Tale of Eldramir

Wolken knew something was wrong the moment Brun closed his eyes. The fact that the Tempest Spirit’s smile widened, ever so slightly, meant that something had happened that he and Strom were unaware of. However, he was too used to this kind of behavior from his old teacher to be surprised.

“Ezekiel woke up, didn’t he,” he said in a blunt and frustrated tone. “Just because it’s been a few decades, doesn’t mean that I don’t know your tells. Your smile is an excellent mask, but there have always been cracks.”

Strom looked over from where he was arguing with Kork. While he had been glad to see the old crocodile wasn’t focusing on him anymore, Wolken didn’t need his fellow Hunter getting dragged away for a battle right now. The fact that Kork wasn’t just attacking out of nowhere was their one reprieve right now.

“That is correct,” the Tempest dog said. He rose from his seated position to walk over.

Wolken snorted in amusement at how Brun didn’t even bother to hide that something had happened. But he also loved that about the old Spirit. Regardless of their seemingly air headed and frustrating behavior.

“To be specific, the Herald of the Void has begun training his soul in a special manner unique to this Haven. One that we will not be sharing with you.” Brun’s smile shifted, and Wolken could tell that the Mythical Spirit was now baring his fangs. His own Spirit reared up in defense, but Wolken waved him off.

“So, he won’t be headed to the front lines anytime soon?” Wolken sensed Strom focusing on their conversation even more intently now. This was the most important part of their reason for coming here.

That, and to see if the Exalts of this Spirit Haven would be willing to join them in battle. Given the likely increase in fighting that would occur once the Cruor lost their patience in the search for Ezekiel, the extra hands would be appreciated.

Especially since it was possible that the Broodlords would come bearing down on Ezekiel, just to get their hands on him before he could grow beyond their ability to restrain him.

“No worries. The Herald will remain here until he is strong enough to defend himself in full. I don’t think he’ll be leaving until he reaches Tier six.” Brun walked past Wolken. “Now come along. It’s time we find out who will be leaving to help you with your little war.”

The two Hunters ignored Brun’s belittling of their struggles against the Cruor. They were too shocked by the mention of Tier six to focus on anything else.

“You’re certain that he can do it?” Wolken usually trusted his old teacher, no matter how annoying he could be, but this was too big to ignore. “I know he’s a genius and managed to put to words the feelings and instinctual requirements for both the Legendary and Mythical Tiers, but that’s the level of the Ancients. The beings that reshaped the world in its entirety.”

“Indeed. They are the penultimate beings to exist in this world.” The Tempest users ignored the gob smacked Cavern users as they wordlessly repeated Brun proclamation. “If anyone can reach that level and save us all, it would be him. Though, I also wouldn’t be surprised if he failed. He would not be the first, after all.”

Brun stopped smiling, nearly giving Wolken a heart attack, and causing his Spirit to rear back in shock. Yet there was no pressing matter to be addressed, nor threat to be matched.

Instead, the Mythical Tempest dog just stared into the distance, where a large tornado continued to spin. One that had existed in the same spot for as long as Wolken could remember.

From the one time he’d asked about it, he knew that that was the sight of a Mythical Spirit from before the Age of Despair. One that had tried to break through to the Ancient Tier. The fact that their magic had created a tornado that still spun today, several hundred years later, was a testament to the power and lingering [Will] of that Spirit.

“Regardless! It will be up to him to determine whether or not he can take that final step.” The smile was back, and Brun turned back to Wolken.

They, along with Kork, Strom, and his Spirit, marched through the Spirit Haven. Utterly silent, until Strom broke the quiet.

“Lord Brun, might I ask a question... In addition to this one!” Wolken smirked at Strom’s follow up.

While he didn’t lose his smile, Wolken could tell that Brun was pouting from the slumped shoulders and now slouched posture.

“Wolken warned you about me, didn’t he,” both Hunters could tell the question was Rhetorical. Brun just sighed, “Yes, yes, ask your other question.”

“Is it true? Will the Broods break free within the next decade or so?” Strom’s words made Wolken tense, and a frown spread across his face.

That had been a question on his mind as well, but he hadn’t felt the need to bring it up just yet. Best to integrate into the Spirit Haven once more before broaching such big topics.

“As far as I know, they will break free within a human lifetime. Something that your Void Remnant wishes to deny but is only lying to himself to prevent the inevitable.” Brun seemed to sag even lower, and his smile shrank just a bit. “All seals will break down over time, unless they are reinforced. Perhaps when the Cruor were not a thing, the seal would have remained in place, but the fact that the Broods could grant their power to others at all means that cracks have begun to appear. It’s even worse when you consider how much more powerful the Broodlords are when compared to even a hundred years ago. Before, the only reason they weren’t wiped out was because not even Mythical Beings can retain their mana for long enough to fight within the center of the Desolate Lands. But now, the Broodlords are reaching higher and higher Steps of power. To the point that they might even be able to match myself, and I am in the upper Steps of Tier five.”

Brun’s response actually caused Strom to stumble over a large rock jutting out of the ground. Something that should’ve been impossible for a Cavern Mage. Yet, that just advertised how horrifying this information truly was.

Wolken just stayed quiet, though he did glare at nothing in response to Brun’s words. It wasn’t good to know that, even with their own strides in growing stronger, the Cruor were still ahead of them.

No one talked for the rest of the walk, but after a few more minutes, Brun swiveled his head.

This time Wolken knew that something was wrong, since the Tempest dog was once again frowning, but this time he had a glare on his face as well.

“It seems like the Cruor have grown impatient. Kork, get Maya and head to the southwestern tunnels. There is a Rot in the Haven, and it needs to be taken out.” Kork disappeared into the ground, and Strom moved to follow, but was lifted into the air instead. “You two stay with me. We can’t let them think that there’s anything out of the ordinary. While I trust my home’s defenses, there’s no need to bring more attention to us by having the presence of Quintessa’s strongest Hunters known to our enemies.”

Though reluctant, Strom and Wolken settled themselves and continued to walk with Brun. Both of them even restrained their mana, doing their best to blend in, and not do anything that might draw the attention of the Cruor that had arrived.

----------

Hidden in the depths of the earth, tunnels protected by [Will] infused enchantments spanned the length of multiple mountain ranges. Their presence kept the secret entrances to the Spirit Haven hidden and ensured that there was little to no chance of outsiders making it inside.

Exceptions still existed, however, and Kork couldn’t help but grumble as he made his way through the earth. Stone and dirt parted before him, and vibrations from ahead told him of his targets.

“Damn, there’s a lot!” he growled with a mouth full of stone. “Hopefully this will be a bit of a fun challenge. Otherwise, sending me would be a waste of time.”

Upon getting closer, he realized that his worries were baseless. What had seemed to be nothing more than a few dozen fully grown Cruor at this point, was revealed to be a rapidly advancing network of molds and fungi that had consumed several kilometers of caves and tunnels.

Worse yet, they were still proceeding forward, and several Spirits had already fallen prey to their spores and poisonous clouds.

“Ready as many Flame Spirits as you can. I will need their assistance in burning the Rot away once they are dead.” His voice traveled through the ground, reaching pillars high above where they let out slight vibrations that channeled his words into the air.

This allowed Brun to be informed of what was happening more directly than merely expanding his senses. Though, Kork wouldn’t know whether or not he was heard until Brun sent forces to aid him or not. It was far more difficult for the Tempest Spirit to send him a message when he was underground.

Rather than lament the lack of reply, Kork tensed up, and a sphere of stone formed around him. While he preferred to sink his teeth into his enemies, he knew that, with the Ichor from the Rot’s growth spreading quickly, it would be best to attack from afar.

Besides, his enemies were in his territory at this point. There would be no escape even if they picked this time to flee. Kork had already trapped them in, after all.

“Die!” he muttered while rearing back on his hind legs.

After a moment to channel his mana, he slammed back down, and over a dozen tunnels immediately collapsed. The Rot tried to fight back, with the molds and fungus having been infused with the [Will] of their Cruor to spread without care, but it was slowed considerably once the Cruor were dead.

They ceased to be within moments, but their remains encouraged further growth. With that in mind, Kork began shaking his limbs back and forth, creating a localized earthquake. One that would grind the remaining spores, molds, and fungus to nothing more than dust.

“Now comes the hard part,” Kork muttered and began shaping the earth once more.

This time, the closed off tunnels were converted into pockets of stone that were sealed airtight. Only then was Kork confident that the remaining spores were sealed away, but it wouldn't last for long. Perhaps a few days at best.

“That damned dog better have gotten my message. I don’t want to be stuck here keeping watch when we’ve got some entertaining fellows in the Haven. These damned things weren’t even enough to be a challenge.”

With that said, Kork turned around, after giving the region once more sweep for foreign substances, and collapsing more than a few additional tunnels, just to keep things secure.

From there, he began making his way through the earth once more. Not to return to the Haven, but to dig out new tunnels that would replace the ones that he had collapsed.

In the process, he believed that these actions would keep the Rot from getting further in. At least for a little while.

It was just a shame that, while stuck underground, he wasn’t able to see what forces were hiding high in the air, barely within the reach of Brun’s nose and ears.

----------

Well above the clouds, a figure with a massive wingspan, tens of meters wide, looked down on the world with a sneer on his face. Derrick could faintly see the outline of a massive dome of mana that concealed a caldera-like structure composed of multiple mountains arranged in a circle.

“I never would’ve thought that a formation could be created at such a size. Of course, it only makes sense that it would be the Spirit's that made it, rather than humanity.” The disdain he held for humanity was audible in the growl he made.

On his shoulder, a small mushroom with tendrils extending to wrap around his arm vibrated. A faint, female voice could be heard.

“I’ve just lost contact with the forces I sent to the location you indicated. They died quickly, but no presence was noticed. I don’t think it was done by Legendary Spirit's. The amount that would need to work in tandem to clean up the area that fast would be incapable of working together that seamlessly.” Serin’s wispy words were barely audible, but Derrick heard them all the same.

“Do you think that he’s here?” He asked, intent on only proceeding if he had support to confirm that Ezekiel was present.

“I can’t confirm. We didn’t even manage to break past their defenses. Regardless, you should pull back for now. Our message will be made known to the entire world soon. There’s no point wasting your time over there when there’s more important things to do.”

The Winged Lord frowned at his fellow Broodlord’s words.

“Nothing is more important than either catching, or killing, the Herald of the Void.”

While he hadn’t screamed, his voice rumbled and changed in pitch, sounding much like the cry of a demented bird, due to his anger at the situation.

“Agreed. But we don’t know where he is, and we need you to evacuate our forces if it turns out that the Exalted Hunters are closer than we’re aware of. Now, return to the city that the message will be sent to. Drake is getting restless.” Serin’s last few words were accompanied by a quiver in her voice.

Derrick snarled, “That bastard has been restless ever since his deceptions were revealed. Not even my Broodmaster was aware of his and the Chaos’ deceit!”

The most recent meeting of the Broodlords had revealed many secrets, the most disturbing being the fact that Ezekiel’s announcement was true. After that, the fact that they could just wait until the seals were broken was the most frustrating.

“Why must we even continue this war? Even if the Herald’s information is off by a few decades, we could just wait! There’s no reason to keep him alive. No other Void Mage is even close to reaching the necessary level of power to reinforce the seals.” This had been the greatest point of contention after the Broodlords had gotten over their shock.

“It is the will of our masters that they be freed as soon as possible. Now get to the city! The message will be ready within an hour. You will need to move at top speed to get there in time.” Serin said, seemingly ignoring his outburst.

But he could hear the dissatisfaction in her voice. So, with a growl and a shriek of rage, he reluctantly turned away and headed south. His fellow Broodlord was right when she said he’d have to go as fast as possible in order to meet up with the messengers in time for the show.

The world wasn’t going to change on its own, after all.

----------

It was about an hour later when the group reached the meeting area where Wolken and Strom were able to sit down. Brun let out a sigh of relief not long after, when the powerful presence he’d sensed above the clouds left his mountain range.

He didn’t know where it was off to in such a hurry, but for it to go as far as it did as fast as it did mean that it was close to, or just as, strong as he was. At least when it came to speed.

While he knew that he could most likely deal with whatever it had been just fine, he knew that a battle at this time wouldn’t be in the Spirit Haven’s best interests.

“What happened?” Wolken asked, and Brun nearly wanted to curse out his old disciple for being so perceptive.

“Just happy that the Cruor are no longer a problem. At least for now.” He smiled widely, like usual, and tapped his chin in thought. “Though, I will need to have as many of our Flame Spirits head to the location as soon as possible. They’ll need to clear out the area. I hope that the fungus that’s there isn’t the fireproof type.”

Strom looked off put at his knowledge of everything that was happening in the Haven, which just amused the Mythical Tempest Spirit even more. However, Wolken wasn’t so easily deterred.

“What else?” He asked, not backing down in the slightest.

“Well... Something about a message being sent was spoken of, but I’m not too concerned. There are limits to what the Cruor can do at this point. Even if it did turn out that there were more secrets being kept than we had expected.” Brun shrugged and moved to sit on the other side of the clearing. Ow, let’s talk about why and how we should contribute to--”

A loud buzzing sound filled the clearing, cutting Brun off and drawing his attention. Wolken and Strom both reached for their Void Pouches. They each pulled out one of the newest and most advanced Com-Slates that were currently available.

They were rattling so hard that it was almost impossible to hold onto them without breaking them.

“Put it on the ground!” Wolken told Strong. To which Brun just raised an eyebrow, candidly ignoring the crowd of Spirits that was forming around them.

He did wave at Maya when he noticed her hiding in a tree above the two Hunters.

There was no time to do anything else, however, since the moment the Com-Slates hit the ground, beams of light shot into the air. They painted a picture of several cloaked humanoid figures bathed in light of different colors.

Even though he had never seen it before, Brun had heard about the previous times that such a message had been sent. He couldn’t help but dread what was to come, since every other time had not been good.

----------

In the Archipelago, Riley sat on an island uninhabited by humans. She was left undisturbed by the Spirits that lingered there. None were willing to confront her, so she was able to watch the message in peace. Though, it was hard for her to stomach watching the message from the Cult of Light.

Standing in front of the group, the semi-familiar face of Endaria stood in what appeared to be a daze. Her eyes were unfocused, and they shone with a light that was brighter than the usual effect of high-level magic being used by Legendary or Mythical beings.

“Greetings, people of the world. I speak to you on behalf of the Radiant Lord.”

There was an echo to her voice. One that sent shivers running down the spines of whoever heard it. Riley immediately knew that something had changed. She had met and been present when Endaria had fought with Wolken and Ezekiel before, so she could tell that the Life Mythic of the Cult of Light was not in her own mind. Even her words were entirely out of character for her usual behavior.

“Per the word of the one true Lord, he who has ascended through body and soul, I bring warning to you all. The Herald of the Anathema will not be allowed to remain free. Nor will they be allowed to grow strong enough to be a threat. Only by turning him over to us, alive and well, will the coming tragedies be avoided.”

From behind her, several figures were brought forward and the image that was revealed widened. Behind the group of people, there was a city in the distance. But Riley didn’t care about that.

She was focused entirely on the fact that her old friends, Shari and Noreen, were being dragged up next to Endaria. Their Spirits were nowhere to be found, and the heads of their parents and siblings were placed atop a table that had also been brought out.

“Those bastards!” Riley was incensed. If it wasn’t for the fact that there was nothing she could do, she would’ve raced toward Quintessa and burnt everything she could to the ground.

“These are the remaining allies of the Anathema that lived outside of the Empire. Most have died, and so too shall these ones.” Endaria pulled out a blade and held it to Shari’s neck.

The Cavern Mage gazed up at her in defiance, but tears still ran down her face. Next to Shari, Noreen just gazed listlessly at nothing. His soul seemingly broken from the events that had happened to him.

“Before they did, however, the rest of the message must be sent.” The mad Life Exalt pulled her blade away and pointed to the city in the distance. “Watch and see the consequence of defiance!”

A moment later, a massive object crashed into the city from above. It slammed into the protective formation that covered it. The sound of shattered glass filled the world, and an enormous cloud of dust and rubble was blown into the air.

Yet things didn’t stop with just one impact. Instead, it went on for several minutes, with over a dozen impacts being made. Even with the large distance between them and the city, Endaria and her group were covered in the dust cloud that had spread out from it.

Tempest Mages, all with the same dull and dazed look on their faces, stood with their hands raised. A barrier of wind kept them safe, and once the impacts stopped, they stepped forward as one, and a massive gust swept away the clouds of dust.

Where there had once been a city, there was now nothing more than a series of craters. A small bit of the broken outer wall was all that remained, and even that had crumbled to the ground after a few moments.

All around the world, the viewers of this atrocity stayed silent. Yet Riley was unaware of all of this. She only cared about the fact that the message wasn’t finished just yet.

That, and the fact that she recognized the objects that had hit the city.

They only appeared for a few seconds, but after years of conflict with that specific being, she would recognize those enormous feathers anywhere.

“The Winged Lord,” she growled out with rage and hatred. Next to her, Celia let out a rumbling roar that spread across the island. While she wasn't yet a Tier five like Riley, the other Spirit's still shied back from the angry Spirit and her Mythical partner.

While she hadn’t doubted Ezekiel’s words before, now she had literal proof that the Cult of Light was being controlled from behind the scenes by the Broods.

“Failure to hand over the Anathema within a month will result in another city being destroyed. We have waited for too long for justice to be served. With his most recent set of lies and blasphemy, the Anathema has gone too far. Only we, the Followers of Radiance, can save this world! Only we have the power, and the right, to do so!” Endaria became more heated, losing some of her dazed state of mind as she fervently declared her madness to the rest of the world. “Even now, the Cruor have taken the Lord Luminance away from the Empire. A response to the Anathema’s baseless claims. One that was made for whatever their own bizarre and twisted reasons may be. We shall not take this any longer. Take action, and acknowledge your saviors’ demands.”

With that said, Endaria turned from the device that was capturing her image. The display zoomed in on her again, just as she slashed through Shari and Noren’s throats.

Blood splashed onto the ground. Riley couldn’t help but look away, unwilling to watch as her old friends died before the whole of the world.

From there, the display from the Com-Slates disappeared.

Silence pervaded the island. Broken only by heavy breathing from Riley, who was doing all she could to calm down. Yet even though no flames appeared, the ground dried up, and turned into a cracked and smoking desert.

The nearby vegetation ignited and turned to ash in seconds. Only Celia was safe as Riley incinerated the nearby area.

“It’s a two-pronged attack...” She muttered quietly. Her heat retracted after a few minutes. Thoughts raced through her mind, wondering why the Cruor and Cult of Light would do this. “That’s why they mentioned the loss of Ezekiel’s father from their forces. Turn the world against him, while holding his father hostage. It’s a heavy handed and disgusting twist on the carrot and stick method.”

Celia let out a small trill and nudged her partner in the side. Riley turned, wrapping her arms around her Spirit’s neck. It was a slight comfort, but she couldn’t hold back anymore.

“We need to go. We can’t afford to leave his... our family undefended for any longer than necessary. Only by keeping Evelyn, Wendy, and Ellen, safe from harm, will Ezekiel be able to act freely, and do what he needs to do.”

With that said, she climbed onto Celia’s back. With a mighty heave, they were in the air once more. Moving at the fastest pace they could, if they took the risk and kept up this pace, they would reach Sanafalls within just a couple of days.

She just hoped she wasn’t too late to get there.