He was a bit brighter now, thanks to Nova's steadily increasing light. I could see the outline of his face. He had a long, wide maw that jutted out, with a definitive snout at the end. I could see the bottom of the mouth move, and I realized he was smiling at me. I also realized I had gained a disturbing level of proficiency in reading amusement or contempt on non-human faces.
"Judging by the gears turning behind your eyes, I can see you are considering the possibility that your ancestors were prescient. They were proved right over the existence of the Soulships’ bane, even if they were incorrect to assume they could thwart it. I will state my race, and move into your second question. I am an altered form of what was once known as a flood dragon," he said, as Mara hissed in outrage from within my soul, "a race of dragons that was among the first to begin to civilize, and among the last to completely embrace the hundred laws of the ship-tyrants. My first master was at the forefront of leading the rest of our race to embrace such laws, and it was his mortal shame to find out that I had gone in the complete opposite direction."
"Your speech is rather refined, for one claiming to have thrown off civilization completely," I noted, quietly spinning my Soulscape and ensuring that I remained ready to fight.
"Barbarism was not the opposite direction I was speaking of," the Sourcebeast-man claimed. "I did not seek to return to seeking immortality by eating, sleeping, and mating at times beneficial to my cultivation. I sought immortality that also led to kingship, so that when I finally ascended, I could do so as a ruler, taking slaves and finding a throne waiting for me. To be in charge of my power, and subject to neither nature itself nor the space-tyrants that demanded I eat only certain things, and acquire wealth, servants, or mates in a fashion that they deemed was appropriate. My benefactor offered me an opportunity to reset the rules in a way that was best for myself and worst for my enemies, instead of old laws that were supposedly equal across the board. As a down payment, he unlocked in me the ability to both Advance as a Sourcebeast and Draw as a human, something only possible for the more Advanced of Sourcebeasts."
Murdering idiot! Grandmother Mara snapped in my mind. He could have already had such things! The Anchor Knights helped my kind with that very task!
"He helped me change into a human-like form early," the dragon-man continued. "Allowing me to Draw sooner. I would have the strengths of a bi-practitioner, possibly even a fabled tri-practitioner, without having to split my Advancement between the studying of multiple Sources. He further showed me a way to more fully extract Source from a servant or slain enemy. With these two gifts alone, my Ascension was practically guaranteed."
"At the expense of pledging yourself to another master," I pointed out dryly, "one that pretended he was merely a benefactor."
"The night sky is full of masters, young ghost eater," the crocodile-mouthed man chuckled. "That is another bonus to Advancement: once you are strong enough, your master may no longer force you to do whatever he or she wishes. To take on a master is to wager that you will one day surpass them, and be free from their rules and constraint—at least for those who are not affected with a maddened devotion to their masters, like the star dragons and Anchor Knights were to the Soulships."
"It wasn't like that with us," Nova protested, unable to stop herself from interjecting. This time, the flood dragon turned his head to take her seriously.
"You have already seen two different beings contest their treatment under your primary body's reign, or at least that of her people. I will interrupt my conversation with the ghost eater and ask you one question: if your people's reign was truly so enlightened, why did the races of so many disparate practitioners and Sourcebeasts board a vessel already under fire and attempt to help whatever horror that had come from beyond the night sky finish you off?"
My friend seemed shaken by that question. So I answered it for her.
"On the world of sages alone, over a hundred different kingdoms have fallen," I answered slowly. "Every single one of them was not more corrupt, or more repressive, than the ones replacing them, else my world would have eventually become a shining bastion of wealth, equality, and enlightenment. And judging by the creatures I have already seen down here, I find myself doubting if they would be happy with any ruler that did not allow them to murder, steal, or pillage as they wished."
"You would be correct," Gray Long said simply. "I will not apologize for wanting what was best for myself."
Grandmother Mara sputtered angry syllables over his statement. I could not make out the words in her rage, but I heard 'fool' and 'murdering idiot' mentioned over and over.
Instead of deciphering her angry rant, I concentrated on observing my future opponent. Nova's light had spread enough to reveal his form by now. As I had thought earlier, he had the appearance of a crocodile-man, and I remembered crocodiles to be the supposed descendants of flood dragons, or at least they shared their appearance with them. He was immensely muscled, with biceps that reminded me of the sott-jotun, save that they were covered in green scales instead of diseased skin. His clothing was a pair of brown trousers and a tattered brown shirt that had a gray metal breastplate strapped over it, one that seemed more suited for a much smaller chest.
And since neither of us interrupted him again, he continued speaking.
"Since you appear to be satisfied with my first answer, I will now move on to the next. My benefactor apparently knew of the invasion at the same time that the Soulships did, possibly even shortly before. I and others were told to expect the arrival of the mad shadow-beings, and to take advantage of the confusion and do as much damage, and acquire as much wealth, as we could. To that end, we were encouraged to seek out other practitioners and Sourcebeasts to help us, such as the two you killed earlier. For the Sourcebeasts, we offered the tools to change into a human-ish form early, and for the different human races, we offered the tools to gain Sourcebeast bloodlines without becoming an essence practitioner or having a Sourcebeast as a parent. I suspect the process was loosely based on the eaterling's evolution, and that my benefactor was constantly diluting versions of the process, so that the lower-ranking soldiers in this new war would get a much weaker version of this gift. As for the shroud you see me wield, I withheld that almost completely, instead teaching them ways to bind vengeful ghosts to their bodies for extra power and sustenance. I suspect my benefactor sought to raise an army, one that would project his power in the wake of the dead sky-tyrants, and that we were its prototypes. As an officer class, I got a much better upgrade, but I suspect those above me received even greater forms and benefits, to say nothing of my benefactor himself. I suspect his version left his form completely indistinguishable from a normal Earthling."
"Earthling," I said, catching on that word. "You said Earthling. Not human."
There were over a hundred different races of human among the worlds scattered across the night sky. They differed wildly in appearance, and some with special bloodlines even had what a person from Earth might consider non-human features. But the only people called Earthlings, Vessa assured me, were people who were actually from Earth, and almost no one knew about that planet today, except for our enemies scattered aboard her ship-body.
"I did say 'earthling'," the flood dragon said with a wide crocodile smile. "I suspect he didn't notice I could tell, but my master's own education was rather extensive. Not everyone of your people agreed to be sages, ghost eater. Some left their planet-museum in favor of seeking their own benefits, and keeping their own souls."
"Stop saying Jas doesn't have a soul!" Nova snapped.
"It was their own beliefs I was sharing, not my private thoughts," Long said with a shrug. "In fact, it was the expatriates of your planet that submitted the idea that sages were soulless, and provided the best research to show that Source energy is tied to the soul and spirit. They had apparently been making some studies of their own. And for whatever reason, their power dwarfed that of the Anchor Knights, because both my old mentor, his rider, and his companions wer
e slain long before they had a chance to interfere with the ship-tyrants' demise."
Grandmother Mara started at the declaration.
That… she began. We had wondered why our numbers had become few at the very end…
"They sought to create a new empire," the crocodile-faced-dragon-man continued, "and one they were better prepared to maintain than the Soulships' false republic, it would seem."
"You can't know that," I countered. "You've been stuck inside this world of darkness and steel for anywhere from decades to thousands of years. For all you know, your benefactor's empire fell moments after your battle here."
"Oh?" Gray Long asked me skeptically. "Did it now?"
I did not answer him.
Because he had switched languages again, and this time I had caught the change.
He had switched to the language of the Glorious State.
And despite the passage of time, it was an almost perfect match.
"Judging by the recognition in your eyes, and the fact that the sages of your world were never exposed to this specific tongue, I can conclude that my benefactor was successful, possibly even more than he had ever dared to hope. Had I managed to escape this place, I would likely have had a powerful position in his armies. I might have even been able to meet his master, and climb further up the hierarchy, unless I became strong enough to ignore it altogether. But I believe I have one more question to answer for you."
He finally shifted his feet as he spoke, moving his body from a less restful position. That move was telling. It suggested combat would begin soon.
"I am interested in souls because I am interested in Source energy, for what greater purpose does Source energy have beyond making the soul immortal? Any understanding can only aid me in my survival. And if your kind can create an artificial soul, or at least some artifact that allows you to make duplicates of a Soulscape and wield Source energy, then I had best be curious. More than that, I should see if I can take such a thing from your corpse after I kill you. Now," he said, as his scaled feet shifted on the tiles. "I suppose I have the patience for one more round of questions. You can go first, young ghost eater, since I am feeling generous to the soon-dead."
"What do you know about ghosts, and why do you keep calling me a ghost eater?"
"The ghosts I speak of are those that I saw you devour with your Soulscape earlier," Long rumbled, apparently mistaking my grandmother for my Soulscape. "I suppose I should not be surprised that something like the greatest ally of your ancestors serves as your artificial Soulscape. Perhaps my distant kin are the ones responsible for its creation. Then again, perhaps such an artifact was stolen from the empire that replaced her peoples'," he said as he tilted his snout toward Nova, "for it gives you a toughened body and more than one Source for your power, and deals with the restless dead. Again, in an inferior fashion than even what was given to me, so perhaps it is merely a poorly copied counterfeit. I will find out when I kill you. Now for my last questions: why have you, a puny thing in only the second stage of Advancement in one or more Sources, seek to help her, a broken, doomed thing far less powerful than even the fragments of her original hunters, and with scavengers boarding her ship-body, as well as newer, more powerful foes that seek to consume her as well? Do you actually hope to win against such odds? Or are you acting this way because you are a young Earthling male, and so desire a beautiful woman as your mate?" The monster's black reptilian eyes narrowed as he considered Nova. "Or has she made you hopeful, by being the one to say that she desires you as a mate? Even though you are of different races, and no non-Soulship male has successfully courted a Soulship female within the entire history of the night sky?"
"You basta—" Nova cut off the rest of her angry words, choosing instead to activate her augments. Fire danced along her robes, armor, and sword, and her light further intensified. "Come over here and say that!"
"I am still here," I began, reinforcing my own augments, putting as much energy as I dared into my spells, techniques, and charms, "because I have seen the future your own empire wished to form."
The flood dragon's eyes narrowed as I spoke, because I had switched to the language of the Glorious State. "It is not the future where the wisest, and strongest, survive. The top powers of my world consist of perhaps the weakest of dragons, and definitely the weakest of Earth-men. They hold down everyone's Advancement, including their own, with resources, numbers, and sheer decay, because the rules they have made limit everyone from becoming more—including themselves. Every leader I have encountered that spoke this tongue fluently has been a lazy, weak pig, grown fat off the opportunities he believed himself entitled to. I do not know why you called me weak after seeing me take down your door-lackeys so easily, but know that the last Glorious Imperial I encountered was a full stage beyond me, and I felled him with a single, un-augmented punch. If you make it past me, even if your former master remembers you, you will not encounter the glorious opportunities you are expecting to find.
"As for the second and third questions." I tilted my head toward Nova. "Senior, those are none of your business. If I choose to either protect or court the last angel in the night sky, what is it to you? And if she accepts or declines my affections, what is it to you? And why should I ever trust my enemy to tell me whether such things as victory or love are possible?"
Gray Long rose to his feet. His shroud gathered back around him, resisting Nova's light.
"Bold words by all accounts," the dragon-man said as he straightened his body. "It has certainly been refreshing to talk to you, ghost eater. And informative. If your words are true, then my benefactor's empire has become the very thing it promised me it would destroy. And the doomed young Soulship has become my last chance to gain the kind of night sky I truly want, where the mighty and bold can carve down the cowards who stand in their way." The bulky humanoid snorted, and vapor left his nostrils. "I had not expected irony to have such a taste."
"Senior," I said cautiously as I hefted my spear. "It sounds as if you are reconsidering whether or not we should fight."
"Of course not," the dragon snorted again. "Being on the winning side is more important than building one's paradise."
Before we could attack, his black shroud billowed from behind his back, and released a storm of power.
In the midst of that power were intense emotions of anger, rage, and loss.
My Soulscape immediately opened for Mara to help defend me again, but then a surge of high-pressure water slammed into me and knocked me against the wall, right next to the doorway I had just entered the room from. A thud and a pained cry announced that Nova had just made a similar flight, but it was still too dark for me to see where she was.
I could, however, make out Gray Long's heavy footsteps as he charged in my direction.
I realized I could make out his scent as well, feel the vibrations from his footsteps, even gain an idea of the movements of his arms from feeling the air displace around him.
Now the speed, my grandmother hissed. Draw on your little brother's speed as well!
For what I remembered as the very first time, I purposely drew on the power of my essence bond with Nestor the lifemouse.
I ducked down in time to avoid a heavy fist shrouded with flood essence and darkness mana aimed at my head, drawing out my halfblade as I did so, and dropping my spear since it would be useless in the confined dark. I slashed down, my speed augmented from Nestor and all three Source energies, hissing in triumph as I saw my weapon flash with silver light and connect with something solid. But there was very little give, meaning my cut may not even have made it through Gray Long's hide, and from what little I could see in that brief flash of light confirmed my fears. My powerful blow hadn't even made it to the muscle, and the flood dragon's mild grunt of pained surprise was almost patronizing.
But then a powerful fist slammed into my chest too quickly for me to dodge, this one slamming me into another wall. Then I heard a fierce, feminine cry, and the portion of the room behind the
hulking shadow attacking me suddenly lit up.
Nova's flaming blade was beginning to eat the darkness around it, and I saw her blue eyes, blonde hair, and golden winged tiara shine in the dark, two blue dots and a brilliant winged mane of gold dancing through the dark, in tandem with the tongue of sharpened fire swinging about at her side. The hulking shadow of Gray Long turned to battle her, and I heard the dragon man grunt as he brought his arms in the way of the burning blade. But the flashes of golden light revealed that she didn't cut much deeper into his arms than I did, and he soon landed a punch that sent her flying into the wall opposite my own.
But she had given me just enough time.
Lightning crackled in my hands, the result of both qi and Nestor's new lightning essence. I channeled the electricity through a thermodynamics spell designed to discharge most of the heat after the bolt had made its way through the flood dragon's skin, and fired my bolt into the monster's back. Gray Long actually seemed harmed by this, as his shadowy bulk threw his head back and let out a pained roar.
"Nova!" I shouted, "Vessa and the hallway!"
I wanted to grab her myself on the way out, but our enemy was between us, and I realized I had to trust my teammate to understand. As I burned another short-term speed charm and dashed around my paralyzed foe, I saw Nova shake her head angrily and follow me.
"We can take him!" she snapped as she dashed out the doorway with me. "He's paralyzed right no—"
She ended her words with a startled cry, and ducked downward, pausing just long enough to pull me down with her. I was already on my way down, but she was still faster than me, and as I fell downward I felt a sharpened black disk whistle over my head and miss my cranium by mere inches.
I knew I should have made better helmets, my grandmother hissed as a stream of expletives fled from her mouth a moment later.
Anchor Knight Page 14
