“Tendil, you know I love to fight. It's in my blood. And I'm always confident going into battle. This is different.”
"None of us knows what to expect, Darling. At least no one is having to do it alone. We're a team. You and I, of course, but with the others also. Carca and her lot of pretenders are the ones who should be losing sleep, not you.”
"Deep down, I know you're right, Love. It's just all so new. The concept. Being gods. Like it was the most normal thing one could do.”
"Well, you've got me there. What was it, a week ago? I didn't even believe in gods. I thought they were nothing more than a construct to keep us well-behaved. And now, to become one? I'd have called you stark raving mad but two weeks prior.”
I couldn't help but to laugh out loud. People stared in passing, thinking their Prince had lost his mind. But that's exactly it. Not two weeks ago I was eager to take on my first assignment for the Hard Coast Company. Now, I'm a Prince married to the most beautiful woman in all the realms and about to become a god.
“You find yourself to be quite humorous, don't you?" May asked.
“Yes, Darling, I confess I do."
She gripped my hand tightly and we boarded the lift platform back to our rooms.
We ate by ourselves that evening. Just something light after our large midday meal. The calm before the storm. We needed to figure out a better place to meet given what lay ahead.
At precisely seven bells, Janiver arrived with a satchel crammed full of books, scrolls, and pouches of amber with tools. Margrin was close behind, trying to make it seem like they hadn't come together. Pelisir arrived immediately thereafter.
“First things first," Janiver declared.
She waved her hand in a circular motion and a milky looking ectoplasmic whirlpool began forming before her like a portal, opening into nothingness.
“Everyone follow me. It's perfectly safe,” she said and stepped through the hole to wherever it led.
Margrin went after, always close at hand, followed by May, Pelisir, and myself. What I stepped into coming out of the portal , could only be described as the gymnasium downstairs. With no door. Or windows. But there was one Brevid Yurkiz.
“What is this place?" Pelisir asked.
“This is our meeting place," replied Janiver. “It's in an extra-dimensional space mimicking our gymnasium and …. let's see … a table and chairs in the corner there,” she spoke and it appeared.
"Some water and fruit. Towels. A rack of practice weapons. A water closet. Some suits of padded armor. Anything else?”
“This seems more than sufficient," I said. “But what if one or all of us is needed outside of this?"
Janiver smiled, “Waldinor and Timmins will ring a bell I've given them if we're needed. Other than that, no one knows where we are."
She continued, "Queen May and Count Pelisir, allow me to introduce Princess Brevid of the Sand Elves of the Waste. She'll be an invaluable addition to our team.”
"In order for things to move more efficiently and so as to keep our attention where it should be, I respectfully propose that we dispense with formal titles while in this space. Margrin and I are the only non-royals, so I defer to your guidance,” Janiver concluded.
May took the lead in responding, "I think that's a marvelous idea, Janiver. Tendil said it earlier. We are a team. When a part of this team, we are equals among equals. Pelisir, Brevid, Tendil?”
We all responded, "Aye.”
"Aren't you a baron or something like that, Margrin,” I asked playfully.
"Oh, baron, god, scoundrel, what are titles anyway, Bascombe? I can't keep track.”
Janiver stayed in her role as instructor and asked that we all be seated at the table. She followed with her crystal ball and promptly brought it to life.
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“Now, what I'm going to show you is what you'll be and what you'll be facing once we've all ascended. Pay close attention."
The smoke cleared to show the familiar forms of élois and the Black King locked in combat. Both had their huge two-handed swords. Every once in a while both figures would freeze as if a mental duel was happening. They both fired off spells, some doing damage, some diverted by a raised sword.
Janiver narrated, “You'll notice that it appears that they're moving rather slowly. That's a trick of proportion. To them, they're fighting at normal speed. You'll further notice that these are no typical swords. They act to parry spells defensively and to block incoming blows. We'll learn these defensive techniques as well as offensive attacks."
Both of the figures began to fade away slowly.
“What's happening? Why are they fading like that?" I asked.
"When they meet for battle, it requires great focus and stamina to remain on the same plane of existence as your opponent. Where the battles take place is seemingly random. The two combatants just think of one another and port there. This, I believe, is on the Elemental Plane of Air or high above it I should say.”
"How do you know so much about it, Janiver?” I had to know before I could trust her as a mentor.
“I've been studying these god wars since I learned how to scry other dimensions, Prince. A hundred years or more? Among Humans that would make me some kind of expert. As an Elf, it makes me literate. You'll note that we can scry gods when they fight but not when they aren't."
"Margrin, by the way,” I asked, "where is Ranji?”
"He's in our … I mean my, my quarters being tutored by the Dean of the Bard Colleges with four Palace Guards. He's fine, Bascombe.”
May cleared her throat, obviously wanting the floor,
"So, Janiver, do you have a specific plan and timeline in mind for all of this upon which we are about to embark, or are we going to play it as we go?”
"There is a definite plan, My Queen, sorry, May. The first thing we need to do is begin the transition. We can, thankfully, bypass the lich stage. What will be required is that we begin to ingest a small amount of serum I've made from the included amber. Basically, building something of a tolerance upon which we can stack greater amounts without danger to the imbiber. That begins right now.”
Janiver went into her satchel and produced five small slender vials stoppered with waxed cork. Otherwise, they were unadorned. Each vial was passed out; I got one, May, Margrin, Pelisir, and Brevid did as well.
Janiver had the floor.
“This is the serum of which I speak. You'll place three drops in a chalice of water when you wake up in the morning and drink it quickly. You'll feel energized the entire day so be prepared for that. You'll also feel that tingling skin sensation from the high concentration of Mana. This is natural. You'll do this each morning for three consecutive days, then we'll move on to the next step. Trust me, we're going as fast as I know how to go. The Ritual of Ascension is fairly new to me, and I must be careful.”
May was smiling broadly, "We made an excellent choice putting you in this position, Janiver. I can't imagine the shape we'd be in if it had been left to ?rdelon.”
"I would still have been here, Ma'am. Just behind the scenes.”
She looked my way, "My Prince, you're the only one among us with no magical experience. Not that the odd cantrip can prepare you for what lies ahead, we'll all get in our practice, but you need to start with the basics.”
"First day of class and I'm already being held back, Love. Story of my life,” I kidded with May.
"Well at least you married well, Tendil. There's something to be said for luck after all,” she quipped.
"May, it's been hours since I told you how much I love you. You haven't forgotten, have you?”
Pelisir slapped the table, causing everybody to jolt upright.
"Don't let it ever be said that I stand in the way of love, but if I may stand in the way of love for a moment … May, Tindel, we have much to cover and a world in peril. Right now we, us, , he encompassed us with a wave of his hand, are the hope for this world. In your own time if you please. While we're together, let's concentrate on that team thing you mentioned. It seems, er, productive.”
I was red-faced I'm sure. He was right though. Like everything, I wasn't giving this the seriousness it deserved.
"Now," Janiver resumed, “of utmost priority, is finding what and who we're up against. We know of only two, well actually one but Lasca will follow shortly, there's no stopping it now. So we have Carca and Lasca. Both powerful Warlocks before Ascending, now their powers will be amplified. But they're new. We need to find out if there have been any before and who else is in line.”
"I can offer a little help in that area,” I said. The other person we had considered for our party, the Barrow Elf Warlock Shindur, has been pointed out by élois himself as being one not to be trusted. He didn't elaborate on that, but she needs to be watched closely and her contacts monitored. Is there a way, Janiver, that we can see the comings and goings from Moss City by means of ?”
"No, My Prince. Perhaps if done by lower level magic-users, but Warlocks like Lasca and Shindur are at the peak of their powers. They are not monitored so easily. Especially if they're suspicious.”
That was as I had suspected.
“Then we need to bring the White King into our circle to get eyes on things in Moss City. He needs to know of Shindur’s potential for treachery at any rate.”
“Are you volunteering to go to the Necropolis, My Dear?”
"You're not always funny or cute, May. Not always. No, I'm requesting he be brought into our inner sanctum here so we can speak with him away from prying eyes and ears. He should be a part of it anyway. I further put him forward as a standby in case one of us should go down. He's a fearsome warrior if reputation is anything.”
"We should do some sparring before we retire,” Janiver suggested. "To be clear though, we don't aim to meet these pretenders one on one. We want the odds more in our favor. We'll hunt them down in pairs and they won't be expecting us. So, let's get in some sparring with that in mind. Don't forget your serum in the morning when you wake. We meet here again after breakfast at nine bells.”