“Though this be madness,” she whispered, “there is method in it.”
At peace with herself, she exploded.
Her death spawned new and powerful monsters that sank traders and ate soldiers. Due to their disruptive influence, hairline cracks in the society became fissures. All it took was a few generations of continuous trouble, and the empire split in half.
The scene fast-forwarded to humans crafting poems based on the songs, then again to a scrawny little elf boy learning these poems, then again to that elf writing these poems in a book and calling them “spells,” then finally to this elf as a grown man teaching them to his own students. Each of these students had their own students, who had students, who had students, until Eric was looking at a man with blood-red hair teaching a boy whose hair was a lighter shade.
The magecraft I was taught is based on mermaid songs?
The wind picked up and formed a cyclone around him. Everything was blown away, and Eric landed with a thud. Around him were prone bodies.
Every one of them was emaciated from hunger. Lacking the energy for anything else, they slept, prayed, or lamented. Taking stock of his surroundings, Eric realized they were all in a crevice miles deep.
A grinding sound filled his ears and the earth shook. It woke up all those asleep or in a hunger trance. Only a yard away, a set of stairs was forming. One by one, they etched themselves out of the rock face until they reached the top. The victims cheered and praised Eaol for saving them. Hope energized them and they escaped their earthly prison in a joyful parade.
Eric’s view shifted to the top of the crevice where a man overlooked the shriveled bodies. He was not an elf but a golem of rock and sand. In his hand was a staff crowned with a crystal arrowhead. He smiled kindly at the running people before turning away. Eric expected a vision showing these people as some breed of mover-and-shaker, but no such vision occurred.
“I knew they were there and I wanted to help them,” the golem said, “so I did.”
This rocky man strolled toward a splendid fortress. It had sky-high towers and tremendously thick walls. A bustling metropolis lay within this protective shell. His right hand glowing with golden-brown light, the Avatar of Chaos proceeded to his true destination.
With one swing, he devastated the army besieging it. Then he stuck the hand back in his pocket and walked through the gap he created. The remaining soldiers were too surprised to move. Eric, who had been walking next to the Avatar of Chaos, was even more shocked. Few mages had this level of destructive power so casually available to them.
A general waved their standard to rally the troops against the unknown golem. It was a flag containing a one-eyed gaze flanked by two giant hands. When the troops failed to respond, this general instead marched to the main cannon and bombarded the interloper. The blast pulverized the golem, but he immediately reconstituted and continued walking as if nothing had happened.
The Avatar of Chaos hopped through a hole in the wall made by that same cannon and closed it up as he did so. The outer area was rife with fighting, blood, and death and the golem strolled along as if in a park. Occasionally, he pointed at guys that looked like invader officers and they disintegrated. Eventually, he reached the inner wall, which had yet to be breached. After casting a golden-brown barrier to keep out invaders, he called to the wall guards.
“Hey, up there! You mind letting me in?”
“W-who wh-what aarrre you?” they called back.
“Oh, nobody special,” the divine being said with a shrug. “Just a wanderer with news for your emperor.” The guards hesitated. “If you don’t want to, that’s fine. I’ll leave.”
The inner gates opened without a sound and the Avatar of Chaos walked through. Eric scurried forward at his heels. The former whistled as he looked around at the mansions and the shops and the shrines and the palace.
“Nice place,” the Avatar of Chaos said. “I’d hate to see it go up in smoke.”
Occasionally, he would point to people that appeared unhappy and they would suddenly be holding a toy or new clothes. The granaries replenished themselves at a snap of his fingers. When he reached the palace gates, they opened before him.
“Yo, Emperor Shiloot, looks like you’re having some trouble.”
“A-are...are y-you...t-he-the...” The emperor gulped. “The Ultimate Staff?!”
“The guys outside should be gone pretty soon, but they’ll come back,” the Staff of Chaos said. “I’d recommend preparing for that cannon. The defense of that canal needs work too.”
A scroll materialized in his hand and he threw it to the emperor, who fumbled it. Obtaining a firm grasp, he unfurled the scroll, and confusion spread across his face.
“What is this?”
“The future of this empire.”
“Our future is ‘diaper changing in five easy steps’?”
The scroll vanished.
“Oops...” The Avatar of Chaos laughed nervously. “That’s part of the babysitting guide. My wife wants me to get it right next time.” A second scroll appeared and he read it over before tossing it to the emperor. “That is the future of this empire.”
A giant door appeared behind the Avatar of Chaos. Its radiance blinded everyone in the throne room. When the light dimmed, both the golem and his door were gone. The emperor looked down at the scroll.
It was a treaty of peace drawn up by the separatist factions. They were willing to return to his rule if he made some concessions for them in return. The balanced terms, his current situation, and the identity of the treaty’s delivery boy persuaded him to agree. Unified once again, they drove the invaders from their land.
This war gave them the inspiration and motivation to develop new magi-tech, both offensive and defensive, which gave them the edge over their enemy. The appearance of the Avatar of Chaos provoked a grand religious awakening and the countless cults of Lady Chaos flourished. The single cult of Order was wiped out down to the last man, woman, and child. The Obelisk, the symbol of its power, was broken down into building material for war refugees.
The world rewound itself and Eric dropped on top of a hill overlooking a box canyon. In the distance, he could see the Piercing Eye flag streaming away from the splendid city. Then a golden-brown light drew his attention back to the canyon below. The golden door appeared there and the Chaos Avatar walked out.
“They can handle it from here.” His muscles spasmed as chaotic sparks raced over his body. “Look after my family, okay?”
He withdrew his hand from his pocket and held aloft a sphere of light the size of a baseball. It shined golden-brown and divine energy swirled around it in endless circles. Tasio appeared and accepted the Seed of Chaos.
“Gaius Luscious Luxous Polario Primordial the Younger, I promise that your family will be forever blessed by Lady Chaos.”
Tasio vanished and the avatar exploded. His death gave birth to new forms of life, most of them monstrous, and transformed the canyon in a Class “B” Chaotic Zone. It would become known as the Gorge of Primordial Cycle, and such a terrifying place as to be avoided by even those seeking death. However, at the height of the post-war religious renaissance, a crowd stood at its entrance.
Its dreadful beauty took their breath away. It was the perfect place for a Chaosist to seek enlightenment. There they meditated, fought, studied, hallucinated, and died until one of them achieved their goal. This sole survivor left to begin her ministry. During its course, she met a dying warrior and healed him through the power she obtained in the gorge.
“Thank you, mysterious angel,” the man said. “What may I call you?”
“I am Arin, priestess of Lady Chaos.”
Fire obscured Eric’s vision. Then it receded and he found himself in a small and regal room. A cat and fox beastfolk sat at either end of a table, and on it was a sheet of paper. Eric looked it over and saw that it was a trade agreement.
“We have more to gain through mutual cooperation than hostility.”
“Indeed.
Together, we shall expand our reach and increase our profits.”
“A toast. To the start of a fruitful partnership.”
“Cheers.”
They tapped glasses and drank.
Eric flash-forwarded to more business meetings and then meetings that were tangentially business related and then meetings that nothing at all to do with business. Finally, the scenes stopped on a private dinner. He knew it was coming, but Eric still smiled when the fox man slipped a ring on the cat woman’s finger.
Before she could walk down the aisle, she had to tell her family the good news. So she left to gather them while her fiancé kept their now joint business venture running. By the time she returned, a plague had struck. She ran to their house and found a note saying he’d left to find a cure and would come back as soon as possible. So she took up their business and waited.
As cat beastfolk, she and her family were resistant to this particular plague and did their best to help their neighbors, but without a cure, they could only contain the disease. Years passed with no sign of her beloved. She was about to give the bad news to one more victim when a cloaked individual appeared. Without a word, he approached the patient and put a hand on their forehead. Both glowed and the stranger removed his hand. Still silent, he threw back his hood and said, “Sorry I’m late. Did you miss me?”
The cat woman looked so mad, Eric thought she was going to punch him, but she kissed him instead. Then she dragged him home so they could probably celebrate his homecoming. After they had satisfied each other, the fox man told the story of his adventures. He had found the plague’s cure and much more. There was so much more he could do for their city now.
“We’ll have time for that later.” The cat beastfolk grinned. “Ever since you left, my parents have been bothering me for grandkids.”
“Well then...” The chaos avatar grinned in return. “Let’s continue celebrating.”
From their home, Eric’s view shifted to a cathedral’s audience chamber. The fox avatar stood in a black robe near the altar, fidgeting. He stopped when his bride appeared, radiant as a star in her white gown. The ceremony was performed and the couple held a glass each, just as they did when they first met.
“A toast to the start of our new life together.”
“Cheers.”
They intertwined their arms and drank from the other’s glass.
The reception was a blast. The food and wine were endless, and the cat’s relatives couldn’t get enough of how the fox’s uncle could rearrange his body parts with fox magic. In the end, the newlyweds hurried off to a private setting so they could celebrate the occasion.
Afterward, the fox avatar poured creativity into their lab and created new products every day. When he wasn’t there, he was in a school, teaching children in every subject. Both of these ventures were entirely free of charge. Somehow, he was able to do this without shrinking their profits, so his partner never complained. In fact, she took every opportunity to reward his generosity with a celebration.
Years later, when their city enjoyed unprecedented prosperity and their company had become both profitable and philanthropic, they returned to the cathedral they were married in to reminisce. They even wore their wedding clothes. As they approached the altar, the avatar doubled over, whimpering in pain. His wife was at his side in a breath to support him.
“What is… ahhh!” she shouted as she was caught in a chaotic spark. Instantly, everything from her fingers to her elbows was a chunk of wood with mirrors growing out of it.
“No!” the fox avatar groaned. “Not now...” Chaotic energy sparked around him. He looked up at his wife. “I...have to...go.”
She shook her head. “I’m never losing you again.” She launched herself at his chest and heaved her arms around him. The Avatar of Chaos restrained his power just long enough to embrace his wife, and then he exploded.
Chaotic energy poured through each hall and room, mutating everything it touched. Then it burst through the walls and transformed everything for miles into clear crystal. In the years to come, the details would be worn away and the edges made smooth until everyone who passed by was awed by the beauty of the mountain.
The Trickster appeared and regarded the structure. First, he sighed heavily, depressed by yet another failure, but then he looked again. The lack of monsters surprised him. Thinking aloud, The Trickster wondered about the moment of control the former avatar possessed just before the explosion and how this crystal was used in the magi-tech of other world fruit.
Floating down to the mountain, he picked off two identical arrowhead pieces and vanished. Eric’s vision blurred until a desert came into view. The Stone Pile in the background identified it as Kyraa. Here, The Trickster granted the chief one of the arrowheads along with a copy of its story. Eric moved with him as The Trickster teleported to a tropical jungle and repeated the process. Kallen suddenly appeared in this jungle and received both crystal and story. The next fast-forward showed her exploring the mountain and looking with amazement at the shimmering white dress that appeared on her figure.
“Find the one in black...” she whispered to herself. “That’s what it means!”
A burst of dust blew in Eric’s face.
A towering construction was now built on top of the crystal mountain. It was a sprawling factory that hung over the summit like fungi. From the sky above, a pair of comets streaked towards it. Eric moved closer and saw that they were actually flying elves.
“Finally, we can bring him down,” the boy said. “I just hope my devices work...”
“Relax, Ariek. Your inventions always work,” the girl said. “We are going to win and your father will be avenged.”
Ariek smiled at her. “Thanks, Lana.”
Zooming through their infiltration, Eric was brought to a control room. Ariek stood over a human with his spear point at their heart. It had an unusual blade, like someone had taken a crystal arrowhead and attached it to a staff with amber sap.
“It’s over,” Ariek said. “You’ve lost.”
The human laughed. “On the contrary, I have won.”
“Are you mad?” Lana asked. “We have defeated your slave army, fortified our villages against your ordercraft, taken over this drone production facility, and now we’re going to kill you!”
“All that, lass, you have definitely done and quite well, I must say. However, you might have some trouble with the last one.”
Ariek harpooned the human with such force that his crystal came out the other side. Then he released five spells through the human’s body that were designed specifically to shut down human biology. The man fell limp and Ariek retracted his staff. When the crystal was again submerged in flesh and blood, the man grabbed the staff’s shaft.
“Impossible...” Ariek tugged on his staff. “No human, no matter how powerful…”
“Just who do you think you’re dealing with?” The human effortlessly held the staff in place. “I am no mere human, nor am I am the vile and blasphemous ordercrafter I led you to believe. I am truly your...” Chaotic power flared around him. “...Grandmother’s Avatar!”
“Nooooo!” Ariek cried in anguish, sinking to his knees.
“You think I wanted to win?” the Avatar of Chaos asked while standing up. “Oh no, your victory is what I wanted all along. You spread anti-ordercraft technology and fostered a sense of racial solidarity among dagger ears. You accomplished my goal for me! HAHAHA—”
An arrow in his windpipe cut him short. It didn’t hurt, but the mood was ruined.
“Get up, Ariek!” Lana shouted and nocked another arrow. “Remember what he’s done!”
“All I did,” the Avatar of Chaos said, “was destroy something in order to teach you how to make it better; both in terms of village security and Avalon Alliances.”
“So you admit your guilt,” Lana said, taking aim. “Come with us quietly.”
“Sorry.” The avatar sparked with energy. “My Lady’s calling.” He exploded.
Lana was a word away from teleporting when she realized the chaos energy couldn’t reach her. An ethereal and crystalline barrier was keeping it away from her. Eric had never seen anything like it before; this barrier was not only containing the most powerful energy imaginable but redirecting it. Ariek was controlling its flow in a way that neither Eric himself nor Dengel ever managed.
“Trust. In. Chaos!” Ariek said through gritted teeth.
The last of the chaotic power was drawn into the crystal and shot directly to his soul. He shouted in agony as the two mixed and melded. A golden-brown haze obscured him and a sonic boom shoved Lana into a wall. Finally, her friend reappeared.
“Yes...I suppose it was a little unorthodox,” Ariek said, “but he didn’t leave me any choice. I couldn’t let Lana get caught in that blast.”
“Ariek...?” Lana asked cautiously. “Are you ready to dismantle the magi-tech?” Ariek turned and the power of his gaze both frightened and intrigued her. “It...uh... it’s probably no good against real ordercraft any—”
“No, the new magi-tech stays and so does the Avalon Alliance,” Ariek said. “This is indeed the result Grandmother Chaos desired, but it is not the method she desired. Elves should NOT be fighting each other. Nor should we be fighting humans. We must turn our attention to the orcs and ordercrafters before they hit us again.”
She took his arm in both of hers and lay her head on his shoulder. He smiled and they walked out together.
Eric saw their life as a series of flashes: clashing with ordercrafters, advocating magitech, dating, dealing with human and orc aggression, getting married, creating the Standard of Stealth that guided the creation of Dnnac Ledo and other villages, raising kids, and quelling hidden village rivalries before they turned tragic. During a period in the Conversion War, Ariek finally began to spark. He hastily waved goodbye to his wife and comrades, teleported into deep space, and mana-mutated.
Chaos stretched him out a hundred times. His fingernails became claws and his pointed ears became banana-like with fungi growing on their ends. The golden-brown hair on his head expanded to consume his body, except for a few limbs, which became lined with paper. With a yell of pain, a pair of wings sprouted from his back. Between them was a functional windmill made of cheese. The former sapient looked around and then flew in a random direction. The darkness of space closed around it and blocked Eric’s vision.
Transcending Limitations Page 25
