Prologue
As I make my way through the catacombs, I feel the vibrations of the earth above me. The shaking is an unmistakable sign of the Colossus growing closer to the Capital, yet we’re no more prepared than when it first appeared on our King’s lands. Loose bits of dirt fall down around me and my pace quickens. The light of my lantern is only enough to see a few feet in front of me. I feel that the ground beneath me is dirt as well, but as I touch the narrow walls I feel chiseled stone that’s starting to crack. Not the most structurally sound of tunnel systems, but the rats I hear skittering at my feet don’t seem to mind.
The path winds and the air chills, more than it should from this depth. Goosebumps appear on my skin as I hear hushed chanting growing closer. My feet stop in their tracks as I hesitate. Surely this was treasonous, to ask for help from an organization such as them. Ayel would surely be furious if he knew I was here.
However, if this worked- if they could help- at least he could still be furious from his throne with living subjects. I force the lump in my throat down with a hard swallow and continue forward, holding my lantern in front of me like a shield as the chants grow unbearably loud.
“Eyes that see everywhere, horns to pierce The Weaver’s designs…”
I can only understand a few lines here and there, the rest seems to be in a language I have never heard and, truthfully, never want to understand.
“Wings to stalk from above, scales that shed like a snake’s…”
The chanting does not cease as I appear in front of the cultists. They don’t appear to notice my presence at all at first, too caught up with their ritual. As their chanting dies down they turn to face me all at once, faces hidden by their robes. I try my best not to recoil from their sudden attention.
“Welcome, dear Captain, to the Discordant Depths,” one of them steps towards me with open arms. “We knew you would see sense and join the true gods.” I can see a toothy grin peering from beneath their red hood.
“I am not here to join you,” I state firmly. “There is only one reason I decided to answer your letter,” I fish the letter out of my cloak with my free hand and hold it out to them. “You promised you could help me defeat the Colossus. What can you do?”
“You say you did not come to join us, Captain. Yet here you stand asking for something only our members can access. You must open yourself to our Lords in order to save what you love most.” Their grin hasn’t faltered for one second since they approached.
“I will not betray Mother Weaver by colluding with her fallen sons,” I spit back.
“What good has your loyalty to The Weaver done for you, dear Captain? Has The Weaver come down from on high to save your King and his subjects from the Colossus? If so, why would you be at our door? You need us, Aiah.” They speak with such certainty, as if there is no doubt in their mind that I will bend to their will. “Think of your dear King Ayel and his people.”
“Surely there’s another way,” I start to turn away. I realize now how foolish it was to come down here into a pit of vipers.
“If you say so, Captain. I suppose you will not live long enough to feel your guilt if you are wrong.” Their tone was bone chilling, feigning nonchalance as they threatened me. No, it was not a threat, it was simply a fact, something I could not ignore any longer.
“What do I have to do?” I force my voice not to break as I ask and face them again.
“Come to the center, child,” they say as the circle of cultists opens up for me. I finally take my first good look around the room, it is dimly lit by black and red candles. A symbol is drawn in the middle of the floor in what I can only assume is blood. The drawing depicts an eye with a slit-pupil adorned with horns, tentacles, and feathery wings. Anyone could tell it is the symbol of the Lords of Discord. I take an involuntary step back, fearing I know exactly what they want from me.
“You… wish for my help to free them, don’t you?” The panic in my voice cannot be contained.
They say nothing, just simply gesture to the center as they continue to wear that grin. It seems even more sinister now somehow.
With no other choice except letting the kingdom fall, I start to take slow, steady steps towards the center. I square my shoulders and take a deep breath as I take my place on the symbol and their chanting begins anew.
Suddenly I feel chains around my wrists and ankles, but I see none. I sink to the ground as I feel them pull me down farther and farther until my face is buried in the floor. Pain shoots through parts of my body, as if I am rapidly growing new limbs. I feel it on the crown of my head, in my back, on my face and pricks of it throughout my skin.
It is clear the pain is intended from the excitement that can be heard in their chants as they grow louder. A chorus of voices assault my ears, but they are no longer those of the cultists.
As everything around me goes dark, I feel as though I’m suspended in a black lake. The voices ring in my ears. An unholy quintet invading my mind as I find it hard to breathe.
“She seems promising,” a voice shrill as a harpy pierces through my thoughts. Various agreements ring out between my ears. Most of what they say is incoherent to me, but I feel a chill with every voice nonetheless. I try to call out a prayer to The Weaver, but every time my mind wanders to her, it feels as though a hammer is taken to my head. All I can do is listen to the voices as their mutterings fill me with dread and the pain grows agonizing all over my body.
When I feel as if I’m at my breaking point, hands start to rove over me and I feel them start to lift me up higher and higher until my eyes snap open. I bolt upright as I take several gasping breaths.I regret the sudden movement instantly as I double back over. My hands clutch the cold, damp ground as I shake.
I see that I’m back on the sigil and I no longer feel chains around my body. Slowly, I sit back up and pat down my body to make sure I’m still in one piece. When I feel I’m still whole, I start to hug myself hoping to keep whatever I have left together.
The cultists still surround me, but now they are completely silent. The one from before steps out of the crowd and approaches me.
“The Lords have approved of you,” they tell me without trying to hide their eerily giddy tone. “They will help you with your endeavors in exchange for your servitude to them and devotion to their plans.” They pull a sword from their robe and present it to me. “To call upon them and complete the pact, simply raise and plunge it into the ground. They will be called to you and lend you their power in exchange for yourself as a vessel. You will be a bridge between them and the mortal realm.”
I feel a lump in my throat as I stare at the sword and hesitantly reach out towards it. After all that just happened, did I wish to commit to this? Surely the lives of the King and his people were worth whatever I had to do in exchange, right? My right hand firmly clasps around the hilt as I take it. Unsteadily, I get to my feet and without another word or glance at the robed heretics, I leave.
The voice of the cultist calls after me, “Try to wipe the look of frightened prey off of your face Captain. You’ll need that fake courage you came in with.” They sounded pleased with themselves.
Paying them no attention, I keep silently taking the path out of the catacombs, leading myself farther away from the robes and the candles and the sigil. The voices, however, are still in the back of my mind as if they are waiting at the door for an invitation. My hands roam over the sword in the dark as I approach the exit, I feel cold steel and an intricate design around the hilt. I hold onto the grip tightly as I emerge from the tunnels and back into the light of day.
Above ground I can see the fires in the distance and hear faint echoes of screams as a giant silhouette looms over the capital city. I look down at the sword and examine it. Wings and horns and tentacles forged in dark metal and surrounding an eye with a slit pupil. It almost feels as if it hums in my hands, encouraging me to use it- to claim it.
I sheath the sword and take another look at the Colossus wreaking havoc as smoke rises higher than the castle’s towers. With quick strides I make my way to my horse, Sabia and untie her from the nearby post. In a fluid motion I lift myself into the saddle and flick the reigns to signal her to move. She becomes a streak of gray as she speeds towards the chaos with me on her back. I had once thought there as no faster way to travel in the empire than my prized mare, but despite her moving as quickly as her hooves could carry us, somehow it feels as though she were nothing but a snail.
I swear ages passed before I bolted through the crumbling gates. There is no time to stop to aid the citizens all around me, I have to make it to the real threat before anyone can truly be saved. My legion is suited up and starting to surround the titan as I blaze through the streets towards them.
I cannot let them die like this.
“Stand down!” My voice carries the distance between us and I see them turn to look at me. “Retreat! You are to get away from here! Do you hear me?”
As I gallop towards them, they look between the Colossus and me. Finally, they start to cautiously retreat just as I am about to reach where they were. The only one who does not is my second in command.
“Captain, what are you doing?” Callum asks me with utter shock. “We have to save the city, the king!”
“I intend to, now stand down. I will not let you die foolishly.” My voice is stern as I dismount from my horse and step towards him. I grip his arm and pull him over to Sabia and thrust the reins in his hands. “Go.”
He starts to protest but I turn away to face the Colossus. The sword hums again in my hand as I unsheathe it. I grip the handle tightly with both hands and start to lift it above the ground. People scream around me and the earth shakes, but I focus on the blade. I can hear the voices in my ears again, speaking that indiscernible language, invading my mind once again. My arms raise it higher as a familiar shout breaks through the noise.
Ayel.
My head whips back to see our king on horseback. He’s leading my knights back towards me. Back towards the Colossus. He’s shouting something, probably for me to wait for backup. He doesn’t understand. A breath hitches in my throat as I stand frozen for a moment, staring back at him.
No matter what happens Ayel, this is for you my friend.
I turn away and bury the sword into the ground as hard as I can as an explosion of shadow envelops me. The voices are whispers no more, but loud and cacophonous. I feel them all around me, almost taking form out of the darkness. The blade feels warm in my hands. I am surrounded by shadow once again, suspended in nothingness as hands reach out for me.
This time however, I can understand the voices. They tell me to bend the shadows to my will and strike at the heart. Their voices curl around my thoughts as they hiss instructions.
Use the darkness.
Strike the heart.
Save my homeland.
The shadows swirl around me, light breaking through as they start to absorb into me and dissipate. I unearth the sword as it sings an unholy melody only I can hear. A set of black, incorporeal wings sprout from my back as I take off into the sky towards the Colossus.
