Chapter Two

Aetherius had perhaps the most diverse architecture Jackson had ever seen. Which made him chuckle because how could he know? He didn’t remember seeing any other cities. Still, he had an idea of what he thought a city would look like, and Aetherius certainly was not standard. The streets were paved, but rather than being matte black, they were gleaming silver. Some buildings were tall, some short, and some looked like no shape he recognized at all. Some buildings were seemingly carved from white marble, and others were light blue, and in fact, nearly every color of the rainbow seemed to be represented.

The interesting thing was that runes seemed to be carved into every available surface, golden yellow runes gleaming as the blue sky above shined down on the city. Jackson made a mental note to ask about the runes. The only other noteworthy thing about the city was the truly massive tree that flowed up from the center of the city. There was simply no way to not notice it. The tree looked like it had been forged from every color gemstone imaginable. It glimmered, and Jackson had to blink because he could have sworn it was translucent.

The leaves expanded throughout the sky, and it dawned on Jackson that the leaves and branches shined in and out of existence. Every time it did this, it was like a little blink, revealing the blue sky above. A sun and moon hung in the sky.

“It is beautiful, don’t you think?”

Jackson's head snapped around to find Lilith walking beside him. He scowled at her, and he felt a familiar bubble of rage within him. He popped it. The truth was, he wasn’t mad at Lilith. He was just directing it at her. She had been right about that. He had to share a head with her, and likely would for the rest of his life, however long that was. May as well be polite.

“Yeah, I suppose it is. A little too much color, maybe.”

Lilith waved a hand. “Do you know what that tree is?”

Jackson shrugged. “I think it’s the Eden Tree.”

Lilith’s head turned towards the tree as they walked, and her expression turned almost wistful.

“It is, indeed, Jackson Grey.”

Jackson looked at her, and he could not help but notice her violet eyes looking distant, as if she was remembering.

“You’re an angel.”

Lilith arched an eyebrow. “What gave it away, hmm? Was it the wings?”

Jackson ignored the sarcasm. “I’ve always heard that angels were the warriors of the Eden Tree, so is this your home? Aetherius, I mean?”

Lilith laughed, sending a shiver down Jackson's spine, as if the sound itself was a feather.

“This mortal city? My home? I would not care if this city were burnt to the ground and its ashes scattered to the winds. No, this city is not my home; the Eden Tree is.”

Lilith twiddled her fingers at the tree. “Oh, not the physical manifestation you see here. The tree is more than this, Jackson Grey. It exists on such a fundamental level, your mind cannot hope to comprehend it. Angels…we are more than warriors…Oh how to explain it to you? We are…engineers.”

It was Jackson's turn to arch a brow. Lilith scowled.

“I have never had to explain this before. Engineers is a good word for what we are. We tend to the tree’s aspects and spread it throughout reality so its roots can reach new places.”

Jackson laughed. “That sounds more like being gardeners instead of engineers to me.”

Lilith glared at Jackson, but her expression melted back to neutral just as quickly.

“Maybe that is a better word. Angels exist in the realms between realms. That place, that is our home, Jackson Grey. Not this city, not anywhere in this mortal world, but there, in that place created for us by the Tree of Eden.”

Jackson blinked at the passion in her voice. He lowered his head, watching his steps for a bit as he mulled over what she said.

“It seems to me that you don’t like the mortal world very much,” Jackson began.

Lilith shrugged, and Jackson nodded at her confirmation.

“Don’t you think you should?”

Lilith laughed again. “And why should I? All will be dust in the end. I have seen realms rise and fall, and rise again. It all matters very little in the end.”

Jackson sighed, wishing she would get it. “Sure, you’re all eternal and stuff. But it was your job, Lilith, to tend to the tree, to spread it. Did you ever wonder why that was important?”

Lilith’s sneer was an ugly thing to look at. “You believe you know my purpose better than I? Who are you to question me? My divine reason for being?”

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Jackson smiled. “Me? Just mortal, Lilith, as you constantly remind me. But I actually think that’s what makes me uniquely suited to see what you can’t. The Eden Tree wants you to spread it, to garden it if you will, because it cares about the cycle. Oh sure, maybe not the cities or the life, but the cycle. The cycle of life, of destruction, and life again. You as an angel should care about all of that because the Eden Tree does.”

Lilith looked…considering. She vanished a moment later, and Jackson shrugged. Let her chew that over for a while.

Finding the merchant quarter was not challenging. At certain intersections of the road, a large sign, lighting up with digital words, pointed to the various quarters. It was simple enough to follow the pointing arrows to the Merchant Quarter.

The quarter looked about the same as the rest of the city, except there were signs outside various buildings, advertising various businesses. Finding Frederick's Forge wasn’t a simple thing. Jackson had to ask directions from a passing elf. Luckily, the elf knew where it was, and Jackson was able to make his way there.

Frederick’s shop was surprisingly tiny and red. Instead of a digital sign, there was a wooden one with large green letters saying “Fred’s Forge,” that was nailed into the side of the wall. Jackson took a deep breath and smiled. It was going to be good to see Fred again. It truly had felt like an age since he had seen the friendly orc.

When Jackson entered the shop, he found it destroyed. Mannequins were turned over, weapons on the ground, and what apparently served as the service counter had paper all over it. Weapons were strewn about, armor and leather as well. Someone had clearly been here, and they were either looking for something, or there had been a fight.

“Fred?! You here?! It’s Jackson!”

A woman came out of the back, a small, petite woman with brown hair in a pixie cut. Her eyes were a warm brown, and she wore a simple green dress with yellow flowers embroidered into it. Her green eyes were wide and red, puffy from crying. She sniffled.

“You’re Jackson?”

Jackson nodded, and the little woman burst into tears, her tiny hands balled up into fists as she bawled. You might think that Jackson rushed to comfort her, to offer a kind word. That was probably the right thing to do in this situation.

Jackson did none of that. Rather, he just stood there with an awkward and stupid look on his face. He hadn’t ever dealt with a random woman bursting into tears before. He rubbed the back of his neck, and it was a solid few seconds before it occurred to him to ask what the matter was.

“Th-the-they too-k him,” she blubbered out.

Jackson looked around at the devastated shop. “Obviously, you mean they took Fred. Let’s step back. I’m Jackson. What’s your name?”

Jackson thought that maybe going through some familiar motions might calm the woman down. Plus, he really did want to know who he was talking to. He hated to just call her ‘woman’ in his head.

“Cas-Ca-Cassandra. Cassandra Bright.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Cassandra. Look, I want to help, but in order to do that, I need you to tell me what happened here and who has Fred.”

Jackson waved a finger around to indicate the destroyed shop. Cassandra rubbed at her eyes with her fists, then sniffled and shook her head. Once she had collected herself, she launched into the story.

“Fred got back from the dungeon some months ago. When he did, he was talking about something called a Concept, how he wanted me to find out anything I could on the subject.”

She offered a small smile.

“I’m his assistant, you know? Anyway, he also said he had met and partnered with a young enchanter.” She pointed a finger at Jackson.

“You. He started selling some of the stuff you enchanted, daggers mostly. That’s when the trouble started. The enchanters guild sent some people to poke around, to try and get Fred to stop, you see? ‘Cept Fred never did take well to threats. Oh, he didn’t threaten them back or anything; that isn’t Fred, you know? He just thanked them for their advice and sent them on their way before going back to what he was doing before. The people came back, and they hurt him, roughed him up a bit.”

She must have seen Jackson's darkening expression because she held up her hands, eyes wide.

“Oh, nothing too serious, I promise, okay? It was bad, though. Fred still didn’t want to stop. He claimed that if you let people stomp all over you, they’d just keep doing it. Said that the only way to get them to stop was to stand up to them. Well, this time, when the people came, they took him. After doing all of this you see here. Ther-there was noth-nothing I could do.”

Her eyes scrunched up, and she tried to fight back the tears. A few still escaped, running down her cheeks. Jackson didn’t say anything for a while. Lilith manifested in his vision, a ways back from Cassandra. She looked around at the room and sniffed in a haughty manner.

“Amateurs. This is an affront, Jackson Grey. These mortals have encroached on your territory, and they have violated it. This must be answered.”

Jackson didn’t answer the angel, not wanting Cassandra to think he was a crazy person. Yet, he couldn’t say that he felt like she was wrong. He felt a familiar rage in him, a consuming fire that wanted revenge, wanted to tear these people apart. These people who dared attack his friend, destroy what was rightfully his. His face twitched; he wanted to bare his fangs, to snarl.

Instead, Jackson took a calming breath. There would be time for that. Even so, here in front of him was yet another example of why strength was king in this world. Had Fred been strong enough, this wouldn’t have happened. Had this woman, Cassandra, been strong enough, it wouldn’t have happened. Jackson decided to ask some necessary questions.

“I saw guards as I was entering the city, this Iron Legion. They don’t do anything about this kind of thing?”

Cassandra shook her head and sniffled, though this time her response was clear, albeit a little shaky.

“You must really be new then, if you don’t even know the local politics, you know? The Iron Legion stops most trouble, but they are openly and massively corrupt. They don’t even hide it, which is despicable, don’t you think? It’s still true, though. The enchanters guild is wickedly powerful, and the Iron Legion benefits with discounted enchantments and bribes. The enchanters guild can do whatever they like in this city, and not expect any consequences at all.”

Jackson scowled. If there was one thing he hated, it was politics. Lilith found it amusing, however, as her laugh was downright insidious.

“Delicious. I do so love mortal politics. Your little games used to amuse me for centuries. It’s one of the very few qualities I admire about your kind.”

Jackson almost rolled his eyes. Of course the angel of seduction and destruction would enjoy political games. He flicked his eyes to Cassandra. The small woman was wringing her hands in worry.

“First off, Cassandra, I am going to get Fred back. I can’t promise he’ll be okay, but I will bring him home. You have my word. Secondly, is there anywhere we can sit? I have some more questions about this enchanters guild.”