After briefly camping for the night, Blue, Elwin and Kari had continued onwards to the East, towards the great, cursed fissure in the earth known as Wraith’s Ravine. The individual forest trails were beginning to converge the closer they got to Myria Bridge, which spanned the haunted canyon. Lesser worn dirt gave way to wider swathes of dry, packed dirt. The trees were just beginning to thin when Blue picked up on an Incandestine transmission.

“…coordinated assault on the forward base in the Western Forest by tree-men and… ghosts. Several of our Angels were injured, but they should be fully recovered soon. According to our Communications Officer and camera footage, there was hostile activity within the base as well. The investigation is still ongoing, but we will have a full report for your eyes later today.”

“I see… General Lawrence, you mean to tell me that fairy-tale creatures attacked you?”

“Yes, most exalted Regent.”

Lucina took a moment to gather herself.

“Well, that grants credence to the reports of supernatural resistance we’ve been receiving from several of our other bases... This entire planet is a violation against the Laws against Causal and Entropic Advancement. Find out as much as you can about this planet’s origins. We need to know who put this here.” Lucina ordered. “After we’ve captured Rolynd and his betrayers, we might have to do some cleaning up of this immoral planet.”

A muffled “yes my Queen.” Could be heard in the background of Lucina’s audio.

Lucina continued: “General Lawrence, in the light of your report, I will be doubling the bridge garrison to the east of your position. There are many more trees in the forest there than there are our Angels. If the attacks continue, it may be wise to evacuate our forces and fall back to the bridge. I’ll leave that decision to your discretion.”

“Of course, Empress. Is there anything else?”

“No, that will be all for now, General.”

Kari, Elwin and Blue listened in to the Empress’ conversation as they continued their journey through the forest. It seemed that the Empress’ forces were called ‘Angels’.

“Did she just threaten to commit a genocide?” Elwin asked in disbelief.

“All the more reason to stop her sooner rather than later. It sounds like her primary objective is to capture King Rolynd, so it seems that my new priority is to help protect the monarch of Al Dherjza. And yet, we were already headed there ourselves… What a coincidence.” Blue said.

“It also sounds like The Myria Bridge is garrisoned,” Kari noted.

“I’ve been to the bridge before. It’s built of runestone, and the entire thing is covered by enchantments. Without them, the spirits of Wraith’s Ravine would terrorise whoever crossed. If you’re going to cross the ravine, you need to stay on the bridge. The only problem for us is… it’s a gigantic stretch of open ground. There’s no chance we make it across undetected, especially if they’re doubling their numbers there.” Elwin said.

“How wide is the ravine? How long does it take to get across the bridge?” Kari asked.

“On foot? Three or four hours. But from there, it’s only two days, maybe less, to Sarigold City.” Elwin replied. “The only problem is, we are not going to be able to cross the bridge.”

“And what if we didn’t take the bridge?”

“We would have to walk around the Ravine. If we adjust course immediately, a total of four days,” Blue said.

“So, we should take the detour then?” Kari asked the others.

“Hold on, I’m intercepting another transmission from Lucina,” Blue said, beginning to transmit.

“…General Rand, I request your presence at the swamp north of the West Canyon. General Saxus has not reported in since his deployment yesterday. We have received no communication from his battalion, and the most recent logs indicate they were attacked by some unknown force. Please investigate… and be careful.” Lucina said.

“Of course. All in service of her memory.” General Rand replied.

The transmission was terminated and Blue’s speakers fell silent.

“So… the swamp wiped out an entire battalion?” Elwin asked.

“It would seem that way,” Kari replied.

“So, what should we do?”

They could continue onwards and attempt to sneak across the bridge spanning Wraith’s Ravine, but it would be extremely risky. The bridge would be crawling with Lucina’s Angels, who would be on high alert after the previous night’s attack on the base.

Alternatively, they could head north on a detour around Wraith’s Ravine, through the swamp. But Lucina had apparently lost an entire battalion of her well-equipped soldiers to some mysterious force.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

To the far south was the ocean, where the Ravine gave way to the sea. Since the trio had no boat to cross the three-hour-wide river mouth, that was out of the question. Not to mention that Wraith’s Ravine itself was haunted… who knew what was in the cold, dark waters?

The trio pondered it for a while. Presumably, the cloaked assassin who attacked Kari and Elwin outside Ellenia was still hunting them as well. If he attacked while they were on or near the bridge, it would draw all sorts of unwanted attention… or could that attention be used to their advantage? There were many factors to consider.

But before they could come to a decision, the sound of a distant explosion reached the trio’s ears. Leaves of the canopy rustled all around them as an unnatural wind shook them. Birds took to the sky.

Blue’s radio once again erupted into noise.

“We are under attack Garrison Delta-the bridge garrison over the canyon west of Sarigold City! Requesting immediate backup, I repeat, we-“

The transmission was cut short. The sounds of another explosion reached their ears after a few seconds.

“Get closer,” Blue demanded.

“Are you crazy? Run straight into danger? We should stay away and let whatever is happening sort itself out.” Refused a pale Kari assertively without delay, while periodic explosions ensued.

The wet-behind-the-ears Elwin was silent, seemingly in a state of mild shock. He had heard war stories before, but just the raw and simple power of the distant explosions were enough to terrify him on a more subconscious level.

“Whatever is happening on The Myria bridge could be a threat to us too. Have you forgotten that the bridge was built over Wraith’s Ravine, home to some of the most powerful spirits in Apolaphia? Get us closer, we need to know what the situation is so that we can properly react.” instructed Blue.

Kari reluctantly obliged, hastily sneaking closer to the bridge, Elwin in tow. Rather than use a full ‘cloak’ of invisibility, Kari lazily scattered the light around them to make a kind of makeshift camouflage as they ran. He hoped it would be enough to let them get to the edge of the forest unnoticed while all the commotion was afoot.

It took only a short run to get to Myria bridge along the forest path. But soon, the faintest, most unsettling sound could be heard.

At first, Kari thought it was his imagination, but with each step, it grew louder and louder. With each step, increasing trepidation set in, as a strange, terrible wailing noise gradually grew louder and louder.

The sound could almost be mistaken for a wailing wind that could be heard during a particularly violent storm.

But of course, the weather was perfectly fine that day.

The sound came from the ravine itself, a chorus of wails coming from tormented spirits trapped in its darkest depths.

Soon, the trio neared the end of the treeline. A fine mist crept along the ground despite the sky’s sunny disposition. Past wrinkled bark and twisting limbs, towers of billowing black smoke could be seen rising from dark shapes on a grand stone structure through the treeline. The mist seemed to be overflowing from the mouth of the ravine, creeping over the cliff’s edge, like it was some sort of portal to another realm with foreign powers leaking through.

Myria Bridge was just as Elwin described. It was an expansive stone arch bridge, incredibly flat, save for the enchantment carvings which covered every inch. It had very few features beyond a short guardrail on each side and magical lanterns to guide travellers. The bridge was wide enough for four lanes of carriage traffic, should it be necessary. It was so long that the far side of the bridge would have been lost to the curvature of the planet.

The far side of Wraith’s Ravine itself could barely be seen through the mist and atmospheric distortion, just a thin stony lip in the far distance.

The ravine itself was immensely deep. Perhaps a hundred meters or more. The magical mist that overflowed from it would prevent one from seeing the black waters below. Instead, the persistent, disturbing wailing and the view peering down the side of the cliff-face left one with the impression that falling in could lead to a fate worse than death.

And of course, the ravine was haunted by all manner of spirits. Although their voices could be heard, bemoaning their perpetual agony, none could be seen.

Distant Incandestine vehicles and buildings burned on The Myria Bridge. Soldiers milled about the flames like ants about a burning nest.

At this range, it was impossible to tell what was causing the chaos.

The distant visage of the gigantic Intercessor floated haughtily from the skies above the horizon, glaring down upon the world with disdain.

“That is strange… I don’t remember the spiritual activity being this high.” Commented Blue.

“Is it possible that your memory is wrong? You’ve been stuck inside that tower for millennia.” Kari asked.

“Impossible. My memory is perfect.” Replied Blue defensively.

“Perhaps some of the enchantments have been weakened by the passage of time?” suggested Elwin.

Another explosion interrupted the trio’s conversation. This time, it was noticeably closer than before.

Blue picked up chatter in the Incandestine transmissions.

“To all units at Garrison Delta! Doctor Hagley has identified signature traces; The Ephemeral is in your midst! Follow your training and deploy the nullifiers! Upon confirmed deployment, bombardment by ion cannon will commence. Make sure you have evacuated to one of the designated safe zones if you value your life!”

Shortly after Lucina’s transmission, domes of lightly shimmering gold could be seen popping up all across The Myria Bridge. The sound of rhythmic explosions stopped, though significant damage had already been done to the various machines and metal barricades that covered the bridge’s surface.

“We have her nullified in sector H! Requesting ba-“radioed a soldier before the transmission was interrupted with the gurgling sound of someone drowning in their own blood.

“Do we run? I don’t know what ‘ion cannon’ means, but it doesn’t sound good.” Elwin asked. The inexperienced elf was pale-faced but surprisingly managed to keep his calm.

“Unfortunately, it’s a bit late for running away. Sector H is unfortunately this end of the Angel’s garrison, just a stone’s throw away from where we are hiding now. Based on the atmospheric lensing, and the position and motion of the Intercessor’s ion cannon on the horizon, we have about a minute. Yes... We have a minute before everything we can see is annihilated. An ion cannon is a superweapon similar to the beams of scorching light that the Angels like to shoot.” Blue reported.

“Well… If we can’t run, what can we do? Just stand here and die? We need to find a shelter or something!” Kari exclaimed.

“Don’t you think that a shelter will be useless against a weapon that can destroy everything-” Elwin paused his speech to gesture urgently at their surroundings “-around us?” the elf asked, practically tearing at his hair in a fit of anxiety as he began to mutter earnestly to higher powers. “…Oh ADAM, oh Great Protector…”

Kari himself felt his shoulders slump. In the distance, a terrifying blue glow emanated from the underside of the Intercessor.