by DB King
“The Pale Haunter was responsible for bringing the skeleton warriors and bale-wights here and then letting them loose to attack Lucia City. If it isn’t around, then the other monsters shouldn’t be a problem anymore.” Raphael said.
“That makes sense, a powerful undead creature controlling lesser ones. High Captain Bjorn said you were headed into the junkyard. Something about you being able to find your way around in there. Or find your way back. Assuming the monster attacks are indeed over, are you still heading there?” Van Heim asked.
“Yes, sir,” Raphael replied. “I need to find my father.”
“Right.” Van Heim looked over his shoulder at the surviving Hell Drakes. “Want any of us to go with you? As you can see, we’re in a sorry state, and ultimately, we don’t know if the Pale Haunter was lying, so we might still be needed on the battle-line, just in case we have another tide of monsters coming later.”
Raphael considered the captain’s offer. As the Guild Master had said, an ancient evil still lurked in the heart of the junkyard, and Koshi had gone to confront it. This evil, whatever it was, wasn’t the Pale Haunter, but it had to be formidable as well. If a battle did indeed break out, he would need every ounce of help he could get, especially if it came from the Hell Drakes.
But Van Heim had a point. The Pale Haunter couldn’t be trusted. Whatever it said, it might still be lurking somewhere, readying the tide of skeleton warriors and bale-wights for yet another wave of attacks. If that happened, High Captain Bjorn would require every single one of his remaining Hell Drakes in the battle-line, especially now with his forces so depleted.
Raphael knew that the Pale Haunter alone couldn’t have conjured such a horde of monsters. As the Guild Master had pointed out, the strange magic of the junkyard was tainted by the lingering malice of the dead dragon, Platina the Gilded Death. For some reason, this corrupting influence had surged, and the Pale Haunter had turned the twisted magic to its own purposes. Raphael was sure that Koshi had gone in search of Platina’s corpse, and that if Raphael could locate it as well, he would find Koshi there, too. If he could somehow purge the corruption from the dragon’s remains, probably with his Deliverance spell, the junkyard’s strange magic would be free from its influence.
Once he’d achieved that, the Pale Haunter would no longer be able to bring skeleton warriors or bale-wights under its command, even if it had been lying about leaving. By itself, the monster was still formidable, but it would no longer have an army to wreak havoc on its behalf.
Raphael knew what he had to do.
“I’ll be going into the junkyard with my friends, sir,” he told Van Heim. “Right away, because I don’t think we can afford to wait.”
The captain nodded. “Had a feeling that was what you were going to say. Very well. We’re going to regroup with the main force first. Worry about burial parties and the like later. Fortune in battle, lad.”
Van Heim clasped hands with Raphael, wrist-to-wrist. Then the captain turned on his heel and began bellowing orders to the surviving Hell Drakes, rounding them up and leading them back to the forward base.
Cyrano jogged up, holding a small leather pouch in one fist and a knapsack by its straps in his other. He thrust the items into Raphael’s hands. “The sack contains a collection of spare potions and spell dust vials I rounded up from what remains of our mob. Waterskins and a few packets of hardtack are in the knapsack. You’ll probably need them.”
“Thanks, Cyrano,” Raphael said. The armsman nodded and trotted off, following the rest of the withdrawing Hell Drakes.
Raphael turned back to the war party, steeling himself in readiness to break up the scuffle between Fenix and Sylvia. To his surprise, the battlemage and elf were already apart, clutching the tops of their heads. Gabriella stood between them, a stern expression on her face and her hands on her hips.
“She punched me in the head, Raphael!” Sylvia whined, the corners of her eyes shining with unshed tears. “How could she?”
She hit Fenix too, Raphael thought, wincing in sympathy at the lump rising on the top of the battlemage’s head.
“Hmm,” Eliza mused. “I could get used to having her around, I think.”
Chapter 30
As Sylvia, Fenix, and Gabriella shared out the spare potions and spell dust vials among themselves, Raphael cast his gaze toward the junkyard. From a distance, he saw ruined stone buildings and broken towers scattered across a barren landscape of dust and packed dirt, but he knew that the sight was deceiving. Once they stepped foot into the junkyard, everything started to change. He’d rummaged through a gutted house once, walked out, then turned around to find it gone, replaced by a yawning pit filled with ancient refuse.
Night-fiends and howlers also infested the junkyard, though Raphael suspected that few of them had survived the horde of skeleton warriors and bale-wights marching through their territory. No, they wouldn’t be a problem for the war party, at least on this occasion.
Raphael cast the light of the Dragon Meridian inward once more, shining it upon the threads connecting his soul to others. The one between him and Koshi still existed, which brought him much relief. Wherever Koshi was and whatever he was doing, he was still alive. Raphael focused on the thread. At the same time, he reached out to Sunkiller as it lay dormant within the depths of the Fourth Brazier and touching it with his mind without bringing it into material existence.
It was then that he felt it, a subtle but unmistakable tug at his soul, leading directly into the heart of the junkyard. That was where Koshi would be, at least a full day’s walk away, deep within a shifting landscape where time and space worked differently.
“I know where I can find him,” Raphael announced.
“Great!” Sylvia said, not a trace of doubt in her voice. “Let’s go find your old man and bring him home.”
Fenix and Eliza nodded.
Gabriella, on the other hand, frowned. “I have so many questions, the least of which is how you managed to cast spells without any spell dust. And this thing about your father and you being able to find him in the junkyard, a place which no one has managed to navigate or map before? All this is enough to make one’s head spin.”
“I don’t expect you to come along blindly, Gabby,” Raphael replied. “And I wish I could explain things better, but there’s so much I don’t know either. If you wish to leave...”
“I don’t!” the princess snapped. Her eyes shone in the later afternoon sun. “Do you expect me to come across someone as mysterious and portentous as you and just walk away? No! I expect some answers for my questions, and if you don’t have any right now, then I’ll help you get them.”
“A capable mage like yourself is more than welcome among us,” Fenix said, shrugging. “I don’t have a problem with her tagging along, as long as her father doesn’t behead us for insolence later.”
“He won’t,” Gabriella said. “He’s not that kind of—“
“Ooh, watch out for Fenix, Gabby,” Sylvia said, nudging the princess. “He’s quite the lecher, always talking about swinging his orbs at women. Eliza and I have had to put up with quite a bit of that already.”
“No, that’s not true.” Eliza glared at Sylvia. “Fenix has always been a perfect gentleman. You, on the other hand, need to keep your hands to yourself.”
“I noticed,” Gabriella said, “that Sylvia’s always all over the boys. Good thing you said something, Eliza, because I was going to, sooner rather than later.”
The elf grinned. “Are you girls feeling left out? If you are, don’t worry, because there’s plenty of me to go around!”
Raphael cleared his throat as Sylvia loomed over Eliza and Gabriella, waggling her fingers and wearing a discomforting leer on her face. The war party turned to him.
“If we’re ready to go, then we should get going,” he said. “We can eat and drink as we walk.”
Rayne slipped out of his pocket, then, and bumped Raphael on the shoulder with its flank. Magus. I serve. We will find the Kni
ght together.
Of course we will, Rayne, Raphael replied. You’ll be with us, and we—
The faerie dragon exploded in size once more, before alighting on the dirt before Raphael. It blinked golden eyes as large as his fist. Take to the skies with me, Magus. We will see the Knight soon.
Are you saying that I should ride you like a horse? Raphael asked.
Yes, Magus. But I can fly. Horses can’t. Rayne made a strange, snuffling sound that Raphael immediately recognized as laughter.
“Ah yes, Face-Killer!” Sylvia stroked Rayne’s snout, drawing a contented purr from the faerie dragon. “At first, I was a bit worried that you’d always be an embarrassing runt, but now that you’re this large, you’ll definitely live up to your name.”
“Rayne’s name isn’t Face-Killer,” Eliza protested.
“Overgrown lizard with the irascibility of an elderly housecat like that, it’s bound to bite someone’s face off,” Fenix grumbled. “So it’s just a matter of time, I say.”
Rayne snapped at the battlemage, actually managing to bite off a corner of his red cape. Fenix yelped and hopped away.
“Rayne wants us to ride on its back, but I don’t think it can carry all of us.” Raphael turned to Sylvia. “Why don’t we use the Pocket Dimension Prism again? Put everyone inside except me. I carry the Prism and ride Rayne. When we get there, I let everyone out.”
“A sound plan,” Fenix said. “That will allow us mages to get some rest as well, so we can clear our minds and recalibrate our spell vectors.”
“You need rest too, Raphael,” Eliza insisted.
“I can recuperate on Rayne’s back,” Raphael said, pulling out a waterskin and a handful of hardtack from Cryano’s knapsack before passing the bag to Eliza. “All I have to do is share the light of the Dragon Meridian with Rayne, and it can find the way to Koshi.”
“Right. Let’s go!” Sylvia asked, taking out the Pocket Dimension Prism. She’d retrieved it earlier from where it had fallen on the ground. “What are we waiting for?
“For someone to tell me just what exactly that thing is? It appeared just now, then hopped away into Raphael’s pocket before I could say anything, and now it’s back again.” Gabriella demanded, pointing at Rayne. “Is that a dragon? And didn’t dragons try to kill us all?”
“Yes, but Rayne won’t hurt anyone,” Eliza said, petting Rayne on the flank. The faerie dragon nuzzled her neck. She chuckled. “Isn’t that right, you little cutie?”
Fenix scoffed. Rayne turned to glare at him. The battlemage flinched and looked away, unable to meet the faerie dragon’s gaze.
“Hmm.” Gabriella approached, reaching out a hesitant hand toward Rayne. The faerie dragon pushed its head into her hand, and the princess scratched its brow dutifully. “Yes, it is rather adorable, I must admit.”
Sylvia proffered the Pocket Dimension Prism to Raphael. “When we find Koshi, all you have to do is tap on any of its surfaces thrice. That will tell me that it’s time to come out.”
“Got it. Thanks, Sylvia,” Raphael said.
The elf winked, then set the artifact spinning once more above her palm. This time, as its swirling prismatic walls touched Raphael, he remained where he was, which meant that Sylvia could exclude or include anything from the Pocket Dimension. The rest of the war party disappeared, with the elf being the last to do so. As before, the Prism hung in midair, still spinning. Raphael took it and stowed it in his belt pouch.
Rayne flared its wings. Let’s go, Magus. The Knight awaits. We must not fail him.
Holding his glaive by his side so that the weapon wouldn’t interfere with Rayne’s wings, Raphael climbed onto the faerie dragon’s back gingerly. It was a sturdier and stronger platform than he’d thought it would be. Rayne appeared to have no trouble bearing his weight, its wiry and slender frame belying its grace and power.
Raphael managed to place his legs around Rayne’s flanks, much like how he imagined a knight would mount a horse. Before he could say anything else, the faerie dragon kicked off the ground. Its wings flapped several times, and then it was aloft.
I’m flying! Raphael felt his jaw drop in wonder as Rayne carried him skyward. The wind rushed against his face, and the blueness of the heavens seemed to reach out and engulf him in its sublime embrace.
This is amazing, Rayne! Raphael told the faerie dragon.
Yes, Magus, Rayne replied. Focus your Ryu-To-Ki on my body to bind my flight to your will. Or you could leave the flying to me and try to recuperate as much of your Ryu-To-Ki and mana as possible.
Raphael placed his palm on Rayne’s back and channeled a trickle of his Ryu-To-Ki into the faerie dragon. A strange sensation rolled over his mind, and suddenly he was completely aware of Rayne’s wings, limbs, and the beat of its heart, as if the faerie dragon’s body was an extension of his. If he wanted to, he could fly Rayne as easily as if he were walking. It was a disconcerting feeling, but Raphael suspected that it was just one of many things he would have to get used to, if he was supposed to be this Dragon Magus, whatever it was.
Magus. That’s you. A trickle of confusion rolled from Rayne. Is it so difficult to understand?
Well, it would help if I knew exactly what a Dragon Magus is, Raphael replied.
A Magus is a Magus, Rayne offered unhelpfully.
Sighing, Raphael petted the faerie dragon on the neck. Thanks, Rayne. Let me worry about figuring this out.
By your will, Magus.
The junkyard loomed close. Raphael heightened the light of the Dragon Meridian and aligned it toward his bond with Koshi. The path to his father was clear, beyond the junkyard’s confounding influence.
There. It’s where Koshi is. Can you see it? Raphael sent to the faerie dragon.
“Yes, Magus. We go to the Knight. Rayne dipped its head and spread its wings. The wind tore at Raphael’s face as they picked up speed. If not for the draconic armor over his eyes, he wouldn’t be able to open them.
Astride his dragon, Raphael soared into the depths of madness.
Chapter 31
Less than two weeks had passed since Raphael’s last trip into the junkyard, but it felt like a lifetime ago. He’d grown so much since then, having ignited two more Draconic Braziers, filled his soul with mana, and overcome numerous challenges. Raphael had also made friends, real friends in the form of Eliza, Fenix, and Sylvia, and together, they’d undergone a wondrous adventure in Vitoria, with many more to look forward to.
Raphael had seen and done so much in such a short time, and he couldn’t wait to tell Koshi all about it.
Faster, Rayne! he urged the faerie dragon.
Like the wind, Magus, Rayne replied.
Piles of debris and rows of ruined buildings zipped by as Rayne soared through the junkyard. High up in the sky, Raphael could see the landscape shift and change before his eyes. The sky offered no refuge from such chaos, either. Clouds, both distant and afar, appeared and disappeared at random, rendering the sky as impervious to navigation as the ground. Though the sun’s trek across the heavens seemed unaffected, the shadows it cast were heedless of time and position, making it impossible to determine where true north was.
But Raphael didn’t need to know which direction north lay. The gold thread that connected his soul to Koshi’s blazed beneath the light of the Dragon Meridian, immutable and unchangeable.
Hours. That’s how you understand time, isn’t it, Magus? Rayne asked.
Yes, Rayne. That’s one way to measure time. Why? Raphael said.
If we keep flying like that, we will reach the Knight in three hours, the faerie dragon replied. You should have recovered some of your mana by then, but you should also cultivate your Ryu-To-Ki, Magus.
That’s a good idea, Rayne. Raphael patted the faerie dragon’s shoulder. Can I leave it to you to get us there, then?
Yes, Magus. Trust me.
Always, Rayne. Always. Raphael leaned back and closed his eyes. He looked to the Draconic Braziers. They burned steadily, but the flames wit
hin them were severely depleted. He channeled his Ryu-To-Ki the way Koshi had taught him, pushing it through the major pathways and celestial circuits of his soul before gathering it at the base of the Dragon Meridian. Then he let his Ryu-To-Ki go, allowing it to spread out across his entire being. Taking a deep breath, Raphael repeated the process.
Koshi called this the Fundamental Cultivation Path, and he’d stressed that it was the most important one of all. There were others, he’d said, which he promised to teach Raphael when he was ready.
And I’ll learn them all, Koshi, Raphael promised in turn.
Raphael had just completed his tenth cycle of the Fundamental Cultivation Path when Rayne’s mental voice reached out to him.
Magus! The faerie dragon was trembling with fear. We’re there! I can see the Knight. He’s... he’s...
Raphael opened his eyes. A vast swirling sphere of magical energy crackled and roiled before him. Larger than even the Guild House, the sphere hung in the midst of countless broken towers and ruined buildings. As Raphael swept his gaze over the architectural wreckage, he swiftly realized that the damage had been caused by the descent—or fall—of something immense.
Platina. This is where she fell! Get me closer, Rayne, Raphael sent. Set me down there, atop that long building with the flat roof.
By your will, Magus. The faerie dragon’s acknowledgement was tremulous and uncertain, but it obeyed him unhesitatingly, bringing him to the massive structure he’d pointed out. It was roughly thirty paces away from the energy sphere and high enough for its roof to stand just above the sphere’s middle.
The building was equal parts stone and metal, though of a type Raphael had never seen before. Rayne landed on its roof, and he climbed off its back, pulling out the Pocket Dimension Prism. Raphael tapped the artifact three times, as Sylvia had instructed.
With a flash of prismatic light, the Prism’s enchantment unraveled immediately, and Raphael found himself amidst the rest of the war party. It took them little more than a moment to orientate themselves to their surroundings, but when they did so, they recoiled at the sight of the energy sphere.
