Just east of Tarishan, lay the ancient estate of a former trade prince whom had been executed along with his entire family during the previous invasion. The artificial oasis was maintained by two ancient relics of the Almiraj which cast the ultimate spells Control Weather and Greater Create Water at regular intervals, keeping the entire estate perfectly temperate with a large sparkling pool as the centerpiece of the palace courtyard.
Upon relieving Gespar’s forces, Yuther had claimed the palace as his base of operations. Dozens of layers of defenses had been added, and hundreds of his most elite soldiers now guarded it. The palace itself was composed of more than forty luxurious bedrooms, two kitchens, and even indoor latrines with running water from a massive tank on the building’s roof where the Greater Create Water artifact was housed. There was also a great ball room, a reception hall, and an indoor training facility with magically animated suits of armor to serve as sparring partners (or a security force in emergencies).
Below the palace, there was a series of larders, safe rooms, and a great vault. Below that, behind a hidden hatch and a deadly gauntlet of traps lay the ancient sandstone labyrinth Blödgard. Here were entombed the royal family and their closest attendants dating back more than two thousand years.
Here also was the vast laboratory of the man responsible for the Rakashi Cataclysm. His name was Kutris the Worm, and his war against the first incarnation of the Celestia Dryas had forever reshaped the face of the continent. He was also the originator of all beast kin, a mere side effect of his early experiments in the pursuit of his goal. In this place hidden away from even the gods, he committed unspeakable sins all the way until the day of his death twenty-four hundred years ago at the hands of Saet and the celestials.
Now in that very place where the most vile man in recent history once toiled, Yuther the Golden Paladin stood before a blood soaked stone table. On the table was a ten year old wolf kin boy. He was quiet now, the screams had finally stopped. Yuther pounded his fist onto the table, causing a corner of it to crack and break away. Before the piece hit the floor, it reversed its fall and rejoined the table as if it had never broken. The boy’s cooling body marked yet another failure for Yuther.
Each attempt was horribly painstaking, exacted a heavy toll from the man, and his supply of candidates was dwindling. Gilles was late delivering the latest group of subjects as well.
He exhaled sharply and stepped away from his latest disappointment. With a wave that seemed like an afterthought, the stone table split in the middle and parted. A square hole opened up, and the body fell through. Many seconds passed before the distant thump indicated the corpse had found the bottom. The table halves slid back together seamlessly, and the thick layer of gummy blood dissolved into nothingness. The work surface was left pristine and patiently waiting for the next victim.
Yuther turned his attention to a massive open book on an adjacent table. The notes of Kutris were excruciating to translate. They were written in a smattering of different languages, including the original language of magic long abandoned in favor of deity based invocations. He gritted his teeth and steadied himself. The anarchic writing scheme was intentional, they served as a powerful defense against prying eyes. Worse yet, if one happened to read a harmful spell in the original magic language even phonetically with no intent the spell could activate. That was dangerous on multiple levels. If the reader didn’t have adequate Soul Energy to complete the spell, their life force would be used in substitution. If they survived the unintentional casting, most of the harmful spells interlaced into the text would be deadly to the caster. Worst of all, the book itself might self destruct.
Thus Yuther’s method was to copy a sentence from end to beginning, taking pains to keep his mind empty of all but one letter at a time. Then he could place the backwards sentence before a mirror several feet away before reading the forward text in that mirror. Even with these steps, he had been the victim of a few mishaps. He would find the clues he needed, he had no choice. If he failed to awaken the Blood of Fenrir before they arrived, then all he held dear would come to a violent end.
That’s why he sold his soul to the empire, and betrayed the trust of his family and friends. That’s why he staged that farce of an escape. To think the most powerful nation in the world would just let them sail away with a fleet of valuable ships was laughable. They knew of the exodus, and could have snuffed it out easily. They sponsored the rebellion, and Yuther was their tool. They were sent to this sand trap to find one thing. If they succeeded, freedom could be theirs. If they failed then the empire itself would come looking.
The key was somewhere buried in these notes. So far he knew that the vessel would be a wolf kin male born during a lunar convergence, when the rarely seen black moon eclipsed the much larger white moon, forming an eye in the heavens. The last time that happened was eleven years ago, and the one before that was more than two centuries before. The other thing he had gathered was that to awaken the Blood of Fenrir, the vessel must be broken in such a way that only the true bearer of the wolf god’s spirit could survive the process.
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If he could do it, Yuther could avert the coming war. No, war was the wrong word. The radiant empire would roll over this land like a fiery tidal wave, leaving only ashes and bones in its wake. He must not fail.
“Fenrir...!” Finally another relevant passage! “The hungry one, he who looks upon even gods with gluttonous lust, he that terrorizes the fearless and brings death to immortals, he who was chained, he who devoured his own body, casting his scat upon the mortal world to rise as beasts of the land, wielder of the first domain: Ravening Nightmare...” The excerpt predictably devolved into scattered babbling and Yuther sighed. This was another revelation, and an important one. The gods weren’t seeking the Fenrir to harness it. They feared its power and were seeking to snuff it out before it could mature on its own and threaten them.
Perhaps, just perhaps it wasn’t enough to simply buy his freedom. Maybe he could turn this weapon they so fear back upon them. For the very first time since his birth into slavery, Yuther dared to dream of something sweeter than freedom. He closed his eyes and began to see a river of divine blood spilled, of cries for mercy from immortal lips. Yuther, the sham paladin, a farce wrapped in golden lies finally found a worthy oath - the oath of revenge.
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I stepped back into the Tarishan tavern to find an odd sort of standoff taking place. Here was my group, still having a lighthearted chat around their table. A slight distortion in the air around them indicated one of Raj’s magic barriers. The wolf kin boy had joined them, and was uneasily staring at Laguna as the big fighter tore huge chunks from a cartoonishly oversized haunch of roasted meat.
The staff and other patrons had evacuated leaving only our group and a mob of soldiers guarding the exits. The massive lady with the golden sword was nowhere to be found, she must have gone for reinforcements. That would save me the trouble of hunting them all down so I decided to pull up a chair with my party and wait.
“Y-You there! Not another step!” One of the soldiers yelped at me from under his helm.
“If you can stop me, then by all means please do.” I answered, directing my full Royalty aura in his direction.
These soldiers seemed much stronger than the run of the mill fighters I was used to so I figured he could handle it. I couldn’t hide my disappointment when he simply collapsed into an unconscious heap. Guess not. I sneezed as Raj’s barrier tickled my nose. Her face soured as I sat down.
“You could at least pretend to struggle for a moment.” She pouted. “Those soldiers attacked my barrier for ten minutes before giving up to just guard the exits. We’re surrounded by the way.”
“Surrounded already?” I raised my eyebrows. “That creepy mage must have been more of a big shot than I thought. Anyone strong?”
“The woman from earlier, and perhaps twenty more share a similar power level of around S class.” Tili replied. The rest are B rank or weaker.
“You can see all that from in here?” I asked, impressed.
“Her little kitty self is pretty sneaky.” Laguna answered for her.
“Why do you want to fight the knights?” The boy was concerned. “Everyone loves them.”
“It’s a little complicated.” I answered. “Some of them are probably good, but some of them are also giving kids like you White Cough on purpose for their own gain.” he seemed fairly level headed for his age so I didn’t see the harm in being honest here.
“They made me sick... on purpose? And my brother, he already died... They k-killed my brother...” His tone was quiet and his fists tightened on the table in front of him, knuckles white and shaking. “Mom’s screams and my dad’s tears. She held onto my hand so tight when they pulled me away. Liars. Liars. LIARS! MURDERERS AND LIARS!” He screamed as tears burst from his eyes, and I was shocked by the volume of it. It wasn’t just loud. It was powerful.
His black hair stood on end, and his eyes began to glow. Something was definitely happening here. Power was gathering around him like a roiling storm. Tili was the first to act.
“Dismiss summon. In the name of Annunaki, the formless wheel of time. Let the sands rest and the gears rust. Stasis Hold!”
The boy froze in place like someone paused a video.
“He is about to transform.” Tili said, seeming exhausted. “It’s incredibly rare but some beast kin are born with traces of their divine beast ancestry dormant but intact. If he transforms while this young it will only kill him after a short rampage. We must get him somewhere safe.”
This was certainly an unexpected turn, but maybe this was what these dirtbags were really after? Talk about a two birds with one stone kinda twist. I wondered if a certain goddess was nudging me along. That thought conjured the half assed, ditsy poser’s image in my mind and I smirked in spite of myself. Nah, couldn’t be. Oops, back to the present.
“Let’s take him back. Business here can wait for now.” I summoned a blood gate and Laguna hoisted the rigid boy like he was a stage prop.
Fortunately, Dalia the S ranked mage was enjoying a day off at EDEN when we arrived. She halted the transformation and put the boy into a magical slumber, allowing Tili to release the incredibly taxing stasis spell. The new kid was out of danger and stable for now, which was reassuring. The situation at large however, had become a bit unwieldy and would require some serious thought. I decided to put that off like the absolute world class master of procrastination that I am, and looked for a good distraction.
A quick telepathic communication told me where to find a certain spunky cat girl and a world-ending titan training together. That sounded like a fun party to crash so I handed the divine wolf kid situation off to Tabula and Raj before taking off toward the Sea of Stone. I’d just get in their way during all their fancy research and whatnot anyway, right? I wasn’t fleeing like a coward from responsibility at all, honest!