Chapter 2- Smoking vents
Once before, there was an island that spanned for hundreds of miles shrouded behind an endless sea of fog. This island was the home of those who wished for death, the home of the spirits who had lost all hope, and the land where a god was abandoned.
Today, that island shall forever be lost to the fog that once guarded it. Along with it comes the dreams of the lost, and the memories of a deity that had been stained with grief and unbeknownst betrayal.
"Let it be remembered on this day, it has been proven that even the weakest of my men can fell a god. And let it be known that here lies the dreams of a poor soul once cursed to bare the title of a tyrant." Horus spoke with a raised yet calm voice. His eyes were colored with a warm crimson that sent comfort and sympathy even to those who couldn't witness it.
The five looks towards the captain and kneeled. Their tattered clothing, their heaving breaths, and their sweating brows as they kneeled on the wet and muddy dirt garnered the captain's satisfaction.
"I will be carrying his corpse. As for his weaponry, bury it under even the bedrock and seal it with your most potent magic. Use a drop of blood from each of you." Horus says walking towards the cold corpse of the Tyrant god. This time, he truly is dead.
His eyes puffed ever so slightly from the final tears that fell down his face and his lip was bloody from his bite. Most specters would lose their shape and turn back to normal remains after death. However for a deity, whether true or manufactured, would keep the same luster they had even if the world were to burn asunder and explode.
Horus' eyes glance towards the five, going carefully as to not get noticed, then his eyes turn pitch black. Suppressing the devastating pressure that could instill fear even to the most courageous of warriors.
Horus walks towards the corpse of the tyrant. His eyes dance around the dead body, looking at every detail and crossing it with his memories. His face begins to contort into a senseless look of fury as he begins to confirm what he had been thinking, hoisting the corpse onto his shoulder and carrying it past the five.
"Be finished by the time I hold the wheel. My mood has suddenly soured." Horus says as he passes the five, struggling to keep his eyes atleast colored crimson.
The walk to the ship felt like an eternity as Horus' face tried not to fill with disdain while carrying the corpse. Thus he decided to fill his head with plans on what's to come in the future. Like the cogs on a clock, ever turning, working to tick every second with consistency; scaled to an incomprehensible level. Though it was not much to him, it distracted him even as his blood boiled under his skin.
"Sprung from the earth, livid in life, and outraged in death. Your spirit bound in unending chains, never to break or rust even against the unbridled strength of a dozen gods…" Frieda begins, closing her eyes and reciting the verse. Her head lowered and her mind sharpened to an absurd edge, taking a drop of blood from each of her allies along with her own using telepathy.
"Share with me your chains and bind that which I offer you. Infest it with maggots, melt it with your rage, and frighten it with your devastating aura; bound to the loose chains of you, the eroded mortal god, now, and forevermore."
Blue light bursts out from the ground, strings of magic surface and twirl upwards around the tyrant god's weapons, slowly increasing and twisting further like a tornado, growing bigger as the ground slowly begins to be enveloped in its blinding light.
The strings shudder, then start to fly higher, raising with each line was a chain, slowly encompassing the weaponry closer and closer, suddenly weaving together and binding the weapons until nothing more could be seen, dragging it down deep into the hole it had ruptured. It left behind dozens of barriers as it went, slowly hiding with the colors of the dirt and bedrock as it went down until finally reaching the surface, blending into the surroundings as if nothing was ever there.
Frieda opens her eyes. They glowed bright blue, painted with focus and plastered with a stern visage which made the others shudder. Then she blinked and the glow went away, stretching her arms over her head exasperated before calling the others. She raises a portal to the deck of the ship and goes in first, waiting for them on the other side.
Once the five had went through, they saw Horus drawing on a large stone, writing down runes around the circumference of the circular stone and imbuing them with magic. Once he was finished, he throwed Osial's corpse onto the platform and called for the five.
"Clear the ship of its supplies and place it on the platform. Danica is in one of the quarters, take her and wait for me."
They respond in unison and begin to run below deck, carrying out dozens of barrels of supplies at a time and placing them on the stone slab, slowly filling up the large platform with sacks, barrels and crates, placing them away from where the corpse lied. Carrying Danica over to the circle shortly after.
Horus holds onto the wheel and whispers something, breaking one of its pegs and putting it in his coat before making the five lower the masts and turning the ship. He finds his heading using the sun after seeing the compass twirling around in circles without any sense and going down the deck after he finished.
Horus calls the five to him once more ordering them to stand on the platform with him, waiting for them to reach before snapping his fingers. A beam of light drops from the sky and transports them to the bustling plaza of Aramus.
"Erick, Hinderfin, sell the supplies the person with the finest offer, Frieda, Alexandria, carry Danica to our base and give her a room. Quinn, come with me and carry the corpse. Go fast now, people are watching."
At the castle, a knight informs the king of the party's arrival back to Aramus while he sits in his throne, consoling a line of nobles that had yet to thin since dawn.
The king asks the rest of the nobles to leave before ordering his knights to escort Horus a carriage, but before he even finished his sentence, Horus knocks on the large door of the hall, making the knights go on edge while the king sits with ease.
"Open the door! Is that any way to greet a guest?" The knights stood confused and worried, bickering amongst themselves until the knight at the side of the king grew impatient and opened the door himself using magic, blowing back the knights at the door.
The king whispered to the knight to leave the room along with the others. He replied with a deep bow and walking out the door, signaling the rest of the knights to join him with a terrifying gaze that pierced through his helmet, sending shivers down the knight's spines. Walking past Horus and Quinn on their way out, closing the door as soon as all of them left.
A brief silence filled the room before Horus began to walk towards the king, Quinn following along. They kneeled in front of the king and put their weapons on the ground along with Osial's body.
Horus raises his head and looks at the king with bright red eyes and a smile.
"We have returned, the mission was a success."
"Is there a casualty report?" The king asks, letting them stand while he walked down to their level, walking until he stood in front of the corpse.
"2 million undead, 30 arch devils, 200 raised orcs, 5 marauders, 45 liches, and many more all adding up to a total number of 4 million to 0."
The king gives a hearty laugh and looks at Horus once more.
"What of the ship I gave? Were there any discrepancies?"
"Everything seemed fine other than the quarters. How exactly did you expect me to write on such a small table?"
"I would've given you a more luxurious ship had you asked sooner." The king said calmly with a smile
"Though I suppose that ship was for the best. There had been a witness already on board before we could even see your most gracious present." Horus says, sighing and nodding his head back and forth with his arms crossed
"A stowaway? And what became of them?" The king asks in surprise, noting what Horus had said in his head.
"If you were so kind, I would like them to join my ranks." Horus says before anything else with his hand to his chest and the other behind his back.
"I see you've taken interest in them… I suppose they're another one of those gifted children you keep looking for?" The king asks with caution in his tone.
"She has grown into something only we can take care of really. I'm surprised the barrier didn't react to them."
"I see, then you can do as you wish. Now about this corpse…" The king asks, kneeling down to inspect the body.
"Quite the troublesome person. He invaded a domain for cursed souls and used them to his advantage. Although he seemed injured when we had fought them." Quinn began, catching the king's attention as he knelt down and continued.
"At the start of our journey, we were weary of the magic he had tried to use to destroy Aramus, thus we found he tried to attack several other continents as well. They were dealt with by our markswoman, Alexandria. With guidance from the captain, we shot a preemptive that dealt the final blow to the tyrant."
"What had happened during the actual fight?" The king asked as he observed the ruptured ribs of the specter
"We put up a performance to lure out his true form and kill him for good. I felt it rather extravagant, however it helped lure the tyrant into a blind rage enough for Frieda to take over the remaining miasma he had surrounded the island in to weaken his soul, hiding the fact by misleading the tyrant by using a strengthening spell that blocked out the sun."
"I see… With how you described it, it seems like you had quite an easy time."
"On the contrary, had he not been injured when we fought, he might've met my expectations." Quinn retorts with a steady gaze as he looked at the corpse.
"My apologies for holding an audience with you so suddenly, but I thought you needed to see this before anyone else. The five have dealt with the gods cursed items, so you only need present this one's corpse to the public. It is more than likely that he was the cause for all the quakes that had been happening thus far… And I'm sure selling even one of his nails would bring enough wealth for the country to thrive" Horus stated to the king kneeling down and examining the corpse once more.
Its body was comprised of pitch-black bones that had rotting muscle stuck to it. Its cloak painted in nebulas was slowly fading and everything else was in tatters. Its face on the other hand was pristine, flesh and bone were intact and even in death, the radiance of a god no matter how evil had permeated. His neck had scales going up, fading into flesh in the middle, and its dead eyes were drained of color, looking up without focus and never given proper peace.
"I will handle things from here. You can return to your duties then, Captain." The king says, standing up and putting his hand forward.
"It is my pleasure, Your highness." Horus says, leaning forward with a smile and shaking the king's hand.
Leaving the room, the king is left alone with the corpse in front of him. No one is around, and the room is silent. Once more the king kneels down and closes the eyes of the poor soul.
"May fate treat you better in the next life…"
The king draws blood from his finger and draws a crescent moon on his forehead. The blood sears and boils before fading, leaving nothing behind.
"Igneous… Rest well."
The king stands once more and sits back down in his throne, calling for his knight and planning the events he'll be attending in the next few days.
In a quiet room, a girl lies sleeping as the light from the window slowly disappears as the sun goes down, replaced by the warm glow of an oil lamp hung in the middle of the room. 4 bunkbeds decorated the room with one drawer at the end of the path. On one of the bottom beds, a girl with curly hair and dirty clothing lied. Her effects placed under the bed by two women who were with her.
The woman woke up and saw them. She had not wanted to depart from the comfort of her dreams but she had no say in the matter, groaning about before realizing that the walls that surrounded her weren't familiar.
"Oh, Danica, you've woken up?" Frieda asks, paying no heed to her expression as she jumped up, hitting her head on the top bed.
"Where am I? What happened? My hand! It was cut off, wasn't it?" Danica exclaimed, her eyes wandering sporadically as she stood out of bed only to fall to her knees.
"By now, Horus would've sorted everything out. He might already be on his way here." Alexandria says, inspecting something from one of the beds before putting it in the drawer.
"Surely. He takes his sweet time returning to his bases after all." Frieda responds, pulling something from under the bed and asking if it was her sister's.
Danica vehemently decides to calm down and sits herself on the bed.
"What happened while I was asleep? Where are we?"
Frieda stops and looks at Danica for a moment and smiles.
"I'm glad you aren't like one of those incessant children who thoughtlessly act like idiots." Frieda says, folding a final piece of clothing and closing the drawer.
"We are part of a group called the Quillion array. Though I'm sure you've never heard of them before." Alexandria says, sitting down next to Danica and looking out of the window.
"You'll be safe here, if that's what you're wondering. However if you're curious about the happenings back at the island, just know that everything's been cleared up. And we've decided to let you join our ranks." Frieda says before placing herself on the bed in front of them.
"What may that entail?" Danica asks, tensing up before a yawn forces itself out.
"You have to abandon whatever life you had before. For now you shall no longer be a part of the world. Rather you'll be working in the shadows, a shade of grey whose name shall not reach the history books, tasked to prevent the collapse of not only the world but of realities without any reward."
"What?" Danica exclaims, confused more than anything, catching the eyes of Alexandria who stands up.
"We are the Quillion array. The strongest organization that the waking world shall never know of. We are a people who fell gods, rip names from history itself, and pull the strings of reality. We are not gods, but we are the ones who were trained to kill them." Alexandria declares. The warm glow coming from the lamp making her look radiant as she stood there. Her elven nature standing out as she smiles cheek to cheek with prideful eyes, only for Frieda to laugh at her not long after.
"She tells the truth, and from this moment on, you shall be serving in this order along with us. Rest assured, those you consider family, the ones dearest to you, and the ones you cherish most shall be safe so long as your name is written in our records."
Frieda says, hugging her sister from behind, pinching her cheek and teasing her.
"Do I have any say in this?" Danica asks, clasping her hands together.
"None, I'm afraid you've gotten involved in something quite heavy." Frieda says, letting go of her sister and sitting back down
"What… do you mean?" Danica says, moving back a little and tightening her grip on the hand she had thought was cut off.
"While we were in the middle of fighting that Osial, Horus found something inside you. A certain potential he had found with each and every one of us. Thus he forced your shell open, cracking through your futility by using one of his artifacts, and unlocking your spirit." Frieda says, looking out of the window to see a colorful bird perching on the frame.
"Horus had given you all the tools you needed to unlock whatever that potential was, and saved you from an inevitable grim fate as soon as he found out what it truly was."
Frieda explained further as she fluffed her pillow and began to lie down, stretching comfortably as she puts her hands behind her head after lying on her side
"That man with snow white hair and unique eyes was the one who saved you from a fate worse than death. To repay that debt, and to give you something far greater, he decided that you were worthy of becoming one of us." Frieda continued before she yawned.
Danica feels shivers down her spine as she slowly brings her legs and arms closer to her chest.
"This feels so unfair! I only wished to leave that damned island so why do I go through this now? Can I not… just have a moment of respite in my life?" Danica states with a loud voice that became timid by the time the final words left her mouth
Alexandria contemplates for a moment, watching Danica slowly start to shiver and stop her tears
"Everything after this point shall feel like hell unlike anything you would have experienced before… the path we are taking is paved in blood, and nothing less than that."
"Why in the world would you ever come here?" Danica asks frustrated while Alexandria looked out the window
"…The stars." Alexandria said, her expression softening more as she reminisced on memories she had cherished.
"…What?" Danica asked confused, leaning in towards the enamored Alexandria
"I'm sure you've looked up at them before… maybe you've been jealous of them. Ever so free to sparkle in the night, blissfully ignorant to anything around it… And yet when you see through their eyes even once, you'd grow wiser from such naivety… then strangely, they begin to glow brighter even though nothing had changed." Alexandria held on to Danica's hands with a comforting warmth. Making Danica notice something about them as she turned back towards her. Her soft emerald eyes whispering to Danica that she was free to peer…
They were rugged and told a thousand tales with just a touch. Alexandria herself looked flawless, yet her scars were hidden behind cloth, and colored the same as her skin. Her warm eyes were comforting yet capable of telling the worst of tales. And her smile that was seemingly an expert at quelling even the most cynical of worries.
"Me and Frieda are twins, yet we were separated from birth; Horus helped us find each other. I detested her at first because the home she found herself in was that of a duke, compared to me who was cursed to live below even the slums. Yet her eyes were duller than my own when I had seen her. Scars covered her body from lashes when we first bathed together, and her hands would shiver uncontrollably when time came for me to turn on the lamp…" Alexandria stops for a moment, heaving a sigh before continuing
"It took three days. Three days for me to start to love and revere her. In exchange for helping us find each other, we gave him our unbending loyalty."
Everything about her screamed that to anyone smart enough to look past her beauty, would know that she had already seen everything she needed to, and that she had already knew what she wanted to live for. She had nothing else with her but her name and her sister, but she was more than happy to live with that, she was more than happy despite that. And to anyone who understood that, it was strangely comforting… for Danica, it helped her cry.