“Hrm… Silver flames at one end, Pale Dragon’s light at the other. The Scalemen have made it onto the premise.”
“Eldest Brother, will you wait for the Oracle’s companions to return, or will you lead the attack immediately?”
“I will ask how the Oracle wishes to proceed. If it does not align with my will, then I shall act on my own.”
Alc’Bruk readied a set of massive deer horned knives and marched to where he saw most of the action was. His body glowed red, embers spitting between his scales rubbing against each other as he called upon the Crimson Dragon’s blessing. Neon red veins traced over his chest transferring magical powers to transform his body to the Crimson’s avatar at will.
His bat-like wings expanded, his body bulged with muscles underneath plates of crimson scales. His horns and spikes radiated with such heat it dried the air around him.
He sucked in a lungful of air then unleashed a feral roar that shook everyone’s core. ‘I am here and I will kill you. I will not be denied. Not even begging will earn a merciful death!’ It was a war of declaration Alc’Bruk conveyed to the Scalemen.
His presence on the frontlines brought morale to the Dragonkins as they decided to use their flame breaths in unison to force the Tower Creatures to retreat. Their breaths melted stone, incinerated buildings leaving nothing but a field of burning rubble where the enemy once stood.
“Alc’Bruk, have you decided to take the stage?” A Fairy questioned.
“My sworn enemies have emerged. Why will I not slay them?” He hissed.
“I am here to remind you of our primary objective. Don’t stray too far off.”
“Fragile fluttering whelp, how dare you speak to the Crimson’s Wrath like that!” Kaz’Bruk bellowed.
“Oh my. Though you two are siblings, I see all of the best genes went to one and left everything unimportant to you.”
“Then allow me to prove you incorrect.”
Kaz’Bruk readied his glaive as Lidian prepared her catalysts. Both stopped and heard metal clacking towards them. An Alf in a heavy suit of armor holding a lance and a shield waddled up to them.
“Lidian. Cease the disrespectfulness. We are supposed to work with the Dragonkins as per Councilor Elius’ orders.”
“I am offering my full cooperation. The lizards seemed to have hearing issues and misinterpreted my words.”
Justiva stood between them and shot a glare at Lidian that only provoked a mischievous smile. The Alf sighed knowing her intervention was only a temporary measure and hope the one who can stop Lidian would soon return.
“Are you willing to jeopardize Chancellor Elius’ efforts of securing an alliance with the Dragonkins?” Justiva asked.
“No, never! I would never do such thing! It’s just that, I’m anxious he hasn’t returned yet. My beloved Elius, why have you disallowed me to accompany you? Am I unworthy to stand by his side?”
Justiva wished she had an extra hand to facepalm. Though she acknowledged Lidian as an asset, she found the Fairy’s obsession for the Chancellor disrespectful. Justiva closed her eyes and took a deep breath to clear negative impression about her companion by reciting the teachings of her Order.
A heavy stomp interrupted her as she looked up at the Dragonborn with crackling embers fluttering out from his mouth.
“What of the Oracle?” Alc’Bruk growled.
A flash of bright light in the distance answered the Dragonborn’s inquiry. It vaporized a small army of Shadows encroaching on their location that came from an Enui holding a sword imbued with a power effective against the Towers.
Five Longswords hovered behind him each being held by their own [Ribbons]. All of them were enchanted with different attributes as the blades glowed with different colors, but none looked as prominent as the weapon currently in his hand. Its razor sharp edge glided freely wherever he swung and he shined its golden blade with twin dragons spiraling around the hilt.
He wore a leather cuirass with metal plates protecting his shoulders, sides and thighs. A majestic cape fluttered behind him, waved by the dying gust of wind. His gauntlets and leggings were crafted from trophies from his newest accomplishments of exotic beasts providing various magical boons. His boots had curved spikes to impale his foes with his deadly kicks.
The Oracle discovered the Immortal was lucky to survive his blade and drew one of the barrels holstered to his cuirass. His finger hovered over the trigger and when pulled, smoke filled his view. A loud bang reverberated throughout the air and a projectile wrapped in the Oracle’s light shattered the Immortal’s core as it began piecing itself together.
A trail of smoke sizzled from the barrel’s mouth. After it cooled, he skillfully measured the ingredients and packed blackened powder into it.
“What about me?” The Oracle asked. “Hurry up. I’m busy. Once Elius and Rogus get back, we’re going to advance on the Tower. Haku, are you there?”
“Here, sir.” Haku emerged from the nearest shadow. “I have observed the Scalemen as you requested. The Fake has brought with him three thousand able fighters. I also have the list of their ranks which also includes information of the Goliath, Devil Folk and the Herald.”
“During your infiltration, are there Enuis other than the Goliath?”
“None from what I saw. Although I am skeptical of the Devil Folk posed as the Oracle. The foreign forces he brought to join the Scalemen are indeed formidable.”
“I see. How’s your arm?”
“It’s healed. You don’t need to waste your concern on me.”
“You’re useful. I won’t have those with talent to die on me. Besides, in exchange for this sword, I promised your father to keep an eye on you.”
Haku didn’t respond, but simply lowered his head from the Oracle’s kind words. “Then I shall locate Elius.”
“No need. We’ve returned and dumped the package.” A bombardment of spells obliterated the crowd of Tower Creatures, and the aftermath was Elius, adjusting his glasses, striding towards them with Rogus in tow. “Haku, I will now permit you to use your full arsenal offensively since we have solid information on our enemies.”
“Understood. This means I am allowed to kill them, correct?”
The Oracle narrowed his eyes slightly. “Are you sure throwing away the Hero is the best plan?”
“Irvan, we’ve talked about it multiple times.” Elius shrugged. “We have not discarded the Hero. In order to win, it is a crucial move. Everything is going as planned, though a big nuisance still remains.”
“The Fake?”
“I’ve battled him but failed to retrieve the tome. I had a difficult time, but I’m certain I’ve determined his full capabilities. I will later inform you of his abilities.”
“No. That will not be necessary. I’ve declared I shall be the one to take revenge!” Alc’Bruk growled. “The Fake is my prey, and he must fall by my claws!”
“You have many people on that list of yours. This is a war. You don’t have the luxury to choose your battles.” Elius said. “That said, your role is to stop the Pale Dragon’s Herald. After that, you may choose whomever as your next opponent.”
“You dare command me?”
“Isn’t the Herald also on your list? Doesn’t the Crimson Dragon want him gone as soon as possible?”
Fumes exhausted from Alc’Bruk’s nostrils. The Dragonborn took one step forward, looming over the Enui. He glared into Elius’ eyes behind the small pane of glass and snorted. He thought of cutting him up right here and then.
Lidian prepared her spells, Rogus held onto the handle of his greatsword. Kaz’Bruk pointed his glaive, Haku drew his poisoned daggers, Justiva raised her shield and put herself in front of Elius.
Irvan simply crossed his arms and waited as he spectated the standoff at a distance. After a moment of silence, someone moved.
“Hmph. Fine. This will be the only time I will listen to an order. I vow to kill anyone who dares to command me next time. Kaz’Bruk, come along. I will have you investigate an abnormality regarding the Azure Dragon.”
“Understood, Eldest Brother. But, the Azure Dragon?”
“I shall explain away from those imbeciles.”
Alc’Bruk stomped away as his footsteps seared the earth. Kaz’Bruk followed closely behind, not before hurling some choice words at the Oracle’s companions.
Sighs went all around. Truth be told, they feared Alc’Bruk as none could match his strength except maybe Irvan.
“Hey, Elius. Could ya not provoke him every time? I feel like one day yer words are going to turn em against us.” Rogus expressed.
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“This alliance is upheld by a beneficial pact. So long as both sides abide to the agreement, Alc’Bruk would not dare to attack us. He wishes for the Scalemen to perish more than correcting petty insults thrown his way.”
“Yeah, but… I have a feelin we’re kinda on dat list now.”
“Oh please, where was all that bark you had? Stop whimpering you puppy.” Lidian giggled. “Welcome back Elius. Your cloak seemed to be in tatters, shall I fix it for you?”
“Its magical protection hasn’t worn off. Instead, Lidian, I need you to complete a task more important. Bring Haku and Justiva with you. Take these charms and plant them around the vicinity when you have the chance. Don’t forget to set up wards. Even if it does not affect the Fake, they will stop the Tower Monsters from swarming us.”
“Understood. I will perform every task you ordered me to perfection.” Lidian bowed as she accepted the deck of talismans and hovered away.
“Irvan. We may begin the second phase and move to the Tower. Most likely, the Fake will want to arrive there as well.”
“I’ll redirect the monsters towards the Fake and wear the Scalemen down. It’ll be easy to take them down in one fell swoop once they reach the Tower. Leave Draigh alive if you can. I still need to talk to him.”
“Who?”
“The Goliath. He’s someone from our village too.” Irvan rubbed a smidge of soot off his face. “You know, I sometimes doubt you’ve actually lost your memories. You act completely different from a decade ago.”
“Who knows. I only act on my best interest.” Turning towards the Tower, he flashed a small smile at it. “Now then, brave Oracle. Will you lead the way?”
“Your new way of talking is annoying.” Irvan commented as he held his sword, gathering the Dragonkins to assault the Tower in full force. “Anyways, let’s get ready to meet a Acolyte.”
----------------------------------------
A Shadow’s head popped from a piercing force. It fell onto its backside as silver flames slowly ate away the rest of its body.
The projectile came from Lily who was searching for stragglers from the previous attacking wave. With Aten circling the skies, they were able to spot out sneaky ambushers lurking in darkest corners of the maze like city.
She kept her eyes peeled and once Aten returned to the army, the area was deemed safe. Lily grabbed onto the pipe beside the bell tower and slid down to quickly find Kihet.
With her keen eyes and hearing, she easily picked him out of the group. Not that it was hard to locate him in a sea of Scalemen soldiers to begin with.
“Kihet, that’s the last one-.”
Once Lily wove past through the last group of soldiers, she was met with a scowl. It wasn’t from Kihet, but rather from another Rozzalian other than Carmyn. Lily discovered the Rozzalian’s bottom stuck in Tama’s bag as the returning group carefully tried to pull her out.
“What’s going on?”
“Lily, you’re right on time. Could you stretch the fabric that’s caught on her mail?”
“It looks like its hooked onto something. Give me a second.”
“Don’t rip it!” Tama shouted.
Lily dexterously unhooked all the strings that were caught by the edge of the breastplate. Once she was done, she waved to the others who were able to safely remove the Rozzalian without damaging Tama’s precious bag.
“Nyie told you that wasn’t a good idea! You went ahead and did it! There’s a hole on my beloved nyapsack! You better pay up!”
“It was an emergency.” Kihet shot back.
“That’s what you always say!”
“The contract doesn’t say anything about reimbursing broken equipment. You got the loot you wanted anyways.”
“I knyew I shouldn’t have been kind! For our next contract, I won’t be so merciful with the terms, just you watch!” Tama stomped away, hugging her bag.
It could be said it was out of spite for denying Tama any reparations. He felt vindicated witnessing the merchant losing her calm and stormed off. Tama previously pulled this kind of tactic on him, and it was only fair he returned the favor.
He made a mental note ensuring to read their next contract thoroughly. He won’t let a single underhanded condition pass under his strict watch.
“Lily, is the area clear?”
“En! I heard about Carmyn? Is she okay?”
“She’s being treated. It’s nothing too major from what I was told, but she needs rest. Carmyn got lucky since the blade missed her vitals and important organs. Being a Giant, she’ll heal up soon.”
“That great to hear. I’ll visit her later but, umm… who is this?”
“Salith.” The Rozzalian answered. “Carmyn’s cousin.”
“Ah! You’re the one Carmyn’s looking for? That means you’re a Hero, like me!” Lily held up Salith’s hand and flashed a smile at her. “That means we’ll have to work together. I’m Tomoe, nice to meet you!”
“Kihet.” Salith sounded somewhat concerned. “This one’s oddly cheerful. Did you kidnap her?”
“I don’t know how you came to that conclusion. She’s Shiba’s sister.”
Kihet sensed the same expression Salith had with Lemi but towards Lily. Like a fully grown animal suddenly coming across a playful pup, Salith only greeted back with a hesitant “I see…”.
“By the way, how long have you had a heroes’ crest?”
“I think, for ten years.”
“Ten?! Kihet only gave mine to me half a year ago. That means I wasn’t the first?!”
“Is it that important?”
“I was under the impression I was the first one! I feel cheated!”
“Are you trying to blame me? I wouldn’t have known.” Kihet sighed and whispered to Salith. “As you can see, she’s a handful.”
“You gave her a crest?”
“I don’t know how, but it happened after she saved me. How about you?”
“I only noticed after my scars healed.” Salith tucked her chin and mulled over her thoughts for a second. “That was before I met the Oracle- not you. The one I was with.”
“Didn’t that mean I gave you a crest when we parted ways?”
“See?! I knew it! Kihet’s not the fake, the other Oracle is!” Lily exclaimed. “Let’s see how they like it being called a fake!”
“It doesn’t make sense how that Enui can use the Oracle’s light.” Salith added.
“Actually…”
Before Kihet could relay the Acolyte of Defiance’s explanation, he turned to find Draigh calling for his immediate attention. By reading his friend’s expression, trouble turned up and needed his direct inputs. Sections of the Tower rotated as the other Oracle’s light flashed in the distance.
“Hang tight. Draigh’s waving me over. Salith, I’m sorry but you’re going to be under surveillance. I hope you understand.”
“I know.”
“Lily, you stay here with her.”
“En.”
Kihet climbed the tallest structure in the area to examine the scene. Was Irvan planning to face the Acolyte without knowing what they were capable of? In the first place, was Kihet prepared to face an Acolyte without Elenora and Kaeth’s help?
“Yo.” Draigh greeted.
“How’s it looking out there?”
“Pretty bad. Anyways, heard you met Elius.”
“He’s hellbent on killing us. But the fact he has amnesia doesn’t sit right.”
“What do you mean? You don’t think it’s amnesia?”
“He said his body is disposable. I think he’s possessed.”
“Sounds like Elius got himself into some deep trouble. So, what should we do? We have our hands full.”
“Worst comes to worst, we’ll have to kill him. We’ll cross that hurdle depending on how things pan out.”
“Got it, boss.”
“Since when did I become one?”
“Well, everyone’s looking up to you.”
Dozens of eyes turn to him, waiting for his judgment. The Scalemen shown anxious faces knowing the Dragonkins were much stronger individually despite outnumbering them. Every second the Dragonkins close towards the Tower, the Scalemen were pressured to respond, especially after the Pale and Crimson Dragon delivered the spark that erupted this race to conquer the Tower.
Between the Dragonkins and Scalemen, one entire race or races will disappear from the mountainous lands of Stusis.
“We won’t be able to match their speed.” Draigh said. “Everyone’s exhausted from fighting our way in. If we go, the Towers are only going to exhaust us faster. What should we do? Move out now?”
“We don’t have a choice. It’s disadvantageous for us either way.”
There were many small routes and a few main roads he could use to access the Tower. Given how ruthless Elius had become, Kihet suspected there are possible ambushing and trapped sites planted along some of those paths. Kihet would’ve done the same if placed in the same position.
He spun the three barrels of his spiked firelance anxiously observing the state of the burning city. He didn’t have air superiority like the Dragonkins do, but he does have Krullu’s knockoffs of Hwachas, Aten and Lily to pick off flyers.
As for grounded battles, his friend Draigh was feared from the enemy’s side. Ainig had also steadily proven himself to be a powerful asset as the Tortoise improved his control to use the Pale Dragon’s blessing.
However, with Salith, a hero, able to defect to his side, the Scalemen could not come to trust her since she was an enemy. Under Lily’s supervision, Salith should now be interrogated to obtain information she knows about the Dragonkins.
Kihet heard someone climbed up the platform and turned. A Lizard folk pulled herself up and passed a newly sketched map into his hands.
“Holy Draigh, Oracle, we have taken the liberty to survey areas ourselves.” Yizdra reported. “There are traces of Dragonkins tampering with structures in locations Krullu suggested.”
“He knew?”
“Hardly. Since entering this unknown dungeon, he’s been paranoid and has relentlessly pestered me to survey numerous areas. The marked areas found by merely chance.”
“I see. They’re taking an initiative to attack us first.” Kihet unrolled the map, absorbing the information. “Draigh, let Hilaqi know I’ll need the Nagas and his help. I’m also bringing Ainig.”
“Alright, but you know, Tomoe’s going to throw a fit.”
“She doesn’t need to move out of the camp. She can support me from here. While I’m gone, get a convoy ready to move out on my signal.”
“Okay, and why Ainig?”
“I heard rumors he got the Pale Dragon’s blessing under control. Is that true?”
“Well, sort of. He can’t use it for long, but man, Kihet. Ainig’s got something special going for him. I doubted him before, but if he’s able to harness the Pale Dragon’s power, he’d be a force to reckon. I’m proud of him.”
“That’s what I’m hoping to hear. Are Krullu’s things ready?”
“It’s a miracle we haven’t broken all his stuff yet. I’ll gather the Scalemen. Good luck out there and be safe.”
“What else do you expect?” Kihet returned a fist bump to his friend. “Yizdra.”
“Understood, Oracle. I shall fetch the Herald.”
Just as Draigh and Yizdra left, Kihet noticed a soft light blinked under his armor. He lifted his chest piece and pulled out the mysterious tome with its pages giving off a gently light.
Ever since he forcibly gained acquisition of it, he studied its blank contents in hopes of uncovering secrets hidden within it. And finally, it showed something other than the yellowish parchment. Although it was expected the language was not from this era, the book contained images to understand some of its contents.
One page contained a map with moving black dots converging on several spots which also matched what Yizdra delivered. The dots moved in real time, almost as if tracking the position of Tower monsters. However, it did not show where the Dragonkins nor the position of the Scalemen.
“This could be handy.”
He carefully creased the corner and flipped through a couple dozen more. An image of the Oracle’s mark made him stopped turning over a new page. He examined the seal, observing it pulse at the same pace as the ones on his arms.
There was an inkling the next page would give him valuable information. He was quick to prepare himself to see it, but his arms refused to budge. Only when he focused hard to move them, was when his arm felt like they were on fire while turning the page.
Upon laying eyes on the page, his body seized up and broke into cold sweat. He recognized the portrait of the protector of the Tower, one of the Acolytes. The most undesirable one to encounter.
----------------------------------------
Within the confines of darkness, a figure chained up like a wild beast hanged in the middle of the chamber. The sound of rattling echoed the room as its supple, yet muscular body twitched. It drunkenly looked up slowly, where the stone ceiling split apart and revealed the reddened sky.
Light flooded the darkened room revealing a warrior whose mercenary white hair draped down to her legs. Her lightly tan skin was tattooed from face down to foot. Her ears twitched, hearing the rend of metal sounding from beyond the walls.
A sharp pain suddenly struck its head and a voice echoed in her mind.
“Sinned believer, I release you. This cycle has already been tainted. Destroy those who dare to stop my will. Reclaim the Oracle’s seal, kill the traitor and if possible, the man who lingers between the edge of Limbo.”
The Acolyte received a shock as it attempted to fight off the psychic attack but was ultimately unable to resist the mind control. The body fell limp momentarily then the chains loosened their hold on her, lowering her to the floor.
“Do you remember what you are?”
“I am… [][][][].”
The chains receded and it reached for the axe anchored in front. As soon as her fingers wrapped around the handle, runes etched into the blade glowed and the color of her hair changed to red as if blood poured down from her scalp.
“And your title?”
“The Acolyte… of Fury.”