[https://i.imgur.com/IgLgxmL.png]

IMNIR'S BALUSTRADE

BREACH IN THE SECOND RING WALL

[https://i.imgur.com/IgLgxmL.png]

Tharia’s lithe form struggled with the strong winds near the edge of the roof. Her earthen coat danced on the gusts. Imnir’s Balustrade was across the street. It was an artful crash between ancient debris and the work of artists. The result was a freak collection of arches, structures and statues of naked women. To Tharia, art was always one of two things: What the fuck or want to fuck. The Balustrade didn’t help with that impression.

“A bug nest in the breach and our old friends the observers in the streets, how do we get across?” Tharia mused. She held onto a rod of cold metal for stability. Her shoulders were covered in the thick coat she had picked up from Mother Bone. Why exactly she dragged this thing around, she didn’t know herself. Warmth, she kept telling herself. She suddenly picked up an odd buzzing sound.

“Dodge left!” Annabelle screamed. The shrill warning jumpstarted Tharia’s reaction, her body already moved before her mind could intervene. It wasn’t fast enough. Something hit her body with the force of an angry titan. She was punted off the roof. Everything suddenly slowed down around her as her senses sharpened into an unreal clarity. An oversized bug stared at her. Large butterfly wings stuck out from its hunched back, along with two antennae from the front.

She also saw Annabelle run towards it in painfully slow motion. For the first time, she saw all the details of the weapon summoning. Tiny rifts opened up in the air and the light danced out of it as if it were alive. They formed into a Scythe just as the goddess lunged into a horizontal slash. The moment of calm didn’t last long.

Annabelle slammed her weapon against the thick chitin legs of the bug just as it changed direction. Sparks flew off but no damage was done. Tharia reached the apex of her motion, the pain hadn’t yet settled in and the bug already jumped towards her with the horn aimed at her center of mass. If that thing hit her, she was dead. Quick. Solution. Now. Annabelle screamed at the bug in frustration. Not helpful.

Tharia’s idea was one of desperation. If presented with the opportunity, it might pick the bigger target. She unclasped the cloak and let the wind drag it away. The bug suddenly changed course. Its horn narrowly missed Tharia but she got hit by the body instead. With tears of pain in her eyes, she held onto the first thing she could grab.

Rotting carpet. That’s what it felt like to her. The bug let out a harrowing cry and suddenly bucked to the side. All around, the environments zoomed past Tharia. She caught glimpses of rooms inside buildings, saw scaffoldings fly past with absurd speed. Somehow she was alive. Somehow, she was also stuck on an angry bug taking off. Gritting her teeth, she pulled on her hold and noticed the creature suddenly leaning to the side again.

It suddenly leaned into a tight spiral. With little warning, the roof seemed to jump up at her. Tharia let go. Her body drove into the snow like an arrow let loose – but it suitably softened her impact. Still, she felt beaten black and blue and the spark was working overtime to take the edge of things. She got up on her knees and sputtered dirty snow when she saw the bug up ahead. It had plowed a path through the snow and the roof underneath and was half-stuck in the building. A small figure appeared from a nearby structure.

Annabelle was doing a mad dance along rickety constructions, balancing on wooden beams as she dashed with her armor glistening in the light. She jumped off and brought the Scythe down mid-jump. This time, the blade cut into the beast with ease.

Tharia held out her hand and concentrated. Technically, she too was now a sort of goddess. Thing. Some kind of creature at least. She needed a weapon now. Maybe she could bring out one as well. With her eyes closed, tuning out the spectacle of Annie’s fight with the bug, she focussed on equipment. Finally, she clasped her hands shut. Something cold touched her hands and she opened her eyes wide with anticipation, what kind of weapon would she get?

The human girl looked squarely at a bent pipe. Disappointment turned to anger as she saw a bunch of others scattered on the roof. Of course, she didn’t get the nice perks. Grumbling, she held onto the pipe she had accidentally picked up in her failed summoning and dashed for the bug too.

Annabelle had jumped off the bug in the meantime. She was like a mad mouse that had beef with a scared cat. Her strikes nipped at parts of the bug armor until it finally gained the strength to pull itself out of the hole. It spread its large wings and whirled around, using the long horn for a sweep. Her beloved Annie dodged underneath it and kicked her feet into the large eye of the hunchback-monster.

Now Tharia was close too. With reckless abandon, she hammered her bent pipe against the other eye. The bug stared at her with what she interpreted as: Are you serious right now? It didn’t deter her. A nick in the chitin caught her attention, she changed her next attack and aimed the edge directly at the damaged beast armor. Her pipe drove straight through and then broke off. The bug cried out in anger and tried to lift off the ground. Annabelle used that moment to dismiss and resummon her Scythe while swinging directly for the eye. The bladed scythe manifested directly inside of it, bypassing any and all forms of armor.

The large bug crashed back down, flipping onto its back. It helplessly skittered towards the edge of the roof and got stuck on the scaffolding again. Tharia exchanged a look with Annabelle and gave her the thumbs up. She was okay and Annie’s smile told her that her love was okay as well. As they both ran for the rampaging bug, Tharia noticed her coat and picked it up mid-motion. She swung it back over her shoulders just in time to see Annabelle hold onto the bug, her left hand had grasped into the broken eye.

Tharia shuddered as she imagined the pain this would bring. She shivered again when golden light poured out of the eye and the scythe manifested from inside the organ. The bug screamed out in pure rage. Large legs in abject panic tore the scaffolding apart and a veritable ramp of debris had formed on the ground. Breathlessly, Tharia took a step back.

“It picked the wrong food”, she said. Annabelle nodded, carefully observing the throes of the hunchback. Tharia looked at the struggling insect and the way its antennae stuck up. The beast was utterly helpless. She blinked as she suddenly remembered something from her childhood. A sudden grin crept onto her face.

“Annie? I know how we cross the street”, she said.

“How so?”

[https://i.imgur.com/ZPzywxR.png]

Tharia grinned from ear to ear. She knelt on the stomach of the bug and tightly held onto one of the legs. One of Annabelle’s War-Fans was stuck in the stomach too. Tharia had wrapped her hand around the rope part for further stability.

“Worst idea ever”, Annabelle cursed. Hush, Tharia thought. Like her, the goddess knelt on the stomach of the bug. She shot Tharia a skeptical glance.

“You’re insane”, the goddess said with a huff. She then took aim and hurled the second War-Fan directly into the wooden scaffolding. With loud rumbling, it all came undone.

“Love you too!” Tharia shouted over the noise. With a sudden jolt, the bug started moving underneath them. Both girls held on tight as the bug skittered towards the edge along with half the roof, parts of the building and everything else that wanted to be part of this idiocy. The insect quickly shot over the edge and crashed down onto the ramp made of debris. Sliding down the snow-covered ramp accelerated the creature to ludicrous speed.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Bug-sleigh, yeaahaaaw!” Tharia screamed. There was a jolt when their living vehicle transitioned to the road and a bunch more of them as sheer momentum crashed it directly through lanterns, carriages, observers, whatever else was unfortunate enough to get into the path of their involuntary vehicle. She caught a momentary whiff of something she hadn’t accounted for. Gas. From the lanterns. Pillars of flames sprouted behind them, the moat appeared before them - and their vehicle screeched in panic. To Tharia, it was the best Idea ever. The bug hit the water and skipped across it like a thrown stone.

Sheer momentum carried it up the first part of the aqueduct on the other side. It was just enough of a ramp to give it lift. Tharia looked at Annie, a smug grin on her face when she saw the inferno on the street. That couldn’t be good. One second, she still saw the buildings, part of the road, the bridge they had so callously ignored in favor of insanity – and then there was nothing but a huge fireball. The sheer brunt of the explosion hammered into the bug and accelerated it.

“I hate you!” Annabelle screamed as the bug lifted off the ground. Not as a flying creature but rather as a burning, helplessly flailing chitin projectile that trailed flames several meters long. They were half-way up the aqueduct when finally, the momentum was used up. The bug crashed down into part of the aqueduct and the two girls took the chance to get off. Annabelle held onto Tharia as they tumbled off the creature.

“Let’s do it again”, Tharia said, her fingers nearly frozen off from the icy wind. She knew she looked unhinged but she hadn’t felt this alive since... since before she killed her brother in cold blood. Annabelle suddenly grunted.

“This!” the goddess said with anger in her voice and pointed back.

What had survived centuries, had met their ultimate calamity: Two girls on a mission. Several dozen houses were just plain gone with the explosion. There was a large hole in the road with Observers piling into it. Somehow, the bridge crossing the moat had been dislodged by about a kilometer. Or two. Maybe four to be fair. The Balustrade below them had packed up and left for greener pastures while debris had ruined a several kilometer section of the city.

“If anyone asks, we’ve never been here”, Tharia said nonchalantly and rubbed her slightly singed nose. An entire house just tilted and fell over as the ground gave out beneath it.

[https://i.imgur.com/ZPzywxR.png]

Annabelle was still furious at Tharia. The idea had been stupid from the start. Worst of all, it had worked. That was one way to reinforce idiocy. She looked at Tharia and saw the small woman still grin from ear to ear.

“In the future, I’ll get to veto all ideas”, the goddess said and earned a thumbs up from her beloved fairy. The gods be cursed grin just wouldn’t go. She shook her head and focussed her attention on the path ahead. The Balustrade was really just a collection of aqueduct parts that were held together by additional structures. Each part of the original building as connected to the next with overly decorated walkways and beautiful statues. To Annabelle, Art was mostly two things: Something to appreciate and understand.

When she looked at those statues of the naked women, she appreciated their form and understood the desire behind them. It wasn’t just sexual, it was the sheer essence of the shape itself. The artists had struggled with their obsession.

“Annie, the bug is back”, Tharia said and caught the goddess in one of her rare moments of being distracted. She examined their surroundings and saw it stuck some way up. Annabelle leaned onto a chest-high wall and looked at the creature blocking their path ahead. With a chitin shell that was half burned, it seemed barely alive to her. There were no more wings on it, safe for two stumps that fluttered about helplessly.

The fat bug was splayed across the main aqueduct. Normally they could use one of the sideways but they had broken off. Quite some time ago, if the statues of naked women in their place were an indicator. The cherry on top was that the fat backend of the bug blocked the archway leading into the breach in the wall. She looked back at Tharia and saw the girl lift her empty hands.

“You did this”, Annabelle said.

“Well, don’t have weapons of my own. I need to get creative”, Tharia answered.

Annabelle turned around and stepped onto the decorated bridge connecting their part of the Balustrade with that of the bug. The moment her feet touched the ground, the bug suddenly jerked up. The flexible horn stretched in her direction and the beast let out a harrowing cry.

With her hand opening, the Scythe manifested itself. She sized up the bug one last time and then clutched her hands around the handle, falling into a quick dash up the aqueduct. The hunchback bug struggled to get onto its legs. Pieces of rubble fell off to either side of the structure. That was the main challenge: To kill the bug without smashing their only way inside.

Annabelle held her scythe to her lower left and closed in on the bug. Predictably, the horn was used as a blunt instrument. It swung in her direction, but Annabelle used both their momentum to slash her scythe upward. With her angle, the blade cut directly into the horn. Despite her slightly increased strength, the weapon was wrested from her hands and she was thrown off balance. She skittered to the ground. Her weapon clanged a couple of meters away and the horn jabbed directly in her direction.

The goddess leaped back on her feet and narrowly dodged the attack with a jump forward. Now she was within the minimal striking distance of the horn. She looked directly into the blind eye of the bug. They locked gaze for what seemed like an eternity. Hot and stinking breath washed over Annabelle. The moment broke with the sound of breaking stone. The bug suddenly lurched against Annabelle and punted her off her feet. She flew two meters but landed with an elegant roll.

Cracks spread throughout the aqueduct. The hunchback bug dragged itself towards her with stilted motions. It cried out and then jabbed the horn in her direction. Like before, Annabelle was prepared for an attack with that. She moved her hands in a strike and then summoned her Scythe midswing. The golden light followed her motion, the Scythe left a trail of particles and soon chitin. Annabelle saw with shock that the bug suddenly jumped up and down, each time bringing its considerable weight down on the ancient structure. The stubborn thing was willing to take them down with it, out of spite. Personally, Annabelle couldn’t blame it.

She launched into another attack when she saw a human figure to the side. Annabelle was gesturing wildly while pointing towards the breach in the wall. Each time the bug plunged down, more of the aqueduct came down with it. The goddess exchanged looks between the bug and Tharia and with a grunt, she finally decided to follow the girl instead.

They dodged and weaved underneath the rampaging bug and then headed straight for the breach. A sudden pause in sound made Annabelle look over her shoulder. The bug looked her directly in the eye, as the aqueduct fell in slow motion. Stumpy wings fluttered as the creature disappeared along with most of what had remained of Imnir’s Balustrade.

“I guess I can cause destruction too”, Annabelle said breathlessly as they stumbled through the breach into the interior of the wall.

“Fairy?” Annabelle said as she noticed the odd quiet of her friend. Tharia pointed towards what lay ahead. At first glance, it was an entire colony of larvae, mixed in with human skeletons inside of a primitive stone structure. Everything about this said ancient aqueduct to her. There were stairs leading further up and they would have to fight smaller bugs all the way. Yet that wasn’t where Tharia was pointing.

Behind the veneer of primitive stone was a large gap in the wall. It must have broken away in the days after it all came down.

“That can’t be”, Annabelle said.

She stared at endless smooth black walls, interspersed by lines of golden energy pulsing within them. The actual interior of the fortification walls, that which had been hidden away behind newer walls, looked like a temple of the gods. Thousands upon thousands of strange podlike chambers hung on the walls with floating walkways connecting them. Tharia had walked over towards the edge and looked down.

“Annie, I think this goes down to the core of the world”, she said with a faint voice, “It’s like one massive god palace.”

Annabelle quickly walked up to the edge and immediately agreed with her lover. The walls were all hollowed out and going by the pulsing light alone, it reached down several dozens of kilometers.

“These structures look ancient”, the goddess said while feeling a strange lump in her throat.

“Do you also get the feeling that we’re not seeing the whole picture?” Tharia suddenly said with a strange tone to her voice. Sudden angry buzzing reminded Annabelle that they weren’t alone. She turned around and saw a small army of bugs pushing and pulling a larger bug into the chamber. Then, they proceeded to poke it with their tiny horns until it woke up from its slumber.

“Hah, I just remembered something funny about insects. Did you know that some species have variants in them? Like, some are born for working and gathering others are...”

Annabelle watched the ginormous bug get on its legs. Unlike its brethren, this one had four pairs of scythes and a massive body without wings. It balanced on its legs, every motion screamed excessive power and strength.

“Others are born for battle”, the goddess finished the sentence.

[https://i.imgur.com/ZPzywxR.png]

End: Imnir's Balustrade | Coming up: Inside the Breach