Legends of the War (War of the Magi Book 3)

by Stephen Allan

CHAPTER 18: ARTEMIA

  Tired of waiting for her men to keep up, Artemia ordered all of her remaining soldiers aboard Odin’s horse—but not before removing their weapons—as they rode the great steed to the northwest in pursuit of what she had long sought—the complete destruction of the trifecta of legendary dragons.

  She left their weapons in the hands of Ifrit, though frankly, she didn’t much care if the monster broke their swords and arrows by mistake or on purpose. She wanted to castrate the men of their power and remind them who was in charge.

  Although Odin’s horse had magical powers, it did not make it without fatigue, and the extra weight slowed them down—though not as much as walking on foot would have. The horse could move for perhaps a couple of hours before Odin would request they give the horse a chance to rest, at which point it would lie for about fifteen minutes before feeling fully recharged. At least, Artemia thought, her monsters understood the haste with which they needed to move.

  For days, they moved just like this, conversation kept to a minimum. When the men talked, they spoke in hushed tones and quickly, fearful that Artemia would come and strike them down. She didn’t find such suspicions inaccurate, but it felt a lot more fun to torture the three as a group rather than individually. If it got down to two, they could depend on each other. If it came down to one, that risked becoming too personal or too boring. And if it got down to none, all the fun would disappear.

  Ifrit, Odin, Shiva and the phoenix moved without conversation either, though at least Artemia had gotten used to those monsters rarely speaking. Artemia had conversations with herself in her head, ranging from desperate anticipation to self-loathing at her inability to have accomplished this sooner. Had she gone for Indica in years past, she might have achieved this victory already, each dragon becoming like a stepping stone to the next. Auron would mock me relentlessly. Well, Auron, you will soon look a fool.

  Fortunately, she did not have to wander much longer. At the end of the third day with three soldiers, she saw to the far north a great mountain peak that rose almost independently of the rest of the mountains. Remembering the phoenix’s words, she knew. That had to be where the great dragon lay.

  She kept her eye on it as she ordered Odin’s horse to continue moving forward, sure that Bahamut would have to emerge at some point from the mountain. It would have to fly around it, over it, or by it. It had to come out to eat at some point. But no, Bahamut never appeared.

  “You’re sure of what you saw?” Artemia asked in some form multiple times.

  “My eyes do not deceive me, Artemia, this I swear,” the phoenix would answer in some fashion.

  Artemia had no choice but to believe it, for whatever plan she could come up with to counter what the phoenix suggested never got past the possibility stage in her head.

  About an hour after the sun had set, Ifrit stopped Odin’s horse.

  “If we attack at night, our chances of success will diminish greatly,” he said. “We are going into Bahamut’s territory, and is exceedingly likely that it will use the terrain to its advantage in some fashion. We need daylight.”

  Perhaps so. You are my greatest weapons in this fight. I suppose I should listen to you.

  But only for this battle, nothing beyond.

  “But we leave as soon as the sun rises,” Artemia said.

  Ifrit nodded in agreement. The three soldiers huddled close together for warmth through the night, as the temperature had dropped noticeably from traveling so far north. Artemia remained close to Odin’s horse, which supplied its own natural warmth, while Ifrit, Shiva, and the phoenix kept watch.

  Through the night, Artemia tried to come up with strategies for the following day, but frankly, her strategies fell to that of “depend on her monsters for victory.” Shiva, Ifrit, the phoenix and Odin made for a powerful quartet of fire, ice, aerial, and sheer physical power, but if they fell, Artemia would only have her sword. If her sword alone did not defeat Indica or Ragnor, what chance would it stand against the so-called king of kings?

  She’d come too far, though, to change her mind. Not now. If she died, so be it. Her mind could find peace knowing it had come this far. If she could not pull it off, then truly, no one could. Bahamut would be a god within Hydor, an indestructible deity that no man or magi could ever hope to defeat. It felt so unlike her to accept the potential of defeat, but if she won, she knew she would never lose another battle ever again. Nothing could stand up to the essence of Ragnor and the essence of Bahamut—to say nothing of when she killed Kara and collected the essence of Indica.

  Except, perhaps, her own mind.

  When she saw the first glimmer of light, she demanded all rise. Ifrit stood before her, asking for attention.

  “What?” she snapped.

  “We are about four hours away from the peak,” Ifrit said. “We should get there with plenty of time to fight. But I should warn you, we have enemies following us.”

  Instead of worrying Artemia, this delighted her. Oh, who could it be? Soldiers from the empire? That would make for a good laugh. The entertainment value suddenly looked promising for the afternoon.

  “Describe these enemies, Ifrit.”

  “Six humans. Four women, two men. Three of them look young, perhaps barely adult humans. The other three appeared much older.”

  “And do they have any weapons?”

  “Two of them carry swords and what looks like arrows. Three are without. One, I could not tell.”

  No women ever joined the imperial army. The emperor would never allow it, his old fashioned ways preventing him from building even greater forces. That had to have made the women magi.

  Could Kara be one of them? Please, oh, please, let it be Kara. I want her to witness my victory as I kill her god before her eyes. And then let her scream as I kill her. I won’t even have to hunt her down in Caia.

  Your luck is turning now, Artemia. Decades of suffering and pain, vanishing all in a day of good fortune.

  “Let us ignore them,” Artemia said. “Frankly, mere humans pose no threat. If they arrive, they may be magi and may have the ability to fight back, but I do not worry myself with such problems. They will have to deal with Bahamut just as we will. I say let them come.”

  “You are sure?” Ifrit asked, sounding stunned. “They are not yet aware of our presence. We could ambush them and defeat them easily.”

  Artemia did give it a brief thought. But while her narcissistic side wanted to believe that Ifrit was right, if Kara was among the magi, then she would have the essence of Indica. Even if Ifrit, Shiva, the phoenix, and Odin conquered them with ease, it would not make for as easy a fight as she had hoped. And the last thing she needed was more recovery days and a delay in her true mission.

  “Save your strength,” Artemia said, somewhat disappointed. “When we defeat Bahamut, we will destroy those humans. How far back are they?”

  “Perhaps a couple of hours. They look to have traveled through the night.”

  That eager to stop me. Impressive. It will also mean they are entirely fatigued and will make for an easy dispatch when they arrive. No, we move forward. They will make but a second’s delay in battle.

  “Consider them the victory indulgence once we defeat Bahamut,” Artemia said. “For now, though, let’s move forward. If they attack us before we reach the ‘king of kings,’ then you may kill them.”

  “Understood, master.”

  Artemia mounted Odin after her three soldiers had, and the unit moved forward to the great mountain rising ahead.

  It occurred to Artemia as they marched that no map she had ever seen contained this massive mountain rising to the north. It seemed so out of place and so noticeable that surely, some man or woman must have seen this great landmark rising. Someone must have put it on some map in the history of mankind.

  But then again, she had to remember that in the older days, Bahamut had resided closer to Mathos. The empire never dared push up against it, and then it moved across the sea to establish Caia
once it became clear it would not stop Bahamut. So no wonder, then, that no man had ever discovered this mass—or at least, no man had ever found it and bothered to record it. Perhaps Garo knew. A pity. Waste of knowledge.

  Snow covered the ground, though the skies provided a clear day. Temperatures bit at the extremities, but it felt just slightly above freezing levels. The sun glistened off the snow. The men in front of her shivered. Artemia rolled her eyes, but their purpose would end soon. She would have wrapped up her time with them soon enough.

  After about three hours of trudging through the snow, Odin, walking ahead by about two minutes, paused. He looked down, then looked back. The horse approached and paused. Artemia dismounted the horse and moved forward.

  They had come to a vast chasm separating them and the mountain. It would take no more than a few minutes to cross the chasm, but of greater interest was what awaited on the other side.

  The cave the phoenix had talked about.

  But it looked less like a cave and more like an impact site of a meteor or some other fantastic explosion. The opening began several feet in front of the cave and went up hundreds of feet. It spoke volumes about the size of the mountain that the cave did not even cover the entire front. The entrance looked like an egg on its side, not a half-oval shape.

  “Bahamut lies inside,” Artemia mumbled to herself. She looked down at the terrain below. There was no turning back once they went down. “Let’s go!”

  Before she could change her mind—not that she would, but just in case the thought came to her, as it had with Ragnor—she hurried down the chasm, perhaps a two hundred foot descent. As she did so, she noticed clouds coming around the mountain and the surrounding area. They did not look like storm clouds, but they had enough size to block out the sun. For an area that had not had any clouds just minutes before, this seemed too unlikely for it to be a coincidence.

  When they reached the bottom, they found the snow thinner than before. She tried looking for footprints of Bahamut but did not come across any. Perhaps they had found the wrong cave.

  But given that no other cave appeared within eyesight—to say nothing of the mountain before her—she had to assume they had found its home.

  And now, the reason she had brought her men came into play. Bait.

  “Soldiers!” she shouted. The three men turned to face her nervously. I never even learned their names. Oh well. Such a thing would mean nothing to me. “This is your chance for glory. We are literally in unchartered territory. But deep inside that cave lies the monster that has terrorized humanity for centuries. It forced your empire out of Mathos and across the sea, and it will force all of us into hiding if we do not defeat it. Bring it out, and let us conquer it. Live, and you shall never want for anything ever again.”

  The men did not look satisfied. But Artemia had ways beyond persuasive speeches to get them to do her bidding. She did not need a silver tongue to move them.

  “Now go,” she said, her voice lowering and her eyes narrowing. “Head inside that cave. If you bring the beast out, we will do what needs to be done.”

  The soldiers looked at each other, looked at Ifrit, who growled, and then they moved ahead with a collective shrug. Artemia stayed relatively close behind, making sure they did not try and dessert at the last minute. Not that that would play into their favor—days removed from the nearest civilization with nothing but enemies around, they would perish either instantly at the hands of Ifrit or slowly at the hands of starvation, insanity, and smaller predators.

  They reached the first opening, the part that dipped down from the ground, and Artemia paused. She took in her surroundings, even glancing back, paranoid the legendary dragon might appear to ambush them. The clouds above her had thickened, making sight beyond them all but impossible. She only saw a white wall. The beast is near. I know this. I can all but feel it.

  Behind her, the sky was clear, but it went so far back it felt like the entire valley had become encased in clouds, obscuring her vision from any relevant attack points.

  To the sides of the chasm, she just saw empty spaces.

  Just as well. Bahamut had many advantages, but subtlety wasn’t one of them. As long as she had a chance, she could accept any outcome that came.

  The soldiers moved in slowly, darkness enveloping them. Only at that moment did it occur that she had not given them torches or any means of light, but then again, that didn’t matter at all. Giving them something meant taking away something that she could use.

  The soldiers came back after a few minutes. The first one shouted, “There’s nothing in there. We looked. The cave isn’t that deep, but there’s nothing inside.”

  Artemia grimaced. She looked at the phoenix, resting on its feet by her side, with judgmental eyes.

  “I swear I saw the tail of a great beast here before,” the phoenix said. “I know what I saw and I believe in its authenticity.”

  Artemia glanced at her remaining soldiers. To her left, the phoenix and Ifrit watched the humans. To her right, Odin and Shiva awaited their next move. Artemia looked back at the humans, deciding it time to return to the threatening leader.

  “Soldiers!” Artemia shouted. “You had better have made a thorough investigation. Don’t make me search this cave myself!”

  “We swear to it!” the man shouted. “Can we please return? There is nothing here. We have journeyed this far for nothing. I swear on my wife’s life, Artemia, there is no dragon inside.”

  No. No. No!

  “We are not leaving until I see Bahamut with my own eyes!” Artemia shrieked, rage consuming her so fast she didn’t have time to recognize it. “You hear me?!? No one leaves here! No one!”

  “But he’s not here!” the soldier cried.

  “You will find him!”

  “Artemia! Please! Under—”

  Three massive lightning bolts erupted from the sky, striking the soldiers where they stood. A massive thunder came right after, the sound wave knocking Artemia to the ground and temporarily deafening her.

  But even as her hearing slowly came back, her hearing gradually returning, she heard loud and clear the bold, authoritative, and deadly bellow that emerged from the heavens. It brought a smile to her face as her four remaining monsters assumed fighting stances.

  She saw first the talons on the feet and its dark, black hide. The claws curled in and out as clouds obscured the rest of the monstrosity.

  Then the tail appeared, a twitching spear of death that could impale even the greatest of monsters.

  The beast emerged from the clouds, its thick, black hide revealing scales that no sword would ever penetrate. The red, purple, and yellow markings on its chest came next, along with folded arms. This particular dragon had more humanoid features than its predecessors, perhaps befitting its status as nearly a god of Hydor.

  The wings came next, sporting the same color pattern that its chest did. If Artemia had thought Ragnor had size, this monster had wings that would have enveloped that beast of the south with ease.

  Then came the face. A single horn rose from the top of the skull, but then by the single horn’s sides, several smaller, blunter juts of horns appeared, giving the impression of a crown. Its eyes glowed a dark red, and its nostrils protruded forth.

  The king of kings, the god of the dragons, the ruler of Hydor, the monster that had never lost in battle, had appeared after over two hundred years in the darkness.

  Bahamut.

  Finally, Artemia had come face to face with the test that would define her legend.

  And unlike the other dragons, which appeared to have suffered at the hands of time and age, their bodies debilitating and their powers fading, Bahamut appeared to have gotten stronger, bigger, and angrier over the last few centuries. If it had nearly lost in battle to Garo, it showed no ill effects, and in fact appeared tougher and more intimidating than any painting had ever suggested. Its skin even appeared darker than the dark blue hide that the paintings had shown.

  And for all of th
at, Artemia only had one reaction to this final beast, the ruler of the land.

  She laughed deliriously.

  “Finally,” she said to herself. “A battle worthy of my time!”

  Bahamut bellowed in anger once more, as if trying to silence the dragon hunter. Its crossed arms suggested a level of arrogance at what had come before it to do battle. On size alone, it would crush Ifrit, Shiva, the phoenix, and Odin without much difficulty. Artemia had to hope that whatever magic they had, it would overcome the legendary dragon.

  “Bahamut!” she shrieked.

  The dragon lowered itself to the ground. Rather than sitting on all fours, as most dragons did, this one stood as a human would. It uncrossed its arms and held them in the defensive, as if it would fight as a human rather than a dragon.

  “I have come for your power,” she said, daring to hold her sword aloft. “I have with me the forces of Ragnor, the—”

  Bahamut roared with an anger that surpassed what it had done before. Artemia began to understand what its cries meant. The previous one was like one Rufus Syrast would emit—disbelief and arrogance that anyone had dared to enter its land.

  But this one came from a level of pure hatred. The name Ragnor got under the skin of Bahamut. Perhaps, instead of balancing each other out, they opposed each other in a sort of arms race. They didn’t attack each other only because they knew they so hated each other it would spell the end for them both.

  “My forces will kill you and I will have your power!”

  Bahamut snorted.

  “Enough talk,” Artemia said. “Ifrit! Shiva! Odin! Phoenix! Kill this monster where it stands!”

  Ifrit roared. Shiva cast a spell that surrounded her body with a blue aura. Odin raised his sword as the horse whined beneath him, rising to its hind legs. The phoenix lifted up, its wings appearing to catch fire.

  Bahamut bellowed so loudly that the ground shook once more, and then it rose to the sky, flapping its massive wings, rising far above the phoenix and all the other monsters. The force of it lifting off produced such power that it not only knocked Artemia to the ground, it felt like someone suffocated her.