Spear of Destiny

by James Osiris Baldwin

  “Fear is normal in the face of horror,” Solai said. “Courage is the discipline which overcomes it. You faced me in single combat, knowing you would lose, and you did so with grace and good humor. I believe you have courage, Paragon. Both of you.”

  I smiled at her. Karalti bobbed her head and made a throaty chortling sound.

  “I would like for us to stay in touch, Hector.” Solai rose, and breezily crossed over to us, her silks fluttering in the wind. “I very much enjoyed our night together, for one thing… and for another, after witnessing your commitment to this cause and speaking with the Avatar at length about the return of the Triad to Archemi, I think it wise that my people stays up-to-date with the happenings in Ilia. We are as comfortable as kittens here in Meewhome, insulated from the despair of the world. And yet, we were invaded by foreigners and we did not know they were here. The Shield of Ancestors has failed us for the first time in history.”

  “Not the first time, my Queen, but failures are rare. The Napath have many ancient magics other humans have lost, and they managed to slip through the Shield of Ancestors without raising an alarm,” Sanayam added. “That disturbs me, Paragon. I thought about this in the context of what you said to me about your goals, and concluded that we must prepare.”

  I looked to Karalti. She smiled back at me.

  “You know, I was expecting to have to fight with you both about this,” I said. “About taking the threat of Ororgael seriously, that is. I know for sure that others are going to be harder to convince.”

  “We are not like humans.” Sanayam folded his hands into his sleeves. “Humans live in the past. We view the past as the realm of the dead. I am testament to the fact that we treasure our past as a vault of wisdom, but we do not dwell there. Life is ahead of us. As the world changes, so do we.”

  “Indeed. And should anyone threaten our territory, they will pay in blood.” Solai flicked her tail from side to side, turning to pace.

  “Rin was talking about developing long-range communications devices out of the tech we dug out of the Chorus Vault.” I motioned to the Avatar. “If we figure something out, that might be a way to stay in contact?”

  “Yes. Or your lovely dragon queen can bring you here.” Solai stopped in front of Karalti. “Sanayam? Will you give them the token?”

  Sanayam stepped forward and showed us a pair of earrings.

  “These will grant you free access through the Shield of Ancestors,” he said. “You will be able to teleport through the barrier.”

  “You’ll need a bigger ring for me,” Karalti laughed.

  “It will resize with you.” The Avatar said. “But you will need a piercing to wear it. The act of drawing blood will attune you to the shield, and permit you limited communication with me.”

  “I can live with an earring.” I shrugged.

  “Where will you pierce me, though?” Karalti said. “It’s not like I have ears.”

  “Your nostril, sweet one.” Solai extended a single claw, and rested the tip against Karalti’s nose. “Right here.”

  “Punk dragon.” I chuckled. “Alright. Grab a needle and hit me up.”

  Sanayam spread his hands, then pulled out a small piercing kit. He sterilized the needles by rapidly heating and cooling them with magic, and soon, I was sporting a small sun-shaped charm in my left ear, while Karalti had a fine aurum ring through her right nostril.

  Shield Attunement Ring

  A rare artifact which lets you freely pass the Shield of Ancestors, the barrier which surrounds Meewhome, and allows the Avatar of Meewhome to connect with you telepathically across any distance.

  “Thanks.” I touched the tiny pendant. Thanks to my 2HP per minute regen, the piercing was already healed. “We’ll keep you updated.”

  “Do you have a plan for how to defeat the Drachan?” Solai asked. “The Avatar tells me that they cannot be destroyed.”

  “The plan is two-fold. To restore the Warsingers, and to unite the peoples of Archemi against the threat we all face,” I said. “We’re only just getting started.”

  “Unite the peoples of Archemi? Including us?” She quirked her tail into a hoop.

  “If you’re willing.” I nodded.

  Solai and the Avatar looked at one another. It was he who spoke. “If the situation develops as you prophesied, we will consider it. But we do not have any good reason to trust humans as a species. We are prepared to defend our home, but join an offense? There are so many of you, and so few of us.”

  “There is one boon you could provide for us that makes a large-scale alliance so much more likely,” Solai said. “And that is for you to speak with your liege, and address the injustices done to our orphaned people on the mainland. We know our exiles and cousins are persecuted there. If we receive a missive from Dakhdir and Vlachia stating they will commit to the betterment of our kind in their nations, the Great Conclave of Sisters will consider your plan.”

  [New Quest: All Being Equal Under the Light of the Sun.]

  New Quest: All Being Equal Under the Light of the Sun

  Priest-Queen Solai is interested in your offer of alliance to combat the Drachan, with one caveat. The relationship between humans and Meewfolk on Artana has been historically fraught with discrimination and violence, with the proud cat people being treated as second-class citizens in Vlachia and Dakhdir. If you are able to connect the rulers of these nations and establish a diplomatic relationship between the Volod, the Sultir, and the Conclave of Priest-Queens, you will help to heal a divide between races and gain allies for your cause.

  Difficulty: Very Hard (Level 35-42)

  Rewards: 7309 EXP, Renown (Meewhome, Vlachia, Dakhdir), Royal Guardian Torque x 1, ??? Artifacts.

  Vlachia would be easy, but Dakhdir? Oof. I accepted the quest anyway. “Thanks. I’ll work on it. And if you don’t mind, I have a favor to ask you.”

  The Priest-Queen flicked an ear, and craned her head. “I believe you have earned at least one favor, Paragon. What is it?”

  “You’re the best Lancer I’ve ever met,” I said. “Please, teach me the first level of Master Spearfighting.”

  “Hmmm.” Solai wound over to me. “It is true that you will find no better spear-fighters in the world than here. But there is a problem. To attain a Master rank in any Advanced Skill requires four weeks of training. I would be willing to let you study with us, but if I am reading you correctly, you do not have time for it right now.”

  I clicked my tongue. “Four weeks? Shit. No, I don’t. And I might never have time for it.”

  “The alternative is that I send one of my Battle Maidens with you, and you host her in your territory to serve as your personal instructor,” Solai purred. “I would be willing to do this, but only once we have established more positive relations with Vlachia.”

  “That’s fair.” I gave her a short nod. “Once this quest is done, though?”

  “Then you have my word.” With a challenging glare at Karalti, she draped herself around me and rubbed her face against mine. “Though, if you do have a month to spare, I should love to host you here. I can teach you more than the arts of war, Paragon… and perhaps gift you more moon scars.”

  “Moon scars?” Karalti scowled. “What are ‘moon scars’?”

  “Lover’s scars, girl. Like the ones that now stripe the Paragon’s back.” Solai regarded her smugly.

  “To be given moon scars by a Priest-Queen is a great honor for a male,” Sanayam said piously.

  Karalti’s eyes narrowed at her, then at me.

  “Haha, well, just look at the time. We should probably be getting back to the Strelitzia.” I gently disentangled from Solai. “Thanks for everything. I had a good time, too.”

  “I assure you that you most certainly did,” Solai trilled. “Three or four times, for several hours. I was greatly impressed.”

  Karalti’s eyes were now little more than dark, dangerous slits in her face. If looks could kill, I would already be in the ground and the Avatar would be giving
me my last rites.

  “Priest-Queen, do not torment the dragon so. They are famously jealous of their mates.” Sanayam raised a lazy hand. “It was a pleasure, Paragon. We shall see you again, but until then, please do keep us abreast of the situation.”

  ***

  The Avatar teleported us back to the Strelitzia, where we found the repairs in full swing. Gar was in his element, fitting rivets to the ship at improbable speed as he barked orders at the workmen assisting him with the engines and hull. The ship was already looking better. In another half day, it’d be ready to fly.

  “Ooh, look at this. Both of you finally got some metal in your faces.” Suri set her load down and dusted her hands off, grinning at me as I swaggered over to her. She reached up to finger the earring. “Cute. I like it. A gift from Solai?”

  “Not the kind of gift you’re insinuating,” I teased back, pulling her into a hug. “It lets me get through the Shield of Ancestors.”

  “Same with mine.” Karalti was still disgruntled, kicking stones and hissing softly under her breath. “Ugh, Hector… I can’t believe you.”

  “I didn’t know what was happening, okay? I was drugged out of my mind.” Even now, thinking about the hangover made me groan.

  “Hmmph.” Karalti’s mouth sloped to one side. “How’s our new momma?”

  “Doing fine. Brooding over her eggs and threatening to kill anyone who goes within ten feet of her.” Suri let one arm rest around my waist, and reached up to push her mop of flaming red hair back from her face. “She lets me bring her food, and that’s it. Anything else—any ONE else—gets the chop.”

  “Gar’s bringing her back to Kalla Sahasi?” Karalti asked. “I can’t wait to see the chicks!”

  “Christ. Don’t remind me.” Suri rubbed her face. “Yeah, he’s bringing her back. And by her, I mean, us. I know you two need to get back with Rin, but I can’t leave her alone with Gar.”

  “No, that’s absolutely fine. You stay with Cutthroat.” I squeezed her around the middle. “Rin’s going to need at least four or five days to sort out these Warsinger schematics. And while she’s doing that, Karalti and I need to help Vash with something. He gave me a quest, something private to do with his family.”

  Suri’s expression shifted to one of surprise—and sympathy. “He finally tell you a bit about that, hey? Well, good luck with that. It’s gonna be a bumpy ride over those mountains.”

  “Nothing I can’t handle. But… Suri?”

  Suri tilted her face. “What?”

  “Five days is a long time. I’ll miss you, okay?” Karalti hesitated, then quickly rushed forward and looped her arms around both Suri and I, hugging us together. I opened the embrace to her, letting her get closer. And to my pleased relief, so did Suri.

  “I’ll miss you too, Special-K.” Suri pecked her on the forehead. “Take care of my man.”

  “Of course! He’s mine too.” Karalti chirped happily, headbutting us gently before stepping back.

  I grinned. “Do I get a say in this?”

  “Nope,” they both said, in unison.

  “Hector! Karalti! You’re back!” Rin’s voice cut through the bustle around us, and I looked over to see her heading for us at a quick walk. “Sorry to interrupt, but I was thinking —if we leave any unnecessary cargo with Gar and Suri, do you think we can transport seven hundred pounds of lambidium to Litvy?”

  “Uhhh… okay?” Karalti gave her a puzzled look. “Is that how much you need to build the plate-decoding thingy?”

  “It’s more than I need, but we can use the leftovers for the sonic weapons we’ll need to kill that Voidwyrm Empress.” Rin jiggled on the spot in agitation. “I can’t WAIT to get started on the projector! Lord Soma is going to be so excited about these schematics!”

  “We might eventually be able to pull all kinds of records from these Chorus Vaults,” I said. “The projector… it doesn’t necessarily only have to be used for these, right?”

  “The one that displays the schematics? Yes, actually, I think it does.” Rin slowed her nervous stimming as she thought about it. “This one is specialized, because the records can only be accessed with the Keystones.”

  “We’re gonna need all the Keystones to unlock all the blueprints?” Suri asked. “Even if we rebuild the machine that can use them?”

  “Yes.” Rin nodded. “The Keystones are bound to the tablets, not the device that reads them. The device just allows them to communicate, for lack of a better term. The information is coded to the Keystones. However, if… I mean, when I re-engineer the console, I can modify the design of the console to make generic projectors that don’t have extra security like this one.”

  “Right. I hope we can find Withering Rose’s blueprints somewhere.” Suri sighed, breaking off from the group hug. “My Warsinger was used during the last Caul cycle, right? So maybe her schematics are somewhere more recent than the Vault we just cleared.”

  “That’s my hunch.” I nodded. “Don’t worry, babe. We’ll find them when we find them. You ready to go, Rin?”

  Rin jumped, then opened her HUD and began to frantically scan something I couldn’t see. “Oh! Ummm, just a minute! I’ve got all the lambidium staged, but I think I’ve forgotten my tools somewhere…”

  Chapter 48

  The only facility in Myszno large enough to house and rebuild the Warsingers was the Royal College of Engineering in Litvy. Part boarding school, part guildhall, part airfield, it was the biggest airship-building hub in Vlachia.

  Count Lorenzo Soma was in the assembly hangar of the College, as usual. While theoretically the ruling lord of Vastil County, Soma left the daily humdrum of leadership to his castellan and spent most of his time engaged in his true passion—airship design and artificing. When found him, he was flat on his back underneath an airship engine hoist, working on a clockwork engine core the size of a VW Buggy.

  “Hi, Lorenzo! We’re back!” Rin called out to him from the catwalk, her musical voice carrying easily within the cavernous warehouse. “You won’t believe what we found!”

  “Eh?” Soma pushed out from under his labor, tense at the sound of his given name instead of his title. He had a welding mask on, which he pushed aside to squint at us. “Oh, Rin! Good even, my lady. And you, Dragozin.”

  “Soma.” I crossed my arms and smiled. Grudgingly. While I’d come to tolerate Soma since his disastrous coup attempt at the Prezyemi Line, I still didn’t like the guy.

  “We have the blueprints for the Warsingers!” Rin cried, hopping up and down behind the railing.

  Soma’s blue eyes widened. He scrambled up, moustache bristling in sudden excitement. “Blueprints!? Khors’ breath. Porta! Get over here and take over this welding! Something more important has come up.”

  One of the mechanics—Porta, I assumed—hurried over to switch out with him. She flashed her lord an exasperated look as he vaulted the railing of the catwalk and ambled over to us.

  “Show me. I must see them.” The Count of Vastil loomed over us. He was a massive man, six and a half feet tall and built like a pro-wrestler. “Do they include the arcane architecture? The C.W.P mapping and circuit profiles?”

  “I don’t know yet. We can’t just look at them as is.” Rin pulled out one of the glowing kyanine plates she’d removed from the console. It looked like a giant circuit board to me: the crystal was etched with precise, linear lines of metal that wove over and through each other with incredible complexity.

  “Ohhoho, look at this… how remarkable,” Soma breathed, taking it in his hands and studying it. “Khors’ breath, what is this material? I’ve never seen anything like it in my life. You know with certainty they contain the blueprints?”

  “Yes. They can be read with a projector,” Rin replied. “Karalti is carrying about seven hundred pounds of lambidium right now. If we melt it in the mana forge, cast it according to my designs, and then inscribe it, we should be able to recreate the console and read the blueprints.”

  “Then it shall be done
at once!” Soma turned the plate over in his hands, marveling at it. “His Majesty sent a letter to the College insisting that any Warsinger projects be prioritized for the time being. Let us go and start. With the pair of us working together, it should only take a few days… provided you are capable of recreating the device that reads these?”

  “I am.” Rin’s face set into determined lines. “We leveled up a whole lot. Now that I’m over Level 30, I should be able to reengineer this, no sweat.”

  I hung back, feeling every inch the fifth wheel. “What about the sonic weapons? We need those, too.”

  “Oh! Right!” Rin smacked her fist into her other palm. “I can see what I can do with the parts we recovered from Perilous Symphony. We’ll do that first.”

  “And the Heartstone?”

  “Gar and I welded a shielding container for it,” Rin replied. “It’s in my inventory as well. Don’t worry, okay?”

  I shot a glance at Soma. “I am worrying. That thing is evil, Rin, and it emits a field of pure suck. I don’t want to draw Ororgael’s attention here.”

  “What?” Soma looked to Rin in alarm. “What is he talking about?”

  “We managed to find an intact Warsinger Heartstone,” Rin admitted. “It has the spirit of a Drachan trapped in it, and it’s, umm, kind of active. Our hope is we can fit it into Withering Rose, once we retrieve her… but to do that, we have to defeat the sandworm that’s guarding her in the desert.”

  “Hmm. I see.” Soma stroked his moustache. “I don’t see it bringing any great danger to the college, as long as we keep it a guarded secret. I shall assist you with the creation of these weapons, too. Oh, and Dragozin: your ships are finished. I was preparing to send them to your castle tomorrow morning, but now you’re here…?”

  “Hang onto them.” I clapped Rin on the shoulder. “If the pair of you can figure out weapons and shielding suitable for fighting the Voidwyrm Empress, we need it installed on those ships. I’ll send the rest of my fleet here for retrofitting.”