Maeve continued her lively stroll down the sunlit path that connected the Hier castle to Highbluff. She examined the unfortunate vampires, flattened by the heavy hooves of Taurus as he pursued Zero. Each vampire's body slowly began to reform, and Maeve took swift action. With a dagger in hand, she aimed for their heads, watching as they disintegrated into ash. Her humming persisted, a whimsical contrast to the grim scene. Occasionally, however, she spotted vampires with the peculiar handprints painted across their bodies. Instead of delivering a fatal blow, she discreetly tucked them inside her cloak.
As she raised herself upright after concealing a fourth vampire, her focus returned to the castle. It remained unscathed, thanks to the enchantment cast by Máire's great-grandmother countless years ago, rendering it impervious to harm. Maeve had questioned her prospects of infiltrating the castle upon arrival, wondering how she would breach its formidable defenses. Yet, in an unexpectedly fortunate turn of events, she didn't have to ponder long. Even with all her strength, power, and determination, Elf Barrier Magic remained resolutely unyielding, an unbreakable shield unless you have the original caster.
Maeve resumed her stride but came to an abrupt halt, her eyes widening in realization. "OH!" She glanced down at her cloak, then lifted her arms to open it up. "Shit, I should let them out," she mumbled to herself. With a sweeping motion of her arms, the cloak expanded wide. With a simple blink, Taharqa, Menelik, Idris, and Oiwa were ejected from the depths of the Void, tumbling onto the brick road like discarded toys.
They instinctively shielded their eyes, their faces contorted in discomfort as they struggled to adapt to the sudden burst of twilight. Among them, Taharqa recovered first, turning his head and taking in a deep breath.
"Relax," Maeve reassured them, her voice cutting through the disorientation. Her words had an immediate effect, snapping Menelik to attention, even as he kept his eyes tightly shut, his body poised for action.
"OH, YOU STUPID BITCH, WHY I OUGHTA JUST FUCKING KILL YOU RIGHT NOW," Menelik lashed out in a torrent of rage. "WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING ALL THIS SHIT? IF I COULD SEE RIGHT NOW, I WOULD BE COMING FOR THAT ASS."
Maeve let out a subtle sigh as she hung her head in remorse. "I'm sorry," she murmured.
Menelik abruptly fell silent, confusion evident in his voice. "What? What did you just say?"
Maeve maintained her gaze on the ground as she repeated herself. "I said I'm sorry, and I know it isn't enough. But if I know Zero, he has probably tried to convince you all that you should just let it go. I can understand why you wouldn't want to. I killed your friend, even though we can technically get him back. I went too far in trying to prove my loyalty." She lifted her eyes to meet their gazes. "My mother, Nix, she put a spell on me when I was born, an enchantment that would allow her to control me, rendering me nothing more than a mindless puppet." Maeve took a deep breath, her voice trembling slightly. "I... I broke the spell centuries ago, but I leave it intact, hidden deep inside the Void, so it can never actually do anything unless..." She paused, feeling an inexplicable unease. It was as if she were laying bare her soul. But she knew she had to, to show them that no matter what, she was committed to helping them retrieve Oduduwa and ensuring that such a tragedy would never recur. She shook her head and looked at each of them, their faces filled with anger and apprehension, their eyes locked onto her.
"What I did was awful, irredeemable," Maeve continued, her voice resonating with sincerity. "But I'm not looking to be redeemed. I want to be forgiven because I promise you, we will get him back."
A brief moment of silence hung in the air before Menelik broke it with his words. "The fuck you mean forgiveness? Nah, bitch, you're only alive because Zero says I can't kill you."
Maeve's smirk was subtle, quickly concealed as she nodded. "Understood."
Idris rose to his feet and stepped forward, extending his hand. "We're all gonna die in the end, so I say fuck it. You're forgiven." Maeve reached out and gripped his hand tightly, a firm handshake sealing their newfound understanding.
Idris nodded, offering a small smile. "It's still fucked up what you did, though."
Maeve nodded subtly in agreement.
Menelik took his turn, nodding at her as he spoke. For the first time since their encounter, his voice held a hint of concern. "What you did, I can't forgive. I will fight alongside you until we get Oduduwa back, but from there, we will go our separate ways." His tone shifted as suspicion resurfaced. "I still don't fucking believe you on why you killed him, but I can't think of a good reason on why you did right now."
Oiwa threw up her hands, trying to bring some optimism to the conversation. "Hey, once we get him back, it'll be like it never happened, and we can just forget about it, right?"
All eyes turned to her, their expressions a mix of smiles and disgust.
"What?" Oiwa asked, her determination shining through her scarlet skin, basking in the dwindling sunlight. "I'm sure she had her reasons, and there isn't a single thing in Dhokhok's Archives about retrieving the dead from Volja Vatre. But her and Zero have shown a lot of confidence in the fact that you can." She glanced at the others. "The Highers have their eyes set on him, and they don't even answer Arrithian prayers anymore, apart from a very sparing few. That means these two, or at least Zero, are a lot more important than all of us." She returned her gaze to Maeve, a playful wink in her eye. "I know it's harsh, but if we want this world to keep on turning, we have to trust her, even if she kills one of us along the way."
Oiwa then turned to the others, a smile on her face. "I read a lot in my time with Dhokhok, so much that I will never read again. But I can say that throughout all of Arrithia's long—and I mean long, like have you guys actually looked up how stupid old this..." She paused, shaking her head. "Ah, never mind. What I'm trying to say is, throughout Arrithian History, there emerges what you and I call Immortals." She looked back at Maeve. "And it looks like we found the next ones."
When the first Dragon, Gilgamesh, was born from the All Tree, he unleashed a deafening roar of such magnitude that it pierced the cosmos and resonated near the center of the universe, beckoning the Old Gods back to Arrithia, where they discovered the raging conflict between the Dragons and the Highers.
There was Fenris, a Lycan who had vanquished Revnor, the Higher of War, during their devastating rampage across Arrithia. Liger, a TigeFolk, and Anubeerus, a Theriocephal, were the sole beings to ever conquer the enigmatic White Tower, a mysterious structure housing entities whose powers surpassed even the mighty Highers, in ways that boggle the imagination.
Nikita, a Phoenix, assumed the role of creating the second sun when Sarynn, the Higher of Day, was in the throes of a tantrum, sealing him inside it. Pann, a Satyr, and Jubokko, an Ogre-Ent, came to the rescue of the All Tree when its connection to Vol waned. And lastly, there was Sun-Kong, the Monke King, who ascended to become the Higher of Peace.
Each of these extraordinary beings was referred to as an Immortal, believed to be the All Tree's way of restoring equilibrium to the universe after the disappearance of the Dragons, who were its initial attempt at creating balance.
"And we thought he was a cocky, arrogant fuck now?" Menelik quipped with a wry grin. "When he finds out he may be an Immortal, his ego is going to go on a rampage." He glanced back at Maeve. "You may have to kill him."
As they followed the path Maeve had previously taken, it led them to the horrifying aftermath of teleporting the vampire castle. They bore witness to the true devastation, and it was a sight that demanded words.
The city was a masterpiece of steam and brass engineering vibes, with districts neatly organized to serve different purposes. There were schools in the far district, sectors dedicated to food, business, and the arts. However, the arrival of the castle had created a cataclysmic event. It landed right at the city's center, sending shockwaves rippling in all directions. The colossal structure had crashed down with such force that it formed a crater, obliterating the entire inner city, and even the first district at its core was flattened.
The second district was in such ruin that it required a complete rebuild. The third and fourth districts had also sustained severe damage, with months of effort ahead to restore them. Even the fifth and sixth districts had suffered some harm, primarily broken glass and minor structural damage.
The scenes of devastation extended beyond the architectural. Bodies of all ages and sizes were strewn everywhere. The vampires had run amok, leaving no stone unturned in their onslaught. If there were any survivors left in the city, they were hidden exceedingly well. Highbluff had been virtually wiped off the map of the Hier Kingdom.
Most of the Elves, Uthol, and the MoonShadow, who might have escaped, were likely making their way south to Tarkwa, the home village of the MoonShadow Elves. Yet even that remained uncertain. The vampires had been inside the barrier for an extended period, and this was just one facet of their plan. The full extent of the damage and the fate of the kingdom would remain unknown until they received word or saw it with their own eyes.
Maeve glanced at the others, noting their lack of a frozen stance, yet the shock etched on their faces in response to the overwhelming devastation and the sea of corpses. Menelik didn't fully turn his head, but he shifted enough to catch Maeve in his peripheral vision. "You plan on getting them all back from the dead too?"
Maeve turned away, her response heavy with silence. "One will be hard enough, and now we have two."
The group turned around in unison. "Two?" Idris questioned. "Wait, did Zero die?"
Maeve shook her head. "No. The Queen of the Uthol Forest Elves on this island—"
"Máire," Menelik interjected. "If she's dead, say her name. Her name was Máire."
"Máire," Maeve corrected. "She made a pact with Death itself."
"What?" Oiwa exclaimed. "Why in everything would she do that?"
"To protect me," a soft voice called out from their right, drawing their attention toward a tall and slender Elf seated on a fallen tree. "My mother is dead because she thought it was the only way to save me from the Vampire Gods, because without my blood, there is no eternal darkness. So she chose a life for a life and it just happened to be hers."
Maeve continued her lively stroll down the sunlit path that connected the Hier castle to Highbluff. She examined the unfortunate vampires, flattened by the heavy hooves of Taurus as he pursued Zero. Each vampire's body slowly began to reform, and Maeve took swift action. With a dagger in hand, she aimed for their heads, watching as they disintegrated into ash. Her humming persisted, a whimsical contrast to the grim scene. Occasionally, however, she spotted vampires with the peculiar handprints painted across their bodies. Instead of delivering a fatal blow, she discreetly tucked them inside her cloak.
As she raised herself upright after concealing a fourth vampire, her focus returned to the castle. It remained unscathed, thanks to the enchantment cast by Máire's great-grandmother countless years ago, rendering it impervious to harm. Maeve had questioned her prospects of infiltrating the castle upon arrival, wondering how she would breach its formidable defenses. Yet, in an unexpectedly fortunate turn of events, she didn't have to ponder long. Even with all her strength, power, and determination, Elf Barrier Magic remained resolutely unyielding, an unbreakable shield unless you have the original caster.
Maeve resumed her stride but came to an abrupt halt, her eyes widening in realization. "OH!" She glanced down at her cloak, then lifted her arms to open it up. "Shit, I should let them out," she mumbled to herself. With a sweeping motion of her arms, the cloak expanded wide. With a simple blink, Taharqa, Menelik, Idris, and Oiwa were ejected from the depths of the Void, tumbling onto the brick road like discarded toys.
They instinctively shielded their eyes, their faces contorted in discomfort as they struggled to adapt to the sudden burst of twilight. Among them, Taharqa recovered first, turning his head and taking in a deep breath.
"Relax," Maeve reassured them, her voice cutting through the disorientation. Her words had an immediate effect, snapping Menelik to attention, even as he kept his eyes tightly shut, his body poised for action.
"OH, YOU STUPID BITCH, WHY I OUGHTA JUST FUCKING KILL YOU RIGHT NOW," Menelik lashed out in a torrent of rage. "WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING ALL THIS SHIT? IF I COULD SEE RIGHT NOW, I WOULD BE COMING FOR THAT ASS."
Maeve let out a subtle sigh as she hung her head in remorse. "I'm sorry," she murmured.
Menelik abruptly fell silent, confusion evident in his voice. "What? What did you just say?"
Maeve maintained her gaze on the ground as she repeated herself. "I said I'm sorry, and I know it isn't enough. But if I know Zero, he has probably tried to convince you all that you should just let it go. I can understand why you wouldn't want to. I killed your friend, even though we can technically get him back. I went too far in trying to prove my loyalty." She lifted her eyes to meet their gazes. "My mother, Nix, she put a spell on me when I was born, an enchantment that would allow her to control me, rendering me nothing more than a mindless puppet." Maeve took a deep breath, her voice trembling slightly. "I... I broke the spell centuries ago, but I leave it intact, hidden deep inside the Void, so it can never actually do anything unless..." She paused, feeling an inexplicable unease. It was as if she were laying bare her soul. But she knew she had to, to show them that no matter what, she was committed to helping them retrieve Oduduwa and ensuring that such a tragedy would never recur. She shook her head and looked at each of them, their faces filled with anger and apprehension, their eyes locked onto her.
"What I did was awful, irredeemable," Maeve continued, her voice resonating with sincerity. "But I'm not looking to be redeemed. I want to be forgiven because I promise you, we will get him back."
A brief moment of silence hung in the air before Menelik broke it with his words. "The fuck you mean forgiveness? Nah, bitch, you're only alive because Zero says I can't kill you."
Maeve's smirk was subtle, quickly concealed as she nodded. "Understood."
Idris rose to his feet and stepped forward, extending his hand. "We're all gonna die in the end, so I say fuck it. You're forgiven." Maeve reached out and gripped his hand tightly, a firm handshake sealing their newfound understanding.
Idris nodded, offering a small smile. "It's still fucked up what you did, though."
Maeve nodded subtly in agreement.
Menelik took his turn, nodding at her as he spoke. For the first time since their encounter, his voice held a hint of concern. "What you did, I can't forgive. I will fight alongside you until we get Oduduwa back, but from there, we will go our separate ways." His tone shifted as suspicion resurfaced. "I still don't fucking believe you on why you killed him, but I can't think of a good reason on why you did right now."
Oiwa threw up her hands, trying to bring some optimism to the conversation. "Hey, once we get him back, it'll be like it never happened, and we can just forget about it, right?"
All eyes turned to her, their expressions a mix of smiles and disgust.
"What?" Oiwa asked, her determination shining through her scarlet skin, basking in the dwindling sunlight. "I'm sure she had her reasons, and there isn't a single thing in Dhokhok's Archives about retrieving the dead from Volja Vatre. But her and Zero have shown a lot of confidence in the fact that you can." She glanced at the others. "The Highers have their eyes set on him, and they don't even answer Arrithian prayers anymore, apart from a very sparing few. That means these two, or at least Zero, are a lot more important than all of us." She returned her gaze to Maeve, a playful wink in her eye. "I know it's harsh, but if we want this world to keep on turning, we have to trust her, even if she kills one of us along the way."
Oiwa then turned to the others, a smile on her face. "I read a lot in my time with Dhokhok, so much that I will never read again. But I can say that throughout all of Arrithia's long—and I mean long, like have you guys actually looked up how stupid old this..." She paused, shaking her head. "Ah, never mind. What I'm trying to say is, throughout Arrithian History, there emerges what you and I call Immortals." She looked back at Maeve. "And it looks like we found the next ones."
When the first Dragon, Gilgamesh, was born from the All Tree, he unleashed a deafening roar of such magnitude that it pierced the cosmos and resonated near the center of the universe, beckoning the Old Gods back to Arrithia, where they discovered the raging conflict between the Dragons and the Highers.
There was Fenris, a Lycan who had vanquished Revnor, the Higher of War, during their devastating rampage across Arrithia. Liger, a TigeFolk, and Anubeerus, a Theriocephal, were the sole beings to ever conquer the enigmatic White Tower, a mysterious structure housing entities whose powers surpassed even the mighty Highers, in ways that boggle the imagination.
Nikita, a Phoenix, assumed the role of creating the second sun when Sarynn, the Higher of Day, was in the throes of a tantrum, sealing him inside it. Pann, a Satyr, and Jubokko, an Ogre-Ent, came to the rescue of the All Tree when its connection to Vol waned. And lastly, there was Sun-Kong, the Monke King, who ascended to become the Higher of Peace.
Each of these extraordinary beings was referred to as an Immortal, believed to be the All Tree's way of restoring equilibrium to the universe after the disappearance of the Dragons, who were its initial attempt at creating balance.
"And we thought he was a cocky, arrogant fuck now?" Menelik quipped with a wry grin. "When he finds out he may be an Immortal, his ego is going to go on a rampage." He glanced back at Maeve. "You may have to kill him."
As they followed the path Maeve had previously taken, it led them to the horrifying aftermath of teleporting the vampire castle. They bore witness to the true devastation, and it was a sight that demanded words.
The city was a masterpiece of steam and brass engineering vibes, with districts neatly organized to serve different purposes. There were schools in the far district, sectors dedicated to food, business, and the arts. However, the arrival of the castle had created a cataclysmic event. It landed right at the city's center, sending shockwaves rippling in all directions. The colossal structure had crashed down with such force that it formed a crater, obliterating the entire inner city, and even the first district at its core was flattened.
The second district was in such ruin that it required a complete rebuild. The third and fourth districts had also sustained severe damage, with months of effort ahead to restore them. Even the fifth and sixth districts had suffered some harm, primarily broken glass and minor structural damage.
The scenes of devastation extended beyond the architectural. Bodies of all ages and sizes were strewn everywhere. The vampires had run amok, leaving no stone unturned in their onslaught. If there were any survivors left in the city, they were hidden exceedingly well. Highbluff had been virtually wiped off the map of the Hier Kingdom.
Most of the Elves, Uthol, and the MoonShadow, who might have escaped, were likely making their way south to Tarkwa, the home village of the MoonShadow Elves. Yet even that remained uncertain. The vampires had been inside the barrier for an extended period, and this was just one facet of their plan. The full extent of the damage and the fate of the kingdom would remain unknown until they received word or saw it with their own eyes.
Maeve glanced at the others, noting their lack of a frozen stance, yet the shock etched on their faces in response to the overwhelming devastation and the sea of corpses. Menelik didn't fully turn his head, but he shifted enough to catch Maeve in his peripheral vision. "You plan on getting them all back from the dead too?"
Maeve turned away, her response heavy with silence. "One will be hard enough, and now we have two."
The group turned around in unison. "Two?" Idris questioned. "Wait, did Zero die?"
Maeve shook her head. "No. The Queen of the Uthol Forest Elves on this island—"
"Máire," Menelik interjected. "If she's dead, say her name. Her name was Máire."
"Máire," Maeve corrected. "She made a pact with Death itself."
"What?" Oiwa exclaimed. "Why in everything would she do that?"
"To protect me," a soft voice called out from their right, drawing their attention toward a tall and slender Elf seated on a fallen tree. "My mother is dead because she thought it was the only way to save me from the Vampire Gods, because without my blood, there is no eternal darkness. So she chose a life for a life and it just happened to be hers."
