Quest for the Dragon Soul Pt. 05

Unlike his brethren Ax'Herith, Oczeloth had kept a somewhat more human appearance -- as the winds beat his cloak, his chest was exposed; the flesh from his chest had been flayed, exposing his muscles and his rib cage while his arms and legs were covered in tattered strips of shredded skin. Beyond his handsome face, his skinless skull was exposed and his perpetually leaking, fractured bones stained the inside of his hood.

"Do you see them?" he asked in a calm voice.

The Matron Chameleonedae stood in front of him, her fluid form allowing her usually smooth face to ripple and a giant eye emerged, filling her entire face. Her powerful vision cut through the tumult of the stormy sea until it was prohibited by the column of stillness that trapped the barge of Ax'Herith.

"The barge is immobile in a patch of still waters," the Matron Chameleonedae said, ripples flowing across her liquid body. She lifted her head, drops of the liquid that formed her body dripping up and down between her body parts. "They rest five leagues ahead of us. They're surrounded by an aura that weakens magic -- I can't quite see through it but ... they're not alone."

The Dread Lord Oczeloth raised his hand and the Scything Souls that manned the ship ran to the front bow and began to assemble a machine comprised of four metal cylinders as long and thick as a man -- they mounted the cylinders onto a gimbal, allowing them to point the cylinders in the direction they sought. As lightning split the sky, pieces of crystal within the cylinders glinted. The Matron Chameleonedae guided the angle she estimated would best overcome the aura.

When the Matron Chameleonedae seemed satisfied, the Dread Lord Oczeloth dropped his hand and the base of the Cylinders erupted and dozens of projectiles were launched into the stormy sky.

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Khaln eyed the aquatic dweller that faced him on the deck of the former barge of the deceased Dread Lord Ax'Herith and his upper lip curled angrily. "I don't even know if I'm going to awaken a dragon, or through myself into a live volcano, or sip grog on a beach. I just know that Sea Herders -- or whatever you call yourselves -- won't stand in my way."

"With respect," the Sea Herder said, "please, we do stand in your way. The everlasting language of water has shown us ... disturbances. We shepherd the currents, herd the clouds, sow the rain, appease the rivers, cradle the lakes. We understand the cycles and have seen the Void and the Gods negotiate their pact -- but the forces they awaken, even we do not understand."

"What is there to understand?" the Matron Sonorous suddenly demanded, grabbing the Sea Herder's wrist and pulling a sickle shaped sword from the inner folds of her tattered white cloak. She pressed the blade to the Sea Herder's throat. "Khaln will deliver the Pneuma Draconis to one of the dragon's of creation and it will awaken and remake the world the way it should have been -- for it's natural children!"

The Sea Herder looked at the Matron with a disheartened look in its large oval eyes. "The Dragon will sway to the grief of the porter -- will he reward man and reignite magic? Or truly cast a world reborn for the Skaelor? Or will he watch it simply burn? But in the coming chaos, agents move in the shadows to prevent any awakening not of their will."

"You said agents," Khaln spoke as he loosened his grip upon the sword Ax'Herith and placed a hand on the Matron Sonorous's shoulder. "You spoke of their will. Who's will do they serve?"

"It is an ancient name," the Sea Herder said as it jaws snapped while forming words. "Perhaps even the first thought ..."

As the Sea Herder let his words trail off, the once still waters beneath his silent brethren began to bubble and split apart as long, inky black tendrils jutted from the water and wrapped themselves around the surprised Sea Herders. The night sky filled with their screams as orifices formed on the tendrils and the round mouths bit into the slick flesh of the Sea Herders, sucking in their innards.

"Nyeahdhhdsak!" the Sea Herder on the barge shrieked as a heavy tentacle slammed the deck next to where he stood. "Nyeahdhhdsak has found us!"

Khaln lept forward and shoved the Matron Sonorous and the Sea Herder to the side and used the sword Ax'Herith to unceremoniously hacked at the tentacle, severing it it many places and spraying the deck and his arms and chest with a foul smelling ooze that was its blood. He looked over his shoulder at the Matron Sonorous as she got up, her sickle sword at the ready, but he shook his head.

"Keep him," Khaln said before he ran towards the edge of the barge and lept over it. As he feel towards the trembling water, he remembered his father, fighting by his side during the war with the Call of Skaelor, ushering the weak and wounded away from the battlefield before jumping back into the fray. The Sea Herders were another casualty of a war fought between supernatural forces that presumed to ward over the fates of men and women -- when Khaln struck the water, he did not sink. The surface of the Ardent Sea retained a bouncy, spongy nature and he used its responsiveness to roll and come to his feet. He drove forward, reaching the closest sea herder within a few strides -- the sword Ax'Herith dug into the salivating tendril that fed upon a suffering Sea Herder and Khaln severed it when he yanked the blade upwards.

The Matron Sonorous watched from the barge through invisible perceptions as Khaln pulled the dying tendrils from the injured sea herder before turning the sword Ax'Herith against the next troubled Sea Herder -- she turned then to the chieftain Sea Herder and cursed his lot for putting them in danger with talk of a third power. But even as the Matron Sonorous began to lose herself in thought, a rain of tentacles fell onto the barge, probing and crushing whatever they found. The Matron Sonorous, wielding her short, sickle shaped bronze sword she kept concealed in the folds of her tattered white cloak, ducked beneath reaching tentacles and slashed upwards and severed a group of the wriggling limbs. The freshly severed tentacles, dripping their clear, acrid blood, swarmed towards each other and formed a sphere and rolled across the deck, away from the Matron's sword and over the edge of the barge. As she lunged forward, a tentacle wrapped itself around her cloak and yanked her back while another grabbed her sword arm. More tentacles swarmed over the barge while the Matron fought against the ones that held her, but she was swiftly pushed to the the deck and balled tentacles fell upon her face and stomach like fists.

The Sea Herder chieftain gazed, stunned, as the Matron Sonorous attempted to shield herself from the falling fists, each impact leaving a distinct mark upon her flesh -- but after he saw the third blow land, the chieftain threw himself at the Matron, catching her from the deck and wrapping his fluid form around her to better protect her from the blows. The Matron struggled against the Sea Herder chieftain, until she realized his grunts were not efforts to choke her, but its pain as the tentacles stuck him.

Meanwhile, Khaln had continued to cut through the tendrils that assaulted the Sea Herders, but for each he cut, two more arose from the water. But the Sea Herders had begun to regroup and were fighting back, the tip of their webbed limbs unfurling razor sharp claws. As he watched the Sea Herders fight, he felt a surge of pride fill him and cried to rally the Sea Herders to his side, hoping they understood his meaning -- but his rally was short live as the circle of still water swelled and bulged beneath their feet. Cracks in the mystically frozen water opened and long columns of wriggling black tendrils and blacker tentacles reached high into the air, nearly as high as the stable ring of storm clouds that surrounded them.

Khaln then heard a cry from his barge and saw a fountain of tentacles was already pelting it. He sheathed Ax'Herith, looked at the sea herders and then made grand gestures, hoping they knew he wanted them to spread out. When he saw they did, Khaln sprinted towards the barge, his powerful thighs propelled him forward as quickly as they could while the water beneath his feet became spongier and alarmingly neared its true liquid nature. He dodged left and right as the massive swarms of tentacles swung and tried to crush him, each impact upon the surface of the Ardent sea like a small earthquake threatening to topple him. Yet, he managed to reach the netting that fell over the sides of the barge and his thickly muscled arms and shoulders and back pulled him upward. Once he was over the side of the man deck, he paused for a breath but it was cut short as he saw the Matron Sonorous and Sea Herder chieftain entangled, each using their own body to shield the other from harm.

Khaln drew the sword Ax'Herith and was about to attack the tentacles when he heard a sound like the shattering of crystal. The columns of tentacles halted their attacks, allowing the Matron Sonorous and the Sea Herder chieftain time to roll away from the tentacles and find cover.

But the Matron Sonorous left her shelter and joined Khaln as he looked up to the sky while a hail of shimmering projectiles fell upon the tentacles, the Sea Herders, and the barge.

"Shred bolts," the Matron Sonorous whispered.

Hundreds of elongated crystal shafts rained from the sky -- each shattered into thousands of sharp, deadly shards as they struck their targets. The Ardent Sea seemed to scream in agony as the shred bolts destroyed the hundreds of tentacles the had reached from the abyss, their blood splattering the surface of the water as it liquefied. The barge shook from the extravagant tidal forces as the spell that held the water still and the storms at bay was slowly peeled back at the arrival of the shred bolts.

The Sea Herder chieftain ran to the edge of the barge and watched as his brethren were rendered from flesh to gore by the shred bolts. The chieftain glowered at Khaln before throwing himself into the rocking oceans -- the circled of storm clouds had spiraled towards the center of the column of stillness that had imprisoned the barge and unleashed a storm of a magnitude the world had rarely seen.

A second salve of shred bolts cut through the clouds and struck the water and the barge, digging deep holes in the surfaces of both, raising a layer of blood and torn flesh to the sea. After the last salve of shred bolts, the sea began to boil as its surface broke and the gargantuan, writhing mass of tendrils and tentacles that was Nyeahdhhdsak appeared -- it dwarfed the barge as the crushing waves its emergence created were enough to swallow small islands. The barge was lifted off the sea and crashed hard on the water, splintering into two halves.

Nyeahdhhdsak was reminded of the barge after it crashed -- the tentacles near the center of if its wriggling mass swirled and the parted, exposing a terrifying circular maw lined with rows upon rows of pointed teeth as tall as a man. The rows seemed to rotate in alternating directions as a cone shaped tongue, flexible though covered in bony protrusions, snaked out and tasted the air.

Khaln felt his skin grow hot as he fought for secure footing while the section of the broken barge he stood upon rocked and swayed. Pools of red light pulsed beneath his flesh as the spell that dampened magic had been broken -- the sword Ax'Herith pulsed as it infused itself with the energy that lifted from Khaln's body. The pools of pulsating light highlighted the various scars that marred his muscular frame, showing a history of violence and struggle that culminated into a map to the Isles of Seven Thunders.

The Matron Sonorous watched from a suspended perch as Khaln glowed with more ferocity and power that she ever had witnessed in the short time she had known him. He struck a small but striking opposition to the monstrous ball of black death and she suddenly hoped her sister the oracle was there -- she would have been able to read the will of the gods in these strange happenings.

Even as Khaln prepared for whatever Nyeahdhhdsak would muster, the great beast froze as the wind suddenly shifted direction, seemingly moving upwards. Storm clouds swirled as myriad turbulent vortexes extinguished them; the clouds unleashed a last tirade of lightning before being snuffed out by a veil that dampened the twinkle of the stars and the glow of the twin moons. The veil circled above them, each ripple of its extremities triggering violent winds that brushed the Ardent sea -- Khaln watched in wondrous confusion as the Sky Ray changed course and skimmed the waters of the Ardent sea, its mountainous form gliding silently. Its open mouth made the behemoth Nyeahdhhdsak seem like a trinket and Khaln gasped as Nyeahdhhdsak tried to dive back into the water just as the Sky Ray dipped its lower jaw below the ocean's surface. Three of the Sky Ray's eyes focused on Khaln and blinked, the red glow of his flesh reflecting against the majestic flying beast's translucent hide, before it gulped the squealing Nyeahdhhdsak and made a snack of it. The Sky Ray then lifted its head and reared its gossamer wings downward and it flew straight up. Khaln gazed at the rising beast for seemingly countless minutes until the tip of its elongated body disappeared into the night sky, where it resumed its endless vigil.

"That wasn't something you see everyday," the Matron Sonorous said as she joined Khaln on the deck of the slowly sinking half of the former barge of the destroyed Dread Lord of Ax'Herith.

Khaln burst out laughing and was soon joined by the Matron Sonorous even as she scanned the remains of the barge for something that could be used as a raft. But Khaln's rejoicing was cut short as he saw the ship that had been pursuing approach at great speed.

VI

Odeena the Crone, sitting leader of the Seeded Council, sat behind a simple wooden desk on a chair of woven rattan. Before her rested a plate of cured meats and fruits and vegetables, as well as a kettle of tea kept warm by a burner. Plates hung from the stonewalled chamber, like they did in every chamber in the catacombs that composed the underground city beneath Melit'Zay -- the plates burned with lampras oil and illuminated the chamber with a flickering, amber glow.

Bailla'Tayne Jeva sat opposite the Crone. Before her was a plate full of meats, nuts and berries. The former Blade Bride's belly was round and full with a writhing new life that matured at an accelerated rate -- she felt the Crone eye her belly with disdain and envy while she stood and poured them each a cup of the aromatic tea, a mixture of ginger, cinnamon and honey.

"I hope you've been enjoying your stay here, lady Jeva," Odeena said as she regained her place opposite the former Blade Bride.

"I'll admit," Bailla'Tayne Jeva said as she sipped her tea, "I initially found the hospitality to be lacking -- but after the unpleasantness in the council's chamber, it has proven more than amenable."

"Forgive us the mistreatment you suffered," Odeena said as she nibbled at some meat. "Your presence, instead of that of the porter of the Pneuma Draconis, served only to intensify an already explosive situation."

"His name is Khaln."

"Yes ... Khaln." Odeena drank from her tea. "You must understand how important he is."

Bailla'Tayne Jeva fixed Odeena squarely in the eyes while picking at the nuts on her plate and said: "He is important to you since you believe he can rekindle magic's fading embers; he's important to the Call of Skaelor as they want him to recreate the world in their image -- you both want him to find the primal dragon. He's important to me as the father of my child."

"And you betrayed him by leading the Call to capture him," Odeena pointed out. "I have no pity for the Daughters of the Vanguard -- they deserved their fate. But at least they would have sacrificed him for the sake of the Magedom and the people it protects."

"You spent moths, even years with an oracle in your service," Bailla'Tayne Jeva said, slamming her tea cup on the table, "and you never realized he has to chose why he's making the sacrifice."

"What do you mean?"

But Bailla'Tayne Jeva closed her eyes and took a deep breath instead of answering Odeena's question. The Crone awaited some sign from the former Blade Bride demonstrating she was to clarify her statement.

"But don't worry Odeena," Bailla'Tayne Jeva finally added. "His choice ... your choice -- even my choice ... it will soon all be moot."

Odeena glared at the warrior woman from another era, envisioning plunging a dagger into her swollen belly and ending both her and her brood in a shower of red. But the Crone was well aware that any direct assault would likely awaken the power residing in the pregnant woman's breast -- she could not assault her directly. So, Odeena the Crone rose and bowed before the mother to be and said: "I will visit you later today, if I may. Perhaps you'll be willing to elaborate."

Bailla'Tayne watched the Crone leave her gilded cell and she then placed her hands on her belly -- a pulse of muted red light appeared beneath her tunic.

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Odeena the Crone paced to and fro across her simply furnished chambers as hanging plates filled with oil burned with flickering orange and green flames. On a small desk were scattered reports of unrest in the encampments, strange apparitions and disappearances, and requests from the meddlesome general Dagleon Talveiss to call an emergency session of the Seeded Council. She was appreciative of the man for having prevented the empowered former Blade Bride from having killed them all -- despite the revelation that he possessed a fabled sword of the Cardinal Watchers. She also appreciated that he had found a way to make the underground river that fed the secret city beneath Melit'Zay flow -- but the Crone had to focus her energies on her encounter with Bailla'Tayne Jeva. She was another specimen of arrogance that endangered the Seeded Council, just as Cyphelia Desjaines had been.

And it befell again upon Odeena the Crone's shoulders to protect the sanctity of the esteem council. She recalled the days long past as she sat as the archivist for the council -- it had been under the leadership of lord Thierann of Gul'Vadesh and before the war with the Call of Skaelor. Events were piling at that time: A sorcerer named Taffen had disappeared; there was a noted decline in those born with the spark of magic, and those who were born with their gift often could not control it and were consumed by the gift while once powerful witches and wizards and sorcerers found themselves left with only a fraction of their might. Some mages and mage maidens with more specialized skills were less assailed by the Arcane Ailment -- as was Lord Thierann.

Odeena remembered the day she sat at lord Thierann's right while the Seeded Council convened to hear a young scholar and mage-maiden named Nareene Vel Tivar as she stood before the council full of the Magii Dominii, and argued that they lived in a time of omens. The signs could be recognized but not understood as prophecy had been forbidden by the mythical king Vadesh. Nareene Vel Tivar had suggested a census to find an oracle be launched and perhaps even a quest for book of prophecy. Despite how loud and vocal opposition to the notion had been raised, Lord Thierann had seen merit in the quest, and decreed resources be dedicated to locating an oracle. A separate troupe would travel south and then turn west, following the coast towards the free port of Dhsos, and sail across the channel of Grieves and onto the continent of Wh'Lius. There, they would follow the old maps to the ruins of Phezkesh, site of the last siege of the Great Wizard War, and where king Vadesh would have buried the last edition of the Encyclopedia Posteri. Nareene and Thierann were sure that pairing such legendary volumes with an oracle would allow the clear interpretation of the omens of the era.