Sol Lands

by Riker Kane

  “Okay,” she said. “I’m trusting you. Don’t even think about going back on your word.”

  Lyra got up and took off her robed hood. I watched closely as she lowered her skirt down. Her white bra and panties weren’t as revealing as the others though it was the first time I’d seen so much skin from her. The silver-haired woman had a small frame but her curves rivaled Zafina’s. Her breasts were shapely and her backside poked out enough I knew it’d be more than a handful if I tried to grab it.

  “Hey!” She furrowed her brow at me. “Don’t think I don’t see you staring.”

  I put my hands up and looked back to my line. From the corner of my eye, I could see her smiling.

  “All right,” she said. “This is all on you now.” She leapt into the water and landed with a big splash. “Oh, that’s cold!” She wrapped her arms around her body, bobbing up and down to try and warm herself up.

  I chuckled at the sight of her as Zafina and Rhiannon swam by her side.

  “Okay, Virgil,” Lyra said. “Your turn.”

  “I think I’ll wait for a bit until the sun comes up.”

  “What?” she exclaimed. “You gave me your word.”

  “I gave you my word I would get in the water. I didn’t say I would do it right now.”

  “Oh, you… You weasel!” Lyra’s sudden fury made me laugh even harder.

  Rhiannon and Zafina both eyed me then looked to one another before swimming back to the surface.

  “A deal is a deal,” Zafina said.

  “What’s that now—”

  The blond cut me off by summoning a ball of fire in her hand. She didn’t even bother trying to hold back as she blasted me right on the back.

  “Are you crazy?” I stumbled forward as my shirt caught fire then jumped into the water to put it out. The heat of the flames was gone, quickly replaced by a bitter cold.

  Lyra floated next to me, giggling with a grin. “That’s not so bad, is it?”

  Rhiannon and Zafina looked out at me, smiling just as big as the girl next to me.

  I spit some of the water out like a fountain. “This is all your fault,” I said to Lyra. “I plan on getting you back.”

  “Oh? I’ll be ready for it.”

  “I don’t think you will.”

  I swam out of the water and stripped off my soaked clothes. I plopped back down next to my rod in nothing but my underwear while the ladies huddled around me.

  The sun continued to rise, warming us all up underneath it. As the town of Haven woke up behind us, I decided I wasn’t moving from the spot I was now, even if a fish decided it wanted to take my bait.

  “This is nice,” Lyra said as she sprawled out on the grass. “Just a lazy day doing nothing at all… We should have more days like this.”

  “After we win, every day will be like this,” I said.

  Lyra stared up at the sky like her mind was somewhere else. “Yeah… I hope so.”

  30: Wearing The Crown

  Construction continued. Rhiannon monitored the ore and began working with the people of Haven to mold the metal into the cannon according to the blueprints. Zafina observed others as they built the wooden frame for the cannon to rest on, along with making enough adhesive to make sure it was stable. It wasn’t a weapon as much as it was a small building. Assistance arrived from both Asrath and Euphoria to help smooth things along. With more than a hundred people available, there was always someone working on the cannon no matter the hours of the day. Everybody was given rest when they needed it so they were never overworked.

  A few days had gone by and work was proceeding on schedule.

  Lyra took the opportunity to head out to the plains to amuse herself. Since it was a chance for me to collect Mana, I had no problem joining her.

  It was a perfect day to get into some random battles.

  The silver-haired archer pierced an ice arrow clear through a Shadow taking the shape of a black bear. It roared in pain from the arrow cutting a hole through its chest. Then it burst into a pile of Mana. The dark rift where the bear came from faded, allowing me to collect the Mana under the peace of the sun.

  “You know, back on Earth where I’m from, Omegas love collecting this stuff. It’s how they get everybody to enlist. Fighting against Shadows is one thing but getting stronger is even more appealing.”

  Lyra looked out toward the distance, scouting for the next target she wanted to put an arrow through. “These Omegas… Are they soldiers?”

  “That’s one way of putting it. Pandora came for us like they did your world. It was an attack where thousands died all across the planet. We call it the First Event. After it happened, we established the Legion Omega Defense so that it would never happen again.”

  “If you were able to establish this Legion on your world, then it did not suffer the same fate as Qashia. I envy you.”

  “I’m grateful. Most of my people take it for granted without realizing just how close we were to losing it all. To some, the First Event is a piece of fiction and not real history.”

  “Then the Omegas are right in taking pride in what they do.”

  “Maybe. Some Omegas do it for the wrong reasons though.” I chuckled as I finished collecting all of the Mana. Out of the thousands of Omegas across Earth, I was sure there were more than a few who did it for the glory.

  I moved next to Lyra and looked out to where she was staring. “Do you see anything interesting?”

  She turned and looked me up and down. “You can fly.”

  “…Did you just notice that?”

  “Scouting from the air would be more effective than from the ground.”

  “It doesn’t matter if we walk or if I fly around in circles. Pandora comes for us when they want to come.”

  “Those are the words of someone who would rather do things the easy way.” She looked away from me, her chin in the air as she smiled.

  My brow furrowed in confusion. “Are you calling me lazy?”

  “I said no such thing.”

  “You implied it.”

  A moment of silence came between us, leaving only the breeze to remind me I hadn’t gone deaf.

  “Don’t you like flying?” she asked with a grin.

  A few seconds to contemplate what I was being goaded into and I was up in the air. I moved as high as I could, trying not to get too high up in the atmosphere above the clouds.

  The plains were sprawling. The lush green grass went in every direction, from the mountains to the north to the decaying marshes to the south. There were herds and flocks and packs of beasts roaming around as any wildlife would in a field so open. I could even spot some raider groups on horseback making their way in the distance. Hopefully Balec had kept them in check so I didn’t have to deal with a fight that wouldn’t provide me any Mana.

  “Do you see anything?” Lyra called out to me.

  “You’ll have to be a little more specific.”

  “Any sign of Shadows, of course.”

  I’d know if Pandora decided to attack us. The only way to get their attention seemed to be traveling, because they wanted to interrupt you when you were doing something important.

  “Let’s just keep moving,” I said.

  I floated forward, keeping a watchful eye on everything below me. Sure enough, a clap of thunder stopped me in my path. Being in the air when the energy started to swirl made things a little louder than usual.

  The billowing cloud of purple and black energy resonated before me. Beneath me, Lyra nocked a flaming arrow, ready to fire on anything that appeared.

  And then it did.

  It was a giant stone. A piece of gray brick in the shape of a square came down. But I looked closer and realized it wasn’t a brick. It seemed to be covered in some type of shaggy fur.

  Whatever it was continued to come down from the cloud. Just when I thought it would end, it didn’t. As the figure slowly came into shape, I realized just how large it was.

  It must’ve been at least four-stories high and h
alf as wide. It was a giant mammoth, complete with pointed bone tusks big enough to skewer a semi. Its trunk was thick as a redwood, sprawled out on the floor like a giant snake even the people of Asrath would’ve stopped to worship.

  The thing had made a crater right in the center of the plains, standing there like a giant, stone statue in the shape of an elephant covered in frizzy fur. Even the birds began flying away to try and avoid running into it because it was so high.

  It reared back with its trunk and let out a blast into the air loud enough I felt the breeze from it against my cheeks. Its giant spheres for eyes were empty and white, blinking slowly.

  A sudden flaming arrow zoomed between its eyes and ignited some of the fur covering it.

  “What are you waiting for?” Lyra shouted as she sent an endless stream of arrows up.

  “Admiring the view.” I summoned a Fire Bird and sent it streaking at the mammoth. The beast effortlessly swiped it away with its trunk, at the same time forcing me to swerve out of the way to avoid getting hit.

  “Let’s see how fast you are, buddy.” I zoomed to the air over it and landed on its back. I let loose with a point-blank fireball, scorching its fuzzy fur and burning it right down to the black hide underneath.

  Another roar trumpeted in the air as the trunk came flying at me. It caught me right on my side and sent me sailing through the air like I’d been hit by a car.

  My eyes rolled back from the momentum, spinning me around until I forced myself to a stop in the air.

  “Ungh… That trunk is a lot longer than it looks.”

  I floated back in the air, watching as the beast turned its attention back to Lyra. Just one stomp from its massive hoof made her lose her balance. But she steadied herself long enough to send a flaming arrow right into one of its bulbous eyes.

  It squealed in pain as its trunk and tail both flailed into the air. Lyra was like an ant to it but she’d done some serious damage.

  “I got this…” I summoned an Ice Owl and it raced alongside me back toward the beast.

  We moved to its backside to avoid its tail completely. I sent the owl crashing into its giant body then let loose with both my hands. A Radiant Beam from one hand and a Dark Beam from my other palm landed with a crash.

  “Light and dark. Let’s see if you can handle both elements.”

  The mammoth continued flailing but even with its size and length, it wasn’t fast enough to land. As long as I kept moving, I could keep this up.

  Down below, Lyra stood her ground and nocked arrow after arrow. The flames stuck into the beast’s face like a dozen forks, each one growing in intensity. The fire joined together until there was a small bonfire on the beast’s face.

  “Keep it up!” I shouted. “He’s big but he’s too slow.”

  As I continued pounding it with both beams, I looked down at Lyra standing there. Behind her, I saw something moving on the horizon. Something was kicking up dust. A pack of wolves? A herd of buffalo, maybe? But it wasn’t long before I saw men on horseback. From this distance, I couldn’t tell if it was Balec. They just looked like ordinary raiders in tunics with bone daggers in their hands.

  I kept watching as they increased their speed. Their path was leading them right to Lyra.

  “Lyra!” I yelled. “Watch out!”

  She ignored me, her focus still on the beast in front of her. “We’ve almost got it! Just a little bit more!”

  “No! Behind you!”

  I was so high up, I didn’t realize how close they were. By the time I yelled out, they were already behind her.

  Lyra turned around and rolled forward just as the men tried to swing.

  “Damn.” I swooped down as fast as I could and summoned a Stone Golem right when I landed on the ground. My familiar barreled forward and collided with the men, knocking half off them off their horses. Another Rock Burst stopped the others in their tracks.

  Lyra got up to one knee and began firing stone arrows as the raiders tried to recover. “Lousy bastards! Trying to get me when I’m not looking—”

  A sudden swipe from the mammoth’s trunk came out of nowhere and slammed Lyra, sending her tumbling across the grass.

  “Lyra!” I flew toward her, keeping my hands up as a bunch of bone daggers came for me. They plinked against my armor but slowed me down long enough for one of the other raiders to get to her first.

  “Take her!” one of the men shouted. “Tie her up! Don’t let her get away!”

  Lyra was motionless, the swipe from the mammoth knocking her out completely.

  I watched as Lyra was tossed onto one of the horses and a raider galloped away to the northwest. I couldn’t let them take her but more of the raiders surrounded me, jumping on top of me to try and keep me down.

  “Surround him! He can’t move if we drown him out!”

  There must have been about twenty of them. The weight of them was like being crushed by a boulder. They flattened me out on the grass and pressed me down.

  “That’s it! We have him! All we have to do is—Ahh!”

  A sudden scream filled my ears through all of the shouting. The weight coming down on me lightened enough for me to get back to my feet. The mammoth was still swiping its trunk and it just freed me from my raider prison by sweeping them away.

  “Thanks, pal.”

  My thanks wasn’t enough though, because the mammoth took aim at me. The giant beast raised its hoof and brought it down like a hydraulic press. I didn’t have any interest in being squeezed into the grass, so I moved out of the way and shot two fireballs at its face. The fire Lyra started continued burning even more out of control.

  I didn’t stop. Every fireball drained more and more endurance from me. The sweat was dripping from my brow but the mammoth’s face was being consumed and there was no way to stop it.

  The beast backed up, trumpeting in pain as its whole face melted off. The stench of burning fur and flesh was like spoiled meat. I clenched my jaw and kept firing until the beast sat down.

  I summoned my Light Clone and we both fired Radiant Beams right at its eyes. The concentrated lasers tore through the soft membrane until suddenly bursting out the back of the giant Shadow’s head. As the flames consumed its face, the mammoth’s body became more and more motionless until turning into a flood of Mana orbs.

  I sighed a deep breath of relief then looked at the raiders scattered all around me. “Perfect. Now…”

  I grabbed one of the raiders by the collar and slapped his cheek until his eyes blinked open. “Hey! Who are you? Where did you take her?”

  He was an ordinary-looking man, still bewildered after getting knocked out by the mammoth. But I wasn’t going to let him off the hook.

  “Hey! I asked you a question. What are you doing—”

  “Get him!” A sudden shout from behind me made me turn my head.

  About five or so raiders were on top of me. At least, it felt that way. I couldn’t count because they were swarming and using their weight to hold me down. I didn’t suppose telling them I was a Battle God would be reason enough to get them off.

  “Give him a dose!” one of them shouted.

  A dose? A dose of what?

  My question was answered even though I didn’t say anything. A sharp stinging pain in my neck made me flinch. Then I caught a whiff of something. Something strong enough that it filled my entire head. My eyes blinked and my thoughts clouded.

  The weight of the men moved off of me but despite that, my strength was leaving me. The entire world was spinning around me and my vision blurred.

  “Give him another dose!”

  One of the men rushed at me with something in his hand. It was a bone dagger. But on the tip of it, there was something bright and green. I put my hands up to stop him but he slapped my hands away without any trouble and another sharp pain in my side brought me to my knees.

  I tried to stay standing but everything gave out. My face hit the grass as I landed flat on my stomach. Everything was dark but I could hear fai
nt whispers above me, slowly growing more and more distant.

  “Not so tough for a god. We’ll show him who wears the crown.”

  31: Throwing Down The Gauntlet

  An incoherent dream of darkness slowly faded and my senses came back to me. A woozy feeling washed over my thoughts and through my body. For a second, I swore I could feel myself riding on the back of a carriage being transported. I blinked my eyes open to clear my vision and saw a man staring down at me, realizing I wasn’t moving at all but only sitting in the dirt.

  “Hey, you. You’re finally awake.”

  He was older than me, somewhere in his thirties. He had a single deep wrinkle on his forehead and sagging cheeks. His eyes were round and silver, matching the salt and pepper hair flattened on his head.

  He was dressed in an ordinary white cotton shirt and a pair of pants made from stitched leather. He had an average build, not imposing but completely frail. Hunting out on the plains gave him some muscles to work with. I would’ve confused him with every other Qashian I’d seen if he wasn’t pointing my own cane at me—that and the smarmy little smirk on his lips.

  I looked around and saw some of the other raiders standing around. There were a few makeshift huts on the dirt around us along with a small bonfire burning off to one side. It looked like a small raider camp.

  He turned his head sideways as he looked at me. “You recovered quite quickly from the toxin. Impressive.”

  My senses back to me, my first thoughts went to Lyra. “Where is she?”

  “Don’t worry. She’s perfectly safe.”

  “If you do anything to her—”

  “—You’ll kill me. Yes, that appears to be the case. I don’t believe it will come to that though.” The man spoke with a tone more condescending than Queen Cellica herself. I was waiting for the guy to put his leather boot in my face and ask me to polish it.

  My hands were bound behind my back with tight twine, which got a chuckle out of me. “You know I can break my binds without any effort, right?”

  The stranger took my wooden cane and poked me in the leg with it. “I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it for myself. I’m sure you can. But being bound will at least give me a second to talk to you straight. Just to show you I mean business.”