Halls of Power (Ancient Dreams Book 3)

by Benjamin Medrano

  Unfortunately, ironwood was tough. The minutes crawled by as his siege engines pummeled the fort. Each impact sent a shudder through the tower, though some of the bolts missed and hit other buildings within the fort. Reva even saw one fly clear over the entire fortress, and chuckled as the commander of that engine turned to look at her crew incredulously.

  It took the better part of an hour before the tower finally creaked, twisted, and began to topple. “Please fall where we want it to…” Reva murmured.

  The splintering and cracking of the tower supports echoed across the battlefield, and the tower slowly fell with a groan, almost off-course, but twisting at the last moment on its fragmented supports to crash down half-behind the palisade. The sound of screams from within the fortress made Reva cringe, but at that moment horns blew on his left flank as Baron Galthor charged.

  Not just the Baron’s men were involved in the attack, as six companies in total charged up the hill, and Reva’s eyes grew cold as he spoke loudly. “Magi! First squad, suppress the defenders!”

  The casters quickly began weaving their spells, and as they did, the first scattered shots came from the defenders. Not all of their defensive positions had been crushed by the tower’s collapse, but there were no more than a handful of them. That handful had little choice but to take cover as the magi unleashed their power. Most of the casters unleashed the usual hail of fireballs and lightning bolts, but one mage instead created a thick bank of fog just above the height of the attacking companies but between them and the defenders.

  With the fog as cover the soldiers were able to get far closer to the wall than they might otherwise have been able to manage, even as a few magi in the attacking force used their magic to cause the earth to surge upward and create several ramps to allow the Baron’s troops over the ramparts. The crash and clamor of battle erupted from inside the walls, and confidence surged in Reva’s heart.

  “I want another four companies moving to support the Baron. They’ll need the help if they’re to take that section of the fortress,” Reva ordered, taking a single abortive step forward before he stopped and took a deep breath. As much as he wanted to step into the fray, he couldn’t allow himself to get caught up in it. That was the only reason he hadn’t been alongside the Baron to begin with. Things looked to be progressing well, but a sudden exclamation caught his attention.

  “Above us!” a woman cried out, and his gaze snapped up to the sky.

  It took Reva a moment to pick out what the woman was speaking of, as he was nearly blinded by the sun and had to shade his eyes with a hand. A moment later his eyes widened as he saw the figure silhouetted against the sun—a woman with wings, holding a long, thin object. He saw the figure take a test swing, and fear flooded him.

  “Magi, shields now!” Reva barked out in panic, praying he was in time, and that was when the sky erupted with violet flames.

  The fire was a horizontal wave across his position, and roared down in response to what he had to assume was the swing of a sword. Reva braced himself for a fiery death, only to have a shimmering barrier of water spring into existence in the fire’s path. The barrier bubbled, boiled, and evaporated, but that brief delay allowed the magi to cast a dozen more barriers, ranging from pure white light to the green energy of nature. Even so, the shields shattered one after another, and the fire managed to burn through five barriers before dissipating.

  “What in the gods’ name was that?” a man nearby asked, shaken.

  “That was a goddess, Tyria herself! She’s still up there, so take cover, damn it!” Reva spat, falling back and telling the magi. “Quickly, I want everyone who can to target her! If we hit her all at once, maybe we’ll be lucky enough to—”

  “Sir, incoming!” the nearby messenger warned, lunging forward and shoving Reva to the side.

  Reva looked on in horror as the goddess descended on them like a swooping hawk… or perhaps a falling star would be a better comparison. Her sword hit the shields head on, and they barely slowed her this time, as barrier after barrier collapsed with deafening reports. Her blade came down on the spot where Reva had been standing, and the violet flames cut the messenger’s torso in two with barely a hint of resistance, causing him to fall in pieces as he choked on his last breath.

  “Hmm. Unexpected, that.” Tyria’s voice was soft, almost inaudible, even to Reva standing so near to her. Even stranger was the faint sadness he could hear in her voice, but the goddess raised her gaze to him and her eyes hardened. “No matter. You are the commander, and it is best to remove the head of the snake. The masterless will find a new master soon enough.”

  Reva almost couldn’t breathe under the effect of her power. Despite that, he drew his sword, trying to speak, but unable to force out the words.

  Tyria spun around, her sword drawing a flaming arc through the air that cut a lightning bolt in two as it approached, leaving the mage on the other end looking stunned. At that moment a dozen soldiers descended upon the goddess, one of them crying out, “Sir, run!”

  “Foolish soldiers… where can he run?” The goddess blew all but two of the soldiers back with a single harsh beat of her wings, the wind blasting them and several nearby magi from their feet. Of the last two, one she sent flying with a punch, while her sword cut the scimitar from the last man’s hand. With a kick, she sent the stunned man flying.

  The pressure weakened while Tyria’s back was turned, and Reva gathered himself, his lips thinning as he looked at the magi and gave them a nod. He’d probably die here, but if he could give them an opening it would be worth it. With that in mind he lunged forward, snarling. “Leave them alone! You’re a slave of Kelvanis, and we want no part of you!”

  Tyria spun again, moving so quickly that Reva almost couldn’t see her as she sidestepped his lunge, grabbing his sword hand with a grip like iron and spinning him into the path of the magi. The anger in her eyes was obvious, yet there was an odd introspection as well, and she spoke curiously. “I am not Kelvanis’ slave. Yet you seem to think I am. Why?”

  “Because you’re a—” Reva began to spit out, but his eyes went wide as a massive steel blade sent the goddess flying to the side, and his sword flew from his grasp as the impact caused him to fall backward.

  The golem that had hit Tyria stepped forward, a score more at its back. Helia’s face was pale, but she called out, “Sir Reva, let us handle this!”

  “So the golems have come out to play. That was unpleasant,” Tyria murmured, standing again. Her armor was slightly dented along her left side, but the goddess seemed little worse for wear, though she did seem unhappier than before. “Fine. I shall break your toys for you.”

  The goddess lunged forward at the construct, her sword rising to meet the golem’s halberd with a deafening crack, and Reva saw the metal sag under the force of the blow. The other golems quickly moved to surround her, and as they did, Reva moved toward Helia.

  “Helia, are you certain you want to be here? She’s… much stronger than I thought she’d be,” he admitted, gasping slightly as he looked at the magi. “Get ready!”

  “This is what the golems are for, Sir Reva. They’re here to absorb punishment people can’t take, and no one can take that, sir!” Helia retorted sharply, gesturing over, and Reva blanched as he saw a flaming sword take a golem’s head clean off and send it flying, the edges still molten as they crashed through the panicking army around him.

  The assault on the fortress had almost been forgotten, but Reva saw that the fighting was continuing, if less intensely. Swallowing, he looked at the magi, many of whom were battered from the wind but intact. He nodded to them, and almost in unison they began to cast their spells.

  Helia’s voice was soft as they watched a mangled golem flying in three directions at once. “I hope this works…”

  “So do I,” Reva replied, and as the magi were finishing, he snapped, “Pull them back!”

  “Fall back!” Helia called out, but at the same time Tyria spoke.

  “Enough
!” Tyria’s voice seemed to shake the earth and heavens in sudden anger. For only an instant Reva caught a glimpse of her as she drove her sword into the hill. Fissures raced outward from the blade, crackling with fire, and then the world exploded.

  The explosion left Reva’s ears ringing and he felt himself flailing as he was thrown through the air. He could hardly process what had just happened, and he hadn’t even had time for fear to start enveloping him when a gauntleted hand grabbed him by his armor and arrested his fall, before suddenly surging upward. As Reva’s eyesight cleared, he saw Tyria, her face no longer sad but angry as she launched into the sky, taking him higher than he would have believed possible in mere moments. Finally, once they were out of range of all but a handful of birds in the sky, she stopped and turned her attention to Reva. She took a moment to calm herself, the anger fading into an icy expression, but he didn’t miss the fire in her eyes.

  “We were interrupted, and now I am a touch more upset than I was before. You will answer my questions honestly, or I will drop you and ensure that you die horribly,” Tyria said quietly, and Reva gulped, glancing down and feeling dizzier than he had before. He already felt a little nauseous, and the idea of falling was unpleasant.

  “R-right…” he gasped, trying to figure out what she was going to ask. He’d been expecting her to kill him and be done with it. “What do you want to know?”

  “Why do you call me a slave of Kelvanis?” Tyria asked, her eyes narrowed. “I am not their servant. I am a servant to my faithful, not to some petty nation.”

  “Because you were corrupted by them! I’ve never heard of you before Kelvanis started extolling your virtues, and that was after they kidnapped you from the temple of Medaea!” Reva told her, his voice trembling as he did so, far too conscious of the distance he could fall. “You were Medaea, after all!”

  “That… cannot be. Yet despite that, you truly believe that which you claim. Yet you are not absolutely certain, either,” Tyria murmured, her anger seeming to calm slightly. “Why is that?”

  “Of course I’m not certain! I never saw you, unlike the priestesses of Medaea. But they’ve been certain, certain enough that the entire church of Medaea has been trying to find where they’d taken you,” he replied, his eyes darkening. “I don’t know. All I know is that you’re on the side of the murderous, raping slavers who’ve invaded our lands without provocation!”

  “That’s also true… which makes me wonder. Hmm. Where are these priestesses?” Tyria demanded, her presence seeming less dangerous now.

  “Why should I tell you?” Reva retorted, glowering in return.

  “Because if you tell me, I will not reduce your army to ashes, so long as you allow the army of Kelvanis to retreat in turn,” the goddess replied directly, a smile flickering across her face. “I truly believe that such is better than the alternative.”

  “But…” Reva began, his thoughts racing. He hated to tell her where the priestesses were, but if his army couldn’t stop her, what choice did he have? Besides, she’d go after Beacon soon enough, so he finally caved in and nodded. “Fine. I… they’re in the fortress of Beacon, built around the dungeon to the south-west.”

  “Good enough. Do not worry, you will not die,” Tyria murmured, and before he could ask what she meant, she let go of him.

  The scream that Reva let out was embarrassing, but given the distance involved he doubted that anyone but the goddess could hear, or blame him if they could. The air whistled in his ears, and the ground was rapidly approaching even as despair struck Reva once more. Yet just as he thought he was about to hit the ground, a strange sensation washed over him and his fall drastically slowed, until he gently touched down on the ground.

  “Sir Reva! Are you alright?” Helia had a cut over one eye that she was pressing a cloth to, and the others in the area looked battered themselves. The hill where Reva’s command post had been was gone above the halfway mark, the crown of it a scorched pit, and rubble had been strewn across the army and siege engines.

  “I’m… I’m alright, just a bit shaken. I don’t think I’ll be happy with heights for a while, though,” he managed, slowly standing up.

  “That’s good, what do—” she began, only to have Tyria’s voice interrupt once more.

  “In Tyria’s name, all those on the battlefield, stand down! Soldiers of Kelvanis, fall back to the border. Army of Sifaren, should you attack them I will reduce your army and forest to ashes!” the goddess’ voice boomed, rumbling across the army with the terrifying statement.

  As it passed, everyone looked at Reva, and he nodded bitterly. “Do as she says. We’ve lost this battle. Hopefully someone else can do better.”

  Internally, he hoped that the curious look in Tyria’s eyes might give a chance of something more… but that was a hope he dared not voice.

  Chapter 44

  “Go ahead, Farris,” Phynis told the woman as Slaid settled into his chair, trying to suppress her worry.

  “Our worst fears have been confirmed. Tyria attacked Sifaren’s army around Galthor yesterday.” Farris’ voice was blunt as she looked at the others around the table.

  The conference included everyone of importance in the city, from Vendis and Slaid to Albert Windgale and Lirisel from Medaea’s temple. Diamond and Sistina were there as well, but others had been excluded on the simple basis that their superiors were going to pass along information and Phynis didn’t want too many people in the room. This was going to be bad enough as it was.

  “Tianna protect us… how bad was it?” Vendis asked, her face ashen.

  “Not nearly as bad as it could have been. From what Reva was able to tell us, Tyria was trying to kill the commanders instead of the army as a whole, though when she lost her temper it was pretty bad. Seventeen golems were destroyed and only twelve people were killed by her hand, but they couldn’t react fast enough to have all their magi concentrate on her,” Farris explained. “She could have devastated the army, but she isn’t acting quite how we expected, even with Wenris’ warning. Tyria isn’t directly working for Kelvanis, and when Reva told her about being Medaea, she seemed… confused and curious. So she asked where the priestesses who could confirm this were.”

  “That’s either promising or terrifying, and I’m not certain which it is,” Diamond murmured, leaning forward slightly. “Did he tell her?”

  “When she said that she’d reduce his army to ashes and drop him from hundreds of feet in the air if he didn’t? Yes. She’s overseeing the retreat of Kelvanis’ army to the border, but after that I believe we must assume she will be coming here,” the golem mage replied, her strange eyes glittering.

  “Alright, what in the hells are we going to do, then? If she could have wrecked an entire army on her own, what chance would we have?” Slaid asked bluntly. “I know you said we have some methods, but hearing about this scares me. I know it’ll shake my people, too.”

  “Of course it will! The war was already too close to evenly matched, even with you and Yisara’s army. With a goddess in the fray, it won’t just tip the scales. We have to stop her if we’re to have any chance at all!” Vendis exclaimed, looking at Phynis. “Your Majesty, do you have any assurance that we can do so?”

  “No. While we have methods we think will work, there’s no guarantee against such a powerful being,” Phynis admitted heavily, sitting back in her chair and looking at the others seriously. “I don’t want to lie to all of you, which is why I’m telling you this. Despite that, we do have two possible solutions. Farris, Sistina?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty. First is the beacon atop the palace itself. I know that most of you are aware that it’s also a weapon called a Siegebreaker Array. It has severely limited uses, but it possesses enough power to punch through virtually any shielding spell and take down most dragons,” Farris explained, her lips curling into a slight smile as she continued. “While not necessarily equal to an army of magi, it can be used almost instantly, and it’s all but impossible to block since it travels so qu
ickly. If Tyria comes within a mile of the walls, we can target her with it. Unfortunately, it would require someone to be on hand to aim it, but…”

  Albert cleared his throat. “As a point of note, my weapon that I used on the wall was based on these Siegebreaker Arrays. I don’t think mine had more than a tithe of the power, but I hope that adds some perspective to the matter.”

  “I see. That does help somewhat. What about the other solution?” Slaid asked, looking at Sistina.

  The dryad had been sitting calmly, barely reacting to most of the conversation, but when he asked, she looked back at him and spoke gravely. “This is dangerous. She may dodge the beacon. She may breach the city. If she does, do not stop her. She will come for me. I have laid a trap. It may capture her. The power needed is… immense. If I can, if it works, I can claim her brand. That or use Jaine’s brand to try to restore her mind. It may not work, though. I fear Irethiel will try to intervene.”

  “Tianna preserve us…” Vendis muttered, but Slaid nodded.

  “I suppose. Why are you so sure she’ll come for you, though? You’re just the dungeon from her perspective, right?” the man asked, glancing apologetically to Phynis as he did so.

  “That is a good question,” Phynis agreed, looking at Sistina and raising her eyebrows. “Well?”

  “My domain, my magic will interfere with hers. She is intruding into my domain, which will weaken her. She will come to destroy me to keep from being weakened or ejected from my domain,” Sistina replied simply, shrugging. “Like removing enemy commander. Just makes sense.”

  “Goddess…” Lirisel’s voice was soft, and she swallowed before asking, “What do you want us to do? I mean, she’s our goddess, no matter what’s been done to her, but I don’t know that I can fight her.”

  “Pray. Pray fervently, with memories of who she was,” the dryad replied softly. “Remind her.”

  “That’s all well and good, but what about us? While I want to help, my people are really hesitant to get involved in your war,” Albert asked, folding his arms and frowning. “I’m willing to help where I can, but since Mister Sorvos isn’t anywhere near us, my position is somewhat precarious.”