A Time for Revenge

Mach’s heart beat violently in his chest, sweat dripping from his face. Rage burned within him like it had never done before. How could this be? What spells were in that Book? Mendoll had just left his room and would return with the other heads of his group any minute now. The images of what he had seen burned in his mind as he sat there. “No!!!” He rose from his bed and stomped around his room, trying to calm himself.

How has that bastard gotten the aid of Dragons? It was impossible! And the size of that army, it was far larger than anything that he had thought possible. “How Dare He!” Anger got the better of him, the rage taking control. “AARRGGG!!!” His fists slammed down onto the writing desk that sat in the corner of his room. With a crash that resembled a falling tree, the table crumbled under the blow. He stood there staring at the splintered wood of the table, his mind raging over what he had seen.

Every time that he thought he was in a position to be able to take on that beast, Rubious ended up one step ahead of him. Always, the beast was always just a little stronger than he was. This latest vision proved just how Powerful Rubious had become over the last year.

“What the hell happened in here?” Bastra’s question came from behind him, a tone of concern resounding from the Gargoyle’s voice.

He stood straighter, attempting to compose himself as much as possible despite his anger. He did not bother to answer. Neither did he bother to meet the eyes of his friends, at least not yet. He stepped over to his bed, placed a hand on the post at the foot of frame and took a deep breath. “I found him.”

“What!” “Where?” Both questions were asked at the same time by more than one person.

After a moment he turned around and looked at the people who had come. Sehto and George were sitting in chairs near the door of his room. Panamy had moved further into the room and was leaning against the window seal, although she looked as if she were ready to leap from her position in less time than it took to take a breath. Mendoll and Bastra both stood between the other three, but all of them, except Mendoll, had looks of disbelief and fear. With what they had come into, with his own anger so evident, he knew that they understood that he did not have good news. “East of here, there is a land mass. If my memory serves me right, it once held an Empire on it, Playre, or Plareth, something like that. It is the same place that I remember seeing King Feirdain fall during the Great War.”

“I know the place you are describing. It was the Plareth Empire. But we had ships searching that area already.” Mendoll countered. “We never found any evidence that anything was there.”

“That is because whatever the hell had been helping him before, it had set a some kind of shield.” He retorted. “The same kind that I used with my mother, except it was used to hide everything that Rubious has built.”

There was a sudden increase of fear in their eyes as he spoke. Every word that he said was bringing to light how bad things were going to be. “What did you find?” Panamy asked over the quiet.

“Nothing good.” He closed his eyes and pictured it in his mind, wishing that he had the ability to send images to their minds. It would make it so much easier if he could do that. “The city is massive, far larger than Gehnith, larger than any city I have seen so far. And it is growing. I saw signs that there was going to be fresh construction beginning soon. Each time that it expands, new walls are built. This place has a dozen or more walls protecting the palace. There is no way in the nine Hells that we are going to be able to put the place under siege.”

“Our only chance is to draw him out into open warfare.” Mendoll added solemnly.

“And that is the next horror.” Mach said hesitantly. “It is massive. What we faced six months ago was nothing compared to what he has now in way of numbers. From what I saw alone, he outnumbers our estimated numbers three to one.”

“Dear Gods! How did he get that…” Sehto began to say before Mach interrupted him.

“He has Dragons.” Silence punctuated his words as all five of them stared at him, utter fear in their eyes. That was their trump card, their winning play.

“He has what?” Mendoll asked, barely able to get the words passed his lips.

“Dragons. He has Dragons, Mendoll.” He clenched the post of the bed frame tightly, the wood cracking under the strain.

George leaned forward, staring just passed Mach’s shoulder as he spoke. “You mean to say, Dragons, like, real Dragons, as in the same kind that are fighting with on our side?”

“I don’t know if they are intelligent.” He answered. “But they are large, they are powerful and if we consider what we faced six months ago and relate to the Dragons I just saw, we are in serious trouble.”

“Those fighters were stronger than normal, faster too.” George replied. “I remember all too well fighting those monstrosities. For all that is Holy, Goddess aide us.”

When Sehto spoke, there was a tone of wishful thinking, as if he were praying that someone would say that he was right. “But we have Mages on our side, and Hermans. If the Vladiutsh show, we have their strength too.”

He opened his eyes and looked his friend straight in his own. “We know nothing about what Rubious’ army has now. For all we know, he has Mages with him. If he can raise something like Dragons, there is no telling what he can do.” That bit of hope was fleeting, but there was something else that he needed to make sure that they understood. “But we need to move quickly.” He added. As the five looked at him fearfully, sure that what he was going to say would be worse than what he had already said, he would not let them down. He recited the words as if they were being whispered to him. “’Captain, this is still only the beginning. I still have much that I plan on doing before I am ready. But yes, it is glorious. There will be nothing that will stand in my way once I am done. And every army that falls before me will rise again to fuel my Empire.’ Those are Rubious own words.”

“Every army that falls before me will rise again?” Sehto looked confused at the words. “What the hell does that mean?

Though those words may be confusing for Sehto, perhaps even for George. Mendoll’s eyes widened in understanding. “That is what he is doing!”

“Doing what?” Panamy asked sharply.

Mendoll took a moment to collect his thoughts before answering. “We had suspected that the army that Rubious had when he attacked Gehnith had been some kind of creations, that he had magically created them.” The Adept explained. “The Book of Black is rumored to have magic in it from the time before the Goddess healed the world, far before the cataclysm that forced her to meddle with the world and heal it. There is no telling what is within those pages. The reports that were told of the enemy seeming to come back to life during the fight may not have been fatigue affecting the fighters, it may have literally been true. If there was a spell that allows him to resurrect the dead, but that would cost an enormous amount of Power to do. Such spells are banned not only because they go against the flow of life, but because of the demand of Power that is needed from the Mage. Even an Adept like myself could find himself unconscious with a single attempt at bringing someone back from the OtherSide.”

“Unless they were not brought back completely.” Bastra added in. At the confused looks staring at him he continued his suggestion. “What if these things have no soul, what if they were physically brought back but not the part of them that leaves for the OtherSide?”

Mendoll looked thoughtful for a moment, considering his answer. “Let’s say that idea is true, that it is only a shell that is living. No soul, no spirit. That would mean that there would be less Power needed to bring them to life, but to resurrect a body itself would still take a massive amount of Power. Even with a body that has recently died and is in good physical condition, to animate it into life and give it enough consciousness to act as an individual is incredibly difficult. To do what he has done, in this amount of time, he would need to be an Arch Mage or higher, if there was any such thing. And if he is one of those, we have all been toyed with from the beginning and everything that we do from this point on is meaningless.”

That very idea did not settle with Mach very well. Rubious could not be anything near an Arch Mage. There was no way, absolutely no way that the beast had achieved that level of Power. An image of the Lord of Heshten flashed in his mind and the feeling of illness and horror swept over him as he thought about Rubious. “Blood magic.” He said softly. “He is using Blood magic.”

“Blood magic?” Sehto moaned. “Not another one!”

“Wouldn’t he use more Power creating them than ending their lives?” Panamy asked, she was now standing next to Mendoll.

“Not necessarily.” The Adept answered. “To end a life early releases all the life energy that the being has and the potential that they would have had, had they lived a full life. If he were to create one, let it live until it is fully healed and full strength, then murder it… I could see it as a possibility that he could triple the output of energy. If he does that over and over, murdering his creations at the same time as he creates new ones, he would barely need to tap into his own Power in order to do it. The ambient energy from the death of his creations would be enough to fuel the process.”

“Then we need to strike at him soon,” Sehto suggested “before he can build his army up anymore.”

“And this time I need to get at him.” Mach added. “Not only to kill him, but as a distraction. If he is too busy with me, he can’t use his Power to bring them back in the middle of battle.” Rubious’ words echoed in his mind, every army that falls before me will rise again. “And to make sure that he can’t raise our own men against us.” All five looked at him in horror. That was something they had not considered as a possibility. But he knew that Rubious would do exactly that during the battle.

“Do you really think he would do that?” Panamy asked in disbelief. “In the middle of a battle?”

“He may have been doing just that during the battle here at Gehnith.” George answered.

“Like I said, we need to hit him soon.” Sehto repeated.

“I already put in the call to arms.” Mach answered. “But now we know where he is. But we can’t siege his city. We have to draw him out onto an open battlefield.”

“Those numbers though, even with what we have, it is going to be hell to fight!” Panamy exclaimed.

“How soon do you want to let everyone know?” Mendoll asked.

“How late is it now?” He asked, looking out his window trying to assess the time by the shadows.

“Late afternoon, but not quite near sunset.” Sehto answered.

“Tomorrow then.” Mach sat back on his bed. “Spread the word that I will explain everything tomorrow at the west gate.”

“Are you sure that you want to tell them everything?” Panamy asked cautiously. “I mean, facing these odds, many may not want to risk that. Some may prefer to run away.”

He thought about that for a moment. He had not even considered that as a possibility, but his belief in the men and women that he had met so far was strong enough that he knew they would stay and fight. “No, I will tell them everything. They deserve to know. They know what is at stake here. Many of them have been personally affected by Rubious’ actions, they will want their chance to end his reign. Some will walk the fires of the Nine Hells just to get to him. Just as I would.”

“What can we do while the ships are being loaded?” Mendoll asked thoughtfully.

He sat there thinking for a moment before answering. “Get the smiths and anyone else who has even the slightest skill with a hammer and forge crafting gear and weapons. See if they can craft any kind of defensive gear for the Herman’s and the Dragons. Any protection that will help them survive against his forces will help.” What else? What else could they possibly need? He looked over at the King’s Blade. The red crystal that was embedded in the handle had a soft glow within it. It was not like the Stones, a life within it, energy pulsing like a heart. But there was Power there. “How much time do you think we have between now and when the ships will be ready?”

Mendoll answered first, looking curious as to why he was asking. “Maybe a week or so until everyone is ready. Maybe a little longer for some of the smiths depending. Why?”

Mach stood up and walked over to his sword and caressed the crystal on the hilt. “Something I read in one of the books from Juiint. Also from one of the memories I have from Nedmere’s time. Talk to Joshua and see what he can come up with, talk to all of the Mages if you have to. I want them to begin forging Power crystals.” He turned around and grinned at his friends.

“Power crystals?” Bastra asked skeptically.

“Yes, like the artifacts that are infused with magic, but these will be used for instant spells.” He smiled wider as the idea became more clear to him the more he talked about it. “Imagine how the Great War was lost. The Mages of that time had no time to prepare for war, they had set camp to rest after destroying an Empire. They had no time to heal, no time to focus to bring spells that would strike large areas when they saw an army marching on them. And what happened, they lost. They may have lost anyways, but they would have had a better chance had they had more time. We have at least a week, but we can’t afford to have Mages under constant meditation focusing on a spell through all this time. Crafting a spell into something like a crystal, fueling that crystal with magic now and resting before the battle begins will give us an advantage.”

Mendoll’s face lit up as what Mach was saying became clear. “That is brilliant! A crystal is a perfect vessel for holding Power, fusing a spell in it would be possible. If we do that before the battle and have enough time to rest, we would be strong enough to use large spells and still be able to fight afterwards. It would only take one Mage to set the spell to the crystal, but any Mage could add Power to it! Even a Healer could help fuel a spell of destruction!”

“Can you Mages actually do that?” George howled.

“Yes we can.” Bastra answered seriously. Everyone looked at him with a look of disbelief. Even Mendoll, who had been with him for decades looked startled by his answer. “There is much that my people have hid. But my father believes it is time that we begin shaping our own future, a future that our people can grow into.”

“What are you saying?” Mendoll asked exasperated.

Bastra smiled wryly at them as he explained. “I am saying that there is a legion of my warriors coming from our homeland. I have already sent word for them to be directed here once they arrive.” Bastra answered. “I am also saying that secrets are no longer needed. Just as there are Mages among your people, there are some among mine. Just as the strength of your Mages vary greatly, the same goes with my people. The Goddess Kriasta blessed my people the same as she blessed the race of Humans.”

“How many?” Mach asked, unsure if he could believe his ears.

“I am not sure.” Bastra admitted. “But I know that they understand the threat that we face. It is with hope that they come here, to rid these lands of the evil here so that my people may come here to begin a new future. We have always had the will to protect, and through that, we have had warriors willing to stand against any number of threats. Our homelands our as safe as any place in this world. I would imagine nearly all of them would be coming.”

“And that would be, what…” Sehto asked, repeating Mach’s question.

Bastra straightened himself proudly. “Given the time that we have been gone from our homeland, how long my people can live for, ten thousand may be coming.”

“Ten thous…” George whistled as his eyes grew wide in surprise.

“How long before they arrive?” Mach asked, hoping that the answer would be soon.

The Gargoyle shrugged. “That I do not know. They are coming from south of Hell’s Fire but they will be travelling by flight. My father sent the message out weeks ago, so it could be any day now, but it could still be a while.”

“Let’s hope that they get here before we are ready to move out.” Mendoll added. “Adding them to our ranks would help considerably.”

“Including the fact that there are Mages among the ranks.” Mach said honestly. “It may be one of the things that push this into our favor. They could have a kind of magic that Rubious would never expect.”

“Indeed.” Bastra agreed.

He had noticed that there was something that had changed about the Gargoyle. Ever since their trip to Selane, Bastra had seemed different. More focused, but in a way that was not his usual angry self. He had experienced a great deal in the few days he had spent at home, had Bastra experienced the same? “We have a lot to do.” He said suddenly. All five snapped their heads to attention, looking to him, ready for orders. “We need to begin what we talked about. Prepare the men and ships, get armor and weapons ready. We need the Mages to do what they can to prepare those crystals. The more that we can have ready, the better.”

They saluted him and filed out of the room. He continued to touch the crystal on the hilt of the King’s Blade. The red steel glinted in the light from the window, the black markings along the length of the blade glowed dully to his eyes. Perhaps he should do the same. It would not be the same as what he had ordered the others to do, but it would be a final effort to end Rubious’s life should he fail.

He had read enough of the books in Juiint to know what the most Powerful spell a Mage could master was. It was also the last that a Mage would use for it would end their life in the process. The Mage’s final strike spell was something that was only used in the gravest of situations, when all hope of victory was lost. He could expel everything he had, magic and life force combined, and forge it into a single blow that would eliminate the target. There was no defense for it, no shield could withstand it for it was made of life itself. But what if during the fight he was weakened so much that he had nothing left magically, would his life force be enough by itself?

He knew the principal behind casting the spell for the attack and he had no fear of doing it. So long as took Rubious with him he would gladly end his own life. I will make sure that I take him with me. That is what he would do, what any of his ancestors would do, what his father would do in his position. Setting a spell on the crystal would be easy and he could fuel it daily. More than that, he would ask others to aide him. There were plenty of other Mages who would lend him their Power. If they all gave a little, that little would add up to Power unlike any that could be used naturally. The only question was, how much Power could a crystal like this hold?

We are coming for you Rubious. Just wait where you are, I’ll come for you myself.