Erick walked through golden fields, under a blue sky.
Atunir walked beside him. “Hello, Erick.”
“Hello, Atunir,” Erick said, then he went right into it. “Something needs to change about that dungeon. We can’t have world-wide threats being made and released into Greensoil’s power. Into anyone’s power, really.”
“Is that what you want to start with? Not that you are the Summoner, a Wizard who doomed a world and saved another through a supreme Paradox?”
“… I suppose we could start there, with how apparently the Summoner was a Wizard, too? When you invited me into that dungeon, did you know that was going to happen?”
“No. What I said last time remains true. I have memories of that time. You are a Wizard of Paradox. Either you are, or are not, related directly to the Summoner, but I’m willing to bet that you are. A part of his mana lives on in you.”
“And you’re not worried about that? About Wizardry?”
“He’s not a Wizard anymore.” Atunir said, “And you said it yourself; you put yourself on a Benevolent Path. Either intentionally, or subconsciously, you are orchestrating the future of this world into one better for us all, through the exploration of your past. Right now, that Path forward seems less than solid. Dangerous. But from what I see in the Benevolent Sky, and in all my other methods of checking the future, it appears we’re on a clear course to some brighter land. Everything happening right now is a stepping stone toward that future.”
Erick breathed in the dreamy air as he thought. Then he said, “Are the Summoners and Fyuris released from the dungeon… Are they a problem you can help with?”
“Yes. I have paladins, and I have already dispatched them to locate and purge the corrupted dungeon remnants. They are done with that job, and have collected six soldiers of Riam, four commanders, and three archmages. They are currently in talks with Greensoil about turning them over to Greensoil, but if you wish to turn them into better people, then I will make that happen instead.”
“I will take them,” Erick said, with perhaps too much ferocity. “Do you know where Fyuri and the Summoner are?”
Atunir looked at him, and softly said, “They are just people, Erick, and your Node Network [Renew] magics make much of the world a lot more stable than it used to be, cutting off their chances of changing the world down to near nothing. Fyuri was a woman most renown for her cruelty and power to control people through charisma and guile, and while that threat might remain, the Summoner that she managed to pull out of floor 5 was a Wizard in the original, but no longer. Fyuri took his staff, none of his magics work like they should, and he’s in the custody of Darundi Raivo right now, talking of pasts and magics that he no longer has any connection to. That Fyuri you fought is free, however. She is in Candlepoint, posing as a traveler and applying for light dungeon access, to regain her [Greater Lightwalk].”
“… I’ll be taking care of Fyuri first, then.” Erick asked, “Are there any others?”
“Aside from the ones captured by my paladins, and taken in by the Inquisition, Kinder has found and killed 19 more conspirators, all while remaining hidden himself. He retains plausible deniability that he had anything to do with any of it, which is true, but which won’t matter if you bring up any words against him. The only threads that remain active outside the Glittering Depths are the Fyuri Riamiteer at Candlepoint, and the Ashes Woodfield at Greensoil.”
Erick connected a few dots. “When you asked me to come to the dungeon… Was it to solve this problem? Or did Kinder ask this of you?”
“I had hoped, and so did Kinder, who prayed for it, but I wasn’t about to put that on you. Aside from closing this Kill and Exterminate Quest with Odaari, the only thing I truly wished for was you checking out the meta-artifact idea, to see what you thought. Maybe it would have helped you with your Wizard crystallization, but that’s a personal journey that I cannot interfere with directly, and nor do I want to interfere.”
Ah. So Kinder did pray to rid the dungeon of this problem. The Dungeon Master knew of the problem, but he couldn’t actually do anything against Fyuri and otherwise, because to do so would be to show how little actual control he had over the dungeon. Ah. Well that was pretty shitty.
“The Kinder before this one…” Erick asked, “He tried to speak up about the problems in the dungeon, didn’t he?”
“Back when the dungeon breaks happened three years ago, one Kinder tried to speak up about how the Greensoil Republic was purposefully mishandling the dungeons. Then Greensoil decided to blame all the dungeon breaks on the Gate Network between the Wasteland and Greensoil, to blame the incani on what was wholly a Greensoil created problem.” Atunir said, “It was a lie that worked on you because in a few cases, it was true. In 90% of cases, though, the problem was Greensoil taking NPCs out of the dungeons and using them to try and make new magics. One of those dungeons they targeted for harvesting was the Glittering Depths, and it was there that several Fyuris, some abominations, and some ritual magics were extracted, and tested inside other dungeons. The results of those tests were the dungeon breaks and my paladins cleaning up those Fyuris and otherwise.” Atunir finished with, “But now you’re back, as Melemizargo has said, and as you have proven. I wasn’t even aware you were gone, but it makes sense, now that we’re here. And now that we’re here, I ask you to solve whatever problems you see among my people as much as you desire, Erick. You have my blessing to do so. I wish you well.”
A hundred thoughts flitted through Erick’s mind.
He landed on one of the most important ones, “Where are those other escaped Fyuris? The original ones from the dungeon breaks 3 years ago?”
“Dead to the last. I ensured it, as soon as they crossed lines which I could not abide. The only one who has survived for a long while is Rebecca, and only because she could kill to sate her hunger down there in the Glittering Depths because she wasn’t actually killing anyone.” Atunir added, “Greensoil is getting smarter about using my gifts to the world, and turning them into weapons. I might have to close the Glittering Depths, or else open another dungeon in the Wasteland. I hope I do not have to do either, though.”
Erick had no answer to that right now.
All he could say was, “I’m going to lean hard on Greensoil, and I might drop your name.”
“I suggest a coalition of forces, Erick. Kromolok and Rozeta. Kirginatharp. And of course, my paladins and Champion. I can have my people gathered in Odaali within the hour. Or I can give you days to prepare.”
“I’m going to capture Fyuri first. Then… Then I’ll go to Odaali. I would have every single conspirator turned over to me, to be transformed into better people. I’ll be offering [Reincarnation]s of a more normal sort to anyone living in the Glittering Depths who wants one, but I have no real good way to get in contact with them now. Can you tell them that they are welcome in Candlepoint?”
Atunir nodded. “I’ll let them know.”
The world faded.
- - - -
Erick woke.
It was midnight but the shadows never slept, and Enforcement slept even less. Burhendurur was out of the office right now, so Erick just ordered the next man in line to quietly secure the area around the Light Dungeon.
Under the dark, beneath the scant lines of light from the node network that stretched across Candlepoint, lay the hill that hid the Light Dungeon. Erick’s magic preceded him, power unfurling in the sky with all ten Ophiel, spreading wide. Light came to the night. Forty three people who were lined up for the dungeon all went still as multitudes of white and black armored men and women stepped out of the surrounding lands, to contain the delvers, and one delver in particular.
Erick descended to the ground, right in front of his target.
She was a woman, eleventh in line for the dungeon, who made no attempt to hide. She did not look like Fyuri or Rebecca at all. Blonde, thin, armored and ready for battle, Fyuri did nothing but stand firm, unlike everyone else near her, beneath Erick’s white hot gaze.
“Hello, Fyuri,” Erick said, as he opened a [Gate] to the side. “This way, please.”
“If you do not mind, I would like to assume my normal form for what is to come.”
Erick retracted his Domains from her, and her alone, daring her to act as he said, “Go ahead.”
Fyuri’s armor evaporated, her form twisting, as she became a sudden cat monster ten meters tall and with a dozen tails, her mouth full of fangs, shadows spearing out, aiming for Erick—
Erick smashed down on her back with black claws ten times her size, black wings unfurling and white lightning dancing inside his maw. He held down Fyuri like she was an unruly kitten. She sparked with red lightning beneath his claws. Erick sparked harder, opening his maw and pouring forth a storm of white lightning directly onto the evil woman, his power dancing down in a column, constrained in effect but eradicating Fyuri from existence. When he was done with her, and satisfied at his rage abating, Erick closed his mouth and pulled back. He had carved a divot in the ground a bare ten meters across and half that deep, and only because that’s how far he chose to take it.
Erick sighed as he flexed his wings outward, rustling the air with the sound of a far-off storm, his tail flickering. And then he relaxed.
In a flickering moment, Erick flashed healing throughout the area, repairing whatever eyesight damage his lightning might have unintentionally caused. And then he shrunk down into his normal body, his clothes reappearing as he stood above the empty void where he had erased a remnant of the past that did not deserve to plague the world ever again. She had proven herself as evil. She did not deserve redemption…
But that was Erick’s anger talking.
He hadn’t actually erased her soul, and that made all the difference.
- - - -
Erick stood on one side of a solid diamond glass wall that was reinforced with a bunch of solidification magics. Fyuri regained consciousness on the other side, inside a very well-made containment chamber, deep below House Benevolence. She had a bathroom, a kitchen, and a bedroom, all of it well stocked, but with absolutely no passageways from here to the outside world. The only way in or out of there was through a [Gate]. The bathroom cleaned itself and the air with [Cleanse], the food was delivered daily, and she had a few things she could cook, along with a bunch of books on being a better person, and containing and redirecting one’s anger. Erick wondered if they would help her. Fyuri would have no interest in those books right now, but she would, eventually. This was solitary confinement for now, but right across the hallway lay an exact copy of Fyuri’s containment rooms, ready and waiting for someone else to show up, to need to stay here while they acclimated to their new personality.
Erick had a few of these rooms. Only one was in use right now. He wondered if he would need to actually use more of them.
Fyuri pretended to be asleep for a little while longer, but she realized that wasn’t going to work, so she sat up on her bed, and looked at Erick. “Hello, Wizard Flatt. How good to meet you. Don’t know what came over me out there.”
“Sure sure. So there’s a pen and some paperwork in front of you, on that table. It’s [Reincarnation] paperwork. Make some choices and I’ll be back to enforce them soon enough.”
“You won’t stay and talk for a while? It might be normal for you to hand down judgments like this, but from my perspective this is quite a difficult time in my life.”
Erick was trying not to be baited, so he had acted flippantly… But now he needed to stay and talk, if only for propriety. “… Go ahead, then. Speak.”
“I ask for amnesty from Greensoil. They are murderers, all of them, and they would see me dead… Which is why I assume that you killed me so publicly, and brought me back here, underground and under observation. I would speak of the truth of the Republic as a cesspit of horrors that need change, and I would help you bring that change. Admittedly, I did try to sneak in, instead of contacting you directly, but I wasn’t quite sure how an actual audience would work… Or if you would even listen to what I have to say, considering what Ashes has likely told you. I just had to flee that place, for they would surely kill me as they had already done to so many of my copies.”
Surprisingly, Erick did not find himself becoming angry at Fyuri’s carefully crafted tale.
So it was with calm, that Erick began, “Allow me to pull apart some of your lies, for what they are.
“You did not seek amnesty when you came here. You sought to rebuild power and then to find Ashes and burrow into his heart in any way that you could, hoping to harm him and also gain power in the process.
“You also sought to have a new life entirely, through that body you face-stole from an unlucky woman who was at a bar in Gambler’s Rest, who you killed and ate and then sundered her soul, and perhaps not in that exact order. I was not able to [True Resurrection] her though, so we can’t ask her for her order of events, and you cleared the manasphere rather well so I can’t see what you did to her, either. Her family is calling for your head and death, but I won’t give them that, because you are allied with Hell, now.” Erick said, “Hell doesn’t want you anymore, by the way. I have a contact there that has discovered your attempts to inflame the Forever War, but she was coy about it, because Demons and Angels do absolutely hate each other, and inflaming war in Greensoil is good for Demons. But I convinced them that you would only use Hell for your own gain, and then ruin them in the process. That was not a hard sell. Within the hour, that contact came back with a full report of all your misdeeds.
“So if you’re wondering why you didn’t wake up in Hell as a demon, then that’s the reason; I [True Resurrection]ed you and stole that future from you, before your soul could get there in time.” Erick said, “So here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to fill out that paperwork, and then I’m gonna strip you of all of your power, and then Blessing of Empathy you, to ensure that this sort of horror never happens again. In a week, or whatever, you will be asked questions and you will spill everything you know about Greensoil’s dungeon weapons programs, and we’ll see about your future after that.”
Fyuri listened and barely betrayed her anger. But soon her anger changed. A tiny smile formed on her blood-red lips, as she gazed at Erick with bright, amber eyes. She ignored everything Erick said, and attacked, “You’re Ashes. You are the Summoner.”
“Yup,” Erick said, “Everyone in power at Greensoil already knows. I’m sure more people will be learning that soon enough.”
“I’ll take that [Reincarnation], however you want to make me, and an Empathy as well.” Fyuri said, “Make me yours, Erick Flatt, Wizard of Benevolence! My Summoner!”
… Erick walked away.
- - - -
Erick stood on one side of a courtyard, ringed in power and spellwork. People in prisoner tunics and brown pants stood on the other side, unshackled and yet not trying anything untoward. They were the Riamites captured by Atunir’s paladins, and they knew what was about to happen. Those paladins of Atunir, standing on the walls around the courtyard, and Champion Yetta, standing at Erick’s side, watched Erick work.
Erick explained, “You will be given [Reincarnation] paperwork. As you have proven yourself as malcontents, working to undermine the authority of the powers of this world, you will be given a Blessing of Empathy as well. Beyond that, you have two choices, based upon if you choose to fully reveal the depth of your activities working for Shadowclaw, or if you withhold information. Those who fail to reveal the full depth of their activities will be turned over to Greensoil. Those who cooperate, will be reintegrated into society at Candlepoint. A new life is ahead of you, men and women of Riam, and in a few cases, Utopia. If you choose to accept it.”
Erick waved a hand, and paperwork appeared.
An hour later, every single person was on their way to Candlepoint. None of them wanted to be handed over to Greensoil. One of those people was the Artillery Archmage from the second floor, whom Erick had killed without knowing it the first time around that land, and whom he had killed another time with his golden staff. That Artillery Archmage’s True Name was Terrance Nightenflit, and now he was much younger and with a better direction in life, and with a new name of his choice. All of them would get a lot more choices, this time around, for they were free men and women. Mostly.
Erick’s [Reincarnation] and Empathy had yet to fail catastrophically, or really, at all, but some people were still watched after the transformation, and these people were added to that list.
- - - -
A non-fancy, circular stone table rested on a white stone floor, in the center of a grand hall made of white crystal with gold striation laced through that rock, almost artistically. Four chairs sat around the table, each of them as important as the other, while the lights of the room allowed for no great shadows at all.
Lightning-ringed portals opened at four sides of the room at the same time. Four people stepped into that space.
A king of black metal, shaped into an orcol.
An older man in gold and white robes who had forgone taking the title of ‘king’ for himself many times before.
A king in green, who was the focus of this meeting.
And a king in white, with black edges to his robes, and lightning in his eyes.
King Stratagold. The Headmaster, Kirginatharp. The Viridian King, Darundi Raivo. Erick Flatt, the Wizard of Benevolence and the Apparent King.
It had taken Erick nearly 7 days to reach this point, all that time filled with letters and meetings and back-and-forth, and complete [Force Wall]ing from Darundi, and in many cases, fury. The Viridian King’s fury at Erick was well-hidden, always, but it was still there. Erick had a lot of fury of his own. Now that Erick was calling Darundi on his bullshit, the Viridian Throne didn’t want to own up to any of their misuses of the Dark, and relations were deteriorating.
Erick had almost simply broken into the Viridian Palace, to steal both Odaari and the Summoner out from Viridian control. He didn’t do that, though. He refrained. And now, he was here, at a major meeting between powers. He wasn’t going to let Darundi get away with anything.
It was time for a full overhaul of everything about Greensoil.
That was Erick’s goal, anyway.
Darundi had his own set of goals.
Stratagold was here on Darundi’s side. Kirginatharp was here on Erick’s side. But all four of them sat down around the round table, with no one actually on anyone’s side at all.
Kirginatharp stood, and began, “As the oldest, I will open this discussion.
“Based on the discrepancy between the positions of House Benevolence and the Greensoil Republic, I doubt we will reach an understanding that both sides are happy with, but it is important to have open dialogues about these sorts of things, in order to prevent forceful events that would further erode the trust and cooperation we great powers of the world have in this new era, here on Veird.
“Onto the discrepancy.
“House Benevolence desires the complete turn-over of the Glittering Depths to the Church of Atunir, and the complete ousting of all of Greensoil interests therein. It also desires the Republic to turn over all great evils that it has dredged up from the Dark, for subsequent [Reincarnation] and Empathying, or, in the cases of weapons of mass destruction, for categorizing and dismantling.
“If these were normal dissatisfactions, such a request would be a complicated national-level series of talks and organizations between House Benevolence and Greensoil, and neither King Stratagold or myself would become involved.
“But the Republic is mining the Dark for great evils, and then trying to use those great evils to increase their military might. On the nature of weapons, I doubt you will get what you want, Erick. But on the nature of evils, we have much to talk about.” Kirginatharp said, “The purpose of dungeons is to train people how to handle magic and themselves in worlds of simulated and real danger. Recreating evils is perhaps the greatest issue here.”
Not an unexpected angle from Kirginatharp.
Darundi did not stand, for that part of the meeting was over. He simply said, “The evils recreated from the Glittering Depths are greatly exaggerated, primarily because the Script already keeps the greatest magics out of the hands of everyone, and because the archmages and powers of the Glittering Depths are from an ancient age, where magic was different anyway. Not a single one of the archmages brought forth from that land and made real have been able to achieve anything above tier 6 spellwork; they’re not technically archmages anymore.” He looked at Erick, adding, “And you cannot say that the Glittering Depths were not useful, for you gained power there yourself, Erick. Who are you to deny others the right to power that you have grasped? To do so would go against everything you already stand for, would it not? Perhaps you have been affected too much by your time in the Dark, and it is you who should be censured.”
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An infuriating start, Erick thought.
“Perhaps I should be censured, yes,” Erick said, responding the only way he could to such an oddity, and surprising no one except Darundi, who struggled not to show that surprise. Now was not a time to hide any cards, though, and so, Erick continued, “I’ve already taken steps to step down from my position as absolute Gatemaster. My apprentice, Kiri Flamecrash, has taken up many of my old duties, and is working on providing the world with a second person capable of overseeing the Gate Network.”
Kirginatharp was not surprised; for he knew about Kiri, and how Erick was getting ready to reseal Yggdrasil, and all the rest. Stratagold had not been informed of all that nearly as much as Kirginatharp, but he knew. While Kirginatharp withheld his judgment—
Stratagold spoke, “Perhaps it is for the best that you take a step back from absolute power, Erick, though this is the first I am hearing of it in quite so plain wording. I assume that Kirginatharp knew? But this is a new revelation for you, is it not, Darundi?”
Darundi withheld his words for the moment.
Kirginatharp said, “One person should not have as much power as Erick has. This is a fact he has stated himself many times over, and now that he has the opportunity to give up some of that power to the next generation, I congratulate him for being able to do so.”
So that was a bunch of words that amounted to Darundi’s stance against Erick being approved, because Erick stepped back himself, and in that action approving of Darundi’s stance, but in return for stepping back, Erick was about to demand a lot in return. And Darundi knew it. So did everyone else.
Erick held his tongue, though, and let Darundi fuck his position up even more, because that’s what tyrants did when you gave them enough rope to hang themselves with.
“You’re working some Wizardry, aren’t you, Erick. That ‘Benevolent Path’ you spoke of inside the dungeon,” Darundi said, as he narrowed his eyes. “You’re doing some sort of Fate magic right now, because you went to the Glittering Depths after you started to elevate Kiri to the new Gatemaster. That you are giving up power due to being influenced by the Dark… All that is just a Wizardry you have created in order to harm Greensoil with unreasonable demands that we open ourselves up to having a dungeon overlap the entire Dark space of the capital. A place that is already infested with known demonic conspirators. We’ll just have more demonic murders, and you want that to happen.”
Erick wanted to throw all of that back in Darundi’s face, saying how he was reaching for answers and trying to maintain credibility… But Stratagold and Kirginatharp looked to Erick, too. Perhaps he did need to parry this attack, and go on the offense himself.
Erick said, “I might be on a Benevolent Path. And if I am, it is undoubtedly to fix the major problems I can fix, while they are fixable. This includes what happened down at Storm’s Edge, and what I see happening in Greensoil, with you trying to dig up ancient evils for your own gain. That story of Atunir’s is a holy one that should be told to people, so that they know what true evil looks like. It is NOT a story that you should mine for gold.
“Therefore, we need to slap you down for that, but there’s a lot more to this problem of Greensoil than you all poking at the ancient evil that is Riam.
“I heard a funny story the other day, and I went looking into that funny story, to see the truth. I saw a lot.
“Back when those dungeon breaks happened in Greensoil, back when Greensoil and the Wasteland had a direct connection, there was one dungeon near Riski, on the southern coast of Greensoil, where demonic forces were actually found. You blew those forces way out of proportion, claiming they were connected to the Halls of the Dead, which used to have their base to the north of Riski, in the mountains. And that particular dungeon break did have some cousins that were distantly connected to the Halls of the Dead.
“But that was a cover story.
“For in all the other dungeon breaks that happened all across Greensoil, that was due to Greensoil mining dungeons for magic. This caused some sort of chain reaction in the Dark, causing a great many dungeons in Greensoil to fall apart…” Erick looked around the room, where shadows lay, where they had not laid before. “Please, Melemizargo, I will ask for you and Atunir to speak later, but I wish for that speaking to come later.”
The shadows vanished. A gold glint in the lights of the room similarly faded.
Kirginatharp and Stratagold were outwardly calm, but inwardly worried.
Darundi was sweating buckets. He had expected to deal with powers today. Not gods.
“As I was saying,” Erick continued, “There was a fracture in the dungeons of Greensoil 3 years ago, and according to sources I can provide evidence for, it was because Greensoil was mining every dungeon for every ancient evil and power it could find. You have many such powers under your control right now. You have three living powers that I am most interested in, and that I demand to be turned over to me, immediately.
“Odaari, because I demand it.
“Rebecca, because you cannot hope to contain her.
“And your living copy of the Summoner, because I won’t let you have a copy of my previous reincarnations, or whatever they are. I’m still not sure myself.” Erick added, “And I demand your entire nation quit with its human-centrism, because, since I’m stepping down from absolute political power, I can step into the realm of activism without being so threatening that we would have to resort to war to resolve our differences. I can still be incredibly influential, though. But that’s the stick. Here’s the carrot: Perhaps, if your human-centric policies were to end, you wouldn’t find so many enemies in the shadows waiting to stab you.”
Darundi had regained his composure by the time Erick had finished. He simply said, “I reject your claim of power over Greensoil.”
Erick stared. “If you think I’m a bastard to deal with now, just wait until Kiri gets her claws into the Gate Network of Greensoil. She hates you, for a great many legitimate reasons.”
“No,” Darundi said simply.
Erick frowned. “Let us return to the current issue: You’re digging around in the Dark for horrors of the Old Cosmology. That has to stop.”
“I disagree,” said Stratagold. “But only in the assertion that absolute avoidance of evil is wrong. Individual cases might have merit. Fighting against Riam has merit. Mining Riam has no merit.”
… Erick wasn’t happy with that, but he let it lay.
Kirginatharp said, “While I believe that Greensoil’s endeavors are misguided, and that some sort of censure needs to happen to prevent the worst outcomes, the ability to pull the Old Cosmology out of memories is too great of a power for this world to leave unexplored. Evils should not be mined. Good should be mined.” Kirginatharp let that lay for a moment, then continued, “But for right now... For now, this exploration of Riam and the proven monstrousness of Riamites does demand a certain ban on those types of people pulled out of ancient history. Why not explore the dwarven worlds of the Radiant Depths? Or the Silvery Lands of ancient Lastine, of the Light Elementassi, and the angelic human hybrids of the Alvani? Surely places like that have merit, Darundi. Let Atunir have Atunir’s history.” He looked to Erick. “As for you, Erick. We have spoken of the horrors of Earth before, even though you stay away from the larger ones, but why not Earth? Spun fully-created from your own mind? ”
Erick stared hard, unsure what to say, or how he felt. Mostly he felt like this was a terrible box that did not need to be opened. Even if nuclear weapons simply did not work here on Veird, there were other things that could come through a dungeon to ‘Earth’, like… Well he wasn’t quite sure. But he didn’t want it to happen anyway.
Erick had a good answer, though, “We don’t need to open that box, because that’s how you get elves again. That’s how Evil Gods are born. That’s how you unleash Primal Lightning into this world—”
Erick paused.
There were four more seats at the table, all placed around the room equally.
Fairy Moon, dressed in pink and green and white, sat beside Erick on his left, between him and Stratagold.
Rozeta, wearing her white-wrought human woman form, in a pantsuit. She sat between Stratagold and Darundi.
Atunir, dressed in a simple yellow tunic and brown pants, with her braids in a bun, took her place between Darundi and Kirginatharp.
And then there was Fallopolis, looking composed in a dark suit, with white accents. She sat between Kirginatharp and Erick, while her black crystal staff floated behind her. Erick’s own gold staff was suddenly floating behind him; a bright gold thing that was confused by the black, crystalline thing. Erick had left that staff at home, and even Ophiel was outside this room. But now, the staff was here.
New people all around.
Erick rolled with it, saying, “Greetings, others. Glad you could join us. Was it the part about uncovering the Sundering that finally prompted this joining?”
Darundi looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but here, and yet he also had a king’s crown to uphold. He maintained. But he also fell to the background, hoping not to be noticed too much.
Rozeta spoke first, “In light of recent events, certain things need to be said. Of the mortal lands, the request is simple. Greensoil must deliver all Riamites awakened into real people unto Erick. Erick, you must rescind your other requests of Geensoil; this includes any adjustment of their governance. Besides, you’re already taking all of their good people from them and filling up the Crystal Forest with real forest and civilization. It’ll only be 30 years or Darundi’s natural death or assassination before all of Greensoil falls into a civil war. At that time, more extreme measures will be taken to ensure that Greensoil does not fully collapse, and that the people remain as alive as they can.”
Darundi’s eyes went wide at what was essentially a divine prophecy. He wanted to rebel, but then he thought better, and suddenly all his words fled him. He had no idea how to deal with that information at this moment, so he went silent.
Erick picked up the slack, “I will accept this lessening of my desires of Greensoil. I would hope to avert this horror you mention, though. I would assist Greensoil in a transition over the next twenty years. If Greensoil implements grand, sweeping reforms, everywhere, at every level of governance, I will help them do so. Or we can all just wait for Darundi to die, and then pick up the pieces afterward.”
Darundi regained composure, saying, “Rebecca, the Summoner, and Odaari will be transferred to House Benevolence. We’ll talk about the rest later.”
Erick breathed a small sigh of relief, and so did Kirginatharp and Stratagold. Darundi was still tense, but who could blame him. Fallopolis, Atunir, and Fairy Moon had yet to speak.
Atunir added, “The Glittering Depths will become self-governed, without Greensoil interference.”
“Agreed,” Darundi said, “I’ll pull back influence to minimum-checkup levels, and will no longer pull out resources from that land except for those who desire to leave on their own, and mana crystals for study.”
Atunir said, “Acceptable.”
… Well that was unexpected. Erick wasn’t sure what to make of that. Perhaps having gods tell you you’re fucking up should happen more often; Darundi obviously didn’t give a shit if it was just Erick telling him he was being a shit.
Rozeta spoke again, “Now let us speak of the Old Cosmology being revived from the Dark.”
Fairy Moon rapidly spoke, “This boon of Dark Dungeons gives birth to great beginnings and can cause greater Ends.” She looked to Fallopolis. “I ask the Dark to decree evil gods no more, never to manifest again.” She looked to Atunir. “And you should find a fiction that better gets you good believers. Destroy the Glittering Depths, and all the evil they detail. Let Riam rest. Gain a greater good in any of the other scripture stories you sell.”
Erick didn’t agree with all of that, for he wanted the Glittering Depths to remain… He was pretty sure he wanted them to remain. But he did agree with Fairy Moon asking for the Dark to curtail memories of evil gods in dungeons.
But it was Atunir who spoke next; not Fallopolis.
“The evil of the Glittering Depths is the evil of humans and a fictional god that was never born,” Atunir said. “It was the best choice, and though it was turned to profit by some humans, it is still a lesson that needs to be taught, over and over and over again to all mortals, forever more.”
Well that was true, too. Riam never got their plan to work.
Fairy Moon frowned, showing her displeasure, but not speaking again.
Now Fallopolis spoke, “My God has seen the Glittering Depths and judged them worthy. That Grand Dungeon is among the best of this world, and will not be gainsaid by anyone. As for other dungeons, Benevolence has already pointed the way to any that might prove problematic, and though Erick has not done the deed himself, his daughter has. She kills problematic dungeons all the time with Benevolent guides. This solution works fine.”
Erick froze. “… Melemizargo is working with Jane?”
“I would say it the other way around, Erick,” Fallopolis said, not looking directly at him.
Erick had not known that Jane was working with Melemizargo, at all. He wasn’t even aware that Jane was using Benevolence in any real shape or form, except that she was just as good with that Element as she was with all the rest… So of course she was using Benevolence to find problematic dungeons, possibly even before they became problematic.
Rozeta directly asked Fallopolis, “Are there dungeons where evil gods exist, or are capable of existing?”
“The former: no. The latter: of course. But are they near that level of danger? Not at all.” Fallopolis said, “However, since we are here, and since memories in the Dark can be real if other observers witness them, I am informing you now that My God wishes to have people of suitable natures explore the Sundering, to see and to understand what caused the Primal Lightning events that destroyed the Old Cosmology.”
Gasps all around.
Erick suddenly felt like the floor had fallen away. He had spoken of ‘unleashing Primal Lightning’ before, but that had been in hyperbole. To actually search for the answer to the Sundering? Crazy as shit!
Rozeta launched to her feet, anger writ large on her face as she slammed a hand down on the circular table, cracking it in half. “ABSOLUTELY NOT.”
The air filled with power. The table disintegrated, casting aside all barriers between her and Fallopolis, and everyone else.
Darundi looked like he might be having a heart attack—
Rozeta flicked a hand and Darundi vanished into a cloud that was a [Gate]. “It was an ill-formed idea in the first place to believe that a mortal could stand up to this sort of discussion.” She looked to Erick. “Send him my apologies for his rude dismissal if you desire to take advantage of that.” She looked to Fallopolis, and to the shadow looming behind the Shade. “Let us relocate this talk to a larger venue.”
Melemizargo spoke through Fallopolis, “I agree.”
- - - -
Erick stepped down onto a black volcanic crater, not too far off-center.
The horizon was a ring of black, jagged rock, that sieved a heavy mist. That mist hovered in the air above the uneven, cooled black ground, and people stepped out of that mist. Erick recognized Adavido, the Helm of the Angelic Host, with his glittering white-gold armor and wings made of swords, daggers, and all sorts of piercing and cutting implements. Dinnamoth, the Demon King, with his red skin and red horns, and a black leather suit, stepped out of the mist on the other side of the crater. More gods and Relevant Entities followed. Koyabez, lithe and pale purple, wearing nothing but a loincloth. Sininindi, looking storm-tossed in her ship’s sail dress. Then came Fangorl, and Zephyrspray, and Sumtir. Aloethag, the Goddess of Beauty and Brutality, and of the orcols, stepped down into the arena, wearing a blood-red dress. Erick wondered if she wanted the elves back; she probably did.
Atunir stepped onto the stage, just off-center. Her yellow tunic and pants remained from their meeting from before.
Rozeta in her white pantsuit remained the same, as well.
Stratagold stepped to the edge of the arena, nearer to Erick but still far away from the center. Kirginatharp joined Stratagold. The two of them were invited observers, but they were not central to this event. Fallopolis stepped out of the fog next to them. It seemed she wasn’t central, either, but she still warranted inclusion.
Fairy Moon appeared at Erick’s side, between one blink and the next, and then Rozeta glared at her, and Fairy Moon put up her hands and backed away. She did not retreat to the edge, but neither did she step fully out of the center of the black caldera.
Phagar, looking like a copy of Erick, stepped down into the center of the space, right as a great black shadow enveloped half of the sky, before condensing down to be merely ten meters tall, laying down to Erick’s side. Melemizargo nodded to Erick, and then he turned toward Rozeta.
A good hundred other relevant entities appeared in the mist, but did not fully form. Erick could name 80% of them, but they were mostly just watchers of the world that never did anything unless needed. Several of them were ancient wrought; the kings and queens or hidden powers of the Geodes. Others were archmages hidden around the world, who also never did anything. Angels, demons. Gods both minor and not-so major as the ones already standing nearer to the center of the crater—
Rozeta began, “We are here today to discuss the unveiling of memories in the Dark, through the dungeon core system put in place by Melemizargo eleven years ago. The memories of the Old Cosmology can be made real through interactions with them, but they are not actually real. The difference is academic at this point, for a diamond created through pressure and heat has the same composition as a diamond created through Particle Magic’s [Crystallize Diamond]. A Shade is just a Dark reflection of a person’s existence, made real through the transference of a soul. A shadeling is an imperfect reflection that has yet to be made real through the realization of their buried soul.
“Evil gods might once again come out from the Dark, if they are searched for too closely.
“But old lands might come about, as well. The Radiant Depths. The Green Expanse.
“And the cause of the Sundering.”
Hope had filled the air until Rozeta mentioned the previous End of Everything.
And then anger spilled out in the air; louder than thunder, but quieter than a breeze, happening somewhere just beyond Erick’s sight and senses. The very world seemed to shake and reorient as gods argued with gods and rage spilled across everyone. A second passed, full of fury and taking much, much longer than a second. And then calm returned, though Erick knew that the calm was a facade, and that single second had been so much more than that.
Koyabez was now nearer to the center of the caldera. Atunir had moved backward. Fairy Moon stood beside Erick, her gaze resolute and solid against Melemizargo. The audience was half gone, but slowly, eyes appeared in the mist, and they returned along with so many other people.
Rozeta breathed, then continued, “After 76 days of deliberation we have reached a consensus—”
Erick almost complained right then and there. What the fuck! 76 days? And he wasn’t involved?!
“— Melemizargo will not be allowed to pursue the question of the causes of the Sundering. Not directly. He will be required to appoint a mortal researcher for the task. As has been suggested, and as has been accepted as a suggestion, we have Erick as an acceptable researcher. The vote commences now.”
Erick spat, “Now wait just a fucking—”
The world flickered.
Rozeta spoke perfunctorily, “The motion passes. Ancient evils are allowed to be explored in side-ways explorations, where those ancient evils are never directly mentioned or explored at all. The sole exception is Melemizargo’s exploration into the Sundering.” With more emotion, Rozeta added, “Woe be upon us all for all of your shortsighted desires.”
Melemizargo said, “It won’t be that bad, Rozeta. I can handle anything that comes out of myself.”
“Doubtful,” Rozeta said, and then she sighed. “But then again, you won’t be handling anything except for the layout of the dungeon.”
“I think we can dispense with this ‘dungeon’ word, now.” Melemizargo said, “It was useful for describing something in terms that the mortals would understand, as an allude to the elemental dungeons that they’ve been making for the last 1451 years here on this liferaft of a world. But my exploration of the Sundering would be a Path, with memories of the Old Cosmology that were open and active all around. A Benevolent Path, that would avoid falling into the worst of the Sundering, but which only a few could follow. Sorry, Erick. I will be using what you already started.”
Erick was too full of words; if he let a single one out, then he would say something awful, for sure.
“This was your goal all along with agreeing to reseal Yggdrasil, and I don’t approve of that, father,” Rozeta said, “This is a dangerous game you play with this world.”
“I am fully aware of that, and I will be taking extreme measures to ensure that nothing untoward will occur.”
“Fortunately,” Rozeta said, looking at Erick. “If he doesn’t agree to it, then it won’t happen. So make your decision, Erick.”
Erick’s instincts had been going haywire, with half of him wanting to scream out ‘No! What the fuck! How can you even suggest such an irresponsible excursion into unknown territory!’ while the other half saw the way Melemizargo was looking at him. The Dark Dragon was inordinately serious about this, in so many different ways it was hard to understand. Melemizargo was perhaps more serious than Erick had ever seen him. Not to mention the gazes of those all across the caldera. Many, many Relevant Entities wanted this to happen.
… Erick did not say what he wanted to say.
Erick deferred, “I have many concerns of my own, and since I was not privy to the multi-month discussion you all had, then I will need to make my own investigations into this matter, as well as clear up many other smaller affairs of my own before I can explore something as dangerous as The Sundering.”
Melemizargo sat tall, saying, “My Shades are all tasked with making this happen. Explain to them what you desire in this world and they will make it happen as cleanly and as succinctly as possible, so that you may journey into older places, and find out what killed the Old Cosmology so that we might prevent that from happening ever again.”
Erick did not frown, but he almost did. He tried another tactic to get out of this, saying, “I’m not a Wizard yet. I would be vulnerable to whatever I find.”
“Then you can detour your Path to find out how to better become a Wizard. All of that information is in the Old Cosmology. You merely need to go to it.”
“… I’m not sure how to get out of this new obligation, because if I pass this up then someone else will be appointed… ?”
“Jane is the backup,” Melemizargo said.
Erick glared at the big dragon, said, “Fuck you,” then he spoke to everyone, “I feel like this is something that should not be done.”
“I agree,” Rozeta said, “But the Relevant Entities have spoken, and they deem the threat minimal. Personally, I deem the threat a risk that simply should not be undertaken at all, but I have been outvoted.”
Melemizargo cocked his eyes at Rozeta, saying, “It’s not that much of a risk, and you know this.”
Rozeta said nothing, which spoke volumes.
And then Melemizargo said to Erick, “Finish with whatever you want in Greensoil then we can talk more, but know that this is my task for me to release my hold on Yggdrasil’s seal.”
- - - -
Erick said to Darundi, “This concern of how you manipulated the dungeon breaks of three years ago, and how you and your people continued to pull out ancient horrors from the Glittering Depths in pursuit of power, is now lower than other concerns. I wish to have all of the people you have taken from the Glittering Depths, and also for Odaari; as said in the meeting before you had to be returned home. In return, I won’t visit reprisal against you.”
Darundi had been walking to a meeting in the Viridian Palace when Erick spotted him through the sky, using his All-Seeing Eye to look through the many various [Ward]s and obfuscations and misdirection around the Palace. Erick had then simply stepped through a [Gate], bypassing all of those protections, to stand in the grand hallway before Darundi, and his few guards. Erick had managed to speak first. And now, Darundi weighed his options, while his personal guard snuck around Erick, and placed their hands on their swords, or other weapons. No one made any direct attacks, though about a hundred Scanning spells whipped across Erick, trying to decide if he was real or not, while people in other observation rooms were very close to panicking.
Darundi calmly said, “I do not wish to test your reprisal, but for the sake of completion, what sort of reprisal am I looking at?”
Ah. So he had been about to revoke that agreement he had said back in that room? How very Greensoil.
Erick threatened, “All Gate Network access revoked. I trample over your cities to find the people I want to find. Atunir pulls support, which means no [Exalted Rain] among other desolations. I oversee all of your political decisions for however long it takes for me to decide that you are not a threat, which likely ends with me solving your nation’s problems for you. Ways out of this ultimatum include [Reincarnation]s and Empathying, but first, a simple murder and [True Resurrection], so that you are required by world-wide treaty to abandon all personal wealth and power and become a new person under the anti-[True Resurrection] laws.”
“Take your people and good luck with solving the coming crisis.”
“Thank you for your cooperation. I apologize that this happened like this.”
“We are all kings, Erick, who understand the pressures that we face. But just like how you are doing what you need to do today, I will be demanding concessions in the future. Be ready to accept those concessions.”
“I welcome the coming talk, Darundi. I hope it will create better opportunities for growth and possibility for us all.”
Erick left.
It was easy to find Rebecca, Odaari, and also… The Summoner.