The Great Hearts II: A Game of Gods

by David Oliver

  Hello Calidan, she voiced, eyes still shut. Do not move, you need to rest.

  Hi Seya, I thought back, too tired to talk. Did we win?

  If you mean did you act as a natural chew toy until I got there to win for you, then yes, we won.

  It wasn’t intentional, I grumbled. She twitched an ear in response.

  The Sunfa are very impressed at your...resilience. They’re obviously much more impressed with me and Borza but hold you in high regard too. Apparently nothing has escaped the clutches of that eel before.

  I tenderly probed the wounds around my torso and winced at the pain. I can understand why; I don’t think eels like to release their prey. I doubt I could have got out without Borza removing its head; its jaws were clamping down like a vice.

  If you had been stuck in my jaws as prey then you wouldn’t have had time to think about it, Seya mused wryly.

  Having been in your jaws many times over the years I can safely agree that I would not like you to have treated me as prey oh majestic queen of cats, I replied.

  Flattery will get you far Calidan, Seya replied, I’m glad you’re finally recognising that. Keep it up!

  I laughed out loud and then groaned as pain wracked my ribs. Don’t make me laugh. It hurts!

  Nothing I said was a joke, Seya returned swiftly, amusement tingeing her voice. And it’s your own fault that you’re hurt, so suck it up.

  If I hadn’t got in the way then Cassius would have been taken in my plac-

  -I’m not arguing that you saved Cassius’s life, Seya cut in. It was a gallant act and bravely done. I’m calling you an idiot because of the way you did it. Next time try and do something a little more clever than just replacing the meat in the beast’s jaws please...do you think Anatha would have done something like that?

  Disregarding the fact that Anatha wouldn’t jump in to save someone in the first place...no, I replied sullenly. She no doubt would have dreamt up and enacted five responses in the time it took me to travel the distance to Cassius. But she does have some advantages there.

  And you have others, retorted Seya, fixing me with an intense gaze. Just because the abilities you get from me mean that you can’t enhance your thinking in quite the same way as Anatha does with Borza doesn’t mean that you are lesser. You already know that your speed and reflexes are higher than hers. As Anatha intuited that you are likely to be facing large monsters in the future then you might want to train your reactions so that next time you lead with your sword rather than your face. She finished the last thought by rising to her feet and giving me a raspy lick. Your face is foolishly not made for fighting, so stop trying to put it in danger.

  I tried in vain not to laugh but failed miserably. A good point, I conceded, next time I’ll stab first and ask questions later.

  Next time try not to get outsmarted by an eel, she fired back. They are about as dumb as things get. Seriously.

  Yes Ma'am!

  Seya flicked an ear at me. Do you want to get licked again?

  I was about to answer in a way that would undoubtedly have resulted in a rough sandpapering when I was saved by Cassius walking through the door. He had Asp on his belt and a wooden bowl that was filled with the most heavenly smell. He grinned as my stomach made itself known and set down the bowl next to me.

  “Don’t move,” he said as I started to sit up. Seya prevented my stupidity by reaching up a large paw and placing it on my head; instantly flattening me to the bed.

  “Couldn’t if I wanted to apparently,” I replied.

  You’ll thank me later.

  “You’ll thank her later I’m sure,” Cassius said as he placed Asp to one side and drew up a chair.

  See? Cassius gets me.

  “What’s for dinner?” I asked, studiously ignoring Seya and trying to act as though having a panther paw on my head was completely normal. That said, it was about as normal as the two of us were ever going to get.

  “‘Victory stew’, Anatha says the Sunfa call it,” he answered. “In this case it seems to consist of vegetables, rice and eel.”

  “...the eel that tried to eat me and succeeded in eating a number of others?”

  “The Sunfa don’t like to let things go to waste,” he replied. “And it’s pretty good to be honest. And there is nothing else so shut up and let me feed you.”

  I grumbled and grimaced but in the end he got his way. Seya and Cassius, between the two of them I could never win. As he fed me Cassius updated me with the goings-on of the clan. Apparently the leader, Erin’ea, had already fulfilled her side of the bargain and provided a seemingly charged power cube to Anatha’s safe keeping. They had offered us use of their hospitality as long as we wanted and invited us to hunt with them whenever we were nearby. They had also apparently offered their biggest metal contraption in return for Seya and Borza, both of whom were the largest and apparently most well-trained animals they had ever seen. I think that if they had known just what they both were rather than assuming that they were the same as the large creatures that they were used to seeing in the swamp then we would have been offered their entire village.

  Once he finished feeding me Cassius put the bowl aside and sat back with his feet on the bed. He fixed me with a serious gaze and I knew I was in for a moving heart to heart.

  “Thanks,” he said simply.

  I raised an eyebrow. “That's it? No big speech?”

  He winked. “Oh I have one prepared if you want it but I figured that considering the lives we lead if I keep doing a long speech then we’re probably going to be losing a fair amount of time to my voice over the years. So ‘thanks’.”

  I barked a laugh then groaned again as my chest ached. “Don’t make me laugh you bastard,” I grunted. “And you’re welcome.”

  “Next time, perhaps try saving me without getting eaten in turn?”

  Yes Cassius!

  I ignored Seya’s exultation. “Next time how about you try not nearly getting eaten in the first place?”

  He grinned ruefully and patted my foot. “Deal.”

  We stayed like that for some time, chatting and joking until fatigue took hold and I drifted off to sleep. My dreams were simultaneously hazy and vivid. Those dreams that you swear to yourself you are going to remember whilst in them and then promptly forget all about on waking. I would say fever dreams and they likely were - the combination of murky swamp water and the inside of an eel’s mouth doubtless made for a pleasant combination but the amount of green seraph that Seya was pumping into me through our bond probably made it the shortest fever ever. I dreamt of the cave that we lived in for months, of glowing red eyes and demonic claws, riding a serpent through crystalline waters and colours, swirls and shadow. At one point I thought I saw Anatha talking to Seya with an intent yet sorrowful expression on her face but the next instant I was drowning underwater so I have no idea if anything I experienced that night was real.

  I woke in the late morning in a bed damp with sweat but no pain in the cuts that surrounded my torso. Gingerly reaching beneath the plethora of bandages that swaddled me I felt around and braced for the pain. When nothing happened I probed a little further and eventually pulled the bandage off. Where the jagged wounds from the eel’s teeth had been there was nothing but silvery scars. Fast healing - yet another perk of being bonded to Seya and one that I have relied on many times in my short but impactful career. Without her the punishment that I have put my body through over the years would have killed me many times over.

  I gingerly stood up and felt the freshly repaired skin pull slightly at the edges of my wounds but other than that I had no lingering aches or pains to speak of. Thanks Seya, I thought at my partner where she lay on the floor. She twitched an ear in response and went back to reclining in the rays of sun that were speckling through the doorway. I ventured outside and every member of the Sunfa who I passed nodded at me as though I was a well-known figure - which I suppose I was, it probably wasn’t every day that someone survived being in the jaws of such a large c
reature.

  Members of the Sunfa directed me to Cassius and Anatha and I found both of them in a large hall on the largest strut of the ginormous dead machine that formed the centre of the town. Inside the hall were dozens of skulls and skeletons that decorated the walls and at times formed benches and chairs.

  “Ah, you’re finally awake,” creaked Anatha. “Glad you could deign to join us.” I smirked back and she cracked a grin. “Good to see you in one-piece boy. Try and stay that way next time.”

  “It’s certainly not an experience I would like to repeat,” I replied, “the smell lasts for ages.”

  She snorted and turned away, waving a hand at the hall. “I figured that you might want to see what your gallant stupidity has wrought. Welcome to the town hall. The bones of each Sunfa’shak have been memorialised here as reminders. The latest is just over here.”

  She walked over to a skull that looked a fair bit smaller than I felt that the skull should be, having been in its mouth.

  She looked over, saw the scowl on my face and cackled. “They always look smaller when they’re no longer trying to kill you don’t they?”

  Cassius and I looked at each and laughed. At Anatha’s confused look Cassius explained, “This would register on the smaller side of the creatures that we have faced so far,” he said with a shrug. “I’m pretty sure that the skeleton of the skyren we left down in the desert would not fit through the door!”

  “You really don’t want to compare kills boy,” Anatha replied with a cocky grin. “I have a good century on you and a great many of those have been spent in the pursuit of monsters. And as you found with the spider queen you met in the ice caves, skyren are not necessarily the biggest creatures in the world though they are the most dangerous by far. Anyway, what I meant is that this is a learning opportunity. Tell me truthfully boys, does this look as big as what you faced in the swamp?”

  We both shook our heads. “Of course it doesn’t!” she exclaimed. “And that is because it isn’t. Obviously it is missing the layers of flesh that cover the bones. But fear and adrenaline makes enemies and foes seem larger than they are, they can fill your vision and block out anything else around you. You might swear blind that the creature was twenty feet tall only to find out later than it was a mere twelve. Any you might think that it doesn’t matter but as I have already explained in the mission, information gathering is vital.”

  She took a look at our stumped faces and sighed before waving a hand at the walls around us. “Look at all this. Look at it! Do you think there are this many oversized creatures in the Andurran empire?”

  “I think that there are probably a lot more than we are aware of,” I said slowly, picking my words with care.

  “And you would be correct!” Anatha replied. “Which is one reason why Imperators exist. But creatures generally need a reason to get so big and they need an appropriate food source to sustain them. This is why it is uncommon to see multiple predators over a certain size in the same region. Some, like trolls, can sustain themselves on surprisingly little, but unless the creature is a Great Heart or otherwise created creature then they generally have to abide by the natural laws.”

  “So why is the swamp producing so many large creatures?” Cassius murmured, more to himself than anyone else but Anatha pointed a finger at him excitedly.

  “Exactly,” she said fiercely. “Why is the swamp producing so many large creatures? Can it support the quantity of large animals that are found here? Is it something to do with what caused the surrounding valley and the swamp in the first place? Is there a high density of seraph here? Can the Empire take advantage of it in some way? These are the kind of questions that an Imperator needs to be asking when they come across something interesting. Remember that and you will do well.”

  “What do you think?” I asked.

  “About the swamp?” I nodded in confirmation and she continued, “I think that whatever caused the crater that formed this valley and swamp left a mark, and that mark - whether it is seraph or power from the machines left to rot here - causes aberrations in the surrounding fauna. My best guess is that their growth is stimulated and they become much larger than normal, but that this results in an increased need to feed and consequently why the Sunfa have so many Sunfa’shak - eventually the creatures turn to preying on the humans here.” She smiled wanly. “It is only a guess mind, but based on the information I have it is the best guess I can make.”

  “Seems like a reasonable enough guess to me,” voiced Cassius, giving a warm smile at the ancient being who returned a look that could have curdled milk.

  “Don’t coddle me boy. Flattery will get you nowhere.”

  She has a different approach to you, I mused to Seya as Anatha unleashed a verbal tirade upon a bemused Cassius.

  Each queen to their own, Seya replied warmly. Everyone has a best method of approach.

  Including flagrant flattery in your case.

  Of course, she shot back, no trace of humility in her voice. But it is only natural for you humans to need to flatter me. I am far above you after all.

  I snorted and directed my attention back to Anatha who was breathing heavily in the face of a wind-swept Cassius. “What do we do now Anatha? Got the cube?”

  She reached into a satchel at her side and pulled out a silvery cube. “Here it is,” she said softly with eyes full of wonder.

  “That’s it?” I asked, somewhat surprised. “It seems so...nondescript.”

  Anatha gave a huff. “Sometimes the more nondescript something or someone looks the more it will surprise you. This is made of a metal that our blacksmiths do not know how to make, as is most of the pre-Cataclysm equipment that you see lying around us. Furthermore it does this, catch,” and tossed the cube at me.

  As I caught the cube I felt a thrum through my hand and arm. Strong at first and then softer until I could almost imagine it wasn’t there. “That’s...interesting,” I said slowly. “Why does it do that?”

  Anatha let out another indelicate snort. “Why does anything pre-Cataclysm do anything? Who knows? Maybe it is meant to be an indicator of how much power it has left? Maybe it isn’t meant to do that at all and is leaking energy into the world and holding it in your hand is right now killing you.” She grinned evilly as I threw the cube back. “This isn’t something that we understand. Well...the Emperor might but he has a tendency to understand everything that gets put in front of him.” She tucked the cube back into her satchel. “At the end of the day, as much as I would like to understand it, we don’t have to. We’ve done our mission, retrieved the cube, removed a threat and only one person got mildly chewed - a pretty good outcome for any Imperator.”

  I gave her my best glare and she responded with a wink. “As for what we do next, we head home. The job is done. So enjoy your last day with the Sunfa, we leave at first light.”

  Chapter 32

  Plans

  The journey back was largely uneventful. The Sunfa were sad to see us go but sent us off with many suggestions to return - an added bonus according to Anatha as it opened up potential trading opportunities. Two large creatures that looked like scaled reptiles with large mouths had a battle in the water beneath our chosen evening tree and came very close to battering our tree into pieces, but thankfully none of us were hurt. A weary climb out of the valley and then a slower five days on horseback to Port Cambal where Anatha sold the impressive and rested beasts to a gleaming eyed merchant for an undisclosed sum of money but more than enough to have us repeat our experience of the first night in port, quarters in the finest brothel available and passage back on the same Twisted Sister that we had hated travelling out on in the first place. Within seven days from leaving the Sunfa we were back in Anafor where Anatha left us, and two days after that we were back in the Academy, travel-stained, saddle sore, stinking and standing in Kane’s office.

  To his credit he didn’t bat an eye at our appearance or wrinkle his nose at the smell. I very much doubted that we were the first travel wear
y members of the Academy to come before him without showering.

  “So,” he began after offering us both a whisky, “you made it back in one piece. That’s a good start. Report.”

  Between the two of us we gave Kane the key content of our journey, describing the Sunfa settlement in detail, the defeat of the Sunfa’shak and the cube that Anatha had taken directly to the Emperor’s citadel. When we finished he gave a thoughtful grunt and took a long sip of whisky.

  “You’ve done a difficult task and it sounds like you’ve done it admirably,” he said after a moment. “The Emperor has already given me notice that the cube is in his possession and to congratulate you both on a job well done. He has asked that you join him at the citadel tomorrow morning to break your fast,” he paused to give us a grave look, “and reminds you to speak of the findings of your mission to no-one. Not me, not Adronicus, not your friends. Understood?”

  “Yes Instructor,” Cassius and I both intoned. It sounded like a harsh order but the plan that Anatha and I had in mind required complete silence in order to work so that everyone would walk through the citadel’s seraph detectors without question.

  Kane gave a nod. “Excellent. And Calidan,” he said, fixing me with a look, “Anatha says you managed to find yourself in the jaws of a large beast. She asked me to remind you that most Imperators try and get the mission done without getting hurt, and definitely without getting eaten. I, for one, agree with her.” He gave me a wry grin. “Whilst the inside of a mouth might look comfortable I ask that you go against your natural instincts going forwards and use your brain to complement your impressive reactions.” His grin got wider as my scowl deepened and he finally chuckled and gave me a wink.