.
Zendrius grinned as he moved towards the towering figure. “Alright uncle, but don’t let those hands of yours wander below the waist.”
The serpentine being smiled, revealing a countless array of fangs. “I can barely see that tiny thing you call a sex organ, now shut up so I can determine why you’re not a Dannar between those legs.”
Zendrius was about to defend his injured pride when his eyes caught the multiple pupil eyes of his uncle. In that moment he instinctively knew to rather let it go and submit to the examination.
“Interesting, when did this appear?” asked the Agrarian as he tapped the mark on his nephew’s chest.
“I’m not sure, I only noticed it after Nessha pointed it out.”
“Hmmm, but it wasn’t always there?”
“No.”
“I see, and when you first noticed it, was this top sphere also already open?”
“Wait, what?” asked Zendrius as he looked down.
The fractal mark was still there but instead of six glowing spheres, there were only five. The sphere at the top was open, as if it had bloomed.
The Agrarian slapped his nephew behind the head. “Notice these things damn you!”
“I haven’t really had a chance to admire myself in a mirror you know,” said Zendrius dryly.
“No you were too busy fumbling to kill one lobventor.”
“How do you know about that?”
“It is my business to know everything, now try and burn my hands,” said the Agrarian before seizing his nephew’s body with all six his appendages.
Zendrius concentrated on the bulky three-fingered hands but the sanguine flames just continued to harmlessly flow over them. “It’s not working.”
“I see,” said the serpentine being before continuously tightening his grip.
“What are you doing?” said the teenage boy as he cried out in pain.
“I’m going to crush you into a paste, there is no room in Los-Reinar for a weak Dannar. We are the lords of this realm, your mere existence offends me.”
“My lord!” exclaimed Nessha as she heard a bone snap.
“Quiet, negna! Sit there and simper,” roared the Agrarian.
As if the physical pain wasn’t enough, a migraine ravaged Zendrius’ mind as images of the Fallen accompanied by an aversion to their presence filled his thoughts. They were outsiders, they did not belong in Los-Reinar. Another bone cracked when the young Dannar howled out in rage.
The Agrarian pulled back his burning hands and after realising no magical means snuffed out the sanguine flames quickly tore off his arms with his fangs.
Zendrius slumped to the ground but his eyes were crazed with fury as the flames perused his enemy.
“Interesting,” said the agile serpentine creature as he evaded the flames while his arms regenerated. His new appendages quickly weaved several signs and suddenly he was gone.
“Wha-” started the confused youth when his uncle appeared next to him.
The sanguine flames rushed back but the Agrarian calmly pushed a small ball of green energy into his nephew’s head and the boy fainted. The lord of the Garden watched with fascination as the sanguine flames returned to their master. “Well now, it seems you are worthy of being called a Dannar after all.”
Alyza smiled as she flexed her fingers and toes.
“How does it feel? Any odd sensations?” asked Zed’s mother.
“It’s nice to be able to move something, when will I be able to move the rest of my body?”
“Soon, you have been making surprisingly good progress so far.”
“When will I be able to see and talk the old-fashioned way again?”
“After you have regained control of your body.”
“Would it kill you to be less vague?”
“You mentioned Zed had foster parents before the priests took him in?”
Alyza knew better than to press her question. “Yes, but I don’t know much about them, they had already passed away in the fire when I met Zed.”
“How did the fire start?”
“That’s just the thing, the police was sure it was arson since the flames had spread unnaturally and thus had to have been manipulated with an accelerant. Zed was their prime suspect because he escaped the flames unharmed, despite that his room was the point of ignition. Most of the people still believe that it was him but there wasn’t any substantial evidence that proved their allegations so the police were eventually forced to close the case.”
“And how does Zed feel about that night?”
“He told me he only remembers standing in front of the house when the fire engine arrived, his mind must have suppressed the rest. I heard it is quite common among people who survive such traumatising effects.”
“I see, and then this priest, Father . . .”
“Warren.”
“Father Warren adopted Zed?”
“Yes, apparently he was good friends with Zed’s foster parents.”
“And how was he treated by the priests?”
“Well by some, but most of them didn’t seem to like him. I don’t know why. I think they also believed the story that he was responsible for his foster parents’ death.”
“How did Zed take this resentment?”
“He took it like he takes everything life throws at him with indifference and humour, but I sometimes saw that it bothered him,” said Alyza sadly.
“I see, thank you. I think you should rest now.”
Exhaustion overwhelmed Alyza before she could reply and Persephone of a Thousand Forms moved away from the egg.
The Agrarian landed with surprising finesse before six knots at the side of his body unfolded themselves into arms. “See, my information is never wrong. Why is he so tiny?”
“I was hoping you would know, my lord,” said Nessha as she lowered her gaze.
“Come closer nephew,” said the Agrarian as he beckoned with all six hands.
Zendrius grinned as he moved towards the towering figure. “Alright uncle, but don’t let those hands of yours wander below the waist.”
The serpentine being smiled, revealing a countless array of fangs. “I can barely see that tiny thing you call a sex organ, now shut up so I can determine why you’re not a Dannar between those legs.”
Zendrius was about to defend his injured pride when his eyes caught the multiple pupil eyes of his uncle. In that moment he instinctively knew to rather let it go and submit to the examination.
“Interesting, when did this appear?” asked the Agrarian as he tapped the mark on his nephew’s chest.
“I’m not sure, I only noticed it after Nessha pointed it out.”
“Hmmm, but it wasn’t always there?”
“No.”
“I see, and when you first noticed it, was this top sphere also already open?”
“Wait, what?” asked Zendrius as he looked down.
The fractal mark was still there but instead of six glowing spheres, there were only five. The sphere at the top was open, as if it had bloomed.
The Agrarian slapped his nephew behind the head. “Notice these things damn you!”
“I haven’t really had a chance to admire myself in a mirror you know,” said Zendrius dryly.
“No you were too busy fumbling to kill one lobventor.”
“How do you know about that?”
“It is my business to know everything, now try and burn my hands,” said the Agrarian before seizing his nephew’s body with all six his appendages.
Zendrius concentrated on the bulky three-fingered hands but the sanguine flames just continued to harmlessly flow over them. “It’s not working.”
“I see,” said the serpentine being before continuously tightening his grip.
“What are you doing?” said the teenage boy as he cried out in pain.
“I’m going to crush you into a paste, there is no room in Los-Reinar for a weak Dannar. We are the lords of this realm, your mere existence offends me.”
“My lord!” exclaimed Nessha as she heard a bone snap.
“Quiet, negna! Sit there and simper,” roared the Agrarian.
As if the physical pain wasn’t enough, a migraine ravaged Zendrius’ mind as images of the Fallen accompanied by an aversion to their presence filled his thoughts. They were outsiders, they did not belong in Los-Reinar. Another bone cracked when the young Dannar howled out in rage.
The Agrarian pulled back his burning hands and after realising no magical means snuffed out the sanguine flames quickly tore off his arms with his fangs.
Zendrius slumped to the ground but his eyes were crazed with fury as the flames perused his enemy.
“Interesting,” said the agile serpentine creature as he evaded the flames while his arms regenerated. His new appendages quickly weaved several signs and suddenly he was gone.
“Wha-” started the confused youth when his uncle appeared next to him.
The sanguine flames rushed back but the Agrarian calmly pushed a small ball of green energy into his nephew’s head and the boy fainted. The lord of the Garden watched with fascination as the sanguine flames returned to their master. “Well now, it seems you are worthy of being called a Dannar after all.”
Alyza smiled as she flexed her fingers and toes.
“How does it feel? Any odd sensations?” asked Zed’s mother.
“It’s nice to be able to move something, when will I be able to move the rest of my body?”
“Soon, you have been making surprisingly good progress so far.”
“When will I be able to see and talk the old-fashioned way again?”
“After you have regained control of your body.”
“Would it kill you to be less vague?”
“You mentioned Zed had foster parents before the priests took him in?”
Alyza knew better than to press her question. “Yes, but I don’t know much about them, they had already passed away in the fire when I met Zed.”
“How did the fire start?”
“That’s just the thing, the police was sure it was arson since the flames had spread unnaturally and thus had to have been manipulated with an accelerant. Zed was their prime suspect because he escaped the flames unharmed, despite that his room was the point of ignition. Most of the people still believe that it was him but there wasn’t any substantial evidence that proved their allegations so the police were eventually forced to close the case.”
“And how does Zed feel about that night?”
“He told me he only remembers standing in front of the house when the fire engine arrived, his mind must have suppressed the rest. I heard it is quite common among people who survive such traumatising effects.”
“I see, and then this priest, Father . . .”
“Warren.”
“Father Warren adopted Zed?”
“Yes, apparently he was good friends with Zed’s foster parents.”
“And how was he treated by the priests?”
“Well by some, but most of them didn’t seem to like him. I don’t know why. I think they also believed the story that he was responsible for his foster parents’ death.”
“How did Zed take this resentment?”
“He took it like he takes everything life throws at him with indifference and humour, but I sometimes saw that it bothered him,” said Alyza sadly.
“I see, thank you. I think you should rest now.”
Exhaustion overwhelmed Alyza before she could reply and Persephone of a Thousand Forms moved away from the egg.
Monday 1 August 2011
Fire Child Part 9 & 10 Special
Alyza stirred, her mind still groggy when her eyelids disobeyed her. She tried again as clarity returned but found them unresponsive. Panic seeped into the teenage girl’s consciousness when she finally realised that she was paralysed.
“Do not be afraid,” said a soothing feminine voice from within her head.
“Where am I? What’s happening?”
“You are safe, that is all that matters.”
“What’s going on? Why can’t I see or move?”
“So many questions, what is the last thing you remember girl?”
Alyza took a moment to gather her thoughts. “I jumped in front of a rock that would have hit Zed. Is that what this is? Am I in some sort of coma?”
“Why did you jump in front of the rock?”
“What do you mean? If I hadn’t, it would have struck Zed.”
“And you would rather injure yourself than have him hurt?”
“Yes,” answered Alyza without hesitation.
“Why?”
“I thought it would be obvious, because I love him.”
“Good,” said the voice seemingly to herself.
“Now would you please start answering some of my questions?”
“Very well, what is it you would like to know?”
“For starters, where am I? Why can’t I move and who are you?”
“You’re in a . . . protective chamber of sorts, which is also incidentally the cause of your temporary paralysis.”
“Ok, but why am I in a protective chamber?”
“To protect you until you’ve been adjusted.”
“Protect me from what and what do you mean by adjusted?”
“So you could survive the environment.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Enough questions, sleep now.”
A strangely familiar sensation washed over Alyza when it occurred to her that she was submerged in water and that the liquid was slowly being heated. The warmth seeped into her muscles leaving her relaxed and sleep soon overwhelmed her.
Zendrius ducked as the creature tried to pounce on him. Nessha had been busy explaining how and when the people from Earth had invaded Los-Reinar when the dome-shaped creature seemingly appeared out of nowhere and attacked them. Its dome was 10 ft in diameter and covered with spikes the length of a man’s arm, while a forest of two inch thick tendrils sprouted from its base.
The creature aptly used its strange limbs and avoided getting lodge upside-down as it missed its fiery target.
“What is it?” asked Zendrius as he quickly backed away.
“It’s a lobventor, my lord,” said Nessha as she easily dodged the creature’s attack.
A jolt of pain ran through Zendrius’ mind before he remembered that a lobventor’s spikes were poisonous and that it had an incredibly hard shell. It had no eyes or ears and hunted by using the vibrations it felt through the ground with its tendrils. The best way to kill one was to shove a sharp object through its mouth which was located at the centre of all its tendrils. The lobventors were the sixth race of the Newious, which meant it was the weakest race among the Newious.
The lobventor lunged forward and Zendrius instantly responded but the creature extended its tendrils at the last minute, enfolding his left arm with fleshy ropes. The force of its fall ripped him off his feet as it was unable to land deftly with its few remaining tendrils.
Nessha watched the struggle impassively as the smell of searing flesh filled the air.
Zendrius struggled to loosen the creature’s grip as it slowly pulled his arm towards its circular mouth. “Let go!” screamed the teenager as the lobventor opened its maw, revealing rows upon rows of teeth.
Nessha maintained her impassive mask as she replied to Zendrius’ cries for help. “My lord, Los-Reinar is a realm that revolves around one thing, power. Here the powerless and weak are none existent, I understand that you are not yet in your true form but you are still one of the Dannar. You would forever be disgraced if I were to help you kill some lobventor who hasn’t even a name or rank.”
Zendrius winced as he recalled the Dannar. They were the first to be created and to say that they are a composition of all the nightmares in existence would be an understatement. Zendrius shook his head to clear it and found that he had lost some time as the lobventor was about to dine on his arm. “I said let go!”
The sanguine flames intensified, turning the sizzling flesh into charred meat. Zendrius ripped his arm free and before the lobventor could react it was consumed by the flames.
Nessha started towards her lord when five more lobventors jumped down from an outcrop. Four of the five were dead before they touched the ground as her blade effortlessly tore through spike, shell and flesh. The last surged forward in desperation but Nessha simply sidestepped the creature, giving it a slight kick from behind, causing it to botch its landing. Nessha absently strode forward and plunged her sword through the lobventor’s mouth and into its brain.
Zendrius regarded the dead creatures. “You know it wouldn’t hurt protecting my pride too.”
“It is best not to needlessly drag out a fight, my lord.”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
Nessha regarded the corpses. “Even if one considers their ignorance, they still should have known who I was. Starvation must have driven them to madness. Are you hungry my lord?”
“Not particularly.”
“Then I suggest we move on, the blood is already drawing those who are.”
“Where exactly are we headed?” asked Zendrius as they departed.
“For the nearest nexus, my lord.”
Zendrius waited a moment. “It seems I have no memory of it.”
Nessha contemplated this briefly. “Yes, of course. The nexus has only been around for roughly 50 genia. I suppose it is one of those things that after you’ve gotten used to it, you can’t imagine life without it. Do you know what I mean, my lord?”
“Yes I do, so what is it?”
“Well my lord, the nexus is a network of points throughout Los-Reinar owned by Oriax. If the toll is paid, Oriax can instantaneously move you to any of them.”
“So we can teleport from one nexus to any other?”
“Exactly my lord.”
“How does it work?”
“I don’t know, my lord. To my knowledge, Oriax is the only one to have mastered that particular field of magic.”
“Hmmm, and what exactly is used to pay Oriax’s toll? I assume gold and such has no value here?”
“As I have said before my lord, Los-Reinar is driven by power and the quickest way to accumulate power is by collecting souls.”
“Souls? Whose souls?”
“The damned, my lord. The lives of humanity are brief and man itself is constantly shortening their time with war, arrogance and greed. Those who did not achieve salvation while in the mortal coil gather in the Pits of Despair.”
Zendrius fell to his knees as his senses were assaulted by images of blue orbs endlessly spiralling in a cone-shaped crater. Its edges were littered with the bodies of those who fought over it, while the condemned did the only thing they could; wail in despair.
“Are you alright, my lord?” asked Nessha with concern as she helped him to his feet.
“I’m fine, it was just a bit overwhelming. How does collecting souls make you more powerful?”
“Well my lord, souls are pure inextinguishable energy and Los-Reinar is dominated by magic as Earth is dominated by technology.”
“I still don’t see where the souls fit in.”
“Magic is in essence the art of manipulating energy, having inextinguishable sources of energy enables you to accomplish more impressive feats.”
“Ah, ok I suppose that makes sense.”
Nessha led her lord to a massive rune carved into a relatively level surface of rock. “Yolphilious.”
Before Zendrius could inquire to the purpose of the word, a 13 ft creature materialised at the centre of the rune. It was humanoid with a chitin exoskeleton and wings similar to an atlas beetle.
“Nessha, I haven’t seen you in a while,” said the creature.
“Oriax, business has been good I take it?”
“You know how it is, always room for expansion. Who’s the new face?” asked the violet-eyed being.
“This is Lord Zendrius,” said Nessha as she indicated her flaming companion.
“Oh? The Fire Child in the flesh, I guess you Living Blade lot were not insane after all. It is an honour to meet you, my lord,” said Oriax with a slight bow. “I hope I will enjoy your patronage as well.”
“That would depend on your service,” replied Zendrius stoically.
Oriax smiled, revealing a startling amount of teeth. “Ah, but I think you will be sufficiently satisfied with my services.”
“About that, do you know where the Garden is at the moment?” asked Nessha.
“Perhaps.”
“Might you have a nexus close to it?”
“I might, but why do seek the Agrarian?”
“I have a lot questions that needs answering.”
“About who attacked your fort?”
“So there was an attack? Do you know anything that could help me?”
“Not much, just that a few cycles ago something attacked the Living Blade stronghold. I don’t know what it was, but whatever it was it took only a moment for it to win. I haven’t seen a Living Blade since, well until now, honestly I thought you would be able to tell me what happened.”
“I wasn’t there when it happened,” said Nessha frustrated.
“I see, well it just so happen that I have a nexus that’s unusually close to the Garden. Want to take it?”
“How much?”
“On the house, a token of my respect to the future Lord of Los-Reinar,” said Oriax to Zendrius.
“Thank you,” said the teenager when suddenly the world fell away being replaced by a different landscape an instant later.
“You are very welcome,” said Oriax before disappearing.
Zendrius slowly took in the terrain. The glowing maroon rocks were now replaced by a plane of pitch-black soil. However in the distance was a forest of orange and gold.
Nessha started off towards the strange sight. “Oriax was right, it is strange that the Garden is this close to a nexus.”
“What do you mean? Oriax must have created it near the Garden.”
“No my lord, the Garden isn’t found in a fixed location.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It moves, my lord.”
“Moves?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“How – wait nevermind,” said Zendrius as a nearby tree slithered into the ground before reappearing at another location.
“There is one thing you should know, my lord.”
“What?”
“The Agrarian is one of the Six.”
The utterance came into context surprisingly without pain. “Oh right, about that, you mentioned I am one of the Dannar but there is only six of them, which if you think about it logically would mean that I am the result of a union between two of the Six. Which would then also mean that I am the product of incest, since they are all related, and let me tell you the idea doesn’t exactly have me jumping for joy.”
“I understand your cause for concern my lord, but only your mother were of the Dannar, your father were of the Fallen.”
“Like you?”
“Yes my lord, his name was Mastema and he was our leader.”
“Was? He’s dead?”
“Yes, my lord. He died the moment you were conceived.”
“Why?”
“My lord the Fallen are all infertile, your existence is a miracle but I can only speculate that it came at a price.”
It surprised Zendrius that he felt no sense of loss at the news. “While we are on the subject, I would like to ask you a few questions while we have the time.”
Nessha indicated he should continue.
“I grew up with priests so I have a decent grasp on Christianity, but since coming here there has been a few things I don’t quite understand and it seems dear old mom didn’t think any of it important enough to file under need-to-know. Firstly, I was under the impression that Lucifer ruled hell, granted that this isn’t exactly the hell I pictured, but still; care to clarify?”
“My lord, what you need to understand is that Los-Reinar existed long before we were cast out of heaven and so did those who live within it. When we entered this realm our bodies were twisted, back then we thought that it was part of our punishment, but it was actually an act of mercy for it allowed us to adapt. However the residual pain of the transformation also left us vulnerable and weak.”
“And there is no place for the weak in Los-Reinar,” added Zendrius.
“Exactly, a Dannar known as Uvall set his starving legions upon us while he himself joined the feast. We fought hard but waves upon waves of famished demons fell upon us and ultimately most of my kin sacrificed themselves so a fraction of the host could survive, Lucifer were among those who stayed behind. He was cast as the villain because humanity would not be able to otherwise comprehend the existence of Los-Reinar.”
“I suppose it makes sense, but why did you rebel in the first place? It is something that has been bothering me my entire life. You angels were created by God and lived in his presence which means you had front row seats to his awe-inspiring power, why then would you do something as stupid as start a rebellion? I mean you couldn’t have possibly thought your uprising had a chance of success.”
Nessha smiled slightly. “To say we rebelled is overstating it, my lord. God has infinite patience and understanding with mankind who He created to love Him, but we were created to serve with absolute obedience. It is true that Lucifer started everything, he gathered like-minded individuals to his side then approached God. You see all we wanted was the freedom to make our own choices, a blessing that humankind as well as demon kind grossly take for granted. The next thing we knew we found ourselves here on Los-Reinar. It is as you said my lord, it wouldn’t have made sense to rebel against God.”
Zendrius studied Nessha’s face. “You don’t seem particularly pissed off about it.”
“Why should I be, my lord? God granted our wish, for although it is a much harsher existence, those of us who are left, do indeed have the freedom to make our own choices.”
“Nessha! You brought my nephew!” said a voice suddenly from above.
Zendrius looked up in surprise.
Alyza absently listened to the rhythm of her heartbeat. She didn’t know if it was due to the surrounding liquid, but it was as if she had pushed her ear against someone’s chest. She had been drifting in and out of sleep for what felt like days, sometimes the voice was there other times it wasn’t. Despite her numerous conversations with the voice she still wasn’t sure where she was and how she had come to be in her current state. The voice seemed more interested in her relationship with Zed which made their periodic chat oddly similar to common girl talk.
“How are you feeling?” asked the voice suddenly.
“Fine, just wish I could move around a bit.”
“Soon you’ll be ready.”
“When is soon and ready for what?”
“Where did you first meet Zed?”
Alyza did a nice long mental sigh. “At a park near my house, I was being teased by three boys when Zed suddenly attacked them. I swear he would have killed them if I hadn’t stopped him.”
“How did you?”
“What?”
“Stop him.”
“At first I tried to pull him off one of the boys but he was deceptively strong even back then, I finally just hugged him from behind and told him to calm down.”
“And that worked?”
Alyza laughed. “Like a charm, I don’t know who was more stunned at that moment, him from being hugged by a random girl or me hugging a boy for the first time, an unfamiliar boy at that.”
“Did he get into a lot of fights?”
“Oh constantly, it took me a few years to get him to stop.”
“And each time you hugged him?”
“At first, but he started to listen to me as the years passed,” said Alyza with a chuckle.
“Why did you care?” asked the voice confused.
“What do you mean?”
“Why did you care about a boy you hardly knew?”
“I don’t know, there was just something about him that drew me in, plus he was so kind to me. He always comforted me whenever I got teased at school.”
“I see, when did you realise you were in love with him?”
“I’m a sappy romantic so I’d like to think since that first hug, but who knows? It kinda just happened.”
“Interesting, I think that’ll be all for now, you need your rest.”
“Wait! Can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“Why are you so interested in Zed?”
There was a pause then the voice said, “A mother should know her child.”
“Do not be afraid,” said a soothing feminine voice from within her head.
“Where am I? What’s happening?”
“You are safe, that is all that matters.”
“What’s going on? Why can’t I see or move?”
“So many questions, what is the last thing you remember girl?”
Alyza took a moment to gather her thoughts. “I jumped in front of a rock that would have hit Zed. Is that what this is? Am I in some sort of coma?”
“Why did you jump in front of the rock?”
“What do you mean? If I hadn’t, it would have struck Zed.”
“And you would rather injure yourself than have him hurt?”
“Yes,” answered Alyza without hesitation.
“Why?”
“I thought it would be obvious, because I love him.”
“Good,” said the voice seemingly to herself.
“Now would you please start answering some of my questions?”
“Very well, what is it you would like to know?”
“For starters, where am I? Why can’t I move and who are you?”
“You’re in a . . . protective chamber of sorts, which is also incidentally the cause of your temporary paralysis.”
“Ok, but why am I in a protective chamber?”
“To protect you until you’ve been adjusted.”
“Protect me from what and what do you mean by adjusted?”
“So you could survive the environment.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Enough questions, sleep now.”
A strangely familiar sensation washed over Alyza when it occurred to her that she was submerged in water and that the liquid was slowly being heated. The warmth seeped into her muscles leaving her relaxed and sleep soon overwhelmed her.
Zendrius ducked as the creature tried to pounce on him. Nessha had been busy explaining how and when the people from Earth had invaded Los-Reinar when the dome-shaped creature seemingly appeared out of nowhere and attacked them. Its dome was 10 ft in diameter and covered with spikes the length of a man’s arm, while a forest of two inch thick tendrils sprouted from its base.
The creature aptly used its strange limbs and avoided getting lodge upside-down as it missed its fiery target.
“What is it?” asked Zendrius as he quickly backed away.
“It’s a lobventor, my lord,” said Nessha as she easily dodged the creature’s attack.
A jolt of pain ran through Zendrius’ mind before he remembered that a lobventor’s spikes were poisonous and that it had an incredibly hard shell. It had no eyes or ears and hunted by using the vibrations it felt through the ground with its tendrils. The best way to kill one was to shove a sharp object through its mouth which was located at the centre of all its tendrils. The lobventors were the sixth race of the Newious, which meant it was the weakest race among the Newious.
The lobventor lunged forward and Zendrius instantly responded but the creature extended its tendrils at the last minute, enfolding his left arm with fleshy ropes. The force of its fall ripped him off his feet as it was unable to land deftly with its few remaining tendrils.
Nessha watched the struggle impassively as the smell of searing flesh filled the air.
Zendrius struggled to loosen the creature’s grip as it slowly pulled his arm towards its circular mouth. “Let go!” screamed the teenager as the lobventor opened its maw, revealing rows upon rows of teeth.
Nessha maintained her impassive mask as she replied to Zendrius’ cries for help. “My lord, Los-Reinar is a realm that revolves around one thing, power. Here the powerless and weak are none existent, I understand that you are not yet in your true form but you are still one of the Dannar. You would forever be disgraced if I were to help you kill some lobventor who hasn’t even a name or rank.”
Zendrius winced as he recalled the Dannar. They were the first to be created and to say that they are a composition of all the nightmares in existence would be an understatement. Zendrius shook his head to clear it and found that he had lost some time as the lobventor was about to dine on his arm. “I said let go!”
The sanguine flames intensified, turning the sizzling flesh into charred meat. Zendrius ripped his arm free and before the lobventor could react it was consumed by the flames.
Nessha started towards her lord when five more lobventors jumped down from an outcrop. Four of the five were dead before they touched the ground as her blade effortlessly tore through spike, shell and flesh. The last surged forward in desperation but Nessha simply sidestepped the creature, giving it a slight kick from behind, causing it to botch its landing. Nessha absently strode forward and plunged her sword through the lobventor’s mouth and into its brain.
Zendrius regarded the dead creatures. “You know it wouldn’t hurt protecting my pride too.”
“It is best not to needlessly drag out a fight, my lord.”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
Nessha regarded the corpses. “Even if one considers their ignorance, they still should have known who I was. Starvation must have driven them to madness. Are you hungry my lord?”
“Not particularly.”
“Then I suggest we move on, the blood is already drawing those who are.”
“Where exactly are we headed?” asked Zendrius as they departed.
“For the nearest nexus, my lord.”
Zendrius waited a moment. “It seems I have no memory of it.”
Nessha contemplated this briefly. “Yes, of course. The nexus has only been around for roughly 50 genia. I suppose it is one of those things that after you’ve gotten used to it, you can’t imagine life without it. Do you know what I mean, my lord?”
“Yes I do, so what is it?”
“Well my lord, the nexus is a network of points throughout Los-Reinar owned by Oriax. If the toll is paid, Oriax can instantaneously move you to any of them.”
“So we can teleport from one nexus to any other?”
“Exactly my lord.”
“How does it work?”
“I don’t know, my lord. To my knowledge, Oriax is the only one to have mastered that particular field of magic.”
“Hmmm, and what exactly is used to pay Oriax’s toll? I assume gold and such has no value here?”
“As I have said before my lord, Los-Reinar is driven by power and the quickest way to accumulate power is by collecting souls.”
“Souls? Whose souls?”
“The damned, my lord. The lives of humanity are brief and man itself is constantly shortening their time with war, arrogance and greed. Those who did not achieve salvation while in the mortal coil gather in the Pits of Despair.”
Zendrius fell to his knees as his senses were assaulted by images of blue orbs endlessly spiralling in a cone-shaped crater. Its edges were littered with the bodies of those who fought over it, while the condemned did the only thing they could; wail in despair.
“Are you alright, my lord?” asked Nessha with concern as she helped him to his feet.
“I’m fine, it was just a bit overwhelming. How does collecting souls make you more powerful?”
“Well my lord, souls are pure inextinguishable energy and Los-Reinar is dominated by magic as Earth is dominated by technology.”
“I still don’t see where the souls fit in.”
“Magic is in essence the art of manipulating energy, having inextinguishable sources of energy enables you to accomplish more impressive feats.”
“Ah, ok I suppose that makes sense.”
Nessha led her lord to a massive rune carved into a relatively level surface of rock. “Yolphilious.”
Before Zendrius could inquire to the purpose of the word, a 13 ft creature materialised at the centre of the rune. It was humanoid with a chitin exoskeleton and wings similar to an atlas beetle.
“Nessha, I haven’t seen you in a while,” said the creature.
“Oriax, business has been good I take it?”
“You know how it is, always room for expansion. Who’s the new face?” asked the violet-eyed being.
“This is Lord Zendrius,” said Nessha as she indicated her flaming companion.
“Oh? The Fire Child in the flesh, I guess you Living Blade lot were not insane after all. It is an honour to meet you, my lord,” said Oriax with a slight bow. “I hope I will enjoy your patronage as well.”
“That would depend on your service,” replied Zendrius stoically.
Oriax smiled, revealing a startling amount of teeth. “Ah, but I think you will be sufficiently satisfied with my services.”
“About that, do you know where the Garden is at the moment?” asked Nessha.
“Perhaps.”
“Might you have a nexus close to it?”
“I might, but why do seek the Agrarian?”
“I have a lot questions that needs answering.”
“About who attacked your fort?”
“So there was an attack? Do you know anything that could help me?”
“Not much, just that a few cycles ago something attacked the Living Blade stronghold. I don’t know what it was, but whatever it was it took only a moment for it to win. I haven’t seen a Living Blade since, well until now, honestly I thought you would be able to tell me what happened.”
“I wasn’t there when it happened,” said Nessha frustrated.
“I see, well it just so happen that I have a nexus that’s unusually close to the Garden. Want to take it?”
“How much?”
“On the house, a token of my respect to the future Lord of Los-Reinar,” said Oriax to Zendrius.
“Thank you,” said the teenager when suddenly the world fell away being replaced by a different landscape an instant later.
“You are very welcome,” said Oriax before disappearing.
Zendrius slowly took in the terrain. The glowing maroon rocks were now replaced by a plane of pitch-black soil. However in the distance was a forest of orange and gold.
Nessha started off towards the strange sight. “Oriax was right, it is strange that the Garden is this close to a nexus.”
“What do you mean? Oriax must have created it near the Garden.”
“No my lord, the Garden isn’t found in a fixed location.”
“I don’t understand.”
“It moves, my lord.”
“Moves?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“How – wait nevermind,” said Zendrius as a nearby tree slithered into the ground before reappearing at another location.
“There is one thing you should know, my lord.”
“What?”
“The Agrarian is one of the Six.”
The utterance came into context surprisingly without pain. “Oh right, about that, you mentioned I am one of the Dannar but there is only six of them, which if you think about it logically would mean that I am the result of a union between two of the Six. Which would then also mean that I am the product of incest, since they are all related, and let me tell you the idea doesn’t exactly have me jumping for joy.”
“I understand your cause for concern my lord, but only your mother were of the Dannar, your father were of the Fallen.”
“Like you?”
“Yes my lord, his name was Mastema and he was our leader.”
“Was? He’s dead?”
“Yes, my lord. He died the moment you were conceived.”
“Why?”
“My lord the Fallen are all infertile, your existence is a miracle but I can only speculate that it came at a price.”
It surprised Zendrius that he felt no sense of loss at the news. “While we are on the subject, I would like to ask you a few questions while we have the time.”
Nessha indicated he should continue.
“I grew up with priests so I have a decent grasp on Christianity, but since coming here there has been a few things I don’t quite understand and it seems dear old mom didn’t think any of it important enough to file under need-to-know. Firstly, I was under the impression that Lucifer ruled hell, granted that this isn’t exactly the hell I pictured, but still; care to clarify?”
“My lord, what you need to understand is that Los-Reinar existed long before we were cast out of heaven and so did those who live within it. When we entered this realm our bodies were twisted, back then we thought that it was part of our punishment, but it was actually an act of mercy for it allowed us to adapt. However the residual pain of the transformation also left us vulnerable and weak.”
“And there is no place for the weak in Los-Reinar,” added Zendrius.
“Exactly, a Dannar known as Uvall set his starving legions upon us while he himself joined the feast. We fought hard but waves upon waves of famished demons fell upon us and ultimately most of my kin sacrificed themselves so a fraction of the host could survive, Lucifer were among those who stayed behind. He was cast as the villain because humanity would not be able to otherwise comprehend the existence of Los-Reinar.”
“I suppose it makes sense, but why did you rebel in the first place? It is something that has been bothering me my entire life. You angels were created by God and lived in his presence which means you had front row seats to his awe-inspiring power, why then would you do something as stupid as start a rebellion? I mean you couldn’t have possibly thought your uprising had a chance of success.”
Nessha smiled slightly. “To say we rebelled is overstating it, my lord. God has infinite patience and understanding with mankind who He created to love Him, but we were created to serve with absolute obedience. It is true that Lucifer started everything, he gathered like-minded individuals to his side then approached God. You see all we wanted was the freedom to make our own choices, a blessing that humankind as well as demon kind grossly take for granted. The next thing we knew we found ourselves here on Los-Reinar. It is as you said my lord, it wouldn’t have made sense to rebel against God.”
Zendrius studied Nessha’s face. “You don’t seem particularly pissed off about it.”
“Why should I be, my lord? God granted our wish, for although it is a much harsher existence, those of us who are left, do indeed have the freedom to make our own choices.”
“Nessha! You brought my nephew!” said a voice suddenly from above.
Zendrius looked up in surprise.
Alyza absently listened to the rhythm of her heartbeat. She didn’t know if it was due to the surrounding liquid, but it was as if she had pushed her ear against someone’s chest. She had been drifting in and out of sleep for what felt like days, sometimes the voice was there other times it wasn’t. Despite her numerous conversations with the voice she still wasn’t sure where she was and how she had come to be in her current state. The voice seemed more interested in her relationship with Zed which made their periodic chat oddly similar to common girl talk.
“How are you feeling?” asked the voice suddenly.
“Fine, just wish I could move around a bit.”
“Soon you’ll be ready.”
“When is soon and ready for what?”
“Where did you first meet Zed?”
Alyza did a nice long mental sigh. “At a park near my house, I was being teased by three boys when Zed suddenly attacked them. I swear he would have killed them if I hadn’t stopped him.”
“How did you?”
“What?”
“Stop him.”
“At first I tried to pull him off one of the boys but he was deceptively strong even back then, I finally just hugged him from behind and told him to calm down.”
“And that worked?”
Alyza laughed. “Like a charm, I don’t know who was more stunned at that moment, him from being hugged by a random girl or me hugging a boy for the first time, an unfamiliar boy at that.”
“Did he get into a lot of fights?”
“Oh constantly, it took me a few years to get him to stop.”
“And each time you hugged him?”
“At first, but he started to listen to me as the years passed,” said Alyza with a chuckle.
“Why did you care?” asked the voice confused.
“What do you mean?”
“Why did you care about a boy you hardly knew?”
“I don’t know, there was just something about him that drew me in, plus he was so kind to me. He always comforted me whenever I got teased at school.”
“I see, when did you realise you were in love with him?”
“I’m a sappy romantic so I’d like to think since that first hug, but who knows? It kinda just happened.”
“Interesting, I think that’ll be all for now, you need your rest.”
“Wait! Can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“Why are you so interested in Zed?”
There was a pause then the voice said, “A mother should know her child.”
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