"Ight, it’s settled then, we’re gonna kill Maeve’s momma," Menelik boasted. "Then we can work on stopping this eternal darkness from setting in without having to blow up the moon."
"Blow up the moon?!" Sukki exclaimed. "Who’s gonna blow up the moon?"
Their discussion had mostly centered around what had happened since Zero killed the Emperor, you know, how the vampires quickly spread and took over, the conversation spilled over to how Vol had been removed from Arrithia, and how the island had been exchanged for Fadsper and what that meant for the rest of the islands. Maeve did her best to keep the conversation away from the topic Nozarg had discussed with the rest of the group, but that topic was seemingly unavoidable and no matter how much Maeve protested that she was as in the dark as everyone else, Menelik wouldn’t budge, but thankfully, for everyone’s sake, Sukki was able to pull the conversation back to the fact Nix was orchestrating a hidden war on Arrithia and all of them had found themselves in the center of it, leading them to what any good war party would do, cut off the snake’s head so that it can’t eat any more eggs, but now it seemed conversations were shifting once again.
"You can’t be serious, you can’t just blow up the moon," Sukki stated, her tone was firm but there was still a hint of just enough disbelief to put cracks in her words. She knew they were serious and if there was a way to blow up the moon, this group would know how. "Please don’t blow up the moon."
"You got a better idea?" Idris asked. "You know better than any of us that Elf magic is absolute."
Sukki shook her head. "Ye… ye. Yeah, but if you all have a plan to blow up the moon, I feel like you could find a way to break Elf magic."
Everyone in the group rattled their heads back and forth, their expressions a mix of agreement and surprise, as if none of them had thought of that and as the silence went on, the more they realized how quickly they had settled into just letting Zero do his thing, and just go ahead and destroy the moon.
"Maybe we shouldn’t let Zero lead anymore," Idris said, taking a stand in the hut, his head slightly lowered from the low ceiling. "I really thought he was kidding at first, but now that we are all sort of onboard for it, I’m realizing that we put too much faith in thinking he has thought beyond what happens after he destroys the moon."
There was another strong string of silent agreement, nods were exchanged and then the silence prolonged, growing into an awkward silence. This was not only the first time Idris and the others had met Sukki, it was the first time Maeve had seen her in close to two hundred years.
"How…How, um…" Maeve tried to break the silence, stumbling over her words as she did. "The spike in Dungeons, how have you been dealing with them? Has there been any breaks?"
Sukki shook her head. “There hasn’t been a single Dungeon in over sixty daycycles.” She and the rest of the group stood up, joining Idris in his bent position before moving outside. “Which is a good thing,” Sukki continued. “I don’t think Sidra could handle any more problems than it already has.”
This pulled a small chuckle from Maeve. “You’re right,” she replied. “That really is the last thing we need, but I am curious though, as to why Dungeons have stopped appearing. I hadn’t sensed any here, but I also didn’t on Vol.”
“Maybe your senses are off,” Menelik boasted. “It wouldn’t be the first time something stupid happened with you.”
Sukki moved her eyes back and forth between Menelik and Maeve silently for a moment before she asked, “You… you guys good?” She looked at the rest of the group for a second before switching her attention back to Maeve. “The bloodlust aura radiating from him and onto you is palpable as all get out.”
Again, there was silence, but Menelik didn’t let this one last long at all. “Sorry, I’m still a bit bitter she killed our homie, but sure, let’s just all be friends until Maeve gotta put on another act again and kills one of us.” He turned to Oiwa. “And I don’t give a FUCK about how you think it’s funny to try and joke like ‘Oh we can get them back’, yeah because it’s just so fucking easy to go to the afterlife. The only reason we ended up there the first time was because some fucking freak ass Dungeon entrance that wasn’t even a Dungeon Entrance, Virgil had that shit custom-made, just for, just for, ah, just for whatever the fuck he was doing there with his little bastard children.” Menelik let out an exhausted breath. “I’m fucking tired, man.”
Maeve turned her head away while Sukki tried to salvage the situation, but as she looked at the shared expression across everyone’s face, she too faltered. Sukki lowered her head slightly, looking at the ground she let out a soft sigh and thought to herself, “Ivara, please send your blessing, we desperately need it.”
The place Zero found himself in was what remained of an Elven Citadel, a small haven for those who had branched away from the path of the Uthol Forest Elves of Hier and the MoonShadow Elves of Tarkwa, a refuge for those without a home to call their own. It had long been abandoned, and aside from a few rickety tables, little remained of its former inhabitants. The building itself appeared ready to crumble at any moment, but with a bit of hard work and a dash of magic, it would hold steady for as long as they needed it.
Zero and a few other refugees had adjusted the tattered fabric and sheets, sealing the wind's entry and retaining more of the precious warmth within. They were in the process of moving fires near the few remaining open windows, striving to circulate more warmth without filling the citadel with smoke and ash.
Conversations were sparse, with Aladdin doing most of the talking, catching Zero up on everything that had transpired during his absence. Zero also had the opportunity to speak with a few refugees who were up and about, hearing their first-hand accounts of how quickly Sidra had fallen into chaos after his actions. Zero dared not admit that he was the one who had slain the Emperor. Even in death, Dysixsyx's influence extended far and wide. The castle's collapse had been attributed to yet another Dungeon break, with the Emperor's death attributed to his heroic struggle against the Dungeon Monster that had attacked the castle. His dominion over Sidra's nonhumans may have ended with his death, but his legacy lived on.
Zero attempted to converse with the solitary Lycan in the group, trying to fathom how the Lycans had fallen so easily and if there were any other survivors. The young Lycan appeared too traumatized to speak. It was clear that he had likely witnessed the horrors that befell the Lycans and might be the sole survivor. Zero was on the verge of pressing the Lycan again or even contemplating the use of magic to coax the truth from him. But just as that thought crossed his mind, the expression on the distressed Lycan's face dissuaded him from taking such measures. He was about to offer his assistance to another refugee when the effects of his Gear Shift Acceleration began to take hold once more.
"Ah shit," Zero muttered as his vision darkened, and he collapsed to the floor.
Aladdin rushed to his aid, effortlessly lifting Zero off the ground as if he weighed no more than a small traveler's bag. Carrying Zero, he ascended the spiral staircase, halting halfway down. Aladdin glanced around to ensure no one was nearby, then shifted to his right, seamlessly phasing into the wall with Zero and emerging in his personal office space.
The room was surprisingly spacious, with deep brown and tan hardwood floors partially obscured by an enormous orange rug. It was a custom creation that had taken nearly a decade to make without the assistance of magic, and it exuded an air of luxury. The rug was predominantly orange but featured a delicate golden border along its edges, with braids adorned with gemstones that shimmered when Aladdin turned on the concealed lights. The room bathed in a vibrant yellow glow, highlighting lavender wallpaper covered in golden diamond patterns with a central blue diamond. Bookshelves designed to fit the curved walls lined the far side of the room, showcasing a colorful array of aging spines and pristine tomes.
Aladdin settled Zero onto the couch, and the sheep wool lining enveloped Zero in its cozy gray embrace as he sank into the seat.
"There you go," Aladdin murmured. "Now, let's see what we have to remedy this." He approached the bookshelves, occasionally glancing at his cluttered desk. The oak surface was battered and worn, its legs on the brink of falling apart from centuries, perhaps even millennia of use. It was covered in parchment, a few books, and several empty ink bottles, along with tiny broken fragments of charcoal and what appeared to be lead pencils—rare relics in an age of wand writing, but Aladdin only used his wand for such activities when feeling particularly lazy and unwilling to enter his office to jot down notes and registry names.
Aladdin snapped himself back to the task at hand, the unfinished work still niggling at the back of his mind, insisting that he return to it and complete it. It was another reason why Aladdin preferred traditional writing over wand magic; the latter enchanted your work, and he wanted to keep his work distinct from magical influences.
"Ah, here we are. This should do the trick," Aladdin declared, selecting a book with a blue spine. Flipping through the pages, he paused near the end and began reading the words to himself.
"Yes, yes, mhm, mhm, maybe, there is something here, hmm, I don't know, he looks Human, but the others say he is a Dragon," Aladdin muttered, his eyes lifting lazily from the book. "But he is quite the Human-looking Dragon." He returned his attention to the book, flipping through the pages until he reached the very last page, where writing was still materializing. A new page slowly manifested beside what would no longer be the final page, with each line of words descending, another section of the page formed, cascading horizontally until it was fully settled onto the book's back cover.
"Ah, let's see," Aladdin began reading the new page. "Ah, yes, it says here if it is a Dragon who has been turned into a Human, and they have used... Gear... Shift... Acceleration..." Aladdin paused and looked up. "What is that?" The new page suddenly detached itself from the book without any assistance and dissolved into nothingness. A fresh page began to write, and Aladdin read it word by word as it appeared.
"Ight, it’s settled then, we’re gonna kill Maeve’s momma," Menelik boasted. "Then we can work on stopping this eternal darkness from setting in without having to blow up the moon."
"Blow up the moon?!" Sukki exclaimed. "Who’s gonna blow up the moon?"
Their discussion had mostly centered around what had happened since Zero killed the Emperor, you know, how the vampires quickly spread and took over, the conversation spilled over to how Vol had been removed from Arrithia, and how the island had been exchanged for Fadsper and what that meant for the rest of the islands. Maeve did her best to keep the conversation away from the topic Nozarg had discussed with the rest of the group, but that topic was seemingly unavoidable and no matter how much Maeve protested that she was as in the dark as everyone else, Menelik wouldn’t budge, but thankfully, for everyone’s sake, Sukki was able to pull the conversation back to the fact Nix was orchestrating a hidden war on Arrithia and all of them had found themselves in the center of it, leading them to what any good war party would do, cut off the snake’s head so that it can’t eat any more eggs, but now it seemed conversations were shifting once again.
"You can’t be serious, you can’t just blow up the moon," Sukki stated, her tone was firm but there was still a hint of just enough disbelief to put cracks in her words. She knew they were serious and if there was a way to blow up the moon, this group would know how. "Please don’t blow up the moon."
"You got a better idea?" Idris asked. "You know better than any of us that Elf magic is absolute."
Sukki shook her head. "Ye… ye. Yeah, but if you all have a plan to blow up the moon, I feel like you could find a way to break Elf magic."
Everyone in the group rattled their heads back and forth, their expressions a mix of agreement and surprise, as if none of them had thought of that and as the silence went on, the more they realized how quickly they had settled into just letting Zero do his thing, and just go ahead and destroy the moon.
"Maybe we shouldn’t let Zero lead anymore," Idris said, taking a stand in the hut, his head slightly lowered from the low ceiling. "I really thought he was kidding at first, but now that we are all sort of onboard for it, I’m realizing that we put too much faith in thinking he has thought beyond what happens after he destroys the moon."
There was another strong string of silent agreement, nods were exchanged and then the silence prolonged, growing into an awkward silence. This was not only the first time Idris and the others had met Sukki, it was the first time Maeve had seen her in close to two hundred years.
"How…How, um…" Maeve tried to break the silence, stumbling over her words as she did. "The spike in Dungeons, how have you been dealing with them? Has there been any breaks?"
Sukki shook her head. “There hasn’t been a single Dungeon in over sixty daycycles.” She and the rest of the group stood up, joining Idris in his bent position before moving outside. “Which is a good thing,” Sukki continued. “I don’t think Sidra could handle any more problems than it already has.”
This pulled a small chuckle from Maeve. “You’re right,” she replied. “That really is the last thing we need, but I am curious though, as to why Dungeons have stopped appearing. I hadn’t sensed any here, but I also didn’t on Vol.”
“Maybe your senses are off,” Menelik boasted. “It wouldn’t be the first time something stupid happened with you.”
Sukki moved her eyes back and forth between Menelik and Maeve silently for a moment before she asked, “You… you guys good?” She looked at the rest of the group for a second before switching her attention back to Maeve. “The bloodlust aura radiating from him and onto you is palpable as all get out.”
Again, there was silence, but Menelik didn’t let this one last long at all. “Sorry, I’m still a bit bitter she killed our homie, but sure, let’s just all be friends until Maeve gotta put on another act again and kills one of us.” He turned to Oiwa. “And I don’t give a FUCK about how you think it’s funny to try and joke like ‘Oh we can get them back’, yeah because it’s just so fucking easy to go to the afterlife. The only reason we ended up there the first time was because some fucking freak ass Dungeon entrance that wasn’t even a Dungeon Entrance, Virgil had that shit custom-made, just for, just for, ah, just for whatever the fuck he was doing there with his little bastard children.” Menelik let out an exhausted breath. “I’m fucking tired, man.”
Maeve turned her head away while Sukki tried to salvage the situation, but as she looked at the shared expression across everyone’s face, she too faltered. Sukki lowered her head slightly, looking at the ground she let out a soft sigh and thought to herself, “Ivara, please send your blessing, we desperately need it.”
The place Zero found himself in was what remained of an Elven Citadel, a small haven for those who had branched away from the path of the Uthol Forest Elves of Hier and the MoonShadow Elves of Tarkwa, a refuge for those without a home to call their own. It had long been abandoned, and aside from a few rickety tables, little remained of its former inhabitants. The building itself appeared ready to crumble at any moment, but with a bit of hard work and a dash of magic, it would hold steady for as long as they needed it.
Zero and a few other refugees had adjusted the tattered fabric and sheets, sealing the wind's entry and retaining more of the precious warmth within. They were in the process of moving fires near the few remaining open windows, striving to circulate more warmth without filling the citadel with smoke and ash.
Conversations were sparse, with Aladdin doing most of the talking, catching Zero up on everything that had transpired during his absence. Zero also had the opportunity to speak with a few refugees who were up and about, hearing their first-hand accounts of how quickly Sidra had fallen into chaos after his actions. Zero dared not admit that he was the one who had slain the Emperor. Even in death, Dysixsyx's influence extended far and wide. The castle's collapse had been attributed to yet another Dungeon break, with the Emperor's death attributed to his heroic struggle against the Dungeon Monster that had attacked the castle. His dominion over Sidra's nonhumans may have ended with his death, but his legacy lived on.
Zero attempted to converse with the solitary Lycan in the group, trying to fathom how the Lycans had fallen so easily and if there were any other survivors. The young Lycan appeared too traumatized to speak. It was clear that he had likely witnessed the horrors that befell the Lycans and might be the sole survivor. Zero was on the verge of pressing the Lycan again or even contemplating the use of magic to coax the truth from him. But just as that thought crossed his mind, the expression on the distressed Lycan's face dissuaded him from taking such measures. He was about to offer his assistance to another refugee when the effects of his Gear Shift Acceleration began to take hold once more.
"Ah shit," Zero muttered as his vision darkened, and he collapsed to the floor.
Aladdin rushed to his aid, effortlessly lifting Zero off the ground as if he weighed no more than a small traveler's bag. Carrying Zero, he ascended the spiral staircase, halting halfway down. Aladdin glanced around to ensure no one was nearby, then shifted to his right, seamlessly phasing into the wall with Zero and emerging in his personal office space.
The room was surprisingly spacious, with deep brown and tan hardwood floors partially obscured by an enormous orange rug. It was a custom creation that had taken nearly a decade to make without the assistance of magic, and it exuded an air of luxury. The rug was predominantly orange but featured a delicate golden border along its edges, with braids adorned with gemstones that shimmered when Aladdin turned on the concealed lights. The room bathed in a vibrant yellow glow, highlighting lavender wallpaper covered in golden diamond patterns with a central blue diamond. Bookshelves designed to fit the curved walls lined the far side of the room, showcasing a colorful array of aging spines and pristine tomes.
Aladdin settled Zero onto the couch, and the sheep wool lining enveloped Zero in its cozy gray embrace as he sank into the seat.
"There you go," Aladdin murmured. "Now, let's see what we have to remedy this." He approached the bookshelves, occasionally glancing at his cluttered desk. The oak surface was battered and worn, its legs on the brink of falling apart from centuries, perhaps even millennia of use. It was covered in parchment, a few books, and several empty ink bottles, along with tiny broken fragments of charcoal and what appeared to be lead pencils—rare relics in an age of wand writing, but Aladdin only used his wand for such activities when feeling particularly lazy and unwilling to enter his office to jot down notes and registry names.
Aladdin snapped himself back to the task at hand, the unfinished work still niggling at the back of his mind, insisting that he return to it and complete it. It was another reason why Aladdin preferred traditional writing over wand magic; the latter enchanted your work, and he wanted to keep his work distinct from magical influences.
"Ah, here we are. This should do the trick," Aladdin declared, selecting a book with a blue spine. Flipping through the pages, he paused near the end and began reading the words to himself.
"Yes, yes, mhm, mhm, maybe, there is something here, hmm, I don't know, he looks Human, but the others say he is a Dragon," Aladdin muttered, his eyes lifting lazily from the book. "But he is quite the Human-looking Dragon." He returned his attention to the book, flipping through the pages until he reached the very last page, where writing was still materializing. A new page slowly manifested beside what would no longer be the final page, with each line of words descending, another section of the page formed, cascading horizontally until it was fully settled onto the book's back cover.
"Ah, let's see," Aladdin began reading the new page. "Ah, yes, it says here if it is a Dragon who has been turned into a Human, and they have used... Gear... Shift... Acceleration..." Aladdin paused and looked up. "What is that?" The new page suddenly detached itself from the book without any assistance and dissolved into nothingness. A fresh page began to write, and Aladdin read it word by word as it appeared.
