Kade followed behind Edwin, who was speaking softly with Graves and Cerano about the heated discussion they’d just left behind. Eventually they came back to Kade’s campsite, so chosen as he and Sal were still distancing themselves from the rest of the camp, and Cerano wanted some time to clear his head before returning to update the Bringers. Sal was still nowhere to be seen, and the four men quickly relit the fire and settled down around it.
Cerano was clearly still brooding, and Edwin watched him for a moment before speaking. “I take it the High Keeper’s words weren’t enough to completely convince you of his intentions?” Cerano looked up, eyes narrowed.
“What he said…might have a grain of truth to it, but it was far from the whole story. You haven’t been here, Keeper. You haven’t heard his mad speeches. You haven’t seen him arguing with Heletta in front of the whole damned army!”
Edwin’s response was in his customary calm tone, “I’ve heard enough from around the camp to have a sense of what you’re saying, and even if I hadn’t, the conversation in there would have been enough for me to know something was off. I’ve known Bandal for a long time, and I’ve never seen him like this.” He glanced at Graves, and the quiet man nodded once in agreement. “Bandal was always passionate, and a little too self-righteous for his own good, but he was never known for his temper. Maybe the strains of leadership under such difficult circumstances has been too much for him.”
“This is more than just stress! He’s making bad decisions, dangerous decisions, and people are dying! I wouldn’t even consider this mission of his, if it didn’t mean the army would finally stop charging headlong into peril,” Cerano replied.
It was Graves’ quiet voice that spoke at that, “High Priest Lothros believes in this mission. He spoke of it to me, and agrees that it’s the only true clue to the nature of the phenomena that has been awakening so many Elders these last months.”
Cerano seemed somewhat mollified at that, “Lothros has done a good job holding this army together. Heletta told me that if it weren’t for his influence, the Bringers would have split from the Keepers weeks ago.” He looked away and his voice dropped to a whisper, “Maybe it would have been better if we had…”
“You can trust Lothros to keep your people safe in your absence. I struggle to believe he’s even willing to enter combat; he’s breaking millenia of tradition for the sake of us all.” Kade spoke up finally, as this was something he hadn’t understood.
“I know I heard that the High Priest was quite old, is he really that powerful?” Edwin smiled slightly.
“He’s been around for nearly ten millennia, and he hasn’t always spent his days in quiet reflection or giving lectures. He’s likely Bandal’s superior in raw power, though I have no idea what Paths he walks. Graves?”
“Such things are rarely spoken of with any Priest of Karthas, as our personal strength is second to our faith and duty. But I have a sense of his power, and it is truly vast. The army is in good hands, we needn’t fear leaving.”
“Where are we going?” asked another voice, and they all turned as the tall Sorcerer stepped into the light of the fire. Kade made hasty introductions as Salarus settled down, his cloak wrapped tightly around him.
“I know most of you by reputation, but I’m honored to meet you all in person. I clearly interrupted an interesting discussion, however, would you care to fill me in?” Edwin looked from Cerano to Kade.
“I know of Salarus del’Estat,” the Bringer began, “he’s proven trustworthy, and our mission will hardly be secret when we’re all conspicuously absent tomorrow.” Edwin nodded, and gave a quick overview of what the High Keeper had asked of them.
“And you want Kade to come with you?” Sal asked in surprise. Once again Edwin looked uncomfortable, and Graves looked away, his expression unreadable.
“I believe he can be of help,” Edwin said vaguely, and Sal raised an eyebrow.
“Then I too can be ‘of help’,” the Sorcerer replied, a challenging gaze locked on the far older Keeper. Edwin was shaking his head, but surprisingly Cerano spoke up.
“Salarus is correct. We’ll already be keeping an eye on your Protege, but the Sorcerer is likely more qualified than any of us when it comes to investigating obscure energies or unknown objects. Has anyone else here needed near-constant study of lore and artifacts simply to walk their Path?” No one spoke up, though Edwin clearly looked irritated at adding another liability to such a dangerous venture.
“I have resources that might help as well, and I’ve studied Elder spell-forms more than anyone in this camp,” Sal supplied, then he looked directly into Edwin’s eyes, “I also take full responsibility for my own life–and death, should it come to that.” Kade once more felt like he was on the sidelines of a conversation well over his head, and he wanted to ask his friend why it was so important he come on a mission of this nature, but Cerano gave him no chance. The Bringer stood up suddenly, stretching and letting out a long breath.
“Then it’s settled. I need to return to my people; I have to account for my absence and gather my things. I’ll meet you back here at first light.” He nodded once at the group before striding off, and Graves followed his lead a moment later.
Edwin watched the two leave, then turned to the Initiates. “Very well, it looks like we have our group–whether I like it or not,” he said dryly, giving Sal a pointed look. “Get some rest, we don’t know what’s waiting out there.”
***
Markis, Priest of Karthas and affinity expert, loved his life. There was a quiet simplicity to it, and he got a small rush every time he helped a newly Awakened plot out their future, and their Paths. He found comfort in the stable presence of the Great Karthas. The Ancient Elder’s constancy had become an anchor to Markis, and everytime he touched the stone and felt the energy running through it, he was filled with peace and contentment.
Today was the first exception to that in hundreds of years.
Markis had seen the occasional odd affinity ritual, the one several months back being a particularly poignant example of such, but Karthas was never the unusual element. When his hand felt the cold stone, the energies were identical, every time. Only the subject of the ritual proved to be a variable, and even if a dozen other Priests took his place, they would have felt the same thing…until today.
Markis was sitting in the Ritual Building on the Academy Campus as he had for centuries, and a very nervous young initiate was staring at him with confusion and worry. “Did I do something wrong?” she asked hesitantly.
“What?” Markis asked, having nearly forgotten she was there in his shock. “No, no, of course not. I’m not sure…” he didn’t even know how to describe it. The energy was the same flavor he supposed, as it had always been, but somehow the calm that he felt from it was replaced by…violence? He couldn’t think of how else to describe it, but the flows of power from his Ancient were erratic in a way he’d never experienced before.
“I think we’ll need to delay your testing, young Initiate. I need to consult the other Priests about–” his words were cut off as they both felt the vibrations in the floor. A dozen statues fell over and made sharp sounds as they rolled from the small table the two had been sitting at. Markis and the Initiate–he couldn’t remember her name in the midst of what was happening–both got shakily to their feet, the dirt and dust now falling from the ceiling as the vibrations increased.
“Priest Markis, what’s happening?” the Initiate asked as she struggled to keep standing. Markis turned and put both hands back on the stone wall, seeing as he did so that the dull purple glow was increasing in vibrance by the moment, and what he felt chilled him to his core.
Dedicating one’s life to Karthas was something that few outside the Priesthood truly understood. Elders were deadly and feared, and yet they all took shelter in them every day of their lives. It was the curiosity that came from that dichotomy that was responsible for people like Markis coming to revere the sleeping Elders. Something inside of all of them was drawn to the power and presence of Karthas, and Markis and his Brothers and Sisters merely embraced that connection. But that relationship was ultimately built on one single principle, and Markis feared it was about to be broken.
His eyes widened in disbelief the moment his hands touched the stone, and without hesitating he turned and grabbed the young girl, pulling her close while summoning his own powers. There wasn’t much need to use his abilities as an Earth-touched Elementalist in his daily life, but he pushed them to their limits now as he summoned a dome of earth and stone above them. The rumbling only grew as he poured more and more energy into the construct, strengthening it with everything he had.
The Initiate didn’t understand, and she began to scream as rock and debris crashed into the dome from above. The vibrations grew even more violent as Markis focused on the flimsy protection he’d erected around them, and through his gifts he could feel more and more stone piling up around them. He almost lost his concentration as a particularly heavy and jagged piece of stone burst through the shield and pierced into his shoulder, but the screams of the student he was protecting helped him push through the pain, and so he held on.
He had no idea how long the rumbling and crashing had continued when it finally stopped all at once, and he heaved the last of his power outward, knowing that he needed to move the incredible weight of stone from above them before his strength gave out. The rocks exploded outward, and he panted in the dusty air as light slowly shined through. He was lost in pain and exhaustion when he at last noticed that the Initiate had stopped screaming, and was instead collapsed back against the stone floor.
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Markis pushed himself to her side, worried she’d been injured at some point, but as the dust cleared and he saw her face, it was obvious she was unharmed. She was just staring upward in disbelief, and Markis slowly turned his head to follow her gaze, knowing what he’d see but not ready to believe it.
Above them, and blocking out most of the sky, the Great Karthas was standing. The incomprehensibly vast Elder had pulled itself free of the mountain, the four powerful arms flexing as it stretched and looked around. A continual stream of rubble and debris was still falling from the massive frame, but Markis couldn’t bring himself to look at the undoubtedly ruined city below to see the damage it was causing.
Even having felt the power awakening in the stone, Markis couldn’t force his mind to accept what he was seeing. His jaw dropped and he collapsed to his knees as he stared upward at the impossible sight, and he felt himself losing consciousness as the tremendous legs took their first, precarious steps in ages unknown.
Karthas, was on the march. Enormous, ponderous strides leading toward whatever mysterious goal it had been staring at for untold eons.
***
“This isn’t right,” Edwin said, looking out from the rock cover the small group was hiding behind. Cerano’s face poked over next, but he quickly ducked back down, looking just as confused. Kade and Sal exchanged worried glances, then risked taking their own brief glimpses of the cave mouth they’d been marching toward for three long days.
The journey had started uneventfully, with Cerano explaining that his advanced Assassination Path granted him the ability to hide their presence from any monster or Elder who wasn’t effectively on top of them, or so overwhelmingly powerful that it could see through his illusions. At first this had seemed like a great boon, as they’d witnessed a near-endless march of monsters and Elders heading toward the encamped army, and the Bringer’s talents quickly proved their worth.
By the afternoon, however, they’d distanced themselves enough that the constant flow of enemies was left far behind. Instead, an eerie silence and emptiness to the plains was all that they encountered. Nothing grew this far into the True Chaos. The ground was sun-scorched and cracked, and the towering mountain range seemed to grow no closer as they quietly marched toward it.
By the second day, the lack of enemies was growing suspicious, and the small party began their trek with trepidation, certain an ambush was waiting. When darkness came and they’d still seen nothing, Cerano had begun to rant, certain this was all some kind of trick to separate him from the army, and that they’d been sent on a meaningless errand, with nothing waiting for them at the end.
Edwin had barely managed to calm the man, and only the relative nearness of their objective convinced Cerano to complete the journey. Now however, having finally reached the mysterious cave the scouts had reported, precisely where the map indicated, no one felt any better. Everyone could sense the intensity of the Chaos in this area, and Kade had felt the pulse grow louder seemingly with every step they took, but the reports of numerous Elders guarding the strange place had proven false.
They had found a small hiding place as close to the massive cave entrance as they could get without being entirely exposed, and had now been watching for over an hour to spot anything suspicious. But there was nothing. Only the same eerie silence and the disturbing feeling of drowning in the thick Chaos that permeated this place. Cerano looked especially troubled, as if the thought of Bandal being proven a traitor was somehow more comforting than the odd lack of anything living in this place.
At last Edwin shook his head in resignation, “There’s only so long we can justify sitting here as the army faces everything we saw coming for them. We can all freely acknowledge that this isn’t what we expected, but it ultimately doesn’t change our duty.”
Cerano sighed, “I hate that you’re right. Every instinct I have tells me that going into that cave is wrong, but we don’t have a real choice.”
“We can assume the worst, and be as prepared as we’re able, but we’re going in.” Edwin said the last while gripping his pendant, something he’d been doing more frequently as they approached their destination. He took a moment to look at each of his companions, and seeing no objections, climbed out from the small enclosure of stones.
The rest followed suit, staying closer to Cerano than was necessary for his abilities, but each felt the eyes of a thousand unseen threats as they were forced to walk into the open while approaching the cave mouth. It was both a relief and a frustration when they reached their goal unaccosted. The group stopped as the darkness of the cave threatened to swallow them.
Edwin walked to the stone wall and the party followed him, heads darting in every direction, searching for threats. The cave was large enough for most Elders to walk through comfortably, and Kade felt unusually small as he followed Cerano, trying and failing to ignore the pulse that echoed through his skull. Sal stayed close, clearly sensing his friend’s distress as they caught up with the Keeper.
Graves copied Edwin by placing a hand on the stone wall, but recoiled immediately. “I don’t have your sensitivity,” Edwin said softly, hand still resting on the stone, “but even I can tell what where we are.” Cerano looked at the two men, then quickly came forward to touch the wall for himself. Like Edwin he seemed less bothered than the Priest had, but his face grew concerned.
“We’re inside an Elder,” he said softly, and Edwin nodded his agreement.
“A dead one,” Graves added, rubbing the hand that had touched the stone. “The remnant energy is too erratic to tell me much, other than the sheer scale of it.” Kade was having trouble following, his mind still under constant assault.
“You’re saying there’s an Elder buried under this mountain?” he asked in a pained voice. Graves looked back at him, then to the other three men all looking at him with a mix of apprehension and disbelief.
“I don’t think…” he grimaced, then reluctantly reached out to touch the stone once more, gritting his teeth and leaving his hand in place longer this time. He grunted in pain after a moment and tore his hand away. He let out a small sigh, then reluctantly answered Kade’s question. “No. I think the mountain is the Elder.” Each of the men reacted differently to this. Edwin nodded slightly, while Sal looked contemplative. Cerano swore openly and stepped away from the wall to stare into the darkness.
“Is this a problem?” Kade asked, trying to force his exhausted mind to function. “You said it’s dead, right? Big and dead?” He vaguely remembered having discussed this once before, but his own memories were becoming increasingly difficult to focus on.
Graves answered, never taking his eyes from the hand that had touched the stone. “Dead Elders bring a host of complexities. One of this size and power would have left an impression on the Chaos around it that might fester forever. This is likely what the scouts were sensing.” Edwin turned away from the stone.
“Could this truly be tied to the awakenings and hordes? I’ve heard of the corpses of powerful Elders being used for any number of disturbing purposes, but nothing like this.” Graves considered a moment before answering.
“The will behind this power should be dead. An energy source this staggeringly vast being at the heart of the True Chaos is too big a coincidence not to be involved somehow, but I can’t imagine it’s directly responsible.” Cerano turned back to join in.
“At the very least, this thing has been dead for ages. The awakenings started months ago,” Kade’s addled mind almost woke up at the mention of the timeline, but the stray thought was lost as quickly as it formed. Edwin spoke next.
“This is all interesting, but not enough to bring back to the High Keeper. We need to go further inside.” Everyone looked uncomfortable at that, but no one disagreed. Huddling even closer to the protection provided by Cerano’s power, the group moved into the darkness.
***
Hours passed without incident as the group followed the cave, which led steadily upward. The only light came from Salarus’ staff, as the group still feared some kind of trap or ambush, but the massive, singular tunnel offered few opportunities to anything lying in wait. There were slow curves and twists, but the dimensions didn’t seem to change, and the tension grew as they climbed higher into the mountain.
No one spoke, all feeling lost in the foreboding of the lonely journey, until a distant purple glow became visible far up ahead. Kade was reminded of the Trial of Karthas, as he, Sal, and Anton had fought their way downward. As they got closer to the light, he felt an irrational fear that Karthas would once more be waiting for them when they reached the tunnel’s end.
Cerano indicated Sal should extinguish his light as they grew closer, then had the group wait as he crept to the exit alone. He returned quickly, and spoke in a whisper, “It’s a single chamber, doesn’t appear to be any other exits besides this one.”
“And the light?” Edwin prompted.
Kade couldn’t make out Cerano’s face in the darkness, but the man was clearly struggling with something before he answered. “I think it’s Elder’s Soul Core, but it’s too damn big.”
“Too big for something as large as a mountain?” Kade asked, barely keeping his voice restrained.
“Yes,” Cerano replied evenly. No one spoke for another long moment, before Cerano finally sighed and continued, “I don’t think the Elder is the mountain,” he said finally, “I think it’s the whole bloody mountain range.” Edwin swore, which Kade didn’t think he’d heard before, and Sal voiced the connection they were all making in their heads.
“We were on the plains of Karavash, and these are supposed to be the mountains of Karavash. Surely we’ve discovered the namesake.” The words rang out in the otherwise silent cave. “In all the lore I’ve studied the name has been conspicuously absent. I’d have researched it more specifically if I knew this was our destination. Does anyone know something more?”
Graves’ throat cleared awkwardly. “We don’t typically discuss such things, but the knowledge isn’t exactly forbidden either. The Great Karthas was connected to Karavash somehow. We don’t know the exact nature of that connection. Were they at war, or allies? We can only guess, but many have pointed out that my Ancient chose to set his gaze in this direction before he entered the Trance.”
Once more the tunnel was silent for a time, until Edwin’s deep voice whispered out. “Again, this is interesting, but it doesn’t tell us how Karavash might be connected to the attacks. Let’s scout out the Core chamber, maybe Graves or Salarus will notice something worth bringing back to the army.” Nervously they all began slowly moving toward the light once more.
The pulse was more powerful than ever, and Kade was leaning heavily on Sal as they at last entered the massive chamber. His friend looked at him with concern, but his eyes were drawn away by the impressive sight before them. The Soul Core was a lake of pure, deep purple energy, so large that Kade couldn’t see the far wall through the haze of the light it emitted. The entire Keeper Academy could have fit in the domed chamber more than once, and only a comparatively thin path of stone ran around the ring of the lake, though it was still large enough for a dozen people to stand abreast.
Kade had a vague sense of Edwin calling for Salarus to come inspect something on the cave wall, while Graves and Cerano moved in the opposite direction, looking for anything of note. Kade was still shaky on his feet, the pulse seeming to block out any other sensation in his body. The purple light was hypnotic,though, and he didn’t realize he’d walked toward it until he heard voices calling his name.
Those voices cut off suddenly, one by one, and the ground seemed to shake under Kade’s feet for a second, but none of that mattered. There was only the dull, constant beat of the pulse, and the beautiful lake of power in front of him.
Kade barely felt the push from behind; he was simply falling forward to embrace the welcoming light.