The Clown Army

This thought echoes in my mind, drawing up magical energy and creating a formation of energy around me and Zombozo. The energy blocks the mist from turning us around, and as we continue to walk forward, the mist clears, revealing the Altar of the Forgotten.

Ariya

"Congratulations Zayne. As soon as we entered the mist, I knew you would need to cease your self hatred and accept your humanity. I am glad you did so, because now there is nothing holding you back. Now, we have an altar to explore."

"Thank you master. I'm honestly ashamed it took me this long to accept your reasoning, but I am glad I did." I respond as I begin to walk towards the altar.

"Wait Zayne. I think you should go in alone first. We are mentally linked of course, but whatever is in there may not like the leader of the clown army waltzing on in."

"Of course master. As you wish."

On command, I proceed into the altar, alone. When I enter, I see a middle aged woman sitting in the corner of the central chamber poring over some notes. "Hello" I say questioningly, surprised to see anyone was here.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" the woman responds, with a completely shocked look on her face.

"My name is Zayne. I got lost and wandered through some mist, ending up here." I lied, thinking it better to keep my true reasoning for being here a secret.

"Wait Zayne you say..." she partially trails off before recatching her train of thought "How did you just 'wander in?' Some of the strongest and most immutable bonds ever cast seal this temple." she demands

"I don't know anything!" I stutter with fake fear, "Can you please stop attacking me and just tell me what's going on? Who are you and where am I?"

"Ugh fine you seem to be genuinely confused. My name is Ariya and I am one of the final descendants of the sages. I am the direct descendant of the Sage of Time and I remain here to guard their bodies and treasures."

"Wait, the sages are real?!? I thought they were just a myth. And also, why would you need to guard their bodies?"

"Magic holds after death, so their bodies are incredibly rich with magical energy. I stay here to protect their bodies, as well the magic I myself hold. Also, would you happen to be from Avalon?"

"Wow it's weird to think that magic holds, even in corpses, and yes I am from Avalon."

"Could you be, no that's impossible. Unless? Did your mother die in childbirth? Did you have a sister about a year younger than you? What was your father's name?"

"Look I don't know why you're interrogating me, but I guess if you'll help me get out of here I'll answer. I don't like to talk about it, but yes, my mother did die giving birth to my sister, who is one year younger than me. My father's name is Rhydion."

"Oh my god. It really is you. Zayne, I am your mother."

"What?!" I exclaim, this time with genuine surprise, "You yourself asked me if my mother was dead and I told you she was!"

"I... faked my death. When the last living descendant of a sage died, I was the only one left who could guard the door. After I gave birth to your sister, I created a fake corpse with magic and fled here. I told nobody, not even Rhydion. It was the hardest decision of my life and I am so sorry Zayne. I don't know how you ended up here, but I think it was fate. I owe you a million apologies."

"No. You don't owe me an apology. You owe me a childhood. My father died when I was seven and I had to take care of myself and Anna on my own. I had to steal and hide to feed us. We lived in abject poverty and were always on the run. When I finally got my big break, being drafted as an assassin in the army, it only worsened my life. I became an imperial dog with nobody to trust. Not one person around me trusted me or cared for me as a person. I was an object to them. A key."

"Wait did you say you were a key? What do you know about the keys?"

"And just like that, you stop caring about me all over again. I'm your son meaning I'm a descendant of the final sage as well. And you know how the prophecy goes: one of his descendants will be the key to the vault. Well you're looking at him. But enough of this, I'm done with you."

I signal with my hand and Zombozo walks into the altar, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Hello Ariya. Mother of my most trusted servant Zayne. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"No. No, no, no. Why are you free? How are you free? What did you do to Zayne?"

"I didn't do anything to Zayne. He chose to join me of his own volition. He wanted someone who would not lie or abandon him. Somebody who would stand by him. I gave him that. You didn't."

"Cut the crap. You only care about power. Zayne is just a means to an end for you. You don't care about him, you're just using him because of his blood and his status as the key."

"Zombozo cared for me when nobody else did, especially not you. I chose to join the clown army, and now we are going to take what is ours." I counter.

"Zayne, you don't know what you're doing. If he gets what he wants the world will end as we know it" Ariya pleads.

"I know exactly what I am doing. What you see as the end of the world, I see as paradise. There will be a world of only happiness and joy. There won't be the same strife and anger and betrayal that riddles this world. This is a world of avarice and sin; Zombozo wants to create a world of peace of happiness."

"What he wants is not peace, its total domination."

"You think I don't know that. Submission is the truest joy in this joy. I have received it and I have given it. I have erased minds and turned humans to clowns. You know nothing about me."

"What has he done to you Zayne? What have you become?"

"I am a product of your failure as a mother. My master has done nothing but help me and seek to help the world."

"Thank you for defending me Zayne. Your loyalty is commendable." Zombozo coos, side-eyeing Ariya as he speaks.

"As a gift for my loyalty master, I ask that you free my mother from her human chains. Even though I am angry for what she has done to me, nobody deserves to lose out on complete submission. I also ask that she sees the child she abandoned as he contributes to her saving."

"Gladly. Your compassion is admirable." Zombozo stares directly at Ariya, grabbing her body with the force of his magic. Ariya tries to fight back but finds herself completely unable to stop the massive amount of magic being pushed at her.

"The seven sages at their full power could only seal me away. You, alone and weaker than even one of them, stand no chance at resistance. Do not worry, Ariya, you will feel better after this."

"Let me go. Please Zayne, stop this! I know this isn't really you. You don't have to be his puppet."

"I've already said this, you do not know me. This is who I am and I am no puppet. I made a choice, and even though you won't get that luxury, you will thank me after this is all over."

"Now enough talk. My loyal servant made a request and I think it is time I fulfilled it." Zombozo coos as he walks over to Ariya's immobilized body. He starts by slowly stripping the clothes off of her struggling body. One by one, clothes fall to the floor, until Ariya is completely bare to me and Zombozo.

Zombozo then walks behind her and reaches around her, groping her breasts with one hand and lightly stroking her inner thigh with the other. As Ariya's lip starts to quiver, he sits down, placing her on his lap. He takes out his cock and begins to slowly start fucking her vagina, while groping both of her boobs, one in each hand. As he slowly fucks Ariya, he begins whispering in her ear, using the pure hypnotic power of his voice coupled with his sexual energy to break down her mind.

"You belong to Zombozo. You exist to serve. You exist to obey the clowns. Your purpose is to serve Zombozo. It feels so good to obey. You only want to obey. You need to serve the clowns." Zombozo whispers in her ear over and over. As his black lips break down her mind, her eyes hold an unblinking stare directly at my own. I smile as I lock eyes with her, knowing that she is to be saved.

As Ariya bounces on Zombozo's dick she feels it harder to resist with every second that passes. Zombozo's whispers echo in her mind on repeat, crowding out all other thoughts. She cannot focus on anything other than the ecstasy from the sex and the commands being continually rammed into her head by Zombozo.

Ariya begins to moan, completely unable to stop the waves of pleasure rolling over her in unstoppable waves. With every pant, Ariya's desire for more grows, reaching all-consuming levels. She no longer resists, she wants Zombozo, and soon, she needs him. "Y-yes. More!" she screams, eyes rolling back into her head, "I need more! I need you Zombozo!" With those words, Zombozo stops filling her head with his whispers, and instead begins to take more advantage of her vulnerability.

Zombozo starts to lick her neck, caressing it with his long tongue. Simultaneously, his hands start to grip her breasts tighter, rubbing her nipples with his fingers. "More Master! I exist to serve you!" Ariya moans, barely able to make out any words in through her panting.

"Those are the words I like to hear. I'm glad you've accepted your fate" Zombozo coos as he reaches climax, filling her with ropes and ropes of cum.

She is lifted, still panting, off his dick, and she falls to the floor, some semen still in her vagina. "Why don't you take a turn with her?" Zombozo suggests.

"Gladly. Thank you master." I walk over to my newly saved mother, grab her by the wrist, and bend her over the nearby table. I push my cock into her semen soaked pussy and begin thrusting into her. Between every few thrusts, I add in a spank, bruising her ass a bit. Her warm, tight, moist pussy arouses me to no end, and I begin pounding harder with every thrust. Within a few minutes, I am jackhammering her as fast as I can, with no real care for how it affects her.

By the time her ass has turned totally red from my spanking, I start to get close to finishing. I pull out and cum all over her back, covering her from hair to hips with my semen. Once I let her down onto the floor, I turn to the ornate gravestones lining the walls. "The bodies of the original sages rest here, correct?" I ask.

"Yes sir they do. Each of their bodies rests in this altar, hence my role as its guardian. Residual energy from their lives still rests in their bodies, and because of how much power they wielded, a considerable amount rests in their cadavers, hence the need for the barriers and the guardian for their cemetery. However, only someone with an affinity for the sage's magic could access it, but it was still deemed too dangerous to go unguarded."

"Thank you Ariya." I answer with a grin. I begin to reach out with my energy, touching each of the graves with my feelers. Sensing vast repositories, I start to leech power out of the bodies, surprised by the sheer amount of energy flowing towards me. As I drain more, the staggering force begins to overwhelm me, pushing me to my knees as the strains of magic become tangible, purple tendrils of energy, given physical form by the huge volume of energy.

Realizing that I alone cannot manage this much energy, I quickly direct the power towards the most powerful magical being in the room, Zombozo. His black lips curl into a smile when the power flows through me like a conduit and directly into him. As the sage's magic is absorbed, it is converted into pure power, continually charging my Master with more and more power. What feels like near infinite waves rolling over me are effortlessly absorbed into my Master, revealing the true depth of his power before he was weakened.

Hours pass as the huge amount of energy flows through me and into my Master, but eventually the rush of energy stops flowing through me and is entirely deposited into Zombozo. "Splendid work Zayne. This power will help us greatly in our journey, especially when we get to Zinora. Now let us be off.

The Steorran Desert

"Now Zayne, what lies along our way?" Zombozo questions.

"Two major kingdoms lie upon our way before we get to Zinora: the sister kingdoms of Farahad and Aretrus. They border opposite sides of the Steorran Desert and are notable for being the main way to cross it. The people of Farahad are masters of astronomy and those of Aretrus masters of glasswork. Using their abilities, they were able to harness the light of the stars to create a crystal conduit in the center of the desert. This crystal, known as the Aglacian Mirror, is able to teleport a number of people across the desert during certain periods of time, when the star's light provides enough energy directly to it. The kingdoms have become an important passageway, due to the dangers of the desert, and many gather at either kingdom until the teleportals open up to take them across. Past Aretrus is the Spellbound Mountains, upon which Zinora, and the path to Ellesmere Island, sits."

"How interesting. Then we shall take Farahad and then walk directly to the Aglacian Mirror through the desert."

"Not to be rude, Master, but if we are going to Farahad, which has the teleportal to Aretrus, then why would we want to go to the mirror and through the desert, which could take far longer and be more dangerous?"

"I have a hunch about the creation of this mirror. Seeing as they rely on the magic of starlight, the mirror may be able to do more than simply teleport between two places at specific times. I would like to investigate the artifact, and depending on the power of the mirror, I may even be able to cut out some of our journey through the desert. Also, we are most certainly powerful enough to travel through the desert, but it may take some time."

"If your theory proves correct, we might be able to teleport the entire army. Your genius never fails to amaze, Master."

"Thank you Zayne. Now let us be off."

With that, we left the altar. We met with the rest of the clowns and began to head towards Farahad. As the environment changed from forest to rocks and then to sand, we neared closer to the first of the desert kingdoms: Farahad, kingdom of glass.

Dazzling pillars of glass loomed over the approaching army and sentries perched at the towering walls, only matched by the height of the glass pillars. "It seems Farahad intends to put up a fight." I mutter. Arrows begin to fly out at the army, but as they near the ground, they are stopped midair by the magic of the clowns. Volley after volley fly out at us, but every single one is stopped in its tracks. The second the arrow rain halts, every floating arrow turns around and is launched straight back at the archers.

With the archers impaled on their own arrows, we begin to march towards the walls. With a flick of my hand, the gate falls backwards, crushing a number of soldiers. Those who weren't crushed immediately begin bolting forwards, with intent to defend their homeland. They rush forwards, brandishing their blades, but when their swords make contact with the skin of the clowns, they simply bounce off. The steel-like hardness of their skin made them impenetrable and the clowns effortlessly subdue and kill the enemies.

Waves of soldiers continue to swarm us, but they are pushed back without much trouble. By the time the army is feet from the gates, something begins to change in the center of the city. The glass pillars begin to glow with heat and beams of light all shoot towards the central glass obelisk. It begins to glow brighter and brighter and then BAM, a huge beam of white hot light shoots out at us. "Shit they're more magically advanced than we thought. Create a wall!" I yell, and every clown raises their hands in response. A huge magical barrier forms around us and the ray of sunlight slams against it, spreading out across the dome we created. The glare surrounds us and makes it impossible to see outside, with the sand around us turning into glass as soon as the heat hits it.

Slowly, the light starts to fade, and the army looks on in horror at our unharmed masses. "It seems that was their big last resort, so I don't see us losing any more ground" I remark, with a hint of relief in my voice. With that, we begin our march through the city walls, as the archers were dispatched and the nearby soldiers were either killed by the clowns or by the city's own attack. We breach the walls of the city and begin subjugating those who get in our way. Me, Zombozo, and a small battalion of clowns move towards the glass castle in the center of the city, our sights set on the king.

Clowns flood into the palace, blocking all exits, but when we get to the throne room, no one is there. "A king fleeing his people in their time of need. Even if he was aware of our abilities regarding royalty, no ruler should abandon their people when they need him most. What a coward. Regardless, all of the palace exits are blocked and the city has been surrounded. None of the clowns see him, meaning he is likely somewhere hidden in the palace. Find him Zayne."

With Zombozo's command, I begin scouring the palace for unchecked rooms and hidden passages. After coming up almost completely empty I realize that the king must possess some sense of magical energy, living in and managing this massive magical weapon. I feel out for magical energy, consciously filtering out the magic of the clowns and the stored energy in the nonliving constructs. Within the castle walls, only one pulse remained; the king of Farahad, Neran.

Chasing the pulse led me to a small basement room containing some beds and tables; servant's quarters if I had to guess. The magical footprint was directly beneath me, indicating that there must be some sort of passage. When feeling out for non-magical constructs in the room, nothing jumped out, meaning the door must be mechanical. With that in mind, I started to feel my way around, checking every table and bed.

As I searched, one thing became apparent, the furniture was bolted to the ground. "Why would a servant's room, unimportant and dependent on flexibility, have bolted down furniture?" I thought to myself. Upon reflecting on the oddity, I noticed the pattern of the bricks in the flooring. Despite the rectangular room shape, the bricks on the floor were arranged in concentric circles around a central point. However, the central point was not organized in the center of the room, it was slightly off. This oddity created a weird pattern near one wall, where the circles seemed almost to extend further into the wall, into some hidden space. Following the mechanism near the wall, I was able to find a small switch embedded in the bricks.

When I pressed it, the entire floor started to move, rotating further into the hidden slot in the wall. This revealed a small staircase on the other side of the room. "Jackpot" I muttered to myself. A few steps down and the hidden room came clear into view.

Lit by candlelight, a lavish bed and wall-filling bookshelves drew attention first, but the small man cowering in the corner became the focus. "Well hello. You must be King Neran" I presume.

"Get away from me!" he shouts, pulling out a glass object that begins to glow. Almost instantly a beam of light, similar to the massive one unleashed on us earlier, shoots at me. Unlike that large one, it was easily deflected with a wave of my hand.

"That wasn't too kind" I remark as I come closer. Neran shoots blast after blast, each casually deflected by my hand. By the time I get steps away from him, his glass weapon cracks under the pressure of repeated use and Neran realizes he has no defense left. "Now that you can't resist anymore, I think it's time you meet someone."

With that, I lift Neran up into the air with magic, binding his limbs and his mouth, and take him back to the throne room to meet Zombozo. "I found the king, Master" I say as I throw his body to the ground. "Thank you Zayne. Now Neran, why don't you take a look into my nose?" While Zombozo took control of the king, I headed out to the town square. As soon as I could feel that Zombozo was finished obtaining control over the town I called all of the children to the town square, just as I did everywhere else.