Thunder cracked overhead, rumbling through one of the split skies in the stained glass heavens, colors dimming to darker shades as Elinor’s boots sunk into the moist earth. She listened to the pattering of rain coming from above her as the liquid trailed off the broad umbrella in Adoncia’s hands, enjoying the ambiance, despite it signaling the end game.
The silence remained still, and Elinor’s calm gaze drifted between the four clans, having taken their own positions around the Hub-Crystal. She could practically taste the tension while watching the water cast a glistening hue against the toads’ wet skin and drawn steel.
Not one of the four leaders looked away, studying every action she made. No doubt, they would have been informed that she could communicate through her undead ri’bot but not that she could speak their language herself.
Stopping just far enough that she could be heard past the rain, Elinor’s focus drifted from the four somber ri’bot to their subordinates, noticing that even the torlim mounts of the Roxim kept their peace. No one knew how this discussion was going to play out.
Illuminated emerald irises returning to the person she believed held the most sway, she let a small smile lift her lips. “Former Elder Chief Valdar, I understand you are a survivor of the Fire Wars.”
“It speaks! Does it not sound feminine to you, Valdar?” Krava whispered, hand sliding down his staff as he crouched again.
“As I should, Elder Chief of the Komath,” Elinor cooly returned. “I also recognize High Warrior Fennel of the Roxim and a High Priestess of the Clavex.”
The green-skinned woman’s bright blue eyes shifted to her undead, fingers rising to play with the talisman around her throat. “She knows each of our clans and who is in charge.”
“Not only that; she knows about the Fire Wars and the elder chiefs’ accomplishments… yet chose to call us here and demand a surrender,” Fennel grunted, tightening his grip on his ax. “We should attack before she shows any Mysticism! This feels like a trap.”
“It probably is,” Valdar hummed, putting more weight on his staff as he scanned the undead scattered behind Elinor, wearing damp, baggy clothes stuck to their skeletal figures. “Even so… I need time to understand this creature. Her Mysticism is… disturbing.”
Krava’s brow furrowed at the blue-skinned chief’s push for more time, and Elinor could guess why; if she were some simple foe they could cut down, he would have had them rush her since they had the clear number advantages.
“Heh. Very well,” the old orange chief chuckled, rising back up to arch his spine and pop his chest. By the look on Fennel’s face, he’d follow the former Xaria’s lead, and the High Priestess was still examining her undead. “Tell me, do you rule here?”
“Yes,” Elinor lied, keeping her tone and face passive. “I am Empress Elinor, and, as you can see, I rule not only the living… but also the dead. How do you suppose I learned about your people or speak your language?”
“Ho-ho. You make a bold claim,” Krava grunted, tone deepening as he took a more assertive posture. “Are you saying you can pull back those that have risen to the Eternal River? Wrestle them from the Supreme Chiefs themselves?”
Without blinking, Elinor’s mouth twisted upward. “Yes.”
Mutters of blasphemy swept the warriors at her chilling declaration, yet Krava didn’t appear too perturbed by the statement itself; on the other hand, Valdar’s mouth tightened as he lowered himself to the earth to quietly sink his fingers into the mud.
“Ahem, Empress Elinor, was it?” the High Priestess asked, gesturing with her hand and tilting her body forward in a manner that Mika said was a nalvean custom—the strong race this ri’bot faction lived in servitude to—for respect.
“It is,” Elinor responded, keeping her hands at her front while showing complete serenity and security. “I understand you pay reverence to a light spirit in the Great Ruby Lakes and are indebted to the nalveans.”
“We do…” she slowly replied, gaze shifting to Valdar, whose expression had grown more serious as his large eyes swept the damp scenery before settling on her again. The old former chief was a Plant Caller, which meant he was discovering something from the environment. “I am High Priestess Nadraca. I understand you wish for us to surrender to you. Is that correct?”
She didn’t respond right away, letting the ominous atmosphere persist. “Hmm-hmm-hmm. Perhaps a demonstration of my power would serve this discussion better since you seem to believe I am helpless amid so many of your warriors. Would you be willing to test yourself against some of my undead, High Priestess Nadraca?” Elinor asked with a small smile, gesturing at two of her skeletons, who stepped forward.
Krava snorted, leaning against his staff again as his gaze shifted to the disgruntled priestess. “She mocks you by sending her soldiers instead of offering to perform the contest herself.”
Nadraca squeezed her amulet. “Eh-heh. A difference of opinion, Elder Chief Krava, and possibly a misunderstanding of her culture… It would be appalling for someone to stand before the Clavex and pose such a challenge to the Mother Superior. I have faith in Yel’tisa’s protection. Are there any objections?”
Fennel grunted, showing a sneer, according to Mika. “Do not expect any of the Roxim to come to your aid, High Priestess. I’ll acknowledge your courage if you wish to be a sacrifice.”
Krava simply made a dismissive gesture that said it wasn’t worth his time to even say the words, and Valdar remained silent, narrowed eyes now fixated on Elinor. It seemed that he definitely knew something was off about her or her march into their territory, yet kept his peace, nevertheless.
Taking a deep breath, Nadraca strode forward to stop between them, and Elinor gave her a nod, even if their race didn’t understand the gesture, considering they didn’t have the joints to do the action.
Elinor turned to retreat several paces back, knowing this would be the trigger that set the operation into action. She had high hopes, but the success or failure of this trial didn’t truly matter. Elinor expected she’d need to back down, regardless, once things played out; she had to show she wasn’t helpless, though, and needed to make the ri’bot fear her.
In any case, Nadraca was her primary target out of the four to attempt to take off the board due to her Mysticism that allowed her to directly attack the spirits of her units. In a way, this should have been her worst match-up or opponent, yet, Butter and she figured it was their only chance to land a blow against the woman.
“I still believe it is a mistake to not target either of the elder chiefs first,” Mika whispered, trying not to fidget while looking at Valdar, still centered on Elinor. “I expect either of them could kill every ri’bot here by themselves, while I cannot see this… Clavex Priestess, no matter her rank, capable of such a feat.”
Elinor breathed an internal sigh of relief upon feeling Butter’s presence vanish as she entered the Crystal. She could still feel her presence within her diamond, but determining where she was became a complete mystery. Her twin had made it to the other world.
You have given me more than enough information on the other three; the unknown elements Nadraca commands make her a threat, and I want to see it in action firsthand to be sure it stems from their item.
Audrey was cool as a cucumber with her hands folded inside her sleeves, but if Adoncia had a stomach, it would have been squirming from the vibes Elinor sensed through the Nexus. Carlos had no gripe with the direction, waiting for any signal from Elinor that she had assured him would not come.
The Clavex warriors to their right shifted nervously upon seeing their green-skinned leader come to a stop in the rain, readjusting her silk.
“She’s practically shaking in her fancy robes,” Mika groaned, and a few of the woman’s clansmen called out to her.
“High Priestess, you are not a warrior.”
“Yes, you should have High Warrior Lacord fight in your place!”
“I will not hear it,” Nadraca stated, showing a steely resolve, despite Mika’s words. “Former Elder Chief Valdar and I have encountered this Mysticism… I fear it is beyond the means of physical confrontation; we have already tested it.”
Elinor wanted to laugh; she was talking about trying to slash the ghost they’d spotted. It was understandable why she’d conclude that her undead could take on an incorporeal form. Still, that this light spirit could harm her ethereal minions was something to be cautious of, and it likely also played a role in their elemental weaknesses.
Are you prepared? Elinor asked, not looking at her maid as the explosives expert confirmed she was. Good. It should be quick.
“Whenever you are ready, High Priestess,” Elinor said. “I will show you a small portion of my power.”
Puffing up her chest, hand enclosed around her amulet, Nadraca focused on the two emerald-flamed undead that went to either side of the woman, making some of the warriors shout angrily at assault from both angles.
Elinor observed her closely, noticing her focus and slight quivers came from seeing the green flames rather than the dead themselves; Mika explained why as she readied herself.
“Legend has it that the nalveans have something called Jade Fire; it is supposed to be a sacred flame from some fire spirit that can burn nearly anything, even quen’talrat fur.”
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
Interesting…
She hadn’t been wrong; if they wanted a chance against these creatures and their numbers, Elinor needed to raise a strong monster from their world to reach higher Grades.
Her focus darted to Nadraca as light surrounded her frame.
“I am ready!”
“Then fight already,” Krava growled. “A battle should be quick and decisive.”
Elinor held up her hand, causing many to center on her. “Very well… Begin.”
The light intensified around the woman, yet only one of her undead raced to attack the priestess—the one at her back—and Nadraca flipped around to direct a small pulse of light that fractured the leaping skeleton’s bones, crumbling them to dust and confirming Elinor suspicions; it wasn’t just light, but also the Holy Element that she was weak to.
Fortunately, the weak skeleton, which could hardly put up a fight against a living creature in the first place, wasn’t her true opponent as a small bundle took shape from the falling clothes that were left behind by the disintegrated skeleton.
Nadraca breathed in relief—a strange, non-human sound—at the success of her attack, turning to handle the next skeleton, who stood still, staring at her with its lifeless eyes as Fennel cursed at the woman.
“Behind you, Limp Tongue!”
Elinor could see the world freeze on the priestess’ face and her heart stop as a bolt of lightning flashed above, the rain coming into the foreground before a spark lit behind her, the remote-triggered grenade set off by the phone in Audrey’s sleeve.
“Boom.”
Shouts rang out from the warriors as dust exploded to mix with the rain, shrapnel spreading meters beyond the impact site. Hands went to ears, and ri’bot ducked, looking to the sky to see if it had been the rolling thunder that followed.
Elinor hummed, watching Nadraca coughing and forcing herself back up, the flickering light around her acting as a shield that deflected the charge, yet her second minion was already on the move, jumping on top of the recovering woman to snatch the necklace and yank it off, throwing it away before attempting to claw into her chest.
“And… the second.”
Another explosion sent more ri’bot ducking and asking if they should attack, yet Krava, Fennel, and Valdar didn’t flinch, coldly watching as another flash of light surrounded Nadraca, disintegrating the skeleton and defending against the blast; however, this time, she wasn’t unscathed.
Nadraca coughed and winced, forcing herself up and holding her chest—the center points of where the detonation went off—where crimson liquid flowed. “Ugh… H-How did you… Where is my… my—” she choked, wincing as one of her clansmen ran to fetch the fading artifact.
He paused for half a second as Elinor slowly clapped, obviously scared at her ominous action. Though, when the High Priestess had the item, it flashed with a ruby light, and she breathed yet another sigh as the wound on her chest began to heal, new skin forming. It wasn’t perfect, leaving a small scar, but the worst of it was restored.
“You did better than I expected, Nadraca; maybe I shouldn’t have held back… Ah, do you hear that?”
Eyes rose to the sky as explosions sounded in the distance, one after the other, and her chuckle strengthened as pillars of light shot into the heavens, signaling two of the three remaining hubs had been closed.
“Hmm-hmm-hmm. So… are you satisfi—”
She didn’t get the words out before the world was flipped upside down, and she caught her two surprised maids being pulled together by a slick, yellow tongue; Krava grabbed the back of her shirt to hold it up with a sharp snort.
“Krava!” Valdar growled with frustration.
“We should never have given her the—”
His words faded as the world went black, and she laughed upon entering her throne before the smoldering fire of her inner world; things were proceeding more or less how she’d predicted, and she ordered her undead to remain passive.
The world opened up again as she reconstituted her artificial body. She rose from her crouching position to aim a secretive smile at the shocked elder chief’s swift retreat, pulling her groaning maids with him, still trapped by his tongue; it was impressive he could speak so fluently while maintaining the position.
“What Mysticism is this?!”
The cold rain mixed into her silver locks and slid down her bare skin as she turned to smirk at Fennel; his ax was already landing between her eyes, taking half her head off. Again, she reformed her body, retaining a lax posture with her hands behind her back.
“Are you done?” she asked, having a warning from Mika regarding the Roxim warrior’s magical weapon and tilting to the side to evade the return to the man’s grip. “As you can see… I’m immortal. Is it not evident from my command over the dead?” she asked, gesturing at the skeletons that didn’t twitch to defend her. “Why don’t they attack if I am in danger?”
Valdar answered, rising as his muddy fingers closed into a fist. “Because… you don’t feel like you’re in danger. The soil quakes with every step you take, begging me to leave you be or suffer some cataclysmic consequence.”
“You’re joking, Valdar!” Krava snarled, drawing her two maids closer to place both knives to their thin necks. “Every creature has its weak point.”
“Hehehe.” Elinor shifted her feet in the mud, feeling the grime between her toes. “You just saw me have my head crushed, and my body disintegrate to be reformed anew, and, hehe, your first act is to try and use my undead as hostages? I think you’re at a loss, great hero. Death means nothing to me, and I cannot feel pain. Now, are we going to act more civil?” she asked, studying Fennel as he marched up to her, brandishing his ax.
“How many lives do you have? Surely there must be a limit.”
“Hold your ax, Fennel,” Valdar said, causing the warrior to pause, half turning to glare at the respected Mystic. “We have lost three of our paths into this realm, and you know the consequences if we do not conquer this… this Pit Fiend. She will spill out her curses onto our world next!”
News to me, Elinor mused to herself, keeping her challenging gaze on the agitated high warrior as Valdar talked the others down. Nadraca, meanwhile, was still recovering, looking somewhat shaken from the experience as several of her warriors surrounded the High Priestess.
Krava’s tongue unwound around her maids, Adoncia shivering at the sensation it left against her bones.
“Ew! Ew! Ewww! It’s so slimy!”
“What is on your mind, old friend? Young Fennel has a point; surely, there is a limit to how much abuse this… Empress can take.”
Valdar pulled himself up, flexing his muddy fingers and glancing around the unsettled warriors, but Elinor figured his focus was more on what the jungle was telling him.
“You and I both know how terrifying the powers of the nalvean High Ruler and golariex Holy Empress are… We saw them fight against the Turquoise King when the Quen’talrat Empire fell with The White God’s death.”
Krava’s face scrunched up as he pushed her maids away, putting away his blades and snatching his staff from near Elinor. He paused to sweep her unblinking appearance; a fighter definitely wouldn’t think much of her frail teenage frame, yet he slapped Fennel’s arm with the back of his hand, indicating him to move back to Valdar.
Elinor hadn’t even seen him throw his staff into the ground to use as a leverage point to sling toward her, much less his swift leap that cleanly separated her neck from her body.
“You cannot be comparing this creature to monsters like them, Valdar; all this skinny girl can do is act spooky and die a few times! She’s weak; her soldiers are weak—Nadraca’s performance was laughable. Young Fennel could kill this thing a thousand times without a cut!”
“Ten thousand,” the Roxim high warrior grunted. “Her regeneration is slow.”
Valdar’s attention was taken by her, though. “Empress Elinor has shown us her strength and confidence. Do you really think this is everything in her arsenal, Krava?”
“No. My point stands, and what do you suggest we do to handle this Crystal business? We must win.”
“Exactly,” Valdar said, sinking his staff in the mud before facing her.
Elinor’s maids finally returned to her side, attempting to do their best to clean off the umbrella and collect her fallen garments. Unfortunately, in the midst of killing her, the orange, elderly chief had somehow managed to destroy the cell phone and cut half the umbrella stem.
“The Empress only wanted us to take her seriously, which was why she put on this show since we doubted her abilities. Now, she has destroyed three of the hubs, leaving this last one in-tact, and though she could have destroyed that gateway with the attacks she used against Nadraca… she didn’t.”
Krava hissed, rubbing the back of his neck. “I see… She doesn’t want it destroyed because she wants to go to our planet. I don’t have a good feeling about that, Valdar. Is she saying she will willingly accept our conquest if we take her to the other side?”
“Not only that,” Fennel muttered, slamming his ax into the side of a tree and cleaving it in two. “She wants to be free.”
So… these Crystals act as conquest portals, and if we repel them, the tides turn, or maybe it’s something different. I can get answers from these toads, though. They’ve already told me much about their world and the dead I can raise.
Elinor held a formal tone while locking eyes with the blue-skinned toad, and the rain intensified, lightning striking a tree nearby, splitting it down the center.
“Very perceptive, Former Elder Chief. Could I win? Yes. However, do I want to? Mmm-hmm-hmm. Not necessarily. If my surrender is what you need, then I can only give you so much… I will proceed with you beyond this gateway, and we can have a proper discussion in your world. If you do that, I will offer this conquest, as you put it, to you on a silver platter. Oh, but perhaps you don’t understand that expression. Hehe.”
A low rumble shook in Valdar’s throat. “I get the context… Why do you want to escape this planet?”
Drawing in her lips, Elinor gave him an accurate answer, and something she’d thought a few times since transforming into a mythickin lich empress. “This world is ill-suited for me. Hehe. You’re free to try and kill me again if you like, or try it on the other side, for all I care. Maybe it will stick when away from this planet, hmm? What do you say about having a meal and discussing things between us?”
Valdar turned to note Fennel’s scowl, but Krava seemed interested again, rubbing his chin; Nadraca was just now calming down after taking two grenades to the chest.
“I cannot make this decision alone… Give me some time.”
“Naturally. I, heh, have all the time in the world, seeing as I am already dead.”
He gave her parting statement a smile and a grunt before returning to discuss with the other three leaders, leaving Elinor to stand underneath the umbrella Adoncia held by the upper stem—all that was left—and Audrey to glare after the toads.
Elinor was surprised at how at ease she was, standing naked in the rain in front of so many alien creatures, but she had resolved herself to see this through. She’d prepared towels and a change of clothes on the way out of town by having an undead retrieve her suitcase.
The four discussed it for a few minutes, low enough that Elinor couldn’t hear what was said, but when Valdar returned, he delivered the positive news.
“So long as you translate for us to the other creatures and assure our victory, we will see you through to the other side; there will be no bonds, but you are still under my rule.”
“Your rule,” Elinor repeated with a smirk. “I see they dumped the responsibility on your head. I look forward to getting to know you better, for however short it may be.”
She chuckled and returned to her skeletal coach. “Allow me to freshen up; I can’t translate looking like a naked, soaking, and muddied slave girl. It shouldn’t take me long.”
Success. I’m coming, Mom and Dad.
