B2 – Chapter 8: An Archon’s Arrival

Tristan’s routine played itself out over the next few days. He would travel all day, practicing the First Order spells at his disposal through rote memorization, whilst Felicity kept an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. They would return to the Fey Realm after nightfall, and Tristan would socialize for a short while with the new residents who were taking quite a liking to the Fey Realm and expressed interest in staying.

Then, Tristan would go over to the new crafting center and marketplace, with an enormous awning overhead made from trees woven together and transplanted from all over the Fey Realm so that different types of trees designated varying types of craft or trade. Maintaining his armor and equipment, he then went into the Queen’s Wood, slept, and returned to traveling the next day.

As they traveled across the lowlands of the Sapphire Coast, Tristan was struck by how busy the trade roads were. He had been using his Disguise Form spell stored inside the family crest to keep himself in the guise of a traveler from Bhant, and Felicity stayed invisible atop his head almost the entire time. The people going by were seemingly from all walks of life, and as Tristan inquired with the passers-by, he learned the reason for the large amount of movement.

Not too far to the east, a Demon Realm Incursion had occurred; the same one that took the families and livelihood of his newest additions to the Fey Realm. Creatures from that Realm, most notably Demon Bats like what he had slain previously, attacked at night. They were large enough to carry off grown men, and so people were leaving the sparsely populated smaller villages and towns to instead join the growing underclass of the towns and cities.

As one of the passersby put it, “The more people we surround ourselves with, the less likely we’ll be picked up and carried into the night by those things.”

Felicity kept her eyes and focus peeled and intent on the skies around them, but the creatures seemed to primarily attack at night, and since they were in the Fey Realm at that time, there was no overlap.

On the twentieth of Building Season, the last day of the hottest week of the year, as night began to fall, Tristan’s amulet vibrated. Fishing it out from under his armor, he held it up, “Tristan, here.”

“Ah, you live.”

“I do. Are you well?”

“No, and that is one reason I am reaching out to you. I have a confession I would like to make, and the reason I tell you what I will in a moment is because I seek succor in your Realm’s safety.”

Oh, Tristan thought, if he’s going to reveal something damning, he must be desperate. Clearing his throat, Tristan replied, “Go ahead, Obadai.”

“I was the one who opened a rift to the Demon Realm in the Gredo Expanse and lured a demonic dragon out of it. I am an agent of the Empire of Dorcelli, far across the sea to the east.”

Tristan tried to recall the maps that his grandfather had shown him, but Tristan was not skilled at geography and his recollection was mostly blurs of the different landmasses. He did know that one could sail from the continent of Gvand he was currently on, over the Abyssal Sea, and arrive in far-off lands. “Why did you do that?” Tristan asked. “People could have been hurt.”

“The Empire wants to conquer the kingdom of Bhant’s territories to encourage a flourishing, growing population. I was sent to infiltrate King Arinclex VIII’s court, destabilize it, and incite the surrounding regions to seek allies. The Empire would be the ally, and then we could have two beachheads to assault the kingdom’s heartlands.”

Tristan felt angry. The anger boiled up from a deep place inside him, and he expressed that rage through his words as his voice took on a harsh tone. “You could have killed hundreds in the Gredo Expanse. There are demon bats on the Sapphire Coast right now, abducting people in the night! You’re responsible?”

“I didn’t open…Our time grows short. I want to explain more. May I travel to you?”

“Fine,” Tristan said as he glanced up at a now-worried-looking Felicity.

“Give me a minute.”

Tristan used that minute to fill Felicity in on the conversation, and then he saw the characteristic shimmer of magic in the air – right beside him. Dismounting, Tristan made to pull his sword, but let it fall still in the sheath as Archon Obadai Grimtome appeared next to him. There was a burst of gold and blue energy that fizzled out, and the two horses shied away from the sudden commotion.

“How’d you get here?” Tristan asked.

“Teleportation, Seventh Order, given the range limitation I adhered to,” Obadai replied as he put his hands on his knees and sucked in deep, shaking breaths. “I thank you, Tristan.”

Tristan went and got both horses under control, whispering soothing words as he guided them off the road and toward a small copse of trees. He began spinning his essence crucible as the Archon followed him. “Explain what you wanted,” Tristan stated, feeling suspicion towards the man.

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Obadai nodded and scratched his slightly scruffy beard. “I am responsible for bringing the demon dragon to the Gredo Expanse – I knew they were relatively harmless and could be reasoned with. But I am not responsible for any in the Sapphire Coast. I have heard of something called Sympathetic Incursions, where one leads to another, but those were only ever theorized, much less well-known phenomena!”

Tristan ran a hand along Onyx’s mane and sighed, keeping a hard edge to his tone. “Fine, you state you are not responsible for the Incursion down here. You also wanted to destabilize the surrounding regions to create a holdfast for an invasion. And you claim it is because you desire the farmlands of the kingdom of Bhant.”

“That is all accurate.” Obadai looked around the small grove. “Waiting to go back to your Realm, yes?”

Tristan nodded, “That is what I am waiting on, yes.” He gestured to the Archon’s poor, ragged attire. “You look like you have been through the wringer.”

Obadai chuckled, “Chased around the capital, yes. I was found out. Teleportation is exhausting, and I needed a sympathetic connection – you having interacted with me in the flesh worked for my purposes.”

Tristan crossed his arms and stared at the man’s heterochromatic eyes, “I want to know why you seek refuge in my Realm. Aside from running from your treason in the kingdom of Bhant.”