Elyol lifted his hand with a smile, and Toth exhaled slowly through his nose. Elyol turned his attention to the Devish who was recording. He approached, wiping a trail of blood from his face, and said, “A small victory, but a victory nonetheless. Congratulations, King Toth.”
The display vanished, Tazama’s eyes returning to their normal blue. While elders and higher officers celebrated amongst each other, Vliyan NuForce cackled from a chair off to the side; Wert Lamay downed the contents of a goblet, his cheeks an unnatural red; and Archaic Prince Sigmund walked up the steps toward Toth.
“I’m impressed,” Sigmund said, resting a hand on the throne’s back.
Toth looked up at him out of the corner of his eye. After a short pause, he said, “I told you. It may have taken you learning from your mistakes, but you’ve finally followed the correct path. The Amendment Order had so much potential, but with the corruption that festered within, nothing good could come from it. Ophala, Rosel, and Grandarion each pulled you the wrong way. Whether you came to Wert and I because you finally saw the light or because it was your last resort does not matter; the fact remains that you chose right. Your loyalties lie with the alliance that holds all the power. Now you get to watch your kingdom rise from the ashes.”
“I thought I didn’t want to become my dad,” Sigmund said, “but here I am, working alongside the Dev Kingdom.”
“This was out of necessity; your hands were forced. The Light Realm tried to cripple this kingdom first.” Toth paused, then added, “We took the initiative and made sure they didn’t succeed. Your father made a move he didn’t need to make.”
“True,” Sigmund said.
They fell silent. Toth spotted Tazama through the throng of officers hugging and patting one another on the backs. Her gaze was placid, a stark contrast to those surrounding her. Eventually, she smiled sweetly in Toth’s direction, offering a playful bow from afar.
* * *
It was one o’clock in the morning, yet Intel King Vitio was wide awake. He stood in the war corridor, thrumming his fingers against an empty lectern, waiting for news that Flen and Joy had completed the construction of the teleplatforms. General Lars stood silently to the side of the room. Flen had informed Vitio five days ago that tonight would be the night. But now they were two hours behind schedule on a night when punctuality was of the utmost importance. They needed to counter now, while the Archain elites were focused on Elyol’s victory.
Finally, a knock came from the door. “Come in,” Vitio said.
Flen entered, followed by Joy. Her hair was jet black like Flen’s, but crashed in loose waves rather than falling in sleek straight curtains. “They’re done—or so we think,” Flen said. “At this point, it’s up to chance. I understand we do not have time to tinker.”
Vitio looked at Lars, his gaze sharpening into a glare. “You wanted to redeem yourself; here is your chance.”
Lars nodded without hesitation. “Yes, milord.” He marched swiftly out of the corridor, his strides as long as a Powish giant’s.
“Are Queen Apsa’s forces ready?” Vitio asked.
“Yes, sir,” Joy said. “As are Felli’s. Passionian and Spiritian soldiers await a cue from me to use the teleplatforms.”
Vitio nodded and addressed Flen. “I hope these work.”
“They will,” Flen said with an airy smirk. “I have a lot riding on this.”
“Yes, you’ve made this clear for months now. A life of freeloading.”
Flen’s smirk grew into a smile wide enough to show teeth. “Freeloading? After this, everything given to me is simply you paying off a lifetime of debts. I didn’t have to do this.”
“Very well,” Vitio said, stepping from behind the lectern.
Flen closed his eyes, then reopened them. “Lars is ready. He’s at the teleplatforms with troops now.”
“Tell him to commence the mission,” Vitio instructed. “Joy, relay the same message to Passion General Landon and Spirit Major Ivy.”
She nodded, then closed her eyes. Vitio waited for the two Dev servants to complete the transmission. Once they did, Joy said, “Teleportation is underway.”
Flen crossed the room and leaned against a bookcase. “I hope you realize there’s no turning back from this disastrous decision.”
* * *
Tazama had placed her hands against the double doors to exit the throne room when a message from Halluci, one of the Dev Diatia, rang through her mind. True Light forces are spilling through my teleplatform. I’m hearing the same reports from the others across the city. They’re teleporting in waves—droves of them. Thankfully, no signs of Jestivan—only a couple generals. Jina and I can handle our platforms in the dungeons, but it doesn’t sound promising in the city’s outskirts. Send help.
Tazama whirled; for once, uncertainty reflected on her face. Toth took notice from across the length of the corridor. He rose from his throne. “Silence!” he bellowed. The chatter that flooded the room ceased at once.
As everyone remained motionless, Tazama marched across the throne room. She moved swiftly up the few steps and whispered into Toth’s ear, “They’re countering already, through the teleplatforms.”
Toth’s eyes widened. He pointed at Wert. “Whatever your plan was in case of an emergency infiltration, put it into play right now.”
Wert gaped at him, his cheeks still a rosy red from the celebratory mead. They had been ambushed.
“Go, now!” Toth screamed.
Wert dropped his goblet and sprinted from the room. Without the need of a command, Garlo and the rest of the officers followed him out.
“Should I go, too?”
Toth glanced down at Sigmund, who stood a half-foot shorter than him. “Will your Branian help?”
“Her job is to protect me. I’d say that if I were to enter this fight, my life would be in danger. She’d have no choice.”
Toth breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes, go.”
Sigmund sprinted out of the room, leaving Toth, Tazama, and Vliyan as the only ones left. Vliyan groaned as she hoisted herself out of her chair. Pulling a necklace out of her pocket, she said, “I suppose I’ll join the fun. Wert offered me a role if a situation like this arose. It’d be a shame to put it to waste.”
As Vliyan waddled out of the double doors, the throne room was cast in an echoing quiet. Tazama observed Toth for what felt like an entire minute. He plopped down in his throne, his aura reeking of fear.
“I’m also going to help,” Tazama said.
“No, you’re not,” he rebuked firmly. “You’ll stay here and keep me updated.”
“There are other Devish in the palace to provide such assistance. I, however, am reliable in battle.”
“And even more reliable by my side,” Toth said.
Tazama smiled. “I understand. You’ve lost so much, and you don’t want that tally to accumulate. But I assure you ... I will be back. We cannot lose with the forces we have against theirs—not in this battle, at least. Besides two Diatia, the former Still General, and Proxy Wert Lamay, we have Sigmund’s Branian. Nobody can fight against such a being. And we’ve heard from Prince Storshae that the only Jestivan we’d need to worry about are in the Still Kingdom.”
“If we have such power on our side, sending you is unnecessary,” Toth said.
Tazama shook her head, her expression remaining sweet nonetheless. She pressed a finger against her temple and extracted a thin wisp of smoke.
“Don’t do that,” Toth said, leaning back in defiance.
But Tazama placed her finger against his temple, transferring the strange substance into his mind. His face relaxed, and he pat his hand against hers. “Go ahead,” he said. “I believe in you.”
She leaned over and kissed his lips. “Thank you, love.”
As Tazama spun and took long strides across the throne room, she bowed her head only slightly, hiding the somber note of her exit. Regardless of how the next few hours unfolded for the Archaic Kingdom, Tazama knew she could no long
er play a part.
* * *
Intel General Lars swept his arm outward, a wave of electricity emitting from his body. The Dev Diatia, freckled with red hair, casually thrust out her own hand. The voltaic stream cackled before dissipating into nothing. She had dispersed his electricity with ease.
Lars gritted his teeth and threw two voltaic orbs toward her, but she made them disappear with two casual waves of her hand. As he drew his sword, she raised a finger and twirled it in the air, telekinetically twisting the sword’s handle from his grasp. Lars balked as his weapon clanged into the stone wall.
This young lady did not speak, nor did she show much expression at all. It was as if this fight required no effort. Lars tried everything he could think of, but after another minute or so of pointless attacks, the Diatia finally reached out and clutched the air.
Lars’s windpipe began to tighten, the thick muscles of his neck being overpowered by the invisible Dev chains she had woven around it. He couldn’t make a noise—he could only struggle, falling to his knees. He tried a few more electrical attacks to no avail. Oh well, he thought. This had been my fate anyway. I hope my role here proves useful, milord. Do not let me die in vain.
Lars collapsed face first into the stone. The Dev Diatia’s eyes had burned burgundy through it all, having relayed a visual of the Intel General’s demise to Archaic King Toth.
Another victory.
34
The Dive for Destiny
The crow’s nest of any ship was a magical place, but especially on a vessel as large as the Mythmaker. It provided an aerial view of the surrounding sea, secluded far enough away from the decks below to provide that certain sense of quiet that Agnos relished. Yes, he had his great cabin, where he could spend all of his day without a single disturbance, but such an environment had grown melancholic. After the year he had spent as a member of the Whale Lord crew, and all of those nights he had spent outside scrubbing the decks, he now found himself craving the outdoors. Perhaps for a young man who had spent the entirety of his childhood experiencing the world from studies and libraries, this was a welcoming change. This was his story.
Tashami leaned against the nest’s wall opposite of Agnos, their backs to each other. As Agnos observed the decks below under the light of the moons and stars, Tashami said, “It looks no different than the rest of the sea.”
Agnos turned, taking the spot next to his friend. “We’re still a few days out, but eventually a small island will rise above the horizon. You’ll also see Phesaw’s High Sever towering beyond it.”
“You’ve never mentioned an island,” Tashami said.
“I never knew it to be relevant to this mission of mine,” Agnos said. “Not until a few days ago, when I realized where it was we were headed. When Zorra and I had our nightly meeting, she informed me of where the three constellations would interconnect. With the event nearing, her interpretations of the stars had become more accurate, and she had been certain that the island was it. In three nights, the Archain Monk, Celestial Puma, and Herb of Gold will intertwine in the sky.”
Tashami glanced at Agnos. “Is it possible that the constellation thing is only a coincidence made to look like an important factor for embellishment purposes of the story?”
Agnos nodded. “I know what you’re getting at. With these ancient legends, you must interpret the stories with a grain of salt. While the overarching arc might be true, small details have likely been altered. Perhaps the Thunder Queen and Mind King hadn’t decided the location of their defeat based off solely the stars, but the environment, too.”
Silence followed. Tashami broke it. “Why that island? I’ve always seen it on global maps, but from what I’ve gathered throughout my life, it’s inhabitable—or, at least, nobody tries to inhabit it ... doesn’t even have a name.”
“Because of the sea surrounding it,” Agnos said. “And this is where my theory comes into play. It’s barbarically tempestuous for no reason. There are no storms, not even the slightest of winds, yet the waves could toss this ship. Nobody can pass through it and live to tell about it. Thus, nobody even tries to approach it.”
“Then why are we trying to?”
“Because we’re headed there on the correct night, the one night the sea lies dormant underneath the constellations previously mentioned.” Agnos straightened up and gazed into the stars. “You see, I think that the Thunder Queen’s chronicle isn’t meant to be found by just anyone. If it is to be discovered, it must be done by someone who has dedicated their life to finding it. Only such a person would know to visit the island on such a specific night.”
“That person would be you,” Tashami concluded.
“And I also think,” Agnos said, “that the information entailed in her chronicle can be either catastrophic or illustrious to the world depending on the character of the person hunting it down.”
“In our case, illustrious,” Tashami said.
Agnos smiled. “Of course.” He paused, reflecting on this voyage’s magnitude. “Either way, what we’ll learn from reading it will be universally consequential.”
The two Jestivan-turned-pirates fell silent over the next half-hour or so. They eventually took a seat in the nest, stretching their legs so that their feet connected with the opposite wall.
“How long will the dive last?” Tashami asked.
Agnos shook his head. “The dive I’m not worried about; I’ll sink like a lead weight. Resurfacing, however ...”
“You can weave a bubble strong enough to withstand the deep sea’s pressure?”
“How would I know, Tashami?” Agnos said. “Having Rhyparia would have helped, for she could have tested the strength of my bubbles with her gravity. Besides that, there is really no other way to simulate the deep sea—if it even requires me going down that far.”
Another moment of silence passed, but a sniffle interrupted it. Agnos glanced at Tashami, whose eyes glistened under the moonlight.
“You finally comprehend the risks of my dream. And this is why only I will embark on it,” Agnos said, sighing as he refocused on the stars. “When Neeko helped push me along this path by making sure I’d never be distracted by anything or anyone, he had made it clear to me that he could not determine endings. Such an important piece to the story was up to the person living it ...”
Agnos paused. “I could die.”
* * *
The Mythmaker’s anchors were set firmly in the seafloor, underneath dusk’s dying light. The crew massed above deck, not an inch of its surface visible from a higher vantage point. Agnos stood at the ship’s bow, Orbaculum in his hand. The ancient piece towered over him. It had never seemed as large whenever he had seen Toono holding it.
Everyone watched the same spectacle: the erratic tidal waves just ahead, crisscrossing every which way for what seemed like hundreds of leagues. Waves would collide, creating walls of sea that’d ultimately crash back to the surface, only to rise again. It was such an unnatural phenomenon. Sure, Agnos had witnessed some amazing scenes in his life: Captain Gray’s command of a blue whale army and Gale Thrasher appearing at Phesaw, but those had explanations. This, however, made no sense.
Agnos liked to rank Kuki Sphaira’s most mysterious forces. And now that he had finally witnessed this section of the sea, he would add it to the list. The Void would drop to third, but the Warpfinate would remain at the top. He’d place this phenomenon as the second most mysterious. For the sea to act in such a way; it was almost as if it had a will of its own.
He only hoped that his recent theory was correct. Zorra had led them to the correct location—or just outside of its reach. Now Agnos had to wait for the sea to calm.
“Let’s say you make it to the cave and find the chronicle,” Tashami mused. “How long would it take you to resurface? I’m assuming dawn will have already arrived by that time; the sea would, once again, be restless.”
“I don’t think the cave is located at any unimaginable depth,” Agnos said. “When we dropped anchor
earlier today, we didn’t have to use much of its chain. It hit the seabed abruptly if you recall. While it’s deep, it probably doesn’t compare to some of the sea’s deepest trenches. Still, if I don’t make it back by dawn, then I’ll have to take an alternate route. Instead of swimming directly up toward the surface, I’ll swim through the depths until I reach a point where the sea no longer roars above.”
Tashami shook his head. “That sounds reckless ... something Bryson would think is possible.”
“Come now,” Agnos said. “You’re sounding like your old self, before we visited the Void ... hesitant and cautious.”
“For good reason. This makes our mission in the Void seem like a stroll through Phesaw Park.”
“Like I said, it’s up to how well I weave,” Agnos said.
He turned following a short silence. The Whale Lord lingered in the distance. Gray Whale had tailed Agnos for the voyage’s entirety. As to what purpose she could have possibly served at this point in the journey, he had no clue. Was she to act as a shield while the Mythmaker was vulnerable and without its captain? But how would the loss of Agnos make them vulnerable? He may have had the title of captain, but he could not direct a battle. The ship would operate perfectly fine with Tashami in command.
He gazed back toward the decks of his own ship. Hundreds of dirty faces stared at him, waiting for any sort of cue. He spotted Zorra near the helm, her dreads bundled atop her head. Barloe stood next to her. She pointed to a specific spot in the sky. Agnos whirled, following her gesture and locating all three constellations. Their stars shined just a bit brighter than the rest, making them visible despite the sun’s waning hue still evident.
Agnos turned again, offering a single nod to Zorra. She screamed, “Lift anchors and ready sails! Squallblasters to position in the fighting tops!”
As the crew scurried into positions, a hand rested against Agnos’s shoulder. He turned to see Tashami’s ivory hair and gray eyes. “Good luck, Captain,” Tashami said.
They hugged, Tashami patting Agnos’s back. Just as Tashami went to leave for his position, Agnos said, “Use all the clout you can. We must move fast.”
The Chronicle Page 37
