Chapter Three: A secret history
“You would have me kill a God?”
Vitriss nodded. “Yes”
I had reluctantly followed Vitriss back to the pavilion which she explained was the exact centre of her world, The Ever Garden. She had very kindly allowed me to heal my wounds with magic so I wasn't in such agonising pain. I had taken the offered seat. Resisting would be pointless after all and I was curious as to why a Goddess would need my help.
“And which God would I be trying to kill exactly?” I asked suspiciously.
Vitriss sat daintily in her chair, the image of perfection, her long blonde hair falling down one side of her neck. She raised a hand and snapped her fingers. A tea set appeared in front of her and she proceeded to pour herself a cup.
“Tea” She asked, although it was not really a question as she was already pouring a cup for me as well... I fucking hate tea.
“I know you do” She said with a wink and took a sip from her cup, those piercing blue eyes never leaving my face.
That's right, have to remember she can read my thoughts. Not like I can do anything about it.
“Which God do you want me to kill for you Vitriss? And what do I get in exchange?” I repeated, trying to get to the crux of the conversation. I'm sure time worked differently for a Goddess that was millions of years old, or so the church would claim. So if she thought of an hour as a year I really wanted to get the ball rolling before I died of old age.
She set her cup down and folded her hands carefully in her lap.
“I need you, The Rebel King, to kill the God who comes to kill Vita. For me to properly explain why I must ask you to perform so dangerous and grave a task, I must first give you the history of this world. It's true history. Not the one my followers claim it to be.”
Interested, I gestured for her to continue and took a sip of the disgusting tea. That brought a smile to her face.
“Long ago, there was no such thing as humans, dwarves, elves, vampires or wolf-kind. Instead there was merely one race that ruled over the whole planet. They were known as The Erralith. The Erralith were masters of technology and did not know that magic existed, except in stories told to them by their elders. Instead they built wonders using only their minds. Cities that covered countries, great bridges that spanned oceans and strange metal birds that allowed them to take to the skies.
It was not a peaceful world, they fought each other often, but they knew some measure of happiness. I used to watch them at times. So ignorant in magic but so well versed in their 'technology'. I couldn't help but be impressed. I was young and impressionable back then.
Anyway, in one of the great cities a child was born and named Samedus Exovan. I took special interest in this one. His knowledge of the world was astounding and the technology he could create was nothing short of miraculous. He allowed the Erralith to live for over three hundred years at a time. Imagine! No magic but still a prolonged lifespan. His mind shaped the world and many came to see him as a leader.
I have to admit I was taken with him myself. Always helping the less fortunate, always trying to strive to create a new wonder that would prevent war or famine or disease. He was remarkable.”
It was at this point that Vitriss' eyes left my own and gazed off into the distance, she looked troubled.
“Then I made a dreadful mistake. I decided to give him the thing that all men secretly crave. I gave him power.”
“Magic” I said, the tea cup was ignored in my hand as I started to understand who exactly I was supposed to kill.
“Yes” She replied, giving me a sad smile and unable to meet my gaze. “I gave him magic and told him to continue to better his world. But he lost his way.
In the beginning he really did help, more wonder's came, crafted by his magic and under my tutelage he took his power to new heights and in turn helped more people. But he began to realise that he couldn't save everyone, even with all his might, and that's what drove him to the brink. I tried to stop him from what he was about to do, but he had grown stronger that I had ever thought possible and he managed to bind me inside my own realm... expelling me from The World and chaining me inside the Ever-Garden.”
Tears began to roll down her face as her hands began to tremble.
“I could only watch as he systematically brought every country in the world under his control. It was a massacre. Millions died, but he claimed it was all for the greater good.”
She stood and turned to look into the vast expanse of the Ever Garden, her hands curled into shaking fists at her side.
“I was weakened and in pain, but even trapped in my own realm I had some small measure of my power in the world beyond... I am a Goddess after all!” She turned and looked me straight in the eye, the pain in her expression gone.
“I gave magic to the other Erralith, gave them a way to fight against Samedus and his need for total control. They began to revolt.
“The world burned as the two sides fought each other for supremacy. Samedus was truly powerful, but there were too many enemies for him to fight alone. So he decided on another path. One that would change the world forever.”
“What did Samedus do?” I asked, totally absorbed into the story of The First Mage.
“He used a spell of Calamity. This one was known as Fracture.” She replied, casting her eyes to the skies.
I have to admit, at this point I was dubious. I had heard of spells of Calamity before, every mage has. It's the goal that every magic user sets for themselves.
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Calamity spells, unlike those of the elements, were a form of World Magic. Spells so powerful that they could disrupt reality itself. But no one mage had ever been able to achieve such power. The mana that would be needed to cast a spell of Calamity would be impossible for a normal mage to harness. Even I, who could draw in quite a bit more mana than the average mage, would fall so far short that it wouldn't even be worth measuring the difference.
“How could a mage use Calamity Magic? And for that matter, how did he manage to bind you in The Ever Garden? The mana he would need would have to be astronomical, and your implying that he was still mortal and had not achieved godhood.” I said, trying to get to the bottom of this story. There was something the Goddess wasn't telling me.
She gave me an exasperated look.
“All in good time, Corus.” She replied “ There is a little bit of the story left to tell.”
She moved back to the table, took her seat, and resumed drinking from her cup of tea.
“After Samedus used Fracture, the world was nearly torn apart. With what little strength I had left I managed to finally tear apart the chains that were binding me to my world and hold back some of the damage. As a result, the world was not pulled apart instead the earth was buried beneath the sea. Leaving only one floating island that could sustain life.”
“Vita” I concluded
“Vita” She agreed, giving me a slight nod.
“Samedus was ripped apart by the use of the spell but it was not enough to kill him. Instead his soul was spread thin across the world. Even now it attempts to pull itself back together again. And after over seven thousand years, he is close to returning. And I have no doubt that when he does, he shall bring destruction to Vita.” She finished her story with a sigh and leaned back into her chair, the tea cup discarded as she pressed both hands against her eyes.
For a moment there was silence between us as I just sat and tried to absorb the information she just gave me.
In short, it appears that the first mage who had ever lived was a murdering psychopath who managed to almost destroy the world once and wishes to complete his work.
If anyone else had told me this would I say they were crazy, but she is Vitriss and she is a Goddess. “So, how the hell can I stop him then?”
She gave another sigh before looking at me with tired eyes.
“I will gift you the power that I gave Samedus. The power that will put you on his level and allow you to fight him as his equal.”
I give a slight nod, my mind deep in thought.
“But even with this power, Samedus has lived much longer than I have. Therefore, there is a very real chance that I would lose the fight. Shouldn't you double down, give the power to more than one person?” I asked inquisitively.
Vitriss shakes her head. “If I gave the power to more than one person that merely increases the chance that they would be corrupted, just like Samedus.”
“But why trust me with this power then? We've never met and I've done some terrible things in my life. Why not give the power to Valant?”
“Because you are stronger than him, in almost every way. When there are those in need, you take action. When you see corruption, you stamp it out. There are no ifs, ands or buts with you, Corus.”
It was at this point that Vitriss reached over and placed her hands over mine. Her eyes kind as she gazed into mine.
“No more will I attempt to control you, I need you to agree to help me. You must take on the burden of this power without any influence. It must be your choice. As it was Samedus' choice all those centuries ago.”
I needed to play for time here, This offer was almost too good. I would be given power that would let me rival a God. A mortal half-God, but still.
“Why can't you fight him? I mean, you gave him the power why not take it away? Or better yet why don't you just turn him to dust. You trumped me earlier and I was working at full strength.” I asked, half curious and half wanting to give myself some breathing room.
“Because if I interfered directly, there is a large chance that Vita may be destroyed. If I fought him, Samedus would know that he could not be guaranteed to win the fight. So he would just cast Fracture again... And I believe he would take steps to ensure that I could not stop his spell.”
She poured herself another cup of tea and shifted slightly in her chair. As she did, the plants around her seemed to shift as well, aware of her presence.
“Samedus is a very accomplished mage, having studied the craft over the space of a thousand years. With the power he possess', he can easily use magic that would customarily only be able to be utilized by a god.
His curse is that he can never truly be a God, not completely, something he craved more than anything by the end. He wanted to be my equal, be truly powerful. That's why I need you, perhaps he will drop his guard long enough for you to defeat him. He is a prideful creature and would need to engage you in combat to prove his worth if he discovered you were my new champion.”
She got that sad look in her eye again as she looked down towards the grass covered ground, digging her bare toes into the soil.
She wasn't telling me everything. In fact I think I had merely been given the bare essentials on the matter of Samedus Exovan. Here's the bad guy, kill him. Something that has been expected of me my whole life I suppose.
And then I realised that I couldn't say no to her request, and I'm sure she realised this as well. It' not who I am. I have never turned my back on someone in need. Even putting the needs of others above myself.
If by taking this power I can save Vita, as well as Marwen and the rest of my family. Then it is the only possible option.
“Fine I agree to your terms, Goddess.”
Vitriss looked up, joy plastered across her face and a smile soon following.
“thank you, thank you Corus, you have no idea-”
I hold up a hand to stop her mid sentence. “On one condition.”
“Name it!” She cried eagerly and almost jumped over the table to place her hands over mine again.
“You will tell Marwenna the truth, you will not lie to her again. She must feel like her whole world is falling apart and you are directly responsible.” I state, the barely contained fury that I had been feeling since seeing her was struggling against my iron will.
Vitriss took her hands off mine and bit her bottom lip as her face flushed with embarrassment.”
“I'm sorry Corus. You must understand that I believed it was the only way to bring you here...As to why I was acting so smug when you arrived, I thought that they would fail and you would rip them apart. Forgive me. I shall immediately send word to the Lady Marwen that it was all a ploy on my part. But...” At this point she too raised her hand to stop any eventual protest. “I shall not be telling her that you have returned to Vita.”
It seemed she was right to raise a hand as I immediately began to protest but she quickly cut me off.
“I'm sorry Corus, but if you were to return and your followers learned of it, it would cause quite the stir and if Samedus were to learn of Marwen and the other's, he would use them against you.”
The protest died on my lips unsaid. She was right, I couldn't suddenly return from the dead. Perhaps my General's were convinced by Marwen's testimony and simply labelled me as an enemy, which would only complicate things if Vitriss' message doesn't reach Marwenna in time. Well, Cinder and Abhor I could trust to believe me, I know that for a fact. But still, if I wanted to keep them safe, I needed to go incognito. Try to work it out once I had both feet back on Vita.
I gave Vitriss a quick, resigned nod and leaned back in my chair.
“Alright Vitriss, I agree to that. But only to keep Marwen and the others safe.” I stressed.
She gave me a sympathetic smile and nodded. Then she pushed her chair and jumped to her feet.
Before I realised what was happening, the rather petite Goddess was pulling me by the hand in the direction of the wide open flower covered field where we had our sparring match.
“Come along now Corus, time for you to receive your power.”
I struggled to keep up with her almost supernatural excitement
.
“And what is this power called exactly?” I asked, suddenly rather nervous.
She turned to me and smiled, that same shark like smile I had seen just hours ago.
“Why, Arcana of course.”