Book 3 Ch 11: Visions

Michael found himself floating in blackness again as his vision ended and was expecting to be pulled into another, but instead a number of smaller scenes began to play all around him, the darkness surrounding him suddenly illuminated by visions of battle. In one corner the Emperor fought off hundreds of horned men and carapaced horrors, his white ceremonial garb dyed in their blood. In another he saw the nobility being slaughtered, torn to shreds. Their titles were unable to protect them, unarmed and unprepared for as they had been for what was coming.

Where the sphere apparatus had been there was a familiar angry red tear. It was enormous, extending from the ground miles into the sky. The air around it twisted and tore at the reality around it as it started to widen. Flying monsters that resembled the Creature flew off in a dozen different directions. He could see their paths in his vision, watching as they flew directly for other cities far from the Hume capital, targeting temples and key figures. Michael wasn’t sure of how they knew exactly where to go, but they did. They’d been preparing for that moment.

As the hundreds of monsters became thousands and began to tear through Hume, burning, eating, and murdering everything in their path, Michael found himself involuntarily reaching for his sword, but felt a hand on his shoulder.

He didn’t jump at the touch, as there was something familiar about it. He turned to see a woman that stood a head taller than him. Her nose was aquiline and her black hair braided in an elaborate style. She was beautiful in an untouchable way, like a sword with a perfect edge, but her eyes were sad as she looked beyond him at the carnage that unfolded in his vision.

He turned and kneeled, bowing his head.

“Seras, Lady of Iron, goddess of protection.”

Seras turned her steel colored eyes to him and smiled, her form flickering a bit as she did so. “Rise, my favored champion.”

He obeyed, and raised his head to look at her. “Whoever sculpted that statue of you did an incredible job.”

She smiled. “Javok. He studied with dwarven craftsmen as well as the devotees of my brother Bruntus. I shall favor him always.”

Her voice was strong. It reminded him a bit of when Sarah would argue with her mother about how to raise their kids.

Michael looked as the Emperor was finally overwhelmed, a scorpion-like tail piercing him through the back of the head. His body crumpled, his red blood mixing with the myriad of other colors that had already stained it.

“You needed me to see this,” he said. “To understand more of what happened, and why it happened?”

She nodded. “Our champion must know us. Not only our greatness, gifts, and power, but our faults as well.”

“The takers are your fault,” he said.

“Yes. We expended much of ourselves to create the Titles and Deeds which man benefits from. None more than my sister Estaid, who was nearly lost by its creation.”

“Why?”

“This world is dangerous. In many ways it is unsuitable for man. In order to give our worshippers a better chance we wanted to give them a strength to match their environment.”

“What about titled beasts?”

“It was decided that the benefits of them would outweigh the costs.” She shook her head. “It wasn’t even completed before we realized how much we were weakening the divine weave that surrounds the world. If it had been completed then all would be diviners of a kind, at least able to divine themselves as the takers are. There would have also been far more abilities and improvement beyond just battle.” She paused for a moment. “We overestimated ourselves.”

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author’s consent. Report any sightings.

“And with the takers arriving, faith began to fade.”

She nodded. “Who could blame them? Our weakness cost them dearly.”

As if punctuating her point Michael watched as a nobleman tried and failed to shield his children from one of the chitinous monsters. He gripped the hilt of his sword tighter, but didn’t look away.

“Titles and Deeds were meant to empower us as much as man. We had hoped that through their devotion of acts our power would be restored and the incursion of takers ceased, but the damage was done. After this,” she gestured to the continuing carnage and destruction, “there was no coming back as we were.”

Michael watched as the beasts from the rift tore their way through the capital and across the countryside, but then the rift began to flicker. There was a kind of groan from it, and it began to shrink. The distortion that surrounded it faded, revealing a blue sky where red had only just been. The beasts from the rift roared as it closed and several tried to retreat, but it was too late.

“That’s when you merged into the divine,” said Michael.