For the glory of the Empire!

The pod soared across the ocean’s surface. Lichen and moss covered its shell and the wooden fins cut through the water with each crest. A palisade wall had been erected atop, with fresh oak shielding all within. His fellow guardsman patrolled the outer parapets, and more surveyed from the watchtower in the pod’s center. Their jade-covered eyes sought out all who would do them harm.

Not that any could. This was no mere pod grown for lowly saplings, but a corvette for the Legio Geminus and their advanced guard. With two of its sister pods cruising through the waters beside, nothing would get in their way!

Corporal Dyrk marched across the main deck, puffing his chest high. His superior had called him to attention, after all, and it would not do to be any less than professional.

The sun highlighted his commanding officer, standing tall against a cerulean sea. Dyrk could not help but stare.

Vines flowed from his scalp, braided with gemstones that glittered in the afternoon light. His shoulders were broad and his biceps flexed tight, old and scarred from a thousand battles. Though his moss had grown thick, Dyrk could see the ironwood shell that had developed along his chest, shaped like a cuirass to protect his core. It was said that his bark could tilt darksteel weapons directly.

And why would it not? This was the great General Gornn. Champion of the First Flotilla, Commander of the Legio Geminus, the Legendary Hero of the Black Spring. He’d shattered through the Evershadow. He’d led sorties against seraphs. He’d even defeated a lower caste Wyrm in single combat, if the legends were to be believed.

The rest of them were ants in comparison.

“Sir?” he asked, his throat failing to produce any other sound.

General Gornn tilted his head an inch, the fire burning hot behind his eyes. His jaw dropped, a gruff tone forming within. “Hrm!?”

“You requested Dyrk’s presence, yes?”

He grumbled. “There is no need for use of this feral language. Not now, yes?”

Dyrk froze, remembering his place as a mere Corporal sent for scouting missions. He sealed his throat and activated his antenna, lowering his external awareness while allowing the General’s mind to be shared with his own. His superior did the same, their combined aura growing.

What would you ask of me, General? Dyrk asked.

I wish only to know if this course is true, he responded. There is a foul taste in the air.

It is. Dyrk could not forget this expedition. The island will not have moved either. The Terra remained stable when I left.

General Gornn stared into the horizon, considering his words. You were right to request our Legio directly. I sense extraordinary danger beyond.

Dyrk nodded.

The wind swirled behind, a hint of peat in the air. Dyrk turned with a grimace, knowing who had drawn near.

Most female spriggs developed a natural beauty to match their slender forms. Roses might blossom on their heads. Grass would grow in even sheets, green and fresh. Their bark would radiate with an unblemished form. Dyrk’s gaze often wandered when on leave at the Capital.

Not so with Archwitch Zynth. Uneven tangles of hanging moss fell from her head. Nightshade sprouted across her back. Fissures ran along her mangrove-like bark, and thorns grew from her hands, sharp and sleek like claws. She gripped a worn, gnarled staff made of cypress, its length riddled with pockmarks. To gaze upon her was to look into the depths of a swamp, cold and dark.

She tilted her head sideways. It will only become worse from here, she willed. I have consulted the Spores. Natura has been wounded grievously out here, Gornn.

Dyrk shivered. He did not like the way she referred to the General, seldom using his title unless forced. He also did not like the way she intruded into others’ minds, including his own.

Her dark eyes narrowed on him, revealing nothing. Do you disagree with the Spores, Corporal?

Dyrk trembled. No! As I reported, this island is not like others of its power. Many Interlopers of great strength congregated here.

Yet, I sense no Interlopers ahead. They are dead, it would seem.

Was it Natura who destroyed them? the General willed.

Zynth stroked her chin. No, that is not what the Spores foretold. They appeared to have summoned something. Something far, far more dangerous.

General Gornn took in her words, still studying the horizon. A low grumble rolled out. You are dismissed, Corporal Dyrk.

He straightened up and saluted. Thank you, General!

But the walk back did little to disquiet his mind, now wondering what the witch had seen. What would be more dangerous than an Interloper?

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

This whole expedition was troublesome. Of this much, Dyrk was certain.

After being sent to explore the fringe of the Mad Sea in search of possible threats, he happened upon an Interloper of extraordinary strength. Whatever weapon this human wielded had been enough to shatter his scouting pod within moments. A glacial beast fought by his side, a clear resident of a different island with a stronger core.

Dyrk tried to flee underground while he still could, knowing that the Empire would want to put down this monster at once, but despite his best efforts, that island had proved more hostile than it first appeared. Other dangerous Interlopers roamed its hills, and much of the wildlife had already been wiped out by their presence. Their destruction had claimed a full third of the landmass by his calculations when he arrived, and there was no telling how long it would be until the rest went.

Such was the nature of Interlopers. Unless Natura could reject them properly, they would only grow more powerful with time.

Powerful enough to threaten the Empire if left unchecked…

And after recognizing the full extent of their incursion, Dyrk realized he lacked the means to return home. Growing a replacement pod was out of the question with the main Interloper seeking him out, and he could not collect enough Vitus to power another root home. The island’s core essences were too weak for a sapling like him to extract, and the most well-equipped Interlopers controlled the center of the island where the Anima would be strongest.

Dyrk would not have survived much longer. Not off of mere lifeberries and a low-Lux atmosphere alone.

But then, something happened which he did not expect. A different Interloper found him. One who did not attack on sight, and understood the value of another life.

A human named Jay Reis.

He traded with Dyrk, using his Wyrm-blessed Alchemy powers to concentrate the essence he required. Enough to bring him back home. It had cost Dyrk the Anima he had gained when scouting the island’s center, but the potent Vitus more than made up for it.

And most interesting of all, Jay Reis wanted that dangerous Interloper defeated as well. He was only willing to assist on the condition that Dyrk would bring enough reinforcements to destroy that monster for good.

It warmed Dyrk’s core. Many of his kindred believed that all Interlopers were demons to be destroyed, but he knew the truth. They were victims of the Wyrms as well, and had as much of a capacity for good as evil. He had pleaded this case to the Consular the moment he returned to the Capital, to great success.

Jay Reis and those he chose as allies would not be harmed during this raid.

The air shifted again, the taste of brine replaced by something else. Dyrk’s antennae twitched, and his body convulsed without command. He wasn’t alone. The other guards had sensed this same aura.

Something bad was near. Something beyond their capabilities.

Dyrk rushed to the parapets. His eyes widened as he stared into the horizon.

Blackened, Vacuus essence rose in waves above a gray sea, swirling like a hurricane before disappearing into a Voidstorm that perverted the heavens for hundreds of square kilometers around. A vague silhouette of land remained within, but it became distorted by the damnable essence surrounding it.

His allies drew invisible circles in the air, praying for the Great Blossom to see them through this crisis. How could they not?

The Nightrealm lay before them.

Dyrk only stared on, dumbstruck. An Interstice big enough to swallow an entire island? How could that be possible without the Witch Coven detecting it first!?

He looked to Zynth, who was already scrambling to paint fresh runes with her subordinates. They were as shocked as him that this was their discovery.

No, this island did not contain any Interstices when Dyrk first scouted it. He had performed his due diligence. Only a few Seams could be found, hidden in the bowels of the cairns that always formed. For one to naturally evolve into an Interstice would take time. Time spent for creatures and their cores to migrate back and forth. Time for the Empire to sense the incursion growing.

But this? This was unprecedented. They would need four – no, five battlepods to cleanse the demons within. By the Blossom, an entire Flotilla’s arsenal would have to be dispatched to seal an Interstice of this magnitude!

And everyone knew it. The others scrambled back and forth, no longer remembering their duties. The witches cast spells that were clumsy and ill-formed. The officers stared uselessly around, just as unprepared as the rest.

General Gornn humphed, loud enough for the entire deck to hear.

Only then did he turn, watching the disorganization with contempt.

“Remember your posts!” he ordered aloud. “You are not mindless beasts, but soldiers for the Legio Geminus. We are the tip of the spear for our glorious Empire, hrm!?”

The General turned to the nearest troops. “Privates Zescal and Hyle, you are to warn the Capital immediately, yes. Take emergency pods. Go now!” He turned the other way. “Privates Jalex and Vryl, report to other corvettes. They are to begin quarantine measure. Subvocal communication only until full Interstice scope assessed.” He faced the main crew. “We will hold position until Flotilla arrives. Any questions!?”

Zynth gasped. “We have problem, General!”

“Hrm?”

“Interloper Anima sensed,” she explained. “Not all remain trapped in Interstice, yes.”

“How many?”

She shook her head. “Spores cannot say.”

“Can be tracked, hrm?”

“Yes, yes! Will take several cycles. Anima essence weak, but can still be seen. We begin scrying incantations at once!”

General Gornn faced the Interstice again, studying the latest threat to the Spriggs Empire. He peered into this living portal. This incursion into their world. This weapon.

And though Dyrk could not be certain, the General almost seemed to smile.

“Belay last order,” he said. “Other corvettes will handle quarantine, yes.”

“What of us, hrm?” one of the officers asked.

General Gornn turned again to face them, his honorable and proud form bright against the Nightrealm’s darkness at his flank.

He clenched his fist. “We will track this infection down!”

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