Soren, Cedric, and Orion took the time to retrieve Rhendal’s body, a corpse they found with a rictus grin engraved on his face. Conclusive evidence that Rhendal was satisfied with his life’s work.
“Old geezer would probably tell us to top that.” Said Orion, earning a snort from Cedric.
“Idiot. Ah, but that’s exactly what he would have said.” Soren mused, wondering if there was any other way.
Could we have done anything to avoid Pandora’s return? Or is an obsidian fortress full of dead the only way to keep Pandora at bay? Will this always come to pass? Thought Soren, moving to recover Lord Liam’s body.
The trio had shifted back to their human forms, but a byproduct of the transformation restored their filed down canines, cat ears, and tails. Traits they were in no hurry to have surgically removed once again. Around them lay the carnage of a once great castle, and a once proud city. Hundreds of warriors were dead, and only a single hulk had survived Pandora’s obsidian specters.
“What a mess.” Muttered Soren, humbled by the destruction around him.
Always the smartarse, Orion chimed in. “Ya know, if this is Perun Taloc’s mess, you’d think he would come down and clean it up himself, rather than leaving it to poor idiots like you and me.”
“Speak for yourself.” Muttered Cedric, limping along Pandora’s sapphire neck with a sword in hand, poking holes between scales and searching for Liam’s body.
They worked slowly, eventually coming to a lump just above where Pandora’s torso became her neck. Like a demolition crew, they severed her neck, peeling back disintegrating scales and hacking through the swiftly rotting flesh underneath. Lord Liam’s form lay within her throat, Quetzalcoatl’s three foot long tooth firmly embedded in the dead god’s flesh, providing a hook for him to cling to.
His face was stoic, but at peace, knowing that his death would create a path for Nyota and her family. His family.
“I’ll carry him back.” Said Cedric, giving the sword a wide berth.
Before they could deliberate further, Pandora’s body began to shift. Scales dissolved into obsidian fluid, flowing along the walls and shattered towers. It avoided the corpses, flowing around the trio of umbraquins. Stones melded with Pandora’s ooze, returning to the position they had occupied a week beforehand. In seconds, Pandora’s body became a copy of Blackwood Castle. Now a monolithic obsidian fortress with steel gates and bronze doors. Though no seam or gap could be found.
While the obsidian flowed, Quetzalcoatl’s body also melted, flowing to encase the single fang in Liam’s grip. Somehow condensing the enormous serpent into a beautiful scimitar. Longer than a longsword, yet delicate enough to parry a rapier, the sword was a masterpiece. Gold adorned the hilt, covered in feather motifs and the pommel was a serpent’s head, mouth agape as if striking with fangs extended.
Yet, there was a massive diamond within Quetzalcoatl’s new mouth. Perfectly clear and audibly thrumming with power. The three magi immediately stepped away, repelled by the raw magical force it exuded.
“Great idea Cedric, carry Lord Liam back. And don’t forget that sword of his.” Said Orion.
“Pandora’s heart didn’t thrum like that. I’m not touching a God-slaying blade without Taloc’s permission!” Snapped Cedric, looking especially flighty.
Soren retrieved the notebook Rhendal had written for him, flipping through its pages he found the answer. Its first line read ‘Soren you idiot, I told you to portal back to King Aldric when IT arrived!’
“Rhendal… Just how much did you know?” Muttered Soren, trying not to laugh as he skimmed the pages. A few moments later he approaching the blade. “Ahem, Quet-uz-al-co-at-ly, I will return you to the Lightning… Daughter? Uhm yes. I will return you to the Lightning Daughter as well as Lord Liam’s corpse, please grant me your leave to carry you home.” Said Soren, reading directly from Rhendal’s notebook.
The thrumming ceased. But Soren swallowed, flinching as he read the next lines.
“Old man was mad…” He muttered.
Taking a deep breath, Soren retrieved the blade, carrying the unsheathed sword to Blackwood’s obsidian castle and pressing the tip into the volcanic glass. The magnificent scimitar’s clear blade slid into the wall, sheathing its violent edge with Pandora’s slain flesh. Soren pressed the tip deeper, til the hilt tapped against the wall. Then he methodically slashed the blade backwards, using the dull spine of the scimitar to slash out of the wall.
Black ectoplasmic obsidian surrounded the freed blade, writhing like ten thousand worms into an unparalleled obsidian sheath. One that would have made Hephestus, God of Artisans, depressed. For even he could have never crafted such a beautiful or more durable scabbard.
“I’ll carry Rhendal and Quztle… Q, i’ll carry Q. So go find Pandora’s heart Orion.” Said Soren.
The wind mage croaked, a particularly strange sound coming from an umbraquin. Pandora’s heart didn’t need to be ‘found’. All three magi could sense the hatred pouring out of the black crystal.
“Just my luck.” Snapped Orion, wrapping the cursed core in a blanket of umbral threads, folding it several times to create as thick of a barrier as possible.
Then they left, slowly walking away from Blackwood Castle 2.0. The battle-damage had been totally erased, and the new steel gate slid open silently, despite being a foot and a half thick.
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Horns blew in the distance, echoed by trumpets.
“Hey, that sounds like Dorian’s men, we can borrow some horses!” Said Cedric, earning a flick from Soren.
His finger passed through the edge of Cedric’s cat ears, making his tail straighten in anger.
“Ouch! Leave my ears–...” Cedric’s eyes went wide, recalling what Dorian was duty bound to do with magical cats. “Vivisections… Oh shi- Let's get out of here!” Snapped Cedric.
He took two steps out of the gate and came face to face with six dismounted outriders. Wheel-locks cocked and sabres in hand, Dorian’s basketted hilt caught Cedric in the nose, knocking him backwards into Blackwood Castle. He leveled a pistol at the fallen man, finger on the trigger.
Cedric closed his eyes, knowing he hadn’t the mana to conjure a shield.
“Cedric?” Asked Dorian, looking past him to Soren and Orion.
His eyes took in Liam and Rhendal’s bodies, mouth twisting into a pained gash.
“I see… So that’s why you three were always fighting like tom-cats.” Said Dorian, piecing the scene together.
“Ah, Captain Dorian, sorry for the surprise, but it seems that Pandora’s death had some… Blowback, we were cursed…” Began Soren, halting at Dorian’s raised eyebrow.
Five outriders stood behind Dorian, if there had only been one or two then Soren would have risked magic, but six pistols would kill the trio in an instant. Especially at point blank range.
“Quite the hex… Cat ears, teeth, and a tail to boot.” Said Dorian, smiling broadly at the trio.
Too broadly.
Soren blinked, wondering how he hadn’t seen it before, Dorian wasn’t human… Nor had he ever been human.
“The problem with keeping secrets, is that you inevitably end up killing a few of your own.” Said Dorian, his tone perfectly flat. “Ben, John, fetch our horses. We never found any survivors in Blackwood castle, nor could Lightning Lord Liam or Sage Rhendal be found.” Said Dorian, uncocking his wheel-lock.
“I’m a blind idiot.” Muttered Soren.
“We all had our roles to play. Though I wish mine was half as grand as yours.” Said Dorian, offering a hand to Cedric.
The confused catguy took it and stood, mouth hanging open as the six outriders helped them mount and escape. Galloping all the way to Avignon to avoid Duke Hamilton’s vanguard.
As they would conclude later, Dorian’s relief mission had indeed found Duke Hamilton’s army, but failed to mobilize them until Rhendal’s roar provoked a full march. Within an hour two thousand of Duke Hamilton’s soldiers, knights, and engineers had occupied the castle, mounting ballistae and converting the four inexplicably deep holes into wells. Many legends were born that day, yet they all included the retrieval of a blind and deafened Alexander Blackwood.
—
Liam opened his eyes, looking around the stainless steel room he was in. It was oddly spherical, as if they were in a tube, or a ship. More baffling, was the chained man in front of him.
“Ya know, dying is really painful.” Said Liam, meeting Therun Perun Taloc’s glowing eyes.
He let out a single laugh. “First time’s always the worst, but you’ll get over it. We’ll talk about that next time. See that hole over there?” Said Taloc, nodding towards an alcove behind Liam.
“No, i’m not going anywhere until you give me some answers! Why bring me here? Why not give me enough power to beat Pandora? Why–” Snapped Liam.
“Jump in the hole and you’ll see Nyota again. It’ll only be open for another minute.” Interrupted Taloc.
Liam glanced at the tube, seeing a metal plate begin to slide over the orifice.
“Dick! Don’t play games with me! Stop the plate and answer me!” Shouted Liam, raising his finger at Taloc’s chained leg.
No mana flowed. Not just within Liam, no mana was moving at all.
“Yeah…” Said Taloc, rattling his chains. “I’d love to, but I’m not exactly in charge right now. Go back, keep Nyota alive, and take charge of the Fulminonimbus’ paladins. You’ve gotta change a couple million opinions before you or I can break these chains.”
Liam did not know how, but he knew God wasn’t lying.
“This is some grade A-BULLSHIT!” Shouted Liam, stepping into the tube.
The plate began to close faster, cutting his remaining minute into a few seconds.
“What opinion am I supposed to change?” Hissed Liam.
“Bro, just be yourself, otherwise I wouldn’t have chosen you.” Said Taloc.
“Chosen me…?” Said Liam, “If the lightning strike brought me here… What happened to Sarah? WAIT!” Shouted Liam, sticking his arm in the tube’s mouth like a grocery store’s automatic door.
It gently gummed his arm, then retracted slightly.
“I swear to god you better not reincarnate me into one of Nyota’s kids!” Yelled Liam, earning a chuckle from Taloc.
“Hahaha, no, I would rather not encourage incest among my grandchildren. My power is extremely limited, but I prepared a body for a worthy Lightning Lord, an empty vessel waiting to be empowered.” Said Taloc.
Liam was quiet for a long moment, memorizing the face of humanities’ God-King.
“Dude, why did you really pick me? Sarah was kinda a bitch, but killing her was a dick move by anyone’s standards.” Said Liam.
“Ah… Well… I kinda missed.”
“You… you missed? How the fucking hell does a GOD… MISS?!” Shouted Liam, genuinely surprised.
“Don’t take that tone with me! You try reaching across a dozen worlds while your cock is chained up! It’s not like I had fine motor control! But… I actually thought you and Sarah were one being. A mortal soul capable of ruthless savagery, cunning, and the strongest will to survive i’ve ever seen. Combined with an ironclad will to preserve life, to lessen the suffering of others, and preserve all that is good in humanity. Ah, you two were complimentary foils, so I grabbed you both, not realizing the soul I grabbed was two individuals.” Said Taloc, shaking his head a few inches, since that was the extent of the chain’s slack.
Liam had a terrible realization. Sarah was in this world… A hundred years of emotions accompanied that thought, along with questions. Did he want to meet Sarah? Their relationship was dead and gone, broken by the understanding of what true affection was. There would be no joy in a reunion, only pain at what they’d lost.
Then he looked at Taloc, and saw that the God-King could read his mind. The tube bounced, dislodging Liam’s stalling hand.
“Taloc! Don’t even think about doing something weird. I’ve been through enough, just let me go home to Nyota.” Said Liam, knowing by Taloc’s shit-eating grin that he was already being ignored.
The tube sealed, teleporting his soul across the world and into the body of a newborn infant...
THE END OF BOOK 1.
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Book 2 will be announced in a follow up chapter. Current working title is ‘Lightning Toddler Goes to War’, and will focus on the more comedic side of things. I’m dating this note as being written on 8/24/2024.