Tale of Eldramir

The shock of receiving and binding the combined knowledge and memories of two Mythical Spirits was enough to make Morty, who was almost always silent, squawk in surprise, and verbally express his thanks to Ezekiel.

Afterwards, the second and final day that Ezekiel would be staying in the Fjorya came to an end. It was filled with more discussions and plans to send an expedition ahead of him to the south, where they would gather and wait near the border of the mountain.

Ezekiel had agreed to take some time to check up on a few areas where the changed flow of mana was not producing an abundance of heat or life, mostly to make sure that the Cruor that had been overrunning the eastern mountains were not as effective as before.

Mostly since the Broodmasters in the Empire’s territory were pushing forward. It had been difficult getting information, but apparently people had been pulled from the various borders. The towns and villages that were just north of the mountain ranges, and that used to be filled with people were empty.

Scouting parties had gone further north, but apparently the few that made it back were only able to report a massive amount of red fog that had seeped into the Empire.

It had gotten to the point that the majority of the Spirits that weren’t driven out before were now headed south. While this had been a boon for the fighting against the Cruor, it was also a bane due to the fights over territory.

Yet, those were not the things that Ezekiel was most worried about, since there was a far greater danger that had been discovered once he had forced his way into the area of the Fjorya that had been taken over by the Desolate Lands.

The dark clouds blocking out the light of the sky rumbled ominously overhead. Ichor had pooled in several areas, spawning Umbral Beasts and twisted Cruor that were clearly amalgamations of different Broods.

If left alone, Ezekiel was certain that their mutated forms would break down within a few days. He could not wait that long. Not with the other problem that the monsters were guarding being on the cusp of blooming.

A new type of Spine that was something of a mix of the old ones, and the Rot’s blooming mushrooms. If left on their own, or damaged too much, they would explode, unleashing Ichorous Miasma that would cover the land and flood the surroundings.

Hence, why Ezekiel had been forced to work on dismantling it, instead of simply blowing it up like he used to. Something that pissed him off to no end.

A quick trip to clear out a few nests of Cruor, and then we’ll head south to meet up with the rest. Shine sounded exasperated, and Ezekiel didn’t like where his Spirit was going with this. That was what you said when you told me that you wanted to divert our course once more. I agreed, since it meant that we could figure things out, and maybe get a better sense of what’s going on. Finding out about the cracks in the sky that Quintessa kept secret from us was also something we needed to investigate.

Ezekiel remained silent, focusing entirely on the slimy mist that was rolling over the hills in front of him. A large Spine with crimson veins splintered through it took up most of his attention, however, even while Shine complained in the back of his head.

The tribe leaders didn’t mention anything about something like this happening in their own backyard! Shine was currently away from Ezekiel, having taken to flying around and cutting through the massive horde of Cruor and Umbral Beasts that had been forced into their Primal forms.

Ezekiel wished that he could help, but the Spine that he was currently preventing from exploding took up most of his attention. He was doing his best to drain or nullify the [Will] and Ichor inside it.

The process was slow, more so since he had to worry about five such Spines, on top of the one he was directing most of his energy to.

I don’t think that the tribe leaders were aware of this. Not even our feathered friends made any mention of it when we talked before they set out.

Shine just sighed, but Ezekiel was happy to hear that they weren’t disputing the Guardian Birds’ ignorance regarding this matter. It wouldn’t have done them any good to start arguing about as well.

That’s fair... but if they truly are ignorant, then you can’t deny the other possibility! Shine’s declaration brought a frown to Ezekiel’s face. He had been hoping that that topic had been dropped. Someone knows what we’re doing and is doing everything they can to delay us. Radiant Chaos is tracking us. Somehow, he is keeping us from getting us to our destination in the shortest time possible, or else these unexpected delays wouldn’t keep interfering with our journey!

Ezekiel winced at Shine’s raised tone of voice. He hadn’t wanted to admit it, since the previous actions could be considered as coincidences, or attempts to actually kill him.

The thought formed a ball of anger in his chest, which he used to direct his magic into the Spine, further damaging it and finally making it crumble. He then moved onto the next set of Spines. Weakened due to his efforts with the first one.

This was not a strong enough variable to do any fatal damage to him, even if he got struck with the full force of the explosion. It would, instead, be devastating to the surrounding area, and possibly enough to force the tribes back to their previous lines.

Given that he was the only one that had the power to safely disable these Spines, without destroying the immediate vicinity, it was likely that they were targeting him and making him waste his time by keeping him here, in the Fjorya, for longer than necessary.

We’ll rush it a bit. The damage won’t be too great, and we’ll be able to do a quick check in the other areas of interest that were pointed out to us previously. Ezekiel knew that Shine was most likely right, and that, at this point, sacrifices would have to be made.

At least this one wasn’t as bad as the Rot’s new attack on Quintessa had been.

After we do some scouting, we’ll just break them if we see more of them. Two more spines crumbled several minutes later. Several hours of working on the first one, while suppressing the others, had given him a better idea of how to dismantle them with minimal damage. I should be able to keep the explosion from wiping out the surrounding area or spreading too much miasma for the tribes to handle. It’ll slow down their reclamation of their mountains, but it won’t push them back either.

Shine sent him a mental nod, and he redoubled his efforts to dismantle the other ones without setting them off. By this point, Shine had managed to clear out the Cruor and Umbral Beasts that had been forced to remain here.

Let me help... This will also give me a chance to recharge before we head out. Shine stabbed into one of the remaining Spines, which reduced the strain on Ezekiel by a surprising amount.

From there, they worked in silence, processing and ensuring that the Ichor didn’t get released as Miasma. Then, they were off, to further check on the borders of the Desolate Lands.

Needless to say, neither of them were happy with what they found, and messages had to be sent via their Com-Slate to tell the Hunters and Mages that had agreed to join them to say that they would be delayed.

It was another two days later before they finally got to the desert, much to their expedition’s worry and surprise.

----------

The expedition was silent when Ezekiel finally arrived. While the plan had always been to meet up with him again, after he had done what was supposed to be a quick investigation into the areas where the Fjorya’s tribes couldn’t investigate, none of them had expected him to be in the condition that he was when he had arrived. Even though they had been warned beforehand that things had changed.

“Are you alright?” Feynari asked, her voice tinged with concern and worry while she perched on a branch near the small clearing that Ezekiel had taken for himself.

“I am fine. No lasting injuries, nor any damage that can’t be recovered from before we enter the desert.” Ezekiel’s reply was dry and emotionless.

However, given the number of rips and tears that had destroyed his clothes, Feynari could tell that the complications he had run into were far more dangerous than he was saying they were.

Even if he didn’t have any physical wounds, Feynari could see the signs of tiredness under his eyes, and the stiffness in his movements that came from overcharging the mana that one channeled.

Such injuries were rare, as they usually only occurred in those that had been through life and death situations. To have them in a person that had few to no physical injuries meant that he was likely suffering from spiritual strain or exhaustion.

Such a thing was not conducive to a successful campaign into the desert. Though the difference in Tiers might be enough to overcome most of it, Feynari knew that Ezekiel needed rest.

It was times like this that she wished her brother wasn’t so responsible, because he had gone off to scout, and would almost certainly have pestered Ezekiel if he had been here.

“Take a break,” Shine’s voice filled the area, and Feynari flinched at the voice that seemed to come out of nowhere. “Even Feynari can see that you are tired. Rest. I will keep watch, tell them the full story, and then take my own chance to recover when you wake up after getting a good and proper sleep.”

Feynari watched with wide eyes as Ezekiel stopped in his tracks. She had been so focused on his condition that she didn’t notice when he had started walking back to the main camp.

“Feynari can help me, now go to sleep!” A large arm made of opalescent light formed and pointed to the tent that Ezekiel had set up on the other side of the clearing.

Several Artifacts were in position to act as alarms and defense mechanisms. Nothing that would truly hold back a dedicated Legendary, but the real danger was Ezekiel, so it didn’t matter.

“Ezekiel,” Feynari spoke up after a few seconds of Ezekiel and Shine staring off against each other. “I know it’s been a few years, but even if you can’t trust me or Callrond, you should be able to trust Shine, right?”

The two Void users turned to look at her, and she felt her heart skip a beat. It was as if she was nothing more than a newborn chick staring up at the gaping maw of a hungry snake.

Then it disappeared, and she let out a sigh of relief, though she didn’t like the guilty light in Ezekiel’s eyes.

“Fine. Don’t tell them too much. They don’t need to know everything.” Ezekiel turned around and stalked off to his tent, while Shine just sighed in the background.

“What was that about? What did you two actually see when you were in the Desolate Lands of the Fjorya?” Feynari finally got the courage to ask, several minutes later, once she was certain that Ezekiel was sleeping in his tent.

Shine floated up to her, his featureless avatar fully visible on the flat side of his blade.

“You might want to find a lower perch. It wasn’t pleasant, and we confirmed a few things before we finished up over there. Things that we had hoped weren’t true.” Shine spoke slowly, and Feynari shifted over to stand on their crossguard in order to float down with them.

“Even so, I think we need to know. Especially if it will affect our journey.” She knew that things had been getting worse, just as often as they had been getting better, but had things really gone that badly?

Shine, as if knowing her unspoken question, began to speak, and she realized that things did indeed go that badly.

----------

The two spoke for some time while Ezekiel slept. The clearing was [Shrouded] by Shine, and they made sure to keep an eye out for Callrond, who would hopefully be returning soon.

“It happened when we were checking on the northern border of the Fjorya. We had decided to dip into Empire territory when we noticed that there was a wall of crimson fog not far away.” Shine didn’t enjoy thinking about what they had seen, but they knew that they had to tell someone.

Given how close it was to the Fjorya, they knew that someone needed to hear about it. If not, then there was nothing that could be done to keep the mountains safe.

“We reported to the tribes that we were checking on things, but we didn’t tell them what we found. Not yet.” They shuddered, and Feynari lifted off to perch on a stump. “At first, we thought that it would be the norm. Cruor and Umbral Beasts under the Broodmasters’ control, gathering humans and bringing them to the Desolate Lands to feed the Cruor.”

“I’m assuming that that’s not what you found.”

Shine’s avatar shook its head. “No. Instead of Cruor, we saw people, and Spirits, corrupted by the fog, willingly going further north, toward where the Broodmasters’ were likely harvesting things directly.”

Feynari shuddered, and Shine realized that they must’ve had some idea of what had happened.

“The crimson fog... don’t tell me that it’s actually the Ichor of The Blood Broodmaster?” her voice nearly cracked, and Shine could feel waves of fear running through her soul, reflected in the mana she had begun to release into the nearby shadows.

They passively shifted their [Shroud] to ensure that the disturbance wouldn’t wake Ezekiel.

“That’s what we figured was the case. But the worst part was the security measures that Radiant Chaos apparently placed in The Blood’s Ichor. We tried to take a few people out of the fog. Humans, and Spirits...” Shine trailed off, and Feynari tilted her head in confusion.

“What happened? It must’ve been bad.”

Shine nodded. “They killed themselves. Bit into their own limbs to drink their own blood. They screamed about needing ‘The Red’ and when we didn’t let them go back into the fog, they tried to get their own ‘Red’ from themselves.”

Feynari shuddered at the image that Shine was painting.

“When Ezekiel and I held them back, and stopped them from injuring themselves, they just forced their own mana to run rampant inside themselves. Ezekiel tried to stop it, but whatever it was that had infected them also dug deep into their souls. There was no way for him to purge the Broods’ taint in time.”

Shine’s avatar flickered, and Feynari shifted from side to side. Neither was in a mood to talk after Shine finished explaining things.

“We only told the tribes that the mist was deadly, and that the most prominent Spines had been destroyed. What they do next will be up to them, but fighting will be inevitable.”

Ezekiel had screamed in rage at the sense of helplessness he had felt when he realized that there was nothing he could do. The loss of life was great, and he knew that it was entirely his fault.

The Broodmasters had taken these actions to delay his journey, after all.

“This wasn’t the first time that Ezekiel lost people due to such disgusting actions taken by the Broods. But the strain he had from having to clear out so many altered Spines meant that he was already mentally and emotionally drained when he saw this. Needless to say, it was more than enough to put him in a bad mood.” Shine fell silent, unwilling to say any more regarding the situation.

They hadn’t even gone on to describe the other things that had happened. The number of Spines that they had to leave behind, because Radiant Chaos had booby trapped several dozen Spines, and there simply wasn’t enough time to clear them all. Only the most immediately concerning ones.

It would mean that the Fjorya would have to fight hard, which was bad, since several of their stronger numbers were with them right now. Not a full army, but enough for the Hunters to work harder.

Wings flapping in the distance grabbed their attention. Looking up, the two Spirits saw Callrond descending toward them. They let him into the [Shroud] which was only blocking out noise, not light and visuals, and the Radiant Spirit shrank to land next to his sister on the stump.

“Did I interrupt something?” Callrond asked after looking back and forth between Shine and Feynari. “I was told that there was news regarding why you were so much later than expected.”

Shine sighed but steeled themself before telling their story once again.

----------

The rest of the journey into the desert was a solemn and quiet affair. The chaos that had been happening all over the world, plus the fact that the Cult of Light had been revealed to have been a pawn of the Broods meant that the borders into the desert weren’t well guarded.

It was a simple matter to get past the few patrols that were there. They mostly acted as a small deterrent to the Cruor and Umbral Beasts that had moved down from where they had originally set foot in the Fjorya years ago.

Even though it was one of the last places to be invaded by the Cruor, Tarquessa had never been able to push them out. Regardless of how small the force that was invading them was.

“If we keep up at this pace we should get there within a couple of weeks,” Shine’s observations on the third day after they had officially crossed into the desert was one that Ezekiel agreed with.

“The only problem I see will be the sudden nature of the sandstorms that occur,” Ezekiel took a look at the Hunters following his lead.

Many of them were drenched in sweat, and he was thankful for the ample number of expanded water pouches that they had. If it wasn’t for those, he knew that many of them would’ve passed out by now.

“The changes in the Spirit Paths are having an even greater effect here... Though I suspect that whatever it is that they’re doing down there also has something to do with it.”

The desert had not been this hot when he was here last. The flow of mana had increased, and not only was there more Cavern mana in the atmosphere, but there was also Flame mana, and an increase in Tempest mana too.

“We will need to be careful... It’s likely that the closer we get to the entrance, the worse its going to get as well.” Ezekiel stared out into the distance. Spirits were the only lifeforms that their expedition had seen. Humanity had seemingly retreated or been wiped out.

He wasn’t certain anymore. Word from Tarquessa was mostly rumors nowadays. At least as far as he was concerned. He had honestly written off the desert as a place of no importance any longer.

“We have a month, at most, to get there. That will give us just over half a year to try and break through. If we fail, then we’ll have to take some drastic measures.” Ezekiel didn’t say anything, but the ideas he had regarding a possible means of breaking through physically, through forceful means, was something that made him apprehensive in a manner that he knew would leak through his bond.

To his surprise, Shine didn’t say anything. All that remained was a grim sense of determination and acceptance. Though there was an underpinning sense of guilt in there as well.

“If you want to get a head start then feel free,” Ezekiel said while lying back on the cart he had taken at the head of the group. “I don’t think that we’ll be fighting anything for the next little while. The Broodmasters wouldn’t have been able to send their forces here en masse, and at this time I am past the point of catering to their distractions.”

Closing his eyes, he felt Shine’s soul slip into his own, even as their blade body laid gently on top of his own. The two fell into a quiet meditation, with himself still aware of their surroundings, just in case, and Shine searching for his sixth Chakra.

Up above them, the few Spirits that could fly that had followed them continued to circle their caravan in the skies.

For a moment, it was peaceful, and Ezekiel prayed that these days would remain. Even though he knew that they wouldn’t. Not yet.

----------

The expedition had mostly been left unscathed during the trip through the desert.

A few groups of Cruor and Spirits had crossed their path, but the latter hadn’t even attempted to do battle with them, while the former were almost mindless beasts at this point.

“Are we ready to move out again?” Ezekiel asked the two Spirits that had been using his shoulders as perches for the past few weeks of travel.

“I believe that we are. Shall I alert the others to hurry up if they are not?” Callrond shook some sand out of his feathers. “I don’t believe that there will be any stragglers. Everybody is in a hurry to get to our destination.”

Ezekiel hummed in satisfaction. That was good, because he could feel that there was a shift in the mana flowing through the region. His senses weren’t this great the last time he was this deep in Tarquessa’s territory, so he couldn’t be certain, but he felt that there would be a storm coming sooner than later.

A few minutes later, they had headed out, and several hours later a massive dust cloud had formed in the direction that the expedition had just come from.

Fortunately, they were not too far from their intended destination. So, even though he knew that it would drain him, Ezekiel had the expedition push forward, covering them all in a protective barrier.

It wasn’t long after that when visibility started to dim. The sand and clouds that had gathered were thick and hazardous, but it was only another hour later that the tops of the pillars Ezekiel knew were the entrance to the Ancient Legacy were within his sensory range.

Guiding the expedition to the center, Ezekiel had the Cavern Hunters, Mages, and Spirits start digging as far down as possible. They also formed a solid dome above them that allowed the expedition to remain safe from the storm above.

“This is it... We’re finally back.” Shine had mostly remained silent, spending most of their time searching through Ezekiel’s Spirit Paths, and it was only now that they had taken a moment to speak up.

Ezekiel had felt his Spirit making progress with their search for his sixth Chakra, but it was still taking far too long. The true size of his Spirit was massive, but that only made sense, considering the size of Eldramir’s Spirit Paths were large enough to fit continents in them.

Though, that was an unfair comparison, given the soul of Eldramir was originally of a much higher Tier than just Tier six.

Shaking his head to focus, Ezekiel spread out his senses, touching the pillars in the distance with his mana, but refraining from activating them.

“Hunters, Mages, and Spirits begin channeling your mana into the tablet that I am sending out that corresponds to your element.” Several tablets flew out of his Void Pouch, and the magic within the false cavern was channeled through his own to activate the entry pillars.

With a flash of light, the expedition disappeared, and the ambient mana in the area immediately flooded the space they had been in with sand while breaking down the dome that had been made for their protection.

Unseen to all, the pillars began to crack and within a few moments they collapsed, and there was nothing but dust and sand remaining.

----------

Further north, in a ruined city covered in a bloody fog, A man made of molten gold with oily streaks turned his head to the south. A viscous grin slowly formed, splitting his face in half. Even as an angry glare took shape alongside it.

“What happened?” The Blood asked while directing more humans, all in a trance, toward the Umbral Beasts that would carry them back to the Desolate Land’s core regions. “Did your distractions not work?”

Radiant Chaos growled, “They worked just fine... I am just annoyed that they were not needed, yet happy that the Herald is now out of our way. At least for a little while.”

The Blood seemed confused, but didn’t speak. Radiant Chaos nodded at that reaction. He was in no mood to answer more questions.

“Ready more mist. It would’ve been nice to know the specifics earlier, but we can now spread freely through the Empire without any risk of interference.” Radiant Chaos stood from the ruin he had taken as his seat.

A conflicted feeling welled up inside him. One the one hand, The Herald of the Void was not present to stop him, and possibly interfere with his plan.

On the other, the final stretch of the race to reach their goals had been reached. Now, it was simply a matter of time before one of them died at the other’s hands.