Iron Heart

Clive found himself Amidst a vast void. Its inky blackness stretched endlessly in all directions. He felt cold. the darkness did not just prevent him from seeing through the void. Clive also felt his Aether was slowly being drained into the void. He was growing weak by the second and he needed to get out here.

Suddenly Clive could feel an intense heat behind him. He turned around and saw a man, His body was littered with pulsing blue veins glowing with raw, Aether which brought light into the darkness. His skin was pale with a slight tint of blue. His slightly wrinkled face displayed no emotions, it was as if he had just awoken from a deep slumber. The man muttered, " Mythos.....Our savior....." His voice echoed throughout the void

 Clive took a step back and instinctively reached for his sword, only to find its familiar hilt missing from its sheath. Panic surged through him. Clive couldn't understand what was happening. He wondered Where he was and who this man was was and why was he after him ?

 The man slowly hovered towards him, his hands crackling with a blue flame. Despite his surroundings being the very cold, the Clive could feel its intense warmth emanating solely towards him and consequently he felt both warm and cold at the same time. He raised his fists and shouted, " Stay back ! "

His shouts fell on deaf ears, as the man continued to approach him. Suddenly he vanished entirely . Clive tried scanning his surroundings with his eyes but it was futile. the moment the man vanished the darkness of the void engulfed him once again. But before he could react, the man reappeared right in front of him, his burning hand reaching out with inhuman speed and grabbing Clive right arm. Clive tried to fight back, throwing a wild punch with his free hand. However, the man was impossibly fast. He effortlessly caught Clive's fist in his other flaming hand, the blue fire searing his flesh with agonizing intensity. Clive felt intense pain where the man was now holding his hands. Clive looked at the flame and was horrified. The scent of burning flesh filling the void, his flesh burned melted away from his bone flowing down like liquid. The excruciating pain was overwhelming, blinding, and as his vision swam, he felt himself succumb to the darkness.

Clive awoke with a gasp, his body drenched in sweat. His heart heart pounded in his chest as Sweat flowed down his face. His eyes darting around the dimly lit cave, searching for any sign of danger. He calmed down when took a look at his surroundings and realized he was now back in the cave and his surroundings were very silent. He knew it was almost time for them to wake up but he couldn't tell the exact time. Outside he could still hear the storm, albeit it wasn't as violent as before.

 Clive lifted his sleeve, his breath catching in his throat. He fully expected to see horrifying burns where the man's flames had touched him. But to his astonishment, there were no marks, no scars, not even a hint of redness. It was as if the entire ordeal in the void had been nothing more than a horrific nightmare

"Rough night i presume?"

The voice startled him. He turned towards the direction of the sound. It was Tiamat. sat perched on a nearby rock, sharpening his dagger.

Clive asked, " Have you not slept yet ? "

Tiamat nodded, " No. Someone has keep watch over you young sods. Besides," he added, "how can this old man sleep when we have such a grand day ahead?" He was referring to today because today they would enter the capital and assassinate the dominant of Shiva.

"Alright then," Tiamat said, He stood up placing the dagger back in its sheath "Time to wake the others."

After filling a few Canteens with water from the stream they proceeded to walk back to the Cave's entrance. Just as they started the walk back to entrance of the cave, they heard a blood curling scream from deep within the cave, far beyond the point they had made camp. All five of them froze in place, their blood running cold. The scream echoed through the walls of the cave and died, leaving behind an unsettling silence. Tiamat shouted, " Run ! " 

They took of running, towards the entrance of the cave. Clive's heart was pounding in his chest. He felt tired, this whole mission up until this point had been a continuous chase from one threat to another and Clive was beginning to grow tired of it. His thoughts were interrupted when saw something rapidly gaining up on them. He didn't dare to glance back, knowing if he did, he might loose his footing and ran as fast as he could but the creature was faster and more agile. Clive could hear it getting closer to him. He was the one running at the last and Biast was in front of him.

After a few more seconds The cold air of outside hit his face and he could see the entrance of the cave. Tiamat was the first to go outside and stood there waiting for them. his hand pulsed with a powerful blast of energy. Even at this distance Clive could clearly see the look of horror on Tiamat's face. Tiamat was seeing the creature that was chasing them and whatever it was, just the sight of it had shaken Tiamat to the core. as Clive reached the entrance he flung himself forward, pushing through the cave opening and landing hard on the rocky ground outside. Tiamat released a powerful blast of energy. It hit the cave's entrance, collapsing it and along with the creature that was chasing them. They coughed as the dust from the ensuing blast entered their lungs. When the dust had settled they saw that the cave's entrance was now completely blocked the creature that was chasing was trapped inside.

As much as Clive was glad he had made it out alive, he still regretted that they had to destroy the entrance of such a beautiful cave, Clive had been hoping to visit the cave and Aether imbued within it once they had completed their task but now that will not be possible.

Clive turned and asked Tiamat, " What the hell was that thing ? What did you see ? "

All four of them were busy running that they hadn't seen what was chasing them. Only Tiamat had seen it, But Tiamat did not reply. He just stood there, speechless. whatever he had seen....he was not willing to share it.

"We leave," he said simply. "No more delays.

He nodded his disapproval and gestured his hand to path towards their left which led down the mountain.

Throughout the journey down the mountain Tiamat remained silent. Clive felt angry, why wouldn't Tiamat tell what he saw inside the cave ? why was he hiding it from them ?

He turned to look at his friends and from their faces, he could tell they too felt the same way. Aevis walked close to Tiamat with a lantern in his hands while Biast seemed Aloof. Amina had a worried expression in her face

Biast was getting impatient. "How much longer until we reach this damned city?" he grumbled,

" Soon " Tiamat didn't even bother turning back to answer Biast. His gaze was fixed forward, yet his mind was somewhere else.

It took them two more hours until they reached the capital of Iron kingdom and the sight that beheld them was something none of them had quite expected. 

Impossibly tall towers of metal and polished stone pierced the skies, casting dark shadows upon the forest. The towers housed lavish balconies from which Lush, exotic plants cascaded down The tops of each of the towers had massive crystals embedded into the towers into. They glanced at the city below and even from their distance they could still see large parade squares, several smaller ports and bridges and lavish houses littered the mountain side.

All of them were shocked. all of the besides Aevis who had visited the capital several times over the years and had not cared to speak of its grandeur to Surely no one could have expected the most barbaric Kingdom in the twins to be technologically advanced in terms of architecture and culture.

"Well, this is certainly unexpected..." Clive spoke

Biast blurted out, " Are we still in the Iron kingdom ? How is this even possible for a bunch of savages to accomplish so much "

Even Tiamat was surprised and stared at the colossal city beneath them with his mouth wide open. The Iron Kingdom held a reputation for barbarity and bloodshed, their warriors feared throughout the land even more so than their ancient religion, the Crystalline Orthodoxy. Yet, the sight in front of them challenged everything they thought they knew about the Iron Kingdom.

They stood at the edge of the forest which was in a raised land compared tot he city which gave them a good vantage point to view most of the parts of the city.

Tiamat quickly recovered and gathered them all." Alright. This is it the time we have been waiting for has come. We end this quickly and quietly understood ?"

They all nodded. He shifted his gaze towards Amina. She seemed to understand and walked over to the edge of Cliff. Her gaze flitted across the towers, lingering for a moment on one that stood out from the rest. Unlike its brethren adorned with lush greenery, this one resembled a fortress. Its walls were thicker, more fortified, and it stood shorter, a stark contrast to the other towers that seemed to pierce the heavens.

Amina pointed at it, " There, The Hartan. That's where we need to go. It houses the city's garrison, and most likely Shiva's Dominant will be held captive there "

In the Iron kingdom the a religion known as the Crystalline Orthodoxy reigned supreme. According to the religion all dominants are viewed as unclean aberrations born of the blackest sin and Shiva's dominant is viewed the same albeit one they are all too happy to unleash on their enemies.

Tiamat's eyes were fixed upon the tower's surroundings in an attempt to find any landmarks to be used for navigation.

" The city is divided into two parts, separated by a river flowing in between them. The fortress is located on the western part which means its much more farther away from us. " Amina continued, " There will be many guards along the way and the should we be detected the royal guard will also be deployed. So it is important that we stay undetected "

Their infiltration plan was interrupted when they spotted several ships on the horizon. The armies of Insaldur were here and ships were not the only thing that they had brought with them.