Rolynd stared up at the ceiling, head resting in his hand. His eyes glassed over as he lost himself in his thoughts.
Forget the face of sympathy. Deny regret, behead arrogance and sew the mouth of fear shut. Pierce love through the heart if you have to…
He had to consider every avenue, even the paths that involved the loss of those he cared for most… Though he hardly paid it any mind, the fingers of his free hand reflexively curled around the hilt of a familiar blood-red crystal sword that rested gently against the throne.
Rolynd was not religious, but he prayed that he would not be forced down one of those paths in the days to come.
No matter what fate invited, he would be mentally prepared.
Perhaps it was delusional, but the distant promise of ADAM’s transcendent power comforted him. Knowing that no matter what happened, everything could be made right through the power of a wish.
Perhaps it is arrogant of me to assume that my wish shall be granted.
Rolynd’s repose was interrupted when his young herald, a fourteen-year-old named Jeremy, came bursting through the main doors. Jeremy had been made a herald in haste after Rolynd’s usual herald Charlie, a fellow Bloodstone, had abandoned his post to attend to more sensitive matters.
“King Rolynd! King Rolynd! I come bearing news! One of the seals on the Labyrinth gate has been lifted!” began the breathless Jeremy.
Rolynd leaned forward from his usual relaxed position. He was puzzled. “You are saying that there is only one trial left before ADAM’s Labyrinth itself is open? Do we know which monolith was activated? And by whom?”
“Yes, sire. And I haven’t the faintest idea about which monolith was activated, or by whom, sire.”
“I see,” Rolynd said, processing the new information. “Effie.” He asked, speaking into his bracelet. But there was no response. He recalled that the assassin had mentioned something about commissioning stray adventurers that she had encountered, to seek out the Labyrinth Trials, as there was a High Priestess of ADAM among them.
before heading into Wraith’s Ravine under the heavy protection of a magical shroud. It was possible that the shroud was blocking their communications.
Effie knows the procedure. If she encountered a Labyrinth Trial, she is to notify one of us without delay. No one is to make an attempt on a trial alone.
The young Jeremy waited patiently while Rolynd mulled in his thoughts.
Noticing his herald beginning to sway side to side, Rolynd stirred, remembering to dismiss his servant. “Thank you, Jeremy, you may leave.”
Jeremy bowed, scurrying timidly out of the throne room, his long black and gold coat-tails trailed after him, almost getting caught between the doors as they closed.
The five monoliths that had been activated so far seemed to follow a geographical pattern that implied the existence of seven monoliths in total, spread evenly over Apolaphia’s surface. By this logic, Rolynd knew the general locations of the two remaining monoliths needed to open the gates to ADAM’s Labyrinth. One was near Wraith’s Ravine, leaving the final Labyrinth Trial hidden somewhere amidst the endless sands of the Shimmering Sea, which spanned the great distance between Sarigold City and Al Dherjza.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
His mind made up, Rolynd contacted his right-hand woman using his bracelet.
“Hello, Miss Baker. I trust things are well. Another Labyrinth seal has been lifted, the Sixth, leaving just one remaining. I presume that wasn’t your doing, was it?” Rolynd asked his dear friend.
“Rolynd. It’s good to hear your voice. A gate has been opened? How? Do you think it was Lucina?” Sophia asked in reply, confusion evident in her voice.
The head of the Al Dherjzan Knights stood atop the cape of a dune in the middle of the Shimmering Sea, scanning her bright surroundings. Not a cloud in sight. A pure blue sky… if you ignored the colossal silhouette of the Intercessor hanging ever-so-persistently overhead.
Phee sat beside her, scanning the opposite direction. She absent-mindedly played catch with a throwing knife in one hand as she did so. It seemed that she had picked the habit up from watching her elder ‘sister’ Sophia.
“We don’t know who is responsible.” Came the voice of Rolynd through Sophia’s bracelet. “Since it wasn’t you two, it must’ve been the monolith near the fissure west of Sarigold. I need you two to figure out who is responsible. It was either Lucina, by some miracle, or an indigenous agent. Effie made some mention of meeting some adventurers before going dark in Wraith’s Ravine.”
Sophia was surprised. “She’s not contacted you since then?”
“No. Which leads me to conclude that she was not the one to open the gate. And, be on your guard, Lucina deployed the second battalion of Angels to the surrounding area just twelve hours ago. It seems she’s now setting up a foothold to the east of the swamp, rather than attempting to build one inside it after losing her first battalion two days ago.” Rolynd said.
Phee, who had an ear perked to the conversation, decided to join in. “If the gate has been opened, doesn’t that mean that there’s only the one in the Shimmering Sea left? Shouldn’t we just try and find it as soon as possible? We’ve almost combed the entire Sea in the past 8 months, it will only take a few weeks more at most.”
“I appreciate your concern, Phee, but our seismograph hasn’t detected any tremors yet, which is a different problem altogether. However, a more pressing issue is the time. We can’t wait that long. Without a doubt, Lucina is learning more and more about Apolaphia, drawing an invisible net around us. Once she figures out magic, it's only a matter of time before I’m forced to deactivate the Aegis Amplifier. And then, we’ll have no choice but to fight back.” Rolynd replied matter-of-factly.
“There’s no way that Lucina can figure out magic that fast. We have to have enough time than that.” Phee protested.
“How long did it take Effie to figure out her first spell, Phee?” Rolynd asked in return.
“Oh. Uh, three weeks? But she’s special! There’s no way those dumb Incandestine scientists can figure it out that fast.”
“Don’t be so naïve. Lucina has access to all of humanity’s wisdom and intellect. She could have it figured out by tomorrow and I wouldn’t be surprised. Soon we will be out of options. Just get to the Mossy Highlands as fast as possible and try to contact whoever opened the Sixth Gate… and, whoever they are, let’s hope that they’re allies.”
Sophia, who had been listening intently all the while, nodded along to Rolynd’s instructions. “Understood,” she replied, motioning to Phee, who leapt nimbly to her feet. “Let’s go.”
Sophia took her staff, Solreyn, with her right hand. The weapon appeared as a simple steel rod, covered in intricate runes along its whole length. Despite being Sophia’s weapon, it strangely had no blades, appearing as just a pole. That was because Solreyn was filled with Sophia’s blood, and by extension, her unique gemstones. It was a part of her body, and as such, Sophia grew her aegis-scorn blades from its surface whenever she needed them.
Sophia took Phee’s hand and stuck Solreyn into the sand. The older Bloodstone then channelled her power through the enchantments along the pole’s length. A magic circle of aegis-scorn blades appeared beneath her feet and engulfed them, encompassing them in warm red light.
An instant later, they vanished, a single tendril of sand rising into the air, sucked into the vacuum left by the wake of their teleportation.