Shadowblade (14 page)

The elderly bishop smiled at the bloodthirsty Arnathians who saw the human torch become a pile of ashes. They cheered and jeered and then went about their business. The bishop returned to his offices deep inside the temple to contemplate what to do next. The in-fighting between the gods of Llars was very intriguing, and he began to suspect that this war would spill over onto the mortal world of Llars itself. He imagined how profitable such a war would be for the winning side, and he hoped Qra’z was on the winning side. Ordinarily, the Golden Dragon was on his own side. But Darius knew that his lord was wise enough to know that an alliance would be necessary to defeat the great and powerful Zuhr.

But would Zuhr truly be defeated? Was it even possible that the younger gods could defeat the Great Zuhr, the Creator of the Universe? Darius began to think that might not be possible. He contemplated his own future then, imagining legions of Cjii battling on this very ground for the future of the world. Who, or what, could survive such an ordeal? Would anything be left?

Darius was a practical man, even if he was a bit sadistic and self-centered. He was aware of these traits and was proud of them. So it was time for Darius to consider whether a change of alliance was truly necessary, or, perhaps a change of location.

In any case, the immediate problems must be dealt with. War was coming and the bishop wasn’t sure how it would be handled. Would there be an exodus of Arnathian citizens back into the Empire Proper? Would Cannath arrest any Arnathians left behind and seize their property? What would happen to the temple? It seemed likely that the crown would simply abandon Hybrand and those who remained behind.

He sat back in his comfortable chair behind his large desk and drank a glass of chilled apple wine as he thought over the likely scenarios. Perhaps he would simply abandon Craxis and the Arnathian troops and return to the capital. That way he would be honoring his lord’s bidding by not interfering, and he could rid himself of that callous twit, Craxis. And when he returned to Grand Temple in Arnathia, he could simply affirm that the blame of the loss of the Hybrand Province lay on the shoulders of the deceased general.

All in all, it sounded like a strong plan. But he would have to leave soon, very soon. Perhaps this very evening. He looked at the time keeper on the shelf next to the door and watched it for many long moments. In the end, he decided, it didn’t really matter what was going to happen next. It would be best for his own survival to remain a faithful follower of his god, for as long as it was wise to do so, and leave Hybrand to its own devices.

Devoricus allowed the bishop to play to his crowd, something he knew would become unnecessary in the coming days. During the charade Bishop Darius had been whispering the words that would release the Cjii from his corporal prison. Once the immortal spirit was free from the body of Hugh Renaul, the body disintegrated into a pile of ash.

Devoricus’ spirit instantly slipped into the tunnels connecting the many planes of existence to the mortal realms. Once he was wholly in the immortal realms he recovered his usual flawless physical form and conjured a flaming chariot to take him where he needed to go. Next he conjured a flaming sword in one hand and a flaming shield in the other, even the Cjii were not immune from attack in the immortal realms. The magical the chariot hurtled forward at incredible speed, invisible beasts carrying the immortal on a journey that would end with him standing before his master, Qra’z.

The chariot left a trail of flames as it streaked along the magical pathways. The Pathway was very much like a great bridge spanning a vast emptiness, stars were visible all around. The spirits of the
damned
clung to the Pathways to avoid the danger of oblivion that threatened them every moment of their pitiful existence. The snaking tendrils of the
damned
begged him for their freedom as he passed them by, but he paid them little mind. Occasionally the Cjii would end the pitiful existence of one of the
damned
with a swing of his great flaming sword, but he did not do so today. Today he bore his great weapon and shield because he worried that some of the other Cjii could very easily be lurking about the Pathways, preparing to waylay the follower of Qra’z.

Time was immaterial here, and for that reason the Cjii could not tell how much time had passed from the moment he entered the Pathways to the moment that he reached his destination. He willed the chariot to come to a stop before a great arch. As the immortal stepped down from the chariot, it vanished from existence with a thought. The arch was golden and it glowed brightly with its holy light. Within the arch was a door and along its edges were words in the ancient language of the immortals. The Pathway stopped at the arch, only emptiness lay beyond it and all around it.

Devoricus stepped up to arch and a pair of gigantic golden dragons materialized to either side, startling the immortal. Feeling put off that he could actually be startled by the beasts, Devoricus bristled at the scrutiny of these massive dragons which served to protect the arch from unwanted entrants. Then, sensing he would not be hindered by the great scaly beasts, he passed through the archway and into the realm known as Gehenna.

Gehenna was a strange place for the god of War and Might. It was a place of sharp contrasts that disoriented even the immortal Cjii who served the Master of Gehenna, Qra’z. Devoricus walked to the palace of his master, for none but the Master was permitted ride in Gehenna. The road upon which he trod was at times made from shining gold bricks, while at others it seemed to be made from ordinary stones, and still other times the stones seemed to become so hot that they glowed red. The sky above was a shifting and swirling mass of reds and oranges and yellows; streams of molten silver meandered across the massive battlefields upon which an army of Cjii was constantly training.

Devoricus continued on past the battlefields where his kin were skirmishing in mock battles, demonstrating the awesome power which was about to be unleashed upon Llars. The mortals had rediscovered the use of the Sigils, Umber and his ilk had returned the Shadow Sigil to prominence, and Zuhr planned to wipe them all out. But Qra’z was a survivor, and he would not be caught off-guard. In fact, the great god of War planned to conduct a preemptive strike on the followers of Zuhr very, very, soon; he hoped to weaken the Great God by destroying his followers.

The palace of the Master of Gehenna was massive and comprised of towers and spires and walled keeps and a great mote. The walls were made from shining gold and true golden dragons soared about the heights of the towers or lounged lazily along the battlements. The golden dragons were a powerful race of dragons that had abandoned Llars long ago to work exclusively for this mighty god.

As Devoricus arrived at the palace the drawbridge lowered itself slowly to the ground and allowed the Cjii to walk over the mote of molten silver. The heat from the mote was intense, even for an immortal, and he hurried across quickly. Upon reaching the portcullis, a giant golden dragon head loomed down upon him from the battlements above the entrance.

“What do you want, Cjii?” boomed the voice of the dragon. The Cjii was not fearful of dragons, but dragons
were
incredibly powerful and did have the power to kill a Cjii.

“I have an urgent message for our Master,” he replied back boldly. He would not give this beast the satisfaction of thinking it could control a powerful Cjii.

“Indeed,” snorted the dragon. A small gout of flame puffed from its mouth as it laughed. “What is this message?”

“The message is for the Master, not you,” he replied caustically.

“Very well,” said the dragon. With a lazy flip of its tail the portcullis raised and the dragon seemed to have lost its interest in the Cjii. “You may enter.”

Devoricus strode through the archway beneath the portcullis and walked toward the audience hall where Qra’z held court when he wasn’t on the battlefield. The Cjii had been to the Master’s palace before and had long ago learned to avoid the illusions and temptations that were placed about it to distract a visitor to his doom. He walked down a long hallway decorated with more wealth than all the kings of Llars had in their coffers put together. As he passed an open doorway, a soft hand reached out and grabbed him by the arm. A beautiful and naked woman, a fellow Cjii, stood there and beckoned Devoricus to enter her den. A number of other female Cjii, naked or in various states of undress, appeared in the chamber beyond the doorway and called to him with promises of pleasure beyond imagining.

But Devoricus knew better than to associate with the wives and concubines of his Master and so he withdrew hastily from the chamber door. He moved quickly down the hallway and hoped there would be no more distractions to tempt or lure him away from his duties. Today he was fortunate and reached the audience hall without further delay.

Two great doors soared into darkness above and a pair of men with golden scaly skin and dangerous pole-arms guarded the door. These scaly men were actually golden dragons who could use magic to change their shape into something to fit inside buildings made for those who walked on two feet. But even these steely guards did not bother Devoricus and the doors slid silently open.

Devoricus was overcome with awe as the light and warmth of the audience chamber washed over him. He knew this was a reaction forced upon him by the powerful magic of his Master who was not really a god in the sense that mortals understood. Qra’z was really more like the Cjii, an immortal of sorts. But Qra’z was one of the First Six who were created by the Great Zuhr so long ago. And in turn, the First Six helped create the rest of the less powerful Cjii and then the mortal races who populated Llars and its moon. This magical awe was something that the First Six had contrived to cow their mortal underlings, but it still had some effects on the Cjii.

Devoricus entered the audience hall and tried not to look at the various Cjii serving the other gods of Llars or even the beings who were visiting from other realms. Today a beautiful female, who styled herself a goddess elsewhere in the universe, was fawning over the virile and strapping Lord of War and Might. But when the great golden warrior realized that Devoricus was present, and kneeling before his Master who towered over him, Qra’z waved his hand at the gathered courtiers and dismissed them.

Slowly the attending beings vanished in some dramatic fashion or another and soon the Cjii was alone with his master.

“Well?” growled Qra’z.

“My Lord,” replied the Cjii humbly. “Bishop Darius will likely flee Hybrand for the safety of Arnathia today or tomorrow. I have instructed him to ensure that Emperor Arnath knows your will regarding the alliance with this Prophet-General Shalthazar. Whether Darius does flee Hybrand for Arnathia, or someplace that suits him better, remains to be seen.

“The Arnathians are going to abandon territory and cede it to your brother, Umber, and his minions. It seems that a powerful Shadow Sigilist is on his way to Hybrand now to destroy our forces there.”

“So, my brother wants to take Hybrand from me so he can bring the Hurkin Horde across the Rift and onto the Arnathian Continent,” surmised the god.

“Umber does not plan to invade Arnathia, Great One. My sources are reporting that the Hurkin Horde will be used to assault the Cklathlands.”

“This alliance he proposes smacks of deception,” said the golden warrior as he rose from his great throne of swords and shields. “But with my brother that is always a risk.”

“I agree, Master. I believe they truly do intend to conquer the north with the Nashian forces, but the Hurkin Horde may indeed be used to push into Arnathia.”

“Well, he shall be in for a nasty surprise should he attempt such folly. For now, we abide by the alliance I have made with Umber. We shall cede Hybrand to my brother. If he chooses to behave himself we will leave him alone. But if he brings those vermin from across the Rift onto my continent, I will unleash
my
army upon the world and there
will
be hell to pay.”

“Indeed, Great One. There seems little doubt that Umber plans to use the Horde. But to what end, we can only guess. He already has power over the dead, I do not know what extra benefit the wild Hurkin would give him.”

“It does not matter,” said the Master. “What matters now is that there must be peace with my brother if we are to fight Zuhr together. And we will, very soon, begin the process of taking Him down.”

“What do you require of me, Great One?”