Eryn

‎ The Golden City

An Umbral gateway split reality and opened large enough for a large being to emerge from. His flesh was dark grey, his limbs as thick as trees. He was clad in black armor that almost hurt to look at. He stood to his full height and inhaled deeply. Ganeshti, the Remover of Obstacles, looked on at the sprawling home of his next target.

He fancied himself a builder. An artisan of works. Like all true creators, he required tools, materials, and a blueprint. He currently possessed the materials and the blueprints, he just needed the tools. One tool he required lay just within reach. But it currently belonged to another.

He strode slowly out of the alleyway and into the streets, allowing a pleased chuckle to rumble up his throat. If Leviathos knew he was about to poach one of his top assets here, he would be furious. Perhaps even mad enough to risk a direct attack on himself. Leviathos was powerful and very cunning. Not quite on the level that he was, but close.

Starting a nearly century long war and then using the corpses of it to create an undead army that would rival even the Necromancers as the Dead Fleet had a rather ingenious creativity to it. He had to give Leviathos credit where it was due. But the demi-god dragon had designs of his own. He sought to enslave the elder god Sauridius. For all his power and cunning, he was a fool.

Passing the small box for parcels, the name etched into it read “Allosius Rayshe.” Ganeshti had known for some time that Leviathos shackled Rayshe. A sleeper in the golden city. Eliminating the previous Arch Priest had been another inspired stroke of genius, but it was Ominek, Leviathos’ spawn who’d conducted the move. Ganeshti saw ambition and raw will power in that one. Definitely one to monitor.

“Which brings me to you Allosius Rayshe,” he mused to himself.

Ganeshti paused at the edge of the property. The estate was immaculately kept. Rayshe likely had a team of landscapers and earth shapers to tend the plants and flowers. The house itself was forged from the trunk of a massive Erynian redwood. The bark was smoothed down with various towers of gold and steel that emerged like artificial branches. That was, of course, to say nothing about the wards protecting it.

He drew a slender wand from his belt, which looked almost like a toothpick in his massive grey fingers. He could have used his hands to weave the runes, but he much preferred the artistry of sketching the runes out with his wand. Like working on a blank canvas and creating a work of art. He wove his spell quickly and with a flair that was unmatched if he said so himself. When finished, the spell crashed into the wards, shattering them instantly.

He whistled softly as he strode through the collapsing motes of aether as they fell like the ash of a nuclear fallout. He rapped gently on the large door three distinct times. A short wait later, the door opened to reveal an armed Rayshe holding an elegant spell rifle to his face.

“Give me one reason I shouldn’t blast your alien face off my lawn.”

“Because I can give you the one thing no one else can.”

“And what’s that?”

“Power.”

Rayshe’s eyes narrowed. “Go on.” The barrel drooped slightly. Enough to show Rayshe was listening, but was still on edge.

Ganeshti did him the favor of nudging the barrel down with a large grey digit slowly and confidently. “But first, let’s do something about your pesky backseat driver, shall we?”

His wand flew into motion again, weaving a complex counterspell that targeted bindings and zipped into Rayshe’s chest, shattering the final shackle that held him in Leviathos’ thrall. Rayshe spilled to the floor, gasping and holding his chest. He heaved for several minutes before finally rising and looking Ganeshti with renewed awe.

There it was. That look he enjoyed seeing so often. Reverence . The look of awestruck wonder when you performed a work that others deemed impossible. Some might even call them miracles.

“How did you even know?” He choked out between gasps.

“My friend, it was stamped there on your soul as loud as could be. Anyone with divine sight could see it.”

“The Arch Priest couldn’t…”

Ganeshti smiled softly, his small ivory tusks protruding notably. “Because it was made to fool everyone here. I am not from here. But we are not here for me. We are here for you.”

Rayshe nodded dumbly, still in the doorway.

“Shall we step inside?”

“Yes, please come in.”

“Of course.”

Ganeshti strode inside the large estate and glanced around. He admired the decor and choice of style for the interior. Allosius was a true and through noble who wore his pride materially. With his hands clasped firmly behind his back, he followed Rayshe who glanced around his home uncharacteristically nervous.

“You can relax, Rayshe. I assure you, in Leviathos’ schemes, your usefulness is far lower than you judge it to be. The wyrms eyes rest elsewhere.”

The pair entered a lounge area accented with light woods, gold trim, and light magic lanterns styled into the ceilings and walls. On one wall was a wine rack, with a countertop and serving glasses set before it. White marble floor tiling finished the decor and gave Ganeshti the impression this room was well visited.

Rayshe fumbled at a carafe of light wine, pouring a shaky glass for himself before offering the bottle to Ganeshti. He politely declined. There was work to be done, and imbibing just wouldn’t do. The arch mage waited a moment for Rayshe to settle himself.

Stolen novel; please report.

“Now then. I’ve a business proposition for you.”

“For me?”

Ganeshti nodded his large alien head. Producing a bottle of black fluid, he placed it on the smooth polished blonde redwood counter top deliberately. Rayshe could instantly sense the thick magic and power within the bottle, eyes zeroed in on it like a pit viper sensing a small mammal in thick jungle brush. The Remover bit back a pleased smile.

“What is that?”

“That, my potential new business partner is what old humans may have mistakenly once called Black Gold.”

“Don’t be coy with me. I’ve been tricked before. I’m not about to be tricked again.”

“Of course. My apologies. Doing what I do sometimes lends itself to being unnecessarily dramatic at times. The truth then. It is blood. Black Blood if you will.”

“Whose blood?”

“My goddess. She has gifted me with this marvel of a resource. A demonstration perhaps?”

He tapped at the chest plate of his black armor and it melted into fluid and slithered down his large bulky frame and settled into a bracelet around his wrist. Allosius’s eyes widened.

“The prototype! I’d heard of this. I almost thought it was the death of the Guild when Morwen’s mother had the only prototype taken and given to that filthy mongrel that got my son killed. You’re the supplier?”

Ganeshti smiled and tilted his head in acknowledgement. “I am. The prototype was inconsequential compared to what I have planned. But I need someone with a great sway in the guild to help nudge it in the direction I need for my vision to come to pass.”

“And what vision is that?”

“A profitable one in which you become the mogul of a capital ship empire built from black blood. Just imagine it. Vessels with unmatchable power, built at a quarter of the resources and time.”

“What do you need from me?”

“Your voice and vote when the guild decides important moves. In return, I’ll provide you with a controlling stake in the resources that will ensure you bring the guild greater profits, and cement your position of leadership within the guild.”

Allosius thought it over for a long moment. He’d only just gained his freedom of Leviathos. That alone was cause for celebration.

However, a tiny voice in the back of his head warned that this alien stranger who’d freed him was only doing so for self profit. But then again, he wasn’t exactly terribly altruistic. He could leave that to Erlaut.

The decision weighed and made, Allosius reached out, seizing the bottle of black blood. “Now what?”

“You drink. A covenant of sorts. You’ll gain power and experience divinity for a tiny fraction of a moment.”

Allosius removed the stopper from the bottle and drank it back like a potion. It was bitter and tangy, like drinking melted coins. A coldness poured into his soul, like the void itself broke through the Astral barrier and filled his entire being. And then pure euphoria radiated outwards. Unfettered power.

Allosius toppled back into a plush cushioned couch, his gaze going distant as divine sight and power slammed through him like an explosion through a barrel. As the wonders of the universe revealed themselves to him, Ganeshti watched with amusement. Allosius was a vital component to the puzzle of how did he bring his dark goddess back. With this piece secure and in place, he was free to move on.

His armor slid back into place and he walked away, leaving Rayshe to his divine high on the couch. He could check back in later when he really needed Rayshe. For now, though, the elf’s life was going to become very chaotic if events played out as he’d foreseen. In the web of fate, more and more strands were converging.

“So. You’re making your move, are you?”

“Yes.” Leviathos’ voice rumbled behind Ganeshti. A warning and a flourish.

The timeless arch mage turned to face the guardian of Sauridius. They exchanged greetings, even though it was largely a formality. Despite both gods being disembodied and scattered, the truce between them remained in play and applied to their followers.

“So many millennia and still you scheme in the dark and move in the shadows.”

“Well, in fairness, it was your master who showed me the value of applied deception and covert manipulation.”

Leviathos purred thoughtfully, flicking a glance to Rayshe, who lay on the couch oblivious to the interaction. His tiny mortal mind was sectors away, scattered to the astral winds.

“What role can this insect play in your schemes?”

Ganeshti tsked. “Is that wounded pride? Come now Leviathos. This one is too far beneath your gaze. Surely you have no more need of him. Not with the size force you’ve mustered.”

“There is always a use, even for the lowest mouse. You’ve deprived me of a valuable asset, old one. Were it not for the truce, I’d rip you limb for limb, and then bind your soul.”

“As fascinating as it is watching you bluster, I truly have no intention of fighting you. If you require a vassal here afterwards, I’ll permit him being rebound. But for now, he belongs to my goddess while we see to our own designs.”

“Maleficus seeks to rise again?”

“Always.”

Leviathos growled deeply. A deep throaty below that Ganeshti felt even from the spectral projection. “Stay out of my way, wizard. My plans are near the end state. Once I’ve completed my end game, you may move as you wish. But for now, I require you to avoid removing any further obstacles.”

Ganeshti thought it over and lost nothing by delaying until Leviathos attempted his gambit. “Very well. I shall pause my own designs to provide you time to execute your own. Lest we operate at cross purposes. I shall await when I can resume my great work.”

Leviathos gave no further remarked and simply canceled his spell. The demi-god’s essence faded rapidly. Ganeshti had waited this long to bring his dark goddess back. He could wait a little longer. Besides, he was curious to see how things ultimately played out. Leviathos’ future was always difficult to see on the web. That often meant nothing good.

Bowing to Rayshe, he tipped his head. “Till we meet again, partner.”

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