Chapter 31

Presidia

Emeria

Emeria snapped sharply out of her trance with a groan. “Well, well, I wasn’t expecting that,” she mused to herself. She took a moment to gain her bearings, letting the room she was in come into focus. Her body slowly regained sensation as she stretched and arched her back with a loud crack. “I’m not sure who that girl is, but that was quite the magic. I figured death or Kraevos would be the only things that could sever a connection like that. It’s too bad though, she was one of my favorite pawns.”

Taking in a deep breath Emria stepped down the throne room stairs and gazed at her golden prisoner. “You could have told me that was going to happen,” she said to Dracyr. “That puppet was one of my most fun toys and now I’m sad. I would so hate to get angry enough to throw a tantrum in your fancy castle…” Emeria paused, a wicked grin forming on her face, “though it’s not really your castle anymore, now is it?” Emeria looked Dracyr in the eyes, waiting for some tiny response, but there was nothing. “You’re very rude you know, here I am, sharing my deepest thoughts with you and you pretend to be a statue. I’m being stately and trying to welcome you in as part of my growing kingdom and you deny me the pleasure of conversation. I swear they must not teach you proper manners in Draeton. Oh well, that’ll just be a footnote in the historical texts. After all, you’re in Sacrotia now!” Emeria raised her hands triumphantly, letting her kingdom’s name echo through the mostly empty throne room.

As the echoing died down she began to think of her next move. It’s not as though the marriage needed to go through, that was a formality that had mattered more to the High Arbiter than it had to Emeria, it was the fact that Kraevos was gaining some momentum with his little band of rebels that was more concerning to her. “What a nuisance,” she complained aloud. It was nothing new for her to speak to herself like this. Anyone with common sense did not dare interrupt her. She’d developed the habit as a lonely child and had never bothered to change. Emeria thought of everything she’d seen as the events in Lazzure unfolded. The creature she’d turned Ursania into was able to function on its own, running off of Emeria’s instincts generally. That said when Emeria exerted and pushed her full focus on her she truly took over the body. It was as though she fully inhabited it like the body was her own.

Deep in thought, Emeria reached the first problem, the first missing puzzle piece. “Care to tell me what Kraevos and his friends were doing in Lazzure?” she asked Dracyr. It was the High Arbiter and his spies who had connected Emeria about the group reaching Lazzure, Emeria had been fully occupied with conquering Draeton at the time. Again Emeria’s question was met with no response, something she was getting all too accustomed to after the past few days with Dracyr. Instinctively she looked to Dracyr, hoping for even the tiniest twinge of reaction, but she saw nothing. The truly unnerving part Emeria found was that she could no longer hear Dracyr’s heartbeat, which was normally how Emeria gauged every reaction. “Ugh, you know one of these times you're going to find a shred of humanity and slip and answer me!” she said exasperated.

Emeria closed her eyes and ran through the specifics of what she’d seen earlier in the day when she still inhabited Ursania. There was a quiet that hung in the room for minutes as Emeria replayed the day in her head, eventually reaching a significant item. “The book!” she yelled out. “What in the world was that book, I couldn’t read what was on the pages and it had this weird aura, that had to be what brought them to Lazzure.” Out of the corner of her eye, Emeria noticed the normally stoic Graclose shudder and gasp. “Oh my, it seems like you know something, don’t you Gracky? Do you know the book I’m talking about?” She took a twirl and walked over to Graclose. He did not respond and just locked his gaze on the walls opposite him. Placing a finger on his chest Emeria spoke, “What is the book Graclose? You know better than to keep a secret from me.” She held up her left hand and bloody claws began to form on her fingertips. “It would be a shame if I had to punish someone for you withholding information.”

With a heavy sigh, Graclose began, “It’s a time.” His voice was low and weighted with emotion. “It’s a magic tome from a long time ago.” Each sentence from his mouth sounded pained and dusty, “It belonged to a woman named… Precia.”

“So why exactly should that concern me?” Emeria quipped, “There are many magical tomes, what makes this one so special?”

“Precia is Kraevos’ daughter,” Graclose’s eyes glazed over, caught in the memory of a long distant place. Tears began to form in his eyes and ran slowly down his cheeks.

“Well, I suppose that means she must have been powerful. That book had the right kind of magic to tell someone how to break my bond. It took me a long time to develop that branding, I can’t imagine it being broken by something simple. What else is in that book Graclose?” Emeria asked angrily.

“The whole knowledge of magic exists within that book’s pages. Every bit we knew, that we know now and every single thing we will know is there. Though it only speaks to those who are able to listen, those who it sees as worthy of the responsibility,” he said.

With a snarl, Emeria replied, “What do you mean able to listen? Is that some kind of enchantment or something?”

“It was an enchantment she placed on the book,” Graclose said. “Precia made sure it would only speak to those who would use it for good, to those who she saw would need it.” Emeria noticed that saying the name Precia seemed to cause pain to Graclose as he spoke. “It speaks to those who are in tune with the pulse of the world, with magic itself at the most natural level. The book tells the secrets of magic with them, the sort of things that could shift the balance of the whole world and damage the balance of magic irreparably. It’s safeguarded to only share with those who have the heart to lead and wield such power.” Graclose hung his head in shame, letting his tears fall to the floor, “I was never deserving of hearing its knowledge, I am not worthy of the book and I was never worthy of her.”

“Oh, so that’s it,” Emeria said, chuckling sadistically. Was She your love? Maybe she saw something in you before you got old and broken?” Graclose fell to his knees, giving Emeria more joy as her taunts continued. “So she’s the one that got away or did you mess up and she left?” Again no reply. “Well, either way, that book has powerful secrets and I’ll be needing it for my collection.” Emeria turned her back on Graclose and walked back toward the throne. “That could only cause me trouble if that girl has it,” she mumbled under her breath.” She waved her in front of her and a magic window hummed to life after a moment. An image of Moren shimmered in her view. “If you’re done with your little swim I have need of you still Huntsmaster.”

“Moren looked Grimly back at Emeria, fighting back the response he wished he could have given. Still, words he wished he hadn’t said came out of his mouth. “You’ve already sent me to kill innocent people and chaperone a corpse, what more could you ask of me?” As he finished his words Emeria tensed her hand into a fist and red magical energy began twisting up Moren’s spine, causing him agonizing pain.

As she watched her unwilling helper drop to his knees Emeria began her orders. “Don’t forget your place Huntsmaster. I own you, now and as long as you live and need I remind you that your life expectancy is only as long as your usefulness. You are nothing more than a trained dog to me!” She relaxed her hand and the pain in Moren’s body began to subside. “Your assignment hasn’t changed much, you’re still to hunt after Kraevos and his little group of rebels, but now you have a specific item to focus on. They have a book with them, specifically the unknown girl has it with her. I need you to fetch that book and bring it back to me like the good doggy you are.”

“Can’t you just send that abomination of yours after it? I know that’s you in there, I can smell your stink all over it. Why send me when you can do it with your own eyes.” Again pain shot through Moren’s body. He cursed his honesty and stubbornness. Though he had a high tolerance for pain, he had not yet gotten the least bit of resilience to Emeria's magic.

“If you must know, Ursania is no more sadly,” Emeria said. “Kraevos and his band of miscreants broke my toy. So the only competent agent I have anywhere near there is you.” Moren smiled at this news, a motion that was again met with pain bolting through his body. “Now get going, there is no rest for the wicked and that certainly means no rest for you!” The window flickered and shut as Emeria waved her hand once more. She turned back to her audience of Dracyr and Graclose, both watching silently from beyond the steps. “Now Gracky, I understand the book is powerful, but how much of a threat is this Pracie person? Is she as worrisome as Kraevos or not?”

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Graclose’s head dropped once more, bringing his gaze to the floor as he struggled to get his words out. “She is dead…” he said weakly. With a few heavy breaths, he continued, “She died for all of this, to bring all of this to Surren. Everything you have spat on, have defiled, you have taken. You sully her legacy with every breath you take, monster.” Graclose words hung in the air for a moment before Emeria lunged back at him, grabbing him by the throat. He still sat, hunched on his knees, though he normally towered over Emeria by so much that he matched eyes with her now.

“You would be wise to stop talking now Gracky,” She sneered. “You’re far too useful for me to kill, but I can hurt you in unspeakable ways that will make you beg for the mercy of death.” She ran her free hand across the scar on her throat opening the wound. A tendril snaked forth and reached out to Graclose. As it began to touch his flesh he shrieked as his skin began to burn and decay slightly before turning to stone in defense. “I can assure you that if that hurts you I can certainly inflict that upon you in ways you can’t imagine.” She let go of Graclose as the wound on her neck sealed itself. “Don't Outlive your usefulness or I’ll have a reason to get creative.” She pushed Graclose to the side and began walking to the throne room door. “You two stay here and use this time to think about how you can be better subjects to your queen. I have some other matters to attend to.” She skipped gleefully from the room, leaving them behind.

Emeria made her way through the castle, still not familiar with the layout. It had far too many large open areas and far too much natural light for her liking. She would have to fix that as time went on. As she traveled she ran into very few others, though all she passed stiffened and saluted as she walked by, unable to utter a word to her. Finally, she reached her destination, the lowest part of the royal castle, the dungeon. To her dismay, there were cobwebs crossing the doors and dust all around. Clearly, this part of the castle had not been in use for some time. As she pulled the doors open she could smell the musty, stale air. The room itself was pitch black and she had to use her magic to light a few torches in the space. “What’s the point of having a dungeon if you never use it?” she mused to no one but herself. She looked around in the dim magical light. At least one thing stood out to her, “Well I’ll be a wyrm herder, this looks like it’s bigger than my dungeon.” Emeria marveled at the stonework and the many cells in the dungeon, at least some previous ruler in Draeton must have cared about this place because it was a fantastic design, albeit minus the instruments of torture it needed. “I suppose this is as safe and secluded a place as I’ll find to make my call.” She cleared a space on the floor, pushing old crates out of the way until she had a substantial area of open space. Emeria ran her finger along the scar on her neck, letting the tendril out again. It began to trace a circle on the floor as Emeria sat down and began to speak, “Invicio Precepia.”

As Emeria finished her words, the circle the tendril had drawn flared up in red light and another voice began to speak. An image of a hooded figure filled the circle, though their features were hidden. “Why have you summoned us, dear sanguine queen?” the voice questioned. The voice itself was high and hissing, fluctuating in tempo and pitch constantly.

“I’m in need of some guidance actually,” Emeria began, speaking with a more respectful tone than usual. “Something unforeseen has occurred, Kraevos was in Lazzure and he took something from the vault.”

“Yes, we have learned of this as well,” The voice said, picking up tempo slightly with concern. “We told you he would be a problem when he entered the game. We warned you to take care of him. Did you not listen to us?”

“I did, I sent my best two soldiers after him,” Emeria continued before being cut off.

“Why did you not handle this yourself,” The voice spat back.

“I was rather preoccupied with my conquest here, I assumed that these soldiers along with some help would have taken care of it. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case, I lost one of them. The other is still on the hunt.”

“Then we must warn you sanguine queen, the item Kraevos sought is of great danger even to you.” The voice replied, slowing down.

“Then what danger does the book possess? I understand it has powerful magic, but I can’t imagine it’s any more dangerous than Kraevos himself,” Emeria said.

“Book, what book?” The voice responded. Emeria knew this wasn’t a good sign. She had not come into a situation yet that had confused her ally. “Kraevos was not in Lazzure for a book. What book do you speak of?”

“I’ve been told that it is an old magical tome that belonged to his daughter Precia. I think this information is reliable.”

There was a silence that hung in the air for moments before the voice spoke again. “This is far worse than we predicted. The book is not what Kraevos went to Lazzure for, but it is equally if not more dangerous.” For once the shifting voice focused and came out clearly as a woman’s voice. It was low and smooth but unmistakably had to be the speaker’s real voice.

“It’s just a dusty old book of magic, Kraevos, and his friends won't live long enough to use whatever it has in it, I’ll see to that,” Emeria said confidently.

“This book will be your undoing if you take it lightly!” The woman’s voice continued. Emeria could not recognize the accent of the woman speaking. “You should fear this book Emeria, dispose of it quickly or you risk undoing your conquest and everything we have achieved!”

Emeria was both concerned and intrigued by this change in tone from her unknown ally. This ally had always been very secretive, but they clearly were invested in Emeria’s conquest of Surren. The information Emeria had received from her had always been spot on. After all, it was this ally who had come to her at the start of all this, encouraging her that Surren was hers to take. She’d been the one to divulge the secrets of the powers and weaknesses of each kingdom, the one who helped Emeria determine that Graclose would be the key to crippling Draeton. “So why didn’t you tell me about this book beforehand? You’ve told me of every other concern, every piece that would move against me, why didn’t you predict this?” Emeria asked, taking the initiative in the conversation.

“Because we cannot see the book,” The woman responded harshly, “That book has wards on it that even we do not comprehend or influence. Even knowing it exists is more information than most have.”

“Fine, so it’s our first real bump in the road, I’ll handle it as I’ve handled every other thing,” Emeria said, confident of her own strength. “What of the item Kraevos actually came to Lazzure for?”

“This is of less concern than the book,” The woman said before pausing. “Only Kraevos can use the other item, only he understands it. If you remove him from the game board then it will be out of play for anyone else. That I believe you know how to solve. The book on the other hand is unpredictable, whoever has it in their hands is now a great danger to us.” Emeria could hear the fear in the woman’s voice. Normally that would have unnerved her, but with her recent string of victories, it only emboldened her. After all, she had only ever planned to follow her ally as long as she needed, after that she had every intention of tracking her down and tying up any loose ends. Any person with the kind of information she had was dangerous even to Emeria.

“Fine, fine, like I said, I’ll take care of this little book problem and Kraevos all at once. I’ll exert all my attention to the soldier I have chasing them down, he will not fail me again.” In her head, Emeria was pondering what she could learn from the book. Even if she could not see it as Graclose had led her to believe, she could simply keep alive the girl who could and force her to share the secrets within the pages of Precia’s book. If that opened up as much power as Graclose and Emeria’s secretive ally seemed to imply then Emeria could focus her conquest on going far past the shores of Surren. “Are there any more concerns you have? It does appear you’re far more worried than usual.” Emeria said playfully

Returning to its normal, fluctuating state, the voice replied, “Your future is clouded, sanguine queen. We have guided you as far as we can, but the future now rests on your actions. You know what must be done, but our foresight can help no more. Handle these affairs and your seat will be set eternally as the empress of all of Surren. Let those loose ends continue to fray the tapestry you’re weaving and you’ll be nothing more than a page in the tomes of history.” With that, the voice cut out and the circle in front of Emeria dimmed and flickered out.

With a sigh Emeria stood up, pondering the conversation she’d just had. The past few hours had led to many revelations and several new concerns. At the same time, she could feel her pulse beating fast throughout her whole body. She was excited and more so, she was having fun. “Well, I wish they’d been a little less cryptic, but at least after all this, I have a little information. I know they are female, and they most certainly aren’t from Surren. Maybe this little book will help me find out who my ally really is and what their actual intentions are.” She grinned hungrily as thoughts raced through her head of greater conquest, of control, and of eternal glory. She dreamed of her banner of Sacrotia flying across all of Surren and further of her sitting upon a throne greater than all others. As she began to calm herself and set to the matters at hand she looked around the dungeon, “Now, I think it’s about time that I fill this place up, it’s just too lonely down here!” The grin stayed on her face as she skipped from the dungeon, excited for what was to unfold.