The Sword that Binds (Book of Worlds 1) (24 page)

By the time Allannia had finished speaking, Uckey was trembling in place. Sarena felt her words crash around her ears. Not only was Uckey’s entire race extinct, but the grimoire they needed was hidden deep within a mana storm. Entering it was tantamount to suicide. Mana storms wouldn’t simply kill every living being they touched, they would convert them into mana and absorb them into themselves, growing stronger as time went by. Allannia had unintentionally destroyed their hope of completing the task they were given.

“Then how are we supposed to enter Stewrix...” Sarena said weakly.

“You actually seek to enter the lost city?” Allannia asked while raising her eyebrows. “I thought that it was forgotten to the rest of the world. If that is your purpose here, then I will not stop you. But I suggest you return regardless. With the mana storm preventing entry your journey will be a waste.”

“We can’t,” Sarena said, “Our only hope is to enter Stewrix. If your life magic can tell you so much about us, you should be able to feel the enchantment on my sword. Once it fails he will be trapped, unable to move without a new host.”

The elf hesitated a moment before drawing closer to inspect Tyrus, gasping after a moment. Not exactly the reaction she had expected.

“A true soul binding? This blade should not exist. This shouldn’t be possible,” she said while shaking her head. “I do not know why you think the answer to your problems lies within Stewrix, but you are mistaken about the soul within your blade. Normally that is correct, but the enchantment on that blade ties it to your blood. It will not be trapped waiting for a new host. It will enter into you, taking control of your body and wiping out your own soul.”

What? Didn’t Tyrus say Ankaros was lying about that? Am I really going to be killed by Tyrus?

“There might be a way,” Allannia said. “I know of an...object. It should be able to protect you from the storm, but only for a time. You would only have a day at most before it shatters. It is not much, but it is all I can offer.”

“Something that’s able to resist a mana storm must be powerful, yet you are going to just give it to us? Why are you so willing to help us now?” Sarena asked. There had to be a catch.

“Because the binding was done to you by a High elf. I don’t know how it is possible; a binding such as yours has not been done since the fall of Felaenahona. But regardless, we must atone for it,” Allannia replied. “And I am not simply gifting it to you. I believe you already possess it. The pendant you wear around your neck was lost to my people shortly after its creation. Inside resides the soul of Ardreth. His strength should let you resist the mana storm for a time.”

Sarena raised a hand and lifted the pendant out of her shirt.
Is it really that powerful? Uckey said it was created almost five thousand years before his time. That means...wait. Five thousand years?

“Did you say that Felaenahona fell five thousand years ago?” Sarena quickly asked.

Allannia tilted her head and looked at her strangely. “Yes, or close enough to it. The exact year it fell is lost to history, but it has been roughly five thousand years.”

“Impossible! If that was truly the case then that means that...” Uckey trailed off.

“We haven’t changed times at all. What’s going on Uckey? How can everything be so different from what we know, and still be in the same time?” Sarena felt like her mind was racing in circles. Nothing was making sense anymore.

“Were we wrong? Could it be that Ankaros is not the god of time?” Uckey said.

“Ankaros, the god of time? Is that what you believe?” Allannia said while shaking her head. “No god has power over time, not even Ankaros. He controls passage between worlds. I could see how that could be mistaken for time, but I assure you that you have been sent to neither past nor future. Merely a different world. Similar enough to your own to be recognizable it seems.”

Sarena stared at Allannia’s brilliant eyes in shock. A different world? What did she mean a different world? Did that mean it was possible for her to return to her own?

“If what you’re saying is true, then my people are not truly dead!” Uckey spoke. “Marvelous! This is wonderful! All of the inconsistencies make sense now! The entire world is a brand new place to explore!”

“Great! But that doesn’t solve any of our problems, Uckey! We still need to find that grimoire, and without the gnomes around there’s nobody to build a new body for Tyrus. If Ankaros doesn’t follow through on his end of the deal, I’m still dead. Unless you know of some other solution?” She yelled.
Did Ankaros send us here knowing how many obstacles there would be in our path? How could just traveling north with no enemies be so difficult?

“Of course, of course! We must hurry! Those bindings on Tyrus are getting weaker by the moment! Thank you, Allannia! It was an honor to meet a High Elf such as yourself. Life’s blessing to you!” Uckey said before dashing forward into the trees.

“Uckey! Don’t just leave me here!” Sarena called, starting to run after him. She stopped at the edge of the tree line and turned back. “Thank you for everything, Allannia. Uckey has been our only source of knowledge since we came here, and as you saw he’s not exactly the most reliable. I apologize for earlier rudeness. May we meet again,” she said, giving a short bow.

When she raised her head again Allannia had already disappeared.
How do they do that?

She turned back to the forest, drawing on her wind to chase after Uckey at full speed. The tiredness that had plagued her before was gone. She assumed it was washed away by some kind of magic Allannia had worked. It wasn’t difficult to find where the gnome had gone. He had left a trail of destruction behind him as he crashed through the bushes and plants on the forest floor. Sarena caught up and mounted him in short order.

“Thanks for just leaving me like that back there. I still had questions for her you know,” Sarena said in annoyance.

“You’ll have plenty of chances to ask her when we have finished this task! This is so exciting! Can you imagine what the world must be like without the gnomes?” Uckey said.

“Yes. I’ve already seen it. Very exciting,” she said dryly. It was becoming a struggle not to smile at his antics. His enthusiasm was infectious, and recently she had been less annoyed with him than usual. Even with impending doom hovering over them he didn’t stop looking for the bright side of things.

She looked down at Tyrus and frowned.
We will make it in time. I won’t let you down Tyrus.

T
yrus felt an uneasiness rise inside of him. The world around him felt smaller than it ever had.

They had arrived at the edge of the mana storm as night was falling, two days after their encounter with the elves. It had taken them longer than he expected to reach it. Thousands of years had passed since anyone had traveled the road they used, causing the once well-kept pavement to be split and overgrown to the point that it was unrecognizable. The forest had long ago overtaken it, adding yet another obstacle to their journey.

Shortly after they had reached the landing in the Sky tree he had found that he was unable to speak to Sarena and Uckey. He could hear and sense everything around him like normal, but his words fell on deaf ears. Not only that, but he could no longer move himself at all. It was like he had reverted back to the state he was in before Sarena. As far as he could tell, nothing was different about the enchantment or the bond. Yet he was still trapped.

There were so many questions he had wanted to ask the elves, but not even Allannia seemed to be able to hear him.

When they had drawn close enough for it to enter Tyrus’ perception he had discovered that he couldn’t penetrate it. He could sense it with no issues, but trying to send his perception into the mist was like swimming upstream. The harder he pushed, the more it would push back at him. At most he could reach ten feet into the strange bubble of power.

There had been an almost constant stream of auras within his perception while they were in the forest. Monsters were everywhere, but none of them were willing to go near them. It was almost like something was keeping them away. He suspected Allannia had provided an escort for them, but he had no way of knowing for sure with their ability to hide from him. It was unnerving how their auras could disappear, just as Sarena’s had.

“I knew it would be big, but words can’t really do it justice,” Sarena said suddenly, bringing Tyrus out of his silent contemplation. She had made a fire in a small clearing about fifty feet from the edge of the mist, and was sitting with her knees pulled up to her chin, arms wrapped around her legs while holding a piece of rabbit meat. She had taken the pendant off and set it down next to her. They had tested it before setting up camp and found that it worked just as Allannia said it would.

The storm was a towering blue monolith, stretching for miles to the north and south. Tyrus couldn’t even feel the top edge of it, only that it slowly arced backwards like a dome.

I sometimes wish I could see things as you do.
Tyrus thought.
It’s easy for me to feel that it is large, but the world might as well not exist beyond the edge of my senses. I’ll never be able to appreciate things in the way you can.

Uckey was standing off to the side, staring at the wall of mist ahead of them. His excitement had been bubbling up ever since their encounter with Allannia. Besides explaining where to find the grimoire in Stewrix he hadn’t been able to focus on their task at all. Even then he only told them after Sarena had prodded him for hours.

Sarena finished eating the meat of the rabbit she had hunted while they traveled. She silently pulled her cloak over herself and rolled so her back was to the fire. It was still early enough in summer that the nights were cold, especially as far north as they had come. Tyrus settled into his usual nightly vigil, maintaining his watch until the morning as Sarena slept, even if he was unable to help.

By the next morning their fire had died out, so Sarena covered the last few embers with dirt before walking to Uckey and mounting him.

“We are going to have to move fast Uckey. We’ve only got one day to find the grimoire and get out.” Sarena reminded him.

Tyrus could feel a surge of determination within Uckey. The gnome’s aura had strangely settled down during the night. Uckey started forward with no warning, plunging into the mana storm and eliciting a cry of surprise from Sarena. The blue mist surged around them as they entered, creating a clear circle five feet around them.

“What are you doing Uckey! At least give me some warning!” Sarena yelled in anger.

“There was no danger,” Uckey replied. “We already tested it! Allannia said that Ardreth will keep us safe for one day. Its power didn’t disappear overnight.”

Tyrus could hear her grinding her teeth as Uckey ran across through the mist, heading forward at the fastest pace he could maintain. With the mist around them blocking off his perception he couldn’t tell how fast they were going, but he expected them to reach Stewrix by noon at the latest. There was no vegetation or animals to stop them. The road below them felt as pristine as it must have when the gnomes were at the height of their power. Nothing could survive inside of a mana storm, freeing the paved road from the ravages of time.

Change happened much sooner than Tyrus expected.

The mist suddenly disappeared.

Uckey had been running forward in silence. Tyrus suspected they were nearing Stewrix, his senses being far better at judging time than the others. His perception exploded outward once again, almost overwhelming him with information before he came to his senses.

Uckey stumbled as he came to a stop, sending Sarena careening forward into the back of his head while she cursed at him.

“What just happened?” Sarena said.

*****

S
arena stared ahead with wide eyes, not sure if what she was seeing was real.

The mist they had thought would surround them for a full day was gone, ending in a sheer wall behind their backs. In front of them was the entrance to Stewrix, with grass and trees lining the sides of the road. As it drew closer to Stewrix it grew wider, to the point that even a dozen wagons could fit side to side on it comfortably.

Two massive stone pillars rose from the ground on each side of the road, reaching almost twice the width of the road before touching the top of the doorway in the side of the mountain. Yes, doorway. Between the two huge pillars was an intricately carved double door, split straight down the middle. After the splendor of Felaenahona, the stone doors weren’t particularly impressive. But what was lying in front of the door was.

The creature was huge, easily dwarfing the blue monstrosity they had fought in the Godwoods. It had the body and head of a lion, but was half as tall as the door, even lying down. Its tail was like that of a scorpion, and the claws on each of its paws were easily half the length of Sarena. To top it off, its entire body looked to be made of a reflective black stone, reminding her of the rock ogre’s skin. A thin glowing green line stretched down the center of each leg before splitting into five at the paw, each connecting to a claw. That same green line spread all across its body in strange swirling patterns.

Her body felt like the air around it was pushing in on her. It was like she was standing in the presence of Ankaros again, but even stronger. If she didn’t have her own core now she would probably be stuck on the ground and powerless like before.

“What in the seven hells is that, Uckey?” Sarena whispered, afraid that her voice would rouse the creature that sat with its eyes closed.

“I...I don’t know. It looks like a manticore, but none of that species can reach that size. And it looks like it was made from black steel with magicite embedded within. That is only done to create a body for a mana user that erupted like Tyrus...” he trailed off.

“Could it be an elemental? You said they are created the same way didn’t you?” Sarena asked quietly.

“An elemental? That can’t be right. Elementals can’t possess a constructed body like that one unless they are a pure mana type,” Uckey said.