Blood & Besiegement

by Jeremy Dwyer

  The skies grew dark, and the yellow suns were fading.

  “Something’s wrong. It’s too dark,” Akylas said. He drank anew of the waters of the Atrejan Ocean from his vial, then listened for the sounds of the suns, revealing their paths and positions. He expected to find the yellow suns to be in chaos, as they were earlier. Instead, they were quiet and nearly still. “The yellow suns, they’re barely moving. They’re quiet and dim,” Akylas said.

  “What does that mean?” Claudia asked.

  “It means the inferno is ending,” Akylas said.

  “It means the greater danger is approaching. The tiara’s power will grow when the inferno ends,” Pradrock said.

  “It means we’re all going to be dead soon, doesn’t it?” Torin asked.

  “Let’s not assume defeat,” Pradrock said.

  “All life ends in defeat. Even if you choose the good path, you will be met with sorrows,” the ghost of Captain Tychon said.

  “There is hope. Better things can happen,” Akantha said. She was still holding out hope for a better life for herself. She worked for the old pirate, Keallach, for years. Now she was on board a ghost ship, with the voice of despair at the wheel, so she knew her own misery hadn’t ended yet.

  “Imagination is powerful, but destiny shall prevail, and that destiny is doom,” the ghost of Captain Tychon said.

  “Doom is what one chooses when one chooses evil,” Akantha said.

  “Doom happens by chance,” Caroline said.

  “There is no chance. The world is too complex for us to fully understand, including the spirit world,” Akantha said.

  “Indeed. Chance has no meaning. There is only certainty. And that certainty is ruin,” the ghost of Captain Tychon said.

  “Ruin is not certain. You don’t share the fate of Captain Keallach. His is much worse, I assure you,” Akantha said. She knew about some of the worst things in the spirit world, and knew the Maelstrom of Vengeance was a place for those who dealt with demons, as Keallach did.

  “I will join him in time, no doubt, my dear,” the ghost of Captain Tychon said.

  “Perhaps you will. But it will be by your own choices,” Akantha said.

  “How can a ghost have choices? How can a ghost even talk or be real?” Caroline asked, angrily.

  “The spirit world has many levels. There is consciousness and choice, cause and effect, evil and punishment, good and reward. They work differently, but they are present,” Akantha said.

  “This is all religious nonsense. You are the leftover energy of a man who has died. Like a ball that gets dropped and bounces, not quite as high each time. Eventually, it comes to a stop, as will you,” Caroline said to the ghost of Captain Tychon.

  “You know nothing, mortal woman,” the ghost of Captain Tychon said.

  As they crossed over Revod, Akylas looked down and saw the burned buildings.

  “There was a great fire. Thousands (1000) of buildings were burned, towns everywhere were ruined,” Akylas said. He knew what this meant.

  “The sunfire creature attacked even here. No place is safe, not even the Jenaldej Empire is immune,” Pradrock said.

  After passing over Revod heading north, they returned to sea level in the Ikkith Tar Ocean, slowly approaching the Udovedaj-Pren Island. Though he steered a physical ship, the ghost of Captain Tychon navigated by peering through the spirit world, so he was not distracted by the visual distortions of the so-called dark waters.

  “I hear a girl singing. There’s a melody – but no words. The voice seems to be coming from the west,” Torin said. He heard it first, as his ears were more attuned to compensate for his loss of vision.

  “Point the way,” Pradrock said to Torin.

  “Follow where he points,” Pradrock said to the ghost of Captain Tychon.

  Torin listened carefully and pointed in the direction he thought the voice was coming from, and the ghost of Captain Tychon followed.

  The others started to hear it as they got closer.

  “It’s there,” Torin said, pointing down.

  The Everlasting Pain – and the whole fleet it led – began to descend under the control of the ghost of Captain Tychon.

  They returned to sea level on the Ikkith Tar Ocean. Torin pointed to an island – because that’s where his ears indicated the singing was coming from – and the ghost of Captain Tychon steered the Everlasting Pain toward it.

  A girl could be seen singing on the shores of the island. Pradrock moved to leave the ship, but Claudia grabbed hold of him. “Hold on. You’re still a target,” she said. Claudia then drank anew of the waters of the Elanatin Ocean she kept in a vial that she wore and she was energized. She reached out to sense the thoughts and emotions of the girl, and anyone else who might be on the island.

  Claudia sensed no ill will in the singing girl – who appeared to be somewhere between eighteen (18) and twenty (20) years old. She noticed that others were on the island, but none of them was focused on Pradrock. “Alright, let’s go,” Claudia said.

  All the living mortals – Pradrock, Claudia, Caroline, Akantha, Akylas and Torin – left the Everlasting Pain and went ashore on the island.

  “Welcome, lost travelers,” the girl said. Caroline’s heart immediately sank when she saw that this was not her daughter.

  “I am Railia. My voice helps guide those lost at sea,” the girl then said. She was nineteen (19) years old and a drinker of the waters of the Pirovalen Ocean.

  “We’re not lost at sea,” Pradrock said.

  “Then do you know where you are? Can you see the distant shores? If not, then you are lost,” Railia asked.

  “You’re a young woman. Why are you here alone on this island?” Caroline asked.

  “I am not alone. I am here with many others. Some of us have powerful voices, some hear the stars and some give light,” Railia said.

  A dark-skinned man approached who was twenty-four (24) years old, tall and looked a bit older. He was also a drinker of the waters of the Pirovalen Ocean, and spoke in a musical voice: “I am Kavan’Palik. Like Railia here, my voice guides ships lost at sea. There are others here with us,” he said.

  Another man approached. He was thin, very tall, looked to be about forty (40) years old, and was surrounded in a blue light. He said: “I am Va’Qileren. I bring light to guide others.” He was a drinker of the waters of the Lujladia Ocean.

  “I am Farovaxen,” yet another man approached and said. He was tall and gaunt, thirty-one (31) years of age, and a drinker of the waters of the Atrejan Ocean. He continued, saying: “We are the Redfire Sentinels. We guide ships lost at sea, by music, by light and by the stars. We hear only the red suns, as they speak truth.”

  “I am looking for my daughter. She has a powerful voice and sings many songs. Her name is Taesa, and I’ve lost her, and she is in great danger,” Caroline said.

  “You will need a guide to find her,” Farovaxen said.

  “I’ll take any help you can give me,” Caroline said.

  “The red suns can guide us so that we can guide you. The yellow suns lie, and serve only to bring evil,” Farovaxen said.

  CHAPTER 35: Crown and Darkness

  In the water-worshipper’s temple hidden on Av’Tovenka Island, there was another room known as the Crown Room. In there was a stone pedestal at the center of the room, and on the pedestal was the tiara.

  The tiara’s thirteen (13) blue diamonds had been dark until this point. Then, they began to glow, albeit dimly. Then, they brightened considerably.

  In the Master’s Room, where Tanith Orenda was meditating, she heard the voice of the demon, Matatirot, speak to her: “The yellow suns have dimmed, as my enemy is weak. Now, the world has darkened and cooled, and so the time has arrived. Have Victoria take the tiara, and then bring her to me.”

  ~~~

  Tanith Orenda entered the Great Granddaughter’s Room where Victoria was waiting patiently for word of what to do next.

  As Tanith Orenda entered the room, she sai
d: “Many thousands great granddaughter, the time has come. Follow me.”

  Victoria knew what this meant and followed Tanith Orenda through the temple into the Crown Room. There, she saw the thirteen (13) blue diamonds in the tiara glowing brightly.

  “Wear the tiara, many thousands great granddaughter,” Tanith Orenda said.

  Victoria took the tiara and placed it on her head.

  “You are now the queen, and all the seas are your domain. Come, we must see the master,” Tanith Orenda said to her.

  They left and returned to the Great Granddaughter’s Room. From there, they entered the Master’s Room, which Victoria had never entered before.

  “Kneel before the master,” Tanith Orenda said to her.

  Victoria knelt down, and Tanith Orenda knelt with her.

  The demon, Matatirot, began speaking from the spirit world into the material world so that both of them would hear and he said: “Always know my great authority in whose shadow you stand. By the tiara’s power, the ocean waters shall roil and rage. I am forever your master, and you shall obey my every command. When the tempest comes, the enemies’ kingdoms shall end with this age.”

  “I admit your great authority and shall obey you, my master,” Victoria said.

  END