Tale of Eldramir

The Wandering Titans and Drifting Feathers were gathered in a large tent that had been set up after the caravan of carriages and wagons were fortified and set up for the first night in the Desolate Lands.

The atmosphere was heavy as Gerome and Garrad sat with two other Tier threes from the Titans, and three Tier threes from the Feathers.

There was silence as Ezekiel finished explaining his thoughts, and Gerome and Garrad followed up by explaining what had happened in the training hall at the outpost.

“So, what are we supposed to do then?” The Tier three Tempest Hunter from the Feathers asked. “If what you’re saying is correct, then we’ll be walking into a trap.”

“What? Teren, you can’t honestly believe these baseless accusations?” The Flame Hunter from the Feathers asked.

“Unlike you, Mikael, I don’t have a sister in the Spires, so I’m not as biased as you are. The fact of the matter is, the Reaching Spires are assholes, and they have no regard for anything that doesn’t help advance their own Guild, or the agenda of whatever nobles are paying them the most.”

Teren’s rebuttal caused Mikael to turn red in rage and embarrassment.

“If the possibility of another Guild betraying us with a loophole, especially one as annoying as the Spires, is too much for you, maybe you shouldn’t be here.”

“Are you kidding me?!”

“If you’re not going to contribute to the discussion then get out.”

Mikael continued to glare at Teren, and then turned to the Tier three Cavern Hunter from the Feather, to try and get some support, only to receive a glare in return.

“Fine. But when we get back, I’ll be reporting this to the leaders.”

With those final words given, Mikael stomped out of the tent in a huff. Garrad and Gerome shared a look before turning to the Tier three Glacial and Obscure Hunters from the Titans.

“Keep a lookout in the sky. Anything that flies within a kilometer of us is to be taken down. No exceptions.” Garrad told his fellow captains.

He then turned to the Drifting Feathers.

“Can you pass the word to your members as well, or will Mikael be a problem?”

Teren nodded in confirmation.

“Getting the Spirits in our Guild that can fly to do some scouting won’t be a problem. Mikael also won’t be an issue, as he’s a junior captain who has to answer to the both of us. If it gets leaked that he’s releasing information to the other Guilds, then he should lose some support, but we can’t know if there’s anyone else involved.”

Hearing what Teren was saying, Ezekiel was kind of shocked that he was so willing to believe that Mikael was willing to betray them.

Sensing Ezekiel’s gaze, Teren turned to him to explain.

“Mikael has previously been caught selling secrets and plans to other Guilds, both in exchange for deals and riches that could be used to raise his own status, as well as to provide false information that can be used against the other Guilds.”

“The only reason he’s still part of the Guild is because the leaders don’t want to lose a Tier three captain to any of the other Guilds. Especially with how much Mikael knows about the Feathers. We brought him on this expedition so that we can weed out any other spies while he’s away before kicking him out.”

Ezekiel could tell that they were still hiding something, but their explanation did make sense, so he didn’t bother trying to find out more. At least not right now.

He didn’t say anything else as they continued talking about what to do. But it wasn’t much later that another Tier three Hunter from the Feathers entered the tent.

“Mikael’s Spirit has gone beyond the range of the one-kilometer patrol boundary.”

“Mikael is also nowhere to be found and his tent is not present.”

The large tent fell silent again as this news was taken in by those within.

“I have an idea regarding how we can deal with this, but we might want to make additional preparations, just in case.”

Gerome’s words caught Teren and the other Drifting Feathers Guild member’s attention.

“What connections do you have to the Roaring Ruins Guild?”

Three days later, Ezekiel and the Guilds that were a part of their portion of the expedition came upon the edge of a towering, but broken down, set of city walls that indicated the location of the major Ruins that they were headed to.

No flags or banners were raised to indicate that the Reaching Spires had set up fortifications, or to otherwise indicate that they were even there.

The only reason the Titans and Feathers believed that the Spires were still here was due to the fact that some of their flying Spirits had seen signs during previous days when scouting.

Over the past few days, the Titans and Feathers had come under attack by multiple groups of Umbral beasts. Luckily it seemed like most of the more powerful ones had already been taken care of, so Gerome was able to help the various teams sweep away the enemy fairly easily.

This didn’t mean that they weren’t tired from the trip and the ordeals along the way. Just that they weren’t as tired as they could’ve been.

“INCOMING!!”

A sudden shout from the side of the caravan brought everyone to alertness as they focused on what was coming.

Above them, coming over the walls in front of them, Ezekiel could see large flaming boulders flying towards their carriages and wagons.

Gerome and several other Cavern Mages banded together with their Spirits to try and divert the rocks but given the amount that was coming at them it was nearly impossible.

The rocks were particularly clumped together, and while a few of the boulders were diverted to different areas, Ezekiel saw the carriage he had previously been traveling in get smashed to splinters as he clung to Garrad from behind and beneath the large cloak that was wrapped around them.

It had been decided that it was actually too dangerous at this point for Ezekiel to be left to sit in a carriage, even with a full team guarding him, as there was enough maneuverability to get away if something happened.

“DEFENSIVE FORMATIONS!” Gerome shouted as the various members of the Titans and Feathers moved to form a circular formation around the rest of the wagons.

The supply wagons hadn’t been hit nearly as hard as the personnel carriages. So, it seemed like the Spires were looking to keep at least some of their stuff in one piece.

Suddenly, two streaks of violet and gold shot out from the Ruins in front of them.

Seeing this, Gerome and Westly dashed to the front of the group, pulling up the ground into a wall of solid stone that seemed to melt and harden as it blocked the beams of lighting and light.

CRACK

The wall shuddered for a moment and cracked as the impact of the lighting and light spread through it.

Two figures now stood atop the walls surrounding the Ruins.

One figure was a violet-colored humanoid wearing bird themed armor. It was as if she was wearing a bird mask with a metallic beak. The eyes were glowing with power. She wore the familiar sash of the Reaching Spires, and Ezekiel recognized the rest of her clothing as the outfit that Kameira wore during the meeting at the Alkena manor nearly a month ago. A bird with open wings was engraved on her chest.

A man in blocky golden armor stood beside her. He wore a sash with a storm cloud depicted on it around his arm. The symbol of the Stormy Clouds Guild. He had a helmet with two horns that pointed up and forward, resembling those of a bull. He was carrying a large glaive which was resting on his shoulder.

The image of a golden man raising his hands above his head was depicted on a second sash that was wrapped around his waist. This one was white.

This was not a Guild sash. This was a symbol of the Cult of light. They used the sash of a Top Tier Guild, even though it has never been confirmed that their group has a Tier five Hunter. Something that very few Guilds allowed to stand.

“KAMEIRA! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS BETRAYAL?!”

Gerome's roaring accusation spread out over the area as the Titans and the Feathers tensed in anticipation for the upcoming battle.

“Your Guild is under contract! No more than three Tier four Hunters have been permitted to accompany the different groups on this expedition!”

Gerome was absolutely furious as he yelled up at Kameira.

“Meryn did not accompany us on our expedition.” Kameira said through her bird shaped helmet with eyes that reflected a sickly-sweet smile. “He’s simply a Tier four Hunter from the Stormy Clouds Guild who we met after arriving. One that decided to join our group as we explored the Ruins.”

“According to the agreement between the Church, Guilds, and Nobles, that is not permitted!”

“Oh, to hell with your agreements!” Kameira’s tone turned wrothful as she said this. “The agreements were also that no non-Guild members would accompany the Guilds on expeditions, but I see you have that little Void brat here with you! How about this? Give him to me, and I’ll ask Meryn to leave.”

“You’ll ask, you say? Well, what if he doesn’t acquiesce? Will you and him both be willing to sign a Spirit Covenant that this will happen?”

Kameira and Meryn both flinched when Gerome mentioned Spirit Covenants.

“We’re not so foolish as to bind ourselves into servitude like you are Gerome.”

“Then you understand why I won’t give the boy to you. If you can’t guarantee his safety, I’ll lose my Spirit because of your incompetence.”

Kameira’s feather puffed out in anger at Gerome’s words.

“Besides, although we’ve never met, I know what the second sash that man is wearing represents. The moment Ezekiel is unprotected, is the moment you kill him without remorse.”

Kameira and Meryn said nothing to deny this accusation.

“How did you figure out what we were doing?”

This time it was Meryn that spoke up.

“I don’t know who you are, or where you’re from, as I know you’re not really a member of the Story Clouds Guild, but the fact that you teamed up with a Guild as sloppy and as arrogant as the Reaching Spires really shows how little you know about Harkem and its Guilds.”

“You old-!”

“How so?”

Meryn cut off Kameira's angry retort.

“The Reaching Spires gained power through support of the nobility. Not through experience or merit. The attempt on Ezekiel’s life by a Spirit that he had seen before, a Spirit bonded to a woman that had already sown discord between him and the Reaching Spires, was one of the most idiodic things the Spires could do and was what initially tipped us off that you would be trying something.”

Meryn turned to Kameira who looked away in embarrassment.

“Now, waiting until after reaching the outpost before dashing forward at full speed was indeed a smart thing to do. At least until you realize that the number of Cruor that started attacking us were far too numerous to be common if you were only a day ahead of us, as was verbally agreed, but not stipulated, in the contracts signed beforehand. So, you did well to find that loophole.”

“Finally, you used the most incompetent captain of the Drifting Feathers as a spy. Immediately after we started discussing the possibility of your betrayal, Mikael and his Spirit disappeared, with his Spirit last seen headed directly towards the Ruins. Mikael’s sister being in your Guild was just another nail in the coffin. Especially when he was sent on this expedition by the Feathers’ leaders specifically so they could clean house while their spy was gone.”

Kameira’s face was red beneath her feathers as Meryn continued to give her judgmental looks.

“We will be speaking about your incompetence later. I’m sure my brethren will be excited to discuss how you will be punished.”

Kameira’s face paled and she flinched as she wondered what was going to happen to her.

“I’m surprised you speak of foolishness in other Guilds like this, Gerome. After all, I would think you would know better than to talk with the enemy like this.”

“Because you’re stalling so that your Guilds can get into a better position to attack us from all sides? Please, you’re not the only ones that can set a trap.”

As Gerome finished speaking, a large explosion reverberated outwards from further back on the road the Titans and Feathers had come from.

“Garrad!”

“Right!”

Garrad directed Brucey to dash to the side. He and Ezekiel were carried off as Gerome underwent a transformation. Herend’s team followed behind as fast as they could.

From the sounds of the explosion behind them, several streaks of light dashed after them.

Westly seemed to dissolve into motes of orange light that was absorbed into Gerome’s body. A transformation occurred as rusty brown armor formed over Gerome. The figure of a Ferret was emblazoned on his chest plate. He also appeared to grow younger as wrinkles faded from his face and his posture became more upright.

As this occurred, a gust of wind blew into the area. A woman with gray feline armor appeared in front of Kameira and pushed her back. Meryn was forced to defend with a wall light as the gusts of wind tried to cut him open.

He turned to the direction that Ezekiel and Garrad had gone off in, but raised his glaive instead, blocking a downward hammer strike from Gerome.

“You’re not going anywhere!”

Meryn grit his teeth as the floor beneath him collapsed.

Back with the Titans and Feathers, a small contingent broke off to aid the Roaring Ruins Guild and their supporters in fending off the attacking Reaching Spires and Stormy Clouds Guilds.

“How? Even if you waited to regroup with the Roaring Ruins Guild, it would have taken you at least four, if not five days to get here, even if you killed every Umbral beast and Cruor in your way in an instant.”

Gerome and Meryn clashed several times before they knocked each other away from the wall.

The shockwaves from their attacks were causing ruptures in the bodies of those that were too close to them.

Most of the other Guild members moved to get away as fast as possible.

In the distance, back in the city, Kameira was struggling with a typhoon of wind that had trapped her in. She was shooting lighting like crazy, but the wind simply reshaped itself as it deflected and absorbed the lightning.

“That would only be the case if we didn’t burn mana to go faster. Having double the number of Guilds working together means we can carry double the amount of personnel on our transports.”

Meryn shot a beam of light at Gerome, who deflected by raising two slabs of stone to form the corner of a pyramid. The stone seemed to shift as it rose, becoming more crystalline and scattering the corrosive beam of light into harmless glittering fragments.

A stomp of Gerome’s foot caused a crack to reach forth between him and Meryn, who nearly lost his footing, only to use his glaive to vault himself away as he briefly shifted into an almost luminous figure before rematerializing in full several meters away.

“I wonder what such loyalty cost you?”

“Everything that we find on this expedition, in exchange for not betraying us and taking you all out!”

Gerome’s reply actually made Meryn stumble for a moment as he dodged another swing from the transformed Cavern Hunter. He barely managed to create a small shield at the side of his head, which quickly shattered and sent him flying away, but he managed to not have his skull crushed to a pulp.

He flew through the ruins of four stone buildings before coming to a stop. He did not come back out right away.

KRAKA-THOOM!!!

A large bolt of lightning, bigger than any from before, flew through the sky towards Gerome, who slammed his hammer into the ground and backed away.

The lighting flew into the hammer and was directed into the ground. The hammer melted in the process.

Meryn then came leaping out from the wreckage he was under.

Kameira was also flying at Gerome, hoping to get him with a pincer maneuver.

Gerome moved his hands and arms upwards, flexing as he did.

Stone fists nearly twice as tall and wide as he was shot from the ground, knocking both Meryn and Kameira into the air.

The Tier four Tempest Hunter from the Roaring Ruins Guild went after Kameira once again, bringing her even further away from the fight between Meryn ang Gerome.

By this point, the battle between these four had moved far enough away from the walls that the sounds of battle between the weaker Guild members had grown faint.

“Why are you protecting that scum!? What in the world could some worthless Void Mage offer a man as powerful as you?”

Gerome didn’t say anything as he pulled another hammer from his Void Pouch. This one is far more intricately designed.

“That boy represents change! He represents progress! He represents hope for the future, and the downtrodden everywhere that could help us take down the Cruor for good!”

“Void Mages are nothing but vermin that need to be destroyed! Only a Radiant Hunter who has reached Tier five will be able to save us!”

Meryn and Gerome clashed once again. Weapons of light materialized as Meryn waved his hand, motes of light shedding from his armor to form them.

Obsidian weapons as hard as steel took shape behind Gerome as he slid across the ground. Thrown backwards from Meryn’s last attack.

Far in the distance, winds howled, and lightning flashed. The battle between Kameira and the Roaring Ruins leader was just as intense as this one.

“Gerome... you were my idol, once, but it seems like you’ve picked the wrong side. That boy is the greatest threat the world has ever known. If he is permitted to reach Tier three, then our destruction is assured when he finally joins the Cruors as a Broodlord.”

Meryn’s voice was cold and determined as he spoke.

“If you hadn’t signed that covenant, then at least you would still have your Spirit when the boy died. As it is, perhaps I should just kill you now, and spare you the misery of joining the Heretics once this is done.”

“HA! Proud words from a Hunter who joined a cult that worships a false Ancient!”

Meryn’s face turned into an angry snarl. The weapons of light that had formed around him flew forwards, clashing with Gerome’s obsidian weapons.

Shattered motes of light and stone sprinkled the landscape as the weapons were ground into dust upon impact. Yet more continued to fill their place as Meryn and Gerome continued to channel mana into their spells.

“Ours is the symbol of the True Ancient Radiance! The depictions of the Church of Ten are nothing more than unconfirmed relics! The Ancients have never spoken to the Grand Scholars of the Church of Ten, yet we, the followers of the Ancient Radiance, have heard his words. He can show you the light, the truth, if only you and the rest would open your eyes!”

“More talk from an overzealous madman. Well, why don’t you let this old man teach you a thing or two about properly fighting at the higher Tiers!?”

As the weapons of stone and light continued flying toward each other, Gerome lifted his hammer above his head.

Slamming the hammer down, the ground seemed to ripple as the mana Gerome had been focusing into his hammer spread out into the ground according to Gerome’s will.

An enormous bear trap shaped structure raised from the ground to crush Meryn between the two massive slabs of spiked stone that were closing in on him.

Unable to dodge due to the obsidian weapons still flying towards him, Meryn let out a scream of frustration as he was crushed.

SLAM

The sound of the massive slabs of stone closing together echoed across the city.

Gerome allowed his assault of weapons to cease as he slumped forward. Although the battle had only been going on for a few minutes. He had already used up a large portion of his mana.

Meryn was not a peak Tier four Hunter like he was, but no Tier four Hunter was easy to deal with.

He turned in the direction where Kameira and the Roaring Ruins leader were fighting. A Maelstrom of wind and lightning flashed as parts of the city were destroyed.

CRACK

Gerome closed his eyes for a moment and let out a small sigh before he turned back to Meryn as cracks spread out from the center of his attack.

SMASH!!!

The spiked ball of a morning star grew and exploded out from the two stone slabs.

The structure of light faded away to reveal a tired and battered Meryn. He was covered in slowly healing cuts and bruised. The armor he wore was covered in numerous slowly sealing cracks.

“You won’t win this.”

Meryn spoke with a gasp and raspy voice.

“I seem to be doing just fine.”

Meryn just smiled.

“Ah, but I don’t have to beat you. I just have to survive long enough for the boy to die. Then, you’ll be of no concern.”

Gerome’s face turned sour as he frowned.

“I doubt that will happen.”

What? Because you sent your grandson and a few talented Tier two Hunters to protect him? Please. The Spires may be idiotic, but the Followers of Light are not. Even as we speak members of the Spires and Clouds lay waiting within the very passages you seek to take the boy to for safety.”

“What?”

Gerome could barely believe what Meryn was saying.

He had planned on having Garrad take Ezekiel and his team to the location of the Void Lock, to enter into the temple passage safely and recover whatever they could before regrouping later. Hopefully they managed to find a second way out, but if not, then it shouldn’t take too long for things up here to be cleaned up, as Ezekiel would be safe since no one else would be able to enter the lock without destroying it, which would cause problems that not even the Spires would be willing to deal with.

“On the off chance that you managed to get that boy to the Void Lock as we fought, I had several members of the Spires and Clouds enter the Void Lock to both explore and lay in wait.”

“But how did you get past the Lock?”

“It wasn’t cheap, but we just picked up a vagrant Void Mage from the Port District and had him absorb a few mana crystals. Once he reached Tier one, we just dragged him along with us in a box. He opened the passage, and now, roughly a dozen or so Hunters are now lying in wait.”

Gerome fell silent as he listened to Meryn’s explanation.

“What happened to the person you kidnapped?”

“Calling a Void Mage a person now? You truly are lost. That waste of space went mad upon opening the Void lock. He was killed and thrown into a ditch the moment we were done with him.”

Nothing was said as Gerome digested Meryn’s words.

“What’s wrong, Gerome? Cat got your tongue?”

BOOM

A magical aurora emanated from Gerome’s body as he released the limits on his mana. He had been hoping to hold back for a while longer. Unwilling to raise the stakes as quickly as Kameira had in her own fight, but he was no longer worried about attracting Umbral beasts and Cruor.

All he cared about was smashing Meryn’s face in.

A similar aurora surrounded Meryn as he grimaced in annoyance. A bead of sweat dripped down his brow as he sensed the difference in their power.

“It seems like I cannot afford to play around with you anymore.”

With those final words, Gerome threw himself at Meryn far faster than he had before. Fully intent on finishing this fight as soon as possible.

Several kilometers away from the ongoing battles between both the Tier four Hunters and the various Guild members, Ezekiel, Garrad, and his team were all moving as fast as they could in the direction that they were being instructed to go.

Along with these eight people, four Hunters from the Roaring Ruins Guild were accompanying them.

Ishkel was amongst them, as he led three Tier two Hunters from the Roaring Ruins alongside the team from the Wandering Titans.

“This way. The Temple of the Void is only a few more kilometers in this direction.”

Ishkel was calm as he dashed forward, lighting coating his body as he moved through the broken-down streets with ease. His fellow Guild members kept up without complaint. They were a female Glacial, male Tempest, and male Lightning Hunter, respectively. All were Tier two, and all were using their respective elements to move faster than they could run.

Ezekiel’s team were holding on for dear life as Brucey pulled them in a large sled made of ice.

Herend had made it as soon as they had crossed through one of the cracks in the wall surrounding the city.

They hadn’t stopped moving, even when the battle between the Tier four Hunters could still be heard and felt even with the current distance between them.

“There.”

Ishkel pointed to a large half collapsed structure not far from them.

Coming up to the structure, they all ran inside as quickly as they could, each of them was on full alert as they fully expected there to be more Guild members lying in wait.

“You don’t think they actually kept all the Guild members at the wall to ambush us, do you? I mean, as far as we know, they only expected Gerome to be there, so it would’ve been two on one, and then they could’ve just cleaned up the rest of the Titans and Feathers without any trouble, fight?”

Ezekiel’s question had everyone else focus harder as they tried to find any signs that someone was there or that there had been traps laid out for them beforehand. But none of them could find anything as they headed down the stairs of the old and broken-down ruins of the Temple of the Void.

They entered into a large underground area that was perfectly spherical. The result of the first Void Lock having been broken previously.

At the dead center of the area, at the lowest point of the room, was a black panel with countless spackling stars of light twinkling within it.

Ezekiel approached first with his team directly behind him. His face settled into a neutral look as he gazed at the Void Lock in front of him.

Garrad had a hand on his back as he hovered over Ezekiel protectively. Brucey did the same from the other side.

“You got this, kid?”

Ezekiel didn’t answer. He just walked forward silently; his eyes locked onto the Void Lock in front of him.

“Kid?”

Gerome moved to shake Ezekiel to grab his attention when Ishkel spoke up.

“Wait! I’ve seen this before. He acted the same way when he activated the Void Relic that I showed him before. I think he’s going to open the lock.”

The rest of the team backed away nervously. Apprehensive as to what might happen when Ezekiel tried to open the lock.

Garrad and Brucey just tensed up as Ezekiel reached forward, laying his hand on the black, starry seal in front of him.

The lights on the door shined with a brilliant light until the entire lock was composed of pure white light. A small hole opened in the middle before growing as the Void Lock opened.

As the light faded away, Ezekiel seemed to regain his focus and looked into the hole leading to the rest of the passage.

A tornado of fire was flying straight at him.