Northern Sea, Valoria, Naurus

We crash through the ice and sink down into the sea below. As we sink we are pulled apart from the anchor. I push myself upward to the surface and gasp for air.

"Dominic!?" I shout as I swim towards shore to get a better look. Then out of the ice, I see his head emerge.

"Holy shit!" He exclaims. "That was the best thing I have ever done!"

We both began to laugh as he swims to the shore to meet me.

"Where are we Red, I know the northern sea but, like where exactly?"

I sit down and reach for my map but it falls apart in my hands. "Shit! Well... I'd say we are northwest of the Northern Planes but I can't confirm that."

He shakes his head. "It's fine."

I stood up in panic. "Where is the paper, the one Muthos gave us?"

Dominic reaches into his bag and pulls it out as it disintegrates in his hands.

"You have got to be kidding. Damnit! That trip was for nothing! We didn't even kill the son of a bitch!"

He shakes his head. "Red, it's okay we've got another chance at this."

I shake my head. "What chance? What are you talking about?"

"I know someone else. His name is Ogre, I think he could help us find a way to Amerei."

I nod. "Okay, then we are going there, now!"

He looks shocked. "Woah calm down, don't stress. We are close. Ogre, he's like an oracle. Honestly we should have just gone to him first but, I guess I figured you knew what you were talking about when you said Muthos probably had her."

"I told you a beast attacked my home!" I shout.

"Yeah but you were hunting vampires, void powder only takes you to The Shores. I don't know I assumed... it doesn't matter now does it?" He stands and brushes the sand off of himself. "We're going to get her back."

I nod. "I know, just... how do we get to Ogre?"

"Let's get back to the tree house. I've got something there that can help."

-

Dominik's Treehouse, North Valoria

———Domnik———

He walks ahead of me towards the tree house, he was quiet most of the walk home. I'm guessing he's just upset because of how close we were. He's getting discouraged. If anyone knows how to get to Amerei, it's Ogre.

I follow him up the ladder and open the door to the house. "I've got the location of Ogre in here. I'll get it." He follows me inside as I start rummaging through my book shelves. The my hand lands on the book. "Alright, the Orge's Lair is in the Planes of Sorrow."

He nods. "How many times have you been there?"

I shake my head. "Never, I've heard stories from Galagon but, I've never been."

He looks around frantically. "What do you mean you've never been? How do you know that this guy can get us what we need? How can we trust him?"

I close the book and place it back on the shelf. "Red, we can trust him, partially. That's the thing, if we do this... look, Ogre knows stuff... anything you want or need, he will help you. But there is always a catch, a price. The more you ask, the more debt builds up until he's had enough. You ask too much without paying the price and he takes your life. All I can say Red, is if we do this. It gets risky, far more risky than it's already been but it's worth it, to get your sister back. I promised you I'd help you if you helped me. So now I owe it to you to keep that promise."

He nods. "Then let's go to the Planes of Sorrow. How do we get there?"

"Three ways, we go through the void, which I'm cut off from. We kill some vampires and get void powder and modify it, which takes time. Or we use the teleportation spell written in that book, which may be dangerous as hell."

I pull the book back off the shelf and flip through the pages until I find it. "I'm guessing you know which option I've chosen?"

He nods, a wry grin pulling at his lips. "Yeah, well... fuck it."

"Alright. Grab my hand."

He grips my hand firmly as a rift begins to tear open in the floor before us, swirling and deep. The pull is immediate and powerful—papers and books start flying off the shelves, drawn into the dark chasm, feeding it with the knowledge and memories held within these walls as a price to enter.

"We have to go before it rips my house apart," I say, feeling the wind pulling harder.

Red reaches over his shoulder, hands me the Darkblade, and nods with a fierce urgency. "Strap it on—let's go, now!"

With the blade secured on my back, I tighten my grip on Red's hand, and together, we step into the swirling darkness.

———Red———

We fall into the hole and drop into a room full of books. I watch dark waters flow in front of me, filled with a green tint from the sky.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

"So these are the Planes? Feels like this should be called the Shores of Malice instead."

He laughs with a nod. "Yeah, it is. Red, get your axe. I don't know what is coming, but I feel it."

I grab the axe from my waist as he draws the Darkblade. Then a large boom echoes through the air.

We turn around to see him, the Ogre. He's wearing a robe, white but tattered and singed, it stretches down and covers his legs. The hood of the robe is over his head and it hides his eyes, but they were glowing from the shadow, five red dots. His hands hidden within the sleeves.

"Who dares to enter the lair of the Ogre of Sorrow?!"

I watch Dominic step forward. "I am Domnik Wrathrune, and this is my friend, Red Smith."

He nods. "Ah, yes. I knew you would be coming soon. You wish to find the whereabouts of your sister, yes?"

I nod. "Yes, well..."

"She's in Amerei with Udis..." his voice trails off as he turns and begins to walk away.

"We already knew that! We need to know how to get there so we can kill that asshole and save her." I say. What a prick.

He nods and turns back. "Hmm, I do know how to get to this place. That traitor deserves to be put down for his crimes."

Domnik shakes his head in confusion. "Traitor, I thought you sided with the Mythic?"

He laughs. "Of course not, none dared to challenge me, I am an oracle."

I look at Dominic and then look back to Ogre. "An oracle who didn't know our names when we entered?"

He lifts his hand into the air as a flame appeared. He reaches up and pulls from the flame, a paper. He stares at me as he does so.

"This paper contains the information you seek. If you take this, you will... owe me." He hands it to me.

"Deal, do you have a gateway?"

He nods and points to one behind us. "Comeback soon you two. I will have a job for you."

He reaches out and I reach as well to shake his hand and then in an instant he vanishes.

"You shook his hand?" Domnik turns to me as I walk to the gate.

"Yeah, why?" He gets in front of me and starts pressing buttons and turning gears. The he turns and takes the paper from me.

"Because now, you have to do whatever job he wants you to."

I nod. "I'll do what I have to if it means getting Alyse back."

He opens the way into Naurus.

"Hand me the Darkblade Domnik." He looks at me and then points to the gate. "Aren't we going?"

I shake my head. "I'm going, alone. Look, this isn't your fight. You said you'd help me kill Muthos, not Udis. That was the deal."

He laughs. "Firstly I said I'd help you get your sister. She's not here, which means my job isn't done. Besides you'll get yourself killed."

I shake my head. "No, I can't risk anyone else getting involved here. Udis picked this fight with me, I am the one who has to go."

He pulls the blade from his back and hands it to me.

"I'll go with you until you find the way to Amerei. Then you can face Udis alone. Deal?"

I nod. "Deal, thank you Domnik."

He half smiles. "Now let's get the hell out of here and back to Naurus."

"Where are we going anyway?" I ask.

He takes out the paper and looks it over. "Shit... the Kingdom of Celestria."

"Why is that an issue?"

"I may have... done some things that the Empress isn't too happy about. Nothing to worry, we will figure it out. Come on."

He steps through the portal without hesitation.

-

Kingdom of Celestria Capitol, Celestria, Naurus

Colors swirl around me once again and then fade as I land on my ass in a field.

As I glance around I see the towering walls of the Celestrian kingdom, the plains stretch out before me, an ocean of gold and green swaying in the wind. The grass grows in patches, wild and unkept, speckled with purple and yellow wildflowers that cling low to the earth, fighting for space under the endless sky. Scattered boulders, dark and weathered, dot the landscape, marking the land like ancient sentinels. In the distance, I can see rolling hills that rise gently, like waves frozen in time, their peaks blurring into the pale morning haze.

The air is cool, carrying the faint scent of earth and sun-warmed grass, untainted by the smoke and sounds of the city behind me. Overhead, hawks circle lazily, casting brief shadows over the plains as they search for prey. A thin, winding river glistens under the sunlight, cutting a narrow path across the fields, its banks lined with scraggly trees that bend and twist like they've grown weary from standing guard for so long.

There's a strange stillness here, a quiet I'm not used to—the kind that makes you realize how small you are under the open sky, with only the distant mountains and the high kingdom walls as boundaries in this vast, uncharted space. The plains feel boundless, raw, a place untouched by the grip of Celestria's power, as if it belongs to no one and everyone at once. Somehow this untouched beauty sits just outside its walls.

Domnik reaches his hand out down to me and laughs. "You're never going to get the hang of it are you?"

"Hey listen, you've had years of practice, I started this week." What does he expect?

He laughs as he pulls me up to my feet and I brush myself off.

"Halt! We've had enough of you Daem! You will not make it into our city, you die here!" A woman's voice echos through the plains.

I turn to see her standing in front of the great wall that protects the Kingdom of Celestria. At her back lines hundreds of guards, all standing battle ready. Now I know it to be her. Brenelor Stormcrown, Empress of Celestria.

She commands our attention with her formidable presence. She is tall and statuesque, with a posture that exudes strength and authority. Her hair is a striking shade of silver, flowing down past her shoulders like storm clouds captured in motion, and her eyes are a piercing, icy blue that seem to see through anyone who dares stand before her. She wears an intricate crown forged from dark metal, embedded with gemstones that catch the light, almost crackling with energy—a nod to the empire she built and the storms she has weathered to hold it together.

Her armor is a blend of elegance and practicality, custom-made from silver and deep blue metals with sharp, angular designs that suggest both beauty and danger. A sweeping cloak of midnight blue drapes from her shoulders, trimmed with silver threads woven into patterns resembling bolts of lightning. On her hands, she wears gauntlets etched with the ancient symbols of Celestria, representing her unwavering connection to her empire's power. Her necklace adorned with a purple blue gemstone that pulses ever so gently.

Brenelor's demeanor is cold and calculating, and she carries herself with an air of unyielding confidence, a ruler who has claimed her throne through relentless determination. Even her voice commands silence, each word measured and precise, with a subtle but unmistakable tone of dominance. She is a leader who tolerates no weakness and expects complete loyalty from those who serve her.

"Domnik?"

He nods as I turn to him. "Don't worry. I've got this." He steps in front of me and bows. "Madam Empress, I understand the last time we met..."

"You lead a legion of your men into the surrounding villages. The nerve of you to return here..."

"I was following orders, orders that I could not disobey. I would not have returned if it were not of dire circumstances."

"And why would I believe anything that came from you Daem?!"

I step in front of Domnik and push him behind me. "Because he is with me, I am... celestial born. I am..."

"Yeah, I know who you are, you're the one who's been hunting all the Daemonic Princes. You've been causing a lot of trouble out there and for the rest of my people. Raids have been increased ever since you've begun your expedition."

"How do you know that?"

"I've heard whispers through the aether. The gods speak, I listen."

I nod "They've taken something from me, the Daem, and Domnik has turned on them in an attempt to help me get her back, my sister."

The empress lowers her sword and stands there in deep thought. "And why have you come here then?"

"Because, The Ogre wrote your name on this paper." Domnik says approaching her with the paper in hand.

She takes it from him and looks at its contents. "The Ogre of Knowledge... come then. Tell me everything."