The Eldritch Realms Pt. 06

I nearly leaped unto my feet. "What for?" Karl asked casually, as though the King of Acacia had merely asked for sauce on his food.

"Funny how you answer immediately."

"Let's not pretend. Only two of us have operational war airships," the Queen of Seres said coldly. "And I must share my colleague's sentiments: what for?"

"Why, I dare say they will be very useful against Eris."

"And so are the secrets of your elite cavalry—I daresay they have supernatural strength and speed. Shall you share them with us then?" Karl asked. "Because, if no, then this is nothing but a one-sided demand."

"Yes, I quite agree," the elvenking of Malsucia of all people spoke. "I myself am quite willing to share my people's brand of magic-provided all of us are."

"That is impossible, I fear. Our magic is powered by faith-your peoples, even if they were to know the technical details, cannot use it," High Priestess Luna claimed. Utter bullshit, I thought, and evidently I was not the only one thinking so. She must be trying to avoid sharing their own divine magic.

"I'm reasonably confident your magic is powered by mana," the Queen of Seres snapped.

"I see you are reasonably confident about a number of wrong things," High Priestess Luna said with a small smile.

"Why don't you tell us the technical details," the Queen chuckled. "And then we will see what your magic is powered by."

"Please, do keep the Council civil," John Jade pleaded. "Shall we bring it to the vote, then, that all nations share all technology available to combat Eris?"

Quiet murmurs followed. The scribes took note. "From what I see, Eris' modus operandi seems to be raising cults all over the place. Shall we form task forces, comprised of soldiers of all our nations, to squash these cults?" High Priestess Luna suggested.

"Can't each of us fight the cults on our own?" the elvenking said.

"There are merits to it, though. We can improve our relations and conduct joint military exercises that way," the King of Acacia said.

Then, at that time, a jolt of electricity ran down my spine, as if a great being had charged the air itself. I glanced and saw Karl, Caitlyn, and Orion shuddering as well.

Something was wrong.

But the votes of the two motions were underway and my mind scrambled to find an answer. The first vote went down decisively even as I said neutral-a score of three ayes to sixteen nays and nine abstains.

And to the second vote-this time much tighter with Acacia and the Baroque States on the pro side and Maluscia opposing them and Phantasma and Seres abstaining-I too abstained. The motion passed barely-twelve ayes against eleven nays and five abstains.

A deafening sound of thunder silenced everyone for a moment. Lightning crackled. And there came from the sky a great boom.

Dark mist covered the room. "What's going on?" I heard the screams of several people. When the mist vanished, a woman took its place.

Tall and proud she stood clad in black metal. Her blonde hair shone almost ominously. "Eris ...," Karl hissed.

"I see none of you can see reason," Eris said calmly. "My letters and my calls go unheeded. Shame. You could've been part of a new world. A more peaceful and a more orderly one." Her eyes darted, scanning the room. Her eyes lingered the longest at the King of Acacia, who cowered down slightly. The bodyguards drew weapons.

"By letters and calls, you mean this?" the elvenking roared. He brought out from his pocket a piece of parchment. "You will have our thrones stripped. You will reduce us to petty kings."

He spat on the parchment before tearing it into two.

"That more or less sums up what we think of your offer," High Priestess Luna said.

"Pity." Eris closed her eyes. "It's war, then."

"Watch out!" Caitlyn screamed. A great burst of dark energy flooded the air, morphing into spikes.

But at the same time a massive pinkish dome emerged, holding off the spikes, which shattered. "Caitlyn, evacuate our people!" Karl ordered, his outsretched hand in the air. He closed his hand into a fist.

The barrier shrunk rapidly, threatening to crush the dark goddess. Yet the latter howled and broke the dome. A flurry of black fire engulfed her.

"You have some nerve, child!" Eris shrieked as she banished away the fire with a mere stomp of her feet.

Damn it-the conference room was deserted. Should I have attacked? But that power, my goodness ... I would have been swatted like a fly.

"Go!" Karl shouted. Black portals appeared, conjured by Eris. From the portals Slyvia, Jun, and a dozen other Angels charged.

"Hunt them! Kill them all!" Eris commanded. Jun attempted to help his dark goddess battle Karl, but the latter's faithful vampire slave quickly fended him off.

Slyvia and I looked at each other, almost like we were old friends. "You don't seem very angry for someone whose guardians I killed," she said casually.

"You remember that?"

"Let's just say Eris keeps records of remarkable people."

"Oh, I'm angry-rest assured. Almost killing my fiancee didn't do it any favors either," I said. "But I'll have more time to show it later when you're in my dungeon."

"Confident, aren't you? Learned a couple tricks since last time?"

"Let's see."

The elf lunged forward, her poisonous blade in hand. I slashed and our blades clang as we exchanged blows.

"Come on, you murderer!" I bellowed. I kicked her sword arm, making her drop her blade.

"I'm sure you haven't killed anyone then. Not a single orc?" Slyvia taunted back. A thick vine broke from the earth and seized my sword before throwing it away.

"At least I killed fighters," I replied. "You know, not innocent civilians minding their own business." I powered up my fist with lust energy and mana. I punched her squarely on the chest, knocking her down.

Next to us, Eris and Karl were fighting with intense ferocity. Karl drew from the arsenals of his slaves, unleashing shadow bolts and waves of water. Eris utilized a whole host of spells-fire, water, wind, and many more. The earth crackled; the air was chockful of magical energies.

"Quite a nice punch," she said, breathing heavily. She tore off her outer clothes, revealing a dented breastplate. "Dwarven armor-not so easily destroyed."

She quickly swung her legs, kicking my thighs. I groaned in pain-her legs were as hard as stone. My wrist flicked, unleashing an invisible energy disk that barely missed her ear.

"Slyvia!" Eris barked. "Don't get yourself killed! I'll teleport you out now!" This moment of inconcentration was enough for Karl to send her flying with a spell.

"I can still fight, you know. A punch can't knock me down," Slyvia said casually.

"Too risky. I won't let you die."

"How nice of her," I said. Eldritch energy was sizzling around her, forming a barrier I couldn't pierce.

"Oh, I believe she knows I'm the one holding her Maranian project together. Good bye Robin. May we meet again."

"When we do, you'll be in chains."

"And you will be buried-I hope you have enough funds to get yourself a nice funeral. Wouldn't want my best enemy to be buried in a craphole with a decaying tombstone."

She was whisked away. I took her fallen blade-a valuable weapon, no doubt-and my own. I could barely walk properly-a burning sensation filled my thighs.

Elsewhere I saw Caitlyn cursing a severely wounded Jun as he, too, was sent away by his dark goddess. "Master!" she screamed as Karl was thrown to the ground.

"It ends," Eris said coldly. She conjured a great serpent of fire that she sent against Karl.

"Not yet!" he shouted. His eyes flickered black and the same serpent emerged. The two serpents extinguished each other.

"Using eldritch magic to quickly scan my spell and produce your own; a copy spell in essence. Impressive-but it is a desperate one trick pony. Your reserves are heavily depleted by using that spell." Confident as she may, Eris was not undamaged; half her face was scarred from fire and her blood soaked her clothes.

Karl forced a proud smile but he was clearly demoralized. He was battered; his armor had almost cracked, his blade hanging uselessly on his enfeebled arm. "Not yet ...," he muttered. His body limped and fell.

"Good bye, child," Eris said as she moved to kill the knocked out High Lord.

"No!" I gasped loudly but my feet refused to move. Caitlyn charged but was swept aside.

And then I closed my eyes, for so was the death of Karl, my teacher, my mentor ... my friend. And I couldn't do anything to help him. Caitlyn shrieked in anguish.

The sound of thunder fizzled. I thought that was the end-Eris' fist had found its mark.

But no.

Magna, High Lady of the North, stood firm, a powerful, luminescent shield blocking Eris' punch. With her spatial magic she opened a portal, summoning Andrea and a whole host of Phantoms.

Magna raised her arm, exerting herself considerably as she sweated and gritted her teeth. Space itself warped around Eris and in a moment the dark goddess was gone. The elf witch quickly checked on Karl.

"Still alive," she said with relief. "Get the healers here. Quickly!"

Two of the healers gave me emergency healing while most of them transported Karl and Caitlyn away. "Did you-did you just kill her?"

"Unfortunately not," Magna said bitterly. "I merely banished her to an unknown part of the Eldritch Realm. Should keep her weakened and out of the play for a while-but not for long. And I could only manage it because she was exhausted and worn down from the fight."

"She was very powerful," I said.

"Yes. Even if Karl and I had fought her together, I'm not sure who would have won," Magna said. "... but no matter. She's getting stronger-we have to get stronger as well."

She left to coordinate the Phantoms. Nana rushed to my aid. "Robin!" she called. "You're wounded!"

"I'm fine," I said shortly.

With the building in ruins, the Ctesiphon Council ended. Healers quickly patched me up. Most were unharmed, but a few kings (of small, fairly insignificant nations, thankfully) died and some were injured. We went back to Yeva.

A few days later, I was fully healed. Nana, looking visibly concerned, approached me. "Hey, Robin, I've got a new set of reports from our intelligence division," she said. "Let's go somewhere more private."

We went to a private room. Nana took out a whole bunch of papers. "There is an area in the ocean between Seres and Phantasma that was always beset by storms for no apparent reason."

"Ah. The Shipdoom?" I asked. It was a popular-though utterly terrifying name among sailors.

"Well, the storms have cleared. Turns out there's a whole archipelago there."

Slyvia's words about the Maranian project rang clear in my eyes. If Eris truly wanted to wage war on the whole world, she would need an army-not a bunch of ragtag, scattered cultists, but an actual fighting force. And to do that she needs a solid base ... and she did have that before Phantasma attacked.

My eyes widened. "Yes," Nana said, swallowing her spit. "Reports indicate some cultists have begun to sail to that archipelago ... it's undoubtedly Eris' new base."

My throat felt dry. "We beat her at her home turf once. We can do it again," I said, faking confidence.

"I can only hope so. Well, second problem. Lasha is still dealing with cultist remnants-and for some reason these cultists have been very, very well armed. I'm talking dwarven armor and weapons-their equipment is much better than our regular troops' and only slightly weaker than our elites'."

"Dwarven armor? Where the hell are they getting that?"

Dwarven metalwork had long been considered some of the finest-only rivalled by the most skilled of elvensmiths and the great mavericks of the vampires, and the latter two specialize in lighter armor. There were few dwarven strongholds left-in isolsted mountains and plains. The only chance to get dwarven armor was when one was exchanged for foodstuffs. They were so valuable that there had been documented cases of mansions and noble titles given away in exchange for scarce a few pieces.

"No idea-and they're not getting one or two; they have hundreds if not thousands."

"Your Grace! Help!" The screams of the sailors roused us.

"The fishmen again?" Nana mumbled.

But no sooner than I charged out, a large tentacle took hold of me. I was thrown to the air and into the water. My body felt weak and water was filling my lungs ....

When I opened my eyes, my vision was blurry. It cleared soon after-I was in a cell.

"Asking for ransom is risky. If they know where we are sending the message from, there will be a full armada of airships bombarding this island soon," Jun's voice floated.

"Well, what do you propose then?" Sylvia's voice fired back.

"Keep him here. Make him see the error of his ways. Convert him to ours."

"Good luck on that," Slyvia said sarcastically. "The Goddess hasn't come back yet?"

"The banishment was pretty solid. It'd take a few months at least for her to return. How's the Maranian project?"

"Much better now that Seresian authorities aren't hunting us anymore," Slyvia said. "Well, let's summon some fishmen to guard him. We'll talk later; I've got a couple experiments to do."

"Alright then," Jun said. "Oh, and you said you needed a new blade?"

"Yeah. Robin took it," Slyvia said. "I was hoping to recover it, but, well ...."

I dared myself to open my eyes. Slyvia was badly injured; certainly not from my efforts. There were stab and slash wounds and flesh charred. "He's gathered quite an arsenal of women in his harem, hasn't he? It's been a week and you haven't recovered yet," Jun chuckled. "Shame we couldn't capture any."

"Why? You want to 'use' them?" Slyvia asked.

"No," Jun said. "They could be useful, you know. If we can convert them, we can convert Robin."

Slyvia waved her hand a few times. "I won't argue with you anymore, but mark my words: neither Robin nor his women would join us. Well, see you then."

Jun too left and a pair of fishmen came to replace them. These were very strange creatures. They had fish-like fins protruding from their backs and their feet and hands were webbed. Their skin was pale blue. They glanced at me periodically.

"Sssh!" A large, black snake entered my cell very not discreetly-my blade in its serpent form. The guards didn't care. The snake hid under some hay.

For a full day I ate my meagre meals while trying to communicate psychically with Nana, Cassy, Eliza, and Agnes to no avail. There was a formidable magical barrier outside.

"Still holding up?" Jun asked as he passed by.

"Not bad," I shrugged.

"You know, there isn't any point for you to keep holing yourself up here," he said. "You can join us."

"Given that your goddess just got banished the first time she showed up ... no. And I have no intention of joining an order of crazed, fanatical devotees."

Jun chuckled. "You know, I have to admit, a lot of Eris' Angels are idiots. Idiots with power, yes, but idiots. I must say Slyvia and I are the exceptions."

"A high opinion of yourself, I see."

"I am a decent judge of character, I think. Slyvia and I are promised entire kingdoms to rule for ourselves once we win. We're sellswords if nothing else."

"Are you trying to tempt me?" I asked sharply. "You know, you should start learning when someone is not aware or when someone is pretending not to be aware."

Jun smiled. "I had my suspicions," he said.

"You do realize I'm a duke, don't you? Eris has nothing to offer me."

"Really? What about magical power?"

"Not interested."

A few seconds of awkward silence followed. "Where am I, anyway?"

"The Towers of Gold."

"In the Shipdoom?" Jun nodded softly.

"I'll think of another argument later," he said, still smiling. He was walking away when he turned again. "You're quite a pleasant man. In another life, maybe we could call each other friend."

"You too," I said shortly.

I spent the night trying to pierce the psychic barriers. If I could contact someone—anyone—I could turn the situation upside down. The warships of Yeva would strike, our seasoned troops on the ground and our succubi in the air.

It was very early in the morning when I finally gave up. Whether it was made of divine stuff or simply too formidable, I could not breach it. I decided to go to sleep.

My dream was a pleasant garden, verdant and full of life. Strangely, I had full consciousness."Gaia?" I asked. Dream magic was no common magic, but I wouldn't be surprised if a strong mage could use it.

"That name is very familiar, yes," a voice chuckled. "She was kind enough to manifest part of her realm in your dream."

An ancient woman with a monocle approached me. She was wearing a simple grey tunic cloak. Soft winds blew. "Who are you?" I asked bluntly.

"I am Alya," she replied shortly.

Alya ... Alya ... ALYA? "You're Magna's teacher!" I gasped. "She's been trying so hard to find you!"

"I have been hiding myself, yes, biding time and strength. I cannot fight Eris alone," she said. "I can help you. I can temporarily weaken the psychic barriers that Eris had cast. In exchange, however, there are two things I need you to tell Magna and whoever is helping her."

I nodded. "What is it?"

"The first one is regarding the Dragon King," she said quickly. "When we sealed Eris away, it was a contigency plan. We had a spell to destroy her utterly. One part of this spell is with me; the other with the Dragon King. You must find him and get his cooperation."

"Okay," I said quickly. "And the second one?"

A brilliant flash of light blinded me. "I have imprinted it in your soul," she said. "Now go."

When I woke up, there was a fishman shaman and a few warriors outside. The shaman croaked like a frog. He produced a white pearl and beckoned me to take it. I did with much curiosity. Then suddenly, he thrusted the pearl upon my throat. Yet I did not choke; the pearl evaporated immediately.

"Can you hear me?" the shaman asked.

"You can speak our tongue?" I asked, amazed. The shaman was ecstatic, jumping lightly.

"No. It is you who can speak ours due to the pearl. But the pearl also conjured up an illusion that we speak—ah, I lost myself," the shaman said. "I am Amatai, shaman of the fishmen of the Barracuda Tribe."

"Nice to meet you," I said hastily.

"You know how to communicate with your forces, don't you?" he asked. In his dim eyes glowed a faint blue light. I glared at him carefully.

"I believe we can mutually benefit each other," Amatai said. "The Barracuda Tribe is enslaved. We are forced to help Eris. This is because our chieftain and chieftess were killed and many of us held hostage."

"So what do you want me to do?" I asked cautiously.

"I will command my warriors to lower their guard. This should make it easier for your army to rescue you," Amatai said. "But I want you to rescue my own people—including the late chieftain's daughter. She's held in this island as well."

Faint footsteps. "I have to go."

It was surprising; almost suspicious, even. But I had no time. I didn't know how strong Alya was, but she couldn't have indefinitely staved off Eris. I concentrated all the psychic might I could bring to bear, and now I could see three shadowy people. The world concreted around me. It was the master bedroom in the Aquaville Mansion, once full of life but now dreary. I was possessing someone.

"Still no news of him?" my host body asked. It was Nana.

Agnes sat in front of her. She shook her head dreadfully. "Redouble our efforts. Increase the bounty twofold," she instructed. A few men hurried to relay her orders.

"How about our naval forces?" Nana asked desperately.

"We haven't found anything yet," Eliza said. "It seems that the fishmen and some pirate fleets have allied with Eris and they're severely impeding our search. Though at least the fishmen aren't very aggressive."