Chapter 479: Book 7-23.3: Challenge

Sadeen Kiera Mishala floated in the void, a Waypoint bereft of anything that made life possible. There were few such Waypoints on the surface of the Chaos Sea, and each one usually had a little secret. It could be a Chaos seed hidden deep within, or there could be a creature that devoured everything and was now slumbering in its depths. For this one, as far as she could determine, something had siphoned all the ambient Chaos yet left the Veil intact. The result was an empty bubble.

Animus, the consistency of sand, flowed out of her body and transformed into a life-sustaining field. Sadeen floated and meditated. The Silver Tiger was just outside, next to the rotting corpse of an Unformed. In death, finally, it had crystallised into a beholder’s eye, a thing that was more than a couple of paces across. It would make for a useful base material when the Mishala Clan created another artefact.

She floated here because she wanted to clear her mind. Battle against an Unformed wasn’t as simple as flinging energy or weapons against each other. Their minds and consciousness had rammed into each other, and their psyches eroded as they each sought to bend the other to their Will. But Sadeen was anything but a novice when it came to battles of the mind. However, contact had brought up some very nasty memories and concepts, and here she was, venting it all away.

The journey through the Chaos Sea this time was fraught with peril. They had somehow blundered into a tumultuous time field, and now, she wasn’t sure how much of it had passed in the planes. She had a sneaking suspicion that things had run away from the Clan’s iron grip, and she felt the burdens of her heart keenly.

With a sigh, she Willed herself out. The currents of the Chaos Sea parted against her Field. The Silver Tiger’s hatch opened and she returned to her Clan’s carrier. The ship’s captain, Larrisse Mishala Sommer, welcomed her out of the airlock. The woman bowed, then asked, “Your Will?”

“Proceed,” Sadeen said simply.

As she took her seat on the throne, set behind the captain’s command station, Sadeen rubbed the ring on her finger absently. If she envisioned the dreamscape, the ring would barely be visible under the entanglements of the Threads of Fate. The second thickest chain wrapped around her heart and her womb, before touching the ring and then led out into the Chaos. The blessing of the Progenitor and the Fateweaver Loom made part of the chain leading away visible, but only enough to give a bearing. It didn’t care what dangers the ship had to cross, which was part of the reason why it was taking so long. There were just too many hazards in the Chaos Sea. Any ship that forced its way through would never arrive at its destination.

It took several more days. After weeks of travel, the chain finally had a stronger reaction. Sadeen stared out of the viewport. The bridge’s display was on a strange-looking plane. Initial analysis showed the Veil to be exceptionally thick, with no way for the ambient Chaos outside to enter. But then, why was the plane here?

The iarvesh reading outside of it fluctuated between 0.5 and 3.5. Here, at Equilibrium? Strange didn’t begin to describe it.

“There’s a small channel,” Captain Sommer said as she manipulated the display to highlight the passage. It was small, barely enough for a skiffer to pass. The Silver Tiger was too big to enter, clearly, though they could try to force their way in.

“No,” Sadeen said firmly. Trying to pierce this Veil would be like trying to use a needle to pierce a steel plate. Even if it succeeded, the needle would break. “I will enter. Alone.”

“But…” A look was enough to quell the captain.

Sadeen summoned her armour and battlewings, surrounded herself with power, and launched out of the airlock and propelled herself through the Chaos flows. As she got nearer, however, she pulled back. The entrance was crowded with thousands, tens of thousands of Wyldlings.

“What are you doing here?” she murmured.

Casting a spell within the Chaos Sea was nearly suicide, but Sadeen was a Knight Dominus. Her Domain and Ennoia were tied to her Mien, but that didn’t mean that she didn’t know how to use other useful techniques. Something simple, such as a dart of solidified Animus was easy enough to conjure.

She could also use her Mien to affect the creatures, but she’d really rather not unless there was little choice. The touch of their fragmented Anima against hers felt like she touched something greasy. It was…well, disgusting.

Green Animus light flowed out of her core. A single grain of sand could contain a world. From a single lumen of hyper-compressed Animus, hundreds of darts formed, and she released them with a flick of her finger. It tunnelled through the streams, and as they did, Chaos gathered and condensed around each missile, until every single dart carried enough power to punch through the thickest armour plate.

A Wyldling’s Protective Field was rarely present while they were in the Chaos Sea. There was no need to isolate themselves from the environment. Which, ironically, made them easier to slay here. The nearly mindless variants such as the swarmlings and Wanderers anyway.

The rain of green darts scythes through the horde, leaving bodies peppered with holes. Each dart pierced through nearly a dozen swarmlings before its energy ran out.

Sadeen’s simple attack culled nearly a third of the mass, leaving corpses that disintegrated in the Chaos. No Chaos Shards or dust were left, as the Sea claimed any and all power.

Sadeen whistled idly as she conjured another hail of darts. Two or three more attacks should do. The Wyldlings didn’t know fear. As soon as she attacked, the survivors rushed toward her. But…in the Chaos flows with her vicinity stabilised by her Will, the distance between them was insurmountable.

The next two volleys cleared the way, and there was nothing left.

Satisfied, she wondered if they were the reason her husband hadn’t managed to return. She grinned at the thought of seeing Virgil again after so long, and her resolve to convince him to return with her to Realmheart grew. Ah, her daughter was already there, and now, her husband would be, too. As for her sons, well, they were Davar men. She dared not bring them to Aerule Garden. In truth, only Rami was left unawakened, but that should be remedied in a couple of Seasons. Then, nothing would hold Virgil back.

Hmmm, maybe she could entice him to get her with child…hie hie hie. Maybe she’d get another daughter…

Hmm, it was unlikely though, as a true heir had already been born under her line. Any daughter she’d have now might not inherit the Mien.

Ah, maybe that wasn’t so bad…

She shook off her thoughts as she plunged into the channel and soon found herself underwater, and the surface was blocked by a thick layer of ice. Animus seeped out of her hands and sunk into the icecap, then it shifted, flowed, out of the way as though it were water. Her battlewings brought her out of the water, and she hovered above the frozen sea.

The strange plane…the ambient Chaos within was nearly as much as the highest fluctuation from outside! Sadeen frowned. Such dense ambient Chaos was deadly to weaker humans. Were there any living within?

She could see even more Wyldlings on the surface, much more than what a Wyldling Wave would produce. But there wasn’t even a Tideland here. Just a narrow channel…that had been swamped with the creatures. There were gaps in the ice cap, and she could see a few of the creatures crawling out of the water. Should she kill them? It was a waste of time, though.

She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the resonance of her Threads. Yes, her man was somewhere to the west. Squinting, she used Enhanced Sight, but couldn’t see much beyond the shoreline. There was a thin mist there, but it hampered her sight nonetheless.

She flew higher into the sky and propelled herself towards the shore. It was nearly a league away, and upon arriving, her eyes widened at the carnage.

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Corpse. Wyldling corpses scattered across the sands, nudged by the waves, and half buried. The bodies were burned, blasted, or cut to pieces, and their blue blood stained the surroundings. The ambient Chaos was slightly thicker here too.

As she flew inland, the mists gradually revealed a mountain range. The Threads led her directly there, and every passing second meant that she was that much closer to being with Virgil again. She couldn’t help but grin.

But…before she could even come within a league of it, she stopped. Because someone was there, blocking her way. Standing on the air with a nonchalant expression.

Even with grey skin and fiery red hair, Sadeen still recognised the woman. Her portrait was in the Imperial Palace after all. Annise Delovine. The fallen 26th Pia’Vasi.

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The chamber underneath Rumiga City was now a desolate waste. Legate Iola Brygos blinked through grainy eyes at her foes. They had battled…how long was it now? Weeks? Nearly a Season? She could check her timesense but the distraction could cost her…

Actually, she was zoning out now. Lack of sleep did that…

The Gemheart pulsed and sent Animus into Iola’s reserves, though it wasn’t quite the right density. Ah, no worries. Her foes were equally murky, and at one point, she managed to crack and pierce King Garamus’ armour by the shoulder with her crystalline spears.

To be honest, this wasn’t a fair fight. She was a Knight Dominus and both leaders were a level below her. They would need one more to truly stand against her, and if not for the fact that she couldn’t risk leaving the Gemheart unguarded, she would have killed either of them. But their tactics had been clear even from the start. One of them baited and tried to lure her away, while the other would try to displace or destroy the artefact. Not that it was easy to do either. In fact, she knew they could hit it with a full-powered blow and it wouldn’t be enough.

However, if the Gemheart is compromised, then her mission, her duty would fail.

Ah, one of their errors had been to bring a Chaos Lord as one of the three. Three warriors a level below could generally match one above. Not defeat though, unless of course the way their techniques and Ennoias matched badly.

Her Crystal Domain was one for near absolute defence. Her attacks weren’t really weaker than the norm, but they paled in comparison to her defences. Crystals were not only good for physical protection, but they also siphoned and vented foreign Animus. She could even use her power to destabilise someone shaping a spell, or even shatter the matrix of an existing one.

“Give it up, boys. You’re no match for me,” Iola taunted them. Too bad she couldn’t see his expression behind his great helm. Garamus raised his gauntleted fist, his right one as the left was still hanging uselessly by his side.

Autarch Ivala’s face was a mask of blood and there were fragments of crystal in his wounds. He kept them contained with his Animus otherwise Iola would have set them to dig his eyes out.

They had paused to take a breather, one by wordless consent. If either of them fought her alone while the other rested, that one would die. But she couldn’t go on forever either, no, just a few years, perhaps. With the Gemheart’s aid.

How long before their recovery time couldn’t overcome their losses? Iola was prepared to wait things out. Ah, that Chaos Lord she banished… where had he ended up in, she wondered.

It was time for another round. She launched herself at them, wielding spears of yellow crystal. Ivala slashed them with his executioner’s axe, cutting one in twain. But there was always more to follow.

Hours of battle. The earth shook and shuddered, fissures formed and closed. Her domain of crystal was also a domain of earth, and she contained the fight so that the surface would be wracked with earthquakes so great that the entire Mid-ring of the city would collapse.

A pause. She was running low, and both men were practically running on fumes. She could press them once again, hoping to kill them before she went dry, but that was a gamble she wasn’t willing to take.

“Go home,” she said again, but this time, Ivala grinned. His teeth were stained with red.

“No, I think we’ve just brought enough time.”

It was then that she felt the intrusion into her Domain. And it was then that it was crushed as easily as her own pressed the other two. She was still reeling in shock when the Chaos Lord appeared in the chamber, and it wasn’t the one she had banished. At once, she rallied the Gemheart to exile him from the plane, and for a moment, it seemed to work. But the symbols on the Chaos Lord’s cheek glimmered and the Gemheart’s force slid past him as though he wasn’t there.

“The One Who Watches and Waits.” Iola growled. A Duke of the Telurian Court, and a level stronger than she was. If not for the plane oppressing him, he would have crushed her already.

His perfect face glanced at the other two, and they fell back, no, practically ran as they retreated.

Iola struggled to push against his domain, but whatever those symbols, an empty circle and a crescent moon, did, none of her attacks touched him.

Languidly, he lifted his hand and reached for the Gemheart. The brilliant cut stone flashed and pushed, but his fingers reached it. An inky darkness appeared right where he touched.

“Argh!” He groaned as wounds erupted all across his body. Then, he gave Iola a mocking grin, and he bowed.

“Farewell, human. Know this…” The air, the plane, trembled at his words, “I will no longer wait.”

End of Book 7

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