Maxius the Younger stood upon a stage in front of a crowd of the faithful. Quinn stood nearby, next to a brand new warbird, on a smooth flat surface in a cavern with a large opening at the end. Fog swirled near that opening.
"I will now reveal to you one of the deepest secrets from the sealed scrolls, given to us by the Lawgiver to help protect us from the wicked harlot that calls herself the Elder Saint! It is one of the lost prophesies! The Lawgiver said onto us, 'And he shall soar the skies in defiance of the harlot.'"
The crowd seemed transfixed by his sermon. Quinn was impressed with the delivery, it seemed somewhat convenient that this 'prophecy' was being revealed just as Quinn was about to fly away. Maxius had done a good job of making it sound sensible. Quinn studied his copy of the book that the previous Messiahs had written. It was actually extremely useful. Essentially, his witch powers took advantage of deep structure in reality.
Quinn was particularly interested in the chapter where one of his predecessor had made himself more intelligent. It seemed like a complex technique to begin with, though Quinn estimated that it would be worth the investment because it would make learning other spells much easier.
"And then Lawgiver said onto us, 'And he shall ascend in both body and mind.'"
Another chapter of note mentioned a spell to change the user's perception of time. A witch could use this to experience minutes or hours of subjective time each second of objective time. That, combined with increased intelligence, would allow him to advance through learning new spells extremely quickly in objective time.
"And then the Lawgiver said onto us, 'And he shall craft for himself machines in the likeness of those of the harlot,'"
He attempted the intelligence spell again. Suddenly it made complete sense. In fact, everything he read before suddenly had an obvious structure to it, as easy as reading and understanding a fairy tale written for children. He rifled through the book, instantly understanding all the information on each page.
"And then the Lawgiver said onto us, 'And he shall master and surpass her.'"
When Quinn got to the spell that described time manipulation later in the book, he instantly knew what he as missing. He attempted the spell, and then the world stopped. He noticed every single motion of every single person in the crowd, Maxius moving his lips extremely slowly, the wraiths of fog moving like snakes through the air...
Quinn realized that it would help Maxius a lot if he performed some sort of spectacle. In this ascended state, he designed a new spell to make himself glow as bright as the sun. He resumed objective time and waited for Maxius to finish speaking. Then Quinn cast the spell, bathing the entire room in shifting mother-of-pearl light.
Quinn knew what Maxius was about to say next. He had heard the speech several times. "And then the Lawgiver said onto us," Quinn bellowed in a carefully calculated voice, "'And then the Faithful shall inherit the world!'"
Maxius winked at him.
Quinn regarded his little warbird. The design seemed so quaint, as if designed by a child. He would need to transform it into a fighter jet as soon as possible. He waved to the crowd before hopping into the warbird.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
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Zachary sprinted with superhuman speed through the narrow caverns of the Underground. Annatiki was giving him directions somewhere, and he seemed to be going up. There were rumors in the Underground that the Ghost of the Bloodraker could transform the walls into lava and then swim through it. Zachary assumed that he had outlived his usefulness to Annatiki, though she insisted that was not the case. He needed to leave or he would die with everyone else, besides there was a witch nearby that he needed to hunt.
In a secluded little alcove deep within a winding passage, she commanded him to melt the ceiling and swim straight up until he reached the surface. He did so, holding his breath and moving his entire body like an eel through the lava, melting the rock just above his face. His lungs burned as he ran out of air, though something seemed to be preventing him from losing consciousness.
I will heal you as I would heal myself, Annatiki said.
He burst out into the open air, pulling himself forward through the steaming pool of lava towards the ferns and dead tree trunks in front of him. The light was blinding. He scrambled out into the forest and collapsed, gasping for air.
East, go east, and uphill.
Zachary continued to follow her instructions through the woods. This was a very remote valley, and there were no villages. There were sheer cliffs jutting from the forest floor. The clouds and fog were floating up at the level of the cliffs, giving the impression that the entire valley was a pocket of clear air below an ocean of gray. Snow crunched beneath Zachary's boots as he walked.
He followed a trail along the mountainside until he saw a group of oculomancers across the valley standing in front of a cavern. The cavern opening was completely covered with a strange, clear film, with a tube penetrating the film. The other end of the tube was connected to a tank shaped like a cylinder with rounded ends.
What is in the tank? Zachary asked.
The atmosphere of the Sister World, it is a poison that inexperienced witches cannot protect themselves from.
Zachary shivered. You are going to pump the Underground full of the stuff. Everyone will die.
Yes, Annatiki said. You gave us many detailed maps and we know where most of the entry points are. We can flood eighty percent of the Underground with this poison.
Did you want me to help them? He asked, looking at the oculomancers.
No, go east and up. Stay focused.
Zachary ran along the valley floor, until he reached a large cliff with an opening to a cavern exactly at the bottom of the cloud layer. There was a bright mother-of-pearl light illuminating the bottom of the clouds. Suddenly a dinky airplane flew out of the hole in down into the clear air. Zachary shifted his eyes into the 'vendark' spectrum. There was a brilliant golden light moving through the sky above him.
Dangerous, very dangerous, Annatiki warned. Hide in the shadows, and stay away from that one. Witches usually go down to seek safety, the fact that he goes up makes him very dangerous. Fiona will kill him.
The golden light in the vendark was moving fast. Zachary hid in the forest until the little airplane was far away.
There is an aura in that cavern where the airplane was before, Annatiki said. Ascend the cliffs, kill the owner, but do not take the aura. Do not be seen.
Directly below the hole in the cliff, Zachary melted the rock in front of him then swam into it. After swimming forward for a while, he ascended, his lungs burning by the time he reached the hole. He stayed below the opening, and then melted the rock behind him and swam back out. He was on the side of the cliff then, just below the opening. He climbed out and used is enhanced strength to cling to the ledge. He peered inside as the lava cooled.
There was a crowd of people shuffling out of the room. Maxius turned and began to walk toward the opening. Zachary dropped down lower and waited.
Soon Maxius was standing directly above Zachary, looking out over the valley and the fog. "The Bloodraker's own luck to you, Quinn," Maxius said. Zachary leapt up the ledge and rammed his crysien ethersteel blade through the man's brain.
It was bad luck that we couldn't catch the other one, Zachary said.
Good luck, Annatiki said. We cannot risk him discovering the weapon inside your body. We don't know how fast he was advancing. Your mission is complete, return to Spire Lin and await further orders.